How to Eat Life

by margoteve

Summary:

All Kafka wanted to do was help this woman he just met. How in the world did he end up here?

Chapter 1: Woman looking for something missing

Notes:

We start couple months before canon events begin!

Kafka glanced at his phone, displeased with himself. He messed up the date of the Monster Sweeper company hang out and now he was alone in the city, while his coworkers made fun of him in the group-chat. He shut down the screen and huffed, annoyed. He better get himself home. Maybe he should do some grocery shopping on his way back?

Suddenly, as he was turning around, he collided with someone.

“Ooof.” He stumbled backwards. “Hey, watch- huh?”

“I’m so sorry!” came a quick response.

Kafka blinked at the woman he collided with. She was taller than him, foreign, pale with platinum blonde hair tied up in a tight, braided crown on her head, exposing a set of pointed ears. A few scars on her face. She wore stone-washed jeans, sneakers, a t-shirt with a band on it, and a cropped leather jacket.

Her hazel eyes currently looked at him with worry.

“Are you alright?” she asked him in perfect, although really formal, textbook Japanese.

He realised he was staring a little. He quickly turned his eyes away. He noticed a map and a couple of suitcases she had with herself. Those looked heavy and impractical to be dragged by one person but she somehow stacked them into an intricate tetris wall.

“Yeah, are you?” he returned the question politely, focusing on her map.

“Yes, once more, I’m sorry, I uh- I think I’m a little lost,” she admitted. “Kanji are still giving me a little trouble."

“Where are you going?” he asked, trying to glance at the map she held in one hand.

“Uh.” She set down the suitcases and straightened up the map. “I’m trying to get to my hotel…” The map had names in English. Not a problem for him, though.

“Oh, here.” She pointed to a spot on the map. “It’s the Yokohama Royal Hotel.”

"Huh."

“Is something wrong?”

“No, no." He pointed to where they were now and drew his finger over her destination. “You got off the train too early, you need three more stops to get there.”

She cursed lightly under her breath in a foreign language that Kafka didn't know.

“I knew it,” she sighed as she folded the map and put it in her jacket's pocket. “Thank you, so much.” She reached for the handle of her luggage wall and threw a bag over her shoulder. “Well, here’s to hoping I’ll get there this time!”

“Yeah,” he watched her for a moment then quickly made up his mind. “Hey, would you mind if I helped you?”

“You really don’t have to.” She smiled. “You probably have your own life to get back to.”

“Nah, it’s not a problem!” He gave her a wide grin. “I’m Kafka Hibino, by the way. Nice to meet’cha.”

“Pleasure to meet you Mr. Hibino. I’m Marigold Nowak," she introduced herself back.

"Just call me Kafka. Everyone does." He took some of her suitcases to lower her load and noted that she had two metallic prosthetic fingers in her right hand with filigree, floral decorations. What a curious person.

"You can call me Mari, then,” she offered in response.

They went back to the train station and right off the bat, Kafka had to catch Marigold before she headed to the wrong train line.

“Sorry,” she chuckled as he guided her back. “Directions in new places are a little confusing to me.”

“Hey, it's fine, I’ll make sure you won’t get lost, Miss!” he assured her with a big confident grin.

“Thanks. And remember, it's Mari," she replied as they got on an elevator to the platform.

He smiled a little at that.

They got to the platform and took place in the marked spot. Thankfully it wasn’t rush hour. The train soon arrived and they slowly boarded with other passengers. Kafka helped Marigold load her luggage up in the overhead compartment and the two sat down.

“Thanks again, you really didn’t need to do that for me,” she said as he took a spot next to her.

“Eh, it's fine, really!” He waved his hand. “This is actually a lot more fun than my original plans.”

“Oh?” Her eyebrows rose up.

“Ha, yeah…” He couldn’t tell her that all his plans included was cracking a can of beer with takeout and watching some TV until falling asleep. That was… depressing. “So, where are you from? America? England?” He quickly changed the subject. The name sounded English but the last name was throwing him off, so he made the wild guess.

Her head tilted a little. She noticed the not-so-subtle switch. “Poland actually,” she replied.

“Poland, huh?” he thought for a moment. He didn’t know much about that country. “Like Chopin, right?”

“Yes, like Chopin,” she snorted. “Unfortunately I don’t play the piano.”

“Hey, me neither!” He grinned. “I kinda got two left feet for it.”

She snorted and laughed at his response. She had quite a cute laugh. Well, anyway.

“So what made you come to Yokohama? I can’t imagine Japan being a hot travel destination with all the kaiju running around… are there a lot of kaiju in Poland?”

“Not much, we do have a few fault lines but nothing that compares,” she replied. “I am here on holiday, actually. Yokohama is where I am starting, but then I would like to go to other places, further inland.”

Kafka hummed listening to her, then shook his head amused. “You talk so formally.”

“I’m sorry?”

“Yeah, like… how would you say good morning in Japanese?”

“Uh… well- Ohayou gozaimasu, no?”

“Yeah, if you’re in school. Most people just: ‘hazaimaaas’.” He bowed his head, pretending to be apologetic, before gesturing with his arm forward. “And then you sprint to your locker before your boss scolds you for being late.” He leaned back in his seat, watching her, snickering at his show. “Really, though just ‘ohaYO!’ is enough."

“Thank you, Kafka-sensei. I will keep that in mind.” She shook her head.

“How do you say ‘good morning’ in Polish?” he asked.

She hummed. “Well, there’s few ways to do it.”

“Oh?”

“Like… Cześć!”

“... Eh?”

She giggled at his dumbfounded face. “Cześć.”

He blinked.

“Cześć!”

“Shheshhch?” He tried mimicking with no success.

She laughed again, covering her mouth to not be too loud on the train. “Ok, ok. Repeat after me - Ch.”

“Ch.”

“ChEh.”

“Cheh”

“Cześć.”

“You’re pulling my leg here, aren’t you?” His brain was struggling with the sound. What were all these rustling leaves doing in her speech?

“I swear I’m not.” She shook her head, biting her lips to stop herself from grinning widely.

“So…You said kanji was hard, huh?” He patted his pockets for pieces of paper.

“Don’t change the subject-!” she gasped mock-offended.

The rest of the travel they spent talking mostly about what she wanted to see in Yokohama and him recommending some good spots. In turn, she gave him recommendations for Poland if he ever managed to go there. Their talk went on well until they reached her hotel.

“There we are!” Kafka gestured to the building with a flare. “Yokohama Royal Hotel!”

Marigold hummed in appreciation. “It looks… really fancy…” She took in the hotel, looking a bit uncomfortable.

“Hmm? Is something wrong?” He was a bit stumped with that reaction.

“Nothing,” she assured him as they walked through the revolving door into the lobby. “My… relative booked this place for me,” she sighed. “I should have known she would go all out. Thank you for helping me find it, though.” She smiled gratefully at him and gave him a little bow.

“No problem, really.” He set the luggage down as they reached the front desk. “I should get going.”

He kind of wanted to talk a bit longer with her but honestly, she probably had other things to do.

“Could you wait a moment though? I just need to check in,” she said before she turned to the receptionist.

Kafka took a step back. Marigold quickly finished her check-in and got her keys. A bellboy appeared soon enough and Marigold’s luggage was wheeled away to her room.

“Thank you for waiting,” she said.

“Sure. So what’s up?”

“I am sorry for causing you this problem and I'm absolutely grateful for today," she began.

Kafka cringed a little at the formality of her speech but hey, he could work with that.
“Not a problem. At all.”

She nodded and continued, "Would it be an overstep if I asked you to guide me around the city?” she asked. "I think I will feel a bit more secure with you around. I of course will pay you for your trouble. If you want to that is."

Huh. Not what he expected. "Hey, that's kinda flattering," he replied. "Are you sure you don't want to rent like an actual guide?"

"I was considering it but I dislike guided tours and I made my own sightseeing list," she explained. "I realise you have work and now that I think about it, you must think of me as really rude…"

"Nah, don't sweat it. Hmm." He folded his arms to think about it. He could ask for an 'on call' duty for a couple days. Unless there was a kaiju to clean up there really wasn't anything to do at work besides sitting and waiting. "How long are you staying?"

"4 days, not including today," she replied.

Kafka scratched the back of his head. "Yeah, I think I could do that." Tomorrow was his day off anyway. He could call Toku and sort things out.

"Really?" She looked at him hopeful.

"Yeah!"

"Thank you so much!" She clasped her hands. "I'll give you my phone number, just in case." She fished out an older version of a smartphone from her jacket's pocket.

"Oh, sure yeah." He patted his pockets for a moment trying to locate where he put it. Finally found it in his back pocket. They swapped their numbers and said goodbye for the evening.

Kafka looked over his phone's screen as he walked out of the hotel. It wasn't often he met new people outside of work. Yeah, this might be actually good for him. Making friends, that is. Quite pretty friends… He cleared his throat to himself and marched towards the train station feeling quite lighter in his steps.

They met again quite early the next day. Kafka noted a different band T-shirt on Marigold.

"Hey, I know this one!"

She chuckled, "Morning to you too."

He grinned at her. "Morning. So you listen to heavy metal?"

"I listen to a variety of music but," She looked a bit sheepish, "I just like band T-shirts."

"That's okay. I can introduce you to them while we're on our way to…" He trailed off giving her occasion to let him know their destination.

"Right," she pulled out a beat-up notebook from her pocket. "I have a list - maybe you can help me with it?"

"Sure." Kafka stepped closer. Her handwriting was neat, practised, and boxy. He scanned all the mentioned locations and then pointed to a few that were close by. It wouldn't be hard to get to some on foot from the hotel. It was mostly small parks and a historical site.

"I think these will be best to go to closer to evening," he said pointing to Chinatown and locations near the port.

"Perfect."

Off they went. True to his word, Kafka introduced Marigold to his favourite songs. She listened and bobbed her head to a few he played for her from his phone. He beamed at her when she added a bunch of them to her playlists. In turn, she also played some tunes to him. Surprisingly, her tastes were rooted in more folk-themed music but after having a listen to his tastes she recommended plenty he actually enjoyed.

They even got into a discussion on classic rock and heavy metal bands versus modern music. It continued on and off while they got into the parks.

Marigold pulled out a camera from her bag that looked really professional and started taking photos. Kafka even got to pose a couple times in some silly way. Well, Marigold called those silly. He referred to those poses as 'bad-ass' getting more laughs out of her.

A few times he had to stop his new friend from wandering off in the wrong direction, which usually ended with her embarrassed apologies. He noted that from time to time she would also just need to stand to the side, intently checking her phone. She always had a furrowed brow and slight concern on her face. He wondered what that was about. Work related? Family? Well, it really wasn't his business.

Finally, Kafka’s stomach decided to remind him he needed food.

“Hey, want to grab a bite?” he asked her.

Marigold turned her head to him and blinked. It seemed she was at first surprised with the suggestion but then a light went off in her head.

“Oh! You probably should, yeah.” She lowered her camera.

Her response had him confused.

“You're not hungry?”

It had to be almost past lunch hours. He noted she had a bottle of water she occasionally took a sip from but no food, and while he had some snacks on him, she never asked for any.

"You should get some food into you, you know," he advised. "It's not healthy."

Marigold looked at him a little embarrassed, unsure how to explain herself. "Um… how should I say this…" she sighed deeply. "I had an accident and now I am on an all-liquid diet. I have my food at the hotel,” she said. “So, you don't have to worry about me.”

"Oh." Welp. He did it again. "Kafka Hibino, you are a master of putting your foot in your mouth aren't you…" he scolded himself. He cleared his throat. “Ah… sorry about that…”

“That's alright, you couldn’t have known.” She smiled politely. “How about we split for now? We can find someplace for you to eat and, in the meantime, I can mingle around."

That didn't sit quite right with him. He couldn’t just let her wander off. “You sure? We walked around for a long time, you could use some rest too. I'm looking forward to checking those photos you took." He tried to salvage the situation.

"If you are sure…"

"100%!" He reassured her with a wide grin.

They ended up in a burger joint. She ordered a coke to not stand out and he got himself a meal. They sat down and started flipping through the photos she took. She took note of the ones he liked to send to him later. She then asked him about some of his poses. Kafka told her they were from Metal Lions Clash!

"What's that?" she asked, curious.

"What? You mean you don't know what that is? Wait, it might be something else in English!" He looked up the Western localisation title.

"I've got no clue what that is." Marigold shook her head a little.

Kafka gasped. "It's one of the best old-school manga and anime! How can you not know!"

"What's it about?" she asked innocently, immediately activating Kafka's trap card.

He immediately launched into a retelling of the show. She watched as he began to explain the lore and story behind the rise and fall of the planet Mechatron. It was actually pretty engaging. Kafka noted she almost looked… nostalgic?

The time kind of ran away from them. By the time Kafka finished the story, ate his meal, and the two of them got to their destination, it was closed.

"Aw, damn…" Kafka tsked and sighed. "Sorry about that." He rubbed the back of his head. This was on him.

"That's alright, don't worry about that," she reassured him and touched his arm. "We can start tomorrow with this one."

Kafka's head immediately turned to her hand. "True. Are you cold? Your hand-"

Marigold immediately took it away. "Ah, no, it is all good. You know, we are still good for one spot," she changed the subject. "If you'd like we can go and see one more location." She immediately reached for her notebook. "Here, oh! How about the Guramon museum!"

"Alright, if you want to," he agreed, although not very convinced.

They hit two museums - Guramon and the ramen one. Kafka got really hyped about the first one once his attention was redirected. Marigold insisted and bought Kafka some souvenirs from it.

"As today's compensation if you are sure I can't just pay you otherwise," she explained.

He tried to protest at first but… the merch… Instead, he ended up thanking her profoundly. It got her a bit embarrassed and the two finally laughed it off.

The next day they went to see more of the historical part of Yokohama. Kafka couldn’t really call himself an expert on history so it was a fun day of learning for him as well when they'd pour over her phone or a leaflet to read the information. At some point, they wandered into a more tourist-dense area of the city and Marigold spotted a kimono rental shop.

"If I go there, that's gonna be so touristy…" she mumbled to herself but it seemed like she kind of wanted to try it on.

Kafka then grabbed her hand and pulled her towards it. "It's there for a reason," he said in good spirits. "You should try it!"

It was easier said than done. Marigold was too tall. It took a while to pick something for her. Kafka waited patiently, while the attendants tried to match something up for Marigold, while also complimenting how pale she was.

She eventually emerged in a beautiful green kimono.

"Wow, you look great," he commented after he remembered how to speak.

"Thank you," she replied with a wide smile.

"They gave you short sleeves," he noted. He wondered if she knew what it meant.

"Oh, yeah, I asked for that." She picked up her camera. Immediately one of the attendants got to them and offered to take a photo of both Marigold and Kafka.

"Young man, don't you want to match your wife?" the elder woman asked him, giving his clothes a critical look.

"He's just a friend, who is showing me Japan," Marigold quickly jumped in to explain.

"We're just friends," he said at the same time.

"Ah, well." The attendant looked disappointed. "Anyway, stand together!"

The two awkwardly shuffled together but not before Marigold had to show the other woman how to operate her camera. Mari quickly set everything to look decent and went back to Kafka.

When they managed to escape the owner of the shop for a quick walk around in the kimono, Kafka couldn't help but glance at the short sleeves.

"Your husband must be a pretty lucky guy," he noted.

"I'm a widow, actually," she clarified. "Are you jealous?" she teased.

"Nah, just surprised. I didn't- well-, never mind, I guess." He smiled awkwardly, running a hand through his hair and then digging both hands into his jacket.

She rolled her eyes and bumped into him a little. "If I'll still be around and if you buy me a drink, I'll tell you about that. Maybe." She winked. "Now, I have a few more stops planned for today!"

He watched her walk ahead of him. Then he slapped himself to get his mind clear. He looked ahead and ran to catch up with her. Boy, she moved fast. "Alright, but you need to turn left there!"

"There?!" She called back.

"Yeah!"

The rest of the day went on without a hitch. They said their goodbyes way after the sunset, this time under the train station - Marigold promising that she was fine and he didn't need to walk her to the hotel. She memorised the route.

He gave her a look but finally gave in. "Alright, I'll see you tomorrow."

"Yeah, see you!" She chuckled and they went to their respective train lines.

They didn't meet the next day - a kaiju attack brought everything to a halt. Kafka was going to be swamped with the monster work for at least next week. It wasn't a giant class but a lot of smaller ones.

He sent her a text to apologise and she replied with a smiley face and a thumbs up. A "no worries" from her. Then a four-leaf clover and man in hardhat - good luck at work, he guessed.

She had a peculiar way of texting, he noticed. She was almost reinventing hieroglyphics. If he didn't understand something he could always send her a question mark and then she would explain in detail.

He smiled at her response but felt a little sad. Marigold was going to leave Yokohama after tomorrow. She would still be in Japan from what she was saying but after that? He wondered if she had any SNS they could connect with…

He was about to ask her when suddenly his phone was fished out of his hands.

"Who are you texting so much, Kafka? We're about to move out," Toku asked and looked at the screen.

"Nobody! Now give it back, Toku!" Kafka tried to reach for his phone to no avail. Toku was taller than him with longer arms.

Toku, meanwhile, whistled at what he found. "Hey guys! Kafka is talking to a girl!"

It was as if a pack of wild beasts spotted a prey. A cold shiver went through Kafka. Oh, he was in danger.

"Give it!" He managed to jump up and snatch his property back.

"Come on, Kafka, tell us something!" Mitsuike called after him. "It's been a while!"

"She's just a friend." Kafka quickly zipped up his overalls. "And didn't you just say we have work to do?!" He pointed at Toku.

"Well, the kaiju aren't going anywhere, now, are they?" Toku grinned.

"Neither is this conversation," Mr. Mizoguchi stated as he entered the room. "Gentlemen, leave the personal chatter to your break time or after work, please."

And with that Kafka’s execution was delayed. But he knew he was going to be grilled about this very soon. So he threw himself into work.

Surprisingly, they didn't harass him during the lunch break. He could feel their stares, however. They were plotting against him for sure. He couldn't blame them though. If this was anyone else - Yoshimura, Mori, Mitsuike - he too would have joined in on the teasing. They had been working together for so long, they were almost like brothers. Didn't necessarily mean he liked being on the receiving end, though…

As expected, they decided to grab him after work. Kafka had tried to escape but to his surprise even Mr. Mizoguchi seemed to be against him. The invitation for after-work beer came from him. He couldn't refuse that!

"So when did you meet?"

"Three days ago…"

"Is this why you wanted to be on call duty instead of coming to work?"

"Yes…"

"So… is she single?"

"Widow…"

"So she's single."

He just chugged the beer, trying to ignore the laughs and shoulder shaking that only got more intense as more alcohol was consumed.

"Just don't run off to some foreign country with her," Yoshimura laughed.

"We're just friends, guys…"

"Dude, you are 32! Maybe it's a sign!" Toku leaned on Kafka’s shoulder. "When I was your age-"

The next-day hangover was seriously cramping his style at work. Thankfully, it seemed that his coworkers had mercy on him. For once.

He was the last one at the site as per usual, double-checking everything. Making sure the equipment was secured, and no personal belongings left behind. After a thorough inspection, he loaded up his van and drove off.

It was always a bit creepy to be alone at the office after dark but he had to clock out and take his moped home. With all formalities done, he locked the office door.

"Kafka!"

Kafka jumped up with a shriek, spun around, and dropped into a defensive boxing position.

"Marigold?" He blinked seeing her standing there. "What-? How-?"

"Can you help me? I need to get into the cordoned-off kaiju zone," she spoke quickly looking over her shoulder.

There was an unusual tension to her and a sense of urgency he hadn't seen so far.

"Alright," he said without a moment of hesitation. "Give me a sec." He went back pulling her with him inside the office to grab the van keys.

Suddenly the whole building shook. Kafka looked through the window, alarmed.

"What-?" A kaiju? An earthquake?

"We have to hurry," Marigold said with a frown as she looked at the ceiling. "Did you get the keys?"

"Yeah."

Marigold grabbed his hand and pulled him outside. Another shake nearly had him lose the keys.

"Get the van," she ordered.

It was so strange. Like a flip in her personality. The fun and polite woman was replaced with this cold steel determination and focus. She kept him behind her as if protecting him.

He didn't even notice when or how there was a long and heavy-looking sword in her hand with a light curve to it. It was pitch black and seemed to consume light around it.

Questions for later.

He ran to the van. The ground shook again, strong enough that he almost lost his footing on a flat surface. A gust of frigid wind hit him in the back like a truck. He stumbled and collided with the van. In the reflection in the window, he saw a giant… something. It was a black mass he couldn't quite discern the shape of. Looking at it though, he felt ice filling his veins and it was as if he was disappearing. Like all that he was was dissolving into nothing.

"Don't look at it!" Marigold yelled and slapped his shoulder, snapping him back into reality.

"Fuckfuckfuck," he hissed under his breath as he struggled to get the key in the door. He ripped the door open when it clicked then launched himself inside. "C'mon, c'mon. Yes!" he shouted over the roar of the engine.

Something thumped on the roof. "Drive!!" Marigold yelled from above.

She didn't have to tell him twice. He stepped on the accelerator and sped off. The frigid wind brushed over him, forcing itself through the vents. It felt as if all the air from his lungs was being sucked out.

He smacked the wheel. The sting sobered him up. A glance in the back mirror showed him the shadowy mass consuming everything behind them. Not destroying it. Annihilating it out of existence. The buildings, trees, and roads were disappearing as if it was never there. He still could see Monster Sweeper Inc. HQ and half of it was just… gone.

The Shadows were still in pursuit.

"What the hell is it? A kaiju? I should report that! What is going on?!" His thoughts raced through his mind 100 miles per hour. He gritted his teeth as he took a sharp turn.

