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February 23rd, 2016.

Dear Diary,

Time: 9:17am

It's been a rough two years, but as I finally begin to put my life back together it seems once again that I am fated being thrown into chaos. Godzilla has not surfaced since the defeat of Spacegodzilla… That is, until today. Godzilla has made landfall for the first time in just over two full years of slumber beneath the sea, and he brings with him a sense of urgency I've never felt before. It's almost as if he's frightened, and that's something I never thought I'd feel from him. Whatever it is he's searching for, it is causing him a great deal of stress.

Time: 3:45pm

Godzilla departed Tokyo around ten o clock today not long after his initial appearance and made his way back towards Tokyo Bay. I am not sure what's causing him such anxiety, but whatever it is cannot be good. Godzilla is the King of the Monsters, and is the most powerful Kaiju the world has ever seen. If he's getting anxious about something, then I believe it is safe to say the human race should be preparing for the worst. With any small amount of luck Godzilla is merely overreacting after his long slumber, but I have yet to see his instincts fail him in any way. I trust him, and I trust his instinct when it comes to identifying threats.

On another note,

Since the defeat of Spacegodzilla, I have left the company of Ken Inouye and the others. Ken has since gotten married to Akiko with Keiichi and Sayuri having departed as well to pursue their own interests. Keiichi began his own business as a freelance Kaiju Tracker, and has to date done very well for himself in that capacity with his customized sonar and radar systems that he's developed over the last couple years. Last I heard from Sayuri she had joined a Psychic network called "Psychics For Tomorrow" which specializes in the concentration and development of a psychic's abilities. I was invited to join, but I turned them down for my own selfish reasons. Rather than focus on developing my power, I am focusing on just trying to live my life.

All my time with Ken and the others was wonderful… save for my and Sayuri's kidnapping which was the most frightening thing I've ever experienced, but I am happy to be moving on and continuing with my life. Seeing Godzilla today was a rather grim reminder of the dangers of the world we live in, and though Godzilla will always have my respect I am doing my best to separate myself from him as I believe I am just a hindrance. Looking back over my experience with him before, the only time my abilities were truly of help to him was when he was trapped underground by that woman Harmony. Other than that I don't believe Godzilla ever truly needed my help.

… Maybe I'm just being negative?

Regardless of the circumstances, I am pleased to be continuing my life on my own. It is a new experience to have to rely solely on myself to survive and thrive, and I must admit it's also kind of exciting. My new apartment is fairly small, but spacious enough to provide me with comfort and security. The neighborhood is quite nice too, and there have been very few reports of burglaries or anything of that nature. That, and I don't have much of value so my things would not make a high priority target to anyone looking to rob me. A futon, a pillow, an extra blanket, a few trinkets from home for nostalgia and to keep me grounded, an alarm clock, a few changes of clothing, and a toothbrush. My parents have sent me enough money to live on for about a month, and during that time it will be up to me to find a job to support myself once those funds run out.

I guess I'll see you tomorrow!

Love,

Miki Saegusa

February 24th, 2016

Time: 11:32am

"Miki!" Shouted an elderly woman whom Miki had met earlier that morning in her hunt for a job.

Miki was running through the streets as fast as her legs could carry her with the ground beneath her trembling and shaking as if an earthquake had suddenly struck the city. The once quiet and peaceful atmosphere of the morning had been suddenly transformed as the sounds of Kaiju roars filled the air. Behind her in the streets and through the rooftop gaps was the scene of a battle between Godzilla and a new creature whom had recently appeared within the country of Japan. An incredibly large armadillo type creature with a horn on its nose and spikes all across its back and down the length of its tail with a feisty attitude to match. This creature had already destroyed a military installation which had been in its path and destroyed several dozen tanks and armored transports which had been deployed against it, and now it was in the heat of battle with Godzilla which was an entirely different challenge.

As Miki ran through the streets, Godzilla had been rammed by the new creature and was in the process of falling to the ground. Everything was now in slow motion as Miki turned her head mid stride to see what was happening. She skidded to a stop and watched as Godzilla's monstrous form slowly descended to the earth and realized a bit too late that she was right in his path. She turned around and sprinted away as fast as she could possibly manage, but with the shadow of Godzilla slowly overtaking her she knew that she was never going to make it. Out of desperation, Miki ran towards an alleyway on the side to try and escape the fate which inevitably awaited her.

