Tobio moved out of the way just in time to avoid the soccer ball. It sailed just inches past his head and landed in the bushes at the end of the lawn, which divided his parents' property with the next-door neighbors. He laughed and went after the ball and dug it out from under the bushes, and kicked it high towards the other two kids next to the driveway. The ball landed and took a big bounce before landing in the auburn boy's hands, stood near the mailbox, immediately kicked it right back to Tobio.
Chapter One
Robots Are The Future
The sun was just starting to set, so a languid, red light was starting to fall on everything. The cicadas were humming in the trees and you can hear crickets in the directions. The soccer ball landed right in Tobio's arms. He then did a side ways kick and the ball shot right between the other two boys, and bounced off the side of his neighbor's car with a metallic thud.
Tobio was a handsome lad; just three days shy of his tenth birthday. He had very light brown, with two hand-made points sticking out. He had a lean, sharp face. His eyes were chocolate brown cat- like slits that conveyed the boy's intelligence and his warm sense of humor, both of which were copious. He stood with a height of 4'9, and was lean and very fit.
The dark headed boy kicked the ball right back. "Aaron! Heads up!" Tobio shouted, and then kicked the ball.
It landed in the driveway and started bouncing towards the street, causing the other two boys to chase after it while Tobio laughed with that unique, hearty laugh that he had.
The front door to the house opened and Tobio's house robot Nora, class one nanny-bot, appeared in the doorway. "Tobio, it's getting late! You need to finish up and come in soon!" she yelled, as Tobio turned to face the house.
"Alright, Nora, I'll be right in!" Tobio replied to the robot as he turned back to the neighbor kids. "Guys, I have to go in now!"
"Here kick the ball to me!"
The auburn boy kicked the ball towards Tobio, but it veered left of him and started rolling down towards the street. Laughing he ran after it, the ball rolled over the curb and into the street. Tobio was so focus on chasing the ball to retrieve it that he did not see the car coming.
The soccer ball came to a rest against the curb on the opposite side of the street.
Two years later.
Tobio's father was determined to have his son back, so determined, in fact that he had decided to make robot in his son's image. A robot replica based on his whole being.
He opened his blueprints, scanning over them with his eyes, looking for any minor details that he missed that could mess up the whole designed. He smiled nothing that his excellent eyesight had not missed a thing.
Dr. Tenma turned back to his creation, looking at it and smiling a weak, sad smile. His brain clicked as he almost forgot something. Something that was so vital, that the robot couldn't live like he wanted it to without it: Tobio's DNA.
He ran over to a container on the opposite side of the room, holding his nine-year-old son's body. Pressing a button on the side, the container opened, with a syringe he take a sample of his blood. As the container closed, Tenma placed the sample of blood in a different container on the control panel. He waited patiently as it scanned the body.
Flashes came from behind him, and he turned, noticing that all of Tobio's memories were popping up all over the table. He looked away from the memory for a brief moment, emotions threatening to swamp over him. A realization that he was not there for his son, the memories shown him that Nora, their house robot, had single-handy rise his son; she was more of a parent to Tobio than he was in his son's life.
All of Tobio's memories overhead disappeared and began to scan onto the robot's brain. He looked back as the skin scanner whirred to life, watching as the scanner printed a nude body of his son. The scanner gave him his hair onto his head. Two spikes: one on top, and on the bottom, both curled up like shark fins.
Eight years later, Metro City.
"Hey it's time to wake up and get ready for school."
"Uh-uh, five more minutes Mom."
Kennedy could feel his mom she gently shook him as he tried to sleep for a few more minutes. He head his mom said that they are running late had she pulled the covers off him. Groaning, as he sat up in his bed rubbing his eyes, yawning noticing his mom had already left his room. The boy climbed out of his bed and headed to the bathroom, pulled off his underwear and stood in front of the toilet to pee. After he flushed the toilet, he brushed his teeth, as he got into the shower and turned on the water and got under it.
