*dripdripdripdrip*

A morning too perfect for the day that was about to unfold.

It was pouring outside with clouds covering the skies, leaving the road, the houses, and the sidewalk, all a murky, wet grey.

Ace woke up and sat up in his bed, lifting his arm and rubbing his eyes.

He had a tired look on his face, not getting as much sleep as he hoped, but who could blame him?

This would be one of the most important days of his life.

Maybe he would look back on it one day and laugh, but he couldn’t do that right now.

His present feelings are way too different from what he would be feeling in the future.

His present feeling was one of sorrow and sadness, mixed in with a little bit of regret for not spending as much time as he could’ve of with his loved ones.

He got up from his bed, his blue basketball shorts rolled up his leg and his back hunched.

He walked over to the washroom in the upstairs hallway, closed the door, and brushed his teeth.

He would miss the small stuff like being able to take a proper shower, brushing his teeth in front of a proper sink, and changing his clothes every morning.

They’re not as important to him as his parents or friends but...

They’re still stuff he will think about while in Felona.

He finished up brushing his teeth and walked back to his room.

When he reached his room, he saw the blue-haired foreigner sitting up in the same position he was in just a few minutes ago.

Aliza stretched her arms out above her head and looked over to see Ace enter the room.

“Good morning, how’d you sleep?”

“Haha... wasn’t the best sleep ever but... just happy to get a few hours.”

Aliza stretched her arm out in Ace’s direction, asking him to pull her up.

Ace grabbed onto her hand and pulled her up, a nervous smile still on his face from the response he gave.

“I’ll try to stay out of your way today but... call on me when you need me.”

“Will do... I might need help with explaining the situation to one of my friends.”

“You’re also going to tell your friends?”

“Just one I’m really close with, he’d be worried if I didn’t show my face for a whole year.”

“Oh ok... tell me when, I’ll try to help you convince him.”

Ace nodded, as a confirmation, but also a way to throw over some gratitude for reliability.

“Oh... by the way... do you know where my backpack went? I didn’t see it when we got sent back.”

He looked around his room, thinking that he missed it the first time he looked around.

“You left it on the floor while we were training so it’s probably in the same spot.”

“Oh yeah... you’re probably right.”

“Do you have a bathroom I could use?”

“Go left from my room and it’s the first door.”

“Thank you.”

Aliza exited the room, and Ace started to think to himself.

What would he do for the whole 24 hours?

He would want to spend as much time as possible with his parents, but if he told them his situation, they wouldn’t be in the mood for any of that.

He wanted a regular day, maybe a movie, some basketball, some video games, just like he did before he left.

He didn’t want the whole day to be filled with tears and sadness.

He thought about not telling them about his situation right now...

“That would be wrong... Telling them at the last minute wouldn’t give them the chance to accept it.”

Ace thought for a little longer, trying to come up with the best solution.

“Ok... I’ll tell them at 10 PM.”

“That should be enough time...”

After coming to his first conclusion, he was already starting to have doubts.

“But would it be...? Is 2 hours enough...?”

“Can they accept it in 2 hours...?”

He didn’t know.

How would his parents take the news?

He didn’t know.

He didn’t want to put a mental scar on their hearts right after their reunion.

But... if he told them early, he wouldn’t get a proper goodbye.

It would just be crying all day.

He didn’t want that.

Whose feelings should he put first?

His own?

His parents?

He had no idea.

Just as his mind started to wander, trying to come to the best solution...

“What’re you so deep in thought about?”

“—?!”

Aliza returned from the bathroom and interrupted his deep thinking, causing Ace’s body to give a small jump.

He had been standing there thinking and talking to himself for a few minutes, not realizing how long he was there for.

“Nothing much...”

He didn’t want to bother her any more than he already had on this return home.

“You were thinking way too hard for it to be nothing, just tell me, brainstorming by yourself obviously isn’t working.”

Those words were pretty tempting, as his thinking didn’t get him anywhere, so he gave in quickly and confessed.

“Ok... I’ll tell you...”

“I’m thinking of keeping me returning back to Felona a secret until the end of the day...”

“I want a proper last day, not just one where my parents will be sobbing all day.”

“But if I tell them at the last minute, they won’t have enough time to properly think about it...”

“I don’t know if I should put my feelings first or my parents...”

He looked over at Aliza with a desperate expression, expecting a clue to the solution.

Before he could fully look up, his hand was grabbed, and he was pulled into the washroom.

“Hey.. what’re you doi--”

*SPLASH*

“Agh...”

Aliza threw some water in his face from the silver, running tap.

“The answer is obvious... both!”

