The Ghost Problem

In an Afterlife,

Progression is not over

In a life; it waits.

I blacked out for a few minutes before I opened my eyes to many pairs of worried ones and a throbbing headache.

"Haruna, are you OK?" That was my classmate, Fujishima Mayu. I think she was the reason why I knocked onto the concrete. I stood up half way while holding my head as I met the eyes of my gym teacher, Izanami-sensei. She has very black short hair, just above her chin and a figure that kept true to her occupation. Lean but not overly muscular. Light tanned skin. Track is her favorite sport.

"Aoki, do you need to go the nurse's office? You shouldn't have ignored Fujishima's throw of death." Then I heard Mayu apologizing for her ball throwing technique. But I didn't blame her at all for my throbbing headache. I gave myself a push to the floor to get myself to stand. The small gym group of girls surrounded me in case I fell back again.

My head was throbbing, still. I was angry but not for the reason why anybody in the group would assume. I tried to not show the frustration I had on my face. I forced a small smile, "The nurse sounds like a good idea." My teacher gave a nod. She didn't think I was trying to skip out on gym. Which was partly true.

Izanami-sensei turned to my classmate. "Since you did the deed Fujishima, you should take her. Make sure she makes it to office in one piece." Mayu eagerly nodded and took one of my arms around her shoulders as we walked back into the school building.

I heard sensei telling the whole team to go back to the game. There were a few whines but the coach straightens them out with her authority. My head ached because of a game of dodge ball.

Mayu helped me walk me down the hall towards the nurse's office. She apologized once more.

"It's OK. My brain is not going to kill me," My tone was friendly and airy. I didn't want her to feel as sorry as she did. "Besides, it was my fault. I wasn't paying attention. And you were supposed to hit me- it was part of the game."

Mayu still felt remorseful but she gave me a small smile. "I guess you're right. You had the weirdest look on your face and it wasn't because the ball was coming at you!" Mayu is one of my 2nd year classmates in Meio High. We haven't gotten too many days into the new school year but we connected through our involvement with sports in this school. We knew each other from last year because of it. She is an all around nice person, with her medium length dark brown pigtails and big eyes. Only until you take her to gym class and the tennis club. She is one of the best girls in most sports and a competitive face to match.

"Weird…face?"

She chuckled, "Yeah! Weird! Your head and eyes were looking at the boy's side." The whole class played on separate courts for the sexes. "You are usually more focused when we play!"

She was right. I knew better since I had been a student part of the track team in Meio High since last year. I had grasp of the competitive nature the students who joined the sports clubs. Mayu was part of the Volleyball team so I to not pay attention to her throwing a ball was a dumb move. Most of the time, I was catching the balls to get the opposing girls' team out of the game. But an unfortunate thing distracted me today.

"Do you have the hots for one of the boys in our class?" Mayu mused with mischief. I had a feeling she was going to try to get the bottom of my unusual sporting behavior today.

I sighed, "No. They're not worth looking at, Mayu-chan."

She gasped as if I was out of my mind. "But you were looking at their direction. And how could you say 'they're not worth looking at'? I like to believe we have some good looking guys in our group." She sounded proud.

I rolled my eyes. Mayu already knew that I didn't care much about the opposite sex. She noticed how I interacted with the boys in my Track team. She assumed correctly that I was indifferent. Even though I explained to her that they were my teammates. And that's what they were to me. The boys in our class are our classmates and that's what they were.

"How did you not notice Minamino? He looked like he was playing a fierce game. Such concentration…" I glanced to my side and saw her cheeks become a little tint of pink. If anyone had the hots, it was her. It was an excitable moment when I found out that Mayu was in my class with me but what excited her, and she told me in confidentiality, was that Minamino was in our class as well.

"Does Minamino have a secret admirer?" I jeered weakly since my head continued to pound. But the words were strong enough to her on their own.

Her shoulders went tense under my arm. "Don't tell him! Not a soul!"

