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In the midst of a mission to exterminate kaiju, communication is key. Without it, the risk of injuries or death increases dramatically. But there are times where, in the midst of battle, that communication falls apart. It’s to be expected honestly, which is why they have people in the command centre that listen to all the information that comes in from everyone and figure out who needs to hear what as fast as possible. They truly don’t get enough credit—the command centre staff that is—when they do so much for the Defence Force, and quite often get the blame when communication suffers, even when it’s not their fault half the time.
Kafka both gets it and doesn’t, mostly because he’s attuned to the communications between everyone, keeping one ear on those of the third division to make sure that no one is about to die, and the other on the command centre in order to hear their reports on the kaiju so that he may offer what knowledge he has on the beasts. So of course, that also means he’s usually the first—ironic that this is what he’s first in—to know when someone drops out of contact; communication systems can break with a good enough hit, so as long as the person is still transmitting vitals, those watching over them will let the lack of communication slide for another minute or so.
But Kafka doesn’t wait, he just goes.
At best, he gets scolded for going to the aid of someone who didn’t need it—usually by Kikoru of all people—and at worst, he’s saving a life.
The mission that he and the third division are on is supposed to be a simple clean up mission. However, when they get there, the area is overrun with yoju, so many that they easily outnumber the third division. The only consolation is that they’re easy to deal with, and they make slow and steady progress in clearing them out. Kafka teams up with Ishikawa out of habit, and they wind up following in the carnage that Kikoru leaves behind as she charges ahead of the rest of them, axe cleaving the yoju in half with ease. Which is… effective, although Kafka wishes that she’d slow down just a little—just a little.
Nonetheless it goes smoothly for the first hour or so, the entirety of the third division working together to slay all the yoju whilst Okonogi and the others try to track down the honju that’s brought them here in the first place. Whatever it is, it’s determined to remain hidden from their systems, lying in wait for something and Kafka doesn’t like it when the kaiju wait; usually it means they’re on the larger size and far stronger than the everyday honju—not quite daikaiju class, but also not entirely honju either. Okonogi had described it to them once that honju of that type were simply the odd ones out, and usually, they were the unpredictable ones.
And it’s the job of the captains and vice-captains to deal with the unpredictable ones.
And—well—
It’s also Kafka’s job now.
The first sign of the honju comes with a loud rumbling that shakes the area surrounding the city that they’re trying to protect, yet Okonogi reports no readings that belong to the honju, only another wave of yoju that emerge just to make this mission even more of an annoyance than before. The next comes with a sudden loud explosion accompanied by shockwaves that send them all to the floor—Kafka tackles Ishikawa to the ground and covers the younger man’s body with his own protectively, even as Ishikawa protests underneath him.
“Senpai! I can protect myself!”
Kafka knows that, but he still remembers how lifeless Ishikawa felt after meeting Nine, and he just can’t let such a thing happen again. He just smiles down at Ishikawa. “You’ve protected me enough times, it’s my turn to protect you.”
His words draw forth a fond smile. “Thank you, senpai.”
The explosion fades as fast as it appears, and a cloud of dust lingers in the air afterwards. And it only takes a second for Kafka to realise that in the wake of the explosion, when everyone had been sounding off, Hoshina had not. That in itself isn’t too odd, as being one of the few blade users in the division meant that he sometimes couldn’t get a hand free to open the communication line when he engaged in combat. But what is odd is the way that underneath the cacophony of everyone shouting to try and figure out where the explosion came from and what caused it, Okonogi’s voice slips through the cracks.
“Vice-captain…?”
She sounds worried, like she’s been trying to get a hold of Hoshina for a while now, and that’s enough to have Kafka’s heart leap out of his chest. His body follows suite a moment later, and without a word he dashes in the direction he last remembers Hoshina being in, Ishikawa calling after him in confusion. But he doesn’t hear the question, blood pounding in his ears as he runs, transforming his legs so that he can move faster. He runs and runs, propelling himself over the bodies of yoju and crumbled buildings with ease, focused on only one thing and one thing only.
Making sure that Hoshina was okay.
Kafka switches to a private channel with Okonogi. “Okonogi-san, it’s Hibino. What’s happened?”
“Oh, Hibino-san!” He can hear the stress in Okonogi’s voice. “I can’t get a hold of the vice-captain!”
