#kjn8

On a solemn morning, the flags of the base are lowered. Everyone stands in formation, giving a final salute to the loss of a legend.

Standing up front, Narumi Gen holds himself strong in front of his troops, his back so far away. Despite the respect he earned, the high praises,  the honor of dying in the battlefield, no one can deny that the death of General Shinomiya was a tragedy.

A few steps behind him were the other platoon leaders, and for a moment, time had stopped. No rowdy battle cries, no arguments. Not even the bounce from their resident bright ball of sunshine.

it’s quiet. It’s unlike you.

As your eyes drift to Gen’s backside, the black fabric feels like an abyss peering into your memories. The scar from that day that you shared with him. Fresh wounds that you tried not to show. 

You were there when it happened, after all.

“GENERAL SHINOMIYA IS ENGAGING WITH KAIJU NO. 9! ALL UNITS, STAY ON HIGH ALERT!”

As you stopped to turn to your right, you could hear the clash of weapons, as well as the sound of falling debris and rubble. Was that them?

“Platoon leader (L/N) speaking. I’m near the main site and approaching!”

It was a race against time, one where you prayed that you could make it. Narumi and Kaiju No. 8 were speeding ahead too, surely, with the four of you against #9, you could stop him.

You didn’t even register the long run it took from your area to where General Shinomiya was. Not even the pain from the multiple wounds you sported. All you remembered was rubble flying everywhere, and racing to Kurusu’s front as soon as you spotted him.

“Kurusu-san!” Kurusu coughs from breathing out the dust from the rubble you sliced into pieces. 

“Platoon leader (L/N!)” He exclaims in disbelief, still holding onto his laptop whilst you provide cover. As you tried to study the situation, more and more rubble threatened to hit Kurusu. The general was standing strong, his number’s weapon holding against #9. “Please don’t worry about me–provide cover to the chief!” Kurusu stated, before getting interrupted by Isao himself.

“(L/N)!!” Stunned at General Shinomiya’s booming voice, you and Kurusu turn towards him. “Evacuate Kurusu!”

“BUT SIR–”

“AT ONCE!” at General Shinomiya’s orders, you immediately change your stance, picking Kurusu up.

“YES SIR!” Without a moment’s hesitation, you hastily jump away with Kurusu, not knowing what the general had in plan. You hoped he had a plan at all. You could still move, you were strong. You had to do something.

Kurusu’s words brought your attention back to him. “High energy levels–is he planning to use No. 2’s blast?!” Gasping as you let him down at a clearing, the two of you immediately fell to your knees at the sheer amount of pressure suddenly forming from the spot where Isao stood. So that was why…

You nearly flinch at the gunshot from the ceremony, the sound bringing you back to the present. Narumi’s back was still in front of you, only showing a part of his side profile.

It must’ve been so heavy on him. You knew, even from how stoic he was with everyone, that Narumi meant a lot to him. That General Shinomiya also meant so much to Narumi. That their bond, though unspoken, was strong. 

And now he’s gone. He was taken from him right in front of his eyes.

But it wasn’t just Narumi that had a mentor taken away from him.

The ceremony ends, and you excuse yourself as soon as you find the chance. 

A girl lost her father.

“GENERAL SHINOMIYA!”

Your mind drifts back to the battlefield, towards the seconds where you returned to General Shinomiya.

It’s eerily silent. You hated it.

“General Shinomiya! Do you copy?!” You breathed through your mask, twirling your sword through the air to get rid of the dust obstructing your vision. 

The news from Kurusu shocked you to the bone. Two shots. Kaiju No. 2’s main burst twice in a row. General Shinomiya…

Your heart rate quickens. You had to support him fast. There’s no way his body could last. Please, please don’t let this happen again. The Defense Force can’t lose another leader. Especially not its director.

Memories of your late platoon leader flash through your mind, but you blink them away. Now’s not the time.

In the distance, you could see Narumi and #8, finally arriving on the scene. With your combined manpower, you could at least make sure that the general had time to recover.

Your feet ached as you caught your breath once more, now back in the building. You don’t know why or how your body took you here, but there you stood, hands on the lavish wooden doors, hearing the silent sobs of Kikoru Shinomiya.

Heart clenching, your knuckles turned white as you tried to calm your breathing, feeling your throat clamp up. You felt anger, felt grief. But that’s not what matters right now. You had to be there for her.

“Kikoru-chan,” at the sound of your voice and the creak of the door opening, her sniffles paused. You set aside any formalities, nevertheless how the both of you were technically trespassing. You were probably going to get an earful from your superiors too, with a member of your platoon skipping such an important event, indulging AND partaking in breaching what counted as private quarters. But that didn’t matter. Kikoru wasn’t your star student right now, she was just a girl.

