1963-08-08 - Library Learnin'
Summary: Akihiro and Cecilia meet up.
Related: Summer Heat —]
Theme Song: None
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Akihiro Cecilia 

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It was habit that continually brought Cecilia to this side alcove of the West wing within the
University Library. Although she had offered one or two occasional acquaintances the assistance of
her academic company, she lingered long at one of the heavy, oaken tables over text books that held
her own studies and not in hopes of deepening a friendship. Thus Akihiro may find her one Monday in
late afternoon, when most of the students had drifted on to dinner arrangements or simply decided
the hour was too late to continue studying. Poised in one of the bright beams of late August sun
filtering through a window, her attire was so perfectly composed that the frazzled and irate mess of
a woman he had initially been introduced to would be nigh unrecognizable.

*

Akihiro lets out a low whistle when he catches sight of Cecilia again. The greaser has cleaned
himself up too, t-shirt and jeans replaced with a nice shirt and slacks as to not get kicked out.
"And I thought you were pretty before." the teen teases, gesturing to the chair across from her.
"Mind if I have a seat?"

*

Usually Cecilia was insulated from some of the more lecherous attentions while holed up in the
library, thus the wolfish whistle drew her focus up from an anatomy text and she arched a brow. The
dark and thin line cut a ridge over her spectacles that belied amusement. Recognition dawned and her
lips formed a small 'o' before a modest smirk was offered up,

"Sure. I uh-didn't recognize you."

She set aside the notes that were neatly penned in a tight, cursive scrawl before looking him over
curiously,

"You must be quite bored with the whole miscreant thing if you actually took me up on my offer to
study."

*

"Well, I had to clean up. Don't think they approve of my kind roaming around." Akihiro says as he
takes a seat. He can't help but grin at the miscreant comment though, "If you call stopping mediocre
criminals with god complexes and ending car chases being a miscreant. A lot of people seem to assume
that because of the way I dress, but I'm a pretty decent guy if you take the time to know me."

He casually looks her over, "If I didn't know it was you I probably wouldn't have recognized you
either. You look very nice this evening." See, he can do polite. "Not sure if I'm gonna be able to
actually do anything with what I learn, but it's good to know."

*

Cecilia chuckles as she shakes her head, the motion causing a few of the dark curls to bounce
rebelliously against her features.

"Ah yes, I'm in the same boat. If I don't at least attempt to fix myself up, then the number of
individuals who assume I'm the help is to damn high."

Within this sanctuary of books and knowledge, she seemed at ease, like a lioness lounging after a
good feeding in the warm sun. Recrossing her legs, she considered him across the rim of her glasses
and continued calmly,

"It helps open doors, I have found. Plus the brain is something that needs to be worked and left
dog-tired. Otherwise it gets up to all sorts of devious little addictions and dependencies. So tell
me, Akihiro-What do you want to know?"

*

"I didn't think that far ahead." Akihiro admits, a smile playing at his lips. "All I really know is
Japanese history, basic math, strategy, and how to kill a man with whatever's at hand." That last
bit may be a joke, but he does tend to keep an eye on everything, every person in the room, the
exits he can see, and he keeps his ear towards the exit he can't.

"Where do you think we should begin?" he asks, resting his hands down in his lap. "I'm pretty open
to any suggestions."

*

Cecilia seems to weighing the question for a time, before her head tilts to one side and she nods
thoughtfully.

"Follow me."

Without much preamble, she rises on sensible heels and with muffled clicks on the low pile carpet,
leads him towards the stairs. Her ascension is purposeful and with an imbued grace that was more
impressive than her figure, something about her confidence even on steps and unsteady footwear
suggesting a near-perfected sense of balance.

As they reached the second floor, she turned quietly down one aisle, then another, the spines of
thousands of titles peering at their passage in silence. Finally, she smiled and wavered between two
different sections, gesturing first to one and then the other as she spoke,

"On the right, Japanese history. On the left, Japanese literature. Then I believe it goes into
Chinese, Korean, and Middle Eastern. I have found that sometimes the best place to start is learning
what you want to learn, what you're comfortable learning, and growing from there. Plus I may or may
not have a library card that you can use to borrow things on. Assuming you realize that if you don't
return them, and I have to pay for them, I will hunt you down and inflict bodily harm one would not
suspect me of given my size and stature."

And for the first time since they met, she smiled a confident smile that promised this was no bluff.

*

"Can do." Akihiro says, pushing to his feet and following after. The teen is quiet, his feet making
no noise to those who don't have enhanced hearing. His gaze shifts across the many titles before
they come to a stop.

"I imagine it'd make catching a sarcophagus with my body look like childs play." he says in regards
to the physical violence threatened with a grin. "I appreciate all of this." he says honestly now.
"If at any point you wanna, you know," his voice lowers even more, "smoke some marijuana or have a
drink, I'll pick up the bill. As a way to say thanks."

*

Cecilia regards him with some measure of amusement, shaking her head as she raised up a hand to
study her nails thoughtfully,

"That's sweet, but drinks are often offered in excess to me, and I don't partake in the other
mentioned substance. I know, I'm quite dull."

