In Loving Memory

More Problems With Being A Ghost

"He's the kid I told you about," Yosuke said.

"The one that Juniper investigated?"

"Yeah."

"Hm," Sakura nodded. She sighed, then continued. "Fine. One lesson, but you have to help me with studying for that test, and you owe me a favor, Yosuke."

"I already owe you everything, darling."

"Then maybe you should stop bringing me reasons to owe me a favor."

"Fine."

"Alright, kid, first three rules of possession, one, be careful with your host's body. You're borrowing it. You can't really feel pain while possessing someone but they certainly can, and you don't want them waking up with a broken arm. Two, be polite to the host while in their body. If they get adamant enough about you not being there, they can try to force you out and will hurt themselves. Three, possession is not to be taken lightly. It can be very uncomfortable for some people. Do not use it recklessly, and it will make you tired the first few times you do it. Remember being tired? Yeah, I bet you don't. Be careful," Sakura said.

"Alright," Izuku said, wishing he had a notebook to write in.

"You gotta walk into your host body, basically. It's like putting on socks. Except these socks actively don't want you in there. It's easiest when the host is asleep or allowing you in. Getting in is easy, but getting out and staying in are harder."

Yosuke nodded. "Yeah, Sakura is a little difficult to possess, but a good starting point."

"Give it a try, okay?"

Izuku was now regretting his (after)life choices. "Are you sure? I don't want to bother you."

"It's a few minutes of mental rest if you manage to get it right. If you manage to get in and stay in I'll clock out. Let you walk around for a minute or two, then you hop out. If you can stay in for that long in a willing participant's body, you should be fine for a good amount of time for anyone else." Sakura's phone started to ring.

"Shouldn't you answer that?"

"It's probably nobody important. My professors never call at this hour and my parents are just downstairs.

"What if it's a friend?"

"Midoriya, I talk to dead people. How popular do you think that makes me?"

"Very?"

"No. People see me talking to people they can't see on the street and write me off as crazy. If you care so much about me answering the phone then you can do it. Now either try the possession thing or get out and stop wasting my time." Izuku grimaced, took a deep breath, and stepped into Sakura's body.

He hated it already. It was uncomfortable, something like being in somebody else's clothes that just so happened to be too big. He blinked and looked around and realized that he suddenly felt very heavy. He examined the room, everything being a little discolored, the reds and greens of the room looking more like gray and white. He also found himself sitting in a chair, the first thing that tipped him off to the fact he had managed to possess Sakura.

"Hey kid, are you okay?" Yosuke asked.

"I think," Izuku said, but the voice that came out wasn't his. It was Sakura's, obviously.

"Alright, you can manage speech. That's already a good step forward."

"Why is everything so discolored?"

"She's red and green colorblind. It means you're settling in okay. Can you stand up?"

Izuku started to stand up slowly. The phone had stopped ringing. "Ugh, I feel dizzy."

"That's normal. Do you feel alright?"

"Why is she so tall?"

"Her parents are, too. How does it feel being six feet tall?"

"Six feet?" Izuku took a tentative step forward and almost fell over.

"Careful, if she's disoriented from the possession you might be, too."

"Why do you do this?"

"Eh, it starts to get better and more comfortable the more you do it. Can you walk?"

Izuku tried to take another step forward and stumbled, but Yosuke caught him. "It appears I can't."

"You're trying to walk like a ghost, but you're in a human body again. You need to pay more attention to your steps."

"Sakura, who are you talking to?" A woman yelled from downstairs.

"That's her mom," Yosuke said.

"Nobody, Mom!" Izuku yelled.

"Is that ghost boyfriend of yours over again?"

"He's not my boyfriend, Mom!"

"Ouch," Yosuke muttered. "You said it too."

"Well, she said it, so I kind of assumed she was telling the truth," Izuku hissed.

"She is, I'm just not happy about it."

"Alright, just please quiet down. I have guests over!" Sakura's mom yelled.

"Okay!"

"Try walking again," Yosuke said. "Remember what it was like to walk when you were alive. You're already doing great, just get this down." Izuku took another step forward, managing it this time. "You have the posture of someone who was abandoned by their father, straighten up."

"My dad's always out on business trips."

"Guess I was right. Straighten your back." Even in Sakura's body, Yosuke was still somewhat taller than Izuku was.

"She really is tall," Izuku murmured, still not used to how far off the ground he was. He managed to get walking down within a few minutes and soon progressed to a relatively slow jog. "I think I've got it," he said.

"Alright," Yosuke said. "Sit on her bed, she might pass out."

"Huh?"

"I'm teaching you how to get out. Duh."

"Oh." Izuku sat on the bed, still feeling like being in the room in the first place was wrong.

"Okay, it's hard to explain, but just kind of unzip the body."

"What the-"

"I know it sounds weird, but imagine the body is a onesie and just kind of take it off."

"Huh?"

"Unzip the body, Midoriya."

"Okay, okay, fine." Izuku held up his hands in surrender, then sighed and closed his eyes, trying to imagine detaching from Sakura. With a little bit of effort, he stepped out of the body. Sakura rubbed her eyes and yawned, then blinked once or twice.

"So he did it, huh?" she said.

Yosuke smiled. "He did."

"How long was I out?"

"He stayed in for around ten minutes. I think he's got it down."

"That's the fastest learning time I've seen from one of the ghosts you've brought over."

Yosuke's smile turned into a smirk. "It seems you still have time to study."

"You still have to help me with studying for that Geometry test."

"I will. I just need to bring this kid back to his city."

"Be back quick, alright."

"Always."