You made your way closer to her, letting your stern demeanor falter as you stood in front of her.

“It’s okay, I won’t tell anyone. It’s okay to cry, Kikoru-chan.” You hushed her, slowly bringing your hands towards her.

When she started to sob again, you took her in your arms, sinking onto the floor as her body shook. 

You hated the quiet. You hated this.

You hated how #9 disgraced Shinomiya Isao’s image in front of his own daughter.

The door creaks open again. This time, a heavier set of footsteps made their way to the late general’s desk. You didn’t have to look up to know who it was.

Perhaps Narumi and you were on much more similar wavelengths than you thought, because he at least disregarded how lax your behavior was as a platoon leader. 

“You sure you didn’t want to see him off?”

The three of you shared a strange yet not unwelcome sense of acknowledgement and understanding in that room.

A shared wound that could only be understood by those who were truly there.

The horror you felt when #8 screamed the news to Narumi rang through your body like a bomb.

As you approached rapidly to the sight of what you thought was the general, you saw him turn around.

“GENERAL SHINOMIYA!” You cried out, mustering all of the power in your legs to reach him. 

It wasn’t enough.

“THAT ISN’T THE CHIEF!”

You failed your role. Failed to be that barrier between what you sought to protect. 

Kurusu and the others watch in horror through the feeds as the desecrated face of what used to be Isao turned, as if to mock him.

It was horrifying.

Letting out a gasp, you barely registered the giant blast he sent towards the three of you.

As the rubble cleared, you stood aside Captain Narumi and Kaiju no. 8, still in disbelief.

Hearing him speak about how he killed the general made your blood boil, your knuckles turning white.

But it broke your heart to see Kikoru just behind him after.

Clenching your fist, you and Narumi sprang forward in full offense.

“How dare you.” You swore, in a silent whisper that had never left your body before. As you twisted your body and launched yourself upward, you put your full force into slicing several of #9’s limbs, giving Narumi an opening.

But just as Narumi swore with his entire being that he would destroy #9 in Shinomiya’s place, #9 stopped the fight, throwing a casual remark about how he was going to “call it a day.”

Narumi has never lost his composure, and he doesn’t plan to. But he would not stand for such blasphemy–nor would he ever let #9 get away from him alive.

As he launched his attack, you followed suite with #8 into the fray, bearing your sword like a whip. 

“LETS RAIN HELL ON HIM! #8! (L/N)!”

“SQUADRON STYLE BAYONET TECHNIQUE NUMBER ONE!”

“SECOND FORM: LOVE PANGS!”

 Yet no matter how many hits you got in, no matter how many times Narumi charges at him, no matter how strong #8’s hits was, the three of you were still being pushed back.

You prayed again, prayed that through some high power, no matter what it takes, that you’d be able to end this right now.

“!!!” Your eyes widened as a shot from #9 misses you and hurdles itself towards Kikoru instead.

Without thinking, you immediately move to defend her, taking the brunt force of the hit with your machine gun. “NO!” You yelled. You can’t afford to lose her either. 

Kikoru stares at you with wide eyes, as you steady your balance and change stances to use your other weapon.

Breathing heavily, you let out a cry as you shot at #9 relentlessly, acting as suppressing fire for Narumi and #8.  

It was always in your nature to protect. And you couldn’t afford to fail with Kikoru as you did her father.

Her suit had probably overheated, she was out of commission. The least you could do was–

You let out a string of coughs, a metallic taste in your lips.

Suit overheat. Suit overheat. Cooldown required.

“(L/N)-SAN!” Kikoru screamed, distressed at the data reading of your suit. She cursed over how she was frozen to her spot.

“I still have some fight left in me!” You put your arm in front of her. Kikoru was a bright girl, with a bright future ahead of her. The more you could spare her now, the better.

You were about to put away your gun to slow down your overheating, but just as you did, the sight of one of #9’s attacks slipping between Narumi and #8’s defenses entered both you and Kikoru’s field of vision.

Your eyes widened, feeling the burn of your body as you forced yourself to move.

“KAFKA!” You yelled, taking the hit for him.

You knew Kaiju no. 8–No, Kafka was special, not just to the Defense Force, but to those that cared for him. He was loved. By Kikoru, by the 3rd Division. You had the utmost pleasure of bonding with him from the start of his stay in the 1st Division. You were one of the first to accept him.

And you couldn’t bear to see Kikoru hurt even more.

