Shin smiled at Twyla talked about her siblings. They sounded fun, and Twyla sounded like she had a lot more she could say about each and every one of them. Shin thought of Sasami and the kids back home. How Sasami always zoned off happily with a book in the couch on Summer days, how Kokoro popped in every chance she got to test his patience. Always a fireball, that one. He remembered his friends. Yoshiya, the fabulous one, and Lola, his childhood crush. Shin chuckled inwardly thinking of old school plays. Sasami had made a good tomato way back when. He staved off a smirk.

"It sounds like you have quite the big family. That's great. They sound really nice. What about you? Do you have any talents?" He leaned against the wall, crossing his arms. Standng all this time was starting to tire him out.

"It sounds like you have quite the big family. That's great. They sound really nice. What about you? Do you have any talents?" He was smiling, so she didn’t feel as stupid for babbling like she had. Talking about her family was easy but his last questions would be harder. She was good at a few things but she didn’t consider herself to really be talented so much as practiced. She wasn’t born with any extraordinary or obvious talents like her sisters, she worked for the things she excelled at (something it didn’t seem like her sisters had to do),and this was something that had always been the spark that ignited some of the jealousy she felt towards them.

“Um...”she looked at the ground as she tried to think. “In school I’m on the gymnastics team.” A shadow of a confident smile spread across her face at the words. If she wasn’t careful she’d get cocky when talking about her gymnastics career, she wasn’t Olympics bound but she was one of the best girls her school had seen in years. “I’ve gone to State a few times for one of my events and the other usually gets a medal or two at invitationals. The gymnastics stuff helped me get on the dance team at school...” She trailed off to keep herself from dwelling on the gymnastics and shrugged. Well, actually, I’ve gone to State every year since seventh grade but it’s better not to brag. “I’m not especially good at any subjects in school or anything like that.” Nothing too special. She thought but didn’t say out loud.

"So you're good at gymnastics and dance? That's cool. And wow. State? Medals. I'm impressed. I dabble in a bit of gymnastics myself, I guess... well, if one really calls the martial arts gymnastics... more like acrobatics, or... I dunno." He laughed weakly at his own loss of words. "I guess jujitsu and kung fu are closer to dancing than gymnastics, really. I'm a big fan of old Bruce Lee movies. Ever since I saw Enter the Dragon back when I was a kid. I've been studying martial arts since. Mainly jujitsu, but lately I've been dreaming of kung fu..." He trailed off.

Dreaming. Yeah, it was less like dreaming, more like he was remembering it all, touch by touch. Ever since the day he'd had his arm broken... going over the moves with the instructor at his dojo, it was more like his muscles remembered it. Like he’d done it somewhere before… but dreaming was a good describer for how it felt when he tossed in bed at night, running through foggy “memories” like watching old cassettes.

"Were you planning to take classes here? I forgot... sorry. A bit absentminded." Shin knocked his skull with his left hand. "Which reminds me. I was gonna give you a tour after you'd finished dropping off your bags. Do you still want me to show you around?"

Her face flushed a bit and she shrugged off the praise and resisted to urge to show off–for some reason she really wanted to do a standing tuck. He went on to tell her that he practiced some martial arts and that he was into old Bruce Lee movies, this made her smile a bit as her brother Nate was also a big fan and had wrangled her into watching marathons with him a few times. “They aren’t the same things, but they’re similar. It’s the same idea, right? Body control and all that.” She replied after he trailed off.

"Were you planning to take classes here? I forgot... sorry. A bit absentminded." He asked her while knocking on his head for emphasis. "Which reminds me. I was gonna give you a tour after you'd finished dropping off your bags. Do you still want me to show you around?" For a moment Twyla let herself think about all the schooling she’d have to make up to graduate with her class. It seemed overwhelming and for a moment a bubble of panic rose in her throat, the same one that did every time she thought about all the school she’d missed. “Yes.” She replied to his first question. “I have a lot of catching up to do. It’s my punishment for running away I think.” Her cheeks flushed again and she thought for a moment that she should get a counter and click it every time something made her blush. To his second question she replied along the same lines as her reply to it before. “If you still have the time to a tour would be helpful but I’ve navigated bigger places than this on my own, so either way I’ll manage.” Like Boston, parts of Philly, New York...Sooo non-committal. She didn’t want to make extra work for anyone, especially not someone who had been so nice to her.

