The climb to the cliff was not a gentle one.
The path wound upward in lazy zigzags, lined with stubborn tufts of grass and wildflowers that clung to the dirt despite the constant battering of sea wind. The ocean appeared in slivers between the ridges, each glimpse flashing brighter as they gained height.
Makoto walked ahead, taking his time, partly because he wanted to enjoy the scenery, but mostly because he wanted to see how long it would take before Saiki told him to slow down and spoiler it never happened.
Saiki followed silently, a few paces behind, his hands tucked into his pockets. His gaze kept sweeping over the horizon, sharp and calculating, like a man taking inventory of invisible threats.
Makoto pretended not to notice the first few times, chalking it up to Saiki being his usual "I'd rather be at home" self. But the longer they walked, the more he could feel it, that faint coil of tension in the air, like the static before a storm or maybe a volcano meteor combo that was about to hit the planet tonight but who was he to know.
"You know," Makoto called over his shoulder, "you could at least pretend to be impressed by the scenery. This is romantic date material, you know."
"I've seen cliffs before," Saiki said.
Makoto slowed so they were side by side. "Oh, I'm sorry, Mr. World Traveler, I didn't realize you were jaded about one of the most famous viewpoints in Okinawa."
Saiki glanced at him. "It's a cliff."
Makoto snorted, pushing on ahead. "You're lucky I like you"
When they reached the top, the view hit like a breath of cold air. The cliff stretched out into the sea like the prow of a ship, the drop sheer and dizzying. Below, waves hurled themselves against the rocks, exploding into bursts of foam that glittered in the sunlight. The sound was a low, endless roar, deep enough to feel in the ribs.
Makoto stepped up to the railing, leaning over to watch the water slam against the stone. "Whoa," he breathed.
Saiki stopped a safe distance back, his eyes scanning the expanse of sea. To anyone else, it would look like he was admiring the view, but Makoto had seen him admire things before, and this wasn't it. This was… searching.
He turned his head just enough to catch Saiki in the corner of his vision. The faint crease between his brows hadn't eased once since they'd left the hotel.
"You're doing it again," Makoto said.
Saiki's gaze didn't move from the horizon. "Doing what?"
"Looking like you're about to break up with me over this school trip."
Saiki's lips twitched like he was deciding whether or not to respond. He didn't.
Makoto pushed away from the railing, coming to stand in front of him. "You've been like this all morning. Is this about tonight?"
Saiki didn't answer, but the flicker in his eyes was enough.
Makoto folded his arms. "You know, most people bring their date to a cliff so they can have a moment. You're making it feel like we're here to discuss tax fraud."
"We're not on a date," Saiki said, but there was a faint pink creeping along the tips of his ears.
"Uh-huh, we've been dating for months now, kusuo bear I'm pretty sure this is a date" Makoto said, unconvinced while rolling his eyes. He leaned closer, lowering his voice. "You're nervous."
"I'm not."
"You are."
Saiki sighed, the sound almost lost to the wind. "Tonight needs to go smoothly."
There it was, the confirmation, not that Makoto needed it. The volcano meteor combo had been looming in the back of his mind since yesterday. His system had even glitched over it, flickering red warnings before going suspiciously silent.
Makoto softened his voice. "It will. But you could at least let yourself breathe before then."
The wind gusted, sending Makoto's hair whipping across his face. Saiki, without thinking, reached out and brushed it aside. The touch was brief, almost accidental, but enough to leave a warmth lingering against Makoto's cheek.
"See?" Makoto said, smiling faintly. "Was that so hard?"
Saiki didn't respond, but he didn't pull his hand away immediately either when Makoto reached out to hold his hand.
They stood there for a while, the sea stretching endlessly below, the sun casting sharp glints off the water. Eventually, Makoto dug into his bag and pulled out two cans of cold juice he'd bought earlier. He held one out to Saiki. "Here. Hydrate, so you're at full psychic power later."
Saiki took it wordlessly, the faintest quirk to his mouth.
Makoto leaned on the railing again, sipping his drink. He could feel the disaster in the distance, not physically, but as a pressure in the air between them. Neither spoke of it again, but it sat there quietly, as constant as the waves.
The walk down from the cliffs wound them back toward the harbor, sunlight spilling over the water in long gold streaks. Makoto was in high spirits, or at least, pretending to be and Saiki was still wearing that calm but distracted look that made Makoto want to either kiss him or shake him because why was Saiki distracted when he was literally walking next to someone as pretty as him?
