"What's her name?" Near asked as he twirled his snow white hair between two of his fingers.

It had been a year since the death of detective L Lawliet, criminal cases where piling up higher than ever before, and Nate River was desperate and running out of options. Nate was now fourteen years of age and although Nate was a savant, he was never meant to work alone. Nate's mind worked far better when paired with another mind.

"Astia Bell." Matsuda replied.

He held a clipboard close to his chest and adapted a worried expression on his face. Touta Matsuda was also becoming desperate. As of a year ago, Matsuda had been offered the job as head of task force affairs, although he kindly turned down and decided to join the SPK where, he believed, he could do more good for the world. Although, now the SPK was known as the WSDF or the "Wammy's Special Detective Force". However, his year of working for the WSDF had been stressful and unfortunate due to the intense amount of cases that had been the job of the WSDF to solve. Without the assistance of L Lawliet there was no possible way that a majority of those cases could be solved. This fact caused Touta Matsuda and Nate River to look for less than traditional ways to solve the overwhelming amount of cases that were before them.

"Astia Bell," Near repeated ",are we sure that what this girl does is real? Not some hoax or children's prank?"

"All recorded accounts have seemed to be legit, but I guess we can't know for certain unless we bring her here."

Matsuda didn't like the idea of dealing with supernatural affairs due to what he had gone through with the Kira case, and talking about the very subject made him nervous and a little sweaty. He stood next to Near who sat on the floor with his legs against his chest. Near half-heartedly stacked light blue blocks on top of each other until they toppled over and on to the floor. Matsuda silently waited for Near's response, and twitched a little anxiously. Near noticed this and sighed. To Near, their next move was so obvious he didn't feel as if he even needed to say it out loud. However, after many seconds it became obvious that Matsuda didn't understand what their next move was.

"Well, Matsuda, then theres only one solution, isn't there?" Near said so quietly he was almost whispering.

"W-what's that?" Matsuda stuttered.

Near sighed again, this time making it evident that he was annoyed.

"We find this girl and we bring her here."

"Astia? Can you feel her?" Embry asked.

Embry Powell was a thirteen year old girl who was many things. She was a straight "B" student. She was an involved member of the Addison Middle School photography club. Most recently, however, she was labeled as the best friend of Lovette Richards who had died in a tragic fire caused by an unwatched hair straightener just a few weeks ago. The two girls had been self proclaimed "Best Friends Forever" since the very first day of first grade, and now Embry stood before Astia Bell ,with red puffy eyes, in desperate attempts to talk once more to her best friend.

"I can feel her, Miss Embry." Astia said.

Astia had the little quirk of calling all of her "clients" Miss and Mister, regardless of their age. She grabbed Embry's small hands and looked into her teary eyes.

"Now Embry, she's going to talk to you through me, say what you need to say and then say your goodbyes."

Embry nodded her head and watched as Astia's dark brown eyes slowly became a sea blue that Embry had only ever seen on one other person. They were Lovette's sea blue eyes that Embry had complimented a thousand times, and envied for years.

"Embie?"

The words that came out of Astia's mouth were not her words, nor was it her voice. It was evident that the center stage of Astia's mind had been taken over by Lovette. Astia didn't fight it, she allowed Lovette to take the stage as she gladly watched from the crowd.

"Lovette?!" Embry gasped and laughed through tears. She wrapped her arms around Astia's body giving a hug that wasn't meant for Astia.

"Hey, Embie. How have you been?" Lovette whispered in Embry's ear.

Embry was shaking as she pulled away from their hug.

"Lonely without you, but the photography class gave the newspaper the prettiest picture of you for your obituary. The one that I took of you on our field trip to Pike's Place, remember? Oh! Also, Mrs. Faustine gave the newspaper your short story and they published it on the second page! Your mom was so proud she cried for…. well, she cried."

Embry spoke her words in one swift motion as if she was afraid that Lovette was going to leave her again as quickly as she had the first time.

"I really loved that picture…. Tell Mom and Dad I'm sorry. Mom told me a million times not to leave my straighter on the carpet and I told her that it was fine and it would never start a fire. She was right, I should've listened to her. I screwed up. I bet they hate me." Astia's eyes began to fill with tears as Lovette said this.

"No! Lovette Gertrude Richards don't you ever say that. Your parents don't hate you, they love you and they miss you so much."

"I know they do, I'm sorry. Just…give them a hug for me, okay?"

"I will, Lovette. I promise."

"Thanks, Embie."

Embry hugged Astia's body once more.

"Oh, and Lovette?" Embry asked, still embracing her.

"Yes?"

"Walter Dunkin asked me out yesterday."

Astia's nose scrunched up.

