New Lease In Life
Hi, everyone! Welcome to my first-ever Jigoku Shoujo fanfic. I know it premiered in Southeast Asia two years ago, but at that time I wasn't a big fan then due to the English dub. After finding the subbed versions on the internet did I get the hang of it, and I got tuned in on the second season, Futakamori, and there I got to see another character, Takuma Hayabashi, which really had me interested in him, as he was similar to Enma Ai's case.
After watching episodes 22 to 26, he had a rather hard time, after getting to meet his "first love" (Seri) to being reunited with his dad, I thought I should give him a leading role and make a story on how he progresses after the end of the second season. Although I have yet to see season three, Mitsuganae, I'll be sticking to Futakamori and focus on Takuma. Originally, I'm supposed to upload a debut fic where the new Hell Girl, Kikuri, becoming Takuma's principal opponent, I decided to do a one-shot fic to see if this fic's reception is good.
Well, time to get going.
Disclaimer:
Jigoku Shoujo is owned by Aniplex and Well I Think;
Fate/Stay Night is owned by Studio Deen and TBS;
Yu Yu Hakusho is owned by Studio Pierrot;
- - - Flashback - - -
11-year old Takuma Kurebayashi watches Seri left on her scooter and after a few minutes he got a premonition on what's going to happen and tried in vain to catch up with her, believing she hasn't collected the money, but he didn't realize that she already has and by the time he got there she was gone. His first friend who stood by his side during his crisis was taken away, and he was emotionally affected. He considered her as his first love, and now he is all alone.
Then when Hotaru sends him to hell to end his suffering, Enma Ai was halfway to send him to the Lord of Terror when she defied him by sending the boy back, his other friend, Hotaru was shot by the bullying townsfolk of Lovely Hills and he snapped, planning to get even at them by burning their houses but a just revived Enma Ai, who is now human again, urged the boy to cease his assault, only to take the attack meant for Takuma, and she died. His tormentors fled the town and his father came out of his coma, clearing his son of the crime. He was unaware about the Jigoku Taishen being the cause of what is happening. As Mr. Kurebayashi was fully recovered, he and his son left Lovely Hills to relocate in order for Takuma to recover from the ordeal, especially after finally burying his wife, who was killed prior to his coma-induced attack by the real murderer. Now that they've settled in a new town in Kobe, their lives now took a normal turn, hoping his son won't be scarred mentally after some of his business associates told him how his son coped during his coma.
- - - End Flashback - - -
Today, Takuma is now attending Junior High, at the ripe age of 14. He was still recovering from the ordeal up till now, as he periodically visits Hotaru, who is still in a coma. The memory of what happened three years ago still haunts him because of that. Another reason is that some of his schoolmates somehow learned of his past began to bully him by spreading the word at school while at times taunting him. Some of the students began avoiding him while others saw him snap as he retaliated physically when snapped. He ignored all of the taunting and went on his business, wanting to put the past behind him.
Not far away, Kikuri, who is now the new Hell Girl, watches Takuma, as she got orders from her master: Keep an eye on him. Though the reasons are undisclosed, she nevertheless obeyed and continue to stalk him without giving herself away. She and the Lord Of Hell are aware about his ability of foresight and chose not to have Kikuri to confront him head on, and he is contemplating on how to bring the boy to him without interference.
- - -
When classes ended, he left for the school gate at once, since he doesn't have any friends here due to the fact that he was once the suspect in the disappearance of the townsfolk of Lovely Hills. His uniform consisted of the one similar to the character of Kyo Mara Maoh (aka God Save Our King), but the color is that of navy blue. He left the school grounds and was determined to get home. He knew that his life would never be the same again.
While passing by the park, he saw a young couple sitting in front of the fountain, and the girl resembled Seri. Once again the memory of her returned to his mind, and recalled the brief times they shared together, even though he was only 11, and the very thought of that, and seeing the couple leaving the park, he became envious, since he had no "special someone" but nevertheless moved on. But then he saw a girl riding a scooter and that further fueled his emotional woes, as the memory of Seri returned, but he tried hard to get over it and went on his way. As he was walking past the park he accidentally bumped into someone and it was clearly his fault since his mind was elsewhere. It was a 16-year old girl and she dropped her books. Takumi was guilt-ridden by what happened and offered to help her which she accepted.
"Sorry...I'm very sorry...here, let me help you..."
"Thanks, but that's alright..."
As soon as he helped her collect her things, the 14-year old boy glanced at the girl, who was quite taken by her beauty, but had to remain professional as he was still being polite. She is 16 years old and has the same height as his. Her name is Keiko Yukirama. She smiled at the boy seeing that he was very gentle, but before a conversation was about to commence, a rather rude comment entered the fray.
"Back off, squirt, she's my main squeeze. Go find a hooker...OW!!"
Keiko was pissed by her approaching lover's comment that she twisted his ear while berating him, demanding that he apologizes to the younger boy. Takuma blinked his eyes at how the two teens quarrel over something like this.
"Yusuke Urameshi!! That was rude of you! He was being more of a gentleman that you are!"
