Love & Kaiju

Rin will love these. 

Izumi breathed in the refreshing, floral scent of the fresh cut cherry blossom bouquet. The peaceful moment of smelling the flowers was broken with the sound of nearby traffic and bustling citizens moving about the busy streets of Tokyo. The heart of Japan’s largest metropolis never stopped beating; it hardly slowed down. Though drowned in noise and the clamor of the busy streets, Izumi smiled wide at the thought of the welcome he would get once he returned home with Rin’s favorite flowers.

Izumi paid the vendor promptly with satisfaction in his heart. This has been a good day. Work was done, the flowers were purchased, and now all he had to do was catch the train home. Izumi resumed his familiar walk from the office building to his train station, glancing down every once in a while at the stunning bouquet.

Late March was crazy in Tokyo. The city was overrun with people trying to catch a glimpse of the country's dramatic springtime change. Already crowded streets swelled with the influx of tourists and onlookers. Izumi never seemed to mind the surge in people as long as he could get Rin at least one bouquet early in the season. He felt at this moment that these were the most beautiful flowers he had ever found for Rin. They had to make it home in one piece.

As Izumi was just a few blocks away from the train station something happened that felt both familiar and fearful. The ground shook. The violent tremor seemed to stop the bustling streets immediately. Cars halted, and the masses of people did the same. The ground shook yet again. Next to Izumi, a man said with a tremble in his voice, “Oh no! It’s happening again.”

Fantastic. Izumi thought with the reality of his situation coming to light. A long way down the street he looked into Tokyo Bay and what he saw was awe-inspiring. A monstrous creature erupted out of the water. As the foaming water doused the shoreline, the giant beast towered over the ships anchored there. With large claws and scaly skin, this particular kaiju resembled an ancient dragon reborn. It stood 200 feet high in the air and swiveled its massive head in search for its next feast of frantic humanity. 

 Great, just great.

The harsh truth about living in Japan was that occasionally a giant monster would make their way into your city and cause wanton destruction. Colossal beings causing havoc was just a fact of life for Izumi and 125 million other people who called Japan home. Izumi, himself, had survived four attacks in the last few years. It was the furthest thing from ideal, but could they stop the monsters? They could try! However, usually when a massive organism the size of a skyscraper wants to do something, there is not a lot a bunch of tiny humans can do about it. What else could they do? Move Tokyo?

The crowded streets were now filled with the screams of the mob moving quickly back the other way from the monster. Though it was still ten or so blocks away, they could not risk getting caught up in this beast’s path of annihilation. The kaiju lumbered onto the shore and smashed boats and vehicles without discretion. Whether city bus or cargo ship, this monster did not care what stood in its path. It would find fearful humans to devour.

Izumi snapped back. Instead of running back the way he had come, he thought it best to run to the closest train station and get out of the city. Better to risk it and have the reward of escape than be caught up in that monstrous menace’s feeding frenzy. He glanced one more time at the beautiful, pristine bouquet in his hand. 

Get the flowers to Rin. If the flowers get home, I get home. Simple enough, right?

The monster released a deafening roar as it smashed into a few of the buildings closest to the shoreline. Glass and metal pieces of the buildings rained down on the scattered crowds. Izumi looked horrified as several people fell dead to the Tokyo street. Bodies strewn across the road like debris from demolition. Debris that the monstrous beast would soon devour as part of its catastrophic campaign. A cruel reality of life again rushed to Izumi’s mind, nothing special separated him from those who had just succumbed to the kaiju’s desire for chaos.

Get the flowers to Rin. 

That was the only thought that he could focus on. It was the only thing he could afford to think about. Looking away from the monster and its mangled meal further down the street, Izumi sprinted to the train station where he and a horde of crazed citizens were all attempting to board trains departing the city. The turnstyles were overrun by the masses, Izumi among them with the bouquet firmly in hand. 

Izumi saw an opening in the fracas and jumped the turnstile, flowers in hand. At this point even the train station attendants were trying to board the lines leaving the station. Though kaiju attacks had become relatively common in recent years, no one was immune to the fear. No one was immune to panic. Izumi was now caught up in the swarm of fright within the terminal. 

I have to make it to that train!

The rails screeched as trains departed with rapid abandonment, not a single soul waiting to be caught in the kaiju’s pathway. As Izumi fought through the sea of wall to wall people, he felt a hard tug on his work bag. The sudden tension threatened to pull him backwards to the ground and falling underneath the chaotic crowd simply was not an option. No laptop, no documents, nothing in that bag was worth being trampled. Izumi released it and charged forward, the Rin’s flowers the only remains of a day that started out so normal.

Beneath the feet of the mad multitude, the ground shook again. This tremor felt closer. It felt nearer than the previous earth shattering shudders. The gigantic kaiju was on the move. It was as if the crowd came to the spine-chilling realization simultaneously; the threat was not letting up. It was coming their way. Izumi looked above the swaying crowd and saw the doorway of his regular train opened. 

Get the flowers to Rin.

Mere minutes ago, Izumi had been enjoying the sweet fragrance of Rin’s fresh cut flowers, and now all he could sense was the potent aroma of terror. The smell of sweat drenching the horrified horde of humanity. The sound of thunderous feet cracking pavement getting closer. The sight of a city erupting into desperation. The touch of Izumi’s shoes on pavement were light, his feet not taking any extra time between agile movements.

The tired commuter reached the door with the bouquet alone, covered from head to toe in perspiration and filled with purpose. Half way down the length of the train, Izumi jammed into a small corner and held the cluster of cherry blossoms above his head. Any empty space on the train was swiftly filled with members of the crowd seeking escape from Tokyo’s latest kaiju threat. The bell rang to signal that the train would soon depart the station. 

Get the flowers to Rin.

