DOWNTOWN: Midgard Public Library(#826RJ) Truly the Midgard Public Library is a sight to behold. Like a majestic cathedral in its general appearance, this library was spared no expense upon its assembly. Marble floors offer the library a majestic appeal, the polished, blanche floor offering a hazy but clear reflection of the high arched ceilings above. The ceiling itself is, like the delicate, seemingly fragile appearance of the library in its entirety, a work of art. The arched, domed ceiling spans high above, each sectioned off portion of the domed ceiling filled with large panes of glass which offer ample amounts of sunlight to flood the large library during the daylight hours, and offer a lovely view of the evening sky during nightfall. The library itself is sectioned off into three areas, most of which, however is dedicated to the ample and numerous amounts of books the library bears. The furthest wall from the door consists entirely of large bookcases save for the occasional window, which provides a view of the city beyond the walls of marble and glass. These wall-based bookshelves are accompanied by numerous rows of freestanding bookshelves, floating freely in the midst of the large area sectioned off from the rest of the library. From the corners of the back walls, in each of the northernmost wall's corners, the bookshelves connect to the western and eastern walls, also adorned with large, oak bookcases. The bookcases along these particular walls travel to midway of the wall before they cut short, sectioned off by large, marble pillars that travel the girth of the library. These pillars section off the books from the rest of the library, separating the rows of provided tables and chairs for people to continue their studies in. Computer are provided along the walls of the study section, most of which are generally occupied by library patrons. Near the front stands a large oak desk, behind which often stands library caretakers and assistants readily available to help customers with their needs and questions. Contents: Zappa Sakura Obvious exits: EXIT Ahh, the Midgard Public Library. Ask really appreciates whatever founding father decided libraries were a good use for money--this is what a library should be like. Statuesque, dignified, and impressive, a far cry from the the smaller libraries in the suburbs. Which is why she likes to come here to study and do her research, when she has the chance. Her time here is not exactly for that purpose, though. It being summer, school's not in session; and although there are the summer assignments, she's gotten those done already. She is, instead, just here for pleasure reading. Even if her idea of pleasure reading involves things along the lines of 'Human Anatomy for Dummies' and 'Burial Customs Around the World,' sprinkled with a little Lovecraft. Though, somewhere at the bottom of the pile of books stacked up on the table she sits at, a teen romance novel stands out, accusingly pink. At the moment, she's simply idly paging through the anatomy book, occasionally pausing as something interesting pops out. The table she sits at is otherwise empty, although her imposing stack of books might have something to do with that. School may indeed be out for the summer, but the library has become a sort of home away from home for certain bookworm-y types. And if Ask is one of that crowd, then Zappa is another. His part-time job at the Item Shop has kept him busy lately, and he's got no complaints about that. Still, there's something he's been meaning to check on once he had a free moment; only now has that moment presented itself. And yet, even though he's spent many a pleasant hour here absorbed in a wealth of literary knowledge, he can't help but feel a strange sense of guilt. Zappa strolls, trying to look nonchalant, towards a particular non-fiction section--near the beginning, the 001s. The books on UFOs, the supernatural, and other such unexplained phenomena. It's convenient that that section is also near the section on religion, because it may turn out that he needs some of that as well. And there he stands, scanning the shelves and trying to ignore the feeling that he's doing something he really shouldn't be doing, though the occasional nervous glance over his shoulder shows that he's not being very successful. Having arrived in Midgard early in June, it was simply far too late in the school year to even think about school. Hence, Sakura's studies have been instead focused on the arcane; her sister's training has been the hallmark of each day. That is, aside from trying to stay out of Archer's way, handling her portion of the domestic chores (and often stepping in when others, like her sister, are busy or away), and always watching over her shoulder for Saber - or any other threats to life in this strange town. Today, however, she's braved the warm weather outside to spend the day at the library - perhaps, if this city collects those such as her, there's information there. She walks through the shelves, searching through the library and finally finding the front sections on the...well, on what most residents of Midgard would consider the bizarre. She tries to stay out of the taller man's way, but his occasional nervous glances and presence in a section thought to be esoteric at best have her curious. However, she's a little hesitant to ask his purpose, especially as his hands appear to be empty. After perusing the shelves, looking for various books on Magecraft - not magic, not sleight of hand tricks, and certainly not that silly card game - she thinks she's found a few. She can't see Rider, but is sure the tall Servant is either reading something somewhere where she can monitor Sakura's activities, or simply watching the surroundings. Delicate fingers carry a decent sized stack of obscure texts back to a table, where a remarkably red-haired girl sits. Sakura's meek, quiet voice is practically made for a library. "Ah...may I sit here?" She indicates the tablespace across from Ask, but hasn't set her books down yet. A smile greets the green eyes of the other girl. Been there, done that--at least, inasmuch as checking out the occult section in the library. Unfortunately, she'd never found much, at least that worked. Perhaps she wasn't looking in the right place, admittedly--she just knows the New Age section didn't turn up anything for her. Brought out of her idle flipping by the soft voice, Ask glances up and offers