Author's Note: We're back with a new episode of Koko Mori's Ghost Boy and this time Ang is looking for a new house to inhabit. A body that is. Real flesh able to kick butt and take some names...Let me know what you think and enjoy!

Disclaimer: Fanfiction is for resurrections and revenge...

Ang's New Body

Arendi Otuk shivered violently for the second time that day. As he stood by the old abandoned section of the great wall around the city he couldn't help but wonder why his brief encounter with the quiet redhead was so strange. They never spoke but when he passed by her he felt a presence with her. Like someone or something was standing next to her. It freaked him out.

He remembered that she was the girl whose boyfriend got shot last year by Councilman Azulon's henchmen. Could she be haunted? Arendi wondered briefly how the boy even ended up in a situation where he would get shot in the richest neighborhood in the entire city in the first place. He knew of the quiet goofy kid from school. Ang Gyatso didn't even seem like the kind of person who would be involved in dealings with thugs and criminals.

Then he recalled an article that described what happened to the boy and he grew sad. The young man was the son of a councilman who was friends with the big business tycoon, Lao Bei Fong. Apparently, Councilman Azulon had been beating the crap out of his kids and had almost killed his daughter, Azula. The driver not thinking he could take the girl to the hospital took her to the Bei Fong's home instead. How bad could your situation be that you weren't even safe at the hospital?

Arendi shivered again at the next thought. Ozai Azulon ordered his men to go get his daughter and those men almost killed the entire household. They shot all the guards, the Gyatso boy, the husband, the wife, and knocked out the blind daughter before kidnapping the Azulon girl. Arendi shook his head sadly. If this is what people with money do to keep it is it really worth the effort to get? That whole corruption situation was a real mess and ended with a lot of tragedy.

Arendi couldn't help but note the irony in his own life as he waited for his friends to arrive so they could help him make money with this illegal gambling ring. He shook out his arms and legs to push off those depressing thoughts so he could get his head in the game. He knew it was risky to run the gamut on such a cold day, but the odds for payout were so good he could have enough money to finally buy the car he wanted. Arendi's friends got him into running these extreme obstacle courses built on the abandoned sector of the old Ba Sing Se wall. Authorities never came out to this area because no one in their right mind would be out here fooling around on the wall if they valued their lives in any way. Plus the area had no residences so it created a perfect spot for other less than legal activities.

Most of the competitors were kids from Ba Sing Se High looking to make a fast coin. Participants were most often affiliated with the water tribe because of their natural builds and strength from years of life on the tundras and ice in the South and the North. Not to mention a lot of the other kids were too afraid of heights and chickened out when it was time to do the gamut. Arendi smirked. Today was a perfect day for him to run his last course and retire for good.

His parents would die over and over if they knew how many times he risked his life on this obstacle course for the money and actually came close to dying more than a few times. There were several others who weren't so lucky. When this was over he would make sure he did something to make it up to his parents even though they didn't really know what he was up to at all. He ran his hands through his thick brown hair pulling it into the signature water tribe wolf's tail. He didn't need his curly locks hampering his view and creating a hazard.

After this gamut, he would finally relax and enjoy his winter break before school starts again. A large hand clapped Arendi on the shoulder shocking him out of his daydream. "Yo boy! You ready for this?" the deep voice rumbled behind him laughing with excitement. Arendi chuffed and turned to his best friend Aron. "You already know, man. Let's go make this money so I can quit for good." The other young man grinned and clasped Arendi's forearm in a tight Water tribe grip as other hopefuls began showing up in anticipation for making some of that good money and they all began making their way to the wall course affectionately known as The Pit of Hell.

Ang wandered the halls of South Ba Sing Se Medical Center looking for signs of people on the brink of death. He didn't dare tell Koko about his macabre mission or she would have completely freaked out and forbade it. I mean, she couldn't have really stopped him, but Koko was just crazy enough that she would do something drastic to keep him in line. Ang couldn't afford that kind of stress so he just told her he had something to do and would meet her later that afternoon at the house. Ang needed a body. He wasn't planning on inhabiting said body forever, but he needed to be tangible if he was ever going to figure out who was responsible for his death and bring him to justice.