Peering out of the now foggy train window, Izumi saw several other passenger packed railcars departing the station. As the other trains increased speed, the kaiju came back into Izumi’s sight. The colossal creature took its gigantic claw and scraped it unceremoniously over the rails, cutting off the escape route for thousands of fleeing citizens. The train could not stop. There was nothing they could do.

Izumi’s mouth went wide as he looked on in horror. The trains on the other rails erupted into mangled masses of metal and flame against the kaiju’s attack. Izumi quickly assessed that three of the departing trains had been eliminated by the giant monster’s cruel assault. However, his train’s pathway out of Tokyo was still clear. The trains began to make an attempt to escape from the city.

Picking up speed the train neared the same spot that the kaiju had taken out the other three trains. The position of the tracks was far from ideal given the circumstances, but it was now or never. Despite the horrifying vision of the perishing passengers on the other lines, everyone aboard Izumi’s train knew the conductor would proceed with the daring departure. Full speed ahead out of the city for a chance at salvation. 

Get the flowers to Rin.

The train accelerated quickly through the smoke and fire caused by the kaiju’s strike. The kaiju looked over its shoulder at the roaring train speeding down the track nearby. Its first swipe at the new query was too high and slightly grazed the top of the compartments, causing only superficial damage. The train screeched, but did not stop. This initial scrape to their vessel caused alarm in the passengers, but they were still alive. The monster’s second attempt would not be so harmless. The front and middle sections of the long line of cars passed out of the reach of the towering beast. This enraged the monster into taking its next attempt. 

Izumi swiped the sweat from his forehead and then the moisture from the window with his free hand, flowers still held above the gasping crowd. He looked on as the monster swung its huge claw at the cars behind him. This time the kaiju’s aim met its mark.

The train’s speed met the monster’s power in a metal crunching struggle. Monstrosity and machine battling to overtake the other. As well-built as the train was, there was no contest against the all-powerful kaiju. Not two cars behind Izumi's, the train’s connectors were ripped and torn away with the force of the monster’s strike. The rail beneath the back end of the train gave way, and the cars disappeared out of view. They were gone.

The resulting sparks and smoke shrouded the kaiju as the train continued down the track. The train could not stop; passengers like Izumi could just look on. Harsh and cruel–the reality of living near Tokyo in the age of monsters. The horror of skyscraper sized beasts lurking and lying in wait to strike was an inconvenient consequence of calling this place home. The darkness of the metropolis racing into the distance caused Izumi to think.

Is this planet hellbent on destroying everything we’ve built? Everything we hold dear? It seems like no matter how hard we try to live life well, the very earth beneath our feet has it out for us? 

Izumi’s mind was consumed only for a moment on this existential dread in his mind, but then his heart warmed once more. His heart warmed as he readjusted the grip on Rin’s flowers. Despite the crazed crowds, the mad dash to the station, and the giant monster attack–the cherry blossoms remained beautiful. Izumi smiled. 

Get the flowers to Rin.

The train limped to the next station, where Izumi disembarked. As the dirt-covered, exhausted crowd walked away from what was left of their train, some shot each other polite looks and others merely stared forward unblinkingly silent. Days like these would never be easy. Who can prepare themselves adequately for destruction and tragedy?

Off in the distance Izumi looked back at the orange, smokey glow of the city across the bay. The monster had returned to its watery seclusion, but the city would show signs of the attack for the weeks and months to come. They would rebuild. They always rebuilt. It pained Izumi to know that the loss of life today would be a headline tomorrow but recede into the depths of the populace’s mind in no time at all.

In the past this day would have been a day of memorial for decades to come. A national remembrance would have been dictated. The country would have mourned with candlelight vigils and services. Petitions would be signed, protests would have taken place across the country. Unfortunately, today would result in no such actions. It was just another kaiju attack. 

Could Izumi change the way things were for everyone else? No. Could he get the fresh, slightly smokey cherry blossoms to Rin? Yes. 

Not a single thing could remove the smile from his face now. Izumi was alive. The flowers were in one piece. Home was not that far away. A short walk up the hill and he would be home. His legs ached, his hands were cracked, and his face was weary with the overwhelming effects of the day. The smile remained. The smile widened as Rin came into view.

They were pacing the driveway, frantically speaking to someone on the other end of the phone. Panic and fright covered Rin’s face as a myriad of terrifying theories came to their mind for why Izumi was not home yet. Even from far away, he hated to see Rin afraid. “Hey! Rin!” Izumi shouted from a block away.

At the sound of their lover’s voice, Rin’s tears of sadness turned instantly into tears of immense joy. They ran to meet each other in the middle of the suburban road. Under the streetlight they embraced tightly, each feeling the relief of their fears. They were back together. They had each other. No matter what this crazy world threw at them, they would always have each other. Kaiju attacks included.

Rin looked up at Izumi with tear-filled eyes and a crack in their voice, “I saw the kaiju attack on the news Izumi. I thought … I thought.”

Izumi placed his hands on both sides of Rin’s face tenderly, “I’m okay Rin. We’re okay.”

Their lips met as Izumi leaned forward. All the stress, all the anxiety of this day finally released in the passion of their kiss. Across the bay the skyline of Tokyo still burned, but even those flames paled in comparison to their love. Rin’s smile returned as they noticed what Izumi held in his hand, “Are those? … You didn’t!”

The couple beamed as Izumi handed the bouquet of cherry blossoms to Rin. “Oh, right! I picked these up on my way back from work. They’re a little smokey, but–”

“I love them!” Rin exclaimed.

Hand in hand, they walked to their home. The harshness and cruelty of the day could not cancel out the softness of this moment. Izumi and Rin would face the realities of life together, even giant monster attacks. Days like these were unpredictable. So many things in life are unpredictable, especially love and kaiju.