DISCLAIMER: I don't own Gakuen Alice, and for the record, I for sure won't own it every time I upload a chapter. One disclaimer, I dare say, is bound to be enough for one fic.
Kokoroyomi is a mind reader. And mind readers read minds. Everybody knows that.
Everybody knows that, but not everybody remembers.
The world isn't as harsh as the mind-reading-nobody-is-truly-nice-the-world-is-cruel-boohoo mangas out there make it to be. Koko knows this because he is a mind reader, and mind readers read minds, not hearts. Minds hold thoughts, and thoughts can be a whole lot funnier than hearts can be.
At least, that's what Koko thinks, but he hasn't read hearts yet so he doesn't really know.
Koko reads minds through images and words. If he doesn't look at someone to read thoughts, he isn't that bothered. But pictures speak better than words, so the really strong ones jump out to him. It's like eavesdropping in random conversations, though, so he usually forgets them.
Unless they're really graphic, of course, which he can't help but see. He wishes his Alice came with the ability to unsee, sometimes, just to save his brain.
Sometimes, and only sometimes, does he hear thoughts, and that's because they're really, really loud thoughts. Like intense, burning, emotional, crazy—or, well, or just plain bossy, like Sumire's thoughts are.
Like now, Sumire is very noisily thinking that she would like some anpan. If Koko turns to look at her right now, he'll probably see her thinking of Anpanman. Very loudly.
Sumire is a bossy person, so her thoughts are always bossy too.
Right now Koko is talking with Anna and Nanako, except it's really more like Koko is standing there while Anna and Nanako talk. They're talking about a movie they got to watch last weekend, and now Koko knows everything there is about the movie—the plot, the actor's most beautiful shots, and the images of Nanako's snot-filled tears from Anna's mind.
He smiles. He's always smiling, so nobody cares.
"And that's why," Anna concludes, turning her sparkling eyes on him, "you should go watch it with Sumire next week, Koko!" She has conjured up a kiddy-drawing picture of two stick figures, one with a wide smile and one with cat ears, at the movies holding popcorn in their hands.
He smiles a bit wider. So this is how she sees them.
"Yeah," Nanako agrees, clasping her hands together. "Sumire would love it." On top of her forehead, the words Haha! is floating around.
…he doesn't really get it. What's so funny? Also, who exclaims laughter like that?
"The movie?" Koko repeats, for the lack of a better response. "What was it called again?"
A very loud "Yessss" rings out from both of them at the same time, so they really must want him to go see how beautiful this actor is.
They blurt out the name at the same time. "The River's Song!" they chorus, and they're sporting a shared Success! on their forehead.
Koko contemplates letting them know that he is a mind reader for a nanosecond, then decides it's their fault for forgetting. They've known him since elementary school. They are in high school now. It is not his job anymore to announce his ability to read minds. Koko nods to himself.
"Oh, so you're going to go?!"
Nanako has misinterpreted Koko's nod to himself.
Koko panics because he really does not want to go watch a sappy movie about a river god and a lonely child who had wandered into a sacred forest because she actually has abusive parents (which is revealed in a flashback at the end for additional emotional oomph) that the river god will end up manipulating into a good family by the end and how the two leads end up in a strange loli-not-loli ambiguous romantic-but-not-really relationship as that child grows up. Do they not realize that they had spoiled the entire movie and deconstructed the entire plot in front of him out loud for the last fifteen minutes? He has even seen the best scenes. There is nothing that awaits him in "The River's Song." Nothing.
Also, if he goes to watch movies with Sumire, her thoughts are so loud he really can't hear anything else. Koko would be crazy if he wants to waste 90 minutes listening to her judging the male lead's looks and adding up points for and against the actor's favor depending on her mood with intermittent comments about the popcorn or the lighting.
Trust him, he's gone through it before.
"Sumire!" Anna calls, and Koko smiles hard. "Koko said he wants to watch 'The River's Song' with you!"
A very strong No! grinds out from behind him before Sumire's actual voice yells, "Tell him I said no!"
His smile changes into a delighted grin. (The grin is no different from his smile, so nobody notices a thing.)
When he turns his attention back to Anna and Nanako, they're looking stricken and aghast, and their eyes are bewildered.
"Guess not," Koko says, and then he walks off to where Mikan is currently having loud pictures of mangoes. Koko likes mangoes, so he thinks he'll have a better conversation with Mikan than with these river god fanatics.
A/N: I've had this idea in my head and as a work in progress in my computer for the looongest time. But it's finally here!
Also, "monogatari" is the Japanese word for "The Tale of", like Japan's "Genji Monogatari" = "The Tale of Genji", which you might have heard of. So this is the Tale of Koko, which won't be as nearly long as the original Tale of Genji is, but fun fact of the day! Hope you enjoy :D