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CHAPTER 6: ACE'S FUN DATE
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Ace had wanted to roam and find all the attendants to the wedding to comply with the lady's wishes to remain anonymous, and what better way than to kill all who those saw her at the wedding?
This was all very exciting. There was a secret foreigner that was playing the game with only him and Julius while everyone else was still struck with Alice. She was definitely NOT like Alice and he wanted to test how far he could take things before she broke down. He chuckled; he'd like to see how this foreigner reacted to be the cause of all those deaths. But then again, she was mercenary, and for what he knew of mercenaries, they weren't exactly emotional guys.
That had been his plan. However, rather than reaching other territories and getting lost as always, he found himself back to the tower faster than he expected and to a very amusing sight. Julius and the foreigner were giving him the back, seated at the couch, and she was shirtless and bra-less with Julius hands on her tattooed back.
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"You're pulling the moves on Aria without ME, Julius?! How could you!? I thought what we had was something special! - XD
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Julius turned around and stood up with a heavily blushing and an annoyed but surprised expression. -"What are you doing here!? Weren't you going to the castle?"
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"Oh? So my dear Julius wanted me out of here so he could get alone naughty time with our new foreigner? " – Ace's smiled remained- "Don't worry Julius. I don't mind sharing, I can have time with her later, you can enjoy and finish what you were starting.I'll just stay here and watch."- He put his finger to his chin –"Although now that I'm here I would like to join."
"It's not what you think!"- Julius could feel a vein beginning to pop on his forehead *_*
"But this seems fun and I'm part of this little foreigner secret, so I get to share too. "- Ace pouted.
"Typical…"- She murmured while rolling her eyes.
"So sharing you was something common between us? "- Ace smiled even more at the insinuation :D
"What!?"- Julius eyes widened at thinking the exact same thing as Ace.
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She ignored the question and stood up, still facing away from them, and putting back her shirt on. - "You accidentally ended up here again, right Ace?"
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"Or maybe I wanted to come here and so I'm here."- Ace answered. He had seen the blood stains on the fabric of her t-shirt – "Oh Ary! You need to go shopping. Your shirt is muddy!" – Of course he knew that the brownish red stains weren't mud, but he had come up with a plan that he wanted to try.
"Ary?" – She turned around fast to see him and her eyes gained a cold gleam -"Aren't you getting too familiar with someone you just met a little while ago?" – She snarled, but at the same time she felt certain warmness in the way he had said that word. He had begun calling her that not too long before the concert at the amusement park, which was the point when everything span out.
"But don't we know you far more that you are letting us know?"- His goofy smiled remained in place despite being surprised by her harsh reaction, and this question obviously meant far more than his words, but that passed undetected by her- "Shouldn't we get more familiar if we'll be working and living together?"
"We aren't living together Ace!"- Julius said with a faint blush, but the truth was that she at least was going to be living with him for the time being.
"You are, and I'll be moving in. " :D
"You can't do that. You have to fulfill your role 'knight'. "- Julius was completely serious.
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Ace smiled faltered for less than a second before rearranging – "I already pass much time here or adventuring. There wouldn't be any difference. I'm just changing my base camp."- He then put his arm over Julius shoulder and with his other hands held Julius jaw towards him as he leaned closer – "Don't worry Julius; I'll keep our little relationship secret."
Julius shoved the knight away from himself. He didn't know what the hell Ace was talking about but for some reason he considered that having Ace around wouldn't be such a bad thing, and he knew that such thoughts had something to do with this female.
There was silence after that until Aria, who was completely oblivious to the tension and mood of the place, decided to interrupt.
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"You are right Ace. I do need to go shopping for clothes and to get some stuff. Would you lend me your cloak?" – She said standing up to Ace.
"You wanna go now?"- Ace blinked at her at her readiness. He needed to get out too. – " I'll escort thy dame!"- He dramatically said while putting his cloak over her shoulders and his mask over her face. –"We can't have people knowing there's a new foreigner , right?" :)
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She nodded and headed to the door – "It's not necessary for you to come Ace… but I know that you will anyways, so let's go."
