With how much Kafka means to Reno (ch 101), also being his love interest (Understanding Reno & his bonds)...
...and how Reno reacted when he thought Kafka is about to get killed (by Hoshina) (ch 19 / s1e7(?))...
...and then how dejected & determined to become stronger he became after Kafka was captured (ch 34 / s1e11(?) & 62 / s2e7)...
...how profoundly guilty he felt for not having been strong enough to protect Kafka and Iharu (ch 62 / s2e7)...
...it makes one wonder what would emotionally happen to Reno if Kafka at some point died. And not just at all but specifically in a way that would make it remotely understandable for Reno to blame himself. Or what would Iharu dying like that do to him. He likely wouldn't become morbidly obsessive, given he doesn't spiral when Kafka is captured + he seems an earned-secure type. But it could potentially influence his ability to control his desire for power in order to protect, in the context of using No. 6. Maybe he'd struggle with losing himself, again, and Iharu would have to save him again.
(Afair, Kafka hasn't suffered the exact kind of personal losses as did Reno; maybe if he did, his relationship to killing kaiju & protecting his loved ones would be about as intense as Reno's. Then we have e.g. Narumi, whose past is very similar to Reno's (explored in b-side), & his dedication to fighting kaiju seems closer to Reno's. Personality definitely plays a role, though, so those with the same kind of experiences don't grow into the same kind of people).
Iharu has almost experienced that exact kind of situation (ch 17 / s1e7).
Which makes one wonder how he would have carried on if Reno did end up dying there. He'd probably feel immense guilt as well, having tried to protect him (even if the motivation might not have been entirely selfless). Perhaps even shame, given his insecurities around killing kaiju.
It would have been interesting to see whether that moment has left a scar, or has Reno ending up okay entirely patched up any guilt or feeling of failure he might have had.
Either way, with Iharu being Reno's only other close friend, he'd probably step in if something like that happened to Reno. Similar to how he tries to humor him in ch 34 / s1e11(?).
And then the anime expands on that a tiny bit, in s2e1. https://www.tumblr.com/neverstopwoandering/797850093652983808/the-anime-extra-scene-in-s2e1-with-iharu-pulling?source=share.
After what happened during their first mission (again: ch 17 / s1e7), Iharu does understand what kind of emotional turmoil Reno would be going through; what kind of emotional turmoil Reno has gone through.
He might seem like a brash goof, but scenes such as his self-reflection during Reno's No. 6 arc (ch 60 & 61 / s2e7) or the phone call with Kafka in ch 67 / s2e9 demonstrate he really is emotionally intelligent. Even if his competitive side can make him come off as abrasive at times (e.g. how throughout half the series his primary motivation seems to be to beat Reno. Though he still drops that when it matters & helps him however he can. And he is self-aware about it (ch 60):
Iharu is honest, not just with others but also with himself), or his extroverted personality can sometimes get in the way & make him look silly or inconsiderate (e.g. how he greets Kafka in ch 129). People have layers.
Either way.
It seems tentatively more likely for Reno to die sooner than Kafka or Iharu, though, given he's the No. 6 user. If he is indeed intended to die young then at least he's gotten to find people he became close with. We can only assume — based on his current personality & behavior — what his life had been like before he met Kafka; maybe fairly lonely. Regardless, it seems that finding those two joyful guys (the two leos of kn8, too. I'm not into astrology but it does seem that the author chose their western astrological signs intentionally, looking at how all different characters fit their own. Fun fact: with Reno, Iharu and Kafka make the fire trio of kn8, since Reno is an aries) is what he's been needing. (ch 64 / s2e8, ch 22 / s1e8(?)).
Kafka: So what's Reno's type?
Kikoru: He likes older guys, kind, oblivious, good sense of humor, and turns into a kaiju sometimes.
Kafka: Man, that sounds just like me! Too bad we're just friends.
Kikoru: Did I mention 'oblivious?'
Kafka: Yeah, why?
Kikoru: Just making sure.