a cheery smile. "Of course! Big enough for the both of us, and more," she accedes, gesturing at the chair in a 'go ahead, go head' motion. Glancing down at her book, she decides it isn't really worth checking out--her dad has better ones at home, although they can be sort of tough to struggle through--and gets up, intending to place it back on the shelf where it came from. "Ah, 'scuse me, though, I'll be right back..." Bouncing off to the shelves, she sticks the book back where it came from, before glancing down at the occult section out of habit. Oh, hey, person there? Is he into that stuff too? <3 Curious, she skips on down to that section, offering a bright, "Hi!" to the young man before turning her attention to inspect the selection. "Oh! A new book!" And one with a decently promising title, too. Eyes gleaming, Ask stretches up, fingers groping toward the top shelf to try and pull the book from its compatriots. Zappa tenses slightly as Sakura passes close to him; then, glancing towards her and seeing that she doesn't seem to be there to get on his case about anything, he flashes her a quick, apologetic smile and steps closer to the bookshelf so as to allow her more room. His attention then returns to the books arrayed before him, and his hands don't stay empty for long. A book entitled "Ghosts Among Us" captures his interest, and he plucks it from the shelf and lets it fall open to a random page. Balancing it thus on one hand, he reaches into his breast pocket with the other and removes a pair of glasses, which he unfolds and slips onto his nose. But no sooner has he done so than Ask's greeting sounds right next to him, and he gives a startled, half-stifled yelp--he is in a library, after all!--and promptly drops his book, which plummets to the floor in a flurry of fluttering pages. "Oh--sorry--" Zappa stammers, apologizing as an instinctive reaction as he bends down to reclaim the fallen volume. "I didn't see you there. Uh, hello," he adds as an afterthought, blushing faintly. She did say hi, after all. "Ah, thank you!" The good cheer in her voice might be infectious; the violet-haired and - eyed girl nods a happy thanks and sets her pile down. Carefully and quietly, she pulls the chair back, then adjusts her long skirt and takes a seat to begin peruisng. Although, as soon as Sakura sits, the other girl quickly stands, holding one of her books - but isn't leaving, is only replacing and retrieving something new. "Yes...ah, I'll watch your books..." She watches the redhead go back to the occult section, and smiles a little - for some reason, the cheerful actions and energy of the other girl reminds her of her former teacher. However, reading is the requirement today, and she starts searching through the various books. This first one seems to touch on a few ideas, but doesn't- She jumps a bit at the unexpected yelp, and thud of a book on the floor; fortunately this side of the library is mostly unoccupied. Quickly looking up as she sees him retrieve the book, and speak to the girl, she starts breathing again and begins to look down at her books - but as her eyes track towards the tome in her hands, she notices the strange titles of the redheads books. Anatomy? Burial customs? And...ah, it's such a bad thing, but her curiosity momentarily gets the better of her and she notices the pink binding of a Lizzie McGuire novel. It's...an eclectic mix of books, she thinks, and wonders just what kind of person this cheerful redhead is... Stretch... streeeetch... ah! There! Clenching one fist in a quick victory sign, Ask manages to mostly tug the book from the top shelf, without even drawing them all down on top of her--a remarkable feat, considering that she can be sometimes quite clumsy. Or at least--it would have been mostly successful, if it weren't for the startled half-yelp that Zappa gave, which startles her in turn. She hadn't expected someone to be that surprised by her! Tottering on her toes, she gives a slightly too-hard tug to the book's spine, but fumbles it as it comes down--the book slips out of her hands, gravity continues to work, and it descends on her head with a hollow *thonk*, which in turn sends her tripping on her own feet to land on her rear. "Akghetete!" Wincing, Ask puts her hands up to touch her head, but aside from a slight soreness there doesn't seem to be anything wrong. And then she can't help but giggle at the ridiculousness of the situation. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to startle you! Or, um, trip and fall like that. I'm such a klutz sometimes, really." Her smile is embarrassed and face flushed, as she scrambles back up to her feet and retrieves the book (The Black Arts: A History of Witchcraft and Demonology, as it so happened to be). Glancing curiously at the book he had chosen, she adds, rather absently, "Oh, that one's not very good if you're looking for anything serious, it's mostly just a collection of personal accounts without any kind of overall framework." But he might not want her poking into his business, so she just offers a quick smile and turns about to begin trotting back to her table, now that she has her new discovery. As he straightens up from reclaiming his fallen book, Zappa's eyes automatically follow Ask's upraised arm, and it occurs to him that he could probably reach the book she's stretching for. But by the time he's opened his mouth to offer assistance, it's too late and that naughty little law called gravity has already done its work. The impact gets a sympathy wince out of him. "Oh dear. Are you all right?" She must be, otherwise she probably wouldn't have gotten up that quickly. Zappa takes a step back, looking rather dazed; then, when she reminds him of the book he's still holding, his blush returns with a vengeance. "Oh, it's not--um--I mean...I just..." Realizing that he doesn't in fact have anything intelligent to say, he takes the wiser course of action and simply shuts up. Then he slides the book back into place on the shelf and, after a moment of dithering, trails after Ask. "Um...what -would- you recommend, then?" he ventures in his Australian twang, noting over her shoulder the presence of Sakura at the table. At least two of them seem to know what they're doing here. Unlike him. Her thoughts about the reading material of the redhead get interrupted again as the selfsame girl ends up accidentally causing a commotion and ending up planted firmly on the floor. Sakura's