Somehow: part one
By Uozumi
Author’s
Note: This came to me after I read an
unmarked spoiler. I already knew that
Ash dies in the end, but now I know the basis of how and why, so I'm going to
play with that. Then I took it down and
redid it after getting a better source on it.
Also, dates are approximated due to lack of information. I own nothing.
----
Ash ran faster,
his long legs bringing him closer. He
had to get there! He had managed to
secure a ride and now as he vaulted over a line of luggage, the owners shouting
obscenities or just gaping, he finally caught sight of the familiar dark haired
man. He went to call out his name, but
he couldn't, his voice wouldn't work.
This wasn't fair! He was getting
on the plane! Without thinking, he
skidded through the door of the connector, only to meet a steward's stern face.
"Where do
you think you're going?" he narrowed his eyes.
Ash at first
wasn't sure what to say. Quickly, he
offered an excuse about running late, and got swatted as he got onto the plane.
"Stupid
kid," the steward grumbled, then waited for the signal and closed the
loading gate.
Eiji sat by a
window seat, staring off. His brown
eyes were glazed over slightly, and his thoughts in turmoil. It hurt so much, but why? When he came here so long ago with Ibé-san,
he had felt heartbroken at leaving his family, but now . . . .
He had never
felt so sad in all his life, and never before had his heart hurt so badly. What was so wrong? Was it because he knew that never again would he ever see all his
new comrades? Was it because he finally
had found his belonging place, even if he really didn't fit at the same time he
fit in?
Or, was it
because he had yet to say goodbye to Ash?
His eyes half
opened, Eiji tried to vanish the thoughts in his head, but they kept coming
back. It was like a disease, and he
wondered if it was like that horrible disease called AIDS, who was only a few
years old. One you got it, you had it
forever, and it slowly consumed you . . .
. That was how he felt, like Ash
had taken him over, and no matter what was going to happen, he would never be
free.
Hearing Ibé-san
say something, Eiji wrote it off, he just didn't feel like listening. The plane was starting, and soon he would be
gone, but would he be free? Could he
forget? Did he want to?
Yes, he wanted
to forget. He wanted to forget the
gangs, the people, the places, and most of all, he wanted to forget . . . .
"Ash!"
Eiji jumped at
Ibé-san's exclamation. This was bad -
now he was hearing things! Yet . . . .
Curiosity
getting the better of him, Eiji's brown eyes slowly looked up and to his right,
only to meet two green orbs as Ash stared down at him. "A - "
Oh God, now he
was seeing things!
"Excuse
me, sir, could you please seat yourself?" a stewardess came by, "The
plane is about to taxi."
Before Ash
could respond, Ibé-san rose from his seat and indicated that Ash take it as he
moved to a free seat a few aisles away on the not too crowded plane.
Eiji watched as
Ash sat down where Ibé-san had just been, his blood cold, and a numbness
permeating his skin and brain. He
wanted to ask, he wanted to speak - to do something, but he just couldn't.
Finally, after
swallowing, he spoke very quietly just in case this was a hallucination and he
was about to disturb Ibé-san, "How?"
Ash looked over
at him from where Eiji was staring at him.
The look in his eyes, the expression on his face . . . Ash knew that
going after him had been the right decision; closure like what he had planned
wouldn't have been closure at all, and they both needed closure. "I read your letter."
Eiji looked
away at that, neither paying attention to the flight attendants as they
explained the plane safety systems.
"Yeah?"
"Yeah,"
Ash nodded, staring off to his right as Eiji looked out the window to his
left. "Eiji -"
"Fasten
your belt, Hon, the plane's taking off."
Ash nodded as
the stewardess moved on, and then spoke again, "Eiji, if -"
The
twenty-year-old held up a hand, shaking his head, and then smiled. He couldn't have asked for anything better,
nor could he have guessed that his deepest wish would be granted.
***
Eiji and Ash
had gone through the plane ride in silence, but a comfortable silence, the kind
that made you feel safe and like you belonged.