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"You are just going to head out now?"- Julius was confused and annoyed at her lack of care for herself – "You are hurt and tired"
"So?"- She rolled her eyes at him- "I would have to go anyways. I need to get some important stuff and after that I'm probably staying inside for a little while."- She turned once again on the door- "Supplies will have to wait, but is there anything else you need Julius?"
"I'm going too"- He wasn't exactly willing to let her go alone with Ace while she was in such condition.
"No, you aren't."-She shrugged her shoulders -"It would be suspicious if you both were seen with a cloaked person, not to mention that anyone could track us back to the clock tower just by seeing you. And the point is to not to be known"- She was utterly rational and practical with her argument.- "Everyone knows that Ace keeps roaming around, but you only go out when it's really needed Mr. hermit "
"She has very good points."- Ace put his hand on her shoulder, and although she stiffed she didn't take it off her.- "Don't worry Julius, we'll bring you something pretty."
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With that the two were off.
Julius groaned and turned to pick up the medical supplies and went to leave then in her room so that she could use them when she came back. Upon entering the room he spotted a piled up bunch of dark armored plates and he took notice that she had gone out without wearing her armor.
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("Well, she's with Ace. What's the worst that could happen?")
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He stopped what he was doing with a dead serious expression on his face and face-palmed hard. That hadn't been reassuring at all.
It in fact made him somewhat nervous... Maybe he could get out too? He needed to go and get food and other supplies anyways. He might as well go out now to get them.
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"You're taking me to a lone dark and secluded place? – Ace grinned when they entered a rundown building of old style and various floor quite away from any respectable street.
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She had totally refused to let him lead and told him that if he wanted to go somewhere else he could go alone, she was heading her own way. That for some reason had made him decide to follow her.- "Does that means you have taken me somewhere before? Should I be worried or should be exited Aria?... I think I'm excited anyways"
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"I'm not taking you anywhere this time Ace. You are just tagging along"- She ignored his inquiry and looked carefully around the place. – "Good. No one has been here in a while"
"That sounds cold. And here I was thinking you were leading me"- He put his hand over his sword's hilt and considered if he should make this ironic and kill her. –("Nha, that's be too easy ")- Her words had picked his interest anyways. He observed her move through the place like she owned it. She clearly knew her way around. -"Have you taken me somewhere else before?"
"Rather than taking you we went together. But … Oh, here we are."- She stopped her exploration when they reached a big bookcase that held nothing but a thick layer of dust.
"You seem to know this place well. Did you stayed here last time?" – Ace was interested in how she had been very evasive on many things, particularly where she had stayed.
"A few times"
"Why not with a roleholder"
"Did also a few times too. Everywhere really. The towers, the amusement park, the mansion, the castle, your tent…"
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Now THAT really caught Ace's attention. But before he could ask her or say something naughty she moved to the side of the bookcase and pressed something that made a clicking noise. Then she pressed the side of the bookcase and pushed to move it aside and revealed a hidden big room. It wasn't as dusty or rundown as the rest of the building, in fact it's simple design was elegant and efficient. One could camp here easily.
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"This is very fun" :D – Ace was thrilled by this mysterious girl. She was so full of secrets and surprises! She was weird and it confused him at times, however it was a nice kind of confusion, it was more like excitement because you never knew what she would pull out next… He then felt that this sensation was something he had felt before. – "You know? This is almost like a date. Me and you, together in a private place…"
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She huffed - "No it's not a date because it wasn't planned and appointed."
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"We should go camping sometime"
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She entered the room with Ace trailing behind and went straight for a mirror in the side wall – "We already went camping a lot. Will probably go again at some point" – She moved the mirror to make it move aside and reveal a hidden modern looking safe with buttons. She pressed them and it opened. From it she took out a small backpack and a couple stashes of money.
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"So we DO have a past adventuring together? And you have just invited me to go camping! Consider that a date! XD"- He look at the bunch of bill stashes she was putting in her backpack- "That's a lot of money."
