A Man's Love

The concrete floor cracked as the telekinetic man stepped forward. His eyes locked onto Haruto. For a moment, the corridor held its breath.

Haruto laid down Ren to the side before bolting forward. His fingers swept the floor as he grabbed a shattered pipe and flung it at his opponent. With a flick of his wrist, the telekinetic man stopped it midair, redirecting it back like a spear.

But Haruto was already gone.

Sliding under the spinning projectile, he used the momentum to lunge at the man’s blind spot. His movements were sharp.

The man narrowed his eyes.

A flurry of attacks followed. Haruto feinted left, ducked a levitating steel slab, and twisted his body midair to plant a heavy kick into the man’s ribs. It landed, sending the attacker stumbling. But before Haruto could follow up, the floor beneath him erupted. Concrete shards lifted and exploded outward, a ripple of force flinging him into the opposite wall like a ragdoll.

Pain shot through his spine. His vision became blurry.

He staggered to his feet, only to be slammed against the wall again, this time by an invisible force tightening around his chest. He couldn’t breathe.

Still, even as the pressure crushed down, Haruto’s hand twitched towards a fallen shard of metal. Just as he was about to black out, he hurled it towards the man.

Sparks erupted. The man flinched. Distracted.

Haruto dropped to the ground, coughing.

He raised his head, but his limbs felt like they weighed tons. He pushed himself halfway up before collapsing again.

The telekinetic man tilted his head. But he didn’t kill him.

Haruto tried to push up when a wave of pressure pinned him down like a god’s hand. The weight wasn’t just physical, it pressed his mind. Probing. Searching.

“Stop,” Haruto growled.

But the weight deepened. Memories rippled loose.

Akane.

A girl with ash-colored hair and soft eyes, clutching his hands in a smoke-choked alley.

“You said you’d take me to them,” she whispered. “I trusted you…”

Then –

Blood. The betrayal. The silence in the cell. The world ending.

It had been for her.

And she was gone.

The telekinetic man stepped closer, reaching out.

A slow clap echoed through the corridor.

A voice cut through the fog.

“Enough.”

From the far end of the hall, a figure emerged. White lab coat flaring, glasses reflecting the emergency lights like twin moons. His expression was carved from calm cruelty.

Dr. Yukawa.

“Don’t damage him too much,” Yukawa said casually. “It takes a different kind of strength to resist someone like you. Fascinating.”

The telekinetic man withdrew his hand, but didn’t turn. Yukawa looked at Haruto.

“I always wondered how far you’d make it, Haruto.”

Haruto glared up, breathing hard.

Yukawa crouched beside him. “Do you know what happened after you opened that door.”

Haruto’s lips moved, but no words came. He was still trying to breathe.

Yukawa didn’t wait for an answer.

“Kurosawa and Kusaragi… they were watching you from the start. Always one step behind. But not to stop you. No, no…” He smiled. “They needed you to unlock it. You were the key. Their unwitting little pawn. Sacrificial lamb.”

Haruto’s eyes shifted to the side.

The locket. The cold metal object in his pocket.

Yukawa followed his gaze and chuckled.

“Kusaragi… brave, foolish Kusaragi. He stayed behind when I intercepted them. Told Kurosawa to run. Said he’d hold me off.” He clicked his tongue. “Noble. Pointless.”

Yukawa rose smoothly to his feet.

“I tore him apart. Bit. By. Bit. Do you know what happens when someone fights with everything they have? When they claw, punch, and bleed like an animal? His ribs shattered like glass under pressure. His fingernails were packed with my skin by the end.” Yukawa smiled faintly, almost fondly. “He didn’t scream. Not until his chest gave in. He fought like a man who had nothing to lose. Looks like he trusted you even in his final moments.”

Haruto’s chest tightened.

“You know… he wasn’t just anyone,” Yukawa said softly, stepping closer again. “The locket. It was a photo. Aoi, Ren… and Kusaragi.”

The image flashed in Haruto’s mind. Ren’s smiling face. Aoi’s gentle hand on his head. Kusaragi standing with his hand on his wife’s shoulder. A family frozen in time, preserved in Kusaragi’s final grip like a memory he refused to let die.”

“He never told anyone. Not even Kurosawa, I suspect. Always so distant. That man didn’t die for duty. He died for love.”

Yukawa’s voice dropped.

“And now he’s gone. Just like the others.”

Haruto tried to push himself up, but the weight of the earlier battle pressed down on him like head. Blood dripped from his chin. He could barely keep his vision straight.

Yukawa turned before continuing.

“Kurosawa made it to the admin hub. Just in time to see the pods. And her.”

He stopped.

“Emi.”

Haruto’s head jerked slightly. “She was…”

“Dead?” Yukawa finished, raising an eyebrow. “That’s what you told him, didn’t you?”

Haruto didn’t respond.

“Maybe you believed it. Or maybe you didn’t bother to check. Doesn’t matter know.”

He knelt down again.

“She was alive. Barely. But she was breathing. He could’ve saved her.”

A long silence.

“But he didn’t.”

Haruto stared at him.

“Face with a choice – his daughter, or your precious little mute sidekick. He chose Ren.”

Haruto’s mouth went dry.

“He freed the boy. Triggered the override. You heard his voice on the speaker, didn’t you? The static… that was me catching up.”

He paused. “But I didn’t rush the kill. I let him finish his little speech. Unfortunately, you couldn’t hear it. So let me deliver it to you: ‘Take care of her, Haruto. Protect Emi. She’s all I have left.’”

A sick grin spread across his face.

“So guess what I did. I killed her!!”

Haruto’s fingers curled into fists. He wanted to scream. But he couldn’t.

“You think I broke her because I enjoyed it? No, Haruto. I did it because people like you need pain to grow. That’s how evolution works.”, he said in a low voice.

“And now… here you are. All broken. All alone. Once again. Still pretending to be something you’re not. The perfect conditions for evolution.”

He turned his back.

“You’ve always been mine, Haruto. You just didn’t know it yet.”

Haruto’s vision spun. His body screamed in protest. But a fire ignited behind his eyes.

“Stubborn as ever.” Yukawa said, almost amused.

He raised a hand. “But before that… I’ve got a little present for you.”

From behind him, Yukawa dragged something forward. A grotesque, twisted heap of what had once been Emi. Her body was mangled beyond recognition, twisted in unnatural ways as though her bones had been snapped and reformed like a sick sculpture. Tubes and wires snaked out of her body. But the most disturbing part was her head, missing entirely.

Haruto’s stomach churned at the sight of the abomination. He wanted to look away, but he couldn’t.

Yukawa seemed to savor Haruto’s shock. “And here my friend,” he said with a voice dripping with mockery, “is the cherry on top.”

Yukawa produced Kurosawa’s severed head from behind it and placed it on top of Emi’s ruined body. The sight was grotesque, a macabre scene that sent a cold, sickening shiver down Haruto’s spine.

Every inch of him recoiled in horror. He’d always thought he could save someone. Anyone. If he fought hard enough. But now? Just the quiet weight of failure. He didn't scream. He didn't cry. He just stared. And somewhere deep inside, a part of him — the last part that cared — turned to ash.

Yukawa took a step back with a wide grin, admiring his work of art. “Do you see it now, Haruto? Do you see what happens when you fail? When you disobey ME?” His voice was low and venomous. “This is what your little choices lead to.”