Somewhere Between Hope and Fear
Chapter 1
You've been working at a restaurant since you got out of high school, saving for a trip to Europe. After all, being a Spirit Detective offers no financial support. With your shift ending you bid your manager farewell and step out the back door. A late afternoon sun hangs in the sky and you ponder on what to do with the remaining daylight.
Before you have a chance to decide however, your thoughts are interrupted by the loud ring of your cellphone. Digging through your purse bag you find the silvery device and flip it open. Dangling from a cellphone strap is a little super deformed figure of Koenma which enables Spirit World to contact you and vice versa. Things have gotten a bit more technologically advanced since Yusuke Urameshi's tenure. Looking at the caller ID you realize any plans will have to wait.
"A case I assume?" You don't bother to say hello. This is how you usually get your cases. The answer surprises you.
"Lord Koenma wishes to meet with you at Fujiwara Shrine."
"Koenma wants to meet me at home?" You blink, slightly confused. You haven't had very many personal meetings with the prince and find this unusual. "Well all right. I'll be home in a little bit."
You end the call. Curious, wondering why Koenma wants to meet so suddenly.
***
Stepping out of your shoes as you enter, your grandfather, Susumu Fujiwara greets you by the short hand of your name.
"Welcome home, Chiyo." He smiles. That's what people close to you call you. Or they would if you were really more than acquaintances with anyone.
"Hi Grandfather." You smile back. "I'm expecting someone to come by."
"Ah, Lord Koenma arrived just before you." Your grandfather is well aware of your other job besides waiting tables. You nod and hurry into the next room.
Sitting at the table sucking his trademark pacifier is a teen aged Koenma. You sit down across from him and pour yourself some tea from a small ceramic teapot. Koenma drinks from his own cup.
"I'm sure you're here for more than tea. What's going on, Koenma?"
"Well yes, but how are you doing Chiyori?" Koenma inquires.
"I'm good. Same old, same old. So why are you here? You aren't going to fire me or something are you?"
"Of course not." Koenma laughs. "I have an important job for you. Out of town you could say."
"'Out of town'?" You raise an eyebrow, thinking this sounds like it could be interesting.
"Yes" The Prince of Spirit World suddenly looks serious. "The time for the next Demon World Tournament is fast approaching. We were very fortunate with the outcome of the first tournament."
"You're concerned about the outcome of the next." You set your tea cup down.
"Your reckless predecessor's solution to Demon World's rulership crisis may or may not be as fortunate this time around. I also have reason to believe a threat is stirring that may have a negative effect on the tournament. I want you to monitor the situation for me- if anything is going to happen it'll be there."
You stare at Koenma, who continues.
"I believe Yusuke will be in the tournament again, so I imagine he'll pull something crazy off and things will work out." Koenma scratches his head and laughs. Seeing your slightly stunned surprise he's trying to downplay things. "I really would just like you to observe for me, Chiyori. Will you do it? I really need you on this one."
Coming out of shock you answer, "All right. I accept."
With your confirmation Koenma rises to his feet.
"Thank you. You'll have a couple of days to take care of things before departing. Oh, and be sure to take this." Koenma hands you a scroll. "If Human World or Spirit World is in danger, I'm sure you'll know what to do with this. Hopefully you won't need it."
You take the scroll and open it a bit. It's completely blank.
"What exactly is it?"
"An ancient scroll of sealing, dating back to a time when the worlds were one. You should be able to write on it and use it like your ofuda, only it will be far more powerful than anything else you've made before." Koenma explains.
"The worlds... all used to be one?" You blink and roll the scroll back up.
"Yes, you humans recall it only in myth." Koenma departs, leaving you to contemplate what you must do to prepare for your trip to Demon World. You decide that first you should inform your grandfather of the news.
Before you have a chance to decide however, your thoughts are interrupted by the loud ring of your cellphone. Digging through your purse bag you find the silvery device and flip it open. Dangling from a cellphone strap is a little super deformed figure of Koenma which enables Spirit World to contact you and vice versa. Things have gotten a bit more technologically advanced since Yusuke Urameshi's tenure. Looking at the caller ID you realize any plans will have to wait.
