And so it was that on Ashiro’s order, Hoshina was placed in Ebina Platoon. They boarded the transport together and headed for the northwest part of Oume, where the emergence had occurred.
Hoshina was reading a book in the transport when Ebina said “Hey” to him. Ebina had a large scar on his face, and his stern, forbidding features made him look like some kind of criminal.
“You seem to think this’ll be a walk in the park,” he said to Hoshina.
“If it bothers you, I’ll put the book away. This is a little routine I have.”
Hoshina had been an avid reader since childhood. Reading while en route to missions had helped calm his mind in the past. In his hand this time was The Rubaiyat, a collection of four-line poems by the Persian-born scholar Omar Khayyam.
Ebina rose to his feet. “A routine?” he shouted.
What’re you getting mad at me for? Hoshina thought, but Ebina sat back down.
“You’re— That’s important, isn’t it? So do it right!” Ebina said unexpectedly.
“Y-yessir. I will,” Hoshina replied sheepishly.
Hoshina resumed reading and noticed that Ebina kept glancing at him. Did he have something more he wanted to say? Unable to concentrate, Hoshina closed the book. “Is something the matter, sir?” he asked Ebina.
“You said your name is Hoshina. That’s a name even I’ve heard of. A family whose ancestral business is kaiju slaying. Even my instructor couldn’t open his mouth without singing the praises of your swordplay.”
“I appreciate that,” Hoshina replied.
“But times have changed,” Ebina said. “Surely you realize that. I appreciate the backup, but I want you to stick to logistical support only.”
“I have no intention of putting my nose where it doesn’t belong,” Hoshina said. “I intend to do what I’m able to do.”
What he was able to do—was slay monsters.
That alone is who I am, and why I’m here.
The field headquarters had been set up in the parking lot near the train station. As soon as Hoshina got out of the transport, he heard sounds of explosions, gunfire, and roaring kaiju. When he looked in the direction of the noise, the plume of a huge eruption was billowing up into the sky.
Looks like it’s already started over there.
The point of kaiju emergence was at the narrow end of an alluvial fan through which the Tama River flowed. The kaiju had appeared in the mountain forests and were headed downstream, smashing civilian homes along the way. Presently, they were advancing toward an urban area. All eleven members of Ebina Platoon, including Hoshina, were deployed within Neutralization Zone L.
“I’ll relay the operation,” Ebina said, addressing the officers. “Our targets this time are reptilian kaiju. One honju and a large number of yoju. The yoju are emerging in the mountains. Their numbers are presently unclear. They are also reported to have insatiable appetites, so watch yourselves. Our role is to stop any yoju that the vanguard platoon may have missed here in Zone L. Don’t let even one of ’em get away!”
“Yes, sir!” the surrounding officers answered with vigor. Everyone was holding a rifle, except for Hoshina.
So, I’m the only one with swords? Every year, I feel more like I’ve gone to a wedding in my swimming trunks.
The Defense Force’s drones were flying off toward the mountains. They would locate victims who hadn’t gotten out in time, monitor kaiju, and so on. The information they gathered would be relayed to the officers via their operators. As they were also highly useful as go-betweens when platoons were coordinating with one another, drones were now indispensable on kaiju hunts. The drones had formed a neat line formation, but one of them was lagging behind.
Ebina didn’t like the look of that. He suddenly started yelling with a very unprofessional expression on his face. “Hey, you! Who are you, and where’d you come from!” He pointed his rifle at the lagging drone.
“Hold on, sir, what are you doing?” Hoshina asked.
Ebina indicated the drone with his rifle. “Look there, at that drone. That ain’t one of ours,” he said.
“Oh, you’re right.”
Looking at it carefully, Hoshina could see that there were no Defense Force logos on it. Many JDF drones were flying back and forth all over the scene, but in an orderly fashion. The number that could be in flight was even limited so as not to provoke kaiju.
“It’s either some news outlet or a rubbernecker,” said Ebina. “Honestly, I’ve heard of cases where civilians deliberately baited kaiju with drones and caused massive accidents.”
Ebina continued to wave his rifle at the wayward drone and shouted, “Hey! Knock it off before I knock you off!”
Listen to him go. Maybe he did run a shady business after all?
“Good grief. Captain, please calm down.” The general officers were trying to cool Ebina off. Going by the practiced ease with which they did it, they seemed to view his outbursts as commonplace occurrences.
Just then, a transmission for Ebina Platoon arrived from an operator. “Zone L, yoju emergence confirmed south of you.”
“Got it. Let’s go, everybody!” Ebina ordered. “Time to rain on those kaiju’s parade.”
Their instructions were to move within the train tracks of the Oume Line. Hoshina and the others leapt over the fence and onto the tracks.
“Distance to targets, four hundred meters. There are four of them.”
There came a rumbling in the ground, like the sound of an approaching stampede. Far away down the tracks, a cloud of dust began to appear. Four kaiju were climbing over and shoving past one another, vying to be in the lead as they approached. Each was about five meters in length. Their bodies were black, their eyes were opened wide, and large amounts of drool dripped from their mouths. On their heads, there were organs that looked somewhat like scarves.
Their movements are pretty fast.
Hoshina placed a hand on the sword that was slung from his waist.
“Target acquired! Set your sights on the head.”
At Ebina’s call, the officers formed a single row and aimed their weapons.
“Fire!”
Buddabuddabudda! Burst rounds were fired simultaneously in a horizontal row. The go-to opening move against a kaiju opponent was to aim for its limbs and head, but this kaiju was moving fast. Ebina judged it too difficult to aim at its four legs and narrowed the target to just the head. This strategy seemed to be working perfectly. The officers’ lateral hail of burst rounds struck it in the head, burning the kaiju’s eyes. The beast let loose a screeching roar and came to a halt.
“Keep shooting!” Ebina shouted.
The gunfire continued even harder against the writhing kaiju. The kaiju’s bodies were crackling with the impact of burst rounds. The lead kaiju collapsed to the ground. The two behind it leapt over its corpse and came charging.
But the last of the pack, hidden from view by the others, suddenly changed direction. It easily pushed over the fence next to the railroad tracks and went charging toward a house. Going right through it, it began advancing toward the foot of the mountain.