Me, getting to a second chapter and not leaving the story? It's a miracle!
I said this chapter would dive more into the story, but I suppose it's still building blocks in a way. Canon interactions will take time, but next chapter should at least introduce the plant loving boii :)

The Abnormal Mundane

My real father was right in saying we, as humans, adapted far quicker then we gave ourselves credit for. Then again five years is a long time to adjust. Waking up in Tsukimi's bed was the norm now. Sometimes, if my dreams took me home, I'd be at a loss, giving myself a moments panic when awakening – only to remember my predicament.

Today was one of those days. The morning light enveloped my sight and, as I covered my eyes with a groan, I wondered why I kept the curtains open. It wakes me up, I remind myself, and being tardy wasn't an option anymore. The memories of home didn't play on my mind as much, only giving me a few moments to reflect. The good part about those dreams? It meant I wouldn't forget. Painful as it was, I didn't want to forget. I would go home, one day, right?

I lifted myself up into a sitting position, covers easily slipping off the edge, but I paid little mind to the mess. The thoughts that raced through my mind were brought to an abrupt halt as hands crashed against both sides of my cheeks. Of all days, today was not the time to be distracted.

I jumped at the sudden buzzing which came from my bedside, quick to reach over and slam the alarm off. Too late for that, I was already up.

A yawn, a quick stretch and a moments rub at the eyes before I got out of bed completely. I had to get up especially early and I doubted I had time to spare. A shower would have helped wake me up, but old habits die hard and I figured it would waste time, so hygiene could wait until tomorrow. Sorry Tsukimi, I am doing my best to look after you, honest.

I got ready as I did most days. A quick wash of the face, brushing my teeth and getting all the knots out of my hair. I remember why I didn't miss this. Short hair was a blessing, but not something Tsukimi's mother would have liked. I'm sure the daughter in question liked having long hair too, so I would have to deal. At least it was black without having to dye it, unlike my original hair, so I couldn't complain.

Once I was moderately decent I headed towards the closet. I had tried the uniform on before, making sure it fit and what not, but now it felt more daunting. Now I didn't hate the colour red, I actually really liked it, but bright colours never looked great on me. It always made me feel out of place and awkward. No matter how pretty Tsukimi was apparently that mindset stuck with me and, unfortunately, showed in my demeanour.

School. Funny, when I think about on it I always imagined how I could have handled high school differently. I was an adult now after all, that place had already broke my spirit, what more could it do? The silly things that I used to worry about didn't apply anymore.

So I said to myself, over and over, trying to swallow down my nerves.

Want me to publicly speak in front of a class of teenagers? Jokes on you, I'd be crying before I got out of my chair.

"Crap." I muttered to myself, running a hand down the side of my face. The more things changed, the more they stayed the same.

I triple checked my bag, making sure I had everything I needed. I was surprised I could get into this school via home schooling. Apparently, given my condition, they'd made an exception. I'd passed the exam, of course, but I wasn't ready to start school right away. So long as I completed the work and tasks on time, I was able to study from home. Until now that is. I needed to take the next step in this 'recovery'. Exposure in a school environment.

I sighed and shook my head. I was an adult, dammit. Teenagers and teachers shouldn't bother me! Ridiculing my own fears, I headed down stairs and made my way to the front door. I had gotten halfway there when I heard Tsukimi's mother call out, "Hold on, Tsukimi." It caught my attention well enough, eyes darting towards where the woman stood.

I stopped myself from replying with a 'Yeah, what's up?' and quickly asked, "Yes?" instead. Respect was a big part of this household, as well as other Japanese families I'd imagine.

Mrs. Takahara frowned, "You haven't eaten yet."

"Oh." The realization on my face didn't convince her that I had, in fact, forgotten and more so that I had been avoiding it. Breakfast wasn't that important, I could survive without it. Besides, the nerves were making me feel sick enough, didn't want to risk having anything to throw up. I wasn't hungry either, so…

I dipped my head for a light bow, "That's alright, I'll grab something on my way out. I wouldn't want to be late."

Before she could respond, and I was sure she would have given the disapproving stare, I grabbed the door handle and flashed a polite smile. "Wish me luck." I said before I took my quick leave, unable to hide my tired demeanour any longer. The moment I was out, shoulders dropped and expression fell.

"Crap," I muttered for the second time today.

Out of habit I went to shove my hands into the side pockets, only to remember I didn't have any on my skirt.

"Crap..." Make that the third.

How weird it was for this language to slip off my tongue with ease.

