4 years in the past..
Raven Takanashi was walking down the street in the city of Auralight. She got a few glances, as she was a Caucasian-Asian mix. Only about fifty Asians lived in Auralight, the majority being full Caucasians. Raven waltzed into a book store, seeing that it was new. She took a look around, until suddenly a voice behind her said, "You're so pretty!" She turned around to see a girl around her age with blonde hair and hazel eyes. "Oh, thanks," Raven replied bluntly. It happened almost every day; since Asians are a rarity in Auralight, she got frequent compliments on her looks. "I love your hair! Oh, oh.. your eyes?," the girl said, further inspecting her appearance. Raven had jaw-length jet black hair with thin bangs, pale skin, and inhumane purple eyes; Even she didn't know how they were such an odd color. "Are you wearing contacts? If so, where'd you get them? They look so realistic!," the girl added. Raven sighed; this girl was too cheerful for such an early time of the day. "They're not contacts..," she replied, backing up a little. "Say, what's your name?," the girl asked. "Raven Takanashi," she replied. Raven didn't ask the girl, as she was only interested in finding a good book. She simply walked away, hoping the stranger would get back to work. Either way, the name printed on the name tag was 'Laura'.
Raven let out a sigh of relief, not hearing the employer following her. She pulled out a book with a decorative hard-cover spine, only to meet a pair of hazel eyes. "I'm Laura!," she said loudly. "I know," Raven simply replied, reading the summary on the back of the book. "How?," she asked, puzzled. "Your name tag," Raven replied, looking up and pointing at her. "Oh, right. Silly me," she said, laughing. "Aren't there any other people to talk to?," Raven asked while reading. "Uh, no. This store is new, and only just opened for the first time an hour ago," Laura replied. "Well, since it's placed in the center of the city, you'll be sure to get more. Now, why don't you go and wait at the counter? I'm sure someone will need help locating something," Raven blurted out an excuse for the girl to walk away from her. Just to her delight, a bell dinged, signaling that someone had entered the store. Laura excitedly walked away to greet the person. Raven let out a sigh of relief. "That girl is exhausting," she said to herself. "Hello," a male voice said behind her. Raven turned around, letting out a small yelp as a hand clamped down on her shoulder. A man around her age looked down at her. "You busy?," he asked. "Uh.. no..," Raven replied. She wasn't used to talking so much, especially so early in the morning.
"Good," he said, sitting down next to her. Raven was internally rolling her eyes. "Do you need something?," she asked, closing the book she had been wanting to read. "Are you by chance in a relationship?," he asked. Raven blinked. "You're bold," she replied, and just opened the book. He wouldn't dare to do anything, especially in a book store in the center of Auralight. "Do you have a job?," he asked. Raven took a moment to read before answering. "What's my personal life any means to you?," she asked. "You shouldn't answer someone's question with another," the man replied. "Oh well, you can deal with it," she said, continuing to read. "Then, I take that as a no," he said. "Do you live in Auralight?," he added. "What do you think?," she asked. "Well, Asians aren't too common here. There are only fifty-four, including you," he said. "I know that," she replied. "You're not much of a talker, are you?," he asked. "Are you attempting to get to know me?," she asked, a confused look on her face. "Maybe," the man replied. "Wow, you don't even know my name," she said, letting out a small laugh. "You never gave it," he said. "You never asked," she snapped back, finally meeting his eyes. "Woah," he said. "You know, if you're going to confront someone to get to know them, you should at least give your name," she said, waiting for a reply. "O-oh, it's August," the man said.
"What's your name?," he then said. "Raven," she answered. "Nice to meet you, Raven," August replied. "Mhm," she said, continuing to read. "I'll be going now. Hope to see me again, will you?," he asked. "Just leave," she answered, waving him off. After August stood up, he took a couple steps away from the table. He looked at the shoes Raven was wearing, looking at the crevices on the bottom. "Dr. Martins, nice," he complimented in his head. He pulled out a small tracking pearl and tossed it between the crevices. August then silently left the store, glad that he got enough information out of her. He bumped into someone else. "Oh, sorry Ian," he apologized to his friend. "Did you get the information from that girl?," Ian asked. "Yes. It is indeed Raven Takanashi. You could tell from her eye color. It was a deep purple, matching the description perfectly," August answered. "How is it possible that her eyes are that color?," August asked. "Well, you're new, so you probably don't know this yet. You didn't hear this from me, alright?," Ian said before explaining. August gave him a reassuring nod. "Well, there's no exact reason. Science experiments, a extremely rare genetic mutation, or an unknown cause; she's reportedly the only one in Auralight with those eyes," Ian explained the best he could. "Her eyes are fascinating, no?," August continued with the topic. Although they didn't notice, the bell had rung, and Raven stood behind them holding the book she was reading.
