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PART TWO

Chapter Seven -- On the Circuit

Aiko stood at the entrance to the stadium. All around her washed the sounds of GMA battle practice, but she felt a curious sense of unreality. The winter wind was chill, she could feel its icy fingers, but that too seemed like a dream, something not really connected to her.

Miyatsu and Sakaki were discussing some last-minute details before departure on the circuit tomorrow. They both looked up as she crossed the threshold.

"Aiko!" Miyatsu said, and Aiko felt her mate's pleasure at the sight of her. But then her face alerted him that something was wrong. He crossed the sand to her quickly, levitating over two sparring GMAs that got in his way.

"What happened?" he asked worriedly.

Aiko gazed up at him. "My... my father just called. My mother has... oh, Miyu! She has cancer..."

Saying the word gave it power; the nightmarish unreality shattered and she began to cry. Miyatsu gathered her in his arms, laying his cheek against her head and radiating comfort.

Sakaki walked over, concern on his face. "Aiko?"

Aiko stopped crying with an effort. Holding tightly to Miyatsu's hand, grateful for his loving presence, she turned to her boss.

"I'm sorry," she murmured. "I won't be able to come on the circuit. Sakaki, my mother has... just been diagnosed with cancer... " and her voice wavered. She took a deep breath. "The doctors are going to operate tomorrow, and then she'll have weeks of treatment. My father wanted to know if I could go home for a while... to... to help him care for her." And she burst into tears again, burying her face against her mate's fur.

"Oh, Aiko, I'm sorry," Sakaki said. "But surely, if she's getting such immediate treatment, the outlook must be optimistic?"

Aiko nodded. "We hope so," she murmured. "I didn't even know she was sick. My father told me she's been complaining of pain, but she wouldn't go to the doctor. She said it was just old age catching up with her. But this morning she collapsed, and Dad took her straight to hospital. That's when they found she had... had the cancer... "

She looked down, drawing a shuddering breath. "Dad said the doctors don't think it has spread yet. They think they've found it in time." She gazed up at Miyatsu. "You'll have to win the circuit without me there to cheer you on," she said despondently. "I've booked a flight this evening to Kyoto. Sakaki, I'll have to take a leave of absence from work."

"Don't worry about the circuit now. Of course you must go to your parents," Miyatsu soothed.

"Yes," Sakaki joined in. "You just concentrate on getting your mother healthy."

*

Aiko's mother was surprisingly upbeat about her illness.

"I'm glad you're here. I won't worry so much about your father," she told her daughter in confidence after Dr Fujimoto senior was sent on an errand to fetch some magazines at the hospital shop for his wife. "I can concentrate on fighting this if I know you're with him."

"But, Mum, aren't you scared?" Aiko asked.

Her mother patted her hand. "Maybe I am. But I have this disease, and being scared won't make it go away. I almost ignored it too long, to my cost. Only facing up to it and fighting will do any good now. But your father -- he never was very good around sick people. He fusses and worries and drives me to distraction when I should be putting all my resources into getting well. So while it does my heart good to see you, it will do my health a lot more good if you keep your father occupied!"

*

After the operation, the prognosis was good, and her mother was allowed home. She required regular therapy, which left her drained, tired, and needing to rest for much of the day in bed. As a consequence, Aiko spent a lot of time with her father, and to help take his mind off his wife's condition, she spoke in depth about her work, and in particular about Sakaki's fighting GMA. She did not mention her relationship with Miyatsu, fearful about how her parents would handle such information. What if they reacted in the same way that Suzu had? But it was not long before Aiko realized that she had underestimated them.

Before she left, Aiko and Miyatsu had worked out the time differences between Kyoto and the various cities he would be visiting on the circuit. Every day at the prearranged time, Aiko would go into the garden of her parent's suburban home with her mobile. She usually made sure that both her parents were occupied indoors, but by the fifth day, her mind full of the first match her mate would be fighting that evening, she became careless.

