⇲ 𝐊𝐀𝐌𝐈𝐆𝐎𝐄 𝐂𝐈𝐓𝐘,
𝐊𝐀𝐌𝐈 𝐇𝐈𝐆𝐇    〉 𝐉𝐀𝐏𝐀𝐍 !
XXXX.      ✿      CIRCA JUNE 2012.
𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐲𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐁𝐋𝐈𝐍𝐃
SZA.
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

"You got the goods! Thanks, Odette!" Miko exclaimed, her hands eagerly snatching one of the juice boxes as Odette dropped the rest of the drinks and snacks onto the table.

"Yeah, yeah," Odette chuckled lightly. "I don't know why they didn't have a strawberry Fanta flavor. They seriously need to restock." Her tone was playful, but there was still an edge of distraction to her voice.

"You okay, Dot? You took a while to get back." Momo's voice was quieter than usual, her eyes narrowing slightly as she studied Odette's face.

"Yeah, just had a hiccup on the way back." Odette offered a small smile, digging into her tote bag and pulling out a pack of Oreos. She handed them to Momo as a peace offering.

"Here, take these before I eat them all."

Momo accepted the cookies, but her frown lingered. She could tell something was wrong. Odette's smile didn't quite reach her eyes, and Momo could see the faint tension in her shoulders.

She saw something, Momo thought to herself, but she didn't press. Instead, she watched as Odette busied herself with snacks and drinks, trying to reset the mood.

Class dragged on painfully slow. Odette tapped her pen absentmindedly against the edge of her notebook, her mind still preoccupied with the earlier incident.

'Why do I feel so... off?'

"Yo, Dot, you listening?" Muko whispered, nudging her lightly with an elbow. "They're talking about the mantis shrimp. You'd think Momo was possessed by one or something."

"Mantis shrimp?" Odette blinked, barely registering the joke as Muko and Miko dissolved into laughter.

"Yeah, yeah, you know—the little guys with the punching power of a bullet train? That's Momo when she's mad."

"I heard that!" Momo shot a glare at them, though it was half-hearted at best.

Odette managed a faint smile, but her mind wandered again, her thoughts flickering back to Okarun's face in the hallway, the panic in his voice as he tried to explain himself.

Suddenly, a soft plink broke through her thoughts.

A single drop of water.

Odette frowned, her gaze flicking to the floor where a small puddle was beginning to form.

"Did someone spill something?" Momo muttered, her own confusion matching Odette's.

Plink. Plink.

Another droplet. Then another.

Both girls looked up, and their eyes widened. The ceiling above them shimmered unnaturally, as though water were seeping straight through it.

"What the—"

Before either could react, Odette blinked—and the classroom was empty.

The hum of chatter was gone. The teacher had vanished. The desks and chairs were still there, but the floor was now flooded with ankle-deep water, rippling softly as if something unseen had disturbed it.

Odette froze, her voice low but sharp. "What the fuck is going on?"

Momo's eyes darted around the room, her fists clenching instinctively. "What the hell is this? Where did everyone go?!"

The two girls glanced toward the windows, but a wave of dread settled over them. The glass was dark, opaque, as if something had painted over the outside world. No light. No escape.

Momo tugged at one of the windows, gritting her teeth as it refused to budge. "It won't open!"

Odette's shoes squelched uncomfortably as she shifted her weight. Her white scrunched socks were already soaking wet, and the icy chill of the water crawled up her calves.

"Momo..." Her voice wavered slightly, but she forced herself to stay calm. "You think Okarun's stuck in this too?"

Momo paused, her face serious. "If we're trapped, he probably is too."

The water rippled again.

Odette's heart leapt into her throat, her mind racing. She tightened her grip on the edge of a nearby desk, eyes darting across the flooded room.

Where are we?

"Stay close to me," Momo said, her voice low and resolute. "We'll figure this out."

But Odette's mind wasn't just on herself anymore. It wasn't even just on Momo.

Okarun... Please be okay.

The world felt distorted, the once-familiar halls of the school now submerged in ankle-deep water. Okarun stumbled forward, his shoes sloshing uncomfortably with every step.

His classroom, once bustling with chatter and the rustle of papers, stood eerily silent. Desks floated aimlessly, and the walls seemed to shimmer as if they were alive. He scanned the room, his heart pounding in his chest.

