(A/N): This is a two-shot, consisting of parts of a story I have in my head right now. I so badly want to write a full story of it, but there's many reasons why I won't be. For starters, I have no time. I shouldn't even be writing this, but I've done lots of work today and I deserve a little break. But the main reason I can't form a full-length story out of this is because I don't have any other parts planned. If it were a story, I'd want it to be really spectacular, and this wouldn't even be the climax, just a part somewhere in the middle. Plus, I lack the skill I would want, so yeah, a two-shot it shall remain.
Summary: Day by day the war goes on. Soon it will be forgotten that the bond between human and sacred spirit (or bitbeast, as they once called them) ever existed. As science breaks through and his son rebels, Kai finds himself torn without solution. Twoshot
Background: The story is set in a dystopic future (much like my story 'Your World' but not nearly as depressing and completely different :)) which has been torn apart by modern society. For years now the bond between human and bitbeast has been broken, and the two species are at war. Kai Hiwatari is now forty five years old, president of a business company which teamed up with scientists to try and create human armies using replicated DNA which the scientists have tampered with to ensure there's no rebellion. Gou Hiwatari is Kai's eighteen year-old son.
Oh, another thing. The story features Tyson and his son Makoto aswell, who is the same age as Gou. Gou and Makoto are the names given by the manga, and if you see it you get an idea that they look almost identical to their father's. In this story, Gou looks exactly like Kai but with the different face markings (as you'll see in the manga), and Makoto looks like Tyson but a lot taller and more muscular than Tyson was at his age (sort of like Tyson's dad, so I guess it skips generations). However, though he looks like his father, Gou and Kai have completely contrasting personalities, yet strange similarities aswell.
Just thought I'd clear that up :)
Disclaimer: I do not own beyblade or any of it's characters, including Gou and Makoto. I only own the story-line and original idea :D
Kai Hiwatari, president of one of the largest companies in the entire world, downed his sixth mug of black coffee in one breath, refraining from using it to bash in the heads of the three scientists with whom he seemed to be in a heated debate. Trying to keep his temper, he massaged his temples and stood to give him height advantage; any kind of advantage was welcome at that point.
'Mister Hiwatari,' one of the scientists slammed his fist on Kai's desk in frustration. 'I cannot delay this process any further! The world is on it's toes waiting for us; waiting for you!'
'Acworth,' Kai snapped. 'I am well aware of the successes you've had with the HA (1).' He turned slightly and spoke lower, as though to himself. 'I'm just wondering if perhaps we're going about this the wrong way…'
'But sir, it was-'
'I know it was all my idea!' Kai cried out in exasperation. The constant battle with his conscience had been troubling him a lot lately. He didn't know what to do any more.
'Mr Hiwatari, sir, there's somebody here to see you-' A fourth figure had briskly entered the room.
'I don't have time for this!' Kai exclaimed, barely managing to contain himself from throwing his papers to the opposite corner of the room. 'I'll see nobody. Tell them I'm too busy trying to save the planet.' The sarcasm left a bitter taste in his mouth as he spat venom at the man at the door, who hadn't become any less forthright with his boss' impatient manner.
'Sir, the man outside already assumed you wouldn't see him, and asked me to only tell you of his name.'
'Oh, his name!' Kai cried out dramatically. 'A name, what's in a name! Well go on then, humour me, Morris. What is this man's name?'
'Kinomiya, sir.'
Kai almost dropped his papers this time. His head shot up from the documents in his hand and he eyed his employee suspiciously, before sighing in exhaustion. 'Oh very well, send Kinomiya in.'
Morris nodded and swiftly made his exit, leaving president Kai Hiwatari to ignore his debate with the other employees in his office. Resting himself against the large, wooden desk, he sighed again and tried to remember a time where he hadn't been under so much pressure. The government, the army, the police force, they were all waiting with baited breath for the slightest advance in development. He had publicly given word that the humanoid armies were soon to be sent into combat, and now he had to ensure that he lived up to his word.
