"Hello, who's there?", he called out. No answer.

"Kamado sir? Tofu sir?"

No answer. Just the sound of metal against metal.

He reached the end. He slowly shined his flashlight from the floor onto the dark figure.

His curious expression turned into one of dread and panic.

As soon as he saw the chained up creature in proper light, he made a run for it. He sprinted back to Yumiko as fast as he could, gripping his phone tightly to avoid losing it. He jumped through the curtains and slid to a stop behind Yumiko.

"They have a bloody Kappa chained up in here! We have to leave now!" he panted.

She turned around startled, "Oh shit! You scared the crap out of me! Kappa? What are you talking about?"

"You know the green skinned human looking-turtle creature with a beak and that bowl in the top of their head!" he explained with a contorted face and hands all over the place but Yumiko just laughed at him brushing him off.

"Someone has read up on japanese folklore. Are you sure you're not hallucinating? You must be really tired."

"We should really leave right now. I've seen enough horror movies to know that we'll be eaten if we stay any longer!"

"Calm down! It was probably his dog or something."

"No it wasn't. It was a Kappa I swear. It was exactly like I've seen in pictures online-"

"Why are you brats being so loud?" the familiar fiery voice said from the curtains. James froze and turned to him slowly. Kamado was holding their orders in each hand.

"My friend here says you have a Kappa chained up." said Yumiko in a nonchalant tone.

"That Kappa...is a goliath frog shipped from Africa. I was going to cook it for dinner tonight." he said as he set down their ramen bowls on the table.

"But who gave you permission to go back there?" he growled.

James gaze fell to the ground. Kamado was much taller and muscular than he was, which made him feel puny in comparison. "I just went to pee and saw that thing chained up-"

"I just asked you why you went there so don't answer more than you're required to!" Kamado shouted punching the table. James flinched. He was certain he saw smoke come out of Kamado's mouth and ember flicker in his eyes. Perhaps it was just the steam from the ramen.

"Kamado, can you please not be rude to my only friend? I was the one who told him to go there." Yumiko intervened.

"Just eat and go home." he grumbled. He went and sat down at the furthest table from them and started to read, what appeared to be, a japanese newspaper.

"James come on sit down." Yumiko said patting the seat next to her.

He shook his head refusing. He signaled with his head that it was the perfect chance for them to run. But she didn't understand and kept insisting him to sit down.

He gave up and sat down next to her hesitantly. She danced in her seat and grinned at him making him blush. He looked away and accidentally made eye contact with Kamado who just stared back at him scronfully making him feel terror. James decided it was best to not think about the chained creature and just finish eating as soon as possible and leave. Since Yumiko was next to him he doubted Kamado would do anything to him. His anxiety was sky rocketing. He formulated an escape plan in his head, in case he gets captured and chained up.

Yumiko had started slurping on her Sopporo ramen. He eyed the Okinawa soba bowl in front of him. 'Perhaps I can endure this predicament for a while longer.' he thought as his mouth watered.

"Do you want a fork?" she asked looking at his tentative expression, with her mouth full of noodles.

"No it's alright I know how to use chopsticks. I used to eat alot of Thai noodles with chopsticks. So I'm good with them."

She smiled with a messy mouth and continued eating.

He had finished half of the bowl when Yumiko stopped him.

"Stop don't eat it all! I want some of that too. Let's exchange now." she said and switched the bowls.

She had finished almost all of the noodles and only a half eaten boiled egg and the broth remained in the bowl that she gave him. He gave her a shocked look. Before he could ask for his bowl back she finished slurping the last drop of broth from it and smiled at him with her usual pretty smile. He felt decieved.

Dejected, he finished what was left in the bowl in front of him. He was still hungry. So he gulped down water to satiate his hunger.

"Wasn't it delicious?" she asked him patting her belly feeling satisfied.

"Yeah it was really delicious." he said gaining a side eye again from Kamado.

James took tentative steps towards Kamado with his wallet in his hand.

"So how much was it?" he asked timidly.

