Yo-Kai Watch Another Watcher
Life After 3.11
It was a cold beginning for the month of March. Most of the trees didn't have their leaves yet, but the buds had appeared, and the flowers will bloom very soon as spring was just around the corner.
The students at Sakura New Elementary were having their recess break, and they were playing outside more often now that the weather was getting warmer, but it was still chilly enough for them to wear warm coats or jackets.
Ken was hanging with Keita, Kanchi, Kuma, and Fumika, playing a friendly soccer game.
"Here I go!" Keita declared as he directed the ball to the goal, which was guarded by Kuma.
"I won't let you, Keita!" Kanchi exclaimed as Kanchi was aiming to steal the ball.
"Ken, here!" Keita passed the ball to Ken.
Ken caught the ball successfully and headed straight to Kuma.
"Kuma! Block it!" Kanchi stated.
"Got it!" Kuma declared as he looked ready.
Ken carefully looked at the goal and gave a nice, strong kick. Kuma jumped to block the ball, but it was too quick.
"And that's a score for Keita-kun and Ken," Fumika said as she handled the scoreboard, giving a point to the team.
"Hurry, Master Ken!" Yuray, his yokai maid cheered.
"Way to go, Keita!" Whisper cheered.
"Heehaw! Go, team!" Lasagnyan said excitedly.
"Yeah for Keita and Ken!" Jibanyan also cheered.
"Now, it's our turn," Kanchi said. "Although…. this isn't fair!"
"What do you mean?" Keita asked.
"Kanchi is right! Just look!" Kuma pointed out. They looked around, quickly noticing what they mean. "Kanchi is facing alone against you two! That isn't fair!"
"Yeah, but we don't have our own goalkeeper!" Keita argued.
"This isn't fun anymore. We need one more player to be even," Kanchi stated. "And someone needs to keep an eye on the scoreboard, too."
The group didn't know what to do.
"Hey, can I join in and play with you guys?" The group turned around and gasped.
There was a very young boy in a white and gray shirt, and small light green pants appeared. He also wore a cap hat with soccer ball stitch on it.
"Oh, hello," Fumika greeted. "Who are you?"
The boys also wondered who the mysterious young boy was. They had never seen him before, so they assumed it was a new student and by his look and height, the mysterious young boy looked to be around 8 or 9.
"My name is Yuki, and I love to play soccer! So, can I join you guys?" He asked.
Keita and the others smiled. "Sure thing! You can be our goalkeeper."
"But, Keita," Ken spoke up. "Don't you think he's a bit too short to play with us?"
"Hey, I may be short, but I am good at soccer!" Yuki stated.
"Come on, Ken. Let him play with you on your team," Fumika demanded.
"I guess so," he said.
The gang returned to the game, with Yuki joining them. The game started. Kanchi and Keita started while Ken watched to make both teams even with the same numbers of players.
Kanchi came close to the goal, managing to avoid Ken from stealing his ball.
"Here I go!" Kanchi exclaimed as he kicked the ball.
"Oh, no! Watch out, Yuki!" Keita warned.
However, Yuki didn't look scared. Despite his short height, he successfully blocked the ball very quickly. Everyone gasped and was surprised.
"Wow!" Keita surprised. "Way to go, Yuki!"
"See? I told you all I'm good at soccer!" Yuki exclaimed.
Next round, Yuki was now kicking the ball and he hit the goal without a sweat. Everyone was impressed with Yuki's skills in soccer. Even Ken grinned to his amazement but felt a bit strange about Yuki.
"That boy, Yuki is very good in soccer, just as he claims to be," Yuray said.
"Yeah. Too good if you ask me…" Ken said suspiciously.
They all had a lot of fun, but eventually, the school bell rang and the recess ended.
"That was fun," Keita said as he panted.
"Man, I never played soccer so much like this," said Kuma as he looked tired.
"Me too," Kanchi nodded.
Yuki smiled as he giggled. "Hee, hee, hee! I'm very good at soccer."
"But now it's time to go back to class," Ken spoke.
