A/N: Telepathy begins again in this chapter. Other authors have used "italics in quotes" to indicate when telepathic communication is happening. I will do this:

Italics to indicate somebody thinking something. I will attempt to make it extra clear if a thought was something that was overheard.
"Italics in quotes to indicate intentional telepathic communication."

Chapter 7 - The Assignment

Chiyo answered the door after it rang. "I'm sorry we haven't done this yet. I hope you didn't think I didn't want to ask you out." Shun said.

This one can be dense. But he's here now. She forced a smile. "I did, but it's okay."

"I was actually scared. I - didn't want to let you down."

She made a "What are you talking about" face.

"Well, I actually liked you before you told me you liked me - ever since the Sworn Friends bit on Valentines' Day. But I didn't think you liked me. After you told me last week, I was just afraid I'd mess it up."

Shun didn't have much to say as they made their way to the restaurant and they ordered dinner. Neither did Chiyo.

Wow, this is hard. I've been so caught in Dark Reunion that I don't know what to say. She probably feels like Teruhashi sucked me into this. Maybe we shouldn't have done this today. Maybe I should have just asked her out sooner! He smacked himself in the face.

He looked over at her, and saw that she was staring at the table. He looked at his bandaged arm. Is it pitiful that I almost want to unleash Jet Black Wings to help me get through this date? He sighed. But I can't give up!

He tried to break the ice with small talk. "Uhh, how has school been so far?"

"Not bad. I kinda wish we didn't have gym. Everything else is okay. How bout you?" She looked up at him.

"Gym is okay. For me, it's math I don't like," he said.

"Oh yeah? It can be hard sometimes. What do you do after school?"

"Once or twice a week, we meet to try to figure out Dark Reunion. The other days, I usually have cram school, but when I have some extra time I sometimes follow Nendo and Saiki for ramen or something else after school. Then maybe I'll read some manga, or play video games."

She gasped with excitement. "Oh, did you grab this week's Jump? I know it only came out yesterday, but I finished it already."

"Wow! I haven't had time to get it yet. I didn't know you were into it."

"Yeah, I've been into it for a long time. I've been trying to get Kokomi into it, too, but she kept blowing it off." Chiyo turned her lips into a smug half smile. "But then I caught her with one over the weekend. I had to give her an 'I told you so' look." She laughed.

He chuckled nervously in response. "That's hilarious." They talked about manga, and their favorite characters, stories, and ships for a few more minutes while they were waiting for dinner. It finally arrived and they started eating their ramen. Yes, they had ramen all the time, but this was fancy ramen. It better be worth 1500 yen a bowl.

"So when did you start liking me?" he asked curiously. The way he said it wasn't trying to be cocky, he just wanted to know.

She blushed. Of course, he knew she liked him, so it wasn't exactly a surprise, but he didn't know why or how long… "Do you remember the beach in Okinawa? I was upset because the other girls were getting all the attention, and you came over to talk to me. Then I was a little upset about you thinking Kokomi was pretty. Some jerks wouldn't leave Kokomi along, so you tried to stop them, and I tried to help, and they started insulting me. Then you defended me, and even punched one of them when they were a lot bigger than you. Nobody ever stuck up for me before. It's hard when you're not as pretty as Kokomi."

"Really? You still remember that? That was a long time ago. I thought it was weird that everybody was waiting in line to check people out as they came out in their swimsuits. And Chiyo, you are pretty."

Oh Shun. "You mean it?"

"Absolutely."

"As pretty as Kokomi?" She regretted it as soon as she said it. She knew she wasn't as pretty, so all she had accomplished by asking was to get him to put his foot in his mouth. Maybe he could save it, but it would probably be disastrous.

Shun flinched. What am I supposed to do now? Anything he said was going to make it sound like 'no, you're not as pretty'. What would Nendo say? Actually, Shun had noticed that while Nendo might be a good friend, he had a lot to learn in the dating department. Even compared to him. Maybe some Jet Black Wings wisdom was needed here. "Chiyo, all girls are pretty. But you're the one I want to be with right now, so that makes you the prettiest to me."

Awwwwww, Chiyo thought.

"So, what do you think about the Saiki business?" Shun asked her.

"Well, at first I was upset that he knew all our darkest secrets, but then I figured it was okay, because I was an idiot and blurted them out anyway," she said.

