invisible// saiki kusuo ff

Chapter 28 || Flashback

I was too stunned to speak. She continued bombarding me with questions, mentioning the swirls and statically glow of my aura and what it meant.

"You know, I never met someone with a neon-ish glow to it! you're super unique. Are you supernatural like me? Are you a psychic?"

Of course I wasn't dumb enough to reveal anything yet, but the way she kept on blabbing left me no choice but to respond to her. So as she tried desperately to understand me, kids crowded near and were interested. I knew it was stupid, but I suddenly felt wanted. Like I belonged. Aiura Mikoto made me feel cool.

We fell into a friendship. If someone harassed you like that, it was hard to fend them off. I was lonely and slightly vulnerable, and she proved to be a kind friend. Well, at least I'd thought so. The final year of Junior High, Aiura knew my secrets. She had finally cracked the code. Her powers were indeed legit. I was comfortable with her, though, and what could I do? I thought because she also had powers, we were safe.

I should have known better. She constantly flaunted hers, and I wanted to keep mine a secret. She was born for the spotlight. It worked on her, but being my friend, it also shed light on me. I didn't want attention but she pushed it onto me. It was obvious, and yet I believed her when she said she promised to keep them a secret. I hung out with her every day. She taught me knew stuff. I tried to be like her and she tried to be like me. Eventually I adapted one of her skills.

One night, I had a premonition. In this dream, I saw Aiura meeting a hooded figure. There was an exchange of a briefcase and conversation that I couldn't hear. I woke up the next morning in a cold sweat and disbelief. She was my best friend so I refused to believe it. I thought she would never rat me out.

"Say, Kaiyato-chan, you're going to the festival, right?" Aiura asked over a mouthful of cheeseburger. I shrugged, unsure. My parents barely knew the extent of our friendship. I told them we hung out at school, but they restricted me from extracurricular activities and what not. I understood why; i still occasionally had accidents. With my powers, I mean. Last week i blew out the window on account of being frightened by a centipede.

"I don't know if I can, Miko-chan," I said, setting down my soda. "I don't want to bring attention to myself nor get in trouble."

"You have me! Trust, girlie, I'll know if something comes up. Please, it's the last week of summer. My parents might send me to a boarding school this year! Seriously, I don't understand how you managed to maintain those grades. I could never. Anyways, I wanna go out with you at least once! Come on, I'll even do your makeup.."

"No way. No makeup can save this face."

"Pretty please" she urged. "Kai-chan how do you seriously not realize how pretty you are? Your popularity level is like 86%!"

"Yeah, only 'cause I'm your friend!"

"No, it's because you're literally gorgeous. People are only afraid to talk to you because you give off bad vibes. It's okay, though, because I know the real you."

I remained silent, regrettably pondering the thought. I wanted to, though I knew I shouldn't.

"Come on, Kaiyato! It'll be fun. Just this one night, show the world who You truly are."

And so I agreed. She dressed me up, took me to the carnival. It was fun. I liked the makeup. I liked the games. I ignored the red flags of my dreams and allowed myself to engage in ignorant bliss. But of course, all things come to an end.

"Hold on, Kai-chan! I'm gonna go snatch some funnel cake for us to share."

She left me, alone, sitting on the bench in front of the carnival wheel. I swayed my feet, thinking not much of the worried expression on her face. I chose to be blind because I wanted to be happy. However, that was the worst mistake possible.