A/N: Hi guys! I'm back with a new chapter! This took longer than intended because I'm slow at writing, but it's finally here. I want to thank everyone who reviewed, added this story to their favorite and/or follows! Thank you so much!
I don't have much to say besides that, only that the next chapter will take longer to appear unless I'm hit with a strong need to write this story. Since I'm gonna participate in the One Piece Big Bang and want to finish a few other things, I'll have to turn my attention from this story to all that. I'll still write this in the meantime, only it won't be my focus. But who knows? Maybe I'll actually finish chapter 3 quickly (I wouldn't count on that, though).
Once again, this chapter was betared by the lovely lunarshores! Hope you guys enjoy it!
Important Words:
Youkai - The name given to ghosts, phantoms, strange apparitions. They range from the malevolent to mischievous, and occasionally bring good fortune to those who encounter them.
Andon - A type of Japanese traditional lighting equipment. It's a lamp made by stretched paper over a frame of bamboo, and it stays on the ground when it's big sized.
Kingyo Sukui - It means Goldfish Scooping. It's a game, and it's explained during the chapter.
Poi - Used in the Kingyo Sukui. It's a round plastic frame with a hand grip, and thin paper on the frame.
Ace waited for two days before going back to searching for prey. Even with the anxiousness he felt at thinking about the exorcist being so close while he was doing nothing, a promise was a promise. He hadn't said to Nami how many days he was going to lay low, so two would have to suffice.
It wasn't like she seemed to mind it this time, anyway. When he found her looking for him the night before last, she seemed equally excited about the news. In fact, she had been planning to tell Ace about it before suggesting they go eat something special to commemorate. Of course, she still made him pay for their dinner, but since he was in a good mood he didn't mind for once.
Ace smiled softly at the memory. She might not show it, but Nami was also worried and wanted the plan to succeed as quickly as possible. She was, however, better at keeping a level head, which Ace had to admit had helped him a lot.
Rising from a bench with a heavy sigh, Ace started walking while looking at the people around him with sharp careful eyes. Simply attracting a traveler at night wouldn't be good enough this time, so he had to carefully choose his target from the residents of the city. It'd be bad if he was discovered too soon, but he still needed to make the rumor keep spreading.
"For some reason, this is harder than it should be." Ace passed a hand through his hair with a frown.
So far, the only people who passed were accompanied by others or in a hurry, and he'd prefer an easier target. He'd have to talk alone with his chosen prey to enthrall them, and for it to work, he couldn't be rushed.
The day I start again has to be a bad one, huh. Maybe walking around will get me a better result. Now, if I could only find that blond traveler. He'd be great… Ace sighed mentally. He couldn't search for him now, but maybe they would cross paths again and make things easier for Ace.
Luckily, it wasn't all that long before he finally found someone who fit what he needed. The woman didn't ask many questions, but seemed well aware of what was going to happen – or what she thought was going to happen. She took him to her house, and they chatted on the way, making it seem like they were friends to anyone who looked.
The pictures and male clothes in the woman's house showed she had a husband and a son, but neither was present. The place seemed well taken care of and used by more than one person, which excluded the possibility of them being dead. A cheating wife, then. Well, it's not my business.
Ace was quickly taken to her room, and she asked if he wanted anything to drink or eat. Ace had to avoid grimacing at the thought of human's food: only a few suited a Kitsune's taste, after all. Instead, Ace smiled charmingly and urged the woman to him in a subtle way. Despite his calm exterior, he knew very well he couldn't waste much time there. He had much to do, after all
Just as planned, Ace exited the house a while later, stomach already full.
"Makes me feel a bit bad knowing she's probably gonna die too." Ace murmured to himself while thinking of the sleeping woman. Then he shrugged. "Nah, I really don't feel guilty. It's her own fault for wanting it, anyway."
As soon as he was back on the street, Ace analyzed his surroundings; it wasn't so early anymore, so there was a lot more people outside. He started walking leisurely while humming a song, and observed with growing determination the men and women passing by him. He'd be quicker in finding new prey this time.
He was about to turn a corner, when a familiar smell reached his nose. A smile grew on his face, and he turned to greet the person, only to stop in surprise.
Like he expected, he saw Nami in her normal human form close to a human – probably her next target to pickpocket. The problem in the scene came when Ace focused on the human who, instead of being oblivious to Nami's tricks, was glaring at Nami and held one of her wrists in a grip. It took Ace one more second, but the realization he knew that man hit him like a tidal wave
Dammit! Of all the people to catch Nami red-handed, it had to be the blond traveler?!
