We're In Hot Water Now
Io didn't stop running until she was several blocks away from Katagiri. Once she was sure she was safely away, she hid in an alley, and began weeping. With her father now arrested by Katagiri, she had never felt so helpless. She was lost, all alone, in a strange city on the other side of the world. After taking a moment to try and calm herself down, she tried to think about what to do next. It was too risky to go back to the hotel; Katagiri's men might be waiting for her there. She pulled out the notepaper with Katsura's address. She thought about trying to reach Dr. Yugami, but since she couldn't speak English she had no idea how she could make her intentions known.
Drying her eyes and hardly daring to breath, she walked out of the alley, and set about trying to find the bus station. For over an hour she walked, seemingly aimlessly, almost as if without purpose. Several people looked at her as she passed, but none of them bothered her. At last, she came across the bus station. They all looked the same just about everywhere in the world, just big buildings with a large amount of buses parked around them, forever coming and going. The bus station was crowded with people, she hoped nothing happened to her. She'd heard a lot of horror stories about what it was like growing up in this modern world, and only hoped she didn't experience those stories first-hand.
She knew she was looking for a bus to go to 'Provo', she saw that her father had written the address. She had started learning English in her own time, since her father seemed unable to teach her it, and tried to remember what she had learned. The address was '361 South Auckland Drive'; at least it seemed that way from her father's scrappy handwriting.
As she wandered around the bus station, seemingly lost in thought, the nagging doubts began plaguing her mind again. She knew very little English, she was all on her own, and no doubt those men from the CCI were still looking for her. Half-afraid that they were already at the station, she found it very difficult to remain calm. She was so distracted that she actually walked straight into a uniformed man; one of the staff at the bus station. In her shock, Io released a sharp scream and tried to run, only to find the man gently but firmly holding her arm. She yelled a number of curses in Japanese as she tried to fight the man off.
"Hey! Hey!" the unfortunate staff member – his name tag read Bill – was saying to her. "Hey, take it easy, kid! I'm not going to hurt you!"
It took Io a couple of moments to realise that it wasn't someone from the CCI who had grabbed her. Instead, as she looked up at Bill's kindly eyes, she said a number of Japanese phrases, in an effort to apologise for her behaviour. Poor Bill looked increasingly confused as she spoke.
"I-I'm sorry," he said. "I can't speak… what is it, Chinese? Where are your parents, kid?"
When he failed to get an answer he could understand, he finally sighed, saying "Look, I think we'd better take you to the office."
He motioned for Io to follow. She did so, though rather reluctantly; she feared she'd miss the bus to Provo. Several minutes later the pair arrived at the main office in the bus station, which was full of office workers and the odd driver who was here on their break. One of the office workers – one Larry – approached them.
"Hey, Bill," he said, looking down at Io, "Who's the stray?"
"I haven't a clue," Bill replied. "She doesn't speak English. Poor kid looked scared out of her mind, she was all by herself. I couldn't just leave her."
Larry looked down at Io. Larry was a little older than Bill, but much thinner, and was balding. After Bill's rotound, kindly appearance, Io found Larry rather alarming.
"Know what she speaks?" Larry said.
"I don't know," Bill said. "I thought it was Chinese."
"I know some Chinese," Larry said. "I spent time out in China, remember? I got to know the language a little."
"Didn't you meet your wife in China?" Bill asked.
"Don't be a smart-ass," Larry said. At this, he addressed Io in Cantonese. Now it was Io's turn to be confused, for she had never heard anyone speaking in Cantonese in her life, and had no idea what Larry was saying. She tried to speak again in Japanese, at which Larry snapped his fingers.
"That ain't Chinese," Larry said, looking annoyed. "Sounds more like Japanese, and I don't know shit about Japan, except for Godzilla and sushi. We'll need someone else's help."
From his tone, it was evident that none of the staff knew Japanese, so Larry sent out an announcement over the P.A. system:
"Could anyone in the station who speaks and understands the Japanese language please report to the central office, please?"
