#he's gonna be so overprotective of his girl lyra just wait and see

[mafiasliege]

Grayson, throwing his hands up in the air: how could you be so reckless with your safety!? I'm at a complete loss of words!

Lyra, narrating: despite being at a loss of words, Grayson yelled at me for the next 45 minutes.

[lyrazehedgieboiii]

Maybe prompt number 25 it sounds very sincere to the heart

Rated M b/c of cussing, and mentions of sexual activity.

Prompt 25- “Do you realize how much I love you?”

Modern Sonamy oneshot. This is for you, Anon! Whomever you may be~

Amy was walking home after a long day (of getting kidnapped) and started breaking down. After a few minutes of sobbing, she heard an innocent voice call out to her.

   “Ms. Amy? Why are you crying?” Amy looked up to see ten year old Cream, with her chao, Cheese. She changed her outfit to something a little more conservative. She wore an orange sweater dress in the winter, along with black leggings like Amy did. Amy had a similar sweater dress, except it was a turtle-neck, and it was a little tighter around the waist. Amy wiped away her tears and smiled.

 “I’m fine, Cream.” Her voice cracked. Now Cream definitely knew something was wrong. Amy’s sweet, melodious never cracked.

    “Stop lying, Ms. Amy. I’m going to call Ms. Rouge, Ms. Blaze, and Ms. Lyra. They’ll know what happened.” She called the following girls on her phone. She had it in case of emergencies. Clearly this is one.

     “Hi, Cream. What do you mean? WHAT?! I’m on my way, Rouge is with me, I’ll get Blaze. Just get her home.”

     “Hi Ms. Lyra. Amy’s crying for some reason. I don’t know, she just dropped on the floor and started crying. Okay, see you later.” Cream ended the call, and helped Amy up, while giving her a hug.

-

   “It’s about Sonic, isn’t it. That no good, cowardly, piece of-” Rouge’s mouth was covered by Blaze because of Cream’s presence.

   “Cow pie. A stinking poop is what he is!” Cream exclaimed in anger. The girls all agreed at Cream’s comment. Amy sniffled.

   “W-why?! Why c-can’t he l-love m...me?! Is it the way I look?! I can change! I-I’d even dye my hair!” The girls all looked to each other. They all shook their heads.

    “Amy...I-We, don’t think Sonic’s worth it. He keeps breaking your heart, no matter how much you do for him. He’s not even considerate. You deserve so much more better than that.” Blaze told Amy, as she cried in Blaze’s arms.

   “B-but, no matter how hard I try, I can’t seem to fall for anyone else! And Sonic wouldn’t allow me to date other people.” Rouge looked puzzled. Lyra asked the question that Rouge was thinking.

   “What do you mean, Sonic won’t let you date other people?” Lyra brought her chair closer. She was sitting in the corner, writing about at least fifty different ways she could kill Sonic for breaking Amy’s heart.

    “Well, I can’t really explain it. Rouge, you know how you set me up on a blind date? Well, I was sitting with him, and suddenly Sonic came out of nowhere, and pulled me out of the cafe. He told me to stay away from other guys. Of course I was upset, so I told him to stop acting all overprotective, I can do whatever the hell I want, and he doesn’t listen, he just drops me off back here, and basically patrolled my house for the next few hours while I cried myself to sleep.” Amy said, her tears not scared of falling out.

    “That little shit!” Rouge yelled. Suddenly, the doorbell rang.

     “Oh! It must be my mom.” Cream ran to the door, and there stood her mother. She said ‘bye’ to everyone and left.

      “Okay, since I couldn’t say this in front of Cream, but, wanna go to the bar? It could get your mind of things!” Rouge literally started begging.

       “Fine. I guess that would help. Let’s go.” Amy was about to get up, but Rouge stopped her.

        “You’re not going anywhere in that. I brought some outfits, and we’re gonna wear them.” And with that, Rouge took out four skimpy outfits. Lyra had a poker face.

       “Ain’t no way in hell am I wearing that shit.” Rouge rolled her eyes. She took out a denim jacket, and handed it to her. They all put on their outfits in Amy’s room.

Amy was wearing a red silk strapless dress that hugged at her waist, she wore some bright red lipstick, but used a napkin to bring down the tone.

Blaze was wearing a purple spaghetti strapped deep sweetheart cut at her chest, and was wearing some lipgloss to make her lips sparkle.

Rouge was wearing a black strapless dress which ended about mid-thigh. The dress clenched at her waist. She wore deep red lipstick, and didn’t bother with the tone.

Lyra wore a white circle skirt dress, the skirt ending to her knees. She had a denim jacket on. She put on some lip balm, not really bothering putting on make-up. She sneaked her headphones and laptop, knowing that she’d need it later. The girls all took their purses and left in Rouge’s car.

- At The Bar

There was hip-hop music playing, lots of people everywhere, strangers getting all over each other, and some private booths for...you know...

   “Here we are~! Let’s go get something to drink!” Rouge drags the girls to the bar counter. She orders four cocktails (lol I’m too immature to drink and go to clubs) for the girls and they sit down in a couch that surrounds a circle table. After a while, Rouge sees a familiar red figure at the entrance. She stands up and waves, making the other three girls with her confused.

  “Rouge! What’re you doing here, babe?” Knuckles asked the bat as he, and his three friends, one being a specific hedgehog. Lyra signaled Rouge to huddle up as a group.

   “He’s here. With them.” Blaze said, her eyes wide open, gesturing to Amy and wanting her to be happy.

   “I want her to be happy and forget all about that asshole. The only way to do that is to keep him away from her! She’s suffering through heartbreak.” Lyra bluntly stated. The boys, being the idiots they are, decided to try and eavesdrop on their conversation. They heard something about her heartbreak. Everyone looked at Shadow, seeing he was the womanizer.

   “I haven’t been playing with any girls, honest.” Shadow said emotionlessly. The boys turned to Sonic. He looked confused.

   “What did I do?” Was all he asked. Knuckles face-palmed, Silver was making an ‘Are you fucking kidding me?!’ look, and Shadow just rolled his eyes, looking like he doesn’t give a fuck, but cares for his self-proclaimed little sister’s wellbeing. “No, seriously, I don’t understand, what did I do?” He dared to ask.

