Saiki and Akechi were used to betting against each other, and Akechi was used to winning.
Despite having lost the majority of their games and bets, Saiki kept playing along, letting his competitive side get the best of him. Of course, Akechi would usually share whatever dessert he won, so aside from the temporary blow to his ego, losing wasn't all that bad.
Akechi was sitting on his bed, reading a book.
Saiki came up next to him, wrapping his arms around his waist and resting his head on his shoulder.
"Hello," he said, chuckling.
'Hi.'
Akechi turned his book to allow Saiki to read off his shoulder.
Usually, Akechi would welcome the affection, and if he was smart enough to keep quiet for once, Saiki would continue pretending like he was doing something completely normal while digging his face into his neck and cuddling up to him like a cat.
'What are you reading?'
"The Dedication Of Subject Z. It's a new series. I've only read the first book, but I think they're gradually improving, concerning plotline and characterization."
"Hmm."
Akechi saw out of the corner of his eye as Saiki's softened features slowly formed into a small smile, which he could only differentiate from a straight face because his default expression was more of a scowl than anything.
He could've stayed quiet. He probably should've, too, but he was used to speaking without thinking.
"Y'know Kusuo-kun, you're so cold to everyone else, I never thought you'd be so clingy."
And that's when it started.
Saiki let go of him and sat on the bed beside him, leaning back.
'Clingy? What do you mean by clingy?'
Akechi put his book down.
"Well, maybe not clingy... I mean, the way you're so affectionate, even if you pretend not to be."
'What is that supposed to mean...?' he projected, tugging softly at the edge of his shirt.
"I didn't mean to offend you, I think it's endearing, the way you're so attached to me."
And there it is again.
'Attached? What do you mean attached?'
"I, well..." he trailed off, smiling nervously. "I'm not sure. But it's quite sweet."
'You say this as if you're not attached to me.'
He should've stayed quiet.
"I'm not going to lie and say I'm not attached to you, but I'm certainly not as attached to you as you are to me."
Saiki's face flushed as he clenched his fists.
'Sure you're not.'
Akechi chuckled.
"I'm not."
He definitely should've stayed quiet.
"I doubt you could spend a day apart from me."
'And are you claiming that you could?'
Akechi smiled coyly.
"Yes."
Saiki would never admit it, especially not to Akechi, but it stung a little to hear him say it.
"I don't think it'd be too difficult. I know the way I'm saying it makes it sound cold and indifferent, but I promise that this was not my intention. I mean it in a realistic way, because I have considered it before, what it'd be like not to see you for an entire day. I think I considered it first a few months ago, when I noticed there were no gaps in between our visits to each other's houses. People are rather social creatures; the most social, I believe, but technically, I would still be alive and well, even if several weeks passed and I hadn't seen you. Unless of course, I was plagued with the knowledge that I would never see you again, or that the reason I couldn't be with you was because you were sick or hurt, which in the latter, isn't very probable, considering your powers, and I'd still be perfectly healthy, both mentally and physically, since I would know that the situation, as dire as it might seem at the time, is only temporary."
He didn't stay quiet.
'You can't fool me with all your scientific mumbo jumbo.'
"I promise you, I'm telling the truth."
Saiki grinned.
'Alright, then. I bet you couldn't go a day without seeing me.'
"Hmm? I also doubt you could go a day without seeing me. I said tha-"
'No. I bet you couldn't go a day without seeing me.'
"Hmm?" Akechi smiled, now slightly concerned. "Do you mean...?"
Saiki nodded.
Akechi's soft smile slowly formed into a sly smirk.
"Okay... I think I understand what you mean, Kusuo-kun. The usual wager?"
'Of course.'
This wasn't the first time they'd "played" together. The usual wager was a slice of strawberry cake. Akechi had picked it because it reminded him of the first time they'd played one of their games. Of course, occasionally, Saiki would convince Akechi to make the wager something else-- such as coffee jelly-- but usually, he'd go along with it, because he knew that on the off chance of his narrow victory, Akechi would most likely have or make cake from scratch.
Akechi's cake was worth the risk.
'Time?'
Akechi looked down at his watch.
"6:52 p.m. It's Friday, which is convenient, that way we won't have school to interfere with our little arrangement."
