An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works
My contribution for Day 3! I did include my Kn8 OC in this one because I’m living vicariously through her getting to be friends with the amazing women of Kaiju No. 8
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: 怪獣８号 | Kaiju No. 8 (Manga), 怪獣８号 | Kaiju No. 8 (Anime)
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Characters: Ashiro Mina (Kaiju No. 8), Nakanoshima Tae, Okonogi Konomi, Original Female Character(s), Kurata Aira
Additional Tags: Friendship, Female Friendship, Women Being Awesome
Series: Part 2 of Kn8 Women's Week 2026
Summary:
Tae and her besties finally have some free time and she’s going to make sure they make the most of it
Tae stood in front of the scheduling board, worrying at her bottom lip as she searched for four specific names. As she found each name and saw they were all listed in the “Day Off” column, her excitement grew. The four of them hadn’t had a night out together in…she couldn’t even remember when the last time was but it was long enough ago that No. 9 hadn’t even been a blip on their radar. Now they were closing in on a year since he’d been defeated.
Yeah, that was way too long. Tae hurried off to hunt each of them down, hoping they were as desperate for a girls’ night as she was.
She found Aira first, sparring with Vice-Captain Hoshina in the training room.
“Hey, Aira!” She called from the doorway.
Aira looked in her direction just in time to miss blocking Hoshina’s next blow. She glared at him as she rubbed her shoulder but he just shrugged and put his practice swords away, clearly unperturbed.
“Typical,” she muttered under her breath as she approached Tae. “What’s up, Tae?”
“We’ve got the day off tomorrow; you, me, Konomi, and Captain Ashiro. We’re having a girls’ night tonight so if you’ve got other plans, cancel them.”
Aira laughed. “Doesn’t sound like you’re really giving me much of a choice.”
“I’m not. You and Hibino can reschedule your swooning over each other for some other time,” Tae said, giving her a pointed look.
Aira’s cheeks - already flushed from exercise - darkened even further.
“He and Ichikawa are meeting up with their old Monster Sweeper crew for drinks anyway.” She set her practice naginata on the rack with the other practice weapons. “Need my help convincing Konomi and Captain Ashiro to join us?”
“I’ll take care of convincing Okonogi. You two just focus on Captain Ashiro,” Hoshina interjected.
“What makes you so sure you can talk Konomi into it?” Tae asked, raising an eyebrow in challenge.
“I have my ways,” he said with a devilish grin.
Mina proved surprisingly easy to convince, though she did have one non-negotiable condition:
“We have to be back at my apartment no later than nine p.m.”
“That’s so early,” Tae complained. “The party will just be getting started.”
“The party doesn’t have to end. I’m more than happy to have you guys over for the night,” Mina assured her.
“Is there a particular reason you need to be back by that time?” Aira asked. She was crouched next to Mina’s desk petting Bakko.
To both Tae and Aira’s surprise, Mina blushed.
“Bakko doesn’t like when I’m out later than that. He has a very strict bedtime and he likes it when I’m there to tuck him in,” she admitted.
“Aww, that’s so cute!” Aira squealed, scratching Bakko behind his ear. His deep, rumbling purrs were audible throughout Mina’s office.
“Well I wouldn’t dare to stand in the way of a tiger and his bedtime. As long as you’re sure you don’t mind us staying over?” Tae was fighting to keep her cool. The thought of a sleepover with her three best friends was beyond exciting.
“I don’t mind. I’m looking forward to it. It’s been a long time since the four of us have been able to get together. I want to make the most of it.”
Tae and Aira left Mina’s office and gave each other a victorious fist bump. Now they just needed Hoshina to work his magic on Konomi and everything would be set.
Mina had suggested they have dinner at an Italian restaurant a short walk from her apartment. Tae’s mouth had been watering all day at the thought of it.
“Pasta and wine, what more could a woman want?” Tae asked with a contented sigh after taking a large bite of her meal.
