Mikomi stood there letter in hand with a downtrodden look on his face. Meanwhile, Serah’s worst fear had come true. The outcome she hoped to avoid had happened but rather than become paranoid, she acted out in a way that he didn’t quite expect.

“WHAT!!?” screamed Serah as she grabbed Mikomi by the shirt with force with his father laughing in the background. The sheer look of ferocity in her eyes was enough for him to drop the act.

“I kid! I kid! I got in! Here, look! See?”

Serah snatched the letter out of Mikomi’s hands as his father continued to laugh hysterically. His mother cracked up as well but her laugh was more confined to herself. Serah didn’t find the joke all that funny and gritted her teeth. She shoved the letter back into Mikomi’s chest with force.

“Is this the kind of humor I can expect from you once we’re mar…”

Serah realized what she had just said. All of a sudden, the room got really quiet. If Serah’s outburst didn’t give it away, the fact that Mikomi facepalmed sure did.

“...ried?”

“You really did it now, Serah.”

It was almost as if the two of them were in sync. They both slowly turned their heads toward Mikomi’s parents. Karoline had crossed her arms while his father had a look on his face that suggested confusion on whether or not he should say something. Mikomi started laughing pathetically as he rubbed the back of his head.

“Surprise!” he said.

The cold response of silence from his parents said it all.

“I’m the one who asked him to marry me,” said Serah, stepping forward. “I love Mikomi more than anyone in the world and I want to be with him for the rest of my life but I didn’t ask him to marry me right away. I know that we’re still kids and there’s still a lot of life and growing up ahead of us. I asked him to marry me once we got older. It was kind of a promise more than anything.”

“And I said yes,” said Mikomi as he defiantly stepped in front of Serah with a look of burning determination in his eyes.

The serious look on both of his parent’s faces then melted away and the two of them, once again, broke out in laughter, as was their custom. Mikomi felt extremely dumbfounded by their reaction. You’d think with all the times they laughed in his face that he would have gotten used to it by now. His father walked over and placed Mikomi in a headlock!

“Good thing we reserved four seats at Dockside tonight. Now we even have more of a reason to celebrate. To think… My son has a fiancee and he’s not even out of high school yet. I was prepared to lecture you about moving too fast but it seems you two already realized that. I’m happy that you two love each other and that you’re willing to wait. It’s a big sign of maturity.”

Ryunosuke let his son go and then stood before Serah. He placed his hand on her shoulder and smiled.

“You’ve been dating my son for nearly four years now. I can’t think of anyone I’d rather have to marry my son than you. I already feel as if you were the daughter we never had. I guess this just makes it official now, doesn’t it?”

With that, Ryunosuke hugged Serah. All her life, she had been missing the warm embrace of a parent. She truly got to experience what that was like with Mikomi’s father just now. It was a warm feeling that she had hardly ever known. She was too young to remember the last time she was able to share a moment like this with her parents. This was truly special for her as she felt honored to be accepted into Mikomi’s family.

Serah stayed and talked with Mikomi and his family for a while. They talked about their plans once they got to college and what they wanted to do with their lives. Serah, who once thought about becoming an illustrator for a video game company, had a change of heart. She still wanted to create art but with her relationship with Mikomi being a huge determining factor, she thought that she could give back to the art community by becoming a teacher instead.

She realized that if she went to go work for a game company she would have to move away. With Mikomi looking to take root in his father’s company, there would be a huge chance that the two would separate. There was no way she was going to let that happen so she decided to change her career path for Mikomi’s sake.

Of course, she didn’t let Mikomi know that he was the reason. She simply stated that it was the classes she took that influenced her to change her mind. She liked the way she was taught by Amber Ryann and it made a profound impact on her. It wasn’t all a lie, though, as she did feel impacted by Amber’s teachings. She decided that she learned all she could from her and that her last class was going to be at the beginning of summer break so she could prepare to move on to college.

That night, they celebrated at Dockside. It was an upscale restaurant down by the water where Ryunosuke typically held meetings with clients as well as staff, After they finished their meal, Ryunosuke offered to drive Serah home. When they got back, Mikomi went straight to bed but he couldn’t sleep. He ended up staring up at his ceiling with a smile on his face.

It was such an exciting day that he didn’t even feel tired. It didn’t matter to him all that much since there wasn’t any school tomorrow with it being a Sunday. Mikomi decided to sit up in bed and indulge himself in some video games. He reached for the remote to his television when he heard a soft “tink” on his window. He paid it no mind until he heard a second… then a third… then a fourth. Mikomi looked out the window and a man was standing outside.

It was the first time in nearly four years since he had seen him.

It was Sebastian.

