-This fiction is set in an Alternate Universe: a technology-based post apocalyptic world. Much of the Naruto-based characters and themes are still present here, although of course I need to make adjustments here and there so that they can be more suitable for my story.
-This prologue is set to introduce some important aspects of the universe I'm setting this story on. Things that aren't made clear here will be explained on further chapters. I just hope that things that do get explained here are clear enough for all of you to understand.
-If it's not obvious enough from the title, this is a NaruSaku story.
-I am not a native English speaker/user, and this is my very first fan-fiction ever,so I apologize beforehand for any imperfections in the grammar/vocabulary/spellings department.
-I cannot promise any of you that I will see this fan-fiction all the way through to completion—too many factors involved, and some of them are bound to be unpredictable. However, I will try my best to continuously update this story to the best of my abilities—to that end, reviews/feedbacks are greatly appreciated since they are strong encouragements for me to keep pressing on.
Enjoy.
Reality Core presents:
An Alternate Universe fan-fiction based on the manga Naruto by Masashi Kishimoto
NARUSAKU:
THE CHRONICLES OF AN IMPERFECT WORLD
-PROLOGUE-
"Learn from yesterday, live for today, hope for tomorrow."—Albert Einstein
The young lady strolled casually inside the bookshop. Behind her, a small flying robot equipped with a pair of small jetpacks on its back and a pair of medium-sized arms could be seen carrying a stack of books—some of them looked quite heavy and daunting.
The pair navigated the corridors and aisles of the bookshop for quite a while with the young lady occasionally made random stops to inspect various books on display. In the end, after around six or seven minutes of browsing, the young lady settled on a solitary reading table on the northern part of the bookshop.
"Thanks," she said to the robot as she took a seat, "You can leave the books here."
She pointed to a vacant spot on the table, and the robot obligingly put down the books it carried one by one there. It made a nicely arranged stack for the books too, with the largest and heaviest one on the bottom and the smallest one on top—the young lady seemed a bit pleased because of this.
"Thank-you-for-your-patronage," the robot said after it has finished with the task, "Happy-reading, and-please-call-for-me-if-you-need-any-more-assistance."
"I'll do that, yes," the young lady replied nonchalantly as she picked up the topmost book from the stack. As she opened it, the robot politely excused itself from the premises (although the sound of its jetpacks was quite distracting) so that the young lady could proceed to reading the books in comfort.
She flipped the pages of the first book she took, and once she found the page she's looking for, her eyes started to focus intensely as she began to read…
Facts Only Series
Book One: METROPOLIS
…
…
"…Metropolis is our last bastion—the last remaining place in the planet where humanity can still find safe shelter and refuge. It is the place where we are still allowed to continue on living and dreaming. If there is a glint of possibility remains that we can someday create a future in which crystal clear water and mesmerizing blue sky are no longer just dreams, then such a possibility must begin here, in this place, in the Metropolis. It is not an overstatement to say that to know your way around the Metropolis is to know your way around the world, since it is the only world left for humanity… the only place left for us to continue our existence.
If one is to look from the above, Metropolis is shaped like a gigantic circle. It is divided into several different Sections: North, East, West, South, and Center, with each Section consists of an area large enough for a country to fit in. Consequently, one can only imagine how incredibly massive the Metropolis actually is if its entire area is actually the entire territories of all the Sections combined into one. In fact, it is estimated that around ninety to ninety five percent of people living in the Metropolis never actually had the chance to go beyond the walls confining the Section they were born in—not because such venture is impossible to do, but simply because most people do not even have the opportunity to set foot on every part of their own Section since the size of each Section is already staggering by itself.
Their size is not the only thing likening the each Section of the Metropolis to a country, however. In fact, just like a country, each Section has their own government structure, complete with their own set of laws, rules, regulations, monetary systems, and sovereignty. Each Section also has even its own respective army and leaders—a group of powerful individuals referred by the citizens with the title Kages. The North Section is led by a person with the title Raikage, the South Section is led by a person with the title Tsuchikage, the East Section by a Hokage, the West Section by a Kazekage, and the Center Section by a Mizukage. As one voice that commands the entire Metropolis, these five Kages are called 'The Conclave.'
