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inklingleesquidly · 7 years

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YO-FEST

CHAPTER 2

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 prevent the fesitivies from going off without a hitch.

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

Featuring the characters of @askvincent

Chapter 1 can be found here

Word count: 6,656

“Ohh Honey that’s so great that you want to do community service at Knifefish Shrine and for Olden Days no less. I wish it could’ve fell on a time when you didn’t have school but this’ll be good for you. I’ll be sure to stop on by after work to drop off your toothbrush, clothes, and your pillow. I’ll definitely be there for Olden Days at the end of the week! I’ll see you then, I love you, Lee.”

Just like that, Lee was locked to the mission granted to him. Anyone like his mother would assume he was helping prepare for Shee-Booyah’s cultural celebration event but there was something much more important at hand. He was charged by the head priestess of the shrine herself to guard the holy bamboo harvest, the key to the success of the celebration.

On paper it sounded like something utterly amazing but like any job the true tedium of the task reared its head after only two days on duty. There may have been the initial theft of the seedlings that he foiled but since then the seeds had taken root and not much else had happened.

Knifefish Shrine wasn’t in a good reception area so he couldn’t seek much entertainment or interaction with the outside world. With only one power outlet within the shrine and a dozen shrine maidens all needing its services as well, the availability of electricity was limited as well. His portable game system had long since lost its charge.

He had free range to roam the grounds of the shrine but there was only so much nature one boy could consciously observe. This was definitely going to be a long week… On the other hand there was something he could readily admit was really great; having access to the shrine’s thermal bath whenever he wanted.

Pilgrimages were made by spiritual people from Inkopolis and far beyond to come to this shrine to pray and use the bath. Visitors who came claimed that both their bodies and souls felt rejuvenated. The shrine rested above a hot spring that was chockfull of minerals, making it much different from any other water in Inkopolis.

“Woah-ho-ho, Cus, this water feels so good I feel like I could melt in it.” Guist cooed as he lazily drifted on the surface of the opaque, steaming bath water.

Lee reclined against the bath’s edge and chuckled, “Heh-eh, if you’re not careful Guist, you might just do that.” It was rare to see an Inkling submerged in fresh water but the mineral content of the thermal bath made it remarkably comfortable and even rejuvenating for someone like him. “I mean, you might end up like Juddinyan over here,” he said, pointing off to the side.

There, their other companion, the ghost of Inkopolis’s iconic feline lay in a wash tub filled with water. His body was so relaxed he literally looked like a pile of melted goo in the tub. Unknowing of the eyes upon him he let out a content noise, “Mrrrowr,” he purred in his throat.

Letting out a quiet laugh, Lee stepped out of the bath to make his way to a washing station and use the handmaid therapeutic soap prepared at the shrine. As boring and uneventful as the job had been for the past couple of days, he was glad to have his two Yokai buddies along with him. Of course that wasn’t to say he was completely bored all the time.

After lathering himself in the lemon & orange scented herbal soap he gripped the hose connected to the faucet and spun the spigot. Nothing came out. “Huh,” he wondered in response, twisting the valves again. Still nothing; was something stuck in the pipe or was there a kink in the hose? Unsuspecting, he held the hose up to his face to peek inside.

Big mistake, the hot water suddenly came rushing out, blasting him in the face. Guist and Juddinyan were alerted to noises coming from Lee, “Glehbluhblehguhbuhbahhh,” he gurgled until he closed off the flow of water. He was soaked, his tentacles fell over his face, and water uncomfortably pooled within his sinuses.

“Yah Hah Hah,” a fiendish laugh reverberated in the bath house, one that made Lee furrow his brow and grind his teeth in aggravation.

Angry, Lee growled, “Grrr, Leakina!”

Materializing out of the metal faucet, the wispy, watery yokai laughed more at his misfortune. “Yah Hah Hah, gotcha again Leeker,” she congratulated herself before flying up and phasing through the ceiling. Lee let out a distressed groan, this hadn’t been the first time he fell for one of her pranks.

Earlier that morning when he was getting dressed for the day he noticed his shoes had mysteriously disappeared. He paced back and forth inside the shrine between the common room that served as his sleeping quarters and the main entrance where he was certain he last left them. “Where are they, they were right here I know it!”