Mikomi gave Sebastian a nod and got out of bed. It was around eleven at night and his parents had gone to bed. Mikomi tiptoed as gently as he could through the house to the back door where he opened it as quietly as possible. He was able to open and close the door with little to no noise, achieving perfect stealth. Sebastian nodded for Mikomi to come away from the house, just in case their conversation was a bit too loud.

Mikomi followed Sebastian into the woods. Mikomi didn’t take the shortcut to school anymore as the city felt that too many people were using that so they put up a barricade and some no trespassing signs but with it being nighttime, the chances of anyone spotting them there were slim to none.

“My dear Mikomi… it has been a while. My, have you grown,” said Sebastian.

“Yeah, it has. Why have you been away for so long?”

“No doubt you remember our last conversation. You were quite adamant about changing the world. So much so that you put me in my place and told me that my job should be to protect the world you have created. Well, Mikomi… I wanted to come here to let you know that I have held up my end of the bargain as promised. You did a splendid job shaping your path and walking it. I just wanted to commend you on a job well done.”

“Thanks. That really means a lot.”

“Needless to say that it’s been a bit of a chore trying to keep up with you, though. Every time you made a change, I had to make some… adjustments... to balance things out.”

Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation.

It was then that Mikomi realized just what Sebastian meant by the word adjustments. Mikomi gritted his teeth and balled up his fists. He may have been seventeen years old now but he still had the same look that he did at fourteen when he confronted Sebastian about his memories.

“You’re talking about the death of Serah’s parents, aren’t you?”

“That is correct, Mikomi. You once theorized that to create, something must be given. It is the law of equality and to gain Serah’s happiness, something of hers had to be lost. Before you start thinking negatively, you are well aware that Serah’s parents were going to die later this year anyway, right? I’m afraid that was one event you couldn’t change. After everything was finally going right for Serah, what kind of impact would that have had on her? She’s going to go to college, she has a profession already chosen, and she has even selected you to be her future husband. The loss of her parents would have happened on the same day as the other timeline. She would have been standing next to you at graduation, feeling on top of the world, and then her world would have come crashing down.”

Mikomi didn’t want to hear those words. Sebastian said them without emotion and that’s what really pissed Mikomi off.

“But by simply erasing her parents from this world and making her think that they died when she was young, it caused you to come in and end her loneliness. She had already experienced the pain so the only direction she could have gone with you was up. Needless to say, Mikomi, my method may seem inhumane but you have to realize that above all circumstances, it was necessary. If there was a way where you could have saved Serah’s parents, then I would have held up my end of the bargain and allowed you to try and save them but even Serah, herself, didn’t know where they were until they notified her that they were flying in for her graduation. They would have gotten on the same plane which would have the same malfunction and they still would have died. With no information whatsoever, you couldn’t have done anything to prevent it.”

Once again, Sebastian delivered the cold, hard truth to Mikomi. That’s what he hated the most about Sebastian. It was the fact that he spoke merely in facts without regard for anyone else’s feelings. Sebastian was the type of person who feigned emotions but deep down inside under the surface, he was quite emotionless. Being a custodian of time, there is no doubt that Sebastian has seen and experienced things that were far beyond Mikomi’s comprehension.

“I don’t like what you have said one bit but I can’t argue against it. I just wish you showed a little more compassion when you say such things.”

“I’m terribly sorry, Mikomi. Compassion isn’t something I’m used to. I exist to watch over the timelines and ensure that they are properly balanced. I am not the only custodian of time that exists, you know. I can’t watch ALL of the timelines as that would be an insane task for just one person. Unfortunately, part of the job calls for making difficult decisions. After doing this for a length of time that you couldn’t possibly comprehend, you just learn to do it without hesitation. Nothing is above protecting the timelines. The timelines are absolute and balance is necessary. It may seem cold to a human who possesses a wide array of emotions but you have to seal those emotions away to do a job like mine. It’s impossible to care about every single life in the multiverse. It’s just impossible.”

Mikomi can’t even imagine the things Sebastian has to do to keep things in order. Just the scale itself was enough to break his mind. Mikomi felt a little bad for lashing out at him when all he tried to do was his job.

“I’m sorry. I guess it’s hard for a human like me to see things from your perspective. I guess I should have cut you a little more slack.”

“It’s all good and proper, my boy. I’ve been told much worse by other clients I’ve had to oversee. It’s all part of the job.”

“So, why did you come and see me?”

“No reason, Mikomi. I just felt it has been a while and I wanted to come by and say hello. I just wanted to remind you that I still exist and that I’m always watching. Now run along and get some sleep. You’ve only got the rest of your life ahead of you.”

