Ryunosuke stood there in disbelief. Mikomi’s claim was very bold but it was also very far-fetched in his eyes. His mind danced as it searched for a plausible explanation but it couldn’t find one. Soon, he began to stammer a bit.

“H-how….? It was… you… this entire time? How did you… I… I don’t know what to say…”

“As I told mom, I wasn’t just playing video games in my room all day. I wasn’t just staying after school to study for classes. I’ve been interested in what you do for a very long time now and I was doing my own research. I was learning everything I could about the things you do at work in hopes that one day, I could work side by side with you.”

“Karoline? You knew about this?”

“Yes. I didn’t tell you because I felt that Mikomi should be the one to say something. I promised him that it would be our little secret and I simply kept my word to him. He’s done a lot of growing up while you’ve been at the office.”

“I… I don’t know what to say. All this time I thought it was somebody at work. Someone that was working on the project but it was my own son that gave me the answer. Mikomi… you have no idea how grateful and how proud I am of you right now. If this is what you’re capable of now... No… I mustn’t get ahead of myself. Mikomi… stay on this path and I will make sure you’ll have everything you need. I’ll let you know what college courses you need to take… everything. If your dream is to work side by side with me, then so be it. After this, how could I deny my son of his dream?”

The decision to tell his father the truth was a bold move, even if there were some white lies behind it. As Ryunosuke embraced his son in the biggest hug he had ever given him, Serah sat there completely clueless as to what had just happened. She understood that what Mikomi said was important but she didn’t fully grasp the overall picture. She just put on a smile and pretended she knew what all of that was about but the smile wasn’t completely faked, either. She was legitimately happy because she knew Mikomi did something good, even if she couldn’t comprehend what it was.

Later that night, Mikomi took Serah back home. She was more impressed than she ever had been with him. To her, Mikomi came off as a genius and she couldn’t believe that she was dating somebody like him.

Just like that, Thanksgiving vacation was over and it was back to school for Mikomi, Serah, and Ryan. Mikomi continued to ace his AP classes. No matter how many were put in front of him, he conquered each and every one. After school, he would typically hang out with Serah and Ryan. Time continued to pass and Mikomi’s fifteenth birthday soon arrived. He spent half the day at home with Serah and his parents and the other half of the day hanging out with Serah and Ryan. Ryan treated the two of them to a movie and then they went to the mall afterward. It was another perfect day for Mikomi that continued to lift his spirits. He began to feel a bit more comfortable in the future he created even though the events that changed because of him still weighed heavy on his mind. Despite that, the weight lessened more and more as if he were coming to peace with his decisions. Perhaps overwriting his depression with happy thoughts was his way of coping with it.

Little by little, Serah’s personality began to change as well. A pivotal moment came when Mikomi decided to act like a couple at school. Serah was hesitant about it at first but in the end, she decided that she was done hiding their relationship and wanted to go through with it.

It didn’t take long for the rumors to start but Mikomi was counting on it. Serah wanted to show that she wasn’t afraid of those who gossiped about her anymore. Her newfound confidence paid off. She became less and less timid and even stood up for herself whenever she was faced with gossip. Mikomi stood by her the entire time and it was that resilience that quelled the rumors. Soon, Serah had achieved one of the things she desired most… a normal life. This ended up bestowing even more confidence in her and it caused a radical shift in her personality.

Serah became more extroverted and willing to do the things she shied away from doing. Every time she tried something new, she could only think of Mikomi and how he changed her life for the better. He taught her that she didn’t have to be afraid anymore. She didn’t have to keep things bottled up inside. She could live life freely without hesitation or fear because she knew, no matter what, Mikomi would be there by her side to see her through it all. Even though she was more trusting of those around her, Mikomi was still her safety net.

This new confidence allowed Serah to start taking after-school art classes to fulfill her dream. She had already possessed a talent for drawing but her classes began to help her refine her skill. Until now, Mikomi was the only one who had ever seen her artwork. Her skill improved so much by the end of her freshman year that her teacher suggested that she start attending more advanced classes at an art studio down by the mall. Serah was a little bit reluctant at first but with Mikomi and Ryan cheering her on, she decided to take the offer.

By the time summer vacation started, Serah was attending the art class full-time. Mikomi made it a habit of walking her there every day as well as being there when she got out. He would walk her home and she would talk about the techniques she learned as well as show off some of her art.

All of her art was impressive and he was extremely proud of her for following her dream. Meanwhile, Mikomi continued to feign research about his father’s company to keep up appearances. All he had to do was just recite the things he already learned from running the company back to his father to show him how much progress he was making. Sometimes it was difficult to keep up the lie but he kept at it and the more he did, the easier it became.

During the summer, Mikomi paid his father a visit at the company. Mikomi was given a grand tour and was even allowed to shadow a few of the programmers so he could learn how things were done. In actuality, he ended up correcting and teaching the programmers some of their errors. Memories of him doing this when he ran the company resurfaced. Even though it was almost a year ago when he died and was given his second chance, all of the knowledge was there and he could recall it all as if it were yesterday. Perhaps it made him too comfortable as he almost slipped a few times by acting as the CEO of the company. Whenever he did, the workers there would just laugh it off as they felt he was just getting a bit too into it.

Mikomi even got to meet Alice in this timeline. By the time he met her, she was nineteen. There was still a four-year difference between them but he thought she was still as beautiful as ever. Despite those thoughts, his one and true love would always be Serah. Even though in the original timeline he entertained the thought of dating Alice, there was no need for that here. He had Serah and that’s all that mattered to him. That didn’t stop Alice from finding Mikomi adorable, though. She teased him often whenever he visited. One could say that Mikomi’s visits helped loosen up Alice’s tight personality around his father. She was starting to become more and more like the Alice that he knew from his original timeline and that made Mikomi happy.

Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original.

***

As the years passed, nothing really changed. While Mikomi continued to live his life with a ‘go with the flow’ approach, he still kept a watchful eye for any effects from the ripple he had caused nearly three years ago.

He continued to take AP classes while Serah continued attending art classes and her skills had improved to professional levels. Ryan was still floundering about, wondering just what he was meant to do in life. Each day after school and throughout each summer vacation, Mikomi would uphold his tradition of walking Serah to her class and picking her up when she got out. He also frequented the programming labs at Onyx Technology Ventures more and more to the point where he could have been considered an unofficial employee of the company. He had visited so much that his father issued him a permanent I.D. badge so he could come and go as he pleased.

All the while, Sebastian was nowhere to be found. Mikomi often wondered if he would ever show up again but after nearly three years of not seeing him, he had this sense that Sebastian was holding up his part of the bargain. He was allowing Mikomi to shape the world in his image and Sebastian was going to protect it as a custodian in time. Although his absence was a bit worrisome, Mikomi always figured that Sebastian would show up if he needed to. Since he hadn’t seen Sebastian, Mikomi could only assume that everything was going just fine.

It was the final day of summer vacation in their Junior Year of high school. The two of them stood on the sidewalk, hand-in-hand, in front of their school as the sun began to set in the background, giving off the hue of a beautiful dusk sky. Mikomi then placed his arm around Serah and held her close to him as the two gazed at the building.

“Tomorrow, we start our final year of high school. After that, it’s up to us to shape our futures,” said Mikomi in a new, slightly deeper voice.

Serah didn’t like where this conversation was going. Mikomi sensed that when she gripped him a bit tighter after he said those words. He already knew what that reaction meant and decided to ask her a question.

“Have you given any thought as to what you’re going to do once you’re out of high school?”

“I want to go to the community college and get my degree in art. Then, I was thinking about combining a couple of the loves in my life and going work as an illustrator or concept artist at a video game company.”

“You already know what I want to do with my future. It means I’ll have to attend a university. It also means that I’ll more than likely have to move away.”

“I know… and that’s the part that scares me, Mikomi.”

Suddenly, Serah’s fears of being abandoned resurfaced. She had worked so hard to overcome them but once she heard of the possibility of Mikomi moving away, it was as if all of that hard work had been erased. They had spent so much time together over the years that it was hard for her to imagine her life without him in it. Mikomi didn’t know this but Serah had already decided that when they were old enough, he was going to be the man she would marry. She knew that Mikomi moving away would mean that they wouldn’t be breaking up but not being able to see him daily would hurt on the inside. She wanted him to be happy but at the same time, she wanted to be just a little bit selfish and have Mikomi stay with her.

“You know… there could be community colleges near the one I choose. You could always move with me and attend a different college. This way we could still be together.”

Serah hadn’t even considered that option. When she heard those words it was like a huge wave of relief came over her. She still had that account her parents had left her so money wasn’t going to be a problem if she had to move. It would be a huge step for her and one that scared her a little bit when the fear filled her mind, she would just think about how she would always be near Mikomi and that made the fear pass away.

“Yeah… I didn’t think of that. Would you do that for me? If you pick a college, would you see if there is a community college nearby with an art program? If we could be together, then I don’t care where it is. I’ll go with you.”

Mikomi simply nodded. After all, this was something that he wanted as well. He didn’t want to abandon Serah after all this time together. This was the one girl he wanted to be with for the rest of his life and if it meant bringing her along to college with him, then that’s what he was going to do.

They took one last look at the school building before heading home. He dropped her off at her front door and gave her a kiss goodnight. Mikomi turned to leave when Serah stopped him.

“Mikomi….”

Mikomi stopped in his tracks and turned around to look at Serah. She was doing something she hadn’t done in years. Serah was hanging onto the edge of her door while looking down at the ground. Mikomi saw this many times in the past and knew that Serah was nervous about something. He figured that it was about the conversation they had earlier and decided to give her a bit of a comforting pep talk.

“Serah, if this is about college, don’t worry about it. We still have plenty of time to decide what we’re going to do. I merely brought it up because we can’t just ignore the topic forever. Sooner or later we have to face it so I figured that I would at least get the ball rolling.”

Serah shook her head ‘No.’

“That’s not it, Mikomi. You know… we’ve been dating now for three years. For three years I’ve wanted to ask you something but I was too nervous to. Well… I’ve decided that I’m going to ask you.”

Serah’s face turned a bit red. It was obvious she was embarrassed to ask him this question. It took her a bit but the words finally came out of her mouth.

“Would you… like to spend the night here?’

“S-spend the night?”

“Yeah… you know… spend the night… as a couple….”

Immediately Mikomi’s mother’s voice popped into his head. All he could hear were the words she said to him years ago when he came over to Serah’s house for the first time. She told him to have fun but not to have FUN. His face turned beet red but he managed to squeak out an answer as he scratched his cheek with his index finger.

“S-s-sure.”

Mikomi was about to take one step into the doorway when Serah grabbed him by the shirt and yanked him into the house, slamming the door behind her.

The morning came quickly and Mikomi left Serah’s house early so he could go home and change into his school clothes. Serah needed some time to get ready herself so the two parted ways for the time being. He rushed into his house, bypassing most of his mother’s questions about where he was last night. He simply replied he was at Serah’s house and then shut himself up in the bathroom. Mikomi got ready for school and stole a piece of toast out of the toaster as it popped up. He met Serah out in front of his house when all of a sudden...

“MIIII-KOOO-MIIII…. SEEEE-RRRR-AAAAH!”

Ryan lunged in between the two of them and placed his arms around them both. Mikomi smiled over the fact that Ryan had included Serah in his morning tradition. Together, the three of them walked to school that morning.

Their final year had begun.