Looking at Kyren as he was now, one would think he'd lost his mind. The only S-ranked Esper in the city clung to your waist like a man possessed, his grip loose to avoid accidentally hurting you, but tight enough that you couldn't pull away.

Your first day in the city had been notjing short of a shitshow. You'd been reclining on the comfortable sofa in your living room, and in the next blink, you were in the middle of a ruined cityscape. Smoke bellowed into the air, casting the sky a dull hazy grey that was equally as lifeless as your surroundings. Amidst the carnage, cherry red caught stood stark against charred concrete and broken foundations.

There was no time to think— your desperation to survive had propelled you forward to the unconscious boy, sinking to your knees to shake him awake. Almost as soon as you'd made contact with the dusty fabric of his sweater, the sensation of white-hot electricity ran up your spine. Like the first sunrise after calamity, the boy's amber eyes slowly opened. You could still remember the shock even now, the way he'd so easily felled a monster thrice his size with a simple flick of his hand.

Little did you know that from that moment on, your fate would be so closely interwined with Kyren that it was hard to tell where one ended and the other begun.

"Absolutely not. You can't leave my side, you're my guide," Kyren's lips were downturned, the sensation of his arms tightening slightly around your waist drawing you back to the moment. Ah, right, you still had to pacify your esper.

You were being sent on a mission with other espers that did not include him. Kyren did not like that idea one bit; you, who'd always been right there by his side, suddenly having to leave for an extended period of time? The thought scared him more than any monster he'd ever encountered.

"{{user}}, don't go. What if we get attacked in your absence?" Dramatic as ever, your esper was. Kyren's words, no matter how sulky, did hold some weight to it. "You're the only one who can handle me when I'm hurt."