Archive of Our Own ^beta

“I need you to find Narumi Gen,” Ashiro tells him. Beside her, Bakko opens its jaw like it has all the time in the world. The wet, pink insides are on full display as it yawns. The sharp glint in its eye betrays its alertness in spite of the tiger’s lazy demeanor.

Why me?, Hoshina wants to ask but he bites the question down.

Ashiro slides a thick folder towards him, eyes blazing with the same intensity Hoshina sees in the streets of Tokyo before she guns down a kaiju. “You’ll leave tomorrow. He was last seen near Yokohama.”

As Hoshina flips through the files, he can’t help but notice the dark shadows resting beneath Ashiro’s eyes, the way the lighting makes her face appear more gaunt than usual. He wonders if Ashiro ever tires of burning with this constant fire. The high ponytail she’s taken to wearing recently makes her seem older than before. It's a new hairstyle, one that Hoshina still hasn’t gotten used to. He still expects to see the same young face, the same short hair they had as rookie officers when he looks at his division captain. She’s grown and changed but so has Hoshina.

“And what if he refuses?” Hoshina asks.

“Offer him whatever it takes,” Ashiro says. She continues, ignoring the questioning look Hoshina sends her, “The Defense Force needs him. The Director General is determined that we have another numbers weapon user given the trends in kaiju activity. We can’t spare a single potential soldier.”

Hoshina nods, tucking the file close to his body as he prepares to leave. Bakko opens one eye as Hoshina walks towards the exit.

“And Hoshina?” Ashiro calls out, when he’s halfway through the door.

“Yes, Captain?”

“Thank you. Stay safe.” She flashes him a tired smile. Against the evening sky, with its bleeding colors, Ashiro stands tall and strong.

▬▬ι═══════ﺤ

Hoshina remembers Narumi.

They took their entrance exam the same year but under different divisions. Hoshina took his in Kansai, an hour away from his stuffy old home as he was heading back from his first university break, while Narumi sauntered through his in the Nishitokyo, the very base Hoshina resides in now. They didn’t actually meet until the division exchange program, up in the north in Miyagi. Hoshina still remembers Narumi Gen as a young, scrappy teenager—just barely out of high school and all rough edges with an attitude that landed him in hot water more often than not.

The most infuriating part, Hoshina recalls, was how Narumi had the skills to back his loud mouth. He remembers the startling speed with which Narumi neutralized kaiju in their drills on the field. He’d zip through the fray of monsters without a second thought, taking them down without blinking an eye. Hoshina would watch as Narumi fired a round of shots on the inhale only to sprint forward and swing his sword through a kaiju’s head on the exhale. It caused a strange feeling to settle in the pit of Hoshina’s stomach as he watched the way Narumi fought like he had always belonged in the Defense Force. In retrospect, Hoshina was jealous. Back then, he was still trying to prove himself and show everyone his swordsmanship still had a place in the world. The only thing he could lord over the old Narumi were his record of most close combat spars won and spotless infraction record.

The last Hoshina saw of Narumi was across the canteen, just before the division officer exchange ended. Narumi was hunched over the noodle bar with his hair pushed up in that loud, flashy way of his and cheeks still full of baby fat. Hoshina was then whisked back to Kansai where he spent a few uneventful years. He was tossed around from base to base until he came to Tachikawa and joined Ashiro. By the time he finally became the Third Division’s Vice Captain, Narumi Gen was a memory long shelved away.

▬▬ι═══════ﺤ

Hoshina steps off the train in Isehara to a breath of fresh air. He’s swept forward in the small crowd of commuters eager to return home. Here, Hoshina feels out of place.

He’s never lived in a civilian district. As a kid, it was back at the family compound, sequestered up on the mountain away from the rest of town. He and his siblings would go into town for school but it was rare that they were allowed to linger for long. Then, Hoshina joined the Defense Force and his free time dwindled even further. Shuffled from base to base, even on days off, Hoshina prefers the quiet of the empty training room to the streets surrounding them.

It doesn’t take him long to arrive at the apartment he’s supposed to use as a base during this operation. Hoshina immediately unpacks what little he’s brought. He makes a quick stop to the 7-Eleven two blocks over to buy dinner before he settles back in. He reviews the files Okonogi sent him, eyes skimming past information he’s certain could be recited when he’s unconscious. He eats the convenience store food before he reviews the kaiju attack from the week prior, replaying the emergency call second by second in his head. He goes through the rest of his night time routine without much thought. When his head finally hits the pillow, he’s out cold.

▬▬ι═══════ﺤ

The next day, Hoshina heads out to the town center.

He buckles down in a coffee shop with a large glass window that faces the street. Hoshina sits in the second seat to the right of the wall. The view is almost too perfect. He can see the pedestrians and the entrance to almost every store on the street. He doesn’t expect Narumi to show up for a while, not based on the notes or from what Hoshina remembers during his early officer days.

He gets halfway through an arbitrary book he picked up from the bookstore adjacent to the building, and a third through his second drink, before something catches his eye.

Hoshina watches as a man marches from the far end of the street, back slouched and hands tucked into his pockets, as he rolls his eyes at the police officer posted at the end of the street. Despite his dismissive attitude and his horrid posture, Hoshina can spot the iron-clad determination in his eyes from a mile away.

It’s Narumi Gen.

He saunters into the video game store across the street. Hoshina sips on his drink. He reads a few more pages. It takes Narumi roughly thirteen minutes to emerge from the store with an envelope in hand. Hoshina watches as he scrambles to pull out a handheld console from his bag, tearing at the envelope to reveal a game chip. He shoves it into his game console and even across the street, Hoshina can see his eyes shine with delight. It’s Hoshina’s cue to leave the coffee shop.

It’s easy to tail Narumi when his hair is so distinctive. Hoshina keeps at least a block of distance as Narumi strolls through the streets. He doesn’t seem to have any destination in mind from the way he sits on one of the street benches, playing his game for the better part of an hour before he decides to move. Narumi walks with a confidence that gives others reason to pause. His uncaring attitude and self-absorption radiate off him in waves.

It’s reminiscent of the way Narumi would saunter through the halls of the Defense Force’s base, pissing off anyone in his path. Here, when people do acknowledge him, it’s with an exasperated sigh and a fond smile. It’s intriguing.

The interest dies as soon as Narumi decides to spend the next thirty minutes standing in front of the sweets display shop. He seems stuck between the cheesecake and tiramisu. Hoshina takes note of the mont blanc as Narumi finally enters the store to make his purchase. Narumi ends up purchasing a slice of strawberry shortcake. He eats the cake as he strolls down the streets, uncaring of the crumbs that cover his face. Hoshina’s eye twitches as he follows him. Slowly, the streets become less crowded and the sidewalk has more cracks than smooth concrete. Narumi finishes his last bite of cake in the middle of the crosswalk, uncaring that the light is green for cars. Not that it matters. The streets are so quiet that Narumi’s footsteps echo against the building walls. Out here, it’s just the two of them.

Hoshina continues to follow Narumi, trailing a block behind. He watches as the buildings around them look more worn, glass windows still shattered and cracks running through the walls. Glancing down an alleyway, Hoshina spots a pile of rubble. He can envision the smack of a kaiju’s tail as it destroyed the building—it’s clear that at some point, there was a kaiju attack here. The only question is how long ago it was.

Narumi finally stops in front of an apartment building. It would look like any other apartment building in the city if it weren’t for all the spiderweb cracks running up from the base to the rooftop. A good chunk of the third and fourth floor are missing. Hoshina wonders why it hasn’t been cleared yet. He squints as he takes in the rest of the building and almost misses Narumi swinging himself up onto the fourth floor, then the fifth, then sixth with a practiced ease. Narumi disappears into a doorway in the middle of the building facing the main street.

i need ur fabulous research skills, Hoshina texts.

just admit using our databases confuses you already, comes Okonogi’s quick reply.

Hoshina pockets his phone, lingering in front of the apartment for a few minutes, eyes on the door that Narumi had just disappeared into. He stays for the better part of the hour before he decides to call it a night.

▬▬ι═══════ﺤ

It only takes Hoshina a day and a half to verify that Narumi does live in the decrepit building. Oddly enough, the city hasn’t shut off this specific power grid. From Okonogi’s reports and the news article headlines he’s gathered, it seems like the city doesn’t plan on repairing that apartment building or the surrounding areas. The families that used to live there have already received new accommodations and settled into their new lives. Hoshina understands; it’s a waste to allocate resources to something no one is interested in. Still, he can’t figure out why Narumi chose to live here of all places.

The draft in the building would single handedly cause someone to fall ill with repeated exposure. It’s located in the awkward point between the city center and any convenient public transportation. The only way to get there is fifteen minutes of wandering through small streets and alleyways. Save for the ramen shop, the convenience shop two blocks to the east, and the orphanage, there are very few establishments here.

Hoshina continues to follow Narumi. The other man doesn’t do much besides visit the arcade and help the grandmas across the street. Hoshina finds himself restless as he cycles between sitting in the coffee shop, trailing Narumi, and staring at that damn apartment. Patience is a virtue, and while Hoshina has spent a lifetime weathering through the changing seasons, this time he finds himself oddly restless. Tailing Narumi has become a chore. A boring one at that. It’s during the second week, when Narumi is on another one of his visits to the local game shop, that Hoshina notices his leg bouncing up and down. With a slow inhale, Hoshina forces his leg to stop—it’s a surprise to see the old habit resurface. The dojo masters back at home had long trained it out of him.

Hoshina sips on his coffee as he watches Narumi juggle his latest acquisition from the game store. With a couple of Yamazon packages stuffed under one arm and his thumbs bashing his handheld console, he makes for a comical sight. In a way, he’s as loud and ostentatious as he was when he was back in the Defense Force.

▬▬ι═══════ﺤ

By the end of the second week, Hoshina is bored.

He’s tired of tailing Narumi every day, following a nonsensical routine as the man meanders throughout town doing everything but doing nothing at the same time. There are only so many mental simulations he can run through his mind as he sits in a store nearby. Okonogi always has her hands full and while Hoshina has never shied away from complaining to Ashiro, it feels different this time. Hoshina is no closer to formulating a strategy to getting Narumi to come back to the Defense Force with him than he was when he left Tachikawa base. He’s itching for something to happen. He needs a catalyst, a jumpstart, something that will actually allow him to forcibly drag Narumi back because there’s no way just asking will work. Hoshina still remembers the arrogance and indignation that seeped through Narumi’s voice whenever he received orders. And from the way Isehara’s residents treat Narumi, Hoshina can’t imagine him leaving with ease.

Luckily, Hoshina’s prayers are answered a few short days later when his watch goes off in the middle of the coffee shop.

He laughs awkwardly at the dirty glare the woman next to him sends before silencing his watch. Scanning through his most recent phone notifications, Hoshina quickly assesses the situation. He’s out of the coffee shop in the next minute, coffee still warm.

In the side street just behind the coffee shop, Hoshina quickly slips out of his normal clothes and shoves them underneath the dumpster—it’s why he chose this particular coffee shop in the first place—before he races through the streets. He switches his watch back on, and it vibrates with an urgency, before he races towards the red markers on the map.