Bill looked unsure about how good an idea this was. Upon noticing that look Larry became rather annoyed.
"You got a better idea?!" he snarled. Bill just threw up his arms in surrender. Io sat quietly, trying not to look at anything in particular. She wondered how she could tell them what it was she was wanted without mentioning the CCI or the exact reason why she was on her own. She quickly began to invent a story in her head. As luck had it, a young man arrived at the office a couple of minutes later, in his early 20s and with short brown hair. He turned to Bill first.
"I'm David Middleman," he introduced himself as, offering a hand to shake. "Somebody called for anyone who could speak Japanese? I'm studying Japanese, and I think I know enough to at least have a small conversation with her."
"Oh yeah?" Bill said. "You're a lifesaver right now! Can you speak to this kid here?" He pointed at Io, who looked nervous as David approached her, with a warm smile.
"Watashi wa David desu," David said to Io. "Donata desu ka?"
"Sh-Shinoda Io desu," Io nervously replied. It seemed being able to speak to someone had boosted Io's confidence slightly, and soon the two of them were having a conversation. Neither Bill nor Larry could believe the fluidity with which both of them spoke. After about a minute of this, David turned to the others.
"She says her name's Io," David explained. "She came here to visit a relative in Provo, it was supposed to be a surprise visit. However, she got lost." He turned to Bill. "She also says she's sorry she panicked earlier."
Bill just shook his head, as if he thought nothing of it. "What about her parents?" he asked.
"She says they're not available," David replied. "They're taking in the sights around the city, and told Io to go on ahead. She doesn't have a mobile; seems her parents wanted some time alone."
"Well…" Bill said, looking very unsure, "I guess the safest place for her right now is with her relative. Has Joe left for Provo yet?"
At this, Larry picked up his radio. "Joe, you left for Provo yet?"
"No," Joe's gruff voice came through. "Was just about to, though."
"Hold on a couple of ticks," Larry said. "You're getting a couple of extra passengers."
"But I'm late enough as it is!" Joe protested, but Larry cut him off.
"Don't argue! Just hold on a couple of minutes!"
Joe's grumbling could be heard as Larry hung up, himself muttering, "This kid's gonna get all our asses fired…"
"I don't mind going with Io until she finds her relative," David said. "Provo's not far out of my way."
Bill nodded. "Then it's settled. Board her, but make sure she locates her relative before you leave her. Joe'll be waiting at Stand 3."
David nodded. Motioning for Io to follow, the pair waved goodbye to the staff before leaving. They reached the bus bound for Provo, with Joe muttering as David approached him.
"Can you get us to South Auckland Drive when we reach Provo?" David said.
"Fine, fine," Joe grumbled, clearly not impressed with how his day was turning out. "It's on my route; I'll let you know when we get there."
With that, the bus finally pulled out of Salt Lake City, on its way to Provo. As they travelled through the barren desert landscape, Io didn't speak much. She liked David, but she didn't feel comfortable speaking to him. She knew she wouldn't feel truly safe until she was at Katsura's house. If her father trusted the doctor, then she had to learn to trust her too. A part of her selfishly wanted to go and help her father, but the rational part of her knew that was a very stupid idea.
Finally, after a couple of hours of travel, Joe shouted, "South Auckland Drive!" At that, David and Io headed to the front of the bus.
"Do you mind waiting around until this kid's safe?" he asked. What he got was a snarl from Joe.
"I'm gonna get fired for this babysittin'!" he protested. Io and David quickly stepped off until Joe had stopped protesting. South Auckland Drive was on the outskirts of the town; most of the residences were nice-looking condos. Io figured the Utah Foundation must treat its employees well if they were able to live in such places. By this time it was late evening, and only a few people were still awake.
"Is that what you were looking for?" David said, pointing at one of the condos with the numbers 3-6-1 nailed onto one of the posts on either side of the drive. "San-Roco-Ishi?"
Io nodded. This was it; Dr. Yugami's house. The lights in the house were still on, so the doctor had to still be awake. At this point Joe impatiently honked his horn.
