Tadashi couldn't help but marvel at the height and depth of the library. A singular massive alcove which gave way to four massive floors, bursting to the seams with knowledge. Taking his surroundings as well as the cool breeze and feeling a spring in his step, he made his way to the elevator to meet Aiko on the third floor. If this moment encapsulated the totality of his experience, he would say today was just about perfect. The people were friendly, he had already made a great deal of new acquaintances, and the weather was absolutely perfect. Everything was perfectly smooth. He also had a rather good feeling regarding three people in particular: Fred, Aiko, and- no, wait, Honey Lemon, and Wasabi. Of course, the future was permanently uncertain, but instinct told him that they would more likely than not become forge an unbreakable bond as lifelong comrades. The thought entered his head just as the elevator door clo-

Tadashi's gaze was drawn to the elevator door, a shoe having halted its journey, to see a girl walk in. The first thing he noticed was that she wore headphones and had a purple streak in hair. The more disconcerting of his observations was that she was heart-stoppingly, almost impossibly beautiful. He was no stranger to beautiful women, but this was like something out of one of those painfully cheesy high school drama movies where the guy would see the girl of his dreams walking down the hall as time would slow to a crawl, the nineties indie rock song with dirt cheap licensing fees would start playing, and choirs of Angels would descend from Heaven. Her eyes were sharp, almost like almonds, with the richness and color of a newly minted Renaissance painting, and the way her mouth arched sl-

"Oh, shit."

Although he was merely observing her with his peripheral vision, Tadashi's eyes forcibly made a hasty retreat as her body shifted slightly towards him. Obviously, someone as gorgeous as her must think he's nothing but a loser, ugly and embarrassing. Plus, he has spent the entirety of their time together shamelessly checking her out. His arms felt like they had been covered in a thick coat of ice and he wondered if his legs would forcibly take the rest of his body away from the present situation if such a thing was physiologically possible. Mercifully, the prison of awkwardness dissipated as the mystery girl stepped out onto the second floor. On one end of the spectrum, he was glad to see the worst humiliation of his life conclude without his death by embarrassment, but that was also perhaps his only chance to truly know her.

"I'll be seeing you, Elevator Girl."

Being the eternal optimist, Tadashi was all but certain their fates would converge at some point in the near future, whether that scenario was a class or something outside of school. Regardless, his top priority at the moment was taking the first tentative steps towards his dream project. What brought him to the SFIT was the assertion that it would finally give him the opportunity to fulfill his dream of truly making a difference in the world, and, more importantly, the health and safety of regular people.

"American History, European History, Economics..."

Tadashi mentally rattled off the topics as he made his way to his destination. So much to learn! He loved reading, but right now he was a man on a mission. And when Tadashi Hamada was on a single-minded quest, no force on Earth could stop him.

"Music, magnetics, annnnnnd robotics!"

Finally, he had reached his destination. A wealth of information stretching as far as the eye could see! Plus, he had the whole aisle to himself. With a slowly regenerating foundation of confidence, he hurried down the hall. If his string of luck continued, they would still have the legendary works of Robert Callaghan. Tadashi was well aware of his achievements years before he even considered attending the SFIT, and Callaghan was something like a demigod in the scientific community for his work in robotics. Luckily, a cursory appraisal revealed that they indeed had nearly every single one of Callaghan's published works. Like a child in a candy store, he hastily grabbed every book his body could hold and scooped them into his arms. These would certainly put him on the right path and would have the added benefit of getting on Callaghan's good side should the opportunity ever arise to-

"Oh, shit."

Tadashi felt his heart sink to the point that there existed a serious possibility that it would fall out of his body. There was Elevator Girl, scanning through the magnetics section of the library which, of course, resided in the same aisle as the robotics portion. Clearly, his supply of luck had been exhausted.

"Gotta think. Gotta think."

Tadashi knew he could do this. All any situation necessitated was thought before action. With her back to him, Elevator Girl was still totally unaware of his miserable presence. Therefore, he had a legitimate chance to avoid a disaster worthy of the Book of Revelation. All he has to do was call upon his years of experience in stealth-based video games, make a one-hundred and eighty degree turn, and walk away like nothing ever happ-

Before he could complete his move, Elevator Girl turned to face him, her eyebrows shooting up in shock at the ugly, embarrassing loser from the elevator standing before her. The two stood there in sullen silence.

