Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

My name is Saiki Kusuo, age 16, an esper. No, I'm not delusional — I have been an esper since birth with a wide range of powers, including but not limited to, telepathy, telekinesis, X-ray vision, levitation, pyrokinesis, etc. 

I started using my powers before birth; all my ultrasounds were weird. This meant that my powers were always with me, even though they were nothing but pain. I noticed the sounds of students’ voices filtering into my head. Good grief.

Just look at this. A scene full of lovely students basking in their friendships. Girls are complementing one another, boys are walking with arms around each other and a girl is helping an old man cross the street. Simply warms your heart, right?

Not. I can hear their internal thoughts and see the thought process behind their actions. For example, the girls praise each other on the outside, but on the inside, both of them call each other uggos. The boys think that the other stinks, while the girl helps the old man only to seem good. The old man, on the other hand, is a pervert who is planning to grab her butt.

See, how troublesome my powers are?

“Oh! You must be Saiki-kun!" A voice called out. I stopped and turned around. Who was this who knew my name? Scanning her from head to toe, I concluded I didn't know her.

“Nice to meet you, I'm Tenmori Kumiko. Today's my first day." The girl, Tenmori, walked beside me, chattering away.

I didn't care and just sped up, expecting her thoughts to comment on how I was rude.

“How rude, Saiki-kun." She whined and I turned around in surprise. She was walking right beside me! “Hey! I think I get it. It was weird for me to know your name right? I can explain, I—" 

I walked even faster, completely ignoring her. I didn't care how she learnt my name, though it was a bit odd, considering it was only the opening ceremony of the school. 

Sheesh, she finally gave up. 

“You can walk quite fast, can't you?" I snapped towards the voice. This girl! She was still walking beside me! How?! Also, why didn't I pick up her thoughts? Could it be…?

Before I could complete the thought, we had reached the school. Surprisingly, the girl had remained quiet for the rest of the walk after that one comment. 

After putting on my shoes and putting away my bag, I joined the line in the assembly hall. The principal was giving a speech, but my mind was focused on the odd girl from the morning. Suddenly, a pair of hands slid onto my glasses, blocking my vision.

“Guess who~" Nendou's sing-song voice boomed over me.

Good grief. What was the need for that? There was only one person on whom my telepathy didn't work: Nendou Riki. This guy was an absolute idiot in the truest sense. The reason I couldn't read his thoughts was that the minute a thought formed, it would be out of Nendou’s mouth. For some reason, I had caught the juvenile delinquent's attention. So annoying.

As I contemplated how he could potentially manage to kill me, suddenly, someone fainted. It was Takahashi. There was a huge commotion, with Nendou trying to administer CPR. Finally, a teacher arrived, “What in the world are you doing Nendou?! Take him to the infirmary!” Unwilling to trust Nendou, the teacher told me to accompany him. Good grief. What a pain.

I whirled around in the other direction as I felt a pair of eyes watching me. Not the commotion but specifically me. I checked around with telepathy but everyone was thinking about how boring the principal's speech was or what they were going to do once they went home. Shrugging it off, I followed Nendou to the infirmary.

•❅───✧❅✦❅✧───❅• •❅───✧❅✦❅✧───❅•

Damn, he almost caught me. I quietly followed Nendou and Saiki as they made their way to the infirmary. Even without the crutch of his powers, Kusuo was rather sharp. He suddenly turned again and I hid behind a corner just in case. Technically he shouldn't be able to see me since I wasn't part of the canon and we had no relationship to speak of. But it didn't hurt to be cautious. 

I watched quietly as Takahashi stopped faking and finally got up. He went off on Nendou, acting all disgusted by the fact that Nendou gave him CPR. He was vomiting in the sink, cribbing, “They're gonna call me gay and ship me with you! Gross! Blargh!” 

I watched as Takahashi came and towered over Saiki, threatening him to keep quiet. He was definitely wondering whether to keep quiet about the gay part or the illness part. Of course he didn't need to choose, since Matsuzaki-sensei walked in, all menacing. “Oi, did I just hear you say you were faking?”

Takahashi panicked and tried to pin the blame on Nendou. Matsuzaki-sensei looked around, “Was Saiki a part of this too?" He asked. I saw Saiki blanch. He absolutely didn't want to get swept up, though it didn't matter if Nendou did. “Uhh….u-uhh…yeah! Yeah he was!” Matsuzaki-sensei was ready to yell at them when Saiki got out a thermometer. 

Nendou assisted by being his dumb oblivious self, “What do you mean a ‘healthy guy’ sensei?”

"Didn't you hear what I said?!”

Nendou placed a hand on his cleft chin, "Yes, I did. But you said it yourself.” He looked up and in a very serious tone said, "You just said he’s got a faking illness, right?”

"A faking illness…?" Sensei was dumbfounded. 

“I mean, he fainted and was also vomiting." Nendou added.

I saw as the gears in sensei’s head turned and he reached a solid conclusion. I also saw as Saiki looked on in disbelief while sensei finally spoke, “Feigning disease, huh?" 

Seeing his chance, Saiki offered the thermometer. Obviously, Takahashi didn't have a fever, but Saiki used pyrokinesis to make it seem as if he had a very high temperature.

Sensei immediately got concerned and called for an ambulance. While Takashi was carried away and Nendou and sensei followed him, Saiki stayed behind, as did I. I saw as he checked his surroundings. 

He grabbed the thermometer again and activated his pyrokinesis. Well, even he couldn't have predicted that Nendou would come in at the exact time when he was burning the thermometer. And so, Saiki was sent to the hospital as well, with Nendou making a huge racket, “Don't die partner!!!!!" 

I returned to the ceremony and found that it was already over. I was laughing my ass off the whole time while I observed what had happened in the nurse’s office and needed some time to compose myself. Once I gathered myself enough, I finally left too.

Chapter Text

Tch. I can't relax. The Dark Reunion is on my trail again. They can't get the power hidden inside my right arm. Otherwise the world will be destroyed. I must keep the world safe.

Good grief. What an idiot. I heard Kaidou’s thoughts filter in. Kaidou Shun was one of my classmates and he suffered from Chuunibyou. It was a disease 2nd years often went through, believing they were the chosen ones and would save the world.

“Is he a chuuni?" A voice suddenly quipped. I turned around to see the girl from yesterday. What the…? When did she sneak up on me? There was no way I didn't hear her coming!

“He was muttering about some Dark Reunion and Jet Black Wing. Is he your friend?" The girl asked.

I ignored her and kept walking on. “I think you've forgotten me. I'm Kumiko. We met yesterday. Is your Feigning disease okay?" She asked worriedly.

I stopped and she almost bumped into me. How did she know about what happened in the infirmary?! Did that mean the entire school knew?! I hate nothing more than standing out and I was now debating murdering Nendou. 

“You know, Saiki-kun, you should stop trying to walk so fast. It's kinda hard to keep up." Kumiko spoke again.

I ignored her even harder and sped up even more. Once inside the school, I changed my shoes and headed to class. It was quite noisy in the classroom when I opened the door. 

“Hey, hey, did you hear? A snake escaped!" Classmate A announced as I took my seat.

“Wow? A snake? I wonder if it was poisonous…?” Classmate— no wait, it was Kumiko. She was sitting in the seat beside me. Good grief. What was she planning now? And when did she sit beside me? “Saiki-kun? I asked you something." 

Good grief. “How am I supposed to know?" I answered, telepathically.

I heard her chair scrape and she suddenly began waving her hand in front of my face, "Helllloooo? I asked you something, Saiki-kun. Are you really gonna ignore me this much?”

What…? Didn't I already answer? Why was she being such an annoyance—wait. I grabbed Kumiko’s hand, staring intently. Her hand wasn't turning into a skeleton no matter how long I stared. She didn't even hear when I answered telepathically. I realized I also couldn't hear her thoughts. What the heck? Did my powers not work on her?!

“Um, Saiki-kun, I was asking you about the snake. It was getting on my nerves how you kept ignoring me. Sorry for getting in your face.” Kumiko suddenly apologized.

Oops. I was holding onto her hand too long. It seemed she thought I was mad. I let go of her hand and turned my attention to Kaidou. 

"Think about it. How would a poisonous snake escape like that? This means it was released intentionally.”

Everyone oohed and ahhed as the class ate it up. "Well, that kinda makes sense, doesn't it, Saiki-kun? If it was poisonous, it should've been closely observed.” I turned to look at Kumiko. Was she seriously believing this too? However her opinion quickly changed when their classmates asked who could be behind the escape.

Kaidou turned smug, despite the fact he was going to seriously embarrass himself. “Kukuku… who do you think?! It was none other than the Dark Reunion! An organisation set on destroying the world. Finally they've put their plan in motion.” He grandly announced.

“Dark Reunion?! What the heck is that?!" Kumiko muttered the same thing our classmates were thinking. 

Kaidou began rambling about his delusions. Everyone finally settled down as they realized Kaidou was a suffering chuuni, and after making fun of him, returned to their own conversations.

Kaidou, however, walked over to me. Leaning on the back of my chair, Kaidou placed a hand on his face, posing weirdly as he spoke, “Haaahh. All of them are so carefree, right Saiki?”

Good grief. I was always alone, so Kaidou definitely thought we were in the same category. Naturally, we weren't, but that's beside the point.

I half listened as Kaidou rambled on about some Murder Bedragon Snake, which was apparently created in a lab. Probably. There were a lot of probablys in Kadiou’s dialogue. But I wasn't particularly interested, even more so since the snake was already caught. 

Just as Kaidou loudly declared that he and I had to catch the snake, the door slammed open. Classmate B walked in and announced that the snake was caught.

Apparently, some grade schoolers had played with it until the poor animal was near death. Then one of our teachers had found it and put it into a box. 

Hearing all this, Kaidou stood rooted to the ground. The whole class began making fun of him and Kaidou began stuttering, trying to still seem cool while his face burned red. He ran out of the class, probably going to cry in the bathroom.

Ugh! Headache? A scene flashed before my eyes. It was another power of mine, precognition. I got up and began to walk towards the door. Somebody caught my shirt and I turned towards Kumiko, “Bathroom?" She asked. I nodded and she let go.

I sat in the stall, thinking about Kumiko as Kaidou's thoughts filtered through. He was pretty embarrassed and kept thinking about how he messed up. 

•❅───✧❅✦❅✧───❅• •❅───✧❅✦❅✧───❅•

Saiki suddenly got up while I was internally laughing at the chaos. I grabbed his shirt without thinking. I didn't want him to miss out on the next scene but then I remembered he had escaped in the canon. When he turned to look at me, I just asked if he was going to the bathroom. Saiki nodded and I let go. Once Saiki disappeared out the door, I turned my attention towards the chaos in the class again.

The boys were mimicking Kaidou’s chuuni act, pretending to have a great power sealed within their arm. Until it began wiggling. Unnaturally. There were screams as a snake suddenly popped out from my classmate’s arm. After a lot of shouting and chaos, everyone climbed on top of their tables. Obviously, I did too. I didn't want Saiki to think something was off. 

“Oh? What are you all so scared of? Grow some balls, man~” Nendou was posing in a cool way. He was the only one not on a desk. If I was right, Saiki should be watching with his clairvoyance right about now. "Geez~ Guess I'll go call for help-”

"Get it off!” Classmate 1 shouted at Nendou. 

"Oh? Oh?”

"Your balls! It's got your balls!” Some other classmate shouted.

Nendou looked down and sure enough, the snake was hanging off from his privates. The moment he noticed, Nendou began foaming at the mouth and his eyes rolled back. With a dramatic thud! he fell down. The snake slithered away, safe and unaware of the drama it caused. However, if I remember correctly, the snake had only grabbed Nendou’s pants. 

Technically I could get down from the table. I don't think Kusuo was able to see me and neither were any other things part of the narrative. But like I said last time, better safe than sorry. I had only vague guesses on how the condition worked and how it affected Saiki’s power so I wasn't sure.

While everyone was panicking about Nendou, the door suddenly opened and Kaidou rushed in, “I'll handle it somehow!" He boldly announced before making his way to the snake.

Classmates called him an idiot and told him to either stand down or call for help. Of course, he did neither. Instead, he came face-to-face with the snake as we somehow ended up forming a ring around them. He took a deep breath and then raised his hands and legs in a hella weird pose. Like it was impossible to describe. The only thing I could think was that if some martial artists saw the pose, they would cry in anger and chase Kaidou to the end of the world.

I didn't need telepathy to see that Kaidou was scared. Despite his confident and cocky way of presenting himself, Kaidou was actually trembling slightly. It goes without saying but if I didn't know about this from Saiki’s pov, I would've found Kaidou cool. 

Well, it was still cool. Despite being so afraid, he still took a stand. I could respect that. I watched as some of my classmates tried exiting the room while Kaidou held the snake’s attention. 

Suddenly the snake slithered away and towards one of my girl classmates. She began screaming in fear before Kaidou jumped in between them. A small smile graced my lips as I watched the next scene unfold. Kaidou shouted out something about lightning and immediately a thunderbolt zapped the snake. Everyone watched in awe, especially Kaidou himself. Back in the bathroom, Saiki was no question, still watching. 

If you believed it was Kaidou who suddenly awakened powers, I'd like to give you a reality check. It wasn't Kaidou. It was Saiki. Saiki had used his psychic powers to get rid of the snake, using Kadiou as a shield. 

After the class settled down again, Saiki finally came back. He ran his eyes around the classroom and then finally took his seat. I leaned towards him. “Took you long enough, Saiki-kun! Do you know what happened? A snake suddenly appeared and grabbed Nendou's balls, though I think it was only his pants. Then Kaidou came and released some ‘judgement of lightning’ and fried the snake to a crisp.” I gave him a rundown. Needless to say, it wasn't needed, but I wanted an excuse to talk to him. “Oh, but I think his chuuni might get worse after this. I do wonder how that happened though…” I muttered. A lie of course.

"You don't need to know, do you?”

Oh so he was listening. Maybe I should pester him more from now on. A teacher finally arrived in class and I focused on my studies again. However, from that incident on, Kaidou got a big head and acted like a delinquent. Until he got in trouble and fell back in line. 

Chapter Text

“Today was so boring. The food was also so-so. Oh, I wanna visit the school library. Think you'll come with, Saiki-kun?" Kumiko asked.

Good grief. Go away. I don't want to talk. I have been ignoring or talking as little as possible, but Kumiko showed no signs of giving up. She kept on pattering about this or that, finding topics to keep the conversation going despite my meager engagement. For some reason, she was also following me ever since school was over.

Wait.

Wait…

It couldn't be… right?

“Oh, here's my home.” Kumiko announced stopping right next to my own house. 

She was my new neighbour. Good grief.

What the hell? That meant I couldn't be free of her even after school. What a pain.

“I'll be going now, Saiki-kun, see you at school. Bye." She waved as she opened the door and went inside. She waited for a long time, both of us just staring at each other until she waved again and forcefully repeated, “Bye Saiki. I'll see you tomorrow." 

I awkwardly waved back and she finally went in. After angrily glaring at Kumiko’s house, I finally went to my own. “Oh! Ku-chan, you're back? Anything happened today?" Mom came to the door.

“Yeah. We have a new transfer student." 

Mom clapped her hands together as I finally took off my shoes and went inside. She followed me in as she talked about a coincidence, "Our new neighbours have also shifted properly. I will be visiting them with a welcome cake. You'll visit too, right? I heard their daughter also joined PK Academy.” Mom’s voice was forceful and sharp, meaning I had no say in the matter. I reluctantly agreed and went to my room to do… something. Maybe I'll play a game. 

Good grief, who am I kidding? I was laying flat on my bed, looking at the ceiling. I closed my eyes and focused on the many many voices intruding on my thoughts. I concentrated, trying to find a specific one. I tried for almost an hour before I gave up. I wasn't able to find Kumiko’s line of thoughts. 

She was quite different from my usual experiences. For starters I could talk to her without ending up talking to a skeleton. Not hearing her thoughts, however, was super frustrating. There was only one good thing I liked about her. She knew when to shut up.

Yes, I said earlier that she had been talking the entire day but she never once forced me to respond. She was quick to realize when I was getting annoyed and would shut up right away. Unlike Nendou and Kaidou who somehow made it their life’s mission to keep bothering me in turns. Twice, Kumiko had swatted them away but they returned. I was quick to leave school today so only Kumiko had managed to catch me. 

Even on the way back, her chattering was okay. She talked about quite random things but somehow, it all seemed connected. Hmmm. I finally made a decision. 

Kumiko was an anomaly. I had to stay away from her until I figured out why my powers didn't affect her.

Oh the cake’s done! It came out pretty well. We should head out now.

Mom’s thoughts floated inside my head. Good grief. Already my plans were being derailed. Sulking, I got ready and was waiting by the door as my mom came out with the cake.

•❅───✧❅✦❅✧───❅• •❅───✧❅✦❅✧───❅•

I was sitting in my messy room. My bed was completely covered with clothes and books while a few boxes still remained strewn about. Ignoring all of that, I was sitting in the middle of my room, on the floor, with my books spread around me. Studies were rather manageable for me up till now. Still, I was trying to study ahead a bit since I knew I would end up confused if I didn't. 

I heard the door downstairs suddenly open and a lady’s voice filtered in. She was talking to my mom and they were both acting very pleasant. I knew what was coming so I started to get up. My leg had fallen asleep and was tingling all over. As I tried to get rid of the sensation, Mom’s voice floated up, “Kumiko! Come meet our new neighbours!" 

I replied back with an affirmative. Once I was sure I wouldn't fall over, I headed downstairs. I could hear some chattering from the living room but caught a wonderful smell wafting from the kitchen. I walked over and saw Saiki sitting beside his mom. 

“Ah! Saiki-kun! We're neighbours! What an amazing coincidence." Of course, I knew he was my neighbour. It was one of the crutch I was granted, other than the fact that outside of canon events people noticed me.

I took a seat beside my mom and Saiki's mom introduced herself. “Is it okay if I call you aunty, ma'am?" 

“Oh my!" She giggled, covering her mouth. “I would love that!" I smiled at her and finally asked about the delicious smell. It was cake that Aunty had brought over. I looked at my mom for permission and then went to the kitchen to cut up four slices. I brought over the plates and placed one in front of each of them. I went back inside and prepared some more tea for Aunty and Mom. I also made some coffee for Saiki and some honeyed milk for myself. I got the coffee jelly from the refrigerator and finally carried it all back to the living room.

“Do you like coffee jelly?" I asked, placing a cup in front of Saiki and another in front of Aunty. I also handed him the coffee and after serving the tea, finally took a seat. I took a bite of the cake and was instantly in love. 

“This is so good!" I spoke with the cake still in my mouth. Mom hit my elbow, chiding me for talking with my mouth full. Aunty just laughed and thanked me for the compliment. Saiki silently watched the situation unfold. I watched as he took a bite of his coffee jelly and instantly his face melted. A look of pure joy graced his face and I saw as Aunty quietly slid over her portion too. I enjoyed my honeyed milk and cake in silence after that too. 

Once we were done eating, I cleaned up the dishes. Mom told me Aunty was going to stay a while longer so I invited Saiki to my room. Completely forgetting that it was a dumpster. It was only when I opened the door did I realise how much of a mess it was.

“Oops. Sorry, my room’s a mess. I haven't finished unpacking yet and I was studying before you guys came. Just a minute, let me pick up the books.” I explained. Saiki nodded and stood to the side. I dumped my books onto my desk and moved the boxes a bit more so that we had more space to sit.

"Do you need help with your studies?” Saiki's voice echoed in my mind. I saw him looking at the pile of notebooks I had just added to my mess but pretended I didn't hear him. I wanted him to completely believe he couldn't use telepathy on me.

"Do you need help with your studies?” He asked after some awkward silence. He actually spoke this time. Good god, he had such a good voice. 

"Will you?” I asked, relief palpable on my face. I wasn't especially good or bad at studying so I always welcomed help. I spread the books back on the floor and we both took a seat. He helped me through some stuff I was trying to understand for the past hour and I was finally able to move forward. 

“Any other subject you want to study?" He asked.

“Oh, yes. Give me a minute." I told him and got up. I grabbed my bag and sat back down. Pushing aside the science books, I took out all the subjects. Saiki gave me a look and I sheepishly shrugged.

“Look, I'm not particularly good or bad at studying. I was stuck on that science concept for the past hour so I just took out all the other subjects for now. Give me a minute and I'll look through to see if I need help.”

He nodded but looked a bit grumpy. As I went through my Japanese book, he got comfortable, leaning back on his hands. Slowly, time passed. I picked out some doubts from each subject and Saiki helped me through all of them. Soon it was time for him to go home. 

“Wow! You're really good. Could we study together again? I think you'll help my grades." I could see he was about to say no but then his mom came over. She pressurized him with a smile until he finally gave in. We bid each other goodbye and I followed Mom to eat dinner.

