Rhino

I trailed behind our small group as we headed down the empty hallway to the cafeteria, Little Shit's warm weight against my back oddly comforting against the light chatter. Kurumi skipped beside me, her ponytail swaying.

"This is kinda nice, isn't it? It's like we own the whole school!"

"Yeah, because everyone with sense already left." I glanced at the vacant classrooms we passed. Signs of hasty departures were everywhere - half-erased blackboards, forgotten textbooks, a lone umbrella propped in a corner.

"Aw come on Ryūka!" Kurumi bumped her shoulder against mine. "When else are we gonna get the chance to experience school like this?"

I rolled my eyes, but truthfully, the emptiness had its appeal. No crowds to navigate, no need to dodge the usual hallway chaos of students rushing to grab lunch before it sold out.

It was... nice. Really nice. Like the whole school was taking a deep breath.

"Fine. Maybe this isn't completely terrible."

Her grin made me immediately regret the confession. "Ha! Knew you'd come around! You're such a tsundere, Ryū-chan!"

I was about to tell Kurumi exactly where she could stick her tsundere comments when Sae's balloon jerked violently to the side. My first thought was that Little Shit had decided to play with it again, but one look at Sae's face killed that hunch.

"Everyone quiet," she whispered, raising her free hand.

We froze. The cafeteria's double doors loomed ahead, their small windows dark. In the silence, I could hear metallic clanking coming from the kitchen beyond. Pots and pans being shifted, cabinet doors creaking open and shut.

Someone was in there. Multiple someones, from the overlapping noises.

"We should just go get food somewhere else," Toukawa-san whispered, taking a step back. "Law-Soon is only ten minutes away."

"And leave potential hostiles inside the school?" Sae's balloon bobbed in what seemed like agreement. "We need to address this. Now."

"It's probably just other students."

"Or it could be-"

While they bickered, I noticed Kurumi's face scrunching up in that particular way it did before she did something impulsive.

"Wait, Kurumi!"

Too late. She shoved the doors wide open.

"Nya-hello~"

The sound of metal clinking stopped instantly. Three bird-like figures snapped up from behind the counter, their glowing red eyes fixed directly on us.

Were these the same ones from Law-Soon? Not that it mattered - we were equally screwed either way.

Nobody moved. The bird kaijus stared. We stared back. One of them still held a ladle mid-scoop.

"Um, you know what?" Kurumi's hand found the door handle. "I'm actually not that hungry anymore."

She eased the door shut with a soft click. "Sooo... Law-Soon's looking pretty good right now, huh?"

"Let me handle this." Sae stepped forward.

"What, are you going to whack them with your balloon?" Toukawa-san raised an eyebrow.

"They're afraid of the child. We can use that to our advantage."

"They're afraid of-" Toukawa-san's glanced at Little Shit, who was currently trying to eat the shoelace off my shoe. "That thing?"

I had to agree with Toukawa-san's skepticism. Little Shit could barely handle a melon bread wrapper.

"Just watch." Sae yanked the door open again.

The bird kaijus froze, their red eyes dimming slightly at the sight of Little Shit. Maybe Sae was onto something after all.

Little Shit waddled forward, puffing up its chest. For a moment, it actually looked intimidating. Then it sneezed.

Instead of the usual mini volcanic eruption, all that came out was a pathetic puff of smoke and the distinct smell of burnt melon bread.

The bird kaijus' eyes flared bright red. One of them clicked its beak in what sounded like laughter.

Metal scraped against metal as the bird kaijus revealed their razor-sharp claws. This wasn't like the convenience store - these things weren't here for melon bread.

"Well, shit." I grabbed Kurumi's sleeve, yanking her back. "Run!"

But my legs felt like lead. The bird kaijus moved with terrifying speed, their metallic bodies blurring as they lunged. One headed straight for Sae while the other two zeroed in on us.

Sae met her attacker head-on. She ducked under its swipe and countered with a strike to what I guessed was its throat. The bird kaiju staggered back, clicking its beak in surprise.

Great for her, but that left us with two very pissed off bird monsters. I shoved Kurumi behind me - what good that would do, I had no idea. My mind raced through options, each more useless than the last.

"Ryūka!" Sae's shout cut through the chaos.

I squeezed my eyes shut, bracing for pain. Maybe if I was lucky, they'd go for my non-dominant arm first.

But nothing came.

A massive figure loomed between us and the bird kaijus, its body covered in rock-like scales that somehow looked soft despite their armored appearance. A jagged, zigzagging crest crowned its head, and its stubby arms ended in three claws each, with what looked like whips extending from the middle ones.

The whips flicked out, wrapping around the bird kaijus' legs. They screeched, red eyes dimming as they struggled against their bonds.

"Just love perfect timing, do you, Rhino?" Sae called out, a hint of pride coloring her usually stoic voice.

The kaiju let out a chirpy roar - shockingly cute for something its size. Wait… My eyes darted to Sae's arm, where her balloon had been tethered. It was gone. The pieces clicked into place as I watched Rhino's whips dance through the air. So that's why the balloon seemed so weirdly sentient.

"Rhino, window!" Sae commanded, dropping into a crouch.

Rhino's whips coiled tighter around the bird kaiju, yanking them off their feet. With one smooth motion, it flung them through the cafeteria windows. Glass shattered outward as the Beakys disappeared into the distance, their red eyes flickering out before vanishing entirely.

"MARRY ME!" Kurumi's squeal made me wince. She latched onto Sae's arm, stars practically shooting from her eyes.

"Show offs," Toukawa-san muttered beside me, though I caught her eyeing Rhino with grudging interest.

I glanced at Little Shit, who was now trying to eat the cafeteria floor tiles. "See that? That's how a proper kaiju handles things. Maybe take notes?"

Little Shit looked up at me with its unfocused eyes, then went right back to gnawing on the tiles. A small volcanic vent formed under its butt, making tiny puffs of smoke.

"You're hopeless," I sighed, but found myself scratching under his chin anyway. Little Shit squeaked in delight, nuzzling into my hand. "But I guess you're my kind of hopeless."

Meanwhile, the rest of 4-B gathered around Rhino, showering it with praise and reaching out to touch its leathery scales.

“So cool!”

“Does your horn do anything?”

Rhino flinched at every word, looking smaller and smaller - until, suddenly, it vanished. In its place, an earth-colored balloon floated up, curling into a lonely spot near the cafeteria ceiling.

"My apologies." Sae bowed slightly. "Rhino isn't used to this much attention."

She pulled over a chair to retrieve her partner. "Come down, Rhino. No one's going to hurt you."

The balloon drifted down slowly, string wrapping around her arm like it was coming home. Hard to believe this shy thing had just thrown three kaiju through a window.

Looking around at the broken glass, scattered pots, and my classmates chattering excitedly about the fight, I couldn't help but laugh. Not even noon and I'd already seen the military fight alongside her shapeshifting balloon partner, while my useless kaiju child tried to eat floor tiles. If someone had told me this would be my life a week ago, I'd have asked how many all nighters they pulled to become this delusional.

"Alright everyone!" Fujita-sensei's voice cut through the excitement. "Let's get this place cleaned up before lunch. And someone please board up that window before the pigeons move in."

I smiled, scratching under Little Shit's chin once more. The world might be ending, but at least it wasn't boring anymore.