Notes: I can't help but feel like this one is rushed because of all the new content but I think the previous chapters have also been slow. Hehe. If I could spend more time proofreading and editing, things would be very different... But this is a fanfic, and quality isn't really my priority. Hope you enjoy this new POV character!

Chapter 6: What Every Loving Parent Would

SAIKI KUSUO

A grown-up comes up to me, greeting me, and asks me where my parents are. They're with my grandparents, I tell her and this prompts her to ask for a reason.

"Someone asked me to come."

"In New Years?"

"Well… Yeah."

"Ah, did you come here with a friend?"

"No. I'm alone." I glance behind her where two people are talking about a cosplayer with an incredible chin. Cameras are sitting idle beside them on the bench. "Am I being interviewed?"

She smiles, almost as if she has been waiting for me to ask. "We're not live right now, but we would love to have some of your time in a bit! How about it? We can pretend to do it now as practice."

"Okay."

"By the way, what's your name?"

"Oh… Do I have to say my name in TV?"

The grown-up waves her hand reassuringly. "When we're live, I'll call you 'Nii-chan.' For now, I'd like to call you something."

"I'm Saiki Kusuo. I'm a sixth grader." I slightly dip my head. "It's nice to meet you."

"It's nice to meet you too, Kusuo-kun. I'm Iridatsu Yuzuki. So you're a sixth grader. Is it common for kids your age to come to temples without their family?"

"I'm not really an expert on the matter… Should I look it up in the Internet?"

Iridatsu-san laughs. Did it come off as a joke? "The Internet is really useful, isn't it? But not everything can be found online."

I nod, agreeing.

"Do you know Kannon-sama, Kusuo-kun?"

This temple is called Ofuna Kannon but that's about the only thing I know since I had to figure out how to get here. "She's that big, sleeping lady there?" I glance to the direction of the statue with the closed eyes.

Iridatsu-san finds it funny again. "Yes, the 'sleeping' one. But since she's a god, even if she's asleep, she can still hear people's prayers. Kannon-sama is one of the most popular god recently. Did you know that?"

I shake my head.

"Young people nowadays are troubled by all sorts of things their parents didn't go through. Because they are faced with such scary uncertainties, they pray to Kannon-sama for their good health. At least if they aren't sick they can withstand challenges their parents feel powerless to help with."

Good health, huh. "I think I get it. I was actually very sickly growing up. Mama and Papa couldn't do much since they weren't doctors," I recount. "I didn't know gods could be doctors too. I thought that was too normal for them."

Then, something bursts.

The force sweeps out from the direction of the temple entrance like a bomb exploding. But while a bomb would be loud, flashy, and momentary, this force is silent and here to stay, charging the air with a sharp, static sensation. Ordinary people aren't able to sense it too. At least, they shouldn't be.

"Was that an earthquake?" wonders Iridatsu-san, turning to her crew.

"I didn't feel any shaking, but it was something."

This is not normal. Temples naturally ward off curses, so does this mean it's human?

My feet immediately run on their own. It has to be him, right? Even though I'm the one born with psychic powers, he's unmatched when it comes to being a very troublesome family member.

Around November, I received a package containing a digitally-locked box and a letter. The letter contained questions that would reveal the pass code of the box. I was a bit intrigued, since the letter mentioned the box containing a prized possession I once lost. But it was too complicated, so I gave it away to Papa, who was more into puzzles than I was.

What bothered me more was the other letter I got that wafted with a sweet-smelling perfume. The writing was elegant, written with an expensive pen on what was definitely an expensive paper. Even without reading it, I knew it was a confession letter. At exactly 7 pm, by the Tokyo Station, I waited for this person as requested. I wasn't asked to wait for three hours, but maybe they forgot out of nervousness. I'm like that, too.

Who shows up three hours later is a face I haven't seen in the last three years.

"The love letter is from me," are the first words he told me after three years. "And the other package, too. I have it with me right now. Wanna see what's inside?" Without waiting for my response, Kusuke dials the code into the lock. He pulls out a familiar pink stuffed animal with blond pigtails and plump, sunshine lips.