Fruitlessly looking over every tile of the small entrance foyer, a voice called out to him, “Yoohoo Leeker!” He peered up; there she was with his hunter hi-tops clutched in her hand. Partially phased through the door, she dangled them, baiting the boy as she went through the door with them. “If you want ‘em, come n’ get ‘em,” she taunted, forcing Lee to throw open the wood & paper door to give chase.

He got down the small, wooden stairs when suddenly… SPLASH! An uncomfortable shiver shot from the bottom of Lee’s feet all the way to the tip of his tentacles as he felt a spreading dampness in his socks. He realized what she made him do, and he couldn’t even shift his eyes to look at her as she giggled. “Gotcha Leeker,” she said, relinquishing his shoes to him. “Shouldn’t walk around outside in just your socks, ya might step in a puddle,” and with that in mind she flew off into the sky.

Then there was the previous night when Lee was doing his homework before bedtime. Algebraic word problems were rarely difficult for him but he was glad for the silence none-the-less. There was that and the unopened bottle of orange drink he purchased from the convenience store just a walk away from the shrine’s property. Drip, drip, drip, at least he thought all was quiet, maybe he just imagined it. Drip, drip, drip, there it was again. He lowered his pen, looking all around, wondering where and what the source of that noise could be. It was all quiet again just like he wanted. Drip, drip, drip, with that Lee dropped his pencil and darted out of the room.

“All right, who’s making all that noise,” Lee barked, bounding out to where he swore he could hear that racket coming from.

He was met by Guist and Juddinyan questioningly looking over back at him. The squid spirit quizzed, “Something wrong Cus?” He then dipped a small stick into a bottle he clenched in his tentacle, pulled it out, and then held it up to his mouth. He blew at it, releasing a stream of soapy bubbles. They shortly floated in the air before popping on the blades of grass. Drip was the noise they made when they burst; he very clearly heard it as Juddinyan joined in merrily blowing bubbles as well.

Lee dropped his shoulders and gave a heavy exhal, “No, nothing’s wrong.” He said no more, just closed the door and returned to his seat to tend to his homework. Still feeling a little heated, he decided to cool down with his drink. Reaching for it, he completely misjudged the trajectory of his hand in the dim lighting, accidentally knocking over the bottle. He screeched and scrambled as orange soda dispersed all over the table. In his haste to pick up the bottle first he couldn’t save his sheets of paper from soaking up the liquid. As quick as he was to snatch them away he couldn’t save his homework from being ruined.

Just then, Leakina suddenly materialized in with her hand cupping her cheek. She said, “Tsk, tsk, tsk, wow Leeker that’s no good.”

Beside himself, Lee stuttered out, “Beh—deh—did you make me do this?”

“Hey, hey, hey,” she held out her hands defensively, “Don’t go blaming me just because you’re clumsy and had an accident.” Descending, she stood beside him and whispered, “I did loosen the cap though.” The bothersome jokester laughed, “Yah Hah Hah,” before she slipped away through the wall, leaving Lee with an ever-spreading mess.

That wasn’t the end of her mischief but it was all what bothered Lee the most. He thought about it more and more until he finally expressed his frustration to his friends. “Ucck,” he griped, dropping his basket full of unfolded, clean clothes in the main room of the shrine. One of the shrine maidens who he learned was named Nancy noticed how dirty he was getting so she graciously offered to wash and dry his clothes which he couldn’t be more thankful for.

Guist wondered, “What’s got ya all wound tight, Cousin?”

Lee explained, “Its Leakina and her pranks, I’m getting fed up with them.”

The squid spirit tried to reason, “Hey Cus, don’t take it so personally, I mean, y’know, she is a Yokai an’ like, Yokai, they gotta cause trouble f’people, right?” He said that as if he wasn’t so sure of what he was saying. “I mean, maybe she just likes you, dude?”

Letting out a puff, Lee grew more restless; in his childhood, when he had been bullied that was one of the reasons adults gave to explain why it happened to him. He argued, “You and Juddinyan like me to and you don’t do anything like that to—HEY! Juddinyan what are you doing?” Much to his surprise he found the cat yokai slumbering peacefully in his laundry basket.

“It was fresh out the dryer,” he stretched out his legs, pawing at the air, “I felt compelled to, meow.”

Lee grimaced at his favorite polo, “Aww man, you got fur all over my shirt!”

