Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

I follow my new teacher down the halls of my new schoo, my hands start to fidget. Nervousness still eating away at me, despite the normality of changing schools every year. I haven’t been in Hidari for so long, I can barely remember most things, other than my old friends.

We reach the classroom, and the teacher walks in first. “Settle down class… we have a new transfer student. Please give her a kind welcome!”
She announces to the class, her arm gestured towards me, signaling for me to walk in. Holding my breath, I slowly step in. I can hear a couple people mumble as I do. Is that a good thing? I can never tell.

“Hello everybody, my name is L/N, Y/N. I’m so glad to be here!” I say, giving my rehearsed speech as I write my name on the board. I turn around and give a small bow. As I straighten back up, I see someone in the front row with pink hair. Pink hair? But no one has pink hair except…

“L/N, your seat will be next to Saiki, the pink haired boy in the front.” It is him; I can’t believe it. I can already feel my face warm a bit. Nodding my head, I walk over to the desk next to him with a smile. I wonder if he still remembers me. I hope so, though I wouldn’t be surprised if he didn’t.

He looks so different, and not only in the ‘he grew up’ way. He now has these green glasses that cover his purple eyes, along with these new hairclips. They’re kinda cute though. But overall, he’s stayed the same; even with his monotone expression, and his cute face. I can feel myself staring at him for too long. Looking away, I stare at the board. Is that even writing?

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Wow, I learned absolutely nothing in that class! I couldn’t even tell if she was teaching or just talking. Not like I care too much, easy ‘A’ for me, I guess. I look at the clock and remember my schedule. Lunch time, and now I need to figure out where the cafeteria is. Half the class went their own way, not allowing me to just follow the crowd. Oh! I could ask Saiki; this could be how I start reconnecting.
“Hey Saiki, do you know where-” I turn to talk to him, knowing as a fact he was just there a second ago; but he wasn’t. “-the cafeteria is…” I swear I just saw him. I look around aimlessly for a bit. But to no avail, he’s gone. Bummer.
“You need help finding the cafeteria?” Holy, was that an angel talking? I look behind me where the heavenly voice came from, and it might as well have been an angel. “Oh wow..” I say instinctively. Probably the most beautiful girl just came up to talk to me. I’ve been blessed. She has blue hair and eyes, glass skin, and I assume a halo over her.

“I did, I was going to ask Saiki, but he’s gone.” She let out an angelic giggle. I’m not gay but I would totally marry her. “Well then, I guess I can help you then! My name is Teruhashi Kokomi by the way, but please call me Kokomi” Has she always had a golden glow to her?
“Oh, then. You can call me Y/N then. Thank you so much.” She grabs my hand, (HOLY HER HANDS ARE SOFT), and guides me along the hallways.

“Where would you like us to sit, Y/N?” Kokomi asks me with such an innocent smile. Not even thinking, I know exactly where I want to sit.
“Uhm…How about with Saiki?” I can feel her staring at me, it’s making me a bit nervous, “Well, I was friends with him when we were younger, but I had moved.” I explain a bit embarrassed. “I’m hoping to reconnect with him actually.” All she does is stare at me more for a bit, clearly thinking. “Why of course, him and I are close also!” Her smile brightens.

My eyes widen, “Oh really? That’s great, maybe you can help me re-interduce myself!” I feel a bit of relief. Kokomi just smiles at me, not saying anything. Her and I walk towards the table Saiki, and what I assume are his friends, are at.

“Hey guys! Look who I brought with me.” Kokomi waves at the others, all of them (but not Saiki?) say ‘Oh wow’ out of instinct. So, I’m not the only one. I wave at them too, having a nagging feeling that I don’t belong there. I kinda just showed up out of nowhere. Even my parents were shocked the school let transfer students in this late into the year.
“Your L/N, Y/N right? The new transfer.” The blue hair kid speaks first. He has red bandages around both his arms, along with an eyepatch that his hair covers. I wonder how badly he’d must’ve gotten hurt to need all of that.
“I’m Kaido Shun, but you can call me the ‘Jet Black Wings’! If you ever need help with Dark Reunion, I’m always here to help!” He yells while striking a weird pose.
“Black Reunion?” I say in confusion, my face matching. Kaido then starts to stutter, trying to backtrack. He said that with so much confidence, is he okay?