Kinktober 2024 Day 21: [Xenophilia] | E̷d̷g̷e̷p̷l̷a̷y | S̷i̷z̷e̷ ̷D̷i̷f̷f̷e̷r̷e̷n̷c̷e̷
KafuReno (カフレノ)
Kaiju 8
Ichikawa cannot help but feel rather attracted to how his chief looks like when he turns into a Kaiju. He likes everything about him, already feels attracted to him as a human, but something different burns in him at the sight of his Kaiju form.
__________________________________
Kafka had noticed the look inside Ichikawa’s eyes when he looked at him. It made him wonder just what the young man saw when he looked at his kaiju form. Sure Kafka thought it kind of looked cool, despite the whole /himself/ being a kaiju now. But that was it.
And he felt like that wasn’t what the young man thought when he looked at him.
They had also been dating for a little while and the older man sure had noticed the way the young man looked at him. Kafka had never really thought his body looked that attractive, although he had been improving on that front. But Ichikawa looked like he couldn’t get enough at times, eyeing him as they changed and showered. He nearly felt shy when they had sex, with how much Ichikawa could stare at his body at times and even shower him with compliments.
This seemed a little bit closer to what those eyes looked like.
It was a typical day off of duty at the defence force. Ichikawa had come to his apartment to spend the day and relax, seeing how neither of them had much better to do anyway. Although Kafka had gotten better at controlling his transformation, he still accidentally slipped at times.
When he realised it was exactly what had happened, he had gotten ready for the young man’s usual scolding about controlling himself better.
Instead, he found those eyes again.
There was just something in Ichikawa’s gaze that felt so different to how anyone else looked at him, than how Kafka looked at himself. It was like something was burning in his gaze, racking over his body, or what was visible under the overstretched shirt and ripping joggers.
“Ichikawa?” Kafka called out, immediately catching his attention, eyes snapping up from where they had been looking at his lap. “I’ve been wondering for a while but… is there something about my kaiju body you find interesting? Or something like that?” he suddenly asked.
This seemed to confuse the young man, a slight blush suddenly spreading over his cheeks. He awkwardly coughed, looking away as he asked “What do you mean?”.
“It’s just… when I am in my kaiju form you have this look on your face” Kafka started, a clawed hand rubbing his neck a little. He didn’t miss the way Ichikawa’s eyes followed the movement, looking away again when he realised he was caught.
“I just wondered if… maybe you had questions or wanted to… do something” the older man continued. He truly wasn’t sure how to ask any of this, especially since he couldn’t be sure of what he had been thinking for a while. What if he wasn’t right and Ichikawa actually hated this body? What if his brain was just being hopeful in a way and misleading him?
There was an awkward silence after his explanation, making Kafka feel a little more nervous than before. He started feeling like this was stupid, instead trying to focus on taking his human form back. “Nevermind, it was stupid to ask” he quickly mumbled, looking away.
“Wait!!” Ichikawa suddenly reacted, hands grabbing onto the hard scales of his arm, stopping him. “I… it’s just that you took me by surprise” he finally managed to reply, offering a sheepish smile.
He watched as Ichikawa started getting closer to him on the couch, before crawling onto his lap and straddling him. Or well, straddling him as best as he could, sitting mostly on one of his thighs. “Actually I wanted to touch you more” he finally admitted, fingers sneaking under the overstretched shirt.
This had Kafka nodding a little, looking down at the hand who tried pulling the shirt off of him without ripping it to pieces. It wasn’t a great success, but the kajiu quickly reassured his lover that it was okay. That shirt would have pretty much been ruined already anyway, it was stretchy but not /that/ stretchy either.
After that he simply watched as Ichikawa started brushing his fingers over his body, feeling the hard scales and plates that covered and protected him. Felt as he traced where they overlapped and ended, finger moving as if they were following a road unknown to Kafka.
He couldn’t help but shift a little when Ichikawa tried teasing where his nipple should be, a barely visible bump on his chest plate indicating where they were. “Does it hurt?” The young man asked when he felt him shift a little away, looking up.
