2435/Everything Coming Up Ace

Everything Coming Up Ace
Date of Scene:	27 March 2025
Location:	Fairy Drop Fashion
Synopsis:	While out shopping, Minako catches sight of Ace. A breif chase follows until she can snag hold of him to demand answers for his disapearance/death. They talk awhile, and just when it seems she might be able to get through to him to that he doesn't have to work alone anymore he vanishes on her. Again!
Cast of Characters:	Minako Aino, 222

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Minako Aino has posed:
It was those precious days of vacation before school started up again. This was the time of the youth, when they should be enjoying their time, relaxing, having fun, and hanging out. Minako had plans to make the most of it!

She's already elbow deep in the racks at Fairy Drop Fashion looking for something fun to wear this Summer looking quite a bit more relaxed than she had been for a bit. A pink top with ruffles is pulled out to hold up in front of herself considering the crop top with a critical eye before putting it back. She was nothing more than a regular shopper today!

Ace Saijou (222) has posed:
A regular shopper, with an irregular shadow.

She might have missed it entirely. A single glance aside to the window as she was putting her purchase back -- that happenstance was enough to catch the moment. She'll see a crowded sidewalk outside, pedestrians and city-folk making their way.

But perhaps some people have been on her mind more than others lately?. And so she'll spot them behind the back-and-forth crowd: a lone standout figure. A familiar fall of silver-gold hair, a slender line of jaw that once graced magazine covers and girlish dreams like, a rueful little smile...

Minako Aino has posed:
Minako Aino's hand hesitates on the hanger she'd been reaching for when her eyes slip out of focus to see past the clothes, the rack, the walls. Her eyes focus on a figure she'd once sought out with the zeal of an energetic young fan to focus on that pale blonde hair, and a figure that had grown a bit taller since she'd last seen him.

"Oh my god." Stiffening she jerks her head around to call out, "I'll be right back!" It's the only warning she gives the staff and the friend she'd been shopping with before simply running out of the store to the sidewalk beyond.

The door is flung wide, the heat of the day smacking her in the face as she races from the cooler interior of the shop to the air outside. Without hesitation she weaves between pedestrians to dash across the street seeking her target. Seeking Ace.

It was him. She knew it was him! She'd just spoken to Mamoru, and Usagi about him, and *there he was* out in the open for her to catch. Where he goes she follows with the fierce determination to catch him, her hair flaring behind her as she moves.

Ace Saijou (222) has posed:
By the time she starts running, he's already turning away. By the time she dashes out the door, he's already halfway down the street. And then around the corner, and out of sight.

She won't lose him, though -- once she's around the corner too, she'll see the back of him, a flash of pale gold hair over a black jacket. Infuriatingly, fate seems to conspire against her as *every* piece of foot traffic on the sidewalk is suddenly somehow going in the wrong direction (or so it must seem like), forcing her to weave and shrug past the crowd. So that even though he doesn't seem to be doing more than a brisk walk, he is somehow *still* managing to keep ahead of her.

Would she even notice amidst growing frustration, the crowds getting thinner? The noise and bustle of the city fading into the background as her chase takes her from thoroughfares to back streets, across alleys and through bylanes.

Until finally, the street is completely empty. A long, lonely stretch of paved path between two rows of buildings, and that lone figure already at the far end, about to turn around another corner and disappear...

Minako Aino has posed:
Minako Aino fought against the surging tide of people that seemed intent on just being in her way! It hadn't seemed so busy before. She'd not had any particular destination in mind before though, and certainly wasn't attempting to catch up with someone that had evaded her for years. Even back then she'd had a hard time catching him and it was *infuriating* in so many ways.

Silently cursing her choice of shoes for today she none the less manages to finally, finally catch sight of him with no one else in between. A deep breath is drawn to give her another surge of energy as well as to call out, "Ace!"

One final push forward and she lunges for him with arm outstretched to try and snag hold of his jacket sleeve.

Ace Saijou (222) has posed:
And amazingly -- impossibly -- he stops.

The moment his name is shouted, he stops. Not an illusion, not a hallucination; that reaching hand grasps solid cloth and the arm beneath it.

His head turns aside just a little -- not *quite* over his shoulder, just enough to show a familiar profile.

"Minako." His voice, all right. A quiet, wistful smile.

And then, as if to remove all doubt that it really is him... calls her by what to him, is her true identity.