It was chilly out, and Aiko found shelter from the icy breeze behind her father's garden shed. She sat on his potting bench in a little patch of sunlight, her back against the shed wall, and when Miyatsu rang, they spoke long and lovingly, discussing the upcoming match, the money Aiko had gambled on Miyatsu's dream, and how much they missed each other.

Miyatsu heartily disliked Suzu, who had turned her first date with Sakaki into much more and was now engaged to become the Raikatuji boss's fourth wife. Privately, Aiko thought it likely that she was just the latest in what would turn out to be a long series. Suzu had been invited along on the circuit as "GMA advisor" after Aiko couldn't go.

"She pretends to be nice to me when Sakaki is there," Miyatsu told Aiko, "but I can tell she hates being near me. I think it unnerves her that I can speak. Also, she resents the time Sakaki spends with me in training. She thinks that I'm talking to Sakaki mind to mind as you and I do, but I've never been able to break through Sakaki's natural shield. I don't know what he's thinking unless he tells me aloud with words. However, I have a right to be with him. I am his brother, after all."

There was a hint of pride in that remark. Since Sakaki had revealed to Miyatsu their genetic kinship, Aiko knew the big cat had been happier working at Raikatuji Centre. Along with Aiko's love, Sakaki's disclosure of brotherhood gave him the feeling of a family connection that he'd always craved.

They finally ended the conversation reluctantly. Miyatsu was keyed up about the coming fight; he and Sakaki were due to go to the stadium in the next hour for a warm-up session prior to the match. Aiko turned off her mobile. With Miyatsu currently in Tokyo, they were at least still in the same country. But that would change as he and Sakaki continued to travel. Next week they would fly to Seoul in Korea, then on to China, the week after Taipei in Taiwan, then on to Hong Kong. Aiko's psychic connection with Miyatsu was limited to physical proximity; with him so far away, Aiko could no longer feel his emotions and the easy mind-to-mind contact that usually filled her days and nights. She found herself missing him sorely.

She wanted to wake up next to his warm cinnamon-scented body in the morning and hear his rumbling purr as they cuddled on the sofa at night. Without him, there was an aching hollowness within her heart. The months the circuit would last seemed to stretch ahead intolerably. She would only see her mate's face relayed via satellite to the small screen of her mobile, or on the television, fighting other GMAs in gladiatorial combat for the entertainment of humans.

She sighed and stood up, deciding to return to the warmth of the house. She rounded the corner of the shed and came face to face with her father, who had been quietly planting out some bulbs for next spring. There was no way he could have missed hearing the whole telephone conversation.

Aiko felt her face grow hot with embarrassment as she remembered some of the loving things she had said to her mate and also the fact that she had mentioned Miyatsu's name more than once as they spoke, usually in conjunction with tender endearments. "Tenshi" (angel), "koi" (lover) and "aishiteru" (I love you) had been the mildest of these, along with others far raunchier.

Because she'd assumed both her parents were indoors, out of earshot, she had turned the mobile to its loudest setting and rested it on her knees, so that she could see and hear her mate while he spoke, without having to hold the phone to her ear; her father would have heard everything that Miyatsu had said, as well. She flushed harder, recalling that before saying goodbye, she had teased her mate with a graphic description of what she would like to do to him the next time they were together and how he had rumbled a low growl of desire and replied with a promise of some of her favourite activities...

Oh, yes, she thought. Her father must know she had not been speaking to a human.

Her father watched her expressionlessly for a moment, then he stood and brushed the earth from his gloved hands. "That was Miyatsu you were talking to, wasn't it? I've been thinking all this week that you were fonder of that cat than you let on," he commented. "From what I just heard, I fancy I was right."

Aiko stared at him. "You... you suspected? How?"

Dr Fujimoto senior shook his head. "I may be old, but I'm not senile yet! I've seen the way your face lights up whenever you talk about Miyatsu and the dreamy look you get in your eyes. And you talk about him a great deal, far more than if he were just an interesting work project. Far more even than if he were just a friend." He put one hand on her shoulder and began to walk with her back to the house.

"How do you feel?" Aiko asked hesitantly. "About me and Miyatsu being in a... a cross-species relationship?"

