Chapter Text
You heard, and ignored the sound of Teru making a ruckus the night you were at the festival. You thought to yourself, you were having too good of a time to be caught up in Teru's business, it didn't involve you. Of course, you regretted that. It seemed like "Teru's business" often became your business...as in it often caused issues for you.
When you saw him that morning walking into the entrance with Kou, you thought it'd be best to ask him about it. Of course, you had to greet the better Minamoto first. "Morning, Kou-tan!" You surprised him from behind, putting your hands on his shoulders.
Kou jumped at your sudden greeting, but when he realized it was you, his face lit up. "Oh, (Y/N)-san, good morning." He grinned, turning to face you properly.
Before you could get another word in, though, your attention shifted to the taller figure beside him. Teru Minamoto. He looked as composed as always, far too put together for a student who had, as far as you knew, been making a mess of things late last night.
You crossed your arms, tilting your head slightly. "And good morning Teru," you greeted, now walking in between the two brothers, purposefully putting in less emotion just to see if you could get a reaction. You didn't, he only glanced at you. Still, you pushed forward. "So," you began casually, "what exactly were you doing at the school so late last night?"
Teru blinked at you, looking perfectly innocent. "Nothing important."
You narrowed your eyes. "Nothing important?"
He nodded once, smiling as if he'd done absolutely nothing wrong. "Are you implying I was doing something I shouldn't have?" He teased.
You frowned. The way he answered so quickly made it clear that he wasn't going to tell you even if there was something to tell. Which there probably was. The night before had been a bit off putting as you'd heard it, and you had chosen to ignore it because, well... you'd been enjoying yourself. You had figured it wasn't your problem.
You debated pushing him for more details, but then you glanced at Kou, who was looking between the two of you, already a little nervous.
With a sigh, you decided to drop it. For now. "Fine," you muttered, waving a hand dismissively. "If you say so. I have a few things I need printed, I'll meet you in the student council room in a bit." You pat both boys arms simultaneously, then walked ahead to leave your stuff and make your way to said room.
As you stepped into the student council room, you expected to find at least somebody already inside, maybe doing early work. What you didn't expect, however, was Fuji standing in the middle of the room, completely still. It wasn't strange that he was there since he was apart of the student council, just the way he was there. His back was facing you, but even from the doorway, you could tell something was off. You hesitated for a second before calling out, "Fuji-kun?"
The moment your voice reached him, his entire body twitched unnaturally. Then, slowly, he turned around to face you. He didn't even look like himself—eyes half-lidded, mouth slightly open, like a drunk zombie.
And then,"CANDY!" He screeched the word at the top of his lungs.
Before you could even process what was happening, he charged at you at full speed, arms outstretched like some sort of rabid beast. Your brain completely short-circuited. "What the hell—?!"
Just as Fuji was about to crash into you, a sudden he was shot back. Akane came out of nowhere, launching a solid kick right into Fuji's stomach. The impact sent the "zombie" stumbling backward, a wheezy groan escaping his throat as he crashed onto the floor.
Before you could even process what just happened, a firm grip wrapped around your wrist.
"Move!" Teru's voice was sharp as he yanked you forward. You barely had time to react before you were being pulled into a full sprint, Akane following close behind. The sound of Fuji scrambling to his feet echoed behind you, along with his repeated, desperate cries for candy. Why the hell did he want candy, and why did he want it so bad?
Your heart pounded in your chest as you ran down the hallway, Teru's grip on your wrist strong enough that you couldn't even think about slowing down. But as soon as the initial shock wore off, something very obvious clicked in your mind,
This was absolutely Teru's fault.
"What the hell did you do?!" you shouted, practically yanking on his arm as you ran beside him. "This is obviously your fault! You were sneaking around last night, weren't you?!"
Teru didn't respond immediately, simply chuckling. It honestly didn't even surprise you that even with the given situation, he was unserious. He had a stupid grin on his face, clearly guilty.
"Teru!" you barked, frustrated beyond belief. "You're not funny! You better explain what you did!" You huffed, beginning to run out of breath.
Teru finally responded, though he still didn't look at you and continued to look ahead. "It's... complicated."
"Complicated?" you echoed incredulously. "Complicated is dealing with you. I have reason to assume the entire school is infected with whatever Fuji-kun has, and you're saying it's just complicated!"
