2023-05-15: The Prodigal Son Returns
- Cast: Yuta Hibiki, Shozo
- Where: Tsutsujidai
- Date: U.C. 0097 05 15
- Summary: After a month's absence, Shozo comes home. While neither Gridman and his comrades nor Shozo know exactly how to help each other, the love of their found family wins the day.
<Pose Tracker> Gridman has posed.
"I--I'm not exaggerating."
Within the private neighborhood of the Neon Genesis Junior High Students, five comrades have gathered to discuss the events of the weekend.
Gridman sits in Borr's living room, scowling, between a spider plant and an unruly pot of mint. His arms are folded in front of his chest, feet planted on the ground, the very picture of a rebellious teenager.
"T--there were snakes. C--coming from that woman's back." Calibur sits across from Gridman on a kitchen chair, dragged in from the other room. Somehow, he wound up holding a tray of succulents in his lap. He doesn't particularly seem to mind.
"Yeah, I wasn't in there?" Vit leans against the doorframe, frowning. "But just from the outside, it was a messed-up vibe. Sure they were feeding people, but we can't just gloss over the whole anti-Newtype thing. Not to mention what that Dr. Kafim did to Knight."
Gridman taps a finger against his elbow. Once, then twice. "They did /mention/ that stuff, but most of it was good! Inner power, meditation, assertiveness... And besides, they were both really kind to me. They offered to help Tsutsujidai against BioNet!" He goes quiet for a moment. "Isn't it possible Dr. Kafim changed in the time between when she hurt Knight and now?"
Max looks dubious at the idea, rumbling a concerned noise beneath his mask. "It is possible. Any of us can change, for good or ill. And perhaps we would not be so concerned with your interest in this group, if not for the fact that you are a Giant of Light. If the Shuffle Alliance records and Calibur's experience are true, we are dealing with very dangerous entities."
Gridman huffs and looks away. Max is right, but he doesn't want to deal with that.
"Come on, Gridman." Borr cajoles, standing next to Calibur with a pair of shears in their hand. "You have to admit this is some weird shit. We'll hear you out, but those two are starting from a bad place."
Borr was trimming the succulents a moment ago, but they've become so absorbed in the conversation their snippers are simply hanging from their hand, forgotten.
"I know it's weird, alright?" Gridman can't quite meet anyone's eyes. "But this... Mrs. and Dr. Kafim are doing so much good for the world. They have spooky powers, sure, but doesn't what they're /doing/ matter more? I really think they could change things!"
The conversation buzzes back and forth, spilling out an open window to the private neighborhood. Despite Gridman's impassioned defense of the High Priestess and her Oracle, it doesn't seem his comrades will be easily convinced...
<Pose Tracker> Shozo has posed.
"What happened to Gridman?"
Shozo stands there, in the doorway. How long had he been there? How long had he been /listening/?
Where /has/ he been?
Shozo walks in slowly, almost entranced, and stares up at Gridman, an unnatural stillness in the room.
There's something wrong with his eyes.
The crosses are gone, replaced with pulsating rings of red, spiraling ever deeper, like black holes. His jacket is singed, hair mussed, dirt on his cheek.
Where has he /been/?
"Who tried to touch you?"
<Pose Tracker> Gridman has posed.
Shozo appears. Or maybe he's been here the whole time? The room goes dead silent.
A quiet thud can be heard as Borr drops their gardening shears, and the spell is broken.
"Shozo?!" Vit cries, shoved out of the way by a blur of motion as Borr races to the little boy.
In an instant, Shozo is picked up and lifted into the air, then hugged tight as Borr reaches him. "Where have you /been/?!"
Their voice is thick with emotion.
"I thought you were never coming back! It's been a month!" Borr puts Shozo down, stepping back -- but keeping her arms on his shoulders, as if worried the child will vanish. "What happened? You're filthy, and your eyes..."
A thumb comes up to rub some of the dirt from Shozos cheek, touching the delicate skin beneath his... somehow /more/ unusual eyes. Max touches Vit's shoulder with a look, and both men leave the room, quietly. Vit heads upstairs, and Max to the kitchen.
"S--shozo." Calibur murmurs, staring, still in his chair with the succulents.
Gridman stands, tears gathering in his odd yellow eyes. "We thought -- oh man." He sniffles, despite grinning. "We thought you were gone. Borr's been... We've all been a wreck."
Stepping forward, he kneels, hugging Shozo around Borr (who does /not/ let go, not for an instant). "Welcome home. Don't do that again, okay?"
