A time-skipping accident strands Barry Allen and his nemesis Eobard Thawne in the past; specifically 15th Century Japan, which is rife with chaos and warring clans. Barry is saved from outlaws by an early metahuman named Mineko Kaze, a disciple of a...
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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."