Akane, running just behind you, groaned. "Not a good time to argue!" The issue was, you'd heard people screaming from all over the school, but you simply thought nothing of it. One crucial part of your power was to not question when hearing loud noises, people like to overreact and make more commotion than necessary. Of course, that didn't quite apply to your situation. "He'll explain when we find a place more closed, he hasn't told me anything either."
You focused your ability to sense any kind of movement or sound that could help find anywhere safe to go. Through the noise, two voices stood out—Nene and Kou. They were running, their footsteps echoing toward a specific location. The locker rooms.
You tugged Teru's arm to grab his attention, making him turn his head towards you. "Go to the locker rooms," you ordered. "Nene-chan and Kou are heading there. We can regroup and make sure they're okay."
Teru nodded, he was at least glad to know Kou was doing alright. Akane followed suit, not even bothering to ask why you were now heading towards the locker rooms, he was rather concerned on Aoi's well being.
The three of you made a sharp turn, racing down the hallway until you reached the locker rooms. You burst through the door, scanning the area. There were about three infected students, but Teru managed to knock them out without even thinking about it. You picked up a nearby flashlight.
"Where could they be?" You asked yourself, walking around and pointing the flashlight towards lockers. You didn't know which specifically, but you were completely sure you heard them go into a locker. Consider considering the fact that they were other students there, they were definitely still hiding. Suddenly, you saw a tuft of orange hair lightly through the cracks of one specific locker.
You subtly tilted your head toward the locker. That was definitely Kou. Given the situation, it made sense that he and Nene would hide inside one of the lockers. It wasn't the worst idea, considering the chaos outside, but now that you'd found them, you needed to get them out.
Akane seemed to pick up on your silent cue. Without hesitation, he strode toward the locker, reaching out to open it. Before he could even fully crack the door over a centimeter open, a loud bang echoed through the room. The locker door was then slammed open with an incredible amount of force, and a moment later, Akane was down.
See, Kou had launched himself out of the locker like a wild animal, completely on edge from everything that had been happening. Unfortunately for Akane, Kou's instinctual reaction involved a direct hit, staff to face. The poor guy barely had time to process it before he collapsed onto the floor with a heavy thud.
Nene was the first to react. "Akane-kun!" she shrieked, practically throwing herself out of the locker in a panic. The boy was foaming at the mouth, which only added more concern.
You immediately crouched down beside him. "Akane-kun?! Hey, are you okay?!" You shook his shoulder slightly, but he didn't move. You even pat his cheek a few times but his eyes were shut, and his expression was completely blank—he was out cold. "What the hell was that?!" you turned to Kou, who was as confused as one could be.
Kou's mouth opened and closed a few times before he blurted out, "I—I thought he was one of those things!"
At that moment, Teru, who had been watching the entire thing happen from aside, suddenly let out a sharp laugh. "Got him in one. Nicely done, Kou."
You ran a hand through your hair, exhaling sharply. "You're really gonna encourage this? Teru, we need him awake." You groaned.
Meanwhile, both underclassmen were teary in the eyes, their prayers had been answered. Anybody who knew Teru, knew he was tough. Honestly, you couldn't think of a better person to be with during a time like this. Not that you though about it, of course not! Nene and Kou were simply relieved through the roof. It was like they'd forgotten all about Akane when they jumped up to hug the Minamoto. "We're here to help. Good job surviving this long, you two."
You crossed your arms, watching as Teru casually accepted the hugs from Kou and Nene, like their knight in shining armor. The way they looked at him—like he was their saving grace—was honestly starting to annoy you. He was the cause for all this!
"You know," you started, raising an eyebrow at Teru, "instead of congratulating people for knocking someone out, maybe you should be congratulating me for holding back from killing you right now."
Teru chuckled, turning to you with a small smile. "Oh? I didn't realize you were struggling that much."
Nene, now by your side, gave you a nervous look. "U-Um... let's not fight right now?" To your dismay, she was right. Unfortunately it was not a good time to throw Teru into a horde of zombies. You needed his stupid expertise to come up with a plan.
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Teru led the group into the equipment room, shutting the door behind you all. It was a tight space, cluttered with various gym supplies, but it would do for now. You leaned against a bin of sports balls, arms crossed as Teru walked over to a whiteboard on wheels. He grabbed a marker, tapping it against the surface as he gathered his thoughts.
