Quiet in the Library! (Hana/Daniel)

"That does sound interesting, might be a fun ride."

He did a quick scan of the summary to see if the book really was for him. He didn't read much outside of the educational books that he tended to read to broaden his horizons on subject matters that he was ignorant on. He liked to have a wide array of knowledge, not really a specialist in any subject to be honest, but to have just a generalist knowledge on things if people were curious during one of his streams about something. He definitely would be checking out this book, his curiosity more than enough to tip the scales for him. His eyes scanned the books that she was holding, his eyes lingering on "Gatekeepers", he wondered just what that one was about.

He nodded his head upon hearing about what type of books that she liked, he had been semi-wrong about her tastes, but that was fine. Her tastes were perfectly acceptable, not that it mattered what he approved of, but none the less they were fine.

"Yeah, color me curious. I'm kind of wondering what that book "Gatekeepers" is about? Is it any good?"

Hana’s smile grew as he showed interest in what she held. It wasn’t often that someone cared about what she was into. Most found reading boring, so she never really got to discuss her books with anyone. Hana grabbed Gatekeepers and put it at the top of the pile in her arms so the blurb on the back was facing her.

“This one I am most excited to read. It is about a young woman whose power harms her world, so she has to figure out how to control it while also trying to save her people from starvation. There is something about teleportation portals that stop working and a corrupt government. Of course, I am much more interested in seeing the two on the cover fall in love. Good romances are to live for!"

Hana’s cheeks pinkened when she mentioned the romance in the book. “There are four copies on the shelf, so we can find you one if you prefer to read this one.”

People who were passionate about things, be it their profession or be it a hobby of some kind, were always easy draws for Daniel. He found their excitement over meeting people interested in things that they were interested in to be quite enjoyable. To see their smiles as they fervently talked about their favorite things brought a smile to his face and at this very moment he found himself genuinely smiling. A far cry from how he had felt being scolded, but none the less he was enjoying himself now.

"You do strike me as the type that likes romance."

He quietly said as he listened to her speak about the book and all of the things within its' pages. It did indeed peak his interest quite a bit, not that he was too much of a romantic, but her passion for the book only upped his desire to read it.

"You've sold me on it. I definitely want to read it now, sounds like a good book for me to enjoy during my leisure time."

Hana did not catch his comment about her liking romances, otherwise she might have died of embarrassment. She didn’t feel the enjoyment of romance was a bad thing, but some looked at her strangely when she talked about it. Seeing that he wanted to read it too, she gave him a nod and asked him to follow her until she found the correct shelf. It seemed two copies had been grabbed since she last visiting this aisle. She grabbed one of the remaining copies and handed it to him.

“Here you are,” she said, her smile only brightening. “I do hope you enjoy it.”

A ringing came from Hana’s pocket. She blinked and pulled out what looked like an old flip phone. With a sigh, she opened it up and took in her newest message. Her expression saddened. She placed “Gatekeepers” back on the shelf in the correct spot and the other two books down next to it. “Disappointing… I was enjoying our talk, but it is time for my leave. I have something that I must deal with.”

Hana bowed and then hurried out of the library in a power walk. There was clearly a rule about not running in the library, otherwise she would likely have done so.

He followed her without a second question, it wasn't a very far off aisle from where he had been sitting earlier, and she was clearly excited to take him to this particular book so he went along with it. He didn't mind romance, not that he had found anyone who really connected with him, or had any deeper conversations than stuff at face value most of the time. As such he had never truly been in a relationship outside of friendship or business partnerships. He just didn't have the time to invest into a full on romance, but the idea of romance was still appealing to him, at least in a theoretical sense. People falling in love and living happily ever after was never something to joke about or to hate upon. It was what everyone hoped for, at least every sane person hoped for. She handed him the book as he saw her almost glow with delight at him being excited to read something that she truly enjoyed and to be honest, he returned that smile.

He was kind of excited too.

"I will make sure to tell you how..."

That was when she looked at an old flip-phone, the radiance was gone, and in its' place was something he couldn't quite figure out. Disappointment perhaps?

"Hey, wait up...hey!"

He practically shouted, drawing rude glances from everyone around him in the library as she kind of just left him standing there as she tried to escape from the situation.

"The least you could do is tell me your name in case I ever see you again? I am Daniel Cross!"

He said as he tried to follow her, following her example, and not running, but she was clearly his superior in speed so he kind of had to cheat a bit to match pace.

Being followed out of the library was an unexpected turn of events. This was not the largest library, but it did take her a little bit to get to the front door, so when she looked over her shoulder at him, she couldn’t help but find his chase endearing. It reminded her of a few of the cuter stories she read. Interesting… She stopped hurrying off for the moment, right before the library exit. She smiled and then giggled softly, putting a finger in front of her lips in the universal ‘shushing’ gesture.

“My apologies. My name is Hana Aoyama,” she said while backing out toward the entrance. “And your name?” Hana waited for just a moment, giving him time to give his name. “I will remember that.” With a smile, a nod and a wave, she hurried off.