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Recently, there's been a problem.
Of course, various nuisances are no stranger to Saiki. His life is a disaster, after all.
But this one may be a permanent issue than usual.
You see, Saiki has upgraded his limiters, and they now also block his stone-ifiying power, so glasses are no longer needed.
And now everyone can't help but sneak a stare or two at him at least once every ten minutes.
Good grief. This is going to be one long day...
"Offu!" a handful of people exclaim.
That's another 7 'offu's! Not as much as usual... Hmm. Well, there are fewer people here today. I'm sure that'll change! It's still morning, and I'm a bit early. Soon, I will hit my before class average of 350 gasps!
Everyone's congregating around our class. They must be so excited to see me!
Of course, Teruhashi was not wrong. Everyone was thrilled to see her.. or rather, would be. They were all rather preoccupied at the moment.
As the Queen Bee of PK Academy strode in, her glow was almost outshined by the borderline dizzyingly stunning...
Saiki?!
Although he was attempting to be inconspicuous, it was clearly a lost cause. The students flocked to him even more so than usual, thoroughly crushing any hope of peace this morning for him. Saiki's face was blank to the casual observer (though there seemed to be no such thing anymore), but anyone who bothered to pay attention would notice the way his lips were drawn too tight, his brow twitching, his eyes a tad too faraway, even for him, his fists discreetly clenched beneath his desk.
A sigh resounded through the room.
"I never knew Saiki was so dreamy!", one exclaimed.
"Honestly, if I weren't a straight guy...", another lamented.
"If I weren't a lesbian...", one mused.
A muttered, bashful, "I... Oh god. I need a minute..." in one corner could be heard.
"Pal sure got popular quick!"
And, naturally, an entire barrage of thoughts came with this new influx of swooning,
Oh, wow! Saiki sure looks nice today... I wonder if I'll be able to ask him to join my exclusive first Rebellion Against Dark Reunion meeting today. I'll appoint him as my second-in-command, of course!
Oh, wow... Even now that I like Kaidou, Saiki looks so alluring today... Wait, no, bad Chiyo! Snap out of it! Oh, but he looks exactly like the prince he's always been... Even if I know he's different from that now!
These students better not be picking a fight with --... Oh, wow! Saiki looks... nice today. No wonder they're all gathering around him. Still, if they try anything, they'll regret it!
Wow! Saiki's so personable today! He's talking to way more people than usual! Even Nendou, my athletic rival, has taken notice! I'm so moved! Today, I'll do my best to go out of my comfort zone and push myself past my limits! We should always strive for improvement!
Why is that pleb garnering so much attention today?... Oh, wow. I might have to ask my dad if he wasn't a model or something for our company before. No way someone that handsome wouldn't have worked for -- wait a minute... Did I seriously call that commoner handsome?!
Saiki rocking it better than ever! Though he doesn't look so hot... Well, he does, but you know what I mean. It's probably tough hearing everyone around him. Maybe I should check up on him. Even Nendou is starting to look worried.
Indeed, Saiki was not having a fun time at all.
He hadn't been so overwhelmed in a long time. Voices coming from every corner of his own mind, from his telepathy and the speech around him, the clatter of the classroom, crowding his thoughts, filling his head, a violent cacophony of his name layered into white noise, hijacking his brain as he struggled to stay present. Hazy blobs of colour shifted in and out of focus. Everything was so agonizingly slow and yet too fast to compute, a vague blur of meaninglessness and unbearable commotion.
He willed himself to remember how to fix this and now, because he needed this to stop and remember himself, when he finally dug his fingers far enough into his palm that he recalled where he was with a sting of pain. It didn't bring him back to full lucidity, but it was enough to remember the germanium ring. He hoped beyond measure that it was still in his pocket. Even turning around to reach for his bag felt like too much at the moment.
He slipped it on and felt immediate relief. Undoubtedly frazzled and frayed, but no longer actively in pain. He walked up to the teacher and used his telepathy (albeit a bit sloppily) to let her know he was heading to the bathroom. Saiki barely had the energy to communicate via his powers, much less speak out loud.
Finally, he locked the stall and settled into the quiet cold of the bathroom. The lights still buzzed, and they were too bright, but it was miles better than the classroom. Saiki dropped his head in his hands and took in a deep breath.
This has already proved to be such a pain. He'll get used to it. Nothing a psychic can't deal with, after all.