Title: To Connect To Spirits||Chapter: The Day The World Changed
Chapters: 1-4||Words: 5,009||Total: 5,009
Characters: Yubel, Juudai, Juudai's parents, others||Ship: pre Yubel x Juudai
Genre: Adventure, Drama||Rated: G
Notes: This is a non-dueling AU but monsters will appear and Juudai is still the Herald of Gentle Darkness.
Summary: On Juudai's seventh birthday, the world changes forever. First and foremost, he meets Yubel. Then he goes to the zoo with his parents. Then someone tries to kill him. It won't be the last time.


The first time Juudai saw Yubel, it was his seventh birthday. Almost as soon as he opened his eyes, he spied a flicker of a shadow in one corner of his room and tried to get a better look. At first he wasn't sure what it was, then as he kept on staring, the sight became clearer.

Most people his age who saw a tall winged creature that looked like a demon of some kind would have screamed in terror. Juudai wasn't scared at all. If anyone had asked, he would have simply said that he knew he had nothing to fear. He'd never been afraid of the dark anyway – he liked it. The dark was home.

He did rub his eyes a little, and checked again to make sure that what he saw was there. Yes, the creature hadn't left or disappeared. He held out one hand.

"Hi!" He chirped as brightly as he could. "I'm Juudai! Who are you?"

A soft laugh came from the stranger, who moved closer. Juudai's eyes traced the flow of their broad wings and the gleam of their three eyes. He wished he had three eyes – these were so cool! He wondered what they used the extra one for.

"Do you remember me, Juudai?" There was a faint echo to the voice that struck at parts of his mind Juudai hadn't even been aware of before. It was like a memory but not quite. He scrunched up his face and tried to think a little harder. But slowly he shook his head.

"Should I? Do we know each other?"

"We did once. But it's been a very long time. I'm not surprised you don't know." Pale lips twitched up into a smile. "I'm sure you will one day, though. But until then – my name is Yubel."

The name slotted itself into Juudai's mind as if there had been a place waiting for it all along. He smiled brilliantly and watched as Yubel rested one claw-like hand on his own. He could feel it, but it was faint – almost as if they weren't really there. But they weren't a ghost. He couldn't see through them.

"Happy birthday, Juudai," Yubel murmured. "I will stay with you as long as you wish me to."

Juudai grinned brilliantly at that. "Really? Promise?"

"Of course. I would never leave you," Yubel promised. "You might not always see me, but I'm always with you."

He fidgeted a little there, eyes flicking downward. "People don't like to stay around me, though." He rubbed the back of his neck. He might not have noticed, if it hadn't happened so often, and if he didn't know why it happened in the first place. "I-I see things. I see spirits. Ghosts. All the time. It scares other kids. Their parents don't like them to be around me."

Yubel's fingers now brushed through his hair. "But I am a spirit, Juudai. It doesn't bother me that you see them. I'm glad you can." For a moment Juudai thought that they might say something else, but Yubel shook their head and regarded him with a fond glimmer. "Do you intend to stay in bed all day on your birthday?"

Juudai squeaked; his parents had promised him a birthday cake and a trip to the zoo today! They'd even managed to get today off from their respective jobs, and he knew that didn't happen often. He scrambled out of bed and hurried to get cleaned up and dressed, practically bouncing out of his skin already.


Yubel watched as Juudai spun around the room, digging under his bed to find his shoes and sorting through his closet for clothes, knocking half of them down in the process. Some things would never change, no matter how many eons passed.

Just as they'd told him, they weren't surprised that he didn't remember. Juudai's last life had been a long time ago, and he usually didn't get his memories back until he was grown up anyway. They considered it a stroke of luck to have found him so early. Sometimes – sometimes they hadn't found him at all and it led to horrors that Yubel never wanted to see again, and had too many times to count.

Not this time, they promised Juudai, though Yubel knew very well he wouldn't hear the words. I will always protect you, my Juudai.