“I’m Nendou Riki! And this is Saiki, my best buddie!” A, OH MY LORD IS THAT A GORILLA- oh no it’s a person. That scared me. He does look like one though. With his strange hair and odd-looking face. Hard to believe that he isn't one though.
"Oh yeah, I know Saiki. We went to the same elementary school.” I explain sheepishly. I look over to Saiki, wondering if he truly does remember me. But he’s not even looking at anyone, just staring at the table in front of him. I guess he doesn’t. That’s nice I guess..
Feeling a pit in my stomach grow with every awkward second, I look down. This isn’t what I was wanting. I guess it was a bit dumb to think we could still be friends after all this time. It’s been so long and he’s probably so different from how I remember him.

“Well that’s great! We’re always looking for new people to join our group.” A guy with purple hair and rectangle glasses starts talking, “I’m Kuboyasu Aren by the way. I’m a transfer student here too.”

“That’s nice to hear I’m not alone.” I give him a small smile out of appreciation, not because he introduced himself, but he changed the subject. “I wouldn’t want to impose on your guy’s fun.” As much as I would love to make this many friends on the first day; I’m not sure how I would handle being with a group of four guys.

“Nonsense! We would love to have you join us.” Kuboyasu says, giving me a reassuring grin.

“Yeah! Come join us have ramen!” The gorilla- I mean Nendo yells. I laugh awkwardly, unsure of what to do.

“That sounds great Y/N! We would love to join you all!” Kokomi answers for the both of us. Well now I’m going. Kokomi said I am so I guess, I am.

I look over to Saiki one more time, and he’s looking at me. Still a blank expression, but he’s looking at me. Pink dusts my cheeks as I stare back, feeling obligated to keep eye contact. Even when it feels like he can see through me.

Chapter Text

Placing my school shoes back inside my locker, my mind races about today. I really really don’t want to go to this ramen thing. Normally I would just say I’m not feeling well and ditch, but Kokomi already said I was going, and I don’t want to upset her. Granted I don’t think anything can upset her.

I don’t know these people, except for their names. And even then, I’ve had to re-ask Kokomi who is who.

Kuboyasu seems friendly, but there’s something off about him, it bothers me slightly. Kaido just goes on rants about his secret powers and the, Jet Dark Wings or whatever. But if I ask him about it, he just goes all shy brushing off his previous confidence. Nendo- Well there’s nothing to say about Nendo, other than he looks like someone who would commit a felony. Even me ‘talking’ to Saiki was horrible. Not only is he just so secluded, but every time I try to talk, my brain gets fuzzy. Kokomi is so far the only good thing to happen to me all day.

I release a sigh, disappointed in myself. After what, ten years I still have a puppy crush on Saiki? Someone I don’t even know well enough to call them by their first name? Sadly, pretty on brand for me.

“L/N! You just about ready?” Kuboyasu yells from outside the school, already with the others.

“Yeah, just grabbing my sweater!” I yell back, as I wrap the sweater around my waist. Quickly walking towards the group, I curse myself for staring at Saiki as I go down. I don’t even know his favorite color. I need to snap out of this, or it might kill me.

“Sorry about that…” I say as I rub the back of my hand, a little habit when I get nervous.

“No problem, pal!” Nendo says patting my shoulder, hard. I could’ve collapsed from that ‘pat’. “I’m just happy that we have a new buddie to try a new ramen shop!” Nendo goes to ‘pat’ me again, but I quickly get out of the way before I get another bruise.

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As the group walks down the streets, looking for this ‘amazing ramen place’ that Nendo swears by, I quietly listen into the conversation. It’s about nothing in particular, just sparce topics that fade away when someone else brings up another thing. It’s always been interesting to see others interact with their friends, people watching as I call it.

“So how do you know Saiki again?” Kaido asks me, dragging me into the conversation. You know, I was happy not talking.

“We went to the same elementary school.” I look over at Saiki, who was right behind Kaido, but he doesn’t look at me. “We were friends for the short while I was there, mainly talking during free time and lunch. I had to move in the middle of my third year because of my father’s work.” My dad’s job has caused us to move multiple times in my life. It wasn’t until my mother expressed her dislike for moving almost every year, that we finally settled down.

“That’s strange, Saiki’s never mentioned you…” Kaido mumbles out thoughtlessly. Ouch. Kuboyasu nudges him on the side, hinting that was the wrong thing to say.

