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Post by Kousuke Fujihara on Feb 10, 2012 22:09:30 GMT -5
FUYUKI PUBLIC LIBRARY, 12PM
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The day immediately after his vision regarding Fuyuki City's fate, Kou took a trip to what could be considered his second home - the library. To the workers there, he was already known as a regular, consistently showing up weekly during the break periods between college semesters to borrow books.
This would mark the first turn he took a trip to the library, however, for a different purpose than usual. Normally, he would show up to borrow books purely for leisure - reading was his favorite past time, after all .Today, he was there purely for the gathering of reading material based around one topic - the Holy Grail War.
Kou was oblivious to the fact that this war was a total secret to the ordinary human population, and that finding information on it through conventional means would be near impossible. That wouldn't stop him from trying, however, if he knew.
Kousuke wandered into the library, dressed plainly in a pair of jeans, black sneakers and a blue jacket. He was greeted briefly by the librarian at the desk, who quickly went back to helping confused people find books. He figured he'd wander around a bit and try to find the book on his own until the librarian at the front desk wasn't so busy with others.
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Post by Tsubaki Sumeragi on Feb 11, 2012 1:35:01 GMT -5
Sundays often meant a break from classwork, but when there was an essay due - in English, no less - by next week, well, that made the library a top destination for students. Tsubaki had the day planned in her mind. First she'd borrow some books to help with her assignment, then lunch, then she'd get to work on a draft. You can't do homework on an empty stomach, after all. Fortunately, it didn't look like it needed to be particularly detailed - the teacher just wanted to see that you write something comprehensible in another language.
There were a few other people queuing up in front of her, but the line was moving fast. Well, it was until it was an old woman's turn. "I'm looking for a book." She said to the librarian. The librarian waited for a few seconds for her to continue, but she didn't say anything else. "Umm... which book are you looking for?" She asked, hoping that she at least knew the name.
"Well... it was a blue book." The old woman elaborated. She held up her hand and spaced her fingers apart. "And I think it was about this wide?" Tsubaki looked at the librarian, who had a look of terror on her face. No, it was worse than that; she was petrified. They were going to be here forever at this rate. The poor girl at the desk finally snapped out of her trance when a young man walked in. Her eyes held a glimmer of recognition as she greeted him, before she turned back to the old woman to try and help her with her problem.
Tsubaki decided to take a chance. "Excuse me!" She called out to the guy who had just entered the library. If the librarian knew him, then that probably meant that he was here often, and he might be able to help out. If not, well, no harm done. She half walked, half ran up to him and bowed. "I'm sorry, I wouldn't normally do this, but I'm not going to get any help from over there." Tsubaki said, gesturing to the desk. The old woman looked like she was demonstrating the dimensions of the book now. "Would you happen to know any good English language books? Or history books? I've got an essay due next week, and it's gotta be in English."
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Post by Kousuke Fujihara on Feb 11, 2012 22:03:30 GMT -5
"Excuse me!"
He had just started looking over the titles of books when a female voice called out for him.
"Hm?"
Kou turned around to see the source of the voice, a young high school girl bowing.
She requested his help in finding books on the English language for help with her essay. This shouldn't be too hard, he figured, since he was a high school student once, dealing with English essays, and the book they used was pretty good.
"Oh, of course. I can try to find the one I used when I was in high school for you, it explained things pretty well."
Cutting some time away from searching for information couldn't hurt, right? Besides, after helping her find what she needed, he could ask for her help in return. After all, there was a possibility she knew about the Holy Grail War.
Turning around, his eyes scanned the various signs related to genres hovering above bookshelves froth with books. Kousuke searched for one section in particular that he went to for books related to his studies - Reference.
"There we go. The text I used for English class should be in the reference section, just follow me."
Kousuke felt like he should have had a job there by the way he was helping her.
When they got there, his eyes scoured over the English reference books, searching for the one titled "Learning the English Language".
"Here we go, here's the one I used."
Taking it off of the shelf, he flipped through it, confirming that it was the same kind.
Handing it to her, he gave a small smile.
"Anything else you need?"
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Post by Tsubaki Sumeragi on Feb 12, 2012 5:49:00 GMT -5
Fortunately for Tsubaki, her intuition and reasoning proved correct. The young man apparently still had school fresh on his mind - perhaps he had gone on to university - and knew just the book for her. Sure, she'd have found a book eventually, but it would waste valuable time and effort. She'd also have to check multiple books to see if they had what she was looking for. "Thank you very much." She said, bowing again as she took the book from his hands.
