Episode 2: Stumbling Around
It's my first night in the city of Springdale. For dinner, my dad and I ate ramen noodles and sushi. Believe me, these were some of the food we ate back in USA but they taste really different this time around. Dad ordered them by food delivery and he even bought karaage chicken, a Japanese dish we haven't tried yet. It was very delicious.
More importantly, I feel like my life has been turned upside down ever since I met this fairy Yo-Kai named 'Finkell', who is now living with me starting now as my personal Yo-Kai maid. It's a good thing that no one else, especially my dad, can't see her. Now, I'm starting to get all curious inside about Yo-Kai and what they always do in the lives of the people in Springdale, Japan.
Julie is now wearing her red nightgown. She is on her bed, uploading her recently taken photos online to her friend Vanessa. As soon as she was finished, Julie noticed Finkell hovering beside her.
"What is it, Finkell?" the Hathaway girl asked.
"Sorry to bother you, Lady Julie, but if there is anything you need, anything at all, I am here for you as I am your maid," Finkell said, confidently.
Julie thought for a moment before she said, "Actually, there is something I've been willing to ask you."
"What would that be?" Finkell asked, politely.
"Are there any more Yo-Kai here?" Julie asked.
"Well, yes. There are a lot of Yo-Kai around Springdale. Most of them are inivisble to people without the Yo-Kai Watch," Finkell answered.
"I see," Julie remarked. "Well, anyway, I'm going to sleep now. Goodnight."
"Goodnight, Lady Julie. Sleep tight and don't let the bedbugs bite," Finkell then turned off the light, sat down, and began watching her mistress.
The next day…
It was a bright and clear morning. The sun's light peered through Julie's bedroom window as her alarm clock rang when it reached 7:00. Julie pressed the clock's snooze button, got up from her bed, and did a little stretching before she saw an already-awake Finkell.
"Good morning, Finkell," Julie greeted.
"Good morning, Lady Julie," Finkell greeted back. "Ready for the big day?"
"Big day?" Julie asked before it dawned on her. "Oh right! Today's my first day in my new school."
"That's right. Now while I prepare your clothes, why don't you go to the bathroom and freshen up?"
"Okay," Julie complied.
Julie grabbed her bathrobe and towel and headed to the bathroom. She took a quick shower, washed her face, and brushed her teeth. She came back to her bedroom shortly and noticed her neatly folded clothes on her bed and Finkell is putting the other clothes back in the closet. The Hathaway girl got her clothes and headed back in the bathroom to change.
"While you're at it, Finkell, can you fix my bed?" Julie requested.
"Yes, ma'am," Finkell obeyed as she proceeded to fix Julie's bed while the latter is changing inside the bathroom.
Once Julie is fully dressed, she went out of the bathroom, fastened her bangs with her cherry hair clip, and headed downstairs to eat breakfast with her dad.
"Good morning, Julie," Mr. Hathaway said with a smile. He is wearing his usual businessmen's attire.
"Morning, Dad," Julie returned the greeting.
"Wow. You look so hyper today," Mr. Hathaway commented. "Are you ready for your first day at your new school?"
"Yeah," Julie nodded.
"That's good to hear. Anyways, I have to go now. You sure you're gonna be fine by yourself?" Mr. Hathaway asked.
"Don't worry about that, Dad. I have this," Julie assured as she showed her MyPhone.
"Oh you kids and your technology," Mr. Hathaway joked. "Have fun and see you later."
He picked up his briefcase and headed out the front door but before he did, he turned back and looked at his daughter on more time.
"Hey, Julie," he said.
"Yes, Dad?" she asked.
"Try making new friends in school, okay? And please take these forms to the school's office, too," Mr. Hathaway requested.
"Okay, Dad," Julie complied.
"See you later."
Mr. Hathaway then headed outside and went to work. Julie then resumed eating her breakfast while Finkell watched her mistress' father go off.
