Good Night Fright Light

Summary

On a pitch black night, Matsuo stumbles into a yokai

Stats

600 words, average reading time ~ 5 min

Rating

PG. Ghosts.

Characters:

Matsuo Eiji

Character | Sep 12, 2024

Assistant manager at TaniMart. Wants to start his own dojo. Doesn't let on about his heritage.

The electricity was out in town. Not even the moon shone. The clouds covered everything. My phone battery was running low, ta-boot. Didn't want to drain it. So I had nothing to light my way. Why hadn't I asked to learn magic from my friend Umeji Tatsuya? Then I'd be able to create phantom fire so I could see. I knew roughly where I was, since I'd grown up in Nonogawa. I just wasn't as familiar with my girlfriend's side of town. Suzuki Chiyo was gone for the weekend. She'd asked me to check on her place while she was in Kyoto. Upon seeing the glow of a paper lantern, the tension in my chest unwound. I stopped under the light to place the house I was in front of to get my bearings. This was Saitsu-san's house. Chiyo's should be just a few doors down. Would old Saitsu let me borrow the lantern? A knock at the door revealed no answer. He wouldn't mind, would he? I'd bring it back soon. Just as I reached for the light, a giant eye opened and an enormous mouth split the lantern nearly in half as it morphed into a grin. "Boo!" it cackled. I stumbled backward, tripping over my feet and landing hard on my backside. Damned thing about scared the crap out of me! My scowl only made the stupid lantern ghost laugh more. So I stomped off, leaving the annoying yokai behind. But it followed. "Don't you want to play more? I haven't laughed so hard in ages!" "No." Was I being petty? It was lighting the way for me. "Just don't scare old Saitsu-san like that. It might kill him." The lantern nodded, but sank lower to the ground with the weight of the thought. "And then even he wouldn't talk with me...He's the only one who will." "He talks...to you?" I asked. "Oh yes! He tells the best dirty jokes! Want to hear one?" "Che." I rolled my eyes. There are just things you don't want to know about your elders. "Then tell me a story," the lantern pleaded. So I told him how I met my girlfriend, by offering to teach her son Aikido. The lantern listened intently and joined me as I checked each room in Chiyo's house. Just as we finished, the electricity came back on. So I stayed a while to charge my phone. The lantern broke the silence. "If you give me an offering of rice, I'll guard the house. And I won't scare your girlfriend. Promise. Then you'll know it's safe." "No dirty jokes to her or her son, either?" It nodded solemnly. "Deal. What's your name, lantern-san?" "Riku. And you must be Matsuo Eiji-san? Old Saitsu-san thinks well of you for taking care of Suzuki-san and her son." My hand rubbed the back of my neck. But I gathered my wits and bowed. "Pleased to meet you." Then I wandered off to fix a bowl of rice. When it was ready, I stuck chopsticks in it so they stood straight up marking the rice as an offering. Riku floated over and he inhaled. The rice was gone in an instant. His eye closed and he sighed. "Delicious!" I said good night to him and trudged back home with my phone as a flashlight this time. Riku was true to his word. He even scared off a kid peeking in the windows. That's how I gained a nosey yokai friend. Though, I couldn't always escape his dirty jokes.

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