Casefile #7: Roost in Denial
Katie was rushing down the street, carrying her bag. She took a sharp left turn before accidentally hardly bumping into someone.
Katie:"Sorry! I'm so sorry!"
She continued running until she was forced to stop at a crosswalk. She seemed to be in a state of distress, impatiently fidgeting with her hands. After a few more turns, she finally reached the hospital. After talking to the receptionist, she quickly took the stairs to the 2nd floor. She wandered the halls for a bit before she stopped outside a room and nudged the door open.
Katie:"Alex! There you are!"
Alex was lying on the hospital bed, her leg wrapped in a cast and hung up. Sarah was sitting on a chair by her side.
Alex:"Oh hey! What's up?"
Katie:"What happened?! I-I came as soon as I heard.."
Alex:"I mean, It's a long story but.. I'm doin' alright, I guess."
She replied dismissively.
Katie:"Wait, what do you mean?"
Alex:"Nah, it's just… Oh I don't know, man.. I-I just don't think you'd believe me if I told you.."
She said while awkwardly rubbing her forehead with her palm.
Sarah:"Oh come on, Alex, we're your friends! You can tell us anything!"
Alex took a deep breath and let out a long sigh.
Alex:"You know what? Fine."
She said whilst crossing her arms.
Alex:"Man, where do I start?.. So.. Yesterday, my parents took me out camping on Mt. Wildwood.. It was pretty late in the evening when it happened.. We already set up the tent and everything. Then, my parents asked me to go out and collect some sticks for the campfire.."
Sarah:"What happened next?"
Alex:"I came across this weird big statue, I couldn't take a good look at it since it was getting dark but it kinda looked fragile.."
Alex started to look more distressed.
Alex:"And suddenly, there was this huge.. Monster, thing, I-I can't describe it, it swooped down on me, I got out of the way and I saw his huge claws scrape the ground behind me, so I got up and ran as fast as I could and I didn't stop. I couldn't see where I was going so eventually I stumbled and fell down a hill, hit the ground and uh.. broke my leg in the process."
Sarah:"Are you serious?! That's insane!"
Alex:"Yeah, it was not fun. But at least the doctor said it was a minor fracture."
Katie:"How did they find you?"
Alex:"Well, thankfully I landed right in front of the hiker's trail, so eventually somebody heard my wails and called an ambulance."
Sarah:"Wait, where are your parents right now?"
Alex:"Oh, they went out to get some food earlier."
Sarah:"Oh my.. It's just like all the rumors said!"
Katie:"Rumors?"
She said, her curiosity piqued.
Sarah:"Y'know.. All the missing hikers? People have been linking them to sightings of a monster in Mt. Wildwood.. It's been getting pretty viral."
Katie:"Huh.. Interesting.."
She said, placing her fingers on her lips.
-Hard Cut-
Hailey:"So.. What's your move?"
Nate scratched his head.
Nate:"Uh… I'm not sure.. I think I'm just gonna check."
Nate, Hailey, and Yuto were sitting on the ground around the coffee table at the office. To pass the time, the three of them were playing a few rounds of poker with Blizzie dealing the cards. They used a betting pot that consisted of snacks, mainly peanuts, pretzels, and chewing gum. Yuto held his cards close to him while fidgeting with his other hand.
Yuto:"Well, I'm feeling pretty good about my chances so.. I think I might raise."
He said as he slid more pretzels into the pot.
Hailey:"Yikes, man.."
Yuto:"It's your turn, Hailey."
He said as he blankly turned and looked at Hailey.
Hailey:"Ah.. I don't know.. Y'know what? Screw it. I'm just gonna go all in on this."
She said as she pushed her bag of snacks to the middle of the table.
Yuto:"That's a pretty bold move.."
Blizzie:"Alright fellas, moment of truth, let's see what'cha got!"
Nate:"Straight hand!"
He said whilst laying his cards on the table: a 2 and 3 of spades coupled with a 4, 5, and 6 of clubs on the table.
Hailey:"Aw, too bad, I got a full house!"
She boasted as she showed off her 10 of hearts and clubs paired with the three sixes on the table.
Yuto:"Darn.. I didn't see that one coming.."
