Hokaku

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Hokaku, a town like any other, bubbly atmosphere and high spirits can be found all round the town at this time of year as the towns folk are preparing for their annual ‘Heaven’ festival.

A legend has passed down for over hundreds of generations that states that Hokaku is the place on Earth that is closest to Heaven. Once a year the Gates to Heaven will open and spirits from all over the world gather to pass through them.

This story follows the journey of Nezu, a young spirit looking for answers to how he died, and after hearing the legend of Hokaku, makes his way there hoping there will be answers waiting for him on the other side.

Unfortunately for Nezu, his actions whilst living do not qualify him access through the Gates, and the Arch-Angels of Heaven go behind their masters wishes and attempt to stop Nezu from reaching Hokaku.

Will Nezu ever reach Hokaku in time for the Opening of the Gates?

Hokaku Characters

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Chapter 1: A Spirited Beginning

Nakamura City, early hours of the morning. A teen lay on the floor, face down on the drenched concrete, rain dripping off his leather jacket as it struck him in the back from the skies above. This boy's name was Nezu, I say was simply because he is no longer with us. The motionless shape that lay on the drenched floor was his spirit, laying unnoticed between two high apartment buildings in an alley. 

The light tinkling sound of metal hitting each other approached the body between the two apartment buildings as another--though very much alive--male teen walked briskly along on his way. Arashii, around eighteen years old or so, grimaced as the heavy rain crashed down upon his black hat. "Damn rain.." He muttered, shaking his arms out irritably as his white t-shirt was soaked through to his skin. "Can't even listen to some music.. fucking global warming.." Arashii continued to mumble to himself and glare at the floor until he suddenly stopped walking. He blinked as his oceanic blue eyes found something ahead of him, and he frowned, whilst scratching at his head underneath his hat. "Yo!" Arashii called sheepishly to Nezu's body. "You had a lot to drink last night or something?" He laughed slightly, though he still seemed somewhat suspicious.

Nezu began to stir. "Wh-What happened?" Nezu took this moment to gaze around. "Where am I?" He looked around at the dank greyness of his surroundings for a second before holding his head in absolute agony. He clenched his eyes shut from the pain and could only see a pure white light for a second and then distruption from what felt like an explosion in his head as all the memories he had flashed before his eyes and suddenly dissapeared as though they were never there. He got to his knees and wrenched his eyes open to look up. He saw Arashii and in a blind rage found the strength to stand and hold Arashii up against the wall by his neck. "What did you do to me?" he yelled, anger pouring out of him as much as rain was pouring from the sky.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Time out!" Arashii choked out hoarsely, waving his hands as much as he could in front of him with his hat rather askew on top of his head. His blue eyes were wide with complete horror as they painfully gaped down at Nezu. "I didn't do anything! Are you drunk? You need to take it easy!" Arashii practically spat out his words now as he felt all air being cut off from entering his windpipe, and one of his shaking hands raised and grabbed Nezu's wrist in a dire attempt to free his neck from Nezu's grasp.

Nezu, rather reluctantly let go. He wanted answers and he wasn't going to get them by killing Arashii. As Arashii slid to the floor Nezu fell to his knees in a sudden loss of strength. "Did you at least see what happened?" he asked Arashii politely, well, at least more politely than before.

"Give me a little time to make sure my neck is still whole, huh? Jeez.." Arashii frowned at Nezu as he inspected his neck with a hand and then patted one of his pockets to make sure his iPod was still there. He nodded once to himself when he felt his music player was still in one piece, and then slowly pulled himself up from the floor, grimacing as he did. "Okay, one, I've been at the pub all night, and two, I have no idea who you are." Arashii listed, shoving his hands in his pockets as he watched Nezu with slightly narrowed eyes. "You got an anger management problem or something?" He asked with a raised eyebrow. "Or maybe you escaped from the loony bin and knocked your head while doing just that so you can't remember anything?"

