A reviewer on one of my other Ghost Hunt fanfics asked if i could do one with someone who died and ended up in Ghost Hunt. and i did it... tada :P

Oh no. No, no, no, no, no! T-This is… I shakily reached a hand up and pulled it over the short, two-block cut of curly brown hair as I looked at unfamiliar dark eyes. This can't be right. T-This isn't me. I had blonde hair, green eyes. I-I was short, not this slim stick height! What the hell happened?!

The sound of crunching metal.

Water slowly rising up.

The burn of salt water filling my lungs.

I coughed, doubling over just at the thought and clutching at my throat as realization dawned on me.

"I-I… died. I remember dying, so why…"

I turned away from the mirror and scrambled through the room I was in, turning it inside out to figure out what the hell was going on. Hisoka Yuu. Japan? I'm in Japan? And this… this is this person's body? But how… I flopped back onto the bed as tears pooled in my eyes and I sniffed.

"I d-died."

Mom, Ashton, Mickey… they're going to be devastated. I curled up in a ball, rolling onto my side and sobbed for hours until I'd run out of tears. I had died, swerving to avoid the undoubtedly drunk driver of an incoming semi on the way to town from our summer cabin. Then, an alarm went off and I sat up to look at it. What… I picked up Yuu's—No, it's mine now, isn't it?—phone, flipping past the lock screen despite not having the slightest idea what the pin was. But this body knew. Just as it recognized the people on my wallpaper as my friends, but one face nearly had me dropping the phone in shock as my mind supplied the name.

"Taniyama Mai." I muttered. "Y-You're kidding, right? This is some sick joke, yeah? I-I can't be…"

I swallowed thickly, shaking my head and checking my alarm title. School… I have to go to school. My heart sank at the thought of repeating another dozen years of schooling after having just finished getting my degree in Criminal Psychology before… Before I died. I scowled, tightening my grip on my phone before dropping it and slapping both my cheeks.

"No. Stop this. I died, so what? I'm alive now—different person or not—and I need to move on. Accept it. This is how I'm going to be."

I took a deep breath and stood, raising my chin and nodding. I wouldn't forget about my old family, but dwelling on something that can't change was just stupid in my books. So I went and showered, changing into the required uniform and silently questioning how Yuu had managed to convince the principal to allow her to wear the male uniform until the answer slipped into my mind. Ah, Yuu's pretty clever to point out the flaw in the school handbook that says 'uniforms are mandatory' but not that girls have to wear the girl's uniform. Which is fine by me. I've always been a pants person. I went out of my room and paused though, rather surprised by the fact that my 'home' was a single bedroom apartment.

"Wha… but I thought…"

I remembered one of Yuu's memories from long ago of her caretaker informing her that she'd been abandoned as a child by her mother and her other family was nonexistent. Orphan then. Somewhat privileged if I can afford my own place, though if I remember right, Mai has similar issues. The school's helping us pay for the apartments so long as we get decent grades. I shook my head, moving to the kitchen and grabbing the bento box Yuu had made the night before which made me pause. Does that mean Yuu's still in me somewhere? Or did I… did I kill her?

"No. Nope. Shut up, brain. Now's not the time." I grumbled to myself, heading to the door to start walking.

The school wasn't far and only took me a few moments before I was in the gates and heading to my seat by the window. All the cool kids get the window seats. I mused idly, staring out at the old school building with a frown. I'm in 'Ghost Hunt'. Near the beginning too, if that building's still there. But man, what kind of sick joke is this? Who drops a dead chick into someone else in a Japanese series about the paranormal? If I don't get found out within the day, I'll be shocked. I blinked then, seeing a small sparrow on the window seal with empty sockets for eyes. I jumped to my feet, heart pounding and the color draining from my face. W-Wha—A hand touched my arm then, making me flinch away from the person only to see Mai's concerned face looking at me in worry.

"Are you okay, Yuu?"

"Y-Yeah, I just…" I looked back at the window, but the bird flew off and I relaxed minutely. "It's nothing. Just thought I saw something."

"Oh." She lowered her voice then, leaning in slightly. "Was it another ghost?"

I turned to her in mild surprise, forcing myself to hide it when she looked at me. Ghosts. I can see ghosts too? Great. Least she seems alright with it. Still, I won't press the issue. It'd be best if I just forgot about it.

'Yeah, just a… bird." I muttered, slowly sitting back down again as she sat in the chair next to me.

"Oh, I forgot." She said suddenly, making me turn to her in confusion. "I promised to go out with you for taiyaki tomorrow, didn't I?"

I don't know, but even my old self loved those pancake fish.

She clapped her hands together and bowed her head. "I'm sorry! I'm supposed to help Naru tomorrow morning."

"I-It's fine." I said, the sound of Naru making me hesitate.

