Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

It was an interview like any other. 

He was never nervous for them, none of that sense of impending doom that would have him anxiously fidgeting. Which, in hindsight, for the last few months — No, let’s be real. When Ken’s whole life was finally stable that’s when everything got shook up. 

What it really was is that he had gotten confident in his interviewing style for Japan, usually going to Ami for her hard curveball questions with an empathetic emphasis that made her so good at her job. So doing a full house PR event was definitely more chill than his one-on-ones, as Ken had started to get the flow of Ami’s style. On top of that, it was out of season so Ken had more time to rest and recup after the KDF battle with Dr. Onda’s Shockwave Gundam love-child. And finally, it had one topic he knew very well.

No, not himself, but also kinda.

Kaiju Step Wandabada was doing a new slate of episodes and had written three with baseball themes, asking him and Tigers’ Joshin Akihiro to voice two of the three guest characters. Ken has shrugged when his agent, Higashi, told him about the opportunity, but on the inside he was punching the air, excited to see how Emi would react to hearing his voice on her favorite show. It had been announced last week via an Insta post, showing him holding the script and a message saying he’d be showing up in a fun way for his younger fans.

So Ken knew to expect this question, by all means should have had something normal prepared for it, but was he really himself if he planned? Actually, that’s not something he really wanted to crack open, he’ll save it for one of Ami’s cutthroat interviews.

Either way, a reporter from Tokyo Families Magazine had asked what he thought about being adapted into cartoon media and Ken should have kept it simple with a ‘I feel honored to provide some entertainment for the younger generation’ or ‘It sounded fun and I’m having fun so why not’. 

Considerate or mildly flippant, either would have worked and had been him, but instead he went soft. And not just any soft, but ultra soft.

Just thinking about the show invoked images of Emi happily bouncing along as she watched, her new wings dancing as well as they swayed to and fro. But thinking about Emi left his cool collected face at the bottom of the sea, smiling softly at nothing and saying,

“Kinda excited. My daughter will looouuu… Um ……”

The silence was so sharp it cut through diamond, the journalists so shocked that anyone would think Ken had just  stripped naked in front of them and started doing the Macarena. Which he feels he could better salvage that situation than this monster slip-up!

This is as bad as the ‘Come to daddy’ short! But at least no one could really ask him about that.

Physically forcing himself not to show weakness in front of these sharks, he continues like nothing happened, “Anyone’s daughter will love it. I’m honored to play Ace-chan.”

Smiling widely, but it’s not enough and it sets them off like blood in the water, erupting into a frenzy that has Ken wishing he was fighting the KDF mecha again.

‘Sato-san!’ is shouted over the entire room, every camera seeming to focus in tighter on him as security keeps the reporters at bay. And in the center of it all – More to the left actually – sits Ami with a curling grin and a glint in her eyes that told him she was content for now about being right about something. 

But she wouldn’t stay content for long.

Even with their growing kinda friendship she still didn’t go easy on him when she had a chance to interview him. Ken approached it now for the fun back and forth it was, but he can’t help feeling he might not make it out alive this time.

“Sato-san! Are you admitting to having a love-child?”

“How old is she Sato-san?”

“Is she your only child?”

“Why has she been kept a secret from the public?”

Swallowing, Ken tries for a lackadaisical smile, but with him gritting his teeth and his cheeks starting to hurt he knows he probably looks terrible. 

“One at a time,” Raising his hand to get some attention back on him, “I can’t answer screaming can I?” Laughing and then wincing at how hollow and worried it sounded.

On the bright side, it does seem to quiet everyone down as they take their seats again, watching him both intently and with some measure of concern. As soon as it quiets down enough, only his foot tapping making any noise – When did I start that?! – Ken looks around and points towards the middle of the room.

“Okay, question.”

“Sato-san, was your return to Japan for 'unfinished family business' because of your daughter?”

“No,” Happy that his luck was still intact for a softball question, “I explained my reasons at the beginning of the season and it’s still the same.” Pointing to someone in the front and to that man’s right.

“Sato-san, you started to say that your daughter will love this show. How old is she?” The woman asks.

“Uh a couple months…” But that doesn’t satisfy the sharks, “She’s moving under her own power,” Which causes a few ‘aww’, “Okay next question.” Pointing to Kubo.

“We’ve never seen or heard of your daughter Sato-san, will that change in the future?”

That was definitely easy enough to answer because there was no way he could show off a 24-foot baby kaiju, no matter how cute.

“It will not, as far as I’m concerned,” Leaning against the table, more at ease now, “I value my family's privacy.” Pointing to a lady in red in the back.

Totally believable too, and if he had a normal family, he probably still would. He had seen and heard how a few of the guys back in LA had problems with their kids being super shallow or anxious because of the attention they got at such a young age.

“Sato-san, may we ask about your daughter’s appearance or likes?” She asks slowly, as if she was thinking of backing out of the question.

Tapping his pointer finger against the table, the several microphones picking up the little thuds like a droning metronome as he thinks it over. It couldn’t hurt to give a description of Emi’s likes since the lady had used ‘or’.

“She’s very curious,” He starts, the journalists leaning in, “And active,” A smile coming to his lips as he thinks about her playing as well as being a menace during bath time, “She enjoys swimming and baseball. I think she might take after me like that,” Chuckling along with everyone else, “And her favorite colors are blue and pink. Next question.” Pointing out randomly into the crowd.

This isn’t so — Shit!

Ken freezes as he sees Ami in his sights, her faint smirk settling into a serious expression, her eyes flinty sharp like the tigers she so liked. He had gotten cocky with thinking he had taken control of the situation again and now he was going to have to pay the piper. She was probably thought he lied about him not having a secret love-child, which technically he hadn’t lied. It was more an accidental adoption. 

Regardless of lying or not, Ken steels himself for whatever question is about to blow up in his face. Or maybe he can make a run for it —

“Sato-san, you experienced a record number of errors and strikes during this past season,” She starts, and its’ like a straight punch to the gut, “It is safe to assume that caring for your daughter is partially responsible for your performance?” 

He barely answers ‘Yes’, before she’s going on with her next one.

“And your social medias and public appearances have always portrayed you as living a bachelor lifestyle,” She points out deliberately, “Is this because you were not aware you were a father to a love-child prior to this year?”

“She’s not a love-child.”

Everyone stops at that, staring up at him like they had never seen him before, Ami’s gaze narrowing on him with disbelief. And why not, he basically admitted to being in a relationship of some kind. Well technically, he admitted to —

“You have a wife?” 

That. He had just implied he was married. Him and his big mouth.

“Quite the development.” Tone heavily skeptical, but looking beyond intrigued.

“You don’t believe me.” Sounding offended when he needed to shut up! His stomach was already swooping with fear about what could be next and if he could ever climb out of the hole he just dug and jumped into.

But really he couldn’t stand the idea of leaving a child – His child – fiction or not, alone without their mother. He wouldn’t want that for anyone and was just sick meeting those dubious gazes, shadowed in the dimness of the press room.  

“There isn’t much proof to the contrary,” Ami smiles easily, “I understand you wanting to keep your family out of the limelight, but it seems you’ve gone to excessive lengths. If you don’t mind, what can you tell us about your wife? Her real name perhaps?”

With a strained smile he takes a sip from his glass of water, hurriedly going through names he could use. The first name that came to mind was Mina, but that felt wrong and he could just hear her monotone jokes about being a stay-at-home and working mother trying to have it all. He would never use his mother’s name, and unfortunately, he didn’t remember the few blind dates his team had set him up with back in America, all happening back in college or his first year with the Dodgers. Besides Ami, the only other …

Oh. Oh no.

“Her name is Gig – Gina Troy-Sato.” Just stopping himself from face-planting into the table, maybe taking some of the mics with him. The embarrassment was too much!

Please let a kaiju attack now. It can even be Gigantron!

Ami’s smile becomes a bit more genuine, but Ken is wiser to this and is ready. He just had to keep this running lie close to the truth. That’s what most fictional heroes and spies did. Also keep it vague as fuck!

“A very nice name. Very western. Did you meet while you were in America?” Ami asks and they’re off.

“No, we met in Japan.”

“Could you tell us how?”

“I’ll just say we ran into each other.”

“How long have you been together?”

“Don’t really want to give away my anniversary, but over a year.”

“How would you describe her personality?”

“She’s the strong silent type,” Mostly because she can’t talk… Well she can write, “She very expressive, let’s you know what she’s thinking without saying a word.” There! That’s a sound byte. 

“How would you describe her in your own words?”

The most terrifying creature I’ve ever seen, encountered, and survived after getting my ass handed to me by her, Trying not to think about how she’d likely glare him to death if she saw any part of this sideways interview.

But he couldn’t think about Gigantron like that right now, he had to think about her as if she was human, which made for a frightening dragon person, but ultimately sorta helped.

“Well Gina’s tall, a bit taller than me. She has a unique look, but it works for her. And…” Pausing, Ken can’t think of anything else to say, but he knows saying ‘her scales remind him of his mom’s roses’ won’t really help him out here, “… Uh, well I’d say majestic as well if you came face to face with her. Very regal.”

But even with his mad dash use of pretty adjectives and good sound bytes Ami’s smile was starting to slip, like she was sniffing out the lie in real time. 

“She sounds quite incredible.”

Ken has to pat himself on the back for not answering and just nodding, hoping he looks as proud as he could muster for his fake wife.

“I say that to ask, was she not involved in your daughter’s upbringing?”

It’s valid question.

It was, he had been a mess for everyone to see, and in his first season here when he was in his prime. But he can’t help being angry on Gigantron’s behalf for the implication that she wouldn’t be a devoted mother.

She was, she just didn’t have that choice in the beginning.

She had chased the KDF down for Emi and had tried to run that night to protect her egg, and he hadn’t helped with stalling her by trying to start a fight. And then he hadn’t been strong enough to protect her from the KDF’s missiles. Ten months later and he still couldn’t get the image of her trudging heavily through the water towards Emi’s egg, roars more of a croak as she uses the last of her strength to reach out and try to comfort her baby that wasn’t even there yet. 

It went beyond heartbreaking.

Whenever Ken thought back to that night, the awe and shock, just the beauty of Emi’s hatching, it was always muddy by remembering just beyond them, her mother floated there, seemly dead for protecting her egg. 

“Sato-san?”

His foot stops tapping, his emotions all focused elsewhere now.

“She couldn’t,” He whispers, but the dozen mics pick it up crystal clear, “Not when she hat – had Emi, our daughter. There were… complications, so it was just me. I did my best and we saw how that went,” His puff of laughter so self-deprecating even he winces at it, “I tried, but I couldn’t… Not alone.” 

Looking back up, meeting Ami’s eyes, he finds sympathy there. It means he could stop there, but he couldn’t and he doesn’t know why.

“It was only after I messed up big time that I finally reached out to my Dad for help and he… Well he really helped with everything,” And Ken still can’t believe it sometimes, after how he had brushed him off and was so rude to him. That he still came back for him made him believe in heroes again. But then again Ken had flown off injured to save Emi from mecha Gigantron, so maybe fatherhood wasn’t all that different, “Having done this already, he was a big help, but it also showed me how deep a family can be even when it hits every single pot hole in the road. He was there for me and it helped me be there for my girls. We’re all doing better now, and I really truly can say I’ve never been as happy as I am now.”

And that wasn’t a lie. Somewhere along the way it turned into the truth and that warms his heart more that it was true and he could share some of that experience with others, to let them know it was possible.

“My family means the world to me,” Smiling proudly, happily, for no one else but himself, “I may not show them off, but it’s true.”

Sympathetic smiles replace the daunting silence and doubt, even Ami bowing out with a discrete nod and sitting down again. 

Seeming to have struck the journalists mute now would be the best time to wrap up and get away —

Beep-beep! Beep-beep! Home Call. Beep-beep! Beep-beep!

Perfect timing!

Grabbing his long coat off the back of his chair, Ken stands and pulls it on, wincing as he shoulders it over his still sore shoulder, “Sorry, I've got to take this, but you've all been wonderful and thanks for coming out tonight! Much love!” 

And not wasting another second more books it out of the room, speed-walking down the hall and pass green rooms and storage space until he free to sprint down to the garage. He slips into his BRZ and pulls out a little faster than usual, which doesn’t help that he’s not trying to make a scene. As soon as he’s in traffic he sails the call back, his Dad showing up on the car’s dash computer. 

“Hey Dad!”

“Hello Kenji,” Standing a little too close to the screen again, “Emi and I watched your interview.” Emi making herself known by crawling into the camera view, her chirps echoing in the expanded underwater base.

“Oh! Really,” Hunching a bit as he slowed to a stop at the light, “What did you think?”

“I think Emi understands enough about her show.” His Dad tease and Ken watches as she starts to bounce in place to no music. 

“Aw baby, that was supposed to be a surprise.” Ken smiles, happy something went well.

“But Kenji. Kenji that was beautiful.”

Pins and needles catching his throat and he pulls into the next alley he sees, looking to his Dad. He was smiling wide, enough that Ken could see it around the edges of his mustache, his eyes wet, the smile reaching them as well and…

Wait a second.

His Dad may sound like someone moved to tears, but looking at him he can see that —

“Dad! Are you laughing at me!”

He gets his answer as his Dad loses his already terrible poker face and leans out of the screen, laughing, Emi squealing and shrieking, her wings flapping as she laughs as well.

“Yeah, yeah, laugh it up.” He huffs, reversing out of the alley and back into traffic.

“I’m overjoyed Kenji,” His Dad coughs, his laughter winding him, “These are tears of joy,” Before letting loose another loud bout of laughter, Emi shrilly joining in, “A kaiju grand-daughter and daughter-in-law! Ha! You’re quite the lucky Ultra, and with a queen too.” Now coughing hard into his fist, but determine to keep laughing as Emi gets up to lead him over to one of the couchs.

Ken can only roll his eyes, hiding his smile as he looks much harder than he needs to for the side street he has to take to get to his secret bridge. It had been a while since he heard his Dad laugh. He remembered Mom’s more than Dad’s and it was good, really good to hear it again.

“I panicked!” He defends himself, a puff of laughter escaping him, “You can’t tell me this never happened to you when you were Ultraman.”

“I have a few,” The elderly man snickers, thanking Emi as he settles back, Emi plopping down next him, “But the science community much rather forget embarrassing scenes when you also have embarrassing info on them too.”

“Ha! I might need to hear one of those to make up for you laughing at me,” Then looking to Emi, “How ‘bout you girl? Do you want to hear one of Grandad’s stories?”

Emi loved being talked to in general, but loved hearing stories the most, and Dad had the most, and more kid-rated ones than he did. Trilling her excitement, Emi rearranges herself to lay in her loaf form and fold her wings back and watching Dad with an expectant smile.

“And with that I have the night off.” He says to himself even if he didn’t mean it. Days just weren’t complete if he didn’t get to spend time with his little girl.

“Oh are you?” His Dad asks slyly, “Should I assume I’m putting Emi to bed too?”

Turning out of traffic unto the road with it’s perpetual ‘road work in progress’ sign, Ken guns the engine as he hits the markers that activate the bridge, stacking up in front of him with frightening speed.

“Noooo,” Already picking up on being the butt of a joke, “Why?”

“Well so you and ‘Gina’ can enjoy a night off.” He snickers.

If he didn’t need to maintain a certain speed for the bridge to work, he would have stopped and dropped his head repeatedly into the steering wheel.

“Please don’t tell me.” He groans, shame and embarrassment making him boil as he revs the car faster, even though he rather be driving away.

Of course the one time Gigantron made a visit she’d hear this mess. He can only hope she wasn’t offended about herself being in that lie tangentially.

“She was curious about my laughter, I’m sure.” Chuckling, his daughter joining in as well.

Rolling his eyes to the ceiling, he can’t help asking how this was his life, but in the same moment he would never give it up. If his family, strange as it was now, was happy than he was too.

Gigantron is perplexed.

She didn’t understand the intrigue of wanting to know about someone else’s life or wanting to be so intrusive to want to learn about someone else’s life.

Humans were incredibly strange that way.

She did however understand that this, situationally, was humorous as Kenji fumbled to hide the mistake with mentioning Emi’s fascination with the colorful moving images. His reactions had gotten a chuff from her, but she was more focused on Kenji’s explanation for her inability of being there for her hatchling at first. It was very… moving. It had stopped Ultraman from laughing as well, gently calling his son’s name at the explanation he gave.

It should not be a surprise for Gigantron, she had seen Kenji’s kindness and concern in how he cared for their shared hatchling. But she had also seen his worry and unfounded fears of her leaving with Emi back to their home.

It was of course her right. She laid the egg. She was the Queen as Humans referred to her.

But she also wanted her little one to be happy and she was happy with Kenji as much as she was with her. And while she would never state it, Gigantron was not upset with the trek to come here to this underwater space. It was restful away from the battles for dominance that could occur or the attempts for her status. Emi having a safe space to grow and Gigantron finding herself welcome was much more than she expected and wished to guard it fiercely.

Kenji was not against this either. Yes, he was stiff as first, regarding her with wariness, but once he took the initiative to speak with her and she made him aware she did understand him, it had become easier to move around the small human in disguise. She also came to care about his well-being as he seemed to push himself pass when he should rest; either from trying to rebuild his upper nest or setting up his smaller one below hers on the island, and of course the strange playing he did for the amusement of others. It would make him move stiffly and grunt, though he did smell happier then.

Even without being in front of Kenji, Gigantron had a feeling he would smell sour and rotten with nervousness, just from his reactions. And that’s where she was mystified.

No one knew and he would do better to not bring attention to them… Oh.

This would garter extra unwanted attention, attention he couldn’t control or used to grow his strange hoard. And if he was found out in his lie what would that mean? Could this mean that somehow this could endanger Emi? Could it lead to a case of them needing to create a counterattack to prevent those humans with the smaller flying drones —

Sitting up immediately at that moment, unable to draw breath as if she was inhaling the sticky sludge that occasionally spilled into the ocean, Gigantron understands Kenji and his catastrophic thoughts.

But now that she was aware she knew what to do. It would only make sense to, but she’d have to practice as it had been some time since she exercised this ability. But she would for her daughter’s safety and Emi’s adopted sire’s peace of mind.

“Ken, can you wake up.”

Blearily blinking his eyes open, he stares up at the ceiling, only able to see the outline of the wall to the corners due to the faint pulsing of light.

“What Mina? I’m actually resting.” Yawning, but feeling himself steadily wake up the longer he keeps his eyes open.

“Professor Sato wishes for you to come downstairs,” Mina’s lights holding a pale yellow as she speaks, “All the way downstairs.”

Rolling his eyes, Ken stretches and sinks further into his bed, staring at the ceiling then to his watch, it reading 11:18 AM. So whatever it was Dad let him sleep in like everyone had pushed him to.

“Tell him I’ll be down in a few minutes.” He huffs, leveraging himself up.

“I will let him know you are waking up now,” Giving him at least another ten minutes to get out of bed, “Can you warm up the coffee machine too?” Shuffling to the edge as rolling out of his California king was brutal on him.

“Shall I begin sweeping or spinning silk as well.” She sasses him.

“Sure,” He huffs, grabbing his wool white robe of the armchair, “If you’re not busy.”

With a nonchalant hum and a soft ‘Good morning Ken’, Mina’s light disappears from his room. Stretching again, smiling at the gentle soreness, like a good work out, he slips on his slippers and starts his slow walk to the kitchen and coffee maker.

After the missiles had gone off – His home’s destruction written off as a gas leak – and Mina had gone offline after, Ken was sure that was the last he would ever hear of her. But once reconstruction had started up, Dad had told him he could save her. He did it by running her last data core into the mainframe of the wireless settings she was connected to, boosting the signal by pigging backing off the servers he brought over from his apartment. So while he didn’t have an orb following him around she was still capable of being present and had her extra arms still in the base below.

It was still strange to get use to, but Ken would rather have her in any form as long as she was here.

His favorite mug in hand, Ken shuffles to the enlarged elevator, taking it down to the extra lower level that had been craved out as an entrance and exit for Gigantron and Emi. She had also scratched out and smoothed out a shallow bowl further back, building a nest wall out of jagged underwater volcano rocks and adorned with hunks of colorful coral, all stacked perfectly and fused together with her laser breath.

The empty upper base with his man cave slides pass, Ken smiling at the signs that this had officially become Emi’s space.

