Chapter Thirty: Reunion

It had been a few months since Barry's return and yet all he could think about was Mineko. How had her life been? Had she found happiness with someone else? How did she die? These questions circled his mind on repeat but were things he would never know the answer to. He tried searching for her in history books, scouring the internet for her name, but it seemed like she had been forgotten through time. This wasn't surprising. Though she was a remarkable woman, she had always been very private.

He had thought about going back for her. Too many times to count, actually, but he knew it wasn't a decision he could make recklessly. Mineko had lost him and mourned him, forcing himself back into her life would be selfish...but Barry had never claimed to be a selfless person. It felt inevitable that he would return for her, even if it was to just see her again - to watch her live out her life and hope for her to find a remnant of joy in it.

The decision had been made. He was going to speak with Doctor Fate and go back for her...but then the unthinkable happened. An disaster so catastrophic that he felt the entire world shift. Superman had died. All of a sudden, his plan didn't seem as important as his duty as The Flash. Him and Wally, who had returned the name 'Flash' to Barry and taken up the new title of 'Impulse', spent every single hour trying to keep the world safe. It was a full-time job without Superman there. No one realised how much he actually did for the world until he was gone.

He had met Clark's girlfriend a while back, but seeing her going through something so similar to him gave him enough strength to stay. If she couldn't go back in time than what gave him any right to do it? If he were to go back, why didn't he try to save Superman somehow instead? It was such a grey and confusing area that he tried to avoid thinking about it altogether. He had spoken to the woman though to try and let her know that she wasn't alone.

He remembered the conversation so clearly in his mind. "Hey." was how he had started it. Very common, but his tone said more than words ever could.

"Uh... hi?" She had replied, understandably agitated and upset.

Barry shifted on the spot, hands constantly clutching into fists nervously. "There's no real easy way to say this." He had started, rolling his shoulders, and biting his lip, and doing almost anything he could to distract himself. "But I just wanted to tell you that I know how you feel, and I'm sorry."

Silvia's expression contorted in uncertainty. "You do?" She said, obviously unconvinced that he had any idea of her heartbreak.

"Yeah, I do." Barry replied and all other movement from him stopped. "I lost someone I loved as well."

"I know about your mother, and as horrible as that is I don't think it's the same as-"

"I'm not talking about her." He raised his voice a little and the woman seemed to regret mentioning it. "I lost someone else. Someone I wanted to spend my life with."

Silvia gulped down the bad taste that had arisen in her mouth. "What happened?"

"I can't tell you much, but let's just say that we were from completely different worlds...Different times. She died ages ago." Barry inhaled shakily. "People tell you that it gets easier, but it never does. You just learn to live with the pain. You adapt to it by instinct because the agony's too much for anyone to live with. I wanted to be honest with you... So I won't lie about how losing Clark will eventually not affect you, because it always will. I just want you to know that I'm here if the burden ever weighs you down."

Silvia forced down the lump that formed in her throat, the one that threatened to break her down. He was being sincere, and it was the first completely truthful thing anyone had said to her since Superman's death. "Thank you."

Barry nodded but his expression had twisted in sorrow the moment he had mentioned his mystery woman. Speaking to Silvia was just a reminder of how much he truly missed Mineko, and how he had allowed himself to get his heartbroken once again. Not long after this memorial, Hal completely vanished. No one knew where he had gone or what he was doing. In fact, all the Green Lantern's were unreachable.

Things didn't stay like this forever. Superman had been killed, but it was too improbable for him to stay that way for long. If Barry could come back, then he definitely could, and he did. Even death couldn't keep him down. The people of the world celebrated his return, with a few mentions of Lex Luthor having helped him. Barry had been in disbelief when he first heard about that particular detail, but as long as he wasn't swapping bodies with people anymore he couldn't complain.