Not that early then. Tomorrow's Sunday too, so the whole mess with the school building should be finished up by then.

"I know! You can come with me! We could use the extra help since we'll probably just be moving equipment around. You're strong."

I sweatdropped and she waved her hands back and forth.

"I-I mean, you don't have to. We can just reschedule."

I shook my head. "No, it's fine. I'll join you."

Honestly, I'm surprised she hasn't noticed I'm not Yuu. We must have been similar enough in personalities that it doesn't show. Still, I feel bad at how quickly I'm just settling in and accepting this. Maybe I'll have a psychotic break later this week or something… God, I'm a mess. I sighed and dropped my head into my hands, missing the worried look Mai sent me as the teacher came in and class began.

The rest of that day had been rough. I ended up returning to the apartment after school and promptly dealing with a sudden bout of depression, only to wake up the next morning after a nightmare of my death and possibly two hours of sleep to feel suddenly very out of place. It took me a while to orientate myself to the situation I was being forced to deal with, and when Mai showed up to take me with her to bother Naru, I was sure I must have been quite the sight.

"Yuu! You look horrible!"

I blinked slowly at her, slouching tiredly with my toothbrush sticking out of my mouth. "Gimme a minute." I mumbled, turning back to head into the bathroom as she let herself in.

I finished and made sure to grab the strong black coffee I'd started up earlier; taking three thermoses of it to ensure I'd be awake for the next dozen hours.

"Are you alright? We can do this some other time if you're not feeling up to it."

"I'm fine." I countered, pulling a hand through my hair with a sigh. "I just had a bad night, that's all. I actually think getting out right now would help."

"Well, if you're sure."

We chitchatted idly on the way to the old school building about Naru mostly and what she'd been up to with that group of psychics and monks and such.

"Maybe they can give you some advice for the stuff you see." She offered and I winced.

"Actually, I'd rather they didn't know."

"Hm, yeah. I mean, Kuroda is saying she's feeling spirits and stuff too and it's brought her some… not so great attention at school. I can see why you wouldn't like anyone to know." She mused. "I just thought that since they're professionals they might be able to help or something."

"It's fine." I shrugged, rubbing at my arm where I'd discovered three long scars wrapping around the back of my elbow and over my upper arm.

Remnants of pissing off a ghost at some point, according to Yuu's memories. Nasty business that made her rather reluctant to get involved in the paranormal. I shivered and tugged my coat closer around me as we approached the school building. Mai led the way upstairs to the base they'd set up, calling out.

"Naru? Naru, are you there?"

"I think I saw a van outside." I pointed out. "We should check there."

"Alright." She nodded and sure enough, Naru was sleeping in the back. "Naru! You're going to catch a cold, sleeping in here."

He slowly woke up, making Mai's cheeks redden as he looked up. "Mai, what are you doing here this early in the morning?"

"Ah, early in the morning? It's already past eleven." She said, more than a little flustered. "Ah! Would you like a cup of coffee?"

"Sure." He muttered and she elbowed me in the side, making me scowl as I reached into my pack and reluctantly open up one of my thermoses of coffee.

"It's black." I muttered, pouring him some into the lid before handing it over and drinking right from the thermos.

His eyes narrowed, but he tried it and it seemed to suit his tastes well enough, but of course, he looked suspiciously at me then.

"Ah, right. Naru, this is Hisoka Yuu. Yuu, this is Shibuya Kazuya."

I lifted a hand in greeting, preoccupied with drinking my coffee as I spotted the empty eyed bird watching us from a tree nearby. God, that's creepy.

"I promised her we'd get taiyaki today and instead of rescheduling, she was willing to help here for a bit beforehand." Mai explained, before questioning him. "Did you find out anything last night?"

"Yeah." He answered, still looking at me for a moment, then he turned back to her and rattled off an explanation about there being no ghosts but foundation problems instead.

Of course she was stunned and the rest of the group decided to show up then.

"What's going on, boyo? You're already packing up?" Bou-san questioned, before spotting me. "And who's this?"

"Mai's friend." He said, brushing it off quickly. "And yes, I'm packing up."

"You must be kidding?! Why?!"

"I have decided that this case is closed." Naru replied, gathering some papers.

"Did you exorcise?"

"No, I didn't."

He handed the papers to Bou-san who flipped through them confused as I leaned over and took a peek as well.

"What's this?"

"A level scale graph. This building sank more than 0.2 inches just overnight."

"What?!"

"Land subsidence?!"

The others tried to get closer looks as well and Ayako turned to Naru in shock.

"That's it? The psychic phenomenon was caused by this?"

Naru explained. "This whole development was built on top of damp ground. Based on the number of wells that I checked, directly underneath the school there is a big water vein running through. There are two other wells, but when I checked for the amount of water in them, they were both empty. So that's what's going on."