He noted the blush at the praise. It seemed she was a bit humbler than some might be given similar awards. That was admirable. Big heads didn't fit through doorways. He smiled at her reply.

>>“They aren’t the same things, but they’re similar. It’s the same idea, right? Body control and all that.”

"Sure thing. Footwork is as important in gymnastics as it is in jujitsu and kung fu, I'm sure. Getting that arm to swing just right, and learning about balance?" It was all connected, really. And very very cool. He asked his question about classes, and she replied.

"Alright, so you are taking classes. I'll be sure to show you the classrooms on the tour, then." Shin insisted with a smirk. He nodded towards the door, and pulled away from the wall. "Without further ado. Let the tour commence."

He walked out the door.

~*~

Shin glanced up and down the second floor hallway, checking for students. "This is the hallway..." He coughed into his left hand. "Best to check both ways before crossing, lest the yellow speedster blast by." He checked both ways, then took a bold step forward. A blur of red shot past him, and Shin teetered back. He peered down the hallway at the there-and-gone-again kid. "He's wearing red today. I'll have to talk to him about living up to his nickname."

"Sure thing. Footwork is as important in gymnastics as it is in jujitsu and kung fu, I'm sure. Getting that arm to swing just right, and learning about balance?" She nodded a few times as her guide said this, especially to the balance part. Many a routine had been decimated in the last few moments by an off-balanced landing. The ending is the judges last taste in their mouth of your abilities, faulty feet and a tipping frame=not a good taste to end with.

She almost smirked when he told her he was showing her the classrooms on their tour. They WERE taking a tour then. Touche, Bruce Lee-fan, very well done. He smirked and she followed him out the door. "This is the hallway..." She almost laughed at the comment as Shin looked at both ends of the hallway. "Best to check both ways before crossing, lest the yellow speedster blast by." She was about to ask what he meant when her question was answered after he took a step into the hallway and almost got hit by a red streak. “Ooooh.” She said quietly to herself. Makes sense. She added, this time in her thoughts.

"He's wearing red today. I'll have to talk to him about living up to his nickname." It seemed like faulty advertising to Twyla. Assuming that you have to watch out for someone in yellow is one thing. Yellow is usually a bright color, easy to spot at a distance. Now she had to worry about watching out for someone in any number of colors, which meant being even more diligent “I’ll make sure to watch out for fast moving people.”

"I remember when he first came here. I was walking along nonchalantly sipping a cola. He whizzed by, I spilled. For a second, I'd thought someone had shot my drink with a gun." He laughed jokingly "Every now and then I stick a foot out in the hopes of subtle revenge... anyways, this way. We can check out the library on the way downstairs."

He waved down the hallway to the left, and began to lead.

As he walked along, Shin ran through the various spots to hit during the tour in his mind. There was the pool, the garden, the classrooms, the library, the recreational room, the kitchen, and the basketball courts. She’d already seen the offices. For a second, Shin pondered showing off in the danger room. Er, showing off the danger room, he corrected himself mentally. Now was no time to be showing off.

He turned to face Twyla as he walked along at her side. "So, who's your favorite author? Favorite genre? Favorite book?" He fished for smalltalk as they moved through the generally boring halls. Doors lined the hallway on either side. Occasionally, they'd pass a room with the door cracked open and music blaring. Some students enjoyed sharing their aural treats with the world.

Twyla laughed at Shin’s story, the image of a full grown man randomly sticking his foot out in the hopes of catching some teen was one that she thoroughly enjoyed. Her laugh was like her typical voice: soft but honest. As soon as the word ‘library’ was mentioned her brown eyes lit up. Based on the swankness of the rest of the school she concluded that the library had to be filled with a lot of interesting books. As long as Twyla had books she could survive here. Her mind drifted to the worn out copy of Sense and Sensibility that was stashed in her duffel somewhere; it would be nice to have other options. “Sounds good.” She said brightly, by way of reply; it seemed awkward not to say anything.

