3. A Very Rude Awakening

Hideo's dreams faded to a light doze. Movement in the foyer half-woke him into a stupor. Relief flooded him, then quickly turned to foreboding when silence followed. He heard peculiar plop-click footsteps that didn't sound like bare feet or shoes. It almost reminded him of the raptor footsteps in Jurassic Park. He heard his shoes hit the floor with a loud smack. Startled, he looked up to see a pair of lifeless white eyes with faint silver irises boring into his skull. The cold orbs were set under a charcoal gray reptilian brow. Strong, square jaws parted to bare huge teeth in a soundless snarl. Hideo's eyes widened at the smell of ozone on the creature's breath and he noticed the three rows of plates on its back were beginning to glow electric blue.

"Holy Heavens!" Hideo jerked back in the chair, his face contorting in terror. "G-Go-Godzilla! H-how...?" His brains were scrambled because Godzilla stood before him at only six feet tall-and last time Hideo checked the monster was over two hundred feet tall. It didn't make sense! "What-where-the-th..."

To his complete and utter surprise, Godzilla spoke, "I live here. I think the question should be 'what are you doing in my home?'"

"Y-your home?"

"Yes, idiot, my home." Godzilla's voice was a smooth, resonating baritone that did not fit his appearance at all. How he could form words with that mouth was a mystery. He jerked forward, grasping the arms of the chair, and growled in Hideo's wrinkled face. "I should kill you for trespassing on my property."

Hideo shrank back against the chair's backing. He squeezed his eyes shut and whimpered. "No! Wait! Please...please don't kill me! I have a daughter and I'm all she has! Just...just let me go and I-I'll find a pay phone and have someone pick me up! I won't tell anyone I saw you! I swear!"

"A daughter?" asked Godzilla.

"Yes...sh-she just turned eighteen!"

"Hm," Godzilla stood up straight and tapped a claw against the tip of his snout. His white eyes narrowed in thought. A daughter...a young adult one at that. Maybe she could break the spell Mothra cast fifty years ago. Yes, it was perfect. He crossed his arms, turning once again to look at Hideo. "Then let's make a deal. You bring your daughter here to stay and I'll let you live."

"No-"

"Do you want to die, old man? I have a computer, I can look up your fishing company," Godzilla tapped the logo and nametag on Hideo's jacket with a claw, "find out where you live and decide to stomp your house and kill you both." His mouth curled into something resembling a smile. It did not look at all pleasant. "I'll give you three days to make up your mind. Then I'm going to come a-stomping your way. And please, don't try going to the police. They wouldn't believe you."

"How would I explain this to her? What excuse would I use?"

"Don't use one. Tell her the truth," he leaned forward, saying, "She has to come willingly."

"She'd never agree to this!" Hideo shouted.

"If she loves you enough, she will."

Poor Hideo was too shell shocked to find a decent retort. He couldn't stop staring at Godzilla standing before him with almost military perfect posture. It just looked wrong...he was supposed to be hunched forward and clumsy like an animal, not speaking and making human gestures like a...well like a man!

"What are you staring at?"

He gasped, "N-nothing!"

"Idiot." Godzilla's tail thumped twice on the ground. "Well, I guess you're stuck sleeping here tonight. Don't even think about trying to leave...I'll know it. Oh, by the way, there's one slice left in the pizza box. Better take it," he swept the saxophone and violin aside with his tail, clearing a space large enough to lie on. "You can have the couch. I'm going upstairs. I've been hit by artillery shells, I'm tired, I need a shower and I'm sick of looking at you. G'night."

Hideo blinked stupidly. Godzilla snorted and stomped towards the stairs, muttering angrily about how rude it was to stare. He was pretty sure the foolish human jumped when he slammed the door.

As soon as he closed the door, Godzilla flicked on the overhead light to reveal his king-sized bed. The black sheets where in disarray and the mattress had a hollow from his heavy body. He crossed the room to turn on a red lava lamp on his nightstand. Papers crackled under his toes. Much of his bedroom floor was covered in beer bottles and notebooks full of poems, songs and musical notations.

Godzilla shot a disdainful look at the closed door. The encounter with the old man left him more than a little rattled. It had been fifty years since he spoke face to face with anyone. He'd forgotten much of his social graces. Too late to take it back now. Godzilla walked past the closet and opened the bathroom door. His bathroom was white marble and contained no mirror-the main mirror was gone and only jagged fragments littered the edges of his medicine cabinet door. He went to the sink first, turned on the water and bent over it to brush his teeth.

I'm such a stupid fool, Godzilla berated himself. He curled his lips at the electric toothbrush's annoying buzz and minty foam dripped from his jaws to splatter all over the white countertop. His daughter won't want anything to do with me. She's probably beautiful and I'm a freak. Nobody will ever love me when my face makes grown men whimper like babies. I'm screwed.

He spat angrily and slammed his electric toothbrush back into its holder. Then, wiping the excess toothpaste off his chin and cheeks, he turned the shower on until steam poured around the shower curtain like mist. He gazed out the door at the barrel of his AK-47, which poked out from under the bed. While huge, his body could regenerate practically any damage...but at this size he healed at a human rate. Sometimes he seriously pondered putting that barrel in his mouth and pulling the trigger.

No, I have to try at least once, Godzilla said to himself. He hissed, stepped into the shower and scraped the sand off his body with a scrub brush. But what if she's one of those preppy bubbleheads? God, I hope not. I can't stand those. A deep sigh made his chest heave and sag. He banged his head gently against the tiled shower wall while the water splashed between his dorsal spines. She'll end up pitying me and that's even worse. Damn you, Mothra! You've ruined my life!

