Chapter 20: Chapter 20- Memories
"Saiki! Hey, Saiki! Wait up!" I sigh as the familiar voice hits me, the wooden shoes clicking against the hard floor. I can almost hear the air rush around his hand as he waves at me to slow down.
<What do you want, Reita?>
"So, you do remember me." Reita catches up with the fellow psychic, shoving his hands into his pockets when he does. "I need to speak with you." I nod, listening to his thoughts and understanding.
<Not here.>
I can hear the thoughts of others nearby, others that could easily eavesdrop. Reita nods, following me into a nearby warmup room and sitting down across from me.
"I'm assuming you already know what this is about." I nod, indifferent about the matter. "Saiki, this is serious. Almost a year ago know I woke up in a world completely foreign to me. I had parents, but in my mind, I knew I didn't. But I did. They were real. They are real. I was in Middle School, not High School, and all of the friends I thought I knew didn't know me. And everyone has powers? It didn't take me long to figure out that it was probably your doing, but I still don't understand. Why?"
<I was sick and tired of everything. Hiding the real me. It was easier for me to forget, to act like I was normal. When you and Mikoto eventually found me, I realized I wasn't alone, but, honestly, it was more of a pain with you two. You two were always showing off your powers as if the world wouldn't turn to chaos if psychics were discovered to be real. For a while it was fine, I just kept living my simple, disastrous life. But when Touma figured it out I broke. I honestly didn't mean for this to happen. I just… wanted a break. I wanted the world to accept me. So I decided that I'd merge our universe with this one. It's as simple as that.>
We sit in silence, Reita for once speechless. His mind is fumbling over itself to understand how I felt back then.
"You could've been a god, Saiki."
<And what good would it have done? The world would've feared me, and you know it. That's not what I want.>
Reita nods, biting his bottom lip.
"Were you just going to leave? Did you mean to bring all of our classmates?"
<I didn't mean to bring to, no. I didn't want any of you here.>
Reita stares at his hands, which are folded together on his lap. He nods, hurt that Saiki would leave all of his friends behind, but even more hurt that Saiki kept all of this to himself.
'I could've helped.'
<You knowing would've just made my life worse. So don't think that.>
Reita nods silently, fiddling with his uniform.
"Does anyone else… remember?"
<Not that I know of, though I haven't read Mikoto since it happened. Since you remember, maybe she does too.>
New thoughts suddenly enter my mind, but they aren't my own.
"I figured not. Like I said, none of them seemed to know who I was. Ko- I mean Teruhashi even let me on her Calvary tea-"
<Shut up.>
"What are you idiots talking about?" Bakugo growls, stomping into the room when Reita suddenly stops talking. "What do you mean by "Does anyone else remember"? Remember what, eh? And get out. This is my warmup room!" Reita, slightly panicked at the appearance of the angry teen, shoots up from his seat.
"Uh, nothing! It's nothing! Saiki and I were just talking, we're old friends! Uhh… I have to go! My fight is soon and… heh, yeah! Bye Saiki!"
I lean my head back, resting it on the back of my chair as Reita stumbles over himself, terrified after seeing Bakugo in the first two rounds.
[What an idiot.]
"AND NOW FOR OUR NEXT FIGHT! TORITSUKA REITA OF CLASS 1-B VS. SHOTO TODOROKI OF CLASS 1-A! IT'S PRETTY CLEAR WHO WILL WIN, BUT LET'S WATCH ANYWAY!"
The crowd shouts in excitement as the two boys step onto the field, making their way to the middle. Todoroki glances into the audience, easily finding his father, who is standing in the back with his arms crossed. He clenches his fist, anger flowing through him. Reita, who's visibly shaking, takes a deep breath, his head tilting back as a spirit takes over his body.
"BEGIN!" Todoroki blasts ice at his opponent, who uses the spirit's quirk to teleport away. He lands behind Todoroki, breathing heavily as the world spins around him. His body isn't used to the quirk, but the spirit leaving him and being replaced with another takes the edge off of the vertigo. Todoroki turns around, not hesitating to blast more ice at the boy. The spirit grows a thick wall of trees before him, blocking the ice. Todoroki growls, his anger flowing through him. Reita continues to dodge the boy's attacks, using spirit after spirit for defense.
"Are you too scared to attack? You coward!" Todoroki yells to the boy, who is now crouched just underneath the surface of the arena. He's whispering to the spirits, searching for one that'll work. Finally, he finds him.
Reita appears behind Todoroki, a smirk plastered on his face.
"You're calling me a coward? You haven't even seen me at my best! I'm stronger than any of you know! I could defeat you in one hit if I wanted to. Haven't you noticed? I'm merely prolonging this game of cat and mouse. You may have thought you're the cat, but no. I am." Reita laughs menacingly, fooling no one but himself. He runs towards Todoroki, bulldozing into him. They both tumble over, Reita on top of Todoroki.
Todoroki stares straight up, putting a hand on Reita's chest and blasting him with ice. The ice sends him flying at least 50 feet into the air, and he lands outside of the arena.
"Reita is out of bounds!"
"TODOROKI WINS!" The crowd cheers for the fighters, multiple fists pumping into the air. Todoroki walks over to Reita, offering a hand.
"Sorry about that. You put up a good fight."
"You did too, man."
"What was that last move though? It wasn't very effective…"
"Heh, yeah. The ghost SAID he was an undefeated Sumo Wrestler. I guess not, huh." Reita reaches for the back of his neck, embarrassed. Todoroki glances at the boy, a chuckle escaping his lips.
"How are you supposed to Sumo wrestle? There's barely an ounce of fat on you." Reita glances down as if he didn't already know that.
"Whoops." He smiles, bowing to Todoroki. "I'll see you around!" Reita runs off, waving behind him as he does. Todoroki laughs once more, waving to the boy.
[What an idiot.]
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