Chapter 12: The Psychic's Headache

Usually, rainy days are prime nap times for us. The sound of rain is like white noise that lulls our cat brains into a deep, dreamless coma. It is the kind of weather that makes you want to burrow into a blanket and forget that the outside world exists. Muji is usually asleep on the rug, twitching his paws in his dreams. Yoshi is usually asleep on the top of the fridge, absorbing the warmth of the motor. Inoe is usually asleep on a pile of Naomi's clean laundry, because she believes she deserves the softest things in the house.

But today, nobody is sleeping.

The vibe in the living room is frantic. It is brittle. And it is all because of Kenuji.

Kenuji is the calm one. He is the one who reads encyclopedias for fun. He is the one who stops Muji from eating plastic wrappers. He is the anchor of our chaotic little family, the one with the plan, the logic, and the cool head. But right now, Kenuji looks like he is about to explode.

He is in his grey cat form, pacing in tight, frantic circles around the coffee table. His claws are clicking against the hardwood floor. Click-click-click-click. He pauses, shakes his head violently like he has water in his ears, and then starts pacing again. His tail is lashing back and forth so hard it is making a swish sound in the air. His ears are pinned flat against his skull, and his pupils are dilated to the point where his eyes look like black holes.

"Will you stop?" Inoe groans. She is trying to sleep on the armchair, one paw draped over her eyes to block out the gloomy light. "You are making me dizzy just listening to you. Sit down. Groom yourself. Do cat things".

"I cannot stop", Kenuji projects his thoughts into our minds. His mental voice usually sounds cool and collected, like a librarian shushing a noisy patron. Today, it sounds jagged. It sounds like a radio that is tuned between two stations, full of static and screeching feedback. "There is a noise. A high-pitched frequency. It started three hours ago and it is getting louder. It feels like someone is drilling a screw into my frontal lobe".

"I do not hear anything", Muji says, looking up from a toy mouse he has been systematically disemboweling for the past twenty minutes. "Maybe you have fleas? Ear mites? I had ear mites once in the 1700s. It was terrible".

"It is not a physical sound, you idiot", Kenuji snaps, his fur puffing up until he looks twice his size. "It is a psychic broadcast. Someone is sending a distress signal. But it is raw. It is uncontrolled. It is screaming".

"Is it a spirit?" Yoshi asks, opening one lazy green eye from his perch on the bookshelf. "If it is a spirit, just block it out. You are the strongest Psychic in Tokyo. Put up a mental wall".

"I tried", Kenuji hisses. He stops pacing and presses his head against the wooden leg of the table, as if trying to push the pain out physically. "It is not a spirit. It feels human. But amplified. It is leaking everywhere. It is agonizing. It feels like... like a siren going off inside my brain".

He lets out a low, pained growl. I have never seen him like this. Kenuji is our radar. If our radar is broken, we are blind. And seeing him in pain makes my own stomach twist with anxiety.

"Okay", I say, sitting up and stretching my white front paws. "If it hurts that bad, we have to stop it. We cannot have you short-circuiting. Where is it coming from?"

Kenuji lifts his head. His eyes, usually a calm yellow, are wild and bloodshot. "North-east. Toward the industrial district near the Sumida River. It is calling for help. It is terrified".

"We cannot go out in this", Inoe complains, looking at the window where the rain is currently trying to drown the world. "We will get soaked. My fur will get matted. I will look like a wet rat. Do you know how long it takes to dry off?"

"We have umbrellas", Kenuji says, his voice desperate. "We transform. We grab the umbrellas from the stand. We go. Please. Before my head explodes".

We all look at each other. Muji sighs and drops his decapitated toy mouse. Yoshi rolls off the bookshelf and lands gracefully on the floor. Inoe grumbles something about hair conditioner but hops down from the chair.

"Fine", Yoshi says, shaking his head. "Operation Advil is a go".

We wait for a massive crack of thunder to mask the sound, and then we transform.

BOOM.

Smoke fills the room, swirling around our shifting forms. When it clears, five teenagers stand in the living room. I smooth down my white dress, wishing I had put on something warmer before I transformed. Being human feels heavy today, probably because of the atmospheric pressure pressing down on us.

We grab the clear plastic umbrellas from the entryway stand. We slip into our shoes-sneakers for me and Muji, heavy combat boots for Yoshi and Inoe, and sensible loafers for Kenuji. We step out into the storm.

The moment we leave the house, the noise of the city hits us. Rain hissing on pavement. Cars splashing through deep puddles. The distant wail of a siren. But Kenuji winces as if someone slapped him across the face.

"It is louder out here", he groans, clutching his head with one hand and holding his umbrella with the other. He looks pale, his skin clammy. "Follow me".

He walks fast. We have to jog to keep up with him. He leads us away from the safe, quiet residential streets of our neighborhood, past the convenience stores glowing in the mist, and toward the gritty, grey industrial zones near the river. The neon signs of the shops reflect in the puddles-pink, blue, electric green-distorted by the ripples into abstract art.

