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Chapter Four -- Love Not Human

Aiko relaxed on the grass with her back against a tree trunk. Miyatsu was stretched full-length beside her, his head propped up on both forepaws as he slowly read aloud from a newspaper on the ground in front of him, working out unfamiliar words from their context.

He had approached learning to read with the same determination he applied to everything and was now reading easier passages competently. The remains of their picnic lunch sat to one side of the pair.

It had been oppressively humid all morning, and by noon, clouds were massed in a hot heavy blanket across the sky. But here, under the trees behind the stadium, it was cool. The sound of waves breaking gently on the beach could be heard clearly, and along with the buzzing of bees and Miyatsu's slightly halting reading, it was very peaceful...

"Miyatsu! Where are you?"

Miyatsu made an annoyed sound and looked up from the newspaper, the tip of his tail flicking in irritation.

"Oh, don't go," Aiko objected lazily. "Let Sakaki find us. It's still our lunch hour."

Miyatsu considered, then settled back on the grass. "You're right. He can come to me."

Aiko made no comment, thinking about the incongruity of Sakaki and Miyatsu's genetic relationship. She had kept the knowledge to herself so far, not sure how Miyatsu would handle it. She fully intended to let him know the truth in time, when he became a little more sophisticated in the ways of the world.

"Still," Miyatsu continued his line of thought, "I'm a GMA, not a human. Sakaki owns me. I wish ... " He sighed and broke off, then pushed up from his prone position with a very catlike stretch of his long back. He sat, flicking his tail to curl over his front paws neatly, and stared off into the distance, lost in thought.

Aiko tried to pick up his emotions with her psychic empathy, but felt her way blocked and gave up on the attempt. Recently, Miyatsu had taken to shielding his emotions. It had been Sakaki's suggestion, when it became obvious that other psychic GMAs Miyatsu faced in battle could guess what he was about to do from reading' his emotions. Such battles had gone on and on, with some ending in a draw between Miyatsu and his opponent.

Miyatsu's shielding proved effective, to such an extent that he was again winning most of his training matches. But a side-effect was that Aiko now had a great deal of difficulty reading him. It was only in unguarded moments that the shields faltered and his mental voice once again became crystal clear to her. In the past couple of weeks, he had been shielding almost all the time.

Before she'd met him, she would have given anything to be free of the confusing alien emotions she felt, but now she missed their previously easy rapport and wondered why Miyatsu bothered to shield when he was with her. Perhaps the practice came in handy, or maybe it was just becoming automatic.

"What do you wish?" she prompted when it appeared Miyatsu was not about to elaborate.

"I wish -- that I could clone others like me," Miyatsu said. He began speaking in a rush, his eyes shining, and Aiko realised this was a subject he had been thinking about for some time and felt strongly about. "I want to go back to Shima and use the facilities there to clone kittens from my genes. I wouldn't be the only one of my species then. I'd have a family, like the wild Purshans we watched on television." His expression changed. "Only it's an impossible dream," he finished regretfully.

"Why? I'm sure the scientists at Shima would be able to eliminate anaphylactic shock from occurring in any kittens -- it's just a matter of rearranging the genes. I know I could do it; it's not an insurmountable problem. And we could get a female human to donate genetic material for the extra X chromosome we'd need to make female Miyatsus."

Miyatsu shook his head. "That's not what I mean. I understand about the human system of money now. I don't earn anything, so I couldn't afford to pay the scientists to work for me. More than that, I couldn't even buy my freedom from Sakaki. He told me he invested a lot of money in me. I can't repay that when I can't make any money. So I can never make my dream a reality. I'll remain the only one of my kind."

"Oh." Aiko thought about that for a moment. "I read your genetic profile, so I know how much it cost to make you," she began. "And the Shima labs are only hired by Sakaki, he doesn't own them. I can find out how much he paid for their facilities, and how much the scientists can be hired for..."

"Aiko, what are you thinking? It doesn't matter how much it costs, I still have no money."

"When do you go on the GMA fighting circuit?"

