16 Coincidence?

A/N: I started reading Lookism. 10/10 for now.

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April 10. The days were getting warmer.

In a flatland near the mountains, there was a group of people.

"Hey Kaidou."

"..."

"Kaidou!"

"..."

Seeing that Kaidou was still in a daze, Aiura slapped his exposed calves as hard as she could.

"Ow! That was unnecessary!"

It worked wonders as Kaidou finally stared straight into her eyes, albeit resentfully.

"What are you thinking about, standing around with a stupid look on your face?"

Aiura's words made Kaidou drop his gaze before his face went bright red.

"Oh-ho? Such an interesting reaction! Let me guess... it's because of Snow, isn't it."

This unfolded before Aiura's sharp eyes.

"Of course not! You're wrong." But Kaidou's face noticeably grew redder.

"Hehehe."

"Shut up! I was just thinking about how this could all be the work of Dark Reunion."

One of the mountains in the distance continuously released dark smoke, contrasting the bright skies and vibrant greenery all around. Kaidou stared at it warily, or at least, he tried to look like he was staring at it warily.

"Don't you find it weird that Owari Mountain, a known mountain, is all of a sudden an erupting volcano? We did lessons on this 'mountain' in school."

"Uhh, not really."

"It must be Dark Reunion commencing their nefarious plans! It's not a volcano but simply a start to their Mankind Sorting Plan!"

Aiura, however, remained unconvinced. Exasperated, she said, "I already told you, The Dark Reunion doesn't exist. I did my thing, the whole fortune-telling-shebang but the results came out nada. No Dark Reunion or any hidden organization."

Following those words, a shit-eating grin appeared on her face.

"What I did see was someone's little diary~ So many secrets you keep hidden, Mr. Jet Black Wings~"

"...I'm n–not lying. What I wrote was true..."

Kaidou was on the verge of crying. A teary-eyed Kaidou is a cute but also cringey-faced Kaidou, hence Aiura quickly apologized.

"Alright, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make you cry. Hehe." It didn't mean she meant it.

{That's enough. Aiura, find the next eruption point.}

A pink-haired person interjected. It was Saiki, but also wasn't.

"Ok, it's somewhere around..."

Aiura rubbed her crystal ball, and as she did it began to shine a bright light. It didn't take long for it to dim, revealing a route towards a marked location not far from where they stood.

"Over there."

Weirdly enough, It resembled Google Maps but no one questioned it.

"See you later, Saiki #8."

The Saiki lookalike merely nodded before disappearing from their sight. He was a clone, the result of another one of Saiki's powers called Bilocation.

Essentially a Shadow Clone Jutsu, but for psychics. Saiki can only use it once to create Saiki #2, but Saiki #2 can use all of Saiki's powers and use Bilocation to create Saiki #3, and so on.

The clones produced wouldn't be complete copies, however, so the resulting Saikis will physically look more and more different and experience a shift in mentality with each progressive usage. They still have powers, so if an evil clone is made then Saiki's gonna get a headache.

"Okay, I might as well send all of yous on your way. Kaidou, you stay right here."

"I haven't forgotten."

Aiura stared at the odd-looking pink-haired people in the group as mysterious light emerged from the ball once more.

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Inside a men's public toilet in an urban area in Oshimai, near Owari Mountain.

{Saiki #4, you reckon they're gonna need us to help out later on?}

{Saiki #13, there is absolutely nothing to worry about. Kaidou can cover for the both of us.}

{I don't trust that wimp.}

{That wimp?}

{Who else but Kaidou?}

{Well, that "wimp's" power is good for this sort of thing.}

{Doesn't change the fact that a wimp is using it. Freaking out and messing things up is something he would do.}

{Relax bud, just focus on our mission at the moment. The original is with them anyway. He'll handle it.

Besides, we have bigger problems.}

"Look at this big booger I found. Kaidou, pal, you guys listening? Look at the booger. It's biiig."

