Happy New Year! So here is chapter 2 of He Who I Once Knew. Those who reviewed thank you very much. If there is something that you do not understand in the story please feel free to message me either in PM or review and ask. This is especially towards chapter 1. Thank you very much and enjoy.

I do not own Hozuki no Reitetsu, only Umeko Kagurazaka

Chapter 2: Tengyoku or Jigoku

Books always described that when a person died their world would go either black or white and there would be this feeling of floating in space before completely losing consciousness into an abyss of nothingness.

Well I'd hate to say it but the books were completely wrong in this case. Though my world did in fact go white, I did not get the sensation that I was floating. It felt as if something had yanked me out of my body from the waist. The force dragged me from the white that had become my world for a few moments and I felt like I was going up. My world wasn't white anymore. I suddenly found myself floating up into the sky above the city skyline.

"Ok... I know I'm dead... Now unless I'm actually some how dreaming, what the hell is going on?" I said more to myself. That was when I noticed I wasn't alone in the skyline. I looked around and saw people around me in the same predicament I. They were all wearing white robes with white headbands that had a triangle. I looked down to see myself wearing the same. They were the clothing of the departed.

I pinched my cheeks and began slapping myself. When nothing else happened I sighed. "Yup... Definitely dead..." Then another question made itself known to me. If I was dead, was I going to Jigoku or Tengyoku? I felt myself gulp though my face did not betray. I went through some of my memories trying to see if I had done anything that would have sentenced me to Jigoku. I couldn't think of anything but that didn't stop me from fretting over being tortured for all eternity for possibly doing something stupid.

I looked around again but then I noticed that some souls were being dragged down toward the city. Then my eyes widened as they began to scream and try to cling on to those of us going up. "They're the sinners..." I myself wasn't going down but I didn't dare breathe a sigh of relief. I was still nervous mind you.

A pair of hands grabbed my robe. I looked down to see a chubby balding man with glasses hanging onto me. His face was contorted in fear.

"P-please! I'm begging you! Don't let me go down there! I can't go down there! Take me to heaven with you!" He pleaded with me. I could feel the force holding me struggling to pull me up as the force holding him struggled to drag him down. I tugged on my robes trying to get him to let go. I wasn't trying to be cruel. As he kept pulling on the end of my robe it was beginning to open up and reveal more of my legs and a bit of my chest. I wanted to keep both my decency and my dignity thank you very much.

"Sir I really hate to tell you this but let go." He shook his head. "You're pulling my robe open so please let go." He stopped looking at me in fear and instead his face began to turn red and I could have sworn he began to drool as he looked at my robe through opaque glasses.

"... I wouldn't mind seeing that..." He said and my eye twitched as he began to tug. Forget about trying to be civil. This man was as perverted as perverted could get.

*BAM* Was the sound my foot made as it made contact with his face. I fixed my attire and watched as he let go and went down towards the city with the other souls. As they reached the ground below they began to change into balls of light and go through the streets and sidewalks unseen by the human eye.

"May they have some mercy on you all..." I muttered as I myself began to change into a ball of light. Once again my world became white as my soul floated up with countless others. I suppose if anyone could have seen it, it would have looked as if a multitude of lanterns was floating into the endless darkness of the night sky.

I saw nothing but darkness now. I could tell that I was laying on my back and on something soft. A breeze flowed overhead carrying the scent of peaches, wild flowers, and... wait... why did I smell sake?"

I forced my eyes to open and found myself facing a vast blue sky. I clutched the grass I found myself laying on and heaved myself onto my feet. Surrounding me I could tell I was in an orchard of some kind. The sake I had smelled was close so I followed my nose until I found my way out of the orchard.

I was stumped at what I saw. A large waterfall stood in front of me, it's clear liquid flowing down into the lake below. A small rainbow formed as the liquid kept hitting the bottom making a picturesque scene that could have only been seen in the imagination of an artist.

"Wait don't tell me..." I muttered and cupped my hands into the liquid. I took a sip and promptly spit a few times at the taste. I have never really been partial to alcohol of any kind.

"Ugh... Definitely sake..." I said in disgust as I wiped my mouth. I looked at my reflection which rippled in the sake. Nothing about me had changed much to my relief. I tucked some of my hair behind my right ear. The purple cord, given to me by Hakutaku, still hung on my ear. It must have come with me when I passed.