Hailey:"Woohoo! Finally!"
However, as soon as she was about to grab the pot, Yuto cut her off.
Yuto:"Oop, not so fast, I actually got four of a kind, an Ace over sixes."
Yuto said with a smug tone as he laid his cards on the table.
Hailey:"Oh come on! This is rigged!"
Nate:"You won?! Again?!"
Yuto:"Evidently so."
He said as he shrugged before grabbing the pot.
Blizzie:"Not bad, new guy!"
She chuckled. Shortly after, the warp door opened to reveal Katie walking through.
Katie:"Hey guys! Sorry I'm late.. I had to make a quick stop at the hospital."
Nate:"The hospital? What happened?"
Katie:"That's exactly what I wanted to talk to you guys about.. Alex broke her leg yesterday when She went camping with her parents in Mt. Wildwood."
Hailey:"And?"
Katie:"When I asked her about it, She told me it happened when She fell, running away from what She described to be a monster."
Hailey:"Monster? Now you've got my attention!"
Yuto:"If I'm not mistaken, there have been rumors about a monster in Wildwood, haven't there? Something to do with a string of hikers going missing, right?"
Katie:"Yeah but, I-I just couldn't stop thinking about it, you think it might be a Yo-Kai?"
Whisper:"Well, that is a possibility.."
Whisper butted in.
Hailey:"Well then, sounds like a job for us!"
She enthusiastically said as she fisted the air.
Whisper:"However, If you're suggesting we conduct an investigation, The Wildwood forest is 500 acres, there's no way we'd be able to comb the entire area with just the few of us."
Nate:"Maybe we should just start with the hiking trail?"
Yuto:"Sounds good to me."
Hailey:"Alright then, it's settled. Looks like we're going hiking! First thing tomorrow morning?"
-next day-
It was about 07:00 AM in the morning, they had agreed to meet at the shrine, which was connected to the hiking trail. Everyone had brought their provisions packed in their backpacks. This time, they also decided to bring Blizzie along since they wouldn't be able to communicate with her due to Wildwood not having any signal. During the hike, Katie explained all the details from Alex's story.
Yuto:"Interesting… How many hikers went missing on this hiking trail recently?"
Blizzie:"So, I looked it up yesterday.. Apparently 14 went missing here this month.. No one's heard of them since, search teams turned up nothing.. Spooky~"
Nate:"This feels like we could be hitting a dead end.."
Hailey:"I mean.. there's gotta be something we can find here."
As they went deeper into the forest, eventually Katie spotted something, a line of trees with reddish black markings around their trunks.
Katie:"Hey, look at those trees! They look a little different from the rest.."
She said before deciding to approach them, with everyone following her. The trees were standing right next to a small cliff, facing deeper into the forest. Yuto carefully leaned in and inspected the trees closer.
Yuto:"Y'know.. these look like claw marks."
He then saw that these markings were present on a number of trees stretching across the forest in the shape of a line curving away from the trail.
Hailey:"What do you make of it?"
Hailey asked, looking at Yuto observing the trees intently.
Yuto:"I'm not sure.. It's like these trees have been branded. Most animals usually do this to mark territory or hunting spots.."
Katie:"Look at the size of them! Whatever left them here must've been huge.."
She said as she extended her hand towards the markings to touch them. Only to realise they were absolutely scorching.
Katie:"Ow!"
She cried as she immediately retracted her hand. Her hand was slightly burned. Unfortunately, her cry was loud enough to awaken something unpleasant on the other side of the forest.
Nate:"Are you okay?"
Katie:"It's hot!"
She said whilst shaking her burnt hand in pain. Not long after, the sound of rustling leaves and wood breaking, was heard from the other side of the forest.
Jibanyan:"Umm, did you guys hear that?"
The sound was followed by an ominous screech that echoed throughout the forest.
Hailey:"Ooh, that can't be good."
Whisper:"Hey, look! There's a little black speck in the sky.. I wonder if it's a bird or a plane.."
Whisper said, pointing his finger toward the little speck circling above them.
Blizzie:"I think it's coming towards us.."
Yuto:"Uh.. Guys? Maybe we should go.."
