Chapter Text
Keiko Residences
New Orleans, Louisiana, USA
A soft light engrossed the white colored room as soft buzzing from a machine could be heard occupying the silence. An automatic click could be heard as the machine whirred to life, moving to position itself standing as its glass doors unlatched, lights turning on as vapor-like gas poured out.
Sky-light blue eyes showed as a woman with forest black hair fluttered her eyes open, exhaling softly as her feet touched the tiled floor outside of the machine.
Finally standing outside of the machine, her waist length wavy hair following behind her, she moved across the room, taking the glass of water placed beside the machine, onto the sunlight brightening up the room and stood under it.
Another soft sight left her lips as she felt the little pricks of the sun’s heat touching her pale skin. Her hands held the glass with ease as she hydrated herself. Eyes scanning the vast field in front of her.
“What a lovely day.” She murmured to herself as she set the glass down, turning to her right as she looked at her reflection from the mirror close by: her pale skin was turning red from the sun’s heat, her sky-light blue eyes slowly turning golden as the minute passed by.
Her eyes shifted from the mirror to the few picture frames surrounding it. A picture of her and her mother, herself, her sibling, and her father. All a reminder of how she was bought into this life with all the love they could give.
A soft smile rested upon her lips as she scanned them one last time before turning her head towards the door as she hears it open, a muffled voice becoming clear.
“Yes madame, she’s awake now.” A woman just about her height greets her with a smile as she holds a phone close to her ear.
“Good morning Himari, your mom is calling.”
Himari smiles at the greeting and greets back with the same gentleness, “Good morning Elaine, thank you.” She says softly as she reaches for the phone, placing it on her ear.
“— I swear the satellites are not lying!— “ Her mother spoke animatedly from the other side, and Himari could vividly see her hands moving in fast motions, like the scientist she is when she’s excited or worried, at the thought, Himari chuckled lightly as she greeted her.
“Good morning, Mom.”
“… You should’ve been awake hours ago Himari. Did you stay up late again?” Was the first thing she heard back, her mother completely stoping her spiels about satellites as she registered her daughter’s voice on the line.
Himari can’t help but let out another soft chuckle as she moved around the room to close the blinds, turn off the machine, and take the glass back out with her to the kitchen. “You know I can’t control it mom, I did try to sleep earlier than usual. But as you said earlier, the skies were not lying.”
“Still… Himari…” Her mother trailed off, sounding deep in thought.
Used to her mother’s overprotective gestures, she sighed as she placed the glass down on the kitchen island, going around and leaning against it.
“Don’t worry mom, you have my vitals right? You’ll be the first one to know if something goes wrong. Plus, it’s been six months since I’ve been on the field anyways. I’m back to normal now.” She spoke softly, remembering her reflection from the mirror earlier.
‘Not totally normal, but normal enough, with proper precautions.’ Went unsaid, as she knew her mother would fret over it.
A beat of silence passed, and another, and another, until Himari couldn’t take it anymore and spoke again, “Mom?”
Addressing her mother in their mother tongue was much easier than trying to speak in english, even though she was fairly fluent, thanks to her staying in america majority of her lifespan.
“Himari, General Shinomiya has decided to send you to Tachiwaka Base. In light of the consistent Kaiju attacks from there, they’re gonna need Sun’s Light.” Her mother suddenly announced, finality lacing her voice.
Taken a back, with the sudden announcement, she stopped from taking a plate out and leaned back into the kitchen island again, feeling her heart skip and stop a few beats before going back to normal.
“But Mom…” They need Sun’s Light, not Himari Keiko. Went unsaid again, knowing that it wouldn’t help her with her situation. That was her purpose anyways, to be at the beck and call of the defense force, in return of her being allowed to live.
“I know, I tried to plead with him, but the base’s safety is the priority my love. The attacks are becoming more and more frequent than what we’d all like. If there were any other way, trust me I would’ve vouched for it.” Kikarei Keiko, her mother — a woman who has awe’s and captivated others in her field with her intelligence perseverance to help the country — spoke on the other line with concern and fear etched into her voice, lacking the usual strict but gentle tone of it.