"Feeling a little better now?" he started, turning back to face the group. Everyone seemed to be alright, so he continued to explain after Nene had asked what was going on. "You see, I suspect this was caused by a 'Kegare'. It's supernatural in origin, obviously." His eyes flickered to you briefly. "Which I assume you already figured out."
You scoffed. "Figured out? I knew from the start." You tilted your head. "In fact, I can tell you exactly what's causing this." You glanced at the others before sighing. "This definitely started with the Mokke, one Mokke specifically."
Nene and Kou blinked at you, confused. "Mokke?" Kou repeated, frowning. "But aren't they harmless?"
You nodded. "Yeah, they are. Which is why this could only mean one unfortunate little guy had a pretty bad impurity. Weren't you curious as to why the zombies aren't... well, zombies? They want candy." You gestured toward the board, which had the words 'Kegare: Spirit Withering' written out. "The real problem is the kegare."
Nene tilted her head. "What's... kegare?"
You sighed, pinching the bridge of your nose. "Kegare is basically spiritual withering. It's sort of like being way too hungry, their minds lock into one thing until it starts to rot, and that's when things go wrong."
Teru, now watching you, nodded. "Right. So if a Mokke got infected with kegare, it makes sense why everything spiraled out of control. It spread to the other Mokke first, then to humans."
You narrowed your eyes at him. "Exactly. Which brings me back to the same question question, doesn't it?" You folded your arms tighter, shifting your weight onto one foot. "Why did the Mokke get sick in the first place?"
Nene turned toward you. "Yeah, why would that happen? They're usually so health!"
Without missing a second, you turned to Teru and deadpanned, "I was wondering the same thing, Teru."
His smirk twitched, but he didn't look away. Instead, he simply smiled, as if he wasn't completely guilty. "That's a great question, isn't it?" He said. "Maybe somebody brought in a filthy stray mokke, from outside the school.." Teru muttered to the side.
You scoffed, what a joke. "Yeah, what evil person could've possibly done that?" You glared at him. "Whoever it was, they should cook for themselves tonight." You knew that night, you were supposed to go back over to the Minamoto house. You had to continue doing ritual studies and also provide female support for Tiara. It couldn't be health to be raised by two brothers, a fairly absent father who she didn't know, and no mother! She needed a woman in her life.
You heard a groggy sound of somebody waking up from beside you. It seemed Akane had finally woken up. "How long was I out...? Have to hurry and save Ao-chan... Ao-chan.. (Y/N)-san... and Ao-chan." He paused for a moment. You couldn't sworn you heard your name in there. Though, it didn't much matter when his words turned into 'candy-chan' with an infected Mokke sitting beside him which seemingly had infected him. Akane's muttering abruptly changed, his head snapping up unnaturally. His breathing was uneven, almost erratic. "Candy..." His voice came out hoarse, strained.
"I-is he infected?" Nene asked hesitantly, stepping closer. In an instant, before anyone could react, Akane lunged—straight at you. Panic shot through you as he slammed into you with full force, knocking you back into the bins behind you. Your back hit the cold metal with a thud, the entire container rattling from the impact.
Akane's hands gripped your shoulders, unnervingly tight, his face (which was debatably still attractive) mere inches from yours. "Candy," he rasped, breath hot against your skin. "Give me candy."
Your brain completely shut down for a solid second before finally reaching in survival mode. "What the hell—" Your hands shot up to shove him away, but his grip was stronger than you expected.
Without warning, a wave of liquid hit Akane square in the face, soaking his hair, drooping his glasses and dripping down his chin. For a second, he just sat there, stunned, before suddenly slumping forward. He lost his balance on you, you didn't appreciate where he was now and were quick to move him. "Akane-kun, Get off me!" you hissed, shoving at him. Your face was burning, heat spreading up your neck as you struggled to escape the awkward position.
Akane, flustered, scrambled back, his hands immediately shooting up in surrender. "Right! Sorry! I—uh—didn't mean—" He tried to apologize, but it didn't exactly mean too much after he couldn't finish it and had been knocked out by Kou again.
Kou let out a panicked yell as he instinctively swung his staff again, clocking Akane right on the side of the head. The older boy crumpled like a sack of potatoes for the second time that day, his unconscious body landing unceremoniously on the floor with a thud.
You groaned, rubbing your temples. "You Minamotos and tormenting poor Akane-kun," you muttered, shaking your head. "Honestly, what did he ever do to deserve this?"
"I agree... but, tried to eat you." Nene pointed out, though she still looked a little guilty as she stared at Akane's sprawled-out form.
