"Why don't we go check it out, Hanabi?" A body who looks to be in the same age as the girl with the sky blue hair suddenly spoke up as he approached her and stood beside her. This boy looked every bit the hardened survivor, his blonde hair tousled and uneven, with strands that had clearly grown out under rough conditions, swept back from his face as if untouched by a comb in ages. His limpid yellow eyes were sharp and observant, shining with a mix of caution and cunning—a gaze that held the wisdom of someone who had learned to adapt to a broken world far beyond his years.
He wore a makeshift outfit pieced together from scavenged gear: a faded, olive-green hoodie with patches sewn on the elbows and hood, layered under a battered vest reinforced with lightweight armor plating. His hands were wrapped in worn cloth to protect against rough terrain and cold nights, and he carried a small, dented metal pack slung over his shoulder, stuffed with scavenged supplies and odd gadgets. His pants were torn and patched in multiple places, held up by a belt decorated with small trinkets—perhaps mementos of his journey.
In one hand, he gripped a simple but sharp hunting knife, its blade showing signs of frequent use, while strapped to his thigh was a small, compact firearm cobbled together from various parts. He moved lightly on his feet, always alert, his posture conveying a blend of readiness and resilience that had been hard-won in the wasteland he called home.
Apparently, he was the only one with Hanabi in the forest, as there are also two people standing right behind them, a boy and a girl to be precise. The boy dressed almost in the same style with the boy standing beside Hanabi, but he has dark brown hair with dark brown eyes. Although, the weapon he is holding looks to be a crossbow, but their are some faint glow emitting from it which makes it to be no ordinary bow.
As for the girl beside him, her facial features are completely covered by the hood she is wearing, although her emerald green hair is cascading out of the hood down her body. The weapon she is holding oddly looks like a a very huge shield that is even bigger than her, but she is effortlessly carrying such weapon on her back without much strain on her body.
"I think Kyoto is right, we should check it out. Who knows? We might be lucky and find Lady Naga there" The boy with the dark brown hair suddenly interjected with a convincing look on his face. But Hanabi didn't buy his expression on bit as she looked at him for just a brief moment before she gazed at the direction she heard that explosion some minutes ago.
After keeping silent while narrowing her eyes for some moments, Hanabi suddenly spoke up in a stern tone. "Ok fine, let's go check it out. But I want you all to be very careful, once you notice any strange movement in the area, you run as fast as you can and do not look back"
"Yes captain!" the trio with Hanabi exclaimed in sync with different tone as they began to prepare themselves for what is to come. "Let's go" Hanabi then commanded before they quickly began to move towards the source of the explosion they had heard minutes ago.
....
"Whe.... Where am I?" At another area of the forest, Ashiro could be seen lying flat on the forest grounds, his clothes strangely intact. "I.... Thought I died?" Ashiro muttered in disbelief as he sprang up from the ground before he began to check himself to see if their is any abnormalities.
"I don't see or feel anything unusual" Ashiro muttered in confusion while checking himself out. "Wait..... How did I get out of that ship?" Ashiro suddenly remembered that he was captured by the Kaijus and was placed in an incubator like living machine as he looked towards the sky since he couldn't remember anything that happened right after that.
"Argh!!!" But out of the blue, Ashiro suddenly made a pained scream as he grapped his head with his two hands. "Wha... What is this?" Ashiro struggled to say as the pain in his head got even worse while faint images began to pop up in his mind. In this images, he could see an see innumerable amount of Kaijus of different types run with all they could from a something, but Ashiro failed to discern what this 'something' is.
'What are they running from?' Ashiro thought in confusion amidst the pain in his head as another image pop up in his head. This time, he could see various planets suddenly imploding as numerous ships which looks exactly like the ones belonging the Kaijus fleeing from them with utmost speed. And right behind these ships, Ashiro could notice that same 'something' coming towards them with the same pace.
'What in the world are they running from?' Ashiro thought as he became curious rather than confused before he finally saw the last image pop into his head which is the same ships fast approaching his home planet which is earth. But this time, he didn't notice the 'something' following them, and right after that, everything went blank.
"I can't believe these Kaijus are actually terrified and chased by another thing, I wonder what that is?" While drenched in sweat, Ashiro muttered in disbelief as he sat down tiredly on the ground.
"Lady Naga, please come this way, I think there is a lake around this place" But not long after Ashiro began to catch his breath, he suddenly heard a feminine voice right behind him which startled him. 'There are people here?' Ashiro thought in alarm as he hurriedly stood up from the ground in the hopes of hiding himself before they arrive. But unfortunately, he was too late.
"Huh? There is someone here?"
"Who are you!? And how did you get here!?"
As soon as Ashiro stood up from the ground, a group of people suddenly showed up right in front of him. This group is none other than Hanabi and her gang as they are helping a woman through the forest. The woman in question was a haunting vision of resilience and suffering. Her form was cloaked in loose, ragged clothing, shredded and stained, hanging off her in tattered layers that barely covered her emaciated frame. Despite the wear of countless hardships, a striking beauty remained—her face held a delicate, almost ethereal allure that contrasted sharply with the horrors she'd endured.
Her silky black hair fell in disheveled waves around her shoulders, still somehow managing a subtle sheen even through the grime. Strands of it clung to her face, shadowing the sharp contours of her cheekbones and jaw. But it was her eyes that captivated most: a pair of odd, stormy gray irises, filled with both quiet sorrow and steely defiance, as if they had seen the worst the world had to offer yet refused to give in.
Around her wrists and ankles were faint marks, remnants of restraints that had left bruises and cuts, while her hands bore scars and calluses from what must have been relentless struggle. Though she moved with a weary slowness, every step hinted at an indomitable spirit, a resolve that even the Kaijus' cruelty had not been able to break.
"My name is Ashiro, and I honestly don't know how I got here!" Ashiro hurriedly answered in anxiety as he raised up his two hands in response to the weapons that is being directed at him from the two boys in the group.