"I'm home," Martin's soothing voice flowed into Ace's ears while the scent of something delicious entered his nostrils.
Ace immediately appeared in front of Martin with a wide smile across his face.
"You brought food." Ace said with a rumble of his stomach causing Martin to frown.
This disrespectful kid didn't think of greeting him but Martin didn't mind much as he was also hungry.
He placed the food on the table, and they both dug in.
"What's that?" Ace said, looking pointedly at a dish that held some kind of beast in it.
"It's called a Forest Fish?" Martin quirked a brow at Ace, and placed a piece of the fish into his plate.
He didn't understand how someone didn't know what a fish was but looking how this toddler in front of him was addicted to eating cereals, he expected less.
"How does it taste? It doesn't look good." Ace used a fork to poke the body of the fish-looking beast.
He wasn't going to touch that. He was sure that it tasted bitter from the how ugly it looked.
Ugly things were never sweet.
Martin placed a piece into his mouth and smiled, "It's delicious and tastes like normal fish. If you waste my food, just count that as your last meal in this house."
Ace grumbled, he didn't even know how normal fish tasted because he had never had one.
However, on hearing the threat, Ace rushed down the delicacy, and his eyes teared up from the taste. It was actually pretty good.
"Where did you get this divine dish?" Ace muttered in between mouthfuls.
He was stuffing his mouth with fish unable to get enough.
"I bought it from a roadside barbecue stand. The man told me it had been gotten from the shores of the sea, and they had been gathering there for a while."
Martin smiled when he saw how Ace didn't even try to swallow before rushing another bite.
"You shouldn't rush your food, you'd choke." Martin said the exact same words his grandfather had told him when he was a kid, but Ace only scoffed at him.
"What sea?" Ace glanced at him after his meal.
Even though he had eaten like a barbarian, he still had his manners, and used a napkin to dab the stains on his mouth.
"Navethadrath Sea. It's close to the forest in the island, from what I saw in those geography textbooks." Martin took the last bite of his dish, and stood up from his seat.
"I haven't been to that side of the forest before, we should go there." Ace's eyes followed Martin to his bed.
"So we can get ourselves killed? Or you suddenly developed a fish craving that surpasses your fear of death?" Martin glared at Ace before laying on his broken bed.
"…"
Ace didn't know what to say, he just wanted more fish at the end of the day.
He waited for a while, and soon enough he heard light snoring which meant that his master was finally asleep.
Ace walked over to where the rest of the food was kept, he still felt hungry.
The portion he ate had not reached the right spot.
He turned to check if Martin had woken up but he wasn't disappointed so he brought out the food, and started munching.
"He wouldn't mind, at least, I'd pay him back."
While Ace feasted, Martin slept peacefully without a care in the world unaware do what he would wake up to see.
____
The sun rays shone down from the open windows kissing Martin's exposed face, and causing him to grimace.
He didn't want to wake up yet, but he had to because of his school.
He had already missed the first week of his new class, and that would definitely make his grades drop.
"Wake up sleepy head." A soft voice floated into Martin's ears, and he groaned with the disturbance.
_Who owns that voice?_
_It doesn't sound like that annoying kid's voice_
_Wait. It's not Ace?_
_It's not Ace!_
_Someone broke into my home!_
At that moment of sudden realization, Martin shot up from his bed, a wind crescent blade was aimed at the intruder's neck ready to draw blood.
"Relax. It's me. Ace." The intruder held up both of his hands in defense, but Martin wasn't moved.
Ace looked annoying, and he was a huge pain in Martin's behind but this intruder looked heavenly but of course, he wasn't as good-looking as the great Martin.
The young boy had short golden hair with light greenish-blue eyes, and he had that familiar annoying looking smile on his face.
The crescent blade dissipated from Martin's hand but he still held the boy close to him.
"What happened to you?" Martin narrowed his eyes as he looked at Ace's new appearance from top to bottom.
"Let me go so I can tell you. If I wanted to harm you, don't you think I'd have done that while you were asleep?" Ace frowned but what he expected did not happened.
Martin had tightened his hold on Ace's collar, and there was not an ounce of silliness on his face.
It was as if all the sleepiness from earlier had been wiped off, and Ace was surprised on how his master was able to switch his emotions.
"Valid point but it doesn't mean I'd believe you. Guy who looks like Ace."
Ace wanted to slap his forehead as he wondered how his master had actually been smart enough to capture him if he was capable of thinking like this.
"I grew after I finished eating all the food, and now I'm no longer hungry."
Martin widened his eyes when he heard Ace's word. He released the boy's collar, and rushed to where he had kept the food from the previous night, and it was empty.
A surge of rage flowed through his cells, and a thick vein popped out in his forehead.
"You little… You finished the whole damn thing. There's not even a morsel left!" Martin glared at Ace with an intensity that made the boy take a step back.
However, Martin wasn't done, and a wind blade appeared in his right hand.
"That food was meant to last us for a month! How the heck did you even finish it in a month!? Give me one reason why I should end you, and feed on you instead." Martin's face has a smile that looked like it was formed from a frown, and a snarl.
"Because you are sane?" Ace backed away when he saw the crescent blade in Martin's hand increasing.
"You don't know how wrong you are." Martin immediately created another blade in his left hand.
He looked like he had already made up his mind, and was ready to cut down anything that would act like a parasite to him.
Ace shivered, he was basically powerless before Martin so he had no choice but to surrender.
"I'm sorry. I'll do anything! I'll work for the money back." Ace cried out with his hand over his head hoping that Martin would hear him against the raging force of the wind elements in the air.
Suddenly everywhere became silent, causing Ace to look up and he saw Martin holding out his hand instead with a gentle smile on his face.
The image really contrasted with the wind demon Ace had seen a few seconds ago, and he was hesitant on accepting the gesture until Martin took the initiative to pull him up.
"I just wanted to hear your last sentence. You would definitely work for the money, and I know just the right thing." Martin ignored Ace's blank look, and went outside the house.
In a few minutes, he came back in with another load of food, one that was even greater than last night, and arranged them in the kitchen boards.
"What just happened?" Ace muttered but it was loud enough for Martin to pick up.
"I knew you would be very hungry considering how many days you spent without eating, and that was with the hope I had that you didn't turn full blown cannibalism on me." Martin patted the boy on his shoulder.
Ace was dumbstruck.
"You would be going out with me on Friday evening, and this time, you are working for your food." Martin let out a light chuckle but it somehow sounded like a demonic cackle to Ace.
"See ya later." Martin said to the being that had turned to a statue before leaving for school.
Ace stood there trying to place his mind on what had just happened.
He couldn't believe that he had been duped twice by this puny human!