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

はちじゅういち | eighty one

もののけ | kaiju | monster

81

[A lengthy chapter ahead]

4 years later

Soshiro

FOUR YEARS SLIPPED BY LIKE SAND through my fingers, and I still can't believe how fast it all went to hell. Kiyomi rose to the position of General Director without missing a beat, and she hasn't let up since. She's been ruthless, absolutely ruthless, and damn if that hasn't pissed off more than a few people. There are still whispers, still accusations from those who don't want to see a woman like her in charge, let alone one who won't flinch at making the hard calls.

And then there's the Kaiju issue. Word almost leaked about two people capable of turning into Kaiju. That kind of secret would've blown the whole operation wide open, thrown the entire defense force into chaos, and probably sent the world into a damn panic. But Kiyomi? She didn't hesitate. She took care of every single person who knew the truth, and when I say "took care," I mean she eliminated them. No loose ends, no mercy. The woman who used to flinch at getting blood on her hands now doesn't think twice about it. She's become a machine—cold, efficient, unstoppable. And honestly, sometimes it scares the hell out of me.

After her father's death, she implemented the new protocol—Directive 47. If you're inside the base, you keep your mouth shut about what goes on inside the base. Period. Anyone who leaks information, anyone who so much as breathes a word to the outside world about our operations, is marked for immediate elimination. No trial, no second chances. They're as good as dead. And Kiyomi? She's the one holding the knife.

The official language of the protocol is all clean and clinical, talks about "ensuring operational integrity" and "maintaining security within the chain of command." But we all know what it means: if you mess up, if you defy her, if you even think about crossing her, you're done. End of story. She's not here to play nice or make friends. She's here to get shit done, to lead, to win. And if that means a few people end up in body bags, well, that's the price of doing business under General Director Shinomiya.

It's been a brutal adjustment for all of us. There's a line you don't cross, and if you do, you disappear. She's set up an entire system to ensure loyalty, too. Random inspections, loyalty tests, unannounced drills—she's got her eyes and ears everywhere. There's a constant reminder that none of us are safe if we even think about stepping out of line. The base is like a pressure cooker, and sometimes, I wonder when it's all going to explode.

People call her a tyrant now, and they're not wrong. She's ruling with an iron fist, and for anyone who thinks they can get away with disobeying her orders, well, they're in for a rude awakening. She won't hesitate to make an example out of anyone.

But I'm not gonna lie, since Kiyomi became the General Director, things have been... good. She leads like no one else could. Say what you want about her methods, but she gets shit done, and because of her, the Defense Force is stronger than it's ever been. One of the biggest advantages? We've got her and Kafka Hibino—half Kaijus and all badass—who can sniff out threats before they even have a chance to hit us. It's like having a goddamn radar that knows what's coming, and it's saved our asses more times than I can count.