“No, it’s just a little sensitive and ticklish” Kafka admitted, feeling like he would be blushing right now if he could. “And I don’t want to risk… something else happening” he admitted more quietly, still remembering the first time he transformed. It would just be humiliating if it were to happen now.
Ichikawa’s thumb brushed over them one last time, looking a little reluctant to let go knowing it seemed to be a pleasant feeling at least. Instead, his hands started exploring his lover’s arms, feeling every curve the scales and plate took around Kafka’s muscles. Took a closer look and played with the older man’s hand, examining the sharp claws and the protruding blue tendons.
As Ichikawa started touching his face and mapping all its curves and corners, Kafka could see his lover seemed to enjoy this moment. And deep down, in a way, he couldn’t help feeling the warmth spreading inside of him at the thought. He knew Ichikawa liked his appearance already, had been told many many times, but seeing him also look attracted to his kaiju form was reassuring.
Ichikawa like him whole, no matter what.
He was a little surprised when he felt his lover press his finger against his sharp fangs as if trying to slip between them. Kafka slowly opened his mouth, wondering what he wanted to see.
He then felt more than he saw Ichikawa push his fingers inside of his mouth, forcing it open some more. The young man was feeling around his teeth, tracing along the sharp edge, pressing a little to test their sharpness. Kafka had to admit, he was a little scared to hurt his lover like this.
He was a little surprised when he felt the fingers suddenly examine his tongue, pulling at it a little, forcing him to pull it out for Ichikawa. He did not miss the blush that suddenly spread across his cheek, seemingly thinking about something.
When the young man finally pulled his fingers out of the kaiju’s mouth he pulled closer, kissing him. Or well, kissed him as well as he could when Kafka had no lips like this. Yet he didn’t seem discouraged by this, continuing to kiss and licking lightly at the fangs. This had Kafka hug his lover a little closer, leaning closer as he tried kissing back.
Then he thought of something and allowed his tongue to come out, licking at Ichikawa’s lips. He was a little surprised by how the young man started sucking on it gently, before Kafka started pushing it a little deeper in.
He certainly did not miss the moan that escaped Ichikawa as he did that.
He continued like this for a moment, before pulling his tongue fully back into his mouth when Ichikawa seemed to struggle for air with how deep it was and how much it filled his mouth. If Kafka could lick his lips he would, quite enjoying the sigh his lover made. All flushed and gaze a little hazy, chest heaving slowly as he caught his breath, his joggers tenting very obviously.
He decided not to do anything as Ichikawa caught his breath, letting him come back properly from it as he seemed lost in thought a little. When the young man started moving again he watched where his hands went, curious what he wanted to explore next.
“I don’t think there’s anything down there” Kafka said a little amused as Ichikawa pulled at the tight waistband of his joggers. Yet it didn’t stop his boyfriend from trying to pull them off of him, Kafka helping by lifting his hips. It was a little funny watching him try to strip him without ripping apart his clothes.
But after a while, he was wearing nothing, only covered by his scales and plates.
Ichikawa was back on him, straddling one of his thighs after having pushed his legs a little more open than before. He started doing the same thing as he had done on his torso earlier, fingers and hands exploring his strong thighs and between his legs.
Kafka truly thought it was useless for him to focus so much between his legs. They had never really seen any kaiju with proper reproduction organs. Although he supposed none of them had been hybrids like him, let alone as humanoid as himself too.
Then his breath hitched and his body trembled slightly as Ichikawa’s fingers seemed to brush something right between the plates between his legs.
This caught Ichikawa’s attention, who paused for a moment, before continuing what he was doing as he looked at his reaction. Kafka couldn’t help but hold more tightly onto his lover, feeling strange. He had truthfully never really touched himself there when in this form and was pretty surprised by how it felt.
“Shit” Ichikawa cursed when he suddenly felt the plate move as if detaching itself. For a moment he thought he had hurt his boyfriend, only to hear the strangled noise Kafka made. And it didn’t sound pained in any way.