At first, Nezu didn't say anything. He was in some kind of praying position asking himself so many questions in his head 'How did I get here? What happened? Who am I?'. Slowly he stood up and noticed Arashii fiddling with his pockets, Nezu copied and felt something in there and reached into his pocket and pulled out a battered leather wallet. Opening it he found nothing but a small card that says he was a member of the Nakamura High School and that his name was..."Nezu," he said, "my name is Nezu."

Arashii blinked at Nezu for a moment, and he pulled one hand out of his pocket which he waved lazily in front of him. "Whoopdeedoo.. he remembers his name." He said breathlessly with a roll of his eyes. "Okay, if you're THAT interested, I'm Arashii. I'm only gonna tell you that once, so don't forget it. Got it? Good." Arashii sighed and he shook his head, not waiting for a reply from Nezu. He took off his hat, revealing a head of wild lilac and grey hair which sat messily on top of his head, sticking out in all directions, and he quite literally squeezed his hat like a sponge so a miniature waterfall petruded from his cap. "What's that you got?" Arashii asked, nodding his head at Nezu's wallet, but more or less the card inside it.

"I don't know," Nezu replied "it's some kind of identification that says I go to the Nakamura High School. Maybe someone can tell me what happened there." This thought gave Nezu some hope, like the ray of sunshine that just broke through the black clouds that surrounded the sky. As the rain stopped Nezu gazed upwards towards the heavens with new determination to find out who he was. "Do you know the way to Nakamura High?" he asked Arashii pleasantly, hoping that the events that just occured wouldn't make Arashii unhelpful.

"Eh, unfortunately I do. I used to study there, but I got kicked out. They didn't like my idea of throwing rubbers at the teachers, I guess." Arashii replied unenthusiastically with a shrug as he frowned and watched Nezu for a moment. "I never saw you at school." Arashii said, his eyes narrowing slightly. "But then again, when I was there, I was in the class for the dumb people so we were always kept away from the other students so we wouldn't 'cramp their style'." Arashii shrugged again, and he shoved his hands in his pockets. "Y'know, you should get some dry clothes before you go wandering into school. People will think that you're insane."

"If I had anywhere to get clothes I would, you idiot." Nezu said impatiently. "Just hurry up and take me to the school".

Arashii raised an eyebrow at him again and he shrugged. "Fine. Get weird looks, then. I don't care. It's this way." He muttered, and he turned around on the spot where he began to head back in the direction of where he came from. While he began walking, expecting Nezu to follow after him, Arashii checked his watch. Five in the morning. Arashii figured that by the time he and Nezu arrived at the school, some of the teachers who held morning sports clubs would probably be there to offer some kind of help.

Chapter 2: Transparancy

Leading the way, Arashii made his way to Nakamura High followed closely by Nezu. They wandered down dark alleys and crossing busy streets under the watchful eye of the sun. The people in the streets were busily making their way to work, not paying attention to their surroundings at all.

"How far away is this place?" Nezu asked starting to loose patience.

Arashii blinked as he turned his head and looked at Nezu in complete disbelief. "Did you really hit your head THAT hard?" He asked, staring at Nezu as he continued walking onwards. "It's just across the road. Don't you recognise the big building?" Arashii asked, nodding and pointing across the road at a large grey building, which was no doubtedly a school. It had many windows, some of which had mathematical symbols stuck to the glass, and others had symbols and equasions which were references to science. The school appeared to have at least four or five floors, and in it's grounds were two tennis courts, a football pitch, and a spacious car park since not all of the teachers had arrived yet.

Nezu faced the school, and realised that Arashii was right, this was the school. Without saying a word to Arashii, Nezu ran across the street, not caring about traffic, and reached the gates of the school. Looking up to the top of the building and tracing back down again with his eyes he tried his hardest to remember, but he couldn't. Even being there at the school brought no memories back to him. Dissapointed, but still determined, he ran through the doors.

