24 Go Big or Go Home!

It's been a couple days since Axel became a street magician. On the first day, Axel drew a large crowd even though he only made things appear and disappear using his inventory.

Even though he was surrounded by a large amount of people, he didn't neglect his duty. Halfway through the day, he managed to inform Iwai about some cops coming around.

Later that day, Iwai told Axel that he managed to hide the models and trick the cops. After a good laugh, Axel began heading home. However, he didn't managed to leave the store before Iwai's voice echoed from the back of the store, asking him to bring more food tomorrow.

The next day went basically the same, however, this time he let Stella participate. Most people were scared or concerned when they saw a snake but once they saw the tricks she did, they forgot everything and cheered.

Even the cops stopped to watch as Stella contorted her body into a multitude of shapes, giving Axel and Iwai more than enough time to hide everything.

The third day became more hectic as more and more people gathered by the alleyway, almost blocking it off. Luckily, Axel still kept an eye out and managed to inform Iwai.

Everyday, Iwai's mood continued to get better and better which freaked Axel out. Every morning, Iwai would wait outside the store like a dog. Once he spotted Axel, it's like he became a blur. There was no greeting or welcome as Iwai would instantly snatch the food that Axel always brought. Coupled with the fact that they were managing the orders and the cops, it's like a smile was always present on his face.

However, that all changed on the last day.

Early in the morning, Axel easily woke up at 5am. Pulling out his phone, the date was the 16th of March.

Sighing, Axel muttered, "I hope Iwai comes through."

After a short period of getting ready, Axel opened the door and left. Breathing out, his breath was slightly visible as he carried a box of food to the station.

The train was like usual, crowded. However, the people on the train were unusually quiet. Axel tilted his head in confusion before he suddenly over heard a man talking on his phone about something imteresting.

"Hey, did you see the news last night? Another person collapsed. Some CEO or something… Yes, I know but… Look, I think it's related to those so called 'Mental Shut-downs'… I'm just saying…"

Axel became lost in thought as he mentally said, "System, do you know about these 'mental shut-downs'?"

A couple seconds passed by but the system remained silent. Axel was about to complain but sighed and gave up as he knew complaining would get him nowhere.

The rest of the trip was calm as Axel eas-, *cough*, I mean, happened to coincidentally hear many other people who all linked the strange event to mental shut-downs.

Arriving at the station, Axel made a mental note to search up the mental shut-downs later.

After walking towards Iwai's shop, Axel saw a huge and excited crowd gathered where he usually set up. With a slight smile, Axel dipped in and out of the crowd before setting up his table in the usual spot.

All eyes were on him as a coughed loudly and said, "Hey guys, how's everyone doing this morning?"

A myriad amount of voices echoed as they tired to reply. After a couple minutes, the voices stopped.

A wide grin appeared on his face as he let Stella slowly slither out from his arm. The crowd instant began cheering while Stella started twisting her body.

Time pasted by quickly as they took turns to preform as well as take break. Suddenly, Axel noticed a pair of people that slowly weaved between the crowd.

Trusting the feeling in his gut that told him those 2 were cops, Axel reached into his pocket to grab his phone. Withdrawing it ever so slightly, Axel tapped the power button to turn it in. However, it still stayed turned off.

He began to slightly panic as he realised he somehow forgot to charge it. Hell, he didn't even realise it need to charge when he opened it this morning.

His brain went into over-drive as he saw the cops move closer and closer to the store. Gritting his teeth, Axel flung his hands wide open and screamed, "Everyone, may I please gather your attention!!!"

Everyone, including the cops, stopped and looked at Axel.

Axel's heart frantically tried to break out of his chest. Taking deep breaths to calm himself down, he revealed a slight smile and calmly said, "I wonder if everyone would like to see… a new magic trick?"

Everyone's interest was tickled as everyone silently watched Axel in anticipation.

Slowly reaching out his open hand, Axel took a deep breath as his hand started to glow in a pale white. Everyone stared in awe as crystals of ice slowly condensed into a ball.

Axel sighed as he watched everyone stare at him in a daze. Making the most of his time, Axel sneakily told Stella to go and warn Iwai.

Taking a deep breath, Axel stared at the crowd that slowly began regaining themselves. Inside the hundreds of eyes, Axel could see awe, wonder and excitement.

The ball of ice still lay in his hands and didn't melt in the slightest. Grinning, Axel used his free hand and tapped on top of the ball.

Suddenly, the ball slowly began to bloom. As if made of sand, the ice ball collapsed into itself and in a matter of seconds, everyone stared wide-eyed as the ball of ice had become a beautiful rose made of ice.

While the crowd was distracted, Axel checked his status and breathed a sigh of relief, knowing it didn't take to much MP to create.

Axel was about to finish up when he heard a childish voice mutter, "Pretty~"

Looking down, a small child stared up at the flower in his hand with a sparkle in her eyes. The child's mother saw that Axel was looking at her child and thought she did something. She was about to apologize when Axel kneeled down and said, "Would you like this flower?"

The girl rapidly nodded while her mother looked slightly embarassed. Axel chuckled as he handed her the flower. The girl began giggling as she held the flower gently in her hands.

The girl's mother thanked him before holding her child's hand and walking away. The crowd began to disperse as Axel let loose a sigh of relief.

Axel leaned against the table as Stella jumped up and relaxed on the table. He gave her a tired look as Stella said, "I somehow warned him. He first gave me a couple cautious looks until I pointed at you with my tail. He then remembered I'm your pet and dashed into the store."

Counting himself lucky, Axel stored the table and walked inside Iwai's store.

Looking around, he couldn't find any sign of Iwai until his voice echoed from the back as he said, "I'm out back."

Walking to the back of the shop, Axel saw Iwai sitting on the crates with a huge smile. A pack of beer sat next to him while a couple empty cans were on the floor. With a loud laugh, Iwai chugged the beer in his hand and said, "To a job well done! We're finally finished."

Axel sighed and was about to sit down when an envelop suddenly came out of nowhere and hit him in the face. He rubbed his nose as he glared at Iwai and yelled, "THE HELL!?!"