Chapter One - A Ghost of a Chance

It was the end of another day, the setting sun painted the city of Sarayashiki gold. As the sky darkens, a crow descended from beyond the clouds. The crow flew over the bustling city streets and into a small forest that surrounded the suburbs. In the heart of the forest, sheltered a ryokan, a traditional Japanese inn. The building looked untouched by the passage of time, only a metal address plate solidified its existence. The name plate read "Miyamoto H."

The crows fluttered down to the backyard where a young woman was napping in a futon that was dragged to the back porch. She was sleeping face first into a pillow, her long, inky black locks fell into a halo around her head. A single crow approached her, cawing. When the woman didn't stir, the crow poked and prodded at her head and hair. Finally she raised her face from the pillow, revealing tired, dark blue eyes. Her gaze turned towards the single crow. They stared at each other, the girl deadpanned while the bird stared back expectantly. Finally, she begrudgingly raised her hand out to the bird.

The crow cawed cheerfully as it rested in her hand and opened its beak, a melodious voice came out, "Apologies for interrupting your beauty sleep but Lord Koenma urgently requested for your presence, Miss Hinami."

"Really?" She yawned as she tiredly rubbed her eyes before she looked up at the darkening sky before looking back down at the messenger, "Do you happen to know why I am being summoned?"

"I'm afraid not, Miss."

"Hmm," Hinami absentmindedly brushed the feathers of the messenger who preened at the attention. She contemplated the possible reasons why her boss would be calling for her after such a long day of work. All the local gods complaints had been dealt with, the requests for damage control from humans are already in effect, and the paperwork for those wandering spirits are already filled out. What else could be left to do and why would he send a messenger when he could tell me himself? Unless something else is occupying his attention...it better not be another emergency paperwork deadline.

"Let Lord Koenma know that I am on my way." Hinami sent off the Spirit World messenger. She rolled onto her back and stared at the twilight sky, contemplating how long she should keep her boss waiting. It must be something pretty urgent, it's rare for him to bother me during my off hours, but he did wrangle me into overtime before.

As she laid there contemplating, an echoing, soft voice spoke up, "Shall we lock up for the evening, Lady Hinami?" A woman's silhouette appeared on the paper screen backdoor, dressed in traditional kimono and kneeling in a humble manner. A kage onna, one of the many spirits who served her and roamed the halls of her home.

"We might as well, Miss Akiko and please tell Mr. Asahi to have dinner wrapped up. I don't know when I'll be back." Hinami answered as she sat up and ran a hand through her bedhead. And I was really looking forward to dinner too.

"Very well, milady. We shall wait until your return." Akiko bowed to which she was dismissed with a casual wave and then melted away into the shadows of the building.

I suppose I should go ahead and get this over with. Hinami lazily stretched. After slipping on her sneakers, she walked back into her home fiddling with her pockets and procured a silver key, a literal key to the Spirit World. She approached a hallway door with the key in hand. A slow turn of the key, she opened a gateway full of light. A gateway where the dead are sentenced to their afterlife, to King Enma's Palace, the Hall of Judgement.

Hinami walked forward indifferent to the light. The further she walked into the tunnel of light, the distant collection of voices could be heard, becoming clearer with each step. The blinding light ceased and revealed a sea of oni and shinigami clamoring and carrying large stacks of paper.

It looks as busy as always...Hinami can feel waves of mental exhaustion washes over her as she walks through the crowded hallways she was weaving through a few hours ago. She weaved through the crowd of oni as she made her way to Prince Koenma's office. Several warmly greeted her as she passed and casually waved back.

"Back already Miss Hinami?" a red oni greeted as he signed off a tower of paperwork.

"Unfortunately, Mr. Benio but duty calls."

"Is it already Thursday?" an exhausted green oni asked as he clutched his tea and set down his phone.

"No it's still Wednesday, Mr. Midoriya. I'm just back again."

"Just can't stay away from work, huh?" a brunette shinigami dressed in a yellow kimono teased as she handed off a file.

