Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Amphitrite of the Greeks, Salacia of the Romans, Cliodhna of the Celts, sometimes Kanaloa in Hawaii. All of them are what the people of various cultures believe to be the ones who rule over the sea; dictating the flow of storms and incoming tsunami. For Japan, it’s even more so. A country easily racked with geographical disasters, it is only natural that they also have a myth regarding a water deity governing the seas. Of course, for them the most famous one, rather than a person, it was a dragon. You, however, were no god, goddess, octopus, nor dragon.

You, were a kaiju.

In a world where gigantic monsters existed amongst various myths, ongoing lookers who travel via planes and ships report sightings of a similarly gigantic being drifting along the oceans of many coasts. However, the statements would be wildly different than the usual.

“We saw it when we looked out the window during our flight. It was so beautiful!”

“Don’t you think it’s a lucky thing to see one? They bring lots of wealth and fortune in love!”

“It was human, I swear.”

“They say it’s bad luck when you see one. They bring storms and misfortune in one’s life.”

“Could it be a Megalodon?”

“In the years of my life, seeing something so majestic had never crossed my mind whatsoever. It was—”

“Shining everywhere— like.. like...”

“A ningyo (人魚). A big one.”

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

It was the dead of night, the strobe of city lights and empty streets spread across the wide city. You’re still in your white coat as the blaring ‘ Police ’ sign in blue faces you within the confines of your car.

“Aunt [...],” you call out to the woman, who frantically called after you— you know it’s you she’s calling out to. And yet you don’t understand, it feels like it’s a deliberate cut off.

“—! The police called, they said your brothers—” You stifle a laugh.

“It’s okay, I’ll bail them. You can continue beat poetry night with your friends no problem. No, no, it’s fine, I was just getting off work... How’d I know?” This time, you do laugh. “Big sister antennae. Someone’s gotta reel in these two troublemakers.”

“ You sure you’ll be fine? ” The familiar voice asks.

You hum, easing her worries, saying your goodbyes as you hang up the phone. You breathe in a huff, and soon enough, you’re out of the car, and entering the quite minute police station with a jail cell that’s too small to hold all its captives; your brother at the forefront with a distinct frown. A frown that opens into an ‘o’ of shock as he sees your familiar face.

“Where are my knuckleheads?” You grin, hands on your hips.

The process didn’t last too long, you saw where your youngest was sheepishly sitting on the bench, watching his older brother.

“H——!” A cut off. Static. You ruffle his hair.

The next thing you know, you’re outside and in your vehicle, the one wearing a cap sitting on the passenger side while the youngest sat at the backseat.

“There’s a baseball game I’m supposed to be watching right now, you know, you two!”

“ Psh, baseball? That’s so old of you, big sis. Who watches baseball nowadays? It’s all about robots now!” The youngest howled at the back, plopping himself in full at the vacant seats of your plush new car.

“ Everyone watches baseball, [...].” You roll your eyes.

“I heard the Tigers are winning,” the one beside you said cheekily, now removing his hat. You groan.

“Shut up or I won’t drive you to get your bike tomorrow.” You look at him while sticking your tongue out.

He chuckles before dragging his fingers along his lips in a zipping motion, giving you a thumbs up. You grin, satisfied of your little win. The engine starts. You look at the rear-view mirror and beside you.

Their faces...

~

You blink. 

The peculiar surroundings disappearing, replaced by a blinding white light. Shrieks and roars within the palm leaves rustling and the sea waves brushing the shore by the rocks where you chose to sleep for the night had invaded your senses. Your ears and fins perk as you hear the familiar sloshing of waves and flapping of wings beside you. 

Your stomach grumbles and you yawn. You release a grateful frequency as your dreary eyes meet your guardian; your companion, the one who had helped and accompanied you when you were on the brink of death. The warm greeting was quickly reciprocated by the descended dragon; a roar in its stead as you both share a mutual understanding of what time it was as you stared at the school of tuna.

Breakfast.

It was only supposed to be a simple day for you and your companion. Catch some fish, swim around (or for your guardian, sometimes, fly around), and take naps. It wasn’t until your guardian had come and led you to its nest, showing you its egg. Cooing in trust as she nudged it toward you, allowing you to peruse the curious thing. If it were any other kaiju, the dragon would have been in rage to protect its egg. But in the time you’ve spent being aided and also aiding your guardian, you’ve developed a special sense of relationship with your fellow being. 

That day was the simple one. 

The following days were when... the strangers had appeared.

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“ Hey, Kenji, it’s Dad. ” The whirring of the sound recorder permeates through Kenji’s mind.

“ I know that you’re mad at me.” From packing his bags, “ I get it. ” to getting on his plane all the way back to Tokyo, Japan.

“ I know it wasn’t an easy choice leaving your life behind. ” Kenji looks out the window of his home, a separate island away from the city. A special place for a special guy.

“— LA, the Dodgers, millions of adoring fans. ” He chose to work out the moment he came in, the sunset made him think a little more.

“ But what I’m asking for— ” 

Within the confines of his shades, his staring towards his reflection deflects to a figure in the distance. A peculiar figure. Still, he keeps up with his jumps. Just then, as he kept staring, the figure eventually turned from the center where the sky met the sea, and the sun shimmered within the calm waters. And if it wasn’t so far away, Kenji would have confidently said that he met its eyes. 

“— is bigger than baseball. ” His brows furrow. He feels as if he’s hearing waves in his ears.

A shake of his head, and the figure is gone. He should practise, get off his head. And shower, finally. Maybe it was the haze of jetlag. He’d have to prepare soon for his arrival press conference.

~

⌈ For the last few weeks, one name has dominated the headlines in what is sure to be a historic moment in baseball. ⌋

Kenji whirrs his motorbike, clad in his new Giants jacket. Again, his ear twitches, as he feels as if he’s hearing a distant voice. He looks behind him, back to the sea.

⌈ In just three days, Giants fans will welcome a legend to the New Tokyo Dome as Ken Sato returns to the land of his birth. ⌋

He runs and revs the bike at full speed, the automated road connecting his isolated island to a distant connecting road that led to Tokyo rising from the depths of the ocean.

⌈ Now, please join me in welcoming him back to Japan, the newest member of our Giants family! Keeeeen Sato! ⌋

The flashes of cameras and the excited talk of the fans that awaited him outside of the room where his press conference will be held had overtaken Kenji’s senses. His number plastered on the wide of his back: Seven. Still, he walks coolly into the hall, giving minute greetings towards random passing staff as he heads to his seat in the middle. The moment he was on that seat, reporters were yelling his name, trying to get noticed by the baseball superstar.

~

Beep. Beep. Beep. And a voice,

“ Neronga is attacking Akihabara. ” 

“Ah, crap. ” Kenji mutters, having just escaped from his press conference.

And just then, his ticked off, brand-new coach, comes out from the door behind him.

“Oi! Sato!”

“ Heey, Coach Shimura.” Ken greets with a lopsided grin as he turns back to face the grumpy coach. He fails to notice his watch still beeping with a new alert.

“You can’t charm me,” the coach moves closer, frown evident under his Giants cap. “There’s no place for the Ken Sato show on my team.”

Kenji inwardly sighs. But he doesn’t miss a beat in his reply.

“Look, I get it.” He brushes over cockily, “It’s been a rough couple of years for you guys, but I’m here to help.” Kenji finishes, hand over his chest like he was ever more genuine; and if anything, he was.

“Let me drive, win some games, and we can get this team back on top where it belongs.”

The coach isn’t impressed. No flinch, no move.

“See? Right there. That’s your problem. No humility.” Kenji rolls his eyes. But the coach continues with a scowl. 

“It takes more than attitude to become a Giant.” His coach finishes, finally. Blowing air through his nose, face remaining indifferent as Kenji leans down a little to face his much shorter coach; he says lowly:

“I stopped believing in Giants a long time ago.”

~

“ Urgh! ” Kenji groans as Neronga smashes him against a billboard sign. 

“You need to get Neronga out of here. With as little damage as possible!” Mina tells Kenji in a sort of panicked tone.

Yeah, little damage. The land beast, its back covered in hard plates of rock, holds Kenji in his Ultraman form, finding a little statue to repeatedly bash in his face.

“Give me a break, Mina—!” Kenji replies between hits. “I’m doing the best I can!” Sloshing, coos, something — That sound...

While holding Neronga back, the sound of waves in his ear lights an idea in him. So he pushes Neronga back with all his might, taunting the kaiju, allowing for a quick goose chase. Kenji runs along the Kanda River, not noticing the disturbed water surface.

“C’mere Neronga! Pspspsps —” 

“ Kenji, Neronga isn't a cat.”

“Armadillo, cat, what’s the difference?” Kenji shrugs while sprinting and occasionally looking back at the same time to make sure that the kaiju was still following him. He throws a couple of building statues, aiming at its head to further anger the kaiju.

It works— and soon enough, they're arriving near the Tokyo Port. But Kenji, careless still, almost stepped on some civilian, stopping him dead in his tracks. They ran away quickly just as an apology itches out of Kenji’s throat.

“Sorry! Are y-” 

He’s cut off when he feels the familiar claws of the monster on his nape, effectively throwing his 40-metre tall self with no bounds. And a disaster was about to happen— his trajectory was leading him towards two other civilians on some old motorbike. 

And all Kenji can think was... The model looks like something a grandma would use.

The two civilians in question were panicking, frozen in place. Until they realised they had to move.

“ Tadashi! Just leave the bike. Let's go!” Hiro yelled, trying to get off the old red bike.

“No,” Tadashi replied, determination on his face and Hiro could only gulp. “She wouldn't want us to die! Just leave the bike!”

Tadashi got off and tried to push the bike that just so happened to break down when they really needed it. And it's going to come, and Kenji's instincts to use his forcefield to avoid crushing the two brothers were quick, but his position made it hard to manoeuvre; the shield immediately went down when Kenji heard a crack by his shoulder and he winced in pain. Tadashi and Hiro squinted,  readying themselves to get squashed in mere seconds.

Only, they get wet. And Kenji is lightly splashed enough to allow him to fall on his chest on the empty pavement beside the two brothers.

Huh?

The three men, one of them being way bigger than the other two are met with one who giants even Kenji. Surfacing from the water, they're overcome with their fight or flight instincts, and as if their brains are in tune, they all choose freeze.

Until the veil of water finally disperses, shiny scales where the mix of warm city lights and cool moonlight bounced around the smooth expanse of skin. Iridescent hair and eyes, colour never the same at once. It blinks once, twice. Your big hands are covered in a mix of scale, engraved pearls, and blending skin colour atop of the dominance of the former. You shone, beautifully so. And within you was a coo that rumbled through your chest and spread across the surroundings of the pier.

Kenji clutched his hurting shoulder, strained probably, while your eyes drift towards the two miniscule boys and your interest peaks. Your two hands gently grabbing on to the railing as your tail lightly flaps beneath the water surface, coming up a little, allowing for others to catch a peek of the similarly mesmerising design.

“Wh-what’s happening?” Hiro asks, incredulous, yet his feet are stamped in place. Out of fear, out of bewilderment, out of... something. 

Tadashi remains quiet, gawking at you. His hand lightly grabs his chin until it moves to take his cap off.

“Tadashi!”

Kenji watches the exchange and he quickly realises his role here. You were beautiful and all but—

“An unidentified kaiju has infiltrated Tokyo Port.” Mina reports. 

“This is a— she's a kaiju?!” Kenji asks Mina.

“Yes, Ken. We don't know what type yet, but it is clearly waterborne. You have to take care not to compromise the lives of any civilians.”

Kenji breaks up the impending closeness between you and the two brothers.

“Sirs, I'm gonna have to ask you to leave for a bit.” He picks up Hiro and Tadashi who yelped and yelled, along with their old red bike, briefly remembering the attachment the older one held for it.

When he places them a good distance away and manages to convince them to run, he faces you. And you bat your eyelashes at him as you lower your height to his. And there it is again, except it's louder. Like the sound of bubbles popping and whales, and water sloshing— 

“That was you? ” Kenji remarks, and you were to tilt your head, but your movements grew quick when you realised why you came here in the first place. Your gaze flickers behind Kenji.

Neronga roars, slamming into you, throwing you off guard for a second as you both splash within the depths.

“No!” Kenji yells, reaching his hand out as he leans over the edge of the port, easily crushing some of the railings in the process.

“What are you doing?! Save her! ” Kenji distinctly hears, and Kenji looks back. He realises the brothers never ran away, rather, they ran back, and they look just as distressed as he was. But they're running out of time with the sounds of the jets coming from above reached Kenji’s ears and Mina’s sensors.

Before even diving inside, you surfaced again, a couple of scratches on your cheek as Neronga arose with you, seemingly more mellow. Its roars dialled down as if in communication with you, but your mouth only remains shut, downturned in a sort of frown with furrowed brows and crossed arms. If Kenji was in any better condition he would have laughed.

Neronga was gone in minutes, and he noticed that you helped it traverse around with a light flap of your tail, a directional wave supporting the chastised kaiju. You and Kenji met gazes, yours glimmering, while his glowed blue in his Ultraman form. 

However, everything was cut short when you were met with an explosion to your face, causing you to tilt back and groan. Your face immediately turns into a scowl as you recognise the familiar company. Kenji shoots up to his feet as he covers you from the incoming onslaught from the jets with his shield.

He then pleads, “Wait! Wait, please! She's not harming anyone!”

A loudspeaker from the leading jet booms out in response: “Ultraman. We're gonna have to ask you to surrender the kaiju to the KDF.” 

“She's not doing anything! Can't you just leave her alone?” Kenji takes his shield down.

You stare at Kenji’s back, temper rising. And it seems Kenji can hear your soft growls. The waves slosh even without your movement. Suddenly, the other unit of the Defense Force catches up to you; the same one that's been chasing you until you’ve come here. And they're not so nice as to stop before Ultraman when they've been running rampant across Japan to spot and capture you as per Onda’s orders.

The jets surround you and finally emit a cyan light, with Kenji finding out that they're actively restraining you. Your hands are head-level as you try to get out, the perfect formation of the KDF never breaking. You weren't even roaring like a monster. You struggled like a human. 

“Wait— NO!” Kenji yells as he turns around trying to grasp you, seeing your desperate eyes as you slowly lift from the water, your tail in view; just as beautiful as the rest of you. His fist clenches, the KDF moves you farther away from him. 

“Please evacuate immediately. You are not an authorised government agent.” The leader of the unit apprehending you flies above and ahead with two others just to tell him this, a white spotlight emitting from the centre.

“Evacuate immediately or you will be placed under cust—” Suddenly, you break out of their grasp as you swerve to hit the three jets with your tail, making them fly away and hit a faraway building.

Kenji whistles. “ Damn, is that what happens to authorised government agents?”

As you fully get out of your bindings, yours and Kenji’s eyes meet.

“Ken, your heart rate is spiking. ”

You land in the water, swimming away as the jets chase after you. But your injuries were slowly but surely catching up on you. Bites and some electric burns from Neronga that resembled jellyfish stings, and wounds and scratches from the multiple missiles you had to endure. Not to mention swimming around for days on end without rest. 

Still, you push on.

“ Shit. ”

Kenji's colour timer starts to blink. And as you and the KDF disperse, Ken panics, jumping and going into flight with a course to where he parked and hid his personally modified Honda NM4 Vultus in orange.

“Did he call? He's definitely gonna call.” Kenji asks Mina.

“Yes, he called.” Kenji groans at the confirmation, just as he was released from his transformation, landing on a dark street as he grasped his hurt shoulder. Fuck.

He hums, annoyed. “ Awesome. Oh, God.” His shoulder hurt, his whole body hurt after getting beatings from the electric armadillo.

Kenji's mind suddenly drifts back to you.

“Mina,” he calls out as he limps to his bike, getting settled. The AI program hums in return. “That... other... kaiju, not Neronga.”

“Yes, Ken?” 

“Are there no records of her anywhere? I don't think I’ve seen one like her before.”

“I’ll try to search, Ken.”

~

Incoming live, there is another kaiju attack spanning from Akihabara to Tokyo Port City. There, not only one, but two kaiju were spotted. The other seemed to resemble a— Click. 

“Tadashi, stop watching the news. It was just a kaiju . ” Hiro bellows, now back in the confines of their shared room after Aunt Cass finally finished fussing around them after the night’s incident.

“It wasn't a normal kaiju.” His brother replied, arms on his knees as he contemplated. 

“Kaiju aren't exactly normal. They're the only things going against the stable laws of science! Next to Japan’s personal superstar ‘guard,’ of course... Plus , I need to focus if I want to get into your nerd school, you know?”

“Still gonna work after tonight?” 

Hiro shrugs. Honestly, he was too tired to think. Tadashi sighs. “Get some rest. There's a baseball game tomorrow with the Giants and they’ve got a new player.”

“Oh, yeah. I almost forgot.” Hiro remarks, plopping back-first on his bed. “Guess we'll have to cheer extra hard so big sis can gloat about her favourite team winning.”

Tadashi chuckles, a melancholic tone follows.

They’d just gotten in your car after Tadashi had to save Hiro from his first time win in bot-fighting. And... getting caught by the police, where you had to bail them out. The kid was still in highschool and he's already sneaking off on his own. 

“Wanna get takeout?” You ask, breaking the train of thought Tadashi had. Hiro hollers from the back, “KFC!”

“Chicken, huh? What about you ‘dashi?” You ask, sparing him a glance as you keep driving. 

He grins. “Sushi.”

“Sushi, it is.”

“Hey, no fair!” Hiro objects.

You laugh, and flash them a grin. “We’ll all order what we like, eat at the café, and watch as my Giants win!”

“Yeah.” Tadashi replies to Hiro, a mirror of his reply in his memory. 

“You think their new player's got it in the bag?” Hiro asks, getting up on his elbows to look at Tadashi who was getting comfortable on his own, hands splayed out and placed behind his head.

“The Giants will so win.”

~

Yeah, no one was going to win. 

Of course, everyone thought Kenji would, getting the ball in after two strikes because of his strained shoulder. Trying out a new batting pose for his last strike. And now, just seconds before batting his grand slam...