What he'd said about seeing spirits did interest them as well. Given who and what he was, most spirits would have shied away from coming too near him, unless they truly meant no harm. Yubel cast a quick glance around to remained assured that no others were in the area. So far, all seemed well.

But they would keep a very sharp watch for anyone who might make an attempt to harm Juudai, and ensure they learned the folly of doing so.


Juudai hurried out of his room and right to where his parents were having breakfast. He glanced over his shoulder to where Yubel followed, and grinned before he looked back at his parents.

"Mom, Dad, I want you to meet Yubel!" He gestured to where Yubel stood, arms crossed over their chest, all three eyes directed at the two adults. His parents exchanged looks, then looked at where he pointed.

"Hello, Yubel," Mom said, her voice a little shaky. "We're always glad to meet Juudai's friends."

Dad nodded, then indicated Juudai's breakfast. "Once you've eaten, we're going to the zoo. Does – Yubel need anything?"

Juudai tilted his head for a second, then looked at Yubel. "I don't know. Do you need to eat?" He'd never spoken to any other spirits he'd seen to know if they needed that or not. But Yubel wasn't any old spirit. They were more of a person than a lot of the people he knew.

Yubel made a small, amused noise. "No. Food isn't a requirement for me. Enjoy your breakfast, Juudai."

"Okay!" Juudai settled into his chair and started eating at once. He paid no attention to the way his parents looked at him, then again at where Yubel stood, nor to the way they spoke to each other.


Yuuki Masami stared firmly at the empty place where her son insisted that someone was, and finally shook her head. "There's nothing there," she murmured to her husband. "Are you seeing anything?"

Yuuki Shinobu regarded that place as well, until he came to the same conclusion. "Imaginary friend?" He suggested. Juudai would be neither the first nor the last child in the world to have one of those. Masami nodded slightly. It would probably pass in a few weeks or so.

Maybe if we could get him more real friends… She didn't understand why the other families kept avoiding her son. Juudai had an active imagination and this wasn't the first time by any means he'd insisted that he'd seen something where there wasn't anything. It was, however, the first time that he'd more or less brought them into the kitchen and introduced the product of his imagination to his parents.

She nibbled a little more on her own breakfast, putting it to the back of her mind as best she could. As much as she didn't want to worry about it, she did worry about the results of Juudai not having anyone of his own age to talk to. Six other families around here had children that normally would have hung out and played together. None of them would talk to Juudai anymore.

As far as she knew, he'd never done anything worse than tell a couple of the others that there was a ghost in the area. She would have thought that children that young would believe it for the game it was – had to be. Only they never did. Only within days of that pronouncement, they started to avoid Juudai, and refused to come anywhere near him, and she could see how it hurt him that his little pretend games made people upset.

Yet he never stopped. He seemed to think people would be thrilled to know there was a ghost in the area. Sometimes he even had long conversations with them, along with waiting different amounts of time in between talking, as if waiting for an answer.

If it was a game, it was one she'd never known could be so well thought out by someone of his age. Masami didn't think she'd ever done anything like that at that age herself.

Though she vaguely recalled that she'd thought she'd seen things when she was young. Her parents explained to her that it was nothing but her imagination, and she'd eventually started to channel that into her writing. Perhaps Juudai would do the same thing one day.

She liked that thought; that he would one day be a famous author in his own right. What more could a mother want for her children, than to be successful in whatever it was they did?


Yubel wasn't one inclined often to laughter but the spectacle of Juudai trying to invite them to breakfast and introduce them to his parents came closer to doing so than much had in a very long time. They knew very well that those who could see spirits were few and far between, and while the gift had been known to run in families, Yubel doubted it ran in this one.

His mother, though… While there hadn't been recognization or sight there, there had been a hint of something. Yubel decided to keep an eye on her for the time being.


Juudai finished breakfast as quickly as he could without actually choking his food down. Yubel wandered around the dining area, but he didn't doubt for a moment that they kept at least some attention on him. That was what Yubel did, a deep part of his soul told him. He liked that.

