Some important notes before you read:

-This story uses Japanese names for Yo-kai and locations as well as certain phrases. Any Yo-kai that has been mentioned BY NAME will have their localized name at the bottom of their debut chapter.

-This story contains light spoilers for episodes 87+, which is well beyond what has been dubbed currently. Please note that some of the content referenced is from episodes that have not yet been fam-subbed and are only available in raw Japanese.

It was a typical enough night in Sakura New Town's shopping district. A few gently glowing streetlights offered their guidance to the few still out and about in the latest hours of the day. The streets were mostly quiet with the exception of footfalls and the soft humming of car wheels on pavement. The renowned Flower Road, the wide strip mall that during the day was filled with bustling customers, was dark and completely silent. Tucked away behind the Chinese food place on this road was an alleyway that, unbeknownst to 99% of Sakura New Town's population, a few spirit-like creatures called home.

The alley passage, while decently sized, wasn't densely populated. A small number of goblins with heads shaped like human buttocks were scattered around the place and a sausage-shaped oni or two sometimes emerged from the entryway to the sewers. And on this particular night, two dog spirits slept side-by-side in a pair of old cardboard boxes. One of them, a toy poodle with the face of a middle aged man, emitted guttural snores as he dozed and tossed and turned like laundry in a was-hing machine. The other, a fedora-wearing bulldog about three quarters of his size, slept much more quietly, curled up while hugging a chocolate-colored suitcase to his chest.

Suddenly, a slight breeze washed over the alley. The beating of a pair of wings could be heard by the butt-faced monsters that were awake, causing- them to look around in confusion. An avian, shrouded in the black of the night, landed right in the center of the alleyway, its wings spread threateningly in an arc. The butt goblins hopped towards it cautiously, forming a circle around the bird. The bird slowly picked up its drooping, long neck to eye the butts, its eerily sharp eyes slowly sweeping the area. The butt monsters, sensing malevolence in the bird's body language, collectively sucked in air in preparation for a gas attack. Before they could let out so much as a pellet of noxious air, the bird folded his wings in front of its chest and then forcefully unfolded them again, releasing a blast of wind magic dyed purple. The attack sent the group of butt monsters flying at least thirty feet, some of them letting out a short squeak of helplessness.

The elder dog awoke with a start at the sudden commotion, looking around frantically. In his confusion, he didn't realize he had been sleeping draped over the edge of the box and tipped it over with his weight. He fell face first onto the ground with a groan with the box flipped over on top of his lower half. In his half-consciousness, it took him a few seconds to adjust and recognize the sound of wings flapping slowly closing in on him. He dizzily arose, hastily adjusting his glasses. Immediately upon readjusting his eyes, he noticed he was face to face with the intruder, its beak nearly touching his nose.

The startled human-faced dog jumped with a cry and fell back down again onto his rear. The bird loomed over him, craning its neck.

"Did I startle you, hoo~?" The bird's voice was soft and almost a little sad-sounding yet undeniably creepy.

"I don't know, what do you think?" grumbled the dog through clenched teeth. Unfortunately, his sarcasm did little to hide his fear, which showed through his buckling knees as he stood up again.

"My apologies, hoo~..." It paused for a minute before finishing with, "but I have to ask something of you-hoo..."

The dog grunted with a terse nod. He really just wanted to go back to sleep.

"You-hoo see..." the bird said, "I'm evicting you-hoo~."

"Say what now?" the dark brown poodle replied dryly. This he wasn't expecting.

"You-hoo heard me correctly. I'll have to ask that you-hoo pack up and leave, hoo~."

"What the—who—why?!" the human-faced dog sputtered. "Who said you could just make me up and leave my home, eh? I'll have you know—"

"Hate to burst your bubble," the foul fowl interrupted, "but I don't really care, hoo~. I just have a job to do-hoo~..."

The miffed dog growled at this and showed his fangs, getting on all fours into a fighting stance. "Look, you know dogs hunt birds, right? We ain't going anywhere, so scram!"

The bird stared down the dog for a solid ten seconds. It noticed almost right away that his wispy hairpiece bobbed to and fro as he trembled. All bark. No bite.

