Summary: After a hearing from Shiki Eiki, with a recollection of his past. Ivan Guzman has chosen to renounce himself from existence itself. However, a certain being seethes at how such a dark soul is given the ignorant bliss of nothingness, and has devised a much worse punishment for the evil soul...
A/N: This is a alternate end scenario for 5 Dear Friend from Sukima by Willie.G.R, and I do not own any characters except for the unknown Shinigami himself. Anyway, this one-shot is basically a ending where Guzman gets his just desserts, not the anti-climatic end of erasing himself off existence.
Warning: Some characters in here could become OOC, so I remind you all that this is fictional, and deviates from the canon timeline of the original story. There's also a very annoying Deux Ex Machina involved to make this alternate end, and an ass-pull in the form of an OC, so I apologise if it offends anyone who read this.
At the courtroom, after what feels like hours, Shikieiki stops the beating, takes a deep breath while placing her hand over her forehead, then says "it's no use! What's the point of this? If I send you to hell before you repent, you'll never learn your lesson. What am I supposed to do here?"
Guzman suddenly replies "You will do NOTHING. I'll be the one to chose!"
Shikieiki opens her eyes wide with unbelievable shock as she gaps, and when she looks at Guzman, he stands tall while the chains that bounded him lie on the floor in front of his feet.
He wears long white pants held by a black belt with a small golden buckle, a navy-blue shirt under an open white sleeveless jacket, and wearing a pair of purple sunglasses over his now red and black eyes.
Shikieiki recovers from the shock and angrily asks "how? How did you do that? You're not supposed to speak! How can you even stand? You sins weigh so much, you shouldn't even be able to stand!"
Guzman scoffs and looks down at the yama, then says "you know, you almost got me there. I almost fell for your tricks and let myself fall back into the illusion, but thanks to my loving family, I realized, this... this life, this body, this world, YOU, everything is a LIE! An illusion created so that the people can be controlled like cattle! Well no more! I deny you, and I DENY this world, this FAKE life!"
Guzman turns around to the shut door, making Shikieiki get furious and shout, "just wait a moment, who do you think you are? Hey, don't you dare turn your back on me! I'm not done with your hearing!"
She tries to strike him with her golden sword, but it goes right through him as though he was made of air.
Shikieiki gasps, then shouts "You FOOL! What have you done! You completely reversed your purpose! You were meant to lead the people free from the oppressors of the outside world, no turn your back on life!"
Guzman twists his torso just slightly, scoffs with a smile toward Shikieiki, then says "So you do know about the illusion. Well, I freed myself from it, and you can no longer touch me, you so-called yama. Good bye now. We won't be seeing each other ever again."
He turns around to open the door, except suddenly, there's a sudden sound of the door being locked, and he turns around to gaze with hatred at the yama, and by her expression, Eiki does not know what is happening.
"Actually. I like to intervene on this matter." A voice rang out, bearing a familiar voice, except the tone in it is so cold and menacing, it could drill holes in one's soul and heart.
Suddenly, in a flash of black flames, a young male appears right near the court. He has short black hair, and red eyes, and wears a black haori, with a white cloak on his back, tied in a knot just below his neck. He also has a silver ribbons tied around the waist of his haori, and has black cloaks on his feet. His face is filled with pure disgust.
"Well, aren't you a rebellious little shit." The strangely-dressed male said to Guzman, with venom in his voice. "I've expected that much, from a person that deserves my attention so much. I can see why the higher-ups want your head on a pike, metaphorically."
"Yeah, well fuck you brat." Guzman said.
The new arrival only glares at Guzman intensely, before muttering 'I'll deal with you later.'
He then walks up to Eiki, with a calm expression, before standing in front of her, as the short yama is very startled by the very events, especially how someone managed to enter the court of the Yamas so easily without her noticing.
"Hello, Yamaxandu Shikieiki." The male spoke with respect. "It seems that you have quite the problem here. I will not mince my words. I would like you to pass the judgement of this soul to me. Actually, I do believe judgement is over. All I wish to do, is carry out his punishment as needed, although you may object to my methods."