quick to stand, setting the large book aside and raising one hand, as if to ask question...but, it seems the slender girl is alright. Still... "Ah, are you alright," she stage-whispers. She takes a couple steps to where the other girl is, now standing halfway between the desk and the aisle's entrance. The attention to her head concerns Sakura, but she seems be alright...and, at her giggling, Sakura can't help but join in. Yes, she really does seem like Fujimura...although, somewhat less frantic... She's hovering on the border of being there, just barely close enough to hear their conversation and be noticed and too far to be any sort of participant; it's a rather normal place for her. Although...witchcraft and demonology? Americans certainly study strange things indeed...but, then he puts the book back after her comment about its accuracy, or apparent lack thereof. Realizing they're heading back to that table, she starts and then quickly retreats back to her seat, and slides her books over to make room for the pair. A little company while reading isn't a bad thing...is it? "I'm fine, I'm fine!" Ask is quick to reassure both of those concerned, waving a hand in a still-slightly-embarrassed fashion. It's a bit awkward to have so many people inquiring after one's health, after all. "But thank you for asking," she adds with a warm smile. "I'm sorry I'm making such a fuss, I'm surprised the librarian hasn't come over to make me be quiet yet..." Another light giggle, before she puts her book down on the top of her stack. Glancing up at Zappa as he asks the question, she puts a finger to her lips and casts her eyes upward, thinking. "Well, hmm... I guess that depends on what you're looking for, really! What /are/ you looking for? If you just want information on ghosts in general, I think Benckley's 'The Realm of Spirits' is pretty good, but it's hard to find sometimes. I've got a copy of it, though." A quick blink, then, as her ears catch up to her brain. "Oh--you're Australian! Are you an exchange student?" Realizing that her side of the conversation is perhaps a little loud, Ask flushes slightly and cranks down the volume of her voice, before looking toward Sakura. "I'm sorry, am I disturbing you with my talking? I can move somewhere else if you want..." Ask's enthusiasm is catching, and Zappa finds himself matching her smile despite his self-consciousness. "Is it that obvious?" He's never felt the need to disguise his accent, but then not many people have commented on it. At least, not that he remembers, and his memory over the past few years is notoriously spotty. "No, actually, I'm not. Um, it's kind of a long story." A pause, and another glance over his shoulder. Why does it feel like someone's watching him? "Come to think of it, that sort of has something to do with what I was asking before." He removes his glasses again and fidgets with them, folding and unfolding the legs without looking at either of the two girls. "I want to learn more about ghosts, yes, but more specifically...uh...how to get rid of them." Zappa's shoulders tense visibly even as he speaks these words, as if he's anticipating a blow. Sakura knows the feeling of embarrassment, and hates to be the center of attention herself - so she can easily understand how Ask might be feeling. A gentle smile, and she shakes her head. Continuing in that same soft voice, she tries to calm Ask's fears about the master of the building. "Ah...the librarian seemed to be elsewhere, so..." As a matter of fact, the librarian - or at least, nearest library assistant - seemed to be conducting a school of children around their area; that left this particular section relatively empty - relative, that is, to the three people inside. Four, counting the invisible and omnipresent Rider; but the Servant's presence was at a minimum. "It...um...seems as if the three of us are the only ones here.." Her accent is only faintly Japanese; she's studied English for many years. And, recently, extensive practice with the language has given her a more stable voice for it. She does catch the tall man's accent, hearing his voice as he approaches the table. So...that's what an Australian sounds like... She quickly raises a book to cover the bottom part of her face, hunching down a little, and smiles nervously. "Ah...no, I'm not bothered at all..." Ghosts, the other man is interested in. They flat-out terrify her; should she ever be pressed to answer. However, his denial of interest draws her out a bit, at least to where she's not hiding...although, she's still nervous around him now. "Er...does that person mean, perhaps, an exorcism of sorts?" One thing that never translated easily into English was the Japanese language's deeply involved levels of formality, especially from a lower-class person to an upper-class. Nowadays, they're more used for politeness' sake, however in America speaking about someone in the third person like that might be problematic...and, attached with the unnatural hair and eye color she has, tends to make people a little unsure of the poor girl. It's not really her fault... "No, not really, but it's hard to miss after a little bit." But... isn't that the definition of 'obvious?' Disregarding this, or perhaps just oblivious to it, Ask plows on, "I think it's cool, though! I haven't met many people from Australia, or, well, really from anywhere." That she's aware of, anyway. "Well, no, that's partly a lie, there's a lot of exchange students from Japan in my high school, apparently..." At least, three or so feels like a lot to her, relatively speaking. Even if the actual number isn't really so high. Ask just now notices the children clustering in the next area--amazing, considering that, being children, they're making a fair amount of noise--and grins. "I guess that's why they haven't noticed! Okay." She still keeps her voice relatively low, but now less out of pure politeness than from a sense of security. She's gotten more relaxed about talking about the occult side of things since encountering so many people who seemed to know about it, but that doesn't mean she's quite come into the habit of shouting it from the rooftops. "Sounds like what you want is an exorcism," she adds, with a quick nod to Sakura as the other girl voices the same opinion. "But, um..." For a second, Ask simply looks at Zappa--really /looks/, in an uncomfortably penetrating way. Then her eyes cross, before she shakes her head quickly, as