Another lie, really, not to mention another added worry. Learning Japanese without the guidance of the English language would have been near impossible for me. I couldn't just ask things in English, could I? Yet, over time certain phrases and words clicked like I'd known them my whole life. I could read without struggling, I was able to communicate with Tsukimi's family and everyone else. I should have found some comfort in that, but I didn't. The dreading thoughts of how I was able to achieve this had been my only focus for a time. I'd learnt it all before. That's what my brain told me. Me, no, but Tsukimi had known.

Subconscious memories? Something like a mark left on this body, giving me added knowledge of Tsukimi and her life? Or just another reminder that this wasn't my body, that I wasn't supposed to be here. Maybe it was a struggle on her end, something dwelling inside that would fight to take back what's hers.

One hurdled crossed, another put up in its stead.

The commute to school took longer then I'd first anticipated yet the entirety of the train ride felt short, blurred even. I'd mindlessly gazed out the window, trying to ignore my bouncing leg and anxiety. I could do this, I told myself. It was the least I could do for the girl's parents. What were Japanese schools like though? Would it be easy to adjust? What if I slipped up? Was it possible for someone to figure out my predicament through my odd behaviour and foreign knowledge?

Too many questions, too many doubts, not enough reassurance.

In hindsight, I should have seen it coming. As unpredictable and insane an outcome, the warning signs had been clear. For someone who was completely invested in the story it should have been obvious from the uniform, even the school's name. In my only defence, and despite my already crazy situation, finding myself thrown into a fictional universe was beyond the possibilities of an average school day.

I knew something was off, to my credit. Approaching the school, I was too focused on over analysing every situation that could happen, like awkward socializing or unexplained 'slip ups', to first notice. It was a school like any other. I had seen some similar uniforms from other kids who were making their way to Meiou. The color stood out after all. Even the boys uniforms was that paler shade of pink and I was really digging it for the first few minutes.

Until I realized it was familiar. A little too recognizable in my head for only just getting the uniform a few months back. My thoughts lead me to anime. A laughable concept, making me smile and shake my head because of course that's where my mind would take me. Nothing changes. It at least gave me some reassurance. I figured I'd seen a similar design in one of the many series I've watched and had brushed it off as such.

Technically, I wasn't wrong. I was just blind to this turn of events. If the show had crossed my mind, it was blocked out along with the others.

Yet as I got closer I couldn't settle that unnerving feeling in my gut. What was wrong with me? Was I seriously this nervous about school? Actually, that wasn't odd at all. It was a known fact. What I was feeling was just the anxiety kicking in.

If you're wondering when and how it clicked, I'll give you three guesses.

No, it wasn't who I expected either.

I wasn't struck frozen mere seconds after switching shoes by unnatural red hair. It wasn't the familiar person who stuck out like a sore thumb I caught in the corner of my eyes. Yet at the same time, it was. Familiar that is, but with rose-colored locks a curly black. An average looking boy by default that wouldn't usually catch your eye.

But nothing could stay usual now could it?

Oh I recognized him immediately. I wouldn't forget his freckled face and glasses, even the way he walked with such confidence gave it away. There were many things I could use to described Yu Kaito in that moment, I could have noticed the slight changes that a 3D perspective gave him, or how I immediately sensed the snobby vibe that he emitted by sight.

Too bad I didn't have time to pick him apart like that. I was busy gawking, sadly, and losing all sense of my reality. I'd gone insane, right? Maybe I was just seeing things I wanted to see and that wasn't a character from an anime but just a regular high school student.

No. As much as I wanted to keep denying, things finally fell into place. I found a semblance of an answer to my situation, but it wasn't enough to grasp onto hope or relief. By that point I had gone into shock. My thoughts weren't my own anymore, they were racing out of my control, an overload of irrational information that would never make sense no matter how long I tried to deceiver.

I suddenly felt very nauseous. Breathe. I needed to remember to breathe, but that only happened when a voice from behind snapped me out of my shock. I gasped, head whirling around to meet the gaze of an equally shocked high schooler.

" Oh, sorry –" She was hesitant to speak at first, eyeing me with clear concern. Was I shaking already? Was I still breathing? It didn't feel like I was. I need to focus on that, but…

" I-I—"

I couldn't get anything out passed the stuttering. Fuck, no, god dammit. Some things never change, that was something I repeated a lot. The way my body would handle stress, the way my mind would shut down, well, that was something I'd hoped would change. A positive outlook for a shitty situation.

I had passed my limit and I hadn't even gotten to class. An information overload. Something I knew I wasn't going to handle well. I was immediately uncomfortable, the feeling of flight or fight rushing through my veins as I stared helplessly at the girl before me. Fuck, fuck-! Calm down, please, please calm down we're not doing this here. Control, I needed control, I needed to breathe, and I needed to leave. I needed to leave right this second.

" Are you okay…? You look really pale, are you sick?"

Genuine concern from a student I didn't know, ultimately brushed aside as nothing but a blur.