Her father was silent for a long moment, and Aiko could tell he was organizing his thoughts. Finally he said, "I won't lie to you, Aiko, this is not the future I would have hoped for you. There'll be problems for you, but you're intelligent enough to have figured that out already. Society just doesn't include part-humans in its mindset of intimate relationships, because there have never been any before. Most people will see your relationship simply as beastiality. But I also know you well enough to realize that you'll always make up your own mind on what, and who, is best for you."

"But how do you feel about it, Dad?" Aiko asked anxiously. "It's important for me to know."

"If I did disapprove," her father said, watching her face carefully, "would you end the relationship?"

Aiko shook her head, her mouth suddenly dry. "No," she whispered. "I love him."

"Enough to give up your family ties for him?"

At Aiko's miserable nod, he said, "Then there's not much point in my objecting, is there? I'd only lose my daughter." He sighed. "I've lived long enough to see many societal changes, both in racial and gender relationships. Things that were unthinkable when I was a boy are now commonplace. If it were anybody but you telling me this, I'd reserve my judgement on Miyatsu until after I'd met him. But I know you. If he... well, grunted and dragged his knuckles along behind him, for instance, you'd want nothing to do with him! You value intelligence."

Aiko smiled. "He's a feliniform, not a primate!" Her face became serious again. "But you're right, I do respect intelligence and honesty. Miyatsu has both."

"Well, then, when he's finished the circuit, bring him home so that I can meet him. I want to see if he can earn my respect, as he's so obviously earned yours. You didn't tell me before because you were afraid I might disapprove?"

Aiko nodded. "Yes."

Her father shook his head as if resigned to the fact. "Aah, Aiko, I remember how upset you were as a child when I told you the kitten experiments were... failing. I suspect you had a connection with Miyatsu even then. I can't change that."

"We do have a -- a psychic link," Aiko confessed. "I know what he's feeling, and he can read my mind. Sometimes the intensity is frightening; there have been times when I'm not sure where I end and Miyatsu begins. I've never felt like this about anybody before, Dad. Miyatsu is my soul mate, he really is."

"Such a feeling is rare and precious, Aiko, something that can be nurtured but never forced." He glanced at her teasingly. "So now, please don't feel compelled to go out into the cold to have your telephone conversations -- unless of course they are to be as racy as the one you had today! That's not for your old dad's ears!"

Aiko smiled at her father affectionately. How could she have doubted that he'd understand? They'd always been so close, she'd been able to go to him with any problem without fear of censure ever since she was a little girl. She was incredibly grateful to see that had not changed. She would have been desolate if he'd reacted in a similar way to Suzu. Desolate, but still convinced that her relationship with Miyatsu was nothing to be ashamed of. The world seemed a brighter place now that she didn't have to pretend to her father about her true feelings for Miyatsu. "You're not old, Dad," she said.

He chuckled. "No? Oh well, I've learnt to live with my wrinkles. By the way, did you say Miyatsu is fighting this evening and that it will be televised? I can see there's no point in my wanting to watch any other channel while he's on, eh? No Iron Chef for me tonight!"

"Thanks, Dad. Did you hear that I've put money on his winning?"

"Yes, tell me about that. I gather there's more to that than just making money?"

"Miyatsu wants to clone his cells to create others like him, his own species. I've promised to help. However, we need money for the project. I got good odds for this first match, as he's a newcomer to the circuit and still an unknown quantity. But I know he'll win. You should see him in action, Dad. He's so fast and agile he's like a blur, he can shield against nearly anything, he --"

Her father held up his hands with a laugh. "All right, I won't argue -- I'll take your word that he's perfect!" He paused. "You say he wants to make more of his kind? I find that fascinating. Would you and he mind if an old GMA researcher came along to watch?" His voice was wistful as he said this. "When I retired, I thought that planting daffodils would keep me busy. But the daffodils pretty much take care of themselves, and I miss the intellectual challenge of genetics."

Aiko smiled at the broad hint. "Would you like to come along to the Shima labs and help us? We're certain to run up against problems, and a scientist of your calibre would be very welcome!"

