Saikechi

Saikechi is the slash ship between Akechi Touma and Saiki Kusuo from the The Disastrous Life of Saiki K. fandom.

Canon
The relationship Kusuo and Touma is quite unique compared to the other relationships in the show: they have been somewhat close since they were children. It all started when Touma introduced himself when both were in primary school. Soon after meeting, Kusuo witnesses Touma being beat up by bullies until he passes out. After the bullies are done beating him up, Kusuo goes towards him and heals his wounds. Touma wakes up and see on the ground the pin with the name of “Kusuo Kusuo”. Because of this, Touma suspects Kusuo has some sort of magical abilities. Later in the series, Touma does indeed find out about Kusuo’s physic powers. Despite Touma's constant thoughts annoying Kusuo, he considers him a close friend nonetheless.

An important part in the Touma introduction, is the “accident” Kusuo had caused because of Touma being bullied. In episode 18 (in the Netflix version), when Touma is introduced, Kusuo is aware of the fact Touma is very suspicious of Kusuo’s powers. Kusuo ends up turning Touma into stone to figure out a way to erase all prior memories of powers. Specifically, the memory where he ends up destroying a whole school classroom due to seeing Touma being harassed. However, he gives up after multiple failed attempts. Since Kusuo failed to get rid of these memories, Touma finds out that Kusuo does have psychic powers.

They have a bit of a competitive relationship, but they manage to keep things friendly and civilized, unlike Kusuo's relationship with Kuusuke. Compared to most relationships in the series, they both have the most unique and close nit realtionships Kusuo has compared to the rest of his friends.

Fanon
Fans started shipping the two because of their childhood-friend dynamic. Many of the fans also like how Kusuo deeply cares for Touma in their backstory. However, this is considered a rare pair in the fandom compared to other ships such as SaiTeru and Saiai. The unpopularity of this ship may be because Touma is very disliked by the fandom. Most fans think of him as annoying or creepy, due to his talkative nature.

Fans of SaiKechi often compare their dynamic to the relationship between Kusuo and Kuusuke. Kuusuke and Kusuo have a very competitive relationship, what with Kuusuke's obsession with winning and defeating his brother; however, their relationship is quite unhealthy, and fans speculate that Kuusuke has a sort of romantic, or even sexual obsession with Kusuo. Touma cares for Kusuo and competes with him in a similar matter, but there is always explicit compliance on Kusuo's side, and no major consequences if he loses.

Touma has been shown to accommodate to Kusuo's powers in a way that allows him to relax and be himself, leaving fans to wonder about how this sort of dynamic would work in a romantic relationship. The ship only had around 60+ fan-made fictions on AO3 before 2020, but in 2021, the number bumped up to 100+ fanfiction works. AkeSai has considerably more fan art than fictions, though the number of both is steadily increasing.

Fandom
FAN FICTION

TUMBLR

Trivia

 * After Touma had beat Kusuo in a bet, he was asked to leave, to which Touma responded: "I can be your regular playmate. Can I come over again sometime?" Kusuo thinks for a bit before declining, only to have Touma say that he'll visit again regardless. He's later interupted by Kusuo himself while on his way to ask about his schedule, so he knows when the best time is to visit him. This time, Kusuo doesn't protest it.
 * When explaining why he reacted so harshly toward the bullies in a flashback, Kusuo says that it was because he had "friendly feelings" towards Asumi.
 * When Asumi's memory was erased, his replacment memory was a rumor concerning Kusuo's genitalia. In the flashback, he's shown to be imagining said scenario. He was smiling widely and blushing.
 * Touma's eyes are famous for having "a dead look to them," though he's often seen with sparkling eyes; however, when he is, it's usually when talking about, to, or looking at Kusuo.
 * An official piece of art shows a rain scene featuring Kuusuke, Kaidou, Touma, and Kusuo. Kuusuke is holding a bag of coffee jelly and an umbrella, while Kaidou is shown to be talking to Kusuo, most likely about his chunnibyuu fantasies. Touma is standing behind Kusuo holding an umbrella, and the captions on and near him were recently translated. They read, "It pours heavily on Kusuo," some sort of slang meaning "complicated kids" and lastly, "rain of love." Touma is depicted to be offering to share the umbrella. This caused a stir with fans on Tumblr, especially because of the running gag earlier in the series where Yumehara's ex-boyfriend flirts with her by saying, "Let me be the umbrella for your heart!"
 * Fans speculate that Touma either has a crush or did have a crush on Kusuo. They commonly reference the fact that Touma blushes often around Kusuo, both as a small child and in the present time, as well as replacement memory shown in the flashback.
 * Touma stalked Kusuo for six months in an attempt to find out about his powers for the sole reason of thanking him. It's implied that the entirety of his days were spent in his stalking. When Touma finally does apologize, a quick sniffle can be heard, indicating that he was with crying, or on the verge of tears. The moment is quite heartwarming and commonly referenced amongst fans.
 * In a Psi Nan Battle, (a discontinued TDLOSK game) Touma appears with Kuriko, well aware that she's the female version of Kusuo, and he says "Oh, however, it really is a surprise. Switching genders and such is also a category of psychic powers! It's considerably a great appearance. Isn't that certainly a male high schoolers' dream?'" He was either expressing his attraction, or his wish to be able to transform, or even both.