"Even after everything that I told you, are you sure that you both want to stay by my side?" I asked.
Even after I told them both about the past that I've tried so desperately to deny, they both simply said that they didn't care.
"Hiro, we all have a past that we wish that we could escape from," Leonna said. "Even to this day, I still can't help but blame myself for the death of my family. I know that it wasn't my fault, but every night I always ask myself: 'What could I have done differently?'."
"We can't forget our past Hiro," Xylvia said. "But we can grow from it. I know that it can be hard to accept, but it's the only way that you'll ever be able to grow as a person and maybe even learn a little about yourself."
"BUT I KILLED SOMEONE," I shouted back. "HOW CAN YOU GUYS JUST SIMPLY BRUSH THAT OFF?!?! You should be terrified of me now, but instead you two don't want to push me away. WHY?!"
I was so frustrated that I couldn't think straight. It made no sense. Why would they still want to stay with me? Do they not understand what I'm telling them?
Everything suddenly started coming back to me now. The blood all over the dungeon walls that Xylvia was trapped in reminded me of the blood that I made that girl shed in the Music Room. The little girl that I let get killed by that person on the horse reminded me of the girl that I killed indirectly. Ray's lover, Connie, reminded me of that girl that I wanted to kill so badly.
No matter where I went, my past was always coming back to me. I can never get over it. It won't ever stop. It'll just keep tearing every bit of sanity out of my head until I end up killing myself. Escaping it is impossible. It's imposs-
"Are you afraid of being pushed away?"
I looked up to see Xylvia holding her hand out to me. I couldn't take it.
"Is that why you never asked me to be your lover," she asked. "Is it because you were afraid of me pushing you away."
"...Yes..." I said.
"What about Leonna? Did you let Leonna fall in love with you because you didn't want her to push you away?"
"...Yes..."
"Hiro, have you always been like this?"
This time it was Leonna who asked the question.
"Have you always distanced yourself from others back in your world?"
"I did it because I didn't want to be cast away like some tool that becomes useless over time," I said. "And when people tried to get close to me, I would push them back."
I couldn't help but let a few tears drip from my eyes and onto the ground. All of these thought and feelings were starting to overwhelm me.
"I don't even know if everyone that came up to me was a bad person or not," I continued. "Before any of them ever started talking, I would always shut them off before they even had a chance to speak to me. I wasn't trying to be mean, I was just...afraid. But then I was summoned here. And when I met you Xylvia I figured 'new world, new rules' and thought that I could start over again, but the past just kept on coming back to me. I thought that if I said one last good-bye I could finally be rid of that shitty world that I grew up in, but somehow it found a way to keep on tearing me apart."
I can never escape it. I can't even escape hell in another world. No matter what I do, it will always come back to haunt me again and again.
"Well, I at least got to meet people that I care so much about," I said to the two of them with a smile. "I'm glad that I met you all, and I'm glad that I was able to experience so much wi-"
"STOP TALKING LIKE YOU'VE GIVEN UP!!!"
That scream came from Xylvia. It completely caught me off guard.
"Please stop. Don't talk like that. You sound like you've given up all hope in yourself. How can you be so hopeless? You have us you know? We're here for you, and we always will be. So please...s-stop..."
Endless streams of tears started spilling from her eyes.
"STOP TALKING TO US LIKE YOU'RE ABOUT TO DIE!!!"
After that desperate request, she sprang to me and locked her lips with mine, her arms tightly wrapped around me.
This kiss wasn't like any other kiss that Xylvia gave me. It was much warmer and much stronger than ever. It felt desperate, yet meaningful. Sad, yet joyful. Wanting, yet needing.
When she pulled away from me, I started to feel a surge of tears flooding out from my eyes.
"You may care about us so much," Xylvia said. "But something you should also know is this: We care about you too."
She said that last part with a smile. And as if it was all staged perfectly, the sun started to rise from the horizon and the light shined perfectly on Xylvia's cute and beautiful face.
The sight was so unreal that I couldn't even believe what I was seeing was real. But it was. All of this was real, and it was happening right now.
"You should let us care about you even more Hiro," Leonna said, walking towards me and Xylvia. "If you really trust us, then let us into your life a little more."
Despite the tears streaming down my face and the overwhelming emotions taking over my mind, I was able to respond with a clear and meaningful answer.
"Ok." I said.
Leonna smiled then leaned in and gave me a warm kiss as well.
Leonna and Xylvia both kept me wrapped tightly in their arms for what felt like an eternity. I felt nothing but warmth, comfort, and love from these two. I hope that this feeling will last forever, and I hope that I'm giving them the same feeling as well.