A/n: Chapter 4! I'm almost caught up with all the chapters I have written now. Of course, I'm still working on more. I'm just updating faster than I can write. Anyway, I'm blabbering. Thanks for the reviews, everyone who did! Now, on to the chapter!
Chapter 4:
Jessa stared blankly at the stack of papers in front of her. These things made absolutely no sense to her whatsoever. "Are you serious?" she asked at last.
"Of course! Don't worry, it's not that much work," Botan declared cheerfully.
Jessa held up the top sheet of paper for Botan to see. "I can't even read this!"
"Oh," Botan said. "I guess that is a problem. Hmm…" She snapped her fingers. "I know! Wait here, I have to go speak with Koenma." Jessa blinked as the blue-haired girl ran off. And she used to think of herself as energetic.
Botan hurried into Koenma's room, where he was sitting at his desk, stamping papers as always. "Lord Koenma, we have a problem!"
"What?" Koenma cried, looking up from his paperwork. "What's wrong?"
"I tried putting Jessa to work, like you said, but she can't read the writing on the papers to file them," Botan explained.
"Oh, is that all?" Koenma asked. He almost looked disappointed. "That is a problem though. We have to find something for her to do; she can't just be wandering all over Reikai by herself. Hmm…."
"Actually, sir, I have an idea," Botan said. He glanced at her expectantly. "She can do Spirit Guide work with me."
"Botan, you want a human to work as a Spirit Guide? But she's still living!"
"Yes, that's true," Botan agreed. "But she would really just be tagging along, and that way I could keep an eye on her all the time!"
Koenma pondered for a moment. "Well, alright," he said at last. "I guess it can't hurt. Go ahead and get started then."
"Yes, sir!" Botan quickly returned to the room she had left Jessa in, only to find the girl had disappeared. Botan looked around. "Huh? Where did she go? Her eyes landed on a group of ogres surrounding one of the computers and cheering loudly.
She walked over to see what the commotion was about, and her mouth dropped. Jessa was hunched over the computer, playing some shooting arcade game. "What are you doing?" Botan cried. The ogres jumped and turned around to face her. She pointed her finger angrily. "Everyone, get back to work!" The ogres obediently hurried back to their respective jobs.
"Jessa, you come with me," Botan said.
Jessa reluctantly exited her game and followed Botan once again through the castle hallways. "Uh, where are we going?" she asked.
"We have to get you a change of clothes. You're going to become my assistant!" Botan said happily.
"Your…assistant? And what exactly do I have to do?"
"Oh, nothing much really. You just have to help me guide the spirits of the dead." She took a sharp right and they entered another doorway, this one leading into a pink and blue bedroom.
Jessa grimaced. "The 'dead'? Wait, you mean like the Grim Reaper or something?"
"Bingo!" Botan cried. She walked over to the blue and gold wardrobe and opened it up. It was filled with pink kimonos, exactly like the one she was wearing now. Jessa's eye twitched. Really, did this girl wear anything else?
Not finding what she was looking for in the wardrobe, Botan bent down and opened the drawer underneath it, digging through those clothes. "Ah, here we go!" she said. She stood up, holding out a simple, blue and orange kimono. "I think this will do nicely."
Well, Jessa did like kimonos, but she'd never actually worn one before. Taking the robe from Botan, she started changing into it. "Um," she said when she got to the obi. She tried wrapping it around her waist multiple times, but it never seemed to be quite right, and the end of the kimono was trailing the floor.
Botan turned around to see Jessa struggling. "Here, let me help you with that," she giggled, taking the obi from the blond. She pulled up the excess kimono cloth and tied the obi around it, holding it in place. "There," she said, standing back to admire her handiwork. "It looks very pretty."
Jessa glanced at herself doubtfully, holding up the sleeves. They reached almost to the floor. She hoped she would be able to walk in this thing without tripping.
"Well, let's go. It's almost time for my shift," Botan said.
She led Jessa outside of the castle, and held out her hand. An oar appeared in it, and she proceeded to sit on it, hovering in midair like a witch on a broomstick. "Grab on," she said, indicating to the end of the oar.
