Chapter Text
Psychic powers are the kind of thing most people file away as fiction, an interesting enough idea to wonder about, but never real enough to take seriously. To the average person, life is built on what they can see, touch, or logically explain, so anything that slips beyond those boundaries feels like it belongs in fiction. Yet the idea lingers in the back of their minds: what if someone out there really could read thoughts, move objects, or sense things no one else could?
For Saiki Kusuo they are an everyday inconvenience rather than a miraculous blessing.
He was already abnormal with pink hair, a detail that drew confused stares from the moment he entered the world. But that was far from the strangest thing about his birth. From his very first moments, Saiki’s overwhelming psychic abilities made themselves known. As he grew, those abilities expanded with him, turning everyday tasks into hazards and making it clear that “normal” was something he would never have the luxury of experiencing.
Thus several things happened as he learned to control these powers.
Which included altering the universe.
As you can see, the default state of ao3 has a different color. The title even changes upon each refresh, among several other things. This was all due to Saiki, of course.
He just wanted to be normal and live a quiet life, so as a child mind controlled the world. However, that heavily altered it to a state that seemed abnormal to only him. For everyone else, it just seemed to be as it always had been. It wasn’t strange to them.
Anytime he used his powers there was always an unforeseen outcome.
A cause and effect, if you will.
Saiki had failed only a handful of times to keep his psychic powers a secret, and with each time he and his family had to move. What was the saying? Third times a charm?
At only twelve years old he was transferring in the middle of a school year. Again. It was exhausting reintroducing himself and being the center of attention even if for a few days until the other kids were put off by how silent and unreactive he was to anything they did.
This time was no different.
And he wanted it that way.
Because the last time he almost made a friend things went south.
Saiki clenched his fists a bit as the memory, still fresh in his mind, resurfaced. The reason he moved this time. He calmed himself and relaxed his hands, looking back at his desk where his notes were for this class.
Right. He could do this. Keeping everyone as far away from him as possible limits the amount of times anyone could learn about his secret. So when other kids in his class came up to him and asked him the typical questions of where he came from, he stonewalled them.
‘What is wrong with him..? Why won’t he talk to us? Is he shy? He hasn’t made a face at all! Is he human?’ Their thoughts poured into his mind along with dozens of others from this school ranging from teachers, students, faculty, and even the people walking around outside running errands.
“Hey, are you ignoring us?” One asked him, clearly getting agitated. ‘Who does he think he is..? Ugh. Nevermind!’
Thankfully, they left him alone rather quickly after that.
This is how it should be, after all.
Saiki settled into a familiar routine rather quickly. There were no issues, drama, or other occurrences that may upend his life like the previous times. He got up, went to school, then came home with little variation in between.
He was quickly known as the guy who didn’t talk or interact with anyone, and while the others did spur on random rumors about him like how he may have transferred here due to fighting or losing his voice, he didn’t let them get to him.
The next year was no different for a time.
Saiki was sat near the middle of the class which wasn’t a problem and it wasn’t like he had a preference. It was optimal, even. It wasn’t far away from anything, he could see the board easily (though if he couldn’t he’d just use one of his powers to help with that), and leaving the room posed no issues.
So while he waited for class to start he mindlessly watched the front of the class while listening to everyone greet one another. It was the first day of a new year, so today was crucial for getting to know everyone and have friends for the next few months.
Not that Saiki was interested.
However he noticed a growing problem.
He couldn’t read the thoughts of one kid in this class. Nendo Riki.
For the first few days he watched this bigger than average scary looking kid barge into freshly made friend groups and act like they were best buddies. The wave of annoyance from their thoughts were always loud enough to distract Saiki from whatever he was doing when this happened.
The others learned to tell Nendo off completely so he’d go bother someone else.
Which caused as cascading effect where there were less and less people for Nendo to talk to.
So for the first week the kid went to every group until they outright told him to leave them alone until there was no one left to talk to except Saiki.
And that was his issue.
“Yo! Hey! Buddy!” Nendo spoke up from behind him, having just entered the room and walked straight over to him with no hesitation oncesoever.