“I-I mean not in a bad way! Saiki never really talks anyways! I just thought that he would’ve.” Another nudge. “No- I’m- I’m sure you two were great friends, and he cared about that friendship…” He rambles trying to save himself. He eventually shuts up, and walks in silence.

I doubted he would ever talk about me, especially after what happened before I left. Still stings to hear it out loud.

The group walks in awkward silence, a contrast to the previous lively conversation. Luckily Nendo announces our arrival to this special ramen shop.

“Look guys, the ramen shop!” he shouts, pointing at an old run-down building, only having a sign that just says, ‘Ramen’. “Doesn’t it look great?”

No. It didn’t. I wouldn’t be surprised if I got a never heard of disease from there. Luckily others agreed with me, expressing their distaste for this… mold shop.

“Are you crazy?!” Kaido shouts. “Theres no way we can eat here! We especially can’t let Teruhashi and L/N eat here! You dumb gorilla- “I stare at restaurant, if you could even call it that, as Kaido yells. I feel sick just look at it.

“Oh… You know, I wouldn’t mind… uhm… eating here, I mean we walked all the way here-” Kokomi starts talking, trying not to seem ungrateful.
“Kokomi, there is no way on earth we can eat here. A roach just walked in. I saw a cute udon noodle shop not far from here.” I cut in, before she convinces the others that it is possible that we are eating there. I’m not letting her eat there, and I’m not letting myself.

“But my ramen- “Nendo starts, but also gets cut off by Kuboyasu, “That seems like the better option.”, “And safer.” Kaido adds.

I can see the relief on Kokomi’s face as she sees that the plans have changed. I have the same feeling.
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Sitting at the table, the once dead conversation is back. I’m sitting next to Saiki, while Kokomi sits on the other side of me, as she kindly thanks the waiter for having the food on the house just for her. I wonder how she does it. Saiki says nothing, as he has all day. Just quietly enjoying his dessert.

I can feel my face getting warmer just by me sitting next to him. I know he remembers me, but how much does he remember? I still can’t believe that I told him that I had liked him, even if it was in my third year, it still haunts me.

Shuddering at the memory, I look back over to Saiki. Maybe this is more than just a school girl crush? It’s been ten years, so its possible. I sound so dumb right now, I’m so glad no one can read my mind.

Chapter Text

*Bzzzzt Bzzzzt*

*Bzzzzt Bzzzzt*

I slam my hand on my nightstand, flopping it around trying to locate my phone. Picking it up I hit the ‘Stop’ button on my alarm. Groaning, I roll out of bed, stretching my limbs, then hearing a few pops. I really need to find a chiropractor. I shouldn’t have to be getting up this early on a Saturday.

One of my mom’s friends said they needed a babysitter while her and her husband went on a date for the day; and my mother decided I was the perfect candidate. Granted I do need the extra cash, but it doesn’t feel good when you don’t have a say in it. I don’t know a lot of the family, but I do know the kid’s name. Yuuta, I think?

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“And guess what Ms. Y/N.” Yuuta shouts excitedly, all while he jumps up and down holding his favorite ‘Cyborg Cyder Man 2#’ figure. We’re both in his living room, as Yuuta tells me about the ‘coolest superhero’ as I sit on the floor and he yells and runs around me.

“Hmmmm… what Yuuta?” I say giving into his little antics, holding one of his other figures, ‘Apple Cider Woman’.

“I met Cyborg Cider Man number 2, and he saved me!!!” He yells out, messing with his figure as he reenacts his ‘interaction’ with Cyborg Cider Man.

I lightly laugh at his imagination, and ruffle his green hair, moving his little hat to the side. “That’s so cool! I wonder if you’re going to meet him again soon.” Just as I say that, doorbell rings. Standing up from the floor, I walk over to the door and look out the little peephole. Through the small hole I see, Saiki? I open the door, with a confused look on my face. He doesn’t seem surprised I’m here though.

“Saiki why are you- “, I get cut off by Yuuta pushing me out of the door way. “Cyborg Cider Man Number Two! It’s you, I knew I would see you again!” His yelling almost blows out my eardrums, having to use my fingers to plug them. Wait, does he think Saiki is Cyborg Cider Man? Why does-

Before I can even finish my thought Saiki runs into the house with no explanation. Yuuta is ecstatic about having him here, and all I can do is just stand here confused. What on Earth is going on?! Saiki is right now in the dinning room, standing by the wall. He’s staring out the window like he’s watching for someone to pass by.