"Hey, Kenuji!" Muji shouts over the sound of the rain. He is wearing a hoodie, but he didn't zip it up because he claims zippers "constrict his warrior spirit". He is getting soaked, his orange hair plastered to his forehead. "Are we fighting something? Should I have brought a snack?"

"We are finding the source", Kenuji yells back, not looking over his shoulder. "And then we are silencing it".

We walk for twenty minutes. My socks are wet. I hate wet socks. It is the worst feeling in the world-cold, squishy, and miserable. I try to focus on the mission, but every step is a reminder of the dampness seeping into my shoes.

We reach the river. The water is high, churning brown and angry, swollen by the storm. Along the bank, there is a row of old, abandoned warehouses. They look like skeletons of buildings, with broken windows that look like missing teeth and rusted metal sheets that rattle in the wind like dry bones.

Kenuji stops in front of the largest one. It is a hulking concrete beast, surrounded by a tall chain-link fence topped with razor wire. A faded sign says KEEP OUT in bold red letters, but the paint is peeling and weeping rust down the metal.

"In there?" Yoshi asks, tilting his umbrella back to look up at the looming structure. "Classic creepy hideout. Very original".

"Basement level", Kenuji grimaces. He is leaning against a telephone pole now, his breathing shallow. "It is deafening here. We are right on top of it. It feels like I am standing inside a bell".

"Locked", Inoe points at the heavy padlock on the rusted gate. "Do we have a key? Or do I need to mind-control a locksmith?"

Muji steps forward, cracking his knuckles. "I am the key".

He grabs the chain-link fence with his bare hands. He doesn't transform fully, but his arms ripple with supernatural strength. He grunts, pulling the metal apart. The links groan and snap. With a sound like a gunshot, the fence tears open, creating a jagged hole big enough for us to walk through.

"After you", Muji grins, wiping rust off his hands onto his pants.

We creep toward the warehouse. The rain is even louder inside the metal roof, drumming like a thousand fingers tapping on a tin can. The air smells like wet concrete, old oil, and mold. It is dark, shadows stretching long and deep in the corners where the grey daylight doesn't reach.

We find the stairs. They are concrete, stained and cracked, leading down into the bowels of the building. We descend into the darkness.

As we go down, the air pressure changes. My ears pop. The hair on my arms stands up. It feels like walking into a room full of static electricity, the kind that makes your clothes cling to you.

At the bottom of the stairs, there is a large, open room. It is lit by a single, flickering bulb hanging from a wire in the center of the ceiling. The light swings back and forth, casting dizzying shadows that dance on the peeling walls.

In the center of the room, sitting on a pile of old wooden pallets, is a boy.

He looks young. Maybe ten or eleven years old. He is wearing a dirty t-shirt and shorts that are too big for him. He is hugging his knees to his chest, rocking back and forth violently.

"Get out", the boy whispers.

The whisper echoes. It doesn't sound like it came from his mouth. It sounds like it came from the walls. From the floor. From inside my own skull.

"Get out!" the voice screams this time.

Suddenly, gravity goes weird.

A wave of invisible force slams into us. It feels like a physical wall hitting my chest. I stumble back, grabbing Yoshi's leather jacket for balance.

"Psychic energy!" Kenuji shouts. He drops his umbrella and throws his hands up. "Shield!"

A translucent, grey barrier ripples into existence in front of us. The wave of force hits Kenuji's shield and shatters around us, blowing dust and debris into the corners of the room.

"He is an Esper", Kenuji yells, his voice strained as he holds the shield against the crushing pressure. "A human born with latent psychic abilities. He just woke up. He cannot control it. He is leaking energy everywhere. He is a walking reactor meltdown!"

The boy looks up. His eyes are glowing a terrifying, blinding white. Tears are streaming down his face, sizzling as they hit the psychic aura around him. "Make it stop! It is too loud! Everyone is talking! I can hear everyone thinking!"

The shelves lining the walls begin to rattle. Heavy metal pipes, old tools, and glass jars lift into the air. They hover for a second, trembling, and then turn to point directly at us like arrows.

"He is going to kill us by accident", Muji realizes, his eyes widening.

"He is going to bring the building down on top of us", Yoshi corrects him, looking at the ceiling. The concrete beams are groaning under the strain. Dust is falling like snow.

"We need a plan!" Inoe shouts over the psychic wind.

"Muji, distract him!" Yoshi commands, taking charge. "Haruka, you are the only one who can get close enough to soothe him. Your energy is compatible with mental healing. Kenuji, hold the shield! I will secure the structure!"

"On it!" Muji dashes forward. He moves faster than a human eye can follow.

The hovering pipes fly at him. Whoosh. Whoosh.

Muji dodges, weaving through the air. He jumps off a pillar, pushing himself toward the boy. "Hey, kid! Look over here! Catch me if you can!"

The boy turns his glowing head toward Muji. A swarm of rusty nails lifts from the floor and shoots at Muji like a shotgun blast.