They passed a row of small fishing boats before reaching the pier where the glass bottom boat waited, bobbing gently. Its white paint gleamed under the sun, and through the clear panels in the center, flashes of fish shimmered beneath the waves.
Makoto stopped dramatically at the gangplank. "Behold! The pinnacle of vacation romance, the glass bottom boat ride."
Saiki gave him a long, slow blink. "It's a boat and this isn't a vacation romance. It's a school trip, Makoto."
"It's an experience," Makoto corrected, already marching aboard before Saiki could retreat.
The deck smelled faintly of sunscreen and saltwater. A cheerful guide welcomed them, ushering them to seats around the central glass panels. Makoto plopped down immediately, palms pressed to the cool glass, eyes scanning for movement below.
Through the clear bottom, schools of small silver fish darted past in synchronized bursts. Shafts of sunlight cut through the water, dancing over coral that looked like a forest made for another world.
"Okay, this is cool," Makoto admitted. "It's like an aquarium, but dangerous."
Saiki took the seat across from him, posture steady despite the boat's gentle rocking. "You could just go to an aquarium."
"Yes, but then I wouldn't get to sit here and accidentally bump knees with you," Makoto said, shifting just enough to brush Saiki's leg with his own.
Saiki's gaze flicked down, then back to the water. "That wasn't accidental."
"Maybe not," Makoto said, grinning and bumping his leg onto Saiki's. Before a sudden flash of orange caught his attention, a clownfish weaving through a patch of anemone swaying with the current. Makoto leaned forward so far his forehead nearly touched the glass. "Oh my god, it's like the cartoon, what's his name? Nico? Nemo?"
Saiki's mouth moved just enough to mutter, "It's a clownfish."
Makoto looked up at him, half amused and half exasperated. "You're the least fun marine biologist ever."
The guide leaned over, pointing out the different types of coral and explaining how the ecosystem worked. Makoto tried to listen, but his eyes kept drifting back to Saiki. Even here, surrounded by bright fish and tourist chatter, he kept glancing out toward the open water beyond the reef, his jaw tight.
The vessel tilted slightly as a wave passed beneath, sending Makoto sliding an inch closer to Saiki. He didn't bother correcting his position.
"You know," Makoto said casually, "we could just stay on this boat all day. Avoid cliffs, volcanoes, suspicious glowing rocks…"
Saiki's eyes narrowed. "You're not going to talk me out of tonight."
"I'm not trying to," Makoto lied.
The truth was, he wasn't sure whether he wanted to avoid the volcano or get it over with. The system had been ominously quiet about it, which was almost worse than constant warnings.
The boat slowed, drifting over a particularly dense reef. Below, bright blue parrotfish nibbled at the coral, sending tiny clouds of sand puffing into the water. A child across the aisle gasped and pointed, and the guide smiled for the group to look.
Makoto leaned over the glass again, this time resting his chin on his folded arms. "you have to admit it… this is actually romantic."
Saiki raised a brow. "Because of the fish?"
"Because of the company," Makoto said, meeting his eyes without flinching.
There was a quiet, charged pause between them and then the guide, hacked out a sudden, thunderous cough that echoed inside the enclosed deck like a gunshot.
Makoto's head whipped toward them, eyes narrowing. "Really?" he muttered under his breath.
The guide, looking mortified, stammered something about salt air dryness.
Meanwhile, Saiki looked suspiciously like someone who was secretly grateful for the interruption.
By the time they stepped off the glass boat, the sun was already dipping toward the horizon. Makoto immediately declared they were going for a sunset beach walk, no arguments allowed. Which was how Saiki now found himself strolling beside him, their footsteps leaving overlapping trails in the damp sand. Every few seconds, a foamy wave rushed up to lick their ankles before retreating again, like the ocean couldn't decide if it wanted them closer or gone.
The sun was a bruised orange smear sinking toward the horizon, spilling molten light over the rippling surface of the sea. The air was warm but not heavy, carrying the faint scent of salt and grilled food from somewhere down the beach.
For once, they weren't surrounded by their usual chaos brigade. No Nendou suddenly shouting about ramen. No Kaidou pointing at random shadows and declaring them agents of an evil organization. No Hairo trying to turn a casual walk into an impromptu marathon. Just the two of them, the sea, and the unsettling knowledge that later tonight… they were heading toward something dangerous.
