Perhaps it was the dangerous tone in Saiki Kusuo's voice, but Banner couldn't help but shiver. His strong survival instincts kicked in, immediately putting an end to any thoughts of office romance.
He said a quick goodbye to Natasha and left the lab.
[Don't be angry, Kusuo. Even though they've turned over a new leaf with your help, their abilities will still be coveted by various organizations. Not everyone is like you, able to discern right from wrong. At the end of the day, they're just two kids who haven't received any education and grew up in the slums. It's inevitable that they might be taken advantage of by someone with ill intentions. SHIELD has also suffered significant losses this time, and they're currently overwhelmed with eliminatingthe remnants of Hydra. It's not realistic to expect them to constantly watch over Wanda. Please, just consider this a favor to me.]
Saiki was somewhat swayed by Banner's plea, but he wouldn't admit it, tsundere-like.
(Consider it repayment for helping me deal with Stark. I'll keep an eye on the siblings for you.)
After ending his conversation with Banner, Saiki sighed. He turned around, only to see Peter and the twins engaged in lively conversation.
Peter was a complete Stark fanboy, and upon learning that the new transfer students were Stark's relatives, he immediately approached them with enthusiasm.
Although the siblings were dissatisfied with their scumbag father for not publicly acknowledging their existence, they still cared deeply about him.
They put on a facade of disdain, but listened with rapt attention to Peter's praises of Stark.
When the bell rang, Saiki stood up expressionlessly, packing his bag and preparing to go home.
His front-row classmate, Oger, suddenly turned around.
"Hey, you…"
As if knowing what he was about to say, Saiki snatched his bag the moment Oger turned, taking a detour to leave.
Oger was disappointed not to see Saiki, but upon noticing the trio still engrossed in conversation, he approached them excitedly.
"Hey, guys, fancy a friendly, unconventional match?"
Oger explained his intentions to the trio. His class had arranged a friendly soccer match with the class next door, but they were currently short on players, so he wanted to invite Pietro and Peter to join.
This surprised Peter, because at school, other than Ned, the people who knew him weren't very friendly. Invitations to play soccer or participate in activities were practically nonexistent.
Peter thought to himself, [This guy, don't tell me he's only asking me because he can't find anyone else.]
(I'm quite relieved you have that self-awareness, Peter.)
However, before Saiki could even finish his thought, Oger added, "This match is friendly, but Jason from the next class is a big star in our school, so there will be quite a few people watching. I heard that our school's beauty, Rita, and Mary Jane from the next class will also be there.
"What? Mary Jane will be there!"
Peter was instantly thrilled upon hearing Jane's name. Overwhelmed by love, Peter didn't care about the other's motives and nodded in agreement.
Pietro also readily agreed. He had never been to school before and was full of curiosity about all school activities. Wanda was equally curious, but her expression turned cold when she saw Oger invite Peter and Pietro, but not her.
"Your team is only short two people?" she inquired.
"Of course not," Oger answered honestly. "Although it's just a small-scale five-a-side match, we currently only have three players."
"Then why didn't you invite me to join?" Wanda asked seriously.
"You?" Oger seemed to have heard a joke, letting out a chuckle. "Even though it's just a friendly match, we're still aiming to win. And this is a men's soccer match; it's not really appropriate for girls to join."
What he really wanted to say was, 'What's a skinny woman doing playing soccer and messing around?' but Wanda was Pietro's sister, so he phrased it more politely to save face.
But Wanda wouldn't give up: "If it's inappropriate, just treat me as a boy. Like you said, it's just a friendly match, there aren't that many rules."
Oger: "…"
Seeing that his sister was genuinely interested in participating, Pietro spoke to Oger, "I agree. You still need two more, right? Don't worry, Wanda is very strong; she won't drag you down."
Oger: "But…"
"No buts," Pietro interrupted firmly. "If Wanda can't join, then I won't participate either."
That wouldn't do. He had finally found players; he couldn't let them go, no matter what. If he missed tomorrow's friendly match, he would lose all face.
Oger pondered for a moment and reluctantly agreed.
"Alright, fine. But we still need one more player. We have to find one quickly."
"Leave that to me," Peter's words caused Saiki, who had just stepped out of the school gate, to freeze.
Peter continued, "My deskmate is a very enthusiastic person. If I ask him, he'll definitely agree."
(Keep dreaming, street flower!)
The resolute Saiki began to consider whether he should find an excuse not to go to school tomorrow to avoid this troublesome matter.
Unexpectedly, Peter, who knew him well, went directly to his mother.
Upon learning that Peter was there to invite Saiki to participate in the soccer match, Saiki Kurumi was overjoyed. Without even asking for his opinion, she nodded and agreed on his behalf.
