Work Text:
-1-
The first time she met him, she presented him with the same test she gave all of the boys. Well, that was a lie. She presented him with the test that she gave all of the boys who came in alone. Well… The voice on the other end of the line was a young girl. Given how scared the boy was and the girl seemed to be teasing him…
Ah, another case of a girl daring a poor soul to come into her clutches.
No matter, he still took it, and given how loud he was being, he was really starting to piss her off. When he set his flashlight on her, she decided to mess with him a bit. She needed to know what kind of boy she was dealing with.
So, she stated the same thing she always asked the boys of her tunnel.
“I’ll let you suckle my teats, boy, if you let me gobble your dong.”
He had blinked, had processed what she said, and immediately turned tail and ran.
That old itch in her was begging to be scratched as she wanted to chase him, but she wanted to know how far he would get. How far could she mess with him.
He continued to scream that she was just an ordinary old woman, perhaps lecherous, but oh, she would show him. No old woman was quite like her.
Still, it was a nice change of pace to not have some brat come to her tunnel with misaligned principles. She even made his weenie removal painless. It was more than the bastards who dragged her granddaughters here had gotten.
But when she felt her curse sink its claws into him… He didn’t have concern for only himself. They had both heard the girlie’s screams on the other end of the line before it went dead.
She knew from rooting around in his head that his friend, his near bully, if she were being honest, was in just as much danger as he was, if only just a slightly different kind. There was a fierce protectiveness to this one, there was. He wanted to save his friend.
There was an earnestness to him that she liked. It would be nice to be able to save at least one girl, this time.
The boy didn’t seem opposed.
She tapped on the phone in the same way she had seen so many, and knew that she was the most recent call. There would still be time to save this one. She had to save this one, this time.
-2-
She watched. She didn’t want to, but she always watched those she cursed. Some committed violence in a way that just taking away their usual weapon couldn’t fix, others languished more quietly, and there was the occasional oddball who sought out specifically for her calling card, but she always kept an eye on those she cursed.
She saw him.
He was gentle in ways that he could, but he still put a lot of pressure on his friend, the girl who had put him into that mess in the first place. Pressure to pull her own weight, but it could be construed as trust.
He trusted the girl to catch him when he failed and flailed. He trusted the girl to turn when he couldn’t dare stop in time. He trusted the girl to come up with the plans, and he didn’t hesitate to follow the girl’s directions as they were given.
The girl trusted him in the same way.
The girl trusted him to catch her, and he did every time. The girl trusted him to follow directions to the dot, and he did every time. The girl trusted him with so much, and he never failed her.
The girl had to fight constantly to keep the old yokai under control, had to pull to his push, had to keep a clear head where her current victim’s head was too foggy to think straight.
He always listened, and he caught her when he had the power to. She could feel him fighting her at every opportunity, fighting to keep a hold on her power. Oh, it made her blood boil. These insolent brats were giving her a challenge for the first time in forever and it was refreshing, but it was also time to end the fight.
Well, it would have been, but those damned kids didn’t seem to get the memo. She had to listen to the girl make one final plea to him.
“Trust me.”
There was a moment when he evaluated his friend, but he summoned the last bit of strength he had. She could feel it. He wasn’t long for this world, but oh, he wanted to keep her safe. Himself, yes, but that protective streak she had felt the night before was still burning bright. It burned brighter for her than it did himself, if she were honest.
Oh well, it wasn’t like they were going to make it.
-3-
These humans were going to be the death of her.
The girl, Momo, turned out to be just like her equally insane grandmother. The yokai remembered her. She had felt that energy outside of her tunnel so many years ago and she would have forgotten, had it not been for the tribute she had left outside of her home for the girls.
She still hated that old hag for what she did, but kindness to someone who is otherwise forgotten isn’t something she can overlook.
It was also nice to meet another grandmother just as crazy as she was.
But not when the old yokai was needing to dodge flying dishware over dinner as another fight broke out. The boy was ducking as well. He was flustered, but he didn’t seem all that surprised. His eyes widened when he saw her struggling and he reached a hand out. “C’mere! It’s less busy over here!”
The yokai felt sick taking help from him , but she could begrudgingly admit it was nice to have someone care for her. He half covered her with his upper half, but he froze when a ripping sound seemed to echo around the room. Momo had begun screaming about her shirt, but the fight didn’t end. If anything, it just got more heated.
Immediately, her eyes drifted to the boy, interested to know his reaction. Would he stare, like every other boy in the presence of a girl missing her shirt? Would he drool as he thought of things he could not take? Would he–
“Wait here, Granny,” He whispered before he stalked off. He kept his head low, and the yokai stared in confusion. What was his game? What was he planning?
Another flying bowl cut her thought in two and she needed to duck to keep her head intact. It took the two idiots running out of things to throw before the fighting finally stopped and they could all catch their breath.
A knock at the living room door broke the silence and the boy’s hands held out a shirt before he carefully put it down. He didn’t even show his face, he couldn’t see, but he still waited out in the hall, “S-Sorry, Miss Ayase, I just grabbed a random shirt off of your bed. I hope you can forgive me for going into your room!”
