Perspective
You can never see the true being of a soul with just one view point. The ugly can beautiful, the beautiful can be ugly and one's judgment relies mostly on the person's perspective.
Prologue: Beautiful Darkness
Nobody knew her, or at least, the other her. She lurked in the dark, making her name known to the people of the night. But, when the sun starts to peek at the city below, a mask now concealed the bitter truth of her being…
The library always smelled dry and musty. The odor of parch curling paper and leather bindings mingled with the unnatural scent of the cool wind that the air conditioner breathed out. Most of the time, the place was silent; the perfect atmosphere for productivity and concentration.
If it was not for a small group of girls that vigorously chattered at the reading area, Tadashi SHOULD had finished the book that he had in hand thirty minutes ago. Every time the girls would giggle, He craned his neck to their direction and stared at them with a sweet smile until they would cease their rumbling.
The older Hamada brother sighed as he flipped through the last page of a classic creation, signaling the bitter end of the story. "As expected of Shakespeare…" Tadashi mumbled.
He had with him his younger brother, Hiro, as company. Aunt Cass told the older one to watch over his little brother while she was away. Lucky for Tadashi, he caught Hiro before he sneaked out of the window to attend those illegal bot fights. God knows how dangerous those are! And his little brother saw the pleasure of attending and participating in those. With such stubbornness the younger one had, it definitely gave Tadashi a hard time to discipline him.
"Hey…" His younger brother gently patted Tadashi's shoulder. The other Hamada looked up, only to see Hiro with an annoyed frown. "What is it, bro?" Tadashi asked.
"Let's leave before those girls over there fall in love with you!" Hiro aggressively whispered, to which made the older one laugh.
"In love? How did you know?" Well, Tadashi was quite the lady magnet, but it seems like Tadashi was the only one that didn't know. His brother DEFINITELY knew that.
On his life in high school, Hiro's batch mates literally used him as an instrument for Tadashi to notice them. The group mostly consisted of teenage girls that would offer him a seat at lunch, invitation to their parties, and would occasionally say "OMG. HIRO. YOU'RE SO CUTE!". Hiro even told his brother not to fetch him from school anymore because of the increased popularity of Tadashi among the girls. He just couldn't handle that. But he was glad that he had an older brother like him, an older brother who serves as his guardian in the absence of his father.
"They asked for your number, need I say more?" Hiro's lips formed a thin straight line. The older Hamada grinned as he stood up from his seat, the book in hand, and then tossed his baseball cap at the top of the table. "Wait for me here then, I'll go borrow a book."
As Tadashi walked further into the library, he pondered on what story he should read next. He really wanted something related to Greek mythology but he also wanted fantasy books. 'I'll just scan interesting areas, I suppose' Tadashi thought and nodded satisfactorily at his idea. The Asian teen zoomed pass a few sections, the most notable is Romance. That genre was definitely not his cup of tea. He decided to stop at the nearest shelf to the check out area, since it was easier to walk a reasonable distance if he regretted the book of his choice.
A sign hung low upon the ceiling. "Mystery." Tadashi read. 'I guess I can settle with that.'
The Asian teen started to scan the books in the section, sliding a finger at each title that he would pass by. The male had long agreed that he was the only person that went through the mystery section but suddenly questioned his assumption when he heard a soft feminine groan. Tadashi turned his heel and was greeted by a girl desperately trying to reach for a book on the high part of the shelf. If he was right, he could effortlessly reach out and grab it for her. 'The benefits of being tall..' Tadashi murmured.
"Do you need some help, or..?" The raven haired boy asked, startling the girl who stood on her toes. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare you, I mean…" Tadashi rumbled on, but was silenced by the female's soft reply.
"I-It's fine… I can do it by myself." The young lady turned to face the young man with a small, shy curve on the lips. Her ocean blue orbs served as the most prominent feature of her face and her platinum blonde hair was styled into low pigtails, the ends of her curly locks highlighted in magenta pink. To think of it, She really looked like a kid. The young man's accusations even intensified when she brought out a cute little teddy bear. Tadashi's eyes widen in humor and disbelief but his eagerness to find out the purpose of the bear prevented him from laughing.
The girl slipped on an earpiece with a microphone attached to it. As soon as she pressed the small green button that rested on middle of the earpiece, the fluffy toy jerked to life. In a drone-like tone, the toy asked. "What shall I do for you today?"