"I'll try harder to escape next time Miss Kiku."

Although it seems like the workflow was consistent as usual, something seems to be off like a wave just passed by and she only caught the tail end of. The important question was why was it her problem? She prayed that whatever it was, isn't going to be as troublesome as being roped in overtime paperwork duties with the prince. Bureaucracy is its own kind of hell, ironic, considering her line of work.

As she approached the doors of Koenma's office, there stood an all too familiar woman dressed in a black kimono. "Evening, Miss Ayame." Hinami greeted her tiredly.

"Good evening, Miss Miyamoto. Thank you for coming so quickly." The shinigami greeted her as she bowed politely. Unlike Hinami, she eluded an air of maturity and professionalism as she handed over a manila folder, no doubt detailing a headache yet to come. "That folder contains details of the next case that Lord Koenma wishes you to look over."

"Is there a reason why this case couldn't wait until tomorrow?" Hinami asked curiously as she briefly looked over compiled papers. An unexpected heroic sacrifice, no vacancy for heaven or hell and not enough details for proper judgement. "Really? A revival?"

Ayame nodded in confirmation before continuing on her way, "Best of luck to you Miss Miyamoto." Hinami let out a groan of defeat. There were several reasons why revivals were so rare. The process was time consuming and tedious but at the same time had strict deadlines with plenty of room for errors. The overall success rate of a proper revival was low too. I should have stayed in bed and came after eating dinner. Hopefully the soul being revived won't be a pain in the ass and everything will go smoothly. I might only have to do the minimal paperwork too. How bad could it be?

"You gotta be kidding me, Botan! Why would the Spirit World be runned by a toddler!" Urameshi Yusuke broke into a laughing fit at the surrealism of his situation, while Koenma was almost at the end of his wit and temper. Paperwork was piling up and he was dealing with a complicated revival case and a disrespectful teenager laughing at him to boot. Thankfully Botan was quick to reprimand the teenager with a swift smack of her oar.

"So what are we waiting around for? I already said that I would go back." Yusuke asked, sobering up from his laughing fit.

"Before you can return to the Human World, you will have to pass a trial that will determine if you deserve to go back at all. To start your trial, I'll have a Spirit World Human Relations officer, Miyamoto, to take on your case." Koenma explained, wishing Hinami would get here soon. She is adept with dealing with troubling souls with attitudes.

His wishes were answered as Ayame buzzed, "Lord Koenma, Miyamoto has arrived and been debriefed of the situation." Thank goodness, she's here. Now we can get started.

"Thank you, Miss Ayame."

"So, who is this Miyamoto?" Yusuke questioned suspiciously, mentally preparing himself for a surprise showdown. Judging all the oni that filled the hall earlier, Miyamoto must be a hell of a monster, a giant beast built like a brick house and fangs like machetes with an attitude of a disgruntled old businessman.

"Miyamoto is one of my best officers who deals with Spirit World and Human World relations, her skills will be ideal in your case." Koenma explained as he rearranged the papers on his desk.

"You better behave yourself, Yusuke. Miss Miyamoto isn't a person who tolerates trouble. She will seal you to a fate worse than death." Botan warned. It wasn't a lie, while Hinami was overall a sweet girl, but during crunch time she isn't above cutting people down to get things done.

Koenma's doors opened to reveal a dark haired girl who seemed much younger than he expected. It's certainly not quite what Yusuke expected when he heard "Spirit World officer". She was far too delicate looking, much more like the traditional princess dolls he remembers Keiko playing with as a child. But instead of an elegant princess, she looked more like an exhausted university student. She wore an oversized lavender pullover sweater, jean shorts and black thigh-high socks and white sneakers.

"Thank you for coming in on short notice, Hinami." Koenma greeted both relieved and stressed. "This is Uremashi Yusuke, he will be in your care until the end of the trial."

Hinami nodded as she tucks a file aside as she turned to Yusuke. "Evening, I am Miyamoto Hinami, Spirit World's Human Relations officer and proctor for your revival trial." She greeted him before giving him a polite smile that didn't match the tired aura she gave off. "I hope we can get along during our time together."