"I'd rather not, hoo~..." it casually began to preen its wings, as though challenging the mutt. He certainly picked up on it. Violet flames formed from the inside of his mouth as he opened wide and pounced.

"Ossan-kami Ma—!" Before his teeth could so much as graze the feathered foreigner, it forcefully smacked its attacker upwards with its wing. The dog yelped in surprise. The bird flew up to him while he was still suspended in midair and sent a powerful gust at him at full speed, sending him hurtling diagonally towards the ground. He met the concrete with a loud thud and a cry of pain. What terrible thing did I do today to deserve this...?

"You-hoo could continue to talk back if you-hoo so desire, hoo...~" the bird boasted with a satisfied smirk that nobody could see in the darkness.

Suddenly, it felt something smack it on the side of the head. It winced at the sting as it turned its head around to notice the suitcase that had landed next to it on the ground. Its apparent owner, the bulldog, stood proudly a few feet away from him.

"Leave us alone!" the bulldog threatened in his childlike voice. Despite the ringing in his ears, the poodle recognized the voice of his companion and shakily stood himself up.

"Kid...d-don't..." he muttered, his paw clutching his forehead. The bird chuckled mockingly as it glared at the pup.

"How precious, even the little one wants to fight, hoo~." The bird taunted. The human-faced dog noticed it taking deliberately slow steps towards its attacker. Said bulldog didn't so much as flinch.

"I'm not litt—!" before the bulldog could reply, he found himself hoisted under the arm of his superior with the suitcase under his other arm.

"No, no, he doesn't want to fight at all!" he shouted. The bulldog opened his mouth in protest, but the other had already taken off towards the mouth of the alleyway with him in tow.

"Chikushyo!" the poodle's panicked cry echoed throughout the area, and just like that, they were gone.

The bird, victorious, stretched out its wings and yawned. "Even easier than I was told it would be, hoo~."

The bird released a short, wistful call into the night sky. A flock of five more birds, lighter in color but otherwise identical to its leader, descended to the ground and encircled the dark avian.

"It doesn't matter how long you-hoo must stay here. Just make sure he doesn't try to come back before the next step is complete, hoo~." The flock collectively saluted with their wings. With one final "hoo," their leader flew up and disappeared into the night sky.

Come a few days after the alleyway incident, nobody besides the attacked had heard of its occurrence. The other Yo-kai, as they were called, inhabiting the alleyway kept what had happened under wraps; no doubt they were fearful of the bird Yo-kai's power. As it turns out, the secret wouldn't remain as such for long.

While many Yo-kai dwelled in alleyways or other "dungeons," some lucky Yo-kai often lived in houses just like those of any human. However, like the Yo-kai themselves, these homes were invisible to the human eye—they existed in the same plane of existence in between the Yo-kai and human worlds as the strange spirits. One such home was located in Sakura New Town's urban downtown not too far from the perpetually under development construction site. The house, painted a lively blue with a roof that was once a deep maroon but browned over time, had two floors—one general living space and a rather large basement.

This was the home of a certain young Yo-kai, a fired-up feline known as Meramelion. If one were to ask everyone who had ever met Meramelion to describe him in one word, it would certainly be "radiant." Meramelion alone exuded more passion and confidence than any number of other Yo-kai combined—they say the only thing that burned brighter than his billowing mane of fire was his heart.

The day that changed Meramelion's life had started just like any other. He had waken up before the sun even peeked its head up over the horizon—the early bird catches the worm, of course—and was out most of the day working out, inspiriting some people, working out, meeting up with his friends, and did I mention working out? Indeed, the little furball of flame had such boundless energy that he could do multiple hour-long sessions and still not feel the need to sleep a wink. So of course, he was feeling as refreshed as usual when he arrived home that evening to share dinner with his brother, Gulagulion.