“Hiro, do you hear that?” Tadashi furrows his brows, head hidden behind the cap with the Giants logo. Hiro stuffs his face with a hotdog.

“Hear what? The whirrs? I think they’re just some helicopters passing by or something.” Hiro shrugs.

“No it’s—” 

“...water sloshing.” Kenji whispers beneath his breath, standing still between the bases. And just in time, a burning government helicopter crashes past the stadium, shocking the crowd in silence as Kenji stood in the middle of the field, thinking.

“Is that you, girl?” Kenji says, still trying to read the situation. But from the smoke, a familiar silhouette catches his eye. Green eyes penetrate through, and soon its wings spread as it roars to announce its presence. No, it’s...

“Gigantron.”

⌈ Attention! Please proceed immediately to the nearest emergency exit. ⌋

“ Three kaiju attacks in two days consecutively!? Are you kidding me?!”

“Keep running, Hiro!” Tadashi yells, grabbing on to the back of Hiro’s hoodie to push him onward, trying to avoid getting stamped on by the crowd and falling debris. Even through the chaos, Tadashi could not be more glad that this one wasn’t the one yesterday.

Meanwhile, Kenji Sato quickly ran out of the New Tokyo Dome. When finally in sight of Gigantron, his brows downturn much like his mouth, sprinting down a railing before haphazardly transforming into Ultraman. His fist upturned, and the kaiju was caught off guard as they collide, allowing for it to drop whatever ball it was holding.

“ That is for messing up my game.” Kenji remarks, bouncing around like he just got a good hit in a boxing match. He soon realises it was stupid when Gigantron picks itself back up, towering over Kenji.

“ Oh, crap.”

Gigantron, with veins and lines connecting itself from their core to the edges of their wings, huffs in and releases a breath, Kenji immediately fights for cover behind his shield.

⌈ Scramble all jets. Kill Gigantron, retrieve the package. And if she shows up again, take her as well. ⌋

“What the hell?” Kenji gasps, out of breath, when suddenly Gigantron flew away. 

“Ken, you saw what the KDF did to the unidentified kaiju yesterday. They will kill Gigantron.. if you don’t help.” Mina interjects Kenji’s thoughts, grunting, he readies himself for flight. The sounds of whale songs return, and as Kenji flies to reach both Gigantron and the jets chasing after the kaiju, it sounds stronger.

Why are you extra noisy today?

Kenji shakes his head, now caught up to the jets.

⌈ Vulture’s Nest, we are approaching— Uh, are you seeing this? ⌋

“Hey! Guys! Gigantron is actually flying away.” He tilts his head, “So, I don’t know, uh,” He shrugs lightly before bumping into one of the pilots lightly as if to prove his point more, “maybe turn those birds around and head on home.”

His bargains turn empty when the pilot, oh so rudely, flies away, prompting the rest of the unit to pump up the gas. Kenji groans, annoyed.

“You see what I get for trying to be the good guy?”

“You are supposed to be the good guy.” Kenji inwardly rolls his eyes.

Okay, maybe not the KDF. Kenji thinks, speeding up himself, steady in flight, like swimming through the air as he now faces Gigantron. 

“Hey there, Mr. Gigantron.” Kenji waves. Gigantron screeches, “ Woah! ”

Okay look, “If you give me whatever that thing is, those planes back there miiight leave you alone.”

And... he’s ignored.  Gigantron growls, and the KDF resumes blasting the kaiju, its hold slipping from the orb it’s holding. It dips down quickly to save it, accidentally, or perchance not, its tail slaps against Kenji.

⌈ Vulture’s Nest, Gigantron is in missile range. Targeting... Holding fire! Ultraman’s back. ⌋

“Please!” Kenji catches up to the beast, “They’re going to kill you!”

Back in the Kaiju Defence Force Headquarters... "Sir. We have target lock."

⌈ Ultraman may get caught in the blast if we fire now, Sir. ⌋

“I don’t care about Ultraman. Will the package survive the blast?"

⌈ Yes, Sir. ⌋

“Then take the shot!” 

Within seconds and multiple pleads, Kenji sees the dancing of a hundred missile launchers heading their way. The sound of a massive explosion in the sky can be seen through the mass expanse of Tokyo and all Kenji could feel, despite attempting to soften the strong blasts, was the heat of falling. It hurts, everything did. And he fell, and fell, like a star in the sky; ready to meet the ocean, and the sounds of it.

[...]

In a distorted manner, ruptured from the explosion, Mina checks up on Kenji.

“K -[ Static ]- Ken. Are... [ Static ] Are you okay?”

For a second, all Kenji could see was black; like he passed out. It felt like he saw a flash of his past. Is that what people call ‘Seeing their life flash before their eyes’? He was trying to get his bearings after lying face-first in the water, clutching his head. A massive migraine in its wake. Panting, almost panicking regarding his whereabouts.

Then, behind him, the sound of steps on water catches his attention. He gasps, almost surprised, forgetting what he was here for in the first place. Gigantron whines, a pitiful look in its eyes; yet the adoration was visible when it approached the orb, caressing it with its face slowly, releasing a sonic cry, a call, one last time... before she fell. Slowly, the light spreading across her body dying down as she releases pitiful hums, her wings slowly folding, and her eyes... closing.

Kenji witnessed it all. The downfall of Gigantron. 

Beep. Beep. Beep. 

The orb resonates, slowly dipping into the water. Much like kaiju, Kenji had the buoyancy to stay afloat when needed, how much so needed. So he walks over slowly towards the beeping orb, too speechless, too tired, too... everything, to say anything. Kenji holds the orb in his hands, in time when it sheds off the metal armour; revealing a violet-coloured egg.

It twitches, it cracks. Kenji holds his breath, then, he gasps out air-for-air, remembering his dire need for oxygen to travel up his brain right now. Maybe then, he’ll be able to think more clearly. The cracks intensify, and it finally hits Kenji.

“No. No, no, no, no, no.” He shakes his head. “Uh... No.” He examines the egg, willing it to listen to him. “No, no, no.” He whispers. Please.

It cracks open. A quiet birth, like how the metal armour shaved off from earlier, this time the egg opens like a gift. Within reveals a pink baby kaiju, nestling into his bigger hands. It curls up, most likely cold. Light pulses of pink coming from within its body.

“ Oh... ” He coos. Kenji’s tense shoulders relax as he takes in the newborn life just within the palms of his hands.

Then, would you love a kaiju?

In that moment, it felt like the stars parted for them. The calming sound of waves, and the hiccups and sniffles of this baby kaiju. However, the disrupting sound of distant whirring takes Kenji out of this trance. From afar, he can see the lights from the KDF jets, trying to see past the dissipating smoke of the explosion. He looks back.

Gigantron remains frozen.

So, he dips gently into the water, a course already set. While Kenji swims away, he is unaware of another presence attempting to catch up.

When he arrives into the underwater entrance of his abode, the glass container opens before closing once more to limit the amount of water that would enter. He bangs repeatedly inside, knocking. It beeps, and Kenji slides in.

“Mina! Emergency analysis.”

“Scanning for injuries.” Mina replies, a blue light emitting from the floating robot. Kenji lays his head on the floor, still shaken. His hands are clutched on to his chest.

When Mina finally arrives to his enclosed hands, the scanning light from Mina turns red, thinning into a line pointing to the centre of his knuckles. Kenji feels a little nervous.

“Ken, this is very strange. According to my readings, you have a... a second heartbeat?”

“No.” Kenji immediately denies, “It’s not my heartbeat, Mina...” He opens his palms immediately, and Mina reels back.

“ Oh! My God. Is that—”

“ Yep. It’s the end of the world.” Kenji cuts her off, sitting up, the slippery-scaled kaiju slipping past his torso down to the floor. “Whoa, whoa, whoa.” He ushers.

“Um, is it okay?” Kenji asks hesitantly. Mina encircles the baby, visibly interested, and it turns out, the baby kaiju was too. 

“She, Ken. The infant is a she.” Mina chastises lightly. “Her breathing seems normal. Reflexes okay. Heart rate seems slightly elevated, but—”

“Just give me the bad news.” Kenji interjects once more, carrying the baby in his hands as it makes grabby towards Mina.

“I have absolutely no specific data on infant kaiju physiology.”

“Wait, I’m sorry.” He chuckles, putting the baby down. “I’m sorry. Didn’t Mom and Dad program everything they knew about these.. things, ” He pertains to the now running baby chasing Mina once more. “into your electric brain?”

“She is not a thing, Ken . And we’ve never seen an infant kaiju. No one has.”

“Great. Super helpful. Yeah, I think I’d be better off asking Siri.”

“Ken, I’m not the one who brought a giant baby kaiju home.”

Kenji shrugs. “Uh, we have to figure something out.”

And just his luck. His colour timer starts to blink. “Ugh, great.” He remarks. His eyes drift towards the baby kaiju between his legs who then begins to blink the same way his colour timer did.

“Wh-why is she changing colours?” Kenji points out.

“Maybe you should ask Siri.”

Kenji chuckles, albeit sarcastically. He points to Mina. “Do not start, Mina.”

“If I were to guess, Ken, I’d say she has... imprinted on you.”

This makes Kenji crawl back while the baby kaiju tried to chew on his colour timer.

“No. No, no, no! No, no, no!” He stands up in haste, pulling the baby off him. “Are you saying—”

“Yes, Ken.” Mina confirms, floating next to the kaiju at arms length away from Kenji. “She thinks you are her mother.”

Kenji tries to stand up to full height in sheer shock. He only ends up bumping his head. And as if on queue, a repeated banging on his underwater window catches all three of their attention. Your face, bruised and scratched up, was downturned into a scowl as you bang your fist on the glass.

“It’s...” Mina starts.

The sound of the sea grows stronger in Kenji’s ears, overwhelming him more. It’s less calming now. It’s like a storm, adding to his stress, and he doesn’t know what to do.

“No, not now. Don’t tell me— ugh, I’ve— I’ve got a life to live! A title to win!” Kenji starts spouting, not taking his eyes off you, like he was reasoning himself fruitlessly. The kaiju, seemingly sensing his stress, looks worried herself.

Your brows downturn even more, but your eyes dart over to the newly-born infant and your eyes soften. Your forehead meets glass, suddenly, the storm in Kenji’s head clears. It’s the sound of birds, and distant whale songs and light rain over bright clouds. The giggles of the baby kaiju suddenly overtake the room as she jumps in delight, trying to wriggle out of Kenji’s hands. Kenji allows the kaiju to slip out of his hold, where he watches her approach you, separated by the strong glass. You stop banging on the window, palms with translucent webs connecting each of your fingers are splayed out next to your face on the glass.

Then, you smile.

And Kenji’s heart skips. The beeping of his timer turns rapid.

And he’s out of Ultraman form in an instant.

Kenji grunts as he lands on the floor, the sound catching the baby kaiju’s attention. She crawls over to where Kenji was, and as Kenji gets up to his feet, faced immediately by the 20 foot baby, he simply waves awkwardly.

“Eheh, hi...” 

The kaiju’s face scrunches before disaster came. She let out a sonic wave, to you, echolocation; to Kenji? A force against his collection of sports cars. Kenji gasps in devastation at the sight of his cars falling down atop each other in a pile. 

“What the heck was that!?” The baby stands up, continuing her cries as she desperately tries to look for her missing father.

“She’s scared of you,” Mina consoles. The cries of the baby make you start pounding on the window again. But slowly, you’re losing strength.

Meanwhile, Kenji still has to get out of his predicament with the baby now chasing after him, releasing sonar energies left and right.

“Scared of me? She’s 20 feet tall!”

“She doesn’t know you. She knows Ultraman.” Mina explains.

Kenji glances to your side, your indignant face giving him an idea. “Mina! Let her in!”

“Let— What?”

“Maybe she can calm the baby better when she’s actually here!?” Kenji reasons out, trying his best to outrun the 20 foot-tall baby.

Mina digresses, immediately sending out a signal beep by the door next to the window. The first opening door catches your attention, making you swim over. When finally within the entrance, Mina closes the first door, locking you within and preventing the rest of the ocean to flood in the basement. And soon enough, you’re sliding in, tail and all.

Luckily, you don’t flap like a fish looking for air. You could still breathe in normal air.

Your sudden intrusion catches the baby kaiju’s attention, allowing for it to bound to you, forgetting quickly about Kenji. The baby silences, your tail lightly swishes to form a protective nest. You coo, internally, a familiar tone within the recesses of Kenji’s mind. Once everything was more calm, Kenji notices your laboured breathing.

“Mina, do another analysis. But for her.”

She does as told, floating over to you, a blue light scanning over your features.

“A fractured tail, six out of twelve ripped fins attached to her tail, multiple bruises, scratches, and she has a concussion. She might pass out in...”

Now. 

Just in time, you fall lifeless on the floor, breathing barely visible. Kenji feels a shocking amount of panic claw through his chest when this happened. “Mina!? What’s going on? She’s not—”

“She’s fine, Ken. She’s just sleeping. But she does need treatment.”

The baby kaiju stops rubbing herself against your tail, noticing your lack of movement garnering back her sadness.

“And put the baby in the biggest containment unit.”

“Got it, Ken.”

Mina got to work as Kenji weighed his options. He approached you slowly, noticing that you’ve gotten much smaller compared to when you first appeared to him at Tokyo Port City. The baby was successfully contained with a little movement to not include your tail, catching the baby off guard.

“Mina, I think she’s... she’s getting smaller.” Kenji remarks, hand hovering over you, before briefly deciding to finally touch your shoulder.

What he didn’t expect next was to be tackled on the ground, your face inches away from his as you presented with a scowl, growling as if you were trying to intimidate him (he wasn’t). Shocked and eyes wide, he notices you’re as big as a normal human now, though your iridescent eyes and hair remain the same, still telling of your kaiju self as a few shining scales were littered across your body.

“Hey, hey. Are you okay? I’m not bad, I swear.” Kenji whispers in a reassuring tone. Your anger-addled mind was making his mind similarly muddled; though the angry part was more so yours than his.

You continue glaring at him, though the growling stopped. Your hair went over your face, and it was muscle memory, for Kenji to allow his hand to tuck it behind your ear. And only then does he look down and notice... you were practically naked. From shock, he tries to stand up, but your hands slip from the ground while he tries to scramble away, and...

Your lips accidentally meet.

Chapter Text

“Mom? Mom…” Kenji sobs, there are small sounds of pit-a-pats from where he stood. Which was a community playground filled with colourful slides, swing sets, tubes, and sandboxes.

The playground however, was not as lively as you’d think. The weather was gloomy that day, the sun hiding behind rumbling clouds threatening to spill the water they’ve soaked up from the sea. Kenji kept looking around, yet he remained lost, the same as he was five minutes ago. To the seven-year-old boy, it was like five months.

“Hi,” a girlish voice cuts through the sobs of the only other kid around. “Why are you crying? The other kids here say that boys aren’t supposed to cry.”

Kenji frowns, lips still wobbling as he makes his reply. “I lost my mom…”

“Oh.” You hum, looking down at your mismatched socks, noticing how the boy visibly had brand-new sneakers. “Hmm… Don’t worry, I lost mine too.”

“Really?” The boy replies, nose still stuffy as he tries to wipe it with his sleeve. “Will they find us?”

You shrug. “My real one won’t find me.”

“Your real one? You have a fake mom?” Kenji asks, curious.

“I don’t know. I never met my real one.” You reply, walking to the swings and taking a seat. Kenji does the same, sitting next to you. “But I know my mom right now isn’t my real mom, so, I ran away.” You say all this with such a tone that didn’t contain much sadness; as if it was just a normal thing to do so.

“What? Why?” Your feet kick yourself off the ground, allowing you to move back and forth. Kenji follows suit, trying to match your force. Once he got the hang of it, he continues. “Are you not scared?”

“I am. But they don’t want me, I think.”

There are a few seconds of silence as Kenji could no longer spark up a reply. All you both could do was swing on the set together. Feeling like he has to say something, Kenji blurts out the first thing that came to mind.

“My dad said I should love kaiju even if he fights them.”

“ Woah! Your dad fights the giants ?!” You exclaim, digging the heels of your red shoes on the dirt below. Kenji only nods at this. His swing keeps going. “I think the kaiju are super cool. And Mr. Ultraman too. Is your dad Ultraman?”

“Dad says it’s a secret.” Kenji replies with a pout.

“ Then, would you love a kaiju? ”

The question makes Kenji stop, the swing set back in its still state as you stare at each other’s eyes. 

“ Baka! Why would I love—” Kenji stops, your eyes remain wide and curious. And despite the stormy weather, they still chose to shine. A heat creeps up from his neck up to the tips of his ears for reasons beyond him. 

“...I’m, maybe? ” He trails off, breaking your intense eye contact. He then mutters, unsure and low:“If they’re cute enough, why not?”

Before you could respond, however, you two started feeling the rain slowly drop down, seconds before it turned into a downpour. 

“Ah! It’s raining!” Kenji exclaims. Without saying anything, you grab the boy’s hand, leading him into the plastic tube to hide from the rain.

“We can hide here while you wait for your mom.” You assure, you and Kenji sitting with your knees bent to hug yourself better. Every other second, you scoot closer to each other, trying to get warm from the cold breeze picking up.

It’s a few minutes more of silence, maybe ten or so, that Kenji felt like crying again. You heard sniffles from beside you, making you tilt your head to see his glassy eyes, tears brimming the edges.

“Dummy, are you going to cry again?”

“I miss my mom and dad…” Kenji says quietly, digging his face into the caps of his knees.

You breathe out through your nose, feeling bad for the boy.

“Here, face me.” 

Kenji hums, still upset as he does what he’s told.

“You can’t be sad after this, okay?” You say as you lean in and Kenji felt your lips meet his. “There. That means I’ll be around when your mom and dad aren’t. So, stop crying okay, dummy?”

“You’ll… be around when mom and dad aren’t?” Kenji says after the brief kiss, not really processing what just happened. Both your cheeks and nose were a mix of warmth from each other, and cold from the rain.

