AN: If you are reading this that means I am now free, it still feels like a dream to me… now all that's left is for me to wait for my results which will determine whether I get into my choice of uni or not. So basically, it's quite nerve shattering for me… I think I'm gonna cry. Ah, screw that. Anyway I'm sorry for the lateness but you know this and that and such so I got delayed, sorry? Well, I read the reviews from my last chapter and noticed many of you referred to an anime called Yu Yu Hakusho, since I didn't know what it was I typed it into the search engine and checked it out. To my surprise I had actually seen this anime before when it was first released, which was about 1995-1996? In HK I only seen up to the episode where the hero, who I don't know the name and his friends went to rescue the snow maiden, I think it was the snow maiden. Well, as I was saying that was the last episode I saw about 8 years ago and I never did finish watching the series, but maybe I should from what I remembered it was quite good the reason that I didn't finish the series was because I moved to the UK and back then and even now there wasn't many anime available, if any. Now this fic was born a few months ago when images of the anime suddenly appeared in my head so I decided to put Keitaro in this situation, I don't know why though… so in a way this fic does have elements from Yu Yu Hakusho but it will NOT be a crossover, as I don't know/remember much but I will take some elements from it, just a bit so there. I'm so sorry to have bothered you all with all this talk but I just wanted to clarify everything to you all, you deserve that much. So without further ado, I give you chapter two. Anything in () means thoughts and I do apologise for the poor grammar, it can't be helped but we all have our flaws. Start-o!
Disclaimer: I don't owe love hina.
Chapter two: Welcome to the afterlife, oh! And watch that first step
To die will be an awfully big adventure.
J.M. Barrie 1860-1937: Peter Pan (1928)
"Urghhh." Keitaro moaned beginning to wake from his slumber. "Where am I?" He got up from the futon and rubbed his eyes. "I had the strangest dream, urgh." He shook his head. "I thought I was dead and…"
"Morning, Keitaro! Would you like your eggs scrambled or sunny side up for breakfast?" A voice called out from the door.
" Scrambled, if you don't mind. Like I said, weird…dream!?" He franticly turned to the direction of the door. "Yuki-san!?"
"Yeah? And it's Yuki-chan if you want."
"If you're here, that means I'm really, really…"
"Dead." She answered and put some salt on the eggs. "Could you just wait a bit in the main room, it won't be long."
"…sure…" He replied blankly and walked out of the kitchen banging into the doorframe before he stumbled out. Now safely seated Keitaro began to think through his current situation (" Right, I'm dead…I'm dead…I'm dead…yes! I know I'm dead, now what?") He ruffled his hair in frustration ("Argh! Nothing seems to make sense!") He banged his head against the table but soon stopped. (" This is hopeless…") He turned to the window. "Some light would be good." He walked up to the windows and pulled open the curtains, what lied before him amazed and shocked him. In front of him was a large city of neon light signs and heavy traffic, pushing the window the open he stepped on to the balcony and stared below him to the bustling streets below. "Where am I?"
"You're in my apartment on the 31st floor of the northern apartments, in the spirit world." Yuki appeared from behind and laid down two plates on the table and one on the floor for Seeker. "Come on, eat, you just died you need to replenish your spirit energy." Giving one last glance at the city he sat down by her. "You seem confused." She noted he wasn't touching his food. "Don't worry, you'll get over the shock of being dead." She placed some food in her mouth.
"…it's all over." He began to shudder
"Listen." She placed her fork down and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Death is not the end but merely the beginning." He stared at her with teary eyes. "Don't worry, your death was a mistake and I'm sure boss will do everything in her power to bring you back to life." She said in a determined voice. "Now, seriously you must eat."
"Alright." He wiped his eyes dry and began eating but stopped. "Hey, where are my glasses?"
"You don't need them since you're a spirit now, short sightness was a flaw of your living body not soul."
"Makes sense but since I'm dead why do I need to eat?"
"Well, it's like this." She cleared her throat and thought for a minute. "Do you know what a soul is?" she asked.
"Erm… it's a thing that lives in the body?" he answered weakly.
"Hmm, that's half right. A soul is actually a form of pure energy existing in the living world through habiting a vessel." She read from a book labelled 'Spirit World Definitions' that appeared out of nowhere. "You see, when a bodiless soul exists in the living world it's energy will slowly be drained, although they won't die again they will however fade and it is the job of a grim reaper to lead the souls to the spirit world before that happens… of course," She leans back a bit "There are some exceptions like stray ghosts that linger in the living world and somehow stay there through one way or another and refuse to come here."
"What does that have to do with eating?" He suddenly chimed in.
