1 ? Chapter 1 : The Ace was born

Listening to a loud music through her headphone, Lacian, an eighteen year old girl who could be considered a normal girl at first glance --was a school dropout since kindergarten. The main and only reason of her suddenly leaving school was peculiar according to her first ever and last homeroom teacher. Instead of considering the uncommon issue, Lacian's adopted parents and her homeroom teacher agreed to let the little girl to stay at home for a while. The grown ups believed that children were only worried about being in a new and crowded surroundings. Then, later on they would adopt --naturally. For Lacian, her parents expected that after a week or maybe even a month, she would go back to school. But it took the whole school year for Lacian in remaining inside the house. She would demand for another day and it became a habit to just stay inside the house no matter what her parents tried to do to encourage her to socialize and communicate with others. Her parents gave up, and so was Lacian for a long time ago.

Her adopted parents ended up returning Lacian to the orphanage though the process was hard and quiet a hassle. Maybe they didn't love her, maybe they got tired of understanding her, or maybe they just never wanted a daughter 'like her'. A month later after Lacian was sadly sent back to the orphanage her former adopted parents found a new daughter, the girl's name was Angel. Just like her name, the girl looked so innocent and cheerful. As Lacian witnessed that lonely scenario: Angel being escorted towards the family van with her new parents; Lacian felt abandoned and rejected.

That was a very long time ago.

Sitting on the seventh step out of the thirty six steps of a safety skywalk in the city, Lacian watched the numerous vehicles passing by the highways. Twenty meters from where she was located, there stood a bus stop sign. The sun was healthy glowing which made the large buildings around the city create dark shades. People would come on and off the bus as the vehicles stop. A good looking lady left the bus and started walking towards the skywalk where Lacian was sitting. The lady looked familiar with Lacian, she had those pair of tantalizing big brown eyes, a pointed --well shaped, small nose, thin rosy lips and a small face. Her beauty reminded Lacian that of the little girl being taken away by her former adopted parents from a long time ago. Lacian knew that she was not mistaken, the lady was Angel. Lacian never had any plans of seeing Angel nor getting near her. Angel never knew of Lacian's existence in the first place. It was a pure and mere coincidence. Angel, as usual and natural as she was -passed by Lacian and called someone on her phone. It was only a moment of encounter for Angel but for Lacian, it was indeed another slight yet painful encounter. The moment Lacian saw Angel reminded her that she was different from any other human being normally living around her.

"She grew up well with a supportive family and friends, lucky her." Lacian sighed deeply and picked a stick of Marlboro inside her chest pocket. Lacian was one of a million out of school youths in her country.

'School is not for me' she remembered those five words that she said to her adopted parents when she was still young. Countless and hopeless nights were spent as she tried to forget those unacceptable words in her mind. Getting rid of it and pretending that she was totally fine felt frustrating. She grew up in the city remembering those words which seemed to be incarved in her body and soul. As the thick smoke disappeared in front of her, she realized that she already lost sight of Angel. Well, it didn't really matter, it just hurts and all.

Living in a tropical country which cold weather was less expected, Lacian loved wearing long sleeves --black or dark colored ones; favorably. Not because of her unique fashion but because of her physical necessity.

'Damn these tiny dusts floating in the air like small painful daggers!' Lacian cursed in her own little thoughts. Her sense of touch was indefinite times more sensitive than that of the normal human being. She could feel the slightest pain caused by a dust in the air. But, she could unbelievably tolerate the most painful pains caused by harmful objects such as knives, scissors and blades. For normal people, being stabbed by a knife would normally be a life threatening incident, but for Lacian --it felt just like a mere scratch.