“Saiki what’s going one why are you here?” He just looks at me with his standard blank expression. I’m about to follow him into the kitchen before the bell rings again. Who else is here?

“Coming!” I shout, hoping the person on the other side hears me. Opening the door, with Yuuta hugging my leg, I see another unexpected, (yet welcome), person. Kokomi!

“Oh, Kokomi! Hi, what are you doing here?” I say happily. It’s nice to see her here, usually when we hang out it’s out of force from Nendo. Why has she blessed us with her presence today?

She gives us an embarrassed smile, “Oh I’m so sorry! I rang this house by mistake. I meant to go the neighbors.”

“Oh, that’s okay, we’ve all made mistakes before.” I say trying to ease her embarrassment, poor girl’s face is all red.

“Hey!” I hear Yuuta shout from the dining room. I didn’t even notice he left. “Come quick Cyborg Cider Man Number Two! There’s a strange lady here.” I turn to see Yuuta dragging Saiki out of the room, up to the door way.
“Saiki?” Kokomi says, confused why he’s here too. All he does is let out a defeated sigh.
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“Oh, hello there Kokomi, nice to see you again! And who might you be? A friend of Ku’s?!” Saiki’s mother very happily greets us. Yuuta wanted to spend time with his beloved Cyborg Cider Man, so being his babysitter, I tagged along. I don’t want to push the responsibility onto someone else. And I do also want to spend time with Saiki.

“I’m L/N, Y/N ma’am. You might not remember me, but I used to be friends with Saiki back in elementary school, but I had moved due to my father’s job. I believe you knew my mother though.” I try to explain to her, hoping she does remember or this is going to be very awkward.

“Oh Y/N! I do remember you, you and Ku used to be best friends, and I hope you still are now! I see you’ve got Yuuta with you, how cute!” Mrs. Saiki points out the child in my arms, his small hands gripping onto my shirt.

“I’m taking care of him for the day. His parents needed a babysitter.” Why they didn’t just ask the Saiki’s? I’m not sure. Plot I assume.

“So why are you here Kokomi? Were you all spending the day together?” Mrs. Saiki moves on to Kokomi. She talks really fast, it’s impressive.

“No, no, no, remember a while back, you offered to give me a cooking lesson. So, here I am, just for the lessons… ha.” Kokomi rushes out, waving her hands in front of her face. How can someone be perfectly embarrassed? She still has a glow to her. I wish.

“You came to see me? That makes me so happy, I’ll go set up then. Wait here for me.” Mrs. Saiki then rushes out to her kitchen, prepping for the lesson. I’m starting to feel a bit out of place here. Should I just leave, and deal with Yuuta mad at me? Maybe-

“Oh, and Y/N, since you’re here, why don’t you join us? Ku can help with Yuuta; you guys can be like a married couple!” Mrs. Saiki asks me from the kitchen. I immediately blush at her comment, holding Yuuta a bit tighter. I can see Saiki from the corner of my eye, hiding a grimace, so I try to just laugh it off. It’s obviously just a mother teasing her son, nothing more. Nothing. More.

“I would love to join you Mrs. Saiki.” I say as I slide off my bag from my shoulder, and place it on the table. This is going to be a long day. Looking down at Yuuta, who still is in my arms, I can see him staring at Kokomi. Same kid, same. Kokomi must’ve noticed as well, because she crouches slightly to meet his eye level.

“Why hello Yuuta.” Kokomi greets the child, giving him her warm smile. I can feel myself smiling with her. How can one girl be so pretty? Yuuta must not agree because he just turns his head, and hides his face in my chest. Rude. Looking at Kokomi’s face I can see her face is stiff. Poor girl is rejected by a kid. Brutal.

“I brought cake, is that something you might like?” She asks, and Yuuta’s mood does a 180. His eyes brighten at the mention of sweet treats. “Theres an extra one for Yuuta, if he wants it!” Giving him her extra treat, how considerate of her.

Mrs. Saiki takes the box from Kokomi, and opens it on the table, all while Yuuta is chanting “Cake!! Cake!!” When she unhooks the top, she reveals five pastries. A hazelnut cupcake, a vanilla cream cake slice with a strawberry on top, a crepe cake slice, a strawberry pound cake slice, and… A heart cake with the work “Love” written on a chocolate bar. Why would she pick that? It’s so random from the other selections. Could it be for...? No… I look over to Kokomi, only to see her face in complete shock and horror.