Despite looking sloppy with ghost fur clinging to him, Lee was undeterred in a mission he set for himself. He needed to find and confront Lyra and Leakina. Lucky for him he managed to find them both at the bamboo field so maybe he could get something done about Leakina’s constant bullying. Steeling himself; Lee puffed out his chest, squared his shoulders, and stomped his feet as he approached. “Miss Lyra, there’s something important I need to talk to you about,” he said, feeling as confident and firm as possible.

The head priestess peered over her shoulder and so did the watery poltergeist as he announced his presence. They seemed troubled by something as Lyra declared, “Well whatever it is Lee, it’s going to have to wait, something’s wrong with the field.”

Shocked, he let out the breath he was holding, deflating himself before he stuttered, “Wha—what’s going on?”

Lyra worriedly explained, “The crop is blessed to grow fast so the stalks should be at least knee high by now!” She gestured out to the field where very clearly, he could only see the shoots sprouting mere inches out of the ground.

He asked, “What do you think could be the problem? I mean—I’ve been looking after the fields night and day!”

She replied, “I know you have.” She then turned to Leakina who was examining the soil, ”Do you have any idears—err, ahem, ideas, Leakina?”

The yokai let out a hum before she stood up, “The soil is really really dry all over like it hasn’t been watered in days.”

“That’s impossible,” Lee interrupted, “We’ve been watering three times a day just like you said, Miss Lyra.” He was worried she may think this problem might be caused by him and his friends when he was as diligent as possible with his task.

She acknowledged that as well, putting the boy’s fears to rest, “Yes, I know. You’ve been thorough, don’t worry, but we need to get back on schedule.”

A thought came to Lee, “Maybe the Moleymoreys might know something,” he suggested.

Leakina presented a piece of paper to him, wryly replying, “You mean the ones that left this.”

The note read: Dear Squiddo, the past couple days have been way way too hot. Me n’ the boys r’ headin’ on down to the beach, call us when you get rain up there. It was signed by Boss Moley.

Lee was particularly taken by the complaint about the heat. While they were technically still in summer, the coolness of fall was supposed to set in—but it hadn’t. He began to grow suspicious, “Don’t tell Guist but I have a feeling a yokai might be behind this.”

Whatever the cause may be, Lyra was determined to find it; “We’ll have to keep a close eye on these fields. Leakina, we’re staying at the shrine tonight with Lee and others for a stack out—excuse me, I mean a stakeout.”

Just as she said, later that night the two squids and three yokai remained at the shrine to keep watch over the bamboo crop. As the night went on they took shifts one-by-one; vigilant in looking out for any anomalies in the field. Lee awoke to the sound of his phone alarm; he took the shift just before sunrise.

On the tatami floor of the dark room he managed to catch sight of Juddinyan and Guist slumbering together. Juddinyan was curled up, purring soundly while Guist lay against him. Lee let out a quiet laugh at Guist; he was still clutching a tiny Splattershot while wearing a bandolier of ink cartridges strapped to his shoulder, and a headband wrapped just above his eyes. In his words, “I’m ready to rock n’ roll, Cus!” For the most part, nothing had happened all night though.

Something he did find peculiar was seeing Lyra asleep on a futon in the room. Aren’t I supposed to take over for her, what’s she doing sleeping? He found Leakina in her stead outside at their designated sentry post; a small veranda overlooking the field and the entire forest.

He cautiously and quietly approached, “Leakina?” When she turned to him, he asked, “Wasn’t it Lyra’s turn to keep a lookout?”

She unveiled, “Lyra was too sleepy to stay up so I took over for her.”

“Ohh,” Lee muttered, “Well all right then.” He approached her and leaned against the railing. “It’s my turn to keep watch so if you want to go to bed, feel free to.”

Staring off into space, Leakina answered, “Nah I got way too much to think about to sleep.”

Lee tapped his fingers on the wooden barricade; as much as he would prefer not to talk to a bully like her—maybe an honest conversation would help. He couldn’t figure out what it would help but it might. He quizzed, “What’re ya thinking about?”

“Just stuff,” she said nonchalantly, “What I’m gonna do for Yo-Fest, what kinda pranks I’m gonna pull, how I died, that kinda stuff.”

Hearing that really shook Lee, he said, “That’s kind of morbid don’t you think?”

