Chapter Text
"Are you sure this is safe?" Reno repeated softly, peering down through the slats of the vent and scanning below them.
Mina nodded, "I confirmed with the First Clan leader early this morning - completely unexplored by other borrowers, and their analysis team found no traps or signs of danger." She met Reno's eyes, and sent a reassuring smile his way. "And... my gut says it's safe."
Soshiro snickered a little, and slapped Reno roughly on the back. "Don't ya worry, squirt. Mina's gut is only wrong, like - what? 72% of the time? We'll be fine!"
Mina glared at the black-haired boy as Reno's face twisted into something that was definitely not reassured. "Soshiro!" She hissed, focus shifting back to beyond the vent. "Stop psyching him out. We will be fine." She carefully motioned for them to grab their hooks, and they copied her as she looped her hook once, twice, and three times around a slat on the vent, and let the rest of the length trail down. They slowly descended their ropes, heads on the swivel, alert for any hints of sound or motion.
Past the slats of the vent was the rolling expanse of a kitchen, though it curiously lacked a stove that Mina was used to seeing. It was sunny, light trailing through an open window, bathing the room in brilliant golden light. The air was crisp and fresh, and Mina breathed in deeply, the repetitive hand-under-the-other motions letting her zone out momentarily. The trip was slow, and despite years of experience under her belt (figuratively and literally - the wear-and-tear on her climbing hook wasn't for nothing), she still felt a rising sense of anticipation as the distance to the countertop gradually lessened. They touched down on the hard, cold surface; Mina first, Soshiro second, and Reno last, all letting out a soft breath of relief at the safe touchdown.
She and Soshiro immediately started heading toward their goal at the center of the countertop. "We're... gonna leave the hooks there?" Reno murmured to himself, just loud enough that Mina could hear him.
She smiled to herself, and nodded to Reno. "This'll be a quick trip, so me and Soshiro have built up a habit of keeping our hooks lodged," She clarified, gesturing to the three lengths, nearly invisible at their distance. "It's easier when we need to leave, anyways. No detours or.... alternate... routes." Reno nodded, still glancing at the ropes hesitantly, but not arguing. Although he was fighting to keep his cool, Mina could see his hand wavering near the sheathed needle at his hip as he looked around the kitchen. She shook her head in amused exasperation, and turned back to their trek across the countertop.
Soshiro had built up a tiny lead during their conversation, and jogged as Mina quickened her pace to catch up, a shit-eating grin on his face. "Move it or lose it, slowpokes!" He cackled, darting over to the large silver fruit bowl. He made a running leap and grasped the edge of the bowl, pulling himself over the rim. He disappeared for a moment, and reappeared with a grape held high over his head, a triumphant grin on his face. "Man, Mina - it's loaded like you wouldn't even believe!"
Mina smiled as she caught up. She extended her arms and the juicy grape landed squarely in her grasp. The sunlight reflected off of the shiny skin, nearly blinding her as she set it down beside her, and reached into her bag to procure a rolled up sack, nearly half her height and three times as wide. "Hey Reno," she called, as the borrower caught up. "Would you mind helping me hold this open? Soshiro's gonna toss all our stash into here, and it's way too big for one person to hold open." Reno nodded, and grabbed the other side of the sack, stretching it wide open. Soshiro lobbed all sorts of berries into the bag, and even a small bit of banana. The sack slowly grew heavier, until it was barely manageable.
"We're done." Mina called up to Soshiro, and he gave a thumbs up, vaulting over the edge of the bowl and landing in a crouch, silently. Mina mouthed show-off at him and he mouthed just better back, smirking. They all grabbed the sack and carried it over to the strings by the vent. "Here's the plan," Mina said, when Reno looked between the heavy sack and the strings with a lost look on his face. "We're gonna tie the sack to the strings, climb up to the vent, and pull it up once we get up there."
She hesitated. "Does that... make sense?" He nodded, face setting into a determined expression.
