Ah, how terrible, I'm double posting.
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(This is the result of a request UD gives me every time I ask anybody has ideas. Apologies if inserts offend you)
When I was alive, occasionally people would ask me "do you have any regrets?" I'm not really able to answer that question. I made some mistakes, of course I did, everybody does. I just felt since mine weren't massive mistakes, it would be spoiled of me to say I regretted making them. I think I did though.
But in the end, like everybody else, in my old age, I ended up dying. Happens to the best of us, I guess. And I think I can answer the question now. I really don't have any regrets. I feel sort of sage now, like life was actually just dulling my senses, and making it so hard to see the truth. Kind of nice, I guess.
I'm just a little surprised, though. I guess this is the afterlife? Because all I see is a giant staircase. What a pain, I guess I better climb.
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The staircase is quite beautiful, really. The stone it's made out is perfectly smooth, like no rock I've ever seen before. Sort of an admirable thing, because it also didn't look polished. After climbing stairs for an hour though, no matter how beautiful or impressive the staircase is, you get sick of it.
Which is why when I looked up and saw the peaks of the biggest sakura tree I've ever seen, come to think of it, probably the only one I've ever seen, I was pretty happy. Like I said, after climbing stairs for an hour, no matter how beautiful the stone is, you just want to see some sort of color.
I decided this was actually the afterlife, because when I finally reached the top of the staircase, it was something unlike anything on earth. The trees felt like they were half a mile high, and yet somehow all of them were in beautiful shape. They must have an army of gardeners in the afterlife or something.
"Ah, I see you've made your way up the hilll. How was your climb? Everybody generally tells me it's pretty boring, but I sort of hope I'll be surprised one of these days..."
Wait, what, huh? Apparently when you're dead people can sneak up on you really well, I sort of wish I had heard footsteps. So I found myself spinning around really fast, because you know, that's what you do when somebody starts talking to you from behind, and saw the most beautiful person I had ever seen in my... life and an hour of death? Something like that.
I mean that, by the way. She really was the most beautiful person I had ever seen. Her hair was a shade of pink I'd only seen rivaled by ridiculous dye jobs, but it seemed so much more natural for her. She was wearing a long, pale blue kimono, decorated with numerous cherry blossoms and these white, frilly patches held on by blue ribbon. She had a hat with a little triangular slip of paper sticking out with what I would swear was a Dreamcast symbol on it, but I figured it meant something other than that. That, or my brain was playing a sick joke on me, but I was hoping for the former.
"Oh, is there something on my face? You seem to be staring at me,... oh! Of course, I forgot to introduce myself. I am Yuyuko Saigyouji, the lady of Hakugyokurou. Welcome, Tyler, to your life after death.
Oh, she was talking to me more. Yuyuko, huh. I sort of wonder what that mean- oh, wait a second, I figured out why I can't stop staring!
She was surrounded by ghosts. Ten, twenty, I don't know, there were too many moving about to count. One of them even had a little branch with a single leaf sticking out of it. After realizing this is why I was freaking out, I decided I should probably attempt to deal with it and actually you know, talk to the lady of the afterlife. Might be a bit rude to ignore her, or just stare.
"H... Hey, Yuyuko. It-it's nice to meet you."
Oh, I can't talk well. How embarassing.
"My name is... Tyler, though it seems you already knew that, ahaha." I tried to joke or something, but the laugh sounded really forced, like I was an awkward schoolboy talking to the girl he had a crush on.
...You're kidding me.
Really?
I really don't want to think that's why I'm having trouble talking to somebody I just met. Really?
I can't deal with this, really?
Am I really in love with somebody I just met?
Just because she's drop dead gorgeous and has this soothing, calm voice that could put me to sleep after the worst of nightmares, and the way she elegantly glides off of the ground like some sort of magician?
This is going to be a long afterlife.
"Oh, you seem a little pale. Here, let me take you to the main building, so you can eat and drink. After all, you'll find quickly that even without a physical body, you still need food. Odd how your spirit works, isn't it?"
Argh, she was talking again and I could barely focus but I guessed I was supposed to follow her and that seemed to be right.
