Kaiju No.8: Devour and Evolve

"It's rare to see you like this," Mina Ashiro commented without looking up as she handled a stack of reports. As the captain of the Third Division, her duties extended far beyond fighting kaiju. From paperwork to logistics, her responsibilities covered all aspects of maintaining Yokohama's safety.

Yokohama, the third-largest city in Sakura Country, located in Kanagawa Prefecture, boasted a population second only to Tokyo and Osaka. The burden on Mina was immense. Yet she never complained; if someone like Kafka Hibino could tirelessly strive as an ordinary man, then she, as someone chosen and capable, had an even greater responsibility.

Her keen observational skills were evident as she watched Hoshina Soshiro's uncharacteristic silence. It had been over ten minutes since he began poring over the file on Zhou Zheng—now renamed Drake Myers—and hadn't uttered a single word. That alone spoke volumes.

"This is worse than I thought," Hoshina finally said, narrowing his ever-smiling eyes. "Initially, I thought he might be like me—descended from an ancient martial lineage. But look at this: an orphan. His parents perished in a kaiju attack, leaving him to grow up in a welfare institution. He now works at a kaiju cleanup company."

Drake Myers' background seemed unremarkable. His history was one of mediocrity—an unexceptional student with minor rebellious tendencies and bouts of insecurity. A middle-of-the-road individual, neither wholly good nor irredeemably bad.

According to the report, Myers was unlikely to afford a private combat suit—a luxury only the wealthy could obtain. But if his strength wasn't from equipment or lineage, then... Could kaiju have evolved to infiltrate human society unnoticed?

The thought sent a wave of pressure cascading over Hoshina. Placing the file back on Mina's desk, he began to voice his analysis. "It's entirely possible that kaiju are secretly advancing, integrating into human society."

This wasn't baseless conjecture. In recent years, kaiju attacks had become as frequent as natural disasters, though most had been manageable. However, historical records spoke of immensely powerful kaiju that caused untold devastation, only for such events to seemingly vanish in recent decades.

"Don't jump to conclusions about whether he's a kaiju," Mina interjected calmly. "Dispatch someone to observe him discreetly. If anything unusual occurs, we'll act swiftly. But a kaiju participating in Defense Force recruitment? That's a bold gamble."

Mina, renowned for her ability to slay kaiju up to a level 9.8, was a seasoned warrior forged in the crucible of countless battles. Her mission was simple: eradicate kaiju from this world, even if it meant fighting until the bitter end.

Acknowledging her orders, Hoshina saluted. "Understood, Captain. I'll personally oversee the investigation."

Meanwhile, at the Shirogane Residence

Kikoru Shinomiya sat rigidly in her chair, glaring at a dossier. Her pride refused to accept the conclusion. She had donned her personal combat suit, granting her power rivaling a level 4 kaiju, yet Drake Myers—a seemingly frail and malnourished youth—had blocked her strike?

The humiliation gnawed at her. Raised under the stern tutelage of the Shinomiya household, Kikoru was conditioned to accept nothing less than perfection. Her father's cold rebukes still echoed in her mind: "As a Shinomiya, you were born to be the best."

This unyielding standard had driven Kikoru to excel in every environment, from being a top student at an elite American combat university to dominating every school she had attended. Second place was a disgrace she refused to endure.

"Drake Myers..." Kikoru muttered, clenching her aching wrist. "I won't forget this humiliation."

Having obtained his workplace and home address, Kikoru resolved to confront him directly. Retribution was the only path forward for a Shinomiya.

At the Cleanup Company

Drake and Kafka sat chatting during a lull in their duties. Both had breezed through the written test earlier, leaving them in high spirits.

"Drake, are you sure you understand how to locate a kaiju's nucleus?" Kafka asked yet again. "These creatures may resemble regular animals, but their biology is fundamentally different."

"Kafka, you've asked me this five or six times already," Drake sighed, exasperated but amused.

"You've seriously changed. It's like you're a completely different person. Were you always hiding this side of yourself?" Kafka said, swallowing hard.

"Cut it out, will you? Get back to work!" Just then, Kafka's superior, Uncle D, smacked him on the head, making him yelp in pain.

Before they could return to their tasks, an unmistakable silhouette appeared at the entrance: Kikoru Shinomiya.

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