Chapter Text
Kaidou looked different. He had a different hair style, and some glasses that looked like they were straight out of some cheesy comic book. A twinge of panic ran through Saiki's mind. While it sounded selfish that he was even the slightest bit panicked because one of his classmates' looks was different, it was the truth. Kusuo ignored the panic he felt and tried to continue into the school building, unfortunately Nendo had other plans. Nendo was always a hinderance anyways, but today he was even more of one. Nendo was different too. He talked different and noticeably weighed more. Saiki took in shaky breath. And tried to calm his nerves. It was fine, it's only two of his classmates, it was fine.
"Dang you guys are totally different!" Kuboyasu showed up behind the trio as they walked into the school building. Saiki, Kaidou and Nendo turned around at the sound of the former gang member's voice. "What happened to you guys?" Good grief, Kuboyasu looked different too. His look was still the usual with his fake glasses and short straight purple hair, but he had a bunch of bandages all over him and was severely injured. Kusuo's mind was starting to fog up now. It was getting harder to think clearly. Everything was changing and change was never good. Why couldn't his classmates just have stayed the same?
Kuboyasu proceeded to explain the story of how he was riding his motorcycle on a mountain, when a raccoon appeared causing him to swerve and fall off a cliff, resulting in him nearly dying and leaving him severely injured. The four of them walked into the classroom and Saiki took his seat. The other three were having a conversation around Saiki's desk when Hairo came into the classroom.
"Wow what happened?! You guys looked completely different!" Hairo was the first person to point it out of their classmates. It didn't help Kusuo's anxiety though. He had been trying to ignore that Kaidou, Nendo, and Kuboyasu were different by looking down at his desk and Hairo talking about what he was trying to ignore just reminded him of it. Saiki took in a deep breath before he looked up. At least Hairo isn't different-
He spoke too soon. Hairo was buff, more than usual, that is. 4 classmates. 4 classmates that were different. The panic was building up. He couldn't do this today. He couldn't do this ever. Change was never good. Familiarity kept Saiki tied down throughout daily life. And now familiarity was leaving his life slowly one by one.
Teruhashi walked in with pigtails and a black uniform. Then Yumehara having the same change as Nendo. And then came Mera, who was now rich and acted snobby. Kusuo's hands shook and his mind was foggy. He tried to take deep breathes to stop his rapid breathing and heart rate but it wouldn't work. He needed to get out of there and away from his ever changing classmates. He stood up and speed walked to the bathroom, walked into a stall and shut the door.
He picked up his feet onto the toilet seat and curled in on himself in attempt to stop the shaking. He took in several shaky breathes as tears pooled in his eyes. Good grief. He hadn't cried over something as stupid as this in years. Not since he had moved at age 7. There was a knock at the stall door. He did his best to act normal and answered "Occupied.".
"I know I'm interrupting but I saw you leave class and I followed you, which isn't that abnormal considering I follow you all the time, but what is abnormal is the fact that once you locked the stall door I heard crying sounds. Did you know that you can get dehydrated from crying too much? Anyways, I was concerned because you barely show any emotion and now you're crying." Good grief, Akechi just had to follow him. Somehow Akechi managed to unlock the door from the outside and come into the stall.
Saiki looked down at the floor. Nobody else should have to see him like this. "I'm gonna take your hands in mine, is that alright?" This was weird. Akechi wasn't his normal talkative self. And he was asking before doing things instead of just doing stuff. Even though it seemed weird, Kusuo nodded.
Akechi gently grabbed Saiki's hands and held them. "You feel my hands, right?" Saiki nodded. "Focus them touching yours. It'll help ground you." Saiki focused on Akechi holding his hands. Akechi's hands were slightly warm to the touch. A tiny bit of the fog in his brain left, but the majority was still there.
"Your panic attack symptoms aren't all gone, so we'll play a little game. Name 2 things you see." Akechi spoke calmly and quietly.
"You, the stall walls."
"2 things you feel?"
"Your hands, the toilet seat."
"2 things you hear?"
"The hum of the heater, and your voice."
"And finally, two things you smell?"
"The bathroom, your cologne." Akechi had a habit of wearing a strong smelling cologne.
"Good job. Now I need you to copy my breathing, okay?" Saiki nodded. Akechi took a deep exaggerated breath and held it and after a few seconds, breathed out. He did this a few more times, all the while Saiki copied him. When he was done Saiki was feeling better and his brain was only slightly foggy. "We don't have to talk about it if you don't feel comfortable, but it'll make you feel better, trust me. What caused this?"