A gruff and heavy voice called out from inside one of the closed stalls, disturbing their mental communication. It opened, revealing an ogre—

Ahem, a person whose face and physique bore a great similarity to an ogre.

He raised his hand, showing a booger bigger than a fingernail.

The ogre-looking man, Nendou, began to roll it with his fingers, approaching the two as he did so.

{{That's disgusting.}}

Saiki #4 disguised as Saiki, and Saiki #13 disguised as Kaidou, began to simultaneously run as far as they could from the ogre-like entity known as Nendou Riki.

As for how they are disguised, they used Hypnosis at each other to look the part. The Saiki Clones can't use Hypnosis on themselves, but they can use it from one Saiki to another.

"Wait up, where are you guys going—You haven't seen the booger up close yet!"

However, Nendou wasn't someone you could easily run away from. He was a hunk of meat capable of tremendous physical feats. The booger naturally came with.

To balance things, the heavens made him an absolute idiot. Idiotic enough, however, that his mind was completely empty, rendering Telepathy ineffective.

Neither clone knew what Nendou would do once he came close.

{Flick it off or something! Don't come close while that disgusting thing is on your hand!} Kaidou's (Saiki #13) mouth didn't move an inch but his shrill voice could still be heard.

"Huuuh? Flick it? I can do that."

With pinpoint accuracy, the booger hurtled at the duo, prompting them to hastily dodge.

{You idiot, I meant away from us!}

{Good grief.}

"You did see how big it was, right? Freaking massive."

{Keep those things to yourself.}

{Yeah. Good grief. Good grief.}

{You're saying good grief too much.}

They finally stopped running, still keeping a safe distance away from Nendo. He hasn't washed his hands yet.

"Ah wait, I can feel something. It might be another big one."

It was a great day for a marathon.

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From the direction the three ran from, a group of people stood there utterly dumbfounded.

"...What are those guys doing." A girl with short orange hair spoke first.

"More like, what the hell is Nendo doing again." With a stiffened face, a purple-haired guy wearing glasses responded.

"...should we follow? There might be food where they went."

"With Nendo flaunting a booger that big, I wouldn't dare come close.

Mera, how can you even think of food after seeing something like that."

Mera Chisato, a girl with tied-up maroon hair and a pair of round spectacles, shrugged before wiping the drool rolling down her chin.

The orange haired girl directed her attention elsewhere, ignoring the sound of a hungry stomach.

"Haaah... Teruhashi, maybe you should go get them. Nendo wouldn't show you something that dirty."

Yumehara Chiyo, the girl with short orange hair, proposed.

"That's a bit... well, what Yumehara said doesn't not make sense." Purple hair seemed to be conflicted, his gaze switching between the blue-haired, indescribably beautiful Teruhashi and the place where the booger ogre went off to.

"Well, I could try—"

"I'll go! They must've run far, but I'll run farther! I'll run faster and catch up to them, and then do another 10 laps as a warm-up! LEEEETSSS GOOOoooo—!"

Before Teruhashi could properly reply, another member energetically nominated themselves and sprinted out, exuding a kind of blazing heat as he did.

His name is Hairo Kineshi.

No, he isn't psychic. Just extremely energetic.

He soon disappeared from everyone's sight, but they were visibly more relieved.

"Hairo's a great guy."

"Yep. Even the booger didn't make him hesitate. He'll surely handle it."

"I guess we just wait for them to get back— Hey, Mera where are you running to?! Come back!"

"SSsssssp, I'm gonna help Hairo, sssssp, look for food for when they're hungry, sssssp, after all that running..."

"..."

Because Mera sprinted away at Olympian speeds, no one could've reacted fast enough to stop her.

She was gone, just like that.

Mera isn't a psychic either. Just gluttonous.

Teruhashi Kokomi, who hasn't been able to speak, suggested they follow.

