Unfortunately, for three consecutive days, the Goddess of Death didn't come to him again. This made Saiki Kusuo suspect that she had given up on him and was looking for someone else to resurrect her.
If only he hadn't been so quick to speak out of turn back then. Next time she came to him, he'd act like Banner, someone who looked easy to fool.
Saiki recalled Banner's image, bursting out of his clothes and roaring as he transformed into the Hulk. He paused for a few seconds, then shook his head vigorously.
No. Better to act like Loki, putting on a harmless smile. Saiki then recalled Loki fawning over Hela, calling her "Elder Sister," and his overly dramatic performance.
No. I'll just be myself.
This was probably the first time Saiki Kusuo desperately, wholeheartedly wanted someone's attention.
After a few days of dejection, Charles knocked on his door.
Because he was only 18 and still a schooler, Charles, as an elder, sternly forced him to attend classes with some strangely shaped students.
It was even a physics class.
Charles kept repeating, "Respect science, believe in science." The fierce-looking student beside him listened intently, baring his teeth and letting out wolf-like howls.
Hey, hey, is it really okay to talk about science in a group of mutants? Look at that student who just walked through the door. Newton's coffin lid is about to burst open.
After finally enduring until the end of class, Saiki, feeling mentally exhausted, walked out of Charles's office under his benevolent gaze.
"Student Saiki, there's chemistry class in a bit. It's in the third classroom on the left. Don't be late, okay?"
Saiki Kusuo: "..."
(No way am I staying with those strange students. I'm skipping class.)
"If you skip, I'll be very angry. And when I'm angry, I tend to forget things, like, say, the matter of the Infinity Stones."
Saiki Kusuo: "..."
(You're ruthless, you old geezer with Alzheimer's.)
Threatened, Saiki could only head left to the chemistry classroom. As soon as he entered, he encountered a familiar face. Jean, sitting at the back, waved to him.
"Hi, Saiki."
[Great, Saiki's just in time. That way I don't have to do the experiment alone.]
Jean's cheerful thoughts were transmitted accurately to Saiki. He stopped in his tracks, starting to consider finding an excuse to leave.
(I feel like getting involved with her will be troublesome.)
[That's too much, Student Saiki, calling me a bother.]
Saiki Kusuo: "..."
[Saiki? What's wrong? Why aren't you answering me?]
He'd almost forgotten that Jean also possessed telepathic abilities. When did this ability become so common?
Under Jean's urging, Saiki finally compromised and walked over to her. When he sat down beside Jean, the other students in the classroom turned to point and whisper at them. He didn't know if it was because he was a new face or because he'd chosen to be Jean's partner that they found it strange.
Judging from the whispered conversations he overheard, it seemed to be the latter.
Jean seemed used to this situation. Although Professor Charles was always kind to her and tried to help her build relationships with other students, her abilities made her sensitive in social interactions, leading to her being somewhat isolated.
She felt a little guilty for dragging Student Saiki into this. She could imagine how this group would gossip about her and Saiki after class; at worst, they might ostracize him.
"Relax," Saiki said as Jean was lost in her own regret.
She saw Saiki turn to look at her. Although he had no expression on his face, she felt like he was comforting her.
"Like you said, we're the same kind. We have more in common, don't we? Why care about them?"
Jean was indeed comforted by his words. She relaxed her furrowed brow and gave him a brighter smile.
Given Saiki's personality, he wouldn't normally say something so sentimental. He'd heard it from Jean's thoughts during their first meeting. Although he'd just said it casually, he did feel a touch of sympathy for this seemingly sensitive and difficult-to-approach, but actually kind-hearted girl.
The chemistry class's lecture portion lasted only ten minutes, and the rest of the time was for experiments.
First, they needed to light the Bunsen burner. The two superpowered individuals tacitly didn't reach for matches. Saiki ignited his finger with a flame and lit the burner.
"Next step is to add potassium permanganate to the test tube."
As Jean spoke, she inserted the dropper into the potassium permanganate.
Before she could even put it into the test tube, their chemistry teacher, Diane, came rushing over like the wind.
"Nonononono!!" He shouted several "no"s in a row, startling Jean so much that she almost dropped the test tube.
"Hey, young lady, young man. The teacher assigns you experiments to cultivate your hands-on skills, not to encourage you to take shortcuts and be lazy."
As he spoke, he reached out and extinguished the Bunsen burner. Then, he held out his hands to Jean and Saiki.
"Please start again. Don't cheat, or you won't pass."
Diane left these words and walked to another table. Jean, holding the test tube, looked at Diane, then at Saiki, seeking his opinion, "What should we do?"
"Ignore him." Saiki continued to extend his still-burning hand.
