Gundam Build Fighters: Ash and Snow Prologue
After Iori Sei and Reiji's International gunpla tournament victory took the world by storm, a new gunpla "boom" had occurred. Gunpla sales skyrocketed and battle systems were being set up everywhere. People who had never even heard of the Japanese mechs were binge watching classic series late into the night. Some children learned to control a gunpla before they knew multiplication. It was a phenomenon that would forever be engraved in history.
Within only two years, gundam had a larger fan base than any other anime in the world, and gunpla battle had more players than even the most popular online games. People from all over the world were absorbed into the concept of gunpla battle. Jobs directly related to gunpla and gunpla battle started opening up – to the extent where schools even adopted gunpla battle related classes into their curriculum.
Local tournaments started opening up left and right, creating chances for gunpla battlers to prove their strength on the battlefield. The number of people playing gunpla battle had tripled over the span of only two years, and with threat of player overpopulation, PPSE incorporated a new system that will help monitor the number of people attending tournaments – the team system.
Instead of going alone, five people can unite to form a team. The team will fight under one name instead of each person fighting for themselves. A typical team is composed four fighters – pilots of gunpla that engage in battles, and one operator, who is responsible for overseeing the fighters, keeping an eye on resources and maintaining control over the battlefield. A new, delicate balance was formed, and the team system was used incredibly flexibly by all tournament organizers internationally. The variety of battle types expanded immensely, opening up potential for new battle modes never previously possible without the team system. The efficiency of the team system could not be overlooked by even the most intense gunpla skeptics, and it was quickly embraced by all international tournament hosts. The formation of a team is obligatory if one wants to enter a gunpla battle tournament. The fans responded positively, and over ten million teams were formed in the span of only six months.
Gunpla had grown incredibly fast, and the world was not prepared for what it had to offer.
To many gunpla fans, 18th of April 20X1 was a significant day. According to PPSE and Bandai, it was the day that the number of gunpla sold exceeded 100 billion units internationally. It was a milestone that was relentlessly worked towards by all gunpla-goers, and PPSE promised great things on that day. Massive gunpla discounts, Exclusive gundam merchandise and the announcements of all new gunpla and gunpla series were all scheduled on that one day. It was a day that went down in history as "the day gundam took over the world", and every April 18th since was declared "International Gunpla Day"
But for Taijin Sakamoto, April 18th was just another Friday.
Taijin Sakamoto was a 16 year old second year high school student, attending Raizen High Art School. Great things were expected of him.
His father, Ryuji Sakamoto, was a famous international detective as well a talented martial artist. Best known for solving over 4 murder cases in a single year, he was renowned for his tenacity and bastardly sharp intuition. With over twenty years of experience in the field, he was the leading expert in his field. He wrote several books on human psychology and criminology, and was overall one of the most famous pioneers of criminology in the country.
His mother, Katsura Sakamoto, was a writer and poet. As a child, Taijin would remember her telling him fairy tale after fairy tale, each one with their own vivid identity and unique universe. She was a prodigy in her field, and wrote over 30 best-selling novels. It was said that her words were like commandments that would tell the reader exactly how to feel. When she wanted to make the reader feel sad, she did, and when she wanted to make the reader feel happy, she did as well. She could describe the same thing in a million ways, each way carrying its own feel and emotion to it.
As a child, Taijin was unique in the sense that he spent most of his childhood isolated from gundam shows and gunpla. This was mostly attributed to his parents keeping him isolated from such things as Gunpla – they needed him to study and do the very best that he could in all his academic fields. And he did. He was getting nothing but perfect grades and solid awards.
In particular, Taijin found a space in his heart for all things art. He could create like nobody else could. Whether through paintings or through sculptures, Taijin could perfectly materialize his thoughts into masterpieces to be marveled at.
The "gunpla boom" happened briefly after Taijin had just finished middle school, and everybody had their eyes on him. Gunpla was being brought into schools, battle machines were being imported into campuses and there was a rising demand for gunpla fighting experts. Without a doubt, it was expected that someone as naturally artistic and talented as Taijin would excel in the field. After all, gunpla was essentially about art; projecting one's preferences, styles and favorites onto one single mech. And when the start of the year that everybody was waiting for finally came around, the year where gunpla classes took over Raizen High Art School's timetable, talk was already circulating about the best fighters and builders. Taijin's name was never left out of either conversation.
But when the year came, Taijin found that a sick twist was in store for him.
Everything collapsed. Taijin could build gunpla like nobody could, but quickly found that his inexperience in the gundam universe left him at a crippling disadvantage that he could not recover from. He could not tell the difference between a Zaku or a Gouf, an Arios or a Kyrios. That set the foundation for a tremendously miserable experience.
And on his first battle on his first year, Taijin failed spectacularly. He could not pilot a gunpla. He could not even bear to look at the machines. He felt an uncontrollable physical weight pressed upon him every time he was near a battle machine. It was a strange, painful sensation; like an unbearable heartache that would not stop. It was a feeling that he kept to himself, not because he was too prideful to confide in others, but because he could not find the words to describe how he felt.
No words were needed to describe what happened to his grades, his reputation and his sanity.
Gunpla counted for a massive 60% of the total grades, which was a blessing for other students but a curse for Taijin. Slowly, battle after battle, gunpla after gunpla, Taijin stopped trying. His gunpla started to decrease in quality, going from masterpieces that would qualify as display mechs to scratch builds that were clumsily thrown together in seconds. If both gunpla would end up the same, destroyed and useless, what was the point of working so hard to make a perfect gunpla?
His dorm mates tried their best to motivate Taijin, but to little avail. They were all avid gunpla fans of many years, with their childhood filled with golden memories of mobile suits and colonies. It was now late into the first year, and Taijin was about to surrender. He was on the verge of failing school and repeating the semester. It was a thought that haunted him. His parents expected better, his friends expected better, but most importantly, he expected better.
20X4, April 17th
Home alone at night, Taijin lay on his bed and stared out the window. His room was messy, with sheets of A4 paper scattered across the room, and a mountain of scrunched up paper in his trash can. On his desk lay a half built 1/144 Gundam Age Titus. It was built with no effort and care. He let out a deep sigh.
Tomorrow was Gunpla day, which meant whether he liked it or not he would be surrounded by gunpla for the entire day. From start to finish, from the rude awakening he expected from his roommates to the gunpla theme classes of school, he knew there was going to be know escape from the gundam universe. Gunpla tore away everything from Taijin. His relationship with his friends, his exceptional grades, and his sanity. If it was a day meant to celebrate gunpla, it was a day he'd rather spend dead.
"Gunpla battle…huh?"
He looked at his Age 1 Titus with shame and disgust. He shook his head, and tried to force himself to sleep. He shut his eyes and prayed for time to take him away.
Little did he know that tomorrow was a day that was going to change the course of his life.
Note from Author
Hello Reader!
You may remember me from the older story , Gundam Build Fighters a tale of two dragons. I don't know about you guys, but i didn't really like where that story was going, so i didn't want to offend you precious readers by giving you a half-hearted story. So here we are, on a clean slate, with a new story. Alot of planning and thought has went into this story, so i really hope that you enjoy it! :D
Anyways, Gundam Build Fighters Snow and Ash Chapter 1 - Snow in April will be out on the 20th of April! Please look forward to it! :D
Have a nice day!