First Return (Open to 3)

Ruo supposed Cerberus made a point. It would help business if they sold more than just books. But surely if they sold too many things, it would become out of place. That is to say it might as well be a grocery store than a bookstore. So selling few items may be wise. When they joined up, Ruo would look at Akuma with a curious face. “Is there a particular part of the area where one could read these books? I plan to be here most of the day if nothing comes up,” she asked. After hearing whatever answer he gave, she would turn to the teacher and then to the store itself. Generally if she was correct, stores had directions either near the ceiling, or near points. Luckily, she was at the entrance, and nearby was a small pointer pointing to various sections of the store. She would glance at it for a brief moment, before turning and pointing in the direction where the historical section would be. “It would be there,” she said. She never caught his name, so she could not address him as such. Perhaps she will ask later before she or he decides to leave. Looking herself, the place did have a lot of sections to read. One that particularly fascinated her was science. Perhaps she could learn of the human body and what it had in place of her mechanics. She did not know much beyond the fact that humans like her had a heart and a brain of some sort. Though almost everything apart from outward appearance in her was mechanical, and different from the human’s anatomy. Perhaps she could learn from there.

Soon after they stepped foot into the bookstore, Akuma would find Ruo looking at him and asking a question. ‘’ I believe there should be one somewhere in the back of the store, although, if you’re planning on reading for a long time, it may be better to go to a library. Not that you couldn’t do it here, but I am not sure if they’ll be happy if you just keep reading without buying anything. It is a bookstore after all. They expect people to buy books here. But I guess you might be able to get away if you don’t draw too much attention to yourself, who knows?’’, he said with a thoughtful look on his face. Then again, maybe she was going to buy something. He forgot to ask her that. But, all in all, she could still try, even if she was in it only to read something. He’d never tried pulling that, so maybe it was possible. The clerks might be too lazy to check how long someone is reading the books. So, in his opinion it was worth a try. It was up to Ruo whether she would or not though.

Right afterwards, Jin would ask a question as well, and Akuma was about to answer, but Ruo beat him to it this time. Following where she pointed at, he could see the navigation pointers up there too. ’'Yeah, just as she says. It’s that way sir.’’, he’d add, just as a confirmation and so he would have something to say too, even if short. It looked as if he was going to have to decide which one of them to follow this time, as they were most likely going to split up. That was too bad, he liked the company. For now, he’d wait to see if any of them had something to say, and decide his next course of action after that.

"Thank you."

Again, it seems his interactions with them has paid off. However, he would have to leave them to their own devices as it seems they were going to go after something else other than the subject of history. Jin nodded in thanks to both of them and started to make his way towards where the historical section would be. However, he stopped in his tracks to turn back towards the girl.

"Ah, sorry. It would've been rude of me to just leave without introducing myself," he apologized sheepishly, "I'm Jin. And your name is?"

Once her name has been said, the teacher nodded to signal that he had heard. Ruo was it? It didn't sound native to the country if his memory serves him well.

"I see. It's a nice name. It has been nice seeing you. Farewell."

With a wave of his hand, Jin left the party to find the book quickly. As he went into the row of shelves, his fingers traced through each spine with various titles to see where the desired book would lie.

First row.

Second row.

Third row.

Fourth row.

Fifth--

Eventually he found it in the fifth as his finger nearly landed onto the red lettering. There it was. Jin pulled it out and started to flip through the pages for additional verification. With each written surface passing through his gaze, the lecturer nodded and slammed the book shut to try to carry it to the side.

Now to find that mask. But there was a problem. It seems there was a lack of employees around. Perhaps Jin would have to try looking around a bit more. His feet would start to meander around the store trying to find his next and last desired piece of merchandise.

[Exit]

Akuma did bring a point. It was a store, trying to make money. “Yeah, you are probably right. Maybe I will not stay as long today…” she said. Perhaps she should at least browse the sections, and purchase something when she came back with money. That was going to be a rather large issue. How could she earn money? Her creators never needed to give her any currency, and all she has is currency to purchase items in the Velvet Room. That will be something to think about. Before she went, the teacher apologized and introduced himself as Jin. Ruo would nod. “That's quite alright. My name is Ruo. Hopefully I shall see you again one day, along with you Akuma,” she said to Jin, then Akuma.

She would then give a light nod and lightly wave at the two before walking into the sections of the bookstore, well enough out of sight. She really wouldn’t be staying long, but she would look at a bit of the books and their back summaries, before leaving the bookstore entirely. If during the half hour she had seen them at all, she would acknowledge them, and give them another farewell. Other people worth noting in people she knew.

((Exit))

''Hmm, well, have fun for as long as you'll be there then.'', he'd say as Ruo concluded that she may indeed not stay as long as she originally planned to. But, even if she stayed only for a while, it was something, and he hoped she would make something out of it, if they already made the trip. Would be a waste of precious time not to take advantage of a possibility, no matter in what way.

Akuma nodded when Jin said his thanks and kept standing there, looking from one to the other, as Jin introduced himself to Ruo, and said his farewells, most likely eager to go find his book and whatever the other thing was. Ruo excused herself immediately after, giving a wave as she walked away. ''Bye then. I'll be looking forward to another meeting too.'',he'd say quickly, before she could disappear, giving a slight wave in return. After that, he was left standing alone, and after a while of thinking on the events that just occured, he shrugged lightly before walking out of the store, knowing that a book probably wouldn't the thing for him anyway. Maybe it was the time to go back to searching around for different entertainment.

~Exit~