Hal eventually returned too but was hesitant to share where he had been. The world was stitching itself back together very slowly but Barry still felt broken. He needed to see her, just once more. To hear her voice and give her the option to come back. If that made him a selfish person, then he was at peace with being seen as exactly that. It didn't bother him anymore. All he cared about was seeing her again.

He left to find Doctor Fate, and was relieved to find him in the watchtower speaking with Wonder Woman. Fate didn't argue when he asked to speak with him alone, but he looked as if he already knew what was going to be asked. Barry sighed and lead him to an empty room. Fate spoke before he even had the chance to say anything.

"I do not approve of your decision."

"Whether you approve or not doesn't matter." Barry replied instantly, crossing his arms over his chest stubbornly. "I've come to give you the option of when I should return for her. Should I go back one year after I left her or just as she exits the portal? My choice is the latter but you seem adamant on the fact that she needs to be in her own time for a certain event."

"For multiple events. There are battles in her lifetime that are won because she's there. Then there are countless more that are victorious because of apprentices that she trains." Fate explained, hoping to stress the relevance of her staying in the past. "There's no reality where you bring her back and events aren't permanently changed."

"Then which battle is the most important? Which makes the biggest difference?" Barry enquired. "I won't leave her there forever. This is all I can offer you."

Fate grimaced but replied regardless. "Exactly five years, two months and eleven days after she returns there is a large battle between clans. She stops them both and saves the emperor from being overruled."

Barry nodded. "I'll make sure she's there for that, but whether she remains for everything else is up to her."

He sauntered away, but Fate's glaring gaze still burned into the back of his skull. This would change history in a way Barry would never understand until it was too late. Until an army was sent to conquer Earth and killed everyone on it. Still, he let him go. There was nothing more that he could do.

As Barry exited the room he ran into Superman and Silvia, both chatting to one another with large smiles on their faces. It was a little scary actually, seeing Silvia smile. It wasn't something she was too experienced with. Barry felt a little envy well in his stomach. They were even engaged. They had started their lives together despite the odds. He could only hope for the same with Mineko.

"Oh, hey Barry." Clark smiled, always the first to notice a friend. "What's with the look? Are you planning something?"

"Already have the plan, actually." Barry grinned for the first time in ages and Superman immediately knew why.

"I can't wait to see her again." He said, not needing anymore context to Barry's lift in mood. "You're doing the right thing."

"Thanks, but I think I might be a little more excited than you." He quipped, practically vibrating on the spot with eagerness. He wasn't sure if he was doing the right thing, but it was certainly the only thing that made him feel complete.

The two friends exchanged supportive looks, but Silvia seemed absolutely confused. She gritted her teeth and huffed "Is anyone going to tell me what this conversations about?"

Superman linked his arm with hers and replied "I'll tell you if you reconsider having kids in the future."

Silvia gagged. "There is no way in hell that I am ever having a little brat, especially not one with you. Kids are assholes, right? Now, imagine a superpowered kid...in my care. Absolutely fucking not."

Superman chuckled and lead her away, flashing Barry a look of encouragement before leaving. That's all he needed. Knowing that he had people that would stand by the decision he was about to make. He returned to the streets of Central City then, unwilling to wait another second to see Mineko, he sprinted around the globe - gradually gaining speed until the world around him was set into rewind.

So many historical moments passed him by. Things others would give anything to witness. Barry stopped for none of them. His mind was set on only one place. One person. It was difficult to calculate exactly when to stop running to make it there five years later, but he somehow managed to figure it out.

When he finally stopped he was in the heart of a small village. It was so familiar that he started having small flashbacks of his first visit here. He remembered how confused he had been - lost and disoriented in a place he never meant to land in. Strangely, he felt a little thankful that Thawne had lead him here. He was still an asshole, but his stubbornness resulted in Barry running into Mineko.

His eyes scanned the small village, watching people setting up food stands and farming their own crops. The civilians, all dressed in plain robes and traditional Japanese clothing, all stopped every now and then to stare at Barry in his odd, tight fitting suit. It didn't bother him this time. He had more important things to think about.