"Are you ready?" His dad asked, and Juudai jumped to his feet at once.

"Ready!" His attention darted over to Yubel. "Have you ever been to a zoo before, Yubel?"

"Not recently. But I have in the past, very long ago." Yubel told him. Juudai nodded; that meant this was something fresh and new he could show to them!

Soon enough they were on the way to the nearest train station. Juudai chattered to his parents and Yubel as they went along, pointing out anything that caught his attention as he did. Yubel floated along quietly, offering occasional words. Juudai noticed quickly that his parents said nothing to Yubel, and wasn't surprised.

I bet they can't see her. It was just like every other time. No matter how clearly the spirits showed themselves to him, no one else could see them.

He kept back the sigh he wanted to sigh at that. He wondered if anyone else anywhere could ever see what he did. Sometimes he wondered if he really saw them at all. If it hadn't been for Yubel, he really would have decided it was all in his head and stopped talking about it. But this was Yubel. Yubel was real. He could feel Yubel's hand on him. What else did he need?

They settled onto the train and Juudai looked around curiously, about to look at Yubel and say something when a tiny flicker caught his attention. He frowned in that direction, then turned quickly to Yubel.

"Do you see that?" Now that he had someone like Yubel around, this might get easier!

Yubel glanced in that direction and their lips thinned for a moment. Then they headed over to what he'd seen, where another spirit tucked itself close to a person sitting down, clawed fingers sliding into their pocket.

"What do you think you're doing?" Yubel asked, voice quiet and firm. The creature – it sort of looked like a more humanoid rat – flinched back at their voice.

"Nothing! Nothing at all!" Their eyes stuttered between Yubel and the person they'd were next to. "I'm not doing anything! Really!"

"Do you expect me to believe that, Burglar?" Yubel tilted their head back. "I've heard rumors about someone who has been robbing humans, but the humans can't find any evidence of who it might be. Would that be you?"

Burglar squeaked out a word that Juudai wasn't sure about the meaning of, but it sounded like something that his parents would have told him off for saying. He did put it in the back of his mind, though. Maybe he could use it some day in the future.

Yubel shook their head. "What you do is your concern, as long as it doesn't bother me or my Juudai. Keep out of our sight."

Burglar jerked away. "I will! I will, Yubel-sama! I'm sorry!" In between one breath and the next he vanished, and the person he'd been up against breathed a little easier, even without knowing there'd been someone there.

At least Juudai thought they hadn't seen anyone there. Sometimes he couldn't be sure.

Yubel came back over, and Juudai tilted his head. "How did you scare him like that? He had that really big claw. He could've hurt you!"

That got a chuckle from Yubel as they settled near him again. "No. I cannot be harmed at all, Juudai. It is a part of my power. Anyone who attempts to harm me will find it only reflects back onto them."

"Ooooh." Juudai hadn't heard anything that cool in his entire life! Granted, seven years wasn't a lot of life, but it still ranked up there. "Do all the spirits around here know you?"

"Every spirit knows me – and they know you. I can't tell you why right now, though. You'll learn it eventually."

Juudai didn't bother trying to stop himself from pouting. Just like a bigger person not to tell him something he wanted to know! He wasn't sure if Yubel counted as an adult or not but the ones that were older than he was always did that.

Their hand moved over his head gently. "I promise you, Juudai. One day you'll have all the answers. But right now is just not the time. Today is your birthday and you are going to the zoo. That's what you need to know."

Juudai wasn't going to argue about that! Real live animals that he could see and everyone else around him could see and had come there for the express purpose of seeing were a lot more interesting than spirits that only he could see. Maybe he'd be old enough to know what Yubel meant next week. He'd be older then, after all.


Juudai bounced on ahead of his parents, eyes darting here and there, trying to take it all in at once. He didn't bother looking at the maps his parents were pouring over or looking at any of the signs pointing in the various directions. He wanted to see everything and anything and he didn't really care what came first.