Arashii frowned after Nezu as he disappeared into the school, and he waved his hand half-heartedly as he shook his head. "Bye, then." He commented sarcastically, though he still followed after Nezu into the school with a very hesitant stride in his walk. Arashii wasn't particulary fond of the idea that he was entering a building which was completely off limits to him.

As Arashii walked through the doors of the school and placed his hand on Nezu's shoulder. "Well," he said with a sigh "this is it." All of a sudden Nezu sprinted off following the sound of a basketball echoing through the corridor. He met the sound in a giant hall where a single man was dribbling a basketball just under the net. "Hey!" Nezu called to gain the man's attention. The man did not move, or show any sign that he even heard Nezu. "Hey!" Nezu called again now running towards the man "Hey! Don't ignore me!". Nezu reaches the man, "Hey, why are you ignoring me?" Nezu asked, out of breath. Again the man showed no signs that he was being spoken to. Nezu, getting frustrated now push the man's shoulder, "Hey! I'm talking to you!". The man felt the fierce push that Nezu gave him but looked around as though he was blind.

"Wh-Who's there?" the man said with a quiver in his voice.

Arashii followed Nezu into the sports hall of the school, and he stopped when he came to the wide doorway where he leaned casually against it, his hands in his pockets. He sighed as he watched the basketball coach look around himself blindly. "He can't see or hear you." Arashii said softly.

"Wh-why not?" Nezu asked unable to turn around, still trying his hardest to make himself heard.

The man started to look quite frightful, his eyes were wide open with fear. "Wh-who's there?!" he repeated more aggresively.

Nezu turned to face Arashii, "What the hell is going on here?!" Nezu cried, an element of fear in his own voice now.

Arashii sighed and rolled his eyes as he shook his head. "Newbies.." He murmered, and then looked up at Nezu. He pointed a finger at the basketball coach as he began to speak. "He can't see or hear either of us. The reason being.. you're a spirit." Arashii explained. "And join the club, 'cause I'm a spirit too." He added with a shrug.

"What?" Nezu said "I can't be a spirit, you have to die to be a spirit, and i never died." Nezu thought about what he just said. He couldn't be dead. Surely he would remember something like that, but then again, maybe that's the reason as to why he can't remember anything at all. The more he thought about it, the more it made sense to him. "What happened to me?" he said quietly to himself, eyes wide with shock.

Arashii shrugged his shoulders again. "You obviously died. All spirits have to go through death before they become what they are. My departure from the real world wasn't pretty." Arashii said softly with a deep frown. "You really can't remember anything at all?"

"No, nothing." Nezu replied. He spent a few seconds trying, with all his might, to remember something. All of a sudden everything was pure white, it was blinding, all his lost memories flashed in an instant before his eyes. He could make out, a very tall building, it looked like an office building. Then as quick as it started it stopped. "We need to go." he said to Arashii before storming out of the hall and quickly leaving the school at a fast pace.

Arashii blinked after Nezu as he left the hall and school completely, and he frowned, scratching his head under his hat. "'We'?" He asked himself, his expression a puzzled one. He turned his head and looked back at the basketball coach who was still aimlessly looking around himself, and Arashii sighed at him. "Sorry, man. If I could explain, I would. But A, you can't hear me, and B, I kinda threw a basketball at your head so you wouldn't want to talk to me if you could." Arashii grinned to himself, and he followed Nezu out of the school.

Chapter 3: The Legend Goes Like This!

Nezu stood outside the school, looking around wildly for the tallest building he could see. He scanned the entire 360 degree radius that he was allowed in this part of the city. When he reached the end of his rotation he spotted it, about 5 blocks away from where he stood. He spent no time waiting for Arashii, and just ran straight for the building.

"Yo!" Arashii shouted after Nezu, frowning irritably as he began to sprint in an attempt to catch up with him. "Slow down, huh?" He frowned again as he ran after Nezu whilst slowly, but surely catching up with him.