Chapter Text

Despite hanging around me, I have noticed that Kumiko lives a relatively normal life. She's horrible at sports and dance, average with studies and really good with art and music. She also has a bold and friendly personality. Surprisingly, she is already friends with half of the class, especially the ones that sit around us.

And yet, she chooses to stick to me. She figured out the time I left for school and accompanies me everyday. She talks the whole way about random things. Sometimes we would be talking about astronauts when she would suddenly jump to talk about butterflies. Not being able to hear her thoughts meant that the sudden change in topics was jarring. But now I had gotten used to it, given that I heard her talk the entire day.

Luckily, she still knew how to give me space. If she ever saw me with a book, she would just walk quietly by my side, only speaking when necessary. Even when we sat down in the library, she would take out her own studies instead of bothering me. 

See, I come to school early. It gives me time to relax since very few loiter around early in the morning and I can take time to get ready for my day. On D-1 of us walking to school together after Mom and I visited her house, she figured it out. She started to stop talking whenever we would reach the library. 

In school too, when she saw that Nendou or Kaidou had already bothered me one too many times, she refrained from interacting with me. Sometimes, I felt like blowing up at the two idiots. She somehow always noticed and intervened, driving them away. It was quite amazing to see her read me so well. Was she a psychic too?

I slowly packed up my things, taking my time. Big mistake. Kaidou and Nendou slammed their hands on my table and spoke simultaneously.

“Oh? Partner, let's go get some ramen!" 

“Saiki, do you feel the ominous wind blowing from the side of the town?" 

They both froze, then looked at each other. Pointing at each other, they both spoke at the same time again.

“Partner, why are you hanging out with this pipsqueak? As your best friend I'm worried about you." 

“Saiki, why are you hanging out with this idiot? As your buddy I'm worried about you." 

First things first, I'm nobody's buddy and nobody's best friend. Now both of you, move. I got up from my seat, completely ignoring them. However, those two kept following me, bickering about who was an idiot and who was a pipsqueak. Then they began arguing about who I would go with. I repeatedly corrected them, reminding that I had agreed to neither. Besides, I already had plans today. With Kumiko. 

“Oh, a girl is crying over there." Her voice suddenly popped up beside me. It almost gave me a shock so bad, I nearly used my telekinesis. I thought she had left without me. Wait, so Nendou and Kaidou were talking in front of her without even acknowledging her?

•❅───✧❅✦❅✧───❅• •❅───✧❅✦❅✧───❅•

Finally, here it was. Another canon event. Last time, everyone who was part of the scene had ignored me. But I had spent quite a few days with Saiki. I managed to figure out when he left for school with Aunty’s help and we basically began walking to and from school. He had also started responding more and more instead of just listening passively. Oftentimes he would lose track of the conversation, especially when I jumped topics, but he still made an effort. I had quietly packed up my stuff and followed Nendou, Kaidou, and Saiki out of the school. They hadn't noticed me yet, including Saiki. There was a slight shift in the event but it wasn't too drastic, so I wasn't worried. I walked along absent-mindedly as Kaidou and Nendou argued about Saiki. The boy in question seemed as if he wanted to teleport home. 

I had learnt to read Saiki quite well these past few days. I was able to catch on when he would get overwhelmed and so I would talk to our other classmates. Sometimes I drove away Kaidou and Nendou because Saiki looked at them with murder in his eyes. 

Suddenly I heard soft crying and looked for the source. “Oh a girl is crying over there." I pointed out. Saiki jumped when I spoke and then anger crossed his face. I wonder why. 

Nendou and Kaidou stopped shouting at each other too and looked to where I pointed. “You're right. Let's go see what happened." 

Nendou was joking, right? I mean, surely he didn't have such a low situational awareness. Saiki had thought the same. It was Kaidou who voiced our opinions, “You idiot! Have you looked at yourself?! She'll pull the security buzzer at this rate!”

Good going, Kaidou! I silently praised. Then he made his way over to the girl. He bent down to her level and pulled out a handkerchief. “What's wrong, young girl? Did someone bully you? Everything's alright now." He suddenly flinched and his way of speaking changed, “What's the matter girl? State your situation…”

"I lost Wind!” The girl sobbed. She pointed towards the pole where a leash attached to a collar laid empty. Kaidou picked up the leash and mumbled the conclusion that the dog had managed to break free.

Nendou suddenly joined the conversation, shouting, “Well then! We'll find him for ya!" 

The girl froze for a moment. Then she started trembling and hurriedly searched for something. She finally pulled out a security buzzer and began pulling it. I immediately freed it from her grasp while Saiki comforted her. I wanted him to pat my head too…

After some bickering, Nendou ran away to search for the dog, calling out for Saiki to follow him. Without any information. I stood beside the girl, patting her head while Saiki stood a bit away. He looked ready to go home honestly. Of course I knew he wouldn't but he did make the face.

Kaidou took out a book, asking the girl for the dog's characteristics. And then I saw the horrible monster he had drawn. I looked at Saiki who seemed irritated and dumbfounded at Kaidou’s attempt at drawing. Still, Kaidou ran away with full confidence in his drawing, calling for Saiki to follow him. 

Naturally, he didn't follow either of them and turned on his heel. Until the girl spoke, “You'll guys find Wind, right?" She had such hope in her voice that even Saiki hesitated. I could practically hear as he complained about Nendou and Kaidou drawing him into the mess. “I'll stay with the girl. Go ahead and search for the dog, Saiki." I smiled.

•❅───✧❅✦❅✧───❅• •❅───✧❅✦❅✧───❅•

"Mister, you'll find Wind, right?” the little girl had such hopeful eyes, it hurt. Good grief. Why did those two have to drag me into this mess? 

"I'll take care of her so you can go search, Saiki.” Kumiko spoke. Her pink lips turned upwards and I hesitated. 

Good grief. These guys were such a pain. I pursed my lips and nodded. Then I went towards the bathroom. Hiding in an empty stall, I took out a notebook. Psychic photography wasn't exactly my strong point but I couldn't say no to Kumiko. And the girl. Yeah, mainly the girl.

I chided myself to focus. I had to completely focus on the object I wanted to find for a whole minute otherwise it would mess up.

……

I messed up. I was gazing down at my dad’s photo. He was licking somebody's shoes. Looks like he was working hard. I focused again and this time ended up with a photograph of Nendou. He was taking away someone else's dog. Useless.

The next photo was of Kaidou. He was practically lying on the floor while a policeman stood there with Kaidou’s drawing in hand. Good grief. I decided to try one last time. 

Finally, a picture of the dog lay in my hands. However I couldn't identify his surroundings. Maybe I should try again. I let the photograph fall onto the floor but then noticed something.

……

I finally walked back to the girl, her dog in my arms. She lit up instantly, taking the dog from my hands. She thanked me profusely. You shouldn't thank me, little girl. The other two played a larger role. 

“Thanks for helping the girl even though you wanted to leave, Saiki." Kumiko smiled again. I stared at her, dazzled with the setting sun behind her. 

“Don't—Don't mention it." I turned around as I heard Nendou and Kaidou’s footsteps. Kaidou was muttering about the government being dogs while Nendou carried a dog. Wait. That idiot actually brought someone else’s dog with him. 

The owner had apparently followed him and beat Nendou up for stealing his dog. Kumiko and I watched him, not helping the slightest.

"Shouldn't you help your friend, mister?”

Friend? Well, they were more like—

"Should we?” Kumiko smiled again. 

Yeah, they were not my friends. Of course Nendou had to ruin the moment by scaring the little girl. She immediately pulled the buzzer and I sighed. Seriously, what a pain.

Chapter Text

When I got home, I felt on cloud nine. Despite not inherently being a part of the scenario by much, I had been noticed. Which meant, Saiki was slightly more receptive towards me. I giggled to myself as I entered the dining room.

“Seems like something good happened, Ko-chan?" My mother teased.

What a surprise. She wasn't usually home, what with her two jobs. 

I gave her a smile as I began serving dinner she had already made. "Well, me and my friends helped a little girl find her dog. I was just thinking about that.”

“Really? I'm glad you made friends already." Mom put her phone away and took a seat. 

We began eating, chopsticks clinking softly against the bowls, “Mhm. You know Saiki-kun, of course. His two friends Nendou-kun and Kaidou-kun quickly welcomed me into their group. They're a pretty fun group, Mom.” I began explaining the group dynamics, and how everyone complimented each other. 

My mother nodded along, looking a little distracted.

I let out a sigh. "Mom. What happened?” I asked, crossing my arms with an expectant look.

Mom let out a soft exhale. “Kumiko… it's just that… your dad’s anniversary is approaching.”

Oh. Right. 

"That's right. I almost forgot.” I murmured, my face considerably softer. I reached across the table and squeezed my mother’s hand. “Do you want to go home…?”

Mom squeezed my hand back as she shook her head. "It's fine, sweetheart. I'll manage. Let's visit him together with his favourite stuff though, okay?”

I couldn't bring myself to agree promptly. Dad… did I even deserve to visit his grave…? Afterall, he died because of my foolishness…

I felt my mom squeezed my hand, looking at me with worry. I shook my head, pushing away the thoughts as I gave her another smile. “Yeah… sure.”

I seamlessly switched topics, asking Mom about her job as we continued eating. I worked on some homework after dinner and then went to sleep.

•❅───✧❅✦❅✧───❅• •❅───✧❅✦❅✧───❅•

Good grief. I held back a sigh, watching Kumiko sleep blissfully on my bed. It had been a few weeks since Kumiko and I met. Around a week after our first meeting, Kumiko began spending some time at my house. 

Her mom was usually out by the time we would come home so my mother invited her to spend some time at our house. This had somehow turned into her hogging my bed as we would work on our homework while she chatted. 

And good grief, did she chat. I do not know how she did it. She just kept on talking. Even if I wasn't responding at all. And she got distracted so easily. I had to keep reminding her we were supposed to be studying at least twice every time. How she managed to get her homework done on time, I would really like to know. 

Around the second week, she had accidentally fallen asleep on my bed. Then again. Once more. This was the 10th or 12th time it had happened. That wasn't the issue right now though. The problem was that this girl was cuddling my arm. 

When we had come back from school, she had dramatically flopped onto my bed, whining about how tired she was. I wasn't in the mood to do my homework at that time so I grabbed one of my novels and comfortably sat on my bed too. Somewhere along the way, her chatter had faded into soft breathing and little snores. 

I hadn't noticed even then. It was only when her hands had snagged my arm and clung to it tightly that I realized. And now I was stuck. Good grief, what a pain. I wiggled my arm, trying to slide it out of her koala grip—why was this girl so strong????

I gave up and went back to reading. My eyes wandered over the page as I realized how incredibly awkward this was going to be when she woke up. Good grief. I knew I shouldn't have let her into my room no matter how much I wanted to avoid confrontation. What a pain.

I barely read 3 pages in the last hour when finally—finally—Kumiko woke up. “Mm…” Her grip tightened as she slowly, lazily, opened her eyes. She laid still for a few seconds—perhaps processing. Until suddenly, she sat up so fast, it wouldn't be surprising if she got whiplash. I couldn't help but wince slightly as she bumped her head into the wall.

“Ouch!” Her hands immediately flew to the spot, pressing down on the forming bump. "Ugh…" she grumbled, rubbing the tender area. “Are you okay, Saiki?”

“Huh?" 

“Are you okay?" She repeated. I stared at her for a few seconds. Was I the one who hit my head and forgot somehow? “What?" 

Her hand dropped from her head as she regarded me with an apologetic expression. “Sorry, I know you don't like being touched. I don't either most of the time. It feels very invasive. I didn't mean to touch you. I just have a habit of cuddling warm toys when I sleep. Not to mention, I get cold pretty easily, especially when I take a nap because my temperature shoots up. So I end up gravitating towards whatever is warm near me.”

Wow, she really talks a lot. 

“Kusuo?" 

“...it's fine. It was an honest mistake. You can sleep more if you want." 

Did she just call me by my name? Good grief, the audacity. Whatever. 

Kumiko grinned at me brightly and stretched her stiff body. “No, I think I'm fine. We still have homework afterall. Oh, I should ask Aunty if I can stay over for dinner tonight. Mom's not gonna be home obviously and I'm out of groceries. I keep forgetting to get them. I should go tomorrow. Where's my phone?”

•❅───✧❅✦❅✧───❅• •❅───✧❅✦❅✧───❅•

“Lemme help, pleeeeeeaaaassssseeeeee." I whined to Aunty. She had agreed to let me stay over for dinner. I wanted to help out but she wasn't letting me. I glanced at Saiki who was just watching me with that blank look. Before I could start whining again, the front door opened. 

“Ah! Papa must be home!" Aunty happily giggled, immediately heading to the door. 

“Papa? Your father?" I asked Saiki who just nodded in response. 

“Oooh. I wanna meet him. Be right back." Before I could step out, Saiki grabbed the back of my collar. 

"Good grief. He'll join us for dinner. You can talk then.” 

“But I want to meet him right now—Oh. Got it. Fine." Why did I give up so easily? I just heard some of the ‘love’ talks Aunty and him were having. God, they are such sappy flirts. 

I plopped down next to Saiki, humming some random song. Soon the lovely couple walked past the kitchen entrance. “Hm? Who's this lovely girl?" An older man asked.

I grinned widely, standing up. "Hello, Mr. Saiki! I'm Kumiko, your neighbour. Nice to meet you. My mom's busy tonight so I'll be waiting here today, hope you don't mind?" 

Mr. Saiki chuckled. “Not at all, Kumiko-chan. I'll just freshen up and we can talk more." 

I nodded, watching him walk away. I felt Saiki’s gaze on me and turned to look at him. "What?”

"Good grief.” Is all he mumbled before looking away. 

"I like your father. He seems cool. I think we'll get along very well. Man, I wish he was around more when I'm here." 

"You won't say that once you talk to him.” Saiki sullenly said.

"Really? Well, we'll see." 

•❅───✧❅✦❅✧───❅• •❅───✧❅✦❅✧───❅•

How the hell was she actually getting along with my father? Everybody only ever liked my mother, finding my father to be rather cringe and pathetic. Which he was, I won't disagree.

I watched in amazement as she giggled along with his bad jokes, making her own. Why the fuck was she getting along better with my father than I ever have???

“Kusuo, if you won't eat that, your mother will worry. Hurry up and eat." He suddenly nudged me. 

I snapped out of my shock and looked at my full plate. Clearing my throat, I began eating, still in awe of how Kumiko wasn't weirded out by my father like everyone was.

I don't even know when the dinner wrapped up but I was helping Mom clean up as Dad and Kumiko saw his figurine collection. 

"Ah, Kumiko-chan, where will you be sleeping?” 

“Oh, um, I was thinking of going back home.”

"Are you sure? Isn't it dangerous for a girl to sleep all alone?” Dad asked worriedly.

"I mean I've been sleeping alone for most nights ever since we shifted because Mom works night shifts as well. So I guess I'll be fine." 

Good grief, she is so casual about things she shouldn't be about. What is wrong with her?

“What?! Not at all, Kumiko-chan! You can sleep with me tonight. Papa and Ku-chan can share his room. I would've given you the guest room but it's pretty dusty and filled with many things. I'll clean it up tomorrow and you can use that.” 

"Eh? There's no need, Aunty, I don't want to inconvenience you! I'll be fine, I promise." 

“Nonsense. Mama’s right. You can stay over, not just today but everyday from today. You're like our daughter, Kumiko.”

She opened her mouth to argue before I cut her off, "Good grief, just stay. They are right. It's unsafe." 

Kumiko let out a defeated sigh. “Alright, alright. I'll tell my mother and stay over. Thank you so much." She lightly bowed.

Chapter Text

The doorbell rang and I rushed to open the door. “Hey! What a pleasant surprise Saiki!" I automatically grinned as I saw him. Saiki was carrying an empty shopping bag and dressed for the warm weather. It had been a week since our summer holidays began. 

The past few weeks had been rather fun. I had become quite good friends with Nendou and Kaidou. Saiki had also started to accept my popping up in random places. After the dog incident, we had begun studying together. It was usually self study, but hey, it helped me focus. We also started playing video games at Saiki’s house, while I loaned him books. We watched crappy movies together every now and then. Saiki had also begun to actively hang out with me. It was no longer me dropping on him, which was honestly getting a bit awkward. Even I had limits to my shamelessness.

“So? What brings you here?" 

“I was going to the market to buy barley tea. Thought I could get a new movie or game. Maybe we could choose one together this time." He suggested. After a straight week of me ignoring his telepathy, Saiki had finally learned to actually open his mouth when he spoke to me. 

“Oh, I would love to. Let me get changed, grab my wallet and we can leave. Why don't you wait inside?” I moved to the side of the door, allowing him to enter.

He took a seat in the living room and I brought out some cold coffee for him. He immediately smiled and began sipping on it. I hurried upstairs to change so we could leave. By the time I changed and came back downstairs, Saiki had finished his coffee and placed the cup in the sink. 

We had begun hanging out so much that we practically lived at each other’s house. Thus, Saiki had become quite comfortable in my house. My dad was supposed to be dead and my mom left me alone a lot of times. Or at least that was supposed to be my story. Whenever Mom was here, we would have a sleepover. Otherwise I had started to sleep over at Saiki’s. More often than not, I would fall asleep on his bed so he would sleep on a mattress on the floor. 

“Let's go." Saiki was already out the door. I shook my head in exasperation and after locking the door behind me, walked beside Saiki.

"Kusuo, I wanna gift you something. Will you accept it?” I asked him. Recently I had begun experimenting by calling his name. Sometimes he gave me an annoyed look, sometimes he accepted it and sometimes he was indifferent. Based on his mood, I would revert back to his last name. 

Saiki looked at me, "What is it?” He was curious and it showed up in his eyes, hidden behind the toy glasses. 

I smiled. Time for some mischief. "Well, I need to know if you'll accept it or not first.”

Saiki gave me a deadpan expression. I smugly smiled back, egging him on. Finally he sighed, "Fine. I'll accept it as long as it's not something expensive, weird, or inappropriate.”

My grin widened. I turned and walked in front of Kusuo. "Alright. I can assure you, it will be the best gift you have received.” 

"Careful!” Suddenly he grabbed my arm and pulled me into him. I turned my head to find I was about to step onto the road.

“Good grief, you are such a handful. Why can't you ever pay attention?" Saiki scolded me. I didn't like being scolded. He was right though. I somehow always almost walked into poles, signs, roads, people, and everything. It was Saiki who pulled me away all the time and saved my ass.

“Sorry." I muttered into his chest. “It was totally my fault. You're right, I'm such a handful. I should pay better attention to my surroundings." 

“Forget it. Don't blame yourself like that. Let's go." His tone suddenly changed. Odd. I pulled away but Kusuo didn't let go of my hand. As we walked through the crowded roads, I finally saw the shop. 

See, I had been searching for a ring made of a very specific material. I was introducing it before the canon event but it was worth it. If I still didn't have enough influence, Saiki would reject the ring no matter what. 

“Kusuo. I've got some things to buy, so you go ahead. I'll meet you at the game store." I pulled away my hand.

However, Saiki held firm. “Why? We can just go together." He seemed kind of on edge.

“Well, I'm planning for a surprise. If you follow me around, what's the point?" I chided in a teasing tone.

“Oh, ok, I guess. Yeah, I'll meet you there." He dejectedly answered and when I pulled at my hand again, he finally let go.

I watched as he left and then immediately turned to the shop, searching for a germanium ring. Maybe I'll get some things and make a dessert for him…

•❅───✧❅✦❅✧───❅• •❅───✧❅✦❅✧───❅•

Good grief, how could someone be so clumsy? I was honestly surprised when I saw that Kumiko didn't really have any bruises, given her penchant to walk straight into things. This time as I saw her almost walk into oncoming traffic my heart nearly stopped. We had grown rather close over the past few weeks and I didn't wanna lose her. Out of our group, she understood me the best. She was always quick to pick up on my mood and emotions and react accordingly. Not to mention Kumiko helped keep Nendou and Kaidou under control.

“Good grief, you are such a handful. Why can't you ever pay attention?” That came out a lot harsher than I intended. I saw as her mood shifted, and I swear I could almost see her ‘ears’ and ‘tail’ droop. 

She was still close to my chest and was speaking against it as she apologized. I felt a shiver pass through as her words vibrated right through my heart. I didn't like seeing her like that.

“Forget it. Don't be so hard on yourself.” I made sure to speak in a soft, gentle tone. Sadness wasn't really a good look on Kumiko. She tugged her hand away but I held fast. I adjusted my grip so it was more comfortable for the both of us. I didn't want her to run into anything anymore. My powers didn't work very well on her and that included my restoration powers.

As we walked through the crowded roads, Kumiko looked all around. She was also chattering away and I responded here and there. Suddenly she stopped. I walked a bit back to be able to stand beside her.