Her father beamed at her. "Well, if you're sure I wouldn't be in the way," he said, jumping at the offer delightedly.

"You're only invited if you bring mum along too. Some time on a lovely warm island would do her good. Oh, by the way, Dad, I've been meaning to ask you, why did you use Coati genes in Miyatsu, when Pershans are more closely related to the original Adersi leopard?"

"Ooh now, there were a number of reasons for that decision. We particularly wanted the Adersi, due to the many legends that they had been witches familiars, and psychic. They were supposed to be able to appear and disappear at will, and do the witches bidding, including lifting objects telekinetically. But the few preserved skins we had of the Adersi were in poor condition, we couldn't get a full reading of the genome from them, and we needed to fill in the blanks somehow. But when we began the project, Pershans were far rarer than they are today. It was impossible for us to get any; most were in captive breeding schemes. And even if we'd managed to get hold of some, we'd have needed to anesthetize them because they'd be too wild for us to safely get close! But they tend to have a bad reaction to anesthetic, so we couldn't take stem cells without risk to their health.

"Also, Pershans aren't psychic. However, we found that the modified genome of Coatis, surprisingly, 'fitted' better in the Adersi gaps than any other related species of feline still alive today. Plus, we wanted to lift the level of the chimeras' intelligence, which is why we added the human genes. Although," he added, "none of us ever imagined how smart number thirteen would become! In hindsight, with such a mish-mash of genetic material, it's no wonder the clones suffered anaphylaxis. If we had been able to use Pershan genes, I suspect we would now have thirteen healthy adult crossbreeds, but you wouldn't be talking on the telephone to one!"

Aiko nodded. "Without the human genes to boost intelligence, they'd just be normal GMAs."

"No, they'd be extraordinary psychic GMAs with the basic instincts of animals and no impulse control. If Miyatsu is as powerful as you say, then it's a good thing he possesses a human intelligence to restrain his instincts. I shudder to think what we could have unleashed otherwise." He shook his head ruefully. "Ah, the folly of youth! We thought we could control anything back then. Such vanity. Although," he added, "maybe they wouldn't necessarily have been vicious. Apparently the Adersi became very attached to their human companions. Rather like Miyatsu has with you." He smiled at his daughter. "Now, you be a good girl and put the kettle on for a cup of tea. I'm just going up to see how your mother's feeling. By the way, when were you planning on telling your mother? She'll need to know. Particularly if she's coming to this island after she's better!"

"I will tell her, but not -- just yet. I'll wait until she's stronger."

"Put the kettle on," her father insisted. "I'll be down in a little while."

*

Aiko and her father were settling themselves to watch the match that evening when Aiko's mother came downstairs. She was wearing her dressing gown and had dark shadows under her eyes, but her mood seemed good.

She smiled at her daughter and went to sit beside her on the couch.

"I went up to the attic a little while ago," she told Aiko. "I was looking for something. Do you remember this little fellow?"

She held out a lumpy object. Aiko gave a cry of recognition and took it from her mother eagerly.

"Little Kitten! Oh mum, you kept him?"

Her mother chuckled. "He was your favourite toy for years. How could I ever throw him out?"

Aiko gazed lovingly at the toy, recalling how she had made him after her visit to the kittens. She had gotten into trouble because the only material she had that was remotely the right color was one of her best skirts; she had cut it up to make the soft toy and drawn rather clumsy spots onto it with a marking pen.

Little Kitten had a body that looked more like a fat rabbit than a cat. He had two black buttons for eyes, and his tail was merely a plaited piece of wool. He was sewn with a clumsy glove stitch all around. But Aiko hugged him to her nonetheless. He had helped to comfort her when she learned from her father that the kittens had begun to die, and she had taken him to bed with her every night for years. She laughed softly at the memories the toy evoked.

Then Aiko realized that if her mother had gone to the trouble of finding the toy, she must know about the real article. She looked at her mother, to see her gazing at her shrewdly.