'Perfect. I'll leave right now.'
Akechi leaned over and pressed a kiss to Saiki's cheek.
'Why-'
"One for the road," said Akechi. He could almost hear Saiki roll his eyes.
********************
-Akechi's house, 8:00 a.m.-
Beep... Beep... Beep...
Akechi turned off his alarm clock and got out of bed.
It was Saturday, so he didn't have anything specific that needed doing. He'd finished his homework the night prior, after all.
"No clairvoyance," he'd told Saiki. Of course, Saiki denied even thinking about using clairvoyance to spy on him, or any of his other powers. Akechi knew this was a lie; a blatant one, at that. He knew when he was lying, so even if he did use clairvoyance and denied it, Akechi would know right away, and he'd be disqualified immediately.
No cheating was allowed when they played games.
I doubt Kusuo-kun's awake by now. This'll be easy, as long as I keep myself entertained, which shouldn't be too hard, considering I have a book to finish. I've read up to page... 28. Book two, page 28. If I map out my schedule from now to 6:52 p.m., I should have no problem following it. Kusuo-kun or not, I won't let myself get nothing done. If I time things right, today could be very productive. Let's see, I need to finish the book, organize my shelves...
Akechi mapped out his entire day, from that minute to well into the evening, even past their set time, and before he knew it, his bed was made and he was fully dressed.
******************
-Saiki's house, 8:23 a.m.-
Saiki rolled over in bed and looked at his clock.
He still had another hour or so before his alarm went off to fix his TV.
Maybe I should've bought the TV instead of the stupid coffee jelly maker.
He looked over at it where it sat, on his desk, with the dishes still out from the night before, when he had made a pot of coffee jelly.
I'm being ridiculous. I would never betray you, beloved machine.
He smiled to himself as he fell asleep again.
********************
-Akechi's house, 9:19 a.m.-
Akechi was picking up the dishes from breakfast. He'd never cared much for miso soup, but his mother enjoyed it, so he didn't mind cooking it every now and again.
"...nematodes are actually the most numerous multi-celled creatures on earth. They're microscopic. Y'know, I think the Parasitological Museum would be an interesting place to visit. They have around 60,000 parasites in their collection."
"And where is this museum...?" said his mother, grabbing her purse and walking to the door as Akechi followed her.
"It's in Tokyo. I would like to see the lamprey up close."
"And which one is that again?"
Akechi's mother often forgot the things he told her, but he told her so many that he couldn't blame her.
"It's the one that attaches to a fish with its teeth and bores a hole in its prey with its tongue."
"That sounds disturbing..." she said, wrinkling her nose. "Why would you want to see that?"
"I think they're fascinating."
She smiled and rolled her eyes.
"Alright then, if we're ever in Tokyo, I might have to take you. I have to go. I'm going to be late if I don't leave soon."
"Goodbye, mother," he said, hugging her. "I'll see you in the evening."
"You must've missed me last night, Touma. I don't think you've hugged me this tight since you were a little boy," she said as she kissed the top of his head. "I'll have to refrain from staying out late again."
Akechi didn't get a chance to respond before she was out the door.
I didn't think I... No matter.
He looked back at the kitchen, where a stack of dirty plates needed tending to.
I have things to do.
********************
-Saiki's house, 9:19 a.m.-
"Ku-chan! Breakfast!"
He heard his mother call him from downstairs. Her voice was faint, but the smell of food was enough to wake him up.
He figured that once he'd fixed his TV, he didn't have any reason to be awake, so he went back to sleep until his mother proved him wrong.
"There you are! You hadn't been out of your room. Did you just wake up?"
Am I that obvious?
He nodded and sat at the table. He smiled as he saw a cup of coffee jelly behind his plate.
'Thank you for breakfast.'
"You're welcome," she said, smiling. He didn't always remember to thank her.
"Yeah, yeah, the one with the mustache...? I don't know his name... Uh-huh..."
'What's up with dad?'
"Oh, he's on a very important business call," she said. "Don't interrupt him."
As if any of the calls he makes are important.
"Ahahaha! Really? He said that?"
He's talking to a friend from work. Too loudly, too.
Saiki ate his breakfast, trying his best to ignore his dad's laughter.