It was a shop that sold a variety of trinkets including jewellery. Kumiko stood there for some time, thinking deeply. I watched as sunlight bounced against her hair, making it glitter. Actually, she seemed to be glowing entirely. 

“Kusuo.” Hearing her say my name made it feel special. Like I was the most important person in the world to her. "I've got some things to buy, so you go ahead. I'll meet you at the game store." Wait what? Kumiko tried to pull away but I didn't let her.

“Why? We can just go together." What if she got into an accident and I wasn't there? What if she got hurt? Barley tea wasn't that important anyways. It was just an excuse to hang out with Kumiko.

“Well, I'm planning for a surprise. If you follow me around, what's the point?" She teased me. 

I felt a surge of irritation but pushed it down. I didn't want to scold her again. I guess I could follow her invisibly. No, but she wouldn't like it. Anyways, it lasted for 10 mins. What if she got into some kind of misfortune while I was trying to turn invisible again? Thinking rationally, Kumiko lives a pretty normal life. In fact, ever since we met, my life has become rather normal too.

“Oh, ok, I guess. Yeah, I'll meet you there." I was disappointed but tried to hide it. She pulled away again and I finally let go.

I walked away. For the first time in my life I was angry at my telepathy for not working correctly. If it did, I wouldn't be in this mess. Don't ask me how. I don't know. But I know I could've avoided this. 

“Saiki-kun~" A voice called from across the road. I immediately recognized it. I started walking faster. I didn't want her to have any excuse to interact with me. Alas, I couldn't avoid her. She stood directly in my path. 

“So it was you, Saiki-kun! I saw you walking and immediately ran after you.” She beamed. Literally. I was already annoyed as is and now this. Maybe it was a bad idea to come out actually. She wanted a reaction, the offu one where I was supposed to go "Offu—Teruhashi-san!” as I stuttered through the sentence. I was certainly not going to do that. So I simply bowed and moved on.

Wh-what?!!! That's all?!

No wait, maybe he was too flustered to say anything. Surely he was beating himself up on that.

Tee-hee, how cute. Don't worry Saiki-kun, I'll give you another chance.

She tried talking to me again but I ignored her and walked on. I genuinely had no interest in talking to Teruhashi-san. I mean, for starters, she was at the top of the popularity chart whereas I wanted to be completely removed from it. Interacting with her would only cause my popularity to either go down the drain or shoot up, neither of which was ideal. Not to mention, I didn't want Kumiko to get the wrong idea.

I genuinely wanted to smack Teruhashi across the face. She kept pestering me, making up new fantasies about how I was believing her to be a hallucination. She kept trying to touch me, hoping to tag along. I just wanted her gone but she didn't seem to take the hint. Good grief. She was such a pain. I wanted to teleport directly to the store but it was too crowded. 

I suddenly spotted Kumiko making her way over to where I was. Why?! How did she finish up so quick? And wasn't she in the opposite direction?!

It was no good. If Kumiko came over and talked to me, Teruhashi-san would realize I was avoiding her on purpose. And just my luck I saw Nendou arriving from a different direction. He had a baseball bat over his shoulder but was yet to notice me. I desperately needed an out.

It seemed god was on my side for once. It was Kumiko who came first. “Oh, Teruhashi-san! What a pleasant surprise!" She was smiling again. Yes, as she should.

I noticed as Kumiko’s hand began moving weirdly. No, wait. She was motioning. Huh? She was asking me to go away as she distracted Teruhashi-san!

“Huh? Oh, you're the transfer student we had at the start of the semester, right?! Tenmori! Yes, it's so nice to meet you too!"

"I swear I couldn't get to meet you despite the fact we're in the same classroom! You're so popular!” Kumiko cheerfully carried the conversation. I didn't like this dynamic but I had no choice but to leave. I managed to get far away before Teruhashi-san noticed or Nendou came over.

Well, I am a little curious. Clairvoyance! Huh? I can't see Kumiko. Guess this doesn't work on her either. Good grief. I'll have to use Teruhashi-san.

I called upon my power as I went cross-eyed again.

•❅───✧❅✦❅✧───❅• •❅───✧❅✦❅✧───❅•

I finally got to see Teruhashi-san too. This was not only my first meeting with her, but also her first canon appearance. For some reason, we were never able to talk until this canon event. I guess it was because she was the closest to the narrative other than Saiki. 

I am so glad I was able to be part of the narrative this time. I really didn't want Saiki to end up in an uncomfortable position again. The canon event had changed once again, so I was hoping Teruhashi’s feelings would change too.

Suddenly, Nendou called to us. I felt a prickle on my neck as he made his way over to us. Was Saiki using Clairvoyance? How cute. After going through the offu reaction, Nendou was completely ignored by Teruhashi. 

“Hey, did you see Saiki-kun here?" She finally managed to ask.

“Hmm? Saiki? No, I didn't see him."

"Oh? Partner was here?”

"No Nendou. He wasn't.” I repeated. 

After making some small talk, I decided it was getting boring. 

“Are you sure you didn't see Saiki-kun, Kumiko-san?" Teruhashi just wasn't going to let up, was she? I was trying to wrap up the conversation but she just had to bring it up again.

I shook my head, “No, Teruhashi-san. Saiki is at home. Did I tell you we're neighbours? I would know if he left his house." 

Teruhashi-san reacted rather absent-mindedly. She seemed deep in thought. As I observed, Teruhashi-san’s face slowly turned pink. Shit. She still fell for Saiki. If I remember right, she concludes that it wasn't Saiki who saw the illusion but her. And now she's gonna make it her life’s mission to make him say offu, which he won't. Ever.

Chapter Text

I wanted to throw my phone into the wall just to get it to shut up. Of course I did no such thing. Phones were expensive afterall. I finally managed to shut it off and reluctantly crawled out of bed. 

I wanted to make some coffee jelly for Saiki. He had really liked my first attempt so I had secretly brought the ingredients yesterday. Tying my hair up, I got to work.

Heat the water, make the coffee, add the gelatin, then the coffee and finally pour it into a dish and into the refrigerator it goes. I almost managed to burn my hand twice but was able to get away with only a burned finger.

I wondered if Saiki was coming over today. Well, it was still quite early. If he didn’t come by 10, I would go over to him. The jelly would be set by then too.

I was so bored. Hmm. I had a lot of coffee leftover. Could I make something else? I decided to scrounge the internet for coffee related recipes, which were quite a lot. I tried to focus but my eyes felt droopy. Yawn. Maybe I'd just close my eyes for some time.

I put my phone down and pillowed my head on my hands. Slowly, I fluttered to sleep. 

“Kumiko." Someone shook me. Ugh. I deserved some sleep. Why was I being disturbed? “Kumiko, you should go sleep on your bed. Sleeping on the table will give you a backache." 

Blah blah blah. I would sleep however I want. Go away. I swatted at the hand on my shoulder trying to shake me awake. I heard a sigh reverberate in the empty house. 

“Good grief. Guess I'll carry you… Oh, you're up.” 

Hearing the ‘good grief' immediately woke me up. “What the hell? How did you enter?" I blurted out when I saw Saiki. It took my groggy brain a minute to catch up to what I said. Oh shit. I was supposed to ignore that. Saiki was frozen, trying to come up with an excuse to mask the fact that he had teleported. 

“Oh! Did you come from the balcony door?" I clapped my hands. Saiki immediately caught onto the excuse, scolding me for forgetting to lock the door.

“Yeah, sorry, my mistake. I'll make sure to keep that in mind next time. Say what, I'll give you a copy of my house key.” I suggested.

"Works fine. It'll put me—my mom at ease knowing we can barge in in case of an emergency.”

I smiled at his obvious slip-up but decided against teasing him. “Alright, what time is it…?” I looked at the wall clock. "Oh… Haha. It's already 10?" I awkwardly laughed. I finally got up from the chair, "Say what. Make yourself at home, I'll go take a bath.”

"...you told me you had a surprise for me.”

I looked over at him, and grinned, "Yeah, I did! Let me get refreshed, then I'll give it to you.” I bopped him on the nose. He looked mortified as he took a seat and I went upstairs.

•❅───✧❅✦❅✧───❅• •❅───✧❅✦❅✧───❅•

I was super bored. I had finished the books Kumiko lent me and was now in a reading slump. Currently, I was half-laying on my bed on my back.

I wonder if Kumiko’s coming for breakfast… I'll ask Ku-chan to go confirm. Mom thought.

Good grief. Why bother? She came over everyday as long as her mother wasn't home. See, Mrs. Tenmori had two jobs and was often too exhausted to look after Kumiko. Now that Kumiko was nearly an adult, her mom trusted her to take care of herself. Not to mention, Mrs. Tenmori was home in the afternoons, when we were at school.

Mrs. Tenmori usually ate at her work. Kumiko loved to cook but hated cleaning up. And then there's also the fact that cooking for one person is troublesome. So, I often saw her eat convenience store food, saying it was cheap but healthy. 

Well, I didn't like that. She should be eating healthier. She was a normal human, for god’s sake! What if she fell ill? So I did the logical thing and had Mom invite her for meals. Now, she practically lived at our house. Her clothes, including a uniform, had quickly made its way into our cupboards. She now had specific utensils, her toothbrush suddenly appeared one day and had stayed, and even her books had a place in my room.

“Ku-chan!" Mom called from downstairs. “See if Kumiko wants to come over for breakfast, would you?" 

I didn't argue. Mom absolutely loved Kumiko and any dissent against her meant angering Mom. After replying with an affirmative, I simply teleported to her living room. 

What? She would learn about my powers? No, she wouldn't. See, I've had this suspicion that Kumiko knows about my powers. I've accidentally used my powers in front of her, especially when I saw a truck almost ram into her once. However, she always comes up with the most absurd, logical sounding reason, giving me a perfect out. 

Even back when we met Teruhashi-san she somehow knew the situation and pretended I was never in the crowd and just a part of Teruhashi-san's imagination. Good grief. I just remembered that it led to another troublesome situation. I'm now Teruhashi-san's target afterall. 

Let's forget it. I'm here to fetch Kumiko anyways. I looked around the house, but was unable to find her. There was a subtle bitterness in the air, like that of coffee. Which was odd because I haven't ever seen her drink coffee (she drinks honeyed milk). Following the smell, I reached the kitchen, and saw a surprising scene. 

Kumiko was sleeping in the kitchen, sitting in an odd position, resting her head on her arms. What was she doing? Didn't she realize she would get back pains?!

I grabbed her shoulder, shaking her lightly. “Kumiko. Kumiko, wake up." 

“Hmmm!" She was annoyed. I didn't realise this earlier, but she was mumbling. I leaned in closer, hoping to catch something. “I thought I could change the canon event a bit… but she still ended up falling for Kusuo. I don't want her as my rival… the next canon event… canon divergence…” 

Okay, I've heard enough. Anyways I couldn't make much sense of what she was saying. Can** e**nt? C**on ***verg***? It was like some static was covering her words.

I shook her again, "Kumiko. Kumiko, you should go sleep on your bed. You'll get back pain otherwise." 

Kumiko frowned, whining unintelligibly. "Good grief. Guess I'll carry you…" she suddenly jerked up. “Oh, you're awake.”

I moved my hands to my side again. Kumiko looked at me wildly. Her eyes were wide and her expression was tense. “What the hell? How did you enter?” Her voice was rather cold and sharp, which surprised me. She never talked to me that way. 

Wait. That was not the point I should be focusing on. What was I gonna say? Her front door was definitely locked. As I was trying to track my brain to come up with a believable excuse, something in Kumiko’s expression shifted. She suddenly seemed acutely aware of what her question might imply. 

“Oh! Did you come from the balcony door?" And she gave me an out. Like she always did.

"That's right. Good grief. Seriously. What if someone entered your house? Take more care, Kumiko.” Even though it wasn't really her fault, I scolded her. I had to make it seem believable after all.

She apologized, genuinely, but I felt as if she was being sarcastic, actually aware that it was a lie. She then suggested giving me a copy of the house key. That was good. I would have a convenient excuse so that I could keep checking on her randomly. I accidentally let my true thoughts slip out, desperately trying to cover up.

If Kumiko noticed, she only smiled mischievously before acting as if nothing had happened. She suddenly looked around, and then awkwardly laughed when she realized it was already 10.

Kumiko decisively got up from the chair and said, "Say what. Make yourself at home, Kusuo," my heart fluttered as she said my name, “and I'll go take a bath.”

Oh yeah. The weather had become rather hot. I remember Kumiko randomly telling me how she hated sweating and bathed twice a day. I was actually rather curious about the smell of coffee floating in the air and why she was sleeping in the kitchen. In the end, I couldn't ask about that but asked something else, "...you told me you had a surprise for me.”

She met my gaze, and her pink lips immediately split into a dazzling smile, "Yeah, I did! Let me get refreshed, then I'll give it to you.” She suddenly leaned over and tapped my nose. 

A shiver ran through me. My heart began beating loudly and my stomach felt mushy. I also felt my face heat up. Why did she do that?! I was feeling so embarrassed as she went upstairs.

“Also, don't open the fridge!" She suddenly called out.

The fridge? I turned my eyes towards it. Generally, I could see directly through the door without even having to open it. However, this time, there was a section of the door that my vision couldn't phase through. Huh?

“Saiki! Did you hear?!" 

“Yeah, yeah! Hurry up, will you! I'm starving and Mom won't serve breakfast until you come." 

I was so, so curious about what was behind that section of the fridge, but my X-ray vision refused to work. I had noticed another weird thing about my powers. They didn't work on any object that was on Kumiko’s person. And now I guess, if she said no, my powers worked to hide whatever she was trying to. Great. My powers were rebelling against me for someone who wasn't even aware of them. Or at least shouldn't be.

Finally she came downstairs, wearing a loose t-shirt and shorts. “Wait for me at the door. I'll just take your gifts so that I can give it to you after breakfast." 

“Why? Just give it to me now. You've been dragging this since yesterday, Kumiko." 

Kumiko smiled mysteriously. “No can do. Firstly because I don't want to keep Aunty waiting any longer. Second, I want to propose a hangout, but it'll work only if you accept the gift. Now go.” She pushed me out of the kitchen. 

Good grief. What was so special about her gift? I couldn't resist my curiosity anymore but she refused to say a single thing. I strained my brain, trying to think of possible options. This would all be so much simpler if only I could read her thoughts!

When Kumiko finally came out, she was carrying a bag with a funny print. Again, I couldn't see what was inside since Kumiko slung it over her shoulder. Kumiko beamed at me before we both came out and she closed the door behind her.

Good grief. We were finally able to sit down to eat. Kumiko refused to tell even Mom what was in the bag, so I was truly in the dark. She was giggling with Mom as if she didn't leave me hanging. I slowly chewed my food as I listened to them talk.

Once breakfast was done, Kumiko helped Mom clean up while I watched her with my chin in my hand. She was so bright. Even her hair bounced as she rushed around. I had never seen her angry or sad until now. Except for when I woke her up just before.

Kumiko’s arm suddenly filled my view as she kept down a dish with a clack. I raised my chin slightly and looked down on the table. My eyes widened and I felt my lips split into a smile. “Coffee jelly?" I was pretty sure we were out, so I was planning on buying it later today.

Chapter Text

I felt Kusuo’s eyes follow me around the room as I helped Aunty clean up. Then I made her sit down and finally took out the container I had brought. I scooped out the jelly into two bowls. I placed them in front of Saiki and Aunty and watched in anticipation as Kusuo looked down.

His face lit up like Christmas lights and he smiled widely. “Coffee jelly?!" He excitedly asked.

I pursed my lips. I really, really, wanted to ruffle his hair. He was so cute! “Yeah! I made it this morning. You like coffee jelly, so I tried to make it at home." 

His eyes were still wide with joy and he enthusiastically thanked me. I encouraged him to take a bite. His expression softened incomparably as the jelly melted in his mouth. He was thoroughly enjoying it and I felt so happy seeing my efforts bear fruit.

As I watched, Saiki suddenly froze mid bite. He turned to face me properly and asked, “You're not eating?" 

He was worried about me. I nearly swooned as the realization hit. I shook my head, trying to reign in my smile, “I don't particularly like coffee or coffee flavoured things. Oh, I also don't like coconut flavoured things. I made it specially for you, so just enjoy it." 

Saiki seemed deep in thought. Then he nodded thoughtfully and continued eating. I vaguely registered Aunty leaving quietly. I was busy watching Saiki enjoying the jelly I made in absolute silent bliss. Once he finished the food in his bowl, he asked for seconds and then finally put his dishes in the sink. 

“Now, I have another gift for you." I cheerfully started. He looked at me quizzically. Smiling, I took his hand. His fingers twitched and his expression was slightly guarded. Slipping on the germanium ring, I said, “Saiki Kusuo, will you go to the movies with me?" 

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The coffee jelly Kumiko made for me was incredibly tasty. I don't know what it was, but this jelly surpassed all the ones I have ever eaten. I took one bite after another, each bite making it feel as if I had ascended. 

As I relished the dessert, I peeked at Kumiko. She was happily looking at me but didn't have a serving of the dessert in front of her. I stopped mid bite and asked her. 

I wasn't aware she didn't like coffee or coconut flavoured things. I better not forget it. But it was true. She never drank coffee while tea was a rare occurrence. I usually saw her with flavoured milk, most commonly honey or simply sugar. Even when we ate dessert, she would only eat it if it was a homemade cake, cookies or something light and without cream. 

I simply nodded and continued eating. Somewhere along, Mom had taken her leave, meaning only Kumiko and I were sitting on the table. I soon finished my first serving and took a second one. The second serving disappeared even faster than the first one. I put away the dishes and placed the container of the coffee jelly in the refrigerator, after which I took a seat.

Kumiko called for my attention so I sat in a way so as to face her properly. She took my hand and raised it. My fingers twitched as my heart began racing. What was happening? My stomach felt weird again. Perhaps the coffee jelly didn't suit me? But given my powers, I have never had to worry about such things. Suddenly, cool metal slid along my pointer finger. Smiling widely, Kumiko asked, completely serious, “Saiki Kusuo, will you go to the movies with me?"

The world quieted down. Suddenly, all I could focus on was Kumiko. The way my hand felt in hers. My heart was roaring in my ears and I could feel my blood rushing. 

“Pfft—" Kumiko suddenly laughed. “Hahaha! Why are you so serious, Kusuo? I was just trying to invite you to the movies. We always watch those crappy ones so I thought why not go to the theater this time? So, what's your answer?” She let go of my hand, but it stupidly hung in the air.

I have no idea what kind of expression I am wearing right now. But all I know is that I have discovered something incredible. Kumiko has led me to something incredible. I got up and Kumiko jerked back a little.

“...is that a yes?...a no?" 

“I'll—I'll tell you. But before that, what is this ring made up of?" 

“Germanium." 

I nodded and immediately excused myself, telling her I needed to change. She understood and left to change too. I rushed upstairs, cradling the ring.

Once I closed the door, I carefully took the ring out.

It's so hot…

The A/c broke?!

Maybe I'll have some ice-cream…

Should I invite Mukoda-san to eat cold noodles…?

Thoughts of people within a 200 metre radius rushed to fill my head. I calmly slipped the ring back on and the world finally shut up. I sat on the bed, interlacing my fingers as a thought formed. God, Kumiko had given me the best gift ever! In case it wasn't clear, this germanium ring blocked my telepathy. Completely shut it off.

Wait, but something was off. Why did Kumiko say my answer would depend on whether I accepted the gift or not? 

“Kusuo! Are you ready?" Her sweet voice floated up the window. Forgetting my suspicions, I quickly changed and teleported to the front door. “Let's go." I stepped outside.

It was nice only hearing Kumiko’s voice but I was still rather anxious. The entire world had turned into Nendou after all. I had no idea what anyone was thinking. What if someone was a murder? What if someone tried to mug me? Or Kumiko? How did normal people live with this anxiety?!

No wait, I could still use my other powers. With my X-ray vision, it wouldn't be difficult to catch someone with a weapon. As long as I knew, I could repel any attack. I just had to be a little more vigilant.

“What genre do you wanna watch, Ku—Ugh." A loud tunnnn interrupted Kumiko’s question.

"Good grief. How do you always bang into things? Didn't you learn your lesson last time?”

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“I'm so glad you liked the coffee jelly! Maybe next time I'll try making pudding… or maybe tiramisu?” Saiki nodded absent-mindedly to my chatter.

Well, it made sense. He was probably overwhelmed, since the entire world had turned into Nendou. I mean, if I had telepathy and suddenly it cancelled out, I too would freak out, thinking the worst about everyone around me.

"What genre do you wanna watch, Ku—” I banged straight into a street lamp. Tears gathered in my eyes as I held my nose. My god, did it hurt. Super bad. Was my nose broken?

"Good grief! How do you always bang into things?! Didn't you learn your lesson last time?!” Wow, Saiki’s voice was quite sharp but he immediately grabbed my face.

