Chapter 25: A Ghostly Yin and Yang

Feli kept leading the way for us, until we saw a small and dark house. "Uh… that's looks creepy, Feli…" I commented. "What did you expect, Dave? This is a home for the ghosts, dank and tattered." It didn't just look tattered, but also decayed. The wood that it was built from appeared old and unstable. She opened the door and we headed inside. "Ah-choo! *sniff* It's cold in here…" I shivered. "Very ch-chilly…" Rulue followed. "Yeah, unnaturally. This proves that they are here…" Feli confidently said. "H-hey is there anyone here?" I called out. "... … …" "No response…" Satan noticed. "Tch. They're probably planning on scaring us." Schezo asserted. I was put down on the floor and everyone else looked around. "Yoo-hoo~. Anyone here?" Satan continued calling out in my stead. I looked away toward the walls, the wallpaper was peeling itself out. I looked back above me to see something, or rather, someone hovering about. "! You must be…" I reacted. The others turned back to see what I saw. "...one the ghosts!" I finished my line. "Boo!" The ghost hollered at me, but I didn't feel scared. Instead, I was mesmerized by how adorable this ghost was. "Aw, you're such an adorable little ghost!" I squealed. "Wait, I remember her… she's that one little eccentric spirit. I recall her because she called me a pervert during a tournament that I participated in!" Schezo realized. "Gee, isn't that the fucking shock of the century…" I rolled my eyes. "D-dammit Dave, shut up!" He yelled at me. Then, another voice entered the room. "Yu, do we have guests?" The voice asked. "Oh yeah, we do! Come in here, Rei!" The ghost cheerily replied to the voice. I safely assumed the ghost that I first saw was named Yu. The voice belonged the other ghost, he definitely looked a lot more depressed than the first one. These ghosts had sheets covering them. However, I found it weird that they weren't transparent. Yu's hair had that shade of green, which I couldn't describe what it was. Her eyes did not have pupils, only an eye color surrounded the white part. Rei had blue hair, though I couldn't see his eyes. "Huh, I've never seen this guy before…" Yu looked at me closer. Obviously... I've never seen you before today. "... He looks cool! Anyway, welcome to our home, the "ghost office"! I am Yu and this is my brother, Rei. We make special spooky deliveries regularly around Primp Town." She welcomed me. My eye kind of twitched from the spoken pun. "I think I'm going to kill myself, because of that horrible joke." Schezo whispered.

Satan smacked him on the head. "Ouch!" He yelped softly. "Quiet, fool. Pay attention and don't say anything else." He had set him straight. "Who're you, new guy? And, are you alright? You don't seem to be doing so well." Yu asked me. "I'm uh, Dave. I have too much of an electrical charge in my body… We were hoping that maybe you two can intake the excess." I replied. "Ah, I see what you're talking about! Sure thing. C'mon, Rei!" She understood. "Hold on, before we go through with that, Yu… I want to talk to him first…" Rei told her. "Oh, okay! Take your time." She encouraged him. "Guy, I want you to do a favor for both of us. That is, after we take out that unnecessary charge from you that is..." He whispered. "What kind of favor?" I whispered back. "Well, you see how energetic, and loud Yu is?" "Yeah Rei, what of it?" "We may be both ghosts, but we're complete opposites beyond that." "So like Yin and Yang?" "Yin… and what?" "Uh... ... Nevermind. I can see that clearly, but how does this tie into your favor?" "I don't want to exist anymore, at the same time though, I want Yu to have a second chance in life. She got herself killed out of being foolish. She didn't deserve that death…" "What happened to her?" I wondered what caused Yu to lose her life. "She took her own life, believing that it would bring her happiness." "...! Wha…? But, what about the life that she had? Wasn't she happy at that time?" "Of course she was, but she wanted eternal happiness. So, she committed suicide. I became sad from that, as her brother… and I killed myself too. Even in this afterlife, I can't find peace…" "Well, what do you want me to do about it, Rei?" "You have that Satan guy with you, right? Have him fuse my spirit with Yu's, making it so that I have basically never existed. I want there to be a remnant of her in the newly formed spirit… for her to experience the full life that she never got to live. Doing this, our emotions will balance out to that of a normal person's. Whether we turn out to be a guy or a girl is a toss-up. Then, he can insert the fused spirit of us inside of an incarnated body." "I never knew that he could do that… but sure, I'll grant this favor for you, Rei." Our conversation ended with both of us nodding.