With her awake, the mobile of stars, purples and pinks were off instead of slowly dancing by. There were signs of her playing though, his Corvette and Lamborghini stacked against the stairs of her unit, now a cribbed space with the biggest pillows he could purchase, her baseball bat and newest giant bouncing ball left close to her elevator down, likely discarded when she heard her mom was back.

Finally reaching the bottom of the base, Ken squints, raising his hand to block the floodlights and sunlamps that were on and still caught him off guard. Gently kicking his slippers off, he steps onto the sand that Dad and Gigantron had laid down a few weeks ago when he was bedridden.

Happy sharp trills reach him and Ken is grinning, more awake then his coffee could ever do when he looks into those navy bright eyes.

“Hey there girl. How’s it going?” Holding himself steady as she runs up to him, stumbling and catching herself with her wings still unbalancing her. But Emi makes it over to him, dropping down to her knees in a puff of sand in front of him, “It look like you slept well, I saw all your toys upstairs.” Reaching up to scratch under her beak and pat her right cheek, Emi rumbling away as she pushes lightly into his hand.

A deep, but non-threatening growl calls her away, Emi turning back and waddle-running a few steps before turning back around and picking him up and carrying him over. Ken usually would protest, but he was still waking up and deserved a bit of pampering.

Stopping in front of a seated Gigantron, Emi places him down next to Dad and toddles over to hug her mom’s arm. 

“What’s up?” Smiling into his mug at the scene as Gigantron bends down to chitter and clean Emi, their daughter giggling at being fussed over.

“A surprise ability of some sort.” Dad hums, Ken glancing over and seeing his brow furrowed in thought.

He looks over his Dad’s shoulder and sees he’s been having a conversation with Gigantron, two lines of his large scrawl in the sand in between Gigantron’s massive but fine kanji, the last line reading, ‘Kenji. Down. Interview.’ and grimaces. 

Guess that’s coming home to roost, Taking a long swallow from his mug, prolonging the inevitable.

It had been a week since that catastrophe of the press conference and the fallout was still going strong. His Twitter was full of niche annoying fans begging that his family – Especially his non-existence wife – weren’t real. All the J Sport channels and a few gossip channels still brought it up. Hell, Emi’s name had been an answer to a question on a game show yesterday! He had muted his Twitter last night as it had been blowing up with screenshots and clips of it.

With a huff Gigantron lowers her head to stare at him out of her right eye, very unamused with his stalling technique.

“I think,” Clearing his throat and tossing her a patent ‘Ken Sato’ smile, “the compliment I gave you about saying things without saying things should cut me some slack.”

If possible he gets an even drier look that makes him feel smaller than the sand grains beneath him as his Dad chuckles.

“Noted.” He mumbles finishing the last of his coffee.

Clicking at him, she rolls her eye as the end of her beak hikes up in a grin and Ken has to return it.

“Should have said sassy too.”  

Her sails lift and flutter in a preen at that before Gigantron lifts her head and begins to write out something else in the sand with her claws.

“Will. Help,” Brows furrowing, he reads it again but it stays the same, “How are you going to help? Scare them?” Huffing at his joke, “I know I messed up, but you don’t have to worry, it’ll die down in a bit.”

But Gigantron’s lifts an eyebrow – Well not exactly, more like an eye ridge, maybe? – that clearly stated, ‘No it won’t’.

And she was totally right.

It had at least another two weeks left before it was less important, but the tabloids would still be hanging on for some time after that as people tried to get their fifteen seconds of fame.

With a sigh that verged on a bellow, Gigantron leans back to sit on her hunches, reaching down and picking up Emi, who of course squeals in delight, but it quickly becomes a whine as she places her down next to him and Dad.

“Patience Emi,” Dad gentles her with a pat to her arm as Gigantron lumbers to the center of the cave, “I’m sure it will be worth it.”

His little girl is not about that as she falls back to sit with a thud, wrapping her wings around her in a pout.

“Did that ever work with me?” Ken asks, fixing his Dad with a crooked smile.

Smiling back, he sniffs, “I hope it will stick with one of the generations.” 

Rolling his eyes, Ken looks over to where Gigantron had taken a seat by her nest and folds down so she can wrap her tail around herself and her wings over herself, looking like a leathery egg.

Then she’s glowing, like she’s readying a laser blast, but the veins on her wings pulse instead. It was memorizing to watch, the blue zipping down its path against the vibrant pink under the bright lights —

In an instant it’s as if all the air is being sucked out of the cave, a low echoing whistle, but as the sand begins to pick up and swirl around Gigantron he can see why. 

The force of it pulls him in, Ken only stay where he was as he and Dad hold on to Emi, that is until she gets up with a wailing whine and starts to trudge forward into the winds.

“Emi! No! We need to stay put!” Shouting over the noise even as he and Dad share a worried glance for what the dragon kaiju was doing. 

But the closer they get the stronger the wind and the harder it was for Emi to make it to her mom, who was almost completely covered by a sand whirlwind.

Then as suddenly as it started it stops. The whistling dying down and the sand beginning to fall and settle, but already Ken can see that Gigantron is nowhere in sight!

Emi clocks it at the same time, distress echolocating as she spins around looking for her, giant tears rolling down her cheeks as Ken waves the dust away frantically, just as confused as his daughter and seconds from turning into his Ultra form just like Dad —

HHHRKKKOOHN!!!!

Turning to her roar, Ken looks up but sees nothing. But he does hear faint footsteps. 

“Oh my!” Dad breathes out as Emi gurgles in confusion.

Ken turns and looks ahead of him, just making out the shape of a person walking towards him – No, a woman. A very naked woman! One with the same striking blue and green eyes he had come to know before she’s blinking and he’s meeting smug hazel eyes.

“What!”

Credit: bigman_isscared on AO3

Chapter Text

It didn’t make any sense!

It shouldn’t make any sense!

And Ken is really hating that some of it was, but then again, if anyone on the planet would know best about the ability to change between forms it would be him.

Gigantron doesn’t look annoyed as she looks to him as she comes to a stop about three feet in front of him, seeming to wait on him to say something else, but Ken isn’t sure what he could say in the face of the downward spiral of insanity his life was still taking.

Chirp!

Head snapping away from the tall woman, happy for a distraction, Ken finds Emi leaning over, eyes squinting in thought and looking between him and apparently her human mom. But she was older then when he first brought her back and seemed to catch on to the change as she mimes shrinking, patting the air down twice, before throwing her arms out with an adorable little squeaking roar.

The answering rumble sounds as thunderous as it did when Gigantron was, well, Gigantron, proving again that that was her.

Shrugging off his robe, Ken holds it out to her, keeping his head turned away. But when nothing happens, he has to glance back.

She stares at it, skeptical, as her lips twist in disgust and folds her arms under —

“Please put it on.” He stresses, looking back to Emi, but she’s already on the go, walking cautiously but curiously around her mom as she warbles in awe.

And without her in the way he can see he’s not the only one shocked by this development, Dad covering his own eyes. Though he was shaking with laughter so Ken can see he’s the only rational one here.

A sharp click of a tongue draws his attention back, watching in confusion as Gigantron starts mouthing words and drawing a character in the air — She was signing to him! He has no idea what she’s saying, but her look clearly said, ‘Why? I’m naked all the time’.

“Cause you’re human now!” Shaking the robe at her, her expression fully unimpressed with this, “It’s! Different!”

Sneering, she lets loose a rough set of clicks – That Emi tries to copy immediately and he hopes aren’t some kaiju curses – and snatches the robe out of his hand and shrugs it on. Except she doesn’t tie it up, so Ken has to close the distance between them and does it up, but now he can’t look away.

Gigantron’s eyes were still hazel, a blue green shade, but there was something extra in the shine that made them look unnatural and ethereal. And not only that, but she had makeup around her eyes, a striking pink into orange undershadow, like her scales, with a bold but simple wing of eyeliner that swoop at the edge, working really well with her light sun-warmed tan. As for her hair, it was a normal shade of black, but fuller with a chestnut brown underlayer and spiky wisps highlighted with brown to a blonde-orange that any J-pop idol would kill for. It was all stuck under the robe when Gigantron had pulled it on, and before he can think about it, Ken’s reaching back and gently lifting it up and out, her mane of wispy wavy waist length hair falling perfectly around her.

“Just…What. How?” Now noticing he was looking up at her slightly before looking down as she starts to sign again, “I don’t know… What are – Ow!” Wincing as she pokes him hard between his eyebrows with her pink nails, the pain lancing through his whole head.

Rubbing at the spot, Ken glares back as Gigantron smugly signs, ‘Can you understand me now?’

Jaw dropping, he nods slowly, “I… Wow. I can. How did you do that? And how did you do this?” Gesturing to all of her as she folds her arms under her chest again.

“It’s certainly incredible,” Dad speaks up, limping over, staring in awe, getting his own poke to the head with a hiss, “Ah, yes, thank you. And I must say look as amazing as you always have.”

Gigantron’s grin could put a shark to shame as she signs, ‘I always could.’

“Always – Always could,” He breathes out, still not believing this was happening, “Well good for you!” Throwing his arms up, a headache coming on in full force.

‘Yes,’ She shrugs, rumbling with a too smug smile, ‘Good for me.’

“It is,” Dad adds, Ken rolling his eyes at how he was fully in researcher mode now, “It’s the perfect way to blend in. Would you be able to answer a question about the animal as the bridegroom mythos that — Oh! Kenji! If that’s true then this aspect of the folklore is true!” His excitement immediately gone as he drops his fist into his other hand, frowning, “We should have known that — ”

“Dad,” Ken says lowly, pressing the heels of his hands into his eyes, telling himself this couldn’t be real, “Why would either of us assume she’d be able to do that since every time we see her, she’s always in her swan dragon form!”

But a puff of laughter breaks his mantra, and dragging his hands down his face to scowl at the traitors surrounding him that were sharing a knowing grin. Looking between the two, Dad attempting for some innocence while Gigantron was watching him with an air of arrogance.

“What did you say?” He asks between gritted teeth, Dad trying to cover his chuckle with a poorly disguised cough.

“She said, ‘Wow, a swan and a dragon. You really must think me majestic’.” Grinning so hard it must hurt his face, “When I asked you to take an interest in the Kaiju’s majesty, this isn’t what I meant, but I think it fits you.” Chuckling in earnest, Emi joining in just because, chittering away.

Ken closes his eyes and tries to take a deep breath even as his mind won’t stop screaming that this was real. Failing to do that he opens them and starts making his way to the elevator, passing by Emi to pat her claw.

“Kenji?”

“Nope! Still too early for this,” Stepping into the elevator and calling out as it rises, “We’ll try this again when I’m not hallucinating dragon kaijus as supermodels.”

It’s almost two hours later that he realizes what he had said, and by then he really wishes he could faceplant into his script in front of him.

When the elevator lets Hayao off at the upper level, he sees that Kenji didn’t make it to his bed. He barely made it onto the couch, which was impressive as it was a 5-by-7 meter monster.

Shuffling over, going slowly as he steps onto the plush rug that outline the couch’s L shape, he takes a seat at the right angle, looking down at his son. Kenji had sprawled out on the floor with half his right leg on the couch, his left hand under the rug, and his right arm uncomfortable curled up and over his head against the couch, the rest of him face first in the rug.

“Kenji —”

“Nope! Don’t want to hear it.” Is muffled into the blue and purple hued rug.

Hayao can’t help but smile fondly, even if his son is in some distress. This was the same thing he would do when he’d got frustrated with school or being discipline as a child, to lay out half on and half off the couch or his bed and decompress that way.

“I know this is your thinking-time —”

“It’s not.” He mutters petulantly.

“— but I think it would be good if you heard Gigantron out about why she decided to share this with you,” He musters on, trying to impress the importance of this, “She is the last full-grown of her kind and she is showing you this. Specifically calling for you to show this to. She wouldn’t even tell me.”

“She doesn’t have a grasp on writing full sentences.” Kenji grouses back.

“Kenji.” He admonishes, disappointed in the reflexive rudeness his son had picked up in his absence as much as he was disappointed in himself for being absent.

Moving quickly, sucking in a sharp hiss as he rolls over his still healing shoulder, Kenji pops up and starts to pace.

“Look. I get it. Don’t be mean to the Queen. But this is is – Why! In what way is this helpful? And on top of that, why isn’t she doing that to stay hidden in Japan somewhere! I mean, I don’t get it — ”

“That’s right, you don’t,” He interrupts softly, meeting Kenji’s incredulous stare, “And you won’t unless you let her explain.”

As if waiting for a cue, Gigantron and Emi appear in the elevator. Pushing himself up, Hayao turns to Kenji, giving him a gentle smile, “Just hear her out,” Then looking over the humanized kaiju’s head to smile at Emi, “And you, my dear, need some outdoor time.”

Emi immediately perks up, wings going wide at that with a throaty warble and a smile, only to freeze as she looks to her parents. Kenji’s shoulders droop as Gigantron turns around and reaches up towards her daughter. Leaning down, Emi presses into her mother’s hand as Gigantron rumbles back.

“What she said,” His son sighs, standing up straight with a smile that doesn’t fully reach his eyes, “Go have fun outside, the boring adults have to talk a bit, then we’ll join you.”

Pouting, Emi looks between him and her parents in indecision and Hayao is touched by how much empathy Kenji has been able to bring out in her. He may feel like his powers aren’t enough, but Hayao will make sure to remind Kenji that clearly his sense of goodness and kindness are more than enough as Emi would not be so concern for others at such a young age without his actions.

“Let’s listen to dad and mom,” He says, hobbling over with a bit more of a limp to draw her attention, “You can show me the new shells you picked up during your last visit to Kaiju Island.”

His granddaughter nods, smiling, but still looks back every so often as she walks with him to the backyard. As soon as they’re outside, Mina’s engaging the holographic shield so no one can see the pink kaiju from any distance, Emi seeming to settle, happily bringing him shells and fossilized shells she had found around her second home, making certain squeaks for each one as she presents them to him.

Glancing back only once, so not to distract Emi, he sees through the glass doors Kenji pulling Gigantron into a tight hug that she returns. Smiling softly, he turns away just in time for Emi to bring him what must be a juvenile Shagong shell, preening and trilling when he asks.

It had been a long time since he had been so at ease and content like this, and he couldn’t ask for more from this; his son doing well and speaking to him again, researching Kaiju up close at his leisure, and they all finding the balance of working together so that the newest kaiju to this world was more parts of a whole.  

He and Kenji only needed one more thing.

Looking out into the bay, pass the juniper trees that she had come to loved and that Kenji must have planted for her, Hayao wishes.

Emiko, he’s grown up so well. Please hurry back to us. I don’t want you to miss any more than you had.

Ken flops back on his couch, dragging his hands down his face, not bothering to hide his groan.

“Why does this happen to me?” He whispers, dropping his hand to look up at Gigantron.

He expected her usual smugness or a gentle gleam in her eyes that she got from her long life, what he’s not expecting is seeing her uncomfortable. Her gaze focused out past him, gripping the sides of his robe with a sneer that looked more and more scared the longer he looks.

She’s just as out of depth as I am, isn’t she? Knowing he felt scared after he first turned into his Ultra form. He never liked how big he was compared to people, but he can say he still got unnerved when he changed back, the perspective a little existential shock each time.

Sitting up, he clears his throat, sheepishly looking away when her sharp gaze falls on him, spooked by the noise.

“You can sit down, you know.” Waving his hand out to the space next to him.

For a moment the only sound is Emi’s heavy steps and the occasion chirp and squeak, the tension building until Gigantron walks over, her steps faint, but it might as well sound like she was stomping up to him. She stops to his left, her pink colored toes just in his peripheral and doesn’t move, the tension stifling and no better when she takes a seat next to him.

“So,” Ken draws out, “You can turn into a human. Is it like magic or something,” And unable to come up with a word for what he thinks, gesturing aggressively in front of him, “Or something else?” Clicking his tongue at being defeated by his vocabulary. Not that it ever worked well when he got this worked up.

The silence between them continues, Ken unable to look towards Gigantron and she hadn’t —

Blinking wildly, confused by the sudden touch, Ken lets the sharp nail under his chin turn his head towards her. Staring up at her, she meets his eyes with a furrow expression, hazel eyes gleaming with worry as she drops her hand and her gaze. She signs then, all gingerly soft motions, which has Ken’s lips ticking up, thinking about how it seems like she was whispering.

‘It’s something that the strongest can master, but yes, it could be called magic.’

“Same with the sign language?” 

That gets him a half-hearted cheeky grin for his troubles.

“Well that answers one question,” He jokes lightly, turning more towards her and Gigantron looks back at him, “But why are you doing this?” Waving his hand up and down her new body.

She sits up straighter, her expression all regal self-assuredness again, and simply tells him, ‘Proof.’

Ken waits for a more in-depth explanation, not following, and at the lack of it lifts a question eyebrow, smirking as Gigantron sighs heavily and rolls her eyes.

“Hey, I’m not all wise and knowing as I look Queenie,” He grins outright as she tilts her head to give him a look as dry as the Sahara, “What do you mean by ‘proof’?”

‘Proof that you have a mate.” She tells him flatly and he’s glad he finished his coffee earlier or he’d be cleaning it off the floor – Just gotta clean the sand out of it. I’m gonna have to go look for it after this – skitters across his mind as he shoots to his feet.

“Woah! Wow no! What?” His whole body recoiling at the thought, “How would you, showing up like that – What? No. No. I’m so lost.”

Gigantron suddenly surges to her feet, Ken stumbling back at the reedy whine coming from the back of her throat, frozen in place at the fear in her eyes and the anger streaking across her face as she signs harshly at him, mouthing along with it as her voice becomes a hoarse whine, ‘If I exist like this, then no one will question or look into it. No one will look where they should not!’

And then it clicks and Ken could kick himself. He settles for a smack to the head, rubbing at his temples.

Of course Gigantron would do whatever she could to keep Emi safe and would also do anything she could to keep her happy.

Emi was happy here with him and Dad, and Gigantron respected that. If she could make it look like he wasn’t lying then the press would be less likely to look for holes in his stories. Some might still, but it would be in the minority as the sports journalists here – barring Ami – were fine with face value as long as he preformed how they expected. If he did show off Gigantron as ‘Gina’ somehow, then everyone would assume he was telling the truth, and with that proof they would be satisfied with knowing the ‘truth’. He’d only have to worry about the pazz then. One thing he does love about being back is how few of them there are. And even then, he already ditches them with ease.

Glancing up, Gigantron stares back apprehensive, the expression looking so wrong on her. She was doing all this, throwing herself into something she knew nothing about with only the hope that it would spare Emi from being chased down again. And she was so right that it would only take one person with a bit too much drive to look and find that no Gina Troy-Sato or Emi Sato exist, but instead he was living with his kaiju daughter and her mother.

It would be the beginning of the end.

Letting gravity take hold, Ken turns and drop back onto his couch, resting his elbows on his knees as he steeps his hands in front of him.

His heart climbs into his throat, and then for extra fun, his throat tingles and the full body static creeps up and over his shoulders, pressing down on him like a frigid wind. And glancing up to Gigantron, she shares a pained knowing stare, seeing that he understood and he can’t believe he didn’t realize that sooner after everything that had happened to all of them.

… But that was what was different now. Now they did have each other and they could figure out something, Gigantron already onto something.

Sitting up, Ken holds his hand out for her to take a seat again, only to find her laying her hand in his, misunderstanding his intention. But Ken rolls with it, feeling more at peace with the weight in his hand for some reason. Closing his hand around hers, he pulls Gigantron to sit beside him, turning and folding up his left leg under him so he can sit closer to the tall woman.

Taking hold of her other hand, he squeezes them both and meets her shocked wide eyes with full determination like he was going up to the plate.

“We’re going to do this, and we’re going knock it out of the park. We aren’t going to give them even another chance to question anything I said,” He whispers sternly, holding her hands tighter as she squeezes back, her hold verging on the upper level he could handle, but Ken could care less about his comfort now, “No one – And I mean it – No. One. Will take her again. Not with us both around. I promise.”

Tears well up big and fat in Gigantron’s eyes, just like Emi’s did, as she nods with a shakily breath, shaking her left hand loose from his and wipes at her eyes. Not even thinking, Ken reaches out and draws his co-parent into a hug, repaying every time she did the same for him, but also comforting a mother that had to try extra hard to just be in her daughter’s life when everything else was against her.

