Yo-Kai Watch Another Watcher
St. Patrick's Day Special
Curse of the Green Flu
"Arck, arck, arck!" Ken coughed horribly as he was limping on the floor. There were green moss-like growing all over his skin, including his face.
Yuray and Lasagnyan were also on the ground, covered with strange green stuff over their skin, coughing horribly and even sweating.
"I feel so hot, like a piping hot sauce on a chilly dog!" Lasagnyan exclaimed.
"Ma…ster….Ken." Yuray was short out of breath as she coughed horribly.
"Darn it! You….!" Ken looked angrily and frustratingly at the culprit who caused them to be like this.
The culprit stood over them on higher ground in front of a strange machine.
The figure looked short and wore a green coat, a green hat, green pants, and brown shoes. The figure had a busy, orange beard and pointy ear, and sinister yellow eyes.
"Kee, kee, kee!" The short figure laughed maniacally. "Now, nobody will get in my plan!"
What you all see here was an event that happens in the future. We must go back to the beginning….
- 2 Weeks Before –
It was a lovely first day of March. It was still chilly enough for people to wear a winter jacket, but spring was around the corner.
As usual, the students of Class 5-2 were at their class, greeting a good morning to everyone. Of course, Ken had just arrived, like everyone else at his usual pace.
"Good morning, Ken," Fumika greeted as he approached over to him, who was unpacking his stuff.
"Morning," Ken replied.
"Hey, good morning, Fumika-chan and Ken," Keita said as he joined in, along with Kuma and Kanchi.
"A-choo!" Keita sneezed. "I hope spring comes soon. I am getting tired of the winter!"
"What's wrong, Keita? Can't handle a little cold?" Kuma joked as everyone, except Ken laughed.
"Hey! What's that supposed to mean?" Keita asked madly.
"So normal of you, Keita. You always say the same thing every year," Fumika stated. "I remember you said the same thing around this time always."
"Ah! Well. Um…!" Keita felt embarrassed.
Just then, a door slowly opened. It was Satoko, a friend of Fumika, but something was a bit odd about her.
"Oh? Hey, Satoko! Good morning," Fumika greeted her friend.
When Satoko turned around, Fumika noticed that she looked unwell.
"Satoko, what's wrong? You don't look so good!" Fumika noticed. "And what is up with that green stuff on the side of the neck?"
"Oh, don't worry about me…Fumika…. I just got a little bit of cold…. That's all," Satoko assured her, though she sounded a bit short of breath.
"Oh my. I wonder what's wrong with Miss Fumika's friend, Miss Satoko," Yuray wondered as she appeared beside Ken.
"Who knows…" he said.
Fumika looked worried. Before she got a chance to say something, the homeroom teacher came in, meaning everyone need to get back to their seat.
"Good morning, class! Let's begin class today!" The teacher announced.
As the class was about to begin, that was when an accident happened.
"Bam!" Everyone stopped to hear the sound. They all turned to see Satoko just fell off from her chair and fainted.
"Satoko!" Fumika yelled.
The teacher rushed over to her side and checked the girl. "Everyone stay calm! And please get the nurse!"
"Yes, sir!" One of the students rushed out to get the nurse's office.
"Oh my! Miss Satoko just fainted!" Yuray screamed.
"What in the world…?" Ken and everyone else looked at the girl.
"Everyone, please stay back and give Satoko-san some air!" The teacher ordered.
A little bit later, Satoko was moved to the nurse's office. The nurse was explaining to the homeroom teacher while everyone else waited in the class.
"I wonder what's wrong with Satoko…" One student said.
"She did look kind of sick when she came this morning…." Another classmate pointed out.
"Hope she's OK…." Another student said.
"Don't worry, Fumika. Satoko will be alright." Fumika's other friend, Chiyo comforted Fumika, along with other female classmates.
"I hope she is OK, too," Yuray said. "Don't you think so, Master Ken?"
"Yeah…" He replied.
That was when their homeroom teacher returned from the nurse's office. Everybody paid attention to the teacher as he looked a bit serious and calm.
"Everyone, I would like to make an important announcement," the teacher said. "As you all know, our classmate, Miss Satoko, fainted this morning, but the nurse is taking care of her and we already contacted her parent. They will pick her up soon. Please rest assured that she will be fine."
