Archive of Our Own

They’re the exact same.

Those were the words that ran through Nozomi Kirifuji’s mind as she stared up at the stars that dotted the landscape. Though barely visible due to the light pollution from the academy, Nozomi could still make out a few star formations when focusing her vision. While she’d need a high-powered telescope to be sure, she could still tell that the shapes of the constellations she viewed were the exact same ones she had observed just a few days ago.

She supposed that that shouldn’t be too surprising. After all…why SHOULD the positions of the stars change in this new timeline? As far as she could gather from the explanation that Hiruko and Takumi gave, the only difference between this world and the world she came from were a few different choices that the two of them had made. Deciding to kill Eito or not should have had no impact on the cosmos…

But she couldn’t help but be surprised anyways. After all, everything that had happened to them in the past few days, having all their friends massacred by some mysterious entity from another timeline, getting struck by a strange meteorite and being kidnapped by said mysterious entity, using a strange machine to travel to another world where her dead friends were still alive, all of it was insane and beyond the scope of common sense.

So perhaps it wasn’t too surprising that she’d think that something as crazy as the stars switching positions had occurred. All things considered, it probably wouldn’t be the weirdest thing that’s happened to her these past few days.

Nozomi sat down on the floor, her eyes fixated on the stars above. She remembered the day she first awoke in Second to Last Defense Academy, to the surface of this planet…Futuram she’s told it’s called. Everything was so unfamiliar to her compared to the complex: from the ruined cityscape to the forests that surrounded the academy to the sky filled with sunlight in the day and the stars at night which was so vibrant and bright compared to the pale artificial lighting of the complex. The rest of her classmates had been enamored with the unfamiliar world too, of course, but to Nozomi, the experience was truly magical. She had especially loved the nighttime sky, having read numerous books about it since her youth. She had longed for the day when she could experience that beautiful view for herself rather than having to imagine it through text on a page. And of course, it surpassed her expectations. Faint distant lights from millions of miles away, traveling thousands of years just to reach this planet, and creating a symphony of light in the sky.

At first, she had merely viewed the stars out of lifelong curiosity. Yet, as the war dragged on and the battles became harsher and harsher, she began to turn towards the sky for a sense of comfort. It was calming to sit alone in the night with hundreds of lights surrounding her. For a brief moment she could ignore the ongoing war and all the killing they had to do and just marvel at the beauty of that unfamiliar scenery…the same scenery that she knew would never change and would always be there no matter what they did or who they lost.

Perhaps that was why she found herself here tonight. She was exhausted yet she couldn’t force her brain to fall asleep. Her mind kept turning to the events of days past, especially the day they first arrived in this “timeline” as Hiruko called it. Admittedly she couldn’t remember too much. After she was struck by that strange meteorite, she had gone unconscious. Everything during that period from the death of her friends, to her kidnapping at the hands of the killer, to the final battle with V’ehxness, all of it was told to her second hand by Hiruko. All she remembered was waking up on day 100 before being forced to use the strange machine to avoid the final attack. She recalled the shock on everyone’s faces as they reunited with their dead friends, she recalled the cheers and celebrations that had occurred. No one understood what was happening, but it didn’t matter. Everyone was just excited to be together again. She also recalled…

Suddenly her face became a luminescent red. On that day when she had first arrived here her first interaction with anyone on this timeline had been Takumi coming to hug her out of nowhere. She didn’t know what was happening at the time and had no idea that he had already lost his Nozomi. She didn’t know how happy he must’ve been to see his dead friend alive again. All that she knew was that her friend had hugged how out of nowhere while saying how happy he was to see her again. Thinking back on it, she couldn’t help but be embarrassed at how sudden it all was.

It's been two weeks now. After Hiruko explained to them everything regarding this “Mystery timeline” and everyone managed to sort through their confused thoughts and emotions, things had managed to settle into a steady motion. They were surviving well enough, but she knew that things would only be tougher in the days to come. Realizing that their enemies were NOT in fact constructs of World Death like Sirei had told them but rather an alien species was just another big revelation on top of the numerous other revelations going on at the time. But now, after some time, it became apparent that the inhabitants of this planet were just innocent victims of humanity’s war…and none too pleased at the SDU remaining on their home planet. Sure, the final attack had been stopped but that didn’t mean that they could easily make peace with the Futurans. And without Sirei there was no way to contact the Artificial Satellite. They were all alone on this alien planet with no one to rely on except each other.