'Well, passive as usual? I see you haven't changed much'.
'Tyson…' Kai turned and found himself more relieved than he'd expected to see such an old friend. Over the years they'd rarely spoken and quite a long time ago had broken all contact. Their past seemed like a distant dream, but feeling that close bond of friendship once again, Kai felt it more real now than ever before. There in the doorway, was former world champion of a long-forgotten sport, Tyson Kinomiya.
He grinned at Kai's unreadable expression and invited himself further into the room. 'Not bad,' he smirked, inspecting the large office filled with the Einstein's of tomorrow's world. Kai noted how much taller he'd become, but other than that he looked exactly the same as he always had. While the company president's face was becoming lined to show his stress, Tyson seemed to have effortlessly kept his youth. But given the family genes it wasn't surprising, and Kai suspected that even Tyson's old grandfather was probably still around.
'How are you?' was the only thing Kai could think of saying, out of the many thoughts flying through his brain.
Tyson shrugged and leant against the window pane. 'I'll be better when Makoto returns.'
'Oh,' Kai started in surprise, though he wasn't sure why he was surprised. 'Makoto's in the armed forces?'
Tyson nodded and smiled. 'Not for much longer though, thankfully. I hear the troops will be shipped home soon?'
Seeing the hope in Tyson's eyes, Kai nodded and said quietly 'Not long now'.
There was a comfortable silence for a few moments while Tyson gazed from the window at the dreary streets of the commercial city. Below him the people marching through the busy streets looked like helpless ants. Somewhere in a country not so far away, another battle was being fought against the sacred spirits and the elements of the earth. Not a single human could match the power in a million years and Tyson feared that in the next few weeks his only son could be brutally annihilated by the spirits he once conspired with.
The scientist Acworth was still talking to Kai as their guest contemplated the distant past. 'I'd say it should be about three weeks before we can send them out, if not sooner.'
Kai jerked his head in a robotic nod, abandoning his previous debate. 'Good. We are losing too many men. Your son will return in three weeks, Tyson.' He looked towards the window to find Tyson smiling back at him.
'Isn't it strange,' he mused 'that we're now at war with our most faithful allies.'
A sudden wave of sadness washed over Kai, and he found himself unable to respond. Tyson ignored the looks he was getting from the scientists in Kai's office and continued. 'There was a time where we would have trusted our sacred spirits with our lives. And now they're…' he trailed off, not wanted to classify the spirits as the enemy, even though that's what they were. Long ago the unbreakable bond had been broken and even the blue dragon spirit of the wind, his Dragoon, had joined the revolt against humanity.
Kai slowly nodded, fixating intently at a spot on the floor. He wished everybody else would leave the room so that he could talk to Tyson properly, but with the suspicion everybody had these days, it would be unlikely to have a moment's peace.
Acworth seemed to be ignoring Tyson completely and continued talking to Kai, raising his eyebrows slightly in suspicion. 'Your son, Hiwatari, seems to have taken much fascination in the humanoid beings.'
Kai sighed and shook his head, but Tyson looked interested so Acworth continued. 'One in particular, actually. I'm not sure why, but he spends much of his time sneaking into the research labs to speak with it, thinking he isn't being watched.'
Kai's instinct told him to punch the man in the side of the head, scold him for watching his son so intently and demand the boy be left alone. But Tyson's voice cut through his sudden burst of anger. 'Gou? I haven't seen him in years! Where is he?'
Kai opened his mouth to respond but the scientist beside Acworth spoke first. 'I suspect he's in one of the combat training facilities. He likes to participate in the drills-'
'You will see him later,' Kai cut the man off sharply. He didn't appreciate them talking about his son, nor did he appreciate his son rebelling against him and sneaking into the research labs behind his back. He waited with baited breath for the day the humanoids would be sent into battle, and Gou would probably never speak to him again. He also didn't appreciate being reminded of the past, though he still kept the plastic beyblade in the locked drawer of his desk, gathering dust and looking increasingly smaller each time he took it out. Without the red phoenix Dranzer, it was almost valueless and served only to provide him with the knowledge that his exceptional past really did happen.
