The five of us gathered on the steps of the Shin'yume Public Library, the morning sunlight too bright for how heavy my stomach felt.

The library itself looked like it had been stolen out of a gothic sketchbook: arches too sharp, windows shadowed like hollow eyes, and gargoyles crouched in the corners as though they'd been forgotten mid-snarl.

Which made me wonder what kind of Japanese person had bothered to carve European-style gargoyles into the library.

But the sunlight softened the atmosphere, along with the blossoming Sakura trees in the yard.

Combined they turned the whole library entrance into something out of a Saturday morning cartoon.

It still looked spooky, but with a coat of funhouse paint.

We'd made it this far without saying anything too serious.

Shion kept her arm hooked in mine, lounging against me with her usual arrogance.

Azuki was already nibbling on another bag of melon bread like she'd never eaten in her life and she kept trying to loop her arm with Inego's.

Inego, on the other hand, kept brushing the tanuki away.

He had that careful look, like he'd rather be anywhere else but had decided we were safer with him here than not.

Then, he leaned over towards me.

"Oi, chap. Guess what I brought with me?"

He smirked and patted his pocket.

"Um… did you bring some weed or something?" I asked.

He laughed, shaking his head.

"No. Good guess, but no."

He winked at me, his eyes sparkling and dimples reminding me why just about every girl at Crescent Moon Academy whispered or blushed when Inego passed them in the hall.

"You've forgotten already? You bloody yanks. It's my guitar, ya gobshite!"

He could've knocked me over right there.

"Your… guitar?"

I looked at his pocket.

"How the hell does that work? Did you, what? Grab it with a pointer and stuff it into an inventory screen? How'd you fit your guitar in your pocket like it's a cellphone?"

Inego arched his eyebrows and pulled out his wand from his sleeve.

"No, mate. I just used a bit o'magic."

My shoulders slumped.

Of course he did.

He was a "bloody wizard" after all.

But the thought of playing guitar in my room while Yuki sat watching us on my futon, legs folded neatly under her for a change, made me smile a moment later.

"Dudes, yes! That's awesome!"

He laughed, and then I heard Shion laugh.

"Oh, gods, Blondie! You're such a nerd!"

Yuki, still buzzing from the miracle of having legs, was prancing around the steps as though the world couldn't touch her.

She ran up the long, wide library steps, nearly a half dozen, to the top and then back down to the bottom.

When she reached the bottom, the threw her hands up, doing a small "ta-da" pose before running back to the top of the stairs and repeating the entire thing.

Azuki watched her, nodding with approval.

"Try to do a ballerina spin when you get to the top!" she yelled.

Yuki scrunched her face up and spun around when she saw we were watching.

"Did you see me?" she asked, knowing we had. "Goodness, I'm having the time of my… um…"

She looked at the four of us.

"Can I say life? I might have a temporary body, but I'm still a ghost, after all."

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Shion tilted her head, looking at Yuki like she was trying to solve a riddle.

"I don't get it," she said. "You died in… nineteen sixty-nine?"

Yuki shook her head.

"Sixty-eight."

Shion threw her arms up dramatically.

"Oh! That's right. Nineteen sixty-eight. You were dead a full decade before I was even born. So… how are you so… cheerful?"

I couldn't tell if Shion was making fun of Yuki or seriously asking, and truthfully, I don't think Shion did either.

Yuki, though, simply shrugged.

Then, she looked down at her bare feet, wiggled her toes, spun around and began skipping towards the library's huge front door.

Even though my heart felt about ten times lighter seeing Yuki so openly happy about having a body, even one borrowed from Azuki the tanuki, there was something that had been bothering me.

And I didn't want to keep it from my friends.

Now seemed like a good as time as any to tell them about what happened to me the night before.

"Listen," I started, my voice heavier than I wanted it to be. "There's something I need to tell you guys. Something I should've said sooner."

That got their attention.

Azuki's chewing slowed.

Yuki stopped twirling and turned back around.

Shion tilted her head, green eyes narrowing and she stood a little closer to my side.

Inego frowned, bracing for whatever was coming.

"The Asuka clan kidnapped me last night," I said. "That's why you saw me and Yuki coming back this morning with Hibana."

The words hung in the morning air.

Seagulls called somewhere overhead, their voices cutting through the din of traffic, but none of us moved.

"That's true," Yuki said. "Hotaru hit Ryu in the neck with one of the sleeping darts they're fond of using."

Azuki blinked and she dropped a piece of melon bread from the corner of her mouth.

"Hotaru? Like… the cheerleader?"

Inego's mouth dropped open, stunned.

"Oi… I took her out for coffee the other day!"