The day he died Ang had no idea that the man who shot him would escape the law. Ang was pretty sure the man was still working in the darkness because the spirits who met him at death's door asked him if he wanted to find the jerk who killed him and bring him to justice. Ang didn't even have to think about it. He was immediately sent back to Ba Sing Se as a free spirit until he could get into a body. The only downside was that he couldn't go back into his own body that had already been cremated.

He would have to find someone else who was going to die anyway and fulfill his mission. Once he did his spirit would find release and he could go to the Spirit world in peace. The person whose body he "borrowed" could then also be laid to rest properly. He hoped his plan would work out today and he could possibly meet Koko in the flesh by dinnertime.

Koko couldn't get the young man who passed her that morning out of her mind. At first glance, she thought perhaps he was on his way to work too. Maybe he was running late and was in a hurry. As she thought about it more she realized he was going away from Merchant Row towards the outskirts of the city. The only people who hung out there were kids who did drugs or ran on the illegal extreme obstacle course called The Gamut or known by the kids at BSSHS as The Pit of Hell. She thought she remembered hearing that people usually risked their lives for the wagers placed on them completing the course. If they lived, those guys made a lot of money. Either way that place was nowhere anyone with an ounce of decency would find themselves.

She hoped that the guy was doing the latter of the two options and was just an adrenaline junky getting a thrill on the Gamut. He didn't seem like the kind of kid that would get caught up in something like cactus juice, but one couldn't tell by looks alone. Koko came back to sharp attention at the burning sensation on her hands. In her deep pensive state, she didn't realize she was holding the pot of hot tea with both hands. She dropped the teapot on the tray quickly and hissed at the stinging waves radiating along her fingertips. Suki sidled up to her cousin and whispered.

"Get your head out of the clouds Cuzzo. You are completely off your game this morning." She teased. Koko blushed in embarrassment as she cooled her hands under the tap.

"Sorry Suki, I guess my mind was elsewhere today," she said. Suki grinned like the cat who swallowed the canary. "Oh, I wonder if it had anything to do with that gorgeous Water Tribe guy you passed on the road this morning. You guys were staring at each other pretty hard…" she said with a sing-songy voice and a wink.

Koko's mouth hung open in surprise. She saw that? Oh, not good. Koko tried to clear things up right away.

"It's not like that. He almost bumped into me this morning and I turned to say something. It wasn't that big of a deal, cousin." She explained nervously. Suki raised an eyebrow and replied with a simple,

"Hmm hmm. Ok, if you say so," and walked away with her tray of tea and snacks for her next station leaving Koko staring after her in disbelief.

Iroh chuckled to himself from the kitchen. He knew that Koko was distracted also and wondered if perhaps her heart was opening to the possibility of new love. Well, he didn't need this new love to distract his employee to injury, so he decided to give her a break. Iroh walked up to Koko quietly.

"It seems that perhaps you have a lot on your mind today, young one. I think you should take the rest of the day off. You've been working really hard and you deserve it." Koko gasped at the unexpected presence of her boss and giggled nervously.

"I'm Ok, really Mr. Iroh. I did get a little distracted, but I'm good. Besides, who will help Suki when the rush crowd comes in?" she said not wanting her employer to think she was put out of sorts by the opposite sex. She really wasn't ready for anything like that. Iroh gave her a wicked smile.

"Oh, didn't I tell you? I hired a couple of new people to help serve. If it's the money you're worried about this is paid time off. I want you to do something for yourself today. Get some rest, have a spa day, go be selfish for a little while and you'll be refreshed for work tomorrow." He said sincerely. Koko smiled at Iroh shyly. She had to have one of the best bosses in the entire city.