Her mind should’ve been occupied by thoughts about the future, how they would survive in the coming days and how she could help. While she did think such things on occasion, she found that her mind was chiefly focused on him...

It was strange. After that big hug that he had greeted her with, Takumi had barely interacted with her. At first, she thought nothing of it. He was busy after all trying to help everyone get settled into their new circumstances. But as the days wore on, she noticed the little things that made it clear that he was avoiding her: always excusing himself from the room when she entered, always being busy whenever she tried to talk to him, and always acting extremely awkward whenever circumstances forced them to work together.

It frustrated her she supposed. After that big initial show in front of everybody there was…nothing. No communication, barely any explanation, just radio silence.

But it wasn’t like she could blame him. After all…she wasn’t his Nozomi. The two of them, Takumi and the Nozomi from this world, were evidently quite close. But she wasn’t her. She may have had her face, her name, and her personality but those experiences and memories that they shared weren’t with her. Perhaps it was only natural that he would avoid her after all. Imagine that one of your close friends had died only for a doppelganger with none of her memories to show up out of nowhere. The feelings involved had to be…complicated. So it should be no surprise that he would want to avoid them…yeah…it was perfectly natural that he wouldn’t want to talk with her.

Nozomi sighed. Why was this even bothering her so much? She wasn’t particularly close with the Takumi from her timeline. In fact, she had no idea where the Takumi from her own timeline even WAS. Hiruko said that he had already travelled to the Mystery timeline but it soon became apparent that what she said was a lie. The only Takumi that was here was the native one. She couldn’t even ask Hiruko, the Hiruko from her timeline that is, about it either. By the time they realized what happened she had already taken the machine to parts unknown.

So why then did she care? Maybe it was because Hiruko had told her that Takumi was the one who had saved her when the murderer from another timeline had kidnapped her. Maybe it was because the sudden hug upon arriving in this timeline had made such a strong impression? She didn’t know.

Exhaustedly she continued looking at the sky…the same sky…or maybe it wasn’t? Was the sky the same as the one she always found comfort in during her days at Second to Last Academy…or did she see it for the first time that night she arrived in this timeline. After all…she wasn’t the same Nozomi as the Nozomi from this timeline, nor was Takumi the Takumi that she knew. So wouldn’t that mean the sky was different?

But…that beauty…that distant pale light…it was clearly the same.

She heard the sound of footsteps behind her. Quickly she turned her head over towards their direction, most likely from the instincts she had developed on the battlefield. But what greeted her was not one of the creatures she had once called “invaders”. Rather it was one of her fellow soldiers, and in fact the one that had been occupying her thoughts just moments before.

“Takumi?”

“Nozomi?” the boy looked at her with surprise. “What are you doing out here this late?”

“Sorry, I couldn’t sleep. I guess that I just wanted some fresh air.”

“Yeah, same here. There’s a lot on my mind right now so I wanted to calm down a bit.”

The silence that followed was awkward and stiff. Nozomi could see that he was nervously tapping his foot. Honestly, it’s possible that she was doing the same. It was clear that they were both struggling to find something to say to break the tension.

 “Well, sorry for disturbing you. I’ll head back in so that I’m not a bother.”

“Hey! Takumi! Wait a minute!” Nozomi hastily tried to stop him. “You just said that you were getting some fresh air, but you’ve only been out here for a few minutes!”

“Yeah,” he murmured, “but honestly, I just don’t want to impose. You’re clearly enjoying the night yourself and I don’t want to be a bother. Besides, I don’t think the night air would help me that much.”

Nozomi responded by patting her hand on the ground besides her, “C’mon. Sit down. You aren’t being a bother at all. Besides, I want to talk to you y’know. I hardly ever get the chance to.”

Takumi gave off a nervous expression. It was clear that he would rather just leave. After a few moments of him standing there contemplating something, he slowly made his way over to where her hand directed and lowered himself to the ground.