“Who could this one be for?” Mrs. Saiki asks. I’m not sure if she genuinely is wondering, or is making a tease that it could be for Saiki. Does she like Saiki? It would explain her strange want to be around him. But if she likes him, then I have no chance whatsoever. I mean who wouldn’t like her, she’s perfect. A small pit forms in my stomach. I can’t be thinking like this, its not even a guarantee she likes him anyways.

“Oh no, no, no, no, no!” Kokomi shoots out. “I just asked them to give me whatever they had, and I didn’t pick it out, so it doesn’t mean anything!” She continues to spew out. Her face red, and her arms flailing.

“Please, pick whichever you like!” Kokomi says as she sets out the desserts on the table, while we all takes seats. I reach for the strawberry poundcake, one of my favorites. I wonder what Saiki is going to take. Would it be the heart one? Glancing at Saiki’s plate, I see he has the crepe one. The pit that was in me, subsides for now. What is even wrong with me, this is all so stupid.

After we all finish, I see that Yuuta has finished with his cake, (he apparently took the heart one).

“Yuuta did you enjoy that?” I ask him already knowing the answer. The kid demolished the thing

“Yeah, it was my favorite flavor!” He says practically beaming with joy.

“Okay, now how about you thank Kokomi for sharing with us?” I ask/tell Yuuta.

“Ok,” He looks over to Kokomi with a smile, “Thank you for the cake, ma’am!” What a polite kid, using ma’am for his elders. I was also about to thank Kokomi for the cake, but she’s, once again, looking stiff. Really stiff. Is she okay?

Ignoring Kokomi and her mini crisis that she keeps on having, I help Mrs. Saiki clean up the plates as she answers her phone. Placing the dishes in the sink, and rinsing them off, I go back to the table where the rest are, next to Yuuta so he can hold my hand.

“I am so sorry; I had forgotten I had to go to the neighborhood association meeting.” Mrs. Saiki says once she’s gotten off the phone

“Oh no, that’s okay. I can come by another time.” Kokomi replies, bowing slightly as a goodbye.

“That’s okay, please stay here, both of you. It’ll only take half an hour or so!” Mrs. Saiki explains to us. I was planning on following Kokomi out, but I suppose some time with both Saiki and her wouldn’t be so bad.
Kokomi eyes widen a bit in surprise when Mrs. Saiki said both. Looking behind her she sees me, and her demeaner falls when she does. Did she forget I’m here? Sure, I haven’t said much, but that’s a bit rude.

“Hey, can we watch some TV now?” Yuuta asks me while pulling on my pants leg.

“Sure, why not.” I say, walking with Yuuta over to the couch. Grabbing the remote off the coffee table, and flicking to the right channel, I turn his favorite show on. Cyborg Cider Man Number 2. I sit next to Yuuta on the couch, it’s pretty spacey. You could probably fit three more people, and still have enough room.

I would join Kokomi and Saiki as they talk, but something tells me I wouldn’t be apart of it too much.

And just as I think that I feel the weight shift beside me. Looking to why I can see that Saiki sat directly next to me, his eyes focused on the TV. My face heats as I whip my head around to face the TV as well, trying my hardest to ignore the fact that our legs are touching. It’s just a coincidence. Maybe… I wait to see if Kokomi will join us too, but she just stares at us all. Is she okay? She’s been acting off all day.

“I just remembered something, so I’m going to go home.” Kokomi says, her voice wavering with each word. Is there something wrong? Maybe I should check on her.

I get up a bit reluctantly, and start to follow after her once she’s reached the front door. I’m about to call out her name, when Yuuta grabs me from behind. Looking down I see him hugging my legs.

“No! Don’t go Apple Cider Woman!” The boy yells out as he tries to drag me back down to the couch. Confused, I look back to the TV where Cyborg Cider Man, and Apple Cider Woman are fighting against Barren Cola. Looking a bit closer I see that Apple Cider and I have the same hair and eye color.

