Visits from Friends (Private, Ace and Oblivion Mature)

Sarah pulled her carrier bag closer to her, gazing up at the dilapidated mansion that belonged to her weapon partner, Ace Toromaki. She knew not why he insisted on living here, but what mattered was that he was her partner, and that meant they were, more or less, friends. So she walked up to the door, and knocked a few times, hoping for an answer.

Giving in to Sarah's beating, the door slowly opened. It was unlocked. The inside of the large estate was dark, and only gave light through the unbroken windows; all the others were boarded up.

Atop a battered couch lay the boy. He had a wine in one hand, and a throwing star in the other. He launched it in to the far wall. His aim proved his intoxication was severe. Another empty wine bottle sat at the foot of the couch. If that wasn't enough, Ace was also handcuffed to the table in front of him by his legs.

Sarah stepped inside, gasping when she saw him. "Ace! What the devil is going on?! Why are you handcuffed to the table? Why are you... Well, I'm guessing by that throw that you're drunk."

"Oh, Sarah! Its so great to see you! I was just playing the greatest game of darts. Care to join?" His dog like voice and typical state of being made his melancholy smile seem incredibly out of place. Currently, Ace was not Ace.

Sarah looked him over, her brows furrowing and her lips pursing. "Ace... Will you give me the bottle?" She walked over, kneeling beside him, wary of any more shuriken.

"Oh come on, Bri, I'm not even drunk yet! Just one more?" The act confused Ace. It returned him to the time when Bri was still his partner. And still trying to turn him in to a regular person. She had gotten the closest, and Ace had never even gotten the chance to thank her.

"Actually, forget it. You know what's best for me, dear." Ace lazily tossed the bottle in Sarahs general direction.

Sarah deftly caught the bottle, pouring the remaining contents onto the ground. She disregarded the fact that he had called her the wrong name, attributing it to his drunkenness. She sat on the ground beside him, rolling the bottle away. "So... What's wrong, Ace? Why're you doing this?"

"This time? I still miss you. I know you come and see me sometimes, but I know you aren't really there. I found a new meister, and she's pretty great. She's got a bit of a temper, but I guess it makes me easier to handle. I'm sorry I was always so terrible to you. If you could come back, I would do things differently... speaking of Sarah, she was just here." Ace bobbed his head, though his eyes were so far closed, he wouldn't even notice if if were underwater. He could barely fathom where Sarah had gone.

Sarah tentatively reached out, taking his hand. "I'm right here, Ace. I haven't gone anywhere..."

Ace's body finally succumbed to the alcohol in his system, and he drifted in to a deep slumber. "Oh Sarah... I was just playing darts. Wanna join?" His last thoughts were just a reiteration of his earlier greeting to Sarah.

Sarah pursed her lips, but settled down beside him, deciding to wait until he wakes.

It was nightfall when Ace awoke from his seemingly eternal slumber. The boy stirred, lifting his head slowly. His appearance seemed even more annoyed than usual. Eventually, he found himself looking at Sarah. "Why are you in my house?" Despite his irritated features, his voice was more tired than anything. "Are you... checking up on me?"

Sarah gave a smile and a nod, patting his hand gently. "Yep. Here to check up on my partner..."

"Ugh," Ace groaned as he tried to move, realizing he was attached to the table. "Can you find the key to these?"

Sarah nodded, looking around for it. "Sure... Where is it?"

"Eh..." He gazed about the room, searching for the means to his escape. Once he realized it was too dark to see he gave up. "I dunno, but I don't really care. It was uh... sweet of you to come here, I guess."

Sarah let out a bit of a chuckle. "I'm not just gonna leave you like this... I'll stay until morning, find that key for you then..."

"You mean, you're going to sleep here? No way, last time I let a girl stay the night here, I ended up with aANOTHER broken window!" Ace searched lazily for a bottle of pills beneath the couch, and was relieved to find then. He immediately popped two out, and moved to shove them in his mouth.

Sarah let out a bit of a laugh, shaking his head. "I'm not leaving you here locked to a table, Ace. You're my partner. Deal with it."

Ace looked off in to the darkness, looking for the shrines to his parents and Bri. "You remind me of one of my old partners, Sarah..." He rubbed his head in pain.

Sarah nodded, resting her head against the chair. "Bri, I know..."

"Wha- how did you?" The pills from before had finally been consumed, though they had done little for Ace's head. "She used to come by all the time. She kept me sober in the city, and I kept her alive on missions. Sometimes we would go out and play soccer, or id try to teach her to cook. But when it comes down to it, we are still only people, and our times all come eventually. She was just as annoying as you are too. Always happy and excited about something."

Sarah closed her eyes, head tilted back. "You talked while you were drunk... So she's dead then?"

"Hell if I know. She just vanished. I never got to apologize to her." Ace shut his eyes and smiled a sad smile. "I knew getting close to people only led to sadness."

Sarah chuckled softly, a dark husky sound, odd coming from her. "It's a good hurt... I need it."