  “You’re off breaking hearts, like normal.” Silver muttered. Sonic got even more puzzled. Silver sighed. “You hurt little Amy’s heart, Sonic. The little cinnamon roll doesn’t deserve this. We all know you like her, you ain’t fooling anyone.” Silver was right, but Sonic’s ego didn’t want to admit that.

  “He’s right, Sonic. Ya’ know, she’s been having suicidal thoughts lately.” Lyra lied. Lyra was right tho-WAIT, WHAT WAS SHE DOING IN THIS CONVERSATION?!

 “Pegs, this is a boy conversation, stay out of it.” Shadow told Lyra. She muttered some profanities at him, and he only smirked.

 “PEGS? What the hell are you doing to my sister?! Why the hell have you given her a name that doesn’t even suit her and doesn’t even relate to her?!”

  “Relax, Faker. Let your sister date whoever she wants. She won’t let me flirt with her. Focus on your own girl.”

- WITH THE GIRLS~~~~~~~

 “Why don’t we hook you up with someone, hmm? I hear Shadow’s fre-”

 “Fuck no.” Lyra and Amy said simultaneously.

 “No offense, Rouge, but I don’t think I’m interested in dating or having a fling with anyone. My heart’s stuck with someone who could possibly be attracted to boys-” Amy’s comment was interrupted by a loud snort by Lyra.

 “What do you mean, could possibly be attracted to boys? I hope you’re not mistaking Silver as Sonic.” As Rouge said that, Blaze scowled at her friend. Rouge thought for a moment, not acknowledging the fact that Blaze was burning imaginary holes through her head. Rouge gasped and ran over to Knuckles and whispered something into his ear. He did a small nod to his girlfriend.

 “Oh, Shadow! Silver! There’s this new spirytus bottle that I’ve been dying to try out.” And with that, he dragged Shadow and Silver out of the scene.

 “Oh, I think we should do the same! Right Lyra, and Blaze? Amy, you stay here, I know you get a little tipsy you get after a strong drink. You even flirt with boys when you’re in that state.” That one comment made Sonic snap his head towards Amy. Amy mentally facepalmed. Sonic’s not happy. AT. ALL. Rouge dragged the two away from the oblivious hedgehogs.

  “So...you’re sixteen, and you’re drinking. And it’s obviously not your first time. Am I right.” Amy stayed silent. She just wanted to melt into the ground, not wanting to listen to the useless shit that the guy who ruined her life was spitting out.

  “Why do you always try to find other guys?” This really made Amy snap. She stood up, giving Sonic a chance to scan her figure very quickly without her realizing. No wonder he’s called the fastest thing alive, am I right? Amy gave herself a few minutes to regain her posture because she was a bit drunk.

 “Now listen here, y-you ass-napkin! I hate being treated like I’m not allowed to date other people, when I am. So, stop it. You have no right to tell me what I can or cannot do. Just don’t talk to me Sonic the Hedgehog. Stay away from me, and don’t talk to me.” She straightened out her posture, and before walking away, she said something that made Sonic truly feel like an ass-napkin. “Do you realize how much I love you?” A hand grabbed Amy’s waist, and pulled her to their chest. She tried squirming out, but the person wouldn’t budge. She took in the scent of the person, and stopped. It was Sonic.

He leaned down, and captured her lips in his own, even though she wasn’t kissing back. He kissed harder, and Amy had no choice but to give in. She decided to take advantage of the moment, and to take as much as she possibly could. In the background, Lyra and Rouge were fangirling, Blaze was recording a video, and the boys were silently cheering Sonic on.

    “The reason I keep you away from dating other boys is because I want to. Seeing you with other boys internally hurts me, that’s why I’m so protective of you. But, I’m too shy to confess my feelings to you. I just want to keep you safe.” Amy smirked.

   “You’re not shy, Mr. the Hedgehog. You’re just afraid it’ll cause a huge damage to that oversized ego of yours. Go choke on a peanut or something.” Lyra yelled “HEY!” at Amy because that was usually her line. “But, I no matter what I do, I just can’t get my mind off you. Frick that rhymes.” Amy looks over to the fourth wall, where the author is sitting. (”Sorry for that unintentional rhyme, I don’t want to change it.”)

    “Sorry Ames. I just love you too much to let you go. I want you to be mine, but...I just want to run, too.” Sonic put his head down. Amy rolled her eyes.

    “Enough with the cheesiness, Sonic. It’s soooo not you. First of all, it wasn’t so hard to confess, was it? Second of all, I won’t tie you down. All I want is for you to be happy, and I know that running makes you happy. So whenever you’re with me, and you feel like running, don’t hold it in. Just go.” Amy said calmly. Sonic grew excited and kissed her again. His confident signature smirk was back, and he looked down at his new girlfriend.

     “So, there’s no way I’m letting you get away with wearing that outfit, missy.” Sonic said smugly. He picked Amy up bridal style and ran to her house.

#sonamy 

[inklingleesquidly]

YO-FEST

CHAPTER 3

Lee Squidly gets a special call by the headpriestess of Knifefish Shrine to take part in special preparations for one of the biggest Holidays celebrated by Inkopolis’ ghostly neighbors, Yokai. Yo-Fest is only a week away and it’s up to Lee to make sure the fesitivies go off without a hitch.

He’s not alone though; joining him is his pals Guist, Juddinyan, and his many Yokai friends who are just a dial away via his Yokai Smartwatch.

Featuring the characters of @askvincent

Chapter 2 can be found here

Word count: 7,791 words

It was another day at the scenic Knifefish Shrine and Yo-Fest, one of the most cherished celebrations for all Yokai was fast approaching. The bamboo harvest to commemorate the event was growing perfectly even after all theincidents that hampered its progress.

Strolling through the dense orchard was the harvest's own reluctant protector, Lee Squidly. Joining him on his morning walk was his trusty Yokai chums, Guist; the guiding spirit of wayward squids, and Juddinyan; the ghost of the most famous cat in the world.

The feline poltergeist had gotten distracted with a random tall blade of grass; pawing at it, jumping at it to catch it, and gnawing at it. While he was busy being a cat, Guist fluttered about gleefully. "Woohoo, the bamboo's looking sa-weet today, Cus!" He received a calm nod from Lee in reply before he shared more, "And how radical is it that there's an excellent eclipse tonight too?”

That certainly was quite the coincidence that a total solar eclipse was occurring so close to the holiday. The shrine had no formal plans to celebrate the event but the maidens who tended to the grounds were positively atwitter with their plans to view the astrological event together. As for Lee as much as he was fascinated by outer space phenomena he had other interests in mind."It's gonna be great," he agreed, "Especially since a couple of my friends are coming by to watch it to."

