#And Kuusukes response being “I should really be the one saying that to you”

[transmasccofee]

this scene is ruining my life at first I didn’t get it but now I get it and Aughdhyfhfheujfuejfjjfjfnv

[animeomegas]

Number nine for saiki kusuke please.

9 Territorial + Kuusuke Saiki 

Yours and Kuusuke’s relationship had one major point of contention: He wouldn’t let you meet his family.

In fact, despite talking about them to you fairly frequently, he admitted that they didn’t even know you existed.

And Kuusuke didn’t appear to be in any rush to tell them.

Well, until you got upset and decided to withhold affection from him.

There is nothing that riles Kuusuke up like being ignored, he’s also very clingy and he likes physical affection. So, let’s just say he isn’t very happy with this turn of events.

He tries to pretend it doesn’t bother him, but eventually he caves and books two tickets back home from university to Japan.

He’s moody the whole journey, but he won’t tell you why.

He eventually perks up when you get to his parents’ house, but more in a fake way than anything else.

“Mother, it’s good to see you again,” Kuusuke said coolly, breezing into the house with no warning and leaving you to awkwardly follow behind him.

“Kuusuke!!” His mother squealed, running over to him. “You came all this way to visit us?” She teared up, gripping him by the shoulders.

She caught a glimpse of you over his shoulder and tilted her head.

“Oh? And who’s this?”

You took that as an invitation to introduce yourself seeing as Kuusuke clearly wasn’t going to do it.

“I’m courting your son, ma’am,” you said, trying your hardest to avoid letting your nerves slip through. She seemed awfully nice, but if she didn’t like you, it could be the end of your relationship with Kuusuke or the end of Kuusuke’s relationship with his family.

His mother simply blinked at you. An unpleasant feeling settled in your stomach at her lack of response. Did she not approve?

But then she promptly burst into tears.

Before you even had time to be surprised, she ran forward and grabbed you by the hands.

“Thank you so much for loving my son,” she wept. “I know he can be difficult, but it means so much for me that you look after him when I can’t.”

“Please, don’t cry,” you panicked, waving your hands back and forth. “I’m the lucky one to get to love someone as amazing as your son.”

Apparently, that was the wrong thing to say because the tears only got heavier. You had never seen an alpha parent react to their omega child bringing home a strange alpha like this. The stereotype was quite the opposite after all, you had expected an interrogation at the very least.

Kuusuke simply sighed and led his mother to the sofa and went to fetch her a tissue. This was not how you thought meeting his family would go, but this seemed to be a tentative good sign. She was crying from happiness, not mortal offence, so things could have definitely gone worse.

“Who are you?”

You jumped about half a foot in the air at the sudden voice from behind you. Turning around you were met with a pink-haired teenage boy clutching a school bag. You laughed in relief, holding your chest as you calmed down.

“Sorry, you frightened me,” you laughed. “You must be Kusuo, Kuusuke has told me a lot about you. I’m Kuusuke’s intended mate, it’s a pleasure to meet you.”

Kusuo’s eyebrows shot up at your claim. Was it really that unbelievable that Kuusuke would be in a serious relationship? It took him a moment to collect himself, but then Kusuo simply bowed at you and went to move past you.

“Wait,” you called out, halting him in his tracks. You desperately wanted to get to know his family and his mother still appeared to be incoherent, so Kusuo was your only chance. You racked your brains to think of something he would like. What did teenagers like?

“Do you enjoy video games?”

Kusuo blinks at you but clearly decides to indulge you with a single nod.

“That’s great!” you brightened, glad to have an in. “Have you played any good ones recently? There have been some major releases this month.”

Before Kusuo had a chance to respond, Kuusuke was suddenly back behind you, a hand clamped around your waist and his lips pressed into a thin line. You couldn’t smell him past the insane number of blockers he used, but you’d wager a guess that he would smell rather aggressive right now.

“Now, now, dearest, Kusuo probably has some homework to do upstairs, he’s still in high school after all,” Kuusuke spoke with a strange tinge to his words that you couldn’t place.

Kusuo clearly didn’t take offence, merely rolling his eyes and bowing to you once more before making his way upstairs.

As soon as he was out of sight, Kuusuke started pressing kisses against your neck and face, using the grip he had around your waist to pull you tightly against him. You accepted a few of the kisses before you pushed him away, slilghtly frustrated at how he was treating you in front of his family.

“Am I not allowed to talk to your brother?” you questioned, crossing your arms. “Are you worried I’ll embarrass you or something? That’s low, Kuusuke, even for you.”

“What?” Kuusuke replied, appearing genuinely baffled by your reaction. “No, it’s just that… Kusuo is complicated.”

You searched his face for any hint of a lie and found none, but it didn’t change the fact that he wasn’t being entirely truthful with you. Unless he was… Your jaw dropped as you figured out his problem.

“You’re jealous of your brother, aren’t you?”

Kuusuke sputtered, denying the claim immediately.

“You are!” you laughed, a little hysterical. “Do you really think that I am suddenly going to fall in love with your teenage brother? Seriously, Kuu?”

Kuusuke had the decency to flush, but still denied the accusation.

“You’re being ridiculous,” he grumbled, looping his arms back around your waist.

“You’re being ridiculous,” you laughed. “I’m in love with you, Kuusuke, for as long as you’ll have me, and you should never forget that.”

You could feel his chest puff up with pride against you and hid your smile against his shoulder. Kuusuke really did thrive on genuine praise.

[sai-teru]

Together with you (C-4)

Chapter IV: Hear me out!

Summary: What if, on chapter 271/272 of the manga where Saiki removes his left hairpin device. The device that once removed… people of the world will know of his psychic ability. And what if, when he removes that device, it did really shows all over the world about Saiki being a psychic user? And that shocked even Kuusuke because he thought he de-activated it a long time ago. I want to start this story on that very scene and we'll see what will un-fold.

And by the way, this is a SaiTeru fanfic so what I'm saying is the story will focus on both of them. We will see what their relationship will go through. I'll stick to the manga's story as much as possible but of course, all scene will not be exactly as what the manga/anime goes.

Warning: And also, spoilers for those who's just starting to read the manga or watching anime. If you just started and saw this story because you ship Saiki and Teruhashi then you'll be spoiled. Just a warning for you guys but, if you don't care about spoilers… then go ahead and read this story of mine.

Disclaimer: All characters are not mine they belong to Asou Shuuichi-Sensei. Though the plot of the rest of this story are mine.

read the rest under the cut :) 

Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3

Chapter 4: Hear me out.

After several minutes of quietness coming from the room, Saiki eyed the girl beside him.

So… why are you still here? Cocking his eyebrow at her as she shrieks at his sudden voice.

Placing her hands over her chest “You startled me there, Saiki-kun” she exhaled. Still, Saiki remained stoic as he waits for an answer. Scratching her cheeks shyly “Well you see…” feeling uneasy and shy avoiding his wondering eyes as she scans through nook and cranny in Saiki’s room.

Sighing apathetically. Yare, Yare. If you're having a hard time expressing your thoughts, you can always remove the ring. In that way, I can hear what you want to say. Through your mind. Easy. He expresses naturally as if it was nothing.

Nonetheless, to the blue-headed girl, her cheeks flared up in crimson red upon hearing that. W-what?? Does… does Saiki-kun badly want to hear my thoughts? Slapping her cheeks, erasing the thoughts away and slowly glanced at the psychic, observing his facial expression.

As you can see, Teruhashi took Saiki's word in the wrong way and adding some misunderstanding to the situation. Again, and this time, without Saiki knowing it. And that’s because he can’t read her mind. But, seeing the maiden acting strange, he thought she was thinking of nonsensical and troublesome things. Yare, yare.