"Your father is really concerned about you. It's a good thing I'm here to help you in school, right?" the Yo-Kai fairy said.
"Yeah," the Hathaway girl agreed.
"Anyway, I fixed your bed just like you said and I brought your bag," Finkell said as she handed Julie her bag.
It's a white and pink shoulder bag with a black strap and four decorative pins on the lower right. The first pin is pink with human Fluttershy from Equestria Girls. The second pin is purple with Princess Sofia from Sofia the First. The third pin is red with Ladybug from Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug and Cat Noir and the fourth and final pin is yellow with Princess Belle from Beauty and the Beast.
"Thanks," Julie replied as she put the bag on her chair and placed the dishes she used at the sink and cleaned them quickly.
As the Hathaway girl walked to school, Finkell flew next to her. Julie felt uncomfortable with the Yo-Kai fairy following her. Then again, Finkell was now Julie's maid.
"Is it really necessary for you to follow me everywhere I go?" Julie asked, her voice toned down so no one will think she is soliloquizing.
"Of course, Lady Julie. It's my responsibility as you Yo-Kai maid to be with you at all times," Finkell insisted.
Julie approached the gate to Springdale Elementary. This school looked a bit larger than Prismatopia Elementary but the former school seemed welcoming. Julie then saw other students with standard Japanese backpacks entering through the gate as the teacher welcomed each of them. Julie went through the gate while returning the teacher's greeting.
Julie soon found herself standing outside the office.
"Hello. How can I help you?" The lady asked.
"Hi. I'm Julie Hathaway. It's my first day today," Julie said as she gave the lady some paperwork.
"Ah, yes. They said that there would be a new student joining us today. You will be in class 5-2 with Mr. Johnson."
"Okay," Julie said.
"Oh. Could you get your teacher to sign this and bring it back at the end of the day?" the lady said.
A few minutes later, the school bell rang, starting the day.
At class 5-2, as the students went to their seats, Nate talked to Bear and Eddie.
"Did you hear? We're getting a new student today?" Eddie stated.
"Where'd you hear that?" Nate asked.
"I overheard it from Katie," Eddie answered.
"I wonder who's this new guy or girl is," Bear remarked.
Entering the classroom, Mr. Johnson announced, "Good morning, class. Today, we have a new student joining us. She moved with her father all the way from America. I would like to introduce you all to Julianne Rose Hathaway. Please make her feel welcome."
As if on cue, Julie showed up and stood in front of her new classmates. Finkell watched her from the doorway.
Julie gave her slip to the teacher.
"Ms. Hathaway, would you like to introduce yourself to the class?" Mr. Johnson asked.
"Gladly," the Hathaway girl complied before starting her introduction to her classmates. "My name is Julianne Rose Hathaway but you guys can call me 'Julie.' I came from Allanbrooke, USA. It's a pleasure to meet you all."
Whisper, Nate's Yo-Kai butler, appeared beside Nate.
"Ooh, a new student, eh?" said Whisper.
"Yeah, she seems like a nice girl," said Nate.
"You can have a seat, right behind Nate," said Mr. Johnson.
"Thanks," Julie replied as she headed towards her seat.
"Alright. Let's begin the lesson, shall we?" Mr. Johnson then started the lesson.
A moment later, after class, Nate and his friends decide to talk to Julie. Julie is reading her favorite novel when Nate, Katie, Eddie, and Bear approached her.
"So, you're Julie, right?" Nate said to Julie.
"Yeah that's me," Julie said.
"My name's Nate," Nate introduced himself. "And these are my friends."
"My name's Bear," Bear introduced himself.
"I'm Eddie," Eddie continued.
"And I'm Katie," Katie finished.
"Well, it's nice to meet you guys," Julie replied
"So, when did you come to Springdale?" Nate asked.
"Oh, I came here yesterday, with my dad. Back in Allanbrooke, the technology company my dad used to work in just opened their branch here in Springdale and they wanted my dad to work there.
