Characters / Rainbow

Novel Characters

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Aaron Maitreya Axe

I fear nothing, and that scares me.

The protagonist Character Narrator of the story, Aaron is a beautiful, kind, and brilliant, yet deeply troubled young Japanese boy who has never had a real friend. That all changes, however, when he meets and falls in Love at First Sight with Cinderella Peterson, a girl of seemingly-supernatural beauty who proves to be his intellectual equal. Cinderella eventually reveals to Aaron that all stories are true, and that the two of them are the only ones who can Save the World from the divine forces of evil.

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• Byronic Hero: Textbook example. Aaron is handsome, brilliant, and tormented, and his inner conflict presents a major obstacle to the heroes' ultimate goals.
• Brooding Boy, Gentle Girl: The Brooding Boy to Cinderella's Gentle Girl.
• Camp Bi: Aaron is quite feminine and demure, fashion-conscious, and wears makeup. However, he's not Camp Straight; though he's in love with Cinderella, he explicitly states that he's as attracted to other boys as he is to girls.
• Child Prodigy / Teen Genius: At the start of the novel, Aaron is twelve years old, but he turns thirteen by the end of the first volume. He mastered reading and writing by the time he was four, had an advanced understanding of science and mathematics by the time he was seven, and achieves the very top score in the World Hegemony's Intelligence Examination on his thirteenth birthday.
• Dark Is Not Evil: Aaron is a disturbing-looking albino and isn't completely sane. However, despite this, Aaron is incredibly kind and compassionate, even if he's not terribly optimistic about it.
• Hollywood Autism: Averted; Aaron's diagnosed high-functioning autism is apparent, but realistic and sympathetic in its portrayal. Helps that the novel's author, Akira Hiyashi, is diagnosed with high-functioning autism.
• In Touch with His Feminine Side: To the point where he outright despises masculinity and is often mistaken for a girl, himself.
• Loners Are Freaks: Played with. He does have a few screws loose, but for the most part he's a sweet and creative Perky Goth.
• Lovable Nerd: He's rather easily flustered, and has a habit of stuttering when he's anxious. He's also very nerdy and endearingly passionate about his interests.
• Metal Head: Rock & Roll is one of his biggest passions, and he has an especial stated fondness for Death Metal.
• Pretty Boy: Aaron is consistently described as having a very feminine beauty about him.
• Shrinking Violet: Aaron is very shy, demure, and withdrawn.
• Sesquipedalian Loquaciousness: Lampshaded and Justified; Aaron has a self-admitted fondness for overly-flowery language, which is largely a result of his autism. Because he's the novel's narrator, this results in a mostly Purple Prose-y writing style.
• Tall, Dark, and Snarky: He's the tall, handsome First-Person Smartass narrator of the story, and his hair is as black as pitch.

Cinderella Peterson

I am a servant of the Light. One of its chief servants, and greatest soldiers, in fact.

The co-protagonist and Big Good of the story, as well as Aaron's Love Interest. Cinderella sets the events of Rainbow in motion when she meets Aaron on the steps of the Tokyo Public Library and immediately befriends him. Over the weeks before Aaron's thirteenth birthday, they become close friends and eventual lovers as Cinderella proves to be Aaron's intellectual equal and a like-minded thinker. It quickly becomes apparent, however, that Cinderella is far, far more than she seems.

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• The Ace: Cinderella is surpassingly beautiful, as well as one of the greatest warriors of all time. She's also Aaron's intellectual equal and a Determinator to the core.
• Badass Adorable: Cinderella is immensely cute and beautiful. She is also a very capable and deadly warrior.
• Big Good: Cinderella is the leader and most capable member of the rebellion against the World Hegemony. She seeks out Aaron to attempt to persuade him to share this mantle with her.
• Good Is Not Dumb: Though Cinderella is optimistic and cheerful, she is well aware of how bleak and cruel the world can be.
• Good Is Not Soft: Cinderella- though a kind, cheerful, and compassionate young girl- is still a Paladin. She will kill those who serve Darkness when she has to.
• Hair of Gold, Heart of Gold: Her hair is as golden as sunlight, and she has a very big heart.
• Light Is Good: Cinderella is overwhelmingly associated with light, and she's a staunch believer in people's inner goodness.
• Manic Pixie Dream Girl: Exaggerated in parts, downplayed in others. Cinderella kicks the novel's plot off by entering Aaron's life and showing him how amazing and beautiful the world can really be. She eventually reveals herself to be a full-fledged Magical Girl, and is every bit as intelligent and resourceful as Aaron. However, unlike most examples of this trope, the boy whose life she enters is anything but average.
• Stepford Smiler: A zig-zagged Type 1. As the story goes on, Cinderella's past is revealed to be progressively bleaker than Aaron previously thought, and as a result she certainly does carry some depression that she usually hides behind her smile. Nonetheless, she still believes in goodness and justice, and is fiercely determined to earn her happy ending.
• Teen Genius: She quickly demonstrates herself to be Aaron's intellectual equal, if not his superior.