im too sleep-deprived to go into poetics and all but can't stop thinking about rerir being confused/unnerved over flins finding his appearance attractive when he is literally full of teeth and viscera vs how flins being a long-living creatura and thus finding something so unique incredibly beautiful (+ his love for bones) ever since i saw your design for him (love it so much.so much)
Rerir secretly finds it endearing in its own way. He still wishes to bash someone's head in tho
Synopsis: After an operation goes terribly wrong, the Vice-Captain is transformed into a little cat-kaiju hybrid. The 3rd Division, together with Hoshinya, set out to try and regain his human form!
When questioned about it afterwards, Reno could remember few details.
Everything had occurred with such unnatural speed, far beyond what they were accustomed to dealing with.
One of the newest batch of recruits had found himself in a dangerous position, not having accounted for the kaiju approaching from the left rear.
There had been an assumption that the wall of rubble would hold them at bay. That assumption had been terribly wrong.
Three fungal-type kaiju had breached the inner layer of crushed concrete with powerful sweeps of their staked limbs, crawling through to catch the young officer off guard.
Reno had yelled a warning, strengthening the fibres woven around his legs, attempting to reach the officer before it was too late.
Perhaps he'd have managed to reach him in time, but Hoshina was there first.
The Vice-Captain had an undisputed reputation as the fastest man on any battlefield, and that day was no exception.
In a violet-streaked blur, he had slid to a stop before the hapless soldier, dual blades raised defensively.
Reno fell back, rifle raised, ready to back him up.
He knew that carelessly intruding into the deadly radius of the Vice-Captain's reach would only hamper him.
As the kaiju advanced, the red protrusions on their smooth white caps bobbing ominously, Hoshina's blades flicked into their signature reverse grip.
He darted forward, slashing with dexterous strength, carving laser-lit lines along the weaker joints that he seemed to always have a keen sense for pinpointing.
Reno kept his rifle trained, eyes narrowing as a section of the crumbled wall further back shuddered under some new force.
The young officer, at a sharp signal from him, scrambled to his feet, half-dragging his rifle along the pavement as he found refuge behind Reno.
"The Vice-Captain - "
"He's got it under control. Maintain position."
Over the comm link, Reno uttered a short warning to Hoshina.
"Rubble, two o' clock, sir. Something's there. I've got you covered."
"Roger that, Ichikawa."
Hoshina had already sliced through the body of the second, sliding through the gap beneath a collapsed beam to neutralize the remaining kaiju which had taken refuge on the other side.
Briefly, he was out of Reno's field of vision, but still within the range of his cover.
The rubble heaved once again, and something pale and sinuous emerged.
Reno opened fire immediately, his freeze rounds colliding with the unfamiliar apparition.
An ear-splitting crack echoed between the ruined walls on either side.
Reno's eyes widened as the ice that had formed over the unknown kaiju shattered, the strange white-hued, multi-lobed appendage unfolding, lifting, an ominous glow building at one end.
"Sir! That's not a fungal type!"
Okonogi's voice came across the general channel simultaneously, her panic evident.
"Vice-Captain, Ichikawa, that's an unknown sub-species! It managed to conceal its heat signature while underground!"
Hoshina's response time was incredible, as always.
While the movement of the kaiju was well within the realm of anticipation, the ricochet of the beam that shot from it was anything but.
Zinging between surfaces that should not have been reflective at all, the beam was a jet of white, sizzling energy, leaving dark afterimages in its wake.
Hoshina dodged and weaved with his usual speed and dexterity, shouting across to Reno.
"Fall back! This could go anywhe - "
Reno would recall this later, that single moment of horror, in which time really did seem to move like syrup through a sieve.
Hoshina's back was towards him, hair flying as he narrowly dodged one of the arrows of energy, but then there were two of them, then three, and then the Vice-Captain was retreating further, to the shelter of the pillars, when a second appendage tore through the rubble on the left.
Reno's shout of frantic warning was of no use, even as he lifted his rifle to take aim once more.
