Chapter Text
Saiki Kusuo did not have his powers.
He knew it before he even opened his eyes.
Normally, his head would be flooded with thoughts from everyone within 200 meters. It was an awful way to start the morning, and he had to deal with it every single day of his life.
But not today.
Today, it was completely silent. That meant that there were three possible situations. Either everyone was dead, he was wearing his germanium ring, or his powers were gone.
With a slight movement of his thumb, he ruled out the second option.
He opened his eyes.
Everything seemed intact. His room was no different from normal. Turning his head, he looked out the window. The houses he could see from his position were all the same as always.
Good. That hopefully ruled out the first option.
Kusuo shifted in his bed, moving to a sitting position. He reached for his glasses, only to be met with nothing. That was strange. He always left his glasses on his desk, but they weren’t there.
It was then that Kusuo realized he could see. He was looking at things, instead of through them. His x-ray vision was gone.
That was even more evidence that he no longer had his powers. What a convenient time to lose his glasses.
But also an inconvenient time to lose his powers. He still had to deal with the volcano. That was not good. At all.
Kusuo dropped his head back onto his pillow, then paled. He reached up, only to once again be met with nothing.
His limiters were gone. Both of them .
The left one wasn’t important right now, but the right one…the right one was an entirely different matter. Kusuke had programmed it so that if it was ever removed, Kusuo’s powers would be revealed to the world.
That...was not good.
Kusuo threw his legs over the side of his bed, standing up. He felt strange. Lighter. More graceful. Was this how normal people felt all the time?
He made his way down the stairs, hoping that he wouldn’t turn his parents to stone.
But when he got downstairs, they were nowhere to be found. That was very strange. His parents never left the house before he did in the mornings. He glanced at the clock. He had plenty of time, just like always. What was going on today?
He walked to the center of the living room, then turned on the TV. He quickly flipped through the channels, but there was nothing about him or psychic powers. Kusuke’s device clearly hadn’t been activated. That was good, at least. He felt himself calming down already.
Kusuo showered and got dressed, then ate a quick breakfast and slipped on his shoes. He walked out the door, then went through the gate, locking everything behind him. He started his walk to school, fully expecting Nendou and Kaidou to ambush him around the corner, as they always did. He didn’t mind as much as he used to, though. They had grown on him a bit.
So imagine his surprise when he turned the corner, only to come face to face with Saiko Metori.
He stumbled backwards, startled. Yare yare. If he still had his telepathy, this never would have happened. Why was Saiko here, anyway? He would normally never be caught dead setting foot in a place like this.
“Ha, sorry pal. Didn’t mean to scare you.”
What.
“You aren’t normally out here this early. What’s goin’ on?”
What?
Saiko turned and started walking in the direction of PK Academy. “How about we get some ramen after school?”
What?!
He turned around, looking at Kusuo. “Are you coming?”
He blinked. “Um...yeah...”
Tentatively, he walked up to Saiko, falling into step beside him as they made their way towards school.
To say Kusuo was confused was an understatement. He needed answers.
“Saiko, what are you doing?”
He looked over at the gray-haired boy, but got no response. He didn’t even glance at him.
Then Kusuo remembered he didn’t have his powers. He would have to talk like a normal person, without telepathy. But he hadn’t used his vocal cords in ages. He wasn’t even sure if he would still be able to speak.
He cleared his throat. “Saiko.”
It sounded pretty normal, although a bit different than his mental and telepathic voice. It wasn’t quite as deep, and kind of soft. He supposed that made sense, after not talking for literal years. But really, he expected it to sound raspy and barely audible, if anything. Maybe his psychic powers ensured that his vocal cords never deteriorated.
Saiko turned to him. “Yeah?”
“What are you doing?”
He tilted his head to the side, as if he didn’t understand. “What do you mean?”
Kusuo crossed his arms. “Why are you walking with me?”
He grinned. “‘Cuz you’re my pal!”
Kusuo stared at him for a moment, then took a deep breath. “Okay, sure.”
Obviously, this was some kind of joke. Today, of all days, his friends must have gotten together to prank him. It was actually really impressive that they got Saiko to act like this. He wasn’t even wearing the gold jewelry he always had on.
Whatever. They wouldn’t get a reaction out of him.
Saiko spent a while blathering on about random things, just like Nendou would normally do. Kusuo tuned him out, focusing on the fact that his powers were gone.
It was what he had always wanted. It was his dream. But he still needed to stop the volcano in Oshimai from erupting. It would completely wipe out Japan if he did nothing. But that’s all he could do right now.
He sighed. As much as he hated to admit it, he would have to go to Kusuke for help.
“Hey, Kusuo!”