"Is she alright?"

"I don't know, I think she's really sick she doesn't look too good."

"Do you ne—"

" I'm- f-fine. I'm fine. Just—bathroom, do you know- do you know where a bathroom is—" I can barely get my words out. If I sounded snappy and irritable aside my panic, I didn't care. Not at that moment. Not when everything was falling apart again. Not when my sanity was testing me once more.

I was taken to the bathroom within seconds. A brief and unfinished reply of directions and I had made an immediate beeline towards it. I knew the girls had followed. They'd given me better directions when I got momentarily frazzled in my departure. Once I was inside, I locked the stall and sat down on the closed lidded toilet, head in hands as I tried to calm myself down.

Regardless of what I wanted, the situation brought on too many questions to simply ignore. Not when it was thrown in my face like that.

Like I'd said, it all clicked.

The school I was attending was Meiou. Yes, that was obvious, I've known about that for the passed few years. The place I was attending was Meiou, the high school Yu Kaito, a fictional character from the animated series Yu Yu Hakusho, also attended. A minor character in the grand scheme of things. Perhaps seeing him was better then bumping into other characters. If this is how I'd react to him, I could only imagine the horrors of seeing…

Kurama. Shuichi fricken Minamino, who, fuck me, also attended Meiou. The school I was going to. In Japan. While infiltrating someone else's life. In a fiction world.

Laughter erupted. Unprovoked, stomach-clenching laughter that couldn't be silenced. Shoulders shacking uncontrollably as tears welled up in my eyes.

This was it.

I'd finally done it.

I'd lost my mind. I'd cracked.

This isn't real! Nothing here is real! I'd completely lost all sanity at only nineteen years of age. I say nineteen because for all I knew five years could have just been another part of this illusion. Hah. What a bittersweet ending to my fucking life.

It was funny. It was really, god damn hilarious. I'd known it all along, I knew I couldn't cope with life, I knew I would never get better. I knew I was worthless and that I wasn't going to amount for anything. To be driven to insanity by my own means, by my own thoughts, my own stupid, stupid brain—

"Shut up, ooh my god, now is not the time for this bullshit. Get a grip, shut up, stop being pathetic, focus."

My own voice snaps me out of those thoughts, even just for a moments rest. I wiped the tears from my eyes, sniffling a few times before remembering I was in a bathroom stall, there was tissues right next to me. I was an ugly crier by nature. At least my nose didn't run as fast as my tears, not in Tsukimi's body anyway. Ah. There was a positive after all.

On the off chance that I'm not crazy and this is all real, because it feels a little too real, I needed to focus. It was easier to maintain a level of calm in Tsukimi's body compared to my own. I could breathe with ease, for one, without asthma kicking in and being shitty. Not just out my mouth, but through my clear nose too. Good, deep breaths. I felt grounded too. Even when anxiety kicked in, blurring the world around me, it wasn't a consistent feeling of being unbalanced. My eye sight was clear, my memory intact (hah hah) and better control over my body in general.

Former problems seemed to say imprinted, however, but at least I could say it was better handled. Especially on my own. Regardless of my previous thoughts, I felt a little proud of that fact.

Oh, the constant battles in my head.

Now, a far more confusing battle of what's real or not, but this time it isn't just in my mind.

It's happening around me.

If I was transported into a fictional world, would that include my 'Tsukimi' crisis or were the two separate things. Was I okay to believe everything was really happening right now, or was I giving into the madness I feared. One step at a time, I told myself.

Denying clear fact and doubting myself wasn't helping. I had to go with it. This was my reality right now. This messed up, completely illogical and understandably mind confusing situation was the now. My now. My situation to wrap my head around.

In a bathroom stall

…on my first day of school.

"…fuck me."

The two girls had waited outside for me, thank god. I already stressed them out enough, I didn't want to think about how they'd feel if they heard me muttering to myself like that. Embarrassing to say the least, If I wasn't completely drained I'd feel uncomfortable approaching them again. As it turns out, the jump from 0 to 100 within seconds leaves one without much energy to care.

I didn't need to say anything which was a pleasant surprise. They had immediately escorted me to the nurse's office, explaining that they'd inform the homeroom teacher – looks like we were in the same class? Or not, Japanese schools were different – of my situation. I let out the breath I was holding. These girls were actual saints. All I could offer them was awkward smiles and muttered apologies.

I didn't even get their names, not that they got mine either. Still, they did know me as the 'new girl' which is why they were being so nice to me? I honestly had little clue what was going on, my mind wasn't exactly on the conversation, or current events.

My mind was still racing over the fact I was in a fiction series. Right? Right.