"It’s not a kaiju!" Marigold yelled from above. "Do not call it in!"

Did he say that out loud? Damn it!

The shadowy tendril smacked the road just an inch away from them. Another sharp turn. He must have broken so many laws. Somehow, it didn't matter. Survival did. He heard Marigold chopping away at the attacking creature. Kafka didn't remember the last time his adrenaline was this high. And worst part? He was grinning like crazy.

"We're almost there!!" he yelled to Marigold.

The Kaiju subjugation area was just ahead.

"Do not stop driving! It catches us, you're toast!" She responded.

"Me?! What about you?!" He sounded so offended.

"It's just another Thursday to me," she said and Kafka swore he didn't hear her. She spoke directly to his mind.

The van broke through the barricade. Kafka swerved between leftover kaiju they hadn't cleaned up yet and finally parked the car with a screech of tires.

Marigold jumped down the roof. He didn't know when or how but she was now wearing pitch-black armour. A snake wrapped around a blooming rose adorned her chestplate.

"Stay in the van and don't look." She said to him through the window. Her eyes were blood red.

"You owe me an explanation after this," he said quickly.

The ground shook again. It felt as if the Arctic spilled over. The rubble and kaiju bodies began to disintegrate. The gravity began to behave funny as pieces of concrete, metal, and wood began to levitate.

In the mirror, the mass of shadows began to take shape and Kafka didn't know if he liked that. A limb shot forward at them. Marigold spun around and cut right through it. The creature roared. Existence shuddered. Every atom in Kafka's body shivered, fighting to remain in place.

"Don't look, Kafka Hibino!" Marigold yelled and leaped forward.

She didn't have to repeat that. Kafka’s stomach turned into knots and he swallowed hard. He cranked the window up, closed his eyes, and gripped the steering wheel.

Outside, he could hear the sounds of battle. The roars and clanks of the sword. It felt unreal. The woman he met 4 days ago was some sort of knight fighting eldritch horrors. What was she even? People didn't have red eyes like those. Didn't talk to others through their minds, either.

The van suddenly shook and creaked. Kafka's eyes flew open and he spun around. There was now a human-shaped indent in the wall.

Damn, Toku was going to kill him. There is no way he could explain that!

He saw Marigold picking herself from the ground. In the blink of an eye, she was gone. For a second Kafka thought she got disintegrated but no. She was attacking mid-air. Falling l into the mass of shadows with a yell. And then, for a sliver of a heartbeat, reality splintered. Everything went quiet. Then it all exploded. The van got dragged a good few inches towards the dying creature. The windows cracked. The freezing cold disappeared. It was finally safe.

Kafka still couldn't quite grasp what happened but he knew one thing. They survived.

After taking in the emotion his eyes fell on Marigold.

She was standing in the middle of the battlefield. Craters around her. Her posture was half slumped, and there was blood in her hair and on her face. She punched her shoulder and the armour began to fold in on itself in segments. When the last of it was gone, she collapsed.

Kafka had to kick the door open to get out. Almost stumbling into the debris. He ran up to her and gently cradled her in his arms.

"Hey," she said. "You lived." A small, amused smile appeared on her face.

"That's my line," Kafka snorted. "So, a Thursday, huh?"

She laughed and then coughed up blood.

"Ooh, bad moment to laugh," she groaned. "I think it went through my mid-section at one point."

That was bad.

"I'll get you to the hospital!" Kafka carefully lifted her up. The van has seen better days but it still should get them places.

"No. No hospital." She gripped his shirt and pulled on it. "Just… get me to my hotel… I have everything I need there."

"I don't think the hotel staff will just let us slip past with you like this," he argued as he carried her to the van.

"They won't notice. Trust me."

---

A/N: This is Marigold, commission by me from KodarisArt (murder-me-with-ink on tumblr)

Notes:

This story was brought to you by my hyperactive brain! I love this man too much honestly. Have him in a whacky situation and an OC on top! Hope you enjoyed yourself and are willing to stay for an entire ride! That's gonna take a while! haha....
Beta Read by Sophia Cloud (TheSkySage) on AO3! Thank you Sophia for being an MVP despite not knowing anything about Kaiju no. 8 Everyone say thank you Sophia!
If you enjoyed yourself please leave me a comment and kudo. I will be updating this story probably once or twice a month, depending on how much chapters I finish in advance!

Chapter 2: That which I can't see

Summary:

Getting some answers.

Notes:

Chapter title from O'Death (Haunted Version) - Bobby Bass, Lauren Paley, Colm R. McGuinness.

"So, we're supposed to just walk in there?" Kafka asked Marigold - again.

She was slumped against him with her arm around his neck and him supporting her in the middle with hand pressed to her mid section and the large hole in it. It wasn't her only injury but it was the most pressing one. Kafka used the first aid kit to patch it up best he could but Marigold knew it wouldn't be so easy.

"The more you talk to me the more likely they will see us," she hissed back. "Kafka, I need to focus."

It was a simple trick. Something all baby vampires learn in the baby vampire elementary. A simple redirection of focus. She was going to make others just ignore their existence. It made them invisible to people. Not to cameras though. Another problem was - while this mind trick normally didn't require much thought, normally one wouldn't be doing these things critically injured.

So because blood loss was hard to cover up on a camera, she had Kafka throw his jacket over her head. He was much wider than her and the jacket even there was a bit oversized on him with hood for the still cool weather. Perfectly what she needed.

To the night shift at the front desk they weren't even there. To the camera they were just two hotel guests walking back inside slightly inebriated. Well, at least she was.

There was one more issue though. With how close to Kafka she was, Marigold couldn't ignore the hum of blood in his veins. The drive back to the hotel was easy. There was plenty air coming in through cracked windows and the vents and she was on opposite end of the bench seat. Easy to ignore. But now… Her head was resting over his. He was warm and alive and his heartbeat was so loud. He smelled of adrenaline, norepinephrine and dopamine. Heavenly cocktail. She could just lean in lower in the lift. Angle her head just about right. Nobody had to know…

She snapped back to reality as the lift doors pinged open and they stumbled out into the corridor on her floor. Sloppily, she pulled out the key card from her jeans pocket and swiped her room open. Her vision kept swimming. She needed blood and cleansing.

"Lay me on the bathroom floor," she instructed him. "Silver suitcase with red and purple stripes in wardrobe."

"Right." Kafka carried her inside and guided by her head gesture found the bathroom.

Gently, he set her down on the floor. His jacket got stained with her blood but it didn't seem like he minded. He just folded it up and used it as a pillow for her. How kind…. Her eyes followed his every move. Especially his neck. Every exhale and inhale.

"I could just snap it." Her thoughts betrayed her again as she watched his Adam's apple move. "There would be so much red…"

Her dry mouth watered at the thought. She swallowed and exhaled. Her tongue brushed over her fangs. She hasn't felt like this in centuries. Starved. Parched. Feral.

If she had her division with her there would have been a medic immediately patching her and setting her up with blood and medication. But this was a lay low, solo recon mission. There weren’t supposed to be any Nulls higher than a power level 6. The one she faced started at level 5 and almost evolved mid battle into a level 8 if she hadn't killed it when she did. If that happened she would have been killed. A whole division is needed to take an 8 down. Or three generals.

Her body was in pain. Her mind was betraying her. Her will failing. She reached to Kafka but he already left the bathroom. When? How?

Then a scent hit her nostrils. Blood.

The next thing she knew she had her hand wrapped around a warm throat, smell of fear hitting her senses and fangs almost piercing the delicate skin over an aorta.

Then her eyes fell over the image in the wardrobe's mirror door. First, there was Kafka. Kneeling on the floor in front of her portable blood suitcase fridge. Blood pack in his hand. Pure terror on his face. Then there was her, blur of smoke with blazing red eyes and the white of her teeth on his throat.

His thoughts were so loud. They flooded her mind.

"God, am I about to die? Why do I always do this? Did I make a mistake? Toku will need to find a replacement. I haven't listened to that new vinyl I bought…"

And then the memories of her. Him trying to connect her laughing face in the sun as he was running away from a particularly angry goose to the horror in the mirror.

"There is no such thing as a good vampire, child." Her grandmother's voice echoed in her mind. "It's either satiated or hungry. The former is worse than the latter as you can never know when it will turn on you."

Marigold pulled back. She grabbed the blood bag from Kafka’s hands. There was no resistance. Slowly she backed away from him and then raced back to the bathroom shutting the doors behind.

Alone, she ripped the bag open, letting the cold blood flood her mouth. It was repulsive. But she didn't think about it. This blood was laced with medication and painkillers.

The red spilled out of her mouth and she tried to wiped it with her hands licking them clean. She was panting in desperation. More. She needed more but she couldn't leave yet. Kafka… he was still there, outside.

A knock. Her head snapped up, surprised. What?

"I uh, I am leaving couple bags out here… I am stepping away." She heard him say.

He wasn't leaving?

She cracked the door ajar and peeked outside. The bags were where he said. She snatched them quickly and locked up again.

This time she took a moment to rip off a tag that instantly warmed the blood and made it more pleasant to consume. The painkillers started working.

After a while, she felt sane again. The hole closed up but there was going to be a scar.

Her clothes had seen better days for sure. The shirt and trousers were stained with blood and ripped in places. Nothing unexpected. She glanced into the mirror. Her reflection stabilised with only minor, expected, fuzziness on the edges. Her hair was a mess though. More blood and debris caught in it.

She debated whether she should take a shower now but Kafka was still there, outside. His thoughts, still loud and clear, were running wild. Not that she blamed him. He was partially trying to figure out the discussion they should have and partially wondering if she was an alien from the future or something. A vampire alien from the future.

She snorted unable to hide her amusement. God, this was bizarre. She hadn't fucked up this badly in a long while. The whole "almost had him as a snack" aside, she unintentionally dragged a civilian into something that was beyond his comprehension. And he didn't even know it.

Could she just do the right thing and wipe his memory? … Wait, right, she needed to call the clean up crew. She tapped on her communicator, disguised as a watch, and quickly sent appropriate reports to relevant people. Locations, damages, the usual. Now, she could focus on the problem at hand.

Kafka. She owed him. He was too brave, too kind. Hell, he didn't hesitate to help her when she asked. Normally, people would pause, ask what was wrong, try to get some information. But he just jumped straight in. Even now he was staying in her room despite almost dying. Worst of all, he was also concerned for her. This man…

She was going to let him choose. Go back to his life. Forget tonight ever happen and all would be good. She would eventually disappear from his life. Just a pleasant memory. Nothing else. No harm no foul.

She hoped he would choose right.

After a quick wash-up, she went back into the main bedroom. He was sitting in an armchair by the window, his leg bouncing with nerves. His head jerked up towards her when he heard her approach.

"Are you alright?" were his first words to her and Marigold almost laughed.

"How are you worried about me?" She folded her arms, cocking her hip and tilting her head. He was so confusing. "You almost died today, you know?" She kept her distance from him for now.

He opened his mouth to say something but then closed it and dropped his head. He rubbed his neck, trying to come up with an appropriate response but what could he say?

She was going to spare him the dilemma. She sighed. Here it goes.

"Kafka… I can make you forget tonight ever happened."

He looked at her again, surprised and a little confused. "What?"

"I understand it must have been…" She ran a hand through her messed-up hair as she searched for the right words. "Well, a lot to process. Things like what you saw tonight are better left forgotten. So, I'm offering you an out. Forget tonight. Live your life like it never happened," she said. "It will be as if it was… a really bad dream."

He seemed intrigued by the concept. "So you can just wipe it all away, huh?"

"Yes." Marigold watched as he looked out the window. His brows furrowed.

"What if I say no?" His eyes shifted towards her reflection.

"Why would you?" She walked up a little and sat on the edge of her bed, ready to move away if need be. "Usually, people don't want to live knowing eldritch horrors are out there."

He turned around. "Maybe but today was the most alive I have felt in a long time." He looked at his hand and folded it into a fist. "It was terrifying but I wouldn't change or forget that for anything." He looked at her with such determination it almost took her aback.

If this was any other universe, Kafka would have been a superhero. People like that were so rare. And tended to die quickly.

Brave fools.

She took a deep breath in. "There will be consequences, you know? To remembering."

He nodded. "I am prepared."

Gods, he was a fool. She should have mentioned that there would be consequences for her too but… no, she could handle it. She shook her head.

"I don't think you are but it is your choice," she said.

He smiled. "Thanks. So, will you now explain everything?"

"Doesn't seem like I have much of a choice now," she said, amused. He was truly persistent fellow. "Where should I start…" She thought for a moment. "I didn't lie about the name but I don't have a last name. When I was alive, they hadn't been invented yet."

"When you were alive? You're not a kaiju?" He slightly leaned forward as if that would let him absorb the information better.

"I guess I am a monster - Elder Vampire to be precise - but not a kaiju no. I am about… ten thousand years old, I died at…" She frowned, trying to recall the exact number but some things just escaped her after so long. "Twenty-nine? More or less."

His mouth fell open. His eyes were bulging. Kafka blinked quickly then covered his mouth. He was thinking loudly again and she couldn’t help to be amused.

"Ten thousand! That's insane. She would have seen the pyramids or- or Atlantis! Wait, is that even real?"

"Atlantis is not a thing in your world," she noted and he jumped a little.

"You can read my mind?" He was clearly blushing.

"Not intentionally," she replied. "I am actually pretty bad at the whole mental part of my abilities." She waved her hand. "So I have to focus if I want to read somebody's mind, but you think really loudly sometimes ."

"What does that mean?"

"People guard their thoughts, even within their own minds. I guess you just have nothing to hide," she smiled softly.

He made a small 'ooh' sound, nodding but the blush from earlier was still colouring his cheeks and ears.

"So." He cleared his throat. "That thing from earlier. What was it?"

Ah, the hard part of this conversation. It was Marigold’s turn to clear her throat. She pulled a little on her ear, trying to figure out how to explain everything but she never had to do this before. There were people, appropriate channels, and scripts. The scripts… which she definitely had read and were not lying at the bottom of her suitcase. This was why she hardly ever did solo work.

She took a deep breath, glancing at the ceiling to gather her thoughts.

"Right." She finally looked at him. She folded her hands together to rest her chin on it. "What I am about to tell you cannot leave this room under any circumstances."

Kafka moved closer to the edge of his seat. Any more and he was about to fall off.

"The creature you saw, we, the place I work for, call Null. It has also a fancy, scientific name but, it's not important."

The look Marigold received spoke volumes to Kafka's thoughts at the dismissal. It made her almost smile and debate whether or not to hand him the detailed notes later.

"Nulls have a goal. They are beings from beyond existence and their sole desire is to return everything to before Everything came to Be. When they consume something it just doesn't disappear. It ceases to exist in its entirety. People forget towns, their family bonds, everything is erased. Even yourself if you look at them for too long."

Kafka nodded. It explained what happened to him when he looked at the Null. It sounded terrifying. An invisible enemy beyond their understanding…

"And you - you fight them?"

"Yes."

"Alone?"

"No." She shook her head. "There are more like me."

So she was from something like the Defence Force. At least that's how he imagined it. "Why are you alone then?"

"Because this was a recon mission. I was supposed to just check out some anomalies. I didn't expect to run into anything stronger than level 5, or 6 at the worst. This one started as a 5. It started evolving during the fight, though. Almost ended up as an 8."

Kafka went quiet again. Numbers. So there was a classification system and whatever she fought had to be on the stronger side, judging from her words. So she had to be strong. Obviously, since the whole vampire thing. He studied her for a while. "All you are telling me is strictly confidential, isn't it? Does our government know?"

"No one here knows," she stressed. "And even if they did, you wouldn't be able to do anything. You lack the proper technology."

Kafka paused again, processing the information. He wanted to know more, everything. He rubbed his neck and leaned back. His world has been effectively flipped upside down. At least her explanation made some sense. He was slowly connecting the dots but it wasn't enough. What else could he ask about?

His eye caught bits of blood on his hand. He scraped his hand while opening the suitcase. It must have been the reason she attacked him. He looked up in alarm to see if there was another reaction but Marigold was perfectly poised and unmoving in her spot on the bed.

She noticed his discomfort and got up. Then she walked up to the cabinet by the wall that had a "secret" compartment in it and pulled out a mini bottle of whiskey and a regular bottle of water. She offered both to him.

He politely refused the whiskey but took the water. She set the whiskey next to him anyway.

"Anything else you want to know?" She asked before sitting back this time she chose the armchair across the side table. He didn't flinch so that was a good sign.

Kafka drank the water, debating the questions in his mind.

"If you bit me, would I have become a vampire?" he asked.

She snorted. "No."

"How does that happen, then?"

"Blood exchange. I drink yours, you drink mine, but even then it's isn't a 100% effective method," she explained.

"Why?"

She shrugged. "I don't know."

Right. He felt a little disappointed but if anyone asked him how his liver works he would only be able to say 'not very good'. He chose his next question. "So the sun doesn't burn you?"

"Only because I am really old and I can shield myself from it. Like a supernatural SPF 1000," she joked.

Kafla nodded. Then he noticed their reflection in the wardrobe on the other end of the room. "Your reflection is back to normal."

"Yeah, it is."

"Why was it all…" He thought for a word but he really couldn't think of anything so he just made a spooky noise and wiggled his hands.

She snorted a small laugh. "I have no idea either. I think just again - my age, the fact that I can control my aura, and the fact I am no longer hungry."

Her age. Right. "Man, that must have been crazy to have lived that long." He took another sip of water.

Marigold bit her lips and pulled on her ear again. "Something like that."

There was something she wasn't telling him and he knew it. He thought back on their conversation and something was bugging him about it but he couldn't quite place his finger on it.

Maybe next time…

The adrenaline spike he felt earlier was finally going down and the exhaustion was catching up to him. He yawned and checked the time. Oof.

"Well, I should be going," he finally decided standing up.

"You should stay," she offered. "You can sleep on the bed. I don't think I will sleep. Plus I don't need as much as you do."

She would understand if he refused. After all who would want to stay in the same room as a monster that almost killed them. Still, she wanted to repay him somehow.

"I can't impose, really," he said with an awkward smile.

"Alright," she didn't argue about it. "Just- Kafka, I am sorry." She reached for his hand and he didn't take it away. Marigold took it as a good sign. "In the future, if you will need any help, just… text me."

"You got it. And- likewise." This time his grin was reassuring. "It's been a lot today but it was awesome. Thanks."

She smiled back at him and they both just looked at each other. Still holding hands.

Suddenly the wall turned into a screen and a wolf head appeared in it. It had a white to light brown coat colour and radiant blue eyes. There was a data holo screen in front of it. The wolf was at first studying it very closely but then turned its head to Marigold and Kafka.

"Marigold, we got some troubling rep-" The wolf stopped talking and stared at them.

They stared back.

"Holy shit, is that the guy?!"

"Okay! The visit is over!" Marigold got her hand back and pushed Kafka towards the door. "Thank you for helping but I can't keep you here any longer, have a safe trip back home!"

"Wait, what, who-?" Kafka tried to crane his neck towards the screen.

"Noooo, the guy! Come back!" The wolf yelled back. He squished his face against the screen.

Marigold finally got Kafka out of her room. She then pinched the bridge of her nose.

"Nikolai, what did I tell you about impromptu calls?" She walked back in front of the screen.

"Why didn’t you text me you were going to have some late-night fun?" Nikolai raised his eyebrows at her. "So is this the 'just a friend' guy?"

"Don't make me pull rank," she groaned.

"You wouldn't do that. The Marigold I know isn't a coward!" He almost sounded offended.

"I will shave you." She glared.

"Good luck trying." He gave her a toothy grin. "You will need to first get through Freya and Kitty and we both know you are weak for the kid." He snickered.

Marigold rolled her eyes. "How are they?" She spotted an opportunity for topic change, she better take it.

"Fine! Kitty got an A at school!" He announced like the proud father he was. He began to talk about the little girl and her mother with utmost enthusiasm.

Marigold smiled. Too easy. She moved to sit down. "So what did you call me for?"

"Hm? Oh, right." He cleared his throat and went back to the data he had. "Your initial report. Are you alright?" He asked half due to his duty, half out of concern.

"Yeah, I am alright," she replied."I just need a shower." She wasn't going to tell him everything that happened. Nikolai tended to be overprotective. She didn't need that.

The werewolf studied her for a moment. He knew. He also knew she wasn't going to explain herself to him. She didn’t have to. She, after all, was his superior even if he was now acting as her handler. The only one who could even try to have Marigold open up was her sire. And Audrey was away on a diplomatic mission.

So he moved on.

They went over the report and Marigold filled in any blanks she may have left out that were absolutely necessary. In the meantime she felt her phone buzzing from Kafka’s messages. She put a priority on his van. Just in case. It seemed that the mechanics did a quick job as usual.

"Marigold," Nikolai called to her.

"Yeah?"

"Just be careful alright? Call back up at any moment. Me or Elle. We –" he started but Marigold raised her hand to cut him off.

"I know, thanks for the concern but I am fine! Ka —," she cut herself off.

"Ka?" Nikolai's eyes sparkled with mischief, his ears at attention.

"The man you saw," she corrected herself, "helped me with first aid. I had everything under control."

Nikolai didn't seem too convinced. "How much did you tell him?"

"Do you think I would reveal something that could harm us?" She straightened up, her voice a warning.

"No, no I don't," he assured her. "You didn't wipe his mind, did you?"

"No," she shook her head. "I couldn't do that to him. But he is trustworthy."

Nikolai's ears twitched. "You read his mind?"

She sighed and rubbed her forehead. "Yes, initially. I also ordered a standard background check. I know the procedures, Nikolai." She gave him a hard stare. "I included all that in my arrival report. Which you would have noted has you and Elle not been more preoccupied with coming up with some sort of crazy theories about my dating life," she scolded him.

