Chapter Text
Kurata Tome.
Kurata Tome was always a handful especially to her parents, she lazes all about, avoids chores at all times and she's often too opinionated, she have leadership skills that was for sure, she could've been something great or useful at least in her parents' opinion, she thinks that mastering telepathy and finding aliens is way more meaningful for society, unlike the debate club or the Creative Writing Association. All of them were boring and useless in Kurata Tome's opinion.
But y'know sometimes she and her friends need to take a break from time-to-time, after all it's a very intensive and meaningful research, hard work and stuff.
Tome was at the club room, playing in her Nintendo Switch playing Mario Odyssey, the sound of the game was loud, it echoed all over the club room, but everyone was minding their own business, after all they needed to train their minds for the next Big Thing, Tome didn't realized that she just finished a whole Pocky box in a minute, impressive.
She looked over the empty box, and see that the table was running out of snacks! That's a crime against humanity! She looked over to Inukawa, and saw that he too realized that they ran out. Huh.
The four of them looked at each other, daring each other to give in and buy the club some more necessities of nutrients. They looked over, peering over their magazines and their game consoles.
Inukawa sighed, the remaining three cheered and he whisked off from their sight.
When Inukawa passed through the door there was a girl peering through the corridor, Inukawa didn't get to see her, she seems to be nervous from what Inukawa could tell, before she caught him spotting and noticing her she ran away, Inukawa scratched his head. What's her problem? He shrugged to himself and went out.
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Teru didn't realized he was this incompetent, he knew he was, but he couldn't even do his homework right, he shouldn't use his powers to cheat, now he actually spends time with the educational material presented to him, he sighed. This was getting harder and harder, but he could do this, it's just Newton's Law of Physics, who's Newton anyways? Just some guy getting hit by an apple.
Teru started subconciously clicking his pen, on and off, on and off.
Eyes furrowed, he groaned.
Being normal was hard.
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Inukawa returned to the clubroom, just to see a girl peering through the miniscule window on the door, it looks like she's trying to catch a glimpse of something, Inukawa decided to call out to her.
"Hey! What are you doin'?" Inukawa asked, moving closer to the mysterious girl, she sighed before facing his way, long silky hair, and blue eyes, a soft face. It was none other than the school's idol, Takane Tsubomi.
Hmm, it could be that she's searching for Mob, Inukawa heard they're childhood friends? Or something.
"Are you looking for Mob-kun?" Tsubomi looked confused for a second, before smiling brightly at him. "Yes." Inukawa could tell that she's lying, she's just using his confusion and took the route of another opportunity, but in truth Inukawa's too tired, heavy grocery bag he's still carrying, it's just not worth it.
"Sorry, Mob comes in later after school's finished." Tsubomi nodded, Inukawa knew that she also knew that. What a horrible liar, Inukawa thought to himself. He opened the door and threw the heavy bags onto the table, "Here!" Tome hummed, burying herself in the game. She only stopped to grab a bag of chips and then she's back to her game.
"Guys, Takane-san was just outside, do you think she's interested..?" Inukawa asked, and he seemed as uninterested as the rest of them, but Tome being Tome, of course, she widen her eyes at the fact, she slammed her console onto the poor table and stood up, now all eyes are on her, she looks erratic. "Is it because of Mob!?" She shot an intense, questioning look at Inukawa, the poor boy squirmed at his seat.
"Y-yeah.." And with this, Tome grinned.
"Of course, let's tell him! Maybe she's up to something!"
Her friends looked uncomfortable. "I don't think that's the case, Tome-chan."
Tome huffed and slinked down to her seat, "Still we should tell him! Maybe something will happen!" Kurata Tome announced boldly.
None of them reacted.
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Teru didn't know if it was sad or depressing to some people that a fourteen-year old have no one to come home too, that he was all alone in this apartment they gave him, he was all alone in school.. He was untouchable and now it's so hard to touch.
He get used to it, he never announced that he's home because often no one will respond, in school his friends was fake masked under a fake perception of who Hanazawa Teruki truly is, he didn't care much. That's just how it is, right? He have a life he needed to live through it.
He was doing nothing again, homework finished, he's often with nothing else better to do, six hours being alone, wasn't that bad. But he felt as if he should be sad that his parents aren't always around, but he thinks it's okay, he's okay.
He tossed and turned, in his comfortable pink sweater, he was playing in his phone, checking social media, watching videos and such.
He sighed, he rested his phone on the bedside table and bore his eyes to the ceiling, although he doesn't like using his powers often, but he sometimes likes to use them for his own amusement, he oftens twirl books around in a playful manner, he made them form into intricate patterns, books, kitchen utensils and the like are fun to play with, he could always just organized them back again.
He looked up to see many books dancing in the air.
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It was tiring, everything was tiring, his bones weak. Mob felt like his legs could fall off by the slightest of tugs. He felt in peace, he felt proud. Mob smiled to no one in particular, he doesn't usually show his feeling, if he's happy, he's happy and that's it, Mob guessed that smiling was sort of an instinct, it's uncalled for sure, but he doesn't mind showing his emotions from time-to-time.
