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After the volcano, he was supposed to get rid of his psychic powers. Then he could tell his friends the truth: that he once had telepathy, telekinesis, pyrokinesis, invisibility and a whole host of other abilities. Only once he was rid of the curse, was he comfortable in confiding in them. But the powers came back. Of course they did.
Something else unexpected happened after the volcano…
“Babe, I really just think you should, like, tell them, even if you still have your powers or whatever, they’ll totally accept you as you are. You know that,” Aiura told him, encircling his waist as she snuggled into him on her bean bag chair. This wasn’t supposed to happen either. He wasn’t supposed to accept her soulmate nonsense as truth. And he definitely wasn’t supposed to return her feelings. But some things, it seems, you just can’t fight.
And she’s always right. Saiki knew at that moment that she was right. He’d seen a reality where they all knew the truth and they still loved him. But still, something was holding him back from being honest. After years of avoiding the truth, of pretending, he didn’t know how to stop. “I know, but…”
Aiura shimmied somehow closer, swinging a leg over his body like a clingy octopus.
He sighed. He was able to stop pretending with her...
Whatever you think is right, I guess, she conveyed wordlessly.
A few weeks passed without the subject being discussed again. That is, until Nendou’s birthday came around. It was the first birthday to be celebrated as third year high school students. (Mera’s would have been first, but she had to work). Anyway, it was the beginning of the end, and as such, even though it was only Nendou, his birthday was treated with a sort of undue reverence.
Everyone was in attendance, with Kaidou having been adamant about everyone showing up. He had even roped Saiki into co-planning the thing. Saiki wanted to argue, but Nendou actually had kind of become one of his best friends. And it should be pretty simple. Just serve ramen and the guy would be happy, right?
The location of the party was somehow decided to be the Saiki residence. Nendou and Saiki were closest, Kaidou determined, so it made the most sense. Besides that, his parents seemed to like Nendou and they wouldn’t be scared off like other parents. It all added up.
Aiura was one of the first to arrive, second only to Kaidou.
“Aiura-san, why are you here so early?” Kaidou asked.
“I told you to call me Miko-chan,” Aiura said, flashing a peace sign as she side-stepped the tiny guy and kicked her shoes off at the door. She quickly crafted a lie. “I’m early because I like to party, duh.”
It was enough to satisfy Kaidou’s curiosity. The real reason she was early was that it was Saiki’s house and she loved spending time with him there. Also, she had an idea to float by him.
“I’m going to see if Kusuo needs help in the kitchen,” she lied again, setting her gift bag on the table. (She had brought Nendou her favorite swimsuit magazine).
She made it to Saiki’s side and pretended to sniff at the air like she was really trying to take in the aroma of the instant ramen that he was cutting a few fresh ingredients into. “It’s just ramen,” Saiki said. “I know you’re not here to help me, so just get on with whatever you want to talk about.”
“I mean, you already know, don’t you? Everyone will be here today, so it’s the perfect chance. And it’s just Nendou, so it’s not like he’ll be all offended that you’re taking his spotlight or whatever, right?” She said it all fast and in a whisper, but Saiki obviously caught every word.
“So you think I should make the big reveal today?” he said, with his eyebrow ever so slightly cocked.
Aiura nodded her agreement. There was another knock on the door, so she let the conversation end there. She made her point, so there was no reason in pestering him about it more.
“It’s Yumehara at the door. You want to get it?” he asked.
“No, let the little guy get it. I do want to watch, though.” Aiura left him to his “cooking” to watch an awkward, yet cute interaction between an oblivious Kaidou and a love-struck Chiyo.
One by one, all of the guests arrived until Kuboyasu managed to drag Nendou in. Party poppers popped with confetti and everyone shouted their birthday wishes. “Oh, right! It’s my birthday today!” Nendou remarked. It truly was a total surprise to him.
As the party wound down, Aiura began to worry that Saiki wouldn’t act on her advice. She flashed him a concerned look, which he seemed to ignore. But a moment later, he assured her. “I’m just waiting for the right moment.”
Even though he wasn’t the most social creature, Saiki could still detect a lull in a party’s conversation. At that moment, he chose to speak.
“Hey. I have something to tell everyone,” he said by way of brief preamble. “Aiura and I are dating.”
Aiura’s eyes widened to the size of regulation frisbees. That’s not the reveal I meant!
Saiki gave her a slight smile as if to say, "yeah. I know."
“Wow! Buddy, that’s awesome,” Nendou said, breaking the silence that had fallen over the rest of the stunned group.
“Yeah… great,” Teruhashi agreed, her voice wobbly around the edges. She looked like she might faint.
The rest of the group eventually sobered up enough after his announcement to echo those sentiments. After the initial shock wore off, it really ended up not being that big of a deal, though Teruhashi did make an excuse to head home early shortly thereafter. (She was planning on crying in bed until she got a headache, then eating ice cream and reading her many admirers' love letters until she got over it).
At the party’s end, Kaidou and Kuboyasu exchanged a look which Saiki knew meant that they were going to get out of his and Aiura’s hair, and after some convincing they managed to get Nendou to come with them, though it was hard since they couldn’t use their usual bribe of ramen to entice him. Once they all finally left, Saiki released a relieved sigh, but the post-party peace was short-lived.
“What the hell was that!?” Aiura demanded, weakly slapping his arm. “That’s not what we discussed!”
“It’s not?” Saiki teased.
Aiura groaned, but couldn’t help the smile from spreading over her face. She’d been publicly acknowledged as his girlfriend. That was exciting. But still… “Are you ever gonna tell ‘em?”
Saiki nodded. “I’m even more sure now. If they can handle the fact that I’m dating you, they can handle anything.”
With a scoff, she batted at his arm again, but he caught her and pulled her into a lazy half-hug. She didn't really understand it, but she gave him the courage he needed, just by being there. He made a mental note of the next classmate’s birthday. He’d tell them all then.