Prologue

It was a normal day, at first. I was on my computer, on a forum I spent a fair bit of my time on, looking to see if any interesting new stories or quests had been posted. As I looked, I noticed someone had started a chat with me, saying Feel like Going on an Adventure? The username wasn't one I was familiar with. "ROB."

Well, it was a little weird for someone I'd never talked with to send me that message, but I was also rather curious as to what they were talking about. "What do you mean an adventure?" I typed.

ROB replied almost instantly. They must be a pretty fast typist. Are you familiar with Yu Yu Hakusho? It had something of a following in its day.

I was, actually, though it'd been years since I'd seen it, so my memories of it were hazy. I had only watched the anime, though, not read the manga, and I hadn't watched past the Dark Tournament. I told ROB as much.

That's fine. You don't really need to be that familiar with the setting for this game, although it will certainly make things easier for you.

"So you want me to play in a quest set in Yu Yu Hakusho or something?"

Essentially, yes. The set-up goes like this: you create a character, choose from some powers and traits what you want, and then I drop you in that world. What you do from there is up from you. Are you interested?

Alright, that seemed pretty straightforward. I answered in the affirmative, and started asking about how the quest was going to be played.

I'll explain that part after character creation. Okay, guess my new GM was playing this close to the vest. ROB posted the character creation rules and options. I was pretty impressed. Point-buy system, lots of different backgrounds, powers, perks and drawbacks. I also got some freebies, like the ability to actually see spiritual phenomena and the like, enough knowledge of the Japanese language, culture and history to fit in, etc. I noticed a lot of the powers were ripped straight from other series' and asked how that was going to work.

Basically, if you choose one of those options, you'll get powers with effects very similar to your choice, but re-flavored to fit the setting. Also, some of them will be strengthened or weakened to keep things competitive, though all of them can become more powerful through training, even to the point of becoming something else entirely. And just a tip: if you pick a strong power, or one with many different applications, you'll still have to train in order to use most of it. Can't have you start out too powerful, after all. Though depending on what options you choose, you can be powerful enough that you wouldn't have to train at all until the Four Saint Beasts Arc, and you wouldn't have to put serious effort into it until the Dark Tournament.

Sounded good to me. I also got to customize my age, appearance, and all that fun stuff. In the end, this was the character I made:

Name: Tenchi Higashikata (東方 天地), a name taken from two fictional characters: Tenchi from Tenchi Muyo and Josuke Higashikata from JoJo's Bizarre Adventure. I could have gone with something that contracted to "JoJo," but then I realized the jokes would probably never end.

Age: 14 (8th year Jr. high school student), which was the maximum age I could have for the background I'd picked.

Appearance: Johnny Joestar. Well, let me qualify that: a 14-year old Johnny Joestar who isn't dressed in American flags, and with a haircut that isn't ridiculous. That is, worn long and flat without those weird horn-things. If anyone thought my appearance was weird, I figured I could just claim my mother was half-American or something. And really, Kurama's hair was bright red and Botan's was baby blue; blond hair and blue eyes kind of lose the shock factor stacked up against that.

Background: The Mysterious Transfer Student. What this one meant was that my character would, for all intents and purposes, be me, dropped straight into the Yu Yu Hakusho verse, with no additional memories, family, or friends other than those I made during the adventure. I'd be a new transfer student into Sarayashiki Jr. High School, and I'd have all the necessary papers to prove my identity: birth certificates, elementary school graduation certificates, social security number, etc. That paperwork would say that I was an orphan with no surviving relatives, and an emancipated minor on top of that. I'd have a house with paperwork saying it was left to be by a deceased relative, as well as a modest stipend from the same relative until I graduated high school to pay for stuff like food, utilities and school supplies. Also, people would feel naturally disinclined to bring up how odd all this was or question me about it: so long as I didn't deliberately call attention to it, nobody would realize how unusual my background was. Part of the reason I chose this background is because it was free.

Properly Japanese: All the knowledge, language and culture I'd need to fit in. I supposed this was just so ROB could sidestep questions about that during play by just assuming I did the right thing for stuff like knowing cultural references and eating with chopsticks or whatever. This was free.

Perception: The ability to perceive and interact with the supernatural. The first level was free, but I bought it more than once. My spiritual awareness would only be beaten out by the likes of Kuwabara and his sister.

Enhanced Physique: This was an enhancement to general physical attributes. It gave my character more strength, toughness, speed, etc. With this, my character would always be at least slightly above-average in all physical aspects when compared to others at his level of power. I could have chosen to boost one attribute more at the cost of others, but I like "jack of all trades" characters.

