Spider-Man corrected him, "Sir, my name is Spider-Man. I don't know any 'street flower'."
Saiki Kuniharu declared righteously, "No, you are the street flower."
Spider-Man: "…Even though I'm covering my face, my voice doesn't sound anything like a woman's, does it?"
Saiki Kuniharu remained persistent, "I understand, street flower."
No, you don't!
Spider-Man, in utter agony, realized he had a massive communication gap with this gentleman. To prevent the righteous Spider-Man from impulsively joining forces with the thief, he turned his attention back to the criminal.
"Let's discuss how to rescue your child, shall we?"
(Tch, changing the subject? How lame, street flower.)
[Why do I get the feeling you don't like the street flower very much, Kusuo?]
(It's your imagination.)
Saiki Kusuo didn't want to admit that he felt a primal antagonism towards Spider-Man, like facing a natural predator.
The thief, still shouting, realized that with a hostage in hand, Spider-Man couldn't do anything. He ordered the seemingly foolish and easy target, Saiki Kuniharu.
"You! Yes, you! Pick up the bag and hand it to me!"
Spider-Man had the ability to easily subdue the thief, but the criminal was no pushover. The knife was pressed firmly against Saiki Kusuo's neck, and the slightest mistake could genuinely result in the boy's throat being slit.
Just as Spider-Man was considering how to distract the thief, Saiki Kuniharu, who had been tasked with picking up the bag, finally lost his patience, though his outward appearance remained one of panic.
"I… I'll get it for you right away, just please don't hurt my child! Street flower, please save my child!"
[Kusuo, stop playing around! It's almost dinner time. If we're late, we won't get to eat Mom's cooking!]
The hungry and deeply devoted husband didn't want to keep his beloved wife waiting, and Saiki Kusuo, a closeted mama's boy, hesitated for a few seconds before deciding to use his psychic powers.
Thus, Spider-Man, who was in the middle of planning the rescue, suddenly heard a panicked voice in his mind.
[Stay calm, Andy, you can do this! Just be assertive and don't panic, the street flower won't know!]
Just how fixated were they on this "street flower" nickname?! Wait, this voice was the thief's?
This was Saiki Kusuo's telepathic ability, forced telepathy. He could transmit the thoughts he heard to another person.
Astonished, Spider-Man looked at the thief, who appeared calm and collected on the outside but was panicking internally.
[That's right, he won't know this knife is fake!]
Spider-Man: "…"
[Fuck, I shouldn't have been so cheap and bought a plastic knife.]
[But I haven't eaten in two days, and I spent my only dollar on this tool. If this doesn't work, I'll starve to death.]
Spider-Man: "…I sympathize with your situation, but your actions are illegal!"
Having heard enough of the thief's inner thoughts, Spider-Man spoke. In the instant the thief was shocked by his words, he effortlessly disarmed him.
With the crisis averted, Saiki Kuniharu, sporting the same smile he used when licking his customers' shoes, bowed and nodded as he saw the police off. He was about to take his son home when he noticed the usually energetic and hasty street flower staring at his son.
His face was covered by the mask, so his expression was unreadable, but Saiki Kusuo knew his mind was being flooded with "WTF"s.
[WTF, I just heard the thief's inner thoughts.]
[WTF, besides my spider-powers, have I activated other abilities? Or is this an extension of my spider-sense? Anyway, this is awesome!]
[Wait, now's not the time to worry about powers. This kid looks familiar… Isn't he the transfer student who joined our school today? That bizarre red and green combination is such an eyesore.]
[Oh, sorry, I'm being rude. Wait, why am I apologizing? He can't hear me complaining in my head.]
(No, I can hear you, you idiot! Your mental activity is so jumpy! And I'm remembering that you called me an eyesore!)
Spider-Man's inner monologue continued.
[Should I go say hello? I don't know him well, but he's still a classmate. It's polite to greet him, right?]
[No, I'm Spider-Man right now. What if I blow my cover? No way, my disguise is perfect. He'll probably just think I'm the hero who saved him and look at me with admiration and respect.]
(Are you dreaming?)
[Anyway, I should go say hello. For some reason, the thought of him looking at me with admiration makes me excited.]
Finishing his internal debate, Spider-Man cleared his throat and took a step forward.
"You…"
But before he could even finish the word, the expressionless Saiki Kusuo turned his head and pulled his father away.
"Let's go home."
[Hey, brat! Is that how you treat your savior? Get back here!]
"Huh?" Saiki Kusuo suddenly turned back, as if he had heard the most ridiculous joke, and, unusually, displayed an arrogant expression as if he had just squashed dozens of street flowers.
This kid really dares to say it!
"The police had already subdued the thief in the first place, but then you suddenly appeared and bumped into the officer, causing the thief to escape in the chaos."
"…" Spider-Man's head hung low.