He began to walked and Twyla dutifully followed, her eyes taking in the hallway and her ears taking in the familiar but strange noises of other adolescents. Snippets of songs that she didn’t know could be heard through some of the doors. Twyla was listening to one of them when Her guide spoke again. "So, who's your favorite author? Favorite genre? Favorite book?" These were hard questions for Twyla to answer. Twyla could read any book and enjoy It as long as she found one interesting thing in it. Her levels of enjoyment varied, but she had never not finished or hated a book of any kind before. It was a defense mechanism born from living on a rural farm. She HAD to like the books that she brought home because they were the only ones she had until her mother took her back to the library the next weekend. “Um...Depends on the day. Anything and Sense and Sensibility.” She replied after a moment when she finally realized that they was the best and simplest answers she could give.

"Jane Austen?" Shin asked. It sounded like Twyla was an avid reader. That was a 1up to her reputation score already. Not that Shin had read much Austen, but... well, it was hard to work in a book store and not secretly be in love with every book you touched. Sense and Sensibility, he'd just so recently started behind the counter. He smiled boldly, for he now had something to talk about. "That's a great book right there. It was interesting seeing how the two sisters' opposing personalities conflicted. And..." He faded out. Okay, maybe not so much of a topic. Great book, but there was a bit too much to talk about there. Maybe... "Er," He rubbed the back of his neck with a mild laugh. "I actually just started it." He confessed. "Usually, I'm not a major fan of the classics. I'm more interested in other genre, like science fiction or fantasy or humor... but I really like Sense and Sensibility so far."

Big smile. Their walking concluded in front of a pair of wooden doors. They had reached the library. "You said 'depends on the day'... have you read anything by Isaac Asimov, or Kurt Vonnegut, or Douglas Adams?" The doors of the library swung open with well-oiled silence. He took a step onto the mezzanine, revealing to Twyla a second floor of books on a balcony that overlooked a sea of shelves. "I actually think some of those authors' books deserve Classic status. Their stories explore so many complex issues left untouched by the American novel. There might not be realism in each and every one, but unexplored territory... there's gotta be some value in boldly going."

Shin basked in his element.

OOC: Sorry, I know it's long. I didn't mean to go off, I promise.

“Yep, Jane Austen.” Twyla nodded matter-of-factly. She liked the subtle challenge that reading Jane Austen’s books posed. Although that challenge had diminished somewhat the more she read them."That's a great book right there. It was interesting seeing how the two sisters' opposing personalities conflicted. And..." So he had read Sense and Sensibility? Not many guys she knew would pick up a book with such a feminine point of view, even if it WAS a classic. "I actually just started it. Usually, I'm not a major fan of the classics. I'm more interested in other genre, like science fiction or fantasy or humor... but I really like Sense and Sensibility so far." Maybe not. Oh well, kudos for starting it. “I really like it, but I’ve read it way too many times. Elinor is my favorite sister but that’s just me. You’ll have to let me know who you like better when you finish it.” Twyla liked talking book. Book was so much easier to talk than English sometimes.

They finally stopped walking in front of large wooden doors. Twyla was excited, if it was a good one this library would become one of the most important rooms in this entire school; probably more important than her own room. If she had books she had friends, it was simple as that."You said 'depends on the day'... have you read anything by Isaac Asimov, or Kurt Vonnegut, or Douglas Adams?" He asked her when they stopped walking. Kurt Vonnegut rang some bells long since played in a faraway English class. Something about World War II...maybe? Isaac Asimov had no bells. Douglas Adams. She knew that she had heard the name. But what did he write? Something about a galaxy....and a guide....And then, she had it, in a very out loud way. “He wrote The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, right!?” A pause and a blink for volume control. “That’s on my List.” List was said with a tone that could only mean that List was capitalized. “I think I’ve heard of Vonnegut but Asimov doesn’t ring any bells, sorry.” Her face tinged a bit pink. Assuming that those authors were more sci-fi it made sense that she wasn’t familiar. Her high school library was small and there wasn’t much range. As far as sci-fi went Twyla hadn’t read very much and what she had read was mostly by Orson Scott Card.