“You can’t fight crime without Cyborg Cider Man Number Two! You both need to be together in order to be the best heroes!” Yuuta continues to explain as he pushes me back down next to Saiki, somehow closer than before. Yuuta takes his place next to me and fixates on his show. Sitting up properly, I wait for Saiki to scoot over so he’s not touching me. But, he doesn’t.

Chapter Text

Staring up at the ceiling, I listen to my alarm continually go off, just too tired to turn it off. Sighing, I pull myself up and try to rub the sleep out of my eyes.

It’s become somewhat normal now. Getting ready for school that is. For a long while I was homeschooled, a better and cheaper way to learn as my family hopped around. Naturally, I had gotten used to sleeping later, and relaxing in my pjs. Turns out, its hell getting used to a new sleep schedule. Luckily, I’ve only been late to class twice… excluding the time when the teacher was also late.

It's also taken a while to get used to seeing so many people all day every day, especially gaining a large friend group so fast. Kuboyasu is a transfer student like me, so he’s helped me figure a few things out. Other than his random anger spurs, I’ve found him to be a nice person. Kaido still goes on about his powers. He’s the, “Jet Black Wings” I’ve learned, and is fighting against “Dark Reunion”. Still not too sure on where he got all this information, but it is interesting to hear his stories. Nendo… yeah. Saiki though, is the odd one out of the group. He doesn’t talk, except for a word here and there, and mainly keeps to himself. based off of what I’ve seen so far, I don’t think he wanted to be a part of the group originally, but just got squished in. But he’s never complained, or ditched any hangout. Strange.

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I walk into my classroom, still feeling fatigued from this morning. My eyes scan over to where most my classmates are talking. Some sitting at their desks while they talk, others standing in small groups. Saiki, as always, is sitting at his desk. Doing nothing, saying nothing, staring at nothing. This has become a normal sight, which gives me a little hope that we can become the friends we used to be. Maybe… nah, I’m crazy.

I walk over to my desk next to him, my blood slowly heating up as I do.

“Good morning, Saiki.” I greet him, as I have for a few days now. He never responds to them, just looks at me, nods, then looks away. I honestly have no idea what it means, but I assume its good that he even acknowledges me.

I’ve learned a few things about him the short while I’ve been here, despite not really talking directly to him. He doesn’t talk, or engage in conversation. He really, really, enjoys dessert. I had figured this out when the only times I’ve seen him smile, is while eating them. I knew he liked them from when we were kids, (I was able to bribe him with candy quite often) but I thinks it has only grown since then. He also likes to be left alone. This one I keep in mind. I still want to be friends with him, and I sort of am, but I don’t want to seem overbearing, or annoy him by constantly clinging to him. So, I just say my ‘Good morning’, and leave him, mostly, alone.

These small efforts, so far, have left him to not ignore me? He definitely doesn’t spark conversation, but he doesn’t push me away when I’ve talked to him. It’s nice to see him not be disengaged whenever I hang out with him and the group. He’s even said a few words to me! Oh, my Lord that sounds so stupid. ‘I’m happy my little puppy crush/re-friend said a minimum of two words to me.’ Oh, how I have fallen.

“Ok students, Settle down! Get back to your seats, and pay attention.” Our now blonde teacher shouts from her desk. Didn’t she have brown hair yesterday?

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Nendo is already harassing us yet about getting ramen with him, not even waiting for us to leave the classroom.

“Heyyy buddies! Wanna head out and get some chow? I found an even better place than last time!” Nendo practically shouts at us while blocking the door. Everyone else agrees, a bit reluctantly, but they agree nonetheless. However, I must decline for once.

Normally I would say yes, but I’m ‘busy’ today. My mother wants me to help her clean the house, she swears it’s a mess. In reality it just looks like a lived-in house, but I digress. I never end up helping her, maybe dusting a few places, but I mainly just stay out of her way. If I try to help like she wants, I’m ‘not doing it properly’ and she takes over. This would be good, but despite my lack of participation, I’m still now allowed to go out for the day.

“Sorry guys, I can’t today. My parents.” I say sounding only a little sad. Yeah, it sucks I can’t hang out with Sai- I mean my friends. But I might be saved from food poisoning… again. I need to start recommending places instead of relying on Nendo.

“What? That sucks man.” Nendo deflates, and I just give an awkward laugh, hoping he doesn’t try to push.

“Your parents have been fine every other time…” Kaido mumbles before gasping, “She could have been taken by Dark Reunion, and replaced her with an evil clone, and this is just a ploy to get my guard down!” Kendo shouts as he ‘connects’ the dots.