Hoshina half turned to him, the rare reveal of his eyes conveying an expression of relief when he saw that Reno was in a fully shielded position.
The bolt struck Hoshina square in the chest.
In the moments after, as Reno leapt out from cover with no thought for his own safety, and dashed towards where Hoshina had fallen, the immediate ceasefire from the kaiju hadn't even registered in his mind.
There was a cold hollow building in his chest, rising to the base of his throat, threatening to overwhelm his soldier's training.
Not Hoshina, not Hoshina. Not him. It could never be him -
Denial was soon replaced with bewilderment, as he skidding to a stop, ready to slip an arm beneath the Vice-Captain's injured form to help him up.
The sight he was met with took a minute to process.
Across the comms, Okonogi's request cracked with tell-tale fear.
"Ichikawa? Ichikawa, do you copy? The Vice-Captain's vitals have - "
Reno tore his gaze away from the figure on the ground, gaze wild and searching as he scanned the area.
There was no sign of the errant kaiju that had attacked them just moments earlier. It was almost as if -
Reno shook his head, clearing his thoughts, ditecting them at the immediate task.
He knelt, still vigilant, and took in the diminutive form curled up where Hoshina should have been.
A cat, from the looks of it, the soft fur a distinctive shade of dark purple, a strange scaly, visibly overlapping texture to the skin beneath, somewhat similar to certain reptilian kaiju.
Apart from the skin, the tail was another departure from a regular feline. It was clearly forked, long and sinuous.
Then, the small head raised slightly, triangular ears flicking, and the cat-kaiju opened its narrow eyes, gazing up at him dazedly.
Reno's blood ran cold.
Slit pupils, black and vertical against a violet iris, and something within them, an awareness, a presence that was shocking in its familiarity.
There was fear, confusion, pain in those eyes.
A slight shift, one paw raised towards him before it dropped heavily to the ground, accompanied by a soft, plaintive mewling.
An appeal for help.
Without thought, Reno reached out and scooped up the creature, a ball of warmth against his chest, as he shouldered his rifle and sprinted towards the main body of the platoon.
"Okonogi! Medical team, now!"
Pacing in the hallway didn't help.
Reno had been ordered to remain in the specialist medical wing until his testimony as to what occurred could be fully processed.
The double doors hissed open to reveal the striding form of Captain Ashiro, followed by the Chief of Medical Operations and other doctors.
Reno snapped to attention, pure reflex driving his reactions.
"Captain!"
"At ease."
Ashiro was always extremely difficult to read, but he could see the lines of worry at the corners of her eyes, the pinched look of her mouth.
"Ichikawa, with me."
He did as bid, the doctors remaining outside the private room. Within, a series of monitors, an advanced cellular therapy tank, an examination table and a bed enclosed by curtains.
Ashiro paused before the drawn curtains, and for the first time, Reno saw her hesitate.
"Captain Ashiro? The Vice-Captain ... "
She took a deep breath, speaking on the exhale.
"Officer Ichikawa, something's happened to Vice-Captain Hoshina. The being you found during the operation ... he was thoroughly examined. Samples were taken. Hoshina's DNA, combined in hybridized form, was found in those samples."
Reno had known, on some fundamental level. After all, he'd seen his close friend and mentor effect just such a transformation right before his eyes.
It would probably be easier for him to grasp, compared to most others of the Third Division, even if they were now all aware of Kafka's status.
Still, it was a hard pill to swallow.
As if ripping off a bandaid, Ashiro pulled aside the curtains.
Curled up in a nest of blankets, a sleeping bundle of dark fur. Nose nestled within the safe cocoon, paws tucked under him, was the current form of Vice-Captain Hoshina.
Reno watched, fascinated and frozen in place, as one violet eye cracked open, then the other. The small mouth opened wide, and something clenched hard in Reno's chest when he began to notice the tell-tale features that distinguished his respected leader.
The nose was button-like, the eyes set at a slanted, foxy angle. As the cat-kaiju yawned, Reno spotted two pearly fangs among a row of other sharpened teeth, longer and more conical.