In fact, he was so focused on finding Mineko that he found himself completely and utterly lost about five different times. He now realised that he wasn't sure where to find her. The only place he could think of was the cave she had once lead him to - the one that held a portal to The Defenders of the Realm headquarters.

Barry could recall precisely where the cave was as clearly as every other moment he had spent with Mineko. He had rushed towards it, giving no mind to the pitch darkness that surrounded him upon entering. In the distance he could see the portal, shimmering the cave with light. He reached towards it and was sent spiralling toward his destination.

The moment he stepped out he was met with the surprised eyes of the Defenders. It was all the old members he had met previously, plus a few new additions; one man and three women. There was a child as well, though Barry couldn't quite tell which gender they were. He was leaning towards neither. They looked almost extra-terrestrial.

They had hair that looked more like a cobweb stuck to their skull. Yes, their skull. Their entire body looked as if it was made entirely out of a substance similar to human bones, yet somehow managed to stretch into features - an inflexible nose, and lips with a complete lack of ears. Even their eyes moved without fluidity. They simply cracked in each direction and protruded out like the top of a triangle. They had a flat chest but in alien terms, that didn't necessarily mean that they were male.

"Ser Allen!" The knight boomed loudly. He hadn't changed a bit, with the exception of a few new wrinkles underneath his eyes. "Well met, old friend! How goes thou?"

Barry blinked. He had forgotten how oddly these people spoke, it just made apparent how hard Mineko had worked to understand the modern world. "Umm...Good to see you too?...I mean, well met as well? Never mind. Is Mineko here?"

"Thou art late." The knight replied. "The young lady departed only moments past."

"Lady Mineko has had much on her mind of late." The young farm girl spoke. Barry remembered her from his first visit, but she looked very different now. Her childish features had become much more womanly.

"Fie!" Vincent cursed in the background. He was avoiding all eye contact with Barry. "Dost thou have to remind me?"

"Where can I find her?" He asked, ignoring the sulking man mumbling to himself.

"A small hut yonder." The knight said, pointing in the direction he was referring to. "Fortune favor thee, Ser Allen."

Barry flashed the knight a smile of relief. "Thank you."

Then, in an instant, he was gone. Running out of the Defenders headquarters, back to the portal, out of the cave, and in the direction the knight had pointed him in. Thankfully, there were very few huts in this area. There were plenty of homes too big to be what he had described, but they slowly became fewer until all that he could see was one solitary structure.

The hut crouched in the shadows like a sleeping bear. This lumpy den of thin mud-clay walls with a small opening at the front barely large enough for an adult to fit through, was topped with last season's torn of winter branches and browned bracken. All in all it looked as storm proof as a teabag, like it would wash away in the first decent downpour of rain.

Outside, frozen in time, was a very familiar woman. Her hair shone like the sea at night, the black strands utterly white where the bright sun rays fell. Her eyes were a similar shade, dark yet impossibly reflective when light hit them. She was gardening, that's what it looked like at least. Nestled in her hands were small dots of seeds that were seconds away from being placed into fertile soil. Barry didn't disconnect from the Speed Force yet. He didn't want the next few minutes to take place. He just wanted to stare at her forever. She hadn't changed. Even time couldn't take away her beauty.

It took a while, but eventually looking at her wasn't enough. It only heightened the urge to hear her voice again. Nerves tangled through him, shivering and twisting until he could practically feel his lungs being squeezed of all air. He stepped out of the Speed Force, allowing the world to once again move around him. Mineko sprinkled the seeds into the soil and covered them. She leaned back and now the wind visibly moved through her hair. Barry felt his heart leap, and now all his anxieties had turned to excitement.