Yuto said, concerned with the speck getting bigger and bigger, and the sky getting darker. Suddenly, almost in an instant, the speck had become a huge beast swooping down on them. Everyone screamed in unison as they all tried to get out of the way, the beast then used it's scorching talons to grab a tree and rip it out from the ground. The shaking from it made the ground unstable, causing the cliff to collapse, making them fall and stumble down the cliff, forcing them to flee deeper into the forest, past the marked trees.
USApyon:"WHAT IN TARNATION IS THAT THING?!"
The 'thing' was tailing them from above in the darkened sky, it was a black mass with half-withered wings engulfed in a dark mist. The beast then dropped the tree that it had ripped out from the ground, almost crushing Hailey and Blizzie.
Blizzie:"Y'KNOW HAILEY, THIS WAS NOT PART OF MY JOB DESCRIPTION!"
She yelled in a fit of anger. They were forced to head deeper into the woods, a completely different part of the forest until they eventually lost the beast.
Hailey:"I think we lost it.."
She said, losing her breath.
Nate:"What the hell was that?!"
Whisper:"This was a horrible idea! We shouldn't have come here! I'm going home!"
Whisper stated, he then huffed and tried to head back to the city. Only to realise they were completely lost, not knowing where to go.
Whisper:"Hey um.. Which way is Springdale again?"
Whisper said as he pulled out a map of the hiking trail, unable to make out where they were right now. They had found themselves in rougher terrain, this part of the forest was far more peculiar than back at the hiking trail. The ground was littered with large strange totem poles.
Yuto:"Are these.. Totem poles? That doesn't make any sense.. I've never heard of totem poles on Mt. Wildwood. These things are supposed to be native to North America.."
Katie:"I've never seen one of these things in person before.."
There were also a few wreckages of old vehicles scattered throughout the area, at this point, they had merged with the ground and were covered in foliage.
Katie:"Hey! Maybe we should rest in there for a bit.."
Katie pointed to the wreckage of an old bus, although it was aged and covered in moss, the shape of it was still intact.
Jibanyan:"I could really use that about nyaow.."
The group got onto the bus and sat down on the decrepit seats. Hailey let out a long stressful sigh.
Hailey:"So.. We're lost in a 500 acre forest, hunted by a giant monster, and we don't have much supplies.. Man we're REALLY screwed now.."
Katie:"This is all my fault.. I shouldn't have gotten all of you into this mess.."
She said as she buried her face in her hands.
Hailey:"Hey! I-It's okay.. We'll get outta this! We always do!"
Nate:"Don't pin this all on yourself, I-I mean.. We all agreed to come here.."
They said, trying to cheer her up.
Nate:"You can worry about this later but right now, we need you."
He said as he put his hand on Katie's shoulder which made a prominent blush appear on her cheeks.
Katie:"R-Right!"
She said enthusiastically.
Hailey:"Alright.. What we need right now is a game plan.. I-I'm all out of ideas, honestly."
Yuto:"I think we should scout out first, but what's certain is we'll find Springdale or at least any populated area if we head south."
He said as he pulled out his compass. Only to find the glass shattered and the arrow not moving.
Yuto:"Crud. It must've broken when we fell.."
Nate:"Well, it could be worse.."
Just then, the sky started to darken again, and the horrifying screeches could be heard from afar, getting closer and closer.
Hailey:"You just HAD to jinx us didn't you?!"
Whisper quickly flew over to the window to see the beast flying at a reasonably far distance. However, their eyes met for a split second and the beast immediately flew up, away from sight, leaving the atmosphere awfully quiet.
Whisper:"Oh dear, I think it saw us.."
He muttered in a dreadful tone.
Nate:"It's going away, Whisper. There's no way it could've seen us from that far.. We're fine."
Suddenly, the creatures burning talons shred through the roof of the bus, causing it to shake."
Nate:"WE'RE NOT FINE!"
Hailey:"NATE, MAYBE YOU SHOULD JUST STOP TALKING!"
She yelled at him, annoyed at the fact that Nate had jinxed them twice. Panic ensued as the talons melted through the roof of the bus. Soon, the beast was able to get a good grip on the bus and started to lift it up from the ground.
Jibanyan:"AAH I DON'T WANNYA DIE!"