Everyone looked relieved. The class continued from that day until the end. Everybody went back home.
The next day….
"Brrr! Again, it's too cold today!" Keita complained.
"Come on, Keita! Be a man! I only wear these shorts and sweaters this morning!" Kuma boasted.
"That's because you have your insulator, Kuma," Kanchi joked.
"Hey!" Kuma responded.
The school bell rang, starting the first class of the day. However, something was different today. The teacher who came in the classroom of Class 5-2 wasn't their same, old' homeroom teacher.
The students looked confused.
"Oh, what's this? A homeroom teacher is a different person today," Yuray noticed.
"Good morning, everyone. I know you all must be surprised to see me instead of your teacher, but unfortunately, he called in for a sick day. I would be your substitute homeroom teacher," the substitute explained.
"What?!" Everyone gasped.
"Sweets!" Keita whispered to Ken. "At least this means that our usual homeroom teacher won't find out that I forgot to do my math homework."
"Ah, ha, right…" Ken said with a sweatdrop.
However, later on, the day, two more students and a different student from the neighboring classroom fell sick. In the next couple of days, multiple students fell sick. The illness spread so much that it caught the attention of the local news media.
Then, even adults began to show a similar symptom of the illness. Shortness of breath, high fever, coughing, and the most common trait of all; the strange green moss-like substance that appears over the skin.
Within one week, the Sakura Elementary School declared a closing until further notice to perform quarantine. However, that was the worst part. The local hospital began to see an increased number of patients. They were doing whatever they can do, but they couldn't do anything to help, except by quarantining them and making sure that people who aren't infected stay away from them.
Doctors and medical experts across the country couldn't find out, but illness started to spread the entire town. In about a week and a half, the mayor of Sakura New Town declared an emergency to close down all schools. In less than two weeks, local businesses shut down in the fear of the infection spreading further. Some companies even declared to force employees to work remotely from home.
Ken and Yuray were at their home.
"Yeah, I am OK, Mom." Ken was talking with his mother, who was on a business trip in Hokkaido. "Don't worry. I am fine. I am taking an online course by the school. Yeah, I hope to see you soon. Later."
He hung up the phone, but he looked worried. He wondered if this whole pandemic didn't stop, he couldn't think it is safe for his mom to return home.
"This is just horrible, Master Ken!" Yuray exclaimed. "As I am reading the news on the Internet, there are shortages of toilet paper and water bottles due to this strange pandemic in the town right now! What are we going to do?!"
"Come down, your horses, Yuray!" Lasagnyan yelled at her. "You're as jumpy as a jumpy bean!"
"Lasagnyan is right, Yuray. The best thing to do is just to stay cool and calm. There is no need to panic. It is not like this is the end of the world or something," Ken said as he turned on the TV to see the news.
"In just in, so far, about 2000 positive cases are confirmed as of today. This strange illness had first begun with the first positive case that happened at the local elementary school with one student feeling ill during a class. The school had performed a quarantine and clean out the entire building, but even then, the illness had already spread through the entire town. Currently, the local government is doing whatever it can to control the infection. We are now changing to Soko at the local hospital."
"Thank you. This is Soko at the Sakura Medical University Hospital. Here, inside this very hospital, about 1800 people are being quarantined and about 200 are so are self-quarantine at their own home, staying away from everyone who isn't infected."
Strangely, Ken noticed something in the background. A foreign man was approaching behind the newswoman. The approaching man had a hairy orange beard and hair with some gray strands in a trench coat with green four-leaf clover tucked in the side pocket and brown hat.
"Hey, what are you?!" The newswoman retaliated, but the man took the mic away from her.
"You all there!" The man yelled in an Irish accent. "Listen up, you fish-eating Japanese people! My name is Joseph Neil, a researcher!"
"Oh my!" Yuray gasped. "Who is this man?"
"I don't have a clue, but he sure speaks loud," Lasagnyan said.