They began tying the bag to their ropes, keeping the process slow and careful. It was risky, which was why Mina had debated bringing Reno at all; he was young and unused to borrowing trips like these, but it seemed like it had been a good idea to have some extra muscle, if their massive haul was anything to go by. She made sure her knots wouldn't loosen unless under pressure, and double checked both Soshiro's and Reno's knots. She about to start climbing when a loud THUD came from outside the window. The sunlight was blotted out by a massive shadow that briefly passed over them, and her blood ran cold.
It wasn't supposed to be here this early - the scouts made sure of that.
What is it doing here?
"Shit," Soshiro echoed her thoughts with a sharp hiss. "Alright, change of plans, follow me, squirt." He grabbed Reno's hand and started sprinting. Mina followed closely behind, heart pounding in her chest. She remembered the scouts' descriptions - a unidentified Kaiju of unknown power level, though its form was usually hidden by darkness. The only constant detail was "cyan glowing" - which plenty of other Kaiju shared, so Mina hadn't been too worried. They had laid out its departures and arrivals and built a schedule off of it. They had planned it all out...
"Here," Soshiro called, as he yanked Reno behind a large box. Mina ducked behind it as well, just in time for the door to swing open. "And don't make a sound."
The same shadow from before fell across the kitchen, an ominous, horned silhouette blanketing the entire room. The warmth from the sunlight was gone, and Mina shivered, the sudden change not helping the chills running down her spine. This was too close!
The Kaiju fully entered the kitchen, and Mina felt another uncontrollable shiver run through her entire body. The beast was massive, bigger than most Kaiju she'd seen. It stood upright, with dark, sinewy muscles framed by an alabaster-white outer skeleton. The cyan glowing mentioned by the scouts thrummed with power that made her hair stand on end, and in place of its eyes were two cyan orbs, pulsating and glowing with the same unbelievable power as the rest of its body. Sharp bone-teeth were clenched in what seemed to be a deadly grin, and a long, deadly tale swung back and forth as it stopped at the counter where she and her group was hiding. It growled, the rumbling noise nearly making her teeth chatter.
Mina squeezed her eyes shut as she heard it make another strange growling noise. There was a loud thump, and some rustling noises - their sack of berries! - a loud snuffling. She peeked over at Soshiro and Reno, who both shared equally horrified expressions. Bitterly, She wished she could go back in time, to "way too early in the morning", and shove her borrowing bag down her old self's throat.
But she couldn't, and the snuffling was nearing closer. Of course, some stupidly powerful Kaiju could smell them as well, and she had to go ahead and be overconfident and get Reno and Soshiro in trouble-
The box, impossibly heavy as it seemed to them, was lifted as though it weighed nothing, and she found herself staring into the cyan orbs of a gigantic Numbered Kaiju.
Mina knew that Numbered Kaiju were the most dangerous type of Kaiju. She knew, and everyone else in her clan knew as well. Fast, strong, and possessing inexplicable abilities, the last thing a borrower wanted was to be caught by a Numbered Kaiju. Nothing could compare - not even a Daikaiju.
It was a fate worse than death.
As she found herself and her group trapped on the countertop, she was (unwillingly) reminded of this fact.
Somehow, by some horrible luck, the recently dubbed "No. 8" had not been associated with the similarly cyan glowing Kaiju that loomed in front of her. The scouts had seen it out and about prior to finding the house they were in, and hadn't suspected any connection - and they would pay the price. She stood in front of Soshiro and Reno, trying to keep a brave face despite the shaking in her arms, as she stared deeply into the eyes of the beast.
Immediately, the Kaiju reared back, massive arms flinging backwards, box flying off into the distance as it stumbled away from them, letting out a disgruntled bark. She flinched, taking a shaky step backwards as it recovered. Its eyes were wide, mouth partially open to reveal its sharp teeth and a massive, coiling tongue. It barked again, loud voice, making her wince, and it lunged forward, hands slamming down on the counter beside them. Reno let out a weak cry and stumbled back into Soshiro, whose lips were thin, piercing gaze locked onto the giant's actions.
