Adventuring Other-Worlds With The Adapting System

Like the rain during a drought, the bell echoed as Kawakami sighed and said, "Alright. The bell for first break has gone. Remember, next period is English, so I expect to see everyone back on time."

Axel looked towards the door with an enamored stare and was about to dash out of the cla.s.sroom when he felt a small poke on his shoulder. He turned around slowly with a cautious gaze, only to be greeted by Ann with a light smile on her face, completely ignoring the stares of her cla.s.smates that were right behind her.

She looked Axel up and down with a curious glance before nodding to herself. With a small chuckle, she ignored the questioning gaze from Axel and said, "You probably heard this before but I"m Ann, Ann Takamaki."

As if it were natural, she stretched her arm towards him with a smile and said, "Nice to meet you, Axel."

Axel relaxed his guard slightly as he shook her hand with a gently smile and said, "Nice to meet you too, Takamaki-san."

Even though he seemed more relaxed than the introduction, Axel still kept his guard up against the rest of his cla.s.s. It"s not as if he was afraid of them, no. It"s because he didn"t want to answer annoying questions.

However, his guard would prove to be futile because as soon as Ann let his hand go, the rest of his cla.s.s bolted over to him and flooded him with questions.

Kawakami gave Axel a pitying glance before shaking her head. She looked over to Ann and said, "Takamaki, can you take Axel and show him around the school?"

With a small frown, Ann was about to decline when she saw Axel"s current expression. His eyes looked to be pleading to take him away from here. Coupled with his handsome face and fit body, Ann sighed before dragging him out of cla.s.s.

The voices of his dissatisfied cla.s.smates echoed behind him but Axel paid no mind to them as he gave Ann a grateful smile.

After a couple minutes of showing Axel around, Ann and Axel walked into the courtyard. Suddenly, a voice echoed from behind that caused Ann to bloom into a happy smile.

"Ann!"

"Shiho!"

The two girls jumped into a short hug as they started giggling. Axel stood nearby as he thought, "Shiho Suzui… I can"t really remember much about her besides her name. All I can remember is the fact that something bad will happen to her."

Shiho had brown eyes and long black hair that was tied up in a pony tail. Instead of the basic black and red blazer, she wore a beige sweater that was rolled up to her elbows. She also wore the basic school skirt as well as a black leg brace on her right leg.

Once their little hug broke up, Shiho looked at Axel for a couple seconds before a small smirk appeared on her downtrodden face as she whispered, "Your boyfriend?"

Ann blushed slightly and was about to explain the situation when Axel smiled and said, "Sorry to disappoint but I"m not. My name is Axel, I"m a new student and today"s my first day."

Shiho gave Axel a small nod as slight smile appeared on her face as she said, "Welcome to Shujin, Axel."

Axel accepted her welcome with a smile, completely oblivious to the fact that Ann"s facial expression was a mix between a smile and a frown while her lips constantly twitched.

With a couple deep breaths, Ann showed a small smile and started to join the conversation.

After a while, a bell rang, signifying the end of the lunch break. Somehow, Axel"s constant blabber about stories and jokes managed to break the walls the girls had put up, leading them to truely enjoy his company.

Axel waved goodbye and began walking to cla.s.s right after the ball rang, much to Ann"s distress as she quickly said goodbye to Shiho.

Shiho giggled as she began to walk to her next cla.s.s, humming a cheerful ditty with a small skip in her step.

…

The rest of the day was normal. Axel didn"t really make any friends besides Ann and Shiho. Even then, he didn"t really consider himself their friend as it"s been too short since they met.

One of the reasons he couldn"t make any friends was also due to the fact that the next two lunch breaks, Makoto would track him down and start chatting with him.

Thanks to Makoto, however, Axel now knew what he need to prepare for school.

The best part was when the final lunch break came around. When Makoto and Axel were chatting, Axel"s stomach let her know that it"s was mildly dissatisfied with it"s apparent emptiness.

With a small chuckle, she had given him her lunch. Of course, he didn"t except it right away. He kept repeatedly asking if it was alright until Makoto felt fed up and literally, grabbed some food and shoved it into his mouth.

Currently, Axel was standing just outside the school with a small frown on his face.

To his left, Makoto tried to drag him back to her house. It"s not that Axel didn"t mind hanging out with her, he just wanted to go home and relax.

Last night, while he may have been able to sleep, he was tense due to the fact that he was sleeping over at a girl"s house. He felt the need to relax in his own home.

Axel was about to leave when he felt his right arm in a vice grip. A couple drops of sweat fell from his forehead as he silently thought, "h.e.l.l, this is comparable to when Stella and Olivia were off their rocker…"

However, when his thoughts reminded him of Olivia, a peaceful smile dawned his face.

Makoto saw his smile and felt her heart skip a beat. She blushed as she grabbed Axel and pleaded, "Please come with me, Axel. My sis usually doesn"t get off work until late and it gets… lonely."

Axel turned to face Makoto and saw the slight sadness in her eyes. While he wasn"t at Olivia"s level, he was able to tell how people felt… sometimes.

With a tired sighed, Axel wryly smiled at her and muttered, "Fine…"

Makoto was ecstatic as she dragged Axel with her to help with the shopping.

After a fun time of shopping and playing around, Axel and Makoto made their way to her house with large smiles on their faces.

However, when they opened the door, the pair were surprised to see that Sae was already home. Makoto was especially happy as she dashed inside and said, "Sis! Did you come home early today?"

With a small chuckle, Sae gave Makoto a hug and said, "Yup. I sent in an application for a couple days off and it was approved."

As if seeing the perfect chance, Axel slowly back away towards the day as he gently said, "Well, would you look at that? Now that your big sis is here, you won"t get lonely anymore. I guess-" however, right when he reached the door, two pairs of soft, white hands gripped his shoulder.

A loud gulp escaped from Axel as he slowly turned around. Once he stared into the girls eyes, Axel froze as sweat slowly formed on his brows. Sae and Makoto had a dangerous light in their eyes, like that of a child that found an interesting toy.

Makoto sweetly smiled at Axel as she said, "Why don"t you stay for dinner, Axel?"