“Yes.” Kenji continues to look at you curiously, waiting for more context.

“My mom and dad right now say that’s how married people are. They stay together even if no one else is around.”

You point your small finger to his face, he looks at it then back at your unyielding gaze.

“Especially if no one else is around.” You share the valuable piece of knowledge with Kenji who soaked it all in like you were a prophet. He nods slowly.

“Then, we’re married?”

“Yes.”

“Okay.”

The conversation ends as you two bask in silence again. This time, Kenji is the one to look over at you, staring at your sombre look towards the passersby covering their children with their umbrella; carrying them on their arms to avoid them getting wet. Your expression barely changes, but the way your eyes lidded lower.. it compelled Kenji enough to hold your hand, shocking you.

“Hey! What’s wrong with you?” You ask, mostly out of shock. But you don’t let go.

“I’ll be here too.” 

You realise he’d been staring at you when he said that, making you turn away, resuming your waiting game as you squeezed his hand lightly. He squeezes back. The rain somehow felt more mellow.

Half an hour later, Kenji’s mom arrives at the playground with his dad, ushering him to their car. As Kenji was about to point towards you, he sees you running through the rain, cutting a corner, before disappearing out of his sight.

“What is it, Ken?” Emi Sato asks, carrying the boy in her arms as she checks for injuries, now in the backseat of their car. She glances towards where her son’s eyes were fixated, seeing nothing but the empty playground.

Kenji only shook his head, choosing to say nothing. All he could think about now was when he’ll meet the person he married again.

“Were you lonely, Ken?” His mother asks. He perks up to look back towards his mother’s worried gaze.

There’s only one answer dripping from the tip of his tongue, his hand tingling in warmth, remembering the soft embrace it had just minutes prior. 

“No…”

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

Your lips were soft against Kenji’s slightly chapped ones, both your bodies stuck in the motion of the accidental kiss. There was a small spark of electricity that climbed up from the bottom of your spines, a tingle that's much too noticeable.

It was merely six seconds. 

Kenji would know. 

He counted. 

Six seconds for you to pull away, five of you just staring into the other’s similarly wide orbs; four for Kenji to catch a whiff of that addicting scent he never noticed until now, and three before your eyes finally drooped, your head nuzzling his chest. Kenji's plain white shirt getting wet alongside with it before he feels your whole frame lose its tension, breathing resuming its slow and quiet rhythm.

Kenji remains quiet, his brain absolutely fried, staring straight ahead as he sits to support your weight, comparatively light for the athlete and occasional superhero, especially now that you weren’t a giant. His hands hover over the smooth expanse of your bare back, his legs spread, lightly encaging your snoozing figure. His mouth still ajar, not a word slipping from him.

Eventually, his hands meet the damp skin of your shoulder and the middle of your back, pushing your figure against him even more. He supports your head that was now resting on his shoulder, even as your hair lightly tickles his ear.

“Ken.”

The sudden call of his name from Mina finally releases him from whatever trance he was in. Almost forgetting the giant baby kaiju a few metres away from him who, surprisingly, had settled down; sitting on its hind, watching you and him with a curious gaze.

“I… Uh, yes. Sorry. Uhm,” He clears his throat. “Could you fetch us a towel, Mina?”

It takes only a minute before the ground next to him opened up, a mechanical hand holding the extra white towel was handed to the boy, who takes it wordlessly, working to wrap it around you as delicately as he possibly could. Taking note of your legs and arms littered in bruises and quite nasty wounds.

“I’ll take her to my room, watch over the baby for a minute.” Kenji says. “I’ll prepare the guest room tomorrow.”

“Sure, Ken.”

Once you were wrapped in the soft cotton, Kenji moved to carry you in his arms effortlessly, though he winces every now and then when he rotates his left shoulder a little too much, though it wasn’t that big a deal compared to your injuries. While walking, he would glance at your face, peacefully asleep as if you weren’t even hurt at all. He notes that your eyelashes were the same colour as your hair and eyes, that is, they’re all prismatic in nature; and with the absence of light, there is the absence of colour, where he understands your features much better.

Kenji arrives at his bedroom, setting you down gently on his king-sized bed, turning the duvet so that it covers you, he doesn’t think much of his sheets getting damp from your hair. 

You remain unmoving, both hands rested on your stomach. Kenji finally takes a deep breath in as he drops his weight to the apex of his feet, crouching as he really takes in what happened. 

His hands covers his face; lightly messing his hair in the process as an unexplainable heat pushes its way up from his chest.

Apparently, what happened smelled like Hinoki Wood and Yuzu.

“Ken, your father is waiting outside the door. It seems he has driven here in a haste.”

“Min— Shhh, ” He chastises, stopping mid-call to lower his voice. 

“I’ll get to it.” He whispers in reply.

Easily enough, he’s getting off his feet and shutting his door closed as he made his way to the front door. On the way, he starts hearing distant music and giggles from downstairs, along with flashing lights.

“Mina!” Ken calls out from the living room. “What’s going on?”

“The baby had begun fussing two minutes after you two went upstairs, I have discovered that she is currently happy with Doraemon”

Kenji sighs, “Okay, but keep it down a little. Dad might suspect something.”

“But there is something.” Mina replies.

“Shut it, Mina.” He interjects, Mina doesn’t reply, knowing that Kenji particularly has a difficult situation with his father.

Kenji opens the door, looking back to regard if the lights are still on, just as he looks to see that his dad was about to knock.

“Kenji,” his dad almost whispers, a relieved undertone transfixed in the simple call of his name.

In haste, he runs his hand through his hair, ears still catching the tunes playing in the basement.

“Dad, hey. Hey, what’s up?” Kenji leans in, slyly closing the door a little bit more, giving worried glances towards the glass elevator before giving his minute focus back towards his father. “How about that game tonight?” He plays dumb.

“Oh, thank God. You’re okay?” His father fusses.

“Yeah, you know. I’m good.” He allows a little bit more of his body to show that he really was good. “It was a tough battle. I’m a little sore, still recovering, but—”

Suddenly, a screech that Kenji knew was from the baby kaiju pierced through the air, making him reel back in defence behind the front door. His dad, the invader, moving a pace forward like a rook on a chess board made it easy for Kenji to spot the suspicion on his face.

“What was that?”

“Uh…” He needs to come up with something— “Uh, you know. It’s… Uh…” Suddenly, the lights behind him visibly changes. Green, blue, pink — 

“That’s the.. The party downstairs.” He jives along.

Kenji fails to notice the swift change, the quirk of his father’s eyebrows. “The most magnificent creature on Earth has died. The last of its kind. ” With each word, his father’s words become more punctuated with anger, hands flailing along with it.

“And you throw a party!?” 

Red. For a brief second or two, Kenji’s mind, his thoughts, were clouded in red; an emotion quickly visible in his face and body. 

“That magnificent creature nearly took my head off, Dad. ” 

This time, each word was not only punctuated in anger, but stomps that slowly but surely made his father back away from the shelter of Kenji’s patio, the rain dripping on the old man who could only recede and listen to his enraged son.

“I’ve barely seen you in twenty years. You chose this city and literal monsters over us. ”

“No…”

“ Then, you get hurt, can’t hack it anymore, and I get to come back and clean up the mess you made as…” Kenji raises his hands in mockery as he sings the branded tune the masses had placed upon his famous counterpart. “ Da, da, da, da! Ultraman.”

“—Which I only did because Mom begged me.” Kenji pauses. “And you’re more worried about the monster. Classic. ” 

With eyes that sheened in a way that scratches at Kenji’s nerves, his father chalks up a reply. “No… I only wanted to.. protect you.”

It claws in his chest, a familiar wall that’s repeatedly been torn again and again, by the same person; enough so that Kenji could still feel the recurring pain, but no longer does he break down from it.

“But you didn’t.” He says, eyes glassy. “You didn’t even pay attention.”

The furrow in his father’s eyes disappear, a notable change; cognizant of his actions.

Kenji continues.

“Be honest. When Mom disappeared, did you even look for her?”

~

“I stopped hearing it.”

“Stopped hearing what?”

“Do you think kaiju have a special way of communication?” Tadashi asks mindlessly, spinning on his desk chair.

“All animals do, now let me sleep. ” Hiro replies, covering his head with a pillow to possibly drown out whatever his big brother could mutter.

But telepathically? 

Is there a possibility? Tadashi thinks, leaning on his elbows that rested on his knees, fingertips of his hands on each other.

And if he can hear it, why can’t Hiro?

Tadashi leans back on his desk chair with an audible sigh. If he were being honest, he didn’t know why he was suddenly so invested in the recent kaiju sighting. His eyes fixated on the smaller version of his whiteboard dedicated to his looking for you in the past three years hidden behind the shelves in his lab at Tokyo Tech. He often hides this side of him from Hiro. This side of him that’s… too dedicated in his search that definitely has been fruitless for years.

It’s simple. 

The scene of the incident, a huge gap in the wall of the building where your personal laboratory was; a trail of disaster followed right after. Like many other kaiju incidents, everyone suspected that it had walked from the sea. Considering that the building was situated on the seaside.

It was late at night when it happened, you went back to your office because you left something and… that’s it? 

You’re just.. gone? Now he has to grief over his sister who he had just spoken to an hour prior to your leaving asking if you wanted some ramen he was cooking because he was too busy studying for his exams and— Tadashi had to catch his breath even though he wasn’t speaking, feeling his heart beat a mile a minute.

They weren’t given much information past that. 

The authorities say that they were just unfortunate that a kaiju had attacked the facility; no security footage, considering that the building was crushed in half. But out of everyone, the guards, other leftover researchers, they were able to leave unscathed while your brothers had to deal with the loss of their pillar; their big sister. Unable to even confirm if you’re dead or not, hoping that you’ll come back, even injured, to them.

Tadashi ran his hand through his hair for the umpteenth time that night.

Truthfully, he was about to give up. He was about to take off all the newspaper clippings, all the letters, all your bank records, any and all leads from his rolling whiteboard; erase all the theories, and maybe, just like his little brother always told him… to just.. move on.

But then, on the way home after Tadashi introduced Hiro to his friends at Tokyo Tech after getting arrested for that night when Hiro won one of many of his recurring bot fights, the invasive sounds of the oceans permeated through his mind; wrapping around it gently like a blanket of warmth, telling him, making him understand— that he had to go there. To you.

“Bioacoustics.” Tadashi snaps, getting his favourite cap off his desk as he runs down the door. A course set to Tokyo Tech.

He leaves, not knowing his little brother whose eyes blink open, a frown on his face.

~

We share the pain of her loss, Kenji. 

“Yeah, right.” Kenji mutters beneath his breath.

A few hours have passed since his dad visited and left, a few hours into the morning. He hadn’t gone down yet, choosing to just have the time to himself for at least once today. A box of donuts beside him as he slumped down lazily on his couch. The distant sound of thunder and the whining of the baby fills Kenji’s ears.

He sighs heavily. Kenji knew that he stepped a line earlier when he mentioned his mother to which his father solemnly left right after he said the same words that were stuck in his head amongst other things. It seems like there’s too many things getting stuck in his head recently, and just for this day alone. How did he even get into this mess?

He was so tired, yet he couldn’t sleep a wink.

Kenji would walk around aimlessly, every other time going to his room just to look at you from the doorframe; still and unmoving, your eyelashes resting easily on your now dry cheeks. From here, where your fins and scales were hidden by the combined efforts of your towel, hair, and his duvet; you absolutely looked human. Maybe part of the 0.1% because of your inhumanely beautiful hair. A princess would fit. You look like a resting princess to Kenji. And he, with his dishevelled hair, stained shirt, and day-old pants, would probably be the fucking peasant on your feet.

Kenji disregards the thought, the shrill whine of the baby reaching his ears. He groans, head drooping down as his hand slides from the frame. Walking towards the elevator after getting his donuts, he heads down to the basement.

Mina, in a slightly panicked tone, explains the baby’s neverending screeches that added on to Kenji’s inability to sleep.

“She settled down for a minute, then started right back up.”

“ Yeah! I can hear it!” Kenji replies, exasperated.

“She’s still scared of you, Ken.” Mina explains as Kenji puts down his box of donuts on the floor.

“Ya think?” He gets sassier by the minute , Mina thinks.

Looking back at the shrieking baby, Kenji groans; before clapping his hand with faux energy, walking a little further back to try a little trick up his sleeve.

“Hey! Hey, hey.” He calls out, catching the baby’s attention. “Hiii!”

“Let’s try this.” Kenji mutters, the baby still frowned, faux cries coming from its little— big beak. Kenji motions to himself, “Beforeee.”

Then, he bumps his head as he transforms into his alter ego. “ After! ”

When the baby caught sight of her other sole parent, a smile was quickly seen on her face.

“Before,” She whines.

“After!” She smiles, chitters crooning from her throat, visibly pleased.

And it goes on like that for a minute, enough so that the baby, seeing her dad transform in and out of Ultraman form, give off a confused expression, still trying to put two and two together. Eventually, her chitters come when Kenji is in Kenji form.

Kenji sighs as he approaches the now happy baby. “You see? It’s me.” He explains, turning around and sitting next to his box of donuts once more.

And it wasn’t even two minutes in that the baby started whining again.

[...]

After tending to the baby that Kenji creatively decided to temporarily name ‘Baby,’ giving her a litter of fish for an early morning breakfast— considering it was probably 3 AM by then, Kenji fell asleep on the floor in front of Baby’s containment unit. 

And woke up to strange drops of liquid on his face.

“Eugh, what the…” His eyes, still squinted and opting for sleep, meets the hazy vision of the baby looking down at him, dripping drool. Drool on him, smelling strongly of fish and guts, and… and.. and drool!

Kenji rolls over quickly just before a fat drop falls directly on his face while his mouth was open.

“Oh, God.” He spits out, trying to wipe the substance off his face. “Ew! Ew! ” 

He scowls in a second, transforming into his Ultra. Baby tries to reach for him, but Kenji was already on the verge of throwing up from the stench, his fingers pinch the nape of the baby’s neck like she was a kitten. A disgusting trail of spit follows the baby around and Kenji keeps trying not to gag at every moment when he pulls the baby off the edge of the containment unit.

“Ugh, that’s disgusting.” He shakes his head, hand reaching for the lid of the unit. “Oh, that smell.” He looks at the baby who was so happy in return; tummy full from the meal he haphazardly gave earlier. But then suddenly she burped and let out a glob of drool, enough to cover nearly half of his Ultra’s face, luckily turning a little so as not to swallow anything. He coughs, really about to throw up. Quickly putting the baby back to the bottom of the containment unit, he rasps out a few more gasps and Oh Gods before putting the lid back on where it belonged, not seeing the baby try to reach for him.

“It’s so bad.” Kenji coughs out.

Kenji stumbled back releasing his Ultra-form. Crouching a little as he groans out. “I shouldn’t have eaten all those donuts.” He gasps, brain actively fighting to ignore the horrid smell surrounding him when Mina suddenly approaches him.

“Ken, I know you’re exhausted. But you have a game today.” He has a what?

“After last night? There’s no way we’re gonna play.” He shakes his head.

Mina moves back to flash the holographic news of his coach declaring that despite the battle, the stadium is safe, and we will be playing the game. Oh, bullshit. He is not excited to even see that Yakult Swallows fucker.

“ Of cooourse. Of course, we’re still gonna play.” Kenji says, frustration evident in his tone.

“What are we going to do about the baby and the woman, Ken?”

“ We aren’t gonna do anything.” Ken replies, shrugging, a mechanical hand giving him his Giants jacket.

“ You are gonna have to figure something out.” He continues, putting on his jacket backwards without thinking, walking towards the glass elevator. “Get creative, Mina. You are a state-of-the-art supercomputer.”

The hovering orb listens as she understands the orders given to her; turning back to flash a different kids show towards the baby.

“Studies suggest this isn’t healthy for children.” She states, upbeat music overtaking the basement as the baby immediately fell in fascination of the bright colours.

“Ah, TV, the ultimate babysitter. Just not all this crap all day, okay? I don’t want her getting hooked on that stupid song.”

When finally arriving upstairs, the sun has already risen, he opted to take a quick shower to get rid of all the nasty fish spit left on him by the baby. When entering his room right after to get some clothes, he finds you still fast asleep. Not a twitch, not a hair out of place.

A towel still wrapped around his waist, Kenji decides to approach you in quiet footsteps. If only to check if you were still breathing, and you were, he confirms, after placing his ear close to your face.

“I wonder what your name is,” He says lowly, sighing and sparing you one last look before going to change and leaving for today’s game.

~

⌈ And there’s another strike. Sato just looks exhausted. ⌋

⌈ And now it looks like there are words being exchanged between Sato and the Swallows catcher. Oh! Oh no. We haven’t seen a brawl like this in a long time. Both benches have cleared. They’re throwing punches… ⌋

Now, Kenji was watching this morning’s replay of his ruffle with that stupid Swallows catcher in the middle of his living room. Watching as he sees a pathetic version of himself, missing strike after strike. A litter of bruises and small cuts on his face, his knuckles a nasty mix of blue and purple from delivering similarly menacing blows because of his undiluted anger.

He doesn't sense the silent footsteps approaching him in the dark room, head too deep in the failures within his past two days and the injuries he’s incurred so far. A whine falls from his lips as he tries to appease the patched bruise on his temple with the premium canned drink that mockingly had his once flawless face plastered on.

It was only when you were standing right beside him, dipping your finger in the ice did Kenji fully comprehend that someone was in the room with him. He yelped, almost sitting up.

“H-hey.” Kenji exclaims. “You're awake. What are you—”

His words die down from his throat, words turning to a gulp, when the loose towel around you drops to the ground, exposing you to the man who had his mouth agape, taking it all in before he realises he should be darting his eyes away . 

You don't spare him a glance when you try to step in the tub, Kenji moving his feet to give you room, and really, to begin getting out of there.

I mean, he can't just bathe with you, can he? Maybe it wasn't such a good idea to take the indulgent step of bathing in the middle of the living room.