She stirred the rest of her ramen. Then she looked up, gripping the edge of the table with white knuckles, and asked nervously, "So, do you think if the cake hadn't mysteriously vanished on Valentines' Day -" curse you, Nendo "- we might have been doing this sooner?"

"Maybe." Shun took a gamble, and slowly brought his quivering hand on top of hers. She gasped, but didn't withdraw. "But we're here now." Chiyo smiled.

They paid for dinner and left. "Would you like to choose what to do next?"

Lame. I picked dinner, and now I have to pick the activity. She shook it off. "Okay, how about the arcade? I see everybody go, and I haven't ever been with anybody."

"Really? Okay - sure."

It turned out that Chiyo was pretty competitive. This only got Shun more excited with every game they played together. She gave him plenty of smack talk, and won at racing, shooting, and air hockey. He won at shooting baskets and all the retro arcade games.

As they walked home, they were chuckling about the games they played. "I can't believe how much you suck at basketball." He nudged her slightly with his shoulders.

"At least I don't scream when the zombies get close." She mimicked him, letting out a high-pitched squeal.

They made it back to her house. He reached out his hands in front of him and she took them. She reached upward, and gave him a quick kiss, and then blushed, ran into the house, and slammed the door.

ChIyo watched him walk away through her window.

Shun started walking home, and he got a message.
Unknown Number: Be at Teruhashi's house in 20 minutes. Do it then.

Hmmph, he thought. He turned on his heels and started walking the other way. Maybe Saiki was right, three big things in one day might be too much.

Kokomi got a message.
Chiyo: I kissed him!
Kokomi: Come over and tell me everything
Chiyo: omw

She got another message.
Kusuo: I'm so so so so so [copied about 1000 times] sorry. I hope you can forgive me.

She guffawed and tossed her phone across the room.

After taking a lap around the room, she sighed. She was miserable. Could she really stay mad at him forever? She had spent the whole weekend feeling angry and hurt. Even the distractions of planning their silly clubhouse and reading manga hadn't been enough to curb her feelings.

Kusuo was trying to finish up his grand gesture. He had spent all Sunday gathering wildflowers from various parks, preserves, and such, and had spent the entire time Kaido and Yumehara were on their date arranging them in Kokomi's yard. He didn't think she had seen him yet. He had just finished spelling out I'm sorry! with the wildflowers, and set a vase of roses at the bottom of the exclamation point, when Yumehara ran up and rang the bell. Kokomi came to the door and looked at the yard, and Yumehara noticed it then as well.

Yumehara melted. "Awwwwww!"

Kokomi was unfazed. "That's not going to be good enough." She went inside and invited Yumehara in. "Saiki - Out! I have to talk to Chiyo about her date."

Her calling him 'Saiki' again didn't escape him.

"It would have been enough for me," Yumehara said, as they shut the door.

Well, maybe a little, Kokomi thought, but I'm not about to admit it.

Kusuo jumped out of his skin. Had he just heard Kokomi's thoughts? Was this for real? He tried to concentrate, but heard nothing else. If he was right, that was twice in the same day he had used his powers. Maybe they were going to start coming back in earnest. Yes!

Then again, it was the telepathy this time. He frowned; that was one power he didn't care to have coming back. Kusuo turned to go home, but looked back to survey his work. He was glad he didn't get red roses.

He started getting messages.
Kaido: Dude, she kissed me!
Kusuo: Ok
Kaido: YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO SAY HOW WAS IT!
Kusuo: Right
Kusuo: How was it?

He looked up, and suddenly Kaido and Kuboyasu were there.

Chiyo looked out the window from upstairs. "Oh, look, Kaido and Kuboyasu just ran into Saiki, outside in the street. Why do you think they're meeting here?"

Kokomi looked out. "Ohhh noooooooooooo." She winced, and held her breath - she knew what was coming, but hoped she was wrong. Then she screamed. "Aaaaaaaa! Oh God, no! Ku!" She ran outside.

Aren walked toward Saiki with a pale look on his face. He didn't want to go through with this, but he knew he had to, or they would never figure out the TFC.

