Chapter Text
With her hard work, Mina continues to rise the ranks. She was able to become Captain of the third division by the end of her first year. The former captain was already planning on his retirement. He knew the value that Ashiro Mina brings to the defense force. There was no person who was a better fit.
After a couple months of adjusting to becoming captain, a new problem arises- the Vice Captain is also looking to retire so the position must be filled. It now becomes Captain Ashiro’s duty to find someone suitable to work alongside her.
Someone who’ll stand by my side..
In Tachikawa, the Third division hosts a goodwill kendo match with a division from Kansai.
Mina goes through the list of officers who will be joining them. Flipping through the papers, she sees the name ‘Hoshina Soushiro’ listed.
Remembering Hoshina, a smile creeps up on her face. Maybe the surname is a coincidence, but Mina knows who she’s hoping to see.
Mina observes her teammates spar with other officers from the other divisions. It’s times like these where she feels her imposter syndrome kicking in. Watching her subordinates perform well in-close combat makes me feel a bit envious. Nevertheless, she's grateful to have a capable team. She reminds herself that she must continue to be strong. Especially because they are counting on her.
During the match, she spotted exactly who she wanted to see. Someone who she found to be better than anyone in her team. Someone who didn't do well with firearms, but excelled in close-combat fights.
It’s Hoshina again.
Hoshina Soushiro.
Mina is surprised. She's seen him a handful of times and manages to recognize him every time. He doesn't exactly blend in with the crowd. This time she narrowed down that he is stationed in Kansai. No wonder the encounters are sparse. Not that meetings between divisions are frequent anyway.
Maybe Mina was feeling bold today. But she couldn't let him go this time. She needed him in her division. She knew that she had to cover her bases in Kaiju neutralizing. Leaving no weaknesses in the Third Division.
Is what she tells herself at least.
She recalls the time when she was discovered to have a high aptitude with firearms.
The missing link.
His swordsmanship cannot go unrecognized. Not that she knows anything about his life in Kansai. She’ll make him feel welcomed in Tachikawa. Much like her batchmates did when she first joined.
She no longer wanted Hoshina to be someone she would keep seeing in passing. She wanted him in her team. In her life.
…
She watched Hoshina’s match. He moved perfectly. He was focused but Mina could tell he was having fun. This time Narumi wasn't there to interrupt her so she stared to her heart’s content.
After he won his match, Mina returned to her office. Walking back, the evening sun just began to set. The warmth filled the hallways as she was hyping herself up to muster the courage to request Hoshina to meet her in her office.
This is the first time I’ll be talking to him.
It seems silly to Mina. She’s seen him on multiple occasions but only admired him from a distance. She can't help but feel nervous. Asking him to simply join her division almost makes her feel like she's butting in his life. But that's exactly what she wants. She’ll be a bit selfish today.
The door crept open and footsteps broke the silence. Hoshina enters her office and reports to her. For the first time, Mina is so close to him. They're not close close. Being in the same small room and Hoshina acknowledging her existence made her heart start pounding. It was unreal. The man that she kept seeing over the years is in her close presence. Hoshina was no longer someone she watched from a distance.
“Hoshina Soushiro at your service”
“Third division captain, Ashiro Mina. Thank you for stopping by”
“It’s no problem. What is it that you wanted to talk about?”
“Hoshina. I've seen you in joint training before. I only observed from a distance but I could tell your sword technique was excellent.”
Should I have admitted to watching him? What if he thinks I'm a stalker. Maybe he'll assume that as a captain I'm always looking for new talents to take in. That’s normal, right?
Mina kept up her serious expression, but she could feel her face burning. She continues making her request but turns around to avoid her blushing face being seen.
Oh she’s starting to panic.
You’re just recruiting another officer. There's nothing to be flustered about.
Mina recruited other officers to her division. But she's never felt this nervous. She accepts whoever is capable of serving the third division in eliminating kaijus and protecting civilians. But Hoshina is far more than capable. It felt like she was asking someone of higher caliber to serve under her. Is it the imposter syndrome again? The worries of not feeling good enough to be a captain begin to arise.
Now’s not the time to worry about that.
“Oh, thank you” Hoshina responds, not quite sure as to what's about to happen. Mina notes his confused expression and begins her pitch.
“Hoshina Soushiro. I heard you're a blade specialist”
“Yes that's correct”
Mina gathers her bearing and puts on her best determined face. Trying to not look desperate. She takes a quiet, deep breath before turning around. She faced him and reached out “I need your abilities. Will you join me?”
