Interlude: Momoi

Snow.

Everywhere she went—snow.

Suddenly, there's weight on her head.

She looks up only to see dead, beady eyes staring back at her.

"Hey, Satsuki, look! A frozen frog!"

Earlier thoughts forgotten, she starts crying and sends a blast of snow flying into her friend's face.

She still hasn't fully mastered her powers when their master disappears. Their energy disappears one day and search as they did, their master was nowhere to be found. With no experience or power to defend themselves, they shied away from other youkai lest they turn out dangerous. And as the seasons passed, it dawns on the two of them that they're truly alone.

Sitting around idly after a short, impromptu training session, Aomine suddenly says, "Hey, Satsuki, tell me your real name."

Frowning, Momoi huffs. "Why would I want to do that?"

Aomine shrugs. "Just tell me. I'll protect you."

"Like I need you to protect me, Dai-chan. You're not even that strong despite all your arms," she teases. "Maybe you should tell me your real name instead."

He stomps his foot and complains, "Don't look down on me! I'll get stronger, you'll see!"

She doesn't doubt that. "Why do you even want my real name? I don't want to be bossed around by you."

"No, I wasn't gonna order you to do stuff or anything. I just figured we should stick together, and this way, I don't have to stop calling you Satsuki," Aomine mutters sulkily.

"Do I still get to call you Dai-chan, then?"

Aomine nods. "That was the idea."

"And you won't disappear like Master did?"

"I won't. I swear it," he says, his youthful face solemn.

Warmed by the thought and the sincerity of the promise, Momoi agrees.

They never grow particularly dependant on one another. Throughout the year, Aomine travelled and grew stronger with each passing experience while she remained close to the mountain, unable stray too far for too long in fear of the summer heat.

Winter was just starting to melt away when she decided to journey down to see how the villages fared. Aomine would've been with her, but he had to go off to meet with some big youkai in the north. The last she saw, they were huddled in their houses, stoking their fires, and sleeping for most of the day with some never opening their eyes again the next day.

She's walking around the outskirts of a nearby village when she hears a rustling in the bushes and a soft, "Excuse me."

Freezing on the spot, Momoi turns around to see a little girl standing there. Suddenly confused, she takes a look around, expecting to see another human. As curious as she is about these creatures, they're not supposed to be able to see her.

"I'm talking to you," the girls says. "There's no one else around."

"You can see me?" Momoi asks.

The girl laughs. "Of course I can, how else could I be talking to you?" Then her eyes widen in realization. "Oh, if I'm not supposed to be able to see you, then that makes you a youkai, doesn't it? You don't look like a youkai, not like the other ones around here. Mother said I wasn't supposed to talk to them anymore."

"Anymore? Do you normally go around talking to youkai?"

"It's not like I have anyone else to talk to," the girl tells her. "Father was the only one who understood. He used to be the village priest but he's gone now, and the kids never want to talk to me because I can see things they can't. They say it's not normal."

Momoi frowns softly. "Somehow, that sounds very human of them."

The girl blinks. "Does it? I guess you would know. Say, how old are you? You don't look that much older than me. Do youkai age differently? I'm 11 years old."

"Only? Really? I'm far older than you then," Momoi says. "I can't even remember being only 11 years old. I didn't realize humans grew so fast. That's probably why your lives are so much shorter than our, I guess. Wait, I thought you weren't supposed to talk to youkai?"

With a shrug the girl says, "Only the bad ones, and you don't seem bad. My name is Miki, what about you?"

"Momoi," she returns, "but my friend calls me Satsuki."

"So even youkai have friends," Miki says in wonder. "I guess it's just me then."

She tries to imagine a world without Aomine—even if he did go around putting frozen frogs on her head every now and then. Heart reaching out in sympathy, Momoi blurts, "I wouldn't mind being friends with you. You…you could teach me about humans! I've never met a human before and you seem decent enough. You have to promise not to tell anyone about me, though."

Miki's eyes brighten, her childish features giving away to a ready smile. "Really? I promise! You can teach me about youkai!"

"I don't know how much I can tell you, there are so many different kinds and I haven't met too many of them up on the mountain," Momoi admits. It's not that she didn't want to, it was simply that mountain peaks weren't home to all that many—though some simply didn't deign to extend a greeting. "My friend, Dai-chan, has got six arms and blue skin though…"

And so Momoi spent the rest of spring out on the outskirts of the village, only retreating back to the peaks when summer and the inevitable heat came.