She makes no move to follow him, allowing him the distance to peruse at whatever pace he chooses,
her own focus drifting to the occasional history student making the rounds, as if hoping to see
someone.

*

"I don't get drunk, so I usually don't like to watch other people get drunk." Akihiro infomrs her,
attention shifting to the various books. "And you don't have to smoke to be exciting, who am I to
judge, so long as it doesn't hurt anybody?" Something catches his eye and he takes it from the shelf
to look it over. "Besides, I don't blame you. You've met me once before, and it was in passing.
Gotta make sure I'm not one of those freaks."

*

"Freaks?" Her attention drifts back to him and she runs her tongue over her lips before clarifying,

"Like mutant freak or complete stranger that tells me his life story in our first encounter freak
or vigilante freak? Or all three?"

Her arms cross over her red striped dress and she smirks in a fashion that suggested little malice
and pronounced mischief.

*

"I didn't tell you the important bits." Akihiro points out, attention moving from the book in his
hands back to the shelf. "And I don't care who knows I'm a mutant. What's the worst that can happen,
they shoot me or beat me? I've survived a lot worse that what a bigot or two is capable of doing."
That bit isn't said with the same sort of humor, it's quiet and thoughtful. "I meant more like the
kind of freak you really have to worry about. Mutants, people that tell you their life story, and
vigilantes aren't always the worst things out there."

*

Cecilia nods as she raises a hand to thread through thick hair, considering his words and knowing
they were all too true.

"Aye, you don't have to tell me that twice."

Finally moving to follow him down the aisle, she considered the title in his hand before scouring
the other offerings on the shelves. Thoughtfully, she slid down a title on a thin book that offered
a subject matter relating to traditional Japenese medicine and its influence in modern times.
Leaning back against the shelves, she flipped open to a random page and flitted her attentions over
the contents in an effort to avoid further insult.

*

"You didn't offend me, if that's why you ran off." Akihiro says, dropping to a squat to browse the
bottom shelf. "I was just thinking about something." About electricity, the smell of blood, and snow.
But he doesn't say that aloud. "You have to try to offend me, really. I try to keep an open mind."

*

Cecilia shrugs as she glances sideways at him, adjusting her glasses before intoning,

"That sounds like a challenge. To be honest, I'm endeavoring to improve my bedside manner.
Apparently being a woman should have made me nurturing or so my professors told me."

Blowing aside a curl that was teasing across her features, she continued with a sigh, "This is me
making an effort. Don't ruin it."

*

"I'm going to be a little blunt." Akihiro says, turning to look at her. "Fuck them. That's like
saying I have to be a roughneck because I'm a male. But, apparently thinking everybody should be
equal is a good way to get your teeth knocked out." He returns to browsing, looking at the back of
another book. "I don't see the point of prying into somebody else's personal affairs though."

*

If the blunt nature of his opinion offended her, or the fact that he inserted it into her life, it
didn't show. Instead, she glanced up from her consideration of an interesting piece about early
amputation, and rolled her eyes,

"You mean I shouldn't consider a more appropriate pursuit like nursing?"

Her tone was teasing, but it was apparent they shared a commonality in rising above the
expectations of others, or when ascension was impossible, burning said expectations to the ground.
Clicking her tongue, she queried, "So what do you want to be, if not a roughneck?"

*

"If somebody is a capable doctor, why should you worry about whether or not they're a man? Or white.
" Akihiro shakes his head before pushing to his feet.

He considers the question for a moment, before lifting his shoulders in a shrug. "No idea. It's
where I may end up, safer for somebody like me to do the work than somebody that might hurt
themselves, or that runs the risk of being worked to death."

*

"Work is work, sometimes it's not the eventuality of where you end up but an ends to a means. I had
to do some odd jobs to get here, and none of them were particularly what I wanted to be doing."

Reshelving the book she had been perusing, she looked to his hands and smirked,

"Gather up a few and we'll get them checked out. It'll close up here soon and I still need to
collect my things from downstairs. Trying to get ahead in the syllabus' posted for the start of term
in a week."

*

"Alright." Akihiro grabs the other book that caught his attention and falls in line to head back out.
"I really do appreciate all this. Hard to get people to take you seriously in this city. Though,
that's nothing new."

*

Cecilia leads the way back downstairs and to her original spot, packing up her notes in a messenger
back before considering a few of the titles and leading the way up to the receptionist who handled
check outs. On the approach, she slyly incorporated his selections into her own books so as not to
draw "I'll see you around."questions, though the woman behind the desk did appear skeptical that Cecilia had taken a
sudden interest in the Japanese culture.

As they rounded the corner outside, she moved to pass his selections back to him and stow her own
books in her back, speaking as she did so,

"I find that it's more fun when they underestimate you. Puts all the metaphorical cards in your own
hands to play at your leisure. We should do this again sometime. Hopefully within the next two weeks
when those will be due."

*

"I'll definitely get these back to you before then." Akihiro assures Cecilia. "And I usually count
on people underestimating me. It's never any fun when they realize what you can do." He flashes her
a wink and taps out a salute,

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