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I hope you enjoy this chapter!

It was one thing to know that your weekend was going to fall apart and not be able to do anything about it. Saiki counted that as an unfortunate factor of the human experience. Even he as a psychic had to go through it.

But it was another thing entirely to know that your weekend was going to fall apart and you had every possible ability to keep it from getting worse. Saiki counted this as a different sort of circumstance. One he didn't know if anyone else really experienced.

This was the start of a Game.

Over the course of his life, Saiki learned that the universe had an unfortunate way of toying with him. "Game 1. How badly do you want to watch your show, Saiki?," "Game 23. How badly do you want to sleep this weekend, Saiki?," "Game 749. How badly do you want to get out of this time loop, Saiki?"

The worst Game, and the one the universe liked to play most was "Game 210. How badly do you want to enjoy that coffee jelly, Saiki?" Saiki hated to lose and that one always had the worst odds.

In each and every Game the universe threw at him, Saiki always tried to do his best to win. His success rate wasn't great given that he had the handicaps of strange parents, a psychotic older brother, and as evidenced just recently, ridiculous colleagues, among others.

( ... would 'friends' have been the better term there? )

In any case, this, here, was another round of "Game 273. How badly do you want to avoid Teruhashi, Saiki?" and Saiki was going to win. He just had to figure out how.

Now, was the world going to explode if Teruhashi joined the camping trip? No. That's a silly question. The world would be fine. But was he going to explode out of sheer exasperation if Teruhashi joined the camping trip? Well, that question was not so silly and did not require any further investigation in his personal, professional opinion.

Saiki teleported to the third floor bathroom as soon as he used Clairvoyance to find Matsuzaki-sensei. The teacher was in his office scolding Mera for stealing and eating several other students' super ramen bowls during lunch. Saiki felt bad for the girl because he knew she hadn't eaten anything substantial since yesterday morning, but Matsuzaki-sensei wasn't a psychic, so he didn't know anything about that.

Switching Clairvoyant views, Saiki saw Teruhashi and Chiyo just entering the first floor stairwell to get to Matsuzaki-sensei's office.

With his abilities, intercepting the two girls should have been child's play from there. Just slip out of the bathroom, get to the office, and stall there until the girls arrived. There was no way Chiyo was going to ask to be put on the all boys roster with him right there. It was just too desperate.

But the Games never were that simple. The problem lied in the first obstacle in the hallway blocking his progression to Matsuzaki-sensei's office right now.

'They are all working so hard! I'm so proud! I have to work even harder to show them how much I appreciate their efforts! I'll use 10 times the strength of each person here to show them how grateful I am and that they should keep up the good work to go beyond! C'mon guys! Gwwraaahhh!'

...Hairo.

Good grief, Saiki scowled internally, Where did he even come from?

The uber passionate boy's thoughts were so extra, it felt like it was taking up all of his headspace. Still, Hairo's hair-brained plan must have worked because the underclassmen's thoughts he was directing were completely amazed and swept in the popular boy's intensity. It was the typical Hairo-effect. Good for them, bad for him.

What the group was actually doing, Saiki could care less, but with Hairo flitting around in the hallway, he was sure to be roped into whatever nonsense they were working on as soon as he was spotted. That would mean Teruhashi would make it to Matsuzaki-sensei's office before he could and that would be End Game.

There had to be another way.

Ah, Invisibility.

Invisibility was good, but once he was invisible he was stuck like that for ten minutes, whether or not he still needed the power. Ten minutes was long enough to sneak past Hairo, but once the ten minutes were up, the girls would have definitely beat him to Matsuzaki-sensei's office which was no good. End Game.

Well, unless someone touched him to get him back in the realm of visibility before the 10 minutes were up.

That's a thought. Saiki nodded, concocting his plan.

There were three people Saiki trusted enough to do this.