Makoto shoved his hands into his pockets, watching how the sun turned Saiki's hair into a halo of pink and gold. He looked unfairly pretty. "Y'know," Makoto said lightly, though there was a weight beneath his tone, "if I told Nendou we were doing this, he'd probably show up wearing floaties and a tuxedo. Just in case."
Saiki's expression didn't change, but Makoto saw the corner of his mouth twitch. "You'd regret it immediately."
"Maybe," Makoto admitted, smiling faintly. "But at least it'd be memorable."
They walked a little further in silence, the sound of waves filling the spaces between their thoughts. Makoto's mind kept drifting to tonight, to what might happen at the volcano, to the fact that Saiki's hand was right there, brushing his occasionally when the tide pushed them closer. He wanted to take it, but there was this strange, fragile balance to the moment he didn't want to break.
Finally, Makoto cleared his throat. "So. Hypothetically… after tonight-"
"We're not dying tonight," Saiki said flatly, clearly answering his thoughts.
Makoto smirked, but it didn't quite reach his eyes. "Optimistic. I like that. Anyway, if we get through this… have you ever thought about what you want? Long term, I mean."
Saiki gave him a side glance. "Like?"
"Like," Makoto drew out the word, "future stuff. Where you'd want to live, if you'd want to keep living near our friends-"
"That's not happening," Saiki interrupted immediately.
Makoto laughed. "Okay, fair. But think about it, Nendou showing up at breakfast every day, Kaidou giving our hypothetical kids paranoia issues"
"I don't want hypothetical kids," Saiki cut in again, though his tone was less sharp now.
Makoto hummed thoughtfully. "Not even if they were cute psychic prodigies?"
"No."
Makoto glanced at him, mischief lighting up his eyes. "Not even if I was the one having them?"
Saiki stopped walking. The surf hissed against their ankles. "…You're still on that?"
"Hey, I'm just saying" Makoto held up his hands defensively, "that if we survive tonight, maybe you could reconsider the mpreg thing. I think we'd be great parents."
Saiki's silence was loud.
Makoto grinned, leaning closer so their shoulders brushed. "Fine, fine. No kids. But what about marriage?"
Saiki looked back toward the horizon, the last slice of sun dipping beneath the waterline. "Marriage is… possible," he said slowly, as if testing the word.
That single word sent a flutter through Makoto's chest that he quickly masked with a smirk. "Wow. High praise. So if I got down on one knee right now"
"I'd walk into the ocean," Saiki said, but there was no bite in it.
Makoto chuckled softly, his gaze lingering on Saiki's profile. The glow of the sunset caught in his eyes, and for a second, Makoto forgot about the volcano, about danger, about everything except the quiet pull between them.
"I like this," Makoto said finally.
"What?"
"This. Us. Even with all the insanity. Even with Nendou existing." He kicked at the sand, watching it scatter. "If I get to have more days like this, I don't really care where we end up. Just… as long as you're there."
Saiki didn't answer right away, but his hand shifted slightly, brushing Makoto's in a deliberate, lingering touch. It wasn't a full hand hold, but it was enough to make Makoto's heart trip over itself.
Somewhere behind them, the beach lights flickered on, casting long shadows across the sand. The moment was still, but Makoto could feel that undercurrent of tension in both of them, the knowledge that tonight could change everything.
And yet, as they kept walking, the space between them narrowed, and the world outside their footsteps seemed a little less threatening.
Later that night, the island was quiet in that strange, brittle way that came before a storm.
The kind of stillness that made the sound of the waves seem too deliberate, like the ocean was holding its breath. Makoto could feel it, an undercurrent in the air that wasn't just the weather.
Saiki walked ahead of him, silent as always, but there was something about the way his shoulders were set tonight. Not just tense. Determined. The kind of determination that looked like it had been carved into him over years.
They left the lights of the resort behind. The dirt trail underfoot gave way to narrow stone steps carved into the hillside. Makoto's system was unusually quiet, which was somehow worse than its usual snark. The absence of commentary left him alone with the weight of what they were doing.
They weren't just going for a stroll under the stars. They were going to the volcano.
At least, it looked like a mountain to anyone who didn't know better, a jagged silhouette cutting against the sky, half shrouded in drifting clouds. Even from this distance, Makoto could feel the faint thrum beneath the earth, a heartbeat buried under layers of rock. It wasn't the kind of thing you'd notice if you weren't paying attention.