"A case I assume?" You don't bother to say hello. This is how you usually get your cases. The answer surprises you.
"Lord Koenma wishes to meet with you at Fujiwara Shrine."
"Koenma wants to meet me at home?" You blink, slightly confused. You haven't had very many personal meetings with the prince and find this unusual. "Well all right. I'll be home in a little bit."
You end the call. Curious, wondering why Koenma wants to meet so suddenly.
***
Stepping out of your shoes as you enter, your grandfather, Susumu Fujiwara greets you by the short hand of your name.
"Welcome home, Chiyo." He smiles. That's what people close to you call you. Or they would if you were really more than acquaintances with anyone.
"Hi Grandfather." You smile back. "I'm expecting someone to come by."
"Ah, Lord Koenma arrived just before you." Your grandfather is well aware of your other job besides waiting tables. You nod and hurry into the next room.
Sitting at the table sucking his trademark pacifier is a teen aged Koenma. You sit down across from him and pour yourself some tea from a small ceramic teapot. Koenma drinks from his own cup.
"I'm sure you're here for more than tea. What's going on, Koenma?"
"Well yes, but how are you doing Chiyori?" Koenma inquires.
"I'm good. Same old, same old. So why are you here? You aren't going to fire me or something are you?"
"Of course not." Koenma laughs. "I have an important job for you. Out of town you could say."
"'Out of town'?" You raise an eyebrow, thinking this sounds like it could be interesting.
"Yes" The Prince of Spirit World suddenly looks serious. "The time for the next Demon World Tournament is fast approaching. We were very fortunate with the outcome of the first tournament."
"You're concerned about the outcome of the next." You set your tea cup down.
"Your reckless predecessor's solution to Demon World's rulership crisis may or may not be as fortunate this time around. I also have reason to believe a threat is stirring that may have a negative effect on the tournament. I want you to monitor the situation for me- if anything is going to happen it'll be there."
You stare at Koenma, who continues.
"I believe Yusuke will be in the tournament again, so I imagine he'll pull something crazy off and things will work out." Koenma scratches his head and laughs. Seeing your slightly stunned surprise he's trying to downplay things. "I really would just like you to observe for me, Chiyori. Will you do it? I really need you on this one."
Coming out of shock you answer, "All right. I accept."
With your confirmation Koenma rises to his feet.
"Thank you. You'll have a couple of days to take care of things before departing. Oh, and be sure to take this." Koenma hands you a scroll. "If Human World or Spirit World is in danger, I'm sure you'll know what to do with this. Hopefully you won't need it."
You take the scroll and open it a bit. It's completely blank.
"What exactly is it?"
"An ancient scroll of sealing, dating back to a time when the worlds were one. You should be able to write on it and use it like your ofuda, only it will be far more powerful than anything else you've made before." Koenma explains.
"The worlds... all used to be one?" You blink and roll the scroll back up.
"Yes, you humans recall it only in myth." Koenma departs, leaving you to contemplate what you must do to prepare for your trip to Demon World. You decide that first you should inform your grandfather of the news.
♠ ♠ ♠
Hi, and thanks for reading! Some people might have read this a long time ago on Quizilla. I think I decided to finally post the first chapter in 2006. I've mostly preserved it in its original form, though I've taken the quiz elements out by picking the best choices and ending for you guys. And don't worry, the chapters get much longer and things are going to get really interesting.Also, I abhor random Japanese but there are occasions when things just don't have an easy translation or it's something most people know (like kimono). So there will be a few Japanese words sometimes but I'll be sure to provide a translation in the author's notes. Speaking of which:
Ofuda: a kind of talismans or charm, typically shown as being made out of paper in anime/manga.
Finally, this story is mostly based of the anime, but I have taken some elements from the manga to fill in areas that I felt were neglected (such as Mukuro's full background).
Disclaimer: Yu Yu Hakusho is property of Yoshihiro Togashi, Shueisha, Studio Pierrot, Funimation, and several other people or companies that are not me.