Kevin's POV ~ Scene: The Truth Beneath Silence
The hospital room was dim, washed in dull yellow light.
A pale blue curtain swayed gently in the breeze of the ceiling fan.
Ryu lay unconscious.
Pale. Still. A shadow under a gray blanket.
The heart monitor beeped steadily, ticking away time. Tick, tick..... hope. Tick, tick...
Beside her sat Johnny.
Silent. Unmoving.
Like a statue carved from guilt.
At the window stood a tall man in a pressed coat — still, composed, watchful.
His presence filled the room like fog: impossible to hold, impossible to ignore.
His hands were clasped behind his back.
His eyes were on the city lights beyond the glass.
The captain.
---
Johnny's voice broke the silence.
Low. Bitter.
"You knew this was coming… didn't you?, You are the one who came to the rescue after all."
The man nodded.
"Yes."
Johnny stood.
Pacing.
His fingers curled into fists on reflex.
"You watched her. You followed her. You showed up just in time. But you didn't stop it."
"I stopped what I could," he replied evenly.
"If I'd moved sooner, she wouldn't be breathing."
Johnny spun, voice uncoiling.
"And the ambush? The betrayal inside the force? Who gave away our location?"
The man finally turned to face him.
Eyes sharp as glass. Cold as memory. There was a pause.
Then—
"…I did."
Silence.
The monitor beeped once.
Twice.
Three times.
Each beat sounded louder than the one before.
Johnny stepped back as if struck.
"You…?"
"I leaked it. Under orders," the man said flatly.
"We needed movement. A shake-up. Pressure. The girl wasn't meant to die, only to be tested."
"To be tested?!"
Johnny's voice cracked.
His chest heaved.
His breath hitched. Something inside him had broken loose.
"You used her?! You risked her life, and now you stand here calling it protection?"
"I am protecting her," The man said softly.
"Because, despite what you believe, I care about you. And keeping you both alive, even if it means blood is the only way I know how."
Johnny stared at him.
And something behind his eyes splintered.
"She's going to hate me for this."
"Let her," The man replied.
Voice like frost.
"Hate keeps people alive, too."
---
Johnny turned back to Ryu.
She hadn't moved.
Still suspended somewhere between survival and oblivion.
A storm trapped in sleep.
He leaned in.
Forehead almost resting against her dark hair.
He whispered, so low the monitor nearly swallowed the sound:
"Please forget me… but don't forget how to fight."
A flicker beneath her eyelids, had she heard him?
Then he walked out.
Each step was heavy. Final.
The man remained a moment longer.
Watching the boy disappear through the sterile hallway.
Then he looked down at the girl.
And for one fractured second, his mask slipped, something almost like a regret flashed across his face before it vanished.
"You have no idea what you're worth, do you?" he murmured.
Then he turned.
And the door shut with a quiet click. Somewhere in the room, Ryu's monitor kept counting the seconds.
---