His ears flopped down and he gave her a very much hurt puppy look. "I know. I am just concerned for my friend, is that so bad?"

Marigold gave him a small, amused, yet exasperated smile. "No. Just give me some credit, man."

"Hey, how should I know if you're not gonna swoon over some handsome stranger on your first day or something." His ears perked up again and she could imagine the tail wagging as he was back to teasing her.

"Like you haven't swooned over Freya?" She shot back.

He barked a laugh. "Have you seen Freya? How could I not?" He grinned.

"And all that whining how she deserves better? I can bring up the screenshots." She brought up her phone and glanced at him, wagging it.

"… no. No, thank you." He immediately deflated.

"Uh huh." She grinned and put the phone away. "I am going to go now. I'll contact you if anything else happens. I have train to catch in couple hours."

"Alright, stay safe." He opened another data screen.

Marigold squinted. "And Do Not! Look up his name." She pointed to Nikolai.

"Why not! I am your best friend! It's my duty!" He slammed his hands down on a desk.

Marigold squared up. "That's exactly why! Leave the man be! I didn't harass Freya!"

"You harassed me though!" He yelled back.

"Because you were being stupid! Good night! Dick! Tell Freya I said hi!"

"Bitch! Bye! I will!"

The wall returned to being a wall. Marigold snorted to herself and rubbed her face. Ah, nothing like a call with a friend to return her to normal.

Time for a much deserved shower and a quick nap. She had train to catch later.

Notes:

Many thanks to my Beta Reader Sophia Cloud who despite not even being in KN8 fandom helps me with the story! I've decided to update the 2nd chapter early. Next update 10th of May!
drop by my tumblr undersame username as the one here if you want to ask me questions.

Chapter 3: Object in Motion

Summary:

Marigold leaves to continue her mission, while Kafka stays behind.

Notes:

This chapter's title is brought to you by Inertia by AJR

The abrupt end to his adventure with Marigold had Kafka a little disoriented. It was kinda fitting though in the overall weirdness of everything that has just happened to him that day.

When the cool air hit him he realised he left his jacket inside. He wondered if he should get it back but then remembered the werewolf and he decided he had hit his limit. His head was hurting. The adrenaline gone he now had to face consequences. It was summer anyway.

He sighed. The company van. He fished the car keys from his trousers' pocket. How was he going to explain all the extra big dents and the cracked windows. Man… that might cost him a pay cut —

He did a double-take. He looked behind himself and back at the van before approaching it.

"What?" he freed with a blink, putting a hand on the undented metal.

The van was in pristine condition. The side, the windows, all of the damage had been fixed. Not just that. When he started it, the engine purred like new. There was no strange squeaking in the wheel they never could fix. Even the stains on the bench and inside walls had been scrubbed clean.

He whipped out his phone and messaged Marigold.

[Txt sent] My van!

[Txt sent] It's fixed!

[Txt sent] How did you do that?!

[Txt sent] Like thanks but also it's like new!

[Txt sent] I don't know how I will explain this…

He took a deep breath in. Man, what a night.

When he returned to Monster Sweeper HQ, he noted there were signs of reconstruction going on but it seemed as if whatever workers were there they hid at his approach. A big chunk of the damage was already halfway reconstructed. He didn't question it. He just swapped to his moped and drove home.

He was so sure he wouldn't be able to sleep but as soon as his head hit the pillows he was out like a light.

He was so out of it, he ended up sleeping through the first set of alarms. When he got up he had little time to just wash up and drink some coffee. He was out of smokes. There was no time to buy them, he could probably swipe one from the guys.

When he finally arrived at Monster Sweeper Inc., all that was in progress of being rebuilt was finished. He had to give it to Marigold's organisation. They worked FAST. He wished he had helpers like those. Kaiju carcass clean-up would have been a breeze.

The rest of the morning until lunch break was pretty routine. Only Kafka listened intently on any comments from his coworkers on a fresh-looking coat of paint or lack of scratch marks on some of the tools but nothing came. Just the normal chatter and jokes. He almost started doubting his memory.

Then at noon, he checked his phone. The texts from last night were still there. And Marigold had replied.

[Marigold] You are a difficult man to please 🤣

He smiled at the screen.

[Txt sent] How did you fix everything so quickly?

[Marigold] 👷‍♂️🤫

He snorted and took a bite of his sandwich. He started to type again but deleted his response. He realised how strange their relationship had become. Last night he discovered so much more about the world than anyone else and here they were, texting as if nothing happened.

His phone pinged.

[Marigold] 🚄👋🗣🌃

He hummed at this new puzzle. She was going to the train station and they will talk later.

[Txt sent] sure!

Maybe this was good. He could organise his thoughts while she was away. And hopefully, if he had any questions she'll answer them?

Kafka put his phone away. Time to get back to work.

---

Over the course of the next few months, Kafka didn't see anything supernatural but somehow he developed a small fear of looking into mirrors or any reflective surface. Meanwhile, Marigold had been trekking around the country, sending photos of the scenery to Kafka. She was not a very good photographer with her phone. Sometimes, she would try to take a selfie and he'd get a quarter of her forehead somehow. Beautiful forest or mountain in the background though.

"How do you even do that?" He'd laugh at her during one of their many Face Time calls. "There's a flip camera button, you know?" Even he wasn't that bad.

They tended to video call during the evenings and night after he was done with his work. He would lounge on his futon with a beer and a cigarette in his hand, getting her travel updates. It was better than TV.

"I'm sorry! I don't usually message anyone when I work and I forget there is a function like that!" she would reply, with a small huff. She was in the middle of a hike up some mountains.

"What do you mean?" He took a drag from his cigarette.

"Well, I have been told I am a bit of a workaholic," she grumbled. "Before I got sent here, I assumed this was a trick to try and get me to relax…"

"Wow."

"I know, awful." She rolled her eyes.

He smiled. "I hope you haven't been getting lost?"

"You'd be shocked but I find it so much easier to orient myself in the wild than in the cities. Less confusing signs and more stars and other natural markers to go by." She moved the camera and showed him the night sky. It was beautiful and clear with a myriad of stars decorating it like gems inside a geode.

"Two questions," he said once the initial awe passed. "One, how do you have such good reception?"

She grinned. "Magic~," she joked. "Serious answer - I don't know. It's a tech question. I just use the thing. What's the second question."

"Do you have night vision? Because I can barely see you." He squinted at her. Usually, these calls were from a hotel room, or in a tent with some artificial light source.

"Oh, shit. Sorry," she quickly tapped something on her screen. "Is it better?"

"Yeah." He took another drag.

As they were talking and calling, her Japanese also got less textbook and more natural. He was finally seeing her actual personality in her speech. Still on the more formal side but with more cursing.

"And yes, I see in the dark. I have to have a special screen over my phone or it would blind me," she answered his question.

"Right," he snickered as he tapped the ash on the tray.

She began to climb a steeper slope. Her breathing didn't change at all. He understood that it was because she most likely didn't need to breathe at all but it made him a little self-conscious. He should maybe cut down on burgers and smoking. He put out the bud in his hand.

"Look," she this time used the flip camera function and showed him a temple on top of the mountain she was hiking up.

The view was beautiful and haunting. The rising moon above the torii gate, the broken stone lamps leading up the weathered stairs to the abandoned temple… Kafka got chills. He wouldn't have been brave enough to go into a place like this alone.

"That looks old," he commented.

"Yeah, and has crazy readings. I will call you another time." She waved and terminated the call.

Kafka stared at the black screen for a moment. His mind began to wander. Marigold had such a great life. Dangerous yes, but exciting. She herself was exciting! And here he was, 32, in the same job that was supposed to be a temporary stay, with a beer gut and 12 years of failed attempts to fulfil his dreams.

"What the hell am I doing?" he whispered.

His chest tightened and his eyes stung.

"Fuck, get a grip, Kafka!" He slapped his face with both his hands. "Nothing comes out of being sorry for yourself!" He gritted his teeth.

His eyes fell on his small bookcase. Kaiju biology, JAKDF exam manuals, sketchbooks… a bitter taste climbed up into his mouth. The memories of still hoping, dreaming… The promises he made and broken.

Kafka grabbed his pillow and smothered his face in it. "You contribute to society. Your job is very useful! You are 32, of course your body doesn't look the same it did 10 years ago!" He shouted into the pillow. "You gave your best, you tried. It's fine!"

He yelled into the pillow for a good while more until his throat hurt and he needed air. He tossed the pillow aside and stared at the ceiling. Slowly he caught his breath. He checked the clock.

He got up, put on some sweatpants, and shoes, and was out of the house. He went for a run. An hour later, he came back sweaty and exhausted but with a clearer head. He took a shower and passed out.

Marigold didn't text him for the next couple of days. He was getting worried. It was natural in kaiju filled world to be concerned for friends and family who suddenly went radio silent. So checking his phone any moment he had on day three was nothing unusual.

On day four, he finally decided to text her. He rewrote the message three times before he settled for:

[Txt sent] Hey, is everything alright?

He sent it right before work, so he would have something to occupy his mind while waiting. He made the right choice. It took the whole day for her to text back.

She sent a photo. She turned her selfie into a meme with an "I lived bitch" text at the bottom. She looked… exhausted. Paler than normal, her skin almost translucent with dark circles under her eyes. Definitely had been in a fight. Or five.

He snorted at her joke and sighed in relief.

[Marigold] 🫵😱?

[Txt sent] a little. It's only natural! We have kaiju attacks like every other week!

[Marigold] 🥹💛

He tsked, a bit exasperated with her. She was joking and he was worried about her. Still, he couldn't help a little smile. His friend was still alive. Well, as alive as a vampire could be.

[Marigold] 🫵👍?

For a split second, he wondered if he should pretend not to understand this one but ultimately he gave in.

[Txt sent] yeah. I'm good. I quit smoking.

[Marigold] 👏☺️

He smiled. [Txt sent] thanks.

Still, a huge weight fell off his shoulders. Somehow her presence became a comfort in his life. Her sense of humour, the slightly censored anecdotes she'd share… He came to rely on those. A dash of strangeness in his life.

He laid down on his futon. Suddenly his phone buzzed. It was Marigold's caller ID.

"Hello?" He answered, immediately sitting up.

"Hey," she spoke on the other end. Her voice sounded hoarse and tired. "I hope it's fine to call?"

"No, yeah, I'm not doing anything." He turned off the TV to focus better.

She chuckled. "I can't stand looking at the screen right now, so I hope this is fine. Sorry for not responding for four days. I have been a bit tied up. How was your week?"

'A little tied up'. He thought back to the night before she left Yokohama. Yeah, he had an idea what that meant. If her looks alone said anything.

Kafka wasn't sure how, but he felt she just needed a distraction at the moment too.

"Yeah, I can imagine. Ah, not bad. We had this huge kaiju to clean up." He began retelling everything from that week.

They ended up talking for a couple hours. She told him a little about the four days but not much. She was definitely playing down how badly she got hurt. It concerned him. Somehow, he started wondering if she was using him the same way he was using her. A distraction from everyday life. It was strangely comforting.

They had to end the conversation when he woke himself up with a snore in the middle of him talking about the orbees gun fight with his co-workers. She laughed and told him to sleep.

Regular life, supernatural life. Wasn't it strange? How people just needed each other for various perspectives?

The next week was going to be Christmas. Marigold moved onto Hokkaido. She sent him photos of the snow. She was getting better at photos.

"That looks freezing," he commented.

"It probably is," she said. She was dressed in a jacket with thick fur on the hood. "You don't like the cold?" The snow was creaking under her boots as she walked towards a cabin she was staying in.

"I like it more than heat," he admitted. He had to have at least one T-shirt to change into during summer for work.

"Fair enough." She nodded.

"You should make a snowman," he suggested with a grin.

She snorted. "Maybe I should. Haven't built one in ages," she sighed. "If I had my team up here we would probably be having a snowball fight."

He chuckled. "That sounds fun."

"Yeah, they are a bunch of jokers but all in all good soldiers." She smiled, looking a bit nostalgic. "When was the last time you built a snowman or had a snowball fight?"

He pretended to think hard on the question. "Hmm, I think last week but it was short-lived before Mr. Mizoguchi scolded us."

"Killjoy." She grinned. She opened the cabin's doors and walked inside. Everything got bright for a second while the video readjusted.

"Well, we were at work," he admitted, a little ashamed. "And we're not kids."

"Eh, that is hardly a reason not to have a snowball fight!" She shook her head. "Oh by the way, I will be going back to Yokohama somewhere after New Year's." She put the phone down and Kafka could see the ceiling, while she took off the coat and boots.

"Oh! How long will you stay?" While he was excited to see her in person again, he hoped some of his disappointment didn't bleed through.

"Not sure. I will be doing another sweep of the city and then back to base. Why? What were you planning Mr Hibino?" She picked up the phone again and squinted at him.

He rubbed the back of his neck. "Ah, well, just curious." He was glad she couldn’t read his mind through the phone.

Truth was Mitsuike was trying to recruit the single guys at work to go to a Christmas mixer. Especially Kafka because "he could always loosen the atmosphere". And yeah, he could bring a girl back to a hotel but it never really amounted to anything serious. He realised he much rather have Marigold there. They could talk about the new music album or she'd tell him something about Christmas from her time and country. His new friend was more interesting than any woman Mitsuike could have brought.

"Well, I will talk with you soon, yeah?" He smiled. "It's getting bit late." He should better end this call before he incriminate himself.

"Sure." She had a puzzled expression on her face.

Kafka managed to not go to the Christmas mixer. He stayed home instead. Then the New Years arrived in a blink of an eye. He a brief visit to his parents and it was back to work. Not even two weeks in and another colossal kaiju hit Yokohama. And the day after a new coworker joined - Reno Ichikawa.

And the night of that day Kafka’s life changed forever.

Notes:

Many thanks to anyone who reads this thing! As per usual huge thanks to my Beta Reader Sophia Cloud. If you like this story consder dropping me a comment or kudo :)
Next update is a LONG ONE, so I think I'll post it at the beginning of June and it might be the only chapter posted in June!

Chapter 4: One Last Shot

Summary:

The gang needs to deal with Kafka's changes and prepare for whatever comes next.

Notes:

Songs for this chapter are: Ceasefire from Kaiju no. 8 OST and One Last Hope - Hercules OST.

"Kafka? I got your message. Are you home?" Marigold knocked at the apartment's door as she checked the address. She got better at reading kanji over time but there was still a chance she messed something up.

She could sense a strange energy coming from behind the door, which had her concerned…

"Kafk–." The door unlocked and Marigold waited as it opened by a crack, demonic skull with horns, sharp teeth and glowing turquoise-blue eyes.

That… was not Kafka.

"Hi, Mari," the creature chuckled awkwardly. "Please don't freak out?"

His voice was strange, echoey, but there was no mistake. His mind was wide open to her.

"Kafka??" She blinked, taking a step back.

"Yeah… it's still me," Kafka said, sounding as if he was still trying to convince himself.

"Huh…" She blinked. "Well, um— can I come in?"

"Oh, yeah sure." Kafka stepped aside and opened the door wider. "There's also going to be one more person coming in."

Marigold walked inside the flat and took off her shoes. She looked at Kafka, taking in the changes. He was taller now. Whole eight inches taller than her. The nerve. There was black plating all over his body, and dorsal fin-like bone structures protruded from his spine, running down his back and down a brand new tail. His face resembled a horned skull with deep-set eyes, the blue irises standing out starkly against the black sclera. A row of lipless teeth was running down nearly to his neck and looked just as sharp, if not more, than the claws on his hands and feet. And as if that wasn't enough, blue veins of energy ran in-between the black plating, pulsing with power.

Were she a younger vampire, she might have been terrified by the overwhelming force in front of her. Hell, even now, she couldn't help but look at him with concern. More for him than her.

"Do they know?" If he wanted her to cover for him…

"Yeah, he was there when this," he gestured over himself, "happened. It's Reno Ichikawa from my work. And uh, he doesn't know what you do or who you are. I— I didn't think it was right for me to share."

"Right." Small blessings. "Okay, then. I'm guessing he'll be here for the emotional support?" She looked at Kafka over her shoulder, raising one eyebrow at him with a small smile.

Kafka snorted as he closed the door. "Something like that. He was curious as to who you were after I mentioned I wanted to ask you for help."

"Well, I can't promise much, but I will do anything I can." She looked over him again. "Although I'm not quite sure what that would be…" She trailed off and snickered after he covered his chest with his arms, like a blushing maiden. "I'm starting to think I've activated some weirdness magnet in you. I hope you two will tell me exactly how it happened."

"No worries, we will." He cleared his throat and invited her further in.

His flat was microscopic. Marigold felt like her field tent was bigger than that. She could cross it with what? Maybe ten good steps? She let her gaze trail along the small, scratched-up TV, the low table in the middle of the main area, and the small bookcase before her eyes fell on a poster of a busty model, and she bit her lip, amused.

He noted her line of sight, made a noise, and rushed to take it down.

The kitchen area was on her right as she entered. The bathroom and toilet door were just ahead. Tiny. He must have recently been cleaning, judging by the trash bags by the door, but his situation must have prevented him from going outside to dispose of them. She could smell old cigarettes and beer cans. He always had a somewhat similar scent about him whenever they met before. That and burgers and kaiju.

She went into the main area, curious about his bookcase.

"Can I take a look?" she asked as she knelt.

"Hmm? Oh sure, go ahead," he said while shoving the offending poster into one of the trash bags.

Most of his books were on the Defence Force - history, tactics. She recognised the titles and figurines she bought him at the Guramon museum with a fond smile. Then there were the vinyls - classical rock, heavy metal - the bands they talked about and the names she also knew from Kafka. These quickly lost her interest. Then she pulled out a black volume that had no title. Quickly, she realised she was holding a notebook/sketchbook in her hands. Flipping through, there were kaiju appearance charts before her, detailed sketches of different kaiju types and their weak points. Some of these sketchbooks looked old, notes not as precise as later ones.

"Ah!"

Her head jerked up, noticing Kafka standing over her, looking embarrassed even in his kaiju form.

"Sorry, did I overstep here?" she asked, ready to close the sketchbook and put it back. There were a few she pulled out already spread around her.

"No, well— that's just kind of embarrassing," he admitted. "I've been working on these since elementary school, but the ones you are looking at are the ones I made when I moved here. Haven't looked at them since—." He sighed and took one volume from the floor pile and started flipping through. "It's been a while."

Marigold didn't need to read his mind to see the nostalgia in him. Nostalgia and past misery. She scooted closer.

"I think you did a great job on these. You have a good eye for detail. If you were in my battalion, I'd have you in recon squad. I'm guessing this is the most recent one?" She pointed to one of the entries.

"Yeah, the last one." He gently stroked the edge of the page.

Marigold noticed the date. "Do you mind me asking why you stopped making these four years ago?"

Kafka remained quiet for a moment, the blue light of his eyes went out, leaving the eye sockets in his skull face empty like a bottomless void. "The cut-off for Defence Force candidates used to be 28. That was the last time I took part in it."

Marigold reached with her hand to offer comfort, but then Kafka cleared his throat, chasing away the misery, making her hold back. "Anyway, that's in the past! They raised the cut-off age to 33 now!" He sounded much more cheerful.

She frowned. "Kafka, are you–" She got cut off by the knock on the door.

"Must be Ichikawa." Kafka got up from the floor. "You're gonna love him, he's a great kid." He was positively excited for this meetup.

Marigold sighed. Here we go. She put the sketchbooks away while Kafka checked the door and let the newcomer in.

"You haven't managed to turn back yet, sir?" A younger voice joined in Kafka's and Marigold looked up. Reno Ichikawa was young. How old could he be? 18?

The whole situation kind of set her a bit on guard, to be honest. It was one thing if Kafka needed help with learning how to get his transformation under control. Not that she would be a huge help in that regard. Hers was hardly a 'transformation'. Merely a 'hungry/hunt mode'. But Kafka got another person involved in this talk. So there was more to it, and after his sudden upturn in mood… Yeah, something was fishy.

"Ichikawa, this is the friend I told you about, Marigold." Kafka gestured to her. "Marigold, this is Reno Ichikawa."

"Nice to meet you, ma'am." Reno politely bowed.

"Likewise," she replied. "As I understand, you are helping Kafka with his predicament."

"That's right, ma'am."

Marigold quickly went over the boy's surface thoughts and feelings. Concern and admiration for Kafka, wariness of her. Solid mind. Goal-oriented. Some concerning issues here and there, but it wasn't her job or business to deal with that. She didn't find any mentions of what she was in his mind, so Kafka must have kept that secret. She smiled.

"The more the merrier," she said in a friendly tone. "So, will you two now explain to me how Kafka ended up like that and why exactly I'm here?"

The two men, or a kaiju and a man, exchanged looks.

"How about we all sit down." Kafka tried to play a host, clearly stalling. Marigold sent him a look, he pretended not to see. "Does anyone want something to drink?" he asked.

Marigold's lips twitched. She fought off the urge to make a joke out of it. "No, I'm good," she said instead. "Unless you have coconut water?"

"I do actually!" Kafka announced proudly.

She sat cross-legged by the low table, soon joined by Ichikawa, while Kafka was grabbing tea for himself and Reno.

"Ma'am, I have to ask you, who are you?" the boy asked.

Marigold smiled as she skimmed his mind again. He was wondering if she was some sort of foreign spy, trying to find out details on Japanese kaiju tech. Or some black market goon, using Kafka with his access to kaiju carcasses. His distrust was amusing to her, but impossible to ignore as he was drilling holes in her with the look he was giving her.

"What did Kafka tell you?" she asked instead of answering.

"Not much. Just that you are someone working in a similar vein as the Defence Force," Reno replied.

