Chapter 15

"Welcome back to Sōgetsu High, students! Happy Monday to you all!"

Mykhail's ears hurt as he heard the loud voice of his Principal, Mrs. Sakuraba, shouting over the intercom. "Dude, does she ever stop?"

"It's so nice to have you back here, Mykhail," Kurumi remarked. "You haven't been back in over a week!"

"Yeah, for good reason."

Kumiko stayed by his side but gave a snarky look over her shoulder. "Did we have to bring…him?"

Yasuda trailed not far behind, taking in every detail of the school with awe. He stared at every girl, guy, and staff member that walked by, and he even stepped up and examined the lockers, making a few girls walk away.

"They're staring!" Kumiko whispered.

"Yeah, well, he's a fan. But at least he's smart!" Mykhail pointed out.

She gave him a stare; he just patted her on the head. "Let's head to class!"

Yasuda was between them in an instant. "Ooh! What class are we going to? Math? Science? Superheroing?"

10 minutes later…

"As your Health teacher, I must teach you Sexual Education 101, as you're all getting older now and the world has changed very much."

"Oh, HELL NO!"

Mykhail stared at the whiteboard in disbelief, while his teacher, Madame Kagami, smiled at them, showing outlines of the human body.

"I leave for one week, and this is what we're focusing on?"

One boy laughed at Mykhail. "What, are you scared of girls? Scared a superhuman's gonna steal your girlfriend, Kumiko? Maybe I should, just for the hell of it!"

"Hey, you shut up!" Mykhail shouted. "Touch her and see what happens!"

Kumiko simply giggled. "You don't need to worry about him, Mykhail!"

"You know what, if you kill him, I won't even be mad," Mykhail said.

"What?" the boy asked, holding his hands up mockingly. "Don't be mad at me. Someone's gonna do it."

"Rikuto!" Madame Kagami interrupted. "That's enough. Mykhail has been gone a while, he needs to focus."

Once the room got calm again, Kurumi nudged Mykhail. "That's how it's been ever since that Mass Empowerment event. Jerks and bullies now fill the schools. The superhuman ones are even worse."

"Wow, that's terrible," Mykhail replied. "It's like evil just came along out of nowhere."

He thought for a moment. "Did I do that? No, that Sato guy did! Definitely him!"

Madame Kagami tapped the whiteboard. "So, can anyone explain the process of reproduction?"

A few kids began to raise their hands, but before they could, a voice spoke up.

"I know! It's the process in which a male and female organism engage with each other for the purpose of creating offspring! Mammals like us get pregnant through fertilization and give birth, while reptiles lay eggs!"

"Nicely done!" Madame Kagami congratulated. "Err, wait, who are you again?"

"Yasuda Yamagichi!" he declared. "New kid!"

"You seem a bit young for high school," she admitted. "Are you a guest?"

Before Yasuda could open his mouth, Mykhail spoke up. "He's skipped a few grades, since he was too smart for the curriculum."

"Ahh, that makes sense!" Madame Kagami stated. "Well, happy to have you, Yasuda!"

"Yay!" he cheered.

"Nerd," Rikuto blurted out, getting a laugh from the class.

"I'm not a nerd!" Yasuda cheerfully replied. "A nerd is an individual obsessed with a particular interest, often being socially awkward and lacking in friends! I'm not obsessed with a subject, I just learn them all fast because of my super——!"

Mykhail covered his mouth. "Leave my nerd friend alone, jerk."

"Or what? He'll cry?"

The class laughed again

"That's enough!" Madame Kagami declared. "Ignore them, Yasuda, you seem very bright."

"Thanks!" he beamed.

"Now, can any of you explain how fertilization occurs?" she asked.

"Oh no, she's going to corrupt the kid!" Mykhail realized.

"Sexual activity!" Yasuda replied.

"Ahh, he'll, it's already too late," Mykhail sighed.

"Right again!"

After that session, they were released to lunch, where Mykhail, Kurumi, Kumiko, and Yasuda all sat by themselves.

"So," Kurumi asked. "How much DO you know? I'm curious!"

"Lots!" Yasuda admitted. "Ask away!"

Kurumi tapped her chin. "What's the square root of a negative number?"

"An imaginary, duh!" he replied.

"Does correlation imply causation?"

"Nope! Two variables can correlate without one causing the other!"