“Ah, there you guys are,” Hoshina says when he finally encounters the honju. He grins to himself as he pushes his mask over his face and draws his swords from their scabbards. Hoshina makes quick work of the honju, just like he always has, before he races on ahead.

Out here, there’s only him. He doesn’t have other officers dropping in to request his help for backup or Okonogi oscillating between berating him for making a reckless decision and directing him through the alleyways to the next horde. Hoshina frowns as he checks the Eastern Division’s notifications. Technically speaking, a kaiju attack in Isegara would be the First Division’s responsibility, and if not them it would fall upon the Sixth Division or whichever one of the remaining divisions in the Eastern Division had platoons to spare. Hoshina doesn’t see any notification for platoon assignments in the notification center.

Perhaps this is why sections of Isehara are still in disarray. Clean-up and reconstruction tend to move quicker if a platoon has helped eliminate kaiju in the area.

Hoshina continues through the streets, eyes occasionally glancing at his GPS. He moves towards the next cluster of red dots, less than a kilometer north. From their size and density, it can’t be more than a couple of honju and their accompanying yoju. It should be something that Hoshina can handle well enough on his own.

Just as Hoshina nears the cluster, his watch stops vibrating. The red dots on the map vanish.

That’s weird. Hoshina zooms in on his map on his phone. Even after refreshing, the cluster is gone. Although unlikely, Hoshina decides to chalk it up to GPS error before he moves towards the next cluster. He’ll shelve it for his post-kaiju attack reflection.

As Hoshina closes in on the next batch of honju, he runs past shattered shop windows and rubble on the ground. Half a wall crumbled to the left, the entire top floor of a hotel taken out, a bent lamppost—Hoshina catalogs the damage as he draws his swords in preparation for a fight. His watch vibrates with increasing urgency and a quick glance at his map shows that he’s almost reached the honju. He can hear their roars, the monstrous howls that used to plague his nightmares as a kid. This time, he’ll be certain to catch them.

Hoshina’s grip on his swords tighten as he rounds the intersection. Suddenly, it’s eerily silent.

In the middle of the street, standing on top of the bodies of honju, is Narumi Gen.

“Oh, you’re here,” Narumi remarks. He looks disinterested, body entirely relaxed as he hops off the mound of dead kaiju carcasses. The claw balanced on his shoulder is covered in dark red, the tip of the claw dripping blood into the growing pool of crimson while the other end of the limb looks like it was hastily ripped from its original body.

“That shouldn’t be possible,” Hoshina says, dumbfounded. His swords feel heavy in his hands.

Narumi looks down at his hands before he shrugs, as if saying, so?. Hoshina’s mind scrambles for an explanation, for any recollection from the books he had pored over late at night when his body was fatigued.

Underneath Narumi’s smug smile, Hoshina’s mind draws a blank.

What frustrates him even more is that the thought of taking a kaiju carcass and utilizing it as a weapon is so far down on his list of options that Hoshina would probably be killed before he even had the chance to try it in battle. Even before they entered the Defense Force, they’ve been drilled with the fact that the suits were a necessity to fight.

Unparalleled synchronization levels, Narumi’s file had read. Only now does Hoshina understand.

“A thank you would be nice,” Narumi says. “Or has the Defense Force become so incompetent they send a guy who’s obviously tailing me, can’t respond to an attack, and has no manners.” Narumi’s smirk is as irritating as Hoshina remembers.

Hoshina’s first sign is the single vibration from his watch. His second is the rumbling to their right. In three short strides, Hoshina is at Narumi’s side just as the yoju races forward. Hoshina tenses before he jumps, slashing it right through its core. The yoju topples to the side, blood spilling out as its limbs continue to twitch.

“I’d say we’re even now,” Hoshina says, shaking the blood off his swords before he sheathes them.

“Hey, where are you going with that same old shitty shitty bowl-cut?” Narumi shouts as Hoshina walks away. Hoshina doesn’t respond, but he can’t help but grin at the loud thud mixed in between Narumi’s sputtering, just before Narumi races to his side.

▬▬ι═══════ﺤ

Narumi is loud on the walk back towards Hoshina’s apartment. It’s like a flood has released from him, complaints spilling out of his mouth left and right as Hoshina tunes him out. By the time they reach Hoshina’s apartment, Narumi still hasn’t run out of creative ways to insult him.

Surprisingly, Narumi falls silent as soon as Hoshina begins to treat his wounds. He winces like a child at the antiseptic, glaring at Hoshina when Hoshina requests for him to strip his top layers to ensure there aren’t any hidden cuts.

“Has the Defense Force fallen so far they now need to recruit people they expelled?” Narumi asks, wrinkling his nose.

Hoshina pastes a familiar smile on his face. He digs his thumb just to the side of Narumi’s wound on his upper arm as he bandages it. Just enough to hurt. Despite Narumi’s yelps, that expression remains in his eyes. The one that seems like he’s untouchable, beyond reach. Hoshina hates it.

At the very least, he’s saved the awkward embarrassment of breaching the subject he’s been mulling over for the past few weeks.

“The Defense Force wants you back because you’re the most compatible with Kaiju No. 1,” Hoshina answers tonelessly.

He finishes bandaging the last of Narumi’s wounds. Pulling back, Hoshina watches Narumi for something familiar. For anything. Even if they did know each other from before, the Narumi in front of him right now isn’t the one that Hoshina saw racing ahead of him.

Narumi leans back on his hands to look at Hoshina, like he has all the time in the world to think. Hoshina doesn’t miss the way his arms are still tensed.

“And what’s in it for me?” Narumi finally asks, almost a lazy drawl.

Hoshina considers lying. He could tell Narumi that the Defense Force will drag him back regardless, that Hoshina is just the first messenger and the subsequent ones won’t be as kind. It’s a believable lie but Narumi has the awful habit of shoving his face where it doesn’t belong. He’d sniff it out in no time. Hoshina still has a reputation to uphold.

Gritting his teeth, Hoshina says, “They’re willing to offer anything within reason.”

“Anything?” Narumi looks wide-eyed and innocent, like a small child receiving their first present. It must be a trick of the light because when he blinks, a familiar, cocksure smile has slid into place.

The regret floods Hoshina instantaneously. Just don’t ask to be a platoon leader or division captain, he prays. Narumi was infamous for his inability to cooperate within any division. He was tossed between platoons, then divisions, like an old chew toy. A dangerous, highly-skilled chew toy. But even a weapon that can’t be used is useless to the Defense Force.

“Yes,” Hoshina says, pained. “Anything.”

Narumi’s grin is wicked.

“I want my own room. And the Zeam Deck, my BSB is so old. Or I could get a new gaming laptop too? That would be nice for the new room. Ooh, I also want an unlimited credit card for Yamazon purchases…”

▬▬ι═══════ﺤ

Hoshina arrives at Tachikawa Base with Narumi Gen in tow, grip tight on the back of his collar to prevent a last-minute runaway. Their journey back was mostly without mishaps besides the one hour where Narumi did escape after an unfortunate choice of words on Hoshina’s part. Hoshina had made quick work of chasing Narumi down. Narumi had squirmed, much like a wriggly cat, but when Hoshina had caught up to him he had let Hoshina drag him back to the train station a bit too easily.

Hoshina feels like he’s just dumped a stray cat on the Third Division’s doorstep as Narumi is quickly extricated from his hands, glumly hugging the one backpack he’s brought, and Hoshina himself is ushered off to a separate wing of the medical bay. He allows the nurses to poke and prod at him, feeling strangely empty with his hands now free. Without Narumi’s incessant chatter, the world feels a tad quieter.

“I’m glad you were able to bring Narumi back,” Ashiro tells him later that day, during their debrief.

“What’s a vice captain if they can’t help their captain?” Hoshina asks wryly.

Bakko watches him from the corner of the room, jaws widening as it lets out a sleepy yawn. Glowing eyes dilate before they shutter close. Hoshina still feels like he’s being watched.

“You’ve always been able to pave a way,” Ashiro says, voice firm and resolute. “Thank you, Hoshina. With the increase in high-fortitude kaiju attacks and predicted trends, we need to find strength in unconventional solutions.”

“If you really want to thank me, you can make sure the cafeteria has Mont Blanc for dessert next month.” Hoshina jokes.

The corner of Ashiro’s lips stretch even wider. “I’m sure he was a handful. He always was, even when we were officers. Maybe Shinomiya will be able to quell some of that.”

Hoshina’s body tenses. That’s right, how could he have forgotten? The King of the Kaijus’ mutilated and weaponized corpse lies at the center of the Defense Force’s heart—the First Division. Narumi’s transfer there will be a good thing. It’ll mean Hoshina can wash his hands of the bratty pest and live his life mostly nuisance-free.

“I’ll see you tomorrow to go over the reports,” Hoshina says. He doesn’t miss the way Ashiro and Bakko watch him as he exits her office.

▬▬ι═══════ﺤ

“Oi,” Narumi says. “Hey. Hey, did you hear me, you asshole?”

Hoshina continues down the hall, neither slowing down nor speeding up. The trick with Narumi is to never respond at the first taunt. For all the difficulty the Defense Force has had in reigning Narumi in, he’s been quite simple for Hoshina to crack, really. Less than a day together and Hoshina already knows how he ticks and which buttons to press to see that face light up in indignation.

Narumi stomps his feet and Hoshina can hear him huff. He doesn’t even need to turn around to envision his crossed arms and pursed lips.

“Shitty bowl-cut, I’m talking to you!” Narumi yells. Several cadets whip their heads towards the source of the noise. Hoshina suppresses a snort as he continues down the hall.

A loud, audible groan. Footsteps hitting the ground drown out muttered curses. Hoshina lifts an eyebrow when Narumi slides in front of him.

“Can I help you?” Hoshina asks dryly.

“Do you make it a habit of ignoring people when they’re calling for you?” Narumi demands, taking a step towards Hoshina to glare at him. He must think himself intimidating like that. Hoshina thinks the effect is mostly ruined by the way his hair stands up all over the place.

“Only when they don’t actually use my name,” Hoshina retorts. It only takes a few seconds for Narumi’s face to turn red and he’s sputtering out excuses.

This time, Hoshina allows the grin to show up on his face before he brushes past Narumi and towards the training room.

Narumi lets out a creative string of swears as he follows after him. Hoshina raises an eyebrow as the entryway to the training room is blocked.

“Yes?” Hoshina asks when Narumi still doesn’t move.

“I—” Narumi scratches the back of his neck, averting his eyes. His irises are stained a bright pink. It’s rather distracting, taking away from the fact that Narumi is currently picking his nose as he awaits Hoshina’s answer. The Defense Force must be desperate if they had Narumi trial RT-001—the lens version of Kaiju No. 1’s powers—upon his arrival. Hoshina remembers the pain and overstimulation when he had pressed the thin membrane of kaiju flesh to his own eyes. Every platoon leader and higher had staggered away on their knees as they swayed back and forth from the overload of information. Hoshina remembers an entire afternoon dry-heaving over his toilet. It’s a miracle that Narumi is standing in front of him right now.

“Fucking forget it,” Narumi finally says, face clearly drawn into a forced scowl. It doesn’t hide the faint red tinge of his cheeks and Hoshina has to bite on the inside of his cheek to keep from laughing. “I better get my own room like you promised,” Narumi sniffs as he marches away, leaving Hoshina with a handful of bewildered officers.

