Normal Saturday with My Completely Normal Friend
Chapter 5
Nate and the others waved their hands at Alex, Eric and Kenny before the both groups went their separate ways.
"Okay. We have gone shopping, eating and the beach," Bear listed as they walked down the street. "What should we do next?"
Nate turned his gaze to the sky with thoughtful expression. "Let's see…" he muttered.
"Hm? Didn't I put it here?"
Everybody turned their attention in Enma's direction who was going through the content of his his shopping bag with a frown.
"What's wrong, Emmanuel?" Katie asked.
Enma lifted his gaze from his shopping bag. "Seems like my wallet is missing," he replied.
"Oh no," Nate gasped, sharing a similar worried expression with his other friends.
"Do you remember where you last had it?" Eddie asked.
Enma fell silent for a moment with thoughtful expression. "I remember still having it when I paid my soda at Everymart, so it's probably still there," he concluded. "I'll return there quickly to check if anybody has picked it up."
"Go ahead," Nate prompted. "We'll be here waiting for you."
Enma nodded and hurried back in their income direction.
Bear turned his attention back at his friends. "I just got an idea. We could-"
"Oh," Eddie said suddenly while looking elsewhere. "Aren't those Stephen, Casey and Matt over there?"
The rest of them turned their gaze to the street on the other side of the road where Eddie had directed his attention. And indeed there stood Stephen, Casey and Matt, all three of them engrossed in their conversation.
"You're right. It's them," Katie confirmed. "Shall we go and greet them?"
"Sure. But we should also remember to keep an eye on this street until Emmanuel returns," Nate replied.
The children and the yo-kai hurried towards a crosswalk located a short distance away and waited for a light to turn green. Right after the light had changed, they crossed quickly the crosswalk.
"Hi, guys!" Eddie greeted their classmates as Nate and the others approached them, causing Stephen, Casey and Matt turn towards them.
"Oh, it's you. Hi," Stephen greeted them.
"What are you doing?" Nate asked with a smile as they stopped by the trio.
"Nothing special. We have just finished our study session for today," Stephen replied.
Nate and the others stared at them with raised eyebrows.
"What? Are you studying on Saturday?" Bear asked in surprise.
Stephen adjusted his glasses calmly. "Some of us take studying very seriously. Besides, Casey and Matt were the ones who asked me if we could study together," he explained.
"Really? That's surprising," Nate stated as he turned his gaze at Casey and Matt.
Casey shifted his weight from one leg to the other. "Well… My mom has complained how my test results haven't been exactly good lately," he admitted.
"Same here. My parents have nagged about my math grades so much that I really would like to get them off my back," Matt sighed. "Honestly, after everything I don't feel like doing anything."
With those words Matt sat down on the sidewalk asphalt.
"Wow. I had nyo idea that studying would be that tiring," Jibanyan commented with surprised expression.
"Well, that's how it feels sometimes," Nate confessed quietly before he addressed Stephen and Casey again: "Now that you're done with your studying, what were you planning to do next?"
Stephen and Casey stared at Nate with bored expression.
"I don't want to do anything at all," Stephen sighed.
"Me neither," Casey muttered.
Nate stared at them in confusion as Stephen and Casey sat down next to Matt on the asphalt.
"Uum… You shouldn't sit in the middle of the sidewalk," Nate pointed out before smiling apologetically at a suit wearing man passing by who gave them a look of annoyance as he had to step into the driveway for a moment to get around them.
"What does it matter?" Bear's indifferent voice asked from behind Nate.
"What?" Nate wondered as he, Whisper and Jibanyan turned around to face Nate's friends. Their eyes widened when they saw that Bear, Eddie and Katie had also sat down with bored expression.
"Guys? Is something wrong?" Nate asked.
"Nothing at all," Eddie replied as he waved his hand lazily. "I just don't want to do anything."
"Yeah…" Bear muttered. "I just want to sit here."
"But we were supposed to plan what we could do next," Nate reminded them while a familiar doubt began to sprout in his thoughts.
Katie glanced at Nate out of the corner of her eye. "Oh come on. I couldn't care less about our trip anymore. Let's forget it already…"
Nate turned his head towards Whisper and Jibanyan. "There's no doubt about this. They have been inspirited by the yo-kai," he concluded.
