7:00 AM.
RING. RING. RING.
Every alarm chime felt like a sledgehammer on Saiki's chest.
His eyes snapped open, drenched in cold sweat. That precognition… it felt too real. Too vivid to be a dream.
He sat up slowly, listening to the creaking floorboards. Rudeus was already up, walking to the kitchen. Shadow's gleeful laughter echoed moments later, probably excited about his shipment.
Something's wrong.
---
7:20 AM.
Breakfast.
Everything was normal. Too normal.
Saiki, Rudeus, and Shadow sat at the table. The toast was warm, the eggs perfectly scrambled, the orange juice pulp-free—exactly the way Saiki hated it. Still, he said nothing.
He checked the time. 7:40.
The ground trembled. The plane landed behind the penthouse. Saiki stood immediately.
The rear hatch opened.
Kira stepped out with a clipboard.
Saiki didn't hesitate. He surged forward and grabbed him by the throat.
Kira's smile didn't fade. He calmly looked down at his wristwatch.
7:50.
"You really think you can stop it?" Kira wheezed, voice low but smug.
Saiki's eyes glowed, shimmering with psychic fury. "I can. I'm a powerful psychic."
Kira chuckled. "Then try."
Rudeus called out behind them, confused. "Uh… Saiki? Everything okay?"
Kira didn't flinch. "I'm not going to do anything. But I suggest you act fast."
Saiki narrowed his eyes. "Is that a threat?"
"Advice," Kira answered, adjusting his tie casually. "Take it or leave it."
7:55.
Shadow approached, sensing the tension. "What's going on?"
Saiki removed his glasses.
"I'm ending this."
His psychic aura surged, and with a flick of his fingers, Kira's entire body petrified into stone.
Shadow blinked. "What the hell?!"
Rudeus pointed with a trembling hand. "Th-that's… that's Kira! He's the guy from—!"
7:58.
Saiki was about to exhale in relief when Killer Queen's eyes flickered in their pupils.
Kira's voice echoed from the void.
"Killer Queen… is the ultimate defense. It will protect its user's identity."
Then—BOOM.
---
7:00 AM.
Saiki woke up in a cold sweat. Again.
He's not bluffing. It's a time-triggered defense. The moment Kira's identity is discovered…
He gritted his teeth. He's making sure no one knows who he is. If I can't figure out a way to beat him before the loop resets, I'm stuck.
He glanced at the alarm clock. 7:03 AM.
Ryusui snored next to him.
"Five more minutes..." Ryusui mumbled.
François poked her head in, noting Saiki's frantic expression. "You look unusually distressed. What's wrong?"
"…Can't say."
"Then at least wake up Master Ryusui properly."
She took a deep breath and bellowed, "THE STOCK MARKET IS CRASHING!!"
Ryusui bolted upright. "WHAT?!"
Saiki turned to him. "We need to cancel the cargo shipment—now."
Ryusui blinked. "Why?"
Saiki gave him a look. No words—just psychic desperation.
Ryusui sighed. "Fine, fine. I'll contact the agency."
---
7:30 AM.
Shadow's phone buzzed.
"Delayed… again?!" Shadow cried, staring at his shipping app. "They moved the delivery again?!"
Saiki exhaled quietly in relief. One delay bought. Now the next part.
He teleported.
Within seconds, he was at the delivery depot.
A startled employee dropped their clipboard. "W-What the—?"
Saiki walked straight to the back office.
Kira was there, drinking tea like he was at a spa.
"Oh. Guessing this is loop two… or three?" Kira mused, not even looking up. "You found me earlier this time."
Saiki didn't speak. His psychic pressure filled the room.
Kira laughed. "You still don't get it. You can kill me right now, and it'll change nothing. Killer Queen protects its user. The loop is a failsafe. As long as my identity is kept hidden, it won't trigger."
"…What do you want?" Saiki asked, voice cold.
Kira set his tea down. "A peaceful life."
---
7:58 AM.
Kira was nowhere near them.
And yet—
Killer Queen's form shimmered beside Saiki, eyes burning.
BOOM.
---
7:00 AM.
Alarm again.
RING. RING. RING.
Saiki sat upright. Wait… the bomb went off at 7:58 this time. Why earlier than 8:00?
He stared ahead. Because… in the second loop, I identified him earlier. That triggered the failsafe sooner. So the loop isn't bound to time—it's bound to exposure.
He shuddered. As long as I fail to solve this before identifying him or passing 8:00… I'm trapped.
The alarm blared.
Subaru knocked on the door, yawning. "Hey man, are you gonna turn that off or let us suffer?"
