"We start with a blueprint!" Hairo declared, standing in the center of a hastily drawn diagram on the sand. It looked more like a cracked spider than a vessel.
"I'm not getting on that," Yumehara muttered.
"We have to try something," Kaidou said, arms crossed. "If we don't take action now, we risk succumbing to the elements!"
Makoto sat beside Saiki on a flat rock, watching the chaos unfold. Haruka, still tied up at a safe distance, was screeching unintelligibly about her conspiracies.
"I swear i swam after you Makoto! Saiki's powers won't work on our love-!"
"what the hell happened to her gag" Makoto muttered.
Saiki gave a long suffering sigh. "saiko took his scarf back."
Meanwhile, Saiko stood with a palm leaf fan, dramatically fanning himself while sneaking glances at both Makoto and Kokomi.
"So, Makoto," he said with his usual haughty flair. "I never noticed how radiant you are under natural light. Island ruggedness suits you."
Makoto deadpanned. "I'm literally covered in sand and mosquito bites."
"That's what makes it charming," Saiko replied, before smoothly pivoting toward Kokomi. "And Kokomi, the sea breeze only enhances your natural glow. Would you care to join me on the deck once the boat is complete?"
Kokomi raised an eyebrow. "There is no deck. We're making a floating pile of trees."
Still, Saiko winked. "A man can dream."
That dream quickly dissolved the moment actual labor was involved.
"No, no, no! You can't just stack logs and call it a raft! Thats not how it works! "
Saiko, notably, had not moved since the start. He was still perched on a random rock, perfectly stationary for the past hour. Though he hadn't lifted a single vine, sweat glistened dramatically on his forehead, and his once crisp designer jacket was now tied loosely around his waist, transforming him from pampered heir to very distressed aristocrat cosplaying as a shipwreck victim.
Meanwhile, Hairo barked orders with the boundless energy of a summer camp counselor on his fourth cup of black coffee, Nendou was enthusiastically hammering coconuts together for some reason, and Kaidou had constructed something that looked suspiciously like a shrine to ward off "sea spirits" instead of contributing to the raft.
"We're not getting off this island by praying to the Dark Reunion," Aren said flatly, tossing another bundle of vine rope onto the growing pile.
Kaidou whipped around, eyes blazing. "I don't pray to the Dark Reunion- I fight the Dark Reunion!"
Kokomi stood off to the side with arms crossed, watching the chaos unfold. Haruka, still tied to a palm tree, was screaming intermittently like a broken car alarm.
Makoto stretched lazily in the sand, letting the breeze hit his sun warmed skin. He glanced over at Saiki, who was gathering logs.
"You know," Makoto said, voice casual and teasing, "you're surprisingly buff for someone who doesn't even work out. Psychic powers give you abs or something?"
Saiki didn't even look at him. "No. I telekinetically compress my organs for a slimmer appearance."
Makoto gasped in mock horror. "So they're fake?!"
Saiki sighed. "I don't have abs."
Makoto grinned, reaching down and casually lifting his shirt to his collarbones. "It's okay. I have abs. I can have abs for both of us."
"OH MY GOD!!!" Haruka screamed from the tree, shaking so violently the ropes creaked. "HIS ABS! HIS ACTUAL ABS!! I CAN DIE NOW!!"
Everyone turned. Kaidou was shielding his eyes. Aren dropped the log he was carrying. Saiko, wiping his brow with a silk scarf, did a double take and nearly tripped over a log. He recovered quickly, sauntering toward Makoto and saiki.
"You know, Makoto," Saiko began, affecting a suave tone, "if you tire of Saiki's emotionally constipated attitude, I am available. I have a yacht- or had a yacht. But more importantly, I have charm."
Makoto side eyed him. "I think your charm drowned with your GPS."
Undeterred, Saiko turned to Kokomi. "And you, Kokomi. Don't you think we would make the most genetically superior children? You, the pinacle of beauty. Me, the pinnacle of taste."
Kokomi made a face. "I'd rather marry the seaweed monster."
"MY TITLE!!" Haruka screeched from the background.
Hours passed. The makeshift raft was slowly coming together. Between Nendou's brute strength, Saiki's telekinesis which he used covertly when no one was looking, and Hairo's eternal optimism, they had a solid base and some sort of rudder.
"Come on," Saiki muttered to Makoto, who was lazily poking a crab with a stick.
Makoto perked up. "Ooh, alone time?"
Saiki did not dignify that with a response. They walked into the woods under the guise of searching for more vines.