“It’s going to be okay. I promised remember.” He tells her as she returns the hug with strength, smiling as he feels her writing on his back.

‘You did. Trust you.’

And he wouldn’t treat it lightly, he was Ultraman after all.

Breathing in, Gigantron lifts herself off the sandy base of her cave, tilting her head back and forth. The lack of mobility now allowing her to stretch and crack her neck, a very satisfying feeling.

She reaches up and does the same with her arms, the stretch similar and completely new as she could never get her arms above her head. It was an odd feeling and she wonders if Emi will find it as interesting as she did.

Sufficiently stretched and comfortable, she makes her way to the elevator Kenji and Ultraman use and is delivered to the middle nest, smiling and heart full as she sees her daughter sleeping soundly with her vehicle toy.

“Hello Gigantron,” The walls – Mina, she remembered – greets her, “Would you like me to wake Emi for you?”

Shaking her head, ‘No, but please tell Ultraman that I’m here and need to speak with him.’ Tiptoeing over the cold floor and up the stairs to the small nest full of downy pillows.

Small enough now, Gigantron slips between the little bars and climbs over the pillows to her hatchling, huffing to herself at her own silliness of being uncoordinated on this soft surface. Reaching Emi, she runs her hand over the dorsal fin, chuffing lowly as she does. Her daughter attempts to burrow into her pillows like an Antlar and cover herself with her wings, a lamenting whine at being woken up. But eventually she comes around as Gigantron keeps coaxing her out with more and more silly sounds, Emi trying to hide her laughter until she cannot anymore and she pops out over the vehicle with a wide smile cresting on her beak.

Hello little one. Her own smile settling on her Human lips at seeing her healthy and happy, wanting to do nothing but watch Emi.

But her rambunctious hatchling is up now and is watching her back, chittering with intrigued in her eyes. Using that interest, Gigantron slides off the pillows and under the bars, the bars lowering for Emi to toddle out and down the steps with her. She reaches out with her small hand for her claws, leading her away but not upstairs yet.

She croons at Emi to relax as she gestures for her to lay down, her hatchling folding down to sit, but vibrated with energy that demanded to be released now that she was awake. With a nuzzle to calm her some, Gigantron pulls on the power in herself, and the small amount growing in Emi. It’s a good thing she stretched as Gigantron has to reach out so that she can rub gently at Emi’s full cheeks eight times, then reaches up, Emi ducking for her and going cross-eyed, as Gigantron draws a line down from between her eyes to the tip of beak seven times, just stifling a huff at how adorable her daughter was. All the while, Gigantron thinks of her as a Human little one, having had Mina and Ultraman show her images of this 10-month-old size that Kenji had stated Emi was.

Its much softer than her grand transformation – Which she had mitigated with her recent practice – Emi gradually shirking until she’s looking up at her with bright eyes like her own. What she was not seeing was the same hair color variations she had, instead it was all dark black like Kenji’s.

I must have been thinking about him too much, Gigantron huffs as she bends down to pick up her wiggling daughter, eyes wide as she sees the world from the smaller side of the divide.

It seems only fair though, Petting her hair down into some conformity as she walks across the cool floor to the elevator.

It had been five sunsets since she had last been back, returning to the Island to check that the nest was still undisturbed and recheck that her personal territory lines were still drawn. This worked in tandem of letting Kenji get acclimated to the idea and allow Ultraman the time he needed to gather what he referred to a ‘baby supplies’. 

Appearing at the top of the nest, Gigantron steps out into the wooden nest and takes time to appreciate the wide and extensive view it provides out into the bay and surrounding islands.

“Giga– Ah! Hello.”

Emi gurgles and squeaks, a softer sound now that she’s Human, and reaches out for him. Turning to face him, she sees he has his eyes closed again, but is pleasantly smiling.

She clicks at him as she walks closer so Ultraman knows she’s near and he turns his head in her direction.

“You just gave me a shock, and this is only polite. But I bou— ”

Clicking again, she holds out Emi as she squirms with all her might to be held by him.

“Professor, Emi would like to be held.” Mina explains.

Gigantron thinks of all the strangeness that Humans have, Mina is one of the most useful item here.

Ultraman’s smile drops, morphing into something inexplicably tender, “Oh. Well… I… I wouldn’t want to disappoint.” Opening his eyes and meeting Emi’s, her squeaks louder as she reaches out further.

Holding his hands out, resting his weight more to the left, he takes Emi from her, easily setting her on his hip, her hatchling snuggling into his sweater.

“I bet it’s soft, it was a gift from my Emiko,” Ultraman says gently, bouncing her lightly, “I’ll get Emi dressed while you get dressed too.” He says, turning around and slowly walking further into the nest, but his movements were still visible to her.

If anyone had told her prior that she would entrust her little one to the Destroyer, she would have blasted them away. But now that she can see they’re as normal as other kaiju it seems strange that they couldn’t live peacefully. She’s fully aware why, but now she has a new perceptive as well.

“Gigantron,” Mina calls to her, Gigantron finding her spot of light in the corners, “If you follow this light, I can lead you to Ken’s room so you can dress too.”

Rolling her eyes, she follows Mina’s light in the direction Ultraman had gone, but down a wide path to a door at the end. Grasping the handle, Gigantron walks into the smaller space, looking around it.

It was open and made of wood and steel like the rest of the nest, a set of wall lengths windows to her left with grey film over them, dulling the light in. Everything was also a duller color than outside, a quieter sense to this space than she expected. 

She would peak her head through the elevator Emi used to see her and saw how colorful the back space was that Kenji usually occupied. This, was not that, but it also was. 

Kenji was a solitary entity, though Gigantron isn’t sure he wishes to be, but he does enough that he would like a cooler environment like this one. Even his main residence for sleeping looks like it, the wide and low to the floor grey-on-grey frame against a protruding dark wall was much larger than he is. That was necessary for sleep but this seemed like too much.

Glancing elsewhere, she takes in the smaller furniture and another door towards the right.

“His closet is here,” Light hovering over a set of two wide mirrors, which on closer inspection are doors, “You can choose something from his ‘comfy section’.” 

Gigantron doesn’t understand the need for sarcasm there, but slides the doors back, finding many layers of cooler colors. 

Unsure in these ways, she is not above asking for help.

‘What can or should I choose?’ She asks the light, brow furrowing when it doesn’t move or speak for a time.

“I have a perfect outfit for you Gigantron.”

Giving up at button four, Gigantron looks away from the cumbersome, but quite soft, top piece Mina had pointed out. The lower piece of clothing also soft, though shorter around the bottom of her legs with her height advantage over Kenji.

“Eh!”

Looking up from her failed battle with the cloth, Gigantron croons at the sight Emi made. Dressed in blue bottoms that went over the pink top, the same shade as her fledgling scales. 

“Overalls always seem to be a win,” Ultraman tells her as he hands Emi back over, “I’ll need to get some of my photo albums out so you can both see Kenji in the ones me and his mother put him in.”

Then fixing her with an intrigue stare, he asks, “Why now?”

Holding Emi closes, Gigantron signs, ‘Five sunsets seemed more than enough time for you to stockpile these items,’ Hiking Emi up higher on her hip, her daughter grabbing hold of the side of the top fabric she was wearing, ‘Sooner rather than later will keep her safe. I will not be late again.’ She tells him firmly.

Ultraman nods solemnly, his scent silty like a mudslide, “I understand, more than you know,” Then sharing a kind smile, “Then we should not waste any time. I have ten minutes before my lec— ”

But the rest of his preparatory offer is cut off by Kenji’s abrupt homecoming.

“Mina! I have something for – Wait! If Emi’s awake tell her daddy’s — ”

“Ah! EH!” Emi squeals, reaching in the direction of her foster sire’s voice. 

Seeing no reason to keep them separated, Gigantron starts for the door, but only makes it to the food area as Kenji comes rushing around the other side, called by Emi’s continuous squeaks.

Hearing an actual baby in his house almost a year ago would have incited panic in Ken’s chest. But now, plus recent developments, he had a pretty good idea of why he was hearing a human baby.

On instinct alone he slides to a stop when he sees a body, but in that instance he also locks onto a little girl with black hair that resembled his bed head, shining blue-green hazel eyes, and a smile he’d know anywhere.

“Look at you girl baby!” Throwing his arms out to her as she giggles and leans into Gigantron, “You’re adorable!”

Emi agrees with a loud shout and peals of laughter that has Ken feeling lighter than air. Glancing towards Gigantron, Ken pauses at seeing her dressed in his sweats and one of his jersey – Which he’s now noticing she was curvier then he realized – though it wasn’t button up all the way, and Emi holding one of the sides wasn’t helping anything.

Holding his hands out for Emi, Gigantron hands her over and she grasps his shirt tight as she nuzzles into his side. It takes everything to drag his eyes away from his daughter, but when he does he see Gigantron looking just as fond, but she hadn’t fixed the shirt. Not that she’s aware she probably has to.

Ken gets Emi comfortable before righting his jersey just a bit to help with the kaiju’s modesty.

“So where’d you find this?” Not even going to attempt to button that up with a single hand.

She lifts her right hand in a loose fist and flicks her hand out, like she’s miming a flashbomb, but Ken knows she’s saying —

“Mina?” He repeats flatly as Gigantron smiles.

He looks up to an angle were a wall meets ceiling and sees the faint red that blended in with the wood paneling, but somehow he knows he’s got Mina’s cybernetic eye on him.  

“It was nice of you to help.” He tells her.

“Of course Ken,” Mina says lightly, “She asked very politely.”

Rolling his eyes at the dig, he looks back down to Emi, bouncing her, “Did Dad do this?” Gigantron nods and Ken thinks his smile doubles when Emi looks up at him, “I didn’t think you could be any cuter.” Bopping her lightly on her nose just to hear her laugh again.

He looks up from the adorable sight when he sees Gigantron’s hands moving, watching as she repeats her question.

‘What did you have?’

“Oh right!” Walking back to the landing where the paper bag had fallen over next to his shoes he had rapidly kicked off. Picking it up, he walks to the kitchen and sits Emi on top of the island, the strange new height keeping her occupied, “I was going to have Mina fabricate it bigger, but I guess we don’t need to worry about that anymore.”

Ken lets go of Emi as her mom holds her sides to keep her still, and reaches into the bag and pulls out a hat that has her screeching in joy and reaching for it as Gigantron squints at it. Handing over the bucket hat with an air of smugness, he’s immediately laughing as Emi tries to fit the pink sail into her mouth.

“No – Ha! No girl, no.”

Chuckling and gently pulling it from her surprisingly strong grasp. He had always heard they did, but being up against it was weird. Gigantron helps with squeezing and tickling her sides, and Ken frees the hat from its gummy demise and rest it on top of her head, turning her around so she can see herself in the mirror reflection off the fridge.

“There you go Emi, styling.” Smiling at her shocked face.

She’s instantly in love as she smiles wider and is giggling again. When he had seen it in the gift shop under the recording studio, just hidden behind the other Kajiu Step Wandabada merch, Ken couldn’t stop laughing himself. He had bought it to show Emi, but also so Mina could get the dimensions so they could get her a little bucket hat that would fit and all he’d have to do is cut off the orange frills at the sides and on top for her actual ones to fit through. But now that Emi could be human too the hat could stay as it is and still bring her delight.

Looking over to Gigantron, she’s smiles softly and gives him a grateful nod before turning back to watch Emi be fascinated by her new hat. Its cut short though as Emi’s stomach rumbles like she’s still 24-feet tall, signaling that it was lunch time.

That’s why Ken had this early morning recording session, he wanted to be back in more than enough time to get Emi her lunch since Dad would be busy for the next hour with his research work. Now that Gigantron was here, and Emi was small too, he didn’t need to worry about chasing down the little kaiju while she went fishing for herself.

“I’ll be right back.” He tells the girls and goes over to the living room.

Ken checks that he can see everything from this angle and starts breaking up the couch to create a homemade playpen.

“Mina,” He calls out as he comes back up from retrieving Bunny and two of his megazords, “Put a playpen on the list.”

“Already ordering Ken.”

“Awesome,” He grins, striding back over to the mother and daughter. Picking up Emi, he spins her around, “And you, I’m going to have you wait right here while I get lunch together, okay?” Tickling her tummy, Emi hollering in laughter now, but she nods as he puts her down.

She looks around the couch pieces in front of her and zones in on Bunny immediately. Reaching out for him gently, her eyes squint in thought as she squeezes the arms, then a little bit harder and harder until she’s bouncing up and down, bringing the plush into a tight hug. It pulls at his heart to see her hold his old toy so close, too be so happy with it like he was. Ken might have freaked out a bit with Gigantron’s transformation, but seeing how it allowed Emi a chance to hold something fragile that she loved, it was worth it.

Ruffling her hair, Ken leaves her be, almost running into Gigantron who’s looking over his shoulder in confusion.

“Don’t worry, she’ll be safe there,” Motioning her over so she could see that both of them could see Emi from the kitchen, “And now we have free hands to make lunch.”

Popping open the fridge, he grabs some squid and salmon, feeling sashimi as he had some leftover cucumber salad and rice from last night.

As he lays it out on the island, Ken gets into the groove of putting everything together. So much so, he almost forgets he’s not alone until he turns back for the soy sauce and sesame oil under the island, catching a glimpse of white and orange. Glancing up, he meets Gigantron passive stare and smiles awkwardly back.

She lifts a questioning brow at it, not looking too upset, but even he can tell it’s not his best.

“So… Nice choice,” Pointing to his jersey, kicking himself for the silly topic choice, “I hear he’s a good player.”

But her lips lift in a half smile as she rolls her eyes and Ken will take it.

“Just saying, 7’s lucky and it hasn’t failed me yet.” He shrugs, going to get the condiments, planning to explain what he was doing now.

Or he was.

“Why?” Ken asks suddenly, putting the containers down, “Why did you…” Trailing off as he looks over to Emi.

Resting her hands against the counter, Gigantron lets out a heavy sigh, staring at the speckling in the granite motionless as a statute. He’s only a bit envious of how still she can be until she looks up and he sees her expression wobbling.

‘If she is going to be raised by a human, she should be able to experience that as well.’ She tells him, lips set in a firm line as her eyes bore into him. 

“Oh,” Not ready for such an honest answer or an answer to a question he had been too afraid to ask, “I was actually asking about the – the hair and…” Swallowing looks down to the countertop too, finding it harder to breathe.

Ken should be happy. It should be a good thing that Gigantron didn’t mind, or seem to mind, that he was raising Emi like he would if she was human. It should be good news, so why was he, why wasn’t he – He just didn’t want to fail her – Would it be enough that Emi —

Startling back, Ken looks for the sudden warm touch, hearing his loud breathing filling the space around him. Glancing down, he sees a hand with the pink ombré nails – Gigantron’s hand over his, squeezing it tight while the other draws his chin up to meet her alarmed eyes. Ken doesn’t know how long they hold that stare, or if she does anything, but looking into them narrows everything to those cool colors and stops the rushing in his ears second by second. With a thin solemn smile, Gigantron mouths ‘Here?’, and Ken is impressed with himself when he finds the energy to nod.

With that Gigantron steps back, but not far, Ken still able to feel her heat beside him.

‘You are her sire, adopted or not. She has a right to show that part of her. Even if it is simple as hair.’ Smiling a bit more as she looks to Emi, who was smashing the two megazords together.

A puff of air escapes him, scratching along his throat, “Can’t argue with that… Actually, I thought you might hate that. That she would be more human than kaiju.” Meeting her gaze as she turns back.

Shaking her head, Gigantron steps into his bubble again, but goes to cradle his face, her touch even warmer against his cheeks. Then, ever gentle as he’s seen her do with Emi, she bumps their foreheads together and rests there.

He lets his eyes fall shut, his breathing sinking into time with Gigantron’s, the anxious weight pressing down on him completely gone.

Ken opens his eyes as he feels her take hold of his hands, and watches as she drops them to say,

‘How can I when she’s happy and strong,’ She signs slowly, ‘That’s all I want…It was time she learned so that she may be safe. Safer.’ She amends, smirking lightly as she steps back, ‘Now, I thought you were making preparation for the midday meal.’

“Midday – You’re so preppy,” Chuckling softly as something loosens deep in his chest from her validation. That is until she picks up one of the squid off the cutting board and opens her mouth, “Uh…Can you eat that raw? Like completely?” Because kaiju she may be, but right now she was human.

Blinking, she drops the squid to say, ‘I don’t see why not.’

Ken levels an unamused scowl and holds his hand out, “That’s not an answer. Just hand it over and I’ll fix it up.”  

It was Gigantron turn to look unamused as she steps back before the slyest grin he had ever seen – Minus himself – pulls across her lips and Ken makes a dive for the squid, but she’s already got it, now clutched between her sharp teeth and running back around the other side of the counter.

He could’ve just left it there, but Ken Sato was no quitter.

“Real mature Queenie.” Matching her grin then jumping the counter as she squeals in delight.

Emi was happy. Very happy! This was the best day!

Dropping the small robots for Bunny Bingo, Emi squeezes him tight again and is even happier!

She was small like Daddy and Momma and she could hold Bunny Bingo all she wanted and not worry about Granddad having to fix him – Oh! She should find him, so she can show him the thing on her head that she liked.

She liked it a lot, and not just because Daddy got it for her, she liked how it made her look like her but smaller!

But she doesn’t like the things on her legs that Granddad put her in. It felt scratchy like urchins, but the thing on her bottom was okay, it was soft like her pillows so she doesn’t care about that.

Grabbing hold of the things on her legs, even if Granddad gave them to her. So Emi pulls up with all her strength, a quiet tear making her pull harder. When the noise stops, she doesn’t feel the thing on the top of her legs and looking down it’s in her hands, but it was still on the back of her legs, and she doesn’t like that.

Emi tries to stand, but its harder like now that she’s smaller. Something else she didn’t like, but it did mean she could be picked up all the time and she did like that a lot! So she guesses it’s okay.

Rolling over instead, because she was still good at that, the feeling is gone! And looking over sees the back of those blue things were where she was sitting.

Better! Laughing at her destroyed enemy.

Now with it gone, Emi tries to stand again, getting her legs under her. It takes some time but she does it, squealing for attention but it’s not as loud as Momma’s. She can hear Daddy and Momma farther away, and it sounds like they’re having fun, but she can’t see them.

Looks like a job for me! Just like Ultraman! I’ll be like Daddy!

Picking up Bunny Bingo and holding him close, Emi takes slow steps to where the furniture was moved around her like her bed downstairs, blocking her in. She puts Bunny Bingo down, lightly patting his head so he knows she won’t forget him and rest her hands on the chair and pushes. It’s a bit harder than getting rid of the things on her legs, but she makes enough space she and Bunny Bingo could get by it.

Outside, Emi watches as her parents chase each other around the food area, Daddy trying to steal back the squid Momma has grasps between her teeth, even trying to jump over the small wall in the middle of the food area.

She chitters happily, glad that Momma can play with Daddy like she did. She was still bigger than him, but not so big she couldn’t have fun with him and Granddad.

Granddad! That’s right!

Checking to make sure her fake frills were on her head, Emi grabs one of Bunny Bingo’s arms and drags him along, calling out for Granddad, her tones coming out in pops, but she still finds him way in the back of the upper nest.

Pushing on the door, she sees this is his study room, the one she couldn’t come in because she was too big, but now she wasn’t! She gets in and walks quietly so she can surprise him. When she’s next to his chair she squeals as loud as she can, Granddad jolting up from his chair and turning towards her. He smiles brightly and he reaches down to pick her up without her even asking! Yes, Emi was really happy she was small for the endless ups.

“Emi, hello, and you’re walking,” Rubbing her belly like she liked him too, “You seemed to have gotten out of your overalls too. Just like Kenji used to,” He laughs and she does too, “So what was the reason for your little trek?”

Chirping she hands him Bunny Bingo and points at the fake frills on her head.

“I see,” Smiling and liking it too! “It’s very cute. Did dad get it for you?”

Nodding, Emi starts telling him how she did it all by herself, but just when she does a lot of loud noises stops her. Turning around with Granddad, Emi giggles, liking this move, then louder when she sees Daddy and Momma together!

They must be done with playing. Now they can play with me! Reaching out for Daddy as he comes over to pick her up and brings her over to Momma.

