The knock was too dainty for any of the boys in their class. Three polite taps. A pause. Then two more.
Saiki's eyes were already open, glowing faintly in the dark, because of course he was awake, he'd heard Kokomi's gasp in the hallway two minutes ago. And the fake whisper prayers. And the muffled giggle from somewhere down the corridor.
Makoto jolted up in bed, his system muttering sleepily in his ear like a grumpy ghost.
[System: It is currently 12:08 AM. I was getting my beauty rest (๑•̀д•́๑)]
Makoto, groaned dramatically into his pillow. "Is that who I think it is?"
"Unfortunately."
"Makoto Are you awake?" Kokomi's voice filtered through the thin door, suspiciously excited. "We're going to the beach. Right now. Get up! "
Makoto kicked his legs out from under the blanket and stomped to the door like a gremlin before cracking the door open.
Kokomi stood there in a hoodie over her swimsuit, flip flops on, eyes glittering with the thrill of rebellion. Behind her, a gaggle of silhouettes giggled in the hallway. Makoto caught sight of Saiko adjusting sunglasses like it was midday.
He turned to Saiki, who was curled up in bed, blanket over his head, radiating pure do not interact energy.
Saiki sat up reluctantly, blanket still covering his head before he replied with a sigh sharp enough to pierce the night air. "We're not going," he said flatly.
Makoto turned around and shot him an offended look"We're not?"
"No."
"They're going to the beach without us. In the moonlight. It's romantic. Ilegally sneaking out. Youth."
"Not going," came the muffled reply.
Makoto flopped onto the blanket covered Saiki Kusou dramatically "What if I die of boredom while you're sleeping like a perfectly average human?"
Saiki sighed, blanket shifting.
"None of those words are appealing," Saiki muttered. "I'm not interested in catching a cold or a suspension."
Makoto rolled over and propped his chin on his arms. "But you like the beach."
"I like the silence of the beach," Saiki corrected. "Not whatever chaos they're planning."
A pause.
"...Fine," Makoto sighed, drawing the word out like it physically pained him. "I guess I'll go alone and get snatched by a ghost or worse, Nendou."
A beat. Saiki's head turned just slightly under the blanket before he fully removed the blanket and looked at makoto. Makoto looked back, eyes wide and pleading.
"...Fine," Saiki muttered.
Makoto grinned like he'd just won the lottery. "Yay!"
Kokomi blinked, suspicious. "Wait. That worked?"
"Go away before I change my mind," Saiki said.
Fifteen minutes later, the class was tiptoeing across the sand like an army of raccoons dressed in mismatched hoodies and flip flops. The moon hung low, glinting off the waves and casting eerie shadows over the jagged rocks at the edge of the shore. Someone had dragged a Bluetooth speaker onto the beach and was playing cursed lofi remixes.
Kaidou cried, tripping over a seaweed tangle.
"I SWEAR THE MAP SAID THIS WAY!" Kaidou cried, tripping over a seaweed tangle.
"There was no map, you absolute moron," Aren said, catching him by the hoodie before he faceplanted. "You just pointed at the moon and started walking."
"Boys," Kokomi snapped, leading the charge. "Focus. We might get caught."
Their classmates dotted the shore like some chaotic, poorly organized cult meeting. Hairo was trying to organize a midnight volleyball tournament while Nendou was shirtless and chasing a crab with the kind of glee normally reserved for children or absolute idiots.
"Come on, let's join them," Makoto said sweetly, tilting his head toward the group.
Saiki didn't move. He was seated like a rock, arms crossed, eyes shaded by his green lensed glasses.
"I'd rather be microwaved alive than play tag with Nendou near open flames," Saiki deadpanned.
"Aw, but we're on a beach. You can't microwave sand," Makoto said, faux pouting. "Unless you're into glass."
"You know that's not how- never mind."
The night grew stranger with every passing second. The full moon cast an odd light over the ocean, too bright, too white like a spotlight instead of a natural glow. Something about it gnawed at the back of Saiki's mind. He kept scanning the tree line, ignoring the crackle of the bonfire and the high pitched laughter of their classmates.
A scream pierced the air.
Everyone froze.
...Only to realize it was Toritsuka.
"Makoto! Your floating orb is glitching!" he shrieked, pointing dramatically beside Bai Ying's head.
Aren groaned. "Great, he's finally lost it."