The air thickened as they climbed. Warm, heavy, like the earth itself was holding its breath.
Saiki didn't look back, but Makoto could feel the psychic's awareness pressing over him like a second atmosphere. He'd gotten used to that sensation, the silent tether between them, but tonight it felt sharper. Focused. Dangerous.
"Every timeline," Saiki said suddenly, voice so even that it almost didn't match the weight of his words, "I've failed."
Makoto blinked. "…Failed at what?"
Saiki didn't look at him. His gaze stayed forward, scanning the winding path as though the rocks themselves might shift. "Stopping it. The eruption. No matter what I tried, no matter how early I interfered, something always went wrong. The world always ends."
The wind picked up, carrying the salt of the sea up the slope. Makoto's chest felt tight, he did remember saiki mentioning he failed in the past but his mind conveniently forgot that in the past timelines the world ended "But this time you think you can do it?"
"This time," Saiki said, "my powers are stronger." He glanced at him then just a flicker of eye contact in the moonlight, pale purple irises reflecting the glow even behind his green lensed glasses. "Kusuke helped."
Makoto almost tripped on the uneven stone. "You? And Kusuke? Worked together?"
"It was… unpleasant." Saiki's tone didn't shift, but Makoto could tell by the faint crease at the corner of his mouth that "unpleasant" was underselling it. "He made modifications. Calculations. Told me what my limits were, then gave me ways to push them."
"Let me guess," Makoto said, recovering his balance with a wry grin. "You hated every second of it."
"I tolerated it," Saiki said, which Makoto figured was as close to a glowing review as Kusuke would ever get.
The path narrowed as they reached a ridge, and for the first time, Makoto could see where they were headed.
The mountain's summit was split, two jagged ridges forming a hidden crater between them. From the outside, it was just another peak in the island chain. But up here, he could see the faint glow seeping through hairline fractures in the rock, like veins of molten gold running under the surface.
It was alive.
And Saiki was going to try to put it back to sleep.
They didn't speak again until they reached the top of the mountain, it didnt even look like it was a volcano. There were no cracks or anything and It wasn't yet erupting, but the heat was tangible, pressing against his skin like the air itself wanted to burn him, he could already feel the tension in the air.
Saiki stepped forward, to the center of the mountain, leaving makoto at a far enough distance that Makoto had to fight the urge to grab him and pull him back.
He didn't start with a dramatic pose or chant, he just closed his eyes and kneeled down before pressing his palms on the ground and let the air around him change. It was like reality had stopped to listen. The wind stilled. The low rumble of the earth quieted. And then, bit by bit, Makoto could feel the weight of Saiki's power pressing out in every direction.
He'd seen Saiki use his abilities before, small things, controlled things. This wasn't that. This was raw force, pulling from everything at once. Telekinesis, psychokinesis, matter manipulation, energy transfer. Makoto couldn't even name half of what he was doing, but he knew it was all focused on one goal and that was sealing the volcano while also preventing the meteor strike.
Makoto couldn't tear his eyes away. It was terrifying. It was beautiful.
The air around them vibrated like it was alive, heavy with invisible pressure that made his ears ring and his chest tighten. Even the ground felt different, it was dense, resisting his steps when he dared to inch closer. Sparks of light flickered in the air, discharging harmlessly against rocks but still leaving the smell of ozone sharp in Makoto's nose.
For a moment, he forgot about the others. Nendou, Kokomi and even Saiko, probably waiting back at the resort. clueless about what was happening here. They wouldn't understand. They'd just see a mountain. But Makoto knew better. He knew what was inside.
A volcano disguised as a mountain. Sleeping until it wasn't.
The system pulsed faintly at the back of his mind, its usual commentary strangely absent. Almost like it didn't want to interfere. Or maybe it couldn't.
Makoto's voice caught before he spoke. "You're going to burn yourself out."
Saiki didn't answer. His focus didn't waver.
The cracks in the "mountain" shimmered faintly, molten orange bleeding through the grey facade like veins of light. The rock shifted under some impossible force, and the glow dulled, Saiki forcing it back down. The ground beneath Makoto's feet rumbled again, this time enough to make him stagger.
"Hey," Makoto tried again, louder. "If you kill yourself doing this, I'm going to be really pissed. I mean, we haven't even gotten married yet."