Saiki gave himself credit for staring straight ahead and refusing to acknowledge his presence. That didn’t deter the other kid, though. He wished he could hear his thoughts so he could figure out how to get him off his back, but alas.
“Were you in my class last year?” Nendo questioned, having pulled up a seat beside Saiki and sat beside him. 'No,' Saiki thought to himself. 'And even if I was, you wouldn’t be a good friend for forgetting.' Not that he cared.
“Doesn’t matter, you’re here now!” Nendo had a huge grin on his face that Saiki did not look at. Instead, he pulled out his backpack and took a book he brought out to read it as a visual sign of disinterest in this conversation.
Of course that went straight over Nendo’s head as he just kept talking.
Saiki realized his next issue.
This guy was dumb.
At least he was easy to tune out while he read, just another noise in the air like everyone else's thoughts. It was only when the bell rang that he stopped talking and seemed to pay attention to the board.
Saiki finally glanced over at him to see him totally zoned out and not taking notes at all. How had this guy even gotten to this grade..? He sighed mentally to himself and put his book away to start taking his own notes.
“Oi, can I copy that?” Nendo asked him in the middle of class. Saiki ignored him as if he didn’t say anything. If he just kept stonewalling this guy he’d leave like all the others. “Oi, Hey, Hey, Buddy, Oi–”
If he kept this up they would both get in trouble! Saiki finally looked at him with a glare. Maybe anger would put him off? Sadly, god was not on his side.
Nendo didn’t even seem to realize he was annoyed, or if he did paid no mind to it. “Thanks!”
What.
He hadn’t agreed–!
Nendo reached over and took his notebook and looked over it before writing a few things down on his own and sliding it back. Saiki blinked confused, then stared dumbfoundedly.
Nendo had only written two sentences.
Saiki closed his eyes as he tried to calm his emotions down, because when had he ever felt this.. Feeling? It was beyond annoyance, but something lighter. He had no idea what it was but he did not like it.
When the bell rang to indicate lunch, Saiki got up as fast as he could and left before anyone else. Unusual for him, but he was trying to get away from Nendo.
This attempt failed.
“Hey, where are we going? The cafeteria is– oh. Where is it? Hey, buddy, I think we are lost. Do you know where the cafeteria is?”
Ah. This emotion. He knew it now.
Saiki turned around and faced Nendo, looking up at the taller boy.
Helplessness.
He genuinely could do nothing to get rid of him, could he? Well, whatever. He wouldn’t give this guy anything to work off of. He’d just ignore him until he’d find other friends.
Saiki walked past him and towards the cafeteria this time.
“This way? Alright! I trust my buddy. Say, what do you like to eat? I like crepes, but last year they never sold any. Ramens my all time favorite. We should get some sometime! Are you free after school? Lets get ramen after!”
Somehow this was just as bad as the thoughts of hundreds of people all at once. It was tolerable, but very annoying. Saiki got in line as this guy just kept having his one sided conversation as they got their food then sat down.
Even as they ate Nendo kept it up, either too stupid to notice Saiki had never responded, or he didn’t mind.
“You know, my other pals haven’t been around lately. I wonder why that is?” Nendo looked around but seemed to not be able to find these ‘pals’ he was talking about. Saiki probably already knew based on previous thoughts he overheard. Everyone avoided him like a plague, so Nendo probably thought anyone that didn’t instantly push him away was a pal.
Saiki stared at his food as he ate it, letting Nendo talk for the both of them.
Yeah. This was.. Tolerable.
His routine had slowly changed over the course of a few weeks now. No longer did he walk to school alone, or have to debate hard over projects requiring a partner. Nendo somehow, someway, always found him like a magnet to metal. And Saiki never knew when or where he was, which was a problem.
Downsides: he had little alone time now, Nendo was annoying and bothersome, and he was stupid. Upsides: ..
Saiki did not want to think about the upsides. They outnumbered the downsides, so he’d rather erase the thought than deal with it. Pretend it didn’t exist, so it wasn’t there. That’s how it worked for everyone. (Except Nendo.)
