After performing this ritual, Saiki waited by the cliff's edge. However, the abyss below remained stubbornly unresponsive.
He immediately became furious. After wasting so much precious coffee jelly, it dared to fail him?
He directed a threat downwards: "If you don't come out right now, I'll destroy you!"
"Like hell it's going to come out!" Clint could no longer restrain himself, finally speaking up to halt Saiki's utterly nonsensical actions.
Saiki turned his head to look at Clint. Though his expression was blank, the keenly perceptive archer felt a definite wave of killing intent wash over him.
Clint quickly softened his tone, reminding Saiki tactfully, "The condition for obtaining the Soul Stone is sacrificing the person you love most." He deliberately emphasized the word "person."
"Bastard!" Saiki roared, feeling as though his beloved had been grievously insulted. This was the first time his emotions had ever spiraled so completely out of control. In his heart, coffee jelly ranked second only to his mother; even his own father had to take a backseat. "In my heart, coffee jelly is the one I love most! Are you looking down on coffee jelly by saying that? Apologize! Apologize to the coffee jelly, right now!"
Clint and Natasha exchanged weary glances.
[I always knew the Saiki family wasn't right in the head,] Natasha thought. [Kusuke is one example, and his little brother is clearly no exception. Let's just ignore this lunatic. We should just draw lots to decide who jumps.]
[Agreed,] Clint thought back immediately.
The solemn, heart-wrenching atmosphere of impending sacrifice had been utterly shattered by Saiki's antics. Now, Clint and Natasha just wanted to get this over with, grab the stone, and go home.
Saiki, however, heard their mental conversation crystal clear. He let out a cold scoff. "Do you really think I'll let you get your way?"
Before Clint could react, Saiki addressed Natasha directly. "This guy planned to cheat just now. He rigged the lots."
Natasha stared at Clint, incredulous. I trusted you completely, and you dared to trick me?
Clint coughed awkwardly, attempting to salvage the situation. "Natasha, listen, let me explain, I—"
Saiki ruthlessly cut him off, relaying Clint's frantic thoughts. "He's currently thinking that you're so stupid, he can just make up any random excuse to fool you and smooth things over."
Natasha: "..."
Clint: "..."
Seeing Natasha's eyes narrow dangerously, sensing she was about ready to engage in mutually assured destruction, Clint shot Saiki a venomous glare. "You shut up!" Then, realization dawned, and his eyes widened in alarm. He frowned, taking several wary steps back. "You... you know what I'm thinking?"
A smirk touched Saiki's lips. "That's right. I can read minds. And not just read them—I can brainwash people too. Remember six years ago, how Loki was kneeling meekly when his brother took him back to Asgard? That was my doing."
Natasha: "..."
Clint: "..."
Holy crap. They both instantly recalled how bizarre that whole situation had felt. How could the treacherous, arrogant Loki possibly become so utterly dejected overnight? At the time, they'd assumed he'd tried to escape and gotten a savage beatdown from the Hulk. But it turned out this kid was responsible.
Their attitudes shifted instantly. Bowing to Saiki's perceived 'evil' power, Clint offered a solemn, formal apology. "I'm sorry. I apologize for insulting your beloved coffee jelly earlier."
Natasha followed suit. "Coffee jelly, I am sorry."
"Hmph." Saiki nodded, satisfied with their pragmatism.
With the two assassins properly subdued, Saiki turned his attention back to the Soul Stone. Steeling his heart, he upended the entire remaining bag, pouring all the coffee jelly into the abyss. He made a silent vow: if the stone still didn't appear, he would obliterate the entire planet—stone included. It wasn't like anyone lived here anyway.
Clint desperately wanted to tell him to stop wasting food—wasn't coffee jelly his beloved?—but remembering Loki's fate, he wisely kept his mouth shut.
Suddenly, the world around them blurred. In the next instant, the scene shifted. They found themselves standing at the bottom of the great chasm, the luminous Soul Stone hovering directly above Saiki's head.
Clint rubbed his eyes, utterly dumbfounded. This actually f*ing worked?!
Saiki didn't immediately reach for the stone. Instead, he walked over to the pathetic, scattered remains of his sacrificed coffee jelly, his expression overcome with genuine grief. He had tried using his time reversal ability to restore them, but inexplicably, it had no effect here.
His sorrow seemed so profound that Natasha felt an unexpected pang of sympathy. "Hey," she said gently. "It's just some kids' snacks, right? It's okay. When we get back, I'll buy you some more." Despite Saiki being eighteen and possessing an intimidating aura, Natasha—older, and unable to have children of her own—still saw him as fundamentally a kid, and she generally had patience for children. Besides, she reasoned pragmatically, it'll be my past self six years ago who actually has to follow through on the promise.
(Somewhere, six years ago, Natasha Romanoff suddenly felt an inexplicable urge to buy coffee jelly.)
The promise seemed to rally Saiki somewhat. He straightened up and reached out, closing his hand around the Soul Stone. The gem pulsed with energy, feeling almost… alive, vibrating with apparent excitement as he held it. As he allowed it to merge with his being—unlike the other stones he possessed—strange, fleeting images flooded his mind.
A woman, imprisoned high in a lonely tower, gazing out at the distant horizon, day after repetitive day.
Suddenly, the scene shifts. The same woman stands before Thanos. She bewitches him, seduces him, grants him unimaginable power, bending him to her will.
Thanos, utterly infatuated, meticulously follows her instructions, step by step leading the universe towards annihilation—the Snap.
In the final fleeting image, the woman witnesses something… something that fills her eyes with utter shock and disbelief.
The visions faded. Saiki shook his head slightly, steadying his reeling mind. He thought, now, that he might understand a few things. Things concerning a Goddess of Death, Thanos, and the true nature of the Infinity Stones.
Back in the future, six years later, Natasha and Clint returned empty-handed. They faced Steve Rogers, their faces etched with guilt. They felt they had failed him, failed the mission.
Clint opened his mouth, about to stammer out an explanation. "Cap, I..."
Steve walked over, clapping him gently on the shoulder. "Where are the stones?" he asked simply.
The straightforward question only made Clint feel worse. He could explain Saiki's plan, but he worried the others would mock him for trusting a complete stranger, especially one as eccentric as Saiki.
Natasha, however, had fewer reservations. "A guy named Saiki Kusuo took the stones," she stated directly. "He told us he's going to change our future. As for the specifics, he said we should ask you... Dr. Saiki." She directed her gaze towards Kusuke, who stood nearby, wearing a cryptic half-smile.
Steve let out a sigh of profound relief. "If that's the case, then that's excellent news."
Clint, who had been bracing himself for a harsh reprimand, looked up in surprise. "Huh?"
"It's fortunate you didn't bring the stones back," Steve explained. "Otherwise, we'd just have the added trouble of sending you back to return them. Dr. Saiki here can fill you in on the details."
Natasha and Clint stared at Steve, then at Kusuke, then back at Steve, completely and utterly baffled. "???"
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