Kaidou sighed, patting Toritsuka on the shoulder like one would a hyperactive chihuahua. "Yeah, yeah, totally. The 'evil spirit energy' is coming to get us. We'll all be dead by morning."
"Hey! I'm serious!" Toritsuka snapped, but his voice cracked in a way that made him sound even more unhinged.
No one paid him any mind after that.
"Hey, System, what does he mean by glitching?" Bai Ying asked aloud, brows furrowing in genuine confusion.
Saiki side-eyed him, lips twitching, but-mercifully-kept quiet.
[ SYSTEM: There's something interfering with my senses. I'll try to fix it, Host. （Ω Д Ω） ]
Bai Ying blinked at the unexpected emoticon but said nothing.
He padded down the cool sand barefoot, the oversized sleeves of his jacket swallowing his hands as he tucked them in for warmth. He glanced around, half delighted by the moonlit scene... and half spooked by the prickling at the back of his neck.
Somewhere behind him, Toritsuka muttered to himself about "menacing auras" and "grinning orbs," but the ocean wind quickly stole his words away.
"This is so weirdly aesthetic," he whispered to Saiki, who hovered beside him like a grumpy lifeguard. "Like a cult meeting, but with bad fashion."
Saiki didn't respond. His eyes flicked toward the distant cliffs.
Something moved up there.
A shadow. A figure, maybe.
He scanned it again.
Gone.
Makoto didn't notice. He was staring at a tide pool, squatting next to it with the intense fascination of a child discovering frogs for the first time. "Look, look! there's a tiny sea cucumber!"
"Don't touch it."
"I'm not! I'm just looking!"
He was definitely going to touch it.
Saiki sighed. "You dragged me out here to look at worms in the sand?"
"Excuse you," Makoto said, straightening. "This is bonding. I'm creating memories. Aren't you grateful?"
"No."
Makoto bumped their shoulders together. "Liar. You love me."
Saiki stared straight ahead. "You're lucky everyone else is distracted."
A strange gust of wind swept past them. Makoto stopped talking.
A ways off, one of the flashlights flickered. Aiura turned and snapped, "Who brought a horror movie aura?!"
Saiki didn't say anything, but Makoto noticed the way his eyes narrowed briefly, like he'd felt it too
Makoto stayed close to Saiki, flicking sand up every time he walked too fast and glancing at the dark dunes with mild paranoia.
"Something wrong?" Saiki asked flatly.
Makoto hesitated. "...I just realized..... Didn't we last see Haruka at the island?"
Saiki blinked. "You're thinking about that now?"
"Well- yeah. I haven't seen her since. No texts, no stalking, no unmarked love letters. Not even a single death threat in cursive," Makoto said, eyes scanning the dunes. "It's weird. She was always lurking. What if- "
Toritsuka suddenly wedged himself between them before Saiki could even open his mouth, still clearly riding out his mental breakdown over "floating orbs." He plopped down in the sand with a sly smirk, leaning in like he was about to share a dangerous secret. "Let's play something spicy. C'mon- it's a beach night, the vibes are perfect, the ghosts told me so"
They gathered in a messy circle, the campfire crackled louder now, casting warped shadows across the beach as someone produced a half melted bottle from their bag.
"Spin the bottle!" Yumehara declared with the unhinged fervor of someone who'd read way too many summer romance manga. Her eyes gleamed like she was manifesting her own dating sim. "This is how the real fun begins."
"Oh no..." Aiura sighed, already pulling out a backup lip gloss with a resigned look. "I so didn't see myself getting kissed by some weirdo today."
"Why are we playing children's games at midnight?" Saiko grumbled, arms crossed as he sat on a folding chair his butler had somehow summoned from the void. "Also, if anyone spins the bottle at me, I'm suing."
"You can't sue a bottle," Kaidou pointed out.
Makoto flopped into the circle drawn haphazardly into the sand, chin propped on his hand as he blinked up at Saiki beside him. "You're playing, right?" he asked sweetly. "I might die of heartbreak if you don't."
"I'd be thrilled to attend your funeral," Saiki deadpanned, but didn't move from his spot beside Makoto. He even moved closer.
Nendou dropped into the sand with a heavy thud, sending a gust of it straight into Saiko's face. "HELL YEAH! Spin the bottle! Let's GOOOO!"
Saiko turned to Kokomi, who was lounging regally on a beach towel. "what about we ditch these losers and go to my private resort? "
Kokomi didn't even flinch. "I don't settle for anything less than a kingdom."