Miyatsu looked surprised at the sudden change of subject. "It starts in five months time."

"And it lasts for four months, with a fight a week in every town," Aiko murmured, figuring rapidly in her head. "What do you think your chances of winning are, truthfully?"

"I'll win every fight," Miyatsu answered confidently. "I've been studying the profiles Sakaki showed me of my opponents. They're tough, but I'm stronger. And other psychics can no longer read my intentions. Why do you want to know that, Aiko?"

"You have no money to make your dream a reality," Aiko said. "But I have. Not enough to buy your freedom, but I can invest my money on your winning each tournament." Then she thought of something, and her face fell. "But Sakaki won't want to let you go, especially not if you win every time. But -- wait a moment. Miyatsu, did you ever sign a contract, anything saying you agreed to work for Sakaki?"

"How could I? I didn't know what writing was until I met you."

"Yes, but writing's not the only way to sign an agreement. Did Sakaki ever get you to put a thumbprint on any paper after explaining to you what it was for?"

"No."

"Then you have no contract. We may have him there, Miyatsu! He didn't bother, or more likely never thought of it; he's never had contracts with his GMAs before. But you're no ordinary GMA, you've got human genes. And a human working for nothing is a slave, and slavery is illegal! Leave it to me. I'll find out how much we need, and then we'll talk to Sakaki. It's not unreasonable to pay him back his investment plus costs. At the very least, you're an employee and should be paid for your work. We can do this, Miyatsu! I know we can!"

Miyatsu stared at her in awe, his eyes wide at the possibilities. "I could have my own species," he breathed. He took her hands in gratitude. "Aiko, I'm going to win every one of those fights! I'll see that you get your money back and a fortune besides!"

"I want to be in on the cloning," Aiko answered, becoming infected with his enthusiasm. "I can work with the other scientists to create the new Miyatsu species!" She grinned. "Oh, Sakaki will be difficult, he's not going to like it at all -- one of his GMAs rebelling!"

"I owe him a lot, but I don't want to be his slave for the rest of my life. Anyway, GMAs are supposed to love their masters, and I... " His voice trailed off. He looked down at the grass, appearing suddenly ill-at-ease.

"And you don't love Sakaki?" Aiko teased, attempting to lighten his serious mood.

Miyatsu raised his head and met her eyes. "No," he said quietly. "I don't love Sakaki."

And his psychic voice was again in her mind as his shield crumbled beneath some strong emotion. It rang in her head, as clear as a bell.

Aiko, my master. I love you.

Time seemed to stop as Aiko stared at Miyatsu, overwhelmed by the emotions he was radiating. As always, the touch of their hands had intensified their psychic connection, and to Aiko it seemed as if there was nothing in the world but his blue eyes and the waves of love she could feel so strongly.

The tableau was broken when Sakaki suddenly pushed through the trees. Miyatsu dropped Aiko's hands hurriedly and turned to face him.

"So there you are!" Sakaki exclaimed. "Hello, Aiko-chan. Miyatsu, I've been looking everywhere for you!"

"What is it, Sakaki?" Miyatsu asked in a subdued voice.

"I found out a new detail about one of your opponents," Sakaki said. He looked very pleased with himself. "I have a few ideas about technique for you to try out." It suddenly seemed to dawn on him that his fighting GMA seemed less than enthusiastic at this prospect. "Well, come on, then," he insisted with a grin. "You can eat later, this is more important!"

Miyatsu followed Sakaki. He did not look back at Aiko, but she could feel his unshielded emotions as a raw yearning in her mind.

*

Aiko gazed at her computer screen without seeing it, her mind in turmoil. Although the stadium was not far from her office, Miyatsu apparently had his emotions under control again, and she could feel nothing from him. But that didn't help, as the revelation that he was in love with her had caused her to examine her own feelings towards him, and she was confused by what she'd found.

She was now in the absurd situation of arguing with herself, an argument that seemed hopeless whichever way she looked at it.

The logical part of her mind kept repeating that Miyatsu was a GMA, there could never be anything between them. Her emotions countered that she was a hypocrite; she'd told him he could be free from Sakaki because he was part human, so how could she deny that part of him?

