〈 S O L I T A I R E 〉

An Ace-centric AU

Allow me to preface. This is just a run-down of the AU I have written that completely overhauls Ace as a character. This thread covers his backstory and new Ability.

TRIGGER WARNINGS: Alcohol, Family Issues, Identity Issues

Part 1 — Homeward Bound

On January 12th, Haruki Murakami was born in Kyoto to one Miyuki Murakami and her husband, Guild member Ernest Hemingway. The family was an odd one, as Hemingway had brought a daughter from his previous marriage into the family.

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Eventually Haruki came to be a middle child, after the birth of his darling younger sister Tomoko. He was always favoured by his mother despite his middling status, as he bore an uncanny resemblance to her in his youth. The eldest daughter, Umeko, bore blonde hair while

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Tomoko's was distinctly silver. Both were a far cry from Haruki's, which was the odd pinkish-red that Miyuki had gifted him with. One of his eyes was a tad darker than the other, though that only became noticeable later in his life.

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Not long after his 12th birthday, Hemingway dropped the bombshell that the entire family would be moving to Yokohama. ‘Business reasons’, he claimed. Though Haruki hadn't pitched a fit, he had glowered and complained for the duration of the ride from Kyoto to their new home.

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Haruki soon found himself enrolled at a local school, alongside Tomoko. Though he quickly became a favourite among his peers, he found that he wasn't happy. Not in the manner of preteen angst, but genuine anguish. He was homesick, still missing his friends.

PART 2 — AN ACE DEALT BACK ON THE REBOUND

Around his mid-teens, Haruki discovered that his immune system was hardly in top condition. He was almost always sick, which resulted in many skipped classes. More often than not, he would spend his hours watching his father

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And his colleagues play round after round of whatever game they fancied. Poker, blackjack, you name it.

It didn't take long for him to pick up the basics, nor did it take long for him to surpass Hemingway's skills. He wasn't sure how, NOBODY was, but he always found

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Himself able to predict the moves of his fellow players. ‘Like reading a book’, he would comment. The more he played, the more he earned, the more his father praised him. Hemingway had showered him with appreciation after his first win, and his consistent streak earned him

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A brand-new nickname: Ace.

Ace was better than his father, and he knew it well. He could've beaten the old man while he was blindfolded, but... Hemingway wasn't willing to admit defeat.

As he aged, Hemingway's mind had grown dull. Without his wit and attention, all he

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Could do was throw his money into games he'd never win. All Ace could do was stand by while the father he once knew disappeared. He had bleached his hair by then, turned it an ashy silver, though the way it spilled down over his shoulders pushed him to take a set

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Of craft scissors to it until it fell unevenly to his chin. Ace found if difficult to recognise himself, but. . . Something about that thrilled him. A new face, a new identity, even a new life. No more was he Haruki, no, he would be Ace from then on.

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❛Ace had no say in his father’s choices, and why would he? He was still a child in Hemingway’s eyes, pudgy-faced and pouting for the whole world to see. A stark contrast to reality, really; Ace had grown tall and thin, all narrow and long-legged with a frown plastered

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across his lips. There was a hint of something akin to haughtiness in the way he carried himself now, with his chin held aloft and his shoulders pushed back. His cheekbones were high and pronounced, framed by choppy silver hair. An almost feline appearance, was it not?❜

PART 3 — KAFKA ON THE SHORE

It was necessity that drove Ace into the arms of the Port Mafia. Hemingway was off squandering the family savings, and Umeko had left for America earlier that year. Ace and his mother were left to provide for each other, and for Tomoko.

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A small bar seemed like just the place for him. The training was easy, it probably helped that he had spent so many hours whipping up Manhattans and a variety of whiskey-based delights for Hemingway's friends, too.

Once he found out who truly owned the bar, he was

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Too dedicated to care. This was his life now, after all. He worked all night, slept during the day, and everyone was alright. For a while, at least.

He had been tending the bar when a kind-faced woman dressed in reds and pinks and blacks approached him, with the

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Notion that she had a proposition for him. She knew of his plight, knew of it very well, and had a plan that would ensure his mother and sister would be kept in comfort for the rest of their days.

The following weeks were a blur to Ace. After a certain point all of

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His memories were hazed into one. One of security and safety, of resting well in the knowledge that his family was safe.

Yes, his family. . . They wouldn't care that he'd run off with the Mafia, right?

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ABILITY—

Ace’s Ability is called Kafka on the Shore (海辺のカフカ). This Ability has three main aspects, all revolving around the subconscious.

The first part of the Ability is the Library in Takamatsu. It simply allows Ace to read his target’s subconscious mind.

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The second is known as Nakata’s Lost Cat. This allows him to actively manipulate a person’s subconscious, in the form of Daiya, a small black cat with a tag on its collar. If his target reads the tag, Ace will be allowed access to their hidden mind to manipulate it.

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Last is The Boy Named Crow. This part of the Ability has been known to make Ace exhausted due to just how mentally taxing it is. The Boy Named Crow allows Ace to project a person’s subconscious into the real world, bringing forth repressed memories as a result.

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Though not often used for combat, this Ability has been known to incapacitate many of its victims as their memories are probed, while also providing Ace with material which is inevitably used for blackmail purposes. This is how he acquires his 'slaves'.

(INTERLUDE)

I will be adding more details to this AU later, namely his encounter with Fyodor and aspects of his redemption. See you then!