Inception

Chapter 42: Is it a bird? A dino? A bunny?

They broke through the treeline.

"There!"

Slumped onto a wide, rocky shore, was a water-logged lump. It would have reminded Soshiro of those oil-sodden ducks in dishsoap commercials if it weren't the side of a horse.

Ichikawa's heavy suit sunk and crackled across the pebbly beach, but didn't slow. Soshiro put on a burst of speed to catch up just as Ichikawa slid to a stop in front of the either dead or unconscious kaiju.

Soshiro unclipped a sword.

Ichikawa's metal arm stopped him.

"Wait."

"What do you mean wait?"

"Something's off."

Soshiro scowled and squinted through the moonlight.

The waves hushed over the things long, scaly legs. The large, clawed feet and long legs reminded him of an ostrich, but further up at the feathered body and large wings said it flew too rather than just run. Its neck was short, too, and set with a bizarre, mismatched head, as kaiju were want to be. It looked like it couldn't decide whether to be a rabbit, a bird, or a velociraptor.

And even with its eyelids closed, the eyes were huge. Bulbous globes that were too obvious of a weak point, aside from the fact the kaiju was tiny—for kaiju, that is.

Besides looking particularly soft, weak, and kaiju-y, Soshiro couldn't see anything strange.

"It's weak," said Ichikawa.

"Yeaaaah?" Just let him cut it already, before the big one got there. They could search for clues after cutting it's throat.

"So how's it alive? And why is a bigger kaiju after it?"

Soshiro opened his mouth to argue, but then Leno added: "It's fortitude is 0.9."

Soshiro's eyebrows went up and his mouth closed. That...that was weird. Had he ever even met a kaiju with that fortitude? If kaiju ever reproduced it was done on masse and short lived, like with the fungi honju they'd fought a few day back, but even those had been fortitude 1.8 at their weakest.

As Soshiro wondered where Ichikawa was going with this, the creaky mech-suit crouched down on squeaky knees. He reached out a finger and poked the kaiju's head.

On the third poke, the bulbous eyes flicked open to huge black pupils with a thin ring of blue.

It squawked and jerked up, flopping sodden wings and scrabbling legs as though it couldn't quite figure out how to use them. Its tongue lolled out of its teeth and scale lined beak as it swung about its head.

"Whoa whoa, calm down there."

Soshiro gave him a flat look. "You've lost your—"

But the weak kaiju stopped. Its big eyes narrowed in on Ichikawa, pupils shrinking. Its long bunny ears shot straight up.

Just as Soshiro readied his sword just in case he had to stop the thing from pecking Ichikawa's helmet to pieces (if it could even do that), it gave a sad, warbling croon...a word...

"Leh...Leno?"

Something ice cold gripped Soshiro's chest hard. His breath caught

It rolled onto its knees and butted its short-necked head against Ichikawa's front. Its wet wings were left half buried in the sand, seemingly forgotten. But enough moonlight brought out the same dark gray of Ichikawa's wet hair.

It had happened to Kafka. So could it be possible...?

As the kaiju gave another sad little warble of "Leno," and rubbed its head against Ichikawa's bulk, Soshiro reached for his mask.

Just as his fingers wrapped about it, an explosion blew out from the water. Sea spray filled the air. A massive wave crashed over them.

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I think my butt is broken, because when I sit to work at the computer I always get a knot just behind my left shoulder. Pretty sure I could take a rail road nail to it and it would still bet here by the end of the day. 

What matters is if your butt looks good though, not that it functions, amIright?