Saiki Kusuo no Ψ-nan - Without Thinking

Chapter 4 - A Kind of Magic

Saiki could hear her footsteps approaching.

"Hi," she spoke softly, after she'd sat down on the swing next to him.

"...hey," he murmured in response. Then it was silent. She was probably waiting for him.

He'd racked his brain until it hurt and he'd still come up empty-handed. There was no lie that she would believe. He'd considered going home instead of waiting for her, even if just to buy himself some more time, but she would just come after him. There really was only one way to go from here.

I'll have to tell her the truth.

She might not even believe it. He had tried to use his powers as soon as he'd reached the playground, to no avail. They appeared to be as gone as they had been before. Teleportation, telekinesis, pyrokinesis, invisibility, levitation — nothing. The only thoughts in his head were his own. There was no way to prove it to her anymore, other than the three incidents she had already witnessed back at the party. It might be enough, though.

"Saiki-kun?" Right. She was waiting.

He'd been in this situation before. Backed into a corner with no other option than to reveal his true identity. That was why he didn't understand why he couldn't find the words this time. He clasped his hands tightly to keep them from shaking.

"Are you a wizard?" Her voice was tight, but she sounded dead serious.

A nervous chuckle escaped him. He hadn't heard that one before.

"Um... I suppose you could call it that." He glanced at her sideways. She looked fairly composed right now. He took a deep breath, trying to quieten his thundering heart.

Here we go.

"I used to call myself a psychic, or an esper, if you will. But what's in a name. You can call me a wizard if you like."

He gave her some time to let that sink in. She was staring into space, clutching her coat like it was her most prized possession. This was new to him, not being able to hear someone's inner response to his revelation.

"...psychic," she echoed slowly. He could nearly hear the cogs turning. "Um... like... like clairvoyance?"

"Amongst others, yes." She was taking this pretty well. So far.

Teruhashi furrowed her brow. "Hang on. Used to?"

She's sharp.

He nodded. "Yes. I've had psychic powers ever since I was born. But they are sealed away now, so I shouldn't be able to use them anymore. I don't know what happened back there." He paused. "Well, I know what happened, I just don't understand why."

"...so what happened?" She was looking at him now. He couldn't really figure out the expression on her face. Did she believe him or not?

"I turned myself invisible before you arrived, without even noticing it. I blew you away with telekinesis — again, sorry about that. I didn't mean to. Curing you with restoration was unintentional as well, but I don't regret that one so much."

Her eyes were darting around. "...just how many powers do you have?"

"Did," he corrected her. "They're gone. I can't use them anymore. I know it sounds weird after what happened tonight. It shouldn't have." Saiki kicked into the soil, setting the swing in a slow, swaying motion. "But eh, a lot."

"Such as?"

She's not going to like this.

"Other than those, uh... teleportation, super strength, pyrokinesis, precognition, flight, petrification, transformation, hypnosis, mind control, time travel, x-ray vision..." Saiki was watching Teruhashi closely. She was getting paler and paler as he went on, "...telepathy... to name a few."