(Mom, aren't you worried that your son might lose control of his superpowers while playing soccer and cause a commotion? And Peter, you dare to scheme against me? I'll remember this!)
No matter how much Saiki struggled internally, under Saiki Kurumi's smile, he obediently agreed.
The next day, a reluctant Saiki was dragged to the soccer field by Peter.
Saiki didn't particularly enjoy sports, especially in front of ordinary people. Possessing superpowers, it was extremely difficult for him to control his abilities to the level of ordinary people. Moreover, besides Oger, everyone on their team was a super-powered individual. The other three weren't like him, who would hide their abilities. The old Peter probably would have, but the current him, blinded by Jane, was eager to use all his skills to make a good impression in front of her.
Jason from the next class didn't seem to realize the cruelty of this match. He scoffed at the sight of the ragtag bunch beside Oger, and when he saw Wanda, he burst into laughter, almost gasping for air.
"Haha, Oger, are you scared stiff of us? Or have you already predicted your impending defeat and given up, just grabbing anyone to fill the spots? I can understand the guys, but you even brought a chick to make up the numbers? Hey, pretty lady, I advise you not to enter the field. Otherwise, if my brothers and I accidentally hurt you, don't you go crying."
Wanda retorted coldly, "You should worry about yourself. Idiot!"
Her words infuriated Jason. He tossed out a threat, "Just wait and see how I deal with you all," before returning to his team's resting area.
Jason was the star player of the school's soccer team, a campus celebrity. The news of his friendly match spread quickly, attracting a large crowd. With so many spectators, Oger's legs started to tremble nervously. If he had known so many people would come to watch, he shouldn't have just grabbed a few people to make up the numbers yesterday. He should have spent some money to get players from the next school's soccer team.
He had a feud with Jason. Jason had stolen his girl, not only cuckolding him but also dumping her shortly after, shamelessly saying, "She threw herself at me. Why not take advantage? But she wasn't good enough, so I dumped her."
Feeling insulted, Oger couldn't take it and challenged Jason to a match. When the others heard it was against Jason, they were unwilling to help. He had arranged the friendly match, and now backing out would make it impossible for him to show his face at school. For the sake of his pride, he had to go through with it, even if it meant losing.
Saiki knew that this friendly match was nothing more than a personal grudge between the two, which was why he didn't want to get involved.
But… he looked up at the man in front of him, who was sneering at him, a towering figure as burly as a gorilla.
Although he didn't say anything out loud, he mentally cursed, A bunch of weak, short dwarfs.
(You've got some nerve.)
Saiki glanced at the enthusiastic twins beside him and silently drew a cross for these ignorant gorillas.
The match began.
The eager Pietro took the lead. Aside from Saiki, no one else on the field saw his movements. He had already kicked the ball into the opponent's goal.
He leaned against the railing, casually greeting the opposing goalkeeper.
"Hi."
The opposing goalkeeper was momentarily stunned, raising his hand dumbly and replying, "Hi." The next second, he received a fierce slap from Jason.
"Idiot! You're supposed to be guarding the goal, not standing here greeting the opponent!"
Although he hadn't clearly seen Pietro's actions either, Jason wouldn't take the blame. He forcefully pinned the lost point on the goalkeeper.
The goalkeeper, who was usually bullied and exploited by Jason in the club, dared not speak out. Under the other's warning gaze, he put in his utmost effort.
For the second kick-off, Jason's team started with the ball. However, as he lifted his foot, he kicked only air. When he looked up, the ball was already at Peter's feet.
Peter, with lightning speed, easily bypassed two players. The towering Jason blocked his path, attempting physical contact.
The old Peter might have fallen for it, but the current him, eager to show off in front of Jane, lifted the ball as the other collided with him, performing a 360-degree flip in mid-air, soaring over Jason. As Jason stood frozen in shock, Peter carried the ball to the goal.
He greeted the ashen-faced goalkeeper, "Hi."
The other responded with a smile uglier than crying. Peter asked seriously, "You won't block me, will you?"
I want to block you, but I can't!
The despairing goalkeeper watched as Peter kicked the ball into the net.
Having conceded two goals to what he considered a bunch of losers in such a short time, Jason couldn't hold his face. He glared at the smug-looking Oger, his fists clenched in fury.
"Hey, Jason, what do we do now?" a red-haired boy asked.
Two goals in five minutes – even a professional team playing against amateurs wouldn't be this fast. If they lost in front of so many people, they wouldn't be able to live it down at school. Not only that, but once the news spread, they would be mocked by other school teams in future matches.
"With so many people watching, I don't want to become everyone's laughingstock."
"Don't worry, we won't give them that chance," Jason said coldly. "I think we need to use some… special tactics."