I’m sure this is just a misunderstanding on my part. As always. I should be wary about what he says and does. Sighing deeply. She faces the psychic.

“Ne, Saiki-kun!” she called but no answer was heard but still, she continues. “About what you said earlier… you know,” scratching her chin absentmindedly. “about my feelings that you mentioned a while ago, you said I misunderstood and took it the wrong way!?” she tilts her head to stare at the pink-headed boy right beside her but, the guy in question is not uttering nor answering her back still, she knows that his all ears. So she decided to let her thoughts all out.

She coughs to get his attention. “I mean, do you really thought I misunderstood it?” she finally asked. And by that statement alone, she grabs the attention of a certain psychic and now glaring at her with furrowed eyebrows. It frightened Teruhashi a bit but, she held her breath and act bravely as she needed it to face him head-on.

Tilting his head confused as he continued staring daggers at the maiden who’s now in front of him. What do you mean?

She coughs again. “You see…I think you are the one who misunderstood me? Or my action!” she uttered with a low voice in the middle of her statement. Still, her companion was just staring dumbfounded at her.

He let out a long breath, ruffling his hair annoyingly and as stared at her. I?? Misunderstood… you? Me? Of all people? I’m not misunderstanding anything or whatnot. You are! Because in all honesty, I'm sure—

When Teruhashi was about to open her mouth to disagree, Saiki beat her to it. Sighing exasperatedly. You are the one misunderstanding the situation! He muttered gritting his teeth.

Vein pops on Teruhashi as she listens almost calmly at the same time, almost annoyed at how Saiki is being irrational. Clenching her fist as she shouts “NO!” Saiki was completely taken aback by her sudden outburst. But, he let her continue while keeping his calm in check.

“I'm not! I know well enough what I feel!” she said in a low tone enough for him to hear.

Inhaling deeply while pinching the bridge of his nose. Seriously! You just want me to say that pathetic lines your admirers saying to you! But whatever the circumstances are… I won't say it! Rather, I will and never will say it! And also, that is the whole reason why you're fixated to me! I’m telling you this, so you should st—

“NO!” She burst out stopping Saiki on whatever his about to say.

Taking a deep breath. Placing her hands over her chest to calm her beating heart. “I agree with you wholeheartedly! At first, that was my main reason why I want to get your attention but, as time goes by, I learned what kind of person you are all these days that past. You are nothing like them, you see me as just a normal person though, that annoyed me nevertheless, I’ve come to understand that, that just your personality; you’re quiet, expressionless person, ordinary guy… well, that’s how you look like to us back then, but even so, I like every part of that about you. I know, it’s hard to believe but honestly, I’ve come to accept it. All of it, the real you.” She pants while letting her thought out. Still, she’s not done and continue on her speech.

“Still, I want you to say that pathetic line you mentioned earlier because even if just once… I want to hear it through your voice. That’s my selfish wish” Looking straight in his eyes. “I’ve come to accept my true feelings towards you as day past. With Chiyo’s help of course. So, please, don’t say that I misunderstood my feelings towards you, I’ve had a tough time realizing and accepting it on my own. And now that I know and sure of it, don’t you say casually that I misunderstand everything. It’s actually your fault…” she stops mid-sentence seeing the dark expression on Saiki’s face. She flinched but, that won't stop her from telling him her thoughts loud and clear. She inhales deeply and starts again. “It’s your fault to begin with, that I felt this way towards you, so you should take responsibility by acknowledging it. You don’t need to accept it right away, I’m just asking that you-

But I can’t! Averting his eyes towards the maiden as he shut her off and he started to pay attention back at the window without any interest.

Teruhashi was looking at him with eyes wide open, mouth almost open. She didn’t expect that Saiki will make a sad and uncomfortable face. She wanted to ask why but, seeing his stern look was enough to silence her. Choosing to close her mouth she also glances at the window without knowing what to look at and sighed exasperatedly.

Silence took over the room for a couple of minutes until Saiki breaks it by saying something that startled the maiden.

Still, upon hearing his voice she’s back at staring at him. I can't accept your feelings or acknowledge them. He decided to face her seriously this time. Seeing that she was facing him as well with a sad expression on her face. Still, she was brave enough to hear his thoughts on the matter. Because it’s not every day that he can express himself to others.

Saiki sighed. Look, as you see, I’m a psychic and that’s why I can’t accept you. You, of all people! You know very well how others viewed you. And if I associated myself with you, there’s a chance that somebody will learn my secret. And as you said, you are here to help me with that! And by associating with me, there’s also a high chance your life may put in jeopardy so… please… this time, just forget the emotion you're harboring towards me-

“I can't!” shutting him off, which causes her lost for breath, clenching both her hands placing it over her chest, with tears overflowing her eyes. “I can’t do that! I don’t want to! Call me selfish but… but this time, I can't, I don’t want to do that! Saiki-kun, this… this is the first time I chose someone else towards my own selfish goal. I don’t… I can’t…” snipping and rubbing the salt tears flowing through her eyes.

Saiki was just staring at her without doing anything, confusing the hell out of him. And as this moment on, he was now regretting giving her the germanium ring because of how anxious he was. And he badly wants to hear what was running through her mind. If she really was saying the truth or manipulating him because she’s good at doing that to anybody. But, he’s different from the rest, he was a psychic; he knows better if anyone is trying to manipulate him. Nevertheless, he’s facing the most troublesome and most fearless enemy he got. And that was Teruhashi Kokomi who’s God's favorite.

Saiki was feeling indifferent to the situation they were facing, he felt anxious that unbeknownst to him, he suddenly holds Teruhashi's shoulder tightly that startled and made her skip-a-beat. She looked at him strangely at the same time confused with a flushed face.

Uneasy at their position, she called his name with trembling voice “S-Saiki-kun?” but it seems Saiki's mind was in disarray that he didn’t hear her calling him.

He was just staring straight in her eyes absentmindedly, lost in thoughts. Teruhashi was beginning to lose her mind at the sudden proximity and her face was now redder than tomato. Also, her stomach was starting to twist in a knot. She was confused at him, she wanted to ask him many things and what was he doing now. And also, she doesn’t want to think of this as something special to cause more misunderstanding.

Silence took over that moment, no one was speaking the only sound that can be heard in the room was the ticking of the clock, the sound of their breath. But that soon came to an end when Saiki decided to speak.

You… He called that made the pretty girl shriek, and she hummed to answer him. Is what you say the truth? He asked with seriousness evident on his voice that made Teruhashi shivered. Answer! Ordering her.

Startled. She answered quickly but stumbled on the way. “Y-yeah… It’s… It’s true!” she swallows and calming herself. Because being nervous now will not help in this situation. “Yes, everything I said is the truth!” she answered bravely and took a deep breath as she stared at his eyes.

Saiki smirked that made her heartbeat fast. Now, noticing that he was holding her shoulders so tight he release it and bowed apologetically which she didn’t mind at all. And all of a sudden, he grabbed her hands were the ring was. Teruhashi, again, surprised at the sudden touch of the pink-headed guy that made her face flushed in crimson red, her heart was beating fast and any minute now, it will burst if Saiki decided to do weird things. And at this moment on, she was just staring at him with adoration. Lost in thoughts.

And all of a sudden, the ring fell out from her finger that startled her and brought her back to reality. Seeing the ring that blocking Saiki's telepathy was now on his hand. And she finally understood why Saiki suddenly grabs her hands, he wanted to remove the germanium ring that was placed on her finger. And upon realizing it, she felt uneasy because now, there’s no way she can’t block her mind from thinking about him. She felt embarrassed because her mind is filled with nothing but the guy in front of her and it made her face flushed gazillion times already and the one who causes her this so much distress is the guy in from of her. She can’t even show her face to him. And out of embarrassment she covered it with her hands.