"Yeah, hold on... Mama, Kusuo, I'm going to go up to the room. I need to speak to Kirishima in private."
So that's who it was.
"Alrighty, papa, you go ahead. We'll finish up breakfast without you," said Kurumi.
Saiki looked over at his dad's plate.
He's already done eating!
Kuniharu's voice trailed off as he walked upstairs.
"Ku-chan, do you think you could help me clear the table?"
Ah, so he was weaseling his way out of helping. I should've known.
Plates and utensils flew through the air, into the sink, as his mother watched. She'd seen his powers so many times, but he could see it on her face, that she still thought highly of them.
"You didn't have to do it all. I could've helped you."
'It's easier for me than it is for you,' he projected, levitating the cup of coffee jelly to himself.
"Well, thank you."
He started to walk back to his room when his mother called after him.
"You're going back up already?"
He nodded, mouth full of coffee jelly.
"Are you going out today?"
He shook his head.
"Is... Is anyone coming over today...?"
Oh.
He swallowed the jelly and shook his head again as he heard her thoughts become panicked.
"Did something happen with you and Akechi-kun?"
...
'No.'
She frowned, concerned.
"Are you sure?"
He nodded and went up to his room.
...
That was close. Well, back to bed.
He threw himself onto his bed and crawled underneath the covers.
Five minutes passed before he accepted the fact that he would not be going back to bed.
********************
-Akechi's house, 12:28 p.m.-
"Why would you..." His voice trailed off before he could finish.
It was a nauseating scene.
Not the blood, not the obvious signs of struggling, of pleading that were distinctly seen by the fingerprints that were scattered on the floor, but the look on her face.
The horrible, distasteful look on her face- a smile; a perfectly blank and empty smile. He'd known her for so long, but never had one of her smiles looked more dead than at that moment.
She left his eyes open. What kind of person would leave the eyes open? he thought, and he knew it was her. All those moments that seemed a little bit off all came together as he saw pleading eyes staring back at him from a tear-stained, blood-stained face.
"Shin. Hello. I didn't expect to see you today," she said, her blank expression never faltering.
"You... You killed him..."
"Ah."
She muttered something under her breath, something he couldn't hear, but he knew it was bad. And wrong. Whatever it was, it was evil and it was wrong and he wished he couldn't smell the odd scent of blood in the air.
"Don't worry about the mess. I'll take care of it."
She left the knife in, and from there, he could see that she'd left it in just deep enough into his chest that a slim sliver of metal was exposed from the wound.
"What the... What the hell? How could you do this? Why did you do this?" he yelled.
"Stop crying, you big wuss."
He lifted his hand to his face to wipe off the tears. He hadn't cried in years and it felt like breaking in a new pair of pants. It was foreign and unfamiliar and he hated it.
"Why did... Why..."
He attempted to question her in between choked sobs. She approached him and placed her hand on his shoulder. He shuddered as she grazed her finger along his shoulder.
"Old business. It doesn't matter now, my darling."
He almost wanted to tell her not to call him "darling," but she pulled him into a stiff embrace before he had the chance to say anything.
He remembered Sawakita telling him about the clothes and the shirts he'd inherited from his late grandfather. A plain white button-up, it was his favorite. He lived and died in it.
She was crazy; he'd known she was crazy for a while now, but now knowing how she truly was, he felt a burning in the pit of his stomach.
She was a woman who murdered a man in his favorite shirt, just for the hell of it.
He looked back; there were so many opportunities for her to get the job done- more quickly and easier- but she waited for Sunday, because Sunday he wore his favorite clothes.
He thought for a second, wondering whose expression was more lifeless.
"Why? Why? Why?" he yelled louder and louder, and she didn't even flinch.
"Shush, it's okay now."
He pushed her away and stood back, clutching the sides of his head as tightly as he could.
"What were you thinking? You're- you're going to go to prison! For life! You're- you're a murderer! Oh my God! I'll never see you again! How? How could you do this?"
"It's not my first time. I know what I'm doing. We'll be overseas in three days."
"Overseas? I'm not going overseas! Why-"
And then the realization sunk in.
"It's... Not the first time...?"
********************
Akechi sighed and placed the book on his lap.
I can't believe it ends there! I read the first book, and I didn't think it'd end on a cliffhanger like this! Oh my goodness, that was a bit frightening... I need to read the next book right away!
