Sayomi broke her chopsticks and started to dig into her large bowl of ramen. She peeked over the bowl's edge at the chef of the small cart. It's already been a month since Yusuke and I came to the Human World. He's got his own ramen stand, but I think he enjoys his other job more.

The man next to her finished his meal and pulled out his wallet.

"That'll be 300 yen." The man paid, left a tip, and walked away. When Yusuke counted the money, he smiled and called out, "Thanks!

"Welcome!" His smile faltered as he recognized the woman. "Oh… hi Mom."

Atsuko smiled and stood next to Sayomi. "Well, there's a warm greeting."

"Forget it," Yusuke said sternly. "No more free eats. Or loans."

"Tsk… I get no respect, even when I bring a client." She turned to face a large, muscled man with a shaved bleached head and dark goatee. A thick gold chain rested around his neck, and he wore simple, but nice clothing.

The man glared down at Yusuke. "This kid? He any good?"

"Heh…" Yusuke smirked and cocked his head. "Pay me enough and I'm the best. Guaranteed."

Sayomi silently listened as she ate her ramen. After graduating Junior High, Atsuko helped Yusuke open this stand. He also started his own agency with his skills as an Underworld detective. Now he's the top go-to guy for anything demon related. Now that we can travel between worlds freely, he knew his services would be needed.

"Great!" The client held up a photo and a heavy blush dusted his cheeks. "Then you can get me Luka's autograph!"

Yusuke's smirk fell into an annoyed frown.

"We have a great lineup today!" The small TV behind Yusuke could be heard over the awkward silence. "Please welcome the 'Occult Threesome'!"

"I'm Koto!"

"I'm Juri!"

"I'm Luka!"

Sayomi recognized the demon girls from the Dark Tournament. It's the two announcers and the fake nurse. Guess it makes sense they're not afraid of being in the spotlight.

Yusuke sighed and said, "An autograph is ten grand, a handshake, fifty. We can negotiate for personal items."

"No problem! Name your price, I'll pay it!" The large thug practically jumped out of his skin at the thought of getting more than expected.

Sayomi shook her head as she finished her ramen and left Yusuke the money. It's almost unfortunate for Yusuke that demons are, more often than not, pretty well behaved. Some are even eager to assimilate into human society, like those three.

"So you call yourselves 'demons'…"

"Because we are!"

Sayomi got up from her seat and left to find a place to sleep outside. Against all expectations, Enki's policy of self-government seems to be working out really well. The ramen shop is looking more like Yusuke's main source of income.

Then one day, Keiko dropped by.

Sayomi had slipped into Yusuke's room to wake him up. Since he kept late hours, he tended to sleep through the mornings and not get up until after noon.

While Sayomi wasn't much of a morning person either, Yusuke was her only source of entertainment since both Kurama and Kuwabara had school. She didn't want to bother Yukina while she was becoming more acquainted with the Human World. The boys also insisted that she shouldn't influence Yukina with her own disregard for societal norms.

Yusuke yawned and rolled over in bed. He pulled the covers over his head and mumbled something about more sleep.

Sayomi smirked and left the room. She came back with a bottle of cold water and spilled it over his head.

"Gyaaaaah! What the hell, Sai?!" Yusuke sprang out of bed and glared at the demoness.

Sayomi shrugged and drank the rest of the water. "Not my fault you didn't want to get up. It's already after one in the afternoon. You should've gotten plenty of sleep by now."

"What are you, my mom?" Yusuke sneered.

"No, Atsuko would just let you sleep in, but I'm bored and hungry," Sayomi said as she took a seat at Yusuke's desk.

"Now you sound like a dog or something. It's not my job to take care of you," Yusuke argued.

"Technically it is. While I'm in the Human World, I'm supposed to homestay with you. Granted, once I've had enough, I'll head back to the Demon Plane, but I'm not ready to go back just yet."

"Why not?" Yusuke asked as he got out of bed and rummaged through his closet.

"The losers of the tournament have to patrol and that doesn't sound very fun," Sayomi admitted.

"It's not supposed to be fun, Sai. It's supposed to kick start the new way of doing things, and it's only fair that the tournament losers be the first ones to do it."

"Then why aren't you doing it, Yusuke? You lost in the tournament, too."

"Yeah, but I was also the coordinator. I can opt out of patrol duties and choose to live my life in the Human World."

Sayomi crossed her arms and pouted. "That's so not fair."

"Oh save it," Yusuke said as he pulled on a white shirt. "You're not even doing it, so why complain?"

"I'll have to do it when I go back," Sayomi reminded him.