"Let's hurry back to the classroom, guys," Fumika decided.
"Hey, don't you guys want to play more?" Yuki asked.
"What do you mean, Yuki? The recess is over," Kuma said.
"Yup. It's time to go back to the classroom," Kanchi added.
"Oh…" Yuki looked disappointed. "Well, then I can wait. I will see you guys later."
Yuki left as he looked sad.
"He really wanted to play more. I feel kind of bad for him," Fumika sympathized.
"I agree with Ms. Fumika," Yuray said.
"Although, I don't recall we've seen him before at school," Whisper thought aloud.
"Me, too, nya," Jibanyan agreed.
"Hmmm…" Ken hummed, mentally agreeing with Whisper's statement.
After some hours later, the school bell rang again, ending the school day. All the students came out, heading to home.
"So, what are you guys going to do on the weekends?" Fumika asked.
"I want to work on my soccer skills," Keita said. "That Yuki kid was really good!"
"Me, too, bro! For a short kid, he's really good just like he said!" Kuma exclaimed.
"He was exceptionally good. If he continues in improving, he may become a professional soccer player!" Kanchi said.
"But, guys…" They all looked at Ken, listening. "Just one question. Have we ever seen Yuki at school before?"
"Huh? What do you mean?" Keita asked.
"I mean…is just that I think when we met him, and he played with us, I think that was the very first time we ever met him. I don't remember if he is a student at our school," Ken explained.
"Now that I think about it, that's true. I don't think I have ever seen him before," Fumika said.
"He must be new. That's why" Keita pointed.
"Yeah! He must be a new kid!" Kuma agreed.
"That's got to be. That may explain why we met him today," Kanchi nodded.
"I guess…" Ken said unsurely.
"Anyway, see you guys later," Kuma said as he went on his own path to home.
"See you guys," Kanchi said as he headed to a different path.
"Have nice weekends, everyone," Fumika said as she waved them goodbye and headed straight to home.
Keita and Ken and their respective Yokai partners were heading home together as their house was on the same street.
"Hey Ken, why did you ask that question about Yuki?" Keita asked.
"Just curious, but I still don't think Yuki is just a new kid at our school. Something just doesn't feel right," Ken said.
"Hey, this is just my thought," Jibanyan spoke. "Maybe Yuki is a Yokai!"
Everyone stayed silent until they all laughed.
"Oh, silly Jibanyan! Really? A human kid is a Yokai? What a joke!" Whisper laughed hysterically.
"I don't think Mr. Young Yuki is a Yokai, Mr. Jibanyan. If he was, I would've sensed it!" Yuray giggled.
"Silly, Tomato Bum! Eating that chocobar may have made your noodles rotten!" Lasagnyan teased.
"Hey! For the last time, I'm not Tomato Bum!" Jibanyan argued.
"But, seriously, Jibanyan, there's no way Yuki is a Yokai," Keita said.
"Who's a Yokai?" A voice spoke up. They turned around to see Yuki just behind them.
They all gasped.
"Waah! Yuki!? Where did you come from!?" Keita asked surprisingly.
"You came out of nowhere!" Ken gasped.
"You guys look like we're having fun and these guys are your friends?" He said.
"Huh…..Whaaat!? You can see us all?!" Whisper asked.
"Of course, I do! I know you guys are Yokai," Yuki replied.
Ken, Keita, and everyone else were surprised. They had never met someone else who can see Yokai other than them, especially someone who didn't have a Yo-Kai Watch of their own. Ken felt even more suspicious of Yuki.
"Actually, I need you guys' help," Yuki admitted, looking a bit nervous.
"Our help, ya?" Jibanyan asked.
"You see…I, I am sort of lost and don't know my way back to home," Yuki admitted. "Could you guys help me find my way to home?"
Ken, Keita, and the Yokai felt sad for Yuki. Keita smiled. "Sure, Yuki. We can help you."
"Wait, what?" Ken said.
"Oh, thank you, thank you so much!" Yuki beamed.