"Where is everyone?" he muttered to himself. His voice echoed in the empty space, making the hairs on the back of his neck stand up. He rushed into the hallways, hoping to find someone—anyone—but the eerie silence continued to grip the school. Outside the windows, there was nothing but pitch black, as though the world had been swallowed by darkness.

As he turned a corner, he nearly collided with Aira, who seemed just as bewildered as he was. "Miss Shiratori?" he asked, his voice tinged with relief and confusion. "What's going on here? Where is everyone else?"

Aira crossed her arms, her expression serious. "Clearly, this has something to do with Momo Ayase," she said, her tone accusatory. "She's always at the center of these bizarre occurrences."

Okarun shook his head, dismissing the idea. "No, this is something else. I've been through something similar before, and it wasn't Momo's doing. There's something—or someone—here causing this."

The duo pressed on, moving cautiously through the submerged halls. Okarun's thoughts flickered to Momo and Odette. He had to find them. They had to be safe.

Meanwhile, in another part of the school, Momo and Odette found themselves in a similar situation. The classroom they were in was destroyed, water pooling at their feet.

The windows offered no escape, the view outside replaced by the same impenetrable darkness. Momo clenched her fists, her mind racing. "What the hell is going on here?" she muttered, her frustration evident.

Odette, on the other hand, was unusually quiet, her thoughts consumed by worry for Okarun. "Do you think Kenny's okay?" she asked softly, her voice barely above a whisper.

Momo glanced at her friend, noticing the unease in her eyes. "Okarun can handle himself," she said firmly, though she wasn't entirely sure. "Right now, we need to focus on figuring out what's going on here."

A low rumbling sound interrupted their conversation, and both girls froze. In the distance, a shadowy figure emerged from the water. Its elongated body resembled a twisted mix of a lizard and a dragon, its scales glinting faintly in the dim light. Odette's breath hitched as the creature's glowing eyes locked onto them.

"Hide!" Momo hissed, grabbing Odette's arm and pulling her behind a crumbling wall. They pressed themselves against it, trying to remain as still as possible. But the water betrayed them, rippling from their movements. The creature snarled, its massive jaws parting as it unleashed a powerful blast that obliterated the classroom.

The girls narrowly avoided the attack, diving out of the way just in time. Odette's heart pounded in her chest as she scrambled to her feet. "We can't stay here," she said, her voice shaking. "We have to find Okarun."

Momo nodded, her resolve hardening. "Agreed. Let's move."

The deafening sound of destruction startled Okarun and Aira as they stood in the flooded hallway. The crash echoed through the eerie emptiness, sending ripples across the water-covered floors.

Okarun's eyes narrowed, and his fists clenched at the familiar sensation creeping through his chest. It reminded him too much of the Flatwoods Monster—when he, Odette, and Momo faced the alien entity at Ayase's house. The memory sent a cold shiver down his spine.

"This feels just like that night..." Okarun muttered, his voice strained.

Aira crossed her arms and tilted her head. "What night? Don't tell me this is another one of your demon-fueled battles."

Okarun turned sharply to her, his expression serious. "This isn't the time for your demon theories, Miss Shiratori. If it's anything like before, we're dealing with another alien. The only way out is to defeat it." His voice grew firmer as the adrenaline kicked in. "No one's going to save us unless we save ourselves."

Before Aira could respond, the hallway's atmosphere shifted. The fluorescent lights above flickered and dimmed, casting everything in an unnatural golden hue. A heavy silence descended, broken only by the faint sound of water dripping. Okarun's heart pounded as a shadow appeared at the far end of the corridor.

"Chiquitita, you have a dream? Chi-Chiquitita, Chi-Chiquitita-chi," the figure chanted, its voice robotic and chillingly melodic.

Okarun's blood ran cold as the creature emerged from the shadows—a towering alien with a crab-like head, its pincers gleaming in the dim light. Its segmented body moved with an eerie grace, and its glowing eyes locked onto them.

Aira took a step back, her usual confidence faltering. "What the hell is that?" she whispered.

Okarun didn't wait to find out. In one swift motion, he transformed into his Turbo Granny form. His body pulsed with energy as he grabbed Aira and pulled her out of the creature's path. "Get out of here!" he yelled, his voice gruff and commanding. "I'll handle this!"

