Eitsu's Nine Lives (永津の九生) [yuri/GL yokai reincarnation story]

43 - Jigoku-hozo

"Eitsu?" Izanami bent down to look at her. The kaibyou twitched her tail and licked the Queen's fingers.

Tsubaki spoke without raising her head. Only her lips could be seen moving.

"I was travelling in the country of Chup-tuk when I encountered Shinigami Rei."

"What were you doing there, Miss Tsubaki?" the shinigami next to Rei asked.

"I was with a companion who was visiting her hometown."

"What is your relationship with this companion?" Izanami interrupted unexpectedly. Eitsu was certain she saw Tin Yeung Wong roll her eyes, while Gong Lau Yan tried to hide the grin she flashed in the kaibyou's direction.

It took a moment for Tsubaki to answer. "I suppose I was her sponsor," she finally said drily. "After all, I fed and clothed her, and gave her a place to sleep."

There were definitely some sniggers in response to this. Even Rei looked amused. Eitsu cleaned her paws to avoid joining the giggles.

"Please continue, Miss Tsubaki. You say you encountered Shinigami Rei in Chup-tuk. What happened?"

"Well, in the middle of my conversation with my companion, he broke my neck."

"So simply? In spite his knowledge that he would be breaking the laws of Yomi?"

"Well, I can't say what he was thinking," Tsubaki retorted sardonically. "He seemed a little upset though."

Rei chuckled, although there was an air of bitterness this time.

"What was he upset about?"

"The contents of my conversation with my companion, I suppose."

"Miss Tsubaki, you need to be open and transparent with us," Lord Enma rumbled. "We are trying to determine the nature of your death."

Tsubaki raised her head very slightly. Her dark eyes glinted from under the hood. "And I've been giving you the information that you need, Lord Enma. The facts are that while I was conversing with my companion. Shinigami Rei seemed upset, and then he broke my neck. He was not tricked into doing so, he was not coerced. He murdered me."

Eitsu closed her eyes against the pain in her heart.

"Do you have anything to say in your defence, Shinigami Rei?"

"I'm already saying I'm guilty," Rei scoffed, unrepentant. "It was a rather silly mistake, but I really did want her to die."

A hush fell over the courtroom.

"Is there anything else you wish to say, Miss Tsubaki?

"No, Lord Enma."

"Then, it is clear to me that the accused is guilty of breaking the Third Law of the Yomi Legal Code. His punishment is as follows: he is stripped of his role as a shinigami. He is to be confined to the Maze of Hell, Jigoku-hozo, for the same amount of time as he stole from the victim. If he retains his sanity by release, he will be barred from Yomi."

Izanami stroked Eitsu's back. "How's that? A good punishment?"

The kaibyou purred in response, but in truth, she was unsettled. Why was Rei accepting everything so meekly? Why wasn't he trying to escape the way he usually did?

"And now, Miss Tsubaki, for your remediation. As your life was ended before its proper time, you will enter the cycle of reincarnation at the conclusion of this trial. Given the circumstances of your life, and the details of your disposition that we have been able to determine, we propose that you be reborn as a kodama, and that you may keep your memories of your previous life."