Chapter 5

Kwanzaa Palooza

"Woohoo!" Keita slid down the snowy hill on his sled. He and his friends were playing outside in the snow. The kids of Sakura New Town Elementary were enjoying their winter break.

"I love playing in the snow!" Kuma jumped into the pile of snow and made a snow angel.

"Me, too," Kanchi agreed. "According to the weather forecast, we will have a nice long week of winter fun."

"Yup, this will be great," Fumika commented while making a snowman. "What do you think, Ken?"

Ken was helping in building a snowman. "I guess so," he replied.

While the guys were playing, a single girl was watching them. Fumika noticed and when the girl saw her being noticed, she hid.

"Hey guys," Fumika said, catching their attention. "I think that girl is spying on us."

"A spy?" Kuma questioned as he and others looked over to the girl hiding behind the bush.

The boys also saw the girl hiding behind the bushes.

"I wonder what's up with her," Keita said.

"Hey, you!" Ken yelled out. "Why are you hiding?"

The girl gasped. With a bit to think for herself, she decided to show herself and approached them. The girl wore a yellow sweater coat with a white heart, pink hat, red mitten, and a pair of pink boots. She was also dark-skinned, most likely an African trait.

"Um, hello." She said shyly. "My name is Miho."

"Miho….Oh, I know you!" Fumika announced. "You're from our school. From Class 5-C, right?"

"Oh, yeah. You are in the other fifth-grade class," Kanchi remembered.

"Um, that's right," Miho answered. "I go to the same school that you guys go to."

"So why were you hiding then?" Ken questioned.

"Well….I…I want to know…if you all…want to come here?!" He showed them right in their face a flyer.

"What is this?" Ken said as he held the flyer.

"Kwanzaa Palooza?" Keita said. "What's a Kwanzaa?"

"Allow me to explain, Keita my boy!" Whisper appeared out of nowhere. "Kwanzaa is…"

"It's a holiday that celebrates the African heritage. My family and I celebrate it every year and it takes right after Christmas. We celebrate it for the whole week until New Year's Day," Miho explained, unintentionally interrupting Whisper.

"Is there gonna be food?" Kuma asked.

"Yes. A lot of food," Miho answered.

"Then let's go to this palooza, guys!" Kuma decided.

"It does sound like fun," Fumika said.

"I heard about Kwanzaa, but never celebrated before," Ken admitted. "I guess we can attend."

"Oh thank you!" Miho said. "Honestly, I only wanted to ask you guys because…well…you guys look friendly and fun, and I don't have a lot of friend in my class."

"My, that's unfortunate to hear," Yuray said, appearing out of nowhere too (while Whisper looked the other way in the depressing mood). "Master Ken, you should participate in this Kwanzaa Palooza!"

Miho invited the gang and bought them to the palooza. They headed to the local community center. On the front door, a poster that says "Kwanzaa Palooza" was on the door.

"This is the place," Miho announced. "I hope you all will enjoy it. Everyone is waiting inside."

They went inside the community center, but when they did, they were in for a surprise.

The palooza party looked like a cult meeting as everyone praised the Kwanzaa's candle as if it was their god.

"What's going on here?" Keita asked.

"Oh my!" Yuray gasped.

"Praise to the candle, praise to the candle…" Everyone said in unison.

"What's wrong with everyone?" Ken said until he noticed their friends were doing the same thing, too. "What the?! Kuma, Kanchi, Fumika, and Miho?!"

"This got to be a work of Yokai!" Keita exclaimed.

"Now, now, Keita. What kind of Yokai would actually do this?" Whisper questioned doubtfully.

"Found it!" Ken said as he was using his watch, already detected a Yokai to Whisper's surprise.

"Yes, worship me! For I am, the Kwanzadandeliere!" The Yokai presented was a Kwanza candle that also looked like a chandelier.

Kwanzadandeliere-Tribe: Mysterious, Attribute: Fire

"Who is that Yokai?" Keita asked.

"That's Kwanzadandeliere!" Yuray announced. "She is a Yokai that appears around this time of the year. She has the power to make other people worship her and not care about anything else!"

"Sounds like slavery to me," Ken commented.

"We got to stop it!" Keita declared. "I am calling my friend, Jibanyan!"

His Yokai Watch summoned his staple Yokai friend.

"Nyext!" Jibanyan appeared.

"Jibanyan, stop that Yokai!" Keita declared.

"You got it, Keita! Kick this! Paws of Fury!" Jibanyan attacked at Kwanzadandeliere.

"My minions! Protect your leader!" Kwanzadandeliere declared. The mind-controlled people stopped Jibanyan by tackling him.

"Nyaaaaaahhh!" Jibanyan cried.

"Jibanyan!" Keita exclaimed.

"Oh no! Jibanyan is defeated!" Yuray screamed.

"But that also left Kwanzadandeliere without any other defense! Time to summon Lasagnyan!" Ken summoned his Yokai.

"Hee-haw!" Lasagnyan appeared.

"Lasagnyan, stop Kwanzadandeliere!" Ken ordered.

"You got it, partner!" Lasagnyan stated. She used her trusty lasso to tangle the Yokai.

"No! I've been caught!" Kwanzadandeliere cried, but turned to smirk. "But this won't stop me completely!"

She used her own candle fire to burn her way out of the lasso.

"My lasso!" Lasagnyan cried.

"Oh no! Not even Miss Lasagnyan can stop Kwanzadandeliere!" Yuray remarked.

"Then we will summon this guy for a change!" Ken stated as he took out a new Yokai medal. "I summon Krampus! Yokai Medal Set- On!"

"Mmmmwaaaaaahhh!" A powerful aura shot out of the watch, summoning Krampus in his beast form.

"What the!?" Kwanzadandeliere gasped.

"Krampus, stop Kwanzadandeliere!" Ken announced as the Christmas Devil held Kwanzadandeliere and began the beating.

"Kyyyyyaaaaqhhhh!" She screamed.

Later that, Kwanzadandeliere was defeated. Everyone was back to normal, and they all celebrated Kwanzaa together. If you were wondering what happened to the mischievous Yokai, well hence its name, they used her as a chandelier.

"Happy….Kwanzaa….." Kwanzadandeliere said, still dazed.