"Arigato, David-san," Io said, giving a brief bow. "Arigato."
David gave a quick smile, before running back to the bus. As it left, Io ran up the drive leading up to Dr. Yugami's house and approached the doorstep, one hand clenched around the parcel still hidden under her jacket. She rang the doorbell and knocked on the door a few times. She heard movement from inside the house, and saw a figure approaching the door.
***
The bell rang several times. Katsura heard it all the way from the kitchen. She was cooking food, making her dinner. It was her day off today; a time to relax and reflect over the work she has been doing. Also a time to get away from the people whom she saw just about every day, the same faces; Will, Gordon, Maria, and of course Kiryuu. Even she needed a rest now and then. Things had been a bit frantic lately at the base. Kiryuu was monitoring several hacker intrusions into the Foundation's systems. Though Kiryuu did not say who they were from, she had a feeling that he was hiding something. He knew where they were coming from and it worried her.
Katsura sighed, when she heard the door.
"In a minute!" she called. "I'm coming!"
The bell continued to ring frantically.
"Just hold on!" she called, running down the hall of her house to the front door. Katsura cleared her throat, flinging the door open. "Yes."
As Katsura looked down and spotted her, Io bowed respectfully, a greeting Katsura was familiar with. Clearly the doctor was surprised to see her there.
"Yugami-sensei," she began. "Konnichiwa."
"Konnichiwa," Katsura returned the bow. "Donata desu ka?"
"Shinoda Io desu," Io replied.
"Shinoda…" Katsura breathed, continuing to speak in Japanese. "Shinoda's daughter?"
"Hai," Io said. "I have been sent here by my father. My father is in danger, Yugami-sensei."
"Come in," Katsura said. "Come on."
She led her into the house, showing Io the living room. As Io stepped in, she promptly pulled off her shoes, a very common custom in Japan. They rarely wore shoes in the house. Io sat down on the soft, suede couch. Katsura could tell she had the look of fright on her face. She was trembling from head to toe, and her face was oddly pale. Katsura could tell that Io was fighting back a sob, her eyes fluttering several times.
"What happened?" Katsura asked.
"Katagiri has my father," Io replied. "Because…because of something he had been involved with. Papa wanted to give this to you."
She handed Katsura the package she carried. There was a note attached to the package. Katsura took the note out of its envelope and began to read it. It was written in Japanese.
"Dear Katsura,
If you are reading this, then Katagiri has caught up to me. No doubt he thought I stole the files from the CCI last month, but he probably now knows about my connection to Alan Tyler. The CCI will be after me, wanting to know where Alan is, something even I don't know. Katagiri may also have gotten to Miyasaka, I don't doubt he'll be trying to follow up on any possible lead.
"I have enclosed with this letter the sample of bio-syntech I was given. I know you work closely with Kiryuu, so I felt it best to have it sent to you. It's not safe for me to hold onto it anymore; I doubt Katagiri has any evidence to connect Kiryuu to the theft, as much as he'll want to believe Kiryuu was involved, but I'm not about to give him any reason to.
"Ironically, I fear that Kiryuu may well be Alan's last hope…
"I need you to do some things for me. First and foremost, my daughter Io should have brought this to you. I intend to let her carry this in case anything happens to me; I admit this is risky since she may be captured, but I have faith in her. She's growing up into a strong woman, but she can't take on the CCI. I'd feel safer knowing she was with people I can trust. Secondly, Alan must be found. I can't bear the thought of him being dragged back to the CCI, to be used as a weapon.
"I'm sorry to drop this off on you, but I didn't know who else to turn to. I wish none of this had happened and that I had never discovered Organizer G-1. However, wishing is not going to help anybody. I can't change the past, but I hope I can help in giving everyone a future. We shouldn't be fighting amongst ourselves if Monster Zero is coming back, but Katagiri doesn't seem to care. He must not get to Alan, at all cost. I fear what may happen if he does.