"Are you sure they aren't just tired from all the walking around?" Whisper asked.
"Completely sure," Nate replied with determined expression as he lighted the light of his Yo-kai Watch and illuminated their surrounding area.
After moving the light for a moment, Nate stopped when his watch revealed three yo-kai standing near children.
These yo-kai were D'wanna, Cutta-nah and Chilled Cowcao.
"Found you!" Nate exclaimed as he pointed at the yo-kai.
The troublesome yo-kai turned their heads in Nate's direction.
"Huh? Can that human see us?" D'wanna wondered.
Cutta-nah glanced at Nate's wrist. "Oh, he has a Yo-kai Watch," he noted without sounding impressed at all.
Nate gave the yo-kai a firm look. "Release my friends from your inspiration," he ordered.
Chilled Cowcao leaned against the edge of his cup. "Why should we do that?" he asked.
"Because my friends and me had made plans for today and lazing on the sidewalk wasn't part of our plans," Nate explained sternly.
"Sho you want ush to move those kids to the benches then?" Chilled Cowcao asked.
"Uugh… What a drag," Cutta-nah sighed.
"No! I already told you that I want you to release them from your inspiration," Nate repeated as frustration gradually crept into his tone.
The troublesome yo-kai gave Nate an annoyed look.
"What a noisy kid. Humans like him really annoy me," Cutta-nah growled.
"Yeah. Much ado about nothing," Chilled Cowcao muttered.
Nate's body stiffened. "Alright then. Looks like we have to solve this in the yo-kai way," he concluded with determined expression before he turned his attention at Jibanyan. "Jiba-"
"Hey. Give it up already," D'wanna said suddenly and waved his drumstick in Nate's direction.
Nate froze for a second. Then his shoulders slumped and all liveliness and determination disappeared from his eyes.
"Nate!" Whisper and Jibanyan gasped in worry.
At first Nate said nothing but then he crossed his hands behind his head and announced: "I give up. I don't want to take care of those troublesome yo-kai." After this announcement, Nate started walking away.
"Hold on, Nate!" Whisper exclaimed as he dashed in front of Nate and pointed at his classmates. "What about your friends?"
Nate stared at Whisper with disinterest. "So what? They aren't even in danger or anything like that," he stated with a yawn. "I'm sure that somebody else can help them-"
"Nate? What's going on here?"
Nate, Whisper, Jibanyan and the troublesome yo-kai turned their attention at Enma who was standing next to Nate and staring at him with a slight frown.
"Oh. Hi, Lord Enma," Nate greeted him casually.
Nate's greeting made the usually relaxed yo-kai flinch. Cutta-nah's blade straightened for a moment as he stared at Enma with startled expression, Chilled Cowcao almost dropped the cherry he was holding into his cocoa and D'wanna almost jumped off his pillow.
Enma studied Nate's unenthuastic face. Then he glanced at Nate's classmate and the nervous looking yo-kai.
"I see…" Enma muttered before he focused his attention back at Nate and clapped his hands together in front of the boy's face.
Nate flinched and immediately he got a strong feeling like curtains had been drawn in front of his eyes. Everything seemed much clearer and brighter. Nate blinked his eyes a couple of times before he focused his attention at Enma.
"Welcome back," Enma said as he lowered his arms.
"Lord Enma… What was I…?" Nate asked, looking still confused and lost.
"D'wanna inspirited you!" Whisper explained quickly.
Nate's eyes widened in realization. "That's right! I had to stop the yo-kai who were inspiriting my friends!" he exclaimed.
Nate swiftly turned around to face the yo-kai but his determined expression eased a little bit when he saw the troublesome yo-kai gathered together and whispering to each others while glancing in Enma's direction now and then.
"Could that really be…?" Cutta-nah whispered nervously.
"It can't be," Chilled Cowcao argued. "Why would Lord Enma be here with humansh in the firsht place?"
"But if it really is him… That boy seems to have a rather intensive aura," D'wanna noted carefully.
This remark made the troublesome yo-kai glance unsurely in Enma's direction once again.
Nate and Enma exchanged glances.
"Do you want me to handle this?" Enma asked.
"Go ahead," Nate replied.
Enma nodded and walked over to the troublesome yo-kai who stared at him cautiously.
Enma stopped in front of them and crossed his arm over his chest. "For being a lazy yo-kai, you have been surprisingly diligent," he noted.