"Surprise! I got you your favorite stuffed animal from Wakudoki Land. It's not the same one that you lost. Oh, and it was never 'lost.' I took it away and implanted some things in it. I still have it if you prefer your stuffed animals stuffed with stink bombs, of course."

"Yeah, I want that one back," I say without hesitation. "I'll have Mama fix it up -"

"That's enough small talk," interrupts Kusuke, all humor vanished from his face. "There's a matter of importance I have to discuss with you… What's wrong?" Kusuke notices my hand holding my stomach. "Are you having social anxiety?"

"No. I haven't eaten dinner, so I'm kind of starving."

Kusuke gives me a deadpanned look, and holds his head in exasperation. "What are you acting like a klutz for? It can't be helped. I can't have you listening to me with an empty stomach. What do you want to eat?"

We look a bit through the menus in the station. I make it a point to remind Kusuke he's the reason why I haven't eaten, but he seems to not have heard a single word. We settle on 7 Eleven.

"It's your first time in Tokyo, isn't it? You'll be coming here more often soon enough."

I don't ask what he means by this (Kusuke has always said a lot of things.) I pack the basket with protein bars, several octopus-stuffed onigiri, a box of half dozen takoyaki, at least five variations of milk bottles, a pack of 48 prismatic coloured pencils, a moai tissue dispenser (the tissue comes out of its nose), a frog-headed yellow umbrella, and four copies of the latest JUMP for no reason. I expectantly watch for Kusuke's reaction as he glances at the basket. To my disappointment, he pays dutifully with a card I know he didn't get from our parents, not saying a single word.

I catch him watching me eat, but he speaks up before I can.

"Is it good?"

"Yeah." I somehow already got used to my older brother looking older than last I remembered. He is bigger, taller, but also thinner. He mustn't been eating as much anymore since he doesn't have anyone to compete speed eating with. "You can have some. I'm already feeling full."

"How weak." He proceeds to eat from the takoyaki box. He knows I was saving that for last for myself.

As soon as I finish drinking my milk, Kusuke stands up decisively. "That's that. Time for me to go. I already called Papa to come pick you up, so wait here like a good little boy."

"The trains are still running."

"You're not heading home. I have a hotel booked for you two. Then, tomorrow morning, we can all head home together and surprise Mama and be a family again!"

"Really?"

"Yep." Kusuke throws his head back, pulling his long hair from his face and sighing. "It would be super amazing."

To no one's surprise, Kusuke doesn't show up nor does he return home.

Kusuke is probably doing okay but he troubles our parents greatly. I don't like the way he does things, but Mama discovered that Kusuke has left me another letter. I have deliberately ignored it. The letter doesn't say anything other than coming to Ofuna Kannon Temple on New Year, the time being "Whenever you feel like it" but Mama is a good person.

"You're the one Ku-kun reached out to. Ku-chan, only you can help his poor, delinquent soul!"

Now Kusuke is a delinquent.

So I'm here just as Kusuke wanted, discovering that there is a psychic that can really pack a very concentrated, spiritual energy punch. The energy is so strong that putting up a barrier would have devastated the entire temple and hurt bystanders. So I have to absorb most of the force while setting up another layer to keep us from being blown away. I really wish I didn't have to take it in. It's not something I do often. Not because it's hard; it's just unpleasant. Spiritual attacks carry with them complex emotions. Absorbing them is making someone else's baggage my own.

What would it be this time? Hatred? Despair? Guilt? Obsession? I prepare myself for the rush of foreign emotions but what I got isn't something that has happened before.

What I got is nothing. Not the slightest emotion enters me. Instead, it throws me off by giving me something else entirely.

"Happy tenth birthday, Nii-san!"

The pink-haired boy's smile turns to concern, and sadness.

"Do you hate it?"

"No, that's not it. You just…" The voice cracks subtly. "…caught me by surprise."

The boy's eyes widen. He snorts, and bursts into a loud laugh. "You had me there for a second! That's some really good acting you did there. Are you thinking of being in a drama one day? I think you'll be a reaaallly popular main character!"

I know instinctively that it's someone else's memory. But it doesn't fade to black or appear unusually bright like flashbacks in TV. It's as clear as recalling my day from this morning. It's in my head, put in there as if it were mine in the first place.

