The Precept

Within the expansive main hall of the Tribunal of Right and Wrong, Enma Ai—a girl with black hair and crimson eyes, dressed in a black embroidered robe and a crown—walked with a dignified pace across the cold stone floor, supported by her ghost soldiers. Step by step, she approached the towering judgment platform. As the girl moved forward with an indifferent expression, the ghostly clerks and judges throughout the hall fell into a profound silence, though hushed whispers began to circulate among the clerks.

"...Is this the new Yama?"

"The spirit of a little girl? How old was she when she died?"

"She's quite cute..."

Amidst the wave of astonishment, Enma Ai slowly ascended the long staircase of the judgment platform and walked to the primary seat of judgment. After sitting in the magnificent high-backed chair at the pinnacle of the solemn platform, she spoke.

"My name is Enma Ai. From this day forth, I shall be the Yama leading you all... I look forward to working with you."

With that, Enma Ai picked up the gavel beside her and gave the desk a light strike. She spoke again.

"Let the trial begin."

As the clear, sharp sound echoed through the hollow hall, the crowd of spirits beneath the platform snapped out of their daze. They began to process their usual tasks as they always did. One after another, guided by ghost soldiers, souls were led through the main doors of the hall to face their posthumous judgment.

In a corner of the hall, standing behind a massive stone pillar, the three yokai—Ichimoku Ren, Wanyudo, and Hone Onna—watched the busy hall and the familiar girl perched upon the high platform. They couldn't help but sigh with emotion.

"I truly didn't expect it... In such a short time, the young lady has not only escaped her fate as the Hell Girl but has even become the Yama who judges causality... The coincidences of this world are truly marvelous. Who could have imagined that a plain, ordinary high school girl would turn out to be a celestial god of supreme power?"

Clutching his hat, Wanyudo spoke with deep feeling. Beside him, Ichimoku Ren replied.

"Since she is a celestial god with supreme power, perhaps what we call coincidence is actually preordained fate... It’s not so much that the young lady was lucky to meet that celestial god, but rather that her existence and plight were seen by her... Everything we and she encountered was arranged by her will from the very beginning... It’s... terrifying..."

As he spoke, Ichimoku Ren covered his demonic eye—still hidden beneath his hair and throbbing with pain—with his hand. Thinking of how his previous attempt at peeking had only resulted in such a minor punishment, a sense of relief washed over him.

"Regardless, the young lady has finally been liberated from her fate as the Hell Girl. However, while the position of Yama is high and carries great power, I wonder if it really suits her. If she doesn't like being the Yama and it was forced upon her by the celestial god... wouldn't that be just the same as before?" Hone Onna said slowly, her expression clouded with a trace of worry as she looked at the girl on the high platform.

Wanyudo smiled in response.

"The young lady has served as the Hell Girl for hundreds of years. She has witnessed countless instances of love and hate, life and death, and understands human resentment and emotion deeply. She is already able to face all walks of life with composure. Such qualities are exactly what is needed for a Yama, the final judge of a person's life... The celestial god must have seen this when she recommended the young lady to become the Yama..."

Pressing down his hat, Wanyudo continued with a smile. "Being the Hell Girl was purely about eliminating resentment, regardless of logic, good and evil, or morality. Though the young lady is usually cold, she still possesses a compassionate heart deep down. There were many times she didn't want to carry out her task... that was why she was unwilling to be the Hell Girl. The Hell Girl is not a champion of justice and cannot possess morality, but a Yama can. A Yama determines the outcome based on the laws of the Underworld and metes out rewards and punishments accordingly... For the young lady, this work is indeed much better than being the Hell Girl."

Wanyudo looked toward the judgment platform, watching the girl as she worked hard to adapt to her new role with the assistance of senior judges. He spoke with a smile.

"In the near future, the young lady will surely become an excellent Yama. As for us, we must keep up with her pace and continue to follow her."

Early that morning, the students at the school entered their classrooms as usual. After the bell rang, they sat in their seats, yet the teacher was nowhere to be found. After waiting a long time, curious students stepped into the hallway and found that the neighboring classes seemed to be missing their teachers as well. Students began to pour into the corridors, and upon realizing that several classes were teacherless, the entire grade level suddenly erupted with excitement.

For reasons unknown, every senior high teacher was collectively late for the first period due to various circumstances, nearly causing the entire grade to descend into chaos. Even stranger, when other teachers tried to report the situation to the principal's office, they found that the principal was also absent. When they called to inquire, they discovered the principal's private car had broken down. He had tried to take the train, but after finally snatching a seat, he had fallen asleep because it was too comfortable and missed his stop.