"Now where am I?" I began to walk again trying to find any signs of life. There were hills coming up as I kept walking so I decided to climb up one in order to see if I could discern my location. Below the grassy hills stood a city that looked like it belonged to a bygone era in China. Near me I could see what appeared to be an entryway. I was curious and as I walked toward it I was stopped by the voice of a female.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you." It was a pleasant voice. I turned around to find a woman with blue hair and gold eyes staring at me. Her bangs were pulled back with pieces of her hair and held back with a pair of chopsticks and a small lotus flower was clipped to the side. On her face she wore dark blue eye-shadow and lip stick. As for her clothes she wore a royal purple kimono with a triangular pattern of green and yellow on the sleeves and collar. a blue sash with black pinstripes was worn under the obi. However the obi, to my shock, instead of stiff cloth, turned out to be two dark pink snakes with lighter underbellies.

I was going to question her about the snakes but that was before two things caught my eye. One, her ears, where two snake shaped earrings hung, were quite pointed. Two, a pair of small horns stuck out from the top of her head.

I'm sure my normally indifferent face morphed into shock as in front of me stood a very pretty demon woman. It was even worse when I couldn't utter a coherent sentence from my mouth.

"Y-you... I... You're a-" Damn it Umeko get a hold of yourself! You've seen Hakutaku in his beast form for crying out loud and you didn't freak out then!

"I'm a demon yes." she said smiling.

I quietly put a finger up indicating her to give me a moment to pull myself together. I turned around to take a deep breath and calm myself. After I made sure I could talk I turned back around to face her. She still stood there though she seemed amused now. I bowed deeply in apology.

"I apologize for my reaction. I have no idea where I am and I have been trying to find out. You see I have just died so naturally I'm quite confused.

She giggled and waved the apology off. "It's quite alright I understand. That's the reaction most humans have when they die." Then her face turned curious. "Although I have to wonder why you woke up so far from the heart of Tengyoku."

My eyes widened and I'm sure that they were the size of inner plates at this point. "I went to Tengyoku?" she nodded.

"Yup. If you like I'll take you to the city so that they register that you made it." she offered. How could I not except?

We made our way down the hill and toward the city. It was beautiful. People of all shapes and sizes were walking around. Humans, spirits of all kinds, and even demons were milling about. Stores were open selling wares ranging from accessories to clothing, to furniture and other items. I was trying to take all in as the demoness gently tugged me by the arm so that I wouldn't get lost among the throng of beings.

As we walked there was one thing I wanted to ask her badly.

"I thought demons didn't live in Tengoku?" I asked. She looked over to me and smiled.

"We don't you're right, but we are allowed to cross between Tengyoku and Jigoku. Most demons down there work as torturers to human sinners but there are other jobs to do down there. I myself am a torturer demon. It was a good thing I stopped you before you could cross. You would probably have been mistaken as an escaped soul and brought to Enma-Daioh and Lord Hozuki." she explained.

I sighed. Good thing indeed. She had mentioned Hozuki though. I thought back to how Hakutaku would rant about a demon named Hozuki. He used to say that he was a sadistic demon of demons always finding ways to cause him pain because they despised each other. A somber smile made its way on my face and I held back a small laugh. The night he had left, Hakutaku had mentioned he would not be allowed to leave heaven. The possibility of finding him crossed my mind briefly but I chased that thought away. Would I be able to find him when the heavens were so vast? Would he even remember me?

The demoness brought me out of my thoughts as she spoke and we came to a stop in front of a large white building with red trim on the roof much like the Chinese architecture on Earth.

"My name is O-Koh by the way. May I know your name?"

"Umeko Kagurazaka." I said.

O-Koh led me inside where we found people running to and fro with paperwork in their hands.

"I'll help you register. It's a bit like paperwork on Earth giving your signature and some personal information. In Tengyoku you are given the option of what to do in the afterlife. Most humans choose to live in paradise while a few will actually choose to find occupations. It all depends on you." She explained to me. O-Koh-san walked over to a receptionist and told them about me. The receptionist nodded and told us to walk to a set of golden doors a few feet away from us. They were enormous. The doors slowly creaked open and inside we could see envoys working at wooden desks with human souls sitting in front of them registering themselves.

We walked over to an empty desk where a male envoy sat overlooking some paperwork. He looked up at us and urged us to take a seat.

"So you're miss Umeko Kagurazaka. Lovely name. So let's see you've just died recently due to a fatal hit and run." He said reading my information off the paperwork. I shifted a bit uncomfortably. It was one thing being dead but hearing someone talk about it right in front of you, gave you the weirdest feeling.