Saiki for the second time grin. Playing with his germanium ring twisting it around his finger. Okay! You convinced me… so, you really are saying the truth? Teasing the pretty girl.

Still hiding her face. “That was uncalled for. Give me back the ring.” Removing one of her hands from her face to snatch the germanium ring on Saiki.

If you can snatch it away from me you can have it. Grinning mischievously and teasing her strangely amuses him. He really was enjoying this unbeknownst to him.

Saiki stretches his arms upward so Teruhashi won’t be able to get it. So, she tiptoes her foot trying hard to get the ring from him with her eyes close and not noticing that their body was clashing towards each other but because the pretty girl was so absorbed into getting back the ring she didn’t notice it. While the other individual was smiling at how hard she was trying to get the germanium ring back.

This jerked, this rude boring guy is being so childish, so annoying! Reading aloud what Teruhashi’s inner mind was telling. She immediately stops her movement because of embarrassment.

Slapping his arms lightly. “That was uncalled for! Don’t read my mind.” She pleads desperately.

What! As if I want to read your mind willingly. I can't help it you know! He sneered.

“Wha… what the heck… Saiki-kun, if you don’t want to read my mind give me back the ring!!” still hiding her face towards him and grabbing the damn ring on his finger.

Told you, snatch it from me, if you can… then you can have this!

If Teruhashi was not so embarrassed at the moment she can see that unusual happy face of Saiki, because Saiki at the moment was having fun teasing her. Until he notices someone was approaching the room. He stopped playing and gave the ring back to the embarrassed girl that startled her with his unpredictable and playful actions.

“What? What now?” She asked confused.

You want the Germanium ring, right? You can have it for now. When she’s about to protest Saiki speaks again silencing her. My mom will be here any moment now, so fix yourself and make sure your swollen eyes are gone. Don’t want her to think I did something to you. Go back and seat on my bed or that chair or whatever. He ordered the pretty girl which she obliged without a fight.

She walks at Saiki's bed and sat on it, placing the ring on the bedside while fixing herself, waiting for his Mom to come as what Saiki informed. And soon they heard a knock from the door and slowly opening, Kurumi peeking through the entrance as she waved at Teruhashi.

Smiling genuinely. “How’s the talk? Did Ku-chan told you everything, Kokomi-chan?” asking Teruhashi with a smile plastered on her face.

She nods in agreement. “Y-yes Auntie, thank you for letting me in,” she answered back.

“Good to know then. And of course, I also want to express my gratitude to you for accepting my son even though he is a psychic!” she told with affection. She was feeling grateful to Teruhashi.

Shaking her head. “No, it was us that needs to be thankful for your son.” Kurumi arched an eyebrow at her. Teruhashi smiled and continued. “I mean, Saik- Kusuo-kun helps us several times already. Thank you for giving birth to him Auntie” she bowed and Kurumi felt overjoyed hearing someone appreciating her son and how he lives his life. She wanted to cry out of happiness but she held it in as she side glance on her son seeing what expression his making.

And to her shocked, it was the first she saw his son looking so out of it, that confused look he’s making made her giggle at the sight of it which she earned harsh growl coming from him. She smiled and looked back at Teruhashi.

“Thank you again, Kokomi-chan!” bowing her head to show appreciation to the pretty girl which made her uneasy and she bowed and thank Saiki's mother to ease the situation.

And unbeknownst to her, she forgot to put the ring back on her finger. With that, Saiki knew what was running through her mind and that made his stomach feel strange and he was also confused at himself.

Teruhashi clapping her hands. “By the way, auntie, do you need some help? Is that why you’re here? If so, I can help you, in whatever I can!” that snap Kurumi from her thoughts. Shaking her head disapprovingly.

“No, no Kokomi-chan, I’m here to let you know that Kuu-kun, Kuusuke; Ku-chan's big brother asks me to relay a message to you” She informed which earned a questioning hummed towards the girl.

Tilting her head “oh! What might that be?” remembering Saiki's older brother made her soar.

“He asked me to tell you that you should stay for the night here because…”

While Kurumi was still explaining, Teruhashi with wide eyes, slamming her hands in the bed. “W-WHAT?? A- DO-“ Wa-wa…What did she say??? Me staying here… the whole freaking night? With Saiki-kun? Wa-wa-what??? It’s fine but… what should I do, can I sleep together with… kyaaaa Kokomi get a grief. A perfect pretty girl doesn’t act like that! Getting flustered and having a hard time forming her words.

Smiling at Teruhashi, she repeats. “Kuu-kun wanted you to stay for the night because it might be dangerous for you to go outside!” informing the still flushed maiden. She giggles at the sight of it while Saiki moaned tiredly.

Inhaling deeply, she made sure she’s calm and looked back at Kurumi “Auntie, I can’t, my brother will be worried and it might be more dangerous if he sees Saik- Kusuo-kun here!” she informed.

Kurumi places her pointer finger on her chin as if thinking, “Hmm… well, you can call your brother and just make an excuse? Kuu-kun said that there’s a high chance that someone has seen you go here so, if you’ll go outside it might be dangerous for you and he also said… It will be too troublesome if Ku-chan will teleport you to your house. Because it will cause another commotion.” Teruhashi nods at her and still waiting for more explanation.

“If we let you go outside or even if someone will fetch you from here, it will still be chaotic. Also, Kuu-kun said that you need to keep this a secret from everyone, don’t contact your friends that you speak with Ku-chan.” Teruhashi wants to ask more questions but letting it slide because she knows that they were doing this for Saiki’s sake so instead, she remained silent and wait until Kurumi is finished.

“Lastly, kuu-kun also mentioned that he has a major plan and—“

Eyes wide open, what do you mean? Asking her mom only through her mind but, Kurumi didn’t pay attention to him as she continues with her speech. Which she earns a low growl coming from her son.

She coughs. “As I mentioned, Kuu-kun said he has a plan in motion and will be here tomorrow morning before you go to school.” She said with a smile.

“He already made a plan? That’s a good news Saik- Kusuo-kun” Clapping her hands cheerfully as she stared at Saiki with a smile on her face.

“That is also the reason why you need to be here Kokomi-chan, because Kuu-kun has something to say to you. But, if you'll ask me… I don’t know the answer! I'm sorry” Kurumi informed and at the same time apologetic to the young girl.

Shaking her head. “It’s alright Auntie, Don’t worry about it! If it’s a plan to device how Sak- kusuo-kun will be free again, I’m willing to help.” Clasping her hands energetically.

Saiki also frowned upon knowing that Teruhashi will stay here the whole night. It’s troublesome and it’s also freaking him. Knowing he’ll be with her the whole freaking night his mind was in a different kind of haze and also, wishes that somehow he can get through this without any more trouble. And to say, the Madonna forgot to put the ring on her finger and that is why he is restless because he can read what is running through her mind. And to say it’s all troublesome stuff. Yare, yare.

Kurumi claps her hands that warrant the attention of the two as they both look at her “Okay, now that I’ve said it, I’ll go on ahead and continue my work downstairs. I’ll leave you two young ones alone and continue your conversation.” She smiled knowingly.

Teruhashi nods unsurely while Saiki grimaced. Kurumi waves her hands to them and leaves the two alone in the room with awkward silence.