"Who-Who are you!?" Eiki said with a mighty voice, as she pointed a accusing finger at her. "You can't just walk into the Court of the Yamas, let alone even enter it. If you don't leave right now, I'll banish your very soul into nothingness."
The man only sighed. "I cannot do such a thing, Shikieiki. I am forced to give punishment to this soul in particular, by orders from people that rank far higher than the Yamas of legend."
"And who are such people, to have the authority to judge the soul, over that of the yamas, the natural-born judges of the spirits and the dead?" Eiki demanded.
"I cannot speak my true superior's name aloud, as it is a name that no normal soul, even the wretched one I shall execute right now, should not learn of. But I can at least tell you through whispers..." The male replied, before then moving beside Eiki.
He then leaned in, and whispered something that Guzman can't even get the faintest hint of, but after hearing it, Eiki's eyes widened to the point they were like saucers, as she turns to him with a expression of awe.
"Wait... You said that your superior is-!?" Eiki was about to finish her sentence, before the mysterious person only nodded in response.
"Indeed. They are the people who govern death in the multiverse. The one who ensure every soul get what they deserve." The person replied. "I'm actually one of the higher-ranked shinigami in their employment, which makes me techinically your right-hand man, if the superiors deem it so for me and you, and one of your partner Komachi Onozuka's higher ranked friends."
"But even so, I do not see what kind of thing you have planned for Guzman." Eiki said. "Nor do I have any hope of you succeeding. Even if you are fairly skilled enough to judge a soul, I do not know how you could punish a soul like his..."
"I have my ways. And do not think that I am the only one who is forced to do jobs like these. The others had to deal with souls like these." The male shinigami answered back with a slight nod. "But I'm afraid that you will most definitely not like what I may do, and so I ask if you could leave the court. I will deal with him, and I am far more capable of doing such things."
"I see..." Eiki said. "Then I will let you decide what is to be done. I have done all I can, and so, I have nothing else I can do to help him."
Eiki then gets up, and leaves through the back door of the court, leaving the shinigami, and Guzman's soul in the room.
The male reaper only turns to face Guzman's soul, with a unamused look on his face.
"Well. I'm impressed you haven't tried to escape, or try to cut in between my words." He said. "So you realise how futile trying to escape it, when you tried to open that door once? Funny, you were just giving off your 'big speech' about being 'free' and all that jazz."
"I don't care! Open the doors, or I'll do something you'll regret!" Guzman roared, as the male shinigami's expression only darkened.
"Or what, Ivan Guzman?" He replied back, with a much more resentful tone in his voice. "You lost your power to change anything when you became a spirit. You may have tried to phase through the door, but I have already accounted for that. So you're not leaving, until I undo that myself. You can't hurt me, but I can wreak hell upon you, so you'll do well to struggle less, lest you suffer my actual temper."
"Hahaha... You're just going to grant me my final death then!?" Guzman said. "I've never thought that a weak-looking brat like you would end me! Go on! Kill me, unless you're afraid to kill me! I'm done with this world, and everything related to it."
The shinigami remained silent, as he walked near Guzman's soul, and grabbed him by his cheeks, as dark-blue energy emanates from his hand, while it was gripping the head as if it was still physical.
"Kill you? You really think that option's on the table, after all you have done, scum?" The shinigami hissed back, with rage evident in his voice, as his grip tightened, causing Guzman a lot of pain. "Oh no, we shinigami aren't done with you yet. You won't die so soon, not until I break you like the pathetic toy of life you are. If you're going to your final death, you're going to it, suffering and crying the entire way begging for mercy."
The shinigami then disappeared in a puff of black smoke, and the walls around the courtroom begin to crumble, leaving only a small portion of the floor with Guzman, still bound by chains on it, and it reveals the purple space that surrounds the courtroom.
Suddenly, three familliar spirits appear in front of him, each being in the shape of his mother Ina, his wife Ilia, and his child Carmen, however unlike when they last appeared, they appeared in ragged clothes, and still bore the wounds and injuries that killed them, with his mother's head bearing a bullet wound that is leaking blood, and burn wounds everywhere around her body, and his wife and Carmen having fatal stab wounds around their bodies, and their eyes are filled with hatred and resentment, and their expressions twisted with hatred and misery.