"Yubel!" Juudai chirped, waving them down one pathway. "Let's go down here!"

Yubel regarded the signs; Juudai guessed they knew how to read. He was still learning, but a lot of the characters were difficult and he couldn't always match them up. His mom had told him frequently that he would get better at it with time. But for now, he relied on some of the pictures.

"Elephants?" Yubel asked. "You want to see elephants?"

"We're going to start with them," Juudai told them. "There's a lot more after that! Have you ever seen an elephant?" He wondered how much Yubel knew. He would have to figure that out.

"More than once. Though I'm not certain if they're like the ones here." Yubel came over and Juudai slipped his hand into theirs. He glanced over to his parents, who were following along, and staring a trifle. He wasn't sure what bothered them, but he carried on cheerfully.


Juudai stayed in their sight as they wandered the park, chattering happily to his invisible friend. The longer they followed, the more Masami became just a bit convinced that whether or not there really was someone there, Juudai certainly believed and acted as if there were.

The zoo was one of the largest in the area, and there were plenty of various types of animals for the observing. The weather was good; the skies were a deep shade of blue and there wasn't a hint of a cloud anywhere one looked. It wasn't too hot at all, and a light breeze puffed up now and then.

Shinobu sipped at a drink he'd picked up from a vending machine, watching Juudai as he did. "He's really into this," he murmured. "I would almost believe there's someone there."

"I was thinking the same thing," Masami agreed. "It can't be but he acts it so well. Not just someone there – someone he trusts."

"As if it were someone he'd known for a long time," Shinobu agreed. He watched as Juudai leaned closer to another one of the animals, which sniffed back at him curiously. "How worried do you think we should be?"

Masami didn't answer right away. She'd always enjoyed a good visit to the zoo and seeing Juudai's pleasure just made it even better for her. Finally, she sighed. "I don't think very much. If there is someone there, we can't do a lot about it. If there isn't, he'll grow out of it eventually. He's seven."

Shinobu nodded. He'd told her before that he'd had his own imaginary friend when he was young. Kids would forever be kids.


There wasn't any way that they could see the whole zoo even in a single day. Juudai started getting hungry about partway through their exploration, and his parents guided him to one of the snack stands.

Now with his own drink and a small snack, Juudai settled down at one of the tables and babbled between his parents and Yubel, all about how he'd enjoyed seeing everything so far and what else he wanted to see before they had to go home.

"I want to see lions!"

That was just the latest of the list Juudai declared. No one ever knew if it had anything to do with what happened next. There really wasn't any way to find out. But within three heartbeats of Juudai having said that, a deep, terrifying bestial roar erupted from the heart of the zoo.

There wasn't any doubt that everyone else heard it. Heads came from from young and old alike, and those who could began to hurry away, worried that one of the lions had somehow escaped.

Masami and Shinobu both turned towards Juudai, and Shinobu drawing breath to tell Juudai they needed to go before whatever happened started to happen to them. Before he could utter a word, another roar echoed, far louder and more intense than the one before it, and from above them there came a creature that landed right in front of Juudai.

If it stood up, it would have been at least twice Shinobu's own height, and he wasn't short at all. Every bit of it was composed of pure muscle covered by fur, along with sharp teeth and sharper claws that gleamed in the sunlight.

"What is that -" Masami murmured, starting to take a step towards her son as she did. The creature whirled towards her, moving so it remained in between them and Juudai. The snarl that fell from between those lips formed into words.

"Stay away from my prey, human!" Then it turned back to Juudai, tail lashing furiously. "I will enjoy shredding you!"

Juudai stared up at the creature, eyes round and startled. "I-I didn't want to see a lion like this…"

"I am Usama, Super War-Lion!" The creature roared, tail lashing as it struck at Juudai. He fell back quickly, just staying on his feet by dint of good luck, and scrambled away, wanting to get over to his parents. He wasn't sure where Yubel was, but he didn't want anyone to be hurt. "And I will be the one to bring back your head to my master!"

