Relearning

Chapter 2: A Purge

"You can go." Lebreau said as she wiped the counter. Ace looked up from his plate of freshly made salad. He didn't really like salad in general, but he ate it because he didn't want to bother anyone.

"Wait, are you sure?" he asked, placing his fork down. Lebreau stopped for a moment and looked at him.

"I'm serious. Besides I've been running this place long before you came here. You on the other hand, need to see the sights around here." She said.

"But I--" Ace began, but she cut him off.

"Up-pap-pap! I don't want to hear it. Just hang out with Maqui and Yuj tonight. You'll never know. You might end up remembering something if you see the fireworks." Lebreau asked.

Ace shrugged as he looked to the side. "I....I suppose."

"See? Now stop being stubborn about helping and have fun tonight, alright?" she said, resuming her task of wiping the counter.

"Alright...I was just making sure." Ace said as he went back to his salad. Even though he gave up, he felt that he should've tried a little harder to convince her, but he did make a promise to Maqui and Yuj that he would join them. Sighing, he finished up his salad and washed the dishes. For the rest of the day, he decided to help Lebreau as much as he could.

When it was nearly time for the fireworks, Ace just finished sweeping the front. He took a look at the nearly dark skies and stared. He couldn't help but think about what was he doing here. He couldn't remember anything other than the basics. His name and his age was as clear as day, but everything else was just...

"Ace!"

Snapping out of his trance, Ace blinked and nearly jumped in surprise. Maqui was waving a hand in front of his face.

"Heeey! You okay there, Ace?" Maqui asked. "I've been trying to get your attention for the past few minutes."

"I'm fine." Ace answered quickly, shaking his head. "Is it almost time?"

"Yeah, I came to drag you away just incase you get second thoughts." Maqui said honestly. Ace couldn't help but give him a look.

"I won't, geez, Maqui." he said. "I'll be right back in a few."

Ace turned on his heel and hurried back inside. The bar was somewhat busy, but he could tell that Lebreau was handling herself well. He put away the broom and disappeared into the back. He slipped into the room that Lebreau gave him. It used to be a storage for all of their weapons and such, so he was a little wary of slipping on a random bullet on the ground. Luckily, it only happened to Gadot and not him.

His room only held the normal, simple furniture any bedroom would have: a bed, a nightstand with a lamp on top, and a dresser with a mirror. Ace didn't really mind the dark as he grabbed his jacket sitting on his bed and slipped it on. Although, just as he left he room, he heard something hit the floor. Pausing, he looked down and spotted one of his cards.

"How did that fall out of my pouch...?" he muttered to himself as he picked it up. He only took a glance at the card face before heading back out. Once he got to the bar, he didn't have to go to Lebreau to tell her he was heading out. She was giving him the look that told him to just go.

"Okay, I'm back!" Ace said as he met up with Yuj and Maqui right outside the bar.

"About time! The fireworks are about to start." Yuj said as he placed a hand on his hip.

"Yeah, come on, Ace! You're gonna love it." Maqui said as he took off. Ace barely had the chance to say anything as Yuj followed after Maqui into the crowd. He nearly lost sight of them as he trailed behind them. The crowd was big, unlike any he'd really seen before, and they were all there to watch the fireworks. He spotted a few soldiers standing by, but they seemed to be waiting for the fire works too.