Interestingly enough, each of the Section adopts a different elemental symbol to represent their 'country.' The North Section is symbolized by the element of lightning and thus sometimes it is called the Lightning Section, the South Section is symbolized by the element of stone, representing earth, and thus sometimes referred to as the Earth Section; the East Section is symbolized by the element of fire, and thus sometimes called the Fire Section; the West Section is symbolized by the element of Wind, and thus occasionally called the Wind Section; and finally the Center Section—it is symbolized by the element of water, and thus at times called the Water Section. These symbols are proudly displayed on top of each Section's "House of Government", the place where Kages and the most important members of each government reside.
The history of why each of the Section uses that kind of symbolism to represent themselves is still debated and unclear up to this day (see the "Lost History of the Metropolis" series of books for more information), although the most favored theory is that the Forefathers—the ones that built the Metropolis in the first place—used such symbols to mark each Section because they represent the elements that serve as the building blocks of our world. Each of the elements combined together into one Metropolis—into one world. Perhaps by using those symbols they were trying to say that maybe, someday, humanity will be able to return to the world of old. The world that was there before the world that is here. Perhaps it was just their own way of saying that there's still hope for all of us yet.
On that note, we still have not yet discovered how exactly our Forefathers managed to build something as massive as the Metropolis, complete with all the systems and technologies that are installed within it (including the most amazing of all: the Field Energizer, a device capable of creating an effect that encompasses the entire Metropolis area—see the third book in our Facts Only Series to learn more about it.) The estimated age of the oldest record we can find in the Metropolis is around 500 years, so at the very least this extremely massive city has existed for half a century—and yet, so far we do not have any records of any substantial damage/loss of any important facilities or piece of technology in the city. The Metropolis is without a doubt an extremely incredible achievement, although one that is enveloped in many mysteries that we cannot yet unravel.
For now, however, let us return to more Facts about Metropolis.
Each Section of the Metropolis is separated by huge walls that function as borders (also often referred as "Border Walls.") The only way for a person to move from one Section to another is by using the automatic tram systems through the passageways built inside the Border Walls that connect one Section to another (called the "Passing Tunnels.") A person must first pass several layers of security checks before he or she is allowed to use the tram, and even then after that he or she must also be flagged as 'safe' by several identification scanning systems installed inside the Passing Tunnels. Any tram containing even one person flagged as 'unsafe' will be stopped automatically inside the Passing Tunnels, granting the concerned individual inability to move anywhere else before authorized personnel can pick him/her from the tram.
Center Section is a bit of unique case, since it is located at the center of the Metropolis and thus located exactly in-between all the other Sections. The people from the North Section, for example, can travel directly to the East or West Section, but if they want to visit the South Section, then they must pass through Center Section's territory—thus, at least double the security and checkpoints must be passed before arrival. Of course, this is not something that a citizen of the Center Section must suffer because they have direct access to all the Sections of Metropolis (Please access the NET on the following address so that you can have a rough visualization about the Metropolis' geography: imgurdotcomslash0zv5mdotjpg (We apologize beforehand for the crude quality.) Alternatively, a person living at the North Section can use the roundabout way to visit South Section if they want to: meaning, they can opt to travel through the East or West Section before resuming their journey to the South Section. However, the bureaucracy involved with such method is rather complicated that most people tend to choose the previous method."
The Metropolis also…"
The young lady pressed a button on the wristwatch that she wore on her right hand. A female-avatar hologram suddenly projected from inside the device.
"Access the NET," the young lady said to the avatar-hologram, "I want to take a look at this address."
She pointed at the address written on the book. The female-avatar hologram glanced at it, and then a split second later a picture of a very rough-looking map was projected on a display right next to the avatar.
The young lady raised one of her eyebrows as she saw the map projection. She looked mildly amused.
