Chapter Ten: A New School Term Starts! The Melancholy of Nendou

AKARI WASN'T THAT HAPPY SINCE NOW THAT their school break came to an end, and now she had to go back to that annoying place. She didn't miss the gossip, bullies, or idiots that she had to see every day. Sure there were some good parts of school, but those were outweighed by everything else that gave her a headache. Her best friend also wasn't that happy with it either. He stood next to her glaring at their academy with his eyes filled with irritation. 

'A new semester starts today.' Kusuo mentally sighed, 'I have to see them again.'

Akari bumped his shoulder with her own in a way to lift up his spirits. Though both of them were going to need some cheering up. Considering they both disliked school, they both weren't looking forward to actually going. However, they have no choice and Akari is going to try and make the best of their situation. 'Come on, it's not that bad, Ku-kun.'

Kusuo just looked down at her through his green-tinted glasses boredly. However, even if he looked unaffected by her words, deep down, I think we all know that isn't true. No matter how much he would want to hide it, but he appreciated Akari's attempts. She is the upside to his day. Well, she's the upside to everything for him, for the most part. Kusuo doesn't do emotions, as we all know. So even he doesn't necessarily know what he categorizes Akari as or why he reacts certain ways around her. I mean, we can all make a pretty educated guess about what it is. Though it wouldn't be a good fanfiction if we didn't have some good slow-burn romance, am I right?

Kusuo rolled his eyes, 'let's go.'

The duo headed into the building and readied themselves for the day. After exchanging their shoes, Akari and Kusuo finally made it into their classroom. Their teacher had yet to come in so everyone was excitedly talking with each other about their breaks. The girls gossiped with each other, the boys boasted about the cool things they did, and Akari and Kusuo sat quietly at Kusuo's desk. Akari gracefully sat on top of his desk while twirling her long black hair with her fingers. As they waited for class to start, they listened in on the not-so-quiet conversations between their classmates.

A few students walked up to the class representative, who looked noticeable different from how he looked before the break, "Hairo, you're so tanned."

"I was a volunteer lifeguard at the beach," He explained with a toothy smile.

"Amazing!" A forgettable student exclaimed at the unrest that their class representative had. They all knew that Hairo wouldn't take any sort of break during their break. He is always up and about, a busy-body. Honestly, it's a bit admirable yet terrifying how firey he actually is.

At the other end of the classroom, there were a plethora of boys surrounding the perfect pretty girl like starved animals. It appears that after even a short time away from their Goddess, they were in desperate need to be even within a few feet of Teruhashi. Simps.

They were firing questions at her from left and right, "Did you meet someone special?"

"Really Teruhashi?" An unimportant boy asked urgently.

A different, nameless student jumped, "Who?"

The blue-haired beauty looked away bashfully with pink cheeks, "We met during the break." In her mind, she was thinking of the pink-haired psychic himself. Which annoyed Kusuo to no end, to have to listen to her go on about how she knew that there was no way he could have just seen her as an illusion or vice versa. Akari noticed his plight and placed a hand on his head to pat down his hair in a comforting gesture. Akari knew that he isn't usually one for physical touch, and she respects his wishes to not be touched. However, from time to time, she provided minimal contact with him for a few reasons. Comforting him is one of those reasons. Teruhashi raised a finger confidently, "I believe the date was August 6th."

"I saw you that day," one of the boys said with his squeaky voice, "That's right, you were with...." Everyone was on the edge of their seat ready to hear what he had to say. Except for Teruhashi who thought her little crush on Saiki was going to be exposed. "Nendo."

"Not that one!" Teruhashi raged with her hair mimicking snakes around her head. The boys all backed away in fear as their perfect pretty girl showed her true colors for just a moment. However, she quickly calmed herself down, "Well... not that one. You know? At the world Championship..."

'Goodness,' Kusuo thought. 

Akari shook her head, 'I don't understand how they can worship her so much.'

Sure, Akari couldn't deny that Teruhashi was beautiful. She would be a fool not to admit that. Not only that, but she also had this god-given aura around that attracted people to her no matter what. So Akari couldn't lie about that, it was just her personality that she couldn't understand. 