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She showed me the food, I ate and drank some, and it seemed to be pretty much the same as in life. I stammered my way through a few conversations, complete with an awkward "nice weather we're having, isn't it?" I couldn't get over it. I hated the idea of love at first sight so much, and it just hit me like a ton of feathers and it's not gonna be a good life if I can't get over this fast.
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I didn't expect just lounging around in gardens with other dead people to be such a fun thing to do. And there were a lot of people. No wonder the gardens were so big. The most notable person I met though, after Yuyuko, was Youmu Konpaku.
I had been walking through the trees when suddenly I saw a bright flash of light and every tree and bush in front of me was trimmed to perfection. After spinning in a full circle, I found a sort of short girl standing in front of me, with what looked like a giant body pillow puffball floating behind her. Except it had a face, but that wasn't new here and I was used to it. Fun.
"Hey, just what are you doing off of the path? If you're looking for me to slice you in half, you're well on your way to it. These aren't just ordinary swords, you know. There isn't anything my Roukanken blade can't cut, so you'd better keep out of the way."
"Now wait a second. Who are you to just start badmouthing me like that? It's not like I even know who you are, we just met, and you're treating me like I"m some sort of half class citizen."
"Fine. I'm Youmu Konpaku, the gardener of Hakugyukurou. This is my half ghost side, myon. If you get in my way, you'll die. There's not much else to know. I guard you from anybody who might attack Hakugyokurou and I"d recommend you don't make me mad." She was quick and to the point in everything she said. A shame, but she seemed important, so I apologized quickly.
"Oh, okay, sorry about that. I'll try to keep to the paths, then... I'm curious, though. You said you're the gardener. Are you really the only gardener in a place this large?" Seriously, how could only one person deal with this large of a garden?
"Ah, yes. I am the only gardener trained to keep Hakugyokurou looking beautiful. It's not trivial, but my slash can reach from the Earth to the Moon in an instant, so to travel across this garden in one slash is nothing."
I just keep meeting these incredible people.
"Geez, a few weeks ago I would've laughed and thought you were lying, but this is land the dead, what isn't possible... Well, nice meeting you, then. I'll be on my way. Keep up the good work, by the way! It's quite beautiful. And if you do need a break, you can always chat with me, of course."
I waved goodbye and wandered off. I could've sworn though, that on her small, strict looking face, she sort of smiled.
Maybe I'm seeing things in my old age. I've already lived a whole life, you know?
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"So, Yuyuko, how long have you... well, had this job? Have you always been here, the only lady of Hakugyokurou, or have there been others before you? It's a little odd to think about, geez..." I had been talking to Yuyuko whenever I could. It was actually almost painful, because she certainly didn't seem to feel any special feelings for me, but mine had not died down at all. She was still a fun person to talk to, and her elegance always surprised me, but it hurt, seriously.
"I'm... actually not sure. When I was alive, I didn't feel special at first, but as I aged, something odd happened."
She frowned, for the first time. I had never seen an unhappy expression on her face, and I wondered if I had touched upon a bad memory.
"Y-you don't have to tell me if you don't want to... Sorry, sorry." I quickly stammered out an apology, but she just looked up at me, flashed a smile, and continued with the story.
"When I turned ten, I had been walking around our yard, and a stray animal came up to me, surprised to see somebody else moving around. It seemed friendly, so I reached out to pet it."
Huh, she paused.
Am I supposed to ask something?
Am I supposed to know what she meant?
I hate this awkward feeling so much. Please, just say something, Yuyuko.
"It died. I didn't wish for it, I didn't want it, I just wanted to pet the animal, and when I touched it, it died. Things died around me. Plants, animals, and later... humans. It didn't take me long to realize I didn't belong in that world, and I killed myself shortly after, under quite a stellar cherry tree, not unlike the Saigyou Ayakashi."
Oh, great, so what so I say now?
"Well, it seems like I was destined to be the lady, because when I got here, the ghosts all followed me, and it just seemed right for me to be the lady. There was nobody here but ghosts, so I assumed I was to take that role. So to answer your question, I wasn't created as a ghost to rule the Netherworld, but in the end, it was my destiny to rule it anyways."