Mikomi gave Sebastian a nod. As he began to walk away, Sebastian stopped him once more.

“One last thing, Mikomi. Please keep in mind what I said about balance. Things are going to keep changing. It’s part of the ripple you’ve created. Just make sure the ripple doesn’t get too out of control. That's all I ask.”

With that, Sebastian tipped his head to Mikomi and disappeared into thin air. Mikomi stood there for a moment and wondered what Sebastian meant by those words. Nevertheless, he was on autopilot at this point. He had already made the changes that he wanted to make and now he was just sitting back and letting his life play out based on this new path he created.

Mikomi stealthily made his way back into his home. He snuck back into his room and sat down on the edge of his bed. He began to think about everything that had happened thus far. He recalled the past three years of his life and reflected on both this timeline and the original. He was still amazed at the things he changed and what new events were created here as a result. Mikomi shook his head as he had enough of remembering the past. He wanted to focus on the future from this point forward.

***

The rest of the school year felt like it was in time-lapse. Nothing out of the ordinary happened and it was business as usual. When May came, Mikomi, Serah, and Ryan all prepared for graduation. When the big day arrived, they each received their diplomas, marking the end of their four-year journey through high school. Mikomi, Serah, and Ryan posed for several pictures together to help celebrate this moment. Ryunosuke and Karoline attended their graduation and congratulated them on their accomplishments.

They knew that they only had a few months until the start of college. They had already been accepted and Mikomi was going in on a scholarship. Serah wasn’t worried about her tuition thanks to her parent’s money but poor Ryan hadn’t even decided what he was going to do with his life.

The next day, Serah had her final art class at A-Ry’s. Mikomi went to Serah’s house and picked her up. It was a bit later than usual as she decided to take the night class from eight until ten. She did so just in case she celebrated a bit too hard and needed the time to reverse the celebration’s adverse effects.

Serah met Mikomi out in front of his house and the two of them held hands as they headed on their way. Even though the shopping center with her studio was on the highway, it only took about fifteen minutes to walk there. When they arrived, Serah kissed Mikomi as he told her that even though it was later than normal, he would still come to pick her up and that he would be waiting for her on the same bench as he always had been. Serah smiled at him as Mikomi turned and walked away. Serah stood there looking at him as he got further and further away. She was already thinking about Mikomi sitting on the bench waiting for her when she got out.

Serah turned and went to grab the door handle to the studio. All of a sudden, things started to get awfully bright. Before Serah could turn around to see what that light was, there was a loud bang. It was loud enough to echo throughout the entire parking lot. Mikomi stopped dead in his tracks as a sense of fear came over him. He slowly turned around and when he did, his eyes opened about as big as they could.

A look of intense horror washed over his face as he extended his arm out in front of him as if he were trying to reach for something. He began to stagger forward as his knees could barely keep him upright, and his complexion turned so pale that all of the color drained from his skin. His mouth was trying to form words but there was no sound coming out. The world around him became so muffled, it was like he had stepped inside a vacuum. All Mikomi could do was stare forward at the car that drove right into the front doors of the art studio.

On the hood of the car, lying motionless was Serah. Once Mikomi had enough time to semi-process the situation, he screamed out her name at the top of his lungs. He took off running at top speed toward the car, ignoring everything else around him. When he got there, he shook Serah but she wasn’t responding. Mikomi brushed her hair back and her eyes were still open but she wasn’t responding to anything. He looked down and noticed the pool of blood underneath the car. Serah’s entire lower body had been completely crushed by the impact.

Mikomi reached out and tried to grab the bench to sit down as he was losing his balance but he lost his footing and fell to the cold, hard concrete.

“This isn’t happening… this isn’t happening. This is all just a dream, right? This didn’t happen. Serah’s okay, isn’t she? I mean, that’s not her, right? No… she already went inside… that’s just someone who looks like her, right? RIGHT!?”

Mikomi was paralyzed. He couldn’t move. Even as the police sirens screamed in the background, Mikomi couldn’t do anything but sit there and stare with a horrified look on his face. He was so paralyzed with fear and disbelief that he couldn’t even force any tears to come out. Mikomi’s vision became hazy as his heart rate skyrocketed. He began to sweat profusely and he had a hard time trying to catch his breath. He could only sit there, gasping for air, shaking with intense fear.

Off in the distance, a pair of eyes watched the entire scene unfold from the shadows. It was keeping a watchful eye on everything. The eyes narrowed and a voice quietly muttered…

“Balance must always be maintained.”

The person turned and walked away. A single gold cane brushed the ground behind him as he disappeared into the shadows.

This was the end of Mikomi’s final year of high school. In a few months, he would head to college but he would be heading there alone.