A few hours of Axiom teaching and playing checkers with Cell later, Axiom grew curious about what Cell would do if he won against the Z Fighters; he hadn't actually been told anything.
"Hey, what would you do if you won against the Saiyans?"
Cell thought for a moment. Originally, he would've destroyed the planet and moved on to find the perfect fighter, but maybe he'd keep it around as a way to alleviate his boredom. "Hmm... well, first I'd kill them because they dared to think they could become stronger than me in only ten days. Then I'll leave in search of stronger fighters."
Axiom nodded, taking Cell's last piece on the checkers board, winning the game. He stood up and stretched before speaking. "Goodbye, I guess."
Cell had come to find Axiom's company entertaining, if only for playing games with him. As he thought back on the match, he nodded at Axiom, accepting that he might not see him for a while.
With that nod, Axiom flew off, heading straight toward the lady's house to officially begin his stay with her.
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Opening the door, he was hit with a powerful smell that made him recoil slightly, his nose never having encountered this kind of scent before.
Walking to the kitchen, he found her stirring a pot of stew, taking occasional sips to check the taste.
Seeing her focused expression, he decided to wait for her to finish cooking. It looked and smelled good, so he would wait patiently for the end result.
__
Half a minute later, she seemed pleased with the taste and turned the heat off, going to grab a bowl before noticing Axiom by the doorway. She paused in surprise.
"How long were you there?"
"Long enough. Let me taste it." Axiom pointed at the pot, his stomach rumbling from the smell.
The lady suppressed a chuckle at his attitude. It amused her how childlike he seemed sometimes.
Axiom pointed at a bowl, silently commanding her to serve him, then walked to a chair and sat down.
The lady's brows furrowed. He really did seem childlike in this moment. It even made her question his age. Nevertheless, she placed a bowl of stew in front of him, along with one for herself, and grabbed a spoon for each of them.
As they ate, she paused and looked at him. "Hey... so I'm sorry if this offends you, but... how old are you?"
Axiom stopped chewing, not expecting that question. He swallowed before answering. "I'm... three days old. At least, it's been three days since I gained consciousness." He didn't feel the need to lie to her—not about this, and not when he planned for her to become his subordinate.
The lady stared at him, shocked, her mouth slightly open. "Three... days?" She couldn't believe she was talking to a literal baby. That single piece of information reframed everything she thought about him. Suddenly, she wasn't looking at a terrifying force of evil who kept her around for food—she was looking at a child who didn't know what he'd done was wrong.
Axiom kept eating, absolutely loving the food, not caring in the slightest that she was completely misunderstanding his nature.
The rest of the meal passed quietly. She only spoke again after he had finished eating.
"Umm... my name's Kukki. What's yours?"
Axiom stretched and made sure to remember that name. "My name is Axiom."
Kukki vaguely remembered hearing that word long ago, but aside from that faint feeling of recognition, she didn't think much of it. "So... what are you going to do now?"
Axiom seemed surprised for a moment. This was the most engaged he had ever seen her. He didn't dislike it, but he didn't particularly like it either. "I'm going to train my ki."
Kukki considered his words. "Ki? Isn't that that internal energy from novels?" she asked in confusion, wondering if he truly believed in such a concept.
Axiom looked puzzled. He hadn't even heard of novels, much less novels about ki. "Internal energy, yes, but I'm not aware of any novels. It's what lets me fly and be super strong."
Looking back, Kukki realized she had barely processed his flying before, assuming her mind was playing tricks on her. But now, knowing it was real, she was beyond excited. Maybe she could learn to fly too. It would make getting to work much faster, and she'd be able to get more rest.
"Could you teach me how to use it?" she asked curiously.
Axiom thought it over before deciding against it. "No. I can innately use my ki. I wouldn't know how someone would start from scratch."
Kukki's excited expression deflated slightly as she nodded. She was now fully coming to terms with the fact that Axiom was some kind of super-advanced alien.
She sighed. "Yeah... I understand. I was expecting too much."
She looked out the window, noticing the sun beginning to set, and stood up. "Are you sleepy?"
Axiom paused, then nodded and stood from his seat, following her into her bedroom.
Kukki was surprised when she saw Axiom sit and lie down on the floor. She gently grabbed his arm and pulled him up, picking him up with relative ease and setting him on the bed before pulling the blanket over him.
Axiom didn't resist at all. He didn't actually care where he slept; his body was resilient enough that it simply didn't matter. But the softness of the bed was nice, even if he would never verbally admit it.
After changing into her pajamas, Kukki got into bed beside Axiom, hoping he didn't mind the proximity. He didn't. In fact, he found the heat radiating from her body quite pleasant, like a lizard basking in the sun.
A few minutes passed before they both finally fell asleep, Axiom pressed against her side, looking more peaceful than he ever had before.