But her mind insisted that no matter how potentially human-like he consistently acted, society still saw him as nothing more than a big, dangerous animal, bred to fight. He could never be accorded the same rights as a human, not even if he'd possessed ninety-nine per cent human genes. Around and around in her head the argument went, and still she didn't know how to deal with it.

She leant her head on one hand. She decided to think about it a different way, by turning the problem on its head. So, if Miyatsu were fully human, would there be a problem? How would she feel then?

The answer was instant, and for a change her logic and her emotions were totally in agreement with each other. She would be in love with him, no question. The certainty she felt was a shock, her whole body aching to gaze again into his eyes and feel the touch of his warm hands, not just on her hands, but all over her body...

She broke off the thought hurriedly as the surge of emotion and desire threatened to overwhelm her. She was so not going there! Oh, if only he were human, if only he were human!

It was wrong for them to be together in any way other than as -- well, as human master and GMA. But they'd become friends, and Miyatsu's unshielded emotions had made it clear that he felt more than friendship for Aiko. And to be honest she felt the same way. If Miyatsu had been just a regular GMA, it would have been wrong for her to have these thoughts about him -- the balance of power would always be weighted with the human regarded as the superior, an unequal relationship even if the GMA truly loved the human.

But then if Miyatsu had been born a regular GMA, this problem would not have come up. Their communication would have been limited, and she would never have gotten the idea of befriending him. It was the human genes he possessed that made him not only able to speak, but to want to communicate, and it was also that which fueled his drive to learn all he could about human culture. The human component of his chimeric body craved the friendship, respect and love that other humans took for granted and which must always be denied him because of his animal genes.

She had been drawn to him from the moment they'd met, she thought, remembering her childish delight at being able to play with the kitten Miyatsu. He was a conundrum, a human-manufactured creature that could never have existed in nature, and Aiko now accepted that she loved him, loved him more than she'd ever loved any human man before. It seemed amazing to her that she'd only just realized it.

I think I've loved him from the first day I met him, she thought, all those years ago when we were both children. But I was too young to know it. And then, when I thought he'd died...

She broke off the thought. The remembered ache was still there, tight inside. Even as a seven-year-old child, she'd been heartbroken.

Was it possible, Aiko wondered, for her to get over her feeling that it was wrong for them to be together? Cultural taboo or not, if two creatures of equal intelligence loved each other, what was the harm, really?

Not so many years ago, it was considered wrong for two humans of separate races to have a sexual relationship, or two people of the same gender. Now of course interracial couples were commonplace and same-sex marriage was entirely legal. Time seemed to have a way of sweeping old prejudices aside, so long as a few people were prepared to make a stand.

And for this particular GMA, Aiko knew she would make a stand.

I love him, she admitted to herself. All of him, not just the human part. And if some people can't deal with that... well. Well, that's their problem, not ours!

She finally realized what was on her computer screen. She'd been wandering idly through the index of various breeds, her finger clicking the cursor more out of habit and to appear busy to Suzu, who was sitting across from her at the other desk. Now the clear blue eyes of a Purshan gazed out at her, bringing her back to earth with a bump. For a moment she thought it was Rajah, from the documentary they'd watched together.

Its eyes were like Miyatsu's, but there was no guiding intelligence behind them. They were the uncomplicated and accepting eyes of an animal. She closed that folder and brought up the saved data from Miyatsu's genetic profile. A three-dimensional image of the GMA's body appeared on screen. Feeling a little voyeuristic, she studied the picture more closely than she had before.

This was the closest she'd come to admitting to herself that perhaps she and Miyatsu could have a sexual relationship. If they were going to be more than friends, then sex had to come into the equation. But the differences in their genetic makeup made her uncertain.

No, be honest, she said to herself. I'm scared.

The size difference alone was intimidating. For Miyatsu was six foot seven inches tall, while Aiko barely made it to five and a half feet without shoes. The top of her head didn't even reach his shoulder. Sure, there were human males who reached that impressive height, but Aiko had never dated them. Or slept with them. Although if it was only sleep that was involved, she wouldn't be concerned. It was what she wanted to do with Miyatsu when they were both fully conscious that worried her.

