Chapter Text
At first, it was (not really) okay.
Venoct said that even when the seal was at full power, it would take a little while for the portal between both worlds to close completely. After all, it had been running for Enma-knows-how-many years. The seal should be strong enough to keep any evil (or not-don't think about it-) Yo-kai out even with the portal still partly open. So there was no need to worry.
Nate worried anyways. (It felt wrong wrong wrong-)
It was weird, the last two months of summer having been around and with supernatural entities, only for things to suddenly... snap back to normal again (but it wasn't normal anymore). No more alleyways with Yo-kai that pop out at every corner. No more trips to the Yo-kai World. No more odd mood changes when a person was inspirited or sneaking out at night to explore the city with his Yo-kai friends.
No more Whisper to complain about how messy his room was. (Even though he had turned the room upside down just trying to hear him shout-)
No more Jibanyan who took naps on his carpet whith a half-eaten choco-bar in his paw. (He bought a big stash with his own money and put it in his drawer. He kept checking if the chocolate dissapeared, but it never did-)
Nate absolutely hated it.
No more Hidabat who's soft click of paws in the keyboard lulled him to sleep every night.
No more Venoct ocassionally popping up to ask questions about Mighty Dog's whereabouts. (And even though every time their answer was no idea he kept showing up-)
No more receiving letters from Komasan about his adventures in the big city with his little brother.
No more Kyubi to argue about how he could get his last Kyun Orb from another girl that wasn't Katie-
It had been a week.
Nate tried his hardest to stay cheerful and move on (they would meet again, he promised-). But it was difficult when every time his attention wondered -summer work is awful- he abstentmindedly doodled Yo-kai in the margins of his notebook (he gave up and just bought a sketchbook). When he kept going home through back alleys, subconciously trying to catch a glimpse of even Suspicioni or Cheeksqueek.
Because every time someone sneaked up on him (very few people-living with ghosts who can literally faze through walls does wonders for your stealth detector) or felt threatened his hand immediately went to the medals in his pocket (pretty much useless now, except he still couldn't make himself to leave them at home, the only indication it hadn't all been a dream-)
Because when he got nervous his hand abstentmindedly rubbed his empty wrist (wrongwrongwrong-) Because he turned around to comment something to Whisper and Jibanyan and he met only air. (And then it hit him all over again that they were gone, gone as never ever coming back-)
(They promised. They promised)
He felt like a piece of him that he didn't even know was missing was finally in place, only for the puzzle to be torn apart again barely two months later and leaving him very aware of the gaping hole in himself.
(Missing. Missing, I need to find them-)
It all came to a head the next day.
Nate was walking under the cherry trees (which he had to make bloom to save Springdale. He couldn't stomach even looking at a cherry since then without throwing up) when a click resounded in his ears. He stopped, suddenly aware that he was all alone. The Watch Wielder was for once grateful that summer had already ended and he was busy with classes, (if there is a teacher shouting at him to pay attention he isn't thinking about his -empty- wrist and -useless- medals-) but today it had taken him a bit longer than normal to clean up his part of the class. Then he had to go to the toilet. (fortunately, this was only a number one. A number two would be just embarrasing). All his friends (human friends, which he had known for a lot longer, but it wasn't the same the hole was still there-) were busy, and he hadn't brought his bike, so he was left to leg it home on his own. He squinted in front of him, where he could swear he saw the air shimmer-
The world suddenly seemed a bit- lackluster, as if the little something that made it special was no longer there. And then an aching hollowness spread in his chest, piercing his heart.
This wasn't anything new. His heart had been feeling a little hollow ever since he said goodbye to all his supernatural friends, but this was different. It was a hollowness that teared at his heart and broke it into a thousand sharp little shards, which then stabbed down and down again inside his chest, and again, and again and it hurts please make it stop-
(Everything's wrongwrongwrong-!)
He had just enough presence of mind to drag himself over behind the nearest cherry tree, his chest an inferno of searing white-hot blinding pain-
(No. Please!)
He leaned against the trunk, not noticing his bag digging against his back as he desesperaly tried to muffle his gasps on the sleeve of the hoodie he had brought today. Nate scrambled to put together what had happened and why did he feel so- so-
(It feels... empty)
And then he realised.
The part of his mind which hummed with warmth ever since he made his first Yo-kai friend and got his first medal (Jiban-!) was no longer. Now it was not there, just as it had been for his ten years of life (but not for the past two months-), and he had never before felt so utterly alone. The missing warmth was replaced by an icy coldness that descended in layers over him, sinking into his very bones and making his teeth chatter even though the warm summer breeze was still clinging to the air.
(Please come back. Come back.)
That's when he knew, the portal had finally closed completely down.
Salty drops ran down rosy cheeks, mixing with soft earth and decaying pink blossoms. His unheard wail was echoed by spectral voices which shuddered from the same sense of loss-
(I don't want to move on. I just want them to be back)
A kid with brown hair and brown eyes fell asleep under the old tree, fists clenched and cheeks stained, bag digging into his back, a look of pure agony etched in his features.
But then his brow relaxed, his face smoothed out, his fists unclenched. A small smile worked its way onto his lips just as a cold gust of wind brought a shower of pink flowers. When it receded, there was only a red and blue backpack where a boy once lay.
It went unnoticed. The only witnesses were the softly falling cherry blossoms, continuing their impassive descent towards the earth.