I really liked Mayu. She was different from me because she could be shy around people but her shyness melts away when sports are involved. I had comprehended that we are friends because I had passed by the Volleyball court after I had finished my laps for the afternoon. That was when I saw her amazing volleyball skills. It was like she had always had a volley ball on her as an accessory. She told me she had been playing since middle school. Then at that point, the forced she used when she was returning the ball from over the net, she accidently didn't realize that her form caused her to turn over and land harshly on her back on the opposing team's court. The game stopped at the moment when my expression froze. Without thinking, I ran to Mayu with just as much concern as her teammates. The sempai of the volleyball team wondered what I was doing here but before I could explain, Mayu opened her eyes and said: "I won!" Afterwards, the explanations were explained, and we began to talk more.

I placed a hand over my ear. "My brain is all in a mess. Maybe I'll go up to him and tell him." My tone was serious and I glanced at her as if her secret was so important that I must tell the appointed person. A second later I laughed before she made an objection. "I won't tell him anything; Minamino probably already knows."

"Haruna-chan!"

"Hey, it's possible. He probably also knows that we are talking about him right now." I said with a grin.

She glanced at me as she frowned. "Are you sure I didn't hit your head too hard?"

My composure softened into a drained smile, "It's up to the nurse."

/\/\/\/\/\

Mayu left me at the office and hurried off to class then I was told to lay down on the white bed and sheets with an ice pack on my forehead. The nurse told me that my skull did not crack when I fell on the pavement. In a humored tone she continued to say that it was not to be expected since the skull was strong enough to deal with it and if I just laid here until the pain went away I could make my way to change out of my gym clothes and go to class. She also suggested untying my ponytail of long black hair to lessen the tension on my head.

I stared at the wall. The nurse allowed me quiet when she pulled a curtain to my left and walked outside of the office. She said she would return in a couple of minutes. I took a deep breath. I was frustrated.

"I must've looked stupid when I stopped moving…" I told myself.

"You did." (Or so I thought.) A voiced responded with jest. I could feel my headache worsen. There was a translucent materialization of a person happening above my view of the ceiling. The translucent person grinned at me.

"It was only a little joke. I thought you would laugh at my surprise!"

"Go to hell, Seiichi." I grumbled. Obviously I knew him. And obviously, I was not happy to talk with him.

The translucent person pouted, "I wouldn't be here if I was."

You see, Seiichi was a ghost. A restless spirit stuck as a wandering ghost. He had been in limbo for a little over a century since his style of dress when he died was in armor-less dark blue kimono and he his top-knot was chopped off. His black hair limped short by his phantom cheek bones. He looked he could in his mid or late twenties. For why he had been limbo for so long, he never mentioned it. He is a baffling ghost but he enjoyed teasing me. He has a carefree nature and was hardly the spooky type. He had his serious moments too. The samurai nature graced his personality when it needs to in his belief.

And you're wondering how I'm vouching for a ghost? I have an abnormal talent of being able to see and talk to them.

"Why did you make me look at you when there was a ball aimed at my head?" I asked in aggravation. This was nothing new of Seiichi. But he appearing at school to make a showcase out of me was a new tactic from him. We had established an understanding that he wouldn't appear in school unless it was an emergency, not as his leisure.

He sat crossed legged as he floated above me. He thought he did nothing wrong. "Wanted to try something new."

I glared at him. If someone where to walk in this office right now and heard me talking to this ghost, they would think I was crazy. Most people can't see much less hear ghosts. "Seiichi."

He peered down at me then sighed. "You seem to be at low spirits when you are in school," He said. "I thought a surprise from me would change your mood."

I scoffed and then turned to my side on my bed, looking away from him. "Damn right it changed my mood. I'm pissed that you made a fool out of me." I closed my eyes wishing that he was gone. I felt a quiet drift. I opened my eyes- BAM- and there was the ghost samurai staring back at me. I frowned and furrowed my eyebrows.

He said with the most solemn face, "You have pretty eyes, you know."