Juudai wasn't even close to wanting to know who that was. He wasn't even sure if it made sense.

"What makes you think that I would allow this?" Yubel now stood behind Usama, arms crossed, wings spread wide, all three eyes focused on the lion-person. "Juudai is protected by me."

Usama's tail lashed fiercely back and forth, claws flexing. "Do you think that you can stop me, guardian? He is but a child – scarcely worth protecting. You can find him again, when this world is more to our liking."

"I know I can stop you, because it's what I do." Yubel pointed out. "Whom do you serve, and what purpose do you have in this world?"

The only answer received was a fierce roar and Usama launched themselves forward, claws outstretched, reaching for Juudai. Yubel didn't make a move, but before the creature's attack could connect, Usama fell backwards, claw-marks appearing on his own chest. He stood back up, shaking his head, and glared harder.

"The barriers are being destroyed as we speak," Usama declared, voice growling and harsh. "There are those on both sides that would have the world be as it should be. There is nothing that can be done to stop this – even if the Gentle Darkness were at full strength!"

Yubel barely twitched an eyebrow. "And that excuses you trying to bring harm to Juudai? Did you expect me to believe that." One hand rested on Juudai's shoulder now. "Or do you truly not know who I am?"

"I know. We all know. And there are so many who thirst for his blood that even you couldn't count them all, let alone protect him from them all. Even if I fail -"

"If?" Yubel snorted. "You will. You all will. I've had enough of your nonsense."

Usama snorted in his own turn. "And what can you do to stop me? We know the legends – all you can do is defend. You cannot attack."

"Perhaps." Yubel smiled, and Juudai could feel it even if he couldn't see it. "And perhaps I know more than you think." They glanced down at Juudai. "I want you to call someone, Juudai. I wouldn't have asked – but matters are not going as I thought they would."

"Whatever you want, Yubel," Juudai promised. Clearly they knew more about this than he did. He would follow their lead. Besides, that deep instinct that told him he could trust Yubel assured him they meant no harm except to those who would hurt him.

Yubel nodded. "Then I want you to think very hard about a single name." They bent down enough and whispered it into his ear. "When you're ready – and you'll know when you are – call the name. You will be answered. I promise you that."

Juudai nodded and closed his eyes at once, thinking three words over and over again. He couldn't see, but he knew Yubel moved forward to stand in between Juudai and Usama. Their attention flicked to the side to Juudai's parents in the same moment. Juudai was too busy thinking the name Yubel told him to notice it, even if his eyes had been open, but they both stared right at Yubel now.

Everything had changed – he just didn't know the details of it yet.

Usama growled and leaped again, trying to go over Yubel and reach Juudai. Once more Yubel knocked him back and another set of claw-marks appeared on the creature's chest, deep enough this time to bleed. Masami gasped at the sight.

"What is going on here?" Masami wanted to know. "Who are you and why are you trying to hurt my son? And don't tell me any of that garbage you just tried to spew! I want the truth!"

"He did speak the truth." Yubel calmly told her. "This is likely not the only attack going on in this world today. I should have expected it. But your son will be safe. I, and others, stand to protect him."

Shinobu moved forward. "He's my son! If anyone is gong to protect him-"

Usama whirled around, leaped again, and this time came down with claws tightening around Shinobu and Masami's necks. He glanced over his shoulder, smirking. "Give me the boy or his parents die. Now."

Juudai started to open his eyes at those words, but Yubel's fingers on his shoulder reminded him that he had something to do, even if he didn't know what it would do. He steeled himself and strained, repeating the words until they filled his mind with no room for anything else.

Nothing but the darkness behind his eyes and those words, over and over, until a form began to shape itself there. A form of powerful silver, and an expression he could only think of as kind and as fierce in his defense as Yubel was, but different all the same.

Now, Juudai. Call me!

