Two years had passed since Mikomi received the news of his father’s apparent suicide. Mikomi was in his dorm room preparing for his big day. Today was the day he was going to walk onto a stage and receive his bachelor’s degree in computer science. Soon afterward, he would be reporting immediately to Onyx Technology Ventures to take the reins as its newest CEO. For Mikomi, this was a monumental moment in his life that should have been filled with joy and excitement but instead, he sat there on the edge of his bed in his graduation gown with an emotionless expression on his face.
For the past two years, this is what had become of Mikomi. He still remembered the night when he received the phone call from his mother. He still remembered the pain and the shock from hearing the news that his father had committed suicide. Rather than questioning why his father would ever do such a thing, he focused on the fact that he had failed once again. All of his efforts were in vain and that crushed him. He no longer knew what his purpose in this timeline was anymore.
He remembered that night when he screamed at the top of his lungs. He remembered Derek had tried to comfort him but he couldn’t even sense the world around him. Dozens of students from the dorm rushed to his room as his screams pierced through the walls, all of which showed concern for him. After that, everything became a blur. He only remembered dragging himself to class day after day just to sit there and space out.
Mikomi didn’t even want answers anymore. He had convinced himself that the world couldn’t be beaten. He failed with Serah and he failed with his father. The only success he had to show for his efforts was keeping Ryan in his life but Ryan never died in the original timeline so he never considered that a true victory. Mikomi felt it was no longer necessary to try since he couldn’t create a future where he could be with the ones he loved the most. He even decided that it wasn’t even worth the time to uncover the identity of his killer. In fact, part of him even wanted the event to replay itself just so it could end his suffering.
Mikomi believed that all he was doing was walking a path that he thought he had created when, in reality, that path was preordained. He knew that no matter how different the path seemed, it was still the same path. That meant that he knew that in two years, he would die and there was no real way to change it. He decided that all he could do was wait for his demise with the only glimmer of hope being that he would see who his killer was.
That had become his only goal.
Mikomi glanced over at the clock and saw that the ceremony began in thirty minutes. He let out a heavy sigh as he forcefully willed himself up to his feet. He grabbed his mortarboard and exited the dorm. Derek, who had roomed with him this entire time, had already left. He had pleaded with Mikomi to come with him, but Mikomi never gave him an answer. Derek had grown accustomed to his loss of emotions and knew that he wouldn’t be able to persuade him to come no matter how much he asked. Knowing this, Derek went on ahead without him. Deep down, Mikomi preferred it that way as he wanted this time alone to reflect. Despite being granted the time, he couldn’t even muster up the necessary energy to do even that.
Mikomi made his way to the main building. He entered through the back and joined the rest of his class. Many familiar faces smiled when they saw him, some even patting him on the back and congratulating him for making it here but he ignored every single one of them. He couldn’t even acknowledge their heartfelt wishes which drew some disappointed and disgusted looks from his peers. He found a place to sit by the panel which controlled the stage lights and sat there alone with nothing but his thoughts.
There was a bit of a commotion as someone pushed their way through the students. As that person got closer, Mikomi turned his head out of morbid curiosity only to see his roommate and friend Derek.
“Mikomi! You decided to come! Even though I saw you were dressed in your gown, I honestly didn’t think that you were going to show up.”
Derek rubbed the back of his head as Mikomi turned his attention away from him, looking down at the floor. Derek let out a heavy sigh and sat next to him, putting his arm around him.
“Look. I know you’ve been like this since your father died. I know how much he meant to you. It may not be fair to say this because my father is still alive but it doesn’t mean I don’t know how you feel. I think I would be in the same shoes as you if my father passed away but I would also know that he would be looking down at me right now with pride. So, just for today… put on a smile because he’s watching you and I’m sure he’s proud of you.”
Mikomi gritted his teeth. He even went as far as to ball up his fist. The only thing that stopped him from doing so was the realization that Derek had no idea what was truly going on. He didn’t understand how this wasn’t the first time he had experienced all of this. Derek was just a person living in this timeline unaware of everything. He swallowed hard and relaxed himself. He looked up and for the first time in nearly two years, he shot Derek a smile and in a faint and raspy voice said the word “thanks.”
That moment was enough to shock Derek. With the way Mikomi had been these past two years, he didn’t expect so much as an answer out of him. When he muttered that one solitary word, Derek gasped and took a step backward.
“Y-you spoke to me!”
Instead of smiling at that remark, Mikomi’s eyes began to well up because he realized just how empty of a shell he had become. Derek’s reaction made him realize just who he was now and that this is how the world viewed him. This one single moment changed that, albeit slightly. Before Mikomi could burst into tears, he composed himself and stood up, taking a deep breath. As soon as he did, the Dean of Admissions walked through and directed everyone to take their places.
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“Ah, it’s finally time,” said Derek as he extended his hand out to Mikomi. “Come on, I’ll bring you to your spot.”
Even after everything that had happened, Derek was still willing to offer his hand to him. Mikomi was a bit surprised that he remained that much of a friend to him throughout this ordeal. He let out a sigh and grabbed Derek’s hand as he led him over to his place in line.
After that, the students were called to the stage one by one by the Dean of Admissions. Mikomi stood behind the curtain and watched Derek walk out and receive his diploma. Just as soon as he witnessed all that, he heard the Dean call his name.
“Mikomi Saigo.”