The awkward silence returned soon after. The two of them were trying to avoid the other’s gaze, both of their faces clearly showing discomfort. Nozomi’s heart was racing. She was the one that said that she wanted to talk but in all honesty she was struggling to find the words. Meanwhile Takumi still seemed like he was waiting for the opportunity to escape.

It took a few minutes for Nozomi to eke out the words that she wanted to say, though it came out as barely a whisper.

“Hey Takumi…why have you been ignoring me these past few days?”

Takumi didn’t respond. It was clear that he had expected this question. It was also clear that he didn’t really have an answer ready. Instead, his gaze turned downcast as if to try and avoid her eyes even more. With no response, Nozomi took it as his tacit permission to continue.

“Is it…is it because I look like her? The Nozomi in your timeline, I mean? I share her face and her name…everything. But…I’m not her. That’s it right? I know that the two of you were probably quite close. When she died you were devastated. Hiruko told me, you were locked in your room for days, only coming out when the people from my timeline arrived. I know you were excited to see me when I first got here, but that was probably just a knee-jerk reaction right? Now that you’ve had some time, you’ve realized that we’re not the same person…that I’m not her. So…it must be pretty awkward to interact with me right?”

Takumi continued his silence, but his breathing grew heavier. It was clear that her words had managed to get through to him.

“That’s okay. I get it. Honestly this whole situation is pretty weird for me too. I just wanted to make sure for certain. If things continue to be awkward between us like this, then maybe it’s best that we have some space between us. So yeah, sorry for bringing it up-“

“No, that’s not it.”

Takumi’s sudden words caught her off guard.

“Huh?” she sputtered out.

“Well, okay, that’s part of it. But that’s not the whole story.”

He sighed and cleared his throat. After minutes of contemplation, he had finally found the words to say.

“It’s just…yeah, you’re not her. You’re not the Nozomi I know. And yeah, I can’t help but remember her, how much she helped me out throughout this whole ordeal. It hurts, remembering her. It hurts a lot.”

“But,” he paused, reconsidering his words before opening his mouth again, “that’s not the reason I’ve been avoiding you. Yeah it hurts, but the real reason I’ve been reluctant to talk to you is because it’s not fair to you.”

“Not fair to me?” Nozomi looked confused. “What do you mean?”

Takumi hesitated for a moment but pressed forward. “Well it’s just…I’ve been thinking about it a lot…about you, and about the Nozomi from this timeline. I…I failed. I made a stupid mistake and because of that she jumped in front of the G’ie’s grenade and sacrificed herself. I was devastated… and the reason it hurt so much was because…because this wasn’t the first time this has happened.”

Takumi paused again, allowing Nozomi to speak. “You mean in your previous 100 days?”

Takumi gave a small and painful nod.

“During my first 100 days…I had grown close to you. You told me so many things. We bonded and you shared your past…and I shared mine. I wanted…I wanted to protect you. After everything you went through…I wanted to keep you safe and I promised you that I would. But I couldn’t do it. I fell right for Eito’s façade and because of that you died…right in my arms. The truth is…I said that I had gone back in time for the mission, for humanity. But the truth is that I came back for you. I wanted to undo my mistake. That was my second chance…and I screwed it up. I couldn’t save you. I was tricked again and it led to your death.”

At this point Takumi’s eyes started to cloud over with tears. His voice shook as he spoke.

“That’s twice now…twice that I’ve failed to protect you. But also twice that you’ve come back. Twice I’ve been given another shot. Both times I lost you…only to suddenly find another version of you. It’s…it’s so strange. When I look at you…I get so conflicted. Part of me wants to try and protect you again…try and make sure you never get hurt…but part of me also wants to stay as far away from you as possible…because I know I’ll mess it up again, and somehow someway get you killed.”

“And…that’s not fair. Neither thought is fair to you. You’re not an object. You’re not my possession. You’re your own person, with your own desires and thoughts, not a child that needs my protection. I mean…you’re probably already creeped out that I know so much about you right? You’re creeped out that some guy you barely knew jumped in out of nowhere to hug you when you arrived. And you’d be right to be creeped out. Who am I to project someone else entirely onto you? Who am I to view you as either my failure or my chance at redemption? I’ve thought about this a lot in the past few days. If I stay near you, I’ll either try to make up for my mistakes with the original Nozomi…or I’ll keep thinking that you could die at any moment. And that’s wrong. I shouldn’t project my relationship with the other Nozomi, either of them, onto you.”

