true hell exists within a person; HEAVEN'S A LIE

Mikage Yuzuki

Yuzuki is a third year middle school student. On her way home one night, she is followed by a strange blue butterfly. As she is taking a bath, the butterfly dissolves into the water. As Yuzuki looks at her reflection, she is surprised to see Ai instead of herself. Ai comes out of the water and hugs Yuzuki, telling her to "open," and pulling her back into the water. After Yuzuki falls deep into the water, Ai kisses her. Yuzuki suddenly finds herself sitting normally in the bath like she was originally so she wonders if she was only dreaming. Standing up, the camera displays that there is a blue butterfly on her back.

Much like Tsugumi could in the past, Yuzuki could now see what Ai sees when coming in contact with clients. Much to Yuzuki's dismay, however, Ai is actually inside of her. She can talk with people and give them straw dolls without an actual body, but when someone pulls the string, she comes out of Yuzuki's body in order to send them to Hell. Yuzuki screams out in pain as cocoon-like wings grow out of her back and Ai "hatches" from them. All the while Yuzuki watches helplessly as people are tortured and brought to Hell.

Ai's companions wonder why Ai attached herself to Yuzuki, but want to know why she has returned more so. Yamawaro, Ai's newest companion, speculates that it is probably easier to move around in a human body than being a butterfly. Since Ai no longer has a body of her own, she needs to possess something to get around.

Saigawara City, where Yuzuki lives, is said to be the closest one can get to Hell. During the Edo period, sinners traveled from all over to reach the city in order to atone. The chief priest there wrote their sins on paper, put those papers on lanterns and placed a piece of their hair on it as a substitute for crossing over to the land of the dead. Thus, the Six-Mon Lantern Festival was eventually created. It is said that the gates to Hell open on that night. A short amount of time after Ai possesses Yuzuki's body, the festival approaches. Yuzuki, suffering greatly from her newly acquired abilities, writes "Jigoku Shoujo" on her lantern and sends it down the river in hopes of getting rid of Ai. As her lantern passes through the gates of Hell, a small boat flowing the opposite direction carries a cherry. Due to circumstances involving her best friend, Yuzuki ends up in front of the gates right at that moment. Later on, Ai comes out of Yuzuki's back and is able to exist on her own. Hell gave Ai her own body once more.

Though Yuzuki got her wish of being freed from Ai, she can still sense when other people are going to access Jigoku Tsuushin. Because her best friend is sent to Hell, Yuzuki makes it her mission to try and intervene with the lives of those people in order to prevent them from pulling the string. Ai makes many attempts to tell and show her that her efforts are futile because no one can stop the cycle of hatred. Even so, she still keeps trying. Ai watches over her and sees that she is suffering greatly. Finally, Ai answers all of Yuzuki's questions as to why she is tied to Ai. Yuzuki is destined to replace Ai as the new Jigoku Shoujo.

Yuzuki desperately tries to fight her fate because she hates Ai and wants nothing to do with being something so terrible. After Ai shows her the past that she forgot about, however, Yuzuki ultimately decides to accept her role. Ai disappears, and Yuzuki becomes the Jigoku Shoujo. Unfortunately, Yuzuki doesn't plan on accepting the job without doing it her own way. Ai returns to warn Yuzuki about the rules of sending people to Hell, but she is just blasted out of the way. Yuzuki attempts to send someone to Hell of her own volition, only to be stopped by the spider. He tells Yuzuki that she must go to Hell now as a punishment, but Ai intervenes and saves her. Ai tells him that she will accept Yuzuki's punishment, even if it means never being able to stop being Jigoku Shoujo. Yuzuki begins to disappear and Ai hugs her to reassure her that everything will be fine. Ai kisses her one last time in order to regain her powers as Jigoku Shoujo and smiles at Yuzuki. She then informs her that they are the same person after showing Yuzuki her own past, which is why she chose to take her punishment. Yuzuki thanks Ai before completely disappearing, leaving Ai to continue her job as Jigoku Shoujo forever.

b a c k   .   c l e a r   .   f o r w a r d    Heaven's a Lie and its contents are © Samantha, however Ai and Jigoku Shoujo are © Aniplex, Studio Deen and other rightful owners. Heaven's a Lie is a part of AFTER-DEATH.ORG.