CH. 40 - A Stuffed Bear

“It’s so hot!..” Chizuru groans as the group waits outside of the school on this hot day. They are dressed in normal clothes, as this is not a school day. They sweat a bit as Haru pants too, sticking his tongue out.

“Must suck being so tall, being the closest to the sun and all.” Kitaro says, still looking at his phone.

“But doesn’t hot air sink?” Hisana asks.

“No, cold air sinks, dummy.” Kitaro replies. Hisana looks as if just now getting it.

“Ohhh! That must be why Sugawara isn’t hot.” She says innocently.

“Hey! Just cause I’m short doesn’t mean I’m not hot!” Sugawara shouts at her angrily. Lucy approaches Shiori, who is looking at her phone.

“You sure we have the right time?” Lucy asks.

“Yeah, we’ve been waiting here for a while now.” Hikigaya adds.

“This is the exact date and time she said. Maybe she’s running late?” Shiori answers while staring at the messages Suiyoubi gave her. 

“Sorry I’m late, everyone!” Suddenly, Suiyoubi walks up to them in a black off the shoulder cropped shirt, a skirt going about mid thigh length, knee high socks in small shoes with a belt across the top of her feet, and a wide brim hat to block out the sun. Everyone except Kitaro and Haru blush at her sight, thinking she is super cute. Sugawara then shakes his head and gets an irritated look.

“What took you so long? We’ve been waiting out here in the sun for like an hour, I almost roasted alive!” Sugawara complains. Chizuru then pictures a chicken roast with Sugawara’s happy head on the end of it.

“Sugaroast…” She says softly.

“Don’t picture him like that.” Lucy says casually.

“I’m so sorry! I just… got a little lost. Hehe!” Suiyoubi says. Shiori, Hikigaya and Ryuji’s sweat drops.

“You got lost..?” Shiori says, drooping.

“But don’t you go to this school, like, every day..?” Hikigaya asks, drooping as well.

“Yeah, but sometimes I forget where to go or get distracted by cool things." Suiyoubi answers happily while their sweat drops. They sigh, then move on from her answer.

“Alright, as you know, we are the Helpers Club. You said your problem is finding your teddy bear, right?” Shiori clarifies. Suiyoubi nods happily. “Right. So, where was the last place you remember having it?”

“Well…”

We see her flashback as she describes it.

“I was just coming to school one day with him in my bag like I normally do when at some point I had to put my bag down.”

She walks to class with a normal looking brown teddy bear sticking out of her bag when someone calls her. ‘Be right there!’ she says as she puts her bag down at her desk. ‘Don’t go anywhere.’ she tells her bear playfully. 

“Next thing I knew… he was… gone!”

Tears roll down her cheeks as she falls to her knees dramatically. 

“Then that can only mean one thing… it was stolen!” Kitaro teases.

“What?!” Suiyoubi yells with a worried look. Shiori and Lucy both punch Kitaro in the arms angrily.

“Stop making her worry!” They both shout. Kitaro crouches in pain as Ryuji thinks.

“Though we shouldn’t jump to such extreme conclusions, we can’t rule out that possibility. How else would it just disappear?” Ryuji says. Chizuru and Haru nod with looks as if understanding what he’s saying. 

“Yeah, I mean, it’s not like it could just walk away.” Sugawara says.

“Well-” Suiyoubi looks a little unsure, about to explain something, but Hikigaya steps up and quickly gives the group a direction.

“Sugawara is right, but either way, we should probably check the classroom it was last seen at first.”

They all agree and head into the school on this weekend day. Though the school is not nearly as active as it is during the weekdays, there are still quite a few staff doing work and academic groups within the building. Suiyoubi leads the way to her homeroom. She swings the door open confidently. 

“Here it is! My classroom.” Suiyoubi says happily. The others are stunned for a moment as they realize that her classroom is the exact same as theirs. 

“Are you sure this is the right class? Cause I’m pretty certain I’d notice someone like you.” Haru asks. She nods confidently.

“I’m not surprised you haven’t noticed me, I’m pretty good at hiding my presence. I’ve watched you guys since the beginning of last year. You all just look so interesting and nice, I couldn’t help myself. That’s why when I saw your poster I knew you’d help me with my problem.” She says with a slight smile on her face. The others look almost impressed by this fact but carry on. 

“Well, that definitely narrows down any suspects of theft.” Hikigaya says.

“Yeah, but that also means we would’ve definitely seen someone leave with a teddy bear.” Shiori points out.