"Well I'll be…" she chuckled lightly, "They are not joking with the 'crude quality' part. They could have used at least a second-rate robot to do it… Geez… It's like a drawing made by a bored kid…"
She pushed the same button on her wristwatch, causing both the female-avatar hologram and the map display to vanish instantaneously.
"Well whatever," she said as she closed the book and turned her attention to the next one, "I get the required information so I suppose I shouldn't complain. Anyways," she took a short breath, "…Time for the next book…"
Facts Only Series
Book Three: FIELD ENERGIZER
…
…
"…Field Energizer is, without any shred of doubts, the most important part of the entire Metropolis. But what is actually this extremely advanced piece of technological marvel and in what capacity this device can help the entire citizens of Metropolis?
The answer can easily be found by simply looking up on places where your view is unobstructed: see the almost translucent red-colored layer covering the entire 'sky'? That layer is known as the 'Field', and the sole reason why the Field Energizer is undoubtedly the most crucial part of the Metropolis.
I am sure the readers already aware about the reasons why Metropolis is referred to as the last haven and refuge for mankind. Regardless, I would like to remind all of us once again: for some reasons currently unknown to us, the world outside the protective Field generated by the Field Energizer—that is, the world outside Metropolis itself—is completely and utterly hazardous to all known living creatures and their creations. It is already known that even the air of the outside world is not only poisonous, but also corrosive—capable of decaying even the strongest material known to us within seconds, rendering them useless in the blink of an eye. The Field is somehow capable of blocking the incredibly dangerous atmosphere of the world outside from seeping inside the Metropolis, safeguarding us from certain doom.
Aside from its ability to block the incredibly dangerous atmosphere of the outside world from intruding into the Metropolis, the Field generated by the Field Energizer features an incredibly unique characteristic that still puzzles even our brightest scientists. The Field itself, in fact, is known to be incapable of restricting literally anything moving from inside its protective layer to its outside area. Meaning, if you throw any object—like a stone, or maybe a pencil—with the intention of passing it through the Field to the outside world, you can. The same can be said for any other objects, and living creatures such as your cat or even yourself. You or anything else can literally move pass through the Field without any ill effect at all, although the incredibly hazardous atmosphere waiting outside the Field will waste no time in destroying you.
Many citizens of the Metropolis make the mistake of thinking that the huge walls surrounding the entire Metropolis are there to protect them from the outside world. While this is true to some degree, the fact is that the walls were built not to prevent the incredibly dangerous atmosphere of the outside world from making its way to our Metropolis. As mentioned before, not even the strongest materials known to us right now can withstand the entropic nature of the outside world's atmosphere, and that includes the materials used to build the walls. The walls themselves are actually still situated inside the coverage area of the Field, and are there to prevent anyone from trying to walk through the Field and killing themselves in the process, which is a perfectly possible scenario due to the deadly combination of the Field's unique characteristics and human tendency to act foolish every now and then (remember the infamous 'Day 14' incident that happened around 25 years ago? Actually, it was one of the main reasons why the surrounding walls were built in the first place.)
The Field is shot from the top of the Field Energizer's massive antennae upwards towards the sky, and then parts midway and spread all around covering the entire Metropolis in a dome-shaped protective layer. To say that the Field Energizer is an amazing technological achievement is a severe understatement—it is, quite plainly, a technological miracle. We actually do not have any clue when the device was first activated—we just know that it runs, and never stops or breaks. For all we know, the device may have already running from the moment the Metropolis was first built, and since the estimated age of the oldest record we can find about the Metropolis is at least 500 years, then the device has been running at the very least 500 years non-stop. How come it never breaks? From where the device gets its power source so that it can continuously running for at least half a century seemingly without stopping? We actually understand so little about the device, because although we are thoroughly fascinated by it, we are also scared—what would happen if we tinker with it somehow and then suddenly the device breaks or worse: stop working? Mankind will surely perish if that happens. We understand so little because we are afraid of doing something wrong, and yet there is a greater probability of us doing something wrong because we understand so little—it is truly one the greatest unfortunate never-ending cycles of all (and the fact that only a very select few of people is allowed to even touch the device does not help matters as well.)