"Your father told me about you and Miyatsu when he came upstairs earlier," she told Aiko. "I, er, admit I was a little shocked at first." She smiled apologetically at her daughter. "You hear such nasty stories about odd people who marry their pet GMAs. Plus, I'm at the age when grandchildren begin to look very appealing. But your father talked me around. He says Miyatsu is part-human, and intelligent, as well."

Aiko leant forward and kissed her mother's cheek, feeling relieved at her attitude. "I hope you'll like him," she told her. "When he finishes fighting on the circuit, I'll see that he comes here to meet you in person."

"He doesn't -- doesn't act like an animal, does he?" Her mother asked a little uncertainly. "I know what your father said, but still... "

"Your mother is worried that he may not be house-trained," her father put in teasingly.

"Don't listen to your father. I sometimes wonder if he's house-trained," her mother answered, with a slight smile at her husband.

Aiko thought about that for a moment. "He's human enough that if you spoke to him without seeing him, say on the telephone with the screen turned off, you wouldn't know he's a GMA," she answered finally. "He's quarter-human. He's fully literate and fascinated by human culture, and he's gentle and considerate. He's got a dry sense of humour and an appreciation of irony. I truly love him, Mum."

Determinedly she pushed away the tantalizing memories of when Miyatsu did act like an animal: playfully pouncing on her to pin her to the bed and licking her all over lovingly; stretching his long body alongside hers to hold her close and snuffling in her ear to make her giggle; the low mewling cry of pleasure he made just before his climax, not caterwauling exactly, but certainly not something you would expect to hear from a human throat. Aiko suppressed the recollections hastily. It wasn't just her heart that was missing her mate. The rest of her body was beginning to ache for him as well.

*

The match began at last. There were to be ten fights between twenty Genetically Modified Animals, each fight scheduled to last for ten minutes or until one GMA was beaten, whichever came first. The various rankings for each contestant were shown on screen, with the more experienced circuit fighters at the top with the best odds, and the newcomers, including Miyatsu, at the bottom. Aiko saw that if her mate won his fight, she would be considerably richer.

She also noticed that Sakaki was named on the board as Miyatsu's master and trainer. Aiko squirmed a little when she saw this; it made her uncomfortable to be reminded that the rest of the world would see Miyatsu not as an intelligent being in his own right, but an animal to be owned, as property.

The first fights seemed to drag interminably: one Genetically Modified Animal, a scarred old bull Gigantos, a veteran of many matches, decidedly beat an Orochi within the time limit.

Two evenly matched animals of the same genome were next. Reptiliforms, they were sinuous and graceful, and their scales reflected rainbow patterns from the bright lights of the stadium. The pair danced and pirouetted about each other, but with neither landing anything more than a glancing blow. Aiko was surprised to see they were reasonably highly ranked, because although pretty to watch, they could have been doing a mating dance rather than a circuit battle.

It was soon obvious to Aiko that the audience in the arena was growing bored with the ballet: there were some boos and jeers to be heard from the crowd. The two animals retired after ten minutes and the points awarded showed a tie, leading to their match being re-fought, which finally produced a victor on points.

Eventually, after seven long matches between a variety of GMAs with varying degrees of skill, the announcer read out: "Raikatuji Sakaki and his animal, a modified feliniform named Miyatsu Thirteen!"

Aiko felt her breath catch in her throat. Her mate strode out onto the sand of the arena, and Aiko leaned forward in her seat tensely, greedy for the sight of him.

Outwardly, Miyatsu appeared composed, his face expressionless. But Aiko knew his body language too well by now -- the way his tail tip twitched restlessly from side to side, the way he kneaded the ground a little with his feet as he walked, extending and retracting his claws, and the way his usually sleek fur bristled out around his body making him appear bigger, all betrayed his nervousness.

But his ears were pricked forward alertly, and his eyes were narrowed and concentrated fully on his opponent, ignoring the crowd in the stands, showing his readiness for the battle.

"Oh my, he is an impressive-looking fellow, isn't he?" Aiko's mother commented.

Yutaka nodded. "It's a good thing he is house-trained," he remarked. "We'd never be able to find a litter tray big enough!"