The wooden doors opened to reveal one of the nicest libraries Twyla had ever seen. It even competed with the New York Public Library because of the fact that she was allowed unlimited access to this one, at least she hoped she had access. At the NYPL she had crept silently from floor to floor, afraid of disturbing the quiet of the rooms and setting her dirty shoes on the floor. Her guide began to speak again, but she only caught half of what he was saying and the sentences didn’t make sense in her mind. Her eyes were rapidly scanning this floor and the one below, making notes of interesting covers and just reveling in the amount of literature. It WAS a type of private school, based on the swankness she had seen it was only appropriate that the library would be this good. She nodded and then was pulled from her admiring. Shaking her head she apologized for her inattentiveness. “Sorry, I’m not sure I caught all that.” Her face turned a deeper shade of pink and she felt guilty. “I think that the term ‘Classic’ is subjective. Everyone gets something different out of every book and there’s no reason for someone to tell them what they’re supposed to get out of it.”

((OOC: Perfectly acceptable. Books are awesome for inspiring tangents like that. ))

>>"...You’ll have to let me know who you like better when you finish it.”

"Oh, definitely." Shin grinned. "Always fun chatting books.And so far... I have to agree. Elinor's character is more guarded, and seems stronger than Marianne. I dunno. I get the feeling something bad will come of Marianne's excessive emotions for that dashing young man...but that's just a gut feeling I have. Don't spoil me, OK?" Shin wagged his finger with a laugh.

He took a few steps forward, towards a table spread out in front of them literally littered with books, then turned around to face her, Librarian's mask of notoriety on his face.

>>“He wrote The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, right!?” A pause and a blink for volume control. “That’s on my List.”

"Hitchhiker's Guide and the Dirk Gently series, among other things. He was also a scriptwriter for a few episodes of Doctor Who... one of my favorite comical fantasy writers. The only person I think holds a candle to him these days is Terry Pratchett..." Shin held his chin and paused. Was it fair calling Science Fiction 'fantasy' here? He wondered. The tempation to look to the ceiling for some cosmic comic god's hand ready to strike him down came and went. For a moment, Shin stood nodding. So she had a list? Capital L, perhaps? Good, good.

No faulting for not knowing Asimov. Science fiction wasn't a big gripper in schools these days. They taught less on the merits of science, and more on what an allegory was, and why a white whale happened to be one... or the social importance of Huck Finn.

He paused to let her take in the library. There was a lot to take in.

>>“Sorry, I’m not sure I caught all that.” Her face turned a deeper shade of pink and she felt guilty. “I think that the term ‘Classic’ is subjective. Everyone gets something different out of every book and there’s no reason for someone to tell them what they’re supposed to get out of it.”

Shin nodded affably. "Indeed. And don't worry. I was pretty much babbling. So anyways, library." He bobbed his head towards the table laden with stacks of books. "Open to students all day, every day, to make sure they read their fill.”

A childish glint of inspiration hinted his interest from the corner of his eye. "If you need any help getting set up with more additions to that list, I do work in a book store. Best sellers come in and out of my grip every day... I totally understand there never being enough hours in the day to finish them all."

A secret smile splayed across her lips when Shin made his prediction. If he only knew. Spoilers were not something to be scared of getting from Twyla, she’d never give away an ending or a plot twist or much of anything about a book besides the bare bones. Book reports were her greatest nemesis in English class and she always lost points for not giving enough details about the story and for not paying attention when other kids gave theirs. She held up her hands in mock surrender to make her point. “You’ll get nothing from me, no worries.”

"Hitchhiker's Guide and the Dirk Gently series, among other things. He was also a scriptwriter for a few episodes of Doctor Who... one of my favorite comical fantasy writers. The only person I think holds a candle to him these days is Terry Pratchett..." Was the reply that she got from her outburst. Apparently he was a big fan of Douglas Adams.He trailed off and seemed to be thinking about something, she had no idea what but she waited patiently to see if he would continue. A few nods were all that came forth after that.

He nodded to her -ish reply to the comments she had tuned out. “Indeed. And don't worry. I was pretty much babbling. So anyways, library." At least he wasn’t upset about her distracted state. "Open to students all day, every day, to make sure they read their fill.” She smiled at this. Unrestricted access sounded heavenly. She could survive here, now she was sure of it.