Despite the frown on his face, Saiki was rather gentle. He lifted my hand gingerly but suddenly stopped, gazing intensely at my fingers. After a good minute, he continued the action and focused on my nose.

“Does it hurt?" His voice seemed even more pained than mine.

“Hehe. No, I'm fine." 

Saiki gave me a skeptical look, “You're saying that despite the fact you are crying?" 

I blinked. He was right. Tears stained my cheek and Saiki’s left hand, that still held onto my face. “I mean, I'll be fine." I gave a not-so-convincing watery smile.

He sighed and I could almost hear the good grief, what a pain from his thoughts. “Stay here," he pointed to a corner, “I'll go get an ice pack." 

Before I could argue, saying I was fine, he had already left. Huffing, I sat down on a bench and gingerly touched my nose. Ouch. Maybe I actually got hurt.

Soon, Kusuo returned, carrying a bag. He quietly took out the ice pack and held it to my nose. When I tried to take it from him, he gave me a death stare. So I just sat quietly on the side of the road while Kusuo kneeled in front of me, pressing the cold remedy to my nose.

Once the swelling had reduced, Kusuo let go of my face and got up. He held out a hand and I got up too. We began walking again and I tried to finish my question from earlier, “As I was asking, what genre do you—" 

“How did you burn your finger?" He suddenly cut in. Saiki’s voice was rather low but I managed to figure out what he was asking.

“Oh, this?" I held up the burned finger, “I accidentally poured the boiling water on my hand while making coffee jelly. Don't worry though, it's fine now." I smiled.

Saiki just stared at me, his expression unreadable but I caught a glimpse of turmoil behind his glasses. “Here," he softly spoke, extending a cream for burns.

“Oh, um, thanks." Why was I acting so awkward?! No wait, why was the atmosphere so awkward all of a sudden?!

“Saiki, what genre of movies do you like?" I forced the question out, trying to dissipate the atmosphere. I couldn't handle this awkwardness all the way to the theater.

Kusuo placed his hand on his chin, genuinely thinking about the answer.

“Thriller." 

“Oh, really? I like horror. Though thrillers are nice too. I don't like sappy romantic movies though. Oh, do you know, I've never once cried while watching a movie. People recommend movies that can make full grown men bawl while I watch it without a single tear.” 

"I didn't know that. I, too, don't cry when watching movies. But Mom loves sappy romances and you'll always catch her crying at the slightest emotional scene.”

I smiled and finally couldn't resist it, "Hehe…" A laugh slipped out.

“Was it that funny to hear?" 

I waved a hand, "No, no. It's just… I'm so happy. Getting to see a movie with you.”

Saiki’s eyes widened a bit. "Is it really that important to you?” There was a hint of caution in his voice.

I nodded, "Of course! I'm getting to see a movie with you. It is a really big deal for me.” I couldn't exactly tell him the real reason however, could I?

He had accepted the germanium ring, meaning I had managed to pull a canon event earlier on the timeline. The first thing he had done after getting the germanium was visiting the theater. According to canon, he was supposed to meet Teruhashi-san and her pervert brother there. After which, her brother would pay Kusuo a visit and be a general nuisance. 

However, I managed to get him to visit the theater early. Which meant that he wouldn't meet Teruhashi-san nor her brother, which in turn would erase the ‘date’ Teruhashi-san and Saiki would have later.

So currently the score was {Me: 01; Teruhashi Kokomi: 00}. It has increased the chances of me wooing Kusuo, according to the deal I had made. So I was super happy.

We finally reached the theater and after purchasing tickets, grabbed some food and headed to the screening room. I think I caught a glimpse of light earlier but maybe I was so nervous about Teruhashi-san, that I was imagining her.

Kusuo sat down but I took a seat a little further from him. I wanted to write in my journal and give them updates but I couldn't risk Kusuo seeing it. I took out my phone, planning to start writing about my win when I heard the voice I absolutely didn't want to hear.

“Huh? Saiki-kun?" Teruhashi Kokomi. The bane of my love story.

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I sat down with the tray full of food and drinks. I expected Kumiko to sit beside me but when I turned, she was a few seats away. Huh? 

“Kumiko. Why are you sitting over there?" 

“Just until the movie starts." Her reply was rather vague and Kumiko immediately took out her phone after she answered the question. She looked rather focused so I didn't want to bother her. 

“Huh?" I turned the other way when I heard a familiar voice. “Saiki-kun?" Teruhashi-san. What was she doing here? She looked a bit uncomfortable for some reason. Argh, I have no clue what she's thinking right now. Well, I didn't really care.

I was looking forward to enjoying the movie with Kumiko. Robust Rangers Specializer. It was a live action that I have been wanting to see for a long time. I was surprised Kumiko remembered that since I've only mentioned it once in passing. The thought made me feel giddy for some reason.

“Um, I'm not making any excuses or anything,” Teruhashi-san was speaking again. I couldn't really ignore her, especially since Kumiko was sitting a bit far away. 

"Teruhashi-san!” Kumiko suddenly cut in. When did she get so close? "What a pleasant surprise! Are you here with someone?” I looked at Kumiko, my eyebrows automatically drawing together. She was speaking rather forcefully. Was she angry?

"Eh-eh?! No— I mean yes but— I just, I don't want you to get the wrong idea, Saiki-kun, Tenmori-san. He told me I'd get to watch the movie for free, so…” Good grief. I don't really care. But it seemed Kumiko did. Her expression turned even darker. I reached out to grab her wrist and pull her into her seat but suddenly a new voice interrupted us.

“I went ahead and got us some popcorn, Kokomi! Hmmm? Hey!" He suddenly turned to me. “Who are you and what do you want from my Kokomi?" Good grief. Well, it seems like she got someone who matches her standards. 

Teruhashi-san was trying to restrain the man by explaining the situation. Huh? Wait a minute… Looking closely, he looked exactly like … Mugami Toru?! The lead actor of this movie?! 

“Hey, I'm asking you something." The man took off his sunglasses and my suspicions were right!

“Hey, your sunglasses!" Teruhashi-san panicked. Oh, wait. We were right in the middle of a room filled with people. All of whom were Mugami Toru’s fans. Good grief. This was going to turn into a pain.

People began shouting all around, rushing towards our group. It seemed Mugami realized his mistake as well but there was no way to clean up the mess. I grabbed Kumiko’s hand and managed to pull ourselves out of the crowd. 

Once we were out of the theater, Kumiko violently shook off my hand and walked a bit further ahead. I decided to hang back and give her space. She seemed rather pissed ever since we met Teruhashi-san. She wasn't twittering away like she usually did but was muttering about something under her breath. 

Once we were in a relatively isolated area, I warily ventured a question, “Are you upset we didn't get to see the movie?" 

Kumiko suddenly whirled around to face me. There was an expression of utter hate and anger on her face. “Who cares about the movie? I tried so hard to avoid all this but in the end it happened exactly how it was supposed to be! Now, the other thing will happen exactly the same way too. And of course, I was so excited to see the movie but then that fucking idiot had to ruin everything. Fucking perverted creep." 

I barely understood anything except for the fact that she was upset. Bitterly so. I have never felt sadness so strongly as to be upset so I had no clue how to cheer her. I forced my brain to think, dredging up old memories. 

Finally I got my answer. Kumiko was still shouting as I wrapped my hands around her. She froze. Uh-oh. Maybe she didn't like it. Maybe I should pull away. This was stupid. Why did I think this would work? Just as I was about to pull away, Kumiko circled her arms around my neck and melted into the hug with a loud sigh.

This wasn't the time, but I just noticed how great Kumiko smells. I mean, I have vaguely caught whiffs of her smell, especially given how she's always on my bed and in my house but I never contemplated it. To get my mind off this perverted train of thought, I rubbed Kumiko’s back. 

After a few minutes of standing like this, Kumiko relaxed her grip. She didn't pull away however. “Are you feeling better?" 

She nodded against my chest, her soft hair tickling me. “Thanks, Kusuo. That really calmed me down. Say what, how about we grab a dvd and watch a movie at home instead?" She lifted her chin to meet my eyes and smiled as she suggested.

My lips turned upwards in a small smile too, “Why not? Maybe we can buy some new games as well." We pulled away and began walking towards our go-to shop. Kumiko was talking about something interesting again while I added my opinion here and there. I had discreetly slipped the germanium ring back when she had started speaking. The world was scary, unpredictable and a pain without my telepathy. But for now, it was nice just hearing Kumiko’s voice. 

Chapter Text

The bell to the Saiki household chimed merrily. I got up from the sofa to open the door. Saiki seemed a little uncomfortable, as if he was bracing for something. I opened the door and to my surprise, it was Nendou.

“Nendou! What a surprise! What brings you here?" I smiled, scanning him. He was dressed for the sweltering summer heat and seemed equally happy to see me.

"Pixie!” I rolled my eyes at the nickname. I was rather short compared to him, so Nendou liked to call me Pixie. "Is this your house, oh? But I think I saw ‘Saiki’ outside?”

“No, no. It's Kusuo’s house. I live next door. I was hanging out over here. Still, I'm surprised you managed to find his house.”

"Huh? Who's this Kumiko-chan? Could it be…?!" The mood suddenly turned serious as I spied Kusuo coming out from the living room. “Ahyuuuuu~ It's a friend of Ku-chan! Mama is so happy that he has friends other than you." Aunty began crying.

Wait, this seemed rather familiar. Which canon event was this? I racked my brain but couldn't place it. 

“Me and Saiki aren't just friends though!” Nendou interjected. We all turned towards him. He struck a pose, pointing to himself as he announced dramatically, "We're partners!" 

Aunty froze for a second before she began crying again, “Ahyuu~ Ku-chan has a partner! Wahh! Mama’s so happy Ku-chan has a partner.”

I stood there restraining my laugh while Saiki gave me and Nendou a death stare. "By the way partner~ I didn't know you had a sister~" 

“Pfft— hahaha!" I couldn't do it anymore and burst into peals of laughter.

On the other hand, Aunty began crying even more, “Ahyuu~ I was mistaken as a sister, I'm so happy!”

"Good grief. How many times are you going to make my mother cry? And you,” Saiki glared at me after scolding Nendou, “stop laughing." (In case you're wondering, I can hear whenever Saiki speaks through telepathy but pretend to not.)

"I'm sorry! It's just so funny!” I took a few deep breaths, trying to keep the laughter in control partly because my stomach was now aching. "Anyways, what brings you here Nendou!" I tried changing the topic. 

“Oh? Yeah! I came to invite partner to the beach!”

“No thanks. You can go by yourself—" 

"Kusuo…” the atmosphere suddenly dipped. If this was portrayed as a manga, the words ‘menacing’ would appear behind Aunty along with a darkness creeping out while her hair would be flying. “Partner-kun was nice enough to come here to invite you. You are going to the beach." 

I saw Saiki’s expression and arguments deflate like a floaty leaking air. “Aunty!" I grabbed her arm. “Let him stay home if he wants to. I'll go instead so that Nendou’s trip is not wasted. I love the beach anyways.”

“Oh? You're coming too Pixie? Awesome!" 

I couldn't help but laugh at his simple nature. “No, you dummy, only I am coming.” I turned to face Saiki's mom, "Aunty, could I borrow the things for the beach? I don't really want to go back to my house.”

Aunty placed a finger on her lips in thought, "I don't mind lending you things but I'm not sure about the swimsuit…”

"That's very sweet but I don't need a swimsuit, Aunty. I can't swim so why would I need it?”

"Oh? Pixie can't swim? How come?”

"I don't know,” I shrugged, "I never learned. Mom told me that she tried putting me in classes but I would pass out and would have to spend time in the hospital each time. So she just stopped.”

I didn't want them to ask any more questions but I wasn't sure how to say that. Thankfully, Saiki did it for me.

“Let's go." We all turned to see Saiki decked out in beach appropriate wear carrying a bag with all the beach essentials. 

“I thought you weren’t—" I was cut off as he forcefully pushed me and Nendou out the door. I hastily bid Aunty goodbye as the door closed. 

The walk to the beach was super fun and thankfully nobody probed me about the swimming situation further. At the beach we met Kaidou. Apparently, Nendou had messaged him, inviting him to the hangout.

We set up our umbrella and spread a beach towel while Nendou immediately ran into the water. I sat between Saiki and Kaidou, watching the people around. 

“Hey~! Aren't you guys gonna come in the water, partner, pipsqueak?" Nendou was splashing some water onto the beach, trying to tempt the boys.

Saiki didn't really respond, instead taking out a book. No, not just a book. It was the one I had lent him. 

“I let you tag along since you begged but aren't you even gonna come in the water pipsqueak?!” Nendou shouted despite the fact that Kaidou was standing really close to him. 

“Wait," Nendou’s expression suddenly shifted as if he had gotten a revelation, “could it be… you can't swim?! Gahaha!”

“Uhuhuhwhwhwhawhawhat are you saying?! Of course I can swim!" Kaidou’s voice was painfully shaky. It was clear he didn't know how to swim.

“At least his eyes do…” Saiki quietly commented.

"Ahem! It's alright Kaidou. I can't swim too.” I tried to be encouraging. It seems I made the situation worse.

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Good grief. I only tagged along because I was worried for Kumiko. It seems I didn't need to, given how she was enjoying herself.

After her attempt at camaraderie, Kaidou returned wearing scuba gear, which was a huge overkill in my opinion. He barely touched the water before he flopped like a fish in air, screaming about how he was drowning. Kumiko was laughing beside me. I smiled despite myself. 

“Are you alright?!” A new voice shouted. With a loud roar of “Ahhh!" I saw somebody dive into the water. Which was rather dumb, given how shallow the water was.

As I watched, the guard’s pants were dragged off by the sand’s friction and his butt was exposed. "Hairo?!” Kumiko immediately got up.

I grabbed her wrist and pulled her back down. "There's no need for you to bother.” She fwumped next to me.

“What do you mean? I'm just going over to help Kaidou and Hairo." 

"...there's water over there…” I averted my eyes, desperately avoiding eye contact.

She stiffened but immediately began laughing. “Alright, alright. I'll stay. They have Nendou there anyways. Oh look! They're coming over here." Kumiko pointed with her free hand towards the three guys coming over. 

“Hey, I didn't realise you guys were here, Nendou-kun, Kaidou-kun, Saiki-kun and Tenmori-san!” You didn't have to point out all our names, Hairo.

"It's nice to meet you outside of school, Hairo! Are you here to swim too?” Kumiko leaned back on her hands as she spoke. 

“No. I got a summer job. I'm volunteering as a lifeguard.” Hairo pointed a finger at us, "Anyways, I'm going back to work. Give me a call if there's trouble. Oh and remember to stretch before you swim.”

Suddenly there were shouts of someone drowning and Hairo left as abruptly as he had come. Kaidou came up to me and Kumiko with two floats, acting all chummy.

“Sorry, Kaidou, I think I'll stay here.”

He turned to me with rather hopeful eyes. No thanks. Unlike him, I could not only swim but also walk on water. Kaidou left, visibly depressed.

"Ah, I'm bored though. Maybe I could splash around in some shallow water? It's been some time since I last went in the water.”

“Why do you want to go in the water if you're bored? Here." I handed her one of my own books. She lit up as she grabbed the book. After a few minutes of reading, she suddenly laid down, placing her head on my lap.

“I'll get tired very soon if I sit. If you mind, I can move." 

I didn't reply, going back to my book. I couldn't really focus since Nendou was causing such a commotion trying to pick up girls, who of course rejected him in the most brutal way possible. It was also because I was acutely aware of Kumiko’s hair touching my skin and the goosebumps that arose along with it.

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I pretended to read the book Saiki gave me but I was much rather interested in what Nendou and Kaidou were up to. Ah well. I finally put the book down and watched Nendou in amusement. I was still laying on Saiki’s lap but I knew he would push me off if he wanted to. 

Out of nowhere, Hairo came over and scolded Nendou for disturbing the other people. He seemed pretty dejected but immediately brightened when he heard someone say, “Ufufufu. You're a rather cute boy~!”

But when he turned around, his face darkened. It was actually the same ladies who had rejected him but they were fawning over Kaidou.

As I watched, Nenduo managed to chase away the ladies and bury Kaidou in a huge sand dome.

I couldn't really watch it anymore so I turned my head, facing upwards. I caught sight of some part of Saiki's glasses and hair but otherwise the book blocked out most of my vision. I closed my eyes and slowly the world drifted away.

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“Hey Kaidou! What are you doing?! You were swimming just fine right now!” The sudden commotion jolted me awake. I got up from the pillow that was carefully placed under my head. Looking around, I couldn't find Saiki. However, Nendou was inside the water and Kaidou was drowning. I could also see some girl in the waves, struggling to swim. 

I sat back on the blanket. I wasn't particularly worried since this was a canon event. Saiki was probably underwater, watching the situation unfold. 

As I gazed at the chaos, Hairo appeared and jumped in. He swam towards Nendou who was now carrying the drowning girl and Kaidou. Suddenly, Hairo began sinking. 

“What?! Hairo?!" Nendou screamed.

“I'm alright! I just pulled my leg musc—glubglubglubglub." 

Wait, maybe I should go near the shoreline. Afterall, I was their friend. I hurriedly got up while Nendou grabbed Hairo as well and attempted to swim onshore.

Just as I reached the shore, Nendou was lifted up. I watched in awe as he walked on water. No matter what, it was rather awe-inspiring seeing someone walk on water. Even if it was Saiki supporting the entire weight of four people and not Nendou's feet.

An idea struck me and I moved a bit, changing my vantage point. I was pretty sure Kusuo had realized his powers didn't work on me, meaning my plan could work. Finally the four reached the shore and a crowd gathered around them. 

I, however, was focused on the rippling water. Just as I had intended, Kusuo and I made eye contact. Thankfully, there were no living organisms near the point I stood, meaning Saiki was invisible to other people. 

I quietly watched him while Kusuo panicked around. Finally he decided to get out and walk towards the men’s room while the power was still working. Impressively, he managed to avoid the huge crowd who unintentionally kept nearly touching him. 

After about two to three minutes, he came out, visible not just to me but everyone around. When he finally came over, Nendou and Kaidou immediately bombarded him with questions about his whereabouts and the incident that had just happened. Saiki ignored them, making his way directly to me. 

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Good grief. Watching Nendou and Kaidou make fools of themselves had given me serious second hand embarrassment. I had decided to just leave with Kumiko but when I placed my book down, I was greeted by a surprising sight. She had fallen asleep, breathing softly. Your scent makes me feel safe…

Shit. Why did I just remember that off hand comment she had made once?

I carefully slid her head from my lap onto a pillow I had brought and headed for the ocean. The bottom of the sea was rather calm, though some disturbing things floated around me like that chain ball attached to a skeleton hand. Ignore that.

I vaguely heard Nendou and Kaidou searching for me. Seems like they had their fill of embarrassment. I, however, had no intention to float up. As I closed my eyes, I heard loud shouts and frenzied voices. 

Good grief. Seriously? A girl was drowning, then Kaidou started drowning, and finally Hairo, who was supposed to help, started drowning. Nendou hauled all of them, trying to swim. What a bunch of idiots! 

I didn't want them to drown, especially not when they would end up seeing me. I hastily turned myself invisible as I raised Nendou above water by grabbing his feet. I had ten minutes before the invisibility wore off. While Nendou whooped overhead, I rushed towards the shore. Once we were onshore, a huge crowd gathered around the four people. Good. Now I could sneak to the— I jerked back as I made direct eye contact with Kumiko. 

When had she woken up? More importantly, what was she doing so close to water?! While I was panicking, Kumiko just gazed at me. Quiet and peaceful. Hold on. Wait. Wait wait wait. Most of my powers didn't work on her. Did that mean she could see through my invisibility?!

Good grief. I only had two or three minutes left before my invisibility turned off. Maybe Kumiko couldn't see me. Otherwise she would've made a huge scene, wouldn't she? I decided to slip out of the water and rushed to the men’s room. So many people nearly touched me but I managed to get away. Once my powers wore off, I got out.

“Oh? Partner! Where were you?" 

“Hmph! Saiki! You missed a rather impressive scene. The Water Spirit of Beatrice sealed in my right arm allowed Nendou to walk on water as he saved a drowning girl! Ahahhaha!" 

I had no interest in these two. I already knew what had happened but I saw Kumiko still standing dangerously close to water. I hurriedly made my way towards her. As I drew closer, I noticed she was trembling. Her face was pale and her eyebrows were drawn together. She was positively shaking when I finally stood in front of her.

I remember hearing about how it sometimes helped if people were cut off from the trigger of their trauma. With the way Kumiko was shaking, I wasn't sure she could walk without collapsing. And anyways, I would have to take her far away from the beach, meaning a waste of time. 

So I hugged her. I still remember how the world had seemed foreign back when we had hugged after the movie disaster. As I enveloped her in my arms, Kumiko felt rather small. From this close, I noticed the light sheen of swear covering her forehead. 

“Kumiko! What are you doing near water?! Why didn't you stay put under the umbrella?" 