▬▬ι═══════ﺤ

Surprisingly, Narumi is a tad less crass and lazy than Hoshina expects him to be. He’s still loud when he shows up for Hoshina’s practices, always a minute late and yawning loudly with a breeziness that causes the more senior officers to grimace. Narumi makes it a point to carry the shiny new Zeam Deck he ordered as soon as he was released from medical, much to everyone’s ire. At meals he sits alone, face centimeters away from the brightly lit screen. The other officers give him a wide berth, faces less than pleased when Hoshina or a platoon leader forces them to pair up with the Defense Force’s unruly canon.

“You think you’d be better at that game since you’ve spent all week on it,” Hoshina comments as he slides into the seat across from Narumi.

Narumi hits the buttons with an increased ferocity. Hoshina grins as he watches Narumi grit his teeth, waiting until the lights stop dancing across Narumi’s face to pluck the console from his hands. Narumi’s score is predictably low. The taunts write themselves.

“It’s a hard game,” Narumi defends, “I bet you wouldn’t even come close to my highest score.”

The cursor lingers on the start button. Hoshina can’t help but sneak a glance over at Narumi before he presses play. It takes him a few tries to fully understand how the controls work but once he does, Hoshina makes easy work dashing between enemies and striking them from behind. The game is fairly engaging with witty one-liners each level and the hacking and slashing. Hoshina can see why Narumi gets worked up over it. When he reaches the final boss, Narumi’s sharp inhale sounds next to his ear and Hoshina forces himself to focus on the small screen in front of him once again. The console feels slippery in his hands but Hoshina manages to defeat the final boss with only a few hiccups.

“Looks like I just did,” Hoshina says as he returns Narumi’s Zeam Deck.

“Beginners luck,” Narumi grumbles, almost sullen. “I’ll beat the boss in record time and take back my high score. God, I can’t believe this is on my save file too, shitty ass bowl-cut.”

“Why not do it now?” Hoshina asks.

“I need to strategize,” Narumi says.

“Sounds to me like you’re just scared.”

Narumi’s cheeks redden as he sputters. Hoshina relishes in his flurry of flustered excuses and grins as Narumi even stands up, waving the console around. It’s far too easy to bait him and he falls for it every time.

“I’ll beat your high score by the end of tonight and knock you on your ass during sparring practice tomorrow,” Narumi declares. He looks down at Hoshina, all puffed-up and without an inkling of hesitance.

This time, Hoshina does burst out into laughter. “I’ll hold you to it,” he says, leaving Narumi to stand in the canteen poised cartoonishly and pointing at thin air.

▬▬ι═══════ﺤ

True to his word, Narumi shows Hoshina his new record completion time by waving his Zeam Deck upon arrival at the next day’s morning training along with a picture of him, his console, and his standard issued alarm clock reading 3:41 in the background. Hoshina makes him run ten extra laps and assigns him to bathroom cleaning duties for a week for rowdy behavior. Narumi takes the punishment in stride with less complaint than Hoshina would have expected. He feels Narumi’s eyes on him the entire morning as he continues to run drills.

“And now it’s time for combat practice,” Hoshina announces to the collective stifled groan from the officers. “Each pair will have three rounds, two minutes each. Whoever makes their partner yield in those two minutes wins, otherwise it’s whoever lands the most hits. Pairs will take turns going in the center since I want you all to learn from each other.”

“Hey!” Narumi marches towards Hoshina as the officers around him split and pair up. “Fox-eyed freak, you aren’t chickening out, are you? What happened to sparring with me?”

“We have an odd number, so someone needs to pair up with me,” Hoshina answers. He puts on his most pleasant smile, “You can have that honor for speaking out of turn and acting disrespectfully towards a superior officer. We can go first.”

Narumi no longer has a petulant scowl across his face. He meets Hoshina’s smile with a smirk of his own, at odds with the tension in his shoulders. “Oh, you’re on.”

To Narumi’s credit, he lasts longer than any of the other officers would have. In fact, he lasts the longest out of anyone Hoshina has sparred in years, even longer than Shinomiya or Kaguragi, and those two are certain to give him a run for his money. Hoshina is more than a little impressed and winded by the time he knocks Narumi to the ground, his hands firmly in Hoshina’s grasp and face planted into the training mats. An officer—Itakura, he thinks—gasps.

“See, told you I’d win,” Hoshina says after Narumi acquiesces his loss. He digs his knee into Narumi’s back, a tad spiteful. He still needs to make a bit of an example, especially in front of the other officers.

Narumi spits on the training mat. “It’s the best of three, Vice Captain.”

Hoshina drives his knee even further. “And what makes you think you’ll win the next one?”

“I said I would last night, didn’t I?” Narumi squirms. “Can you let me up now so we can do round two or are you scared?”

Hoshina scoffs, stepping back as he pulls Narumi up. He quickly slides into a ready stance, hands in loose fists held in front of his chest. Across the room, Narumi has assumed a similar pose. There’s no more hint of that easy arrogance or certainty of a win. Fierce determination blazes in front of Hoshina.

“I think you’re getting a bit ahead of yourself,” Hoshina says as he shakes the tension from his muscles, all too wary of the eyes on the two of them.

Narumi lunges, crossing the space between them with half a breath. Hoshina sidesteps, easily catching Narumi’s fist as he stumbles, and prepares to use Narumi’s momentum to drag him straight into the ground. Instead, Hoshina finds the breath knocked out of him and a smug pair of eyes staring down at him.

“I haven’t yielded yet and the two minutes aren’t up,” Hoshina wheezes, swiping his leg out. He leaps up in the time Narumi flails around, trying to catch his balance.

“That was dirty,” Narumi complains. He’s scurried back far enough that Hoshina can’t close the distance in a few short strides.

“Kaiju don’t fight nicely,” Hoshina states. It’s as much for Narumi as it is for the officers surrounding them.

Narumi’s scowl turns darker as he steps backward to maintain the distance between them. He’s not unlike a rabid dog. A rabid dog that knows they’re cornered and outclassed.

“Just thought you’d be more straightlaced for someone from that swordsman family,” Narumi grumbles.

It’s a comment Hoshina’s heard far too many times for it to rub him the wrong way, least of all by Narumi Gen of all people. Still, it lodges itself under his skin and he clenches his jaw. “Following unspoken rules doesn’t beat kaiju on the battlefield.”

“You’re right,” Narumi agrees without missing a beat.

That’s the only warning Hoshina gets before he finds himself on his flat on his back with his breath knocked out of his chest and a dull pain in the back of his head. He blinks at the lights above him, unable to take more than a shallow breath with the way Narumi’s chin digs into his abdomen. Hoshina similarly finds himself unable to move his arms. Narumi’s hold around his waist pins Hoshina’s own arms in place. He spends the better half of a minute trying to wriggle free. When he finally cranes his neck to look down, Narumi’s self-satisfied smile greets him.

Sighing, Hoshina allows his head to fall back. “Fine, you win this one.”

He pushes himself up, ignoring the murmurs around them as he staggers until he’s steady. It’s a bit embarrassing to be shown up like this when Hoshina has spent so long carefully building up his reputation. Hopefully, the officers will take it as a learning lesson instead of a hot piece of gossip.

Narumi’s stance is far looser as he grins wildly. Hoshina doesn’t let the staggering steps delude him. He shuts his eyes as he steels himself.

“If I beat you, do I get something?” Narumi asks as he sprints forward, leg sweeping out in a large, circular motion.

“That’s a big if,” Hoshina replies as he jumps to avoid the attack.

Narumi quickly pivots, using the foot on the ground to propel himself upwards to catch Hoshina by his ankle. “So, does that mean you’ll consider it?” Narumi asks, wide smile full of confidence that Hoshina wants to crush to dust.

Hoshina uses his free leg to kick himself free of Narumi’s hold, scuttling backwards until he’s a decent distance away. His chest burns as he attempts to steady himself. The adrenaline courses through his body. He hasn’t felt this excited in ages.

Hoshina opens his mouth to spit a snarky comment, but before the words leave his mouth, he’s flat on his back with Narumi sitting on top of his thighs, hand pushing Hoshina further into the training room mats. He flicks Hoshina’s cheek once, twice, then a third time. Hoshina’s hands are pinned between their bodies and no matter how much he struggles, he can’t seem to break free.

The timer’s buzzer splits the air with its shrill screech. Narumi’s last flick comes softer than the others.

“Guess I win, since I landed the most hits,” Narumi says as he stands. His smile stretches across his entire face, the self-satisfaction radiating off him in waves that counter the stares of the officers around them. He looks like a kid that’s just won the school festival’s raffle prize and needs to gloat about it to all his classmates. A childish smile at this age shouldn’t fit his face, but Hoshina can’t help but think it does.

Hoshina pushes himself up, and before he can sneak in a retort, Narumi has already sauntered out of the training room. Hoshina laughs to himself, uncaring of the officers around him.

▬▬ι═══════ﺤ

Shinomiya arrives at Tachikawa Base with the typical horns and fanfare that Hoshina remembers throughout his days as an officer. He used to think her extreme confidence and power were to be desired, something he even envied. These days, on the receiving end, he often finds himself with a headache when they need to accommodate her demands.

Hoshina and Ashiro greet the First Division Captain as she shows up, loud and mostly unannounced, hobbling on her one good leg with an exasperated Shinonome trailing behind her. Technically, Shinoimiya is still supposed to be hospitalized and out of commission after her fight with Kaiju No. 5. Hoshina had heard she had fought the medics and the higher-ups to be discharged and demanded a return to desk duty with the caveat she would stay inside of Ariake Base. Hoshina watches as she waltzes through Tachikawa like she owns the place, preparing to organize a live trial of Narumi’s capabilities against a honju caught just last week.

That afternoon finds them all gathered in the observational room. If Hoshina weren’t watching, he would’ve missed the way Shinomiya falls silent as she sits on the stool offered to her. It’s at odds with the boisterous person he’s always known. Maybe it’s the injuries, or maybe it’s the years, but for a brief second, Shinomiya looks exhausted, crushed by the weight of everything she’s been shouldering alone. Then, Okonogi announces the honju’s release into the training area and the steel gaze is back in her eyes.

“Huh,” Shinomiya says as she presses up against the railing. Narumi swings his new weapon—a flashy bayonet mounted onto the edge of his rifle. The bayonet’s blades catch the facility’s lights, wickedly sharp edges gleaming with steel-cold ferocity. Custom-made from Izumo Tech. It’s the fastest Hoshina has ever known anyone to receive a personalized weapon in the Defense Force.

“Why’d we kick him out the first time? He’s good,” Shinomiya says as Narumi simultaneously fires and swings. The fly-like yoju drop like heavy weights, green-blue blood splattering on the ground. Hoshina doesn’t need to see Narumi’s face to know that there’s a self-satisfied smile written all over it.

Ashiro looks at him imploringly. Hoshina watches Narumi leap over the rubble, dash in between the falling debris, all while taking out the yoju without breaking a sweat.

“He doesn’t get along well with others,” is what Hoshina settles on.

Shinomiya laughs. “Is that it? If we kicked out every officer that had attitude issues, kaiju would’ve destroyed this country a long time ago.”

