The warmth of Saiki's hand in his own faded like the tide receding from shore.
Makoto's last breath left him quietly, and then,
White.
He stood in the familiar expanse of the system's empty world, weightless, timeless, and horribly alone.
[System: Congratulations, Host, for completing your first world! You have gained 1000 points for successful completion. ✧◝(⁰▿⁰)◜✧]
The mechanical cheer in the voice felt like static in his ears. Bai Ying blinked slowly, his mind still hazy from the decades of a shared life.
Then the memories crashed in.
Not the ones from this life, those were still warm, still tender. But the first timeline. The one where he had died because of that obsessed fan he had as makoto. The one where Saiki had lost him. "Fuck so that's why the mission was so easy"
Bai Ying's knees hit the white floor before he realized he'd fallen. His breath came in shaky bursts.
"...i cant believe you never told me kusuo," he whispered, pressing a hand over his eyes.
He'd gone in thinking it was a job. Thinking he could play his part and walk away untouched. But Saiki had chased him down, cut through every line he'd drawn, and made a place for himself that Bai Ying didn't know how to close off anymore.
And he'd loved him back.
Somewhere between the teasing, the quiet walks home, from going from being the one doing the chasing in the first timeline to being the one being chased. He fell hard.
Tears slipped down his cheeks before he could stop them. It didn't matter that it was over. It didn't matter that the world had ended and the system had declared it a success. His chest still hurt like he'd left something behind that he couldn't get back.
For the first time since entering the system, Bai Ying didn't care about the points. He didn't care about the mission.
He just wanted his Kusuo back.
Bai Ying's hands curled into fists on the endless white floor, his breathing uneven.
[System: Host...]
He didn't answer.
[System: You did well. You may rest here until your next assignment.]
Bai Ying laughed, short and humorless. "Rest? After that?"
The system hummed quietly, but didn't press him further. Somewhere above, high in the blank expanse where there was no sky, something shifted.
A faint shimmer. A wisp of color where there should be none.
Bai Ying didn't notice, but a small, pink, glowing orb drifted silently into the space. It pulsed once, faintly warm, before sinking into the system's core.
For the briefest moment, less than a heartbeat, the sterile white of the system world flushed the softest shade of pink. Then it was gone, as though it had never happened.
Bai Ying, still on his knees, wiped his face roughly with his sleeve. "Whatever. Just... send me to the next mission."
[System: In time. Who knows... perhaps you'll meet him again.]
Bai Ying froze, a flicker of something betwen hope, fear as we as longing catching in his chest. He didn't turn his head. "...You can't promise that."
[System: No,] the voice admitted, tone softer than usual. [System: But... I can't say it's impossible, either.]
Bai Ying let out a slow breath, his voice barely above a whisper. "Alright take me to the next world."
Bai Ying woke up choking on air. Not because someone was strangling him, but because the second his eyes snapped open, he realized two very obvious, very concerning things.
One. This wasn't his body. Again.
and two. The mirror across the room showed him wearing a Ostania's State Security Service uniform, black medium length hair framing his face, and a badge that read Yuri Briar.
"...System," Bai Ying said flatly, pointing at his reflection like it had personally betrayed him. "Explain. Immediately."
[System: Congratulations, Host! You have successfully transmigrated into your second world which is Spy x Family! Your new mission is-]
"Don't you dare-" Bai Ying cut it off, dread curdling in his stomach.
[System: to increase your Love Points with Loid Forger!]
Bai Ying stared at the ceiling. "...What the fuck, system?"
[Syatem: Target profile: Nonchalant, emotionally unavailable, dangerous. Just your type! ☆(ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*]
"My type?" Bai Ying shot upright, clutching his head. "Do you- do you have a fetish for stoic men or something?! First Saiki, now Loid? What's next, Levi Ackerman? Saitama?!"
[Syatem: Processing... Potential candidates accepted! ✧◝(⁰▿⁰)◜✧]
"NO!"
