Hi, everyone! Sorry for the wait. For the past several weeks, I was working on another writing project and once I was finished that, I had to take a while to get back into the groove here. To make up for it, I've made this chapter extra long for you. Enjoy!

An RV to Yao City

"This landfill is the goldmine! The treasure trove of old and new delights!"

East of Osaka, kilometers from the official city limits in the Kamio-cho area of the prefecture's Yao City, an expansive plot of land sat ripe with unusual items and articles, particularly ones that would be considered trash or treasure depending on who was visiting it. For a pair of turtles, this yard was most definitely filled with rare treasures.

Basho just tossed another dated gadget over his shoulder, thanks to the assistance of one of the mechanical arms extended from his battle-shell. Right behind him, his littlest brother Mon had to duck to avoid the object just thrown.

"Careful, Basho!" Mon exclaimed in a jumpy manner after his dodge. "Those things get delicate with age."

But Basho didn't seem too concerned. In fact, he was currently too engrossed in the search he was conducting to wonder what exactly Mon was talking about. "Just another moment," he did say to his youngest brother, "I'm absolutely sure this useful part is somewhere at the bottom of this pile."

Basho sifted through the rusty dusty mess a little more, apparently not paying attention to the giant operated electromagnet right above him and Mon. It moved and whirred as it positioned itself above the junk pile the two turtles were currently next to. Basho didn't even notice the wide shadow being cast by it.

Mon, however, did notice. "Bro…?" he quietly and nervously tried to alert Basho, but the purple-masked turtle was still arms-deep in the junk pile.

"Ah-ha! There you are!" Basho let out a cry of victorious delight as he pulled himself out of the pile, taking out an unusual mechanical part in his hand along the way. He turned over the part in both hands to give his own personal analysis. "Yes indeed, you're exactly what I'm looking for," he chuckled on satisfaction, but by then, the nearby industrial machine looming over top could wait no longer, and neither could Mon.

Without considering anything else, Mon dove at Basho, tackling him away from the new mass of junk falling down directly upon where the turtles used to stand. They both landed and skid in the dirt while they audibly heard the crash of junk next to them.

Mon recovered his bearings and was the first to express his take on that recent event. "Basho, what were you even looking for!?" he exclaimed with frantic leftover panic, "We almost got squished for it!"

"Well, in case you wanted to know all the things that were important to me at the moment, one of them involves me wishing you'd give me a heads-up," Basho answered his little brother in the most relaxed, casual, and unenthusiastic tone he's had on record.

Mon would have snarked back with his own retort, but was interrupted by the unusual sight of something marvelous in the distance ahead of him, something that caught his eye.

"Oh me gosh," he whispered in a shudder, "is that…?"

Basho was similarly in awe. "Yes, it is. That's none other than the absurdly modified armored-vehicle belonging to Kunitsu Katsuro! That armored vehicle's been his main ride for not just his first, but all the way down to number sixteen of the 'Shin Yomiko-Ryokō' movies as of right now!"

The armored vehicle's in question they were seeing and commenting on at the moment was in the middle of being towed by a truck of a dated design. After stopping at a spot in the whole lot, the driver forced his truck into a hard turn which resulted in the armored-vehicle tethered behind to come loose and get flung across the lot, rolling on the dirt until it stopped upright next to a random junk pile.

The two turtles flinched at the sight of the antiquated vehicle being treated that way.

"How could anyone toss such a priceless artifact of history in the dumps like this?" Mon asked in all his youthful purehearted confusion.

Basho shook his head. "I don't know, little brother, but we got to have it."

Mon was in no mood to disagree with his brainy elder, so both got right to work in using their ninja skills, making long-ranged leaps and bounds from one junk pile to another, zigzagging closer and closer to the unattended armored-vehicle until they were within a meter of it.

"So how are we gonna get this thing outta here?" Mon asked for a plan once it was within their grasp. "Maybe we should ask the yard owner who brought it here."

"Sure we ought to," Basho replied to the suggestion like it was an afterthought, "but given the circumstances of what we're after here, it would be just as unwise to tip that guy off to the actual value of this baby."

"But it'd be even worse to just steal it," Mon restated his hesitation insistently. "If the guy finds us taking something he worked hard to bring here, he'll know it'd be totally unfair!"

"Well, it'd be even more unfair to just let it sit there wasting away like that when it's better suited in the hands of someone who cares for it," Basho refuted, "If I were that guy, everything – including this thing –" he pointed at the armored-vehicle, "would just be junk. It isn't stealing if no one wants it."

"Well, if no one wants it," Mon retorted back, "why are we –"

Neither brother got any more time to argue this out when they were interrupted by the loud sounds of metal scraps being lifted above them nearby, prompting them to slowly look up at the source of the intrusion. Staring right down at them, with a rusted car held in both hands right above his head, a tall man leered menacingly. But what shocked the boys even more was that the man didn't look like a man, at least not like a human man, specifically.

Instead, he looked absolutely bug-like, with two long, curved, and started claws for arms, spindly legs, and an insectoid abdomen protruding out from the base of his spine. His eyes were big and neon-green, he had a pair of antennae on his brow, a full head of black hair on his scalp, and his entire body was a solid light purple – he basically came across as humanoid praying-mantis. When it came to clothes, he was wearing a pair of distressed jeans on his legs and a white sleeveless undershirt on his top, which in turn was overlaid with a dark bluish-purple jacket.

The guy growled. "Soko karazu ~u~ee~eenbuno meiwakuna sasayaki ga kite wa. Who the heck are you goons?"

Basho and Mon were a little too distracted by the surprise to answer the guy's question, instead reacting like how anyone would upon being confronted by a freak of nature.

"Waugh! Mutant!" Mon cried.

"Whoa! I was totally not expecting a non-human this far out of town!" Basho exclaimed a little more calmly at a lower volume.

Mon, after he finished expressing his moment of shock, got right to whispering again. "Dude, hide!" he said directly to the purple insect-man. "There's a human around here and I don't think he'll be happy to see you…and us!"

The mantis mutant didn't seem to be all that alarmed, on the other hand. "Relax, kid. Human trespassers aren't allowed here. But you're both pushing your luck here anyway."

Mon stopped tensing his muscles as he paused in outright confusion. "Wait. But why are you here then?"

"I work here," the guy said like it was the most repetitive thing he ever had to say in his life. "I own this yard in case you hadn't noticed the sign." He raised one of his pincer-like claws to point it at the metal plate sign that hung on the metal fence post standing at the border of the lot. The sign appeared to have the text: KAMA-Toritate Salvage Yard (カマ取り立て廃品ヤード). Evidently, judging by the part of the printed text crossed out in favor of an extra set of handwritten katakana text of a different colored ink, the property had recently been renamed.