though to snap her back to the present. She hesitates, not quite certain what to say. She has an idea now of why he wants an exorcism, but it's up to him if he wants to reveal it. To be fair, Zappa doesn't exactly have the outrageous Steve Irwin-esque pronunciation that characterizes the stereotypical Aussie accent, but it's still noticeable just the same. And come to think of it, Sakura's own slight accent reminds him of something--a woman he met once? When was that? He seems to recall her being a lot more brash and aggressive than Sakura is being right now, and groping for those faint shreds of memory results in him sort of staring vaguely at Sakura for a few seconds without really seeing her. And speaking of staring...Ask's moment of scrutiny will reveal something decidedly out-of-the-ordinary about Zappa, and that is the fact that he's not alone. There's a woman resting on his back, her thin arms draped over his shoulders and her head propped against the nape of his neck as if she's using him for a pillow. Her face is obscured by her hair, but despite her attitude of repose, one might get the distinct feeling that she's awake...and angry. "Um--well--something like that," Zappa says eventually, after shaking himself out of his own wandering thoughts. "I'm a medical student, you see, and uh, I thought...well, you know, I have to know everything that could possibly be wrong with the human body, right? And how to cure it." He's blushing again, and he's not a very good liar at all. He gives Ask a worried look, wondering if her crossed eyes mean that that book to the head did some lasting damage. Hearing that there's other students from Japan, Sakura gets a little curious. She tilts her head slightly to one side, and speaks up. "Er...may I ask...which highschool do you go to?" She herself should be starting in Monroe at the next semester, entering as an American freshman - though, really, she's already been through half a year of that in Japan...ah, well, nothing to do now but simply stay that way an extra year. A polite giggle escapes her, in reply to Ask's observation on the youth of America and their current position away from the trio. However, her chorus of exorcism gets a glance from Sakura, wondering what she might know about them. She looks back to the older man, and then looks away as he seems to be staring at her. Just a little off to one side, but in a way to not violate protocol. Had Sakura known of the ghost living atop Zappa's back, the reaction would have been quite potentially bad. There's actually very little different between a Servant and a ghost; she still draws a very specific line as to what she's comfortable with and what would turn her white with a shriek. Fortunately, the only perception she seems to have of him is his personal appearance and voice; she nods at his explanation. "Ah...that is an interesting idea, actually, if...I may say so. Er...please forgive me, I haven't introduced myself...my name is -" A quick pause, remembering that it's given name first, in the United States. "Er, Sakura Tohsaka." She rises, and bows a greeting to them both; purple hair bobbing as she does so. Yeah, this would be about the point where Ask's arms get little goosebumps. Bad enough to be acutely aware of the angry ghost piggybacking on Zappa; worse to have to sit there and pretend that the ghost in question that needs an exorcism isn't sitting right there listening to what they say. Although she probably can't come up with a lamer excuse than Zappa. ... ... granted, her excuses wouldn't be any /better,/ but they probably wouldn't be worse? "Well, uh... I dunno that I'd consider it a problem of the /body/, per se," Ask observes with a touch of a giggle. "But, you know, if you want to find out more, I know some people..." Herself among them, but fortunately a teenaged girl isn't the only resource out there about these things. If he doesn't want to really admit it in public, then Ask will turn the conversation away to more innocuous things. Brows rising quizzically at Sakura, Ask points at herself with a thumb. "Me? Uh, Monroe." Her mouth forms a little 'o,' as she realizes the faint hints of an accent on Sakura's speech. Not much of a one--she's very good--but noticeable, after some conversation. "Are you an exchange student, too?" Now, that really is funny--she has a knack for meeting them, it appears. Grinning, head tilting to one side, she asks, "Where do you go to? Or--will, I guess, since school's not in any more." Ah, introductions. How silly of her to forget! "I'm Ask," she offers brightly, one hand rising in a kind of wave. "Tohsaka? Tohsaka, Toe-sah-kah, where have I heard that befo--oh! Are you related to, um..." She gropes after the name in memory--it was quite a while ago, and they don't encounter each other often in school. "Rin? I think it was?" "I...suppose that's true," Zappa concedes, shifting his weight uncomfortably from one foot to the other and back again. "But still, that sort of thing would manifest in the body, wouldn't it? Things like losing consciousness and waking up with unexplained injuries, just for starters...um, but I guess that would just be treating the symptoms and not the real problem..." He catches himself starting to ramble, and decides to shut up again before he makes a complete idiot out of himself. More than he already has, that is. Aware that he may be the third wheel in the conversation, Zappa starts to drift back towards the bookshelf he was originally examining, with the intention of looking for that other book that Ask mentioned. What was the title? 