"Yumehara, Aren, I'm sure we'll meet up sooner or later. Even if we don't meet the others straightaway, we can always call them to meet up somewhere specific." Her sweet voice seemed to make the world brighter.

"""Ofu~"""

In front of her beauty, the greatest the world had ever seen, the surrounding people released a chorus of involuntary gasps.

Triggered by her melodic words, many disregarded their inhibitions and approached, wanting to appreciate her beauty at a closer distance. A crowd soon gathered with her at the center.

No, Teruhashi isn't a psychic either. Just really pretty.

Chiyo and Aren easily agreed, but being surrounded by a crowd made it harder to travel.

It was annoying.

And someone was more annoyed than others.

Kuboyasu Aren, having lost his patience, decided to unleash a bit of his Conqueror's Hak— give the guys upfront a death stare filled with years worth of delinquency.

Aren came up to them, and after ensuring that Teruhashi and Chiyo couldn't see his face, he coarsely whispered.

"I'll bash your fucking heads in. Move. Now."

The devilish face he was making implied no other arrangement. The crowd upfront saw a trace of Aren's built and muscular body, completely tensed up in preparation to beat the living shit out of them. The thick clothing he wore did little to hide it.

They felt a chill shoot up their spines.

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Kuboyasu Aren. The Demon Killer. Carnage Middle's Murder Weapon.

Not a psychic, but a former notorious gang leader.

No one knew that this high schooler had such a past, but they felt the genuineness of his words.

The crowd hastily parted.

Kuboyasu looked behind him, showing a jovial expression to his two classmates.

"They let us through after I politely asked."

'No you didn't!'

As if Kuboyasu sensed their opposition, he loudly cracked his knuckles while flashing the crowd a brief scowl.

It mentally shut them up.

"Oh... thank you everyone."

""...ofu~""

Their complaints melted away with Teruhashi's "heartfelt" smile.

And so, the trio began following after their lively friends.

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Needless to say, no one suspected the clones in disguise.

Oh, and Chiyo is a normie. Have I said that yet?

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In case it wasn't obvious, none of them are psychics.

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The bubbling, ever churning magma from beneath began to violently rise, quickly tearing through what remained of the Earth's crust.

A low buzz, almost like a growl, emanated from deep within the earth. And it shook as if awakening from it's sleep.

It alerted the psychics of what was to come.

Magma rose from within different points in the mountainous area, set to create mini eruptions that are smaller in magnitude yet greater in number.

Before long, monumental forces descended in response to the foreseen future, preventing its fruition.

A contest of strength between beyond human capacity was being fought.

The clones, perfectly positioned, met the rising magma in different locations and clashed with it.

Psychic energy formed a restrictive cage underground while simultaneously transporting the magma into another place: Outer space. In the void outside the planet, the magma could do no harm.

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In the middle of the surging magma, dark portals continuously swallowed streams of the molten mixture.

Beads of sweat formed on Kaidou's brows. They dripped onto a hovering platform made of pulsing black energy, allowing him to stand during the tremors happening below.

Aiura sat quietly beside him with a crystal ball in hand.

Then all of a sudden, a grim premonition entered Aiura's mind.

"Watch out! Below us!"

*BOOM*

As she spoke, the land below exploded into a fountain of quickly approaching molten fire.

{Ignore it. Keep making more portals.}

They weren't alone as the original Saiki surveyed the whole operation while on Kaidou's platform.

With a slight gesture, the advancing magma disappeared into the void. Dark portals quickly manifested, blocking the hole from which the molten magma broke out.

Aiura heaved a sigh of relief.

"It's good that you're here, Saiki."

A close call, close enough that they felt the heat brush against their skin. Alas, the tremors hadn't weakened in the slightest—It was bound to happen again if things remained as they were.

"That was scary... I mean, I could've handled it but thanks anyway Saiki."

Saiki stared at Kaidou, and from his innermost thoughts, Saiki figured out that he almost pissed himself, incapable of doing anything.