Kamado looked at him with fiery red eyes and a sinister smile.

"It's fine. No need to pay. It's that last time you'll be eating here anyway." he said in a calm tone for the first time.

"What?"

"Hey where's Tofu? I wanted to give something to him." Yumiko inquired.

"He's busy. He's taking care of the frog." He emphasized the last word. James felt a shiver run down his spine.

"Then I'll just put this tofu here." She took out a block of packaged tofu from her handbag and put it on the table.

"Do you always carry that with you?" James asked.

"Well I had plans of coming here today anyways so I brought tofu for Tofu because he likes tofu. That's why Tofu's name is Tofu." she said with a sly smile. James frowned.

"Well let's get going scaredy-cat." Yumiko said.

"Thank you for the food." James said bowing down japanese style to Kamado who just ignored him and walked away to the curtains.

"Bye Kamado. We'll be back soon." Yumiko waved to him.

"Don't. This isn't a place for humans." he said and disappeared behind the curtains again.

James legs moved fast. He picked up his bag and exited the restaurant before Yumiko. He had never felt more terror in his life. His heart raced, he was in fight or flight mode. And he decided to take the second option.

"You're really fast." Yumiko said as she came out and shut the rusted door behind her.

"You said he was just a grumpy man but he was also so scary! What was all that weird stuff he was saying? This place isn't for humans?" he whined.

"He's just a little senile that's all. He's completely harmless." she assured him.

"I'm not taking any chances, I'm not going back there and get chained up and become meat for his next customer. And I'm telling you I really saw a Kappa back there. It was green and scalely and slimey. It had all the characteristics of a Kappa. It had the bowl on his head. I saw that clearly! Why don't you believe me?"

"I believe you. I just don't believe what you saw was true. It was probably just a frog like he said."

"How do you explain the bowl then?"

"It must have been his drinking bowl that he accidentally got on his head."

"Do frogs even need a bowl of water?"

"I don't know. Let's just forget it. We had a good lunch, now let's go explore the rest of the museum. I'll be your guide." she said and wrapped herself around his arm and walked towards the stairs.

"I'm tired let's just go to your home." he said wearily.

"Oh okay sure, I understand, we'll come back to explore again some other time."

"Tomorrow can you help me look for a place of my own?"

"What? But why? You can stay as long as you want to at my house. Don't think of yourself as a burden." she blurted out.

"Thank you, really. But I should learn to be independent."

"I understand." she sighed. "I'll always support and help you James so don't worry!"

They both smiled at each other and made their way up to ground level. He eyed the race track on the other side as they exited the building. He felt a pain in his heart, like when a teenage girl would see her favorite idol in the flesh but not being able to meet them. 'I'll see you soon' he declared in his heart.

As they stepped outside the air conditioned building he noticed that the sun was gone. The sky was pitch black and the street lights had turned on.

"Woah! How much time has passed? Were we inside for so long?" James exclaimed.

"Well its almost 8 pm now." Yumiko replied.

"But...we just...well whatever." James found it odd but he was too worn out to even process it.

"I guess when you're with the right person you don't realize when the time passes so quickly." she said and snuggled up to him walking in a random direction.

"You know when you say stuff like that and get so handsy, I might get the wrong impression."

"What do you mean? I don't do all that." she giggled. James sneered.

"So should we go get dinner now? It's time."

"I don't really have an appetite now. The image of that 'frog', keeps replaying in my mind now. I have no idea how I ate those noodles with that thing chained up back there."

"It's probably because they are so tasty." she smacked her lips. "Did you really see a Kappa back there?"

"I know what I saw and I'm never going back there and neither should you, he's a creep."

"He just needs some time to warm up to new people. He's really sweet and kind when you get to know him. Also he fed us for free!"

"Yeah then told me it'll be the last time I'm eating there. Not very sweet and kind."

"He obviously didn't mean it."

"Yeah sure." he scoffed. "If you're hungry you can get something for yourself." he added.

"It's alright I'll have something at home."