'The Domain of Spirits'? Something like that, at any rate. As he steps away, the ghostly woman on his back stirs and turns slightly, to peer over her shoulder in the direction of the two girls. Behind her curtain of hair, her blackened lips stretch into a malicious rictus of a grin. Sakura's sure that performing some sort of exorcism wouldn't do much to heal a person, although...as scared as she is of ghost stories, and such, it must be very difficult to heal properly. Perhaps he's being truthful, although she isn't sure...but there is at least a little bit of potential reason behind his words. If only she knew... The fact that the perky Ask knows such things lends a little credence to her book choices. Perhaps not so interested in Magecraft, or related things, but rather death and macabre horror. But, then the girl mentions something interesting - she goes to the same highschool as does her sister. Sakura nods, a little surprised, but then looks down a little, a bit ashamed. "Ah...er, no, actually...I moved here, recently, to live with my sister..." She looks up, and tries to meet Ask's smile. "Um, Monroe Highschool, actually...although, I don't start my Freshman year until after summer...then, perhaps Ask will be my upperclassman in school!" She blinks, curious, as Ask...inquires...about Rin. Ah, such an interesting name, that, and...potentially confusing. But, the redhead presses on, with an unexpected observation. "Ah...yes, actually...Rin is this person's elder sister." A smile. "Do you know my sister?" Zappa, meanwhile, seems to be drifting away from the conversation. However, his words are curious, and she finds herself - morbidly, she admits, with an odd prickle on the back of her neck - curious about his statements. "Ah...sir, if you don't mind my asking...that...is very strange, indeed." Her violet eyes look at him, a little distantly and slightly blank, as she's a bit afraid of the topic. There's also...a little bit of history, bad history, with spiritual evil, as well. Were Ask sensitive to these sorts of things, as well as the spirit world, she might have felt the giant shadow lurking over Sakura like an invisible cloud on a sunny day. "It seems...dangerous, to a patient...has it happened, here?" Nervous, now; hauntings and posessions...scary... "Well, yes, but stuff like that should go away after an exorcism is performed, if it's been performed right," Ask half-lectures, raising a finger to emphasize her point. "They are kind of the symptoms rather than the cause, so... though regular medicine helps for dealing with that, too!" Ah, but he's drifting away without even giving his name, or giving her a chance to give him the names that could help him. (That's a lot of giving.) "Oh, mister, what's your name?" she calls after him, waving a hand frantically to help catch his attention. With the other hand, she roots around in the bag hung over the back of her chair, eventually emerging with a scrap of paper--it looks like an old receipt--and a pen. She scribbles on it for a few moments, before rising to bounce over to Zappa and proffer it. On it is written, 'Ask and Agir Johanssen,' followed by an address, her cellphone number, and another number that's presumably the house number; below that is 'Dr. Nusakan,' with an address to his clinic, but no number. As she draws nearer, though, the woman clinging to Zappa's back raises her head and sneers at them. Just barely checking her instinctive recoil, Ask blinks at the ghost for a second, before screwing her face up and sticking her tongue out. She's wrestled demons and ghosts both to her will before, a nasty-looking woman isn't going to scare her! ...she thinks. And hopefully Zappa doesn't turn around just in time to catch her sticking her tongue out. That could be awkward to explain away. But then it turns out that Sakura is indeed related to Rin, and Ask brightens. "Oh, really! Yeah, I just finished junior year, I'll be a senior after summer's over. Welcome to Monroe, then, and Midgard!" Yes, the cheer is cranked up rather high, to the megawatt level--probably in response to Sakura's slight hesitation and apparent... fear? Shame? Shyness? Hard to tell, but Ask is one to try and reassure people by being as BOUNCY AND ENERGETIC as possible. "Yup, we've met! --well, pretty briefly, but I know her." And that they're both interested in the same subjects. Hmm. Wonder if this Sakura is the same way? She glances toward the books Sakura had collected. Zappa stops in his tracks and glances back over his shoulder at Sakura's question, incidentally looking straight through the head of the ghost. There's a rather sheepish quality to his smile. "Well...sort of." He's a little reluctant to go on--not out of any desire to keep his experiences a secret, but because Sakura is starting to look a little jumpy and he doesn't want to creep her out. Fortunately for him, Ask saves him from having to finish whatever he was about to say. "Huh? Oh...it's Zappa," he answers, taking the slip of paper from her and peering down at it in some bewilderment before remembering that he took his glasses off earlier. "Pleased to meet you," he adds, putting the glasses back on and pushing them up the bridge of his nose with one finger. It just so happens that he catches the last half-second or so of Ask sticking her tongue out, but he isn't given the chance to get upset or insulted over it. Because even if he didn't see the full gesture, the ghost did. What is visible of her face behind her hair twists into a vicious snarl; then she leans forward over Zappa's shoulder, and her head undergoes a hideous transformation. Her mouth stretches wide and wider, until it's large enough to easily snap off a person's head in a single bite. Broken, jagged teeth line the distorted, gaping maw, and a huge orange and black centipede lolls in place of a tongue, legs wriggling and mandibles clacking angrily. This all takes place in a matter of seconds; then, the ghost has resumed her normal form, hunched sullenly over Zappa's shoulders like a brooding gargoyle. And Zappa doesn't seem to have noticed. Ask's knowledge of ghosts and spirits seems to be quite effective. Sakura watches, and nods as if listening to a class lecture from a teacher rather than another highschooler discussing the physics of the meta. Although...er, that's strange, after helping the man and being quite nice to him, as he turns away she sticks her tongue out. Sakura blinks, and the quick gesture vanishes as Zappa turns around again. The good cheer that radiates like a beacon from Ask's face is infectious, and she finds herself smiling back - really, she's cute despite, or because of, the strange hair; if only she'd do it more often... "Ahh...hm, I see! I guess...then yes, Ask will be my upperclassman next semester." She smiles, seated again and holding up a book on various explorations of magic theory; less focused on creatures and more on technique. Other books show a similar theme, though somewhat esoterically - "History of Magic Studies" mixed with "Stantz' Guide To Magecraft," both of them tucked under a thick, old volume with dust- covered pages proclaiming itself the Encylclopaedia Miraculum. She catches Zappa's response as he turns back, and waits until he's finished reading the little slip of paper to give him a nodded