Enhanced Mentality: This was like Enhanced Physique, but for mental attributes instead. With this I'd have an easier time learning, remembering what I'd learned, being creative, and especially in thinking quickly on my feet. I bought this perk twice. It wouldn't make the character a second Kurama, but it'd give him a keen tactical mind. It also meant I was practically assured good grades if I tried even a little.

Determination: This would increase my character's strength of will and his resilience, both physical and mental. He'd have the strength to never give up, and the willpower to get right back up no matter how many times he was knocked down. Basically it meant he'd be a shounen protagonist, which I figured would be very useful in a shounen series.

Spirit Energy: I got the choice to get either this or Demon Energy for free, or paying a big chunk of my points for both. In the end I figured I'd rather stay human and picked Spirit Energy. Purchasing just this would mean I'd only be able to enhance my strength and durability and fire a Spirit Gun once per day, though I'd be able to work out more creative uses over time. Luckily for me this wasn't the only power I was able to buy.

Hamon: Also known as Sendo, or more popularly, the Ripple. I'd be able to use all the Ripple tricks used in JoJo's Bizarre Adventure, plus more besides, but at first I'd only know the basics: Ripple-infused strikes, accelerating my own healing rate, and infusing objects with Ripple to strengthen them (or people, to heal them). Since it's a martial art, it'd increase my hand-to-hand skill drastically as well. Though unfortunately it didn't insta-kill demons the way it did vampires in the series; it would only be as effective as any other form of Spirit Energy, though that also meant it'd work just as well on humans. Most importantly, though, was that I had spent extra points so that I could use the same technique Will A. Zeppeli used to unlock Jonathan's potential with the Ripple to unlock latent spiritual awareness and basic Ripple breathing, and could then train others in my techniques.

Prediction: The ability to be Joseph Joestar by accurately predicting what someone's about to say before they say it. As a side effect (or rather, a required secondary effect), my character would also be better at reading people and predicting what they were thinking, what they'd do, etc. Very useful in combat, no doubt.

Iron Lungs: My character's lung capacity became twice that of a mountain dweller's and his respiratory system became twice as durable as the rest of me: attacks that would have formerly crushed his trachea would only bruise it instead. Buying Hamon got me this at a discount, and the synergy made it a must-buy.

Dirty Fighting: My character would have a working knowledge of all the dirty little tricks you could use to take a guy out of the fight, and the willingness to use them. Nerve clusters, soft spots, the right way to attack the eyes or ears, etc. It also made him a bit more tactical in his fighting style, especially where using the environment was concerned.

Sacred Potential: This gave my character the potential to use something called Sacred Energy in the future. The description was pretty vague, but it said this was actually in canon (wish I'd watched the whole series), and for some reason buying Hamon got me this at a discount, so I thought, 'Why not?' It sounded cool, at least.

Combat Prodigy: This increased my rate of growth tremendously, enough that I'd be able to keep from falling behind the main characters so long as I didn't slack off on training. It also made it much easier for me to learn new techniques through self-study and in some cases would allow me to figure out new powers mid-fight. The bulk of my points went into this and Sacred Potential. It seemed like a worthwhile investment to me.

Temper, Temper: This was a drawback I picked up for some extra points. I'd be more short-tempered and combative, more eager to fight and less diplomatic. I could still think tactically, and it wouldn't make me any dumber, but I'd be a lot easier to rile up and pick a fight with. I figured, "Nobody ever solved problems in this series by talking to each other, so what am I really losing out on?"

Hey, No Spoilers: This was another drawback. This one meant that I couldn't willingly reveal my origins to anyone, or give away any knowledge of the future I had unless I had some other way of explaining my knowledge away. Since Hamon came with a kind of future-seeing ability I figured I could just use that if I needed a handy alibi, it seemed like free points to me.

You Needed Worthy Opponents: The third and last drawback I took. This one would add a few extra challenges and opponents that weren't in canon or buff up a few of the already present threats to account for my participation. It was basically free points for something I wanted anyway: I didn't feel like spending half the quest stealing other peoples' kills.

After finishing up my character sheet, I asked ROB once again how the quest was going to work.