It was then that Makoto, too distracted with singing a sea chant about abs, sliced his hand on a sharp branch.
"OW! OH GOD! I'M BLEEDING! THIS IS IT! THIS IS HOW I DIE!"
Saiki pinched the bridge of his nose. "It's a scratch."
"My hand! My beautiful hand! How will I sign autographs again?! Saiki! Doctor Saiki, please save me!"
Saiki looked at the bleeding cut and, sighing before leading Makoto a little deeper into the trees, out of sight. Saiki glanced around, confirmed no one was watching, and then placed his hand over the wound.
Nothing happened.
He tried again.
Still nothing.
Makoto blinked. "Uh... should I be worried?"
Saiki frowned. "It won't heal. That's... weird."
"Okay, I'm actually dying now."
"Stop."
Makoto went still, then asked internally. System, what gives?
[System: This vessel is not fully compatible. Original soul is fragmented and foreign to this timeline. Saiki can't heal you |ω;｀).]
Makoto stared blankly at nothing. So... I'm too transmigrated to be healed by anime magic. Got it.
"So?" Saiki asked, brow raised.
Makoto grinned. "Guess my soul is from a different franchise."
Saiki blinked.
Makoto leaned in dramatically. "It's okay. You can still be my emotional support psychic."
Saiki turned to leave after grabbing a few logs.
"I'm keeping the cut," Makoto called after him, cradling his hand. "It makes me look edgy."
Back at the camp, Hairo had rallied everyone into boat building positions. Logs were being tied together with braided vines. Kaidou was sharpening sticks. Nendou kept trying to test float things in a tide pool.
Saiko hovered in the shade, finally off his rock and muttering about how hard manual labor was for his skin.
Haruka, still tied to a palm tree, was somehow louder than ever.
"MAKOTOOOOO!! THE SYSTEM IS USING THE ISLAND TO ISOLATE YOU!! SAIKI AND THE SYSTEM ARE WORKING TOGETHER! HE'S A TRICKSTER!! THIS IS MANIPULATION!!"
Makoto returned to the group and promptly put a coconut over her face.
"That's better," Yumehara sighed.
With everyone back to work, the raft was slowly starting to take shape. But it was obvious, this was going to take a lot longer than anyone hoped.
Makoto leaned back beside Saiki again, arms crossed behind his head. "Well, if we die out here, at least we'll die hot."
"You're very calm about this."
"Yeah," Makoto said with a soft smile. "Because you're here."
Then, leaning in slightly, he added in a whisper and a wink "And also because you can teleport us back at night to your room."
Hours passed and the island was quieter now. Mostly everyone was sleeping Haruka was still securely tied to a palm tree. Nendou snored loudly nearby, hugging Hairo as if he was a human teddy bear.
Makoto lay on his back beside Saiki, staring up at the stars. The sound of gentle waves lapping the shore had become oddly soothing, a lullaby of sorts after the chaos of the day.
"Hey," Makoto murmured.
Saiki, eyes half lidded, gave the barest grunt of acknowledgment.
"Do you think that boat's actually going to work?"
"No," Saiki replied flatly.
Makoto turned his head toward him, lips parting in disbelief. "Wait, seriously?"
"It's made of coconut husks, uneven logs, and seaweed rope. No."
Makoto let out a theatrical gasp, placing a hand on his chest like he'd just been mortally wounded. "You mean we're going to be stranded forever?"
"Yes," Saiki deadpanned. "We live here now."
Makoto threw himself back dramatically into the sand, arms splayed like a fainting noblewoman.
"So you're telling me," he began, "that we'll be stuck here forever. Stranded. With nothing but coconuts and seaweed."
Saiki gave him a look.
Makoto clasped his hands to his chest. "We'll have to adapt. Get married. Live in a coconut hut. Raise wild island fishes. We'll be princess stowaways! Gorgeous, tragic, legendary island brides!"
Saiki stared at him. "We're not princesses. We're not even girls."
Makoto waved that off. "You could turn us into girls if you wanted to. We'd make pretty girls. I'd turn into a lesbian for you."
There was a pause.
Saiki looked away, sighing deeply. "I'm going to move this island back to Japan."
Makoto paused. "...The fuck you mean you're gonna move it?"
"I've been teleporting chunks of the island back, slowly," Saiki said, brushing sand off his sleeve. "We're about halfway there. By tomorrow, it should be close enough for the boat to miraculously reach the coast."
Makoto stared at him.
Saiki took a sip from his coconut juice. "Didn't feel like dealing with a boat."