Everyday was a best and fun day, but Emi thinks this is the funniest and best one yet!

“You’re insane.” Ken clicks his tongue, fighting a smile at Gigantron’s smug inky black grin as she licks the rest of the busted ink from her lips.

Rolling his eyes, he dampens a dish towel and tosses it to her. She wipes the rest of it off her chin and Ken is surprised she didn’t get it on his jersey, though it had dripped down her neck and to the top of her chest, which she wipes up too.

He moves the squid to the counter space and corners it off as he deftly cuts the filets and clears out the insides of the squid, though he does set a bowl aside of the inedible pieces that he’s sure Gigantron and Emi will love.

“Alright I’m finished with this,” Dropping the knife into the sink and washing his hands, “You can —

SSSHHRREENN!

“What!” Spinning around at the horrified scream and is by Gigantron’s side at the couch as she drops to her knees.

What Ken sees drops his heart to the ocean floor, frozen there as he stares sightlessly at the empty space in the center of the couch, Emi’s torn overalls in the center.

How did this happen! We were right there! Did something get in – No there’s nothing that big here. Maybe a new kaiju? But even the smallest things on the island are the size of a —

Then he hears it. The giggle screech he had all but burned into his brain. Emi was alive!

Ken meets Gigantron’s eyes, one of the couch pieces lifted over her head as she stares back in growing relief, before tossing the couch piece away as she runs off to the sound, Ken right on her heels as they go deeper into his house.

She slams into the door where the giggle comes from again, Ken just noticing it’s already ajar as Gigantron pitches forward, snagging her flaying hand to keep her from falling while looking around for Emi.

His heart drops again, but more in embarrassment since Emi was perfectly fine and not in the jaws of some new small kaiju or anything else. She was just sitting happily without a care in the world on Dad’s lap.

“Ken? Gig-Gina!” Dad stumbles over her human name as Emi shouts, “Emi here was just showing me how much she loves her new hat. And she walked all on her own. Her skills are improving.” Smiling tenderly down at her, bouncing her lightly.

“That’s great Dad. Great and all, but I would like it if we could keep the new skills to a minimum,” Ken tells him through a gritted smile, picking her up and walking her over to Gigantron. She takes her from him, both girls scrunching their noses at each other before bonking their heads together. Ken wasn’t upset with his Dad, but he wished he told him he had Emi, “I’m just happy she’s … Is that recording?!” His voice cracking as he sees his image reflected in the camera screen stretched across his Dad’s wide monitor with an ominous red dot above it.

Dad looks back unhurried, then back to him, “Oh, no,” Thank god, “It’s one my live lectures….. Oh dear.” Shit!

Ken rushes for the keyboard and forces the power button down as far as it would go, hearing the hiss-sigh the machine makes at being shut off. But it doesn’t take away the adrenaline rushing through him as his mind scrambles for thoughts, any thought, but each and every one slips through his fingers like water.

“Kenji?”

Looking over his shoulder, Dad meets his gaze with worry, but it has nothing on Gigantron’s fearful stare, lips trembling as she holds Emi even closer to her.

“Perhaps it won’t be that bad.” Dad says softly, but even he doesn’t sound so sure and Ken needs it to not spiral out of control again.

So maybe if he hoped, it wouldn’t be that bad.

It was bad.

Ken would really like to stop feeling like he was in a bad loop with the media, but it didn’t seem to stop.

He knew Dad was having one of his video lectures, he just thought this one was a recording like the last time. That’s why he had changed his schedule up so he could take Emi out because trying to edit out her sounds was impossible, even for Mina, and Dad had to re-record twenty minutes last time.

But instead of keeping Emi occupied and away from Dad’s study in any way she walked in all by herself. Then to add insult to injured media presence, Gigantron threw herself through the door, both announcing themselves to the world in the exact opposite way they talked about. They didn’t have anything concrete a week out from Ken finding out, but they agreed that a staged photo or two would be best, with Mina suggesting maybe a short video too.

Instead, several people had been recording Dad’s lecture to watch for later, and then some of those happened to be baseball fans and had promptly shared it with the world.

Laying across the couch with Emi sound asleep on his chest, belly full from lunch, Ken lets the tv play, listening to how the J-Sports first channel was already reporting this as a special afternoon report. But he was more focused on his phone, propped up against Emi’s right shoulder, Ken scrolled passed shortly written newspaper headlines, ignored Higashi telling him to take a vacation since he was too so he wouldn’t have to deal with this and people calling with questions, and he can’t blame him.

As he hears another platitude, Ken’s jaw tightens. Now it felt like he had bitten through a boulder listening to these sport correspondents discuss his performance this year and make sympathetic remarks as opposed to the damning ones they threw around just months ago. It’s not made any better by him scrolling through Twitter now, checking how his name was trending with the other hashtags #girldadSato – Which was sweet – and #SatoTAKEN, where women and some men bemoaned his confirmed ‘married’ status while other complained outright. 

This was the part of the attention seeking he could do without. It was tiring in the worse way, but even he couldn’t look away from it, needing to see what they were all saying when he didn’t want them to know or say anything.

ReadingGold @YomiuriAlways
Guess America changed him in more ways than one. Clearly she has a foreign father with a maiden surname like Troy.

sofubi_dude @RemnantofthePast
Oh like the height and green eyes didn’t give it away of course she’s mixed heritage

Sneering at the racist comments, just another in a long line, Ken promptly blocking them too.

NowTreading @Daikanyama-mama
did you hear his baby girl’s giggle? it could cure anything!!!

Smiling at that, Ken reads through other replies and lightens up as everyone agreeing that Emi was adorable. Only to back out as someone picks up on Dad mentioning his baby streaking days and start talking about wanting him to strip now.

SittingWatchingDreamingSato @kenwife54
She’s wearing his clothes! (っ˘̩╭╮˘̩)っ

TeaCreme @SweetnSweet
Cant believe Sato Kenji likes tall girls! Think if I wear my tallest heels he’ll look my way??? ◑__◑

She’s only like two inches taller me. Ken scoffs to himself.

Though looking back down the couch to where Gigantron was sitting with her knees to her chest and arms wrapped around them, staring unblinking at the tv screen, she looks so much smaller. Sighing, he goes back to the minefield, somehow that was easier to deal with then to see Gigantron so lost.

This is my other other time machine @Ibbly-bb
is she a model? she looks like it!

Bikolasss @lotrfordays
Did you see what his wife was wearing?!? Or should I say, sort of wearing 😏😏😏Support all the way for her man I guess!

Because she doesn’t have any! He huffs humorlessly, glaring at the text and swiping up hard, grossed out on Gigantron’s behalf. But when it loads, it doesn’t help.

Hitchhikedog @kendell67
I can see how he was distracted this season and right now too. Don’t blame him Id be too. Hot damn!

The urge to pitch his phone through a window had never hit him this hard before, and the only thing stopping him was not wanting to wake up Emi. Angrily tapping the search bar and reloading, Ken tells himself this was his last check-in as it loads, 

7andme @kenjibemine
(๑˘^˘๑)=3
I didn’t see a ring💍 

Below it is a link to a 5ch.net forum page and a Reddit with the same titles above a screenshot of Gigantron holding Emi and resting their heads against each other. Her left hand is circled viciously in red, but not so much that her bare hand couldn’t be seen. Ken just barely glances at the opinions both sides offer before closing the app and tucking his phone into the seat cushion.

Staring up at the ceiling, Ken tries to think about how to get around this mess up because just saying ‘no comment’ like he had been doing, or being cheeky and telling them to rewatch the interview again wasn’t going to cut it. And that last tweet, it’s sticking with him more than he expected, because how many times did that person watch it to notice that, and how many more people would be that extreme in trying to find out more. If they already found such a simple hitch in their story because he didn’t think of this, how were Gigantron and him ever supposed to be ready?

How are we going to keep our family safe?

Silence falls in his mind as he continues to stare upward, but determination begins to build until Ken comes to a decision. If they had to perform, if he gave them all something to look at so they didn’t see the truth, then that’s just what he was going to do. He may not have had to work the narrative before, but he’d learned if it meant his family would be safe.

Chapter Text

November was always Kenji’s busiest month.

Anyone who dreamed of the sport celebrity lifestyle assumed that there were days off, and there were, but more often than not he and most other A-list athletes were busier out of season. Busy with maintaining their bodies, but also with filming promotions, starring in films, going to events, and in his case, finishing up these last few recording sessions.

Who knew that it took so long to do three episodes.

And all of this plus fending off the odd comments between breaks from the staff. The women would stop him and tell him how cute Emi was, but also what he found the best about his wife, while the men were less subtle, giving him knowing sly smirks when ‘complimenting’ Gigantron that made his skin crawl. Didn’t they all have work to do!

Finally he has a day free and can make it out to Kaiju Island, having finished up a modeling job for a Chanel cologne in LA, landing on the inconspicuous beach.

It’s all golden warm sand and water worn dark pebbles toss about, the biggest ones used to make an outline of bases for Emi to play with. But further back and up a hundred feet on one of the spiny rock ledges sits the cabin he and his dad built for their time out here. It was only a few weeks old, but they tried to make the little Minka-style cabin as much of a home as they could.

And while it looked historic on the outside, inside was much more modern.

The layout was kept the same, but it was built to last with stronger materials to handle the more complex weather here. Dad had designed out the whole thing – from the water purifier and septic tank to the location of every outlet – and they built it together. They fitted the roof with solar panels, but had two backup generators in case, providing all the electricity they needed since they couldn’t make any contact with the outside world. The mist was so electrically charged it was interference on a good day and down right the stone age on bad days, but what they had worked well enough to run the lights, the modern kitchen amenities, and charge a laptop. The rest of the home was furnished simple with traditional means, leaning into the mysticism of the land and a time forgotten.

But all in all, they made a cozy place to stay when they made it out to the island, now flying instead of taking the research vessel just to be safe. It’s actually where Dad had stayed while he did more research on some of Mom’s work for his latest lecture, the one that had Ken making these next moves.

Landing in the surf, Ken looks up the craggily stretch of cliff above the cabin until his eyes pinpointing the hidden den a few hundred feet up.

Cupping his hands around his mouth, Ken mentally smirks as he calls out, “Gigantron, oh Gigantron, give me a sign!”  

The annoyed huff echoes in time with Emi’s joyful chirps, but eventually a smoke circle colored more orange than the rest of the fog lazily floats out and he knows he can come up. Climbing up, he pops his head over to see Gigantron resting in her massive nest of coral and bones, soften by massive ferns and sand. She had Emi sitting outside as she picked and pecked at her back between her wings, quickly holding her steady when she makes a move to run to him.

“Don’t worry girl, I’ll be here for a bit.” He soothes her, it equally soothing him that she still missed him when he was away.

Emi plopping back on her bottom, not that she was making much distance with Gigantron holding her. But all the same the older kaiju does send him a meaningful look before it becomes flatly inquisitive.

“Right, so when you have a moment, can you come down to the cabin? I have something I want to ask – show – talk to you about!” Ken stumbles over his perfectly rehearsed words.

Gigantron keeps her eyes on him for a second longer before focusing back on Emi, rustling her wings, which Ken hopes is a yes.

“Alright! I’ll see you down there,” Giving her a thumbs-up, which Emi tries to emulate gleefully, putting some his beating heart back in his chest, “Yeah just like that. Listen to momma now, and then we can go flyi— ”

HHHRRRMMMM

“— play on the beach!” He amends, Gigantron turning her forceful glare back down to her job as Emi giggles away.

Missing her happiness while he was away, Ken plays a bit of ‘goodbye peak-a-boo’, waving and climbing down and then popping back up, smiling mentally as Emi squeals each time, not missing the faint upturn of Gigantron’s beak as he does.

Ken takes it in and holds it close because it’s this softness that’s holding him here and not hightailing it to the Arctic to panic like he wants to.

It was the smallest pearl she had ever seen.

It was surrounded by tiny, but glistening rocks like the stars in the night sky, abundant and swirling around the small pearl like a whirlpool. 

It does shine well in the light. She hums to herself as she holds it up again before bringing it closer to examine it again.

“You know, if you don’t like it, just give it back.” Kenji huffs, smelling of hurt and rejection, wearing that fake grin of his as he reaches out for her hand.

Anger and hurt flares rapidly in her chest as she snatches her hand away, hissing at him and hiding it behind her other hand. Kenji lifts his hands in defense, staring back in shock as if she would not protect her offered-gift or be against it being reclaimed. She had never had something this delicate and she would be keeping it.

She will say she hadn’t been expecting it, with how she found Kenji sitting on the raised part of the wooden nest floor, tapping his foot incessantly as he stared at the wall.

He gave her half a glance and froze completely, tracking her movements and looking away as she walked into the smaller parts of the second smaller nest and found the cloth item that would make Kenji more comfortable. But coming out in it didn’t settle the scent of wariness, it was so strong Gigantron was sure that if the wind picked up right even Emi would smell it out on the beach where she was waiting. But before she could ask, he stands up and swiftly gets in her space, pulling a small object out of his pants, opening it and dropping, and takes ahold of her left hand and slides something onto it.

“Okay. You like it. Good,” Kenji mutters, but the scent of relief heightens even as he curls in on himself, hiding his hands in his pockets, “I didn’t – Just I saw you keep gathering those massive pearls —”

‘Because they are worthy of me.’ She signs testily at him, defensive of her hoard.

“— and assumed it was something you hoarded,” He rolls his eyes, but does unfurl, “And Mikimoto has great ones, plus the one at Beverly has a great selection,” Kenji rambles, scratching at the base of his neck, “……But I’m glad you like it.”

‘How could I not like it,’ Gigantron tells him blankly, at a lost, ‘You presented it to me honestly.’

Kenji stares at her like he trying to understand something as well and she decides this must be some odd extra Human thing.

“Trust me,” He huffs, drawing his hand through his hair, “I’ll find something to give you honestly and you won’t like it.”

Smiling faintly, she shrugs, ‘We’ll see.’

His eyes narrow with a spark of opposition and Gigantron welcomes it, “I’ll take those odds. Remember, I’m lucky number seven,” He grins, bending down to pick up the small red object he dropped earlier, which looked like a misshaped clam, “But really, this is your ring. We’ll keep it in here and at the house. Whenever we decide to go outside though, you’ll need to wear it.”

Gigantron looks down to this ‘ring’ and glares at it, not seeing anything important to it except unmatched elegant beauty.

‘Why?’ Looking back after not finding an answer.

“Its what married couples wear to let others know they’re married.”

Ahh, Nodding in understand, ‘It’s a claim.’

That causes Kenji’s expression to stall and change in measure, mostly ones of confusion or shock, before he gives a halfhearted side to side nod, “Not how I would have said it, but you’re not – um – you’re not wrong.”

When am I ever, Lifting a brow at him, ‘What do we do next?’

Lips pulling to the right in the smuggest display yet, Kenji’s eyes flash with mischief that she’s seen reflected in Emi’s own, and in that moment Gigantron wonders if this was the moment she was wrong.

“That’s easy. Shopping.” He says airily.

… That doesn’t sound bad.

I was so very wrong.

Shopping leaves her with this sense that she can only equate to the actions of playing with her food before she eats it, or how a Banila might toy with her kind as it looks for a weak point.

Ultraman assures her this is not shopping, which only horrifies her more when Kenji promises her the real thing with a level of glee approaching what he only has for his sport. For now she stands in strange ‘under-clothes’ – though they are in a fond shade of her scales with small fine fabric scales detailing at the sides in orange – in the part of Emi’s nest space that is another space for Kenji, holographical trying on clothes.

She could do without, but Humans needed these to go out. But also she can’t deny her little one, as she sits there cooing at her and watching her with intense happiness, it was enough for Gigantron.

“I agree too Emi,” Kenji smiles, bouncing her in his lap, “Mina, add it to the cart.”

“I added it in pink as well.” Mina tells them all. 

Gigantron rolls her eyes, but does find the nearest point of light and tells her thank you.

“So that’s a lot,” And looking back, fixes a narrow gaze on Kenji as he leans proudly back, though it keeps slipping back to Emi eating her snack out of her dress pocket, “But I think maybe ten more outfits should cover it.” Smirking up at her.

Something Gigantron has come to find out since this arrangement started is how holding her expression back with Kenji was very difficult. She never had much of a hold on them before, as not much elicited responses, but Kenji did so with ease that made her competitiveness claw itself out of its shallow cavern and meet his head on.

‘I despise you, and your Human ways.’

“Oh there’s so much more,” Picking up Emi and walking closer, but unable to loom with her height over him, “This is just the tip of the iceberg. Once this gets ordered we’ll need to go out and do some shopping so people can see us.” His smile dangerous.

Nose scrunching, not able to fathom something more tedious then now, Gigantron decides to find out more about what she’s sentenced herself to with pretending to be mated to Kenji.

‘Is that your only plan?’

“No. This is the plan.” Shifting Emi to his hip and pulling out the small item called a ‘phone’, and does something to it before turning it around for her to read.

‘Charity?’ She squints at it before looking over it, ‘What is that?’

Squinting back, Kenji asks, “What is charity or what is a charity?”

Blinking back, Gigantron holds the other’s gaze not giving ground while Emi looks back and forth between her parents rapidly that Gigantron reaches out to gently pat at her fluffy hair to calm her. But she never looks away from her battle of dominance.

“Riiight,” Kenji starts through strained teeth, not backing down either, “so charity is when —” Hardening her stare, Kenji changes his words, “A charity is a group of people that gathers money – currency – from others happy to give it of no obligation and then dispense it out to a cause they want. The Giants regularly work with children of lower incomes, mostly for food banks and playgrounds spaces for more urban areas. It’s they can have a safe and fun place to just forget about their worries for a while.” He finishes quietly, holding Emi just a little bit closer, his gaze coasting off to his left as she whines and hugs him.

She would have to be blind as a Mogrudon to not see that this specific charity meant something to him. She did not think Ultraman would not give Kenji a good childhood, for how he tried to be there for both him and Emi, and make amends with her as Gigantron did now. But perhaps it was something else.

Or maybe she was wrong.

In either case Gigantron would have to prode at this later. For now she needed to know more about this ‘charity work’.

‘Will we be building these places?’ She asks.

His eyes slide back over and shocked huff escapes his lips, but he looks less haunted now.

“No. No not exactly – Heh – Sometimes, but it’s too cold for that,” Hiking up Emi as his smile grows, though it seems sly, “No, it’s a party to celebrate what we’re doing, but also just to have a good time.”

Then he meets her eyes and Gigantron feels her lips curling into a smile matching the self-assured one Kenji was sharing with her.

‘So we will be seen having a good time.’ She surmises.

“Yep. And I won’t RSVP because I think we’re gorgeous enough to get away with crashing the party,” He jokes, “A lot of the press will be there, see us, and we’ll be able to work the narrative to what we want.”

Subterfuge was not what she usually took part in, but she would do anything for Emi. Though the prospect of toying with the Humans more was not something she would pass up. Kenji and Ultraman exempted from her contempt, but she doubts any others will spark a sense of interest.

‘I guess if that’s the case we will continue with this innate shopping.’ She sniffs, plucking Emi out of his hold, holding her high above her head just to receive her joyous giggles and wiggling as she pretends to swim in the air.

“Challenge accepted,” Kenji laughs, “I might even get you to like it.”

Gigantron does not hide her disbelieve of that happening, lifting a doubtful eyebrow as she looks back down.

“I’ll get everything set up and then we’ll go with the flow.” He tells her as he walks back into Emi’s nest, waving to their daughter as she squeals and wiggle.

But meeting her eyes he closes his hands together, but instead of fists he points with a finger each as well. Then with a wink shakes his fingers and partially closed fists her way.

“See you later Queenie.”

Then he’s gone, having left Gigantron more confounded than she was with the phenomena of shopping.

Her arms have apparently dropped as Emi is within range to pat her distraught and perplexed face, burbling for attention. Setting her on her hip, Gigantron frees up her right hand and hesitantly makes the same shape with her fist and finger and tries to make the same motion.

Grimacing, she drops her hand, thoroughly not liking it at all.

“Gigantron,” Mina speaks up suddenly, startling her while Emi coos and reaches out for the light, “You do not, and are not, require to do ‘finger guns’.”

Good. I will never again, She huffs, rolling her eyes, Humans. So strange.

