Akito and the Loonatics

chapter 44

Once the game was over, Akito had to rush home so then he wouldn't be late, but when he got to the tower, Ace didn't look too happy with him.

"Ace..." Akito greeted softly and nervously.

"Do you have any idea what time it is?" Ace asked.

Akito looked at the time and knew that he was completely late. "I'm sorry, Ace..."

"I was worried about ya, kid," Ace continued. "I'm glad you're okay, but you could've gotten hurt! I don't know what your home is like, but the city's dangerous after dark."

"I really am sorry, Ace." Akito apologized.

Ace knew what he had to do and knew that he wouldn't like it, but since Akito's parents weren't here, he had to fill in for Akito's father.

"Am I in trouble?" Akito asked.

"Sorry kid, but until the next mission, you're gonna have to stay in the tower for a couple of days." Ace grounded him.

"That's fair..." Akito accepted the consequences of his actions. He then went inside, already knowing that he wouldn't be allowed outside until the next mission. 'Well, that punishment was less horrible and less painful than I thought it'd be.' he thought to himself.

Ace looked firm, he didn't want to hurt the kid, but he still had rules to follow, whether he was home or not. Leo was already asleep on Akito's bed, lightly snoring. Akito smiled at how cute Leo seemed when the male Fuzz-Z was asleep. Leo purred a little. Akito smiled, he quickly changed into his pajamas and joined Leo for a good night's sleep, even if he was technically grounded now.

Ace looked as Akito went to sleep and knew that the punishment he gave Akito might have been not enough, but he didn't know how else to punish the kid.

"You okay, Ace?" Lexi came to see Ace again.

"I grounded Akito," Ace said, not feeling too good about it. "As in I punished him for being out so late."

"You act like he's your kid or something." Lexi teased a little to make light of the situation.

"Well, since his father or mother aren't here, I have to show him discipline ." Ace said.

"I guess... But nothing too serious like hitting..." Lexi spoke softly. "My dad hit... A lot..."

"Don't worry, the punishment was just that he's going to stay in the tower for a couple of days until our next mission." Ace said.

"That should be fair enough." Lexi replied.

"Yeah, I guess." Ace shrugged.

"At least he had fun..." Lexi took his hands.

Ace looked down to their joining hands, looking back into her eyes. "Yeah, I suppose so..."

Lexi gave him a small smile. They then looked almost like they were about to kiss.

"Hey Ace, where's my magazine!?" Duck called from his room.

This just made the two groan out of annoyance.

"Guess I better get him..." Ace mumbled as he walked off.

"Night then." Lexi gave him a nod.

Thanks to Duck, Ace's and Lexi's moment alone was ruined. Lexi sighed, she was very disappointed in what had happened.

As the days went by without any missions, Ace did keep Akito occupied by his training, which had seemed to gotten much harder.

Ace ended another demo and went to the boy. "You okay, kiddo?" he asked in concern.

"Y-Yeah, the training has just been much more intense than usual lately." Akito said.

"Hm..." Ace looked to him. "You take it a lot better than I thought you would, being a seven-year-old and all."

"Yeah, I guess I do." Akito said.

"Maybe you just need a break." Ace offered.

"Maybe a little break wouldn't hurt." Akito said.

Ace turned off the training and got him a soda as a refresher.

"Thanks, Ace." Akito said.

Ace smiled and let the boy enjoy the soda.