The girl scoffed and got up to grab the shirt, “Nah, it’s no big thing, you’ve been in there before. Thanks.” She slipped if over her head and smiled, “You can come back in.”
The boy smiled as he finally showed himself again. He scratched the back of his head, “I-It’s not a big deal. Do you need help cleaning up?” The ghost would have been surprised that he hadn’t scratched a bald spot into his head by now.
As if by thinking about him, the boy turned to her and he jolted, “Granny! Are you okay!”
“It’ll take more than a few dishes thrown by lousy bitches to take me down, I’m not that weak!” She snapped back, but he still smiled at her. “What are you smiling about? Quit patronizing me, you damned brat!”
“I’m glad you’re alright,” He said carefully before he set himself to getting the larger pieces of dishware.
She scoffed, “You don’t need to pretend like you care for me, brat. Back off.”
“Lay off him, you old bag. He’s trying to be nice!” Momo defended as she came up beside him. She propped her arm onto his shoulder, “Nicer than you deserve, honestly.”
“Oh can it, shit-heel. I didn’t ask for kindness!”
“Maybe he just wants to be nice!”
“Maybe I don’t want it!”
“Maybe you’d be less of an old bag if you just accepted it!”
“Maybe you can shove it up your ass!”
“I’ll–” Momo growled as she caught on her next insult.
The boy struggled for a moment, “Miss Ayase, do you know where I can throw these out?”
Momo scoffed, “Yeah, let me be nice and show you.” She stuck her tongue out to the old yokai, but the boy only nodded politely to the two old women.
What was his name again? She might need to start bothering to remember.
-4-
Ken.
His name was Ken.
And he made phenomenal sandwiches.
The boy didn’t even ask if she had wanted one. He just pulled it out of his bag and passed it over with a smile.
Ken, huh?
-5-
He truly was just that good.
It was a couple of kids, this time, that really caught their attention. They were picking on this one young boy, pushing him around. Normally, Momo would have stepped in by now, but she was staying after school with the side pieces she called friends. At least one of these idiots had friends outside of each other. It was almost enough that the yokai felt bad when Ken called her Granny, like she was some part of some kind member of a family that she didn’t know about.
She was broke out of her thoughts as Ken rushed the group, something in his bravado betraying that he was doing his best to channel his angry friend. She would be proud.
“Hey! Leave him alone! He’s not doing anything to you!” He demanded, his voice full of anxiety. Anyone older than these kids would have picked up on that and turned their bullying on him instead.
“It’s an adult! Scatter!” The three kids yelled, leaving behind their victim on the ground. He was sniffling and trying to rub his eyes, but it only smeared blood from scraped palms all over his face.
Ken settled down in front of the boy, “Hey there. I’m Ken. Do you need some help?” He skipped the ‘are you okay’ question because the kidobviously wasn’t okay. “I have a first aid kit in my bag, can I see your hands?”
The boy nodded as he continued to cry and held out his hands, “T-They said they wanted to see my new toy. They ripped his arms off instead…” He pointed to a small action figure on the ground and Ken could only smile.
“Is that a limited edition Ultraman Ultra Force Go figure? I haven’t seen one in years,” He said. The boy looked up in shock and he smiled, “So what’s your name?”
He blushed as he held out his hands, “I’m Kento…”
“Hey, that’s just like my name!” Ken grinned. He put his bag down and opened it more. He faltered slightly when he saw Turbo Granny there, but she glowered for a moment before she settled as much to the side as she could. With a quiet word of thanks, he grabbed the first aid kit and set the bag off to the side. “Alright, let’s see if we can’t fix you and Ultraman up, alright?” He put the kit down in front of him, and got to work.
The old woman had to hand it to the kid, for as awkward as he was, he was good at talking when he wanted to be. The little boy was engrossed with whatever he was saying, completely distracted from the sting of his hands as Ken rubbed antibiotics over the cuts and wrapped his hands. The little boy did hover annoyingly over the bearer of her power, but that couldn’t have been helped as Ken fixed the toy.
“You see that little switch?” Ken pointed out. “Flip that, and his arms change out for his blaster arms anyway. It’ll be a little weaker, but he’s still in pretty good condition.”
The little boy had been ecstatic, babbling incessantly, but… he was still a small child, only a little older than a tot. She couldn’t believe they let kids away from home this early, but… she could just be getting old.
Ken continued to talk with him and passed him some of their important post-battle supplies. “It’ll be good to carry some stuff on you. I… I hope you’re not bullied, but it’s still nice to have some stuff, y’know?”
The kid nodded safely and carefully tucked the extra bandaids into his bag, “Yes, Sir.”
“Do you want me to walk you home? Where’s your walking group?” He asked carefully. Looking around, the yokai didn’t see them either.
She frowned. She would be paying some brats and their families a lesson when she had her powers back. The world needed less irresponsible fuckheads in it.
“If you can?” The little boy asked, holding his free hand up. “Mama says not to talk to strangers, but you’re nice.”