The man seemed to be talking in a low tone, since no one was looking at them, while Nami was trying to pull her wrist free. From where he was, Ace couldn't see her expression, but he knew she was apprehensive. It wasn't every day she was caught about to steal from someone, after all.
Willing his shock down, Ace frowned and started walking towards them. He needed to think of a quick explanation to get Nami away from there and, if possible, still not lose the interesting prey.
However, before his mind could come up with something, Nami pulled her wrist free from the blond's grip and ran away in the opposite direction of where Ace was.
"Wait!" Ace shouted, only to realize a second later his mistake.
Instead of Nami turning, it was the traveler who did. The man's eyes looked around and, to Ace's dismay, locked right on him. Recognition shined in them, and Ace could almost see the gears in his head moving to make a connection between him and Nami.
Ace didn't wait to see what the man's reaction would be. He started running after Nami, trusting his sense of smell would help him even with so many people around. Only when he was on the outskirts of the city, almost in the forest, did he find her. Ace looked back and when sure he wasn't followed, he approached Nami.
She was grumbling to herself with crossed arms while leaning on a tree. Ace couldn't understand what she was saying, but he was sure she was cursing the blond traveler.
"That was close, huh?" He commented getting closer.
Nami startled, her wide eyes going to him. "Oh, it's you."
"You sound so excited to see me…"
"I thought you were someone else, that's all."
Ace sat on the ground near Nami with a heavy sigh. "You mean the blond traveler?"
"Traveler?" Nami finally turned fully to him with a confused look. Ace used the opportunity to search any possible injuries. As he expected, he found none, not even a red mark present on her wrist to show what had happened. "Wait, you saw that? And you know him?!"
"I only arrived shortly before you went away." Ace scratched his head. "And more or less. I only got to talk with him for a bit when we met."
Nami hummed in understanding while a frown formed on her face. "New prey?"
"Maybe? Either way, after two days ago and how he saw me calling after you today, it's gonna be somewhat difficult."
At Nami's raised eyebrow demanding an explanation, Ace told her about how he met the blond man. When he finished, she sighed in annoyance.
"He's definitely weird."
Ace blinked surprised. "You're not going to reprimand me?"
"Well, you are stupid for letting you guard low. If you had been careful, just hearing the dogs wouldn't have made you lose control over your form." Nami shook her head. "But that's not important, if he didn't see your ears. My problem is with that man in general."
"Because he caught you stealing from him? That's not so weird. I mean, you have a high success rate, but a human catching you is not impossible."
"No, but if I'm in his blind spot and still didn't pull the pouch from his pocket, then he shouldn't notice anything! He just… turned to me out of nowhere!" Nami huffed. She looked annoyed to the side and bit her lip soon after, seemingly to be lost in her thoughts.
Ace crossed his arms and closed his eyes. If Nami had been careful as she said, then it was uncommon for a human to notice her. Besides mythical creatures, there was only one type of humans that Ace could think that were remarkably good at it, but those were almost extinct nowadays.
"Yeah, that's a problem." Ace sighed. "If we consider he was born as a human, unless he's a ghost samurai, I don't know how he did it."
"He's not; other humans could see him. I'm not even sure he could be one of us. He seemed just like another human, disregarding his hair color." Nami stared at the ground. "Maybe he is a samurai… And I bet he was carrying a lot of money in that pocket! He got so angry when I tried to get that pouch!"
Ace snorted at Nami's last comment before adding. "But it's been a few decades since the edict prohibiting people from carrying swords. I thought by now all samurai were dead or locked in prison, since they didn't accept the loss of their weapons. Well, maybe he escaped, but then wouldn't he want to carry a sword? It's a samurai's pride, right?"
"That's what I've heard about them, which is why it makes no sense!" Nami groaned. "Be really careful if you're still planning on going after him."
"I will, don't worry." Ace rolled his eyes smirking. "But why are you even worried about him? A human, even if a samurai one, can't do anything to me. Most mythical creatures can't too."
"Even if that's true, this cocky attitude of yours is terrible. It only brings you trouble." Ace only looked to the side, so Nami sighed. "Even so, there's something different about him." Nami pursued her lips. "It's annoying that I can't figure out what exactly."
"Maybe he's cursed." Ace suggested while poking her, signaling for her to join him in the ground.