"What is going on?" Mai questioned confused and I pointed to the graph on the paper to explain.

"The school was built on wet soil and now that the water is evaporating, that soil is drying up and becoming more compact. The space where the water used to be is just air now, so the weight of the school is pressing down on that and slowly sinking. Because of that, the building is probably shifting and distorting."

Naru nodded. "Exactly."

"Then that's what would have caused the chair to move and the ceiling to collapse." Mai concluded.

"Precisely. The classroom floor on the West side is three inches lower than the one on the East side."

"That's a big gap."

"And that rapping sound?" Ayako questioned and I spoke up again.

"Probably wood creaking."

Naru sighed. "The area around this building should be declared unsafe to enter. Sooner or later this building will collapse."

He got up and started to head into the building; Mai and us following. Myself, if only to help move his equipment and get my taiyaki. Kuroda showed up then though and upon Naru explaining his answer to her, she promptly flipped out about it.

"That's fine, but it still doesn't explain the day I was attack!"

"Perhaps it was a floating spirit that likes to follow you around." Naru said bluntly, but Kuroda was insistent.

"I still think that there are spirits here."

"No, there aren't. The research has proven that there's nothing here."

"It may just be that you can't perceive it." She pressed and I could practically hear Naru's patience snap.

"Then you should exorcise it yourself. I've decided that my job is done, so I'm leaving."

Kuroda huffed and went to leave, but I winced and brought a hand to my head. Black and violet smoke trailed around her before I blinked and it was gone. It was then though, that I remembered what happened and I hurried towards Mai as the windows started to crack.

"Mai! Get away from the windows!"

She stopped, turning to me in confusion as I pushed her towards Naru and reached out to grab Kuroda's arm before pulling her away from the windows as they shattered. I quickly handed her off to Mia, wincing at a sudden pain in the hand that had been holding her arm as the loud banging started up.

"Is it collapsing?" Naru muttered, but then the door started slamming open and closed and he tugged Mai towards the set of windows going outside. "Let's get out of here! It's not safe anymore!"

He went to brush aside the remaining glass, but I grabbed his hand and stopped him. He frowned, but before he could retort I took off my coat and wrapped it around my hand as I removed any troublesome glass shards and laid it over the bottom sill should I have missed anything.

"Go on! Hurry up!"

The four of us climbed out and moved to the front of the building where the others had gathered to look at the building in shock.

"Incredible."

Mai and Ayako turned to Kuroda.

"Are you alright?"

"You're bleeding. Let me see your hand."

Bou-san though, was more focused on Naru. "So what was that all about? You're gonna tell me all that was caused by the land sinking? That, my friend, was definitely a poltergeist!"

Ayako agreed. "Not only did we hear the building warp, but we also heard someone banging on the wall!"

They continued to argue against Naru's theory before walking off, upsetting Mai in the process.

"What was that? All of a sudden they're acting like buddies." She complained. "Naru, what are we going to do?"

He remained quiet and then began to walk off as well.

"Na—"

"Go take care of Kuroda. I just… I just need to be alone for a while. I hate myself so much that it makes me sick."

"Oi." I snipped, making him pause. "I think you're right, so stop this stupid talk about hating yourself, idiot."

I swore he smiled before he left, but because he was facing away from me, I couldn't be certain. All I knew was that the day would only drag on from here.

"Come on, Mai. We better start moving his equipment."

"R-Right…"

"Mai, I set up the tape recorder on the second floor like you asked." I hummed, rubbing at my bandaged hand after Mai had noticed I was bleeding earlier.

"Stop rubbing at it." She scolded before we heard a noise and we both turned to the sound. "Naru?"

Kuroda stepped out instead though and I frowned lightly.

"How's it going?" She asked.

"Well, since you left, the monk and miko have both performed exorcisms. We're just making sure everything is okay."

"Where's Shibuya-san?"

Mai huffed. "I have no idea. I wonder if evil spirits are really here."

"I saw one." Kuroda insisted and Mai hesitated.

"That's right. You mentioned that." She glanced at me then, asking for silent confirmation as to whether or not spirits were here, I'm assuming, and I shook my head before someone came downstairs.

"Oh." Ayako smirked. "Playtime is over. You kids should go home. The exorcism was a success."

Calling me a kid, please. If it weren't for the fact that I died she wouldn't be calling me a kid. I mentally scoffed.

"You shouldn't count your chickens before they hatch." I grumbled as Mai agreed.

"She's right. You said that last time."

"This time we're sure." Ayako insisted and I rolled my eyes.

"Don't people usually wait to see if nothing more happens before being certain an exorcism is successful? Just because nothing happened in a few minutes doesn't mean it worked." I drawled. "Besides, if there's no spirits here to begin with, then it would look successful, wouldn't it?"