Nate exchanged glances with Whisper and Jibanyan. They hadn't expected this kind of start.
The troublesome yo-kai stared silently at Enma.
"Who are you?" Cutta-nah asked finally.
"Guess," Enma prompted.
The troublesome yo-kai glanced at each others nervously.
Eventually Chilled Cowcao ventured to reply: "You… can't be Lord Enma. I'm shure he's currently taking care of important governmental bushiness. Sho… You're either a human who can shee yo-kai or an another yo-kai dishguised as a human."
"Let's see if your guess was correct," Enma stated and snapped his fingers.
A blast of gray smoke surrounded 'Emmanuel'. When the smoke cleared out, the king of the yo-kai himself was standing in front of them.
Immediately the expression of the troublesome yo-kai became horrified.
"Lord… Enma…" D'wanna gasped.
"Sho it wash him after all…" Chilled Cowcao whimpered, looking rather pale.
"What a surprise… We weren't expecting to meet you here…" Cutta-nah croaked.
"I'm sure you weren't," Enma stated calmly. Then he smiled. "I, in other hand, was very surprised that yo-kai such as yourselves have gone to inspirit human. Actually I'm positively surprised."
With these words, the silence fell between Nate and the yo-kai.
"What?" Nate gasped with wide eyes while Whisper and Jibanyan stared at Enma in surprise.
"For real?" Chilled Cowcao asked in hopeful tone while D'wanna and Cutta-nah sighed in relief.
"Definitely," Enma confirmed. "It make me pleased to see my people working hard with their inspirations. Especially those who have a little humbler reputation."
The troublesome yo-kai straightened their back and smiled proudly.
Nate in other hand stared at Enma like the yo-kai king had just announced that his wish to befriend with humans has been nothing but a lie. "Lord Enma… What-?"
"I think your hard work deserves special attention," Enma announced to the yo-kai while he rose his hand in Nate's direction, silencing the boy. "You obviously have a lot of potential and the best way to develop it is to sign you three up for Sgt. Burly's Beat Camp."
The troublesome yo-kai's smiles were immediately replaced with the expression of pure horror.
Enma smiled at them. "Isn't that a great idea? You'll be able to develop your abilities to new dimensions under Sgt. Burly's determined guidance. I have heard that he has developed new and versatile, albeit physically demanding, training methods. But of course they won't be any trouble for hard working yo-kai such as yourselves. If you want, I can call Sgt. Burly right now-"
"Noooo!"
The shout from the troublesome yo-kai startled Nate, Whisper and Jibanyan enough to make them jump a little but Enma stood calmly still.
"Y-you don't have to do anything like that, Your Excellency! We know that you have more important things to do than call Sgt. Burly for low-level yo-kai shuch as ourshelves!" Chilled Cowcao explained hastily.
"We also were just going to release those humans from our inspiration because it has been very tiresome for us!" Cutta-nah claimed and waved his hand in the direction of Nate's classmates.
D'wanna and Chilled Cowcao followed quickly his example.
"We're terribly sorry for wasting your precious time, Your Excellency!" D'wanna apologized hastily. "Now we… Uuumm… Have to go to… Take a nap! That's right! We have to take a very important nap right now! Goodbye, Lord Enma!"
And with that the troublesome yo-kai disappeared like smoke into the air.
For a moment Nate, Whisper and Jibanyan stood still in silence as they stared at the spot where the yo-kai had been before they turned their gaze on Enma.
Enma returned their gaze with a glint in his eyes. "Well… Here was I thinking that they were expections among their own kind," he stated calmly.
Nate's eyes widened slightly. "Hold on! Were you suggesting them going to Sgt. Burly's camp just to scare them away?"
"Of course not. Why would I do something like that? Especially during one of my rare free days?" Enma asked with innocent smile.
"You're a devil, Lord Enma."
"No, I'm a yo-kai. And by the way, your friends are back to normal."
Nate turned his head towards his classmates and noticed them standing up and turning to face him. Their eyes were full of pure confusion.
"Nate…? What did we… What just happened?" Bear asked while blinking his eyes.
"Nothing," Nate lied quickly. "We were just talking about where we should go to next."
"Ah… Okay," Eddie stated, although his tone didn't sound entirely sure.