Narumi’s eyes widened as red splotched your suit, your machine gun wrecked by #9’s burst.

He knew that with your caring personality, you’d always take the choice to wedge yourself to be that layer of protection. He hated that about you sometimes, but especially this time.

But there was no time to worry, you wouldn’t allow it. “RESUME ATTACK, CAPTAIN AND NO. 8!” You choked out, barely nailing your landing. The attack burned through your machine gun and messed you up good. 

As you scramble to get on your feet, your legs caved in, making you unceremoniously thud to the ground. Now you’ve really done it. “I messed up…”

Narumi swears he saw red. He’d never say it out loud, but the grip he had on his bayonet was so hard, he swung, uncaring if his nerves could snap in half.

You could hear the sound of fighting continue just a dozen meters ahead of you, but your vision was going black. You felt something warm running down your forehead and covering your eye. Your ears were ringing.

As strong as The Love Pillar is known to be, she was still a human.

You could barely even hear from your comms now. Was that still Kurusu talking? “REROUTING (L/N)’S SUIT TO FULL HEALING! PREPARE PARAMEDICS!”

No, you can still fight. For your place in the Defense Force. For your oath to protect, for the 1st division that welcomed you so warmly. For Captain Narumi. For Mr. Shinomiya.

And humans always had an exploitable weakness. 

Suddenly, the air stiffens just as your hearing returns to hear Kaiju no. 9. “Ah, I should have done this from the beginning.” 

“What…” You and Kikoru’s eyes widened at the sudden incoming blasts moving towards the both of you.

You stiffen up as your instincts tell you to fight back. To draw your machine gun or to jump out of the way. To protect Kikoru. 

…But you couldn’t feel your legs.

“BASTARD!” in a haze, you only hear Narumi’s yell from a distance, still trying frozen in place.

The last thing you saw was his back in a protective stance, shielding you from the blast.

And the body of Isao Shinomiya flying to the sky, waging war to all of humanity.

It hurts to think, it hurts to remember. It hurts to see the people you care about skewered by guilt and sadness.

It hurt you the most when Narumi sat on the stretcher next to you, hunched over whilst gripping his head in his hands when he thought no one was looking.

You were unknowingly clenching onto the fabric of Kikoru’s uniform too, you realize, as you hear her talk to Narumi. How she wouldn’t even let herself grief.

At the sound of that, Narumi declares something.

“I’ll make you the strongest after me.” You and Kikoru look up in surprise. “I’ll drill what mr. Isao drilled into me to you.” 

As Kikoru’s tears ran, so did her newfound determination. The fight isn’t over. It’s just begun. She swears to it, as you and Narumi bear witness.

“(L/N).” He turns to you, causing your body to stiffen. “I’m entrusting this duty to you. Direct orders,” you straighten, getting back on your feet.

You’ve never seen Narumi like this before.

“Sir.” you fix your appearance, trying your best to look stern. You were never really good at it.

“Get stronger.” You bit the inside of your cheek at his words. It wasn’t just an order, it was a statement. “Train Shinomiya. Be at each other’s side,”

“Show me results.”

***

It’s very awkward to have to take an elevator ride with Captain Narumi after that whole ordeal.

You didn’t even know where to look. For once, no conversations flowed through your mind.

“This is bad!!! This is very bad!!!” You internally panicked. Never mind the constant headaches and large amount of medical treatment you still needed to undergo, you were fretting over what he would say to you as a platoon leader trespassing and enabling a rule breaking cadet! “I can’t look him in the eye!”

“Um…” You broke the silence, yet Narumi made no effort to look in your direction. “Captain.”

You bit your lip. What were you to even say? Yes, you and Narumi were close, but this atmosphere… the weight of the world was on him. Could you even be there for him?

But you remember how hard this was for him. How much of a front he’s handling right now. So, you merely soften your voice, to sound as respectful as possible. Then, you bow. “I’m terribly sorry for your loss, sir.”

Narumi still doesn’t move. Not like there’s anywhere to go.

You wonder if you’ve overstepped any boundaries. He was still your captain, even if you sort of had a strange bond with him. Maybe not as strange as what he has with Vice Captain Hoshina, but still. He was a friend.

“Thank you, (L/n).” Your shoulders immediately relaxed, letting out a breath you didn’t know you were holding.

“I’ll follow your orders to the end. I’ll get stronger, Narumi-kun–” you hold your tongue. “Ahem, Captain Narumi.”