Hesitantly, Jessa grabbed the oar. The ground whipped out from under her feet and all of a sudden they were zipping through the air. Jessa screamed and clung tightly to the oar for dear life. She squeezed her eyes shut, screaming until she felt them come to a stop.
"It's okay, you can let go now," Botan said.
"Oh, okay," Jessa said. Without thinking, she released her hold on the oar, until she realized her feet still weren't touching anything. Looking down, she saw the ground miles beneath her, and screeched, waiting for the end to come. After a moment, she noticed the ground wasn't getting any closer. "I'm…floating?" she said.
"That's right. Your spirit was the only that fell out of that hole. It must have left your body instinctively when you entered the Spirit World in a state of unconsciousness. I guess your own soul thought you were dead!"
"You couldn't have mentioned this before?" Jessa muttered. Basically, she was the equivalent of a dead girl. "Wait, where is my body anyway?"
"I'm afraid we don't know, actually," Botan said seriously. "Koenma sent out a team to search for it. It could be anywhere."
'So I'm stuck as a ghost until the toddler figures out where my body is. Great,' Jessa thought.
"Oh, I sense a ghost nearby," Botan said, breaking Jessa out of her thoughts. She started to fly down to the ground. "Come on, let's go."
Discovering she could fly as well as float, Jessa followed. And then, she caught sight of a familiar person. "Hope!" she cried, changing course.
Botan glanced over her shoulder to see Jessa flying off in the opposite direction. "Wait, where are you going?"
"That's my friend," Jessa said. She pointed to a girl with light brown hair held in twin buns on top of her head. "Hey, Hope! Dummy, look over here!" She landed on the sidewalk and ran towards the girl. "Hope!" She reached out her arms to hug Hope, and fell right through her. "Huh?" she said, turning back to her friend.
"You're just a spirit now, remember?" Botan said, hovering down beside her. "As long as you're in that form, she can't see, hear, or feel you."
Jessa glanced back at her friend, who was walking with a Japanese girl in a school uniform who spoke some English. She looked like she was having fun, but she also looked lonely and a little scared, and Jessa didn't blame her. Hope was all alone in a country where very few spoke her language, and she knew about as much as Jessa did. At least Jessa had been lucky enough to have people who could talk to her and explain things. She frowned. Then again, at least Hope had a body.
"Come on," Botan said, dragging her out of her thoughts. "We have to get to work now. I have a quota to fill."
"Aren't you gonna do something?"
"There's nothing we can do right now, but I'll let Koenma know when we go back. He might be able to find a clue about what happened to you and your friend," Botan reassured her. Jessa nodded, and they headed off to start spirit guiding.
Din grimaced as the saliva dripping fangs neared her, bracing herself as best she could for the bite. Then, at the last second, Gakuto or whatever his name was, screamed and jerked his head back. Looking over his shoulder, he dropped Din and whipped around. As she scurried backwards, Din saw blood gushing from a deep cut on his back.
"You! Why do you attack me? She isss my prey!" Gakuto hissed at his attacker.
"Hmph. You should find someone better to prey on," Hiei said, and quick as lightning, he swung his sword again, slicing the snake demon into multiple pieces.
Din stared at the boy. Ten minutes ago he'd hated her guts, and now he was saving her? This guy was confusing. He turned to her, looking pissed, and she backed away. Scary!
"You seem to have a knack for getting into trouble, human," Hiei said to the girl. "And why do you insist on following me? I prepare a place where you can be cared for and not eaten by demons, so instead you come running after me again."
The girl just stared at him blankly. He could tell by her stance that she was scared. He sighed. "Fine, since you won't give up I may as well just take you along, or you really are going to get yourself killed, and then you'll give some poor demon a stomachache." He turned around and started to walk away. The girl didn't follow. He looked back at her. "Well, are you coming or not?"
The boy stopped and stared back at her. He said something, but obviously, she didn't understand. He stood still, glaring at her and looking impatient. Wait, was he waiting for her? Well that didn't make sense, considering he'd just threatened to kill her if she didn't stop following him. He was still standing there. She took a hesitant step forward. He made no move to slice her in half, so she kept going. He waited until she was several steps behind him and then started walking again. Din shrugged. What a weirdo.