His efforts to go and step out are stopped when you gently place your soft hand on his rigid arm. You're quiet, voice unheard, but it seems like your sounds that blanket over Kenji's cortexes are working just fine. And it— you said: 

Stay.

Like a puppy, he felt compelled to stay. 

So he did. 

You stared at him, and he observed your movements, the cooled can from his hand had long been forgotten as you kneel between his legs, your ice-cold hands dragging along his. From his palm, to the space between his fingers, to his knuckles and… Up, up, up, following the veins that decorated his overworked arms, the ticklish sensation made him drop the can from his lightened grip.

All the while you looked at him so earnestly, and in this light, it's like there was a brief flash of the more natural hue of your features; the usual iridescence dialling down a notch, making Kenji, among the other things you were doing to him, hitch his breath for the subtle flicker in changes.

The moment was quiet, none of you talking as the volume of the video he watched on repeat had been dialled down in his head. All it was in this moment was your touch on his, every gentle, slow drag of the freezing tips of your fingers on his bruises and scratches left such a sensation. Like electric fire on water, but also ice on skin on the hottest summer days.

Whether it was a spark or from the cold, or from something else entirely, Kenji at this moment, didn't care to know. Because your hands finally reached his collarbones, thumb rubbing circles on his Adam’s apple, and if you weren't so… so delicate with your touch, he would have blamed you for making him feel so choked. Like he couldn't breathe, like he didn't want to breathe anything else but the addicting scent you were giving off. You’d have to have been in the ocean for so long. How come you smell like this? Not of salt or fish, or—

He cuts his own thoughts off as he hears a small hum from your throat, his eyes that he hadn't noticed to be so lowly lidded already, on the brink of closing from your light caresses, widens at the slightest hint of your voice.

Your hand traces up from his collarbone, up to his neck, until you're perusing your way to his bruised cheek and damp hair. When you decide to leave your hand on his injured cheek, pressing a little, Kenji involuntarily lets out a whimper, the pain from the punch of that stupid catcher unironically catching up to him.

But even with this, Kenji finds himself leaning to your touch, eyes instinctively closing when the pressure returns to a light careen, allowing himself to delve deeper into the abyss you were taking him into. His cheek where your hand lay felt cool, a separate feeling from the ice, like it's carefully taking his pain away. 

You move the slightest bit, hand pulling away; and Kenji's first instinct when his eyes shot open was to hold your wrist.

“Don't,” He whispers quietly, his cool breath fanning you who looked at him with your currently doe eyes in surprise. It seems that Kenji has a habit of not noticing things involving you. He didn't flinch from the closeness, a surprisingly welcome gesture for him. “Don't stop.”

For a brief moment, he forgets that you're half-kaiju, and that you haven't spoken a word at all since you two met. But when you rise from the water, bare chest seen for his eyes only, his other arm wraps itself on your waist subconsciously. Your legs and his tangle as he sits lower on the bathtub, allowing you to sit taller than him so he can bury his face on the curve of your neck and shoulder, dipping down to the valley of your soft breasts as he sighs in contentment, eyes closed all the while his arms wrap around your torso.

You were sitting on Kenji's navel, arms wrapped around his neck as your hands combed through his hair while you rested your cheek on his temple. It was quiet, not even the sound of the looping clip on the wall-to-wall TV was getting any of yours and Kenji's attention.

It's soothing, this feeling.

Kenji feels like you’re unravelling the knots on his physique, the pure sensation makes his fingers run along your slightly arched back in appreciation. 

With his eyes closed, trapped in your soft embrace, Kenji allows the time to pass by. Not seeing the slowly pulsing, bioluminescent glow of the once normal water of his ice bath. The cooling sensation wasn’t from the ice any longer, but from the conduction of your healing enzymes, your kaiju features coming out strong, the brief reprise of your earlier change in features disappearing, replaced back into its original state of prismatic disposition.

“ Ken, ” Mina’s slightly excited voice calls out and Ken snaps his eyes open, the once peaceful environment long gone. “We have something to show you.” He groans when the chirps from below reach his ears.

When he pulls away, he’s careful not to let you graze.. him. You only stared in curiosity, wondering why he was plucking himself away from you. Kenji makes a point to only stare at your eyes, and only your eyes despite quite literally using your chest as his pillow not only a few minutes earlier.

“Let’s get changed, okay? Close your eyes so I can get out.”

Kenji shouldn’t be surprised that you didn’t understand what he meant, so he lightly grabbed both your wrists, still pointedly ignoring the curve of your waist, disappearing into the icy bath, and how you were so soft cushioned on his comparatively hard stomach. Honestly… how did he look past all of this earlier?

“Here, cover.” He says, holding your hands over your eyes, the fingers leaving an undeniable gap, which he would close. “Cover tightly.”

When he made sure you weren’t leaving your arms loose, Kenji moved to get up from the tub, his only guiding light is the TV, he scampers for his towel, wrapping it quickly around his waist before turning around to fetch you yours. Only to see that your eyes were already set on him.

“Hey! I said cover!” Kenji exclaims, already feeling his skin growing red from the embarrassment.

“You’re actually a perv, aren’t you?” He asks, but you remain quiet, simply observant of his actions. When he leans down to grab your towel beside the tub, his eyes dart over to his knuckles that were once purple. Now, it was back to his original shade of skin. His brows furrow at this and he immediately moves to touch his once painful temple, cheek, and then arm— until he rotates his dominant shoulder.

The realisation dawns on him as he looks at you, still a little worse for wear, only tilting your head at his gaze.

“No way.” He mutters. Kenji turns on the lights to the room, making you squint and hiss. 

“Sorry.” Kenji offers you your towel, wrapping it around your shoulder. “Come on. Up, up.” He pats his arm for you to take.

[...]

 When he got downstairs, you in tow, Kenji had a little pep in his step. Briefly forgetting the other reason he came down. You were currently dressed in Kenji’s old Dodgers shirt and one of his old boxers; the only few that would fit you. He thought it would be a nightmare to dress you at first, but you were a quick learner. Kenji only had to show you how he got his own shirt first before you followed suit and things went from there; of course when he had to show you how to put on his old boxers, it was decidedly… too much to show you how he does it firsthand.

So, he opted to put on the rest of his clothes in his walk-in closet away from your tailing figure. Kenji decided that he was lucky that his Dodgers shirt was big on you, enough to cover a good portion of your lower half so that when he instructs you to put your feet on the holes of the only other clothes he had that fit you, he wouldn’t be staring it at the face.

“We’re definitely going to need a trip to the mall.”

When the baby caught sight of you and Kenji together, she chittered, the massive fins on either side of her head lightly twitching as she smiled. Kenji gives you a brief look as you grinned so brightly at the baby, your hand that once held on to Kenji’s arm was now set on the glass container as you met the baby face-to-face.

Kenji smiles. “Mina, I have some good news.”

“Wait, Ken. Baby has a surprise to show you, remember?”

“Oh, yeah. Yes. What was it?”

When the music started playing, the baby started jumping, dancing along. But the foul odour took away the charm of the cute dance. So much so that even you reeled back, a scrunch on your nose.

“Oh, dear God, what is that smell?” Kenji exclaims, covering his nose with his arm.

“Ken, you cannot feed a 20-foot baby a half ton of fish and expect nothing but a giant pile of—” Shit.

Kenji’s gaze flitters to the green goo that the baby repeatedly stomped on in its little happy dance.

“Which brings me to something we need to discuss.” Mina continues. “Until I am able to find Kaiju Island, we’re going to need to raise her.”

The mention of Kaiju Island perked Kenji’s ears, he’d briefly forgotten how much he needed to send the baby back.

“And as for the woman…”

“No, no. We can’t send her back to Kaiju Island, she’s obviously not a monster.” Kenji stops. “But she does know Kaiju Island. She should, shouldn’t she?”

“It is a possibility.”

“Look, so far, she’s not acting wildly. She’s just a little…” Kenji watches as you peruse the shirt you’re wearing, seeing the peeks of scale glistering from your wounded legs. “ New to all this. And she learns fast too.”

Your eyes catch on to Kenji’s and he waves at you lightly. You smile, all pearly white, at him.

“Ken, your heart rate seems to spike when you are around her.”

The statement makes Kenji reel back. “ What?! ”

The floating robot does not respond from her out-of-pocket statement however, opting to float towards you.

When Mina approaches you, you lean back, afraid of the foreign levitating ball. When the supercomputer emits the same cyan light, you run, all the way towards Kenji who huffs when you bump into him in your haste to avoid getting scanned. Your being scared was obvious as you hid behind Kenji’s back; you three were a little far from the baby now, mostly Kenji’s attempt to smell the stench less.

“What if she was a person before all of this, Mina?”

“There are no records or any news at all of cross-contaminating human DNA with kaiju DNA.”

“It would feel wrong to send someone that looks, acts,” not talks yet, but— “You get what I mean.”

“Then, we’ll just have to arrive at a compromise, Ken. Earlier I said that we must raise the baby,”

“Mina, I’ve got a whole season of baseball ahead of me.” Kenji digresses. “I.. I just can’t do it.” He turns around, about to leave and head upstairs.

For Ken, raising a baby was an entirely different responsibility than… teaching someone, he would reason in his brain. He wasn't going to raise you, he just needed to.. investigate.

You turn your head from the baby to Kenji.

“Ken, you brought her home and now she is your responsibility. I have observed that our other guest doesn’t mind helping you with her. In any case, she’s more experienced towards kaiju behaviour. So if you want to keep one of them, you’re keeping both of them.” Mina keeps going, and Ken can only stay quiet as he steps back with every self-effacing statement the robot made.

“They will both die if you don’t take care of them until they are ready to leave. Now, it won’t be easy, but I’ll do everything I can to help.” The bot asserts.

“We’ll have to continue feeding her, washing her, develop a strategy for taking her to potty.” This makes Kenji flinch, looking at the giant pink lizard who was giggling in the similarly giant glass container she was in.

“You’ll have to learn the five S’s.” Kenji trips back a little as he keeps walking backwards, back slowly to the containment unit. 

“Swaddle, side, shush, swing, suck.”

The sudden rumble of the surroundings makes Kenji and Mina look back, your tail swashing as you transform into your kaiju form; Kenji’s old shirt and boxers on the ground beside you.

~

The night ended rather quietly after Kenji finished cleaning up and with you humming a familiar tune to put the baby to sleep. Along with coming into terms that he basically had a kid starting then. Now, Kenji was walking to his room, ready for bed. The guest room was ready for you to sleep in, and even after Kenji pointed the bed there, you kept following him. He grunts.

“No. You sleep there, ” He points again, and you dumbly look towards his finger pointing. However, he reels back when he realises you flinched in surprise at his sudden action.

A weird feeling of guilt overtakes him, and he sighs. “Why are you so clingy with me?” He whispers, mostly to himself, really.

As he went on though, he no longer stopped you from following him. Eventually, he was lying on his bed. You stand there, waiting.

“Come on. Lie down.” Kenji pats the space beside him. The change in disposition is so obvious, your glee spreading across the room and wrapping Kenji in unreposed warmth.

You jump on the extremely soft and fluffy mattress, diving beneath the covers like a bean. A bean that eventually found its place on his chest, grinning widely. Your whole body hid beneath the thick duvet, your face the only thing peeking out. The sight made Kenji breathe out a chuckle as his hand lands on your head, lightly patting it.

“Thank you…” Kenji starts, your chin resting on the middle of his chest, eyes fixated on him. “You know, for whatever you did. I feel better.”

You may not have understood him word for word, but the message seemed to have gone through, ending up with you simply humming and smiling up at him, before your cheek replaced your chin as you begin to get comfortable. 

For now, Kenji can allow this.

He closes his eyes, unknowingly basking in your warmth and the way your body seemed to melt into his.

Chapter Text

Westwood Academy, otherwise known as Westwood University, situated in Los Angeles, is one of the many renowned schools along the state. It hosts preschool to elementary to high school up ‘til college. It's one of the major league schools but is typically known for its.. extravagant prices. Often, along with a list of other universities, they allow for student exchange programs for exceptional scholars, selected around the world, to tour the litter of schools’ labs, attend special classes, or participate in small collaborative projects. Most of it was to allow these one in a million group of children to choose between potential university options.

Of course, even though this prestigious academy offered a massive field for different types of sports and had a pretty amazing reputation for its academic endeavours, for a guy like Kenji Sato, he knew that in the future, he’ll be transferring to the University of Los Angeles, where most athletes start to get drafted into the Major League Baseball drafts.

But that’s not the reason why he’s bursting his way through the halls right now, no. 

Kenji’s running down the hallways because he stayed up too late last night trying to perfect his swing so he can finally get off the bench and play as one of their schools’ main batters. However, it definitely did not help that he spent the days prior studying for his exams too. And now, he slept through majority of his classes, waking up only to find out that in T-minus ten minutes, his Biology class will start, and he’s not too keen on facing the wrath of his teacher chastising him for that Plant Growth Experiment they’ve been rambling on and on about for the past three weeks.

“Out of the way!” Kenji dashes, jumping to avoid the group of students in the hall sitting.

“Sorry, in a rush—”

“ Woah, watch those burgers, man.”

So far, he’s been barreling through the hallways great. It’s almost like his athletic instincts are on the high, the adrenaline pumping through his veins being the apt proof needed. 

Jump, duck, dash, side, shwuck !

Kenji can see it, the greenhouse! It’s so close— But the sudden options in his head turn from swerving left, or jumping, to… (a) Crash right into this person rolling out a whiteboard all of a sudden in the middle of the hall without even looking at any passersby, or (b) CRASH but in capital.

The next few seconds, safe to say, were unpleasant.

“Shit, shit, shit !!!” Kenji yells, unable to stop his momentum, all but perfectly rams his face on to the rolling whiteboard.

Overcome with blaring pain on his forehead and nose, Kenji laid on the ground, chest uncomfortably resting on the similarly thrown down whiteboard who was unable to withstand his force. A myriad of groans and repeating ow’s overtook the once silent air. The sound of padding footsteps and a bleary voice soon adds on.

“Hey, are you okay?”

Kenji’s vision was blurry, still trying to adjust to his surroundings, eyes squinting and blinking as he realised that even his torso felt sore from the impact.

“ Ugh… ”

Suddenly, he feels gentle hands turning him over, pulling him away from the fallen board beneath him, albeit with some difficulty.

“ God, you’re heavy.” He hears, moments before feeling his head plop down on pillowy skin.

Soon, his vision adjusts itself, enough so he can see the person holding him by the cheeks right now. And boy, when Kenji says he never felt like his anger dissipated so fast like a balloon deflating upon seeing your face, you best believe him. 

“I think you'll be forming a bruise right here,” You say, all furrowed brows as you turn his face side to side. 

“Oh no, your nose is bleeding now.”

Feeling your soft hold on him disappear, Kenji, all clad in his disarrayed highschool uniform, watches as you try to check your pockets for a handkerchief.

He watches you for a good minute or two trying to figure out where you placed your damned handkerchief, or so you say. Groaning as he picks himself back up, supporting his weight from the back, he distantly hears you say ah! Before he felt you practically shove the thing in his face.

“Here! To wipe your… blood.” You say awkwardly, the bell had rung a minute ago while Kenji thought it was just the ringing in his ears, the more desolate surroundings proved otherwise. He gracefully accepts your offer, lightly tapping the fabric on his nose that gladly did not crook from the impact. Still, it hurt.

You stood up to get the empty whiteboard back on its feet as Kenji stayed seated on the ground in the middle of the hallway that led to the greenhouse. There were no words spoken as both you and him got your bearings. 

At least I got a good excuse to miss Biology now. Kenji randomly thinks as he sighs.

But it isn’t until he hears distant footsteps and voices did his instincts rear in. In hindsight, there was probably no reason for him to have felt so nervous to get caught or anything, it’s not like his nose bleed was fake to not garner a visit to the infirmary. Even so, he felt nervous to get caught. Enough to haphazardly drag you inside the room you came in, bringing the whiteboard along before the door slammed closed. Getting into trouble was not in his to-do list today, not after almost getting into a fight with a basketball player last week.

Your handkerchief was lying on the floor, the surprisingly soft hands of the boy you just met were muffling your surprised yelps with his palm, the other hand shushing you, his pointer finger pressing to his own lips. When the voices come closer, Kenji finally realises that it wasn’t a teacher that was walking towards them. It was his first crush ever since he transferred in Los Angeles when he was 8.

“So, are you going to respond to Ken-Ken anytime soon, Ash?” A litter of giggles follow as Kenji felt the heat rising up to his ears from the embarrassing nickname.

“ Stoppp, you know I have to be nice because I’m class rep.” Ashley whines, stomping her foot and stopping just in front of the door of the classroom where you and Kenji hid. The action made you and him duck to the floor, nervous to get caught.

“Have you seen his eyebags lately? He looks horrible! I can’t believe he even asked for my help with Chemistry earlier, seriously. Aren’t you supposed to be the smarter one?”

"I know, right? And what’s with his accent? It’s like, get over yourself. He tries too hard sometimes. That’s probably why he’s just benched in the baseball team." Her friend snickers.

"And don’t get me started on his lunches. So gross!" Another one pipes in. “He eats raw fish and even eggs sometimes. Eugh…” She lurches.

Kenji hears a sigh, before the familiar voice of Ashley cuts through her friends. “Anyway, let’s go finish fetching the plants,”

“Didn’t Ken-Ken forget his project?”

“Talk about going against his nature, haha.”

The whole conversation made his shoulders and hands drop once their footsteps disappear. His demeanour immediately went from running through the halls to lying on the floor, and this time, it’s not because of a rolling whiteboard. Kenji sighs as he sits back on the floor, hands behind him as he looked up, the classroom was relatively dark, it was one of the extras, after all. His eyes close as he breathes in heavily, contemplating; ignoring the continuous trickle of red down his chin.

You, on the other hand, were perplexed. But seeing the situation, you can guess at least that much. After all, you were entering college at the ripe age of fifteen. In a tongue that Kenji hadn’t heard in a long time aside from phrases from his mom, you spoke. Quietly. Afraid to topple the fragile pieces that was the boy you just met.