"Well, he definitely is with you going after him." Nami rolled her eyes playfully. Nonetheless, she sat down on one of the roots of the tree.
"Hey!"
With that, the tense atmosphere was broken, and they started laughing.
"No, but really. Don't worry about it, he's probably just a lucky human." Ace added after he stopped and got his breathing under control. Then another thought came to his mind and he sobered; the bubbling anxiousness had come back. "Talking about humans, did you hear any other news about the exorcist?"
A sigh left Nami's lips. "No, nothing. He still must be in the neighboring city, and will probably stay for a while longer. I heard some youkai were creating havoc over there, so he's gonna have some work to do."
Ace grumbled in frustration. "If it's gonna take awhile, then why can't we go there and make things quicker?"
"Because this city's location doesn't help us. I told you this before, weren't you listening?" When Ace didn't meet her eyes, Nami sighed. "Sometimes I wonder why I even bother."
"Because you're a really patient person who loves me!"
Ignoring Ace, Nami continued. "Like I said when you weren't paying attention, this city is mostly helpful to the cities close to it, not to Japan's economy. Adding to that, it's located high up in the mountains, making reaching here more difficult. With all that, the construction of the rail lines coming here haven't been finished, so people can only use the old roads, and that takes days."
"That's an obstacle for humans, not for us." Ace crossed his arms.
"Yes, but we're not that quick. If we go there, the exorcist might start his journey and we won't know to which city. If that happens, it's going to be a pain to find him again. If we attract him here, we can create a trap to help us." Nami stretched and rose up. "Right?"
"Yeah… But it's still frustrating how we have to stay still." Ace grimaced but also stood up.
"You've been doing it for a while now; you can survive a little bit longer."
"I guess so, but I need a distraction. I'll keep the rumor going, so the exorcist will definitely come, but these humans aren't interesting. I might try to search that blond traveler, after all…"
Nami only rolled her eyes while Ace chuckled.
"Then be a good succubus Kitsune and go do your job." Nami made a shooing motion with her hands.
"Alright, alright. I'll see you at nigh-"
Ace interrupted himself when they both turned and saw a human gaping at them.
They stayed in silence for a second before the woman gave one step back. Her shoulders started trembling while her eyes widened with fear filling them.
"You heard our conversation, didn't you?" Ace passed a hand through his hair.
"I can't believe I lowered my guard like you." Nami grimaced. "What do we do with her?"
Ace hummed in thought. He analyzed the paralyzed woman in front of him before shaking his head. "It's a pity, but I don't think I can make her useful. She seems too scared to want anything to do with sex."
"Then we have to kill her and hide the body." Nami rolled her eyes. "Great. At least there's no one else close." By then, Nami's fluffy ears had appeared on top of her head, and her tails were swaying behind her.
Ace did the same and soon felt the relief of his natural ears and three tails appearing again. He concentrated for a moment on the sounds around them and confirmed that the closest humans weren't anywhere close to them. At least they had chosen a mostly deserted street to talk, or it could have been worse.
"Let's not waste time." Ace started going forward, observing with mild-interest how the woman went back until she hit the wall of a house.
"W-wait! Please, don't kill me! I-I won't tell anyone what I heard! I promise! Please!"
Ace crossed his arms a few feet away from the begging woman. Did she really think they would believe in that?
When Nami joined him, Ace saw the terror growing in the woman's eyes. "Yo-you should be ashamed! Of-of thinking of k-killing an innocent person! Doesn't it-it bother you at all?!"
"It's pity for you, but we don't care about that. Kitsunes don't really follow human's morals, you know."
Ace smirked while Nami finished speaking.
Then they pounced.
Ace sighed and went to the side as two more kids passed by him running. He heard their mother yell a 'don't forget to be careful!' from somewhere behind him, and the children barely turned to shout back they knew it. Others of their age soon joined them, and their excited voices could be heard even from where Ace stood.
He rolled his eyes and watched idly while the kids' mother started talking with another woman, both wearing beautiful kimonos. All around them, other people were dressed similarly with traditional clothes for the night, a rare sight nowadays since more humans started adopting the western-style garments.
It wasn't common for this small city, from what Ace had gathered, but once in a while they held a festival to commemorate their good fortune and to thank some god. During the day, some humans were in charge of organizing the decorations while the merchants set up their stalls in key points. At night, everyone went to the streets to celebrate.
