The next day, PK leadership decided to close school for a few days due to the mass panic that had erupted following the meteorite incident. Saiki, of course, was enjoying his hard-fought peace and quiet at home.
I think the world owes me a whole lot more than 100 yen now, Saiki thought with a smirk.
That wouldn't stop him from bristling at having to wear his limiters again though. Good thing he had elected to keep them in his drawer. What should he do now that he was finally alone? Perhaps he could pick up a new video game to play.
Why not play older games? They've already been spoiled for normal people as well so it shouldn't be a big deal. Maybe now I can play games that don't force me to destroy all of my controllers. It might be good to play a game with a strong sense of progression as well so I don't have to buy as many new games. Plus, older games are often cheaper anyway. This is truly a hidden treasure trove!
Now Saiki had to figure out which game to play. After mulling over many options, finally Monster Hunter popped into his head, rendering all of his careful consideration useless.
This one just might work! It's a very popular series in Japan but never made much of a splash overseas as far as he was aware. It had an emphasis on cooperative play, but of course he would be playing it by himself. It's also considered to be notoriously difficult for most people, so it might be able to hold his interest for even longer. No distractions whatsoever would affect his enjoyment of the game.
Tch. I just remembered that Nendou plays these games. No, I won't let him get in the way of my personal enrichment anymore. I said I would try to think less and I'll hold myself to that.
Saiki decided on Monster Hunter: World. It had upgraded graphics, new and intuitive systems, and placed a heavy emphasis on exploration. Surely he could keep this game for a while. Using clairvoyance to search around for any open video game stores, he immediately found several. The work culture in Japan is truly draconic. He singled out the closest one to him which also happened to stock the game with its expansion 50% off. Now how to get there? Teleporting to and from a nearby alley was a cinch as no one was in the streets right now. Easy enough.
He enacted his plan and entered the store unmolested. As he picked up the game and turned to purchase it, is x-ray vision cycled to reveal the clerk in the back picking his nose. Gross. The ring of the bell situated next to the register alerted the clerk to his presence. A very disdainful and labored groan escaped the clerk who somehow managed to look both jaded and disgusted at the same time plodding up to the register as if he didn't just pick his nose.
"Why is someone here? I volunteered to work overtime but I didn't expect to have to actually work! Why does this always happen to me?"
I'm probably the only customer you've had all day. Suck it up.
Saiki didn't hide his annoyance, but maintained enough decorum to get through the interaction as he had practiced an incalculable number of times; he was not about to let this cantankerous clerk break his streak. Or at least he tried to until the clerk reached for the game with the same hand he used to pick his nose.
No way, I'm not going to let you ruin my peaceful day.
Saiki lightly touched the clerk's hand and used restoration, deftly avoiding the boogers stuck to the clerk's fingers.
"Why did he touch my hand? Like me or something?"
Only a slight eyebrow twitch betrayed the clerk's true thoughts. Saiki pulled out his wallet and handed over his leftover allowance. The clerk rang it up, made the sale, and lumbered to his seat in the back. He did not seem to notice that his hand was somehow boogerless and immediately started digging for gold yet again.
I could have bought more coffee jelly, but I'm interested in trying this out. I did buy Olfana's Story so I wouldn't call myself fiscally responsible with video games at least. I'm looking to change that with this investment. Even at 100 yen, the cost of that game was too steep.
Saiki walked out of the store, ducked into the same back alley, and teleported into his room. Once he got back, he was immediately hit with a wave of the closest to true terror he had ever experienced. Why hadn't a migraine warned him about this? He knew this presence that could force even the most steadfast of people to their knees to worship the god that loved her. Her likeness could be compared to Helen of Troy, who single handedly caused the destruction of the Trojans and the rise of the Romans; truly, someone that could stand against the entire world had it not been for the existence of Saiki Kusuo. She must have been right outside of his telepathy range when he teleported.
Teruhashi's threat level immediately rose to dragon. Saiki started to prepare a plan of attack, chiding himself for letting his guard down and failing to ensure the nuisances were at a safe distance. Why was she here? Clairvoyance!