"Wow, that's nice," Katie commented.
"And I hope the four of us can be good friends," Nate remarked.
"Yeah," Julie nodded. That's when she noticed the Yo-Kai watch on Nate's wrist.
A few hours later, it was lunch time, which is also break time for everyone in Springdale Elementary. At a hallway near her classroom, Julie is eating her favorite roast beef sandwich. She still remembered Nate and his Yo-Kai Watch.
'Why does Nate have a Yo-Kai Watch, like me? Does this mean he can search for and summon Yo-Kai, too? Does he also have a Yo-Kai partner?" Julie thought before she noticed Finkell right beside her.
"Is there something wrong, Lady Julie?" Finkell asked.
"It's nothing, really. Although, there is one thing I am thinking about," Julie admitted.
"What is it?" Finkell asked, curiously.
"There is a boy named Nate, who is in the same classroom as me. He appears to own a Yo-Kai Watch, like me," the Hathaway girl explained.
"What?!" The Yo-Kai fairy gasped. "But that's impossible. Unless… that boy came upon the capsule machine and freed another Yo-Kai before you did."
"I'm curious about that too. Come on, Finkell. Let's go find him," Julie said as she started her search for Nate.
"Okay, Lady Julie," Finkell complied and followed her mistress.
Both the Hathaway girl and the Yo-Kai fairy searched around for Nate, but they couldn't find him.
"Where is he?" Julie thought aloud.
As Julie searched around the school's hallways, she accidentally stumbled on something.
"Whoa!" Julie gasped as she balanced herself to a nearby wall with her hand.
"Lady Julie, are you alright?" Finkell asked, concerned for her human mistress.
"Yeah," Julie replied while sighing. "I accidentally stumbled and almost tripped. It must've been the slippery floor. The people here should've put on a 'Wet Floor' sign."
"I don't think it's because of the floor," Finkell disagreed.
"What do you mean by that?" Julie asked.
"It must've been the work of a Yo-Kai. My wings are telling me that because they are fluttering rapidly," Finkell declared.
"Yeah. Let's find out," Julie used her Yo-Kai Watch to find the Yo-Kai responsible. "I don't see anything."
"Just keep looking. You can't find the Yo-Kai unless they're hit directly by the light," Finkell said.
Eventually, the light was aimed at the area where Julie stumbled. The light then revealed a shadowy silhouette.
"I found it," Julie said.
The Yo-Kai was surprised when she saw Julie and Finkell looking at her.
"My word! I've been spotted!"
The Yo-Kai had mint green skin, emerald green hair, and pointy ears. She wore a dress with two shades of blue, green sandals with brown straps, and a yellow green headband with two 'horns' that look like shoots. Shortly, this Yo-Kai looks like a dryad.
Name: Stumbelina
Tribe: Slippery
Attribute: Earth
"So who is this Yo-Kai?" Julie asked.
Finkell took out her Yo-Kai Pad and answered, "That Yo-Kai is Stumbelina. That little rascal always causes people to stumble and sometimes trip. She creates invisible trip wires and waits for her victims to fall into her traps."
"That explains a lot," the Hathaway girl pointed out. "What am I gonna do with her?"
"Just like I said before, it's either you negotiate with her or confront her," Finkell reminded.
"Or maybe I can just skedaddle!" the green-skinned Yo-Kai exclaimed as she ran off.
"Oh no! She's getting away! Let's go after her, Lady Julie!" Finkell declared.
"Right behind you," Julie replied as she and Finkell went after Stumbelina.
Both the Hathaway girl and the Yo-Kai fairy didn't notice, but as they chase the aforementioned Slippery Yo-Kai, they just passed by Nate and Whisper.
"Hey, where is Julie going? And is it just me or was that a Yo-Kai following her?" Nate wondered.
"Quick, Nate! Let's follow them!" Whisper declared as Nate agreed and decided to do so.
Evetually, Julie and Finkell chased Stumbelina all the way to the school's rooftop.