“So it’s that serious huh? Guess I won’t have a choice then.” She spoke softly, weighing the pros and cons of the situation.
With another passing silence between them, she sighed once more before pushing herself off the island table, “I’ll go, when is my flight leaving?”
She heard her mother take a deep breath and exhale from the other side and closed her eyes. “Today.”
Held in the corner of her closet, her defense force uniform, suit, and weaponry were all laid out nicely, waiting for her next mission to arrive. And coincidentally, it’s six months after her deemed last one.
Japan Anti-Kaiju Defense Force — Third Division, Tachikawa Base
Tachikawa, Tokyo, Japan
“Honju Destroyed.” Okonogi announce for everyone within the operating room to hear, “Th-the final test is over!” She finishes her sentence, making sure her statement is relayed to the participants earpieces.
Soshiro gazes at the screen in front of him, a drone shot of the dead honju displayed.
‘Haaa… After all that preparation we went through too…’ Soshiro‘s thoughts echoed as his lips pursed in a thin line.
“She’s everything I’ve heard and more. Kikoru Shinomiya, that is.” Captain Ashiro Mina spoke slowly beside him, still staring intensely at the screen in front of them.
‘So she’s interested after all, eh?’ He thought lightly before responding, “Indeed. We projected at least 30 dropouts, but as it stands, we have zero dropouts and with minimal injured. I’d say this is a direct result of her presence.” He spoke in-a-matter-of-factly tone, earning a side glance from the captain.
He shrugged it and turned slightly to the side, surveying the scene before turning around.
“Without a doubt, she’ll be the linchpin of the defense force in the future…” Captain Ashiro spoke amidst the silence.
He smiled slightly at the implication and chuckled, “That’s Commander Shinomiya’s daughter for you.”
There was silence as he walked towards the operations room door, going to greet the successful applicants, when beeping could be heard from everyone’s monitors.
Soshiro stopped his tracks and turned back around as Okonogi started to ramble. “I-it can’t be… Why are all the kaiju’s vitals going back up… They’re supposed to be dead…” Her voice trembled with fear lacing them as everyone within the room could see the detained (was dead) kaiju’s coming back to life.
Without a second thought, Captain Ashiro spoke, “Send the drones back out again, Okonogi, inform the applicants to stay put. Hoshina, come with me.” She stated as she turned around, urgency filled within her steps.
Hoshina took a moment to survey the stats going up, as Okonogi spoke. “A kaiju with a fortitude of 8.5 just entered the perimeter! It’s near Kikoru Shinomiya’s last location!” She shouted at the coms. And without a second thought, Hoshina ran after his Captain.
‘A magnitude 8.5? Seriously? How could it get through the bases defenses? Regardless, This is gonna be messy.’ Were his final thoughts as he leaped down towards the testing area, running towards where the applicants were located.
Haneda Airport
Haneda, Tokyo, Japan
A cold breeze touched Himari’s pale skin, making her flinch and shiver. It seemed like her sweater from the US did nothing to combat the cold of Japan. Her breath was followed by a cool puff of air as she chuckled lightly.
“I never liked the cold in Japan.” She spoke with a tinge of shaking leaving her voice.
Elaine, her personal attendant — moreover, her one and only friend since her life started, beside her noticed the change in her attitude and quickly pulled out her puffer jacket from one of their carry on bags and handed it to her, “To keep you warm.” The blonde woman spoke softly. Himari smiled brightly at the jacket and thanked Elaine gently as she wore the jacket, already feeling a tad bit warmer, but still shivering nonetheless.
‘Home would be a much better alternative than any jacket’ She thought mindlessly, stepping out of the airplane doors and entering the airport.
“Mr. Furishima should be by the gate now, Himari” Elaine spoke brightly on her side, as if she had never stepped foot in Japan before.
She chuckled again and took her two luggage’s from the moving carts as Elaine did the same for hers. “You’re quite excited, is someone waiting back home?” She teased, taking note of the blush forming on her cheeks.
“I-It’s not like that! It’s just that it’s been a while since we’re back home! Yes! that’s it!” Elaine spoke fast as she turned around and walked in a much quicker pace than usual, an indication of her frustration and avoidance for something. Himari only laughed louder in retaliation of her actions, following suit.
