Hello again! I'm glad most of you like the story. Today, 2B and 9S are going to explore a library. Read on to see what they encounter.
9S knocked on 2B's door. "2B, it's already in the morning. Are you still sleeping?"
A muffled noise came from the other side of the door. "Well, I'm coming in, regardless," announced 9S, finding the door unlocked.
Upon opening the door, he was greeted by a 2B brandishing her Virtuous Contract. No doubt she has been training all morning. "Well, what is it, 9S?" she asked as she lowered the sword.
"You don't need to be training, you know. Your plug-in chips are already programmed for combat. Besides, there aren't any threats around anymore,"
"Training just feels like a natural routine for me, 9S. I believe it's equivalent to how you feel about bathing; unnecessary, but it feels good," 2B stowed her sword away. "What if Bunker suddenly contacted us regarding an emergency?"
"Okay, okay, you win," said 9S, resigned.
"Now, don't tell me you've barged in just to tell me that I shouldn't be training, or I'll make you my target," 2B's sharp blue eyes didn't make that sound like a joke. She decided not to wear the HUD, as humans she'd passed by would randomly ask her about her ability to see despite the fact that her eyes are obscured.
"Oh yeah, that. Did you know that humans stored information not only in chips and hard drives, but in things called books as well? There are a ton of them being kept in a place called a 'library', so I was wondering if you'd like to come with me, to check them out," 9S's eyes were shining as he was talking about the books.
2B blinked. She had initially planned to go running afterwards, but after seeing an enthusiastic 9S, she didn't want to ruin his mood.
"Sure, let me change my clothes first,"
9S nodded as he went out of her room, closing the door after him. 2B opened her closet, scrutinizing the neatly folded clothes, and her YoRHa uniform. It was getting warmer outside, but still cold enough for a person to wear a jacket, as summer was just beginning to work its magic. 'Time to try on the clothes we bought the other day,' thought 2B.
When 2B exited her room, 9S was daydreaming on the kitchen's island, drinking chocolate milk. Ever since he ate the chocolate waffle, he's been obsessed with anything chocolate. He stared at his companion for a little too long.
2B wore a red checkered knee-length pinafore, a white button-up shirt with long sleeves underneath it. A flower hairclip was pinned on her fringe, revealing both of her sparkling blue eyes.
Of course, she's beautiful. 9S's heart rate skipped a beat once more. To him, she'd look beautiful no matter what. He, on the other hand, wore a grey vest over a white shirt, paired with a pair of beige pants. A red scarf encompassed his neck.
Operator 21O was already away, exploring the world which was so new and full of possibilities to her.
According to 9S's map, they would have to take a transporter known to the humans as a bus to get to the library. The fare wasn't much.
When they were at the bus stop, 2B noticed that they blended in pretty well with the humans. But there was a subtle difference, which lies in their hair colour. According to 9S, they look like human teenagers. But then again, no human teenager has white hair. The lightest hair colour she'd ever seen on a human was platinum blonde, similar to 21O's. People would just assume that 2B and 9S dyed their hair, though that wasn't as popular as it used to be several millennia ago.
9S, however, was interested in how the climate changes as the years progresses. According to his studies, they're known as seasons. There were four of them, and only summer has hot weather. He was also amazed at how the world went dark when it was around 6 to 7 in the evening; and would light up at almost the same time in the mornings. When 2B and 9S were assigned to missions on the Earth, it was almost always in the daylight hours.
Both of the androids were absorbed in their own introspection, enjoying each other's company, as well as waiting for the bus.
They finally arrived at their destination. A large building stood before them. "Look, 2B, that's the library," said 9S, full of excitement.
The pair walked up the stairs to the library's door. According to the directory, there were 4 floors in the library. The ground floor contained children's fiction; the first floor was all fictional books; the second floor had non-fiction while the third floor offered media. 9S read the directory aloud.
"9S, what's the difference between fiction and non-fiction?" asked 2B.
"Oh, fiction is a completely made up story, an example being about a story Pascal tells the machine children. A non-fiction is all factual, like the history of the Machine War. That's what I got from the databanks, at least. We should see for ourselves, though," explained 9S.
They began by exploring the children's fiction. There weren't many people, as 9S thought there would be. He suddenly remembered that Adam and Eve used to read books. 'Why am I suddenly remembering that now?' he thought. He shook his head, and concentrated on the shelves.
The books were thin and most of them contained colourful illustrations. 9S chose a book with a tortoise and a rabbit on the front cover, and took a seat on one of the small chairs instead of sitting at one of the tables. It was almost too small for him. He thought it would set the atmosphere. The book narrated a story between a rabbit and a tortoise having a race. Although the rabbit had an advantage, it decided to sleep under a tree in the middle of the race, thinking that the tortoise will never catch up. However, the tortoise crawled slowly but surely towards the end, and ultimately won the competition.
"This is an interesting story, don't you think, 2B?" 9S was satisfied with what he had read, and would like to read more.
"Other than some pretty pictures in here, I don't see any other interesting things," commented 2B.
9S stared at 2B in bewilderment, until it struck him. "2B, could it be that… you can't read?"
