Hello everyone! Thank you so much for waiting patiently while I write the next chapter! I've been so busy lately, and haven't had time to write. But, I made some time, and here is the next chapter, just like I promised 3
The next day seemed to have come quickly for Ace. He was awaken by a bright, warm sun ray beaming through the windows. "I'm still here, It wasn't a dream. I'm finally done running for awhile." He stood up and stretched his arms up high to the ceiling. Just as he was catching the perfect stretch, the sweet smell of breakfast snuck into his room. Soon after he caught the wonderful, sweet and savory aroma, he heard a very familiar voice call out.
"Ace? Wake up! It's 10:30 in the morning and breakfast is ready!"
"She really hasn't changed." Ace laughed to himself and made his way downstairs. He walked into the kitchen and noticed the table was set with two plates, a bowl of freshly sliced fruit, and some freshly shaped rice balls. Ume turned around from the stove, holding a plate of crepes.
"You're still in your pj's.." She let out a soft laugh and shook her head softly. "You sure haven't changed a bit."
"I was just thinking the same about you." He walked around the table and examined it closely "This looks wonderful, Ume. You didn't have to do this for me."
"Who said it was for you?"
"Oh, harsh."
"I'm just playing with you. Besides, you deserve to have a nice home made breakfast, and I'm more than happy to make it for you. Now, sit down. Everything's ready."
"Ume, this is amazing!" he began to roll up the freshly sliced fruit into the crepes, and looked up to notice Ume placing a rice ball onto his plate.
"Try these. Mom used to make these rice balls for me every morning." Ace picked up the rice ball and examined it closely "A rice ball.. for breakfast?" He looked to her, a confused look across his face.
"It's a sushi rice mixture.. just try it I added more things to it."
Ace took a bite and chewed it carefully. "Cinnamon and sugar!" He finished the rest of the rice ball as quickly as he could.
"I knew you would like it. It's different, but a good breakfast dish. Created it myself, I get tired of traditional breakfast items."
"I agree. So, what did you want to do today? It's pretty nice outside, why don't you show me around your home town? You mentioned that you had to go grocery shopping."
"I guess we could do that. You would just have to wear a shirt to cover up your tattoos."
"I could just wear this one, It doesn't bother me." He gave her a smile and then finished up the food on his plate.
"Well, I plan on getting you some clothes while you are here."
"No, Ume I can't let you do that."
"Ace, come on. I'm your childhood best friend, the least I could do is buy you a couple shirts and a couple pair of shorts so you can live freely and get out of the house. Now please, go with me?"
"Ume, I'll pay you back I promise."
"No Ace, you don't need to. Now, I need to go get ready, we can't waste any daylight!"
Ume walked down wearing a white tie skirt with a black tie back blouse, and black matching sandals.
'Ume.. she's so.. beautiful. When did she fill out nicely?' Ace looked off for a second only to get his mind off of his best friend. He soon looked back and saw that she was holding the door open for him. He started to walk towards the door, but thought of something.
"By the way, I have just a question.. I didn't really get to see where your house is, seeing we got back right at sunset. But I thought I heard the ocean. Are you close to it?"
"As a matter of fact I am. Look out the window."
Ace did as Ume asked, and noticed that she was right by the ocean. "Isn't that dangerous? What about storms that come up?" He began following her down the hill to the small town.
"Well, it's not that bad. We are about 50 ft up on a cliff so no water can really reach us unless it gets awful, which has never really happened before. Oh! And down that dirt path there is a small patch of forest! It's great for going on walks and relaxing."
"Looks like we will have to go on a walk sometime."
"Sure thing! It's one of my favorite things to do. Oh, don't let me forget, I need to stop by the hardware store to pick up some wood planks and some nails."
"Alright, but what for?"
"Well, when it storms, the wind gets really rough, and sometimes debris flies up to the house. I board up the windows from the outside so the windows don't break. I can't exactly afford shutters just yet, so boards work just fine."
"Ah, so it sounds like it gets bad when it storms?"
"Well, sometimes. I have a basement so when it does get bad, I hide down there." Before Ace knew it, they were already at the clothing store. "Here we are! Best shop in town!" She opened up the door and held it for Ace. He stepped in, and automatically felt overwhelmed by the hundreds of clothing items for men, women and children. Ume led him over to a round clothing rack, and began to slide hangers over to reveal certain shirts.
"How about this shirt? It's a button up, and light weight fabric, it will keep you nice and cool! Plus it will look great on you!" She held it up to his chest and smiled.
"It does look comfortable, and its long enough to cover up some of my arm tattoo, it will be hard to notice."
"And how about these shorts? Khaki's will match well with this shirt. And ooh, I really like these jeans!"
"What is it with girls and clothes?"
"Hey, it's a hobby of mine. Here, I picked you out a few things to try on." She handed him an arm-full of clothes and nudged him towards the dressing room. After a few moments of struggling with outfits, he finally made a decision on ones that he liked.
"Alright, these two outfits I really like, and I like the other two as well."
"Here, I'll get them all for you."
"Ume, I don't need that much." He glanced outside and then back to Ume "We probably need to get back to the house soon, it looks like it could rain."
"Ace, please I insist." She grabbed the clothes from him and made her way to the cash register.
"Alright, I'm not going to argue with you." He let out a small chuckle, and stared outside at the upcoming storm.
"Come on, silly. We're all done here. Now I need to run across the street and get my supplies. It won't take but a second." Ume grabbed Ace's hand and led him out of the store. Ace felt his heart skip a beat, and a soft blush grew across his cheeks. 'Sh-She's holding my hand now..' He looked the other direction as she led him into the hardware store. Inside, the store smelled of freshly chopped wood, and floor polish. There was an old man standing behind a big counter that stretched from one wall of the store, to the other.
"Can I help you, Miss?"
"I just need 12 wood planks, and a pack of nails."
"Alright, 200 berries it is." The old man turned around and walked back to a separated room to fetch Ume's requested items. Moments later, he returned back with a bundle of planks that were tied with thick twine, and a small box of nails resting on top of the stack of wood. He sat the bundle down on the counter, and held out his hand. Ume dropped the berry coins into his hand, and grabbed the items.
"Thanks a lot! I'll be back again, for sure!" She turned around and noticed Ace was staring at a bulletin board with wanted signs posted up.
"I'm all done here, let's go!"
"A-alright.." Ace hesitantly turned away from the bulletin board, and followed Ume out of the store. The two of them began to walk back up the hill, to the house.
"Everything alright, Ace? You seem troubled."
"Luffy's wanted poster was on that board, Ume. Along with a couple of his crew members."