Mikomi took a deep breath and walked out onto the stage. He could hear the crowd applauding him as he approached the Dean. He turned his head slightly and noticed his mother Karoline sitting in the front row with tears in her eyes. He was completely shocked to see his mother sitting there. He hadn’t spoken to her since the day he received the phone call about his father’s suicide. He had neglected every aspect of his life since then, including his mother. The fact that she was there tonight puzzled him.
While Karoline was there to see her son graduate, Mikomi knew that she was alone. The absence of his father shot a painful shock through his spine but he endured it so as to not make a scene on stage in front of everyone. He clutched his diploma in his hand and shook the hand of the Dean. He then moved his tassel to the other side of his mortarboard and walked off, taking his place next to Derek on stage.
Mikomi stood there and looked out into the crowd, his gaze focused on his mother. At that moment, the two years of neglect that he gave to her rushed to the surface and he couldn’t hold back his tears any longer. Even though the tears were flowing from his eyes. He remained standing there as if nothing was wrong. Only those who stood next to him could see them pouring out of his eyes, but people sitting back in the audience, they couldn’t tell that a single thing was wrong. That was how statuesque Mikomi’s stance was there on the stage.
Derek took immediate notice of Mikomi’s tears and gave him a small nudge as if to silently ask if Mikomi was okay but Mikomi just stood there, almost like a trained soldier, and continued to gaze out into the crowd at his mother. Once the last of the students received their diplomas, the Dean of Admissions made the announcement.
“Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you the graduating class of 2002!”
With that, the audience stood up and gave them all a standing ovation. They all took their caps and threw them into the air… except for Mikomi who continued to stand there, tears flowing. Derek knew that Mikomi would draw attention to himself rather quickly so he grabbed Mikomi’s mortarboard and tossed it into the air for him. Derek then wrapped his arm around him and pulled him into a friendly hug, hiding his face from the crowd. He then quickly dragged Mikomi with him off stage and behind the curtain out of sight. It may have looked a little odd but at least he got him out of the spotlight.
Once they were safely out of sight, Derek continued to embrace him in a hug.
“Just let it all out and don’t stop until you’re satisfied.”
That’s all that Mikomi needed to hear. He gripped Derek as tight as he could, burying his face into his shoulder. Mikomi cried for a good five minutes before he collected himself and wiped the tears from his eyes.
“Why?” Mikomi muttered with a broken and squeaky voice.
“Because that’s what friends are for.”
“I don’t deserve any friends.”
“Sure you do. Everyone deserves friends in their life. Even someone gloomy like yourself. I was planning on going to the after party but I know that you’re not going to be there. If you’d like, I’ll ditch it and hang with you in the dorm or something. You know, whatever you’d like to do.”
“You should go enjoy the party. I have to pack, after all. I start at the company on Monday so I need to head back home as soon as possible.”
“Wait… your father’s company!? You had a job lined up from the beginning!?”
“I’m kind of going to be the new CEO.”
Derek’s jaw nearly hit the floor. He couldn’t believe what he had just heard. Mikomi hadn’t said a single thing to him about his predetermined position within Onyx Technology Ventures for the entirety of their time together. Derek even took a step back and laughed to himself.
“To think that I was rooming with a CEO this entire time. Then again, ever since I lost that bet to you back in our freshman year, I had a feeling you would be destined for big things. I just never thought that your destiny was already laid out for you. Just promise me that you won’t forget the little people while you’re sitting on top of your ivory tower.”
Maybe it was Derek’s compassion, but at that moment Mikomi broke out of the gloomy shell he had placed himself in. He looked up at Derek and attempted a smile.
“If you want… I’ll give you a job.”
Derek was even more shocked. He had to take a step back and find something to hold on to. Not only was he rooming with a CEO for four years but he was also just offered a job at a company he was very familiar with. When it came to his classes about advanced artificial intelligence, Onyx Technology Ventures was one of the companies Derek had researched due to the announcement Mikomi’s father made about Project: Daphne so many years ago. It was an announcement that made national headlines, after all.
“You don’t know how much that means to me, Mikomi. I… I accept!!”
Derek reached out and shook Mikomi’s hand. Mikomi was still rather lifeless so Derek did most of the handshaking. He only stood there with a half-attempted smile because, at least, he knew that he wouldn’t be losing Derek.
“Report to my office at 8 am on Monday. If you need directions, I’ll give you some before I’m finished packing. Speaking of which… I should start that.”
Mikomi started to walk away from Derek when he grabbed him by the arm and stopped him.
“Mikomi, wait.”
Mikomi stopped and glanced back over his left shoulder at Derek.
“Thank you. I mean that from the bottom of my heart. Thank you, Mikomi.”
Mikomi nodded and took his arm back before continuing on his way. That night, while Derek attended the after-party, Mikomi finished packing all of his belongings into his duffel bag and a couple of medium-sized boxes. The last item he packed was the silver frame containing the photo of him, Ryan, and Serah at their high school graduation. Mikomi placed the frame face down in his duffel bag and wrapped an article of clothing over it so it wouldn’t get broken during transit.
Even though it was late at night, Mikomi moved all of his stuff down to his car. He was about to turn around and head back to his dorm when a figure showed up in the parking lot. Mikomi turned around and saw his mother Karoline standing there, her hands folded in front of her. She ran over and gave Mikomi a great big motherly hug but something about that hug seemed a bit off to him. He knew his mother was hugging him but it felt foreign at the same time. Karoline let go of the hug and took a step back from Mikomi. The look on her face didn’t send a message that she was happy to see him. That became even more apparent when she hauled off and slapped him as hard as she could!