September 1st, 7:05 AM, Oto Island, 1954

It had been five days since a dazed and wounded Masaji washed ashore on Oto Island. Shinkichi had to call in that he would be taking a temporary leave of absence to watch over his recovering brother. From his vantage point of the house he was born and raised, Shinkichi watched a mass of fishing boats return to the beaches while chewing on a blade of grass. What had attacked Masaji's boat those five days ago? What wasn't he telling him or their mother? When he asked him three days after, when he could finally talk coherently again, Masaji kept his answer rather vague.

"All I remember was a large, black shape under the water one moment, and then the next, I woke up on the beach surrounded by friends, neighbors, and you."

Shinkichi couldn't help the feeling there was more at play or whatever Shinkichi saw traumatized him that he could only remember snippets. Either way, Shinkichi had known his brother as a brave young man, even when growing up; how he would fend off the biggest bullies when he was eight or how, when he turned thirteen, he stood eye-to-eye with Oto's most ferocious bull and never once blinked. Nothing on the island ever scared him no matter what his age was. However, these past nights, whatever he saw... it did something to him. It terrified him in a way he had never seen. Just last night, he woke up screaming at the top of his lungs and clung to their mother like he was a newborn. When Shinkichi asked him what he dreamed about, Masaji just shrugged him off and said it was nothing but a bad dream.

Why won't you tell us anything, oniisan? Shinkichi thought.

Hagiwara flashed images of Oto Island and its people with his camera. He figured that, if he was gonna stay here for two weeks, he might as well get some pictures; some he would use for a newspaper article, others he would keep as a memento. However, as he got to the beach, he noticed a crowd of villagers around a rowboat looking at an empty fishing net.

"Still nothing," he heard one of the village girls mutter in defeat. "Just like yesterday and the day before that."

"Same here," another woman spoke up before throwing her empty net in disgust. "Not even small fry. I don't think it's ever been this bad."

"I knew it."

The crowd turned at the sound of the wizened voice to Inusuke, one of the elders on the island. He had a very solemn look on his wrinkled face.

"It is the work of Godzilla." he spoke grimly.

One of the women scoffed and rolled her eyes.

"Godzilla?" she sneered. "Not this again, old-timer. Godzilla's just a bedtime story."

Inusuke flashed the woman a glare that would make paint peel off.

"You dare speak ill of our traditions?" he growled. "The moment Godzilla comes, do not be surprised if he eats you first. In fact, I'll be sure to feed you to him myself!"

Despite the seriousness of his threat, the gathered crowd just rolled their eyes or chuckled. Hagiwara's eyes just widened. Godzilla. That was the first time Hagiwara had ever heard of the name. Could that have been the cause of those missing ships? This... "Godzilla"? He had to investigate further.

"Either way," one of the men spoke up, coming to the woman's defense. "There's something going on out there. For all we know, there's a nation trying to expand its borders."

"What, do you mean like America?"

The man shook his head.

"Nah," he replied. "Though, I have a cousin who lives in the Philippines who says that Rolisica and Saradia are at odds with one another and they're attacking areas they want to claim as territory. Oto Island is just one of them."

"Then how do you explain the lack of fish?" Inusuke asked him. "I tell you it is Godzilla's doing!"

There was no answer. Or, at least, not one any villager was comfortable in saying.

"So, what can you tell me about this... Godzilla?" Hagiwara asked Masaji. "Do you think he's the cause behind the sinking ships?"

The elder Morita brother scratched the bandage on his head while Shinkichi looked on.

"I don't know what to tell you," Masaji replied. "All I saw was something big under the water and everything went black. That's all I can say."

He walked away, with Shinkichi following him. Hagiwara stood behind and scratched the back of his head while still holding his pencil. This was going to be harder than he thought.

The rest of the day, Hagiwara went around asking the people of Oto Island about "Godzilla" and got various mixed responses.

He started with a relatively gruff-looking man who was busy hanging up pheasants for his supper.

"I don't have time to discuss silly bedtime stories," he grumbled. "I just want to live my life as best as I can. If that's all you're asking me, then I suggest you hit the road."

He interviewed a few youngsters but they were pulled away by their mothers before they could even get a word in.

The last person he asked was a man who owned a cigarette shop on the island named Bunsuke.

"Godzilla?" he asked before disappearing in thought. "Sure, I've heard about him. He's a local legend on our island. Sort of Oto Island's bogeyman. You see those cypress trees over there? The ones that are thirty meters tall?" He pointed to the trees in question. Hagiwara nodded.

"Well, according to legend," Bunsuke continued. "He's so big that he can use the branches from those trees as toothpicks."

"So, what exactly is he?" Hagiwara asked.

Bunsuke shrugged. "The legend tends to vary on what he is depending on the generation that tells it. Older generations say he's a dragon, newer generations say he's an ogre. Nowadays, they say he's a mixture of both. I don't know to be honest. He's really more of a cautionary tale parents tell their kids when they're young and rowdy. 'Be nice to your sister or else Godzilla will come for you', they'd tell 'em, or something along those lines."

Hagiwara nodded as he scribbled on his notepad.

"Tell ya what," Bunsuke spoke up. "We're doin' a kagura ritual tonight and old man Inusuke will be attending. He might be able to answer your questions better than me."