Gulagulion was about ten years older than his brother. His fur was dyed a blood crimson as opposed to Meramelion's bright orange and the tip of his mane was black instead of rose red. Compared to his astoundingly fit brother, Gulagulion was a bit on the chunkier side, though make no mistake—his physical strength was so immense that even he didn't know his own power sometimes. Gulagulion had worked multiple jobs in the Yo-kai realm, but was currently working as a part-time security guard somewhere in the human realm where many Yo-kai gathered, making sure that no humans or invading Yo-kai disturbed the peace. Because so few beings ever really showed up, there wasn't usually any actual guard work to be done, so he spent his days sparring the Yo-kai residents or other security guards. This tended to tire him, and by the time his younger sibling came home in the evenings, he was taking a cat nap on the couch. Today, however, he was furiously scrubbing down the kitchen counter with a rag and cleaning spray. This was how Meramelion knew something was different.

"I'm ho—" the young lion began as he came through the door into the wooden furnished kitchen, but stopped mid-sentence as he bore witness to his brother's unusual actions. The crimson feline was never quite one for cleaning and was usually incredibly reluctant when it came to tidying up the place, but today he seemed almost eager to get the job done.

"Gula? What's going on here?" he inquired, a subtle chuckle escaping his lips. Gula barely shot his brother a glance as he shuffled over to the overhead cabinet and spritzed it.

"I'll explain later," Gulagulion replied hurriedly, "I've gotta get ready for the morning..."

"The morning?" Mera questioned with a tilt of the head.

"Yeah," Gula answered, "I made some...let's just say

plans on the way home from work this afternoon. Big ones. Someone's coming over tomorrow."

Meramelion scratched his mane in befuddlement. Normally, he was the one who acted on his impulses, not his brother.

"Uh, are you sure you're...alright?"

"Positive! Better than ever," Gula assured, placing the rag and spray bottle next to the sink and coming over to clap his younger sibling on the back. "Thing is, I think I've got a sweet deal made, so I'm pretty hyped."

Mera rolled his eyes. Gula's vagueness drove him batty.

"C'mon, champ," Gula said, "go and do your big bro a favor and tidy up your room. And don't leave a single spot untouched, 'kay?"

"Man," Mera joked, "you're starting to sound like Todoki." Todorokijishi was the eldest of Mera's family of four. He had moved out a few years ago, leaving Gula in charge, to live his own life and had found great success as a motivational speaker and fitness trainer. He was constantly traveling around both realms, which didn't leave him much time to communicate with his family. Nevertheless, Mera looked up to his oldest brother more than almost anyone else, if only because he almost always brought out the best in everyone he was near. One of the less admirable things about Todoki, though, was that he used to nag—and boy, did he nag. Over chores. Over manners. Over what Mera was doing and who he was talking to. "It's for your own good," he would say, "so soon enough you'll have a refined sense of responsibility." Sometimes, Mera wondered if perhaps he was right, but being a kid, he would always protest. He was a little older nowadays and mostly understood the purpose of his brother's words. He often imagined how proud the white-colored lion would be of him if he could see him every day.

Gulagulion ruffled Mera's mane. "Could be worse," he quipped, "I could be like Usepp."

Mera laughed and nodded in agreement. Useppelion, the second youngest. Outside of playful conversations such as this one, Mera and Gula didn't talk much about him—he too had left the house a while ago, but unlike Todoki, he became a delinquent and had run off with some gang. His brothers occasionally heard about his status through word of mouth—the rumor mill was especially active in the world of Yo-kai—but his general whereabouts were practically a mystery.

After flashing one last grin at his brother, Meramelion retreated to his small, cluttered bedroom and Gula went back to scrubbing as though his very life depended on it. Mera still wasn't sure what all the fuss was about, but he'd do his best work for his brother's sake. He figured he'd at least humor his brother's idea, whatever that was—it was probably just some bum who would buy some old junk out of the basement from Gula and they'd never see them again, but it would make his brother happier, at least temporarily. For whatever reason, making extra buck made Gula more elated than a Tsuchinoko possessed by Ageageha.

If only it had been that simple.

About thirty minutes had gone by when Gulagulion pushed open the door to his brother's room. Meramelion had picked up all the loose clothes (multiples of the same outfit, of course), bottles of energy drinks, and other assorted items off of the floor and either put them in their place or threw them away; he was now pacing around the room as he often did when he was lost in thought. Gula smiled. Good old Mera.