“Depends on what it looks like or how big it is.” Lucy adds.

“Hmm… Suiyoubi, what does it look like?” Shiori asks, turning to Suiyoubi.

“Well, let’s see… He’s about this big, and he’s orange with two different eye shapes. One a normal circle, and the other is more of a long, diamond shape. He’s got stubby arms and legs, and usually wears a nice pinstriped suit I made just for him. Oh, and his name is Mormo.” She describes in detail, with her hand motions following her words.

“Mormo?” Chizuru asks.

“Yeah!” Suiyoubi says back happily.

“I definitely would’ve noticed an orange bear being taken.” Ryuji says.

“The thief theory is shrinking by the second…” Hikigaya says while rubbing his chin. 

“Well, we’re obviously not gonna find him here. Suiyoubi, could you have misplaced him anywhere else?” Shiori asks. She shakes her head in response. Shiori sighs. “Come on, let’s start the search.” She motions to the door as they make their way out.

As they walk down the hall, Suiyoubi steps next to Shiori. She starts staring at her, which Shiori notices. She ignores her gaze for a moment before speaking.

“Is something wrong?” Shiori asks, ever so subtly annoyed.

“Thank you.” Suiyoubi says warmly. Shiori looks at her.

“Huh?” She says, confused at her response. 

“Back there, you called Mormo a him instead of an it. Thank you for that.” Suiyoubi says with a gentle smile.

“Uh… sure.” Shiori gives her a slightly confused but soft smile as Suiyoubi smiles warmly back before walking ahead. 

“Mormo! Mormooo!” She calls out as they walk.

“What are you doing?” Hisana asks, confused.

“I’m calling out for Mormo.” Suiyoubi says.

“You’re calling out for the stuffed bear?” Kitaro asks, weirded out.

“Mhm mhm. Maybe he’ll hear me and come back.” She answers confidently. Kitaro gives her a look of disbelief when Hisana smiles widely.

“That makes sense to me! Mormo! Where are you?” Hisana starts calling out too.

“Mormooo!” They call out for Mormo as the others look at each other. Hikigaya shrugs then calls out his name as well, followed by a few sighs before the others call his name too. They do this for a little while as they walk around looking for him.

They eventually make their way to the courtyard, where many students usually eat lunch and hang outside. Most of the group has stopped calling his name, feeling slightly embarrassed and as it’s not getting them anywhere. Suiyoubi and Hisana continue to call his name as the others spread out and look around the courtyard, in bushes and trees. Chizuru steps closer to some bushes before noticing a small orange piece of soft fur. She gets closer to inspect it as she picks it up. 

“Hey guys, check this out.” Chizuru calls out. The group stops searching and makes their way around her. 

“What is it?” Hisana asks.

“It’s… orange fur, I think?” Chizuru says.

“*gasp* It belongs to Mormo! I’m sure of it!” Suiyoubi gasps.

“I mean, how many other things could have orange fur?” Hikigaya asks.

“He must’ve gotten cut by the bush or something.” Kitaro points out.

“Whoever has him must not be taking very good care of him.” Lucy says casually.

“Oh no! My poor Mormo! He’s hurt and all alone! We have to find him quickly so I can fix him up!” Suiyoubi stands up quickly with a worried look.

“I don’t know about all alone…” Sugawara says under his breath as Suiyoubi begins panicking, seeing his torn fur. The others take a step back and think to themselves.

“But why would they have brought him out here?” Hikigaya asks, pondering the situation.

“I don’t know. Maybe they think he’s cute or something and have been just carrying him around?” Shiori offers.

“I suppose, but from the way she described him, he doesn’t sound cute at all..” Hikigaya says in a low tone. As they talk, directly behind them is the main entrance to the school leading from the courtyard, through the halls, to the main entrance and out to the front gate. While they talk amongst themselves, within the arch of the entrance from the courtyard to the hallway, a small teddy begins stepping into view. It looks around cautiously, as if trying to be sneaky or avoid something. It eventually makes it directly to the middle of the archway and turns to see the group.

He suddenly stops and starts sweating as Shiori and Hikigaya talk with their backs to him, the others trying to calm down Suiyoubi, who is still panicking. He begins to step back slowly and cautiously, trying not to bring attention to himself. As he steps backwards slowly, Chizuru notices him out of the corner of her eye. She looks up and looks directly at him.

