Who Are You Calling Bald?

Milk Thistle Grass!

A miraculous "herb" from Fairy Tail.

It had no particularly unusual medicinal effects on its own.

However, once stewed, its broth became as sweet as milk. It had no fragrance, though; only when drinking it could one taste it.

After fiddling around for a while, Kino had merely prepared a cup of strawberry-flavored milk.

This stuff simply could not make Mutants lose their abilities.

Everyone had been focused on Kino's flashy "medicine-making" process, yet not one of them noticed that he had secretly cast a spell. No one noticed the plain rune that had appeared on Rogue's chest.

"Just... drinking this will do it?" Holding the cup in her hands, Rogue suddenly lost hope. No matter how she looked at it, it was just an ordinary cup of milk.

"What else do you have left to lose?" Kino smiled.

Rogue froze. That was right—what else did she have left to lose?

She tipped back her head, frowned, and gulped it down in one go.

Mm—after drinking it, it felt even more like milk.

Everyone held their breath and stared unblinkingly at Rogue.

Professor X especially was worried that S.H.I.E.L.D. would use this chance to wipe out the Mutants. Nick Fury was unlikely to make such a decision, but S.H.I.E.L.D. was not entirely under his control. There were plenty of hawks within it!

A few seconds later, Rogue's entire body floated off the ground.

Her arms stretched behind her, her body curved like a capital C, and her head tilted far back.

It was unbearable!

It felt as though she needed to burp.

Her stomach was bloated with air.

Then her body trembled slightly, and a stream of white "air" suddenly drifted out from her eyes, nose, mouth, and ears. The white vapor finally left Rogue's body and gathered in midair, lingering without dispersing. It restlessly crashed about in all directions, trying to return to Rogue's body, but unfortunately... it seemed restrained by some force and could not get back in at all.

Whoosh!

Kino waved his hand, and the Book of Kino appeared once more.

Clack—clack—clack.

A series of strange mechanical clicks rang out, and the lock sealing the Book of Kino—opened.

Rustle, rustle. The pages flipped rapidly before finally stopping near the latter half... where every black-and-white page was blank.

The instant the book opened, the white "air" seemed caught by a tremendous suction force and streaked inside. When the glow faded, a side-profile pattern resembling a "kiss" appeared on the blank black page—except it was a demonic sort of kiss.

As the Book of Kino vanished, Rogue fell to the ground with a thud.

Ignoring the pain in her butt, Rogue stared blankly at her hands. "Th-this is it? It's done?"

"Mm!"

Kino nodded and put away the Book of Kino.

"You can try it."

Try it?

With a heart full of excitement, Rogue turned around, but not a single student in the school building dared step forward. Iceman had wanted to, but he still could not stand.

The "teachers" were strict, and she did not dare go find one to test it on.

Kino shook his head, pulled her up, then lowered his head and kissed Rogue on the lips. After a long while... their lips parted.

"You felt it, right?"

Rogue remained dazed for a while before nodding heavily. "Mm!"

The effects of "force" were mutual.

The sensations of "absorbing" and "being absorbed" were entirely different, but when Rogue stole someone else's life and abilities, she had always had her own unique sensation.

It felt like "drinking water."

But now, all of that was gone!

Rogue was so excited that she wanted to shout to the heavens. She finally no longer had to run from place to place.

For a moment, alarm bells rang in the hearts of every Mutant present!

Professor X's expression turned ugly. "Those 'medicines' aren't the real key, are they?"

"Why do you say that?" Kino smiled teasingly.

Looking at that punchable expression, Professor X truly wanted to kill him, but he did not dare! The vast "black hole" deep within Kino's mind was too dangerous. If he dared invade it again, he likely would not be able to retreat unscathed.

"You're right. Those medicines aren't the root of it, but they're still indispensable."

"Why?"

"That drop of blood!"

"?" Professor X frowned slightly.

"Every Mutant's genes are different, so different Mutants require different medicines. If any of you here drank the cup Rogue just had, there would only be two possible results. First, you would feel nothing, as if you had drunk an ordinary beverage. Second, the poison would take effect immediately, and you would die!"

It was a lie!

But Kino still had to give Professor X and the others something to put their minds at ease. He was not afraid of the Mutant group, but he could not be bothered to go looking for trouble with them.

To keep the Mutants from coming to his door every day and disturbing his peaceful life, Kino had no choice but to give them a little reassurance!

"So the genes are the key?"

"No, blood is the key. It probably accounts for forty percent. Things like hair, nails, and skin do nothing." Kino shook his head.

Professor X finally felt somewhat relieved. If it was blood, that was much better. Since every Mutant needed a different medicine, there would be no mass-produced formula.

Though he did not know whether Kino was telling the truth, he could at least read one thing from his attitude: Kino had no time to trouble the Mutants.

"That book, that white smoke..." Professor X asked again.

"Baldy, aren't you asking too many questions?" Kino's face darkened, clearly displeased.

Nick Fury was stunned. Who was he calling bald?!

"I need answers." Professor X surprisingly did not back down.

Kino stared coldly at him. Just as Professor X was about to run out of breath, Kino smiled!

"Actually, there's no harm in telling you. This was a transaction. I helped her solve a lifelong problem, and my payment was to collect that ability. Likewise, if I wanted to, I could grant it to another ordinary person. That person would instantly possess Rogue's ability."

Rogue suddenly lifted her head. "How did you know my nickname?"

Professor X looked utterly depressed. This unfortunate child—was now really the time to ask that? He had psychic abilities too!

The other Mutants' hearts trembled even more. As long as the ability remained, so did the threat. Once Rogue was gone, Kino could instantly create a second, a third... even thousands upon thousands of "Rogues."

The safety of their entire race had instantly fallen into someone else's hands.

But they quickly smiled bitterly again. Even without Rogue's ability, if he wanted to wipe them out... it would still be effortless.

Kino could not be bothered with them. It was time to go home.

"Starting now, you're coming to live with me."

"Huh?" Rogue froze.

"You seem to have forgotten that Magneto is still trying to capture you. He doesn't know your ability is gone! Tell me, if he catches you, how do you think he'll deal with an abilityless you?"

Rogue was instantly terrified.

Kino gave a wicked grin and strode toward Scott.