Leakina answered, “I’m a ghost, how I died is in important part of my afterlife.”

“You know that makes perfect sense,” Lee conceded, though he preferred not to ask about the gory details. After that silence fell between the two with Lee feeling like he had nothing to talk about with her. His glance shifted between the bamboo field they watched below and her as she didn't take her eyes off them. It took a minute for him to work up the courage but he finally asked, “Say Leakina, how come you keep pulling your pranks on me?”

She readily replied, “Lyra won’t let me cause any trouble for the visitors or the other maidens so that leaves you.”

He inquired, “You really listen to whatever Lyra says, don’t you?”

“Of course, I don’t want to make her angry, she’ll kick me out of her house if I do, and have you seen her bathroom fixtures? They’re pure brass with a brushed nickel finish, and she keeps them so clean!” Her voice was so—unreasonably excited, Lee thought.

He genuinely wondered, “Is that all?”

“Nope,” Leakina said, “Her fridge has an ice maker to!” Lee shot her such a disconcerting glance that she finally admitted, “Okay, okay, I’m just kidding, happy Leeker? I will say I’m grateful she invited me into her home, and I can definitely admit this—I love being with her and getting to come here to the shrine every day. Not many people would do any of that for Yokai, especially me.”

That might be the shift in topic he could use to voice his troubles, but Lee couldn’t figure out how to approach it so instead he tip toed around the subject. “Maybe—if you thought of why—you could fix it? Then people will let you in?” Lee had half a mind to argue about that but before he could open his mouth she turned to him to show a wide, somewhat bone chilling smile, “But that’s where you come in! I wouldn’t trade you for even a hundred people to prank! You’re really fun. Leeker!”

“Huh,” he breathed in confusion.

She happily confirmed, “Yeah; you’re such a good sport! You don’t get mad or spiteful or anything, I mean Lyra laid down the law that if I mess with any of the guests she’ll exercise me right then and there. She doesn’t understand that Yokai need to cause trouble and inspirit people, it’s what our afterlife is all about-- but you do!” She turned to him, so giddy that her hands shook, “Every Yokai should have someone like you, Leeker!”

Was that a compliment she was giving? Was it also appreciation? Lee felt like it was but also at the same time he wished those words actually meant something, or maybe they did? One thing’s for sure, if he wasn’t going to go bonkers during this mission he needed to get her to leave him alone.

Before he could try to talk again she suddenly silenced him, “Ho-ho-hold on, Leeker what’s that out there?” She leaned over the veranda railing and pointed out toward the field.

Lee followed her direction only to see a startling sight. Even though it was early in the morning and the waking rays of the sun ushered in the first signs of day there was an unusually bright light coming from the bamboo orchard. “Help me get Miss Lyra and the others up!” Lee hastily ordered; him and Leakina springing into action.

With the rest of the group awakened, they all rushed to find the suspect, possibly the one who had been affecting the field? They could just barely make out a humanoid shape in the blinding unearthly glow they emitted. “It’s a Yokai,” Lee commented.

Juddinyan’s fur stood on end as he gasped, “Rrow, not just any Meowkai!” Suddenly filled with fear he dove into Lee’s shirt, hiding from the scene.

As Lee screeched from the feeling of nails digging into his skin, Guist wondered, “Juddindude what’s wrong? Is this yokai a bad mammajamma?”

“The meowst,” Juddinyan said, “That’s one of the worst Yokai criminals around, Dehydreaded!” He was certainly quite an imposing looking figure with the appearance of an Agave plant. “He’s facing 10 n’yo life sentences for causing multiple droughts in the Meowkai world.”

Lyra scoffed, “I don’t care how dangerous he is in the Yokai world, if he’s the one harming the harvest then he needs to be stopped.” Bravely, Lyra stepped forward, beckoning the adversary, “You there! As the head of this shrine I demand you leave these holy grounds at once!”

Dehydreaded whirled around to face her in sheer surprise, “What in the—good gracious, you can see me?”

“Of course I can, I just said I was the head of the shrine!” Lyra stomped her foot, “Now I order you to leave or I’ll be forced to vacate you from these grounds and this plane myself.”

The big bad yokai stared her down, in the face of her earnest threat he simply replied, “I can’t do that.”

“What?” Lyra barked back in disbelief.