In short, due to a series of accidental factors, all the senior students got to skip their first class that morning. The classrooms and hallways were filled with a joyous atmosphere for a time, yet this mood failed to reach everyone. Eguchi sat at her desk, her expression stunned and frozen, looking utterly despondent. Her gaze was fixed blankly on a seat near the window—a seat that was empty, with no one sitting there.

"Strange... she didn't come this morning either. Where on earth did Inaba go?" Behind that empty seat, the chestnut-haired Hayakawa Rin spoke in a worried tone. Hearing her words, Eguchi’s heart tightened.

'Fushimi Inaba was exiled to Hell... she won't be coming back...'

Eguchi thought to herself as intense guilt and fear weighed heavily on her heart, forcing her to lower her head. Ever since she was forced to untie the red string on the straw doll’s neck, the girl named Fushimi Inaba had disappeared for the entire afternoon. She hadn't shown up this morning either. The disappearance of the straw doll and the black flame mark that had appeared on her own body convinced Eguchi that Fushimi Inaba had surely been taken to Hell by the Hell Girl... and as the price, she too would fall into Hell after death.

'No... I don't want to go to Hell... and I didn't want anyone else to go there either... This was all a mistake... Can we start over...'

At the thought of her bleak future, Eguchi couldn't help but let out a sob, tears instantly welling up in her eyes. Just as she was about to break down, the sound of a chair sliding pulled her back to reality.

"What's wrong? Why are you crying?"

A calm voice drifted into Eguchi's ears. She stiffly turned her head toward the source, only to see a girl standing up from the seat next to her. Hayakawa Rin stared at the girl who had just arrived at her desk, casually holding a rice ball and setting down her bag.

"Inaba! You... you're here?"

"Yeah... I had some things to take care of yesterday afternoon so I left early. I slept in a bit today and thought I'd be late, but it looks like the teacher hasn't shown up yet, so I guess I'm lucky," Miketsu said while chewing on her rice ball. Hearing her words, Hayakawa Rin was dazed for a moment and couldn't help but complain internally.

'I feel like "lucky" is practically normal for you... You didn't be late on purpose, did you?'

"Ah!"

Just as Hayakawa Rin was about to say something else, she was interrupted by a scream and the sound of a chair rolling back. Eguchi was sitting on the floor with a terrified face, pointing her finger toward their side and shouting at the top of her lungs.

"A ghost!"

Hearing Eguchi's words, Hayakawa Rin scanned the surroundings nervously before looking at Eguchi with a confused expression. "There aren't any ghosts... Eguchi-san, what did you see?"

"What ghosts could there be in broad daylight? You must be seeing things." Miketsu took another bite of her rice ball and smiled at Eguchi.

Eguchi’s pointing hand and her voice were both trembling. "Inaba... weren't you supposed to be sent to Hell by the Hell Girl? Why... why are you still here!?"

"Huh? Hell Girl?" Miketsu’s brow furrowed slightly before she struck a thoughtful pose. Then, she spoke as if realizing something. "Oh~ are you talking about that urban legend about the Hell Correspondence? Eguchi-san, I can't believe you actually believe in those stories made up to trick people... I never would have guessed."

Miketsu spoke with a smile.

"An urban legend? No, it's not an urban legend. It's all real! If you don't believe me, look... huh?"

As she spoke, Eguchi pulled at her collar, intending to show the black flame mark that represented the contract with the Hell Girl. However, she found that the skin beneath her shoulder blade was perfectly fine. The black flame that had been there before had completely vanished without a trace.

For a moment, Eguchi sat there in a daze, not knowing what to do. Seeing this, Miketsu smiled slightly, reached out to help the stunned girl up, and spoke with earnest weight.

"Young people like us shouldn't spend all day thinking about those baseless legends and ghost stories. They're all lies, you know? And don't spend all your time messing around outside. It would be better to use that time for something meaningful."

"Something... meaningful?" Sitting back in her seat, Eguchi looked blankly at the Miketsu before her.

Miketsu thought for a moment and then said with a laugh, "For example, study hard and keep aiming high."

With that, Miketsu turned and walked away, leaving Eguchi behind to dwell on those words. For a moment, Eguchi felt as if she had just heard a divine oracle or a precept from a god.

Many years later, by correcting her bad habits and studying diligently, Eguchi passed the entrance exams for Tokyo University.