He bet Tyson had kept his beyblade too, cold and empty without it's guardian. It was only a game, or perhaps it wasn't in the end. But now there was no time to play. Now there was a war which it was impossible for them to win. Their opponents were their allies and their allies were their opponents. Everything was different now; everything had changed.
'Like them, I was made to bring victory to the humans against the sacred spirits. And like them, I must be eager to defend those I depend on the most.' The favoured humanoid explained, peering kindly into the deep red eyes before him.
Gou knelt on the tiled floor of white porcelain in a large room filled with identical beings. It was dark except for the few lighting fixtures on the tiled walls which seemed to give off a glow of deep blue. Before him on the tiled bench, sat the humanoid he'd begun to spend most of his time visiting, who he'd decided to bless with the name Hotaru. Sometimes the two would speak for hours, or just sit in painful silence knowing full-well what would soon tear them apart.
He shook his head with a faint smile 'You're not like them. You're Hotaru, and you're completely different.'
But Hotaru steadily shook it's head. 'If I am Hotaru, they are Hotaru. We were created the same way and we are all the same.'
And to the human eye, they were the same. Rows of identical humanoids sat side-by-side, surrounding the two of them, fixating straight ahead as though they lacked the ability to look elsewhere. Some of them faced eachother, a few had a clear view of Gou in their vision, but either chose to ignore it or they couldn't really see it at all. It were as though they had been shut down, sent back to their stations to recharge. Gou knew that every single one of them could speak to him the way Hotaru could, but there was something the curious teenager saw in this humanoid which was different to the rest. He was almost…
Gou smiled and retrieved something from his pocket. After unscrewing the lid, he dipped his fingers in the paint and delicately ran them over the replicated skin of the humanoid's cheek.
Hotaru flinched at the contact and it's eyes widened slightly. 'M-master Hiwatari…' it whispered in fright, terrified of the new sensation. It was unaware of what to do but stayed still as the young man kneeled before him and delicately smeared the cold substance over it's face.
'You don't need to call me that,' Gou whispered sternly, drawing back from his concentration. Hotaru sat oddly stiff but Gou smiled at him. 'Now you don't look like them. You look like me.'
Hotaru reached a shaky hand to touch it's cheek, but Gou averted it quickly, gently placing his hand over the humanoid's. Hotaru looked at him anxiously again at the contact, but Gou gently lowered Hotaru's hand and smiled softly. 'You'll smudge the paint.'
'I wish I really could be you,' Hotaru shook his head. 'There's such a difference between you and us.'
Gou tilted his head to the right, shrugging his shoulders and smiling again. 'Them, maybe. But you? I see no difference between me and you.'
Hotaru shook his head rapidly this time, and wiped frantically at the face paint before Gou could gently stop him. 'No, we are different. You have…something we don't.'
Hotaru couldn't put its finger on what the humanoids were missing. And that in itself was imminent doom. If it didn't know, it would never know, never could figure it out and so on. The replicated DNA had been from a mixture of actual human beings once. President Hiwatari, sovereign Acworth and his team of scientists had created technological advancements and taken away every aspect of independence and free will. These humanoids were to be used for combat, and were designed to never rebel against it. That implanted loyalty is what would never allow Hotaru to completely believe what Gou Hiwatari told it, whether or not it was the truth. Hotaru didn't know the meaning of truth. All it knew was what had been implanted in it's brain at creation, and everything else was different. Not wrong, just different. But Hotaru didn't trust them nonetheless, and was reluctant to let Gou make it different because then it'd be like no other, and that concept brought on a strange emotion Hotaru couldn't identify: fear.
