Chapter 1: Thinking Aloud

The thoughts of others no longer surprised Kusuo Saiki.

Thanks to his telepathy, he had heard them all. From the mundane to the totally bizarre, nothing surprised him anymore. People were complex, he knew that, but their thoughts were predictable and, to be frank, highly uninteresting. It was little wonder he often chose to wear the germanium ring that, thankfully, nullified his telepathy and peoples' thoughts along with it. At school, however, it was generally more beneficial for him to not wear it given its uses (avoiding others, ensuring average exam scores etc), so the voices in his head were something he simply had to put up with. By the end of each school day, he had truly had enough.

Today had been just as tiresome for Saiki, right up until the last few minutes of class when, completely out of nowhere, a thought from the ever eccentric Shun Kaidou crossed his mind.

Saiki's hair sure looks good today.

This alarmed Saiki for two reasons. Firstly, it was possible that this was a situation in which wires had been inadvertently crossed and this particular thought was actually straight from the head of either Teruhashi or Yumehara. He did not need any further attention from those two, that was for sure. Secondly, even if it was from Kaidou, he certainly didn't need him getting curious about his hair, in particular about its colour, or worse, his limiters.

Saiki decided it was best to just dismiss the thought, putting it down to Kaidou's eccentricity (if it even was from him). A few moments later and his mind was already elsewhere, namely on the coffee jellies he was planning on picking up after school. His peace was short-lived however as another thought soon found its way into his head.

I wonder what his eyes look like without those glasses.

Okay, this was a definite red flag for Saiki. The thought had certainly come from Kaidou, was he on to him and his powers? Why else would he be questioning his glasses and hair?

Saiki turned to look at him. As their eyes met, Kaidou panicked and looked away, a splash of pink seeping into his cheeks.

Oh shit, what am I doing? Was I staring? He didn't see, did he?

Kaidou turned to check if Saiki was still looking his way, spinning around once more when he found him still staring right back at him.

I shouuld be focusing on class, not looking at him…

Saiki had to admit that, even for Kaidou, this was strange behaviour. In the interest of finding out if this really was about his powers, Saiki decided it best to monitor his thoughts tomorrow.

The next day Kaidou was acting (and thinking) just as strangely. They only had one class in the afternoon thanks to exams, but as soon as they took their seats it had not taken long for the blue-haired boy to have some very odd thoughts indeed.

Saiki must use cologne, for definite. He smelled so good when he walked past me.

Is that a new shirt he's wearing? It looks good on him.

No, Saiki did not use cologne, nor was he wearing a new shirt. Just what had come over him? These were very peculiar observations to make. One thing was for sure, Kaidou did not suspect he had psychic powers. Nevertheless, these thoughts did not seem normal for a friend… did they? Saiki wasn't actually too sure on that given that he didn't have any friends (Kaidou and Nendou were his friends, although Saiki was not theirs), but he did not recall anyone else having such thoughts about him except Yumehara.

Saiki set his gaze to match Kaidou's as he did yesterday. It produced the same result of course, with the boy quickly turning away. He began to nervously play around with the tape wrapped around his wrists. He shook his head and buried his head in his hands. Saiki watched on, hoping to glean more from his thoughts, but Nendou (who else) had a different idea. The moron threw some paper at Kaidou, disrupting his thoughts. A conversation began between the two that lasted right up until the bell. Kaidou was too distracted, and so Saiki would have to wait until tomorrow.

Kaidou was quiet for most of the following day, right up until the last few minutes of their final class. Saiki did not expect it, but this was the strangest and most awkward thought yet.

I wonder… what it would be like to kiss him?

It caught him completely off guard and caused his whole body to stiffen. Saiki knew it was from Kaidou and knew it was directed at him. It all but confirmed what he had begun to fear.

Somehow, Kaidou had developed a crush on him.

No. No. No. What am I doing?

Saiki continued "listening", surprised by this sudden shift in his thought pattern.

This isn't me, why am I thinking these things?

The bell suddenly rang, disrupting his train of thought. Saiki wanted to hear more. This internal struggle of his interested him a little, somehow. He had not known Kaidou to be interested in guys before now. However, regardless of how these feelings had come about, he needed to avoid him if this really was the case. Eventually, as with Yumehara, his feelings would subside.

Saiki readied himself to leave, but was caught by Nendou as he rose from his desk.

"Hey buddy! Me and Kaidou are heading to the beach, wanna come?"

"No thanks," Saiki projected, trying to push past him. Kaidou watched on beside him. He was playing it cool, but his thoughts betrayed him.

Please say yes… maybe then I'll get a chance to talk to him.

"I'll ask his mom again, that worked last time," pushed Nendou.

"I'm sick," Saiki projected once more. He managed to finally get past him, walking briskly off down the corridor without saying goodbye.

As he came to the crowds of students jostling to leave, he couldn't help but dwell on Kaidou's final thought before it was lost in a sea of voices.

Sick? I really hope he's going to be okay…