Godzilla's body struck the ground with great force and shook the earth so much that Miki instantly lost balance and fell to the ground. She looked up and saw the Godzilla had fallen on his side and his spines were now coming down on top of her. She curled up into a fetal position as she waited for death, but was rather surprised that when the earth next shook she hadn't been crushed to death. Opening her eyes, Miki saw that Godzilla's spines had managed to miss her, but only by a few feet. Miki turned and crawled away as Godzilla slowly shifted and squirmed on the ground, and she realized by listening to the struggle that the armadillo creature was wrestling with him. Miki turned her head all too late, and she watched as the armadillo creature's tail flew overhead and took the roof off of the top of the building on her left side… or, what was left of it after Godzilla's spines were done with it.

Miki crawled forward even faster now, and as she did she watched as the armadillo's tail flew back the other direction as Godzilla grabbed it by the leg and dragged it away from Miki's position. Miki was grateful for the break, but Godzilla then decided it would be a good idea to start rolling away, and once again Miki was right in his path. Miki got to her feet and started running, but Godzilla's largest set of spines in the middle of his back began descending upon her. Miki looked over her shoulder and saw a small opportunity which she quite literally jumped at. As his spines came down, Miki leaped off to her side as it fell beside her and heaved herself over the thinnest part of the spiky extension before her feet touched the ground in time for her to miss taking a ride into the air. Godzilla had rolled back towards her to get some momentum and then had rolled the other way to get onto his stomach to stand up. If she had held on any longer, she'd have been lifted into the air and would likely have perished in her fall back to earth.

With Godzilla now in the process of standing up, Miki thought her troubles were over. She couldn't have been more wrong. Miki looked back over her shoulder once again and saw the armadillo running towards her. She cursed her luck and sprinted towards cover, but she didn't make it in time as the armadillo's front right leg crushed the building she had been running towards. She sprinted left and once again found herself dodging a massive foot falling into her path. She turned right and continued on, fully aware that she was heading directly under the creature but it was the only other place where she saw no feet coming down. She ran forward towards the open streets behind the creature as it continued to run in the opposite direction around Godzilla's back. The creature's back legs came at her as she ran by, and she narrowly missed its left hind leg as it stomped down beside her. She fell to the ground and watched with wide eyes as its tail flew directly at her as it continued on its course.

Miki layer down on the ground and as she watched above her, the image of a massive brown tail flying by above her within mere feet of her body sent a chill down her spine. Finally, cloudy grey skies greeted her eyes as the armadillo continued on and she was able to stand up and run to a safe distance at last. Godzilla had righted himself not long before she made it out from under the armadillo, but luckily he began diverting the fight the other direction as the two titans continued to clash. Miki ran as long as her body would let her, and when she turned around to watch the fight she found herself not nearly as far away as she had hoped to get. Godzilla and the armadillo were wrestling once again in close quarters combat with the armadillo having clamped its jaws around Godzilla's left arm. Godzilla was trying to pry its jaws loose, but in the process he was backpedaling directly at Miki.

… Isn't there some kind of law against this?! Miki angrily thought to herself as she forced herself to turn around and keep running.

Since Miki had resolved not to interfere with Godzilla anymore, she had ceased trying to connect with him but she was starting to regret the decision. Still, she was determined to stay her course despite the adversities facing her.

As Miki kept running, she was stopped in her tracks by the sight of Godzilla's tail slamming down into the road in front of her. She skidded to a halt and yelled out angrily "Oh come on!" before his tail was lifted away and she was able to keep going. Godzilla's tail left quite the indent in the ground which Miki had to carefully trek through, but still she managed to get by just fine and continue on her way. She ran farther and farther until her legs began to give out on her and, against her better judgement, decided to turn around to see what was going on. Thankfully for her, luck seemed to be taking a turn as Godzilla and the armadillo had wrestled each other back the other way and were now quite a distance from her. Godzilla had managed to get the monster off his arm and they were now beginning to once again try to lock arms and jaws.

