Chapter 78 A Disciple
Chapter 78 A Disciple
"Wait... Satoshi?! You're Satoshi?!" Sei exclaimed with a gasp. "By any chance... do you play Laser Fingers?"
It was such an out-of-the-blue question that everyone was taken aback. All of them stared long and hard towards Sei as if they were looking at an alien who just descended from space. 'What are you talking about?'— They all had a single thought in their mind but they didn't want to ask Sei since that might offend him.
"Yes," Satoshi responded, his hand defaulting to the clicks he does every time he controls the lasers. It's as if every finger of his was having light spasms.
What happened next made everyone drop their jaws as Sei literally banged his knees on the ground and kneeled in front of Satoshi. It was such an unusual sight— a professional superhero showing respect to a teenager, let alone a superhero who wasn't even licensed yet. However, despite such a weird display, no one reacted nor flinched at all. In fact, all of them held their breaths, trying to listen in on what Sei would say next now that he was kneeling in front of Satoshi after asking such a weird question.
"Satoshi... I... I don't want to admit this but... my superpower is more suited to yours." He swallowed a great deal of his pride when he said that but he still felt a pang in his heart as if his entire being was shattered right then and there. "That's why, if it's not too much to ask... will you take me in as your intern? I need to learn how to control my powers more."
Of course, Satoshi knew for a fact that Sei was the model for the game Laser Fingers. And it should also be mentioned that Satoshi is a huge fan of Sei. That's why it was such a great honor to fight alongside him even though he tried to outshine him during the match— such an impulse is normal for a popular superhero, after all. Well, how would they have attained such a high popularity standing if they never tried showing off to the public?
Nevertheless, the situation in front of him was so unbelievable that Satoshi could've sworn he lost consciousness for a split second. Satoshi had been awkward with girls or in front of the public (except, of course, when he was too focused on his match or a life-or-death battle) that he didn't know how to react. Instead, he reddened and looked around after realizing what was happening right now. He was blushing so much that he attempted to cover his face with his forearms.
"Please, stand up Sei-san." He said in a low voice, almost a whisper.
"I... I can pay any amount, just name your price, Satoshi. Just... I want to know how you got past the twenty-lasers threshold."
Satoshi, in response, nodded vigorously, hoping that the embarrassing situation would be over. Soon after, the reporters and the authorities came and gathered around Satoshi. After handing the criminal to another superhero with a space manipulation superpower just like Orb Oboros, Satoshi managed to slip past the interviews, imitating how his parents do it, and before he knew it, he made it past a crowd and regrouped with the other inter-high candidates and their teacher.
.....
"So... where are we going? To the Drop Tower? Or should we ride the Vikings one— an all-time favorite? If you were to ask me, I'd definitely go with the Vikings first before the Drop Tower, then do another round before going to the rollercoaster. If you can survive all that without puking, then you can enjoy all the rides in the amusement park without difficulty. Even the swing carousel would be no match for you." Midori was back to his old self again with his lengthy suggestions, which were drowned by the noise of people around them chattering about. As usual, no one listened to him.
Meanwhile, Sei was still following right behind Satoshi as if he was his own personal lapdog. With a notebook on one hand and a pen on the other, he observed Satoshi's every movement as if that would help him with his journey to becoming the best Laser Fingers player in the world. Satoshi already told him that he would teach him later but he just wouldn't listen. To him, watching his master would prove to be useful in the long run so he decided to do just that. Like before, Sei could be quite enthusiastic at times but he's quite lost in the head sometimes.
As for Kirisaki Sana, she just couldn't look at Satoshi straight in the eyes after what happened. To say the least, she couldn't control him back then when he opted to fight the fleshy blob whom they realized was actually a pickpocket whose superpowers went out of control. Because of that, Kirisaki Sana gave up on trying to rein him in because she was too powerless to do so. But then again, that doesn't mean that she won't supervise all of them, the troublemakers they are.
For the first time in Kirisaki Sana's life, she experienced what it felt like to chaperone teenagers in the amusement park. Each of them wanted to go their own way, every man for himself, but she knew that she had to look over them because she would be responsible if something were to happen to one of them. 'This was supposed to be a mini-vacation for me but why do I have to stress out on these things?' She sighed inwardly while watching everyone ride the rides they want and buy the souvenirs and food they fancy. She felt a mild headache on her head but she ignored it, thinking that it will disappear if she didn't think about it.
Just when she was about to give up, a thought came to her head and she immediately lit up as if a light bulb turned on in her head. Without further ado, she approached Sei and tapped him on the shoulder.
One look, it took just one look for Sei to realize that Kirisaki Sana was up to something. "Nope, certainly not doing it." He said at once before she could even say anything. He didn't mean anything about it though since he was just kidding when he said that.
"Can you look after Satoshi and the others for me? I'll go accompany the girls to the parfait shop." She said as if it was her sworn duty to go with them when the parfait shop was just twenty or so meters away. Well, deep inside, she wanted to buy parfait and relieve herself of the stress even just for a moment. Fortunately, not everyone was as rowdy as Satoshi in the group and the girls were actually pretty tame and gentle. 'Associating myself with them wouldn't be so bad for a mini-vacation.' She said to herself, rejoining them just when they were about to place their orders.
"Right, where do we go first?" Sei asked, clapping his hands as if he was everyone's guardian (he was just a temporary watcher though).
In response, everyone in the group also clapped their hands and smiled a mischievous smile. Even Satoshi joined in on the fun as if they were rehearsing some sort of play in the middle of the amusement park. "Should we go with Midori's idea for a change?" Satoshi commented.
For once, Midori's suggestion was actually taken into account and it made him exhilarated. He began clapping his hands in a weird manner while chuckling at himself. "To the Vikings, we go!" He continued, pumping his fists in the air before running towards the Vikings ride to line up.
"Should we place a bet then, first to puke would treat everyone to dinner!" Sei pumped his fists just like how Midori did and everyone agreed to him. At first, he was wondering if he'd fit right into the group after showing such disgrace, asking Satoshi to be his master. But now, as it turned out, no one really minded what he did. It was such a breath of fresh air to him since the superhero world could be quite tough and competitive, coupled with harsh criticisms.
As for the girls, Kirisaki Sana managed to bond with them as well as they shared desserts and sweets together. Overall, the visit to the amusement park went well, exceeding the principal's highest of expectations.