It was ridiculous. It was shameless. It was exactly the kind of thing he said when he didn't know what else to do.
A faint twitch in Saiki's jaw told him the comment landed, even if the psychic didn't reply.
The tension in the air felt like it was building toward something inevitable. Makoto's pulse climbed with it, every instinct telling him to back away, but he didn't. He stepped closer instead, feeling the drag of invisible force pulling at him like thick water and yet he instantly turned quiet, not wanting to mess with Saiki's concentration once he noticed Saiki's jaw twitch.
A sound suddenly echoed through the night, it wasn't loud, but it was deep, like the mountain exhaling. A jagged fissure tore itself along the slope, glowing from within. The heat that rushed out hit Makoto's skin like opening an oven door.
"Saiki," Makoto breathed, eyes flicking from the widening crack to the boy holding it back. Or trying to.
And then, beneath all that noise, came something stranger, like static in his head, the familiar thread of the system's voice breaking apart mid sentence.
[System: Error: Parameter breach. Stabilization-]
[System: llink unstable. External interference detected.]
[System: Mission protocol unstable- ]
The voice glitched into silence, leaving a faint buzzing behind.
Makoto swallowed, pushing through the distortion in his own mind "You're losing control."
Saiki's hands clenched at his sides, his expression tighter than Makoto had ever seen. Not fear. Not panic. Determination strained to its limits.
Another crack split the mountain's side, this one accompanied by a spray of molten rock that sizzled against the ground before cooling into blackened stone.
"Hey." Makoto took one more step, close enough now that he could feel the unnatural heat radiating off Saiki himself. " calm down"
For a heartbeat, Saiki did. And in that heartbeat, Makoto's chest went weightless. There was no filter in his eyes now, no careful distance, no practiced indifference. Just raw, unshielded force, like staring into a storm and realizing it was looking back.
The moment shattered. Makoto's breath caught as the ground beneath him vibrated like a living thing, the volcano's roar bleeding into the air like a low, animal growl. Above, the sky had begun to fracture, hairline cracks in the fabric of reality, jagged and shimmering, bleeding colors that didn't belong to this world.
Makoto couldn't tear his eyes away. It was terrifying. It was beautiful. And it was-
The world blinked.
For just half a second, everything around him… shifted. The colors inverted, the sky pixelated, the sound of the volcano glitched like a broken speaker. Makoto staggered back, a hand flying to his head as the system screamed in his mind, fragments of unreadable code, half formed words, red error banners bleeding across his vision.
"Makoto, get back," Saiki said, voice low but vibrating with the same energy shaking the ground.
Makoto instantly followed and moved a few steps back however the ground jolted violently, cutting him off again. Heat blasted up the slope. The system flickered in and out like a dying lightbulb.
[System: Warning, power surge proximity limit reached-]
[System: Override- denied-]
And then-
A shadow slammed into him.
He hit the dirt hard, a sharp sting slicing his cheek. His eyes snapped open, and his brain refused to register what he was seeing for the first few seconds.
"…Haruka?"
She stood over him, hair wild, eyes blazing- not the slightly insane very obsessed Haruka he remembered. No, this was something else. Something was wrong.
"You-" she spat, voice shaking with fury. "You're not him."
Makoto's mind short-circuited. "What the actual- Haruka?! You've been missing for days! Everyone thought you- I thought-"
"Shut up!" Her knife caught the flickering light, reflecting a warped glint of the glitching sky. "You're not the original soul. You don't belong in that body. You've been lying to all of them. To me."
Makoto's throat went dry. The system hissed and popped like a broken radio, overlapping her words with corrupted sound.
[System: ERR⟟R: IDENT⧫TY PR⟒TOCOL BRE⨄CH]
[System: UNAUTHORIZED ENT⟐TY DETECTED]
[system: SHUTDO—///]
Saiki's voice burst into his head like a thunderclap. "Makoto-"
Makoto whipped his head toward him. Saiki was still rooted in place, every muscle straining, hands clenched like he was physically holding the mountain shut. His face was pale, jaw tight.
"Don't move. Don't stop."
"I can't-" Saiki's voice in his mind was fractured, tense. "She's trying to hurt you-"
"I said don't stop!" Makoto shouted, forcing himself to his feet as Haruka lunged again. He blocked, barely, the knife grazing his arm. "If you let go, we're all dead!"