As the bus ascended further from the ground, Nate unholstered his blaster and tried to shoot the beast through the holes it tore on the roof. Eventually, one of his shots injured the beast, causing it to drop the bus, the sudden drop made everyone scream in unison. Upon hitting the ground, the force of the falling bus caused the ground to collapse, making them fall into a cavern below as the beast flew away. As the dust settled, everyone started coming back to their senses.
Hailey:"Hey! Is.. Everyone alright?"
Blizzie:"Y-Yeah, I think so.."
USApyon:"Still breathin'.."
Jibanyan:"Man, I just wannya go home.."
He muttered out of breath.
Nate:"Hey- Ow!"
Hailey:"Nate, you alright!?"
Nate:"Yeah yeah, It's just- Ah, I think I.. S-sprained my ankle.."
He said as he tried to get up, only to fall over again.
Hailey:"Woah, hey! Careful!"
Katie:"C-can you walk?"
Nate:"Yeah, I'm fine."
He insisted as he tried to stand up properly, but was unable to. Hailey let out a short sigh.
Hailey:"C'mon."
She said as she lifted him up, putting his hand around her shoulders.
Nate:"Ow, ow, ow, that hurts! Ah!"
They all got off the bus to find themselves in a large dimly-lit cavern.
Yuto:"Where do you suppose we are now?"
Katie:"Nowhere good.."
Upon walking away from the wreckage of the bus, they found a small underground lake. Upon closer inspection, some items could be found around the lake, including a beanie, a few pieces of clothing, and a backpack.
Blizzie:"Hey, check this out!"
Blizzie said as she pointed them out.
USApyon:"Looks like we ain't the first ones here.."
Yuto decided to open the backpack to check it's contents, one of the items found was a small dirty notebook. He opened it to find an extensive journal written by the author. Yuto flipped it over to the last few pages to find a log detailing a hiking trip 1 week ago.
Yuto:"Hey guys? You might wanna take a look at this.."
One of the logs in the journal described the author's hiking trip getting cut short by the same beast. The last few logs described how the author was taken by the beast and trapped in this cavern with a few other hikers, detailing the grim situation of the group slowly starving and losing their clear conscience under the ruthless guard of the monster above. The final log described the author wanting to make a break for it with the other hikers; they had planned to escape when the beast was asleep in its nest. The journal ended abruptly at that final log.
Yuto:"This must've belonged to one of the missing hikers.."
Katie:"Oh my gosh.. What do you think happened?"
Yuto:"None of them were ever found, It couldn't have ended well.."
The reality of the situation started to look even worse for everyone.
Hailey:"C'mon. We are NOT dying here. There's gotta be some way outta this."
Hailey insisted, trying to lift everyone's spirits.
Yuto:"That beast.."
Yuto muttered under his breath.
Nate:"What?"
Yuto:"It's a bird, isn't it?"
Katie:"I mean.. That one's kinda obvious.."
She said while scratching her head.
Yuto:"Well.. I-I think it's an owl.."
USApyon:"An owl?"
Yuto:"Yeah! Think about it, I saw its sharp talons and curved bill when it chased us, it only hunted us after seeing us past the marked trees. Owls are known to be territorial, the journal mentioned the beast having a perching spot not too far from here, that would be an ideal roosting spot for an owl.."
Nate:"What about this cavern?"
Yuto:"The journal mentioned the owl using it to store its victims. It could be a type of burrowing owl.. I-If i'm not mistaken, they're indigenous to North America. If this Yo-Kai came from the spirit of an invasive species from North America, that could explain the totem poles.."
Hailey:"So uh.. What do we do now?"
Katie:"The journal said something about an opening at the end of this cavern, right? Maybe it's that way.."
She said as she pointed in a direction, past the lake. The group walked through the cavern until they reached an opening at the end, leading up to an open valley surrounded by evergreen trees and mountains. The beast could be seen roosting at the end of the valley.
Katie:"It's right there.."
She whispered.
Yuto:"Owls have a very acute sense of hearing, maybe even more, now that it's a Yo-Kai.. So try to make as little noise as you can, and stick to the trees."
Nate:"Got it."