He looked up. Kuboyasu was walking towards him. Why had he called him by his first name?
He nodded a greeting to him, as he always did. Kuboyasu turned to Saiko. “Good morning, Metori.”
“‘Morning, Aren.”
Kusuo’s eyes widened as Kuboyasu fell into step beside him. If those two were willing to get along, this was one of the best pranks he had ever seen.
He decided to speak up. “Kuboyasu, don’t you normally take your motorcycle to school?”
He snorted. “Motorcycle?! I’ve never even touched one before. What are you talking about?”
Kusuo could no longer read minds. However, he had been exposed to the thoughts of everyone around him for his entire life. He had known every time someone did so much as stretch the truth, and had picked up the signs of a liar in doing so. He knew exactly what to look for in their expression, body language, and tone.
And unless Kuboyasu was a surprisingly good actor, he was not lying.
But that made no sense. Kusuo had seen him riding his motorcycle. Maybe he just wasn’t as good at detecting lies as he thought he was.
It didn’t even matter. It was all just a prank anyway.
The three of them continued on their way to school, Kuboyasu and Saiko chatting with each other, Kusuo in between them. They were the only ones around, but soon they would reach the more populated part of town, where there would be more students making their way towards school, along with adults heading to work.
“You’d better ask him soon. Who knows how long he’ll be available?”
“I will ask Kaidou out soon, I just need time to think of a plan.”
Kusuo blinked. Huh?
He looked over at Kuboyasu. “What did you say?”
He raised his eyebrows. “I just need to think of a plan.”
“No, about Kaidou.”
“Oh. I’ll ask him out soon. I know I keep saying that, but I really am going to.”
Kusuo had been in Kuboyasu’s mind for the entirety of his time at PK Academy. He didn’t think he liked Kaidou like that, but it was hard to tell sometimes. But wasn’t he supposed to be pretending to be Kaidou? That’s what he assumed, since clearly Saiko was acting like Nendou. But Yumehara was the one with the crush on Kaidou, so wouldn’t he have to be pretending to be her? Why was he walking with Kusuo and “Nendou”, then?
But...he couldn’t have been pretending to be Yumehara, since Kaidou was clearly in on the prank too, because otherwise, he would be walking with Saiki right now. Yumehara would’ve had to confess her feelings to get Kuboyasu to say that. He doubted that she had actually done that, and even if she had, she wouldn’t have been willing to turn her crush on Kaidou into part of this prank, especially since it had to have been revealed so recently.
So that meant that it only made sense for Kuboyasu to actually have a crush on Kaidou. But why was he acting like he always talked about it with him? Maybe he had told Saiko before. But that didn’t make sense, because they hated each other!
Kusuo decided to just stop thinking about it. This prank was too confusing.
At this point, there were quite a few people around them. He started to hear gasps and offu s coming from everyone nearby, which meant that Teruhashi was close. Without being able to hear her thoughts, he would be more vulnerable than ever to her schemes. He would have to stay vigilant.
They finally reached the entrance to the school, passing by Mr. Matsuzaki. Kusuo continued to ignore whatever Saiko and Kuboyasu were talking about, focusing on making sure Teruhashi didn’t notice him. Everyone around him was still offu ing, so she had to have been right behind him. He didn’t dare look back.
He was surprised when he reached his classroom without being confronted by her. He was even more surprised when he saw that she was already in the room. How did she…
It didn’t matter. He was tired of all the confusing things going on.
He walked over to his desk, where he sat down and did his best to ignore the people talking around him. It was much quieter without their thoughts being forced into his head.
Nendou was the next one to walk in the room. Kusuo glanced up, and his mouth dropped open.
Nendou looked...the same.
But he was being escorted by three bodyguards in suits, each one wearing sunglasses and looking straight ahead. His expression looked scarily similar to Saiko’s usual attitude.
“Kusuo, what’s wrong?”
He would have jumped, but he was sitting down. How long had Kuboyasu been standing next to him?!
He took a deep breath. “Nothing. I just didn’t think Nendo could do...that.”
“Do what?”
He looked at Kuboyasu. “Be...like Saiko. He’s better at acting than I thought.”
Kuboyasu looked baffled. “What are you talking about?”
“Yare yare, never mind.”
He turned his attention back to Nendou. He was sitting at his usual desk, but it was encrusted with diamonds, just like Saiko’s. But Saiko’s desk now looked completely normal. The young billionaire was sitting casually, looking much more relaxed than normal. Meanwhile, Nendou’s posture was straight and rigid.
Kusuo had had enough of those two. They were too good at pretending to be each other.