“Did you really get everything in orange or pink?” Kenji huffs as he unpacks another of the boxes he had gotten her, holding up a long length of fabric that was a faint shade of both colors, “Don’t you think you have enough?”

Tapping his leg with her foot, he looks up.

‘You were the one that insisted buying this.’ She smirks back, taking the fabric from the pouting Human, stepping around the multitude of boxes to get to the closet of her new smaller nest.

It was another unused one that Kenji had in his labyrinthine upper nest, one that was now hers to hold her clothes and an area so she could get ready for these outings they would need to go out on so others can see Kenji’s claim of her and believe it real.  

“I think I’m starting to regret my choices.” He mutters under his breathe.

Smiling to herself, Gigantron takes some pride in messing with Kenji right back, a tendril of warmth curling in her chest at the playful exchange. But she will take some pity on him as she comes away with two of the items that were not her scale colors and would be perfect for trying to be invisible to the other Humans looking for her.

Dropping the dark clothes on the bed, Gigantron pulls off the large shirt she was borrowing and the sweats, pulling on the large black sweater and zipping up the piece of clothing called a ‘pencil skirt’.

Clicking at Kenji, he turns away from folding some shirts and looks her up and down with a smile.

“Hey, not bad,” Pushing up to stand, he walks around her for the closet, coming back with tall black boots, “This will look great with it.”

When she had agreed to these strange things she hoped it would be longer before she had to wear them. The last time she wore shoes they were higashi and they were quite comfortable for her as she could quickly kick them off and run away.

These, on the other hand, were nothing like that.

Taking the shoes, Gigantron scowls at them, unsure of how she would put them on, but as Kenji leaves, saying he was going to get his jacket and wallet, she takes a moment to stall.

Dropping them, she hikes up her skirt and walks over and around the litter of boxes to her dresser and mirror. She can’t help taking a moment to look herself over and has to admit that the darker cloth is not a terrible as she expected, fluffing her hair so it fell on equal sides of her shoulders. But she wasn’t here to marvel at herself, she was here to marvel at her offered-gift.

Opening the deep red box, the tiny pearl ring rest in the firm pillows, but it’s no match for her small show of strength and slips it onto her left like she’s been told. The startled happiness she couldn’t enjoy before tickles over her skin and down her fingers, specifically her finger hosting the ring. 

“If I knew I just had to wave a pearl in front of you, I think a lot of our problems would have been solved.”

Lips twisting into a smile, she looks into the mirror and meets Kenji’s smirk before turning his way.

‘Do not be patronizing to try and win a victory.’ 

He lifts his hand placating, “For now,” He grins, pushing off the door frame, “I’ve been known to make a comeback. Like now.”

Then looking her over, squints down at her feet, “Missing something.”

‘Being the size of a mountain mostly.’ She snarks back.

Kenji’s lips quirk into a smile again as he shakes his head, telling her to sit on the bed and picks up a boot. But he’s there for only a moment looking around with a growing frown before he’s stepping away back to her dresser and opening the top of it and pulling out small rounded fabric.

“Okay socks first, then boots.” Falling to his knees and putting the short ‘socks’ on her feet before opening the boots with a sharp popping sound and encasing most of her leg in it.

Doing so once more, Gigantron has the strange shoes on and stands with little difficulty. She’s glad that Mina made her aware of the more torturous designs that were shoes balanced on thin parts and were focused on the female Human counterparts. She made sure to tell the light that she wanted nothing like that and Mina ardently agreed.

“Alright, we’re set!” Kenji stands with a half-smile and smooths down her skirt, the length of it almost touching the tops of the dark boots, “We’re gonna need to get you a purse today too. But anyway, let’s go dazzle our adoring crowds.” Holding his hand out for her, Gigantron lays her hand in his and is suddenly paralyzed.

She doesn’t know what it is that holds her fast, unable to look anywhere but the open door that feels so much closer than she can explain and —

“Hey.”

Jolting back, Gigantron is held steady, barely moving as Kenji holds her shoulders. Staring into his shimmering grey eyes, finding sympathy she doesn’t need, she looks away.

“Hey Queenie, it’s…” Then letting go he takes hold of her hands, squeezing them tight, “Remember what I said. We’re doing this together. And I promise, I won’t let you go either. Okay. We got this.”

And yet it still feels too much, but she can’t let that stop her. She can’t afford to be weak now with all the work Kenji has put in to fix his mistake, and she would not step away from what she swore to do. It was just a different type of battle to prepare for, that’s how she has to think of it, one only Kenji knew.

Swallowing, she nods even as her skin crawls with displeasure, but let’s Kenji draw her out of his nest and into the territory that he protects so fiercely, trusting him with her safety and finding it was never in vain.

KoiBoi @_tsumaninana_
Sato Kenji Alert!🚨 🚨 🚨 NOT A DRILL
[Sato Kenji and dark-haired woman walking side by side through busy @ginzasix_jp first floor, talking as Sato points to something on his phone for her.
[Blurred image of Sato and dark-haired woman looking up and around.]

NowTreading @Daikanyama-mama
Replying to @_tsumaninana_
His wife is beautiful, but kinda wild……
[Video starts between bookcases, shaking before held steady and focusing on Sato Kenji and Sato-Troy Gina by a bestselling science books display, her pointing angrily at one in particular before signing. Hushed female voices shush each other behind the camera as the volume rises on the phone so the Satos can be heard:]
"Oh is that Dad’s new… Well I heard about it. He said he was going to finish up what Mom was working on before — I don’t know, but — G-Gina! Wait! You can’t just take it!"
[Sato-Troy Gina snatches up the book and starts walking out the store, the sensors going off as Kenji runs to the doors and then the camera moves harshly following him as he runs up to the counter, slamming his hands on it to get the cashier’s attention and then hands over his card as a security guard jogs pass, Sato turning around and running after him, hurriedly telling him that he was buying the book now.]
😏 I kinda like it.
And translation would be great too! 🙇🏻‍♀️

Neko_Neko_ @Pantheraarego!
Replying to @tsumaninana and @Daikanyama-mama
I just saw Sato Kenji and apparently ‘Sato-Troy Gina’ out at YSL! 
He was getting a fitting for something and she was sitting there barely looking, just reading some textbook!!! 
Like what!?!? Your husband is undressing in front of you and you’d rather read???

Kenji_Sato_Real ☑️ @KSshow
I did this to myself. I know how much she loves pearls.
[Sato-Troy Gina in profile, the mirror in front of her showing off her gentle smile as she holds up clustered dropped pearl earrings to her ears. A pearl bracelet on her left wrist and a faint teal pearl brooch next to a branch of pearls brooch over her right.]

SharkChum @Nani9090
Oh. My. GOSH! So cute 😍
|
IdowhatIwant @Lokislut_24
holy hell that’s so much
|
MissyMister @Mikko!!!
Did you see earlier! She already has a Mikimoto ring! Ken Sato is treating his woman right 😏
|
MostlyAverage @IQ100
thats so much!!! 🤯
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This is my other other time machine @Ibbly-bb
damn she looks great in them! Im serious about her needing to be a model!
|
SugarSweet @Icantbebeat!
I think someone is going to get a brand deal 😉

ChiyoNova @Araki_Chiyo
[In Petit-Bateau and Sato Kenji and Sato-Troy Gina are taking a selfie with the store clerk, a young brunet with pink highlights in a ponytail and a wide smile. Behind her, Sato tilts his sunglasses down and winks while Sato-Troy gives a faint sultry smile. The right corner is filled with four bags of shopping.]
What luck 🤩! My horoscope was so right today ♌️ 😁. Great fortune indeed 🤑.


Mikimoto ☑️ @Mikimoto_Ginza
If @Sato_Kenji_Real would like to talk to his wife about modeling our newest line, we would be honored.

Kenji_Sato_Real ☑️ KSshow
Replying to @Mikimoto_Ginza
We’ll see.

ImaDoctor___ @CaptainMcCoy
To Everyone that was acting wild like three weeks ago or whatever, this is the cutest celeb couple I’ve seen in a while.
They’re like best friends and they say you should always marry your friends 💞💞

Viewer*Finder @takethis
Replying to @CaptainMcCoy
who says that dumb stuff

KoiBoi @_tsumaninana_
Replying to @takethis
The ones that are clearly not bitter, asshole!

As Ken pulls cleanly up to the entrance of the Four Seasons with it’s grand staircase to the front lobby. Gigantron hisses – the grumble shaking his Audi like boosted bass – as a surprised valet makes his way over and cameras turn as a bloom of flashes start up that even Ken can hear the clamor outside.

Reaching across the center console, he lays his hand over her folded ones, squeezing them.

“You ready?” For what has to be the tenth time.

And like the last three times Gigantron’s answer is a sharp nod even as she turns to him with wary hazel eyes.

Squeezing her hands again, Ken rubs his hand over them, his thumb catching on the pearl bracelet he ended up buying for her a week ago, smiling softly at her.

“Let’s go knock their socks off.” He whispers, Gigantron matching it with a small curl to the left of her lips.

Showtime. Brushing his hair back and knowing it will fall in the perfect waves, curling around his face.

Kenji pops open the door and glides out with his audience grin on, waving to the crowd and tossing the keys to the valet, the poor teen fumbling with them as he spends a second too long looking at him.

“Don’t scratch her, okay.” Winking as he walks around the hood, the teen nodding vigorously.

Coming to the passenger side, he takes a deep breath that no one can see and straightens out his double-breasted steel grey jacket before grasping the door handle.

A hefty train of coral satin is tossed out of the car, Gigantron sighing under the rise in voices behind him, still blocking most of her, and holds out his hand for her. Grasping it, she twists in the seat, her two-inch wedges knocking his shins as she heaves herself out and Ken can’t help snorting as Gigantron moved just as heavy-handed and clumsy as she had when he and Dad had helped her into the car about 45 minutes ago.

Grimacing at him, she pinches his hand – which he deserves – and steps out pass him, letting go of his hand to grab her dress and walk up onto the first step of the hotel’s grand entrance.

Like she had been doing this all her life, Gigantron stands in perfect profile, holding her bright orange clutch daintily against her waist of her dress, one Mina had designed for absolute comfort. It was an off the shoulder A-line with the straps forming a parody of the layering at the top of a kimono. It even had an obi like belt with cherry bloomsome detailing clenched to the left and right sides of the dress, trailing down half way. There was a daring spilt a foot down from the clenched belt in the very front, so it was easier for Gigantron to walk, but the heavy folds of satin hide it until she moves. The color though was the only thing that hadn’t surprised Ken as it started with coral at the bottom, and then pass her knees began to darken into a light pink until the very top of the off the shoulders straps were it was a light orange.

Statuesque and elegant could only go so far to describe her, hair flipped over and falling in waves to her left and pinned with a pearl and silver leaf pin. It was one of many pearl accessories that Ken couldn’t help buying today after seeing Gigantron in her dress, knowing she needed jewelry, but also thankful she was going through this with him.

She had the bracelet from the compromise they had hashed out at Mikimoto when they visited a week ago, but Ken had gone back for the brooch masquerading as a hair pin, the earrings she had tried on, and a double strand necklace to pull the whole outfit together. Ken knew he’d be hearing directly from Mikimoto’s PR department first thing in the morning, and was shocked that he hadn’t heard anything before they left tonight because there’s no way none of the salepeople didn’t ring them about the fact he bought four items in less than a week.

But that’s a Tomorrow-Ken problem, gotta get through this circus first.

Holding his arm out, Gigantron rest her hand in the crook of his elbow like they practiced, and with having a full four inches on him now with the wedges they made quite the picture.

“Just keep your eyes straight ahead, don’t look at anything else.” He whispers around a smile and starts them forward through the gauntlet, grinning and commenting with half answers as questions are shouted at them.

They make it up the steps without Gigantron tripping at all, which was a win in Ken’s book, but now came the harder part and one Ken can’t deny worries him. While Gigantron had been fine at G Six, interacting with one or two sales workers at a time, this time it would be anyone that got within three feet of her.

This might not have been my best idea, His fingers growing taught with tension, Oh God, what if she freaks out? Will she turn back?! Can’t we turn back now, we haven’t made it —

“Enjoy your evening Sato-San. Sato-Troy-San.”

Blinking, Ken looks to the voice at his left, vaguely recognizing the concierge they had met in the lobby, but his true focus was on the ballroom doors before them.

“Right… Thanks.” Trying for a smile, even if his voice shakes.

With a sharp nod the older man leaves them and Ken finds himself staring at the doors, swallowing around a sudden weight as his worries are ripped out by the threes and are shaken right in front —

“Tsk! What the —” Ken flinches back as he reaches for his arm throbbing in pain only to see Gigantron releasing his arm from her sharp hold.

Meeting her eyes, she stares down with cautious eyes, but determination painted on her pursed painted lips.

‘Will you be okay?’

“Yeah… Yeah I’m gonna — ”

‘Because you should remember we are doing this together.’ Reaching down to take hold of his hand, lips twitching up at the edges.

This is where he was usually thrilled, revved and ready to go, but the longing was gone and Ken was frightfully empty. It seemed he finally found the line that he worried to cross, the fear of being too seen whispering harshly behind him and becoming louder with each second they stand outside. But it was also now or never and he couldn’t quit now, couldn’t let the media write his life for him, couldn’t put his family in danger because of a mistake he made.

And he had made a promise to see this through and he had no plans to back out of it, or ever.

Angling his hand, Ken slips his fingers between Gigantron’s, tangling them together as she holds his hand tighter. Breathing in deeply and squaring his shoulders,

“Yeah… Yeah, let’s do this,” Smirking at hearing no waver in his voice, “The Ken Sato Show is here.”

With a happy rumbling huff at his side, Ken pushes open the doors to the second wave of their adoring public.

Chapter Text

Ami can hear the excited hush floating down the hall from the bathrooms before she makes it back into the first of the ballrooms, dodging out of the way of one of the event planners whispering harshly into her phone about ‘getting one here last week!’.

Even not understanding that, Ami bet its Sato.

Reaching her hand into her dress pocket for her recorder, she rounds the corner. But when she does, she’s proven right and wrong.

Stopping in the doorway, Ami is frozen as she stares at the entrance of the ballroom and sees Sato-San, but also his wife! Ami had watched the video that had shown off the tall beautiful woman as well as her and Sato’s first-parent panic. But the two before him were nothing like those harried parents looking for their adventurous daughter.

Sato-San was dressed in a double-breasted silver-grey jacket and pants combo with a faded blue button-up, the first two buttons undone with a silver chain to match his silver earrings. And while he looked his usual suave self that he presented to the world, it was his wife that was keeping everyone’s attention. Not only was she taller than Sato-San by a couple centimeters, but Troy-Sato was cold beauty compared to her husband’s bright drawling smiles, eyeing the ballroom and the reporters with reserved distaste. And yet she was the warmer colored one with her pastel peach and oranges cascading down the large A-line dress.

The two of them glide by the press as Troy-Sato’s passive scowl keeps most of them back, but the few brave enough to speak call out questions. Yet only Sato was answering;

“We’re here to support the Tokyo Unity Charity like any Giant would.”

“Emi’s fine. Enjoying the chance to stay up a bit later with her grandfather.”

“I’m no short king, but I still stan tall queens.”

Then with a tongue click that could cut through steel, the small crowd silences itself, stepping back in some fear as they look up to Troy-Sato, now wearing a full-on sneer and looking around over their head’s like she couldn’t be bothered. But Sato just sighs fondly exasperated.

“Sorry guys. I did promise minimum press time. Hit me up at the next PR event.” Winking and raising his hand to wave, but starts to turn it into a finger gun.

But it’s never completed as Troy-Sato, without even looking away from the mass-produced painting on the wall, reaches out and gently swats his hand down.

Rolling his eyes, Sato turns from the shocked crowd – And Ami was not immune either – drawing his wife away to one of the standing tables, “Just cause you don’t like it doesn’t mean I can’t do it.”

Troy-Sato just clicks her tongue, a slight curl to the right of her lips as they come to stop at the table with some of the Giants’ players Sato talked to most. Ami walks along the wall, watching from a distance as most everyone else was watching Troy-Sato subtlety or blatantly. But could they truly be at fault, she was spectacular and something about her glowed. 

But Ami had enough sense in her head to know when to pick her battles and wouldn’t press until she was sure she had an opening that wouldn’t annoy the person that was quickly becoming the guest of honor.

In the meantime, she busies herself with talking to the head coaches of the Giants and the Tigers – The team also in support of Tokyo Unity’s work – about the plans to promote the new charity initiatives as well as the plans for the upcoming season, the start of training in December, and the All-Star Series which would hold the fans over until the first game in March.

“Thank you for the quote Sensei Kusunoki, Sensei Shimura,” Exchanging bows and using the brief moment to see Troy-Sato break away from Sato and his friends towards the nearest buffet table, “Please enjoy the rest of the night.”

The two coaches nod as Ami makes her way back towards the furthest wall and pulls out her phone, first actually checking in with her Mom and Chiho – Her little star had fallen asleep during her favorite movie – and then using it as a smokescreen to move forward but also check her surroundings.

Troy-Sato had looked over the buffet table with a critical eye as she strolled stately down the length of it, people wisely moving out of the way as she never broke her stride, a queen moving through court almost. She finally stops at the shrimp fountain, eyeing it dispassionately, and Ami felt the same of the ostentatious use of —

Plucking a single shrimp from the structure Troy-Sato eyes it sharply before plopping the whole piece in her mouth, eating it whole! Tail and all!

Ami is among the closest by to stare in open horror, Troy-Sato taking note of it, and taking another piece of shrimp does so again except she bites down, the crunch of it sending waves of discomfort down Ami’s spine, while she stares back needing to know how she was doing that with no pain. 

Though Ami is also pulled in by the thinnest of smirks sitting perfectly on Troy-Sato’s lips as she finishes chewing before picking up a third one. Making direct eye contact with those that hadn’t walked away yet, they scurry away leaving only Ami alone with the icy Troy-Sato.

She maintains eye contact as she goes through the motions of taking bites out of the shrimp, all the way to the tail and then once again eating it too. And while disgustingly fascinated, Ami holds her composure. Composure that wavers as Troy-Sato lifts a perfectly manicured brow at her, ruby lips flattening as she gets a knowing glint in her bright eyes and Ami can’t begin to wonder why and what for before the tall woman is gliding around the table making her way towards her.

Ami, if not so eager for a story, would have looked away or feinted a call and left. But she is neither of those types of people and soon finds herself staring up into sharp hazel eyes, having remained steadfast even as fear leeched into Ami’s veins like only a kaiju attack could.

And wasn’t that apt, with how calculated Troy-Sato was as opposed to the easy and sly movements of Sato, it was akin to being hunted.

As soon as Troy-Sato comes to a stop Ami bows, a touch lower than usual, but the atmosphere felt tense enough for the use of it.

Standing back up, Ami is still on the other side of a chilled gaze, but Troy-Sato’s expression softens. Still distrusting of all of this, but willing to engage.

“I guess I can have a moment of your time.”

And a slow, almost serpentine smirk pulls at Troy-Sato’s lips as she tilts her head just so to the right.

“Riiight,” Muttering to herself, moving her hand to her pocket and feeling how her locked shoulders relaxed, “I have a very simple question for you Troy-Sato-San.” Holding out her recorder.

And as a hint of teeth come into the smirk, Ami wonders what such a charismatic woman would sounds like.

“Wow.” Yoshida’s jaw drops as they get nearer, Tsuruta elbowing him sharply as Otomo and Fuile laugh into their drinks.

“Still wide-eyed and in wonder of me Yos’,” Ken jokes, chuckling as the youngest member flushes, “Thanks. I feel like a billon yen.” Leaning against the table as he situates him and Gigantron between Otomo and Fuile.

Otomo snorts into his champagne before turning towards them, “What he meant to say was,” And flipping his shaggy hair out so it fell like some 2000’s boyband, grins, “You look incredible Troy-Sato-San. You’re the most beautiful one here.”

Gigantron’s lips pursue into a small smile and lifts her hands from where she held them in front of her to in front of her chest, placing her right hand flat in front of her and puts her left diagonal with it, lifting it slightly as she bows.

“She says thank you.” Ken translates softly, watching his teammates faces as their eyes widen in understanding.

“Oh!” Yoshida gasps before snapping his mouth shut, looking down to fiddle with the bottom of his tux.

