(There were three things Haru believed in with absolute certainty:)
(1. The stars never lied.)
(2. Fortune cookies were just cowards hiding behind vague wording.)
(3. He was psychic... sort of.)
(No one else at Sakura North High believed that third one.)
(Especially not Momo, president of the school's most questionable club.)
"This is your third 'vision' this week," Momo said, watching Haru dramatically place a cracked crystal ball onto the dusty clubroom desk. "You were wrong about all of them."
"I wasn't wrong. The universe was just off by two days," Haru replied calmly, brushing imaginary dust off his second-hand cloak.
"It was a weather forecast, Haru. You used your phone."
"Exactly. Psychic intuition guided my thumb."
(Momo sighed deeply and turned to the others.)
(Rina, the club's overly serious "medium," was meditating in the corner next to a potted plant she claimed contained "ghost energy.")
(Takumi, the only sane member of the club, was busy drawing a devil mustache on Haru's yearbook photo.)
"You're all idiots," Takumi muttered, not looking up. "I only joined this club because I thought it was a joke and i could sleep through it."
"You're not wrong," Momo said. "Unfortunately, the school didn't read the fine print on our club application."
(Haru suddenly stood up, eyes narrowing like he was about to unleash a forbidden technique.)
"Someone in Class 2-B has lost their homework," he declared. "A great disturbance in the academic flow."
"…You mean Tanaka? He lost his worksheet this morning," Momo said. "He just asked me about it."
"Yes," Haru said gravely. "And I have foreseen its location."
"No you haven't."
"I absolutely have. The missing homework lies… in the gym."
"The gym? What's it doing there?"
"Ask not how it got there. Ask only how we retrieve it. My vision was clear—"
(Takumi tossed a crumpled piece of paper at him.)
"You saw Tanaka eating lunch in the gym. You made a guess. That's not psychic." he said whiles trying to sleep on the club couch.
"Silence, non-believer! The spirits whisper__"
"They whisper too loud," Momo interrupted. "Fine. Let's go check the gym. If you're wrong again, I'm making you clean Rina's 'spirit pot.'"
(Rina opened one eye.)
"The cactus has spoken. It's thirsty."
(The four of them snuck into the gym during lunch break, the door creaking open like something out of a bad horror movie.)
"Wow," Takumi said flatly. "So spooky. So psychic."
"Shh," Haru whispered. "The air is thick with forgotten knowledge."
"It's thick with sweat and balls."
(They scanned the room. Nothing unusual. No glowing homework. No signs of mystical energy.)
(Just a janitor sweeping near the corner.)
"Wait," Momo said, squinting. "Isn't that…?"
(The janitor turned slightly. Stuck to the bottom of his shoe was a sheet of paper, slightly crumpled but unmistakably covered in math problems.)
"Tanaka's worksheet!" Momo gasped.
"I told you," Haru said smugly, walking like he was about to receive a Nobel Prize. "The spirits guide me."
(The janitor looked down, noticed the paper, and blinked.)
"Oh. Thought that was gum."
(He peeled it off and tossed it into a nearby bin.)
"NOOOO—" the club shouted in unison.
(Rina sprinted to the trash can like it was a sacred altar.)
"Don't worry, I sense it's still readable!"
(Takumi stared at Haru.)
"Okay, I hate to admit it, but… that was kind of impressive."
(Haru nodded solemnly.)
"My powers grow stronger with each failed midterm."
"You're still failing," Momo said.
"Yes. But psychically."
Chapter 1 End