He raised his hands and said, “You can stay and get comfortable if you want but today I drought everything in this field once and for all!” He then emitted a pulse of energy from his hands that spread out all over the field, “And I’ll make sure nothing can grow here ever again! HAAAH!”

The energy wave reached Lee and his friends and they immediately felt the effects of Dehydreaded’s power. As Guist described it, “Like whoa, did this dude put us in some kinda oven?” He wiped his brow at the sweltering heat and sudden heaviness surrounding him. He dug out his Ypad tablet computer to find a helpful description of the criminal. “No way, totally bogus, his Yokai power is to cause the baddest of bad dry spells.”

“I’ll say, he’s draining all the water out of the soil,” Leakina revealed, “He’s gonna kill the bamboo!”

Startled, Guist shook Lee by the shoulder, begging him, “Yo! Cus we gotta do something, quick, call somebody with the Yokai Watch!”

“Right, phew,” Lee agreed with a sigh, “Huff—huff- huff,” he breathed deeply and dawdled in his actions. “Hey Juddinyan can you get out of my shirt, your fur is making me sweat.” He suspected the cowering cat was a contribution to the discomfort he faced but that wasn’t the case.

Standing beside him, Juddinyan said, “But I’m nyot.”

Lee’s head wobbled slightly as he mumbled, “Ohh, okay, hoiye.” Guist and Juddinyan watched the nerve wracking sight of Lee attempting to reach into his cargo pocket for a yokai card only for him to fall to one knee. His voice was so weak it was practically a whisper, “Huu, can you guys take my phone and call my mom? I don’t feel so good.” They both rushed to his sides as he dropped to his hands and knees, sweat pouring off of him as his breathing became extremely husky.

Juddinyan asked, “Meow, Lee, what’s wrong?”

Guist gasped, “Cus, what’s up, don’t let him bug ya!”

Thought their focus was on Lee, they were alarmed by a scream that came from Leakina. “Lyra, Lyra, what’s happening to you, speak to me, please!” She hovered over the priestess who just like Lee had weakly fallen to the floor; dizzy, weak, and looking nauseous.

She desperately, shakily tried to reach into the neck hole of her priestess uniform. As she rooted around she growled, “I have to—I have—to stop him—I—I can’t let him ruin Yo-Fest…” With that, she collapsed onto the ground.

The heat emitted by Dehydreaded was more intense than any of them thought and it took the worst toll on Lee and Lyra. The trio of yokai watched helplessly and Dehydreaded sneered, “Get them out of here; squids are more fragile than plants ever could be. Look at them drying out!” Sure enough just as he said, their squid forms were releasing visible streams of steam and their bodies began to slowly, worryingly curl up.

The only response Guist and Juddinyan had to such a dangerous dilemma was to begin running around, sweating and screaming while flailing in panic. Guist cried, “What are we gonna, we’re finished, game over dude, game over!”

Despite their fear, Leakina wasn’t willing to run around like her head was cut off. Instead she yelled, “Get it together!” With their attention on her she began to act quickly. They watched as she gripped her watery hair at the base of her skull and with little effort—she yanked her hair clean off her head. She shook it open like a plastic bag and instructed, “Put them in here!” Lee and Lyra were swiftly deposited into her hair as Leakina explained, “every part of me is pure water so this should get them both hydrated!”

They watched the shriveled, unmoving bodies of the two squids gently float in the makeshift bag, miraculously taking in the moisture. There wasn’t time to breathe a sigh of relief as Leakina shoved her reformed hair into Juddinyan’s arms, “Here, hold this for me, Furball,” she said.

“Meow?” Juddinyan mewed in wonderment as she floated toward Dehydreaded.

Guist queried, “Whaddya gonna do Leak-babe?”

With her fist in her palm, she cracked her knuckles, “I’m gonna make sure he pays for this, Squirt.” She was completely and totally different from the laughing, joking prankster they knew her to be over the short time they’d been acquainted. As if to punctuate this shift in character a powerful looking blue aura began to radiate around her.

Standing before Dehydreaded, Leakina challenged him, “All right Dry Bones, you hurt Lyra and the Leeker so now I’m gonna hurt something of yours!”

“What are you going to do little Missy?” He underestimated her, and thrust his hands forward, blasting out another pulse of droughting energy, “Why don’t you just evaporate!”