"Wait, Keita!" Ken stated. "Could we have a sec?"
Ken dragged Keita, so he could talk to him privately. Yuray and Whisper joined in, too, while Jibanyan and Lasagnyan played with Yuki while the boys talked.
"Keita, I don't know about you, but there is something strange about Yuki, now that we know he can see Yokai," Ken said.
"I know, Ken, but didn't you hear? He's lost and we should help him," Keita whispered.
"Mr. Keita's right, Master Ken. It's true that it is strange for him to able to see Yokai, but from my experience, a person with pure hearts can able to see Yokai, even without the use of Yo-Kai Watch," Yuray said.
"But, Ken-san is right about one thing. Yuki is definitely strange, strangely interesting for sure," Whisper said.
"Either way, let's just help him, and maybe then, we can learn more about him," Keita said.
"Alright," Ken agreed.
"Alright, Yuki. Let's go find your way back home," Keita said.
"Yipee! I'm finally going back home!" Yuki cheered.
"Do you remember what your home was alike? Like what your house looks like?" Yuray asked kindly.
"Well…I remember my house was clean white and it has a blue roof…Oh, it was near the sea!" Yuki said.
"At the sea?" Ken repeated. "But, there is no actual house at the sea here in Sakura New Town…"
"Let's go and check it at least," Keita said.
Keita and Ken, with their Yokai partners and Yuki, headed to the sea coast. They were at the docks.
Jibanyan and Lasagnyan noticed some ships bringing in fishes that were freshly caught from the seas.
"Nya, nyaa! Fishes!" Jibanyan beamed as he ran over to the fishes.
"Wait up, Tomato Bum! I'm not letting you hog over those fishes…without me, Y'all!" Lasagnyan joined in.
"Ah, cat Yokai...they just couldn't resist fishes," Whisper sighed.
"And I don't see any house with a blue roof here," Ken said as he looked around.
"Or, anywhere for that, matter," Yuray said.
"Oh…." Yuki looked sadder.
"Don't worry, Yuki! We'll find your home," Keita said, cheering him.
While they were standing, a train passed by and Yuki jumped and saw the train going by before he couldn't see it anymore. Then, a flash of light sparked in his eyes as if he remembered something.
"Oh! I remember something else!" Yuki exclaimed.
"What is it?" Keita asked.
"I remember that the place where I live has trains!" Yuki stated.
"Train?" Yuray repeated. "But that means your place where your house is…."
"At a different town!" Whisper finished her sentence with a gasp at the end.
"So, in other words, your house with a blue roof is at a different town," Ken said as he thought to himself.
Before he said something else, Ken spoke first. "Then, we got to get to the station! Quick!"
"Mr. Jibanyan and Miss Lasagnyan, we're going now!" Yuray shouted to them.
When they turned around, they already had couples of fishes stuffed in their mouth. Later, they arrived at the train station.
"Do you remember anything else, Yuki?" Keita asked.
"Like the name of the town?" Whisper suggested.
"Yeah, like that," mumbled Jibanyan as he was eating some fishes they "took".
"Umm….hmmmm…oh! Yes, actually, I think my town was somewhere to the east from here, but in the north, too!" Yuki remembered.
"Somewhere in the most north…sounds far, but I guess something like this come in handy," Ken said as he took out a personal wallet, and then took out a fancy, blue credit card.
"Woah! You have your own credit card?!" Keita gasped.
"Yeah. My mom got it for me, but she only said to use it when I really need to use it," Ken explained shortly.
"Lucky boy, whizz…" Whisper commented.
He used his card to buy tickets for himself, Keita, and Yuki (and their Yokai pals really didn't need their own since they can go on the train freely since they are…well spirits).
They rode on the train but had to transfer to a faster, high-speed train on their way when they arrived at the big city (aka Tokyo), and then transferred to another train again. It took some hours, but they managed to arrive at the place Yuki described.
"Is this really your home, Yuki?" Keita asked as he looked around, and there was barely anything.
They saw few stores, but there weren't many people or rather, there weren't any people at all.
