Chapter Text
Well, this would just be his luck, wouldn’t it?
It all starts on a seemingly casual day like any other. The Psyckickers had even managed to drag Kusuo out of his house to go shopping (Aiura’s idea), which he had begrudgingly agreed to, after days of convincing.
They wander through the streets of the shopping district aimlessly, each getting suddenly distracted by this or that and tugging the others along to check it out. Naturally, Kusuo gets distracted by a pastry shop, Akechi by a bookstore, Aiura by an astrology-themed store with crystals lined in the windows, and Toritsuka by one that looks to be strictly 18+ only.
All in all, their day is going pretty well, which is always a sign that something inconvenient is going to happen to Kusuo. Usually, this means running into Teruhashi in public by accident or something else he would generally like to avoid, but today, he gets the sudden sense that something is different.
As they turn a corner into a quieter street, he pauses suddenly, turning his head to the right. He gets the sense that he’s being watched, but no one around them seems to be paying any attention to them.
Was that something in that building up there on the right? It’s a taller apartment building, so naturally, there are plenty of people he can see through their windows doing any number of things. Why does this seem different, though? It’s outside of his normal telepathy range, so he can’t tell for sure.
What a pain. I must be imagining things, he decides, bringing his attention back to the others, who are arguing about where they should go next- museum or lunch. He couldn’t care less about what they do, so he just listens along and tries to ignore the nagging sensation in the back of his mind.
What was it that he thought he saw?
“Okay, is it just me, or does something seem off?” Toritsuka wonders aloud with a frown, dragging Kusuo back to the present again.
“What do you mean by that, Toritsuka?” Akechi asks, stopping to look at him.
Aiura stops walking to pay attention to the conversation as well, equally curious.
Toritsuka hesitates, unsure. “Well, it just… Never mind. It just almost feels like we’re being watched, doesn’t it?”
Everyone freezes, gazing around anxiously, and he continues. “Not only that, but the ghosts seem a little unsettled too. They’re all just staring at-” He turns his head toward the apartment building from before, and then several things happen at once.
A loud BANG! sounds, followed instantly by a small shattering noise. Aiura screams, joined by the others in the street, who are all panicking and scattering, and Kusuo drops to the ground like a bag of rocks.
“Saiki!” Toritsuka yells in horror, crouching down to help him, but he doesn’t see any blood.
At first, Kusuo hadn’t realized what had happened. He heard the gunshot, felt a harsh tug on the side of his head, and was suddenly sprawled on the ground. It happened before he could see it.
A few meters away lies the destroyed remains of his left limiter.
…This isn’t looking good. Now, he can’t move or help without destroying the whole area, and there’s no telling what’s going to happen next. Also, his telepathy has gotten infinitely stronger without the device, and he can hardly sort through his own thoughts among the billions of others he’s hearing all at once now, most of them in different languages.
“Are you okay?!” Toritsuka asks desperately, rolling him onto his back. “What happened- Your limiter! But-”
“I’m fine,” Kusuo assures him, annoyed, but this isn’t good. Was that bullet meant for him? Why did they shoot his limiter? He wonders if Kusuke is behind this. He’d bet that he probably is.
“It came from there!” Akechi interrupts, pointing to the apartment building both Kusuo and Toritsuka had been observing before. “Judging by the angle of the shot-”
“Shit, we have to find cover! What if they try to shoot us again?!” Aiura cries. She whips her head around to stare in every direction, but she can’t tell what’s going to happen from all of the chaos around them.
“They might,” Akechi answers unhelpfully. “We need to call for help and get Kusuo out of here. Without his limiter-”
“Someone’s coming,” Kusuo warns suddenly, still unable to move. All he can do is cross his eyes and use clairvoyance to look at what’s around them. “Fast, in black vans. You three should hide; they’re coming for me.”
“What?!” Toritsuka exclaims. “We can’t just leave you here! Are you crazy?”
