Chapter Text
The end of high-school was bittersweet in its simplicity.
The gang had graduated and went off their separate ways, though some still saw each other from time to time. Mostly, it was during the holidays. But as the months passed by, the days they were able to spend with each other became shorter and shorter, offered to the passage of time. Such was life as a young adult.
Nendou went to help his mother with the expansion of their new store. Kuboyasu went to vocational school. Hairo was awarded a tennis scholarship. Aiura pursued her fortune-telling full-time, as did Toritsuka with the temple. The others went to their respective universities, and so on and so forth.
For Saiki, at least, college life presented a new kind of freedom, though with unexpected challenges.
In due course, his full powers eventually returned to him, and he was initially disappointed with what this meant—that his chance to live as a normal human would never happen. But, over time, he came to accept that his powers were a part of his identity, viewing it less as a burden and more as a way of life. Besides, after being liberated from his ragtag group of friends and the everyday perils that they faced, he felt he could finally relax. College was his chance to start life anew. Perhaps he could even stop worrying about pretending to blend in, and simply enjoy life.
So, he enrolled at a local university in another part of town. While it wasn’t too far from home, the everyday commute was tedious enough. Deciding on a major was equally troublesome. He excelled in various subjects with ease, but few genuinely captured his interest.
His rational side favored something lucrative, like business or economics. But reading had always been one of the few quiet pleasures in his life, so he thought becoming a literature major might suit him. Ironically, this meant following in Kuniharu’s footsteps of someday joining the publishing industry. Saiki never thought he’d consider his own clumsy dad as a role model by any means, but he learned life sometimes threw curveballs. Besides, he didn’t hate the idea of working in the publishing world, and even warmed up to it eventually.
After countless late-night sessions at the library and falling asleep in the train, Saiki decided that the inconveniences of commuter life far outweighed its benefits. So he moved out from home upon his second year, much to his parents’ dismay.
But with their help, he found a place within walking distance of his university. His apartment was smaller than what he was used to, but it suited his needs just fine. Then, it wasn’t long before he discovered that he was lacking in the many areas required for independent living. For one thing, he couldn’t cook for shit. His saint of a mother sometimes came by just to drop off food, else he would’ve probably dropped dead from starvation.
All in all, though, he couldn’t really complain about anything. The unique struggles he faced, while a bit aggravating at first, gave him the sense of accomplishment he’d been craving as a teen. As a budding young adult, for lack of a better term, Saiki found his college life to be quite peaceful.
So he didn’t know why, sometimes, he felt just a bit bored.
.
.
.
Stretching against an uncomfortable metal chair, Saiki checked the time on his phone, reading 11:34 p.m. The dim lighting at the university library signified that it was almost closing time.
Staying on campus this late had become one of his usual habits. It was harder to study during the day because of the radio static of thoughts drifting in and out of his mind. He’d learned to tune them out somewhat, but it was nothing compared to the blanket stillness that came in the late night.
He closed his laptop, making sure to save the progress on his essay first, and began collecting his items. Feeling mentally drained and with the muscles in his lower back aching from sitting all night, he figured he would skip the convenience of teleportation for an evening stroll amidst the crisp autumn weather.
While others may not have enjoyed staying at the old library this late, Saiki was one of the few who relished in the sweet, musky smell of old books, somehow reminding him of chocolates. The silence made him feel as if he was the only inhabitant left on Earth, a thought which he didn’t mind at all.
That was why, when he first passed by a hunched over shadow amongst a pile of open books, he thought nothing of it. Upon closer inspection, however, Saiki realized that the figure was actually human, and what’s more, that he recognized the shade of blue locks strewn around an impossibly beautiful face.
Goosebumps broke onto his skin. The figure was no apparition, though Saiki stared in blank disbelief as if she were one.
It was Teruhashi. Of course it was.
Why was she here, of all the most random places? He hadn’t really seen her since the spring after their high-school graduation around two years ago. When his powers returned, he used it to switch the list of colleges that he previously submitted so it wouldn’t match with hers—perhaps an extreme reaction, he knew, but he had no intention of spending four more years of his college life trying to fend off her ploys.
Saiki recalled that after graduation, she had moved to be closer to the university she selected. It was a prestigious school, somewhere off to the far north of Japan, so he was even more confused to find her here, peacefully sleeping at his school’s library.
His initial reaction was to start power-walking the hell out of there. Maybe even just teleport home and call it a night. And he would have done so, if not for the late hour and the fact that they were in a dimly lit building with virtually no other people around. He wasn’t sure whether or not she was familiar with the area.
So with a reluctant sigh, Saiki made his way over to the unconscious girl and gently shook her awake.
No response.
She laid still as if the wooden table was made out of goosefeather pillow, softly breathing in and out through her nose. Her lips were slightly parted and a bit of drool escaped, yet she was a depiction of Sleeping Beauty. Saiki idly wondered how someone could look so graceful even when they were drooling.
“Teruhashi,” he called to her flatly, shaking her shoulder a bit more firmly this time. Saying her name out loud was unusual for him, especially when spoken through his own lips.
