Daigaku no Toshokan De (HIATUS)

[kuro808]

History: I used to work at a library as my first permanent job and this fic will present a slightly fabricated story of this adventure, now the characters may be slightly altered for better understanding but the main aspect is that I was trying to compare real life with MM characters, so enjoy

Chapter 1

“Why does this happens to me?”  Eri shouted out at the top of her lungs after her failed interview.

It was her second year in college and her college fund had ran short after the unexpected increase in tuition in the previous semester.  After burning through the resources of the campus employment office, she decided to take a break in the library. 

The cool library was a relief with the humid weather lately and with the computer lab inside, she had ventured into for the millionth time to research for an opening.  During that time, an old man passed by looking over the shoulder of the students and saw Eri with a depressed look on her face.

“Are you looking for a job?”  He asked with a smile on his face.

“Yes, I can't seem to find anything that will fit me.”  His smile grew wider as the first job was his request for student workers.

“Well apply online and we can set up an appointment, do you live on campus?”  Eri shook her head but he knew she lived close.

Eri clicked on the link and saw that the job had no previous requirements but in the description, it gave her a weird feeling: SHELVE BOOKS.

She printed out the information and gave him a call.  He picked it up and his voice gave Eri a little encouragement after the bad day. 

Eri left the library with a smile as she walked back to the apartments, it was slowly become cooler with the setting of the sun and ventured over to the nearby convenience store for her dinner.

“Kamei-san, let's gather up some stuff for us.”  A familiar voice entered from the back and looked to find the woman in the store.  Reina popped out of the aisle with an armful of noodle cups and piled it on top of the counter in front of the cashier.  Eri pulled the spicy noodle cups off the counter for a more milder selection.

“Aw, come on Eri-chan, you know I eat more than you.”  Reina begged toward the turtle but she didn't budge as Eri emptied out her wallet filled with coins.

“I know but we need to budget until we can find stable jobs.”  Eri informed the younger woman and  grabbed the bag from the counter, leading the way back to their apartment.

The duo started to prep for dinner as usual with the kettle on the stove filled with water and each alternating to their baths.  Since it was Reina's day to go first, Eri had stayed to watch the kettle and prevent it from boiling over. 

It wasn't always easy for them living together but after the first month of the quirks they each possessed. They grew close as friends and they each had a common interest of television shows.  They would spend time watching dramas and just discuss the characters and storylines for days until the next episode. 

Then, it lead to a progressive relationship where each had realized they needed to fine employment soon enough.  Eri, who was the non-experienced worker, was desperate in finding a job, lucky for the man who gave her the interview, it would give her a chance for a job interview.

Reina came back when the kettle whistled and poured the boiling water into her container while Eri jumped into the bathroom.  Eri liked taking time to clean herself up and would always end up with soggy noodles.  So, Reina would wait until Eri came out to pour her container, and worked on her homework to pass the time.

It was an unlikely relationship, but both could adapt to each others downfalls and in the end it was the start of what they saw as the springboard to success.

[kuro808]

Chapter 2

“Reina, you can pour the water for me now.”  Eri walked out with her hair in a bun covered by a towel.

The younger woman got the container and finish the request as Eri stared at the time waiting for her meal to be done.  With her textbook next to the microwave, she decided to read into the chapter about resource planning.  She was a good student from an average school so getting free money was out of the question because of the family's income but she was willing to put in work majoring in business administration.  Eri was not a fan of numbers or crowds, so it was perfect just to learn a little bit about business and hope for the best.

“Eri, it has been ten minutes, you better start eating.”  Reina warned the turtle as she open to a warm ramen container and was disappointed that it had turned soggy.

Eri ate it hastily trying to avoid the water near her as she savored the as much of the firm noodles left in the soup.  Reina kept a close watch on the turtle while she skimmed through her studies and occasionally looking up at her to find she had accomplished the container.

“Eri, how was your interview?”  Eri looked down and took her book to the couch.

“I see.  Well, I know you will find something soon, because I might quit because I don't have enough hours to hold up for my tuition.  So, it may put more strain on us.”  Eri with a look of disappointment, tried to hold her smile to Reina.