Kusuo and Kaido pocketed their phones as if they were holstering guns for a duel. Kusuo gave Kaido and Kuboyasu an imperceptible nod, and braced for impact. Kuboyasu got there first and slugged him hard in the stomach, and Kusuo doubled over. Kaido hit him in the back with his elbow and he went down hard, Kusuo's face scraping into the pavement. Kuboyasu started kicking him in the ribs, while Kaido rolled him over and started punching him repeatedly in the face. Each blow felt like it broke something. After fifteen or so, somebody whistled from across the street and they ran off.

Kokomi and Chiyo got there right as they left. Kokomi knelt over him frantically. She didn't know what to do; she looked down the street in both directions and back at him. It didn't look like he could move.

Do you have to keep almost-dying in my yard?

Kusuo groaned. Then eventually he was able to roll his head toward her, and said, weakly, "Text Nendo … and ask him to get me home." He must have remembered that Nendo lived closeby.

His mouth was so swollen that she considered it lucky that she understood him.

"Okay."

"I can't believe it," said Chiyo with a scowl. "I was just out with him. He was so sweet, and now he's done something like this."

Kusuo was moaning for a few minutes, and Kokomi was crying again. "Are you sure you want to go through with this undercover business?"

"If it wasn't them, it would've been somebody else. Remember, injuries heal fast, right?" he tried to smile or wink, but it wasn't happening.

Nendo was there within a minute. Nendo did a quick check for anything broken, and carefully peeled Kusuo off the ground and started carrying him home. Kokomi followed them, temporarily forgetting she was upset with Kusuo, her hand on his shoulder. Chiyo, apparently deciding he would be okay in their care, went back home.

Then, all of a sudden, they were no longer in the middle of the street and were in Kusuo's bedroom.

Nendo looked around weirdly. "Is it me or was that a lot quicker than it normally is?"

Kokomi looked at Kusuo. Kusuo was looking around vaguely. What the…?! Kokomi thought.

Kusuo looked at her, groaned, and said. "I don't know. I'll figure it out tomorrow."

I didn't say anything…

Nendo set him down in bed. "Should we tell his parents?"

"Of course we should tell his parents!" she snapped.

They went downstairs, and found his parents watching a movie. They clinked wine glasses, and took a sip. "Um, Mr. and Mrs. Saiki?" Kokomi said. They spit their wine across the room.

"Uh, sorry, Kokomi, we didn't see you come in." said Mrs. Saiki, trying not to give her husband a weird look. "Ku's not here. Wait, wasn't he with you?"

"Umm, there's no good way…, just come up here…" She and Nendo led the way back upstairs.

Kusuo's parents looked at each other weirdly, and followed. "Oh my sweet Kuuuuuuuu!" his mom gasped, covering her mouth.

"What happened?!" his dad asked angrily.

"Uh, he …," Nendo started.

"He got hit by a car." Kokomi lied. Nendo scratched his head. He didn't look far from it.

"Should we take him to the hospital?" his mom asked.

"Check on me … in the morning…" Kusuo grunted. I've had enough of the hospital for a while, thanks.

Kokomi gasped as she heard his thoughts again. They checked for broken bones again, and really only found an awful lot of bruises (although, they didn't know how to check for broken ribs), so after getting him some medicine and ice packs, they did just leave him to rest.

Kokomi was left alone pacing in his room. She took charge of changing his ice packs, getting him painkillers and drinks, and otherwise just worrying.

Kusuo fell asleep, and at some point, after Kokomi's adrenaline started to die down, she remembered she had still been mad at Kusuo. She was a mess - worried about Kusuo, but also emotionally conflicted about all of the things she was mad about. Not to mention, that he took this beating because of her.

What an evening. He had tried to apologize. Again. Chiyo kissed Kaido. Within half an hour, Kaido and Kuboyasu had beaten Kusuo to a pulp. That had almost made her forget she was mad at him. Somehow they had gotten to his bedroom, and somehow Kusuo had overheard some of the things she was thinking. What was going on? He's getting his powers back, even his telepathy… She really wasn't sure how she felt about that…

She realized she spent most of the last three days either fuming or brooding, and still hadn't really processed what was bothering her about Kusuo. So she decided to take a step back and go through them one at a time.

Kokomi took a deep breath. One. He had heard most of her thoughts every day for the last three years. This meant he knew she liked him, how she felt about herself, and how she felt about, treated, or even used, everybody else. However, it also meant he was a witness to her character change. It's not like he wanted to overhear everybody's thoughts - he had no choice. And him choosing to get rid of his powers was a testament to this.