"Yeah! This is my home! I'm finally home!" Yuki beamed as he skipped with joy. "Mom! Dad! I'm finally back home!"
"Well, the journey was long, but at least we were able to get Yuki back home," Yuray said happily as they followed behind the happy boy.
"True, that's true," Keita nodded.
"Indeed," Whisper agreed.
"Yeah, but something's not quite…right," Ken noticed. "I mean, have anyone else noticed that we're the only people in this town? It's kind of…. too quiet."
Lasganyan looked around and noticed. "Ken is right. Something fishy is going on here, and it's not Tomato Bum's breath or mine, either."
Soon, they entered the town, but it was also quiet and no sign of people anywhere other than them.
"Look, guys!" They heard Yuki's yell. They went over to Yuki as he was pointing at something.
"There it is, my home!" Yuki shouted.
There they saw a house with the blue roof just built on a short hill off the coast near the ocean.
"Mom and Dad are waiting for me there, and I would like you guys meet them!" Yuki said excitedly as he ran over happily.
"Hey! Wait up!" Whisper yelled.
Everyone followed Yuki. They confronted the front door, but Ken felt something off.
"This is great, Yuki! You can finally see your parents again!" Keita said, excited.
"Yup! My younger sisters are excited to see me!" Yuki said as he approached the door and reached for the doorknob.
However, Ken stopped him. "Wait, Yuki."
"What?" Keita gasped.
"Hey, let me go, Ken!" Yuki moaned as he tried to un-grip from Ken's hand.
"Listen to me, Yuki! Something's not right about this, and frankly, there's something just not…right about you, too," Ken said.
"Master Ken, why would you say that?" Yuray asked.
"Don't you see guys? This place, this town…is not right! There are no people around other than just us, and we just met Yuki at school today, but just as I said before, we don't recognize him at our school, not even Kuma, Kanchi, and Fumika!" Ken explained.
"That's true, but come on, Ken. At least we got Yuki back home, so why stop him now?" Keita asked. "Don't you want him to meet his parents?"
"But, Keita, haven't you paying attention? Yuki mentioned it before we got here. He said he haven't seen his parents for a long time, meaning he's been lost for quite a while, in fact maybe longer than he should," Ken countered.
His friends, including the yokai maid, thought to themselves and realized what he said was not false at all.
"Nya, that is quite strange…" Lasagnyan said.
"He could also see us Yokai, as well," Whisper added.
"Come on, guys. I just want to see my parents again, and besides, I get lost a lot anyway," Yuki said, a bit hesitant in tone.
"Well, Ken, why don't we just meet Yuki's parents and then we can just go home after this?" Keita said as he allowed Yuki to open the door. "Go ahead, Yuki. Just open the door."
"Sure thing," Yuki said as he reached the doorknob and touched it.
Suddenly, Yuray's whole body tingled and then shook wildly.
"Wwwooooooooohhh! What's this!?" Yuray questioned.
"What's wrong, Yuray, nya?" Jibanyan asked.
"My Yokai Sense is tingling tremendously!" She exclaimed as she couldn't stop shaking.
"Wait? If your Yokai Sense is tingling, then that means…!" Keita and the others looked back at Yuki as he just opened the door.
Then, sea water blasted out of the door, along with them caught in the strong waves. Ken was the first person to get back to the surface.
"Bwah!" He spits out some of the water. "Guys! Guys! Where are you!?"
"Over here!" Ken looked up, and saw Keita, all wet, but was on a top of the roof of some house.
"Keita!" Ken yelled.
"Grab on, Ken!" Keita reached out his hand. Ken swam as quickly and strongly as possible despite the waves trying to drag him to wherever it led.
Keita reached his hand and pulled him hard to safety.
"Are you OK?" He asked.
"Yeah, but where are Yuray, Yuki, and the others?" Ken asked.
"Master Ken!" "Keita-kun!"
They looked up and saw their respective Yokai partners, each carrying the respective Yokai Cats.