Bear's eyes widened suddenly. "Oh yeah! I was going to suggest that we go to the arcade!" he exclaimed.
"I agree with the suggestion," Enma, who had returned back into his human disguise, announced cheerfully.
Enma's announcement made Stephen, Casey and Matt turn their attention at him with slightly surprised expression.
"Uum… Do you know this guy?" Matt asked unsurely from Nate and the others.
"Oh, that's right. I haven't introduced you guys yet," Nate stated before he gestured towards Enma. "This is my friend Emmanuel. He's visiting from San Fantastico. Emmanuel, these are Stephen, Matt and Casey."
"Hi. Nice to meet you," Enma greeted with a smile as he rose his hand.
"Likewise," Stephen replied politely. In his mind though, he thought: "Nate seems to be able to make friends with anybody. That boy doesn't seem easily approachable."
"Did you find your wallet, Emmanuel?" Katie asked.
"Yeah," Enma confirmed as he took out his wallet from his shopping bag. "I forgot it at checkout but luckily the cashier had noticed it."
"It's great that you got it back," Nate stated cheerfully. Then he turned to address everybody else. "So, how about it? Do you guys want to go to the arcade?" Nate asked.
"Definitely yes!" Eddie replied eagerly.
"I want to go there too! How about you guys?" Casey asked with a grin from Matt and Stephen.
"Sure," Matt nodded.
But Stephen shook his head. "Thank you but I'll pass. I have to go to home to study," he told.
This made the others to stare at Stephen unenthuastically.
"It's great how much you care about your studies, Stephen, but it would be good for you have a break from it now and then," Eddie noted.
"Yeah. If you make your brain work constantly, they'll be too tired to function properly when you really need them," Enma warned.
"It's also nicer for everybody if nobody is left out of the fun," Nate noted.
"I appreciate your concern," Stephen replied, "but my parents won't like it if I loiter in the town for hours. Besides, I'll have plenty of time to relax next weekend when I go to the Next HarMEOWny concert."
"The Next HarMEOWny concert! I forgot it completely!" Casey shrieked so loudly that Nate and the others flinched and the passer-byes glanced in their direction, their expressions being the mixture of surprise and annoyance.
Stephen gave Casey a sympathetic look. "That's too bad. You know that you won't get the tickets from anywhere anymore."
Casey groaned in frustration as he combed his hair with his fingers.
Jibanyan put his paws in his haramaki with pleased expression. "I already got the ticket to the concert. I bought it the same day the date of the concert was annyounced," he chuckled.
Enma looked at Jibanyan, Stephen and Casey in turn before he addressed Nate. "What is Next HarMEOWny? Some kind of band?" Enma asked from Nate.
"Huh? You don't know what Next HarMEOWny is?" Nate wondered, his eyes widening slightly.
"You don't know what Next HarMEOWny is?" Casey screamed, causing Enma and Nate jump a little.
Nate's classmates seemed surprised by this revelation but Jibanyan, Stephen and Casey's expression were shocked.
"Lord Enma! How it's possible that you don't knyow about the world greatest idol group?" Jibanyan yelled while waving his paws in frustrated manner.
"I can't say I have heard about them," Enma replied, looking a little awkward.
"Next HarMEOWny," Stephen began explaining emphatically as he walked over to Enma and showed him the screen of his smartphone with a picture of the members of Next HarMEOWny, "is a charismatic idol group with skillful members and wonderful performances that has achieved great popularity with its brilliance. Their performances are always sold out, you have to stand in a queque for hours if you want to meet them and you have to order their products beforehand or you'll wait them for eternity."
Enma studied the picture on the screen. "Oh, it's them. I have seen them a couple of times on TV while passing by," he stated after a moment of silence.
"'A couple of times on TV while passing by'," Casey repeated in disbelief. "Where do you live? Under a rock?"
Casey's comment made Nate and Whisper grimace and Enma frown slightly.
"Excuse me but I've had other things to focus on," Enma noted with a hint of annoyance in his tone as he placed his hands on his hips.
"Hey, guys. It's just that not everybody is a fan of Next HarMEOWny," Nate joined the conversation quickly while trying to smile reassuringly, gaining the attention of the others. "So, how about going to the arcade like we talked earlier?"
"I would like to go there," Katie stated.