Saiki's gaze locked on him, pure panic behind the green lenses. He wanted to go to him. Makoto saw it in every trembling muscle, every twitch toward movement. But the volcano's cracks were widening, molten light bleeding through, a faint glimp in the sky also showed how near the meteor was and if saiki left-
"Focus on the damn disaster!" Makoto yelled again, kicking Haruka back. His voice broke around the edges. "I'm not letting you blow up the world because of me!"
The system screamed in his head, the glitch tearing through his vision, flashes of Haruka's distorted face, Saiki's profile warped and breaking into pixels, his own status bar collapsing into static.
Haruka charged again, screaming words Makoto barely processed, something about imposters, stolen lives, false identities. Her fury was blinding, desperate, almost unhinged.
Makoto ducked under a swipe, adrenaline making everything sharper and slower. His heart was a war drum in his ears. He managed to twist her wrist, almost disarming her, Every muscle in his body screamed, but victory was within reach, one more strike, one more push, and Haruka would finally-
when-
The glitch surged.
A searing pain split through his skull, and for half a second, the ground beneath them wasn't real, just a wireframe model, white lines on black, a void yawning underneath.
Haruka took that moment.
The knife slipped free.
Makoto's eyes widened, too slow-
The pain hit before the thought could finish.
A cold, sharp shock tore through his side, and the world seemed to lurch.
He looked down. Haruka's blade was buried deep in his ribs, twisting. The sound it made leaving him was wet, horrible.
The blade punched into him.
Hot, white agony ripped through his chest. His breath hitched, the world tilting. He heard Saiki scream- aloud for once, raw and ragged, breaking apart something inside him.
Makoto staggered back, his weapon slipping from his fingers. His vision blurred, and for a moment, he thought it was from exhaustion. But no- the warmth soaking his hands was his own blood.
Somewhere above the ringing in his ears, he heard Haruka laughing. Loud, manic, triumphant.
"The real Makoto will come back now!" she shrieked, her voice cracking into madness.
"You were just a placeholder- an intruder! Soon, the original will take your place again!"
Makoto tried to retort, but hesknees buckled, the system's voice scattering into nothing. He thought he saw Saiki move, finally, desperately, but the mountain roared like it was about to split the world in half.
A rush of wind, heat, and impossible stillness. The deafening rumble of the volcano stopped. The blinding glow of the meteor faded.
Saiki Kusuo stood at the edge of the battlefield, chest heaving, eyes wide. His powers had done the impossible and now they were entirely focused on Makoto.
"No-" Saiki's voice cracked as he sprinted toward him, forgetting that he had the ability to teleport. Dropping to his knees so hard the ground trembled. "No, no, no- stay with me, Makoto." His hands pressed to the wound, psychic energy flaring in desperate pulses as he tried Desperately to rewind time on the wound, to heal it, to do something but alike to the last times he could not heal Makoto. "I can fix this. I can-"
Makoto's hand, shaking, covered Saiki's. "Kusuo…" His voice was so faint it was almost lost in the chaos around them.
"Don't-don't talk like that." Saiki's voice wavered, raw and uneven. "I'm healing you. You're going to be fine. You're not-" His breath hitched as the energy fizzled uselessly, the wound refusing to close. "Why isn't this working? Why-"
"You know why," Makoto whispered, a bitter smile ghosting his lips. "I'm not the original Makoto…... You can't fix something that was never whole to begin with."
"That doesn't matter-" Saiki's voice broke. His hands tightened on Makoto's as if he could anchor him there by force. "Don't you dare leave me, Makoto. Don't you dare-"
Makoto's eyes softened, his gaze lingering on Saiki's face like he was memorizing every detail. "I didn't know… I'd actually fall in love with you when I entered this world." His words shook, but the smile that followed was real. "You're… frustrating. Overbearing. You always want coffee jelly. But Kusuo… you're also the best part of my life here, dying in my original world was worth it just to meet you"
Saiki's throat closed. He could barely breathe. "Then don't go. Please, Makoto- stay."
Makoto laughed- weak, trembling, but still him. "I guess… Suoto Kusuo Saiki-Teruhashi will never exist, huh?" His eyes glazed with tears. "I was prepared to give birth, Kusuo. Prepared to… stay by your side. Forever."
The words hit Saiki like a physical blow. He bent closer, his forehead pressing to Makoto's, trying to keep him grounded. "You will stay. I'll find a way. Just- don't stop talking. Don't close your eyes-"
"I'm so tired," Makoto admitted, his eyelids fluttering. "But… I want you to know… even if I disappear, even if I'm erased, I'll still be grateful. For you. For… loving me, even if you never said it."