{...good grief.}

If he wasn't there, his friends may have gotten hurt. Or worse.

Could his time-reversal powers fix that? He didn't want to find out.

Saiki's blank expression changed the slightest bit as he resolved himself, gaining a hint of seriousness.

He wouldn't watch from the sidelines any more.

{This needs to end.}

With a step, Saiki reappeared next to one of his struggling clones.

The sulfuric air suddenly became filled with psychic energy, thick enough for even Kaidou and Aiura to easily see.

And they watched it pierce into the Earth, creating tremors of its own.

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Such a move is risky.

Through Bilocation, clones can be created and do what you cannot or will not. The clone possess all the abilities of the original and can display a similar level of strength.

There are naturally drawbacks to such a skill.

One, you can only create a singular clone. But since your clone can use Bilocation then they can create another and repeat a cycle to form multiple clones.

Two, the clones are not real "clones" of the user. There will be differences between the original and the clone, either physically or mentally. The clone may ignore your orders, or worse.

And finally, any injuries sustained by the original body will also be inflicted on the clones.

Which was why Saiki simply observed.

It was risky to do the dangerous work yourself, as any damage to Saiki will negatively affect everyone.

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Yet there he was, crouching against the fragmenting ground, right where it could suddenly explode and ruin the entire plan.

From his very being, monumental amounts of psychic energy escaped underground, but he cannot keep it up for long. It wouldn't be surprising if Saiki couldn't defend himself in time.

Yet he persevered.

Saiki realized that he wasn't alone. That people other than him could get hurt.

His psychic group just isn't like how he is.

Although psychic, their powers aren't as versatile, or as powerful, or as plentiful.

Compared to them, he was a god among men. Only he was truly capable of protecting everyone and stopping this disaster.

That was what he was doing.

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'Others, huh...'

Saiki's eyes stared into the sky. Not to Kaidou or Aiura, and certainly not Toritsuka who was passed out in a corner of the platform, courtesy of Saiki himself. (Toritsuka is useless in this event.)

He saw someone on the horizon, staring down at the rumbling world.

He realized another thing.

'...I'm really not alone.'

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They were similar in many ways.

She was an anomalous entity, just like how he was to the world; and an avid sweet lover.

But they were also different.

For she was someone whose powers may be greater than his own (He isn't gonna straight up admit it.), perhaps even capable of ending this whole ordeal in a heartbeat.

Such a thought was frightening at first. But now he knew better.

Snow is pretty chill. Most of the time, she just eats or plays around with her powers or sculptures in his training spot.

Unlike him, her powers are something that brings her joy. To this day, he couldn't understand why.

Figuring the answer to that mystery can wait. For now, other matters take priority.

'She said she wouldn't help until we needed it.

No, she wouldn't help because we didn't need it in the first place.'

Right or wrong.

At this point, it was up to him—Up to them, the Psychic-whatever to prove her... right. Either that or they fail to contain the eruptions, so they better prove her right.

Saiki didn't feel good about proving Snow right but whatever, they didn't need her. He can say something like that.

Unbeknownst to Saiki, Snow's mere presence put him at ease.

{This record-breaking eruption...}

It made him calm, knowing that there was someone who could play his usual role.

{This time looped world...}

An odd feeling visited him, but it wasn't bad in the slightest.

That his disastrous life wouldn't be so cruel.

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{Time! Keep! Moving! Forward!}

In a world that's been stuck in a psychic high schooler's 2nd year of high school, said high schooler silently screamed a cry of hope.

Hundreds of dark portals and more continued to be made. The pressure felt by each psychic clone began to lessen as surges of magma graced the void with it's presence.

Mother Nature was slowly becoming overwhelmed.

Through the efforts of a group of high schoolers, the Earth began to calm once more.

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"I guess I wasn't needed."

Time was moving at its normal pace. Snow White watched as the earthquakes began to die off, leaving behind a rugged landscape and more rugged psychics.

