Hearing Susan's slightly pained groan, Ryuuto quickly set Katie Dee down on the bed, slipped off it, and caught Susan—who, unfortunately, wasn't wearing a thing.
Her skin was soft—too soft—but Ryuuto didn't have the luxury to think about that right now. His main concern was whether Susan had hurt herself.
After gently laying her on the bed, he reached to check the back of her head. But before he could touch her, Susan swatted his hand away.
"Ryuuto, what did you do to me? Why am I not wearing anything?"
"What did I do to you?" Ryuuto blinked, genuinely baffled. "Susan, you somehow ran into my room, climbed into my bed, and now you're accusing me?"
"My God—you even brought Katie in here too! What were you planning to do to the both of us!?"
"If I say she crawled into my bed herself, you wouldn't believe me, would you?"
"Of course not! What are the odds both of us just happened to wander in here? It's not like we were drunk or anything!"
Ryuuto crossed his arms. "You sure about that? Fifteen shots, wasn't it?"
"Ha—no way…" Susan trailed off, realizing she couldn't exactly remember.
"Right. Now that you're awake, go back to your room and sleep it off. It's almost midnight."
"And what about Katie?"
"What about her? She's asleep," Ryuuto said flatly. "Susan, you're clearly still tipsy, so just go before this turns into another misunderstanding."
That's when the door creaked open. Natasha Romanoff peeked in, her sharp eyes immediately narrowing at the scene.
"I thought I heard Susan's voice… huh? Isn't that Katie on your bed?"
"Natasha Romanoff! Why are you here too?!" Susan yelped before Ryuuto could respond.
Natasha opened her mouth to explain, but Susan—still dizzy—stumbled into her arms. Reflexively, Natasha caught her… and froze when she realized Susan was completely unclothed.
Her eyes darted to Ryuuto with the kind of suspicion that could kill a man on the spot.
Fantastic. Even if he dove into the Yellow River, there was no washing this off.
"Romanoff," Ryuuto sighed, "don't say a word. Just get her back to her room."
Natasha didn't respond—just gave him that 'I'll be watching you' glare, then led the half-asleep Susan away.
Ryuuto sighed and looked back at Katie Dee, still sound asleep. Somehow, the sight calmed him. She looked so innocent, so utterly oblivious to the chaos around her.
"She's adorable," he murmured, smiling faintly. "Having a cute little sister like you isn't so bad."
He reached out to pat her head—only for his hand to sink right through it.
"Ah, crap—your mutation's going haywire again."
It felt like plunging his hand into cool water. Katie Dee's phasing ability was apparently unstable when she was unconscious.
Thankfully, she didn't completely dematerialize. Otherwise, he'd have had to explain why one of Xavier's students vanished from his bed in the middle of the night.
With a tired groan, Ryuuto flopped onto the couch. "Night, kiddo," he muttered, closing his eyes.
The Next Morning
Ryuuto woke to Katie Dee shaking his shoulder.
Her face was tight with worry. "Teacher Ryuuto… did you—uh—do anything weird last night?"
That question jolted him upright. "No! Of course not!"
He quickly looked down—both of them were fully dressed. He exhaled in relief. "See? Everything's fine."
Katie frowned. "Still… how did I end up in your room?"
"You seriously don't remember?" Ryuuto pressed a hand to her forehead. "You snuck some wine, got drunk, and phased straight through the wall into my room. You screamed, scared the hell out of me, then passed out. I tried to send you back, but you wouldn't let go."
"Really?"
"Would I lie about something this embarrassing?"
Katie blushed. "I… I just wanted to see what wine tasted like. I'm sorry, Teacher Ryuuto."
"It's fine. Just don't make a habit of it. Though," he smirked, "if you really want to sleep here every night, I won't complain."
Katie's face went crimson. "N-no! That's weird!" she sputtered, bolting off the bed. "I'll go back to my own room."
"Try phasing through the wall," Ryuuto said teasingly. "Maybe your ability's more stable when you're sober."
Katie took a deep breath and pushed against the wall—but her hands just got stuck halfway through.
Her eyes lit up. "It's working! Kind of!"
Ryuuto grinned. "Good. Looks like the hangover training worked."
With a shy smile, Katie phased completely through and disappeared into her own room.
Meanwhile, in the next room, Natasha and Susan were having a very different kind of morning.
When Natasha woke up, Susan was blinking in confusion beside her.
"…Huh? Why is Black Widow in my bed?"
"Because you passed out and I carried you from Ryuuto's room," Natasha said dryly.
"What? I went to his room?"
"You tell me," Natasha raised an eyebrow. "Did he bring you there, or did you go yourself?"
Susan scratched her head. "I just remember wanting to tease him a bit. After that… everything's blurry."
Natasha folded her arms. "Then maybe next time don't tease someone while half-naked."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Susan snapped.
"I mean if you're not that kind of person, maybe don't sneak into a guy's bed without clothes. Or constantly invite him to your base. Or throw yourself at him every other day."
"Oh yeah? And what about you? You're always hanging around him too!"
"I'm part of the X-Men," Natasha said coolly. "It's my job to stay close."
Susan huffed. "Then fine! I'll join the X-Men too!"
"You planning to quit the Fantastic Four?"
Susan's silence said it all.