After telling the final parts of the story to Isa, Ace let out a deep breath to mark the end of his tale.

“And that’s how yesterday went for me.”

“...”

“I’ve already accepted it, but it’s still hard to hear. You really will be leaving after today... won’t you?”

Isa said, already knowing the answer. He already knew the answer, but he still had a little hope that this was all a farce. Aliza really could’ve been a cousin, the light and fire from her hand could’ve been some magic trick, the day he was gone, he could’ve been staying at her house...

“Haha... what am I even thinking...”

Ace knew his friend was hurting just as much as he was, but he needed to make sure that his friend would be properly resolved for their goodbye. He didn’t want him to regret anything or try to cling to hope that wasn’t there.

“Yeah... I really will be leaving.”

But he also didn’t want to leave on such a depressing note.

“Isa.”

Isa looked up at Ace.

Ace gave a smile and stuck one thumb out, trying to improve the mood.

“If there’s anything else you need to say to me, say it now! It could be anything from some goodbye words to a love confession!”

“Haha... I guess so...”

I was joking on that last part. Wait... don’t tell me... you’re in love...”

“Yeah right! I was talking about the other part!”

“Yeah, sorry, wanted to lighten the mood a little. I’m being serious though, if you have anything to say, try to get it out now, I still have explaining to do to my parents.”

“Lemme think for a little.”

“Take your time, but not too long, my parents will be home soon.”

Ace looked over at the clock on the kitchen wall, the clock showing it was 5:30 PM.

“I’ve told them about me going to the other world, but I haven’t said anything about leaving tonight.”

Isa had his head hanging, trying to think of the right words to say...

“Okay, then I’ll leave you with these words...”

He paused for a second, putting his fingers on his chin to confirm these were the words he wanted, then looked back up at Ace.

“You better take care of Aliza.”

“---?!”

Both Ace and Aliza jumped at his words, not expecting them to be directed at someone other than Ace.

“Why’re you two looking at me like that?”

Ace was the one to respond to Isa after the surprise.

“I mean, I thought it would be more directed at me, but... I’ll take those to heart.”

“It would feel weird saying some grand farewell line to you, so I directed it to the beautiful girl beside you. You have a duty to protect her, you hear me?!”

“I got it, I got it... will do.”

Hearing the conversation coming to a close, the blue-haired traveler quickly pitched in.

“Hold on! Don’t go finishing the conversation without letting me contribute!

“Now...

“First, thank you for calling me beautiful, that was very nice.”

“Second, it’ll be me protecting him, not the other way around.”

“And finally, are you sure you want those as your final words? These are some of the last you’ll say to him until next year.”

Isa sat up straight and answered back at Aliza.

“I’ll answer you in order.”

“You’re welcome, it is much deserved, you are quite beautiful.”

“Next, I have no say in who will be protecting who, but I would like for Ace to do his best to help you, just as you’ve been helping him.”

“Finally, yes, those are my final words, it would feel weird for me to say something directly to Ace. If I do decide to say something to Ace, it’ll be when he leaves, so I wouldn’t need to deal with the embarrassment afterwards.”

Ace, who was letting them converse, now had a few words for Aliza after hearing what they had to say.

“Hmph, it’ll be me protecting you. I already had you breathing heavy on my first day of training, I’ll catch up in no time.”

Aliza, quick to respond back at Ace’s shots...

“Yeah, right! You may have a boost in how fast you grow, but I’ll grow just as fast as you, that’s how good I am. Watch me!”

“Huh?! You watch me! I’ll be speeding past you; it’ll be like I used space magic to teleport ahead.”

“I’m way too far out your radius for you to catch up with space magic, so try your best to keep up!”

“My radius is doubled! You’re inside the range, don’t worry. If you’re not, I’ll just make my radius bigger.”

“This is how you pay back the person who saved your life? Wow, how noble.”

“Pulling the ‘saved your life’ card! That’s not fair!”

The brown-haired friend who was sitting by idly, started to laugh.

“Bahahahaha... you two will be fine. You already seem like old friends!”