She seemed out of it but still muttered an answer, “Oh, they were drowning. I had to save them. I— " Her legs suddenly gave out and we both collapsed onto the sand. It was no use. The sound of the ocean was too close. I picked Kumiko up and carried her as far from the ocean as I could. I managed to apport a pair of headphones and played a sound instructing Kumiko to breathe. In. Out.

Kumiko was blinking rather rapidly but soon her breath was steady. I hugged her again and this time she managed to return the hug. After some rather long minutes, Kumiko sighed. “Kusuo, do you have something you want to tell me? Something related to Nendou walking on water?" 

I could feel veins protruding at my temple. She was this close to a panic attack and she was more worried about that?! “Tenmori Kumiko. Do you realise what mindset you were just in? You're more worried about Nendou walking on water than you being this close to having a mental breakdown?! Why did you go near the water when you know you shouldn't? Are you a five year old I have to supervise all the time?! Why can't you take care of yourself?" 

Kumiko had removed the headphones when she was speaking, meaning I was screaming right in her ear. Despite appearances, she was still shivering, though it was faint.

“I didn't know it would be that bad, Kusuo. It's been years. I thought I would be fine. I was just worried about our friends so I wanted to check on them. I'm sorry to have worried you…. But, won't you answer my question? Why were you underwater? Carrying Nendou?”

My heart was thumping loudly. What should I say? I didn't want to reveal my powers. The last time I did that, it was a huge mess. Of course, I trusted Kumiko to keep my powers a secret but I wasn't sure.

“Um, Kusuo? You're kinda squeezing me. It's a little hard to breathe." Good grief.. I immediately loosened my hold on her but still didn't let go. It seemed I was subconsciously hugging her tighter. 

I still couldn't decide whether to say the truth or erase her memory. Suddenly, Kumiko sighed. "Saiki. I want you to remember one thing. If you don't feel comfortable sharing your secret, it's alright. I still trust you. I mean, I've downplayed so many things until now, what's a few more? Don't feel pressured to answer.”

The lump in my throat suddenly loosened and the tightness in my chest eased. “Are you sure?" I finally managed to choke out. 

“Of course, Kusuo. Let's just pretend this never happened, okay?" I nodded. “Also, could you keep this attack under wraps? I don't want to worry Aunty or Mom." 

I nodded again. It felt nice to have someone trust me so wholeheartedly despite the secrets I was keeping. “Oh, I wasn't trying to make a deal! I'll still keep my word." 

I was so glad she couldn't see my face. I definitely knew I was wearing a stupid expression. I hugged Kumiko tighter, as I replied, “Of course, Kumiko. You could never do that. Not to me.”

“Oh! There's Partner. And Pixie! Oh? Are they hugging?” Nendou’s voice suddenly rang out. Kumiko immediately tried pulling away, but I took my time. Luckily, we managed to break the hug before Kaidou or Nendou reached us. 

“There you both are! We've been searching for you all over. How about we head home now?" Kaidou made a rather good suggestion. I also felt as if Kumiko needed some sleep. 

“I think Hairo fell for Nendou." Kumiko leaned over to whisper in my ear. My ear felt hot, probably because of her breath. I would believe Kumiko in a heartbeat if she told me she was a psychic since she always seemed to reach the conclusion I needed telepathy to get to.

Nendou was expecting the girl he saved to fall for him, but it was actually Hairo who fell for his principles or something. I don't know. I was more focused on Kumiko.

Chapter Text

“Kusuo, let's go?" Kumiko came over to nag me after she finished her breakfast. Good grief. There was still so much time before school. That's right. It was the start of a new semester. My summers went by way too fast. 

“Bye Kumiko, Ku-chan. Have a fun day and make sure you focus on your studies!" Mom advised as she closed the door.

"It's going to get cold now.” Kumiko whined as we walked. She absolutely hated the cold, especially since she was rather sensitive to it. 

“I'm so glad you forced me to wrap up the homework early during the holidays. Otherwise I would still be scrambling around, trying to finish it." 

"I didn't force you to do anything. I was doing mine and you just randomly decided to do yours at the same time.”

Kumiko pouted just as I saw Nendou. Good grief. We left home early and yet he managed to catch us. But it was weird. Kumiko didn't call out to him. I blinked and he suddenly disappeared.

Huh? Wait, what? Seriously? I checked everywhere, the vending machine, the trash, behind the pole, under the plants. Huh? Where did such a hulking guy disappear to?

"What are you doing Saiki? Did you drop something?”

"Huh? I'm searching for Nendou obviously. He was just there in front of us before he vanished.”

Kumiko frowned, her eyebrows knitting. "What do you mean? It's only been us two. What, did you hallucinate Nendou since he's been coming over so much?” She began laughing.

I simply glared at her and began walking. “Hey— Kusuo! Wait up. Why are you getting angry over a joke! Sheesh!” Kumiko rushed over to join me. We spent the rest of the walk the usual way: Kumiko talking about this and that while I listened.

Once we finally reached school, we reported for the opening ceremony. After it was over, we all went back to class. When Kumiko and I entered, the class was rather loud.

Some people were gathered around Hairo, asking him about his tan. Others were gathered around Teruhashi-san. She was talking about how she found true love on… 6th August?! That was the day Kumiko and I were visiting the market. 

Even Teruhashi-san’s thoughts were about our encounter on that day. As I sat down, I heard a voice interject that she had met Nendou back then.

Huh? That was Kumiko’s voice. When did she go there? However Teruhashi-san immediately recoiled at the insinuation that she had a crush on Nendou. Good going Kumiko.

I followed Kumiko across the room with my eyes. She talked to each and every classmate, laughing and bringing up common topics. I still couldn't believe how quickly she had become friends with everyone in class, including the oddballs and outcasts. 

“Don't you get tired?" I asked as Kumiko finally sat down.

“Hmm? Tired? From what?" She tilted her head like a little kitten trying to make sense of things.

“Um, you know, keeping up with so many people's interests. Ensuring that none of your many relations fall flat…”

Kumiko jutted out her bottom lip, seriously giving my question some thought. "It's not that hard, Kusuo. When you keep making the effort to build a relationship, you naturally remember things about the other person. It neither feels tiring nor like a burden. You help your dad and remember things about him despite how lame you say he is, right? You might say it's a pain but you still do the things he asks of you. That's what I feel as well. Also, I only put in effort to maintain the relationship when the other person does it too.”

“Hey, Saiki, Kumiko. Look at Nendou. Doesn't he seem off somehow?" Kaidou suddenly butt in.

I looked up at him. Wasn't he the one that was off? What was with that weird braid and eyepatch?

“What do you mean Kaidou? Also, aren't you different too?”

"Ah, if you're curious about this—”

“He does seem a little strange. Maybe he ate something bad?" I cut off Kaidou. I wasn't interested in his chuuni and neither should Kumiko be. 

“I think you should let him be. If he wants, he'll come over to talk. He's simple like that." Kumiko suggested.

Good idea. I wasn't interested in driving him anyways. Nendou sighed again. I. Wasn't. Interested. In. Him!

So why was I standing here following Kumiko and Nendou with Kaidou?

Well, Nendou had left the school without even mentioning ramen. Not to mention Kumiko had decided to accompany him for some reason. So when Kaidou suggested we trail them, my curiosity stopped me from refusing. 

Nendou had not taken his usual route and neither had Kumiko. Meaning they weren't going home as Kaidou so helpfully pointed out. As the two turned a corner, Kaidou switched clothes for some reason and then we continued the tailing.

Suddenly Nendou stopped and grinned at a little girl. 

Creepy…

Creepy…

For once, Kaidou and I shared the same thought. We were too far away so I wasn't even able to hear what Nenduo and Kumiko were talking about.

Finally they stopped in front of a florist. When they came back out, Nendou had a bouquet of sunflowers in his hand. Kumiko said something and laughed. Following this, Nendou plucked out a sunflower from the bouquet and handed it to her. 

“Hey, he's buying flowers! Maybe they're for Kumiko. But I thought only kids liked sunflowers… hm? Little girls?”

Kumiko had walked a bit further ahead while Nendou had stopped. This meant that she didn't catch him looking at a little girl with her dad with a rather suspicious look.

Gross!

“Hey, hey, Saiki, is Nenduo actually a Lolicon? Hey, do you remember the little girl who's dog had run away? If you look closely at the situation, didn't Nendou have a perverted look on his face?!”

Aren't your memories kinda distorted? "Even when he promised to find the dog, didn't he ask for her panties?!” So this is how you distort someone's memories. I should take notes.

“No! I shouldn't doubt him like this. After all, it's only natural to smile at children. Besides, Kumiko is with him…” Good to know you aren't quick to judge people, Kaidou. “Hm? He's entering another shop.” 

This time it was a cake shop. I heard Kaidou do the mental flip.

CAKE = SWEET = GIRLS AND CHILDREN'S FAVORITES = GIRLS + CHILDREN = LITTLE GIRLS!

“He's going to use the flowers and cake as bait!" Sheesh, Kaidou. Can't you lower your voice?

“So much for not judging him, Kaidou." Kumiko suddenly spoke from behind us. I jerked away as did Kaidou. When did she come behind us?

"You guys were being so loud. Nendou might be an idiot but I could hear you all the way. While you were busy with your weird leap in logic I told Nendou I had something to do and would join him in a minute.” Kumiko answered the silent question.

"Well—well, then do you—do you have any other ideas?!” Kaidou was stuttering so bad and yet he was shouting.

"How about you ask Nendou himself? He'll tell you for sure. Come on.” Despite Kaidou’s protest, Kumiko grabbed my hand and his sleeve to drag us over to the cake shop. 

Funnily enough, just as we were about to reach the front door, Nendou came out. There was another girl across the street, opposite from where we were. He looked at her and smiled creepily again.

I didn't even need to read Kumiko’s thoughts to know that she finally understood our perspective. “Okay, I think I get why you thought Nendou is a Lolicon." She muttered under her breath.

Nendou turned around and was talking to himself, “They were out of strawberry shortcake man." 

“Nendou!" Kumiko called out before Kaidou could come up with some absurd theory.

“Oh? There you are Pixie. Oh you found Partner and Pipsqueak!" Nendou happily ran over to us.

"Yeah, I just met them. They were curious about where we were going and who the flowers and cake was for.” Kumiko explained.

Correction. I was just mildly curious and only because Nendou kept making those creepy faces and Kumiko was with him.

Nendou didn't say anything but beckoned us to follow him. Surprisingly, he led us right to a grave.

“A grave visit…?” Kaidou was in disbelief.

“Yeah! It's my pops’ death anniversary." 

“Wait a minute!" Kaidou pointed an accusatory finger at Nendou, “Then why were you looking at those little girls?!" 

“Nendou’s father died when he was 18 or 19, before Nendou was born. He died while saving a little girl from a truck. I think that's why he was looking at the girls." Kumiko didn't sound much convinced by her own theory.

“That's right. Heh, maybe my dad was a Lolicon. Hehehe…”

Oof. That gotta hurt, right Kaidou?

While Nendou showed Kaidou and Kumiko the photo of his father, I was more focused on the grave. I mean, I've already seen it. They look exactly the same except that his dad had a scar on his left eye.

Yes, exactly like this one who's sitting on the… grave… eating the… cake? Huh? Wait, he disappeared again. Maybe I was hallucinating things.

Since it was getting late, we all decided to make our way back. After splitting with Nendou and Kaidou, Kumiko checked her phone. “Oh, looks like mom’s not home today. Guess I'm eating at yours Kusuo." She smiled widely.

“Good for you," I answered neutrally. After a brief silence, I spoke again, "Were we really that loud?”

"Hmmm? Oh you mean when you were tailing us? No, you weren't that loud. But I kept feeling a pair of eyes watching me and a shiver constantly ran through my body. So when I searched, I caught your voices. As soon as you guys were added to the group, the perverted stare disappeared. Weird right?”

Before I could answer, I noticed a piece of paper peeking out from our mailbox. A letter? I grabbed it. It was addressed to me. Kumiko opened the door while I opened the letter. While she entered the house I froze, reading what was written.

To Saiki-san.

I know that you are a PSI user.

Huh?

Chapter Text

Kusuo was hiding something. I had noticed a paper in his hand that he had quickly stashed away before anyone could see. If my memory served correct, I knew exactly who sent it. Meaning, I also knew who was following me with his perverted stare today.

Saiki quietly finished his dinner and excused himself to his room. I stayed back to help Aunty clean up.

“Kumiko-chan, you're sleeping here today, right?" 

“Yes, Aunty. Mom’s gonna come back early morning. You don't mind right?" 

Aunty giggled. “Of course not! Papa also doesn't mind. Here, take this dessert with you." She handed me two cups: coffee jelly and custard pudding.

She knew exactly what I liked. And that's why I liked her. I hugged Aunty while still holding the cups and then made my way upstairs. When I opened the door, Saiki quickly hid something behind his back.

I pretended not to notice as I placed his coffee jelly onto the table and sat down on the bed. As I took a bite of my pudding, I gazed at Kusuo. He looked rather tense.

I saw the letter on his table and immediately grabbed it, “Hey, you got a letter? Who’s it from—" he snatched it back with surprising speed.

“Woah!" I raised my hand in surrender, “Sorry for taking it without asking. I was just curious. I won't see what it is until you want me to." 

Kusuo slowly relaxed his grip on the paper and placed it back on the table. He quietly went back to eating his coffee jelly. I ate my dessert in silence too and grabbed a book from Kusuo’s shelf. I hogged his bed while he still sat on the chair deep in thought. 

It was my intention but I drifted to sleep rather quickly. On Kusuo's bed. Again.

When we came back from school the next day, Aunty let us know Kusuo had a visitor. I didn't really care who it was but I wanted to grab my notebook from Kusuo’s room. Thus, I went ahead first while Saiki was scolding his mom for letting in strangers.

I opened the door and suddenly a purple haired boy came into view. My instincts immediately kicked in and I punched the guy. The hit was so loud that Saiki teleported behind me. 

He rushed in and checked my hand. The guy lay on the floor, rolling in pain while holding his probably broken nose. 

“Are you okay? What happened?" Saiki asked.

“Uh, I don't know, actually. I opened the door and saw this guy sniffing my blanket. You know, the one I keep in your room for naps. Blood rushed to my brain and before I could think, I punched him. With full force.”

“You didn't hurt your hand, right?" I shook my head as I stared at the spirit medium, Toritsuka Reita. Yeah. It was that pervert guy. 

“Master! Shouldn't you be more worried about me?!" 

Saiki turned to give Toritsuka a rather dirty glare. “You were sniffing her blanket. I think you deserve to be hit, but since she's already punched you, I'll let it go." He turned to face me, “Kumiko, you can take the notebook later. I need to talk to him in private." 

I wanted to stay and watch the drama but I nodded my head and left the room. Once I was downstairs, I heard a series of cracks and shouts of pain. 

Well, I didn't really need to stay in the room to know what would happen. Toritsuka would make completely unnecessary comments about the house and himself and then submit to Kusuo, calling him ‘Master.’

Saiki would learn about how he was a ghost type psychic. Then Toritsuka would tell him there were about 15 ghosts in his room. Which would completely creep Kusuo out. Especially the one that is rubbing his butt over Saiki’s face.

Right about now, Toritsuka should start his sob story. Toritsuka Reita was part of a temple family and could talk to and see ghosts from a very young age. He couldn't distinguish real people from ghosts and would often end up talking to the latter kind instead of the former. His method to prevent this was to hug people with a rather creepy expression on his face. Pathetically, Toritsuka’s powers were limited till there. He couldn't exorcise ghosts or scare them away. 

In short, even he thought his powers were useless. Other than the fact that he used them to do perverted stuff, his powers had no use. So he was here to beg Kusuo to teach him other psychic powers.

Thud! I guess, Kusuo finished explaining the drawbacks and shortcomings of his powers. Especially the fact that psychic powers were acquired from birth and couldn't be learned. 

Toritsuka should be real disappointed by now. Oh, sounds like Kusuo is dragging him out by the arm. Meaning, he would now be able to see what Toritsuka does.

This was one of Saiki's powers: Psychometry. By touching an object he could see everything about it. The people who touched it, their thoughts, their actions, everything. And this worked on everything. Including water. Imagine you're washing your hands and suddenly you see how that water was recycled from someone's toilet. Gross, right?

So, Saiki wears super thin transparent gloves. As long as he doesn't touch things directly, his power wouldn't activate. However, at this moment, Saiki was not wearing his gloves. When I had gone to sleep early the previous night, Saiki had slipped off his gloves and used psychometry to learn more about the sender of the letter: Toritsuka.

Now what happens when he touches a person? That's right. Kusuo is able to see and feel things exactly as the person does. Which meant that he was able to see ghosts right now. 

Toritsuka and Saiki came down together. Saiki handed me my notebook while I asked if everything worked out. He gave me a grim nod. Before Toritsuka left the Saikis’ threshold, I offered him an off-handed apology. He, however, tried to act like a pervert again, leading me to kick him this time. 

“Ku-chan~ is your friend staying for dinner?" 

“NO!" Saiki and I screamed in unison. Toritsuka was still hunched over on the floor, groaning in pain as Saiki dragged him out. We had a rather normal dinner that night and I slept over again.

•❅───✧❅✦❅✧───❅• •❅───✧❅✦❅✧───❅•

Good grief. The class was rather noisy today. Kumiko had dropped her bag and immediately left to meet her new friends in class 2–十. Seriously. She made way too many friends, way too quickly.

“Hey, hey, did you hear? There's a new transfer student in class 2–十!" 

“What?! Is it a girl?" 

“No. I heard it's a boy.”

This one sentence flipped the atmosphere in the class. The girl's began gushing about who the new transfer student could be while the boys talked about homework we didn't even have.

The door suddenly slammed open and Kumiko rushed over to me. She placed her hands on my desk, breathing a little heavily. “Kusuo! That creep from yesterday has transferred over to the next class! He's showing off his powers right now, announcing people's guardian spirits or something.”

I gestured for Kumiko to take a seat and catch her breath. Meanwhile I had a rat to catch, so I got up. This was way too cliché. When I entered class 2–十, there was a huge circle of students around Toritsuka. He immediately noticed me so I beckoned him to come outside. Looks like he knew what was good for him since he immediately excused himself. I really wanted to drag him out, though…

“Master? What happened? Did you want someth—" I slammed my hand near his head, trapping Toritsuka against the wall. 

“Um, master, I'm sorry but I don't swing that way—eek!" Oops. My bloodlust accidentally leaked out.

“First things first. Stop calling me master. I don't want to be associated with you." 

I leaned in closer, “Second. Transfer schools. Immediately." 

"Um, but Sai—saiki-san, I've just transferred over to a temple nearby. Didn't I tell you?”

"No, you didn't.”

"I just thought you would know through your powers…”

Good grief. Now there was someone in this school who knew about my powers. I had to take serious measures to keep him quiet.

“Oh, are you worried about your secret?! Don't worry. I promise not to tell—aahhh!" 

While Toritsuka was busy running his mouth, I was making a drill using toilet paper. I stabbed the weapon right next to his face. The wall cracked and was dented.

“It would do you well to remember this weapon dissolves in the water." I spoke as I dropped the paper into the toilet and flushed. “Nobody will be able to figure out how you died. Well, I could always make it look like an accident without problem, too.”

“If you reveal my secret, you're dead." 

Toritsuka was trembling as he replied with an affirmative. Good grief. I spent far too long on this idiot. Once we were out of the bathroom, it seemed Toritsuka forgot his fear.

“It's not something easily hidden, though. PSI powers really stand out.”

Not if you don't use them, they don't.

"Man, reading people’s minds is kinda a turn off though. But wait, you can also glance at their entire bodies, can't you?!! No fair!”

Toritsuka stopped talking as somebody passed by. Flowing blue hair along with a bright aura.

Heh. Even the transfer student fell for my charms… I heard Teruhashi-san’s thoughts as she passed by.

"Hey, who was that incredibly beautiful girl, Saiki-san?”

"That was Teruhashi-san and she passed by for absolutely no reason. You better be grateful.”

“Hahh?! And you got to peek at her? Seriously, not fair." He suddenly balled up his palm, “Saiki-san, can I punch you just once?" 

"No. And stop talking as if I'm some pervert. It isn't fun seeing through a person’s body within 5 seconds of maintaining eye contact.”

Suddenly a squeal of voices echoed down the corridor and in a moment, at least 50 girls came running, begging Toritsuka to identify their guardian spirits. 

“Saiki-san, I'm actually rather fine with this." He held a thumb up. 

Whatever, I don't care. I should stay as far away as possible though. I wanted to leave immediately but the girls were blocking the hallway so I was forced to watch as Toritsuka flirted with girls. Or at least tried to. 

Takahashi and his group tried to learn about their spirits but Toritsuka only gave vague answers: old lady, old man, old man, old lady.

