The tremor of engines rolled across the shattered ward like thunder, rattling glass in half-toppled buildings. Floodlights sliced through the smoke, pinning the battlefield under their blinding glow. The hiss of hydraulics followed as armored transports skidded into position, slamming their reinforced hulls into makeshift barricades.
The air grew taut, expectant, as if the city itself were holding its breath.
Mina Ashiro stepped down first. Her tall frame was draped in the Third Division's signature black coat, rifle case slung effortlessly across one shoulder. At her side, the great white tiger Byakko padded silently, its muscles rolling beneath its pelt like coiled steel. Soldiers followed in her wake, their discipline sharp enough to cut the tension already strangling the battlefield.
Every rifle that had been aimed at Akira now snapped to perfect formation, awaiting her command.
Akira sat cross-legged atop the kaiju's fading bulk, sword still buried in the creature's hide. He looked up through the haze, sweat streaking pale against blood on his skin. His lips pulled into a crooked grin that only infuriated his exhausted body further.
"So this is the famous Captain Ashiro, huh? You really know how to make an entrance."
[Ravan: Assimilation progress: 82%. Warning: power stabilization required. Do not disengage prematurely.]
His head throbbed, every heartbeat pushing another wave of heat through his veins, but he didn't lower his gaze. Mina's presence pressed on him like gravity—heavy, undeniable.
Kikoru stepped between Akira and the advancing line, rifle leveled outward. "Hold your fire!" she barked. Her voice cracked slightly but she didn't flinch.
The arriving squads exchanged startled glances. A Shinomiya openly shielding someone the captain herself might view as hostile? It was unthinkable.
Mina's amber eyes landed on Kikoru, unblinking. For a long, icy moment, the battlefield seemed to pivot on that single look.
"Kikoru," she said finally, her tone even but cutting. "Step aside."
Kikoru's grip on her rifle tightened. Her voice trembled but didn't break. "With respect, Captain… he's not the enemy here."
Reno swore under his breath. He and Kafka had arrived just moments before the transports, and now they found themselves swept up in a storm too large to control. Reno's hand hovered near his weapon, but he couldn't tear his eyes away from the sight of Kikoru standing her ground.
"…She's insane," he whispered. "She's staking everything on him."
Kafka's jaw was rigid, his pulse hammering in his ears. "No. She's doing what we should be doing."
Byakko growled low, the sound vibrating through the rubble as if the beast itself was echoing Mina's disapproval. Still, the captain did not raise her rifle. Her gaze flicked between Kikoru and Akira, measuring, dissecting.
"You expect me to ignore the obvious?" Mina asked. "A civilian pulling ninety-nine percent liberation without a suit, in the middle of an unauthorized battle? Do you have any idea what you're asking me to believe?"
Akira laughed weakly, pushing himself upright on one knee. "Guess I'm just full of surprises."
[Ravan: Assimilation progress: 87%. Host endurance critical. Neural strain at threshold.]
The voice in his skull pulsed like a second heartbeat. His vision swam, but he refused to collapse. Not now. Not when every second brought him closer to claiming the kaiju's ability.
The crippled beast convulsed beneath him, its horn flickering one last time. Energy warped the air, folding light into jagged shards. The soldiers instinctively raised their rifles again, fingers brushing triggers.
"Captain!" Nakanoshima called, snapping a salute. "Orders?"
Mina's rifle case slid open with a hiss, the polished barrel of her massive cannon catching the floodlights. She leveled it with a grace that spoke of countless battles.
"Stand down," she ordered. "I'll end this myself."
The kaiju shrieked, thrashing weakly as her weapon whirred to life. But her sights weren't only on the monster—they hovered dangerously close to Akira as well.
Kikoru's heart slammed against her ribs. Without thinking, she took another step forward, planting herself fully between Akira and her captain's line of fire.
"If you shoot him," she said, voice trembling with steel, "you'll have to shoot me too."
The silence that followed was deafening. Soldiers shifted uneasily. Reno's breath caught in his throat. Kafka's fists clenched until his knuckles whitened.
Akira tilted his head back, a shadow of a grin tugging at his lips. "Heh. Didn't think you had it in you, Shinomiya."
"Shut up," Kikoru snapped, but the faintest flicker of red touched her cheeks.
[Ravan: Assimilation progress: 91%. Warning. Incoming external threat may disrupt integration. Maintain focus.]
Akira forced his eyes closed, centering his breath. The energy of the kaiju seeped deeper, threads of alien power stitching into his veins. His body trembled violently. If anyone touched him now—if Mina fired before it was complete—the backlash could rip him apart.
Mina lowered her cannon a fraction, her gaze never leaving Kikoru. "Do you understand what you're doing?" she asked, voice flat, dangerous. "You're defying direct protocol. You're putting your career—and your life—on the line for him."
Kikoru swallowed hard but didn't falter. "I know what I'm doing. And I know what I saw. He's not the monster here."
The kaiju let out a dying moan, its body convulsing once before slumping heavily into the rubble. Dust rained down like snow.
Akira sagged forward, his hand still pressed to its hide.
[Ravan: Assimilation progress: 94%. Almost complete. Do not break contact.]
Every second stretched impossibly long. Mina's finger hovered near the trigger, her tiger growling beside her, the air sharp with the promise of blood.
Kafka finally found his voice. He stepped forward, his tone low but steady. "Captain… I've fought beside him. He's reckless, sure. But he's saved me. Saved Reno. He doesn't fight like a kaiju. He fights like one of us."
Reno's throat tightened, but he gave a stiff nod. "Yeah. I don't like it. I don't trust it. But… he hasn't turned his blade on us once."
Mina's eyes narrowed, weighing their words against the chaos before her. For the first time, her rifle wavered.
Akira's breath came ragged, sweat dripping onto the kaiju's cooling hide. His voice was a hoarse whisper. "Just… a little longer…"
[Ravan: Assimilation progress: 97%. Core stability achieved. Final synchronization in progress.]
The air thrummed with a strange, electric resonance, subtle but impossible to ignore. Soldiers exchanged nervous glances. Even Mina's tiger paused, ears flattening as if it could sense something unnatural stirring in Akira's body.
Kikoru braced her stance, rifle steady, her heart hammering so hard it hurt. Kafka and Reno hovered at her flanks, the three of them forming an unspoken barrier before Akira.
The night was seconds from detonating into violence when Mina's voice cut the silence once more.
"…Then prove it."
Her cannon lowered, just barely, but her eyes were sharp enough to cut glass. "Prove to me he's worth the risk you're taking."
Akira's eyes snapped open, glowing faintly in the floodlights as the last tendrils of the kaiju's power settled into his veins.
[Ravan: Assimilation progress: 100%. Integration complete.]
The battlefield held its breath, every gun, every heartbeat, every shard of rubble suspended in the weight of that moment.
And then—
To be continued…