Unreadable [Ritsu x Reader]

Chapter 6: Saved

The men leap forward at me with incredible speed. Petrified in place, I shut my eyes. My ears hear a surge, followed by the sound of bodies being thrown back to the ground. Slowly peaking, I open eyes to see the back of someone standing between me and my attackers. It's Ritsu! He stands in front of me, a single hand outstretched in front of him. He is surrounded by the glow of a faint blue light. The men laying on the ground start to get up, furious at this change of events. Ritsu simply holds up a second hand and sends the men flying back once again.

"You're psychic?!!" I accuse, shocked.

"I am. Stay behind me." He warns.

I watch as he uses what appears to be telekinesis to lift a nearby sign out of the ground and send it flying into one of the men. He catches it and throws it to the side. Looking at Ritsu's face I see a couple beads of sweat on his forehead, his eyes focused in concentration. He takes a deep breath and swipes his right hand through the air. The four men dressed in white are barely thrown back by his effort.

One clone leaps off against the side of the building and disappears from sight. I scream at I feel a hand grab my arm. Ritsu turns around to see me grabbed by one of the attackers. He lifts up his hands in front of him and presses the kidnapper down face first into the concrete, freeing me from the clone's grasp. Ritsu grabs my hand and starts running with me down the street. I breathe heavy, running as fast as I can to keep up with him dragging me. The sound men's voices calling out fades as we turn a path between two houses. Ritsu stops, pulling me behind behind a corner. Us safely hidden now, he lets go of my hand.

Once I finish catching my breath, I look again at my rescuer. "How did you know to come save me?" I question. If only I could just enter his mind, I think to myself. He straightens up and takes a deep breath.

"I could tell something was wrong by the way you've been acting in class. Then I overheard you tell your friend a spirit had followed you home. From my experience with spirits, I figured it would be better safe than sorry if I made sure you got home okay."

"So you followed me?!"

"Yes, and it's a good thing I did."

Our conversation is interrupted by the sound of the four men dressed in white calling out to the city. "Come on out girly.....we won't hurt you.....we just want to take you with us...." Their voices overlap and send shivers down my spine.

"We need a plan to beat these guys, and quick." Ritsu states. "I've seen another esper with an ability similar to this guy's. It's called Ethereal Bodies. Only one of that guy's four bodies is his real one. Usually you can blow the clones away with a powerful enough psychic blast, but unfortunately I guess I'm not strong enough to do that yet."

I watch him place his index finger and thumb on his chin. After some deep thought he looks at me again. "Do you have any psychic abilities?"

I hesitate to tell him. I hate it when people know about my power, it just makes them see me as a monster. However, considering our desperate situation, I don't have much of a choice.

"I can read minds," I admit.

Ritsu doesn't even flinch at my answer, instead his eyes light up as if he has an idea. "Can you tell what I'm thinking?" He asks.

"What? No. I can't read everyone's mind."

"But do you think you can read that freak's mind?"

"Well, yeah. I know I'm able to read him."

"Alright. If you can just detect where his thought are coming from, then I can attack the clone that's really him."

I process the plan and smile. "That could work!" I exclaim. "I just have to be close enough to him."

"That shouldn't be a problem," Ritsu whispers. "I hear something heading this way."

We kneel down behind the corner again, careful not to make a sound. Without looking, I focus my mind on any stray thoughts I can pick up. Aside from the blank page that is Ritsu's mind, I don't pick up anything for a few seconds. Then I find something.

....when I find those two, that boy is gonna get what's coming....

It's him. Hearing two sets of footsteps getting closer, I focus on which body the thoughts are coming from. One is empty, the other one behind it is full of annoyance.

"Ritsu," I hush to him next to me. "The clone behind the first one is him. He brought the first one as protection. The other two must be searching elsewhere."

"Got it." Ritsu replies. I can't tell from the tone of his voice if he's confident or nervous. He tenses up, then sprints straight out of the alley into the second clone. Bolting after him, I watch him send the real guy crashing into the car nearby. The first clone blurs and falters a little bit before regaining composure.

"Ritsu! It's working! The fakes are disappearing!" I call out to him.

He hears me and attacks the man again. A light blue aura of psychic power surrounds the man as he is continuously thrown back and forth into nearby buildings. A weaker clone punches Ritsu, throwing him to the ground and causing him to drop the man. I quickly run up to the clone and grab it's ponytail, yanking with all my might. It screams and blurs once again. Ritsu gets back on his feet in time to block a kick from the real attacker. Ritsu grabs his leg and smashes him into the sidewalk. I almost pitied my attacker when I saw the cuts and bruises all over his body. Ritsu leans over the man's limp body and grabs him by the shirt.

"Never come after Nami again." Ritsu orders darkly. Right before the man passes out, I reach into his mind and pull out a single thought.

....Maybe he should have sent Anri instead...

...

Neither of the kids notice they have an observer watching them from the roof of a nearby building. He had been jumping around from spot to spot, listening to everything they said as well as watching the battle unfold. The figure straightens his tie and re-wraps the band aid around his hand.

"Looks like I was right, that girl really can read minds." He mutters before turning around and disappearing into thin air.

[Drafted By Anna]