That came as a bit of a surprise to Guist. "Issat right?" He wondered.

"Meow?" Juddinyan was equally taken aback at hearing that.

Going off the path of the bamboo orchard, they walked through the surrounding forest where the two curious yokai trying to make sense of what they heard. Guist asked, "That's wicked cool we get to meet more of your buds but is something up, Cus?"

"Meah? Are yanyot having fun with us anymore?" Juddinyan spoke with a joking inflection, adding to it by tapping his foot and crossing his paws over his front.

Lee wasn't receptive to the gentle sarcasm so he quickly stuttered out an answer. "No no no, you guys are great fun, honest." He gave a sigh and explained, "It's been a blast getting to hang out here but it's just, I've been here awhile and I really miss my mom and my friends at school and--." He passed under a tree where suddenly it began to shake. With it all of the morning dew collected on its leaves was thrown off. The scattered droplets all fell on Lee, dousing him, leaving him a damp and dripping mess.

In the aftermath; Guist and Juddinyan stepped back in confusion with the baffled and drenched Lee left frozen in dismay. Then came some sort of noise. "Ya ha ha ha." It was a laugh, a ghastly laugh followed by a snickering shout, "Gotcha again, Leeker." Peeking out from the dense growth of leaves with the most pleased grin was the culprit herself, Leakina.

As she flew away, satisfied with her deed, Lee began to tremble. He balled up his fists, bared his teeth, and wrinkled his cheek while the side of his eye twitched. "I MISS BEING DRY!" He screamed out to the heavens.

 As upsetting as that was, he wasn't going to let such trickery get him down. Later with Guist and Juddinyan in tow, Lee waited at a rustic, worn-down bus stop near the shrine. Visibly vibrating with excitement; it was clear to see how eager he was over the impending arrival of his two friends. Eventually the sight of the Inkopolis city bus he anticipated made him eke out a tiny squeal from between his clenched teeth. It came rolling to a stop at the quaint little station and his tightly balled fists shook when the door swung open. It seemed like that giddy look just wouldn't fade from his face.

Then he bared witness to the only passengers disembarking from the bus; of all things it was a pair of yokai.

“Hi!” One of them, a cheerful little blue cat yokai raised his paw in a friendly greeting.

“What's good?” The second; what appeared to be a jellyfish with bright, burning eyebrows, a little backpack, and a hip disposition addressed coldly.

Lee's smile and optimism faded as he watched the bus shut its door and speed away. Stuttering, he began, “D—are you— you--?”

The ghoulish jellyfish gestured with his tentacles as he said, “Yo if you lookin’ for Ronnie she couldn’t make it ya hurr?” He spoke with such a definable urban droll.

Before Lee could attempt to reply, the cuddly cat added, “Nyanmi couldn’t make it either so they sent us instead.”

“Here's ya homework, homeboy.” The jellyfish said, handing him a thin packet of papers from his knapsack.

Taking the collection of assignments, Lee found himself glaring questioningly at the offbeat visitors with one question above all others prevailing in his mind. “You two know--?” He found himself unable to complete the inquiry as whatever answer they had would only create more questions.

The blue cat seemed to read his mind as he happily exclaimed, "Ya-huh, Nyanmi is my bestest bestie in the whole world and I want to be yours too! I'm Kakkonyan!” He introduced himself with a gaily double fist pump and a giddy, adorable grin. He certainly had a polarizing demeanor to the jellyfish.

That became clear when Guist fluttered in with his Y-pad in hand, identifying the enigmatic poltergeist. “Whoa Cus, that babe you know is buds with a local Legend! He’s Wonderzan; the ultimate Spirit of Wanderlust. They say he only appears to dudes and dudettes that reach all the safe travel shrines in Inkopolis.” That's where Lee recognized him! Throughout all of Inkopolis's main roads and rail lines there were small shrines housing tiny figurines in honor of the workers who built the roads when Inkopolis was first founded. The workforce was mainly comprised of jellyfish. It was said that travelers who honored the shrines were granted safe travels throughout the city but who knew there was a yokai attached to the legend?

Something seemed to set Wanderzan off though as he fired back at Guist with heated anger. “Eyyyo, don’t be showin' disrespeck to my girl by callin’ her a babe!”

Worried, Geist held up his pale tentacles in defense. “Whoa dude, chill, chill, I didn't mean anything bad by it, honest.”

"You better." Wanderzan wasn't convinced so he bumped his chest against Guist in a threatening display. "Cuz if you don't, we gonna have a big problem, ya feel me?"

"Ye-yeah, no problem-o," Guist timidly answered, finally getting the spectral jelly to back off.

Wanting to dispel the air of anger, Kakkonyan excused, "Oh don't mind him; he's just overprotective." Wanting to help more, he opened his arms to Guist, asking, "D'ya want a hug?"

Seemingly snapping back to his usual mood, Guist gladly accepted. "Sure furry dude, who would say no to a hug?"

As the two embraced, Lee took note of a distinctly relaxed smile washing over Guist's face. As he seemed to lull into Kakkonyan’s arms, Juddinyan snickered, “Meow, meow, meow, I never would have thought I'd see you two this far out in the fish sticks.”

Seeing the famous feline made the other cat delighted. “Eee, Juddinyan, it's so exciting to meet you! D'ya want a hug?”

Friendly intrigue came to Wanderzan as he said, "Yehyeh, good to see ya!" Lee watched as he and Juddinyan slapped fists in a complicated handshake.It was safe to say even among Yokai; Juddinyan was just as much a celebrity as he was with Inklings. Afterward Wanderzan encouraged, “Yah dawg give ‘em all the hugs you got.”

Hearing this got a giggle out of Kakkonyan. “Mew mew, aww don't worry,” he said, “I'll always have plenty of hugs set aside for my best buddy ever.”

“Turn down Homey,” was all Wanderzan dryly had to say.

Guist twirled through the air, urging the group along, "C'mon dudes, the party is goin' on up at the shrine, let's quit bummin' roun' the bus stop and head out." He took a minute to peak over what could pass for his shoulder and call back. "Yo Cus, you comin'?"

No one else had noticed Lee lagged behind to twiddle his fingers. "Y-Yeah, I'm coming," he answered with a muttering stutter.