"Minor detail," you dismissed, stepping over him.
Before anyone could dwell on it further, a loud bang against the equipment room door made everyone freeze. Another sound followed. Then another. Then the unmistakable noise of multiple hands clawing and slamming against the wood.
"They're surrounding us," Teru noted calmly, as if you weren't currently trapped in a storage room with a bunch of candy-starved lunatics right outside. He glanced at Kou and Nene. "You two, head to the rooftop. We'll meet you there."
Kou's eyes widened. "Wait, but what about you guys?"
Teru turned to you, his expression unreadable. "(Y/N) and I are going somewhere else." He said. You wondered what the hell that even meant.
Kou still looked hesitant, but Nene grabbed his arm, already pulling him toward the exit. "Come on, Kou-kun, we should go before they break in!"
Teru didn't waste time watching them leave. He grabbed your wrist again, pulling you toward the other exit. "Let's go."
Your brows furrowed. "Remind me, where?"
"The home ec room." He said bluntly. Teru didn't even bother asking, it was more of a command.
Your lips twitched in annoyance. "Let me guess—salt?" God, couldn't he at least bother to tell you the plan before you had to figure it out yourself?
Teru's mouth curved into a small smirk. "You're all caught up."
You rolled your eyes. "I am a yokai expert. Honestly, doesn't even take one to realize you need salt."
As soon as you stepped into the hallway, a horde of infected students turned their heads toward you eerily. Then, like a damn horror movie, they all charged at once.
"Go!" you yelped, barely managing to keep up as Teru led you through the halls at breakneck speed. As soon as you both stumbled into the room, Teru wasted no time slamming the door shut behind you. Almost instantly, a barrage of heavy thuds followed, the infected students banging against the door with unsettling force.
His back pressed firmly against the door, bracing against the impact, but in his rush to close it, his arm was fully across your torso, pinning you against the door as well.
You froze. The realization hit at the same time as his arm pressing into you. You barely even breathed. Then, shifting slightly against him, you cleared your throat.
That was enough for him to finally notice. His eyes flickered down at you, and—perhaps a bit too quickly—he moved his arm away, straightening up. He cleared his throat as well, adjusting his tie as if nothing had happened.
You gave him a deadpan stare. "And they call you a gentleman." You teased, locking the door.
"I'm keeping us alive," Teru countered, not looking at you as he fixed his uniform. "Should I have let you get tackled instead?"
You huffed, shoving past him to lock the door properly. "Please, if that happens, I expect you to throw yourself in front of me as a proper shield. Matter of fact, it's your job." Teru chuckled at your jokes but didn't argue.
Now that the door was secure, you turned your focus to the room itself. Your eyes scanned the shelves, searching. "Alright, where's the salt?"
"Seasoning drawer?" Teru sighed, as if he could possibly know anything about kitchens.
You ignored him, already shifting through the supplies. It didn't take long before you found a large container labeled NaCl. You picked it up triumphantly, turned back to Teru, and tossed it to him. "Heads up!"
Teru caught the container of salt with ease, inspecting the label for a brief moment before nodding in satisfaction. "This should do," he said, gripping it firmly as he turned toward the exit. You were about to follow when the loud, echoing sound of fists hammering against the door sent a chill down your spine. The infected students had found you. The wooden frame groaned under the pressure, and with each passing second, the banging grew more frantic, more urgent. Teru barely reacted, though he did smile thoughtlessly as he rolled his shoulders. "Looks like it's to go."
"Yeah, no kidding," you muttered, already making your way toward the opposite door—the one leading to the stairwell. The two of you barely made it through before the first crack splintered through the wood behind you.
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The sprint up the stairs was brutal. You could hear the students below, their footsteps pounding against the steps as they chased after you, candy echoing off the walls. Teru led the way, you struggled to keep up, your breath coming in sharp gasps.
By the time you burst through the rooftop door, you barely had a second to process your surroundings before realizing something very, very important:
You were on the wrong side.
Across from you, past the wide, open gap between rooftops, stood Kou and Nene, their expressions shifting from relief to alarm the moment they saw you. Unfortunately for them, a horde of zombies was closing in on there side. "(Y/N)-senpai! Help!" Nene shouted, cupping her hands around her mouth.