"Why you—"

"No. Spirits are still here." Kuroda cut Ayako off. "I can feel it. There are many spirits still here."

"Playing your psychic game again? Cut it out." Ayako scoffed. "Leave it to the professionals."

"Yeah, professionals who can't exorcise something that's not even there." I muttered under my breath to Mai as Bou-san headed over with a grin.

"Rest assured, Ayako may have blown it, but I did it right."

"How dare you?!" Ayako shouted and I sighed as they started up another argument.

"I'm just being honest."

"Will you knock it off?!"

"No, you."

"Are you trying to take all the credit?!"

There was a sudden tapping that made everyone go silent, sounding like steps upstairs. I frowned, eyeing the ceiling, but said nothing as Mai grabbed my sleeve.

"Is someone up there?" Ayako questioned.

"No way! All of us are here."

The steps continued until there was a louder 'bang' and everything went quiet. Determined, Bou-san dashed up the stairs and Mai shivered.

"Is there someone here?"

"No, there can't be." Ayako insisted, making her angry.

"Wait, there can't be?! I know I heard it! Everyone else heard it! And Takigawa-san heard it too, right?!"

"It was just the wind."

"That's ridiculous! Why don't you admit that this exorcism failed too?! You were so arrogant earlier when you were lecturing Naru, but did Naru try to give you lame excuses like you're giving us?! Why don't you guys try acting like adults?!"

There was more banging and steps and I cursed under my breath.

"Oi! We need to go now! It's unsafe!"

I ushered Kuroda and the others out, but made sure to stick by Mai just as the shoe rack began to fall.

"Mai!"

"Look out!"

I grunted as I rammed into the shoe rack, preventing it from falling on top of Mai—who was unconscious now—before Bou-san hurried over and helped me stand it upright again.

"T-Thanks." I said with a cringe, back throbbing.

But the building went on making noise and Bou-san scooped up Mai and helped me along as best he could to get us out of the building. I sighed in relief once we were outside and he laid Mai down in the back of Naru's van; myself taking a seat on the edge gingerly.

"You alright?" He asked, concerned. "That shoe rack was pretty heavy."

"I'm fine. I'll ice my back later."

Ayako though stomped over with her hands on her hips. "That was reckless! Come on, I'll check your back."

"W-What?" I stuttered out, embarrassed as Bou-san ushered John away so Ayako could continue her assault.

"You heard me! Shirt up!"

I went to argue some more, but the look in her eyes even had the near thirty-year-old me begrudgingly giving in. I turned and allowed her to carefully lift up the back of my shirt and I felt her fingers lightly touch my tender back, making me hiss in pain.

"Oi, that hurts."

"You'll definitely need to ice it and no more heavy-lifting for a while either. Honestly, what were you thinking?"

I scowled, tugging down my shirt as the others headed back. "I was thinking that I didn't want Mai getting hurt."

Bou-san smiled, ruffling my hair and making me glare at him for doing so. "Probably a good thing she did too. Mai could have seriously been hurt if that shoe rack fell on her."

"Then you can go get an ice pack for her." Ayako chided him and he sighed, begrudgingly heading to go and taking John with him as I called out.

"And bring me back some taiyaki!"

Mai had ended up waking a while later and apologized about us completely missing out on our taiyaki outing, but I reassured her it was fine before we headed our separate ways. The next morning, I was sore beyond belief, groaning at how my soft, cushiony bed felt like I'd been sleeping on solid rock all night. Mai saw my half-conscious self wander into class that morning and quickly apologized for everything.

"I'm so, so sorry." She repeated again, looking me over in concern. "How bad is it?"

"Not bad enough for you to keep apologizing for. I'm more tired than anything, really. I haven't been sleeping well lately. Nightmares." I grumbled, pulling out a thermos of black coffee and chugging down half of it right there when a teacher came in.

"Kuroda, Taniyama, Hisoka. Come to the principal's office immediately."

Mai and I exchanged glances, but I shrugged and trailed off after her as she led the way. Upon entering, we were met up with everyone else sitting in a half-circle of chairs across from the principal and Naru.

"Please, sit down." The principal said. "Now, everyone who was involved in the incident is here."

"One moment, please." Naru said, closing the window and turning on a light that slowly glowed on and off.

Great. Why do I have to go through this too? I was there for a day to help move equipment. I mentally complained, but did as Naru said and focused on the light.

"Breathe please with the light. Slowly. Relax. You can hear yourself breathing. Please count your breaths in your head."

I slowly closed my eyes, feeling more relaxed than I had since I'd woken up here.

"Tonight, something is going to happen." Naru's voice rang out from far off. "The chair on the second floor in the old school building. That chair is going to move. Tonight that will be placed in the lab in the building."