"Oh? It sounds like you didn't do it on purpose, so I suppose I can forgive what you did just now."

My breathing comes to an abrupt halt.

That one isn't the memory. It's someone talking to me with psychic powers. Can it really be…telepathy?

From across my barrier, shrouded in the dust cloud, a boy's voice cry out. "Nendou-san! Is he okay?"

Nendou? I guess it makes sense Kusuke is using an alias. Just as I am about to open my mouth, my head is split open again by the telepath.

"In case it isn't clear enough, I'm not going to be as merciful the next time you peep into my memories."

Argh - why is it painful? This isn't what telepathy should feel like.

"Uh - yes! Thank you! How about you?" The psychic talking to me has to be connected to the boy I'm talking to, but that hasn't crossed my mind yet. I'm getting too annoyed by this headache. "Can you tell me your name?"

Another mental jolt shocks my head, the psychic's way of giving me a warning. I grit my teeth.

"Don't move! Let's settle this another time!"

"Another time?" What does he mean by that? Are we supposed to fight on a different day? Ugh, this pain in my head… "A-all right! Okay!"

When the pressure lifts, it's like a whole curtain has been raised, removing the growing shadows on the edges of my vision. I know that the psychic and the boy are gone. I don't know how they did it, but anymore of that telepathic attack and I wouldn't have been able to stop myself from retaliating.

"Are you hurt?" I ask my prodigal brother, still nursing my own headache. I have to get to work in returning how this place looks before people come. The energy I absorbed will do, but there's so much of it left that I would have to burn the excess of somehow. Are they going to notice if the place were greener than before?

Butt-first on the ground, Kusuke is sniffing. "Koriki… I can't believe they petnapped my Koriki…"

Why is Kusuke talking like sandpaper shaving off a rock? I turn to him to tell him to be useful and help me out, but I find a completely different person. I would have maybe considered that Kusuke has this disguise on but the thing is - this isn't a stranger. I even recognize him faster than I did with my now-fourteen older brother.

It's Riki. Nendou Riki - of course! Nendou is his family name! No wonder it sounded strangely familiar.

Then where the heck is Kusuke? Ugh, this is such a mess. I put my hands out to focus on restoring the area before the dust cloud vanishes. I'll make the soil healthier. That's not something people would notice until a year later when the trees here are unusually bigger than the rest of the forest.

I hope this Kannon-sama forgives me. Not that I'm the one who started this… Honestly. Irresponsible people shouldn't have powers. It's not good to bother others. If I did not happen to be here, this would have been all over national TV.

With a final push, the last wave of energy is gone from my extremities. Now, for the next item in the increasingly longer to-do-list…

"Nendou-kun?"

I didn't get to know a lot of people my age growing up, but Riki… Somehow, he has both drastically changed and stayed exactly the same. Starting with what stayed the same, let's see… He's still as physically built as before, unlike skinny, twiggy me. His hands are scary-big like they have the grip strength to crush an apple, and his face… Ah, this takes me back. His ears are exactly the same as before! Then for the differences, he must have tripled in size. We're both the same age, but he looks five years older than Kusuke. Or did I get it wrong? I remember thinking Nendou and I would have been the same grade if I hadn't been too sick to go to school.

Wait, what am I doing right now? Riki is crying. My hands flail around helplessly. I can't help but suddenly wish I was dealing with troublesome supernatural damages instead. Then I would know exactly what to do.

"S-sorry! I'm spacing out. How can I help you? Um, you mentioned something earlier. It's at the tip of my tongue…Handkerchief!" Yes! First, I should help him feel comfortable. But Riki's fat tears are keeping him from noticing my hanky. His sobs have also escalated to loud moaning. He probably hasn't even noticed my presence.

I was actually happy for a moment, because I thought this was my chance to prove how myself with this reversal of roles. But I haven't done anything yet. All I can do is stand around and wait while Riki cries in anguish. Listening to it, even I felt a little bit of sting in my eyes. But I don't know if it's because of my shame, or because of Riki's pain.

The crying suddenly stops. Riki is back on his feet, his glum face darkening in a look I've never see before. With a big fist raised, he brings it down too fast for me to stop. I shut my eyes, knowing that hit is going to hurt.