 Sometime after, the advent of the eclipse was at hand. In all the laughter and merriment of the gathered shrine maidens and Yokai, one seemed uninterested in interacting with the assembly. Nobody paid any mind to Lee who sat on the stoop of one of the shrine's many small buildings, fiddling with his phone. He first messaged his friends who were supposed to arrive; both expressing an equal amount of regret at having to cancel on him but were far more thrilled to know he was friends with Yokai and bore a Yokai Watch just like them. He found himself wanting to smile at this newfound sense of comradery with them but couldn't. There may have been one last bastion of hope but the unreplied message he returned to dashed that away.

He had invited his mother to come view the eclipse but she declined. "Ohh sweetie I'm so sorry your friends couldn't come to see you. I wish I could watch the eclipse with you but I'm stuck at work until late tonight. :,( But cheer up honey; I'll definitely make it to Olden Days I promise. I'm so so so excited to see how it's coming along. Anyway, be sure to remember to not look directly at the sun and remember to brush and floss before bed. Love you, XOXOXO"

Giving a sigh, he knew that was it. Same went for the many other declined invitations across his contact list.

"Where's Lee and what have you done with him?" Lee peered up to see that serious voice came from Lyra who was approaching him. As she sat beside him she asked, "You look like the kind of kid who would be the life of the party but here you are suking—ahem, sorry, sulking in the corner like you want to go home."

Did he have the heart to tell her how apropos that assumption was? He didn't so instead he answered, "No no Miss Lyra, I'm fine, honest I am." He was being truthful, at least partially. As great as Guist and Juddinyan were for keeping company, Lee was used to meeting and interacting with many others in his day-to-day life. Here, it just wasn't the same; he couldn't bother Lyra or the other the shrine maidens as they busied themselves with their duties. When it came to Leakina he would say the less seen of her, the better. "I just miss my mom and friends back in Shee-Booyah," the worried boy admitted.

Lyra expressed her sympathy with a gentle cupping of his shoulder. "I'm really sorry you're feeling homesick but think of like this; they'll still be there when you get back," she softly persuaded. She then patted him on the shoulder and gesturing outward. The priestess reminded, "But for now look at all the Yokai friends you have here."

Following the wave of her arm; among the gaggle of shrine maidens were Guist and Juddinyan mingling with Kakkonyan and Wanderzan, a group of Moleymoreys accompanying Boss Moley, and Leakina chatting with Tropicanna and her father. They all looked to be having so much fun in anticipation of the eclipse—but Lee could only look at the crowd with a grimace that made it clear to Lyra that wasn't going to improve his mood. She hadn't the patience for that kind of inexplicable teen angst.

Standing up and lifting her hand away, Lee was face to face with that same strict and rigid glare he knew her to have. The gentle concern she seemed to have gave way to her usual seriousness as well. "Listen, I think you need to learn to appreciate what you've got. Take me, I'm getting close to my 30's and have devoted my life to my faith. I never even knew my parents but I'm thankful for my grandmother and grandfather for taking care of me and for training me through priestesshood. Now I get to pass that onto the other maidens, and all of them I consider my family." She paused for a breath and finished, "What I'm trying to say is even if things aren't how you want them to be, you can still be happy about what you have. So for your own sake try and think about that."

"Hey Lyra, Leeker, the eclipse is about to start!" Their conversation was ended by Leakina summoning them and everyone fitting themselves with special sunglasses if they didn't already have them on. Even over the ooo's and ahh's around him with everyone watching the moon roll into place in front of the sun, Lee's thoughts lingered on Lyra's words. What made this astronomical event extra special was that the moon would follow the sun until it completely set in the evening, creating the longest night of the year.

 Later on, after all the shrine maidens departed for the day, Lee was getting ready for bed. Though he was still feeling confused in contemplating what Lyra had said to him he felt a sense of joy knowing that as of tomorrow he was officially over half way to his goal of reaching Yo-Fest. The sooner it gets here, the sooner I can get to go home, he thought, ever more motivated as he slid open the wood and paper door leading to his quarters.

"Yo get off that roof and fight f'real!"

"Why don't ya make me get off, dude?"

"Meow, don't you dare grab that hammer!"

"Nyah'm gonna get it, and you're gonna get it, mew mew."

Lee didn't expect to see all four of the small yokai together all playing some kind of game on four separate Y-pad tablets. "You guys are still here?" He aimed the question at Wanderzan and Kakkonyan.

Pausing the game, Kakkonyan replied with a visible shiver, "It's too dark for us to go home on the bus."

Wanderzan rolled his eyes. "Yo’ tails light up and I'm brighter than any street light, what you worried about?"

"We might get catnapped!" Kakkonyan shook, his paws held over his mouth.

Letting out an annoyed groan, Wanderzan reasoned, "But nobody can see us!"

Timid and fearful, Kakkonyan mumbled, "I'm scared though."

The gelatinous poltergeist shot his companion the most irritated glare. The answer he gave was a sigh of defeat before begrudgingly turning to Lee. "So, you gonna be real and let us stay here?"

Puffing out his cheek, Lee stuttered, "I-it's not really my decision to make," he admitted.

They seemed to take that as an invitation as Kakkonyan happily cheered, "Yay, we're gonna have a sleepover!"

Lee watched as Wanderzan slipped his backpack off of his shoulders to use it as a pillow. Rolling onto his side, the street-smart Yokai grumbled, "Least this place is comfy," before he seemed to drift off to sleep. Turning around, he spotted Guist sound asleep, vacantly hovering in the air with a bubble blowing out of his mouth. It all seemed to be happening so fast that he didn't notice Juddinyan and Kakkonyan went to sleep as well, picking the futon laid out for him as their resting place.

Seeing that made Lee click his tongue and mutter to himself, "The one thing worse than a cat taking up your bed is two cats." Not wanting to disturb them, he did his best to crawl into his bed but even huddling as close as he could, he could only cover half of his body with the blanket.

As uncomfortable as it was on its own having his back exposed to the air, Lee slept sporadically and restlessly throughout the night. He couldn’t explain why but it felt as though there was such a strange heaviness lingering in the air around him, making it impossible to relax. Where did that feeling come from? Time slipped by in the dead stillness of the night and eventually he felt exhausted enough to drift off to sleep despite his discomfort. Until—

“Wake up! Get up, get up!! We've got a big problem!!!”

“Get up ya bunch of puddles or it’s cold showers for you!”

