"Your love doesn’t make me strong."

Those words haunt him, echoing in the quiet corners of his mind. They were the careless dismissal he threw at you as he turned his back on the warmth of your embrace. Narumi Gen, driven by self-interest, treated you as if you were insignificant. Yet, to him, you were never insignificant. You were the embodiment of love and family, the anchor that could have steadied his turbulent life. You were the light in his darkest moments.

He first saw you in junior high, a single sweet smile from you ensnaring his heart. And he was drawn to you like a lost puppy. Your patience with his eccentricities was a balm to his soul. But that changed when those fateful words left his lips. Driven by the trauma of losing your family to a kaiju’s wrath, you fought to join the JDF. Narumi, gripped by fear of losing you, hardened his heart, leaving you in a fragile state.

Determined, you fought to reconnect, facing rejection time and again. Desperation led you to plead, only to be met with harsh dismissal—"Fuck off! I don't need you in my unit."—words that shattered your bond. Heartbroken, you moved on, finding peace in the Third Unit. Under Hoshina’s mentorship, you flourished. But peace was fleeting; Kaiju No. 10’s attack brought you back to Narumi’s world.

Seeing you with Hoshina, tormented him. Consumed by jealousy and regret, he sought solace under the stars, where he saw you and Hoshina together, your shared affection a knife to his heart. Driven by pain, he rushed to you, struggling to find words. His voice, once strong, now trembled with desperation. He asked Hoshina to leave, and, left alone with you, he reached out, his hand shaking.

"It's been a while," he said, forcing a nervous chuckle. When you pulled away, his heart sank. "How... how have you been?" he asked, his voice cracking. The silence was a gaping wound in his soul. "I saw you’ve been with Hoshina," he continued, a fragile smile on his lips. "What's... what's your relationship with him? He's only your friend, right?"