#saikixakechi

Akechi: Can I have your number? Saiki, visible texting: I don't have a phone.

Akechi: Pick a card, any card. Saiki: Fine. Akechi: Wait, that's my credit card! Saiki: You said any card.

Aiura: I just ended a five year relationship. Akechi: Oh no, are you okay? Aiura: It's okay, it wasn't mine.

Aiura: Why would you think any of this was a good idea? Akechi: Probably because I’m a dangerous sociopath with a long history of violence. Aiura: Akechi: I don’t know how you keep forgetting this.

Akechi: You disgust me. Toritsuka: *eating a kitkat sideways* I realize this and don’t care.

Akechi: How long do you think it'll take? Toritsuka: I don’t know, three or four. Akechi: Three or four what? Days? Weeks? Months? Toritsuka: Yeah, maybe five. Akechi: Five what?!

Akechi: Hey Toritsuka, wanna third wheel on my date with Saiki tomorrow? Toritsuka: Sure. Akechi: Aiura! Wanna third wheel on my date with Saiki tomorrow? Akechi: Great! I've always wanted to go on a double date! Toritsuka & Aiura: ... Saiki: Akechi...

Akechi: Truth or dare? Saiki: Dare. Akechi: I dare you to kiss the hottest person in the room. Saiki: Hey Toritsuka? Toritsuka, blushing: Yeah? Saiki: Can you move? I'm trying to get to Aiura.

Akechi is a genius. It's pretty clear that he's the smartest character in the main cast, the only one able to rival him, maybe Kuusuke, so he'd have the top grades in the school, even.

Saiki wants average grades because he doesn't want to stand out. His grades always rank in the middle.

Let's say this is an AU.

They don't know each other previously, they don't interact, they're in the same class.

Maybe they see each other around occasionally.

This could go one of two ways.

So one...

Saiki always ranks in the middle. Always.

In every class, he's in 90th place.

First year, 90th place.

Second year, 90th place.

Third year, he goes for 90th place, and he gets it.

But so does a student named Akechi Touma.

Who is this kid? Why does he keep getting all these average grades?

Something similar to the whole situation with Satou.

He meets up with him, or tracks him down, sees him at his desk, and talks to him.

'You.'

"Me? Were you looking for me? Oh, how delightful! No one ever talks to me during school. Well, technically, it's after school, but I'm happy nonetheless. Did you need something, or did you simply come for a friendly chat?" he says with a smile.

But his thoughts say otherwise. They go on and on, confused about why he's talking to him in the first place, even though they're in the same class.

'What's with your grades?'

After reading his mind, he'd automatically know that he is a genius, and should not get such average grades.

"You know, I found it quite intriguing, that thing you're doing."

'What thing…?'

"Scoring in the middle every single time; on every test, on every quiz, on every assignment, you score the perfect 90th place. And I think that's quite interesting. Although, I don't know what your intentions were by doing that. This is only my guess, but I would think that it would take some sort of academic skill to be able to score the exact same every single time. I find it quite strange that you continue to do this even though it seems to me that you have the potential to score much higher, if you tried to, of course. Honestly, you might have your own reasons and I don't particularly know what they are, but it confuses me and intrigues me nonetheless. I still think it's quite impressive what you're doing even if it's seemingly for no reason. But this is only a guess. I mean, it could be a coincidence that you've fallen into this pattern, but it'd be a very slim chance. If you want, I could work out the mathematics of-"

'Stop. No. What? That still doesn't explain what you're doing.'

Akechi smiles.

"Alright-- Saiki-kun, is it? To put it quite frankly, I was bored. The work for my grade had become mundane and lackluster, seeing how it was easy to learn and even easier to complete. I like to keep myself entertained, and since the social aspect of school wasn't what I'd hoped it to be, well, I found myself trapped in a sort of bland ennui. It's hard for anything to keep my interest for very long, so I wanted more. As for my education, I can teach myself anything I want to learn, with the numerous resources I can get my hands on, so I needn't worry about sacrificing my grades. But I didn't want my time here to be a complete waste, so when I found out about your little pattern, I decided to make some entertainment for myself."

Saiki stared back at him, still confused.

"You see, at first, the consistency of it astounded me. That's not suitable entertainment, so at first, I tried to match it, just for the heck of it. It was much easier than I thought, at least for myself, and it bored me fairly quickly. So afterwards, I made a sort of game of it and decided to see how long it'd take you to notice and confront me about it. Now, my goal is to find out why you attempted this in the first place."

Saiki walks away, still confused.