The five amassed in the shrine's common room all jolted awake in a mass startle. In Lee's panic he suddenly awoke to find that he couldn't breathe. “Mmmf, muh— pleh!” Fully regaining consciousness, he sat up and found Kakkonyan sliding down his front. “Haah,” he finally breathed, “Kakkonyan what are you doing?”

The cuddly yokai explained, “You looked cold so I wanted to warm n'you up.”

“But why did you sit on my face?”

The little blue Ghost rubbed his hands together as he reasoned, “Because your face looked the most cold. D'ya want a hug?”

Lyra was quick to silence the entire group with a stern, "Can it!" She then exclaimed, "We've got a big problem here."

She seemed tense, more so than usual so Lee tried to reason with her. "Ms. Lyra if it's about the bamboo harvest, I promise we'll go check on it first thing when the sun comes up."

"It's 1 in the afternoon," Lyra said wryly.

"Acck! WHAT?!" His voice came out in an incredulous bark before he darted past the priestess and her watery companion. Bursting through the open sliding door of the shrine, Lee was able to put it all together. Despite his Yokai Smartwatch reading 1:00 pm it was still dark as night outside. As if that weren't odd enough there was some mysterious chill in the air that made his short breaths visible.

Lyra joined him on the balcony in order to explain, "There's been some kind of shadow hanging over not just the shrine but all of Ikabashi according to the rest of the girls. I've told them not to come to the shrine today until we can figure out what's going on. I'm sure a Yokai is responsible for this."

There was a loud protest from Guist who zipped between them. "That's just unfair shrine-babe, you can't just go blaming everything on Yokai! How do you know this is--," he turned around to be met with a terrifying rigid stare from Lyra. "--Okay, maybe there is a big bad Yokai around.” That quickly shut him up and made him sink behind Lee's shoulder.

With that, Lyra instructed, “Lee, I need you to find out what’s going on around here; that bamboo needs as much direct sunlight as possible if we're going to stay on schedule. If there is another bad Yokai then I want you to deal widdum—deal with them, sorry, however you see fit.”

“B-but Ms. Lyra, aren't you going to help me?” Lee stuttered in protest.

The answer was a shake of the head, confirming no. “I have to stay here and put up wards to protect the shrine.”

Leakina quickly interjected, “And I'll help protect the baths!”

His natural timidity left Lee still feeling uncertain about his new mission. “But Ms. Lyra, I can't do it by myself; if this Yokai's doing all this then--.”

“--You're not alone,” Lyra reminded, “You have them.” She pointed to the four pint-sized poltergeists; all meandering about close by in the chilly darkness, each reacting in a manner of curiosity and bewilderment by the new environment they found themselves in. “Have faith in your friends, they'll help you out.” When she turned her back and Leakina followed there was no getting around doing what needed to be done—no matter how dangerous it could be.

Directionless was a more fitting description for what the apprehensive Inkling and his Yokai troop found themselves in. "I can barely see my nose in front of my face," Lee complained, struggling to see with the aid of his cell phone screen's light.

Guist followed his lead in attempting to shine through the utter darkness with the glow from his tablet computer. "I can't see anything either, Cus." He gave up and tucked the handheld computer away. "We need a better source of light, we need--," he paused, coming to a sudden realization as he, Juddinyan, and Lee all looked back.

Together, they focused on Wanderzan who annoyingly struggled to free his arm from the iron grip of the needy, cowardly Kakkonyan. His powerfully luminescent brows gave them all an idea; one the street tough spirit was not keen on given the looks they threw his way. "Yo," he said with a defensive stance, "Keep cool homies."

They pounced on him; kicking up a cloud of dust with arms flailing and shouts flinging every which way. Finally, the dust settled and a wriggling, snarling Wanderzan was immobilized, taped to a tall plank held up by Guist and Juddinyan. "Eyyo, you dawgs be trippin', this ain't cool, this ain't cool at all!" He was hoisted up into the air, having been made into a makeshift lantern.

Over Wanderzan's angry curses, Lee said, "Umm, guys, I had their card, I could've called Bulbysaur to come help us." In his hand he held up a Yokai card depicting a pint-sized dinosaur creature with a glowing light bulb for a head.

Guist replied, "Too late Cus, besides this is more fun." Their mischievous nature shown through and that exclamation was met with more angry curses from Wanderzan as they continued to roam the frightfully dark grounds.

"Don't worry, I'll have a hug just for you when we finish," Kakkonyan offered in hopes of pacifying Wanderzan. That only served to make him groan and roll his eyes.

The longer they walked the more they noticed aside from the utter absence of light and warmth there was a startling sense of emptiness encompassing them. The shrine was normally made so warm by the countryside sun and was so teeming with life. The sounds and sights of insects, birds, running water, and sometimes even a visitor in the middle of their pilgrimage were so welcoming. Now though—nothing, what could be powerful enough to create this feeling of emptiness? That thought was so all consuming that Lee failed to notice his Yokai entourage taking a turn toward the bamboo orchard. He just shuffled along into the woods, accidentally separating himself from them.

 It was so unbearably quiet; Lee could swear he couldn't even hear the crunching of leaves and dirt beneath his feet. "This doesn't even feel like the same place, it's so creepy." He expected to hear a response from one of his companions but he found himself met with only silence.

"Guys?" He stopped in his tracks.

"Guys?" He looked back and forth, finally realized he had gotten separated from the group.

Taking a cautious step back, trying to regain his bearings but finding the complete absence of light left him utterly lost. There was no point of reference he could find to focus a single one of his senses on until he felt something whiz past his feet.

"Huh," he gasped, "J-Juddinyan, is that you?"

He tread as lightly as he could, his feet shuffling along in a slow, nervous pursuit of whatever it was that ran past him.

It was all quiet again, and still impossible to see. "Hello? Hello? Whoever's there please come out." He swallowed a hard breath and ran his teeth over his dried lip. "I'm really scared," he confessed under his breath.

This kind of isolation and utter lack of stimulation was growing more unbearable, that is until something caught his eye. Though the darkness was so muddling he could see something clear as day, something that made him gasp with joy, something that was indistinguishable to him. It was another person. Their height and the way they moved, it was all too good to be true. "Mom," he breathed in disbelief. There was no doubt about it, he could see her, and for some reason she was walking away deeper into the night. "Mom! Mom, wait!" His breaths may have been cold but the fire in his heart blazed fiercely as he began to give chase, wanting to catch up to his mother.

