Chapter Text
“Find someone else,” Narumi snapped with displeasure, throwing the documents he had in hand onto Hasegawa's desk after storming into his office like a hurricane of bad mood.
Hasegawa observed him silently, calmly organizing the folder with his reports. “Unfortunately for you, we can't do that.”
“Then get me another partner. Tell Kikoru to go. I don't know and I don't fucking care, Hasegawa, but I’m not going under these directives,” Narumi replied, going halfway out of the office.
“It was General Shinomiya who gave the instructions, Captain.”
With that, Narumi stopped dead in his tracks.
He turned to Hasegawa, sighing wearily. He held bridge of his nose, gripping it, as he began to feel his head throb with pain. With heavy and lazy steps he approached the desk again, slamming open the folder he had been handed, leaning his hands on the edge of the desk with the most evident expression of annoyance as he analyzed the texts once more.
He let out a grunt of exasperation.
“Why him?! Do I really have to go on this mission with that bowl-headed idiot?!”
Hasegawa nodded. “He's the only one who can maneuver under your power threshold, Captain. And given the conditions of this winter kaiju, it’s highly likely that additional support will be needed.”
“Trash. It’s a load of fucking trash. I can take down that kaiju alone. I don’t need him. It’s not my problem that his stupid ass doesn't have a battle partner and that he's useless by himself”.
“You don't have one either, I may remind you” Hasegawa clarified. Narumi growled in fury again.
A battle partner was something known within the division as the soulmate of the fighter. Everyone had someone with whom they work best, and for those who dedicated their lives to defending their nation, there was additional protection and performance enhancements when fighting side by side with their lifetime assigned companionship.
This selected person could be revealed at any moment in someone’s life, and If the bond between soulmates had already existed in ancestors, it was believed that a special mark would stand out on the skin of those who met again in their current life.
According to the old generations, you just had to pay attention to whether, after calling someone “soulmate,” you woke up with some trace somewhere on your body.
That, and the fact that you couldn’t harm your soulmate in any way.
But Narumi didn’t believe in old sayings, had never called anyone that way nor never heard anybody say that to him, and he had always been able to attack any poor soul who crossed paths with him or wanted to practice self-defense techniques without issues.
So, in terms of a partner, he had no one.
“This crap doesn’t make sense,” he muttered under his breath, taking the folder with the mission information, tucking it under his arm, and finally leaving for good. “I want the helicopter ready first thing in the morning in three days. I'll give the idiot a chance to come to the first division and prepare. Backup supplies and loaded weapons, everything on that damn helicopter by dawn,” he instructed Hasegawa, finally leaving with a slam of the door.
****
Narumi spent the next three days trying not to explode in frustration while devising the most effective strategy to extract the core from that winter kaiju. These types of beasts are usually enormous and have an extensive number of layers, making the task of taking them down much more complicated than normal.
And if they were sending him, out of all the members of the division, it was because they had already exhausted all available resources, and the level of difficulty was through the roof.
On the third day, the date of departure to his destination—the mountains outside the city—Narumi approached the helicopter calmly, with a backpack on his shoulder and his combat jacket over his battle suit, while focused on playing the switch he held in his hands.
He only slowed his steps slightly when he sensed he was in front of the helicopter, but before he could lift his gaze to get in, something else caught his attention.
"How come ya ain't tripped up while playin' and walkin' at the same time?" the vice-captain of the third division remarked playfully at Narumi, peeking his soft purple hair through the open window of the aircraft.
Narumi locked eyes with Hoshina, automatically frowning at him.
The captain of the first division decided to hold back his comments this time. He climbed into the main cabin, passing in front of Hoshina, and sat down across from him at the other end of the space, maintaining a noticeable distance while refocusing on his video game.
After a while, Hoshina spoke again.
"Never thought I'd see ya bein' this quiet" Hoshina added, tilting his head slightly as he looked at Narumi. “Your tummy hurts or...?”
“And why is that relevant to you?” Narumi replied, grumbling without lifting his eyes from his console.
Hoshina shrugged, not too concerned. "Well, considering we’re going to spend some time together out in the middle of nowhere, just freezin' our balls off in the snow, I figured you’d be a bit more talkative".
Narumi had been avoiding thinking about the reality he would have to face in the next few days. To top it off, his character in the video game couldn’t withstand the attack it received and lost.
Narumi closed his eyes for a moment, sighed, and turned to face Hoshina.
“Look, you know-it-all,” he began, leaning slightly towards Hoshina. “I don’t understand and don’t want to know why or how they decided that you and I would be the best option to go to that damn mountain when I can clearly do the work of ten soldiers in less than a day. So at the first sign that I feel you’re slowing me down, I hope you know how to fly to get back to your pathetic division, or I’ll kick your ass myself to throw you there directly. Things will be done my way; I didn’t want you here, nor with me, so I don’t care if you like it or not. Is that clear?”
Hoshina smiled and then burst out laughing, unsuccessfully trying to cover his laughter with one hand.
Narumi felt his blood boil. “Stop laughing, asshole!” he shouted, attempting to kick him, but Hoshina was quicker to move his legs out of the way.
“Oh my god, that’s downright funny! And would ya look at you, bein’ yourself again” Hoshina commented while trying to wipe a tear that had escaped from laughing so much. Then, he observed Narumi for a moment before continuing. “Let’s see, I think we have an important point here: if that kaiju decides to use the city as a new home, it will kill more civilians than you can count. Now, I ain't too fussed 'bout why I gotta team up with you, but I will say the stats are swingin' in our favor, as long as you do your part right” he crossed his arms over himself, tilting his head. “If your petty self can’t handle the fact that you seem to be lookin’ for some kinda soulmate for this job or somethin’, well, that ain’t my concern! You can’t have it all in this life, ya know?”
Narumi's expression softened unconsciously at the surprise he couldn't hide, at the mention of that thing, and he quickly frowned again, growling obscenities.
“I’m not looking for shit here!” he quickly stated. “You know what? Just shut up for as long this mission lasts, otherwise I’ll rip your fucking head off, that’s it”.
“You started!” Hoshina said gleefully, while holding two peace signs in each gloved hand.