For just a second—no, a fraction of a second—Kafka’s heart stops. “Is he alive?”
“Yes.” Okonogi confirms, typing away at one of her many screens. “According to my systems, his vitals are stable, but just before the explosion, they dropped.”
Kafka frowns, and pushes himself just a little further. “And he’s not responding?”
“No matter what channel I try. Perhaps he took a hit that knocked out his comms, but I’m worried because that vital drop was severe.”
“Send me his last known location, Okonogi-san, I’m already on my way over.”
Kafka hears what sounds like a muffled sob over the line, although he can’t be sure, before Okonogi speaks up again. “Thank you, Hibino-san. Dropping coordinates now.”
He hears the beep that signals the data’s been received, and pulls up the screen to look; he’s heading in the right direction, and at the speed he’s moving it’ll only be another minute or so before he arrives at the location. “Got ‘em. I’ll keep you updated.”
And with a quiet affirmative from Okonogi, Kafka switches back to the main channel so that he can catch up on what’s happening around him. He can hear Ishikawa reaching out to him, wanting to know why he ran off the way he did, and Kikoru jumping in to question Ishikawa about what stupid thing that he was doing now. And normally, Kafka would chime in at that moment to argue that he isn’t doing something stupid, and that he’s actually being rather helpful by dashing to the vice-captain’s aid. But he knows that if he says that to either of his friends that they’ll follow suite and on the off chance that the problem is in fact, broken comms, he doesn’t want to drag them away from the mission at hand. So he ignores their calls; if there’s a problem then he’ll call for aid, but until then he continues to run.
He'll be scolded for it later no doubt, for ignoring communication attempts and abandoning his post, but he can’t just stand by and wait for them to reestablish communications with Hoshina. However, he hopes that the scolding comes from Hoshina, because it means that everything is as it should be.
Kafka lets out a shaky breath, finding it amusing that he wants to be scolded by the vice-captain when he normally tried to avoid it.
As he draws closer to Hoshina’s location, Kafka switches to the channel that the vice-captain uses when he’s trying to focus on combat—its one that he and Okonogi use for the most part, where Okonogi relays the important communications through and if needed, links to the main channel that the rest of the third division uses. Hoshina doesn’t use the channel often, only in emergency situations, which is why Kafka hopes that he’ll get an answer if he uses it.
“Vice-captain?” Kafka calls, and waits for a response.
There’s a crackle over the comms, but no response otherwise.
Kafka tries again. “Vice-captain, please respond!”
His commlink crackles. “Kaf—”
The relief that Kafka feels over hearing Hoshina’s voice disappears the moment that he hears an almighty boom and sees another growing cloud of dust and debris not far from him. And Kafka doesn’t hesitate—he pushes off with as much power as he can draw upon without transforming fully and launches himself into the air towards where the second explosion had come from.
“Okonogi-san, I’m almost at the scene now.” Kafka says, eyes scanning the ground below him, searching for—there. “I’ve got eyes on him.”
The sigh of relief from Okonogi resonates within his entire body even though the two of them are nowhere near each other. “Do you require assistance, Hibino-san?
“I’ll let you know.” Kafka says, and then after a brief pause. “I’m sure Ishikawa and Kikoru are already on their way over though.”
Okonogi remains silent before she gives a strained laugh. “You could be correct, Hibino-san. Please, keep me updated.”
“Understood, Okonogi-san.” Kafka nods even though she can’t see him before he starts falling out of the sky, and the only reason that doesn’t terrify him is because he knows his body can handle it thanks to its kaiju powers—not that it stops the feeling of his stomach rising. That will always be an awful sensation, second only to actually dying. Well… third perhaps, since having limbs chopped off isn’t an overly pleasant sensation either. Or maybe fourth—no, fifth, no—
The point is, the falling sensation sucks.
Kafka hits the ground hard, and breaks into a run, dashing forward to where Hoshina stands, lilting dangerously to one side, right as the ground breaks open and the honju shoots up into the air before shooting down towards Hoshina. To his credit, the vice-captain raises his swords up to fight the enormous creature even though it’s obvious that blades won’t do anything against it, and plants a firm foot in front of him, ready to fight a losing battle.