"Well, that's good to hear that we're all safe here. Good to see another freak-like face on this side of the island," Basho responded first in a positive manner, though it was more of a casual and relaxed everyday expression than of actual relief. Though his confidence was tested further with the insectoid's growing impatience.

"What are you skulking around in my yard for in the first place?" he growled, "Kaigara o o tsukuri ni kaeru go-byō mae ni ya-ge!"

Mon made his first second count to the highest degree. "Please!" he began, leaping back on his feet and right to the guy's chest level, "You got to sell us that armored vehicle! Ore-ra waya nata ni nan'yaseyakedo shiharaimasu wa!" He, however, got pulled away by Basho before the conversation could go further. He was held in a huddle by his older brother who held his arm over his shell.

"Mon," Basho whispered, "you're talking to a volatile personality. We cannot afford to tread light in any case!" He lightly tapped a fingertip on the younger turtle's scalp. "First, we negotiate, and we do it smooth."

Mon appeared to understand what Basho was going for, so he followed his lead as they both slipped n their own pairs of sunglasses that they somehow procured and began marching in struts back to the mutant in a manner reminiscent of combat-trained agents in suits from American action movies. Both brothers showed off their own flashy styles to accompany their sunglasses – Basho rubbed a finger on the outer shell of the armored vehicle while Mon brushed a hand over one of the tire wheels' hubcaps.

Basho got right next to the mantis guy and casually leaned on the armored-vehicle, his arms crossed. "So," he began his diplomatic spiel, "how much would you charge to let us relieve you of this metal burden?"

The mantis mutant didn't even turn around to face Basho. Instead, he occupied himself with a clipboard and a smaller extra spare part. "Off my property, tainō," he answered in a gruff standoffish manner, "I got bigger 'fenders to fry than you two."

Basho was mutually unfazed. "Looks like you drive a hard bargain, sir. Maybe you'd be interested in a gift of divine metals?" With that, he drew out a thin wallet from his battle shell, opened it, and meticulously scooped out a handful of yen coins before sprinkling them like rain from his fingers to the ground. The coins dinged and clattered as they landed.

The mantis-man eyed the assorted but disappointingly meager number of coins Basho presented. He even couldn't help letting out a stifled voiceless laugh through his nose, a faint lopsided grin accompanying it. But his eyes trailed back to looking at Basho in the face as he prepared to let him know his thoughts. "I'll be honest, kid. You don't have nearly enough for what I have in mind. But say, I could use an extra couple pairs of tough mutant hands like you two." He then turned to face both Basho and Mon, not solely the former. "You ever done repo work?"

"Of course!" Mon jumped right in, though he then took an extra lengthy pause after he realized what he just said to the guy, lowering his sunglasses to expose his eyes. "Actually, no. What's repo work?"

"It's when you go shake down deadbeats for stuff they didn't pay for," the mantis-man answered, slicing the rearview mirror off another nearby rusted car he was leaning on for emphasis. "You do a job for me, and the armored-vehicle's yours."

That got Mon's attention. "We're in!" he stated with suppressed giddiness, getting uncomfortably close to the mantis-man's face once again, which the guy visually expressed displeasure on his face with blunt obviousness. Fortunately for Mon, Basho pulled him away again, yanking so hard that the orange-masked turtle's sunglasses flew right off.

"Mon, look. Repo men are supposed to be mean," Basho told his brother at his most technical, "and I don't know if you know this, you're kinda the total opposite."

"That really hurts my feelings," Mon quietly protested, then realized what he said once again, "Oh…you have a point. But I can do this…hard as nails. Grr!" He then moved out of Basho's huddle and turned to get the mantis-mutant's attention again. "We're in," he restated more professionally. "Who's the target?"

Without further ado, the mantis lifted up a clipboard containing a photocopied document with a printed picture. "I need you both to take back a Suita-licensed RV from a real shady mutant who lives a little north of the prefecture. He lurks in the woods on the mountain parts somewhere near Shijonawate."

Mon nodded as he took in that information. "You got it. One shady lazy mutant up in Shijonawate!" He and Basho turned to head out to do what they were expected in return for their desired reward. Though before they got far, the mantis-guy briefly interrupted them with one last message.

"One more thing for you two to remember when you get there: If he asks who you are to be bossing him around, tell him that 'Kamatori' sent you." And before either Mon or Basho could ask about that name, he beat them to it. "The guy's me."

Both turtles nodded in confirmation, resuming their leave without another word.

A few hours had passed, but after several attempts to find a random driver of a spacious motor vehicle, at least that of a pickup truck, they only managed to get as far as the urban areas just outside Osaka city's official metropolitan area. Given that the ride they took stopped there as its destination, they had to find another, but there didn't seem to be any vehicles in sight going the direction they wanted.

"Well, we're stuck and lost," Mon started most obviously, reclining himself on the ledge of a maintenance shed's rooftop. "You think we can use your jetpack?"

"In normal circumstances, that would be ideal," Basho handwaved in dismissal, "but given that my pack currently has only half the juice capacity of a regular car and we have no idea where in Shijonawate this guy is, that's gonna get us in way more trouble."

Mon momentarily looked a teeny bit dismayed, but lightened up as he soon came up with a new idea to get himself and Basho moving forward again. He reached down and pulled out his mobile phone, rapidly dialing a number on the screen.

"Uh, Mon? Who are you calling?" Basho asked, sounding as though his pride was being hurt by the concept of asking for outside assistance.

"Just a friendly neighborhood connection in the city," Mon answered jovially, yet most cryptically.

It was approaching sundown once Basho and Mon finally made it to the forest near the town of Shijonawate, stepping out of an early-2000's Toyota once it had parked near a cluster of bushes and shrubs. A third person stepped out the driver's side with the two turtles.

"Thanks, Uzuki!" Mon told the teenage human girl in all his light-heartedness.

"No problem," Uzuki replied, closing the car door. "Let's just try to be quick and finish on time…whatever it is you're out here to do."

Basho couldn't agree more, though he took one last glance at the drab Toyota. "Say, Uzuki. It's great you got your learner's permit, but how'd you get your parents to lend you their car anyway?

"Huh?" Uzuki looked confused at the sound of such a question. "My parents aren't that old-fashioned. This car's just a rental."

Neither Mon or Basho wanted to know how she was allowed that car for use upon hearing that revelation, considering she didn't have an actual driver's license. But now wasn't the time to investigate that conundrum. They had an RV to repossess.