“Reina, I have another interview set up tomorrow, so I'll take care of it soon enough, you are working hard enough for both of us.  If you need me to do anything, just ask, I'll try my best to help you while we both get through the years.”  Eri comforted the kitty as they both went deep into the night studying.

It was close to midnight and both wobbled to the floor with books on top of their faces, when they heard something rumbling outside.  They peeked outside to find a man wielding a knife and closed the door to their apartment.  Reina's phone rang and she hid into the bathroom, muzzling the ringtone, and heard the voice of security of the building.

Within minutes, they heard sirens of the police, both were peeking through the hole to find the man on their floor.  Reina locked the door and closed the lights to not attract attention to their apartment, he started pounding onto their neighbors' door, and yelling into the room.  Then, a struggle was happening near their door and the bodies were being slammed as he wiggled through their grip twice before being restrained by the officers.

After the excitement, both went into their rooms and went to sleep as the early morning antics quieted down and the night grew to a close.  Eri was rolling around in her bed with her excitement of another interview but the angst of failing again was weighing on her mind.

“I cannot fail Reina... she has worked hard for both of us with her work load becoming heavier, I need to land this job.  He seemed kinda creepy and the smell of tobacco filled his breath but I can handle that, but I wonder what type of person he is looking for as a worker.”  Eri began to ponder and walked over to the bathroom to wash her face and looked at the mirror as the image of her parents appeared behind her.

“I am trying but finding a job is difficult, please give me a little more time.”  Eri bowed and walked out to find Reina rubbing her eyes waiting for the turtle to finish up her business.

“Kamei, go to bed, you are worrying too much.”  Reina cracked a smile providing the comfort Eri needed to sleep.

[abok]

New Fic from you!!!!

It's been a long time since i comment on your fic kurosawa-san but i'm gonna make up to it....

I sense Tanakamei in this fic....

Poor Eri though.... Failing interviews.... But i love her determination, especially when she said that she didn't want to fail Reina....

She was a good student

Reina is good student.... Now that shocking....

Update fast kurosawa-san.....

[kuro808]

^ Sorry for the confusion it was meant to talk about Kamei not Reina, although I should put more background on Reina though

now the fact is.... it won't be a TanaKamei fic :walk away:

[kuro808]

Chapter 3

Eri woke up to the early morning sun and found Reina still occupied with her pillow, she turned on the stove to heat up the kettle again for their usual breakfast ramen.  Since she had an early class, she had to make the hot water for both of them.  While Eri hurried through her preparations, Reina dragged herself to the table setting up the two containers for both.

“Eri, don't sleep in class, you have cute snoring but the professors hate that.”  Reina said jokingly as Eri  grabbed the hot water for herself.

“I see.  Well I gotta go, so pour yours when you are ready.”  Eri grabbed her knapsack and ran out to the streets on her way to school.

Eri didn't appreciate the walk up the hill to the location of all her classes but it was all worth it at the end of the day with the beautiful scenery.  The first class was accounting, where it usually bored her and she never expected to take one with dry topics but she kept herself up with the rhythm of the professor's voice.

As the first class wrapped up, Eri looked at her notes and found it off the page onto the desk, she erased it and then wrote it on her notebook before anyone else notice the panic reaction on her face.  Eri ran out of her class and into the next class which was her favorite: General Business Practice

The usual aspects is to sit back and her the lecture go on and on without end but her creativity in her writing always brought an interesting aspect to the class.  Her unorthodox view always brings together the class as foolish yet the sort of practice that was appreciated by the professor.  She always viewed the aspect of working together as she took the tail end, tying up the loose ends, and her group would come in last but always getting the best grade.

“Kamei-san, how do you feel about this?”  The professor looked at her, third row, left side of the classroom with her head on the wall.

“Um... I think it is fine to take money but I guess investing the money was an intelligent idea if the return was well worth the opportunity.” Eri blurted out as the professor smiled at her.

“Well you are naive but at least you wouldn't spend it on something like clothing or jewelry, so it may seem wrong but if you keep investing you would try to give back before anyone catches you, right?”  The class nodded to the last part and walked out.