"Please pass on everything I've said to Kiryuu; he has to know. I wouldn't put anything past Katagiri, so I need to know Alan will be safe... just in case.
Yours sincerely,
Yuji Shinoda"
Katsura felt a sob crawl up her throat and she sniffed when she read the note. She turned to the box and opened it up carefully. Then, she opened the box, seeing the silvery syntech blade inside. A small tear trickled down her cheek.
"You're too powerful, Kiryuu," she said. "Just too powerful."
Katsura sighed, pulling her hair away from the black port in her neck. She grunted as she took out the stopper that blocked Kiryuu's transmissions from her mind. Io remained silent as Katsura got up from the couch, slamming the side of her fist against it. This opened a secret panel near the fireplace. Katsura glanced over at Io and smiled for a moment.
"Come over here, Io," she said. "You need to tell Kiryuu just what happened."
"Talk to Kiryuu?" Io asked. The idea seemed a bit farfetched for her. She was not even at the base. She saw the black jack-port in Katsura's neck and then she saw Katsura stick a cord from the panel into that port in her neck. The panel had a plasma screen in the wall and a keyboard.
"It's a wireless connection," she said. "We can't risk the phones. He'll tell Gordon and the others that Katagiri knows."
She typed on the keyboard her password and identification. She went through several lines of code, then finally reached Kiryuu's CPU.
Katsura? She heard Kiryuu's voice into her mind.
Something terrible has happened, Katsura said. I need you to make a small connection through the projectors in my living room. Remember, Will installed them one time because of our... relationship.Kiryuu asked.
What's going on?
You'll see, she replied. And you're in deep trouble.
She backed away from the keyboard just as several lights in her ceiling began to glow brightly. They were not lights, they were projectors. Io's eyes widened just as a holographic form materialized in the centre of the living room. She recognized the silvery form before her as Kiryuu Mechagodzilla. Kiryuu turned around, his eyes falling upon the child before her.
"Katsura…who is this?" he asked.
"This is Io," Katsura said. "Io Shinoda."
"Shinoda?" Kiryuu asked, his golden eyes becoming even wider when he heard that name.
"I don't speak English," Io said in Japanese to Kiryuu.
"But I do speak Japanese," Kiryuu told her in Japanese and smiled, bowing slightly.
Io returned the bow, still a bit perturbed that she was seeing Kiryuu inside Katsura's house.
"I don't understand," Io began. "How is he…?"
"Will Penter invented a device that can project a 3D holographic image onto the air itself," said Katsura. "So, Kiryuu uses it in order to move about certain places where his real body can't fit through. And I had a projector installed here so I won't always have to go to the base to talk to him."
"Soudesu ne," Io said. "Papa told me to return your syntech, Kiryuu-san."
Kiryuu chuckled slightly, sitting down on the couch.
"He doesn't need to," the hologram said. "It was a gift."
"Yeah," began Katsura. "Well, your gift is getting Yuji into more trouble than he ought to be in. He's been arrested by the CCI!"
"What?" Kiryuu asked.
"Read that!" Katsura yelled, slapping the note onto his chest. Io could not believe how solid the hologram seemed. Kiryuu sighed, taking the note and reading it. His expression changed, his eyebrows became crossed and his gray face flushed with a slight hint of anger.
"I am going to bio-kinetically fry that little weasel!" the bio-mechanical dinosaur roared out.
"This is not Shinoda's fault," Katsura called. "It's yours!"
"I wasn't talking about Shinoda," Kiryuu said. "I'm talking about Katagiri. I've had it with him and with what he has done to Godzilla. Enough is enough! He so touches a cell phone, I'll fry his brain!"
"Kiryuu!" Katsura cried. "Shinoda's in trouble because of you! Because of your selfishness to get what you want! They could do something horrible to him, and it'll be on your head! You can't bluff your way out of it this time."
"Bluff?" Kiryuu asked. "You think I bluff my way out of things? I wasn't programmed yesterday! This is another problem, and I can calculate a solution for it."