"Mother! Ilia! Carmen!" Guzman called out with relief.
However, the three spirits did not drop their expressions, and in fact turned to him.
"You're not my son. After all you did, you can't be my son. My son died the day I was burnt down with the house. I NEVER HAD A SON AS MURDEROUS AS YOU!" Ina said in a emotionless and cold tone, before raising her voice with anger.
"Why did I marry you... why did I even bother trying to fix you... Why did I even... love you? You always hated everyone... and I know that you hate me deep down as well..." Ilia said in a low and harsh voice. "Go ahead, use me... just like you did with the other girls, including your previous neighbour... Make me resent myself... Just make me... Just end me... Let Carmen never see your actions ever again..."
"NO! Mother, Ilia! There's a mistake! They did this to you! There's no meaning to life without you two!" Guzman cried out.
"And do you know why that man who killed us did all he did?" Ilia continued in the same tone. "Because you tortured him. Made him spiral down into madness. Eiki told me that this man would be able to become the best political leader in the future, but you ruined his future hopes and dreams. Along with so many more... You did this to me... You made them kill us... It was all you... you... you..."
Guzman couldn't reply to this, as he bowed his head, and was breathing irregularly, filled with so much emotions of regret and sorrow, that it was choking him physically.
"Carmen..." Guzman managed to wheeze out.
"Go away... You're not my daddy. Daddy was always kind to people. You're not Daddy. You made good people go to sleep forever... And you made good people into bad people... You're not Daddy, you're just someone who's in Daddy's body, trying to make him nasty." Carmen said, still bearing her innocent voice, but her gaze is filled with hatred.
Carmen then approaches the tied-down Guzman, before then punching him in the face continuously.
"LEAVE MY DADDY ALONE! DADDY DOESN'T DESERVE THIS! *sob* HE'S MY DAD, AND Y-YOU'RE *sob* YOU'RE JUST A STUPID DEMON WHO'S JEALOUS OF THE HAPPINESS IN THE WORLD!" Carmen shouted, while holding back sobs, and crying.
Guzman was shocked heavily by this, and couldn't raise his fists towards his daughter, both because of the chains binding his entire body, and because he couldn't bring himself to move after what Carmen has said.
Carmen then kneels down and begins to cry in front of Guzman, who let out a solitary tear from his right eye, one that has never appeared from when Carmen and Ilia died.
"Carmen, it's me... It's your dad... I'm really here..." Guzman said, his voice croaking.
Before Carmen could look up, Ilia came over, and held her hand, and walked her away from Guzman.
"Leave that demon that's in your father's buddy alone, sweety. Daddy will be back with us soon enough." Ilia told Carmen with a bit of a smile, while hugging her. "Now... sweety, go outside, while I try to talk to this very, very bad man."
"Okay..." Carmen sniffled, before then walking past Ina, and hugging her legs, whispering "Gramma...", before she let go, and walked away for a while, before she disappeared in a flash of blue light.
"Ilia...why?" Guzman coughed, letting out some blood from the corner of his mouths, from Carmen's outburst.
Ilia then approached him, and gave him a vengeful look, and then slapped him on the cheek hard enough to make him turn his face to the right with a wet slap sound.
"Don't you DARE talk to me, Guzman. I should have put you in jail the day I saw you do all this. I should have never accepted you pathetic sick love. But instead, I chose to be nice and accept your love to make you a normal person. But no, that love was a lie. I never known that the very person who killed us was like this was because of your own doings!" Ilia hissed with pure hatred. "After seeing all that you have done, I no longer have feelings for a murderous coward like you. That fake clone of me? It was all a lie. A monster like you have no reason to get reborn. I rather die than let myself be your puppet under your hands, and I will make sure that Carmen stays away from you."
Ilia then turns to walk away.
"Ilia. Don't do this to me... Ilia... Ilia..." Guzman whimpered, shivering with regret.
She then walks away and disappears in the same flash of blue light.
