CHAPTER 4

Proxy walked along the path, leading her new companion out of the woods and back towards her house. She'd been talking to Romeo as they went, and she was starting to feel more comfortable around him. Melodramatic attitude and unnerving appearance aside, he seemed pretty okay to her. Then, a thought occurred to her. "Other people can't see you yokai, right?"

"Nope," Romeo said with a shake of his head. "You're the only one!"

"Great, more ammunition for the accusations… So, are you going to… live with me now?" She tilted her head in puzzlement.

"Well- yes, I suppose I am. As your new guide, I need to be with you as much as is physically possible- in case you encounter a new yokai." Romeo said with a smile.

"Ahh geez. If I make other yokai friends, will they live with me too?"

Romeo sighed. "Probably not. Spirits have routines outside of assisting you, you know!" he chastised.

"I didn't! What do you think I asked you for?!" she exclaimed, then stopped walking abruptly. She didn't remember when the dirt path had become sidewalk, but they'd arrived at her house. "Oh, here we are."

Romeo stared up at the humble abode as Proxy headed up the walk to the door. To think, he'd finally found someone to guide; she was smart, and with more powerful yokai on her side, she could be unstoppable. He just hoped she'd be able to handle the work. The ghost followed his new friend into her house.

Proxy stood in the living room, staring worriedly at the kitchen entrance. The shouts of her parents reached her ears from the next room, so whatever was going on, it wasn't good. She peered inside, careful not to make too much noise. Watching her mom and dad scream at each other over spilled milk was indeed strange, but in her building anxiety at the prospect of getting involved, she didn't see a problem with the logic just yet.

Romeo floated over to the girl, watching her adjust her glasses nervously. He'd heard the parents shouting from the entrance, so he could tell why his companion was already riled up. "…Is that normal?" he mumbled, squinting at the doorway.

Proxy blinked and turned to face Romeo. "I mean, yeah, sometimes we have fights, but… they're getting so angry over literal spilt milk. It's- kinda weird." She seemed to recognize the peculiarity of the situation as she spoke. "My mom might get this angry over a small thing, but my dad usually doesn't scream like this in general."

Romeo thought long and hard about this. Then, his red eyes lit up, and he grinned, floating close to her ear. "I think," he whispered, "we may have found our first opponent."

"You mean a yokai's doing this?" Proxy gasped. "You said they cause all sorts of problems, right? We have to fix this!"

"Indeed we do, honey. And since you already have me to fight with, there should be no problem," Romeo cheered.

Proxy frowned. "I'm gonna try to reason with it first. Pen before sword, all that stuff," she said.

"Eloquently put," Romeo quipped. "Now just aim your watch lens over there…"

Proxy ventured into the nearest corner of the kitchen, directing the attention of her lens around the room. She saw something purple and out of place, and returned her focus to that point. She watched as a large pile of purple goop materialized in front of her. She cautiously approached, sticking close to the kitchen counter. "Um… excuse me, miss-"

"Oh, hello, dahling," drawled the yokai, cutting Proxy off. "I'm surprised you noticed me. Who are you? I'm Dismarelda."

Proxy took a deep breath and tried to stay calm. "I'm Proxy. I live here, and you're kind of disturbing the-"

"I'm sorry if I made it sound like I was interested in your life story," jeered Dismarelda. "If you're going to keep pestering me, just leave. I'm not interested, dahling."

"STOP INTERRUPTING ME!" Proxy yelled, before taking another deep breath. Just the yokai's presence was dredging up negativity in her, but she had to stay above it. "Dismarelda, I need you to stop making my parents fight. There's something important I need to ask them, and I need them to be calm for it."

Dismarelda seemed to consider this for a minute or two. "Mm, how about no. They're too much fun to watch." She turned back to the parents with a smirk.

Proxy's brow lowered, and she removed Romeo's medal from her inventory without a word. She didn't appreciate this regard of her parents as mere toys. Just before she could put the medal into the watch to summon the spirit into battle, however, he tapped her shoulder.

"On s-second thought, darling, this one is quite strong. I think our best bet is Plan B."

"And… what's plan B, exactly?" Proxy grumbled.

Romeo grabbed the girl's shoulders and turned her around, marching her out of the house. "Run!"

Once they were out, Proxy felt much calmer- she supposed it really was Dismarelda who was making her so upset. "So what's her deal? Do you know?" she said, whirling on Romeo.

Romeo frowned and summoned a smartphone with a pink case, flicking through apps with a stubby finger. "Well, according to the Yokai Wiki, Dismarelda's Inspirit ( that's how yokai affect the corporeal world ) causes those affected to become consumed with negative energy. Just being near her can affect a person, but to a lesser degree."

"So mom and dad were Inspirited by that blob? Damn… it explains that eerie feeling in the air before I even saw Dismarelda." Proxy frowned, then sighed. "What are we gonna do, though? If you're not strong enough to face her one-on-one, how am I gonna save my parents?"

Romeo shrugged his nonexistent shoulders. "I think we ought to explore the neighborhood and find you some more yokai friends, honey. There's strength in numbers, after all."

Proxy nodded, now determined. "Right. Let's go, Romeo!"

"One step ahead of you!"