"Exactly what I was thinking." Jean gave a knowing smile, dripped the potassium permanganate into the test tube, and added, "Of course, to prevent Teacher Diane from ratting us out, I won't let him know about our little trick."
Saiki's group, relying on cheating, quickly completed the experiment. Although Teacher Diane was suspicious, he still gave them full marks.
Because it wasn't time for class to end yet, they couldn't leave early. They could only idly watch the other students' hilarious experiments.
"BOOM!" A loud explosion came from the table behind Saiki's.
"What happened? Are any students injured?"
Teacher Diane hurried over. The students involved in the accident looked bewildered but unharmed, which relieved Diane.
"So, what happened here?"
Diane pointed to their messy table and inquired. The two students scratched their heads. A curly-haired boy with a wholesome appearance and freckles stammered an explanation.
"Sorry, Teacher. It's my fault. I forgot the steps of the experiment, which caused the explosion."
"That's not what I'm talking about," Teacher Diane said, pointing to the dense mass of earthworms wriggling on the messy table. Their squirming made him break out in goosebumps. "I'm asking about these earthworms. How did they get here?"
Why would a simple experiment produce so many earthworms?
His words made the other student smile sheepishly.
"That's my ability, Teacher. The explosion startled me just now, and in my excitement, I turned everything into earthworms, which I like. How about that? Aren't they cute?"
Teacher Diane's face was expressionless. "...Zero points!"
After that, a series of other accidents occurred, including a fire, snowfall, and someone being conjured out of thin air.
It was a struggle to make it to the end of class. Diane practically knelt down to send these plague gods out of his lab.
Jean seemed to be amused by the lab accidents, laughing non-stop on the way out.
"Did you see? When Mark conjured Teacher Wendy just now, Teacher Wendy and Teacher Diane's expressions were terrifying."
Teacher Wendy was the math teacher. When the incident occurred, she was in class. Then, in a flash, she found herself inexplicably sitting at Mark's table.
Recalling Teacher Wendy's "you're dead" look as she left, Mark, the culprit, looked pale as death.
(The terrifying ones should be these students, right? It's just an experiment, why does it feel like I've witnessed a demonic dance? Is the mutant world always this thrilling?)
After staying at Xavier's School for a few days, Saiki began to appreciate that the people around him were all normal. Even Loki seemed much more agreeable in comparison.
After the morning classes ended, Saiki originally wanted to find an excuse to slip away, to avoid giving Charles another chance to threaten him.
Unexpectedly, they ran into Scott, who was looking for Jean. Seeing the two of them together, and recalling the rumors he'd just heard, Scott's expression changed drastically.
Without even needing to read his mind, it was obvious that he saw Saiki as a rival in love.
But Scott furrowed his brow in a conflicted manner, seemingly berating himself for getting worked up over a kid who hadn't even hit puberty yet.
Saiki Kusuo: "..." (Thank you so much.)
[And Jean shouldn't have such bad taste, to fall for a pretty boy who looks younger than her instead of a handsome, tall man like myself.]
Jean: "..."
Saiki Kusuo: (You're right, Scott. I wish you two a hundred years of happiness.)
Jean: [No, spare me.]
While Jean and Saiki exchanged their inner thoughts, Scott finally relaxed his brow, seemingly having resolved his internal conflict. He greeted them.
"Hey, Jean, Saiki."
The tone and expression used for each greeting were vastly different. Then, Scott enthusiastically invited Jean.
"There are no classes this afternoon. Want to go to a bar and hang out?" Realizing that such an invitation might seem too suggestive, he hastily added, "Of course, Grey and Kelly will be there too."
Jean shook her head in refusal. "Scott, you know that apart from you and Saiki, the other students don't have a very good opinion of me. If I go, it'll just ruin the atmosphere."
Jean's trust made Scott very happy, although he would have been even happier if Saiki's name hadn't been included. He didn't give up, trying to persuade her, "Don't worry, they all know you'll be there and said they're very welcoming. It's boring to stay at school all the time. Don't you want to go out and explore?"
Scott's words made Jean waver. Ever since her powers awakened, she'd been brought here and hadn't been out since. Charles protected them very well, but they were still teenagers who loved new things and were eager to move around. Even though they'd been informed that the outside world was dangerous and that the relationship between humans and mutants was tense, they still yearned for it.
Finally, under Scott's persistent persuasion, Jean agreed to the invitation.
Saiki, seeing the two of them chatting enthusiastically, quietly planned to slip away. But unexpectedly, Jean suddenly grabbed his arm.
Looking down at Jean's smiling face, Saiki felt a sense of foreboding.
The next second, he heard Jean say to Scott, "I'll go, but you don't mind if I bring one more person, right?"
Scott: "Who?"
Jean pointed to Saiki matter-of-factly. "Saiki, of course."
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