61 You Got a Friend in Me (2/2)

It wasn't long before they appeared in the alley near the school. The group broke up and headed home. They knew that tomorrow was going to be a hectic day.

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*Beep!* *Beep!* *Beep!*

Early in the morning, an alarm blared as Axel groggily woke up. Stella was still summoned due to him being unable to cancel or use his skills but she was currently watching over Shiho.

Sadly, due to his skills being locked until he completes 'Kamoshida's Palace', Axel couldn't sense where she was and he lost the ability to communicate telepathically with her.

Since her parents were out of town on a business trip, Ann ended up staying overnight. They didn't get up to any 'hanky panky' last night but that's not to say Ann didn't try to tempt him.

Ann wanted to take her mind off her worries if only for a second but Axel was just too worry to be in the mood.

The pair quickly got changed before heading off the school, even going so far as to forgo breakfast.

Once they arrived, the pair saw Akira and Ryuji, as well as a small black cat in Akira's bag. They were already scurrying around, gathering as much evidence as they could.

Ann decided that it would be best if they split up to look for Shiho, leaving Axel all on his lonesome. Just as he was about to begin his search, a small blur latched onto his arm.

He was about to greet Stella when she cut him off as she frantically screamed, ”Axel! It's Shiho… she's about to jump off the roof!”

Axel froze as his blood went cold. Without even asking where she was, Axel bulldozed straight through the students entering the school and run to the courtyard.

Suddenly, a sharp gasp caught his attention as he saw a shocked female student looking at the sky. He turned towards what she was looking at and paled.

Shiho was standing right on the ledge of the roof, her eyes empty as she stared over the edge.

'No no no no no…' Axel repeatedly screamed in his mind. He knew he wouldn't make it if he tried to get to the roof so the best he could do was…

At the moment she jumped, Axel was already on the move. He put gold medalist to shame as he dashed across the courtyard, shoving everyone out of the way.

As he became face to face with the school building, instead of slowing down, Axel sped up and jumped. Using the windowsills as platforms, Axel pushed his body to it's limits as he quickly scaled the building.

All anyone could see was a blur run through the courtyard before climbing halfway up the school building.

With little to no choice, Axel grit his teeth as he pushed himself off the wall, wrapping Shiho in his arms as he fiercely roared, ”I FUCKING GOT THIS!!!”

The pair plummeted to the ground, hard. Axel winced as he made contact with the ground. Two storeys was not a pleasant height to fall from. However, he managed to absorb most of the impact.

Shiho, at first, was stunned silent as she stared at Magna with wide eyes. Then, without her noticing, tears slowly streamed down her face as she shakily muttered, ”Y-you… you saved me?”

Even though he was in pain, Axel still managed to shoot her a bright smile as he said, ”Of course I did… that's what friends are for… right?”

With the adrenaline fading from her body, the shock from both her attempted suicide and failing moments later, Shiho's mind collapsed. As the world around her slowly dimmed, the last thing in her mind was Axel's smile.