(brace yourselves, also long chapter)

The next day, Y/n was more reclusive than usual. I'd began to think she was starting to open up more, but even Nendou had noticed her distance today. She didn't even slow to accompany Kaidou and him on their walk into school.

"Hey, Pal! Wait up!" Nendou had tried to catch up to her.

"Don't follow," warned Kaidou, eyes peering through his taped hands. "Y/n appears to be in a dangerous mood. It could be the bewitching of the Dark Reunion- a week once a month, females become overtaken with a dark spell only able to be broken by a true loves kiss. Therefore, I shall pursue her."

He tripped and lost sight of her in the crowd. "Those powers must be really strong!" mocked Nendou, laughing at the klutz.

I tried to catch her changing her shoes to no avail. The lack of her presence made me feel anxious. Carrying powers meant great risk, so I hoped she wasn't in danger.

At lunch, I finally found her. She was sitting under the tree in the courtyard that I'd first discovered her powers at. I glanced down at her bento and observed a few slices of beef. I was amused, remembering how her stomach had growled when she saw mine the day I'd first confronted her.

"You've been invisible all day."

Y/n ignored me as I sat next to her. I opened my box which consisted of oniguri and slices of fruit.

"We should practice again today," I suggested, slipping a piece of watermelon into my mouth.

"Just leave me alone. "

I was taken aback by her sudden hostility. Her heart beat seemed to race, her skin heat up. She was anxious, I noted. Her e/c eyes darted around in paranoia. As I was tracking her moves, she suddenly got up and headed to the trashcan, discarding her few beef strips left.

"I told you to leave, Saiki. I can't be seen with you. "

"Why?" I inquired, looking around for a threat.

"I can't, okay? And enough about the silly power nonsense. I'm done."

"There's really no point in lying to a psychic."

She turned around as if she were going to say something, but suddenly stopped. Something seemed to catch her eye, so I tried around to see what. I focused in on the doors and was able to discern footsteps and thoughts belonging to Teruhashi. I heard a mutter of curses and turned around to be met with the stinging wind left over by Y/n.

"Saiki!" I heard a voice exclaim. I turned around, muttering curses too. I could see why she'd want to avoid Teruhashi, but Y/n's disappearance was too sudden and conflicted. Why was it such a big deal to be seen with me? Did Teruhashi have something to do with it?

"Who was that you were just talking to?"

"Nobody," i answered suspiciously.

"Oh! Well, I was just wanting to know if you'd like to have lunch with me." Teruhashi beamed, tilting her head. Her soft blue locks fell off her shoulders. The ultimate cute girl charm could draw in others, but not me.

I was busy focusing on her inner thoughts to gain more insight on the strange behavior of Y/n.

I'm glad he's finally alone without her, now he can't say no to my offer!

I shrugged and pulled out my pockets, showing they were empty as an answer to her question. Who did she mean by her?

"What? You don't have lunch?" Teruhashi tilted her head.

I shook my head.

"But- I can share with you then!"

Yes! A perfect opportunity to feed him his favorite meal! Then, when he's shocked, I'll tell him I cooked it. I'll be the perfect wife material that he can't turn down!

Good grief. This woman sure was a pain. Knowing I couldn't directly escape her, I sent signals of her to her fan club via telepathy. In no time they were swarming around her like insects, and I was able to get away. Tracing the scent of vanilla, I found Y/n at the lockers.

"Go away," she warned.

"What happened?" I asked, leaning against the locker as she put her shoes up. I wondered why she was getting ready to skip.

"That's none of your business. I told you, stay the hell away from me."

I knew Y/n could be somewhat of a tsundere, but I could tell this went further than shyness or annoyance. I observed her face, flush with conflict. Her mouth refused to refer to me casually, her pretty eyes stared at the floor. She was doing her best to ignore me and pretend as if we were strangers.

"What did Teruhashi say?" I pressed.

She sighed, and her hurried actions halted. "Look, it really doesn't-"

I telekenetically shut the locker door and in response she glanced up. A gloss of pink light traced her iris.

"What did she say?" I repeated. I stepped closer which prompted her to take a step and brace against the locker. Y/n refused to meet my eyes, but admitted, "She told me to stay away from you. She knows my secret."

"What do you mean?" I asked, taken aback. Then I remembered the presence I thought I'd sensed at the cafe last night.

"If you can take a break from being selfish, leave me alone so i don't become some scientist's guinea pig." I could hear the slightest quiver in her voice. She was scared, and rightfully so. I had to figure out how Teruhashi knew, and I'm sure Y/n felt the same way.

She ducked under my arm and walked away. I knew it was off, but I felt something in me dim. Not being able to hang out with her made my stomach churn. I felt nervous, too. Nervous about losing her. It might have been selfish, but letting her go wasn't an option at this moment. I still had so many more things I needed to do with her. I could help her get to the bottom of this situation. I wanted to. Whether she liked it or not, she wasn't going to do this alone.