Kafka’s heart stops then, and he doesn’t even hesitate.
He transforms.
“Soshiro!”
The vice-captains name slips out unintentionally, and Kafka lunges, kaiju eyes meeting Hoshina’s as the vice-captain glances towards him, and time slows around them both. Kafka feels as if he’s moving through sludge, not moving fast enough to save the life of the man he respects so much as a kaiju threatens to take it from him. And yet—and yet, Kafka’s arms wrap around Hoshina’s waist, the force of his jump carrying them both to safety as the honju disappears below the ground where Hoshina had been just a moment ago.
And then there’s silence, and yet another dust cloud.
“Soshiro? You’re good at… disrespect… Hibino Kafka.” Hoshina croaks, and Kafka glances down at his vice-captain. “You’ll be doin’ laps… when we get back.”
Kafka nods; he’ll do as many laps as Hoshina wants.
“Okonogi-san was concerned when you dropped out of contact.” Kafka says, and then actually looks over Hoshina. There’s a gash across the vice-captain’s forehead, blood running down his face and the eye on that side is squeezed shut—whether because of an injury or the blood, Kafka can’t tell. Hoshina’s suit is also torn in places, blood dripping from those wounds as well, and a closer look shows that his shoulder looks wrong. A dislocation then, from the way he’s holding himself.
Hoshina laughs, a smile on his face. Always the smile.
Kafka never wants that smile to disappear.
“Okonogi-chan worries too much. I’m fine.” Hoshina says, the grimace on his face suggesting otherwise however.
“Will all due respect, vice-captain, I disagree with you.” Kafka says and gently lowers Hoshina onto the ground, keeping an ear out for the honju. The last thing he wants is for it to sneak up on them. “What happened?”
Hoshina winces as he’s placed on the ground and Kafka notices that he’s dragging one leg. Broken? Hard to say. “Bastard’s good at hidin’ his presence. Came right up from underneath me.”
Kafka nods. That explains why despite all the yoju about, they haven’t been able to detect the readings of the honju; some kaiju are like that, Kafka’s learned, and it’s never any less annoying when one appears on a mission. “What can I do to help?”
“Well, since ya already transformed, blastin’ it away would be nice.” Hoshina suggests with a smile—this one less friendly and more bloodthirsty.
Kafka shudders, remembering such a smile when Hoshina had tried to kill him before he’d revealed himself, and knows that if the vice-captain were able to move properly, that the honju would be having a bad time. He steels himself, though, and nods. “I’ll—”
He doesn’t get a chance to finish his sentence as the ground opens up underneath them. An arm wraps around his neck, and a leg around his waist which is all that Kafka needs to know before pushing himself into the air. The arm around him tightens, but Hoshina manages to hold on despite his injuries.
“Well, that’s a little inconvenient.” Hoshina remarks as if they’re fighting a yoju instead of a honju. “Do your thing, Kafka, I’ll be fight.”
“But, vice-captain—”
Hoshina’s hand slaps against the side of his face. “No buts, it’s an order. Destroy the honju before it goes underground again.”
Kafka nods and calls forth on his power. One good blow should be enough to obliterate the honju—and even if it isn’t, Ishikawa and Kikoru can’t be too far away to deal the finishing blows themselves. What matters most right now is protecting Hoshina, a job that Kafka intends to do well.
The kaiju lets out a deafening roar and Kafka returns it with one of his own just as he lands on the roof of a building that’s miraculously still standing, and pushes off the edge towards the honju. He hears Hoshina grunt in his ear, and his grip tighten more, but Kafka can’t focus on it right now because if he does, he’ll lose power, and he truly wants to finish this fight in one hit. As he nears the honju, he twists his body to draw Hoshina closer to him, and then unleashes a powerful punch that sends shockwaves through the air—and the honju with it.
Kafka grits his teeth when the honju doesn’t immediately blow apart, and prepares to launch another attack once his feet are on the ground.
Only, he doesn’t get to.
Because Kikoru comes flying forward and with one swing of her axe, cleaves the honju in two.
“Hibino Kafka, you idiot! Running off and transforming without telling anyone!” Kikoru shouts.
Kafka can’t help but grin. “Ah, you know me, Kikoru; I just want to help people.”