"ILIA!" Guzman cried out, throttling himself forward, only to watch Ilia go.
Now, the only remaining person that was with Guzman was his mother, and she too, was about to leave.
"Mother. Please don't leave me here... I still love you... I did all this to make them pay for what they did... Nobody was innocent... They all deserve to die... You're the only one who cared for me other than Ilia and Carmen..." Guzman blubbered.
Ina gives him a hateful glare, before saying in a venomous tone. "Then you shouldn't be even alive. My only regret is letting you do as you please in the past, and be born into this world, to only ruin it slowly. And you can throw all that parental love to somewhere else. Because I. HATE. YOU. You're no longer my son, and I disown you as long as existence itself. Goodbye."
Ina then walks away, and then disappears as well, leaving Guzman alone in chains, his face twisted with regret and sorrow, and tears leaking down his eyes.
Suddenly, the space suddenly turns to black, and then the darkness fades to reveal the courtroom once again whole, with the shinigami crossing his arms and glaring at Guzman.
"Now you see how much they hate you, Ivan Guzman." The shinigami said in a more serious tone. "Do you really think that the spirits Eiki summoned were the real ones? Unfortunately for you, it isn't. These are the true spirits, the souls that I have so much preserved. They saw everything you have done, and this is only the tip of the iceberg of the utter despair and betrayal they felt from seeing you."
"SHUT UP! THIS IS ALL FAKE! LET ME DIE ALREADY, YOU STUPID FUCKER!" Guzman roared with fury.
"Deny it all you want, Guzman, but this is the truth about your family." The shinigami spat back, before leaning forward, and then speaking in a more hateful tone. "In this world, you have no bonds to any person at all. You are lucky that you're even still alive without much pain, and no retribution at all. Guzman, for the many innocent lives and futures you have ruined, you should have died screaming much, much earlier. Many gods have already went barking mad and wanted to interfere, to make you die suffering, even Fate herself, who was pissed that you're defying her at every murder you make, for breaking every single future and happy end she creates, to allow people to live their own lives, albeit with slight control. You've denied those people their purpose, all because you believe it will make you whole."
Guzman tried to digest this information, before laughing.
"Good, because the gods can go fuck themselves." He chuckled evilly. "Especially Fate, your goddess. She can go fuck herself, and you can just be the pathetic servant."
The white-clothed male remained silent, before then summoning a large scythe, and slamming the pointed end into Guzman's heart, causing him indescribable pain.
"Fate controls no-one. And look who's talking." The Shinigami growled. "Why should I believe the words of an egotistic and nihilistic shit like you. Yes, Fate did have her hands on controlling parts of the multiverse. However, no matter what she did, everyone she observed had little to no interference from her. What they did, was of their own benefit or consequence. In fact, Fate was the one who coined the term 'karma', from these events. Whenever someone proven to be either a benefit or a threat to the world, they will suffer events as retribution or payment for their deeds. Unfortunately, what infuriated her, is the fact that your creator actually prevented her from creating the karmic events. Nobody walks away scot-free from everything they do. No-one will forgive you for all that you have done, not even the cruelest and sadistic of divine beings will denounce you as unfit to exist any longer."
He then pushed the scythe deeper into Guzman, eliciting more painful screams.
"No, screw that. You're nothing but a man with a suicidal homicide tendency. And all because you cared for 'love'. The 'love' of killing others, and making them suffer, just because you think it'll help make your mother proud, when you're the one who killed her, you selfish shit. You never cared for her a single bit, and thus, should suffer for your filial behaviour. The reason why your daughter died, is because she believed in you, a person who was the very personification of evil itself, and all you had for her is empty love. You never truly cared for her. Nothing could change you, not even the love of a daughter, that you threw away, because you just couldn't change your ways. I truly despise you, Guzman, for all of this and more, because you sacrificed your own daughter just to do more murders. Love is nothing but a word to you, and a word you spit at. It enrages me to the point that I want to tear your soul to shreds, and watch you suffer, as you relive your nightmares again and again until the day existence ends itself with a final bang. I'd place in a world, with a body so weak and crippled, that you would never be able to overpower anyone, and turn the entire world against you, even make them betray you. And Fate will finally find her solace, in torturing you again and again. Only then, will you know the true extent of your actions, as they are committed in turn on you, as you will know only despair and suffering for all of time."