Godzilla swore the Fates were conspiring against him by sending Hideo to his house. With the human present, he couldn't even self-comfort by singing in the shower. He didn't dare risk revealing his voice to anyone. He shut off the water, dried himself with a vigorous all-body shake and staggered to his bed. Pulling the sheets over his head, he curled up and fell right to sleep.

.o

Unlike Godzilla, Hideo didn't sleep well at all. He laid awake most of the night, watching the hours pass on the grandfather clock. At three in the morning, he caved in and ate the one slice of pizza Godzilla mentioned. It made him nauseous, so he spent the next hour throwing up in the bathroom. Then it was back to the couch.

Hints of daylight began to appear at five-thirty. At six, Hideo heard familiar plop-clicking noises as Godzilla descended the stairs. He shut his eyes, pretending to sleep. Godzilla seemed to stand by the edge of the couch for ages before he moved away. Pots rattled in the kitchen. Then the front door creaked open. It wasn't until Godzilla stepped outside the house that Hideo managed to doze off for another two hours.

The next time Hideo woke up, he smelled pancakes. He found a steaming plate of them on the kitchen table, which had been cleared of everything but the breakfast. They were already drizzled with maple syrup and butter. Silverware was folded neatly in a paper napkin. Next to the plate was a map with a circled island and a note that said:

'Your boat has been refueled. I circled the island you're on so you can find your way home.

Eat and get out.'

Hideo's stomach turned over with hunger. It was an odd sensation to be both nauseous and hungry at the same time. His gaze wandered to a mug of fresh-brewed coffee and he quickly downed it. The caffeine and warmth chased the stupor away and he ate his breakfast as fast as humanly possible. Best pancakes he ever tasted. Hideo almost laughed when he remembered who cooked them. The happy mood quickly left him once he cast off from shore. How could he go home and tell his only daughter about this? What did a beast like Godzilla want with a young girl? A sacrifice? Sex? A slave? The scenarios grew more horrible as he sailed.

The whole way home, Hideo silently pondered taking Miki and moving out. But even that was futile. Godzilla would find him. He was in such a daze that he didn't notice the coast guard pulling up.

.o

It took a full day for Hideo to recover and tell Miki everything that happened. While he spoke, Miki's face morphed from surprise, horror, anger, shock and finally confusion. She watched how glistening tears rolled down between the wrinkles in Hideo's aged face.

"...and that's what happened," he finished. They were talking over a hearty dinner of fish, vegetables and bread.

She didn't know what to say at first. Godzilla, able to talk like a person and living in a house? And wanting her to come live with him? The story sounded utterly absurd! She would have laughed in her father's face if he hadn't burst into sobbing halfway through telling her about it.

"Daddy..." Miki whispered, scooting around the low wooden table to lay her head on his shoulder. "We could move out. Just drop everything and go to another country."

"No," said Hideo with a shake of his head, "He'll find us. We're both as good as dead!" He dropped his chopsticks and groaned. "Oh, Miki, I'm so sorry I caused this! I'll just go back and explain that you can't come and see if-"

"No, no, no..." Miki replied. "You have a dock to run and a house to take care of."

"But, Miki! Your career-"

"Can wait." She cut him off. "I don't want you to die because of me. Maybe..." she tried to find something positive, but such was hard with the cold dread forming in the pit of her stomach. This wasn't what she had in mind when it came to moving out and managing on her own. "...maybe it won't be so bad. I can do my thing, he'll do his and we'll ignore each other."

Hideo's eyes flared like embers, "What if he doesn't? What if he wants you for some kind of sick sex thing? Or makes you into a slave? Who knows what he'll do if you make him angry!"

"We're as good as dead if I don't go!" She snapped, then quickly apologized for getting sassy. "Dad... daddy... I don't like this any more than you do, but I love you and I don't want you to get hurt. End of discussion."

"Miki..."

"Dad, you said yourself that I need to start making my own decisions in life. This is one of those." Miki stood up and left the kitchen after that. It wasn't until she entered her bedroom and started packing that the choking tears made their escape. Her favorite CD's, her modeling portfolio, personal photos and some books were among the belongings she wanted to take along. She was halfway through her closet when her laptop beeped. Miki sat down on her bed. Her friend, perfectsomeone35411, was hailing her.

perfectsomeone35411: hi miki
MikiMew: hi...messed up right now, can't talk long.
perfectsomeone35411: what's wrong?
MikiMew: just a bad situation and i have to leave home tomorrow. really don't want to talk about it.
perfectsomeone35411: oh...that sucks. is it legal issues?
MikiMew: sorta...it's really complicated. ugh. x.x
perfectsomeone35411: -sad- u in trouble?
MikiMew: i don't know, but i really really reeeeeeeeally don't wanna talk about it
perfectsomeone35411: ok will u still be able 2 talk?
MikiMew: i'm taking my laptop with me. dunno if i'll have net access though. if you stop seeing me online then that's why.
perfectsomeone35411: -hugs- i'm sorry
MikiMew: you're really sweet ps. if i don't see you again, thanx for being so nice.
perfectsomeone35411: i'll miss u if u can't come back.
perfectsomeone35411: ur a darling and talking 2 u always makes me smile
MikiMew: aw same here. if i still have net access, i'll poke you the next time i can get on. but i don't want to make promises i might break
perfectsomeone35411: its ok miki...i understand if u can't make it back. i'll still miss u tons.

Tears flooded down Miki's cheeks and she hugged herself.

MikiMew: -hugs you- thanx...gtg.
perfectsomeone35411: bye, miki. godspeed.

She logged off, shut the laptop down and began to cry again. Her weeping continued while she packed the last of her things into a second suitcase.