We’re alone again. Oh, my gosh! With her hands cupping her face Get a grief Kokomi, it’s not like something will happen…

Saiki sighed exasperatedly. (Yare, yare) I thought you don’t want me to hear your thoughts? Then why are you not wearing the ring I gave you?” Saiki uttered between his breaths as he breaks the ice between them.

Teruhashi was taken aback at his sudden voice and realization hit her seeing the ring place on the bed. She forgot that she places the ring there a while ago to fix herself. And a sudden wave of embarrassment occurs her knowing all this time Saiki knew what her thought was. Blood rush to her brain and she immediately grab the ring place it on her finger. Her face was flushed due to embarrassment. That was embarrassing… I’m the worst. AAAA… what will I do? How can I face him directly? She wanted to glance at the pink-headed guy but was too embarrassed to see his face instead, she covers her face with his pillow.

What are you doing now? He decided to approach the maiden. But because Teruhashi was busy with her thoughts alone, she didn’t hear him.

He sighed and poke her head repeatedly until he gets her attention back. Oy—

She suddenly jumps on her feet that surprised the psychic himself. With her face in a deep shade of red, she immediately announces that she’ll go downstairs and help Kurumi in whatever she needs.

“A… I’ll go downstairs and help Auntie” she states as she runs through the door without waiting for his response.

Ruffling his hair as he stared at her running form. Yare, yare. Finally some peace!

When Teruhashi was now out in his sight she suddenly felt relax; resting her head on the wall as she inhaled. “That was nerve-wracking!”

Now that she felt relaxed, she reminisces what happened a moment ago. It was embarrassing, even so, she felt great because she finally conveyed her true feelings and so she felt at ease.

“Now, it’s up to Saiki-kun!” smiling to herself, she started to march to find Kurumi and help her in her needs.

Upon reaching the lobby up to the kitchen she found Kurumi humming a song, she went to her and greeted her.

“Hi, Auntie! Need some help?” she suddenly approaches the middle-age woman.

Startled at Teruhashi’s sudden approach. “Kokomi-chan! I’m fine here alone, you can accompany Ku-chan upstairs” smiling at the girl whose face is now crimson red.

Waving her hands frantically. “No, ah… I mean” rubbing her cheeks shyly. “It’s alright Auntie, I mean, I talk to him and we settled things on our end so there is no need to talk anymore, I want to help you prepare dinner for the night. That’s the only way I can help.” She informed, smiling at Kurumi.

Smiling at her back, she nods. “Okay then, let’s prepare dinner together!”

“Right!” agreeing cheerfully. And they began to do their jobs until it’s dinner time.

A few more hours later Saiki's Dad, Kuniharu came and went to greet his wife, upon reaching the kitchen he was surprised to see Teruhashi there helping his dear wife.

With wide eyes. “Kokomi-chan?” he said questioningly.

Both girls look up to the place where they heard the voice came in and to see Kuniharu there, Kurumi rush towards her husband to hug and greeted him welcomely and Teruhashi bowed to express her gratitude.

“Papa, you came home!” Kurumi welcomed her dear husband happily.

“Welcome home uncle!” Teruhashi beam welcoming Saiki's dad whose face is still shocked.

Scratching his chin “E… Why is Kokomi-chan here? Honey” whispering to Kurumi who’s all smile to him.

Slapping his chest lightly. “Oh! Don’t worry about that papa, Kokomi-chan already know about Ku-chan!” she informed her husband with a knowing look. Upon hearing her statement Kuniharu gasped in total shock, he stared at Teruhashi confirming if what her wife said was the truth. When Teruhashi saw the looks of Kuniharu and at first, she didn’t understand what he wanted to convey but soon realize that Kurumi might inform her husband about the reason why she’s here. So to answer his silent query she nods in agreement.

“Seriously? Th-that’s good then…” He stops mid-sentence upon realizing that the pretty girl knew about his son and still here happily chatting with her wife not afraid of kusuo.

Now that he realizes that he made a ducked-face. “Ahyuuuuu!!!!” Kurumi look at him weirdly even Teruhashi was alarmed.

“Papa?” “U-uncle?” both arched an eyebrow as they stared at Kuniharu.

“Aaahyuuuuu!” he went and grab Teruhashi's hand to her shocked. “I’m just glad that you still accept Kusuo even though he’s not a normal person!” still crying out of happiness.

She chuckled and squeezed kuniharu’s hand. “Don’t worry uncle. At first, I was scared to know the truth but, upon realizing how great and kind Kusuo-kun was.”  She pulled her hand gently and walk beside the table to remove the ring on her finger placing it at the top of the table. “I mean, on the times he was beside us, without knowing his true self; I felt relieved and I know he is to be trusted. You have a good son Uncle” smiling the whole time she also stared at Kurumi and bowed her head. “And Auntie as well, you both are the reason why Kusuo-kun grew up to become the man that he is now” she expressed warmly and the two parents were so delighted hearing that and both cried out in so much happiness.

Making a ducked-face “Ahyuuuuu!!!” the both uttered.

“Thank you, Kokomi-chan!” Kurumi was the first to thank her by clasping their hands together. “I’m really glad that Ku-chan has you as a friend!” She claims. And Teruhashi got shy and scratch her cheeks and smiled awkwardly.

“Me too! The first time I saw you on the shrine… I knew you would be perfect for Kusuo” he informed the pretty girl that got startled at his remark now waving her hand in the air with a flushed face.

“Uncle!!! Th-that’s… I…” can’t utter her words correctly, she was embarrassed and started to pick the ring that she places on the table to block her mind so a certain someone can’t read her embarrassing thoughts

“Aww… Kokomi-chan, you don’t have to get embarrassed!” Kurumi teases her more without ulterior motive. Teruhashi, on the other hand, felt restless and embarrassed at this situation, hoping Saiki will not hear any of this.

On the other hand and to her luck, Saiki was there eyeing there every move as he listen to their nonsense conversation. He was standing at the doorway sometime now and they haven’t noticed him there. He was staring at the three with his usual deadpan expression. Yare, yare. How did it turn out like this?

Sighing at the sight he was seeing, he stood to where they are to grab their attention. And upon seeing him there, they all gasped.

“A! Kusuo you’re here!” his dad said.

“Sa-sa-Saiki— Kusuo-kun” Teruhashi exclaimed with her face flushed reaching her ears, wishing that he didn’t hear anything but she knows he has.

“A! Ku-chan, dinner is ready, go seat with Kokomi-chan!” his mom uttered. That made Teruhashi flushed even more.

“A-Auntie!!!” she cried.

(Yare, yare.) He thought. What the heck are you two saying a while ago? Enough of that, your joke is not even funny! He muttered to his two meddlesome parents directly through their minds. While they both grin at him. He only sighed staring at his own parent’s dumb faces.

Kurumi then, clapping her hand cheerfully. “Okay! Now that dinner is ready, let’s go and eat!”

They all nod and agreed and went to their seat, and by the way, their seating arrangement was Saiki besides his Dad while Teruhashi with flushed face facing Saiki and besides her is Kurumi.

“It's hard to eat if I'm facing him! But, I’m glad I can see his face up-close!” grinning at her own statement. While the one facing her was annoyed at how his parents are grinning at him.

Yare, yare. How troublesome!

______________________________________

-End of Chapter IV-

[simkjrs]

fic: see you in the dark

chapter ii: remember to be conPSIentious of your powers!

saiki kusuo no psi nan x worm | saiki kusuo & taylor hebert | 3k

------

It turns out that Hebert can look after herself, and bugs are a terrifying weapon. I stopped watching after she started going for the privates. It seems that for all the mythos that surrounds him, Lung is still weak in all the normal places.

It sure takes some guts to aim for the crotch of the most notorious gang member in the city, Hebert. I underestimated you.

