Chapter Text
The car ride was excruciatingly awkward. Granny had signed herself out of hospital, bitching under her breath about the horrors of no smoking zones, and dragged her and Jiji out to a cab. Momo still couldn’t believe that that guy was the same Jiji who once almost dislocated his shoulder trying to prove he could lick his own elbow. Somehow, Jiji grew up… Hot.
Scowling and flustered, Momo sat as far away from him as she could in the back seat, glaring out the window as they left the hospital behind. Shimane was beautiful, it’d been Autumn last she remembered but the frost gleaming off every tree they drove past was enough to prove that Jiji and Granny weren’t messing with her. It really was winter now. She’d lost months of memories, or something.
The strange girl from early was bouncing anxiously by the entrance when they pulled up, Granny asking the driver to wait for them around the cigarette she was worrying in her teeth.
“Momo!” The girl called out in a loud, trilling voice, darting forwards to throw her arms around her. She was strong, damn strong, crushing the air out of her chest with the force of it. “You’re big! I was so worried!”
“Woah Vam-vam!” Jiji laughed uneasily, tugging at her arms, “Uh, maybe let Momo go for a second okay? Some stuff has happened and-“
“I got amnesia or something.” She muttered into Vam-vam’s? Shoulder. “So I dunno who you are, sorry.”
Vam-vam, god that can’t be her real name, no one hates their kid enough to saddle them with Vam-vam, right? Let go abruptly, hands firm on Momo’s shoulders as she pulled back to stare into her eyes. "Momo?"
"Yeah… Your name ain't really Vam-vam is it?"
"I'm Vamola, I'm glad you're big again." She said firmly, nodding once and then letting go to stand at Granny's back while she checked them out.
"Why…" She risked squinting a look at Jiji, who was hovering nervously and far too quietly next to her, "What's with the whole 'I'm big,' thing?"
Jiji laughed uncomfortably, "Well," He drawled, "I know you're still iffy on the… Everything." Everything being aliens, yokai, curses and psychic powers. Yeah, she was iffy alright. "But you got cursed after being in a magic trunk, it made you super small, like small enough that we carried you around in pockets or in our hands! And now you're- Y'know. Not small anymore."
"I went in a magic box and got shrunk." She didn't even know what he voice was doing, let alone her face. "Is this just life for us now?"
Jiji winced, "Yeah basically."
"Okay," She sighed, reaching up to rub her forehead. "Maybe I should stop asking."
Granny called out, sharp and snappy, as she and Vamola headed back towards the front doors. Jiji, she couldn't help but notice, always stayed behind her when they walked. Not crowding her but… Conspicuously behind her instead of beside her. Momo stopped abruptly, spinning on her heel to jab a finger into his chest, "What's up with you?"
"Hah?"
"Why're you always behind me and shit? Do I have a yokai mark on my back or something?" She tried to angle a look over her shoulder but her jacket blocked the view.
Jiji waved his hands, shaking his head, "No! No, it's just- …Things got… Close. When you were shrunk, there were a couple of times when I thought we'd lost you. So I just, I just want to be able to see you, y'know? If it's freaking you out I ca-"
"It ain't freakin' me out." Momo said shortly, not meeting his eyes, "If it makes you feel better or whatever then walk behind me. I was just curious."
He sighed, shoulders slumping in relief, "Thanks Momo. For real."
"Yeah, yeah." She grabbed his wrist, dragging him behind her to where Granny and Vamola were waiting. "Let's go already."
"There you are!" Granny snapped, shoving her way between a cluster of foreign tourists to stalk up to some guys. Momo darted around the group to get a better look, apparently they'd been cursed too from what Granny and Jiji had said on the drive over. There were two guys around her age, one almost as tall as Jiji and both of them rocking more piercings than she'd seen any guy wear outside of a fashion magazine, and tucked between them was a totally normal looking kid.
"Momo," Granny waved her over, "These were the cursed guys, tall one's Zuma and… Wait…" She pointed at the kid, "Who the hell are you?"
The kid frowned, "I'm Daiki, Miss Seiko. Daiki Hakono, remember?"
"Didn't you have a beard before?"
"That was the curse."
The dark haired guy nodded to her, "Good to see you back to normal size girl, glad this shit's over man."
"…Yeah." Momo said slowly, "So uh… What did the curse do to you guys again?" If the only thing that kid had to deal with was growing a beard while she'd apparently been the size of a doll she was gonna be pissed.
Both of the tall guys stared at her, "Is that some kinda joke?" The other guy said, "Cause it ain't funny."
Jiji shoved his way between them, waving his hands as Vamola crossed her arms, "Woah, woah. Momo… She lost her memories, she doesn't remember anything about yokai and curses and stuff."
"Wait, for real?!"
Granny grabbed his arm before he could continue, "Let's get outta here, I'll explain what we know somewhere less crowded."
Momo glanced around and yeah, they were drawing attention. One of the shrine attendants shuffled them off to a private tea room, bowing respectfully to Granny before leaving. Vamola and Granny bracketed her, Jiji staring a little too intensely at the guys as they slouched with the kid between them.
"Right, introductions," Granny groaned, "Go on then."
"I'm Unji Zuma," The taller guy offered, "We were in that cursed trunk together, we broke the seals keepin' the Fairy Tale Card trapped and it possessed me. That guy with the glasses and my Dad helped beat it up after it abandoned my body. Or something."
"Raiya Kazuma, Zuma an' Daiki are my friends. I wasn't cursed but Zuma lost his eyesight and Daiki was aging super fast, so I came to Shimane to help."
"…Cool." Momo said awkwardly, "Well, I'm sure you know but I'm-"
"Save it." Zuma said abruptly, cutting her off. "When you had your memories you refused to tell me your name, when you remember then you can tell me. If you want."
"B-But… I mean, you have to already know it? It ain't like Granny and the others have been shy about using it."
Kazuma was nodding, "Zuma is Zuma. He ain't gonna listen to ya until you remember, and he won't use your name until then either. None of us will." Daiki nodded furiously in agreement.
"Damn," Zuma sighed, scrubbing a hand through his hair, "This sucks. Even though you didn't mean to fall in the trunk, and you did so much to get out, you still got stuck with this weird shit from the curse. I'm sorry girl."
"Tch. Why're you sorry? Not like you cursed me." Momo paused and leaned over to Granny, "He didn't curse me right? He's just a normal guy who also ended up in the trunk?"
"That's right." Granny breathed out, the familar scent of her spiced cigarette's almost comforting after how insane this day had been. "But we'll figure it out, just like we figured out how to fix the curse."
Everyone nodded, faces set and serious. Part of Momo still refused to believe that everything they'd said, curses and yokai and aliens, was true but, looking at them now she couldn't help but feel determined too.
"Then it's settled," Granny drained her tea and slammed the delicate porcelain down, "Let's get the hell outta Shimane."