“Go to hell,” Narumi directed that at Hoshina before turning to look out the window on his left side, taking the vice-captain out of his line of sight.
Hoshina smiled slyly, turning to his own window. “Thaaaat’s where I’m goin’.”
****
The journey was much shorter than they had imagined, but the temperatures did catch them slightly by surprise: Hoshina had his jacket zipped all the way up, covering him up to his nose, with his hands tucked under his arms, while Narumi nearly appeared invisible in his long combat jacket, his hair falling over his eyes. They received orders to prepare for landing through the intercoms in their ears, taking their personal belongings and getting ready with what they needed to disembark.
The helicopter approached close enough to a flat surface on one side of the mountainous range, allowing them to drop the jump line that the captain and vice-captain were to slide down. And so they did: first Narumi, and then Hoshina. They then released the technical gear and weapons of each.
“You have a maximum of three days; we will find you through the live location of your suits, but you must limit yourselves to tracking and consolidating the target as soon as possible,” Hasegawa mentioned through the intercom.
“We’ll be back tomorrow,” Narumi said confidently.
“Don’t overexert yourself, Captain,” Hasegawa clarified.
Narumi snorted. “Next update in seven hours,” and with that, he tapped the intercom to turn it off.
Behind him, Hoshina was receiving his own instructions, to which he nodded and concluded the call in the same manner.
Narumi adjusted his backpack over one shoulder, grabbed his briefcase containing his things, and started walking. The icy wind began to push against his movement, freezing his nose.
“Eh?” Hoshina expressed doubtfully before hurrying to follow in his footsteps. “Where are ya supposed to be headed?” he asked.
“Cave,” Narumi mentioned irritably. “Five minutes, southeast.”
“I thought you hadn’t seen the coordinates,” Hoshina added, now at Narumi’s side.
“I didn’t know you could think,” Narumi shot back, glancing at Hoshina from the corner of his eye. “And apparently you don’t know how to, idiot.”
“Be grateful; I was thinkin’ about ya,” Hoshina continued in a funny tone. “But I guess you’re as useless as my thoughts, if that’s what you are sayin’.”’
Narumi could feel his face physically heating up in rage. He was sure that he would punch that talkative little person accompanying him right in the nose at any moment.
“Shut your damn mouth and walk faster,” was all he could say between teeth.
They soon arrived at the cave: a wide cavern at the foot of the tallest land rise in the area. As they ventured a little further inside, the temperatures became subtly more bearable, or at least they no longer had to face the freezing air from outside.
Narumi set his belongings against a rock, taking off his jacket and remaining only in his battle suit. He squatted next to his briefcase, opening it and examining the pieces of his bayonet.
He took a couple of minutes to start assembling it when he heard a metallic sound echoing in the cave. Turning to his right he saw Hoshina’s back, drawing his swords and performing a couple of quick maneuvers with them. Hoshina's movements were silent and agile, and the ease with which the swords slid in his hands left no room for error in his cuts.
This was part of the main reasons why Narumi could not stand working with him: he could not accept the fact that Hoshina was extremely skilled in an art in which Narumi, although he would swear he could confidently master, knew he would struggle to reach Hoshina's level.
He also couldn't stand the fact that despite having his own excel skills that had led him to have the captain's position, there could be someone who not only surpassed him in that same way, but challenged him without any signal of fear. And while Narumi acknowledged Hoshina’s strengths and usefulness in secret, he had the impression that Hoshina did not see the same in him, and in exchange, believed that Hoshina regarded him with the same contempt as everyone else.
Disorganized, temperamental and conceited Captain Narumi Gen.
Narumi didn't realize that he hadn't taken his eyes off the vice-captain until a drop of icy water fell on his forehead. With that, he refocused on his bayonet.
They left their belongings in a safe place, and then, equipped and alert, they ventured into the cave. According to the information given, they had a two-hour window between sunset and nighttime to locate the kaiju's nest. Once mapped out, they would have to figure out how to get it out of there and move it into the daylight to finish it off. Easy, perhaps.
Difficult, however, was working with someone else, Narumi thought.
But luckily for Narumi, Hoshina hadn't sought to provoke any more comments since he set foot in the expansive cavern. While walking by Narumi’s side and judging by his actions, Narumi understood that he was intensely focused on the mission.
Suddenly, Hoshina stopped, extending one of his swords to block Narumi's way.
Narumi turned silently to look at him.
Hoshina took a step, tapping the ground in front of him with the sword in his left hand. One, two, three, and suddenly the sound of cracking ice echoed a couple of meters from the ground.
Both took a couple of steps back.
In front of them lay a mass of water frozen enough to give the impression of being a stable floor, but it turned to be a huge trap.
“Well, damn,” Narumi murmured beneath his breathing mask.
“You'd fall like a rock into the depths,” Hoshina quietly commented.
“I can hear you, dumbass.”
“I know, otherwise I would have repeated it,” Hoshina clarified. “Goin' along the edges is one way to handle it; otherwise, ain't no way to cross over. The ceiling's just too high here, and the space ain’t regular enough to wiggle through between the walls.”
“No,” Narumi scoffed. “We’d get stuck just the same,” and with that, he took a step toward the ice surface in a different direction, probing the surface with the fine tip of his bayonet.
Hoshina frowned. “Boy, you’re going to sink.”
Narumi took another slow step, continuing to lightly tap half a meter ahead of his feet across the ice. “How annoying you are.”
And seemingly, Narumi's idea seemed to work. By subtly tapping the area with his weapon, he could hear if the ice was thick enough to step on it. Hoshina noticed this, and being much more careful and stealthier, followed Narumi's trail.
They managed to advance a couple of meters when Narumi's bayonet hit a thin patch of ice, breaking it and causing a small hole, revealing the black water beneath. Narumi immediately altered his course.
Suddenly, the entire cavern began to vibrate slightly.
At the same time, they both stopped dead in their tracks.
“We have company,” murmured Hoshina, drawing his swords.
Narumi raised the bayonet and looked down at the ground.
Beneath the grayish and dark surface of the ice under their feet, bioluminescent trails moved rapidly around them. They moved irregularly, scanning, searching. Narumi tried to follow them with his gaze, unconsciously positioning himself back-to-back with Hoshina.