"Not only that, but because you were chasing the thief, you made a mess of the street, seriously hindering the police and allowing the thief to easily run into the street and take me hostage."
"…" Spider-Man's masked face was filled with regret.
"Your actions are atrocious, and you still expect me to thank you? Do you deserve it?"
[Stop it, I'm sorry, I don't deserve it. I want to find a hole to crawl into!]
Seeing Spider-Man suddenly deflated, Saiki Kuniharu looked at his son in confusion.
"Kusuo, what did you do?"
"Nothing. Let's hurry home. Mom must have already made dinner and is waiting for us."
Mentioning his wife easily diverted Saiki Kuniharu's attention, thanks to Saiki Kusuo.
(Harsher words lead to better outcomes, street flower. You must understand my good intentions. I hope you can handle things perfectly next time and not involve me.)
The shameless Saiki Kusuo took credit, unaware that Spider-Man behind him had already perked up. Or rather, he had realized something.
[Wait a minute, why does this kid know what happened just now even better than I, the person involved, do?]
Saiki Kusuo's footsteps faltered.
[Ahhhh! Most importantly, that guy wasn't moving his mouth just now, so why could I hear his words?]
Indeed, this guy was his natural enemy. Maybe he should just find an opportunity to get rid of him!
Saiki Kusuo, caught off guard, thought darkly.
Of course, in the end, he didn't carry out his plan.
The boy, raised with an extremely upright moral compass by his parents, couldn't go against his conscience.
(Since I can't get rid of him, I'll just have to stay away from this troublesome guy.)
The next day, Saiki Kusuo headed to school with his backpack.
It was the peak hour for school, and all sorts of voices flooded Saiki Kusuo's mind, giving him a throbbing headache.
[I met a hot girl at the bar yesterday, but she said I was too short,呜呜呜…]
(Short? In length or time?)
[My parents won't be home tomorrow, so I can sleep in! I'm so happy!]
(I strongly agree with your sentiment.)
[This pink-haired boy looks so ordinary, short and small. But it's okay, I like this type. Let me tease…]
(Wait, there seems to be a strange voice mixed in. The words were censored, so should I call the police now?)
His internal commentary stopped when he bumped into Peter Parker at the classroom entrance. Saiki Kusuo narrowed his eyes, observing this friendly-smiling natural enemy.
"Hi, Sai… uh, classmate, good morning."
(Don't know my name? Please don't try to make awkward small talk.)
Saiki Kusuo thought this guy was acting strangely.
[The transfer student is always alone, he looks so pitiful. As a classmate, I'll reluctantly befriend him.]
(Are you kidding me?)
[Of course, I'm only befriending him out of pity. Be grateful, transfer student!]
(Wow, the street flower even has a tsundere attribute? Wait, isn't this guy a New Yorker? Why does he feel so… Japanese?)
Saiki Kusuo couldn't help but suspect that he had unintentionally used his psychic powers, causing Peter Parker's character to go OOC (out of character).
Under the other boy's increasingly bright smile, Saiki Kusuo silently used an ability he hadn't used in a long time, a rather useless one: the Affection Meter.
It read the minds of everyone around him and calculated their individual affection levels, as well as the average affection level.
And Peter Parker's affection level was a whopping 70! This was the level where, even if you didn't greet him, he would automatically greet you. What exactly had this guy been imagining all night?
"Hey, classmate, are you listening?"
Peter Parker's face was starting to ache from smiling, so he had to speak up to remind the seemingly daydreaming transfer student.
Saiki Kusuo was analyzing how to lower the other's affection, to keep it at a safe number.
Greeting him was definitely out of the question. This guy was clearly the type to take advantage of any kindness. Responding to him might even raise his affection to 90.
It was better not to greet him, to make him feel awkward and resentful, thus lowering his affection. Ideally, he could lower it to 10 in one go, to the point where even if he greeted him, the other wouldn't respond.
Therefore, Saiki Kusuo gave him a cold glance and walked straight past him.
Peter Parker's hand froze awkwardly in the air.
(Good, that's it. Quickly lower your affection and stay away from me.) Saiki Kusuo smiled smugly in his mind.
[This transfer student is a bit too arrogant, isn't he? No, maybe he's just shy and doesn't know how to interact with people. He ignored me because he was afraid of being rude.]
Saiki Kusuo: "…" So what exactly have you been imagining?!
[It's okay. I'll have a good talk with him after class and help him get out of his shell.]
(Get lost! You are my shell!)
More exhausted than if he had dealt with ten Nendou Riki's, Saiki Kusuo used teleportation to escape to the restroom as soon as class ended, determined to avoid being caught by Peter Parker.
However, he hadn't expected that someone was already waiting for him in the restroom.
Several large, menacing-looking bullies surrounded him.
"Hey, newbie. I'm a little short on cash lately. How about lending me some?"