Yukio stared at the small boy in the crown and silks, his mind racing.
Who was this kid, and how did he know his name?
And what was with the gold chain and rings?
Was this another weird part of the afterlife?
He looked from the respectful Michibiki to the casual, grinning boy.
"How do you know my name?"
He finally asked, the question filled with a mix of confusion and suspicion.
Fukui's grin widened as he floated up a few inches off the cloud-like ground, pointing his right index finger dramatically to the sky.
"Glad you asked,"
He said, his voice cheerful and full of himself.
"I'm Fukui, the god of fortune. Nice to meetcha."
He reached out a small hand, expecting a handshake.
Yukio took a step back, his disbelief finally bubbling over.
"Wait… you're a god?"
Fukui put his hands on his hips and puffed out his chest, a clear picture of childish pride.
"I am, and I'm the very god that gave you all that luck you had tonight,"
He boasted, his voice dropping slightly to a more serious tone.
"But it seems your light shined brighter than ever before… then you burned out."
Yukio stared, his suspicion giving way to a new layer of utter disbelief. He gestured wildly with his hands.
"First, I won a fortune. Then I died. Then I went to heaven, met a cosplayer, and now a god that looks like he could be my younger brother. What a night."
Michibiki's face flushed with anger.
"You dare talk to Lord Fukui like that? You don't deserve to be in his presence!"
She exclaimed, taking a protective step forward.
Fukui's high-pitched laughter echoed across the infinite white space.
"Michibiki... a cosplayer... Yukio, you're killing me!"
He giggled, wiping a tear from his eye. He waved a hand casually.
"Michibiki, relax, it's alright."
Michibiki instantly calmed herself and took a step back, bowing her head.
"Lord Fukui, forgive me for my outburst."
Fukui nodded, his goofy grin returning.
"Yukio, gotta tell you something."
He floated closer, his tone becoming conspiratorial.
"I might be the reason behind your death. You know that luck I gave you?"
He rubbed the back of his neck, looking a little sheepish.
"Yeah, I saw you won big money so I thought you didn't need it no more... so I took it back. But I ended up taking all your good fortune and gave you bad luck instead, you know? Then you got hit by a truck out of nowhere. Sorry, buddy."
He finished with a carefree, goofy smile on his face, as if he had just broken a vase rather than ended a life.
Yukio stood frozen for a moment, the cheerful words
"sorry, buddy"
Echoing in the vast white space. A silent, deranged laugh escaped his lips, his shoulders trembling.
He looked at the boy with a goofy smile on his face, his own expression a mask of disbelief and rising fury.
"Are you being serious?"
He asked, the words a low growl.
Suddenly, all sense of calm shattered. Yukio exploded with rage, lunging at Fukui with a furious roar.
"You little psycho!"
Before he could touch him, Michibiki's hand shot out. A shimmering, crystalline barrier rose in front of Yukio, blocking him with an unseen force.
He slammed into it, his fists hitting the transparent wall with a muffled thud, his eyes burning with pure hatred.
Fukui simply sighed, running a hand through his hair.
"I know you're mad. Understandable,"
he said with a careless shrug.
"But hey, at least your fortune wasn't wasted. You transferred it to your parents."
Yukio stared at him from behind the barrier, his eyes twin flames of rage.
Fukui let out another long sigh, as if this whole situation was a minor inconvenience for him.
"Look, I have an offer. Instead of going to heaven,"
He proposed, his voice suddenly serious,
"how about going to another world instead?"
Fukui's goofy smile never wavered.
"But of course, this world is different from your own,"
He said, the words as light as a song.
"In this world, creatures that you only see in fairy tales exist and run free. Beautiful lands and different races! You can experience all of that."
His expression didn't change as he continued.
"But here's the problem: for 300 years, demons have been at war with humans, so that's kinda unfortunate for you being a human. But hey, on the bright side, if you end up going to this world, I'll give you an ability to survive."
With a snap of his fingers, the shimmering barrier that held Yukio back vanished. Fukui then floated up a few feet, looking down at him with a mischievous grin.
"Just ask the God of Fortune, of course, and I'll make it your while,"
He said, the final words a confident, playful challenge.