"Wait- Y/n." I grasped straws at what to say as she hesitantly turned to face me. Her eyes, murky with unreadable emotion, peered up at me through dark lashes.

"You still need to pay me back in coffee jelly."

I watched as her face washed from angst to anger. She balled up her fists and huffed out a breath.

"Saiki I swear, i'll literally-"

"I'm kidding, relax. Just come with me." In her flustered state, I held my hand out to her. "We'll go invisible. Just talk with me."

She surprisingly reached out, but her hand shaped into a flicking pose. Before she could flick my face, I grabbed her wrist down and a cape of invisibility enveloped our bodies.

"You never listen," She grumbled.

"You never let me speak."

Our bickering stopped when we heard the thoughts of Teruhashi sound in our heads.

"On second thought, let's go to the waterfall." I teleported us there before Y/ n could object. I knew we had arrived when my senses were flooded with the jungle aesthetic. The rushing sound of water filled my ears along with the chirping of the birds. It really was peaceful here- other than the time Y/n accidentally summoned a herd of animals. The misty air tickled my skin, small beads of water condensing on my clothes.

My state of tranquility was disturbed by Y/n yanking her hand out of mine. The warm buzz of energy that seemed to trinkle through our touch dissolved away and caught me off guard. I glanced over to see her unamused face.

"You were going to skip anyway," I said.

"Yeah, without you!"

"Good grief. Look, I just needed to tell you you're not going to be alone through this. Because you shared your information with me, I'm also in on this. The first step in containing your secret is figuring out how she knows it. Do you have any leads?"

Y/n looked distant as she answered with a meek "no." Though I suspected different, i couldn't tell with not being able to read her mind and all. A memory itched the back of my brain but I couldn't seem to recall it. That day at cafe Mami's... what had I found out? Touching her with my psychometry, I found out her real name. Was that it? I didn't even know why she'd changed it?

"Okay, if we're going to do this, we can't have any secrets." I challenged her to meet my eyes, but her eyebrows furrowed and she turned away.

"Just because you know about my powers doesn't mean we are close. We're not friends- you were just supposed to help me because you insisted."

The words cut somewhat deep. It stung cold. I, Kusuo Saiki, didn't need friends... so why was hearing this hurtful to me? I brushed it off by not allowing myself to focus on it. Instead, I decided to follow her topic.

"Fine. Controlling them- your powers. Those are still secrets too. I can tell you're holding back. if we aren't friends, why do you always act so gingerly with them?"

"I don't." She finally turned to face me. Y/n looked at her palms. "It's just- I don't know the extent of them either. I'm not protecting you, Mr. god. I'm protecting myself."

"But I can protect you," I said before registering those words. I immediately regretted them as Y/n's cheeks turned pink, mirroring mine. Hers, though, were evidently of anger.

"I'm not a damn weakling, Saiki! Stop thinking you're better than everyone." Y/n's day had been bad enough, and I guess that was the cherry on top. Her irises glowed bright pink and the static around her picked up strands of her hair. The trees around her swayed, bending down as her palms raised upwards. I observed her terrifying state as she seemed to draw out energy from the trees.

"Calm down; focus the energy somewhere where you won't hurt anybody." I tried to sound calm for her sake, but she was freaking me out. Only because this was unpredictable. I glanced around and found a bolder in the river. I pointed to it and urged her to send the power there.

Her fists balled, the pink in her eyes faded to be less intense. Y/n's arms flung out, hands aimed to the rock. A burst of light irrupted out of her palms at the rock. It glowed a bright pink and then returned a stormy gray. When Y/n returned to her normal state, we exchanged a confused glance. Together we approached the rock.

"What did you do to it?"

"Like hell I know!"

We exchanged a tense look as I reached out a fingertip and tapped the rock gingerly. Instantly the hard granite dissolved to reveal a leafy bush.

"What the hell?" we both said in unison.

"Wait," I said, turning around. "Look at that tree."

The tree Y/n had drawn her energy from was now black, almost incarcerated.

"I... did that?"

"No, moron, the birds did."

"Shut up. "

"Go touch it."

"What if it turns me black!"

I cocked an eyebrow. "What do you mean by that? "

Y/n's face paled. "Listen Kusuo, this is what we're not going to do-"

My heart skipped a beat as I recognized her relapse in using my first name.

"I'll touch it," I caved in, "you foolish mortal might die anyway."

"Who knows, maybe I was smart enough to put a spell killing any pink haired freak."

"I thought I was the witch, " I recalled, reaching up to touch my nose. Y/n followed me as I neared the charred trees.

"Oh yeah."