"I'm getting to that!" She swatted past him with the thick book. "I'm sure you heard of Ki, Chi and other types of life energy right? They all have their subtle differences but are nearly the same, however for connivance sake let's group it all together and call it Spirit Energy [SE]." He slowly nods. "The soul is made of SE and being in the living world drains it but with a body the process is dramatically reduced."
"Is that how people die? When their SE is reduced?"
"Kind of, there are two ways a person can die. One, when a person's SE reaches a low level such that they cannot possibly stay in the living world anymore, this is usually when a person is old or ill. Two, when the body is badly damaged, usually accidents like you. The purpose of dying is so the soul can recharge itself in the afterlife, which includes hell, heaven and spirit world/purgatory/limbo depending on what you did in life. Now we come to your question, although in the spirit world SE reduction is almost negligible it does still happen through injuries and exhaustion." She sipped some tea "What we're eating now isn't really eggs it's more like a substitute that looks and tastes like the real thing but it does what it's suppose to do and that is to recharge your SE. You get it now?"
"I think so…" He scratched his head.
"Don't worry, it took me a while to get it as well." She finished her breakfast and pushed a button on a remote turning the TV on.
"It's just like the living world." Keitaro commented.
"Good morning, and welcome to Spirit World News Network. It is now 8:00am Spirit World Hour and we now bring you the morning news." A small piece of music played after the newsman finished his announcement what followed was a series of what a person would typically expect from news. "That was a waste of my time. You done?"
"Yes." Keitaro set aside his fork.
"Good." Yuki got up and started cleaning the table "I need to take you to see the boss. By the way you mind if I just call you Kei? It sounds better." She smiles seeing him blush.
#-#-#
-Half hour later on the streets-
"Watch out Kei!" Yuki pulled on Keitaro's arm jerking him backwards avoiding the car.
"Watch it jackass!" The driver shouted from his window.
"You watch it! You're speeding!" Yuki shouted at the fading car. "The nerve of him! And you Kei, watch where you're going!"
"Sorry, it's just that… all of this is so… wow." He gestured to the skyscrapers surrounding them. "This is like New York or something…" He continued to stare.
"You'll get used to it, now stop loitering and lets go!" She yanked on his arm.
"Where are we going?"
"To the Spirit World Head Quarters."
"Where's that?"
"That!" Yuki pointed.
"!" Keitaro looked at where Yuki pointed and saw a large white building at the end of the long street, if the other buildings seemed impressive then the SWHQ was simply incredible. "…"
"Quite a site isn't it? The SWHQ is where souls are gathered there and sentenced, not only that it also monitors the activities of souls in the living world and centre of law processing in the afterlife." Yuki walked you to the large towering front gate and showed the armed guard at the bottom a card. Nodding at Yuki the guard signalled to his colleague at the top of the guard tower and the giant steel gates opened with a mechanical churning noise. "Thanks. Kei! Come on!" She waved to him.
"Yeah." He ran up to her. Once past the gate Keitaro got a full view of the HQ, the 3 large white buildings were built like fortresses towering above him as far as his eyes can see. Standing in front of the middle building he looked around him and noticed many people around chattering and laughing. "Why are there 3 buildings?"
"Reincarnation centre." She pointed to the building on there left. "The place where souls from Heaven, Hell and here are sent to be reborn. Judgement." She pointed the building on the right "Where souls from the living world are brought and sentenced. And finally, the nerve centre of the Spirit World [Man-naka /centre]" She pointed to the building in front of them where everything is handled data, laws you name it."
"It's so orderly."
"What do you expect? Every soul passes through here, if we don't keep it up it'll go all chaotic." She led him to the escalators. "We're going to the first platform and then the evaluator to the top floor to see the boss."
"How high is this escalator?"
"Don't know, why?"
"Nothing…" He replied grimly and looked over the railing and noticed they were considerably high up.
#-#-#
"Fran, where are those two?" Yumiko spoke into the intercom on her desk. " They're here now? What were they doing? Just get them in here!" she turned the intercom off and a few moments later Yuki supporting a pale faced Keitaro walked through the doors.
"What happened to him?" Yumiko pointed to Keitaro.
"He looked over the railing and kind of threw up but luckily he didn't hit anyone."
"Sighs…Let's put that aside, I called the two of you because I need to explain to you the current situation. Take a seat." The two sat down in front of the large desk. "Keitaro, I've spoken to both God and Satan and said that they're OK with resurrecting you but in order to do so we need to change a lot of things in the living world and before that we might need to change you fate and repair your body, all of this will take time."
"So boss, how long will it be?"
"I really don't know but it'll be within half a year." She noted the two's stunned expression. "I'm sorry but that's the best I can do."
"No that's OK." Keitaro recomposed himself. "I should really thank you instead."