After running for 10 minutes, Nezu finally reached the building. He looked up at the roof and remembered it from his visions, it was exactly the same as what he remembered. He started to look around the front of the building. It looked very official. Security guards stationed at the gates, CCTV placed at strategic point through out the entire grounds, quite frankly, it looked as though he had as much chance of getting into this building than feeling his heart beat again.

"Christ on a bike, what's up with you?" Arashii panted, leaning over with his hands on his knees as he skidded to a stop beside Nezu. He hadn't ran like that for a long time. He frowned as he straightened himself up and tilted his head back to study the building. "What's this place mean to you anyays?"

"I don't know yet," Nezu said to Arashii, "we need to get inside." Nezu didn't look at Arashii to see his reaction, nor did he really care. He just knew that he wanted to get into that building more than anything. "I remembered it back at the school, but I don't know how it links to me. That's why we have to get inside."

Arashii shrugged at him and he waved one of his hands lazily. "No sweat. Just walk right through the main door. They won't see either of us. They'll see the door open, sure, but they'll probably just think it's wind or something." Arashii grinned mischeiviously and raised his eyebrows at Nezu. "C'mon." He nodded and headed for the doors, however the security guards did not blink or move a muscle as Arashii approached them.

At first Nezu thought Arashii was insane, but then remembered that he was a spirit. No one could see him. "What about the cameras?" he asked Arashii curiously, "Aren't cameras supposed to be able to detect spirits. Like in those shows where they investigate haunted buildings with cameras?"

Arashii turned his head and he blinked at Nezu. "Eh?" He asked with a rather confused expression. "Why would sad sacks like these guys believe in spirits?"

"You have a point." Nezu confessed, and followed Arashii through the door. When they entered they were met by a gigantic main lobby mostly made of marble, all lit up by a massive chandelier that hung from the high ceiling. Nezu was taken a back as tis was not what he had expected at all. He expected guards and top security technology, not what appeared to be the lobby of a 5 star hotel.

Arashii's mouth fell open as he gazed around the lobby, and slowly, one of his eyebrows raised. He looked at Nezu and shot him a questioning glance. "Yeah, and?" Arashii asked him, motioning toward the lobby in general with a nod of his head.

Nezu caught Arashii's glance and sprinted towards the receptionist's desk. She didn't look up as Nezu arrived, he kept forgetting that he could not be seen by the living. He looked to the right of the desk and saw a list of what to find on each floor of the building. His eyes scrolled down the list until they reached the 9th floor, 'Department of Loans and Reposessions'. Next to the title was a picture of the head of the department. There was something about this man that Nezu recognised, but he couldn't place his finger on it. 'Well' he thought 'It's better than nothing.' With this thought in mind he made his way quietly to the 9th floor.

Arashii blinked after Nezu again and he frowned, shrugging to himself. "Fine, don't speak, then." He murmered with a small pout before he followed on after Nezu with an unenthusiastic step in his walk. "So where are we going exactly?" He asked Nezu once he caught up with him.

"We're going to the 9th floor. Jeez, why do you always need to know everything?" Nezu said in reply.

"Uh, maybe because you were asking me a load of questions earlier and now it's my turn?" Arashii suggested sarcastically with a raise of one of his eyebrows. "If you want to do this alone, fine, be my guest. I just thought that you'd want someone else like you around, y'know? It's better than being alone."

"I saw something on the receptionist's desk," Nezu said pretending not to hear what Arashii said "I saw a picture that i recognised." The rest of the climb to the 9th floor was silent. Nezu reached the door, and flung it open. What seemed to be just a regular office was on the other side, many identical cubicles stood before them and on the far side of the room a door to an office stood ajar. A light was on inside and shadows kept swishing past the door. There was some one in the office.

Arashii's eyes widened a little and they blinked at the shadows within the office. "Yo, hold up a second." He whispered, eyeing the office closely. "Whoever's in there won't see us, you do know that, don't you?" Arashii said, glancing at Nezu. "So if it's someone you want to talk to, your gonna have to do it the old fashioned spirit way."