Although the massive antennae of the Field Energizer can be seen from all corners of the Metropolis protruding proudly towards the heavens, the bulk of the device itself is housed inside an incredibly colossal facility known by the citizens of the Metropolis as 'The Core.' It is without a doubt the most secure and tightly guarded facility in the entire Metropolis—it should be, since its sole purpose is to house a device that determines the survival of humanity. Not only it is protected by the most advanced technology-powered security measures known to men, The Core is also safeguarded by an army numbered to the thousands (the exact amount is unknown)—an army that also reportedly houses a great number of extremely capable Chakra Users in its ranks (for more information about Chakra Users, we recommend reading the fifth book of our Facts Only Series: 'Chakra Users.')
The Core is located at the middle of Center Section, making it quite literally the core of the Metropolis in terms of its location (hence the name.) It is however very important to realize the fact that although The Core is situated inside the Center Section, and that means inside the ruling territory of the Mizukage, the Center Section itself holds no singular authority over it. Indeed, to completely relinquish control over something so immeasurably important for humanity to a single entity is not a wise thing to do. Instead, the facility is controlled by all the Sections equally through their Kages: any attempt to do something—anything—to the device requires the permission and complete consent of all the Kages simultaneously; meaning, the attempt will be automatically forbidden if even one Kage disagrees with it even though the other four agrees.
The device…"
The young lady closed the second book.
"Day 14 incident… hmmm…" she muttered softly as she stared towards her wristwatch, "Wonder if this old model has any information about it…"
She pressed the same button as previously on her wristwatch, and just like before, a female-avatar hologram was immediately projected from inside the wristwatch.
"Do you know anything about the incident known as Day 14?"
The female-avatar hologram closed her eyes—like it was thinking. Then, around three to four seconds later, it opened its eyes and said in a very monotone-sounding voice:
"Apologize: the information is not available."
The young lady immediately pressed the same button again, causing the female-avatar hologram to vanish in an instant.
"…Guess I should upgrade to a newer model one of these days…" she muttered under her breath—her face looked mildly annoyed, "…On to the next book then…"
The Outside World
…
…
"…No one can tell exactly what happened to the world in the past that made the world today the way it is. Any person claiming ownership to the truth is nothing but the biggest liar himself. We have very little notes and records left by the Forefathers in Metropolis mentioning the Outside World, and even then we do not have any reliable method to authenticate their accuracy. Even the best scientists of the Metropolis—that is to say, the best scientists of humanity—can only make guesses, speculations, and theories.
Of course, as anyone with a sane mind already knows, any attempt to gather new knowledge about the Outside World beyond of what little notes and records we have is severely hampered by the fact that we have yet to discover a reliable way to safely traverse it. I think I do not have to remind any reader of this book about the infamous incident known as 'Day 14', when utter disregard of warnings and cautions caused many unneeded, unnecessary horrific deaths. The simple fact that the air itself is poisonous and extremely corrosive to any materials known to us is proof enough of the incredible danger the Outside World possess, and if (and it's a very big IF) there exists any creature living out there that is capable of withstanding such dangerous atmosphere, I personally very highly doubt that it's the kind of creature any of us would like to meet.
If the Field Energizer someday decides to stop all of a sudden, then it's the end of the world as we know it.
Though we have no actual proof, it is generally believed that the world once a safe place for humans to live in—that our ancestors once lived in a world here humans can traverse to all corners of the earth freely without restrictions. That such belief can exist even without concrete proof clearly signifies that we all perhaps are dreamers after all: if there was a beautiful and safe world before the extremely inhospitable and deadly one that we know today, maybe—just maybe—someday we can find a way to return the world to the state it once was.
Guesses, speculations, and theories are all we have to describe the possible reasoning behind why the world outside the Metropolis became such an impossibly dangerous place. The most acknowledged one—although it must be stressed that it is still a theory with no concrete proof to back its support—is the one proposed by the now-deceased South Section's famous scientist Hakaru Masumoto.