"If you're sure you won't need me today…" she trailed. Iroh smiled again and shook his head. "No, get your things, and go enjoy yourself. The teahouse will survive until you return," He chuckled brightly. Koko laughed at his infectious joy and then sighed.

"Ok, I will go, and I promise I will be focused one hundred percent tomorrow." She declared. Iroh just smiled knowingly and pointed in the direction of the door. Koko nodded and ran to get her coat and belongings. Looks like she still got her day off after all…

Ang waited in the hallways of the hospital for hours for someone to kick the bucket. For some reason all the dying or dead people were old. It wouldn't be remotely appropriate for Ang to approach Koko as an octogenarian. The age difference alone would be scandalous. No, it had to be someone young preferably around his age or just a little older. He needed an agile and fit body to bend his elements and investigate.

Nurses began passing in the hallway at a hurried pace. First, it was one or two nurses, then it was an entire wing. Something major must have happened for it to suddenly be all hands on deck. Maybe this was his chance.

Several gurneys of young people in various states of injury whizzed by on their way to intensive care or critical care rooms. Ang followed behind a nurse making her way to the surgery ward. She was getting scrubbed up in a hurry to deal with what he overheard was a massive head injury and internal bleeding. The nurse turned to the doctor scrubbing up beside her who explained,

"Some dumb kid on that damned obstacle course on the east side again. Almost fell off the wall, but got caught in some netting on the side. Slammed his head on the stone pretty badly. We won't know how severe the damage is until we open him up. They really need to do something about that Gamut thingy. We keep getting a steady flow of kids like this every week. Let's go!" he said soberly. The nurse sighed heavily and followed behind the doctor to hopefully save a life.

Ang floated in casually behind the surgery team hoping subconsciously that this would be the one he could use. He floated up above the table and watched as they worked on a young man who had puffy and swollen features and his chest was distended awkwardly covered with blood and bruises. Ang felt a gag reflex at the injuries though he knew nothing would come of it. He lost those abilities when he lost his body. He looked closely at the face of the young man and recognized him.

Hey! That was the guy that walked through me today and almost bumped Koko! What was he doing on the wall? He wondered. Ang wouldn't have time to think about it because the monitor began sounding in a deafening steady drone.

"He's coding! Defib, stat!" the doctor yelled over the alarm. Nurses rushed to prepare the boy for a shock to get his system going again.

"Clear!" came the call as the pads were placed on the boy's chest and nothing happened. The nurses worked frantically to up the charge and shock him again. Nothing. Ang had a sinking feeling at the lack of life and yet hope and anticipation. This kid couldn't die, not yet. The nurses prepped the young man for the third time. The call came again and they shocked the boy's chest this time to the return of a weak yet steady pace. The attendants gathered around the young man on the table sighed in relief.

The doctor continued working but realized that this one may not be too lucky. His brain had been without oxygen too long. He really didn't want to have to explain to yet another family that their son was brain dead and would not come back to them. That the best and most merciful thing for them to do would be to pull the plug and say goodbye.

He shook his head sadly. You would think with all these deaths and permanent injuries that the young men wouldn't risk their lives for a few gold coins. He couldn't help but wonder if the competition was rigged to hurt these guys on purpose in some way and beyond that who was profiting off of the misery of these young men? The city had to do something about this and soon.

Ang floated out of the surgery room and waited. He knew that the young man was dead even though his heart still beat. He caught a glimpse of the young man's spirit glancing at him in surprise, then understanding and walking sadly through death's door. Though his body was alive, his brain was dead and his spirit was gone. Ang wondered if this was a coincidence or the will of the spirits.

He now had a perfect opportunity to find out more about what was happening at that wall and if it had any connection to the former chairman's dirty dealings and the man who killed him. Since the young man was on life support, Ang would wait a little while before he inhabited the body. He would go and see Koko tonight and come back later to give the boy a second chance at life.