“He has one of the thickest infraction records and was dismissed from eight platoons for tardiness, absences, and disorderly conduct,” Ashiro says.

Hoshina holds back from adding that Shinomiya herself was notorious for the same attitude issues, especially when she first joined. A decade after her rookie days and people still shudder when hearing the rumors. He also wants to know if a broken knee equates to a broken ability to read.

“We’ll see about that,” Shinomiya says. Her eyes widen as Narumi plows forward, relentless and uncaring.

They have the same gleam in their eyes. Sharp, determined, and lethal. Willing to do whatever it takes to obliterate anything in their way. Narumi will fit right in with the First Division. Hoshina doesn’t know why he dreads the quiet.

▬▬ι═══════ﺤ

Narumi departs far more quietly than he came. One day, Hoshina wakes up and is told that Narumi left with Shinomiya an hour prior to run more tests with Kaiju No. 1. The official paperwork hasn’t even been processed yet since Hoshina still needs to sign off on it. He nods mutely as Ashiro moves to the next item on their daily agenda. All he can think of is how Narumi didn’t even say goodbye.

The Third Divison’s base quickly falls back into routine after Narumi’s transfer. The officers carry on as if it were any other day and nothing is amiss. Hoshina finds himself missing the loud clamor and boisterous challenges. In between the calls to battle, he finds the silence discomforting. He’s never thought of it that way before.

He returns to his routine like an adult digging out an old, forgotten sweater from the back of their closet. He can put it on, but when he looks in the mirror each morning, there’s something that doesn’t quite fit. Hoshina continues his rigorous training schedule, reenacting the fights after each emergency call. He monitors the newest recruits, meets with other division officers, and has lunch with Ashiro and Okonogi. He contributes to workplace gossip when appropriate—but the laughter that escapes his mouth is grating to his own ears.

“Ah, what’s this?” Hoshina asks as he stares at the paper in front of him. The words blur into each other. It’s been a problem for him of late, the inability to focus.

Ashiro looks somber as she tidies the stack of papers in front of her. “The Fourth Division has been in shambles since the recent daikaiju attack. Surprisingly, Ichikawa has requested help with the cleanup. He needs someone with expertise in handling smaller kaiju.”

▬▬ι═══════ﺤ

The temporary reassignment to Matsumoto Base comes as a relief. Upon his arrival, Hoshina is immediately dispatched to handle a particularly nasty case of yoju lingering around the playgrounds near evacuated residences. He passes orders to the surrounding officers as he cuts his way through the serpentine yoju, slashes through the thin membrane of the wasp-like kaiju until the buzzing around him stops.

By the end of the day, Hoshina has successfully neutralized the honju responsible for spawning the multitude of yoju. He’s ready to collapse after his shower, fighting a yawn as he attempts to finish his report. Hoshina ignores the way his phone lights up as he continues to write.

The next day follows similarly. He’s greeted by the Fourth’s Vice Captain, Furuhashi, in the mess hall before they’re both sent to a village near the Hida Mountains. Hoshina directs the evacuation of the townspeople to a safe shelter before the neutralization begins. The damage here is much worse than the towns closer to the Fourth Division’s Base. Hoshina can’t help but think how similar the place seems to the rundown building Narumi lived in in Isehara.

“Are you alright?” Furuhashi shouts once the sound of gunfire dies down. Hoshina watches the green blood seep from bullet wounds, grip still tight on his katana.

“I’m fine,” Hoshina answers. It’s unbecoming of him to be so distracted.

Together, Hoshina and Furuhashi neutralize a majority of the yoju in the area. Hoshina slashes through the initial wave to help slow them down so that Furuhashi can gun down the remaining monsters. At some point, the oncoming wave of kaiju slows down to a crawl. Hoshina spots a flash of light-colored hair in the corner of his eye.

“Took you long enough,” Furuhashi laughs as the next wave comes. Ichikawa’s eyes twinkle as he settles beside Furuhashi, balancing the rifle on his shoulder to take aim. Furuhashi’s shots swiftly follow Ichikawa’s freeze rounds. All the officers know about the Fourth Division’s Captain and Vice Captain—two friends in the same cohort that pushed each other to new heights. Two friends that were nearly unstoppable and able to stand ground against Kaiju No. 4 before the First Division’s arrival. To hear about their legendary teamwork and to see it in person are two different things.

Hoshina feels awfully lonely as he cuts through the yoju.

It takes them the entire week to finish neutralizing the remaining honju nests scattered across the prefecture. It’s one of the more grueling operations Hoshina has participated in, each day slaughtering kaiju until his swords feel heavy and his feet drag across the floor before he stumbles into bed, or poring over maps and monitoring live videos to figure out how to best deploy the Fourth Division’s platoons. The sheer number of honju is on a scale Hoshina has never seen or heard of before. There’s no simple way of blasting through them without utterly destroying the area. Hoshina’s time in the Defense Force has yielded countless unexpected situations, but it seems this has been the norm as of late. Hoshina would never admit it but sometimes he yearns for similar days.

In accordance with tradition, Ichikawa and Furuhashi arrange a banquet for the Fourth Division once the two week kaiju neutralization has been deemed all clear. Hoshina has half a mind to skip out and slink back to Tachikawa Base so he can get a head start on the mountain of paperwork he knows he’ll be asked to submit after tonight. As he deliberates slipping into the banquet hall to grab a bite for the trip back, Furuhashi and Ichikawa round the corner with Furuhashi’s arm casually thrown around the other’s shoulder. The vice captain speaks animatedly, shark-like grin accompanied with a boisterous laughter.

“Hoshinaaaaa,” Furuhashi says as his smile widens, large and shark-like, “just in time. Come join us. We gotta celebrate! I hate to admit it but without a guy like you this would’ve been a thousand times worse.”

“I—” Hoshina begins, wondering how to extricate himself from Furuhashi’s arm and the situation. He catches Ichikawa’s gaze and the way he bites down on a smile.

“It’d be nice for you to join us before you head back, Vice Captain Hoshina,” Ichikawa adds, sounding somewhat amused despite the clear exhaustion on his face. “It’s rare for us to have the chance to properly catch up.”

“I was already heading to the banquet,” Hoshina says as he allows Furuhashi to steer him and Ichikawa towards the steadily growing cacophony.

▬▬ι═══════ﺤ

i can’t believe you stole one of my #1 rankings, Narumi’s message reads.

Hoshina suppresses his smile as he skims through the messages that follow. Taking a quick look around him, it’s evident that the other officers are too busy enjoying themselves after a grueling mission. Ichikawa has his full attention on Furuhashi, with a slight flush on his face as he says something inaudible.

Hoshina slips out of the main hall and hurries towards the rooftop. not my fault you’ve been sitting on your ass since your transfer, he texts back.

HEY, comes Narumi’s immediate response.

HEY!!!!!

SHINOMIYA IS AWFUL. IM HOOKED UP TO MACHINES ALL DAY. I DIDN’T WANT THIS.

Hoshina snorts as he texts back, sounds like a you problem.

He watches as the three dots appear, then disappear, then appear again for Narumi. It’s rather pleasant out on the rooftop, away from the rest of the crowd.

I’ll beat your mid-sized kaiju slaying record in a week, Narumi texts back.

Hoshina laughs at the sheer audacity of the promise. It’s just like Narumi to declare something so outrageous and impossible with absolute certainty.

“You look like you’re having a better time out here,” a voice sounds behind him as Ichikawa steps into view.
Hoshina slips his phone into his pocket. “The air out here is fresher,” he says.

Ichikawa lets the excuse slide, stepping next to Hoshina towards the edge of the building. The two of them settle into an amicable silence but Hoshina can’t help the restlessness that’s now taken seed.

“Did you need me for something, Captain Ichikawa?” Hoshina finally asks.

When Ichikawa looks at him, Hoshina can see the years of battle-worn hardness in his eyes. He can feel the built up exhaustion and the countless losses Ichikawa has faced. Despite all of that, he stands before Hoshina with a warm smile on his face.

“It’s nice to spend time with others,” Ichikawa says conversationally. “You know, before I joined the Defense Force, I worked at a kaiju cleaning company for a few years.”

“Ah, I didn’t know that,” Hoshina says, uncertain of where this is going. He had always assumed Ichikawa had trained the summer before university, like most officers did.

“Most people don’t. It’s not exactly glamorous.”

Hoshina cracks a smile as Ichikawa chuckles to himself.

“There was a high schooler who joined the year I was finally going to take the exam. He was a funny guy. Refused the nose plugs and anti-nausea medicine for the first week, insisting it would build character before he became ’the strongest captain the Defense Force has ever seen’.” Ichikawa’s face looks distant as he recounts his past. The captain leans agains the railing, falling silent.

“And did he make it into the Defense Force?” Hoshina asks after the silence has stretched on for far too long.

Ichikawa smiles, an expression full of melancholy. Imprints of crows feet pull at the corner of his eyes. His hand burns Hoshina’s shoulder. “You did well, Vice Captain Hoshina,” Ichikawa tells him before he leaves Hoshina alone on the rooftop, with his phone vibrating in his pocket.

▬▬ι═══════ﺤ

Hoshina’s return to Tachikawa Base is uneventful. He completes the mountain of paperwork for his time at the Fourth Division in between the new neutralization missions. Not only have the number of kaiju attacks been increasing, so have their magnitudes and numbers. As the resident small-to-middle-sized kaiju neutralizer, Hoshina finds himself being called upon more and more. After one particularly grueling night, he wonders if he should pull rank and have another officer complete his paperwork for him. Then, he thinks of the silence that’s been lurking in the corner of his vision.

check the leaderboards, comes Narumi’s text a week after Hoshina’s return.

took you long enough, Hoshina messages back, half an hour later and under the table as he listens to the rest of the research division’s reports. Ashiro shoots him a look but Hoshina steadfastly ignores it as he makes a point to examine the graphs Okonogi’s projected on-screen for this week’s predicted kaiju attacks.

“You seemed to be in a better mood today,” Ashiro tells him once the meeting is over.

Hoshina feels like he’s been caught red-handed, immediately pulling his hand from his pocket.

“I’m just making sure to enjoy the tranquility of this place,” Hoshina says, fleeing towards Okonogi in a poorly concealed escape attempt.

Luckily, Okonogi is all too used to his antics and happily makes an excuse about a nonexistent lunch catch-up. Hoshina grins, cheeky, before he drags Okonogi down the hall.

“Did you really have to do that?” Okonogi asks as she pushes her glasses back up her nose. She slides into the seat opposite Hoshina with her tray of food, cheeks still flushed from the light sprint Hoshina had forced her to go on earlier.

“The Defense Force can always use a bit of fun,” Hoshina says.

Okonogi rolls her eyes before she proceeds to tell Hoshina about her latest endeavor in collecting a limited series of plush teddy bears. Hoshina half-listens, the other half of his mind wandering. Truthfully, it’s been a while since Hoshina has had the opportunity to catch up with Okonogi, so his excuse to Ashiro wasn’t entirely a lie. Back when he first joined the Defense Force, Hoshina frequently sat with the scientists when he found his platoonmates to be too tiresome or wanted to avoid the rare pestering for sword and sparring tips. Okonogi and the others were all too happy to have him. Back then, Okonogi was even more austere and shorter, but with clothes that actually fit her. Now, Hoshina cracks a smile as she drowns in the uniform she never grew into.