And in less than a second, the trails surrounded them, again and again, until these things finally shot out through the hole Narumi had accidentally made.
These aquatic kaiju resembling axolotls with long claws and fangs were as big as a truck, seemed to be covered in patches of fluorescent paint, in shades of blue and green, with huge membranes on their limbs and a tail powerful enough to launch blocks of that frozen surface into the air as they aggressively leaped out of the water.
Narumi was shoved by the force of these creatures, rocketing to the side of that lake. One of the beasts approached him, roaring and shrieking horrifically. Narumi quickly regained his senses, charging and driving the bayonet into the middle of the kaiju, sliding underneath it. Immediately, another equally aggressive one came toward him, attacking with its tail, prompting Narumi to leap, shattering the ice beneath his feet to then stab the kaiju with strength, cutting right through its head where its core was.
Narumi fell straight to the darkness after it, and suddenly everything around him felt extremely cold. Under the water, he couldn't hear anything. He clung to the bayonet that got stuck in the floating ice, propelling himself upward, toward the surface.
He held onto the edge of a piece of ice that looked thicker, gasping for air. He managed to throw the bayonet over it. Turning to his side, he saw Hoshina not far away battling two kaiju at the same time.
He had no time to react when the water around him illuminated.
In one swift motion, one of the kaiju grabbed him by the legs, pulling him back underwater.
While it was easy to take care of those things on the surface, things became complicated underwater. Narumi pulled out a knife from his side, stabbing the kaiju repeatedly into what was its head, hitting one of its eyes. The beast released him by instinct, but beneath a layer of ice. Narumi swam toward it, striking the ice rapidly with the knife. There was no space to breathe. The oxygen in his lungs was going to his muscles. He was running out of air. Beneath him, the water began to glow again.
The edge of a sword pierced the ice beside his head, then a foot went through it, breaking the ice and giving Narumi a chance to get air again. He locked eyes with Hoshina for a brief moment, before another kaiju went for the vice-captain.
And as Narumi made his way out of the water, the kaiju under him went with all its force to jump to the surface, throwing Narumi in the air in the process.
Narumi's body collided with some rocks. He groaned, hearing the beasts roaring close to him. He opened his eyes, and as he tried to stand up, a sharp pain attacked his calves. First, he spotted his bayonet, grabbing it, and then he saw Hoshina fighting one of the kaiju, but now he was the one in the water.
Narumi was growing tired of this.
He ran in Hoshina’s direction and growled in anger, launching himself against the remaining kaijus on the surface, slicing them in half. Turning, he thrust the bayonet into the one Hoshina was struggling with on the cold water. After a while, silence finally fell.
Hoshina used his back to prop himself up and exit the lake, and with that, he and Narumi returned to the place from which they had arrived at that bottomless cavern lake.
The confrontation left them without any stable surface to cross the body of water in front of them, so in a silent agreement, they decided to retreat and plan another way to get through it.
****
By the time they returned to their starting point, it was already nighttime. They couldn’t continue the mission until dawn.
Narumi limped a bit as he reached his things. He lay down between some rocks, with his belongings to one side, muttering curses under his breath. When he activated a flashlight and looked at his legs, he noticed what he had imagined: bloody spots running along them, with the area around his knees being in the worst shape.
He knew his suit would cover the blood patches; however, he sighed in frustration.
Footsteps approached him.
“Why didn’t ya shoot ’em?” Hoshina asked, looking down at him. He had wet hair falling over his eyes, cuts on his torso and arms, and in his hands he held his swords, drying them with a cloth.
Narumi looked up at him, frowning. “I’m not going to waste ammunition and energy on things that don’t need it.”
Hoshina narrowed his eyes, analyzing him. And without saying more, he turned away.
Narumi watched him. “Hey.” he finally said.
The vice-captain stopped, turning to look at him.
“How did you know where I was? Underwater, I mean,” he asked. “You can’t see shit there, it’s all dark”.
Hoshina took a moment to respond.
“You’re just noisy,” he noted, smiling slightly. And with that, he returned to his path toward his belongings.
Narumi didn't even bother to give him a grumpy answer. He was tired, and genuinely didn't know how Hoshina had located him under the ice. Besides, his answer didn’t actually answer anything.
Following the events, there was a long eight-hour gap until the next movement. Narumi could take the opportunity to sleep for a while, but after spending almost every night playing on his console until dawn, falling asleep on the cold, rocky, and uncomfortable ground was a bit difficult.
Unable to rest, or play, he put on his jacket and got up to patrol. Outside the cave, the desolate and frigid wind roared mercilessly, so he limited himself to walking slowly around the area where they were having their kind of camping, hands in pockets.
He passed by where Hoshina was resting. He glanced at him and stopped.
Hoshina was curled up in a ball, half-covered by his everyday jacket.
And beneath it, he was visibly shivering.
Narumi tilted his head to see him better, but he didn’t notice any wounds. His hair was still wet, and probably the rest of his body still was too. He noticed the tip of Hoshina’s nose was red, being the only thing he could see of his face.
He could keep walking and leave him there as he was. After all, how many times has Hoshina done something for the captain of the first division?
But even though he didn't want to admit it, Narumi had the answer to that question. He let out a heavy exhale and rolled his eyes.
Narumi took off his jacket and quietly placed it over Hoshina, which was long enough to cover him completely. Narumi wished with all his might not to wake him— the last thing he wanted to see was his grateful face—and after ensuring he was still sleeping, he walked away.
Narumi didn’t feel cold, so he didn’t care. He continued walking a bit more, then returned to his spot and tried to think, while turning back and forth on the cold ground of the cave, about how to successfully finish the mission in the coming day or else he would definitely go insane.
****
At the moment Narumi woke up, the rays of the sun were already shining brightly and majestically through the snow in front of the main entrance of the cave. He got up aching, with slightly swollen eyes from the sleepless night and the previous fight. He looked around and found no trace of Hoshina. However, Narumi found in front of him his combat jacket, meticulously folded into a perfect square.
Narumi observed it for a moment before finally standing up.
Outside the cave, he found Hoshina conducting an inspection of the area: It was possible to intercept the kaiju from the outskirts of its nest, but that would require bait—something that would make it come out with a bang. Once there, they would have more freedom to attack and extract its core.
