We positioned ourselves at the pit of the mount. It was a jagged crack that slowly began glowing a hot orange. This time it would be opposite of our practice, instead of coming from the sky if would be shooting out from under us.
"Make sure you focus. The pressure is extremely immense and it might knock you back some, so be ready." Kusuo told me.
"You'd better absorb the shock. I'm not trying to get flung away."
"Oh, please. You're not that lightweight. As long as you can stand your ground you'll be fine. Just brace yourself."
"What if I can't?"
"Then you're beta."
"Kusuo!"
"Relax, okay? Good grief. Freaking out won't help the situation."
He reached out a hand.
"Here, hold on to me. It'll be any minute now."
I intertwined my fingers with his and tried to settle down the butterflies in my gut. Were they from this mission or from holding hands?
"Can you calm down, I said? You're shocking the hell out of me."
I took in a deep breath after shooting him a glare. He took a crouch so I bowed alongside. Suddenly the ground started shaking. i heard a fizzing sound coming from underneath the earth. Tightening my grasp on Kusuo, I concentrated on sensing the rumbles and preparing myself for the burst.
I wasn't ready. The crack was harshly ripped wider, the jagged opening zipping wide across the land before my eyes. Kusuo tugged on me as if to keep focus. The smoke came first a burst of hot vapor blasting my body, burning my palms. I could tell he was using his powers to keep us from burning alive while also absorbing the power. He passed it onto me all the same while. I felt it flow into my palms and flick off my fingertips. I pulled the energy to my left side and planted my feet into the dirt. I could hear Kusuo straining as he controlled the rumbling and protection of us.
I poured the energy out of my hand after focusing the energy into one beam. I fired it into the volcano and heard a sizzing and bubbling.
"Shit, it's expanding. You've got to control the shock while I try to close it?" Kusuo shouted from beside me.
"What?! That wasn't the plan!"
"Theres no choice! The lava is going to spill if the cracks aren't sealed!" He yelled.
I screamed fine and felt the ground rumble violently, Kusuo relaxing his. control. I closed my eyes and tried to calm the panicked thoughts. I attmpted to remember my experiences with absorbing. Right- I'd absorbed the energy from the carnival ride that day I'd smashed Aiura. All I had to do was focus on the energy emitted from the quake and absorb it before it reached the surface. I gripped the dirt with my hands for a steady plant and focused on equilizing the quakes. Sure enough, I felt the warmth of energy soak into my palms and the shaking of the earth slightly lighten.
I glanced up at Kusuo to see him pulling the earth together with his telekinesis. A light gloss of sweat coated his forehead on little beads. His wet pink hair cling in strings, and he reached a hand to wipe off a drop from his brow. He glanced at me and gave me a reassuring nod and I fell back into mission mode. There was no time to be simping over him when such a situation was occuring below me.
I created a cycle of pulling in the power, swapping it to the left of my body, and blasting it into the crack. However, each time I did this, it cracked the opening wider so I kept moving along the line while Kusuo followed, sealing it the best he could. Still, there was nothing to follow in the cracks as the smoke wafted on into view from a local village. More people would be finding out soon, and I knew Kusuo couldn't focus on more than 3 situations requiring his power at once. Eventually the rumbling calmed, but I still heard bubbling from within. Kusuo stepped back, painting from exhaustion. I sighed seeing his rest and figured it was over. We'd saved Japan?
"Is it over-" I began asking before a second rumble, more violently than before, rocked the land.
"SHIT, the second wave!" Kusuo yelled.
"Wait, i-"
"It's lava, you stay back!" He gave me a hard shove back that knocked me to my ass as he rushed in. I coughed as the smoke and heat rose up. "KUSUO!" I croaked, a sad attempt at screaming. He enhanced his power, now hovering above the scene. He appeared to be pulling water from a river down below and extinguishing the lava,cooling it onto a hard rock as it sputtered from the cracks. Wait... That was it.
"There's not.. enough water," Kusuo strained.
"I have an idea!"
Lava began sleeping towards me and Kusuo flashed to my side, building up a rock border before I could blink.
"Stay back!" He yelled. "You should leave right now!"
"Kusuo, I can replace the lava with water!" I said loudly, struggling for dominance against the sizzling and popping of the growing lava spill.
"What are you talking about?" He yelled back.
"Remember that day back in the forest where I replaced the boulder with a tree and vice versa? I can do that with the lava!"
Kusuos eyes brightened. He gripped me by the shoulders in the most uncharacteristically way and nodded to me. "How much water do you need?"
"It doesn't matter the size! I'm swapping their qualities not them specifically! Just get me some water!"
His shirt suddenly disappeared and in his hand appeared a bucket of water.