"I know what you all are facing right now, and it is worst than you all think! This pandemic is none other than the same pandemic that happened more than a century ago," The strange man, Joseph Neil said. "It all happened in the small village in Ireland. All the villagers of that time fell ill and share the same symptoms. Shortness of breath, high fever, horrible coughing, and worst of all; the strange green-like moss that grew all over their skins! Everyone, except for one young boy, was infected and died by the illness, and the lone survivor was happened to be my great grandfather, and the one who knew the cause of the illness!"
"Wait, what?" Ken said as he paid close attention.
"Sure, please give me back the mic…" The news anchorwoman tried to reason with the strange man, but he continued as he approached the camera closer.
"That illness, my great grandfather, was caused by the Green Flu Virus, a type of virus that doesn't exist anywhere in nature! It is created by an evildoer; an evil incarnate himself who tried to eliminate humanity!" Joseph exclaimed as everyone who was watching had the same facial expression.
"That evil incarnate is the evil fairy, the Leprechaun!" Joseph stated until he was caught by the police. "Hey, what are you think you're doing?!"
"Calm down, sir! You're coming with us!" The policemen took Joseph away.
"I am telling you all the truth! This is all caused by him, the Leprechaun! He's going to kill us all and the entire world!" Joseph yelled as he was being dragged.
Ken turned off the TV, put on his jacket, and headed outside.
"Master Ken, where are you going?" Yuray asked.
"Let's go, Yuray and Lasagnyan. I want to meet Mr. Neil in-person. I have a feeling that this illness, the Green Flu Virus is a work of the Yokai, this Leprechaun or whatever it is called," Ken said as he headed outside.
Ken along with Yuray and Lasagnyan headed to the local police station. Of course, Ken was wearing a surgical mask, thinking that the Green Flu Virus is spread from a person to person. When he arrived where the man, Joseph Neil was held, they found something unexpected.
"Oh my! What happened here?!" Yuray gasped.
All the officers were coughing on the ground with the same strange green moss covering their skins.
"Come on!" He and his Yokai ran pass through the door to the ceiling room. They reached the end of the hallway, where they found Joseph Neil.
"Ah, who are you, lad?" Joseph asked in his Irish accent.
"My name is Ken Aichi, and I am going to bust you out of here," Ken said as he showed a key, which he got. He opened the ceiling door and released Joseph.
"You Japanese lads are crazier than I thought! Though, I still don't understand why you are doing this," Joseph said.
"I am here because I want to know more about the Green Flu Virus and how to stop it. You mentioned that this was all caused by an evil Leprechaun or something," Ken answered.
"Why, jolly ho! I am glad to see someone in this dang town and country believe me!" Joseph bear-hugged Ken to the point that he was struggling.
"Yeah,…That's great to hear, but let me go pleased!" Ken demanded.
A little later, Joseph Neil led Ken into a forest as he explained more about it.
"So, why do you think this whole pandemic is caused by a Leprechaun? I thought Leprechaun is supposed to be a good thing and give you good luck, or at least that's what I heard," Ken said.
"That is true, but not this particular Leprechaun. This one is an evil incarnate! It feeds on other's bad luck, and brings misfortunate to others! It created the Green Flu Virus and infected my great grandpappy's village and nearly destroyed it! Only he was the lone survivor and dedicated his entire life to research the Green Flu Virus, becoming a doctor. My grandpappy and father who came before me were a doctor, and I, the fourth generation of the Neil Family, have finally understood!" Joseph explained.
"Understood what?" Ken asked.
"The only way to defeat the Leprechaun!" Joseph stated.
They walked through the dense forest until they came to an entrance of a cave.
"Here it is! The evil Leprechaun tends to love in a secluded place, like this cave. He must be in there somewhere," Joseph said.
"Hey, partner. Do you think what this old coop says is true?" Lasagnyan asked doubtfully.
"We come this far and after my experience with all this Yokai business nonsense, I think I should believe whatever this old coop says," Ken whispered.
"Whatever happens, Mr. Neil is the only one who knows how to stop the pandemic! We must do this for everyone's sake, and possibly the world," Yuray said determinedly.
They entered the cave. It was dark and drench. Good thing they had a flashlight, but it was quiet, too quiet.
"It sure is quiet in here," Ken commented.
"Yes, lad. Too quiet, that is," Joseph added.
Suddenly, the ground began to crack.
"Oh no! The ground is cracking! We got to run!" Joseph yelled as they began running. The ground started cracking into pieces.