No matter how hard he tried to focus he couldn't make out any more than her vague silhouette. Not only that but despite how fast he tried to run he couldn't catch up to her even though she only seemed to be walking at a casual stride. "Mom! Please! Stop! Wait for me, please! Please!" That didn't matter to him though, he had to see her. He pleaded to her in short bursts until somehow, mysteriously; she faded away right before his eyes.

"Mom?" Lee whispered in a pleading voice.

As if hearing him, she appeared again out of the dark. From what he could see of her she had her arms crossed over her front, and her stance was lofty and unmoving. "Mom!" He repeated breathlessly, rushing forward to meet her—only for her to swipe her arm through the air and turn on her heel. He skidded to a halt, finding this behavior rather odd for her? "M-Mom, are you okay? Mom? Mommy..."  Why was she so cold and detached from him? Why wouldn't she look at him or even acknowledge him. He sputtered out his questions.

Reaching out his hand to her, she faded away before his eyes.

As bewildering as that was, Lee's breath hung in his throat as he stared long at his empty hand. He was so happy to see his mother—and she vanished without a word. That wasn't the end for Lee; all around him more figures obscured by the darkness began to seemingly materialize out of nowhere. He recognized them, every last one of them; they were classmates from school, acquaintances from town, and friends he knew personally.

Lee began to walk through the figurative sea of familiar silhouettes, calling out names along the way. Each one would respond similarly; some would turn away from him, others would turn their noses up at him, and many still would just dissapear right in front of him. Name after name, he could identify all of them and they wanted nothing to do with him. Each attempt became more desperate; his voice going hoarse, and his face turning red as he couldn't gain acknowledgement from a single person.

"Somebody please! Answer me!" He frantically shouted, his voice breaking, his legs wobbling as he stumbled in the darkness. Nothing could prepare him for what he would see next.

In the midst of the crowd was someone unmistakable to the shaken young Inkling. With their tall and confident stature, long tentacles secured in a big bow, there was no doubt about who it was. Their appearance made Lee's eyes begin to dampen and widen. His bottom lip quivered; he couldn't believe it, was it really her? Unlike the rest of the mysterious appearances, this one seemed to finally acknowledge him and even begin to approach him.

So focused on her; he failed to see the others around him dissipate into nothing, leaving him alone to face her one on one. His whole body shook, causing him to lose his balance and fall to the ground. He fought to maintain himself; his mind had shut down from the overload of overwhelming thoughts as she got closer and closer. There wasn't anything he could do to prepare for this encounter, and there was even less he could do to keep himself stable in facing her once more...

 "Leeker!"

"Leeker!!"

What are you doing? WAKE UP!"

SPLASH!

Every last one of those feelings dissapeared in an instant thanks to the biting sensation of cold water drenching his face. "KOFF, KAK, KUH, KAH." Lee hacked and wheezed as the water dripped down his face, and he was vigorously shaken into full consciousness by none other than Leakina. "Huh-wha—what happened?" He stammered in a frightful stupor.

Leakina clenched his shoulders, wondering, "What were you doing out in the middle of the woods screaming and crying?"

"I—I was?" He seemed so completely lost on what had happened to him in such a short amount of time. There wasn't any time to think about it as the sounds of hissing, yowling, and shouting all at once was happening within close proximity to them. Without uttering another word, Lee and Leakina dashed to the source of the noise.

They first came upon Kakkonyan; clutching his paws and whimpering. He gave a weak plea, “Everyone please, there's n'yo need to fight. We can work it all out if we just have a hug.”

"You pulled Juddin-dude's tail ya dillweed, don't deny it!"

"M'you were smashing Guist, meow, admit it!"

"Both ya'll finna get these hands f'what you did to Ronnie, now what'd you do with her?"

Right before their eyes, the three began to brawl; punching, kicking, biting, and scratching. The whole scene made Kakkonyan cover his eyes and begin to snivel, weeping at the sight of the others fighting. Lee on the other hand wasn't about to sit idly by. "There's definitely a Yokai messing with us," he confirmed, activating the search function on his smartwatch in order to scan the area. He shined the blue light all around; training it on Guist, Juddinyan, Wanderzan, and even on the worried Kakkonyan before looking over the surrounding scenery.  "Ucck, what's going on, there's nothing here!" Despite his assumptions, he was unable to detect anything or anybody hidden from their sight.

Leakina hovered in front of him, quickly instructing, "Shine your light through me, Leeker," as she pointed to the back of her head. That proposition confused him until she elaborated, "Water refracts light; if you shine it through me it'll spread out everywhere, and he'll have no place to hide."

"I'll try anything once." Lee admitted before pointing the bright blue light of his Yokai Smartwatch through Leakina's liquidy cranium. It spread out in a cone; coating a wide area in blue shine and sure enough--.

POING PANG PANG PONG

The Yokai Watch did detect something, something all around them. It was some kind of viscous inky black mass that moved and bubbled in a smooth, ropey undulation that looked like molten lava. Once it had been revealed the strange substance began to ascend up toward the sky, even lifting off of the three brawling Yokai and mysteriously freeing them of their aggression. The stringy goo floated up and up before mysteriously dissapearing before their eyes, leaving Lee and his group in the same silence as before.

"Well, well, looks like I've been found."

There was some voice, one that sounded like it was all around them, but nobody could see it until Guist pointed upward. "Dudes, look, up there!" His call came out as a shriek as he gestured toward the moon where they were met by some kind of ghostly grinning figure on the satellite's face.

"But do you think that will help you against the shadows of darkness itself?"

Scratching his siphon, Guist asked, "Who's that?"

Juddinyan seemed to know but it was expressed with a fearful yowl, "HOLY SHRIMP!"

Recognizing their adversary as well, Kakkoynan also cried out. "OHH N'YO!" He yelled and joined Juddinyan in scampering up Lee's legs and hiding underneath the boy's shirt.

"Not again," Lee yelped, "Oww, ooo, eee, st-stop, ahh, the claws, not the claws, oww-hoo, yow!." He stumbled about, imbalanced as the two scaredy cat yokai struggled to find a safe, secure foothold against his body.

Pulling at Lee's shirt collar, Guist spoke to the two quivering lumps clinging to Lee's thorax. "Yo dudes whats got you all bugged out?"

Kakkonyan answered, "Don't n'ya know?"