"Princess... "

Minako Aino has posed:
Minako Aino grips hold of his arm just hanging onto him when he turns to regard her with that wistful expression. To call her name.

To call her Princess.

For just a moment her breath catches in her throat--but then she drops her head forward taking several deep breaths as she recovers from the impromptu chase. Her hand remains holding onto him so that he can't slip free at least for a few moments. Hopefully.

"You --" She begins, falters, and then takes another deep breath as she stands upright once more.

Gone was the young girl that he had known. In her place was a young woman that might be far closer to the 'Princess' he recalled from their past lives. The hairbow she wore was replaced by a new one that was a deeper red, and the center of it had a stylized orange gem broach. Probably not real, but it was sparkly and decent quality. Her attire was stylish as well. Shorts along with a dressy top that left her shoulders bare to the warmth of Spring.

All of this is easy to take in while she stands there with attention fixed entirely on him. Then her hand withdraws from him.

Only to bring up and smack at his back. Smack-smack-smack!

"I thought you DIED on me! You turned to dust! And now you show up again and what happened where were you!?" It's not full out hitting but she's definitely paying him back just a bit.

Ace Saijou (222) has posed:
"OW!!" Ace yelps as he's smacked like that, actually looking surprised as he looks full over his shoulder. "Ow ow ow!" She is indeed, not the same girl he remembers -- she is more weathered, more tested. And ow, that actually hurts!

"I *did* die!* he protests, turning to face her and raising his hands, trying to fend of any further smacking, well-earned or other.

"I -- got better?" he adds lamely, peering cautiously at her from behind his raised arms.

Minako Aino has posed:
Minako Aino stops her assault at least when he turns around to face her. It wasn't as cathartic to hit his defensively raised arms so she only allows herself a swat or two more before simmering down enough to actually listen to his explanation.

What little of it there was.

A deep breath is huffed out. "Okay. All right. We did destroy Queen Beryl and the Dark Kingdom, so maybe that brought you back." Maybe. Maybe. There were so many uncertanties around this. One such has her regard him with a softer, concerned expression.

"Do you still work for the Dark Company? ... Obsidian?" The Dark Company was no more. Obsidian however was around.

Ace Saijou (222) has posed:
The name of Obsidian gets a blank look, for reasons which may be explained shortly. The Dark Company however, is more recognizable, and Ace immediately shakes his head. "No, I -- no. It's me. I mean, it's *just* me, now. What that means, exactly... "

He trails off. And then tries again. "My memories -- they aren't clear. My mind was full of darkness, I remember that. The darkness is gone now, but -- so much of what I remember is cast in shadow. It makes the forms... difficult to recall. I do remember the Company. I remember Paris."

And then that, quiet, wistful smile as he adds in a softer tone: "And I remember you."

Glancing away however, giving a sigh as he adds, "The rest, I'm still piecing together. I remember our fight. I remember falling... disappearing. I remember darkness. For how long, I don't know. And then -- a silver light. A voice like a clarion -- no words, but a call. Calling me back. Not *just* me, but everyone. Everyone who had been lost... "

Glancing back to her now, and giving a wry smile. "And then... I woke up. Woke up in the quietest Hell, followed by the strangest Heaven. I woke up surrounded by stone, and the orderly dead: the catacombs under Paris."

Minako Aino has posed:
Minako Aino actually falls silent while listening to the explanation that Ace gives about the entire scenario. They must look odd to any who pass by: A pair of teens standing on the sidewalk having an in-depth conversation so seriously.

"Princess Serenity," Minako supplies when he speaks of a silver light and voice calling him back. That made sense then. Perhaps it was his re-appearance in the catacombs that had led Artemis to suggesting she search them to make certain there were no remnants of the Dark Kingdom. She had searched for months with nothing to show for it. The Dark Kingdom was gone.

Ace was here again though. Brought back.

"When we defeated Queen Beryl and Metallia, Princess Serenity used the Silver Crystal. It brought back those we'd lost in the battle."

Her mouth opens to say more only for no words to come momentarily as she tries to figure out where to go from here. It takes her a moment. Then she tries again.

"Are you going to disapear again? I have some friends I'd like you to meet. Hematite," she starts only to smile in case he gets the wrong idea. "Also thought you were dead. I think he'd be happy to see you."

