A.N.: Holy cow! A GIGANTIC thanks to my reviewers; I got such a rush reading those reviews that I just had to write more!
-how a ghost communicates with his host-
September rolled around and I still hadn't gotten my body back. Can we say frustration?
It was pretty early in the month when I got a blast from the past. I was minding my own business, just floating with the wind, when a fight went off below. I was stoked. Something new to look at! But the closer I got the more I realized it wasn't a fight; it was a slaughter. Three guys against one familiar face from grade school.
"Matsu?"
"You know him?"
"Yeah, he's Matsu the Dud. He was bullied a lot in primary, and I always came to his rescue. Of course, 1000yen per rescue was a pretty sweet deal."
"I should have known." Botan smacked me upside the head. I really need to teach her how to hit properly. Or introduce her to Keiko.
"Funny though. He always said he wanted to get into boxing in Junior High, but it looks like he didn't get very far." Matsu was down now, and his attackers were kicking him needlessly. "Something's not right. It shouldn't take all three of them to knock Matsu around." I looked at Botan. "I've gotta stop this."
"You're a ghost, Yusuke; you can't do anything without a body—Hey! You can't just take over a body whenever your feel like it! There are rules--!"
Her voice cut out for a moment as I slipped into Matsu's body, then came back. "That kid's unconscious! But you still shouldn't be there, it like stealing!"
Wow, you know, I had almost forgotten what pain felt like. Matsu's body must have been covered in bruises to get this level of hurt. One of the punks was mumbling something about money as I got my balance, then yelled out, "What? You want more?"
My fists prevented any and all comments they would have made.
And wouldn't you know it; they had nothing but pocket change! No wonder they were beating on Matsu. Now I had a problem. Since I jumped into his body without thinking, I wondered how I'd get out again. Maybe there was a time limit? Ah well, better get Matsu home anyway…..if I could just remember where he lives. I know he's moved a few times, and I know he's at least two districts away from my apartment…..wait. Idea. One glance into the sky proved, that while I can't see Botan herself, I could still see her aura. Good thing it was still day (night comes pretty late in the evening, even in September), making the small purple cloud very easy to spot against the blue sky.
"Hey Botan! Which way to Matsu's house?"
"Yusuke! How can—no, never mind. He lives five blocks south of here and the house number is 2278. Do be careful!"
"Yeah, yeah." Off I went, barely listening to Botan mutter to herself as she followed over head. I guess she's not used to talking with the living. Oh well.
Once at Matsu's, I was reminded of how much I didn't like his mom. She's a real shrew, and apparently doesn't like letting her son fight. He used to go on about it all the time...
"Yusuke, I'm not interested in boxing to get back at a bunch of bullies. Boxing is a pure sport, where opponents pray for each other before the match and praise each other afterwards. Skill and discipline are everything! My only goal is victory! And I want to experience it just once."
Judging by the enormous poster on the wall proclaiming 'My goal: one win!' he's not any closer than when he started.
There was no warning. One moment I'm staring at the poster, totally in control, the next Matsu's awake and in the driver's seat.
"What the? I'm home? But how--?"
-I brought you home, Matsu ol' dud!-
"What?! Who is that? Where are you?"
-I'm insulted! How many blows to the head did you have to take before you forgot your old pal, Urameshi? And as for where, that's simple; I'm inside you and I can't get out.-
He panics. "No, you can't be! But, there really is a voice in my head! Did I get hit too many times? Or is it from the stress? Or fatigue? Yes, if I just took a nap-"
I used his own hand to smack the back of his head. -Stop gibbering, you idiot! I'm trying to talk to you here!-
Slowly, he manages to get his breathing under control. "Okay. There's a voice in my head. That's fine. I can live with this."
-Matsu, I jumped in your body because I couldn't stand the way those guys were pounding on you. You're still in boxing, right? So why didn't you fight back?-
He didn't answer me, and continued to ignore me as he got ready for bed.
The next day, I entertained myself by trying to get him to respond to me verbally in class. But he's smarter than he lets on, and figured out early this morning that I can hear his thoughts just fine. But that's okay; I got to explore his room after he went to sleep.
-Gotta say, your room doesn't offer you much distraction, Matsu. You've got textbooks, lots of boxing stuff, but not so much as one girle mag!-
That made him mad. "You used my body to rummage around my room when I was asleep?! Arg! You're shameless! Always have been!"
I smacked him again. -Oh stop whining. Junior High's almost over, you know. Do you even have one shot at a match?-
-There's a city-wide junior high tournament five days from now. I'm going to be the second-year representative for my school. It'll be my last chance.- I was nearly bowled over by his determination. He really wants this.
-Smoked all the other contenders in your class, eh?- My opinion of him went up.
-Well, the truth is, there are only two second-year contenders.- He was embarrassed? Why?
-Oh, but you trounced the other guy, right?- Right?
-Uh, well, actually…-
"Yo, Matsuo!" Whoa, a stereotypical thug. He looks like something out of a bad 60's movie, and his cronies look familiar. This must be the other contender. "Let's go to the practice room. We'll do a little sparring." Yup, that's him.
"Huh? But today's schedule is basic exercises…"
"Just shut up and c'mon!" he grabbed a fistful of Matsu's jacket and dragged him bodily to the practice room.
-Matsu, who are these guys?-
-Tachikawa, the other second-year. He's big and tough enough to go up against high-schoolers…but he blows off practice and gets into trouble a lot, so I was the one picked for the match…- And his cronies were the ones beating on Matsu yesterday. So it wasn't just a random mugging.
Once in the ring, I learned something about Matsu. Despite how much he wants to win, he won't. That Tachikawa thug wailed on Matsu, and my friend didn't do anything to defend himself.
"So get up already. I hear you trashed these guys in no time flat yesterday. Some weird lucky punch you got in, sounds like."
-What's the matter, Matsu! He's open, so whack him! This really isn't much of a match.-
-I know…he's not sticking to the rules! I want to box, but he just wants to brawl.-
"Hey, you first-years! No snitching to the seniors!" Tachikawa yelled over at the door; apparently some first-years had just come in. Then to Matsu, "How about it, dud? Ready to quit the team and let me represent the class? It's really not right that a pussy like you should be picked over a powerhouse like me. So what if I miss practice? I can still wipe the floor with you. I should go to the tournament. Step aside, save yourself some pain. Just quit already, dud."
Matsu refused to back down. "N-no…this is my chance…my last chance. You can't have it…that's final!"
Pissed, Tachikawa ripped his gloves of. "That's how it is, eh?! We'll see what you say after this!" And he swung his bare fist at Matsu, connecting with his cheek and getting knocked out. Perfect. Now it's my turn.
The thug had barely made it out of the ring when I stood up, ripping my own gloves off. "Now it's my turn," I didn't waste time dancing around him and knocked him out with one hit. His friends freaked and tried to run, but I caught them and proceeded to pound on them too. When the first-years tried to break us up, I swatted them aside.
Hey, if they didn't want to get hurt then they shouldn't have interfered.