Makoto blinked. "So you'd rather move an island than be pretty girl princesses with me?"
"We can be pretty just not as girls and We can be princesses back at home," Saiki muttered.
Makoto burst out laughing, falling back into the sand. "Oh my god, you're insane. My insane, psychic boyfriend."
"You're welcome," Saiki muttered.
They sat in silence for a moment, stars glittering above.
"…But seriously," Makoto said, nudging him, "we'd make pretty girls."
The next day arrived sooner than expected, The boat was finally done.
Well, done was a generous word. The thing looked like it had been cobbled together by pirates who'd never seen a boat before. Driftwood, tarps, vines, and pure desperation held it together. Saiko's luxury beach chair had been chopped into pieces for wood, much to his horror. A piece of the chair now served as a crooked plank, nailed to the base like a sad gangplank to nowhere.
"It floats," Nendou said proudly, stomping on it. The boat wobbled like jelly but didn't collapse. That counted as a success.
Kokomi crossed her arms and inspected the vessel critically. "It's ugly. But... functional?"
Kaidou nodded solemnly. "We've done what we could. It's time to decide who will brave the ocean."
Immediately, chaos erupted.
"I should go. I'm the richest!" Saiko declared, finally getting off the rock he's been sitting on for days now.
"That doesn't mean anything here!" Makoto said flatly.
"I should go," Haruka said, voice muffled slightly.
No one looked at her. She was still tied to the tree.
"you wouldn't call for help," Kokomi said, not looking up.
"Let me go! The system's controlling you!" Haruka shouted. "Makoto!, they're tricking you! I can save you!"
"I'm not going anywhere near a boat with her," Aren said.
"Same," Hairo muttered. "She bit me."
Makoto rubbed his temples. He glanced at Saiki, who stood nearby with arms crossed.
"I'll stay behind," Makoto volunteered. "Saiki too."
Saiki didn't object. He just glanced at Makoto once, fully knowing Makoto hasn't given up on his island princess dreams.
Hairo stepped forward. "I'll stay too! If we need another backup plan or more resources, I'll help!"
Nendou scratched his chin. "Well… I'm not leaving my buddies behind. That'd be lame. I'm staying too."
"Then who's going?" Kaidou asked.
They all looked around.
Eventually, Kokomi, Saiko, Yumehara, Chisato, and Kaidou were chosen.
"There's literally no food," Chisato muttered, looking into the boat's hull. "No supplies. No paddles."
"You'll be fine," Makoto said dryly. "It's only to see if the thing floats."
Yumehara clutched her chest. "If I die, tell my imaginary boyfriend I loved him."
"Which one?" Kaidou asked.
She glared. "All of them."
Kokomi groaned as she stepped aboard. "Let's just get this over with."
Somehow, the boat didn't collapse as they climbed on.
"It's working!" Kaidou shouted.
"It's based on my superior design principles," Saiko sniffed.
"You didn't even do anything" Aren replied, slightly giving him the side eye.
They drifted off. The island slowly shrank behind them.
Then the boat dipped.
"Um," Yumehara said. "Is it supposed to be this low?"
"No," Kaidou answered, already bailing water with his shoe.
"It's SINKING!" Saiko screeched, trying to use Kaidou as a flotation device.
"Don't touch me!"
"I KNEW we were cursed!" Yumehara wailed. "We're stuck here forever! I'm going to die single!"
Back on shore, Nendou was mid yawn when a volleyball nailed him in the back of the head.
"Ow! Hey- who threw that-?"
A voice called out, "Sorry! That was mine!"
A kid, maybe twelve or eight maybe, who knows. stood barefoot in the sand, holding a volleyball and squinting at them.
"Where'd you come from?" Hairo asked.
"wait where's your parents?" Makoto called out, just as confused as the rest of them.
The kid just grinned and held his volleyball above his head like a trophy. "mom said I could explore alone while she buys us lunch! I've been snacking on fish crackers I got from the vending machine!"
Kaidou's eye twitched. "You've- wait. A vending machine? On this island? That means there's commerce. There's civilization. There's capitalism!"
"No," Saiki muttered, flat. "There's madness."
"I wanna go home," Yumehara sobbed, hugging her knees and rocking slightly in the sand. "I wanna see a hairdryer again."
The kid squinted at them, frowning. "You guys were stuck here? For real? I thought this was one of those summer camps."
"What do you mean 'summer camp'?" Kokomi asked, wringing her hair out over her shoulder. Her pristine idol aura had long since been replaced by the wild feral energy of a girl who had not had access to makeup remover in forty-eight hours.