“Hey guys, what’s that?” She points it out to them. Shiori and Hikigaya get surprised looks and turn around to see it. The teddy bear stops and gets a nervous look on his face. Suiyoubi calms herself a bit and notices him too as they all stare at him. Suddenly, a large smile comes across her face.

“Mormo!” Suiyoubi calls out.

“Mormo?” Haru asks, confused by what he’s seeing.

“You mean that thing is..?” Lucy looks concerned.

“Mormo! There you are!” Suiyoubi says, rushing to her feet and running towards him. He sweats, turns around and starts running away from her.

“Get away from me! Just leave me alone, you freak!” The little bear shouts as he runs out of the entrance. The others stand still in shock, confused about what just happened. Chizuru then gets a big smile on her face as she starts running, motioning for the others to follow too.

“Come on, guys! We gotta catch him!”

They snap out of it and follow, some of them with big smiles and others in disbelief that they are now chasing a teddy bear that is somehow alive and running away from them.

As Mormo gets to the main gate, he stops and looks left, then right frantically. He decides to go left and continues running away. He runs with a slight hobble due to being a teddy bear and for having a slight cut on his right leg revealing stuffing. 

“Mormo wait! Why are you running from me?” Suiyoubi asks as she chases him.

“Because you’re crazy, girl! I gotta get out of here!” He shouts back. As he makes it down the street, he looks to his left to see a small park with trees and bushes surrounding it. He then dives through some trees and keeps running through the park. Suiyoubi follows him as the group stops for a moment.

“Hikigaya, Lucy, Ryuji, you guys go around. Try to catch him if he runs out anywhere else. We’ll follow Suiyoubi.” Shiori says, quickly coming up with a plan. They nod and do as told. Those three follow the path around the park as the others follow Shiori into the park. As Mormo runs through the park, his leg cut starts to tear a bit more. Suiyoubi notices this.

“Mormo, you have to stop! You can’t keep running!” She calls out with concern in her voice.

“What? Tired already? Well, too bad! Sucks to suck! See ya!” He shouts while looking back at her. As soon as he looks back ahead, he sees three people standing in front of him in his path. He freaks out for a moment and tries to stop himself, but as he does, his leg tears entirely off from the stopping force.

“Oh man, that doesn’t look good.” He says, staring at it, before tumbling forward and rolling across the ground, eventually bumping into Ryuji’s leg. He slowly falls onto his back in defeat as Suiyoubi gasps.

“Mormo! Are you okay?! Here, let me help you.” Suiyoubi grabs his leg with any stuffing that came out and crouches in front of him. She picks him up and puts him in her lap. He has a look of disappointment as she pulls out a sewing needle and black sewing thread from her small bag. “You have to be more careful. Just because you can’t feel the pain doesn’t mean it doesn’t matter. You know what will happen if your body gets damaged beyond repair.” She softly scolds him as she fixes his leg. He only rolls his eyes in response.

“Yeah yeah, I know. But then again, I wouldn’t be in this situation if it wasn’t for you!” He snaps at her.

“Okay, hold on. I think we need an explanation.” Lucy says, still trying to process it all.

“Yeah, what exactly are you?” Hikigaya asks with a smile on his face, amused by the situation.

“Are you some kind of animatronic?” Sugawara asks.

“An animal?” Hisana asks.

“Are you a cursed object, perhaps?” Kitaro asks. Mormo simply turns to look at them with a glare and his arms crossed.

“Myeah, I guess I could tell ya… But I ain’t gonna.”

“He’s a demon I summoned and stuffed into a bear.” Suiyoubi answers happily.

“Hey! How many times do I gotta tell ya! I ain’t no demon! I’m a king! The King of Ghouls!” Mormo shouts at her.

“So you’re like… from another world?” Shiori asks, emotions of excitement and intrigue filling her chest.

“Wouldn’t be the craziest thing we’ve seen.” Hikigaya says casually.

“Now, how does the ‘King of Ghouls’ end up in a teddy bear like that?” Lucy asks, still a little skeptical. Mormo looks at her defiantly for a moment before chuckling to himself.

“Well, since you wanna know so much about my royal, powerful self, I'll tell ya. You see, back in my home world of Agathia, things were getting really boring. My kingdom was thriving, people were happy. Gods, even my officials did most of the king work for me.” He says with a soft scoff. “Every now and then, we’d get a visitor from off world but it was never anything that needed my attention. Things became boring and mundane. I only became king because a civil war was waging at the time, and I thought I’d be able to conquer the opposing side, get some action and see some bloodshed, but then the enemy all surrendered!” We see Mormo go through his past as he speaks. He then sighs and pauses for a moment.