Chair… the lab… I soon slipped into unconsciousness, completely asleep even after Naru had opened the curtains and made everyone else snap out of it.

"Very good. Thank you everyone." Naru announced, making sure that everyone in the room glimpsed at the chair under his hand.

Well, everyone except one.

Bou-san snorted. "Oi, Mai. I think your friend here is asleep."

"Huh?"

Sure enough, Yuu was completely asleep, lightly breathing and her head tipped to her chest with her arms crossed.

"S-Sorry. She hasn't been sleeping well lately." Mai apologized, lightly shaking her shoulders to try and rouse her.

"That and her making sure to stay awake and keep an eye on you last night." Bou-san added. "I saw her nodding off, but she'd snap right back up, walk around a bit, drink some coffee and settle back down to do the process over again. She hasn't been sleeping either?"

Mai shook her head, worry evident on her face. "Something's been bugging her the past few days. And she's… just acting a bit different. It's weird, but… she doesn't like to talk about things concerning herself much."

"No kidding." Ayako huffed as Yuu slowly woke and blinked.

"Hm?" She rubbed her eyes and then spotted everyone staring at her, making her frown. "What? I was tired. Sue me."

"Good to know her attitude's still there." Ayako complained and Mai chuckled nervously as she lightly pushed Yuu towards the door; not wanting a confrontation here in the principal's office.

Only Yuu would be the one to do that without thinking about the consequences.

She managed to convince Yuu to rest in the nurse's office for a bit and then took off after Naru.

"Naru! Where were you yesterday?" She asked him once she'd caught up.

"I had to run errands. I heard your friend was hurt."

"She has some bruising on her back from stopping a shoe rack from falling on me, but insists it's nothing. But what was that whole thing in the principal's office about?"

"Don't you have to get to class?"

"Who cares?!"

Naru smirked. "I see. No wonder you don't know anything."

Mai wrinkled her nose in annoyance, but calmed herself. "I need to ask you something. You came back to the building last night, didn't you?"

"The old building? No. But I went there just a little while ago. Why?" He replied.

"Oh, it's nothing. Don't worry about it!" Mai said quickly, waving her hands around. "Well then, I do have to get back to class. See you later!"

Of course Naru wouldn't smile at me like that. Yeah, yeah. It was a dream. A dream. Mai told herself, pink in embarrassment. But wait… why in the world would I have a dream like that?... Wait a minute, Taniyama Mai! Is it… Is it… Is that it?!

Chair… Chair… the lab…

Screeching tires… skidding… weightlessness…

Crashing… water… the water's rising…

Need to get out… can't breathe…

Can't breathe!

I sat upright with a gasp, a hand on my throat as I choked and coughed and wheezed. It took a moment for me to calm down and get a look at who was patting my back and I winced at Mai's worried face.

"Are you okay?" She asked and I nodded. "I was just coming to check up on you before I dropped by to see if Naru needed any more help and you were…" Her eyes trailed down to my throat. "W-Well, you were grabbing at your neck, so I tried to wake you."

I grimaced as I lightly touched my aching neck. "Sorry. It was a nightmare."

"Oh, well… If you want to talk about it, I'm willing to listen, you know."

And she did believe the whole 'I see ghosts' thing… "N-Not right now. Maybe, um, maybe later." I begrudgingly offered and she smiled, satisfied enough with that.

"Well, alright. Do you want to come with me? We can always go for that taiyaki I promised afterwards, since I sort of missed out the other day." She offered and I shrugged.

"Sure."

She seemed rather distracted on the way there, but I said nothing, enjoying the quiet as we approached the van where Naru was sitting, listening to something in a pair of headphones.

"Did you set up the tape recorder last night?"

"Ah, yeah. Yuu helped me set it up."

I winced. "Wasn't sure if I got the connections right on the video though, so we just left it."

"You both did a good job. It sounds like we were able to record some useful things." He complimented, though I silently wondered if he thought I was a part of their little entourage now because I helped Mai out a bit.

I'd really rather not get involved, if I can help it, but I doubt I can. It's more interesting than I thought, anyway. Though with my whole being dead and seeing ghosts thing, I wouldn't be surprised if they found out and dragged me into this. I was sort of zoned out while he and Mai talking about poltergeists, but a camera was shoved into my arms and I took it with a small frown.

"Come on. Make yourself useful." Naru told me before walking off with some cables.

I huffed through my nose and Mai rubbed the back of her neck with a nervous chuckle.

"Sorry, Yuu. Looks like taiyaki will have to wait."

I started heading off after Naru as well. "I want dango too."

"What?!"

I eyed her in slight annoyance at my snacks being denied twice. "Consider it interest for you missing the first time."