Leakina met his attack head on; literally, she bent her barren head down and reflected the hot rays, shining them back at Dehydreaded. He had to stop in order to shield his eyes from the intense light, shouting, “Acck! My eyes! My eyes!”

With that, Leakina raised her fist and howled, “Soak it up— DAM BURST!” With her shout she slammed her fist into the ground, causing the earth to begin to violently rumble.

Guist shook despite hovering above the ground, “Whoa dude, what kinda gnarly wave is this?”

Juddinyan explained, “She’s using her Soultimeowte!”

“Her Soultimate?” Guist repeated.

The power of her counterattack became extremely apparent when a torrent of water fired out of the ground beneath Dehydreaded’s feet. It sent him flying sky high while showering water all over the field. The air cooled with the rain, the soil took it all in, and right before their very eyes the bamboo shoots began to rise. Every stalk grew to a miraculous healthy height, and there in the center of it all was Leakina; victorious over the big bad boss.

Even more miraculous, Lee and Lyra were revived with the help of Leakina’s hair. They hit their tentacles, motioning to be freed so Juddinyan dumped them out onto the damp soil.

“Leakina, did you do this,” Lee’s mouth was agape in amazement.

She rushed, “Forget that, Lyra, hurry up and send this guy to the big kiddie pool in the sky!” She motioned to finish off Dehydreaded who fell back to earth after the geyser Leakina had made ran out of power. He pathetically laid face flat in the dirt, struggling to push himself up to his feet.

With her strength returned to her, Lyra fished out what she had been looking for within her collar. In her hand was a simple piece of paper. Written on it though was a powerful incantation; one for banishing troublesome poltergeists from the living world. She began to recite a prayer, “By the almighty goodness of our world, I hereby banish you evil spirit from this world, begone with you so sa—”

“Miss Lyra, stop, please!” Lee jumped and grabbed her arm as she raised the talisman, ready to pin it to Dehydreaded.

Everyone was puzzled by his sudden defense of the big bad boss but Lyra was the first to vocalize her dismay, “Lee, what are you doing? This Yokai tried to kill us and he nearly destroyed the bamboo harvest! What are you thinking?”

“Just,” he stuttered, “Just let me try talking to him!” He tepidly stepped toward him and crouched down beside the weakened ghost. He said, “Umm—Mr.—umm—Dehydreaded sir, are you okay? Can you hear me?”

Bunching his fist, Dehydreaded replied, “Get away from me, Boy, I don’t need your pity. Get away from me or I’ll make calamari out of you.”

His allies couldn’t fathom what he was trying to do. Sliding her hair back onto her head and running her hands through it, Leakina asked, “Are you joking, Leeker?”

Even Guist couldn’t comprehend the mercy he wanted to show, “Cousin are you totally sure about this?”

Juddinyan hissed, “If he tries anything I’ll scratch his eyes out.”

Ignoring them, Lee continued speaking with Dehydreaded, “I’m not trying to pity you—can I at least ask why you tried to attack us?”

The boss yokai said, “I didn’t want to attack you! All I was told to do was destroy that bamboo field and I’d get what I want.”

“What is it you want,” Lee zeroed in on those words.

Dehydreaded said without delay, “I’m trying to save my daughter.”

Lee gasped, “Y-your daughter?”

Hearing the conversation, Lyra was quick to warn, “Be careful Lee, Yokai are known to lie.”

“It’s true,” Leakina confirmed, “See watch, hey Furball, who won the Cats vs. Dogs Splatfest?”

Juddinyan answered, “Cats meow’f course.”��

“See,” Leakina said, eliciting a hiss from him.

Lee paid them no mind; he could hear it in his voice, see it in his watery eyes, and feel it from the yokai’s trembling fists—Lee knew he wasn’t lying. He just knew it as he hooked his hands under Dehydreaded’s arm and helped him up to his feet. “Do you know where she is,” he inquired.

By coincidence, the daughter he claimed to be looking for was located right on the grounds of Knifefish Shrine. It was a short trek through the woodlands surrounding the main facility, following the creek that ran through it. They found themselves in an area where the vegetation was far thicker and healthier than all the rest and even for summer this spot felt more unseasonably humid than any other. Forking the creek was a small shrine that housed a stone statue. It looked like it was crafted by an expert stone carver but Dehydreaded said, “There she is!”