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After checking its contents, from the backpack she took a charms bracelet and put in in her left wrist and an utility belt with some side hip bags which she put on before she began accommodating the backpack below the big cloak.
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"I'm very good at what I do and I charge what it's worth" – She reinstalled the mirror back in place and when they went out of the room she repositioned the bookcase while thinking than maybe she could tell Ace more to try another kind of strategy. If with Julius she kept information to a minimum, but with Ace she let on info in slow but continuous streaks, she could test both methods at the same time to see if they remembered her at all. – "And yes, we had a bunch of adventures Ace. There was this time when we roamed the woods, fell down a hill, ran from furious bees, stumbled upon a strawberry field, dealt with angry raccoons, got chased by a bear… and all that before we even set camp at night." –She closed her eyes and opened them again before stepping in front of him on her way out -" Which reminds that you own me a dinner. You didn't let me kill that bear…"
"Then as a knight I have to repay that debt. Let's go dine" – Ace jumped right at the chance. He couldn't believe that this girl had lived such things with him and seemed quite fond of the memory. He was beginning to want to regain those memories. Yes, it was hard to believe, but, he couldn't doubt her either for some reason.
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Both went back outside and noticed that time had changed to afternoon.
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"You don't have to repay that debt. You don't even remember it, so it does not count because I could be lying about that."- She shrugged her shoulders with a defeated sigh.
"It would be un-knightly to not trust a dame's word."- His smile was nice and way was he missing the chance to tangle her in her game. ^_^
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Aria's stomach answered for her with a hungry growl and Ace chuckled.
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"Alright. Let's go eat something. "- She agreed with her stomach. No way was she missing the chance for a free meal. ^_^
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They soon found themselves in front of an expensive looking restaurant that belonged to said mafia. Ace went straight to the faceless at the entrance that was looking at the book of reservations.
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"A table for too in a quiet and private place. charge it at the castle of hearts" – Ace said quite cheekily.
"We don't attend without a reservation and…. UURGGGHH! " – Too late did the faceless look at who he was talking to. Faster than he could realize his mistake, he was cut down by the knave's sword.
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Ace turned around to see if the girl looked startled or scared. But she was as impassive as if nothing had happened. Which shouldn't happen with a foreigner. When he had killed someone in front of Alice so suddenly, Alice had freaked out.
But hadn't she told them that she wasn't what they thought a foreigner would be?
Another man came out and saw the fading corpse and the knave's unamused smile and behind him a cloaked person. If the rumors were true, the mask and the bloodied cloak belonged to the executioner. He quickly bowed politely and in fear- "Sir knight! Sir executioner! We apologize profusely. We'll clear a table for you right away."
Ace sheathed his sword and with his smile in place spoke clearly – "mmhh hhh… That would be nice, but I also asked you for a nice place to talk. We have important things to speak while we eat and we'd like some more privacy Mr. faceless."
Aria caught on the charade and proceeded to retrieve the clock from the man Ace had just killed and put it away inside the cloak.
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"But sir! We are full!"
"Charge everything to the castle of hearts. Even add an extra fee"
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The faceless gulped down but nodded. -"Yes sir."- Then he ran back inside.
Ace turned to look at her impassive stance- "You don't show any pity? What a curious foreigner you are. Or should I call you 'executioner in turn' I did hired you, didn't I?"
She got annoyed but it was impossible to detect it bellow the tattered cloak and mask- "I told you once. The only mercy in me is in the world "mercenary". And I'm not killing anyone just because Ace. "–Her voice sounded wrong and somewhat digital despite not having her armor on. She put her fingers against her temple and shook her head- "If it weren't because you are repaying them for the trouble and because I'm hungry, I would drag you away from here for being so troublesome."
Without waiting for anyone to come back to get them to their seats, Ace went inside with Aria following him. However, once inside Ace's smile turned psychotically happy upon seeing the clients. It seemed that after all he could be able to kill various attendants to the party.
He got close to her ear to murmur in her ear- "As a knight I will comply to your wishes my lady. I'll help you remain anonymous"- He took out his sword again. – "The less people now at the wedding crasher the better, right?"- His sword transformed into an assault rifle and he began shooting the commensals and personnel.