"Hoo-wee! That was too close!" Lasagnyan exclaimed as she squeezed her into the hat to release the absorbed water.
"Brrrr!" Jibanyan shivered. "I hate water…"
"Oh my god…look guys!" Keita pointed out.
They saw their surroundings. The town was now flooded with the water. The water was so deep that it covered the roads, buildings, and everything around it. The sky, which was clear as blue, was now covered in white clouds and it was even snowing a little.
"Just what's going on? What is this?" Keita asked.
Then, they heard a crying voice. Off the distance, but not too far away, they saw Yuki, crying and stuck on an electrical pole in the middle of the strong current.
"Oh no!" Yuray screamed. "Mr. Yuki's in trouble! He's stuck on that pole!"
"Not if we do something about it!" Ken stated as he had his Yokai Medal out and ready. "Yo-Kai Medal set! Come out! Dizzy-Top!"
Dizzy-Top was summoned by his Yo-Kai Watch. "Dizzy-Top!" The top Yokai appeared.
"Dizzy-Top, save Yuki!" He commanded.
"Right on!" Dizzy-Top complied as he went over to Yuki. He spun himself to create a little tornado to catch Yuki and brought him to safety. He flew him over to Ken's place, and soon the waves settled down and shortly disappeared.
The roof they were standing on also disappeared, and now they were on a firm ground.
"What the!? The flood! It's all gone!" gasped Keita.
"Alright! I need some explanations! Just what's going in this town!?" Whisper questioned.
"Hey, Whisper," said Lasagnyan. "I think you need to check again."
They looked around and noticed that the town was now destroyed, and most of the houses and other buildings were washed away. Ones that were still standing had no windows and were all ruined. There were even few broken cars.
"Nya! This place…looks horrible!" Jibanyan cried.
"Yeah, and I think I know what's going on, but I think it is best for Yuki here to explain it," Ken said as he looked at Yuki, who was on his knees and crying.
"What? Yuki? What does he have to do with…whatever just happened here?!" Keita questioned.
"Yuki…" Ken bent his knee to be at his same height. "Listen, Yuki. I know what I will say will hurt your feelings, but you really need to let go."
"Huh?" His friends looked even more confused than before.
Yuki wept. "What do you mean I need to let go?"
"Yuki, your home…. your parents…. they're not here, anymore. And you, well, you are not alive," he said.
Everyone was shocked.
"What?! I'm…I'm not alive? What do you mean I'm not?!" Yuki wept even more. "I'm alive as anyone ever!"
"Yuki, what I mean is that you're really a ghost, who can't leave and go to the afterlife because you didn't let go!" Ken replied as he tried to comfort him. "But, don't worry! You can still see and meet your parents again if you just let go of everything! Your feelings about going back home because the home you thought it would be here is not here, anymore. You got to move on."
Yuki cried and cried until he looked straight at Ken with the sincere, yet calm look. Yuki wiped his tears away.
"OK…I….I will let go of everything," Yuki decided bravely, yet still weeping.
Suddenly, a single light shone over the little boy when they heard a voice.
"Y….Yu….Yuki….."
"Mom?" Yuki said.
"Yuki…." Said another voice.
"Dad?" He replied.
The light hovered away from Yuki and then shone at a not far distant. There in the light, two adults stood tall. One was a man, and another was a woman.
Yuki stood back up and stared at the two adults.
"Yuki, over here," said the woman with a friendly, kind voice.
"Mom…. Mom! Are you!" Yuki jumped in joy as he ran over to them.
The adults revealed to be his parents, who have long waited for their son to return to them.
"Yuki…he's finally reunited with his parents," Yuray said as her eyes became watery.
"Yeah, he really did," Keita agreed.
"I am so happy!" Whisper cried hysterically.
"Come on, Yuki," said his mother. "Let's go home."
They held hands together and walked away until they shortly disappeared together to the other world.
Suddenly, the surrounding area changed again. They were back at the train station, surprising them.
"Nya! We're back where we started!" Jibanyan screamed.
