Shuichi didn't remember his death. He didn't remember the first few days after it, either, but trying to remember those felt like trying to remember being a baby. There was too much of a disconnect between who he was then and who he was now.

Trying to remember dying felt like a runaway train of thought hitting a wall.

He was a little concerned by the way his mind froze up anytime he tried to remember it, but it was a great excuse not to think about the fact that he was dead. Judging by his current emotional state, he'd come to terms with it sometime in those first few days, and he was willing to accept that. Giving himself a panic attack over something he couldn't change didn't sound like much fun.

Incidentally, he could confirm that ghosts could have panic attacks. It didn't seem fair. He didn't even need to breathe anymore, but he was still perfectly capable of freaking himself out until he felt like he was suffocating. But it wasn't like his brain had ever played fair when he was alive, so he supposed it made sense. Even if he didn't technically have a brain anymore.

The reason he knew panic attacks were still a thing went back to those first forgotten days. He'd come out of them with a basic understanding of the rules of his existence: he could interact with objects if he concentrated, he was visible in mirrors but not to living people unless he chose to be, and he couldn't leave his apartment building.

He had of course decided to test that last one. Spending eternity inside a single building might have sounded good when he was alive, but now that it was a reality, he'd quickly gotten bored. It made sense to know exactly what he was capable of anyway.

He'd started to feel uncomfortable by the time he reached the lobby. He'd pressed on, for whatever reason, and barely made it out of the building before the panic had set in. He'd ended up curled on the floor of the lobby, trying to force air into his nonexistent lungs.

One good thing about being a ghost was that no one could see him embarrassing himself like that.

After that fiasco, he mostly stuck to his apartment. It wasn't the most exciting place to be, all of his stuff moved out already, but it was comfortable. The farthest he went was into the surrounding apartments to read books or play with pets while the owners were out.

Mostly, though, he drifted. Ghosts couldn't sleep, exactly, but he could relax his consciousness and let hours pass by in a daze. It was nice.

But the apartment couldn't stay empty forever. It was conveniently close to someplace, he thought, and the rent probably hadn't been too high. Prospective renters kept coming by to look it over. Shuichi tried to stay out of their way and away from mirrors for their visits.

Then the day came when someone moved in. The click of a key in the lock jolted him into focus. The next thing he knew, a group of people with boxes filled the apartment. They looked to be about Shuichi's age, and as far as he was concerned, they were way too excited for people about to spend the day moving.

"Wow, Kaede," the one with blue hair said. "This place is a lot bigger than I expected."

"I know!" the one who was apparently Kaede said. She set down her box and looked around. "I was convinced there had to be something wrong with it, with how low the rent was, but everything looks fine to me."

The shortest of the group smirked. "Maybe someone died here."

Shuichi pressed himself farther into the corner. He didn't know if he'd actually died in the apartment, but either way, it didn't seem like a good time to risk accidentally revealing himself.

His wariness only grew when the last person chimed in. "If this place does turn out to be haunted, let me know. I'd be happy to beat up a ghost for you, and then we can call Yumeno and have her perform an exorcism."

Shuichi probably should have taken that as his cue to leave. He didn't know if an exorcism would work on him, and he preferred to keep it that way.

He didn't really want to go, though. This was his apartment, even if someone else lived there. This stranger didn't have the right to kick him out. It was his.

Kaede laughed, and Shuichi's attention snapped back to the scene at hand. "Thank you, Tenko, but I'm sure I'll be fine."

"If you say so." Tenko shrugged, then set down her box. "In that case, should we start bringing up the furniture?"

"Yeah, probably." Kaede stretched her arms. "Maki, you're strong. You're going to come make sure I don't break anything, right?"

"I make no promises."

"And I'm just going to stand around and look pretty," the blue-haired one said. Shuichi took a moment to regret the life choices that made him even think of using the word 'blunette'.

"Nice try," Kaede said. "You get to carry my sheet music."

The other girl made a face. "How much did you bring?"

"Not that much." Kaede's friends looked dubious. "No, really! You should have seen how much I left behind. But what I do have is the important stuff, which is why Sayaka is carrying it. You're a musician too, so I know I can trust you."

Sayaka nodded. "You can count on me, right up until my arms give out under the weight of all that paper."

"Good enough for me." Kaede raised her fists in a motivating gesture. It was effective enough that Shuichi took a step forward before remembering that he was still trying to be inconspicuous and also was dead. "Let's get to work!"

Kaede's friends made noises of agreement and filed out of the apartment.

Several hours later, they were looking distinctly less motivated. Their work showed, though, in the number of boxes and assorted objects scattered throughout the apartment.

Shuichi hadn't contributed, of course, but he'd found himself enjoying hovering nearby and listening to them talk. It was a nice change of pace from the silence that had defined his death. The fact that he was listening in without contributing did feel a little creepy, but it was also strangely familiar. He got the impression he'd done it a lot when he was alive.

Everything was great until Kaede's friends left. Then it was just Kaede, looking at the sea of boxes with dread on her face, and Shuichi, looking at Kaede with a similar expression. Being the roommate someone didn't know about had so much potential for awkwardness.

Kaede immediately proved Shuichi's point by talking to herself. "All right," she said, "You've got this. Unpacking can't be as bad as packing was. And you'll be able to use your stuff again, and that will be good. So come on. Let's go."

She stayed where she was for another beat. Finally, she gave in with a groan and tore open the nearest box.

Shuichi decided that was a good time to sink back into his standard spectral semiconsciousness. He didn't have any desire to go through Kaede's things, even if it was Kaede who was doing the actual unpacking.

Still, he thought hazily as his form began to blur. It would be nice to have someone there for a change.