Marigold propped her chin on the back of her hand. "That's, I guess, a pretty good explanation."

Reno kept staring at her expectantly, waiting for her to elaborate.

She sighed. "That's all I can tell. The only reason Kafka knows is because I had no choice to drag him into a situation, and even he doesn't have a full picture," she explained.

"You have been talking since last August," he pointed out.

"I'm good at censoring myself," she rebuked.

"He also mentioned you possibly can help him with controlling the transformations?" Reno wasn't giving up.

It was an interesting sort of hero idolisation that was going on in his head. He looked up to Kafka and wanted to protect him at the same time… out of guilt? strange sense of owning a life debt? A little bit of both? Who knew. Not even Reno, that's for sure.

Marigold made an 'I don't know' sound. "That's up for debate. Personally, I see nothing wrong with how he looks now, but I can imagine it's quite hard in your world."

"That's what it was!" Kafka suddenly chimed in as he got back with the tea and a bottle of coconut water. "I kept meaning to ask - you keep saying 'your world'. What's with that?" He slid the bottle to her.

"I never told you?" She tilted her head. She took the bottle and snapped the cap open.

"No."

"Oh well, that's something for another time." She took a sip. "First, tell me how the hell did you end up like this. I won't lie, I'm dying to find out." She knew it wouldn't win her any favours with Reno, and Kafka already was onto her. He had his eyes all narrowed at her.

She always did that whenever he asked a question she couldn't or wouldn't answer. He had a working theory, of course, but he desperately wanted her to tell him more. It will need to wait.

"Well, it happened on my first day at Monster Sweeper," Reno began the tale.

Marigold listened to their story with a fascinated sparkle in her eye. Kafka recalled she looked similar the first day of sightseeing they went on together. She seemed excited every time he would retell her a story or recount something.

"… and then this huge spider yoju appeared from below the ground. Sir, reacted faster than I could…"

"Now, now, Ichikawa, you didn't see it. It just jumped out of nowhere with its wide jaw like 'raaawr', and it was so ugly! You would have been jumping away, too!"

When Reno was telling the story, she listened intently, but when Kafka jumped in with sound effects or extra details, the sparkle appeared and the tiniest smile twitched in the corners of her mouth.

"I just couldn't let my junior get eaten on his first day of work, you know!" He gave Reno a strong pat on the back.

"So that thing infected you?"

"No, no! That was later, I tried to be cool but uwaah I was so scared!" He chuckled. "But I couldn't just do something lame in front of Ichikawa."

"So what happened next?"

They went over the events all the way past the dragonfly mini kaiju in the hospital.

"The way everything just shattered when I touched it was so terrifying! I never had strength like that!" Kafka recalled.

Reno nodded along.

"Yeah, changes like that are a big shock to the body and take time to calibrate," Marigold agreed.

"Did you go through a change like that, ma'am?" Ichikawa looked curiously at her. A chance to get something out of her.

"Something similar but not quite." She twirled the bottle between her hands.

Reno frowned. Brushed off once more.

"Anyway!" Kafka clapped to get their attention. "We had to escape the hospital…"

He continued the story. He tried to omit the detail of his kaiju form having urinary tracts through the nipples, but Reno mentioned it, and now they had Marigold wheezing in laughter.

"It was mortifying!!" Kafka exclaimed. He was now covering his chest away from her.

"I am so sorry!" She had tears in her eyes, slapping her hand over the table.

"He was also concerned if anyone would ever want him as a bride," Reno added calmly, taking a sip of his tea.

Marigold let out a wail, dropping her head on the table, hitting the surface with her fist.

"Ichikawa!" Kafka gasped.

"That's what happened, sir," Reno replied smugly.

They had to wait until Marigold regained her composure, which took her a good minute or two.

"I am back, my apologies." She cleared her throat and wiped her face, and absolutely avoided looking at Kafka. Her mouth was still twitching.

"So, we were back to running away…" Kafka picked up where they left off.

Twenty minutes later, they were finally reaching the conclusion to the tale.

"…I punched that thing, like it was nothing!" He talked animatedly, arms waving. "And then this girl thanked me, and I just — something shifted, and I became human again. But it's not permanent, if I as much as sneeze, this," he waved his hand in front of his face, "comes back."

That indeed was a problem. "I'm guessing you want me to help with keeping this under control?" She eyed him up and down.

"Can you?" He asked hopefully.

Marigold sighed. "I don't know, my condition is quite different." She folded her arms and rested them on the table. She wished to help Kafka but…

"I don't transform like you do. What happened that night… It's an exception. Pure instinct," she explained. "If you need help with assessing just how much you have changed physically or mentally, that I think I could arrange."

Kafka looked a little down. Marigold's unbeating heart squeezed in sympathy. When she turned, she had Audrey to guide her through the changes and Miro for emotional support. Kafka was going in blind with this with just Ichikawa at his side.

"Look, like I said, it's not too bad of a situation, depending on how you look at it. You could… try vigilantism? As a hobby?" she tried to cheer him up. "From what I understand of the whole Kaiju Watch, it depends on physical reports? So you are safe unless spotted. It's not like you are in a rush, right?" She looked at Reno for support.

The boy cleared his throat and rubbed his neck, looking away from her.

"What? What are you guys not telling me?" She narrowed her eyes at them.

"Um, well…" Kafka shared a look with Reno. "I want to try again for the Defence Force. They raised the age cut-off. So, who knows, I might get another shot."

Marigold took a moment to digest this information. "It's risky," she finally said, "but if you take your time to master the transformation, it could work. How much time do you have until the exam?"

"Three months," Reno answered her.

Marigold gaped at them for a moment then blinked and shook her head. "What do you mean 'three months'? That's a joke, right?"

Both men shook their heads.

"Oh stars above," Marigold muttered, dropping her head into her hands. "Is this really that important to you?" She looked at Kafka. He had to know this was too much risk. He should take his time to figure out the whole shifting thing. Become a firefighter or paramedic if he needed to save people and use his skills. The firefighter suit was baggy and loose, he could hide his new body in it. There was no logical reason to–

"They raised the recruitment age to 32," he said slowly, looking down at his folded hands. "It is my very last chance. Even if they raise the cut-off age again, I might be already too old anyway." He looked so determined, so full of conviction. "I made a promise, Mari, I intend to keep it."

"Just for a promise? Kafka, if you were human–"

"It's not just a promise. This, being an officer of the Defence Force, I know it may seem foolish to you but to me, it's everything," Kafka interrupted, voice steady.

She watched him carefully. He knew what was at stake. "A brave fool…" She remembered.

She sighed, "Fine, I will help in any way I can."

Kafka and Reno let out a dramatic breath.

"Thanks, Mari!" The taller one grinned widely, and she huffed. Something must be wrong with her if she agreed so easily but there was no backing out now.

"How about you tell me about the test instead of thanking me," she sighed.

"The test consists of three parts!" Reno jumped in to explain. "The first part is a written exam, then once you pass that part, you are allowed to take part in 2nd stage, which consists of two parts. Fitness and endurance test, and then an aptitude test. For the past two years, the aptitude test was cleaning kaiju carcasses, so we got this covered."

"Which leaves the fitness one." Marigold nodded along.

"Yes."

Good thing she was still involved in recruit training. She had charts! She pulled out her phone to begin making arrangements.

"I am going to check if I can get you some medical exam off the books and come up with some exercise routines to optimise your oxygen intake," she muttered, going into a strategy mode.

Kafka definitely would need to get his VO2 max in shape first after being a smoker. Maybe a kettlebell and a swing ladder for starters? Reno was younger and freshly ready for the test, but he could also benefit from that.

Kafka's face fell at the mention of a medical exam. The prospect of someone poking at him wasn't ideal but… maybe there would be a way to fix him?

"Right," Kafka tried to match the enthusiasm even if it felt impossible. This was it.

If only he could just go back to being human first…

He must have thought that thought loud enough for Marigold to pick up on it.

She looked up from her phone. "Can you tell me what you felt when you first transformed back?"

Kafka thought back to that night. When he was transforming before he only focused on being human, being Kafka again, but it ultimately always slipped. How did it feel like? He closed his eyes and focused.

"Uncle Kaiju? Thank you for saving us," the words of the girl, her innocent gratitude, echoed in his memory.

"I remembered… Mina and I when we were kids," he began describing. "Our bet on who would be the coolest Defence Force officer." His tone became lighter, nostalgic. His skull face wasn't very good at translating emotions, but he was easy to read.

"Was that all it was to it?" Marigold prodded further.

"No. I wanted to be someone who could protect people. Save those around me from grief and pain. Having Mina at my side would have just been a perk. The two of us against the world. Two kids running over a hill towards a better future for everyone…"

The hope and determination he hadn't felt since he was a boy. The desire to help, to save lives. To be a beacon for others. It burned deep within his chest.

He opened his eyes. Marigold was smiling at him. "Welcome back," she said.

Kafka looked down at his hands and saw they were back to human.

"Hell yeah!" He yelled, jumping up to his feet. In a puff, he was back to kaiju. "Oh, come on! I absolutely had it!"

He vented and stomped around, growling out his frustrations. Reno and Marigold waited for him to calm down.

Marigold hummed. "How are you feeling right now?" She asked as he sat down.

"Well, I'm-" His stomach grumbled loudly then. Marigold laughed and Reno hid his mouth behind his hand.

"Sir, when was the last time you ate?" Ichikawa narrowed his eyes at Kafka.

"Well… I was meditating really hard yesterday, trying to keep everything under control, but uh…" If Kafka could blush right there and then, he probably would.

"Sir! You cannot just forget to eat! How is it that one moment you overeat and the next you forget food even exists!" Reno scolded the older man.

"Depression," Marigold thought to herself. She knew the issue a little herself. Not exactly in that way, but she tangled with it in the past.

"How about I make you some food and you try to focus on holding onto that feeling," she offered.

"Hey, you don't have to, you're my guest!" Kafka protested.

"No worries, Reno will help me. Right, Reno?" She smiled at Ichikawa who immediately straightened up.

"Right!"

Kafka's fridge was in a poor state, but thankfully, Ichikawa had bought some groceries when he arrived. "Bless this young man", Marigold thought.

Her phone pinged with messages back as she was pulling ingredients out of the grocery bag. She quickly scanned if it was anything useful.

"What are you going to make?" Reno wondered.

"Hmm?" Marigold tore her eyes away from the screen. "Well, something simple." Something she didn't need to taste, that's for sure. "Burgers? It's one of Kafka's favourites if I remember right."

"Burgers?" Kafka perked up from his spot on the floor.

"You sit there and meditate or something!" She called back to him. "A friend of mine suggests you focus on one body part at a time, at least to get things jump-started."

"Got it!"

"Ichikawa, please peel these mushrooms for me and rinse these ones." She ordered, sliding the items to him.

The burgers came together quickly. Marigold made extra portions for Kafka as she guessed the kaiju form might take more energy. Sure enough, they found out that hunger was a transformation trigger. As soon as Kafka had a full meal, his return to human form became so much easier. Marigold added stress and tension to the list. She was going to test his innate danger sense on another occasion.

She promised to get back to them with a location they could train at, since Kafka's transformations could put him at risk in a public space, and specific routines, as well as whether it was possible to examine Kafka's body. After that, she left the dynamic duo.

"Sir, is it really alright to trust her?" Reno asked after Marigold left. He had mixed feelings about her. There were so many questions she just refused to answer, and Kafka was just way too okay with all of that.

Where would she take Kafka for examination? What did she mean by her own transformation? She hadn't touched any of the food she had made. He wanted to trust her. He really did. Just… being in her presence was unnerving him so much.

Kafka glanced down at Ichikawa. "Now, now, Ichikawa. I thought we moved past that! She just has some secrets she wants to keep close to heart."

"In the meantime, she knows all of your secrets." Reno stared at him with a stern face.

Kafka chuckled awkwardly, rubbing the back of his head. "True, but I don't have that many of them."

"… Alright, sir. I will drop it but can't you at least tell me what she is if she's not a kaiju shifter?" Reno crossed his arms, trying to reason with the older man.

Kafka shook his head. "Sorry, but that is her story to tell."

Reno sighed, not surprised but a little disappointed. "You are too strait-laced, sir, you know that?"

"Yeeah… you mentioned that before…" Kafka chuckled.

The next day, they all met up again at Kafka’s. Marigold arrived with two suitcases. Reno's eyebrows wandered upwards at the heavy, metallic clank they made as she set them down.

Curiously, he approached one of them. He tried to pick one up. He considered himself quite fit and strong, and neither of the suitcases looked heavy. Marigold just carried them like a regular shoulder bag. He barely managed to lift one off the floor.

"I brought some exercise equipment," she grinned a little like a maniac.

Both men swallowed nervously.

Marigold was a relentless coach. She knew she wouldn't be able to be there with them for the entire 3 months, so she took all the extra time she could spare for them to drill into them all she could.

Day 1, she taught them the routines, correct postures, how many reps they should do, and drilled into their heads not to overdo it.

Kafka thought his exercise routine he kept since he was 18 was enough to keep fit. It wasn't. The first week, he thought he was dying. Marigold thought of every opportunity he could use to improve - at work, at home, during leisure. She was relentless… but she was also kind.

"Even a machine needs a break and good greasing. Your bodies will need rest time between exercising," she told them, and they listened like studious children.

One day, she took Kafka to the bathroom and showed him a paper cut out of the Defence Force uniform she stuck over his mirror with tape.

"So you can clearly see your end goal and know it can be reality." She smiled to encourage him.

He thought he would cry there and then.

She had to leave, though. Her own mission was still ongoing. But she texted Kafka and called after she left and answered any questions, or gave encouragement. He swore she once called him in the middle of a battle. He couldn't miss the monstrous growls, her quickened breath, and grunts as well as the clank of metal.

"Are you fighting right now?" he asked, bewildered. How did she still think about him?

"Maybe, it's fine, don't worry!" she chuckled. He worried anyway.

Despite all the support, though, Kafka still had his doubts. But when he wondered if he should just quit it all, a reassurance came from the least likely source.

"Damn Kafka," Mitsuike said one day to him. It was a month before the written exam. "What gym are you hitting?" They were at work, and Kafka was hoisting some equipment up from the van.

"You really are working for that Defence Force exam, huh?" Toku gave him a strong pat on the back.

"His gut stays the same, though!" Mitsuike laughed.

"As if yours gone?" Yoshimura pointed out, evoking some snickers from everyone.

Kafka looked at everyone. "Yeah. I guess next time I see you, Mitsuike, you will be cleaning up the kaiju I killed," he joked. "I will leave it extra messy."

"Mean!"

They all laughed, but once the eyes were turned, he looked at the piece of machinery. "Huh, I do feel stronger," he thought.

The machinery he was picking up usually gave him quite a workout, but now? He knew it was heavy, but it didn't bother him as much. Hell, he didn't run out of breath or get tired as quickly as he used to. He still had room for improvement, but…

Kafka smiled. Maybe the workout from Hell wasn't so bad after all.

---

A week before the written exam, Marigold contacted them for a meet-up. It was time to take a look at how much of a kaiju Kafka was. They gathered again at Kafka’s place. Marigold, Reno and of course, Kafka.

"So, where are we going?" Kafka asked.

"I managed to convince one of our medics to help out. We are going to one of my facilities," she explained.

Reno and Kafka both looked intrigued at that, although in Reno’s case, there was a healthy dose of distrust. He wasn't initially included in the invitation, but Kafka contacted him anyway, keeping his younger colleague as an emotional support.

"How are we going there?" Reno asked. If there were some mysterious labs in Japan this whole thing was getting a bit action/thriller in his eyes. And too dangerous. What if they trap Kafka and try selling him for parts?

Marigold smiled and pulled out a key. She walked up to Kafka's door, inserted the key, turned it, and opened the door.

Both men followed her, puzzled, but as the door opened, their eyes grew wide. "It's closer than you think."

On the other side of Kafka's door was not the usual corridor. Instead, white, sterile walls and people looking like medical personnel walked about. The thing about those people, though, was that not all of them looked human.

"C'mon." Marigold nodded them towards the entrance and stepped through.

Kafka and Reno glanced at each other, then carefully followed after.

The place wasn't too busy. In fact, despite the personnel's inhuman nature, there wasn't any rushing, no emergency. It looked a lot like a futuristic hospital. White and chrome. Occasionally, the symbol of a snake wrapped around a blooming rose appeared here and there. Kafka recognised it from Marigold’s armour on that fateful night. One strange thing about it was how there seemed to be no doors anywhere.

People didn't seem to mind them as they ventured through the facility. They just walked by, occasionally nodding at Marigold with "Marshal General." Few of them even saluted.

The bewilderment of her two companions was rising, and Reno’s frown was deepening. Marigold could feel the hole he was drilling into her back with his stare.

She sighed. She didn't really want him there, but what happened, happened. She will just have to include two people in all the permission paperwork and her reports, now. Joy…

Thankfully, her position allowed her some more elasticity with formalities.

"Where are we?" Reno finally asked. His fears of some kaiju black market operation were becoming solidified with each step.

"Imperial medical research wing. That's all I can tell you." She rounded the corner and placed her hand on a seemingly smooth wall. Immediately, hidden doors slid open. "And here is the person who is going to help us out."

She gestured to someone inside. The men peeked over her shoulders. The person was tall, thin, and slender. Taller than Marigold herself. Their hair was translucent, tied up in a long ponytail on top of their head. Their skin had an opalite shine to it. The eyes were almond-shaped and completely purple, lacking an iris. Thin, spidery, long fingers, eight on each hand, were holding a data pad. They were dressed in a lab coat, neon green slacks, and a blue Hawaiian shirt.

"Marshal General," they greeted Marigold as they looked up at the new arrivals. Their voice was quite unpleasant, like using gravel to scratch glass.

"Colonel General Sahviz," Marigold responded as she stepped closer. "Thank you for accepting my request."

"No trouble at all. I am always open to new research opportunities." They glanced at Kafka and Reno. "Which of them is the subject?"

"Kafka Hibino." Marigold turned slightly to introduce her friend. Kafka stepped forward.

"Nice to meet you, uh, sir?" Kafka tried for a polite greeting. "I'll be in your care."

"How quaint," Sahviz smiled. It was a strange, like their face wasn't used to doing that. "I will do my best to offer you my assistance, Mr. Hibino." They offered their hand for a greeting, lightly leaning down.

Kafka shook it. It felt solid, like marble.

"Who is the other one?" Sahviz turned their amethyst eyes towards Ichikawa.

"Reno Ichikawa, moral support," Marigold introduced Reno, who bowed politely, although definitely freaked out at Colonel General. He did manage to send a quick glare at Marigold.

Sahviz nodded back, then glanced at Marigold. "A hitchhiker?" they stated more than asked.

She rolled her eyes. "Yes."

"I do not envy the paperwork," they chuckled and began to walk towards a closet under the wall. "We can use him as a control group." They hummed. "Less trouble. And might give me a better insight. Always good to have a control group."

The way they moved was slow, each step having a pause before the next one followed. Reno could compare it to a robot. He started wondering if Sahviz was in fact one.

"Reno?" Marigold wanted to make sure he was okay with it.

"If it means I can help Mr Hibino but." He pointed to Marigold. "You have to answer all my questions."

"I like the boy," Sahviz chuckled as they pulled down hospital gowns and equipment. Turned out they had an extra set of arms on their back. "Knows what he wants. Good with wording."

"Ichikawa–," Kafka was ready to scold his junior, but Marigold raised her hand.

"I'll try, but there might be something I won't be able to, for your own safety, okay?" she offered and Reno nodded.

Sahviz gestured Kafka and Reno to a changing area. When the two civilians left, they bent down a little to Marigold. "You are most unusual recently, Marshal General. That is very fascinating."

"That's exactly why you agreed to this, Sahviz," Marigold pointed out, staring them right in the face. "I'm not giving you any hints for your puzzle."

The researcher didn't say anything back, just smiled their disturbing smile and walked towards a console. Kafka and Reno stepped out of the changing area dressed in paper-like trousers and short-sleeved shirts in green colour and barefoot.

Kafka shuddered at the cold sensation of the floor. His stomach hurt as he unfortunately ate a little too much while waiting for Marigold. Doctor visits always had him on edge.

"Gentlemen, I would like you to step onto one of the two sets of lit-up tiles on the floor," Sahviz said, gesturing to the two spots ahead. Immediately, the room went dark, and only those two spots remained as the light source.

"Let's go, sir," Reno said with a reassuring smile and went forward, taking the first spot.

Well, now Kafka couldn't wuss out of this. He couldn't be so uncool when his junior was just going with this.

Despite his worries, there were no prodding and poking. At least not much of it. Sahviz did whatever scans they needed with Kafka as human and kaiju, took hair samples and saliva. They obviously wanted to be a little more invasive, but Marigold's hawk-like glare and presence kept them from going overboard.

When the Colonel General gave them a green light, they went back to change into their regular clothes.

"Alright, when will we have some results?" Kafka asked, trying to talk himself into being more positive.

"Here they are." Sahviz displayed a holographic screen in front of them. It had a humanoid silhouette that resembled Kafka. "Comparing your results to Reno Ichikawa's I can say that for 95% you are a kaiju."

"95%…" Kafka whispered, staring at the screen and trying to understand it. The language didn't look like Japanese or English.

"Pardon." Sahviz touched the screen, and the language changed to something Kafka could read. "Your heart has been replaced by a kaiju core, your body composition both in human form an kaiju are closer related to kaiju than that of homo sapiens."

"Then… what about that 5%?!" Kafka grasped at one last hope.

"3% of that is unknown, 2% is human, yes," Sahviz clarified.

"T- two percent…" Kafka felt weak in his knees. Marigold and Reno grabbed him before he hit the floor and brought him to a chair.