bow. Fortunately, she can't see the amazing visage of the raven-haired monstrosity clinging to Ask's shoulder; only his quiet look back is all she percieves. She worries a little now, that he might have seen; fortunately he appears to have looked away from Sakura. A hand raises, "Ah...Ask..." She stumbles a little over the strange name, but presses on, whispering softly - even more so than her voice is normally - to avoid Zappa overhearing. "That was...an odd thing...why did you do that?" "Nice to meet you too, Mr. Zappa! If you have any questions about those kinds of things, or want to find someone who can do exorcisms and stuff, then these are the places to call or look in on," Ask returns, linking her hands together before her and smiling. But ooh, do those books look /interesting./ Ask's mouth forming a little 'o,' she all but pounces on the finds. Only innate politeness keeps her from actually snatching them up to leaf through them. "Where did you find those?" she asks excitedly, nearly vibrating. "Somewhere in here, or are they yours? Can I borrow them? Or--oh, no, you found them first, but after you're done, can I--" Except that then the tetchy S-ko responds in kind. Blinking for a second, Ask straightens and looks at her, before she very pointedly yawns, covering her mouth with one hand. Gonna have to do more than show her a scary image to make her jump. Then she slowly crosses her eyes at the ghost. Nyaa nyaa. Of course, this probably all looks very weird to the other two living people present, what with Ask making apparently unwarranted gestures totally unrelated to either the conversation or the people themselves. Which she realizes, as Sakura whispers her question. Oops. Blushing, Ask fumbles, "Um, well, you see, that is... there's..." ...a ghost riding on his shoulder who just tried to make them nervous by grinning at them? She's not gonna say that, even if it seems like Sakura knows about supernatural stuff--she seemed awfully nervous about the subject of possession and ghosts. "It's... complicated," she ends, really lamely. Zappa scans the names Ask has written on the piece of paper, then carefully folds it in half and places it in a pocket of his pants. "Thank you very much! I'm sure they'll come in handy." Then he blushes again and waves a hand in front of his face as if he could physically ward off any misplaced formality. "Oh, I'm not Mr. anything. Just Zappa." He's had people make jokes about his name before, and quite frankly he doesn't understand any of them, so he just lets them slide. Though, come to think of it, doesn't the fact that he's a med student mean that one day he'll graduate, and people will start calling him Dr. Zappa? Hmm... While his thoughts are traveling along these lines, the ghost is becoming progressively more and more irritated at Ask's impudence. How DARE she, the little brat! The rage and hatred radiating from S-ko's spectral form is practically thick enough to cut with a knife. She withdraws her arms from Zappa's shoulders and wraps them around his waist instead; then, curling her fingers like claws, she plunges her hands directly into his stomach and -pulls-, as if she intends to tear him in half from the inside. And the sick part is, it seems to be working. His flesh parts under her fingers, opening a gash like a vertical mouth--complete with several rows of nasty- looking fangs--in the middle of his torso. Zappa snaps abruptly out of his reverie with a pained gasp and bends forward, clasping his own hands over the rift. "No--" he whispers urgently between clenched teeth, "--stop it!" A small fragment of one of her lessons comes to mind. In Fuyuki, at least...the Church's power of exorcism is quite potent; Rin had mentioned such a thing as an aside while discussing all the various factions involved in the event known as the Grail War. Idly, Sakura wonders..."Mr. Zap-...ah, then...Zappa... Er...I don't mean to interrupt...but, ah, have you spoken to a Bishop at all?" She means well, but then realizes she can't say where she'd heard a Church priest could do such a thing...and looks away, realizing she's left an uncomfortable silence hanging. Fortunately, Ask dives right in, completely saving the poor girl. "Ah! Er...yes, they were misfiled, perhaps...these were on the opposite shelves. I didn't notice them at first, but," she looks away, embarrassed, "er, I got a little turned around." Lost in a library...in a single aisle. It's not something that happens to her, it's just that the system is entirely unfamiliar...and to be honest, she's used to riding and reading on the opposite side of Americans. It's understandable that would occur elsewhere, little mistakes like that...but it doesn't explain the oddness of why those particular books were found hidden among more fanciful esoterica like UFOs, hollow planets, or other such fictions. She looks back up in time to see Ask distort her face again at Zappa. She can't make heads or tails of the gesture, and the cryptic reply she'd recieved really has her confused...but, then, on reflection she understands it. In the west, falling in love is quite different; she'd heard the phrase 'making eyes' used to describe someone attempting to get another's romantic attention. This...this is rather blatant, although...it wouldn't be the first, and...Zappa really isn't a bad looking person, upon another look. And he does seem to dress similarly to Ask...hm. She'll be watching this. However, she's now watching something completely different, as Zappa suddenly collapses on the table in intense pain. She isn't sure, but thought that she'd seen his shirt ripple over his stomach, just before he hunched over...perhaps it was some form of muscle spasm. Quickly standing and touching his shoulder, she bends down. "Z...Zappa, what's wrong? Do you need a do-er, another doctor?" Fortunately, Ask misses the speculative look Sakura gets, or the little expression of realization. Unfortunately, it's because of S-ko acting up--she'll have to cross that other bridge when they get to it. Whoops. That's not something she'd thought would happen, though perhaps, if she'd thought a little, she might have realized that sassing a ghost who is apparently possessing another was not a smart idea. Too late to think about it now, though, although Ask will heartily regret it later. Right now, she has other things to do--like trying to think of how she can stop the ghost from doing what she's doing, without any kind of preparation. Which is... not coming up with a lot of things, considering that the vast majority of the things Ask knows how to do require preparation beforehand. Though there /is/ something she might be able to do, if given a few minutes. And in the meantime-- *Help!