Mikomi had never met Serah’s parents as they were constantly away on business for huge lengths of time but he didn’t need to know them to feel the same pain that Serah felt. Serah had lived alone in a house paid for by her parents. The bills were taken care of from wherever they were in the world at the time. They left her enough money in a bank account to feed herself and buy whatever she needed for day-to-day life. She hardly saw them but she still cared deeply for them. All Mikomi could do was hug Serah as tightly as he could.

“If there’s anything I or the school can do... “ said the principal.

Mikomi gritted his teeth.

“No… it’s fine... “ muttered Mikomi under his breath. “Come on, Serah… I’m going to take you home.”

Back at Serah’s house, Mikomi laid down on Serah’s couch with Serah on top of him. He held her tightly as the silence became deafening. He could only think about her and how devastated she must be, while Serah simply just laid there void of emotion. He thought about how she lived on her own day after day without anyone to talk to. It’s no wonder she had felt abandoned. Every time a friend left her, every time someone talked about her, her parents weren’t there to console her and make her feel better. She had to shoulder all of that pain by herself and now the one hope of seeing her parents once again had been taken away from her. After a long period of silence, Serah finally spoke her first words since hearing the news.

“Say… Mikomi. Why does everyone in this world abandon me?”

Mikomi knew what a question like that meant. First, it was those who she believed to be her friends, then it was those who were total strangers. Serah had been treated as an outcast her entire life and now with the loss of her parents, it was only natural for someone like her to feel that way. Mikomi gritted his teeth, not out of anger but out of frustration because he knew he couldn’t change the past and erase her pain. He knew that if he could, he would make sure Serah never had to suffer as much as she had. He needed to let her know that she wasn’t alone in this world.

“I’m still here and I’m never going anywhere,” said Mikomi.

“I have nothing left except for you. Everyone else is gone.”

“That’s not true, Serah. My parents absolutely adore you. They think of you as part of the family. You have all of us and you know that we will be here for you. Don’t worry… you’re not alone. Not anymore.”

Serah shot up and grabbed Mikomi by his shirt, wrenching it tightly in her fist.

“AND HOW WOULD YOU KNOW THAT!? YOU STILL HAVE YOUR PARENTS! PEOPLE DON’T TALK ABOUT YOU BEHIND YOUR BACK! THEY DON’T LOOK AT YOU AS IF YOU DON’T BELONG IN THIS WORLD! YOU’VE NEVER FELT THE THINGS THAT I’VE FELT! IT’S NOT FAIR FOR YOU TO SAY THAT I’M NOT ALONE! It’s…. not… fair”

Serah began to break down once again. She covered her mouth, realizing what she had just said. Mikomi looked up at her and did something Serah didn’t expect. He smiled at her.

“You’re right. It’s not fair of me to say those things because I haven’t lived your life but it doesn’t mean that I don’t understand what you’ve gone through. I told you four years ago that I wouldn’t abandon you. Four years later, I’m still here and I have no intention of letting go. I said that because I wanted to be the one to end your loneliness. I wanted to become the one friend that stayed with you, cared for you, and loved you. I have never loved you out of pity… not even once. I’ve loved you with everything in my heart because you are you.”

Serah clenched her fist and gritted her teeth.

“Then, Mikomi... Let me ask you another question. If I had been popular, would you still have gone out with me?”

Mikomi’s eyes widened. He had never considered that possibility. That question made him think if things would have been different had Serah not been treated like an outcast. That question rattled his very core. After all this time, he came to realize that maybe he actually had felt pity for her and it was the only reason for this relationship. He wanted to protect Serah but had she never been treated the way she had been, would she even need protection? Would she have ever needed Mikomi?

He couldn’t answer her question. He was at a complete loss for words. Every second spent in silence felt like an eternity and Serah knew it.

“Please leave,” said Serah in a pretty stern tone.

“Serah… I….”

“JUST GO! I… want to be alone for a while.”

Serah got off the couch and Mikomi stood up, looking into her eyes. He wanted to say something but he thought that if he did, it would just make the situation worse at this point. Mikomi turned and slowly walked to the door. He grasped the handle and began to turn it. Before opening the door, he looked back at Serah, the thoughts of saying something… anything… raced through his mind. He couldn’t just leave in silence.

“Serah. All I have ever wanted was to be there for you. I hope you can come to understand this.”

With that, Mikomi opened the door and walked away. After the door closed, Mikomi’s vision blurred. Several days had passed and Serah hadn’t contacted him at all. Mikomi knew that this was their first true argument as a couple so he didn’t know how long Serah would stay upset at him. After those days had passed, he felt as if he needed to go over to her house to patch things up. Surely by now, she would have calmed down to the point where they could have a heart-to-heart conversation.

Mikomi grabbed his jacket and stepped outside. It was chilly out with the skies filled with grey clouds. It was the kind of sky that looked as if it could start raining at any moment. A few moments later, Mikomi arrived at Serah’s house. Butterflies were abundant in his stomach but he mustered up the courage to move forward after taking a deep breath. He knocked on her door and waited for it to open but there wasn’t a single sound coming from the other side. He knocked again and waited for a reply which did not come. Mikomi began to worry as he side-stepped to Serah’s front window. The room-darkening curtains made it difficult to see inside the house but out of the corner of the window where the curtain wasn’t covering, Mikomi saw a hand laying on the floor.