"Teru, get over here!" you shouted, still catching your breath. He quickly managed to shoot them all down, but your heart was hammering as you stared at the gap. It wasn't exactly wide—probably a good few feet across—but it was definitely not something you were eager to jump over.
Teru, however, didn't even hesitate. He took one glance at the approaching threat behind you, then at the gap, then at you. "Come on," he said simply, tightening his grip on the salt container.
You scoffed, taking a step back. "Huh? You mean... We are absolutely not jumping!"
The rooftop door behind you rattled violently, the infected students slamming into it over and over, their desperate wails of "candy" growing louder. Teru turned to you, still unfazed. "(Y/N), we don't have time for this."
"Yeah, but we also don't have time to break our necks!" you argued, jabbing a finger at the gap. "I am not jumping over that." A loud, splintering crack rang through the air. The door behind you wasn't going to hold much longer.
Teru exhaled sharply. Then, without another word, he stepped forward, scooped you up firmly by your legs and torso, and—before you could even process what was happening—he jumped. "Teru!" you shrieked, your arms flying around his neck in sheer panic as your stomach dropped. You barely felt the sensation of being weightless before, in the very next second, your feet touched solid ground again.
You landed before you even realized it, your face pressed against the stiff fabric of Teru's uniform. For a long moment, you just clung to him, heart hammering, eyes squeezed shut. Then, finally, your brain caught up.
Slowly, you peeked one eye open. You were on the other rooftop. Safe. Alive. Teru, having already put you on your feet, glanced down at you, an amused smirk tugging at his lips. "You can let go now." He teased.
You blinked. Then, as the full weight of what had just happened hit you, your face burned with embarrassment. Shoving away from him, you stumbled back, practically radiating indignation. "Are you insane?!" you hissed, jabbing a finger at him. "You can't just—just throw me across rooftops like some kind of—of—ugh!"
Teru just chuckled, clearly happy with the reaction he'd gotten out of you. "Would you have jumped on your own?" You opened your mouth to argue—then promptly shut it. Because, honestly? No. Absolutely not. "Exactly," he said smugly.
Kou, still looking wide-eyed at the whole ordeal, let out an awkward laugh. "Uh... (Y/N)-san, are you okay?" He asked. You did look pretty shaken up.
"No," you said flatly.
"Yes," Teru said at the same time.
Nene, who had been covering her mouth in shock, finally let out a breath. "(Y/N)-senpai!" She ran towards you, giving you a big hug. "I thought you were gonna fall! I was so scared he'd drop you."
"I considered it," Teru mused, tilting his head. Before anyone could say anything else, the door on the opposite rooftop finally gave way, and the candy-obsessed horde poured out onto the roof.
You exhaled sharply, already reaching for the salt. "I swear, if we live through this, you owe me dinner."
He smirked. A minor detail, Teru somehow didn't register just how bad he was at cooking. "Fine. I'll even cook." That actually made you pause. You told him the deal was off, and moved on. Teru cleared his throat and spoke up to Nene and Kou. "Sorry I'm late. I was just going to get this." He picked up the jar from your hands.
"Sodium chloride... so, salt?" Kou asked. Teru didn't have much time to answer, as the zombies woke back up and Hanako was the first one to attack.
"Never mind, just run." Teru rushed all three of you towards... the edge of the rooftop?
As soon as you saw it approaching, you knew exactly what would happen. "Teru..." you mumbled. Then again, and again, each time getting progressively louder. "Teru, just what the hell are you planning to do?!"
"You and Kou are going to do nothing." He explained, handing you the jar. "Here, (Y/N)." You and Nene simultaneously screeched, now understanding you were going to jump into the pool from all the way up there. "If you're scared, you can close your eyes." He said, more nudging towards you. He must've figured by now you were somewhat afraid of heights. Teru hooked one arm around your waist, Kou was on his other side, and you held onto Nene with one arm. "Here we go!"
Teru leaned back and fell in the direction of the pool. "Why is it always jumping?!" You screamed as you felt the air resistance against your back. The wind howled in your ears, the sensation of free-fall making your stomach lurch violently. You screamed, gripping onto Teru like your life depended on it—which, technically, it did. Your free arm locked around his neck, fingers digging into the fabric of his uniform. "Teru, I swear to God, I hate you!" you shrieked, squeezing your eyes shut.
His snicker was infuriatingly calm. "Close your eyes, you look terrified." He instructed smoothly, as if that would somehow make you forget you were plummeting from a rooftop. "And give the salt to Yashiro-san."