"We have you cornered, Stumbelina. There's nowhere else for you to run," Julie stated.
"Oh really?" Stumbelina asked, holding her ground.
"I don't care what you're doing right now, but can you stop making people in this school stumble and trip. Moreover, can you leave us alone?" Julie demanded.
"Oh no! There are many people here for me to stumble and trip. That's too fun to leave now! I'm gonna stay here and keep on creating trip wires to make my victims stumble and trip forever!" Stumbelina declared before she laughed evilly, with a strange dark aura surrounding her.
"Whoa! It seems that Stumbelina is very serious! Lady Julie, it looks you have no choice but to confront her," Finkell suggested.
"But how would I do that?!" Julie asked.
"Use Gramo's Yo-kai Medal. Summon him to help and fight for you!"
"What do you mean by using the medal?"
Just then, Nate and Whisper arrived at the scene.
"Whoa! It's true. Julie has a Yo-Kai with her!" Nate said, shocked and amazed.
"Indeed she has. And it appears that Julie is confronting one, too," Whisper added.
"Just insert his medal into your watch and say 'Calling Gramo' to summon him," Finkell instructed.
"Got it," Julie said as she took out Gramo's medal. "Here goes nothing. Calling Gramo! Yo-Kai Medal, do your thing!"
She then inserted the medal into the watch. The hands start to spin around quickly until a stream of yellow light shot out of it.
The watch said, "Summoning Mysterious!"
It then shot a beam of light. Gramo appeared as he riverdanced to the song that was playing.
Boo-Shiggy, Boo-Shiggy
Boogie-Woogie!
Cling-Clang Delirious Mysterious!
GRAMO!
"Wow! It works!" Julie cheered.
"Whoa! She summoned a Yo-Kai!" Nate gasped, surprised.
"Julie also has a Yo-Kai Watch?" Whisper asked, realizing that the Hathaway girl indeed has one.
"Hey, sorry to bother you but could you lend us a hand?" Julie asked.
"You got it, Julie!" Gramo complied. "Leave it to me."
The gramophone Yo-Kai began to turn his crank and started to play the same strange tune, causing Stumbelina to dance like a drunkard and to sing incoherently.
"Wow! That Yo-Kai knows how to tune out," Nate commented.
Gramo stopped turning his crank but the music continued until it settled down after a few more seconds. Stumbelina eventually stopped singing and dancing and shook the feeling off.
"Looks like you guys have your fun but now it's my turn!" Stumbelina exclaimed.
"Wow. That Yo-Kai sure is persistent," Julie remarked.
"Nate, perhaps you should help her," Whisper suggested.
"Good idea!" Nate agreed as he took out a Yo-Kai Watch. "Calling Jibanyan! Yo-Kai Medal, do your thing!"
"Summoning Charming!" Nate's Yo-Kai Watch said, as it let out a stream of pink light and a white beam.
Alarming!
Boom, boom, walla, walla
Dance, Dance, Charming!
As the song played, a red and white cat Yo-Kai with a yellow band on his belly and two tails with blue flames danced to the song, until he introduced himself.
JIBANYAN!
Julie looked back and noticed the whole thing.
'So Nate can summon Yo-Kai, like me,' Julie analyzed as she said in her mind.
"Jibanyan, help us with this," Nate said.
"Nyo problem, Nyate!" Jibanyan complied confidently as he went for the attack. "Take this! Paws of Fury!"
Jibanyan punched with his paws at rapid speed at Stumbelina, who used arms to shield herself. Apparently, Stumbelina's defense isn't strong enough and she took a significant amount of damage from Jibanyan's paws.
"It's working!" Finkell cheered.
"Now, Gramo! Finish her!" Julie stated.
"With pleasure, Julie!" Gramo complied as turned his crank again. But instead of his usual tune, Gramo played out an ear-piercing tune that made Julie, Nate, Finkell, Whisper, and Jibanyan cover their ears. This tune was also strong enough to send Stumbelina into the air. After it was all done, Stumbelina fell back to the rooftop with a crash.