“Yo, Buddy!” Nendo called out from his seat which was beside Saiki’s own. “I couldn’t find you this morning, you’re late! I was getting worried! Did you find a ramen shop on the way here? Is that why?”
Saiki took his seat and set his bag down. He and Nendo have been.. “friends” for a few weeks now. Stonewalling was getting him nowhere, so he gave that up.
‘No.’ Saiki used his telepathy to talk to Nendo.
“Aw that’s too bad!” Nendo leaned back in his chair and sighed. “I want to try some new ramen shops. I’m gonna start looking for them after school to see if we can find the best ramen around here!” Nendo then chuckled. “Only the best for my best buddy.”
Right. Sometimes Saiki wondered if Nendo even knew his name since he only called him pal or buddy. More often than not these days Nendo was dragging him to ramen shops after school. He wasn’t sure how it started at first, but here he was now.
Nendo may be an idiot but he had a good heart. He was honest to a fault, too.
Saiki would never admit it but he tolerated people who didn’t lie.
However the fear of being found out about his powers was starting to chip away at this new routine he had with Nendo. It was inevitable, right? So he had to find a way to cut this guy off before it would hurt like last time. And Kusuo really disliked pain.
‘Nendo, I can’t get ramen with you ever again.’ Saiki told him, glancing over at him to see his reaction. Nendo stared at him blankly, then seemed to come to a conclusion. “Is it money? I can find cheap ramen shops, or we could go once a week!”
Hm. That didn’t work. Next attempt. ‘I don’t like ramen.’
Nendo gave him another blank stare. “Buddy, are you lying? We’ve even been to places that don’t sell just ramen and you still get your favorite.”
‘..my favorite?’ Saiki was genuinely a bit curious. He was positive Nendo was an idiot, so he shouldn’t have noticed these things.
“Yeah! You always get panko chicken ramen with a marinated egg. You also like to sit facing the entrance. Oh, but there was one time you ordered katsudon instead!” Nendo nodded to himself as if he solved an issue. “But I have seen a real pattern..”
Saiki stared at him in silence hoping he’d continue.
“You are more willing to accept places we go to if we have already been there before, or if they also sell dessert.”
..why was this guy this observant?
Wait. No. It was most likely due to his ramen obsession, so he knew things regarding or acquiring it. Which included ways to get Saiki to join him.
Just who was this guy really?
“Plus if you don’t like something you would have said so. That’s why we are best pals!” Nendo gave him a thumbs up, and this was the moment Saiki truly realized he may be stuck with this guy for the remainder of the year.
Well, maybe this wouldn’t be so bad.
Cause: He attempted to make Nendo hate him.
Effect: This failed and backfired, causing the other to befriend him and practically never leave.
“Buddy, can you help me with this?” Nendo darted a leg out and gently kicked Saiki’s desk. It was his ‘learned’ way of guaranteeing Saiki’s full attention even if he didn’t show it. In reality, Saiki just didn’t want the teacher to look over and get them both in trouble for Nendo’s antics. So he wanted to put a stop to it as soon as possible.
Nendo extended a paper towards him and he took it. Saiki looked over the page to see it was their next classes homework with several erased attempts at solving various problems. He quickly noticed a recurring issue. Nendo was in the right direction to solving it, but one specific spot was always missed. He wrote a note on his page and handed it back to Nendo.
“Oh! This makes sense now! Thanks buddy!”
He was too loud.
The teacher very much took notice and chastised the both of them, not only drawing attention to Saiki but punishing them as well. They’d both have to stay back and clean the classroom at the end of day for the disruption.
“I guess this means no ramen.” Nendo said sadly, more upset at the loss of that then being in trouble.
Saiki was sweeping the floor while Nendo worked on cleaning the chalk board. It was just them two. Oddly, the quiet was nice.
‘Even though it will be late.. Lets get ramen when we are done.’
He ignored any feelings he had when he saw Nendo grin and have a newfound energy to finish up cleaning as soon as possible. When they were done he grabbed both of their bags and threw Saiki’s at him, walking with loud and broad steps out of school, chanting “Ramen, ramen, ramen!” as he did.