"Oho," Saiko chuckled. "Then maybe we're more alike than you think."
Saiki, sitting beside Makoto with a bag of half squished marshmallows in his lap, made a noise of pure pain. This was why he didn't go outside.
"I'm just saying," Makoto leaned toward him, voice low. "This was a great idea. We should sneak out more often."
"You forced me," Saiki whispered back. "This is coercion."
"You're still here, though."
Unfortunately, he was.
"I'll spin first," Makoto said, dramatic and far too delighted.
The bottle spun and landed on... Nendou. "I dare you to kiss Nendou" Toritsuka stated with a smirk on his face.
Makoto blinked. "Never mind, I retire."
Laughter broke out.
"Those are the rules," Aiura grinned. "Fate has spoken."
"No, fate is drunk," Makoto muttered, scooting away from Nendou's enthusiastic lean in. "sorry buddy, Next."
The bottle spun wildly on the sand as laughter rose and fell with the waves. When it landed on Toritsuka, he immediately struck a pose. "Dare me, baby."
"You don't get to pick!" Aiura snapped.
Chisato squinted at him. "Okay, I dare you to go twenty feet into the water and scream 'I'm sorry to all the ghosts I've tried to flirt with!'"
Toritsuka paled but did it anyway, dramatically flinging himself into the shallows.
Laughter broke out again, but above it, Makoto stilled.
His eyes had flicked toward the edge of the dunes, just beyond the circle of light.
Someone had been there.
Or maybe not. Maybe it was just a shadow cast by the fire. A rock. A piece of driftwood.
Still, his spine prickled.
He turned back to the group, smile shaky. "Anyone else feel like... we're being watched?"
Saiki looked at him sharply. "What did you see?"
Makoto shook his head. "Nothing. Just a weird feeling."
A silence briefly fell. Even the fire seemed to hush.
Then Nendou shouted, "WHO'S NEXT?" and chaos returned.
But Saiki's eyes stayed locked on the dunes for a beat longer.
The bottle spun, gleaming under the moonlight like a possessed compass.
Students howled with laughter, someone screamed, "No take backs!" and another yelled, "Kaidou, your aura is leaking!" The beach had turned into a storm of chaos sand everywhere, shoes missing, snacks half buried like treasure.
Makoto bumped his knee against Saiki's. "Smile a little, Saiki. Or you'll break the bottle with your mind."
"I'm already trying not to," Saiki deadpanned.
"Oooh," Aiura giggled. "Tension in the love seat."
Toritsuka made exaggerated kissing noises, earning a whack from Chisato. Kaidou shrieked, turning bright red when the bottle stopped on him and Aren, collapsing into the sand as if it were a soap opera before springing up and declaring that this was clearly a test from the Dark Reunion, while Saiko, glancing between Makoto and Kokomi, smirked like he owned the ocean.
"Fate has chosen!" Saiko declared, when the bottle pointed at Kokomi. He held out his hand dramatically. "Shall we-"
Kokomi blinked slowly. "No."
"Makoto?" he tried again, a little more hopeful.
Makoto stretched. "Mm, sorry I'm taken."
Laughter roared around them, but a sudden cold breeze rolled off the ocean.
Everyone shivered.
Makoto blinked and glanced at the dunes behind them. For a split second, he thought he saw a glint of something, like a lens catching firelight.
[System: Warning Visual anomaly detected-]
He blinked again. The shimmer was gone.
A beat of silence followed. The air around him buzzed strangely, like the static hum of an old TV.
[System: Recalibrating... Recal-Re-cal-ERROR.]
The system's voice stuttered, broke, and cut off entirely.
Makoto frowned. "...System?" he whispered under his breath.
No response.
Just the waves crashing in the distance, and the unsettling feeling that something was watching.
"...Anyone else feel that?" Kokomi asked, pulling her cardigan tighter.
"The ghosts are watching us," Toritsuka whispered. "I can feel it in my left eye."
"That's a stye," Chisato said.
"Could be Haruka," Makoto said without thinking.
Everything paused.
Yumehara broke the silence with a nervous laugh. "She wasn't on the bus Makoto kun."
"Yeah you're right," Makoto agreed. He wasn't sure who he was trying to convince.
Aiura stood up. "Okay, yeah, we're cleansing this circle with salt. Where's the salt."
