no mader how strong the wind blows

chapter 11 Transformation

Summary:

With a little help from Eiji, Ash slowly transforms into a handsome pre-teen with a new look.

Notes:

For everyone's guidance, Ash is 12 and Eiji is 14.
Anyways, enjoy the update!

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

It's been a few weeks since they flew back to New York, but Eiji could still vividly remember the incident at the beach like it was just yesterday. The beach, the sunset, and above all, Ash's sudden request to transform him into a handsome boy.
Every time he thought about it, he couldn't help but wonder. Why would Ash want to change himself? He's nice, he's talented (he was becoming better in martial arts and he also seemed to develop a skill in playing the guitar recently), and above all, he's really handsome. In fact, he seemed to become more handsome ever since he turned twelve a few weeks after the Japanese boy turned fourteen. It's just that Trixie and other people couldn't see it because they didn't know him like Eiji did.
"Ashu, are you really sure about this?" Eiji asked as he looked into Ash's closet. Basing from his best friend's wardrobe, he concluded that Ash had a great taste for fashion, but he just didn't have enough confidence. If Ash was already handsome in his shy, timid self, then he would be even more handsome if he came out of his shell and acted a bit more confident.
"Of course I'm sure, Ei-chan," Ash answered, playing games on his phone. "I need this too, you know. School's gonna start soon, so I need to have a new look. Who knows, maybe Trixie might finally no---"
"Yeah, yeah, I know. No need to remind me," the fourteen-year-old cut him off, trying his best not to sound pissed. Did he seriously have to remind him the reason why they're doing this?
Going back to the subject, Eiji thought about what Ash should change first aside from his shy personality. Why was he being bullied again when they were younger?
Oh, right. His long hair.
He remembered it now. When they were younger, he used to be bullied in school because he looked like a girl. Well, it looked like things would be changed starting now.
Without saying any word, Eiji walked up to Ash and grabbed him by the wrist, dragging him out of his bedroom and out of the apartment unit.
"Whoa there, Ei-chan, where are we going?" asked a surprised Ash.
"Just follow my lead, Ashu. You can ask later," Eiji answered, heading out into the streets. "Do you want the transformation or not?"
"Alright, alright. Where are we going, anyway?"
"We're going to the salon. I figured that you should change your hairstyle first of all things."
"Well, I do agree with that." The twelve-year-old nodded his head in agreement. "They used to tease me back in Grade School because of this." He held up a few strands of his hair.
***
"Ah, good morning, sirs! What can I do for you?" a hairdresser happily greeted as the two boys entered a nearby salon.
"Well, my best friend does need a little bit of a makeover," Eiji replied, pointing to Ash, who was standing next to him. "Could you give him a hairstyle that suits him well? You know, something to make him a little more manlier."
"A little more manlier? Ah, I know just the perfect hairstyle for him!" The hairdresser quickly bounded over to an empty chair, offering it to Ash with a big smile on his face. "Right this way, sir."
"Well, what are you waiting for, Ashu?" Eiji said, giving Ash a gentle push. "Go ahead!"
"Alright," Ash answered, walking over to the chair. "Here goes nothing."
And with that, Eiji sat on a nearby chair, reading the pile of magazines placed under the table in front of him as the hairdresser worked on Ash's new look. Every now and then, he would hear the sound of scissors snipping away strands of hair, mingled with the soft chattering of other nearby customers.
***
"Sir, he's ready."
Almost half an hour later, Eiji looked up from the magazine he was reading to see the hairdresser fondly smiling at him. Standing behind him was a boy, scratching the back of his nape as he bowed his head. The boy slowly looked up at Eiji, and the raven-haired boy's eyes widened in surprise when a very familiar pair of green eyes met his.
Is this really Ash? Is this my best friend? Oh my gosh, he looks so different!
"Um, Ei-chan, uh, h-how do I look?" Ash asked, his face blushing bright red as he looked at Eiji.
Eiji's jaw dropped open, unable to say anything at the sight of his best friend. Ash's blonde hair was parted to the left, the fringes perfectly framing the sides of his face and exposing his jade-green eyes. It reached all the way to his nape, making it a bit shorter than his old shoulder-length bob.
Yep, the girly boy from Grade School has definitely turned into a prince.
"W-Wow, Ashu! Y-You look great!" Eiji stuttered, unable to take his eyes off Ash's new look. "It's perfect! I love it!"
And I love you, he wanted to add.
The hairdresser smiled, amused at Eiji's reaction, before looking back at Ash. "See? I told you he'll love it! And I have to say, you look a lot more manlier now than when you first entered the salon."
Eiji then turned to the hairdresser, a wide smile plastered on his face. "Thank you so much for fixing him! He definitely looks a lot better now."
"Yeah, thanks for fixing my hair." Ash winked at the hairdresser, making almost all the people present in the salon, Eiji and the hairdresser included, swoon at the sight.
Eiji was right, Ash's handsome features really stood out with his new look.
***
"What do we do next, Ei-chan?" Ash asked as he and Eiji walked out of the salon.
"The next thing we need to work on is your confidence," Eiji answered. "We need to develop your self-esteem so it could match your new look."
Ash shrugged his shoulders. "That could work, too. So, where are we going next?"