Casey chewed his lip thoughtfully for a moment before he finally sighed. "I have no changes to my plans. I need something to cheer myself up in order to forget this concert related disaster," he told.
"Let's go already then," Bear urged, sounding a little impatient.
Eddie turned his gaze back at Stephen. "See you later at school," he said benevolently.
"Likewise. Have fun," Stephen replied as he put his phone away and began walking away down the street.
Nate and the others in other hand went in the direction of the arcade.
To their delight, the arcade was less crowded than expected. Right after the children and yo-kai had entered the arcade, they hurried to play different games. Nate, Enma and Bear began playing a racing game, Katie and Eddie became interested in a rhythm game and Casey and Matt chose a space shooting game. Over the time, the children drifted apart to try other games.
"Alright… Yes! Just a little bit more and- Gaah!" Nate exclaimed when a zombie from a zombie shooting game he was playing managed to avoid being shot and attacked Nate's character, ending his game. Nate sighed and stared at his result unhappily. "I'm 62nd. Not a result I would like to show to others."
"Are you going to try again?" asked Whisper who was floating next to him while Jibanyan yawned with bored expression.
"Nah. Let's go to see where the others are," Nate decided as he left the arcade system.
Nate and the yo-kai found Enma and the others at a fighting game. Bear and Eddie played against each other on one system while Enma and Matt played on another machine. Katie and Casey were standing nearby and watching their playing.
"Hi, Katie and Casey," Nate greeted them as he stopped beside them. "What's the situation here?"
"Bear and Eddie are having the fourth match and Matt and Emmanuel are playing their fifth match," Casey told. "So far they have been even-"
"What? No way!" Enma exclaimed.
They turned their attention in Enma's direction. The king of the yo-kai had lowered his hands off the controls of the gaming machine with surprised expression while Matt smiled, looking pleased with himself.
"Oh… Looks like Lord Enma just lost," Nate concluded quietly, directing his words at Whisper.
Enma stared the screen for a second before he shrugged. "Well… Looks like this is the result," he stated before he stood up, walked over to Matt and held out his hand with a smile. "Well played. It was fun."
At first Matt looked a little surprised by Enma's gesture but then he smiled too and shook Enma's hand. "Same here," Matt replied.
The others followed the situation with satisfaction.
"That's the king of the yo-kai to you. No matter how many times he loses a game, he'll always be respectful to others," Whisper said with a proud smile.
"Huh. Emmanuel is actually pretty decent guy despite the fact that he doesn't know anything about Next HarMEOWny," Casey commented.
"Are you still hanging up on that topic?" Nate wondered aloud.
Eventually the children had played enough and after they had said goodbye to Casey and Matt, they left the arcade.
"Should we head home already?" Eddie asked from the others as they walked down the street.
"Yeah. We could go to somebody's place and try our new games," Bear suggested jovially.
"Actually…" Enma said as he stopped for a moment, causing Nate and the others to stop as well. "Here is that tower that's open to visitors, right?"
"Ah, you mean Excellent Tower," Eddie guessed. "Yes. It's open to visitors."
"If it's okay to you, I would like to visit it before we end our trip," Enma suggested. "I have heard that a view from there is wonderful."
"You have heard correctly," Katie stated with a smile before he addressed the rest of the boys. "I would like to visit there too. How about you?"
"I'm okay with that," Nate announced eagerly.
"Same here. The view really is amazing," Bear confirmed with a grin.
"Okay. It's not too far from us either," Eddie complied. "We can get there pretty quickly if we go through the Seabreeze Tunnel to Breezy Hill."
"Lead the way," Enma prompted casually.
Without saying more, they headed towards the Seabreeze Tunnel.
Some time later Nate and the others had arrived at Excellent Tower and lingered in the lobby for a moment so Enma could have a good look of the interior. After that they headed towards a elevator.
But just when they were reaching the elevators, one of the men standing in the elevator said to them: "Hold on, kids. You all can't fit in here."
Nate and the others stopped and glanced at each others.
"Should we wait for an another elevator?" Bear asked.
"We could do that, of course, but he said that all of us don't fit in there," Eddie reminded before he turned his attention back at the man. "Excuse me. How many more can fit in there?"
The man glanced quickly at the people in the elevator. "I say that two of you can fit here," he replied.
Nate and the others turned their attention back at each others.
