Books. People Buy Them [Open]

[Hiromi Sakata]

Hiromi turned the book in her hand, studying it carefully. After a few more moments of thought she frowned and place the book back on its shelf. This is getting me nowhere she thought impatiently as she moved a few stands of hair out of her eyes. She glanced around the small bookstore that was located in the shopping district. There were few patrons, and none of them seemed to be paying any attention to the indecisive fourteen year old girl who was unable to pick out a new book. For a brief moment she thought she should just leave. She could always reread her last book. Again.

She shook her head again. That was the last thing she wanted to do. Taking a deep breath she decided to skim the stacks again. This time she stopped at a familiar sight. It was a light novel series she read when she was younger. She hadn't kept up with it, and it seemed, judging by what she saw on the shelf, she was fairly behind on the series. She picked up one and unconsciously a small smile showed itself when she glanced at the cover. A flood of memories rushed through her as she remembered reading these in her bed, eagerly turning the next page, completely enthralled with the story. And every now and then her sister would-

The small smile faded almost instantly. She shoved the small book back where she found it. Taking a few steps away she grabbed some random mystery novel and proceeded to head to the front desk to pay for it.

[Jonathon McDowell]

Jonathon had been trying to do some more research. The library didn't have anything useful so he was resorting to book stores now. He'd been meticulously looking through the history section, specifically the local books. Maybe what was happening now had happened before and someone wrote about it. Sure the earthquake was probably the inciting incident but those happened naturally too. He started to flip his way through another history book but no avail. No mentions of disappearances or any strange occurrences. Jonathon let out a long groan as he tossed the book aside, not even caring to put it back at this point. "Looks like no one knows anything about this." He muttered, seeing if there were any more local history books, losing hope in finding anything here.

[Hiromi Sakata]

Hiromi was almost to the counter when she saw the transgression which gave her pause. A very tall man that she did not recognize had just casually tossed aside one of the books, not bothering to put it back in it's proper place. Probably thinks the world revolves around him thought Hiromi, not afraid to judge someone based off of one lone event. Not moving from her spot, she turned back to see that someone had got ahead of her and was now being served at the register while she had been momentarily distracted. Great she thought, irritated at what happened.

Now, a little annoyed but doing her best to conceal it, she walked over to where the book had been discarded, picked it up, and placed it it's proper place. Sparing just a moment, she glanced up and gave a disdainful look at the man who she believed had cost her her place in line. Than turned around and headed back to the counter.

"I'm sorry," said the adult patron who had beaten her to the counter by only a few moments. "Do you mind if I ask you a few questions?"

Hiromi's shoulders slumped.

Ugh.

[Isolde Spencer]

There were some books that she probably wanted to buy for herself and yet, the only books she would take an interest in was ones with the mystery genre. Nobody had ever suspected someone of her stature to ever visit some bookstore, but nonetheless it was odd that she had never been to a bookstore before. Part of that sheltered life had always deprived her of some places that she always wanted to explore and yet, she and her older siblings were never allowed to leave their gilded cage lest they were warned that a stranger would take them away. Such nonsense was only there to scare them into not going outside without anyone to protect them and yet, she was a bit curious about the outside world no doubt. With the recent weird happenings around the city, she figured that those monsters would come out of those portals and actually attack the Japanese citizens which it would not go well. Sometime after she would flip through some random mystery novel, a familiar presence caught her eye along with an unfamiliar girl. The girl looked like she was talking with the guy, but the young lady couldn't make out what they were saying. Perhaps this unfamiliar girl was someone who attended the high school that she was attending right now. tag: Jonathon McDowell, Hiromi Sakata ▪ words: 252 ▪ ooc: None.

made by kei at GS

[Jonathon McDowell]

Nothing. That was what this trip had gotten Jonathon, nothing at all. He shut the last book with anything about local history and let out another groan as he put it back on the shelf. He started to make his way out before remembering the book he tossed. Sighing he picked it up and put it back on the shelf. "May as well put it back..." He muttered, dejected by his lack of information. Despite all his digging, all he figured out was that he was still the person who knew the most about the things going on in this town. That, and as far as he knew, only one other person was aware. He made his way out of the book store, stopping outside to look at the shadows. They were all over the place and no one was seeing them.

[Hiromi Sakata]

"No I'm sorry sir. That book doesn't come out until next month," said the man behind the counter.

"That can't be right." said the patron being currently served. He spoke rather matter-of-factly. As if he already knew he was right, and was just waiting for the employee to catch up to him. "My friend told me that it would be out today."