"Oooohhhhh…" Stumbelina moaned in pain as the dark aura surrounding her finally disappeared.
"We did it!" Julie cheered, pumping her fist in the air.
Shortly afterwards, Stumbelina got back up as she held her hand over her head.
"Ugh… what happened?" Stumbelina groaned until she looked up to see Julie and the others.
"Hey, are you okay, Stumbelina?" Julie asked, concerned.
"Yeah, but I seem not to remember anything right now," Stumbelina replied.
"It appears to be that Stumbelina is back to normal from whatever she is enraged about," Whisper pointed out.
"I really don't remember about what I did today but I apologize for my stubbornness. Here is something from me to you: my Yo-Kai medal," Stumbelina handed her medal to Julie.
"Thanks," the Hathaway girl accepted it before Stumbelina left the building.
The rest of the school day went on uneventful. Later in the afternoon, the school bell rang to signal the end of the day. All the students went out of their classrooms, heading back to their respective homes. After Julie finished packing her stuff, she went to the office again. The lady that saw her earlier came to the window.
"Hello Julie, how did you first day go?" she asked.
"It was great, thank you," Julie said as she gave the form to the lady.
After Julie finished at the office, she left the main school building. Just then, Nate called out to her.
"Hey Julie," Nate said.
"Huh? Oh, Nate. Yeah, I want to talk with you," Julie said.
"Oh, you do? Well, so do I!" Nate gasped.
After Julie introduced herself to Whisper to Jibanyan, she and Nate had their talk as they headed home.
"I see. So, that is how you got your watch," Nate learned.
"Yeah. And just so you know, this whole Yo-Kai business is both a good thing and a bad thing for me," Julie said.
"I feel the same way, too," Nate chuckled.
"And it's a great discovery, Nate. Both you and Julie own Yo-Kai Watches. I can tell that this is the start of a team," Whisper noted.
"That's a great idea!" Jibanyan said.
"I agree," Finkell chirped. "You guys can form a team called 'Yo-Kai Watcher Duo! You'll work together in solving daily annoyances caused by Yo-Kai."
"'Yo-Kai Watcher Duo, huh?" Nate repeated.
"Well, I think that's a good name," Julie commented. "Anyway, this way leads to my house. See you tomorrow."
"Okay. Bye," Nate waved goodbye and went back to his house.
Voice Cast (in order of appearance)
OC and Canon Cast
Maia Mitchell as Julie Hathaway
Tara Strong as Finkell
Jason Ritter as Takuya Hathaway
Brent Pendergrass as Eddie Archer
Johnny Yong Bosch as Nate Adams
Paul Greenberg as Bear Bernstein and Mr. Johnson
Joey D'Auria as Whisper
Melissa Hutchison as Katie Forester
Marieve Herington as Stumbelina
Max Mittelman as Gramo
Alicyn Packard as Jibanyan
Recap Time
Finkell: Hey, Julie, who'd you meet today?
Julie: Stumbelina.
*Scene cuts to Stumbelina preparing the trip wire as she waited for Julie to come out of her room.*
Stumbelina: *mischievously snickering*
Julie: *was about to exit her room and trip on the wire Stumbelina has set, but she stopped short* Oops. Forgot my umbrella. *went back inside to get it*
Stumbelina: *Tic mark appears on her head.* Darn it!
Author's Note: Chapter 4 (Episode 2) is finally here. And this chapter introduces another Yo-Kai made by yours truly: Stumbelina. She is a dryad-like Yo-Kai who can make invisible trip wires to make her victims stumble and fall. This idea came to me when I heard that the word 'stumbelina' means 'a person who is very clumsy'.
In the next chapter, the featured Yo-Kai OC will not be made by myself. One of them might be yours. So please send your suggestions through reviews or through PM.