But Shozo has questions, and despite the bustle, Gridman hears him. "I'm just fine, Shozo, don't worry! I just went to a weird meeting trying to follow some leads on BioNet. It wasn't what any of us expected." He laughs, trying to sound lighthearted and /almost/ making it.
"Tell us everything. Why didn't you come home? Why didn't you call?" Borr half-insists, half-pleads. "I put up missing posters and people kept bringing by lost cats!"
<Pose Tracker> Shozo has posed.
Shozo lets himself get shaken around -- a bit like a ragdoll, actually. Unnerving considering how animated he tends to be. He's still looking at Gridman.
"I'm sorry," he says quietly. "My fathers... have been reaching out to me." He lets the sentence stand, heavy, as he finally blinks once.
"I didn't want anyone else getting hurt."
He finally reaches out to hug Borr, but never stops looking at Gridman.
"BioNet. Who is that? Did they try to do something to you? Did they /offer/ you something?" For the first time, an undercurrent of /dread/ creeps into Shozo's voice, which has remained even this entire time.
"Did you /accept/ something from them?" His hands slowly ball up into fists, as a silence that has filled the room despite the speaking grows deeper. More oppressive.
<Pose Tracker> Gridman has posed.
The mood in the room drops as Shozo mentions his fathers. Borr glances to Gridman, and Calibur gently puts the succulents down on the ground, walking over to kneel next to Gridman by the little boy. The samurai places a hand on Shozo's shoulder.
"S--shozo." Calibur's voice is soft, as ever. "Y--you're family."
Gridman shuffles over, making room for his comrade. Borr refuses to be moved. "Yeah," Gridman says, still trying to smile. "I know you wanted to protect us, but by staying away, we were all hurting so much more."
"You --" Borr mutters something beneath their breath. "Shozo... I don't give a flying fuck what your fathers can do to us. We're strong. We've survived a lot. And you're my--"
What is Shozo, to Borr? He goes quiet, trying to find the words. In the same instant, Vit appears again, carrying a small pile of folded clothes in his arms.
"Hey little man. I'm sure the others are covering all the emotional stuff." Vit says, breezily. "I got you some clean clothes, you can change in the bathroom when you're ready. Borr, catch."
A washcloth is tossed from Vit to Borr, and the clothes are placed near Shozo's feet. He can take them when he wants to. For now, Borr begins washing the child's face. Warm and soft, the movements of the washcloth are soothing.
A few moments pass in silence. Max can be heard clattering about in the kitchen.
"You're my kid." Borr decides on, finally. "That means I'll be there for you. I'll protect you and keep you safe, no matter what. I want to know what's happening to you, just like you want to know what's happening to Gridman."
Shozo hugs Borr back, and they finally tear up, though no tears fall.
Gridman looks nervously up at Calibur and Vit. Should he answer Shozo's questions now, when things are so tense? Calibur evenly stares back and him and Vit shrugs.
With a sigh, Gridman speaks up. "BioNet is a group that performs experiments on... unusual people. They've taken an interest in Tsutsujidai and the Repli-Compoids, and we're trying to make sure they can't take anyone, or get a foothold here."
Gridman's shoulders slump a little. "No, they didn't offer me anything. I found some people who said they could help us, and they offered me... a lot of help. But they're... controversial."
"S--snakes." Calibur mutters.
"I didn't accept anything, either. Calibur made sure of that." There's a good amount of resentment in Gridman's voice. "But, see how you want to know what happened to me? That's how we all feel about you, Shozo. Even if we can't help, we want to know."
Vit glances away. "Burdens are lighter with more people carrying them."
<Pose Tracker> Shozo has posed.
Shozo's eyes begin to soften, the crosses beginning to rise out of the rings of red.
"I love you, Borr. I love all of you. You are the family I /choose/.
"But they know you," he murmurs, his voice dropping to a whisper. "They see you /through/ me and they know how to hurt you already. I couldn't protect you until Mister recovered. Otherwise... They'd have hurt you with my hands." Those hands start to shake.
"They'd have hated you with my heart."
When Gridman speaks about the offer, the rings return, and he is just... out of Borr's hands, his own on Gridman's shoulders, staring deeply into him with a deep, almost hypnotic intensity.
"Do not take what they offer," he whispers, unblinking. "They will not help you. They will make your needs their wants. You will find satisfaction as an /instrument/, not a person. You will no longer be you, and you will not care."
