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“Hell yeah! It’s working!”
The earth groaned under their feet as the cliff side collapsed, heavy rocks tumbling towards them. Momo fought to keep her grip on the yokai as Okarun ducked and weaved them around the falling debris. She heard the giant spider screech as a boulder pinned its abdomen to the dirt, human-like torso scrabbling at the ground in rage.
As the dust settled, it let out another scream, this one sounding much more final. Momo could feel the form in her psychic hands go limp. It would be sad, she supposed, if the thing hadn’t chased them all the way from an abandoned construction site to bumfuck nowhere. Seriously, they hadn’t even stepped foot on the property!
Okarun exhaled heavily, steam pouring from his jaw as he tightened his grip around her legs. Momo felt the tiniest bit proud that her plan to disrupt the cliffside had worked. The yokai had spat out razor sharp webs, which rendered Okarun’s up close attacks practically useless and far too risky. With the distance they had traveled, it would be foolish for them to not use not use the terrain to their advantage.
As Okarun sprinted them far enough away from ground zero, Momo quelled the sudden headache that itched up her skull. She wondered what kind of yokai that had been, struggling to remember Seiko’s lessons.
A Jorōgumo maybe? The term nagged at her brain. She would need to ask Granny about it later. Either way, Momo was like ninety percent sure the thing was dead. Unless it was one of those yokai that came back to life or something stupid. That would suck.
She staggered a bit getting off of Okarun’s back when he slowed, the boy was crouched with his head hanging between his knees like a weird gymnast. Momo seriously worried for the well-being of his joints and bones. As she steadied herself, she made sense of their surroundings. They had ended up somewhere along a tree-lined road…which wasn’t very helpful in terms of location to be honest. If Momo squinted hard enough, she could make out the faint shape of a bus stop in the distance. Good to know they weren’t miles away from human civilization at least. Okarun rose to his feet behind her.
“All good?” Momo asked over her shoulder, turning to face him. “I think I spotted a bus stop from here.”
His head tilted in her direction, eyes flickering. That strange mask was gone from his face, and it allowed her to see the slight quirk to his lips. Even hunched, he was taller than Momo by a few centimeters. He took a few steps towards her, hand raised.
Carefully, he swiped just under her eye, finger turning up red. She blinked, momentarily stunned.
“You’re hurt, Momo.” He stated, dark and raspy. She brought her own hand up to her cheek, only just now feeling the slight sting of the cut. That creepy spider must have swiped her with one of its webs.
“It’s nothing.” She assured him, the boy looking far too concerned for such a shallow cut. She was tempted to smooth out the worry lines from between his brows with the pad of her thumb. “Just a tiny cut.”
His frown deepened a bit further.
“It’s already dead,” Momo reminded him, “Can’t go enact revenge for me on a corpse.”
Okarun sighed, “What a bummer.”
She giggled, stomach feeling light at his expression.
“I’m glad we’re friends, Okarun.”
His eyes flashed, the flame-like embers that sparked from his collar burned brighter. Her stomach turned. Butterflies? Ah wait. Dammit.
Momo dropped her head into his chest and inhaled heavily, trying to quell the sudden nausea in her gut. She supposed the mental strain that came with using her powers wasn’t supposed to mix with speeds that high. Man …she so did not wanna puke.
“Momo?” Okarun asked, fingers stretching the length of her back. His tone was as flat as ever, but she could hear a bit of tension in his voice. Like he was bracing a foot on an icy lake.
“Hm?”
“Do you like me?” It was a strange question for him to ask. But she chalked it up to his weird mood.
She laughed hazily, “Of course I like you, dork. Wouldn’t keep ya around if I didn’t.”
Her head felt dizzy, and his arm wrapped fully around her waist as she stumbled. Distantly, she wondered why Okarun hadn’t turned back. The threat was gone. Those claw-like fingers dug into her waist, and Momo raised her head. He was watching her, eyes calmer than she had ever seen them. She tilted her head in question, and Okarun smiled.
It was a closed lip smile, soft and smooth around the edges. His brows were relaxed above his eyes, lidded in an emotion that Momo felt flushed thinking about. Her jaw gaped a bit because like… woah . This was new. This was supposed to be emo-Okarun. Mr. “ What a bummer, yo ” Okarun. Not…
“I’m glad.” He murmured, eyes skirting around her face. She wondered what he was looking for as they dipped lower, but she didn’t get the chance to ask. Stars flickered in her vision, and she drooped a bit in his hold. Okarun made a noise of confusion before she was sinking her face back into his chest.
He smelled like burning asphalt and murky energy. It stung her nose a bit, like inhaling the hot breeze and tasting it on your tongue. The wave of dizziness pounded at her skull like a hammer. Okarun braced as she whined like a discontented cat. His chin dropped next to her ear.
“Momo?”
She groaned.
“What’s wrong, babe?” Her stomach burned at his words, but she didn’t really have the energy to scold him right now.