Kaidou was the next one to walk into the classroom. Ordinarily, he would come straight over to Saiki’s desk, where he would then linger until the bell rang. But this time, he went straight towards...Teruhashi?!
To Kusuo’s horror, Kaidou sat down at an empty desk next to Teruhashi and began chatting with her. He didn’t even look flustered in the slightest.
That was it. Kusuo stood up, heading directly for Teruhashi and Kaidou. He stopped in front of their desks.
“Kaidou.”
Kaidou’s head snapped up with wide eyes, and his face turned red instantly.
“What is going on?”
Kaidou’s mouth opened, but all he seemed to be able to do was make a slight squeaking noise.
Fine. Kusuo turned to the blue-haired girl next to him.
“Teruhashi, what–“
“ Offu .”
Kusuo blinked. He took a step back. Did she just–
“Oh wow, Saiki!” Kaido finally managed to find his words.
They were not the words Kusuo wanted to hear.
“What are you doing?” He addressed both of them, his patience running thin.
“What do you mean?” Teruhashi’s cheeks were red, but not nearly to the extent of Kaidou’s.
“Why are you acting like I’m you? And why’s Nendou acting like Saiko, and Saiko acting like Nendou? Everyone’s being so weird.”
Teruhashi looked around the room, eyes lingering on Nendo and Saiko. She shrugged. “I’m not sure I understand. You’re acting a bit different, but no one else seems to be.”
Kusuo sighed. “What about the fact that Nendo is suddenly rich?”
Kaidou answered this time. “He’s always been rich. His family owns a really successful company, right?”
Kusuo took a deep breath. Any other day. If they had decided to do this stupid prank on literally any other day, he could have just read their minds and seen right through it.
Well, he was Saiki Kusuo. He wasn’t going to let this get to him.
“Right. Thanks.” He left them at that, and returned to his desk. He sat down, already worn out for the day.
“DARK REUNION IS COMING!!! SAVE YOURSELVES!”
Kusuo’s eyes snapped to the source of the shouting. Kaidou was never that loud, not to mention the fact that he was on the opposite side of the room.
Hairo was in the doorway, and he looked...different. For one thing, his shirt was frayed, especially at the collar, and he was wearing his jacket like a cloak, with the sleeves dangling on his back. Red bandages were wrapped around his wrists.
Of course.
Of course they had picked the loudest and most excitable kid in class to act like Kaidou. Kusuo dropped his head into his hands and groaned.
As soon as he did, however, the class erupted into a roar.
“Saiki! What’s wrong?!”
“Hairo, you idiot! Apologize to Saiki!”
“Quit shouting, Hairo! You’re giving Saiki a headache!”
This was too much. Kusuo stood up and strode over to the door. He needed to get out of here.
He stepped around Hairo, who was attempting to apologize to him. He didn’t care. He made his way into the nearest restroom, thankful that it was empty.
Kusuo glared at the mirror. He was sick of today. He just wanted to go home and sleep, and have everything back to normal by tomorrow. But he couldn’t, so he had to deal with this.
He took a shaky breath. Whatever was going on, he was starting to think it might not be a prank. Looking back, the reactions were too genuine, the roles filled too easily.
Kusuo knew that Saiko would never degrade himself to the point of acting like Nendou. And Nendou wasn’t smart enough to pretend to be Saiko so flawlessly.
Kaidou never spoke with any girl without freaking out, much less Teruhashi herself. Yet that’s exactly what he had done, and Teruhashi had acted like it was completely normal.
And then...why did Teruhashi say offu to Kusuo? Actually, not just Teruhashi. Kaidou had been perfectly calm until he walked up to them, and it was only then that he acted like he was in Teruhashi’s presence. Maybe he just couldn’t keep up the act any longer? Teruhashi’s charms were known to be impossible for anyone to resist, himself excluded of course.
But then why had the entire class gotten so upset when Kusuo was annoyed by Hairo? That was the kind of response Teruhashi would usually get. If Kusuo was upset, they usually just ignored him, like always.
So unless the entire class was going out of their way to be part of an overly elaborate prank…
Something was actually wrong. And usually, when something was this messed up, it was because of his powers. He also usually fixed the same situation with his powers, which was inconvenient, since he no longer had them.
Actually, not inconvenient. Very, very bad. Horrible. Hopeless.
Kusuo had either seriously messed up his friends’ minds, or he was stuck in some kind of alternate reality or timeline. And without his powers, there was literally nothing he could do about it.
But there was something even scarier than that.
He thought back to Kaidou and Teruhashi’s reactions when he approached them. He had been hearing similar things all morning. He assumed Teruhashi had been behind him while he walked to school, but she had already been in the classroom when he got there.