They were obviously talking about her. "Uh..," she said in confusion. August spiraled around, jump scared. He quickly ducked behind Ian. Raven saw August hiding behind a tall Caucasian male with dark brown hair and green eyes. He was wearing denim jeans, white shoes, a black shirt, a green jacket, and a black baseball cap. "The name's Ian. Nice to meet you, Raven," he said with a wide smile. He put his hand out. Raven hesitantly shook his hand before saying, "How exactly do you know my name?" She shifted her weight onto her left foot, putting her hand on her hip. "August told me," Ian gave her an excuse. "I was here the entire time; he never told you, along with how I never told him my last name..," she said. What had she gotten herself into?
She took a step closer. "How do you know my full name?," she asked. Ian back up, ending up stepping on August's foot. "Ow!," he screeched, jumping up and down like a little kid, holding his foot. Raven was purposely intimidating Ian; the only way to get true information from someone was through fear. "Someone else told me," Ian blurted out. Raven didn't know many people in Auralight, even though she's been there for years. The futuristic purple lights in the city casted a purple shadow on her. Ian gulped. "Then who, dare I ask?," she said. "Uh..uh.. why not go meet them?," Ian said, scratching the back of his head. He gave out a nervous laugh. "No thanks," she said. Raven turned on her heel and started to walk away, but got stopped when a large hand grabbed her wrist. She turned around, facing Ian. "Raven, you need to," he said. "And why should I?," she asked, yanking her wrist away from his grasp. "I wouldn't go home without meeting them first," Ian advised, hinting at something. The most likely explanation was that there were people waiting for her at her apartment if she left. "Fine, but this better not be wasting my time," Raven gave in. She was planning to meet her friend, Eli for lunch. "They are uh.. asking for us to return with her," August chimed in quietly.
"Great timing; let's go," Ian said, smiling. "Uh.. what?," she asked. "Don't worry about him, Raven. He's actually a big softie, nevermind his appearance. We're meeting up with those people now. It's only about a ten minute walk from here," August said, motioning for her to start walking.
As the trio walked down the sidewalk, August decided to break the silence. "So, do you wanna know what's up?," he asked her. "Uh.. pardon me?," she asked. "He means who these people are," Ian quickly said. "Oh, sure," she said. Raven was more of a quiet person; she didn't talk much to anyone besides Eli. "Well, you see, their names are Ethan and June Smith; they're both siblings, and one of the Crows. You see, the-," August was cut off immediately. "I'm sorry- Define 'Crows'," Raven said. "Well, uh, the Crows are the people who formed Bitoku," he replied in a matter-of-fact tone. "..and what exactly is Bitoku?," Raven asked, stopping in her tracks. "I'm letting you handle this one," Ian said, taking a step back. Raven indeed was intimidating from his point of view. "It's uh.. um.. I-I don't.. I'm not sure how exactly to word this," August said, scratching the back of his head in embarrassment. "Well, go on with it," she ushered him. "It's an organization that focuses on ridding Auralight of propaganda, lying politicians, criminals, and crimes related to that," August choked out. "So.. basically like the police force, yeah?," Raven asked. "No," Ian replied. The two of them looked at him. "Bitoku is nothing like the police force," he said, walking in front of them. August and Raven strayed behind him, walking at a slower pace. "Looks like he's trying to be edgy, no?," August whispered to Raven, snickering. She simply nodded.
The two of them got carried away in a conversation when they nearly bumped into the back of Ian. "We're here," he said, turning around. "Oh, and watch where you're going next time," he added. Raven poked her head around the corner to see a door at the end of an alleyway. "Talk about ominous..," she said. "That's exactly what I thought when I came here for the first time," August said, laughing. His head was poked out next to hers. Raven stood up straight as Ian opened the door. Raven walked inside. She was taken aback. You'd think the door would bring you to a small room, a closet maybe, but it lead into a large warehouse. Chandeliers hung from the ceiling. The floor was surprisingly a nice, polished wood, while the walls were a shiny, silver metal. She saw multiple rooms in the warehouse, and many people walking around. A nice lounge area with a bookshelf was placed to the left, while a small cafe was to the right. In the center was a fountain placed on top of an expensive looking rug. "Not what I expected..," Raven said quietly. A young woman who looked to be around the age of nineteen walked up and gave Ian a hug. "Hey!," she said. Ian returned the hug before breaking away and lightly pushing Raven in front of her. "This is a new recruit," he said cheerfully. "Oh! Your eyes..," the girl said in awe. "Yeah, yeah, they're purple," Raven brushed off the subject. "Question; what is this place?," she asked. "Welcome to the Bitoku head quarters!," the girl said, giving Raven a hug. She stumbled backwards a bit, but balanced once a hand on her back pushed her upright.
"Oh, sorry. Guess I got a bit carried away there," the girl said, shrinking into her sweater. She then turned around and walked away with a smile after someone working at the cafe called out the name "Katie". Raven dusted off the powder that got onto her black shirt by Katie, collecting herself. She then turned around to see who had returned her to her balance, only to face another Asian to her surprise. "I'm Koshi," the person said. "Nice to meet you," he bowed. Raven hadn't seen any Asian formalities since she left home. She politely bowed back with, "Raven." Koshi gave her an odd look. "Weird name for an Asian," he commented. "Don't say that, Koshi!," August said, lightly hitting the back of his head. "Sorry! It's just odd," he apologized. "It's fine. I'm an Asian and Caucasian mix; I got a Japanese last name, but Raven is the name my mother gave me," she explained. "Oh, makes sense," he said. His eyes widened. "Y-your eyes, they're like mine," he said. She made eye contact with him, realizing that he had deep ocean blue eyes, similar to hers. "Interesting," she replied. "Ian?!," a loud voice called out from one of the rooms. "Oh, we have to go!," he said, grabbing Raven's hand and yanking her down towards one of the rooms, August trailing behind. "See you later, Raven-chan!," Koshi said, waving. He went sat down at the lounge, grabbing a book.