"Not bad, buddy," Gula complimented, bringing Mera out of his little trance with a slight jump as he hadn't noticed Gula had entered.

"Huh? Oh yeah, it was nothin'." Mera responded with a dismissive wave of the hand. Gula waltzed over and sat down on Mera's bed, the younger Yo-kai quickly following suit.

"So I guess you want me to give you the low-down, right?" said Gula as he wiped a bit of sweat off his brow. While Mera was tidying up his room, Gula had done the bathroom, living room, and the rest of the kitchen. Mera nodded intently at his brother's question, motioning for him to continue.

"Well, see, I actually met a guy on the way to work this morning." Gula said. He usually left for work around three AM and worked a ten hour shift.

"We literally bumped into each other in the middle of the shopping district—understandable, I guess, since it was so early in the morning. I couldn't get a clear look at him because it was so dark out, but he looked like an older guy, sixties, maybe. His face was strangely human, but he was definitely a Yo-kai. He had a little kid with him as well wearing a pretty silly hat—"

"A little kid? At three o'clock in the morning?" Mera interrupted.

"Yeah, something like that. He was slurring a little too when he apologized to me, so I asked him what was going on. Not every day you see a tipsy old guy wandering around with a child, y'know? And then I guess he was too hammered to realize I was a total stranger—" Gula snickered a bit as he said the last part—"and suddenly we were just kinda chatting. He said he and the little guy got attacked and forced out of their alley a few days ago. He tried to go back, but apparently there were some malicious Yo-kai occupying the place—their attacker's cronies, presumably—and didn't want to confront 'em. Too risky, he claimed."

"Man. That sucks..." said Mera with an empathetic frown.

"Sure does. And you know, I felt bad for the two of them, not knowing where to go and all that. They were kinda scared the guy that attacked them would find them again, too—not that they were sure what their deal was. So...I guess since they were nice enough dudes and all, I gave them an offer...you know that old basement we barely use except to store junk?"

"Yeah. Wh—" Mera suddenly stopped. His brightened irises contracted as he realized what his brother was hinting towards.

"Wait a second. This doesn't mean what I think it means, does it?"

Gula whistled, amused by his brother's reaction and impressed with his intrigue. "You catch on quick, champ."

"You're kidding, right?" Mera exclaimed. "I mean, if Todoki found out we were housing two total strangers, he'd be pissed..."

"Todoki doesn't live here anymore, does he? Doesn't matter what he thinks." Mera sighed at this. Though he wouldn't dare admit it, he knew Gula was right—Todoki sent the occasional letter and visited once a year around the holidays, but in the end it was clearly his intent to avoid speaking to them as much as possible. Even to this day, Mera didn't really understand why he felt the need to do all this. His brother wasn't sick of them, was he? No, not Todoki. Mera quickly eviscerated those thoughts from his mind.

"Anyway," Gula continued, snapping Mera out of his pondering, "they were totally humbled by the offer and accepted, even if it's only temporary. Until, I dunno, they figure out what's going on with those Yo-kai that attacked them. And you know, for a couple minutes I was wondering if I really had been too impulsive..." Gula rubbed his index finger and thumb together and smirked, "and then he even offered to pay me."

Mera groaned. "Of course. It's always about the money with you." He shoved his brother playfully. "I just made over a million last month! How much could we possibly need?"

"Watch your tone, short stuff," Gula retorted with a chuckle, lightly punching Mera's shoulder. "And you spent it all on gym memberships and charities, remember?

"...Oh. Right." Money tended to slip from Mera's fingers like butter on an ice skating rink.

"Besides," said Gula, "we need as much as we can get if we wanna keep living around here. You know Todoki barely sends us anything nowadays, and my job's just barely enough..."

"Yeah, yeah. True," Mera agreed. Yet another result of Todorokijishi's nonsensical mentality that he needed to challenge his brothers. Unless he was just a little selfish...no, not Todoki. Mera pushed that thought out of his head.

"Wait a minute," the orange lion cub added, "how does a practically homeless guy have enough money to pay rent?"