Ace Saijou (222) has posed:
"The Princess Serenity?" Ace looks surprised to hear it -- yep, lots of catching up to do. But that name, he does remember -- the name that Venus pledged her life to, the beloved princess of the old Kingdom.

And Ace... grins. A sudden flash of grin, unreservedly bright and happy. "You found her! Good... good!" The one that his Princess -- that *all* the system's Princesses -- loved above all? How could he *not* be happy, to know that his beloved Venus has found that light again?

It's a fleeting joy however, as the complexities of the moment distract him from it. "Hematite? I don't know -- no, I *do* know who that is," he corrects himself, frowning. That's a name that belongs in the shadowed parts of his memory. Is it a name that should bring pleasure to recall, or dread?

That's probably going to depend on their reunion, isn't it?

For the moment however, there's a more immediate and pressing question.

"And you?" Ace's voice becoming soft again, as he steps forward. Crossing the small space between them. His hand lifting, reaching for her; reaching gentlest touch of fingertips beneath her chin, so he can tilt her head back, gaze into her face. "Are *you* happy to see me... my Princess?"

Minako Aino has posed:
The surreal situation begins to finally sink in for Minako. Back then she had searched for the Princess alone. Even pretended to be her. Not Princess Venus, but Princess Serenity, until she had made certain they had found the real one. Her heart had filled with joy at it. A joy that hadn't been forgotten but had waned just a bit with all the trials and tribulations that they had faced together over the past few years.

It's a joy mirrored in Ace's own expression when he realizes. She can't help but smile even as the more analytical part of her brain just now remembers she shouldn't be telling him all of this until she was *absolutely sure* he wasn't an enemy still.

A large part of her hoped that he wasn't. She'd once considered him an ally up until the end of their time together.

That familiar heart flutter she used to feel when near him returns when the gap between them is closed so that he can capture her chin in his grasp. Blue eyes lift up to meet his swallowing a single time.

Was she glad to see him? Was she glad he had returned? She knew precisely what he was hoping now. Her eyes had been opened to that already. Was it for that reason she was glad to see him though?

"Yes," she breathes out quietly even as her face warms beneath his touch. "I am. I'm just not sure if it's in the way you want me to be happy."

Ace Saijou (222) has posed:
"Doesn't matter," Ace replies, without hesitation. A soft smile playing at his mouth now, a light in his eyes that wasn't there before, the last time they met. "As long as you *are* happy, that's all that does. That's all I want. That's all I ever will."

And Ace -- steps back, instead of forward. Lets his hand fall away, that smile still in place. "I didn't come back to haunt you, my Princess -- to torment you. I came back because... I wanted to see you again. And... maybe to tell you how sorry I was, if you would have it from me. But that night I found you, I saw it... saw that you are still fighting, to this day."

"So be it. Fight to protect the things you love. And I? I will do the same. In my own way." Falling silent for a moment... then giving a faint grin.

"In *my* own way, this time!" Ace repeats, with a different emphasis.

Minako Aino has posed:
Minako Aino watches with uncertainty to how he would react having been through a similar situation herself recently. Being told emotions aren't entirely reciprocated can be hard... Especially since she wasn't entirely sure about her current emotions to begin with. So much had happened! She'd grown quite a bit, even if she was still sometimes a flirtatious fangirl.

Her smile broadens with sudden relief.

"We can fight together. I'm not alone anymore. You don't have to be, either! ... I'd feel better knowing you weren't alone. And," she adds, "I'd like to get to know *you* without Dark Energy clouding everything."

Ace Saijou (222) has posed:
"Maybe you'll get to! And maybe you won't. Who's to say?" Ace says idly -- his voice suddenly lilting and playful, in the manner that once was hidden behind a ballroom mask. "Who can say what the future holds? Shall I try, my Princess? Shall I give you a new fortune?"

Flicking his wrist and catching up the playing card that flies from his sleeve, holding it up: the Ace of Hearts. Absently tapping it against his lips, as he takes on a musing air.

"No... no, I don't think I will. After all," he adds, reaching up both hands to take hold of the card. "One should be free to decide one's own fate. Don't you think?"

And with a flourish, rips the card in half --

-- and a swarm of playing cards suddenly sweeps up iike a squall, filling his half of the alley, hiding him from sight.

"Until we meet again, my Princess!"

And as suddenly as the storm arose it's gone, the playing cards whisking away to show empty space, the echo of voiced merriment fading behind it.