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Kusuo stood up from his desk, immediately overtaken by a bout of vertigo. The classroom swirled around him.
Whoa. That’s new.
With his palms down against the desk, he stood there for a moment to get his bearings. This was strange. He hadn’t used his powers recently, and certainly not at full capacity, so this feeling…didn’t make sense. On top of that, he realized he was shivering. He didn’t shiver. What was going on?
The feeling was similar to when someone took his control device out unannounced - shakiness, dizziness, a splitting headache - but when he reached up to check, he felt both of them still firmly in place. Kusuke had upgraded them recently, so they should be working. Then again, Kusuo wouldn’t put it past his brother to have done something to them.
“Hey Sai - whoa, you don’t look so good, are you feeling okay?”
Crap. Here come the nuisances. I can’t teleport or turn invisible if my powers are acting up. I’ll just have to tell them I’m fine.
Kusuo lifted his head, the image of a concerned Kaido swimming into view in front of him, with an equally-worried Kuboyasu on his arm. He gave them both a thumbs-up, but they didn’t seem convinced.
“You look pretty pale, Saiki,” Kuboyasu mused. “Did you hit your head?”
As if on cue, Nendo slid in next, moving close enough that his nose almost touched Kusuo’s. “Whoa! Look at your face!”
Kusuo clenched his jaw. “Like I told Kaido, I’m fine. I’d be better if you weren’t in my personal space.”
“Nendo! Back up, you idiot!” Kaido shouted, grabbing the taller boy’s arm to pull him back. Nendo moved back (not on Kaido’s accord, since his pulling barely had any effect on him at all), scratching his cheek confusedly. “I think Saiki might be sick, right, Saiki?”
Sick? That can’t be right. I’ve never been sick before. My powers have made sure of that.
Before he could answer, another nuisance appeared. “Hey, what’s all the yelling about?” Hairo inquiried, tilting his head as he went to stand next to Nendo, their arms brushing against each other.
“My buddy’s not feeling good,” Nendo explained matter-of-factly.
“I’m fi-”
“Oh, Saiki!”
The worst nuisance of them all.
Teruhashi rushed over upon seeing the group around the boy’s desk, her bright eyes wide and full of worry. “What happened? Are you okay?”
“Why is everyone freaking out? I’m just a little dizzy. I need to go home.”
Pushing his chair back a bit, Kusuo let go of the desk and straightened up, pretending not to notice the air of tension around the others as he stepped out. Much to his (and the others’) surprise, he swayed a little, the dizziness increasing tenfold. Before he could completely lose his balance, both Nendo and Hairo reached out to grab his arms. All of their thoughts and shouts bounced around in his head, making it impossible for him to concentrate on anything they were saying. It took all of his energy not to accidentally teleport away somewhere.
“All of you, be quiet!” Kuboyasu hushed, finally giving him some reprieve from the noise. Huffing, he shook his head and walked over to Kusuo, lifting a hand to gently touch the boy’s forehead. He reared back in surprise. “Oh, wow, you’re really hot. I guess you must have a fever.”
A fever? That can’t be right, I don’t get sick. But then, why…why do I feel so awful?
“Don’t worry, Saiki,” Teruhashi exclaimed, “we’ll take you home, right, boys? You’ll be able to rest in no time.”
Kusuo had to shake the thoughts emanating from the girl about how ‘cute’ he looked, even like this. What did ‘like this’ mean? He didn’t know, but he didn’t like it. He was almost glad at how muddled his telepathy seemed to be right now.
Stepping out in front, Teruhashi straightened up. “Do you think you can walk?”
“Of course I can walk.” Perhaps reluctantly, Nendo and Hairo let go of him. “I don’t understand why you’re all worked up. If I do have a fever, it’s nothing I can’t handle.”
Then again, he didn’t think he’d ever felt worse, and that was saying a lot. Was this really what normal people dealt with regularly? Maybe they were stronger than he gave them credit for. He glanced at Nendo, whose normally vacant eyes were dark with…what he could only assume was concern.