"Ew, Walter Dunkin? What'd you say?"

"I told him that he had a better chance of going out with Kate Beckinsale."

Lovette laughed and began to cry partway through her laughter.

"That's my girl… I love you ,Embry."

"I love you too, Lovette."

"Goodbye.."

The sea blue color left Astia's eyes and the dark brown returned. Embry fell to her knees in tears and gasped for air.

"Are you okay, Miss Embry?" Astia asked, kneeling down.

"Yes, I'm more than okay. Thank you so much…"

Astia made sure that Embry made it home safely before she began to walk home herself. Her dark hair swung across her shoulders as she walked, and the wind lifted it into the air. She watched the trees pass by her, and the leaves dance on the ground.

Today was good. Normal. Well, as normal as it can be. I didn't screw anything up, that's what's important. I helped Miss Embry talk to her friend and that's it. I did what I was suppose to do and now I can go home in my comforting solitude. Astia thought to herself.

She constantly felt as though in every social interaction she was in she messed something up. As a result of this, each day as she walked home she went over each of her interactions and decided whether her day had been successful based on that. Unfortunately for her, most days weren't very successful. She had been branded as "The Girl Who Talks to Ghosts" and when you're sixteen years old that's not exactly what you want people to associate you with, besides Astia didn't talk to ghosts, she shared her mind with spirits and allowed them to use her as a vessel to speak to the living through.

As Astia reached the front door of her house she stopped. There was a black car outside of her house. Astia walked past the street in front of her house one hundred eighty times a year(she only left the house when schooldays demanded it) and needless to say, she knew all of the neighbors cars. Not one of them owned a black car. Not once had their ever been a black car outside of her house. There had been a black cat once that she had fed a can of tuna before her mother had chased the cat away and told Astia not to waste good tuna, but never once had Astia seen a black car outside of her house.

She walked hesitantly into the house. She expected to see her mother half asleep at the kitchen table with a coffee in her hand, but that wasn't the case. Instead, Astia saw her mother sitting at the kitchen table with a man in a suit and an anxious expression on her face.

"Mom?" Astia asked.

The suited man stood up and as he did, he hit his head against the ceiling lamp that hang over their kitchen table.

"Ow, dammit." The man muttered. He extended his hand for Astia to shake it. "Hello, Ms. Bell! I'm Touta Matsuda, I'm with the WSDF, and we believe we may have a use for your….uh talents."

Astia looked at Matsuda with suspicion and turned to her mother.

"Mom, who is this guy?" She asked her mother.

"He's with the government he wants to use you to talk to some dead detective."

"Uh, it's a little more complicated than that, Mrs. Bell." Matsuda interrupted. "See, have you ever heard of detective L?"

"Of course I have, the internet's obsessed with him." Astia replied.

Matsuda chuckled quietly. It never occurred to him that the cases L solved would creative him into a figure of praise on the internet. It seemed a little funny to him and he felt as though if L were still alive he would've been surprised to find that out.

"Well, we want you to let him solve cases through you. Using you as a 'vessel' and what not." He said, rubbing the bump on his head.

"Like…as a job?" Astia asked him.

"Well, yes, sorta. We want you to come live in the WSDF headquarters and allow L to solve the cases through your body. Of course, we'll pay as much as you'd like for a special service like this, and we'll have a Wammy's House professor school you while you stay there, and if you'd like, after high school, you can attend Wammy's House University no expense, or if you'd like we could pay for you to go to Samus First College if you'd like to be closer to your family, or-"

"You'll pay for colleges! She gets it." Mrs. Bell snapped, interrupting Matsuda.

Mrs. Bell was angry. She was angry because she knew that what he was offering was an amazing deal for Astia. She'd get to travel, help people, go to a good college without the worry of finances, and best of all she'd get out of this town and meet new people who won't call her a freak because she has talents that they can't understand. She knew that Astia would have to take the job, but it hurt her heart to know that she would have to lose her little girl.

Matsuda blushed out of embarrassment. "Yes, we will pay your college funds, I'm sorry for rambling."

They'll pay for colleges. Oh my goodness they will pay for me to go to college, and they'll give me a private professor! No other students, no social interactions. This is too good to be true. It has to be.

Astia looked at her mother's sad face and realized what the downside to this perfect situation was.

"Mom… if you don't want me to take the job I dont-"

"When does she start?" Mrs. Bell interrupted.

Matsuda gasped and smiled. "Well uh- immediately! If um, if you don't mind, Mrs. Bell." He stuttered out of shock.

Astia looked at her mom who gave her a grim smile, and Astia herself began to smile. She looked at Matsuda and laughed as the happiness she felt burst out of her.

"Well then, I'll go pack my bags!"