The three carefully snuck their way to a bunch of shrubs that lined the border of a clearing in the forest, keeping low to the ground the whole time. Peering over the top layer of leaves, they spied the RV dead ahead, sitting motionless with its windows colored with light from within, its side entrance door partially open.

"Okay, I read over his profile," Basho whispered to Mon, though Uzuki was also listening in, "he's a lawless loner, doesn't pay his bills, and lives out far into this spooky ancient forest." He tensed as he reached his conclusion. "This guy's gotta fit the whole criteria for the Takagi-Nisemono rumor!"

"You actually read that rumor website Hoku showed us again?" Mon asked in mild disbelief, expressing surprise at his science-oriented brother using such a site as a research source, let alone buy into that site's questionable content.

Uzuki, on the other hand, was caught off guard by another factor. "Wait, hold up!" she tried to butt in. "What's all this stuff about some criminal and rumors? What are you guys trying to do?" Hearing the brief explanation whispered into her ear by Mon only made her briefly crumple further onto the grass. "I really gotta ask first before doing any favors for you," she groaned, holding her head in her hands.

The three inched closer and closer to the RV, even going past the shrubs they originally hid behind a few seconds ago, sneakily making their way to about a couple meters from what was the RV's rear end just to hide behind a tree with another set of bushes. "So how are we gonna lay it on this guy?" Mon asked once they were close enough. "If we're looking at someone just as tough and gritty as Kamatori-han, what if they're a real bad camper? What if we're looking at a Wanyudo RV?"

"Oh, come on, Mon. Are we really going into Yokai-hypotheticals?" Basho complained in response. "Anyway, what happened to ''hard-as-nails'-Mon', huh?"

"Well guys, maybe it's not too late," Uzuki suggested, "we can still back out now…"

Mon, on the other hand, internally gave himself a hard reset by means of a mental slap on the cheeks. "I'm not scared of some forest-dwelling rumor! In fact, let's get a look at him!" With that, he reached over and pushed a couple bushes apart for a better look. The partially open door of the RV slowly swung open, a shadow inching across the alit forest ground below. "Here he comes!" Mon harshly whispered.

The source of the shadow crept past the footage, exposing only the front snout of its own face. From what the three could make out, the snout was quite enlarged, a mammalian nose on the top tip, a patch of hair beneath said nose, and a mouth opened up to expose an upper set of elongated buckteeth. Even without the webs of saliva dripping between both jaws, the three already got a good enough impression, judging from how they all staggered backwards off their feet, going from crouching to sitting.

"That's the biggest forest dweller I've ever seen!" Mon gasped.

"Yeah, that totally tears it!" Uzuki hissed in mutual agreement. "Basho! You muscle in on that guy!"

"Okay, why are you looking at me?" Basho objected, pointing at his little brother. "Coming here was Mon's idea!"

"Well, you're the one with the bad guy-busting tech!" Uzuki reasoned just as intensely. "You got the sharpest edge out of all three of us!" She was accompanied by Mon's 'mhm'-ing and nodding of his head.

Not that it was enough to make Basho completely give up in agreement, but he took the compliment. "Well, yes. I suppose you have a point. But just to be safe, let me get Hiro and Hoku for reinforcements." He started typing on his arm brace gadget, but was immediately interrupted by Mon.

"No! We can do this! Think of all the cool adventures we can have while riding in that armored mobile!" he begged. At the same time, Uzuki still couldn't believe that she let herself get wrapped up in Basho's and Mon's predicament over an old military vehicle.

Basho sighed heavily. "Alright, fine. Let's just finish this, but we'll have to use stealth mode. Rule number one of ninja-sneaking: Never let the baddie get behind you."

A bright light shone on the three just as Basho finished speaking, prompting them to widen their eyes in sudden fright. That same moment gave way to the three springing away from the source of the flashlight beam, yelling as they fled in the direction of the RV.

"Forget the 'hard as nails'-thing! I wanna keep my shell on!" Mon shrieked.

"He's right behind us! Right behind us!" Basho hollered concurrently while trying to outrun his other two fellows.

"He's gaining!" Uzuki shouted to both turtles as an immediate reminder.

The three kids tried to lose the pursuing mutant through the RV, going for the open door and hoping there was another door across from it. In the split-second that they forced their way into the RV and out again, they were assaulted by the brief sight of being surrounded by swarms of eyes, claws, and fangs. But getting away was more important at that moment, so they could only perceive shadows on the RV.

They unfortunately only made it a few meters out of the RV when they ended up tripping over a random pipe lying on the ground in front of their feet, sending them crashing down on their faces and even sliding a little. They threw themselves onto their backs to see the silhouetted mutant slowly approaching them.

Mon and Basho were a little too frozen to think of a way out of this situation. Uzuki, on the other hand, scrambled for some improvised way to fend off the approaching mutant, or at least send a convincing enough message. She rapidly swept her hand across the dirty ground for anything she could use. When she did grab something, she hoped in complete earnestness that she had a stick. She yanked her hand up to her face to see her weapon, but ended up disappointed upon seeing that she grabbed a handful of gravel instead.

Well, it was better than nothing. "B-back off, you big m-mutie!" Uzuki stammered, preparing to throw the tiny rocks she held if the guy got too close.

The big round mutant appeared to snarl, lifting a hand towards a part of the RV. Basho and Mon slid to either side of Uzuki, shuddering. The mutant grabbed onto a hanging string and pulled it, turning on an overhead light with a click, revealing the mutant to the three. The three were quite speechless at the sudden reveal of the mutant's true appearance:

It appeared to be a short and rotund person in the shape of a tan-furred capybara. His head was literally the same size as the rest of his body, a pair of buckteeth sticking out from his upper lip. His scalp was covered in a cloud of curly auburn hair and was accompanied with an equally bushy moustache of the same color. He also appeared to be wearing a pale pink golf shirt and a pair of light-colored jeans that looked brand new, as though they were newly bought from a department store. But apart from his surprisingly nonthreatening appearance, the surprise compounded further when he spoke.

"Hi, friends! I'm Kiyoshi! Welcome to Attakai-Hōyō Puppy Rescue, the 'puppiest' place on Earth!"

Everyone looked around the area that was surprisingly modified with fencing to accommodate the number of puppies running around inside and outside the RV. Said puppies ran everywhere, a good number of them flocking around the capybara-mutant and even some of them lingered around the three.

"So many puppies…" Uzuki shakily whispered, having a bit of difficulty in keeping a hand from reaching out to touch one of them.