"Which of us should go?" Nate wondered aloud.
"I think Emmanuel should go because he was the one who wanted to come here in the first place," Katie stated.
"I don't mind waiting but I can go if it's okay to you," Enma said.
"Okay. Who else would like to go already?" Nate asked from the others.
"Gentlemen usually let women in first," an elderly woman in the elevator noted with self-important tone.
The children and the yo-kai turned their gaze at Katie. Everybody else seemed completely neutral about the proposal except Nate whose expression was a little tense.
"How about we decide this by drawing lots?" Nate suggested quickly.
"But do we have anything we could use for that?" Eddie asked.
Whisper leaned closer to his human master. "It would be polite to let Katie go into the elevator first," he noted to Nate. "What could possibly happen to her while she's with Lord Enma?"
Nate glared at Whisper from out of the corner of his eye.
"Decide already! Some of us want to get to the observation deck!" snapped a male student in the elevator, causing Nate and the others to flinch.
"My children are getting impatient!" announced a woman with a small girl and boy who were literally hanging on their mother's hands with bored expression.
Nate and the others glanced at each others unsurely.
"I think you two should go already," Eddie stated finally to Katie and Enma.
"Yeah. Let's go, Emmanuel," Katie agreed as she grabbed Enma's arm and led him to the elevator.
After getting to the elevator, Enma turned his gaze back towards the door and saw Nate staring at him with disgruntled expression before the doors closed.
The elevator arrived at the observation deck and the passengers stepped out, Enma and Katie among them.
Enma and Katie walked over to a viewing window and stopped to marvel the view.
"Amazing. The view really is as impressive as I have heard," Enma commented with a smile as he let his gaze wander in the view.
"Yes, I agree. And you can see much further with binoculars over there," Katie told while pointing at the binoculars with her index finger.
Enma nodded as a sign of acknowledgement. The silence fell between them as both of them focused their attention in the view. The footsteps and conservation of other visitors faded into the background as their thoughts wandered elsewhere.
"I hope that Nate and the others get here soon," Enma broke the silence.
Katie turned her gaze back at Enma. "Same here. Experiences like this are much better with friends," she stated with a smile.
"You and Nate seem to be very good friends," Enma commented casually as he remembered Nate blushing in Nom Burger when Katie had praised him and how darkly Nate had stared at Enma after he and Katie had got in the elevator.
"Yeah. We have known each others since we were little. Nate is average and sometimes he behaves like an idiot but he's still my good friend."
Enma smiled slightly. "I too thought that Nate was just a part of faceless mass until he saved my life. As we got to know each other I learned how determined, headstrong and clever he can be when the situation calls it."
Katie stared at Enma with confused expression. "Determined? Headstrong? Clever? I have never seen him having those traits."
"It means that you don't know Nate completely but I don't judge you. I, for example, couldn't guess that a person I have known my whole life would cause me troubles just because we didn't agree on certain topic."
Katie's eyes widened. "Oh no! That's terrible!"
"It wasn't actually that bad. I was able to take care of the problem quickly and settle the difference between my friend and me. He apologized and we made up. But what I'm trying to tell you, Katie, is that if you base your opinion on the little you know about your friends, you'll be in for a surprise and it isn't necassarily a pleasant one." Enma took a short break as he turned his gaze back towards the window. "Even since I have been a little, I have been taught to find out thoroughly about the things that interest me, no matter how insignificant they seem. It makes me both create a more understanding relationship with others and develop myself socially," he explained before turning his gaze back at Katie. "You also should keep your eyes and mind open about those around you. You'll notice eventually that it's very useful for your social life."
Katie studied Enma silently for a moment. Then she smiled.
"I think you're right," Katie agreed.
"Katie? Is that you?"
Katie and Enma turned their heads in the direction of the voice. Katie's face brightened immediately when she saw two girls approaching them.
"Sarah and Chelsea! Hi!" Katie greeted her friends as the girls stopped by them.
"It's nice to meet you here, Katie," Chelsea stated with a smile.
"And who is your new friend?" Sarah asked as she stared curiously at Enma.
"Oh, that's right. This is Emmanuel," Katie told her friends and then she turned back towards Enma. "Emmanuel. These are my friends, Sarah and Chelsea."
Enma smiled at the girls. "It's a pleasure to meet both of you."