She’s surprised to see his red eyes widen with bewilderment.
Did I come on too strong? This can't be that odd of a request.
The pause between them is short lived. Mina is determined to have Hoshina join her team. She tries her best to sound convincing.
I won't back down. This is for the sake of building the third division.
“We can't overlook the possibilities of small-sized kaiju threats” Mina so desperately wants him to join. She lets herself be a tiny bit vulnerable by sharing something embarrassing, hoping that it'll make her seem more sociable. “Unlike you, I'm bad at bladed weaponry. I can't even handle cutting vegetables”
Hoshina’s pause worries Mina. He breaks it “I appreciate the offer but-”
-RING-
Platoon Leader Ebina barrages in “Captain Ashiro! We have reports of a kaiju in Ome. Miniature-class kaiju have been spotted-”
Just when she was starting to calm down, the adrenaline hit.
Damn at a time like this? It can't be helped.
Maybe this is the opportunity I need.
Mina switched to her serious-captain mode. Talking to Hoshina will have to wait.
“Ebina, rally all officers. Even those off-duty”
“Roger!”
Mina is making calls to the operations room to prepare for all the officers to get suited up.
Mina knows the drill now. She's been captain for months. But with every emergency she still feels uneasy that something will go wrong. She knows that being captain comes with the responsibility of your subordinates’ lives. Especially if you're Ashiro Mina - the one who’ll change neutralizing kaiju forever.
She has slowly mastered the art of stoicism. However, Mina let her guard down for a bit, as she appeared a bit troubled. She was surprised when Hoshina offered his help.
“Captain Ashiro. I could head to the site too if you'd like”
Mina could sense the hesitation in Hoshina’s voice. Not that she detected a lack of confidence, but rather uncertainty. She knows that Hoshina is good at eliminating mini kaiju. This shouldn't pose an issue then.
“Hoshina,” Mina wants to show him that he belongs in her team “As captain of the third division, I accept your request to assist me.”
Ebina objects “Captain are you sure? This will be dangerous based on the kaiju’s fortitude”
Ah could this be what Hoshina is worried about? He still requested to help. I’ll trust him.
“Hoshina is a close-combat expert. He’ll be able to help us. Any more manpower would be useful as well” Mina knows that’s how it should be. She looks to Hoshina for approval. “Isn't that right, Hoshina?”
Mina is pleased to see that Hoshina seems more fearless. “Yes. When it comes to neutralizing miniature kaiju no one comes close to me”
Mina lets a smile slip as she quickly turns to Ebina “Ebina, I’m sending Hoshina with you.” She gets ahead of herself “He’ll do great” and Ebina has no choice but to comply with the captain’s orders.
...
Mina goes in a separate truck to clear out a different location from Hoshina. On the battlefield, she maintains near perfect focus. Always remembering what's at stake in the back of her mind, Mina can't let herself get distracted. She can't let her worries cloud her judgement. She must kill without hesitation.
Until she hears an argument over the comms about a yoju emergence in the zone where Hoshina is.
“You can't beat it” Mina recognizes Ebina’s voice.
“Are you saying you don't care if the kid dies?” Hoshina sounded frustrated “I understand your orders. But I still ask you to let me go.”
Mina felt the determination in Hoshina’s voice. She knows that it is her role as the super artillery specialist to neutralize the bigger yoju. But that's not all that she's thinking about now.
I can take down the yoju with Hoshina. It’ll be much easier if he could clear the path for me. I know he’ll be able to.
She presses two fingers to her ear on her communication device “Hoshina Soushiro. I can engage when I'm done here. Will that be too late?”
Hoshina responds calmly “That would be tough. It’s a race against time.”
Mina decides to put her trust in Hoshina. She needs him to know that she trusts him “Can you take down that kaiju?”
A brief pause follows “I know I can save the child.”
Mina is pleased with his answer. She feels a small weight lifted off her shoulders. Knowing that Hoshina will support her gives her some relief. She's looking forward to it more than she has with any other officer.
For the first time since joining the defense force, Mina felt like she could fully rely on someone. Not that her current platoon leaders or troops weren’t reliable, but Hoshina was different.
After clearing the kaijus in her zone, Mina headed to the rooftop where she could shoot the yoju from safely.
Setting up her canon, she could see Hoshina on the battlefield. He’s carrying a child away from the yonju. She was right to trust Hoshina.