Kusuo looked at his reflection in the mirror, then blinked in surprise. Like everyone else, he looked different too. For one thing, his eyes were now completely visible. Without his glasses, his vivid purple irises were on full display.
And was his hair a bit longer? It looked to be around the length of his female form’s hair, but still his usual shade of pink.
But worst of all, to Kusuo’s absolute horror, a brilliant golden light seemed to be emanating from him, encompassing his body in a divine aura that he was far too familiar with.
Yeah.
This wasn’t a prank.
This was hell.
This line break symbolizes a new chapter. I just didn't want to split it apart, since every chapter is going to be a new story.
Kusuo did not know what to expect.
Soon, class would be starting, and he would have to walk out of the door and into the hallway. And that hallway was currently packed with students.
Why was he glowing like Teruhashi?! What did it mean? Would everybody be treating him like they always treated her? Kusuo repressed a shudder at the thought.
He couldn’t stay in the bathroom forever. Class would be starting soon, and being late or absent would attract even more attention than he already had.
The best thing to do would be to go directly to his classroom right now. He could make his way through the hall, and then just ignore everyone once he got there. Easy.
Kusuo took a deep breath, then stepped out into the hallway. Instantly, every head nearby turned towards him.
“ Offu !”
“Oh, Saiki!”
“Good morning, Saiki!”
“Oh wow!”
And he stepped back into the bathroom and closed the door again.
This was not good.
He was literally a magnet for attention right now, which was the exact opposite of what he wanted. How did Teruhashi deal with this?
It didn’t matter. He had to ignore it and get to class.
He took a moment to calm down, then opened the door again.
The hallway once again erupted into a cacophony of offu s, greetings, and compliments, and Saiki pushed his way through the crowd. Or, he would have, if it hadn’t parted for him wherever he walked.
He kept his head down, walking maybe a bit too quickly towards his class. He reached the door, and stepped inside, rushing over to his desk and dropping into his seat. There were a few small gasps and offu s from some of the people in the room, but it wasn’t nearly as bad as outside. He was safe.
He looked around, and immediately felt uncomfortable again. Most of the people in his class were staring straight at him, looking away nervously when he noticed. Those who weren’t focused on him were glaring at Hairo.
He sighed, staring down at his desk. Everything was wrong. It was like everyone had switched lives with someone else. Saiko was Nendou, Nendou was Saiko, Hairo was Kaidou, and Kusuo was Teruhashi.
So did that mean that Teruhashi was supposed to be like him? Was she a psychic now?
That would be true if everyone had switched lives, but if that was the case, Kaidou would be acting like Hairo. But instead, he was sitting in the corner of the room, still chatting with Teruhashi. Hairo would usually be swarmed by people, due to his popularity.
So who was Kaidou supposed to be?
And what about Teruhashi? Her bright aura was gone, and nobody was even looking at her. It would be easier to tell if he could actually hear her and Kaidou speaking, but without his powers, they were too far away and speaking too quietly to understand.
Before he could get too lost in his thoughts, the bell rang, signaling the start of class, and the teacher walked in.
Kusuo allowed himself to get lost in the lesson. It was a good way to keep his mind off of whatever was happening. Sadly, before he knew it, it was time for lunch.
He decided to stay at his desk as he ate. But before he could even take out his lunch, Kuboyasu plopped down at the desk next to his.
“Hey Saiki, you’ve been acting weird today.”
He raised his eyebrows. “ I’ve been acting weird?”
“Yeah, is something wrong? You’re not usually this...stoic, I guess.”
Kusuo looked down at his desk. “I’m fine. This may sound strange, but...what am I usually like?”
Kuboyasu chuckled. “Uh...yeah, that is weird to ask. Well, you’re always trying to make everyone happy. I think you put yourself through too much, trying to be so perfect all the time, so I’m kind of glad for the change of attitude, but you’re acting like a completely different person.”
Kusuo sighed. This was a nightmare. He was literally Teruhashi.
He really needed to figure everyone out. All he knew so far was that Kuboyasu and Saiko were apparently his friends, and Kaidou and Teruhashi seemed to be close.
“Are you sure you’re okay?”
He looked back up at Kuboyasu. “Yes, I’m fine. Just...having trouble remembering some stuff.”
Kuboyasu furrowed his brow. “That doesn’t sound good. You should go to the nurse.”
He shook his head. “I’ll be fine, trust me.”
“If you say so.” At that, Kuboyasu began eating, and Kusuo could finally finish his lunch in peace. Well, as much peace as he could have while half of the class was staring at him in awe.
Soon, the class started back up, and Kusuo focused solely on the lesson again, tuning everything else out.
The hours flew by, and eventually Kusuo felt his body fill with dread as the bell rang.