“Was that you they were talking about?” You get the forgotten handkerchief on the floor, dried blood on some parts as you try to pat the dust away.

Kenji’s eyes open. And they meet yours. Worried yet curious, shimmering orbs, and gentle delicate hands that dabbed on his nose.

“ Yeah. ” He replies meekly, forgoing the language his peers spoke in, now matching yours. He didn't miss a beat in his language class, and his mom would definitely chastise him if he didn't know how to speak his mother tongue at all.

You give him a lopsided smile. “It would have been really awkward if you didn’t speak Japanese.”

Kenji chuckles at this. “Had doubts? What, not Japanese enough for you?”

You hum. “Does it matter? Being enough of one or the other.”

“...Well, no.. ” 

Kenji huffs, laying on his back. “But it sure would make my life a hell of a lot easier.”

“Laying down isn’t good if you’re having a nose bleed.” You frown, about to reach down so you can pinch his nose. 

As Kenji rummages through his brain, talking about how love, even though it was only a minor crush, absolutely sucks; his mind runs over what you said. 

Nose bleed… 

Then like a lightbulb; a sudden, stupid idea pierces through his blinded teenage head as he grabs your wrist and sits upright.

“You gave me this nose bleed.” Kenji starts, pointing to said appendage. And you were about to apologise, but he continues far too fast. “ So, you have to do something for me.”

“ What? Isn’t my handkerchief and recommendation to go to the infirmary not enough?”

“Wasn’t the one hogging the middle of the hallway.”

“Well I wasn’t the one running in the hallway. Section 5.8 of your school’s student handbook said no running in the halls. ”

“Your sch—” Kenji’s eyes drift down to see that you aren’t wearing the standard uniform for the academy. Instead, you were in civilians. “Ohhhh,”

“Hah, can’t believe an exchange scholar like me know more than a veteran.” 

“Never said I was a veteran.” Kenji shrugs. “And even if I was, what kind of normal person just rolls out a big whiteboard without looking outside?”

And just like that, it felt like there was some sort of.. mischievous jazz in the background, the words kept coming out, and out. Your arms and his start crossing, and you both inch closer and closer, with every retort.

“Have you ever heard of speed limits? You should stop dreaming about getting a driver’s licence at this point, Sir. ”

“Getting this show on the road, huh? Well… ever heard of mid-lane hogging, Ma’am? ”

“Oh? Did you just use an idiom literally? Cheesy.” You roll your eyes.

“Actually, that was a double entendre. I used it literally, and as intended. Too bad my ingenuity went over your head. Aren’t you supposed to be one of those exchange scholars? Did they get you mixed up with someone else?”

“I wish ingenuity was an antonym for genius right now.” You shake your head with a faux frown.

“Running out of fuel? ‘Cause that was pretty lame.” Kenji harrumphs, not noticing his nose bleed had stopped minutes ago. “Admit it. Your car crashed.”

“Is it my fault if your car crashed into mine?” 

“Flat tire.” 

Huh? 

What was he— your eyes follow his, and it stares from your chest, back to your eyes. Still confused, something Kenji is quickly able to notice, he repeats what he said with a smirk.

“I said… you’re a.. Flat. Tire.”

Realising where he was going, you felt blood boil up to your head as your hand begins to raise. “ Ohoh! You monster! I’ll give you more than a nose bleed when I’m done with you—!”

“I’d be… flat-tered.” Kenji pipes up one more time. 

You were not flat! You were just… a late bloomer! That’s it! 

Unbeknownst to you, Kenji had no qualms with your chest at all, no. And you were definitely not lacking in that department. He just thought that it was a metaphor for someone being so damn… disagreeable. It wasn’t his fault that your shirt was pulling down and he spared but a minute glance.

In all honesty, both of you, stuck in that moment, forgot what you were arguing about in the first place. When your hand was about to land smack on his cheek, he grabs it and pulls you closer to him, a wide grin on his face.

“Come on, help a victim out. We’ll just be giving them… something else to talk about.”

~

You did not know why you’d agreed to this. 

But you did. 

“ No, no. Absolutely not! Plus, I’m not even popular or something, what statement are you really making there? ”

“ Well… you’re really pretty. ”

He was incredibly insistent, and you felt like you owed him even though you gave him your handkerchief because it had his blood on it. Definitely not because your brain fried when he casually called you pretty with such an earnest face, like arguing would not even make sense to him. You would’ve called him dumb, stupid, or… or something! If he wasn’t speaking so smoothly earlier. Clearly, he does his homework and then some.

At the time, while he decided to skip Biology to head to the clinic with you in tow, you got to know each other just a little bit. Your new.. friend, knew that you’ll be going back to Japan in a few days, so he had to be bold to really make his statement. The stakes were low, and the rewards, at least for Kenji, could be high; enough to save face and show everyone that he does not care about the squeaky class representative.

Kenji preferred to speak to you in Japanese so that only few, if not anyone, could really overhear what you two were talking about.

Eventually, you really had to go and promised to meet in front of the empty classroom where you two hid the morning next day, when your group would have to do some collaborative projects. 

And when you separate and return back… Imagine your group, mixed with different ethnicities, academic nukes as you would like to call them, sees you with no whiteboard in hand after being gone for almost an hour or two… embarrassing.

Even more so, when he comes to school the next day, not even waiting to go to your designated meeting location so he can hug you in the middle of their field, catching your group off guard. He’d talk to you and call you a slew of nicknames, most notably…

“ Sweetheart! Got you some sandwiches that my mom made. Wanna go eat lunch together at the cafeteria ?” Emphasis on the cafeteria, his thick brows wiggling at the word.

He’d hold your hand, and if there was free time for his practices and your little assigned activities, he’d be sitting next to you by the bleachers as you read through the material your temporary mentors recommended. He was sweaty, and he’d be gasping for air, but a wide grin was on his face as he told you he’d stolen so many bases this time. And that he’d hit a few good home runs, how he’ll definitely get a spot on the main team today, all before his coach would call him back with a loud, stern voice. 

“ Sato! ”

He’d leave, yes. But not before he gives you a kiss on the cheek before waving you off as he jogs backwards with a stupid grin.

“What’re you reading?” Kenji would ask. 

You’d look up from the cafeteria table, and he’s leaning closer to you to try and get a read in.

“Advanced Robotics: Pioneering Techniques and Applications by Robert Callaghan.” You reply, not missing a beat in your reply.

Kenji would whistle and then proceed to sit beside you as he takes out his lunch. A bento box. 

“Want to do a lunch switch? I always wanted to do that.” He asks with puppy eyes matched with a big smile, hands clasped together as he pleaded. 

“And I loveee curry!” He adds on.

You notice that he was easy to change demeanours when it came to you. Whether it was because you were from Japan too, or because he knew you'd be leaving, allowing for him to continue acting how he wants to without any true repercussions— you.. would never know.

You smile before sighing out a sure after popping out a deal that he had to buy you ice cream after though, to which he hollers and fist bumps the air as you exchange boxes with an eager face. 

You’ll both be in sync when you pick the food with your chopsticks, sighing out a satisfied puff of air while both your cheeks were lathered with the comforting flavour of home .

He never asked for your number. But he’ll wait out of the lecture rooms you’d be in that day, saying he’s just asking the teachers around where the scholars were so he can rush over; offering to carry your bag and walk in step with you. 

All in the name of getting back at his ex-crush, of course. 

And every time he catches a glimpse of the angered look on his ex-crush, he attunes it to the blooming joy in his chest when he glances back at you, going on a rant about how no, they should have planned the encoding before building the robot. So now, we lost!

You’ll feel a ruffle on your head and a laugh from the taller boy beside you.

Then, you’ll arrive to the front gates. Kenji standing still as you say: “You don’t have to act here anymore, you know? I doubt anyone’s watching anymore.”

Kenji clears his throat, coughing a little, avoiding your gaze. “Well… You might get kidnapped for all I know. I won’t have a sweetheart by then, wouldn’t I?”

“ Pfft. ” You fail to conceal the bubbling laughter from your throat. 

“You’re cheesy as hell,” You tease back, taking your clasped hands away from his so you can lean sideways as you grin. “... sweetheart. ” 

Kenji could barely get a stuttered reply out before the familiar black car that was from the exchange program drives you to your shared hotel with the other scholars and professors. That day, and the following would go by the same. With him simply giving a lame wave off before the escort drives you away.

All until you finally had to return to Japan; your last day. Like clockwork, however, even on your last day, Kenji would walk with you to the front gates. His steps slow every second, and you would mirror him, you’d go slower, and slower, and even more so; still, you arrive at the front doors.

When Kenji placed a heavy hand to open them, it revealed a slew of raindrops falling from the stormy sky.

“Ah, it wasn’t raining earlier.” Kenji notes. “Got to practise and everything…” He rubs the back of his neck.

“Really? Seems like it’s been going on a while.” You appraise quietly, Kenji only hums in reply.

Like the rain falling in the sky, there was a heavy downpour that neither of you could ever place in the meagre age of highschool, even if you were advancing to college much faster.

“So, you’re going back to Japan today?”

“Yup.” You awkwardly reply as you sway on your feet. Back and forth. “Still have to actually graduate high school before picking my college, you know?”

And it’s quiet again as you both try to think of what to say. It was only a week, and yet… Kenji had never had such a true friend since he moved to Los Angeles when he was a young kid.

“Well, if you wanna see me again, since I know you’ll miss me— oof. ” You punch his chest lightly, making him puff out air, as you both eventually chuckle.

“Who says I’ll miss you? You just coerced me into getting chummy with you. Never again.” You huff, crossing your arms and raising your chin indignantly.

“All I’m saying is… if you pick a university close by, I’ll be at ULA soon. I’ll get into the Dodgers for sure.” He’s told you this in one of your many little conversations. The University of Los Angeles, home of the LA Dodgers and the Dodger Stadium.

You look at him and you share a genuine smile as the breeze from the rain sends a peculiar sparking chill down both your spines. 

“Sure. I’ll come visit when I’m nearby… hopefully.” You trail off.

Even with the laughter and the once more inevitable silence, there was always something on the tips of yours and Kenji’s tongue. Something to say, some things to ask. And yet, you ball on your feet and he thinks of letting go of your hand that he realises he was clasping too tightly in an embrace with his own fingers.

However, when the recurring black car arrives, you let go before he does, as you dashed through the rain. You turn back, and Kenji’s watching from the safety of the school entrance as you get drenched even though you try to put your bag over your head. 

You want to say something, anything. Yet all you could do is give a solemn wave and a smile.

He waves back and you turn away to jog closer to your ride back home, a few steps away from the gate, form stilling as you contemplate getting into the car.

You glance back, and he’s turned away, walking deeper into the school, probably so he won’t get wet. And your mouth opens, but it says nothing; calls out no one .

Your eyes flit to the black car; one last chance.  

You can’t help it. You want to tell him more. 

You want to tell him how you wish him luck on his career, maybe wish he could find better friends, find a better girl to crush on— and you turn back, one last time, words burning on the tip of your tongue. 

But it dies down when your vision meets a familiar uniform. 

Kenji’s chest, heaving, as you both get wet in the onslaught of the rain; his hand on your wrist, willing you to stop, as he opens and closes his mouth. The words were on the tip of his tongue; unknowingly mirroring each other in ways you barely had the time to think about after spending only seven days within each other’s presence.

But before you could even squeak out a word, you feel his bigger hands wrap around your now cold cheeks, and in no time… 

His warm, soft lips on yours. 

Your eyes close, following his tilted head as your hands reach up to hold the hands caressing and holding your face in place. It felt like a sun in the rain , unlike anything you’ve ever felt; and it distantly reminds you of an old childish memory back in the old playground in Odaiba before you and your brothers had to move away to your Aunt’s cafe.

It felt like an eternity of your inexperienced lips melding into each other, and suddenly all too fleeting when you finally pull apart. The honking of the horn from your driver finally takes you both out of your trance. The sudden shattering of the scenario made you glance back to the school entrance, where Kenji’s crush, the reason why you started all of this with him, was standing and watching; and suddenly, you feel your heart pull back the same way that you pulled your body away from him, lightly pushing his chest away.

“I’ll see you.” You whisper, a hint of sadness that Kenji picked up on too late; eyes trained on your similarly drenched figure rushing to the front seat of your escort. 

He was too dazed, trying to sculpt the image of his first kiss into his brain. That is, if he forgoes the girl who kissed him when he was seven.

“Good luck, Jiji! I’ll see you.” You wave with a forcibly mischievous tone, as if you didn’t feel anything from that kiss, you close the door to the black car whose engine was finally preparing to take off from the high school.

Kenji stands there, wordless, ears red not just from the kiss, but now from that… cute nickname.

“I’ll… see you.” He replies, raising his hand weakly, not caring if the rain still poured heavily on him.

It took a minute after the car left did he realise.. Wait, what was her name again?

“ Wait. She knows my name. She knows my name—?” He must be the stupidest guy alive for not even asking anything about you… your number, or… or, or your damn name. 

Kenji grasps his hair, berating himself inside for his stupid decisions. Of course, you know! He never asked yours because he resorted to calling you those cheesy pet names. He didn't think it would matter. 

But then he kissed you and now, suddenly, he knows it matters so much.

  Fuck. 

Fuck! 

The car was already driving away, and— and Ashley, who seemingly came out of nowhere for Kenji Sato whose mind was only running with thoughts of you and his stupidity, was talking about something, something getting her jealous and she knows, and—

Kenji doesn’t get to hear the rest of her statement as he begins running into the rain, trying to not lose sight of the car where you sat. Neither you whose face was currently buried in your hands, willing yourself to forget of the meaningless kiss, nor the driver who was focusing on the road ahead, was able to see the boy trying to catch up as the engine simply revs faster along the empty road.

He borrowed a bicycle just laying on the sidewalk, the owner, who looked away for a second, yelling at him. 

“I’ll give it back, I promise!” Kenji yells as he tries to pedal through the storm like his life depended on it.

As he rides through the rain, he tries to yell after the car. “Wait, sweetheart , come back!”

“I didn’t do it because of her, I—” He heaves, losing his breath and feeling cold as the car goes faster, the rain falling heavier in turn; rumbles of thunder following suit. 

I didn’t kiss you because she was there. Was what he wanted to say.

Could we keep in touch? Was what he wanted to ask.

Please pick a university close by. Was what he wanted. Really, really wanted. From you.

Kenji pedals harder, his muscles burning as he pushes against the heavy downpour. He can see the car’s taillights glowing dimly in the distance. He’s gaining on it. Just a little more…

“Sweetheart!” He yells out, his voice barely audible over the roaring storm. For a moment, he thinks he sees the car slow down, as if you heard him. His heart leaps with hope. He pushes harder, the distance between him and the car shrinking.

But just as he gets within a few yards of the car, it speeds up again, the taillights growing fainter. Kenji’s legs are screaming in protest, his lungs burning from the effort. He’s so close, yet so far.

He reaches out a hand, as if he could touch the car, as if he could make you hear him. But the rain obscures his vision, and the car speeds away, disappearing into the distance.

Kenji finally stops running, the bicycle falling to the ground as he bends over, trying to catch his breath. He’s soaked to the bone, every part of him aching, but the worst pain is in his chest.

In the distance, the car disappeared from view, taking you along with it.

“Sweetheart…” he whispers to himself, feeling the sting of regret seeping into his being.

Even with all his developing athletic might, Kenji Sato, who was still barely entering the cusps of his future stardom, could not catch up to his first crush. Thoughts forever unvoiced  to the person that mattered enough for him when he was still a junior in high school.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

It was hard.

Kenji’s day would start at around 5 AM, and end… its end was dependent, really. He would feed the baby, research more about kaiju, study whatever form or strategy Coach Shimura would give, clean the baby's poop, entertain her, and generally stop her from lashing out. Then train and look stupid in this season's games because he wasn't getting some apt sleep. Sometimes it was paranoia that the baby would cry or need something, most of the time it's because the baby did cry and needed something.

Aside from his baseball, baby, and Ultraman responsibilities, there still was the unknown variable that was… well, you.

The half-kaiju human. 

The giant mermaid. 

You were silent a lot of the time, and often it would pass in Kenji's mind that you were either a ghost or a living fairytale. Maybe a witch cursed you and took away your voice, or maybe a witch cursed you and forced you to sleep for long periods of time. Because after you.. took that ice bath with him, you laid still in bed for the next two days.

Kenji would thank the damn heavens when you were awake, even for just a day before you slumbered for abnormal periods of time again. Whenever you were awake, the baby would be easier to tend to. Less hungry, more happy; she'll make grabby for you when you go down, and you’ll lay there, your head on the glass container as that familiar tune keeps the baby in a state of calm for the rest of the day. Often, you would forget to go back to the bedroom and Kenji would come home, sweaty from ball practice to see you asleep in the basement, the giant kaiju baby curled up where you were. Those were the days when you’d wake up when he wasn't home.

When you did wake up and he was home? Well, let's just say that Kenji… could never complain. He’ll get shit from his team and his Coach, but then he's home early that day and you just happen to be awake? You're bounding to him like a magnet on a metal pole. A warmth blanketing his chest, enough to let him sigh out his grievances for the day as he opens the front door and sees your happy face.

He may not understand what he's doing to make you feel overjoyed, but he'll take it. He’ll take it, like how he takes your simple pleas for a hug, like how he takes your face burying into his neck. And he’ll take your open arms, willing him to lay down in bed with you when all things are done, your hands combing through his hair as you coo the familiar sounds of the ocean in his ear. Maybe that's the reason why he’d always carry you back to his room when you fell asleep with Baby even though the guest room had been available for a while now.

“I have now gathered 3 weeks worth of data on the woman, Ken. Would you like the analysis?”

Ah.

Kenji grogs his way up from his bed, your arms back to laying limply, sliding down his naked torso; he preferred sleeping with no shirt on, and he would have been more embarrassed sleeping with a girl he didn't know if he wasn't sure that you were just.. an affectionate creature, person— still figuring that part out.

“Sure, go ahead, Mina.” He yawns, rubbing his eyes as he slouches on his mattress.