Lyra revealed, “That’s the Maiden of the Mist!” she recalled a legend passed down between shrine maidens since the founding of the shrine and Shee-Booyah. “She was said to appear on foggy summer days, and she would make the haze so thick that it would make travel along the roads nearly impossible.”

Dehydreaded let out a proud laugh, “Yuk yuk yuk, that’s my girl.”

Furrowing her brow, Lyra spoke to Lee, “Are you sure you want me to help this yokai? How are you so sure he won’t turn on us and try to destroy the field again?”

Lee argued, “Sometimes even Yokai need a little faith and trust. I’m sure he didn’t really want to hurt us, just give him a chance Miss Lyra. Isn’t that what you’re supposed to do for spirits, to appease them?”

She let out a huff, then picked up her skirt and waded out to the squat shrine in order to inspect the statue. “The Maiden of the Mist was sealed away by priestesses long ago. They used particularly powerful enchantments.” She checked, as if to be sure she was correct, “This could take some time for me to remove the seals binding her.”

Some time was quite an extremely vague description. Lee checked the time on his cell phone to see that they had been here since sunrise and it was currently the early afternoon. Lyra had been reciting a series of prayers and chants for seemingly hours on end. Dehydreaded watched every second of it, silent, motionless, his very being seeming to hedge on Lyra’s every action. Guist, Juddinyan, and Leakina had long since gotten bored waiting and were meandering about to entertain themselves. One thing was for sure, this was certainly a testament to her fortitude to be able to pray for this long.

That grit would prove itself as she finally finished. The talismans stuck to the statue peeled away and the stone shell began to crack with them. Fractures appeared all over until it finally crumbled away into nothing, freeing the ghostly being trapped inside.

“T-Tropicanna?” Unable to believe his eyes, Dehyreaded trudged through the water to the revived yokai. Just like him she had a plant-like appearance, only instead of being a drought resisting flora, as Lee later identified, she was a tropical canna flower.

She wobbled unsteadily, unable to focus her vision but Dehydreaded held her still. His hands gently cupped her cheeks and he stared into her eyes, trembling as if he couldn’t believe what he was seeing. “D-daddy,” she weakly managed to stutter.

That was all he needed, Dehydreaded let out a wail and cried, “You’re back! My precious little flower!” He threw his arms around her and lifted her up into the air. Unable to contain his excitement, he spun around with her in his arms and though she was still weak and dizzied, she smiled. She wasn’t the only one, the audience of squids and yokai watched the reunion in glad reverence.

Guist wiped his eyes but couldn’t stop the tears from forming in them, “This is totally righteous dude, I think… I don’t… I can’t stop the waterworks, yo.”

Juddinyan couldn’t handle it either, he bawled, “c’mere mew!” They both cried over each other’s shoulders—unknowing that Leakina was intently watching them.

Meanwhile, with Tropicanna still in his arms, Dehydreaded approached Lee, ever grateful as he said, “You there, Boy, I can’t thank you enough for bringing me and my precious flower back together!”

“I didn’t really do anything,” Lee admitted, “It was Miss Lyra that broke the seal on her.”

Fixing his statement of gratitude, Dehydreaded said, “I’m so very sorry for what I did to both of you, if there’s anything, anything at all I can do for you, I’ll do it.”

Lyra said, “You can leave, thanks to you we’re so far behind schedule and we’re just days away from Yo-Fest!”

Hearing that made Tropicanna gasp, “Wait, it’s almost time for Yo-Fest?!”

Returning back to the field, none of the party could anticipate what the two yokai had in mind but they were going to do what they could to repay them for their kindness. Dehydreaded said, “My precious flower had the best idea. To make up what I did to your bamboo harvest, we’ll stick around here until Yo-Fest. I can control dryness and she can control humidity, together we’ll make this area like a greenhouse! You’ll have nothing but the perfect conditions to get your bamboo growing just right!”

Lee happily grinned, “You would do that for us?”

Dehydreaded reassured, “It’s the least I can do for all the trouble I caused you.” With that he cupped the shoulder of Tropicanna, “You ready to go,” he asked.

“Just a second, Daddy,” she said before hovering up to Lee. There she said, “I wanted to thank you myself for bringing Daddy and me back together. Whatever he might’ve done—he’s really not a bad guy, I promise, he’s just overprotective—really overprotective,” she added.

