Behind the Bookshelves

The year was new and the student body was just growing used to the various rooms and hallways of the Academy. There were still many places unknown to Julie but that bothered her little. She had already found her safe haven and the sanctuary in which she would escape to for much of the semester. The first day's classes had passed in relative uneventful fashion. Her designated writer had brought a few unwanted pairs of eyes as it wasn't every day you saw a student telling another person what to write for her. The downside of her Quirk had reared it's ugly head as it always seemed to. She had stared longingly at the pencil moving adeptly in her guide's hand, feeling almost robbed out of some treasure. It was the same unfairness she always felt when being cheated out of putting her own ideas to paper. If only she could do that without bringing her ideas to life. It was because of this that she moved so quickly after the final bell rung.

The day was waning quickly, sun lazily dipping lower and lower toward the welcoming horizon. The dimming rays of the sun still shone through the window of the library, draping a reading Julie in tints of orange and yellow. Her eyes moved with the steady tempo of someone who read more than they slept; keeping constant even as she turned the page. There was a calm around her as she read that would likely envelop anyone that looked her direction. She doubted many would however. The appeal of the foreign transfer student had worn off quickly as it always did, leaving her with a growing reputation of someone slightly snobbish and standoffish. This wasn't the case for Julie, despite what some of the other students might believe, she simply didn't go out of her way to talk to others. They were less interesting than what lie between the covers of the books yet untouched.

The sound of paper slipping against her fingers was the only disruption for the peace that had settled across the shelves surrounding her. She found herself lost in the literature before her falling out of her chair and into the ink that stained the pages. The few students left jumping ahead on their studies or checking out books shuffled to and fro, every so often coming close enough to feel the aura Julie gave off. A few lingering stares held tight to the obliviousness of the girl in front of them; almost captured by how captured she was. Those stares never lasted long, as fleeting as the sentences that moved the story ever forward.

She felt a scratch in her throat, the nagging warning that she was growing thirsty. It pulled her out of the tale she had been reading and dumped her back into the suddenly uncomfortable seat she had taken hours ago. Stretching for a moment, she felt a tightness leave her legs, taking note that she should move every once in a while to avoid similar uncomfortable sensations. Placing a lithe finger between the pages, she closed the book around it to hold her place and stood up with the stiff movements of someone who had fallen asleep without closing their eyes. "Un verre d’eau je pense." She whispered to herself, putting out the need for water into the universe as if without it she wouldn't have been able to quench her thirst. As she moved around the nearest shelf she felt a small impact against her. The collision jostled the book free from her grasp and she stared in horror as it fell closed on the ground before her. "Zut." She hissed, quickly crouching and retrieving the book. She looked up at the source of her impediment, shifting a lock of loose hair behind her ear. "I did not mean to you hit. Je suis vraiment désolé." She stared at him for a moment before blushing lightly, the smallest tinge of pink on her cheeks. "Sorry, I am mean to say."

Books ever stood as staunch ally to the intellectual, and if Hideo had ever identified differently, it was a secret even to him.  However, especially once the young man had realized the potential in his Quirk, he lost himself in ever higher pursuits to erudition, reading whatever he could as fast as he could in order to expand his knowledge base.  Perhaps one might call certain facts useless, but when one could instantly recall any fact at all, then having as many facts as possible seemed the most prudent course.  Of course, being a young man, he wasn't without the ability to become distracted.  As the afternoon moved on and the sun began to set, he found himself drawn to the sections closest to the small reading area occupied by the reading girl.  He couldn't help but know her name and where she was from, and the fact that she seemed to like reading as much as he did certainly made her seem more approachable.  Still, he didn't want to interrupt, as he knew how much he disliked being interrupted while reading.  

Still, there came a time when one needed to take a break, and so it was with a slight sigh that he placed the last book onto the shelf, and pushed his glasses up.  He'd gone through the row fairly quickly, but he almost missed being able to simply enjoy a story for what it was.  The boy wondered if the girl was still reading.  She was just there on the other side of this particular shelf, and he thought he heard a feminine voice murmuring.  Perhaps he'd say hi; she seemed a bit lonely.  Then, as he turned the corner to join the main aisle, he grunted as he ran into something solid, but soft.  Eyes widened in surprise as he realized what had happened, but the girl was already bending down to reach for her book.  Her somewhat disjointed Japanese made him smile slightly, eyes glinting behind his glasses.  "No, I wasn't paying attention to where I was going.  I'm sorry," he replied, offering his hand so that she might return to a standing position.  "You're Miss Julie, right?  I'm Kinoki Hideo.  Nice to officially meet you."

