I'll Wait in Izumo - Banana Fish [Ash x Eiji]

Snow Leopards, Sleeping

Ash and I trekked to the peak of a mountain. We were no longer in Japan, nor were we anywhere on a map. It was somewhere else entirely different — nothing that could be found on Earth, but it felt as if the picture-book stories of Kilimanjaro had come alive. This time, there were two leopards, guiding each other toward the summit.

I thought about the lonely snow critters trapped in folklore. In many ways, we resembled them, but here, the trail was clear and simple. Sunlight brought clarity. We were no longer lost in the grand confusion of life.

In the sky, a flock of shikigami birds fluttered through the wispy clouds. Far out, we could see Manhattan, Tokyo, and Paris. Down below, colorful city lights rippled in every direction. Beneath the sky, I saw gold. Emerald. The deep, deep shades of indigo and spruce. It felt as if the colors had written their own elegies. The tints and hues carried their own stories.

Every sound and color consumed me. I was distracted, caught in wonder.

Ash laughed, waving at me like an eager park ranger. "C'mon, slow-poke!"

I ran, and this provoked a game of tag.

The moment we found the viewpoint, Ash and I tumbled into a meadow of orchids. Around our bodies, fresh poppies and violas bloomed a mile a minute, growing until we were covered in a blanket of flora. Ash held me in his arms, and we fell asleep. 

We dreamt, side-by-side. Then, when I did open my eyes, I learned that waking up did not come with mourning, sadness, or pain. Jade green eyes. Blonde eyelashes. A soft speckle of freckles. I memorized the serenity of his face. For the first time, Ash was asleep with a delicate smile. 

A dreaming boy. A hypnotic soul.

There was a time when I fled from reality and escaped into a series of never-ending reveries, but I no longer craved that release. I finally had, right in front of me, what I had been dreaming about for all these years.

The earth hugged our bodies as I sunk into Ash's sleepy breaths.

Snow fell from the lapis sky, but we had warmth in each other's arms.

This. This was all I ever wanted.