"You gotta be kidding me, you look like a regular human to me." Yusuke scrutinized her appearance. She looked like a regular girl, a pretty one. She didn't have the strange colorful hair or eyes like the other shinigami he saw on the way in.

"That's because I am one." She replied unfazed by his skepticism. It would be strange to see a human in a place like this.

"What was that?" Yusuke did a double take, eyeing Hinami who was indifferent to his shock. Looking closer she did seem to be older than him but not by much. She looked like any girl walking around the streets, definitely not some otherworldly officer. "How can a human be some Spirit World cop or whatever?"

"Hinami is an onmyoji, a holy diviner, from your world." Koenma explained, "She is a part of the few people who can interact with spirits and a part of the fewer who have the psychic abilities that are ideal for this job. Now that she is here, we can begin your trial." Koenma held out a small golden egg to Yusuke.

"What's up with the egg? Am I gonna have to make you breakfast?" Yusuke questioned, eyeing the golden egg.

"This will be your trial," Koenma explained, "this egg will be incubated by your spirit energy. If you do enough good deeds, then a spirit beast will hatch and you will be able to return to your body; however," Yusuke stilled at his words. "If the energy you release is evil, then an evil beast will be born and will devores your spirit and soul. You will never be able to live again or to go to heaven or hell."

A heavy and tense silence filled the room as the news settled. Yusuke eyed the egg, weighing his options. "Y-you don't have anything to worry about with Miss Hinami as your proctor!" Botan stated as she tried to break up the tension in the air. "Yes, I'm sure with Miss Miyamoto working on your revival is a sure success!"

"You have too much faith in me, Miss Botan." Hinami stated wearily. Please don't give this guy any expectations that I will guarantee his revival.

"The choice is yours to accept or not. You can choose to remain a ghost but you won't be able to return to your life." Koenma stated. Everyone watched Yusuke curiously as he contemplated his options before reluctantly taking the egg.

"Well, I accept. So, what does it exactly mean that she is my proctor?" Yusuke grumbled as he watched Koenma hand the strange teen, a manila folder. Hinami briefly looked over the contents inside and gave a tired sigh before setting it aside with the other folder in her arms.

"Nothing too unusual, just the standard precautionary Miyamoto will make sure your spirit won't be accidently exorcised, assure you won't fall prey to some of the more malicious spirits lingering in the Human World, keep you out of trouble with some of the kami in the area, and act as your proctor during your trial. In short, she is supposed to watch over you." Koenma explained, hoping Yusuke would get the point to not get into trouble & summarizing Hinami's duty towards the boy.

"What the hell?! If this spirit egg or whatever is supposed to be my test, then I don't need a babysitter to tell me what to do." Yusuke argued, recovering from the weight of the egg in his hands.

"Yusuke! Show some respect! Miss Miyamoto is one of Koenma's best officers, I'm sure with her watching over your trial is to ensure your safety." Botan reprimanded.

"Ah, it's fine, Miss Botan. You really think too highly of me." Hinami replied mildly as she tried to temper her anger. Last thing I need is him to think that I will save him from the wrath of the kamis.

"Like I said, I don't need to be babysat. How much protection does a ghost need anyway? I'm already dead." Yusuke quipped as he pocketed his egg. He eyed the dark-haired girl before him. She seemed too dainty and air-headed to jump to his defense. He doubted that she would have been any protection against anything, not that he needed any.

"Not much truthfully, but you really don't seem to be the type to stay out of trouble, do you? " She asked rhetorically, to which Yusuke didn't answer but the look of his face was telling.

Ah, she hit the nail right on the head. Koenma and Botan kept this thought to themselves. Koenma cleared his throat before continuing, "Considering the circumstances and your personal history, Miyamoto will be proctoring your trial." He gestures towards Hinami, "So please continue on with the trial."