To be completely honest, Akari and Teruhashi were complete opposites. Wow, what a surprise it's like they were made that way for a specific purpose. That's sarcasm by the way, you can't really tell through text, but it's there. Anyway, back on topic. Terhuhashi craved attention as if it is what gives her life. Meanwhile, Akari detested just about any and every form of attention that could be pointed at her. While Teruhashi is bright, Akari is dark. The perfect pretty girl is full of herself and masks her true intentions, but Akari was honest and blunt for the most part. The shadow-manipulator isn't necessarily an open book(except maybe to Kusuo) but she certainly isn't as fake as Teruhashi can be. Some could argue that they were two different sides of a coin. Well, two different sides of two different coins. The only thing even remotely similar with them was that they both attended PK. Well, that and they always wanted to be around Kusuo. Though Akari never wants to admit to that last one out loud or even in her mind, lest Kusuo finds out and then bully her about it.

Their blue-haired friend then slid over to the pair as they watched the smips in front of them. "Hey, Saiki..." Akari then cleared her throat, making sure that he knew she is also there. Kaido jumped and blushed at her "sudden" appearance, "a-and Watanabe. Don't you think Nendo is being weird today?"

Kusuo eyed the other boy's appearance, "You are, too." Kaido, for some reason, was wearing an eye patch, a choker, and parts of his hair was in a braid. No doubt a part of his little fantasy. It was a bit of a strange look, even for an anime. Akari certainly thought that Kaido looks far more deranged than usual, and questioned why he even decided to style himself like this. How had his mother even let him walk out of the house like that?

Despite that, the trio looked over at their idiot friend to see him looking dramatically upset. What could possibly upset Nenod this much? As much as people would think that this buffoon was nothing but stupid, Akari felt like there is more to Nendo than that. Well, she didn't think that he is a totally complex character with many, many intricate parts to him, however, she knew that he was a tad bit more than an idiot. That includes having something to upset him like this. She didn't know what it is, but it was probably something a bit bigger than simply being upset by a stupid thing.

"Normally he would be all, 'Let's go get ramen! Yes!'" Kaido said while trying to intimidate Nendo's voice.

Kusuo hummed slightly in consideration, "That's true. He is acting strange."

"Stranger than usual," Akari commented with her wispy voice.

"Oh, this?" Kaido started, thinking that they were referring to his new look. Which they certainly were not. He really just wanted someone to ask him about his strange look. "Don't worry about this. Something had happened."

"I didn't worry about that at all. You don't have to tell us." Kusuo rolled his eyes, more focused on Nendo. They watched as Nendo hit some dramatically depressed poses before sighing heavily. "I'm getting annoyed."

After that, Nendo stood up and lumbered out of the room with his head hung low. Now that was quite concerning for Akari. She has never seen Nendo act like this before, and it was freaking her out just a little bit. He's always so happy-go-lucky, to an annoying degree, though this was even far more irritating. At least with him being happy, Akari could easily understand why he was acting like that. However, this was so out of left field, that Akari has no idea what is bothering him.

"This is fishy," Kaido commented as they watched him go.

Kusuo nodded his head, "It does make me worry."

Akari looked down at her friend with wide eyes, "I've never heard you say that before." Though Kusuo just ignores her and her surprised expression. He certainly wasn't willing to acknowledge that he had even said something like that. Though, aren't we all a bit surprised that he even said he's worried?

"Are you talking about this?" Kaido jumped in motioning to his get-up, once again. "It's..."

Kusuo then snapped, "Stop. I couldn't care less about that."

---

Once school let out for the day, Akari, Kusuo, and Kaido started to follow after their idiot friend. It was quite easy for Akari to hide in the shadows as they trailed after Nendo. Kusuo is also pretty good at it as well, since he could teleport around corners and hide away from Nendo. Kaido was the only one in the trio who actually had to put a bit more effort into his stalking. That included putting on a baggy brown coat, some dark sunglasses, and a hat to try and hide his identity. He jumped around from one corner to another to poke his head around as they followed Nendo down the street. Kusuo and Akari trailed after Kaido, Kusuo appearing from thin air while Akari gilded around through the shadows. The blue-haired boy hadn't even noticed that the supernatural teens were using their powers like this. He is far more invested in his stalking of Nendo than to pay attention to them.

"That's not the way to his house." Kaido commented as they all peered around a corner. "Something is definitely going on."

"Why are you so excited?" Kusuo asked with a slight tone of distaste in his voice, "Why are you so used to following people?"