"Well how can you tell if he's not hitting on you?? Ow!!"
"He appears to be younger than me...he bumped into me and helped me collect my things and he apologizes to me in a polite way! Now show some respect to him or we break up!!"
"Okay...okay...sorry, kid, but better stay away from her...she's too dangerous for a girlfriend...let alone an Amazon…AIEEEAAAHH!!"
Keiko pinched her boyfriend on his thigh and left off, intending to berate him in a private place, but then Takuma somewhat sensed something from the other boy. He could tell he has a high level of spiritual power and wondered if he is somewhat similar to Enma Ai in terms of power. He sighed and left the park, not noticing that someone else was watching him. As Takuma was far away, the person watching is revealed: Kurama. He glances at the boy seeing his sullen look and another appeared out of nowhere: Hiei. The two then discussed about what they just discovered.
"That kid...he has the power of foresight..."
"Yeah…but his power is slightly average compare to ours, Hiei…but he seemed to be rather…down, but I guess he hasn't fully recovered from the ordeal three years ago..."
"What do you expect? Humans are very foolish. They never realize the actions they committed and tend to pass the blame on others. Also, Koenma told me he's looking for Enma Ai's soul and try to have a word with her..."
"If he can find her...which I doubt he'll be able to..."
The two Spirit Detectives then left the park and went to their desire destinations.
- - -
As Takuma reaches home, he saw several shoes near the doormat and he could hear some loud voices aimed at his dad who is trying to calm the visitors. He guessed that this has something to do with beating up some bullies when he snapped, as they are the ones who started it. As he went to the living room, two of the visitors saw him and grabbed him by his collar and shook him very hard. The other even slapped him hard on the face to make their point.
"You! How dare you break my son's arm?? You sure have the nerve to do that..."
"Yeah, you even kicked at my son on his balls..."
Takuma remained unfazed and answered back much to his dad's surprise.
"They started it and I tried hard to avoid and ignore it but they keep on coming, and I had enough, so I had to do something to make the stop..."
"THAT'S BECAUSE YOU'RE THE JIGOKU SHOUNEN! THAT'S RIGHT...YOU'RE RESPONSIBLE FOR WHAT HAPPENED IN LOVELY HILLS...DON'T DENY IT! I CAN SEE IT IN YOUR EYES..."
But Mr. Kurebayashi stepped in, seeing what the cause of all this and knew they have no idea why Takuma assaulted their children. Since emerging from his slumber, he was told of how his son went through and why some of the townsfolk want him dead over some so-called "child of the devil" tag which he finds it preposterous. He knew his son is innocent and now he's taking a stand after seeing them manhandle his son.
"LET GO OF MY SON THIS INSTANT! I ALREADY TOLD YOU HE'S INNOCENT OF YOUR ACCUSATIONS AND HE HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH THE DISAPPEARANCES OF THE MISSING AT LOVELY HILLS! NOW IF YOU KEEP ON HARASSING MY SON I'LL SUE YOU TO THE POLICE! NOW LEAVE AT ONCE!!"
The two men who are the fathers of Takumi's schoolmates reluctantly released their hold on him, but before leaving they warned the elder Kurebayashi that he'll be the next person to disappear and sent to hell due to defending his son. As they left, Takumi finally lost it and grabbed a huge vase and went towards the door, threw it at the two men who immediately ran as they saw the 14-year old threw the vase at them, but nevertheless continued to taunt him by threatening to spread the word about him being the child of the devil. Takumi angrily threw the vase at them, but missed his targets. Although he missed, he was about to give chase when his dad hugged him from behind. He could see the anger on his face while shedding tears.
"IF I WERE THE JIGOKU SHOUNEN I'D MAKE SURE TO SEND YOU THERE FOR TRYING TO BULLY ME AND DEFENDING YOUR SONS WHO STARTED THIS!! I TRIED HARD TO IGNORE THEM, BUT NO, YOU'RE NOT SATISFIED WITH THE FACT THAT I WAS BLAMED FOR THE DISAPPEARANCES AT LOVELY HILLS THAT HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH ME…"
"Hush, son…let them be…everyone knows you're innocent. There's no need to…"
"I CAN'T TAKE IT ANYMORE! BECAUSE OF THEM I BECAME A PLAGUE IN MY SCHOOL!! EVERYONE'S AVOIDING ME BECAUSE OF THOSE BULLIES…ARRRGGGHHH!!"
Takumi struggled to break free as the two men who harassed him already left but his dad held onto him, and their new neighbors, who saw and heard it, rush to his side and pacified the boy. They were aware that he was innocent since learning the fact from one of the policeman who happened to interviewed Mr. Kurebayashi who emerged from his coma. They sympathized with the still-emotionally enraged boy as he has been carrying the burden for so long.
Since his mother died and his father comatose, he was unjustly expelled from the elementary school he attended following this and even after Mr. Kurebayashi woke up and cleared the matter, many remained biased and some schools refused to let him enroll to finish his remaining elementary years, and a friend of the elder Kurebayashi managed to get a special homeroom-course teacher to help him finish his studies at home until completing his elementary course.