"Perfect," I remarked. I reached a hand out to the water, which was a much more tranquil energy, so I focused on the pattern of the wavelengths and allowed the calm energy to fill the right side of my body. Turning around, I took in a breath and shot out a blast of all that energy into the cracks. Immediately a deafening eruption of sizzling and popping filled out ears. St first we thought something went wrong, but then we saw the steam arise instead of smoke.
The water was transformed into water, with the surrounding heat evaporating it. I turned around to see the bucket had hardened into a rock mold. The water must have cooled the lava as well. Kusuo and I exchanged a glance. We slowly began walking towards the crack where we stopped before the steam burnt is. When it faded, Kusuo glanced into the ridge.
"How is that possible," he marveled. "The magma is all gone."
"I... Did that?"
"Yes, Y/n... We've saved Japan. It's all over now."
I stood, shocked, as a light grin grew on Kuduo's lips. Without realizing it, years spilled from my eyes. I was crying. Kusuos expression shifted. I tried to figure the look out but before I could, I felt his arms wrap around me. He was hugging me...
"It's okay," he whispered. "You're okay now. We're safe."
Upon hearing such relief, an unrecognizable sob rocked my body. I didn't know why or for what reason, I never cried, but there it was, the tears pouring down my face onto Kusuos naked back. I felt his bare warmth in my palms and it comforted me. I wanted to smile, but the relief hit me like a ton of bricks. I felt the adrenaline drain from my body and my eyelids grow heavy. It was like the strength left my body. My knees buckled, and my vision turned black.
~
When I woke up, I was laying in Kusuos lap. As I came to my senses, I noticed we were in a helicopter. I glanced up at Kusuo, who was sleeping himself. I tried to get up but suddenly Aiura startled me.
"YO! If it isn't the queen who saved Japan!"
"She's up?"
"Pay attention ahead of you dumbass!"
"I was just as-"
"You slayed that volcano, girl! Straight up girlbossed it!"
"...what?" I questioned, confused by her Gyaru slang.
"Hey, Saiki helped. Hes a boy boss too." Toritsuka chimed in.
"Aiuras right," Kusuo said, groaning. "Y/n was amazing, or whatever the hell that blonde dumbass just said.
"Hey, that's not nice. If it weren't for me you'd have to turn the heat back yet again."
"That's true," he muttered, rubbing his head. "Thanks, or whatever."
"Where are we going?" I spoke up, now resting my head on Kusuo's shoulder.
"I am not your head rest," he scoffed and flicked my head away.
"You're so mean," I grumbled.
"We're going to celebrate, duh." Aiura answered me.
"Huh? Where?"
"Here," Toritsuka said, landing the helicopter. We had arrived at cafe Mami's.
"Coffee jelly on me," said Toritsuka.
"Wow, for once you're useful," remarked Kusuo.
We got out and headed inside.
"Oh, Y/n, I already filled out your shift-" said my co-worker.
"We're here to eat."
"Oh, then follow me to a seat."
We sat by the window, pushing Toritsuka and Aiura to a different booth."
"I can't read your mind," he stated blankly. I blinked.
"Of course you can't, neither of us can. What about it?"
"Well... Good grief. It's just what I appreciate about having you around, okay?"
I smiled. He added, "there's something I've wanted to ask you about. Now that this whole fiasco is over-"
"One second, I said, placing my index finger over his lips. I walked over to my boss at the counter and asked for my promotion gift. I'd almost forgotten. I winked at Kusuo, befuddled at the booth.
Walking back, my heart pounded. Kusuo seemed lighter, more happy. Maybe I could confess to him now.
"Kusuo Saiki,"I said, hiding the tickets behind my back. He stood up, eyes glancing down that direction.
"No peaking," I warned.
"What is it?"
I pulled them from behind my with a beam plastered on my face. "Here are your years worth of free coffee jelly tickets, claimable once a week." I'd designed them myself, but what he didn't know what there was also a "be my boyfriend" ticket hidden in there. I hoped it wasn't too cringe but hell, when you're in love you are cringe.
Kusuo glanced at the tickets.
"No thanks," he said.
"What?" I said, smile dropping. "I thought you were obsessed with coffee jelly-"
"I do like it," he shrugged, "but recently I've found another addiction. A sweeter one."
"What is-" Kusuo stepped closer.
"Who, you mean." He placed his hands on my jaw and tilted it up. My eyes met his, but they were looking at my lips. My heart beat quickened.
"Wait, does that mea-"
And his lips met mine. Soft, velvety, tasting like spearmint and the natural lip taste. The butterflies seemed to bite my gut. I let out a shock through our lips and Kusuo pulled away. He chuckled.
"It never gets old," he said, and reached down for another kiss.
ʚɞ the end