"When will that be?" Yusuke asked. He ran his hand through his hair, ridding it of any minor knots but leaving it messier than before. "I thought you and Hiei would be attached at the hip once all this was over."

"We can have time apart and be just fine," Sayomi said defensively. "A month isn't a big deal compared to the six-month separation before the tournament."

"Okay, you got a point," Yusuke conceded. "So, when are you going back?"

Sayomi sighed and glared at Yusuke. "I don't know, when are you and Keiko gonna finally hook up?"

Yusuke glared back at her and frowned. "She knows I care."

"Maybe, but it makes a big difference when you actually say it, Yusuke," Sayomi argued. "I thought you were over your emotional walls."

"This is different, okay? It took you and the runt long enough to get as far as you have, and with him, that says a lot."

"Yeah, but you and Keiko have known each other for years and you still can't be a man about it."

"Listen here, you—"

They both turned to the door at the sound of the doorbell. Then they heard Atsuko's muffled voice through the door. "Yusuke! You have a visitor!"

Yusuke turned his scowl back on the demoness and pointed at her. "We'll finish this talk never."

Sayomi rolled her eyes and scoffed. "Can't ignore it forever."

Yusuke left the room and called out, "Be there in a minute!"

Sayomi left the teen's bedroom and made her way to the apartment entrance as Atsuko opened the door. "Is Yusuke here, Atsuko?"

"Sure," the young mother answered. "He works nights, so he just got up. Cute uniform!"

"That's good. I want to ask him something," the brunette teen said as she stepped inside and removed her shoes.

"Hey, Keiko," Sayomi said as she waved. "That is a nice uniform."

"Thanks!" Keiko smiled and said, "Since I'm in high school now, my new uniform is more mature than my uniform from Junior High."

Keiko wore a white button-up shirt with a brown blazer and forest green bow tie. The green skirt hung down to her mid-thighs and her legs were sheathed in black tights. The school badge on her left breast pocket was emblazoned with the school's crest and name.

When Yusuke walked out with a toothbrush hanging in his mouth, he jerked his thumb back to his room. "Sounds urgent. Should we take this chat to my room real quick?"

"Yes, please," Keiko said. "It's a really creepy case."

When they made it to his room, Yusuke closed the door and they all settled in a small circle on his floor. The detective brushed his teeth as he asked, "Creepy how?"

"Well, it's basically a haunted room," Keiko summed up.

" A haunted room?!" Yusuke arched his brow as he listened, the toothbrush still hanging in his mouth.

Keiko nodded and explained, "A lot of students at my high school are out-of-towners on sports scholarships, so many of them live in dorms."

"And one of the freshman rooms is haunted?" Yusuke asked.

"It's a new building, so there were no earlier rumors about such a thing," Keiko elaborated. "It apparently started four days ago. The rooms are doubles, and two girls on the basketball team who live in room 402 got up that morning and saw something that looked like an animal footprint by the door. There was just one, so they cleaned it up and thought no more about it.

"But there was another one the next morning, and it was placed a step further into the room. Usually they slept with the door unlocked, since it's a girls' dorm and the building's locked at night. But this was creeping them out, so the next night they made sure to lock their door.

"Next morning, another print… placed one step further into the room. The prints were in a line going straight towards their bunk bed. They stayed up the next night and kept watch. They were too scared to sleep in any event.

"Nothing happened, and no footprint appeared. Next day, they slept through classes and were useless at practice. By the time they got back to their room, there was another footprint, right by the bed. They talked to the dorm mother, but they were brushed off. At this rate…"

"The ghost will pounce tonight! Heh heh." Yusuke grinned wickedly at the thought.

Keiko and Sayomi each hit him on the head, leaving Yusuke with two large lumps. He brushed off the pain and recomposed himself. "So you want me to check this room for ghosts?"

"You'll find it, if anyone can," Keiko confirmed.

"But boys can't go in there, right?" Yusuke asked. "That kinda hobbles my ability to investigate."

"Oh, I don't think that'll be a problem," Keiko brushed off.

"Why don't I check it out instead?" Sayomi offered.

Keiko smiled and shook her head. "This is Yusuke's job. He's the one that's getting hired so he needs to be the one to take care of it."

"Well, how the hell am I supposed to get in?" Yusuke asked.

Keiko smirked with a twinkle of mischief in her eyes. "I have an idea."

When they got to Keiko's high school, Sayomi and Keiko were doing their best to keep their laughter under control, but they couldn't hide the big grins on their faces.

Yusuke ground his teeth as he glared at everyone who glanced his way. He was wearing Keiko's school uniform with a long, blond wig. He turned his anger on Keiko and growled, "I'm billing you extra for this!"

