Break the mold (Saiki Kusuo X Reader)

You can't fool me, Teruhashi

Since Kaido and Nendou had grown a little buddy-buddy with  Y/n, it was common for them to invite her to ramen whenever they went together. sadly for Saiki, he tended to also get dragged along. That lead to the current situation. The four were walking to a ramen shop Nendou had heard was good, though none of them had been there before. while Nendou, Kaido, and Y/n had said they were up for anything, Saiki just seemed to feel trapped, like he could no longer leave the group, so he stayed.

At least, that's what Saiki told himself. In reality, of course, he had grown attached to the two idiots, and the mysterious girl. The two were always attached to him in some way, it seemed, and so it was natural to get attached after spending so much time with them, intentional or not. As for Y/n, he was still curious and nervous about her and why she was so different from other people. To any outsider, she would not stand out nearly at all. However, to Saiki, she stuck out like a sore thumb. At least, when he had his sights on her.

He had a tendency to lose her in crowds, he noticed. She blended in like she belonged there, and he wondered how he could lose her so easily when she often times would plague his mind at deep times in the night.

At least, she was rarely in crowds while around him. Like now. The four who walked together to the shop seemed to be the only ones in the area. That was until...

"Oh! Fancy meeting you here, Saiki,"

"Did this witch just ignore the rest of us?" Y/n looked to her sides, expecting some kind of offence to be taken to the two boys she was previously talking with, but they were awestruck and red in the faces. Sighing in defeat, she fell back to walk in step with the pink haired boy who was being addressed by Teruhashi.

"What are you boys up to today?" She asked, the rest seemingly being blind to the fact that she was totally ignoring Y/n's existence, which, she had to admit, did hurt. She sighed again, ignoring the pain in her chest.

Teruhashi ended up joining the group for ramen, which left Y/n to be totally ignored for a long while of their walk. Y/n had half a mind to turn around and leave. It was not like she would be missed, anyway. Though, she fought against it. She would not let herself be hurt by someone like that.

Something about Teruhashi rubbed Y/n the wrong way. Sure, she seemed so perfect on the outside, but was she really like that on the inside too? Y/n found it hard to believe that someone could be as perfect as Teruhashi liked to make herself seem. She thought that she was just trying hard to seem perfect as some sort of life goal of hers, and she at least had some flaws on the inside. Everyone has some flaws, right?

Whatever was going on, Y/n did not feel good about hanging around Teruhashi. She hoped that Nendou and Kaido would not become buddy-buddy with her. What was she kidding? There was no way they would. 

Saiki seemed to notice how each of the three felt about the girl, regardless of if he could read their mind or not. Obviously, he knew full well how the two love-struck boys felt about her, but Y/n was another case.

Y/n was not the type to be quiet around friends, or people she felt she could get along with pretty well, and would always hold a solid conversation with basically anyone if need be. Meanwhile, right then, she was silent as could be. She had not said a word since Teruhashi had joined the group. Saiki could easily feel some sort of rivalry, though was not sure if each girl knew about the others distaste. 

He could read Teruhashi's mind about how she felt about Y/n, and it was not pretty.

"Who does that girl think she is? Walking next to Saiki. I see her talk to him sometimes too! And he actually acknowledges her! I'll beat her and replace her spot next to him some day!.... Not because I like him or anything, but because I want to hear him say "Oh wow!" like every other person who meets me,"

Saiki questioned why she was not pissed that Y/n had never said "Oh wow!" either, but assumed it was because she was already pissed at Y/n for another reason.

While Saiki could read Teruhashi's mind on her thoughts of Y/n, he just had to use context clues to find out Y/n did not like Teruhashi for whatever reason. The only thing that he could come up with was that she had ignored her when first joining the group, but that was about it. The mind is more complex than that, so he knew that he was missing something from the equation. 

They finally reached the Ramen shop, and it was... less than satisfactory. It looked like a dump, to put it simply. The outside of the building looked like the food would have mouse pellets in it, or bugs. Either would be equally as nasty, and Y/n was not afraid to show distaste for the place. 

Kaido made a big deal about Teruhashi not wanting to eat there, which made her more pressured to eat there than in the first place. Y/n was disgusted, but no one asked her opinion, and she had a motto of "You ever know until you try", so she followed the group in. The inside was on par with how bad the outside was. Exactly what Y/n expected.

They were all seated in seconds, and tried to keep high hopes. They ordered, and got the noodles pretty quickly. They looked... inedible. Like every ingredient was fished out of a deli's collection of expired food they had yet to throw away. then... Teruhashi started eating.

"You might get sick. Here," Y/n fished in her bag, pulling out a bottle of tums, a stomach settling medicine. They tended to taste like candies. Though she did dislike Teruhashi, she would never wish ill on anyone.

Saiki nodded at Y/n, showing her that he approved of her actions. It caused Y/n to raise a brow in question, as it was not common for Saiki to directly address someone, specially for a small action like that.

Saiki didn't really know why he felt the need to address what she did, but it was done.

The group left the shop, the rest of them not even trying to touch their ramen before ditching. Kaido and Nendou tried to help make Teruhashi feel better, but it was little luck. Meanwhile, Y/n and Saiki moved at their own, faster pace as they made their ways home, ditching the thought of having ramen that day.

Y/n felt better now that she was away from Teruhashi, and even Kaido and Nendou. She was hurt that they had completely forgotten about her when Teruhashi had showed up. It was not that she wanted any of that love-struck attention that Teruhashi got from the pair. In fact, they did not treat her any different than they treated Saiki, or each other. She just wanted to be acknowledged. Maybe Saiki enjoyed no one bothering him, but Y/n did not.

The psychic noticed Y/n's heavy breathing, and decided it was time to figure out exactly what her deal was with Teruhashi.

"Teruhashi," Y/n snapped her attention towards Saiki, trying to understand what he meant. "You obviously don't like her," Finally understanding, and a sinking feeling forming in her stomach, Y/n hung her head low and nodded. Silence took over the pair, and Y/n took it as a sign that Saiki wanted more details. 

"I find it hard to believe that how nice she is, is just how she is on the inside, and there is no ulterior motive. I... I feel bad that I could be wrong and disliked her for a more shallow reason, but something just doesn't sit well with me," The two stopped in front of Y/n's house, now just talking before they had to depart. It was silent for a second, and Y/n felt like Saiki was judging her. In reality, he was shocked that she could see through Teruhashi so easily. 

Everyone other than Saiki, who could literally read her thoughts and see what her motives really were, easily fell into the palm of Teruhashi's hand. They fed into the ideal woman that she made herself out to be. However, Y/n could see through it. Saiki was relieved, in a way, that he was not the only one that could see through the "perfect" girl's facade. 

"I think you're right," He mumbled, being just loud enough for Y/n to hear. Y/n smiled a bit in a bittersweet way, and Saiki decided to address the other part of the problem. "They're a pain, the two idiots. Don't let them get to you," He turned away from Y/n, his back facing her now, as he slowly walked to his own home. 

"Thanks, Saiki. I appreciate you helping me feel better," Y/n smiled genuinely for the first time since school let out that day. Though she was confused on why Saiki had helped her when he never seems interested in other people's feelings, she just accepted it, enjoying the moment. At least she had one friend that she had no grudge against. That was good enough for her.