Juudai's eyes flashed open and if anyone had been able to look, they would have seen the faintest spark of gold there. But his parents were too busy fighting against Usama's grip and Yubel stood in his own defense, refusing to answer the lion-creature's demand even as blood began to drip from his claws digging into the two humans.

"Elemental Hero Neos!" The words erupted from Juudai's lips and slashed a hole into what had been nothing but air. From that hole there stepped the very being that Juudai saw in his mind. The warrior nodded towards him, then to Yubel, then without a second of hesitation, threw himself towards Usama, powerful fists plowing into the so-called Super War-Lion.

Usama fell backwards, Masami and Shinobu falling away from him and trying their best to get their breath. Neos charged forward again, catching one of Usama's punches before it could get very far, and then taking one step back, long enough to raise fists and aim at him.

"We all stand ready to guard him. Never forget that." Neos declared. How he spoke without a mouth Juudai couldn't guess. Then Neos shot, energy pouring out of his fists, and Super War-Lion screamed, scrambling backwards. A faint aura surrounded him, and a breath later he vanished as if he'd never been there at all, save for the wounds on Juudai's parents' throats and all the damage around.

Juudai took a careful step towards Neos, eyes almost as round as when he'd first seen Yubel. "Hi?"

"Hello, Juudai." Neos replied, and Juudai was quite certain the other smiled at him before looking towards Yubel. "Someone protected him and took him back. We must remain on guard."

"I'm certain. This is – unexpected. It should not have been today." Yubel mused. "The world wasn't ready for this."

"Make certain Juudai has come to no harm," Neos suggested. "I will return if needed." And then he wasn't there anymore.

Yubel turned towards Juudai, checking him out quickly before he hurried over to his parents. Sirens could be heard rising, and people came closer, some of them staring at Yubel. Juudai held onto his parents' hands, glad that for now they seemed all right, and turned to Yubel.

They can see Yubel now. They really can. Everything that happened with Usama seemed like a distant dream already, if it weren't for those wounds and for the way Yubel stood in such protective guard over him.

He didn't know what would happen next, but Juudai could hardly wait to find out. The world finally looked really, truly interesting. As long as the adults didn't try to spoil it. But they probably would. Adults spoiled everything, sooner or later.


"He has his guardian already?" Long, slender fingers drummed on the arms of an elegant throne. "I thought we might have more time but I suppose it's not unexpected."

"My lord, this means that it will be that much more difficult to kill him," one of his servants pointed out. "His guardian is invincible and there are others he can call upon."

"Not so invincible as that. There are ways to deal with this situation." The overlord mused thoughtfully. "But we must take our time. We will not strike again – yet. There are others who will seek to take him out, and their failures will teach us what we need to know in order to dispose of the Herald."

Most of his court murmured their agreement to his plans. At least the ones that they knew about – the overlord knew better than to reveal everything that he had in mind. Not all of those who served him were intelligent enough to keep what they knew to themselves. He expected that at least four of his rival warlords would know about his plan to stay back before the sun set again.

That would be fine. He had more than one scheme and more than enough people to use to achieve his goals. If those goals took years to manage, then so be it. Death did not concern him. It hadn't in a very long time.

"We watch, for now," he reiterated to his court. "We watch and we see what others do and how their failures can become our successes. Should anyone seek to attack without my leave, then I will not rescue them as I did Usama today. I have further need of him. I have no need for anyone who disobeys my orders."

Again there were nods and murmurs of agreement. He leaned back on his throne, pleased with himself. Already one idea had presented itself to him, though currently little more than a possibility that could fail. But it would take time to seek out the one he wanted and make the effort.

He couldn't be certain yet but he believed this plan, still just in the beginning stages, would achieve the results he desired. It would be risky beyond all measure, but there could be no risk without reward, and his reward for victory would be beyond his wildest dreams.


To Be Continued

Notes: I feel this will have many stories in it. Perhaps I'll write one every year for Juudai's birthday. This one will get everything begun, so we won't be seeing the results of the villain's plan for a while to come. But I know what he has in mind. And I know a lot of what's going to happen.