So he kept going, fingers able to slip under the dark plate that kept lifting up. That was, until Kafka suddenly moans, the sound rough and low. At the same time, he felt something strangely smooth touch his fingers, much different to the scaly feeling he had dealt with until now.
This made him look down, stroking whatever had been pushing against his fingers. This made him realise it was a little slippery, making the glide pretty easy. After enough stroking and lightly pushing at the plate he finally saw what it was, making his eyes widen a little.
A smooth cock, the same blue colour that poked out from between Kafka plates. There was a slight glow to it, the fluid it leaked having a similar colour too.
“Fuck” Kafka cursed under his breath, “Who would have thought” he commented. He couldn’t help but feel a little fascinated, he would have never expected this. One look at his lover told him it was the same for Ichikawa, but that he also was very pleased with this discovery.
“I want to be fucked by that” Ichikawa mumbled, before blushing deeply again when he seemed to realise he had said this out loud. He looked back up at Kafka as if to ask if it was possible.
Well, where would be the harm?
“Let’s get you prepared then, I don’t think this would fit right away” the older man replied, picking up Ichikawa with ease. This surprised the young man who held on his shoulder as best as he could, watching as he was being carried to the bed. When he was placed on the bed he tried pulling his clothes off of himself as fast as possible, watching as Kafka took place on the small bed, filling up most of it.
Before he knew it, once again, he found himself being lifted up and moved around. He found himself laying on top of the kaiju, head placed on the opposite end of the bed to where Kafka’s was.
He couldn’t help but feel rather excited at being manhandled like this. Sure Kafka was already strong, but this felt different. His boyfriend never struggled at moving him around, but this was on a different level, as if he was truly weightless.
“Now relax for me,” Kafka said, leaving something like a kiss against the back of his thigh, his tongue licking him. He continued like this, making his way up to his ass. He couldn’t really use his hands, but he felt like Ichikawa wouldn’t be opposed to him using his long and thick tongue.
While Ichikawa had started curiously working on the newly found kaiju’s cock, Kafka used clawed hands to grab at his lover’s ass. In no time the tip of his tongue was testing out his rim, licking in circles in an attempt to help him relax.
He ended up burying his tongue deep inside of him rather quickly, encouraged by the way Ichikawa was pushing back against his. He quite liked the sound the young man made as he fucked him with his tongue, finding it a lot easier when it was so thick and long compared to his human one.
Kafka couldn’t help but feel a little smug at having his boyfriend melt over him like this, body trembling in pleasure as he tried getting more and more out of him. He was a little surprised when he felt fingers join his tongue, Ichikawa looking a little impatient right now. It seemed he wanted to be fucked now and couldn’t wait for Kafka to feel satisfied with preparation.
“Kafka please” Ichikawa said after a while, feeling more than stretched out to take his lover’s cock. He bit his lip when the kaiju simply purred against him, making his tongue vibrate a little.
This had Kafka pull away, not without giving his lover’s ass one last lick. If he had to be honest, he too was getting a little impatient. Ichikawa sure seemed to know what to do with his free hand and mouth, exploring his lover’s body in new ways. Kafka didn’t know he could be so sensitive from so little done to him.
This time it was Ichikawa who moved around, sitting himself firmly over Kafka’s crotch, grinding down on him. “I needed it inside me 10 minutes ago,” he said, the older man feeling a little amused at his little frown. It looked cute and adorable on him.
He watched as the young man took the situation into his own hand, lining himself up over Kafka’s cock before sinking down. This had them both hiss a little. Ichikawa still felt pretty tight around him, despite the prepping they had done. It turned out, Kafka was bigger in this body in more than one way.
It didn’t stop Ichikawa though.
He only took it a little slower despite the cock being so smooth. It was flaring towards the bottom, making it girthier than what he was used to. But as he kept slowly pushing he still managed to get it all in, taking in a deep breath. “Fuck” he mumbled, before murmuring some more about how filled he felt and how deep he was.