"What is that unknown percentage?" Marigold asked. She looked at the pale Kafka and squeezed his shoulder. She remembered when she had to come to terms with not being human anymore. It could crush a person if they didn't have the right support.

"Mystical interference," Sahviz said, swiping through the displayed files. "A normal researcher would dismiss it."

"But you are not a normal researcher," Marigold stressed, and the Colonel General smiled wickedly.

"I'm not. That 3% might be a ticket for Mr Hibino's return to humanity."

Kafka looked up. "What do you mean?"

"Mysteries of mind over matter." Sahviz hummed and began to approach Kafka on his chair. "It means there's something weird about you, your brainwaves are irregular, to say the least. We have various types of shifters here, and yours are closest related to a 'possession' type. You might need an exorcism. That is if you'd want it." The amethyst eyes looked right into Kafka's eyes, and Kafka felt lightheaded.

"Sahviz," Marigold warned them. The researcher straightened up.

"I shall prepare you a printout," they said and headed further into the lab.

"Sir, are you okay?" Reno was a picture of concern.

Kafka's face was unreadable for a moment. His eyes slowly turned to Ichikawa. He grinned and gave the boy a thumbs-up. "Sure, I'm fine. I think I just need some air." He took a deep breath in and exhaled. "Boy, I must have been holding off the breathing!" He joked and laughed.

Marigold and Reno shared a look. "How about I drop you both back at your home?" she suggested.

"Sure, thank you," Reno agreed.

"Yup! Let's get home." Kafka nodded along.

Marigold again did her key trick. Sahviz handed the printed paper to Ichikawa, and the group stepped outside back into Kafka's flat. Immediately, Kafka excused himself and left for the terrace on top of the building.

95% kaiju. What the fuck. He leaned over the railing and grabbed his hair. A week away from the test. The cold air of the night hit him straight in the face. He should have brought beer and a cigarette with him. God.

He was there for a couple of minutes, just mourning, when Marigold stood next to him.

"Hey," she simply said, looking at the sky. "Nice weather this is. Too bad you can't see shit in the sky."

Kafka snorted. He was about to say something when he noticed she was offering him cigarettes. He took one.

"Nasty habit that one," she said next as she pulled out a lighter and sparked a fire. "Good thing it can't kill me." She lit his and one for herself.

Kafka shook his head, a small smile threatening to spread on his face. Marigold took a deep drag, tilted her head back, and let the smoke out in a large pillar, like a dragon.

They just stood next to each other. "You're not smoking?" She noted that he just kept holding the cig between his fingers.

He looked at the tiny glow at the end of it. "It kinda stinks now but this is kind of comforting."

She nodded.

"How did you do it? Really." He looked at her. They never discussed how Marigold became a vampire, or what happened afterwards. It was so strange to even think.

Marigold stomped down the bud and stretched her arms. "I didn't do it alone. First days were awful. I was in pain, hungry, sweaty, and thirsty. Like the most gods-awful hangover of your life. On steroids."

"But you pulled through?"

She smirked with a confident shrug. "Obviously, but again, I was not alone. I had my sire and my husband. They kept me sane when all I wanted to do was chew a hole through the wall. I was lucky." She stared ahead, her mind rewinding to those heavy nights.

"I killed people, Kafka," she said deep in thought. "Many, many people before I got the hang of this. You're not like me."

It was hard for him to imagine. She was kind, smart, and beautiful. She was an amazing woman and a great friend to him. The more she told him about the monster she was, the more he saw of it, the more he wanted to know about the woman behind it.

"What if I will be?" He asked instead.

"You won't. You will rather show up in front of the first Defence officer you see and let them kill you before you'd hurt people," she said with such conviction he couldn't help but laugh.

"Shit, you are right." He shook his head.

"I was in your head, of course, I am." She puffed her chest up, and he snickered.

"Did you know that humans share 60% of their DNA with a banana?" She suddenly said. "Over 90% with mice. You look like neither one. It's not important what you are made of. It's what you think and feel. You are still Kafka Hibino." Her hand was over his. "Your body is now that of a kaiju. You can't change that. But it doesn't mean your life is over, you know that right?"

Her hands were cool but soft and comforting. "Can I do something?"

"Sure."

He took a step back, letting go of her hand. Then he transformed. He took a deep breath in and then roared. It was loud, mournful, and final. When he de-transformed, his knees gave out from under him. She was there to catch him, hold him, and let him say goodbye to a chapter in his life. There were no clouds over Yokohama that night, and yet, on top of that specific building, it rained heavily.

When it stopped, they were both sitting on the floor.

"What if I get detected by the kaiju scanners at the base?" Kafka asked, wiping his face with the balls of his hands.

"You won't," Marigold assured him. "According to the results, when you are in your human form, there's a sort of force field that scrambles the signal. It is like your shield. Unless they do tests like we did at Sahviz lab, or you transform to full-on kaiju, they will be none the wiser."

"Alright." He nodded. "I can do this."

"Of course you do. You are Kafka Hibino, the bravest fool I know," she joked.

He smiled. "Mari, do you think I can still get stronger as myself?"

"Hell yeah, you can. You will be an amazing officer. One day, I will come to see you, and I will be talking to Captain Hibino." The way she said it, there was something to it. He wondered how many human friends she had. How many she had to bury…

"I think I will be fine with Vice-Captain." He winked at her.

She chuckled and sighed. "I should have brought beer with me. I would love to take some shots." She flopped backwards onto the concrete.

"Yeah, well, you will need to just come back after I get a letter of acceptance, then all the drinks will be on me!" Kafka bloody pointed at himself.

"I will drink you under the table and out of your wallet." She grinned.

"You're on, Marshal General." He teased.

"Ugh, no, don't use my title!" She shoved him.

"You are a general! You never told me you were a general!" He shoved her back. "Did you tell Ichikawa by the way?"

"I never did tell you because I didn't want to make it any weirder than it is!" She defended herself. "And yeah, I did. I think the poor kid is still processing what happened."

"Ichikawa is tough. I was fine when you told me." He yawned. The day was getting to him.

"You are weird, though," she pointed out.

"That's mean!"

"Suck it up." She stuck her tongue at him and they laughed.

They stayed up on the roof talking for a while longer, then Ichikawa joined them, even more wary of Marigold than before. He brought food, which was greeted with enthusiasm by Kafka. It became a mini picnic for a moment, but then Marigold had to say goodbye.

"Drinks on you, right?" She smiled at Kafka.

"Just hit me up," he confirmed.

When she left, he wasn't sure if he would ever see her again.

---

The day of the exam was finally upon them.

Kafka Hibino and Reno Ichikawa approached the registration centre for the written part.

"This is it, Ichikawa," Kafka said, highly spirited.

"Yeah." Reno nodded, also quite giddy.

"Let’s do our best. We're rivals here." Whatever was going to happen, he, Kafka Hibino, wasn't going to give up until the very end. "Let's go!" He charged forward. Towards another unknown chapter in his life.

Notes:

Huge thanks to Sophia Cloud for the continued work as my Beta Reader and you reader - if you liked it please consider leaving a comment and kudo :)
Also I'm updating Chapter 2 with an illustration I comissioned from murder-me-with-ink on tumblr! Check it out and check Koda (the artists) socials. She's awesome.

Chapter 5: The Fight for Reality

Summary:

We are taking a closer look at what Marigold is up to.

Today would have been ideal for a hike in the woods. The sun was bright, high in the sky, while the day was cool. The breeze rustled the leaves, promising a nice, comfortable lunch. The only thing was… everything else.

No animals. No sounds. Shadows stretched unnaturally and darker than they should be, certainly for this hour.

Marigold followed a trail. She came from a nearly empty village, slowly approaching the writhing, enormous mass of smoke and darkness.

"Found you," Marigold muttered and unsheathed her swords.

The hair at the back of her neck stood up as the beast's focus shifted to her. The air cracked with energy.

Level six, and from the distorted cackle it gave as it noticed her, it was happy to see her.

The roar was the only warning she got. A spiny limb formed and swayed above its head before it came at her at frightening speeds. With seconds to spare, she jumped and bounced off a tree that the Null annihilated soon after. Using the momentum, Marigold spun and chopped the limb off. The creature bellowed and swiped at her again with a new one - a thorny bear-like paw that missed Marigold by inches, tearing into the foliage.

No time to waste. She took off to run circles around the creature that showed no sign of stopping. She leapt, dove, and spun to avoid the new thorny limbs, cutting down those that came her way. A distorted growl was her answer before the Null lurched forward to snap at her while taking out the terrain. Marigold only grinned as he dodged again and slashed.

A squeal of pain. The Null turned around and tried to kick her back with its new horse-like limbs. Unfortunately, Marigold only moved away and used the legs to her advantage. Soaring over the creature, she curled into a ball and plummeted down, blade piercing through the back.

The roar that followed might send whatever animals were left into a panic, but it was worth it.

New tentacles immediately sprang up and attacked. Holding onto the hilt of her planted sword, the vampire used the other to deflect the limbs. It didn't last, though. The Null bucked wildly, the ground quaking under the hooves as dust rose. It even ran through the thickest of the trees to shake her off. And, a second later, she was.

It trampled. Nothing. It shifted, turned to look into the trees. Something akin to a growl followed before Marigold was left to escape a barrage of giant needles.

Using the branches above her, she tried. She leapt from branch to branch, crown to crown. Most of the needles shot past her. Some bounced off her armour. But two found their target in her arm and leg.

With a shout of pain, she let go of the branch and worked on snapping the needles. She'd barely finished that when she was sent flying thanks to a boulder, yelping as she landed. A whistle was her next warning, and she could only roll over before a sharp claw could pierce through her. In the cloud of splintered rock and dirt, she crouched and took off. With her remaining sword, Marigold danced between the onslaught of the new limbs before deflecting a snap of a fanged maw. She slipped under the Null and tore through its underbelly, the beast roaring and rearing in pain.

Marigold acted fast. Her sword began to vibrate and crackle. She swiped, and a wave of dark energy surged in a crescent. The force pushed the already embedded blade further in. It split the beast's shadow armour open, revealing its writhing core. She leapt and pushed her sword further into it.

It cracked. Another deadly screech tore through the forest. The shadows attempted to, in vain, reform. A vortex spilt from the core. All attempts at expansion were met with nothing. Reality finally collapsed and exploded. The sky briefly dimmed before the sun poured back into the battle-scorched clearing.

Marigold fell to her knees. A cold snap brushed over her. "Rrrhevensshhh, jeneraaalll," it hissed at her, forcing her head up in surprise.

She was bleeding. She couldn't catch her breath. And yet, it didn't matter.

"That's fucking new…" she whispered as terrifying realisation dawned upon her.

The survey mission was over. She immediately contacted Nikolai.

"Missed me already? I didn't expect you to call back so soon!" His jovial tone greeted her. A beat later, he noticed her face. "What's wrong?"

She swallowed with difficulty as she leaned against a tree. "We're having a code red. I'm coming back now."

---

After the fight in the forest, Marigold cut her stay in Kafka's world short and returned to the Empire post-haste. As much as she wanted to be there when he and Reno would be taking the exam, this was more important.

"Could you please stop pacing? You're gonna burn a hole in my carpet. And it's new."

Marigold looked up in the direction of the gently reprimanding voice.

Empress Audrey, Fifth Upon the Throne, was a small woman, standing at five foot four, with black curly hair, warm brown skin, and topaz-yellow eyes. Her features were those of a sweetheart woman in her very early twenties, but her pointed ears and sharp fangs betrayed her true nature. She was now focused on the reports Marigold had written over the course of all the months she had spent in sector 568 of the Upper Crown of the Multiverse Tree.

"This is concerning, Audrey. A level nine can talk, not a six. This was definitely a six. And we've never had a Null jump a level after the core was pierced." Marigold placed her hands on her hips and gestured to the reports at the desk. "Something is wrong with that sector. The energy levels are fucked too. It's cracking at the seams, all while going back to normal a second later. Like something is testing the breach. Normally, by now, we'd be dealing with a stampede."

"I'm aware, I've read as much." Audrey raised the tablet in her hand and wiggled it a little. "It's unusual." She propped her cheek with her fist as she returned to reading it.

Marigold snorted, "To say the least!" She started pacing again.

"Stop. Pacing," Audrey chided, this time sharper. "What did the nerds in R&D say about the core pieces you delivered?"

"Sahviz is running all the possible tests," Marigold replied, ignoring the scolding. "Audrey, if you fail with the Quints in the 83.439 and this ends up in a war, we might need to give up ground. Honestly, it might even be better to lose some–"

"I'm aware." Audrey's tone was ice cold. "But I refuse to give them even a damn inch." Her fist curled, and she punched her chair, shattering the armrest. "That's why I'm doing all I can in that sector to minimise the damage."

"I know you do. But you weren't on that battlefield during the previous invasion." Marigold's voice trembled at the memory. "One level nine takes a whole army group, may I remind you. If it's a bunch of eights, we might struggle, but we should be fine. But…" She ran both her hands over her head, messing up her braids.

"But you fear it is more than one?" Audrey raised her eyebrow at her.

"Yes." Marigold straightened up.

Audrey's jaw flexed as she thought through her decision. She trusted Marigold's instincts. They never failed before. If the Nulls are cooperating, if a group of level nines was creating an organised front. It would be a tragedy.

"If I succeed, we might be able to recruit some forces," she said, trying to be optimistic. "You mentioned this felt somehow personal?" Audrey reached for her fountain pen and a piece of paper. It was old school, but it helped her gather her thoughts better. Plus, she needed to write down the executive order anyway.

"Yes, like it was directed at me specifically." The memory of that still gave her chills.

"Should we quarantine you?" Audrey paused to look at her. "Friedrich could take over. Or Elle."

"No." Marigold shook her head. "He's on his honeymoon now. Elle just came back from her assignment. Plus… I feel like I need to get this thing to a conclusion personally."

"What do you suggest then?" Audrey leaned back in her chair.

"I want to take a squad, maybe a platoon, and go back," Marigold began to lay down her idea. "I finally nailed a pattern to which these cracks in reality happen. If I'm right, the next one will pop in a couple of months at Tachikawa base. In the meantime, I'll have more people to send to more locations in small groups and try to contain the situation as much as possible. If they are after me, it should help."

Audrey scribbled it down on the paper. It was logical. Marigold using herself as bait could make it potentially easier to contain. "Fine, a platoon sounds reasonable. I'll give you one active and put the second one on standby. Make your selection and I'll sign off on it."

"Thank you." Marigold nodded. "I'll take on some medical personnel as well."

"Understandably." The Empress added that to her list. "One medic per two-three people team?"

"Yes."

"I will also draw you a permit to interact with whichever authorities down there you will need. In case you need cannon fodder or just to warn the idiots off."

"As charming as always," Marigold snorted.

"I am charming when I need it," Audrey said without a pause. "I told you before, you can always get what you want if–"

"If they think you're too young and stupid or when you have the bigger balls," Marigold recited. "I remember."

Audrey smirked. "And I always have the bigger balls."

A spell of silence fell between them. Just the scratching of the pen over the paper filled it. Marigold thought for a moment about her next words. "Audrey? When you sent me there, did you expect this outcome?" she asked.

Audrey paused her writing for a split second before returning. "No, I just wanted to get you to take a break so the medics would stop bugging me about you. Thought it would be a neat trick. Guess it horribly backfired…"

Marigold snorted. "How dare you try and get me to relax?" she joked.

"Sure, sure, whatever," Audrey smirked, looking at her from the corner of her eye. "I am your mother after all. I must look after you."

"You are not, and it's not. Not anymore." Marigold shook her head.

"Am so. Says the vampire code of conduct, the sire is the parent." Audrey pointed at her with the pen.

"You never gave me candy for my birthday," Marigold teased.

Audrey gasped in mock offence, clutching her chest. "I tried to give you an arm candy but you told me to fuck off!"

"When was that?" Marigold frowned, trying to recall that particular event.

"Eeeeehhh…. Like 3 thousand cycles ago?" Audrey scratched her head with the pen.

"I don't remember that." Marigold's frown deepened and turned into a concerned one.

"You were pretty wasted." Audrey wiggled her eyebrows.

"Damn…"

Audrey grinned, then returned to her multitude of reports."Yeah, anyway - so who is Kafka Hibino and Reno Ichikawa, and why am I seeing them on medical research permission with your signature on it?" She glanced over the top of the tablet screen.

Marigold sighed. Yep, there it is. "I promised to help a civilian. I only shared the bare necessities, no breach."

Audrey seemed disappointed. "And here I hoped you'd get laid."

Marigold threw her hands up. "Why is everyone invested in my love life?"

"Friedrich just got hitched, so we have that relationship drama over. Meanwhile, you have been single for the past couple of hundred years and are my spawn, so…" Audrey grinned.

Marigold groaned. "Grow up, stars only know you had enough time for that."

"Are you implying I'm old?" Audrey narrowed her eyes at her.

"You're not young, that's for sure," Marigold smirked.

"I'm beautiful and immortal!" Audrey shot up in her chair.

"Eh, overrated." Marigold made a 'so-so' motion with her hand.

"I'm going to ground you," Audrey threatened her.

"One." Marigold lifted a finger. "I'm too old to be grounded. Two." She added another finger. "You're not my mother."

"Mother-adjacent!!" Audrey slammed a hand down. "And!" She pointed to Margold. "And your Empress!"

"Eh." Marigold shrugged. She always knew how to push the shorter woman's buttons. A little payback.

Audrey was about to retort when suddenly the door opened and Audrey's attendant, an 8-foot-tall ifrit, walked in. His fiery mane was brushed neatly, his beard trimmed and elegant. He was dressed in black and silver livery with some red accents.

"Your Imperial Highness, your five o'clock is here, waiting in the Green Room," he announced.

Audrey immediately calmed down. She brushed her dress and folded the paper she had written the orders. She took some of the melted wax she always had ready on her desk and poured it over the paper to finally seal it with an imperial seal. "Thank you, Krieg," she told him. "Marigold, here's all we discussed. Bring it to the Archivists, and you can begin your preparation. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a minister to chew up." She smiled diabolically and, with the utmost grace, glided out of the office.

On her way out, she gave Marigold a small smile and a wink.

Sometimes Marigold felt bad for poking fun at Audrey but then she remembered that the Empress had way too many yes-men and boot-lickers. Audrey herself knew that and appreciated the bickering to an extent. Both women knew the timing and place for such things. Marigold still respected Audrey for everything she did for her, even though she sometimes didn't agree with her politics.

Free to do what she needed, the Marshal General left the office after her Empress and went to look for her platoon.

---

Director General Shinomiya stared intently at the strange woman before him. Marshal General Marigold. She was dressed in a black, military-looking uniform with medals and stars pinned on her chest. A half cape thrown over her left shoulder with what he assumed was the insignia of a snake wrapped around a rose. She looked more like a cosplayer to him. Yet her presence was that of a serious military commander. Isao himself was fighting the urge to straighten up and salute.

"If what you are saying is true, how have we not detected them before?" One of the brass members, a man in a lab coat, asked.

"Technological issue. Plus, like I said, the creatures annihilate the memory of anything they destroy," the envoy explained. "If a survivor remembered the attack, no one else would. Most cases end in institutionalisation. Seeing a Null is like, to explain in layman's terms, for ci— for humans like seeing Cthulhu. Your mind would shatter in direct exposition." Her tone was even, without any dramatisation, simply stating a fact.

A couple of the men snorted in disbelief.

"I'm sorry but this is a bunch of bullshit and delusions." Another high-ranking officer spoke. "You are wasting our time."

Nothing changed in the woman's demeanour. The subtle air of superiority remained.

"I believe there is a misunderstanding," she said slowly. "You assume I want something from you, esteemed board of Japanese Anti-Kaiju Defence Force." The way she spoke the word 'esteemed' might have been an insult if there hadn't been something terrifying in it. "I came here to warn you and inform you. My plans, whether you believe me or not, won't change. I merely wish for you to acknowledge our presence in your world and keep your soldiers away from mine. For your sake." The last part was benevolently added.

Isao carefully weighed all they had heard so far. An invisible enemy they couldn't detect or defend against. An ally who came out of nowhere, with no country backing her up. It was suspicious.

"Is that all you wish from us?" Isao finally asked.

Marigold's eyes fixed on him. "No. But that is what I need for now. If you'd like me to report to you our movements, I can provide that to an extent."

"That would be acceptable. What other demands would you have?" Isao pressed further.

"Access to Tachikawa base. Our intelligence suggests that in a few months, there will be an incident. To prevent or minimise the damage, we'd like to be on site to assist."

A murmur went through the room. A few men yelled out their opposition, calling her 'delusional' or 'insolent'. She ignored them, her eyes firmly fixed on Isao.

They waited until the majority of the board calmed down.

"I'd like you to wait outside until we reach a decision, Marshal General," Isao said.

Marigold gave them a shallow bow and left the room, unsurprised when she heard arguments explode, making her almost regret having sensitive hearing.

The truth was, this was a courtesy visit. She had already gotten the permission from the Japanese Emperor and Prime Minister to act. Still, she wanted to avoid any unnecessary misunderstandings.

She checked her phone. While she was away in the Imperial palace, her phone was cut off from this world signal. When she returned, there were messages from Kafka. With everything happening, she didn't have time to read them, but now she had a moment.

[Kafka] I passed the written! No surprise there, but hey, still got it!

Attached was a photo of him grinning while holding the acceptance letter to the second part of the exam.

[Kafka] In 10 days, we're doing the physical. How are you?

[Kafka] your phone must be out of reach, huh? Hope things aren't too hard on you.

[Kafka] we're getting another new hire. He is a strange one. Kinda aloof but then again Ichikawa was kinda like that at first ;)

[Kafka] still no reception?