Two. He had spent most of the last three years avoiding her. Originally it seemed like he just wasn't interested, but the more she learned, the more she realized he actively tried to not be around her. He had even told her why - he had too much attention with the telepathy as it was. Assuredly, him knowing how she felt about herself must have contributed to the avoidance as well. It was ironic - the more he avoided her, the more she was drawn to him. Given the telepathy and the crowds that she herself wished would give her some space sometimes, she found she could understand this as well.

It was also ironic that though he had desired so much to not be around her, he had been there for her in more than a few situations when she needed it.

Three. He had erased one of her memories. He had apologized, of course, but it still felt like a major abuse of power. Why did he do it? He had said it was to protect his secret. How would she feel if she were in his shoes? What if everybody knew? What if the government knew? She decided she didn't really want to know, and maybe would just let it slide. She was seriously not okay with it, but if she were to get past it, she would just have to forgive.

Four. He had pretended to be Kuriko. She had originally thought that this was to spy on them, but after learning more, it was just to get some dessert. Now the memory made her smile.

Five. He had pretended to be in relationships with Aiura and Imu to convince her to stay away. Should this really bother her? Was it more than an extension of what she had already processed about him avoiding her with Number Two? She decided, rationally or otherwise, that there was a difference. One was ignoring her, and the other was throwing her away. This was the thing that hurt the most. Why couldn't he just tell her he wasn't interested? If he was willing to be in a relationship, why couldn't it have been with her? It wasn't like Imu and Aiura weren't attention hogs.

Six. Aiura had been in his room naked. Was it more than that? She looked over at his bed where it would have been, and had to shake the image out of her thoughts. Rationally, she knew that anything that happened in a previous relationship was their business, but she had hoped that she would be his first girlfriend. But if they were in a pretend relationship, then either he was using her, or she was throwing herself at him. From the two seconds of conversation she had overheard, she assumed it was that latter. She knew it wasn't fair, but she really, really, really needed to know.

In conclusion (she had actually thought the numbers one through six and "in conclusion"): she was still hung up on the fact that he wished she would leave him alone so badly that he would pretend to be in a relationship with somebody else.

She finally connected Nendo's advice from the other day. He had told her a few things that she remembered now: "People change," "forgiveness is a part of every relationship," and "the heart wants what it wants. Sometimes the mind has to catch up." She was pretty sure he had gotten a few of these from a soap opera. Suddenly she thought of what Nendo would be like in a relationship, and though he might be great at being a friend, she realized that he would need as much help as she and Kusuo did.

Kokomi sat down in his swiveling desk chair and spun around a few times. Suddenly, she paused and gasped. She realized that she hadn't been giving Kusuo a chance to change. She knew if she hadn't changed, he wouldn't have accepted her, but she had. Or had been changing, anyway. If I can change, and he can forgive my past (which he shouldn't have known anyway), then I guess I can forgive his. How long had it been, after all? A year?

She also realized that she was sure she could always find some excuse to be mad at him. She decided to forgive instead. However, as she looked over at his broken body, even though she couldn't be mad anymore, the emptiness was still there. She would have to deal with that eventually, she knew.

So where did that leave them? The animosity was gone, but her heart was still broken. She couldn't be in a deeper relationship with him until it mended. If it ever did. She knew if it didn't, she would have to move on.

She folded her arms on his desk and rested her forehead on her arms. She hadn't realized how tired she had been, but she was pleased that she had made this much progress with the Kusuo situation. She promised herself she would deal with the rest of it later, and fell asleep.

More A/N: Second shortest chapter so far. I had to reorder the events of the next few chapters because of something that you'll hate me for, and you would have hated me worse if I put a chapter break in the middle of that arc, so there will be a pretty long one coming.

Also, I realize there is some duplicate material in the Kaido/Yumehara date and the Saiki/Teruhashi date. Even though there are similar things, they are different from each other and I wanted both of their stories told. Technically I threw the "when did you start liking me" bit in this chapter first, and threw it into the earlier one at the last minute. We'll just say, "I guess it has to happen as most couples form, and we'll just call it coincidence that they did it within two chapters of each other."