September 1st, 8:30, Oto Island, 1954

That night, the villagers of Oto Island gathered for a ritual. Hagiwara bore witness to a trio of dancers garbed in robes while wearing Tengu masks dance to the beat of flutes and drums. He noticed Inusuke among the crowd watching and sat next to the old man.

"So," he whispered over to the old man. "What do you know about Godzilla?"

Inusuke replied without looking at him. "He's a local legend of our island. He's a dragon god that lives just off the coast. When he is content, he will herd bountiful numbers of fish and ensure a good harvest. However, when angered, he will devour the fish before turning his hunger toward the people on the island. In the olden days, a young girl would be selected and sent drifting on a raft to quell his wrath. Nowadays, this ritual dance is all we have left of the old traditions."

Hagiwara nodded and said no more, deciding to sit back and watch the dancers sway to and fro amongst the bonfires.

Shinkichi was busy packing his things to go back to Ginza. He figured that, since his brother had made a decent recovery, he could go back. However, while he was doing this. he noticed a cluster of storm clouds rolling towards Oto Island, already sparking with lightning bolts. He could already feel the wind strengthening, threatening to knock him over.

"That looks like one nasty storm heading our way." Omine commented watching with her son. "Are you sure you want to head out in that weather? You know how bad storms on Oto can get. Why don't you spend the night here?"

"True, but, I dunno, Mom." he told her, scratching the back of his head. "I told Ogata I would head back to Ginza after Masaji had recovered. And, since Masaji's recuperated, I really ought to be heading back."

"Nonsense," Omine told him, a stern tone in her voice; the same tone of voice she assumed whenever the two boys got in trouble in their younger years. "You are staying here for the night and that's final. You can head back to Ginza once the storm has passed in the morning. Mother's orders."

"But-" Shinkichi tried to argue until his brother smacked him on the back.

"I'm sure Ogata-san will understand you staying for one more night, outoto." Masaji told him.

Seeing as he was outnumbered by his mother and brother, Shinkichi sighed in defeat. He was sure that Ogata would sympathize with him not heading back to Ginza immediately. Besides, one little night on Oto Island wouldn't hurt, right?

September 1st, 11:15 PM, Oto Island, 1954

Shinkichi could barely sleep. Whether it was the storm's winds howling through the rafters of the house, the roaring thunder, and the sheets of rain battering the roof non-stop or the fact that there was... something out there destroying ships. He shrugged and allowed his eyes to close, until he heard a voice next to him.

"Psst," it was Masaji. "Shinkichi, are you up?"

Shinkichi groaned and rolled over to see Masaji wide awake.

"I am now." Shinkichi groaned.

"I've been thinking about something." Masaji told him. "About... what sank Magobei's boat."

Shinkichi's eyes widened. Was Masaji now opening up about what got him the night before?

"What do you think it was?"

"I think it was... Godzilla."

Shinkichi rolled his eyes. Really? This?

"Are you being serious, Masaji?" he asked him.

"Dead. Serious," Masaji replied. "I mean, think about it. First, the fish go missing, then all those boats sink in the same location, and now we get hit by a storm. Remember those stories Mom and Old Man Inusuke told us about him; how a series of misfortune would herald his arrival? What if those are the misfortunes they were talking about?"

Shinkichi chuckled, "Masaji, let's just say Godzilla did exist, there's a chance one good artillery shell to the face would do him in. Now, go to sleep. Besides, I thought it was the older brother's job to comfort the younger brother."

That did little to soothe Masaji's worries.

"Laugh all you like, Shinkichi," he told him. "But I saw something out in the water. It was big and alive."

"Masaji, you're being ridic-" Shinkichi paused. There was a new sound outside that caused the house to vibrate.

Boom... Boom... Boom... Boom...

At first, he thought it was just the thunder, but it came in a sequence and it sound... rhythmic. Like great, big footsteps. In addition, there was a low, loud rumbling that drowned out the rustling trees; the sound of breathing of something big... and alive. Very, VERY much alive. Shinkichi could feel the hair on the back of his neck perk up and a cold chill run down his spine. Just then, the sounds of livestock crying out in panic filled the air, which was immediately followed by the sound of people screaming in horror. Curiosity prevailing his better judgement, Shinkichi rushed out barefoot into the stinging rain, ignoring the calls of his mother and brother as he looked around. He could see the puddles on the ground rippling. He turned, and saw the silhouette of something huge marching its way towards his house. Shinkichi could do nothing else, but scream.

Inside the house, Masaji and Omine held each other tightly as their house began to fall apart from the inside. First small things like knick-knacks, then pieces of the roof began to fall around them. All they could do was watch as the house crumbled on top of them.

"MOM!" Shinkichi cried out in anguish. "MASAJI!"

He tried to run back to the house only to be grabbed from behind by Hagiwara and Inusuke who were pulling him back.

"No, Shinkichi!" Inusuke told him, gripping tightly to him as the three men stared up at the culprit behind the Morita household.

A flash of lightning split the sky, revealing a gargantuan leviathan standing in the ruins of the house that stood fifty meters off the ground, had a roughly humanoid body, a long, sinuous tail, three pairs of Stegosaurus-like spikes, and a leonine head with fiery orange orbs for eyes. The beast flexed its four fingered hands and let loose an unearthly roar into the sky.