How do I beat this incredibly strong yokai? I'm pondering this question as I see that my yokai are struggling to keep this fight going. Well, I'm thinking that no matter what I can't give up or I would lose and the human world would be taken over by this incredibly strong and cruel yokai. I turn around to look at my friend for help but he just looks at me with worry written all over his face. I look at him and see that he is out of ideas as well. Is this it? I'm wondering, but then I see a glimmer of hope. I see that my yokai are struggling but they sure are giving it their all. I smile and then search my bag for some treats to give them. Oh wait, I just realized that I'm not telling this story in detail. If this is true then I'll start from the beginning.

My name is Nate Adams and I'm eleven years old. I'm entering the fifth grade when this summer is over, but for all I know my summer will be full of adventure and fun. I live in a town called Springdale and I enjoy spending time with my friends, playing video games, staying up late, watching TV, etc. basically anything your average eleven year old kid enjoys. I'm average height for my age, and I have messy brown hair and eyes, and wear a red t-shirt with a star in the middle along with green kakhi pants and blue sneakers. I wasn't sure how to spend my summer at first but before I could think about it, I was invited to spend time with my friends in front of the middle school. As I am standing in the playground with my three friends I look at them to get an idea of what could be going on. As I'm standing there, I see that Eddie is looking excited and has something in his hands. I look at him, as he says,

"TA-DA! Look what I have here!" He takes the box out from under his arm and then my eyes open wide as I see that he has some bugs caught in there from butterflies and cockroaches to other insects that I couldn't identify immediately. Before I can speak, Katie says something.

"Whoa, those are awesome!" I finally take this moment to say something myself, and I ask,

"Did you catch all of those yourself?" Eddie nods his head and continues speaking.

"It's pretty rad huh? By our vacation house we have a forest! There are a ton of rare bugs there including ones that aren't as rare!"

"I caught most of them cause Eddie was a little squeamish," Bear says with a hint of amusement in his voice. Bear is a tall guy with a black mohawk, and brown hair on the sides. He is tall and looks down at us as he says this statement. Then he turns to me and says, "Hey Nate, you're collecting bugs as part of your summer project too right?" I look away in embarrassment as I realize that saying the truth is the best thing to do.

"Yeah, I'm having a little trouble getting motivated is all..." My voice drifts off as my face turns red and I look at my friends not knowing how they will react. Bear's face doesn't change, but he says,

"Nate, you haven't even started have you? I bet you don't even have a single bug! I'll bet you'll be pulling legs off a spider and calling it a rare insect or whatever." Bear and Eddie burst into laughter and I feel my face flushing. I look over at Katie and see that she appears to be a little angry.

"Come on Bear, leave him alone! Nate's just getting himself together and starting up is all." She looks at me and smiles. This gives me motivation to say something too.

"Yeah, I've already caught a bunch! I just need to catch some more is all."

"Prove it and show me," Bear says.

"Where are your bugs!" Eddie chimes in.

"I don't have them with me, if I did I'd show you. DUH!" I say in defense.

"Yeah? Bring them so I can see your bucket of dried up fruit flies then!"

"Let us know when we can see your collection Nate," Eddie says. The two of them turn around and start walking away leaving me and Katie alone.

"Don't listen to them Nate, just focus on yourself. I'm here if you need me." Katie smiles. "Well, I'd better get going. See you around!" I smile and look away thinking of my crush on Katie.

"Yeah, see ya," I mumble and begin to walk home. As I'm walking I see that the streets of Springdale look normal, with houses and people bustling around and it's a busy day I realize. It doesn't take me long to walk home and as soon as I get inside I see my mom.

"Mom, I'm home!" I say excitedly. My mother looks up and smiles, and I have no idea what she's doing but as soon as I see that she's busy I run upstairs to my room and get the bug catching net that is lying next to my desk. My room is messy, with the bed unmade, and everything lying around on the floor. I ignore this and say out loud to myself, "I'll show them! Once I've caught some super rare bugs they won't be able to say anything against me!" I grab the bug net and then as soon as I start my way downstairs I stop and say, "Wait, where will I find a bunch of rare bugs? Maybe at the back of the park? Yeah there should be some over there. I'll tell mom before I go!" As I go downstairs, I say goodbye and walk out of the door not knowing what the future has in stock for me.