S: Sorry for the late chapter and the fact that this is on the shorter side.
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Hiruko stood in the middle of a large dome-like building; all around him were civilians and shinobi alike who sat with books in hand.
Taking a deep breath, Hiruko walked over to a woman who sat behind a half-circular desk buried in papers.
Reaching the table, Hiruko was met with a middle-aged woman with a perpetual frown on her face as rimmed circular glasses sat neatly on her pointed nose, never leaving the stack of papers in front of her.
Behind her glasses sat two hazel brown eyes that held dark bags beneath them. Her hair was a nice olive green with streaks of grey, a sign of her aging self.
"Um, hello, Miss. I was wondering if there was a specific process concerning borrowing books.
"Hiruko asked a bit awkwardly as he stared at the unflinching woman. 'I really should have learned about this process before coming here. I probably look like an idiot right now.'
The woman, hearing this, glanced up from her papers as she analyzed Hiruko's figure before returning to her papers.
"Is this supposed to be a joke? Hiruko, you've been here hundreds of times, and you…forgot the rules?" she asked, her tone filled with both annoyance and tiredness.
'Shit,' Hiruko thought before responding back with a forced smile. "Yes…?" Hiruko said as he mentally cursed his luck for running into someone who knew the past Hiruko and for apparently popping up at one of the old Hirukos' hotspots.
"Hmm, and your library card?" She asked.
"Lost it," Hiruko answered back sheepishly.
"Sigh," the woman huffed audibly before she mumbled under her breath. "And here I thought you were different from those annoying troublemaking boys. Always making my job so troublesome," she complained as she pictured the image of an obnoxious-looking boy with white spiky hair.
"Even though I doubt you actually forgot since it's in my job description, I'll repeat it. This place has 5 floors, and as an academy student, you can access the first two and borrow only 5 books.
If you try to sneak into the other floors, you will be kicked out, and if it continues to be a problem, you will be turned over to the police force. Other than that, don't be annoying or loud, though it seems you are already falling at that," she said snarkily as she handed Hiruko a red card with the Konohagakure insignia on it before shooing him off with her hand.
"Now shoo, get going," the woman said as she turned back to her papers a tired sigh escaping her lips
Hiruko, not wanting to make the woman's obviously terrible day worse, quickly said, "Thank you," before leaving to find a quiet area to set his things and begin his reading journey.
"Why's this place so damn packed?" Hiruko mumbled as he was met with filled table after table without even a free seat for him to sit in.
Eventually, after a few moments of searching, a table with a singular open seat filled his view; however, across from the open seat, black hair peeked from behind a stack of several dozens of assorted books.
"Who is this weirdo?" Hiruko mumbled under his breath; don't get him wrong, he loved books.
They were some of the only entertainment in the apocalypse until '%^**&&&' came along and used his '#@%^8' to allow him to watch anime like Naruto, but several dozen? At once? That's a bit…excessive.
But what could he say? He needed a space to sit. Walking closer, Hiruko put on his nicest 'Hey, you're crazy, but I need something. voice and said, "Hey, do you mind if I sit here?"
The voice, which came back surprisingly raspy and childlike, simply said, "Yes, I do."
Hiruko, hearing this, got slightly irritated as a tick appeared on his face before he walked over and pulled out the chair that sat across from the person.
"Oh well, sorry, but I need somewhere to sit. " Hiruko said, keeping up his kind voice, though a slight bit of irritation slipped out.
What with this guy, and why does he sound familiar? He sounds my age,' Hiruko thought irritably.
"Suit yourself," the same raspy childlike voice sounded once again from behind the books, seemingly not caring about Hiruko's disregard for what he said.
Hiruko, hearing this, felt another wave of irritation wash over him as he roughly grabbed the bento box the old lady made him, opening it up as he glared at the stack of books, or more precisely, the boy behind them.
Sniff sniff~
A sweet, almost heavenly smell entered Hiruko's nose, causing him to unconsciously try to take it in completely.
"Where is it coming from?" Hiruko asked himself as he searched for the smell's origin, only to look down and find it coming from his bento.
"What is this divine-looking food?" Hiruko thought with complete and utter seriousness as he looked at a dozen small glutinous rice cakes, pink in color.
Hiruko, who in his past life had never seen or eaten anything besides canned food and moldy bread, felt his eyes unconsciously begin to water as he slowly picked one up, bringing it up to his mouth, and took a small bite.
"So…so… "Good," Hiruko said, his body shooting up in excitement as he looked at the desert with a look of reverence and happiness.
"Idiot," the boy across from Hiruko spoke up again, pulling Hiruko out of his stupor as he looked at the boy with a glare.
"What's you—" Hiruko started only to stop as he noticed several eyes from around the library focused on him.
Hiruko, seeing this, smiled sheepishly as he quickly sat back down, his face slightly red. Soon, however, Hiruko's embracement was erased by his wanting to eat more of this strange food.
After a few more minutes Hiruko had completely cleaned his bento clear as he wiped the leftover crumbs from around his mouth.
But instead of thinking about how fulfilling or good the sweets had been, all Hiruko could think was, 'I want more.'
'No, no, at most I only have a few hours left before this place closes, so I need to focus.' Hiruko thought as he lightly pushed his chair out, beginning to stand.
Coincidentally unnoticed by Hiruko, the boy sitting across from him stood up too.
Hiruko walked through the aisles, his hands brushing against the aged books. His eyes analyzed the covers, picking up anything that he believed could improve his knowledge.
Such as a basic book on Konoha's history, one on wilderness survival, calculating trajectories, and so on.
As he walked, several books in hand, Hiruko's eyes inadvertently glanced at a book blue in color that sat nestled in between two books.
{Book on basic Chakra Theory and manipulation: By Tobirama Senju}
'Jackpot,' Hiruko couldn't help but think; if there was one thing he needed to learn the most about, it was chakra, and who better to learn it from than a book written by the racist genius himself?
Hiruko, contrary to earlier was now inwardly
Praising his luck as he moved to grab the book. But as his pale, slender hand wrapped around the book's spine, a hand paler than his did the same, their hands touching slightly as a small shock went through Hiruko's hand.
"I believe I found this book first. " A raspy young voice sounded from the owner of the hand
Hiruko, recognizing the voice, felt irritation wash over him as he turned to its owner.
"Look I don't know who you—" Hiruko started, only for his voice to die down as he saw the owner of that annoying voice.
"Orochimaru?"
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(CHAPTER END)
S: So I did originally make Orochimaru fall in love with him kind of fast and i still do since this is the shinobi world and people like Obito were obsessed at like 12, but I have decided to least give a bit more substance to their relationship as it grows. Also, this in no way means they will get together anytime soon but the substance will be there for when they do, if that makes sense