Barry stepped from the shadows and the sound caught Mineko's attention. What she saw when she instinctively turned towards the noise stole her breath and the heat from her skin simultaneously. At first, she gasped and backed away as if a spirit had appeared in front of her...and perhaps it had. She couldn't make sense of it any other way. A dead man had arrived at her house after five years. What else was she suppose to think?

He looked too real to be some supernatural being, and Mineko was a woman of logic - a result of living with Barry for so long. If he was here, if she could see him, then there was no other explanation besides him being real. Suddenly her defences were just paper, paper that was being soaked by the water beginning to glisten in her eyes. Before she could draw in the air her body needed she had ran over to him and melted into his form. She could feel his firm torso and the heart that beats within. If this was a hallucination then it was a very realistic one.

His hands folded around her back, drawing her in closer. She could feel her body shake, crying for the missed time they would never get back, crying to release the tension of those five long years. Barry pulled his head back and wiped Mineko's tears away with a calloused finger, even this roughness brought her more relief than her heart could hold.

He was overwhelming her with his eyes, running his hand through her hair, as if he couldn't quite believe that she's not part of an almost forgotten dream. Mineko, in turn, looked at him as if she never expected to see his face again. When he kissed her it was sweet, gentle, and it tasted of her tears. Mineko wanted to speak but all she could do was croak, "You're...alive?" His mouth painted a soft smile and he nodded once before folding her in his arms again.

The unbridled joy that Barry felt at this moment, with Mineko in his arms and clinging to him as tightly as he did to her, felt like it couldn't be taken away by anything...that is until he saw the door to the hut creak open and something move towards Mineko. He pushed away from her and looked down. Cuddled against her leg was a young child, too big to be a baby but still very young. For the most part he kept his head buried in her robe, his black tufty hair sticking out behind like he'd just woken up from a long nap. His fingers curled into the fabric, not clasping it tightly, but just enough to tell Barry that he was shy.

Mineko reacted to the touch as if she already knew who it was and ran her fingers through the boys messy hair. The boy hid further behind her leg when he noticed that Barry was still staring at him. The anxiety that Barry had previously dismissed came back tenfold. He shouldn't have done this...shown up in her life after she'd very clearly moved on. He hadn't thought about the possibility that she may have started a family without him. Barry's heart sank.

"I-I'm sorry." He stuttered, stumbling away from Mineko and the child still grasping her leg. "I should have thought this through before intruding in your life."

"Intruding?" Mineko almost scoffed, tears still wet on her cheeks and shining beneath the sun. "What are you talking about? I thought you were dead! I never would've left if I knew..."

She trailed off, noticing that Barry's eyes still hadn't left the kid. They were stuck, wide in shock, not even moving to grant her attention when she spoke. Mineko shook her head and encouraged the boy to step out of his hiding spot. Instead of grasping onto her robe, he now held her hand tightly in his small ones.

"This is Raizo. He's my son." She stated, watching Barry's face for any signs of realisation. None came. "Barry, he's our son."

Mineko's words echoed in his ears. The world around him fell out of existence then back again like a flickering light. Shocked wasn't the right word. Neither was stunned, surprised, or paralysed. He had gone beyond all of that. He felt like a spectator, hearing her say this to someone else. It couldn't be true, could it? but now that he looked at the boy he saw that he was around the right age. He looked much like his mother, but the boy's hair had the same texture as his own - constantly windswept and hard to manage. He was a little paler than his mother too, obviously the result of their mixed ancestry.

Now realisation started hitting him. He had a son. Though he knew he should've been overjoyed, heartache was the most prominent emotion at that moment. He had missed so much... He wasn't there when his son was born, or when he started walking, when he said his first word, or when he started developing his interests. Those facts hit him harder than anything else and it almost made him travel further back in time so that he could be there for those precious moments. Almost.

Barry tried to convince himself that he was lucky that Fate even allowed him to return, so testing that luck by having her potentially miss the large clan battle wasn't something he was willing to do. He had them now. He couldn't get those years back, but maybe he could make up for them.