I suddenly spied Kumiko in the group around Toritsuka. What the…? Was she interested in this kind of thing? Maybe I should have tried to gain ghost-psychic powers. (...?)

“There you are Kusuo! I've been trying to get past that horde for the last two minutes. Did you talk to the creep?" Kumiko’s back was towards the crowd, meaning her full focus was on me.

It made me feel… weird for some reason.

“Saiki?" Kumiko waved her hands in front of me.

I caught them in my own and lowered them. "Yeah, I did. He was talking nonsense though." 

She turned her head to look at Toritsuka. I could see through her expression that she believed me. I squeezed her hands and she immediately turned back towards me. “Do you…. Are you not interested in that?” I tried to ask casually.

"What?” She looked up at me, completely innocent with a smile on her face.

"Your guardian spirit…" 

“Oh, that? No, I'm not interested. I think I have an inkling that he won't be able to see it anyways.” She tried waving her hand but I didn't let go. "Plus, I have no intention of being around that guy.”

For some reason, those words set my panic at ease. I felt rather happy and wanted to hug Kumiko. But I held back. 

•❅───✧❅✦❅✧───❅• •❅───✧❅✦❅✧───❅•

Truth to be told, I was kinda interested in my guardian spirit. But Kusuo’s voice made me hesitant to answer. I genuinely wanted to pat his head and assure him that he was fine but Saiki was still holding onto my hands. I had noticed this recently.

Saiki Kusuo had become more tolerant of physical affection, especially if it came to me. This was a surprising twist but hey, who am I to oppose?

Also, I was pretty sure I didn't have a guardian spirit. I was an outsider in this world. I had forced my way in and pressurized the world to accept me. I could still feel it trying to set the course back but I was able to fight against it. 

Especially with their help. See, they were a romantic at heart. They absolutely loved isekai romances and had thus easily agreed to my request. 

As I watched, Kusuo’s expression relaxed and he seemed rather calm again. 

I heard a rather loud commotion, with people trying to push someone to the front. I turned around. It was Hairo.

“Wow! His guardian spirit is a tennis player! So enthusiastic and heated!” 

Huh… Well, it made sense for Hairo.

Next up was Kaidou. He pretended he wasn't interested but he seemed pretty excited when Toritsuka mentioned his guardian spirit was something he had never seen before.

I didn't even need telepathy to see Kaidou’s trail of thought. He was probably expecting some alien or satanic demon.

“A chihuahua. Your guardian spirit is a chihuahua." 

Kaidou immediately balked at the answer. All the gathered students began laughing, teasing Kaidou.

He, on the other hand, mumbled just low enough, “Tch! He is probably a fraud. Just you wait, Temple T!”

I shook my head at his absurd nature. But then I heard the voice I was expecting the most.

“Oh? What's going on? A festival?” Nendou asked.

Kaidou muttered an explanation and Nendou was immediately hooked. “Hey! Do me next! Me!" I guess he was interested in supernatural stuff too. 

However, Toritsuka completely ignored him. Figures. One Nendou was enough for him after all.

Soon the bell rang and we all returned to our classes. Saiki had let go of my hands when the bell rang but was walking close. As the day passed, Nendou was even more hyped to learn about his guardian. He kept pestering us to guess and went to trouble Toritsuka during lunch.

Finally the last bell for the day rang and we all walked out. For some reason, Toritsuka was walking with us.

“Man! I'm so glad I transferred schools!" 

Kusuo was walking between me and Toritsuka while Nendou was trailing us from behind, constantly asking Toritsuka to identify his spirit.

Toritsuka completely ignored Nendou and asked Saiki if he was interested. Of course, he immediately rejected the idea, but man was I curious. They had never revealed this even in the manga.

“What about you Kumiko-chan?" His voice got all sugary. I shivered as he continued talking, “Let me check yours!" 

Before I could refuse, Toritsuka was already using his power. “Huh? Huuuhhhh??? Uwah! Saiki-san, you—you should—" he was trembling rather harshly like he was hauled out of the freezing ocean on a cold winter night.

However before he could complete his sentence, Nendou interrupted again. This caused Toritsuka to snap and he shouted at Nendou, “Hey! What is your problem? You're so noisy! I've told you not to follow me!” he suddenly hit him with his school bag and Nendou shouted in pain.

Thank god for Nendou. “Hey! Why are you hitting me?" Nendou was rubbing his arm.

Toritsuka looked rather confused as he let his bag drop down.

“Huh? You—you’re real? Wha—but? Huh?”

"Hey, why'd you hit him?!” I intervened.

"Huh? You can see him? He's not a ghost? But you guys were ignoring him…”

"We weren't ignoring him. You kept talking so we weren't able to talk.” 

"I—I'm sorry. It's just that my guardian spirit looks exactly like his...” Toritsuka was muttering under his breath. 

He suddenly pulled Saiki aside and began whispering something. He was probably inviting Kusuo to see his guardian spirit, which was Nendou's dad. Saiki however refused and immediately came over. He urged me to walk faster and soon we were home, away from that creep.

“Oh! My mom's home today. Guess I'll see you tomorrow, Kusuo!" I waved bye with a big smile and disappeared inside.

Chapter Text

Kumiko headed home as soon as the bell rang today, saying she and Mrs.Tenmori had some plans. Meaning, I was alone when I left the classroom. And that's how I was in this situation.

Sitting here, along with Hairo, trying to build some stupid pedestal for some stupid sports festival. He managed to catch me while I was leaving and rope me into completing the pedestal. However when we reached the classroom, the pedestal was broken. It had fallen over and laid there in pieces.

Welp, time to go home, I thought. “Come on, pedestal?! You can stand up again! You were standing just fine yesterday! You must get up!” Hairo seemed to have other plans. He was passionately encouraging the pedestal to stand back up.

Of course, it was a total bust. Even I couldn't fix it with my esp, let alone Hairo’s motivational shouts. I was about to head out when Hairo caught me. Again. 

“Saiki-kun. We'll be able to finish this before the last train if both of us work hard! Come on!" Hairo was rather pumped.

So here I was trying to use a saw and hammer like a normal person. Hairo kept shouting things like DON'T GIVE UP! FULL POWER! YEAAHHHH!!!!

Good grief. Shut up already. I was so tempted to just hit his head with the hammer in my hand to shut him up. Oops. Looks like I couldn't do that. I can't really control my strength so I accidentally broke the hammer. While I sat there looking at the broken pieces of the hammer, Hairo suddenly shouted.

“What the hell?! We don't have more wood?! No wait, that's right. We didn't have enough wood to start with.”

That's right. Maybe it was God's plan to make us give up. Let's follow it, shall we?

"I'm gonna go buy some!" Hairo announced, clenching his fist in motivation. No. Just give up and go home.

“Saiki-kun, keep at the repairs! I'll go and buy some wood and return with all my might.” Before I could say anything, Hairo ran out of the classroom.

Good grief. What a pain. Guess I'll just leave… not. Knowing the kind of guy he was, Hairo would pester me tomorrow morning asking why I gave up.

Just this morning I saw his crazy way of motivating. A girl was having some trouble with a rather heavy box. Instead of helping her immediately, Hairo ‘encouraged’ her to carry it up to the stairs. After which, he decided to make it harder for himself and bunny hop to the science room. Which was on the second floor. As if this wasn't enough, a lot of our male classmates joined him.

I looked around. After making sure there was no one around, I used my ESP to cut the wood into pieces. Then I gathered the screws and hammered them onto the wood with my hands. Alright then. This would take a normal person roughly 30 minutes but I was done in less than a minute. The screws were still smoking as I took out my book and settled in to read.

I was nearly done with my book but Hairo had still not returned. It had been about 50 minutes now. I don't think he's that type of person, but it seemed he left me alone just like our other classmates.

Hmm. I guess I'll look for him. Clairvoyance! Hmm? Was… Hairo dragging along a… tree trunk?! What the hell?! If you couldn't find wood at the lumberjack you could've just given up. Why were you dragging a log?!

Hmm? Hairo’s thoughts invaded my mind.

I can't give up. Saiki-kun is still there, working hard by himself right now! I can't, hah, give up NOW!

Um, no, you really can. Why was he going to such lengths? He could just say the lumberjack was closed and call it a day. Good grief. There has to be a limit to his stupidity. Sigh. What a pain. It's gonna take him another hour at this rate. I picked the saw and got to work.

After about an hour the door opened and Hairo stood there. He looked utterly unhinged. If this was a horror thriller, he would be the serial killer. He was wheezing heavily as he announced he was back. Sheesh. You could have given up.

However, Hairo seemed immediately rejuvenated when he saw the pedestal. “Woah!!! Look how much you've done!” Yeah, cause I wanna go home ASAP.

“We can definitely finish this by tomorrow morning! That's much faster than I thought!" No. We should go home and complete it tomorrow. But it seems that wasn't an option anymore.

The door opened again and a lot of our classmates tumbled in. I was surprised to see Kumiko at the forefront.

“We'll help too, Hairo!" She announced as the students behind erupted in a cheer.

“You guys…” Hairo was so moved, he was crying. However, he quickly recovered and I could feel the heat from the fire of motivation. Good grief. What a pain. Seriously. 

“Hmm? Saiki~ You're smiling." Kumiko sidled over to tease me. Hush you. I placed a hand on her mouth and gestured for her to focus on work.

She was still grinning like a cheshire but relented. As I watched, she and Hairo worked together and divided up the responsibilities between the entire class. All of us took our roles seriously and slowly but surely the pedestal was completed.

“Goodness. It takes a normal person much longer to do this work, right?" Kumiko asked.

I nodded, “Yeah. But it sure is worth it. I think I understand the feeling of accomplishment normal people feel—" I stopped abruptly. My eyes widened as I turned to look at Kumiko. 

She wasn't looking at me but instead at the pedestal and our classmates who were cheering along with Hairo. She was smiling softly. She didn't probe into what I said.

After a brief moment of silence, I continued, “How did you all come so suddenly? Weren't they busy? And I thought you were out with your mom…”

Kumiko turned towards me, the soft sweet smile still on her face, "Oh, that. When I reached home, Aunty told me that Mom had to go to work. Something came up. Apparently she tried to contact me but my phone was unreachable. I decided to come pick you up instead. I called Kaidou but he told me that you hadn't left with him and Nendou. So I came to school.”

She pointed towards Hairo, "On the way I saw Hairo dragging that huge tree trunk. I snapped a pic and sent it to the group chat, asking what was happening. That's when we all learned that nobody had stayed back to help Hairo. I guess the others confirmed Hairo’s efforts when they saw him from their clubrooms. So I encouraged everyone to come and help out. How nice, right?” 

That was nice. Rather unexpected too. I was so sure everyone had just ditched Hairo but it seemed I was wrong. I looked at the group still raving around the pedestal when suddenly Kumiko jumped from the table and joined them. She hyped everyone up even more and soon they were as energetic as a group of toddlers who woke from an afternoon nap. 

“By the way…” Classmate C started speaking as everyone finally calmed down. Kumiko was sitting next to me again, tired from the jumping and hyping. “Why are we preparing for the sports festival now? Isn't it a month away?”

Kumiko blinked and her smile froze. "He and I really don't mix…" she muttered under her breath while Hairo was enthusiastically explaining how a month was around the corner. I agreed. Hairo and Kumiko and I didn't mix. We were like oil and water, one trying to go against the flow and always ready to burn while the other did things at its own pace, lazing around.

Chapter Text

“Saiki, slow down!" I chided as I struggled to match his speed. He looked back at me but suddenly it was easier to walk alongside him. 

“Good grief. What's got you in such a hurry?" I frowned.

"Health Rangers Specializers is going to air its last episode.”

"What?! Why didn't you tell me earlier? Hurry, hurry!” I sped up, trying to pull Kusuo along. Health Rangers Specializers was a children’s show but Saiki and I watched it religiously. It was about heroes who fought against aliens trying to take over the Earth.

Without warning, Kusuo flipped the position of our hands and pulled me back just as I was about to turn a corner. I looked back at him in question.

“It's Kaidou. He wants to show me his stupid ‘hideout’. Let's take another route." Kusuo suggested and began walking in the opposite direction, leading me by the hand.

Just as we were about to ascend a set of stairs, he stopped again. I almost bumped into him. “Now what?" I asked him.

“It's Hairo this time. He wants to invite us to the gym as a thank you for the pedestal." 

“Good grief! Sounds like a pain. Pass. Emergency exit?” Saiki nodded in answer and we headed towards the door immediately.

Saiki stopped. Again. This time I did bump into him. Rubbing my nose, I waited for him to explain.

He looked at me with tired eyes as he clarified, “Teruhashi-san. She wants to hand over some worksheets and then invite me to tea for some reason." He sighed loudly.

What a pain. Why was everyone seeking us out today?! More than that, Saiki was admitting rather freely to knowing about those guys despite the fact we didn't see them even once. I think he was able to detect them with his telepathy but wasn't he being too open about his powers?

Even yesterday, I had spoken in a rather casual manner so he had slipped up. Did this mean he had decided to do away with the thin veil of fake ignorance? As we were walking, Saiki suddenly stopped and we teleported.

“Okay, first of all, what the hell? And second of all, WHAT THE HELL?!" I raged as we found ourselves in a bathroom stall.

Saiki seemed a little taken aback. "It was Nendou…" he mumbled.

“Right. Of course." My tone was rather clipped. Wait. It wasn't really Saiki’s fault. I shouldn't snap at him. I breathed deeply through the nose, then exhaled slowly.

“Okay, how about we just do whatever you did just now? Go home with that power?" I suggested.

“...aren't you way too calm about the fact that we teleported?" Saiki asked after a stunned silence.

I shrugged. “Look, I don't particularly care about anything other than Health Rangers right now. I'll freak out later. So? Can we teleport out?" 

Kusuo’s face was clouded with regret as he nodded a no. Before I could ask, he pointed out what I had forgotten, “Our shoes. They'll still be at school and then the others will ask about it tomorrow." 

“Okay, you're right. I guess we can just wait? Yeah, let's wait I guess." I sat down on the closed seat while Saiki crossed his arms and leaned against the door.

There was a rather awkward silence. Should I ask him about his powers? Would it be weird? I don't think so…

“So… we teleported, and you knew who was where despite the fact we didn't see hair nor hide of them. I also saw you carry Nendou on the beach that day and you were also underwater but seemed to be breathing fine. Then there was that creep who kept calling you Master. And there was that time when a truck swerved so hard when it was about to hit me that it was dented on both sides despite crashing on its left.” I raised a finger one after the other as I listed the weird happenings. 

"Do I get an explanation or should I keep pretending everything’s fine? I have been justifying everything that has been happening around us, no matter how weird. I can do it for a while longer, like I promised back at the beach.” I met Saiki’s eyes.

He stared at me, thinking, processing, calculating. I saw a mess of emotions pass by, too quick to name. Then he sighed. Okay, then. Seems like I should keep pretend—

“I have psychic powers.” He unexpectedly announced. I didn't say anything, waiting for him to continue. He sighed again and pushed off from the door to stand properly. “My psychic powers include a wide range of things. Telepathy, X-ray vision, levitation, shrinking, teleportation, pyrokinesis, super strength, super speed, being able to breathe underwater, invisibility, clairvoyance and many, many more.”

"You don't sound happy. Are your powers a burden for you?” Of course, I already know the answer but I just wanted to make sure. Who knows, my appearance changed his opinion?

"........Yes. Powers like telepathy and X-ray vision are continuously activated, completely against my will. My other powers have loads of drawbacks and only act to make me suffer.” Kusuo seemed to be bracing himself for something, but I couldn't pinpoint what.

"Telepathy sounds tough. Constantly hearing everyone’s thoughts, no wonder you're such an extreme introvert." I placed a hand on my chin. "X-ray too. Does that mean you can't look at people without suddenly seeing them nude?" 

Saiki looked surprised. He dumbly nodded at my question and added that within 5 seconds of eye contact, he would end up talking to a skeleton.

Oh. 

Oohhhh. 

Yeah, makes sense. 

He thought I would treat him as a pervert for gazing at others’ naked bodies all the time. Of course I didn't! It was outside of his control, for heaven’s sake. When I relayed as much, Kusuo’s hands slipped from where they were crossed over at his chest.

I stood up. Taking Kusuo’s hand in mine, I looked him in the eyes, “Have you ever used these powers to harm anyone?" 

He frowned but shook his head. 

“Have you ever used this power to help someone hurt others?" 

His frown deepened but he shook his head again.

“Have you ever done something wrong using your powers?" 

This time he just glared at me, not bothering to reply.

“Then what are you so afraid of Kusuo? You're still hiding something.” I gently asked.

He looked down at our conjoined hands then looked up at me. "My powers don't work on you for some reason. I don't know why." He blurted out.

Oh, that. I knew the answer, obviously. In exchange for helping me transmigrate over to this world, they had made it so that Kusuo’s powers didn't work on me. Of course this was so that Kusuo didn't accidentally read my mind and realise that this world was part of a manga. I couldn't really say all that, however, so I changed the trajectory of the conversation.

“Wait…” I dropped Saiki’s hands, "Does this mean you've been hanging around me just to figure out this mystery?! Does this mean our relationship was a—”

"No, no, no!” Kusuo grabbed my flailing hands and squeezed them. "That's not true. I enjoy your company, Kumiko. I swear. In fact, I was going to stay away from you since you were an unknown. But over time, I just forgot about that.”

His gaze dropped. His voice turned vulnerable. "It was nice being able to talk like a normal person. Without having my eyes phase through your skin to end up with a skeleton. Having to actually observe and talk to you instead of just reading your thoughts…. It was nice being normal…” he trailed off.

God, I wanted to kiss Kusuo. So bad. “Um, Kusuo. I know you are being super vulnerable right now, but could I ask you something?" 

He looked up, squeezing my hands again. "Will your psychometry activate if I hug you?” 

He froze for a split second before I was being pulled into a tight hug. It took me a hot minute to register but I was already hugging him back by the time I did. 

We stood there for a while. Just basking in each other's presence. It was nice. 

Suddenly my phone vibrated. Loudly. I ignored it for a while but it kept on ringing, ruining the atmosphere. Having no choice, I awkwardly pulled back. I really wanted to chuck that God forsaken device into the toilet but of course, I couldn't. Phones were expensive.

It was the timer. I locked eyes with Saiki, both of us silent. “There's just 40 minutes left for the clock to hit five. We might miss the show. Have those bothersome guys left?”

Saiki’s eyes went cross as he used Clairvoyance. After a few minutes, his lips turned into an angry frown as he shook his head. “Hairo is waiting at the school gate. Kaidou is stalking the shoe locker and Teruhashi-san has enticed her followers to look for us. I guess we're missing the show.” 

"Why? We can just record it, right?" 

Kusuo was shaking his head even before I completed my sentence. “I am constantly hearing people's thoughts. This means that if I don't watch the show as soon as it releases, I'll have to deal with spoilers. Simply because people are thinking about it.”

Yeah. That made sense. As the seconds ticked by, we tried to come up with a strategy. Finally a light bulb went off in my head.

"Kusuo! How about this? I'll tell everyone you already left. You can leave during that time by turning invisible… what do you say?” I chewed my bottom lip.

•❅───✧❅✦❅✧───❅• •❅───✧❅✦❅✧───❅•

“Teruhashi-san!" I called out. Looks like she had yet to send her fans to find Saiki, seeing the crowd around her.

She turned around to face me, “Huh? Tenmori-san? You haven't gone home yet?" 

I forced a smile, "No. I had some things to do. What about you?”

"Oh, um, I'm searching for Saiki-kun. Sensei gave me some worksheets to pass onto him. Don't you both always leave together?”

I knitted my brows, "Oh, no. Since I was busy, Kusuo left as soon as school was out. He's probably already home by now.” I smiled again and put my hand forward, “How about I give those worksheets to him?" 

Teruhashi-san faltered. She stepped away from me. I smiled brighter, forcing the action again.

“Um, no, I'll give, um…”

"Surely it must be important if Sensei specially gave it to you. Otherwise she would've given it to Kusuo herself tomorrow. I'll take them off your hands. Kusuo and I are neighbours, remember?” Teruhashi-san’s grip loosened. Seeing my chance, I immediately snatched the worksheets away. There was no way I would give her an excuse to invite Saiki on a date. Hmph!

It felt nice to see Teruhashi look so defeated. Yeah, I was petty. Fight me.

But, the first obstacle was cleared.

Next, Kaidou Shun.

I hurriedly made my way over to the shoe lockers, when I noticed Saiki walking along the wall. I moved closer to him.

“Hey. I think Toritsuka might throw a wrench into our plans. He can see things that are invisible right? I caught a glimpse of him earlier. You should warn him." I whispered.

He nodded and I walked away from him. Of course, it was all a lie. I didn't see Toritsuka anywhere. I just remembered from the manga that Saiki had managed to escape when Toritsuka had touched him. This caused him to turn visible again and then everyone started pestering him. Now, I wasn't worried.

