Blair meets Ash for the first time and needs to perform an exorcism on her
“Aah, sumimasen,” a timid voice called out from the living room door.
Ash stopped mid-tantrum, Mako’s collar still in her clenched fist. She looked over her shoulder to find a small girl with bushy chestnut hair and... a ragged-looking conical, wide-brim hat.
“Hoyaa? Don’t be shy, come out and play with me.” Ash grinned. Mako finally wriggled free out of her grasp. “Eh, Ash, Mako dizzy. Stop shaking.” Despite not hearing his groans, Ash oblige. She skipped over to greet the new face, while Mako busied himself over to a mountain of books laid out on the far corner of the room.
“Eh, so I’m supposed to exorcise you,” the girl said. “It’s, ah, your dead boyfriend? His spirit is cursed and haunting you around, it seems. And, uh, it’s bothering some parts of the spirit lines in areas you pass through.”
“Ahahahah, is that so!” Ash looked unfazed by the news, excited almost. “But actually,” she drew out the words, “it’s *ex-*boyfriend.” She giggled. “Wow he’s still causing problems even in death! Men are so troublesome!” Ash pouted, spun around and landed herself onto the beanbags scattered around the center of the room. “I didn’t catch your name by the way, you can call me Ash. And this is Mako!” Mako waves, Ash laughs. “What am I saying though, you probably know him already. I’m the new kid here.”
“I heard, ah, sorry I’m.. Blair.”
“Yes, right, so, what are we doing?”
“The Director wants it done as soon as possible..” Blair started slowly, “Before everyone else returns, he said. So—”
“Not now though.”
“Eh?” Both Mako and Blair stared at Ash’s adamant reply.
“I’m not dressed for the occasion,” Ash pointed out, as if it was a fact-of-the-matter. “If you’re going to exorcise him it means that I’ll see his spirit or something right? I would need to dress up a bit, don't you think?” She waved her hand in the air, twirling a Maybe prepare a bit of some token gift, think about what I want to—or need to—say?”
Ash tilted her head back and covered her eyes with the back of her forearms. Blair was dumbfounded, she neither had the energy or the wit to match Ash’s almost-ridiculous nonchalant attitude toward the exorcism. Mako’s indifference to the scene unfolding added to her perplexity. She started wringing her hands and fidgeted on the spot. “Uh, I could make it so that you don’t have to see him? It would be done and over quickly, is that... okay?”
Ash peeked an eye open, “But what if I want to see him?”
“Why would you... Ah, sorry I didn’t mean to pry but I need to have a report for the Director...” Blair was increasingly exasperated by the minute. The Director had set out this task for her, yet this Ash here turned out to be more problematic than she had been told. “Eh? But.. he broke your heart and well, you killed him.. Right? End of story?”
A flicker of melancholy seemed to gleam across Ash’s usually energetic, dichromatic eyes, “Oh sweetie, if only it was that simple.”