Hiromi stood behind the man. She did her best at hide her annoyance and frustration, but anyone who knew her would be able to spot that look that she gave the man standing directly in front of her. He was directly impeding her in purchasing her-.

She blinked. What book was she buying again? She glanced down at the random book she had picked up earlier. She had never heard of the book before. Even the author was new to her. There was a good chance she'd get a few pages in and learn that the writing was terrible. Or maybe it would surprise her, and she'd consume all the other works by that same author. Whatever happens, she was sure it beats out re-reading her last book for the third time in a row. 

"No. I'm sure it's there. Would you mind just checking in the back room?" asked the patron, after the employee gave what he believed to be an unsatisfactory answer.

No she thought, correcting herself as she turned to put the mystery book back where she found it. Anything was better than hearing this exchange go on for another ten minutes. She moved past the blonde haired teenager, only giving her a passing glance as she placed the book back and walked outside the book store. She stopped just outside, the cold reminding her to zip up her navy blue jacket. The brief pause to do so let her notice that the very tall man standing right outside the store was the same one that distracted for enough time that made her lose her place in line behind Sir Questions-a-lot.

She narrowed her eyes at him.

"Hmph," was the only sound that escaped her as she finished zipping her jacket.

[Isolde Spencer]

After hours of searching and literally nothing of interest turning up, the blonde foreigner would make her way out of the bookstore which she actually saw the tall young man and the unfamiliar girl just standing outside of the store. Maybe there was another bookstore that had her preferred genre and even then, those kinds of books tended to be a bit of a bore unless it was Ranpo Edogawa. Ranpo Edogawa's books tended to be something that she would take an interest in despite learning a bit of Japanese from some people that have toured her country. It would probably feel awkward if the three would just stand there and not talk for a little while, so a little conversation wouldn't hurt them at all. "Um... It's quite a lovely winter isn't it? My own country had that dreadful snowstorm last week, so...the climate has been a bit chaotic." Japan's weather seemed to be a bit calm compared to her country's own weather and yet, that snowstorm at her birth country might slow down soon. It was only a matter of time before she would hear some news back from her grandparents as of late. Besides that, the semester this year would probably not cut her some slack and give her a lot of homework to do in this current state. She only hoped that her older siblings would be home to help her with some of her weaker subjects at school or this will be very difficult to do at this rate. tag: Jonathon McDowell , Hiromi Sakata ▪ words: 252 ▪ ooc: None.

made by kei at GS

[Jonathon McDowell]

Jonathon didn't notice when Hiromi walked out, she had only let out a huff and Jonathon was too focused on the Shadows. When someone spoke Jonathon snapped out of his zoning and turned to see who it was. "Yeah, where I'm from winter was usually pretty brutal. We'd get feet of snow regularly, so yeah, that was fun." It was then that he turned and saw a familiar blonde. "Wait...Isolde? Hey, sorry I didn't recognize you at first, we kind of...spacing." He said, remembering there was someone else within ear shot before he mentioned the shadows at all. "So, are you feeling any better?"

[Hiromi Sakata]

When the blonde teenager came and started idle chit chat about the weather, the tall man immediately responded. Guess they know each other thought Hiromi, after she finished zipping up her jacket. Which made sense because they looked about the same age as each other. Eying the blonde for a moment, she felt like she saw her before. Maybe at school? After pondering for a few brief moments she decided it wasn't worth the effort to identify the stranger, and instead she reached into her pocket and pulled out her phone, flipping it open so she could check the time.

She had one message that was not checked. A fellow first year from her class. She put the phone away without answering it. Usually only texts me when she wants help with something from school anyway thought Hiromi, a tad frustrated.

"So are you feeling better?" asked the boy.

Hiromi, temporarily in her own world, had forgotten that he wasn't addressing her at all. "I'm fine!" She said sharply, sounding slightly exasperated. 

She hesitated, at once realizing her mistake.

"Sorry..." she muttered, looking away.