"Same here," Chelsea replied politely.
Sarah turned her attention back at Katie. "Katie, you… I can't believe that you kept this as a secret from us," she scolded but Sarah's tone was too eager to sound serious.
Katie blinked, looking very confused. "What are you talking about? I told you that I'm spending this day with my other friends," she reminded.
"You know what I mean," Sarah announced with knowing smile. She stepped over to Katie and whispered in her ear: "You wanted to hide from us that you're on a date with your boyfriend."
Enma managed to hear Sarah's words, causing him to grimace a little. "This is going to be awkward…" he thought to himself.
Katie frowned slightly. "My boyfriend? I don't have a boyfriend."
Smile disappeared from Sarah's face. "You mean… You and Emmanuel aren't dating?" she asked.
"What? No! Nate introduced us to each others today for the first time," Katie told, her eyes wide with surprise.
"Oh…!" Sarah gasped as she took a step back. "I'm sorry. I misunderstood completely."
"I told you that we should ask about the situation from Katie before making any conclusions," Chelsea noted quietly to Sarah.
"We came here with Nate and the others but due to the crowd in the elevator, they stayed downstairs to wait another elevator," Enma told them. Righ after finishing, Enma turned his head away. "Speaking of them, there they come."
The girls too turned their heads in the direction Enma was looking and saw Nate, Bear and Eddie approaching them.
"There you are," Katie exclaimed cheerfully as the boys – and, without her knowledge, two yo-kai - reached them.
"Sorry to keep you waiting," Nate apologized before turning his attention at other girls. "Hi, Sarah and Chelsea."
"Hi. Nice to see you here too," Chelsea greeted.
"See? I told that you don't have to worry about Katie's safety," Whisper commented to Nate with a smile. "I'm sure that she was safe and happy with Lord Enma as her company."
Nate frowned but resisted his urge to glare at his yo-kai butler.
However, Whisper's words and Nate's expression didn't go unnoticed by Enma, who stared silently at them.
"Have you liked Excellent Tower so far, Emmanuel?" Eddie asked, his words gaining the attention of the yo-kai king.
"Yes, I have," Enma replied with a smile. "The view is really amazing."
Sarah tilted her head slightly. "So, you're here for the first time?" she asked.
"Yeah," Enma admitted as he turned towards Sarah. "And I would like to learn more about this place."
"You got lucky today," Sarah announced cheerfully as she placed her hand on Chelsea's right shoulder. "Chelsea here knows everything about Excellent Tower."
"Now, now, Sarah. Don't exaggerate," Chelsea argued while waving her hand.
Enma smiled at the girls. "If it's possible, could you two share your knowledge about this place with me? I would really appreciate it," he said.
A light blush rose on Sarah and Chelsea's face.
"Sure…" Chelsea replied, sounding a little shy before she pointed at the nearby wall. "History and information about Excellent Tower has been gathered on that wall, so we should start there."
"Sounds good," Enma commented casually before he turned to face Nate and the others. "Do you mind if we three leave for a moment? You probably already know a lot about this place, so you don't need recap, do you?"
"Sure," Bear replied.
"We'll wait you here," Nate promised.
"Okay. See you soon," Enma said. But just when he had turned to follow Sarah and Chelsea towards their destination, Enma glanced at Whisper and Jibanyan from out of the corner of his eye. "You two. Come with me."
This sudden order startled Whisper and Jibanyan a little bit. Nate too stared at Enma with puzzled expression.
"E-excuse me what? Did Lord Enma-" Whisper wondered.
"I think you two should go," Nate prompted quietly.
Whisper and Jibanyan nodded quickly before they went after their ruler. Nate in other hand turned back towards his human friends who were enjoying the view from the window.
Whisper and Jibanyan had just caught up with Lord Enma when the yo-kai king suddenly snapped his fingers so discreetly that only Whisper and Jibanyan saw it.
Whisper opened his mouth to ask what Enma was doing but just then an another yo-kai appeared next to Enma.
This yo-kai was Fidgephant.
"You called, Your Majesty?" Fidgephant asked while squirming.
Enma pointed his thumb in the direction of Nate's friends. "Inspirite once that boy with black mohawk and that boy with headphones but only them. Then you can leave," he ordered quietly.