“Aren’t you full of secrets.” Tsuruta says mildly, his steely gaze never changing.

“You have no idea,” Sharing a quick grin with Gigantron that she returns sharply, “But this isn’t one. Guys, meet Troy-Sato Gina. My wife.”

Bows are discretely exchanged, Yoshida getting his compliment out this time about how he did find her very beautiful, and in telling him he looked very nice as well made him turned redder than a tomato.

“Secret no more,” Fuile grins, toasting the air, “I don’t know how you managed it, but I’ll write out some omamori for you.” Nodding to Gigantron, who of course is incredibly amused by this.

Rolling his eyes, “Shouldn’t I do the same for your boyfriend.” Ken jokes back, lightly shoving the auburn-haired man.

“He’s gonna need it,” Otomo laughs, “You missed what happened yesterday.”

“Well now I gotta know.” Ken turns to the older man with a sly grin as he rolls his eyes.

“It wasn’t that bad.”

Before Ken can make a comment on how he mumbled that statement Tsuruta snorts, meaning even he got a kick out of it!

“Spill the tea now!” Grinning like a fool as he looks around Gigantron to Otomo.

The story was nothing but silly accident after silly accident. Fuile had been in rush to pick Inoue’s corgi, Momo, while also trying to coordinate with the restaurant they had their first date at. He was trying to get some certain meal delivered via catering for their third anniversary, except he didn’t remember the title of it and was listing as many dishes as he could remember instead. In the rush, Fuile took the wrong corgi instead of Momo, and to return the other dog had to handle a bunch of side quests that were more at home in a game than in real life. It was pretty hilarious on its own, like when Fuile and the unknown dog ran away from a very angry fishmonger because the dog swallowed one of their lucky akabeko. But Fuile had made it home with the right dog in the end and had a lovely meal with Inoue, only for it all to be undone when the couple’s dog walker brought back Momo’s favorite toy the next day and let the mix-up slip.

“Dude,” The word almost lost in how hard he was holding back his laughter, “You’re a mess.” Ken finally gets out before actually laughing, Fuile resting his red face in his propped-up hands.

“Taka and Momo have a dog date later this week too.” Yoshida adds brightly and even Gigantron seems to understand the irony that as she huffs, just covering her mouth with her hand.

“Incredible!”

“It really is.” Otomo wipes away the tears in the corner of his eyes.

A sharp sniff breaks into Ken’s laughing as he looks over to Gigantron as she looks longingly over to one of the buffet tables and Ken can’t help wincing.

Even as a small human, the Kaiju Queen could eat quite a lot when she wanted to and Ken, with his big mouth, had jokingly told her that humans, especially human women, didn’t eat that much. He’s not gonna lie, he didn’t expect her to listen to him about that, but in trying to make this work it makes sense she’d tried to conform to more human aspects.

“Hey,” Nudging her gently, “If you go over there, can you bring me back an onigiri?” He asks, hoping that would make her feel better about leaving to go eat.

Looking down at him, her lips lift hesitantly before signing, ‘If there are any left.’

“It’s my own fault then.” He shrugs half-heartedly, reaching out to squeeze her right elbow.

Gigantron’s lips slip into a soft smile before pursing back into the chilled expression of royalty she kinda was, gracefully making her way to the buffet table.

“Sooo,” And turning away from watching her leave, Ken finds himself on the recieveing end of four gazes from curious to down right sly, “She uh – Well – She’s very, I said she was beautiful, but yeah, she’s very kind too.” Yoshida mumbles, fiddling with his cufflinks as his cheeks heat up.

“How did that happen?” Otomo asks, as he leans around and grabs another flute from a passing waiter.

“By accident, I assure you,” Thinking back to his reaction to Gigantron’s first transformation, “But I think we’ve made something of it.”

“Have you?”

They all look over to Tsuruta as his brow furrows with some concern, “Your first season with us was spent juggling your family responsibilities, and you’ve since gone off the radar again.”

Ken knows that Tsuruta’s extra bluntness is just how he is, that he is asking how he’s handling this, but it still hurts that it sounds like Ken was failing the team again. Especially out of all his fumblings he’s ended up with burgeoning friendships with these guys, some of his first friends ever.

“Was he ever on it.” Fuile huffs, trying to break the tension, but Ken shakes his head.

“It’s been a lot, and I’m a bit tired, but I’m better. We both are.”

A hush falls over the table, the space feeling smaller that it was.

“Hey, sorry man. About the whole video that went out.” Otomo breaks the unease silence.

Shrugging, but thankful for the opening, he mutters, “It happens in this line of work. At least it wasn’t someone trying to fly a drone over to see us.”

“You could’ve… Well, I know you didn’t know it then, but now you know, if something happens you can tell us.” Yoshida fixes him with a determined gaze, Tsuruta, Otomo, and Fuile all matching it in their own way, “We’ll be there for you Sato.”

Cold seeps through his chest, like diving into the depths of the ocean, stalling his breath. And when Ken forces himself to take a breath, readying some joke to take away the pressure of these knowing gazes, but he can’t look away and warmth washes over him. He doesn’t know what to say to this kindness, kindness he still didn’t think he deserved, but regardless, they wanted to help.

Help like friends were supposed to.

“Thanks guys. I —”

“Watika is going to talk to your wife.” Tsuruta interrupts suddenly.

Spinning around, Ken frantically looks for Gigantron and sees her towering over an unsuspecting Ami, dressed in a pale blue blazer dress and holding up a recorder.

“I have a very simple question for you Troy-Sato-San,” And the grin Gigantron gives her was one Emi had before she deliberately did something he told her not to do, “Can you tell us how you came to meet Sato Kenji?”

Gigantron starts signing to Ami, but Ken doesn’t register any of it as he starts powerwalking over, watching as Ami blanches and takes a step back.

“Oh! Oh I didn’t know…” Trailing off only to freeze up as Gigantron lifts a hand, pointer finger held out and coming down towards the reporter’s forehead.

Leveraging himself over the clear part of the buffet table, Ken jumps the table and grabs hold of Gigantron’s elbow, exercising his extraterrestrial strength to spin her, her dress spreading out and causing Ami to step out of the area of effect.

“Hey! Queenie! You wandered off.” He chuckles brightly, but even he can hear the nervous and panic tone in his voice.

“Sato-San,” Ami bows deeply and Ken uses the moment to mouth ‘Not her’ as Gigantron gives him the dirtiest look, “Hello. I apologize. I didn’t know she was deaf.”

Blinking dumbly at Ami and her downcast eyes, Ken opens and closes his mouth, failing to find words to cover this massive opening they left.

“No. Gina’s not – She’s, uh – She has um…”

Snapping his fingers as he tries to think up something, Ken stops and stares as Gigantron deftly pulls out a five year old phone from her clutch and starts typing on it. Then turning it around, Ken leans over and sees she has the notes app open and has written some medical phrase for Ami to read.

“Laryngeal Atresia?”

“That!” And as Ami pulls out her phone to write it down, Ken uses the moment to lean up and whisper, “Dad?”

Turning to him, crowding into his space by accident, she mouths and signs with a muted mischievous grin, ‘Yes. Ultraman believed it would work for my lack of speech without having an audio impairment.’

Ken just nods because even if he doesn’t know what it is yet, it was smart of Dad to catch that, “Yeah. Not bad… But you gotta stop calling him that.” He whispers back, reaching up to brush back her hair that he had disheveled with his sharp spin.

‘That’s how I know him.’ She smirks back.

“Just say professor.” Tipping her chin up as he rolls his eyes at the ridiculous debate they were having again.

“Excuse me?” Both of them turning to the reporter, Ken flushing at the smug look on Ami’s face, “Do you mind if I ask my question again?”

Ken doesn’t say much of anything, mind going at Mach 1 to figure a way out of this mess – I was not prepared for this as I thought – while Gigantron nods and signs out, ‘It was a fight.’

Which she’s not wro—

“They met during a fight.”

Head snapping up and over Ami’s head, Ken stares at the person who just spoke, and then with nothing better to do says questioningly, “Fujikawa Taiga?”

“What.” Ami hisses.

Standing as tall as him in a deep navy three-piece suit, Fujikawa had styled his known curls into a quaff, and was grinning around a 5’o’clock shadow.

He was the Tiger’s star pitcher, and only good player in Ken’s opinion. Usually, Ken would have waved to the man and ignored him, but two things happened that made that impossible. The first was him knowing JSL, but the more importantly was Ami’s reaction.

Going cartoonishly stiff, her ears start to go hot before they’re hidden from view as she flips her hair back over her ears before she turns around.

No. Way!

“I hope I’m not interrupting,” Fujikawa smiles softly, directing it to the ladies before his expression falls flat as he inclines his head towards him, “I overheard one of the planners, they were concerned when they saw you come in, since they didn’t have an interpreter.”

“And you know?” Suddenly defensive of the light tone.

“Yes,” Sticking his hands in his pockets as he gets a wistful look, “My younger cousin, that my parents took in when we were children, is deaf.”

“Wow.” Because that could not be any more of a PR stunt if he tried, even if it was true.

But it is made better by Ami’s breathy, “Wow.”

He had never seen her so starstruck – And he was kinda jealous – but seeing how flustered she was as she tries to pull back into her usual controlled stance as they all look down to her kinda made up for it. He was definitely going to have his own slate of questions for her after this.

Clearing her throat, she lifts her recorder again and asks, “Can-Can I get some clarification on that? On the fight.”

“Right,” Ken nods slowly, meeting Gigantron’s eyes and finding himself alone in this as she gives him a look that reads ‘Please. Continue’, “It was some thugs that were trying to steal from her and I tried to help.” A little truth and a little bit of a lie.

But right before his eyes Gigantron’s expression turns vaguely strained as she made a noise in the back of her throat that was a mix between amusement and disagreement as she slowly shook her head.

“I believe that’s the clearest ‘Aw, no you didn’t babe’ I’ve ever seen.” Fujikawa chuckles.

The bubble of inadequacy that was always there, bursts again, but Ken holds fast as he flashes a chill smile, “Yeah, well, I learned that pretty quickly.”

Getting poked in the cheek, Ken turns back to Gigantron, her smile gentle, ‘You’re good in other ways.’  

The wobble of emotions in his chest calms eerily quick, but Ken takes it in stride and hides it with a huff, running a hand through his hair, “I know.”

‘Like flying.’ She adds with a toothy grin and Ken has to stop the pout that wants to pull his lips down.

He was still 0-5 for races against Gigantron, swept into it by Emi basically asking him to race her after he had played tag in the air with her one too many times.

“Oh,” And turning, Fujikawa looks between them curious, “I know how to fly too.”

“Kinda.” He hedges, not sure where this was going.

“I got a vintage Fuji FA,” He brightens up, “The 200-180. I keep it running myself.”

“Really.” Ami sighs dreamily.

And even Gigantron looks down at her, lips quirked with barely contain laughter before she looks over her to the image he brings up on his phone.

Ken can admit the plane was a plucky little thing, but looked good for whatever age it was supposed to be, a faded light blue body and a dark navy strip from the propeller to the aft, the wings sporting a strip down the flaps as well. Fujikawa was leaning up against it in an open air hanger with his arms crossed over his coveralls, sunglasses pushed up into his hair, and looking ruffled like he just finished up some hard work. Glancing over at Ami, Ken immediately has to look away so he doesn’t bust out laughing at her near jaw-dropped expression. Oh yeah, someone had a major crush.

‘Yours doesn’t look like that.’

Smiling towards him, Fujikawa puts his phone away, “Well I showed you mine. Do I get to see yours?”

On the spot, Ken looks between them all and finds himself anxious all over again, but for something he really didn’t wanted to advertise.

“Uh mine’s is also a bit vintage, but in a different way.” And seeing that it did nothing but made Ami and Fujikawa more intrigued he shuffles back before getting out his phone, “It’s my Mom’s and it’s been in storage. She used to be apart of the KDF.” He mumbles looking for one without Emi in front.

Finding one with just him and Dad in front of the jet was much easier and more recent than he thought, even though he should’ve known better. It was of them before taking off for Kaiju Island, posing in the hanger Ide managed for the more eccentric vehicles that some Japanese citizens owned.

“Wow,” Eyes brightening like a kid on Christmas, Fujikawa steps closer but thankfully doesn’t reach for the phone, “The Ultra VTOL 1! I have that model as a kid. It was the reason I wanted to fly.”

“Bet our next win any footage you saw of it was my Mom’s skills,” Ken chuckles to himself, turning the phone back and imagining how his Mom would fit so perfectly on the other side of him, “She was a bit of a hotshot behind the wheel.”

“She sounds incredible.” Fujikawa says softly, and Ken’s grateful he didn’t give any condolences.

He knows she’s out there, he just has to try harder.

Lost in his weighted thoughts, Ken doesn’t notice until Gigantron is interlacing their fingers that she’s move into his space again. Squeezing her hand in a thank you, Ken tries to hold a normal conversation and finds it doesn’t go half bad. First it was just him and Fujikawa talking about flying, then they got into a lively comparison about their respective dugouts before Ami had cleaned the stars out of her eyes and started to ask them all about the charity work they personally wanted to focus on and the upcoming season. Gigantron also seemed to warm up to Fujikawa as they discussed charity work, or technically she asked the pitcher multiple questions about it.

“I can introduce you to one of the heads,” Fujikawa offers after a fifth chuckled ‘I don’t know’, “They would have better answers than me.” 

Squeezing his hand, Gigantron looks to him before untangling their hands, taking Fujikawa’s outstretched arm and striding off to the other side of the ballroom, forcing the other man to match her pace as her presence made people part like the Red Sea. Half swallowing a laugh, Ken watches as they make it there in record time, Fujikawa immediately trying to keep up with Gigantron’s questions to the heads of the charity with wide-eye looks.

He expected the same when he looks to Ami, but he’s flinching back at the glare she was giving him like she was strongly considering taking a swing at him.

Hands up in surrender, Ken is instantly trying to placate the furious reporter, “Woah! Hey. What did I — ”

“You didn’t need to take my interviews if she wasn’t doing well.” Ami all but hisses and Ken so desperately wants to make a joke about how her and Gigantron could be cousins.

“You helped me out, so it only seemed fair.” Tumbles out instead as he winces, hating how weak of an excuse that sounded.

Squinting at him, she says lowly, “But you had to leave anyway.”

“Yeah. Yeah I did,” Trying not to think about that horrible night, “But I am trying to do better.” He really was. With everything.

“Yeah, I can see that Sato. You’re not half-bad at it.”

His head snaps up, not realizing he had looked away, but he sees Ami’s expression soften and Ken can breathe again. He didn’t know when he wanted her to also be proud of him, but knowing she sees him working toward his goal, acknowledging him had Ken smiling and patting himself on the back for choosing to crash this party.

Everything was going to be alright.

“Oh my God. She’s really in there.” Staring at the handle hanging limply from where someone much stronger than the steel of the door had forced it, the chlorine scent seeping out.

It was only twenty minutes into the speeches and Gigantron had stepped away to get the shrimp she said she never got and hadn’t come back yet. After a strange form of charades with Fujikawa two tables over he got up from the table they had been assigned in the second ballroom and told Fuile to cover for him. He went looking for her as stealthily as he could, but after another twenty minutes he tried a hail mary and texted Mina, asking if she had Gigantron’s number and how was Dad and Emi. In the next second he has the Kaiju Queen’s phone number – How was this his life – and a picture of Dad passed out in front of the screens downstairs with Emi human-sized and laid out over his chest in a set of pjs that looked like Gigantron’s dress.

Texting her a simple 'Where are you?' is met with what he could almost feel was the most derisive tone of 'the indoor pond', like he should have known. 

Chlorine burns the inside of his nose as he steps into the darken pool, only the streetlights shining through the floor to ceiling windows gave the room any since of light. Not even the pool lights were on, making the pool like an eerie neon dream as the water ripples, distorting the reflections. Sitting at the edge of the deep end, Gigantron has her dress fanning out behind her in a half circle, from one side of the other as she gently kicks her feet in the water.

Coming up to her left side, Ken picks up the wedges resting there and lifts and pulls back the dress to her side so he can sit down cross-legged at the edge with her. He was fine to sit there like that, the silence and the low hum of the traffic outside soothing after the sensory output back in the ballrooms, but glancing over and spying her proud little grin Ken can’t help reveling in the rule breaking either. 

Shoes off and custom pants legs rolled up, Ken slips his feet into the cool water and leans back with a heavy sigh, relaxation rolling over him.

“Not bad Gigantron. Not bad.”

Opening his eyes as her sharp nail pokes the top of his hand, he looks over and jolts back, kicking up pool water as he stares back. It should have been from her green reflective eyes, but it was the fact she was offering a whole tray of onigiri and jumbo shrimp to him! How hadn’t he noticed that!?

“Did… Did you take a whole tray?”

Setting it down between them, she smirks, ‘Who was going to stop me?’

Laughter echoes loudly and ugly off the high ceiling, but Ken couldn’t care. He did enjoy the lights, the glitz, and of course the glamour of being everyone’s focus, but he also can’t deny that this, this sneaking away and being silently comfortable and being no one’s focus but just one’s is right up there too. Picking up a mixed rice one he bites into it and sinks back into his relaxation, his feet idly kicking along with Gigantron as she quietly eats her shrimp. 

Looking over as Gigantron taps his hand, she asks, ‘So this is your life.’

“Apart of it.” He shrugs, because this teenage stuff he was doing right now wasn’t usually it.

‘Is this all of it?’

“No,” And that gives him pause in a way it had never before. Before he wanted to impress his schoolmates, make his Mom smile again, make Dad notice him. He had gotten all of that and now had something else to work towards, being a father to Emi for sure, but anything else, he didn’t know yet, “Not like I want it.”

Silence falls back over them, the plink of water the only real sound before Gigantron calls for his attention again with a huff.

‘Trade.’

Squinting at her, “Trade? What trade?”

‘I’ll show you some of my life and you show me some of yours.’ She elaborates with a soft smile, trying to offer another bridge to make this work, but Ken also thinks something more.

“Since my human ways weren’t the worse, right.” He teases, grinning as she rolls her eyes like he hoped she would.

‘I never alluded to that.’

Laughing again, he nods, “Okay, sure,” Holding his hand out for her to shake, “Hybrid alien kaiju exchange is a go. I was literally made for this.” He smirks, Gigantron matching him right back, this moment feeling more right than a Grand Slam.

And he wants to hold on to this feeling for just a little bit longer.

Chapter Text

“Dad. This is silly.” Ken huffs, but he can’t keep his lips from cracking into a smirk.

They were upstairs in the living room, now with a proper playpen – Technically two playpens that Ken had successfully manhandled into one giant one – and a few scattered toys inside and outside of it. It looked more like a child lived here because of it.

While Gigantron usually stayed as her kaiju self, Emi had taken to being a human with exuberant joy. It was cute, but Ken also hated what it meant. In some of the parenting books he was still reading, it spoke about the importance of holding your baby with love. Ken can unfortunately say that for most of Emi’s early life he held her out of obligation and she was now making up for what she didn’t understand, only knowing that she wanted to be close to him.

For fuck’s sake, he kept her in a glass cylinder until recently, only changing it when he realized the optics of Gigantron seeing Emi in there and knowing it would piss her off. He had so much he needed to do better, that he knew he could do better. He never wanted Emi to ever look back and question did he love her.

“That’s part of the appeal Kenji,” Dad smiles back, unaware of the grief Ken was dragging himself through, as he leverages himself off the floor.

Dad walks over and takes a reaching Emi out of his arms and then goes to kneel, Ken helping him down, “Mina said that families’ online will choose outings based on what their baby crawls too. I thought it was the perfect way to choose our next one as well.”

Which wasn’t bad, but since being a co-parent and possibly a friend of the Kaiju, Ken thought it was only fair to warn him.

“If Gigantron sees this, I’m on her side.” Even as he does look at the LED band meaningfully. He’d decide after if he’d use the video or not.

Chuckling to himself, Dad nods, “I’ll take that chance,” Then sliding Emi from his lap to the floor he whispers, “Okay Emi-chan we’re gonna go on an adventure. Yes, I know you’re excited,” Chuckling at her excited screams at ‘adventure’, “But you’re going to choose where we go. So I want you to crawl to the one you like the best.”

Emi looks up to him and Ken can’t help his smile, “No can-do Emi. You’re a big girl, you can choose where we go.” Nodding to the papers.