But the alien was faster than he anticipated. It lunged forward, its pincers snapping dangerously close. Okarun barely managed to dodge, the water splashing around him as he moved. The alien's chanting grew louder, its pincers glowing with a strange, otherworldly energy.

"This is so boring," Okarun muttered, though his movements betrayed the tension in his muscles. He needed to stay focused.

The alien suddenly raised one massive claw, unleashing a wave of psychokinetic energy. The force sent Okarun crashing into the wall, his Turbo Granny form flickering and then fading as he reverted to his normal self. He groaned, pushing himself up with shaky arms.

"Damn it," he cursed under his breath.

As he staggered to his feet, the golden light grew brighter, and two humanoid figures emerged behind the crab-headed alien. Their silvery skin shimmered like liquid metal, and their elongated limbs gave them an unsettling appearance. Their blank eyes bore into Okarun, sending a wave of unease through him.

"Who the hell are you?" Okarun demanded, though his voice wavered slightly.

The figures didn't answer immediately. Instead, one of them tilted its head and spoke in a voice that was both mechanical and eerily soft. "We are the Serpos. We seek what is yours."

Okarun's brow furrowed. "What do you mean, 'what is mine'?"

The second Serpo stepped forward, its gaze never leaving Okarun. "Your reproductive organs. They house the supernatural power you last demonstrated to us."

Okarun's jaw dropped. "What the—why is everything after my junk?!" His exasperation was evident, though his face turned red with embarrassment.

The Serpos didn't seem to care for his reaction. With a flick of its wrist, Okarun was lifted into the air by an invisible force. His clothes shredded away, leaving him completely exposed.

Aira, who had been watching the scene unfold, gasped. "Takakura!" she yelled, but the Serpos raised a hand, deflecting her attempts to intervene.

The crab-headed alien scuttled forward, holding a pair of giant, glinting scissors. It clicked its pincers menacingly, its chanting taking on a darker tone. "Extract. Extract. Extract."

Panic set in as Okarun struggled against the unseen force holding him in place. "You've got the wrong idea! The power you saw wasn't even mine—it's cursed!"

"Regardless," one of the Serpos replied, "we require it."

As the scissors moved closer, Aira's body began to glow. Her hair grew longer, twisting and writhing like living tendrils.

Her eyes burned with determination as she stepped forward. "You will not lay a hand on him!" she declared, her voice echoing with a power she had never felt before.

Her transformation was swift and fierce. Her body took on the form of Acrobatic Silky, her hair lashing out like whips and striking the Serpos with enough force to knock them back. She turned her gaze to Okarun, who was still suspended in the air. "Takakura, are you alright?"

Okarun, now free from the Serpos' grasp, quickly grabbed a nearby piece of cloth to cover himself. "I—uh—yeah, I'm fine!" he stammered, his face flushed. "But what about you? How do you have these powers?"

Aira smirked, her confidence returning. "Let's just say I'm the chosen one," she said, her tone teasing. But her expression hardened as she turned back to the Serpos. "Release him, or you'll regret it."

The Serpos tilted their heads in unison, their blank eyes studying her. "You possess power as well," one of them said. "Interesting. That explains your ability to enter our void space. We will take your reproductive organs as well."

Aira's eyes narrowed. "Over my dead body!"

She charged at the Serpos, her hair whipping through the air like blades. The crab-headed alien tried to block her attacks, but her movements were too swift and unpredictable. The Serpos retaliated with a wave of psychokinesis, sending both Aira and the crab-headed alien flying.

His eyes widened as he took in the destruction and the sight of Aira standing her ground against their enemies.

"Don't include me in your attack!" the crab-headed alien whined, scuttling away from the Serpos. "You're a cheap hire! There are countless replacements for you."

Okarun couldn't help but smirk at the alien's complaints. "Looks like you're not as tough as you were pretending to be," he muttered, readying himself to jump back into the fight.

———

AUTHOR'S NOTE:
Hi!! I haven't done one of these in a long time.
How's everyone liking the story so far?
Feel free to Vote, Comment and Add to your Reading Lists!
Doing Okarun's POV without Dot can be so hard sometimes 😭