It's actually quite simple. You'll take on the role of your character, and adventure in the world of Yu Yu Hakusho with the powers and background you've chosen. It'll be a hard journey, but don't worry: it won't be forever. If you can survive for five whole years, I'll let you come back anytime you want, at the same age and in the same moment as you were when you left, if you still want to. In fact, I'll even let you keep all the powers you collect along the way; what you'll do with them once you get back might be just as fun as this adventure promises to be. And who knows? Maybe some of the friends you make will even want to come with you.

I blinked. "What the hell?" I asked aloud. Was I talking to someone who seriously thought that…?

I didn't manage to finish the thought. My body started feeling heavy, my vision blurred and my thoughts slowed to a crawl. As my consciousness faded, all I could see were stars and blackness, and I felt, rather than heard, the words 'Enjoy your new life.'

I jolted awake in my bed, breathing hard but steadily. Did I have a nightmare again? I wondered. I sat up in my bed, trying to remember through my just-woke-up daze. I couldn't help but feel as though something important had happened…

If you want to jog your memory, maybe you should look around you instead of staring off into space. It was a… I couldn't really call it a voice, per se. I didn't hear it, but rather I felt it. It was like the words were etching themselves into my soul to make themselves known, and then faded away.

Too curious and weirded out to question it, I looked around and realized that this wasn't my room, or even my house. It was a small, sparsely decorated room, with only the most functional objects breaking up the monotonous white walls and hardwood floors. There was a floor-length mirror, though, in one corner of the room. When I caught eyes with my reflection, I remembered everything.

A stranger was looking at me in the mirror. More specifically, a blond-haired, blue-eyed teenage stranger. That quest! ROB! It had actually…

I leapt out of bed so quickly my blanket went flying across the room as I crossed the small bedroom in one quick stride and took hold of the mirror in both hands thrust my face into it, searching the reflection for… I didn't even know what. Some kind of trick? Something that would let me dismiss the whole thing as a hoax?

Whatever it was, I didn't find it, and as I took my hands off the mirror to grasp and pat down my own body, what I saw was only doubly confirmed: this was me now. This was what I looked like. It had all been real.

[ROB.] On a forum I had often frequented, it stood for Random Omnipotent Being. It was a commonly used plot device in several of the stories and quests I read on there: some bored all-powerful asshole dumping some poor schmuck into a new world: sometimes one they were familiar with through fiction, sometimes with neat powers. I suppose I was lucky that mine was "kind" enough to equip me with both.

Finally, I tore my eyes away from the mirror, from my changed appearance. "Where are you?" I whispered, my voice and body both shaking violently. In rage? Disbelief? Fear? Probably all of the above. "Where the fuck are you, you bastard!?"

I suppose you won't like the answer 'everywhere and nowhere,' will you? That same presence in my soul replied.

I was about to give voice to exactly how much I didn't like that answer, but found I couldn't. I literally choked on the words, and fell to the floor in a fit of gagging and retching.

My apologies, but this particular 'phase' of the adventure has always been utterly tiresome to me, so I've long fallen into the habit of cutting it off quickly. As I slowly recovered from my sudden choking attack, the "voice" continued.

Yes, I took you to the universe of Yu Yu Hakusho. Yes, everything's exactly as it was in the character sheet you filled out, yes there's a very real chance that you'll die, no I don't care about the myriad of problems you have with this and no you're not the first being I've done this to. Not the first human, either. I'll let you have your emotional breakdown and/or tantrum in peace after this, since I know you humans need such things to remain somewhat healthy, but do be quick about either moving on or suppressing it, would you? It's dreadfully boring to watch. I've dropped you in on a Saturday and you start at school on Monday, so you've got all of today and tomorrow before you need to head to school and start your adventure proper.

And in case you feel like asking: yes, you can simply stay at home doing nothing while Yusuke and his compatriots go on their adventures, but I don't recommend it. Because I can and will alter things so that the worst possible outcomes occur. Do you remember how many of their early victories were decided by luck? Imagine how easy it would be for a being of my power to make sure their luck ran out. And that's not factoring in the extra challenges and opponents that you signed off on. They'll appear either way, and if you choose not to intervene in events a great deal of deaths will occur that you could have prevented. Gohki alone might devour dozens of innocent children's souls if you don't step in to help.

I'll be watching you, of course, but this is the last time I'll talk to you until your journey is over. Make sure to be entertaining.

Farewell, and have a fun five years.

The presence and its "voice" both left me. The words had burned into my memory; I'd remember them with crystal clarity. I slumped to the floor on hands and knees, a few tears beginning to run down my face, fueled by frustration, rage, loss – so many feelings I probably wouldn't be able to put a name to them all.