Narumi listened to the explanation with a long, scrunched sleepy face.
“Y'all gettin' it, or do ya want me to break it down with some rocks? Neanderthal style, maybe you’d understand better,” Hoshina interrupted himself, hands on each side of his torso looking like a small vase, speaking to Narumi.
“What? Are you going to speak to me in your native language? It's more than clear, you moron,” Narumi snapped with sleepiness, stretching his arms upward after yawning a bit. “The nest is about three kilometers down. Even if I shoot from above,” Narumi continued, pointing with his index finger above the cave entrance, “it’s unlikely to attract the kaiju’s attention. Maybe I could gather a bit more power somehow, but those are variables to manage.”
Hoshina studied him with a scrutinizing look, crossing his arms over his chest. “Wow, ya really are smart after all.” And with that, he broke into a soft laugh.
Narumi turned to look at him with contempt written all over his face, giving him a shove with his hands. “I’m fed up with you, bowl head!”
Hoshina staggered just a bit, ending up laughing some more. “I’ll take that as envy on your part against my hair,” he said, running his right hand through his bangs before crossing his arms again. "Well, who’s fixin’ to head back through that cave to catch the kaiju’s eye, and why would it be me?”
Narumi immediately dropped his bad mood, replaced by surprise. “What? No.”
"What’re ya talkin’ 'bout? I’m quicker. I’ll be the one to go,” clarified Hoshina.
Narumi, in a certain way, didn’t seem to resonate positively with the idea. “You don’t have my permission.”
Hoshina looked at him strangely. “Why on earth would I need your permission? You ain’t my captain.”
“I don’t give a damn about not being your captain,” Narumi exclaimed in a tone slightly more serious and lower than usual. He pointed at Hoshina with a finger, moving closer to him. “You’re not going in there on your own, facing a damn kaiju ten times bigger than an average building, and expecting to come back alive, you understand? Just to make yourself look like a heroic bait that saved the city.”
Hoshina tried to decipher his words. He opened his mouth to speak but changed his mind at the last second.
“Wait. Are ya… worried? About me?” he finally said, with genuine curiosity.
“What? No!” Narumi quickly denied. “Do you think that if something happens to you, the whole division won’t blame me for it? Your stupid little life depends on me, dumbass! That’s why I have to be saving your ass, as if I liked doing it.”
Apparently, a small smile was trying to escape from one corner of Hoshina’s mouth. He tried to hide it, nodding in response to Narumi’s aggression. “Yeah, sure.” He said, nonchalant. Then, Hoshina looked around. “Well, I guess that leaves us with plan A: break the kaiju’s ceiling.”
“No,” Narumi interrupted him again, and Hoshina was starting to believe that Narumi only knew how to say no to absolutely everything he suggested. “I’ll go into the cave, reach the lake, and put on a show. You’ll wait here, and at my signal, we’ll take him down. Do you understand, or should I explain it to you in idiot language?”
Hoshina stopped him with a hand. “Nah, I don’t need ya translatin’ that into your fancy speak,” he said, putting on his breathing mask and, mockingly, giving a military salute to Narumi. “That’s it. Good luck, Captain,” he concluded, beginning to walk through the snow towards the top of the cavern.
Narumi followed him with his eyes, keeping his face slightly flushed between the cold air in his surroundings and the endless anger building up inside him.
At some point, it started to feel like his words were getting stuck as he tried to respond to Hoshina’s jokes with disgust, every time.
And he didn’t like that feeling at all.
****
Narumi began his walk back into the depths of the cave, this time armed and secured from head to toe, with his breathing mask properly fitted over his face. He knew perfectly well what he had to do and how to manage the results of his upcoming actions, trying to push to the back of his mind his thoughts related to the unbearable existence of the vice-captain who was waiting for his instructions.
After a few minutes of stepping over irregular paths of frozen ground, he could see the shores of the lake he and Hoshina had discovered earlier. Apparently, the temperatures had helped to recover some of its translucent surface, but still, some patches of deeply dark water continued to spread across it.
He remembered the hustle and bustle with the aquatic kaijus, how Hoshina struggled to stay afloat, and how he thought he might have ended up being dragged into the depths.
The second after that name crossed his mind, he heard Hoshina speak through the intercom.
"Y'all gonna take a thousand years to get on over there, or have ya already made it?"
Narumi squinted his eyes, irritated. He brought his right hand to one ear. “I’m going to take two hundred years, just like you. I’ve arrived. Wait for my signal.”
“What’s your signal exactly?”
“Stupid bowl head.”
“What a creatively dull signal.”
“Shut up? At my signal,” he repeated and insisted, and fortunately for him, Hoshina responded with silence.
Narumi fixed his gaze on the bottom of the cave: flat darkness, with faint sounds of water trickling here and there. More than calm, he felt determined, and he reminded himself of the reason he was there at that moment: on the brink of risking his life for a greater good, in order to find some kind of value for his own existence.
Narumi ran his right hand through his hair, pushing it back. He then took his bayonet, positioning it for attack and crouching down enough to hold the weapon efficiently for when he fired.
He activated the ammunition. The barrel began to charge.
“Good morning, beast,” he murmured, firing powerfully into the abyss before him.
A ball of fire and smoke in shades of magenta expanded into the depths of the cave, shaking the entire place. Chunks of rock fell from the cave's ceiling, but Narumi remained motionless in his position. Noticing no significant reaction, he reloaded the barrel and aimed at the same spot.
“Get out of there, damn it!” he shouted in fury as his second shot erupted with an even greater bang than the first, causing even more tremors in the surroundings and spreading like a giant cloud of flames, casting a faint glow that extended far beyond what Narumi's eyes could perceive.
The wind that slammed against Narumi, through the shockwave of his shots, made him shut his eyes for a moment, turning to the side.
It was then that he felt that unfortunately familiar vibration at the center of his chest.
A croak he could recognize within seconds.
The gut-wrenching roar of the winter kaiju soon made itself known, shaking the walls of the cave with evident violence. Narumi turned on his footsteps, starting to run towards the exit. He put all his energy into trying to move as fast as possible, but he had the impression that the cave would collapse on him at any moment.