Everyone started carefully walking through the wooded area just around the valley, cautious as to not make much noise. As they were walking, the beast suddenly perked up, and flew to a large nest in the middle of the valley to tend to what looked like a peculiar black rocky sculpture of another owl covered in sticks.
Jibanyan:"What's it doing?"
Yuto:"I don't know.. It looks like it's tending to some kinda statue.."
Katie:"That must've been what Alex was talking about.."
As they crept closer trying to sneak past the owl, they got closer, partially hiding behind the trees, and saw the 'sculpture' in more detail, as a sickening smell filled the air.
Nate:"What do you think that statue's for?"
Yuto:"Well, owls usually like to use streaks of dried droppings and feathers plucked from dead birds to mark their territories, but I don't think they would make complex structures just for that.."
Blizzie:"Wait, are you saying that thing's made from dried turds?"
Yuto:"Unfortunately, yeah.."
Blizzie:"That's disgusting!"
Hailey:"So what do you think it's trying to do?"
She whispered.
Yuto:"I don't know.. Y'know, I don't know everything, Hailey, despite the fact that you think that I do."
Hailey:"What? I never said that! When have I ever said that?"
Yuto:"Everyday since I met you?"
Katie:"This morning at the office."
Nate:"Yesterday when he beat you at cards."
Hailey:"I.. Fair point."
They turned to look at the nest where the owl and the statue was, only to find that the owl was no longer there.
USApyon:"Hey wait a second, where'd it go?"
Jibanyan:"Is it gone?"
Yuto:"That doesn't make any sense.."
Everyone looked at each other until they could feel the breath of something large behind them, the cold realisation then followed that the owl was right behind them.
Mysterious Tribe: Hoototem
Everyone looked behind them and screamed in unison as the owl then let out a deafening screech while flying up before attempting to stomp on the group with its flaming talons. Everyone dodged in different directions, but the stomp caused a gust of wind to blast everything around it, blowing Nate away, causing him to hit his back hard against a tree, rendering him unconscious.
Hailey:"NATE!"
The owl then turned over to see his body lying next to the tree. It then flapped up and tried to go for him. Hailey clenched her fist as her anger welled up.
Hailey:"Hey! You stay away from him!"
She yelled as her fist suddenly got engulfed in a flame-like purple before she swung her hand, throwing it at the beast, which grazed its chest, throwing it off balance and causing it to flail a bit.
Yuto:"Wait, w-was she always able to do that?"
USApyon:"That's the first time I've seen her do anything like that!"
Hailey looked at her own fist in disbelief at what she had just done, before snapping out of it and running over to Nate to try to pick him up.
Hailey:"Gosh dang it, why are you so heavy?!"
She muttered trying to lift him up, eventually carrying him on her back.
Yuto:"Is he alright?"
Yuto called as he ran over to Hailey. The owl then regained its balance and let out another screech, more enraged than before.
Katie:"Whisper, I need someone to call! What medals did you bring?"
She urgently yelled.
Whisper:"Ah, yes, certainly!"
Whisper then anxiously shuffled through his pockets, trying to choose between the medals he brought for Nate.
Whisper:This one will do!"
He said as he tossed a light blue medal over to Katie.
Whisper:"His name is Venoct of the slippery tribe!"
Katie:"Alright then.. Come on out my friend! Calling Venoct!"
Summoning Slippery: Venoct!
Venoct:"Huh, you're not Nathan.."
Katie:"Yeah, h-he's a little preoccupied at the moment!"
She said as she gestured to Hailey carrying an unconscious Nate on her back.
Venoct:"What happened?!"
Suddenly, the owl tried to crush them with its flaming talons, which thankfully, didn't hit any of them by a slither.
Venoct:"I see, if it's a showdown this flying charlatan wants, I'm happy to oblige!"
He then lunged his flaming blue snakes from his scarf to attack the Yo-Kai, which did nothing but anger it even more. It bit down on the snakes, yanking them away and Venoct along with him, spinning him around and throwing him back at the ground.
Venoct:"Stronger than it looks.."
The owl immediately tried to swoop down on them again.
Blizzie:"Heads up!"