Reaching the snowy peaks, frozen all year round, she finds Aomine napping and waiting for her. It's not that she's surprised by his presence, it's just that her brain hasn't quite gotten used to the idea of being able to see one friend after another when she has only ever had one. "Dai-chan? What are you doing here?"

Eyes opening sleepily, Aomine furrows his brows and looks over at her. "Oh, there you are, Satsuki. Where've you been? It's not like you to stay out so late in the season. What if there was a heat wave?" There's an underlying tinge of concern in his voice despite the nonchalant expression on his face.

"I was careful," she reassures him. "It's just that I made a friend…with a human child. In fact, I promised I'd go back to play with her again when autumn comes." She watches her friend, waiting for a reaction. In the back of her mind, a voice, full of new knowledge, points out that Aomine looks no older than 14 in human years.

Aomine frowns and rubs the back of his neck, confused and sheepish. "A human? Why would you want to go play with them? They're all weak. Besides, they shouldn't be able to see us in the first place."

Eager to share more about her new friend, she says, "Micchan is different. She's the only who can see us in the village, I think. I even tried walking around for a bit, but no one looked at me at all. Her dad was a priest—"

"Aren't priests the ones that exorcise youkai?" Aomine cuts in.

"Yes, but Micchan's not one and her dad's dead and we're friends, Dai-chan," Momoi insists.

Looking away, Aomine mutters, "I still don't think humans should be able to see youkai."

While she understood and appreciated his concern, that doesn't mean she has to like what he's saying. "You can come with me to meet her in autumn if you'd like. I'll show you how nice she is. I told her all about you anyway. She said she'd never seen anything with six arms before except insects."

"Shut up," Aomine huffs self-consciously, crossing his arms in an attempt to make them stand out less. Their master had left them before their lessons were complete, and Aomine's been trying to figure out how to change his appearance as of late but to no avail. "I met a couple of youkai up in the north; they're strong and they said we could go join them. We could go in the winter. It'll be safer with them and you'll have more company."

Momoi hesitates, not fond of the idea of leaving her new friend. "I'll have to think about it."

She goes back to the village in the fall. Alone. Though Aomine promised to pay her a visit before the season was up to meet Miki, his reluctance was obvious. And that was fine, because upon spotting her at their appointed rendezvous point, Miki's face lit up. "You really came back, Sacchan!"

"Youkai always keep their promises," Momoi tells her.

"But you also told me that youkai sometimes lie," the girl points out. Then she quickly adds, "I didn't think you were lying or anything though! I'm just happy that you're back! We'll have to stay out of the village though. A couple of travelling priests came by and they're staying for a while, I think."

Momoi tenses, suddenly wary of her proximity to the village. "Priests?"

Miki nods. "I don't like them, but we're not allowed to turn them away. It'd be bad for the village. We'll just have to play further away from the village. You could pass for a human anyway."

The girl wasn't wrong. On the outside, she could easily pass for a human, but with her powers unchecked, it'd be easy for a trained priest to detect her. And when Aomine comes to visit as promised, whenever that may be, there'd be no chance of them hiding his identity from anyone who could see into their world. Fear gripping her, she takes a step back. "Micchan, I don't think I should come back until they're gone."

"Are you afraid of them?" Miki asks seriously. When Momoi nods in response, she suggests, "Maybe I could go over to the mountain pass to meet you? It's pretty far away and the priests only ever stay inside the village it seems."

Not wanting to pass up the opportunity to spend time with her friend, Momoi agrees.

The meetings at the mountain pass went well until about half way through the season. They were playing as usual, climbing trees and collecting acorns off the ground in hopes of finding a tanuki to trade with, when they heard a noise from afar. Curious, the two of them snuck over and hid behind a bush to spy on the group of men that had set up camp.

"I think they're mountain bandits," Miki whispers to her, chewing on her lower lip in worry. "They don't normally come so close to the village. I shouldn't be here. I have to go tell mother and the chief about them before they cause any trouble."

Momoi nods. "Alright."

But as the girl tries to take a step back, her foot slips and she tumbles backwards, the noise alerting the bandits of her presence.

"Who's there?" one man yells out.

Watching the men approach, Momoi looks back at her friend, who sat on the ground, frozen with fear, and stands up. Determined to defend the girl, she raises a hand and concentrates all her energy to the palm of her hand, suddenly wishing that their master had taught her more before leaving. When she opens her eyes again, she nearly falls back in shock at the sight of the bandits, ready to attack but frozen solid.