On one of his footsteps, he stumbled upon a piece of rock that made him trip. His bayonet shot off to the side, and he rolled over the cracked floor. The ground continued to shake. He crawled, got to his feet, swaying until he grabbed the bayonet and dragged it, resuming his sprint towards the surface.
A chunk of rock fell from the ceiling in front of him, and he jumped to avoid a collision. The dust and dirt around began to rise in a way that was clouding his vision. How many meters did he have to go? Where was the exit? How much time did he have before being crushed by this place?
The kaiju's screech resonated deep in his eardrums, forcing him to shut his eyes for a few seconds. Upon opening them, he spotted a point of light.
He brought his right hand to his ear. “Soshiro, now!” he shouted without thinking twice through the intercom.
Had he taken two seconds longer, Narumi would not have made it out of the cave alive. The moment his limbs touched daylight; he was hurled by a shockwave that sent him flying through the air before he landed in a heap several meters away from the explosive emergence of the kaiju to the surface.
That monster was impressive – a much sturdier version of those that emerged from the water in the cave. A specimen covered in layers of skin similar to concrete made its way through the snow with an exhausting roar in Narumi's ears.
Then, a powerful beam of light shot from the kaiju's mouth, tearing through the ground as it aimed around.
“Shit,” Narumi exclaimed, standing up.
“Glad to hear ya, you're alive,” Hoshina responded through the communicator, with a tone of relief that was far from subtle, and with lots of background noise.
Narumi quickly tried to locate him. Not in the surroundings. Not behind the collapsed cave debris. Not nearby. He lunged for his bayonet, picking it up, shaking off the snow, and finally crawling into position, aiming at the kaiju.
“Where the hell are you supposed to be?”
“Up!”
“What?” And then, Narumi looked up: on the back of the kaiju, Hoshina was running, landing cuts between the plates of its skin.
Narumi focused his sight on the kaiju's chest. It was still moving, twisting under Hoshina's attacks, continuing to unleash powerful strikes at anything nearby.
When his weapon was fully charged, Narumi pulled the trigger.
The explosion from his shot severed one of the kaiju's limbs, causing a deafening screech. It began to move much faster, using its tail as an extension of its attacks, shaking the entire hill with its movements.
The flare of energy emanating from its interior intensified, and the entire area within several meters was covered in incandescent rock.
Narumi took the bayonet, heading downhill toward the kaiju. He had to hit it in the chest. He needed to find its core and kill it.
“It's blind!” Hoshina exclaimed through Narumi's ear. “I'm goin’ for the gills, ya go for the legs.”
“I’m going for the core,” Narumi replied, crouching down to shoot.
“Listen to me!” Hoshina reiterated, before being interrupted by another screech from the kaiju.
Narumi fired at the creature, hitting its side just as it turned to deliver a tail strike. Narumi slid through the snow with speed, dodging the blow.
He turned, coming face to face with the kaiju. The beast opened its mouth, and Narumi was able to see the energy gathering from its throat and insides, rising to be fired.
Narumi aimed the bayonet at the grotesque interior.
Just in time, Hoshina jumped directly onto the kaiju's head, driving his swords in a cross shape over its upper jaw. This made the kaiju divert its attack into the sky, trying to shake Hoshina off. Hoshina, on other hand, held onto his swords, still embedded in the kaiju.
Narumi ran towards the kaiju’s abdomen, the bayonet charged and ready to fire. As he pressed the trigger, the beast's tail struck, deflecting the shot and sending Narumi crashing into a pile of hardened snow.
“Fucking damn it!” Narumi lamented angrily, trying to get back on his feet, not even caring how damaged he was after being hit like that.
“Just take down this damn thing once and for all!” Hoshina complained in his ear, breathing heavily.
Narumi quickly scanned his surroundings, spotting his weapon. He was fed up. He took the bayonet and ran toward the kaiju.
In a reckless act, he slashed the edge of the bayonet at one of the beast's limbs. Consequently, its tail came in his direction, and Narumi struck again, leaving a deep cut that prevented another blow. He managed to get close enough to the monster's abdomen, surrounded by scorching heat from the flames caused by the kaiju's beam attacks.
Struggling to breathe and feeling agitated, he plunged the bayonet into the center, activating the barrel.
Nothing assured him that the explosion wouldn't come crashing down on him.
So, he squeezed the trigger.
The recoil of the shot pushed him back, and the energy from his weapon exploded violently inside the kaiju. The beast did not react: its insides opened and spilled across its lower half, covering everything in its path, including Narumi.
A short while later, the kaiju crashed to the ground with a dry thud.
Narumi, not far away, was covered in kaiju blood and guts, lying face down on the floor. Little by little, he tried to get up. First leaning on his elbows, then on his knees.
"You’re gonna smell like a kaiju for like, two weeks or maybe longer, ya know?" he heard his familiar voice say before he could lift his gaze.
When he did, he found a disheveled and agitated Hoshina, extending a hand to him. However, his expression was buried under a shadow of concern upon meeting Narumi’s gaze. “You have a terrible cut over one eye,” he managed to say.
Narumi looked at Hoshina’s hand with disdain, but exhaustion overcame his repulsion. He took it to push himself up, finally rising along with his bayonet. He touched his forehead, realizing that indeed, he was bleeding a lot. “That damn thing just knew how to make me fly,” he spat, making his way toward the kaiju.
Hoshina put a hand in front of him, stopping him. “I already cut its core; it’s over.”
Narumi looked at him with a hint of disbelief for a few seconds, but before he could respond, a peculiar sound made them both turn toward the kaiju.
Its stomach began to twist in unnatural ways, then revealed a specimen of regular size, more arachnid than amphibian, resembling a scorpion, with long limbs and the characteristic that caused Narumi a sense of alarm: a series of variously sized spines covering the entire back of the kaiju, like fur, ending in a stinger at the tip of its tail.
Hoshina, beside him, assumed a defensive position.
Narumi activated the barrel of his bayonet, aiming the kaiju.
He squeezed the trigger, but nothing fired.
He had run out of ammunition.