He stood up and walked over on his desk, sorting through recent library books.
Where is it... Oh.
He remembered what had happened when he last visited the library. He wanted to check out the first three books of the series, which he usually did when he wanted to try out a new series, but he had also wanted to try out another three books; individual novels, which he'd been meaning to read for months. He'd sacrificed the third book of The Dedication Of Subject Z and now he regretted it.
The third book was twice as long as the first! I can't believe I didn't... Ah, well, there's no way I would've known that I needed entertainment in greater volume today.
He sighed and sat back down on his bed.
What to do...
His books needed organizing. He'd meant to do it for a while, since he'd had them arranged neatly in his old house. When he moved, he simply threw them on the shelf.
The tough decision was whether to arrange them in alphabetical, or chronological order. Or maybe even color code them.
Chronological will take the longest...
...
He stood up and pulled out all the books from his shelves. He plucked a thin paperback from the pile and opened it to the first page. After examining it for a moment, he put it in a separate pile.
The first pile. Books from the 1970's.
*******************
-Saiki's house, 12:28 p.m.-
No... No... No... It's Saturday, why is there nothing good on TV?
Saiki continued flipping through the channels. The button on the remote made a nearly inaudible click, but his father took notice of it anyway.
"Kusuo, son, are you going to leave anything on?"
'I will when I find something good.'
"Not to be rude or anything, but don't you usually lock yourself in your room? Why are you downstairs?"
'I wanted to watch TV,' he projected, knowing it was a lie and that Kuniharu wouldn't care enough to pry.
"You call that watching TV?" said Kuniharu, pointing to the TV, where small glimpses of various programs were shown, making the choppy clips of audio sound like stuttering. "Ooh, wait, I saw Dragon Ball Super! Leave it on!"
'Seriously? You want to watch Shonen?'
"As if it's any better than what you watch," he scoffed.
'You sound like you want to suffer.'
"Ahh, Kusuo! Don't make such a scary face at your father!"
I wish my precious Kurumi was here to calm him down! She could tame the beast within him!
'Mom can't save you now,' he projected, levitating and holding a small plume of flames in his hand.
"Ahh!" The doorbell rang. "Ahaha! Visitors! You can't hurt me when we have visitors at the door! And since I'm your father, you have to do as I say. Go answer the door, son," he said, chest puffed out until he heard a distant clatter from upstairs.
'Alright.'
"K-Kusuo? What did you do? No! Not my action figures...!"
Saiki got up and opened the door. Something large and boisterous loomed over him.
A bear?!
"Hey, partner! Wanna go get some ramen?"
Oh. Nendou.
Kurumi had gone to the store to pick up something for one of her mom things- he wasn't sure, he didn't pay attention- so she couldn't force him to go.
Of all the days... any other day, I could've taken advantage of this.
'Sure, why not?'
"Oh? You're coming?"
'You invited me?'
"Yeah, but you always take a long time to agree. And sometimes you don't."
Saiki shrugged and ducked under Nendou's arm where he was holding the door open. Then he saw that Nendou didn't come alone.
"Hey, Shun, you owe me 500 yen. He came out, and it hasn't even been five minutes!"
"Shush! I didn't think he'd agree so fast," Kaidou whispered.
Seriously?
"Hi, Saiki-kun!"
Teruhashi waved.
'Oh... You brought everyone.'
"Yeah! Ramen with five buddies is better than ramen with one buddy."
Nendou peered behind Saiki.
"Where's little buddy? Is he at your house?"
"I think his name's Akechi," Kaidou corrected.
'No, he's not here.'
"Oh, he's always here, so I thought he was with you. Let's go to his house then!"
'He can't come.'
"Did something happen between the two of you?" asked Teruhashi, showing the perfect amount of concern.
'No.'
"Then why-"
'He's busy.'
Kaidou and Kuboyasu exchanged sceptical glances, while Teruhashi smiled and nodded, even though her thoughts said otherwise. Nendou was unfazed.
"Well, if he's busy, we can't help it. Four buddies will do," he said shrugging.
Four "buddies" is still too many. You're lucky I'm bored.
********************
-Akechi's house, 2:04 p.m.-
There.
