The Mishaps Of Kusuo Saiki And Various Other Less Important Characters

Peace and Quiet

Just a normal day with my normal routine. 

I walked to school alone this morning, which was a surprise. A nice one, though. I was able to stop and get coffee without anyone bothering me.

Nobody stopped to talk to me in the unusually quiet hallways this morning. When I got to class, nobody crowded around my desk. Aiura sat quietly at her desk, and Akechi talked to Hairo about the upcoming classes, which neither of them ever do. Teruhashi walked right past me as she made her way to her desk. Something's up.

I guess I should enjoy it while I can.

"Hey Saiki, did you hear about the new video game coming out today?" Kaidou began to approach my desk. Finally, someone-

"Oh, he hasn't." Akechi whipped his head around and spoke, interrupting his own conversation with Hairo. This made Kaidou lose interest and walk away. Akechi called him over to talk after that.

I wonder why Akechi replied to that for me. Maybe he noticed I have my ring on? I don't particularly like wearing it, but it had to be done today and today only. A world full of Nendous again.

I sat alone during lunch. Toritsuka, Aiura and Akechi were nowhere to be found. Is this some kind of bullying? I decided to just try and enjoy my lunch, it's much easier without having to witness Toritsuka feeding Akechi.

"Hey buddy, what do you have for lun-" Nendou tried to sit across from me but Kaidou yanked him back.

"You idiot! Don't you remember what Akechi told you?" he hissed. "Sorry Saiki, you know how dumb he is." Kaidou took Nendou away and left me sitting at the table confused. Maybe my powers got revealed and they all think I'm some kind of freak. Maybe somebody's spreading rumors that I pick my nose and share it with Nendou. Maybe the newspaper club caught me staring at the ceiling in my room and everyone thinks I'm deranged. I'll check my likeability with everyone.

63, 77, 58.. it's all exactly the same as it was before? Why's everyone avoiding me then? I need to just persevere and keep my ring on, I'll find out after the video game comes out. Or I could just ask someone.

...

I looked around the library for Aiura, and found her sitting at a table. It's hard to tell whether she saw me or not, but she got up and left before I could talk to her. I'll ask someone else, if that's how it's gonna be.

Reading in the library was relatively easy, without anyone there to distract me. 

Before I left, I was able to catch Toritsuka. He froze when I grabbed his arm.

"Oh, what- what is it, Saiki-" He started to sweat.

Why is everyone avoiding me today?

"Uh- I don't- I don't know what you're talking about." Somehow, he escaped my grasp and sped away. I walked past a classroom and heard someone whisper.

"I think we scared him." I can't tell if that was supposed to be menacing or concerned, but I just left. I'll sleep on it.

I don't understand. Normally, people bother me, something disastrous happens, I fix it, and people keep bothering me. None of that happened, not even a little bit. It got dark outside.

I thought about it all the way through dinner and homework. Mom started to get worried.

"A penny for your thoughts?" Dad remarked at the table with his mouth full.

A penny isn't nearly enough.

I went back to my room and just stared at the ceiling, which is routine for me. This time, my thoughts were louder than those of other people, which normally intruded inside my head. I had been thinking for hours and I just couldn't figure it out! It's like one of those thinking puzzles where you have to pull apart the pieces without using strength. I was never too good at those, I could only use them once before they ended up in pieces all over the floor-

My phone started ringing, so I picked it up and groggily answered. No wonder I was tired, it was past midnight at that point. I hadn't slept at all, though. The puzzling events of today were still nagging at me.

"You're up late. How was your day?" It was Aiura. Suspicious.

Why are you asking?

"Oh, just wanted to make sure it was good. You know."

No, I don't know.

"Wait.. so you're telling me you didn't know about our plan?"

What plan?

"ARE YOUR POWERS NOT WORKING? WHAT HAPPENED?!" 

They're working. I just had my ring on because the digital adaptation of  Valkyrie Breaker is coming out tomorrow.

"You're interested in that nerdy stuff?"

Get to the point, please.

"You were supposed to know, we told everyone to stay away from you today so you could, like, de-stress and stuff. Like, you're always so tense. I didn't know your nerd game was coming out."

You.. what?

"I know you still have telepathy, but it might've been easier for you if nobody bothered you today."

Hmm.. well, thank you. And to think I spent the whole day worrying!

"Don't use exclamation points, that's scary coming from you."

I couldn't help but smile at that. It may not have been completely effective, but the sentiment is what counts.