The kaiju charged towards them, screeching with horrors beyond the natural. It used its front limbs as claws to propel itself over the ground and snow with fierce speed. The first to engage was Hoshina, striking its legs and trying to dodge the tail’s attacks at the same time. Narumi followed, attacking the kaiju from behind.
His goal was to cut off its tail, but Narumi’s strength was hindered by the speed of the kaiju's movements. Narumi slashed erratically at the beast, but the cuts to its sides did not seem to affect it. He focused on the rear legs, managing to cut a couple, but it didn’t mean much against the kaiju's aggression and thrashings.
In a sudden movement, the kaiju's tail struck Narumi's bayonet with such force that it flew out of his hands. The kaiju turned, its stinger in the air, and Narumi bolted. The stinger plunged aggressively into the ground in front of him. He backed away, and behind him, one of the claws lunged. He turned to the front, and there it was: the kaiju's fangs, open, drooling, acidic, and close to striking him.
Before Narumi could think, Hoshina slid to his side, kicking Narumi and propelling him out of the attack zone as the kaiju's tail slammed into the ground. Narumi rolled, crashing onto his bayonet. He heard the kaiju screech, and when he got up, he noticed that Hoshina had managed to cut off a claw from the kaiju, which was now without its stinger.
He took the bayonet and charged with strength toward the joint between the kaiju's head and torso. He jumped, coming down with the blade pointed down, slitting its throat.
Finally, the kaiju stopped moving. Narumi leaned on his weapon to maintain balance as he fell back to the ground, glancing at the creature while remaining alert.
But as it appeared, that had been the end of it.
With his breath still ragged, he circled around the kaiju to be sure. A rare specimen, he thought. Dangerous, high category. Much faster than him, or Hoshina.
Hoshina.
Before he could even call him, his eyes found him first at the back of the kaiju: on the ground, lying down, his swords scattered around him.
And with the kaiju's stinger embedded in his back.
Everything stopped for Narumi as soon as he realized what happened. Everything; the wind, his breathing, his heartbeat. As something he couldn’t control possessed his actions, he dropped the bayonet and ran toward Hoshina’s motionless body.
He knelt quickly in front of Hoshina, assessing the situation: a bloodstain was spreading beneath him, gushing from the puncture wound. The stinger hadn't pierced through—that was good. Or at least, 5% favorable.
Narumi took off his gloves. With one hand, he held Hoshina's head, lifting it slightly and making Hoshina rest his face on his arm: there was blood coming from his nose and mouth. The more focus Narumi placed, the greater the amount of blood he saw. With his other hand, he activated the communicator.
“Hasegawa,” he mentioned seriously. “Hasegawa, first division, this is your captain speaking. I require a rescue. Immediately. Injured unconscious in the area, loss of blood,” he repeated, desperation evident in his voice, as his own irregular breathing was making it difficult to pronounce his words.
“Copy that, Captain,” Hasegawa answered. “Estimated time of arrival: fifteen minutes.”
“I don’t have fifteen minutes,” he snapped, his gaze fixed on Hoshina's face, and on the way his chest weakly attempted to rise for breath.
He left his attention on the communicator to bring his right hand to Hoshina's neck, placing a couple of fingers over his main vein in that place. Hoshina felt dangerously cold under Narumi's touch. Narumi carefully palpated his neck, counting the necessary seconds to take his pulse.
And there it was, Hoshina’s heart pumping blood very, very slowly. Narumi finally released the breath he had been holding all that time.
“You knew what you were doing, idiot,” murmured Narumi, frowning, not moving his right hand from Hoshina’s neck, fearing that if he stopped feeling his heartbeat, Hoshina’s heart would stop as well. “Stupid bowl head,” he added, closing his eyes, concentrating on the other’s pulse.
“Hold on a little longer, just a little,” he whispered, barely audible.
****
Narumi was sitting on the edge of his bed when Hasegawa entered his room, the hallway light being the only illumination in the space.
"I thought you'd be asleep," Hasegawa said, remaining just inside the doorway.
Narumi, whose eyelids feel heavy and who had barely rested for about three hours since returning from the mountains, shook his head. "I should take a shower," he mentioned monotonously, his gaze fixed on a point in the darkness.
"Actually, yes," Hasegawa confirmed. "You have a medical check-up in about two hours. You can try to eat something beforehand, if you like."
"I don't want to," Narumi denied. He brought both hands to his face, covering his eyes. "My head still hurts."
"That's why you need to see a doctor. I'll come for you in two hours," Hasegawa said before closing the door behind him.
Narumi just wanted to sleep. But when he closed his eyes, he only saw his hands stained with blood that didn’t belong to him.
He grabbed a nearby towel and decided to wash off the foul kaiju grime that still clung to his hair. Dressed in casual clothes, he barely managed to take the steps that led him out of his room and towards the bathrooms.
Upon entering and closing the door behind him, he leaned against the sink, feeling slightly dizzy. Maybe not eating and not sleeping were taking their toll, he thought. After seeing himself in the mirror, he took off his shirt and stepped into the shower.
But before that, a dark spot in the mirror caught his attention.
Frowning, he returned to the mirror, this time focusing on that spot which was nothing more than a series of subtle black dots—stars—that poetically spread across his left rib, extending to his back, climbing up to his shoulder blade.
Narumi observed the stars with total horror.
"No," he murmured to himself, running one hand over the spots by his side. He couldn't tell anyone in his division, let alone Hasegawa, because vocalizing his assumptions would only worsen everything. This couldn't be happening to him, especially not now —knowing that the responsible was barely making it alive through an operation room right now.
Because Narumi knew, he knew that it was him.
That feeling of worry, of protection, of surveillance that came out of nowhere. The constant validation of his physical state, of wanting to get him out of his sight, to stay away from him. Narumi knew it, and because of it he never wanted to truly see him, nor fight alongside him, because he knew deep down that he was right and he hated himself for it.
Narumi cursed softly as he struck the edge of the sink. He didn’t want to believe in myths and rumors, and most importantly: he didn’t want to depend on anybody, let alone make somebody else depend on him. It was too much to handle, and he firmly believed that he barely could take care of himself. So, this was a lot for his brain to process. It was worse than dealing with high category kaijus.