Ace didn't mind these festivals much; they were lively, with all the paper and bamboo lamps distributed around illuminating the streets, and he always got a nice snack with so many humans around. He only disliked how this festival occupied the road that went to the temple completely; that rendered his habitual plan of getting a traveler useless.
I guess I don't need that place to find prey tonight. There are so many possibilities around here that I don't even know where to start. I just need to find one who will take me to their home because with the streets so busy like this…
Ace started walking around trying to decide what he should do. This day had been quite productive for his plan, so he didn't feel the need to hurry. He might as well enjoy the night and laugh at a few humans for a while before finding a new prey.
I wonder what Nami is doing… At least with her, I'd have company to do something. Oh well, maybe I'll see her around sometime.
Since he was distracted by his thoughts, Ace didn't see where he was going to and almost bumped into a kid, who completely ignored him and kept walking. Ace frowned at her and watched her go to two friends who were surrounding a big andon. They were looking with wonder at the shadows the flame inside it created on the paper. One of the boys started poking one of the bamboo stalks, saying to his friends that he was going to open it.
Ace smirked and moved one of his index fingers in a subtle circular motion. As he wanted, the flame inside the andon accompanied the movement and wavered in a sharp way. The children's amazed gasp and the boy jumping away were expected, but still made Ace chuckle.
He played with the flames from afar for a while longer, making it dance and entertain the children with its shadows. However, when more kids gathered around it, he stopped. No need to bring too much attention to himself.
The kids started leaving soon after, disappointed that nothing else was going to happen. Ace followed some with his eyes – they weren't so bad when they didn't almost run over him - before something blond caught his eyes.
Ace smirked, satisfied; he found what he needed to kill his boredom.
The blond traveler was leaning against a large tree watching with a soft smile as some women and men danced with the music in the background. He had his arms crossed and a laid-back posture, seeming to be at ease.
"He's really handsome, huh. I chose well this time." Ace whispered to himself with a smirk after he checked the man. Then he frowned. "He won't be very happy to see me after that thing with Nami a few days ago. Maybe he won't remember me…?"
The blond leaned down to get something, and only then Ace noticed there was a small uncorked bottle of sake by the blond's feet. Ace's eyes followed the man's movements as he brought it to his lips and took a long sip. After that, he put it down once again, licked his lips and went back to watching the dance.
Oh, I'm going there, even if he remembers me. It's only my luck the attractive ones aren't always the easiest humans to fool, so I won't lose my change to get this man. Besides, he drank a bit, so that might be in my favor.
With this set in his mind, Ace strolled until he was close to the tree. He put on a friendly smile and greeted the man, ready to strike a conversation. The blond turned to look at him and his dropped eyes narrowed. He didn't say anything.
…he definitely remembers me…
"So, I… wanted to apologize for the other day." Ace hesitated for a second; he needed to say something that would make the man want to talk with him. An idea popped up in his mind. "I saw what my friend was doing, and I wanted to apologize for it." Ace bowed his head, but the blond's expression hadn't changed when he looked back up.
"And why are you the one doing it instead of your thief friend?" The man questioned.
Ace grimaced and scratched his head. "She's not feeling very well today, so she didn't come to the festival. Since I saw you, I decided to do it for her." I hope Nami never discovers about this. "You see, my friend has a compulsive habit to steal money whenever she can. We've been traveling together for a while, and our money is starting to end, so I guess that only makes it worse."
Then, with an expression Ace hoped showed he was sorry, he bowed once again. "I'm deeply sorry for what happened. Really."
When Ace looked at the blond again, he seemed to be analyzing him with a thoughtful expression. After a while, the man sighed. "Alright. She didn't get anything, so no harm done." One of the man's hands hovered over one of the pockets of his pants, probably the place where the pouch with money Nami almost stole was in. Ace wondered if this was the man's way to see if he would try to do something too. "Just make sure to look out for her so this won't happen again."
"Right. Thank you." Ace grinned. "I still don't know your name. I'm Ace."
"Marco." Marco nodded.
"So, Marco, you said you were a traveler, right? What do you think about the festival?"
"It's not different from others I've seen, but it's still nice." Marco had turned his eyes back to the dance while he spoke. "People were quite excited for it, yoi."
Ace hummed in agreement, trying to hide his satisfied grin. Marco seemed willing to talk, so Ace would use the opportunity well. No need to hurry and lose his interesting prey.
"That's true. It was impossible to walk around during the day without seeing someone preparing something for the festival or talking about it." Ace rolled his eyes. "The kids are loving it, that's for sure. I've almost been run over by them a few times."