“I’m being serious. Get out of here.” If only he could use his powers and push them away to safety. As he is now, though, he shouldn’t use his powers at all.
His head is starting to really hurt from all of the overwhelming thoughts he hears. He needs to figure something out before he gets too disoriented.
“Yeah, and what are you planning on doing by yourself? You need our help!”
“Well, what are you planning on doing to help?" he retorts, making Toritsuka hesitate. “I’ll figure something out. If they see you guys with me, you could be in danger too.”
“Guys, I think it may be too late for that…” Aiura mutters, right as two massive black vans screech to a stop in front of them.
Several masked people dressed in all black pile out, pointing guns at the four teenagers.
“Fucking great,” Toritsuka snarls to himself. What the hell do they want with Saiki anyways?
“Step away from him, with your hands up,” one of the strangers orders, and everyone freezes. Then the psychics step in front of their friend protectively.
“Idiots!" Kusuo growls, but there’s nothing he can do. This is it. He’s stuck on the ground, at their mercy, with no way to escape. Any small movement could tear this area apart. He can’t afford to do that and put everyone here at risk.
“May I ask what you want with our friend?” Akechi asks innocently- the beginning of what will be a long monologue, everyone senses. “He-”
“No, you may not.” The woman grits her teeth, hiking her gun up again and aiming it directly at him.
“O-Oh! In that case-”
“Akechi, please, just stop,” Toritsuka begs, gripping Kusuo’s shoulders from where he is on the ground. He wants nothing more than to run away, to get out of here as fast as he can, but he’s better than that now. After the fight with the cat tank, he’s been feeling a lot more courageous and won’t abandon his friend in his time of need.
“Now, I said, step away from the pink-haired kid!” she snaps.
“Just do what she says,” Kusuo orders, but again, no one pays any attention.
“Kusuo, do you know who these people are?” Aiura whispers, not looking at him.
“No, I’ve never seen them before. I can’t even read their minds like this. I’m being blasted by the thoughts of every person and animal on the planet right now, so I have no idea who’s thinking what right now.” Irritated, he grimaces as the headache starts to get worse, but he keeps his eyes fixed on the scene in front of him.
“Get away from him- and I won’t ask again!” the woman shouts, and at their refusal, she waves a hand, sending the others forward.
Kusuo watches in horror as they grab each of his friends roughly, dragging them to the side while they try to fight back, yelling and causing a scene.
“Just stop!” he exclaims, but he’s unsure which people he’s even addressing. “Let them go.”
The woman chuckles. “Now, you’re going to cooperate with us, aren’t you? I know you can still move if you want to, but you won’t if you don’t want one of your friends dying today.”
Good grief. How did it even come to this?
He looks around at the others being tightly restrained, and of course he’s not going to let them get hurt for him. If he really wanted to, he could stop these people by destroying this whole street, but he can’t do that without hurting his friends as well.
So he supposes there’s only one thing he can do.
“...Fine. I’ll go with you. Now, let them go,” he practically begs, but he would refuse to ever admit to that.
“Good choice, kid,” she says with a cruel smile. Then, she motions to a couple of the others, who rush toward him.
God, how he wishes he could stand his ground right now. He’s taken out governments before! Why is this such an issue now? It’s humiliating.
They force him upright, and one pops the top off of a small bottle with some strange aroma coming from it, putting it right beneath his nose. He tries not to breathe it in, but by the time he’s processed that he shouldn’t, he’s already got it in his system. He sees his vision starting to get fuzzy, his head drooping, and he knows he’ll be out soon. Who knows where they’ll take him next? At least his friends will be sa-
“Take the other kids too. We need to be sure he won’t try anything funny,” he hears distantly.
Wait. What?
They were supposed to get out! No, no, no, no, no! He’s only doing this to keep them safe!
But it’s too late by now. As he starts to lose consciousness, he hears them desperately calling his name. All of the thoughts he’s been hearing slowly ebb away into nothingness, and he finally gives in to the sleep that’s calling him.