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Mikomi’s eyes widened with fear. He rushed back to the front door and pounded on it, frantically calling out Serah’s name. He knew he had to do something and began to throw his shoulder into the door with force. With the door not being in the best condition, it didn’t take much to break it off of its lock. Mikomi busted through and stumbled over the rubble he created. Mikomi regained his balance and looked straight to the floor. Mikomi gasped and then covered his mouth before falling to his knees. Every inch of his body was trembling as if he were staring into the face of a nightmare.

Serah laid there on the floor in a pool of blood, her wrists slit on both arms.

“S...Serah..?”

On his hands and knees, Mikomi made a mad dash for her. He quickly checked for a pulse but didn’t find any. Her body was completely cold and stiff. The smell in the house suggested that she had been like this for a while now. Could it have happened the day he left?

Despite all of this, Mikomi picked up Serah’s lifeless body in his arms and broke down.

“This…. This is a dream, right? Serah... You’re going to wake up, aren’t you!? Please… Serah... WAKE UP! Don’t leave me al………..”

Mikomi’s eyes widened.

“....one.”

It was as if reality had settled in. He had never known abandonment before in his life but with this, Mikomi, who only thought he understood Serah’s pain, came to fully realize it. He slowly laid Serah back down on the floor. All he could do was stare at her.

“I… did this. I left her alone when I said I wanted to be there for her. Did…. Did I abandon her, too? Did I… cause this!?”

Mikomi’s vision began to blur once again. This time, when his vision was clear, he was looking up at a ceiling. It took a moment for his eyes to adjust, but when they were fully open, he heard a voice cry out.

“MIKOMI!”

Mikomi turned his head. It was his mother, Karoline.

“Thank God! I was afraid I had lost you!”

Karoline gave her son a great big hug. Mikomi slowly sat up and took in his surroundings. The first thing he noticed was that he had a tremendous headache. The second thing he noticed was that he was in a room at the hospital. There was an I.V. stuck in his arm and his mother was there in a chair by his bed. Suddenly, his father walked into the room with a coffee in his hand.

“Mikomi!”

His father rushed over and placed the coffee cup on the table by Mikomi’s bed. He gave his son a huge hug.

“W-what happened?” said Mikomi, rather groggily.

“Your mother came home from grocery shopping and found you laying on the floor. You weren’t responding so she called an ambulance. They rushed you here and ran some tests but they couldn’t find anything wrong with you except for the fact that your brain activity was off the charts. They attested it to having a dream while unconscious but every other test came back fine. Mikomi… what was the last thing you remember before passing out?”

Mikomi was still groggy. He couldn’t tell what was going on still but there was only one thing he could mutter.

“Serah… died. It was…. My fault.”

Ryunosuke and Karoline looked at each other and then back at Mikomi.

“Son… Serah isn’t dead. In fact… she’s waiting for you right outside.”

Ryunosuke backed away from Mikomi’s bed and stepped out into the hallway. He motioned for her to come into the room. Mikomi audibly gasped when he saw her standing there in the doorway. Ryunosuke gave her a nudge to go see him and she took small steps over to his bedside.

“I...I heard what h-happened and… I was worried so I…”

With reckless abandon, Mikomi leaped out of bed and embraced Serah in his arms, tears flowing from his eyes. He nearly ripped the I.V. right out of his arm but he didn’t care. The thing that he had lost was right in front of him and he wasn’t going to let go… not this time. He hugged her as tightly as he could to the point where it almost felt a little uncomfortable.

“I’ll never leave you alone. I’ll never let you go. I swear to God… I’ll always be there for you… Serah!”

“M-Mikomi… you’re… squeezing me… too tight.”

Mikomi let her go and grabbed her by the shoulders. He had a look of bewilderment in his eyes like he couldn’t believe what he was seeing in front of him.

“Wow, Mikomi. What kind of dream did you have?” asked his father.

“Dream? Wait… a dream… my head… the pain… all of it. Were these my memories from the original timeline? My mind is getting a bit clearer and I can think again. That outburst just now… was because Serah died in the other timeline. I remember it very clearly now. She took her own life because her parents died and I made things worse by making it seem like I only dated her out of pity. I also remember this was the catalyst for something else. Those memories were scrambled as well but I remember it all now.”

“A nightmare, Dad. A really bad one.”

“Well, it’s over now, son. You’re here and you’re safe.”

“Dad… how long was I asleep?”

“You were asleep for quite a while. It’s Wednesday night. You’ve been out for three days!”

“Three days!? Sebastian… just what the hell did you do to me!? I swear to God when I see you again, you’re going to have to answer for this!”

“I’ll let the nurse know that you’re awake.”

Ryunosuke gave Karoline a nod and a wink. Karoline picked up the hint and exited the room with a smile on her face, leaving Mikomi and Serah alone together. Serah looked rather nervous but took a seat next to Mikomi’s bed. Serah’s hand trembled as she reached out but she eventually grabbed Mikomi by the hand and just held it. After seeing the relieved expression on her face, the resolve in Mikomi’s eyes burned brighter than ever before. He continued to stare at Serah as he gritted his teeth behind his lips.

“I swear to God I’m not going to let you die again, Serah. This is my second chance and even if it’s for selfish reasons, I am going to change this world no matter what!”