H
Hachi
Guest
Chapter 1
Brendan gently ran his fingers through Olivia’s charcoal black hair and sighed in disappointment.
“What Brenny?†she asked, lifting her head off of his shoulder. She was concerned a bit by the way he had sighed.
“Nothing,†he said, looking—staring, actually—into her eyes. “It’s just that…,†His voice trailed off, he didn’t want to finish the statement, for it would put a spotlight on intentions.
“’It’s j-just’…what, Bren?â€
“It’s just that…I don’t…know how to say it, really, I mean…I dunno what the hell I mean…â€
A cold Autumnal wind blew through the London skyline; it stung his eyes and nipped at Livy’s ears and her short, upturned nose.
Brendan Reed’s accent was odd and unique; his mother, Erika, was a life-long Bostonian, and his father, Lloyd, had lived in England long enough to have assimilated the distinct inflection of one that had been there at least twice as long as the ten years since he had arrived to start anew; Lloyd Reed had been a mercenary (which Brendan didn’t know) working for the United States Army, more specifically the 101st Airborne (which he did know), the same as Olivia’s father (but more on him later)
“See the problem is,†his accent came out fairly thickly, for he was no longer repressing it. “If I tell you what I so desperately want to tell you, you’ll want nothing to do with me.â€
“What do you mean?â€
“I, uh, just don’t think it would be prudent if I—†he growled angrily, as if he was scaring the word he was searching for out of its hiding place in the real world.
But where would it be? She thought. Crouching in the leaves? Under the bench? Or is it hidden in the rubbish bin?
“You picked up on the slang rather quickly,†a voice said, startling them both.
“Xander,†Olivia said, annoyed. “You didn’t need to scare us like that.â€
“Oh, I’m sorry,†he said sarcastically. “I’ll be sure to give you fair warning that I’ll be saying something unimportant.â€
Xander is a hard thing to explain really, for he’s not a person per se; he’s an artificial intelligence program in Olivia’s multi-purpose goggles (like I said previously, this will be difficult to understand and you might want a whiz kid partner or a computer software expert to help you.) Xander was a general-purpose military AI program designed for combat, undercover, espionage, and civilian duties, and ‘he’ was originally housed in Livy’s mother’s—Mickey’s—modified false-lens glasses (Lloyd and Brendan have AIs as well.) When Mickey retired, she was allowed to keep Xander as long as she didn’t discuss his origins with anyone “suspiciously or exceptionally interested†in the programming (which she had co-written.) When Mickey had realized she no longer wanted Xander (around the time Olivia was 7 years old) she handed him off—glasses and all—to her daughter.
Livy was about age 12 when her dad, Danny (or Hachi as was called) decided to get a tribune of himself, Lloyd, and, most importantly, Mickey, together to upgrade Xander and transfer him into a new object, a pair of goggles that Xander could modify to fit his and Livy’s current condition; water sealing for swimming, tinting for use as sunglasses, welder’s goggles (“or for watching a solar eclipse while she’s at itâ€, Lloyd had casually remarked), slight adjustment for improved night vision, and any other things necessary.
He had been causing her problems ever since.
Xander had done good things in his past though, like helping to correct Olivia’s stutter (when she was around age 8), earning her the nickname of “Goggles†(age 13), helping her (or her parents) find lost objects (various times), and little day to day things.
“Yeah,†Brendan sighed. “That would be a great idea, mate, not bloody scaring us during moments like this.â€
“Did I ruin a tender moment?†Xander asked, obviously looking for some gossip.
“N-n-n-n-no,†Brendan stuttered. “You didn’t ruin anything.â€
“Oh, really? Brendan you forget that I can hear everything you say, or watch what you do—depending on the situation.â€
“Yeah, you didn’t stop me from saying a secret or anything,†Bren rushed, obviously covering himself.
“I bet I did,†Xandy was trying to start something, and to stop it Olivia said:
“Xander, shut up.â€
“Fine, but just so you know I’ll be watching every move you make…â€
“Nice to know that,†Goggles shot back, full venomous sarcasm.
Xander mocked her and went back to whatever he does when he’s not annoying her.
“What was it that you wanted tell me Bren?â€
“Oh, nothing…deary.â€
“What?â€
“Exactly.â€
“Oh, dear, God, you were going to tell me…†she trailed off, and refusing to think the impossible.
“What?†He asked.
“Were you going to ask me what I think you were going to ask me?â€
“What do you think I was going to ask you?â€
“That…†she blushed.
“That I, like, like you or something?!â€
“Yeah…â€
“Well,†he sighed and bit his lip then said, “I…do sorta feel that way.â€
“Who-at?!†Xander said, laughing. “This is definitely new, ain’t it?â€
“Shut up!†Goggles spat at the AI, and turned her attention back at the bigger problem; Brenny.
Brendan sighed. “I’m glad I got that off my chest.â€
All Goggles could do was stare at him in mild surprise, not knowing what to say, how to react. Noticing her current condition, she shut her hanging jaw, blinked herself out of a staring contest, and finally said, “So…let me get this straight: you, my cousin, my aunt’s son, actually have a crush on me?â€
“Yep.â€
“So you think that I’m—“
“Bloody beautiful? Yes.â€
“Huh, a-a-and you th-think I’m funny and…â€
“I love your eyes,†he interrupted.
“Oy, how many times will I have to hear that?!â€
Brendan was right though; she did have eyes that were beyond belief. They were a slightly-darker-then-lime green around the pupil and they had a progression to a near-perfect denim blue around the edge of her iris. He was disappointed that she hid behind those damn goggles all the time. Although, her goggles seemed to hold a strong connection to her and made every one of their days just a little more interesting and unpredictable than the last…
Brendan gently ran his fingers through Olivia’s charcoal black hair and sighed in disappointment.
