Chapter Text
Chapter 1: Attraction
Attraction /əˈtræk.ʃən/ — the feeling of being drawn toward someone.
The first thing Soshiro noticed about her was her scent.
It wa one of those nights—the kind that stretched endlessly no matter how much he typed, signed, or filed. Paperwork towered over his desk like a second mountain range.
Ever since the fight with No.9, reconstruction at Tachikawa Base had been nonstop. Now, with recruitment season underway, Soshiro felt as though his sanity would soon be thrown out the window.
He hated it. He would rather fight a horde of kaiju than rot in his office chair.
A soft knock interrupted his thoughts.
“Good evening, Vice Commander. I’ve brought the third batch of applications.”
He stifled a groan, cleared his throat, and told the staff member to come in.
When the door opened, something unexpected slipped into the room—a fragrance, delicate and unfamiliar. Light, floral, with a woody undertone. It stood in sharp contrast to the base’s usual smell of metal, coffee, antiseptic, blood, and the fishy stench of kaiju carcasses. He had grown used to those odors; they were part of the war effort. But her scent… it was disarming.
Soothing.
“Vice Commander? Is something wrong?” she asked, uneasy at his silence.
“No, of course. Everything’s fine, Ms…” He faltered. Tachikawa was enormous, housing thousands of staff. After No.9’s devastation, the endless reassignments blurred names and faces.
“Hanae,” she said with a polite smile. “I was with the 4th Division, but I’ve been transferred here. I’m now with Human Resources and Operations.”
Soshiro nodded, managing a faint smile of his own.
“It’s a pleasure, Hanae. I hope you’re settling well into the 3rd Division.”
x x x
The second thing he noticed about her was her laugh.
After their first encounter, Soshiro’s world seemed to grow smaller. Wherever he went, she was there.
Not that he was complaining.
It was… nice. The small greetings in the hallway, the polite smiles exchanged in passing, and the way her scent reached him before she did—familiar now, comforting, a quiet reminder that she was near.
“Okonogi-san, you really need to take a break. Let’s talk about this tomorrow.”
It was well past midnight when Soshiro did his rounds, making sure the rookies had returned to their quarters. That’s when he heard a familiar voice coming from the laboratory, where Okonogi, the operations leader, often stayed.
Curious, he stepped inside.
The hum of machines filled the air. Two women sat huddled before a glowing monitor.
“Good evening, Vice Commander,” they both greeted.
He nodded back, stealing a quick glance at Hanae before asking, “What are you two up to?”
Okonogi let out a laugh and pushed her oversized glasses up the bridge of her nose.
“Well, Vice Commander, are you ready to have your mind blown?”
She gestured proudly at Hanae.
“My brilliant assistant here figured out the issue with No.12 and Commander Hoshina’s compatibility.”
Soshiro’s gaze flicked to Hanae, his brows rising in genuine surprise. No.12. He still remembered the crushing weight of that battle—how his body had screamed in pain, as if all 206 of his bones had been broken. They had kept the kaiju for research, but it had proven volatile, leaving researchers stumped.
And now… she had found a way forward?
“She did?” His voice carried more admiration than he intended. “That’s… incredible.”
He meant it. With this breakthrough, they could finally move to the next stage.
“Right?” Okonogi said, practically bouncing. “We were just talking, and out of nowhere she solved the missing piece! I cannot wait to report this to Headquarters!”
“Okonogi-san, please,” Hanae protested with a soft, embarrassed laugh. “It was only a suggestion. We don’t even know if it will work.”
“Suggestion or not, it’s brilliant,” Okonogi insisted, throwing her arms around Hanae. “I’m so glad you transferred here.”
Hanae laughed again, gentle and warm, like a summer breeze. Soft and unassuming, it lingered without demanding attention. Soshiro found himself smiling too, despite the weight of the hour and the exhaustion in his bones.
“You’re embarrassing me, Okonogi-san,” Hanae said, cheeks tinged pink.
x x x
Days and weeks passed. Simple greetings and polite salutations turned into casual conversations; inside jokes were shared, and Soshiro now knew how she liked her coffee better than he knew his own preferences.
What began as simple curiosity had shifted into something more. He wouldn’t admit it outright, but he really liked having her around.
She was efficient, sharp, and always ahead of deadlines. She prioritized tasks with ease, her reports were color-coded, and she had organized all his files in a single sitting—because she couldn’t stand how they weren’t alphabetically arranged. In the end, she made his life easier.
And, not to mention, she always smelled incredible.
“Of course it’s Commander for me. Her cold demeanor is one for the books,” a rookie laughed.
It was idle chatter among the new recruits in the common shower room. Hoshina hadn’t intended to eavesdrop—it wasn’t in his nature to linger on useless banter—but his interest sparked when someone asked the question: If you had the chance, who would you date?
Naturally, Captain Ashiro was at the top of the list.
“Well, for me it’s Hanae-san,” another rookie chimed in. “I really like how calm she sounds when giving instructions—and she’s beautiful, too.”
Hoshina frowned. He couldn’t place why, but he disliked how freely they spoke of Hanae. Still… he couldn’t deny the truth in their words. Hanae was beautiful. There was no arguing that.
“Me too,” another added quickly. “Hanae-san is amazing. She smells so good, and the way she smiles—so cute. I want to ask her out on a date someday.”
Hoshina’s jaw tightened. He agreed, but he hated every second of hearing it.
How dare they talk about her like they know her? How dare they think of asking her out?
“Aren’t you guys idling a little too long?” His voice cut through the room, deceptively light but edged with venom.
“W-we’re sorry, Vice Commander!” they stammered in unison, scrambling to dress and flee.
Hoshina caught one straggler—the very one who had spoken about asking Hanae out. His hand clamped down hard on the rookie’s shoulder.
“And you’re still a baby chick,” he said with a grin that didn’t reach his eyes. “You’re far from thinking about dating.”
“Y-yes, Vice Commander! I’m sorry, Vice Commander!” The rookie’s voice shook, terror flooding his face. To him, Hoshina’s gaze was as terrifying as the kaiju they had fought the night before. His grip was so tight, the boy swore his shoulder might snap.
That night, alone, Hoshina found his thoughts drifting. Why did it bother him so much? Why did the idea of Hanae dating someone else gnaw at him?