Basho wasn't entirely convinced. "Right," he drawled in a suspicious manner, "and which one of these 'puppies' are you having for dinner?"

"Oh, that's right!" the capybara-mutant, who identified as Kiyoshi, reacted as though he had been reminded of something important. "It's dinner time!" Looking another angle, he reached over and yanked another hanging cord, triggering a loaded stream of doggie-kibble pellets to pour out a chute and into a long trough. The puppies yelped in delight as they all swarmed to both sides of the trough and clambered over the edges, sticking their small but adorably fuzzy faces into the kibble for some delicate rapid-fire bites.

There was nothing the three teens could do but observe the unexpected sight without a word.

A little while later, Basho, Mon, and Uzuki were sitting at a picnic table, still silent and with blankets draped over their shoulders. Kiyoshi the capybara was busy preparing something inside the RV.

"Any of you fellas wanna try my internet-famous honey-lemon-ginger-green tea?" he called as he finished up his work, then walking back out of the RV with a tray that held three tall porcelain cups containing the same steaming hot beverage. "I go around Osaka delivering them as orders for small restaurants and cafés. Then, I donate my earnings to immigrant workers in Tokyo who need the help."

Kiyoshi set the tray down on the picnic table and removed the cups from it, sliding each one over to the three guests in front of him before taking a seat himself. At the same time, Mon was the first one to take the offered cup of tea and sample a sip of it, with Uzuki and Basho following his lead shortly after. None of them seemed particularly certain of what was happening to them right now.

"This actually does taste really good," Mon quietly remarked.

"Yeah, it definitely feels like it's helping something," Uzuki similarly concurred.

"This is a high-quality composition right there," Basho doubled down on the former two's positive reviews, but immediately shifted gears as he grabbed both Mon and Uzuki to pull them aside, remarking, "…and meeting time." He only began talking again once everyone was a meter away from Kiyoshi and the picnic table.

"Okay. Cute puppies, charity teas for immigrants…this guy's no wooded prankster!"

"He's the nicest guy in Kansai," Mon came to his conclusion.

Uzuki put a hand on Mon's shoulder in solidarity. "I'm starting to doubt you're involved in real honest work here. We can't hurt this guy."

"But we need that RV," Basho audibly pondered, then reasserting himself. "We need to be tough on him! Hard as nails!" He stood back up and marched back to Kiyoshi, resuming his tough-guy façade. Mon followed closely behind him and mimicked his mannerisms, though he hurriedly finished gulping down all his tea beforehand. While both turtles retook their seats at the picnic table, Uzuki settled for standing closely at the side, holding her teacup as she observed what exactly the guys were trying to do – with a hand on her hip, the visible confusion never left her face.

For the two turtles, it was back down to business. "Alright, Kiyoshi-han!" Mon opened up as sternly as he considered himself to be at the moment while pointing at the vehicle behind the capybara. "We're here to settle a moolah-issue regarding your RV!"

Kiyoshi the capybara giggled. "Sure thing." He bent over to one side and came back up with a patchy-furred puppy in his hands. You fellas wanna hold Pai-Pai?"

Immediately, Mon felt a little nervous while Basho maintained his stone-face. "Oh, I really can't be –" But he was interrupted when Kiyoshi slid the small puppy he called Pai-Pai over to the young turtle's hands. Mon tried hard to stay professional, but the way Pai-Pai insistently tried to clamber to his chest was already distracting him. "Aww, so cute and fuzzy," he cooed at the puppy in his hands, but he immediately snapped back to reality, "…choumatte! We're supposed to be talking about your RV!"

Uzuki tried to eke a seat for herself next to the two turtles, hoping she could find some way to aid her friends in this debatably questionable enterprise. "Hey man, your puppies are cute and all, but that's not what we're here for. Can you, maybe…you know, pay attention to us for a bit?" she said earnestly, though hesitantly.

Basho wasn't going to idle any longer before these unusual circumstances would significantly derail him. Pushing away another puppy offered to him, the purple-masked turtle spoke everyone's intentions. "Look, Kiyoshi-han. You haven't made a payment for the RV in two years. You understand what that means?"

The capybara appeared to nervously concede to what was told to him, fortunately showing understanding of his situation. "Yeah," he sweated, "When you're so busy rescuing puppies, your millions worth of yen goes into these little smiles. Oh, Mayu wants a belly rub!"

Basho forced the conversation to stay on track. "My hard-as-nails brother and associate are with me to –" he ended up being caught off guard by the sight of Uzuki and Mon up to their necks in puppies climbing over their bodies.

"So many! I can't protect them all!" Uzuki was nearly close to sounding like weeping, trying to catch puppy after puppy that fell from her while trying to get to her shoulders and face. Next to her, Mon was in the middle of giving names to each and every puppy within his line of sight as they climbed on him.

Basho already felt the stress piling on. "Guys, come on! Be serious about this –" He flinched from a bouncy ball smacking him on the side of his face. He felt even more irritated.

"Ooh, looks like Hanwan wants you to play fetch with him!" Kiyoshi remarked in a stifled giggle as both he and Basho noticed the puppy holding the bouncy ball in his mouth.

Basho was getting even more stressed. "No, I am not playing fetch with a puppy," he loudly insisted, picking up the puppy called Hanwan to move him aside, "This is an official business m–"

*SQUELCH*

Basho gasped, his loud voice doing in his throat on exchange for a softer and meeker one. "It sounds and feels like I stepped in something squishy. Did I just step in something squishy?" His eyes trailed down to his feet to discover the predicted horror show.

Uzuki peeked over Basho's shoulder to see what the turtle stepped on, and her reaction was all too similar. "On, iyana!" she grimaced, clapping both her hands over her mouth. "Basho, I'm sure you forgot to add 'stinky' to the list!"

Kiyoshi, on the other hand, didn't seem too taken aback by their reactions. "Oh, whoops. I guess with all the puppies to watch while they run around, I hadn't had time to clean up the yard." He zipped in and out the RV to hold a bunch of shovels. "Anta-ra wa metcha subarashīya nen! You wanna gimme a hand?"

Many shovel scoops and a compost truck sendoff later, all the teenagers were using their shovels as canes to stay on their feet.

"Okay, why did we just do that?" Uzuki quietly groaned. "Mokkai naniya o yaru kotte ni nattotta noya ka?"

"I really don't know anymore, Uzuki," Basho let out a guttural sigh, "I really don't."

"Guys, I think I know," Mon somberly interjected. "It's the niceness. That's his mutant superpower."