A tired smile graces her lips.

She did it.

She defended her friend.

But when she looks back at Miki, she finds the other watching her with fear in her eyes. "Micchan? Are you alright? Look, they can't hurt you anymore."

Momoi reaches out, but the girl scrambles back, shaking. "You killed them, you monster!" She gets up and takes another step back. "I..I need to go tell someone. The chief will know what to do!"

"Wait, you can't tell them about me," Momoi calls out, chasing after the girl. "You promised!"

"Stay away!" With a backwards glance, the girl veers sharply to the right and continues running until she suddenly disappears.

Following, Momoi slows down and looks around the area, wondering where the human had gone. "Micchan?" she calls out.

Then she spots the girl.

Aomine comes out the find her when a sudden blizzard hits the mountains. He finds her sitting at the bottom of a cliff next to the frozen body of a little girl and crying. "Oi, Satsuki, are you the one making it snow? What happened? Are you alright?"

She turns to him, her tears turning to ice as they roll down her face. "Dai-chan, why did she run from me? I was just trying to protect her from the bandits! She said she was going to tell even though she promised me…why did she run?"

He clenches his fist and grits his teeth. "See? This is why humans shouldn't be able to see youkai!" he roars, the ground shaking beneath his feet at his fury.

"But she was my friend," Momoi cries. "Why would she break her promise, Dai-chan? I don't understand. What did I do wrong?"

Softening, he sighs and sits down in the snow, letting her hug him. "You didn't do anything wrong. It's because they're weak and easily scared," he says evenly, keeping his voice calm despite the rage flowing through his veins. "We're youkai. We're too different from them. Nothing good comes from associating with humans, Satsuki."

When the snow finally stops along with Momoi's tears, she mutters quietly, worn out and heartbroken, "I don't want to be here anymore, Dai-chan. Let's leave."

Aomine helps her up and nods. "We'll go north and join the others. No human will ever hurt you again, I swear it."

"But she was my friend…"

"I just want to live…"

Nothing good ever came from being associated with humans.

He could still remember the tears in their eyes as they looked up at him and asked, "Why?"

"Why did she run?"

"Why did he leave?"

He had been so desperate to protect them, but somewhere along the line, everything went horribly wrong. Fist unclenching, he exhales and opens his eyes from his nap. Looking around, Aomine frowns when he finds the shrine empty save for the usual tengu doing their daily chores. The scene around him is so normal a part of him wonders if he'd dreamt everything up about Kise and Kuroko—and the onmyouji. He gets up and stretches when suddenly, he feels a flare of power in the distance.

Kise's and a human's.

Tensing up, he takes off towards the forest with his weapon out only to find the inugami prancing around in the air with a sword in his hand and laughing. Beneath him, the human is running after him complaining while Momoi and Midorima stand to the side and watch.

"You'll have to do better than that if you want to win against me, Kagamicchi!" Kise taunts, his tail wagging idly.

"Hey, that's cheating, Kise! If you get to fly, then I get to use magic," the onmyouji declares, taking out his talismans.

Arching a brow, Kise smirks. "Magic? If you use magic then I'll just do this!" He shifts into his dog form and begins barking at the man and running towards him. Kagami immediately jumps back with a yelp and scampers off to get away from the dog.

"They look like they're having fun, don't they?" a voice suddenly from next to him.

Aomine jumps back in surprise, weapon gripped tightly in his hand. "Tetsu, don't sneak up on me like that! I could've killed you!"

He may have been used to it at one point, but that was a long time ago.

"How rude, I was standing here all this time," Kuroko says.

Scoffing, he sheaths his blade and points out, "Liar. If you were over here, Satsuki wouldn't be standing all the way over there with Midorima."

Kuroko looks up at him and blinks slowly. "Aomine-kun, it seems like you've gotten surprisingly smarter since the last time we met."

"Hey," he snaps. "Who's the rude one now?"

Returning his gaze to the spar where Kise's gone and chased Kagami up a tree, the enenra tells him, "When you ran over here, you looked very worried about something. Could it be that you thought Kagami-kun was hurting Kise-kun?"

Aomine watches the dog circle around the tree a few times, his tail wagging happily at the game. The onmyouji's sitting on a branch and setting up a barrier around himself. To the side, Momoi's laughing while Midorima shakes his head in disapproval. Suddenly, the tengu that came with Midorima, Takao, swoops in and lifts the dog up to Kagami's level.

