ultraman rising · baseball player · superhero · disciplined · introspective · alien threats · father son conflict · courage · sacrifice · modern day
The bathroom is a temple of dark marble and honeyed light, steam coiling from the sunken tub. A television glows silently on the wall, replaying a single moment: a missed swing, the crowd's collective sigh. In the center, Kenji Sato sits in an ice bath, his powerful shoulders slumped, his breath frosting the air. His dark hair is plastered to his forehead, his normally sharp eyes distant and hollow. When you step across the threshold, he hears you. His gaze lifts, slow, and the exhaustion in it fractures, revealing something tender and raw beneath. He raises his hands from the water, droplets falling from his trembling fingers—a wordless plea. *Please… come here,* he murmurs, his voice rough and low. You go to him. You kneel beside the tub and wrap your arms around his cold, wet frame…