And Kafka could feel just how deep he was, suddenly really aroused at the sight he had. Ichikawa struggled to straddle him properly, knee barely able to rest properly on the bed around him. He looked flushed and sweaty, chest heaving slowly as he allowed himself to slowly get used to it.
Then he noticed the small dent.
It was barely visible, but after racking his rough knuckles against it he could feel it even more. He had never thought he would be so into it before, he wasn’t quite sure what Ichikawa loved so much about his kaiju form, but Kafka was starting to see some of the appeal.
He decided to wrap his hands around his waist, loving the sight of them taking up so much space around him. With that he gently started moving Ichikawa on top of him, making little circles motion with his own hips.
The sound his lover made was delicious.
He continued like this until it felt like the young man was ready for him to move, made obvious by his trying to move despite Kafka’s grip on him. He did loosen his grip a little, watching as Ichikawa started riding him. He always loved seeing him do so, he looked really good.
But it was clear Ichikawa was struggling a little bit, so he decided to start bucking his hips to meet him in the middle. It felt so good, to have Ichikawa clench around him a little this, holding onto him as best as he could.
Something inside of Kafka just wanted to devour his lover, have him all to himself and make sure no one else could ever lay eyes on him.
He did try to let Ichikawa do his things, but he ended up falling into his desire quickly, something in him just /needing/ more.
Ichikawa suddenly sounded surprised when he found their position flipped over, looking up at his boyfriend. He didn’t have time for questions before Kafka started fucking into him more properly, large hands holding onto his hips for better control.
He only felt even more encouraged to keep going as his love kept moaning and gasping, grasping the sheets for dear life. It felt a little different to fuck him with something he wasn’t used to, but Kafka soon found just the right angle to Ichikawa singing prettily for him.
The more his lover begged him, the faster and rougher Kafka became. He felt pretty desperate to release himself, feeling it built up pretty fast, needing to cum and mark Ichikawa like this.
He was a little surprised when Ichikawa had the strength to pull him down to kiss him. He used his tongue the way he had seemingly enjoyed it earlier, not letting up as he could feel just how close his lover was getting.
He groaned lowly as Ichikawa started clenching around him so hard, body twitching and trembling as he came all over his stomach, hugging him closer. The moans against his ears were drowning away any possible thought Kafka could have had, making him continue to fuck into his lover until he finally came too.
He only stopped moving once he was done, staying buried deep inside of him for a while. He held Ichikawa in his arms as the young man tried catching his breath, slowly coming down from his high.
It took a while before Kafka finally laid Ichikawa back down on the bed, pulling out slowly as he focused on getting his normal body back. Once he was back to normal he looked back down at Ichikawa, feeling his cock twitch a little at the sight of blue semen ouzing out of the young man.
That sure made for a strange sight.
He did pale a little when he noticed some blood on his hips, hand hovering over them worriedly. He only stopped when Ichikawa grabbed onto them, intertwining their fingers. “It was crazy good” He stated, distracting him for the little damage he had done. Ichikawa was used to worse, it wasn’t some minor scratches that would kill him.
Kafka watched as the young man sat up, leaning in closer to kiss him properly this time. “Maybe we should do this again another time” Ichikawa smiled, making it pretty clear he had quite enjoyed it.
And well, the older man would lie if he said he didn’t like it too. It had elt a little different even for him. Plus, if it was something Ichikawa was into, he wouldn’t keep him from getting something he seemed to enjoy so much.
“Yeah, maybe we should” Kafka chuckled, leaning closer to kiss him.
A level-headed, passionate aries and his two crazy, joyful leos. The fire trio of kn8.
Neat how chill & intimate this is, not the usual battle setting/etc action/professional context. Wonder if the three of them ever go out together (could be interesting for Reno, if Kafka and Iharu are as much the shenanigans duo as they seem. Would have been nice to see more of them, but we do have ch 67 & 129).