Saiki clicked the alarm off, staring blankly at the wall. "I need to talk to you."
That caught Subaru's attention. "Huh? You actually talking about your problems? Did Ryusui spike your coffee jelly with truth serum?"
Saiki didn't react. Just asked, flatly:
"Hypothetically… what would you do if you had an ability like Return by Death… and no matter what you tried, the enemy always wins?"
Subaru froze.
The air shifted. His eyes searched Saiki's face—his tension, his stiffness, the subtle dread wrapped around every word.
"…That's a weird question," Subaru muttered, but something cold settled in his gut.
His mind flicked through memories. His own deaths. Two, this time. One during a walk outside—right after he'd heard a strange sound from the backyard. The other during breakfast, chatting with Shadow and Rudeus.
Both times… something was off.
Saiki.
He was the only one acting differently. Like he knew.
And now this question.
Subaru's eyes widened.
He took a small step back, instinctively. His thoughts spiraled—not in panic, but in pattern recognition. It was just like—
"…Todd," he breathed.
Saiki's eyes flicked toward him, ever so slightly.
Subaru exhaled shakily, his hands falling to his sides. "There was a guy. Todd. In my world. No matter what I tried, he was ahead of me. Always. I'd sneak around a corner—he'd be there. I'd plan with allies—he'd already split them up. He made me feel like Return by Death wasn't even mine anymore."
He laughed bitterly. "I started thinking… maybe he had it too. Like he was always one loop ahead. Smiling at every move I thought was mine."
Saiki remained silent, but his aura flared just slightly.
Subaru stepped closer.
"You know how I beat him?"
Saiki's gaze met his.
"I stopped thinking like me," Subaru said quietly.
"…What?"
"I stopped doing what made sense. I stopped acting like the me he thought I was. Every loop, I was always me. Logical, desperate, cornered. So I flipped the board. Did something I wouldn't do. Something that made no sense. Not even to me."
His voice shook, but his eyes were steady now.
"I became unpredictable. Even to myself."
Saiki blinked.
Subaru shrugged. "If your enemy's ahead of you no matter what you try… maybe it's time to stop playing your own game."
The room fell into silence. Just the faint ticking of the alarm clock and the steady rise and fall of their breath.
Then, for the first time in countless loops…
Saiki nodded.
7:10 AM.
Silence stretched between them.
Subaru stood there, shoulders slack but gaze sharp, as if something heavy had finally been handed off.
Saiki stared at him, as if seeing the boy in a new light.
"You're a complete idiot," Saiki said finally.
Subaru blinked. "What—?"
"But," Saiki interrupted, "that's exactly what I needed."
There was a flicker of warmth beneath Saiki's stoic mask. He didn't smile—of course he didn't—but for just a second, Subaru thought he caught something close to approval.
"Thanks," Saiki said simply.
Before Subaru could respond, before he could crack a joke or even puff up with pride, Saiki vanished—teleporting with a faint shimmer of psychic light.
Subaru stood there blinking. Then whispered to the empty air, "…You're welcome?"
---
7:23 AM.
The warehouse at the far edge of the cargo depot was quiet except for the slow, methodical tap of packing tape and the occasional beep of a handheld scanner.
Kira Yoshikage moved with quiet elegance, sliding perfume bottles into pristine boxes. Each fold of cardboard was precise. Each label was centered. His fingers moved like a pianist performing a symphony of normalcy.
Peaceful. Predictable. Perfect.
Then a ripple of psychic static cut through the stillness.
Kira didn't turn around. He smiled faintly, closing the final box and pressing down the flaps.
"I was wondering how long it would take you this time," he said casually, brushing a speck of dust from his sleeve.
Saiki leaned against the wall, arms crossed, watching him from the shadows of the corridor. His presence exuded calm pressure—quiet, but suffocating.
"You're not perfect," Saiki said.
Kira let out a soft chuckle. "No one is. But I aim to be… unremarkable."
He glanced over his shoulder, amused. "And yet you keep finding me."
"I'll keep doing it," Saiki replied coolly. "Again and again. I'll figure you out."
Kira's smile widened ever so slightly.
"Brave words," he said, folding his hands behind his back. "But let's be honest… you don't even have a Stand."
Saiki didn't flinch. "True."
He pushed off the wall, walking forward until the dim overhead light caught his face. His eyes glowed faintly, filled with steely resolve.
"But I am a psychic."
The words hung in the air like thunder before a storm.
The ticking of a nearby wall clock began to rise in volume, as if the seconds themselves were counting down to something inevitable.
7:58 AM.
Kira's eyes glinted with something between admiration and pity. "Then we'll see just how far that gets you."
BOOM.
---
End.