Eri knew she had about four hours to spare before the interview so she walked back home to an empty apartment.  She sat their looking at the television picking her brain apart for the meeting, she knew he smoked so any questions would always induce a choking reaction from her.  But she closed her eyes for a bit walking through the interview until it was time to leave to meet with him.

“Well, here we go.” Eri walked back onto the campus and went against the crowd until to the steps of the library.

Eri looked up and mumbled the encouraging words to herself until she got motivated to approach the circulation desk.

“May I see Mr. Mori?”  Eri asked.

The student walked to the back and contacted the person that she asked for the interview.  He came and invited her to sit with him at his desk.  Before any questions was asked, she filled out the application and she knew it was her job to lose.

[oddball]

interesting start to you new fic Kuro, looking forward to see how this turns out!!!

[kuro808]

@oddy thnx

Chapter 4

She faced her interviewer with a concentrated look, she stared into his eyes as he kept them on her paper until he was ready to talk.  Eri's nervous demeanor was a bad poker face that any person could look through but Mr. Mori gave a smile that relaxed the atmosphere.

“Okay, as long as you can work nights, it is alright by me to be hired.”  Eri nodded as she began to think about Reina being alone.

“Well, I am happy that you have very lax rules, many jobs wouldn't allow such flexibility.”  Eri stated with his face gleaming.

“Okay, we have a deal, I will set up the schedule, and you shall start on Saturday, it be a good time to learn the job when it isn't busy, is that okay?”  Eri nodded as she was ready to shoot out of her seat and to shout her achievement out to the world.

Eri was escorted out of the office, onto the library lobby, and she skipped back home with a smile that no one could break.  The setting sun made her nostalgic about her difficulty finding a job that would suit her.  She ran home like the wind, she arrived to Reina napping on the couch, Reina looked at the happy turtle and instantly hugged her.

“Congratulations!”  Reina yelled as Eri started to tear up.

“What's wrong?  Aren't you happy?”  Reina asked the over emotional woman.

“I am happy, very happy, just overwhelmed that I have this job.”  Eri gave her reason through her look at Reina.

“Hooray, Eri!”  They both cheered with their loudest and made everyone know that Eri had landed the job.

A few days later, with her nerves at an all-time high, Eri took couple deep breaths, and decided to walk with Reina up to the library.  Since, it was Saturday, few students would step on campus, although the baseball players were actively warming up for their game and a few of their home runs would come at the foot of their building.  The duo were hesitantly observing the quiet campus and were on alert for any weird people during the mid-morning.

Eri was also hungry and with most areas closed, she had to hunt for a vending machine that would help her get food to settle the butterflies.  With plenty of machines around, it would be an easy find, and the only one she kept her attention on was one with bread.  It was dream to try out at least one machine while she was a student and with extra change, she decided to take her chance on a melon pan.

“Hmm, I guess this can hold me over.”  Eri said to herself as Reina kept her pace with her book in hand.

Eventually with food in her, she got to the entrance, and glanced at Reina who was happy for her friend to get a job.  However, it also meant less time together, but she was willing to sacrifice any time to be with her.  Reina broke a smile on her face and encouraged the turtle to go into the office to start her training.

Eri walked into the office to find another person in his place, he was a chubby, young man who had a worker neat to him.

“Mr. Mori told me about you, the name is Asano, you can call me Koji, and this is our student leader Iida, she has been here for a while.  Iida will take you upstairs to introduce you to everyone else, we are currently on break so it might be a good time to get to know everyone working today.”  He explained as Eri followed the tall woman upstairs.

“Don't worry, you should have fun.”  She gave Eri a little encouragement before meeting the rest of the group.

[oddball]

I'm happy that Eri got a job, and it seems as though Iida has turned up in this tory too  hmm, I hope Reina dosn't get too lonely though.....

[kuro808]

Chapter 5

Eri walked up to the group sitting on the floor, minding their own business, as Kaorin stared into the eyes of the others, and drew one of the girl's attention.

“You must be the new worker, I am Rika.  There is only a few people working and most likely you can get to know us better on the weekends.”  The older woman looked at the other two who were still deep in conversation.