Godzilla was faring unusually poorly against a foe almost half his size, and Miki began to wonder if perhaps something was ailing him. She didn't know about whether or not Kaiju got sick or if they suffered from the effects of such things as depression which could effect their ability to combat other Kaiju, but Godzilla just didn't seem to be his old self. The armadillo was running around him, whacking him with its tail, ramming him with the spikes on its back, and even trying to jump on him and knock him to the ground while Godzilla was only just barely able to keep pace with it. Normally, Godzilla would be able to fend off its attacks with ease, but today he was sluggish which had Miki very concerned. She may have resolved not to interfere with him, but that didn't mean that she stopped caring about him and his well being.

As the fight continued, the armadillo began to take more and more shots at Godzilla who's fatigue levels were beginning to show. From a new location a good distance away between two small buildings, Miki watched the fight and started to notice that Godzilla looked fatigued. His mouth hung open just so and she could see his chest rising and falling at a faster than normal pace. Godzilla's eyes were also a but more of a dull shade of yellowish brown than she had remembered from her time with him before and that fact also had her concerned. He had been dormant for two plus years, so maybe his energy levels just weren't there? She didn't know what was causing it for certain, but she knew that Godzilla was showing signs of weakness and the armadillo obviously noticed as well as it became more aggressive as the fight dragged on.

Eventually, Godzilla did what Miki had been hoping he would do. He waited for an opening and his spines lit up with that beautiful yet ominous blue coloration he was famed for as he reared his head back and let fly with his thermonuclear breath. However, as the beam was let free, Miki noticed it was smaller than usual and when it struck the armadillo all the creature had to do was turn its head away and stand its ground. The attack was held for a few seconds and then ceased, and the armadillo shook its head and looked back at Godzilla as Godzilla began panting again. The smaller creature tilted its head a little, and then charged at Godzilla before suddenly tucking itself into a ball and ramming its spike covered back against Godzilla's chest. The Monster King roared out in pain as the small spikes cut into his chest leaving several small gashes and puncture wounds which began bleeding as he staggered away from the armadillo who unrolled and began circling Godzilla.

Almost as if on cue, the military arrived to make things worse. Large maser units rolled through the streets with helicopters and fighter jets flying overhead. Several dozen tanks also rolled through the streets, and Miki had to hide herself in order to not get run over or sent away as the military was so famous for doing to those in proximity to such battles. The masers began to target both creatures, but the majority of them were focused on Godzilla as he was the larger and more familiar threat. The masers targeted Godzilla's wounded chest for the most part while a few others began targeting his face as it was one of the hardest places for him to defend. Godzilla's arms were not long enough to reach his head to shield it and his body was slow to turn due to how big it was. Both monsters ended up taking a bit of a beating from the masers, and to make it worse the jets began launching missiles towards both of their heads and upper bodies.

Godzilla was struck in the head by half a dozen missiles at once which made him stagger forward, but that wasn't the worst part. The armadillo saw this throw of balance and threw his tail into Godzilla's path which caused him to trip and fall forward to the ground. The armadillo paid for the maneuver though as the masers targeted his left eye and just barely missed their mark. Still, it stung quite badly and the armadillo had to turn away to protect himself from the blasts. His armored back took no damage from the masers whatsoever while the jets and their missiles kept targeting his legs, neck and head whenever they could. Godzilla took some more shots to his back and shoulders while a few of the helicopters fired their missiles at the sides of his head. The King of the Monsters slowly rose to his feet, eyes shut tight to protect them from harm as he began charging his thermonuclear breath again. The military vehicles began to scatter, but not in time to stop Godzilla from turning around and firing his attack.

The power of the beam was significantly reduced, however, and as it had been for the armadillo the damage was minimal. He knocked a few tanks back and threw a few masers onto their sides, but otherwise the attack failed to incinerate or destroy any of the units outright. Godzilla shook his head and looked around as he opened his eyes to try and see what he had managed to do, and seemed appropriately disappointed about the lack of damage the military had taken. Missiles continued to bombard Godzilla and his new foe and both monsters began to slowly retreat back a few steps to give themselves some distance between themselves and the incoming fire.