Mina unsheathed her own needle as the Kaiju's head slowly leaned inwards, holding it up in meager defense. Had she been in possession of her bow and arrow, she wouldn't have even hesitated to let an arrow fly into the creature's eye, but she wasn't trained in the blade, that was Soshiro's skill!
The Kaiju grunted, hot air, blowing out and making them all step back. Snuffles and growls rumbled from its maw, strange and foreign. Mina's hands reacted before her brain did, lashing out at the slowly approaching - but clawed - hand. The needle almost slid on the tough, nearly impenetrable muscle, but it caught at the very last second. The Kaiju roared, hand retreating; she was nearly pulled along, but she let go of her needle, leaving her only form of defense in the hands of a Kaiju.
"Mina!" Reno cried, and Soshiro harshly clapped a hand over his mouth; but it was too late. The Kaiju's thick head swung towards the other two, and the other, uninjured hand made a move at them.
She scrambled to her feet, ignoring the soreness in her arms, and lunged in front of the hand. "Don't you dare touch them!" She yelled, and tried not to choke as the hand, with clawed fingers twice as long as she was tall, slammed into her, nearly knocking all the air out of her lungs. The grip tightened, and she felt wind whistle past her ears as she was lifted away from Soshiro and Reno, their cries quickly growing quieter as she was swept away. She found herself pinned under the scrutinizing gaze of the massive being - a Numbered Kaiju - and fought the urge to cower. Despite her best efforts, however, it didn't help the pained gasp from escaping her lips.
No. 8's orbs grew wide at the noise, and it made an odd sound that shook Mina's entire being. The vast expanse of its head took up her vision, her head barely level with the hole where its nose would've been, and the pulsating cyan energy almost overpowered all coherent thought. She struggled weakly in its grip - it wasn't tight, but she paled at the sight of the sharp claws so close to her body - but to no avail.
Its muscles rippled as it reached for something out of her view, and she gasped in horror when, by the sounds of frantic shouting and angry yelling, she could tell that it had grabbed Soshiro and Reno as well. They were all brought together, and she found herself pressed up against them as the Kaiju held them all in one massive fist. Its tail swished back and forth quickly, and she was reminded of a cat with a deep interest in its freshly caught prey.
"I'm sorry Reno," she choked out, as the Kaiju rumbled. "I really thought we'd be safe."
"Don't give yourself all the credit," Soshiro hissed, a tense smile on his face. "I approved this too."
Reno said nothing, but hung his head.
Mina squeezed her eyes shut, and hunched her shoulders as she felt wind whistling, vertigo overtaking her. She could hear the loud thudding of No. 8's core, its panting breath, could feel hot breath against her skin, and-
Her feet met the cold countertop, so suddenly that she stumbled and fell onto her knees. Her eyes flew open, and she craned her neck, up and up and up at the massive Kaiju who matched her gaze, as its hand trailed away from the countertop, where they had been released... and next to their climbing strings, still tied to the bundle...
...what?
Gift horses, or whatever! Mina thought sharply, pulling Soshiro and Reno up and quickly scaling her rope, heart still pounding. No. 8 did nothing but watch as they ascended, hands resting at its sides.
They pulled themselves out of the vent, panting, and all flinched as the light from outside the vent was blotted out. The Kaiju's massive hand covered the opening, nearing the slats, but stopped right before its claws would've stuck through the metal. Mina forced herself to look, and blinked as the sack of fruit, still attached to their strings, was just within arms' reach, support by the dark scales of No. 8's palm.
"Guys..." She murmured, "Something about gift horses...?" Soshiro nodded beside her, but still reached down to pull it up with her. Once the sack was fully in the vents, the massive appendage dropped away, and loud, booming footsteps declared its departure.
The journey back to the den was quiet, and subdued.