( In this use of 'trust', think of a parent trusting a toddler to disarm a complicated bomb in a narrow crawl space they can't quite get through themselves. The odds of success aren't great, but its 10 times better than if they didn't try at all. )

Akechi: Would probably talk him out of his invisibility before he could even touch him. Would probably also ask too many questions before he accepted the task. Would probably even ask too many questions after he completed the task. Would probably even deduce why he wanted to see Matsuzaki-sensei and bring himself along on the trip. Nope. Nope. Not an option. Next candidate.

Aiura: More reliable, for sure, but Clairvoyance showed that she was currently on the other side of the school. She wouldn't get to him fast enough to make a difference. Even if she did, she'd probably run into the very girls he was trying to beat and tag along on the trip functioning as Teruhashi Kokomi version 2.

Saiki frowned, No, just no.

In this case, the only one left was...

Good grief.

'Toritsuka.'

'Eh? Saiki? What are you talking to me for? Where are you?'

With a grimace, Saiki bit the bullet, 'How soon can you come to the classroom next to Matsuzaki sensei's office on the third floor?'

Toritsuka's mind flurried through several unimportant details before settling down and responding, 'I mean,' he said like he was sulking, 'I'm kind of in the middle of something.'

Clairvoyance showed Toritsuka in the middle of giving a female underclassman a spirit animal reading that she clearly did not want.

'She looks traumatized.'

Toritsuka made a sound like a hit dog, 'You don't know that Saiki,' he rebuffed, turning from the girl and focusing on their mental conversation. 'Just because I'm capable of successful social interactions, unlike you, doesn't mean that you have the right to insult me! Watch,' he said, turning back around, 'I'm going to — Hey! Where did she go?!'

'Classroom next to Matsuzaki-sensei's.' Saiki projected in response, apathetic to the missing girl, 'I'll do you one favor.'

Toritsuka didn't respond and Saiki was getting desperate.

'…Two.' Toritsuka's watery voice eventually replied a few seconds later, 'Two favors.'

Saiki weighed the situation, 'Alright.' He relented, 'Two.'

The damp cloud that was Toritsuka's voice perked up slightly, 'Alright then. I'll see you soon Saiki.'

'Get here as soon as you can.' Saiki repeated, trying to impress the point.

'Uh-huh.'

'No detours.' Saiki emphasized again.

'Yes, yes, stop worrying, you taskmaster. I'm on my way right now.'

Good, Saiki thought to himself. Clairvoyance showed that the girls were nearing the second floor and Toritsuka was already on the third floor landing. At this rate, there was no way they were going to beat him to Matsuzaki-sensei's office. Saiki let himself smile slightly in victory. Finally, something is going right.

Without wasting a second, he turned himself invisible and navigated around Hairo and his minions. From what he could see, it looked like they were building something wooden in one of the classrooms. In any case, he arrived to the empty classroom beside Matsuzaki-sensei's and set to wait. Toritsuka was due to arrive at any moment.

… But two minutes turned to three, and three minutes turned to four with no sign of the spirit medium at all. Where was he?

'Toritsuka.' Saiki projected to the medium. The psychic's stomach fell to his shoes when he felt the spirit medium's thoughts freeze.

'Saiki! I ah... heh heh heh…'

'Where. Are you.' Saiki ground out.

There was silence. '...I got … lost…?'

For crying out loud.

Clairvoyance showed Toritsuka had found the girl he had been badgering earlier (she escaped towards the direction Matsuzaki-sensei's office, apparently) and she was with another girl. The allure of two girls must have been too much for Toritsuka and so…

Just then, in that same clairvoyant vision, Teruhashi and Chiyo passed the trio obliviously, still chatting to one another in excitement.

'Of-fu.' Toritsuka projected inadvertently.

Saiki sent a wave of malice Toritsuka's way that had him crouching and covering his head like something was going to fall from the sky, 'Saiki nooo, wait I'm sorry! When I saw the girl, I thought that you had given me my first favor already and then I saw the other one and thought 'two? how did he know — !'