The sense of dread from before is far more intense, and surrounded by an oppressive silence -- not one sound can be heard, /anywhere/ in Tsutsujidai. Words die on lips, wind ceases blowing.
"/Do not accept offers so easily./"
<Pose Tracker> Gridman has posed.
"I love you too, Shozo." Borr hugs him tight once more. "Don't shut us out ever again."
Gridman smiles, and even Calibur reaches over to tousle Shozo's hair. Vit sighs in relief, but there's a melancholy look in his eyes.
Max arrives moments later, carrying a tray with a peanut butter and jelly sandwich and a glass of milk. Much like the clothes, it is laid down near Shozo's feet.
"Even if you need not eat to survive, I suspect it would be comforting." Max says, as he takes his place on a seat in the room once more.
As Shozo begins to speak, all the Hyper Agents go still, expressions ranging from serious to angry. Gridman looks anxiously toward the door, as if Shozo's fathers could appear at any moment.
"Gotcha." Borr murmurs. "What can we do to make sure this doesn't happen again?"
Vit nods. "No way we're going to let you suffer on your own, even if there's a risk to it."
"Perhaps there is a way we could help Mister recover more swiftly, in the future? We do know several talented engineers and doctors." Max offers.
When Shozo pulls away from Borr, they let him go, through their eyes follow his movements carefully. Gridman blinks widely at Shozo's intensity -- once, then twice.
"S--shozo, what..." Gridman looks a little frightened at the young boy's sudden change. "How do you know..? You don't even know who I'm talking about."
Calibur stands, his swords clanking, at the sense of dread. There's nothing tangible for him to lock onto, but he's prepared should that change.
"What do you mean, kid?" Vit frowns, meeting Calibur's gaze. "What do you know?"
"Shozo... What's going on with your eyes?" Gridman looks worried, his own strange eyes filled with distress. "Are you okay..?"
<Pose Tracker> Shozo has posed.
Shozo stares into Gridman's eyes for what feels like an eternity, before releasing his grip.
"They probably weren't connected to my father. There are... lots of /things/ that want to corrupt and consume lights like yours." He lets himself exhale, looking down. "There are monsters on this planet that wear the skin of people. Some of them do so out of a hope to become human."
A long pause.
"Like me."
"But most of them are /predators/," he continues. "You are a pure light, a hero, and you are /exactly/ what they want. I don't have to know them specifically to know who would get into your head."
There is a coldness to Shozo's voice as he says this -- his fathers have already extracted a steep toll from the child's innocence.
"I won't let anybody take my family away from me."
<Pose Tracker> Gridman has posed.
Gridman stares back, nervous, until Shozo lets go. "I know this world is full of bad people and terrible things. But we can't just let go of all the good that's out there because of it. My friends keep telling me I can't protect Tsutsujidai alone."
A subtle nod from Calibur.
"And if Dr. and Mrs. Kafim can really make a difference in stopping BioNet and keeping the city safe... I have to consider it. At least until my mission is over."
Gridman smiles. "None of us in here are human, Shozo. You're not any worse than the rest of us for it. We're all going to learn together."
"You should've seen this guy after Akane stabbed him." Borr laughs. "He couldn't even tell you what his favorite color was. Gridman's come a long, long way. He's proof anyone can do it. Especially you."
Gridman laughs, a little embarrassed by Shozo's effusive praise, but Max rumbles in agreement. "You are right, Shozo. And we have been telling Gridman much the same. He must guard his own heart even more vigilantly than he protects Tsutsujidai."
"I don't know if I'm all that great..." Gridman mumbles, scratching the side of his cheek.
Shozo's voice goes cold, and everyone in the room stills again, nervous glances shared between the Neon Genesis Junior High Students.
"W--we all feel the same way." Calibur says, at last. "A--any of us would do whatever it took. T--to protect the others."
"No matter what." Vit says, his hands bunched into fists. "We won't lose anyone else."
"So let's do this together, yeah?" Borr smiles at Shozo. "Let us in next time. And we'll let you know what's going on here, too. We're much stronger as a family than we are on our own."
<Pose Tracker> Shozo has posed.
"Kafim..." Shozo repeats the name quietly. Was it a good idea to tell him their name?
"No, you wouldn't," he says quietly to Calibur, letting a smile return to his face. "And I wouldn't have you any other way." He looks up at Vit, and somewhere in that solemn expression is the prescient kid that had taken him off balance before.
"You guys just have to remain yourselves, OK? Even if you aren't sure who you are. Please."
His voice quavers slightly.
"/Please/."
"And I'll be who I need to be for you."