I tossed to the other side as I took my ice pack and hit the side Seiichi was on. Of course, he wouldn't feel the impact due to his transparent form. I heard him grunt. "I guess redeeming myself is going to take more work."

"Damn right." I muttered.

Suddenly, the office door was opening. Seiichi had an understanding when to leave a room when a person comes in. But for some reason, he wasn't moving from a spot above me. I anxiously whispered, "This is your cue to leave!"

"Hmm, don't feel like it right now." He ruminated.

"Is everything all right, Aoki?" My body jolted to sit up right. It wasn't the nurse's voice. It was a male's. I was nervous but I tried to keep myself together. I hoped he didn't hear me taking to Seiichi.

"Uh, yeah! Fantastic!" With a gentle pull of the curtain, I saw the owner of the voice. I was surprised by my unexpected second guest. The guy greeted me with a smile plus a bag in his left hand. "Oh. It's you, Minamino. Where's the nurse?"

He rubbed the back of his head as he recalled, "She had an urgent phone call in the principal's office. She saw me on my way to lunch and asked me to bring this for you. I didn't have much of a choice." He walked over to the side of the bed and handed the bag to me. I looked inside. It was my light red colored school uniform. In comparison to Minamino's, it's bright instead of the subdued color the boy's uniform had. It almost reminded me the color of fuchsia. I moved my clothes in the bag and found an apple and a bottle of water.

Minamino spoke to answer my unspoken question: "She also mentioned those were for you in case you still had a headache." I couldn't help but to smile at the gesture. The school nurse did her job well.

"How is the head by the way Aoki?" His voice was smooth with humane sympathy.

I nodded. "Better, thank you."

He tilted his head a bit and looks at me curiously. "I saw what happened. It's not like you to be so…unguarded." My eyes darted a second towards Seiichi then back to Minamino. I made a nervous laugh. "Could this situation be even more uncomfortable? He's waiting for an answer. Wait. What's so uncomfortable about that?" I thought in a rush of nerves. I needed to come up with a response that didn't involve the supernatural being floating in the room.

"I...um, saw something strange on the boy's side of the court. It took me by surprise. Henceforth, Mayu-chan's throw of death was upon me before I could notice it." It wasn't completely untrue, but why tell Minamino that a ghost appeared in front of me without any pretense?

Minamino was one of my classmates just like Mayu-chan. And if it wasn't already obvious, I don't know him very well. Actually I believed this was the second time we actually exchanged words with each other. The last time we "spoke" was I had asked him to excuse me when I had to run down the hall to bring equipment for the Track team. But Minamino was someone that our class recognized as the polite, aloof, and un-Japanese looking high achiever. You would think he would be made fun of for the unique physical features he had such as his green eyes and his long dark red hair, though, for the most part, he was highly respected by the students and teachers alike. Do I respect him too? In a sense, yeah, sure I do. His cool exterior I can respect but at the same time, lying to it almost seems criminal. Why I believe so? I shrug as my answer. This was the perfect time to not think of consequences. The conclusion I can give you was that his manners were well-controlled and pleasantly polite.

He allowed my story to sink in. As smart as he was considered to be, he'd better buy it. To my relief, he made a thoughtful nod. "I see. What was it?"

I shifted my eyes to him then towards the resting bed trying to think the best way to finish my lie. "Um, a pretty sparrow flew by the trees on your side of the court." I held my eyes unto his and made my lips twitch into a smile. "It was a sparrow I never seen before. It looked exotic!" I could sense Seiichi containing his amusement.

His eyes widened to my enthusiasm. "You must like birds a lot, don't you?" He smiled. Then he made a quick bow, his hair shadowing any expression on his face. "I hope you will recover shortly Aoki." With that, he walked away from my quiescent space then the door clicked closed.

I breathed out with all the air I held inside of me. "Thank you, Kami-sama." I looked over to Seiichi to see him with a frozen blank expression. I wasn't worried so I took out the apple the nurse left in the bag and chomped on it, letting the sweetness of the fruit fill my mouth.

