Itâs Haunted by a Gremlin
(And then I write for the two lowest voted choices to throw you all off.)
Contains, shenanigans and fluff.
Summary, Seiko brings home a minor cursed object that influences Jijiâs behavior, making him act a little more like Evil Eye. A small, nearly harmless yokia is possessing the object trying to get Evil Eye to join them in chaos.
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Seiko clattered through the front door, a burlap wrapped bundle under her arm. âHey, Kids. Donât mind the bag, it's for a client.â
The group was gathered in the living room, snacks and soda strewn across the table. Jiji perked up first. âUhâŚwhy is it moving?â
âDonât worry about that,â Seiko said with a grin, plopping it onto the floor. âJust a little yokai squatter. Barely has any bite. Honestly, a piece of cake to get rid of.â
When she unwrapped it, the âobjectâ turned out to be an old lacquered hand mirror, the glass spiderwebbed with cracks. The reflection shimmered unnaturally, rippling as if it were water.
You subconsciously leaned forward, curious but also cautious. âSeikoâŚthat doesnât look harmless.â
But before Seiko could respond, Jiji stiffened. The mirrorâs surface pulsed and suddenly his shadow stretched unnaturally behind him, sharper, darker. His usual cheerful voice carried a new edge as he smirked. âOh? Someone with a bit of taste brings me something worth my time.â
The others froze. That wasnât just Jiji. That was Evil Eyeâs tone, smug, commanding but too smooth, too casual, as though the boundary between them had thinned.
You reached out quickly, grabbing his sleeve. âJiji, donât-â
He blinked, visibly shaken, like he hadnât realized heâd spoken aloud. âI-I didnât mean to-â His voice wavered, then snapped back into the same confident tone, eyes glowing faintly as he turned toward the mirror. âHeh. Finally, someone recognizes the king of chaos when they see him.â
The mirror giggled. A warped childlike laugh bubbled from the cracks. âPlay with us! Stir things up! Weâll make such wonderful trouble together!â
Seiko sighed, scratching her head. âAh. Minor possession spirit. Knew it.â
Momo immediately grabbed a charm paper from a side table. âKnew it, my butt! You just invited a gremlin into the house!â
Meanwhile, you had both hands on Jijiâs shoulders now, grounding him as his aura flickered between his normal warmth and Evil Eyeâs heavier energy. He looked at you desperately, half-pleading. âI donâtâŚI donât know if itâs me talking or him right now.â
The mirror giggled again, a hundred little voices overlapping, âDonât fight it. You like power, donât you?â
Evil Eyeâs presence stirred, loud enough that Jiji heard it inside his head this time.
âWell? Are you really going to deny what we both want?â
You tightened your grip. âHey. Youâre still Jiji. But if Evil Eye comes out, itâll be ok. I know how to handle him now.â
And slowly, shakily, his smirk melted back into a nervous laugh. âYouâre really stubborn, you know that?â
The mirror hissed in frustration, its voice warping into a tantrum. âBooooring! Spoilsports!â
Before it could lash out further, Momo slammed her charm against the mirror. A flash of blue light lit up the room and the tiny yokai was sucked back into the cracks with a comical shriek. The object clattered to the tatami, lifeless once more.
Seiko picked it up with a shrug. âWell, that was lively.â
Jiji exhaled shakily, leaning against you with his usually playful demeanor. His voice was softer now, more himself. âGuess I almostâŚlost it there.â
But you still squeezed his hand in reassurance. âAlmost doesnât count.â
The mirror had been tucked away in Seikoâs storeroom, covered by a sheet but the house didnât feel the same. Every now and then, you would catch Jijiâs gaze slipping, his smile a little sharper, his eyes reflecting somethingâŚpurple.
By the next day, it was obvious something was wrong.
âWhyâre people looking at me funny?â Jiji whispered during class, hunched low over his desk.
You leaned closer. âMaybe because you just told the teacher she was âwasting her youth pretending to be important.ââ
Jiji paled. âI-I did what?!â
âYou donât remember?â You sighed, pinching the bridge of your nose. âThat wasnât very Jiji of you. That wasâŚâ Your eyes flicked to the shimmer at the edge of his grin. ââŚmore Evil Eye.â
At lunch, the weirdness continued. Jiji kept blurting out things he swore he didnât mean. Bold, cheeky comments slipped between bites of food.