She sighed, bowing her head, but begrudgingly agreeing to the added sweets before Naru handed her the cables and grabbed a chair. We brought all the equipment into the lab of the old school building and placed it in the center of the room. He then laid the cable in a circle around it and set up the stand for the camera as I set said object in place.

"What's this for?" Mai asked, being ignored for a moment before trailing after Naru as he setup some other device in the hall. "Hey, hey, hey. What's this, Naru? What is that?"

"This is a radar." He replied as I yawned and leaned in the doorway.

"You mean like on an airplane? What are we using one for?"

"If I told you, it won't work."

"But I'm your assistant"

"No, I can't." He insisted. "I'll let you know tomorrow, but you can't ask me until then."

I laid a hand on Mai's shoulder. "It's fine, Mai. We'll just have to wait."

She pouted, but then Naru nodded to some boards leaning against the wall as he passed me the hammer he'd brought with him.

"Cover up all of the windows in the lab with those veneer boards over there."

"Yes, boss." I chimed, annoyed but knowing what they were being used for and wrapping an arm around Mai's shoulders to drag her over with me.

My back ached when we were finished—the boards not exactly being light, but not too heavy either—and Naru passed us a marker.

"Now would both of you please write your names on that board."

We exchanged looks, but did as he said; Mai asking what it was for again before we were told to sign some paper as well.

"Sign here too. You can go home when you're done."

"Huh!?"

Naru ignored her and Mai gave me a look, but I was rubbing at my shoulder with a small grimace.

"Are you alright, Yuu?"

"Those boards were heavy. My back hurts." I grumbled out a complaint and she apologized again for what happened.

Thankfully, I finally got my taiyaki that evening, but the next morning, I wasn't the only one exhausted. Mai was slowly moving along with me back over to where Naru's van was, neither of us having slept much the previous evening, and this time, Naru wasn't alone. Lin hovered nearby with a crutch and immediately, Mai grew nervous.

"Friend of yours?" I hummed, slightly teasing.

"Sh!" She shushed me. "And no, he's Naru's assistant. The one I told you about, who got hurt trying to keep me from messing with the camera."

"Ah." I said, knowing full well who he was, but not really caring at this point.

I'm exhausted and it's much too early for this. I thought, drinking some more coffee in the thermos I was planning on keeping on me at all times. Naru noticed us heading over then and gave us both a look.

"You're early today."

"Well, something's been bothering me since yesterday." Mai admitted sheepishly, then gesturing over to me. "Yuu just felt like tagging along."

Gee, thanks, Mai.

"Can you tell me now? Please, oh please?" She begged.

"Mai, can you keep a secret?" He asked and she held up a hand, all serious.

"If you tell me not to tell anyone, I won't. Yuu won't either. She hardly talks anyway."

I gave her a slightly annoyed look, but didn't comment as Naru glanced over at me briefly before turning away.

"Wait. Everyone's arriving now."

"Everyone? Why?"

He didn't answer and she went around the van only to nearly bump into Lin, had I not grabbed her arm.

"I-Is everything okay?" She asked him with a smile, but he just sort of glared.

She shuffled off nervously as I leveled my eyes with Lin's for a moment before bowing my head and trailing after her; yawning again as we waited for everyone to get here. Ayako was one of the last to show and her and Mai were not-so-quietly discussing Kuroda after Naru had attempted to send her back to the school. She's determined though, I'll give her that. Probably why she's the one causing half this mess in the first place.

"And what're you going to show us today?" Bou-san questioned Naru, drawing my fading attention back to the present. "Shouldn't you quit before you embarrass yourself again?"

Says you. I thought with a snort, ignoring his glance my way as Naru responded.

"I just need you to be one of the witnesses for the experiment. Mai, Yuu. Please make sure the papers you signed yesterday are not damaged in any way."

"Ah, sure."

We looked them over, but our signatures were the same and he had us look over the ones on the sealed door too, before quickly picking up an ax and forcefully breaking his way back into the room. Mai looked at me in confusion, but I just shrugged and we followed him in. The boards on the windows were fine as well, but my eyes automatically went to the chair that had toppled over in the center of the room.

"The chair!" Mai called out, gathering everyone's attention. "Shibuya-san, the chair has moved."

"That's right." He said with a hint of a smile, moving over to the camera we'd set up the previous evening. "Thanks for your help, everyone. I'll be leaving later on today."

"Are you implying that you've solved the case?!" Bou-san shouted in disbelief.

"That's exactly right."

"Land subsidence?" Ayako said, mockingly.

"Yes. The case requested by the school principal can be explained as the result of land subsidence."

"Ha! But how do you explain what happened in the lab and the poltergeist from yesterday?"

"Those were poltergeists."