"I thought I was gonna die..."

Kaidou was resting on the cool ground. He enjoyed the fact that it wasn't shaking in the slightest.

"Same. Let's leave the next one to Saiki alone. A mere mortal like me should stay in a fortune-telling booth."

Aiura was chilling too. She leaned on a tree, unwilling to dirty her uniform by laying on the ground like Kaidou.

They were completely fine.

"And you. You look like you just went through a volcanic eruption."

*POOF*

Only Saiki the original remained as Bilocation was discontinued.

{Shut up.}

"Heh."

Sweaty, dirty, burnt hair somehow, and cracked glasses. Saiki looked like shit, for the lack of a better word.

"Though I didn't expect this outcome. I thought the whole eruption thing would be easier."

{Maybe if you helped.}

Saiki retorted, but Snow didn't seem to hear it. Instead, she pulled Saiki's limiter from who-knows-where and stabbed it into his skull. He wasn't hurt. She didn't actually stab him.

Just don't worry about it.

"Well... it's over. Time to celebrate, everybody!"

Coffee jelly materialized out of thin air, appearing in front of all those involved.

Except for Toritsuka. His ghost powers were useless. Besides, he was still passed out.

Oh, wait. He's waking up.

"...is it over?"

{Go back to sleep. It's over.}

Toritsuka hurriedly stood up.

"Oh, finally! No more threats to my life!AHAHAHA! I even helped stop a volcanic eruption! If only the ladies knew..."

{If you consider not helping as helping.}

"Psh, I was here! That's all that... matters... the ladies..."

And Toritsuka's brain proceeded to short-circuit. Kaidou's as well, and similarly, Aiura too. They saw something beyond human comprehension, leaving them stunned.

"They need to get used to seeing my face. My bad."

{You don't mean it.}

Snow was seemingly pleased with their reactions. Her smile continued to deepen with each passing second they continued to be stunned.

For a moment, even Saiki was affected.

"Damn right I don't. Imagine the uses of this revelation. I can show my face and stun the enemy!"

{Enemy? Good grief.}

Saiki massaged his forehead, but a faint smile hung from his lips.

He soon stood up and shook Kaidou awake.

"Huh...? Saiki?"

{Let's go. We need to get back to the others. Apparently, we're hiding from Nendo for some reason.}

"...sure."

"Ah. Lemme help you guys out a bit."

Time began to rewind, changing the psychic group's state of being tired to bursting with adrenaline. Any burnt hair or damages faded as if they never happened.

The group returned to a state right before confronting the volcano.

"Holy crap. I feel so awesome! I could run a marathon!"

Kaidou proceeded to jump around and start randomly blasting his powers. In a non-destructive way, of course.

Saiki inspected his clothes and saw no traces of his previous skirmish.

{You really should've just helped. Such a troublesome thing we went through for no reason. If only those pesky people planned to go to Kyoto or somewhere else instead of Oshimai, I could've had more clones...}

Meanwhile, Saiki complained.

"Good luck next time then. Also, you are very welcome. Now shoo. Bye bye. Return to your natural habitat where you're surrounded by people."

Snow waved them goodbye. Kaidou went in a daze once he saw her once more, but after being awoken by Saiki, they finally left.

'Only two more kinda-unconscious people to go.'

Snow headed towards Toritsuka and Aiura, but before she could wake them up, a brief earthquake beat her to it.

Toritsuka and Aiura were sent tumbling to the ground, but Snow caught their unresponsive bodies with Psychokinesis.

"The heck? What was that all about? An aftershock?"

"...Newbie, is that... you...?"

"...is it... over...¿"

The two woke up before becoming stunned once more.

"Turn off the friendly fire it is."

A mask from the System Inventory materialized over Snow White's face. However, instead of the usual face mask built to combat the spread of diseases (or look cool/mysterious), a cat fox mask appeared instead (making her look more cool/mysterious).