"Are you insane?" you yelled, still clinging to him for dear life. "...fine." You tried to hold back another completely undignified yell as you felt the weightless drop stretch on for way too long. You slowly unwrapped your arm from around him and grabbed the jar, then passed it to Nene. "When Teru tells you to open this, open it!" As soon as you said that, you grabbed onto him once again and shut your eyes.
You were disconnected from the words that were spoken. You'd only opened your eyes when you felt the cold impact of slamming into the water and being submerged. That moment didn't last very long, you could've won a world record for how fast you scrammed out of that water, might've even teleported.
"Well, it looks like everybody finally settled down." Pointed out Nene, who also quickly crawled out of the water in hopes of not turning into a fish. "But... are they gonna be okay...?"
"Don't worry. They're wake up in a little bit." Teru answered her question. Kou on the other hand, was busy, trying to save his friends. Hanako had floated to the edge of the pool right next to where Teru was floating, you didn't see any reason why you should leave him there, so you pulled him out and put his hat on as it has fallen off during the fall and was floating around the the water. "Which is, only for some, a bit of a bother." Teru eyed the supernatural.
You didn't know why, but it was funny hearing him say that. "Oh, be quiet." You smiled, gently hitting his arm.
"it looks like the Mokke-chan are finally back to normal too. What a relief... but... why?" Nene questioned. She must've been confused, the salty juice didn't work when Kou had used it. However, it worked just fine for her.
"Salt water has a purifying effect, but it doesn't tend to work using the sort of crude methods we tried just now. And yet, everyone was purified anyway. It must've been... because of you." He told her. "Yashiro-san, you're something special."
You didn't understand why it bothered you when Teru said that to Nene. She was your friend, why was it uncomfortable hearing her get praised by somebody? You dismissed it as nerves that stayed from the fall. "Can we just leave early?" You tapped Teru's shoulder, dragging his attention away from Nene.
He ran a hand through his wet hair. "Yeah, I was actually hoping to do just that." Teru pushed himself up out of the water, then stood. "Alright Kou, we're doing home." He called out to his brother, who was still in the water.
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The walk to their house was quiet for the most part, save for the occasional sneeze from how cold you were from being drenched. The whole group had opted to leave early, with Nene heading straight home to dry off, while you followed Kou and Teru back to their place. Not just for the sake of getting out of your soaked clothes, but also because you still had ritual study to do regarding the Osaki curse. You didn't have clothes there either way
Kou, still looking a little dazed from everything, shook his head. "Man, today was crazy," he muttered, rubbing his temple. "I can't believe we actually had to jump off a rooftop into the pool."
"You're telling me," you scoffed, wringing water from your sleeves. "I've had my fill of jumping off high places for a lifetime, thanks."
That's when something clicked in your mind. You turned to Teru, your expression shifting as you suddenly remembered. "Oh, right—" Before he could react, you smacked him upside the head.
Teru blinked. "Ow," he deadpanned, barely even flinching. He turned his head to look at you, more confused than actually hurt. "What was that for?"
You huffed, hands on your hips. "Lot's of things, one being that you threw me off a building!... also, what are you doing carrying that?" You asked, pointing to a small basket with a relatively young fluffy mokke in it.
"What are we going to do about the mokke that started the whole thing? I know we caught him but..." asked Kou
"Oh, him?" The taller blond said, gesturing to the small thing. "He's been totally purified... so we're gonna keep him."
Both you and Kou simultaneously reacted. "Keep him?!"
"It was originally a stray our little princess found. But he was infected with kegare, so she asked me to purify him. It isn't safe to do stuff like that in the house, you know? So I thought I'd purify him at the school, and then bringing him back home." He explained. You could very clearly imagine Tiara brining him any cute beaten up animal and asking to keep it. Teru didn't seem to mind that it was a supernatural. He didn't do much about the Mokke, and since Tiara asked, he couldn't say no. "But he got away from me. Oops."
You mumbled the words 'I knew it' under your breath. "Teru-nii, you mean..." Kou paused. "You're the one who caused that big mess?" The quietness was an answer in itself. "No dessert for you tonight, Nii-chan." He stuck his nose up as he walked ahead. "(Y/N)-san, you can take his portion home." You giggled at his words.