Nendou, bless him, produced a salt packet from a ramen wrapper like it was sacred.
Aiura had begun shaking the salt packet over their poorly drawn circle, mumbling something that sounded vaguely Latin and vaguely like a threat. "Protectus... maximos... goodbyeus demonus."
Kaidou held up two glow sticks like holy relics. "Dark Reunion won't touch us with this level of power."
"Shut up, Kaidou," Aren muttered, rubbing his arms like the cold had suddenly gotten worse. "This place is giving me actual goosebumps."
As they chanted fake protection spells, Makoto's eyes drifted to the dunes again. A half buried footprint caught his attention. Smaller than the others. New.
Too new.
"I'll be right back," he muttered.
Saiki caught his wrist.
"I'm not doing anything stupid," Makoto said, smiling faintly. "Just gonna check."
Saiki didn't let go for a beat longer than necessary.
Makoto slipped from Saiki's grasp with a look that said trust me, even though no one really should trust a menance like him.
The wind cut sharper. A cold bite that didn't belong on a tropical island. For a second, it smelled like wet clothes and brine. Then, like old perfume. Then, nothing.
A chill climbed his spine.
"Makoto," Saiki called, not even bothering to raise his voice. Just there, unwavering.
Makoto turned his head slightly, then crouched beside the footprint. He brushed sand aside. There was another one nearby.
"Guys," he called softly.
They didn't hear him.
Because the wind picked up and blew out the fire.
"WHAT THE HELL!" Toritsuka shrieked.
Aiura screamed. "Not again!"
In an instant, chaos bloomed. Everyone grabbed at phones, flashlights, salt, each other except for Saiki, who stood up slowly, gaze fixed in the direction Makoto had wandered.
When the fire flared back to life, relit by Kaidou's shaky hands, Makoto was already back in the circle, a little paler, brushing sand from his hands.
"We're leaving," Aiura said decisively, the salt now stuffed down her bra like it was magical armor. "Now. Group vote. I don't care. I'm the only psychic here who actually listens to warnings."
"There was someone out there," Makoto said quietly.
Everyone went still.
"Not like- a ghost," he added quickly, trying to keep it grounded. "Just... someone small. Walking barefoot. Alone."
A beat.
Toritsuka promptly dropped his soda. "Nope. Nope. Nopenopenope."
"Could it have been... a kid?" Yumehara asked uncertainly.
"At midnight?" Aiura snapped. "On a locked resort beach? No one else was cleared to be here tonight."
"I didn't see anything," Makoto said, voice low. "But it felt like..."
He didn't finish.
He didn't need to.
Everyone stood at once. No more jokes. No more dares. No more "Dark Reunion."
"Hotel," Saiki said flatly.
"I second that," Aren muttered.
"RUN!" Toritsuka shrieked, bolting up the path like his life depended on it.
"I'M GOING TO SUE ALL OF YOU!" Saiko bellowed, somehow managing to sprint faster than the rest combined.
The others scrambled after them, tripping over sandals, dropping bags, and leaving a trail of chaos across the sand. Behind them, the wind chased up the dunes, carrying with it a whisper that sounded just enough like a voice to make everyone pretend they hadn't heard it.
And behind them, just for a moment, the fire flared again-
Illuminating a pale figure standing on the edge of the dunes.
Watching.
Back in the hotel room, the air was heavy. The kind of stillness that settled after something big had passed or just before something bigger hit.
Makoto shut the door behind him softly. Saiki sat on the edge of the bed, his hands loosely clasped, expression unreadable. He looked up as Makoto entered, eyes narrowing just a little.
Makoto didn't speak right away. He toed off his sandals, rubbed a hand through his hair still damp with sea air, and then said quietly, "I saw something."
Saiki waited.
Makoto crossed the room and dropped onto the foot of the bed, his voice even. "I followed a trail. Footprints. Too small for any of us. They were fresh."
A pause. Then he continued "The system warned me. Called it an anomaly. Said I should've gone back.*
Saiki tilted his head. "You didn't."
Makoto let out a humorless laugh. "Of course I didn't."
He leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. His eyes fixed on the floor, but his voice carried a quiet intensity. "I moved through the sand with cautious steps. this pit growing in my stomach."
"I thought I smelled something weird. Something sweet, like flowers rotting. But only for a second." Saiki didn't say anything, so Makoto kept going, his voice growing softer, more focused.