“Elaine, wait.” She called Elain back as they passed the comfort room.
Elaine came turning back around and nodded her head, “Thanks, I can’t hold it in anymore.” She quickly apologized as she left her belongings and went inside. A few minutes later, she came out from the cubicle and washed her hands aimlessly when she heard a couple of girls talking beside her excitedly, making her unwillingly eavesdrop from how loud they are.
“I know right?! I can’t wait to finally experience my first Fall Festival here in Japan!” A girl excitedly squealed, earning a chorus of me too’s from the others beside her.
“It’s gonna take place somewhere around Tachikawa right?” Another girl spoke excitedly.
“Yes! It’s close to the Tachikawa base, and if we’re lucky enough, we might see some of the defense force officers mingling in the festival!” Another squealed, leading to more squeals erupting from the others, causing Himari’s earbuds to hum at the unusual sounds.
As she finished washing her hands she felt a thought flash through her head, an idea. Thinking through it again, the corners of her lips went up slightly as she placed it into motion. With a swift motion, she took out her phone and typed a short message to her friend and attendant, putting her phone in her pockets as she passed her just outside of the restroom and leaving the airport with nothing but her phone in hand.
As she stepped out, she felt a smile tug at her lips with her successful escape. With a new set of determination pulsing through her shivering body, she got in a cab and started to make her way to Tachikawa, to enjoy a festival she wouldn’t have had the chance to if she went in a car with her attendant and family driver.
Meanwhile, outside of the restroom, Elaine felt her phone vibrate in her pocket. Taking it out, she viewed the only notification she had and after a few minutes, let a heavy sigh escape her lips as she closed her phone and dragged her suit cases and Himari’s towards the airport gates, praying for her friend’s safety wherever the winds might take her playful spirit. After all, this isn’t the first time she’s slipped through her mother’s strict orders to enjoy her life.
Himari: Got an idea. Fall festival taking place in Tachikawa right now, gonna go and check it out, be home before light breaks. Thanks and see you later El! Lots of love, mwah!
Fall Festival
Tachikawa, Tokyo, Japan
As she left the cab, she was suddenly engulfed in warmth. Looking around, Himari could see the lights shining brightly, contrasting the night that covered the entire country.
Stalls upon stalls of different traditional, modern, and seasonal food could be found on both of her sides, smelling and looking divine from her standing point. Himari took a big inhale and exhaled with a soft smile on her face, Now this smells like home. Not the whirlwind of machineries and medicine smells back in america or the blood and chemical smelling laboratories within the base.
Home was where warmth and peace could be found within her messed up life.
Excitedly, she walked forward, ready to indulge herself with the festivities people were spreading around her. A couple of minutes later, her left hand filled with little trinkets about fall and her right hand holding a cup of iced tea and takoyaki.
Her mind was buzzing, in good ways, as a soft pink coursed her cheeks with the heat from the people and the steam from the stalls, her sky-light eyes shining brightly — like jewelry being shined with natural lighting — as a soft smile eloped her now pinkish-red lips.
Her stature now looked festive as her neck adorned a red, orange, and yellow gradient scarf — covering half her face, her ears holding cute orange-red leaf earrings, and her left hand holding little trinkets like keychains in shapes of fall leaves and different moons for the house staffs back at the Keiko Minka, a fridge magnet in shape of two sticks of takoyaki, and another scarf with the same gradient as hers all for her one and only friend; Elaine.
“The perks of having no one know you as anyone.” She murmured to herself as she moved forward, slowly finishing her iced tea and takoyaki while purchasing more little trinkets for her and Elaine, the perks of being rich.
As she takes time to look around once more, her heart bloomed with happiness seeing people who she didn’t know and didn’t know her mingle around with big smiles across their faces, her heart swelled with undenied happiness seeing others be happy. If only it could last forever.
Just as she was nearing the well at the very end of the stalls, where most people were lingering around, waiting for the fireworks display to start in celebration for the Fall Festival. Himari found herself situated somewhere at the back, just enough space from everyone else to clearly see the fire works display. She looked up and as she stared at the bright moon above them, people around her started to count down.