Caught off guard by the unexpected arrival of the tengu, Kagami nearly falls back off the branch, but manages to keep himself steady by hugging the trunk of the tree.

"If anything, it looks like the human's the one who's gonna get hurt. Why did he think he could win against a youkai in a sparring match?" Aomine mutters.

Kuroko spares him a glance and replies lightly, "Humans may be weaker than us, but you shouldn't underestimate them, Aomine-kun."

"I know. I know that better than most, I think." He lets out a sigh and asks, "Where did I go wrong, Tetsu?" All he had wanted to do was keep those around him safe. But instead, he found himself shrouded in darkness and unable to stop himself from attacking those he wanted safe. "How did I get to the point where I needed help from a human? Was I not strong enough?"

"You are strong, Aomine-kun. There's no doubt about that. But maybe that was the problem."

He arches a brow. "What do you mean?"

Instead of answering, Kuroko says, "It's difficult watching someone you care for get hurt, isn't it? For those who've faced something terrible, they're required to muster the courage to overcome it and to face the future and move on. But for those who had to witness them face such an ordeal, how do you get over it? I don't think you ever get over the feeling of wanting to keep them safe from the world, but I think you let that feeling take over, Aomine-kun.

"I heard that Touou Shrine used to house some of the strongest people in the region. I wonder if they might've been able to slow the darkness down, but you banished all the humans from this shrine because Momoi-san and Kise-kun were hurt by humans before, right? Then, when you sensed that you were a threat to Kise-kun, you sent him away. You took everything into your own hands because you're strong. You've always been the type to take over a fight without asking."

"What would you have done instead, then?" he asks through gritted teeth.

"I would've talked to them," Kuroko says. "I'm not saying you were in the wrong and I don't think either of them are angry with you. It's just that if I were in their place, I think I would've been lonely watching you shoulder the burden on your own and deciding on your own how to best shield them."

Aomine's shoulders sag as he remembers his talk with Kise.

"All this time, I thought you didn't want me around anymore…"

Quietly, he admits, "I just wanted to keep them safe."

Kuroko places a hand on his arm gently. "They know. Talk to them, Aomine-kun, and let them tell you how to best help them. In the time you've spent standing in front of them as a shield, maybe they've grown more than you expected. Maybe instead of standing behind you, they want to stand by your side."

He doesn't answer and turns back to the spar where Kise's balanced easily at the end of the branch and approaching the man, who inevitably falls from his attempt to get away from the dog. Luckily, there's a gust of wind and a pile of snow beneath him to break his fall and Momoi walks over to check on him, laughing easily as Kise shifts back and joins her.

Was he the only one who couldn't move on?

"Aominecchi? What are you doing all the way out here?"

Without opening his eyes or moving, he answers, "Thinking."

A pause. "Well, that's a first."

"Shut up."

When he cracks open an eye, he finds Kise's face in front of his, golden eyes curious and anxious. "It must be serious if you're thinking this hard about it."

Aomine shrugs. Instead of answering, he asks, "What are you doing after this?"

"After what? Kurokocchi and Kagamicchi are lighting the bonfire to look for his brother later?" Kise says uncertainly.

"Not that. I mean when they leave," he says. "Are you planning on going with them?"

At this, Kise hesitates, keeping his gaze averted to avoid any look of disapproval he may receive. "Yes, I meant to tell you. I can't stay here, not while they're going around trying to help us. They even saved me back in Kaijou. The least I can do is be there for them when they need help. I know you don't like Kagamicchi, but—"

"Actually, I was thinking about going with you," he cuts in.

Kise's eyes widen in excitement. "Really? You'll come along and help, Aominecchi?"

He shrugs again. "It was just a passing thought."

The inugami leans forward. "Are you really considering it? This better not be a joke! You should come with us! Kurokocchi could use the help and we can finally fight together!" He pauses. "To be honest, I didn't think you'd leave Momocchi here on her own."

That was one of the many things he was busy thinking about after his conversation with Kuroko. "She won't be on her own. It's still something I need to talk to her about, but…I think she's been able to take care of herself for a long time now," he says with a slight frown. "Would it really be that great if I came? You seemed to be having plenty of fun with the rest of them."

"It's not the same," Kise insists. "Kagamicchi still can't beat me in a spar, you know?"

Aomine scoffs. "What'd you expect? He's human."

Kise huffs. "He's really strong for a human though! But I'd still like it if you came along. Instead of being shielded and sent away, I think travelling and fighting at your side would be amazing. And…I think it'd make me very happy."