When I passed by the locker Kaidou was hidden in, he jumped out. Naturally, I screamed loudly, which attracted Teruhashi-san.

“I'm fine. Kaidou scared me though. Anyways, Kaidou, you haven't gone home yet?" I quickly changed the topic.

"Ah, no. I wanted to show Saiki something.” Kaidou seemed a bit embarrassed. Well, it was valid. Kaidou wanted to show Saiki a ‘secret hideout’, which was basically a weird old building.

After making sure everything was fine, Teruhashi-san had left immediately, meaning Kaidou and I were alone. “Ooohh~ Is it a secret hideout, Kaidou?" I bumped my shoulder against his.

He immediately blushed. Stammering, he tried to deny the accusation. “Relax Kaidou!" I lightly punched his shoulder. “I'm not teasing you. I've never had a secret hideout nor have I ever been to one. So I was just curious. Oh, but if you feel uncomfortable, I'll drop the subject." 

I had managed to lead Kaidou over to the girl’s section of the shoe lockers. As I changed my shoes, Kaidou very excitedly asked if I would like to see the hideout.

I smiled at him, “Sorry Kaidou. I wish I could. How about you, me and Kusuo meet up on the weekend? We can visit it together. Anyways, Saiki has already gone home.”

Kaidou seemed conflicted but after a bit more coaxing, he relented.

I waved goodbye as he left to get his own shoes.

Second obstacle: cleared.

Now, the final stage: Hairo Kineshi.

As I walked towards the gate, I spotted Kusuo. He was pointing at a place I couldn't see because of the wall. Oh, he was telling me Hairo’s location. 

As I turned round the corner, Hairo called out to me. “Tenmori-san! There you are. I've been looking for you everywhere." 

I pasted a smile and turned around, engaging a conversation, "Hey Hairo-kun. Didn't know that. I had some things to do. What's up? Don't you have to go home?”

Hairo shook his head, “I wanted to invite you and Saiki-kun to the gym I visit. It's popular with many famous celebrities, like Matsuoka Shuzu. So I wanted to help you guys get a membership there. As thanks for the help with the pedestal.” Hairo looked around. I had started walking as I was speaking, so naturally, Hairo was walking with me.

"I don't see Saiki-kun though…" Well, he was walking right beside me. Of course, Hairo couldn't see him. I guess Saiki had reactivated his invisibility somewhere along the way. After all, the power lasted only 10 minutes. "No worries!" Hairo suddenly shouted, holding up a fist as he grinned, “I can just take him next time. How about we both go for now?”

“Um, thanks for the offer Hairo, but no. I'm not really into sports and fitness. I'll visit the gym with you but I won't be registering. How about we go on the weekend? Kaidou can join us too." 

Hairo frowned. He looked deep in thought. Now the sinker, “Also, Saiki already left. I guess you missed him too. I'll relay your message, however. See you later! Bye Hairo!" I hurriedly walked away before Hairo could respond. 

Game Over!

“Now, then, let's hurry home!" I grabbed Saiki’s hand and rushed down the road. Once we were in a relatively remote area, I blinked and we were at Saiki’s home.

“Huh? What?" 

Saiki was looking rather smug as he sat down on the sofa and switched the TV on. 

“You teleported, didn't you?" I demanded. Saiki just shrugged with a small smile. He patted the spot next to him as the show started. Oh well, mission complete!

Chapter Text

It had been about three hours since we finished watching the last episode of Health Rangers. Kumiko was rather quiet. Abnormally so.

We were both in my room, eating dessert while doing our homework. On usual days, a homework session would look like this:

“Kusuo! I can't do this. Help me." 

“Hey, did you know Kusuo, elephants think humans are cute the same way we think baby animals are cute.” 

"Aren't we doing math? Focus." 

“Kusuo~! I'm bored. Let's take a break. Oh do you know, I started this new webcomic….”

Kusuo this, Kusuo that, Kusuo do you know, Kusuo I'm bored, Kusuo, Kusuo, Kusuo…

She would usually keep chattering on until she really had to focus. But right now, we were sitting in a stony silence as Kumiko munched on her pudding. Well, at least she seemed to enjoy her food.

I peeked over in her notebook since she was just staring blankly at it. I blinked. I blinked again. I rubbed my eyes. So, it wasn't a trick of the light.

“Kumiko!" I lightly tapped her head. 

She immediately snapped towards me, pouting hard. "What?!”

I stopped, the words stuck in my throat. I gulped and focused my attention from Kumiko to her notebook, pointing, “Focus. It's been an hour since we started. I've taught you this topic, so I know you know how to do this." I tried to make my voice hard but it didn't really work.

Oddly, instead of focusing on her studies like she usually did after I scolded her, Kumiko pushed the books away.

See, Kumiko was prone to getting sidetracked and bored pretty easily but she would always refocus whenever I pointed it out. So her actively pushing the books away was rather unexpected.

“Kumiko…? You've been rather quiet for the past few hours. You didn't even pass commentary on Health Rangers and even during dinner you spoke as minimum as possible…. Is something wrong?”

"I'm just thinking about how we had one of the most important conversations of our life in a bathroom stall in the men’s room.”

What? That was it? "Hey, aren't you taking this way too calmly? I did figure you were processing the reveal of my powers but aren't you abnormally calm? Are you sure you're okay?”

•❅───✧❅✦❅✧───❅• •❅───✧❅✦❅✧───❅•

I met Kusuo’s eyes. “I'm fine. Seriously. I just thought it was rather absurd. I thought maybe you would reveal your powers at a more critical moment. Or maybe even later." 

Kusuo gave me a harsh, skeptical look.

I sighed, gathering up my knees close to my chest. “Come on Kusuo. What do you want me to do? Freak out? Have a meltdown? That's not going to change the reality, is it? It's so much better for both me and you if I just accept this and move on. Why bother wasting energy on something that is set in stone?”

I lowered my eyelashes. The truth was, ever since the bathroom stall I had a strong urge to kiss Kusuo. Like really makeout. Of course, I couldn't violate him like that, especially when I wasn't sure if he liked me in a romantic way or not. 

……

Actually, thinking back, hasn't Kusuo opened up to me? He worries about me, keeps me out of trouble, helps me, and has even started being comfortable with touches. Should I take this as a sign he likes me? Or atleast, is developing some feelings?

Unfortunately for me, Kusuo was a tsundere. Did that mean him getting comfortable around me meant he actually didn't like me? What if he was just putting up with me?

I mean, I know from the manga that despite finding his friends bothersome, Kusuo warmed up to them in the end. Was I just using this to trick myself into believing what I wanted to?

“Kumiko…?” I heard his worry laced voice.

I looked at him through wet eyelashes, "Aren't you supposed to be a tsundere…?" I blurted out. Despite my best efforts, a tear slid down my eye. I looked down at the wet spot on my knees, “Huh? Why—why am I crying?" More tears slid down my face as I watched Saiki sit there. Stunned. Helpless. Shocked.

Tears kept sliding down my face. No. Kusuo wouldn't know what to do. I have to leave. I have to go back to my own house. I'll feel better after crying and it will be easier to sort my feelings. Yes, I—

Just as I was about to open the door, I was yanked back by my wrist. I felt Kusuo’s arms wrap around me and my back rest against his warm chest. He was hugging me. Doing what he knew best. The tears just didn't stop, no matter how much I scrubbed my eyes. Soon, there were stains of hot tears on my knees and my eyes felt raw but the flood wasn't over.

As I tried to scrub my tears away, Saiki caught my hands and pressed them to my stomach, placing his own on top. His gesture was small, but it renewed the wave of tears. Now my tears were falling freely, like water falling off a cliff into a plunge pool. Somewhere along the way, Saiki had got a tissue box and I felt the paper against my nose as he softly instructed me to blow. 

I think I cried for at least two hours. I felt super exhausted by the time I stopped feeling disoriented. I realized that Saiki and I were on his bed. His blanket was wrapped around me in such a way that only my face was exposed. His scent cocooned me in a gentle embrace.

His arms were still around me and I realized at some point I had started crying into his shirt. I raised my puffy eyes, squinting to see if Saiki was awake. The room was dark and my eyes were way too puffy. But I felt the vibrations as his chest raised and dropped in a slow, deliberate manner. My eyelids kept dropping down as I realized he was indeed asleep. Maybe, I'll sleep for some time too…

•❅───✧❅✦❅✧───❅• •❅───✧❅✦❅✧───❅•

Good grief. She finally fell asleep. I lay in bed with Kumiko for some more time until I was sure she was deeply asleep. I slowly slid out from her arms and tucked my blanket tighter around Kumiko. 

She whined a little but immediately settled down once I patted her. Now then, time to complete that homework. I stepped down from the bed, careful not to step on any books. 

In next to no time, I was done with not only my but also Kumiko’s homework. I cleaned up the room and packed both our bags. I looked into the darkness, contemplating whether to sleep next to Kumiko or on the floor, like I usually did nowadays. 

Aren't you a tsundere…?

Kumiko’s face flashed before my eyes.

Sigh.

Guess I'll sleep on the bed tonight.

•❅───✧❅✦❅✧───❅• •❅───✧❅✦❅✧───❅•

I woke up wrapped in blankets, feeling rather warm. Too warm. My eyes felt even puffier than they did last night while my entire body ached. I tried turning around but even that was too cumbersome. 

My throat felt so dry. And my head ached. Really bad. I vaguely registered the door opening. 

“Huh? Are you awake Kumiko-chan?" It was Aunty. Was I still at Kusuo's house? “Here, drink some water." 

Aunty helped me sit up and drink some water. My throat felt utterly swollen, making it rather difficult to swallow. The water was warm though so it made the gulping easier.

“You have a high fever. I was going to take you to the hospital if you had not woken up. Do you think you can eat?”

I tried speaking but my voice was way too hoarse. So I nodded and gestured that I would eat only a little. Aunty brought me warm porridge and patiently fed it to me.

Thank god I only had a throat infection for now and not a cough. After eating, I asked Aunty what time it was. 

“Hmm… I think school's let out. Ku-chan will be home any minute—”

"I'm home.” Saiki suddenly appeared.

"And he's here!” She clapped her hands together.

I tried smiling at Kusuo but he just pushed me down on the bed. Aunty giggled before leaving with the dirty dishes. She popped back in within a second, reminding Kusuo about my medicine. 

He nodded and we both were alone again. God. I was so pathetic. How the hell did one fall sick from crying?!

“It wasn't just crying. You have been coughing and sniffing for the past week and still ate cold things. Crying was just the trigger for the powder keg you set up." Kusuo dryly pointed out as if he could read my thoughts.

I didn't even have the energy to retort. 

"I hope you get better soon…" he mumbled, tucking a strand of my hair.

Saiki began telling me about what happened in school since I had yet to take my medicine. 

See, there's a girl called Yumehara Chiyo. She's fallen in love with Kusuo once but was redirected towards someone else. She falls in love way too easily. 

Anyways, the point was that Saiki heard her thoughts. They were using a siren to loudly proclaim: I'm falling in love with Saiki-kun again.

Of course, he wanted no part in that. So he worked hard to deal with the failing relationship between Yumehara and her boyfriend, Takeru-kun.

Honestly, Takeru-kun wasn't really a fun guy to date. He rarely put in effort, kept recycling the same old pick-up lines with the word ‘umbrella’, and he was hella rude, especially to waiters. Worst. Type. Of. Guy. Oh there was also the fact that he would dislocate his jaw whenever everyone was having a good time and then ruin the atmosphere. 

Of course, Yumehara had shared all of this with me. She expected me to give her advice for some reason. 

I had clearly informed her I had no experience in the field of love, but Yumehara begged me to just listen.

I guess it was fitting that Yumehara’s relationship was falling apart while she fell for some other guy during the fall season. I really wanted to make this joke, but my voice barely came out.

Anyways, back to Kusuo’s story. It was Yumehara and Takeru’s 3 month anniversary today. Takeru, of course, had no idea. While they were walking back home, Saiki implanted the words ‘3 months’ in the boy’s mind using telepathy.

This led Yumehara to believe he remembered and then Takeru-kun declared he had a gift. 

Obviously, he didn't. He just panicked and blurted it out. What an idiot. 

Saiki stopped the narration when the thermometer began beeping.

“38.8 Celsius. Seems like your fever’s gone down. That's good.” 

Right. Aunty told me that my temperature was 40 degrees in the morning. Well, that didn't really shock me, given my fever rose to 41.1 degrees once. 

I gestured for Kusuo to continue with the story.

Since Takeru had just blurted out the thing about a gift, he rifled around in his bag and pulled out a….. dry squid snack. Not even an unopened one but something that he was snacking on in class.

Good grief. How is any girl gonna stay with him long term? I felt bad for Yumehara, especially given the fact that Kusuo was forcefully increasing her favorability ranking of Takeru.

Oh right. Kusuo has a power called favorability ranking that allows him to see how liked a person is or how a person feels about the other.

All throughout this ridiculous quest of playing cupid, Kusuo was using the power to determine whether Yumehara's favorability ranking of Takeru went up or down.

Thankfully, just before Yumehara opened her eyes, Saiki was able to replace the squid packet with a cute stuffed rabbit Yumehara had been eyeing earlier.

Just like this, Saiki helped Takeru impress Yumehara all throughout their date and by the time they sat down to eat, Yumehara’s rating of Takeru was a whopping 95.

But, Saiki’s efforts were all in vain. Takeru was rude to the waiter, like really rude. I would've punched him. Then when he removed his shoes, his feet stank. His weird way of holding chopsticks and the noises he made while eating. 

The ranking Kusuo had so painstakingly increased plummeted like a meteor crashing on Earth. In the end, Yumehara left the restaurant crying and broke up with him.

I patted Kusuo's knee in sympathy. Poor guy. So popular with girls. He didn't really have to worry about Yumehara though. I wasn't going to let her crush on Saiki after all, and I knew just the person I could redirect Yumehara to.

By the time the story was over, I was feeling rather sleepy, barely able to keep my eyes open. Kusuo helped me take the medicine and tucked me in. He sat beside me until I fell asleep again.

Chapter Text

“Want me to help you?" Kumiko asked, crouching in front of me.

Good grief. I can't believe I have to be spoon fed like a baby. Of course, I was hungry so I had no choice but to nod.

Kumiko smiled and sat down properly. She got out a spoon, and patiently fed me, just like I did when she had a fever.

What? You're wondering how this situation came to be? Good question.

Let's go back.

The start of this stupid sports festival.

'Wait, start from how and when I recovered.'

Good grief. So demanding. But fine.

Kumiko missed school on Friday due to her fever which carried over to Saturday. The fever didn't rise over 38.3 degrees but it didn't go down either. However Kumiko was in a better state, enough to be able to talk.

“Sorry, you're gonna have to go to the gym with Hairo and Kaidou after visiting the secret hideout Kaidou made. I'm gonna have to bail." 

Of course, it was dumb of Kumiko to worry. “I have already cancelled the weekend plans and rescheduled them.”

“Huh? What? How?" 

"I told Kaidou and Hairo you were sick, obviously. I got the gym’s address from Hairo and told him we'll visit when we have time. Kaidou… I ditched him.”

“Oh, then that means you are free. That's great!" 

"Yup. I can finally catch up on my books.”

“Just one thing." Kumiko held up a finger.

"What?”

“We have the sports festival coming up next week, right?”

“Oh yes. That stupid thing. I guess Hairo was right. A month passed by way too fast.”

“Good. Just wanted to confirm.”

I squinted at Kumiko. “Why? What happened?”

"Huh? Oh, don't worry. I’m pretty sure I'll be up and running by the time the sports festival rolls around but I don't think I'll participate.”

“Huh? Why? Weren't you looking forward to it? You were helping with the preparation so enthusiastically.”

Kumiko waved a hand. "Well, I might be healed but that doesn't mean I'll be better. My immune system’s rather shit. I fall sick rather easily but the recovery is a serious pain. If I exert myself, I'll fall sick again. Learned from experience.”

“Why are you grinning? Are you an idiot? You were really looking forward to it, weren't you?”

Kumiko just shrugged. “I mean this isn't the first time you know. What about you though?”

“Me? Well, it's hard to control my powers when playing any sport. Naturally, I'm sitting out too. It's a pain anyways.”

The door to my room burst open and Mom and Dad walked in. 

"No Ku-chan! You have to go!”

"That's right Kusuo! I even brought a new video camera for your festival!”

……

How long had you both been standing there?

“Huh? Uh… not long, right Mama?”

Why are you stuttering then? Good grief. You both are utterly terrible at lying anyways. 

“Anyways! You're going, right Kusuo?" 

Good grief. Don't get so close to me. Fine. I'll go.

•❅───✧❅✦❅✧───❅• •❅───✧❅✦❅✧───❅•

The only thing that hasn't changed from back when I was in another world is my immune system. Mom was pretty understanding and even told me to stay home if I wanted to.

Of course, I had no such intentions. Luckily for me, Mom had taken a holiday to watch my sports fest. I was pretty bummed about that but then she told me we were going with Saiki’s family. 

So here we were, trying to find seats. Well, it was more like me trying to find seats.

My mom was clicking pictures of Saiki’s parents as they made lovey-dovey poses. Saiki looked as embarrassed as I felt.

But it was nice seeing Mom having fun. Ever since I had transmigrated over here, this was the first time I saw mom having fun with the other adults.

I spotted some of my friends and decided to give up hunting for seats.

“Mom, I'm going to meet my friends, okay? You guys gotta search for our seats. Bye!”

As I walked through the horde of students, I met lots of friends, asking after my health. I guess word got around. I assured each of them that I was fine now and wanted to avoid exertion so I was sitting out but was here to cheer for my class.

Finally, after some repeats of this, I spotted Hairo. Wow. He was burning like a flame. Like literally. 

“Don't you think you know far too many people?" Saiki’s voice suddenly popped up near my ear.

I turned slightly, giving him the side-eye, “Sorry I connect with people easily. I came to cheer you guys on.”

“Yeah, I know. But you should take it easy instead of running around, talking to people." 

“Oh shut up. I can take care of myself." I rolled my eyes.

“Kumiko! Heard you were sick. Are you alright now?" Kaidou came over. He slung a hand around my neck as he spoke. I awkwardly smiled as I told him I was alright. Kusuo quietly picked Kaidou’s arm off me and pulled me closer to him.

I wanted to thank him, but suddenly a huge crowd had gathered around me. All my classmates were asking if it was alright for me to be there.

“Everyone." A sweet voice floated above the rest. “Let her answer. If you keep bombing her with questions, how can she answer? Tenmori-san, I heard from Saiki-kun that you were sick. I was so sad when I heard you were sitting out. Also, Kaidou-kun, your, um, headband is slipping off.”

I forced a smile. "Thank you Teruhashi-san. I'm fine now. I didn't want to exert myself and trigger the cold again. Wouldn't want Kusuo to have to take care of me again, you know? Kaidou. Your headband is covering your eye instead of your forehead." 

Teruhashi-san froze. Heh. She was trying to act as if she cared for me but it was clear to me that she wanted to show Saiki her ‘angel side’. Like hell I was going to let her.

See, according to canon, Teruhashi Kokomi wasn't really aware of her feelings at this point. However, I had pulled forward a lot of canon events and added my presence to a lot of things that would've rejected me. In doing so, I ended up digging my own grave.

Somehow, Teruhashi-san had become more aware of Kusuo and realized she was in love with him. She saw me as an obstacle but as the ‘perfect beautiful girl' she had to play it cool. I think it was when somehow or the other, we kept running into her the entire summer and then she and Saiki would end up alone for some reason. 

“Kumiko! You shouldn't give up! You can do it! Push yourself to the limit! Come on!" Hairo was shouting at the top of his lungs, trying to motivate me. “Also, um, Kaidou-kun, your headband…”

I just gave him a half-smile, “Thanks for the motivation Hairo, but I think I'll step back this time. After all, sometimes you need to step back to recharge your potential to its fullest! Right?!" Kaidou’s headband was still slipping but I didn't want to point it out again.

Hairo seemed to think on it and then shouted an agreement. Good grief. He didn't need to shout. I was standing right here. Well, that was one of his charms I guess.

“Anyways, I'm completely fine, you guys. I'll be cheering you on from the sidelines, so you better win, okay?" 

I expected a loud cheer but there was some rather awkward coughs instead. It was Hairo who took the initiative to speak.

“We will try our best but it seems difficult to be honest.”

He pointed at class 2–〇 (1), “Look at them. They aren't particularly athletic but they are a clever class. They always have the top rankings in the grade exam.”

I don't think that has any relation to winning though…

“Next up is class 2–十(2). It's completely opposite from before. Most of the students are athletes and almost all of the students are in sports clubs.”

Well, that may be a bit troublesome.

“Class 2–口(4) is a rather alright class but it's their leader. He's a resourceful guy with a clever class.”