Lee replied, “Trust me. My mom is the same way. Honestly, if I was in the same position as you were, she would’ve turned the whole city upside-down and inside out twice to find me.”

Tropicanna laughed, “Yik yik yik, well that’s good to know. Still though, you’re the greatest,” she took his hand into her own, “And we can’t thank you enough.”

“It—it really was no--,” Lee tried to stutter out his reply but was interrupted by the sight of an ethereal glow emitting from between their hands. It faded shortly after but there in his palms was none other than her own Yokai card.

“Call me anytime,” she playfully winked at him before fluttering back to her father who glared at Lee with a scornful stare. “Ready Daddy?” She held his hand, and while he looked over his shoulder to keep that same look trained on Lee, the two walked off, fading into nothing.

Even though they appeared to be gone their presence certainly lingered. The area in and around the bamboo field was so temperate and comfortable in stark contrast to the hot, humid air around them. It was just as they said, perfect.

“Meow’s well that end’s well,” Juddinyan concluded.

Guist agreed, “No doubt, and smooth moves to you, Cousin, you saved the day and totally scored that righteous babe’s Yokai card.”

His sense of humility made Lee say, “I didn’t do anything, really, it was Lyra and Leakina that made it all happen.”

“Leakina totally made a mondo move back there, she saved your life, Cousin” Guist wiggled his pale tentacles in glee.

Knowing that, Lee grimaced, “Yeah—yeah she did.” This was quite a conflicting conundrum for him but then he suddenly realized something, “Wait, where are Lyra and Leakina?”

As it turned out, they hadn’t gotten far, just a ways up the healthy bamboo field to survey the land. Lyra said, “It looks exactly how it’s supposed to, Leakina you really came through today, in more ways than one.”

The mischievous poltergeist gave a modest shrug, “Hey I wasn’t just gonna roll over while you and the Leeker got washed out!”

Lyra wasn’t sure what she meant by that but she sighed in content, “Well the important thing is we’re back on track for getting ready for Yo-Fest.”

That wasn’t good enough for Leakina, she exclaimed, “Well yeah, that’s important to all Yokai but there’ll be other Yo-Fests, I mean, we’ve been having them for millennia, but there’s only one you.”

“Huh, what do you mean?” Lyra was unclear of what she meant by that statement.

Leakina’s answer was as bold as it was unrestrained, “You heard me! There will be other Yo-Fests but I wasn’t about to let anything happen to you! Just thinking about how that soggy puddle hurt you—my soultimate wouldn’t be enough to give him what he deserves! I would’ve gone until I evaporated into nothing!”

How to take all that in? Lyra stood there, breathless, her heartbeat quickening as she processed everything Leakina said. Did she really care enough about her as a friend to be willing to go through that much for her? Wondering, Lyra held out her hand, “You would do all that for me?” She wondered if this was the opportunity in which Leakina would finally bestow her with her Yokai card?

“MISS LYRA! MISS LYRA!” They were interrupted by a shark shrine maiden rushing toward her.

Lyra greeted, “Good morning Sister Amy, what’s the problem!”

“THE BATH HOUSE,” she answered anxiously, “YOU HAVE TO COME AT ONCE!”

They arrived to find the thermal bath had been completely drained. Leakina came clean saying she had to draw from a source of water to unleash her Soultimate and the closest one was the underground spring that the bath drew water from. That explained how the bamboo was able to grow and be healthy so lightning fast but that did not settle well with Lyra. As much as Leakina tried to explain that being a spring it would refill eventually, Lyra still had to punish her for this

She was given an ultimatum, face exorcism or be confined to a glass bottle until the bath refilled. Leakina took the imprisonment in the bottle

“That’s rough, meow,” Juddinyan commented.

“Mega harsh,” Guist agreed, “You think we should do something to help her, Cousin?”

Lee hummed while in thought, “Mmm—nah, she’ll be fine.” As cruel as the punishment was, and as bad as it was for him to think in such a way there was a part of Lee deep down inside him that felt a sense of satisfaction seeing Leakina in such a predicament. One thing was for sure, Yo-Fest was going to be upon them soon enough.

To Be Continued…

#splatoon #nintendo #inkling #yokai #lee squidly #fan fiction

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