When the time came for him to enroll junior high, he managed to get through rather quietly, but somehow a relative of the townsfolk who went missing at Lovely Hills, who is also a student in this school, recognized him, and though he learned about the elder Kurebayashi clearing his son, he was a bully at heart, and secretly passed the word at his fellow schoolmates and bullies, and from there on almost everyone there started to avoid Takumi, fearing that associating with him might bring them bad luck or worse.
Mr. Kurebayashi went to Takumi's junior high school and talked to the principal about his son refusing to attend classes as he remained home for two weeks. He told the principal, who is female, about Takumi's condition, and from there she summoned some of Takumi's classmates to help shed light on this. One of his classmates came and told them who was responsible for this and she summoned the bullies who spread the "Jigoku Shounen" tag which alienated the boy. There she punishes them and then personally went to the new house where the Kurebayashi stayed and talked to Takumi about it, surprised to see he was rather ragged, indicating that he hasn't eaten much for two weeks, and summoned her co-school worker who happened to be a counselor and helped Takumi recover from his ordeal.
A week later he resumed his schooling, trying to get on with his life now that the bullies who made a gossiping spree towards him were suspended for four weeks. He hasn't fully recovered yet but he was now picking lost time academically. Surprisingly he passed the 2nd examination period and the school is now on a semester break and he immediately left school after the exams. He still doesn't have any friends yet apart from the ones in his class, and when he was walking home (it was early afternoon) he came across a pretty girl, clad in a school uniform. Dark-haired color, her hair reaches up below her breasts, having a pair of semi-pigtailed clips, and was walking the opposite side. She didn't notice him, but Takumi did, and for reasons unknown, he finds himself drawn to her. He glances at her as she walked away but to his surprise, he started to follow her. Her name is Rin Tōsaka. She is 17 years old, and a model student in senior high. He secretly followed her and saw where her school was. It turn out she left school but went back to meet someone. It turns out to be Shirō Emiya. He was abit disappointed, believing him to be her boyfriend, but in actuality he is just a friend. Shiro then notices Takuma glancing at Rin before leaving seeing his disappointed look, and he guessed that he was following her here to get a glimpse of him.
"Wow…he must be a junior high student, and he followed Rin here to get a look at her…must be a crush, or maybe love at first sight…"
"What's wrong, Shiro?"
"Thought I saw someone looking at you…hey Rin…don't you think it's high time you entertain suitors?"
"If I have the time…"
"Well now's the time…after all…the Holy Grail War has ended…"
"Why…? Are you interested in me?"
"No…but I guess someone does…who do you prefer…someone older or younger?"
"Younger??"
- - -
As Takumi was walking home, the sight of Rin kept on ringing on his head. His face flushing and wondered if he should go meet her or not. But what can he do? He has no experience dealing with girls apart from Seri and Hotaru, and Rin is from senior high. Would it be a bit scandalous to ask her to date him not knowing how old is she?
His thoughts were interrupted when something emerged from the bushes. A youkai resembling a leech jumps out and saw the passing Takumi alone and in surprise. He then senses something from him. It was his ability of foresight.
"Hee-hee-hee…you have spiritual powers…not to high…but enough for me…"
Takumi was slightly scared but then adrenaline kicks in and did a few kick combos to fend him off but was eventually overpowered, and just as he was about to leech his life, he backed away as he saw a rather familiar sight.
"You…you're the Jigoku Shoujo…!"
Takuma looked at the direction the attacking youkai saw and was surprised to see Enma Ai standing, but then something struck the youkai while a beam of energy hits him.
"Rei Gun!"
It was Yusuke Urameshi and he fired his Spirit gun to knock down the attacking Youkai and fired another one to finish him off. After that was over, he saw Takuma looking around, as the boy was frantically looking for Enma, who quickly disappeared.
"Hey, kid…you okay?"
"Um…yeah…thanks."
"Better be careful. A power like that makes you an easy target, even though your power is only centered on foresight…"
"You…you have spiritual powers too…"
"Well…if you keep it a secret…I'll keep yours a secret…fine with it?"
Nodding, Yusuke patted Takuma on his shoulders and left, while Takuma went home to unwind.
- - -
Later that night, it was bedtime and Takuma was lying on his bed, still recalling following Rin to her school. He was surprised to find out he was smitten at her charms but he wondered if it's okay to fall in love. After seeing Seri die, he wondered if he could be able to withstand another emotional turmoil if someone he cared for die in front of him again. He finally went to sleep, but the thought of Rin continued to embrace his dream.
The End
Hope you liked my debut fic. Originally I was supposed to launch a suspense story involving Takumi being dragged back to Hell due to Kikuri. Well now this would depend on you readers on what you want to see.
Did you like my inclusion of the characters from Yu Yu Hakusho and Fate/Stay Night?
Also, after typing in your review, let me know what type of story you like in my next follow-up as I'll be focusing on Takumi: T-rated? Or M-rated?
Also, would you like to have Rin Tōsaka, the female character from Fate/Stay night be Takuma's love interest?