Later, in the courtyard, the air grew heavy. A flicker of laughter whispered from nowhere, shadows darting at the edge of your vision. The cursed mirrorâs influence was spreading. Pencils snapped, soda cans burst, shoes vanished from lockers.
âA poltergeist vibe,â Momo muttered, arms crossed. âItâs the mirror. I told Grandma Seiko not to stash it at home.â
But the worst came when Jiji froze mid-sentence, eyes narrowing with an all too familiar sharpness. Evil Eyeâs voice slipped out, rougher than Jijiâs usual tone.
âYou keep hovering around me. Feeding me. Touching my hair when I fall asleep.â His mouth curled into a smirk. âDonât tell me you actually like me.â
Your breath caught. The whole courtyard felt like it tilted. Jijiâs face twisted, realization dawning as if heâd just heard his own voice from a distance.
âWait-what?! No-I didnât say that-I mean, I did but I didnât-!â He looked ready to combust, his hands flailing. âThat was him! That wasnât-ugh!â
You were flustered at this point but trying not to show it, stared at him. Evil Eyeâs laugh echoed faintly from Jijiâs throat, smug and lingering.
That night, Seiko finally confirmed it, the minor yokai inside the mirror wasnât strong enough to cause harm on its own but it was amplifying Evil Eyeâs presence. It wanted him to join in its mischief, to embrace chaos instead of balance.
âThingâs just a pest,â Seiko said, flicking her lighter. âBut itâs having fun turning your boy into a walking split personality.â
You glanced at Jiji. He was sitting on the couch, clutching his knees, sulking like a scolded cat. But when your eyes met, you could see it, two flickers of expression overlapping. Jijiâs worry and Evil Eyeâs sly amusement.
Night fell on Seikoâs house and the group camped out in the living room. The cursed mirror leaned against the wall, covered in talismans Seiko slapped on earlier but the air still felt thick like static clinging to everyoneâs skin.
âRelax,â Seiko said, lounging with her cigarette. âItâs weak. It just wants attention. Donât feed it and itâll wither.â
Her words barely hung in the air before the lights flickered out. Her eyes lingering on the burnt out bulb for a moment before she got to her feet with a graceful stretch. âHold down the fort for me. I gotta go get something. Just donât acknowledge it and youâll be fine. Itâs harmless.â
ââŚRight,â Okarun muttered, deadpan. âTotally harmless.â
Seiko just shrugged on her way out the door.
The moment the door clicked shut a spoon clattered to the floor on its own. Then a pillow smacked Aira in the back of the head. She yelped, spinning around but no one was there.
Soon the room became a playground for invisible hands. Blankets tugged, snacks floated, someoneâs phone began blasting tinny idol music without being touched.
âItâs like a bad haunted house,â Momo groaned, ducking as a soda can narrowly missed her head.
Through the madness, Jiji sat stiffly, his body flickering faintly again. Evil Eyeâs laugh rattled in his throat but his hands gripped his knees like iron. âItâs egging me onâŚwants me to join in.â His voice dipped, half his and half not. ââŚFeels good to cause a little chaos, doesnât it?â
âDonât you dare,â You said sharply, scooting closer and placing a hand over his. Your touch grounded him, warm and steady. For a moment the flicker softened, though Jiji wouldnât meet your eyes.
The yokai wasnât pleased. A gust of air knocked over the TV remote, switching channels at rapid fire. Horror movies, idol dramas, cooking shows, all blurring together on the screen.
âGuess it wants entertainment,â Momo muttered. âLittle pest.â
Suddenly the overhead light flared back on, revealing words scrawled across the fogged-up window in dripping letters,
Then, whap!, another pillow smacked Okarun square in the face.
The tension broke as half the group laughed and half shouted, ducking flying objects. The âhauntingâ had turned into a chaotic game. But you noticed something no one else did, whenever you touched Jiji, grabbing his sleeve, brushing his hand, the shimmer of Evil Eye grew quieter. AlmostâŚsoothed.
Which made the yokaiâs next trick crueler.
As another pillow flew across the room, Jiji suddenly blurted out in Evil Eyeâs rumble,
âDonât interfere with my human.â
The words froze the air. Jijiâs face went red, his eyes wide. âI-I didnât say that! That wasnât me!â
The yokaiâs laugh echoed faintly from the mirror. Mischievous. Prying.
Evil Eyeâs Fraying Patience
The mirror spirit wasnât done. Every time the group thought it had settled, another trick followed.