"Let's see as for your record you really haven't done anything in your past life that would have sent you to Jigoku. Let's see you didn't drink, do drugs, no signs of embezzlement. Ah you were a mangaka's assistant. You don't see that often on transcripts." He said and brought out a few official looking documents. "Please sign here and sign here if you wish to live in paradise."

I looked through all the documents thoroughly and began to sign. When he got he papers back he looked through them and was stumped to see what I had written.

"You wish to find work in Tengyoku?" He asked looking at me bewildered. O-Koh-san looked at me surprised as well.

I straightened my back. "I did die rather young and I must admit that unlike most humans I don't like lazing about. If it's all the same to you I would rather do something productive while I'm up here." I explained and the two of them seemed impressed.

"Well miss Kagurazaka I wish you the best of luck then." He said and gave me a sheet of paper with writing on it. "When you have a chance, please give this to the Home Office so that they may find a suitable dwelling for you."

"Thank you for your help O-Koh-san." I said bowing to her as we were outside once again.

"It was no problem at all Umeko-chan. I can call you Umeko-chan right?" she asked and I nodded.

"I don't mind." She then began to tug on my arm again and took me to a nearby shop. In the display window I could see kimonos with colorful fabrics and patterns decorating them.

"O-Koh-san what are you doing?" I questioned as we entered the shop. We were greeted by a kindly old woman who said we could look around before calling her.

"Buying you a kimono silly!" She explained as if stating the obvious. "You can't go around wearing that for too long." she pointed out my attire that signified that I was a deceased human.

"You don't have to do that. When I find a job and earn enough money I'll be able to afford one." O-Koh-san just smiled at me though and shook her head.

"Consider this both a welcome and good luck present from a new friend." she said and I froze.

'Friend'

It had been a long time since someone had said that word to me. I could feel warmth blooming in my chest and a grateful smile graced my lips. "O-Koh-san... Thank you..." O-Koh just looked at me surprised before she gave a small grin.

"Umeko-chan you have such a pretty smile! C'mon and take a look with me. We'll find something that suits you." I looked around and touched the fabrics hesitantly as if one touch would cause the beautiful fabric to rip. After carefully touching few, one caught my eye.

It was in the back of the store in between a bright pink one with sakura blossoms, and a golden brown one with teal swallows. With as much care as I could muster pulling it out I sucked in a breath.

In my hands hung a lilac kimono decorated with the flowers and petals that gave me my namesake. The collar and ends of the sleeves were colored mauve as was the cloth under the obi. The obi itself was breathtaking. Black with the outline of a plum tree stitched into the fabric and plum blossom petals looking as though wind had scattered them. It seemed as though the entire pattern of blossoms and petals revolved around the tree on the obi.

I heard a gasp behind me. "Umeko-chan it's beautiful..." I turned to find O-Koh-san staring at the kimono in my hands as well.

"A good choice." the old woman said hobbling over to us. "You're name is Umeko-chan?" She asked and I nodded. "Well then this kimono was made for you. Come, I'll help you put it on because from the looks of it you'd have trouble tying the obi." She said gesturing to the rather sloppy knot I had hastily made to tie my obi back after the pervert had tried to open it. I just blushed and said nothing as I followed her into the changing room. Truth be told I did know how to tie an obi somewhat. Back when I was alive and still a child, Nanako-san had taken the children at the orphanage to a festival nearby and the younger children were helped into kimonos. I remember the one she had helped me into was a pale green one with a sunflower pattern and brown obi. It was so pretty that I had been sad when she had told me I'd outgrown it.

Fifteen minutes later, the old woman and I left the changing room and O-Koh smiled with glee as she moved me towards a full length mirror. I was stunned at just how much clothes could change a person. When I had been alive, my clothes had always been conservative never showing much. My wardrobe consisted of jeans and skinny jeans matching with t-shirts, turtlenecks, hoodies, and button-ups to go with beat-up sneakers, combat boots, and converse. I did not own a single dress or any formal attire. Whatever events my co-workers had invited me to, mixers, parties, bars, I had always declined not comfortable with the atmosphere those kinds of things gave off choosing to stay home or go to the movies by myself. Back them I was twenty-four, a woman standing at five-three with her bangs coming to a point at her forehead and somewhat covering her eyes always trying to manage her wavy hair into a presentable appearance but always failing to.

However the one in the mirror was completely different to the woman I once knew as me. Chestnut hair I had once always tried to tame straight flowed to my shoulders in wave as did my bangs revealing coffee brown eyes with cobalt flecks that had usually been hidden. Fair skin stood out against the soft color of the fabric I now wore revealing a slender form that had usually been hidden under my clothes on Earth. My hair was still tucked behind my right ear revealing the purple cord and the bells gave a merry jingle with every movement I made.