Eri sat next to them as they both talked about the history class they were in, with Koji approaching  his stools.  Kaorin sat next to another woman with long, blondish hair, while Rika stood next to the book carts, they paid attention toward the man, and looked at his sheet.

“Well, we have a new employee, her name is Kamei Eri, she is a sophomore majoring in business, same as Rika, I think.”  Rika raised her hand in agreement.

“Thank you for that, Rika.  Kaorin is in her last year for Japanese studies, so how long has it been?”

“Six years....”  Eri giggled as she looked at the two swaying to their own beat.

“Those two, they are majoring in music, they are extremely talented but it doesn't apply to the classroom.”  The two nervously laughed as they showed Eri their hands filled with notes.

“The last person is Mari, she is a sociology major, she is graduating next semester, and applying for graduate school.”  Koji finished up the introductions and then another woman came from the aisles.

“Hey Koji.”  She looked at Eri and smiled as she dropped off her bag into the back room.

“The name is Yoshizawa, everyone knows me as Yossie, I am a history major but getting by with my military training here.”  She shook hands with the turtle and stood by the bookshelf waiting for instructions.

“Okay, everyone is here so Kaorin will help out Eri with shelving books, everyone else will just continue on from before the break.”  Koji looked at everyone and handed off a cart to each person, leaving Eri with the tall woman.

Eri trailed the Kaori to the place to shelve the books, she looked down to see how the books were arranged.  Eri was not the best at being tidy but it was a chance to impress the people around her with her change in attitude.  She watched Kaori put the first book into the hole and looked at the label to pout the next book away but her mind went blank as she looked at the call numbers.

“Just follow me and I'll show you how it works.”  Kaori walked over to the start of the bookshelf and looked at the start of the number as it was in order from right to left and the growing numbers was creating a unique pattern in her head.

“I see.”  She quickly got the first book into the right area and ended up putting one more away before coming back to see Koji.

“Eri, now we just need to find books that are lost from circulation, here's a simple one, if you need help just ask one of the others to help you or you can see me.”  He left her a list of books to find for the rest of the hour.

Eri roamed around looking for the section she was assigned to look, it was deep in the library's dark section.  She saw a man sitting on the carpet with the flickering lights, she entered into the aisle with his concentration on the page.  Eri was nervous to be near him but as she saw the number on her page, she stared at the call number and wrote not found.

“Sorry, I will move out of your way.”  The man left and Eri continued on her job as if no one was there to start with.

Eri returned back with no books and sat down by herself trying to not get any attention, but Yossie decided to sit down next to her and just try to keep her company for the break.

[xyukie56]

Is it supposed to have two 4th chapter? 

LOL 

[oddball]

Hmm, so our Eri is really quite shy and want's to keep out of everyones way, why do I feel as though the others wont let that happen though?!

[kuro808]

Is it supposed to have two 4th chapter? 

LOL 

I went by my title rather than looking back thnx for the heads up

[Sora-chan]

its revolving around my favorite Member with the help of my second favorite too. So its all good. keep it up! im enjoying it.

[slasha]

I just read the whole thing for the first time and I'm liking it. I can't wait to see how it turns out

[kuro808]

@oddy: well I took it from a POV that she has to earn their respect but you have certain ones who are open and others who are just as reserved as her

@Sora: Eri was a close resemblance to the real main character and Reina was the closest for a best friend

@slasha: I think it may be long in terms of chapters

Chapter 6

“Eri-chan, do you live with somebody?”  Yossie nudged the turtle as she zoned out on the books.

“Yeah... She has been my roommate for two years.”  Eri smiled with her attention on the books.

“You guys must be close like mates...”  Eri turned toward Yossie as Rika began to gather the attention of music majors.

“Friends actually, I never could really like her because she doesn't like my mess and I don't like her flashy clothing.  One time, she tried to change my pajamas in bed because she thought it was too plain.”  Yossie laughed as Koji returned with another piece of paper.

Eri took the piece and looked back at Koji for instructions, she took the elevator up to the next floor, and toured the area to find the shelves.  After a few minutes, she ran into Reina who was hiding out in her studying.

“How's the job?”  She asked with a cat-like smile and a straw resting on her bottom lip.