"No more of your ideas," Katsura sighed. "You've done enough. You should be afraid right now, Kiryuu. You're about to ruin the company, you're about to put us all in danger, including yourself and your son. Can you for once stop and think about that?"
Kiryuu leaned over, putting his claws into his dreads. This was the first time he could not see a solution. He gritted his teeth in frustration, anger, and regret. Everything he did, he did for not only himself, but for his son, and also for Alan, for Katsura, for Will, for Maria, and even Gordon. Kiryuu turned, seeing the saddened face of Io. Because of what he has done, her father was probably going to face treason charges.
"Is there anyone else that has been arrested?" he asked her.
"Hai," Io replied. "Dr. Miyasaka."
"All because of my need to know how I died," Kiryuu sighed.
"Shinoda wants you to take care of Alan, Kiryuu," said Katsura. "He wants you to save him. The CCI is here, Kiryuu. It's here in the United States. Katagiri's after Alan!"
"I should have killed him," Kiryuu growled. "It would have saved him from this. The CCI would find him dead. Then, I would have sabotaged the ICU, killing the two victims inside as well, even going as far as going through their databanks and erasing the files on Organizer G-1."
"And they would have found out about you doing it too," Katsura sighed. "You can't get out of this one as easily."
"It's because I was in their systems for 40 minutes!" Kiryuu shouted back. "40 minutes, Katsura. You know I don't like being the CCI's databases for more than five! Five minutes is usually all that I need getting what I want and get out."
"This is exactly what Gordon was talking about," said Katsura. "You are going to get us in trouble. Think about Maria for a moment. Even she might go to jail!"
Kiryuu sighed, growling again, leaning back in the couch. His head turned to Io again. What sort of monster had he turned into?
You can't help yourself, Biollante snickered. You're in trouble now. Kiryuu growled back at her. Just wait 'til they find out about you. I'd keep my mouth shut if I were you.
If I get caught, so will you, bitch,
Kiryuu stared at the child before him. He had never seen a child before in person, at least not a human child. Io's almond shaped eyes were downcast. He had a feeling she was thinking about her father. Shinoda will be put away for a very long time. This was his fault.
"I'm sorry," he said to her. "But I had to know. I have the right to know what killed me."
"But you don't have the right to step on people in order to get that information," said Katsura. "And you do step on them. You use them. You've used us. We're getting tired of it."
"What do you want me to do now?" Kiryuu asked. "Just accept the inevitable? Do you want me to go to Katagiri and confess, even tell him where Alan is?"
"You can't do that, Kiryuu!" Io cried. "They'll hurt Alan if you do that. Papa said that you're the only one who can help him."
Kiryuu leaned over at her: "And how do you expect me to do that, kid? Alan hates me. He hates me more now than ever since he found out about my real secret. And I'm not talking about the bit about being Gojira's father. How the hell am I supposed to help him when I'm the last being on this Earth he would want help from?"
"You have to," Io said, leaning closer to the hologram. "If you wanna set things right, you'd do it."
"What about your father, Io-chan?" Kiryuu asked. "Do you expect me to find some way to bail him out as well? Katsura, you're right. I can't fix this."
He rose up from the couch, walking towards fireplace.
"If I try to, I'll probably make it worse," he sighed, leaning against the wall. "Katsura, Gordon can't know about this."
"Don't expect me to hide this from him, Kiryuu," Katsura protested. "I'm not going to be your alibi."
"I'm not asking you to," Kiryuu rumbled. "I'm just asking you to not bring this up, not unless he asks about it. Just don't volunteer the information to him."
"What about Alan?" Io asked.
"He changed his number," Kiryuu replied. "But I can easily find what his new number is, and his new service. I suppose he has the right to know. He'll be angry with me."
"Not like you don't deserve it right now," Katsura snapped back, crossing her arms. "Don't you ever know when to quit? Just leave some questions unanswered?"
"You're just like Alan," said Io.
Kiryuu glanced back at the little girl, in shock about the comment she made.
"What do you mean by that?" he asked.