The sinuous body stretched out, paws pushing the blankets aside, and 'Hoshina' (as Reno forced himself to identify him) sat up and regarded them with calm focus.
Mina cleared her throat.
"Hoshina?"
His ears flicked towards her, bright, intelligent gaze now fixed on her face.
"Can you ... communicate?"
She received a soft chirp, an affirmative as clear as day.
Reno's eyes widened.
Hoshina could understand them perfectly!
Which meant that he must also be aware of his own situation at present.
Mina seemed deep in thought for a moment before coming to some decision.
"All right. Let's focus on the essentials first. The scans and sample analyses have all been run, and now we're waiting for results. We need to establish his basic care, diet, sleeping habits, grooming, his level of awareness and how much he can relate about his situation."
Turning to Reno, the Captain leveled him with a probing look.
"I've read your report, Ichikawa."
The hollow pressure from earlier rose in Reno's chest once again.
"Captain, I should have helped him. He rushed in to save Officer Endo, and I said I'd cover him. If the Vice-Captain hadnt been there - "
A loud mewing from the bed interrupted him.
Startled, he glanced over.
Hoshina rose and padded across the bed towards him. A paw lifted, soft-furred and neatly shaped, right before Reno's face.
"V - Vice Captain?"
The paw came down, hard and swift, on his nose.
A silence reigned in the room for a full minute.
Reno opened his eyes, which had been scrunched shut under Hoshina's scolding swat.
Ashiro raised an eyebrow.
"I suppose that's your answer, Officer Ichikawa. The Vice-Captain won't accept you taking any blame."
"But - "
Another hard swat, and this time Reno scrambled back, placing some distance between himself and the kaiju-cat.
The keen eyes followed him with an amusement that was all too familiar.
"Fine. I accept that I conducted my duty ... sir."
Hoshina chirruped, and the sound was uncannily similar to his trademark laugh.
Ashiro considered her transformed second-in-command thoughtfully.
"Kafka's able to change back at will. It seems that's not the case for Hoshina, at least, for now. Kafka's form is also more humanoid, which would probably explain why he can still speak in that form."
"Shall I fetch him, Captain?"
"No need. He's on his way."
Hand raising to her comms, Ashiro frowned.
"I have to meet with command to discuss the current situation. Ichikawa, stay with Hoshina. Keep an eye on him and report any further developments directly to me."
Saluting, Reno snapped back into formality immediately.
"Yes, Captain!"
As she swept out of the room, Reno glanced nervously across at Hoshina.
The narrow eyes were inscrutable in the small, triangular face, the forked tail swaying slowly to and fro.
As if sensing Reno's hesitation, Hoshina approached him again, uttering a small mew of amusement when Reno braced himself for another reprimand.
Instead, a warm, fuzzy head was pressed against the back of his hand.
Surprised, Reno stroked between the soft ears, a reflex born of knowing when a cat demanded attention.
Hoshina purred in satisfaction, the vibrations traveling all the way up the young officer's arm.
In spite of the situation, Reno smiled.
"Don't worry, sir. We'll have you back to normal in no time."
Before he had a chance to react, one of the forked ends of Hoshina's tail lodged firmly up his right nostril.
Yelping and jerking away, Reno covered his nose and glared down at the cat.
"What was that for?"
He was rewarded with another chirp, this one positively gloating.
Ah, Reno could see it now.
He wasn't totally free of punishment. Ashiro had tasked him with staying on watch as a show of trust and validation, but hidden within, a cunning rap on the knuckles.
Hoshina was just as much, if not more of a handful, in his current form.
Eyes watering, Reno backed off, wary and sullen.
Hoshina stretched once more, an unmistakable smug look on his snout, and this time, his claws emerged, long, gleaming, as sharp as each of his blades.
Up next: Kafka and Reno are delegated the unenviable task of grooming Hoshinya and feeding him (he isn't making it easy). Ashiro attends the meeting and receives some insight.