Saiki slid his backpack on and sighed, walking right beside him. At least they went to the closest and cheapest one that had desserts. He sat across from the other, though the both of them didn’t need menus. When he had started joining him on these, Saiki would have to point to what he wanted.
Now, though?
“I’ll have the pork tonkotsu and my buddy will have the panko chicken ramen!”
Was this what it was like to have a friend?
..maybe he could allow himself one, even if the risks were high.
Saiki left the house at his usual time and ignored the thoughts of his family and everyone nearby. Every day it seemed to get a bit worse, like his telepathy was growing.
Kusuke had tested the distance and at this moment it was approaching all across Japan. Sure he had always been able to hear thoughts, but when he was a baby it hardly extended past a few yards.
Could he really keep this up..?
“Yo, Saiki!” Nendo put an arm around his shoulders with his usual wide grin. All at once the loud chatter of thousands of people's thoughts ceased at the same time.
Saiki froze when the silence engulfed him. He blinked once, twice, then looked up at Nendo.
“Oh, did I startle you? Sorry.” He pulled his arm away and the flood of noise rushed back into his mind. Saiki wondered if this was the power of having no brain, because to him Nendo seemed like a psychic himself.
“You know, I don’t know if I’ve told you this, but..” Nendo lifted up his hand and put a finger to his own chin as he thought. “My previous pals didn’t seem to like ramen.”
For a moment Saiki genuinely thought Nendo was about to say something prolific. Right. This was Nendo they were talking about. He walked on beside the taller without responding.
“They always had excuses not to get ramen with me, but you don’t!”
That was a lie. Saiki had tried every excuse he could think of before against Nendo, but none of them worked. So he just often gave in now before it caused more issues.
“So of course my best pal would want to not get ramen today!”
..what? Saiki glanced over at him with a slight furr of his brows to express his mild confusion. Nendo always tried to rope him into getting food after school.
Was.. Nendo right sometimes..?
‘What do you mean?’ Saiki questioned him.
“I can tell when you really don’t want to hang out! You got something planned today, right? No worries, pal!”
Ah. Great. Why was his text like that now?
“You ok buddy?” Nendo questioned, but still walked on with him.
Saiki felt a bit disoriented for several reasons.
First, Nendo hit the nail on the head accurately. Kusuke had some “plans” that Saiki had to attend unless something disastrous happened. Second, Nendo’s words felt completely askew for some reason.
He often got new powers, so much so it was hard to keep track of all of them. They spontaneously appeared as well, normally based around something he was encountering.
..oh.
He had thought ‘Nendo was right’, so now his text was on the right side.
The issue was, how was he going to fix this?
Nendo pulled something out of his pocket which nearly made Saiki react. “Don’t worry, I planned ahead for this! This is some leftover ramen I had—“
‘Absolutely not. Get that away from me.’ Saiki took two huge steps away from Nendo and winced slightly when he followed him.
“It’s fine! I had some this morning!” Nendo chased after him, more than determined to share his ramen with Saiki.
Saiki just sped up to keep his distance from Nendo. In the end they made it to school earlier than normal, and he successfully avoided having to consume several day old pocket ramen.
Back to the issue at hand..
“More for me I guess.” Nendo told himself.
When he went to eat it, he found it replaced by an old sock.
Saiki had used apport to swap the ramen out for something of equal value. Apparently pocket ramen was worth the same as a random old sock.
Nendo stared at it with a blank expression, then mild annoyance. “My ramen!”
..ugh. Saiki was going to get a headache from this. Did Nendo only think about ramen..? How had he ever thought this guy may have been onto something earlier today?
“Saiki, did you put my ramen in this shoe?” Nendo spoke, holding up his own shoe as if it was the most normal thing ever.
This was way worse than before. At least whatever caused Nendo’s text to be askew was back to normal. Saiki turned away from Nendo to actually and genuinely ignore him for today.
He’s already had enough antics and school hasn’t even started.
How was he supposed to survive practically a year of this..?