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"The dirty rabbit is all clean now, huh!" A young girl stuck her face uncomfortably near the now purified Mokke. "You were all tattered up in front of our house, so I got Teru-oniichan to help clean you up. Do you remember?" The Mokke, instead of saying anything, shivered profusely. "Ah, well, it's fine anyway. I'll introduce myself."
Tiara stood up proudly. "I am the eldest daughter of the ancient and honorable Minamoto clan, Minamoto Tiara!" She held up four fingers, "five years old!" Fixing her miscalculation, now five fingers. "...five years old! So, starting today, you're gonna be Tiara's slave!" The girl bounced out of the room, dragging the Mokke by its ear.
"Tiara's gonna show you her family now!" She walked down the hallway with the poor shaken up supernatural. "Dad is working, and Mom's not around, so we'll start with the second son, Kou-oniichan." Tiara walked into the kitchen where her brother was busy, chopping up vegetables and making dinner. "Kou-oniichan."
"Hm? Oh, what is it? You want a lift?" He asked, Tiara nodded. "Sure, come over here!" Kou effortlessly lifted the young girl into the air, she giggled the entire time. Then, she showed him the Mokke Teru cleaned for her. "Huh? Ah, it's that guy that got corrupted earlier today and made a mess..." Kou paused for a moment, then hard glared at the poor thing before putting Tiara down. "keep a close watch on it so I won't do anything bad, okay? If anything comes up, tell onii-chan right away."
"Got it!" She threw her fist up, then turned around to walk away. "Kou-oniichan is a good guy, but he's harsh on the eyes and is too scared to ask (Y/N)-oneesan out, so he hasn't been able to get a girlfriend."
Kou deadpanned behind her, clearly not appreciating what Tiara was telling the little Mokke. "Don't go telling it weird things now..."
She skipped up the up the stairs to her big brothers room, where you were currently sitting at his desk, relaxing on your phone as he slept. Tiara slid the door open. "This is Teru-oniichan's room." She said before noticing you there, and once she did, a huge smile appeared on her face.
You waved at her quietly, then brought a finger to your lips to give her the message to be quiet. Clearly, she didn't listen. "(Y/N)-oniisan!" She hopped over to you, landing directly on your lap. Well, no use in being quiet now. You have her a big hug and small kisses all over her face, which she always seemed to love. "This is (Y/N)-oniisan, she's here a lot. She isn't my real big sister, yet!"
You snugged into her neck, tickling her and making her giggle. "What are you talking about? I am your big sister!" You teased, then noticed the Mokke. "Oh, it's you. How you feeling?" The Mokke gave no answer, it shook even as you pet it. Well, at least you treated it better than the other people it's met so far. "Pretty scared, huh? Just wait till you meet Teru, go introduce him, Tia. It's about time he woke up." You lifted up off you and onto the floor, then nudged her towards her sleeping brother on his bed.
She nodded and walked towards her brothers bed, not caring how terrified the Mokke would be upon meeting the guy that tried to stab it with a needle the previous night. "Teru-oniichan goes out at night to fight off bad guys, so he's taking a nap now." Tiara placed the Mokke right next to his head, probably the worst thing she could've done to it. "A handsome guy's sleeping face looks good too, huh? Tiara's gonna marry Teru-oniichan in the future." She admired him. The Mokke looked over at you from across the room, and you shrugged. It was funny, her wanting to marry her big brother.
Mumbling noises started to come from Teru, then his eyes opened and locked directly onto the Mokke. The poor thing was terrified, why did he wake up and immediately glare at it? As Tiara hugged Teru, it ran away, out of the room and out of the house. Seeing as Tiara was busy with her brother, you decided to go get it back before it got too far and she realized her new pet was gone. It barely made it a few steps out of the house before you whistled.
It stopped right in its tracks, thinking it was done for. Once it turned around it was at least a bit relieved to see it wasn't one of the treacherous siblings. Its relief was quickly washed away when from out of a bush, a cat suddenly pounced on it. "Oh my God! No, shoo shoo, get away!" You shoo'd the cat away, picking up the Mokke, who was now on the verge of tears from all the torture it's endured today. "Sorry about that, it's pretty dangerous out here. I was more worried about any evil spirits getting to you, but I guess the cat got here first." You cradled it, trying to soothe the never ending shivers it had. "Come on, I'll make sure they're nicer to you. Besides, Tiara still has to name you."
Whatever the Mokke's soon-to-be name was, it didn't care. It was too busy snuggling up to you. Well, you were the first person to treat it with any decency.
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