"That's Paranyahmbra," Juddinyan quaked as he answered.

"Paranumbra?" Guist repeated.

His voice came out through cries but Kakkonyan added, "He's one of the baddest of the bad!"

Juddinyan gave a swipe at Guist to urge him to leave them. "He's a Meowkai criminal that makes you feel scared at night, meow, he's supposed to be in the Hoosegow forever!"

"I ain't scared of him," Wanderzan declared, "I ain't scared of nothin'!" He bravely stepped forward, rooting around in his backpack until he unveiled a cracked wooden baseball bat.

Leakina hovered to the front, determination flaring in her gaze and her voice. "I'm not either," she said, hiking up the front of her dress over her chest and yanking up her shoulder straps. "These Yo-criminals have been nothing but wet heads; I'll take him on myself!" She swung her fists in a challenging gesture, damanding to Paranumbra, "Come down here you! I'm gonna wash you away! I'm gonna--!"

SMASH!

Seemingly out of nowhere, a massive, shadowy foot materialized out of thin air, stomping on Leakina until she was crushed flat.

"Leakina!" Lee cried in absolute dismay. The group did a double take with the cat yokai popping their heads out to view the scene. What they saw was the puddley remains of the powerful A-Ranked Yokai who got positively floored.

"I'm okay," they heard her call out, "Just wait 'till I reform." They hadn't the time to wait on her as Paranumbra continued his attack on Lee and the rest of the Yokai. Shadowy apparitions appeared all around them, forcing them all to run around in a screaming panic.

Wanderzan proved to be the bravest of the bunch as he swung and smashed his cudgel at the shady pawns but it did no damage to them. In no time they overwhelmed the tough jellyfish spirit, taunting him by tossing him back and forth between each other. Lee, Guist, and Juddinyan didn't fare better; they attempted to run away but were impeded and attacked multiple times by Paranumbra. The Boss Yokai gave a maniacal laugh as it battered and bashed them about.

The only one left was Kakkonyan who hid behind a tree, his whole body quaking as he watched the scene unfold. Soon enough, the inky specters all merged together into one and they approached. The little cat yokai looked up at the frightful, towering entity; through his whimpers his gaze shifted all around to see his allies were all down and out, leaving him utterly alone. Even in this situation his first instinct was to sweetly ask, "D''ya want a hug?"

The response he received was a backhanded smack that sent him careening through the air. "Daaaaaaagh—tuet!" Kakkoynyan let out as a scream, tumbling helpessly before crashing against a tree. The shadowy yokai's laughter rang out again as it reveled in overpowering them all. That laugh, the violence, and the skullduggery was too much for Kakkonyan to contend with any longer. His fangs bared, his paws curled into fists, and he shot up to his feet. He growled, "That tears it! I might love a lot but I can hate a lot to! You're gonna get it, ya big bully! Nyah!" He finished with a mighty mew, pulling out from behind his back, of all things, a pair of Tentamissile launchers.

Despite the damage he had taken, Guist floated over. "Whoa dude, where did you get those?" He gasped in astonishment.

"From the inter-n'yet," Kakkonyan answered. He took aim at the bewildered Paranumbra and declared, "Eat this," before firing a volley of missiles at the big bad yokai. The missiles all struck true, repeatedly blasting their enemy until he was sent careening to the ground.

Collecting themselves, the entire group joined together in congratulating Kakkonyan for felling the boss. Leakina was the first to offer praise. "Way to go Scaredy Cat, you mopped the floor with him!"

Juddinyan added, “Mew really saved us, meow.”

Out of them all, Wanderzan was the most awed and amazed by his companion's show of bravado. “That was tight; I didn't know you had it in ya!” Pride echoed in his words as he touched his tentacle to Kakkonyan's shoulder, making the feline poltergeist emit a gasp.

That wasn't the end though, Guist frantically pointed, “That lame-o is tryin' to get up!” Sure enough, Paranumbra was shakily struggling to push himself up to his feet but he wasn't going to get away that easy.

Snickering, Kakkonyan readied his missile launcher. “I've got one more left,” he said, training his sights on the disabled enemy.

“Ey, lemme give ya hand,” Wanderzan suggested. He fired an orb of ghostly fire at Paranumbra which stuck to his wobbling body. The orb was like a beacon in the darkness as explained by the street tough yokai, “You ain'tgonna miss dat, now blow that sucka back to the Yokai Realm.”

Readying his aim, Kakkonyan said, “This is all for you, nyah.”

“WAIT! STOP!”

Just as Kakkonyan’s paw squeezed the trigger, Lee shoved his way through and smacked his palm on the heavy weapon, causing the missile's trajectory to be diverted. It rocketed past its target, winding through the woods before exploding in the pitch black sky.

All eyes were now on him. As confused as the new arrivals of the team were, Leakina was the first to voice her disbelief. "Leeker, you can't be serious right now," she said, impatiently crossing her arms over her front.

"Serious about what?" Kakkonyan asked in confusion.

Guist held up his tentacles, attempting to stop Lee from advancing. "Cus, I love you like a cousin, but I don't think that's gonna work this time."

"What's not gonna work?" Kakkonyan added.

Lee let out a long breath, justifying, "It's worked before, just let me try, okay?"

As the Inkling boy began to cautiously make his way to Paranumbra, Wanderzan could only shake his head. He exclaimed, "This the last time I come out to the boonies."

His approach was cautious and his nerves showed in his voice as he shakily raised his hand to greet the Yokai. "Heh-eh, umm, hi."

Paranumbra lifted his head in surprise then quickly acted. "BOO!" He weakly held his shadowy hands up to his face in an attempt to startle the corporeal teenager.

He stopped in his tracks, looked from side to side, and then vocalized the extent of his surprise, "Uhh—I never thought Yokai actually did that."

"Wait, you can see me?" IT was Paranumbra's turn to be dumbfounded.

Lee answered, “E-Yeah, yeah I can.” He scritched his cheek with the same hand he wore his Yokai Watch. Even though he wanted to talk to the big bad boss he did not think of how to approach someone who forced him to contend with his deepest, darkest fears. In the end, he kept his question as simple as could be. “So umm—can I ask why did you attack us?”

Perhaps it was his weakened helpless state, or the death glares fired his way by the gang of Yokai just beyond Lee's shoulder but Paranumbra answered honestly. “I was told that if I block that field from getting sunlight I'd go free and have my Lot changed. And I happened to see all of you roaming around in the dark and thought I'd have a little fun.”