Ace was the first to quickly deny Isa’s words.

“Friends with her! Nonono, it’s the opposite.”

“You called her your friend earlier, now didn’t you?”

Aliza was quick to jump on what seemed like an opportunity.

“What’s this I hear about you calling me a friend? Wow, Ace, how cute...”

“Shut up, you called me your friend when you introduced yourself!”

Isa confirmed Ace’s words without hesitation...

“He’s not lying...”

Not being able to say anything else, Aliza brought the argument to a close.

“Fine, then we both admit that we’re each other’s friend.”

Ace also had no extra words and agreed with Aliza.

“Fine, truce for now.”

They both nodded at each other to mark the forming of a truce.

Right after they gave each other their nods...

*CLACK*

The sound of the front door being unlocked was heard by all three of them.

The sound sounding similar, but also foreign to one of them, Aliza shared her concerns.

“What’s that noise?”

“Someone’s unlocking the front door, most likely my dad.”

“Oh, ok, I’ll go back upstairs for now.”

“Oh, yeah, sure. Before you go... I’m going to ask my dad to play a sport with me. Aliza, want to join? You wanted to see some new stuff, didn’t you?”

“Are you sure? I won’t get in the way?”

“My dad will probably ask me to invite you anyways, he doesn’t like people getting left out. Same goes for me.”

“Oh, ok, I’ll take you up on your offer then.”

“Stay upstairs for now, I’ll tell you when we’re going outside.”

“Got it.”

She said as she headed back towards Ace’s room, leaving just Ace and Isa together as the sound of the front door opening enveloped the room.

“Ace! You home?”

“Yeah, me and Isa are in the kitchen!”

“Oh, Isa, how you been lately?”

“I’m fine uncle Josh. How have you been?”

“Haha... I’ve been a little stressed lately with all that happened yesterday, but I’ve calmed down.”

He said as he entered the kitchen.

“Ace... did you tell Isa everything...?”

Ace nodded back, confirming that his dad didn’t have to hide anything.

“Oh, ok...”

Joshua Bracker looked over at Isa, a hint of determination in his eyes.

“Isa... If you don’t already, I want you to believe Ace.”

Isa nodded back, remembering everything that happened in the past hour.

“We just had a long conversation. I didn’t believe him at first, but he forced me to believe, so I didn’t really have a choice.”

“Haha... same goes for me and Selena.”

“How did Aunt Selena hold up with the news?”

“She couldn’t accept it at first, but she calmed down after some sleep.”

“Yeah, I can see aunt freaking out. Not many people would be able to accept a story as crazy as that.”

“I hear you. I only believed him because he brought Aliza downstairs. By the way, where is she?”

He said, looking around the kitchen, just in case he missed her.

Ace chimed in to confirm her location.

“I told her to stay upstairs for a little, in case you wanted to talk. I feel kind of bad for sending her up now.”

“We’ll have a proper talk when your mom gets home. Want to play some ball before she gets home?”

“Took the words out of my mouth.”

Hearing the two make plans, Isa started to take his leave.

“Okay, I’m going to head home for now. See you later, Ace, Uncle Josh.”

“Later.”

Ace lifted his hand to give a small wave and his dad did the same.

Isa left the house, leaving the father and son in the kitchen.

There was a small degree of awkward tension between them after everything that happened this morning.

They didn’t know why it was awkward, but they both felt it in the air.

“I’m going to go change and get Aliza, I told her she could play.”

Wanting to get out of that situation, Ace was the first to speak.

“Oh yeah, I need to change also.”

They both went upstairs and went to their own rooms.

“We’re going outside now. You okay in those clothes? You might get sweaty.”

He said to the Aliza, who was sitting on the bed.

“I’ll be changing back into my old clothes when we’re done so it’s fine.”

“You sure? You can bring some of my clothes with you as a souvenir if you want.”

“Can I really?!”

Her eyes now lighting up in Ace’s direction, Ace couldn’t help but smile back.

“Haha... go ahead, I won’t be needing them for a while anyways.”

“Thank you!”