“No, they just don’t want me out today. Trust me, my mother is my mother.” I assure Kaido, placing my hand on his shoulder, causing him to flush. He shrinks away while squeakily saying that I’m right. Funny how fast he switched.

Waving my goodbyes, I wish them a good time (and no food poisoning). My hand still up as I walk away, I look at Saiki who is already looking at me. We hold eye contact for a bit longer, it only breaking when the wall begins to block my sight. As I walk, I think about that moment. I feel crazy for even thinking it, but I could’ve sworn he looked a little… sad? SAD?! I really am going crazy holy shi-

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Gazing out my window as I lay my head on my desk in my room. I am so unbelievably bored. I could be with my friends; I could be with Saiki! But no, I am tapped, listening to my mom clean. I groan as I lean over my desk and open the window, letting fresh air in.

I watch trees sway with the wind, a small rhythmic movement. Sighing, I listen to the outside. Birds chirping filling the air, the bristling of the leaves, the subtle sound of other people outside, and the meowing of a cat by my window. Wait a cat?

Moving my head down towards the noise, I am met with a white cat who is now on my desk, and my heart melts. It has the cutest green glasses, along with, what I assume are charms, on its collar. The little guy just stares at me.

“Awwwhhh! You’re so cute.” I gush, moving my hand to pet it. But right before my hand touches him, he jumps away further into my room. Getting out from my chair, to then move down to the floor where the cat it, I observe him more.

The cat just stares at me back, as if he’s doing the same thing. I lift my hand, trying to pet it again, but the cat moves again, this time jumping on my bed. Glaring at the cat for its refusal of my love, it still just staring at me, clearly not caring. Accepting defeat, I stand back up and move to my bed to sit down, leaning my back against the headboard.

“You really are a stubborn thing.” I say mindlessly, as if the thing could understand me. After a few seconds of silence, I laugh a little.

“You know, you remind me of someone I know.” I say fondly, “Stubborn, doesn’t talk much, and sure doesn’t like to be touched.” I really do like him. Thinking about him so much a cat reminds me of him. The soft smile on my lips turns into a frown the more I think.

He probably doesn’t like me back, in the same way I do, or even as a friend. The small interactions I’ve had with him are basically nothing. He doesn’t even look happy all the times I’ve seen him. Yeah, he doesn’t ditch and hangouts, but what if he’s doing that to be nice, doing it out of obligation? I say good morning to him every day, and he never says anything back, just nods. Is that his way of telling me to leave him alone? Has he been giving me hints that he just does not care for me all this time and I’m just to blind to notice? Everyone swears that’s just how he is, but sometimes I wonder. I’ve been holding onto the memories of us as kids, playing together and having fun. Our favorite used to be the swings. We would just swing and talk about nothing for almost all of recess. Even though I did most of the talking, and he was listening, he did talk. It was wonderful. But maybe I’ve been holding onto those memories for too long. He’s changed, and so have I. Maybe we’ll never go back to how we were, and I’m just going to have to accept that. Maybe-

I’m snapped out of my spiraling thoughts when I feel something rub against me. Looking down I see the cat rubbing its head against my hand, purring. Hesitantly, I lift my hand up, and slowly reach to pet the cat, this time, he doesn’t move, letting me rub his head gently.

A smile returns to my face, it growing when he moves to sit in my lap. Giggling slightly, I use both hands to rub his face. It lets out a small meow, making me smile more. Leaning down, I give a small peck to the top of its head, then immediately going back to petting.

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Walking into my classroom the next day, I go back to what I was thinking about the day before. Shaking my head, I try to ignore the swarming thoughts.

Walking over to my desk, I take a small breath and great him.

“Good morning, Saiki!” I say as I sit down at my desk next to him.

“Good morning.”

My checks flush as I hear his voice fill my head. My head snaps towards him, but he’s already looking away.

Chapter Text

Rita Toritsuka. He’s another transfer student, like me. I don’t know much about him, considering that he’s in another class and not in the group, but I know enough. He is interesting to say the least. He was here before Kuboyasu, he can allegedly speak to spirits, and he’s a perv. I have had the unfortunate experience of meeting this…person.

