Of Missing Dads and Eyeballs [GeGeGe no Kitaro]

Of Missing Dads and Eyeballs

Author's note: For those unfamiliar, I'm using the Japanese names of the characters. Also, in this story you'll see Kitaro refer to Medama-Oyaji as "To-san" or"Oto-san," which is just a way of addressing your father in Japanese (root "to," meaning father, and honorific "-san" with the addition of the prefix "o" to make it more formal at times). Anyway, for those only familiar with the name localizations from the Crunchyroll subtitles, the Japanese names for each of the characters are:
Catchick=Nekomusume,
Ratman=Nezumi-Otoko,
Daddy Eyeball= Medama-Oyaji,
Sand Witch=Sunakake-Babaa,
Old Man Crybaby=Konaki-Jijii,
Rollo Cloth=Ittan-Momen,
Wally Wall=Nurikabe.
Anyway, enjoy the story!

It was way earlier in the morning than Kitaro was usually up at. The sun had barely risen, but the yokai who slept 'til noon couldn't help but feel to uneasy to sleep as he was pulled from his slumber by an odd feeling of unusual anxiety.

He looked around the not-very-well-lit tree house trying to figure out what was wrong. Then it hit him. The tiny eyeball that was the last remain of his father, who was usually sound asleep in his bowl on the table, wasn't there.

He frantically started looking around, screaming for his dad. Tears started to flow from his eye as he turned over overything in search of his father.

Hours passed as he searched without success.

Around noon, he was reduced to a crying hysterical mess on the floor. Then he heard a familiar voice as a friend of his walked through the door.

"Kitaro, what's wrong?" Nekomusume inquired upon seeing him curled up on the floor and sobbing.

"I-i... I ca-can't find To-san..." he managed to choke about between sobs.

Nekomusume wrapped him in a tight hug, and assured him things would be alright. She then took out her phone to call the rest of their friends to come help search.

Half an hour later, Mana and Sunakake-Babaa were comforting Kitaro while everyone else was searching all around and in the house.

"I haven't seen Kitaro this panicked in quite a while." the old witch remarked to the teenager, while she held the yokai who was like the grandson she never had. "Last time I saw him this scared he wet the bed and was screaming like a baby," butted in the crude rat who was digging through some drawers, who followed that up with "it was an almost pathetic sight." "Nezumi! He was just a child then, and had been through a lot! You should know not to judge a child who had been through trauma." the honorary grandma rebutted while handing the sobbing yokai boy to the token human.

As Mana held him, his tears soaked her shirt. She held him tightly and stroked his hair in hopes of calming him down more, but seeing him so upset make her pretty upset too. "Kitaro... we'll find him soon." Mana hugged him tighter.

Just then, a voice that at the time was like music to everyone's ears exclaimed "I found him!" Ittan-Momen brought the eyeball father back to the home him and his son shared, and Kitaro wiped the tears from his eye.

"I found him in the river." the living cotton sheet told the others, after they had all gathered inside (minus Nurikabe, who looked in through a window because he was too big to fit through the door). "Last night I couldn't sleep, so I got up to go for a short walk. Then I tripped and fell, and was washed out into the river." "Oto-san, I'm just glad you're safe! I was so scared and worried when I couldn't find you." Kitaro exclaimed as he picked up the pocket-sized dad and gave him a huge hug. "It's fine now. I'm here, and I won't be so careless next time." the fatherly eyeball comforted his son as the two shared a moment.

"Let's all drink to celebrate!" Konaki-Jijii piped up as he help up his gourd full of sake before being shut down by Sunakake-Babaa, as everyone had already had enough excitement for one day.