The view on screen changed to show Miyatsu's opponent. This was a big Pachydermaform, heavy in the shoulders, with a vicious sharp horn on its nose. It appeared to have hardly been modified at all from the ancestral rhinoceros, and looked big enough to upend a bus. It dwarfed its feline opponent, and it pawed the ground impatiently as the trainers walked to their positions behind raised barricades at opposite corners of the arena.

Aiko could see that Sakaki, like Miyatsu, betrayed no obvious sign of his feelings; but his composed face did not extend to his eyes, which like Miyatsu's were also narrowed in concentration, showing the family resemblance between the two quite starkly. He had his hands bunched into tight fists.

The klaxon went off, announcing the beginning of the battle, and the Pachydermaform charged, sand spurting up behind it. But Miyatsu was no longer where he'd been. Aiko blinked. He hadn't disappeared as she'd thought, but moved with an eye-deceiving swiftness to bound onto the back of the Pachydermaform. Using the charging beast's broad back as a springboard, he rose up again in another spectacular leap to land lightly behind the animal, turning in mid-air as he did so, his tail whipping behind him.

The Pachydermaform braked to a halt in a spray of sand, skidded around and charged back in the opposite direction. Miyatsu stood his ground for a second, and Aiko gasped, sure he'd be gored. But the instant before the Pachydermaform hit, Miyatsu's awesome psychic power lashed out, lifting the charging beast high into the air above the smaller feline's head. For an instant the Pachydermaform's legs kept pumping before it realized that it was no longer moving forwards. Its eyes wide with surprise and rage, it bellowed, struggling impotently against the invisible power holding it.

Then Miyatsu flung the Pachydermaform. It hit the ground and tumbled end over end to crash into the far wall with such force that a jagged crack appeared in the thick cement. The Pachydermaform staggered to its feet, shaking its heavy head. Its eyes were crossed and dazed-looking as it stumbled forward a few steps, then its legs seemed to buckle and it collapsed unconscious to the ground.

The entire match had lasted a mere fifty seconds.

The crowd in the arena were on their feet, screaming their approval, applauding wildly. Sakaki was beaming, his hands clasped above his head in a victory salute.

Aiko let out the breath she'd been holding. Miyatsu stared at the downed Pachydermaform for a moment, his sides heaving as he fought to catch his breath, and Aiko could see the effort the apparently easy victory had cost him. Sakaki, grinning widely, raced from behind the trainer's barricade to Miyatsu's side, clapping him on the shoulder approvingly.

The announcer was yelling things about "fantastic victory", "unbelievably fast", and "new record". Aiko was suddenly very glad she had invested so much of her funds on this first match. For Miyatsu had just ensured that few would bet against him in his next battle.

*

Aiko's suspicion proved correct. As week followed week and Miyatsu continued to win every match with apparent ease, he soon reached top ranking. Aiko continued to invest large amounts of cash, only her payouts decreased as more and more people put their money on the "Attack Cat" as the sports broadcasters had begun calling her mate.

Miyatsu's image was now appearing in every sports magazine, usually close-ups of his impressive moves against opponents. However, it was always Sakaki who was interviewed, and none of the articles appeared to notice that the circuit's new star was anything more than an extremely gifted fighting animal. Nowhere was mention made of the fact that he could talk.

Sakaki had suggested before going on the circuit that Aiko and Miyatsu's relationship should not be publicized until after they'd finished the fighting rounds. His reasoning had been that, if it became generally known, then Miyatsu's genetic heritage would also become common knowledge, with the possible result that the GMA would be disqualified from competing as being too "human". The fact that there was nothing in the rules against a part-human competing meant only that the organizing officials had never imagined such a being was possible. But now Aiko was glad that she and her mate had agreed with Sakaki. For she was quite sure that once the news got out, there would be a media frenzy, and she adamantly did not want hordes of reporters besieging her parent's house as her mother recovered.

Aiko bought every magazine she found with a picture or article about Miyatsu. Often Suzu was in these as well, appearing side by side with Sakaki, beaming at the cameras, showing her best side and obviously reveling in the attention. The media made much of the "touching romance" of the handsome billionaire and his glamorous GMA expert-turned fianc