“Not everyone who’s nice is a good person,” Ken said gently, but took his hand all the same. “Now, let’s get you home.” He didn’t press the issue of the walking group.
Granny had to hand it to him as he successfully brought the child back.
He genuinely was just that good of a person.
-+1-
It was one of the fourteen days of the year that she hated the most. Her old bones screamed at her of the date, and if she was angrier that day because of it, Ken didn’t say anything. It was a school day anyway, so he didn’t say anything past a quiet “Be careful” as he let her out of his bag.
It was the only sign so far that he understood that she was in a foul mood.
He didn’t talk much when the day ended and he put her back in, but the first sign that something was different was when he said goodbye to Momo. They never went anywhere without each other, and the yokai wasn’t the only one who noticed.
Momo gave him an odd look, “Are you sure? I can come with you if you want? Are you being threatened?”
Ken only hunched in on himself with a happy smile, “No, I’m fine, and no one’s threatening me. Thanks for worrying about me.”
She frowned more, but eventually shrugged, “Alright, just text me when you get home so I know I don’t need to hunt you down.”
“Thank you, Miss Ayase,” He said and they headed their separate ways.
She wasn’t in the mood to deal with any kind of games, so she weighed her options with asking the kid where he was taking them and just letting him go. She eventually went with the second option. This kid wasn’t a threat-
She paused as she realized where that thought had come from.
She trusted the kid. He was a good kid. A deeper part of her knew that he wouldn’t do anything stupid or put her at risk.
When did that happen?
Barely noticing they stopped at a kiosk and somewhere else that made her nose itch, she only sat patiently in his bag as he boarded the train.
“Are you alright in there, Granny?” He asked, unzipping his backpack at little and holding it close.
She glared up at him in defiance, “I’m not some weak old lady, brat. You couldn't have dropped me off with that tacky shitbag?”
Despite her anger, he smiled, “Sorry, I couldn’t. If you want to relax, we shouldn’t be too far out.” She grumbled and settled in deeper.
The train ride was quiet as it could be, and she must have drifted off somehow because she awoke to the sounds of a forest. Crinkling leaves, bugs, that one damned bird who had the sore throat...
Granny sat up in the bag.
She knew that damned bird. It always broke the peace.
“Hey, why are we back here?” She demanded as she forced the zipper further open. It was the path to her tunnel, one she hadn’t expected to see again so soon.
He only offered a sad smile, “W-Well, after what happened, I did some research about the girls and I saw that you were upset today, and when I checked… it was the most recent girl’s death date…” He turned back forward and showed the white lilies and the can of black tea in his hands. “I know you cared for them, so…” He trailed off or she couldn’t make out what he said, but the effect was the same.
He was doing this for her. He noticed that she was upset. Turbo Granny, the yokai who ruined his life.
She went slack against his back, thinking about everything she had seen. Something about this shouldn’t have surprised her, and a part of her wasn’t. A part of her not yet truly tainted by complete apathy and hopelessness. Maybe, there was hope in this world.
She sat before the shrine, staring at the black tea can and the fresh lilies that she wouldn’t have been able to get, but Ken had let her be the one to put them down. He had said prayers, both his own and ones she couldn’t dare utter, but she remembered instead.
She remembered all of her granddaughters as they were brought into the tunnel, either willingly at first, or dragged in as time went on. She tried to do what she could, but sometimes, she couldn’t. Instead, she would guard this unholy place from idiots strolling into it and desecrating what should be left alone.
Ken was quiet as he finished his prayers, and she hummed. “You know, I’ve seen a lot of behaviors from a lot of people. I’ve seen scared men and brave women, wise children and stupid elders. Some learn their lessons and others don’t, but one of the hardest lessons to teach is respect. I’d say you learned that lesson well. You don’t go into areas without respecting them first anymore.”
“Well, I learned from one very scary old lady,” He mused, not unkindly. He knew she took pride in being a powerful old bat, not that she’d ever call herself that.
She scoffed, “You know, for all that you call me Granny…” She sighed as her age finally seemed to resettle into her shoulders. She had seen a lot over the years, but not all walked out with grace. Perhaps. Just this once, she could grant some herself. “I’ve had more than a few granddaughters. Perhaps it’s time I had a grandson.”
His breath caught and she couldn’t tell if he thought it was a threat or the kindness she was offering. She had gone through his phone, knew about his parents, or the lack of action on their part.
Granny turned to him, “How did you know to bring me back here? Most wouldn’t have thought I cared.”
He grabbed the different subject like a lifeline and his shoulders relaxed. A familiar, oh so painfully familiar, glint entered his eye as he looked to the shrine again. “You know, despite being a yokai for this long… you still have a human heart.”
She couldn’t help it, she laughed. “Maybe, probably underneath these sagging tits.”
For all that he was awkward, he took the jab in stride and allowed himself a smile.
“Let me know when you’re ready to go, Granny. I’m not in any rush.”
“Shut it, you damned brat, and let me sit here for a while.”