The lights blinked again, plunging the room into shadows just long enough for Aira to yelp when her blanket got yanked away. Okarun shouted at the empty air, flailing wildly at floating snacks and Momo tried to herd everything back into order like a babysitter with too many sugar high kids.
But the spirit had changed targets.
You felt your hair get tugged sharply, like a mischievous child pulling too hard. Then your soda lifted, tilting until cold fizz spilled right onto your lap.
âHey!â You yelped, standing quickly.
From beside you, Jijiâs head snapped up, pupils glowing faintly violet. Evil Eyeâs rumble slipped into his voice before he could stop it,
âI told you not to touch her.â
The lights buzzed. The mirror cracked faintly down the center, like the lesser yokai felt that warning like a whip.
But the tricks didnât stop. This time, your shoe floated off the floor, dangling in the air before flying across the room. Laughter echoed through the glass.
Jiji shot to his feet, his body shimmering as Evil Eye nearly shoved through. His voice was low, dangerous, rolling like distant thunder.
âYou think this is funny?â
The air thickened, the mirror trembling in its frame. For a moment everyone froze, watching Jijiâs outline blur between himself and the yokai.
You stepped closer, laying a hand on his arm before he could lose control completely. âItâs just trying to get a rise out of you. Donât give it the satisfaction.â
His jaw clenched, every muscle taut but the glow dimmed. Still, his eyes stayed fixed on the mirror, sharp and burning.
Another tug came, this time pulling at your sleeve hard enough that you stumbled.
Jijiâs voice dropped, fully Evil Eyeâs now, guttural and commanding,
âI said leave her alone.â
The mirror shrieked, the glass vibrating as if the smaller yokai had been scolded like a child. For the first time all night, the tricks stopped cold.
The only sound left was your uneven breath and the faint crackle of the TV still paused mid-channel surf.
Momo exhaled slowly, eyeing Jiji warily. âWellâŚat least heâs consistent.â
Okarun muttered, rubbing his face. âConsistently terrifying.â
Jiji didnât answer. His glow dimmed back to human again but his hand remained balled in a fist at his side, until you quietly slipped your fingers over his.
Everyone had barely settled back onto cleaning the mess the ghost had left behind when the mirror began to hum again. A pitchy, whining sound that made rattled teeth.
You groaned, leaning into Jijiâs shoulder. âOh, come on. Didnât it get the message?â
The glass rippled, glowing faintly and suddenly every pillow in the room shot into the air. Blankets twisted into ropes. Soda cans wobbled and popped their tabs all at once, fizz spraying like fireworks.
Making Jijiâs half changed into Evil Eye a full take over thanks to the cold and sticky soda raining down on the room.
Aira shrieked, ducking under a flying cushion. âItâs trying to bury us alive!â
Okarun scrambled to save the snacks, shouting, âNot the chips! Anything but the chips!â
Momo had a slipper smacked into her face mid-yell.
And right in the center of it, a blanket was yanked clean out from under you, sending you sprawling back onto Evil Eyeâs chest.
The violet glow flared up in his eyes. Evil Eyeâs voice boomed through clenched teeth, reverberating with sheer irritation.
The mirror spirit cackled, sending one last dramatic flourish of cushions spinning like a tornado.
Without hesitation, Evil Eye reached out, palm glowing and swatted at the mirror like he was smacking a fly.
The glass exploded into a thousand glittering shards, raining harmlessly across the tatami. The whole room went still.
Aira gaped. âDidâŚdid he justâŚâ
âSmack a ghost?â Okarun finished, wide eyed.
Momo found she could only sigh in response. âUnbelievable.â
Evil Eye dusted his hands off like the whole thing was beneath him. His gaze slid back to you, narrowing, as if daring you to comment.
You bit your lip, fighting a laugh. âSoâŚwas that, uh, an exorcism technique? Or just pure rage?â
The yokaiâs middle eye blinked once, glowing with smug satisfaction. âIt was in my way.â
You snorted. âYou just wanted peace and quiet.â
He didnât deny it. He leaned against you without a word, eyes half-lidded. âI get my reward now.â
Okarun threw up his hands. âI canât believe the big scary Evil Eye just ended a haunting with a slap.â
âShut up,â came the muffled rumble from Jijiâs chest.
You smiled into the warmth at your side, shaking your head. âDefinitely the funniest exorcism Iâve ever seen.â
âOh crap, Grandmaâs gunna be so mad!â Momo shouted.