The world you see isn't all there is. There are things you can't see.

See? In the darkness… behind you...


Kitaro walked down the street. He and his father had just arrived in Setagaya City and were looking for somewhere to settle down for the night.

As luck would have it, they just happened to find a quaint, two-story building with a hand-made sign out front that read, "Free Lodging. Free Meals. Rest and Enjoy Yourselves."

Just as he was about to knock on the door, it suddenly flew open, revealing their host. Kitaro didn't think he'd ever seen a filthier man before. His body was covered in a large, worn robe the color of faded moss that let off a rank odor. His skin was greasy and his face was vaguely similar to a large rodent, with large bucked teeth and whiskers similar to this of a rat. He grinned at Kitaro and bowed.

"Welcome to my inn," he said straightening himself. "BiBiBi no Nezumi Otoko, at your service."

Suddenly, Nezumi Otoko became very interested in Kitaro's chanchanko.

"Say, kid. That's a very interesting vest you have there. Mind if I take a look?"

Suddenly, Medama Oyaji jumped out of Kitaro's hair and into the mans face.

"No! Absolutely not!"

Nezumi Otoko stared at Oyaji for a few seconds before simply shrugging. The little eyeball looked a little disappointed.

"You aren't surprised to see me?" he asked. The past few days, whenever Oyaji decided to reveal himself, most people would scream or fall over. This strange man didn't seem to even care.

"No," he said. "Why should I be? After all, I'm part yōkai myself."

Kitaro looked a little surprised himself. "Dad, can people actually do that?"

Medama Oyaji nodded. "I've heard of it but never actually seen it myself."

"Are we just going to stand here and talk about my unusual genes, or did you folks need lodging?"

"Oh, yes please, sir," Kitaro said bowing respectfully.

Nezumi Otoko turned and motioned for them to follow him.

He led them up the stairs to a room that was a combination kitchen, bedroom and living quarters. At the table was a human man with glasses and a thick mustache.

"You'll be sharing this room with this man here," Nezumi Otoko said with a grin. He then turned and left the room.

The man, who was engrossed in a book, didn't pay Kitaro any mind as he walked to the corner and sat down.

You want to take a bath, dad?" he asked.

"Oh, yes please!" He said. They had been traveling for the past few days and a hot bath would work wonders. Kitaro took out his tea set and began to warm the water in the teapot on the gas stove. After it had warmed to a comfortable temperature, he poured it into a cup and Medama Oyaji climbed into the cup and laid back with a sigh.


Downstairs, Nezumi Otoko walked into a private room where a older-looking man sat. He had pasty white skin, long black hair and two long fangs that hung out of the corners of his mouth.

"How is the plan working so far, Nezumi Otoko?"

The rat man bowed and looked at the man with a sneer.

"Smooth as silk," he said. "We have three guests in the inn now, and two on them are yōkai."

The man grinned, showing his sharp teeth.

"Perfect. While human blood is certainly more palatable, the blood of a yōkai will certainly help me regain the power I've lost. Soon, I will be able to launch my conquest on mankind."

"Pardon me, master," Nezumi Otoko said, "but why have you come to Japan? Why not do this conquest in your own country?"

"I fled here because those foolish mortals actually thought I was dead. Imagine their terror when I attack the countries around them, leaving them for last as they stew in their own unease! Soon, the world will know the power of a Vlad Dracula!"

Dracula let loose an evil cackle while Nezumi Otoko just watch him with an uneasy look in his eyes.


That night, Nezumi Otoko brought up trays of sukiyaki with rice for dinner. He joined them as they ate and talked with them about their travels.

"So, where are you two heading to?" he asked.

"We're not sure," Medama Oyaji said as he ate a grain of rice. "Somewhere safe. Somewhere where Kitaro can grow without human affliction."

Nezumi Otoko took a filthy deck of cards out of the folds of his robe and began doing some tricks. Kitaro watched with amusement as the rat man fluttered and shuffled the cards through his fingers.

"How'd you do that," he asked.

"After spending 300 years on this earth, you pick up a thing or two."

Kitaro seemed deep in thought, and this did not go unnoticed by his father.

"Kitaro?"

"You know," Kitaro said, sticking a piece of beef in his mouth, "if you wanted to, you could travel with us."

The cards in the rat man's hands suddenly fell to the ground in a crumpled heap.

"Really?" he asked.

"Sure," he said. "The more the merrier, right?"

Nezumi Otoko thought about that. He was born to a human mother after she had a love affair with a rat yōkai who had disguised himself as a man and she left him for dead after she saw what and ugly baby he was. Being both human and yōkai, he had never truly belonged to either of their worlds. He had agreed to help Dracula with his plan just to save his own hide. But now, after this boy had shown him such kindness… he couldn't go through with this.

"You all need to leave right now!" he said, getting up and handing them their things.

"Why? What's wrong?" Kitaro asked.