Without second thoughts, Himari joined with a soft smile on her face, the smiles of the families, individuals, and lovers around her already contagious as the festival itself.
“5…”
“4…”
“3…”
“2…”
“1…”
As the fireworks flew to the sky and erupted into wonderful shapes and colors, people around her cheered and greeted each other gleefully.
She looked up once more and smiled brightly for the last time. Cleaning up to make her way back to get home amidst the happy people around her, Himari stopped from her tracks as she felt a grumble from beneath her feet before it went silent.
Himari looked around to see if any of the stalls were moving, a sign of an earthquake. But a few seconds later, a grumble sounded again before disappearing. A few more seconds and the same thing happened. People surrounding her couldn’t hear nor feel it due to the explosion of the firework covering each grumble and the happy cheers people still continued doing. But she could — she could feel and hear the grumbles. And Himari knew it wasn’t an earthquake.
As the grumbles continued, it started to grow closer, with the sound and the intensity growing by the seconds it takes for another grumble to arise. It’s getting closer.
Deciding last minute, Himari made sure that her trinkets and gifts gotten today were safely secured within the jacket she was wearing as she took out a pin from her charm bracelet.
At the final grumble, the firework display also stopped, and just as people were done cheering, their happiness was soon crushed as a loud cry bellowed from below as a centipede like Kaiju emerged from the well.
Citizens very near from the well were affected by the Kaiju’s arrival as they were eaten in one swoop. In a single beat, the once cheering people filled with smiles and laughter were now screaming and pushing one another, trying to get away from the Kaiju that has decided to ruin the festive moment.
Thrashing around and screeching as it stabbed and killed more and more civilians, the Centipede Kaiju was ravishing the chaos.
It was now outside of the well, chasing more civilians in a fast manner with its dozen of legs helping its speed.
In a matter of seconds from assessing the damage it’s caused, Himari went to work with what she could do without her suit nor her weapon. She firstly guided those who are far enough back towards the entrance of the place, where they could run and call for help.
Once that was done, Himari turned around and saw the centipede once more cornering another human being, this time was a child. The child was shaking, frozen in place like a deer caught in headlights.
Without second thoughts, Himari ran towards the Kaiju and clicked the pin she was holding on for some time now, in a matter of seconds it turned into a blade, making contact with the kaiju’s scaled back with enough force to blow it away form the child.
Himari ran towards the child, “Hey, hey, hey, hey. Okay, you’re okay. Shhh, stop crying now. It’s okay, it’s all gonna be okay. I’m here now.” She whispered softly as she cradled the child into her arms, softly rocking them back and forth in hopes it would pull the child out of its shock and make it stop from crying.
Thankfully enough, the child did snap out of it and was now clutching her tightly as it whimpered softly in her embrace. Himari’s heart broke as she felt the child clutch onto her more tightly.
The Centipede Kaiju was groaning not far from them, slowly getting back up and more angrier than before. Himari knew it’ll only be just a few seconds before it would attack the child once again, and so, she wasted no longer as she instructed the child.
“Okay, baby, I need you to listen to me. Okay, can you do that?” When the child merely nodded, Himari smiled and started speaking again. “Okay so that bad guy over there is now very angry. And it might want to hurt you. I don’t want that to happen, so can you do me a little favor?” She asked again, a soft smile encapsulating her lips to ease the child in her arms. The child nodded curtly again, tears still running down form its eyes. “Okay very good, now…”
Himari didn’t have enough time to explain more to the child as the centipede was already back on its legs and was fastly approaching the both of them. With one final look at the child, she smiled softly at her before picking up the blade discarded on her side, running towards the Kaiju with all the power she could muster in her suitless form as she shouted, “Run!”
And without any delay, the child ran as fast as its little legs could take it while Himari dealt with the centipede head on, clashing its scales head, body, and legs, with her blade. Maneuvering her body fluidly was a challenge for her as her current outfit wasn’t fit for fighting Kaiju’s. Yet she managed.