"If you need any help getting set up with more additions to that list, I do work in a book store. Best sellers come in and out of my grip every day... I totally understand there never being enough hours in the day to finish them all." This made Twyla smile again. The List was always growing and shrinking and changing and some of the best books Twyla had ever read were the ones that she had passed by but other people had thrown at her. Additions were always welcome and she would tell him that. “Suggestions are always welcome. I’m sure you know some great titles if you work in a bookstore.” For the whole summer after her sophomore year she had worked at her local library stacking shelves and reading to the younger kids. That was the summer when the List was born from weeks spent talking to the matronly librarians about different titles and authors. Twyla appreciated suggestions, they were the best way to broaden her horizons.

Shin nodded, pleased. Oh, she'd get suggestions. He'd have to be careful not to drop a mountain on her. "Cool." Had she read anything by Barbara Kingsolver, he wondered. Or Truman Capote? "So many suggestions," He murmured, again looking towards the shelves. "Maybe I'll stick to the funny reads first. Have you read anything by David Sedaris? He's an essayist who writes about his own life. One of my favorite stories by him was 'The Drama Bug'. Then there's Barbara Kingsolver. I loved the narration she did in Animal, Vegetable, Miracle. Kingsolver's so good at capturing the beauty of the outdoors in her writing. And she focuses on strong female protagonists too. I think you'd like her."

He glanced towards the library's windows that gave an ample view of the mansion's lawn. Thoughts of nature wormed their way through the fresh dirt of his mind. They'd visit the garden next. He'd been indoors that day long enough.

He seemed happy when she said she was open to suggestions. What she had said was the truth. She was an open book when it came to literature.((*)) "Cool." was the first reply. Then: "So many suggestions," in a murmur. This made Twyla somewhat excited. His taste in genre did not fit into her usual patter of novel choice. It was always refreshing to find something else to read. "Maybe I'll stick to the funny reads first. Have you read anything by David Sedaris? He's an essayist who writes about his own life. One of my favorite stories by him was 'The Drama Bug'. Then there's Barbara Kingsolver. I loved the narration she did in Animal, Vegetable, Miracle. Kingsolver's so good at capturing the beauty of the outdoors in her writing. And she focuses on strong female protagonists too. I think you'd like her." Another reply after he gazed at the shelves. She hadn’t heard of either author and this made her excitement grow. Fresh air. Perfect after months of thumbing through her worn copy of Sense and Sensibility.

“I’ll definitely have to check them out.” She replied with a smile as she mentally noted the names and titles. Twyla really did like heroines, her book choices usually had a female main character. Sometimes she thought it was ironic that she related best to strong female figures. She herself knew that she wasn’t of the same caliber as those women; she considered herself too soft-spoken and too weak and too much of a coward to be written about. Sometimes she wished she had some of their qualities but she had no idea where to start in that transformation. Twyla’s gaze followed Shin’s out the window and she wondered where their tour would land her next.

((*That’s horrible, but I HAD to do it ))

((Awesome. I love puns.))

"Another author I really like is William Gibson. He wrote Neuromancer, the penultimate (and original) cyber punk thriller. Have you ever watched or heard of the movie 'The Matrix'? The directors of that film, the Wachowski brothers, said their inspiration for that film came largely from the anime 'Ghost in the Shell', which explored ideas and themes presented in Gibson's novel. That book conceptualized the internet before it ever existed. It's just--" He clasped his hands over his heart. Oh, be still. He was talking about one of his favorite books here. “It did so much for the world of literature, and inspired so many things… I just love books that go above and beyond the realms of fiction to truly touch upon human nature or ideas of the unexplored.”

“Another book that did that in spades was We, by Yevgeny Zamyatin. Written as the author’s response to the Russian revolution of 1905, it presented a darkly dystopian society known as the One State, where lives are mandated by the government, and…” He trailed off with a smirk. “I think you’d want to find out the rest for yourself.”

Hands locked behind his back again as Shin turned back towards Twyla. “I was thinking I’d move us to the garden next. All this talk of nature and science fiction has gotten me wanting the smell of flowers over the must of dust. Which reminds me!” He slipped past her, on his way to the door. Finger raised, he refreshed to topic with titles anew. “Of Vaster Than Empires and More Slow.”

How one man could understand the emotions of others, and know he ground them the wrong way, but continue being anti-social in an effort to promote a vicious cycle… and how he met a world composed entirely of sentient vegetation, and… spoilers.

He walked out the door and turned left, towards the garden, expecting her to follow.