More Than A Few Words
Continuing on from before, Adam strolled down the street.
("Still kind of wished that he swung.") [Adam]
"Why?" [Krino]
("I wanted to see how much it would hurt.") [Adam]
Krino went silent. Even after walking for quite a while, there was no reply.
("Krino?") [Adam]
"..." [Krino]
("You uh… going to say something?") [Adam]
"...I'm not one to judge your tastes." [Krino]
("Tastes? Hold up, I think you're misunderstanding something.") [Adam]
"Mhm. Sure I am." [Krino]
("You really think I can't see through that sarcasm?") [Adam]
As the two bickered, Adam felt something catch his foot.
("Huh? What's this?") [Adam]
Looking down at his foot, Adam noticed a tree root protruding out of the concrete.
("A root? I don't remember a tree being near here.") [Adam]
He glanced around in search of the source and found a long trail leading to an alleyway.
("...Should I take a look or…") [Adam]
Adam held a hand to his chin. Standing idly, he eventually decided to follow the trail.
("How long does this root reach?") [Adam]
After entering the alleyway, he met a large tree growing in the middle of the pathway.
("When… When did this tree grow here?") [Adam]
As he stared at the tree, Adam heard a voice within the tree.
"Ugh…" [Tree]
("Uh… What? Is someone in the tree?") [Adam]
The voice groaned, making it seem like the tree was speaking.
("Scout!") [Adam]
Stretching his mana over the area, he sensed a source of mana within the tree.
("I knew it! Someone must be trapped in there!") [Adam]
"Krino!" [Adam]
A flash of lightning struck the ground in front of Adam, revealing his trusty longsword embedded in the ground.
("I have to cut them free!") [Adam]
Picking up the sword, he began to whittle away at the trunk of the tree.
"Adam! Wait!" [Krino]
("What?!") [Adam]
"Slow down! We don't want you cutting too deep right?!" [Krino]
("I know! That's why I have Scout active!") [Adam]
Detecting the distance of the blade compared to the mana source in the tree, he continued to hack at the tree.
("Almost there…!") [Adam]
The sword sliced through the trunk entirely, revealing a familiar figure within.
"O… Orion…?" [Adam]
"...Adam?" [Orion]
There lay Orion within the tree. Just from a quick glance, Adam could see that Orion was in a sorry state. His clothes, hair, and body were in shambles. The only thing that seemed unaffected were the newly changed bandages from the nurse's office that day.
"Orion… What happened to you?" [Adam]
"...It's nothi- Urgh…!" [Orion]
He attempted to stand, but only ended up falling back into the tree.
"Here, let me." [Adam]
Lending a shoulder, Adam helped Orion stand.
"Want me to take you to the nurse's office again?" [Adam]
"...No. I need to get home." [Orion]
"Home? You have bandages there?" [Adam]
"...Let's just say I have something to do before tending to myself." [Orion]
Orion didn't seem to want to answer, so Adam let the topic go.
"So where's your house?" [Adam]
"It's-" [Orion]
"I found him!" [???]
A loud voice came from the entrance of the alleyway, followed by the rumble of footsteps.
"Tsk…! They found me." [Orion]
By the time Adam turned around, the alleyway was completely blocked off. A horde of students had appeared, and they did not look very friendly.
("Black and blue uniforms… What are people from another school doing here?") [Adam]
As Adam came to many conclusions, someone stepped forward from the crowd.
"Orion! Get the fuck out here!" [???]
A boy with purple hair stood confidently before Adam. Although he looked to be very skinny, Adam could sense a large amount of mana from him.
("He has almost as much mana as Felix!") [Adam]
"Which is like... a third of your mana pool, but okay." [Krino]
("...I'm trying to be serious.") [Adam]
"Yeah, and you're failing." [Krino]
("...") [Adam]
The purple haired student approached Adam with confidence in his step. Wearing a wide grin, he stopped just in front of Adam.
"Mind handing that guy over to me?" [Purple Haired Student]
"Who?" [Adam]
The purple haired student's grin vanished. With an unamused expression, he pointed at Orion.
"Him. Give." [Purple Haired Student]
"Wow, give you this guy? I didn't know you swung that way." [Adam]
The purple haired student didn't seem very happy about Adam's reply. Veins began to appear around his forehead, but he still kept his calm and collected face.
"You see, I don't have time for this. Just hand him over and I might consider not whooping your ass." [Purple Haired Student]
"Is that so?" [Adam]
As if he was listening to the student, Adam took Orion off his shoulder.
("Finally he listens…") [Purple Haired Student]
Just as the student began to reach out to Orion, he took a blow to stomach.
"Agh!" [Purple Haired Student]
Clutching his stomach, he staggered backwards a few steps.
"You…! What do you think you're doing…?!" [Purple Haired Student]
There stood Adam, facing the students in a provocative stance.
"Sorry, but… it's gonna take more than a few words for me to let you have this guy." [Adam]