"And then everything stopped. I mean, completely. No wind. No waves. No background noise. It felt like..." He struggled for the word. "Like the world was holding its breath."
Saiki frowned. "You shouldn't have been able to feel that."
"I know."
Makoto hesitated. His hand brushed over his temple without thinking.
"It started earlier. I didn't tell you because I wasn't sure. But before we lit the fire, my system started glitching."
Now Saiki sat up a little straighter.
Makoto closed his eyes, breathing slowly. "I got a warning while following the footprints. 'Environmental anomaly detected.' Then it escalated. 'Unregistered presence. Proceed with caution.'."
Saiki's stare was unreadable, but his mind was already turning. Of course the system picked it up before I did.
Makoto let out a slight laugh. "I didn't even do anything. I just looked at the sand and suddenly everything around me went wrong. Like someone nudged the simulation too hard and reality stuttered. And then it was gone."
He opened his eyes and looked at Saiki fully now.
"I know you felt it too."
Saiki hesitated... then gave the smallest nod.
"I felt the energy bend," he admitted. "It wasn't natural."
FLASHBACK:
Makoto moved through the sand with cautious steps, the noises of his classmates fading behind him, replaced by the soft crunch of shifting grains and the distant lap of waves.
The moonlight carved silvery shadows along the dunes, turning every slope into something unfamiliar, distorted.
The footprint had been real. Still was.
He knelt again, brushing more sand aside. It wasn't just one print. It was a trail, faint, shallow, but definitely made by someone who had passed recently. Small feet. He looked over his shoulder. The others were still clustered around the dying fire, silhouettes cast in orange and gold.
His system chimed softly in his head.
[System: Environmental anomaly detected, host be careful. Recommend immediate return to safe zone]
Makoto's breath caught. "You're serious for once," he muttered, scanning the dunes. "What anomaly?"
[System: Presence not on registry. No confirmed visual. Proceed with caution ゜:(つд⊂):゜.]
The air felt wrong. Not like danger. But like a warning. The kind animals got before storms.
Makoto stood up slowly, brushing his hands off. The smell came next. Brief. Sharp. Wet fabric. Seaweed. Then, something sweet and chemical, like expired perfume.
He looked toward the dune ridge, where the footprints disappeared. Just a shadow there. Nothing moved. But his instincts stirred, edged with unease.
[System; Warning level increased. Host leave now. ]
And then, like someone had flipped a switch, everything around him went still.
Too still.
The wind stopped.
The waves muted.
Even the flicker of torchlight behind him dimmed.
He was just about to step forward, just one step, when-
"Makoto."
The voice, quiet and firm, cut through the eerie silence. Saiki.
Makoto turned his head slightly. Saiki hadn't followed, but his presence was steady, like gravity anchoring him.
Makoto let out a breath and crouched one last time beside the final footprint, brushing it smooth with his palm. No use. It was already disappearing into the shifting sand. Whatever it was, whoever it was, it didn't want to be found.
The wind returned. Fast.
The fire behind him went out.
Chaos bloomed.
Makoto stood and walked back to the group, brushing sand from his hands, his expression unreadable.
END OF FLASHBACK:
There was silence between them. Outside, the distant waves murmured against the coast.
Then, as if deciding something, Saiki exhaled sharply and said, "Tomorrow night. It'll happen then."
Makoto blinked. "What?"
"The anomaly you felt," Saiki said. "It's probably the reason why your system glitched." His eyes flicked to the window, toward the faint silhouette of the volcano in the distance.
"There's going to be a convergence event tomorrow night. A meteor is going to strike the crater. After the volcanic eruption. I've mentioned this to you before" Makoto stared at him.
"I was planning to handle it alone," Saiki said simply.
Makoto immediately shook his head. "No. No way. I'm coming."
Saiki leveled him a look. "You're not psychic."
"Neither is your mom and she could still probably beat you in an argument," Makoto shot back. "I'm not useless. My system knows something's up. It wouldn't have reacted if I wasn't connected somehow."
"...It's dangerous."
"You think I care?" Makoto stood. "I'd rather be there than sit in a hotel room wondering if you're gonna come back covered in lava."
"That's not how lava works-"
"Not the point."
Saiki rubbed his temples, already regretting opening his mouth.
Makoto took a step closer.
"Let me help."
And there was something in his voice earnest, stubborn, a little scared, but not for himself.
Saiki sighed.
He knew he'd already lost this argument.