The teen's manners shocked her slightly which only left her wondering what she had expected in the first place. Her eyes lingered on his offered hand for a moment as she considered taking it or not. Hearing her name said so formally rushed her decision as she slipped her hand into his and used it to help lift herself back to a standing position. Perhaps for a second too long their hands were entwined before she pulled it back alongside a step in the same direction. She hadn't realized how close they had been, neither having moved since bumping into one another. "C'est just Julie, s'il vous plaît. It is a pleasure to meet you officially as well." She said with a curtsy. It was now that the time of day had finally dawned on her.

The library, aside from the artificial lighting washing them from above, was cast in hues of orange, dashes of red and pink highlighting this shelf or that. She hadn't realized most of the afternoon had escaped her, not that this was anything new for her. She had almost gotten used to popping in and out of time like this. Her attention focused on Hideo, fixing him in an inquisitive stare. "So, Hideo, what you here brings so deep into the afternoon?" Perhaps he was as much a literary buff as her or perhaps he had forgotten homework that needed to be done?

He wondered, at first, if he shouldn't have offered his hand. It was polite, but then again he didn't want to force contact where she might not want it. Then skin brushed against his, and he reflexively gripped and flexed his bicep so that she had a stable handhold with which to rise. There was a moment in time where he hadn't yet let go of her hand, and her own slightly curled fingers were left in his care slightly too long before she stepped back. It was the single most pleasant interaction he'd had since his initial attendance to UA. Hideo decided that he liked this girl. Her decidedly feminine behavior, the slight bob as she curtsied, and her curiously soft gaze did nothing to relieve him of that feeling, either, and instead he found himself a little embarrassed, lifting his hand to the back of his head and glancing down. "Oh, well... it has to do with my quirk, I guess," he replied, remembering his wish to just enjoy a book again. "You see, I can perfectly recall anything, so I figured that taking in as much information as possible..." he continued, shrugging and giving a slight smile. "Not that I don't enjoy reading. I always used to really enjoy it. A good novel is irreplaceable."

Hideo seemed unable to meet her stare for long, opting to glance down in the face of Julie's attention. She smiled softly at this with just the corners of her lips. It was decidedly bashful but still held a certain charm to it. Her gaze moved to the shelves beside them offering reprieve for the boy in front of her, though she still held that small smile. The response she got broke that reprieve.

"Je vois!" She exclaimed with a sudden step forward. Rapidly she leaned forward and tilted her head up to meet Hideo's eyes should he have looked up or not. "C'est merveilleux!" Hands clapped in front of her chest as her small smile exploded into full, beaming grin. Pearl shone beneath the soft pink of her lips, her green hair tussled ever so from the quick movement, but most noticeably her eyes nearly sparkled with excitement. "I envy you, Monsieur Hideo." Straightening herself preceded her arms flinging out to each side. "To be able to read all of these books wonderful and never forget? Même dans mes rêves les plus fous!" She paused, laughed, and bowed in what seemed like one fluid motion. "I am mean to say, not in my wildest dreams could I ever hope for such a gift. Non, instead I despise my Quirk." Her grin shrunk considerably but remained defiantly present. "I long to write like the authors found here. Words are truly amazing, oui? How shapes and sounds can ourselves express! C'est incroyable!" Taking a step away from Hideo, Julie spun on her heel and clasped her hands to her chest. "Ma Quirk brings the meaning of those words to life but because of that I am not allowed to write in situations most. It is a shame. A good novel is irreplaceable, yes, c’est vrai je suis d’accord. I prefer fantasy." She said walking over to the nearest shelf and running one, slender finger down the spine of a book. "The worlds people are able to create, the connections they draw between characters, that I love more than anything. To never forget those people, those worlds.." Her attention moved back to Hideo; a bittersweet smile and longing in her eyes.

"I envy you more than I could put words into."