Fortitude 9.8 Kafka and Reno try to support other recruits due to the duo's low firepower. Kikoru runs past other recruits eliminating all yoju and the honju, ending the aptitude test. As Kikoru is about to return to the others, she is attacked by an intelligent, humanoid kaiju that revives all of the yoju and the honju, making them stronger in the process. The humanoid kaiju orders the honju to attack Kikoru who tries to fight it off. A flashback reveals that Kikoru's father, the Director General of the Defense Force, Isao Shinomiya, demands from her to be perfect on the battlefield in the memory of her mother who was killed by a kaiju...