𝒘𝒉𝒊𝒔𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒔 𝒐𝒇 𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒕𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕 | saiki kusuo

arrival

the first day at a new school was supposed to be exciting, or at the very least, nerve-wracking. miyahara mikazuki had never understood that. she'd long learned how to shut out her feelings when she needed to, compressing them into a neat, manageable ball that she could ignore in favor of reading the people around her. pk academy was no different. to everyone else, she was an ordinary transfer student, here for the start of her second year in high school. her heart wasn't racing, and her eyes weren't darting around the room in nervous sweeps. instead, they were on him.

saiki kusuo.

the boy with pale pink hair and green-tinted glasses, standing at his desk with an expression as blank as hers. the feeling he gave off was subtle, something only a true psychic would recognize. to anyone else, he'd seem quiet, maybe a bit strange—but that was normal enough for high school, and in any case, they'd dismiss him quickly. no one would have guessed that he was anything but ordinary.

but mikazuki knew the truth.

her eyes lingered on him, analyzing. the aura around him was like a bubble, a strange, elastic energy that was powerful yet hidden, skillfully locked away. the moment she'd seen him, she knew he was someone like her—a psychic with abilities beyond what normal people could imagine. her mind brushed against his aura like a fingertip grazing the edge of a force field. she could tell that his walls were solid, that he wasn't projecting thoughts outward. and from the way his gaze barely shifted toward her, she guessed that he had no idea who she really was.

she was perfectly fine with that.

"alright, class," the teacher droned from the front of the room. "this is your new classmate, miyahara mikazuki. be sure to make her feel welcome."

mikazuki bowed slightly, keeping her expression mild. the class responded with typical murmurs of politeness, and she resisted the urge to sigh. she'd have to settle into her routine here as quickly as possible if she didn't want to attract any attention. her gaze swept the room, catching on each student's face as she tuned in to their auras briefly. most were harmless, normal, focused on trivial things—friendship, class, passing notes. just normal students.

then, her gaze returned to saiki. he was still at his desk, pretending to be absorbed in his book, but there was something different in his aura—a faint curiosity, tinged with suspicion. she could feel him sizing her up, and it took everything she had to keep her own walls firmly locked, her mind blank. if he was powerful enough to read through her defenses, her entire plan would be ruined.

"so, miyahara-san," a cheerful voice interrupted her thoughts, and she turned to find herself face to face with kaidou shun, his eyes wide with what he clearly hoped was mysterious intensity. "you're new here, right? any chance you know about... dark forces?"

mikazuki's gaze settled on him with a blank stare, and she fought the urge to smirk. she could sense his thoughts swirling with ridiculous ideas about the supernatural, unaware that he was speaking to someone who truly had powers. for a second, she considered indulging him, but she didn't want to draw any more attention.

"not really," she replied simply, her tone neutral.

kaidou looked disappointed, his energy deflating as if she'd just told him she wasn't interested in saving the world.

"sorry," she added, just to sound polite. she wasn't here to make friends, but the last thing she wanted was to make enemies, either. besides, the real person she was focused on was still sitting quietly, only occasionally glancing her way.

saiki. his presence was like a muted alarm, the kind of aura that set her instincts on edge. normally, she could feel when someone was probing her mind, when they were trying to read her. but saiki wasn't trying to do that. he was cautious, careful. she could tell he'd spent years building his barriers, making sure his powers were tightly controlled. even now, she couldn't be sure exactly what his abilities were. she'd have to observe carefully.

but then, she caught it—a small slip, a faint flicker in his expression as their eyes met. it was only for a second, but it was enough. he had sensed something. maybe it was the way she held her gaze too long, or maybe it was just intuition, but saiki knew she wasn't as ordinary as she seemed.

her pulse quickened, just barely. she couldn't afford to let her own guard down.

"so, mikazuki-san, how are you finding pk academy so far?" another classmate, nendou riki, asked, his booming voice cutting through the quiet. he smiled at her with an almost comically enthusiastic grin. if her first encounter with kaidou had been strange, this one was practically surreal.

"it's... nice," she replied diplomatically, avoiding the urge to frown at his overwhelming presence. it wasn't his fault that his thoughts were so loud; she could practically hear them without even trying. "very welcoming."

nendou laughed, clapping a massive hand on her shoulder with far too much enthusiasm. she resisted the urge to recoil, even as she saw saiki's eyes flicker toward them with a touch of exasperation.

"it's great to have ya here!" nendou boomed, and mikazuki nodded politely, doing her best to keep her own energy as restrained as possible. saiki's attention drifted back to his book, and she knew that, for now, she'd managed to evade his suspicion.

for now.

as the morning wore on, mikazuki stayed close to her new desk, letting her gaze settle occasionally on saiki, reading his energy like the faint hum of static on the edge of her senses. it was dangerous, she knew, but she couldn't resist. she was like him, after all—a psychic hiding in plain sight.

the only question was, for how long?