It was true. Seems like Kaido has done this before, and that is quite concerning. Akari was slightly put off by the fact that their blue-haired friend was far too accustomed to stalking. Makes you wonder who else Kaido could have stalked in the past… Knowing him, it probably has to do with dark reunion stuff.

"What?" Kaido whispered as they peered around the building to find Nendo staring at something. "What's he looking at?"

The big brute appeared to be looking at a small girl walking on the sidewalk with her father. Though due to Nendo's misleading face, the trio misinterpreted what it meant. The three bristled, "Creepy!"

Kaido jumped, "Does he like little girls?"

"I don't know, but we should report him," Kusuo said.

Akari cringed at the thought and tried to be optimistic about this."Nendo doesn't seem the type…?" Though her attempt wasn't that good since she sounded more like she was questioning herself about if it were true. She knows that Nendo is really a good guy, but considering not even Kusuo could read his thoughts, she couldn't be 100% certain.

They then watched him heading into a shop, "He's going into the store. A flower shop?" Nendo then came out of the shop with a bundle of sunflowers. "Did he get a girlfriend?"

Kusuo instantly answered alongside Akari, "No."

"No way," they all simultaneously agreed. There was no way that he was actually gonna get a girlfriend. Not unless there was some sort of miracle.

They continued to follow their friend down the, and once again witness him smiling creepily at a young girl and her father. They still had yet to see what he was actually smiling about.

The three shouted, "Not again!"

"Is he serious?" Kaido asked out in disgust as they all started to sweat.

Kusuo just suggested, "Let's report him first, and ponder later."

"No, it's too soon to tell." Kaido started, "Lots of people like sunflowers. It's normal to feel like smiling when you see a child." Wow, look at Kaido being the rational one of the group. 

Kusuo placed a hand on his chin in consideration, "That's true. We shouldn't be hasty."

"Another store?" Kaido commented as the trio watched the brute walk into yet another small store. This time it seemed to be a bakery, "Cake! Cake is sweet and women and children love sweets. Women plus children equals little girls!" Forget what I said about being the rational one.

Akari sweatdropped at his enthusiasm with the situation, "That's a bit of a stretch."

"Now who's being hasty?" Kusuo commented. 

"He doesn't eat things like that. He's clearly going to give the cake and the flower to someone." Kaido said quickly, "But he doesn't have a girlfriend to give them to. That means they're bait." He cried out as he imagined how Nendo would use his "bait" to lure a little girl. Which is seriously disturbing. "He'll use sunflowers and cake to lure in a little girl!"

Kusuo shook his head, "His plan will never work on a sane girl."

Just as Kaido was having his little breakdown and the other two watched him, Nendo came out of the bakery with a box. "Gosh, they are out of shortcakes. Oh, well." His expression then grew unsettling as he chuckled lowly, "It's not for eating anyway."

Akari, Kusuo, and Kaido all blanched, "Which means it's bait."

"Nendo!" Trying to be a hero, Kaido ran over to the large teen with his fist raised. He was going to stop Nendo from enacting his nefarious plans of snatching up little girls if it was the last thing he does! As the Jet-Black Wing, he has a duty to protect those who need protection. If only he was actually strong though. "I misjudged you, Nendo!" He then tried to punch Nendo a bunch, though they sounded like small bubbles popping each time his fist hit Nendo. It also looked as though they were as weak as a feather. "How dare you hurt weak little girls!"

Akari and Kusuo watched him from the sidelines with raised eyebrows. The shadow-manipulator blinked, "I'm pretty sure those girls are not as weak as him."

"Listen to his fists making that sound." Kusuo commented.

"Hang on," Nendo said, unaffected by Kaido's assault, "I think you guys have the wrong idea."

---

Apparently, the trio had jumped to conclusions. Not a surprise. Considering that we all knew they did. Anyway, Nendo had led them to the cemetery while explaining what he had been doing since they left school. Kaido tilted his head, "So, you're visiting..."

"My dad's grave," Nendo nodded his head as they now stood in front of a grave, "Today is the day he died."

The blue-haired teen now seemed to understand, "So, the flowers and cake..."

"Obviously, they're offerings." Nendo chuckled, "You bring flowers and sweets to a grave. That's common sense."

"Hearing common sense from Nendo…" Kusuos commented to Akari as the two stood behind the others. He then thought back to what they had seen earlier. "I see now. He wasn't leering at those little girls. He was thinking of his father. But he sure looked suspicious."

Kaido asked softly, "When did your father pass away?"