The doorknob turned when the door open, the fourth grader walked with a towel wrapped around his waist with his hair matted to his forehead. When he got back to his bedroom, he pulled off his towel, rubbed it through his hair a few times, and started putting on his uniform.
He sat down on the bed dressed in his black pant white shirt and his red colored jacket just about to put on his sock when his mother burst in the door.
"C'mon honey lets go you can put your shoes on in the car," his mom shouted as she picked up his backpack.
Kennedy grabbed his shoes and his socks and walked to the bedroom door where his mother was standing waiting on him.
"Aren't we gonna have breakfast?" he grabbed his tie from the coat hanger and left as his mother followed close behind him.
Twenty-eight year old, Ms. Midori had started her morning like she do every morning with a healthy breakfast, then she would go out for her early morning run by the water front. She only lives about fifteen minutes from the beach, and her children friend Jumbo, who she always says good morning too. Jumbo, is a giant of a robot who was built by Midori's father for the first ever Robot Festival.
She would look out her apartment widow, where Jumbo sat by the shoreline, ever since he was abandoned there over twenty years ago. As the folks slowly forgot about him, she had not forgotten her giant of a friend.
It was sad to see her friend just sitting there in the water, where he used to play with young children. Midori glanced up at Jumbo; it was his love for children, which made her to become a school sensei.
She caught something in the corner of her eyes, as she was about to leave the beach, and Jumbo.
In the distant lying on the beach as she came closer, she began to realize it was a body, not just a body but also a body of a young child. That been wash up onto the beach; she just dropped to her knees as she covered her mouth had she felt her eyes watering.
The time that he had gotten to school, the final bell had already ringed and the first time Kennedy had been late to class. He had to get a little piece of paper to give his sensei, explaining why he was late for first lesson.
He was only late because he had spent last night working on project, for his third lesson class that the project was do Friday and he was almost finish it.
After he left the main office, the fourth grader headed for his locker to grabbed his books for the first and second lesson classes, and pit his lunch in his locker when he heard a faint sobbing noise. At first, he thought he was imagining it, but he did not imagine when he heard a loud bang that made him jump, had it broken the quiet of the hallway.
"Is there someone there?" he looked to see who had made the sound, but the corridor was empty except for him.
He heard a mumbled familiar voice. "Hello, someone there?" had he realize who the voice belong to, he felt bad for him had it been the tenth, or the twelfth times the kid was shoved into his own locker, this week.
"Alejo?"
"Kennedy, that you?"
He lean against his locker had his friend; Alejo's locker was next to his. He and Alejo been friends since he and his mom had moved here, he was not looking for a friend, when he met Alejo; a school bully and his friends had he was just shoved into his locker and watched them had they just left the poor kid in his locker.
Even back then, Kennedy felt sorry for his fellow classmate. He knows his friend's locker combination like he know the back of his hand, had he been letting him out of his locker about a year now. As he open the locker for him, the thin, fit classmate fell out and because Kennedy was standing in front of the locker the weight of the falling fourth grader had charge both boys to all on the ground with Alejo on top.
"Sori," Alejo spoke in Japanese, had he forgot that Kennedy only speak English.
"Thank, but I wouldn't got out of there by myself," he know his friend was speaking English but it still sound like he speaking Japanese.
As Alejo was getting up, Kennedy yet his eyes glanced over his friend. He was two or more inches shorter than Kennedy was, and he was one of the shortest students in the fourth grade. His hair was almost grey in color has he always had his in a buzz cut, he said his father was a military man and tell him long hairs are for hippies, and he not goes rise no hippies.
The boy has black eyes, but the color is not what people notice: instead, they notice the thick lenses that sit in front of them. He held his hand out has he pulled his friend up to his feet.
She still cannot get the image of that young boy out of her head. Had waited for the police to arrive, at that time Ms. Midori had stay with the body as just stared at him. Tobio laid on his stomach on the sandy beach, his head was facing her had his eyes closed, she thought he was just sleeping until she tried to wake him.
The realization that the half-naked boy was exacting was dead, Midori covered her mouth had she gasp in horror.
