The next morning, after waking up and getting dressed, Katie hopped downstairs with Whisper and Jibanyan by her side as she wondered how the day would go.
I want to head to Blossom Heights first and get the Rank C upgrade, get the requirements for the next Rank, then head to Settle In Bookstore to see if that comic came in. Then we'll go find more stuff to do. It's definitely going to be a productive day today.
Katie grabbed a Custard Bread for her breakfast and ate it as her mother said to her,
"Morning, Katie. Your dad said he wanted to give you something before he went to work. He's right outside."
Katie nodded as she went to see what her dad wanted and she was surprised when she opened the door.
"Whoa!"
She walked over to her dad and the bicycle next to him.
This is the Sakura bicycle I've been saving for!
"What's this for?"
"Think of this as a thank you for returning those papers to us yesterday. This is the one you've been wanting, right?"
"Yeah, it is!"
She sat on the bicycle to see if it was the right size for her.
"Okay, it's the right size. I remember when I got my first bike. I rode it around town until it was dark. Man, my dad was annoyed at me for doing that."
"Isn't Harrisville smaller than Springdale, though?"
"Yeah, but he had his reasons. Seriously, though. Don't do what I did as a child."
"I'll ride it to Flower Road to get the hang of it."
"That's a good distance for a bike ride. Just go through Blossom Heights instead of Downtown. It's too busy right about now."
"Alright, I'll see you later, dad."
Katie took off on her new bike, leaving Whisper and Jibanyan behind.
"Whisper, she forgot us."
"Relax, I'll get us to her. Hold on to me."
Jibanyan got onto Whisper's back and Whisper flew after Katie. Thankfully, Katie had stopped a few feet ahead when she realized that Whisper and Jibanyan weren't with her. When they caught up with her, she gave them a sheepish smile.
"Sorry about that, guys."
"Nyeh, it's okay. It would've been awkward to put me in the basket in front of your dad, anyway."
"Oh, did you want to ride in the basket, Jibanyan?"
"I did at first, but I like being carried by Whisper."
Whisper blushed a faint pink as he plopped Jibanyan into the basket, making him annoyed.
"Hey!"
"Oh, quiet, you lazy nekomata."
Katie just rolled her eyes as she continued pedaling, making sure that Whisper was with her this time.
"Hey, guys!"
Nate cycled up to Katie and they pedaled side-by-side.
"Nice day today, uh?"
"Oh, you got a bike too?"
"Yep! Dad got me the Breeze bike I've been saving up for as a thank you for yesterday. Heading to Blossom Heights?"
"Yeah, only for the Watch upgrade. I was also going to Settle In Bookstore on Flower Road."
"Okay, first to Blossom Heights, then to Flower Road, and we'll see how the day goes."
*****
They parked their bikes at Timer's and More and went inside.
"Hi! We're here for the Rank C upgrade."
They placed their Watches on the counter and Mr. Goodsight went to his work table and started fiddling with them a little before handing them back to Nate and Katie.
"Here's your new Rank C Yo-kai Watches and here's a list of Yo-kai to battle for Rank B."
Whisper took the paper out of Mr. Goodsight's hands and the group looked it over.
"Let's see here...Tengloom at Construction Site, Flumpy at Shopping Street Narrows, and Mad Mountain at Abandoned Tunnel? These are a bit random, aren't they?"
"Okay, Shopping Street Narrows we can do, kinda iffy about the Abandoned Tunnel, but the Construstion Site? Why would we ever go over there?"
Mr. Goodsight shrugged.
"Don't ask me. I'm just a shopkeeper. Besides, I'm sure your Yo-kai friends will keep you safe from any real danger."
They thanked Mr. Goodsight for his help, left Timer's and More, and continued onward to Flower Road.
*****
When they got to Flower Road, they got off their bikes and walked with them down to Settle In Bookstore. They bumped into Eddie as he was walking out of Settle In Bookstore with a bag of books in his hand. He waved at them and said,
"Hi, guys."
"Hey, Eddie. Whatcha got there?"
"Stuff for a new project I'm working on. Oh, I got a new video game the other day and I wanted to know if you two would be interested in playing it with me?"
"Sorry, Eddie. We're kinda busy today. Maybe tomorrow?"
Eddie seemed to think it over and said,
"Sounds good. I'll use the time to read these books I got. I'll see you tommorow then."
Eddie went on his way, Nate and Katie locked their bikes to the bike rack just outside of Settle In Bookstore, and went inside. The kids walked over to the comics and Jibanyan and Whisper were hanging around the magazines. Jibanyan picked one up and as he leafed through it, he asked,
"Whisper, this might sound like a weird question, but do you think that we could stuff their bikes into the bottomless bag?"
Whisper shrugged as he watched the two kids look over the comics.
"I don't see why not. We'll try it when the four of us are alone."
Whisper floated over to the bookshelves and found a couple of books that were known to help Yo-kai. He waved Nate and Katie over just so that they knew where they were if they ever considered getting them for their Yo-kai companions. Jibanyan had finished his magazine and walked over to the group as Nate and Katie were about to head over to the counter to pay for the new comic.
"Look, if I told you once, I told you a hundred times! I'm not selling my store, no one else is selling their store, and we're not leaving Flower Road!"
The cashier was arguing with a man in a business suit. Nate and Katie started to wonder what that was about as the businessman left grumbling to himself. The cashier sighed and mumbled to himself,
"Finally. I thought that jerk would never leave."
He glanced up at Nate and Katie when they walked up to the counter and laid the comics on the counter.
"Oh, did you two just see that? I'm so sorry for that. Five bucks for both comics."
Nate laid five bucks on the counter and asked,
"Hey, Sam? What was that about?"