"See! You can't exorcise them, can you? You're just going to leave after you're done with your research."

"In my opinion, there's no need to exorcise. Would you like to take a look?"

The group turned and huddled around a screen showing the footage from the previous night.

"What's this all about?" Kuroda questioned, but Naru ignored her as I sighed and begrudgingly went to watch the tape as well.

The chair sort of rattled on its legs before falling over onto its side. I frowned though, surprised to not see the same purple smoke that I saw on Kuroda. Perhaps because it's on video I can't see it?

"That was…" Mai muttered as I leaned away from the screen and folded my arms over my chest.

She gave me a worried glance, but I said nothing as Bou-san turned to Naru.

"Indeed a poltergeist! We'd better exorcise—"

"It's not necessary." Naru cut him off, picking up said chair and standing it upright. "I had auto-suggested to all of you yesterday that this chair would move last night."

"In the principal's office!" Mai connected the dots.

"And this was the locked room." I mused. "Our signatures weren't altered and nothing was broken, so it's not like anyone could get in. This was a test, right?" I asked Naru, a bit bored. "To see if we had psychic powers or whatever, because someone does and has been causing trouble, yeah?"

"Correct." Naru agreed. "Half of all poltergeist cases are attributable to humans."

"Pranks?" Mai questioned and I sighed.

"No, psychic."

Naru nodded. "A type of psychic energy. Most of the time it happens unconsciously. For example, say someone is stressed out. He or she strongly desires to be noticed, or wants attention from others and is unconsciously building up energy. In such cases, with auto-suggestion, a situation like this can occur."

"So you're saying the chair was moved by human willpower?" Bou-san asked.

"Most likely. At least my experiment to prove this did not fail."

"Who could it be…" Mai muttered, but it was pretty obvious who everyone was thinking of and Kuroda was immediately put under the spotlight.

"Who… me? Are you trying to say I did it?!"

"More than anyone else in this room, it makes the most sense to assume it was you." Naru stated. "I had a feeling from the beginning that this had something to do with you. For example, you mentioned that you saw spirits of wartime nurses and victims. However, there is nothing to substantiate that this area was attacked, or that the school was ever used as a hospital during the war. Not even that there was ever a hospital here at all."

"Besides." I interjected. "Every time someone thinks a place is haunted, it's always a war time thing or a hospital or asylum. Not all hauntings are the cause of something like that. People need to make up better stories to explain odd occurrences."

"I'm not making things up!" Kuroda shouted at me and I stiffened, scowling.

"Child." I muttered under my breath, glaring at her as she turned away from me.

I clicked my tongue in annoyance, opening my thermos and drinking more of my coffee as I mentally scolded myself. Idiot. Who cares if she's acting like a child? She is a child. To me, anyway. But still. Crying over this? Causing problems for others just because you want things to go your way? It's cowardly. Stupid and idiotically childish and… and… I felt my shoulders sag, remembering how Ashton and Mickey, my younger brothers, used to whine and complain.

"Why can't you get us some?! It's just down the road!"

"Yeah! You're so mean! You're the worst!"

And now I'm dead to them… They're probably crushed, blaming themselves and…

"—uu. Yuu!"

"Hm?" I turned to Mai, finding the others looking at me oddly and her looking concerned.

"I was asking if you could help Naru and I take this stuff downstairs." She explained. "Are you sure you're alright?"

"Fine." I mumbled, taking the camera under one arm and the tripod in the other. "I'm fine."

Mai sighed softly, slightly annoyed, but also concerned for Yuu. She could tell that she wasn't sleeping well, judging by the bags under her eyes and the naps she took during class and breaks, but Mai got the feeling there was more to it than that. And, unlike herself, Mai was fairly certain she was Yuu's only friend. And with the similar situation they were in, she didn't think there was anyone else for her to rely on, but she wasn't telling Mai much of anything. She used to be a bit more open, but ever since Naru showed up, it's like she's closed herself off. She's been acting strange too, so I wonder what's going on. She remembered what Naru had told her over the phone though, and hoped bringing Yuu with her on that upcoming Saturday to work with Naru would help keep her occupied on something other than whatever it was that was bothering her.

"Mai."

Mai jumped, turning to see Yuu standing there looking a bit nervous, surprisingly.

"Can I, uh… talk to you for a minute?"

"Yeah, sure." Mai said, standing and following Yuu outside where they wouldn't be overheard.

Yuu bought them both a few drinks from the vending machine nearby before allowing Mai to settle on some stairs while she frowned at a bit of empty space on a railing nearby.

"Yuu?"

Yuu turned back to her and looked a little sheepish before rubbing the back of her neck. "Sorry. I've just… been seeing this bird following me around lately."

"A bird?" Mai looked around, but saw nothing.