'You're dead.' Saiki interrupted.

'Saiki!' The gravity of the situation must have just hit the medium. The girls he'd been talking to had already escaped, 'Saiki, wait!'

'Dead.' Saiki repeated firmly, cutting off the rest of the medium's thoughts.

Saiki could do nothing as he watched the girls clairvoyantly get closer and closer to the office.

There is still hope. He thought as he watched the girls enter, view to the room clear from obstruction due to his X-Ray Vision. Matsuzaki-sensei was a strong teacher. One of his favorites. There was no way he could get lost in the charms of —

"Hello Matsuzaki-sensei!"

"Of-fu! Hello Teruhashi-san!"

'...' Saiki.

'…' Teruhashi.

'…' Chiyo.

".. Ah!" Matsuzaki-sensei laughed in embarrassment, breaking the mental silence, "And Chiyo-san too! Sorry! How can I help you two?"

Chiyo was incensed, 'What kind of greeting — '

But Saiki didn't care at that point. He felt the stress come over him in waves. Matsuzaki was compromised. The whole Game was out of his hands now.

Oh, Toritsuka was dead.

"Chiyo-san told me there is some sort of trip happening this weekend?" Teruhashi explained, oblivious to the plight of the boy one classroom over, "Sign-ups end today, right?"

"A trip this weekend?" Matsuzaki questioned, rubbing his chin, "Oh, yes! You mean the manly excursion this Sunday? Yes, thats true."

Teruhashi, understandably, was confused, "What do you mean by, 'Manly Excursion'…?"

"Aheheh!" Chiyo laughed loudly, blocking any answers, "That's the exact trip we're talking about! Funny name, by the way! But you see, Kokomi and I wanted to join the - uh - the excursion!"

Matsuzaki-sensei looked uncomfortable, and Saiki's heart soared because of it, "Ah… well you see…"

A pause.

"The thing about that is…"

The track suit clad teacher crossed arms.

"..." Matsuzaki.

"…" Teruhashi.

"…" Chiyo.

'…' Saiki.

. . .

…Don't tell me he isn't comfortable saying no. Saiki thought exasperatingly.

The teacher was avoiding all forms of eye contact with his students, trying to keep his hands busy. He lifted them to the back of his head and started rubbing, finally speaking again, "It's just …"

There was another awkward silence. Saiki supposed that the allure of being present at the trip kept the girls rooted in front of their teacher because any lesser person would have just called it quits and gone home.

Maybe he's concerned about us going, Teruhashi thought innocently, Maybe I can convince him that we will be fine.

No. Saiki returned, that is not what you should do. But of course Teruhashi couldn't hear him and went for it anyway.

"We would love to go camping and experience what the outdoor has to offer." Teruhashi smiled brightly, really only trying to help,"I myself have never been camping before and I think it would be a great experience!"

The glow in the room intensified with her statement.

Yes! Go Kokomi-chan! Chiyo cheered. Though her pride was damaged from the beginning of the conversation, she was content with taking the back seat and letting the beauty work her magic.

The words didn't seem to help Matsuzaki-sensei at all, "Ah.. well.."

Stay strong Matsuzaki sensei! Saiki encouraged, Just say no!

"Matsuzaki-sensei?" Teruhashi asked, looking up at the professor, "Is there something wrong?"

No! Chiyo thought.

Yes! Saiki pushed.

"…" Matsuzaki-sensei's mind was blank. But then Saiki tensed at what he said next, No, wait —

"Alright, whatever." Came the teacher's defeated reply, he pulled out the roster sheet from a drawer in his desk with a sigh, "Sign your names here and I'll see you on Sunday."

"Yay!" Chiyo cheered.

"Thank you so much Matsuzaki-sensei!" Teruhashi enthused.

The sound of two clasped hands came together in celebration while the teacher shook his head and left the classroom mumbling, "I guess I should rename the trip…"

Back in the classroom, the girls had finished signing their names on the form, "We did it!" Chiyo exclaimed, "Good job Kokomi!"