Yu returned to be by Rei's side after we talked. "Hey, what did you talk to Dave about, Rei?" She asked him. "Oh, not anything you should concern yourself with…" He replied to her. "Okay!" She nodded. "Alright you two, take out the extra charge from my body." I told them and they want ahead with it. I felt a little tingly, but after the process concluded, I tried moving. My arms and legs were back to normal. "Yes, I can move again! Thank you so much, you two!" I deactivated my armor at long last. "This is what you really look like?!" Yu reacted to my change in appearance. "Yeah, it is. Anyway, Satan. Come back here for a little bit with me." I nodded before telling him. "S-sure…" He went along. I whispered to him about Rei's wish. "I see, I'll do it. Besides, it'll be a good excuse for me to do this…" "Uh, do what?" "You'll see…" I was a bit freaked out by his sudden shift in tone of voice. "Yu and Rei, let's have you go over there… and here. Will you do that for me?" He asked the ghosts. "Indeedy, will do!" Yu happily responded. "Yes." Rei followed up. They went to the spot that he wanted them to go. "Alright, now don't move from that spot…" He continued. "Satan, what are you doing?" Schezo wondered with suspicion. "Oh, just watch…" He responded to his question.

Satan began to create what seemed to be a ritual circle of sorts. It ranged itself around nearly the whole room. "Anyone who is not named Yu or Rei, stay outside of this circle." He stated. I, Feli, Rulue, and Schezo hopped to the area outside of it. I held Feli's hand for the duration of this. Blue flames started to light up and shine. "O god of incarnation, hear my call. I request that you create a body I picture in my mind, without spirit… so that I may fuse two spirits into one and give the incarnated body life…" The body appears before us, in a coffin. Woah... "... I request that you allow me to merge Yu and Rei's spirits together at this moment." He finished speaking. "Wait, what?" Yu questioned, looking confused. Before she knew it, the two ghosts fused into one spirit. This spirit drifted slowly into the incarnated body. The flames disappeared, one by one, until the last was gone. And then, the circle went away... only leaving behind the coffin and body. "Alrighty… I'm done, so let's see what came out of it." Satan gestured to us. "So… you have the ability to merge multiple souls into one?" Schezo was curious. "No, not me on my own. I just called upon the god of incarnation with my status as ruler of the Puyo Underworld." He answered. "That's Satan for you, he has access to some incredible things…" Rulue admired.

I went over to see this new life that was created, with Feli close behind. The body was covered in cloth, so I unwrapped it until I saw the body revealed a little. I could tell that it was naked, so I didn't go through with. I figured out that this was a female body, with breasts obscured by the cloth. The body itself seemed lengthy, this girl was actually quite tall from looking at it. "Guys, this a girl…" I trailed. "This is what Rei wanted, wasn't it? Keeping a remnant or two of Yu with this new being?" Satan brought up. "I suppose…" I said while taking off the cloth covering the new girl's head. "...! She looks like Yu, but only older…!" Feli pointed out. "Meet Yui, she has the looks and memories of Yu… however, her feelings are more natural for a human. No longer being cheery to the point where it got creepy. Plus, she has maturity and common sense now. I came up with her name by combining Yu's name and the i in Rei. Also, I figured that it would be a cute name too." Satan established, grinning and scratching his head. "Yui… that is a good name. Ah, she's breathing!" I noticed. "Having been originally two ghosts for a long time, she probably had forgotten how to breathe." Feli assumed. "That would make sense, since the dead don't need to breathe." Schezo agreed. "This Yui seems to be tall for a girl… Satan, how old is she?" Rulue asked him. "She has the body of a seventeen year-old, does that suffice as an answer, Rulue?" He answered. "Yes, it does…" She nodded. I looked back at Yui, her eyes were opening.

They were beautiful, the eye color was blue and green. "Mmm… Huh? Where… am I? ...! Why do I know you people? ... Agh-! My head… ...What is going on here? Who am I?" She wondered. "Here, girl… allow me to explain." Satan carefully caressed her head for comfort while he elaborated her situation to her. "So, let me get this straight: I am essentially a new person created from a pair of ghost twins, and I have the memories of the creepily happy one?" Yui waited for confirmation. "Yes, why I did this was because it was Rei's wish… ceasing to exist so that in some way, his sister would have another stab at living." He told her. "But, I'm not Yu." She said. "You look and sound kind of like her, it's as close as we could make it. Now, Yu looked like she was only twelve or something… I had you be seventeen for a reason. That reason, was none other Dave." He finishes his explanation. "Then Dave, you must be seventeen too, right?…" Yui guessed. How I was at the time, my physical age was seventeen. However, that was only because of that one damn portal; the one that sent me to the world with Suzuran in the first place. I was supposed to be a couple of years older than that. "... Yes, that's the case, Yui." I lied. The girl tried to move before I stopped her. "Ah-! Don't, you're not wearing any clothes." I stopped her. She acknowledged my warning and kept herself wrapped in the cloth as much as possible. Yui jumped to the floor from the coffin "Woooah. ... I'll need to get used to this body… Jeez, I'm tall… taller than you, Dave." She said. "Yeeeeah… let's get you some clothes, then find a place to stay. This place won't be suited for you." I advised. Schezo took one good look at her then his nose began to bleed. "Dude, are you seriously-…? Get a damn grip!" I pounded his head, becoming livid from his staring. "Ack-!"He yelped.