Determined, brows furrowing with more knowledge than her human shape suggested – And yeah, he would not be using the video, but he thinks Gigantron would find it funny in some way – she leans forward to get her hands on the ground and feet under her in the cutest and clumsiest way possible by lifting one leg and then trying to move the other before she decided moving both legs would be best. 

It never got old seeing her do that, his throat closing up in some kind of way as he watched her.

Up in a leaned forward crawl, most of her pink seashell printed blue dress flops over her head, Emi giggling as she pushes up and gets to her feet. Now up, she plants herself and starts her slow walk towards the three sheets of paper Dad had written out in his nicest calligraphy, which felt like cheating to Ken since Emi would choose the prettiest one. And he was telling Ken it was cheating for him to stand on the other side.

Coming to a stop she looks between them and picks up the middle and right papers, smiling and laughing as she flaps them up and down like improv wings, turning towards them. Smiling right back, Ken has his arms out for her on instinct,

“There you are princess! Come back to daddy!”

On chubby legs, she wobble-walks back to them, giggling, holding the papers out to him as he scoops her up, twirling slowly and holding her as close as he could. He feels the papers fall pass him, but Ken couldn’t care less, so at peace as Emi wraps her chubby little arms his neck, cuddling up to him with the happiest purring rumble through her chest.

“Morning Gina. Emi was just choosing our next adventure. Would you like to be the tie-breaker?”

Opening his eyes, not sure when he had closed them, Ken moves his hand from behind his daughter’s head to her back so she can turn easily and smile at her mother. Gigantron was dressed in a pair of peach joggers with orange cherry blossoms down the sides and one of his plain grey shirts on. She stops trying to pull on a soft pink pullover as she walks over to Dad, reading the two options over with a critical eye before very stately tapping the one in his left – Like she was making a royal decree – before pulling on the sweater and flipping the hood up.

Ken can’t help the snort, hiding it behind Emi’s head. You’d think he didn’t have the heat turned on from how she was acting.

“Excellent choice,” Dad turns with a smile and holds up the sheet that says ‘festival’, “Looks like we’ll be going out soon.”

Bouncing Emi once more before Gigantron takes her from him, Ken nods, “Okay. Okay. I can see when I’m outvoted. And in my own home too,” For which Gigantron teasingly pats his cheek with a patronizing smile. Pulling out his phone, Ken huffs, “Just for that I’m picking the coldest one.”

Only to end up smiling a little as Gigantron rumbles a laugh that Emi enthusiastically tries to copy as they step into the playpen. Hearing that, Ken thinks he can be persuaded to look for one not as cold.

Every year, Lake Okutama has its Autumn Leaves Festival in the last week of November. They celebrate the warm colors at the end of autumn with craft, yatai, and game stalls around the entrances and into the patio space of the Water and Green Interaction Center. There were nature guided tours for the paths that surrounding the reservoir, and musical performance by local groups from taiko drumming, yosakoi festival dancing, and school orchestral recitals. All of this was perfectly set to the stunning backdrop of warm reds, bright oranges and yellows, and the barest hint of green still hanging on around this slice of paradise within Tokyo’s borders.

Emi was loving every second of it, which was good, because Ken was afraid her surprise trip into the city would make today a worry filled one. But as always, Emi was a happy bubbly little girl on a mission, toddling from stand to stand with eyes as big as baseballs as she took everything in. 

It reminded Ken how much he loved going to these festivals when Mom was free from lab work and Dad wasn’t out being Ultraman. It made those moments, those memories, burn brighter now that he was on the other side of it. And he could see how Dad watched them all, clearly remembering the same with a sad smile. Ken hadn’t forgotten these great times, but it had been easier to ignore them when he was taken to America, only focusing on what made him so upset in the first place. He had come to terms with a lot of what happened with his family, even if it hurt to remember, but it was always soften when Ken realized just as quickly he was making newer, happier memories to fill in that past time.

They had decided to post the video in the end – Edited to start at Emi getting up and not before – and a photo of all of them in the playpen, resting the sheet on Emi’s folded legs for another layer of cuteness. But Ken didn’t specify what festival in any of his posts, wanting anonymity for his little girl. But that didn’t stop him from taking photos of her experiencing it, and maybe, to share later. There was something so wild and satisfying about being able to have photos of her and not worry about the repercussions of anyone seeing. He could finally show off his amazing baby girl!

Ken had so many now, and this festival only added to the collection as he took a photo every time Emi was enjoying herself; being in awe like many other little kids at the leaf-cutting stall, a video of her waddling excitedly across the floating bridge with Dad right behind her, watching the takoyaki cook and nearly leaning out of Gigantron’s arms to grab one, and even going kingyo-sukui, which was…… a time —

Dropping to his knees beside them, Ken quickly grabs Emi’s hands out of the warmed water as the fishes dart away.

“You don’t – That’s not! You don’t eat the fish,” He whispers hotly at the Kaiju Queen as he holds Emi’s hands as she tries to rally with her kaiju strength. Thankfully, it’s only baby strength, because there’s no way he’d be able to stop Gigantron, who had already fished one out with her claws that did a pretty good job at pretending to be nails, “You’re just… You’re supposed the catch them.”

Ken looks over her shoulder again, but no one seems to have noticed her quick theft – Hell! They hadn’t even paid for a scooper yet! – Dad keeping the stall worker busy, talking to him about past festivals as a smokescreen. All around them kids were happily giggling as their parents called for their attention to take photos of them.

Looking back to Gigantron, her striking hazel eyes bore into him as they begin to narrow and she slows her chewing of the unfortunate fish to be caught. Resting Emi across her thighs, Gigantron cages her in by resting her elbows on her knees, freeing up her hands to sign.

‘If you are not eating them, then what is the point?’ Expression becoming more annoyed by the second.

Shrugging, Ken mumbles, feeling silly when he didn’t need to, “… Skill? …It’s – It’s a game.”

The longest pause to date is held between them, Ken trying not to squirm under the sharp gaze as Emi was doing enough squirming for both of them.

‘Humans. Are. Ridiculous.’ Gigantron signs harshly, shaking her head like she was dislodging water from her sail.

“You are too.” He huffs, flipping some of her hair back over her shoulder.

Lifting a perfect eyebrow, she huffs back, signing, ‘I am straightforward. I cannot be ridiculous if I am.’

It startles a chuckle out of him, because that’s exactly why she was ridiculous. But it also pulls a half grin from her, so Ken thinks he can call it even.

— But Ken explained to Gigantron and Emi they couldn’t just scoop the fish out with their bare hands, even if they were good at it. Pouting away from the stall, Dad and him got nine fish between them, but they were all gone by the time they made it to the start of the nature path, Ken forgetting that he needed to specify that the fish were supposed to be pets, not snacks. But if they were happy, he was happy. And the happiest Ken thinks he was, was taking the photo of Emi with her new set of kokeshi dolls she picked out all by herself. All dress up in her heavily padded pink coat and fluff-lined hood to protect her against the chilled wind coming over the hills, she holds her four dolls close, her eyes mostly obscured and only her wide smile for the camera is visible between the wooden figures.

Even Gigantron was enjoying herself, a ghost of a smile sitting on her lips the whole time as she took moments to watch the activities or listen to Emi babble and point at what she saw. And yes, he took a picture for proof. For what, he doesn’t know yet, but Ken just knows it’ll be important.

All in all, it was a picturesque and peaceful family day trip.

Or it should have been.

“Emi! Emi, you get down here right now!” Ken shouts up the sloping cliff to the left of the wooden path they were on, Emi’s bright ringing laughter echoing down to them.

Fortunately no one was here to watch as Gigantron scrambles up the incline after her child, Ken forever grateful now that he talked her into jeans and out of the long skirt she was going to wear. He just knows, can feel it in his bones, that she would have ripped it all the way up the side just to move easier. That was a PR problem in the making, and he wouldn’t have the brainpower for it if it had happened.

“Ahh…” His Dad breathes out in surprise, “I don’t believe she’s coming down — ”

“Yeah Dad,” Ken snaps, taking off his leather jacket and dropping it as he goes through the opening in the wooden fence Gigantron had shattered, “I can see that. Tell me if anyone’s coming!” And trudges up through the brush and trees after his too adventurous child, following her mother’s warning growls.

They had been okay all things considering, even though this was a popular path and should be filled with people, but because of Japanese culture’s outright respect of privacy towards another person it was empty now. Fans coming up to talk to him was almost nil, unless he said something first to those that were unsubtly watching him. Which worked in their favor right now as they had decided on the popular path everyone seemed to be taking, but going without a guide, which allowed for the perfect gap in time and distance for them to just be themselves without others watching and reporting what they saw.

They had come to a stop by an impressive clearing of trees that allowed them to look out over the blue-green water, Gigantron putting Emi down as she wiggled to stand on her own. Once down, she latched onto the fence posts to look through it and out onto the reservoir, the view incredible and beautiful. But Ken only got to enjoy it for a bit before he got into another ridiculous argument about whether or not Gigantron could go swimming in this water, Dad coming in to back him up a little too well with the health issues it could cause. In trying to calm both sides down —

“Dad!” Ken stresses, panicked smile pulling across his face as he turns to the sneering woman, “No – G – He doesn’t think that. You have the cleanest scales I’ve ever seen. And Dad — ”

“I concur,” His Dad cuts in, “If you brought anything into the reservoir, it would be by accident.” He says kindly, and exactly not what they need right now as steam starts to vent around the sides of her mouth!

“Which we don’t think you would! But it’s shallow for you, so let’s not.” Ken tries, but sees it doesn’t hit like he wants it to, Gigantron’s eyebrow lifting as her face takes on the most blank and unimpressed expression it’s ever been since they started this charade.

‘This feels like a ploy.’ She signs angrily, Ken already shaking his head, but even he can hear the unconvincing measure of his voice,

“Whaaaat! Noooo…”

— Emi made her happy escape up the other side, getting at least three meters up the slope before they noticed, and only because of her giggling. Clearly as much as Emi was enjoying the human creature comforts of the festival, her natural state of wonder and mischief was stronger.

Its impressive how quickly she could crawl-climb up the ground, although it might be that she so small and both him and Gigantron were too big to be trying to get through the undergrowth – Though the path the Kaiju Queen was ripping up was making it easier for him to climb up – Emi uses it to her advantage and ducks around like it’s a game despite the both of them telling her to stop.

“Kenji! Kenji, do you have her?” Dad calls up as she shimmy under a fern, looking down with a giggle. 

“Emi! Come back here! It’s dangerous!” His heart in his chest as Gigantron reaches and misses as his little girl jumps, not at all like a human child would, and grabs hold of an exposed root and pulls herself up, “Be careful!” Dirt tumbling down from under her boots.

But that seems to be a jinx, just like last time.

In slow motion, frozen as scenes superimpose over what he’s watching now; dirt and pebbles become glass. Its suddenly dark even though he knows it’s midday. Emi jumps, but this time she misses the next root and she’s falling! Ken, again, helpless and unable to do anything but watch.

Just like at the Tower.

HHHNNNNUUUU!!!

Gigantron’s screech of horror snaps him back to present, watching as she throws herself out under Emi to catch her. Reacting the same, Ken jumps down and left, planting himself and letting them both impact against him.

Swiftly getting his right arm around Gigantron’s waist, he reaches out and snags the next thing he can, grabbing a looming sapling like tree that creaks and splinters, but surprisingly and thankfully, holds.

Their heavy breathing is the only thing in the forest, the rustling of the leaves or the distance sounds of the festival barely anything as every breath he takes sounds off in his ears, harsh and compressed as he forces it out.

But it’s gasping breathes, fluttering under his hand, and miserable whining that shocks Ken back, holding Gigantron tighter as she looks over Emi as their daughter squirms unhappily about it.

“Is she okay?” He whispers breathlessly, Dad shouting up to him again, asking the same question and calling to them.

Suddenly, Gigantron hugs Emi to her, nestling her into her knitted peach sweater and tucking her dark wool topcoat over her to protect Emi from sight, and likely everything else. She holds her close until Emi stops whining, grabbing fistfuls of the sweater and calming down, only then does Gigantron answers with a shaky nod.

“Okay… Okay…” Ken whispers to himself, not truly believing it as he sags against her back.

A second later, Gigantron does the same as relief drags them both to the sloped ground. Safe and stable, Ken doesn’t even think as he wraps his other arm around her, gently cradling Emi’s head close to Gigantron’s chest as she clutches at the back of their daughter’s coat. Slowing his breathing, though still erratic on both sides, Ken drops his head to Gigantron’s shoulder and squeezes her side.

“She’s okay. It’s okay…… But I think human adventures are done for awhile.”

A soft gasping whine is his answer as she breathes deeply, curling forward some – Ken following with her, not ready to let them go – before Gigantron pressed her head to his temple as she cries quietly.

Damn it! Looking down at the Emi-shaped lump in the coat, One day I hope these outings don’t end up like this.

But right now, three out of three wasn’t looking too promising, and neither was the spiral of panic leaving him any earlier than it was ready to. It took everything in him not to cry too, but even Ken couldn’t hold them back as his thoughts complete the scene of Emi falling and all he could do was hold on to his girls and tell himself they were all okay.

They were all going to be okay.

“Gigantron said you are an adequate fighter.” Mina relays promptly.

Kenji freezes in mid turn and spins slowly to her, leaning against the wooden weapon he had, a smaller copy of the one Emi was using as she swung at light just beyond them.

“That was said like they were fighting words.” He drawls.

Nodding to the fake sky above the equally unreal bowl building, Mina brings up the last three videos Gigantron had watched.

While she was spending more time around the Human’s land, it did not mean she would forfeit her place as the most powerful of the Isle. Being so meant being aware of all threats in every possible way.

And regardless of their shared interest, Gigantron needed to know where the Kaiju that left or were drawn away had gone. She hadn’t seen any return or any of their corpses in the depths of the waves when she made her weekly trips back and it was beyond suspicious. Asking Mina had resulted in news reports about the defunding of the KDF and the ethical breaking down of Kaiju corpses, being headed by Ultraman and a Doctor Iwamoto.

It was bittersweet.

It was good to know what had happened to them, but what that was, was unfortunate. But Gigantron couldn’t be so aggrieved by it as if they were dead they would not face a worse horror than what she had endured locked in that metal suit. Moreover, Gigantron was relieved that none of this involved Kenji, at least until she saw under the video section of the wide screen something called a compilation of ‘Ultraman (Young) Fails’.

Watching Kenji stumble and fail in defending his Humans was embarrassing and nothing like the two times she had the displeasure of battling him. It seemed that what was his normal prowess was only heighten when needed, which was average, but if he wanted to be Emi’s sire he would need to do better.

Yes, he had save them three days ago, but still, that was a needed circumstance.

“They made videos of this!” Kenji whines, covering his face, “God, why?”

“According to an averaging of the comments, ‘It is funny to watch and lets me focus on that and not imminent doom’.” Mina recites.

“Thanks Mina.”

“You are very welcome Kenji.”

Good, She huffs, walking over and grabbing his wrists to meet his eyes. Dropping them she signs, ‘This is unacceptable. You can not protect anyone with skills like that.’

“Hey! I’m getting the job done.” Kenji glares back.

‘Yes. Just done. You are a predator with an undefended territory. It will always be just done if you continue.’

Eyes narrowing, Kenji glowers, never blinking as he steps closer into her space, the scent of ozone and burning metal coming off him.

Good.

“Listen here,” He hisses, “I didn’t want this gig as Ultraman. Never did. But I have it now and I’m doing what I can. It might not be up to your standards, but I’m getting there. I don’t need you throwing your weight around telling me how to be better.”

Gigantron lifts her hands in front of them and signs with a grin, ‘But you do,’ And as the glower worsens, she asks, ‘So will you continue to ignore it, or do you want help fighting?’

Kenji blinks wildly at her, “What?” Before looking her up and down, “I guess that explains the robe.” He mumbles.

Yes, because time is of the essence and I don’t need you leaving while I struggle out of your stupid Human cloths! Gigantron growls, getting Kenji’s attention back on her.

‘You like to practice,’ She powers ahead, no time for his excuses as she gestures to the false dome, ‘Why not try for this.’

“It’s not that bad,” He huffs, rolling his shoulders as he turns away from her, “I did pretty well during that boss battle thing with Dr. Onda.”

Grabbing his shoulder, she turns him around and pokes him hard in the chest, ‘Then you could do better! Think of this as our trade.’

Then not giving him a chance to respond, storms off to the lift platform, divesting herself of the robe despite Kenji’s shouting, changing as soon as the platform touches the cool sand. She shakes off the chill of her den that her sunlamps can’t seem to with a half flex of her wings, as if she was resetting them.

“I’ll make sure he’s out in five minutes.” Mina tells her as she makes her way to the cove opening, Gigantron able to hear Mina and Kenji arguing above at the same time.

She puffs a swell of smoke into the open air in understanding, more focused on suppressing the rolling bite of coldness settling down her spine and working through her. And all because of the sight of the opening. But nothing was going to stand in the way of her young being safe, not even the weather.

Diving in, Gigantron works herself to a sharp speed, cutting through the ocean towards her destination, the waters warming more around her than the cold winds of this time of the season.

Coming up on the ridge between two islands, Gigantron chose the elder volcanic one, shaking off the water and snarling at the strange pain radiating from her chest. It settles eventually as she walks the island slowly, waiting on Kenji’s arrival. When he finally appears, the sun dipping closer to the horizon, he is not alone.

She can’t help purring as Emi squeals and chirps her excitement of being brought along, Kenji letting her go so she can fly the rest of the way down, immediately slamming into her neck to hug her. Returning it, Kenji lands in front of her in the surf.

“The moment she heard she was dying to come,” He folds his arms, voice light as he shakes his head. Then looking around, nods to himself, “I mean who’s going look between Tori-Shima and Odo Island,” Kenji sighs looking to her, “Good pick.”

Rumbling deep, Gigantron flexing her wings in a roll, I know.

With a pat and a light chuff, Emi lets go and flies back a good distance allowing Gigantron to shake her neck fully, loosen the joints that pop and release with sharp cracks. It also alerts Kenji, but she barely allows him that as she lunges forward, maw open.

If he was going to be a protector of her young – And his own kind – he needed to face his worst opposition with no resistance. He had to become a destroyer to be savior.

Chapter Text

Colliding with the ground sends out a bellowing echo and Ken can only think – pass all the pain – that falling on his ass in the city didn’t hurt the same as when he hit the earth directly.

Probably because you’re impacting against packed down rocks and not asphalt. He thinks dizzily as he stares up at the sky for the millionth time.

“I’m — ” The rest of his sentence cut off in a wheeze as pain flairs from his lower back to his right side, “… I think I’m just gonna lay here…… forever.”

Emi coos and flies over from where she was watching from on top of the caldera, told to stay there during these spars.

More like ass-whoopings, Ken sighs as Emi lands near his head and hugs it gently, purring for his benefit.

“Thanks princess.” Reaching up with his left to pat her head, getting her head on the second try.

The sound of water falling draws his attention to his right and sees Gigantron is much closer than he expected. Even if she had more than a few dozen thousand tons on him, she didn’t lumber under the weight, moving with a glided grace as she walks over and lays down next to him. She curls her tail up to lay heavily over his legs, pinning him again, front arms folded in front of her as prim as a smug cat and poised as regal as a swan.

“Don’t give me that look,” He huffs, “I got better. It took you ten minutes to beat me.”

Tilting her head towards him with hooded eyes that screamed the most deadpan ‘Really.’

Sighing heavily, Ken rolls his eyes, mumbling, “Guess I should be grateful I can still practice for the All-Star game.”

Over the last month Ken had been getting himself back to his peak so he could go into training for the All-Star game better than ever before. Not surprisingly, he had been honing his reflexes and had better reaction time, but what can be expected when a 55,000 ton Kaiju throws herself at him.

Her queen title was no joke and Ken thinks it should be elevated. To what? He couldn’t say, but whatever it was, Gigantron deserved it.

Lightly pushing at Emi, Ken slowly gets up, and in just enough time to feels and see one of the violent shakes that had been happening to Gigantron comes over her, starting at her tail and working up her body until her beak is sneering and snarling. Always looking more like pain then the annoyance with the cold that she said it was.