They were all interrupted by Kiyoshi stepping back out of his RV with another tray of teacups holding the same tea. "Thanks, you guys. You're lifesavers," he said ever so warmly. "I'm sure you're all exhausted. Why don't you stay the night? I can give you the good old Kiyoshi-style Ryokan treatment, give you complementary puppy bath and swaddles to go with the tea, do shamisen serenades and lullabies. Then in the morning, you can give Shani and Omu meditative massages."

Basho looked charmed by what the capybara suggested. "Oh, that sounds so refreshing and fun and – No!" he cut himself off before he could digress any further. He had to get to the point now, before it was too late. "Kiyoshi-han, ki otte kurehen!?" he demanded, throwing down his shovel, "We didn't come here to help you with all this! We're here to repo your RV!"

Silence hung in the forest air for a second. Kiyoshi said nothing, but then hung his head down while stepping back to sit on the front doorstep of the RV, the tray of tea not leaving his hands.

"I know. You're right," Kiyoshi softly admitted, "I guess I stalled long enough and I…better stop and face it." He looked back up just to show a face of utter despair and devastation, his eyes watering and his nose already running. "I guess we'll just…camp out under the stars tonight, and the night after that…" Basho, Mon, and Uzuki slowly began wondering if the sky was darkening with clouds above them.

Sure enough, the whole site was suddenly bombarded with rain. But it didn't stop Kiyoshi from talking, "…and the next night over…even through hurricane season…" the puppies hid sadly under the RV, even already appearing drenched from the rainfall, "…and the next earthquake…and tsunami…" A puppy walked right up to Mon's feet and dropped an umbrella in front of him, then feebly tried to untie the string with great difficulty.

Mon couldn't take it anymore. "Okonai muri ya!" he sobbed, falling onto his knees and laying his head and hands down on the dirty. He even grabbed the umbrella and opened it for the puppy that brought it to him, not minding that it had holes letting in the rain. Not once did he get up from his fallen position when he did those things.

Uzuki walked to Mon, taking off her jacket and putting it over the damaged umbrella. She turned back to face Basho with a near-broken look of her own. "Basho?" she quietly begged of the taller turtle. "Can we just…"

Basho finally crumpled, a fully irritated but defeated growl emanating from his throat as his arms hung from his dropped shoulders. "Fine! How about you give us the RV and in exchange, we'll make you a new place for the puppies to live?" he suggested to Kiyoshi.

The capybara perked his head up, his characteristic cheery face having instantly returned at hearing Basho's suggestion. "Really?" he gasped, "and you'll make a new place to bathe them, and feed them, and a place to play to their hearts' content?"

"…yes," Basho hissed.

Kiyoshi was even more elated. "And you'll –"

"Yes, I'll also throw in robot assistants!" Basho barked before the capybara could ask more of him.

It was a new day, and a new puppy-filled chapter was about to begin. Keys were placed into the ignition and turned to start up the two vehicles.

In the RV, Basho was at the wheel while Kiyoshi was in the back, cuddling and tending to the puppies packed inside, though Basho had to simultaneously fend off any puppies that came for him while he drove. Ahead of the RV was the painfully-old Toyota rental car that Uzuki was driving, with Mon sitting in the passenger seat next to her – the car was also host to several more puppy passengers which Mon devoted to keeping entertained for the whole road trip. For both vehicles, a window was partially opened for some puppies to poke their heads out, ear-and-tongue-flappingly entertained with the wind blowing in their faces as the RV and rental car drove on.

It took a long while, but after traveling south from Shijonawate along the roads that went through the untouched forested parts of Osaka Prefecture, the whole group left the prefecture entirely and entered Nara Prefecture, coming to the foot of Mt. Kongō before stopping near the campgrounds of Chihaya-Enchi Park. When they arrived at a spot that they were sure was sufficiently isolated from the main human campground, the real work then began.

At the sound of Kiyoshi upwardly firing a fake pistol, Basho, Mon, and Uzuki raced towards a bunch of stacked timbre at the other end of the new plot of land, construction tools in hand (though in Basho's case, multiple arms with gadgets from his tech-laden backpack). The work was long and meticulous, involving a whole variety of work: Basho used his gadgets to cut holes in some planks and lumber. Mon rode a batch of timbre with a few puppies as it was pulled up by a makeshift crane operated by Uzuki. Basho was putting some moving parts together along with installing metal frameworks alongside the wooden ones. Uzuki was busy giving a few built structures a presentable paint job. Mon set up a bunch of dog-themed decorations. All three of them took turns welding and fastening bolts. In between, both Mon and Uzuki took turns testing out new toys and entertainment contraptions built by Basho, with some of the puppies doing it alongside them too. Additionally, Kiyoshi was making more of his tea for them every other hour.

The work spanned a good number of suns and moons cycling across the sky, but after nonstop grueling work, the new home was complete: There was a sizeable traditional house that gave the puppies a place to sleep. A pool and waterslide were there to give the puppies a place to splash around in. An automatic frisbee launcher was in place to keep the puppies active. There was even an automated ride and a multicolored tunnel network. All around, the lot was adorned with colorful lights and aglow with the energy of happy little critters running and yapping.

The three kids' work was done. After confirming that Kiyoshi and the puppies were indeed satisfied with the result, Basho and Mon were given the RV as promised. As the turtles started it up while Uzuki did the same with her rental car, Kiyoshi was next to them to see them off.

"Thanks, fellas. I'll never forget you," the capybara waved, though he made sure to get in several most parting words as everyone was preparing their engines. "Come back anytime," he went on once he stopped in between the vehicles, making sure to get his words through either one's front windows. Even when Uzuki, Mon, and Basho were looking visibly exhausted from both the work and Kiyoshi's hyper-saccharine behavior, with Basho and Uzuki rolling up the windows of the vehicles they were operating, the capybara kept right on prattling, "If you ever wanna milk the puppies, they have eight nipples!"

That did it. "No! No! Yamerotte!" Basho belted out his opinion on the subject right before the window rolled up completely. Uzuki stepped on the gas and moved out ahead of Basho and Mon while Basho sped off right behind her. Though as soon as everyone was on the road again back to Yao City, everyone let out a sigh of relief.

It was finally done and over with. In the newly claimed RV, Basho and Mon couldn't help but let out a whooping cheer as they reveled in their accomplished mission. "Hard-as-nails!" they shouted while giving each other a high-five.

Back in Yao City's Kamio-cho area, Basho and Mon stopped the RV short of re-entering Kamatori's scrapyard. It was only because Uzuki's involvement with them was done and it was time for them to part ways.

