Dandadanx10

A Dangerous Woman Arrives

The morning sun cast long shadows across the city streets as Momo, Okarun, and Ben searched for the missing kintama. Ben had transformed into Ditto, creating multiple copies of himself to cover more ground while Momo used her psychic powers to scan for any trace of spiritual energy.

"They should be easy to spot," Turbo Granny called from her perch in Momo's bag, now inhabiting a lucky cat doll. "My spiritual energy has wrapped them in a golden glow."

"You could help search instead of just sitting there," Momo grumbled, watching as the Ben-clones systematically checked every alley and corner.

After hours of fruitless searching, the group reconvened in a small park. The Ditto-clones merged back into a single Ben as he timed out, looking exhausted.

"I don't understand," Okarun fretted, wringing his hands. "We've looked everywhere!"

Turbo Granny yawned lazily. "Oh, they've probably been picked up by some other spirit or yokai by now. The life force they contain would be quite attractive to supernatural entities."

"And you're just mentioning this NOW?" Momo, Okarun, and Ben shouted in unison before all three began stomping on the cat doll in frustration.

Back at the Ayase house, Seiko listened to their report while casually smoking a cigarette. "I'll put out some feelers, see what information I can gather," she offered, then fixed Okarun with a stern look. "In the meantime, be careful with that power you're carrying. Turbo Granny's abilities aren't meant for human bodies."

The next morning at school, Ben was approached by a classmate as he changed his shoes at his locker. "Hey, Tennyson! You're friends with Ayase, right? Think you could introduce me?"

"Why?" Ben asked, immediately suspicious.

"Come on, man! She's super cute, especially when she gets fired up about something."

Ben opened his mouth to respond but found himself suddenly noticing details he'd been trying to ignore - the way Momo's eyes lit up when she talked about spirits, how her hair caught the sunlight when she laughed...

He shook his head violently, trying to clear it. They were friends. Just friends.

"Oh, but maybe you've heard the rumors about her?" the classmate continued, his tone turning sly.

Ben's hand shot out, grabbing the boy's shirt and pulling him close. "What rumors?" he growled, an edge in his voice that surprised even himself.

"Whoa, easy!" the boy held up his hands. "I just heard some stuff going around about her and-"

"Who started it?" Ben demanded, his grip tightening. The Omnitrix seemed to pulse on his wrist, reflecting his anger.

The classmate's eyes widened in genuine fear. "I-I don't know! I just heard it from someone else, I swear!"

Ben suddenly realized what he was doing and released the boy, stepping back. "I'm sorry. That wasn't... I shouldn't have..."

"It's cool," the classmate said quickly, straightening his uniform and backing away. "Just forget I said anything!"

As Ben slumped into his seat, a familiar voice piped up from his bag. "My, my, you're much more interesting than Okarun! Such passion!"

"Turbo Granny?" Ben hissed, grabbing his bag and rushing to the hallway. "What are you doing here?"

The cat doll grinned up at him. "Just keeping an eye on things. Now, about restoring my powers..."

"Not happening," Ben cut her off firmly.