"I do," Saiki blurted, his voice hoarse. "I do love you. I just-" His voice cracked entirely. "I'm saying it now, so don't you dare die on me."
Makoto's lips curved faintly. "Then… I can go knowing I was loved."
"No!" Saiki's powers flared wildly, psychic shockwaves rattling the ground. Haruka's laughter cut through it, and he snapped his head toward her- his eyes burning. One flick of his hand, and she crumpled to the ground, unconscious. The silence she left behind was deafening.
The air shimmered. A small, glowing sphere, Makoto's system, floated into view, its voice steady despite the grief around it as it's glitching finally stopped.
[System: Saiki Kusuo. There is one way to save him]
Saiki looked up sharply. "Tell me."
[System: You must go back in time]
Saiki froze. His heart pounded in his ears. "No. No, this, this was the only timeline where I had him. What if… in the next one, I don't? What if I never see him again?"
[System: Makoto will remain in the timeline for at least two more resets] the system explained. [Any more than that, and his soul will not survive. It is incomplete and fragile. But one, you still have one.]
Saiki's jaw clenched. "And if I do nothing?"
[System: He dies now. And you will lose him forever.]
Makoto's blood was warm on his hands. His breathing was getting weaker. "Kusuo…" he whispered, his voice barely audible now. "If you can… I'd like to see you again. Even if… I don't remember this. Even if I fall in love with you all over again."
Saiki's vision blurred, but his grip never loosened. "You will. I'll make you fall for me twice if I have to. Ten times. A hundred. I don't care."
Makoto's lashes lowered, but there was a faint, tired smirk. "Confident as always…"
The sphere flickered faintly, its glow stuttering in the shadows like a dying star.
[System: There is… another matter.]
Saiki's eyes narrowed. "What now?"
[System: The disturbance you've felt, the rules of this world, it has been tracking Makoto since the day he arrived in this world. It will kill him in every timeline as long as it exists.]
Saiki's fists curled. "Then I'll destroy it."
[System: you cannot kill it. I cannot kill it either. Not… unless you give me your soul in exchange.]
His pulse spiked. "That's your only method?"
[System: Yes. Without your soul, I cannot persist past the loop. But with it, I can eliminate the rules of the world permanently. Only then will Makoto be safe.]
The words lodged in his chest like a blade. His gaze fell to Makoto's still form, chest unmoving, lips pale. He felt a slow, suffocating pressure build behind his ribs.
[System: Decide quickly. The rules will find him again. Even if you rewind, it will hunt him in every timeline.]
Saiki's throat felt tight. "If I give you my soul… what happens to me?"
[System: Once you die, you will no longer exist in this plane. Your consciousness will follow me]
Silence. Not the kind he could escape into, but the kind that burned.
He could walk away. Pretend it wasn't worth the price. Tell himself that rewinding alone was enough. That maybe, maybe he could outsmart the rules without losing himself or Makoto, especially since he was a psychic.
But that was a lie.
Even being a psychic couldn't save Makoto's life.
He thought of Makoto barging into his life like he owned a place in it. Of the way he smiled like the world couldn't touch him. Of the way his voice softened in rare, unguarded moments, and how those moments had started to feel like they were just for him.
Makoto was loud, inconvenient, stubborn… and irreplaceable
And Saiki loved him. Enough to burn out his own existence if it meant Makoto would keep breathing. Enough to give up everything, as long as Makoto got to keep something.
He swallowed hard, his voice steady when it came out. "…Fine. Take it."
The sphere pulsed once, bright and sharp, like it was drawing breath.
[System: Then you must rewind to the moment you first met him. Do not let him meet Haruka. Do not let Haruka study at PK Academy. That is the only path to safety and I will handle the rules of this world]
Saiki opened his eyes, the decision locked into the line of his jaw. "Then we'll start over."
The world began to distort, colors bleeding into each other, the air tearing at the edges. Saiki took one last look at Makoto, every detail, every expression, committing them to memory. His chest ached like something vital was being torn out, but he forced the words out. "I'll find you. No matter what."
Saiki bent down, pressing a trembling kiss to his forehead. "This isn't goodbye."
The system's light flared. [System: Three… two… one-]
The world dissolved.