Takumi was openly weeping at this point, barely getting those last words out through a shaky whisper. Nozomi could only look on with a pained expression.

She had known about his original 100 days. After explaining the situation with the PLM and the alternate timeline, both Takumi and Hiruko had tried to explain how all of this started: how Cyptoglobin had capabilities far beyond what anyone knew, how it could allow one to send their consciousness and memories back in time. Takumi had told everyone how he had decided to redo 100 days of failure and try to make everything right…and how in the process accidentally created a series of endless loops and timelines that only Takumi and Hiruko vaguely remembered.

Honestly, until now Nozomi didn’t really believe it. The whole thing sounded absurd. Time travel? Time loops? Travelling to another timeline was already hard to accept but this was too much. It sounded like the plot to a bad sci-fi game rather than anything resembling reality.

But seeing Takumi’s tears, hearing his words of grief and reflecting on his failures to save both the Nozomi from his original timeline and the Nozomi from the current timeline…she couldn’t deny it anymore. Everything he had experienced, all the pain that made him travel back in time, and the struggles he must’ve faced trying to make everything right throughout countless timelines… and his earnest desire to save her. It was all real.

Takumi’s sobs grew quieter but his voice was still only barely audible.

“I’m sorry…I’ve said too much. I should get going-“

“What were the other Nozomis like?”

“…what?”

“I want to know Takumi. You talked about how close you were with both previous versions of me right? So surely you can tell me what they were like. I want to know…no, I deserve to know Takumi. After all, they’re different versions of me. I need to know what they were like.”

Takumi froze, unsure of what to do. He faced his tear-stained eyes towards her, only to be met by her resoluteness. Seeing that she would not take no for an answer, he relented.

“Alright…I’ll talk. Which one do you want to hear about first?”

“Hm…how about the one from the Mystery timeline. She helped you out right? I want to know more about how she did so.”

“Nozomi…from this timeline. Alright. Well, she was a very sweet and kind girl. I somehow developed this thing called a “fainting disease”? Some strange condition where I kept getting these days-long comas for some reason. I still don’t know what caused it…but it was always Nozomi who cared for me whenever I fell ill. She’d always be at my bedside whenever the disease would strike. Heh…I remember, that whenever I woke up, I’d spook her because she wasn’t expecting it. It’d cause her to scurry around the room like a little mouse before finally calming down.”

Nozomi held in a little laugh at her counterpart’s expense. Though honestly, it seemed like something she would do.

“That’s just the type of person Nozomi was. When the murders were happening, she refused to believe that any of her classmates were the killer. She always believed that someone from outside the school snuck in during the attacks, even when that became increasingly unlikely. When we figured out that “X” was the mastermind, she refused to believe it was any of us either. I guess she was right on that last part. Honestly, I think she was wiser than I gave her credit for. She knew that the mastermind probably wasn’t among the students. She was able to identify some potential causes for my fainting disease. And at the very end…”

Nozomi didn’t let him finish that thought. “We don’t need to talk about that part. Let’s move on. You’ve talked about the Nozomi from the Mystery timeline. How about the Nozomi from your original timeline?”

“My first timeline’s Nozomi huh…sorry, it’s just been a while so my memories are a bit fuzzy. Let’s see…to be honest, things were pretty awkward between me and her at first. I…think I kind of creeped her out at the start. Admittedly, part of that was because, at first, the guys from Second to Last Defense Academy kept clashing with the people from the main school. It was bad enough that we had to eat at separate times. Thankfully Shouma and Takemaru helped us out and eventually we were able to come together. But for her that initial impression didn’t go away immediately. I think it was Moko, or rather that shapeshifting commander pretending to be Moko, that brought us together again. I was worried for her during that time. I think she spent entire nights not sleeping and taking care of Moko, though she tried to hide it. And of course…when Moko turned out to be a fake she was the first to notice the clues. I think…I think it was after that, after learning that her friend had died that she begun to confide in me. I remember it, we were out exploring when we got stranded in a building because of the rain. We were alone…it was kind of awkward to be honest. But then we got to talk about ourselves and our lives before coming to the academy. That was when…when you told me your secret. How your mother used you for her experiments with Cryptoglobin. How she had committed suicide when her experiments failed. Sneaking aboard Second to Last Defense Academy…and your rejection symptoms. I…I think that was it. That was when I promised myself…that I’d protect you.”