I hoped…

Well, not really. But it was better then loosing the plot. The fangirl part of me was screaming, I was sure of it. Somewhere deep down she was willing to fight me over my mindset, astounded that I wasn't jumping for joy. It was a dweeb's dream to be in my situation. It was my dream, the dweeb herself, to be in my situation.

Yet, actually being in this situation … wasn't as carefree as I would have imagined it to be.

I stayed in the nurse's office for a while longer then I needed to. The lady was very kind to me, empathetic given the state I'd been in. She was informed of my 'amnesia' as well, putting this down to stress of exposure and whatnot… I really wasn't listening. I wasn't trying to be rude, really, I was just out of it. Tired, drained … still slightly nauseous. I could have gone home, called in sick or something, but the train ride would be long anyway. I might as well stick it out, right?

So, after lunch I went to my final classes. I didn't end up finding those girls from before and I had to wonder if they were in a different year or we were just taking different classes. There was one person I was directly looking out for, but I had similar results.

I wasn't introduced to the class that day. I'd missed homeroom, so it was a given. That was better for me anyway. I never liked being introduced to a crowd, it was always so awkward and embarrassing. It was hard for me at first, trying to find my classes only to realize that teachers moved classrooms and not the students (just end this streak of embarrassment please), unless it was certain classes where you needed to be in a particular room.

To be honest, I wasn't sure if I was glad I didn't see Kurama or not. A part of me had hoped for even a glimpse and yet, nothing. Were we in the same classes? The same year? Of course, … unless he took classes above his year level, then I wouldn't see him at all.

But maybe that was for the best. I still hadn't truly wrapped my head around these bizarre circumstances. Other then my curiosity over the demon fox, the day was a blur. It went by fast and really that wasn't shocking. I'd spent most my time in a bathroom stall and then in the nurse's office. Once clean up was over I made my way home without a single interruption. I didn't speak to anyone, they didn't speak to me all that much – aside from curious gazes and a few greetings from classmates – so it was just a day of nothing.

Oh, that was ironic. A day of nothing, even though this day was anything but mundane. A calm storm, was that it? Unseen chaos in the making? Jesus, I didn't know how to explain it. I almost fell asleep on the train ride home, but the paranoia of getting my things stolen or missing my stop kept me from completely nodding off.

I'm sure the journey home was painful given my exhaustion, but all I remember was getting home and immediately feeling content. Safe and, more importantly, near a bed. Tsukimi's mother spoke to me, I'm sure of it, but it was brief given my desire to head upstairs and flop onto my bed.

Once I had, I was wide awake again.

For what seemed like the millionth time today I questioned my sanity. Could this really be true? Had today happened, because it didn't feel like it anymore.

I stared at my ceiling. I don't know for how long, but enough to make me really think. What now? Where did I go from here? Was this my shot? But for what, for adventure or my old life back? I could get answers and the help I needed. Spirit World was real, they might be able to explain how I got here. Was it even possible for someone like me to get so involved that I'd get the opportunity to ask?

Or was my situation seen as a negative. What if they saw it as I had, that I'd stolen this body and destroyed the original soul inside? That made me wince. The guilt would consume me, I knew it would, and I feared if that were to be the case.

I got up and headed for my desk. A quick relocation while I opened a notebook and grabbed a pen. One day at a time, I once again reminded myself. The little things would keep me grounded, would make me feel like I had some control over my situation. Keeping notes and writing down my experiences would do just that, at least until I could formulate a solution.

I sighed deeply. What did people usually do in these situations? Why did answers seem obvious when fantasizing about these fictional moments, knowing putting them into practice took courage I didn't think I had. So much could go wrong. I wasn't prepared. There was no way to prepare yourself for this.

Tapping against the paper, I took a few moments to reminisce on my day. Then, I wrote the first sentence and the rest seemed to follow.

So, I'm completely fucked –

A month or so later and I finally finish this chapter! It took me so long to write this just because I was unsure what direction I wanted it to go in. I don't want to jump right into the main story, but it will build up to it. Given Alex's unwillingness and cowardice to get involved I must force circumstances onto her, so we might get a few new characters. Also, those two girls that are vaguely mentioned are technically canon characters in the anime ^^

Honestly, I made this story with only brief ideas so writing the story up to that is a little hard. I know what I want to do with this though! But there is no planning ahead, just writing chapter after chapter and hoping I don't be stupid.

Thank you so much for those who are following this story! I will try and update more frequently, especially since we haven't dived into main events and main character interactions yet.

Ruler of the elements: I'm really glad you think so, I hope I don't disappoint! I really appreciate the feedback! On the shipping side I'm unsure honestly, I'm definitely not against an eventual pairing but it's not something I have specifically planned. I think if something grows while I'm writing this story, it will be subtle or developed upon in future chapters or even in a sequel, depending ^^