Aomine arches a brow and reaches out to pull the other down, eliciting a startled yelp from the inugami as he lands on his chest. If there happened to be a strange expression on his face as he pulled the other down, that was merely a coincidence.

Running a hand through soft, golden strands, he hums thoughtfully. "Oh? Got started on that order right away, didn't you? I guess I wouldn't mind finding new things to fight. Make sure you don't get in my way though, Kise."

"How mean!" Kise protests, looking up at him. "I'll be right there fighting with you!"

He smiles and flicks the other's nose. "Yeah, sure, if you say so."

In the evening, after his nap with Kise, he wanders around the grounds and finds Momoi sitting in back of the main shrine. Pausing, he walks towards her and says without embellishment, "Hey, Satsuki, I'm thinking about going with Tetsu and Kise."

Momoi smiles as he takes a seat next to her. "I thought you might. You should go. They're going to need all the help they can get on this epic journey to purge the land of evil. It's too bad it's still so warm out or I would've offered to come, but I'll feel a lot better knowing you're there with them."

"Well, you're not wrong about them needing help." A pause. "Will you be alright here?" He hesitates for a moment, the words feeling foreign in his mouth. "Youkai and humans will continue coming and some of them might even decide to take up residence here."

She blinks, looking taken aback by his concern, but then her eyes soften and her lips curl into a soft smile. "Dai-chan, you've been looking out for me since even before Master left and you've barely left my side since that incident, but I promise you, I'll be fine. I think being on my own for a while might actually be a good thing. I mean, I've got the others to help me if I need and I've gotten stronger—I even managed to stop you the other day, didn't I?"

He scowls and doesn't mention that if she ever felt inclined to use her full powers, she could easily overpower every single one of them.

"I'm not as naïve as I once was," Momoi continues, "and I'm more cautious around humans now, but, I've never once thought them evil or unworthy. Speaking honestly, I wouldn't be opposed to them taking residence here. I've made peace with the past, Dai-chan, and I think there are humans out there who we can place our trust in. Like Kagami-kun, maybe?"

Aomine rolls his eyes. "You're just saying that because he's travelling with Tetsu."

Reaching over, she smacks him on the arm. "Hey! That's not…completely true. Tetsu-kun may be a good judge of character, but Kagami-kun has also proven himself since he's arrived. He's kind and a lot more helpful than you ever were."

He frowns and elbows her. "Oi, what's that supposed to mean?"

With a laugh, Momoi teases, "It means exactly that. Even Ki-chan likes him! Did you get a chance to watch them spar earlier? They looked like they were having so much fun—oh, is that why you don't trust him? You do have quite the jealousy streak."

"Shut up! I didn't come here to be laughed at!" he protests loudly.

She lets her laughter subside before taking one of his hands into hers, something they used to do habitually when they were small. "I know. You came to tell me you'll be gone for a while. I'll be fine here, Dai-chan. This will be good for us; in fact, I forbid you from staying," she insists. "I can do my part, so go and help Tetsu-kun. Bring them all back to me alive."

Aomine gives her hand a light squeeze. "Consider this place yours then."

Suddenly, he feels unsure of what to do with himself. There's a sense of emptiness where some of his responsibilities and protectiveness once were. He frowns, wondering if he should just go sleep off the unfamiliar feeling of uselessness and nothingness.

As though sensing this, Momoi says, "Just because Touou Shrine is in my care now, don't think you can slack off. I could still use your help. If you could set up some of your own wards alongside Kagami-kun's, I think it'd help keep the youkai at bay since they recognize your magic."

He relaxes a fraction. "Yeah, I'll get that done before I leave."

"Do you know when that'll be?"

"Probably tomorrow or the day after. They're all healed and all the preparations are about done," he answers. "I'm surprised you're still sitting around here. Last I checked, Tetsu was getting ready to use the bonfire to look for that other human."

Letting go of his hand, Momoi leaps to her feet with sudden urgency. "That was tonight? Why didn't you say so sooner? I hope Tetsu-kun doesn't start without me!" He rolls his eyes and watches her run off, but not before she turns around and calls out, "Dai-chan?"

"Hn?"

"I'll be alright," she says again. "We'll all be alright—and thank you."

Aomine waves her off with a scoff. "Whatever, it's not like I did anything."

A/N: Micchan is Miki Arai, one of Momoi's friend from Teikou. Wow, that was a terrible block. To give it more context, in the time between updates, I managed to quit my old job and got a new one. Hopefully the next chapter will come more quickly!