“There was just no action, no thrill of the fight. Sure, the occasional criminal came along, but most of them were far beneath me. There’s no fun in stepping on an ant, right? But one day, a summoning sigil appeared in my castle. I had no idea why they were trying to summon a ghoul, but I figured, hey, what the heck? It can’t possibly be that big of a deal, I’m the King of Ghouls after all. I’ll handle this lickety split and get back before anyone notices. So, I hopped on through and came out the other side ready to cause some chaos. Only to be met with this crazy girl with another incantation at the ready, and she sealed me away in this teddy bear. I can’t even destroy this dumb body to be set free! She has to do it.” He points his bear hand at her as they look at her. She just smiles at them.

“Suiyoubi, if you knew all this, why wouldn’t you free him?” Chizuru asks, a little concerned at her trap.

“Well… I needed help, and I was… lonely. Besides, it doesn’t seem like he’s missing much over there. This is a great adventure, right?” She sounded sad at first but shakes it away and changes the topic. 

“Well, is that true? Is this less boring than your home?” Shiori asks Mormo, trying to figure out his stance.

“I mean, yeah, I suppose. It’s not like my advisors need me to run the kingdom or anything, they pretty much were doing it already. But there’s no point in having an adventure when I can’t do anything because of this stupid body!” He yells at Suiyoubi, who just grabs him and starts cuddling him close to her.

“But look at you! You’re just so cute!”

“I hate you..” Mormo grumbles. The others sweat as they watch them. 

“This is great and all, glad we could help you find your missing bear, but if that’s all, I’m gonna head out.” Kitaro says before walking away.

“Kitaro! You’re not at all interested in the funny talking demon bear?” Hisana asks with a smile. Kitaro waves as he continues to walk away.

“Nah, I see plenty of those in Temples and Tyrants.” Kitaro says casually. Hisana pouts a bit but ends up turning to follow him. Haru smiles and turns to the group.

“He’s right. Mission accomplished! We still have most of the day to just chill~.” He says while relaxing his body. Sugawara smiles at him warmly. Shiori nods as the others turn to walk away too. 

“We had a blast catching your… talking bear and all, but it’s time we head out. Good luck with him!” Hikigaya says as he waves at her as she gets a shocked look.

“W-wait! You’re leaving already? But… but what if he runs away again?” Suiyoubi asks desperately.

Shiori stops and looks at her. She stands there with a look of desperation while holding Mormo in her arms. Mormo has a smirk on his face as if saying, ‘I’m definitely gonna run away again.’ Shiori rushes up to him and suddenly grabs him by the neck, lifting him into the air. He chokes as she grips him hard.

“Why… is this working?? bleh.. I’m made of stuffing!..” Mormo chokes out.

“If I have to chase you around this entire school again, I swear I’ll rip you apart.” Shiori says with an intense glare.

“Woah, woah now! Let’s not threaten the little bear.” Hikigaya says with a smirk. He puts his hand on her arm as she lets him go. He drops to the floor coughing and trying to catch his breath.

“That was weird… How could she choke me like that?” Mormo grumbles.

“Shiori is right, though. I really don’t want to make this a regular thing. It’s hot out, and we spent, like, 2 hours trying to find you. What do we gotta do to keep you from running away?” Lucy asks with her hands on her hips.

“Hmmm…” Mormo hums. He gives them a look as if inspecting them, debating. “Well, I suppose there is one thing… boobs.”

“Huh?” Lucy looks stunned and annoyed.

“Your boobs. Let me squeeze 'em.” Mormo says casually.

“Like Hell we are!” Shiori punches his head into the ground as steam comes off of it. He pulls his head out of the ground and looks at her with a big bump on his head as the others hold her back from beating him more.

“Well, that’s my offer. Besides, I wasn’t really talking to you, flat stuff.” Mormo says while looking at Shiori’s chest. She gets angrier and pounds his head back into the ground. She growls as the guys look at Mormo with disappointment and disgust, almost.

“You want to touch our boobs?” Chizuru asks innocently. Mormo pulls his head out of the ground and gives her a thumbs up.

“Yes!”

“...Why?” Lucy asks with a bothered look.

“Well, ya see, Ghouls aren’t exactly the liveliest of creatures. Body wise I mean. Most ghouls with boobs are great people and all, but their boobs are just… not what I’m looking for. I always see the chests of off-world visitors and just dream about how soft and perky they must feel!” Mormo says casually as Hikigaya gags mockingly in the background with Ryuji and Kitaro nodding in agreement.