2B looked at the books arranged neatly on the shelves. "I don't know, but I guess so,"
"Then, do you know that the Goliath class we fought together when we first met was called Engels?" 9S tried to confirm his theory.
"No, I didn't know until another Goliath introduced itself after we repaired it," admitted 2B. 'Wait, isn't there something strange here?' mused 2B. '9S said he only managed to back up his memories till the point we first met, didn't he?' She decided to keep quiet about this.
"If that's so, then I'll program a chip that lets you read," said 9S. Pod 153 usually translated the words for him, so one day, he decided to copy the program and move it into a chip. It wasn't an easy process, but he managed, somehow. Still, the Assistance Pod was still glad to read words aloud for him if he wanted to. He kind of missed the Pods, as they stayed in the Bunker instead of following their masters.
"But first, I'll grab some more books. They're pretty good. I can read them to you, if you want too," 9S got up from the chair to put the book away, and began to browse the shelves. He saw a particularly interesting book, but someone else's hand was faster than his was.
"Hey, I wanted that…" 9S paused as he recognized the person. Long white hair tied up into a ponytail, glasses perched in front of her blue eyes, and a mole below her mouth, much like 2B's.
"A2! What are you doing here? I almost didn't recognize you," exclaimed 9S.
A2 shushed the boy. "Keep your voice down, 9S. This is a library."
9S nodded, swallowing.
"I know 2B is here. Let's sit at one of the tables, and then we'll talk," said A2.
2B was surprised when she saw the prototype android. 9S sat next to her, while A2 sat to their opposite.
A2 sighed. "Now that you're here, are you going to report me to the YoRHa authorities or kill me on the spot?"
"Why would we do any of them in the first place?" queried 2B.
"Because I'm a wanted android, a deserter, et cetera, obviously," A2 answered.
"But you still haven't told us what you're doing here," interrupted 9S.
"Fine, I'll answer that first. Basically, I work here. I oversee the books here, like which books are being borrowed and all that. Humans call me a librarian. Someone has to take up the job, you know,"
9S gasped. "I can take these books home?"
"Yeah, provided that you have a library card," A2 showed them a card. "It looks like this, by the way,"
"How can I get one?" 9S asked impatiently.
"You'll have to fill up this form available at the reception, send it in, and wait for a few days until we mail the card to you," A2 narrated the process.
"Aww, I wanted to bring some of the books home today if I can," 9S's eagerness faded a bit.
"I suppose I can make an exception, YoRHa No. 9 Type S," A2's eyes flashed mischievously.
"We won't report you, A2, we promise. Not that we planned to do that in the first place," 9S said with all honesty he could muster.
"What 9S says is true," 2B backed up.
"Good," A2 was never worried about that at all; she was sure that B-mode could wipe out 2B and 9S if they really were here to arrest her.
"What's with the glasses, A2? Androids don't have long or short-sightedness, and I highly doubt that's a HUD," 2B changed the subject.
"I just wear it for fun, okay? It suits my working environment, by the way," A2 looked away.
"It looks good on you, though," commented 9S.
They were all silent for a moment.
"I guess I'll have to go arrange some of the books now," A2 got up. "You guys will come back here some other day, won't you?"
"Of course I will," said 9S. "I mean we. Right, 2B?"
2B nodded, albeit after a long pause.
"It's okay, 2B. I'll program that chip for you, I promise," reassured 9S.
"What chip are you guys talking about?" asked A2 inquisitively.
"2B doesn't have a plug-in chip that lets her read, so I'll have to program one when we get home,"
A2 left, telling the pair to wait for her. Having nothing to do while they waited, 9S decided to read some of the stories to 2B. Another memory resurfaced. 2B has once told him that he has a calming voice. He paused abruptly, mid sentence.
"What's wrong, 9S?" 2B was concerned. 'They've been happening a lot to 9S, I wonder if I should report that to 21O,'
Before 9S could answer, A2 returned, a chip in her hand. It saved 9S from the embarrassment of having to explain that to 2B, at least. A2 handed the chip to 2B.
"Now you can read the Chaos Language with no problems,"
"A2, who programmed that for you?" 9S was curious as not many people can make plug-in chips, not even the humans.
"A person who regularly comes in here to read storybooks for the children," said A2 enigmatically. "They aren't here today, though,"
2B installed it. She opened a book, and the jumble of symbols she previously thought were gibberish suddenly held some meaning. She read it all, savouring the words.
"Humans have a very complex mind," she concluded.
"I knew you would like to read!" 9S cheered.
"9S, I'll kick you out if you speak this loudly again," chastised A2.
9S apologized. Rounding up all the books he wanted to read, he handed them over to A2 so that she could process them before he can take them home. Their due dates were in three weeks.
When 2B and 9S were about to open the front door, A2 stopped them. "If any of the books are damaged whatsoever, or if you return them late, you'll have me to answer to."
"Okay, A2, I'll keep them in mind. We're almost going to miss the bus. We'll see you around," 9S pulled 2B's hand, and they set off towards the bus stop, leaving A2 to stare after them.
A2 being a librarian is a reference to route C. That's when I realized that androids don't know what a library is, thus this chapter was created. A2 reading the archives in the library made me wonder if she actually likes books, so I went with the assumption that she does. See you in the next chapter!