As far as Shuichi could tell, it came out of nowhere. They were sitting in the living room at the time. Kaede was doing homework, and Shuichi was watching TV with the volume down, having checked half a dozen times to make sure it wasn't too distracting. Kaede finished a problem and stretched her arms over her head. Then she asked, "How would you feel about meeting my friends?"

"What?" Shuichi worked to process the apparent non-sequitur. "That sounds like a terrible idea for so many reasons."

"Really? How come?" Kaede asked. "I mean, it feels weird that I don't ever talk about you. And I'm sure they'll all love you, so you don't have to worry about that."

Shuichi struggled to find an objection that wasn't his terror at the prospect of human interaction. "But they're your friends. I don't want to intrude."

"I literally suggested it, so you wouldn't be intruding on anything." Kaede frowned down at her paper and began to erase something.

Shuichi fiddled with the remote. "But won't they mind?"

"Why would they? You're great." She wrote in something else, apparently unconcerned.

Shuichi chose not to focus on the compliment, since that would just sidetrack him. There were more important things to discuss than his questionable self-esteem. "I'm kind of a ghost," he said. "There's no way they'll just accept that."

Kaede brightened. "Actually, that's part of why I'm suggesting it. Halloween is coming up, right?" Shuichi nodded as if he had any grasp on the passage of time. "I was planning to invite some people over for it. You don't have to show yourself, but imagine having a Halloween party with an actual ghost."

"That's…" Shuichi was pretty sure that was the plot of a horror movie. The worst part was that he was still a little tempted. "What did you have in mind?"

"Nothing major. I was thinking that I could get out a Ouija board, you could do some spooky ghost things and freak everyone out, and then we explain the situation." She grinned. "It'll be fun. Besides, that way you won't have to worry about making a good first impression. There's no way they'll forget having a ghost show up like that."

Shuichi hated that that was the most compelling argument yet. He refused to be swayed, though. "Isn't that kind of mean?"

"Maybe a little, but once they calm down they'll think it's hilarious too." She looked him in the eyes. "What do you say?"

Shuichi pretended to think about it, but he knew he'd already lost. There was no way he could say no to something Kaede was so excited about.

Besides, there was a chance it wouldn't go horribly. It might even be fun. And if not, at least he wouldn't have to deal with the aftermath.

"Okay," he said. "When do you want to do it?"

Kaede explained her plans in more detail. They turned out to be remarkably simple. She was only inviting five people, and Shuichi was a little surprised to realize he recognized all of them. He hadn't thought he'd been that engaged in her social life. But Tenko, Maki, and Sayaka had all been there to help Kaede move in, and Rantaro and Ibuki had come over since for study sessions and other random hangouts.

The day of the party came in what felt like no time at all. Kaede greeted the guests with her usual cheer, made small talk, and generally did a good job of acting like she didn't have anything up her sleeve. Shuichi had the objectively easier job of staying hidden until it was time. He was still half convinced he was going to find a way to screw it up.

Once the party was in full swing, Kaede found a way to bring up the Ouija board. Most of the group seemed up for it. Tenko wasn't thrilled, but she was balanced out by Ibuki's ridiculous enthusiasm, and so the board came out anyway.

Everyone gathered around the coffee table in a loose approximation of circle, hands on the planchette. Shuichi did his best to get close without brushing up against anyone.

Kaede, as owner of the board, took the lead. "To any spirits who may be present," she intoned, "please, join us here. We wish to speak with you."

Shuichi shoved the planchette to HELLO. Sayaka gasped, and Ibuki laughed slightly manically. Even Rantaro raised an eyebrow in disbelief.

"Thank you," Kaede said. "We appreciate your cooperation. Now then, if you don't mind, could you tell us how many spirits are here?" She filled the sentences with dramatic emphasis and meaningful pauses.

The stalling gave Shuichi enough time to reach the light switch. When she finished, he switched it off. He flicked it back and forth a few times for good measure.

Tenko let out a strangled scream. Ibuki did the same, though it was hard to tell if she was scared or just wanted an excuse to scream. Maki was looking around warily, as if something was going to jump out at any second. Shuichi supposed she wasn't exactly wrong.

Kaede waited for things to die down. Then, before anyone had time to object, she addressed the air once again. "That was very rude of you," she said. "We just want to know who we're dealing with."

