もののけ | monster | soshiro hoshina (Kaiju No. 8) (COMPLETE)

ろくじゅうなな | sixty seven

もののけ | kaiju | monster

67

Soshiro

MY HANDS GRIP THE COLD METAL RAILINGS, knuckles white with the force of it, as I stare down at the solitary figure below. There she is—my Kiyomi—chained to a seat like a wild beast, a danger too great to be left untethered. The room is stark, the harsh light illuminating every contour of her face, yet her eyes are hollow, empty. They've stripped her of everything, nothing but just in her ordinary military clothes. And I'm here, helpless, just watching this nightmare, separated only by the unyielding transparent wall that keeps her caged.

Three days. It's been three long days since they locked her away. I haven't moved from this platform, haven't let my eyes leave her for a second. The world outside is a blur, but in here, in this space between us, time drags on painfully slow. My mind races, a storm of thoughts and emotions I can't control.

This isn't the Kiyomi I know. My Kiyomi would never do what they accuse her of. She isn't the traitor they want her to be.

The silence in the room is deafening, broken only by the occasional murmur from the Control Room behind me. I can feel the tension, the fear. They're all watching too, holding their breaths as the General Director—Kiyomi's father—steps into the room. The air is thick with the weight of what's about to happen. Everyone is on edge, knowing he's vulnerable. He hasn't donned his suit weapon, hasn't shielded himself against the monster they believe his daughter to be. No, he's walked in there with nothing but the weight of his own sorrow and regret.

I can hear the collective gasp from the Control Room, the disbelief in their voices. They think he's a fool, that he's risking his life. But I understand. I would do the same if I were him. I'd walk in there unarmed, vulnerable, because deep down, I know the truth.

I know Kiyomi isn't the threat they think she is.

I know that because she once saved me with her other form...

"Why won't you let me in!" Kikoru cried, her voice cracking with emotion. Her hands gripped the edge of the control panel, knuckles white with the force of her frustration. Tears glistened in her eyes, but she refused to let them fall. "Why are you doing this to the Lieutenant!?" she screamed, her voice rising in pitch, raw with anguish.

"This is practically an offense!" she continued, her voice trembling with rage. "We've been through this before, and Kafka Hibino proved he's a human! So she's human too! My sister is a human!" The last words were almost a sob, but she held herself together, standing tall despite the tears that now streamed down her cheeks.

The head of the control room, a stern man with a face like stone, didn't flinch under her onslaught. His voice was firm, unyielding, when he finally spoke. "It's up to the General Director to decide," he said, his tone clipped and final, as if the conversation were already over. "As of now, he doesn't want anyone nearing the Lieutenant but himself. She won't even cooperate to say the least...She's... dangerous right now. We don't know what could happen."

Dangerous.

It was a word that cut deeper than any blade, a word that reduced Kiyomi to something other than human, something to be feared and controlled. My chest tightened, anger boiling beneath the surface, but I knew there was nothing I could do. The General Director's orders were absolute, and even Kikoru's pleas fell on deaf ears.