Miki, in the meantime, had taken refuge nearby in a building that the evacuating citizens had forgotten to lock and watched the fight out of a second story window with a small balcony. The vantage point had a clear view of the battlefield, and though she didn't enjoy watching Godzilla struggle like this, it was better than watching him get ripped apart by other Kaiju. The cuts on his chest from the armadillo had already begun to stop bleeding which was a good sign, but the fact that it had caused bleeding at all was a bit of a concern. Normally his hide was tougher than that, but today all sorts of things had gone wrong for the King of the Monsters and it was only getting worse. Godzilla's hide was beginning to falter even further as more missiles kept hitting the same places over and over again. Small burns and a few small bleeding cuts began to appear in areas where more than three to four missiles had struck.

Godzilla began showing signs of desperation as he fired his thermonuclear breath over and over again at every plane he could see. His aim was suffering for it though and he missed nearly every shot he took. A few of the planes were destroyed and crashed to the ground, one of them sent hurtling towards Miki's balcony.

"… Ugh, not agaaaaaaain!" She yelled as she jumped off the balcony to a small stand underneath her.

She hit the stand and jumped to the ground and started running through the streets just as the house she'd been in before was served a healthy morning does of flaming aircraft. The blast threw her off her feet and to the ground before she was hit in the back by a piece of debris. The hit caused a small cut to appear, and she knew she'd have a bruise there before long but it was not enough to stop her from getting up right away and finding another spot to view the battle from.

Godzilla was set upon once again by the armadillo who noticed his desperation and began to take advantage of the already bad situation. It dove for Godzilla and crouched in front of him, almost as if he was aiming to protect him at first, but as the missiles were fired he jumped out of the way and let them strike Godzilla instead. Godzilla noticed this tactic and kicked the armadillo away sending him flying onto his back and onto some nearby housing, but otherwise did little to actually hurt it. Godzilla was about to stomp on his foe when another round of masers struck him on the side of the head and cut into his mouth. Blood trickled from the corners of his lip on the right side and the flesh on the roof of his mouth had also received some damage.

Godzilla looked over at the masers and snarled at them as he'd had enough of their interference. Godzilla stomped towards them, sheer will pushing him forward through their constant bombardment before he was right on top of them and began stomping them into the ground. If his breath attack didn't work, he'd go for the direct approach. The tanks suffered a similar fate underfoot as Godzilla began using his tail as his weapon of choice when the planes came in for missile runs and managed to take two or three more of them out of the sky before they finally began a retreat. The rest of the military forces followed suit, and Godzilla spat out some of the blood in his mouth before turning towards the armadillo who was back on his feet and ready for another round. Godzilla and the armadillo squared off for a few moments before the armadillo began another charge.

Godzilla waited patiently for it to get in close, and as it leaped into the air and began curling into a ball Godzilla whipped his tail around and slammed it into the spiky ball of a Kaiju and sent it flying several hundred yards into a large building which proceeded to fall down on top of it. Struggling under the debris, the monster righted itself and crawled out from under the rubble only to be greeted by Godzilla's foot coming down on top of its head. The small spikes on the back of its head and the horn on its nose cut into Godzilla's foot, but he didn't seem to care as he stomped down with all his might and crushed the monster's head underfoot several times before backing away. The mighty Kaiju had to put his weight of the front of his foot as it was cut too badly to place flat on the ground anymore, and as he limped back a few steps the armadillo seemed to be unconscious. Taking a moment to blast it with what was left of his thermonuclear breath, Godzilla tested his opponent and was satisfied when the blast received no reaction.

With his foe unconscious, Godzilla roared to the skies in victory before turning away and limping off towards the ocean. Blood from his foot created a small red streak behind him as he continued on his way, and Miki watched with sadness as Godzilla was forced to limp away from an otherwise victorious fight against both the military and the new foe. Miki could not help but wonder what was going on with him as he'd never displayed this kind of weakness before. Even against his fiercest foes, he was never this sluggish or lacked so much power. Even his most potent weapon, his thermonuclear breath, seemed as if it was drained of all its power. Was he sick? Was he suffering from some kind of human made weapon of some sort? Just what was going on? Miki needed answers, and she felt that the best place to find them would be either with the Shobijin (though they rarely ever told her the full story) or by contacting Ken and Akiko. Even though she didn't work for or with them anymore, she hoped that they'd still be able to tell her what was join on from a behavioral standpoint as both of them were keen on animal behavior and biology.