Akechi sighed, satisfied with himself as he stood back and admired his hard work. Two hundred and sixty four books, neatly arranged in chronological order, down to the month. He would've done it to the day, but the exact publications were harder to memorize.
Oh, it's so nice and neat now!
He threw himself onto his bed and folded his hands over his stomach.
...
What now...? I cleaned up the kitchen, more than I was originally planning to, and organized my shelves, in chronological order, and for the ones that were published in the same month by size, I read book two... And...
He was two hours ahead of schedule.
I can't decide whether this is good or bad. I got things done, but I don't have to do anything else for another two hours. I'll be incredibly bored. I don't think Cyborg Ciderman is on at this time, and I've already read all my books... I don't have anything I need to study for...
He stared up at the ceiling.
But I can...
He sat up on his bed and looked at the wall.
"Kusuo-kun? I'm incredibly bored."
And then he'd say, "So? I'm not here to entertain you."
"Ah, see, I never asked you to entertain me. I was simply stating a fact. I figured you could already hear what I was thinking, so I simply decided to say it out loud."
I don't care if you're bored.
"Aw, don't be rude. That's not the proper way to talk to someone you care about, is it?"
And when did I say that?
"You're proving it right now by avoiding saying it to me directly. You know it's true, as do I, and even though you try to hide it, I know you're lying."
And how do you know I'm lying?
"Because I know you too well, Kusuo-kun."
And now you're back to square one. What now?
...
"Did you know that 95% of food poisoning cases are never reported?"
"What does that have to do with anything?" Because he thinks it's silly when I mention random facts...
"I'm not sure. I thought it was interesting, considering how common food poisoning is. Of course, there are plenty of quite common ailments that aren't often reported to a medical professional, since they either aren't very dangerous, or they don't have a cure."
So, like a cold?
Akechi smiled.
"Yes! Like the common cold. It has no cure, and it's ultimately harmless, aside from a few days of mild discomfort, so most cases aren't reported either."
But food poisoning could be dangerous.
"Ah, yes, it could. That's a little more shocking, considering food poisoning can be fatal. Imagine if you ate something you weren't supposed to, and all because you didn't want to go see a doctor, you died, or had to be carted off to the hospital anyway?"
I don't think coffee jelly can kill me.
"I highly doubt coffee jelly could kill you, or even hurt you, since there are plenty of benefits to caffeine, and I doubt the small amount of sugar in the jelly and the whipped cream would be enough to give you diabetes."
Good, so I'm safe?
Akechi chuckled.
"Don't worry, Kusuo-kun. I wouldn't let you do anything that could hurt you. After all, I would love to have the privilege of growing old with you, and being able to see you until I die. I would be distraught if you were to die young. Although, you may want to cut back on your sugar intake in general, since coffee jelly isn't the only unhealthy part of your diet."
And then he'd yell at me to stop being "sappy". He'd reassure me in a roundabout way that he wishes for the same, and that he's not going anywhere.
Akechi sighed.
And even though he wouldn't say it, I'd know he loves me too.
...
"Did um, did you know the bones of a pigeon weigh more than its feathers...?"
********************
-Yet another ramen shop, 2:04 p.m.-
"...they didn't even see it coming," said Kaidou, with a proud smirk on his face and his arms crossed.
Teruhashi smiled, because she knew that anything else would be inappropriate for The Perfect Pretty Girl.
"Wow, Shun, that's, um... That's an interesting story."
"Story? Ha!" he scoffed. "That was a tale of horror and woe, bathed in the blood of a thousand bad memories. I think it's a lot more than interesting."
Wow, he's an idiot. And he's so busy talking, he's still not done eating.
Saiki peered at Kaidou's bowl in discontent, nearly- but not entirely- regretting his decision to come along.
Staring at the ceiling was starting to look better and better, especially because they'd been there for over an hour.
As if the walk here didn't take long enough, they're all still taking forever to finish. I should make up an excuse to go home.
'I think I need to-'
"Hey partner, is something wrong?"
Huh?
Just as Nendou spoke, the table went quiet.
"You seem sad. Is the ramen not good?"
'It's not the ramen.'
His friends looked at him in confusion and concern.
Crap, I should've said that I was fine. I left them an opening.
"I think I know what it is."