Takumi went silent after that. Nozomi herself could only feel barely shocked. Perhaps it was because she had already gleamed much of what had happened from his earlier words, perhaps she was just absorbing too much information and her mind had gone numb, perhaps she expected that another version of herself would share that information with someone like Takumi.

“Wow…that’s a lot. My mom, the experiments, even the rejection symptoms? Did I really tell you that much? I guess…I must have really trusted you.”

“Yeah…though for the rejection symptoms, it’s less that you told me and more that you suffered a bout of it during that timeline. We had to go find a commander for you to absorb so that your symptoms would abate. Speaking of which, are you alright on that front?”

“No…I don’t know why but strangely for the past few days I haven’t been experiencing any symptoms at all. Maybe it’s just because I haven’t been using my powers as much? But in my original timeline I didn’t feel the symptoms either throughout all our battles. Who knows, maybe that weird meteorite changed my biology on some fundamental level. Maybe…just maybe…I’m a mutant now!”

The two of them shared a chuckle over her little joke.

“Sorry, sorry,” Takumi said over his laughter, “I shouldn’t be laughing at that. And…I’m sorry about sharing all this private info about you. I know, it’s creepy and weird and…”

“Don’t be,” Nozomi interrupted, “There’s nothing to be sorry about.”

She sighed before continuing, “Takumi, earlier you said that you felt like you were being unfair to me. If you interacted with me, you wouldn’t be able to help but see me as someone to protect, or a reminder of your failure. Takumi…at the end of the day…I think you’re guilty. You feel guilty over not being able to save me. And because of that guilt you don’t think you should interact with me. You see your presence as a jinx, like you’re the grim reaper or something. That by talking with me you’ll only lead me to my death or otherwise bring misfortune onto me. I don’t think it’s that unusual…you’re grieving Takumi.”

Nozomi closed her eyes. “But…if there’s anything I think I realized by those stories you told me, I think those other Nozomis were glad to have met you. They didn’t show you kindness out of a sense of obligation. Well…okay…maybe at first. But eventually they came to truly care for you Takumi. They wanted to spend more time with you…to get to know you better.”

Her face grew crimson as she said her next words. “And…I’m the same way. I may not be the same person as them…but I think that holds true for all of us. You said earlier that I’m my own person with my own desires, right? Well…I want to talk with you. I want to help just like they did. Admittedly…maybe part of that is just projection from my part just as it is for you. The Takumi from my timeline saved my life after all. I really don’t know…and it really doesn’t matter. So what if I’m projecting my Takumi onto you. So what if you’re projecting your Nozomi onto me? I think…you’re concerned about this because you’re afraid, both of losing me yes, but also of invalidating the existence of the previous Nozomi, replacing me with her. But ultimately…it doesn’t matter. What matters is that we can help each other, regardless of our reasons or our past. Besides, I don’t think any Nozomi, not me, not them, would want you to be haunted like this. I think they would’ve wanted you to focus on the present. I might not be them…but I am Nozomi Kirifuji and I want to help you. And the first step in that…is understanding you. But you have to LET me understand you first Takumi.”

Takumi’s face mellowed. Gone was the early pain and sorrow and gone was the slight hint of cheerfulness returning as he shared stories about his adventures. Instead…there was contemplation? It seemed that he was deliberating on if he should say what he was about to say.

“There’s…there’s more actually. There’s another side to this story that I haven’t told you yet. I know you said that it’ll be fine…that you want to understand me. But…there’s this secret that I’ve been keeping from you. Not just you actually, every single version of you that I’ve met. And…I’m afraid. I know that you just said that you weren’t creeped out by me knowing so much about you…but this secret…well I think that might change your mind.”