“It's okay, I am getting somethings but still learning.”  Reina picked up her English book and took her seat across of the window.

Eri slowly scanned through the shelves for the books, carefully not overlooking the page, and then she found the book.  Gleefully, she showed it to the kitty and both cheered for the success, Eri ran down to the office, and dropped the book onto the return shelf before walking back to Koji.  With her second page done, Eri took the next cart in line with Kaori trailing her with the following cart.  She watched for a few minutes before letting her continue on her own.  Despite her speed, Eri could place the books in the right place but soon after, Kaori pulled her to the side.

“You need to sort them first.”  Kaori instructed but Eri didn't take her words and Kaori watched her helplessly struggle to finish up the cart.

Yossie decided to pick up the rest and sort them on the empty shelf to wrap up the day.  Koji let them off to roam until it approached closing.  Reina sat in the lobby to cheer up the turtle after a rough first day, but the lack of organization cost the team time and the depressed feeling weighed on her.

With ten minutes left til closing, the group came back together for instructions on closing.  It was a simple task of sweeping through the library for people and acknowledging the patrons to the ending of the library day.  Eri partner up with Mari to track the library, the duo walked through the floor to find the stragglers.  They managed to inform the lone person on the floor and tracked back to the rendezvous place early.

“Eri, how was the first day?”  Koji asked with the rest keying her attention on her.

“It was nice, sorry for being the weight today, I will become better with time.”  Eri bowed and Yossie bowed back to accept her apology.

“I believe in you, we all do, maybe when the busy days come, we can pick up the slack until you catch on.”  The rest echoed the same message and waited until the time for their release from duty.

For those few minutes of self-reflection, Eri felt warm with her new co-workers, it was a feeling that she didn't have to try to hard to impress, but it was the family that she never had and with her sisters, it would be hard to not like them.  She left work with a smile and Reina became comfortable with Eri working on her own.  The evening was filled with Eri accepting the congratulations of the kitty and ending with the bliss of a hard day of work.

[oddball]

It's nice to see Eri beginig to get on with the other members and feeling like she belongs there, even though she made a mistake, nice of Reina to wait for her too! 

[kuro808]

@oddy: in truth I had my father but a friend was always helpful, lucky for my friend who ended up.... we will wait for that

Chapter 7

The two manage to last up til midnight before their exhausted bodies gave out to resting.  Luckily, Eri had to work in the afternoon with cleaning up becoming their biggest issue.  Reina understood how Eri works with rubbish because she didn't like to clean up at all and forced her to vacuum while the kitty was sweating with getting the rubbish.  As soon as Reina got every piece, she tied up the bag, and left it outside the door.

“Eri, you can start vacuuming~”  Reina called out as Eri took out the small vacuum and let it run before starting on the floor.

Reina ventured outside while the turtle was in the midst with the battle with power cord.  She managed to see their neighbor walk out with her friend.  Both were seniors and loved to tease them with their clothing and food with their boyfriends' income.  However, one woman was staring into the room with Eri's battle becoming a fast defeat for the turtle.

“I can't believe he hired her, she is such a klutz!”  She mumbled under her breath catching the kitty's attention and she grabbed her by the shirt to get her feelings.

“Why do you have to keep looking down on us?  We never did anything to you.”  Reina's fists was now inches from her face as the other interfered.

“Miki-chan, let it go, you said you needed workers, now you have one in her so you have your wish.  Let's go before we get stranded again.”  Reina let her off as she ran in to untangle Eri from the mess of wires.

“You never fail to amaze me.”  Reina joked as Eri rolled out and popped back to her feet.

“It started with my leg and then it started to crawl up until I felt constricted.”  Eri replied back as she took the reins again.

Reina suddenly heard a noise outside seeing a tall woman with blonde hair holding an envelope, she opened the door to Reina's consent and sat on the couch as she waited for Eri's attention.  After a few minutes, Reina interrupted her rhythm and showed her to Yossie, who was holding her name tag.

“Koji forgot to tell you about name tags, we are always suppose to wear one as student workers, Kaori had to do some business so she left me with your name tag.  Anyways, I'll see you tomorrow, I have a day off so enjoy your second day.”  Yossie gave off the envelope and waived goodbye as Eri thanked her for the item.