“Her last steady transformation into her kaiju form was the time when you took an ice bath with her. A significant difference in her injuries were found compared to her injuries the day before. However, it seemed to have slowed majorly since. Her body seems to prioritise external and surface-level injuries, however as is, she is having trouble truly healing her leg fractures in kaiju form. What I have gathered from my scans is that her severe tail fracture presents differently, or rather, not at all when she inevitably transforms back into her half-human self. She has attempted transformation a couple of times when in proximity of the baby, all of which only lasted less than 3 minutes.”

Kenji nods, taking it all in. However, he can't help but snort when the thought pops in his head. “So, what? I should take a bath with her again and see if that makes it better?”

The robot remains silent, and Kenji basks in the awkward bliss of forgetting that Mina is not exactly programmed to be the best buddy in terms of jokes landing.

“If you wish so, Ken.”

Kenji sputters at this, but he realises he might have been too loud as he looks back. Though futile, considering the information he just heard, you would probably be asleep for days even if he screamed all he wanted, considering your everlasting affection for him last night; the pattern was undeniable. The reminder of your comforting caresses sends an involuntary.. pleasurable shiver down his spine.

So Kenji, in turn, whisper-yells to Mina. “It was a joke!”

“Ha-ha.”

“I should tell dad to install a comedian chip in you.” He crosses his arms. “So? What should we do? We can't have her sleep forever. If we can get her up and going, raising the baby would be ten, no , a hundred times easier! Have you seen how much the baby likes her mama?”

“While she is not her biological mother, yes, I have observed the phenomenon. My theory is that she has connections with Gigantron prior.”

This makes Kenji perk up. “Really? How’d you know?”

“She has lingering scales and residue from the passed kaiju.”

“Wait..”

“No,” Mina immediately interjects. “I’ve discretely gotten samples from her tail when she transforms; quite easy to gather due to their wide difference in colour. I believe their relations are similar to the idea of companionship. They must have been friends. Especially considering Gigantron is oviparous and that they are both Female.”

Kenji lets out a sigh of relief that he didn't know he was holding. It was just.. an unpleasant thought. He didn't even see it as possible, considering your kaiju was a mermaid. But what did he know? That's why he was flipping textbook over textbook in hopes of understanding both you and the baby some more.

“On the course of that line of thinking, I am sure she's not taken, Ken. Rest assured. She, like Gigantron, seems to be the sole of her kind. And since she looks to be predominantly human, I doubt animals were attracted to her.”

“ Okay, getting a little graphic here. I did not need to know any of that.” He shakes his head, putting his hand up towards the floating ball.

Today was a weekend, he just flunked his game again yesterday, and everything was going awful as it usually did. Until he went home and realised it was one of his lucky days. Slept like a baby last night, and today, he can sleep in because when you tuck the baby in, normal wake up time is moved. Plus, she won't fuss if Mina is to serve the school of fish for breakfast that day.

So now, as Kenji stretched his bare arms back, he looks to you and then back at Mina.

“So, how do we get her better?”

[...]

“I have deduced that water may be the primary factor in her physical healing process. Since she is waterborne, it could only be natural.” Mina explains, floating next to Kenji's shoulder as the man, dressed in only his sweats, carried you in his arms all the way to the tub in the bathroom this time.

“Alright, water makes her better.”

You, right now, kept to your iridescent appearance. However, your litter of scales and the webs between your fingers were disappearing. The only semblance left that Kenji would ever deem inhumane is how silky your skin was, much like your unusual hair, and eyes, if you opened them. His mind briefly flashes to when you got in the ice bath with him, when your features sheened a bit more natural than it usually was. A lot of questions lingered on Kenji's tongue.

“Remember when she healed me that night, Mina?”

The bot whirrs and affirms. “Yes. I remember your recount of it. Since I did not witness the act, I do not have much information. Perhaps her innate regenerative capabilities can be conducted. Did you notice anything strange at the time?”

Kenji thought hard. But who was he kidding? He went stupid the moment you dipped into the bath with him. He could've left but he didn't, not when you had him in this sort of.. chokehold. Finding himself wanting your affection, your acts of spoiling him, while he’ll have this forming desire to please you.

“...No.” He meekly replies, not really wanting to spare Mina any more details of the day; even though Kenji was sure that the AI knew he just melted into you that night the same way he would whenever you waked to coddle him and the baby… It just always seemed to work so well.

Kenji places you into the tub gently.

“Mina, one last thing before you handle the bath. Research more about my symptoms, tell me if you find anything, alright?”

“Yes, Ken.” Mina replies, allowing Kenji to walk out of the large bathroom as Mina undresses you from Kenji’s clothes, changed daily by the bot as well.

[...]

“I believe it is your body's natural response to avoid the physical pain you feel in your kaiju form.” Mina’s voice was slightly muffled by the closed door that led to the bathroom.

Kenji came barreling back in while preparing his special shake when he felt this inexplicable wrapping of panic in his chest. It's familiar, and he knows it's not his.

“Mina? What's going on?” His stern voice cuts through the whimpers and the soft cries in the bathroom.

“Ken.” Mina acknowledges his presence as his eyes dart to the tub.

You were about to transform to your kaiju. Slowly getting bigger. Kenji notices this, taking you away from the tub, as you slowly but surely developed your kaiju features with each whine from your lips.

“We gotta get her to the basement stat.” Kenji almost barks the order out, wide strides as he ran to the elevator.

“And the baby?”

“Baby will have to wait for a bit.” Kenji replies, tapping his foot as the elevator took him and Mina down. The pink kaiju still wrapped in her own self, dozing.

“Uhhh, water, right?” The elevator dings, and by now you were getting a little too big even for Kenji’s better strength. He doesn’t waste time transforming into his counterpart, allowing you to lay on his palms as you grew, and with your size, came your more prominent wounds.

“Open the water gates, Mina. And extend a platform around the window.”

By now, your tail was in full display and you size was enough for him to carry you in his arms while in Ultra. Your eyes still closed in pain as you let out soft, vulnerable cries. It grasps at Kenji’s heartstrings more than you’d ever know. Finally, Ken managed to get settled on the extended platform just on the other side of his wide underwater window, where the baby was slowly but surely rubbing her eyes awake.

“Mina, are you sure she’s okay?”

“She will become better when she is in water. It stimulates her natural DNA, she will heal faster there.” Mina assures.

Kenji nods slowly, eyes never leaving your forcefully closed ones. Your hands were clutching yours and his chest simultaneously. Looking closer across your scale-addled body, conveniently covering the swells of your breasts before lightly avoiding the area of your tummy, only to connect to your magnificent tail— that he notices only now, was bent in a slightly awkward shape. When he reaches out a hand to assess the damage, even the smallest touch made you jolt and open your eyes with downturned brows.

“Hi…” Kenji whispers. “Sorry… Uhm,” He never did call you much of anything, did he? So he blurts out the first thing that came to mind. “— Sweetheart. Did it hurt? Hm? It’s okay, you feel better here, right?”

Surprisingly, you nod, as if you understood him. The whimpers die down as you suck in a breath. Seems like you liked your little nickname.

“ Good girl. ” Kenji praises, and he feels that familiar blanket around his chest; joy. Oh, you liked that too? Could you actually understand? “Keep taking deep breaths, okay?”

Amidst the seawater where the island rocks and the school of fish would provide the blue atmosphere its renowned ambiance, you did something that actually did blow Kenji and quite possibly Mina’s, minds. 

“ Thank you. ” You’d said.

Kenji would look at you, his Ultra’s glowing eyesight mixing with the bioluminescent glow of the water, aquamarine and sky blue against the monochromatic shades of blue from the once undisturbed waters.

“Kenji.” You’ll add, not breaking eyesight against the Ultra who held you close to his chest.

The man in question was speechless. Your voice catching him off guard, he’d heard it in small hums and coos, and cries— but now, you’ve actually said something. He was still unable to speak, but the yawn of the baby and the familiar shrieks as her tubby hands banged on the glass container to face you and Kenji, begging to be part of the circle.

“It seems the baby has awoken. What would you like to do, Ken?”

You notice this, and peer off his shoulder to look the baby in the eye. She pouts and cries, and your hand moves to beckon her over.

“Baby, come.” You said simply.

“Open the container, Mina, and let her out.” Kenji instructs, finally broken out of his self-induced trance.

When the AI does as it was told, the tiny pink kaiju, tiny in comparison to her step-in parents that is— had begun its steps out into the water, Kenji almost yelps as he forgot that the added extension didn’t reach the gates. Baby who didn’t know how to swim yet, made Kenji inwardly panic when she sank for even a quarter of a second. All before she seemed to be wrapped in a bubble of water that made her float all the way to both you and him, with it popping so she landed in between the closed space of yours and Kenji’s torsos.

She squeaked happily.

It was almost what one could consider a picture-perfect family moment. And Mina was sure to capture the moment in question; if not but to send it to Professor Sato. Taking a vial of a sample from the now luminescent water was also one of Mina’s agendas, which she does discreetly.

“You can talk?” Kenji asks once you three got settled, with papa being the carrier of the brunt. He's deeply fascinated. 

“How?”

[...]

 Two weeks had passed since Kenji and Mina found out that you were able to understand and communicate because you were listening in to both him and the AI in your sleep or the few times you’ve been awake. Since then, the routine changed up once again, now that you were more frequently awake.

You still couldn’t do complicated schedules, but there were a mix of positive and negative setbacks, as all things are. The most positive side is that you’re there now for the baby, you’re eager to learn from Mina who’d play you educational videos or give you books to read after you relearnt your basic language, of course. And life seems to be doing slightly better for Kenji now that you were truly taking on the mom role.

“Well done, Sato.” His coach grunts, arms crossed. “Your plays suddenly got better this week. Whatever you're doing, don't mess up like last times. ” 

Now, you might be wondering: Okay, so what's the downside?

Dishes cluttered as sounds of footsteps throttling wake Kenji up in the middle of the night. And if he hones his listening, sounds of a left-open TV show and some uncontrolled laughter was coming from the living room. He’d move his arm to pat the— you guessed it— empty space beside him. 

Of course you were still up.

When your hunger bout started the same day that you began taking regular rests in the seawater platform by the basement, Kenji taught you that there was food more delicious than Baby's diet. Which was raw, slimy, uncooked, alive fish.

So, he started you with the next best thing: Sushi.

“See? Better than raw— better than live fish, right? Mmmm~” Kenji watches as you take hold of a roll cautiously, looking at him with an unsure face.

You were so enamoured by the taste. So much so, it was endearing at first. He says at first because he didn't know he just unlocked a major foodie within you. You're morbidly curious, and you have an insane appetite. Mina had to work double-time to answer all your questions once you got started on your Language lessons.

Do these little… creatures— 

“Ants.” Kenji inserts for you.

“Do they have feelings? If I take away this grain of sugar, will they get angry? Sad?” Your way of speech was still… developing, clearly. You tended to speak more formally because of the educational material.

He wishes he can read your thoughts to that extent, but he’s stuck with… whatever you did right now. 

Sometimes, he’d feel when you were happy, most of the time it would be when he opens the front door; your bare feet pit-a-patting on the solid ground of his private home before you jump in his arms. He’d feel when you’re sad, whenever a favourite character from whatever TV show seems to get sick, or worse, die. 

Oh, he’d feel you sad, alright. 

He’d have to deal with it in bed when you’re wetting the pillowcases with your tears and small sobs. Rarely does he feel you getting mad. The only other time he can remember is when he brought the baby home with him the first time.

And all those little things. The distance doesn’t seem to matter, he’ll feel a distinct mirror of what you did permeate through his chest. He won’t know from what, but he’d be left to speculate whenever Coach Shimura scolding him, or his teammates were talking behind his back for his recently shitty performance. It was a nice distraction, and since, he notices, that your most common emotion seems to be happy, it lightens him up. Wait, what was he saying again?

Aside from that , scratch a good half of what he said— if you considered your massive amounts of food intake, there was the issue of you actually eating. It was a hefty job teaching you table manners and Kenji was running out of shirts.

“ Minaaaa, ” Kenji calls out with an exasperated tone, bounding into the living room, hair messy and body heavy with you clinging on to his form like a backpack while giggling.

“I am running out of clothes to wear. We need to get her,” He points to you and bite his finger lightly. “—her own things.”

“Of course, Ken.”

“And you, ” He jumps, and your hold around his neck tightens, much like your legs around his torso. “Get off!”

It’s a minute of Kenji trying to get you to let go of him, with you eluding his touches to the side of your stomach that he recently found out you’ve grown ticklish to.

“Ohoh, you want to make this difficult, princess?”

“But I do not want to!!! Stop!! Stop— HAHAH— Noooooo!!! ”

He managed to tackle you to the couch as your laughs and heaving wheezes filled the air; not noticing that he started laughing along, hands unyielding from trying to rub over the sides of your sensitive stomach. 

“Ken, I apologise for interrupting such a precious moment, but what in particular do you wish for me to order for her?”

Snapping out of his daze, he’s suddenly made aware of how he was leaning down on you; shirtless. You wore one of his dark blue long-sleeved shirts along with his boxers, shirt slightly riding up, the other slowly riding down in contrast. Your legs were loosely resting around his waist with you still looking up the ceiling while you tried to catch your breath. And when your eyes meet his, it feels like his heart jumped to his throat, his nerves getting the best of him made him immediately jump off the couch.

Kenji clears his throat, hand on his hip while turning away from you to respond to Mina who he dearly hopes does not make another comment about—

“Your temperature is rising. Shall we continue this discussion another time? You might develop a fever.”

“ Aha, no, Mina.” He saves face. “I’m fine, I’m not sick. It’s just— it’s hot in here, isn’t it?”

“Sick? Fever?” You pipe up as you begin walking slowly towards Kenji who flinches as he senses your oncoming presence. “You are sick, Kenji? I have seen characters become sick on TV. Are you going to die? Kenji!?”

Your hands were gripping his shoulders so tightly with every word, your face scrunched in so much worry as if he had Stage 4 Cancer. You started shaking him haphazardly in your bouts.

“Answer me!”

“You are not allowed to die!”

“Come to the water with me. I must heal you. Immediately.”

Kenji, a little dazed from the back and forth of your earlier shaking, finally finds a reply when you determined that you can most likely heal him, moving to drag him to the bathroom; presumably back in the bath tub.

“I’m fine, I’m fine, sweetheart. Calm down.” Your tight grip on his hand reminds him of another fact that he and Mina has learned.

Somehow, you’re able to retain a semblance of your kaiju strength in half-human form. He finds this out in an instant when he tried to deny you ramyeon once when you were still prone to tantrums. Kenji hisses when you let go of his right wrist, his other quickly rubbing against the area on instinct.

“Oh no, did I… hurt you?” You say, timidly. A wild contrast from your earlier and regular demeanour. Another thing he noticed is that apart from you being extremely clingy with him, you.. oddly care for him; what he thinks, how he’s feeling.

Kenji sighs and pats your head right after. “No, princess, I’m all good. No bruises, see? It’s okay.” He reassures you, remembering that last time when you found out you injured him, you bawled and apologised for the whole night.

“I’m okay.” He pinches your cheek to get you to look at him, knowing that you’re beating yourself up in your head. If your sudden silence wasn’t enough of an indicator, he didn’t know what is. 

“Ah, Mina, so about her stuff…” Ken starts, looking back after sensing the presence of the AI bot silently hovering behind him. “Just get her whatever essentials you think she needs and might need.”

“Got it, Ken. As for her clothes, will we have a set budget? Preferred brands?”

“You kidding? Just buy anything. Whatever’s popular these days.” Kenji shrugs as he looks down at you who was trying to dissect their conversation. He’ll look down from his shirt to your bare feet.

“Shoes, sleepwear,” Kenji tries to list.

“How about her underwear, Ken?” Okay, at this point, the robot was probably teasing him.

Kenji sputters, feeling heat crawl up to his face again. Of course, why didn’t he think of that?

“I was just about to say it, Mina.” He sassily remarks.

“Any preferred design?” Okay, at this point, the robot was definitely teasing him.

“Shut up.” He spares you a glance and you simply looked clueless. Thank God.

When screeches started to emanate from the basement, all three of you perked up. But you suddenly cut them off. “Oh! Baby!” 

“I will go down.” You offered, not really giving them respite as you cheerfully jogged to the elevator.

This brings up another topic for both Kenji and Mina.

“Soon, we will be able to ask her about Kaiju Island.”

“Uhuh,”

“What are your thoughts about it, Ken?”

“I mean… it would be convenient to know the place. But even if we do, we can’t just leave the baby and her there alone. Without a mom, the baby would die.” And…

“Of course.” The bot responds with a tone that suggests she knew that Kenji wanted to say more.

“ And we can’t just leave her in Kaiju Island now. It’s just— we haven’t found a case yet, and I’m still practising for baseball… you know?” 

We can deal with it off season, a hidden voice within a deep compartment in his brain says.

“I perfectly understand, Ken.” Still with that cheeky tone. For a robot, Mina can get quite expressive, much to Kenji’s dismay.

Kenji groans, ignoring the bot’s teasing while running a hand through his morning hair. 

“Have all her things delivered by tomorrow or as early as possible to the drop-off point so I can pick it up in my car after practice. And help her understand how some things work, I know she’ll be confused with… some stuff.”

The robot hums. “I have a suggestion as well, Ken. I believe if our goal is to help identify her and get her acclimated to human society, it would be best if she knew places outside of the house. And perhaps other people outside of—”

“Outside of me?” Kenji squints, crossing his arms. “What are you suggesting?”

“If you want to expand the possibility of her regaining her old memories by chance, if our theory is correct that she was a past human — based on the articles that dated first sighting of her three years ago— then it would be helpful if she is reminded of the society she grew up in. And she might develop her original traits more if she interacts with other people in a controlled , yet natural environment.”

Kenji remained silent. He knew Mina was right, but… “I don’t know… It’s still a little risky.”