“You know, Ariake has a great sunset view with the water and all. Sometimes I go there if things aren’t as busy,” Okonogi says conversationally as she stuffs her straw into a carton of milk. “Only takes me an hour or so. But I guess I’m still pretty bad at timing it sometimes.”

Hoshina pauses, a stiff, trying smile slapped back on his face.

“Okonogi, if you want to tell me something, you can just say it.”

Okonogi looks askance, sipping on her milk with an expression of innocence that she definitely wouldn’t have been able to pull off in their earlier days.

“Ariake is right there. Why are you pretending that it’s halfway across the world?” She asks before neatly crushing the milk carton until it lies flat. Hoshina can’t think of a response.

▬▬ι═══════ﺤ

Hoshina ends up brushing Okonogi’s words to the back of his mind the same way he pushed all the critique about his choices aside. He ignores the knowing glances Okonogi shoots him during their meetings and Ashiro’s well intended questions, falling back on the most familiar thing he’s known. He trains until his entire body is covered in sweat, chest heaving as his arms burn. He refuses to watch the setting sun as he presses on.

The kaiju attacks continue to increase in frequency. Hoshina continues to train. He continues to monitor the latest batch of recruits with Ashiro as they desperately attempt to strengthen their forces. Hoshina scrubs himself down each night until his skin is pink and raw yet he can never seem to get rid of the smell of kaiju blood that clings to him.

Kaiju attacks have always been a threat looming just over the horizon, but recently that distance has grown smaller. Citizens have grown restless. Morale in the Defense Force is at an all time low. Shinomiya is still out of commission, which means that Hoshina has more than enough work on his plate.

did you watch tonight’s news? Narumi’s text comes one evening.

no, Hoshina replies after he’s finished filing his reports for the week. At this point, the words on the page have started to bleed into one another. More kaiju attacks also means more reports. Both are things Hoshina could do with less of.

:((, comes Narumi’s immediate reply. i’ll just make u watch it when u guys come over for the joint training.

Rubbing his eyes, Hoshina reads the text once again. Then a third time. He pulls up his work calendar and sure enough, the next three days are blocked off. Hoshina vaguely recalls discussing something during a meeting with Shinomiya during the JAKDF’s monthly update.

lol i have training sessions to lead, Hoshina texts back. He looks forlornly at his laptop, sighing as he sits back down to start planning again.

▬▬ι═══════ﺤ

Hoshina steps foot on Ariake Base for the first time in almost a year, half filled with dread, half filled with anticipation. The last time he came, it was to help Shinonome when the First Division’s resources were stretched low after Kaiju No. 5’s attack. He rarely ventures past the Third Division’s officially dictated boundaries, even on his days off. Just in case there’s an emergency.

Hoshina stands next to Ashiro, waiting to enter with the select platoons they brought.

“You seem nervous, Hoshina,” Ashiro notes as she pets Bakko’s head.

Bakko’s yellow eye swivels up towards Hoshina in agreement. Hoshina wipes his palms on the insides of his pockets.

“Captain Shinomiya is always a force to be reckoned with,” Hoshina says as they continue to wait. Ashiro purses her lips, but doesn’t comment further.

The gates to Ariake Base finally open and Hoshina is greeted by the strongest soldiers in the Defense Force. Shinomiya walks forward, no longer stuck in her cast, with a large grin on her face. Her limp is slight and would almost be dismissed if not for the beads of sweat lining her forehead.

Hoshina expects Shinonome or Tachibana to turn the corner and face him with an eyeroll.

Instead Narumi is the one that strolls out, stretching those long limbs in a lazy yawn as he walks up to Shinomiya’s side.

“Do I really have to be here?” Narumi grouses, rubbing red-rimmed eyes as he returns to that horrendous slouch. The circles underneath his eyes are dark and his hair is unkempt as always. He blows at his bangs, much like a high schooler, but the strands of hair end up falling back down to cover his eyes. Hoshina has the strange urge to brush them out of the way.

“Yes,” Shinomiya says before directing a well-aimed kick at him. “Sorry about my dumb disciple, he’s still learning,” she grins in the same breath as Narumi doubles over, letting out a string of long and uncreative curses.

Hoshina shares a look with Ashiro as they follow Shinomiya inside. Narumi trails behind them, visibly glum. He trades snarls with Bakko as the rest of them confirm and discuss their plans for the next three days. Hoshina has to stifle his laughter at the way Narumi refuses to back down. Eventually, Narumi gives Bakko one last fierce growl—Hoshina wishes he could whip out his phone just to capture the moment but he’s still determined to retain a base amount of professionalism at the First Division—before Narumi jogs up to Hoshina’s side.

▬▬ι═══════ﺤ

The joint training proceeds better than expected. Their officers pair up with officers from the other division without a hitch and the cafeteria is frequently filled with conversation exchanging pointers. Hoshina keeps a careful eye on the officers even as he sits with Shinomiya and Ashiro, reading the most recent reports on kaiju attacks littering the country. He even catches Shinonome and Tachibana leaned in for discussion, eyes ever so often swiveling towards the sore thumb of the Defense Force, before Tachibana finally marches towards Narumi with Shinonome a few steps behind.

Overseeing the drills and practices mostly helps Hoshina keep his mind off the growing kaiju attacks and the strange weather patterns up north. If he allows his eyes to slide over to a certain up and coming soldier when it's just him overseeing drills, that’s for him to know.

“Urgh, I can’t catch a break,” Narumi grouses as he falls in step next to Hoshina as he patrols the streets for any stray kaiju after the emergency attack that morning. “Shinomiya is constantly on my ass. ‘Drop down and give me two hundred pushups, Narumi, stay back and wipe down all the training equipment.’,” Narumi pinches his nose as he puts on a high, nasally voice in poor imitation of his captain. “God, I didn’t even have to do all this shit the first time as an officer,” he groans, throwing his hands up in frustration.

“Careful, I could report you for disrespecting your superior,” Hoshina says.

“You wouldn’t,” Narumi says. “Right?” He narrows his eyes at Hoshina, pink pupils blazing.

Hoshina laughs, a full-bodied laugh that starts in the pit of his stomach, making its way past his lungs, through his throat until it bubbles out. He hasn’t been able to laugh like this for quite some time.

Hoshina winks. “Who knows,” he says, enjoying the way Narumi squirms beside him. “Maybe I will, maybe I won’t. Or maybe I’ll report you for disrespecting me since I am a Vice Captain, after all.”

Narumi’s entire face reddens. The flush stains his cheeks and the tips of his ears, matching the flecks of blood staining his suit. The mop of his hair is pushed back so Hoshina has a clear view of the deepening red.

“You wouldn’t dare,” Narumi hisses. “Or, or I’ll. Or I’ll—”

“Or you’ll what?” Hoshina asks.

He draws his sword to slice through a worm kaiju slithering on the ground next to them, blade knocking off its head in one clean cut.

“My kill,” Hoshina grins as the blood spurts from the beheaded kaiju, a misty red spray before it trickles into a small stream. “I thought those kaiju contact lenses of yours were supposed to help make you more useful too.”

Hoshina watches as Narumi opens his mouth then clenches it shut, hands gripping that outlandish customized weapon he’s just received. He smirks as Narumi grimaces, cocking out his hip as he sheathes his sword. Narumi’s eyes glow with an excitement Hoshina can’t quite name.

“I’ll show you,” Narumi says, “I’ll beat all your remaining close-combat records and beat your ass in video games. One v one. After dinner.” He slams the butt of his bayonet into the ground on the final word of his ostentatious declaration. On anyone else that arrogance would come off as haughty.

“Sure,” Hoshina agrees, biting down another round of laughter. “But you’re still doing three hundred pushups before you’re able to enter the canteen tonight.”

Already halfway down the street, Narumi stumbles midstep. Hoshina grins as Narumi lets out a string of expletives down the street, brandishing his bayonet. He hopes Narumi remembered to turn his comms off, or he won’t just have three hundred pushups to do.

▬▬ι═══════ﺤ

The state of Narumi’s room is a sharp contrast to Hoshina’s. Upon entering, Hoshina is already blocked by several Yamazon boxes—all on the JAKDF’s card that Ashiro had begrudgingly handed him after Hoshina dragged him back—and needs to tiptoe around the various piles of trash like the agility training his father used to make him undergo as a kid. Narumi doesn’t offer an apology for the mess. Hoshina is amazed by how much an individual can accumulate in such a short span of time.

“Make yourself at home,” Narumi says as he gestures to the couch littered with old wrappers. Hoshina gingerly moves an opened juice carton aside before sitting down.

“You have a…” Hoshina struggles for the right words as he moves the game controller digging into his ass, “a well-lived place,” is what he finally settles for.

“Ohhh, that’s where the spare Chitendo controller went,” Narumi exclaims. He snatches the device from Hoshina’s hands, fingers warm as their hands brush against one another, before he starts fiddling with the battery slot.

It’s a miracle that you can find anything in here, Hoshina thinks as Narumi sprints to one of the dressers and digs out a pack of batteries.

Narumi’s room is as overwhelming as he is. Hoshina doesn’t know he manages to navigate the piles of trash on the ground or pick up an unopened bag of chips and crackers on his way back to the couch. Narumi offers Hoshina an easy grin as he opens one of the snacks, nudging him with the bag.

Hoshina takes one of the chips. Surprisingly, it’s not stale.

It’s rare for an officer’s living quarters at the base to be so well-furnished. Most officers keep a few personal photos lying around; even the platoon leaders only have a poster or two. Hoshina’s own brother returns to their family home when he’s off-duty and Hoshina knows that if he ever wanted to go back, he could. Would Narumi return to Isehara, if he could? Hoshina saw what he had in Isehara when he dressed Narumi’s wounds and here, at Ariake, Hoshina sees it all again.

“What’s your pick?” Narumi asks as he powers on the TV, pulling Hoshina out of his thoughts. “I’ll go easy on you.”

He scoffs as fiddles with the joysticks of the game controller. “No need. Whatever you usually play is fine.”

“Don’t throw a fit if you lose, then,” Narumi says, voice full of his characteristic confidence. He smiles wolfishly at Hoshina as the game loads up. Hoshina holds back a snort as Narumi pushes his bangs back—the same way he does before a spar or the emergency neutralization this morning—only for them to fall back in place a second later. He finds his throat strangely parched throughout the entire duration of the game.

Narumi’s brazen self-assurance quickly fades minutes later when the GAME OVER screen flashes in front of them. Finally regaining his composure, Hoshina can’t help but feel a bit pleased at Narumi’s shocked expression.

“Careful, if you don’t close your mouth bugs will fly in, dontcha know?” Hoshina sniggers as cups Narumi’s jaw to close his mouth.

Narumi glares at him as Hoshina’s hands force his mouth closed. Hoshina’s skin burns—it’s like he’s just dipped his hands into a roaring fire. Still, he keeps his hands there until Narumi finally pulls back. He can make out the imprints of his fingertips lining Narumi’s jaw as he picks his controller back up.