She had to stay away from the body had an officer spoke to her first before the detective arrive on the scene. All she could think is whom could do anything to an innocent child, her heart weep for the child and for his parent who are wondering what happen to their child.
Detective Tawashi was a tall man in his late thirties, and he is knew among the Metro City Police Department (MCPD) to never smile, even if he thought it was fun, he would never admit it to the men.
Before he spoke to the coroner who was knelt by the body, he just stood for a minute. His eyes seem to study the boy before him; he looked to be about nine year old and stood 4'5", and if he could guess that the boy weight about 66.1lbs. He had black hair in a strange hairstyle, with one spike in the front, and another one in the back on the opposite side.
The detective lowered his eyes over the kid; he wore no clothes on except for a pair of black swim trunks with a green strap.
"What can you tell me?"
The coroner glanced from the body to the detective had she heard his voice. "Not mush I'm afraid," Kate met the detective's gaze, had she answered his question.
"I'll know more when I do the autopsy," she spoke, standing up had the body was slowly carried away.
"Leave him alone!"
He had finished getting his drink of water and headed up to his locker to get his science book for his next lesson, when he notice Shibugaki and his friends sur-rounding Alejo by the lockers. Kennedy had seen his share of jerks like Shibugaki at his old school.
"Mind your business," Shibugaki said, noticing Kennedy approaching toward them.
For a fourth grader Shibugaki is a tall boy, Kennedy is taller than his friend is, but he cannot looked over Shibugaki's shoulder without standing his tiptoes.
He's a back kid from the toughest city in the world, New York. No chubby bastard goes pushed his friend around, not anymore. "I said leave him alone," he repeated in a firm tone of voice had got into his chubby face.
"Yah, leave me alone," Alejo got a little brave, as he stared at both boys had they are facing off against each other.
At this time a crowd had formed, students had gathered in the hall watching what was going on, and few were murmuring among themselves.
"C'mon Alejo, let's go," still staring at him, as he and Alejo turned to walk away.
"That's right, you and your boyfriend had better walk away," Shibugaki shouted to them, had he and his friends been laughing.
"You know what you're a fat stupid coward," Alejo stopped walking and turned to face him.
He ran up shoving Alejo to the ground, Kennedy felt a heat rush to his head has Shibugaki shoved his friend. He was about to attack Alejo again, throwing a punch at him, it just stopped. At the end of his fist was a black hand belonging to Kennedy, had he met his gaze with his own. That made him even more angry had he threw his left fist at Kennedy quickly let go of his right hand and grabbed his left arm has he twisted it.
Had the crowd watched, Kennedy kicked him in his stomach knocking the wind out of him dropping him to knees. He grabbed Shibugaki's head and brought his knee to the boy's face sending him falling back to the floor. Alejo and the other students were looking at Kennedy with their mouths wide open astonished by what he had just done.
"You son of a…," Shibugaki yelled in anger as he touched his nose has he felt a warm liquid running from it.
Looking at his fingers which were covered in blood and he gazed at Kennedy as he felt his rage building. He got off the floor quickly, rush toward him, just had he was about deliver another punch when Mr. Higeoyaji stepped between them and broke up the fight.
"That enough boys," Mr. Higeoyaji said, tying to keep Kennedy and Shibugaki apart as they tried to get each other.
The detective slowly followed Kate had they entered the examining room, Tawashi was curious about the young child they found earlier this morning, even if he didn't show it. She had examined a lot of bodies and conform twice a many autopsies, but nothing like the autopsy of this young child; and she don't know where to start.
In the room an examine table where the body of a nine year-old, Tobio was lying on with a white sheet covering his body. They approached the table; Tawashi broke the silent between them.
"So, anything you can tell me, about him?" the detective inquired, seeing no one had reported a missing child that fix his description.
He was hoping that she could shine some light on anything he could use to identify the kid. Kate never taking her soft-brown eyes way from his, thought he goes love this had she began to answer his question.
"He's a robot."