"I mean, my cousin went to one once. They made you survive on teamwork and pretend to get stranded. He said it changed his life." The kid held up his volleyball again. "I've mostly been practicing spikes. This island has great bounce spots."
Nendou leaned over to Hairo, whispering, "Does this kid remind you of anyone?"
"Like who?"
"Like me. In fifth grade. With less chin."
"...Yeah, a little."
The wind blew gently. Everyone was silent for a moment, too tired to care about logic or sanity.
Saiko collapsed. "We made a raft. For NOTHING."
"I was cold," Kokomi muttered.
The boy blinked. "Why is she tied to a tree?"
"Oh, her?" Makoto said. "Don't worry about it."
"I'm telling you, they're brainwashing him!" Haruka yelled, struggling against the vines and everyone continued to ignore her screams.
"You tied her up?" the kid asked, alarmed.
"Yesterday," Nendou said. "She kept trying to steal Makoto's socks."
"I wasn't stealing them! I was freeing them from mind control!"
The kid blinked. "Okay…"
He turned to Kokomi. "You're so pretty!"
Kokomi blinked, stunned. "I- thank you?"
"Don't boost her ego," Makoto muttered.
"I have no food, I'm wet, and I was just complimented by a child," Kokomi sighed. "This is the worst day of my life."
"Still better than yesterday," Chisato said. "No centipedes in my shoes today."
"You can say that because you literally ate all the food," Yumehara muttered.
"i already said that I was sorry!" Chisato replied with a wail.
Saiki turned to walk away, clearly done with the conversation. Makoto trailed after him with a yawn, hands behind his head. "He's got energy, that kid. I'll give him that."
Kaidou stared after the boy, who had now resumed tossing his volleyball into the air and catching it with eerie precision. "We almost died on a floating pile of trash," he whispered. "And this child just… wandered in."
"Can we follow you to the beach?" Hairo asked the kid.
"Yeah! I'll show you!"
As they followed him through the trees, Chisato picked berries with grim determination. Haruka muttered conspiracies to herself while being dragged by Aren.
Eventually, the trees parted.
A real beach. Clear water. A distant dock.
"…Is that a ferry?" Kokomi asked.
"Yup," the kid said. "Sometimes it stops."
"We could've just walked here this whole time," Saiko whispered.
Makoto glanced at Saiki, who gave him the faintest smirk.
"I still don't understand where the other beach came from," Kokomi muttered, eyebrows pinched together in suspicion. "It wasn't here before, right?"
Makoto's smile twitched at the corners. "Who's to say what was or wasn't here?"
Saiki's eyes flicked sideways. He said nothing.
Last night, Saiki had spent the entire evening methodically transferring sections of the jungle closer to the beach, terraforming the terrain in silence. No one had noticed. Not even when he relocated a few of the more dangerous animals to keep up appearances.
"Cool, right?" the kid said proudly.
Makoto just facepalmed. Saiki stood beside him, completely silent.
"Hey, kid, do you have a phone?" Aren asked.
The boy shook his head. "Nope, but my mom does. She should be here soon, you can probably borrow it."
Without missing a beat, the kid tossed the volleyball into the air and caught it. "Wanna play while we wait?"
Somehow, against all logic and exhaustion, they agreed.
Even Nendou stood there while the ball occasionally bonked off his head. Chisato bought and ate food with zero remorse by using Saiko's black credit card which no one knows how she obtained. Haruka who was still tied up and left on the sidelines was still struggling to get out of the rope they tied her up with.
Makoto pretended none of this was happening and decided to sunbathe.
Eventually, the group collapsed on the beach, exhausted, sunburned, and starving.
Yumehara lay dramatically sprawled out on a random beach towel left on the sand "I lived. But at what cost?"
"You got hit by a wave," Kokomi pointed out.
Kaidou stared into the horizon. "Dark reunion tried to stop us. But we prevailed."
"No one prevailed," Saiko muttered. "I lost my watch."
"Your watch was already ugly," Yumehera said.
"IT WAS ITALIAN DESIGN!"
Saiki sat at the far end of the beach, staring at the water in absolute silence. Makoto plopped beside him, resting his chin on his knees.
"So," Makoto murmured, "did you really move the whole island?"
Saiki didn't respond for a second. Then replied "Not all of it. Just enough to make them think they'd gone somewhere."
Makoto chuckled. "You're terrifying."
Saiki didn't look at him. "Good."
A pause.