Fortunately, the marks didn’t hurt or bother him. In fact, he could say they looked pleasant to the eye.
But Narumi knew very well the meaning of the existence of those stars on his skin, so he couldn't simply ignore them and pass them off as a nice tattoo. Sooner or later, he would have to face the consequences of getting some explanation for his marks, before he started receiving unwanted attention because of them.
And he feared that the terror that came with accepting what was to come was going to make him lose his mind, finally.
****
Two weeks later, and after continuing with his activities in a casual manner, Narumi found himself on the terraces of the third division's facilities. That visit had been planned ahead of time, formally noting the submission of a care report following the mission in the mountains.
Or at least that’s what he told Hasegawa.
He mentally noted the idea of decorating the terraces of the first division’s buildings with small trees, while keeping his gaze on the horizon, the sun almost set in the distance, and his hands well hidden in the pockets of his uniform jacket.
Narumi heard the door to the terrace open slowly, close, and then there were the small steps that followed shortly after.
"You’re late," Narumi commented without even turning around. "Who arrives late at their own headquarters?"
Hoshina's soft laugh came as he sat down on the other side of the bench where Narumi was. "Sorry. I still can’t walk at my usual speed."
Narumi finally turned to look at him: and Hoshina looked as cheerful as ever, even with a couple of bandages stuck on one cheek, and all his ridiculous hair in place.
And above all, he looked alive, radiant.
Alive.
Narumi exhaled, appearing to have been holding his breath unconsciously. "Are you still unwell?"
Hoshina waved his hands dismissively. "I still need t'get my stitches pulled out; I can’t train without worryin’ 'bout my guts spillin’ out from the wound, but other than that, everything's just fine" he clarified, as if it were a game rather than his own well-being. "What about ya?"
Narumi shook his head. "I'm fine, almost cracked my skull but all good," and that made Hoshina laugh again.
A brief silence lingered between them after that. Narumi could basically hear his own heartbeat thudding in his ears.
"Did y'know your name means spring?" Hoshina asked out of the blue.
Narumi looked at him in confusion. "What?"
"Spring," Hoshina repeated. "Gen," he added this time, in a bit softer tone.
Narumi closed his eyes, feeling his own frustration build up behind his eyelids. "Look, listen to me—"
"No, Narumi Gen. Y'ain't gonna ignore me this time," Hoshina declared, not raising his voice but still talking with all the seriousness his demeanor could convey. "You should’ve seen my face when the nurse, who was very sweet by the way, told me while wrapin’ up the bandage around me, 'Oh, how lucky y'are to have such a pretty mark' because do y’know what is is?"
Hoshina pulled down the zipper of his jacket slightly, just enough to show one of his shoulders, since he wasn’t wearing a shirt underneath.
Narumi couldn't tell if he was or not comfortable with that view, and he might even say he felt a bit nervous seeing Hoshina’s shoulder, but he quickly focused on the pattern of small flowers and branches that extended to where Hoshina let him see. "Cherry blossoms," he murmured in affirmation.
Hoshina nodded. "Exactly! And do y’know what welcomes spring? That's right, cherry blossoms," and with that, he zipped his jacket back up. "For someone who ain't never had one of these, I gotta be honest and say it's really messin' with my existence, but I'm tryin' to keep it cool, y’know? Even though it’s an extremely serious matter in my family."
"Never?" Narumi chipped in incredulously. "I thought your partner was Mina."
Hoshina stopped dead, looking at him in surprise. "Eh? Nope. She’s with Kafka; she’s always been with him, and I respect both of them," he clarified with a small, genuine smile. Then a doubt crossed his face. "Isn’t your partner Hasegawa?"
Narumi furrowed his brow. "What? No! What the hell, that would be a nightmare" he exclaimed in displeasure, but Hoshina could only laugh heartily at his response.
There was another silence, but this time it felt a bit more comfortable.
"What do you mean it's an important matter in your family?" Narumi asked, with genuine curiosity, something unusual for him.
Hoshina exhaled heavily. "In my family, there’ve always been great fighters against kaijus. And in turn, great battle companions. Every time one of us is... blessed, with this mark or sign, it’s 'cause it’s a bond that goes back generations. Duos that’ve been capable of fightin’ against unimaginable forces," Hoshina focused his gaze on his hands, some fingers still bandaged. "I was the only one who hadn’t been able to carry on that lineage yet, and I thought: well, maybe my partner’s six feet under and I’m just here."
Narumi's expression was a mix of distaste and clear concern. "No," he said, relaxing his face a bit. "Mine are stars, I got them after the mission" he added in a muttered protest, looking down for a moment. "No one is six feet under anywhere. I… I’m pretty much here too, dumbass. After all, I don't think there's anyone to blame for my marks, but you."
It took Hoshina a solid moment to react.
"Oh," he finally said, slightly taken aback because of Narumi’s sudden honesty. But, in an attempt to keep things peaceful between the two, and above all to not appear flustered, he returned to his playful banter with Narumi, teasing him. "Am I now to blame for your woes, y’say? After I saved your life? What a way to say thank you, huh?"
"What you did was stupid, reckless, and foolish, and I hope you never have to risk yourself like that again, even if it's for me," Narumi scolded him, eyeing him with narrowed eyes.
Hoshina, on other hand, maintained his gaze on Narumi while still smiling. "I’d do it again if necessary, and you know that."
And with that, Narumi had to look away. "Idiot," he just replied under his breath.
After watching the sunset for a few minutes, Hoshina spoke again. "I think we make a good team, don’t y’think?" he suggested.
"Well," Narumi took his moment before fully answering, pondering his response. “I must admit that you did an exceptional job on the mission, risky as fuck, but you made it out somehow. You maintain a respectable level of skill among those on the first line of defense. And that’s what I look for, mostly. Good, respectable skills.”
Hoshina just blinked at him, slowly, tilting his head. “Is that a yes?”
Narumi side-eyed him, then took a deep breath and exhaled. "Yes."
Hoshina gasped exaggeratedly, expressing himself in an exaggerated way as well, before speaking in the most sarcastic tone possible. "Noooo waaayyyy! The captain of the first division has said yes to me for the first time in his life! A milestone!"