“Tell me about it,” Konomi agreed with a dreamy sigh.
“I think that pretty much sums it up,” Aira said, reaching for her wine glass.
Mina snatched it away before she could grab it.
“What was that for?” Aira asked, indignant at being denied her well-deserved wine.
“If you’re going to have another glass of wine, you have to give me your phone. I know how you get when you drink too much wine.” Mina gave her a knowing look.
Aira sighed in defeat.
“Alright, fine. You win. Here.” She handed her phone over to Mina who put it in her purse.
“I think we should just let it happen,” Tae said with a mischievous grin. “I doubt Hibino would mind.”
“Can we please stop talking about this?” Aira groaned, hiding her rapidly reddening face with her hands.
They laughed but Konomi placed a comforting hand on her shoulder.
“Now you know what I had to deal with when Soshiro and I first started dating. You three were impossible.”
“Speaking of Hoshina,” Tae jumped in and Konomi immediately looked apprehensive. “What exactly did he do to convince you to join us tonight?”
Konomi flushed bright red. “That’s far too private of a conversation for such a public place.”
“Fine. Then you can tell us all the details when we get back to Mina’s place later.”
Konomi looked horrified.
“Well if the two of you don’t want to talk about your love lives, I’ll gladly talk about mine,” Mina chimed in, deftly taking the heat off of them.
“You and Sagan have been dating for, what, three months now?” Aira jumped in a little too quickly, the relief in her voice palpable.
“Hmm. She spent the night for the first time last week.”
“How was it?” Tae leaned forward, wiggling her eyebrows.
“Exquisite,” Mina replied simply though the flush of her cheeks belied her casual response.
“We’ll definitely be having that conversation later, too,” Konomi warned her.
Dessert arrived and they took their time, savoring each bite. They’d each ordered something different and split it into fourths. As they ate and laughed, talking about everything and nothing all at once, Tae felt like her heart would burst. It really had been way too long since the last time they’d gotten together like this.
“We still have a little time until I need to be home. Should we walk to the 7-Eleven around the corner to get some snacks for the night?” Mina suggested.
“Hell yeah!” Tae agreed.
“I do love a snack, it has to be said,” Aira said.
Konomi nodded in fervent agreement.
They made their way to 7-Eleven, enjoying the nice weather and each other’s company.
They stayed up far later than they had planned to, none of them wanting the night to end. But by one a.m., Tae was the only one left standing. She looked around Mina’s apartment, taking in the remnants of the best night she’d had in a long time.
There were two empty wine bottles and four empty wine glasses on the kitchen counter along with their half-eaten snacks. They had pushed the couches back so they’d have room to play Twister. The playlist they’d all added songs to was still going, playing quietly in the background. Four glasses of water sat on the coffee table along with a bottle of ibuprofen. Tae was pretty confident they’d all be needing some when they woke up.
She laid down on one of the couches, settling in and getting cozy. She looked out at her slumbering friends, feeling a comforting warmth spread through her chest. Konomi was on the other couch, curled up into a tiny ball in the corner. If Tae hadn’t known that’s where she’d fallen asleep she didn’t think she’d have even noticed her. Aira was fast asleep on the Twister mat with her phone clutched in her hand, zoomed in on a picture of Kafka. Tae huffed a small laugh, wondering when and how she had managed to get her phone back from Mina.
As for Mina, she was curled up with Bakko on his enormous and extremely comfy-looking bed that he had drug out to the living room once he’d realized Mina wasn’t going to bed anytime soon. Tae’s favorite part of the night was seeing how relaxed and at ease Mina had been. She worked so hard and so rarely took time off; Tae was glad she’d allowed herself to have fun for once.
Tae snuggled more deeply into the couch, her eyes getting heavier by the second, rapidly losing the battle against sleep. With a contented sigh she gave in, falling asleep with a big smile on her face and a full heart.