Ian was done dragging her to the door and let go of her hand. He pushed her into the room, closing the door behind August. The two boys stood in the corner behind three of the Crows. Raven's jaw dropped when she saw the man sitting in the middle. "Uh.. grandpa?," she asked. August's eyes widened while Ian looked confused. "Hello, Raven," he said, smiling. "Give your elder a hug, won't you?," he said, standing up. Raven hugged him, then pulled away. "You're a Crow..?," she asked. He looked over at August and Ian. "Guess those two can't keep their mouths closed..," he grunted. August let out a nervous laugh. "So, is this why you were too busy to come to family gatherings?," she asked, curious. "This is the most she's talked today..," August whispered to Ian. Ian had to slightly crouch to reach August's height. He nodded in agreement.
"Sit with us," her grandpa said. Raven obliged, sitting in a chair across the table from her grandfather and two other Crows. "Raven Takanashi, you have been privately selected to join Bitoku, the secret organization of the grand city known as Auralight," he said, sliding a contract in front of her. "You have two days to consider it. In the meantime, you may choose to return home, or socialize with your possible new co-workers," he said. Raven grabbed the piece of paper, standing up. She pushed the chair in and bowed before leaving the room, Ian and August behind her. "So, you're telling me that he is your grandfather?," August asked. She nodded. "Wow. Who knew Mr. Sato had a family," Ian said. "He seems too.. rude for that, y'know?," August said to Ian. He snapped his neck to look at Raven. "What's he like around family?," he asked, taking a step closer to her. "Wh-," Raven was cut off by another boy around their age walking up to them. "Hey guys!," he slung an arm around August's shoulder, but he shrugged him off. "Jeez, August, you look like a mess," he said. Raven took a looked at him. August had short, fluffy brown hair with a white t-shirt, light colored denim jeans, and sneakers. "Well, I wasn't really planning on doing anything today until this one forced me to recruit her," August explained himself, pointing a thumb at Ian and then to her.
The guy who walked up to them had dyed-silver hair, blue eyes, pale skin, and an expensive-looking taste in fashion. "I'm Kai Fletcher," he said, looking down at her. Kai stood at a tall six foot three height, while Raven was only five foot six. "Raven Takanashi," she replied. "Hm. Your eyes are pretty," he complimented her. She nodded her head in a way of thanks. 'Huh.. so he's the flirty type- great,' she thought. "Let's get something to eat at the cafe. Everyone is dying to meet you," Kai said, referencing to the cafe near the warehouse's entrance. "I only just got here; why does everyone want to meet me?," she asked. "Well, you're new, related to Mr. Sato, and you just have this foreign.. aura surrounding you," he explained. "Oh, okay," Raven replied, taken aback. She knew that she wouldn't like socializing very much, as she preferred to keep to herself. Hopefully they'd eventually catch a hint and leave her alone. Raven Takanashi was just fine with only talking to August, Ian, Kai, and Koshi. "Oh my god," she said, looking at the time. "What?," Kai asked. "I-I'm supposed to go eat lunch with Eli," she said. "Who's that?," Kai asked, bending down to come to eye level with her. He was obviously interested in her private life. Raven pushed him to the side and left as quickly as she should, even though a couple people there said hello.
Raven walked down the sidewalk, dialing Eli's number. She put her phone up to her ear, waiting for him to answer. "You're late, Taki," he said. Taki was a short nickname Eli give her when they first met back in high school. He never really called her anything else; only by her first time when he had to talk about something serious. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry. I got dragged into something else, which I'll explain once I get there," she excused herself, seeing the small corner cafe that they were meeting up at. Eli suddenly hung up, waving at her through the window. They quickly greeted each other and then ordered. After receiving their food, Raven was eating a salad while Eli munched on a sandwich. "Oh, by the way, I got a job," he said. Raven nearly choked on the lettuce before composing herself. "Uh.. what? You- Eli Harrison managed to get a job in Auralight?," she said in surprise. "Of course I did. I'm smart too, you know," he replied. "Well, you don't necessarily act like it," she remarked. "Oh, shut up," he said, taking a sip of his drink. "So, care to elaborate on what you got dragged in to?," he asked. Eli had his arms on the table, his head in his hands, cupping his cheeks. She looked at him. "At least let me finish eating, dude," she said, giving him a blank look. "Then hurry," he said. He realized that she didn't have any dressing on her salad, which she always did, so he passed it over to her.
"I know for a fact that I'm going to regret this," Raven said, sighing.