She yelled as she created a wall of ice between them and the owl. The owls flaming talons were still able to melt through the ice, but blinded the beast with a large shroud of steam. Venoct took this opportunity to fly up and attack the beast. After a few exchanges of fighting, he wrapped the beast up tight with his flaming blue snakes. The beast struggled to break free, causing Venoct to have some difficulty containing it. Hailey took Nate's blaster and shot the beast to throw it off balance. Venoct used it to extend his snakes, covering the beast's eyes, causing it to go berserk and furiously zoom away, pulling Venoct along with him, until it eventually crashed into the owl statue on top of the nest. When the dust settled, the owl saw its statue destroyed, the shock and disbelief made it reduce in size, transforming into smaller form, rendering it unwilling to fight. It groveled in front of the broken statue, facing down, as silence filled the area.
Jibanyan:"I-Is it over?"
Yuto:"The feathers on its throat are brown.. I think it's a female.. "
Yuto muttered cautiously.
Katie:"It's not moving.."
Hailey:"Hey, the statue's destroyed! You think that's the reason it's upset?"
USApyon:"We still don't know what it's for.."
Hailey put Nate down, leaning him against a tree, she then decided to summon Whapir to help understand what or who this Yo-Kai was as it didn't seem to be capable of speech. Whapir calmly approached the owl with the intent of examining its memories. Upon doing so, she rewinded it to display some of its earliest memories. An owl chick could be seen trapped in a tight metal cage, although they couldn't see outside the cage, the sounds of a roaring turbine could be heard from outside the cage.
Katie:"Poor thing.. Where are they taking her?"
Yuto:"Like I said, these types of owls are only native to North America, my guess is that it's being caged and shipped here to Springdale to be sold as an exotic pet.."
Hailey:"Try fast-forwarding it.."
She ordered Whapir.
Whapir:"Right away."
She skimmed through the display of memories until the now juvenile owl could now be seen in a cage, with a human owner, after a few more skimming, it was clear that the owner wasn't capable of taking care of the owl, so they threw it away in the forest, making it an invasive species in Wildwood. Cold and abandoned, the young juvenile owl wandered into the forest. Until eventually an adult owl, presumably a species native to Japan, found it starving on the verge of death and decided to take it as one of its own. After an unspecified amount of time, the newly found guardian of the young owl could be seen returning back to a nest where it has been taking care of it. But alas, its life had been cut short with a bullet, presumably from a hunter hunting for sport. As the young owl saw its parental figure die and fall right in front of its eyes, it tried to jump after it, however, being unable to fly, it also plummeted to its untimely demise. When it became a Yo-kai it tried to 'rebuild' its parental figure as a sculpture made from its droppings and plumage, unable to cope with the loss. Fearing that its adoptive mother made from dirt could be taken away again, it fiercely protected it from any who dared come close, sometimes using excessive force resulting in maybe one too many casualties.
Venoct:"I see.."
He said as he approached the weeping owl.
Venoct:"I understand what it's like to lose your family at a young age.."
He said as he crossed his arms.
Venoct:"But that's no reason to do all this.. I'm deeply sorry.. but your mother is gone.. And there's no way to bring her back. And this is no way to honor her."
The owl shook her head in denial, it seemed she wasn't able to accept the fact that its adoptive mother was gone.
Venoct:"Listen to me! She's gone! This is only going to get worse, staying in this forest is only going to mess with your head, you need help."
He said as he gripped the owl's sides with both his hands.
Yuto:"He's right. She seems to be suffering from dissociative amnesia, and using that statue as a coping mechanism.. The paranoia of losing her adoptive mother pushed her to kill all those hikers.. Without any intervention, the situation will only deteriorate, potentially more dangerous, for her, and especially for everyone on the hiking trail. I think our best option right now is to call the authorities and get her some help."
Blizzie:"I'd love to but I'm afraid there's no signal here, genius."
Yuto:"Well.. Once we're back in Springdale I suppose.."
He said while holding his neck.
Katie:"I guess we should get going then.."
Venoct:"I'll carry her."
He said while carrying the owl in his hands.
Hailey:"Hold the phone! You can't expect me to carry Nate the whole way!"
However, after she voiced her concerns, she looked back to see everyone had already started walking.
Hailey:"Guys?!"