She was about to walk off, but when he asked if there was anything else, she decided she could afford to push things a bit. After all, he'd finished high school recently, and seemed reliable. "Well... if it isn't too much trouble, I also need something to write about. The subject is Ancient European History, and they've kind of left it really open. I have no idea where to start. I'd really appreciate a point in the right direction." Tsubaki felt a little bad taking up so much of his time, but apparently he wasn't in any sort of a hurry.
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Post by Kousuke Fujihara on Feb 12, 2012 14:13:00 GMT -5
"Hm, Ancient European History..."
Kou racked his brain for a few good research topic ideas related to Europe's history, and two of the continent's memorable rulers came to mind - Henry VIII of England and Queen Elizabeth I of England.
"How specific does the topic have to be? Are you focusing on any single area like France or England?"
Kousuke asked, hoping to narrow down the number of topics he could suggest. He wondered if she'd ask him to help her with research too on the computer or something, not that he'd mind. Since he helped her this far, it wouldn't matter much if he helped her with the actual project.
It amused him how the day's objectives changed, though, from research related to the Holy Grail War to helping with this girl's school project. The notion to ask her about that topic after this was finished didn't slip his mind, however.
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Post by Tsubaki Sumeragi on Feb 12, 2012 18:55:12 GMT -5
Tsubaki shook her head. "That's the problem. It's an English class, not a History class, and I don't think Nakahara-sensei thought things through and just chose something that sounded interesting to her..." She stopped talking. Was she seriously talking about teacher problems with a stranger? Besides, it wasn't nice to say negative things about others. Her classes were more lively than a lot of her other ones, although it did mean being saddled with assignments like this. Nakahara-sensei was a bit of a world traveller, and liked to bring her stories back with her.
"Anyway, that's more medieval history. Romans, Greeks, Egyptians, that sort of ancient history." Never mind that the Egyptians were in Africa - she'd said 'European' to describe it to make it distinct from Japanese history. "Oh, and something specific about them, like a battle, or a major feature. Something that we can write 500 words about." She had to admit that even if Nakahara-sensei's methods were slightly unorthodox, at the very least they helped build a more expansive world view. Though it doesn't make sense since none of them spoke English... Tsubaki thought dryly, but refrained from actually saying it this time. "If it's too much, I can go find something on my own - you've already been a great help."
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Post by Kousuke Fujihara on Feb 12, 2012 19:19:10 GMT -5
"No, it's fine. I don't have anything better to do."
Kou smiled, and thought for a moment. Major battles in history... Perhaps he could ask her about that war now? Having never heard of it prior to his dream, he wasn't sure if it was an actual event in human history, but it never hurt to suggest. And if not that, the Trojan War seemed like a good idea.
"What about the, uh, Holy Grail War? That's something I'm trying to research myself, so any information we find'll help both of us."
Kousuke couldn't reveal the truth about how he came to learn about this event, though, he'd just make up some excuse like 'his friend mentioned it and it sounded interesting' or 'it's for university'. He was still oblivious to the fact that this event was only known to a few people, and those few people were magicians, secretive already to society.
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Post by Tsubaki Sumeragi on Feb 12, 2012 19:47:55 GMT -5
Tsubaki looked at the young man quizzically. "The Holy Grail War?" She'd heard OF the Holy Grail, of course, but she had to admit that she didn't really know much about it. In fact, wasn't it just a myth or a legend or something? "Wouldn't that be medieval history?" She asked, though admittedly not certain. After all, England would have had an ancient period as well... but King Arthur had castles?
"Anyway, I don't really know anything about the Holy Grail, let alone any war that was fought for it. I'd be willing to help out since you've been so nice to me, but I'm sure you know a lot more than me about it." It was only fair to repay any favours, but unfortunately it looked like she wouldn't be able to.
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Post by Kousuke Fujihara on Feb 12, 2012 20:29:59 GMT -5
Kou shrugged, not knowing anything about it except for its name and what it would bring upon Fuyuki City.
"Then for your essay, what about the Trojan War for a topic? I'll help you find books for it if you help me find info on the Holy Grail War."
Really, that was the only thing he wanted in return for helping her today. Just some information, though he didn't think he'd get much out of her at this point.
At this point, he realized that neither had bothered to introduce themselves. Although it probably wasn't THAT important, it'd probably be helpful to know each other's names - after all, they had been talking for a while.
"By the way, my name's Kousuke, you can call me Kou, though. Nice to meet you."
He gave another small smile, offering his hand to shake.