"Thanks for the help, Uzuki!" Mon told her in gratitude. "You sure you don't wanna get soba with us after we're done here?"

Uzuki just waved at them relaxedly while she stood outside her rental car. She patted a hand on the car's roof as she spoke to her friends, "Maybe tomorrow, but I gotta return this rental soon, like really soon. I already had to schmooze with the owner over the phone for an hour just to keep it until now."

Basho leaned out from the window of the RV's driver seat. "Well, it was a schmoozing well spent. See you back in Osaka."

"Don't stay out too long," Uzuki replied as she got back into her rental car and drove away.

Without anything else, Basho and Mon revved the RV and headed straight back into the scrapyard for real. To their convenience as they rolled in, Kamatori the mantis-mutant was in the middle of some work out on the open.

"Hey, Kama-han!" Mon called out to him from the RV's passenger window, still feeling good about the accomplishment. "One RV delivered as promised! Wax up that Katsuro-mobile, good sir!"

Kamatori stood back upright to see the RV that was the subject of the task he had assigned to the turtles from a good while ago. "Hey, good job. Not bad there, kids," he congratulated, "…but I better just tell ya', something came up and I decided the AV ain't for you anymore."

Both turtles paused, silently at what they just heard. "What did he say?" they gasped in their minds. Soon enough, Mon was all over him. "What!? Why?"

Kamatori pointed one of his claws at the armored-vehicle, which was now cordoned off with impromptu red-corded fencing, a decorated backdrop set up right behind it. "Well, as it turns out, there are dorky Kunitsu-Katsuro fans who'd pay yen by the bucketload just to sit in that thing!"

They couldn't believe what they just heard that guy say to them. They travelled such long distances, put so much physical, mental, and verbal effort, went through all that trouble…just to be denied the valuable relic vehicle they were promised from the start. It was an outrage.

"Hey! Nanishittenen!" Basho was close to yelling, no longer able to contain his frustration any better than he tried and failed with Kiyoshi earlier. "We had a deal, man!"

Kamatori didn't pay any heed to the turtle's words as both Basho and Mon climbed out to confront him. "Hey, scrapping's a tricky business, kid," was all he reasoned, "and you just got tricked!"

Given how unbelievable small the mantis's defense was, Basho wasn't having any of it. He stomped over to Kamatori and got right in his face. "We are not leaving without our AV!" To his surprise, he was smacked in the head by the blunt side of one of the mantis's claws, sending him falling backwards onto the dusty ground.

"Well now, the purple one's funny!" Kamatori taunted.

"Told you I was funny," Basho remarked to Mon behind him with a relaxedly confident pride.

But Kamatori wasn't done with him at the moment. He swung both his claws and jammed their sharp tips into some nearby chunks of heavy scrap metal. "I'm gonna break your legs halfway through, and then do it again!" he threatened. With a heave of his claws and a leap in the air, he descended upon Basho to crush him with a double-bludgeon. But Basho was quick enough to jump out of the way just as the mantis smashed into the ground, leaving a dust-filled semi-crater.

When Basho was back on his feet, he was about to prep a counterattack, but his eyes noticed something else right above the mantis. "Mon!" he yelled to his brother, "The magnet!"

Mon drew out his Kusari-fundo to lash it in Kamatori's direction. The mantis smirked as he dodged the chained ball that came his way, but little did he know, Mon was aiming for the lever on the control panel of the electromagnetic crane further ahead. As soon as the chain wrapped itself around the lever, Mon pulled it, cranking the lever to activate the electromagnet. Kamatori gasped when he felt the scrap metal pieces his claws were embedded in being pulled upward by the electromagnet, taking him up with them until he was stuck at the top.

With him out of the way, Mon and Basho instantly raced for the AV. "A deal's a deal, buggo!" Mon tauntingly yelled up at Kamatori, who was too occupied with flailing his legs and yelling curses at the turtles down below.

Both turtles jumped the red fence and hopped right into the AV from the rear hatch, seating themselves in the two-chaired cockpit and hitting every button and switch they could find on the control panel. Sure enough, the AV whirred and roared to life, the two turtles laughing victoriously as they drove the vehicle to speed away out of the junkyard.

"Eat underworld-dust, insect!" Basho took his turn to loudly taunt Kamatori as they left. Little did they notice, Kamatori had dislodged himself from the electromagnet and sprinted over to his tow truck, revving it up to go after his stolen prize.

Closer to Osaka, the turtles riding their well-deserved AV found their satisfaction a little short-lived.

"Gee, this thing is slow," Basho couldn't help but complain. He looked through the narrow windshield to find surrounding cars and cyclists giving weird looks, even yelling at him and Mon for their obstruction of traffic.

"Well yeah," Mon affirmed like Basho should have known that fact already. "It's built to withstand the underworld's corrupting soil."

*WHAM*

Both turtles yelped in surprise as they were immediately jolted by a concussive force from behind the AV, forcing the vehicle's rear up into the air temporarily. They both looked back to find that Kamatori was driving right behind them, having rammed them with his surprisingly fortified tow truck.

"GENKIN-SHA O KAESHITE NA!" Kamatori roared from his tow truck's driver seat.

The two turtles had to think fast, with Mon being the one to come up with a solution first. "Hiyajirushi, activate!" he exclaimed, pushing a button. Nothing happened.

"Uh…" was Basho's remark.

"Dokidoki-yama!" Mon tried another button. Nothing happened.

"Should that do anything?" Basho questioned.

Mon pressed a whole slew of other buttons in rapid succession. "Dokuwohaku gatling missiles!" All he got was a button coming loose from the paneling, sagging in the air while connected to an exposed spring. "Aw nuts!"

The turtles got another shakeup from Kamatori who gave the AV another fender bender before speeding up right beside it to give another ram, cackling all the while. He managed to hit the AV hard enough that it nearly flipped upside down. Kamatori got ready to land another hit on the AV with his tow truck, and he would have if it weren't for a third vehicle ramming his back fender. Incensed, the mantis-mutant looked behind to see who it was, seeing before him an outdated early-2000's Toyota.

"UUZUKIIIII OOONNIISSHHIIIIII!"

"Basho, look!" Mon yelled to his brother and pointed out the AV's windshield. Basho's eye followed where Mon was pointing and saw that, sure enough, Uzuki was back, still driving in her rental car and using it try and knock Kamatori silly in any way she could with a car.

Basho shuddered quietly. "I don't know how she found us or didn't return that car yet, but boy am I glad to see her!" Turning the wheel, Basho tried to ram the AV into the mantis's tow truck too, attempting to give Uzuki a hand.

