Hokichi Ishida sits in the middle of his classroom. He wore a Japanese middle school student's uniform, had black hair and dark brown eyes, with a particularly not very interesting face. He reads his book quietly, trying not to catch anybody's attention. Occasionally, he gets out of his seat to head down to the shop to buy a sandwich when he doesn't have lunch that day. During class, he does his work quietly, and does not speak unless asked to speak. He is truly an average person.

"It's so hot..." Ishida muttered under his breath, feeling the sweat drip down his face and underneath his shirt. He looked around the class, noticing all the other students were experiencing a similar problem. I can't take this... I need water... 

Ishida stood up from his seat, which creaked slightly, and slid the seat back into his desk as he walked out of the classroom. He looked to the sink near his classroom, and it was already piling with a bunch of students from his class. I really don't want to have to squish in between that pile of sweat... I'm just going to go look for another fountain.

He walked away, searching through the school building. Every school sink was crowded with people from the class nearby, and only the ones outside had barely any people. Ishida thought it was probably because the sun was so blazing hot that nobody wanted to step outside, or maybe they didn't think to go outside to drink water peacefully. He walked down the school stairs, and out into the yard where a school sink was setup.

Ishida lowered his head, and turned the sink on by turning the cog on one of the faucets. The warm water was rather disgusting, but it was still water. He pushed through the taste, and swallowed the water. "Don't touch me!" A familiar voice suddenly shouted. Ishida jolted, standing up properly before he realized that the voice was coming from behind the school.

"Is that a spirit?" A rather unusual question to ask, but Ishida still asked.

"Quit being so fucking stubborn! I just want to have some fun..."

"No way, you creep!"

Ishida quietly listened in to assess the situation, hiding behind the corner from where the conversation was happening. He noticed the girl seemingly struggling to get away from the man who was pressuring her. The girl had on a student uniform, same with the man. She had short black hair, down to her neck in a bob cut style and she had bright blue eyes.

The guy wasn't particularly special, since his style was similar to that of a thug. He had tattoos along his neck, and veiny arms. He clearly had a decent muscular build. His head was shaved, and his cocky smile added all to his appearance.

Ishida wanted to wait to see if the girl was capable of running away before trying to help her. He didn't want to get involved and then get yelled at for helping like previous times. Wait... Isn't that Hayashi-san? The popular girl from my class... She has a boyfriend? Well, not a boyfriend... Maybe a boyfriend... 

The man proceeded to grab Hayashi's hand, pinning her to the wall. Ishida immediately could tell that Hayashi was being overpowered, and there was no way she could run away. Ishida didn't know how to talk to people, especially women. Women scare Ishida to his very core. But... I can't let him have his way with Hayashi-san! He chooses to step out from the corner, announcing himself.

"P... Please stop hurting her!" Ishida voice shook, attempting to ask politely. The man's look was stern as he turned to look at Ishida. Hayashi turned to look at Ishida, who had lost hope on escaping the situation, her eyes suddenly light up. He was clearly annoyed by the fact somebody was interrupting him. His intimidating aura dug deep in Ishida, which caused him to shake.

"Huh? Who the hell are you?" The man's tone of voice was deep and commanding. He wasn't having any of this commotion. He was ready to get aggressive with Ishida to get him out of the picture if he had to.

"I'm... um... nobody... in... particular..." Ishida looked down at the ground, not having thought this interaction through. He didn't know how to respond. His head fogged up, his palms were sweaty and his heartbeat's pace fastened.

"Get the hell out of here then! Can't you see we are in the middle of something?" The man shouted, tightening his grip around Hayashi's hand in anger. Hayashi winced, trying to pull away from the dangerous man's grip.

Ishida noticed Hayashi in pain, and knew there was no way around this situation. He took in a deep breath, trying to compose himself. He imagined his own heart in his head, and caressing it with his hand to soothe its pace. Slowly, his heart began to calm and he spoke clearly:

"Can't you see you're hurting her? Unhand her now. I won't say it again."

The man's eyes turned red. He looked like he was about to pop a vessel in his head as he clenched his fists. He threw Hayashi to the ground, approaching Ishida in a rage. Hayashi yelped as she landed on the ground, gasping for air as the wind was knocked out of her. "You think you can tell me what to fucking do? I'll beat the fucking shit out of you!"