The girl jolted awake like an ice cube had been dropped down her shirt, her sudden reaction even startling Saiki. She didn’t seem to notice his presence immediately before she started yelling.
“The liver processes blood and, and—”
“What?”
“It creates nutrients, and—”
“Teruhashi,” Saiki repeated, this time raising his voice a decibel louder.
Her head quickly snapped to the sound of his voice and she blinked once, twice, before her eyes surreptitiously widened and she emitted a rather dramatic gasp.
“Eh? S—Saiki-kun!?” her surprise was genuine. He could hear the exclamations shooting off inside her head like fireworks.
'W—what is he doing here? Oh my God, I must have looked like a complete idiot in my sleep! No, that’s impossible. But wait... w—was I drooling!?'
Classic Teruhashi. Saiki thought with some fond exasperation.
“Library’s about to close.” He commented, trying to keep his tone casual, and despite the two years he spent training himself to physically speak, the very act still seemed a bit too intimate for his taste.
Teruhashi's bewildered gaze quickly flitted around the dimly lit building, taking in her dark surroundings, until it settled back to marvel at his face, as if making sure that he was real.
Her eyes drank in the sight of him. She felt like she hadn’t seen him in forever, and she didn’t realize just how much she had missed him until they finally laid eyes on each other. And now he was here, impossibly, right in front of her.
If she was dreaming, then she didn’t want to wake up just yet.
Reading all of her dizzying thoughts and mingling emotions at once, Saiki gave an awkward cough. Good grief, it had been a while since he garnered so much attention from someone. He almost forgot just how eager her thoughts could be.
Just as her befuddlement slowly wore off, Teruhashi belatedly realized how much she had been staring at his face and instantly reddened.
‘Oh God, snap out of it. You’re not some high-school girl anymore…’ she groaned internally, scolding herself.
She quickly stood up and haphazardly gathered her things, her cheeks and ears still holding a tinge of pink as she tried to sneak another glance at the man standing across from her. ‘Still, it’s nice to see him. Just like the good old days.’
A ghost of a smile flickered through Saiki’s face. Despite his first inclinations, he found himself lingering until she had finished collecting her items. He saw glimpses of her textbooks, slightly piquing his interest. Adult Pathophysiology. Visual Nursing: a Guide to Clinical Diseases, Skills, and Treatments. The Study of Pharmacology.
Ah. She was a nursing major? He was surprised by her choice, though he couldn’t speak for himself. After all, he didn’t look like the type to read the prose of Shakespeare either, much less actually analyze its literary merits.
‘How did I end up sleeping that much? I was just supposed to close my eyes for thirty minutes and it turned into a three hour nap…!’
Saiki could hear the anxiety germinating in her head, though as she came to stand beside him, she only offered him a dazzling smile.
“I haven’t seen you in so long, Saiki-kun! How have you been?”
“Fine.” he responded airily. “You?”
‘Miserable. I’ll probably have to do an all-nighter to study for my test tomorrow. Nursing school is kicking my ass. But I can’t let him know that…’
He blinked at the duality of her thoughts, almost not hearing her actual words. If there was something troubling her, it didn’t show at all on her face.
“I’m doing good! I just transferred to this university a few weeks ago actually, since I wanted to be closer to home. I didn’t know that this was your school too. I’m surprised we haven’t ran into each other until now!”
It was certainly surprising, though Saiki only gave a noncommittal nod, making no effort to extend the conversation. Silence stretched between them as they fell into a slow pace next to each other, but surprisingly, Teruhashi didn’t seem to notice. Her mind was going around in circles as she debated with herself.
‘I’ll just try to find a cafe that’s still open and keep studying then. If I go home now, I’m just going to fall asleep. Maybe I should stop by to change first, though? Why did I wear a skirt today?!’
The night had grown cold, nipping at his face once they exited the warmth of the library. Saiki stuffed his hands into his pockets, burying himself further into his coat. Idly, he glanced at her skirt, though her outward expression hid her discomfort rather well.
“How are the others?” Teruhashi’s voice snapped him away from his thoughts. “I haven’t seen them in so long either! I still keep in contact with Chiyo and Mera, but sometimes it’s hard because everybody’s just been so busy and—”
‘Ugh, I’m so hungry. Is there a convenience store nearby? I’ll just grab something and go. It might be bad for my figure, but it can’t be helped… I have to ace that test tomorrow, no matter what!’
It was hard to hear what she was actually talking about with all the swirling thoughts in her brain, buzzing like a mosquito. It was starting to annoy him. Her anxiety was even making him restless.
“There’s a ramen shop nearby that’s still open.” Saiki said. His eyes widened upon realizing that he had mistakenly responded to her thoughts, rather than what she was saying out loud. But the two were so convoluted, he didn’t know which voice was which.
‘H—huh? … did he just invite me out to eat?’
Teruhashi suddenly paused, turning to face him. “Oh, have you not eaten yet, Saiki-kun?”
He hadn’t meant to invite her out. Just to suggest to her a place that was close by.
‘Good grief. Too late now.’ He sighed instead, mentally cursing himself. “I guess we can go.”