Gula shrugged passively. "Something about a gig he had during one of those Yo-kai song battle things. Both him and his buddy were in bands, actually. Anyway, he can't find anywhere else in town that isn't already occupied by territorial Yo-kai and he can only just barely afford to pay me for a few months tops. So yeah."

The two were silent for a few seconds as Mera tried to digest all the information he had just heard. While he frequently invited his friends over, he had never actually lived with anyone besides his brothers. And this was a total stranger, to top it all off!

He noticed his brother shoot him a concerned glance—he must have noticed his furrowed brows. Mera decided to break the silence in the least awkward way possible.

"So...even though they're just living in the basement, you decided to clean the entire house?"

Gula's countenance shifted instantly, his mouth agape as he laughed. "Guess that was kinda silly, huh? But they do have to walk in through the front entrance and I don't want them to think we're sloppy people."

Mera shook his head. "But we are sloppy people."

"They don't have to know that," Gula replied with a cheeky grin. Suddenly, he let out a yawn loud enough to be considered a roar.

"I'm gonna go bum around for a bit before I start grilling the meat. I want you to go to bed a little after dinner, alright? Gotta be up bright and early; they said they were coming by at seven to make final arrangements. I'm probably gonna call in sick to work."

"Bro," Mera protested, "you know I'm gonna get up at, like, five in the morning regardless of how late I go to sleep."

"Can't argue with you there," Gula admitted, hopping off of the bed and stretching out his arms. He proceeded towards the door.

"Wait a minute," Mera called, "didn't you at least get their names?"

"Huh? Oh, sorta. I mean, we were talking for so long that I lost track of time and had to rush off to work. Between that and the old dude being drunk, I only barely caught it."

Gula paused and hummed in thought. "Something with a 'J.' Jim...Jimmy?"

"Uh...Jimmy? The ninja guy?" Mera pointed out, raising an eyebrow.

"Oh, right, forgot he existed..." Gula rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "That wasn't it anyway. Just sounded like it."

The crimson-dyed feline shrugged and gave his brother one final half-wave before retreating to his own room. When Mera was sure his brother couldn't hear him, he chortled to himself for a solid minute. For as savvy as Gula was, he sure did fail to pick up on the simplest things.

Mera's thoughts soon drifted back to what Gula had said about this mysterious stranger. Old guy. Was at a song battle. Starts with "J." He could've sworn he knew someone like this. The Yo-kai's name was buried somewhere in his brain, but frustratingly just wouldn't be dug up. Perhaps it was an acquaintance of some sort. Somehow, the incredibly vague memories Mera had of someone like this left a bitter taste in his mouth—like something negative had been attached to them.

Mera decided it was best to shrug it off and wait to find out until the morning. Besides, he trusted his brother's judgement. He wouldn't pick up anyone bad off the street, right?

Right?

The rest of the night was a bit of a blur. When Mera finally awoke that morning, he could feel his jittery heart rattle around in his chest. He hated this feeling, these nerves—he was Meramelion! Anxiety was a foreign concept to the crusader of confidence! When he finally heard voices at the door around seven o'clock, he took in a deep breath and puffed his chest out as he went to go greet his new neighbors.

As soon as Meramelion saw the glasses-donning, chocolate-colored canine engaged in conversation with his older brother, his jaw dropped like a rock. The floodgates in his brain finally opened and the memories came rushing through. He had heard stories. Many, many stories from fellow Yo-kai. They had even had a few brief personal encounters through their mutual human friend, and he had rubbed him the wrong way as soon as he laid his eyes on him. And now, here he was. He would have preferred it if the devil himself had walked into his house.

No. No, this couldn't be happening. Not him. Anyone but him. Terrible. Disgusting. Criminal.

Meramelion screamed.

English names:

Sakura New Town = Springdale

Meramelion = Blazion

Gulagulion = Quaken

Todorokijishi = Siro

Useppelion = Blazioff (the "criminal" version of Blazion)

Jimmy = Dimmy

Tsuchinoko = Noko

Ageageha = Pepillon

Also, "Chikushyo!" is Manjimutt's catchphrase in the original version. It roughly translates to "damn it!" but I decided to keep it as is since a couple of other characters will keep their rather famous catchphrases intact later on.