[Kafka] Hope you are doing okay. Kick those monster butts!

[Kafka] the exam is tomorrow. I am kinda stressing out. I ate too much, but I still have that tea you left at my place. I hope I can make it. Be safe.

[Kafka] we are going in now! I know you won't see this, but wish me luck!

[Kafka] holy fuck that was tough as shit! I don't think I would have placed in the middle without your help! Fuck.

[Kafka] Ichikawa said this year's got some crazy talents applying. So thank you!

[Kafka] the aptitude test was the worst. We thought it would be a kaiju clean-up, but nope! We had to subjugate the kaiju!

[Kafka] They gave us the suits the officers wear. Did you know they are made out of kaiju material? Wild! I got 2% release force! Those guns are super heavy, by the way.

[Kafka] but worst part - something happened and the dead kaiju came to life! I had to transform and fight the undead honju. That was scary!

[Kafka] oh, and I accidentally revealed myself to a girl called Kikoru Shinomiya.

Marigold paused and sighed. Of course he did.

[Kafka] she promised not to tell anyone. She's a good kid, I can tell.

[Kafka] I really hope you are okay. Text me as soon as you can, yeah?

[Kafka] I passed!! As a Cadet, but I'm in!!

[Kafka] I still can't believe it. We just opened the letters with Ichikawa. This is the best day of my life. I swear I am not going to blow this up this time.

[Kafka] thank you, Mari. I wish you were here to celebrate with us.

There were more texts. Kafka talked about packing up, photos of him in his military blues. He looked rather handsome in them. She smiled at the messages. He did it. Of course he did. She never doubted him.

She tapped to respond, but then she paused. He made it. He was now in the Defence Force. Wouldn't his knowing her become an issue for him? If someone found out, could it jeopardise him? She was a military representative of a foreign force, no matter how you looked at it. It could bring more scrutiny onto him. She didn't want that.

Should she block his number then? It's not like he needed her anymore. He had Ichikawa, that Kikoru girl, most likely too. The whole squad he was in.

Before she reached a decision, the door opened.

Well, time to face those bozos again.

"Wish me luck, Kafka," she thought to herself and stepped inside.

Notes:

Sorry, this chapter has much less Kafka, I promise he will show up next chapter though! Hope you enjoyed it, comments and kudos are greatly welcomed! Any questions about the story? I have Tumblr! Same handle as here. Huge thanks for the help with this chapter to my Beta, Sophia Cloud! It really wouldn't have been possible without her.

Chapter 6: Trust

Summary:

Imperial army moves into Tachikawa base, Kafka and Marigold have a conversation.

"I can't believe they let us stay in their military base," Kylie, a succubus and Marigold’s attendant, said. She was a short demon with deeply red hair, with two markhor horns poking out of them, ivory skin and stunning purple eyes. "They gave us a whole building!" She set a small brown box down on the desk.

The building they were in was an older one, placed at the very back of the base, closer to the training grounds. It was decommissioned from hosting personnel but was still used as a storage facility until the Marshal General arrived with her platoon. The JAKDF and JSDF have removed everything from the building before their arrival, leaving them with some basic furniture.

"A decommissioned building," Marigold pointed out, sitting behind a dusty old desk. She was busy doing more paperwork. "Something we can't pull any information from."

After the Marshal General returned to the JAKDF Board room, she was greeted with a positive decision, although with some caveats.

"Good thing we can fix it up a little." Kylie wrinkled her cute little nose. "My skin and hair can't take all that dust. The air is so humid, too!" She looked at the strand of her hair. It already got super fizzy. Not a good look.

"Welcome to May in Japan, it will only get worse," Marigold replied, still focused on her work.

"So, where are they? That snitch we have to entertain?" Kylie leaned over Marigold's desk.

The first caveat was that there would be someone from JAKDF monitoring most of the activities from Marigold and her platoon. They had to report to this person any movement within the base, and of course, there were off-limits sectors.

"Not a snitch, an appointed official," Marigold sighed. "It's probably going to be officially the Captain of the Division, but unofficially some kind of lower-ranking officer that will be passing information forward." She glanced at Kylie, who was pouting. "Be nice. We are guests here. It's not the first time."

"I know, ma'am. But isn't it tiring? We are constantly doubted wherever we go, and when it turns out we are right, they are oh so shocked and desperate for our help!"

"You've had enough time to get used to it." Marigold shut down the holoscreen. "Are the mages ready?" She stood up and walked up to the box Kylie brought.

"Yes, just waiting for your signal, ma'am." Kylie stepped aside, straightening up a little.

Marigold pulled out a black crystal from the box, the object gently levitating over her hand. She crushed it, and the air shuddered around them. Reality began to fold and creak. The walls moved like waves, and the floor rippled under their feet.

Then, in a rain of hexagons, it began to settle. The cracked walls turned into black, polished stone with idyllic paintings hanging from them. Heavy oak bookcases and cabinets appeared under those walls. The ceiling moved upwards, and a golden chandelier sprouted from it. The old, dusty desk was changed into a polished oak one with a comfortable, plush armchair with red cushions.

"I always preferred working from my own office," Marigold said with a smirk. She cleared her throat. "Go check if the rest of the quarters readjusted."

"Yes, ma'am!" Kylie saluted and walked out of the transformed office.

Marigold then walked behind her desk and flopped into the chair, and stretched her legs onto the desk. A moment to herself. She groaned, letting the plush swallow her a little. Now, she had her platoon to command, and things should be easier, no more close calls.

She probably should finally write back to Kafka. Or block his number… She hasn't seen him at the base yet. She didn't have the time. They arrived, had to set up, and then she had a meeting with Captain Ashiro later today.

Speaking of the devil, there was a knock on her door. Marigold readjusted herself and schooled her features.

"Come in!" She called.

The door opened and just as expected. It was Mina Ashiro with her Second in Command, Soshiro Hoshina. Marigold stood up and walked to them.

The duo looked around discreetly, quite surprised by the unexpected redecoration.

"Captain Ashiro, Vice-Captain Hoshina, it's a pleasure to meet you," Marigold said, offering a hand.

"Marshal General Marigold." Mina accepted the offer and shook her hand. So did Hoshina. "Pleasure is all mine."

"Please, sit." Marigold offered them both a chair. "Tea? Coffee?" She offered.

Both politely declined the offers.

"We're here to check how you're settling in," Mina stated simply. "I see you made…," she paused to think of a good way to put it. "Improvements to the location."

"I hope you don't mind the changes. We were told we could use the building however we needed, so we redecorated. It's temporary, I assure you," Marigold replied. "We rarely do this, as most of our operations take place in the field. So, we wanted to take advantage of having actual facilities."

"That's… understandable," Mina said slowly. She didn't fully understand but tried being diplomatic.

Marigold smiled. "I wish I could explain how it works, but it's a lot of magic and science involved in it. Not my field of expertise."

"Magic?" Hoshina frowned.

"Indeed!" Marigold stepped into the corridor. That part still belonged to the original building.

The two followed after the general. Marigold waited for them to be fully out of her office before she pulled out a silver key and locked the office.

"I'm finding it hard to believe," Mina said after exchanging a glance with Soshiro. The evidence was there, but actual magic?

"And yet." Marigold opened the door without using the key, and before Mina and Soshiro, the original room appeared. "Here it is."

Hoshina's eyes opened wide. "How do you –?"

"Magic and science," Marigold repeated. Then she gestured for them to follow her. "I'll show you the rest of the adjustments we did in the facility."

She began to walk through the building. "Like I stated in my report to Director General Shinomiya, currently I have a standard platoon at my disposal of 36 soldiers, not including communication and medical staff. My lieutenant is overseeing the accommodation of the troops. I'll introduce you to him in a moment."

Marigold was friendly. She hoped it could foster some sort of connection with the Captain, as she would need to be on her good side for all future operations until the crisis was averted. Also, she remembered Kafka talking about Mina as his childhood friend and the promise the two shared. So sue her; she was trying to be nice to Ashiro.

She showed them the training grounds, the communication centre, and the medical wing. She did mention an armoury, but for obvious reasons couldn't show it to them. Then she called an assembly.

"These are our forces." She gestured to the 36 soldiers gathered in the hall. "And Lieutenant Theodore." She gestured to a tall, blue-skinned, somewhat wet-looking man with his hair tied in a small rat tail at the back of his head. He was a nokken.

Theo saluted the guests.

"I'm reporting full combat readiness of the troops and the base," he said.

Marigold could feel the tension in her guests. Some of the Imperial soldiers below could pass for humans, save for an odd feature here and there. Marigold herself passed for one, save for her pointed ears. Others though? Not so much. Aside from Theo's unusual looks, there were dragonlings, werewolves, and demons of various kinds among those 36. The Captain and Vice-Captain have caught a glimpse of these irregularities in the medical and the communications wings, but those were brief looks. Here, everything was out in the open. It felt as if they walked straight into a kaiju den.

"I hope it's not too much to ask to not shoot at them while we operate in Japan?" Marigold asked in a light tone. "We should be easily recognisable." She gestured to her chest-plate with the snake and rose.

"Of course," Mina replied slowly. She had orders after all.

The trio headed towards the entrance to the building.

"Captain Ashiro, we do not want to get in your way." Marigold turned to Mina. "We usually do not mingle with ci—," she quickly corrected herself, "with humans, for obvious reasons, but I assure you, we share the common goal of protecting your world and all who live in it. If I must, I'll stay in my lane, but if you'll ever need it - Will you allow us to help?"

The two women locked eyes for a moment. Mina quickly thought through all. It made her uneasy to trust these strange kaiju-like people, but orders aside, she didn't sense any hostility from Marigold or her troops.

"I will look forward to our cooperation." Mina decided.

Marigold sighed with relief and smiled. "We should schedule some sort of friendly competition. Vice-Captain Hoshina." She turned her head to the shorter man. "I heard you are quite the swordsman."

"I know my way around a blade," Hoshina replied with his usual upbeat tone, now that it seemed Mina had made a personal decision.

"We share that expertise then. I'd love to spar with you one day," Marigold offered.

"I look forward to it." Hoshina accepted.

Marigold waved them off as they got on an army jeep.

"Well, that was interesting," Kylie popped up as soon as Marigold's side was free.

"Tell me about it…" Marigold sighed, growing more serious. "Let's go to the communications and see what they got for us."

The two women disappeared back inside the building. Mina watched them thoughtfully from the car as they drove away.

"So, what do you think of all of this?" Hoshina asked.

"I think she was sincere," Mina said slowly. She thought back on the tour. The general seemed to want to please them, but… Those monstrous soldiers, whenever they entered a room, the general was greeted with smiles and eagerness. There was mutual camaraderie and respect. "Of course, we must stay vigilant. We have our orders."

"Right."

---

Kafka was growing frustrated. His progress during the month of boot camp was minimal. Physically, he could tell he was continuously getting stronger, but that unmoving number of his release force was haunting him. It always landed him at the bottom of the rankings, despite his other progress.

It didn't mean he was going to give up, no. If anything, it was motivating him to work even harder. Still, he wished he could just hurry up. Yet, the gap between him and Mina was barely closing.

Kafka collapsed onto the grass as he finally finished the lap around the mountain training grounds. He could hear his heart pounding in his chest and the air burning his throat. His muscles protested against the strain. The other recruits had already had time to catch their breath. They were the cream of the crop, while he— he definitely wasn't.

In comparison, when they entered the Defence Force, Reno was at eight per cent and Kafka was at two per cent. In one month, Reno went up to fifteen per cent. Kafka got stuck at five per cent. Most of the other recruits were either approaching or past the twenty per cent mark. It was frustrating, yet motivating for him.

Speaking of the devil, Reno approached him.

"Nice work, sir!" he handed Kafka a bottle of water and a towel.

Kafka sat up, trying to even out his breathing. "Thanks, Ichikawa." He took the offered items. He splashed some of the water over his head and neck, then took a sip. "I think I managed to shave off some of that time today as well!"

"You sure did, sir!" Reno replied. "You're doing great."

"Hey, Reno!" Iharu yelled from across the resting area. "I beat your time again!"

"We weren't racing!" Reno shouted back, unamused.

"Sounds like a loser talk!" Iharu laughed.

"I had all your times beat, so watch yourself," Aoi said, stoic as always, as he took a swing from his bottle. "You hit the ground too much with your heels. Try switching to the balls of them. Otherwise, you'll end up with bad shin splints."

"And you could afford to slouch less, though it might be hard for the senior citizens," Kikoru piped up at Kafka with a giggle.

The others joined in with a laugh, while Kafka, as usual, responded with his usual: "32 is not old!!" But it was all in good humour.

Kafka watched them all banter. They still competed against each other, but at the same time, everyone was sharing tips on how to get stronger. They were all in this together. What a wonderful feeling.

"I hope everyone did their run and didn't laze about, while I was gone!" Hoshina's voice got everyone's attention.

The entire group shot up and stood at attention.

"No, sir!" They shouted in unison.

"Good, good, I'd hate to have you run a couple more laps." The Vice Captain smirked. "Alright, freshies! Pack up and be ready for a run back to the base!"

They knew better than to express their disappointment.

As they all ran behind a military jeep back to the barracks, Kafka thought about how strangely tense Hoshina was. It almost made him forget about the weight of the silent phone in his pocket.

Since the night on top of his rooftop, he had been updating Marigold on his life, but she had never responded. At first, he didn't worry. She was on her mission, but she was capable of handling herself. It wouldn't be the first time this happened. But as time went on, the undelivered status began to bother him.

It was now a whole month later. Still, not a peep. Not even after the status changed to delivered three weeks after he made Cadet in the Force.

Did she… ghost him? Or was something preventing her from texting him back? He didn't know which answer he preferred.

He checked his phone one more time before they hit the showers. Nothing. He was slowly losing hope. Then again… could he even blame her? He shut his locker and went inside the bathing area.

Later that night, he spun his phone between his fingers, debating whether he should text Marigold again. He missed their late-night conversations. He missed her presence. This was the second time she was making him feel like this.

He put the phone away and turned on his side, hugging his pillow. Eh, who was he kidding? She was this immortal being from another world, and he was just Kafka Hibino, 32, cadet at the Japanese Anti Kaiju Defence Force, chasing after a dream that could be blown to bits at any second. Ugh, why did it suck so hard?!

Suddenly, his phone pinged. He immediately grabbed onto it.

[Marigold] 🎉🥳

His eyes grew wide. She responded.

[Marigold] 🙇🏼(╥﹏╥) 👩🏻‍💻⚔️( ꩜ ᯅ ꩜;) 

Oh, she was incorporating kaomojis now? So she was sorry and uh… He frowned at the last three in the message. Lady at a computer and the blades… She was fighting a sick person? No, wait. Her work was crazy!

He snorted. The phone pinged again with one more message.

[Marigold] 👀🪟⛺

Eyes, window, and tent? He thought for a moment, then got up and looked outside. Sure enough. There she was, the moon making her hair glow like a halo. She looked almost unreal, standing there in a white tank top and shorts. She gestured for him to open the window. So he did.

She leapt up and landed on the windowsill. She looked up. Their eyes met.

"Hey," she said with a wide smile.

"Hey," he replied with an equally wide smile. "What are you doing here?"

"I actually am stationed at the Tachikawa base now. I met Mina, she's nice."

All this quick-shot information was only making him more confused.

She looked around the room and noticed Ichikawa. "Ah, shoot. I hope he won't wake up."

"I'm already up," came the mumbled response from the top bunk.

"Sorry, Ichikawa," Marigold stage-whispered back.

The boy mumbled something again and turned in his bed. He didn't wish to be part of the conversation.

"What do you mean by you are stationed at Tachikawa?" Kafka asked, stepping back and sitting on his bunk as Marigold stepped fully into the room.

She moved away from the window and sat by one of the two desks in the room. She made a little grimace face at his question.

"Well, I finished the survey, and the results weren't exactly great. So I have taken a platoon back with me," she explained. "We're trying to close any possible entry points. Don't worry about that." She gave him a bit of an awkward smile, not looking at him. "So, Cadet, huh?" She obviously was trying to change the topic.

"Yeah, it's great," he said as his concern levels increased. "Does it mean the Defence Force knows about you?"

"Just the top brass and your captain and vice-captain. We're still supposed to be mostly covert from the general public, but might end up cooperating with JAKDF." She thought back to the earlier visit from the Third Division's commanding duo. "Which… actually brings me to why I came over." She folded her hands together, twiddling her thumbs a little.

"What is it?" His stomach squeezed in an ice-cold grip of anxiety. His heart was hammering.

She took a deep breath in and sighed. She wasn't looking at him at all. "I don't want to hurt your chances with the Defence Force, Kafka. They don't trust me and my people. Not yet. If anyone finds out you know me, you might be put under scrutiny."

He blinked. This felt wrong.

She let out a deep, heavy breath. Finally, she looked at him. "You are my friend," she continued. "We are friends, right?" She waited for a confirmation from him, but he just froze. "I'm trying to protect you. With your," she gestured to him, "situation, I don't want someone to think you're like a double agent. I don't want you hurt."

"Are you saying–" he whispered, but she finished for him.

"I'm saying we should keep our distance. Cease communication for a while. At least until they don't get trigger-happy while seeing someone from my platoon." She leaned towards him. "And I know it's ridiculous. I came here to tell you this, but… I thought you deserved to hear it instead of a text or phone call."

She paused and looked at him. Waiting for a response.

He wanted to tell her so much, he wanted her to tell him even more. He was angry at her. No, furious. For not responding sooner and just disappearing on him after that night on top of his building. Furious at her coming here to tell him all that. Furious for leaving again! He just didn't know how to word it all. Was he supposed to just forget?

Nothing came out of his mouth, though.

She got up. "I'd better go now." She went to the window and was about to jump out, but Kafka grabbed her hand.

His jaw clenched. His eyes burned. She waited for him to say anything. Nothing came.

"Yeah, you should leave." He released her hand and stood back.

He watched her go. Disappear into the night, blending into it like just another shadow. A bitter aftertaste in his mouth. The small thud of the window as he closed it was strangely definitive to his ears. He turned back.

Marigold reached the base and once in her own quarters, she flopped onto her bed. This was for the better. He'll understand. It's not like she was going to stay forever in this world. Not like she could. She did the right thing, right?

Notes:

Beta Read as usual by fabulous SophiaCloud! If you liked it, don't feel shy to comment, leave a kudo or drop by my Tumblr (same nick as here).

Chapter 7: Regret

Summary:

Kafka thinks about what transpired the night before. Mina goes through an unpleasant experience. Marigold gets scolded.

The shots echoed throughout the training grounds, followed by a metallic crash of targets. Kafka raced through the obstacles as fast as he could. Not as fast as Reno. Definitely not as fast as Kikoru. Still bitter anger pushing him through. He obliterated target after target.

Kafka arrived at the goal point panting and wheezing. He quickly checked his face and hands and noticed claws taking over his uniform's gloves. He hoped the training exercise would help him drain out the negative emotions. It didn't seem it did.

"Hibino Kafka, four minutes forty seconds, estimated combat power: five point five per cent." The automated voice of the integrated combat system informed him and those around him. Not bad. He raised his combat power by point five per cent when he thought he would forever be stuck at that five after a few weeks.

"Congratulations, sir! You cut your run time by fifteen seconds!" Reno approached him with a proud smile from behind.

A jolt of surprise helped Kafka focus enough to reverse the partial transformation. He couldn't let Ichikawa see him like that. Not right now.

"Yeah, I sure did." He turned around, giving his friend his usual grin and a thumbs up. "I'll go grab some water before the Vice-Captain tosses us through another wringer." He gave Ichikawa a pat on the shoulder and walked to the command centre. His happy expression immediately melted as people focused more on the bickering between Kikoru, Reno, and Iharu, or their own scores in the exercise.

He spent the entire night and morning in disbelief. Did it really just happen? He kept replaying the scene from last night in his mind. Why didn't he say anything? Why did he just let her do that? He tried sending a text, but it bounced. Marigold had blocked him after all. That pissed him off more. The worst part was, he understood why she did it.

During the exercise, some of the targets were upgraded from just bullseye circles to kaiju cutouts with the bullseye painted on them. Probably as a 'funny joke, ha-ha' from the senior officers. As he had shot at the creatures, he remembered Nikolai, the medical staff, and General Sahviz. Marigold's allies were even less human than he was. And he remembered the fear he felt discovering what she was.

Kafka sat down on a bench in the shade and observed his comrades. The bickering youth competing to be the best Defence Force officer the world had ever seen.

He remembered the night he transformed for the first time and how Reno told him that he would get shot on the spot if any officer saw him. Now, there was an army made of kaiju-looking soldiers. And he was a kaiju hiding behind a human face.

Would they turn against him if they found out who he is? Kikoru didn't, but only because he saved her. Would Mina follow orders if she found out? Would they really think he was a spy if they found out he was Marigold's friend?

Probably. And that didn't make him feel any better.

So no. Just because they had to stop talking to each other for now wasn't the reason he was upset. He was upset because she decided to cut him off without talking to him first. Just made that decision on her own. Like, he didn't have a say in it. They weren't kids, damn it! Why didn't she just talk with him? Weren't they friends?

A sudden wetness on his hand brought his mind back from the spiral. He blinked and noticed he had accidentally crushed the water bottle.

"Ah, shit…" He shook off the water and wiped it with a towel.

"Careful there, Kafka!" Some of the recruits laughed, noticing his predicament. He just smiled awkwardly and nodded.

"Okay! Ten laps around the perimeter and we can call it a day!" Hoshina shouted at them from atop the area's gate.

The recruits groaned and whined at the order. It had already been a long day.

"You complained so now it's fifteen! Get going!" The Vice-Captain announced.

