Chapter 74: Psychometry – Takato Kotoha ②
She let out a soft giggle.
"I actually ended up in the ICU after meeting Shikarak-san, you know."
"…That must’ve been rough."
Shikarak was a man with six arms and eight eyes. Trying to read the mind of someone like that would obviously flood you with far more input than a normal person ever could.
Even while he spoke to me, some of Shikarak’s eyes and hands were busy with other work. Naturally, his thoughts were tangled, too. It must’ve been like trying to read three people’s minds at once.
It’s not that her own brain is weak. Her own thoughts alone are already heavy enough—and on top of that, she takes in someone else’s. That’s double the strain. Add a little more and it wouldn’t be surprising if her mind reached its limit.
I glanced over my shoulder again, checking where the door was.
"Ah—how are you feeling? Should I step out for a while?"
Even if I’m nowhere near Shikarak’s level, I’m probably still the kind of person whose mind is difficult for her to read. No wonder Public Safety struggles to hold conversations with her. Everyone who works here is probably too clever for their own good—and that alone is a burden for her.
If you’re going to talk with someone like her, it’s better to choose someone with simpler thoughts. Uh… do I even know anyone that dense? Not coming to mind… maybe some acquaintance?
While I was still thinking about leaving, she shook her head.
"No. I actually like you quite a bit already."
"Whoa—uh, thanks?"
Her sudden confession threw me off. It felt like being confessed to by someone you’ve barely even spoken to. Am I misreading the situation? Here, "like" probably doesn’t mean it that way.
Well, with my face being decent enough, it wouldn’t be impossible. Actually, yeah, it’s happened before.
But the way she said it didn’t sound like that kind of "like."
If she can read minds, she’s seeing a world different from mine. I wasn’t sure if it was something I should ask about, so I stayed quiet. If she thought it was okay to explain, she’d tell me herself.
Sure enough, she opened her mouth and told me why she was starting to like me.
"It’s obvious right away that you’re being considerate. Rather than finding it creepy, I think it’s awkward but kind—you’re not doing it for yourself but trying to hold back your thoughts for my sake. You’re a gentle person, Inori-san."
"It’s nothing, really."
I could’ve come up with a dozen rebuttals, but saying them out loud would’ve been rude. If she wants to think of me as gentle, letting her think so is the real kindness. I’m not even sure someone who can read minds needs that kind of consideration, though.
"Yes."
She said that and giggled again. Well, at least my effort wasn’t wasted. From the look of her, she seemed okay. Not unwell. That alone let me loosen up a little.
I probably know more pain than most ordinary people. I can understand it. And because of that, seeing someone else suffer is hard for me.
If it were me, maybe I could get out of that pain faster. I’m used to it, so maybe I wouldn’t even think of it as pain anymore.
When I see someone else’s wounds or illness, I want to take it on for them, but I can’t. All I can do is worry and leave it to the doctors. It’s frustrating.
"Someday, you might be able to do something like that. But please don’t forget that you’re not the only one who doesn’t want someone precious to get hurt."
"I’ll keep that in mind."
Coming from someone who can read minds, those are words you can’t help but take to heart. I try to stay as even-tempered as possible, but I can’t hide a trace of awkwardness. I don’t mind her reading my silly thoughts and embarrassing me—what worries me is whether I’m making her uncomfortable instead.
Even so, she let out a soft, floppy little laugh.
"Your friend… Jin? Please thank your friend for me. You’re very good at this, Inori-san."
If she faltered on the word friend, then there were only a few possible candidates. In this case, it was probably Naname-san.
I’d gotten more used than most to conversing via telepathy.
"Um… what words should I use? Sorry—please, just listen to me."
She lowered her eyebrows as she spoke. Her telepathy seemed sharper than Naname-san’s. Her ability was clearly specialized in reading minds.
Naname-san’s powers leaned more toward foresight. Telepathy wasn’t her strong suit—she could pass along Naname-san’s thoughts to me, but she couldn’t fully read my own.
That’s why, back at the aquarium, I’d resigned myself to looking like a suspicious person by talking to Naname-san out loud.
So when this girl asked me to put things into words, I didn’t think of it as a burden. I gave voice to a wish.
"Will you be my friend?"
"Pyah!"
She jumped at my words, her shoulders twitching upward. I raised my brows in return. Seemed like I’d asked the wrong thing.
"Sorry, was that… not it? That’s not what you meant?"
If she could really read my mind, I thought she’d already know what I was about to say. But apparently not.
Her eyes darted around, faster than D.E.T.O.N.A.T.E., as she muttered like she was delirious.
"Uh, um, ah, no, yes, no—"
"Calm down. Take it slow, it’s fine."
Since she’d started babbling nonsense, I spoke to settle her down. I also tried to empty my mind as much as possible. Complicated thoughts would only strain her.
Meditation. Zen. Mindfulness. Deep breath—inhale, exhale. Focus only on that. Inhale, lungs expand. Exhale, lungs contract. In through the nose, out through the mouth.
With a brain like mine, though, it’s hard not to think. Even as I breathed, stray trivia floated in—like how the number of alveoli in the human lungs can be anywhere from 300 million to 600 million, nearly double the difference depending on the person.
If this were a temple, a monk would’ve smacked me on the shoulder with a stick by now. Too many distractions.
"I… I’d like to be friends. Whether I can actually manage it, I don’t know."
"That’s fine. Hm… can you tell what I’m thinking?"
As I focused on one thought, her cheeks flushed pop-pop-pop red.
"Y-you may… call me however you like. If I had to say, then… Kotoha-chan…"
"Okay, got it. Kotoha-chan."
My thought about what to call her had reached her successfully. Since my mind was an open book to her, it was important that I call her by the name she herself wanted.
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