[Isolde Spencer]

Apparently, the tall young man would ask if she was feeling better from that fiasco that happened the other day and needless to say, that fiasco was very tiring. "I am feeling much better, thank you. I really deserved a good rest after that apparent fiasco, but my own parents were very worried about me as well." She really wished that they wouldn't worry about her so much, but they were her parents and they had a right to worry after she had been gone for about an hour or so. If her parents were that overprotective for some measly hour lost because she had gotten lost for hours in a city that was unfamiliar to foreigners. At least her elder sister was much more forgiving, but only if she would have to cover for her whenever she would have another escapade into the Inverse World. "How was your day, Jonathon?" The young lady would politely ask the tall young man, oblivious that the unfamiliar dark-haired girl was within earshot and might as well have been hearing some of the things that they were talking about. A foreign land such as Japan was not a bad idea to meet some new people to make friends with, but the most worrying thing was that there may be some people that don't take kindly to foreigners. tag: Jonathon McDowell , Hiromi Sakata ▪ words: 252 ▪ ooc: None.

made by kei at GS

[Jonathon McDowell]

Jonathon was a bit surprised at the short haired girl's snippy response. "No...my fault, sorry." He said to her before turning back to Isolde. "Oh, it's been alright. A lot of the same monotony." He said with a shrug. "Things have been quiet, which is nice. Makes life a bit easier." He said, looking over at the shadows. "I was looking around here and the library for some information about...you know." He made a casual hand gesture that motioned towards a nearby shadow. "No luck though, looks like we'll have to figure it out for ourselves."

[Hiromi Sakata]

All things considered, Hiromi thought she was doing an excellent job at hiding her embarrassment. Of course they weren't talking to you she thought to herself. You don't know them, and they know each other! Well it was one (albeit embarrassing) mistake. It's not like she'd see these two on an everyday basis. Holding on to that pleasant thought she flipped her phone closed and placed it back into her pocket, keeping her hand there. Despite it offering little protection from the cold, it was indeed better than nothing.

The two continued to talk to each other, all but forgetting she was there. The only thing that seemed to prove that they acknowledged her presence at all was the speaking of some kind of code between them. Either they were embarrassed by what they were talking about, or they really didn't want anyone to know about it.

Which is fine by me she thought dismissively. Looking left, than right, she pondered where to go until she thought of the nearby cafe. A warm beverage would do her some good. Plus it would put off heading back home. She walked, leave the two behind.

[[OOC: Seems hard to keep her here in the thread. She'll exit unless you guys decide to head there yourselves. Sorry. Hard for me to come up with a reason to spy on two near-strangers. ]]

[Isolde Spencer]

He was looking up information about Shadows which was probably the main reason he was at the library in the first place, but there was unlikely any other books that contained any information about Shadows unless the city's own government would have covered up the existence of those monsters in the first place. She didn't really notice the unfamiliar dark-haired girl just leaving them alone as the other girl probably didn't want to intrude on whatever they were speaking about which it was for the best. After all, nobody ever wanted anyone who didn't know about the existence of monsters from another world listening in on some conversation they didn't know about unless they knew about it. "I see... It would seem that the library does not possess the information we would need, but perhaps we should look elsewhere." Maybe the library at her home could have some of the necessary materials needed to research on Shadows, but it was probably unlikely. "The kingdom of Nohr might have some old legends concerning these monsters. Perhaps the Nohrians of ancient times had known about them from the legends of old." Come to think of it, the legends would have described some sort of monster that the hero would have fought or maybe the ancient citizens could have hallucinated. Either way, this was probably a fact of interest since that country's culture would have been different. tag: Jonathon McDowell ▪ words: 252 ▪ ooc: None.

made by kei at GS

[Jonathon McDowell]

"At this point legends are the only thing we have left." Jonathon said, rummaging a hand through his hair. "There's no way this is an isolated incident. Stuff like this can't just happen once out of the blue. That other world had so much to it, you saw it." He said, watching as a shadow flew by. "I hate to say it Isolde, but we might have to figure this out ourselves." He said to her, sighing. "I hate to say it Isolde, but unless there's more people like us out there that we just don't know about, we might have to save this city."

[Isolde Spencer]

Jonathon believed that they were the only ones who could save this city from the Shadows that lurked within that other world which was really a huge accomplishment that they could achieve themselves. "I completely agree. There is no telling what kind of dangers the Shadows inside the Inverse World might pose to this city, but I do have a duty to protect it." At this point, she may have to research whatever it was that the ancient Nohrians may have described in their old legends and that perhaps the ancient hero from the legend might save them from the darkness that would cover Japan. The worst case scenario would be that the Shadows would somehow get out of the rift and attack the Japanese citizens which they would have to take precautionary measures when dealing with the rifts themselves. "With this power that I have now, I wish to use it to protect my kingdom and my countrymen." She would add further as her desire to protect the country that she was raised in and its citizens was enough for her to believe that her power could be used to help drive back the darkness. Maybe the rest of her family would follow the same path if they so desired and Xander especially wanted to achieve peace within the realm soon as well given the country's history with wars and such. tag: Jonathon McDowell ▪ words: 252 ▪ ooc: None.

made by kei at GS