"I didn't do anything," the girl reassured, as if completely unaware of her impact.

"… Could I…?" Came a new voice.

The group looked to the forgotten girl doing detention, "Huh, Mera-san? You want to join too?"

"Yes!" She nodded, seriously, "The vegetation there is said to be amazing! I called off of work this weekend because I wanted to go, but that caused me to be a bit stingy with food this week so..."

Chiyo's mouth dropped, "That's why you stole people's food?! But what about the um …" here she looked at Teruhashi before she amended her original statement, "So I guess it's good we all get to go huh?"

"Yes!" Mera replied, writing her name, "Really Teruhashi-san, you're a miracle worker! Nothing I said would let him let me on!"

Teruhashi smiled, "Well, I'm sure Matsuzaki-sensei was just worried about us."

"Yes. Worried." Chiyo nodded, definitively.

"I'm surprised you're going though Teruhashi," Mera said, examining the roster, "After all the drama and scandal from the last trip we all took together, I would think you would have tried to avoid this one."

Saiki watched the blue haired girl's face heat up before she answered, "Y-yeah. I mean…" she looked down, clearly trying to chose the right words, "Scandals are nothing if you are able to hang out with people you really care about, right?" She said hesitantly, "And anyway, it's a nice change of pace to be with people who truly want nothing from you, but you. I'd field 1,000 scandals to be with people like that."

While Mera expressed how touched she was about Teruhashi's statement, Chiyo stood off to the side biting her lip. Oh no, she thought, looking at the blue haired girl guiltily, What have I done? I used Kokomi for my personal benefit and this is what she says? I thought she was joining because of Saiki, but she clearly must have joined because I listed almost everyone in the original group except for Saiko.

The read head slumped sadly, and the girls by her looked like they didn't notice, I wish I had known what you were thinking before, Kokomi, Chiyo lamented, Maybe then I would have been more honest. Would you hate me if you found out what I did? Oh, why can't I read minds!

From the classroom over, Saiki stood with crossed arms, unable to relate to Chiyo at all. She didn't know what she was wishing for.

Still, because he could read minds, he knew that Chiyo didn't have anything to worry about at all. After all, Teruhashi had pieced together Chiyo's ruse just a few seconds after she interrupted her in the beginning of the conversation. Who did Chiyo think Teruhashi was? She was not so easily fooled.

Even with the knowledge that it was an all boy's trip, Teruhashi was deadset on going on the trip herself so keeping the feigned ignorance was more important than getting upset. While her speech in the end was genuine for sure, she knew exactly what she was saying and how she was saying it to effect Chiyo.

Take that Chiyo! Saiki heardthe blue hared beauty think with righteous vindication, completely aware of and enjoying the shroud that surrounded the red-head, that'll teach you to try and manipulate me ever again!

Well played, Teruhashi, Saiki thought, unable to stop himself from letting out a proud, faint smile.

The thing was that while Teruhashi had used the term "people" throughout her speech as if to reference a group and therefore manipulate Chiyo's emotions, she was only truly thinking of one person as she spoke. Almost all believable lies were grounded in some truth.

This was the only way it was going to go anyway. Saiki told himself, turning from the room and using Teleportation to go back to his room at home. He wasn't in the mood for anymore surprises, he'd just lost a Game after all.

Teruhashi was going on the trip and, just as he had predicted, the world didn't explode. No surprise there.

But, would you look at that, even with her confirmed attendance, nothing had happened to him either.

You win this time, Saiki thought to the universe, I hate losing, so I will definitely win next time.

When Saiki walked past the mirror in his room to put his stuff away and pack, he didn't notice the slight smile on his face, still present from just after he'd read Teruhashi's mind.

( Teruhashi Game 11. How badly do you want to spend a weekend alone with Saiki? )

It seemed that Teruhashi Kokomi had a few Games of her own.