The next school day, Hebert shows up barely any worse for wear. Good for her. There she goes back to her locker with her head down. There goes one of the bullies trying to trip her. You know she took down a notorious gang leader this weekend? Just what do you think you’re going to achieve? She could crush you in an instant.

<Endure it, Taylor. Don’t retaliate. You’re better than them.>

... Well, it’s not as funny when I have to hear her thinking like that all day.

She’s so responsible about using her powers it’s honestly depressing. She refuses to use her abilities against any of her bullies because it would be unfair, and it’s wrong to use your powers like that, or something. It’s really not, Hebert. I use my powers for personal gain all the time. You should do something about the “Trio” already so I can stop tying their shoelaces together when they try to approach.

Hebert closes her locker door and raises her head as I’m walking. We make eye contact. Hey. Are you okay? That’s an impressively dead look on your face. Your eyes are almost as dull as mine. — Nevermind, they’ve brightened the tiniest bit. Why.

“Good morning, Saiki.”

Good morning. I nod cordially at her. Social interaction of the day achieved, I continue walking to the next classroom.

— Tch, those annoyances are approaching again.

Not that it’s my business, since Hebert seems determined to handle the situation by herself, but the universe ought to give her a break. She just took down a notorious gang leader. Give her some breathing room. I’ll just backtrack a few steps and tap Hebert on the shoulder.

Hebert blinks at me. “What is it?”

I jerk a thumb over my shoulder, turn, and walk away down the hall. After a moment of hesitation she follows me down the corridor, just in time to avoid Barnes and her cronies spotting us by the lockers.

<That was good timing. If I’d stayed there, Emma would have come to bother me again. — Wait, did Saiki know she was coming? Is that why he called me here?>

Stop being perceptive. I forgot you could keep an eye out on everything with your bugs. Tch, it goes to show I shouldn’t poke my nose in where I’m not needed. Now I have to come up with an excuse.

I turn around to face Hebert.

<His expression is as serious as ever. I can never tell what he’s thinking.> Good, let’s keep it that way. <It seems like he had something to talk about, after all. Guess it was just lucky timing.>

I reach into my pocket and pull out a piece of paper, etching onto it with thoughtography as I do. Hebert unfolds it, eyes flicking across the page.

“You want to study together this weekend?”

<Is he serious?> You don’t have to sound so disbelieving. Just say no if you don’t want to. That would be more convenient for me, too, since this is just a random excuse. <Do we even share any classes besides Parahuman Studies? What’s he getting out of this?> Absolutely nothing, so it’s okay to turn me down. <He doesn’t feel sorry for me, does he?> Anyone normal would feel sorry for you if they saw what a daily ordeal your school life is. Don’t take it so personally. — Actually, feel free to. Hurry up and say no already. <I don’t need his pity. If he feels sorry for me, then he should help me do something about the Trio.> See? There you go.

<But I shouldn’t burn any bridges unnecessarily. He’s the only one to reach out to me after Emma started her bullying campaign.> Wait, no. Stop being reasonable. Go back to the prideful paranoia. You’re not doing me any favors, here. <Besides, it’s possible he just wants a friend, too.> Absolutely not, who do you think I am?

“Okay, that’s fine.” <If he wants to hang out, I guess it couldn’t hurt.> “Where do you want to meet?”

What did I just say.

<Why does he have such a pinched look on his face. Was this a pity thing or a prank after all?>

Good grief.

I indicate with pen on paper that I would like to meet at the public library on Saturday. She asks if 2pm is fine, and if it’s okay for her to leave early, because she has business to take care of. By which she means parahuman business. I really don’t want to hear what bad ideas she’s going to get up to, so let’s just move the conversation along for now.

“Okay,” says Hebert. “What’s your phone number? I’ll call you if anything comes up.” <Like if I have to go out in costume earlier than anticipated.>

Ugh. This is why you shouldn’t have said yes, Hebert. I write on the paper.

“You don’t have a phone?” <Huh. Didn’t think there was anyone in the same boat as me.> “That’s fine. A landline is okay too.”

Damn it.

“You don’t have one of those either?” <What kind of place is he living in…?>

Please don’t start questioning my living conditions. I’ll just write something down to alleviate her concerns.

“Oh, an apartment without a landline?” <And no cellphone on top of that. It must be hard.> No, it’s perfectly fine. I don’t want anyone contacting me. “Then I’ll email you if anything comes up. Is that fine?”

I nod.

“Alright. I have to get to class now, but thanks, Saiki. I’ll see you in Parahuman Studies.”

<It’s strange that he doesn’t have any kind of phone at all, though. Is everything okay financially? His clothes seem fine, but you never know…>

What a pain. Looks like I’ll have to take additional steps to integrate into this world, so I won’t draw suspicion so easily. Acquiring fake IDs was already annoying enough, and now this too?

You may be wondering why I procured myself some ID papers. It’s because I needed it to register for school. But why would an esper like myself bother enrolling in school again, when no one in this universe had to know I existed?

It’s true, I could have had complete freedom of time if I hadn’t committed to school. But you can only read books alone in your house for so long before you start to get bored. It was nice to have a few weeks by myself, but it felt weird not having a school routine.

Going to school keeps me somewhat occupied and reminds me what it’s like to have people around. To be clear, I didn’t register for school because I wanted company. I’m already so different from normal human beings that spending time with humans doesn’t mean anything. It’s like asking if you’d prefer spending time with a monkey in the next room over or not. I’m just here because I’m bored and I like to stick to my habits.

School comes with its own share of annoyances, although they’re much more serious than the gag series I’ve spent most of my life living. It’s none of my business, but if things keep being this bothersome, I might have to do something about it soon.

Hopefully Kuusuke will hurry up and find me soon so I can stop getting dragged into the circumstances of this world.

——

Hebert isn’t in Parahuman Studies. It only takes a quick skim of the minds near me to find out why.

“Oh, Saiki, it looks like Hebert ditched you today. Too bad. She’s such a horrible partner to work with, isn’t she?” Your words wouldn’t be the least bit convincing even if I didn’t know you were the one who made her upset enough to leave campus, Barnes. “If you want, you can sit with us to work.”

She smiles at me in what she thinks is a charming manner. I can’t tell, since right now she just looks to me like a diagram of the human muscular structure you’d find in a medical book. <Take the hint. Taylor isn’t worth your time.> What does that make you. Chopped liver? <I wouldn’t pay attention to him if not for the fact that he’s Taylor’s assigned partner. If I can lure him away from her, she’ll be devastated. We could even keep him in the group afterwards. I mean, once you look past those weird green glasses, even though he seems plain at first glance, he’s got a nice face.> No thanks. <It’d be better if he didn’t have such a blank expression all the time, though.>

Get a full load of my blank expression, then.

<This silence is dragging on too long. Is he.... judging me?>

Took you long enough to notice.

“It’s rude not to respond,” Barnes says.

I stare dispassionately at Barnes until she shifts uncomfortably. <Maybe Sophia was right.> “What, can you not speak or something?”

Sure, let’s go with that setting. I give her a disdainful look. Obviously.

<Why are you looking at me like that?! I’m one of the most popular, pretty girls in the school!> Is that so? I couldn’t tell from how rotten your inner self is. “Sorry, I didn’t realize,” Barnes says faux-apologetically. “How was I supposed to know if you didn’t even make an effort to tell me, though? Can’t you write, at least?”

How annoying.

“Did you just click your tongue at me?”

I’m hurt you would ever accuse me of such a thing. I write in my notebook and slide it across the desk towards her.

“You’re not interested in working with anyone? But you’re working with Hebert.”

