Prologue

"Yusuke, stop fidgeting!"

"Stop messing with my hair!"

"But you look so cute like–"

"I don't want to look cute!"

"Why do you always have to get like this!"

The fighting could be heard from her perch in the sky, the young woman on the flying oar noted. Up on the rooftop of Sarayashiki Junior High, two figures argued constantly, two figures she knew to be Yusuke Urameshi and Keiko Yukimura. Probably the closest thing to a friend Yusuke had, save for Kazuma Kuwabara, a rival Yusuke had formed a bond with during his second case as Spirit Detective.

The woman's name was Botan. She served as a guide across the river Styx, ferrying dead souls to the world of spirits, Reikai, to be judged by the young prince Koenma. She had also been given two additional responsibilities; one was to assist Yusuke while he worked as Spirit Detective for Koenma. The other was to keep an eye on him, after the unfortunate mistake that was made during his reincarnation.

He hadn't been adjusting too well, as Botan had reported to Koenma. He had started to accept his new life for what it was, but that didn't make him any less irritable or angry to be around. He also never stopped pestering her for a solution, always asking how long it would be until they found a way to fix this. They could have fixed it the very day of the accident, if it hadn't been for...

But that wasn't important right now. Right now, they just needed to focus. Flying on her oar, she cast her head back towards the young girl following her through the air. Taking the form of an adolescent child, with dark, blue hair that drifted down past her shoulders and a long, blue nightgown, was Sayaka, a woman Koenma had assigned to talk to Yusuke. Having reached the end of his rope during the Saint Beast crisis, which his Spirit Detective had just resolved, with the help of a few allies. Koenma had decided to finally look to outside help for his Spirit Detective's crisis of shape.

"That's him," Botan called back to Sayaka, as they flew towards the rooftop. "The one on the left, trying to push the other one away. That's Yusuke."

"Keiko, would you stop!"

"Oh, come on! Would you rather get Kuwabara to do it?"

"I'm not doing a ponytail, Keiko! I'm cutting it off, and that's it!" As Botan and Sayaka drew closer, the yelling got louder. Soon they could easily make out the two figures.

"Don't you want to look your best? I'm sure the boys will be watching." The teasing tone of Keiko's voice was unmistakable, as was the flustered resistance on the other's face.

"I–quit that!–BOTAN!" The one identified as Yusuke was thrilled to see Botan on her oar, with Sayaka trailing behind, if only for the distraction she provided. It cast only a glance back at Keiko for a moment, grumbling something about "damned girly hormones" before looking back up at the two spirits. "Is that her? The expert you guys were going to have take a look at me?"

Sayaka floated forward, hovering in midair while casting her eyes back and forth between the two. She was uncertain if she should move, with Keiko in the area. Botan had assured her earlier that Keiko knew the story, that they'd been forced to explain things to her when she discovered Yusuke for his new identity. It had been earlier than they had anticipated, but there was simply no way to disguise it any longer. "So...mister Urameshi, is it?" Yusuke could see the snicker in the expert's eyes, and it wasn't hard to guess why. The faint giggle was deafening to Yusuke's ears.

"It's not funny!" Yusuke's adamance only succeeded in making Sayaka laugh a little, before she managed to stammer out an apology.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, it's just...you look so cute!" Standing before the young spirit was a figure that, for all its efforts to look powerful and intimidating, couldn't overcome the misfortune of its figure. With long, slender legs, leading up into the much-despised miniskirt and blouse combination of the school uniform, which she had at least managed to dye green like her old clothes, and her arms folded delicately over her chest as one hip stood out to the side, she did her best to look angry with what she had to work with. Soft, brown hair trailed down her back, though she was considering dying it back to her old black. Her hazel eyes, however, were the only truly frightening thing about her, for if one were to look too far into them, they would see the face of someone who had seen more than her share of violence and pain. Yusuke Urameshi, age fourteen, a prisoner of a body that was never meant to be his.

Yusuke cast her head back towards the door, storming towards the stairs that would lead down into the building. "I'm leaving. Come find me when you're serious about putting me back." The voice that passed her lips was still strange and alien to her, the higher pitch never ceasing to sound awkward.

"I'm sorry!" Sayaka quickly whipped between her and the door, hovering in the air just in front of the girl named Yusuke. "Don't go! This is...this is so weird. How did this happen to you?" Her words brought about a glare in Yusuke's eyes, as he cast an angry gaze back at Botan.

Botan slowly raised her hand, while her head dropped sheepishly lower. "That was our fault, actually...though if you hadn't been so headstrong in the first place, maybe it wouldn't have–"

"I'm not getting into this," Yusuke snarled as his eyes returned to Sayaka. "Just put me back. You're supposed to be the expert, tell me how to get back into my body."

Sayaka shook her head. "I can't help you until I know what's going on. I need you to tell me how you got like this. What happened to you?"

Sayaka's insistence drew a reluctant sigh from the young Urameshi girl, who took back up her seat by the doorway. "If I tell you, will you tell me how to get myself back to normal?" Her voice was tired and strained, as if she'd heard this talk all before. She was tired of being promised solutions but then only being given questions.

Keiko's hand fell softly onto Yusuke's, trying to urge patience for him. She was worried about him; she had been since she found him in his new body. "Yusuke, please, if there's any chance they can help you, you should take it."

Sayaka only nodded her head. "I can't make any promises, Yusuke, but I'll do what I can. But I can't do anything if I don't know what's going on." She dropped slowly to the ground, getting closer to hear Yusuke speak. "Tell me what happened to you. I need to know."

Now off her oar, Botan closed in as well, helping to form a circle around Yusuke. She hoped Sayaka would know something, would be able to do something where both she and Koenma's research team had failed. She hoped they could find a way to help him. "Talk to her, Yusuke. It's the only way to help you."

A moment passed, soon followed by another. As Yusuke sat, her back against the wall, she thought about the way she'd once been, and how much she wanted to be back to her manly self again. She remembered everything, the way she had become a her, which seemed a lifetime ago. Finally, reluctantly, she spoke.

"Okay. From the beginning. It all started when I was struck by a car..."