"Back to your room, Ashu. Time for a little lesson in self-confidence."
***
Once the boys arrived in Ash's bedroom, Eiji immediately walked over to his closet to pick out his best friend's wardrobe. He decided to grab a plain white shirt, a denim top, a pair of black jeans and white sneakers.
"Here, try this on," he said, handing the clothes over to Ash, who immediately changed into them.
"So, how do I look, Ei-chan?" Ash timidly asked when he was done changing, his head bowed and looking away from Eiji.
Without another word, Eiji stood up from the bed and walked up to Ash, raising his chin up.
"There, that's better," he said with a satisfied smile. "You need to have your chin up always, Ashu. Don't you want others to see how good-looking you are? Bowing your head won't make you look confident at all."
He then proceeded to fix the collar of Ash's denim top, seeing that it was a bit crooked.
"There you go." He looked up at Ash again. "You're all se..." His voice trailed off when he noticed that Ash was staring at him.
In that instant, Eiji felt his heart racing, realizing that maybe the reason why Ash was given his middle name was because of his eyes. The distinct green color reminded him of the jade ornaments he saw once in Japan, and they seemed to sparkle like the gemstone itself once you get a closer look at them.
"W-What's wrong?" he asked.
Ash shook his head. "Nothing, I was just wondering how you could put up with someone like me." He smiled fondly at him, gently holding his shoulders. "Thank you, Ei-chan. I don't know what my life would be like without a best friend like you."
Eiji, touched by Ash's statement, smiled back and gently tapped the blonde-haired boy's cheek. "It's nothing, Ashu. What are best friends for, right?"
After reaching up to fix Ash's hair a bit, Eiji stepped back, eyeing Ash from head to toe.
"There you go, handsome as always! I'm sure everyone's gonna be surprised once school starts, don't you thi---"
Eiji's sentence was cut of when Ash suddenly held him by the wrist, pulling him out of the room.
"Hey, where are we going, Ashu?" he asked, surprised at Ash's sudden move.
"Let's go grab some pizza," Ash answered, smiling widely at his best friend. "It's on me."
"Well, I couldn't say no to free food. Let's go!"
And with that, the two best friends headed to the nearby mall, where they went shopping after eating. It was Ash's way of saying thank you to Eiji for his new looks, and at the same time it was the perfect opportunity for the boys to enjoy the remaining days of their summer vacation before school starts.
As they were walking around, Eiji couldn't help but smile as he heard people whispering on how good Ash looked in his get-up, which meant that the transformation was indeed effective.
So far, so good.
"Hey, Ashu, I just thought of something. Or more like, I DARE you to do something," Eiji said, his lips slowly forming into a playful grin.
"Hah, no way," Ash replied. "Knowing you, you'd probably make me do something dumb. So no thank you, I definitely don't wanna make a fool of myself in public."
Eiji laughed. "It's nothing like that, Ashu. Let's just say that we're gonna test if your transformation is really effective."
Ash sighed. "Alright then. What is it?"
"Do you see that girl seated nearby?" Eiji pointed towards a young girl seated on a nearby bench, who was currently playing with her phone.
"Yeah, what about it?"
"Now, I want you to stare at her. If she looks back at you, wink at her then see what her reaction would be." Eiji grinned mischievously. "Are you up for it, Ashu? This would be fun!"
"As if I'm gonna do that, Eiji. No freaking way," the twelve-year-old retorted, folding his arms. "Why don't YOU do it? After all, it was YOU who came up with the idea."
"C'mon, Ashu," Eiji answered. "This would be the ultimate test to see---"
"If my transformation's effective or not. I know Eiji, I got it," Ash continued, rolling his eyes.
"Then what are you waiting for? Do it!"
Letting out a defeated sigh, Ash stood up and walked over to the girl seated nearby. He sat next to the girl and began to stare at her. Eiji tried his best not to laugh when he noticed that the girl started to blush, fidgeting with her phone as she became conscious of Ash's presence.
The pre-teen looked back at Eiji, searching for a cue, while the fourteen-year-old gave him a "She's-about-to-look-at-you-get-ready!" look.
As if on cue, the girl slowly raised her head to look at Ash, who winked the moment their eyes met. The girl let out a gasp as her entire face turned beet-red, quickly turning away from the blonde-haired boy and her lips slowly turning into a shy smile.
Ash, on the other hand, suddenly became embarrassed upon realizing what just happened. Before anyone could notice the bright red blush spreading all over his cheeks, he quickly stood up and walked back to Eiji, who immediately burst out laughing once he returned.
"Did you see that, Ashu?" he asked between peals of laughter. "She should've seen the look on her face the moment you winked at her! Oh man, that was so priceless!"
Ash rolled his eyes, his face red out of embarrassment. "Whatever. So Ei-chan, basing from the girl's reaction, is the transformation effective or not?"
Eiji grinned, holding his two thumbs up. "Yup, it was super effective! Now you'll never be bullied ever again!"
Ash then let out a sigh, his lips slowly curling into a smile. "Alright, alright. Let's go home before they start looking for us."
As the two boys started their way home, Eiji felt happy about Ash's new get-up. He now looked manlier because of his new haircut and his confidence improved, which was totally the opposite of what the blonde-haired boy used to be. He was now sure that he would no longer be bullied once school would start.
But deep inside, he silently hoped that he wouldn't regret this in the end.