She let out a miserable sigh before she started walking over to Nate.
Hailey:"C'mon."
She muttered as she lifted Nate on her back again.
-hard cut-
Everyone had reached the Wildwood shrine near the city after an hour or two. Yo-Kai PD had already been called in to bring the owl Yo-Kai in.
YPD Officer:"So, you found this Yo-Kai lurking deep in the forest near the hiking trail?"
Yuto:"Yeah, we're pretty sure it was responsible for a string of disappearances on the mountain.. Maybe a few casualties.. Listen, this Yo-Kai needs serious mental treatment, it'll only get worse without any help."
YPD Officer:"We'll try our best to provide that, but that doesn't change the fact that this offender has taken multiple human lives, which is a serious crime.. They're probably going to be locked up for a while."
Yuto:"I-I understand that.."
YPD Officer:"Well, we do keep a record of all the human souls that enter the Yo-Kai world, if we find them, the court might be able to give them a second chance at life due to the circumstances and reduce the sentence."
Yuto:"Well that's good to hear I suppose."
Venoct:"If you don't mind, I'll be coming with her. I want to make sure she'll be fine."
Meanwhile, Nate regained his consciousness and opened his eyes to find himself leaning against a stone wall at the shrine.
Hailey:"Hey, there you are! How's your nap?"
Nate:"What.. Wait, what did I miss?"
He said whilst rubbing his eyes.
Hailey:"Well, I saved you from being bird food, we took care of the owl monster, and I had to carry your stupid butt all the way here."
Nate:"You really did that?"
Hailey:"Of course, you're my best guy friend!"
She said as she sat down next to him and playfully punched him on the shoulder.
Nate:"Thanks Hailey, I really owe you one.."
Hailey:"So, does your leg still hurt?"
She said as she stood up and reached her hand out. Nate grabbed her hand and tried to pull himself up only to find himself unable to stand properly due to the pain.
Nate:"Ow!"
He yelped as he collapsed back to the ground.
Hailey:"Well, I'll take that as a no.."
Katie:"Hey, I think I'll just take it from here.. I mean, Nate and I do live next to each other.."
She said, while lightly blushing at the thought of carrying Nate.
Hailey:"Whew.. Thanks Katie!"
Katie:"C'mon, Nate."
She said before she grabbed his hand and lifted him up. Partially carrying him by wrapping his arm around her neck.
-hard cut-
Katie:"Y'know, I never asked you how you got caught up in all this Yo-Kai stuff.."
Nate:"I mean, It's a long story.. Y'know how we would go bug hunting with Bear and Eddie during summer back in grade school?"
Katie:"Yeah.."
Nate:"Well, there was this one time where I caught a stag beetle that I thought was really cool, but then when I showed it to you, you called it average, and I guess that really struck a nerve with me.."
Katie:"I-I did? I'm sorry I-I didn't mean to make fun of you.."
Nate:"I know.. It's just.. I really hated being branded like that, so I decided to go deeper into the woods so I could catch a rarer bug.. Eventually I went a little too deep, and I stumbled upon this really old capsule machine.. I took a step closer and suddenly there was this voice calling out to me, I didn't know what it wanted but it kept telling me to 'feed' it. I figured it must've been the capsule machine, so I put one of my quarters in."
Whisper:"Little did he know, he would be freeing me from almost 2 centuries of imprisonment! Then I decided to pay my debt to him with a lifetime of servitude."
Whisper butted in.
Nate:"Aaand the rest is history.."
Katie:"You really went that far for some bugs huh?"
She joked.
Nate:"I mean, I guess I just really wanted to impress you.."
Katie's cheeks suddenly turned red.
Nate:"Y'know, I used to have the biggest crush on you back in grade school.."
Katie:"Y-you did?"
Nate:"Yeah, gosh it was so embarrassing.."
'Nate had a crush on me? Wh-what does he think of me now?' She thought to herself.
He said while awkwardly looking down. He looked over to Katie to see her face completely red and seemed to be lost in her own thoughts.
Nate:"Katie? Something wrong? Y-your face is.. Really red…"
Katie:"Huh? Wha? N-nothing! I'm just.. Really tired, that's all!"
She nervously said, trying to dismiss his question.