"Well then," Hinami's mild mannerism suddenly shifted into a serious professionalism, "Uremashi Yusuke, you have agreed to the terms of Spirit World and in twenty-four hours, your testing period will begin. If you wish to speak to your loved ones one last time before your revival you must do so within this time period. I suggest you go now, before your body gets cremated." A small sadistic smile made its way to Hinami's face, "It would be a shame to go through all this trouble with no body to return to after all."

"What?! Wait, how the hell am I going to talk to them if I'm dead? Shouldn't that be your job, Miss Holy Diviner?" Yusuke questioned, aghast at the sudden change in demeanor.

"Usually, if a random person shows up in the middle of the night to tell them that their dearly departed is coming back from the dead and not to cremate his body, they are going to call the police and throw you in the insane asylum or prison." Hinami retorted as she dug through her pockets. After finding a scrap of paper and pen, she wrote in flowing calligraphy down the center of paper.

"So what? Are you going to leave them a note?" Yusuke asked, eyeing the note over her shoulder. He didn't know if his mom could read whatever the girl scribbling down, in cursive no less.

"No, you are going to tell them yourself. Most won't believe it unless it's coming from the person who died in the first place. Miss Botan will escort you back across the River, and you will contact them." Hinami declared pointing at him with the scrap paper in hand.

"What's the note for? And what about you? What happened to "watching over" me?" Yusuke argued, unhappy about being bossed around.

"That's what this is for, besides I don't have to follow you around until the testing period begins." Hinami gently blew on the scrap paper and watched it come to life. It began floating and gravitated towards Yusuke before attaching itself to the back of his jacket. "It's an ofuda, a talisman, and it will protect you from most evil apparitions you will encounter, but it doesn't mean you should go looking for trouble. You'll be fine without me holding your hand for a few hours. Now off you go." She shooed him off.

Yusuke looked ready to punch Hinami before Botan began tugging him along, reminding him of the time-restraint he is on. Hinami and Koenma watched the two run out of the office, leaving them alone, in peaceful silence.

"What do you think about him?" Koenma asked inquisitively after a brief moment.

"...He's going to be a pain in the ass." She answered bluntly. "He is just as short-tempered and combative as the files described him to be." she concluded as she ran a hand through her hair. "I have a question though, why did you assign me to proctor his trial? Although this kind of thing happens only once in every so many decades, you would have rather handled this yourself."

"...If he succeeds in passing this trial, I plan to reinstate him as the next Spirit Detective." Koenma answered as he observed the young boy in his crystal ball. "I think he has potential...and I think he is the kind of person we need for the job."

"And if he isn't?" she challenged neutrally.

"That's for you to find out. I need you to complete a background check, psychological evaluation, and estimates for his spiritual energy potential and projections."

"That's an awful lot of work for someone who hasn't even passed the trial yet. You seem to be so sure that he won't be eaten by that spirit beast. I didn't take you for the gambling type, sir." She stated lightly as she absentmindedly reorganized the stacks of paperwork on his desk.

"Thank you and I'm not, but I suppose you can say I'm hopeful. I can't ask you to take on the mantle after all. Besides you work hard enough as it is. Now, go get some rest before the trial begins. You and I both know that boy will be a handful with your other duties."

"I hope you know this means I am excused from overtime paperwork duties." Hinami reminded him pleasantly as she closed the folder and tucked it behind her back.

"Don't remind me." Koenma grumbled as he looked over at the towering piles tucked away at the corner of his office.

"Good luck, Lord Koenma." Hinami dismissed herself as she leisurely walked back to the comforts of her home, contemplating the work she has for herself tomorrow. It shouldn't be too difficult, hopefully, Uremashi Yusuke didn't have a ghost of a chance of passing the trial, much less becoming the next spirit detective. But, a thought still lingered at the back of her mind, there weren't many people who had a chance at life again. Besides it beats paperwork duties.

Thank you for reading my story! This is something I wanted to post for the longest time. It also my first fanfiction I had the courage to post online, so reviews will be very much appreciated no matter how short or brutal. Thank you again.