The next day, Akechi bugs him about it again, watches him do the assigned reading, basically doing anything he can to get on his nerves. This annoys Saiki, because again, he did it to not stand out.

Akechi would grow on Saiki, because no matter how annoying he got, he'd never act hostile towards him. He simply was bored and liked to hang around him. Maybe he helps maintain his peace, other than his own interruptions, and is a sort of guardian angel. Little does he know Saiki does the same to keep him from getting bullied, because no matter how annoying he is, it isn't right to ignore it.

They slowly begin to hate each other less and less, until Akechi starts sitting with Saiki as he usually does, y'know, watching him? And Saiki doesn't protest it.

They literally just become friends. But of course, things are interrupted as Akechi continues trying to find out.

Things play out similar to how things played out when Akechi was trying to find out about his powers, until Saiki either slips up, or simply tells him.

By then, things are so confusing, that they're left with the same relationship they have in Reawakened.

And then romance can blossom and stuff, yada yada...

I dunno, something like that.

Or…

Saiki doesn't mind standing out.

As a little kid, he always hid his powers, appearing unimpressive and bland to his peers. He shows to be upset at this in the anime, so maybe he thinks to himself, if he gets good grades, that'll make him stand out in a good way without the suspicion of psychic powers.

So he does.

He gets full marks and praise from his teachers, simply because he can, and it fuels his self esteem. Akechi, who is in the same class, feels personally attacked. Because he was top of the class, before Saiki was, either because he was the transfer, or because something clicked in him one day, and drove him to aim for the top.

Either way, Akechi is upset.

Out of seemingly nowhere, he's begun to surpass me in all subjects? After all the sleepless nights, and studying and work I put into it, he waltzes in here and knocks me off? Now calm down, it's wrong to think badly of him. I'm sure he's also worked quite hard to get to where he is today.

But he's not going to be jealous, he's not going to complain, oh no, because he's going to excel.

I'm going to excel in everything I do, and surpass him. This should be dealt with as swiftly and cleanly, and most of all, quietly as possible.

He uses this as personal motivation, driving himself to be as best as he can be.

And he studies.

Because he needs to better, the very best. And he never mentions anything.

But Saiki can hear his thoughts, loud and clear, and while he understands his plight, that doesn't stop him from wanting to maintain his position. So he studies.

Sometimes they see each other in the library and silently curse each other while exchanging friendly smiles.

And they study and they study and they study and they study for quite some time, being secret rivals until, oopsy, they have a project in class where people are assigned in pairs.

Totally not cliche and predictable.

*cries*

So, as fate may have it, they have to do it together.

They don't complain, because the teachers know that "They're such sweet boys, they'll get along just fine," when of course, no one has any idea as to what's going on.

They're not risking the teacher's praise over a petty frustration.

And of course, they hate it. They hate it because they're both aware of the silent competition, but Akechi isn't aware of it on Saiki's side, but oh, it's there. It's there and it's roaring.

But now, they have to work together.

The clamour! The drama!

The two smartest students in the class! They'll have the best grade for sure!

So they do. They win.

Even if it means spending time with someone you absolutely hate, neither of them are willing to sacrifice their pride or their reputation by dragging the other down.

They hate it at first, the absolute menace of spending every single day for a week or two with someone who you hate and resent.

But then… they spend some time together.

And they realize that maybe, the other isn't so insufferable after all.

They finish the project, winning and excelling with flying colors.

They decide, it's not so bad to work together.

"That was certainly productive for the both of us. I believe it helped us hone our skills and improve greatly, and it was certainly useful in giving me some insight."

'Insight? What insight?'

"Now I know how you work. I know how you think. I know that you're a fun and challenging rival, and I hope to go head-to-head more in the future. I think there's more fun things we can do together. I could be your regular playmate."

And the intellectual battle resumes, as they only advance further and further until it becomes pointless.

They always tie.

They always end up with the top grades.

So they work together, because they know that with both their skills, even though Akechi isn't yet aware of Saiki's powers, that they'll be unstoppable.

Friends, and rivals, that nice complicated relationship, until maybe they lose it.

They don't really want to be in competition with each other any more, because they're happy being friends.

But in the fear that the other will think differently, they maintain it.

Maybe we have a big event, a power reveal, and Akechi only finds it a better challenge, because he has psychic powers and he's just a normal person, except for his intellect.

But by now, it's more of a playful thing.

So NOW after all that drama, there's an opportunity for romance to ensue.

NOTE: I apologize for the late reply! I was trying to write this as thoroughly as possible without writing out a whole fic. While I could've given a brief summary of this, as my sister suggested, I think the half fic/ half explanation format is fun, no?