Ishida didn't flinch, watching as the man approached him. He took in a deep breath again, before exhaling, preparing himself. He balled his own fists, staring the man deep in the eyes as he walked. And then, suddenly out of nowhere, the man... tripped on nothing? His head fell in slow-mo, landing straight on his face. A loud crack could be heard.

Ishida looked down at the man, awkwardly staring. He wasn't particularly surprised, just... staring. The man twitched like a cockroach on it's back, before getting up on his knees. The man was confuddled, noticing that there was blood coming from his nose. "Wha... My nose... cracked?" Suddenly, the man's vision grew blurry and he felt woozy. "I think... I'm gonna pass out... No fucking way..."

Ishida simply watched, not surprised at all by his fall.

"Shit..." The man's eyes roll to the back of his head, as he falls over on his side on the grass. He was point blank knocked out from his heavy and unexpected fall.

Hayashi sat up, having watched what was happening on the ground as she tried to catch her breath after being knocked down. In a matter of seconds, the fight that was about to commence before her had ended before it started. She stared, clearly confused. "Wait... What... What happened?" 

Ishida glances at Hayashi, realizing the situation he was in again. A very gorgeous girl asked him a simple question, and he failed to look at her straight in the eyes after a most likely traumatizing event happened to her.

"I... I don't know..." Ishida spoke way too quiet. Nobody in even a close vicinity could hear him.

"What?" Hayashi slowly stood up, making sure her balance was right before walking over to Ishida.

"I... I don't know!" Ishida shouted.

"Woah... Spare my eardrums. You don't have to yell it, dude..."

"I... I'm sorry..." He apologized. His eyes darted all over the ground, not making any sort of eye contact. His face was flushed red, and without any sort of idea on how to hold the conversation, he turned away to the bushes next to them.

A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

Hayashi picked up on his irregular behavior, straightening up and sighing. "Don't need to be so nervous. What's your name?"

"H....Hokichi... Ishida Hokichi..."

"Hokichi..." Hayashi held her hand up to her chin, her other hand on her waist. She scanned her head, since the name seemed familiar to her, but she couldn't quite grasp who he was. "Oh!" She balls up her hand, resting it on her palm. "You're the loner kid from my class!" 

Ishida felt something stab him, not literally, in his chest. Her choice of words brought a sense of sadness to him.

"Yeah... That's me..."

Hayashi notices, giggling a little bit. "Thanks a lot, Hokichi-kun. You really saved me." She walks over to the man who was originally assaulting her, pulling him up by his collar and dragging him. "Anyways, I'd better get this guy to the infirmary for his broken nose. I'll see you around?"

See you... around? Hokichi...kun!? Ishida's heart skips a beat. He never talked this much to a girl before. Previously, women used to scare him to death. Especially the girls in his class who intimidated him. See you around... means, she wants to talk to me again? Really? No girl has ever... Actually... Nobody has ever said that to me before! 

Ishida became so caught up in his thoughts that he forgot to respond. Hayashi awkwardly stared, realizing that Ishida wasn't going to give an answer for whatever reason. "Um, alright... Bye." She dragged the man away, leaving the area to Ishida and his bewildered thoughts.

----------------------------------------

I genuinely talked to a girl today! Ishida thought he had talked to a girl today, but in reality, Ishida wasn't really responding to anything the girl was saying because he was too caught up in his own anxieties. Walking home from school, turning corners, all he could think about was the 'conversation' he had. 

Wait! I shouldn't get a big head... What if she was just being friendly when she said that? There's no way a girl would want to talk to me... Ishida was a bit depressed at the thought. He truly thought he made his first step to making a friend, but it was more realistic that she was just being friendly. Ishida sighed. He reminiscences on a time when he was younger, and he was sitting on the park bench.

Ishida was only seven, and he was watching kids play on the swings. He wanted to play too, but he was too scared to ask. So, once the kids all went home, he would swing all alone on the swing set. But, he didn't smile and laugh like the kids who were playing together. His face was still, and nothing came out from his little mouth. He was alone. For many years, Ishida's life was like this. Alone.

He walked home quietly, mourning his own depressing life. Eventually, he arrived at his front door and unlocked it. Walking in, he took of his shoes at the door and walked inside. "I'm home!" He announced.

Passing by the kitchen, he saw his mother setting up dinner. His mother had heard him walk in, and was already watching him pass by. "Welcome home," her voice was sweet and accepting. She had a kind face. Her hair was blond, and her eyes were dark brown. She wore an apron over her shirt.