The place became a chaos. Some customers tried getting away and were shot down, some others took out guns of their own and shot back but Ace was way too swift. The employees of the restaurant came fast and began shooting at the couple too while Aria took a charm from her bracelet and transformed it into an UZI, but rather than staying close to Ace, who was the main target, she only used it to clear a way and run for cover to the kitchen.
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"This a fun date !" :D – Ace finished taking everyone down fast and followed her to the kitchen, where a man was shooting at her while she was taking cover down a counter. -"Having fun with another man Aria!? Should I join?" – He said and shot the person from the kitchen´s entrance.
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Aria heard the man that was shooting at her fall down and she looked at Ace who has grinning like a happy idiot.
The knave calmly went to offer her his hand to get up- "I decided that I'm not sharing you with anyone but Julius" :)
She slapped his hand away and took of the mask, moving the cloak back to uncover her head. Her expression denoted her annoyance. – "Damn Ace! Now I'm practically out of bullets and everyone will target us anyways."- She stood up and went to turn off the ovens and serve herself and Ace a couple dishes that were ready and had managed to survive the ruckus.
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"But now we'll have a free meal" :) – Ace was surprised by her calm demeanor after this and by the fact that a foreigner had pulled out a gun of her own.
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She blinked and then opened and closed her mouth upon thinking about it. -"I can't really argue with that" – ¬3¬ She placed the dishes in a counter and dragged a couple high chairs for her and Ace, whom sat by her side with the same happy grin.
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"Hey Aria? How well do you really know me?" – The tiny though that she might had been closer to him than she let on had slowly wormed inside the knave's brain. She was simply too comfortable and cool around him. Either she was crazy or...
"Well enough Mr. Executioner and Sir Ace of Hearts. More than you know about me at the moment"- She barely interrupted her meal.
"That's not very informing" – Ace pouted and began eating himself. -_-0
"No, its not."
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She wasn't keen on conversation at the moment. She was very hungry and didn't even knew when had been the last time she ate anything at all. In that place she hadn't got any sense of time and she hadn't got the change to check her system's recordings. When she began eating the next dish, and before Ace could start conversation, an explosion was heard from the main entrance.
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"Hey bro! We'll be able to play, right? " – One voice could be heard in the distance. The words had been spoken loudly so that whoever was inside could hear them.
"Of course we can bro!" – Another voice answered the first.
Aria smacked her forehead and then pulled Ace's ear- "Look what you did!? Now I'm really in danger. Those are the bloody twins!"
"Ow,ow,ow! Ary that hurts!" – His smile widened despite the pain in his ear.
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She groaned.- "I'll escape on my own. This is YOUR mess."- Some shots were heard -"Es tu perrito y tu lo bañas. I'm out of here. " – She stood up and began heading to the service stairs that lead to the second floor.
Ace stood up fast and grabbed her by the hand before she was out of reach. She remained still for a second before breaking free of his grasp. He realized what he was doing and covered it with his serene smile- "Go back to the tower and we'll go shopping later" :)
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"Yeah, yeah." – She half ignored him and when the voices of the twins called out once again she looked away with haste towards the stairs as she began planning a couple escape routes.
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He truly didn't know why he had felt a pang in his clock when she was about to run away and leave him behind, but the feeling had been bad. Ace knew that he wasn't the brightest bulb in the box, but he wasn't a complete idiot either. That reaction had been too fast and too instinctual. He hadn't thought about it, he had just reacted and it had something to do with her going away. Something had definitely happened in the past with her that caused him to react like that and he was starting to wonder exactly what. -"I'll take care of this, Ary. "
She ran away without looking back while he unsheathed his sword once again and walked towards the door to the restaurant, wondering when he had gotten so comfortable with her as to call her "Ary".
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What do you think? I think that things will blow up even more. And I promise you that next chaps will be full of action.
5 reviews for next chap (same with any story).
I also remind you that there is a mature one-shot with Ace, but beware because it is M rated for a reason.