"Both you and Alan are willing to go to great lengths in getting what you want," she said. "No matter what. Even if it'll get both you and those around you in trouble."
Kiryuu sighed, then began to chuckle at the remark.
"Perhaps this is why he hates me," he chuckled with a sinister tone. "It's because whenever he looks at me, he sees himself. And that's something he doesn't want to see. He doesn't want to accept it. Maybe it's because of the G-cells inside of him. I made him who he is. I've called him my grandson, after all."
"Yeah, well, what you've done isn't right by a long shot," said Katsura. "Not even to Alan."
"We were meant to meet," Kiryuu said. "Katagiri used my son's cells, Katsura. He's gonna try to use those mutations as a way to control my son. And no doubt he might kill Alan. He can't risk it this time, so he might kill the kid."
"All because you inadvertently led Katagiri to Alan's location," said Katsura. "By leading Alan to Utah, making contact with him, and having him break into the CCI and steal those documents. All because of that, they know where Alan is! Like I said, some things are best unanswered."
"My father said that once to Alan," Io said. "When it pertained to Kiryuu."
"You're father is right!" Katsura nodded in agreement. "And the same thing goes for Kiryuu as well. Some things shouldn't be answered, Kiryuu. The old American saying: 'Let sleeping dogs lie.' That's what it means!"
"None of this will matter when King Ghidorah comes," sighed Kiryuu.
"King Ghidorah?" Io asked.
"Monster Zero," Kiryuu said. "That's his real name. King Ghidorah. That's what he is known to both Gojira and I."
Kiryuu glanced around, his mind sensing another attack entering the grid of the Utah Foundation. He grunted again, feeling that these attacks were becoming repetitive. They were hoping that they would find the evidence they needed, the files on the Oxygen Destroyer and the project of Organizer G-1. Kiryuu had both files in his databases, but they were very well encrypted.
"Another attack?" Katsura asked, sensing what he was sensing through the link.
"Yes," said Kiryuu. "I have to go and handle the problem."
"Those attacks are from the CCI, aren't they?" she asked him, glaring at him accusingly.
"Yes," Kiryuu sighed in admittance. "They are from the CCI."
"I think Gordon knows," she said. "He knows exactly why we've been hit every single hour of the day."
"I have to go," Kiryuu growled. "I'm sorry."
"No you're not," Katsura groaned back at him. "You're enjoying this."
Kiryuu gave a quick humph and his image disappeared. Katsura unplugged the connection from her head, shaking her head in dismay. Gordon was right; Kiryuu has become more trouble than he was worth.
"What will happen, sensei?" Io asked.
"I don't know, Io," said Katsura. "It's in Kiryuu's hands now. And don't call me sensei. Katsura will do nicely."
Io quickly nodded, smiling slightly.
"I bet you're hungry, aren't you?" Katsura asked her. "How about I make you some food? Would that be alright?"
"I'd like that," Io grinned. "I haven't had takuyaki in a while."
"I've got takuyaki," Katsura smiled back. "It's one of my favorites."
"Mine too," Io said as she followed Katsura in the kitchen.
"I heard you're a good cook," Katsura said. "How would you like to help me make some takuyaki?"
"Sure," Io said. "Um, Katsura, what's that thing on your neck?"
"That's my link to Kiryuu," said Katsura. "It's a little complicated. But it helps him to understand humans better. He shares a small space inside my head."
"Why do you have it?"
"It was a sacrifice," she replied. "To get Kiryuu to understand what morality was. We couldn't teach him something as illogical as morality; he had to see it for himself. So, he... punctured me with a bio-syntech implant from one of his internal sensor cords. I allowed him to do it."
"You have his G-cells inside you, now?" Io asked.
"Hai," Katsura sighed balefully. "I do. Just like Alan has his son's cells inside him, I have Kiryuu's cells. And if Katagiri finds out about that, who knows what might happen. He might try to use me just like he is using those poor people in that ICU ward."