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Post by Tsubaki Sumeragi on Feb 12, 2012 21:23:25 GMT -5
"The Trojan War works." The girl said, smiling. "As I said, I don't know what help I'll be, but hopefully we'll find something for both of us!" The best place to look would be in the history section, obviously. At that point the young man brought up the issue of names. She hadn't bothered since she didn't expect to be talking for as long as they were - just get pointed in the right direction. Since they were helping each other, well, it made sense.
"Ahhh, my name is Sumeragi. Tsubaki Sumeragi. It's nice to meet you, too." She took his hand. "Anyway, should we grab as many relevant books as possible, and meet up here in ten minutes? It was a amusing that they were looking for the books the other person wanted, but it made her day a bit interesting.
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Post by Kousuke Fujihara on Feb 12, 2012 22:25:18 GMT -5
"Yep, that works. See you in 10 minutes."
10 MINUTES LATER
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After 10 minutes of searching, Kou compiled a pile of 4 or so books on the Trojan War and Greek History/Mythology, two of which were the Illiad and Odyssey He sat at one of the study cubicles, chair turned around to look for Sumeragi. Behind him, on the desk, was the stack of books that he figured would help her enough with her essay. Granted he didn't think it'd have to be some kind of 15 page research paper, but it'd provide enough info.
"Maybe she's having trouble finding books on the topic?"
Kou asked himself, checking his cellphone's clock. Either she couldn't find anything or he was just impatient.
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Post by Tsubaki Sumeragi on Feb 12, 2012 23:08:21 GMT -5
Tsubaki started off by doing a search in the library database. There wasn't anything in there about a 'Holy Grail War', though. Is there really such a thing as that? She wondered as she decided to simply search for the Holy Grail. That led to a few hits, but not too many - most of them were related to King Arthur, and there were a few non-fiction books about whether it was a genuine artifact or something else. She had five books when she noticed that she was out of time - one about King Arthur, another specifically about his quest for the Grail, a modern novel, and two of the non fiction books with opposing views on the Holy Grail.
"Sorry I'm..." The girl started to say, when she saw the pile of books that he had gathered. Wow. WOW. "You... you really went above and beyond the call of duty there." She managed to say, "I really don't need THAT many books, you know. Still, thanks." Tsubaki put the books she found on a desk. "This is what I managed to find. Nothing about a 'Holy Grail War', though. Are you sure that's real?"
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Post by Kousuke Fujihara on Feb 13, 2012 0:08:18 GMT -5
"Really? There aren't too many books, I don't think. Just like, four of them."
Kou looked to the small group of book he amassed, then back to Tsubaki, looking at the ones she found.
"Is it real? I don't think my college would have me research it if it wasn't, though I haven't been able to find anything on it yet."
Kou shrugged, getting out of his seat to look at the books she found. Nothing related to this war, but he would look through them regardless.
"Thanks a lot for your help, though. I appreciate it."
He smiled, and picked up the pile of books.
"Before I check these out and head back home, is there anything else you need related to your project? Or are you good?"
Might as well see her project through, since he helped her with most of what she needed to complete it.
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Post by Tsubaki Sumeragi on Feb 13, 2012 0:43:52 GMT -5
Tsubaki looked again, and saw a short boy with thick glasses behind the pile. "Oh, I thought... nevermind. Four books is good." She handed over what she found, and looked over Kou's stack. They looked like they'd be really helpful. What he said about not knowing himself was interesting, though. "Well, probably not... though I hear some colleges and universities are more relaxed than high school? Maybe it's a practical joke." She laughed a bit, hoping that that wasn't the case. Kou was a nice guy, and she wouldn't want him... well, anyone to be bullied, really.
"No, I think I'm good. I'll check these out and go eat some lunch. You've been really helpful." She picked up the books on Greece and smiled. "Thank you very much." Tsubaki bowed, still smiling. It was clear that she appreciated the help. "I hope that you're able to find out more information on that Holy Grail War!"
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Post by Kousuke Fujihara on Feb 13, 2012 8:36:05 GMT -5
"Doubt it, but I wouldn't rule out that possibility."
Kou wouldn't reveal the truth about his real reason behind researching the topic though she probably wouldn't have believed him if he told her. Who would believe someone who was researching something because he 'had a vision of the city being destroyed'?
Regardless of the lack of info on the actual 'Holy Grail War', he appreciated her help.
"Don't mention it, I'm just glad I could help."
He smiled too, hoping she'd ace the essay.
"I hope so too, there doesn't seem to be much info on it. Good luck with your essay!"
With that said and done, Kou checked out the books and went home after saying his goodbyes to his new friend, pretty sure that they'd meet again further down the line.
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