Heart vs Mind (Saiki K x Reader)

9. The Truth

//This chapter is mostly just explaining your empathic abilities and how you've changed since your first day at P.K Academy. You're welcome to wait until the next chapter to read!

(Your POV)

You had noticed a change in yourself within the first few months of your transfer to P.K Academy. On your first day, you stood in front of a classroom of strangers, fearing their judgement. You put on a face, letting yourself play the role of the enthused optimist at all times. You always thought that if you acted like a little ray of sunshine, people would treat you warmly. You were wrong. It was your bitter, feisty side that attracted Saiki and drew the two of you into a close friendship. It was your helpfulness and occasional optimism that attracted Hairo to you. Your classmates typically either ignored your existence or treated you like a regular student. Sure, here and there you could be a little overexcited, but lately you had become more mellow and less tense. Maybe it was all the time you spent with Saiki. Normally, if you spent enough time with someone, you started to pick up their speech patterns, their tone, their humor, and their feelings. You almost became this entropic blend of yourself and someone else, but this blend felt just right. Why? Because Saiki was just such a real person. A hardcore asshole but he wasn't afraid to be sweet, too. Being around someone so genuine brought out your own realness.

You had a lot to thank that bastard for.

"Saiki," you knocked on the front door of his house. When the door was opened, you didn't see the pinkette. Instead, you saw his clumsy, friendly father. You smiled politely, "Hello Mr. Saiki. Is Kusuo home?"
"He is, he's just upstairs doing some homework."
Then came his mother, a sweet woman with tender eyes and a mother's smile. "Is that (y/n)?" She asked. "Oh! To what do we owe the pleasure of this visit?"
"I just came to surprise Saiki. Would it be all right if I went to see him?"
His mother nodded and his parents stepped aside to invite you in. You slipped your shoes off and thanked them graciously, then scurried up the stairs to see your psychic friend.

(Saiki's POV)

The male leaned back in his chair, facing the door and awaiting your entry. He could finally admit to himself he was glad you were coming over. He could finally admit to himself that he had a crush on you, and he knew exactly why. While at first you were so fake it was unbearable, he slowly started to realize how attractive your true self was. The bits and pieces he was introduced to drove him crazy. An optimist, mellow, defensive, feisty, empathetic. You were always so in touch with the feelings of others like he always secretly wished he could be. You knew how a person was feeling, took that, and used it to make yourself fit in. Even if you didn't realize it, that's exactly what was going on. Saiki was questioning your sense of emotion from day one. And he realized before long that you were the complete opposite of him in that while he could read minds, you could read hearts. It was your empathic ability and lack of self-interest that created a shield which made it particularly difficult to read your mind at first. Now your thoughts were more clear to him. Why is that? Because by opening himself up to you here and there, it created a sort of bridge. When he opened himself to you you unknowingly opened your thoughts  for him. He had never come across someone like you. It was like you were made to be enemies... but he felt so in love. Why couldn't you tell he had feelings for you? You were oblivious to his aching heart.

"Knock, knock!" You chirped and knocked on his door softly.
"Come in," his response was vacant of the feelings he felt for you. I might as well tell her I know she's an empath. "(L/n), why didn't you tell me you're an empath?"

He watched your body tense up. "W-What? Don't be ridiculous, Saiki."

"It's not ridiculous. It's the truth."

You were silent for a moment, he could hear you arguing with yourself internally. You knew there was no sense in lying. "Yeah," you admitted, "I'm an empath. So? What about it?"
"I just have a few nagging questions."
You sighed. "Fire away."

This was going a lot smoother than he thought. He assumed you would freak out and try to lie to him, or you would come up with an excuse and try to escape his relentless cold gaze. You laid down on his bed and examined the palms of your hands. He watched your (e/c) eyes follow the lines slowly. "I know being a psychic is overwhelming. I never get any peace."
"When I was little, I couldn't decipher between my feelings and everyone else's. At least now I have some idea. So I don't get any peace either. Everyone's feelings become my own."
That sucks. We're the same in that sense. "Do you have control over it?"
"No, not always. Sometimes if I really isolate myself I can block out other people's feelings—hence my thinking box." You rolled over into your side and hugged one of Saiki's pillows as you looked at him and waited for his next question. "What's it like?" "Shitty." "How come?" You shrugged, "Its easier to connect to negative feelings. In some cases, that's good. It's easier to help someone if you know how they're feeling."

So she can't sense my feelings for her because they're categorized as positive emotions.
"But," you continued, Saiki watched your lips move, "It's weird because I can't get a read from you... unless you really are always annoyed."

Pretty much.

"Can you do anything else? Or are you limited to perception of feelings?" He asked. It wasn't like him to ask so many questions or be so talkative, but he liked talking to you. So he focused on your every word. "I can transmit feelings... er- swap them, really. Say there's a funeral and I happen to be on a particularly good mood while I coincidentally walk by. I can swap my own positive emotions for their grief."
Interesting. Knowing her, she probably got that hypothetical analogy from an actual experience. Geez... what a selfless idiot.

"Hm, well don't be to surprised that you can't perceive my emotions. I'm tsundre."
"You don't say?"

The male smiled small, and earned your smile in return. "Thanks for sharing with me. It's nice to know we have at least something in common."
"A distaste for Kokomi?"
"Two things in common."

You started to giggle uncontrollably which only made his smile grow. He had to turn around in his seat and face his desk, then pretend to work. "Calm down, it wasn't even that funny. Now what did you come over here for? Just to lay around or do you actually need something?" His tone was sharper than usual, and it caused your fit of giggles to die down slowly. "I just came over to hang out. Catch a break from my little sister and her friends."

"Why can't you go see Hairo or something instead of annoying me?"
"Because you're more fun than Hairo. Don't get me wrong, he's sweet and all, but he's not... well... hnnn..."
"He's overwhelming?"
"Bingo!"

Saiki rolled his eyes. "Great, so I'm stuck with you." Why can't I stop being a dick to her? He spun in his chair to look at you just as you nodded 'yes'. I'm glad she's here, I should let her know.
"Just reset the bed when you leave."
"Lets do something fun!"
"How about the "shut up" game?"
You pouted. Saiki sighed and got up from his chair then walked over to you and sat on the edge of the bed. "What would we even do?" He asked, deliberately sounding bothered. You puffed out your cheeks in annoyance, "You know what? I don't want to be a pain. I'll just call Hairo and ask if he's free to hang out," you took your phone out of your pocket just to have it ripped out of your hands by a psychic force. You stared in shock at your empty hand then glared at Saiki. "You jerk!" He set your phone down on the top of a high shelf then looked at you with dangerous eyes. You bit your lip, "Fine, jeez, I'll stay here."

"Good."