I didn't regret hurting him at that moment. He was fantasizing something with Yui in it. Whatever it was, I knew I wouldn't like it. "Wow, you didn't even hesitate with that!" Rulue was surprised. "Of course I didn't, I want this guy to stop being a pervert." I responded. "Fuck off… I'm not a pervert." He argued. "Don't try even hide it... your nose bled, Dark Mage." Satan ratted him out. "Bah! Screw all of you, I'm going back into my cave…" He told us, then left. "*sigh* How dirty IS his mind?" Yui wondered. "It's very dirty, Yui. Trust me, I have been with him long enough to know that fact." I said. ... I might as well tell her about THAT too... I went in to whisper another fact to her. "Don't tell anyone about this, but uh… the guy keeps quite the porn collection for himself. That's what I heard anyway, from a trusted friend of mine… I don't know how big it is." "He's not just a pervert, but a super pervert…! I don't wanna be raided by him!" She looked disgusted. "I guess so, and don't worry... I'll ward him off if I need to." I patted her head. She smiled at me for my promise of protection. "Let's go, Yui." I made myself clear. "Okay." She nodded. We all left for Primp Town, while I reminded myself of what Amitie told me back then, in the Puyo Isles. This Oshare Bones guy ran a clothing shop, he should know exactly what will be good for Yui. That's what I hoped for. "So this is what the town looks like…" I took in the visual flare. "I'm guessing you've never been here before, Dave…" Feli assumed the obvious. "Yeah, I always just go back to Suzuran when I'm done with school for the day. That's assuming nothing else is going on." I spoke in truth. "Huh… the town's changed since the last time my former selves visited." Yui noticed. "It must have been a long time ago then." Satan joined in. "I personally haven't been to the town too much, but it always looks good." Rulue stated her opinion. "Hmm, the clothing store should be around here somewhere…" Feli double-checked. "Isn't that it right there, Feli?" I pointed. "Yes, there it is." She confirmed.

Everyone nodded, then Feli, I, and Rulue went in. Satan said that he would stay behind and look after Yui for us. I saw him, the skeleton that Amitie described: Oshare Bones. His outfit was, to put it simply, dashing. I liked the hat that he had, it really fit him well. He watched us coming through the door. "Ah, customers!" He greeted us excitedly. "You must be Oshare Bones." I came up to him. "Why yes I am! How do you know me? I don't think I've ever seen you around before, boy." He pondered. "Well, I'm Dave." I answered. "Bless me! Are you the one that Amitie told me about? The newest student in Ms. Accord's class?" He realized. "Yeah, I am… I guess." I nodded. "I see. So what brings you guys here?" He asked us. "Well, you see…" I began explaining to him the case with Yui. "Dear God! Where is the poor girl? Don't worry, no one else is here and this won't take too long. Please bring her in if you would." He advised to us. I went outside to tell Yui to get in. "I might as well come inside too." Satan looked awkward. "! S-Satan?! You're here too?" The shopkeeper looked. "You two know each other?" I questioned. "Indeed, we go back a few years." Oshare told me before turning over to Yui. "... That cloth is covering your face, Yui… I can't recommend clothes for you if I can't see it." He urged her to uncover her face. "Very well…" She complied. Her face became visible to him. "Huh… you look like a ghost that I know of." He noticed the similarities. "Oh… that's because I was created with Yu and her brother." Yui revealed to him. "Uh… say what now?" Oshare was confused by what she had said. "Allow me to tell you everything involving this girl, Oshare..." Satan came up to him. After much needed elaboration, the skeleton understood. "Ah, now I know what this is about. A newly incarnated girl, born from two dead spirits merging into one… I'll say this: It's not the weirdest thing I've ever heard. So, now I know what you could wear, Yui… here, try this. Go in that stall until you feel comfortable coming out." Oshare sent her inside there.