"Fine, whatever." Keiko pointed at the dorm building and led the way. "Over here…"

"Look on the bright side, Yusuke," Sayomi said with a smirk. "You look good in green."

"You're walking on thin ice, Sai," Yusuke warned dangerously. He shifted his glare to Keiko and lowered his voice. "It won't work! No teenage girl is built like this!"

"Yusuke…" Keiko walked up to two young girls, who towered over Yusuke, making Keiko and Sayomi look much smaller in comparison. "This is Hirosawa and Sakurai."

"Ah…" Yusuke blinked up at them. "I get it. Basketball players…"

"What's basketball?" Sayomi asked. She looked up at the girls and wondered if it had to do with their height.

"I'll explain later," Yusuke said dismissively. "How about you girls show me your room and I'll see what I can pick up."

The girls looked at each other before nodding and guiding Yusuke and Sayomi to the dorms. As they walked, they took the time to give them a proper tour of the facility. They didn't attract too much attention, as it looked like they were just showing a new student around with an extra girl friend tagging along. Though Yusuke didn't like it, he had to admit the disguise got the job done.

"And this is the room," Hirosawa said as they opened the door.

"Feel anything?" Keiko asked.

Yusuke and Sayomi stepped into the neat room and looked around. They cast their senses, then Yusuke said, "No…" He took off his wig. "…and there are no footprints."

"Cuz we cleaned them up!" Sakurai exclaimed. "They were creepy!"

"Hmm…" Yusuke reached out his hand to try to focus his senses. "No demonic aura to speak of… You don't have a ghost."

"But it's gotta be!" Hirosawa insisted. "The room was locked!"

"Only the Dorm Mother has spare keys!" Sakurai added.

Yusuke smirked mischievously and said, "I could open this lock in three seconds."

Keiko scowled at the former delinquent. "Someone like you, sure…"

Sayomi stayed quiet as she looked around the room. It's true there's no demonic aura, or any sign of a ghost, but something suspicious is certainly going on here. If not the supernatural, then maybe the culprit is human?

As they left the room, Yusuke tried to reassure the girls. "The room's not haunted. It's obviously a prank of some kind. Just ignore it."

"So…" Sakurai looked at her taller roommate uncertainly. "Do we stay here?"

Hirosawa looked at her and said, "I dunno about you, but I'm moving somewhere else!"

As they left the dorm, Sayomi couldn't shake the feeling that they were being watched. However, every time she turned to look, no one was there. Whoever is behind this, they're certainly not as sneaky as they think.

The next morning, Keiko barged into Yusuke's room without warning. " Yusuke! Get up!"

"What the—? 8 A.M.?! This better be good!" He groaned as he threw his covers away.

Sayomi rubbed the sleep from her eyes as she sat up from her borrowed futon on the floor. "What's going on?"

"It happened again!" Keiko stressed.

"Huh?" Yusuke raised a skeptical brow. "You gotta be kidding!"

"No!" Keiko insisted. "They moved to a different room, but when they woke up, there were bright red handprints around their ankles! Scared yet curious, they rushed back to their room where they saw…" She raised her finger to emphasize her story. "…Hand- and footprints all over the room! It's as if 'it' was trying to find them!"

"Man, this prank's gettin' wild!" Yusuke exclaimed.

"It's not a prank," Keiko argued.

Yusuke blinked. "Why not?"

"Because they didn't clean the prints up," Keiko explained. "I mean, they rushed out and brought friends back to see, but by then all the prints had vanished! The two girls freaked. The whole dorm's freaked. You sure it's not a demon?"

"Hmm…" Yusuke raised his finger and declared, "This looks like a job for…"

"Kurama?" Sayomi asked.

"You're asking Kurama?" Keiko asked.

"Well, it's not a demon, so he might have some idea for who the culprit might be," Yusuke explained.

"Should we call him over or go to his place? Does he have school?" Sayomi asked.

"It's a Sunday, so he should be off," Yusuke answered. "And knowing him, he's probably already awake. I'll call him and invite him over."

When Kurama got there, Keiko and Yusuke explained the situation. The red-head listened carefully before coming to a conclusion. "I see. Still, if Yusuke and Sayomi feel no aura, then there's no demon. I think we have to conclude that humans are behind this."

"That's about what I was thinking," Sayomi agreed. "They're probably taking advantage of the news reports about demons and spirits lately and figured they could blame one of us for doing it, using demons as a scapegoat."

Kurama pointed down at the map Keiko had brought with her of the dorm building. "They saw the prints, rushed out of the room to find help, but with most everyone down in the dining hall having breakfast, it would've been five minutes at least before they got back to the room."