Azuki glanced at Inego from the corner of her eye.

I exhaled sharply.

"Yuki helped me, and… get this. They told me it was a mistake. Hotaru shouldn't have brought me there, but they… it still happened! They said they were my allies, but it didn't feel like that. Not one bit."

Shion's grip on my arm tightened.

She didn't interrupt, but her lips pressed into a thin line.

Inego sighed first, shoulders sinking, eyes darting between us, and, after brushing Azuki away, playfully, he stepped to my side by the library.

The sun was climbing high enough to begin to cast reflective glares from the cars as they passed.

"Ryu, mate… listen to me carefully. The best thing you can do right now is try, emphasis on try, to forget about it."

My jaw dropped.

"Forget? They kidnapped me! Er… at least Hotaru did!"

He put a sympathetic hand on my arm.

The warmth I felt from his hand contrasted against Shion's cold, bony grasp in a way I couldn't put into words.

"I know how it sounds," he said, lifting a hand as though warding off my anger. "It's bloody stupid advice. But suppose you go to the police. Do you honestly think they'll believe you? The Asuka clan has their claws everywhere. You think they don't have half the precinct on retainer? You'd just end up painted as some hysterical gaijin with a chip on his shoulder."

The worst part?

I could tell he wasn't wrong. For all I knew, he was one of their spies.

Then, I put that doubt to rest.

No ninja would carry a guitar in their pocket.

"And even if they weren't planning to hurt you," Inego continued, "they've still got power. If they wanted to ruin your life, they could. Their word weighs more than yours on this island. That's the reality."

I rubbed the back of my neck, wishing I could argue.

But the hollow feeling in my chest told me he was right.

Shion surprised me by nodding.

"As much as it pains me to say it, Inego actually sounds smart. For once."

Inego smirked faintly.

"High praise coming from Fang."

Shion's eyes flashed and she pointed at him.

"Enough with that stupid nickname!"

Azuki broke the tension by piping up between bites.

"You know… the other yokai at Crescent Moon Academy are always whining about the Asuka clan. Total rule-obsessed killjoys. Can't even cheat at hanafuda without one of them glaring at you like you just burned down a shrine. But…"

She paused dramatically, then grinned.

"I think Hotaru's mostly okay. She's pretty friendly, actually!"

I rolled my eyes so hard I felt my skull creak.

"Hotaru is a menace. She's not very friendly when she poisoned me!"

I heard Inego click his tongue.

"She's a kawaii menace with adorable gams," he muttered.

Azuki's head snapped toward him, and she elbowed him in the ribs.

"Excuse me? Cute?"

She jutted one leg out, showing off her thigh beneath her plaid skirt.

"What about my legs then?"

Inego froze, arms crossing defensively. But I saw his eyes flick down, quickly taking a peek.

"...What about 'em?"

Azuki gasped, delighted that he'd taken the bait.

"I knew it! You looked! You-you… checked me out!"

Shion, never one to let a game pass her by, grinned wickedly.

With deliberate slowness, she lifted the hem of her black skirt just enough to reveal the smooth line of her pale thighs.

"What about my legs, Blondie?" she asked, eyes cutting toward me instead of Inego.

My face caught fire. Inego's did too.

Before the scene could escalate into a full-blown leg competition, Yuki crossed her arms, cheeks pink.

"Are you all quite done?" she huffed. "Just because I finally have legs doesn't mean I need to flash them around like some window display."

Shion giggled, low and teasing.

"You're not jealous, ghost girl? You've got legs now, sure, but they're not as long as mine."

Yuki's blush deepened.

"Hmph!"

She lifted her chin, attempting to float toward the library doors in a show of defiance.

Except her new body betrayed her, and she nearly pitched face-first onto the stone steps.

She flailed, caught herself, and burst into embarrassed giggles.

"Maybe I should just use my own legs instead of floating."

Azuki clapped, delighted.

"Ten points for effort, Yu-chan!"

The tension finally cracked, and we all laughed, even me, though the weight of what I'd confessed still pressed on my chest.

The five of us moved together toward the tall double doors of the library.

The sun continued its climb, catching on the dust that swirled in the air.

From a distance, the Shin'yume Public Library looked like an institution.

Up close, it smelled like mildew and old paper, the air thick with shadows despite the daylight outside.

I tried to hold on to the laughter, to the playful warmth of my friends teasing one another about legs and rules and crushes. But as we crossed into the shadow of the library's gothic façade, my smile faded.

Because beneath the fun, I could hear Shion's warning echoing in my mind: Skuzz wasn't just a zombie.

He was wrong.

And now, we were walking straight into what could very well be his second home.

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