"Don't worry, it's my job to correct these mistakes though they are rare but when they happen something big always follows."
"Oh, but where will I stay?" Keitaro frowned at this.
"Hmm… we don't have many vacancies due to the resent increase in souls staying in the spirit world and you don't have clearance to go to Heaven and I seriously doubt you'd like to go to Hell, do you?" She laughed as he shook his head profusely. "Ha ha, I thought so. So that only leaves one option." She turns to Yuki "Would you mind putting him up?"
"Mmm…I'm not sure a guy and a gal."
"You could use a room mate."
"Can you cook and clean?" She asked Keitaro.
"Yes."
"Good. Then you can stay, I can't really cook nor clean anyway." She shrugged.
("That would explain the eggs this morning.") He clutched his stomach.
"Good, that's settled." She opened a draw and took out a thick pile of papers. " Now, Keitaro I expect you to help Yuki during your stay here in the spirit world, as in you will be her assistant doing this and that until your resurrection."
"Cool, I get a flunky to boss around!" Her excitement died as Yumiko stared at her.
"He's not a toy. I've already signed all the papers and all I need is your signature here." She rubbed her wrist and pointed to a line at the bottom of the front page of the pile.
"Here?" She nods.
"Now in your current state if you were to go out there you probably won't be able to handle some of the more 'ghastly' spirits." She shares a knowing look with Yuki. "So, you'll need a 'SE enhancement' operation."
"Operation?"
"Yuki, take him to Reincarnation centre and get it done but first tell data handling on the mid floor."
"Ok Boss, come on Kei." She held him by his collar and dragged him out to the elevator.
"Wait! What operation?" He screamed.
"Don't worry it's a little operation for everyone that goes out to the living world constantly, it helps to increase your SE so you're more resilient to draining effects of the living world… and among other things." She whispered the last bit.
"What?"
"Nothing! Oh! Here we are!" They stepped out into a large electronic room.
"Is this one room!?"
"This room makes up the entire floor. This floor and others above it act as data handling processing the data of the living world and storing the data of everyone in human history their lives, memories and experiences."
"?"
"Sighs… to accurately record history and develop technology, the R & D get the data here and develop… things." They reach a lone desk in the middle of the room where a white haired man is furiously typing at a terminal.
"Hey, Ed. Listen I'm here to pick up the slip, boss should've sent it down by now."
"Over there." Ed indicated with a flick of his head to the side of the desk.
"Thanks, don't work too hard." He chuckles a bit but never stops working. "Great guy but bit of a workaholic."
"A bit?" Keitaro looks back at him.
"Hard to believe he's been doing that since the beginning of human history." She smiled pushing G on the elevator panel.
"How long!?" The doors close on him.
#-#-#
-At the reincarnation centre-
"So this is today's guinea pig." A woman dressed in a black and white nurse outfit prodded.
"Yep." Though obscured in the shadows one can see Yuki nodding her head.
"What is this!?" Keitaro screamed from where he laid strapped half naked to a metallic table in a dark room and the only light source being the lamp shone over him.
"Please, you must relax." The nurse pressed him down. "We don't want any accidents." She told him in an eerily calm tone her expression never changing.
"Kisaragi-san, make it so."
"Yes, let's begin." She pulled on her gloves and snapped her fingers making a terminal elevate from the floor next to where she is standing. "Are you ready, Keitaro-san?"
"No!!" He protested and struggled against the restraints.
"I will take that as a yes." She pushed down on a big red button and a massive machine shaped like a cannon descended upon Keitaro.
"Ah ah ah ah ahh…." He tried to scream but passed out.
"Funny how that always work." Yuki giggled.
"I remember it like yesterday when you where in his position and you passed out as well." Kisaragi pushed the button again and the machine retracted back into the ceiling.
"Heh heh." She laughed sheepishly. "But is that thing really necessary? Couldn't you use some sedatives instead?"
"It's more cost effective this way. Are you going to stay or come back later?" She asked in her monotone voice.
"I'll stay, just in case you blow him up or something." She narrowed her eyes at her.
"Spoil sport."
#-#-#
"Ah… my head, it hurts…" For the second time today Keitaro woke up confused but this time he has a headache to go with it.
"You just went through a enhancement operation there are some side effects." A familiar voice spoke to him.
"Yuki-chan, all of this is so unbelievable." He shook his head
"Take this." She handed him some capsules. "It'll stop the headache."
"Where are we now?" He swallowed the capsules. Shuddering at the sudden breeze he looked around. "Are we on a building?"
"Yes." She walked up to the edge of the roof her staff in hand. "Come see, you'll like the view."
"It's Hinata!" His eyes went wide with reorganisation. "Hey! There's my prep school!" He pointed.