His father was sitting on the couch like usual, practically asleep. Ishida could tell from the way his body was practically one inch away from flopping over onto his side. Ishida headed upstairs, and went into his room. He put his school bag to the side of his bed, and sat down before pulling out his phone to look at the time:

"18:03."

Ishida tossed his phone to the side, getting out of his school uniform which was drenched in sweat. He hung it up, and put on his regular home clothes before heading downstairs to eat dinner. He waited for dinner, along with his half-asleep father and then they would eat together as a family. He didn't have any siblings.

"What'd you do at school today?" Mother asked.

"Nothing special. I..." He remembered the fact he talked to a girl. "I talked to a girl today... So that was nice."

"Hooray! Finally, I've waited for this day..." Mother seemed to grow teary eyed, looking up with her hands clasped together as if she was praying to the heavens.

"My only son is finally becoming a man. I knew we didn't need another child." Father said with a mouth full of food.

Father scratched his crummy beard, before putting a spoonful of food in his mouth. Ishida's face flushed red, clearly embarrassed. "Y-You're overreacting! A-And, what do you mean we don't need another child!?"

The table was usually much more tame than this, but due to the events of today, it was much more full of energy. After dinner, Ishida stepped out to go for a walk during night. He enjoyed the quietness, and it helped him think about everything that happened that day. Ishida walked down the usual path he would walk down, but he decided to take an odd turn to freshen things up.

With the way things were happening today, Ishida felt hungry for some change. The cold breeze brushes past him, something about this breeze was different. The street lights flickered slightly. He thought about Hayashi. His heart thumped. Why... Why is my heart beating so fast? Why... Ishida imagined Hayashi's face, and her pretty blue eyes. He never used to notice her that much before other than the times she was being obnoxiously loud with her friends in the classroom. So why now... 

As Ishida walked and thought, he couldn’t shake the feeling that something was off. The streetlights, usually steady, flickered weakly. He dismissed it at first, but the unease got to him. Was it his imagination, or did he hear faint whispers carried by the breeze? He stopped in his tracks, planting his feet into the ground and looking away from the ground. He stared at the road ahead of him, waiting for what was approaching to appear. He could hear soft, but violent whispers in his ear. 

The road suddenly turned dark, and the street lights flickered. His ears ringed, and he stopped being able to hear anything except the quiet breeze. The trees rustle. Ishida plants his feet forward, and speaks with a commanding voice:

"Who's there?"

The street ahead had a turn. Around the turn, a shadow stepped out slowly. it had a humanoid figure, but it wasn't human. The shadow chose to approach Ishida slowly. He felt a shiver run down his spine, his face began to sweat, and his throat was blocking up. Ishida began to stumble backwards, struggling to breathe properly. His chest grew heavy.

There's something ahead of me... And, it isn't human.

Ishida focused himself, standing up properly. He corrected his posture, closing his eyes. He took in a deep breath, centering himself. "Don't step any closer." He commanded.

The shadow wouldn't listen to anything he said, and continued to walk towards him. Ishida realized that talking wouldn't do anything, and he would have to take matters into his own hands. He didn't like using them too much, but unless he was forced to like the situation at school, he would use it. He readied himself, extending his hand out into the void.

"I warned you," he said. The shadow began to whisper something, causing Ishida to hesitate. He tried to tune into what the shadow was saying before he attacked. What is it saying? 

The shadow suddenly stopped moving, and Ishida refocused his attention on the shadow. He prepares himself again, but before he could do anything, he was able to hear what the shadow was attempting to articulate.

"Let me have touch your boobs!"

"Eh?"

The shadow jumped towards Ishida, reaching its hand out to grab his face. But, Ishida reaction speed was fast enough to catch the shadow in time. The shadow force in the air, before Ishida balled his face and the shadow blew up in flames.

That was close! Ishida gasped for air, having a mini heart attack from how quick the shadow was. The shadow screeched in pain, as it burned to ashes. Ishida watched it burn, breathing in and out slowly to calm himself down.

"I'll kill you! I'll fucking kill you, you bitch! You damn psyc-"

Ishida watched as the shadow burned away to a crisp, reducing to nothing. He thinks on the words of the shadow and what it was about to say. Psychic. He paused for a second, processing it, and then he spoke:

"I'm not a psychic. I'm nobody." Ishida turned away, deciding to walk back home.

Hokichi Ishida is an average person, with average looks, an average life, with a possibly average future. He is average. However, he holds a secret that he hasn't told anyone before. Not even his parents.

Hokichi Ishida is a closeted psychic.