“You okay?” He asks again, even though he knows what the answer will be, “You’ve been shivering a lo—”

But as he reaches out, she rears back, eyes wide, before turning away. And Ken can’t even press her on it Emi sneezes, getting him in the arm with her snot.

It’s a testament to how much of a parent he’s become that that doesn’t bother him anymore.

“Alright. Time,” Ken says softly as he turns to pick her up, Emi wrapping her wings around herself like a disgruntled little egg, “Let’s get you back home and warm.”

But as he walks around to the other side of Tori-Shima, Ken notices he’s doing it alone. Looking back, he sees Gigantron in the water going north.

“Aren’t you coming?” He calls out to her.

Not giving him an answer, she dives under the choppy waves, her form disappearing into the depths as she makes her way toward Monster Island.

“Well be safe!” He shouts after her, even if she’s already kilometer gone, “There’s supposed to be a few storms coming in.” He says quietly to himself, bouncing Emi as she coos, looking up at him with concern.

She had been doing that throughout November and December, checking in on her home, but he though with the start of January that maybe she’d stop since it seemed like nothing was happening on the island. Ken had offered to do it for her a few times but always got the same answer that it wouldn’t be safe. He wouldn’t usually care, but with how she looked after, exhausted and the random chills happening as both a Kaiju and when she was human, it worried him. That was something they really had in common, both being a too stubborn in what they did. Its probably why they worked so well together,

“Yeah, yeah I’m worried too,” Smoothing down her crest, “But your mom’s impossible to take down. Remember that.”

That cheers Emi up as she smiles her sharp little beaked smile, and then any worry she has is gone as he takes off, his little girl cheering in excitement.

Ken might not seem like it, but he was smart. You don’t have a scientist mom and a scientist alien dad and not have that brain power.

Did he mostly use it passively so he could go out and play baseball because it was an easier and quicker way for his dad to see him then waiting for any project to get done?

Semantics aren’t important here – What is important is that he’s aware something is incredibly wrong with Gigantron and it’s not just because she’s mostly a reptile.

Most Kaiju were reptile in appearance and acted similar, the sightings and fights mostly bare from Japan’s shores from October to March, the much need reprieve to shore up defenses or test new weapons to combat them.

Whatever was happening with Gigantron was different then simple sluggishness. Emi had it too, but she would sleep or snuggle into her bed of pillows, staying there for longer periods of time. Most days now spent watching children shows, Ken having Mina sneak in children nature shows as well.

But while Emi was snug in her space, Gigantron’s den was frigid.

He had tried to increase the output of the sunlamps, but that only raised the temperature by two degrees. Ken would suggest that she tried to be human after coming back so she could get warmer quicker, but every time was met with a sneer and half the time she still came up later. Regardless of the form she took, Ken had started to ask for updates on Gigantron’s health, especially if one of those chills caught her when he could get some data. He noticed it started in her chest, as a human she’d raise her hand to her chest with a nasty grimace before she shivered, sometimes her breathe being knocked out of her. And in her regular form, she’d freeze and sneer before she was shaking, usually trying to shake out it out with her massive body.

But thanks to Mina, he now knew the muscles in her chest, and the muscles connected to her wings and her lower chest, were contracting irregularly, but from what Mina hadn’t deciphered yet. And while they were both stumped, the length of these varied shakes became longer and allowed Mina to pick up one thing he didn’t like to see at all.

“Kenji.”

“Hmm. Yeah!” Not slowing down his jump roping as he washes the sunrise behind the protective glass.

As his already quiet music is turned down, Ken looks up, brow furrowing as he does.

“Uh, why?”

“I have something important to tell you.” Her tone incredibly somber.

“Okay,” Slinging his jump rope over his left shoulder, “What’s up?”

“I’ve reviewed the data I gathered on Gigantron and every simulation states that…” Trailing off has Ken’s heart in his throat. And how accurate a thought when Mina finally continues and confirms one of his fears, “It’s her heart Kenji. Her body is trying to prioritize it, but I don’t think it can sustain it if she keeps up these trips.”

He would have left for Gigantron then and there if he didn’t know Emi would try to follow both of them and open herself up to the same possibility of hypothermia. Ken had a horrible feeling this was what it was, having finished three winter survival books that all detailed something like in some way. No doubt Gigantron had a strong heart, she had survived KDF’s missiles at close range, but he was sure she wouldn’t want to risk it.

Thankfully, after she came back in from her latest trip she couldn’t leave out as a terrible storm front moved in, holding onto Tokyo with such a fierce grip she couldn’t go anywhere for the next two weeks. Stupidly, Ken had hoped that was the end of it, but then in the middle of the night she had taken off again!

He would have gone after her, but Emi needed him. But three days later, the night before his first day of team practice, Mina wakes him up with a notice that one of the perimeter buoys in the bay has detected something massive. So now he was down here pacing angrily back and forth across the cold sand, which was hard to do when he kept sinking in awkwardly, Ken can’t stop blaming himself. He hadn’t said anything to her about it, just watched how anxious she got with being unable to go back out. He had tried to take her mind off of it with get Emi involved as a distraction, but it wouldn’t last long. It would end up with Gigantron sitting in front of a window, sometimes holding Emi, wrapped up in layers and a blanket and just waiting.

“ARUGH!” Kicking a small dune of sand, “Why would I think that —”

Turning sharply to the sound of water heaving over, Ken grows to match Gigantron as close as he can in height.

“And hello to you too.”

Ken expected a sneer, a snap maybe, at worse a growl, but what he got was an exhausted grimace as she dragged herself out of the water on shaky legs.

She can’t even raise her head! He swallows, his blue eyes glancing off her pink scales as she looked up at him, holding herself low to the ground, her shivering wings plastered to her body.

“Queenie,” He whispers, dropping to his knees, “What are you doing to yourself?”

She turns her head away and then continues to curl around herself, still wet and the end of her tail still sitting in the water as she shivered.

“Yeah no,” Getting up and pulling her tail out, “We can argue once you’re dry.” Flinching back as she flicks her tail of water, the quickest thing she’s done since.

Meeting her eyes, they soften, but settle lower.

Don’t let someone super cold fall asleep, it’s the first rule! Ken’s own heart ticking up, but moves calmly towards the elevator.

“Try to stay awake. I’ll be back.”

Shrinking and taking it back up to the floor above, he hurries over where Mina kept the massive sham-wo she somehow got to help with Emi’s more explosive accidents when she was first hatched. His little girl is sleeping soundly and deeply, but he still tries his best to move the rags without making any noise. He drags all six over with relative ease, but he knows he’s going to feel that in his quads tomorrow. But just getting in, Ken has another idea.

“Mina! Top floor.”

“… Yes Kenji.”

He knows she wants to asks him why, but he’s sure she’ll figure it out as he starts dragging wooden furniture he doesn’t need and breaks two of his trees in his garden.

The next eight hours consisted of Ken drying Gigantron off the best he could, talking aimlessly, and starting a ring of fires around her, lightly setting each pyre a light with his Ultra Slash.

And he gets only half a side-eye for that move.

Any other time he’d count it as a win, but this time it has a chill crawl over him that isn’t from the cave. Even with the lights cranked up to their highest without fizzing out, Gigantron doesn’t seem to get any warmer, even when he finally works up the nerves to lean into her side. But she was breathing and moving and that’s what counted.

“Kenji. It’s 6:30. Would you like me to contact Coach Shimura about your absent?”

Jolting up, Ken looks to the ceiling, “Shit! I …” 

But looking down, he can’t move. He couldn’t in good conscience leave Gigantron here to fend for herself and he shouldn’t —

Ken looks down as he’s nudged again and finds Gigantron looking up at him, sluggishly nodding to the elevator.

“Are you sure? I could —”

The sneer and side-eye he loves to hate makes a triumph return, and for a moment, nothing feels dire anymore. 

“Okay. Okay, I know when I’m beat.” He chuckles, getting a huff and an eyeroll for his trouble.

It was the right call to get his stuff ready the night before, because the crash of adrenaline that he knows all too well smacks into him the moment he’s off the elevator. His eyes hurt when he blinks, his quads sore like he knew they’d be, and his butt’s numb from sitting with Gigantron all night long. Swallowing down his coffee becomes almost a religious experience. And it was definitely needed as Ken hadn’t even noticed the time until he’s rinsing out his mug and sees its 7:15.

“Mina?”

“I assumed you wanted the extra time.”

Smiling down at the sink, he nods to himself, “Yeah. Thanks.” He whispers, looking up to the light band, again feel better about the day.

Right there talking as well when his throat got a little too dry. monitoring here and they ma

As he works his winter jacket on, his phone rings, and that dread of this day going sideways comes back with a vengeance. Getting his other arm into the sleeve he answers the call, already bracing against the Shimura Shout.

“Hey Sato!” Yosida says brightly from the other side.

I really got to personalize my contacts. He sighs in relief as he slings his duffle back onto his shoulder.

“Yo Yoshida!” Ken answers back, setting the phone to speaker and grabbing his keys for his KIA, “I’m on my way, I swear, just a late start. Tell Shimura for me.” As he goes for the door, Mina opens it. Smiling back, he mouths ‘Thank you’ and makes his way to the garage through the brisk winter air.

God! Why was she out traveling in this? 

Grimacing as another gust of winter cool ocean air hits him. Being part alien meant the weather didn’t affect him as much, but he could still tell the difference between temperatures, both minimal and extreme.

“Good thing we caught you,” Otome chuckles, so apparently Ken was on speaker too, “There was a water-main break, so us early birds had to make the extra drive over to the Hanshin Electrical Stadium because the Tigers were so gracious.”

Guffawing, he can at least rest easy with knowing this is where the bad feeling was settling. Just training with their main rivals, really not the worst thing that could happen.

“Lucky me then. Only one trip,” Coming to a stop in front of his garage and clicking the opener, “But make sure to watch your back.”

“You know I will!” Yoshida shouts, the rest of the guys chuckling at him, “Ah, but are you doing okay? You sound tired.”

“Like I said, late start,” The yawn that finally breaks through just adding truth to his statement, “I was up late.”

It’s quiet for a moment before a sweep of ‘ooh’s and a whistle echoes over the speaker, and Ken feels like he was getting a face full of kaiju laser straight to the face.

“No!” He shouts, the laughter getting louder, “ Yoshida! – Guys! It’s not like that! I was —”

“Kenji!” Mina shouts sharply from the depths of the garage, pulling his attention immediately. He didn’t even know they had her systems out — “Gina’s temperature has dropped dramatically and her heartra— ”

He doesn’t hear anything else, dropping his stuff and rushing back to the front door, throwing it open as he races to the elevator, wishing it would move faster.

But it can only go so fast, giving Ken enough time to see his little girl asleep and unaware once again of her mother being injured. He hopes she stays happily in dreamland. 

Getting down to the cave, Ken can’t move.

Just like he saw Gigantron last time, her wings hang limp and her head tilted sideways and listless… But he hears her, he hears her breathing, labored, and Ken runs to her.

“Come on Queenie,” His voice hoarse and scratchy as he gently lifts her head to his lap, “Don’t flatline on me again.” Voice trembling as he reaches down to her chest, checking to see if he could feel her heartbeat through her armor.

Cold. That’s right you idiot! She’s cold!

“Queenie. Come on. Wake up!” Shaking her shoulder roughly, her wings flapping uselessly, “You said you weren’t going to go to sleep. Wake. Up… Please… For me… For Emi.”

But she doesn’t move. Her breathing a wheeze and Ken can barely breathe, his throat burning his timer sounding wildly and why can’t she just wake up!

The thunderclap vibration shocks him more than anything until water stares pooling under his hands, drenching Gigantron.

“No! Damn it!” Shaking his hands free of the moisture because that was the last thing she needed, “What even — ”

Hhrrmmm

Ken freezes at the grunt and looks down as Gigantron blinks up at him, eyes glazed.

“G! You’re – You’re aw– Change,” Tells her sternly, lifting her head to meet her falling gaze, “I need you to change.”

She blinks on and off a few more times, but manages to get her wings over her and starts to glow, the process slow going, but soon in the center of a crater of sand is Gigantron, shivering nonstop. Gingerly scooping her up, Ken moves her to lay next to the elevator, quickly changing back and wrapping his coat around her as he picks her up.

“There you go. It’s going to be okay. I promise. It’s gonna be alright,” He whispers, Gigantron curling into him for his own heat, her own skin like ice, weakly grasping at his shirt as she breathes raggedly, “Mina! Get the hot tub ready!”

“Of course.”

As they pass Emi’s room, he catches a glimpse of Dad siting on the stairs up to her bed, his little girl still blissfully asleep, and relief at that is a weight off his shoulders. Finally on the top floor he quickly makes his way to his workout bathroom, just remembering to slip off his shoes and sinking into the full tub, pulling his coat from Gigantron’s weak grip and holding her close as he leans around and turns on the heated jets to 2.

The next hour is excruciating long.

Every ten minutes Ken cranks the dial up, the jets bubbling in hotter water. Around 6, she was starting to feel a normal temperature, sighing heavily and sagging against him more. Ken took that as a good sign, but he couldn’t tell, and honestly, he’s afraid that the moment he took her out that Gigantron would drop into shock. But he wasn’t going to make Dad get stuff for him, now remembering that he yelled at him to watch Emi.

Gently shaking her shoulder, Gigantron tilts her head back from where she had tucked herself into his left side and — 

Oh… That’s why my neck was hurting.

He had assumed it was from the angle he was holding his head up for so long, but no. The transformation hadn’t been the same as before and Ken didn’t think much of it, too focused on getting her here. But with Gigantron not at her full strength it meant that her transformation wasn’t complete. Where her eyebrows would have been were small but sharp arched protrusions, just like the crests over her eyes. And looking closer, her eyes were completely green, her navy slit pupil circled by a blue-green.

“I gotta get out and get you some warm clothes,” Pushing softly at her shoulders and slowly pushing himself, his waterlogged clothes weighting him awkwardly down, “Just rest, I’ll be right back.”

Sighing heavily, slits at the sides of her throat flexing under iridescent pink scales, Gigantron nods and slips below the bubbling surface.

“At least I don’t have to worry about her drowning.” Ken huffs to himself, turning the nob up to 9 and heaves himself out of the tub, sloshing water across the tiles on his way to the closet, shedding his clothes as he went.

Drying himself off and dressing in sweats and a tee, Ken looks for the warmest pair of sweats and grabs a Dino Thunder sweater he had tucked in the back, worn but still soft and baggy and that’s what he needed. Returning to the bathroom, Ken sets the clothes on the small table to the right of the tub and grabs two of the biggest towels he could before turning off the jets. The bubbles stopping with a sharp hiccup before disappearing, slowly revealing Gigantron in her quarter-form glory.

The iridescent scales he saw on her throat ran across her shoulders and down her arms to her webbed and clawed hands. It was the same for the side of her legs and feet, her hair pink and orange ombre under the brown she usually had. And where her ears would be were small holes with her fins just behind them and half folded down, the colors flickering in the still water.

He didn’t want to wake her, but it was only a matter of minutes before the water cooled.

It only takes a light shake before green eyes met his, and with a grimace, Gigantron surfaces. Its slow and pained, but the fact she could move at all was better than before, but it still feels like his throat was closing up. Helping her the rest of the way out, Ken wraps her in one of the towels and uses the other to start on her hair and draps it around her shoulders. A quick pat down later as Gigantron begins to shiver again, Ken gets her into his clothes and gets her to her room and under the covers.

“You could have died,” He whispers bitterly as he throws another blanket over her, “You know that, right.” 

Her hands sit loosely on her lap, not even twitching to form phrases, proving him right.

He hates that he is.

Nothing left to say, nothing that wouldn’t end with him screaming back at someone who couldn’t give it back that exact same way, he goes for the cordless blow-dryer he got her and comes back, drying her hair in silence. As it settles, the fear of what could have been swallows him up, how she could have really died this time, and it sinks him into his own frigid depths. Its only the blow-dryer hiding the sound of his sniffling, chest aching at the lack of words exchanged.

But with how shaky his hold is on the handle it might give it away anyway.

Ami hadn’t meant to listen in, but the Giants, and Sato-San’s core group of friends seemed to be as loud as him. She steps a few meters closer to just hear Sato-San talk about staying up late and his teammates starting to rib him about why.

Rolling her eyes, a half-smile pulls at her lips, Typical boy — 

“Kenji! Gina’s temperature has dropped dramatically and her heartrate is ten points lower than last night.” An urgent voice comes over the speaker.

The next seconds fly by and yet feel like they take an age. Ami hears Sato-San shouting at someone named Mina to get his dad before telling her to tell his dad to take care of Emi. His voice falls off sharply, letting her know he dropped his phone wherever he was as he raced back to his wife.

His wife who had a medical condition he had hinted to before.

Cold settles over her worse than the ambient chill in the stadium, and glancing around, she’s not alone.

“Oh. Oh.” Yoshida, the Giants’ youngest, stares at his phone and starts to shake, only looking up when Tsuruta takes the phone from him.

“I apologize, but I will be hanging up,” The voice from before coming over the speaker, “Please let Coach Shimura know that Kenji will not be at practice till further notice.” And hangs up.

“That-That’s why – He was up late watching over her.” Yoshida whispers to himself, wrapping his hands around himself as Fuile rest a comforting hand on his shoulder, gently shaking him even as he whispers a curse, “Do you think……” But he can’t bare to finish it – And Ami doesn’t want to think it either – but Tsuruta just shakes his head and hands the youngest his phone back and leaves, likely to pass the message on while their redhead friend helps Yoshida sit and gets him to breath slowly.

Ami wish she could do more than just observe this, but she didn’t know what or how she could hel— 

“Heh. I guess that it’ll keep him out of the game.”

Whirling around, Ami glares, looking for the sad sack of a human being willing to say something out loud.

Not too far from her was Anno and Suzuki of the Tigers, arguably some of the worse people she’s ever had the displeasure of meeting. And she had met many with inflated egos in her job.

“That’s what he gets chaining himself to an invalid.” Suzuki sneers, chuckling when Anno agrees.

Anger isn’t even the base emotion she’s feeling right now, rage is close, but she might be approaching fury as she strides up to them, getting there right before Otome of the Giants gets there first.

“That’s bold of you to think that you have a chance, considering your batting and catch average wouldn’t pass in Little League,” She snaps, the two of them jerking back at the venom of her tone, “Most Tiger fans were hoping that it would disqualify you from being picked.” Then glaring out right at Anno, whispers harshly, “But it’s hard to do that with a mother donating new equipment.”

“Damn.” Otome huffs as Anno’s face puckers violently.

“Hey! Aren’t you supposed to be on our side.” Suzuki looms over her and Ami has to restrain the childish urge to push him. He didn’t scare her in the slightest, she’s handled worse.

“Why would she?”

A warm baritone she knows is now frigidly cool, running up her spine. But looking away Ami isn’t mistaken and Fujikawa Taiga is standing right there at her back, looking more yakuza than baseball player. His whole expression is darkened even though it was only the faintest furrow sitting between his eyebrows, but his discontent was painted in every sharp line of his jaw. Shouldn’t work for him too, but it does.

“When there are disrespectful people like you it should be called out. No one wants to get the stench of gokudō on them.” Fujikawa sneers.

Anno expression is more sour than before, but before he can shout anything back his partner-in-crime nudges him subtly and he stops. Looking around herself, Ami sees how both Tiger and Giant player were staring down at the two with discontent that felt weighty even to her. Clicking his tongue in disrespect Anno turns away and Suzuki quickly follows him back to the dugout. 

“Hey Fujikawa, thanks.”

“No thanks needed. I hate bullies,” And looking back, Fujikawa inclines his head to Otome, “Give them my best if you hear from them before I do.”

“Of course.” And with a friendly pat on the shoulder Otome walks back over to Fuile and Yoshida.

“Are you okay Wakita-San?”

Whipping back around to look at him, his expression softened into that charming face that had everyone swooning over him, she feels herself go hot as she nods dumbly instead of answering him.

“Yes! Yeah. I’m fine,” Brushing her hair out her face as she looks away, embarrassed, “I’ve dealt with worst.”

“I have no doubt,” He chuckles lightly and Ami’s heart somersaults when she glances back. But as bright as he looked one moment, he was dour the next, looking easterly, “I hope she’s okay.”

Heart falling then, Ami glances the way she knows Sato-San’s home is roughly and hopes Troy-Sato is well too.

“Me too... Me too.”