He proposed that once, a long time ago when the world was still safe for us, a large "heavenly object"—Mr. Masumoto was known to be highly fond of poetic language—fell from the sky and destroyed the entire world, covering everything with toxic, poisonous air. He suggested that the citizens of the world back then was able to detect that object coming, but immediately came to realization that they wouldn't be able to do anything about it. And thus, all the best minds of the world pooled their resources and knowledge to build the Metropolis, to ensure that humankind would continue existing even after the inevitable mass destruction the object would cause (he said that the Metropolis is an engineering feat of immeasurable level—the kind that would require the combined efforts of the whole world to pull off.)
His theory, although mostly (if not all) unsubstantiated, fits with several things—the first (and perhaps the most important) thing being the existence of the Metropolis itself. It is true that the Metropolis is an incredible—this word itself is a massive understatement—engineering achievement that would be impossible to finish without support and cooperation of many, many, many highly dedicated parties combining all their resources together. And it would still require an enormous amount of time to finish. The fact that the Metropolis is actually here suggests that the people back then actually had time to finish it, a scenario that could only be possible if the end-of-the-world event back then was notinstantaneous or unforeseen, and that the people back then was able to see it coming from a long distance away.
But again, it must again be stressed that no matter how enticing Mr. Masumoto's theory is, it is no more than just assumptions and hypothesis based on his own self-generated deductions. The only truth that no one can deny is that we just simply do not know.
Many experiments…"
The young woman flipped the rest of the pages all the way until the back cover.
"This book is much less thick then the others," she thought, "Probably since we know so little about the Outside World so that there's not much to write about…"
She closed the book.
"Oh well…" she muttered as she put the book away and picked the next one.
Facts Only Series
Book Five: CHAKRA USERS
…
…
"…It is common knowledge that amongst us exist people that are beyond normalcy. When I say that, however, I do not mean that they are 'abnormal' in a negative sense… I simply mean that they possess capabilities that allow them to surpass the limitations of what the word 'normal' typically impose to us.
We call them "Chakra Users."
They can stick their foot onto walls and move vertically upwards without using any Spike Boots; they can jump unusually high without the help of Jumper Shoes; they can move at blinding speed without the assistance of Haste Belts; they can use their fists to strike powerful blows that are equal to even the most advanced of pistols and guns. Some of the rarer talents even allow their users to perform feats that can be considered incredible even amongst the Chakra Users themselves: the Hyuuga Family that resides at the East Section of the Metropolis, for example—they are famous even amongst the people of other Sections due to their ability to, amongst other things, extend their natural field of vision hundreds and hundreds of times farther than normal.
It is estimated that for every one hundred babies born in the Metropolis, around twenty of them—on average—are born with Chakra. The fact that those twenty are born with Chakra within their body, however, does not necessarily mean that they skilled in using it: out of those twenty, it is estimated that in average only around five to six people are skilled enough in manipulating their Chakra for practical purposes (and to make a living out of it.) We call those who are born with Chakra but cannot use Chakra effectively as a Chakra Born, while the Chakra Borns that can use their Chakra are called Chakra Users (it may seem complicated, but it is pretty easy to remember actually.) Compared proportionately to the number of Chakra Borns and normal citizens of the Metropolis, the total number of Chakra Users is actually rather small.
It is important (and very interesting) to note that a Chakra Born individuals may be born from parents with no Chakras at all. Conversely, even if both the parents are Chakra Users, their offspring may turn out to be a normal baby with no Chakra. Variations of this unique phenomenon can be seen throughout the families of the Metropolis: some families may not have even one Chakra Born in their entire history of family trees while others may even have all members of their family trees as Chakra Borns and Chakra Users (example: the Hyuuga family mentioned before—such families are exceptionally rare, however.) Of course, there are also cases of middle-grounds, where only some members of the family trees are Chakra Borns or Chakra Users. As far as we can tell up until now, there is no set rules on how a person can have Chakra or not—you either have it, or you don't. We still have not yet discovered the scientific reasoning behind this randomness.