The Shinigami then grit his teeth, before he then pulled the scythe out, before then slamming Guzman with several hook punches.
"YOU HAVE NO IDEA WHAT YOU DID TO THOSE WHO DID NOT DESERVE YOUR MEDDLING! EVERY SINGLE SOUL HAD TO SUFFER, BECAUSE OF YOUR SELFISH ACTIONS. I'LL MAKE YOU SUFFER, IF IT WASN'T FOR ALL YOU HAVE DONE. YOU DARED TO DEFY FATE. YOU DARED TO RUIN THE FUTURES OF OTHERS. AND WORST OF ALL, YOU RUINED ALERA'S LIFE, YOU FUCK! ALL BECAUSE OF YOU, SHE'S REDUCED TO A CRYING WRECK, BECAUSE OF HOW MANY OF HER LOVED SOULS YOU DESTROYED AND ANNIHILATED! YOU DID THIS TO HER! I HATE YOU! HATE YOU HATE YOU HATE YOU HATE YOU HATE YOU HATE YOU HATE YOU HATE YOU HATE YOU!"
The reaper then slumped down, before clutching his face, as hot tears ran down it, as Guzman was barely conscious, from the blows that were dealt to him, looking at his tormentor with confused eyes.
"Alera….?" Guzman barely managed to utter.
The Shinigami only then uses his other hand to wipe his tears off, before taking a deep breath, and glaring back at Guzman.
"What does it matter to you? You're not going to live to know about her either way. You're condemned to destruction." He said with a cold tone. "Even we shinigamis cry at times. Unlike you, we still withhold our humane personalities, only that they are numbed to allow us to commit to our jobs. You're truly the worst of the worst in my books, if you have caused this to me. Either way, she's unable to go back to the cheerful and lovable girl she was, because of you. But that doesn't mean I will not find solace in ending the very person who did this to her. Now, let's see what you want after you heard the truth as it is."
He then swung his scythe at Guzman, breaking the chains on his body, and then uttered some ancient words, and the previously locked door was unlocked with a few clicks.
"What…. Why did you do that!?" Guzman cried out in anguish, as the reaper remained silent.
"Simple. I freed you." He spoke with an stoic tone. "Consider it mercy, because if there was wasn't one thing that was left for you to redeem for, then I'd would have killed you right here and now."
"What is it!? I thought you and the gods despised with to the point of damnation!" Guzman roared.
"And I would have. But you still have your future, as a leader of the people. And I'll give you a chance." The reaper spoke, as he turned to Guzman. "And the fact that I was forced to make this decision. I should've have already killed you the moment I finished showing you what your family really thinks of you. Especially when I literally want to crush you for what you did to Alera. But no, my higher-ups are going to give you a chance, since they don't want to lose a great soul like yours, who could revolutionise the world. Either you reincarnate, with every single of your tendencies and memories erased with no hope of recovery, and live your second chance as someone who will be able to get the happy ending that he deserves, or you can be an ungrateful shit, and head down to the Sanzu River, to then be devoured by the Catfish of Nothingness. Once he devours you, you'll get what you want. You won't just be spiritually dead, but you'll no longer be existing. You'll be free from life and death itself. You're free from everything, with the nothing you so desire. At peace with your goddamn tendencies. Personally, I wish I could throw you into the Sanzu River, and I believe you don't need a second thought for such a choice, but I'll humour you, and watch as you might beg for mercy. So what will it be? Will you change your family's mind of you, by returning to the prestigious person you would have been, or will you die a sick murderer and a traitor to humanity and existence?"
Guzman then stumbles towards the door, in order to exit.
"I rather die than be your slave, kid. How many times do I have to say it!?" Guzman shouted, before then floating through the door.
"Heh. Then I guess its farewell to the great killer Guzman. And good fucking riddance. Being in his very presence is annoying, including the fact that I literally broke convention. 'A Shinigami never regrets or cries.' I just had to remember Alera. But… I do believe I got something in store for her, that'll at least fix her up a bit…."