The ocean blue-eyed lady commanded the bear, the sweet tone in her voice gone as she breathed unto the microphone. "Get that book for me, The blue one." The raven haired male, who stood silently watching the scene, felt a shiver going up his spine at the young lady's tone. She sounded like a rich girl demanding a hitman to kill his own family. But nevertheless, Tadashi was more intrigued with the design of the toy that she was manipulating than the girl's sudden change of tone.
The bear stumbled on his soft stout feet, but immediately sprang to the wooden shelf and made its way to the said book. The teddy bear's grip was pretty tight considering the state that he was in. With hands squishy and soft, it was impossible to have a good hold on the wooden shelf.
But here it was, defying Tadashi's way of thinking.
The thing snatched the book and climbed down the shelf, then handed it gently to its owner.
The platinum blonde smiled as she accepted the book, placed a quick peck on the bear's nose and then whispered "Kiku, Hibernate." The toy suddenly went limp and returned to its lifeless form.
Tadashi Hamada grinned. It's not everyday that you can encounter people like her. But, he was still unsure if the toy was the girl's own creation or a gift. The Asian teen glanced at his wrist watch. '7:30, I bet Hiro can wait.' He thought.
"Hey.." The young man tried to spark up a conversation, his hands inside the pocket of his pants. "That's a cool stuffed toy you have there, mind if I ask where is it from?" Tadashi aimed to not sound intimidating, but his curiosity got the best of him. When he realized that his voice made the girl grip tighter unto the bear and made her hesitant to answer the question, the boy gave out a warm smile. "I was just curious and all."
Reluctantly, the young lady opened her mouth to speak. "T-The bear is from my brother.." She paused for a brief moment, analyzing Tadashi's expression. Tadashi nodded and gestured for her to continue. "..a-and I turned it into a command bot." In an instant, the girl brought the teddy bear to her face and held it in a defensive manner. He knew that the girl was scared but, for what reason?
Tadashi was confused. He tried to comfort the girl, assuring him that he was not a bad guy. "T-That's cool! I'm actually attending an institution where I major in Robotics and—" But the platinum blonde interrupted him in mid-sentence. She brought the fluffy toy down her face and slightly cocked her head to the side. "A-Are you referring to San Fransokyo Institute of Technology?" The girl asked.
"Yeah!" The young man sighed in relief. Finally, she spoke to him voluntarily. Tadashi feared that he came out to be a little too intimidating to the girl. And it was really unusual for him if he did so. He always thought that his usual approach was friendly and kind. "How did you know?"
"I wanted to enroll there but I guess the enrollment is closed.." The platinum blonde fiddled with her fingers, keeping eye contact to a minimum. She wasn't exactly comfortable with talking, evident from the tone of her voice.
"I can help you enroll there..!" The raven haired male offered, smiling from ear to ear.
The girl looked up to meet the young man's gaze. "Really?" She asked with ocean blue eyes filled with hope.
"I would really love to help! I can see your potential." The Asian teen then gave the girl two thumbs up. Being the Mr. Friendly-type, it was a part of his system to help people to the best of his ability. Tadashi thought that it was the time to finally introduce his self. "I'm Tadashi Hamada by the way."
At the mention of the name, the girl's eyes widen. She was very much familiar with his surname. 'Hamada..' The name replayed on her tongue and it was like Déjà vu. She knew of a Hamada, and she desperately needed that certain person.
"I'm Saki.." Her voice came out to be an inaudible, rusty whisper. But the boy in front of her paid no heed.
"You really won't tell me much about yourself?" Tadashi joked.
"I'd rather keep my last name confidential, Mr. Hamada." Then, the library's usual silence was interrupted by an upbeat song. Saki's expression darkened, knowing that melody a little too well. She glanced at the boy in front of her for the last time. "I'd better be off…" The platinum blonde declared.
"See you tomorrow at the institution, I guess?"
"Yeah, tomorrow." They bid their goodbyes and went their own separate ways; Tadashi rushing to get his little brother and Saki running to the back door exit to answer her phone.
"I found his brother..." The girl murmured as she hurriedly swiped to answer the call.
"Good evening, Saki…"
[My dearest brother, why must I suffer the consequences of your fault?]
A/N: First Fiction on this Archive.
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Serene over and out