However, it is true that Kenji feels a little bad now that he thinks about it. How you were also feeling indebted enough to take care of a baby that wasn’t your own, while he and Mina occasionally wrote notes and shared minute observations about you like you were a lab rat… 

“Okay, fine. I’ll take her to Roppongi once I’m free, she’ll probably love the food there. Lots of people.” He shrugs, walking backwards to his room as he faces the hovering bot.

Chapter Text

“Mina,” Kenji calls out, exiting the house, shades in eyes, and swiftly moving down the short flight of stairs by the porch. 

“What’s left of my cars?”

 Today, you and Kenji were set to go to Roppongi. He decided that driving a car would be better in case you wanted to buy some things. It would be a hassle lugging it into his bike.

“You still have a couple that aren’t from the showcase in the basement. Would you like to use the Nissan GT-R, Ken?”

“The blue one, please.” He affirms as he steps out into the porch, the car in question appearing from the retractable ground that led to the driveway.

“Okay, so… Where’s the star of the show?” Ken asks aloud, hoping Mina would answer. 

 What he got in return, however, was the sound of the front door opening and the light tapping of a heel following every step. 

Then, out came you.

You wore a light blue off-shoulder cropped blouse from Chanel, allowing the fabric to hug you comfortably, but also enough so that the swell of your breasts are lightly punctuated. Then, a high-waisted A-line midi skirt in soft white from Gucci that almost resembles your hair and eyes from the way it subtly shimmered when the light touched it. Paired with a pair of Christian Louboutin’s white Mary Jane shoes, a short, approximately 2 inch-thick heel with two thin straps. You had pearl-themed accessories, a necklace and some earrings. It's a surprise how Mina got to pierce your ears no problem; though it's even more so when the bot realises you’ve already had an old pierced hole there that only needed to be reopened.

You looked a little timid at first, awkward at best as you tried to get used to the less breezy cloth you normally wore because of Kenji. Though it helped that Mina styled you off with what she called… a midi skirt? 

Your outfit was a stark contrast to how the star athlete usually prefers to dress; dark colours and hard edges. Kenji preferred his tight shirts and aviator sunglasses, his gold necklace that he never takes off, and some tight or loose-fitting pants, depending on the day and place. All luxury brands too— if Mina had anything to do with it.

Kenji was a man who cared about his appearance; Ken Sato was the man who flaunts it.

Pop in the modified gold-chained Tag Heuer, and he's usually good to go. For today, however, he's sporting slightly loose, black-coloured pants, held up by a similarly black belt. His navy blue short-sleeved shirt isn't tight or compressed, except around his well-built shoulders and arms. His blue-tinted aviator shades, matched with the hue of his Nissan, hanging loosely by his nose while he takes in your appearance.

He coughs to the side, car keys twirling to the side before he catches it in his palm. 

“You good to go?”

You nod excitedly, almost bouncing on your feet in place. 

“Yes!”

 You follow behind Kenji, who opens the passenger seat for you, waving for you to sit inside. You do, and he closes the door gently before situating himself on the driver’s seat, getting everything ready to run.

“And you can handle the baby for at least half the day, Mina?” Kenji asks one last time while revving the engine.

From his watch, the bot replies.

“Of course. Enjoy the day, Ken.”

~

“Woah…” You marvel as Ken drives past the crowd who occasionally flits glances to the eye-catching vehicle.

“Impressed already?”

“These creatures—”

“Humans.”

“We are like them?”

“Yep.”

“There's so many!” You exclaim, face practically stuck on the window. Thank God for seatbelts, else you most likely would have phased through the window by how much you’re pressing yourself against the tinted glass.

“Mhm, you have to be friendly, okay? Remember what Mina and I told you.”

“Yes, of course! I must be polite when I decide to talk to people. Like saying hi to them.”

“For starters like you, yeah, that's how it usually works. But just choose the people you decide to talk to, make sure they're friendly too. How about the other stuff?”

“Don't talk about Baby, then… table manners?”

“Good enough. Just stay close to me at all times, got it?”

When you don't reply, Kenji gives you a glance only to see you staring outside again. His hand lands on your thigh, tapping it lighty, catching your attention and making you look at him. He ignores how soft your skin must be beneath the fabric of your long skirt and the bump of his heart when your eyes meet him slowly.

“Got it, babe?” He calls again.

“Yes, Jiji.” You breathe out, soft hand touching over his own.

The nickname catches Kenji off guard for a minute before he shakes his head, taking his hand off of you and remembering his place. 

He can't do this, he reminds himself. He still doesn't know anything, and with you as is, it’ll be like taking advantage of a drunk, vulnerable woman late at night. Which is not Kenji’s style.

Kenji clears his throat. “How’d you come up with that nickname?”

You shrug. “I just think it fits you.”

As Kenji swerves, the sign ‘Roppongi Hills’ finally comes into view. A litter of restaurants, and upscaled shopping districts fill your eyesight. From the Mori Art Museum to Roppongi’s ever-famous Sakuraza; a street lined with cherry blossom trees. Luckily, spring was still in season. Allowing the beautiful pink petals to fly along the breeze of the sunny day.

“What do you wanna do first?” Kenji asks as he parks at one of the open spaces well-guarded by the mall guards.

 After finally taking your eyes off the window, you look at him. A long hum from your throat. 

“Hmmmmm…” It's a couple of minutes like that.

“What do you wanna eat?” Kenji asks instead, a low raise of his thick brow and a slight upturn from his lip.

“Falafel, Katsu, Taiyaki, Pasta, Daifuku, Dim Sum, Dorayaki—” The words just fly out of your mouth like a train with no brakes.

“Sweet or salty?” Kenji tries to slim down the choices.

“Hmmm…” You hum again.

“You know what? Let’s just have a look around and see what we can find, how about that?”

You nod enthusiastically with a big grin, and soon you and Kenji are getting out of the car and walking down the busy streets. Discreet murmurs come from along the crowd that watches you and Ken strutting along the sidewalk. It was a mix of comments.

“Omo, he looks like a celebrity!”

“Wow… look at those arms, shall we ask for his number?” A familiar slew from the feminine population about Ken. Luckily he’s not being bombarded yet because he just realised that maybe he should’ve worn a cap or a mask. But whatever, right? What the Ken Sato does miss though, are the comments about you.

“She looks like a foreigner…”

“How did her hair turn out like that?”

“What are you talking about? She must’ve gotten it done! Look at her contacts.”

“Dude, c’mon don't be pussy about it.”

“She's really cute, man, I can't. I don't stand a chance!”

 Ken walked a few paces in front of your lagging figure who’s curious about much too many things. 

What were the people murmuring about? Was it about you? What are those unmoving people doing by the window? They have no eyes… no mouth, no face… 

The phenomenon makes you stop and stare.

“Hi.” You greet the unmoving person on the other side of the glass window, wearing clothes similar to yours, and yet they don’t respond. 

Rude. 

“Hi!!!” You say louder, catching the attention of other people.

 When the door opens to your right, a girl with sharp eyes and straight black hair comes out, shopping bags in hand.

“Hey, hi! What’s your name?” You immediately greet, catching the girl off guard.

 The girl in question, a little taller than you while wearing bold 5-inch red stiletto heels was speechless, looking to her left and right before answering you. 

“You’re talking.. to me?” She says, a little incredulous; looking you up and down with a frown.

“Yes. I want to ask a question.”

“...Okay? What is it?” She responds, still suspicious.

 You point to the mannequins displaying the local designer brand’s designs. “Those people. Why are they not moving?”

“...” The girl was unmoving, trying to read the situation, and probably call emergency services. As she opens her mouth, you feel a firm yet gentle grip on your shoulders.

“Sweetheart! There you are.” Kenji’s voice exclaims, “I was looking for you everywhere. Don’t go off on your own, you know I told y—”

“Oh! Ken?” The girl you talked to earlier perked up, recognition visible on her face. But then the earlier pet name catches her attention real quick. “Wait, sweetheart?”

 This catches Kenji off guard, gaze flitting to the other girl beside you, a few paces still shorter than him. “Ah… Ah! Yui. Nakamura, right?” he says, snapping his fingers as if trying to jog his memory.

“Yeah… What are you doing here?” Yui eyes you suspiciously as she asks this, but then her gaze turns sweetly when she looks at Kenji who was working up an excuse for calling you the way he did. 

“Oh, I’m just—” Okay think. 

“Just.. taking out my childhood friend. We haven’t seen each other in a while after she got into.. an accident. Yeah. Oh! And I just call her sweetheart because she's just— really sweet as a friend, you know?”

“Must have been a terrible accident.” Yui remarks, masking her surprise at seeing the arrogant and tired snob that was Ken Sato, turning all fidgety. “She was asking me why the mannequins weren’t moving.”

“Oh! So they are called mannequins?” You pipe up your only contribution to the conversation between the two as you wrap yourself on Kenji’s arm.

 Ken and Yui share an awkward laugh before Ken continues spewing up a thread of stories for Yui to take. “Yeah, it was bad. My family was friends with hers for a long time, she just has problems with her memories so they thought if I helped out, she’d get better.” Which wasn’t entirely false.

Yui nods, the smirk still playing on her lips as she turns to you, extending a hand. “Yui Nakamura,”

“I’m the Giants’ team manager. And you?”

“I'm…”

 Before you can answer, your stomach growls loudly, cutting through the moment. Kenji buries his face in his hand, clearly mortified, while Yui awkwardly retracts her hand.

“...hungry,” you declare, completely oblivious to the tension.

Yui blinks, then her eyes flick to Kenji as an idea forms. Her smile turns sly as she says, “Actually, I know a great place around here that serves amazing ramen—”

“Really!? Let’s go!” You say, soft hands tightly gripping both Yui’s and Kenji’s as you dart off towards the wrong direction.

Yui stumbles in her heels, barely catching herself, while Kenji just lets out a resigned sigh, giving Yui an apologetic look as they’re both dragged along.

“Guess we’re doing this,” Yui mutters under her breath.

[...]

“Really, you didn’t have to do this, Yui.” Kenji consoles Yui who was mortified at you putting out bowl after bowl without looking bloated or full at all.

“Is this the normal amount she eats?” Yui asks, genuinely curious.

“Haha, yes…” Kenji rubs his neck, embarrassed to say the least.

 Yui clears her throat before gracefully stirring and bringing the noodles up with her chopsticks before starting a conversation with Ken again. On the bright side, she notices how you barely even interact with Ken romantically. That’s definitely good for her. Ken just seems like… your babysitter. Oh, poor guy.

“So, last Tuesday with Coach Shimura, huh?” Yui subtly brings up.

“Oh! Yeah, he was really mad.” Kenji replies with a handsome chuckle that makes Yui’s heart skip a beat.

 Their conversation goes as is while you minded your own business for a good five minutes before your eyes dart to the team manager. She was very pretty. Bold and tight clothing, a short pencil skirt, and red, attractive lips. You observe the way she interacts with Kenji, how you don’t understand a word they were talking about; still unfamiliar with the specifics of pertaining to things, or fields like baseball, which both of them equally have many experiences on. There is a particular feeling in your chest that you can’t explain, but when it blooms, Ken finally looks at you.

“Hey, you done?” He asks, then looks down at his own bowl of Tonkotsu Ramen. “Ohh, do you want some of mine? Here, you can have it. I’m a little full anyways.”

 Kenji assumes that the peculiar feeling of jealousy that wasn’t his was because you needed, well, more food. So later, as you’re walking down the street, with Yui slowly but surely taking your place in-between them because of their seemingly never ending conversation, you start walking a little slower, a few paces behind them as you finally experience your first shot at introspection that wasn’t about ants, or the baby, or what you wanted to eat or read that day.

“Ah, my foot!” Yui exclaims, hand suddenly darting to Kenji’s arm who offers his support quickly. Yui tucks her long hair behind her ear as she looks up at Kenji sheepishly. “Sorry, it’s just.. my heel, you know?”

 She glances back at you before she says this. “Could I use you for support? Just for a little bit.”

 Ken, dense and oblivious, replies with slightly widened eyes. “Uh, sure. Yeah.”

 When they start walking together like a cute couple, both looking almost matching because of their dark palette, the jealousy— still unfamiliar to you, begins blooming in your chest again. Yui watches as Ken, once again, spares you a glance and then some. She watches as you frown, stuffing your face in the plush of cotton candy before flitting her eyes back at Ken, who sported the highly uncharacteristic smile. It was small, it was soft; it was everything he wasn’t when in practice. Tired, aloof, and misplaced arrogance despite all his recent shortcomings.

 When Kenji opens his mouth to call you out, as if on cue, Yui beats him to the punch.

“Hey, candy girl. Come with me to the bathroom.”

 This makes you look up. “Me? I am ‘candy—”

“Yes, yes, now come along.” Yui utters, quickly letting go of Ken’s arm and opting to drag you along instead. 

Kenji looks dumbfounded as you and Yui turn a corner that has a men & women’s sign; quickly going out of view as he quietly utters… 

“Uhm— Don’t stray too far. I’ll…” 

The doors to the bathroom close. “Wait out here.”

When Yui finally lets go of your forearms, acrylic nails slightly drag through your skin, tickling you lightly as she approaches one of the cubicles and closes the door. You awkwardly stand around, waiting. When she finally emerges from the cubicle, she approaches the marble sink; getting soap and washing her hands. She does all of this, and only looks at you in the mirror once she's done.

“I’ll be honest. You shouldn't like a guy like him.”

 When your eyes widen a fraction and your brain takes a few seconds too short of finding the dictionary definition of ‘like’ in this context, Yui sighs, facing you and walking slowly with her arms crossed; her stilettos tack, tack, tack on the tiles.

“I’ll give you a heads-up since you got into an accident and don’t seem to have any friends to tell you the truth.” 

“...Ken Sato is not the kind of guy for you. And if I have to take a second more watching a girl like you liking a guy like Ken, I’d feel…” She furrows her well-done brows, pouting her red lips.

“...weirdly guilty.”

 When you try to open your mouth to speak, you feel her finger on your lips instead, effectively shutting you up.

“Ken Sato is arrogant, selfish, ambitious, and complicated. He’s good for one-night stands but long-term is impossible for a successful athlete in his mid-twenties. Perfect for girls who know it, and won’t get hurt by it long-term. Not for girls like.. you.”

“So, stop it.”

 After a solid 60 seconds of silence, waiting if the girl who towered over you in such a passionate stare-down, was done talking, you finally aired out your voice.

“Why must I stop?”

 Yui lets out a hefty sigh, shaking her head before leaning down on you a bit more.

“He’s a playboy, a jerk, he likes to flaunt, and more importantly, he already has a girl he goes back to on the regular. And— it’s not you.”

 To any sane woman in their mid-twenties as well, Yui Nakamura could be considered nosey and in some light, manipulative, who was she to tell anyone to not like a person? She surely must have had some kind of motive?

“If that is true… then why did.. he kiss me?”

 The inward instinct you felt, you’ve learned yourself while being left to your own devices with a dictionary that— “Kenji is my mate. He kissed me. I understand that it is taking him some time to accept it so I am waiting for him.”

“Mate? What are you, an animal?” Yui chuckles. 

Yui fails to notice how you slightly cowered at the accusation.

“Okay look, that’s what I’ve been trying to say, Candy! It’s what he does. Wait, you two didn't have sex, right? Oh, I will kill that guy! Wait, you do know what sex is, right?”

“No…?”

“Why do you sound unsure…” Yui sighs. “It's when he puts his,” she hums, her hands permeating down her pelvis before pointing to yours. “To your,” she hums.

“No.” You shake your head avidly. “But I’m waiting. It's so we can complete the mating!”

 Yui couldn’t help but find you interesting. You were like a highschooler, going through the motions for the first time. Which is probably why she felt the need to tell you the truth; she can be a bitch, but only to other bitches too. Not to innocent childhood friends with unrequited love and maybe a shaken noggin. 

She can only guess you’ve probably had a crush on Kenji since you were both children. It was a tragic story! So tragic. And it's the exact story that makes a woman like Yui Nakamura, who is a fan of watching Romance Drama shows like that, to help you change your fate. After all, the childhood friend never gets the guy.

“Then you’re not ‘mates,’ aren’t you? Kenji is mated with someone else.” She air-quotes. “When did he last kiss you?”

“37 days ago.” You reply almost excitedly, a tinge of heat darkening your cheeks in the process.

 Yui had to resist the urge to point out the fact that you counted. Slowly, she’s finally beginning to confirm that you really were too.. naive, to play any sort of games like this.

“And nothing happened after that?”

 You shake your head no. Yui shakes her head, disappointed.

“You’re too innocent, and he must have felt guilty. Right now, you’re kind of like.. a kicked puppy. Or a child to babysit.”

“He even introduced you as just his sweet little friend earlier, didn't he?”

“What does that mean? How do I get Kenji to like me?” You ask worriedly.

“It means he allows you to do things because he knows that you don’t know what you’re doing. You’re naive. I don’t know how to answer your next question because I don’t care enough to think that deeply about him. I just thought he was cute and that you were…” a snotty rich kid with an annoying fake naivety act to pull in boys.

She peeks a glance at you, almost surprised at the small distance between you and her that she’d never noticed. But not really doing anything about it. Her nose picks up the distinct smell you have. Like subtle beach air and mint. Where did you get your perfume?

“Anyways, we’ve been here for ten, fifteen minutes? Ken would be suspicious if we take too long. Let’s get back.”

 Once Yui starts her walk outside to meet back with Kenji, you tail her, mind flooded with the new pieces of information you’ve just heard, trying to decipher them, understand them.

“Rina? What? You’re in Japan? Why? Haha, seriously? I'm in Roppongi right now.” Your ears perk at Kenji’s distant voice.

 Shocked when you lightly bump on Yui’s back, nose picking up her strong, yet sophisticated smell. You look up at her to ask why she stopped suddenly when her finger comes up to your lips again and she looks back down at you. You were both at the apex of turning the corner to spot Kenji, and Yui was taking sly peeks, whispering for you to do the same.

 When you do, you see Kenji’s face. A mix of surprise and.. delight?

“He seems excited for something, right?”

“Hm…” You hum with a pout threatening to form on your lips.

