Ghost 101!

"Hey, come on! Sit here beside me and let's relax!" Mayu called out to me and I snapped out of my daze and quickly went in the water.

As soon as I submerged in the water I felt that warmth again but this time I tried to relax as I can feel my body heating up. I leaned on the edge of the man-made hot spring and tried to find a comfortable position. I guess after a few weeks of being a spirit, it kind of feels strange feeling this kind of temperature again. If before, it's like occasionally feeling cold now and then but now I can feel this warmth that I didn't appreciate before when I was alive, I want it to last even if it's just for a moment.

"How do you feel? Are you uncomfortable or something?" Mayu asked. Her tone a little bit anxious? This is the first time I heard this kind of tone from her.

"It feels warm. I haven't felt this ever since I became a ghost. Usually, I just feel cold but now it's warm I want to sleep here to have this feeling longer!" I told Mayu while I had my eyes closed savoring the heat that was entering my body.

"Wow! You are almost empty huh? It's good that you can take in the spiritual essence but make sure to not take too much or the energy might go rampant on your body and you might turn bat shit crazy." Warned Mayu. I rolled my eyes at what she said, luckily my eyes are closed and she didn't see it. She must be referring to herself. I snickered at the thought.

"Now, can you tell me more about the skills and this spiritual essence you are talking about? How come I can feel this heat in the onsen and the longer I stay soaked on the water I can slightly feel the water around me?" I asked Mayu as I slowly opened my eyes looking around.

I was a little startled at what I saw. If before I came into the water I didn't see anyone other than Mayu, but now there are a lot of women that are in the bath, children are frolicking around and some elderly are submerged in the water!

I looked at the other women and then I suddenly averted my eyes. One of them doesn't have a face, the other lady has a long neck and one of the girls playing in the water looked like those Japanese dolls! They are like the ghosts in those scary Japanese ghost stories that I sometimes watch!

I tried to focus my attention on Mayu and avoided looking at them. At least she still looks like a normal human unless she goes in one of her episodes. She is nice until she goes crazy jealous if girls try to get close to Hiro.

"Well, for one, the spiritual essence is the type of energy that we ghosts and otherworldly beings used to power us up. If we don't absorb them then we are just floating spirits, like you, that can't do anything. Like how I first saw you, you were so low on energy that you are almost nonexistent that I hardly notice you until I felt your fear. I on the other hand, since I always gather spiritual essence I was able to discover talent and improve my powers. Now I can feel and inflict fear on other lower ghosts than me and living humans as well." She said proudly.

"How long have you been a ghost if you don't kind me asking?" I was so curious that I can't help but ask her.

She looked up and thought for a second. "I think it's almost 6 years now. I was a senior in senior high when I committed suicide." She said after some thinking. So, wait a minute… If she was a senior back then, then she is about 24-25 years old by now?! She is older than me!?

"So you are around 24-25? But Hiro looks around 20? Were you older than him?" I couldn't stop myself from being curious about this.

"He is the same age as I am. Hiro has a baby face so he looks younger than he is. Now, enough about that. For types of powers, there is a ghost that can change their appearance, controls the elements, has mist abilities, can control inanimate objects, can enter dreams and so on. I'm on the type that has the mist type abilities that can control fear, that's what you saw I did to that slut on the train!" Her eyes flashed when she remembered that scared girl that was flirting with Hiro.

"Then what about me? What are my abilities?" I asked her excitedly and I bet my eyes are all sparkly with anticipation. I wonder if I can control the elements? Or I might have the mist type as well? I can't wait to know!

"Woah easy there! Since you are too weak you can't try or get tested for any of those. You must need to absorb more spiritual essence before you can even think of trying out anything. And as I can see it, you still don't have at least ¼ of energy to even appear in front of a living human. You need at least 2 years to harness spiritual essence to do anything at all." She told me straight.

I was shocked to know that it takes that long to do or try anything! So once I travel the world I need to locate an area with abundant spiritual essence to absorb so that I can do those cool stuff? So tedious! I also remembered the thing about money in this afterlife as well!

"What about the currency here? How can I earn the coins you all use here to pay for stuff and why was it that I wasn't blocked to make a payment before until I was with you?" I asked.

"Hmmm… Must be because your energy is so low that you are almost unnoticeable even to other ghosts? But for earning spirit chips or the coins as you would call it, it is pretty easy to earn them, to be honest. You can take them from other ghosts that are weaker than you. But looking at you right now, you might be the one being taken advantage of. So, you can get a job in the Spirit World and you will get paid for the jobs you have completed." She said.

"How do you get your coins? Did you get a job as well? If there are still some opening at your workplace, can you recommend me?" I asked her hoping that her work will be a little bit easy.

"Oh me? I steal it from other weaker spirits than me, it's much easier that way so that I won't be away from Hiro's side for too long. But I can help you go to the Spirit World to look for a job since you are my friend and kohai!" She said proudly. Wow, this girl is something! Stealing from someone weaker than her? She's a full-fledged delinquent!

"Thank you for the help!" It is all I can say to her and closed my eyes again pretending to relax. I need to get away as far away from her as possible or I might end up dead as in dead without a chance for reincarnation!