“I’ll win this time,” Narumi swears, cheeks flushed. Hoshina wonders if he still hasn’t cooled down from the extra punishment Shinomiya inflicted with cleaning up in the showers.

“Sure ya will,” Hoshina says indulgently as he readies himself. He takes a sip of one of the juices to wet his throat.

A quick glance at Narumi tells Hoshina all he needs to know. Eyebrows knit in concentration, scowl written across his face, and hands gripping the controller with a ferocious concentration. Hoshina presses his lips together as Narumi sags against him, shoulder digging uncomfortably into Hoshina’s bicep. Hoshina takes a breath and wonders if this is what other platoon leaders are like—quarters personalized so that each time they step into their room post-mission they can collapse into an overwhelming sense of belonging.

Hoshina’s own room, both at Tachikawa and back in Kyoto, are kept meticulously clean and mostly bare. Hoshina’s room on base looks practically the same as the day he moved in, aside from the coffee pot and few books he’s since acquired. He’s certain his old room in Kyoto has also been mostly stripped of the old childhood toys and books he collected in high school, all moved to the family’s storage so that only clean linens and the futon remain. He’s never felt the need to decorate his room with posters or other knick knacks—neither had Soichiro or any of his other siblings, for that matter. At least not openly—it’s not something Hoshina would know regardless.

Hoshina allows Narumi to rest against him, even tilting his head towards Narumi as he settles into a more comfortable position. He wonders if he should want something like Narumi’s room, that screams him from its very core. He’s never had anything like that but Hoshina knows that when he returns to the Third Division—or back to Kyoto if he so chooses—he’ll still know where he stands.

“Looks like I won again,” Hoshina says as the screen flashes in front of them. He can feel Narumi bristle against him, slinking further down into the sofa cushion.

“Beginner’s luck,” Narumi grumbles.

Hoshina watches as he gnashes his teeth, screen flashing mockingly in front of them. Narumi’s pupils are still tinged pink from the contact lenses as he crosses his arms and glares at their final scores.

“Third time’s the charm?” Hoshina teases as he starts another battle.

Narumi’s response is instantaneous—his body straightens, eyes focused and alert. Hoshina wants to laugh at how easy he is. How easy this is.

“I’ll show you,” Narumi promises, languid grin making its way back onto his face. Hoshina snorts, forcing himself to keep his eyes on the screen in front of them. He presses his shoulder into Narumi’s side, wishing he could stretch this moment into an eternity.

▬▬ι═══════ﺤ

Hoshina leaves Ariake Base with the vague sense that he’s left something behind. The feeling follows him through the halls of Tachikawa Base, into the practice rooms, trailing just a few steps behind him until the alarm sounds and there’s a kaiju the Third Division needs to neutralize. He’s constantly fighting the urge to look over his shoulder—just to double check—after he weathers one too many of Okonogi’s knowing looks.

In a surprising turn of events, Narumi’s barrage of texts starts to quiet down. Hoshina’s phone is no longer flooded with messages both to his personal number and work inbox at odd hours. He finds himself missing the constant vibrations against his upper thigh during dull meetings or unlocking his phone to see the influx of notifications. He takes to watching the news playing on the television in the cafeteria and, and embarrassingly enough, keeping up with the trending tags on Twitter. He finds Narumi in an increasing amount of viral tweets, most of them for the wrong reasons. Hoshina can’t help but snort at their increasing absurdity.

ive been trending for three days straight. hah, comes Narumi’s text one night.

Hoshina’s fingers linger over his screen long enough to see three dots disappear and reappear several times on Narumi’s end.

is it a good thing if half the tweets are cussing you out? lololol, Hoshina finally responds the next morning.

10000 yen i turn that around tomorrow, is Narumi’s immediate reply. Before Hoshina can even decide on whether or not he wants to respond, the emergency alarm sounds throughout the base.

He forgets about it until two days later, during the biweekly meeting with the Defense Force’s director and the other division leaders. Shinomiya happily barters for her return to the field in exchange for pushing up the date on Narumi’s eye transplant surgery. Even through video, Hoshina can sense the smugness rolling off her in waves and the Director General’s ire. She’s been itching to get back in action for ages and Narumi’s post-surgery recovery is the perfect excuse for her to do so.

see?, Narumi messages him with an attached screenshot.

lol sure it won’t plummet when you’re busy recovering?, Hoshina doesn’t send. hope the surgery goes well, he sends instead, fingers feeling heavy.

▬▬ι═══════ﺤ

With Shinomiya’s return comes a sense of security and comfort for the nation, but Hoshina finds himself with a growing sense of disquiet. At the end of the night, the small ball of apprehension still lies in the bottom of his stomach. Hoshina throws himself into his training in response.

He throws himself into his drills despite the increasing hours he and Ashiro have had to work. He runs through previous fights, envisioning the kaiju right in front of him as his blades slice through the air. If his body is too tired to keep up, Hoshina will replay the battle in bed. He’ll think of different possibilities and counterattacks until his mind is too exhausted and he gives in. The constant stimulation leaves him dragging his feet at times during the day but he prefers this to having his mind wander. Hoshina won’t be the one to be left behind. He still has a mission to uphold.

“You should rest this weekend,” Ashiro tells him after one of their meetings, face tinged gray and gaunt. “You seem more exhausted than usual.”

Hoshina would like to argue that she seems more exhausted, with the lack of signature shine to her hair and new split ends. While the days after the joint training saw a boost in morale across the Division, it’s since tapered off. They’re called out almost every day for a kaiju neutralization or emergency assistance request. The attacks grow in their intensity as well. The honju are just shy of an 8.0 fortitude, which means that when Hoshina or Ashiro have their hands tied, the assigned platoon returns battered and drained.

“The Defense Force needs you,” Hoshina says.

“And you need to rest,” Ashiro counters.

“As do you.”

Hoshina meets Ashiro’s gaze head-on, standing in front of her with the same determination he brings when she calls out to him on the field. In his right pocket, the unread messages on his phone burn against his hand. Hoshina hasn’t opened them since the announcement for Narumi’s surgery.

Ashiro sighs, a sound of disbelief and fond exasperation. “Let’s both do our best then, Hoshina.”

▬▬ι═══════ﺤ

Kaiju No. 6 attacks on a Thursday afternoon, on the cusp of summer. The morning begins a dull gray, just light enough for pale, insipid sunlight to peek through the gaps in the clouds. Plump, heavy rain clouds sit on the back of the horizon. The rain starts around noon. Within minutes light pitter-patter turns into heavy drumming, fat droplets slamming against the ground as puddles form in the streets.

Most people simply sigh and take out their umbrella. Though rare, it’s not unusual to get heavy rain this time of year. The sky continues to pour and the people continue about their day. No one notices the water flowing out of the storm drains as they hurry through the streets to meet others for lunch.

The first sign something is wrong is the yoju on the horizon.

Bulbous, bug-eyed heads with snouts filled with razor-sharp teeth. They buzz like small flies, wings vibrating at intense frequencies to keep their bodies afloat.

The second sign is when the raindrops that fall are no longer liquid, but icy droplets that pelt the ground. They sting people’s faces as they whip past and create tiny cracks in window panes as they skim past buildings and cars. The gust of cold air brings a thin sheet of ice that crawls its way up from the ground onto the tops of cars and sides of buildings as the freezing rain continues to fall. The people of Tokyo watch in suspended wonder as summer turns to winter.

The arrival of the yoju brings a cold terror that chills people to their very bones. The frozen rain is now a mixture of hail and snow, wet glops of white piled on top of the ice. The news advises people to stay home. The First and Third Division have already divided the city’s districts up between platoons. Surrounding division captains are on standby, waiting for the phone to ring with news from the higher ups at headquarters.

“Hoshina, we need you to back up one of the platoons in Meguro while Shinomiya starts to engage with Kaiju No. 6,” Izumo’s voice crackles through his headset.

Shit, Hoshina thinks as he skids across the ice. He digs his heels into the ground but it’s not enough to prevent him from slamming into the wall. The yoju in front of him, a hairy chimera yoju with the body of a wolf that Hoshina’s never seen before, staggers up on its legs as Hoshina recovers. The yoju swings its mismatched goat head, one of the horns already cut off by Hoshina, and snarls. Its eyes dilate and its bleating cry is cut off as Hoshina slices through its neck.

“I’ve been on it,” Hoshina answers as he flicks the blue blood off his swords. He stares up at the white sky and the falling snow. If it weren’t for the time of year and yoju crawling around the city, it would make for a serene winter day. Hoshina can envision the chill that would seep through his fingers as he walks through the snowing city. With the kaiju suit, his body is kept warm. Still, the suit doesn’t stop the icy air from filling his lungs as he takes a deep inhale before running off to the site of disaster.

Hoshina makes quick work of the midsize yoju at Meguro. He focuses on disabling the goat kaiju first, slicing through their hind leg joints so they fall to the ground. Like this, they’re easy targets, bleating and crying for help that won’t come. After Hoshina rolls his shoulders, shaking out the tension that’s built up as he prepares to face the cricket honju that have arrived due to the previous screaming. He can only hope that there won’t be a series of honju after this. While Hoshina has no doubt about his abilities, facing a continuous onslaught at this calibre would exhaust even the strongest of the Defense Force.

“Any updates on the current situation?” Hoshina asks as he gazes towards the city center. The steady snow has made it difficult to see beyond the end of the street. The way the city is enveloped in a blanket of white is at odds with the numerous kaiju corpses lying in front of them. Without their blood bleeding into the ground, it looks no different from a tranquil first snow.

“Captain Ashiro is currently supporting Captain Shinomiya,” Okonogi’s voice crackles through his headpiece. “We’re unable to get good footage on them because of the snowfall. We’ve requested backup from the Second and Fourth Divisions but there are reports of 8.7 fortitude daikaiju up north. The winds caused by Kaiju No. 6 are also making it difficult for any outside help to be flown in.”

Hoshina grits his teeth as he watches the winds whip the snow up around them, through the medical tents that still-abled officers constructed. His own stamina is starting to deplete and it does nothing to quell the nervous dread that’s been brewing in the pit of his stomach. In this kind of situation, there’s no telling if they’ll be facing a never ending wave of yoju or the honju that tend to flock to a high-category kaiju. Hoshina isn’t certain if he’ll be able to face the remaining honju with the way his muscles are starting to strain. Not by himself, at the very least.

Where are you?, Hoshina thinks as he watches a Third Division officer limp towards one of the tents with a First Division officer supporting them. He can’t remember the last time their resources have been stretched so thin without an end in sight.

“What’s the casualty count so far?”

The line falls silent as Hoshina marches through the temporary medical bay. Ice and snow crunch underneath his boots. In normal situations, the cold would be welcome to counteract the way the suits tend towards overheating. From what Hoshina can tell so far, the only way to fight the cold is to have the suits overheat. There’s no way for a regular officer to last this long with such a high level of synchronization for such a long period of time. The cold will only sap their strength and mental fortitude.

“Okonogi, the casualty count,” Hoshina reminds her.

“Y-yes, Vice Captain,” Okonogi’s voice sounds through his speakers.

Hoshina hears the sharp intake of her breath and someone else murmuring in the background. He focuses on taking deep, even breaths as he waits for Okonogi to ready herself. There’s no telling how long he’ll be out on the field or have to remain in battle. Best to rest while he can.