* she calls silently as she leaps to her feet, broadcasting it to within the library. There aren't a whole lot of ghosts here--in fact, just one that she can think of--and that ghost isn't very violent, but maybe-- In the next second, a vague, misty figure billows up from the ground, only visible to the eyes of those who can see ghosts. It condenses into something rather resembling a thin man, age suggested by the stoop of the figure. "Mr. Towsend, please--" she starts rapidly, words tumbling over each other to escape her mouth, "--I know you're not a fighter or anything, but please try and distract her for a little bit, however you can--" Even as she babbles, she's diving for her bag. Crouched on the ground, the better to hide what she's doing among the tables and from the sight of the fortunately-occupied librarian and the children in the next section, she pulls out a small container of salt and a small knife, the blade hardly more than a few inches long. Biting her lip, she raises the knife, and slashes a shallow sigil into her palm. Transferring the knife gingerly to the other hand, she repeats the action on the unmarked palm, then grimaces as she unscrews the small jar of salt. If the earlier stuff hurt... No helping it. She caused it, she ought to help it. Gritting her teeth, she shakes the salt out onto one palm, then quickly clasps her hands together, smearing the salt on both palms, where it mingles with the blood and burns like holy bejeezus. Hissing out a polysyllabic string beneath her breath, she feels the power flare slightly around her hands--an energy signature Sakura ought to be able to feel. While she's doing all this, though, the resident library ghost has turned toward the vengeful S-ko, ectoplasmic brow crinkling as he tries to think of just how the hell he can do anything without endangering himself. Uh. "...young miss!" he creaks finally, raising a hand. Flickering out, he reappears behind her, to draw her attention away from Ask. "Young miss, stop that!" And in the next moment, he'll chuck a ghostly book at her head. Which will probably dissolve in a few seconds, but it might give Ask some time. To all outside appearances, it does look like Zappa is suffering from a sudden attack of upset stomach. Maybe his lunch didn't agree with him. In actuality, it's a battle of wills between parasite and host, and right now it looks like the parasite is winning. She's laughing, a low, spiteful cackle as she yanks cruelly at Zappa's flesh, molding and shaping it like some twisted work of art. And then, there is the ghostly equivalent of a *thwack*. S-ko gives a shriek of mingled shock, pain, and rage, and her concentration is quite effectively broken. For an instant, she is visible to the naked eye, wavering between worlds. In that instant, Zappa groans, his breath rasping in his throat, and reaches out with one hand to grope for the edge of the table. Finding it, he grips it hard until his knuckles turn white, and that seems to help him "ground" himself a bit. The struggle lasts a few seconds longer; then, slowly, he straightens up. His head is still bowed, and he's breathing hard, but the artificial mouth in his stomach has vanished without a trace. Behind him, S-ko still has her arms around his waist, but she is now occupied in glaring daggers at the elderly librarian's spirit. As Zappa doubles over, Sakura standing by him, his body manages to shield her from most of what Ask accomplishes. The summoning - or, perhaps, requesting - of the spectral bibliophile happens to go unnoticed, as does the flash of the knife and the bloody activities with salt. "Zappa...try to breathe carefully..." She isn't sure what's wrong with the Australian, and instead focuses on trying to help him through the pain. She turns, cardigan catching on a chair, and retrieves the furniture. "Ah...try and sit down..." The hissed words on the opposite side of the hunched over man catch her attention; they almost sound familiar...and then a shock of recognition as she feels the flare of mana and the flow of its use inside the immediate area. It's just a little...but she feels it nonetheless, looking down at Ask's hands and then up at her face. "You're..." escapes her lips quietly, in a little stunned surprise, but then as Zappa twitches her attention is whipped back to him. She guides his hand to the table, and makes sure he's stable bef- A blink, just a casual one, and for an instant - as if an illusion dancing on her eyelashes - she sees a form around Zappa. She starts, standing up and takes a step away from him, as he starts to breathe again, and a tremor enters her voice. "Wh...er...what was..." She shakes her head to clear it, concerned about the older man, but ...can't make herself stand any closer. Even for such a simple little illusion, a mote in her eye...right? "Ah...er...Mr. Zappa, are...you alright?" Oh good. It looks like Mr. Towsend's efforts were enough, after all. Giving a dusty tsk, the librarian shakes a finger at her, the book suddenly back in his other arm as though it had never left. "That is very rude, young lady. You're making quite a commotion and upsetting people," he chides. "Now settle down, else I shall throw this at you again." He's nearly faded away to little more than a semitranslucent smear in the air, though, now that it seems S-ko has mostly stopped. Which is good, but leaves Ask with hands full of blood and salt and eyes tearing from the stinging of the salt in the cuts. Still keeping her hands clasped together, very still, she watches S-ko warily. If the ghost makes another move like that, Ask is now fully prepared to reach out and grab her, the ghost now as solid to her hands as a flesh-and-blood person. Hopefully, such a thing would stop her. Maybe even haul her away, although that's definitely not the way Ask would want to do an exorcism--if it was even possible to do such a thing. Realizing Sakura had seen what she was doing--well, to be expected, given as cutting one's hands is not exactly subtle work--Ask glances toward her, about to try and pull out some explanation--then realizes that one word had not been so much a 'You're cutting yourself?!' word as a 