"He gives me the creeps."

I finished my whole bite of the apple before responding to him. "Why should he? I know he can be so freakishly cool from what I see. Is that the creepy part?"

I took another bite of my apple. Seiichi was silent. He was usually a chatty ghost. I shrugged thinking he was having a profound moment. It wouldn't be the first time. I just finished my fourth bite when he decided to speak again. "I think he knew I was here."

"Yeah, right." I said off-handily. Like I said before, most people can't see ghosts. I took out the water bottle that came with the apple. I was beginning to open the top. "He probably sensed you. Some people are sensitive to their surroundings. You know that, Seiichi." I drank my water thirstily. I did not realize that I was so dehydrated.

"He saw me Haruna!" He exclaimed, "His eyes…His eyes were looking at me!" I quickly swallowed my water down to giggle. "I'm serious. Haruna, I swear." His form came down to meet me at eye level. He was solemn and he showed that to me by his stare with his light brown phantom eyes. My eyelids lulled half closed. "Are you sure? Calm types are hard to read sometimes. It might've seemed that he saw you, which he didn't, and merely sensed you." I stressed. Being able to see ghosts in their full form was a rare ability. People were close to spirits, especially to those that they knew personally in their living life. It gave them comfort when they existed in flesh no longer.

But I hardly ever saw Seiichi paranoid. Yet, I wasn't worried. Minamino hardly seemed threatening, I think being able to see ghosts meant he was aware of the many supernatural beings that exist in this world. Not something a lot of teenagers were in-tuned with or cared about. But since he was collected in nature, I have trouble taking that possibility out of my mind. Great! Now he has me paranoid too!

I glared at Seiichi. "Just stay out of his way. He's only a classmate. Getting people involved with what isn't 'normal' is what my uncle and I try to avoid." I said, "We can't have people in harm's way. You know that there are scarier things than you. The less he knows and comprehends…the better." I looked down at my water bottle. Two thirds of it was gone. "Hopefully, he thought it was a hoax."

Seiichi looked uncertain. But I told him to hurry along his way because I was going to change out of my gym clothes then into my uniform.

/\/\/\/\/\/\

The rest of the day went smoothly. The nurse came back shortly after I was ready to leave for class. She apologized for not tending to me. The phone call was about her father. He had been in the hospital for a heart transplant and was in recovery. She told me her father had issues with the heart in the morning and her sister was keeping her posted. She didn't have a cell phone at the moment so she asked the principal's permission to keep alert of the office phone for her. I wished her the best of luck.

Besides half of my gym class and lunch, I made it for math and chemistry. I saw Mayu in both classes. She was happy to see me clear-headed. I also spotted Minamino. I ignored him since Seiichi's revelations were still fresh in my head. Then I felt by the end of the class that I should just forget about Minamino because the only thing I was able to remember about chemistry class was that the atomic number for helium was 2. Does that sound like an accomplishing student to you?

/\/\/\/\/\/\

When I finished with Track team practice at the end of the day, I said bye to everyone and gathered my things and left for home. Seiichi had finally given me the space I needed after the stupid stunt he pulled. I felt a little lighter walking home alone since Seiichi also started an unnecessary panic about Minamino. I swore with his personality, almost anybody should be able to see him!

As I walked, I noticed a couple of spirits wandering around the crowds when I crossed the streets. With the "talent" I had, the spirits that wander around the town were almost considered as the human citizens that were around me. For the most part, if I left them alone, then they would exchange the favor for me. Most of them don't notice that I could see what they do. My "talent" didn't have much to it, really. There were other parts to it but you might learn about them later.

"Hmm, how strange? " I thought in mind with vague interest. Normally, there are not many wandering spirits where I live. Most of them are taken through the River of Styx and are judged accordingly. I have noticed lately that there had been a bit more of poltergeist activity going around. So far, it hadn't looked a high concern to me; therefore I kept on walking to my home like I do any other day.