Nate:"Well, I suppose we could both use some rest after today.."
Jibanyan:"Whisper, you seein' this?"
Whisper:"Fascinating.."
He said as they were both looking at the two's interactions.
-hard cut-
Eventually, both of them reached Nate's house, Katie stepped up and rang the doorbell. Before long, Nate's mother, Lily answered the door to see her son being partially carried presumably due to not being able to walk properly.
Katie:"Hi, Mrs. Adams."
Nate:"Hey Mom.."
Lily:"Oh my gosh, what happened to you, Nate?"
It was at this point, both of them realised they had to make up an excuse on the spot, so both of them spoke at the same time.
Katie:"Bike accident."
Nate:"I fell down the stairs."
They realised they'd come up with completely different answers, so they immediately tried to correct it.
Katie:"Uh.. He fell down the stairs."
Nate:"I-It was a bike accident."
Both of them said simultaneously.
Katie:"What I meant was, um.. He was riding his bike and uh.. He accidentally pedaled down a flight of stairs."
Nate:"Y-Yeah, that's what happened.."
Lily:"Oh dear, well, thanks for carrying him here, Katie.."
Katie:"No problem!"
-hard cut-
Hailey:"Oh man, did you see that?! I threw a purple fireball thing at the owl monster! Do you think I might secretly have superpowers? This is so exciting!"
She gushed full of energy as they had just arrived at the office.
USApyon:"Slow down, let's not jump the gun here.. That was the first time that junk's ever happened. Let's be careful about this, we don't know what we're dealing with!"
Hailey:"Aww, you're no fun.."
USApyon:"Well we gotta go talk to someone about this first! Ya can't just go about it willy nilly!"
Whapir:"Well, I might know a person.."
-next day-
The person in question was an old priest who calls himself 'Mr. Zen' who according to Whapir was an expert on all things mystical, especially. Apparently he's usually found in a temple in Blossom Heights. So the next day, everyone had agreed to go there, hoping to find an answer for what Hailey did yesterday. So they all sat down in front of him and explained what happened.
Mr. Zen:"I see.."
Yuto:"I'm sorry, what was your name again?"
He asked, sounding skeptical.
Mr Zen:"Well, you can call me Mr. Zen."
He then proceeded to stroke his chin.
Mr. Zen:"Looks like you kids just had your first experience with spirit power."
Katie:"Excuse me?"
Mr. Zen:"Well, it's a kind of energy that flows through every being.. But those who have connections to the mystical, such as Yo-Kai, have this power magnified, and on some occasions, it can manifest itself in extreme situations, like what young Hailey here experienced yesterday. Spirit power is mostly driven by your natural instincts, intuitions, and emotions, but over the years, some have learned to control this power and even focus it in the form of spirit weapons."
Mr. Zen then put up both his hands and conjured up a golden glowing staff, burning with spirit power.
Hailey:"Woah.."
Mr. Zen:"This here is a staff made from pure concentrated spirit power and it packs quite a punch! However, it requires focus, control over your emotions, and a strong mindset.. Perhaps if you try to focus your spirit power, you all might be able to conjure your own spirit weapons."
Yuto:"Wait-wait… so you're saying that all of us have the potential to do.. That?"
He said while pointing to the staff that the priest had conjured.
Mr. Zen:"Correct."
Author's Notes:
-Okay so maybe I was wrong about casefile 6 being the last one, so yeah, happy for that but the updates might take a pretty long time still.
-So I suppose this chapter was a bit different than the rest, I guess its a lot similar to Shadowside in the sense that its about urban legends, rumours, or superstitions
-I think from now on, I might just use Yo-Kai that haven't been introduced in the anime or Yo-Criminals from the game to use as the Yo-Criminals in this fic since I'm not too good at making up Yo-Criminals on the spot, but I probably will make original Yo-Criminals if there are certain themes that I want in a chapter that I can't find in the canon Yo-Kai.
-Since Spirit Weapons are a thing in Yo-Kai Watch 4, I decided to add them here cause why tf not? I feel like that would make it more fun.
-Sorry if this chapter had a bit too much junk in it, mostly because I wanted to get that out of the way so I can get into the fun stuff.