We waited there, possibly for several minutes. I assumed she wasn't used to putting on clothes either. Finally, the door slightly creaks open. "..." We looked. "Yui, you look great." I was pleased. "How are those fitting you?" Rulue asked her. "Surprisingly fine… I like them." She grinned. I definitely considered Oshare an artist after seeing this display. He clearly was an expert of fashion, no denying that. Yui now wore a long-sleeved, light-blue shirt with jeans. Her shoes were beige flats with small heels at the bottom of them. "How much is this going to cost, Oshare?" Satan wondered. "Worry not, Satan. I'll pay for Yui's clothes, I have a good amount in stock." Rulue relieved him. "Hold up, let's see what other clothes she wants first. That one lone set isn't going to be enough, you know." Oshare recommended. I agreed with him, one set of clothes is obviously not enough for one person. "Hm…" Yui slowly decided what she wanted. "I like girls, but they are slow with decision making... *sigh*" Satan tapped his foot. "How about this, Yui?" Feli showed her a piece of clothing that she found. "Hm... ... Maybe." She examined it.

Thirty minutes later, she was contempt with the amount of clothing. "Well, this is going to be a bigger blow to my finance than I thought…" Rulue sighed. "At least Yui has clothes now. It's been a long day for all of us." I said to her on the bright side. We went up to the counter, where Oshare calculated the total price and tax. "Your total will be... one hundred and thirty-one gold and ninety-four silver." He declared. I was curious about the currency that this world used before this came up. I guessed that gold acted like dollars, while silver did the same for cents. We paid the price and thanked Oshare. "Well it was nice meeting you, Oshare Bones. We'll be taking our leave now, bye." I waved. "It was wonderful meeting you too, Dave. You're always welcomed as a customer of mine, toodles!" He had us leave. "Thanks everyone, you've given me a life and I love it." Yui thanked us. "Aw, it's no biggie... We just did what we felt like we had to do, you know." I smiled. "Yeah, it was a no-brainer to do something like that." Feli agreed. "But still, where am I going to stay?" Yui asked. "I could take you in for the time being, my parents won't mind." Feli told her. "Oh really? Aw, you shouldn't…" She blushed. "Don't worry, Yui… I can enjoy your company with Bal." She told her. "Bal… OH! I remember him. He's that dog, right?" She reminded herself. "Well if you have established where you'll live for the time being… I'll go back to the Puyo Underworld." Satan told Yui. She nodded to him as a sign of yes. "Then I'll go back home too, it's getting late." Rulue told us. "Goodbye everyone, I'll go back home as well…" I said. "Hold on, Dave... let me make you a portal back to Suzuran." Satan told me.

I nodded and he created the portal. "Alright, catch you on the flipside, Yui!" I waved to her and jumped in. Out I came, and I saw the dusky sky over the city. "It's that dark already?" I checked the time. "Wow, 6:15… I need to get back to Ringo. I'll text her about all that has occurred today." So I did. I got a response from her almost right out of the gate. "So wait, those two ghosts are gone, and out came a girl? I used to be afraid of the paranormal, because it was not scientific and logically sound. That's how I knew those two in case if you were wondering... Anyway, you tried to change that pervert and the result was lukewarm… I'm not surprised by that outcome. Also, I'm happy that you were able to give Yui clothes and a place for her to stay. She doesn't have any biological parents that can care for her... But, who's this Count Vyle? I've never heard of him before in my life. Could you tell me more when you return, Dave?" Her text ended. I replied to her a "Sure." and walked back. "Ah, the city's beautiful at night…" I had goosebumps piling up on my body.

I finally returned from this busy day. Ringo saw me walking by to the door. "There you are… God, what am I gonna to do with you, Dave? It's almost like you need the babysitting rather than me. *giggle* I'm sure your hungry." "Yeah, it was an eventful afternoon… I could use some food to be revitalized, Ringo." I smiled at her. I came inside to rest up. "I'm here, Ms. Ando." I waved. "Ah, were you out protecting people today?" She guessed and smiled. "Yeah, I was going to tell Ringo about it. I must confess that the threat this time was dangerous…" I clenched my fists. "Dave? What happened while you were out there, involving this Count Vyle character?" Ringo wondered. "Ringo, Vyle put my body in a state of paralysis before I dropped to the ground… I couldn't move my arms or legs. This guy, he's a vampire lord… mentioning that he came from a world different from that of here or Primp, just so he could go into hiding... and regain strength that he lost in a battle against Rulue when she was seventeen." "R-Rulue? One of Arle's friends?" "Yeah… and you'll never believe what I'm about to say. Within the last month of hiding before ambushing us, he gained a servant. This person who I speak of is none of than Maguro." I dropped on her.