“Well, don’t ignore communications next—vice captain!” Kikoru cuts off as she lands on the ground and spots Kafka—now returned to his human form—with Hoshina resting against him.
“Ah, Shinomiya, nicely done as usual.” Hoshina says, smiling. “You’re getting’ the hang of that weapon there.”
“Excuse my disrespect, vice-captain, but don’t even try to deflect!” Kikoru huffs, coming to crouch before him and Kafka. “Ishikawa’s right behind me. Once he gets here, we can head back. With the honju down, the others will have an easy time with the yoju—at least, they better.”
Kafka blinks at the backhanded comment but elects not to respond to it. Respond… oh right! “Okonogi-san, we’ve secured the vice-captain, but we need medical.”
“Already dispatched, Hibino-san!” Comes the reply.
“Ah, Okonogi-chan, how lovely to hear you worryin’ over me.” Hoshina says
Okonogi lets out a huff. “I wouldn’t have had to worry so much if you’d responded to me after the honju appeared!”
“Well, lapses in communication happen sometimes, can’t do much about it.”
“You aren’t getting out of it that easy, vice-captain!” Okonogi snaps, the slightest bit of frustration seeping into her voice before she falls quiet and then murmurs. “I’m glad you’re okay though…”
Hoshina lets out a breath that has Kafka tightening his grip on the man, and they both look towards the corpse of the honju, and smiling, Hoshina murmurs back. “It was a close one, I’ll tell ya that.”
Too close indeed, Kafka thinks.
“You’d think I did die from the way you’re still here.” Hoshina’s voice wakes Kafka from the unexpected nap that he’d taken in the chair beside the vice-captain’s bed in the infirmary.
Kafka lets out a yawn and stretches before he sits as straight as he can. Relief fills him at seeing Hoshina’s eyes open, even though one is obscured by bandages—as is the rest of him after the injuries he’d sustained on the mission. “No one deserves to wake up alone in the infirmary, vice-captain.”
Hoshina hums and turns to look at the ceiling. “Has anyone at least tried to kick you out?”
“Captain Ashiro tried. I… respectfully refused.” Kafka says with a sheepish grin. And when Hoshina looks at him with a raised eyebrow, he can’t help but elaborate further. “Well, she gave me a hundred laps for insubordination, but then told me to wish you a fast recovery.”
Hoshina hums, which prompts Kafka into continuing further.
“And everyone else has at least stopped by briefly to see how you’re doing.”
“They must think I’m on my deathbed then.”
Kafka’s face loses its mirth. “Your injuries were serious, vice-captain…”
Hoshina raises his injured arm a few inches before wincing and lowering it back to the bed. Instead, he raises is uninjured arm and waves it dismissively in Kafka’s direction. “I’ve had worse.”
And doesn’t Kafka believe it. During the time that Hoshina had been unconscious, when Mina had come to visit her vice-captain, she’d told him of how Hoshina had come to be part of the third division, sacrificing his own life to save that of a child and almost dying because of it. She’d also deigned to share with him a few other instances in which Hoshina had discarded his own well-being for the sake of others, and each one had Kafka’s heart clenching. He understands of course, since he’s much the same, putting his own life on the line to save those he cares about. But… it’s different for him. He’s not quite human as much as he tries to prove he is, a fact he is slowly coming to terms with, with each mission that he’s forced to unleash his kaiju form on.
He hates it, but it’s the truth.
And yet Hoshina is as human as they come, a kind person who pushes everyone to their limits so that they can protect themselves when the time came, and its why Kafka looks up to him, strives to be as good a man as Hoshina is, to be as strong as the vice-captain is.
But he doesn’t want to become those things if Hoshina isn’t there to witness them.
“Your entire left side was broken.” Kafka says, repeating what he’d overheard the doctors saying. “Your suit saved you, but it was still bad.”
Hoshina remains silent, watching Kafka with a curious gaze.
Kafka brings his hands together and shuffles forward to rest his forehead against Hoshina’s bed, not saying anything for a moment and just listening to Hoshina’s steady breaths. He hadn’t left the younger’s side after medical had extracted them, not even when the doctors were treating Hoshina, despite their best efforts to get Kafka out of the way. Even Kikoru and Ishikawa had tried to drag him away, but he refused them. He’d tried to tell himself that it was because Mina and Okonogi were too busy with the mission debrief to keep Hoshina company until he woke, but… Kafka doesn’t think that’s entirely true.