The reaper, the sole resident of the room, then teleports out, with the snap of a fingers, and a burst of black flames.
A few days after the judging and Kyo's battle.
The white shinigami then arrives where Komachi was, after transporting Guzman's spiritual husk back to his dimension. The red-haired shinigami was sleeping on her boat peacefully, even blowing snot bubbles, with her scythe on her back.
"Hello Komachi Onozuka." The shinigami addressed in a cheerful tone. "It's time for you to return to duties."
Komachi was surprised by this, and jumped into the air a few metres.
"What the!? I wasn't slacking or something, I was just lying on the boat for a..." Komachi was frantically saying, while looking everywhere for the source of the voice, finding the white shinigami. "Oh, it's you, Sho."
"Heh. You should learn to be more active, Komachi. Hell I heard the other you was much better at her job, the one that Richard has once met." Sho smirked. "But still, at least you remembered my name. After all, it's a name that could be confused with the others. And you've never mentioned me to Eiki at all."
"Pfft..." Komachi pouted, while turning her head away with puffed cheeks. "It's not like I'm neglecting my duties or something. I always keep my promises, but too bad you had to reveal yourself, meaning my promise is null and void now. And who do you mean, Richard?"
"Oh, that's something you'll never know, my dear 'underling'." Sho mocked her with a laugh. "He's quite the person. Hell, I do see some likable qualities from him.
"So how DID you deal with Guzman by the way?" Komachi asked in a hurried tone. "Did you kill him, and made him suffer?"
"Better." Sho smiled evilly. "I'm afraid dear Guzman doesn't know that he never had a choice in the beginning. You think that I'm going to let him die, just because he wants to? Then I'll just deny him his wish, and turn the world against him, in the most antagonistic way it could be for him. He's going to beg for death and mercy, only to find neither."
Komachi and Sho laughed together, as Komachi wipes away one of her tears of laughter.
"Well, that's better than I wanted." Komachi replied. "Still, I'm glad that despite the very few times we meet, you've proven to be just as good as me."
"Oh trust me, I've seen you in better states." Sho answered back. "In fact, I vividly remember the time some soul met the full brunt of your serious side. No wonder you're the only shinigami ever needed, and why Eiki never wanted more shinigamis to ferry souls across, no matter how evil or twisted they are. You were not to be underestimated."
Sho then turned serious.
"But make no mistake, Eiki is too lenient, and that is no joke, Komachi." Sho said. back to his serious tone. "Eiki always tries to make people see the errors of their ways. Even Hell grants all sinners a chance to cleanse their sins, But I? I, however, deal with the ones who refuse to admit to their sins, like Guzman. Denial is the weakness that Eiki has. Once she is denied as the one true judge of souls, she loses all power over them. Eiki uses the more benevolent copies of the spirits related to them. I however, give them, the cold hard truth, said from the REAL spirits. That is what crushes their sick and pathetic hope and show them the one truth they can never deny, no matter how their mouths run about it. She's just simply too soft, even though she and I are both controlled by emotions, except that I am controlled to a lesser degree. I have no such term as 'leniency', only a twisted version of 'mercy'. And Guzman definitely doesn't deserve even that."
"..." Komachi sighed.
"Anyway..." Sho said, once again cheerful. "I gotta go now. Can't be staying too long here, when I go plenty of souls to deal with across the many universes.
"Yep." Komachi responded.
"Well then, bye bye!" Sho replied
Sho then teleports out of the area in a flash of black flames, leaving Komachi alone at the edge of the Sanzu river, before she yawned, and then laid down to take another nap.
A/N: Quite the cliffhanger, and twist there, right? I really hated the ending where Guzman gets what he wants, so I altered it to make him get what he deserves. Apologies to Willie.G.R if he find this offensive, this is just my take on a better ending for this, and after all, it's non-canon and just a idea in my mind. Either way, Sho is also planned to be in the flagship story in the future, so i.e, you just got a chance to glimpse at a character planned in the future.