Saiki and Teruhashi's Final School Year (A Saiki and Teruhashi Fanfiction)

Secrets and Futures

I was caught off guard by his sudden and weirdly specific question, but I answered him without thinking too much of it.

T: Then wouldn't that be selfish?

I noticed Kusuo looking down. 

S:...Then I really am selfish.

That was the first time I've seen Kusuo talk bad about himself. It's showing that what's on Kusuo's mind has been burdening him more than I thought.

T: What makes you say that?

Kusuo finally turns around but he doesn't look at me in the eye, and his stare is empty, and full of regret.

S: Right now we're standing on top of a volcano.

T: A VOLCANO?!

S: I should've made it clearer, we're standing on a currently empty volcano.

T: It used to be active? 

S: Yes, one strong enough to destroy the landscape of the whole of Japan.

T: WHA-

I almost panicked, then realised that there hasn't been a volcano eruption in 3 years, and that one didn't cause that much damage. 

T: Since it didn't happen, does that mean that you stopped it?

S: I did, but it took a long time.

T: How long?

S: Five years.

T: Five years?! You had to deal with a volcano your entire school life?

S: Not exactly. I've been delaying and finding a way to stop the volcano for 5 years, but all of that only took the span of one.

I was confused by Kusuo's answer. It almost sounded like a riddle.

T: How does something that takes 5 years only become one?

S: If you had a broken clock that can only count up to 10 seconds, how do you make it count to 50?

Now he's telling me an actual riddle.

T:...You reset the clock 5 times.

S: and what happens to the clock hand when you reset it?

T:...The clock hand...is rewound.

S: That's what I did. I rewinded time on this planet for five years so that Japan doesn't collapse from the volcano. You didn't notice that we had two Valentine's Days during the same year of high school?

POV: Saiki Kusuo

After I told her, she turned silent in shock. The response is natural, knowing that for the past 5 years, everyone's lives were repeated over and over again, and their dreams for the future was never in sight.

T: But, 

I was surprised by how quickly she recovered.

T: You did this to protect everyone from the volcano. Knowing you, I'm sure you didn't have any other choice, at least I hope so.

I smiled in relief, but it didn't last long.

S: Thank you for understanding, but that's not actually the main reason I brought you here.

T: It isn't?

S: I did say six years after all.

T: When was the sixth?