As the child was halfway toward the gate, the child heard a shout from the gate, her mother. Crying and holding her arms out for her. The sound made the Kaiju turn its head towards the source and without a second thought, started to run towards the child. Bewildered with the sudden change in tactics, Himari grunted as she chased after the Kaiju.
Before it could even reach the child, Himari blocked the Kaiju with her entire body as she spoke with a hint of humor in her tone, “Not this time.”
Without touching the Kaiju with her barehands, she stabbed the head with her blade and pushed the wailing Kaiju back as much as she could. And when she heard the soft thump of the child hugging her mother as she reached safety, she threw the Kaiju far from her with all her might. Himari looked behind her and smiled, knowing that she has saved a life, even if it was only one.
With a more determined focus, she looked back at the now growling Kaiju, its antennas now looked like spears rather than just flimsy antennas. Smiling wickedly, Himari closed her eyes before opening them once more, the sky-light hues that she got from her father was now completely gone, replaced by a bright yellow that would compare to the sun’s.
Along with her eyes, her once forest black hair was now littered with many white streaks. The charm bracelet in her hand beeped with a sound following,
Unleashed Combat Power, without suit, 95%.
“Now it’s my turn to burn you to crisps.” She stated as she picked up her sword and stabbed it to the ground now with her unleashed combat power backing her up.
The action made the ground grumble as she spoke slowly, “Sun’s Light: Golden Globe.”
From her position, a bright golden glow emitted from the blade as it spread out nearly to the gate, before it spread higher and higher, until it reached a closing from the top. She picked up her blade and was in position to battle once more as the Kaiju got back up and screeched at her direction before running towards her.
Japan Anti-Kaiju Defense Force, Third Division
On the Road
“Kaiju has a fortitude of 6.5, it’s a centipede like species. First showed after the firework display near the capitol. My guess why it surfaced? Human noise.” Okonogi spoke through the intercoms as Soshiro was tapping away on his holographic tablet.
It’s been almost three weeks since the incident within the Tachikawa Base. The incident that included of this year’s top applicants.
“How many casualties?” Soshiro asked back, his hands still busy tapping.
“Sixteen so far.” She replied back, and Soshiro stopped tapping as her put down the tablet, eyebrows scrunching together as his already thin eyelids closed more at the report.
“Just sixteen? Aren’t those type of Kaiju’s quicker than any others due to their loads of legs?” Soshiro asked back a logical question, as the faces of his platoon looked like they were also expecting a larger scope of casualties.
“Yup. Just sixteen, so far. The JASDF nearby have already responded to mitigate the situation and it seems like… Wait…” Okonogi stopped speaking abruptly before she rambled again, “It can’t be real…”
Soshiro, now confused with the cut off in reporting information, spoke. “Can’t be real what Okonogi? What’s happening out there?”
Without a second to spare, every member of his platoon suddenly had holographic screens presented in front of them, there it showed the live aerial view of the situation. It all looked the same, if it weren’t for the golden dome glowing brightly at the area wherein the Kaiju they are supposed to neutralize came out of.
“What the…?” One of Soshiro’s platoon member said out loud what everyone was thinking, including Soshiro himself.
“Okonogi, just what is that thing?” Soshiro asked after a few minutes of staring at what’s in front of him.
“From the JADSF’s report just a few second ago, it’s not a doing of the Kaiju. Moreover, the energy the dome radiated does not match those of a kaiju’s, instead, it matches those within the suits the defense force wears.”
“What…?” Another platoon member spoke in shock. As the other’s eyes widened at the information given.
“Has the JADSF tried to open up the dome? There could be more civilians inside.” Soshiro asked logically, pushing his curious and confused thoughts aside, duty came first. He could deal with the research later.
“No they can’t. Though the dome is sheer enough for them to note that there are no more civilians inside of it, apart from… apart from a woman seemingly fighting it... with a blade.” Okonogi spoke again, making everyone within the truck erupt with different sounds as the information was relayed.
“A woman with a blade?”
“How could a civilian get trapped in there?”
“Can the suit even provide that amount of power to create a dome like that?”
“Does she even have a suit on?”
Were all the questions everyone from the platoon asked, Soshiro asked those too, of course, but he knew better than to let those questions out. He waited for another information to get through as they were nearing the area, once nothing got through, he spoke with authority lacing his voice for his platoon.