“I heard him say Rina. And based on his history in the tabloids, her full name is Rina Matsui, and she’s famous for being the relative of the Giants’ best player in its earlier years before she became an international sports reporter. Remember when I said he had a girl on the reg?”

“Reg?”

“Regular.”

“Oooh, okay.” You nod. Yui continues.

“That’s her. For three years now, since they met in a formal party back in LA.”

“Is she.. Kenji’s mate?” You whisper the question, looking up at Yui who shakes her head.

“I would say, yeah. Tabloids always just capture scandals of them spread across the years. People say Ken approached her first. If anyone's any closer to tying the Ken Sato down, it's gonna have to be her.”

“...I see.”

“Hey, you guys done?”

 You and Yui jolt as Ken’s voice cuts through your conversation. You don’t understand why you feel so nervous. Yui did say to keep quiet, right?

“Yes. We were just talking about the recent trends in fashion since she seemed interested in the mannequins earlier.” Yui smoothly lies, walking out of the hall.

 When you and Ken trail along to the busy street just outside, Ken briefly notices how you seemed to be trapped in your thoughts.

“Got interested in clothes now?” Kenji lightly jests, bumping your shoulder.

 You only look back for a second before humming a quick yes. Your own heart pounding against your chest. You just lied. To Kenji. You had so many firsts today, but these were the first things you did that didn't sit right with you. That made you feel bad.

When you speed off trying to catch up to Yui, Ken decides that you were suddenly, weirdly.. compatible with his team manager. Just what happened in the bathroom? Is it some woman-on-woman thing? Was it… a woman on woman— okay, Kenji shakes his head.

 You wanted to ask Yui more questions, but…

“Unfortunately, I have other plans for the day. I really should get going.” The bold team manager bids once Kenji caught up to you two by the road.

Yui shakes her phone. “I’ll be booking a ride.”

“Oh,” You say. “Can I see you again?”

“Thank you for being around, Yui. I can tell, uh, my friend really likes you.” Kenji adds, wrapping his arm around your shoulder casually.

Shit, he didn’t work out a fake name for you yet. He really should get to that soon. It definitely slipped him and Mina.

 You and Yui seemed to have shared a look, and Ken just can’t believe how you two have gotten so close in so little time, even exchanging numbers with the new phone that Mina picked out for you as well. And finally, you and Kenji were left alone once more, walking mindlessly together.

“So, you like Yui?”

You nod.

“We should think of a name for you soon. Got anything you want to be called by for the time being?”

“Name? My name? I… know my name.” You say, but Kenji notices how your eyes are distant, like your mouth was speaking for you. 

“It’s… It’s—” Your breath quickened, your vision blurring at the edges as your mind tried to grasp at something—anything—that would make sense of the sudden wave of anxiety.

“Are you— are you… remembering something?” Kenji asks, stopping himself in his tracks, hands ready in case you’d collapse then and there.

But your answer disappoints him, for logic beyond him. 

“No, I…” You furrow your brows. Suddenly, you’re fine. Like you weren’t just about to have a panic attack a second ago.

“I just.. want to ask you a question.” You swerve. Even you didn't know what exactly happened; it was like you weren't in control. You weren't even actively thinking about anything as much as you were thinking about your conversation with Yui.

Kenji has a mate. But he kissed you.

Kenji purses his lips and digs his hands in his pockets, letting the topic go.

“Okay, what did you want to ask?”

“What do you… think of me?”

Now this. This caught Kenji Sato, off guard. It was multiple minutes of long silence. Minutes of Kenji opening and closing his mouth, trying to piece his words together. 

What do I think of her? 

The question echoed in his mind, and for the first time in a long while, he didn't have an immediate answer. 

What did you want him to say? What were you to him?

“Let's…” He finally starts, “Let's find somewhere to sit.”

“Why? Can you not answer my question now?”

“If you're gonna ask me, I'll be asking you too. Equal and opposite reaction.”

“Newton’s Third Law of Motion.” You murmur, almost as if it’s a reflex.

“What? Mina’s taught you Science already?” Kenji asks, his brows rising in surprise.

“What? What did I say?” You furrow your brows, and Kenji does the same, his confusion mirroring yours.

“...Nevermind. Let's go,” Kenji replies, though he's definitely going to mentally note this as he grabs hold of your wrist and lightly tugs you to a nearby food shop, not really looking at the sign.

As the small bell above the door chimed, Kenji's mind was still on your question, the weight of it lingering even as he forced a smile at the two identical faces that greeted you both.

“Welcome to Onigiri Miya.”

[...]

It was a little awkward, with you holding on to Kenji's shirt sleeve this time while you two lined up to order, as if refusing to lose sight of him unlike a few hours ago when you’d just gotten off his Nissan.

“Hey, sorry, but are you Ken Sato? The baseball player?” A blonde girl approaches, pretty as they go, phone clutched in hand.

“Ah— Ahaha, yeah.” Kenji awkwardly rubs his nape, not really in the mood to entertain any fans.

“Can I get a picture? My friend will take it for us!”

 The friend in question, who had pink hair, eyes covered with the sheen of her glasses and a newsboy cap gave a small wave and a smile as she took the phone from the blonde. Then there’s a sudden flash that blinds you and makes you let go of Kenji’s sleeve.

“Ah,”

“Oh, sorry. I just thought you were really pretty. I took a picture, I hope you don’t mind.” The pink-haired girl says, holding a different phone. This makes the blonde pout.

“Hey! You’re supposed to take pictures of me and Ken!”

 Kenji looks back at you worriedly for a minute before the blonde holds onto his arm and pulls him away as he yelps, leaving you next in line to the cashier.

“Hah, look at ‘em go, looks like yer fans ain't as loyal to you as ya thought.” A certain dark-haired man dressed in the store’s shirt and uniform, teases out of his mirror image.

The blonde clicks his tongue as he leans over the counter, face on his palm as he watches the girls who’d previously been asking for selfies with him, now going to another athlete.

“Shut yer mouth, idiot.”

“Yer the idiot, idiot.”

“Oh but look, the girl he entered with is comin’. Ya think she's his girlfriend, ‘Samu?”

“She’s right there. And don't hit on all my customers.” Osamu chastises.

“Answer my question.” Atsumu shrugs.

“Ask her yerself,” Osamu replies, resigning himself by the counter as you finally saunter over them.

The two brothers can't deny the sudden ba-dump in their chests when you looked up, finally taking your eyes off the guy you’ve been with, black card in hand.

“Hey, what can I get for ya?” Osamu greets with a warm smile.

“Uhm… It's my first time here, so…” You begin, fiddling with the card that Kenji gave you to order while he dealt with the girls.

“Jus’ give the girl whatever she wants, ‘Samu!” Atsumu bangs his fist on the marble counter dramatically.

You flinch at the sudden action, Osamu notices this. “Don't mind him. He’s always like that, but he's… nice.”

“Okay. I believe you.” You nod, giving them a genuine smile. And Lord knows if they didn't melt on the spot.

“I’ll let ya try out the best sellers first to get ya started, how about it?” Osamu says, hand pertaining to the pictures displaying the yummy selection of Onigiri. The awkwardness fizzles as you feel yourself about to drool while nodding eagerly.

“Okay!” You offer the card.

When all's well and done, you decide to sit by the counter. Meanwhile…

“Hey, so is the girl you're with your girlfriend?” A girl asks Ken after their little photoshoot amongst many others who’ve gathered after noticing the commotion.

“Uhhhhhhh,” He's cornered, slightly backing off as he gives you a sparse glance, enjoying your meal as usual by the counter.

No. No, right?

“Ken?” Like a knife, the voice cuts through the atmosphere— her.

“Rina?”

· · · ·

“Oops! Shit, sorry!” 

“Fuck. Ya klutz.” Osamu groans as he wipes his hands with a towel as he approaches you and Atsumu. “Jesus, you’re bringing me more trouble than yer ‘graciously offered’ help.”

Seconds before, Atsumu was trying to balance 4 trays, 2 in each hand, and 2 on his arms because as he would say: “I can carry two girls on these guns, why not trays?”

Well, he got his answer when the drinks spilled on your baby blue blouse due to his lack of experience in balancing. Luckily, they were cold drinks.

“Oh!” You exclaim.

“We’re terribly sorry.” Osamu immediately pipes in, bowing to you and forcing his brother's head down after placing the other trays on the counter beside them.

“So sorry.” Atsumu adds. When Osamu sends him a glance, he can see how his twin was staring up at you— how the water dripped down from the column of your neck, down to the…

“Ow!” Atsumu rubs his head after ‘Samu rammed his fist down the back of it. “Hey!” He growls and tries to get a hit back before ‘Samu clicks his tongue toward you. Your clueless stare— weirdly— enough to stop the brothers from fighting. Albeit with a little red on the apples of their cheeks

“I can lend ya one of the establishment shirts. Like the one I'm wearin’. Then my brother would pay for your laundry.”

Atsumu grumbles unintelligibly, but nods anyway.

Osamu ushers you by the waist to the employee-only bathroom to not hold any lines for his customers while he tells Atsumu to fetch the shirt from one of the storage rooms.

Meanwhile…

“Hey, I finally found you!” Rina runs up to Kenji, all dressed in office attire as if she's just gone off work.

“Rina! Uhm, it's— hey. How’ve you been? How,” Kenji clears his throat, a little anxious, peering at you with another glance discreetly. In the back, he can see a dirty blonde waiter placing trays on his arms. 

“How did you find me?” He breathes out, finally.

“We shared locations, remember? I just finished a report so I thought I should come by, since you look like you just went out for some shopping. Who's it for? Is it for Dad?” 

Whispers started to permeate throughout the crowd of women that were formerly curious about his relationship with you. One of which, said, “So, it's true? Then, is the girl he’s with just a side piece, after all?”

“A girl? You're here with a girl? Who?” Rina asks with a certain curiosity. “She prettier than me?” She nudges at Kenji with a wry smile.

Rina Matsui was used to it. After all, they weren't anything serious, as they've talked about before when they got acquainted in Los Angeles. The way she met Kenji was like a tale out of a book. But that's a story for another time.

“Hah, I mean… she's my childhood friend… Anyways! I don't really think this is a great ti—”

“I really missed you, Ken.” Rina sighs with a pout as she latches on to his arm. Kenji unconsciously, yet awkwardly places his arm around her when—

“Hey! Is that Ken Sato?! Smile for the camera!” Shit, paparazzi.

Flashes of blinding lights overtook his vision as the crowd grew more and more around him and Rina. All of which spouted the recurring woman.

“Are you Ken Sato’s girlfriend?”

“Who is Mr. Sato to you?”

“Did you two go out to the mall together!?”

All of which, Kenji could barely catch up to. Fortunately, Rina could.

“Haha, no, not yet.”

“He’s a very, very great guy.” She pats his chest.

“Well, actually I went here to see him since I just got back from Japan— wh— Ken? Where are you going?”

Amidst all the chaos, Kenji did what he could do best, and that was to see how you were doing; because one thing's on his mind: If he doesn't get you and him out of here fast, we'll be in a lot of trouble.

Of course, that was until he saw how the two lookalike waiters were standing side-by-side with you, phones in hand as you three exchanged numbers. And get this— your baby blue blouse? On that stupid piss blonde’s arm, hanging and wet. And you were in the store’s oversized shirt! 

When the dark-haired twin ruffles your hair and you return a big pretty smile, all Kenji could feel at that point was white hot jealousy.

So, Kenji pulls apart the crowd of reporters like he was pulling apart bars in a jail cell as he bounds inside the onigiri shop. 

“Just contact us anytime, sweetheart. And ya can pick up yer blouse anytime.” The piss-blonde says. Kenji’s eyebrow twitches.

“With some goodies on the house.” The dark brunette adds, arms now crossed.

“What's happened here?” Kenji says with barely contained anger.

“Oh…” Your mood suddenly deflated at the sound of his voice. Something all three men notice quickly. “This is Osamu,” you point to the dark-haired twin. “and this is Atsumu.” you point to the dirty blonde.

“I made friends! And Osamu cooks very well, so I want to visit him again sometime.. he said he can teach me how to cook.”

Kenji frowns and grabs your hand. “Mina can teach you. We have to go now.” He looks at the two men, one smug, one uncaring.

The smug one however, is quite believably, loose-lipped. “I think yer girlfriend outside is a liiiiittle angry. And yer paparazzi is disrupting business.”

When Ken looks outside, he can see how the paparazzi were bombarding Rina, who tried to keep them at bay but her frown, and anger was definitely uncontained at this point. 

“Look, we’ll lead Miss…” Atsumu looks at you and waits for you to continue his sentence.

What does he want? Oh! Wait, Atsumu, Osamu, Kenji, Yui— a name! A…

“(Name).” Your eyes gloss.

Kenji raises his brows, but the moment that the paparazzi broke in the establishment, he knew questions would be saved for later.

The events following that were a blur. Osamu was the one who led you to the back, Kenji tried to crowd control next to Atsumu. And the best thing Atsumu could've done was to take off the Onigiri Miya cap and— and… his shirt.

This caught the attention of many people, and while Kenji himself was caught off guard, Atsumu shooed him distantly as the other star athlete in hiding ruffled his hair and posed for the cameras. All the while, Rina was waiting outside where Kenji was headed, about to turn to meet you in the back.

“Hey, what was that all about? You just left me hanging.”

“Look, Rina, I’ll explain everything later, alright? I gotta go get my friend.” Kenji jogs, saying his words in quick passing.

When he arrives out back, he sees you. Facing Osamu, while the man placed his cap on your head. There it was again. Jealousy.

“Thanks, man.” Kenji says, albeit with a dead tone; not even sparing him a glance as he grabs your hand again and begin running towards his parking space. You wave goodbye to Osamu and try to catch up to Kenji, with difficulty.

~

Extra.

“Hello, I just wanted to ask if I can get the list of the exchange scholars that stayed for the past week?” Kenji asks the morning after he barged into the school’s administrative office. 

 Mrs. Simmons, the school secretary, looks up from her desk. “You are?”

“Ken Sato.”

“Ah, the one who transferred last year.” The secretary nods along, familiar with the slightly infamous student for his frequent scuffles with students whilst keeping up with the honour roll. “Unfortunately, student records are confidential. We have strict privacy policies, especially with international students.”

Kenji frowns. "But I was with one of them all week. I didn't get her name, and I really need to find her."

“One week and you didn’t catch a name?” Mrs. Simmons raises her drawn-on eyebrow. Noticing the high school boy’s frown, she sighs. “I understand, Ken, but we can't just hand out personal information. It's for the students' protection.”

“But can't you make an exception? Just this once? I’ll just look for the name!” Kenji pleads. “I won’t be doing anything dangerous with the information, Miss.”

Mrs. Simmons sighs and fetches a folder filled with papers. “Here's the list of registered names. You can take a guess but that's all you’ll be getting.”

Kenji bites his lip as he peruses over the hundreds of students. No way he can take a pick and miraculously land on yours. “Is there like… a picture, maybe? A description! All students from Japan? Pleaseeee, Mrs. Simmons.”

She shakes her head. “I'm sorry, Mr. Sato. My hands are tied. Maybe you can reach out to the program coordinator and see if they can help. Or ask some of the students here, did she not make friends along the days?”

Well, no. You spent a lot of your free time with him, and he didn’t have.. a lot of friends. And if you did have other friends, they were part of the program. 

“Alright, thanks Mrs. Simmons. I’ll try asking the coordinator.”

“They might be in the faculty, if that helps.” The secretary adds before the door closes and Kenji leaves.

 However, all his interactions would go more or less the same way it did with the school secretary.

“Oh, the program coordinator? They’re not here today, got sick. Just wait for a few days, maybe.”

“Try emailing the principal!”

“(Hiss) The teachers who administered some of the activities? I think they’re also visitors from other universities so you’ll have to go to them personally. It was a joint host event, kiddo. T’was Westwood’s turn to offer the venue this year. Didn’t you know?”

 He waited for a few days for the program coordinator who almost always had an excuse to leave before he decided to email the principal; his mini-obsession flared enough for his mom to notice and finally bring up during dinner on a random Wednesday night.

“Kenji, you seem stressed recently. Are the kids in your school giving you a hard time again?”

“No, mom. It’s— fine.” His throat chokes for a bit. This has been going on for a couple of weeks now.

“Baseball, then?”

“No.”

“Exams?”

“No. Mom, it’s fine, really—”

“Then it’s a girl?” She smiles cheekily, leaning forward the dining table. Kenji stops chewing for a second before he resumes to denying it, but what’s the point? His mom already noticed. And he knows this as he swallows the steak.

“No!”

“No?”

“No…” Kenji trails off, not meeting his mom’s gaze; with her simply sporting a mischievous smile as her hand inched to Kenji’s whose resting on the table, fork down. He looks up and suddenly, the smile drops.

“It’s not that Thompson girl, right?”

 Kenji grumbles. “Definitely not. I don’t think I really liked her anyway.”

“So it is a girl.” His mom resumes to her teasing demeanour. Kenji dug his own grave for replying the way he did. “Who is it? What’s her name?”

“Uhhh, well, that’s the problem.” This makes his Emiko Sato tilt her head, not understanding what the problem was. “I don’t know her name.”

“Oh! Well… You can just ask her, right?”

 Kenji shakes his head, making Emiko frown, sad for her own son. “She only stayed around for a week because she’s a scholar, and there was just this event that our school hosted. She’s back in Japan now.”

 Emiko hums. Kenji doesn’t say anything; the dinner table solemn.

“You know what? This reminds me of that time when you got lost before we moved here.” She chuckles at the thought. “You kept telling me that you wanted to play in the public playground for a month. But you never saw your friend again, did you?”

 Kenji rests his cheek on his knuckles, lazily picking at his food now. “I remember.” He doesn’t know what his mom was getting at.

 Emiko sighs, moving forward and getting off her chair briefly only to ruffle his son’s hair. 

“Don’t worry, kiddo.” She lightens up, trying to cheer the dejected mood of her son. 

“If things don’t work, you still got your whole life ahead of you. Baseball.. Meet more people.. Partying. And if you get lucky… you might bump into her again.”

“Just don't mess it up, okay?” She grins.