/\/\/\/\/\/\

Home. Home was in an apartment building. We lived in a building with 3 floors and 5 apartments on each floor. I lived on the second floor at the 5th apartment, down by the end a hall. I unlocked the door to enter.

"Sounds like she's home." I heard as I was closing the door. The voice was from my uncle, Nobu. I removed my shoes and left my black massager bag by the doorway.

By instinct, I looked to my left and became aware of a cooling steam coming from a tea kettle in our small kitchen. "Is someone else here, uncle?" I walked steps away from the kitchen (our apartment wasn't that big) and witnessed my uncle, plus a guest, sitting on the floor across from each other at the coffee table (mind you, coffee was hardly brewed around here).

"Hello Haruna." The visitor greeted with a tea cup safely held in his hands. My eyes gaped at him in suspicion for his visiting. The visitor wore a short sleeved blue robe with a long white undershirt tied together on his waist with a red sash. The black trimmings on the edges of the blue robe made it look elegant on his slender shoulders. He wore brown pants underneath the long robe. By looking at the face, he looked like a teenager. Dark brown, short hair, his bangs parted at the middle revealing a black 'Jr' mark. Light brown eyes. Between his teeth was a light blue pacifier. Oddly enough, he spoke normally even with the accessory there. A red cape was wrapped well around his neck and shoulders.

My uncle's left eye looked at me then back to his tea cup. "It's rude to stare Haruna." My uncle said roughly, his arms crossed around his chest. I hurriedly gathered myself.

"I-its nice to see you again, Koenma-sama!" I made a curt bow. As important as this guest was to us, he was a sign that something bizarre was going on. He normally doesn't make house visits. A visit usually meant he had to tell us the information himself instead of sending a messenger. I glimpsed at the off-white curtains that were closed over the window behind Koenma-sama.

I heard him chuckle. "No need to be so formal, Haruna-chan. I expect that from my subordinates. I think you would be capable of teaching them a thing or two as a matter of fact."

"But I had always called you 'Koenma-sama,' um, Koenma-sama…"

"Koenma-sama, you can tease Haruna later." My uncle looked over at me, "Have a seat Haruna. He came here for business." My uncle, Nobu, was not your typical, elderly person. He might seem like it by a glance but he's a sturdy man. His skin is pale and he had full head of black hair turning gray. He wore a white undershirt and black fighting slacks (this was how he looked on an off day). He is a scrawny-looking 177cm but don't let that fool you; he had a rough life. The easiest clue for that was a black eye patch he wore over his right eye. That eye was blind (according to him, I have never seen what his eye looked like underneath the patch). His left was a narrowed dark gray eye and his face was hardened with sharp edges. Despite his strong gait, his voice could be sweet or intimidating, depending on his mood. Right now it was coarse and authoritative.

I took a seat on the wooden floor by the back of the coffee table. My uncle turned his gaze towards Koenma-sama. "Bring her up to speed. She might be able to give you some insight."

Koenma-sama took a sip of tea from his cup. "As you are well aware, when someone dies their spirits is removed from their bodies then Botan takes them to Spirit World for judgment." I nodded. Koenma-sama is the prince of the Spirit World so he was in charge to where the souls go to. Botan-san was his personal assistant as the grim reaper. "But on occasion there would be fixated ghosts that were too stubborn to move away from the Human World. They have reasons to being attached to the living. Sometimes they find resolve, other times they don't. It happens." Setting his tea on the table, he moved a bit forward on the table, towards me. His eyes were solemn. "Have you noticed lately that there had been more spirits in the Human World?"

I paused a moment before responding. I don't understand why all this was important. "Yes. I have. They don't seem to be bothering anybody though."

"That's not the problem. The problem is the increase of ghost activity. More souls have been fixated in the Human World. Botan had been having a hard time because these ghosts are impossible." He closed his eyes, "These ghosts have actual weight on them." He moved back to sitting straight and drank more tea.