“Listen up. Regardless of what that woman is doing inside there, once we arrive, the first thing we’ll do is break that dome down, finish the Kaiju, and save her. Understood?” Series of “Yes sir!” followed through the truck as it came to a halt.
-ˋˏ ༻𖤓༺ ˎˊ-
Himari grunted as blood came out of her mouth.
It’s been almost five minutes since she’s unleashed majority of her combat power without a suit, and she knows she’ll only be able to handle a few minutes more before she’d collapse and ultimately die, either form the hands of the Kaiju, or the overheat of her ability.
With that in mind, she pushed back the Kaiju once more, earning a screech from it as it rose back up, much more faster than the last few minutes she has tried.
“So you’re finally getting a hang of my ability huh? About the damn time.” She spoke through gritted teeth as the Kaiju ran back towards her.
She faced it head on as she stabbed the Kaiju near its core once again. With the close proximity, the kaiju was able to attach one of its legs on her side and arm, causing her to scream in pain as blood oozed out from those and the injuries she’s gotten from minutes before.
Closing and opening her golden eyes one last time, she grits her teeth together, “Last push.” Was all she said before she pulled the blade out and stabbed it back again, hitting the core this time, successfully neutralizing the Kaiju.
It screamed and thrashed around, Himari within its legs getting caught up along with it and becoming dizzier by the minute. Within seconds, the kaiju dropped and along it was Himari, as she was still attached to it by its legs piercing through her.
As she tried to get out of its grip, unwanted thoughts flashed her head as the claw dug deeper. Her eyes turned white, her corneas going as far as behind her head as the thoughts flashed over and over again, making her eyes, ears, nose, and mouth bleed from overstimulation.
Her body not being able to take it anymore, Himari collapsed against her will, seizing up as her mind replayed the thoughts she unwillingly got, getting it etched into her brain like all the other thoughts she’s gotten from her previous missions. After minutes of seizing and shaking, her body went limp.
Beyond her inability to speak nor move, the dome Himari had created was slowly falling apart due to her current state, the blade she was using was now on the floor, back to being the pin it was before; her charm bracelet beeping profusely, a red light coming out of it.
Unleashed Combat Power turned off. System overheated.
From afar, the Japan Anti-Kaiju Defense Force from the Third Division arrived, led by the vice captain, who was now calmly ordering everyone to clean up and search for any civilians left.
Soshiro approached the limply lying woman and lifted her up, enough to properly note that she was still breathing.
“Ma’am, can you hear me?” He asked but was only met with golden eyes flowing with red tears as she stared up at him, her lips quivering as she tried to speak.
“T… The… Child…” Were her last words before her entire body went down, her eyes closing.
Soshiro’s eyes widened at her words, and in the rush of the moment, Soshiro picked the woman up, not taking notice of the beeping on her forearm, and ran towards the area wherein injured civilians were stationed and shouted for help.
“Medic! Asap! Her heart beat is falling!”
Within seconds, the woman was out of his arms, placed on a stretcher, carried to the nearest ambulance with a doctor and nurses following suit, doing everything they can to revive the emergency patient.
As Soshiro looked at the lifeless body of the woman going farther and farther away until he could no longer see it, he felt like something was taken from him. He couldn’t place it or give it a name, but it surely did feel weird.
Yes, she did save countless lives, but that’s all about it. He barely knew the woman. Hence why the way he felt was beyond confusing, as he did not know what to do with it.
His thoughts were broken as Okonogi spoke through the intercom. “Hoshina, sir. Please clarify the appearance I’m about to state to you sir.”
Confused he responded, “Uhhh, okay?”
“Did the woman inside the dome have black hair with white streaks, a charm bracelet on her left arm, and blue eyes?” Okonogi asked, to which made Soshiro remember his encounter with the woman again and gathered what he could remember.
After a few minutes he responded, “Yes. To everything. Why?” There was a beat of silence, before another holographic screen was presented in front of him, there on that screen was written:
Sun’s Light, Himari Keiko. Third Division Transfer, Complete.