Uzuki continued to stomp on the gas pedal as she banged the tow truck from behind, then speeding up right beside the truck to hit it at the side too. "Go smash some other scrap pile!" she hollered while operating the steering wheel, making sure she said so loud enough for the mantis to hear.

Kamatori was visibly battered from the amount of hits she was giving it, but after the latest ramming, he growled. Feeling maddened enough, he hit the brakes to slow his tow truck until he was right behind Uzuki and then revved it up again to smash the back bumper of her car. The sudden impact of the more powerful fender-bender made the rental car fly forward in the air, making Uzuki yell a bit. As soon as the rental car landed, Uzuki found Kamatori's tow truck slamming its front wheels onto the rental car's trunk, meaning that the mantis-mutant's truck was now on top of her, gradually crushing more of the car with her in it.

"Ah! Hey!" she managed to exclaim before returning her attention onto trying to get away. "Not good! Not good!" she stammered.

Kamatori laughed as he watched the car underneath his tow truck slowly get crushed. It didn't last long as he was interrupted by Basho ramming the AV into his side yet again. "Get off our friend!" Basho yelled angrily as he hit the other driver again and again.

Mon was just as worried for Uzuki as Basho was passionately defensive for her. He turned his eyes back to the AV's control panel, practically scrambling both hands all over the remaining buttons and switches. "Come on!" he complained out loud. "There's gotta be some kind of superweapon we can use on this guy!"

Basho took a moment to look at Mon when he heard what the other turtle said, despite being busy operating the vehicle to save Uzuki. "Mon, this is a movie set vehicle. There's no reason for it to have advanced spirit-busting weaponry."

Mon begged to differ. "Not unless this is the AV from Kunitsu-Katsuro's fourth 'Shin Yomiko-Ryoko' movie!" He perked up once he found what he was looking for, grabbing hold of the entire control panel to yank it off, revealing a different looking one underneath. "Aha! Just as I thought! It's the fake dashboard-trick Kunitsu-Katsuro used to fool the Yomotsu-Shikome that tried to take it over!" Mon navigated the new control panel for the buttons he needed to press, and pressed one once he found it.

"Hang on, Uzuki!" he proclaimed as a mechanical arm unfolded from the shell of the AV and extended over to grab the increasingly-crushed car that Uzuki was in, pulling it clear away from Kamatori's tow truck and placing it on top of the AV itself.

Uzuki sat wide-eyed and motionless from inside the crushed rental car. As much as she wanted to ask how Basho and Mon got her out of that bind or what kind of vehicle they were driving, she decided she was better off being thankful she was still in one piece. "Uh, thanks guys!" she called to them below. "Cool trick!"

Mon smirked as he grabbed at a handle to pull it up, exposing a luminescent cylindrical piston. "On that note, I'm kicking in Ōkaze-Turbo-Mode!" Once the piston had lit up bright and loudly, Mon slammed the piston back down into the panel. From the back of the AV, exhaust vents spewed out neon-pink streams of energy, propelling the AV forward much faster than the tow truck.

Kamatori snarled with irritable rage as he saw the turtles speed off ahead of him in the AV, even Mon making a taunting clown face at him through the windshield. Uzuki, on the other hand, simply held on to the steering wheel of her now-useless rental car, hoping to any divine powers above that it wouldn't fly off the roof of the speeding AV. Neither vehicle seemed to care about anything at the moment as the chase continued, even when they both narrowly avoided a pedestrian who tried to cross the street with bags of groceries in their hands.

Despite the speed boost the AV had on its side, Kamatori was still keeping up in his tow truck at a surprisingly fast pace rivalling the aforementioned AV. Basho tried to steer the AV left and right with hopes he could disorient the pursuer, but the mantis driver remained on everyone's tail. "I can't shake him!" he audibly noted to Mon.

Mon was right on the case. "I'll try the Kuromizu-Michi!" he said, pressing another button. Another opposing pair of vents opened up to release streams of oil that landed on the asphalt behind the AV. While it was enough to make the mantis-mutant's tow truck slide and spin around with less control, it also had the unfortunate side effect of sprinkling oil all over several random passersby while going around a corner, garnering audible complaints that the turtles could still hear even when driving away just as rapidly.

Kamatori's tow truck spun around while making circles until it managed to circle right in front of the AV, Kamatori using that moment to land in another hard hit. Then after circling back to its original position behind the AV, it went for another hard bump. That latest hit jostled all three kids the most. Uzuki was getting really shaken up from inside the crushed rental car that sat atop the AV, even noticing one of the doors fall right off along with the one next to the driver's seat she sat on starting to come loose.

Hoping to get in one last improvised solution, Uzuki grabbed the broken door and held on tight, carefully waiting for the piece of metal to come right off its hinges. After timing the door's complete release at the last second, she heaved and threw the door right at Kamatori's direction, sending it smashing into the tow truck's windshield that left a web of cracks.

"Score one for student-driver Onishi!" she pumped a fist while keeping balanced inside the car. But the tow truck brought in another hard ramming, so she got on all fours and tried to get close to the windshield of the AV cockpit that Basho and Mon were in. "Guys!" she yelled, hoping they would hear her from inside, "You mind hurrying up and getting rid of this dude with some other thingamajig?"

Mon finally found his voice again once the vehicle was properly stable again. "Maybe the Ikadzuchi button will do it!"

"Ikadzuchi?" Basho felt his stress levels climbing as he drove. "There is a button called Ikadzuchi!? Well, why didn't you use that first!?"

"It didn't say 'Takemi' at the beginning!" Mon reasoned.

Irate, Basho unfolded a mechanical arm that held a red Sharpie marker from his battle shell and wrote 'Takemi' in hiragana (たけみ) at the beginning of the 'Ikadzuchi' label that identified the button, making it spell 'Takemikazuchi'. "There! Happy now?"

"Why, thank you," was Mon's modest and curt reply. With a single finger pushing the button, the top rear of the AV unfolded to summon a cannon that flickered with sparks of pale blue light, momentarily jostling the damaged rental car on top, and fired a ball of lightning bolts into the tow truck's direction.

Kamatori stared at the projectile coming for him, his eyes widened and pupils dilated at the mesmerizing light. "Whoa," he gasped in hypnotic wonder as any bug would for a nightlamp, "utsukushī aomigakatta…" And with that, the effect was instantaneous – upon colliding with its target, there was only an explosion of blue electric light billowing from an insignificant spot in Osaka's urban skyline, with even a cry of pain from Kamatori to boot.