That got everyone to straighten up and salute. Nobody wanted more laps added to the count.

As he ran, Kafka's mind continued spiralling. Maybe he should have done something different when they last saw each other the week before the exam. If he called her the next day. What if he asked her to stay in Yokohama a little bit longer? What if he went with her? He would have fit in with her people, wouldn't he?

But then he'd have to give up on Mina…

He remembered the day he failed the exam for the fifth time and Mina passed on her first try. He remembered her sullen face. The fake smile she gave him. No better than his own. He could tell she was scared back then, and he disappointed her. He couldn't do it again.

Kafka gritted his teeth and picked up the pace. Marigold said it was going to be temporary. Until they build a better relationship with the Defence Force. It wasn't an unreasonable, if a little vague, deadline.

Now, he was angry at himself for being impatient! This was all so confusing! It wasn't as if they were even involved. They were just friends! So why… why did he feel so betrayed? Did he really mean so little to her? Well, he wouldn't be surprised. Sometimes he even doubted himself.

Kafka slapped himself mid-run run getting weirded out looks from his colleagues. He couldn't afford to feel like this now. He needed to stop thinking about all this. Things were looking up for him in the Defence Force. So he will focus on that! Whatever. Marigold made her choice.

He had a goal he was aiming for. Time to focus on that.

---

Professionally, things were going great for Marigold. The small teams dispatched across Japan and occasionally other locations on the globe were doing as expected. She was happy to give her reports back to the Empire as well as to the Defence Force. Their liaison was Konomi Okonogi, the Operation Leader of the Third Division. Cute little thing. Good head on those shoulders.

She rarely had an occasion to see the Captain, but it seemed like Ashiro was still invested in personally checking in on the guests.

On the outside, Mina Ashiro was hard to read. She kept her expressions neutral and her words diplomatic. A picture-perfect Captain and officer.

Understandably, Ashiro was still wary of Marigold. She was curious, though. This was giving the Marshal General hope. Those walls of suspicion may not have been crumbling, but a door was forming. So Marigold left Mina with Kylie a couple of times, allowing the human to at least exist by her soldiers, overhear their conversations. Basically, giving Mina opportunities to see them as something more than monsters in the closet.

With time, it should benefit them all.

Hoshina, on the other hand, was more cautious. Again, Marigold couldn't blame him for that. The man was exceptionally guarded; she could only gather surface emotions from him, not even the surface thoughts.

So, after yet another meeting with the leaders of the Third Division, she was happy to detect hints of approval as she bid them goodbye.

"Did it go well?" Kylie asked Marigold as soon as the general stepped out of the Captain's office.

"I think so. At least we shouldn't be getting too many obstacles from them, maybe even cooperation." Marigold sounded hopeful.

"Why are you so keen on having them as allies?" Kylie followed her as they exited the building.

"Ashiro and Hoshina are good people at heart. If we build a basis of trust, they might at least hesitate before ambushing us if given the orders," Marigold replied. That was one reason. The other one was…

Her ear twitched as she heard Kafka's voice coming from her right. The recruits were changing buildings as their classes ended and time for lunch approached. Her head turned to him, and she paused. Her expression turned into badly hidden longing.

Kylie observed her general closely, then followed her line of sight. Well, wasn't that an interesting development.

"Is something wrong?" she asked.

Marigold's head snapped to her and stared like a deer caught in the front lights for a second. She then cleared her throat. "Nothing. Let's go," she ordered and marched in the opposite direction from the recruits.

Kylie threw a final look at the group of humans disappearing in the other building before following her superior with a scheming smirk.

---

Another kaiju alert. The Third Division dispatched immediately, still without the recruits. The mission was going as expected. Mina got to the drop zone without a hitch. The ground teams were dealing with yoju, her task was the giant snake honju.

The creature was using some sort of gas, keeping everyone at a distance, but it wasn't exactly an issue for a long-range weapon specialist like Mina. She was positioned atop a tall office building, aiming a heavy cannon at the kaiju.

"Target in range, awaiting command," Mina said, her cannon fully charged.

"Understood. You are cleared to fire!" The control centre responded.

The shot sliced through the air, leaving a trail of boiled vapour in its wake. The kaiju roared, hit. Blood and flesh erupted in a gruesome geyser.

"Core exposed, awaiting command," Mina reported.

"Clear to fire!"

The second shot obliterated whatever was left of the upper half of the kaiju.

"Target neutralised. No vital signs detected," Okonogi reported.

Mina lowered her weapon and sighed. Another mission done. She looked at Bakko with a soft smile and petted the tiger's head.

Bakko closed his eyes and chuffed, pleased.

"Let’s go back," Mina whispered and turned to leave the roof she was on.

Suddenly, a cold shiver ran through her. A freezing feeling was sinking deep within her. Then the ground trembled, and a whole block in front of her simply disappeared.

"Control centre! Report!" Mina reacted immediately.

"What's wrong, Captain?" Okonogi asked, clueless.

"On my three o'clock! A whole block has been destroyed, has it not shown on your scanner?"

"Captain, there has never been anything there."

Mina's eyes widened. What? She watched as more and more of the city was just vanishing. What does Okonogi even mean? There was nothing there?!

"Hoshina!" She switched channels.

"Yes, Captain?"

"Do you see the buildings just disappearing?" She asked, hoping at least he would confirm her observation.

"No, but I feel the tremors. I am evacuating the officers," he responded.

Mina sighed in relief, the ever-reliable Hoshina.

"I am starting to think our guests weren't lying," the Vice-Captain added.

"Let’s hope they get here fast. I am moving in closer with Bakko." Mina mounted the tiger. With a running start, they hopped from building to building.

"Be careful, they warned us not to approach," Hoshina reminded her.

"We'll worry about that later," she said and cut the communication. There were civilians in anti-kaiju bunkers. If no one got to them–

Suddenly, a huge, tentacle-like arm swiped the building she was about to land on out of existence. Mina and Bakko plummeted. Oppressive cold and darkness began to consume them, ripping into their minds.

It was like floating in a sensory deprivation tank. Everything was slowly dissolving. Her feelings - fear, sadness, regret; her memories - taking care of animals in elementary school, meeting Kafka; everything that was her… it all

 

was

 

 

                                                      slowly

 

 

                                                                                                                           melting

 

 

                                                                                                                                                                             away

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Captain Hoshina!" someone called, and Soshiro wondered when he got promoted.

 

 

 

 

 

Kafka raised his head from a particularly difficult strategy issue, wondering why he was even so pressed to succeed in the Third.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Like a punch to the gut, Mina was ripped back to reality. Her eyes were assaulted by daylight. Her memories poured back into her mind like water from a gushing pipe. Her body materialised with a scream of existence. It took her a moment to realise she was actually screaming.

She felt sick. The bile poured out of her. She felt feverish. Everything hurt. The world was swimming. Her eyes were taking forever to focus.

When her mind finally adjusted again to existing, she realised someone was holding her. Looking around, she saw three people in black armour. Two of them had their faces obscured by helmets, but the third one was smiling gently at her. Marigold. She was the one gently holding her.

"You are safe, Captain. We'll take it from here," she told Mina. She helped her sit, wiping her mouth with a tissue, and handed her a bottle of water.

Mina accepted, but it took her a moment before she could safely take the drink without her hands shaking.

Marigold observed her, then, when she assessed she'd be okay, she raised her head and turned to her soldiers. "Ari, take her back as soon as she can stand up again."

One of the soldiers nodded and saluted Marigold, acknowledging the order.

Mina just passively listened. She was worried, where was– Suddenly, Bakko approached her. He, too, was saved. It was such a deep relief that Ashiro nearly cried.

The tiger nudged Mina with his head and lay across her lap. She hugged him and stroked his fur, grounding herself in reality, and watched as Marigold commanded her troops. She noted that there were more figures appearing. All thirty-six.

"Alright, you rotten bastards! Let's kill this thing!"

They all rushed into action, moving like a well-oiled machine. They knew exactly what to do and how to move.

Mina turned her eyes away from the scene. She needed to check on Hoshina and maybe… maybe she should talk with Kafka. If she had died there… There was so much they needed to talk about.

She will also need to report today's event to the Brass. They had to be informed of the magnitude of the danger.

Captain Ashiro looked at the soldier named Ari. "Please escort me out."

"Right away, ma'am." He offered to carry her, but she refused, preferring to stick to Bakko, who seemed to have recovered enough to carry her again.

They left the rooftop and moved towards the Third Division's field camp. It was almost gone, the transport cars loaded and ready to move out.

"Captain!" Hoshina rushed to her with an expression and voice so rare for him. A mix of fear and relief. He couldn't describe exactly what happened to him. It was like one moment she was there in his mind, then gone, and now back again. It was a true whiplash. He tried to add something, but Mina raised her hand.

"I'm alright, Hoshina," she assured him.

The Vice-Captain regarded the soldier and bowed to him in thanks. Ari shrugged.

"It's what we do," he replied. "Captain Ashiro, once you are back at the base, please drink something warm and comforting. Tea, cocoa, coffee - anything like that."

Mina nodded. "I will."

Ari saluted them and ran off, having fulfilled his duty there. He had a fight to get back to.

"Captain, are you truly alright?" Hoshina asked, finally finding some words. "We should get you to the medical staff."

Mina didn't protest. They started heading towards the last lingering officers. "Once we are at the base," she said, "we should think of organising that joint training practice."

"Understood."

"I also need to contact the HQ," she continued. "Get Okonogi to contact me immediately with Director Shinomiya."

---

"You look like s- awful," Nikolai noted from his screen. They were on a call, Nikolai having his adopted daughter in his lap. She was in the process of putting flower hair bands on his fur.

"We had an eight, give me a break," Marigold huffed. She was lounging in her office chair with the holographic screen hovering over the desk.

"No, that's not it," he hummed. "Something else happened. Does it concern The Guy?" He squinted at her.

Marigold rolled her eyes. "Can't I have a shit day without his involvement?"

Kitty whipped her head towards the screen, and both adults froze. "Oh, no," was the thought that went through both their heads.

"Auntie Mari said a bad word!" The girl announced.

"Indeed, she did, that's why you will not be repeating it, yes?" Nikolai looked with all seriousness at the girl.

Kitty nodded her head with full determination. "Okay!"

Both generals sighed in relief.

"So what happened?" Nikolai got back to Marigold's issue. "Or should I ask - what did you do?"

Marigold's face scrunched, annoyed by the scrutiny, but most of all by the accuracy of his deduction.

"I hate you so much…" she muttered.

"We've been over this. You don't. So?"

She sighed with a groan. Having friends sucked sometimes; they knew you too well. So she finally told him.

Nikolai nodded for a moment. "Kitty, could you go to your room and grab daddy more hair bands? I think we are running low on them."

"Okay!" Kitty slipped down her dad's knee and ran off.

Nikolai's ear twitched, listening to the girl's footsteps until he was sure she was out of earshot. Then he took a deep breath in and exhaled.

"You are a fucking idiot. What were you thinking?" He hissed under his breath, almost putting his muzzle right in the screen.

"I did what I had to do!" Marigold tried to defend herself.

"No, you did think with your 'Marshal general' brain," he air-quoted, "instead of being normal."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Her voice took on a warning growl in tone.

"He is not one of your soldiers, he pointed out. "You can't make decisions for people without their say in your personal life for fucks sake, Morana."

She pursed her lips and drummed her fingers. He didn't need to use her actual name to drive the point home…

"I know I would be pretty damn pissed at you if I were him. Hell, I am shocked you didn't get decked. I would," he huffed.

"Ass."

"No, a werewolf, but I forgive the misunderstanding." His ear twitched, detecting Kitty's return. "Filter on."

The little girl returned with hair bands and nail polish. She climbed onto Nikolai's lap and began to paint his claws.

Marigold couldn't help the mouth twitch at the hilarity of his looks. "I need to inform you, I am recording this," she told him.

Nikolai merely glared at her, aware he couldn't flip her off. He then smiled at Kitty. "You are so good at this!" He praised her.

"Thank you!" Kitty replied. "Auntie, when will you visit? I can paint your nails too!!"

"I'm afraid I am a bit too busy right now, darling."

"And if things go well, and Auntie stops being silly, she might bring a new uncle for a visit too!"

Kitty made a face at that. "Boys are icky. I liked Auntie Teresa!"

"Unfortunately, Auntie Teresa was a cheating hoe," Marigold thought to herself. "I'm sorry, sweetheart, but that Auntie was a bit mean to me and we had to stop seeing each other," she said instead. "And I don't plan on any new uncles to appear." She glared at Nikolai.

"Oh, okay…" Kitty hung her head and returned to painting her father's nails.

Nikolai and Marigold shared a smile.

"You should talk to him, though," Nikolai said.

"I know! I will!"

"And apologise!" He added. "We will be very disappointed in you. Right, Kitty?"

"Yes!" The girl agreed with her father.

Marigold sighed, "Well, I can't argue with both of you!"

"So you will be talking with him?"

Marigold looked still unsure.

"Mari…." Nikolai said in a warning tone.

"I know, I know! I just—" She sighed. "Fine! Yes." She drummed her nails over the desk. "Just not tomorrow. Or today. We're drawing a plan to 'build bonds'," she air-quoted, "with Third Division. I'll— I'll catch him there."

"As long as you do it," he smiled, a bit exasperated with his friend's antics.

"Okay, Mom."

"All done!" Kitty suddenly announced.

Nikolai examined the uneven nail polish. "Wow, I look so pretty!! Thank you, Kitty!" He showed the work to Marigold.

"Amazing," she snickered and took a screenshot.

 

Notes:

Beta Read by Sophia Cloud! Hope you guys enjoy this! Let me know what you think, leave a kudo, comment, or drop by my ask box on tumblr same handle as here!

Chapter 8: Let the games begin

Summary:

The Defence Force and Empire decide to put differences aside and build some trust

June started in full swing. The temperature and humidity were rising, and the cicadas were slowly emerging. Apparently, it was the perfect day for an assembly.

Both recruits and senior officers were gathered in one of the training grounds, wondering what this was all about. Adding to the weirdness, the representing officers from other Divisions and their Captains, as well as the Brass from HQ, were all there. It looked like only the HQ representatives, sitting atop a makeshift podium, knew what was coming. Everyone else was left to speculate.

Finally, Captain Ashiro appeared with Hoshina and Okonogi taking their usual spots on either side of her. She approached the pulpit, and all the whispers immediately quieted down.

"Over two weeks ago, during the Kamakura neutralisation mission, some of you experienced strange phenomena unrelated to kaiju," Mina began her speech. "I have been affected by it myself. To our rescue rushed our guests, who have been occupying building A10 near Training ground 1-S." A murmur rippled through the gathered forces. That area has been prohibited from access since the start of May. A small legend has been brewing about it since then.

"Our guests are experts in hunting the danger that has threatened us last week. Their presence is to ensure our safety, both the civilians and the officers', as the threat is greater than what our forces can handle," Mina continued. "All officers are ordered to respect our guests regardless of how they look."

That remark got her raised eyebrows and confusion. Look? Well, foreigners look different, but did it really require such an announcement?

"I would like to ask the leader of the Imperial army, Marshal General Marigold, to step onto the podium."

Kafka's head jerked upward. He hasn't seen Marigold for almost three weeks since that miserable night. He wondered how he'd react seeing her again. Well, now was his chance. There she was. Proud, almost regal with that crown braid atop her head, black outfit, and a cloak he hasn't seen before. Her back was straight and her head high.

Kafka swallowed and bit his lips. He couldn't afford to do something stupid again. Like, oh, march up front and demand she speak with him, as a random example. That would have gone off so well. Did she even know he was in the crowd? Would she look for him among the officers?

Deep in his thoughts, he missed the worried look Reno gave him.

Meanwhile, the General looked over the crowd. "Thank you, Captain Ashiro, for your warm welcome," Marigold said. "It is an honour to be finally formally introduced to the Defence Force. My subordinates and I, who risked our lives two weeks ago, extend our thanks to Director General Isao Shinomiya for approving today's event." She gestured to the blonde man sitting on the podium with a serious expression.

Kafka noted the stress she put on the 'risking lives' and the slight, triumphant look she sent to the Director General, who in turn narrowed his eyes. Something was going on there. The politics in higher echelons were probably cutthroat. Kafka was glad he didn't have anything to do with it.

The one question was - where were those troops she was talking about?

As if she read everyone's mind, and she probably did, Marigold gestured to the right.

"Let me introduce you to my brave soldiers."

Everyone curiously turned their heads to the empty space before suddenly the air rippled like water, then split open into a black portal, and people began to appear from it. Line after line of inhuman people (even a few robots), dressed in grey T-shirts and black trousers, were arranged on the designated spot. Two people separated from the crowd and walked to the podium.

"Lieutenant Theodore," Marigold gestured to the Nokken, "is permanently stationed here in the A10. Lieutenant Rona," Marigold switched to a towering dragon-like humanoid. She had green scales, Jacob's sheep horns, and one of her wings was cybernetic, "leads the emergency platoon that you will not see unless there is a threat, Lieutenant Theodore's troops, and I cannot handle. So let's hope this is the only time she will make an appearance." The last sentence was said in a joking manner, but no one aside from the two lieutenants reacted.

"We are looking forward to cooperating and coexisting with the brave Defence Force," Marigold finished.

The atmosphere among the regular officers got tense. Some, on reflex, began to reach for the side arms that were not there. Thankfully, the Brass remained calm. They must have been introduced to the lieutenants and Imperial troops before. It was their stoicism that kept everything under control for now.

Meanwhile, Marigold stepped back, and the two lieutenants returned to their platoons. It was Director Shinomiya's turn.

"Thank you, Marshal General, for the introduction. Your assistance is invaluable in these times," his voice boomed over the field. "Japan has been facing increasingly dangerous threats from within and now from the outside. Without the right allies, without the proper weapons against those threats, we all shall fall. In order to succeed, we must move forward, past certain prejudices, and recognise help when it is offered. Trust has never been more important than now." He turned to Marigold, and they shook hands.

A cautious applause rose at the gesture.

Mina returned to the speaker position as both Marigold and Shinomiya sat down.

"To celebrate this new union, for this week we have organised military games, where teams consisting of members from both the Defence Force and Imperial army will measure their skills and hopefully build the trust, Director General Shinomiya, talked about."

Then she went into the technicalities of how each team will be chosen, the specifics of their tasks, and the scoring system. As well as how, for each new game, the teams will be shuffled in the name of maximising familiarity. At the end of each day, there would be a joint meal for everyone.

It seems they will be doing a version of capture the flag today.

Next, the sorting began. With visible apprehension on the humans' part, the teams began to form. Each team had between one to three Imperial soldiers. In total, there were 11 teams.

Kafka got sorted into a team with a grey-skinned, two-headed, lizard folk.

"I am Basil," the creature introduced himself. "Nice to meet you." Each head spoke one at a time. On each muzzle, there was a breathing mask, similar in build to that which the Defence Force was wearing.

"Uh, hi, Kafka Hibino," Kafka responded. Following his example, other officers introduced themselves as well.

"Hey, so, what are you?" One of the officers, Kafka remembered from the twelfth division, his name was… Miyashita.

"I am a Hydra," Basil replied politely. "As for my rank, I am a sergeant in my squad."

A hand rose. "Hey, I'm a sergeant too." The Eighth Division's officer spoke up. Asato. "As the highest-ranked, we should take the lead."

Basil nodded. "We should begin to develop some strategy. Hibino, you are from the Third, right? You probably know the terrain best. Can you fill us in?"

"Right!"

The preparation phase began. They assigned roles, prepared traps, and strategies. It took a moment for Basil and Asato to work out their leading style, but it was clear that Basil was more experienced of the two. He wasn't too chatty but politely responded to all the questions his current teammates had while they set up their base for the game.

"How do you deal with two heads?"

"I have one brain not fully located in either skull."

"What's with the breathing masks?"

"I exhale toxins. It's for your safety."

"Do you have one or two dicks?"

That question had everyone chortle but also evoke some shoves at the asking party and assurance from one person to Basil that he didn't need to answer.

"So, how dangerous are the things you guys hunt?"

This made the Hydra hesitate. "It's similar to your kaiju. It depends, but—," he stopped himself briefly to think what he wanted to say. "The Marshal General's presence makes everyone uneasy."

Kafka, who was very invested in discussing Basil's biology, now had another reason to listen very closely. Marigold.

"Well, she seems pretty high on the hierarchy," he said, trying to sound as nonchalant as possible.

"It's not that. In the Imperial army, the higher you are, the stronger enemies you can take on your own. A platoon usually deals with threats up to level five tops. A single general handles on their own up to level six. General Marshal Marigold goes up to seven." Basil scratched the back of one of his necks.

"What was the level last time? The one Ashiro talked about?"

"Eight. It took both platoons AND the Marshal General. If she hadn't been there, I wouldn't be talking with you."

"How far does your classification go?"

"Nine. And you need a field army to handle that. So we're cooked if one appears. Hopefully it doesn't happen."

That didn't make anyone feel any better. The conversation took a small lull for the moment as they finished setting up traps. Then everyone went to their positions. Kafka, due to his low combat power and knowledge of the terrain, was assigned the scout role to alert the others when other teams would approach. Basil joined him on the task as combat support.

"So, um, how's the Marshal General in real life?" Kafka asked the Hydra as they waited. "Is she okay after the last mission?"

One of the heads turned to him while the other still observed the area keenly. "I never talked with her personally, but she is a formidable warrior," Basil replied, but turned his head curiously at the man. "From what I gathered, she is also attractive to you humans." There was amusement in his voice. "She's currently without a romantic partner, but I'm not quite sure I'd recommend approaching her directly. But if you're sure, try talking to her attendant, Kylie."