Eri opened the envelope to a lanyard and her name tag, it was shiny in the morning light, and made her overjoyed with the official employee name tag.  She knew that with anything important, she would bound to lose it so she shoved it into her small bag that she would take to work because it was the first thing she remembers to grab before going out.

After cleaning, the duo was hungry but with most of the facilities closed, they had to rummaged for food in the fridge, which was empty but they had extra money to spend because it was meant for saving purposes and ran to the grocery store for fruits and vegetables to counter the constant barrage of ramen for their meals.  As they entered the store, Mr. Mori's face caught them off-guard and scared Eri senseless, after a moment of screaming, Eri greeted the boss, and slid by to their destination.

Without knowing the time, Eri began to panic and looked down to find she had an hour to get to work, Eri ran back home to dress for work.  With her switch of a shirt from a blouse, she paced up to the library with their doors opening, she took a seat outside to count down the time before punching in.

[oddball]

Reina leaping to the defence of her friend her, hmm, I wonder if Miki will become a problem though?

[Sora-chan]

You should just totally slip in a cute Tanakamei moment lol *ahem* but yeah the battle Eri was having sounds so LIKE her lol! it was beyond cuteeeeeee  <3

[kuro808]

@oddy Miki will be a thorn for now

@sora I should but because of the relationship, they will not be doing that but maybe this chapter will give a clue to who Eri is paired with for this fic

Chapter 8

Mr. Mori and Koji were waiting for the student workers to punch in, seeing Eri gave them a sense of relief that she was willing to keep working for them.  Eri sat at the computer looking into space with her hands by her side.  Yossie came walking in a few minutes later greeting the three before she got her slide card to punch into work.

“Thanks Yossie for delivering the ID card.”  Koji bowed to her as she sat by the turtle waiting for the last woman.

A minute before they started work, came in Miki, who was the arrogant of all the workers, it irritated Koji that she was never early and her work ethic was as rotten as her attitude.  Yossie was the only one who could ever match up to her based on the wits but always refused to fight her in a battle.  Miki stung the turtle with her eyes and Eri trailed the group up to the book area.

“Mori-san, how many more are we gonna hire?”  He shrugged his shoulders and gave her a stack of books.

“Eri, Miki tends to strike any person as a bitch but she just wants to hide her soft side, her boyfriend knows how she acts in reality.  Luckily, the worst of the group hasn't met you yet.”  Eri tilted her head.

“There... is worst?”  Yossie nodded to the turtle before getting her stack.

“When you work the next time, she will be around, she doesn't like anyone to cross her but she loves anyone not cuter than her.”  Eri giggled as she followed Yossie to the area where she needed to shelve.

The turtle grew conscious of her co-workers with all the warnings, she was happy for the job but if the people are going to intimidate her, it would not be worth working any more longer.  Within her daze, she felt hands on her midsection and turned to find Miki with a smirk on her face.  Eri wanted to ask nicely to let her go but Miki seemed to enjoy the feature that she loved with her co-workers: their backsides.

“You are so cute but you are still a klutz, so don't you get in my way, unless you want my hands on your firm backside, then again you seem to be my favorite.”  Miki smiled before walking back to the bosses.

Eri felt a shiver down her spine as Miki's smile burned into her mind, she rarely had been violated and for the first time, it scared her to see the woman face to face.  Yossie catching the back end ran up to Miki and slapped her across the face.  Eri followed the older woman but it was too late to stop it and she saw Miki's smile again.

“Yossie, I know you like protecting everyone, but you can't, we both know that.  Eri, sorry but that is how I greet everyone because it makes everyone alert at work but if you don't like it, you know what you can do.”  Miki grabbed her next set and walked off.

“I won't quit.”  Eri said under her breath as she returned the favor with rage, surprising Miki from behind, causing her to drop her books.

Eri looked down at the shocked female and delivered her crooked smile to catch her attention even more.  Miki shook her head and picked up her books before walking off.  Yossie kept her laughter long enough to make sure Eri understood that it was an interesting thing to do and to imprint into Miki's mind that Eri is not as malleable as she thought.