Flat stare.

“--Oh, she was assigned to you. Right.”

<Hey, doesn’t that mean this guy is a total loner-type? Come to think of it, he didn’t do anything the other day when we were confronting Taylor, either.> Confronting? Is that what you call it? <All he did was look annoyed when we started talking to him. Ahaha, what a piece of work. He doesn’t care about Taylor at all.> I don’t want to hear that from you. <I don’t even have to do anything and he’ll leave her alone, too. But still…>

“My friends and I can still help you finish your work more quickly, though. Then you’ll have more time to yourself in class.”

<...It’ll be more satisfying if I’m the one behind it.>

How unpleasant. I emphatically tap the word “anyone” written on the page.

“Come on, you can’t go through school without making friends with anyone.” Try me. “It’s better to choose your friends early. You don’t want to get caught up by the wrong crowd.” Somehow, I don’t think your crowd is the right one, either.

Thanks for your concern, I write, but I can take care of myself.

Barnes purses her lips. “Well, if you’re sure,” she says in a tone of voice that clearly says she doesn’t believe me. “But the invitation is open if you ever change your mind, ‘kay?”

She smiles at me before making her way back to her group of friends.

<Let’s see if we can’t arrange for him to learn what this school is like…>

What are you, a delinquent gang leader? I never thought I’d miss the days of PK Academy, but it would be so much less troublesome if the worst personality anyone here had was being a tad too obsessed with romance.

Not that it matters. Whatever Barnes tries, it’s not like there’s anything in this world that could touch me.

——

Because Barnes and her coterie were laughing about it in their heads all period, it’s easy to find the dumpster in the back of the school where they tossed Hebert’s backpack.

It stinks out here, and Hebert’s textbooks are all ripped up. Her art project is smashed to pieces, too. Barnes sure didn’t hold back.

The backpack and textbooks are easy enough to restore to their original state. The art project is a different matter. Checking it with my psychometry, it seems Hebert didn’t finish it until late last night. My restoration ability only reverts an object to its state from twenty four hours before; if I turn back the clock on the art project right now, it’ll be restored to a state from before she completed it. I’ll have to wait to restore it until later tonight.

So here I am, lying on my bed with Hebert’s stuff tossed by all my books. What to do. I could drop it off outside her house, but if I do it anonymously it’ll raise all kinds of questions and if I do it in person I’ll have to explain how I knew where she lives. I could just hand it off to her at school, but…

I have a sudden, horrible vision of Hebert thinking that we’re friends, and immediately reject that path. Absolutely not.

I’ll just put her backpack in her locker so she’ll find it before class. That’ll also raise all kinds of questions, but way less than finding it outside her house.

Now, as for the other problem…

Barnes and her friends are popular, and they’ve got plenty of people who are willing to do them a favor. Annoyingly enough, Barnes’ network has talked about me enough in front of the right people that in a couple days, the ABB members at Winslow will start trying to recruit me. What a pain. And I’ve put in so much effort to fly below their radar, too.

It’d be easy to rebuff any attempt to recruit me, but that would just attract attention. Worse, if I show my skill, that might be even more motivation for them to keep trying. I’ll have to think of a way to avert the recruitment without making myself stand out.

That’s a problem for later, though. Right now, I’m more irritated that Barnes has caused this much of a problem for me, just because she wants to get at Hebert. Since recruitment usually starts off with friendly overtures, all she has to do is swoop in and pretend I’m solidly part of her friend group already to ward off any recruitment attempts, and then they’ll usually leave well enough alone. And then I’ll be so grateful for her help saving me from the big, bad ABB that I’ll actually consider her a friend… Not.

If she’d left me alone, I might not have done anything, but I won’t hold back now that she’s getting me involved.

Time to take her down.

——

The reason Barnes can get away with what she does is because of Shadow Stalker’s influence with the school administration. That means to dismantle the power structure, I have to knock Hess down.

First, let’s use thoughtography to create photos of the worst moments of bullying I’ve seen, with my clairvoyance or otherwise. Here’s one of Hess stomping on Hebert’s backpack. One of her pouring juice on Hebert with Barnes. One of… you know what, describing this is just depressing. The readers don't want to slog through a litany of events that'll make them lose faith in humanity. Just trust that I’ve captured some truly unpleasant moments.

Second, I’ll use my clairvoyance to look around in the school office for the budget records, and copy them down with thoughtography, too. Hm, quite a difference between what they’re actually doing and what they’ve reported. I’m sure the PRT will be delighted to learn this.

Third, I’ll make a map of Hess’ stashes of definitely not approved crossbow ammo, discovered when I used clairvoyance on her the other day. That won’t be enough evidence by itself, but if I attach a list of victims, locations, and times, hopefully the PRT will be competent enough to put the pieces together. It’s not an exhaustive list, just what I learned from using psychometry on the bolts in her stash, but it should be enough.

Fourth, a list of things they should check: Hebert’s stint in the hospital, the communications between Hess’ handler and the school administration, Hess’ phone, and the unpleasant emails that Hebert gets every now and then.

And a note on top: Your Ward is misbehaving. Clean up your mess.

Yep. That is a nice, succinct message that will get my point across with absolutely no problems.

As if.

This is one of the most annoying aspects of this world: the sheer paranoia around parahumans. Back in my original universe, people ignore strange happenings more easily, because they don’t believe in powers. Here, though? Powers are real and a fact of life. If I tried to use my hypnosis or mind control powers here, one of those “Thinker” parahumans would probably notice right away. No matter how I send this packet of information to the PRT, they’ll definitely suspect parahuman involvement, since quite a lot of this information should have been secure. They’ll be paranoid for days. They might even take my note as a threat.

Oh well, it’s not my problem. As long as I deliver it cleverly, they won’t be able to trace anything back to me, and I don’t plan on getting involved with them again after this either. If they spend a few months paranoid about a possible new threat, that has nothing to do with me.

So how to make sure that the PRT properly pays attention to this information when I deliver it? If I send it through the official channels, who knows how long it will take, and if I’m not lucky it’ll get lost or Hess’ handler will manage to bury it before it goes anywhere. On the other hand, I’d rather not deliver it directly to the heroes, either.

Let’s just do it like this then.

Altogether, the worth of these papers is about four dollars. So is this keychain I picked up from the side of the street. I’ll just turn invisible and go to the Boardwalk and toss this keychain over to the PRT headquarters floating in the bay, and then I can use my apport ability to exchange the keychain for the papers so that the papers arrive properly at their front doorstep. It’ll arrive with enough dramatic flair to make sure it doesn’t get written off, and I don’t have to interact with anyone. Perfect.

I toss the keychain across the water, but when I check with my clairvoyance, I see the keychain sinking down in the water instead of safely landed on the doorstep of the PRT like I intended. I didn’t throw with enough force? Damn, I can’t use my telekinesis to retrieve the keychain either, because I can’t use any powers besides telepathy while I’m invisible. I’ll have to look for something nearby.

There, a cheap ring being sold at a street stall. My apologies to the vendor, I’m taking this. Back to the beach. This time, I’ll throw with a little more force—

CRACK. BOOM.

I stare at the fading afterimage of a now-broken forcefield.

Shit.

Nothing for it now. I dash back home as fast as I can, and as soon as my invisibility wears off I exchange the packet of papers with the ring.