She thanked him before looking into his closet to pick which piece of clothing she wanted.

Ace thought she was too excited for a piece of clothing, but he shrugged it off when he saw her go into his closet. She was like a little kid when she got excited, it was hard to make fun of her.

“Ok, I’m going to change in the washroom, then we’ll go outside.”

Aliza nodded back quickly, wanting to return to indulging in his closet.

Ace changed and brought Aliza downstairs with him. She hadn’t decided on a piece of clothing yet, but she thought she would get the chance later, so she didn’t hesitate when going downstairs.

She was now excited by something else... being able to try an activity from another world.

Once they went downstairs, Ace gave her a pair of his mom’s running shoes, which fit too perfectly.

“Why do my mom’s shoes fit so perfect on you?”

Not expecting a response, they made their way outside.

Ace’s dad was already outside with the ball in his hand.

“Woah! This is what houses look like on the outside! And the roads! What are these big machines in front of the houses?”

“These are cars. Faster than horses and can carry a lot of people, neat, isn't it?”

“I don’t know what horses are, but can I step inside of this one in front of your house?”

She was pointing at his dad’s sedan in the driveway.

“Oh, I forgot you didn’t know about those. Sure, one second.”

Ace grabbed his dad’s keys from inside the house and unlocked the car.

He went back outside and opened the door for Aliza, who hopped inside with excitement.

“How comfy for a vehicle!”

Ace had a smile and a sense of satisfaction to Aliza’s excitement and praise.

“Now you know how I feel about magic.”

“Mmhmm, I understand. Something out of this world, right in front of your eyes, it’s an amazing feeling.”

“Yep, yep. Ok, you done inspecting now? Let’s play!”

“Yeah, I’m done, let’s start!”

She got out of the car and closed the door gently, not wanting to break anything.

Ace made his way over to his dad, who was playing around with the ball as he waited.

“Sorry for the wait, she got excited.”

“No problem, can’t suppress a kid’s desires.”

Ace looked back at Aliza, who was now excited to see a basketball net in front of her eyes.

“Ok, I’ll teach you how to shoot the ball, then me and my dad will have a small match.”

“I can just watch if I’m getting in the way.”

Aliza was excited, but she still knew what type of day this was for Ace. She already thought she was pushing it by being outside and taking up his time, but Ace insisted that it was okay, so she treaded carefully with her excitement.

But Ace’s dad was the one who gave the “okay” to Aliza getting taught.

“I can’t just leave a guest sitting, don’t worry about it.”

She also looked over at Ace to get his confirmation and received a nod back.

“Okay, I’ll sit out for a little. Ace, teach her the ropes.”

“Gotcha.”

He took the ball from his dad and brought Aliza a few meters away from the net.

“Ok, the goal of the game is to get the ball inside the ring. Watch me shoot once and try copying how I shoot. I’ll adjust your hands if your position looks wrong, but just watch for now.”

Aliza nodded back.

Ace moved back a few more meters and jumped up, releasing the ball from above his forehead.

*SWISH*

Aliza got excited at the ball going in the net, clapping her hands in reaction.

“Are you really good at this sport?! Or is this normal?”

“I’m a little better than most, but you should be able to get the ball into the net sometimes. Here, your turn.”

He gave the ball to Aliza and stood diagonally behind her.

“You won’t know how to position the ball very well, so we’ll start with it at your forehead. First, bend your knees. Then, put the ball at your forehead like it was for me.”

Aliza, remembering Ace’s movements, bent her knees and brought the ball to her forehead.

“Good, but your form needs a little adjusting.”

He said as he moved closer and put his hands on her arms to adjust the ball’s position.

He then put one arm on her waist and the other on her hamstring to lower her body.

“Hey! Where are you touching?!”

Ace jumped back, forgetting that it was Aliza he was helping.

“Sorry!”

He was used to helping his teammates on the basketball club, it felt natural.

“I usually help my teammates, forgot that was a little dirty...”

“It’s fine since you’re helping me, but...”

Blushing, Aliza looked away.

“Watch your hands next time...”