For once, Nendo didn’t look confused at all, which confused Kusuo . In fact…
It seems like the dumb idiot of all people has full understanding of the situation. I thought he said he’d never gotten sick before. Wait, what am I thinking? There’s no way I’m sick. I’m a psychic, my powers should prevent -
As he took a step forward, he suddenly felt his knees give out. In his complete shock, he found himself not on the ground, but only upright due to the complete iron grip that Hairo had on his bicep. As Kaido rambled on about the Jet Black Wings (“If only I could lend you some of my power”), Kusuo stared dumbfoundedly at the floor.
What…?
“Kuboyasu, help me get Saiki up onto Nendo’s back!” Hairo cried, breaking that train of thought.
“Right!”
No, this is the last thing I want. I’m fine, I can walk on my own, I can do this by myself…! I don’t want to be indebted to Nendo! I just can’t move too quickly. Whatever’s going on with my powers, they’re unstable. I might hurt them. …Why are my hands all shaky?
Before he knew it, he was hoisted up onto Nendo’s back, his arms dangling uselessly against the other’s chest. Kusuo couldn’t help but feel completely humiliated. He was a psychic and he couldn’t even walk. What the hell was going on?
“Alright, buddy! Let’s get you home,” Nendo announced, somewhat quieter than his normal speaking tone. Although Kusuo had barely any strength to even hold onto him, Nendo supported him under both legs so tightly that there was no way that he would fall.
What a pain. I can’t ever get a break. God really does hate me.
Perhaps he had a weird look on his face as the group slowly made their way outside of the school building, because Teruhashi spoke up. “Um, Saiki? I know it’s hard to have a fever. All of us have dealt with it before!” She shyly looked to the side, her cheeks pinkening a little. “Well, I’m sure you have, too, but…I just wanted to say that we’re glad you’re letting us help you!”
Immediately, a chorus of agreement rang out. Kusuo blinked as he glanced from her to Kaido. “That’s right! Even us heroes get sick sometimes, you know.”
They don’t even know I’m a real psychic, and I really never have been sick before because of my powers. Not for the first time, I wonder if Teruhashi really is a psychic, too. Kaido is just an idiot, but…
“Yeah! You’re gonna pull through just fine!” Hairo exclaimed, pumping a fist. “You’ll beat this, no sweat.”
“You probably don’t even need us to tell you that,” Kuboyasu continued through a slight chuckle, reaching up to adjust his glasses. “Obviously, you’ll be okay, it’s probably just a cold.”
Hairo is energetic as usual, but it doesn’t seem like he’s as intense. I would expect him to be yelling at my body to fight the virus better, but he’s genuinely trying to be encouraging. As expected, however, Kuboyasu is the voice of reason here. It’s definitely appreciated. I don’t want these guys talking to me like I’m a kid.
Suddenly, Kusuo’s head felt much too heavy for his neck. He leaned forward a bit, resting his chin on Nendo’s shoulder, despite how embarrassed he felt. Even from this angle, he could see the proud grin on the other boy’s face.
“I got you, buddy. Just relax and enjoy the ride!”
Nendo…
Kusuo’s gaze swept across the group; Teruhashi was watching him with a bright smile, Kaido’s hand slipped into Kuboyasu’s as they whispered something to each other, and Hairo made a tearful comment about how amazing Nendo was. The boy just laughed good-naturedly. “Saiki’d do the same for me! I’m glad I can help out, y’know?”
For some reason, Kusuo’s breath caught in his throat. He felt his body relax, and he moved so that his cheek rested against Nendo’s shoulder. He released a breath and slowly closed his eyes.
“…Thank you, Nendo. Everyone.”
He heard some relieved sighs and murmurs, but he didn’t bother listening to them. A strange feeling of peace settled over him, despite Nendo making a dumb comment wondering why he felt so warm, Kaido shouting that he was an idiot, Teruhashi and Hairo telling them not to fight, and Kuboyasu trying to hide a grin behind his hand.
No…maybe it’s because of all those things.
Despite himself, a small smile pulled at his lips, and he slipped into an easy sleep. Maybe this group wasn’t so bad, after all.