"Oh, I'm so glad you came over, Kokomi-chan! Ku-chan should be back in a bit. It was so sweet that you came to see him! Let's continue our cooking lessons until he gets back," his mother exclaimed, clapping her hands together and closing her eyes in cheerful excitement.
It seemed that they had just gotten introductions out of the way as no kitchen effects had been disturbed yet.
"Thank you so much for allowing me into your home and letting me impose on you, Mrs. Saiki!" Teruhashi replied with measured gratitude. She was careful to sound excited enough to make his mother happy, but not so excited that she gave away her true intentions.
"This plan is perfect! Now I can see what Saiki likes to eat AND I get to spend time at his house! I wasn't afraid of that meteorite for a second! God would never let anything bad happen to me so I used this opportunity to sneak out when everyone else was inside!"
Saiki, however, did hear a small quaver that betrayed her tough words.
Way to explain your entire plan. You're like an anime villain who theatrically explains their plans only to have the rug pulled out from under them at the last second. Unfortunately your opponent is me, so your scheme will never come to fruition. Now for my plan.
Saiki bit his nail. She had crowbarred her way into his life with her work ethic, godlike cheat ability, and her inability to let her ego go. It did eventually blossom into true feelings, but this was neither the time nor place for them. Earlier he was under the impression that he wasn't in big trouble but the truth was that this situation could end in disaster if he wasn't careful. He considered what he should do carefully. Should he stay out until she leaves? No, she would only be back the next day. His mother should not know about a plan to keep her away under any circumstances as well; her oni face was far more convincing than anything he could do with hypnosis, all but guaranteeing he would be forceed to interact with her. His idiot father would be of no help because he was also enthralled by Teruhashi. It looked like he would have to solve this by himself. He could beam thoughts in her head to try to convince her to leave. Same problem as before, she would only be back the next day.
In his single-minded determination to delay Teruhashi, he had forgotten about his mother's presence.
"So Mrs. Saiki, why is Saiki-kun so reserved, aloof even? Does he have trust issues? Did something bad happen when he was younger to make him like that? He always seems to be holding something back," Teruhashi asked, her eyes narrowed and cheeks softened in concern.
Kurumi Saiki bowed her head with a wistful look and said, "Well, his psychic powers have in his mind have hurt a lot of people and done more harm than good. He carries that burden with him all the time. That's why I've tried so hard to help him make friends..."
Saiki felt a violent surge of neuronal activity course through his body.
Not now. Not by her.
He couldn't find anything to knock down that wouldn't look suspicious, though it was unlikely it would have worked anyway. Memory erasure seemed to be the only course of action with an acceptable outcome.
"Oh, so his cowardice is what causes him to push people away?" Teruhashi recovered as gracefully as anyone probably could have in this situation.
"Uhhhh, yes! That's definitely it! Ku-chan has always been such a fraidy-cat," his mother chuckled nervously, her face unable to conceal its embarrassed incredulity.
You didn't have to insult me too.
"Oh, look at the time! I've got to head home to do some cram school work! Can we take a rain check on the cooking lessons?" Teruhashi said nervously, shifting her eyes as if she were looking for a hatch on a sinking ship.
You've been here 5 minutes. Where did that bravado go?
"S-s-sure, sure! I hope to see you again soon Kokomi-chan," his mother stammered.
"Ohh, I've let Ku-chan down again... I really feel like a bad mother..."
No, I should be apologizing to you. I've been forcing you to keep my powers secret for so long. It's true, one slip could make it spiral out of control, but it's not fair to expect you to never make a mistake.
"But I just want Ku-chan to live the best life he can! He doesn't deserve to be forced to be the hero everybody wants him to be. I'd never be able to forgive myself if this spiraled out of control…"
Stop it, mother.
Teruhashi quickly shuffled her shoes on in her hurry to get out of the door.
Yare Yare, I guess I'll have to resolve this before she gets any funny ideas.