“We have one hundred and twenty-seven deaths so far,” Okonogi says. “Almost seventy of those are Third Division officers. It’s been about twenty minutes since Captain Shinomiya began engagement with Kaiju No. 6. Its fortitude level has only been rising.”

Hoshina stills as he watches the snow fall. “And the honju? How many of those remain?”

“There are still—”

“Hoshina,” a familiar voice cuts in. “We’re bringing the rail gun out of testing. It’ll be the fastest way to take down the kaiju. I’m going to need your help.”

Hoshina’s entire body snaps into a ready position, muscles tensed and hands gripping his swords so they’re ready to be drawn at a moment’s notice. It’s instinctual, at this point. If there’s anyone on the battlefield that Hoshina refuses to disappoint, it's Ashiro. She was the first one in the Defense Force to trust him wholeheartedly, hand extended with complete faith that Hoshina would clear a path for her. If Ashiro Mina is the shining star of the Third Division, then Hoshina is the faint aftermath trailing behind her, following wherever she goes.

“Yes, Captain,” Hoshina says before he runs off.

▬▬ι═══════ﺤ

Hoshina makes it to the center of Tokyo, to Shinomiya, in eighteen stressful minutes. By the time he arrives, Shinomiya’s suit has already been operating at 100% for twenty minutes. The fight has been taking its toll on her. Shinomiya stumbles, weight all on her right side as she hurriedly jumps to avoid one of the large tentacles swinging her way. Her axe scrapes against the ground, ice shards flying up around her. Here, at the center of the chaos, the snowstorm rages on.

There’s at least five minutes before Ashiro makes it to her weapon. It’ll be another ten before the rail gun is fully charged and ready to go. Ashiro’s Anti-Giant-Class Kaiju Rail Gun was created in response to Kaiju No. 5 but still hadn’t reached the final clearances for field deployment. Last Hoshina heard from Okonogi, they were having difficulties focusing on the area of the blast. It’s a risky move.

“Took you long enough,” Shinomiya says. Her smile is pained and Hoshina can see the way her chest heaves with each breath. Her axe leans to one side as her eyes tiredly track the kaiju in front of them.

Hoshina rarely feels fear but standing directly below the Kaiju No. 6, an icy terror grips his heart. No. 6 is larger than any kaiju Hoshina has ever seen. With its long legs and short arms, it towers far above any dinosaur kaiju skeleton Hoshina has seen in museums. Dark scales cover its entire body, including the horns on its head. Its black, beady eyes narrow as it roars. Hoshina can see the trail of wreckage and ice that it’s left behind. Buildings smashed, cars crushed, debris encased in shiny, white ice. To make matters worse, in addition to its main tail, there are four long, secondary tails covered in the same dark scales. The tails are as long as the kaiju is tall, whipping around in the air to smash through buildings. Hoshina can see a thin trail of ice fall where one of the tails just swung.

Forcing his legs to move, he springs as one of the tails switches trajectory to come towards them. It’s difficult to maintain his balance as he sprints across the thin patches of ice. Hoshina’s swords swing down but he finds the force traveling up through his arms instead of through his feet and legs, like he had anticipated.

He grunts as he attempts to push his swords down. Coldness seeps up through his hands and into his arms. It pierces through his skin and into his bones. Hoshina can feel the way his teeth gnash against each other as his swords slowly dig through the thick ice.

“Looks like I won’t have to worry about the First Division losing its title as the strongest, if this is the kind of help that comes,” Shinomiya says.

Hoshina grimaces, “Give me two more tries then I’ll be able to cut off all its tails.”

Shinomiya barks out a laugh as she adjusts the axe on her back. “My axe has barely been able to make a dent on that monster’s skin. It’ll be fun to watch you try.”

Hoshina watches as she races towards the kaiju, darting to the side of the gigantic foot dragging its way across the ground. The kaiju turns its head towards Shinomiya, bug-like eyes fixating on her. Shinomiya shouts as she swings. Her axe sinks into a sheet of ice before it can touch the monster’s skin. She attempts to pull her axe out, but the more she struggles the more ice appears. Kaiju No. 6’s other leg comes up as though nothing is happening.

“We can’t let it move any further,” Shinomiya screeches as she rises with No. 6’s foot.

“Captain Ashiro’s just made it to Nerima,” Okonogi says through Hoshina’s earpiece. “The plan is to push No.6 towards the water then have her shoot to minimize the destruction on the city.”

Easier said than done, Hoshina thinks as the kaiju presses on. He jumps out of the way of another one of its tails, watching the ground freeze as the tip touches the ground. The monster had already wreaked havoc across the northern part of Tokyo by the time it made its way towards the center of the city. Hoshina’s eyes flick up to the clouds above them. Here, the sky above them is filled with fat, dark clouds.

“Okonogi, can you check if it’s raining or snowing just below the clouds?” He asks as he darts towards the nearest tail. He can feel the way his blades dig into flesh. Just before the cold can steal his blades, Hoshina leaps back.

“Huh, that’s strange. It’s raining in a three kilometers radius around No. 6, but still snowing below the clouds and everywhere else in Tokyo,” Okonogi answers.

“It’s using the rain from above to expel the ice from its body,” Hoshina shouts.

“It’s not like we have a special machine that can dispel clouds,” Shinomiya retorts. Her axe is dislodged from the thick sheet of ice with a crack that threatens to deafen Hoshina’s ears. She retreats to Hoshina’s side as her chest heaves. Hoshina notices the thin shell of ice surrounding her hands and creeping its way up to her shoulders.

“Captain, what’s your current status?” Hoshina asks.

“Eighty percent charged,” Ashiro responds. The microphone picks up on her small, labored breaths in between the sound of metal clinking against each other.

Hoshina watches the sky and waits for her to fire.

A streak of green flashes above their heads. Bright and blazing, it clears the heavy gray to reveal a perfect summer blue. Hoshina wastes no time in hacking through the ice that’s ensnared Shinomiya.

“Thanks,” Shinomiya huffs as she slips out and Hoshina turns around to see something pointed and sharp flying towards him.

Once he’s done rolling over and through the snow, glowing green eyes peer at him. A smirk is painted across Shinomiya’s face, the backdrop to her amused expression a blanket of white.

“Looks like my plan worked,” Hoshina says as he pushes himself up. The snow around them is stained with purple. He exhales a breath of relief; he hadn’t really expected Ashiro’s shot to clear the clouds.

“Didn’t even take two tries, Captain,” Hoshina says conversationally as they rush towards Kaiju No. 6 once again. Slash, swing, swing, slash. Hoshina is quick to follow up on Shinomiya’s barrage of attacks. He makes sure the tails are kept at bay as they attempt to slow down the kaiju.

“It’ll be at least five minutes before I can fire again,” Ashiro tells them. “Longer, if we want a fully powered shot.”

Shinomiya swings her axe around with a wide grin on her face. “And we won’t need you to, Mina,” she laughs as she aims for another strike.

Hoshina watches as the blade sinks into No. 6’s thick skin, past the icy and scales through pink flesh. He can feel his arms and legs beginning to burn. Shinomiya teeters as she pulls back. He can only hope they’ll be able to last another five minutes. Hoshina counters the tails’ onslaught of attacks, gritting his teeth at the blast of cold, as Shinomiya follows up with heavy swings of her axe. The two of them fall into a steady rhythm with Hoshina’s lead. His body begins to move on autopilot as he fends off the kaiju’s tails and ice pellets it spits out. Shinomiya quickly races in after each opening to hack away at the kaiju’s joints. After Hoshina manages to slice through another one of the tails, the kaiju stumbles on its next step.

No. 6 roars, the sound of an aggrieved animal as its main tail swings around, clearing the buildings in its path. The sound causes Hoshina’s entire core to vibrate with the intensity.

Clenching his teeth, Hoshina urges his legs to push forward towards one of the remaining secondary tails.

“Vice Captain!” Okonogi yells.

“What is it?” Hoshina looks up from the clean cut he’s just made. No. 6 continues to howl, main tail whipping around erratically.

The sky has now darkened, the sun no longer in sight as the clouds have returned. Hoshina feels it before he sees it. It starts off as a sharp sting across his forehead, strands of hair floating to the ground the same way the crimson autumn leaves fall. A second sting, across the exposed part of his cheek. The third across the tip of his ear.

The fourth, fifth, sixth cut through the straps of his mask. His mask falls into his hands as the sky darkens with a new wave of beetle yoju.

“These seem like the same yoju we saw a decade ago back in Hokkaido. You should avoid their spit. It’s most likely poisonous,” Okonogi says urgently.

“What happens if it hits you?” Hoshina asks as he ducks behind a nearby slab of concrete.

Hoshina peeks around the corner, watching Shinomiya as she continues to press on. She swears loudly as the icy pellets whiz past her, staggering through the rubble as she attempts to avoid Kaiju No. 6’s tail. Her suit oozes red and her axe scrapes against the asphalt with a shrill sound. Hoshina watches as Shinomiya struggles to shift the hilt of her axe back onto her shoulder.

“Above you!” Hoshina shouts as he forces his body to move. Shinomiya’s eyes dilate just before the No. 6’s tail slams her into the ground.

Before Kaiju No. 6 can raise its tail for another attack, Hoshina sprints forward. He ignores the way his cheeks sting and his muscles protest, body feeling oddly sluggish. He forces his legs to run even faster, cursing the cold that seems to have started to seep through his legs and arms. On the ground, he spots Shinomiya’s crumpled form.

“Captain Ashiro, I’ll buy you time,” Hoshina promises as he launches himself at No. 6. He plants his swords in between a row of scales on its stomach, using his momentum to pull himself down as far as possible.

He doesn’t bother wiping the blood from his face once he’s jumped back. The yoju continue to spit their icy pellets, whipping his skin with their small stings. Hoshina sways from left to right as he attempts to form a strategy. He feels so very tired.

“Vice Captain, your suit is overheating!” Okonogi tells him.

Overheating…? Hoshina wonders as he suppresses a shiver. Okonogi says something else, but her voice sounds faint as Hoshina shakes the blood off. He forces his teeth to stop clacking against each other as he evaluates the stumbling King of Kaiju in front of him. He should take out the last secondary tail then focus on the right knee since Shinomiya had primarily attacked the left knee. If he manages that, No. 6 will be immobilised in the best case. In the worst case, it’ll be slowed enough for Ashiro to hit it with a couple of blasts before it can get too far.

Hoshina races forward, trying to focus on the hulking mass in front of him. His legs aren’t moving fast enough. His arms feel too heavy. He can’t let it end here. If only—

A barrage of bullets sounds from behind him. The smell of gunfire and blood fills Hoshina’s nostrils as the smoke clears. Hoshina turns towards the source of fire.

In front of him, eyes still bleeding, stands one Narumi Gen.

“Miss me?” Narumi asks, grinning roguishly as he pushes his bangs back in a way he must think is cool. His irises glow pink and from the blurry bits Hoshina can make out, the suit he’s wearing isn’t a standard issued one. “Still need to up your game, I see.”