“What Brenny?†she asked, lifting her head off of his shoulder. She was concerned a bit by the way he had sighed.
“Nothing,†he said, looking—staring, actually—into her eyes. “It’s just that…,†His voice trailed off, he didn’t want to finish the statement, for it would put a spotlight on intentions.
“’It’s j-just’…what, Bren?â€
“It’s just that…I don’t…know how to say it, really, I mean…I dunno what the hell I mean…â€
A cold Autumnal wind blew through the London skyline; it stung his eyes and nipped at Livy’s ears and her short, upturned nose.
Brendan Reed’s accent was odd and unique; his mother, Erika, was a life-long Bostonian, and his father, Lloyd, had lived in England long enough to have assimilated the distinct inflection of one that had been there at least twice as long as the ten years since he had arrived to start anew; Lloyd Reed had been a mercenary (which Brendan didn’t know) working for the United States Army, more specifically the 101st Airborne (which he did know), the same as Olivia’s father (but more on him later)
“See the problem is,†his accent came out fairly thickly, for he was no longer repressing it. “If I tell you what I so desperately want to tell you, you’ll want nothing to do with me.â€
“What do you mean?â€
“I, uh, just don’t think it would be prudent if I—†he growled angrily, as if he was scaring the word he was searching for out of its hiding place in the real world.
But where would it be? She thought. Crouching in the leaves? Under the bench? Or is it hidden in the rubbish bin?
“You picked up on the slang rather quickly,†a voice said, startling them both.
“Xander,†Olivia said, annoyed. “You didn’t need to scare us like that.â€
“Oh, I’m sorry,†he said sarcastically. “I’ll be sure to give you fair warning that I’ll be saying something unimportant.â€
Xander is a hard thing to explain really, for he’s not a person per se; he’s an artificial intelligence program in Olivia’s multi-purpose goggles (like I said previously, this will be difficult to understand and you might want a whiz kid partner or a computer software expert to help you.) Xander was a general-purpose military AI program designed for combat, undercover, espionage, and civilian duties, and ‘he’ was originally housed in Livy’s mother’s—Mickey’s—modified false-lens glasses (Lloyd and Brendan have AIs as well.) When Mickey retired, she was allowed to keep Xander as long as she didn’t discuss his origins with anyone “suspiciously or exceptionally interested†in the programming (which she had co-written.) When Mickey had realized she no longer wanted Xander (around the time Olivia was 7 years old) she handed him off—glasses and all—to her daughter.
Livy was about age 12 when her dad, Danny (or Hachi as was called) decided to get a tribune of himself, Lloyd, and, most importantly, Mickey, together to upgrade Xander and transfer him into a new object, a pair of goggles that Xander could modify to fit his and Livy’s current condition; water sealing for swimming, tinting for use as sunglasses, welder’s goggles (“or for watching a solar eclipse while she’s at itâ€, Lloyd had casually remarked), slight adjustment for improved night vision, and any other things necessary.
He had been causing her problems ever since.
Xander had done good things in his past though, like helping to correct Olivia’s stutter (when she was around age 8), earning her the nickname of “Goggles†(age 13), helping her (or her parents) find lost objects (various times), and little day to day things.
“Yeah,†Brendan sighed. “That would be a great idea, mate, not bloody scaring us during moments like this.â€
“Did I ruin a tender moment?†Xander asked, obviously looking for some gossip.
“N-n-n-n-no,†Brendan stuttered. “You didn’t ruin anything.â€
“Oh, really? Brendan you forget that I can hear everything you say, or watch what you do—depending on the situation.â€
“Yeah, you didn’t stop me from saying a secret or anything,†Bren rushed, obviously covering himself.
“I bet I did,†Xandy was trying to start something, and to stop it Olivia said:
“Xander, shut up.â€
“Fine, but just so you know I’ll be watching every move you make…â€
“Nice to know that,†Goggles shot back, full venomous sarcasm.
Xander mocked her and went back to whatever he does when he’s not annoying her.
“What was it that you wanted tell me Bren?â€
“Oh, nothing…deary.â€
“What?â€
“Exactly.â€
“Oh, dear, God, you were going to tell me…†she trailed off, and refusing to think the impossible.
“What?†He asked.
“Were you going to ask me what I think you were going to ask me?â€
“What do you think I was going to ask you?â€
“That…†she blushed.
“That I, like, like you or something?!â€
“Yeah…â€
“Well,†he sighed and bit his lip then said, “I…do sorta feel that way.â€
“Who-at?!†Xander said, laughing. “This is definitely new, ain’t it?â€
“Shut up!†Goggles spat at the AI, and turned her attention back at the bigger problem; Brenny.
Brendan sighed. “I’m glad I got that off my chest.â€
All Goggles could do was stare at him in mild surprise, not knowing what to say, how to react. Noticing her current condition, she shut her hanging jaw, blinked herself out of a staring contest, and finally said, “So…let me get this straight: you, my cousin, my aunt’s son, actually have a crush on me?â€
“Yep.â€
“So you think that I’m—“
“Bloody beautiful? Yes.â€
“Huh, a-a-and you th-think I’m funny and…â€
“I love your eyes,†he interrupted.
“Oy, how many times will I have to hear that?!â€
Brendan was right though; she did have eyes that were beyond belief. They were a slightly-darker-then-lime green around the pupil and they had a progression to a near-perfect denim blue around the edge of her iris. He was disappointed that she hid behind those damn goggles all the time. Although, her goggles seemed to hold a strong connection to her and made every one of their days just a little more interesting and unpredictable than the last…