Reaching my hand up, my fingertips grazed what was once enough bark. Now black flakes crumbled away to reveal a rocky texture.

"Oh, " I blurted, shocked at this discovery. Y/n had just swapped nature's textures... As I turned away to meet the baffled expression of her, it was clear this was new information to both of us.

"How the hell did I do that?" Y/n glared at her hands.

"What were you thinking?"

"You told me to get rid of it, so I was like, 'I need to throw this power out of me.'"

I rolled my eyes. "Well obviously. Any specific strategies?"

"No! I'm just as confused as you."

"Good grief," I muttered, sliding my invisible glove off.

"What are you doing? "

"Psychometry. We'll see if it works."

I touched the tree and instantly absorbed the science. Jerking my hand away, My breath seemed to be stolen as a trade. I came to the realization that Y/n was much more powerful than I'd initially thought. Her naivety and unpredictability made her dangerous, but also intriguing. She held more power than I could think, and though training this power could result in her becoming superior, I felt a strange compulsion to do so.

"Well," Y/n interrupted, "are you going to share with me the explanation of my own doing?"

"Give me your hand."

Unable to put it in words, I sent the complex information to her via telepathy. Since I'd taught her the ability to send media to others, she could also receive it. Technically the info I'd gained could qualify as a video; it was pretty much a playback at the atomic level.

"Oh," she gasped, relaying the knowledge. I suggested her to try to do it again, now knowing her strategy. I watched in awe as her eyes transformed into a neon pink, hair floating majestically- or slightly demonic- as she levitated slightly. She was able to turn a pebble into a leaf, and leaf into a thin rock.

"I did it!" she exclaimed, eyes searching for validation in mine. I resisted the urge to smile as my hopes grew.

"Try something bigger," I suggested, pointing to another tree.

I observed her for the next few rounds. She was adorable; the way her eyebrows furrowed slightly when she focused, her mouth pulling to the side. The sunlight glinted off her face, adew with water droplets and sweat. She would glance at me every few seconds in hopes of a congratulation. In that moment, Teruhashi had nothing against her.

"This gives me some ideas," I told her after she had finished another translation. "I was kind of right about you having chameleon energy, but this power must be new. Now that you know how you did it, turn that puddle into that crystal."

"A liquid?" She asked. I could see her face had paled a bit.

"I'm sure it won't hurt you," I encouraged her, assuming she had taken on some nerves

"That's not... right. Okay."

I couldn't promise Y/n that it was Okay. Now, looking back, I knew it was wrong, but the possibility of it working had me desperate. My pulse raced quickly as I watched her work. I knew this could change everything. The one problem I'd struggled to fix for years... it was coming up, and if I didn't defeat it soon enough, I would lose Y/n.

Deep in thought, I was distracted. My eyebrows were furrowed as I bore a hole in my hand through my intense gaze. I was intently focusing on the possibilities of the future. I was so caught up I didn't realize Y/n was struggling.

"Kusuo," my ears picked up a faint, strained voice: that of Y/n's. It was just under a whisper, one so quiet only I could pick up. Instantly my body went into instinct mode. I glanced over to see Y/n shaking vigorously and glowing like a star. A rose gold light glitched about her. Her eyebrows were pinched as if she was in pain, and her heartbeat was irregular. I zipped over to her just before I heard a gasp and saw her eyes pop open. There was an apologetic, panicked glint in her pink iris as the light around her grew brighter. And kept glowing. Expanding.

As soon as I knew it, it had overtaken me. A searing pain enveloped my body. Bright lights blinded me, but I was aware of being flung into the air. Along with the humid wind zipping past me, I felt electric particles pop as they collided with my skin. It almost felt radioactive, toxic. Before my head hit the ground, I was greeted by complete darkness.

~

"Please. I need you to be okay. I love you."

"Get the hell up! Don't die on me!"

My eyes opened, darting around on impulse. My heart felt as if it were beating faster than a train, my body tingling with energy.

"What did you just say?" I asked, trying to come to my senses.

"Oh my God; don't scare me like that. I thought I killed you."

"I almost killed him. It all my fault."

"it's not your fault," I pointed out, still groggy. Y/n gave me a strange look.

"I... didn't say it was." There was a tremble in her tone.

Yes you did. I thought. I'd just heard it.

"How did he know I thought it was my fault? Did I accidentally say it out loud?"

I froze. Had I just read... Y/n's thoughts?

. . . . . . . .

A/N: TYSM FOR READING! ! So as you can tell, we are nearing the end. It really picking up so don't fall behind now! I appreciate you making it this far. thanks for 20k reads! As a reward, please take this limited edition Saiki pic:

AND as a bonus: depressed Nendou!

both screenshots taken by your truly. Until next time <33 please vote and comment.