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“Hey! You’re new here, right?” A purple haired man with matching eyes shouted, gaining my attention. He wore a white headband, using it to keep his hair up. I nodded, thinking he was a class mate I had yet to meet.

“I’m Rita Toritsuka, but you can call me Rita.” I awkwardly smile, and hesitantly nod.

“Oh ok… uhm. Nice to meet you?” I tried to walk around him, but he moved each way I tried leave. “

“But you must’ve known that, I’m kind of a hot shot around here. The ladies love me y’know.” He said, a big smirk on his face as he leaned against the wall, continuing to block the way I needed to go. Feeling more uncomfortable by the second, I gave an awkward laugh, wanting to escape. I pray to the Lord up high that something, anything saves me from this.

“Wow. That’s so… cool?” I coughed out, gripping my school bag a bit tighter, contemplating If I should hit him with it.

“I’m actually a psychic medium; I can see and communicate with spirits. One of my main specialties is talking to guardian spirits.” He bragged while combing his hair back with his fingers. He clearly wanted to seem cool. It wasn’t working. I nodded my head not knowing what to say, or even if there even was anything to say. I didn’t know if I should believe him, everything was telling me not to. But, my lack of words didn’t stop him.

“If you wanted me to, and I’m sure you do, I could tell you your guardian! Only for the small price of a kiss of course…” He ‘smoothly’ says with a wink. I could feel the way my face contortioned into disgust, and annoyance. A swift kick to the crotch might do the trick, it’ll get me enough time to run and call the cops. Or animal control.

“Yeah… thanks, but no thanks. I’ve got to get home.” When I said that, his eyes went wide, and his mouth opened like a fish. Clearly, he wasn’t used to being rejected, which is surprising. Using that time, I went around him and continued down the hall. I heard him mumbling about needing some skill, and a name I never heard of, but I decided to shrug it off.

I was about to round the corner, when I felt my arm being pulled, forcing my body to turn. I was met with Toritsuka again, but everything about him was off. He looked the same, but his aura and demeaner were completely different, like he was possessed or something.

“Come on babe, just let me woo you.” He said with a different accent than he had before.

“What- “I shouted in confusion, before I was grabbed by both of my shoulders, this boy was stronger than he looked.

“Please, let me slide into your heart so we can… flourish.” He cooed at me. I could feel the vomit forming in my stomach as he spoke, but before I could’ve yelled at him, he looked somewhere behind me and froze. A panicked expression taking over his features, as if a child was caught by his mother.

Toritsuka let go of me and put his hands up in the air, trying to show he ‘meant no harm’. Curious, I looked behind me so see what made him go from all confident and flirty, to looking like he just got shot. I was expecting to see gang member, or something resembling one, but it wasn’t.

It was Saiki.

Granted his face looked like it could kill, but it was still just Saiki. More confusion washes over me as I look between the two, some conversation going on through looks that no one could understand but them.

“Sorry uhm… new girl- I-I mean Y/N!” Toritsuka stumbles out, looking away, his voice back to normal. I didn’t say anything, as I watched him run down the hall. Hopefully back to the hole he crawled from.

Looking back at Saiki I can see him still glaring Toritsuka down, despite him being long gone. I was about to open my mouth to ask him something, but I stopped when he looked me dead in the eyes, his face still neutral, but there was something else that I couldn’t figure out.

“Go home, he won’t bother you anymore. Trust me.” Saiki says, his voice still the same emotionless tone. I stop myself from twitching when I heard it, it still gives me a jump scare when he speaks. Nodding, I agree and expected him to go his own way home, but I heard footsteps behind me as I walked. Checking, I saw Saiki following me. I choked back surprise as I moved my head back forward and continued my path.

Saiki was walking me home. He was actually walking me home. There was no talking, just pure silence. It was a bit awkward at first, at least for me, but I soon got used to it as we continued. The walk home wasn’t long, but it was enjoyable. Every once in a while, I would glace at Saiki. His face was still neutral, but it was a calm neutral, as if he didn’t mind being there.

Reaching home, I walked up the three stairs to my door way and spun back to face Saiki, who stayed on the base.

“Thanks for the help back at school, Saiki. And for walking me home.” I thanked him, giving him a small smile.

Saiki just nodded at me, and gave me a small wave of good bye.

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All of that was only a few hours ago, and I still can’t stop thinking about. Especially the walk home. Saiki looked so calm, and at peace. Does he actually consider me a friend?