There was a pang of fear in Nozomi’s chest. A secret that was bad enough to change her mind? What could be bad enough to drive her away like that? Had he secretly committed some major crime before coming here? No that couldn’t be it. Takumi wasn’t that type of person. But if not that, then what could it be?

No. She had to be resolute. She said that she wanted to listen to him. To understand him. So no matter what, she would at least do that.

“Takumi, I want you to be honest with me. I said I wanted to know you better. So please…whatever this is, don’t be afraid to say it.”

He saw it in her eyes: her determination. She would be there to listen to him no matter what he said.

“The truth is…when I said that I made a promise to protect you in my initial timeline. That was a lie. I actually made that promise way before I ever arrived here, during my time in the complex. And the one I made that promise to…well I want to say that it wasn’t you…but…well…”

Another sigh, “You see, when I was a kid growing up. I didn’t have too many friends. But there was one person my age I was really close to. She was a classmate. Her name was Karua Kashimiya. I had known her since we were little kids. My earliest memory of her…was when she was around five. Her father had died in a car accident and she had barely survived thanks to surgery. I went to go visit her back then…and she was really upset. She was crying because her of her father…and because of this scar she got on her stomach. I remember I tried comforting her, saying that her scar didn’t make her ugly and that I would be there when her father couldn’t. God that was embarrassing in hindsight. But regardless that was it…that was when I made the promise, that I’d protect her. That no matter what, I’d be there for her.”

“…what?” That was all Nozomi could say in response. How was this possible? That accident…that story…it wasn’t Karua Kashimiya that experienced that…it was...

“And so, we became best friends. My family would always invite her over. My mom was always really excited to welcome her. Almost treated Karua as if she were her own daughter. I think Karua really needed that. It seems like after Karua’s father died her mother drowned herself in work. So it was almost like Karua considered my family her real family. And yeah…we grew up together. She was…kind of a weird girl to be honest. Always getting lost. Always burying her nose in these strange books. But I cared for her nonetheless. She was the type of person to get nervous easily. I think she developed a phobia of sirens after the accident so whenever she would hear them she would she would always get close to me and tell me to repeat that promise I made: that I would protect her. I always did it, and I always meant it too. I wanted to keep her safe at all costs. When…when the invaders attacked the complex, all that was on my mind was keeping her safe. That’s why I plunged the infuser into my chest for the first time. That’s why I joined the fight for humanity.”

The flow of tears restarted. “You realize right. These stories I’ve been telling. There not just of Karua Kashimiya…they’re…of you. I don’t know how but…you’re my dear childhood friend. The one I’ve wanted to protect since I was a kid. The reason I wanted to fight to begin with. You don’t remember it. That’s why you were so creeped out by me in my first timeline. But I knew, I knew it right away, from the moment I saw you. I knew that you were Karua. But I convinced myself otherwise. I told myself it was a coincidence, just two people that look alike. But when you were dying in my arms, I couldn’t deny it any longer. I knew that feeling. And then I saw your scar, the same exact one that Karua had and I couldn’t deny it anymore. You’re her. I don’t know how. I don’t know why your name is Nozomi Kirifuji. I don’t know why you got sent here when you should be safe at the complex. But you’re here…in front of me…right now…”

His words gradually trailed off. Replaced by his audible sobs. He struggled to continue, allowing Nozomi a brief moment to try and make some sort of sense from all of this.

What could she say? How could she be expected to respond to this? Karua Kashimiya? Who was this girl? How…how could she have the same life as her? It wasn’t possible. But there were too many details. The scar on her stomach. The fear of sirens. Her father’s death. Her mother never being there for her. She had never heard the name Karua Kashimiya in her life…but everything Takumi described about her from her behavior to her history to her appearance…was the same as Nozomi Kirifuji.

And…she didn’t think Takumi was lying. She believed him. She believed that he really did have a childhood friend named Karua Kashimiya…and that somehow, someway, Karua Kashimiya was her. She didn’t understand how it was possible. But that didn’t mean that she couldn’t see it in his eyes.