The system hummed in smug silence while Bai Ying paced the small apartment, half ready to rip the uniform off his body and half ready to crawl back into bed and pretend this wasn't happening.
But then- then it hit him.
"Wait." He froze. "Wait, wait, wait, wait. Isn't Loid Forger married to my new sister?!"
[System: Correction! Not married yet, Host. <(￣︶￣)>]
"Oh, great," Bai Ying groaned, dragging his hands down his face. "So not only do I have to flirt with a spy who could kill me with a flick of his pinky, I also have to steal him from my sweet, deadly assassin sister?!"
His chest twisted unexpectedly, and for a split second, he thought of Saiki again, pink hair, quiet eyes, the weight of an unfinished ache in his ribs.
Bai Ying inhaled sharply. No. Not now. Not when he had to figure out how to survive this mess.
"System," he muttered. "I swear, if this mission gets me decapitated by Yor before I even get a smile out of Loid, I'm uninstalling you from existence."
[System: Reminder! Host has no uninstall privileges. Please proceed seductively.]
Bai Ying collapsed back onto the couch, staring blankly at the ceiling fan as it spun lazy circles.
"What am I doing with my life?" he whispered.
Not that it was really his life anymore. It was Yuri's. Yuri Briar, future brother in law to Twilight the Spy, sworn siscon, professional danger magnet.
And now... apparently Loid Forger's prospective love interest.
"Great. Just great." He pressed a pillow over his face. "First, I die. Then I transmigrate. Then I transmigrate again. And the system-" he yanked the pillow away to glare at nothing "keeps throwing me at emotionally constipated men like it's some kind of sick matchmaking game. Am I cursed? Is this punishment? Did I step on God's dog or something in my past life?"
[System: The Host is not cursed. The Host is chosen. (•ˋ _ ˊ•)]
"Chosen my ass." Bai Ying rolled over, burying his face in the couch cushion. "Alright. Think, Bai Ying. Think."
Step one: Don't get killed by Yor.
Step two: Don't get caught by Loid.
Step three: ...Flirt with Loid? Somehow? Without getting murdered by step one or two.
Yeah. Flawless plan.
"System." He sat up, rubbing his temples. "What part of the plot are we in? Early? Middle? Endgame? I need to know if Loid is already married and i have to homewreck my own syster"
[System: Calculating timeline...]
But before the system could spit out an answer, the shrill ring of a phone nearly sent Bai Ying jumping out of Yuri's skin.
He fumbled with the receiver, pressing it to his ear. "H-Hello?"
"Yuri!" Yor's warm voice floated through, cheerful and just a little nervous. "I wanted to tell you something important."
Bai Ying blinked, heart thumping. "...Sis?"
"I-well, I... I got married!"
Bai Ying froze. His jaw dropped so hard it nearly hit the coffee table.
"You what- YOU'RE MARRIED?!"
"Yes!" Yor gushed, clearly relieved to get it out. "I wanted you to hear it from me first. His name is Loid Forger. He's a doctor and-"
Bai Ying nearly dropped the phone.
"Wait. WAIT." He shot up from the couch, pacing furiously. "Married?! Wasn't it supposed to be a boyfriend?! A fake boyfriend?! How the hell did we skip that arc- did I miss a chapter?!"
[System: In canon, Yor and Loid establish a marriage of convenience early in the timeline.]
Bai Ying pressed his hand to his forehead like he was about to faint. "You're telling me I transmigrated into the body of the siscon little brother whose sister just got married to my mission target?!"
[System: Affirmative, Host. (◍•ᴗ•◍)]
Bai Ying wanted to scream.
"System," he hissed, clutching the phone as Yor babbled happily on the other end. "You expect me to romance my brother in law? Are you trying to turn me into a walking soap opera?!"
[System: love Points with Loid Forger: 0/100. Please proceed! (♥'∀｀)／]
Bai Ying stared at nothing in stunned silence at the system audacity "...This is a hate crime."