"Hi."

Her eyes still bulging, elevator girl stood stunned for several seconds, obviously appraising Tadashi's worth as a human being.

"Hi." Her tone of voice indicated that she barely regarded him as a sentient lifeform. Rightfully so, he thought. The awkward silence returned, piercing Tadashi's soul. His heart was racing so quickly he wondered if it would give out on him at the age of eighteen.

"I, uh, like robotics." He hurled a limp attempt at conversation vaguely in her direction.

Elevator Girl's eyes shifted to Tadashi's arms, confirming that he did indeed have a basic grasp of the fundamentally obvious. While an extremely humble person, he liked to think of himself as a relatively calm, collected person, even in extreme situations, though at present he felt about smooth as a granite pillow. Elevator Girl's brown, powerful eyes squinted, still tearing into his soul.

"I'm pleasure to meet you," He jolted his free hand forward, only recognizing the nature of his folly when Elevator Girl's expression softened curiously. "Uh, I mean, I'm nice to make your acquaintance," Tadashi forcibly shut his mouth. "I'm sorry. I'm an idiot. My name is Tadashi Hamada, and it is a pleasure to make your acquaintance." He concluded his raging foolishness by finally forming a cogent sentence for the first time in what felt like forever.

After several excruciating seconds in which he seriously considered whether or not jumping out of the third story window would prove fatal, Elevator Girl showed mercy upon the fool before her by deigning to shake his hand. Her skin, he felt, was proof that perfect things existed.

"Leiko Tanaka."

So Elevator Girl had a name. Tadashi mentally recited the name in his head. Leiko Tanaka. Lay-ih-ko-tah-nah-kah. It just rolled off the tongue.

"You, uh, like magnetics?" To keep this high going, Tadashi continued to assert his mastery of the bluntly obvious, eyes directed to the book in Leiko's hands.

"Oh, yeah. I think I'm gonna try to build a bike. Electromagnetic suspension and all that," She concluded, matter-of-factly. "I like going fast."

Tadashi couldn't suppress a smile. Finally, actual conversation. "Cool."

The high clearly peaked and was dipping rapidly as the two stood there, totally uncertain of how to continue. Leiko shifted her head to get a glimpse of Tadashi's books. "You like robots."

Now his heart was working almost too efficiently. She was taking an interest in him! "I'm trying to build a robot," He mentally slapped himself for such a ridiculous statement. "A nursing robot. For people's health."

Once again, her eyes widened ever so slightly, displaying an expression that stood somewhere between curiosity and amusement. The pair bathed in the acidic limbo of silence for several seconds before Leiko made her final move.

"So...I guess I'll see you around." It was framed more so as a question than as a statement.

He perked up. That meant she wanted to see him again. Or that she was polite despite his debilitating awkwardness. He preferred to think it was the former. "Yeah. Yeah, totally. See you around."

Leiko nodded before turning and moving towards the opposite direction. Perhaps this was just his eternal optimism, but he was all but certain there was something that closely resembled a smile tugging at her lips as she departed. That completely shot him into orbit. Not only had he managed to completely turn around a potential catastrophe all through his charm and quick wit, but he was now officially acquaintances with the most beautiful girl to ever grace planet Earth with her presence. Making his way to Aiko, he did a small impromptu shuffle with his arms completely disengaged from caring about a potential audience. He was on top of the world.

Tadashi found Aiko on the second floor, predictably reading a book on the tangible applications of chemistry.

"Tadashi, hey!"

He had only known her for a day or so, but the normally excitable Aiko was even more chipper than usual, if such a thing was even possible. At another end of the table was a book entitled Leading a Double Life: The Writer's Guide to Graphic Novels. Clearly Fred's doing.

"I'm so glad you're here. I can't wait for you to meet her. You two are going to love each other!"

While in any other case Tadashi would be more than willing to meet someone new, his near-fatal encounter with Leiko made him a bit hesitant. This friend wouldn't actually be Leiko, right?

Aiko's head turned, immediately lighting up as she looked past Tadashi.

"Leiko! Over here!" She waved and half-shouted despite the minimal distance.

Every last bit of liquid evaporated from Tadashi's mouth as the truth was revealed. Mere seconds later, he turned back to find Leiko Tanaka, Elevator Girl, standing inches before him.

"Leiko, this is Tadashi Hamada. Tadashi, Leiko Tanaka."