"Can an irrational number be the solution to a polynomial equation with integer coefficients?"

"Yep! That's an algebraic irrational!"

"What's the probability that two randomly chosen integers are coprime?"

"0.6079!"

Kurumi nodded. "Hmm, how do you solve ROCKET science?"

"You build a rocket!" Yasuda answered.

"Okay, he's good!" Kurumi acknowledged.

Kumiko and Mykhail just watched, blank and confused.

"What are they talking about?" Kumiko asked.

"Stuff you'll never get. Of course, I know it all, but you, my dear Kumiko, just go back to eating your food."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Where did you find him, Mykhail?" Kurumi asked.

"Just on one of my little strolls," Mykhail said. "I noticed he was smart, and he needed friends, and now here he is, my new assistant."

"Can he be my assistant?" Kurumi wondered.

"Yeah, I don't know about all THAT, now——"

Yasuda pointed to someone. "Hey, look! It's that girl from the club!"

Mykhail followed his finger and noticed Kaori with a group of girls hanging around her like a pack of stray dogs. Everyone seemed to acknowledge her and move out of her way as she passed, even the entire lunch line.

"When did SHE start going here?" Mykhail exclaimed.

"Woah, I haven't seen her here before," Kumiko noted. "A superhuman with her reputation? Why would she bother to come here? There are so many other schools!"

"Why are they scared of her?" Kumiko asked. "She's just a girl."

Mykhail didn't even bother to respond to that. Kaori grabbed her lunch tray and prepared to find a table when a buff, good-looking guy with his own group of lackeys approached her.

"Hey, darling," he greeted. "You're looking pretty nice."

"You're looking pretty dumb," she replied back. "Get out of my way."

"Hold on," he said, holding out a hand. "You don't wanna talk for a little bit? My name's Toma Saejima, I'm what you call KING of this high school."

"Cool. Out of my way, Saejima."

"Heh, you've got a little attitude, don't ya?"

"I said, OUT OF MY WAY."

With one arm she pushed him aside, and his butt hit the ground painfully. While his guys prepared to move in, he raised a hand. "Nah, I like her. She's got a mouth and the guts to back it up. Plus, she's a hottie."

Kaori moved to a center table, whereas soon as she sat down, everyone got up, cleaning off the table for her.

"Woah, she stood up to Toma!" Kurumi gasped. "The most popular guy in school!"

"Wow, maybe she's a bit tougher than I thought!" Kumiko shrugged. "Still not scary. What do you think, Mykhail?"

Mykhail was busy tossing his milk carton upside down. "Me? Oh. They're all the same, to be honest. Arrogant jackasses who believe they're the most important thing in this world with their tiny mind frame of thinking. And it's only been one week."

"That's…deep," Kumiko remarked.

"Such is life," Mykhail remarked, bored. "This is getting boring. We should go grab snacks."

"I'm in!" Kumiko agreed.

"Me too!" Kurumi joined.

"Yay!" Yasuda cheered.

"Nerds!" Rikuto called out from afar.

"Dude, shut up!"

They soon went to the vending machine, where Mykhail was about to pay for some snacks.

"Well, what do you guys want?"

"I want some chips," Kumiko answered.

"Maybe a chocolate bar?" Kurumi suggested.

"Soda! Soda! Soda!" Yasuda chanted.

"Alright, coming up," Mykhail stated.

Just then, he heard the footsteps of a group behind him. "Excuse me, brat. Move out of the way."

Mykhail didn't bother to pay attention, assuming it wasn't meant for him.

"Hey, are you deaf? I said move."

He groaned and turned around. "Ugh! What do you want?"

He noticed he was face to face with Kaori, her icy stare piercing through him. "Excuse me?"

"Oh," he murmured. "It's just you."

The girls behind Kaori shared a look as she bore into Mykhail. "Get out of my way."

Kurumi tensed up behind him, nervous, but Yasuda and Kumiko looked utterly calm. Yasuda appeared joyful, and Kumiko appeared…relaxed.

"Look, woman," Mykhail cleared his throat. "I'm about to get my snacks and go. That's going to take 3 minutes, so if you would give me a second——!"

"I don't have a second," she interrupted. "Get lost."

Mykhail took a deep breath. "Okay. You might be cute and all, yeah, sure, you look very beautiful, I'll give you THAT."