Kafka blushed and made a noise. He shouldn't have opened his mouth. "Let's just focus on the task…" he said and pinched the bridge of his nose.

The team ended up eighth overall - not too bad in Kafka's opinion, considering how many strong officers there were. Unsurprisingly, the team with Kikoru was number one.

After the game, everyone was invited by the Imperial army to a bonfire that the soldiers set up. The moods among teams were mixed. It was obvious after the first day that some got along better, some got along worse with the new allies. Kafka was lucky to be in a team that had gotten along quite okay. Now that food and alcohol were in the mix, the real bonding was about to happen.

While looking for a spot, he saw Marigold behind a table with all the Captains and Director Shinomiya. He didn't want to stare, but he couldn't help himself. He wondered if anyone else noticed how tired she looked. She had that smile she always put on whenever they talked, and she had a bad day. It was meant to deter him from suspecting things, but over time, he could tell. She still laughed at the jokes the Captain of the Fourth Division said and toasted them with a mug of beer. He didn't like that. He didn't know why, but he just — he wanted to be there, have her laugh with him instead… but she pushed him away. The memory of that stung.

"Sir?"

"Huh?" Kafka blinked and turned to see Reno approach him with Kikoru. "Hey, you two! How was your first day? That was pretty awesome, right? Kikoru! Congrats! You did great!"

Kikoru huffed as per usual. "Of course I did! Who do you take me for?"

Kafka chuckled. "So, what do you crazy kids need?"

"We wanted to see if you'd join us." Reno pointed to a table with a pretty mixed company.

Kafka noted the other recruits were also there, as well as some of the senior officers of the Third. Like platoon leader Nakanoshima, currently locked in a drinking competition with someone who looked like an oni.

"Sure, why not!" He grinned.

As he followed them, he missed the moment Marigold looked in his direction.

The afternoon turned into the night, and the party was going swimmingly. Especially after someone pulled out karaoke and DDR sets. Who knew Director Shinomiya could move like that? It was extra rewarding to see Kikoru, for once, direct her ire at her dad for being embarrassing. They all applaud the joined chorus of Imperial and Japanese troops who drunkenly sang "My Heart Will Go On" by Celine Dion with an accompaniment of an accordion. Kafka himself was pulled into a couple of arm wrestling matches, gunning for his title as the champion of the Third.

After one such match, he finally pulled a muscle and had to step away to go to the infirmary for a heat pad. Reno offered to go with him, but Kafka politely told the kid he needn't worry. He knew the way.

It was strangely eerie to be in the building while everyone else celebrated outside. The sound of music slowly faded as he went deeper in. Kafka yawned. Maybe he should call it a night. It was getting closer to midnight, and a lot of people were already filtering back to the barracks anyway.

He rubbed the back of his neck and yawned again. Yeah, it was probably time. He didn't want to regret staying up during the morning assembly.

Suddenly, he paused. The lights in the infirmary were off, but there was a noise as if someone was in there. Curious, he peeked inside. He froze. A set of burning red eyes met his azure ones.

"Kafka?" Marigold asked, startled.

Well, shit.

Notes:

Once more, thank you, my Beta Reader: Sophia Cloud, but also those commenting on the fic as well, you have no idea how much it means to me. As a Bonus, character Profile! Marigold! I'm gonna add from now on some info on my OCs that you encounter in the fic! Not all will have art XDD but I hope it be fun to learn more on them.

Chapter 9: Let's start from here

Summary:

Marigold and Kafk face each other. Narumi poses a challenge.

Kafka stared at the intruder in their infirmary.

"Kafka?" Marigold blinked, surprised by the company. "Shouldn't you be outside?"

Kafka looked over her. The moonlight from the window intensified the paleness of her skin, making her look like a ghost. Her hair had come loose from her crown braid during one of the bonfire activities. There were deep shadows under her eyes, and her irises took on a reddish hue. There was a blood bag in her hand.

"I strained my arm during the arm wrestling match," he explained automatically. He didn't know what to do. He didn't prepare himself for seeing her in such close proximity so soon. Surprise was slowly mixing with anger.

"Oh, right," she said and shuffled on her feet. She turned around, probably to drink.

"What's with the blood?" He asked. From what she once told him, she was always careful to drink, especially after the — he swallowed hard at the memory — the incident. He took a step back.

"Oh! Uh, it's been quite a busy couple of weeks… Forgot to eat." She smiled awkwardly over her shoulder. It sounded a little like a lie.

He noted how she favoured her right leg. "Right." It wasn't his business anymore. He cleared his throat. He noticed how his fists curled, so he relaxed his hands as well. Stepping inside the infirmary, he turned on the light. "I won't keep you, General," he said, bitterly, and went to the cabinet where the cooling pads were stored.

"Of course," she said, sounding dejected. She quickly drank the blood and headed to leave, but she stopped hearing him hiss. Alarmed, she jerked her head in his direction, only to sigh in relief.

Behind her, Kafka had accidentally dropped a bunch of cooling pads while he was reaching inside the freezer. Just an accident.

"Let me help," Marigold said and moved to kneel.

"No, no, I've got it!" he retorted sharply, going to kneel as well.

Suddenly, a sharp sting of pain went through her leg, and she straightened up immediately. Immediately, both their heads collided, and both hissed in pain.

"Fuuuuck." He rubbed his head.

"Kurrrvvv- mmmm." She stumbled back.

They stood there, holding their heads, Marigold leaning against the wall, elevating one leg slightly. After a moment, Kafka finally got up and slowly started picking up the packets. Marigold watched him for a moment, then sighed.

"I'm sorry," she said.

"It's fine, it was an accident," he muttered back.

"I don't mean… I mean—yeah, fine." She sighed, giving up. "The award for most awkward motherfucker goes to me! Yay," she thought to herself. "Just hand me the packs," she said and took what he somewhat managed to gather in one arm, then put it back in the freezer.

He shot her a look but didn't protest. It was a quick, silent work between the two of them. He picked the packets from the floor, and she quickly flung them back inside the freezer. Finally, two cool packs were left. Kafka held onto them.

"Thanks." During the entire thing, he did not even once look at her. Not that she blamed him.

She took a deep breath in. "Let me take a look." She reached for him, but he took a step back.

"I'm fine, it's just a strain," he said.

"Kafka–"

"It's fine," he said through gritted teeth. "Or will you decide that for yourself, too?"

Oh, that stung. "Listen, I know what I did was unfair, but I really–" She paused, noticing the look he gave her. "I'm sorry. I mean it."

Kafka looked away, intent on avoiding her. "Yeah, I know."

"Will you let me help?" She asked again. "It'll be easier with the two of us."

He took a deep breath in, and sighed. He didn't want to be angry at her. He still was, but he didn't want to push away another friend, like he did with Mina. "Fine, but you have to tell me what happened to your leg."

"Deal." She smiled, and something in his chest did a complicated sequence of somersaults.

He stood next to her, letting her lean on him. She smelled like the bonfire and alcohol. On their way, she grabbed a roll of bandages and elastic for him. They sat next to each other on one of the beds.

"Let's take off your shirt," she instructed.

Together they manoeuvred the piece of clothing off of him in such a way as to least aggravate the strained muscles. Her eyes lingered over his arms and torso for a second too long. He toned down well. All the fat from his belly hardened to a more useful form, losing the 'beer' part of the belly. A soft blush crept upon her neck, so she quickly covered it up by directing her attention to the task at hand.

"There you go." Carefully, she examined his arm. Her fingers were cold, making his skin twitch a little under them, but skilled and quick. "You pulled that good. Who was the match against?" She reached for the cool packs and snapped the little metal insert, causing the substance inside to harden and release the cold. She then placed the packets against the aggravated muscles and secured them with a bandage.

"One of yours. A tall guy, kinda… rocky." He couldn't quite remember the name. "You're pretty good at the nurse job," he noted.

"I think I told you, didn't I?" She smiled. "I once wanted to be a healer. I keep up with some light nursing work if I can; it's useful."

He nodded. "So, what's with the leg?"

She hummed. "Well, I got it smashed three weeks ago, and I aggravated it last night. Thankfully, the whole day all I had to do was to sit pretty and pretend I cared about whatever the JAKDF Chief of Staff was saying," she said, amused.

"You know, before I met you, I thought vampires heal instantly. Meanwhile, most of the time you're kinda beat up," he recalled.

She snorted. "It's this job. Normally, I would heal in a snap. At this point in my un-life, I shouldn't even notice an injury. Unfortunately, my line of work interferes with it. You know, dealing with reality-erasing beings, you catch some strays." She tried to sound nonchalant. "What about you? Shouldn't a simple sprain be nothing to you?"

Kafka coughed. "I… prefer to heal like a human. It helps with, well, you know." He rubbed the back of his neck. "Fitting in."

"I know," she said softly. "I understand."

They shared another quiet moment. This time with much less hostility. It was so strange that they could fall back into their usual dynamic so easily…

"I was pretty pissed at you. I think I still am," he said suddenly.

"I'm-"

"Don't say you're sorry, just—" He turned his head to her. "Don't do that again."

She smiled and shook her head. "I can try." She put her hand over his.

"Sounds good." He squeezed her hand back. "So, does it mean we can talk again?"

"Well, we still should be careful. Director Shinomiya, I'm pretty sure, is on my side. The guy is surprisingly forward-thinking. I like him, but the others…" She sighed, remembering the rest of the Board from the Neutralisation Bureau. "It's a mixed bag, honestly. But I guess… I'll text you?"

"So it's back to your hieroglyphics?" he grinned.

"Hey! It's quicker for me this way!" she huffed.

"Really?" He looked quite sceptical.

"Yes!" she giggled. "C'mon, put your shirt back on." She shoved the piece of clothing back at him. "And make sure to rest that wrist as well. Okay?"

Kafka snickered, feeling much lighter now. "Alright, alright, miss nurse."

They joked and poked at each other as they left the infirmary.

Outside, the fire was out. The Imperial soldiers, well, some of them, were cleaning up. There were plenty of people from both sides sleeping under or on the tables, snoring the night away. Marigold sighed and chuckled at the sight. This was where they were parting ways.

He waved her off as she went to join her crew, while he headed back to the barracks. It wasn't 100% okay, but it was a start.

---

It was a little bizarre watching Director Shinomiya play with Bakko. He and Mina, from what Kafka heard, had been going on at length about their shared interest - cats.

"I think that's admirable. He still has such passion at his age," Reno tried to play Devil's Advocate, although he saw no need for that.

Kikoru said nothing, chewing her straw. She was staring at her dad, a deep frown marking her forehead, and grumbling something under her breath.

Kafka snickered, watching the two, as he enjoyed the party.

"Hello, Defence Force soldiers!" Marigold approached their table. "How are you doing?"

Kafka nearly choked on his food as she got to their table. Everyone, both the humans and the Imperial soldiers, straightened up on instinct. No one was certain what she was doing there.

Haruichi was the first one to find his voice. "We're doing good, ma'am."

"Everyone enjoying themselves?" she continued, trying to make friendly conversation.

A dryad soldier raised her glass. "Certainly, ma'am."

"Good, good, that's very good." Marigold nodded along and walked away.

"What was that all about?" The dryad muttered to another soldier, who shrugged. The two snorted and just downed their drinks.

Kafka frowned. Marigold repeated these short conversations around the area. Some stops were longer than others. She looked more comfortable, though. The limp was barely showing, but it was there if anyone paid attention.

He took a solid bite from his food and sighed. Why wouldn't she take a break? They haven't had a solid moment to talk yet, even over text. Just a good morning message, before the day started, and Kafka got swooped into another 'bonds building' exercise. This time, it was a modified version of hide and seek with paintball guns, where the losers had to join the winners. The biggest group won. As the starting groups were smaller, the rivalry got more intense. The day was just pure chaos.

Reno and Kafka, who, in this exercise, ended up on the same starting team, were covered, from helmets to steel-capped boots, in paint, while Kikoru had none. Miss Prodigy had a good laugh at their expense, taking a photo after her group forcefully recruited them.

Marigold's loop around the area was stopped mid-way when the Captain of the First Division blocked her path.

"Hey guys, look at that!" Iharu pointed to the scene.

Marigold had an eyebrow raised as she regarded the young man in front of her. Narumi stood with his hand in his pocket, with a light smirk on his face. Normally, she didn't care for formalities from her soldiers as long as they followed orders during the missions and did their jobs well. There was something conceited in him, though, that ticked her off. It spelt trouble.

Captain Narumi wasn't present the previous day among the JAKDF Brass, arriving for the 2nd day midday and spending most of the time on his handheld gaming console, only shaping up whenever Director General Shinomiya glared at him.

"Captain Narumi," she greeted him, looking down at him. "How can I help you?"

"Let's not waste our time here," Gen said. "I think this is a farce, and I don't plan on playing nice with you monsters. In my eyes, we should exterminate you and that 'threat' you speak of, ourselves. But I respect Mr. Isao, and he wants you here."

Marigold's other eyebrow went up. "Thank you for being direct." She still didn't know the purpose of his telling her all that, but liked this conversation even less.

"I want to spar with you," he said bluntly. "If I win, you will not set foot in First Division's territory. You can provide the equipment. We'll deal with the problem without you. If you win, you won't even have to notify me of your movements. How's that sound?"

It sounded extremely arrogant, but that wasn't what he wanted to hear. Marigold narrowed her eyes at the boy. She couldn't deny that he seemed extremely confident in himself.

"Sounds like a fair deal." She offered her hand to seal it. "You're in luck, my leg is injured, it will make for a fair fight," she said with a smirk.

An angry vein popped on Narumi's cheek. "We could postpone this until you have recovered." He smiled, the irritation coming off of him in waves as he shook her hand. "I wouldn't want to cripple a foreign dignitary." He squeezed her hard.

"Nah, I'm good now to stomp annoying bugs at any time," she replied and squeezed back hard enough that a small squeak of pain escaped him.

The two proceeded to glare at each other, refusing to let go.

"Narumi! What are you doing?" Director Shinomiya's voice finally separated the two.

"Director General!" Marigold smiled politely and bowed. "Captain Narumi expressed that he'd like to spar with me. I agreed."

Isao's frown deepened. "Narumi…" He sounded exasperated.

"It's alright," Marigold reassured him. "I think it will make for a good show. I'm totally up for a bit of a stretch."

The last sentence visibly added fuel to Narumi's ire.

"We are outside, and with how the tables are set, I think we have plenty of space to do a little practice match, wooden swords perhaps?" She suggested. "Just until one of us yields?"

Isao was unsure. He knew how stubborn Narumi was. There was no way the end would be so easy. It was also supposed to be a friendly match, and something told him neither of them would yield just because.

"Make it until one of you loses your sword." He decided.

"Sounds good." Marigold accepted the term with a bright smile.

"Yeah, alright," Narumi replied.

Isao sighed. This was happening then. Arrangements had been made, and soon enough, both Marigold and Gen were standing in front of each other with a practice sword in their hands. Both the Defence Force and the Imperial Army were buzzing with excitement. It was extremely rare for anyone to challenge Marigold to a fight. Her position alone was a deterrent enough.

"Kikoru, do you know anything about Captain Narumi?" Kafka turned to the girl.

She sighed. "Not much, people say he is the strongest Captain and that the First Division is the strongest one in Japan. I don't know anything else. Dad doesn't talk about him at home, so…" She trailed off and finished off with a shrug.

"I heard he is quite active on social media," Reno added. "And in the gaming community, I think I met him a couple of times in my game chats before."

"Really? What's your opinion?" She turned her head to Reno. This was new to her.

Reno made a face.

"Ah…" Kikoru didn't ask further.

Suddenly, their table was approached by Basil. "We're taking bets if anyone wants in on it?"

"You're betting on the fight?" Iharu popped up excited.

"Yes, you want in?" The Hydra pulled up a holographic screen displaying some numbers.

"How much's on Captain Narumi?" Iharu tried to take a closer peek at the tables.

"Narumi?" Basil sounded genuinely surprised. "No, we're betting on how quickly Marshal General will put your Captain in place." There was a grin in his voice. "The time starts at one minute and then goes down."

"What? That's bullshit!" Iharu huffed.

Kafka shot them one concerned look before tuning out the conversation and focusing on Marigold.

The Marshal General had removed her jacket and button-up shirt and stood there dressed only in her slacks and tank top. She stood there, relaxed and generally unbothered by the situation. He took note of the well-toned arms and upper body. He knew she was muscular, but he'd never seen her like that before.

Captain Narumi was wearing a borrowed Third battle suit. He seemed certain of his victory. A confident smirk and pose, his wooden sword was resting over his shoulder, while Director Shinomiya was finishing introducing the rules out loud for everyone to hear. Bows were exchanged. Then Marigold and Narumi took a couple of steps forward. The blades were crossed, waiting for the signal to begin.

Kafka's stomach squeezed, and he wasn't even the one fighting.

"Hey, relax, Eyebrows." Kafka nearly jumped out of his skin when someone's arms slapped onto his shoulders, pulling him out of his thoughts. "She'll be okay."

He turned his head around to see Kylie, grinning at him. He frowned. "She's injured, though."

"Marigold told me she's fine. Plus, he's just a human!" Kylie moved some plates aside and sat on top of the table. "And ope! Here they go!" She chuckled.

Isao glanced between the two combatants.

"Begin!"

Narumi rushed in first. He swung at Marigold, the sword aimed at her head. She blocked. She tried to return the attack, but Narumi evaded.

Kylie's words struck something in Kafka. This sentiment was present so far in every Imperial soldier he had interacted with. To a degree, they looked down upon humans, even the Defence Force. He didn't know how he felt about this. He wondered - did Marigold feel like this too? She never showed anything of the sort towards him. He thought back on their interactions, but no, she's always been friendly. Then he remembered the night she came to his room… His expression soured.

He decided to refocus on the fight.

It seemed like Marigold was struggling. She blocked and pushed Narumi back each time he attacked. But that wasn't enough. She couldn't land a hit herself. It was so weird to her.

Of course, she wasn't going full power on him. It was a friendly match after all, but even then, something was off.

She rushed forward. With a low spin, she tried to take him at the knees. Before she could properly make the move, he jumped away. It seemed whenever she returned a blow, he was ready to block or had already changed positions. Was he—? No, that seemed too improbable, but… Was he reading her mind?

She couldn't feel him invading her mind. While she sucked at reading others' thoughts, she was pretty confident in her ability to keep invaders out of hers. So that wasn't that.

When their swords clashed again, she took a better look at him. There was something off with his eyes. The irises had an odd shape around them, like a cross, and were pink.

While the colour could be explained, the crosses weren't normal.

She had to test her theory.

She performed a series of moves, but in her mind, seconds earlier, she had a different plan. Narumi followed what she was doing rather than what she thought. Alright then. Not a mind reader.

"You got some tricks, boy, " she taunted him as their blades locked. "Do you plan to actually hit me, any time soon though?"

"How's your leg going?" he threw back at her.

She grinned. "Never better." She tried to kick him away, but predictably, he disengaged and, with a spin, moved out of range.

Her leg ached. A stab of sharp pain ran through her with each move, but this was nothing. She had worse, she told herself.

If her mind wasn't being read, there was only one thing she could do. Go faster.

Narumi was certain of his victory. He was going to show Mr. Isao that he was better than this infernal creature. There was no way she could beat his Number One Weapon. Her nervous system was on full display before him, and even though she moved faster than his usual prey, he could still follow her. If only she weren't so good at blocking his every strike.

"What's gonna be your next move, monster?" He thought to himself.

It took one blink. One second, Marigold was right there in front of him. The second she was gone. Wait, what?

Confused, he looked around. Where–? Then got hit from behind. He flew forward. What? Before his feet hit the ground, another attack. Where was she?! He felt the wooden sword snap in half. A pain erupted in his arm. He let go of the hilt.

"You can't read what you can't see." She announced proudly, standing over him.

So, she figured it out… Narumi spat blood onto the dirt.

"And the winner is General Marigold!" A voice, Hoshina's voice, reached him, adding insult to injury. Narumi looked up.

The woman was looking down on him. "Good fight, you should get checked out in medical," she said. Her hand was hovering in front of him.

It was over. He lost. He didn't want to look at the table where all the higher-ups were. He'd rather save himself from disappointment or worse, indifference on Mr. Isao's face.

"Yeah, good fight," he said and snapped her hand away. The only good news about this was - it would not land on the internet. He headed away from the people.

When Narumi pushed her hand away, Marigold froze. It felt like a snapped thread in her spine. Immediately, she knew she was fucked.

People flooded towards her. If they got to her, she'd crumple, and it would cause a scene. She had to go. Now.

The problem was, she couldn't move.

"Fuck…"

Notes:

Hope you enjoyed! Thank you, everyone who commented on the previous chapters. Thank you, my dear Beta Reader, who helps me, making sure there aren't any weird typos and the chapters make sense XD Here's another OC intro. The werewolf general Nikolai and his wife Freya! Art below by Jajna on Tumblr! It was Attack for ArtFight XD

Nikolai Profile:

• Name: Nikolai Friedrich


• nationality: Russian/German


• Height: 7'5"/226cm


• Sign: Taurus


• Likes: meat stew, wood carving, history, dogs


• Dislikes: having his fur wet


• Weapon: battle axe

Freya Profile:

• Name: Freya Amelia Bee


• Nationality: fantasy equivalent of Scottish/Korean


• Height: 5'10"/178cms


• Sign: Gemini


• Likes: flowers, painting, books, cats


• Dislikes: the cold


• Weapon: double-ended javelin



Kitty Profile:

Art by FollowMetoYourDoom (Freya and Kitty's creator)


• Name: Catherine "Kitty" Bee-Friedrich


• Age: 5


• Likes: helping her friends, learning, drawing, cats


• Dislikes: mean people :(


• Weapon: her big puppy eyes and tiny baby voice