“Sorry, sorry. I will...”

Aliza got back into position to shoot the ball.

“Good, that looks perfect. Now jump and give the ball a small flick with your fingers to try to get it into the net.”

Aliza, copying Ace’s words, jumped and released the ball from her hand.

*BANG*

“Hey! Hey! Does that count?! Does that count?!”

The ball hit the backboard and sunk into the net.

“Nope, the backboard is just there to support the ring, so it doesn’t count.”

“What?! Come on...”

Her body sunk, disappointed at Ace’s words.

“Haha... I’m joking, don’t get so disappointed.”

“It counted?! YES!”

“Bahahaha... I’ve never seen someone get so excited at the ball going in. Here, pass me the ball, I’ll show you some more cool stuff you can do with it.”

He said, receiving the ball from Aliza, who picked it up.

“In this game, two teams are always switching from the attacking to defending. The attackers need to shake the defenders off them and try to get open so they can get a good shot. These are some of the moves used to shake off the defenders.”

Ace started dribbling the ball.

He was carefree at first, but now he wanted to show off a little.

He put the ball through his legs, crossed over, put the ball behind his back, then drove towards the net and did a layup.

“How can you control it like that?! That’s amazing!”

Ace’s showing off paid off, receiving praise. He never thought he would feel such a strong sense of accomplishment with a simple layup.

“Haha... want to try?”

Aliza nodded twice back, unable to contain her excitement.

“Ok, we’ll do the one where I put it through my legs.”

He gave Aliza the ball.

“First, you need some control. Start bouncing the ball on the ground using your dominant hand.”

Aliza followed his orders, mastering dribbling quite quick.

“Wow, a fast learner. Now, bend your knees a little and bounce the ball through your legs, catching it on the other side with your other hand.”

Aliza did as she was told, getting the ball through her legs to the other side. She was able to catch it on the other side.

“I did it! But how do you do it so fast and keep bouncing it?!”

“A lot of practice.”

Aliza understood Ace’s response, recognizing that this sport really did require a lot of practice to get good at.

“Ok, I’ll stop there, I don’t want to take up too much time.”

“You sure?”

“Yeah, I want to see a proper game between you and your dad.”

Ace smiled back, now determined to put on a show.

Seeing the two finish up their practice, the father didn’t hesitate to start up a competition.

“Seems like you’re ready Ace.”

“Yeah, let’s get started. I’ll let you start this time.”

“Ok, but don’t make excuses at the end.”

They passed the ball to each other to mark the start of the game.

Before Ace got any time to think, his dad zoomed by and scored a layup.

“---!”

“This game feels like it’ll be important, so I’m going all out.”

“So you’re serious, I’ll go all out too!”

He said as he passed the ball to his dad to mark the start of the next play.

His dad played it a little slower this time, trying a mid-range shot instead of a drive to the basket.

*CLANK*

The shot was off, and Ace now had possession.

He moved away from the net to reset the play.

“Try to keep up.”

He also felt this match would be important, so he went all out right off the bat.

Ace rushed towards the basket just as his dad did but was a little more flashy.

He closed the distance between him and his dad, then spun around to make his way towards the basket.

“I’ll block you just like our last game!”

“Try it!”

Ace said, about to lay it up on the left side of the basket. His dad jumped to block the shot.

“---!”

Ace switched his hand midair to lay the ball up on the right side of the net.

Ace: 2

Dad: 2

“Hahaha, nice try, but I’m not getting embarrassed like last time.”

Ace said, with a playful evil to his words.

“Ace, did you get faster?”

“---?”

Ace noticed it himself when he ran after Isa earlier today, but he didn’t think too much of it.

The level up must have made a noticeable difference.

“You have definitely gotten faster. Haha, were you going easy on me in all of our games?”

“This game feels more serious so I’m just putting in more effort.”

“Guess I'll do the same then. I’m not losing this one.”

Joshua Bracker proclaimed, passing the ball back to his son.

“I’ll say it again, try to keep up.”

Ace rushed to the basket once again, and the game continued.