Then, almost too quietly to catch, he asked, "Are you scared of me?"
Makoto tilted his head, lips quirking. "No. It kind of makes you look hot."
Saiki didn't respond right away. But his mouth twitched, barely, the smallest pull at the corner.
He turned his head the other way. "You need better taste."
Makoto grinned. "I think it's working just fine."
Saiki sighed. Loudly. "Unbelievable"
Just then, the sound of flip flops slapping against sand broke the moment.
"Oh, there you are, Tobi!" a woman's voice rang out.
A woman in her late thirties jogged toward them across the sand, wearing a floppy sunhat and an oversized tote bag filled with sunscreen bottles and a large thermos. She looked relieved then slightly alarmed as she took in the group of wet, exhausted teens standing in a clump, Yumehera's hair tangled with seawater and Haruka tied to a tree.
"Mom! These people got shipwrecked or something!" Tobi exclaimed proudly, like he'd found stray cats.
His mom blinked. "Shipwrecked?!"
Kokomi stepped forward with the smile of someone trying to look dignified despite her skirt being plastered to her legs. "Not quite. But, we are stranded."
Yumehara nodded dramatically, arms crossed over her chest.
Haruka was suspiciously silent, still tied to a tree in the background. No one acknowledged her.
"Would it be possible," Kaidou said solemnly, "to borrow your communication device, brave mother of Tobi?"
"You mean my phone?" she said, a little overwhelmed but sympathetic. "Uh, sure?"
Makoto turned to Saiko, who was now kneeling on the sand like a stranded aristocrat. "You good?"
Saiko snapped his fingers. "Father's secretary. I'll have the yacht sent immediately."
He dialed with far more elegance than someone that disheveled should have, speaking quickly and sharply into the borrowed phone.
"Man," Nendou said, "this island's got everything. Drama. Volleyball. Weird fans."
"Hey!" Haruka called from the tree. "I can hear you!"
No one answered or bothered to look at her.
An hour passed by, and suddenly the silhouette of a yacht was clearly seen on the horizon.
Makoto squinted. "That looks expensive."
Saiki, without opening his eyes, muttered, "It is."
The sleek vessel coasted smoothly toward the shore, glinting under the sun. As it docked itself on the sand with absurd automation, a long metal ramp hissed open. Out walked a stern looking woman in heels far too sharp for a beach, tablet in hand, followed by Saiko's battalion of frantic maids.
"Master Saiko!" they cried in unison. "We've come!"
The maids immediately descended upon him, fussing like he'd just returned from war. One held up a parasol, another dabbed his forehead with a silk handkerchief, and a third shoved a drink with a twisty straw into his hand.
"I'm fine!" Saiko tried to protest, but his voice was drowned out by the clinking of pearl buttons being checked and rebuttoned.
The woman in heels approached the group with a pointed expression. "young master. Your father was-" she turned to Saiko, "-extremely concerned when your gps stopped working, This yacht was dispatched immediately."
Saiko muttered something about lawsuits and angry fathers as his maids adjusted his scarf even though he wasn't wearing one.
The secretary's gaze fell on the still tied up Haruka lying like a discarded prop at their feet.
"And what should we do about her?" she asked dryly.
Everyone looked at Haruka.
"Leave her tied up," Aren said again, arms crossed.
"Understood" the secretary then waved her hand and a group of maids dragged the struggling tied up Haruka onto the boat.
With that, the group was ushered onto the yacht and whisked away from the island.
Back on solid land, after a quick change into dry clothes and a meal that didn't involve coconut, Makoto stepped into his penthouse, dropped his bag, and barely had time to flop onto the couch before his phone rang.
He picked up. "Hello?"
"Makoto?!" It was his agent, practically screaming. "Where have you been?!"
Makoto yawned. "Stranded on an island."
"What?! You missed three appointments, a promo shoot, and your social media account exploded with conspiracy theories!"
Makoto sat up. "Okay, okay. I'm alive. What's up?"
"You're scheduled to start filming in three days. I already moved the set dates twice. Get ready."
Makoto hummed. "Fine. Send me the script."
Once the call ended, he scrolled to Saiki's name and hit dial.
The line picked up after one ring.
"I have to start filming a movie soon," Makoto said.
There was silence, then asked "Will you be attending class?"
Makoto grinned, even though Saiki couldn't see it. "Might have to be absent for a bit... don't miss me though! Love you!"
He ended the call before Saiki could reply.
[System: host you're a mess (• ▽ •;)]
"I know" Makoto replied still grinning before sending emoji hearts to saiki.