They didn't say a word, both too amazed at their good luck after what
seemed like fluctuating luck that was consistently moving in a downward spiral.
Stepping off
the plane with Ibé-san, the two stood near each other, Ash walking a pace
behind, his green eyes flashing about the people around them. It was insane, but they all looked like
Eiji, sort of. They were all built
similarly with the same midnight hair and most had brown eyes about the same
shade. It was as though Eiji was a
cross-section of Japan, showing what the average young Japanese male looked
like. Ibé-san stepped into the line for
passport checks, Eiji lining up behind, and Ash coming in last.
Quietly, he
extracted his passport, and smiled slightly at the person it said he was. Would he revert back here? Would he pick a new identity? He was starting anew and there was a feeling
coursing through him that he didn't know.
Was he excited? Nervous? Apprehensive?
No,
relieved. He was at ease.
Handing his
passport to the inspector, he realized that he felt like his shoulders had
suddenly been lowered after being hunched up since he couldn't remember. He didn't feel the immediate need to check
his surroundings, but he did every now and then. He was just too used to watching out for threats, but as he
looked around, he saw none.
"Kasan!"
Ash watched
Eiji's eyes brighten as he hurried over to a woman who hugged him tightly. Then Eiji hugged a man, calling him Tôsan,
and then he hugged a girl who was a string bean, and much shorter than him,
calling her Imoutochan. He felt
so lost and removed as he watched the three jabber in Japanese. Was this really a good idea? Feeling a hand on his shoulder, he looked
over at Ibé-san. The man said nothing,
but merely communicated something that Ash couldn't place before he walked by
and told Eiji something in Japanese, receiving a motion and words that
indicated goodbye.
Ash felt
really, really out of place once the photojournalist left. The reality of what he decided came crashing
down. He had hardly any money on him,
he had no bag, he had no stuff, and it was apparent that he was going to be
staying with Eiji, which he assumed would mean with his family too.
This might not
be good at all. He had been fixated on
following Eiji, and for once he hadn't gone through cause and effect. Ash mentally kicked himself. How could he just have run off? He was tight-pressed, but still . . . .
Blinking, the
blond became acutely aware that "Kasan" had noticed him and was
saying something to Eiji about it. The
man nodded, and then came over to Ash, "Ash," he spoke, the name
coming out better than it had at first when Ash was always "Ashu,"
since it ended in a consonant.
"Come, this is my family."
Ash nodded, and
walked over slowly with Eiji.
"Kasan,
Tôsan, Imoutochan, this is
Ash Lynx," Eiji indicated the younger boy, "Ash, this is my mother,
father, and little sister."
'So that's what
those words mean,' Ash filed that away, "Hello."
"Hello,"
Mrs. Okumura was first to step forward, "I am Okumura Kimoku, Ei-chan's
mother. You were very good to our son,
thank you," and she bowed.
Ash blinked,
and then bowed back, assuming it was a greeting.
"It is a
pleasure to meet you, Mr. Lynx," Okumura-san had his English more perfected
and looked like the quintessential businessman, which worked with his wife who
looked like a loving mother and housewife.
They looked like the Japanese equivalent of Ozzie and Harriet. "Eiji has told us much about you."
"Y -
Yes," Ash nodded, unsure of whether or not to bow. Since Okumura-san didn't, Ash decided not to
as well. Although, he felt his brain
muse what Eiji had told them and how.
"Hello, I
am Okumura Nanako," Eiji's sister grinned, and shook Ash's hand
enthusiastically. Ash raised an eyebrow
mentally. Once, when he had talked with
Eiji, Eiji had said that his sister was ugly, but the girl was just young,
although if she was like her brother, she could be his age, for all Ash knew,
but she wasn't ugly, yet she wasn't beautiful either. She just looked typical, like everyone else it seemed.
Ash looked to
Eiji after the greeting, and then turned his attention to Mrs. Okumura when she
spoke up, "Of course, you stay with us?"
Ash opened his
mouth, then closed it, nodding. He had
seen the looks they had given him. He
was quite welcome here.
To be continued
. . .