Greene5

Ian Greene

Satterfield

English 202

Creative Writing II

Shogi

"...We bring you live footage of the latest attack made by Godzilla on Miyagi. We have received word the JSDF has been deployed, but there are still civilians in the area that have not reached shelters and-"

"Sakura," Oshii Nakamura cried. "Turn that blasted thing off. It's your turn anyway."

Sakura switched off the TV and turned her attention to the Shogi board. So far, she was doing pretty good for a novice, already having her Lance and several Pawns in the Promotion Zone, but, knowing her father, he had a few tricks up his sleeve to gain immediate checkmate.

"Sorry, Dad," Sakura apologized while her father took a sip from his non-alcoholic beer. Being a former alcoholic himself, Oshii had given up alcohol as a promise to his wife and Sakura's mother, Hana, who was currently cooking tonkatsu for her, her husband, and their visiting daughter's supper. She had just gotten started on chopping the cabbage while the breaded pork patties sizzled in the oil.

Sakura moved her Lance forward which was followed up by Oshii moving one of his pawns forward whilst keeping his King as far way from the "battlefield" as possible. It was a preferred strategy of his anyway.

"Hey, Dad?"

"Mmm?"

"Have you ever seen Godzilla up close before?"

Oshii raised an eyebrow. "Was this because of the news report?"

"It's what came to my mind, kind of."

Oshii sighed as he remembered the first time he saw the King of the Monsters up close.

"I think it was on 2001 or 2004, my memory's a bit laggy nowadays," he replied. "But, in either case, I remember your grandpa taking me, your aunt, your uncle, and your grandma up to the Hakone Hot Springs during a particularly cold winter. It was just supposed a day to unwind from the frigid winds and, what better way than to relax in a pool of naturally heated water. We had received word that Godzilla was in the area, but he was too far away to be deemed a serious threat for us and the KPN placed his trajectory too far away from where we were."

Oshii paused to take a sip of his hops-flavored pseudo-beer before making his move.

"Anyways, we had just gotten settled down in an onsen when the Kaiju sirens went off. At first, we thought maybe this was just an extension what with Godzilla being south of us, so we didn't pay it any mind. Until the announcer told us a Kaiju was in the immediate area and we had to seek shelter. And, lo and behold, who came barrelling out of the trees than Baragon."

"Baragon?" Sakura asked, raising an eyebrow, making her move. "As in, the cute, pug-like Kaiju?"

"You wouldn't find her cute if you saw her eating people," Oshii replied darkly. "Anyway, Baragon came barrelling towards us, and you know how I told you how she eats people? Well, between us and her, there was the ropeway. Baragon just trudged through it and sent the carts falling to the ground. One of the carts had maybe four or five people in it and they started runnin' for their lives. And, then, Baragon saw them and... well..."

Oshii's eyes glazed over as he remembered the sounds of those poor victims' screams getting cut off by jaws large enough to swallow an eighteen-wheeler.

"L-let's just say, none of us got much sleep the night after."

Oshii took another drink.

"So, Baragon, after having her snack wasn't quite full, so she headed down towards us. At that point, she was so close, I could still see the remains of the people stuck between her teeth. That is, until a shadow came behind us. I looked up, and then I saw... him staring right back."

"Who?"

"Godzilla."

Oshii made his move and continued with his story.

"He was just looking down on us. Or, maybe he was just looking down on Baragon and he didn't even notice us. Anyway, he started heading down to Baragon."

Sakura moved a Pawn, into the promotion zone. "Let me guess, they fought?"

Oshii laughed and shook his head.

"No, fighting is when two guys don't see eye-to-eye in a bar. What happened between Godzilla and Baragon was more akin to a couple of hurricanes collidin' with each other. Neither one was backin' down. Even though Baragon only came up to Godzilla's thigh, she still put up one hell of a fight," he replied. "We could feel the ground shake beneath us all the while we ran for cover knowin' even one stray blast of either of their fire would wipe us off the face of the Earth and we wouldn't even feel it. I swear, those two fought for like seemed for hours. I thought it was the end of the world."

Oshii took a swig of his non-alcoholic drink before continuing.

"However, when it all ended, Baragon went running off looking no worse for wear leavin' Godzilla in the dust. For a while, Godzilla just stood there as if he was thinking about continuing where she left off or to leave us alone. Luckily for us, he went with the latter."

Sakura made her move.

"Why do you think Godzilla acts like this?" she asked. "Attacking people one day, and then defending us another?"

Oshii moved his Bishop and shrugged.

"Who knows? Maybe Godzilla just hates us and only puts other Kaiju in line since he believes he called first dibs on our destruction. All I really know, in my opinion, is that humanity just needs to learn to live with him."

Sakura sighed at her father's words.

"Supper's ready, you two," Hana called from the kitchen.

Oshii made his move and smirked.

"Oh, look at that," he noted. "Checkmate."