°˖✧Gaijin✧˖°

°˖✧Surfacing✧˖°

Ari awakens Sunday morning to the sun blaring through her pastel pink curtains. With a soft groan, she sits up while rubbing at her eyes, attempting to rid herself of the sleepiness that mornings always give her. She glances to her left and finds her residential spirit and friend, Megumi, perched against the wall while reading one of the mangas she brought home the other day.

"This Araki guy really seems to like killing dogs," she remarks.

She snorts a little at that, crawling out of her bed and walking over to her. She peeks down at the particular page she's on, tilting her head ever so slightly. "I think it's to show how evil the characters are. Only an evil person would kill a dog," she explains, though she's pretty much guessing as well.

"Is that so..."

She crouches down to be eye level with her, giving her a soft smile. As a spirit, the average population is unable to see her. Therefore, when Ari begins attending Salt Middle School tomorrow, she'll be unable to speak to her in public. She figures that she should do a little something to make up for that. "I think we should visit your grave today," she suggests. "You said that I somehow was able to stop your curse, right?"

Megumi is quiet for a moment, almost as though she's mulling it over. For a split second, Ari is concerned that she might have overstepped. But she shuts the manga and sets it aside before looking up at her, tilting her head ever so slightly. "Yes, that is correct. But shouldn't you be engaging in something fun rather than visiting my grave?" She asks. "That thing is probably as dirty as they come."

"It's not like I wouldn't have fun spending time with you." She shrugs. "Besides... it's the first time you've been able to leave the house since you died. Don't you think that we should do something that might be able to provide yourself some closure?" She glances in the direction of the hallway. "And it doesn't have to be dirty anymore. We have some rags and cleaning supplies here."

"You... would want to clean my grave?"

"Well, yeah. It would make you feel better, right? To have someone that cares enough to do something like that for you?" She asks nonchalantly. To her, the reason she would do such a thing is obvious. After all the hell that Megumi has ever been through in her life and her death, she thinks that this is the least she could do.

She's quiet for a moment, thinking about it, before she nods timidly. Ari's smile brightens a bit and she hops right up, putting her hands on her hips. "Alright! I'll get dressed and grab everything we need, then we can be on our way, okay?" She chirps, marching down to her closet so she can pick out an outfit for the day - preferably one she wouldn't mind getting a bit grungy.

The two traverse into the depths of Seasoning City together. Megumi looks around with a surprised expression, seeing just how much everything has changed in the years since her death. It feels... refreshing, in a way, but also a little bit unnerving. When did big, fluffy hair go out of style? She's never seen people's hair be flatter than it is right now!

When she looks over to Ari to say exactly that, though, she falters at the sight before her. Ari isn't looking in front of her like she was anticipating - in fact, it seems like she's trying to keep her eyes trained on her shoes rather than anything or anyone else. But... then it hits her. Everyone that passes by her is staring. It must be making her nervous... "H-Hey, I'm sure it's not bad... Maybe they're just curious?" She tries to reassure her.