There’s something else, something that he can’t quite name yet.
Something he doesn’t want to think about right now.
A hand in his hair causes him to look up, and Kafka relaxes at the soft look Hoshina gives him, dragging his fingers through Kafka’s hair soothingly.
“I worried you.” Hoshina says.
Kafka nods, the words he wants to say stuck in his throat.
“I won’t promise not to do it again.” Hoshina continues, and Kafka nods again. “But…”
“But…?” Kafka murmurs.
“I’ll try not to get myself thrown into a building by a honju that can avoid our sensors.”
Kafka snorts, and smiles. “I think myself and the rest of the division would appreciate it, vice-captain.”
A silence falls between the two of them, and Kafka returns to resting his head against the side of Hoshina’s bed. Now that Hoshina’s awake and he’s spoken to him, Kafka’s hit with a sudden wave of exhaustion, accumulated from recent events. In hindsight, he realises he’s being disrespectful to his superior, but he’s just so relieved that Hoshina is okay, that he can’t help but do it; there’s just something inside of him, urging him to remain by the vice-captain’s side. And he just gives in to it. The worst that the vice-captain can do right now is kick him out and demand that Kafka leave him alone, but considering that the moment Kafka’s head returns to the bed, Hoshina’s hand returns to his hair.
After a few minutes, Hoshina speaks, a teasing note in his voice. “So… Soshiro, huh?”
Kafka’s face begins to burn and he shoots back upright into his seat. “I didn’t mean to—honestly! It just slipped out, and I apologise for the disrespect! I was just—”
“Kafka, chill.” Hoshina interrupts, and then turns his face away from Kafka. “It’s fine.”
He blinks, stunned into silence by Hoshina’s words.
“Sometimes.” Hoshina says after a moment. “It’s fine… sometimes.”
Kafka blinks again, and then decides to take a gamble. “Is now one of those sometimes?”
Hoshina grumbles something that may or may not be an affirmative answer, and Kafka returns to resting against the edge of Hoshina’s bed.
He takes a moment to mull over his next words before speaking them. “I’m glad you’re okay… Soshiro.”
It feels strange to speak Hoshina’s name so casually, but it’s worth it when the other man’s ears begin to turn red and he rolls away from Kafka.
“Soshiro.” Kafka says again, slower than before, which has Hoshina rolling back over to face him as best he can without jostling his injuries, face red and eyes open. The vice-captain opens his mouth to say something, only to let out a strangled noise that alarms Kafka into rising to his feet. “Vice-captain, are you al—”
A hand lashes out to grab Kafka’s wrist, and he finds himself being dragged onto the bed, instinct the only reason that he doesn’t crush Hoshina underneath his weight. His new position is awkward and he quickly adjusts himself until he’s able to lay beside Hoshina—a completely unprofessional thing for him to be doing, but he fears what’ll happen if he tries to leave. He gets his answer on why he’s suddenly being manhandled when Hoshina adjusts himself, rolling onto his injured side so that he can hide his face against Kafka’s chest.
Kafka doesn’t move; he’s pretty sure that he’s stopped breathing too, unsure of what to do in this situation.
Thankfully, Hoshina answers his unasked question. “Breathe, and just lay there. That’s an order.”
An order. It’s an order. He can follow orders.
And so he does.
He remains there, on Hoshina’s bed, with Hoshina also on the bed, and lays as still as he can. When it becomes clear that this isn’t some kind of punishment, Kafka begins to relax, and he drapes an arm over Hoshina’s waist, resting it there carefully before letting his weight settle—the last thing he wants is to hurt the vice-captain that’s trusting him with this… tender moment.
It confuses Kafka and he’s not sure how to feel about it, but it feels… nice, like this is where he’s meant to be.
He can feel Hoshina’s breaths slowing as the younger drifts off to sleep in his arms, and Kafka finds himself doing the same.
But just as he too, is about to doze off, he remembers something. “Oh yeah, Okonogi-san plans to scold you when you’re discharged.”
Hoshina gives a tired laugh. “She always does. It’s fine though; I have you to field her fury.”
And for some reason, those words warm Kafka’s heart more than he feels they should.