She couldn't fathom it all and her eyes widened. "W-what…? N-no… that's impossible… he was sent to prison…" "I know how hard this is to take in, but it's the truth..." Ringo started to cry and cling to me. I held on to her to make her feel better. "Worry not, Ringo. This just means I'll have to defeat him again, and it won't be that hard. Maguro only has a gun… Unfortunately, that gun did wound somebody… that person was Lemres." I continued. "L-Lemres got shot?" "In his arm, Ringo." I explained to her the rest of the story. "*sniff* I need to set him straight, myself." "B-but that's crazy, Ringo! You don't have the ability to fight. You'll get killed without a means of attack or defense…" "I have the power inside, Dave. But in the past, it was only able to be brought out by the assistance of Puyos. That's how I defeated Ecolo back then." "That was the past, Ringo… this is the present we are talking about here." She thought about her next choice of words before speaking. "Who gave you magic power in the first place?" "You should know already... It was Ms. Accord, why ask?" "She can unlock the potential in me." It didn't even occur to me beforehand that Ms. Accord could technically open the gateway for anyone to use magic. "... Well, if you are committed to this… I won't stop you. I'll teach you combat stuff that I have learned in our spare time. I think we're going to need all the help we can get…" I finished. "Uh Dave, shouldn't you eat before it becomes too late?" Ms. Ando alerted me. "Oh goodness, thank you for reminding me! My appetite could've been thrown out of whack." I ate dinner by myself, then Ringo and I came into the shower together. "Ringo, I haven't really seen much of your sister. What's up with her?" "Oh you know, she has a job that ranges from afternoon to past midnight… That's why we don't see her for much of any normal day." "Huh… alright then. What's she like? I don't think I've ever even spoken a word to her since bunking here." "She's… I'll be blunt, a bit of an overprotective sibling, Dave. I do remember a time when I was really young… playing with her. I can't recall many details, only the thing being that she used to be adventurous. Actually, one more thing too… she always has been like an older version of me." "Makes sense, you two do look alike." The rest of the time that we were in the shower, we stayed silent.

Out of the bathroom, I decided to hit the bed early. "I'll see you in the morning, Ringo." I kissed her. "Alright, sweet dreams." She smiled. I wanted to fall asleep, but I felt like I had to do something else first. I took my cell phone and called somebody. "Hello?" The voice asked. "Ex, it's me." I replied. "Oh, Dave! It's a bit late for you to call, but what's up?" "Ex… we ran into somebody potentially dangerous today. I was powerless to stop him and he placed me in a state of paralysis." "H-huh?! Who did this to you?!" "Some vampire lord that now calls himself Count Vyle. He also had an underling that police arrested a month ago. If you were keeping up with the news, you would know that the guy is Maguro." "That childhood friend of Ringo's?" "Yes, him. He shot one of my friends in the arm with a gun… before we even know it was him. We had the ruler of the Puyo Underworld by our side... and even he couldn't do much of anything to the count. We need you, Ex… I want you to wait for further instruction. The next time that we encounter the count and Maguro, I'll alert you as soon as I can." Ex took a little bit of time to think things over. "Ex?" "Oh, I'm still here. Yes, I'll come when you tell me to. I'll bring Tee as-" "No, leave him behind. Someone has to look over the Tetra while you're gone. Only bring him along if it is absolutely necessary." "O-okay… I think you're right, Dave. Bringing him in would be reckless and he could be in grave danger." "Thank you, Ex. I'll be sleeping now, take care of yourself and the crew." "Alright, bye." He finished. I hung up and drifted off to sleep.

Author's Notes: Dave meets Yu and Rei, a pair of ghostly twins. They help him recover from paralysis and Satan fulfills Rei's wish. He fused the two ghosts into one spirit and place it into a newly incarnated body of a girl. The name Yui is given to her, then the gang went to buy her clothes. Dave met Oshare Bones too, generally liking the skeleton for his generosity and fashion sense. Back in Suzuran, Dave tells Ringo the full story and she breaks down. After a few soft-spoken words, she felt better. Before Dave fell asleep, he called Ex for help. He promised him that he'll come when he is alerted. What will happen to Dave and the rest of the cast? What is to come out of Yui's existence? Next chapter, Chapter 26: Unexpected Twist of Fate.