They walked past a park and onto a sidewalk. The road was completely empty, atypical for this hour. Stores and cafés were deserted aside from the workers gossiping and playing video games on their phones.

"By the way this is the most fun I've had in a while." she said in an exuberant tone.

"Well I wouldn't say I had fun but this was definitely a good day for me if you neglect the fact that I was abandoned by my only remaining friend and the scary restaurant you took me to."

She laughed. "I guess the best thing about your day was meeting me right?"

"Yeah I guess so." James shrugged goading her. She shoved him and laughed.

It was getting colder as they walked along the abandoned road only accompanied by each other and occasionally laughter from inside the buildings. The wind howling and the darkness made James skin crawl.

"I really miss my parents sometimes." Yumiko started. "Especially my moms cooking and my dad's stories about yokai. Because of their work and the timezone difference it's hard to talk to them." she said wistfully.

"It must've been nice to have normal parents." He coveted such a relationship.

"Do you think your parents will search for you?"

"Yeah probably but not because they actually care about me or anything. But because they lost a servant."

"Will they go to the police?"

James chuckled. "The police are the last ones they'll go to. They won't risk getting caught just to find their worthless child."

Yumiko stopped walking. She turned James to face her. She looked him in the eyes with dead seriousness.

"You're not worthless. You're more than that. And most important of all your my friend now. So screw your parents. It's better this way. I hope they never come to find you." She hugged him tightly, her head rested on his chest being able to hear his heart thump abnormally.

"I hope so too." he said and hugged back. Perhaps he won't need any parental affection. What he has right now would suffice.

"So let's go home." she said as she let go of the hug. "We're almost there. Come on."

"Wait, we're already near? I thought we were just taking a random walk."

"Follow me." she said and held his hand leading him through a dark alley only lit by the moon. The sound of dogs howling startled James. He hated dogs. He hated animals in general, that included the human species, with the exception of his late bestfriend and now Yumiko.

They emerged from the alley into a silent desolate street with small warehouses, empty lots and abandoned houses. A single street light flickered on and off. It reminded James of his own street where he had lived.

"My house is right there." she pointed to a dark gloomy building.

"Your house...looks...haunted." James said as they reached a worn down traditional Japanese house sandwiched between two warehouses.

"It was built by my great grandfather." Yumiko informed. "When this neighborhood modernized and changed completely, he refused to follow them. This house has stood the test of time. Now tourists come here to get a taste of the old Japan."

"Hope it doesn't fall on us in our sleep." James remarked.

"That's why we're getting it renovated and making it more lively." she said as held his hand to lead him inside. "Let's go! House tour!"

Before they could even cross the gates James felt a hard tug on his bag pulling him backwards. He turned to see a short hunchbacked elderly lady with grubby hair and soiled clothes that barely hung onto her boney body.

She yapped at James in japanese. He didn't understand a word she said. She spooked him. She looked like a Halloween decoration in his eyes.

"What is she saying? Does she want money?" James asked turning to Yumiko.

"She's just a crazy lady who roams around her often. Don't mind her."

Yumiko released the old woman's grip on James bag and told her to go away. Instead the old woman pushed Yumiko to the side and pounced on James. He shrieked and begged her to get off of him. The old woman put both her grimey sweaty hands on James head.

James stopped moving, he heard a sweet feminine voice in his head.

"Protect the girl. Save her. Onibaba spares no one. You must not die. You must not die. You must save her. Only you can save her. You must save yourself first. Take her far away. Run. Run. Save yourself and you'll save her. Protect her with your life. Onibaba spares no one-"

Yumiko pulled the old hag off of James. She yelled at her in japanese. The old lady kept chattering, pointing at both of them and ran away after spotting something behind them.

James head felt like a rock. It throbbed. He tried to make sense of what happened but failed. This whole day felt like a fever dream. He wished he would wake up now.

"James! James! Are you okay?!" Yumiko hovered over him. He groaned, dazed not even knowing where he was.

Yumiko helped him to his feet. Leaving his bag outside to pick it up later, she put his arm over her shoulders and dragged him inside the house with a struggle.