The clock striked at twelve in the afternoon together with the church bell ringing, its holy sound reminding the whole city that there a Deity that guides them. Lesser vehicles were passing on the roads, lesser crowds walking on the sidewalks, the city became a lot quieter. And that brought another trouble for Lacian. Her hearing senses began to malfunction. Just like her skin, her ears was indefinite times more sensitive than any human being alive. The quieter the place, the more she could hear the scratching sounds of the rats underneath the sewages, the loud rustling of the leaves falling off from the plants, the soft ticking sound of the clock inside a convenient store from a very far, and even the tiniest scratches made by worms inside a healthy looking yet old, rotten tree --they could make Lacian's eardrums break in an instant. She could only last longer in loud places such as the side streets, train stations, crowds and the lively city. Her sense of smell never differs with her other senses, good thing for her that everywhere smells strong that she could not be bothered which were pleasant and which were not. If she could smell anything odorless things, that wouldn't be a problem so far.

"Time to switch to another place" Lacian murmured underneath her breath and turned up the volume on her headphone. She tossed her consumed cigar on the trash can standing at the corner and tucked her hands inside her pocket as she started walking. Approximately ten thousand kilometers away, she could clearly see the dashing robber's face. Lacian chuckled as she detected that the escaping guy would obviously head towards her location after a few minutes of running. From a far Lucian could already hear the owner of the bag, shouting the phrases repeatedly: "A thief! There's a thief! Somebody! He took my bag! Please!"

Clutching the cloth of her jeans, Lacian wore her black sunglasses and closed her eyes. She continued walking as she could still see the way despite with her eyelids closed. She looked normally walking like any other human being --walking in the crowds with their shoulders bumping and saying soft words of apologies with a smile. Lacian remained closing her eyes with the music still playing like loud thunder traveling through her ear canals. The steps of the robber sounded heavier in Lacian's ears as the guy ran closer towards her direction. The music could no longer be identified.

'It's tiresome living being different every single day' Lacian thought and sighed.

"Out of the way!!!" Lacian didn't hear the person who shouted near her.

"Do you want to die?!!" Lacian didn't hear that yell at all. She just stopped walking when she realized she bumped into something --or to someone, maybe.

"Oh my God!" Lacian recognized the voice of the woman who shouted. It was the owner of the bag. Lacian could tell that the owner tried her best to run after that robber. The bag surely contained very important belongings or maybe a large amount of money that encouraged the owner to run after it no matter how dangerous the situation was.

"Help!! Someone got stabbed by a thief!!" the woman shouted in a desperate tone. It was then that Lacian opened her eyes, removed her sunglasses, hanged her headphone around her neck and saw the robber's horrified face in front of her. Lacian is quite tall for an average girl, about 180cm tall. She looked down on the robber's face and grinned, wondering why the guy looked terrible and petrified.

"I didn't mean to hurt you! You were in the way and I have to stab you!" the guy cried in front of Lacian. His face soaked with sweat and tears while looking at Lacian's poker face.

'Stab?' Lacian thought absentmindedly and looked at the robber's trembling hands. She traced the guy's hands and saw the knife being burried under her flesh. The robber stabbed her in the waist without Lacian noticing it.

"Oh man!" Lacian squeaked and immediately pulled the knife off from her flesh like it was some kind of a needle, even needles hurt as a matter of fact. Lacian dropped the knife unto the ground and clicked his tongue like an idiot.

"You should surrender yourself to the cops, buddy" Lacian said with a hiss. She felt the slight stinging pain caused by the knife. Honestly, it was the blood that made it look painful.

'Damn, I have to spend another roll of bandages.' Lacian thought as she grabbed the robber's hands and placed them behind him. She pushed the guy unto the ground with his stomach kissing the rough surface. The guy whimpered and struggled but Lacian kept him in place. Using her hand, she kept the guy in place and removed her belt using her free hand. She immediately tied the robber's hand as if the belt was an alternative handcuffs. Lacian chuckled as she looked like a sadist tying the guy with her belt in a submissive position.

"The cops are coming!" the woman screamed as the siren of the police cars wailed. Lacian grabbed the bag and tossed it to the owner.

"You're injured! Let me take you to the hospital!" the woman said while staring at Lacian's blood drenched sweater. Lacian smiled gently and refused the familiar heartwarming offer.