Due to their abilities that far surpass normal people, it is only natural then that there are differing opinions about the existence of Chakra Users in our Metropolis society. Though their abilities allow them to potentially bring great aid to the general populace, the same abilities unfortunately can also potentially cause great and unspeakable harm—after all, it is in human nature, however regrettable, to utilize great powers for one's own benefits. To that end, a law was made to specifically address this issue—a law that has been ratified by the Kages from all Sections of the Metropolis. It is the only law that can cross the borders between Sections and applicable uniformly to all of Metropolis without exceptions.
The law is called "The Chakra Decree." It states that all individuals born with Chakra must be reported immediately without fail to the CCO, or Chakra Control Office (their offices are spread throughout the entire Metropolis although reportedly only the Kages themselves are aware where their central databank is stored.) Once reported, a specially designed chip is then permanently implanted into the body of the concerned individual—a chip that serves many different functions. For example, the chip emits a special kind of unblockable transmission wave that allows the CCO to monitor the whereabouts of the person implanted with it regardless where his/her location is inside the Metropolis. The chip also serves as some sort of 'trigger' that will set off a warning to the CCO if the person implanted with it is using Chakra beyond the permitted levels given to him or her, so that 'correction measures' by CCO officers can be taken. The amount of levels permitted themselves are sometimes different from person to person: a regular Chakra User will typically be permitted a lower level usage of Chakra than a CCO officer—yes, there are Chakra Users with a job monitoring other Chakra Users—and the Chakra Users in the army guarding the safety of the Core are naturally granted a much higher Chakra usage permission.
However, regardless of the allowed permitted levels of Chakra usage, the law is very strict in that anyone using Chakra higher than their permitted levels are subject to immediate incarceration inside the infamous Chakra Prison, a containment facility fully controlled by the CCO that is specifically designed to imprison all criminally-charged Chakra Users in the Metropolis. Of course, any Chakra Users claiming that they are only Chakra Borns are immediately sent here without question—deliberate false claims like that is one of the most severe violations of all. Exceptions can be made, however. CCO may grant someone the privilege of changing his/her permitted levels, or allowing someone to exceed his/her usually permitted levels of Chakra usage—although both of these occasions are exceptionally rare. Chakra usage within the confines of CCO's many Chakra Academies throughout the Metropolis is also an exception, although any students caught using their Chakras haphazardly outside the Academies can and will also suffer the same penalty of getting incarcerated to the Chakra Prison.
The Director of CCO is a person selected by the Conclave—the one voice of all five Kages of the Metropolis—and answer only to it. The Conclave is also the only voice capable of overruling CCO's judgment, although in all the very long history of CCO the overruling only ever happened just once.
The current Director of CCO is a notable Chakra User himself, and his name is…"
The young lady closed the book as soon as she saw the name written on the book.
For some reason, she showed a meaningful expression on her face.
She seemed to be thinking of something.
…
Around a minute or so later, she sighed a bit and put the book away. She then proceeded to pick the next book—the last one on the stack.
Lost History of the Metropolis
…
…
"…All of us have lived in the Metropolis for as long as we can remember. It is the place we experience in our every available time: the place we see, touch, and feel in every hours, minutes, and seconds of our life.
However, the Metropolis still managed to keep many secrets from us—secrets that carry questions along with them but left the answers somewhere we cannot find. One of the biggest mysteries, without a doubt, relates to the history of the Metropolis itself.
Specifically, the origin of this incredibly massive city. It is simply puzzling that no matter how hard we search or how hard we look, we are still unable to find any records, notes, or even just a scribble of when exactly this city was first built and when people first stared to inhabit this place. We called those that built this place as 'The Forefathers', but we just simply do not know who they are and how they could possibly built something as magnificent as the Metropolis.
An analogy perhaps can be made: it is as if we are looking at our family tree but when we get to the topmost part, all that we can see are just blank frames with no pictures on it. It is like when you ask your grandfather who your great grandfather or mother is, he just simply shakes his head and answers, "I don't know."
It is a mystifying phenomenon. It is as if at some point during the past, the Forefathers decided to deliberately erase all the records and notes regarding who they are and how they build the Metropolis. The biggest mystery of all is the question that arises next: why did they do it?