Finally, he turns to look at you. Maybe if your head wasn’t still pounding and you weren’t so fussy over how the bandages felt wrapped around your head, you’d notice how his gaze softened. “You’re still recovering from your injuries. You’re forbidden to go to the training hall.”

“Eh?” You blinked. “Ah, ok. Yes sir.” You twiddled with your fingers, now embarrassed. Right, you weren’t even supposed to be out and about yet.

As your gaze landed on the floor, you failed to notice Narumi’s sight falling onto your figure, furrowing his expression at your slightly limped stature. You had sustained much more severe wounds than him, even if you were still standing. 

But that was just it, you were still standing, and he was god damn thankful for that.

It was a much better sight than seeing your unconscious, limp body in his hands before you were passed to a stretcher and flooded by paramedics, his sight refusing to leave you even as another pair of medics tried to assess his own condition. 

The heat he felt searing through you as he cradled your unconscious body burned through his own skin as a reminder that you were alive–but you were in bad, bad shape. You had paid the price of increasing your abilities past what your suit could handle, reaching a fever of nearly 40 degrees and immediately requiring an IV drip. he had to bark at Kikoru to keep her distance, under the guise that the paramedics weren’t done with you, that she needed medical attention herself, but he himself knew that wasn’t the full cause of his reasoning. He didn’t want her to see you like this.

You were so unlike yourself, motionless on that stretcher, lacking the life and luster that enveloped you.

It was terrifying.

When the paramedics left and he finally got a moment to himself, all he could do was hunch forward, hands grasping roughly at his scalp. The incident flowed through his mind like a waterfall, from the desecrated face of Isao Shinomiya, the war Kaiju no, 9 had waged against him and humanity, the pained face of his disciple, and lingering feel of your lifeless body cradled against him.

He would never let this happen again.

The elevator shakes a bit as Narumi straightens his gaze.

“And…” Your head perks up again, bright eyes meeting his fuchsia gaze. “Loosen up. I’ve had enough of formalities today.” 

He breathes out your name, in a fervor unheard of from the image of Japan’s strongest. A more boyish, young tone. “Show me results like you did when we first met, (Y/N).”

Your mouth gaped a bit, before the familiar smile you always sported, albeit softer, makes its way back to your face. “At least grieve properly, Gen. I know how much he means to you.”

Maybe it was how you operated, your clockwork, but Gen feels a realization with how a part of him had been laid out to you without him knowing, and with that part alone, you had studied and lived with so graciously, that the way you had softly soothed him with your presence had taken him off guard by how welcoming his subconscious was to it.

You were unlike anyone else he had ever met. No one had ever read him like this.

Even when he was silently processing your words, you simply watched him in understanding, your gaze never making him uncomfortable. He was just so accustomed to your presence.

Had you always been so close, he wonders, when he finally realizes that his fingers had grazed yours. 

Looking at each other in mutual shock, you were the one to recover first, to boldly squeeze his hand with an unspoken vow, to pull him into your presence. To let his grief flow.

It flashes through his mind then, his youth with Isao, all his efforts to earn his gaze, how he fought so hard for results. How he’d never see that damn old man reel back in tears over how much he’s achieved now.

It squeezes his heart.

But at last the memories flow.

And he lets the feel of your warmth meld with his skin, the calloused bumps and slight burn from your bandages rubbing against his own as he finally squeezes back, not even out of his own accord. His fingers moved on their own.

When the moment ends and your touch becomes that of a ghost, Narumi is taken aback by how his hands nearly chased after yours.

He wonders how you feel, but at the ding of the elevator floors, you had awkwardly flitted the topic of the conversation away again, leaving unanswered questions.

“I’ll still oversee Shinomiya’s training. It’s what she needs most.” You stare at the cold doors of the elevator, not really knowing why you’re still letting your mouth run. “I know we both believe in her. She has a bright future ahead.”

You feel Narumi’s gaze land fully on you now. “Exactly why I said what I said. Better not see you slack off and let her catch up to you as fast, (Y/N).”

His tone is lighter now, you note. Your heart fluttered a bit at the more casual honorific too. That relieved you, bringing your smile back. “I have no intention of losing, Gen.” 

The entire incident still felt heavy in both of your hearts, knowing what happened. But as long as you can be there for Narumi, you’ll support him in whatever way he needs.

The elevator dings as you both reach the ground floor. “One more thing.”

You turn to him, blinking. 

“Once you’re healed, report to my office.” He walks out first. “Mr. Isao probably wanted to see this for himself, but–”

“You’re eligible for a numbers suit.”

--

A/N: Whew that was a wild ride.... i might do numbers suit reader or meeting hoshina soon!