He cut through and the yoju’s core was exposed. Mina took her aim and steadily grabbed the top of her canon handle.
“Fire”
In one shot the yoju was defeated.
“Thank you Hoshina. Because you saved that child I was able to shoot through the kaiju’s core”
The relief that Mina felt was greater than any other. She always knows what’s at stake. But this time, she couldn’t imagine bearing the weight of guilt if something happened to Hoshina. She's glad she didn't have to face that reality. It just felt right to trust Hoshina.
Mina, once again, has to muster up the courage to face Hoshina. Being on the battlefield put her in the zone. Giving her a different persona almost. All she thinks about is killing the kaiju, while trying to push back her fears alone. After the mission, it’s like Mina has been reset to her base personality. Now she has to continue where she left off.
Clutching a fruit basket in her arms, Mina steps into the hospital room towards Hoshina’s bed. He’s awake and well enough to be reading the newspaper about the successful subjugation.
“Hoshina” Mina looks at him directly, determined to not run away.
“Ah- Captain Ashiro!” Hoshina nervously holds a salute.
“As you were. I was in the area for work and wanted to drop in.”
That was totally an excuse.
Hoshina eyed the basket of fruits in Mina’s arms. It appeared that some of the fruit was partially cut? Or attempted to be cut. Another glance showed bandages on Mina’s fingers.
“Captain Ashiro, did you…”
Mina quickly tries to cover her fingers. But alas, there's too many to hide. Knowing she can't hide it, she admits it while looking away to avoid eye contact.
“I… tried my best. As I said before, I’m not good with knives.”
Mina put in extra effort to show her appreciation. Her parents would bring her a bowl cut fruit to her room whenever she was studying hard for the defense force exam. So she associated it with gratitude and hard work. It became part of her way of saying ‘thank you for your work’ for others. Although, she never did get the hang of cutting them and always ended up with bandages on her fingers instead.
“I see. Well practice makes perfect, Captain. Thank you for the fruits.”
Mina, decides for one final time to not back down. She sets the fruit basket on the bed stand and bows.
“Hoshina, as Captain of the Third Division, I should be the one thanking you for your assistance with the neutralization in Ome.”
“Ah please you don't have to do all this. It's just what any defense officer should do.”
Of course you would say that. But I saw how you performed on the battlefield. You were exceptional.
Mina noticed that Hoshina’s attention was in her bandaged fingers again.
“Although I'm a bit more worried for you.”
Mina was caught off guard.
This wasn't part of the script!
“What do you mean?” She’s eager to hear what he has to say.
“I’m the one in the hospital bed from a kaiju neutralization yet you're injured just from cutting some fruit for me.”
Mina is bewildered. Officers don't usually talk to her lightly. She's loved by her troops but there are many that fear her. She puts up a cold front to hide her feelings. Her fears. Her weaknesses that she refuses to show. It's like she has a walk between herself and her team.
But Hoshina is right in front of her speaking like their rankings have no barrier.
How can he be so.. casual?
“Oh? Are you making fun of me?” Mina refuses to let her nervousness show.
“Of course not, Captain. I just.. I didn't believe it at first when you said you were bad at knives.”
Mina recognizes the opportunity when she sees it.
“You could teach me then.” Mina says boldly.
Hoshina was not expecting that response “Captain, I couldn’t.”
“Hoshina. I still haven't heard your answer.”
She reaches one hand out. It's a coincidence that the lights shine around her again. This time, more brightly.
With a bit more confidence than the first, she asks “Will you join my division?”
She could tell that Hoshina still seems hesitant.
“I appreciate the offer but my talent only lies in the blade. I don't think I'll really be much help-”
“Hoshina, will your power not evolve any further?”
“Huh? No I mean-”
“How about this - join me and master your craft. We don't need you to be proficient with firearms. Just do what you do best.”
Mina sees that Hoshina is thinking deeply about his decision.
“If I could be of use here, then I would love to join the Third Division.”
“Then it's settled. Welcome to my team.” Mina emphasizes my team.
“You already know the responsibilities of being a defense force officer.”
“Yes of course.”
“If you want to make yourself useful, you cover for me and I'll cover for you. Those are the terms for joining.”
What Mina really wanted to say is -
Stand by my side.
Mina doesn't let her excitement show. She's cheering in my mind. She looks forward to a future of having Hoshina Soushiro clear the path for her. Perhaps it won't be lonely with him here.