Is it that I'm sick? I could say I'm sick.
"You miss little buddy."
...
'What?'
"Wow, Nendou. You finally said something smart for once," Kaidou said, rolling his eyes.
What?
"Um, yeah..."
"Saiki-kun? I think it was brave of Nendou to say it. I'm sure... I'm sure we were all thinking it."
Were they? Was I not paying attention?
"Yeah," Nendou continued, "Because when we come out and he's with us, you're not all sad like you are right now. You even look kinda happy."
What the heck is he talking about? Happy? He's jumping to conclusions.
'I'm not sad.'
...
'I'm not sad.'
Teruhashi smiled and nodded, and the boys stared back at him.
"Alright then..." Kaidou mumbled.
They continued eating, still staring at and thinking about Saiki.
I was right. This was a mistake.
*********************
-The sidewalk, 3:59 p.m.-
Oh, A camel cricket. How fascinating. I think I remember something about these from when I knew Kusuo-kun back in grade school.
Akechi bent over and picked up the cricket, cupping it in his hands and peeking through his thumbs.
"Hello, little fella."
He felt as it jumped around in his hands.
"Ah, ah, ah, you don't want to fall all the way to the ground, do you? Although, I doubt it'd be a big problem for you."
The cricket twitched.
"Ah, but you can't hear me. And I can't hear you either, since you don't chirp. You're not a real cricket."
He bent down again and let the cricket loose into the grass.
"You wouldn't want to get stepped on. I do find it a bit absurd that I'm talking to a cricket. Well, not a cricket exactly, but an insect nonetheless."
The cricket jumped away.
"I'm incredibly bored. Social interaction is usually enough to entertain me, but I can't exactly entertain myself with a cricket as I could when I was a small child," he muttered. He took a second to look around for any street signs. "Hmm, I thought a walk might clear my head and cure my boredom, but I seem to have wandered much farther than I expected."
He walked down to the corner, looking around for any street signs or landmarks.
"That's strange," he whispered to himself. "There are no houses here, either. How peculiar."
There were no street signs or houses, and the only sounds he could hear were passing cars from a nearby street and the wind blowing through the trees.
"Well, that settles it. I haven't the faintest idea as to where I am."
He sighed and walked back the opposite direction, trying to find where he last recognized.
********************
-The sidewalk, 3:59 p.m.-
"Well, that settles it," said Kuboyasu, clapping his hands together. "We're lost."
"No! No! We're not! I swear!" Kaidou pleaded.
I can't believe I got us lost again! Why do they keep trusting me with directions?
I keep asking myself that, too.
"Hey runt, I thought you said you remembered the way."
Kaidou was too busy defending himself to protest Nendou's nickname.
"I did! I really did! I swear, we're not lost!"
"Hey, maybe you guys shouldn't fight. Everyone's already a little bit frazzled as it is," said Teruhashi.
But instead of the expected, "Offu! Of course, T-Teruhashi-san!" they went right back to arguing.
"Yes we are! We should've learned our lesson from last time!"
Seriously?!
"It's not my fault!" Kaidou squeaked.
You should have!
They should have. They're all idiots. We're one turn away from my street, and they keep turning us around.
'We're close to my street,' he projected, pointing down the road.
"Hmm? Saiki? Over there?"
He nodded and started to walk to his house.
"See? I told you we weren't lost!" Kaidou said, triumphantly.
Kuboyasu rolled his eyes while Nendou ran ahead to follow Saiki.
Good grief.
********************
-Akechi's house, 5:36 p.m.-
The clock's gentle ticking had never sounded so loud. Maybe it was because it was the only noise in the house. The ceiling was smooth, or at least, it looked that way until you paid more attention. There were tiny little indents and bumps.
...
I don't think I've been this bored in months.
Akechi carefully twirled a pencil in small circles on the side of his finger. He tried his best not to drop it.
Twelve more for my record... Six, five, four, three...
He threw the pencil across the room. It hit his bedroom door before falling to the floor and rolling under his bed.
Done. I lost. Against myself, I suppose.
Akechi stood up and pulled out three of his books. He kneeled and stood two of them up to hold up the third book, making a small structure on the floor.
I hate to disrespect books like this, but I can't think of anything else to do. It should be safe if I only use thick hardcovers.