The sky has turned fiery in the sunset with long trail of fluffy clouds drifting by. Because of my prodigal older brother's mysterious machinations, I ended up watching my first sunset with this person, Nendou Riki, someone from my past who I never expected to meet again. He doesn't seem to be aware yet that he had survived an attack that would have tragically killed him. It's for the best. The problem now is resolving this mess.

Riki was a known troubled child, raised by a single mother and constantly getting into fights. But I know those fights are not things he did without a good reason. It seems he's gotten into another one, but even I'm having a hard time believing his story about this "toddler from Europe" who "pocketed" his hamster and showed off "wild Judo moves." If I hadn't seen the said "toddler" from the memory and briefly talked to him earlier (who is clearly an older elementary student), I may have believed this. It's Riki, after all.

"Dude, thanks for punching me out of that," says Riki, wiping his nose with his sleeve even though he has my perfectly clean hanky on his hand.

"I didn't do anything like that. You punched yourself. I was really surprised." I hand him a cold packet for the bruise he gave himself.

Still red in the eyes, Riki laughs as he nurses his bruise. "Yeah, that was funny! You looked like you've seen a ghostie! But yeah." In a rare display of embarrassment, he turns away. "Not my best moment. I can't be all mopey for too long. I have to save my friend. If Koriki saw me like that, I just know he'll be disappointed! I'm disappointed. I should punch myself again - "

I grab his arm, though if Riki really tried, I think he'll end up sending me flying if he makes a swing. "No, please don't! Stop being hard on yourself. Let's calm down and think about our next move."

Riki expresses strong doubts. "Dunno, don't really like thinking. And I think this isn't the time to be calm! I need to start shouting and panicking like what every loving parent would!"

"You don't have to," I insist weakly. I don't sound too confident because when my brother disappeared, that's exactly what both my parents did. Shout and panic, like the loving parents that they are. I swallow nervously. "But I would really appreciate it if you don't. I don't like shouting."

"OH. Really?" says Riki, very loudly. He breaks into a gasp and leans low to my level, whispering as if he's telling a secret, "Oh. Really?"

"Yes." I can't help but smile. "It's getting late, Nendou-kun. Why don't we meet up again tomorrow? I know you're worried, but I think Koriki will be okay. I'm pretty sure," I ascertain with more confidence. "At times like this, we have to be positive. There's no point in worrying when there's nothing we can do."

Riki nods in agreement. "That sounds really smart. I should leave the thinking to you! All right, let's get some ramen! I need to be back at full strength so I can bust open a toddler's head."

"Please don't ever say that again out loud." I'm practically begging Riki to not get himself landed in juvvie.

"Oh, okay. I'll just keep it in my thoughts."

Also still a bad idea, but I can't tell Riki we'll be facing a telepath.

"European babies sure are scary though. Maybe they're raising an army of super soldiers." As I gather our stuffs to follow Riki, he turns around questioningly. "By the way, what's your name, bro?"

I stop on my tracks, staring at him.

"…Oh."

"Woah, you're European too?"

I shake my head, my worry vanishing. An important bit has slipped my mind. Considering how our reunion played out, I can't be blamed. I completely forgot that I had a different look when we first met. Not to mention that it's been years… I've grown considerably, too. It would be hard to recognize me appearance-wise, so my name should jog his memory.

Taking a deep breath, I square my shoulders and push my chest out, ready to make the best, newest first impression. "I'm Kusuo. Saiki Kusuo."

Riki grins and throws his arm around my shoulder. So heavy! But this is fine. For the first time, I finally have -

"Eyy, Saiki! Nice to meet you. I'm Nendou, but you already know that, huh? How'd you do that? Are you psychic or something? LOL, just kidding."

Oh.

Notes:

[Character Introduction]

Nendou Riki - though he showed up already in the last chapter - is the first, officially introduced supporting character from the crossovers! I think his introduction in the story has already given a powerful first impression. But in case it's confusing, he is, in fact, just twelve years old at the moment, not an actual high school student. A lot of the characters are confused by Nendou, and Nendou overall seems to be quite confuesd. But Kusuo seems to understand him well.