As he met the two girls in the entryway of the treehouse, John couldn’t help but notice the stark difference between them. Rain was still pale, and she looked down at the floor once her eyes met his. It was clear she hadn’t fully recovered from whatever bothered her.

Serah, on the other hand, looked great. Standing there in her white armor, she smiled brightly at John. But he could sense a sliver of sadness, deeply hidden, behind her eyes.

“John! She’s doing better now, but she’ll probably have to rest for a while alone. Did you meet the others?”

John nodded, but he couldn’t help but make a grimace. “Yeah, we did. Uh, can I ask…?” He pointed at Rain, hoping he could help somehow.

Serah shook her head firmly. “Nope, girl business! But don’t worry too much. She’ll be better in a few days or so.”

‘Girl business? Is it… that monthly thing? Can it be that bad?’

John furrowed his brows, but he didn’t dare to pry. At least he knew Serah had it under control. “That’s a relief. Uh, the others wanted to question her about some stuff.”

Rain looked at him in alarm. She wasn’t ready to meet tough questions, and John was about to turn around and refuse the others.

“What?! Who do they think they are?” Serah nearly yelled, walking up the stairs with authority. She seemed outraged by the notion that someone wanted to question Rain, and John couldn’t quite understand why.

The two met in the narrow stairway, forcing them to face each other so Serah could squeeze past. As she brushed past him, John wished the white armor wasn’t as solid and pointy as it was. But the look they shared as she passed was enough to compensate for it.

He took a deep breath through his nose, trying to clear his head of everything. But then Serah turned and looked at him strangely.

The realization struck him. “... Oh, no! That wasn’t–I mean, you smell nice, but I didn’t–”

“It’s okay,” Serah smiled, gesturing for him to calm down. Then she turned and continued up the stairs with an extra pep in her steps.

He released the breath he had been holding before turning back to Rain. With a tender voice, he asked her, “... You feeling okay, Rain?”

She nodded, still not meeting his eyes. “Rain is fine. Just need rest.”

“Yeah, I understand. Want me to carry you up to one of the beds?”

Rain almost seemed to get worse with each word he spoke to her. “No, Rain will… walk.”

“... Yeah, good call. It’s probably too narrow, anyway. Take your time, Rain.”

John turned to follow Serah, hearing some discussion in the main room. Serah’s voice was clear and firm, while others sounded less certain.

“... on’t care what secrets she’s hiding! If you have a problem with her, take it up with me first! And then John, 'cause he’ll be right behind me.”

He entered to find everyone looking subdued under Serah’s firm stance. It was hard to believe Serah was taking a firmer stance than him, but she was pushing where he had given ground. He didn’t understand it, but he definitely loved it.

‘She has toughened up since the last time I saw her… Well, she was always firm, but not to this level. Have I changed since coming here?’

The four inquisitors turned to look at John as he entered. It felt like they were accusing him of getting Serah to fight for him, but he had only told her what happened. Her stance was her own; it just happened to align with his.

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Carver, the only one who seemed more frustrated than placated, replied, “Fine, we’ll give her time to rest. What we do after that will be decided later.”

Serah nodded, turning to John with a smug smile. Then she looked behind him, spotting Rain slowly walking up the stairs. “Come here, Rain. I’ll get you a bed and some silence.” She reached her hand out to her with a warm smile.

Rain looked at the others in the room one by one, except for John, before taking Serah’s hand and following her up another set of stairs. She remained silent the entire way.

John was pained from seeing her like that, missing the cheery smile she would wear so often. The doubt in his heart melted away, reaffirming his initial stance.

‘... If her burden is lessened by staying silent, I won’t let anyone force her to answer… Well, Serah might have convinced me. But she’s on my side, thank god.’

The atmosphere in the room turned awkward as the two girls left. John wanted to leave, but he also wanted to speak to Serah once she returned. Preferably alone.

He was nervous about leaving Rain in the tree with the others, but he chose to believe they would keep their word. At least he knew Dennis was a good person.

He sighed and turned to leave again. “Can you ask Serah to come out once she returns? I need some air.”

“Yeah, sure,” Dennis responded, taking a deep breath. “Let’s hope Rain points us to the portal next, huh?”

“Yeah, that would be nice…”

----------------------------------------

John sat on a log near the bonfire outside, staring into the black coal. While the others had questions for Rain, he had questions for Serah. They came second to the relief of seeing her again. However, the possible answers worried him way more than Rain’s did.

‘How did she know we would meet again? Why did it seem like she knew what would happen before the inversion? Why did Rain lead us to her? Why is her fate string golden? She might not know the last two, but there’s no way to be sure without asking.’

Footsteps were approaching him from behind, treading on the compact dirt. He turned to see Serah approaching, pushing a hand through her hair. “Hey there.”

“Hello... Will Rain be alright with the others?”

She sat beside him despite having three other logs to choose from. “They’re fine now. Carver is a lot nicer than he seems, but he likes to argue to have different viewpoints on everything. Seeing Rain looking the way she did should have convinced him already.”

John nodded, looking back at the soot with a sigh of relief. “That’s good. So, can we talk now?”

She sighed, leaning back on her seat. “I would love it if talk means just talking and not asking questions about stuff I can’t answer. Because just talking is what I want to do the most right now.”

“So you admit there are secrets… When can I ask?”

“Whenever you want. But I can’t answer.”

John’s knee started jumping, showing his frustration. A heavy sigh escaped his lips. “... When can you?”

A sudden thud shook the log they sat on, causing John to jump. He saw Serah’s fist stuck halfway through the wood and a clear look of frustration on her face.

Her jaw was clenched, but it relaxed as she looked into the sky. “... I need you to trust me, John. When I can speak, you’ll be the first to know. I promise.”

His frustration was overshadowed by empathy, seeing how Serah was feeling. He wasn’t the only one frustrated. But he had to know one thing if she wanted him to trust her blindly.

“... Then what is it that’s motivating you? What’s your goal?”

“You know what my goal is,” she said as if it was obvious.

John shook his head. “No, I thought I did. But every secret makes me less sure if I even know you! I was gone for a long time, and you’ve been hiding something since I returned. So how can I know?”

Serah went silent. But then she put her hand over John’s. “You’re… the most important person to me.”

John turned to her, thinking her voice sounded strange. “...Why did you put your helmet on?”

“No reason.”

“... You can’t even look me in the eyes while saying it?”

“Shut up! Just say it back, will you?!”

John knew he was delaying. He understood why she had put the helmet on, because he wished he had one himself. But more than nervous, he felt overjoyed hearing her say that.

‘... Am I really saying this now? Is it the right moment? We’ve come far enough, haven’t we? I don’t want to regret… moving too slowly. And we both know. We’ve always known.’

His eyes searched for hers throught the holes in the helmet, feeling his heart beating rapidly. “Can you… remove your helmet?”

She stared at him for a moment, and then her entire armor disappeared, revealing the uniform she wore when they entered the portal. Her scent hit him like a wave, almost making him dizzy.

With a red face and wide eyes, she stared at him expectantly. Her body language was timid and vulnerable, with lowered shoulders and arms close to her body.

After a final breath, he spoke, “I love you, Serah. Completely and utterly.”