“My head .” She sighed, eyes flinching shut. “Stupid powers and their stupid drawbacks”
Okarun rubbed a hand down her back soothingly, sighing heavily into her ear. He mumbled something wistfully, too laced with slurred timbre for her to understand it. She let out a questioning hum, waiting patiently for her head to kindly stop exploding.
After a moment, the headache had dulled to a light throb. From experience, Momo knew the pain would fade completely once she was back in her room with curtains drawn. But that wouldn’t be for a bit. Eh, whatever. She could deal. Okarun was still running his hand up and down her back, and she was kinda tempted to see how long she could get away with it.
He had still yet to turn back, shirt smelling of ozone from where it was pressed against her cheek. She ignored the comfort settling in her belly at their closeness. It wasn’t like they hadn’t hugged before, or been this close (technically speaking). But there was something more intimate about this, more assuring. It wasn’t something the “normal” Okarun would do, and it made a selfish part of her preen.
She turned her head so her cheek was pressed into his chest. “Okarun?”
“Yes, Momo?”
“Why haven’t you changed back yet?”
His hands paused their movement, and Momo silently mourned the loss. After a second of silence, he spoke.
“I’m an awkward–”
Momo slapped him lightly on the arm, face flushing, “Do not finish that sentence.”
He laughed, deep and heady. She suppressed a shiver as it dripped into her ears. Okarun cleared his throat, trying again.
“That other me,” He sighed. “ Man, I'm such a wimp. ‘Can’t ever say what’s on my mind when I'm him.”
Momo flushed at the implication, popping her head up. She brought her eyes up to the sharp line of Okarun’s jaw, embarrassed to look any further. He looked down at her, glasses tipping over his nose and eyes full of embers.
“…On your mind?” She did not squeak.
His head tilted, frost-white hair curling around his ears. A far off part of her wondered what it would feel like to comb her hands through it. The red of Okarun’s eyes burned hot as they traced her face, canines slipping out from behind his lips. He hummed in response, eyes flickering to the side. And oh.
It was easy to forget, looking at him like this, but this Okarun was still her Okarun. With his big round glasses that blew up his eyes like a bug, and his curly hair that was getting longer by the day. His nervous fingers tapping lightly on her side, corners of his lips curving up in sheepishness.
She smiled, chest full of…oh fuck it. Full of affection . His eyes lit up at her expression, melting like wax across his features. She fought not to duck her head back down, fully aware it would only accentuate the problem. Curiosity tingled in her gut, questions bubbling to the surface of her consciousness. Her headache was momentarily forgotten, enraptured by the tiny uptick of his lips and the heat that festered off of his hands. They burned hot on her sides, a stark contrast to the chilliness his aura seemed to exude.
And Momo had thought about it of course, that “Turbo” version of him. The ghostly, seemingly corporeal form that moved faster then she could blink. Thought about it a lot, actually. Was it still him in there? Or did her Okarun go somewhere else, deeper into his mind while this “other” him took his place? She voiced as much, watching him process the thought in two slow blinks.
“Still me, ‘just makes me feel bummed, yo.” He replied. She snorted, rolling her eyes.
“C’mon, you can give me something better than that.” She teased.
He glanced away, watching the grass at their feet roll with the wind. His eyes were distant and searching, scavenging at the squirreled away parts of his brain that would give him an answer.
“‘Never had a friend,” He said after a moment, voice uncharacteristically quiet. “So I dunno how to act around you sometimes, Momo. You make me so happy…Man, pisses me off I can never express it.” He exhaled, short and wistful before continuing, “I ain’t got a filter like this, everything just comes out as is. I hate it sometimes but—it lets me say this stuff too.” He squeezed her a little tighter at that, eyes still locked on the windswept grass. “Important stuff.”
Her jaw gaped a bit, eyes wide as they craned up at Okarun. At her silence, his eyes drew back to hers, silent and waiting for a response. Fire burned from her cheeks to her toes, setting her skin ablaze with blush. He couldn’t just…How could he just—just say something like that??? He’s-!
She dug her fingers into his torso, squeezing until her arms ached. Her nose buried once again into his chest, shuddering at the way he held her back. So gentle yet firm, heartbeat rabbiting under her ear. Dammit, she could hear his smile and he wasn’t even speaking!
“You can’t just say stuff like that, Okarun.” She mumbled, feeling the puff of laughter tickle the crown of her head. She wasn’t sure when she had gotten so clumsy with her emotions, or when Okarun had gotten so relaxed with his. I mean seriously, even hugging her other Okarun would send him into a cardiac event.
Momo took a deep breath full of static and burning lumber. There wasn’t really time to dwell on this. Granny would need to be informed about the yokai, and she needed her damn bed.
She tilted her head up, surprised to see Okarun already looking down at her. He blinked once, all slow like a cat, and Momo resisted the urge to lean up and squeeze his cheeks together.
“Carry me back?” She asked instead.
Okarun’s smile was like downy feathers, eyes crinkling at the corners as he tightened his grip around her waist. “Of course, Momo.”