𝑰 𝑻𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒌 𝑰 𝑳𝒐𝒗𝒆 𝒀𝒐𝒖

Chapter 6. A New Friend

"I have a few inside connections." ~ M.M

August 27, 2021: Kodiak Island, Alaska

It was my turn to head out to the Jaeger academy. But if I was being honest, I didn't want to be here. I wasn't supposed to be here alone, I was supposed to be here with Chuck. Either way, I was here now, and I was alone.

I made my way through the auditorium, trying my absolute hardest to find a seat while weaving in and out between the giant crowd of people. Obviously I wasn't careful enough because I ended up running into someone, knocking them into a row of chairs.

"Oh my goodness, I'm so sorry!" I offered my hand to help the person who I had just run into. I was met by the eyes of a young Japanese girl who looked to be about my age. She smiled at me and grabbed my hand as I pulled her to her feet.

"Don't worry. I wasn't paying attention." She rubbed the back of her neck as the two of us just stood there, staring at each other for a moment. "Do you want to sit together?" The girl spoke, breaking the silence. I was honestly quite shocked at how nice she was, especially after I accidentally pushed her.

"Uh.. Yeah, sure." I stammered anxiously as I followed her through the crowd. It had been a few years since I actually talked to someone my age other than Chuck. So I was a little bit rusty when it came to making new friends.

Once the two of us were seated, the girl turned to me while we waited for Marshal Stacker Pentecost to come onto the stage. "I'm Mako, by the way." She held her hand out as she glanced between myself and her hand.

"I'm Layla." I smiled as I brought my hand to hers, shaking it a few times. The two of us sat in silence a little longer as I tried to think of more things to have a conversation about.

"What are you here for?" I asked her, trying to sound and look as friendly as possible. Sometimes I have a really bad resting bitch face so I tried so hard to fight it.

"I'm here for Officer and Ranger training." Mako looked down at her feet as her face began to turn a bright pink. Almost like she was embarrassed about it. "How did you manage that?" I asked, shocked. I've only ever heard of one person balancing both and that was Dr. Lightcap and even she had a hard time with it.

"I have a few inside connections." Mako shrugged, trying not to sound too cocky about it. I just stared at her in awe for a moment, wondering how she planned to balance the two.

"What about you?" She asked, bringing me back to the present.

"Well, I've been shadowing a few J-Techs back home. And since the only person I know I'm drift Compatible with already has a co-pilot, I didn't want to risk being washed out."

Mako stared at me for a moment, blinking a few times before breaking out into a smile. "So, J-Tech training?" I laughed and nodded my head at her question.

The voices around us slowly began to fade and that's when we noticed Marshal Pentecost standing on the stage. The two of us turned our attention to the front, watching as the Marshal stood tall, waiting until the room was completely silent.

"This isn't summer camp." He finally spoke through the loud speaker. "If it feels like we're trying to break you, it's because we are." His voice was stern, loud, and demanding. Pentecost was the type of person who was scarier when he was calm instead of yelling.

"The Kaiju won't hold back so neither will we." I found myself leaning towards Mako, bringing my mouth as close to her ear as possible. "He's pretty intense, huh?" I expected her to giggle or at least crack a smile. But instead she stayed stone faced while nodding at my remark.

"We will grind you to dust, and only when we fail to do so will we find the stuff of legends: Like the D'onofrio's and the Gage twins. And all those names who live forever for having what it takes to be the knights of our time. Standing watch at the end of our world, ready for the dragons ahead!"

The room instantly became flooded with noise as everyone began to cheer, everyone except Mako. Instead she flinched at the sound momentarily, but kept her gaze locked on the Marshal. When she nodded her head in his direction, I could've sworn I saw him nod in response before walking off stage.

-

After the introduction, all the new people at the Academy were invited into the mess hall for a giant dinner to get to know their classmates. Mako and I both grabbed our trays and sat at the far end of the hall, away from the noise. We sat in silence while the two of us scarfed down our food.

"So, why do you want to become a ranger?" Mako perked up at my question, staring at me while she finished chewing her food. "I was thirteen when Onibaba attacked Tokyo." She placed her fork down while wiping away any remaining food particles on her mouth.

"I didn't make it to the safe zone in time, and my family was killed. That's when I saw the Kaiju." I saw the fear in her eyes as she relived this moment, she was fighting with everything she had to not show emotion.

"Coyote Tango came to my rescue, and the Marshal saved me. He adopted me several years later." That's when the realization had hit me. I knew her name sounded familiar but it took me a moment to realize.

"You're Mako Mori! Tokyo's Daughter!" I practically shouted and she quickly threw her finger up to her lip to shush me. I made and O shape with my lips as a ducked my head slightly while looking at her. "Sorry." I whispered as she giggled at me.

"If it makes you feel better, I'm pretty much only here because of my dad." I shrugged as I picked at my food, trying to avoid the peppers. I noticed Mako raise an eyebrow at me in a questioning manner. "I'm a Hansen. Hercules is my father and Chuck is my brother."

"I'm so sorry." Mako placed her hand on my forearm as she gave me a sympathetic look. I looked at her with confusion, not really understanding what she was trying to imply.

"I've seen your brother on TV, he seems annoying." Her serious face quickly turned into a smile and I couldn't help but laugh. It took us a few moment to be able to calm down before we were able to eat without choking on our food.

As we were eating, I noticed the Marshal in the distance, looking at the two of us. He had an amused smile on his face as he turned on his heel and left the mess hall.

Mako and I were going to be great friends, I just knew it.

A/N

LADIES AND GENTS WE'VE GOT OUR GIRL MAKO MORI!! We love an awesome dynamic duo, especially between two badass women. I guess we'll have to see what's going to happen in this lovely little friendship next. Also, my birthday's literally in 5 days so if you guys want to maybe share this story with someone who might like it. That would literally be the best birthday present ever.

Let me know if you have any likes or dislikes and I'll try to add them into my next chapter. And if not I'll update again in two weeks!

~ Jo