"Geez, what made you so happy?" Tome asked teasingly, Mob only flinched, his smile dropped. "Oh..u-uhmm, nothing really." Tome raised a brow. "Eh? But you were smiling earlier!" Mob needed a moment to think, maybe he could move the topic somewhere else, this is getting nowhere.
"Did anything happen today?" Tome chuckled, she puts away her game console and stood up. "Takane-san come by earlier!" Tome expected interest, sadness, anything but indifference. Mob hummed and nodded. "That's nice, Tome-chan."
"W-what!? That's all you have to say? Don't you think it's suspicious? She didn't even come in! She was just looking around through the door, kinda creepy if you asked me!" Tome wrapped around her arms. Mob looked at her and nodded. Tome was getting more incredulous by the second.
"What!? This is Takane-san! Takane-san we're talking about!" Mob nodded again.
It was hopeless, she put a hand on her face and sat back down, grabbing her console and she started to play her game again.
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Mob decided that, before he assumes anything, he should just call her to see what her intentions really are.
"Ah, hello Mob-kun!"
"Yes, Hello Tsubomi-chan."
"So how are you, good?"
Mob hummed.
"That's good! How's school today?"
"T-Tsubomi-chan, can I ask you something?"
The other line was quiet for awhile, "Go ahead, Shigeo."
"Tsubomi-chan? Why were you out side of the telepathy club room earlier today?"
Tsubomi laughed nervously, at that moment Mob already knew. He didn't know when, but when Tsubomi first laid eyes on Tome since the first-year of middle school, she said that was the true reason she turned him down, she was gay and she was gay for Kurata Tome, his best friend, it was to say weird and shocking at first, but then he too fell in love. In love with a certain blonde from Black Vinegar.
At that point forwards, they help each other out with each other's crushes, they overthink and shield their intense love and emotions, he remembered specifically, when Tsubomi said that she was scared that one of the guys at the telepathy club will get together with Tome, which of course was impossible, but in Tsubomi's defense she's not in their social circle or clubroom to understand their relationship.
Tsubomi got off-topic and started telling the same tale, she have told Mob over and over again, he wished he could reminisce the first day he have met Teru, but that day wasn't exactly pleasant to remember or looked back on, he couldn't say the same thing for Teru, Teru seemed thankful that, that day even happened.
Back in the first years of school, Tome was quirky, brave and outspoken, Tsubomi was already a major hit when she attended Salt Middle School, but from all that popularity, it was refreshing to see someone who truly doesn't care, Tsubomi explains, her first days in school are filled with everyone surrounding her table, trying to be friends or even date her, boys and girls alike, she was popular.
But Kurata Tome couldn't care less, back then they were friends for awhile, for maybe a few weeks, if Tsubomi counted right, Tome would talk about aliens, her favorite video games, she didn't care about status quo, she only cared about Tsubomi because she's Tsubomi, and that was everything Tsubomi ever wanted, she doesn't want anyone thinking that she's higher than them, or better than them, Kurata Tome just doesn't care. She never does and never will.
One day, Tsubomi lost touch and abandoned her precious friends, Mob, Ritsu, Tome. She wasn't involved anymore. Kurata Tome had also forgotten about her but it was deserved.
"You know you shouldn't be too obvious." Mob advised, hoping that he wasn't too rude about it. He do wish for Tsubomi to stop, even if that's kind of mean, he heard this story over and over again, he already knows.
The line went silent again, before Tsubomi laughed weakly, "You're right, I don't want her to think that I'm creepy." Mob contemplates if he should tell her or not, Tome did call her creepy. As if Tsubomi was the one with psychic powers, she sighed in tired defeat. "She did, didn't she?"
"I-it's n-not like that! T-Tsubomi-chan.. " Mob tried.
"No, it's okay, Mob I know, maybe I should befriend her again, you really are lucky, huh? You and Hanazawa are already friends, maybe even best friends." Mob seethed, it was, really, more like a double-edged sword more than anything, Hanazawa only thinks of him as a friend and nothing more, nothing really lingers that long in the blonde's mind. Mob was blunt, really blunt. He could've just tell Teruki outright.
But something about it made it feels unearned. Scary. Terrifying.
Mob thought for sure that he had a thing for popular kids.
"Ah.. well! Mob, see you later!"
Mob was too caught up in his mind to properly respond he just screams goodbye at the last second.
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Kurata Tome felt like many things are stupid and pointless, like philosophy, math and especially homework, if there's one thing the telepathy club's bad at is homework, it's meaningless, and it's only purpose is to distract them from the important research.
That's why she purposed to abolish homework all-together by going on strike! Ditching school, not doing homework, the teachers will finally get it!
But.. not really, they'll probably just report it to the parents, nevermind then.
Kurata Tome still wanders about the other day with Takane-san, what was she doing? But she wasn't one to linger on a subject for too long. She lost in her game, groans and the thought passes though her head like it was never there.
To Be Continued