"But, look, Y'all!" Lasagnyan pointed out.
Around them were some people, going on with their lives as everything was normal. They also saw some construction workers building houses and even rebuilding some buildings.
"What's going on?" Keita asked. "Did everything that happened today was an illusion or something?"
"No, Keita," said Ken. "I don't think it was just a mere illusion. I think whatever that happened, we helped Yuki to get back home. That's what we did."
"Hey, I've never seen you, two boys, here before. Are you two lost?" They turned left to see a young girl in middle school outfit, who looked much older than them.
"Oh, um, yeah, we're just visitors!" Keita said, making it up. "Right, Ken?"
"Um, yeah," he agreed.
The girl smiled lightly. "I see! Well, welcome to Umi Town or at least what's left of it."
"What do you mean?" Keita asked.
"Well, you see," she began. "You guys maybe were too young to remember this, but about 7 years ago, a strong earthquake happened in the ocean not too far away, causing a strong tsunami and that tsunami came here and swept everything away. It destroyed pretty much most of the town."
"That's right. I think I heard about it from my parents!" Keita remembered. "A lot of…people lost their lives, right?"
"Yeah, and few of those people who lost their lives…were my family. My parents and my older brother passed away when the tsunami waves came and washed them away. I was only 6 that time, and I was safe since I was on a field trip that day, but after hearing the news…. I…. well, I got really sad. My older brother, Yuki, he was gone."
The boys and their Yokai friends gasped in their mind but finally learned the truth.
"But, it's OK now! The people who were evacuated and saved decided to rebuild this town, to make it better than ever before. We're still a long way to go, but we still need all the help we can get, so…."
She turned to the boys. "Please give us all the support you can give us, alright?"
The boys nodded. "Sure thing, Miss! We will do just that, right Ken?"
Ken smiled light-heartedly. "Of course."
"Thank you, you guys! Thank you so much!" The girl said. "Oh, by the way, my name is Yukari."
Hello, guys. Today on March 11th, it is the 7th anniversary of the Great East Japan Earthquake of 2011. For all of you who never have experienced an earthquake or tsunami before, I understand that you guys wouldn't understand it fully, but on this day in Japan, a lot of people lost their lives. Not just by the earthquake that shook the country, tsunami that devastated most, if not, all towns on the sea coast near the Pacific Ocean, but also a nuclear meltdown disaster that came after the tsunami scared many people who lived and experienced the event 7 years ago.
Personally, I lost few members of my relatives in the town called "Rikuzen-Takada". It was one of the towns that was heavily affected by the tsunami because, well, it was completely washed away, literally. My aunt's house and her crop field of cucumbers, the soy sauce store we go to visit every year, and everything were all gone. Of course, my aunt had passed away a year or two prior to the disaster because of cancer, but now her home was gone and I felt very sad.
Fortunately, her husband, my uncle or great uncle, since he is my father's uncle, is still around and he still lives in the town at a new apartment that was recently built last year, and the rent is free, so great for him! All for the recovery of the town, which so far going smoothly.
Recovery is progressing, but there are still many challenges left, such as what to do with the towns that were abandoned near the nuclear facility that the meltdown occurred at. Wild animals moved in now that the towns near the nuclear power planet (Fukushima Daichi Nuclear Power Plant is the name if I spelled that correctly), and pretty much the whole place is rekked.
However, that doesn't mean we can't do anything. There is something we can do to help, so after you read this, I am not begging you or forcing you to do it, but out of your sincerity and kindness, please do whatever you can to help Japan or more specifically, the Tohoku Prefecture of Japan because that is the name of the region (Prefecture is equivalent to states in USA). I am sure that they are still accepting donation for the recovery, and even a special volunteer project for it, if you're up for it. Or just pray, and hope for the best for the Japanese people who were affected by this disaster. And someday, maybe something better will come out of this.
Thank you for reading this if you have read this story and this message until the end. I will see you guys later with more Yo-Kai Watch related content, including my main story and the crossover movie story. See you guys later and have a nice day. Peace.