A Certain Set of Books (For Gabe)

Takeru made his way up to the counter of the Hit Scrolls Entertainment bookstore with several books in hand.
He had money to spend.
And books were one of his favorite pastimes.
Even better, there was no line.
Today, he was in the market for one thing only:
Those new Senran Kagura volumes.
Enough fanservice to sate his hunger for a decent while.

"My my. Look at you. I can imagine Masako getting quite cross with you if she saw what you're thinking right now. You have the same look on your face as you did when you found out that Read Or Die was being held at a discount at that used bookstore." Twelve remarked.

"Shut up. I just like it for the action scenes, that's all." Takeru responded as he rifled through his wallet for cash.
"Oh, there's no doubt about that. You're reading them for the action alright." Twelve said,making Takeru snap back.
"Oh, really, do shut up."Takeru responded.

Gabe was going through the books as he scanned the material every now and again. "Well, what do we have here? Senran Kagura? An excellent choice.." Gabe would say casually as he continued to scanned the material. Today was a bit slow, but Gabe still liked managing the bookstore. Gabe liked to be busy mostly, which is why he liked to dabble in a multitude of activities. "I say excellent because of how popular it is, but i havent actually read it myself, being concerned with my own content. Is it any good?

Gabe would ask a simple question in regards to it.

He nodded at first, not really paying attention.
That is until the voice that said it fully registered in his brain.
"Gabe...? Is that you...?" He said, trying his damn hardest not to panic. He hadn't counted on this.
Thank god he didn't know much about it, though.

"Uh... yeah! Yeah, it's, uh, quite good..." He said before kicking himself mentally for acting stupid like that.

"is....there something wrong?" Gabe would say as he shared this awkward moment of silence. "I don't think i told you, but i do own this store. Sorry if that surprised you or shocked you in any sort of way, but i assure you that i'm being quite professional with my interactions. " Gabe would say as he put the books in the bag. " Is there something troubling you?

"No. No!" He said panickedly.
The next news Gabe said to him made him do a double take. (And if he were drinking something, a spit-take).
"Oh really? Wow. That....that's freaking awesome..." He said.
Internally, however, he was a mixture of shock, ecstatic, and awe.
"HOLY SHIT!" He thought.

"Uh... no. Not at all. Um... just surprised... I mean, I didn't count on seeing anyone here on my quest for fanservice..." He said absentmindedly.

The delayed mental reaction hit him like a bus, and his mental reaction would have made Joseph Joestar proud.
"OH MY GOD! WHY, WHY DID I SAY THAT?!?!? GAHHHHHH! CURSE YOU, MIND! QUIT BETRAYING ME WITH FROIDIAN SLIPS!" He mentally screamed.
He prayed to god Gabe wouldn't judge.

"Fan service? Ahh... so that's why you picked that particular book. " Gabe would say as he kneeled on the counter in an interesting tone. To be honest with you, there are plenty of other manga in the store that offers the same kind of fan service. Why did you end up going with this particular series? Is it the drawing style? The type of women?" To be honest, feedback from a particular demographic was exactly what Gabe needed. If he could possibly pick at Takua's brain for a few moments and figure out what young teenagers seems to be interested in, perhaps Gabe could alter the contents of one of the manga he owns the rights to? More specifically, "The Love Game"

"Er... yeah... just try to keep that a secret...." He said, blushing profusely.
What he said next shocked Takeru.
Was he basically asking what type of girl he liked, appearence wise?
He was just so shocked, his mind just let out what came to mind.
"Um... I like gap moe type of anime. But mostly I like girls with a nice body... particularily those who have...um... huge tracts of land...if you know what I mean... Senran Kagura has a lot of those... Although glasses and a... mature woman (a.k.a, a MILF) are also nice... and swimsuits or alost any kind of clothing damage in the right places helps..." He began, still in a mental stupor of sorts, so the words came flowing out.

"Personality-wise, I like girls that are smart, have a nice side, and aren't very mean. Y'know..like the moral support type... does that help?" He added.
If anyone asked, he decided, he would say that it was Gabe who asked.

"Confidentiality if my middle name." Gabe would say with a small wink. He had no intention of embarrassing the boy or telling his business to anyone else. Gabe wasn't that kind of person. " I see.. so clothing damage in the middle of battle. You mean like what happens in queens blade? Where they get stronger as they lose more clothes? You are also a fan of swimsuit chapters of fan service..." Gabe took it into mind, maybe some of the things he can put in.

"It does help, but what about the story, or journey to their goals and dreams. What do you like about it?

Thank god he wasn't going to judge.
He was familliar with what Gabe was talking about, and having regained some composure, was able to respond much more coherently.

"Er... sorta. Although in Senran Kagura, the more damage taken, the more clothing lost."

The next question was one he answered with ease.
"As a writer myself, I like heroic underdogs, anti-heroes... that sort of thing. I like a touch of realism occasionally as well to help immerse myself in it. I also like genre deconstructions as well. To be honest, I'm jealous sometimes. I feel like the characters I write are more unique then I am, that I'm just like a stereotype. Maybe that's why I prefer things that break the mold." He said.

"Wow, i actually learned alot about you in a short amount of time. A fellow writer. " Gabe would sy to the man with an earnest smile. "Did you know that i also wrote the majority of three storyboards? They ended up getting picked up and turned into manga. From the great divide to now, one of my past times to deal with my loneliness was to write, and it all became something." Gabe would say as he turned over to a particular shelf that contained the three mangas that he was responsible for, the products of his creative mind.

"Even if one person was to enjoy it..... i would be happy with that result."

Wow. This was going way better than he thought it would. Although he soon switched to awe as Gabe described his story to him. He understood what Gabe meant with his writing, and kept nodding.
"I know, right? I totally understand that. I just got my first series, Frostice League, published. And it's selling! Albiet, not quite as well as yours, but it's selling!" He said, excitement beginning to take over.

"Although just between you and me... I'm hoping to start a spin-off series starring Frost Ace. He seems to be getting pretty popular." He whispered to Gabe.

Frost Ace? I'm not too sure who you mean by that, but i'm sure that it'll turn out just fine.Just make sure you contact the company in order to see if you could even be allowed to do something like that. We are in the big city of Endymion, but i still think that people contained the ability to sue. Even thought it's socially 15th century England with 22nd century social statistics and technology. "

Gabe then shrugged. " However, i believe in you. I know that we are all capable of great things if we put our minds to it. Every human in this world has talent... and no talent is too menial. You know?"

Something just hit Gabe. "Have you read any of my work before? It's ok to be honest.

"Yeah, true, true. But at least our ruler is a woman. And supposedly a pretty one, maybe." he said, shrugging.
He nodded. He got it. He believed that everyone serves a purpose... and that even a useless person has use.

The question on his work hit him hard though.
"Uh... I read The Love Game... the other two, not so much..." he said.

"Ahh, the love game. That one is quite a scandalous piece of work, but i love working on it. " Gabe would say as he had a silly smile on his face, just thinking about the amount of time and effort he put into it. "I guess beggars can't be choosers, and you're speaking to the actual mind of where the manga started from. no spoilers, but being local like this, at least i could feel some kind of connection with you fans, you know?"