She got out a skillet and threw five dough balls filled with octopus onto the surface.
"I hope you like my cooking," Katsura said. "Looks like you'll be with me for a while. Also, I'm gonna take you to work as well. I don't want to leave you here alone."
Io nodded.
"You'll get to meet Will and Gordon and Maria," Katsura said. "Maria's our new employee. She wasn't with us when we were in Japan, so she doesn't know any Japanese. She knows Spanish though. Kiryuu and Maria talk a lot to each other in Spanish. Will knows some Japanese, a little bit more than Gordon. I think the only thing Gordon knows how to say is 'where is the bathroom' in Japanese."
Io giggled a bit.
"I'm surprised you didn't learn English," Katsura said. "You didn't take any English classes in Japan?"
"I was home schooled," said Io. "And papa only knows a few sentences in English. It's a hard language to learn."
"Oh, I believe that," she laughed. "I had trouble with it myself. I suppose it's just as hard for English speakers to learn Japanese."
Io laughed a bit, but then her face became serious. She lowered her head sighing sadly.
"I might never see my father again," Io said lowly. "Katagiri is a cruel man."
"He should be locked up in an asylum," Katsura sniffed. "He's psychotic. How could Ifume hire such a maniac to run his defence section?"
"Papa always spoke harshly of how the CCI was run by Katagiri," she said. "How they turned into an agency of crooks. In a way I think they deserved what Kiryuu did. I'm kinda glad he did it."
"Yes," nodded Katsura as she stirred the takuyaki. "But even if it was in some way the right thing, it shouldn't have been done. Now we're all in trouble because of it."
She turned to Io, lifting her head up and leaning down.
"Kiryuu sometimes seems harsh and arrogant," began Katsura. "But he does what he has to do. Though, there are times when he needs to know that enough is enough. We've been so hard on him, so he's being hard on us. This job isn't easy. It doesn't have its good perks sometimes. I just have to do it. I love Kiryuu, I'm proud of him. I felt I gave something back when I helped create him."
"Papa said that Kiryuu was evil," said Io. "Because the Foundation gave him that AI."
"Knowing Kiryuu's true nature," began Katsura. "I think he was probably a little evil before he died and we brought him back to life. He's not really evil; he just thinks he's invincible. He's a powerful AI system and we built him up to be that way. Though, because what we created him from and the bones that are inside of him, Kiryuu, like Gojira, does not want to be controlled. He wants to have control. He hates being controlled. We humans think we have control over everything, but then something like Kiryuu comes along and that throws a monkey wrench into what we thought we knew. He's the proof that we don't have control over everything. But then he takes it to another step, thinking that because we can't control him he can do what ever he wants, some times. But I think this incident here has shown him something he didn't expect. It showed him that sometimes even he doesn't have control over everything too."
"Well, I guess he sounds very human," said Io. "But what about Gojira? What does he think? What does Gojira think about Kiryuu?"
Katsura chuckled: "Welcome inside the network, kid. I can tell you exactly what Gojira thinks, because of Kiryuu. He's confused, frustrated, but he loves his father. Kiryuu has everything to consider, even if he does thing selfishly. He loves his son; he doesn't want anything to happen to Gojira. Gojira knows this, but he just wants his father back, to be with him and to take care of him. I guess it's because Gojira is still young in his mind as well. He's like a big kid. He's happy when he sees his father show up to visit, and then when Kiryuu leaves, he's sad again. And no matter how many times Kiryuu explains to Gojira that he needs to be with us in order to keep Gojira safe, Gojira still does not want to understand."
"Wow," Io said. "If only my dad were here to hear that. He could…" she broke off, her head lowering again. "He could write up all sorts of books on just what you said. If Kiryuu sees Gojira anytime soon, could you have him tell Gojira that there is one human out there that is devoted to make sure he's safe from the others?"
"Okay," Katsura nodded. "I will. I think Kiryuu would like to tell Gojira that. It'll help Gojira understand more. It'll show Gojira that someone does care about him as a living being. I think Gojira might like that."