“You’ve never touched any of them before?” Hisana asks.

“Nah, I mean, I’ve definitely asked different explorers and visitors, but they always turn me down. Usually involving a slap to the face.” Mormo says. Shiori punches his face back into the ground a third time.

“Yeah, because you’re just a pervert!” She yells.

“Would you stop that?!” Mormo yells as he immediately pulls his head out of the ground. Hikigaya rubs the back of his head, letting out a breath as if thinking about it.

“Don’t stand there looking as if you have any say in this decision.” Shiori says as she angrily turns and looks at Hikigaya, who understands and steps back with a sweat drop.

“If that’s what you wanted, why haven’t you asked me?” Suiyoubi asks.

“Because you irritate me, it wouldn’t be the same. It's gotta be one of them! Excluding her.” Mormo says as he points his stuffed animal arm to the girls then at Shiori. She growls and raises her fist at him. Lucy sighs and gives him a look of disappointment in his character.

“Yeahhh that’s not gonna happen. Sorry bud.” Lucy says. Suiyoubi gets a slightly sad look knowing that without an incentive to keep him here, Mormo might try to run away and that the group probably won’t help her again. Haru notices her sad look and quickly comes up with a ploy.

“Maybe you can’t now, but if you think about it, sticking with us will give you a better chance at actually getting to. How’s that sound?” Haru offers, trying to trick him into staying. Mormo kind of glares at him, thinking about it.

“Hmm, that sounds like a meager attempt at getting me to not run away so you don’t have to deal with it… But I cannot argue the logic. Beats being stuck with her and no chance at getting a grab. What the heck? I guess I won’t run away, but you gotta promise I’ll get a feel!” Mormo says, pointing at Haru. Haru sweats and shrugs a little.

“I’ll.. certainly try!” He laughs a bit, knowing full well he has no way of acting on that promise. Suiyoubi smiles warmly as Hikigaya walks up to her.

“It looks like you’re gonna have to stick with us from now on to keep the little freak in check.” He says.

“Hey.” Mormo says.

“So what do you say? Care to join our little group of friends?” Hikigaya asks warmly. She stares at him for a moment, unsure of what to say. 

“Oh, c’mon, Hikigaya. Don’t make it sound like it’s some kind of punishment! We’re all happy here, right?” Lucy throws her arm around Ryuji’s neck and leans on him a bit as she says this. Ryuji smiles and nods at her. Suiyoubi looks at the others, who all give her smiles of approval. She blushes a little and nods slowly.

“That’d be great.” She says softly. He gives her a big smile as Haru and Hisana cheer.

“Yay! New friend!”

Mormo then hops up and cheers like Haru and Hisana.

“Yay! New boobs to grab!” He is smacked into the ground again by Shiori.

“No, you don’t!” She says angrily.

“And this one comes with a talking bear.” Kitaro says with a casual smile.

“King of Ghouls too, apparently.” Ryuji says with him.

“Yeah, well, the nasty little freak sounds like a ghoul, that’s for sure.” Kitaro says as they both laugh a bit, not taking him seriously at all. Shiori stands up and sighs.

“Alright, well this was fun and all, but my little brother has a big ‘Who am I?’ presentation due for school and wants my help, so I’m heading home.” She waves as she walks off.

“I better follow her. Who knows what’ll happen if I don’t watch her.” Hikigaya playfully mocks her as he points his thumb over his shoulder with his back facing her. As he jokes to the others, she hears him, turns around and drop kicks him in the back.

“Oh yeah?! I’ll show you what’ll happen!” She shouts. They all laugh at them as they start arguing on their way home.

“I gotta get out of this heat. I’m dying…” Sugawara moans. He sticks his tongue out and leans forward a bit.

“Aw, even the small boy is melting from the heat.” Hisana says cutely.

“What did I say about making fun of my height!?” Sugawara yells at her as she giggles, them both walking off. Haru looks at Suiyoubi and waves.

“Well, see you around! Come hang with us next time, we’re lots of fun, I promise!” Haru says happily. Suiyoubi smiles and waves back while blushing a little. 

“You know, I don’t think we can trust his promises.” Mormo says, crossing his arms.

“Come on, Mormo, let’s go home.” Suiyoubi says happily.

“Okay, but you’re carrying me.” Mormo says while hopping up into her arms as they walk home.