Back in the streets of Osaka city, the kids were cheering once again.

"Hard-as-nails!" Mon and Basho high-fived each other, elated that they finally had their prized AV in complete peace. Though they were interrupted by the sound of knocking on the windshield, prompting them to look out to find Uzuki staring inside at them upside down.

"Hey! You mind letting me in?" she called loudly from outside. Mon obliged by hitting a button that opened the rear shutter door of the AV. Both brothers waited until she was able to climb inside. Once she was on her own two feet inside the vehicle, the door was closed again.

"You okay there?" Basho asked while he drove.

Uzuki settled for a sigh of relief as she walked towards the two seated turtles. "I am now." She took a moment to look around the interior of the vehicle. "So this is your ride? Is that what you were after in that junkyard that whole time?" She paused to think some more. "Is that why we did all that stuff with Kiyoshi-han?"

"You got that right!" Mon confirmed her suspicions without letting the smile on his face drop once.

Now it was Basho's turn to talk. "What about you?" he asked, "I thought you were going back to return the rental car."

Uzuki laughed nervously, slumping her shoulders. "Yeah. Well, I was on the way to do that, but then I noticed your whole chase scene from the next street over. I figured why not do my due diligence as a heroic citizen and stop the danger in its tracks…just had no idea it'd be you guys."

"Aw, thanks a million," Mon told her consolingly. "At least, you could still reconsider that raincheck for soba. Our treat, of course."

"Yeah," Uzuki agreed wholeheartedly, looking up at the ceiling to think about the wrecked rental that still sat on top the AV. "Mom and dad are so gonna pulverize me…"

Two new characters for the story: First is Kamatori (カマトリ), the repossessing mantis mutant who owns a salvage yard; his name combines 'kamakiri' (カマキリ-mantis) and 'toritate' (取り立て-collect/repossess). The second one is Kiyoshi (清 or 淳, meaning 'pure'), the capybara mutant who loves to care for homeless puppies. The superhero character Basho and Mon talk about, Kunitsu-Katsuro (国つ 勝郎), is this version of Jupiter Jim. The title of his show, Shin Yomiko-Ryokō (新黄泉子旅行), means "New Journey of Yomi's Child". (Yomi -黄泉- is Japan's 'land of the dead', similar to the Underworld of Greek mythology)

This chapter also introduces more of Japan's Kansai Region outside Osaka – Osaka is not just the name of the city, but also the prefecture (province) that surrounds it. There is:
Yao City (八尾市), which is home to the Kamio-cho area (上尾町) that is where Kamatori's scrapyard is located; said scrapyard is based off an actual junkyard in that same area, called "Yao City Municipal Waste Final Disposal Site". (八尾市 一般廃棄物最終処分場)

Suita (吹田市) is a city north of Osaka; there actually exists a rental service agency for RVs (recreational vehicles) in that city, called "Japan by Van".

Shijonawate (四條畷市) is a town northeast of Osaka City, one of the urban areas bordering Osaka Prefecture.

Mt. Kongō (金剛山) is a mountain in Nara Prefecture, just neighboring the border of Osaka Prefecture.

Chihaya-Enchi Park is a national park located at the foot of Mt. Kongō that is host to both a family campground (金剛山キャンプ場) and a designated civic forest area (大阪府民の森 ちはや園地).

Translations:
Soko karazu ~u~ee~eenbuno meiwakuna sasayaki ga kite wa (そこからずぅぇえぇえんぶの迷惑なささやきが来てわ): "So that's where all the pesky whispering's coming from." | Standard: Soko kara subete no meiwakuna sasayaki ga kite (そこからすべての迷惑なささやきが来て)

Kaigara o o tsukuri ni kaeru go-byō mae ni ya-ge (貝殻をおつくりに変える五秒前にやげ): "You got five seconds before I sashimi your shells!" | Standard: Kaigara o sashimi ni kaeru go-byō mae ni age (貝殻を刺身に変える五秒前にあげ)

Ore-ra waya nata ni nan'yaseyakedo shiharaimasu wa (おれらはやなたに何やせやけど支払いますわ): "We'll pay you anything." | Standard: Watashitachi wa anata ni nani demo shiharaimasu (私たちはあなたに何でも支払います)

On, iyana (おん、嫌な): "Oh, gross!" | Standard: Ā, iyana (ああ、嫌な)

Anta-ra wa metcha subarashīya nen (あんたらはめっちゃ素晴らしいやねん): "You guys are so wonderful" | Standard: Anata-tachi wa totemo subarashīdesu (あなた達はとても素晴らしいです)

Mokkai naniya o yaru kotte ni nattotta noya ka (もっかい何やをやるこってになっとったのやか): "What were we supposed to be doing again?" | Standard: Futatabi nani o suru koto ni natte ita nodesu ka (再び何をすることになっていたのですか)

Ki otte kurehen (聞おってくれへん): "Will you listen?" | Standard: Kiite kuremasen ka (聞いてくれませんか)

Okonai muri ya (行い無理や): "I can't do it" | Standard: Okonai muri da (行い無理だ)

Yamerotte (やめろって): "Stop that!"

Genkin-sha o kaeshite na (現金車を返してな): "Give me back my cash-car"

Utsukushī aomigakatta (美しい青みがかった): "What a beautiful tint of blue"

Terms:
Tainō (滞納): delinquent
Takagi-Nisemono (高木偽物): "tall-tree imposter"
Wanyudo (輪入道): a Yokai appearing as a flaming oxcart wheel with a male human head in the center
Attakai-Hōyō (暖かい抱擁): "warm hugs"
Ryokan (旅館): a traditional Japanese inn built with scenic views and hot springs, though expensive to go to nowadays
Soba (そば or 蕎麦): Japanese-style noodles made from buckwheat
Hiyajirushi (火矢印): "fire arrow"
Dokidoki Yama (ドキドキ山): "pounding mountain"
Dokuwohaku (毒を吐く): "spitting venom"
Yomotsu-Shikome (黄泉醜女): "ugly woman of the Underworld"; residents of Yomi that appear as old hags easily distracted by food, known for being sent by the goddess Izanami to chase after her runaway husband Izanagi
Ōkaze (大風): "typhoon"
Kuromizu (黒水): "black water"
Michi (三千): "three-thousand"
Ikadzuchi (雷槌): "lightning hammer"
Takemikazuchi (建御雷 or 武甕槌): the god of thunder in Japanese mythology, also credited with competing in the first sumo wrestling match in Japan's recorded history