Snow crafted it two days prior, in preparation for the day the volcano stops stinking the whole place. It was made of wood and yet to be colored, but its intricacy and high level of craftsmanship easily makes up for it's shortcomings.

The Earth inexplicably resumed its quaking, and Snow began relentlessly shaking the two awake.

"Wake! Up! This! Is! Super! Serious!"

""Woah‽""

Toritsuka and Aiura found themselves suddenly floating in the air which understandably freaked them out.

{Don't mind the small stuff. Besides, it's safer here than on the ground.} She sent a telepathic transmission; Mother Nature's land tantrums were too noisy to allow for normal communication.

"What do you mean, newbie?" With her sharp ears, Snow easily picked up Aiura's concern.

After teleporting everyone to the sky to get a better view, her delicate finger pointed to Owari Mountain.

{See for yourself.}

Before their eyes, an eruption of dark light, a murky pillar connecting the heavens to the world, emerged from within the "mountain".

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{So, the good news is that the volcano was successfully dealt with without my help. Good job guys.}

A puzzled expression appeared on Aiura and Toritsuka's faces, but they sheepishly nodded nonetheless.

{Now, it's time to do my end of the bargain, whatever it is.}

Her honey-golden eyes shimmered with a playful and expectant light. (A/N: 150-Hour Chocolate Cake by Alvin Zhou on YouTube, 4 minutes, 51 seconds in. That's the color of her eyes that I've been trying to describe since Chapter 2.)

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—

"Hear us, sons and daughters of the Land of the Rising Sun."

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The old, the young, the sickly, the healthy, the rich, the poor: as long as they were within Japan, the people heard a loud, distorted voice.

It was a power similar to Telepathy which covered the entire nation.

But it wasn't. My ears clearly heard, not my mind.

'How interesting.'

Whoever, or whatever, is capable of this never appeared in the canon. This whole event shouldn't be happening in the first place, yet here we are.

I heard a familiar ding.

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[Notice]

[Emergency Q—]

The distorted words grabbed my attention from the System Notification.

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"We speak through powers beyond your understanding, and we are here to tell you why.

We seek an individual: A thief. Nay, a traitor who has stolen something rightfully ours. We simply wish to retrieve it.

We do not know where this individual is, but what we do know is that they are hiding in this little planet, this little country like... like a rat. Yes, like a rat; A rat that needs to be exterminated."

—

From within the pillar emerged floating individuals dressed in dark cloaks and masks. A trail of red cloth tightly snaked between their exposed limbs. An arm for some, a leg for others, and their fashion sense made them look the part of unfinished egyptian mummies.

They were surprisingly human.

But the pressure they exuded was not.

With their appearance, the dark pillar of light began to expand outwards, and the earthquakes intensified.

The air, which I already felt was minutely vibrating, turned chaotic. It felt like ants crawling on my skin.

'What an irritating feeling.'

I felt a familiar psychic gaze descend upon Owari Mountain. It then disappeared, replaced by Saiki with Kaidou accompanying him.

They too wore a face of surprise and bewilderment.

{Good grief.}

'Yeah, me too.'

The distorted voice continued.

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"You know who you are, and similarly, you know what we are like, and we would like to bargain.

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The pillar of dark light which expanded at a slow pace began to quicken. It would soon devour the entirety of Owari Mountain.

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"Surrender yourself and what is rightfully ours, and do so quickly. Otherwise, this planet shall face total annihilation.

The Jet-Black Wings, do not waste our magnanimity.

A rat tainted by our darkness cannot forever hide from The Dark Reunion.

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I turned my head, and so did everyone else.

{Kaidou... you... Dark Reunion... it's all real?}

Aiura entered a state of shock while Saiki went into a yare-yare speaking spree.

Amidst the tumultuous tremors, I clearly heard Kaidou's shrill confusion as he started freaking out.

"What the hell?!"

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Well. That's unexpected.

And so is this System Notification.

(A/N: Onto the next part!)