Fidgephant nodded before hurrying towards Nate and the others.
Whisper and Jibanyan stopped to follow the situation. They watched how Fidgephant stopped next to Nate's group and how the yo-kai waved his trunk towards Bear and Eddie. Immediately the expression of both boys' turned anxious.
"Sorry, guys… I have to go to the bathroom," Bear muttered.
"Same," Eddie announced quickly.
Whisper and Jibanyan watched the boys hurrying towards the bathroom while Fidgephant disappeared.
"What was that about?" Jibanyan wondered.
"Uuumm… I think…" Whisper thought unsurely aloud until he noticed Nate and Katie standing alone in front of the window. With his observation, Whisper grinned. "Oh my. I had no idea that our ruler tends to play a wingman," he chuckled.
Jibanyan turned his gaze towards his human partner in confusion and immediately the nekomata's eyes widened in realization. "Oh, nyow I see. Lord Enma didn't want you to disturb Nyate and Katie's alone time," he stated.
"Excuse me? He ordered you to follow him as well, so Lord Enma probably thought that you're the one going to cause disturbance!" Whisper shouted with offended expression.
"Nyo way!" Jibanyan argued.
Enma rolled his eyes before focusing on the information about Excellent Tower Sarah and Chelsea were telling him.
After Bear and Eddie had left, Katie turned back to look out the window. "It's nice that we all came here today," she told Nate with a smile.
"I-I agree," Nate replied as calmly as possible while trying his best to ignore Whisper and Jibanyan arguing and the butterflies fluttering in his stomach. "I have a chance to be alone with Katie! This is amazing!"
"If we hadn't come here, I wouldn't had a chance to get to know Emmanuel a little better," Katie continued.
Nate's smile froze. "Uum… Did you two have fun together…?"
"Yep," Katie replied before she added with a slightly guilty expression: "Don't tell Emmanuel but I thought that he was a troublemaker when I saw him first time. But now that I got to spend time with him, I have noticed that he's actually just a normal guy who likes ordinary things for boys."
Nate expression brightened. "Don't worry. I won't tell him," he promised eagerly.
"Good to hear," Katie replied with a smile before she turned her gaze back at the window. "The view from Excellent Tower is always wonderful no matter how many times I have seen it."
Nate's thoughts in other hand were completely elsewhere. "Okay, Nate. Now is your chance. Say something that makes you sound smart and cool," he thought.
After looking around for something good to talk about Nate's gaze stopped at a tree near the elevator. His expression looked like T. Energison had appeared above his head and immediately Nate turned his gaze back at Katie.
"The people who designed this observation deck really knew how to invest in coziness. Those trees, for example, give this place a… park-like coziness and they don't seem to be very hard to take care for, so the tower's gardeners certainly don't have to spend so much time lookin after them," he said and smiled in a way Nate hoped to be a charismatic while he gestured towards the tree.
Katie turned her attention in the direction of the tree and stared at it for a moment. Then she turned her gaze back at Nate. "You know that those trees are plastic, right?" she noted.
Nate's smile disappeared and his arm slumped. "Uumm… Yeah, I knew…" he muttered before turning his gaze quickly back towards the window, his face bright red.
Katie frowned slightly. "Nate is behaving weirdly again. Emmanuel must have been exaggerating a little when he praised him," she thought to herself as she studied her friend with her gaze before Katie too turned her attention back at the window.
Some time later Nate's group left Excellent Tower with Sarah and Chelsea.
Enma turned to face the girls. "Thank you for sharing the information about Excellent Tower. It was very interesting," he thanked with a smile.
"You're welcome. I'm happy that we could tell you about this place," Chelsea replied cheerfully.
"Hey, guys," Bear said, gaining his friends' attention. "Should we go to try our new games now?"
"Sure," Eddie replied eagerly.
Katie turned to face Sarah and Chelsea. "I'll see you two in front of the station tomorrow at the agreed time," she reminded jovially.
"Of course!" Sarah confirmed.
Nate and the others waved their hand as a farewell and began walking down the street that would lead them to Eddie's house.
Sarah and Chelsea remained still in the yard of the tower, watching after them.
"That Emmanuel was pretty cool," Sarah sighed with a light blush.
"He was also polite and well-mannered. You don't meet guys like him everyday," Chelsea stated in approving manner.
To be continue...