Beyond Average | Saiki K. x Reader

35| Piece by Piece

3rd Person P.O.V

Upon arrival at school, everyone that had been stuck in that island was crowded by students teeming with questions, ranging from how they landed there to how they fared without basic necessities. A few perverts (Toritsuka) asked if anything "fun" had happened, considering there was zero adult supervision, but was met with a threatening glare from Kusuo. 

At least, everyone but one person.

'Why is no one asking me questions? Did they forget I also suffered?!'

Sobbing at her unfair treatment, (Y/N) mentally curses the author for not giving her any attention and sits alone at her desk, furiously scribbling down the notes they missed.

By noon, things were beginning to settle down until the school's newspaper club published a news article at a speed rivaling Team Rocket. Said news article contained exaggerated content exposing the students that were involved in the incident, with the header being "Teruhashi stranded with four boys! Details tomorrow!" to catch by passer's attention. 

The manager of the newspaper club knew how to strike the right cords to get everyone in the school to read her exaggerated newspaper that promised a full story in the next article.

But just before they got Kaidou to confess everything, (Y/N) slammed the classroom door open where the interview was being held and dragged the blue haired snitch away. She had foreseen this from the moment they stepped off the rescue boat.

"Kaidou, you know better! We already agreed with Saiko that we wouldn't share anything that happened!"

Arms crossed, she scolds him in a corner of the hallway, reminding him of the conversation they had with a changed Saiko who didn't want the details leaked. As they rode the boat back to Japan, they agreed to keep it to themselves for privacy matters and Saiko had been making phone calls to shut down news channels mentioning it. Kaidou shrinks away and trembles at (Y/N)'s rare wrath.

"I-I wasn't going to say anything! I pro....mi..."

At her glare, he doesn't have the courage to finish his blatant lie of a sentence and silently shrinks against the wall. She knew exactly what he was going to do, and knew it was wrong for him to try and do it for clout.

Meanwhile, Kusuo kept an eye on both Nendou and (Y/N) for completely opposite reasons. While he spied on Nendou to make sure he didn't stupidly spill something about the seemingly convenient and miraculous appearances of tools and food while they were on the island, he hoped (Y/N) would forget everything that happened and move on.

As we're all aware, both God and the author have no intention of making his life convenient, and (Y/N) was far too sharp to simply let it go. 

Despite their initial dislike toward each other, Saiko and the rest of the group were actually getting along. It's as they say, hardship does bring people together, and even seemed to foster a friendlier mood amongst them. 

It's an understatement to say that everyone's jaws fell to the floor when Saiko, Nendou and Kuboyasu all walked in, chatting like they were old buds. 

"And then when the little runt finally started the fire, his hair got scorched and he ran to the water to dunk his head! BAHAHA!"

"Hey, he was very cold after that. The girls had to lend him some clothes so he wouldn't get sick. We didn't even have medicine to treat his small burns." 

"Hmph, you plebians have to struggle to survive. I even have a butler to warm my feet for me... and the kid's already been treated at my personal hospital."

After he muttered the last part, emphasizing 'personal hospital', the entire class broke out into a ruckus, nearly flipping their desks over as they crowded around them. It took the teacher a long time to calm everyone down, that is, by threatening to assign extra homework. As everyone finally settled down, the teacher resumed the lesson and a tired Kusuo inwardly sighed as he sensed eyes on him. 

On the left side, a pair of eyes dug into the back of his head. From the desk pressed against the wall where the little mouse couldn't sit still. Did he blame her? No, rather, he applauded her for remaining so calm despite her suspicions. 

'What happened that night? I can't remember for the life of me...'

Slowly, Kusuo turns his head and their eyes meet. For a brief moment, their eyes lock. For (Y/N) it feels like she gets a little closer to the truth, like Kusuo was about to tell her something, but someone else speaks.

"(Y/N), can you tell me what year this significant event occurred?" The teacher says, tapping the board with the white piece of chalk in their hand. 

"Huh? O-Oh, yes! Uh..."

Startled, she scrambles to her feet, stammering as she looks up at the board. She already knew the answer, yet the teacher had decided to pick on her the moment she got distracted, how utterly cruel, she thought. 

"Its...eighteen sixty eight. The end of the Edo period, which is when Japan began the shift toward western technology and pol-"

"Alright, so you are paying attention."

Just when she had calmed herself and glanced over the board for context, the teacher interrupted her midsentence. That's when she realized they weren't actually looking for an answer, simply a way to call out all the people not paying attention. 

Embarrassed, (Y/N) nods and sits back down. She stares at her history book, now too flustered to look back at Kusuo. It was true that she and the group who had been stranded on the island were behind by an entire week, but (Y/N) had been working diligently to catch up all weekend. Even those who weren't behind likely wouldn't have known the answer. 

Class resumes but no more secret glances are exchanged. No one would have guessed that the pink haired boy had felt a tinge of guilt at the fact that he was the one distracting her. 

The bell later rings and (Y/N) trudges out of the classroom for her usual toilet break. As she walks, she steps aside to let Hairo resume his lunges all the way to the teacher's lounge, with two boulders attached to his ankles for some reason. Unfazed, she resumes her walk to the restroom.

'I volunteered to go on night watch that day. I should have been awake. I should have seen the boats arrive. Why don't I remember this?'

She wracks her brain as she steps inside a stall, with her thoughts are all over the place as she does her business.

'Kaidou said that Kusuo saw the boats arrive...don't things always happen when he's involved?'

As she washes her hands, she stares at her reflection in the mirror, trying to will her brain to recall all the strange events that occurred.

'When he passed out on the first night, the ship crashed. When he went on night duty, the island felt different. Food, supplies and tools all conveniently washed up shore, but can I really tie all of that back to him? Wouldn't it be more rational to blame it on Teruhashi's luck?'

She groans and turns the sink off, reaching for a paper towel next. It felt like a vital piece of information was missing, and she was getting frustrated.

Just as she's about to throw the paper towel away, she pauses.

'Wait. Saiko didn't eat anything those five whole days. And he looked just fine when I-'

That's when it hit her. A wave of memories return with a piercing stab. She holds her head and steadies herself with the wall. 

'That's right! I offered Saiko food that night! Then I fell from the cliff...and...oh my god.'

The realization slowly dawns on her. As she steps out of the bathroom, there he stood, as if waiting for her to come out. She couldn't fully bring herself to believe it, and her brain felt like it might explode from the pain, but she'd definitely put all the pieces together. Kusuo stared at her with his usual emotionless and stoic face, eyes narrowing as she chokes out.

"You...you're a..."

Kusuo reaches out, covering her mouth.

'Psychic.' 

~~~

Sorry it's a bit late and quite a short chapter, but happy valentines day! 

Title inspired by my goat Isagi. (Y/N) is the real mvp for piecing it all together tho. 

-Kuruma