Suddenly, the lanterns went out and the room went dark. The door opened to reveal Vlad Dracula, king of vampires, with his glowing red eyes burning at the group.

"You would dare betray me?!" he screamed with so much hatred it seemed to coat the walls. He whipped his cape around and a whirlwind shot right for them. If they had still been their, all four of them would had most certainly been killed. Luckily, Kitaro grabbed hold of Nezumi Otoko, his father and the screaming human and shielded them with his chanchanko.

Enraged, Dracula clawed vigorously at the makeshift room with his tallon-like nails, but amazingly, the chanchanko continued to hold. Inside, Kitaro lit a lantern he had grabbed from the window and looked at Nezumi Otoko.

"What did that man mean by "betray me"?

Nezumi Otoko gulped. "So, I may have been roped into helping supply the king of vampires with fresh blood because he said that I I didn't, he would drain mine."

Kitaro sighed and grabbed hold of the edge of his chanchanko.

"Alright. Now, stay behind me. This may get rough."

Kitaro ripped the chanchanko off of them and eyed Dracula with determination on his face.

"Hair Needles!" He yelled as his hair became straight and pointed and began shooting out of his head and painfully embedding themselves into Dracula's skin. He screamed in pain and fell to his knees. He looked up to see Kitaro pointing his fingers at him in imatation of a gun. Suddenly, the tip of his pointer finger began to glow with a strange energy.

"Finger Guns," he said and the energy blasted from his finger and hit Dracula at point-blank range, completely obliterating his body until only his soul was left. Hit hovered there for a few seconds before flying away.

With the threat gone, the crying man got up and pointed at the yōkai. You people are insane! I almost died! I'm leaving before something else happens!"

He ran out of the room leaving Kitaro, Medama Oyaji and Nezumi Otoko alone.

"Well Kitaro," Oyaji said. "I'd say it was time we left too."

"Yes, dad."

He grabbed his things and walked to the doorway.

Nezumi Otoko just sat on the floor looking dejected. At least, he did before Kitaro turned and said, "Are you coming?"

Nezumi Otoko looked at them like he couldn't believe it.

"After all I've done, you really want me to come with you?"

Kitaro looked at him with simpathy in his eye.

"I get it. You were scared. You did what you needed to do to survive. I won't hold that against you. If you still want to come with me, you can."

The rat man began to tear up, but nodded and grinned at the boy and his eyeball father.


Medama Oyaji impatiently tapped his fingers against Kitaro's head.

"Is he coming or not? We have to go!"

"It's okay, dad. I'm sure he's almost done."

Sure enough, a few minutes later, Nezumi Otoko came out of the inn with a big, green bundle over his shoulder.

"What could you possibly have in there?" Oyaji asked.

"Oh, just a few things I've collected over the years. My cards, my extra robes, my-"

"Never mind! Never mind! Let's just go."

So Kitaro and his new friend walked down the street with his geta making a "clop-clop" noise as he went.


Ah, we finally get to meet Nezumi Otoko. And next time we'll meet Neko Musume, so I'm excited for that.

Before we go, a little background on Nezumi Otoko:

Nezumi Otoko (ねずみ男, "Rat Man") is a rodent-like Yōkai and a member of the Kitaro Family. He is Kitaro's self-proclaimed best friend and a notorious trickster. Born to a human and a yōkai, he constantly tries to con members of both races, but almost always gets his comeuppance.

Like Medama Oyaji, he is an original character created by Shigeru Mizuki.

His nickname is BiBiBi no Nezumi-Otoko (ビビビのねずみ男). The phrase BiBiBi derives from the sound effect binta (slap in the face), but it is implied to come from the sound Nezumi Otoko makes as his whiskers tremble whenever he comes across a possible money-making scheme.

Nezumi Otoko looks human except he has whiskers and buck teeth. He wears a long brownish cloak which fits him pretty well. He has a small patch of hair on the tip of his head. Underneath his robe he wears a loincloth and his skin is covered with ringworms and scabs.

Nezumi Otoko is Kitaro's troublesome and loathsome friend. He is the filthiest man in Japan and claims to have never bathed once in his life, although he has actually been seen bathing a number of times. Because of this, his body is covered with ringworms and welts. His breath is quite foul, and it is said he can drop a fly from 10 meters away with one breath. He is a self-proclaimed graduate of the Bizarre University's Filthy Department and a lover of the occult. He boasts of receiving a doctorate in "Lazy Studies," but whether any of this is true is never made clear.

The despicable Nezumi Otoko was Shigeru Mizuki's own favorite character, and as such appeared in many of his other non-Kitaro stories. In interviews, Mizuki usually answered questions regarding his favorite character immediately with "Nezumi Otoko", and also mentioned that he didn't have any other favorites out of the Kitaro Family or his other yōkai characters.

That's all for now. So until next time…

GibbyTheCookie, signing off.