"How many people do you think were involved?" Sayomi asked.

Kurama cupped his chin as he thought. "Two… no… at least three people. Go check these out, Yusuke." He made a list of specific areas for the detective to investigate.

"The school incinerator or dumpster? Drama club members? The volleyball and ping-pong teams? Um…" Yusuke looked up at the red-head. "Maybe you should go, Kurama."

"Why?" Kurama's eyes narrowed as he trained his hard gaze on Yusuke. "Because I'd fit right in on a girl's school campus?"

"What?" Keiko asked.

Sayomi tried not to laugh as she remembered the humans that mistook him for a girl before.

Kurama sighed and leaned back on one hand while the other rested over his raised knee. "What are the two girls doing now?"

"Hirosawa took off," Yusuke answered. "She hasn't been seen in class or at practice. Sakurai's still around and keeping to her schedule so far."

"Sakurai's in line to be the girls' basketball team captain," Keiko added.

"Hmm…" Kurama mused. "Okay, it's all set. We should have a full confession tomorrow."

The following night, Yusuke, Kurama, and Sayomi met up with a small furry imp that happened to be traveling through town. The imp had agreed to help scare a confession out of the suspected culprit.

The imp smiled and lifted his worn hat. "I'm not into scaring humans, but that was kinda fun. Well, I'm off. Places to go, things to do."

As the small imp bounced off, the trio took a walk along the town river. Yusuke slipped his hands into his pockets as he said, "As you figured, Sakurai confessed. She concocted the whole scheme, and her teammates in room 403 helped carry it out."

"So the only real victim was Hirosawa," Kurama concluded.

Yusuke looked at the red-head and asked, "How'd you know there'd be three of them?"

"Prints were appearing in a locked room, so I figured one of the girls inside had to be involved," Kurama explained. "But she wasn't there to make the prints disappear, and a lone accomplice couldn't have managed it.

"My guess is the prints were on plastic film. Two accomplices could have rushed in and peeled them all up in a minute or so. We found traces of them in the incinerator. The weird prints were made using drama club props."

"And after talking to the volleyball team about basketball practice…" Yusuke started to connect the dots in the case.

"I narrowed it down to Sakurai. Funny, huh," Kurama suggested.

"Yeah…" Yusuke mulled over the facts. "I thought the varsity prospect would be the victim."

"But that wouldn't have drawn other teammates into the scheme," Kurama explained.

Sayomi thought back on Sakurai's confession and reasoning behind her actions.

"Sometimes those who give up on making varsity become a problem," Sakurai had said. "Hirosawa got in on a sports scholarship, but soon realized she wasn't an exceptional player and got apathetic about practice. The coach, of course, chewed out all the freshmen when she didn't make an effort, and she just became defiant when we confronted her about it. Team morale really dropped because of that.

"But she's on a scholarship, so if she quit the team she'd be out of the school. The whole team was in danger of falling apart due to her refusal to deal with her deficiencies. But if she missed practice claiming to be haunted by a ghost, no one would question her getting kicked off the team. We allayed suspicion by having me experience the apparent haunting as well. We had to do it. We were the real victims, and it was for the good of the team."

Yusuke clasped his hands behind his head as he thought about the girls. "Pretty scary."

"Those who justify themselves in that way usually are," Kurama concurred.

The next day, Yusuke stomped after Keiko and shouted, "The case is solved, Keiko! I demand payment!"

Keiko glanced back at him and said, "But you didn't solve it, Kurama did."

Yusuke growled as he got directly in her face. "Hah! I get it! You can't pay, can you!"

Without flinching, Keiko countered, "So what if I can't?"

"I can't afford to work pro bono!" Yusuke stressed.

"You said you'd be gone for three years, but you were only gone half that time." Keiko turned on her heel and continued her walk. "So live on what you were gonna live on for the other half."

"That's…" Yusuke trembled as he tried to reel in his frustration. " That's stupid!" Yusuke narrowed his eyes as he muttered under his breath, "So how do I get back at her? Hmm…"

The following day was met with a rude awakening for the detective.

" Yusuke!" Keiko chased after the boy with a raised baseball bat. " What'd you do with my uniform?!"

"Haw!" Yusuke casually ran just out of her reach with his hands in his pockets. "I sold it to some old perv for 100 grand! That covers what you owe me!"

" Beast! I'll knock you into next week! Come back and die!"

Sayomi watched Atsuko as she tied her hair in twin pigtails and looked at her reflection. She smiled proudly as she checked herself out in Keiko's high school uniform. "Ah… I've still got it."