'You're doing something supernatural' kind of 'you're.' ..inasmuch as the difference can be told. Well, she had half-expected it after seeing the books Sakura had had, but it is something of a relief. But... another thing for later. Right now, Ask is just going to try and hide her hands from the general public's viewing, and peer toward Zappa and S-ko as well. "I'm sorry," she apologizes in a near-whisper, shoulders hunching a bit as she ducks her head. "That was my fault, I think." No point in hiding it. "I didn't know she could do something like--that to you..." Most of the possessions she's run into, while they occasionally do have their hosts do something dangerous, don't involve Geigeresque contortions of the body like that. Zappa is staring down at his left hand, which still has the edge of the library table in a deathgrip. As his breathing slows to a more normal rate, he gradually coaxes his fingers into letting go. He turns the hand palm-up and opens and closes it a few times--"Yes...I'm fine," he mumbles vaguely to Sakura while he's doing this--then finally lets it fall to his side and lifts his head to face the two girls. One look at their expressions is enough to clue him in to what just happened. That was close...too close. The Aussie shakes his head quickly as Ask starts to apologize. "No--I'm the one who should be apologizing," he insists, backing away from the table. "I should have been able to control it--I mean--she's not-- uh..." Oh dear, now he's said too much. Zappa's usual reaction in a situation like this is to flee like a frightened deer. Or kangaroo. Whatever. "I, uh...listen, I've really gotta be going," he begins, practically tripping over his tongue in his haste to get the words out. "Thank you very much for the--the advice, and the help. It was very nice to meet both of you. Goodbye!" And with that, he starts making his hurried exit, with his piggy-backing ghost venting her anger at the world in general by screaming incoherently at it. The sound might even be heard by those without a sense for the spiritual, as a high-pitched, edge-of-the-teeth whine akin to the sound of a muted television that's been left on in the next room. The chastising that the nearly departed Mr. Townsend gives goes unheard, since (fortunately, in her case) Sakura does not see dead people. She does, however, see that Zappa is mostly back together, at least breathing properly...and then, looking back at Ask, those distant and worried eyes seem to focus on her...or not, it's hard to tell. "The smell of blood..." A quiet whisper, staring forward, and she blinks to clear it. That way lead dark memories of a horrid time, and she instead focuses on the enigma before her. From highschool girl to a sum far more than that; she tries to wonder what the redheaded dynamo of upbeat energy apparently is now. Magus? Or...something else, like Eve? She isn't sure, but is now curious - and, admittedly, worried and wary. Could...she be a Master, even? It then hits her, what she's just said, and she looks down and notices Ask's hands - actually bleeding, several drops on the table and another few on the floor. "Ah...your hands..." As she leans closer to Zappa, whispering something, Sakura rounds him and reaches out for Ask's hands. "Please...this way, that needs to be bandaged..." She's distracted by Zappa's sudden departure, and she turns aside as he brushes past. "Ah...er, wait..." But, aside from the sound of his footsteps echoing past his last words, she doesn't get any other reply. "I hope...that he'll be okay..." She's worried about the Australian, now; the poor man seems to be haunted by his own demons. And, there's little she can do about them now...especially as her guardian has rounded the corner, looking after the recently departed Zappa. "Ah....Rider, one moment please..." She looks back at Ask. "Your hands...er...I need to leave, but...you need to heal those. And...er...I'll see you at school..." Unsaid is a lot - namely, that Sakura's going to be watching out for the redhead - a curiosity, and hopefully not a threat. "Aah, that's right..." She picks up the Encyclopaedia Miraculum, and then slides the other two tomes to Ask's bookpile. "Er...I need to use this one for a little, but...the other two should be okay, right?" Seeing the possessed one leave, Mr. Towsend gives a satisfied nod and vanishes completely, though a faint breeze ruffles Ask's hair--reminder that she'll have to do a small favor for him later. She'd leave a bit of her blood her, but it's useless to him, encrusted with salt as it is; so she'll probably just bring him a book and burn it for him later. A little startled as Zappa chooses the moment to flee--though she probably shouldn't be--Ask lifts a belated hand and a bemused, "Ah, uh, goodbye! It was nice meeting you!" without really hearing what she's saying. She'll have to see if she can't find him later--she's a bit concerned about that possession, and she doesn't want to see him get hurt again like that. It looks nasty. And then, Sakura's touch on her hands. Ask brings her attention back to the table and summons up her brightest smile. "Ah, oh, don't worry about it! It's not so bad, they'll heal in a week or so. But thank you for the concern! And for the books," she adds, her smile growing wider for a second, eyes crinkling at the corners. "My brother should be here very soon anyway, we were supposed to meet here after he got off work..." As if on cue, a blond-tipped redhead rounds one of the bookcases from the direction of the entrance, eyes flicking across the tables until they alight on Ask. Grinning, he lifts a hand in a wave, but the grin fades slightly as he nears and realizes that it's not quite a normal situation. "Ask, what the--" Hurrying over, he glances at Sakura, then fixes back on Ask. "What happened, you doof?" Despite the exasperated tone of his voice, his hands are gentle as he moves to cradle her hands. "Long story, Ember. Bandages are in the front left pocket, if you could...?" Rising to get out of his way, she offers a little duck of her head by way of farewell to Sakura. "Like I said, don't worry about it--and maybe I'll see you around? It was nice meeting you, anyway." Even like this, her smile is undimmed. "Say hi to Rin for me too!" Not that she really knows the other girl, but it's a friendly gesture. And, in the next moment, Ember takes her by the elbow and begins steering her toward the restroom, bandages in hand.