The oldest record we can find in the Metropolis is about 500 years old, so the city itself has existed for at least half of century long. Unfortunately, the record itself—famously known as 'The Last Record'—gave us no important clues or information about the Forefathers. It is not even a record, actually—it is just a piece of paper that was found on a secluded part of the Metropolis—unbeknownst to many people—by accident. It contains no important information, and the only writing that is there is so cryptic that it feels like gibberish. The only virtue that makes it famous and considered as important is that it is the only written document found that dated back to half a century ago—a time frame that we all still completely and utterly blank about.
The writing on the paper is as follows:
…it is the cause, not the cure. The beginning of an end, not the beginning of a hope. Because of it, the world suffers for an eternity…
Obviously, we do not how what the writing means, and without any other documents to complement it, it may be that we will never be able to understand its meaning. The Last Record is now stored in the Central Library of Metropolis at the Center Section, under the jurisdiction of the Mizukage.
Theories abound about the meaning behind those words, although…"
The young woman's eyes were glued to the description of the Last Record on the book. She looked somewhat captivated by it—her eyes sparkled with fascination.
"It is the cause…" she repeated the words, "…Not the cure. The beginning of an end, not the beginning of a hope…"
She contemplated those words for a few moments, before continuing,
"Because of it… the world suffers for an eternity…"
…
She closed the book.
"What is this 'it'…? Hmm…" she muttered under her breath, her brains thinking.
After a few moments though, she appeared resigned to the fact that she couldn't find an answer to her curiosity.
"Ah well…" she sighed, "If even those clever scientists can't discover its meaning, I doubt my brain will do any good…"
She tapped her fingers on the table rhythmically as she casually stared at all the books she had just read.
"It's enough, I suppose," she said, "…time to head back."
She stood up from the seat.
She gave one last look at the books before finally heading on to the entrance of the bookshop.
An old man could be seen sitting at the counter reading a book near the entrance. When he caught the sight of the young lady approaching him, he immediately gave her his smile along with his full attention.
"Done already, miss?" he asked politely.
"Yes, thank you," the young lady answered, "Sorry if I am just reading and not buying,"
She grinned.
"Not a problem," the old man waved his hand dismissively, "It's not like anyone would want to buy my books anyways. Better to have someone reading them than to let them rot."
The young lady looked around a bit, before saying, "…Where's the robot?"
"Oh I turned it off for today," the old man said, "There's something wrong with its left arm: I want to bring it later tonight to the Repair Center to get it fixed."
"Huh," she replied, "No matter it looked kind of silly back then when it carried the books… like it was tilting to the left a bit."
She put a note on the table.
"Anyways," she said, "Unfortunately I don't have too much free time on my hands today so I can't be here for too long. Can't you send me any books containing information about these things?" she put her index finger on the note, "I need some additional info for my research project."
"And what are you researching about?" the old man picked the note, "…Never mind miss, not my business. I am sure it is something important…" he scanned the listed items one by one, "And I think—if I'm not mistaken—if these are the things that you are looking for, I do have the books that you need."
"Perfect," the young lady appreciatively, "Send them to the usual address, yes? I'll have them open the channel for you."
"Alright," the old man tucked the note on his pocket, "Although I must say, I still can't get over the fact that there's actually a youngster like you that likes reading old-fashioned paper books. Most youngsters I know prefer to read those digital ones or… or even those NET versions. You are the only youngster I know that still reads paper books."
"What can I say? I like touching papers," the young lady smiled, "Alright, see you then."
"See you later, miss," the old man smiled back.
She then proceeded to walk to the exit, but before she opened the door, she turned around and yelled to the old man,
"Hey old man!" she said, "Don't you dare to even think of closing this bookshop! There's no other place in the East Section that sells paper books, you know, and I will be very mad if you suddenly decide to keel over and fold!"
"Don't worry!" the old man laughed heartily, "I am not going to disappoint my one and only customer!"
The young lady gave him a smile again, before finally opening the exit door and walked towards the busy streets beyond.