He ran his fingers along the book, selecting several hardcovers and placing them on the ground next to him.
Maybe I should start over. After all, triangles are more sturdy.
He smiled to himself and rearranged the books.
********************
-Saiki's house, 5:36 p.m.-
"Ku-chan? Will you pass me the rice wine?"
A bottle of wine floated over to Kurumi, a bit too close to her face.
"Ah! Oh, sorry. It startled me."
Saiki continued to cut carrots- without his powers, since he had nothing better to do, and he was spending time with his mother for no reason other than he loved his mother and was incredibly bored and lonely without Akechi although he'd never admit it so stop mentally accusing him of it- while his mother stirred the rice.
Three centimeters. Two centimeters. One centimeter?
'Mom? How thick do you want the carrots cut?'
"What? Don't be silly, it doesn't matter."
'Just tell me how thick to cut them. Or do you want a different shape? I can carve the Tokyo tower out of them if you want.'
Kurumi giggled.
"That sounds interesting, but you don't have to."
'No, it's fine. Look.'
He levitated a 2.36 centimeter thick slice of carrot that was carved on both sides to have an indent of the Tokyo tower.
"Oh dear," she mumbled, grabbing the slice and examining it closer. "That was fast. Would it even show once they're cooked?"
'Only one way to find out.'
Saiki began to slice the carrots, each matching the same thickness as the first.
He must be bored without his friends.
...
'I'm not.'
"Ah, sorry, Ku-chan."
Maybe I could carve Si-Cy into one. Make it the lucky carrot.
...
I'll make sure Dad doesn't get it.
********************
-Akechi's house, 7:00 p.m.-
The doorbell ra-
"Kusuo-kun! Hello, I've been awaiting your arrival."
'Obviously you have, I barely had a chance to ring the bell before you answered.'
Sometimes I wonder if you're the psychic.
"Come in," said Akechi, stepping aside to give him room to pass through.
As soon as Saiki shut the door, Akechi clinged onto him and hugged him tightly. Saiki welcomed the invitation and squeezed him gently, floating a plate of food to the table beside the door.
"What's that?" he asked, watching it float in front of him.
'My mom wanted me to bring you dinner. She insisted.'
"Ah, she's always been so kind."
Saiki cupped his hands around Akechi's face and kissed him on the lips, walking over to the table before Akechi had any time to process it.
"A-Ah..."
'Are you going to eat this soon, or do I put it in the fridge?'
"Y-You can put it in the fridge," he mumbled. "Oh, and I must say..."
He began to smirk.
"Don't think I don't know what you did."
'What do you mean?' he projected, closing the fridge door and walking back.
"You arriving at 7 o'clock isn't any less blatant than you arriving at 6:52. It's obvious that you wanted to come later than the set time, but you were still eager to arrive as soon as you could without seeming overly desperate. You could argue that the walk here would've taken you some time, but I can almost guarantee that you teleported here, since it's fairly warm outside and you don't show any signs of perspiration. It does please me that you wanted to come over so soon, of course, because had you not in a few minutes, I would've gone to your house, and due to my lack of psychic powers, or otherwise supernatural abilities, it would've taken me quite a while."
...
'Sure. Whatever. '
"Don't 'whatever' me, Kusuo-kun. I know you too well. Of course, now there's the matter of the bet."
'It's seven. I didn't see you for twenty four hours.'
"And... neither did I."
'But...?'
"Well," he sighed, "I don't feel like I won."
'Why?'
Akechi recounted the day's events.
"I passed, technically, but I'd rather not go into detail. I feel silly now, with everything I said yesterday. I suppose this means you win."
...
"What is it?"
...
'I don't think I won either.'
"But... you passed. And while we're both alive, we didn't exactly fare well over the past twenty four hours."
'I don't feel like I won. I can't taste the victory.'
Akechi smiled.
"How would you like it if I simply baked a cake and we both had some?"
'Sounds good to me.'
Saiki smiled.
"And... How would you like to accompany me while I bake...?"
Saiki came from behind and leaned on his back.
'Gladly.'
Akechi began to pull out the baking materials, and though neither of them said it, they both agreed that the bet was a horrible idea and they'd never be doing anything of the sort ever again.