The game was up to 21, with a close-range shot counting as 2 and a far range as 3.

The plays went back and forth, both putting in all their energy to achieve victory.

Sometimes Ace would be rushing towards the basket and other times sinking 3-pointers.

Other times, the game would be in his dad’s favor, using his height advantage and body strength to make his way close to the net.

The game was heated, both panting as the score was now 18-16, Joshua Bracker in the lead.

Ace had possession though, he was still able to turn the game around.

His dad passed him the ball and got in a defensive possession; his arms spread out to cover Ace’s options.

“Here I come...”

Ace was still as determined as he was at the beginning of the game.

His amount of energy didn’t matter right now, winning was the only thing in his sight.

He was going for another flashy play, just like he did multiple times throughout the game.

His stamina and speed were his main advantages in this game, and he was going to make the best use of them.

He rushed towards the net, crossing the ball over into his other hand, sprinting full forward towards the net when...

He pulled the ball back, leaving his dad still rushing towards the net.

He was convinced Ace would rush for the net, wanting to tie the game up with a morale killer.

Ace now created some space between him and his dad, but not quite at the 3-point line.

Ace stepped back and shot a 3, his dad having no time to react, still caught up in an inertia web towards the net.

Ace let the ball fly and watched as it sunk into the net.

*SWISH*

Ace: 19

Dad: 18

“Let’s go! I got the lead!”

“That was a good move, but the game’s not over. You won last time; I’ll take this one.”

“Haha, try to keep up.”

Ace wanted to provoke his dad into thinking that he would drive towards the net, when he was actually planning to step back and shoot a mid-range shot to end the game.

He received the ball from his dad and immediately started to rush towards the net, drawing his dad in with him.

Once he was close to the net and almost fully sprinting, he stepped back, his dad caught by the same move once again.

There was enough space to let a shot fly and that’s exactly what Ace did.

He let the ball fly once again, watching as it made its way to the net...

*CLANK*

Ace was completely confident that it would go in, he didn’t even think about the chance of him missing.

In a state of shock for a few milliseconds, that left enough time for his dad to get the rebound.

Ace bounced back, knowing they were still in the game.

His dad made space from the net to reset the play.

Ace got into a defensive position and was ready for anything his dad was going to throw at him.

He was convinced that his dad would play it safe and make his way to the net using his height advantage when...

His dad rushed towards the net, taking a big first step.

Ace immediately reacted, following along...

“---!”

His dad stepped back and let a 3-pointer fly, trying to end the game right now.

“NO!”

Ace couldn’t reach there in time and the ball left from his dad’s hands.

They both watched as the ball made its way towards the net.

*CLANK*

The ball bounced on the rim, going up instead of away from the net.

*CLANK*

It bounced once again, not going as high as last time, but high enough for there to be multiple routes that it could take.

*CLANK*

*CLANK*

“...”

*SWISH*

The ball fell into the net after a few bounces, finishing the game, Joshua Bracker coming out on top.

“HAHAHA! I told you I would win this one!”

“Shoot! I was so close!”

“Better luck next time! Dad took the cake this time! Hahahaha.”

“Next time, huh...”

His dad didn’t notice Ace’s emotion, his own feeling of victory clouding over.

The next person to speak was the one who was idly sitting by, watching the game unfold.

“That was amazing! Both of you are amazing!”

Her excitement brushed off what Ace was feeling, and he returned to normal.

Still feeling victorious, his dad felt the excitement that Aliza was feeling.

“Hahaha, you see that Aliza!”

Aliza nodded her head a few times, loving every second of what she watched.

“I admit my loss, you won this time dad.”

“You bet I did!”

As his dad celebrated and Aliza clung to her excitement, a car made its way in front of Ace’s house, unrolling its window upon reaching its destination.

“Hi Ace...”

Ace’s mom was the one behind the window, returning home from work.

The feeling of awkwardness also returned, Ace not knowing what to do.

As Ace was dealing with the awkward feeling, he was now feeling something else...

The day was really starting to come to an end.

He wanted to savor the day a little longer...

But he had to face it and tell them the truth...