A laugh escaped Narumi with a snort, before he could even contain it, and automatically, he attempted to punch Hoshina in one of his arms. "Shut your mouth, bowl head!" he accused in his best act of frustration, but Hoshina simply dodged him, laughing at him after all.
****
Narumi couldn't believe what he was doing.
A couple of hours earlier, he had been fighting off sleep in one of the weekly meetings with the other captains and vice-captains of the city's divisions. The usual day for updates to the general, new recruits and changes in the rosters. The regular routine. That was nothing new for him.
But now he was running through the hallways of his facilities, the golden cords of his special meeting suit flying against his shoulder, as he hurried to reach the building's cafeteria.
Several recruits watched with curiosity the strange behavior of Narumi. But at the same time, they assumed it was just another demonstration of his peculiar way of being.
When Narumi finally arrived at the cafeteria, he leaned on his knees to catch his breath. On the other side of the counter, a charismatic lady looked at him with concern.
"Is everything okay, Captain?"
Narumi nodded upon seeing her. However, he continued trying to normalize his breathing. "The order. I made... an order a few days ago. Captain Narumi Gen. Is it ready?"
"Oh! Yes, yes, I'll get it for you, sir," the lady confirmed, turning to fetch it.
Narumi quickly took out his phone, noting the time: 4:56 PM.
He had... four minutes left.
"Here you go," the lady mentioned, handing him a small white pastry box.
Narumi offered a slight bow, thanking her. He took the box carefully between both hands, feeling as if he had to transport a raw egg, now heading towards the terrace.
He mentally noted to look for another place closer next time.
When he exited the elevator and took the stairs to the terrace, it was a bit past five in the afternoon. He knew that, but had he gone faster, the box would have arrived destroyed.
He opened the door, receiving the chilly early winter air at dusk. He looked around, and apparently, he was alone.
He took a couple of steps to the nearest bench, pulling out his phone again. Just as he was about to dial, he heard the person he needed to see behind him.
"Who arrives late in their own facility?" Hoshina remarked, approaching Narumi with his hands peacefully placed behind his back. He was also wearing his special meeting suit, and it was noticeable how his figure stood out a bit more than usual under it.
The time he spent recovering seemed to have given a particular glow to his posture and face, and Narumi was perfectly aware of every detail regarding it.
He quickly put his phone away in one of his pockets. "In my defense, it’s my division. I can arrive whenever I want."
Hoshina gave him one of his classic sly smiles, shaking his head at his words. Then he looked down at the pastry box Narumi still held in one hand. "And what's that?"
Narumi also glanced at the pastry box as if he weren't the one who almost broke his leg searching for it. "This," he raised it slightly, rotating it gently between his hands. "This, you see," he added, still unable to explain himself.
Hoshina raised an eyebrow, tilting his head. "You okay? You seem a bit stuck there."
Narumi pursed his lips, thinking and thinking and thinking, finally giving up. The words wouldn’t come out. He extended the box to Hoshina. "Happy birthday."
The surprise on Hoshina's face was genuine as he cautiously took the box. "Wait, what? How did y’know—"
Narumi stopped him with a palm in front of him. "Just open it."
Hoshina gave Narumi another curious look before removing the small lid. Inside, still in perfect condition (miraculously) was a classic Montblanc, adorned with a couple of blueberries on top, and a pair of spoons attached to the bottom of the box.
Hoshina looked like he had opened a treasure chest. "No way! Look how cute it is!" He had an unerasable smile on his face as he brought the dessert up to eye level to look at it better, softly laughing to himself. "Thank you! Thank you, Gen. This is really nice of ya."
Narumi frowned, looking away and crossing his arms. "Yeah, well. I guess I owed you one for a while. Nothing personal."
"Nothin’ personal, y’say?" Hoshina comically judged him before signaling with his hand to head to the bench. "C’mon, I’m not eating this alone."
"Wait, don't you have to go to your division? You told me you had limited time," Narumi said subtly confused.
Hoshina nodded. "I do, the guys wanted to throw a little birthday party after finishing today's obligations," he noted, sitting on the bench. "Well, I was thinkin' maybe I could come up with a little ol' excuse, ya know? Somethin' like: I went searchin' for the captain of the first division, excuse us. He needed a shower first, that's why we were runnin' late."
There were times when Narumi couldn’t understand Hoshina. Many times, actually, and this was no exception. "If you say that I’ll throw you out a window. I don't care that it’s your birthday. Take it as another gift."
Hoshina burst out laughing as he placed the dessert on his lap. "So, do you wanna come with me?" he asked softly, pulling the little spoons from the box.
Narumi looked away, the sun shining directly on his face but it didn’t disturb him at all. "I’m going to think about it."
Hoshina watched him silently for a moment, turning his attention back to the dessert along with a fine, subtle, and slightly shy smile on his cheeks. "I'll take that as a yes. Here," he replied, handing Narumi one of the plastic spoons.
"But in exchange,” Narumi continued out of the blue. “You have to play a video game with me," And then he shoved a piece of Montblanc into his mouth.
Hoshina nodded without issue, sounding a little happier, even. "Deal."
Soon they were both sharing that little dessert, which Narumi begrudgingly accepted and admitted was good, but still insisted to Hoshina that he preferred chocolate cakes over anything the bakery could offer.
****
There was not a single day in which they had a moment of peace, according to Narumi’s comments, but Hoshina would often say—in response—that having little bickery instants every five minutes kept their relationship as combat partners in optimal condition. That, and the fact that he didn’t plan to reveal yet that the first time Narumi hadn't argued with him was when Hoshina stole him a kiss after a long round of close combat practice.
Some things had been written long before, that was what Hoshina said when Narumi asked how they had ended up like this, after all. At the same time, Hoshina confessed that he had never tried to avoid fighting against that feeling that made him end up in the same place with Narumi every time he crossed paths with him.
And Narumi, conversely, knew he had done the exact opposite, hopelessly and unconsciously; out of fear of what he would find if he let his guard down just a little. It wasn’t hard to discern the details and find the key points that made him understand that he just had to accept that some things needed no justification and held no ulterior motives.
Some things were simply the best that could happen to him in order to make him feel happy, truly happy, as well.