"Tell me about it." Marco snorted. "The stalls with games are all spread out, so seeing them running is to be expected."
"Games?" Ace frowned. He didn't remember any from when he was walking around.
"Yeah, didn't you see them? They're pretty popular, yoi."
Ace only shrugged. He knew that what he and humans considered games were different from each other, but did Marco mean those silly boxes filled with water that held floating objects? Either way, he didn't care about those so called games.
Marco turned to him with a curious look, and Ace realized he probably hadn't seen him shrug. Ace opened his mouth to answer, but Marco beat him to it.
"Hey, you said you were traveling too, right? How long are you staying here?"
Ace blinked surprised at the unexpected question. "I'm not sure. Probably not much longer, but we don't have an exact date to go away. What about you?"
"Something along those lines." Marco seemed in thought while analyzing Ace once again. Ace avoided the urge to fidget; something in those unusual blue eyes staring at him made him nervous. They hadn't been talking for long, and Ace knew he didn't say anything that could be taken wrong - he had plenty of experience and knew how to control that - so what was the reason for that look? Was he being judged?
He waited for Marco to say something, but after a while of silence, he sighed in exasperation inside his head. Just when I managed to make him talk. This is going to be harder than I thought.
Ace smiled brightly and tilted his head. "Do you want to find one of those stalls then? I didn't see them, but there might be something fun to do… We're like tourists here, so we should enjoy what we can of the festival! Besides, it's not always I get the chance of having such a handsome companion for myself."
Whatever Ace expected for an answer, it wasn't Marco chuckling. Ace controlled his surprise and annoyance – was he being mocked? - by distracting himself with thoughts of how Marco was even more appealing when laughing.
"I'll have to agree with you, yoi. Let's go?" Marco smiled amused.
Ace grinned back. "Sure."
Marco leaned down to get the bottle of sake and they moved to the next garbage can. He took a long sip on the way, and Ace watched shamelessly as he licked the few drops that trickled from the corner of his mouth. Marco turned to Ace after he threw away the bottle, and Ace kept looking at his mouth for one more second before moving his gaze to the blue eyes.
"Do you know where any of those game stalls are?" Ace asked, smiling as if nothing out of ordinary had happened. He knew Marco had noticed him stare, since he raised one of his eyebrows, but Ace took it as a positive sign when he didn't appear bothered.
"I think I saw a Kingyo Sukui stall close to here, so we can start by there." Marco suggested and led the way.
Ace started a small talk about the first thing that came to his mind, which happened to be the dancers they passed by. Marco was easier to talk with than Ace first thought, and the conversation flowed so well that Ace was encouraged. It was still early, meaning the festival would last for a long while, and Ace had plenty of time. The night was looking promising.
Marco suddenly stopped at the end of a small line leading to a stall. Ace noticed the small plastic pool filled with water and sighed internally. He had been hoping it'd be something different, but it ended up being a water game. The only difference in this one was how it had goldfishes swimming through it instead of floating objects.
Ace stared at the pool with a frown, trying to figure out why humans thought it was a fun game. There were some kids waiting in the line as well as a young couple and a few adults, so it looked like age didn't matter much.
"You never played it before, right?" Marco's voice snapped him back from his thoughts.
"No." Ace shook his head. "How do you play it?"
"It's simple. You get a poi and have to scoop as many fishes as you can from the water."
"Seems easy." Ace raised his eyebrows. What was the purpose of such a game?
Marco smirked and chuckled, a perfect expression that showed he knew something Ace didn't. "You shouldn't judge something based on what it looks like."
Ace rolled his eyes exasperated; he liked the smirk on Marco's face, but a human acting as if he knew more than him was ridiculous. Ace decided to change the subject and was thankful Marco didn't comment anything about it.
Their turn arrived soon, and Ace copied Marco's action in kneeling beside the plastic pool, making sure to brush Marco's shoulder briefly with his own. Ace pretended not to notice when Marco glanced at him before paying the owner of the stall. Marco received a bowl with water and a round plastic object with a thin paper on the frame, and offered both to Ace.
"Now you get a fish with this scooper and put it in the bowl." He explained.
Ace nodded and turned to the pool. He chose a fish and used his keen eyesight to watch it without difficulty. He quickly moved the scooper underwater and got it. With a satisfied smirk, he pulled it from the water, only for his smile disappear as the right side of the paper tore and the fish fell back in the water.