The old woman nodded smirking. "As I said this kimono was made for you."

O-Koh-san agreed. "It really does suit you Umeko-chan."

The old woman handed me a pair of wicker sandals to finish the emsemble. O-Koh-san paid for them and we left giving our thanks. I told O-Koh-san that I would repay her for the gift as soon as I found a job and was paid but she waved it off once more saying that I shouldn't repay her for a gift.

"This is where I have to take my leave now Umeko-chan." she said. "I have to return to my duties in Jigoku tomorrow in Mortal Hell. When I get the chance to though I'd like to visit you and see how you're doing."

I smiled softly. "I'd like that. I really would."

With that O-Koh-san left among the throngs. I myself left for the Home Office to inquire about a home for myself. They were more than happy to help me pick from a selection of places in Tengyoku. In the end I picked a small villa not too far from the city itself but not to close to the orchard I had been in when I'd awoken. By the time I had arrived the sun was already going down. The villa itself I liked. It was surrounded by foliage that had overgrown but it was nice over all. When I walked in I saw that I would have to buy furniture to fill it up. Luckily for me there was already a futon in storage. I would also need to buy food to stock up in the fridge as well as a few other supplies. After dusting around with a rag I had found in a closet I set the futon down and changed into a sleeping yukata I had discovered in one of the drawers. It was a bit large but comfortable all the same.

Tomorrow I would go back into the city to look for a job and earn pay. I closed my eyes and fell into a dreamless sleep.

'No One's POV'

Meanwhile, in a shop usually surrounded by rabbits during the day, a lone figure sat at the counter in the front drinking. Today had been good. Flirting with women, giving them medicine and flirting, and making more medicine to give later on. The mood that day however had been ruined when a certain demon from Jigoku had walked in and caused his nose to bleed and a feeling of nausea to over come him.

Hakutaku downed his drink and took a breath of air as he finished. A look of annoyance crossed his face. Hozuki had tried to take his head off with that damned mace of his. He needed another drink.

He looked out of his window and another sigh escaped his lips as he looked at the moon. Soon he found himself lost in his memories. There were a few in particular that popped into his head. A park in Japan where he had gathered medicinal herbs all the while having amusing conversations with a little girl who had a strange obsession with books. He laughed at a few memories he had of that little girl. Then his face quickly turned somber as he remembered the last time he had seen her. The night he was told he would not be allowed to go to Earth for quite a long while. She had grown up so quickly in his eyes. From the little girl he had once known, to a young and awkward high schooler. Hakutaku clutched the windowsill tightly as he remembered her tears and her pleas for him not to go. To not leave her for he had been the only friend she had ever known.

Hakutaku looked down at the girl who had cried herself to sleep as he held her. Even sleeping she sniffed as tears kept leaking from her eyelids which hid from the world's view eyes like coffee with flecks of cobalt blue. The celestial being quietly hoisted her up bridal style and tucked her into her bed. On the comforter, hopefully she would see it when she awoke, he left a small burlap sack with a present inside for her to remember him by.

He stood next to her sleeping form and as gently as he could without disturbing her, he kissed her forehead and left the same way he had come in. Through the window. Outside an envoy was waiting for him. There was indifference on his face but in his eyes, Hakutaku saw sympathy.

"Have you said all that was needed Hakutaku-sama?" The envoy asked. Hakutaku gave The girl one last sorrow filled looked before replying "Yes". Turning into his beastial form, he and the envoy took off into the night sky back to the heavens where Hakutaku would not be allowed to leave for quite sometime.

The celestial beast looked down to the floor in anguish. After three years of probation, it was deemed that he could cross between Tengyoku and Jigoku, but still he could not be allowed to cross into the human world for a longer period of time.

"I'm so sorry Lizi-ko." he whispered. Had she forgotten about him? Hakutaku shook his head and gave a somber laugh.

No. He knew in his heart that there was no way she could never forget about him. She would never forget her first friend.

With that in mind Hakutaku smiled at the moon before putting his glass in the sink and heading off to sleep.

He had a day of work ahead of him after all.

Author's Note: You know I actually wanted to cry when I did Hakutaku's part. But I didn't so any way this is the end of chapter 2. I hope that it was good and that you guys enjoyed it. Once again please review and thank you all who favorited this story so far.

Ja'ne- Kitsune to Tenshi-chan