Ace wiped off his face with a nearby towel and looked back at Aliza, his face with a desperate but questioning face on it.

“What do you mean, both? I’ve thought about it. What’s the right time? Will they be okay with that much? Will they be able to accept it? Am I allowed to be selfish? I’ve thought about it! But... I just don’t know...”

Aliza stood there, listening to his worries. After letting him finish, she threw her own thoughts at him.

“You may be their son and it’ll be hard to let you go, but... think about it... when did you accept your situation? Your situation is just as crazy as your parents, maybe even more crazy...”

“Not only that, but you accepted it on your own... they have each other to lean on and receive support from.”

“They’ll be fine. Just pick a time that feels right and that’s when you’ll tell them.”

She gave her honest opinion on what she has heard and seen so far. Ace trusted Aliza, but his worries took over once again.

“But... what if...”

“No buts! If you say “but” after everything, you’ll never get anywhere.”

She could see his worries coming back, so she cut in before he could continue falling into the rabbit hole that was doubt.

Her cut-in caused Ace to look at her once more and pay attention to the feelings and emotions she wanted to portray.

As he looked, he could see that her face was serious, maybe a little more on the angry side.

This made Ace realize... she was getting mad for his sake. She was helping him out of her own pure goodwill.

He decided to drop his doubts and trust Aliza with this.

“Haha... sorry...”

She really was a huge help.

He didn’t know how he could repay her.

“Sorry I can’t repay you at all, you’ve been a big help. I promise to repay you somehow, but I hope you’ll accept this for now.”

And he gave her a huge, genuine smile.

Aliza blushed a little, looked away, and spoke a little fast, embarrassed from the smile she received.

“Don’t worry about repaying me, I’m a traveler, experiences like this are payment enough.”

“And besides, I already told you that you’re fun to be around so don’t think too much of repayment or anything like that.”

Ace’s smile stuck to him for a little longer after her fast speaking, this time more because she was acting funny.

Once Aliza collected her thoughts, she spoke a little slower and more genuine.

“We didn’t come to this world on the best terms but... it was still nice to get a small glimpse of Earth.”

“Maybe I can return some time in the future if it’s possible...”

“I came here once... another chance might come.”

“Then, you can give me a proper tour and be happy while doing it.”

After thinking of repayment, Ace also thought that sounded nice.

“Maybe... if things go well on the other side, you might get another chance.”

Aliza put on a confident smile and brought her hand to her chest.

“Things will go well, you’ve got me as your teacher.”

That also got Ace feeling confident, remembering back on yesterday’s training.

“You were just as tired as me yesterday. Stop acting so confident.”

“No I wasn’t! I still had 2 hours left in me!”

“Haha, yeah right! In a week more of training, we’ll be out of energy at the same time. Remember this!”

“We’ll see about that, but before that comes, you’ll still be calling me ma’am.”

“And after about a month, you’ll be calling me sir and begging on your knees for some training.”

“Me? Begging in front of you? Hehehe, you’re a crybaby! You could never make me beg!”

“Watch me! I’ll make you beg so hard!”

Aliza blushed a little and looked away from Ace.

“*cough,cough* Sorry, that sounded a little dirty, couldn’t keep my composure.”

“Wha-?! I didn’t mean it like that!”

“Don’t get all embarrassed on me! That’ll make it even weirder!”

“You made it weird in the first place!”

They both looked away from each other for a few seconds.

Then they looked back and...

“Hahahahahahaha”

They laughed in unison, the bickering feeling a little refreshing.

That laugh they shared felt really good for Ace.

He never imagined himself laughing on the day he had to say goodbye to his parents.

Once again, he felt grateful for Aliza being here.

“Haha... didn’t think I would be laughing today.”

“Glad I could help out with that.”

---

------

Ace went back to his room and looked over at his clock to see 8:30 AM printed on the digital screen.

It was still only Wednesday so his parents most likely went to work.

He looked over to the front of his room to see Aliza also back at his room.

“My parents are probably at work, but I’ll go check really quick. Stay here for a little.”

Aliza nodded back.

As Ace left his room and started to go down the stairs...

*DING* *DING* *DING*

Somebody was ringing his doorbell over and over.

He didn’t know who it would be this early in the morning, but he went to check.

Once he got to the door, he could see a figure through the stained glass.

It looked to be someone around the same height as him, maybe a little shorter.

—Who would come to my house this early?

He thought for a few seconds before opening the door.

—Someone who knows me or my parents, is near my height, and knows where I live.

“No way!”

He swung the door as fast as possible once he thought of who it could be.

Only one person came to mind...

“ISA!!!!!”