Zero #1: Birth of the Vermilion Falcon

It was a balmy day on Spring 1997 at a peaceful town in Aomori Prefecture, Japan. The cherry blossoms finally bloomed after being hampered by snow and cold weather for months. As the snow melted into the ground, the grass turned green and the birds chirped. Meanwhile in a hospital, a black-haired Esper woman with a pair of vermilion eyes gave birth to a small and frail Esper baby. Her brown-haired husband congratulated her after her successful birth. It was a painful bout, but the baby was birthed safely. A black-haired girl who happened to be the woman's first child took pictures of the baby as the nurse cuddled him in her grasps.

"It's a boy, Mrs. Takahitsuji. Congratulations!"

"A boy? Honey, our wishes has been answered! We always wanted a boy for our second child!"

"Thank Juno for blessing us with this precious son. I shall do anything to nurture and take care of him, so he will be my heir if I happen to die. You shall be the next patriarch of the Takahitsuji clan"

"…Papa!"

"Look honey, he just spoken his first word!"

The brown-haired man kissed the baby in his forehead. Meanwhile, the black-haired girl is thinking of a name for her younger brother. She thought of Kenzaki Futaba, because of her father's swordsmanship and her younger brother's red eyes and black hair that are more reminiscent of a Futaba than a Takahitsuji. However, a name caught her eyes after she browsed for more. It was a rather foreign-sounding name for a Japanese baby, but Marika felt it would've been cool if her younger brother had this name. She then choose the name for her younger brother.

"From this day onwards, your name is Alfredo Takahitsuji. I feel that you may look more like Mom, but I feel that you're actually look more like Dad. How does that name sounds? Is it good?"

Alfredo giggled as he agreed with his new name. After a little study, the name was actually of a Germanic origin, which means an elven sage/wise person. She wished Alfredo to be a wise person in the future, leading a brighter future for the Takahitsuji and Futaba clans. Days later, Mizuki was cleared to go home and Marika took Alfredo to a baby box, filled with plushie animals and toys to play with. It was the same baby box where Marika used to slept at back when she was a baby.

3 years later, Alfredo grew up into an adorable yet spoiled Esper child. Marika observed his growth and documented it as part of her Esper research, which will become handy when she becomes a researcher in her mother's company, Lazuline. He couldn't stop begging for milk to his mother, and he really loves sweets and cookies, especially chocolate cookies. He often played around with his mom, and he's also prone to crying whenever he's hurt or when things went wrong. His mother knew him well as a crybaby, and she'll do anything to make him happy. His giggles were like music to her.

"Mama.. Me want cookies. Me hungry.."

"Not to worry, Aru-kun. I'll bake some when my work is done. You stay here and watch your favorite TV shows, and don't go anwyhere!"

"Alright!"

As Alfredo grew bigger, his mother decided to enroll him to a local kindergarten so he could make friends and play with them. She felt that Alfredo needed some friends to help him with his cognitive and social skills. However, things didn't go as she expected. Over the time, Alfredo became a bullying target. All the other kids feared his red eyes and black hair, as well as his status as an Esper. His peers called him a "demon child" because of his fearsome appearance, though Alfredo himself was kind and docile. He only wanted to find friends, not foes. As a result of the constant bullying he faced, he curled on the floor and cried, lying on his own puddle of tears.

Alfredo's teacher became very concerned about his mental health, and she ordered his mom to pick up Alfredo home after seeing him in a such broken state. At home, he began to felt better again after his mom cheered him up with some milk and cookies. He decided to take a leave for a few days to recover, before going back to school again. He even wondered why he never had friends, though it was very hard for his mom to answer. Not even his father could answer it. Alfredo kept wondering on how to make friends, until he learned it during his visit to the Futaba residence, where he met his grandfather Hajime and grandmother Emi. Hajime was a very wise person, and he often gave life advises to his children and grandchildren.

"Aru-kun, if you want to make friends, you must show kindness to them. Then, they will repay you with kindness in return. That's how life works. What comes around, goes around"

"I understood, Grandpa. I will make friends, even if it's hard to do so"

On the next day, Alfredo came back to his kindergarten. He tried to be nice, but in the end his peers kept fearing and bullying him. He felt disappointed and broken again, until a girl with oak brown hair and amber eyes lended a hand to him as he curled up and cried on the classroom floor again. She wants Alfredo to stand up once again, and become friends with her. He was moved when the girl said that she wanted to be friends with him, as if what Hajime said before became true. He showed his kindness to the girl, and now the girl repayed him back with kindness and frienship.

"Wanna be friends? What's your name?"

"Ah, my name.. Umm… Alfredo!"

"Alfredo? That's a cool name! I never heard a name like that here yet! You sound like a fairytale prince! Hahahahaha"

"Well.. my big sis Mari-nee named me like that. She thinks it's a cool-sounding name, but I don't pretty mind. At least I found myself a friend!"

"I think calling you Alfredo is a bit too much.. how about Aru-kun?"

"Ahaha, good idea!"

"By the way, My name is Yurika! Nice to meetcha!"

On that day, Alfredo and Yurika became friends. They played and spent their time together, shared food together during recess and even talked with each other. Their friendship grew every day to the point Alfredo and Yurika became best friends. During Summer, Yurika took Alfredo to her place, not far from the kindergarten. Her family moved from their hometown in Fukui to open a bakery and sweets shop, since their hometown was pretty rural and not much people wanted to try her mom's cakes and sweets. Ever since her family moved to Aomori, Yurika's mom became even more successful. Her cakes and sweets sold well and became pretty famous among the town's denizens.

"Ah, who's this young adorable boy? Why does he look a bit scary?"

"Nothing, mom. He's my new pal Alfredo, or I'd like to call him, Aru-kun"

"Ah yes, I heard you're the son of the famous Takeru Takahitsuji, head of Takahitsuji Securities. Is that true?"

"How do you know?"

"I saw the news about the head of Takahitsuji Securities having a son, and it looks like you"

"It is me"

"Well I can't believe that I'm actually seeing the heir of the famous Takahitsuji clan with my bare eyes! Come here!"

Alfredo jumped on and cuddled Yurika's mother. He viewed her as a kind woman who really loved him, though Yurika's father felt unwelcoming, since he doesn't want boys to get near to his daughter. He even got to try some free samples of cakes and sweets there. After having fun at Yurika's place, Alfredo's mother picked him up back home to the Takahitsuji residence. He felt happy after finding a new friend, but he believes that there are more friends out there. Years later, Alfredo grew up into a tween and slowly becoming less reliant of his mother. He enrolled into the same school as Yurika too, so he could be friends with her forever. And as usual, bullies kept pestering him but Yurika always protected him. However, Alfredo found a new friend there when he saw a handsome-looking boy passing by.

"Sup newcomer, howyadoin?"

"Nothing much. Say, what's your name?"

"My name? I'm Natsume Kamiyama, good to see ya!"