"Why did you disappear for so long without saying anything? I waited for years… and not once did I hear from you."
Jean buried her face against Kurogai's chest, her voice low and filled with lingering hurt. Her earlier frustration wasn't out of anger—it was from fear. From missing him. From the silence.
If she hadn't known how powerful he was, the uncertainty alone might've broken her.
"I left Earth," Kurogai answered. "I went far into space… beyond the solar system. I saw civilizations that defy imagination. I met races you wouldn't believe."
He didn't lie, but he didn't tell her everything either. The truth about the Ultimate Eye, and the deeper secrets he encountered, remained locked away. Not because he didn't trust her, but because there were some burdens he refused to share—even with her.
He did, however, speak freely about the Phoenix Force. Jean already understood the connection between her and the cosmic entity. There was nothing to hide there.
Jean gasped occasionally as he shared bizarre and dangerous moments from his journey. Worlds ruled by sentient storms, planets governed by sound, empires that lived inside stars. As she listened, her admiration for Kurogai grew.
And her heart ached.
He had endured so much on his own. The loneliness. The weight of power. The responsibility. It was too much for one person, yet he bore it all.
Moved by his quiet strength, Jean leaned forward and kissed him.
In her eyes, Kurogai had become something mythic—more than just a mutant. A guardian of Earth. A lone protector who fought from the shadows without asking for recognition or thanks.
She saw him as more noble than Professor X, who labored tirelessly for human-mutant coexistence. Kurogai, in her heart, had gone further. He had carried the weight of the world in silence.
But if Kurogai could read her thoughts, he'd be speechless.
Because in truth, he hadn't done any of this for humanity. He did it for himself. For Jean. For the few he chose to protect. The rest? They were just background noise. But people in love rarely see the whole picture—they see what their hearts want to see.
After their time together, Kurogai used the Phoenix's regenerative power to help restore Jean's exhausted body. He then escorted her back to the X-Mansion.
But instead of reporting to Professor X immediately, he brought Jean to her room first, letting her rest. Then, alone, he made his way to the Professor's office.
---
"Professor, I'm here to talk about those 'minor matters' now."
Kurogai entered casually, as if he hadn't just turned the entire school upside down by reappearing out of nowhere.
Professor X looked up from his desk. "Where's Jean?"
"She's fine. Resting."
The Professor relaxed slightly, but only for a moment.
"I spoke with Logan," he said. "He mentioned you… from years ago. Said you told him to find me. How could you possibly have known so much about his past?"
Kurogai smiled faintly. "You already have a sense of my abilities, Professor. Knowing certain secrets is easier for me than it is for most."
The answer was vague—intentionally. But it was enough to make the Professor stop asking. He wasn't satisfied, but he understood the limits of what Kurogai would reveal.
The Professor's gaze sharpened. "Then let's get to the real question: Why did you vanish for six years? What have you been doing all this time?"
Charles Xavier had dealt with many unpredictable forces in his life—but none as slippery as Kurogai. He was neither fully hero nor villain. He existed in the grey, walking a line few dared to tread. That's what made him dangerous.
He wasn't evil—but he was a risk. One wrong turn, and he could become a threat no one could stop.
Kurogai shrugged. "Would you believe me if I said I was off saving the world?"
"You're not the type to do something without a reason."
"That's true," Kurogai replied. "But I'm also not the type to explain myself to someone who already doubts me."
The Professor held his gaze. But in the end, he let it go.
Kurogai turned to leave.
"Well then, I'll be checking on Rogue. She owes me an answer."
Without waiting for a reply, Kurogai exited the office, cloak trailing behind him like a shadow.
---
Meanwhile, deep in the wilderness...
A hulking Sabretooth emerged from the snow-covered forest, lumbering toward a concealed underground base hidden beneath a rocky outcrop.
"Things got messy. There was… an unexpected variable," Sabretooth muttered grimly as he approached an old man seated within the dim facility.
The man looked lean, even fragile at a glance, but his presence was overpowering—commanding. Though time had aged him, the cold glint in his eyes hadn't faded. He was no ordinary elder.
He was Erik Lehnsherr. Magneto.
A man known for bending the world to his will—and for sowing chaos wherever mutants were oppressed.
---
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