Miki heaved a sigh as she watched Godzilla leave the area and began the long trek back to her apartment. Remarkably, it was in tact despite the devastation in the surrounding area, and Miki walked inside and picked up the phone to find that there was no service.

"Of course… You don't destroy my living space, but you've killed the phone lines." She grumbled.

She tossed the phone on the floor and sprawled out on her futon as she stared at the ceiling and thought about what she could do. Ken and Akiko had since moved their base of operation to Kyoto, and were much too far away for her to just walk to. She couldn't afford to take a bus or train all that way either, as she only had just enough funds to live in this apartment for one month's time before she'd have to begin paying for it herself. She decided that it was best to wait until the power was restored. They'd gotten pretty good at fixing power lines over the past few years what with all the Kaiju attacks and such, but still it'd be a few days before she could send a call out. With nothing better to do she closed her eyes and began thinking about the battle that had taken place and why it was that Godzilla had been acting so strangely. She reviewed everything she knew about him and one detail was brought up which gave her a bit of an epiphany.

"You haven't eaten in two years have you?" She asked quietly.

Being a creature born of radiation, Godzilla likely hadn't consumed any since his victory over Spacegodzilla. If that was the case it could explain why his thermonuclear breath was so weak. Without a fully charged power source he was drawing on reserves which he needed to survive which would also explain his weakened hide. If Godzilla's abilities such as his durability, recovery time, and thermonuclear breath had anything to do with his radiation reserves, then a lacking of such a power source would explain quite a lot. Another thing it would explain would be that Miki hadn't felt the effects of being so close to Godzilla's body. Crawling over and under his spines was not exactly something to be proud or happy about, as usually that meant she'd be close enough to take in so much radiation that it would kill her. She hadn't felt a thing, but never the less she thought about visiting the hospital sometime within the next hour or so to confirm that she hadn't taken too much exposure.

All of this wasn't much more than a theory, but it begged another question which Miki was somewhat loathe to answer.

"So big guy… When and where are you going to feed next?" She asked.

Godzilla's version of a meal was invading and consuming radiation from power plants throughout Japan, and no matter where he attacked he would meet some heavy resistance along the way. If his healing power had been at all weakened as well, then even something as simple as finding and feeding on a reactor would be difficult for him if he ran into any resistance. With their more advanced surveillance systems, the military likely had ways to track and record his progress no matter where he was which would give them an early warning of his advance and give them time to prepare for his arrival. All in all, life for Godzilla and Miki both would likely get tougher from here on out. She had a feeling that the appearance of this new armadillo creature was just the beginning and that there would be even more surprises in store for both her and the King of the Monsters as time went on.

Miki looked over at her desk and saw her diary. While a little sore and hesitant to reach for it, she forced herself to do so and grabbed a pencil on her way before flopping back down on her futon and opening the next page.

February 24, 2016

Dear Diary,

Time: 1:28pm

Well, that was an eventful day that I never want to experience again. Godzilla and that armadillo came out of nowhere and started battling in the city where I was doing some shopping and I lost all the food I'd bought up until that point. Add to that I need to visit the hospital to get a radiation level test which will put a dent in my finances. Still, it's a small price to pay to make sure that I don't die from exposure. Hopefully I'll be able to find a job sometime in the next couple weeks from a place that hasn't been trampled to the ground.

… Am I becoming more cynical? Maybe I'm just tired.

Either way, I think I'll go visit the hospital now and then I'll get to work finding a place that is still standing and try to find myself a job. My new apartment won't pay for itself forever, and I've got exactly twenty four days left before my parent's gifted finances run out. Nobody said this would be easy, but still I kind of wish that Godzilla and that armadillo hadn't made it all that much harder for me. I never asked for an easy life, but I didn't think that things would get so difficult so fast. With all of this destruction about, there will certainly be a lot more people out looking for work once the evacuation order is lifted which will make finding a job quite… interesting.

See you tomorrow.

Love,

Miki Saegusa

… P.S.

I hope Godzilla is alright. He really didn't look too well today. I can't say for sure what's got him so sluggish but if it is in fact that he hasn't fed on radiation in a long time then we can be sure he'll be back on Japanese shores fairly soon. I doubt that it will be a pleasant experience, but if it gives him back his original strength then I suppose it will be worth it. At least, I hope it will.