There was one part that stuck out to Lee most of all. “What's a Lot,” he queried?

Floating up beside him, Guist scoffed, “Chyah, Cus, you hang around Yokai so much and you don't know what a Lot is? It's a-- it's like a—kinda like--,” he scrambled for his tablet, “It's a lotta something.”

Just as he was struggling to find the information, Juddinyan chimed in. “When Meowkai are born they're given an order of how they live their afterlife. Every Meowkai has one and it dictates our very being.” Lee looked around at the gathering he had come to know. He knew Yokai had an all consuming compulsion to inspirit and haunt but he didn't think that it would extend to their entire reason for existing. His eyes scanned them all; they were all so complacent with this idea, even Guist who was hurriedly agreeing and confirming Juddinyan's explanation. That is except for Leakina; when Lee's eyes met hers she diverted her gaze and clutched her arm.

As curious as that made him, Paranumbra returned to the center stage of the conversation to admit to his woes. “Ohh sure, centuries ago it was great! Everybody was afraid of the dark, and was so afraid of what hid in the dark. I could scare the ink out of anybody who dared to wander around in the veil of night. But now--.” He lowered his head in defeat as he mumbled, “No one is scared of the dark anymore. All I want to do is be the shadow of something else, something big, important, that gets a lot of sunshine everyday.”

His voice sounded so desperate, so lamentful; it wasn't a good reason but he had one for attacking them. The thought of questioning who put him up to this passed by Lee as he said, “I think I might have an idea.” He guided the wayward Yokai toward the main area of the shrine. “It's a bit out of the way from most things but why not be the shadow of this shrine?”

“You would let me do that?” Paranumbra wondered with his mouth agape. “Do I still have to scare people?”

It suddenly occurred to Lee that this certainly wasn’t his decision to make but it was the best thing he could think of to soothe the Yokai.“Y-yeah,” he stuttered, “And you probably don't want to do that.” The only excuse he could think to give was, “I mean Yo-Fest is really close so--.”

“--Yo-Fest?!” Paranumbra suddenly gasped and smiled, “I've been locked up for so long I forgot when Yo-Fest even is. Say, as thanks for letting me stay here I tell you what, I'll move the shadows in a way that your bamboo will get as much sunshine as possible.”

Lee nearly bit his tongue. “You would do that for us?” He asked, still taken aback by how much Yo-Fest meant to Yokai.

Paranumbra swiftly answered, “Absolutely! And between you and me; scaring the Jeepers out of folks isn’t even fun anymore.” Lee never thought he would hear something like that from a Yokai but everything seemed just fine as Paranumbra bid farewell. "I guess I'll see you around, thanks again."

Right before his eyes, Lee watched the Yokai sink into the ground, their inky black body molding with his shadow. Suddenly, he then felt a hint of warmth at his back. The boy turned around, only to have to shield his eyes as a sliver of sunlight pierced through a wafer-thin split in the eclipsing moon. The moon seemed to sprout more cracks over time until it shattered into many pieces like a broken glass plate. The broken pieces of the moon disintegrated into nothing, finally allowing the sun to bathe Knifefish Shrine in its healing light.

He was in a state of awe that his solution appeared to work.  As usual he was shaken back to reality by a bombastic cheer from Guist, “Whoa Cus, you were totally there again bein' the Yokai Whisperer!”

Juddinyan joined in, “Score another victory for mew, meow,” he said as he waved a tiny green pennant with Lee's face on it.

“Ya ha ha,” Leakina snickered deviously, “Wait till Lyra hears you're letting another Yokai live here.” He didn't think about that. With Lyra it was hard to tell but he knew he was pushing his luck as it was letting all the Yokai they’ve met squat at the shrine.

Not wanting to be out of the celebration, Kakkonyan dispatched with his usual polite requests and jumped onto Lee's chest to give him a hug. “That was a-meow-zing, I lost my cool but mew saved the day by being n'yice.” He said after living his head up from nuzzling in Lee's front.

Lee modestly replied, “Hey now, don’t look at it like that. If it wasn't for you, we wouldn't have had a chance to even try and talk. You helped out a whole bunch.”

“Really?” Kakkonyan said. His eyes sparkled with delight at his sincere compliment. He was so overjoyed that a bright, glowing light instantaneously irradiated between them. It flashed and, in that moment, Kakkonyan hopped off of Lee, leaving his Yokai Card in the child's hands.

Before Lee could even look over it, “Ahem,” Wanderzan cleared his throat. “Eyy, Imma say you was really some'n else out there.”  He clutched the straps of his backpack and kept his head tilted away, avoiding eye contact with Lee. “I see now why Ronnie finna think you so hot."

"She-she really said that?" Lee stuttered.

Wanderzan clarified, "Not in those words but a lotta things she says about you is true so--," he mysteriously held a tentacle out in the air. Lee stared at it for a moment only for the urban spirit to shake it in frustration. "Go on already, take it!" He didn't understand gripped the outstretched hand of the little Yokai. Once they came into contact there was another glowing light that once faded away left Wanderzan's own Yokai card in Lee's hand.

It was always such an event to receive a Yokai's symbol of friendship, but to get two in one day was nearly overwhelming to him. "Wow, y-you guys really want me to have these?"

"Nya'of course," Kakkoynyan confirmed, "We wanna be your bestest besties to!"

The writing was on the wall for Wanderzan who added, "Yehyeh." Though he actually had some choice words for his own companion, "But youI don't give you the credit you deserve, 'specially after what you did back there. Keep cool homey but I'm proud t'be your friend."

As gratifying as his previous praises were, nothing could compare to that declaration in Kakkonyan's heart. He was so thrilled that he gasped before speedily throwing his paws around Wanderzan, hugging him with the tightest, unbreakable lock. As he lifted the jellyfish off the ground and swung him about in his arms, Wanderzan quickly realized the error of his ways. "Aww jees, I said keep cool homey!" Much to his even greater dismay, Lee and the other Yokai all began to heartily laugh at his dilemma.

Even Lee couldn't help but laugh at his new friends's affectionate display. Friends—he looked over the assembled entourage and remembered what Lyra had told him. While he still missed his family, and acquaintances back in Shee-Booyah he couldn't devalue the ones he had here. He needed to do as she said and have faith that they were here for him, and he could count on them no matter what.

Could he...?