"Oh, that jerk was trying to convince me to sell the store again. They want to build a mall or something here. Stupid jerk doesn't realize that there's a reason no one on Flower Road is selling their stores to them. We're not making the guardian of Flower Road homeless for the sake of some kiosks that sell snacks that anyone can buy at any Everymart or grocery store."
The group was now curious. They hadn't heard of a guardian protecting Flower Road before.
"You know, your science teacher was just here discussing the stituation we're going through right now. He knows more about the guardian than I do."
"Well, thank you for the information, Sam. We'll see you later."
They took their comics, got their bikes and Whisper poked them.
"According to my Yo-kai Pad, he Shooping Street Narrows are just a few feet away. We can go fight Flumpy and get it over with."
"Okay."
The group walked over to the alley known as the Shopping Street Narrows and walked in. They saw a Yo-kai that looked like Buhu, but was green and yellow with a bit of orange.
"This Yo-kai can make you feel very unfashionable and awkward. Let's just ask for a battle."
*****
"My defeat was so awkward! Don't look at me!"
The entire battle felt awkward. We just wanted to get it done and over with.
Flumpy disappeared and they picked up what they could find.
"I'm hungry. Can we pick up some food?"
"Yeah, there's plenty of places to eat here, so it's just a matter of picking what we want."
They walked out of the Shopping Street Narrows and walked by a few places and Whisper pointed towards Sun Pavillion.
"What does that place serve?"
"Chinese food, if I'm remembering right."
Whisper flew up to look at the menu in the window and glanced at it.
"Oh, they have Liver and Chives!"
"Wait here, Whisper."
Nate walked into Sun Pavillion for a few minutes and walked out with some Chinese food in a bag.
"There's Yo-kai that like Chinese food, right?"
Whisper nodded and said,
"Yeah, there is. It's not my favorite food, but I do enjoy eating it."
Nate handed Whisper a Liver and Chives and Whisper had to wipe away the drool coming from his mouth before taking it out of Nate's hand.
"Whisper...your drool is green?"
Whisper had stuffed the Liver and Chives into his mouth and had to chew and swallow it before he answered,
"Don't question it, Nate. But thanks for getting this for me."
Nate smiled and patted Whisper's head as he put the rest of the Chinese food into the bottomless bag.
"Might as well pick up some other food while we're here."
Before they went to the other shops, they saw their science teacher, Mr. Barton.
"Hi, Mr. Barton!"
He turned to see the two kids and smiled.
"Oh, hello, Nate and Katie. How has your summer been?"
"It's been going great, Mr. Barton. We actually wanted to ask you something."
"If it's a science question, you have to wait until school is in session or look up the answer yourself."
"It's not that, Mr. Barton. We heard that you know something about the guardian of Flower Road."
"Ah, yes. Ever since talk of demolishing Flower Road started up, people have been saying that the guardian has placed a curse on Shopper's Row due to some strange incidents. In fact, your classmate Lucas Yenamo reported seeing a fire recently in the area. Last I saw him, he was near Everymart. He can probably tell you more about it than I can."
Mr. Barton left them to attend to some business elsewhere and the kids started walking to Everymart. They saw Lucas fiddling with his necklace and he stopped when he saw Nate and Katie. To their surprise, he looked relieved when he saw them.
"Hey, guys."
He looked off to the side, almost like he was staring at Whisper and Jibanyan.
"Lucas?"
Lucas snapped back to Nate and Katie and said,
"Sorry, I was dazing off again. What did you two need?"
"We heard you saw a fire?"
"Yeah...I saw a fire start near Nocturne Hospital. I went to get an adult before it got any worse. I didn't tell anyone this, but it looked like the fire started by itself. I didn't think anyone would believe me if I said that, but it feels like I can trust you two for some reason."
"Thanks for the tip, Lucas. Be careful on your way home, okay?"
Lucas smiled as he walked off and waved goodbye to the group, humming the same strange tune and fiddling with his necklace.
"Whisper, did you nyotice Lucas was staring at us?"
"It certainly looked like it, didn't it? Well, let's get to Nocturne Hospital and see what's up."
*****
After buying a few food items and making sure they still had some money left, they went down to Nocturne Hospital. It was an abandoned hospital that was the subject of many urban legends and it certainly showed. There was a small burned area that told them that this was where the fire started and a yellow and purple Watch Lock door with an A.
"Thank goodness for the Watch Lock, I'm getting a creepy vibe from this place."
"Yeah, it is pretty creepy, Whisper. Don't worry, we're not actually going in."
Whisper sighed with relief as Jibanyan held his hand.
"Guys, can we go nyow? I'm starting to get creeped out by this place."
Before the group could leave, they saw a Yo-kai suddenly appear into the area, their back turned to the group.
"Oh, I'll show them. They're going to regret messing around my territory."
"Is that the guardian of Flower Road?"
The Yo-kai turned to the group and snapped,
"I can hear you, you know! But, yes. I am Kyubi, guardian of Flower Road."
"Why did you curse Shopper's Row?!"
He rolled his eyes and muttered to himself,
"I really envy my brother. He doesn't have to deal with this."
He held his hands behind his back and said,
"Tell you what. I'll explain everything if you'll meet me at the Construction Site tonight."
"What?! Why?!"
"Reasons. I'll be seeing you there if you want the explaination."
He bowed and disappeared into a puff.
"Wow...totally not suspicious at all."
The sarcasm dripped from Nate's words as the group had to think over what had happened.
"Would it be worth it to risk our lives in a dangerous construction site just to see why Kyubi is acting like this?"
"Well...Tengloom is there...and we kinda need the upgrade."
"Okay, we'll go for Tengloom, but I'm still not sure about Kyubi."
"Well, let's go kill some time until nightfall, then."