"Before I was born." Nendo explained, "He died trying to save a little girl who ran into the street. Maybe my old man had a lolita complex."

Kusuo blinked, "It hurts my soul."

Kaido then placed a hand on his chin, "But if it was before you were born, he must have been pretty young."

"Yes, he was 18 or 19 years old." Nendo said before pulling out his wallet, "I have his picture. Do you want to see it?"

Kaido's eyebrows furrowed as Nendo showed them the photo, "This is a picture of you."

"We look alike." Nendo explained with a chuckle, "My mom says I look more like him every year."

"It's on a different level," Kaido exclaimed at the uncanny resemblance between the father and son.

Akari took a glance at the photo as well and furrowed her eyebrows, "It is a tad bit unnerving."

"I've seen the picture of Nendo's father before." Kusuo commented to Akari as he could see the slightly freaked out expression creeping onto her pale face. "The resemblance is striking. The only difference is whether the scar is over the right eye or the left." he glanced up at the grave to see just the person had described sitting on top of the grave. The dead man was casually eating some of the cake that Nendo had brought to his grave. "Yes, just like that." He paused though not realizing that he was looking at a ghost. Nendo's father then poofed out of thin air and disappeared. "I'm imagining things."

Unbeknownst to the other three, Kusuo had been able to see the ghost of Nendo's father. It was quite the shock to Kusuo. "Hey, let's go get ramen!" Nendo called, breaking Kusuo out of his stupor.

Kusuo just walked back over to them as they started to head to their usual remen hangout. Kaido and Nendo may have not been able to notice, but Akari saw that there was something bothering her best friend. "Are you ok, Ku-kun?"

Her soft, chilling voice calmed Kusuo down a bit as he shook his head in an attempt to brush off what he had just seen. "I'm fine."

Akari stared at him for a long moment before shrugging her shoulders, "If you say so." If he didn't want to tell her what was bothering him, then she wouldn't pry. She certainly can't read his mind like he could read hers, but she knew what he was feeling for the most part. They've been friends for so long that Akari could read Kusuo like a book. Even if he's usually so expressionless and emotionless. She's the great Kusuo Whisperer!

After being forced to hang out with Nendo and Kaido, Akari and Kusuo were able to walk back home. It was perfect out, at least for Akari. It was night time already and she was content with how dark it is. The only real thing that she wasn't looking forward to was having to do her homework. Maybe if she bribed Kusuo with some coffee jelly he could help her out with it.

"I may not be very realistic myself, and Akari may also be a piece of fiction, but I don't believe in spirits or ghosts." Kusuo explained still hung up on the whole ghost thing from the cemetery, "Let's just forget about what happened today." 

Akari tilted her head as they got closer and closer to their homes. "What's so wrong with believing in an afterlife?" She asked, "I think it can be comforting to imagine that there's something after death."

Wow, bit of a heavy topic, let's move on.

The pair finally made it in front of their houses. Though the Saiki mailbox caught their attention. There was a letter in it, now that isn't unusual. What is strange is that it had Kusuo's name on it. Kusuo grabbed the letter, "For me? That's unusual."

Kusuo Saiki,

I know you have psychic powers.

Akari's eyes widened at the simple letter. How had someone figured out about Kusuo's abilities? Everyone is usually too stupid to notice them! "That's concerning. Who could this be from?"

Kusuo just put the letter into his pocket, "Don't worry about that."

"Of course I'm going to worry, Ku." Akari blinked, a small bit of concern in her golden eyes. "Someone knows about your powers, what could that possibly mean?"

"Kari, it'll be fine." Kusuo never addressed Akari by her little nickname. The only reason he ever did was when he could see her getting upset or worked up about something. This moment seemed to be a time to use it. The affectionate name seemed to calm her down at least a little bit. "Just head home and don't worry about it. I promise you, everything will be fine." Since it was so late, they agreed that they would just head to their separate houses for the night, even if they usually hang out together for a bit after school. However, Kusuo was even more certain that he wants Akari to stay out of this. If this is a letter from someone with malicious intent, he didn't want her involved. How sweet.

Akari stared at him for a moment, contemplating if she should leave. Though then she remembered that Kusuo has the powers of a god, so if someone was to try and hurt them, they wouldn't get very far. "If you say so…" with a tad bit hesitation, Akari backed away to head into her own house across the street. "Night, Kusuo."