After Jason said those words, the expressions of those around him became quite meaningful.
Saiki Kusuo turned his head to look at Jason and his group, who were huddled together, ostensibly discussing tactics, but in reality, plotting their underhanded schemes.
(It's truly an unchanging, cliché trope that villains, when they can't defeat the protagonist, will inevitably resort to special – read: dirty – tactics.)
He inadvertently glanced at Oger again. On the surface, Oger appeared calm, but internally, he was practically dancing with joy.
[At this rate, we're definitely going to win. When we do, I'm going to make that son of a bitch Jason kowtow and apologize to me.]
(Unfortunately, no one on our team is the protagonist, or rather, they're more like unrestrained villains. Except for me, of course.)
Having no patience to continue this charade, Saiki planned to use Jason's actions as an excuse to leave the field. After all, the opposing team was a bunch of losers; four players on his side would be more than enough.
So, when the referee blew the whistle, the ball was passed to Saiki. Immediately, three large men surrounded him.
His slender frame, contrasted against the three gorillas, made him look particularly pitiful. Oger, who had made the errant pass, couldn't help but shout, "Oh no!"
But Peter smiled reassuringly, "Don't worry, if the ball's with Kusuo, we're good."
However, the next second, he was proven wrong. As Saiki attempted to dribble the ball past the three burly men, he was met with a sliding tackle from Jason. With a loud "thud," Saiki fell to the ground, lying there with a look of unwillingness, tears welling up in his eyes.
Jason was dumbfounded. He hadn't even touched him, so how could he be on the ground, crying in pain? His acting was too good… wait, he was crying so miserably, maybe he had actually kicked him, and he just hadn't noticed?
Saiki's excellent acting made Jason doubt himself. But before anyone could carry him off, Peter rudely exposed him.
"Who are you trying to fool! You didn't even touch him!"
Exposed, Saiki, unseen by the others, clicked his tongue. "Shut up, Peter! Or I'll go brainwash Mary Jane into thinking you're a scumbag!"
"I'm not afraid of your threats. The Kusuo I know wouldn't be such a despicable and shameless person."
(I'm sorry to disappoint you, Peter. I am that kind of person.)
"Besides, I promised Kurumi-mama that I'd make sure you had fun. If you leave early, I'll tell her!"
Saiki Kusuo: "…"
Well, well, he'd learned to threaten him!
Saiki couldn't help but retort, "Are you a kindergartener? Running home to tell your parents when someone bullies you?"
Peter wore a smug expression. "So what? As long as the method works on you!"
"You win!"
Saiki reluctantly stood up with Oger's help.
"I'm fine," he said, releasing Oger's hand and speaking with a blank expression. But the angle was perfect. Everyone except Peter believed he had been hit hard and was just toughing it out.
Oger was immediately moved by his great spirit, gripping his hand tightly.
"Thank you for enduring the pain and continuing the match for my sake."
(I don't know what you're imagining, but it suits my purposes just fine.)
Just as Saiki decided to follow Oger's words and leave the field, Wanda, who had been standing idly by the goal, couldn't hold back any longer. She walked over, patted him on the shoulder, and pointed to the goal behind her.
"Are you injured? It doesn't seem like you can continue playing. How about you switch positions with me?"
(Can't you show some respect for an injured person? At least get a stretcher to carry me off, or at the very least, let me leave this match.)
Saiki spoke, attempting to secure his own interests. "To avoid dragging you down, I should…"
"…go be the goalkeeper," Peter quickly interjected, thwarting Saiki's plan.
If looks could kill, Peter would probably be riddled with holes by now.
Hearing Peter's words, the other three nodded in agreement, and so Saiki was forced to become the goalkeeper.
Oger was once again overwhelmed by Saiki's selfless spirit. He felt that his own selfish motives were unworthy of his teammates. So, he cast aside his grudge with Jason, turned to Saiki, and confidently declared, "Don't worry, for you, I'll die before I let Jason and his team get anywhere near the goal."
Saiki: "…Thanks a lot!"
After that, it was truly as Oger said. Jason and his team didn't manage to step a foot into their penalty area. Wanda, being a girl, naturally became the target of Jason's team's focused attacks.
It wasn't that they lacked gentlemanly conduct and deliberately targeted a girl. But the score was now 3-0, with only half an hour left in the match. Being shut out by an amateur team was unacceptable. Even if they were accused of bullying a girl, winning the match was all that mattered.
Unfortunately, Wanda was destined to be a more difficult and formidable opponent than the others. She simply fixed her reddening eyes on the people trying to block her, and her opponents would shiver and move aside.
Wanda effortlessly kicked the ball into the goal.
In the end, Oger's team, riding a wave of momentum, defeated the school soccer team with an astonishing score of 8-0. Seeing Jason kneeling on the ground, his fighting spirit crushed, Oger felt an indescribable satisfaction.
Peter scanned the field, searching for Jane, while Wanda and Pietro were disappointed by the boring sport.