"Koenma-sama is worried of this being the work from people that can control spirits. Their free will." I turned to my uncle and saw him stare at his tea in its cup, pensive.

My heart began to race. I enclosed my hands as I glanced at Koenma-sama. "Why would that be happening? That doesn't make any sense."

With a stern voice he told me, "Necromancy."

I stared at Koenma-sama in disbelief. Necromancy was the practice of bringing the dead from the grave and this practice could also include being able to have different degrees of control on ghosts. But this practice was also…rare. In the Ningenkai, anyway. It's a practice that held complex rules and needs plenty of spiritual energy to commit to it.

"Do you know who it could be?" I asked, trying to keep my voice even and not have my anxiety show.

Koenma-sama sighed, "Unfortunately no. People who know such a craft are usually good at hiding." He continued, "The fortunate part is that both you and Nobu here might be able to find a clue to about it."

I turned to my uncle and he smiled, "This time you are going to be useful."

"Useful? Me?"

"Yes." Koenma said.

I turned my head completely to the prince. His eyes were smiling. Not an overly optimistic one but one with sincerity. "I would like you to try to talk to some of these ghosts you see around you. They haven't been responding to Botan and I can't influence them." He said. "Hopefully, you can also try to get some information about this necromancer at work."

"I-I don't know." I stammered. It was one thing to have this ability of being to see and talk to ghosts as they were people down the street. It was wholly another to actually go up to some ghosts and ask them: "Have there been a necromancer in town?" I worried because necromancy also could make ghosts do uncharacteristic actions and cause harm. Something like that sounded unpredictable.

"Do you have any leads?" Uncle asked to Koenma.

"According from one of my associates, there had been rumors from—" He coughed, "that other world, of those possibly involved. It's not certain if they possess the dark art but it's always nice to have something to work with. I'm sure you can appreciate that Nobu." He took his final drink of tea from his cup. "I contacted the spirit detective that I told you about and Botan was able to get in touch with some friends of his as well."

That other world… I had to suppress a shudder because I knew what world he was talking about. It was the Makai. A place I am not very fond of. Koenma-sama and uncle knew my feelings about it and tried to not mention about it. I had my reasons.

And Koenma-sama also mentioned "spirit detective." He talks to uncle casually about the spirit detective and all I know that he was male and works for Koenma-sama. Uncle knew more than I did.

A smirk appeared on my uncle's face. "Do you think it's wise to have Haruna involved with the spirit detective and his friends? Oh, I don't know? The type of company he keeps?"

Koenma-sama's face seemed unsure.

"I have no doubt in Haruna in being able to getting the job done and also having the detective there in case the mission does become more than it should be." I stared at uncle and his expression to me said, "go ahead, ask the question."

"What do you mean by company, uncle?"

He grunted, "The boy is friends with demons. That might be a problem for you despite the fact that they have been proven to be loyal."

Koenma-sama's uncertainty was apparent on his face. My guess was that he was more worried about me about my possible meeting of another's demon acquaintances than the mission now.

"I am not sure if the demon population of the group would be joining in this. They are only told to be kept aware. It's only a possibility, Haruna-chan…"

My lip twitched. Yes, it was a fact that I don't like demons but Koenma-sama was asking me for help. Time to show off some pride. "I'm still in, Koenma-sama!"

His eyes looked at me in surprise, "You will still do it even with the possibility of working with demons?"

I smiled and I hoped I feigned doubtlessness, "Yup!"

Uncle made a soft smile as his single gray closed. "Looks like we prepare for tomorrow night, Koenma-sama."

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

A/N: Don't pay mind to the way I'm breaking up my chapter... The lines don't always work for me. :T Anyway, after quite a long time since I have updated this story, I have decided to thoroughly examine and edit it. So I hope those of you who have read this story and are now seeing the update, like the changes I did to it. As for the other chapters, they are also being changed at the moment. The story is definitely going to be different from before but the concepts are most likely to stick the same or a similar way. I hope you all could agree with me that this is an improvedversion! :)