Muji manifests his silver claws. Clang-clang-clang. He deflects the nails, sparks flying as metal hits metal. He is laughing. "Is that all you got? I have coughed up hairballs scarier than that!"

While Muji draws the fire, Yoshi slams his palms onto the concrete floor. "Geomancer Arts: Foundation Lock!"

Green light pulses from his hands, shooting into the floor and up the walls. The groaning of the building stops. The cracks in the ceiling freeze. Yoshi is holding the entire warehouse together with his will.

"Haruka, go!" Kenuji screams. His nose is bleeding. The psychic pressure is crushing his shield. "I cannot hold this much longer!"

I run.

I run out from behind Kenuji's shield. The psychic wind hits me instantly. It feels like running into a hurricane. It pushes me back, trying to scrape me across the floor. My hair whips around my face, stinging my cheeks.

I push forward. "I am the Divine", I tell myself. "I am the purifier. I am the calm in the storm".

I dodge a flying wrench. I duck under a floating pallet. I reach the boy.

He is screaming now, a high-pitched wail of pure agony. The air around him is hot, vibrating with power.

I ignore the heat. I ignore the debris flying past my ears. I slide on my knees across the dirty floor and grab his shoulders.

"It is okay!" I shout over the noise.

The boy flinches. The white glow in his eyes flares. "Go away! I will hurt you!"

"You won't hurt me", I say, making my voice soft but firm. I push my own energy into my hands. Golden light flows from my palms, wrapping around the boy like a warm blanket. "Breathe. Just breathe".

"It is too loud", he sobs. "The voices... so many voices..."

"Focus on my voice", I whisper. I lean my forehead against his. "Close your eyes. Imagine a room. A white room. Thick walls. No windows. Just silence".

I use my power to push that image into his mind. I build the walls for him. I mute the world.

"Silence", I repeat. "Quiet. Peace".

The boy gasps. The white glow in his eyes flickers and fades. The tension in his small body snaps like a cut rubber band.

The floating pipes drop to the floor with a deafening CRASH. The glass jars shatter. The nails rain down like hail.

The silence that follows is sudden and heavy.

The boy slumps forward into my arms, unconscious. He is just a little kid again.

"Is... is he dead?" Muji asks, poking his head out from behind a pillar.

"He is sleeping", I say, brushing the hair off the boy's sweaty forehead. "He exhausted himself. His brain shut down to protect itself".

Kenuji drops his shield. He collapses to his knees, panting. He wipes the blood from his nose with his sleeve. "The noise... it is gone. My head... silence. Finally".

Yoshi lifts his hands from the floor. The green light fades. "Good job, everyone. That was close. Another minute and this place would have been a pancake".

Inoe walks over, picking her way carefully through the broken glass. She looks at the boy. "Poor kid. Waking up as an Esper in Tokyo? That is rough. The city is too loud for telepaths. There are too many people".

"What do we do with him?" Yoshi asks, walking over. "We cannot keep him. Naomi would notice an extra human. And Hajime barely makes enough to feed five cats".

"We call the authorities", Kenuji says, standing up shakily. "Not the police. The supernatural welfare division. Or... actually, no. That takes too much paperwork. We leave him at the police box near the train station. They will find his parents. I put a mental block on him".

Kenuji taps his own forehead. "I locked his powers away. It is a temporary seal. It will hold until he is older, maybe sixteen or seventeen. By then, his brain will be developed enough to handle the noise. He will think this was just a bad dream".

"You can do that?" Muji asks, impressed.

"I am the Psychic Cat", Kenuji says, adjusting his glasses with a hint of his usual arrogance returning. "I can do anything".

We carry the boy out of the warehouse. The rain has slowed down to a drizzle. The air feels cleaner now, washed of the static tension.

We walk to the police box near the station. It is empty right now, the officer probably on patrol. We lay the boy down on the bench inside the shelter. He looks peaceful. Yoshi takes off his leather jacket and drapes it over the kid to keep him warm.

"You are leaving your jacket?" Inoe asks, surprised. "You love that jacket. You sleep in that jacket".

"It is old anyway", Yoshi shrugs, looking away. "Besides, the kid looks cold. And I have another one at home".

We watch from the shadows of an alleyway until a police officer returns. He sees the boy, rushes over, and starts making calls on his radio. Safe.

We turn and walk home. We are soaking wet. My dress is ruined, splattered with mud and warehouse grime. Muji's sneakers are squelching with every step. Kenuji looks like a drowned rat.

But Kenuji is smiling. A small, rare smile.

"Headache gone?" I ask him.

"Completely", he says. "I have never appreciated silence so much".

"Good", Muji says. "Because I am hungry. And I am going to complain about it loudly all the way home".

"Don't push your luck, Tiger", Kenuji warns, but there is no bite in his voice.

We walk home under the streetlights, five shadows splashing in the puddles. Being a hero is messy, wet, and exhausting work. But seeing Kenuji pain-free and that kid safe?

Totally worth the wet socks.