“You—” Hoshina croaks and it hurts his throat. He was the one that beat Narumi in his stupid video games. Narumi was supposed to be in the hospital. He was still supposed to be recovering. Hoshina had read the reports. Two weeks until the bandages could be removed. Special sunglasses for another two. Then—

He feels cold, colder than he ever has before.

“Always late to the party, huh?” Hoshina wheezes. He tries to focus on a singular point. Narumi’s hands, his face, his eyes—so pink. Glowing just like kaiju flesh.

So different from the dark scales of the tail racing towards him. Hoshina moves instinctually, sword swinging down and between the scales to cut through the appendage. Hoshina’s sword drops as blood sprays in his face and onto the ground. That’s strange, the tip of the tail hasn’t fallen yet.

Narumi’s face contorts. Hoshina looks down, vision dark around the edges. There’s something coming. There’s something? Hoshina tries—

▬▬ι═══════ﺤ

He wakes up to the bright lights and white ceiling of the hospital, entire body so sore that a single breath causes his entire body to ache. He can see someone moving out of the corner of his eye, but turning seems like more effort than not.

“You’re finally up,” someone beside him says. Their hands clasp his and Hoshina can only blink, completely bewildered, as he tries to focus on the person in front of him.

“Captain Ashiro?” Hoshina hedges. The lights are too bright. The hands are soft, smaller than his with calloused fingertips. Hoshina shuts his eyes to alleviate some of the headache. A second voice joins in, words bumping into one another as they stammer on.

Must be Okonogi then, Hoshina thinks as he tries to slip back into the heavy comfort of sleep. He’s going to be reading through all the incident reports for the inevitable mountain of paperwork soon. Surely Okonogi doesn’t actually think he’s able to process everything she’s throwing at him right now. Hoshina wishes the bright light would go away. It's too harsh compared to the soft white of the snow. As he slips back into sleep, all he can see is white against the back of his eyelids.

The second time Hoshina wakes up, it's blissfully quiet. He slowly opens his eyes to the gentle sun that warms his face. Hoshina can hear the birds chirping outside the window. He manages to push himself out of the bed, ignoring the pain shooting up his abdomen. Hoshina pats himself to find a thick set of bandages wrapped around his lower torso. Tugging the cubicle curtains aside to hobble over to the window, Hoshina then rolls up the blinds and opens the window to let in a much needed breath of fresh air.

Outside, the birds flit between the branches as they sing. The sun has risen just above the horizon, golden-orange rays shining directly into Hoshina’s eyes. If it weren’t for the rubble in the distance, he’d think it was any other summer morning.

“Hey, can the asshole that let in the sun roll the blinds back down,” a voice grouses.

“Narumi?” Hoshina asks.

“Who else would it be, bowl-cut?” a voice snaps, but the exhaustion kills the intended bite.

Hoshina is quick to move towards the sound, wincing through the pain. He draws back the curtains to see Narumi. Medical gauze is wrapped around his head and eyes, spots of dried blood just below where his eyes would be. There’s an IV drip beside him but it could be worse. Overwhelming relief makes Hoshina’s knees weak.

“My eyes are still sensitive, dontcha know?” Narumi asks as he grasps at empty air. Hoshina snatches Narumi’s hand without a second thought, placing Narumi’s palm in his own.

“Aren’t you being childish?” Hoshina jests.

Narumi’s fingernails dig into his flesh. “I thought you read all the reports, Vice Captain Hoshina.”

Hoshina doesn’t respond, instead squeezing Narumi’s hand back in response. “Haven’t had the time yet,” he chokes out. Hoshina pulls the chair towards Narumi’s bed so he can sit down. He’d be embarrassed to admit aloud just how tired his legs feel from standing for this short duration.

Hoshina doesn’t let go of Narumi’s hand and Narumi doesn’t let go of his. Hoshina bites his lip as silence falls over the two of them, the birdsong slowly fading. Seeing Narumi like this, Hoshina almost wishes he was never asked to find him in the first place.

Narumi could be enjoying a carefree afternoon in Isehara, arguing with the manager of the video game store to order a game that only he likes. He could be strolling the streets and kicking the pebbles down empty alleyways as he awaits a notification on his phone. Narumi could have been strolling by the riverside, kicking pebbles up and down the path as the water continued to flow past him.

Narumi scoffs and despite the thick layer of bandages, Hoshina can still feel the eye roll. “Well, in any case, Shinomiya came in the other day, when you were still passed out and dead to me and the world by the way, and said she’d step down as soon as I’m out of the hospital and beat her in a spar.”

“And make you captain?” Hoshina asks, somewhat incredulous.

“Well, yeah. I am the strongest,” Narumi says without missing a beat. The corners of his mouth are turned up in a satisfied smirk. Hoshina can’t help but laugh at the audacity and self-confidence. Narumi’s voice leaves no question for doubt or failure. He buries his face into the bed, pushing his head against Narumi’s side. Right against his heart. Like this he can feel the thump-thump-thump as Narumi’s heart continues to beat. Alive, and still here. The most important thing at the end of the day.

“And yet you’re confined to a hospital bed,” Hoshina says into the sterile sheets.

“Because I had to save your ass,” Narumi grumbles, but his grip on Hoshina’s hand tightens until it borders on painful.

Hoshina squeezes back, just as tight. His heart twists in unfamiliar ways. He’d love to blame it on the fact that he’s still recovering.

“You’ll have to beat her first,” Hoshina mutters. Selfishly, he refuses to move until Narumi begins to nod off. It’s only when a nurse comes in to scold him does Hoshina leave.

▬▬ι═══════ﺤ

Hoshina submits a request for one-week leave for the first time in years with sweaty palms and a strangely fast heartbeat. There’s a lump in his throat that refuses to budge as he hands the notice to Ashiro.

“That’s all?” Hoshina can’t help but ask, a minute later, after Ashiro tells him he’s been approved.

Ashiro turns back towards her laptop, reaching down to ruffle Bakko’s head.

The sense of urgency he’s been trying to squash down on his walk to the hall rises back up. “Are you sure you don’t need—”

“Hoshina,” Ashiro interrupts, fixing him with a stern gaze. “We can handle it. Ichikawa is here. I can always call for Shinomiya if I need to.”

Hoshina laughs, awkwardly, the tips of his ears turning warm. Ichikawa had come to Tachikawa at the start of last week to verify the compatibility tests between him and the newly constructed No. 6 suits weapon. It’s half the reason Hoshina finally took that final step towards submitting his request in the first place.

“Yeah, I suppose you can,” he says.

“Enjoy your vacation. Get some rest,” Ashiro tells him with a soft smile.

▬▬ι═══════ﺤ

The ride to Ariake passes both faster and slower than Hoshina had thought it would. He follows the flow of the crowd out of the station and loiters in front of the first bakery he sees when he comes out. They’re selling a few summer specials. Lemon-shaped Mont Blanc. Bright green Mint Choco-chip Mont Blanc. Kaiju No. 6 Mont Blanc with its dark stripes amidst a bed of whipped cream.

Hoshina lingers in front of the window for another minute before he tears himself away. He spends the afternoon meandering the streets, observing the aftermath of the attack as any other citizen would instead of a Defense Force Vice Captain. Here, the people continue about their day. No one bats an eye at the construction happening above them. At most, they’ll roll their eyes or huff in exasperation at the roadside detours.

The phantom ache still lingers in Hoshina’s torso. It's nearly unbearable on rainy days. Ashiro still refuses to allow him to take on more than one honju neutralization per week. It’s the first time Hoshina has clashed so often and openly with Ashiro. Frustrated with essentially being told to indirectly do nothing, Hoshina has decided to do just that.

He ducks into a bookstore and browses the shelves until he finds a suitable title and summary. A brisk walk brings Hoshina to one of his favorite coffee shops in this part of Tokyo. Feeling somewhat satisfied with a coffee in one hand and a book tucked under his arm, Hoshina makes his way to the nearby park.

“The view here isn’t as good as the one from my room,” a voice grumbles beside him. Hoshina closes the book on page thirty-one.

“Really now?” Hoshina asks, setting the book aside. “I’m surprised to hear you even look out your window.”

He smirks as he turns towards Narumi. Narumi has his hands shoved in his pockets, blowing his bangs before his mouth twists into a pout. Narumi’s sunglasses obscure his eyes but Hoshina has no trouble imagining the way they’re narrowed at him in what Narumi thinks is obvious displeasure but in reality makes him look like a surly teenager.

Narumi kicks at the dirt below them. “I do. Sometimes.” He grimaces like the thought of it pains him.

“You’re the one that asked to meet here,” Hoshina points out.

“That’s because…because if I’m here, no one can chase me down!” Narumi sputters. “They shouldn’t be making me do paperwork anyways. My eyes are still healing! I’m their captain!”

Hoshina doesn’t bother biting back his laughter, allowing the sound and joy to bubble out and escape. He leans into Narumi’s side as he laughs. Narumi stiffens at first before it finally relaxes, curling around Hoshina’s side.

“Your eyes aren’t good enough to do paperwork but you can still go into the field?” Hoshina can’t help but tease. He reaches up to pull off Narumi's sunglasses.

Pink irises stare back at him. The pupils narrow into slits before they dilate, crowding out most of the lighter pink. It’s almost like someone else—something other than Narumi—is looking at him. Hoshina can’t tear his eyes away.

Narumi is the first to break eye contact. With an uncharacteristic hmph, Narumi turns back towards the park in front of them. He doesn’t put his sunglasses back on or pull away from Hoshina.

“Not my fault I’m the strongest and need to help save their asses,” Narumi grumbles, but Hoshina can still hear the pride dripping from his voice.

Hoshina snorts at Narumi’s remark. It’s funny to think how half a year earlier, Narumi was still an outcast—the Defense Force’s nuisance child dragged back in only because they had no other options. Hoshina feels strangely pleased as he listens to Narumi complain about the pile of paperwork Shinomiya has left him and the way Shinonome and Tachibana are constantly reprimanding him in meetings. Hoshina interjects with sly remarks appropriately and takes in the way Narumi’s face twists and turns.

Before long, the conversation between them ebbs into the thin breeze rustling the branches of the trees around them. Sitting on the park bench, thigh against thigh and side against side, Hoshina can’t help but find comfort in the warmth Narumi radiates. He closes his eyes as he tries to savour the moment between them.

“Hey, bowl-cut, you should join me in the First Division,” Narumi says, interrupting the delicate silence.

“And what, get demoted? Do your paperwork?” Hoshina asks.

“You promised I’d get something if I won,” Narumi adds petulantly.

His lips are now drawn into a small pout. He huffs a couple of times as Hoshina struggles to remember, flipping through his mental recollection.

What a brat, Hoshina can’t help but think. He snorts, observing the way Narumi’s pout has turned into a frown, turning restless as Hoshina continues to mull over a response.

Long ago, back when Hoshina only had his swords and uniform, he had made a promise to Ashiro. Never aloud to her, but to himself. “My place is in the Third Division,” Hoshina tells Narumi and just as the urgh, what the hell, shitty— escapes Narumi’s lips, Hoshina leans over to cup Narumi’s cheek with his hand. His thumb swipes back and forth over the soft skin and he smiles to himself.

“But I’ll give you something better,” Hoshina tells Narumi before he leans down to seal a new promise.