The ring appears in my hand, no problem. There, delivery successful. Err. Looking with my clairvoyance, it seems that the papers are half-embedded in the wall of the headquarters where the ring had previously buried itself inches deep. My bad. The forcefield breaking is my fault, so I’ll take responsibility. I’ll just fix it with my restoration ability…

Ah, wait, but restoring an object also restores everything it touches. If I restore the headquarters now, my delivery will go back to being blank pieces of paper, and it’ll all have been for nothing. Damn it, I should’ve fixed the forcefield before apporting my delivery over… although that would have required me to wait for my invisibility to wear off at the Boardwalk. Maybe I can exchange the papers and the ring quickly, restore everything, and then exchange them back? — No good, people are coming to investigate the papers already. If I apport right in front of them it might just make them panic more.

Good grief. I’ve made quite a mess for myself.

I’ll just have to make sure to fix the forcefield tomorrow… I’m sure it’s fine… They can live without their forcefield for twenty-four hours…

Oh, would you look at that, it’s just about time to restore Hebert’s art project. I’ll just go do that and put everything back in her locker.

Well, as long as that works out, hopefully today won’t be a lost cause.

[starline148]

[Memories] KDFD Ch. 04

Fan Fic Info:

Name: Memories Main couple: Kidou&Fudou Secondary couple: Genda&Sakuma Language: English, but you can ask for a Spanish version!

» First chapter: Memory 01 » Previous chapter: Memory 03 » Next chapter: Memory 05 » Index: Here

Chapter Info

Name: Why are you so noisy? Words: 2976 Warnings: The first part can be boring, because is the nomination. Summary: The new Inazuma Japan Team is going to be chosen, who would be part of the time this year?

[Memory 04] Why are you so noisy?

“I will proceed to name the players who have won a place in the Inazuma Japan team this year to participate in the International Championship. When I name you go down here and line up.” An overwhelming silence was made in the stadium where they were going to announce to the members of the football team that would go to the World Cup, until then it had been noisy because of the voices and laughters of more than one hundred young people from all parts of the country who had already attended, either because they expected to be on the team or because they did not want to miss the moment when a friend was chosen to represent their country.

“In the position of goalkeeper, Endou Mamoru …”

They heard a shout of joy not far from them, Endou had jumped up with his fists up and was running towards the football field, as if it were not obvious that he was to be chosen and it would have really surprised him, being him, surely it was. Endou was the only player, along with Gouenji and Kidou, that Fudou knew had a place, they simply could not include them, they were the three players with more merits. He clenched his hands nervously, he hoped that he had also achieved it that year, after all that had happened... At his side he saw Sakuma and Genda even more expectant and sweaty than him. If he thought about it coldly, his games with the Teikoku team were perfect and had attracted the interest of many people, they were also very good players.

“And Genda Koujirou.”

The boy sitting on the other side of Fudou roared in excitement without being able to restrain himself and hugged the white-haired boy on his right.

“You did! You did it, Genda!”

A faint smile had appeared on Fudou's lips, as he watched sideways at his friend who was hurrying to get to the field, afraid they would change their minds and put another goalkeeper in their place. The previous year Genda wasn’t in the national team. He snorted, sure he was going to be unbearable for a time of the joy of being on the team.

“In the defense position, Kazemaru Ichirouta, Fubuki Shirou, Kogure Yuuya, Kabeyama Heigorou, Handa Shinichi and Kurimatsu Teppei.”

The called boys were going down, some of them had real tears of happiness, in fact all but Fubuki cried from the excitement of being selected, the most Handa since the previous year wasn’t even one of the players to be considered. So far Fudou had not really been surprised with any of the elections, maybe he did not expect so much that Handa managed to stay that year in the nationals but the boy had worked hard together with Raimon Team, and had improved a lot despite continuing not to stand out especially in something; but Fudou thought that was fine, surely Handa was the most complete player of all and his individual game would become stronger and stronger if they knew how to direct it well. He also knew that if Tachimukai was not among the chosen goalkeepers it was because he had been severely injured shortly before the ceremony and could not play, although he was certain that if he recovered in time they would include him in the team, he was not only a very good goalkeeper but he earned everyone's affection quickly. On the other hand, Tsunami, Tobitaka and Hijikata had passed the age allowed to play in that league, but they had remained in the League of the High School. Like Nishikage, Saginuma and Mizukamiya, rivals of the National during the last year and who had remained in the Japanese senior team.

“In the position of midfielder…”

Fudou swallowed, that was his position, he noticed a cold sweat that ran down his neck and a warm hand grabbed his, Kidou had brows more frowned than ever and had automatically grabbed the hand of the brunette, although his sight behind those glasses was immovable in the man who spoke in the middle of the field.

“Kidou Yuuto” Fudou heard a sigh of relief from the boy with cinnamon hair and rolled his eyes, which a fool were all of them “”Kiyama Tatsuya, Midorikawa Ryuuji” a shouted across the stadium broke the silence of the place and they saw the green-haired boy who had hugged all his friends and jumped more than excited,”Inamori Asuto, Nosaka Yuuma, Hiura Kirina and …”

Fudou's eyes closed and that hand tightened even more, a knot had been made his stomach and heart beat with fear.

“Ichihoshi Hikaru.”

The brunette boy opened his mouth without anything coming out and felt it sink into a pit; he wasn’t chosen. The hand that squeezed him grabbed him harder, his owner's mouth had opened in stupefaction. No, it could not be. Fudou let go and hid his head in his hands, quite annoyed and disappointed with himself, he had not succeeded, he had not succeeded. He noticed the eyes of his Teikoku teammates and a buzz of fury grew inside him and he covered his ears, he didn't want to be pitied! He didn't want to be looked at! Why didn't everyone disappear !?

"Kidou, you should go down," Sakuma murmured, he had changed seats when Genda left and looked palely at the brunettet.

"But…"

"Don’t worry, Kidou, do what you should do," Fudou growled without raising his head as he struggled not to cry from frustration, that Kidou stayed there only made things worse.

Kidou left with great discomfort, despite having been chosen he did not feel cheerful, quite the opposite, his heart ached.

“In the position of forward, Gouenji Shuuya, Utsunomiya Toramaru, Someoka Ryuugo, Haizaki Ryouhei, Kira Hiroto, Matsuno Kuusuke and Sakuma Jirou.”

Sakuma opened his only visible eye and winced. Fudou looked at him sideways; yes, he was excited, but the look that Fudou discovered in his eye when he looked at him made him understand that despite that he was not happy. They couldn't be without him after all. Sakuma also left and he was left alone, the rest of the Teikoku team was behind and they were still watching him, some had begun to murmur with indignation.

“They are idiots, why have they not included it?” he heard Narukami say.

"Fudou is one of the best strategists in the country ... The best with Kidou would dare to say," Doumen growled.

“Finally …” the bustle that had begun to be made in the stadium disappeared again, nobody expected any more announcement “at the post of libero …”

Fudou raised his eyebrow with his face still buried in his hands. It was not usual for a team to have a libero, it was a position of great responsibility and creativity in the game and there were not many people who could achieve it successfully, trust and teamwork were indispensable, as was an agile mind with great ability to analyze, the libero carried the hopes of his team on his shoulders, it was a figure of faith.

“Fudou Akio.”

Fudou opened his eyes in amazement, it took him a long time to assimilate, had he heard right? Had he been appointed in the position of libero? A deafening bellow of all his companions upon receiving the news rose from the field, when he looked up and still without believing that, he discovered that Kidou was smiling from ear to ear and raised his fist towards him, he also smiled and stood up to go to meet with his teammates, although before he went through a round of claps, hugs and whistles of the Teikoku team that seemed to be radiant with emotion. 

Had he really really heard correctly? Was he going to be a libero? Was he going to be the libero?

“As captain, Endou Mamoru and sub-captain, Kiyama Tatsuya. The coaches will be Zhao Jinyun and Kudou Michiya.”