"A ghost, Mai. It's fine. It hasn't bothered me other than surprising me on occasion." Yuu muttered, before sighing and plopping down on the ground in front of her. "That's not what I want to tell you though. I'm just… I'm really sorry."

"Sorry? For what?" Mai asked, greatly confused.

Yuu hesitated, before seemingly changing the subject. "Do you… Do you believe in reincarnation?"

"You mean like dying and being reborn? Well, I haven't really thought about it." She replied, growing more lost. "Yuu, does any of this have to do with why you've been acting strangely? And you really don't look good. When was the last time you slept?"

Yuu tiredly dragged a hand down her face. "I don't know, Mai. I really just… None of this makes any sense and I'm having a hard time trying to figure out what I'm supposed to do."

Mai shuffled, growing more concerned. "Yuu, what's going on?"

"I… I'm not Yuu."

"What?"

Yuu sighed, looking more tired than Mai had ever seen her before. "I'm not Yuu. I am… was Sam Tyler. I think I… I died. I was leaving my parent's summer cabin and I had to avoid a truck and my car… and then I woke up like this. I really just… I don't know what I'm supposed to do or how I'm supposed to handle this. I-I've been working through each day bit by bit, but… I haven't slept in days. I keep having nightmares of the crash a-and I was trying to find a way to tell you I'm not Yuu. I'm not your friend. I-I just ended up in this body somehow and… I-I-I don't know what to do."

Mai was speechless, trying to understand what Yuu—or Sam—was trying to tell her, but it all seemed more than a little complicated. So… This Sam person died? In some kind of car accident and… they're Yuu now? But then…

"W-Where's Yuu?" Mai asked and the young woman across from her shook her head, pulling a hand through her hair.

"I-I don't know. She could be dead o-or alive in me somewhere. I honestly don't know and I'm sorry. I never meant to lie to you, I just didn't know how to tell you." She sighed heavily once more. "I wish I was alone. Then it'd be so much easier." She muttered, but that shocked Mai.

"D-Do you really mean that?"

Yuu opened her mouth, but closed it, pressing her lips in a firm, tight line before finally sagging her shoulders and responding.

"No. No, I don't. Honestly, knowing I had someone as a friend—as Yuu or otherwise—is the only thing that's really kept me going up till this point. I… I didn't want to lose you by admitting I wasn't who you thought I was, but I felt that you needed to know."

Mai was still a little unsure and disbelieving, but continued. "How did you know who I was then?"

"Same way I know Japanese now. Yuu learned it and my mind is somehow able to recall Yuu's memories. I still remember my own though too, hence the nightmares."

Mai winced, knowing that must not be pleasant—reliving your death—but there was also more important things to worry about.

"So… what are you going to do now?"

Yuu shrugged lightly. "Same thing I've been doing. Ignoring the ghosts, going to school, and probably start taking sleeping pills at night. I just wanted to tell you though. It's up to you on whether you want to still be friends with me despite my not being the same friend you had before. There's not much more I can do about any of that though."

Mai frowned. "You can try a little harder."

Yuu furrowed her brows. "What?"

"You heard me. Yuu or not, if you want me to stay your friend, you need to tell me and not just dance around the issue."

"B-But I'm not—"

"Yes, I know you're not Yuu, but you're not a bad person either." Mai relaxed with a small smile. "So you shouldn't quit trying before you've even started."

"I… I suppose you're right."

"Of course I am." Mai said triumphantly, earning a small snort from the young woman in front of her.

"Alright then, Mai? Would you mind still being my friend?"

Mai grinned. "What are you talking about, Yuu? I'll always be your friend." Her smile dropped suddenly. "Wait, I can still call you Yuu, right?"

Yuu nodded with a small smile of her own. "Yeah. It's kind of who I am now, so I best get used to it. Although…" She winced. "I do have a slight bit of psychic ability?"

"What?!" Mai exclaimed and Yuu waved her hands a bit.

"N-Not much, but where I came from… well, I don't think I'm from this universe. A parallel one, maybe? But, uh, a number of your adventures with Naru were made into a manga that I used to read, so if I seem a bit ahead of things, that's probably why."

Mai's eyes were spinning. "A-Another universe? Psychic? Huh?"

"Ah, um, well perhaps I could come over? Spend the night and explain things a bit? You know, help you understand and maybe get some sleep myself? I-If that's alright with you."

Mai's eyes narrowed. "You weren't a guy in your past life, were you?"

"Oh, no." Yuu waved off. "Thirty-year-old woman, thank you."

"T-Thirty?!"

"You say that like I'm old!"

"Thirty is old!"

"Is not!"

"Is so!"

"W-Well, maybe a bit, but I'm not that old!" Yuu said, before the two began laughing; glad that the other accepted them despite the new differences that they'd just discovered.