Kumiko folded her arms behind him. "Sorry, Kumiko. Anyways. That doesn't mean you command me now, like your little girl gang behind you."

"Hey!" one of the girls shouted. "Watch your tone, pipsqueak!"

"Quiet, Barbie!" Mykhail spat. "Now, where was I? Oh, right! Now if you be a good girl and wait, I'll buy you a chocolate bar for your trouble——!"

BOOM.

With one blast of her shadowy minion, all four of the group went flying back, hitting a wall painfully.

"Hey! That bi—-!"

"Kumiko!" Kurumi interrupted. "We're in school!"

"So?"

"Hahaha!" Yasuda laughed. "That was fun! Hit me again!"

Mykhail got up. "We're in school! She can't be allowed to just do that! Where's the staff? What kind of institution is this?"

"Well, superhumans are using their powers to cause trouble all the time," Kurumi explained. "In the week you've been gone, they've basically become the highest level of class in the entire school, even the staff respect and fear them."

She brushed off her outfit. "That's why it's so shocking she brushed Toma off like that. He's a superhuman, too. A strong one at that."

"That's cute," Mykhail laughed, sarcastically. "Time to teach her a lesson."

"Wait!" Kurumi pleaded. "Just let her get the snacks, Mykhail, please! Remember what she did at the club? She'll tear you limb from limb!"

"She wishes."

He watched as she didn't even spare him a look, taking her time and getting the snacks she wanted out of the machine.

"So smug," he growled. "She'll understand who I am soon enough, don't you worry."

Yasuda narrowed his eyes. "It seems she didn't hit us with her full strength! She's holding back!"

"Well, that's not surprising," Mykhail scoffed. "She kills four kids in her first week of school, that's definitely jail time."

After basically clearing out all the snacks, she walked away. Mykhail went up to the vending machine and noticed it was empty. "She cleared us out! Aww, to hell with that!"

One of her girls laughed and waved back at him, and he basically had to contain his rage. "So, what's the penalty if we throw hands?"

Kurumi tugged on his shoulder. "We've got a crowd."

Mykhail noticed the entire cafeteria looking at him, some with awe, some with confusion, and some with just plain pity.

"What? Has no one stood up to that Golden Girl before?"

A nerdy-looking boy walked up to him, books in hand. "You shouldn't have done that. Queen Kaori is not to be messed with, she's very powerful and dangerous. And she doesn't like being challenged. She'll have it out for you now, so you'd better hope you don't have to cross her path any time in the near future!"

"Yeah, sure, buddy," Mykhail snorted. "Now go along."

While the nerd scurried away, the bell rang, and Kurumi rubbed her now-sore neck. "That's second period. Come on, guys. Another two hours we go!"

She went off to the math classroom, and when Mykhail was going to follow, he noticed an alert on his phone.

"Emergency? A police massacre? Woah! In a shop? Two superhuman criminals involved?"

Kumiko looked over his shoulder. "Whatchu looking at?"

"My ticket out of school! Come on! We've got a hero mission!"

"Ooh! I wanna come!" Yasuda begged. "Let me come!"

"Well, erm, you kinda need a superhero costume to come fight crime with us, so…maybe next him?"

He pulled out a black and red costume from his bag, even equipped with its own cowl and goggles. "I made this while I was in your house!"

"You what? How?" Mykhail demanded.

"Using your money!"

"The hell—? You know what, we'll talk about this later. Come on, you two!"

Minutes later, at the shop…

Police Chief Manabu weakly lay on the ground, while Keisuke and Akane/Serratine stood over him.

"Well, well, Chief," Keisuke mocked. "It seems the tables have turned!"

"Bastard, you're nothing but a criminal," Manabu muttered. "Even if I die here, you will be stopped…"

"Well, I guess you'll have to watch that from Hell. Say goodbye, Chief!"

Keisuke raised his arms to attack, but a flying sword smacked him across the face, knocking him to the ground.

"That sword…" Serratine recognized.

She heard a familiar voice from outside, just before it landed through the ceiling of the building.

"Sorry, criminals!" Justice announced. "Surprised to see Yours Truly?

Serratine sized him up as Xenova, and a suited up Yasuda landed next to him. "On the contrary…"

She grinned.

"I've been expecting you, hero."

——