Shuichi took a deep breath. The motion was comforting, no matter how unnecessary. He would swear he could feel his heart hammering in his chest.

But it was too late to back out now. He closed his eyes, told himself to look scary, and manifested.

Tenko and Ibuki immediately started screaming again. Shuichi hoped he'd be audible over them. "I am Shuichi Saihara, and this is my apartment!"

Sayaka joined the screaming. Maki was very pale, and she'd pulled a knife from somewhere. Rantaro looked ready to run.

Good. This was how it should be. They were right to fear Shuichi, and he was going to show them why, they would rue the day they set foot in this building.

He noticed that Kaede's eyes were very wide. Her mouth was moving, but no sound came out.

A wave of guilt washed through him. This was supposed to be a joke, but he'd managed to worry Kaede somehow. He disappeared before he could make things worse.

The screaming tapered off. After a moment of silence, Kaede started to laugh. "Okay, that was great," she said. "My neighbors are going to kill me, but it was so worth it."

Maki crossed her arms. "Was this all a prank?" She glared, but she couldn't quite hide a smile. "I'm impressed. I didn't think you had it in you."

"That was super cool!" Ibuki was practically vibrating in her seat. "This is the best Halloween ever!"

"Haha," Tenko said. She sounded unamused. "A little warning next time?"

"Yeah, that would be nice." Rantaro shrugged. "That said, it was pretty cool. How did you manage it?"

"About that." Kaede looked at the space a few feet to the left of where Shuichi was. "Everyone, I want you to meet my roommate, Shuichi."

Shuichi obligingly stepped left and then reappeared. Thankfully, there was no screaming this time, though from Tenko's expression it was a close thing. "Hello," he said awkwardly.

"Kaede, what the fuck," Sayaka said.

"To be fair, it's not her fault I'm here," Shuichi began.

Kaede waved him off. "Yeah, no, I deserve that. But I promise, he's not at all scary. He's mostly just a nerd."

Before Shuichi could decide how to take that, Ibuki was in his face. He fought the urge to disappear again. "So you aren't going to eat our brains or steal our souls or anything?" she asked.

"No! I wouldn't even know how to."

Rantaro pulled Ibuki back before sticking out a hand. "In that case, nice to meet you. I'm Rantaro Amami."

That was enough to break the ice. Everyone started talking at once, introducing themselves and asking questions. It was a little overwhelming.

But they settled down soon enough, and before long Shuichi started enjoying himself. Kaede's friends were remarkably accommodating. Even Tenko, after making a comment about not trusting a degenerate male in Kaede's home, was nice enough. It felt almost like having friends of his own.

Still, he was relieved when the last of them left and the apartment was quiet again. He was ready to not be conscious for a while.

Before he could fade away, though, Kaede turned to him with an expectant expression. "So, what did you think?"

"It was a lot of fun," Shuichi said. "Everyone was really nice."

"I'm glad! They all seemed to like you too, but that wasn't really a surprise." She hesitated. "And… are you feeling okay?"

"Yeah?" Shuichi blinked. "Why?"

"It's just." Kaede swallowed. "When you first appeared, and everyone was freaking out, you looked different." She waited for Shuichi to react, but when he didn't, she looked away. "There was a knife sticking out of your stomach, and blood all down your shirt. I was really worried."

Shuichi suddenly felt very cold. It took him a while to realize that Kaede was calling his name. "I'm fine," he said automatically. The words felt strange coming out of his mouth, like he was watching as a stranger took over to say them. He fought to anchor himself back to the present. He reached out to touch the coffee table, only for his hand to pass right through.

Kaede reached out to touch him, only to stop, her hand hovering a few inches away from his arm. "Are you sure? I'm not going to push, but if you want to talk about it, I'm here."

"It's fine," Shuichi repeated. This time he managed to make contact with the table. "There's nothing to talk about. I mean, I don't remember it anyway." He drummed his fingers, focusing on the sensation of impact and not the phantom pain in his stomach.

"Okay," Kaede said. "If you say so. I'll leave you alone, then. But Shuichi?" He forced himself to meet her eyes. "You don't have to be fine. Whatever happened to you, it must have been terrible, and you're allowed to be upset about it. Even if you don't remember."

She smiled, and then finally she went to her room. The instant her door closed, Shuichi let himself sink back into nothingness.