The night of the Christmas play marked the first night Rachel stayed over until morning.
Rachel for the most part didn't act differently and was excited about it.
But when Mr. Morgan picked her up that morning, Adam saw the way she stiffened at his tired eyes.
Damn it…she noticed.
Adam squeezed Rachel's hand. "Mr. Morgan, is it okay if Rachel stays the day? You look tired."
Mr. Morgan's eyes shifted towards Adam, annoyance flashing briefly before he let out a sigh.
"Is that what you want Rae?"
Rachel nodded meekly.
Mr. Morgan saw the subdued reaction, looking away in guilt.
"I'll... I'll pick you up after dinner, is that okay?"
Rachel nodded again.
Mr. Morgan bent down and opened his arms. "Give Daddy a hug goodbye?"
Rachel looked up, hesitant, but hugged her father.
Over Rachel's shoulder, Mr. Morgan looked at Adam, tears pricking his eyes mouthing the words 'Thank you.'
Adam just tilted his head, acting unaware.
But he couldn't stop the small smile at the scene in front of him.
Once the hug ended, Mr. Morgan wiped his eyes, not showing Rachel he was crying. "You got a good friend, Rae. I'll go talk to Adam's parents."
"You be good, okay?"
"Okay, Daddy."
Mr. Morgan smiled and ruffled her hair.
As he passed Adam, he patted his head. "You're too smart for your own good, but thank you."
Adam just watched Mr. Morgan disappear into the kitchen, vaguely hearing the adults start talking.
"Adam… is my daddy okay?"
Now it was Adam's turn to stiffen.
"He should be, Rae, he should be."
Adam took her hand again, leading her away from the kitchen.
"Let's go watch TV. I'm still tired from playing."
Rachel let Adam lead her away, but she looked back toward the kitchen once before refocusing on him.
***
The day passed in a quiet way, unusual for someone of Rachel's energy.
Adam noticed and stayed with her in the way he could. Sitting next to her, reading to her, leading her by the hand.
When dinner came around, Rachel didn't let go of Adam's hand.
Adam let her, eating with one hand wasn't that difficult.
Rachel, however, was a mess by the end of the meal.
"You're a messy brute." Adam took a napkin, dampening it in water, cleaning her face.
Rachel just quietly hummed in agreement.
Once Adam finished cleaning he just sighed, irritated at his helplessness.
Here I am with a system and useless to help the situation.
Rachel squeezed his hand.
"Adam… is Dad going away like Mom?"
Adam opened his mouth to speak but his words died before they could form.
"I don't want Daddy to go, Adam…" Tears started forming in her eyes as she squeezed Adam's hand harder.
"Rae, listen to me." Adam slightly bent his knees to look at Rachel's downturned face.
"Your Dad loves you. What you're seeing is adults doing stupid adult stuff. But **never** forget that your dad loves you more than anything."
Rachel sniffed, shifting from holding Adam's hand to hugging Adam.
"Daddy loves me… thank you, Adam."
Adam hugged back, closing his eyes in frustration.
That's all I can do for now.
***
That night Adam looked around his room, Rachel had already gone home.
She looked better, and it seems my words helped.
Adam started cleaning the mess left by Rachel's earlier play.
Alright, System. Show me the rewards I've been ignoring.
[Host has completed the intimidation ritual! Due to the Host's preparation, the ritual's performance reached 300% more effectiveness!]
[Host has gained the Skill - Intimidation]
[Host has gained the Skill - Acting]
[Host has gained 3% towards the next level of Charisma!]
[Due to the ritual's effectiveness, Intimidation is upgraded to level 1!]
[Due to the ritual's effectiveness, Acting is upgraded to level 1!]
[Due to the ritual's effectiveness, Juvenile Mutant Brute's territory has been targeted by larger predators!]
Adam looked at the last entry, dropping the toy he had picked up.
Did... did the system just acknowledge Rachel's home life? Or is that something else?
Adam slowly picked up what he dropped, thinking as he moved.
If I take it as referencing Rachel's family drama… It means the system is more aware than I thought.
Adam shook his head. Further thought was useless. He can't control the system, all he can do is use it to the best of his abilities.
The new year was around the corner, and after that? The end of kindergarten.
***
The new year came by and ended without any system nonsense.
Adam made it his mission to check in with Rachel as often as the adults would let him.
But it seemed his worry was misplaced. Rachel showed no more than her usual self.
When kindergarten picked back up, all seemed well.
Except the fact that occasionally there was drama involving Mr. Morgan and an unknown woman at the pick-up lane.
Those days, Rachel showed her meek side, letting Adam lead her away to his own parents.
I need an excuse for the future. Adam remembered his Dad's question about sports.
What's something we can do together?
Adam ran through a few popular sports. Soccer, Baseball/Softball, Basketball before ultimately landing on martial arts.
Out of all the sports we could do, it's the one we could do together for a long time.
The question was which martial arts to focus on.
With Rachel's energy, she could probably do multiple in the future but a strong core foundation is important.
Karate or Judo… we could take some beginner classes then commit.
Adam nodded to himself, satisfied with his thoughts.
"Dad, I got an answer to your question."
Dad looked at Adam, raising a brow in slight confusion. "Remind me of the question?"
"Sports, Dad. I know which one I want to do."
Dad's other brow raised in surprise. "OH! What were you thinking?"
"Martial Arts. Specifically Karate or Judo."
"That's specific. Looks like you've been doing your homework, any reason martial arts and not something more… team centric?"
"I can do Martial arts with Rachel."
"Adam… Mr. Morg-"
"That's what I want for my birthday this year. To do martial arts with Rachel."
Dad looked somewhat baffled as he was cut off.
Sorry, Dad. I'm pulling the child privilege of a tantrum.
"I hear you, Buddy. Let me talk to your mom and Mr. Morgan, but I'll make your case."
Adam looked to Rachel who was silent throughout the exchange, still holding onto his sleeve.
"What are martial arts…?"
"I'll show you in a movie when you come over next time, okay?"
Rachel tightened her grip and nodded.
"Speaking of, Dad. I think Mr. Morgan is busy again. Can I hang out with Rae?"
Dad looked around, not seeing Mr. Morgan. "Let me text him, then we'll see, okay buddy?"
He pulled out his phone, rubbing the back of his neck.
Adam led Rachel to the car, thinking to himself.
I'll be damned if I let this situation happen without a fight.