"Don't worry, it's just a scratch" Lacian said with a wave of her hand. She left the crowd like a bubble in the air. Some were shocked and speechless with the horrible sight of Lacian.

'Man, what an unlucky day' Lacian hissed and went inside a narrow corner and leaned against the wall covered with dark green, old and new mosses.

"Look who's here?" the guy yelled from the opposite direction, his figure stood in between those walls --making him look intimidating. From a far, Lacian could clearly see the wide grin plastered on the guy's face.

"Give me a break" Lacian said with a chuckle and stood on her feet. Each foot of the opposite party squished the ground hardly. In a few seconds they were already two inches apart from each other's face.

"I'm gonna win this time, reversed human!" the guy grinned and yanked Lacian towards the ground. Lacian grinned back as if her back hit a soft bed since she didn't feel any pain at all.

"Try harder, loser!" Lacian said and flipped the two of them over. As the guy looked at Lacian, he could imagine an inevitable death coming from her dark brown eyes. A spank landed on the ground, beside the guy's head, it created a dent or more like a crack. Lacian's knuckles bled when she withdrawed her fist from the ground. The guy whimpered with wide eyes as he covered his face out of fear.

"Please don't kill me!" the guy begged and he meant it.

"Sure, but what can you do for me in return for sparing your life?" Lacian asked with an idiotic grin. The guy blinked multiple times as Lacian get off on top of him. He immediately bowed like a loyal slave in front of Lacian and said: "I'll be your servant as long as you wish!"

Lacian whistled and then sighed.

"Man, you sure know how to get yourself in trouble. I don't need you, just go home and let your mama comfort you under her skirt!" Lacian said in a cool posture with her arms crossed across her chest. She turned her back against the guy, ready to part ways with him and thought while looking at her bleeding hand: 'Tsk! A really big roll of bandages will be needed.'

"I promise I will be useful around you!" the guy with black hair and a handsome yet clumsy face swore.

"Man, you better study harder than hang out with people like me." Lacian said and tucked her hands inside her pocket.

"I know who you are, Lacian! The girl born with indefinite times greater senses! Please be my master and help me get into the taekwondo club in our school!" the guy pleaded with all his might like an idiot.

"What a drag" Lacian snorted and left the guy alone.

"Hey! I'm willing to pay! My name is Francis! Are you listening to me?!" the guy named Francis shouted while watching Lacian drifts away. Lacian poked her ear with her pinky finger and turned her head on Francis's direction.

'Might as well have some things I'll get fond of, I'm a dropout anyway.' Lacian thought and sighed. She spent her entire life doing non memorable things.

"You comin' or what?" Lacian asked with a poker face and sneered.

"Yes, Ace!" Francis said and ran towards his new master.

"Who died and named me 'Ace'?" Lacian asked.

"I'll be calling you Ace from now on! That's how I look up to you!" Francis said while grinning.

"I only accepted you because you know who and how different I am. But try to expose me and you'll never see the light again, I'm not kidding." Lacian said with a threatening voice.

"You're no different" Francis said in a respectful manner. He looked down on Lacian and petted her head. Francis is 190cm tall, quiet and ideal height for a 16 year old boy.

"You're just unique but you're still human." Francis said. A sudden feeling of relief awoken inside Lacian's heart when she heard those words from Francis. She felt accepted and appreciated.

"I'm looking forward for your guidance, Ace!" Francis said cheerfully with a smile. Lacian smiled genuinely, enjoying the slowly changing of the surroundings in her own sense of awareness. That was the first time that her senses felt at peace. No headphone needed, no sunglasses required and for the first time she felt the pain in her flesh, not because there was blood but because it really hurt.

'Man, I feel alive. I don't feel numb and pathetic. This is true painful, I'm happy. I'm human.' Lacian thought and smiled secretly. Francis chuckled and looked at the clearer than the usual sky.

'Today, the Ace was born' Francis thought and walked beside his future master.