Saiki sighed, rubbing his temples, thinking that he could finally go home in peace.
As he passed by a group of girls, he accidentally overheard their conversation.
"I can't believe Jason got shut out by a bunch of weak amateurs."
"I know, right? My dear told me before the match that this Jason is no man, bullying a few kids."
"Anyway, I hope Jason, that team bully, gets kicked out of the school team. That one-sided match was so embarrassing."
"Speaking of which, this match was pretty exciting. Did you see that silver-haired guy… huh? I can't quite remember… anyway, it was really fun to watch."
"Come to think of it, I can't remember the details either, even though I was excitedly clapping when they scored."
The others also chimed in, saying they couldn't remember anything, yet none of them found it strange. Hearing these words, Saiki finally felt relieved and carried his bag home.
Although people in the United States were already used to super-powered individuals, Saiki hadn't forgotten Banner's warning. To prevent the siblings from being targeted by those with ill intentions, he had gone to a lot of trouble. He would have Peter remind them to be more discreet next time.
Life went on peacefully. The twins and Peter became closer and closer, and Peter's identity as Spider-Man was easily discovered. Wanda and Pietro weren't interested in Peter's grand ideals of protecting New York, but they were happy to help Peter catch criminals to pass the time.
As long as the trio's antics in New York didn't cause too much chaos, Saiki turned a blind eye. After all, SHIELD and Stark would clean up after them. He just needed to keep people with bad intentions away from the siblings.
Banner, who had been captivated by Natasha and hadn't returned, unexpectedly showed up a week later. He looked unwell as he rang the doorbell. If Saiki Kurumi hadn't happened to return home and bumped into him, Saiki wouldn't have opened the door at all.
Banner entered the house and went straight to Saiki's room, looking like something terrible had happened.
Saiki looked up expressionlessly. "If I said I'm not available right now and asked you to leave, would you agree?"
"I'm afraid that's not possible," Banner said with a helpless look, sitting on the floor and scratching his messy curls in distress.
Taking a deep breath, Banner finally said seriously, "You should know why I'm here."
"If I could, I wouldn't want to know."
"If I could, I wouldn't want to come to you," Banner rubbed his curls again, looking regretful.
The Avengers had a falling out, or rather, they had a disagreement about the Infinity Stone in the scepter.
Stark's faction wanted to utilize the gem to strengthen Earth's defenses and protect against alien invasions. However, after the Loki incident, Steve's faction felt it was too risky. The gem's power was too great, beyond human control. To prevent it from being misused, they suggested destroying the gem.
The two sides were at an impasse. Just then, Stark persuaded Banner to go ahead with the gem experiment without informing the others. Steve found out, and the two sides came to blows, deciding to settle it with a fight.
"Seeing my former comrades turning against each other, I'm starting to doubt whether agreeing to Stark's experiment was the right thing to do."
SHIELD didn't plan to intervene in this war, so Banner couldn't stop his colleagues from tearing each other apart. The only person he could think of was Saiki Kusuo, so he didn't accept Stark and Natasha's invitation and left the Avengers base instead.
(What a bunch of self-indulgent adults.)
"You already have the answer in your heart, don't you?" Saiki said. "Otherwise, you wouldn't have come to me."
Banner hesitated for a moment, then finally nodded. "That's right. Even though Stark convinced me to help him with the experiment, I still feel that the gem is a ticking time bomb. If there's a second Loki, a second Hydra who uses it…"
"Then Stark would be the culprit, and you would be his accomplice," Saiki finished his sentence.
Banner's face turned pale at these words.
Although this fight had nothing to do with him, the Infinity Stone was indeed a hidden danger. He had previously handed it over to SHIELD for handling, thinking it was too troublesome, but it was used for experiments even worse than Hydra's. This was already a threat to his family's safety, and Saiki had to intervene.
"I wonder what that guy Kusuke is up to. He can't possibly be unaware of Stark's actions. But knowing that guy's penchant for chaos, he might even be encouraging or helping him." Steve and Tony were at war. Although from Banner and Saiki point of view, the battle looked like some chickens fighting each other.
If the Maximoff twins joined, Captain America's team would be crushed.
When Peter finds out about the battle, he suits up and rushes to help his hero, but Pietro stopped him.
"It's the Avenger's problem. Why you want to help? Just sit and watch the show."
Peter: "He is your relative, aren't you going to help him?" Help? No! they hope Stark dies quickly! The twins shared a meaningful glance.
Wanda: "The old bag hasn't married Pepper."
Pietro: "More important, they don't have children."
Wanda: "So, if he died."
Pietro: "All Stark's money would belong to us."
Wanda: "Ok, Captain go for it! Beat Stark to death! No, i don't think Captain could win against Stark tech, what about we help Captain?"
Pietro: "I agree, let's go join Captain America's team."
The twins act immediately. It can be expected what Stark's reaction when he sees them on the battlefield. Saiki silently lit a candle for Stark in his heart.