Before we start, I just wanna ask y'all something: Did anyone get rubbed the wrong way when Haruo sacrificed himself and Yuko to Godzilla and NOBODY confronted him? I mean, nobody tried to talk him out of it, not even his own wife WHO WAS ABOUT TO HAVE HIS CHILD, MIND YOU! Yeah, something like that makes me wonder if there was a deleted scene (that or Gen Urobutchi is an incredibly sloppy writer). Well, here's a rectification of that.

"What are you doing, Haruo?"

Miana's quiet voice startled the former Earth Returnist.

"Miana," Haruo asked his sister-in-law, glancing over his shoulder and Yuko's comatose body in his arms, "is Godzilla scary?"

Miana seemed to hesitate at first before answering, "Yes."

"Then," Haruo continued, this time turning his gaze towards the priestess of Mothra, "do you feel hatred towards Godzilla?"

Miana tilted her head in puzzlement, "Hatred?"

The Houtua woman thought about her answer. "Godzilla is scary," she replied, "tornadoes and lightning are scary too. But, well, hatred... I- I don't understand. The Houtua don't have a word for that."

Haruo didn't say another word as he began to walk out, Yuko cradled in his arms. "Haruo, you can't go!" Miana begged, "You'll lose!"

"You're right."

Miana drew back in shock at her brother-in-law's voice. It sounded so... content. It was almost as if... No. He wasn't doing what she thought he was doing, wasn't he?

"But, if life is all about winning, we're the same as beasts. But what makes us human, is if we need to, we can choose to lose the battle." What was Haruo getting at? Did he want to lose?

"I do not understand." Miana told him.

"You don't have to understand," Haruo told her, "ever. I guess, if I stayed, I would come to understand it eventually." He then turned to face Miana. "That's why I have to go."

Miana narrowed her eyes at her brother-in-law, "What about Maina?"

Haruo stopped in his tracks, however, Miana wasn't done talking.

"Sure, go ahead and leave, Haruo. Give yourself up to Godzilla, leave Maina alone to raise your daughter. How selfish can you possibly be!?" Miana questioned, tears starting to develop in her eyes.

"Miana, list-"

"No!" Miana shouted, tears now streaming down her face, "You're done talking, you listen this time. You have a wife, you have a child, and yet, you're deciding to throw all of that away!? What are you thinking!? Have you even so much as considered the consequences of what you're about to do!? How do you think Maina will feel!? What do you think she'll tell Mairuka why she never grew up knowing her father? Well, DID YOU EVEN CONSIDER THAT AT ALL!?"

"Miana, you don't understand." Haruo tried to tell her.

"OH, I DON'T UNDERSTAND!? WHAT DON'T I UNDERSTAND!?" Miana's voice rose several decibels.

"Haruo?"

Oh God no. Haruo thought as he turned to see Maina, a concerned look on her face. How long had she been standing there?

"Maina, how-"

"The whole time." Maina replied.

Haruo sighed as he placed Yuko back on her bed. "Maina, please, I just want you to understand. I'm not doing this for myself. I'm doing this so that you and Mairuka have a future. I witnessed Godzilla's wrath first hand when I was young, I don't want her to witness his wrath nor the children of her generation. I just-"

He felt Maina take his hand and place it on her cheek. For a while, husband and wife stood there for what was very well the last time.

"Your hands."

"Hmmm?"

Maina closed her eyes and gave him a sad smile, "I'm thinking about how much I'm going to miss feeling your hands across my cheek, so rough, yet so gentle at the same time. I'm thinking about how I'll carry on not feeling them anymore."

Haruo returned her sad smile and placed his hand on her swollen belly just in time to feel a kick from Mairuka. The activity nearly brought a lump to his throat as he realized he would never see his little girl grow up. Never know what she would look like. Never got to see the beautiful young woman she would become. She wouldn't even know what her own father would look like.

"Tell her everything about me," Haruo told Maina, "don't try to paint me as a hero. Let her know her father was a human who made mistakes in his life, but he ultimately gave his life so she could have a brighter future."

"I promise." Maina replied, tears swelling in her eyes. Just then, she pulled him in close and their lips connected, Haruo flashing back to the first time he laid eyes on the young woman who had pulled him out of a burning pile of wreckage and became his beloved wife and future mother of his child.

As soon as they separated, Haruo picked up Yuko again and walked out, his wife and sister in law watching him as he left.