Fudou walked slowly to the field, he did not want to appear desperate, but as soon as he set foot on the grass he saw that several companions threw themselves to hug him.

“What scare you had given us, Fudou!” exclaimed Genda with tears hugging him with a tackle that almost knocks him down.

“Congratulations, Fudou! Now you'll have to be a responsible boy” Sakuma laughed, punching him in the chest.

“Let's play football, Fudou!” shouted Endou hugging him so hard that Fudou thought he was going to break his back.

“We'll be back in the field together, buddy!” Someoka ruffled his hair at his mock disgust as he ran his arm around his shoulders.

Kidou said nothing, but stayed there, smiling; but the boy with turquoise eyes didn't need anything else. All the words he didn't say were written on his lips. And that smile was better than anything else, a warm feeling had replaced the dark oppression of moments before.

The boy with cinnamon hair was the one who had shouted loudest of all when they had named his friend, not for nothing he was the one who was most pleased with his nomination. For a terrible moment he feared he should fight without him... and found no emotion in it. At that point, playing without Fudou was unthinkable for him.

Fudou shrugged his shoulders trying not to seem exceptionally excited, otherwise they might believe that he had not hoped to stay on the team and therefore he did not trust his abilities, that would begin his work as a libero very badly.

They were instructed to return to the stadium for the nomination of the Women's League team and then meet with their coaches. That was equally exciting.

Norika, Touko, Rika, Reina and Takanashi were among other girls in the team, but nobody was surprised, there were not so many female players and they were exceptionally good. They would be in command of Hitomiko and to everyone's surprise Megane was going to be one of their managers.

The boys went to meet with the coaches although on the way their friends stopped them to congratulate them. Fubuki could barely let go of his brother Atsuya, who hugged him tightly and shouted at him that next time he would also be on the team. The appearance of Atsuya had been the news of the year, Fubuki's younger brother had managed to survive the car accident years before, but he had lost his memory and it was not until he recovered that he began desperately searching for his older brother until he found him. They had barely fitted themselves with such joy when Fubuki had told them! Although as he had not been playing football for a long time, he did not have the necessary level for the international championship.

In the dressing room the coaches made the team managers Aki, Haruna, Fuyuka, Anna and Tsukushi give the boys the uniform. No one was surprised by Natsumi's absence, she had asked to be the manager of Little Gigant again.

They were also instructed about their training that would begin in two days and where they would stay for it. The same place as the previous year, a residence on the outskirts of the city with large training camps.

“Why are we so many players on the team, coach Kudou, coach Zhao?” asked Nosaka strangely.

“Last year there were several casualties during the championship and substitutions had to be made. Each substitution breaks the pace of the team. In this way there will be no need to bring someone outside to replace and lower the level we expect for the Internationals.”

“How many casualties do you expect?”

“This year there are several teams with very dangerous games.”

"Surely half of you will leave on the way" the coach from China laughed without giving it much importance.

That was received with great tension, how many of them would be able to reach the final? Because everyone pointed to the final. Each of them thought that he would not be one of those who would leave.

The boys went to celebrate the International Team nomination with their friends, Tsunami and Tobitaka congratulated Fudou and Someoka effusively and entrusted their hopes of winning the tournament. 

“You have to win for us, guys! Show what we rebel boys are capable of!”

“Fudou, Someoka, we count on you.”

“Of course, and you put Japan in a good place with the seniors.”

“Why are you so noisy?”

The four boys beat each other with laughter and began talking about their opinions regarding both teams.

Tachimukai approached Genda with his plaster leg and held out his hand, he shook it with great determination.

“I count on you to protect the goal of Inazuma Japan.”

“I’m going to protect it with my life!”

"You don’t need to go so far, Genda" Sakuma sighed in exasperation at his side.

During the small celebration, Fudou did not miss that Kidou kept watching him from time to time, every time he caught him, a mocking smile appeared on the lips of the second strategist. Although perhaps it was not so rare, his eyes also turned to the goggle boy who spoke with Toramaru and Kurimatsu. He couldn't help it.

It started getting late and the boys headed to their homes or hotels. 

"I accompany you home, Fudou," said the boy with cinnamon hair and blue rubber goggles.

Fudou looked at him with a mute question in his eyes and Kidou shrugged. Fudou said nothing more about it, when it was late according to the criteria of the boy always accompanied him to his house, and from there he asked to be picked up by car. Although it sometimes bothered him in the deep it didn't bother him, it was weird.

On the way they didn't talk much; but none of them cared, a trust between them had grown during the last year that allowed them to remain in a silence that connected more than a thousand words. They had learned to read on their faces, their gestures, their silences and their stories.

They had shared a lot together, in their training, in their matches... they had learned to be in sync.

They reached the building where Fudou lived and went inside, waiting until the car would arrive. They barely exchanged some trivial phrases regarding the team members. They were sitting on the stairs that went up to the upper floors, Fudou's hand rested on Kidou's.

The car reached the door and Kidou got up, that was the moment they liked least, when he had to leave. Fudou stayed sat. Seeing him.

“See you the day after tomorrow, Fudou.”

“Yes.”

Kidou took a couple of steps but then he turned, his cheeks were a little red, he seemed troubled by a thought he couldn't express, as if he couldn't find words for what he wanted to say. Fudou watched him in silence, allowing him that time without interrupting, a strange kindness on his part.

“Facing the World without you would not have been worth it.”

Fudou raised an eyebrow.

“Did you doubt that I would be on the team, Kidou-kun?”

“What!? Of course not!”

Fudou got up and reduced the distance between them, his forearm resting on the wall being very close to Kidou, with the bodies almost stucked together. With his other hand he lowered his glasses and looked at those eyes that appealed to him so much, although there was some anger in his turquoise eyes. 

“Tell it again to the face!”

“I had no doubt that you would enter the team.”

“Not even when they said all the positions?”

Kidou's lip trembled a little.

“Tsk ... liar.”

“They couldn't not include you, you are fundamental to the team.”

“None are indispensable, Kidou-kun.”

“You are for me. You are like a breath of fresh air that oxygenates my blood and my brain.”

Fudou looked surprised and laughed. Kidou looked away annoyed that he laughed, felt his pulse fastening and had a hard time stopping himself fromhis desire to jump over the brunette.”

“What a weird things you say, Kidou-kun. I’m gonna think you like me.”

Kidou raised an eyebrow, although his ears had inevitably turned red and his heart began to beat even faster, realizing that he had to force the expression of indifference on his face he knew there was something that did not fit. That time was the first time that Fudou mocked him that way, although over the years there would be many more times.

“Don't give yourself so much credit, Fudou.”

“Whatever.”

Fudou stared into his eyes for a moment, the hand with which he did not lean against the wall rose to Kidou's face and stroked his cheek with an unusual softness, Kidou was left without air, that contact was as tender as unexpected. He wished he didn't take his hand off his face.

“I did believe that I wasn’t chosen. I felt so disappointed ... I thought I would not be able to run after the ball with the team ... that I would not be able to run with you.” His face reflected a very sad expression and Kidou, who watched him silently until that moment hugged him. Fudou buried his head in his neck. It smelled good, although he didn't wear a perfume, but he didn't need a perfume, Kidou's smell was pleasant, he always smelled clean, like a new book and a touch of sweat that Fudou really liked.

They stayed that way until the sound of a car horn made them separate quickly, as if they were afraid someone might find them that way.

“Let's play football, Fudou.”

Kidou had stretched his arm with his fist clenched so that the brunette would bump fist.

“Let's play football, Kidou.” Fudou's fist gave a soft blow to the other boy and he left after hearing another honk.