I made eye contact with Kusuo. He said clever twice. Tropes repeated.

"And lastly class 2–★(5). Their sports are average and even their academics are rather mediocre. But they have the highest proportion of people with glasses: 80%. A clever class." 

Uh… glasses≠smart Hairo… oh well, I guess he wanted to say clever again.

“Except for class 2–十, they don't really seem like a problem…” I whispered to Kusuo. He nodded but otherwise didn't reply.

The speaker crackled to life. As the commentators made announcements for the first race, I bid my friends best of luck and hurried off to find Mom, Aunty and Uncle.

I took a seat just as they announced the start of the 100m race for boys. This was the event Kusuo was in. Running was way easier compared to throwing or catching stuff. Kusuo couldn't really control his strength but since he had to be in one program, he chose the race.

As I watched, the first line cleared. It was finally Kusuo’s turn. And he had a… terrible match up. All the runners were part of the athletics club. If I wasn't wrong, all the members were out in the same race to ensure equality. However, our class didn't have a member so Saiki was chosen.

This all basically meant that it would've been fine if Kusuo was 5th. But as I watched the race, I realized something crucial……

Kusuo didn't know he was racing with the members of the athletics club. That dummy was aiming for third place. Why wasn't he reading others' thoughts? He would've figured it out. 

I sighed as Saiki finished 3rd. Then I sighed again as I caught Hairo’s voice telling Saiki the reality. Good grief. He had just raised everyone’s expectations. Well, I couldn't really do anything.

While everyone (Hairo) hyped Saiki, the next runners lined up. Our class runner, Takahashi, came in last. 

The last runner of our line up was… Kaidou? Oh? He looks rather confident. Perhaps he'll come 3rd too?

……

It was my fault for expecting anything. Nendou was laughing at Kaidou for running like a girl while Hairo was lamenting the two last positions they got: Takahashi and Kaidou. The girls' side wasn't faring much better. 

The next event was a three–legged race. Teruhashi-san and Sawakita-kun were participating in this one. Teruhashi-san was a rather competitive person in reality. So despite the longing glances she threw at Kusuo (who was ignoring her completely), she murmured something to her partner.

Sawakita-kun seemed rather full of vigour all of a sudden. I wasn't really interested in the race, but mom made me snap pics of the ‘very beautiful girl’. She was probably going to pass those photos to her recruiter friend. 

……

We came first. Whatever Teruhashi-san promised Sawakita-kun, it worked like a charm. He not only ran on a single leg but did so while carrying Teruhashi-san.

Now it was time for the obstacle race with a borrowed item. The participant of this event was Nendou. Not surprising since one didn't really need to use their brain for this one.

But as I watched Nendou get ready for running, an uncomfortable feeling caged me. It was really strong. I couldn't understand why. 

See, I had only skimmed this arc of the manga. I remembered this whole event in bits and pieces. The uncomfortable feeling refused to ease as the instructor fired the gun.

Something was going to happen. I abruptly got up, handed mom her phone back, made an excuse and headed for my classmates.

Just as I reached the scene, I saw a horrifying scene. Nendou was holding Kusuo’s limiter and he was falling to the ground.

“Saiki-kun!” A chorus of voices called out.

"Kusuo!” I reached forward and managed to catch him before his head hit the ground.

"Ten—tenmori-san?!” Teruhashi-san looked angry as I lay Kusuo’s head on my lap.

"What happened?!” I demanded, my voice high-pitched.

Kusuo looked as if he was drugged out of his mind. 

"Well, Nendou removed that clip of his and he suddenly fainted.” Hairo helpfully explained.

I immediately ordered Nendou to hand over the clip back to me. I can't believe I forgot this event!

I leaned over Saiki’s head and I could feel daggers on the back of my head. I pretended to search around for the correct place as I whispered, "Don't wake up immediately after I put your clip back in. Take some time…” and I stabbed the limiter back in place.

I made Teruhashi-san, Hairo, Kaidou and Nendou step back instead of crowding over my head.

After a few seconds, Kusuo’s eyelashes fluttered lightly. Gradually he regained ‘consciousness’ and looked around confused as I helped him sit up.

By this time, the commentators had announced Nendou’s loss as the race was finally over. 

“No!!!!!" Hairo screamed.

Nendou, on the other hand, was wholly unbothered, “I mean, my partner was sick, I couldn't really leave him." 

Luckily, they announced lunch and the others went back to our classmates, leaving Saiki and I alone on the dusty ground.

"Do you need—” 

Kusuo raised a hand, cutting me off. He completely ignored me and gingerly walked off to… somewhere.

I quietly followed him despite the glares he fixed me with.

Once we were in a rather secluded area, Kusuo sat down and took out his lunch. As soon as he opened the lid, I could tell Aunty had put in a lot of effort. It was so cute that she had made Saiki’s face with the food, going so far as to include his limiters.

Oh, right. Gotta ask about that. I leaned against a tree, watching Kusuo stare at his lunch, “So… do I get to know why you dropped as soon as your… clip thingy was removed?”

He didn't say anything, picking up his chopsticks instead. I quietly watched as he attempted to pick a morsel of rice….and launched it straight into his glasses. He muttered something while looking highly irritated. He tried again… and ended up breaking the chopsticks.

This was far too pitiful. “Want me to help you?" I asked, crouching in front of Kusuo.

He looked at me, looking slightly embarrassed as he nodded pretty haltingly.

I smiled as I sat down cross-legged and picked up the lunch box. Right. The chopsticks were broken. I groped around my pockets for the spoon I had definitely shoved in the morning. 

I finally pulled it out and scooped out a bite, moving the spoon closer to Kusuo’s mouth. He leaned slightly forward and his lips parted around the spoon, chewing slowly.

He wasn't speaking, but I could hear the unspoken question behind Kusuo’s glasses. 

“When we were leaving the house, Mom realized she needed one more spoon. We were in a hurry so I just grabbed one and shoved it into my pocket. Can't believe this is how I'd end up using it though." 

He nodded slightly as I fed him another spoonful of rice. We sat in silence for a while, the spoon clinking against the plastic box filling the comfortable silence.

Suddenly my stomach growled. Loudly. I felt my face heat up and Kusuo stopped mid bite.

He looked at me, his eyes boring into me. For some reason, Kusuo's eyes had become way more expressive as of late. Or maybe I’d just gotten better at reading him.

I shook my head, pushing the food into his mouth completely, “I'm fine. I missed breakfast so I haven't eaten yet. I'll go eat after we're done here. I don't mind wait—" my stomach rumbled again.

I ignored it and raised another spoonful. However, Saiki didn't eat it. He stubbornly kept his lips pursed but I pushed the cold metal against his thin lipped disapproval.

“Kusuo, you need to eat. You've just had a race and then the shock Nendou pulled……” Kusuo still refused to budge, "Come on, Kusuo!”

Kusuo gestured for me to move the spoon away. "Nendou managed to remove my limiter. Just like normal people’s hair and body grows along with time, my powers have grown along with my body. Since my limiter was removed so unexpectedly and suddenly, I'm having trouble controlling my strength. So you better turn that spoon towards yourself before I'm forced to try and feed you. Which might end up in a huge disaster, might I add.” He pinned me with an impassive stare.

“...We'll have to share the same spoon." I tried arguing.

“I don't care." Kusuo lifted his shoulders a bit in what I guess was a shrug.

We were at an impasse. Both of us stared at each other, trying to cow the other into submission.

Sigh. I shoved the spoonful of food into my mouth, giving in to Kusuo’s cajoling stare. He smirked, knowing he'd won. We finished the rest of the box like that, taking turns. Soon the box was empty and I placed it to the side.

“So, you have limiters for your powers?" 

“Yes. Like I said, my powers are way too strong. Irritatingly and annoyingly so. I was tired of getting up to a half destroyed house. There was also the fact that my mind control was so strong that anything I thought about was willed into existence. So, in my 5th year of elementary school, I put in these limiters and my powers are severely weakened now." 

I nodded along, humming to show I was listening. After some thought, I made a suggestion, “Why don't we just go home? I'm sure Aunty will understand." 

Before he could answer, we heard Nendou’s voice from the corner, “Partner~ where are you?" 

“This is bad!" Saiki looked at me in alarm. “I'm going to teleport us out of here." He grabbed my hand, half getting up.

“Oh? What are you doing, Partner? And Pixie?" 

“Damnit! I can't control my powers." Kusuo muttered.

I shook off his hand as I got up and then helped him stand up properly. I smiled at Nendou, “Nothing, Nendou. He isn't feeling well, right? So I was keeping him company. What about you?”

"Oh! Well, I wanted to check on Partner. If you aren't feeling well, why don't you go back home?”

I gave Saiki a ‘I told you so’ look. 

“As much as I would love that, I don't think I can deal with Hairo." He whispered to me.

"I don't think—” I spied Hairo’s red hair from around the corner and then saw our classmates rush over.

“Saiki, are you okay?! Hurry up and go home, you should get some rest!” Hairo started the worry engine.

"Saiki, how are you feeling?!" Yumehara-san added.

“Will you be able to get home?" Kaidou asked.

“No worries! I'll help him get home!” Teruhashi-san enthusiastically offered. Bitch.

"No need, Teru—” I tried asserting myself but others cut me off.

"That’s right! We've already informed the teacher, so you can go home.”

"We'll lose manpower but don't you worry, Saiki-kun.” Hairo placed an encouraging hand on Kusuo’s shoulder. "We'll make sure to win the trophy for your sake! Right guys?!”

The entire class cheered in agreement. I saw Kusuo hide an exasperated smile.

"So? Are you going home?” I whispered.

"No. I'll be staying.” Kusuo announced to everyone. "I feel like I'll stand out even more if I go home.” He whispered back to me.

•❅───✧❅✦❅✧───❅• •❅───✧❅✦❅✧───❅•

Since break was over, we all returned to the ground. 

“Nobody even watched us…” I heard Chouno-san’s voice.

"I guess our TV debut didn't go well, Master.” Ike-san.

They both looked rather glum as they left the stage. What were these two doing?

“Somebody you know?" Kumiko leaned over.

I shook my head. She didn't exactly know them. She bid the class a good luck then faced me.

“Don't push yourself…” she whispered as Kumiko hugged me. I nodded, hugging back.

"Alright, everyone!” Hairo called attention after Kumiko left. "We haven't done well in the individual races but we must win the team games to win this competition!”

Sheesh. What was winning team games even gonna do?

“We will now get started with the first event of the afternoon schedule. The rope pulling event! The first contest will be between class 3 and 4.” The speakers roared.

"Do your best, class 3!” Hairo shouted and everyone cheered.

We all lined up, grabbing the rope. “Ready……. GO!” As soon as the commentators announced the start, Hairo had to start screaming. Good grief. How loud.

“Pull, pull! Use all your power! Get it all out! Yeaaaahhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!”

Sheesh. If these guys put the amount of energy they're using to shout into pulling the rope, maybe we could win. 

Anyways, I need to end this quickly before I make any slip-ups. Maybe I could use the rope to get a grip on my strength—

It broke. 

The rope broke.

The rope FUCKING broke.

Wait, hold on. I can try to fix it using my— aagh! My gloves are causing friction!

I pulled the rope towards me a little, intending to do something to fix the situation.

But suddenly the students of class 4 were sent flying into the air. Literally. They rose up into the air like a bunch of feathers floating around and crashed with a huge wham!

After a stunned moment of silence, class 3 erupted into hollers as the commentators awkwardly announced our victory.

How was I gonna explain this? Maybe I should've gone home. This is why I hate sports fest—

“I knew it! We can do anything if Class 3 unifies!" Hairo clenched his fist.

“Damn, it seems I have a long way to go," Kaidou was smiling nostalgically as he gazed at his bandaged arm, “If something as small as this could light up a flame within me. Heh. My powers came out like a blue flame I couldn't control. Hehehehahahah!”

“Man, you guys sure are light!" Nendou was pointing towards the still fallen class 4. “Make sure you eat well, oh?" 

“The rope…?" I whipped around to see Takahashi standing with the broken pieces of the rope, “Right where I was standing, it tore into two….? Don't tell me it was because I used too much power?”

Class 4 students seemed to judge us. Heavily. But they also seemed to believe those idiots. Seems as if it wasn't that bad being in a class of weirdos. 

Good grief. There's only two events left. 

“Hey, Saiki-san. Looks like class 3 isn't doing very well, eh? Seems like class 2 is going to win this year!”

Go away. I don't care.

"But Saiki-san~ I can't believe you ditched your class to go have fun with Kumiko-chan~ So~? What did you both do— eeekkkkkk!" 

I've told you, Toritsuka. Stop trying to paint me like a pervert. Also, It would be better for you if you keep Kumiko’s name out of this.

“Okay! Okay! I get it! Stop making that scary face!" Toristuka raised his hands defensively.

Scary? What scary face?

“The one that says you'll kill me! I'm sorry!" 

What was this idiot going on about? Why did you even come here?

"Huh? Ah right.” He hit the palm of his hand with the fist of another. "I was here to tell you that no matter how hard you guys try, you'll never be able to beat class 2!”

Like hell I care!

"I can't let you say that.” A voice valiantly interrupted. Sigh. Maybe I really should have gone home.

“As the class representative, I cannot let you get away with saying that. Class 3 will win. If we don't, I'll become a Buddhist priest." Hairo was smiling so serenely. 

"Hahh?! Hey, do you know what you are saying?! Are you seriously going that far for a sports fest?” Right. Toritsuka was part of a temple family.

“Of course," Hairo laughed. “That just goes to show how serious I'm and how much I trust my class." He placed a hand on his chin, “How about this? If class 3 doesn't win, I'll shave my head." 

Stop smiling so calmly Hairo. You are not playing a game where you know for sure you'll win. 

“Huh? If Hairo goes bald, we'll shave our heads too!" Hey, the direction of this conversation isn't very ideal. Stop speaking. Stop.

Unfortunately for me, before I knew it, the entire class was in on the bet and all of them had promised to shave their heads. After stirring the pot, Toritsuka just sheepishly admitted that he didn't get the appeal in them wanting to become Buddhist priest and left.

I wanted to strangle him for the dust he had kicked up but the speakers were already screaming about the next event: the ball toss event. 

Because of that perverted bastard, I had no option but to use my telekinesis and make sure as many balls were dropped in the net as possible. Since there were so many of them flying around in the air nobody would notice them unnaturally stopping in the air right above the net before dropping in.

“Time's up! Please stop throwing the balls. We'll now begin with the counting."

“Class 1 got…. 33 balls! This has added 330 points to their score, boosting it up to 1160! Next up, class 2 got in…. 28 balls! Adding the 280 points their score has shot up to 1380!C lass 3 has got….. a whooping 88 balls?!” Whoops. Maybe I overdid it a bit. "Now their score is 1680 points! An impressive comeback! And lastly, class 4 managed to score a…. 1000 points by getting 100 balls into the hole! They are now in the lead with 2000 points! Incredible!”

The students around me erupted into a cacophony of whispers and questions. Until a loud, smug "hmph!” cut through their murmurs. 

It was the class 4’s leader. He smugly began explaining the tactic he used: stuffing the balls into a bag and then depositing the bag into the hole. Well, that was a simple plan.

Hairo flopped down on one knee, “Guh! So this is the rumoured intelligence of the select few…” Um, no. It wasn't that great a stroke of genius.

Good grief. Now there was only one event left. The relay race.

“Saiki-kun." I faced Hairo. “Can we rely on you? You're the fastest man in our class." 

Good grief. How could I refuse if you asked me with that kind of expression? What a pain.

And now I was standing at the anchor’s position. This was the worst place for me since it attracted so much attention. What a pain. Why did I accept this?

Ah well, as long as those before me were at least at 3rd position, I could manage. However, Kaidou and Takahashi failed. Miserably. They did their best though. Like really. 

The next runners were Nendou, Teruhashi-san, and Yumehara and they managed to gain the upper hand. We were close to winning. The last runner before the anchor was Hairo. As long as he closed the gap, I wouldn't have to put in any effort. 

The baton was held out. Hairo grabbed it. He launched off and… fell. Flat on his face. I kept thinking ‘don’t show it, don't show it,’ but he still displayed his butt. 

Good grief. Hairo’s fall was not his alone. It was also the class’ fall from first place to last. The guy next to me passed by smugly as Hairo was catching up. 

Kukuku. Even if he is really fast, it isn't against the rules if I trip him. We are so going to win this. Is that so…?

“KUSUO! YOU GOT THIS!" Kumiko’s loud cheers caught my attention as Hairo finally passed the baton.

I felt a small smile etch into my face as I shot off. In the stunned silence, Kumiko’s voice still echoed in my mind. 

“Woah! And Saiki-kun from class 3 has gone straight from last to first place! Such a fast man!" 

I could hear Kumiko’s cheers the loudest. I was standing out again, but I couldn't really help it. The finish line was in sight now. Just a few more— splat!

I fell flat in my face just three steps away from the finishing line. Right. I hadn't gained control of my body back. I lay there for a while as the speakers and audience burst into rambunctious cheers.

Once the crowd around the race track had thinned out a little, I slowly got up and came face-to-face with… Kumiko? “When did you get here?" 

“When the relay started. I wanted to look closer. Are you alright?" She held out a hand and hauled me up.

“Yup. Except for my pride." I brushed the dust off my clothes.

“Why?" She looked utterly confused. Oh right. She wasn't there when we made the bet. So I explained it to her and lamented about how I was going to have to shave my head.

“Kusuo…” She started slowly, carefully. "You did win against class 2.”

"You don't need to give me false hope and neither do I want your sympathy.” I didn't wish to be so pathetic in front of Kumiko. 

After a few seconds of silence, she began laughing. Her laugh was so pretty. Like a wind chime being caressed lovingly by the soft summer breeze. 

I didn't have the mental capacity to talk to our classmates anymore and Kumiko seemed to know it. So we were heading back to meet our parents but I kept glancing back.

“Kusuo, are you searching for someone—ack!" Kumiko nearly fell but I managed to catch her.

“Our classmates. I was so close but ended up losing so disgracefully. They're going to hound me…”

Kumiko patted my back. "Ah, they won't follow us. I told them that our parents wanted us back immediately after the fest was over so I was there to pick you up. Pfft—!” She began laughing again.

"Hey! Stop laughing!”

"I'm sorry! I didn't realise I would have to literally pick you up! Hahaha!” Kumiko retorted between chuckles.

Ah whatever. As long as she was having fun I guess. She'd also taken care of a rather troublesome thing for me. 

“Ah there you are Ku-chan! What a great performance!" Mom enthusiastically clapped her hands together. 

Please stop reminding me. It's embarrassing.

“Hey Kusuo! I can't believe you lost the relay after shooting off like a bullet! How embarrassing~!" Dad, it was more embarrassing seeing you doing that weird dance as you tease your teenage son. Please. Let me preserve some sort of dignity in front of Kumiko and her mom.

“You played well, Kusuo-kun. Have you thought about joining track and field?" Mrs. Tenmori placed a hand on my shoulder and smiled warmly. 

……

Did she not find my family embarrassing?

They are such a sweet family. Mrs. Tenmori’s thoughts poured into my mind. Saiki-san is so cheery and though her husband is a bit weird and has an odd sense of humor, he gets along so well with Ko-chan. Kumiko’s nickname was Ko-chan? It's been so long since I saw her joke around with another male adult. And even Kusuo-kun is such a good friend to her…. Though I suspect there's something more going on. No, Mrs. Tenmori. Please don't harbour such thoughts.

“Kusuo-kun?" Mrs. Tenmori called for attention.

"Mom! Forget about that!” Kumiko suddenly cut in. "Uncle, you need to hear this too!” She called Dad over from where he was busy with cleaning up. Good grief. What did she want to share?

“Kusuo and our class made a bet with class 2. If our class lost against class 2, all the boys would shave their heads and Hairo would become a Buddhist Priest! Can you believe Kusuo almost went bald?! Haha!" Dad and Kumiko burst into laughter. 

“Kusuo you really made such a bet?! Hahaha! I so wanted to look at you losing the bet. Man, I really missed such a wonderful opportunity because you won." Kumiko was nodding solemnly with Dad. Why were you agreeing?

“Why do you keep saying I won?" I finally asked.

“Hmmm? Ku-chan, you won against class 2. See?" Mom pointed at the scoreboard. Wait. Wait. Wait, wait, wait. Mom was right! Did God finally feel some sort of pity for me?!

“Look at you, sighing in relief." Kumiko smugly tapped my nose. Again. I blinked. My face felt a bit hot. Did I have a fever? But I don't fall sick. Maybe it was my imagination.

Soon, Mom, Dad, Mrs. Tenmori, Kumiko and I made our way home. Before we parted ways, Kumiko hugged me. Her body fit so perfectly in my arms. Her warmth seeped into me. 

“I'll give you a reward for winning the bet." She murmured before pulling away and heading inside. 

I wanted to hug her longer…