The boys made it the end, but….
"Oh!" Joseph almost dropped, but he grabbed on to the ledge.
"Mr. Neil!" Ken said as he tried to pull him up. "Uuuuh! He's too heavy!"
"Master Ken!" Yuray and Lasagnyan joined in as they pulled him up.
"Hang on!" Ken yelled.
Suddenly, a strange green vine pulled Ken, Yuray, and Lasagnyan away, dragging them deep into the cave.
"Waaaaahhh!" The trio screamed.
"OH NOOOOOOO!" Joseph screamed.
"Uuuuh," Ken opened his eyes when he realized that he was in the deepest part of the cave.
"Is everyone OK?" He asked.
"I feel fine, Master Ken…" Yuray responded. "What about you, Miss Lasagnyan?"
"My head feels like spaghetti, but I think I am alright," Lasagnyan said.
They looked around when a bright light shined over them. They flinched, but soon their sight adjusted to the light.
"Kee, kee, kee! Looks who came in uninvited!" They heard a voice.
The voice belonged to a figure. The figure had a sharp nose, sharp ear, and sinister yellow eye. His fingernails were sharp and black. He wore a green coat, a green hat, green pants, and shoes.
"You must be!" Ken realized.
"Welcome to my secret den! I am the Leprechaun!"
Leprechaun-Tribe: Horror, Attribute: Dark
"Oh my! What Mr. Neil said was right! It's a real Leprechaun!" Yuray exclaimed.
"Well said, little ghost girl! It is, the Leprechaun, and what have you all come here for?" Leprechaun asked with a sinister grin.
"We're here to stop you, and the Green Flu Virus, you punk!" Ken replied.
"Ho, you're a feisty one, but neither you nor your Yokai pals can stop me! For this!" A light shined behind him, revealing a strange looking machine with a tall furnace.
"Nya?! What is that contraption?" Lasagnyan asked aloud.
"This little machine is my Green Flu Virus maker! With this, it will pump out my pretty virus out through the furnace and into the air. Once it is in the air, the wind will blow it, carrying my airborne deadly little things all over the town, this country, and then the rest of the world!" He explained.
"But why would you do such a horrible thing?! Many lives will be at risk!" Yuray exclaimed.
"Why?! Bringing misfortunate to others is my joy, and bringing misfortunate upon the world by making everyone sick with the pandemic is the greatest joy in my life! Once every human being sick, I can do whatever I want in my life!" Leprechaun stated.
"Not if I have something to say about it!" Ken said. "Lasagnyan!"
"I'm on it, Partner!" Lasagnyan took out her lasso to attack Leprechaun.
However, Leprechaun poofed and reappeared in other places, using his magic power. Then, he breathed out a green mist at Lasagnyan and all over Ken, and Yuray.
"What the?!" Ken gasped as the mist-covered. He began coughing horribly and then fell to his knee until he was completely lying down on the ground.
"Arck, arck!" Ken coughed horribly as he was limping on the floor. There were green moss-like growing all over his skin, including his face.
Yuray and Lasagnyan were also on the ground, covered with strange green stuff over their skin, coughing horribly and even sweating.
"I feel so hot, like a piping hot sauce on a chilly dog!" Lasagnyan exclaimed.
"Ma…ster….Ken." Yuray was short out of breath as she coughed horribly.
"Darn it! You….!" Ken looked angrily and frustratingly at the culprit who caused them to be like this.
The culprit stood over them on higher ground in front of a strange machine.
The figure looked short and wore a green coat, a green hat, green pants, and brown shoes. The figure had a busy, orange beard and pointy ear, and sinister yellow eyes.
"Kee, kee, kee!" The short figure laughed maniacally. "Now, nobody will get in the way of my plan! You misfits are infected with my virus and there's nothing you can do about it!"
"Darn….You!" Ken said angrily, but his body was paralyzed by the high fever.
"I finally found you, you damn Leprechaun!" Everyone turned their attention to see Joseph Neil appeared out of a different cave.
"What's this? I miss one misfit?" Leprechaun said in a confused tone.
"Have a taste of your own medicine!" Joseph yelled as he threw something at the Leprechaun.