"You've got to be kidding me." He murmured indignant.
A chuckle coming from his side made him turn and glare at Marco. He wasn't even trying to hide his mirth, looking at Ace with crossed arms.
"So? It's not completely torn, you can keep trying."
Ace huffed and his attention went back to the pool. One more try and another fish fell back to the water with another part of the paper being torn. By then, Ace was openly glaring at the object in his hand, which seemed to make it even funnier for Marco.
Ace took a deep breath; he wasn't going to lose to a stupid human game. He would get one fish, and then they'd get as far as possible from that stall.
He took a while longer to find a fish who wasn't as surrounded by others before lowering his hand until the scoop was close to the water. Ace only started moving when the fish got close enough, but before he could strike, another hand held his in a firm grip and guided his movements. Only the part of the poi that still had paper was lowered, and, in a swift move, it snagged a goldfish. Ace moved the bowl close to the scoop, and the fish was dropped into it gently.
Ace ignored the owner of the stall congratulating him and getting the bowl from his hand, instead turning to look at Marco. He had the same smirk on his face and held Ace's hand for one more second before releasing it.
"It's an easy game, right?"
The teasing tone wasn't lost on Ace, who huffed in response. He watched with growing frustration Marco say something to the owner of the stall. Ace couldn't figure out what Marco was thinking, and that annoyed him. At first, he hadn't seemed the least bit interested, but now he did. Ace praised himself in being good at reading humans, but Marco was a bit difficult for his liking.
I should to act soon before he changes his mind.
The owner of the stall laughed and gave Marco a small glass container filled with water with the goldfish inside. He thanked the man, and they both left the stall quickly, not wanting to delay the people waiting at the line.
"Here's your prize for the game." Marco smiled while offering the container to Ace.
"Heh, I guess I need to thank you for that." Ace rolled his eyes, but accepted it nonetheless.
"What should we do now? Search for another game?" Ace frowned, making Marco chuckle. "I guess not."
Ace stopped and put a hand on his chin. "What about… The music presentation? By now, the dancers must have finished, so it's going to start soon."
Marco nodded. "Sounds good to me. I've heard many people talking about it, so it's probably good."
"With a good companion, even if it was boring, it'd turn interesting." Ace smirked.
Marco rolled his eyes. "You're quite straightforward, aren't you?"
"I guess I am. Why, does it bother you?"
"No, I don't mind." An amused smirk grew on Marco's face.
"That's good." Ace put on his charming smile before tugging slightly on Marco's hakamashita. "Come on, it's this way."
The rest of the night passed on smoothly and looking even more promising to Ace. During the presentation, he kept a small conversation with Marco, and used the time they stayed in silence to lean on him. Just as he expected, Marco didn't seem to mind and even flirted back. By the time it finished and the crowd watching the presentation dispersed, Ace was sure he'd get his last snack of the day. What he needed now was the right time to act.
Marco suggested they go buy something to eat, and Ace had to pretend not being hungry while hiding his disgust at the fried squid on a stick. Instead, he concentrated on the people around them, noticing with satisfaction how the sleepy kids were finding their parents and most were going home.
Ace led Marco on an aimless walk through the streets for a while longer until he finished eating. When he did and threw away the stick, Ace sighed in relief inside his mind before putting a hand on Marco's shoulder to get his attention.
"The festival is ending now, so I guess I should get going." Ace let his hand fall before grinning. "Unless you have anything in mind for us to do." With all the flirtation through the night and the innuendo in his voice, he was sure Marco would get the meaning behind his words.
Not disappointing, Marco smirked at him. "I suppose I have. You know, Ace…" He held the back of Ace's hand in a soft grip. "You're interesting, and I like it." Marco leaned in, and Ace felt a shiver go down his spine.
He idly noticed the usual anxiousness he felt for being closer to his goal didn't appear, but didn't dwell on it for long; the human in front of him held most of his attention anyway. He really was lucky in finding such good prey this time.
Marco's breath reached his ear before his hand brushed Ace's face briefly. "But, you know… I'm harder to convince than this. You've got to try harder."
When Marco leaned back, a smirk was clear on his face. Then, with a wave and a bid of goodnight, he left.
Ace blinked surprised at the figure walking leisurely away from him. For a few seconds he stood there, trying to process what he had heard. It definitely wasn't what he'd wanted, but if it got him a future satisfying snack and some fun with a good chase in the meantime, then what was the problem?
A smirk appeared on his face.
"And the game begins."