"Oh, huh." I couldn't say anything because I was stuck on the idea of a little girl killing herself because everybody around her died.
Can't say that turned out how I wanted it to.
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It hurt. It hurt so badly. To know that I loved Yuyuko, and she didn't feel anything for me. Nothing, nothing, nothing. It hurt hurt hurt and I want it to stop. I don't care how, I just want these feelings gone. I can't tell her, because I'm nothing but a random ghost and she's the lady of the Netherworld and I can't make them go away and they hurt so badly. Every time she smiles it's like my stomach is cut open, because it's this faint but ever so calm smile that makes my heart melt and there's no way I can make it be for me.
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"Ahahaha, you and Yuyuko? Really, Tyler? You can't be serious, ahahahaha, what a joke! There's no way that would ever work out. Geez, and I thought you really did have something important to tell me. Ahahaha, well, at least you're getting my mind off of work, hahahah!" Well, Youmu reacted how I expected her to. It hurt to have her laugh at me, but the weight of it on my shoulders was lifted just a little, because telling people about your troubles really does take off the pressure.
"Hey, don't laugh at me! It's not like I chose this or anything... I just saw her the first time, and it took my breath away... She's so beautiful, elegant, and she's witty and just fun to talk to. What can I do about that? It's like everything I could ever want in a person!" I wanted to defend myself, but it didn't work out well. I was feeling a little shallow still, for falling in love at first sight, but I had started to deal with it.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, it's just so funny to hear somebody like you say that, ahaha. What a joke, hahaha. Sorry, hahaa, I gotta get back to work, but hahahahahaha, good luck, ahahah!"
She could have stopped laughing, you know?
"Ah, have fun... I guess you're right though, it couldn't work out..."
Oh, it was starting to hurt even worse now. Great.
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I decided the pain was too much. Maybe talking to Youmu was a good thing, because having her laugh at me helped me realize I do need to deal with this at some point, it's not going away at all, it seems.
So, the next time I talked to Yuyuko, I decided I'd drop the bomb.
"Hey, Yuyuko, do you have a moment? I need to talk to you about something."
I was dedicated, I was going to get this done and over with.
"Ah, of course. What's the matter, Tyler?"
Deep breath, deep breath.
"Yuyuko. Since the day I first climbed that staircase, saw you at the top, and every day since then. Whether it was a happy day for me or a sad day, or an exciting day or a boring day... I loved you. I've loved you every single day and I've tried to stop and I can't and I need to let you know how I feel. I love you, Yuyuko. Please, let me know. Do you feel the same about me?"
Ahhh, the weight, it's going away. I can feel my shoulders again, and I think my face is red right now but I've finally relaxed the weight on my shoulders. How pleasant.
"B-but, how? How could you love me? How is it possible? I-I told you the story about my humanity, surely... after hearing that I've killed people, there's no way... there's no way, really?"
Why is she so flustered? What's going on?
"I-is it really okay? Is it really okay, for me, the lady of Death, to love one of the spirits here. Is that... really all right?"
Wait.
Ahahahahahaha, sometimes I start to feel like I might have an idea what's going on with life and I get thrown for a loop like this.
"Yuyuko. When you were human, your power was not your fault, it wasn't your choice. The only life you took was your own. And thought that sin is unforgivable, perhaps your years of service as the lady of death are meant to repent for that. But even though you are the lady of death, and I am nothing but a dead spirit, does that really make... any sort of love less sacred?"
Oh, it seems I had a little moment of badassery. Cool, it was well timed. I sort of wish it had came a few months earlier, since those months were hard to deal with...
"Is... is it really okay? If you're sure it's okay for the two of us to be together... then... maybe... it really is okay..."
Well, that was that. It seems Youmu was more than a little wrong.
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The two of us looked over Hakugyokurou for all eternity, and through happy days and sad days, exciting days and boring days, we just needed to glance at each other and we were happy again. We lived this way for eternity, and truly were happy ever after.