"We're on top of the Hinata department store." She got out her black book and flicked through the pages.
"Why are we here?"
"What else?" He looked at her then at the book. "To harvest souls."
#-#-#
"So how do we do this? Do we just go up to someone and take their soul?" Keitaro asked the two now seated on a bench next to the road.
"We can't do that as it's considered murder, we wait." She leaned back and stretched her neck.
"Just wait?"
"Yup." Sitting patiently Keitaro watches the people pass by one by one busy with their own lives. "As spirits normal people can't see us."
"Huh?"
"Isn't that what you're thinking?"
"No. I was thinking why does everyone have some sort of…" He tried to make a gesture with his hands.
"An aura of colour around them?" She finished for him.
"That's right! So you can see them too?"
"All spirits can see the auras of the living." She bent down to ruffle Seeker's fur.
"What is it?" He looked at another person passing by.
"It's the result of a soul inhibiting a body, a SE aura is given off indicating that the person is alive and it tells us how they're feeling. The dead do not give off auras, that's why you didn't see anyone in the spirit world have one."
"Woof!" Seeker barked at a person opposite the street.
"Here's our target." Yuki pointed to the man Seeker barked at. "Kei, do you notice anything strange about his aura?"
"It's black." He simply answered.
"Exactly. A black aura represents that the person is about to die through an accident, it's black because the soul can sense the impending threat." The man walks under a building that was currently under construction. "And I think there's our accident." She looks up and seems a crane lifting several steel girders, just then a strong breeze blew by and due to the sudden movement a single girder fell out of place and headed straight for the unknowing man below.
"That's gotta hurt!" Keitaro turned away as the girder made contact and a sickening splat was heard.
"He doesn't feel a thing, he's dead. Let's get to work." She dusted her kimono and proceeded to the small crowd that has gathered around the accident. Harmlessly passing through the crowd, literally passing through them the two stands next to the dead body.
"I feel ill." Keitaro clutched his stomach.
"You get ill very often, don't you? Trust me, it does get better." Bending down she grabbed the body's hand and pulls on it pulling the body's soul out as well. "There you go. Suzuki-san, correct?" The confused soul nods. "I'm sorry to tell you this but you're dead." Not taking the news well the soul begins to cry and moans about not having done this and that. "There, there it isn't the end. My assistant and I are going to deliver you to the other side where you can get some rest and do whatever, OK?" The soul nods and wipes some tears away. "Now can you please sign here." She pointed to a line in her book. "Thank you." With a snap of her fingers a little spark of light appears in front of them, without warning the little spark expands to form a gateway of light. "Now, if you can just step through this gateway and you'd be on your way." Without a word Yuki shoves the soul in and the gateway disappears.
"Is that it? That's how you do it?" She nods "Wow, no wonder everyone says they see a tunnel of light." He smiles.
"We still got a few more to do before our shift is over." She looked over her book. "And they're on the other side of town, faulty brakes on a car." She noticed his stare and answered him. "You know this area well, what's the fastest way?"
"The tram."
"Cool, let's go."
#-#-#
-5 hours later Hinata Park-
"What do you think of your first day as assistant Grim Reaper?" Yuki asked soaking her feet in the lake.
"Tiring." Keitaro sprawled on the grassy floor next to her. She giggles a bit.
"Next time I'll let you do it. It's late we should get going…" The sound of a ring tone goes off in her sleeve. "Hello? Uh huh, my shift is over now. What? A hungry ghost? I'll be there."
"Are you alright? 'Cause you look worried."
"Oh, nothing. Seeker, take Kei home Boss wants me to deal with something."
"Woof." Seeker nods and bites Keitaro's pants pulling him in the direction out of the park.
"Hey! Watch it." He complained as the small but powerful dog dragged him along.
"I'll be back home but don't wait up." She waved goodbye to the disappearing two. "Right." Reaching into her kimono Yuki pulled out a Beretta M1934, taking out the magazine clip she examined if there were any bullets left satisfied she pushed it back in place. "Time to get going." Saddling her staff she flew into the night sky.
End of chapter 2
AN: Another explanatory chapter but I promise you all the story will pick off soon so please bear with me for now, it'll be quite a read. Speaking of read have any of you read Magister Negi Magi yet? It's so good, I've already read the first 5 volumes and wow! Anyway whilst I was reading it and I want a confirmation, did it mention that Setsuna [I hope I got her name right] is a member of the shinmei ryu? As in the one Motoko is in? And when she mentioned her sensei's were they the Aoyama sisters? Do any of you think that this suggests the story takes place in the same dimension as Love Hina? I mean I can imagine one of the Love Hina characters suddenly dropping in the story. Well, See Ya!