Gou returned the pot of face paint to his pocket, and lifted his hands in defeat. 'We do, Hotaru. But that doesn't mean you're all the same. How do you think I know you from the others? You all appear identical, but I can tell you apart from them instantly.'
Hotaru couldn't answer and only looked straight ahead. For a moment Gou was worried it had fallen into the eerie state of immobility as the rest of them. 'Hotaru…?' he whispered softly.
'We are going to war soon.' Hotaru impassively responded. 'They've been training us to fight as long as I remember, for the day we march into battle.' It's eyes seemed to focus again as it looked into Gou's. 'Our finest hour is approaching.'
Gou couldn't tell whether Hotaru was happy with this or not, but it made him sick to his stomach to know that their finest hour would be marching out to be annihilated. Never shifting his fixed gaze, he gently reached his hand to touch Hotaru's once again. The rough skin flinched beneath his palm as though it burned. But the humanoid looked apologetic and allowed Gou to hold his hand. It seemed the Hiwatari boy gained a strange sense of comfort from the contact. This was something else that Hotaru would never understand, but to be so vulnerable must surely be a weakness.
'You shouldn't have to do this,' Gou murmured.
'It's what we're here for.' The softness left the humanoid's voice for a moment, replacing it with a blunt military tone that Gou didn't like. 'Your father's ensuring the safety of humans all over the globe by having us created for combat.'
'I have no father,' Gou automatically stated. He knew he was being childish but in his mind he was justified. President Hiwatari was the man who bought the technological advancements, creating people to do exactly what he wanted. What childhood trauma's his father had gone through to mess with his emotions, Gou was unaware of. All he knew was that he was completely unwilling to claim a relation to a man he only knew as being compassionless.
To Gou's slight surprise, Hotaru lifted his other hand to place on top of Gou's. 'A father is a privilege' it reminded him. 'Abiding by his rules wouldn't hurt you.'
'But it would hurt you,' the confused boy pleaded. He knew, or so he thought, that Hotaru didn't want to fight. They may have created him but it was cruel to take his individuality, his ability to rebel, and brand him as some sort of machine.
Hotaru swiftly dropped the subject. 'Master Gou, it is late. Soon the electricity will be shut off and we will fall into submissive state.' Submissive state was when the brain censors of the humanoids would be switched off, leaving them uninteractive. This was controlled by the scientists who shut off all electricity in the city for several hours during the night. It was their way of storing power and keeping people from staying awake. The humanoids never slept; they were designed to enter their combat state should an outsider intrude. Those surrounding Gou and Hotaru were preparing themselves to go into the submissive state by blocking out their human senses. Gou knew that if he stayed down there much longer, the lights would go out and the door would lock, leaving him to sleep on the porcelain floor and pray he didn't roll over and trigger an alarm. He certainly didn't want that to happen, again, but wished he could stay with Hotaru.
'You still have blue on your face,' Gou smiled weakly and gently rubbed the remains of the face paint off with his thumb. There was no flinch this time and he assumed Hotaru had eased slightly. Either that, or he too was preparing for submissive state.
Not wanting to let go, Gou drew himself up and left before the black hours approached. Before leaving he spoke solemnly so no other humanoid within range would hear. 'If you truly can't feel, I'll feel for you, until you learn to be the way I know you should.' Unsure whether Hotaru really knew what he meant, Gou murmured a prayer to nobody in particular, and began the tiresome journey home.
(A/N): (1)- HA stands for 'Humanoid Army'.
I've been waiting for absolutely ages to get this finished and uploaded. I hope that nobody found it somewhat political and boring.
Also, I hope it didn't confuse anyone that I referred to Hotaru as 'it' instead of 'he'. This is, of course, intentional as the humanoids are not truly people.
If you read it, I'd really like it if you'd review. I always try to review the fics I've read, whether or not they're my favourites, and return favours to those who review mine :).
Part two of this two-shot should be up soon, though I'm not sure when exactly. I have exams in the next two weeks, but I'll try my best.
Thanks everyone!
