Roommate Wanted. No Betrayers.

Chapter 6

They sat there, hand in hand for some time. The tension of the confession lifted and was replaced by a comfortable quiet, the two of them enjoying the park and each other's company, only briefly interrupted by Mumei excitedly pointing out dogs, squirrels and whatever other animals strayed into view.

Eventually though, Mumei had to return to work and the two walked to the library, hand in hand still. The evening sun hung low in the February sky and Kronii wished that time could stop in this perfect moment.

But time doesn't stop for anyone and eventually they reached the library. The two girls stopped outside and looked at each other.

"Guess this is where I leave you." Kronii said, her grip on Mumei's hand no looser.

"Yeah..." Mumei said, her eyes not wavering from Kronii's. "Or?"

"Maybe I could, do some reading."

"You'd probably prefer to do it in a quiet spot though, right?"

"Yeah... Somewhere secluded, where I could really concentrate."

"If only this library had a quiet back room that will be guaranteed to be empty in say, an hour and a half when my Senpai clocks out for the day and leaves me alone to close up and sort through the returns... a quiet back room with the door code 53428."

"Yeah... If only." Kronii smiled. "Anyway, I think I might... come read in the library since I'm here anyway."

"That's a good idea. Knowledge is important." Mumei nodded.

The two let go of each others hands and walked into the library in single file, Mumei in the front heading towards the desk while Kronii peeled off and headed for the shelves.

Her heart pounded with excitement as she looked over the offerings, eventually finding a manga she'd read a couple times before that she knew she could lose an hour and a half to.

Losing said hour and a half was not the easiest task however. Though she had expected her heart would calm down as the time approached she found herself worrying ceaselessly. She'd found a seat near the back of the place away from most of the people perusing or reading, but even the slightest noise was enough to set her off.

"Um." A voice came from her side, causing her to half jump out of her skin. "Hey there miss the library is closing in 10 minutes and... Wait, is that Gin Tama?"

Kronii turned to look at the voice's source, a short girl with long straight purple hair and deep cerulean eyes that were locked onto the manga in her hands. "Uh, yeah."

"How are you liking it?"

"Oh, I mean this isn't my first time reading it... But I mean, it holds up on the reread."

The girl nodded enthusiastically. "It does doesn't it?"

"Ina-Senpai!" The familiar voice of Mumei came from Kronii's left side, also startling her. "This is my friend I told you about. She's just hanging around until my shift is over. That's alright right?"

Ina looked Kronii up and down, before shrugging. "Well she likes Gin Tama and you're vouching for her Mumei so she's okay with me. Kronii, right? I'm Ina. Nice to meet you."

"And you." Kronii said, regaining some composure and smiling at Ina. "I've heard a lot about you."

"Oh? Well, I've heard quite a bit about you. Perhaps we can exchange information at some point?"

"Yes, yes, you've both heard of each other." Mumei said, grabbing Ina by the arm and dragging her away.

Ina laughed quietly. "See you later, Kronii!"