Because the fact was that some GMAs had truly bizarre genitalia and mating practices, and if the same were true for Miyatsu, Aiko was not at all sure she'd physically be able to have sex with him. She needed to find out more before she went any further. She leaned closer to the computer screen, studying the image displayed there.

As with most male GMAs, Miyatsu's genitals were usually retracted inside his body until -- well, needed, she thought pragmatically. The external opening was discreet and all but invisible under his thick coat of fur. With a click of her mouse, she changed the picture so that his penis was revealed.

Aiko blinked. The organ was not monstrous, as she had feared. Neither was it barbed, hooked or otherwise intimidating, like some she'd seen. On the contrary, it looked -- small, even petite as it lay limply nestled against his fur. But apart from that detail, it appeared identical to an uncircumcised human male's penis.

Aiko felt her cheeks flush as she looked, and she suppressed a nervous giggle as she wondered if Miyatsu and Sakaki shared a family resemblance in that respect.

She clicked the mouse again, calling up the figure of a to-scale human male to use for comparison. She manipulated the figure so that it was superimposed onto Miyatsu's, lining up their penises while again stifling an entirely inappropriate urge to giggle.

Well. That was interesting. The data on the human figure stated that his height was five foot ten inches. But superimposed like this, Aiko could see that their penises were exactly the same size. It appeared that Miyatsu's genitals only appeared small because of his comparatively large body size. He had a penis that, if not human, was at least a reasonable analogue of human in both size and shape.

Her computer was equipped with tools useful in working on GMA breeding projects, so another quick click of the mouse directed the screen to show both penises, Miyatsu's and the human model's, both fully erect.

Aiko let out a slow breath. Again, there was no difference in erect size between the two. So it seemed a sexual relationship was certainly physically possible between herself and Miyatsu, she concluded. But could she go through with it? Would her own prejudices rise up and swamp her?

She clicked the mouse, wiping the image and giving instead a close-up of Miyatsu's eyes. Superficially like a Purshan's, they held a definite intelligence of purpose, an awareness of his own destiny that was lacking in the other cat species.

She smiled, remembering how he had looked at her at lunchtime, and felt her body warm in response. Now that she had thought it all through, it was as if an itch had started within her. An itch that only Miyatsu could ease.

Yes, she decided dreamily. I will go through with it. I love him. Both emotionally and physically...

"Who's making you all gooey-eyed suddenly?" It was Suzu's voice, alert and interested.

Aiko glanced up and saw her friend had come up beside her unnoticed. Aiko flushed guiltily. "I'm not gooey-eyed about anyone," she protested weakly.

"Huh, don't give me that! Your mind's somewhere else, I can tell. So come on -- who is he?"

Aiko shook her head. "You're imagining things, Suzu! I'm just... following up a work project..."

"Sure you are. You've been mooning about this office since lunchtime." Suddenly Suzu looked suspicious. "It's not the boss, is it?" she demanded. "Aiko, you're not going after Sakaki, are you?"

"Suzu, that's ridiculous." Aiko laid one hand melodramatically over her heart. "On my word of honor, I have not been thinking about Raikatuji-sama!" But certainly about one of his relatives, she added to herself. "Besides," Aiko continued, "while I grant you that Sakaki is charming and handsome, I suspect he's also a snake oil merchant. I wouldn't trust him further than I could throw an Orochi. Just remember he's been married and divorced three times. I think that gives a major hint he'd be difficult to live with. You're welcome to him."

"Fat lot of good that does me," Suzu muttered. "He still calls me Dr Ogawa', polite and distant as you please! I'm not getting anywhere with him." She gave Aiko a warning look as she returned to her desk. "Just remember, I saw him first. You keep fantasizing about that guy you say you're not thinking about and keep your hands off Sakaki!"

"You can count on it," Aiko said under her breath, again returning her attention to the screen and Miyatsu's vital statistics.