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

はちじゅうご | eighty five

もののけ | kaiju | monster

85

[A lengthy chapter ahead]

Soshiro

"SOSHIRO..." Her voice drifts into my ears, sweet and soft, and I feel a rush of warmth at just the sound of it. I blink, my eyes slowly fluttering open, and I'm met with the sight of her—a pair of deep emerald-green eyes gazing right into mine. Her eyes are stunning, glowing with an innocence and intensity that could bring any boy to his knees.

Kiyomi's here, her delicate fingers threading through my hair, a serene smile on her lips that's so beautiful, it feels unreal. We're back in her family's garden, tucked away in our usual secluded spot, surrounded by the quiet of nature. We just got home from school. Just her and me, in this little slice of paradise where it feels like time stops and the world shrinks down to just the two of us.

I watch her, and every part of me wants to laugh, scream, or maybe even fall on my knees out of sheer disbelief that she's mine. Kiyomi, this girl everyone's after, the girl who has more suitors than I can count, and yet somehow, it's me she chose. Not Gen, not any of those other fuckers circling her like vultures. Me. And damn, does that feel good.

I reach up, taking her hand in mine, feeling how small and soft it is, like she's something fragile I've been entrusted with. "I still don't get it, you know," I murmur, not even hiding the smile tugging at my lips. "Out of all the guys falling over themselves for you, why'd you end up with someone like me?"

She laughs softly, a sound that wraps around me like a warm blanket, and leans in closer, her face just inches from mine. "Because you're not just 'someone,' Soshiro. You're... you're everything."

Hearing that, it hits me again—this fire in my chest, this mix of love, pride, and that dangerous edge that makes me want to go toe-to-toe with anyone who'd dare to try and take her from me.

She says I'm her everything, and it hits like a punch to the gut. This girl, this untouchable force of nature, looks at me and says those words, and here I am, completely wrecked by it. We've never said the "I love yous," haven't thrown around those three little words like some couple looking for a label, but hell, they'd feel empty anyway. What we've got is raw, fierce, and way beyond something a simple phrase could capture.

But damn, I've been in love with her for so long it feels carved into my bones, burned into every part of me. It's a love so deep it feels endless, like the Pacific, like something that could swallow you whole and still leave you wanting more. And yet, I'm her everything. That one word coming from her feels like it could topple whole mountains.

I stare at her, taking in every inch of her—the messy hair, the way her lips curve just slightly in that half-smile that drives me insane, those eyes that could tear a boy apart with one look. I don't care about the bullshit that "I love you" is supposed to mean. What I feel for her goes beyond that.

"Can I ask you something?" she murmurs, her voice like a warm ripple breaking the quiet, and I'm already grinning like an idiot because I know it's probably some random question that makes zero sense to anyone else. But I don't give a damn. She could ask me if capybaras would make good pets for Kaiju or if I'd rather fight a dozen Kaiju-sized capybaras, and I'd still be hanging on to every word, giving her the most thought-out answer like it's gospel truth.