Nezu looked confused in a mellow way. "Oh yeah, and how would I do that?"

Arashii shrugged at Nezu and he folded his arms as he watched him carefully. "Write down things on bits of paper maybe? Or if whoever is in there just happens to have an ouija board with them, you could always use that, too. It's your choice." Arashii shrugged again. "Either way, if you wanna get in there and see who it is, you'd better get in there quick. That way it'll be easier to communicate with them in a smaller space. I'll hold the door shut." Arashii nodded.

Nezu silently accepted Arashii's advice and pushed the door open. In the room there was a young girl who looked about the same age as Arashii and himself, she had long flowing blonde hair and Nezu was instantly taken a back by her beauty.

Jin was organizing things on top of the desk in the office, wearing a long gray business dress that had a blue button-up shirt over the top and her black heels clicked on the floor as she moved around, stacking papers, putting away files, and sliding books back onto the shelf at the far side of the room. Her curly blonde hair only reached about the middle of her shoulders, and was fairly thin, but healthy and shone under the overhead light with an almost white shine. Her brown eyes seemed empty and bored as she worked, and she sighed as she adjusted a picture on the desk that was of herself and the man that Nezu had seen on the floor plans in the lobby. Apparently, they were related. She sighed as she went to wash the windows next, obviously not having seen or heard Nezu's entrance.

Arashii followed after Nezu, but kept a small distance behind him. After all, this wasn't completely his business, so he didn't want to involve himself in it too much. He was just there as an aid of some kind. However when he stepped inside the office after Nezu, he blinked at Jin, and then slowly grinned at Nezu. He allowed a soft and quiet wolf whistle to petrude from his lips and he raised his eyebrows cheekily.

A muffled ringing sound was emmiting from some where in the room, Nezu wanted to see where it came from but could not take his eyes off of Jin, for some reason, in his eyes, the dark room was illuminated by just Jin's pressence.

Jin blinked at the muffled ringing sound and she turned around, looking at her purse on the counter beside the door and she went to it after setting the window cleaning supplies on the desk and she dug through her purse, trying to find her phone. Her wallet fell out of her purse and onto the floor as she did, and it fell open to a picture of Jin and Nezu in a picture together, looking happy and playful. She grabbed her phone and clicked the button after studying the screen and held it to her ear. "Hello, Jin Tsumang speaking." she said into it lazily as she knelt to clean up her wallet, along with a few other things that had fallen out of her purse--such as lip gloss, breath mints and a planner.

"Oi." Arashii murmered to Nezu, clicking his fingers in front of his face in an attempt to wake him from his bedazzled trance. "Dude. I know she's pretty and all, but don't you wanna find out what's going on? 'Cause you seemed pretty damn focused on it before." He asked, folding his arms and raising an eyebrow at him.

"This isn't the person I recognised," Nezu said "but now that I've seen her I feel like I know her." Nezu watched as the contents of Jin's purse scattered the floor and his eyes were drawn to the picture, he knelt down in order to help her gather her things, completely forgetting that he could be no help. As he knelt he got a closer look at the picture and recognised himself in it immediately, 'Do I know her?' he thought to himself.

Jin listened on the other line for a few seconds, then smiled softly to herself and finished picking up her stuff, tucking it all into her purse again, the picture vanishing from sight. "Hi, daddy. Yes, I'm at your office. Everything's ready for you, but I still have to make your breakfast." she said into the phone and fell silent as he spoke next. She chuckled, her voice soft and sounding like bells almost. She turned and walked into a room that looked like a bathroom, leaving the door open as she turned on the hot water to soak a rag.

Arashii frowned as leaned over with his hands on his knees, and he looked over Nezu's shoulder at the picture on the floor which had fallen out of Jin's bag. "Yo, are you supposed to be in that picture with her? Were you guys a thing?" He asked curiously, raising an eyebrow and looking at Nezu with grinning oceanic blue eyes.