“You see…it’s creepy right? It’s not even something you told me in another timeline. No…I’m acting like I’ve known you your entire life. There’s no logical way to make it make sense. You probably think I’m lying. Or that I’m some stalker that’s been keeping tabs on you this entire time. It’s just…even with all the fantastical stuff, the time travel and the timelines, even knowing all of that, this is still too weird…

“I believe you.”

At those words, Takumi felt a jolt. He turned his eyes towards her and he saw it. Tears were flowing down her face, clouding her vision, but beyond those tears he could still feel her determination burning bright. His own eyes, though similarly clouded, visibly alternated between shock and relief.

“I believe you Takumi. I don’t know how it’s possible. I don’t know what’s going on. But everything you’ve told me. I can feel it, your words, I can feel them touching my heart. I can feel their intensity. It’s true…all of it. My father’s death. My scar. Those tears I shed at the hospital. I remember all of it, everything you described from Karua is something that I’ve experienced. You aren’t lying. It…doesn’t make any sort of logical sense but…your raw emotion, there’s no way you could’ve faked that.”

Takumi’s face softened, as if all of sudden a great burden he had been carrying was dropped. His mouth curled into a weak smile. Despite the fact that the tears should have blurred both of their visions, they could see the other with more clarity than they ever have before.

“My resolve hasn’t changed. In fact it’s only grown stronger. I want to understand you Takumi. I want to know who you are…and I want you to understand me too. I know it can be hard…overcoming that guilt. Overcoming the idea that you let your childhood friend die. But…I’m here right now. I may not remember you…but that’s precisely why It’s so important that I get to know you again. There’s…something strange going on in this world. Maybe it’s related to these parallel worlds, or Cryptoglobin, or something. I don’t know. But what I do know is that I want to figure it out…together. Yeah…as long as we’re together we can do anything if we try. So thank you. Thank you for telling me this. I feel like…this was the first step.”

Takumi chuckled. “I don’t think you should be the one thanking me. But…are you sure? This must be super unnatural for you.”

“I’m sure. Besides, so many unnatural things have happened to me already. What’s one more?”

“Heh…fair enough. Hey Nozomi…thanks.”

He reached out his hand towards her “Hey…you said you wanted to learn the truth…together right?”

Nozomi smiled. As she blinked the tears out of her eyes, the hand in front of her became more visible. She reached out her hand and grabbed his, then leaned in closer, close enough that her head was almost resting on his neck.

“Hey Takumi?”

“Yeah?”

“Karua…can you tell me about her? Just like with the other Nozomis. I…want to know about this girl who is both me and not me.”

Takumi hesitated, but his hesitation lasted only a brief second. He had resolved to tell her everything at this point, and this was a promise he wanted to keep.

So he talked about her, about her favorite foods, about her hobbies. He recalled how she would constantly exposit at him about the old home world of humans “Earth”. He remembered how she would always barge into his house unannounced and how his mother would make her rolled eggs whenever she did. And he recalled how she would always be the one to encourage him: telling him to be more decisive…how he could do anything he wanted if he just tried.

Hours passed. After telling his final story, he rose up from the ground.

“The sun is probably going to rise in a few. I want to get at least a little sleep. It’s probably going to be a busy day tomorrow.”

“I think I’ll stay for a little while longer. I want to watch the sunrise. Do you think you’ll be able to sleep okay?” Nozomi inquired.

“Yeah, I think I will. Thanks for that Nozomi. Thanks for everything.”

“It was no problem really. I just spoke my mind, that’s all I needed to do”.

Takumi gave a slight laugh.

“Alright…goodnight then Nozomi.”

“Goodnight…Takumi.”

Takumi returned to his room. He clearly looked far more relaxed than he had earlier in the night. Nozomi could tell from his body language alone that he would get a very restful sleep.

As for her, she turned her attention towards the sky once more. In the horizon, the distant and faint light could be seen just barely poking out. The stars were still visible though they would eventually be overtaken by the sun. She had seen this very scene many times. While she loved the stars, she would also often watch the sunrise too.

But was this sunrise really the same one that she had seen dozens of times? Was the sky the same one that comforted her throughout her many battles?

It didn’t matter, it was beautiful all the same.