A bottle of hand sanitizer splashed all over his eyes.
"Aaaaaaaahhhh! My eyes! My face!" He screamed in pain.
Joseph approached the machine and examined it. "So, this is what makes the virus, huh? Well, then, have some of this!"
He began pressing a random button, causing the machine to make strange noises and smoke coming out of it.
"No! What are you doing to my machine?! Stop that!" Leprechaun begged.
"Sorry, but your precious machine is now out of order!" Joseph punched through the machine, creating a big hole through it with sparks coming out.
"Noooo!" Leprechaun yelled.
"Come on, let's get out of here!" Joseph grabbed sickened Ken. Yuray and Lasagnyan, using all the strength they have, got up and escaped with Joseph.
"Noooo! My machine! At this rate, it will….." The machine-made cracking and sparking noises until it began to overload itself.
"Oh shii…..!" The machine exploded.
Luckily, the heroes got out of the cave.
"Mr. Neil, you are…arck, alright," Ken said as he coughed.
"Yes, I am and luckily for us, before that dang machine exploded, I got a sample of the formula for the virus! I can use it to create a vaccine, and as soon as I make, I will cure you soon as soon as possible, including your spirit friends, too!" Joseph exclaimed.
"Wait, what did you….just said?" Ken asked, wondering if Joseph Neil knew he had a Yokai with him.
Over the past days, Joseph Neil worked every day and night, and in about 3 days, he created the first vaccine and the medicine. He used it on the first patient, Ken with the medicine and in two days, Ken got better. His fever went down to a normal temperature, and his cough was gone along with the green moss disappeared from his skins. Soon, all the people in Sakura New Town who got infected were cured and uninfected people got the vaccine.
Thanks to his effort, Mr. Neil's vaccine helped to stop the spread of the Green Flu Virus, and even became famous for it. Luckily, thanks to him, the Irish Community of Sakura New Town were able to do their St. Patrick Parade and celebrate it with a big party.
"Ha, ha, ha! Yeah! This is how the Irish parties!" Joseph said joyfully, though a bit drunk.
"My, oh my! Mr. Neil sure loves to dance," Yuray commented.
"I think he drank a bit too much of that Irish drink or whatever it is," Ken said. "Though, it is amazing that everyone here were sick by the virus and yet, everything got better and normal in less than a week."
"Indeed, Master Ken! It's surprising how the virus really affected everyone's life, whether they got it or not! At least it is now OK," Yuray said.
"Even so, that doesn't mean that we start being careless. Pandemic or not, I always wash my hands daily, like before I eat or after I use the little kitties' room," Lasagnyan pointed out.
"I agree. Also, it is best to sneeze or cough with your arms and not your hands," Yuray added.
"And of course, if you are feeling sick or just unwell, it is best to stay inside your home and not go out to work or school, so that nobody else get sick, too," Ken said.
"Well, I think all of us learn a valuable lesson in life. Just by doing what we said, everyone should be able to stay healthy when there is a pandemic or not," Yuray concluded.
Ken and Lasagnyan completely agreed on that as they celebrated the party on St. Patrick Day.
Hello, everyone.
Happy St. Patrick's Day! I wanted to write a St. Patrick's Day special for Yo-Kai Watch Another Watcher, and I finally did it for this year. Though, I know that this year, 2020 started quite rough and not too good with the addition of what's happening right now with the Coronavirus pandemic.
I know I've been affected, NOT infected, by the Coronoavirus in my persona life. I work in NYC, but now I work remotely all day in my apartment. Despite the negativity, I am managing to work well in my job and I am looking forward to the release of the new Animal Crossing game on the Nintendo Switch this week.
This special is dedicated not only for St. Patrick's Day, but also as awareness for the Coronavirus and also the last Friday the 13th, with a new character based on a classic horror film character, Leprechaun, created by the original creators of the American slasher film series, who is also based on the real fairy from the Irish folklore.
With all that said, I hope you enjoyed reading this story and found to be both informative and entertaining. The moral of this story is wash your hands daily and stay healthy. I know I've been very slow with updating my stories, but I will get to it when I have the chance.
I hope you all look forward to updates for my stories, including Yo-Kai Watch and until then, see you all next time and have a nice day.