Meet You Again (Banana Fish)

Jim The Journalist (5)

3 Years Later

3 years have passed and a lot has changed throughout the past years. Eiji graduated college and still assists Shunichi Ibe. As for Ash, he was inspired by Max and took the same route as him to be a journalist with an unknown identity.

Eiji may have moved on from his separation with Ash and the others but his heart never forgot all the feelings and memories he had with them.

But Ash had other plans in mind. He worked hard to learn Japanese and worked hard to earn money on his own. He knew what he was doing and has already set a goal for him to reach.

***

-Eiji Okumura-

"Ibe-san, how are you feeling?" I asked with concern through the telephone. "I'm fine, but I think I'll take a few more days of rest. I'll contact you when I'm feeling much better."

I hummed. "Oh okay"

"By the way, tell me when you get the USB." I nodded. "I will."

"Okay good, I gotta go now." I heard him cough. "Take care Ibe-san," I said

"You too." I put the telephone down. Why did he suddenly feel sick? I asked myself.

I had nothing to do since he told me that he was having a high fever. I was just locked in the house reading, watching movies, or just sleeping.

I sighed and headed back to my room.

I laid down on the bed and attempted to take a nap but then a knock was heard, coming from the door. "Can I come in?" My mother asked. "Yeah, come in," I said as I sat up while the door opened.

She closed the door behind her and sat on the bed. "You've been locking yourself in the house these past few days." She said, bringing her hand to mine. "Is there something wrong?" She asked with a concerned look. "Yeah, everything's fine." I smiled reassuringly. "It's just that I don't have any reason to go out.." She chuckled. "Aren't you bored in here?" I sighed as she read my mind. "Yeah, I guess you can say that mom." She giggled and stood up. "You should go take a walk or something. That sounds better than staying in your bedroom all day." I nodded at her and she got out of the room.

I decided to listen to my mom's suggestion. I changed my clothes and went outside.

***

-Ash Lynx-

I took a deep breath as I gripped my hair with both of my hands as I sat up with a headache. I groaned softly and I gently massaged my temples.

I took the blanket off of me and stood up from the bed. I went to my closet and took out a shirt to wear.

I yawned as I opened the door and got out of the room.

***

"Have you finished packing?" My dad said after taking a sip of his coffee. "Mhm," I murmured while I chewed on a piece of pancake. "Your flight is in two days right?" He asked while he focused on reading his newspaper. "Yup." I burped. "Excuse you." We chuckled. "You're on the newspaper again, you're very popular for someone who doesn't reveal his identity. And to mention that you're a journalist." I hummed. "Who would believe that Ash Lynx is now a Journalist. People would rather believe that I died from getting stabbed by another gangster." He shook his head casually. "Not many people know your real name, son." I faked a cough. "Well, some do, the police know it very well." There was a few seconds of silence.

"Is there something wrong with my fake name tho?" I eyed him. He chuckled awkwardly. "It's just...don't you think it's strange to be identified with your fake name in the newspaper as Jim only? I don't even understand why you chose my name as your fake name. You didn't even put a random last name, isn't that strange?" He said as he softly smacked the newspaper with his other hand.

"Can't you just be proud of me, why are you getting worked up at something like that?" I laughed. He hummed with a frown, not liking the fact that his son is laughing at him.

"So what do you plan to do in Japan?" He said, crossing his arms on his chest. "Have a life," I said casually. He looked at me with a bewildered look. "Uh, I'm gonna meet another journalist from there." He relaxed and hummed in response.

I swallowed the last piece of my pancake and stood up from the table with my plate and brought it to the sink. "I'm going out, see you later." I waved and walked away. "Be sure to get home before lunch!" I heard him yell from the dining room.

***

"Hey, Howard," I said while I crouched down to get a newspaper from the rack beside the counter. "Ash, what are you doing here?" He leaned over the counter and looked at me. "Dad wanted me to give this to you." I softly threw him a paper bag and he caught it easily. I flipped the newspaper and read the texts.

He peeked inside the paper bag. "Oh, it's the car battery that I asked for. Say thanks to your dad for me." I nodded. "I heard you're leaving for Japan in two days." I hummed. "News quickly spread around town huh," I chuckled and he chuckled back. "Well make sure to bring something back for me."

"Sure." I said with a slight smirk. "I gotta go now, take care, Howard." He nodded with a smile. "You too kid." I looked back at him and glared. "I'm 21 already, stop calling me a kid for god sake." He laughed uncontrollably. "I forgot, time passed by pretty fast." I hummed.

"Bye." I turned around and got out of Howard's store.

I went back to my car and turned the engines on then drove off.

"I'm back." I said while I took my jacket off of me. "Lunch is ready." I sighed in relief. "Great, I'm hungry." I threw my jacket on the couch and went to the dining room. "You went to Howard's place?" I sat on a dining chair. "Yeah, he said thanks for the battery." He hummed and sat across me.

***

-Eiji Okumura-

"I'm home!"

I took my shoes off and went inside the house. "Oh, Eiji." I heard my mom say. I went into the living room and saw my parents and my sister huddled on the couch while watching a TV show. "Welcome back." My dad said.

"I'm going to my room." I turned and walked away. "Ei-chan, there's a delivery for you, it's in your room." I stopped. "Who is it from?" I looked back at them. "It's from Shunichi."

Oh, it must be the USB. "Okay, thanks, dad." I heard him hum and I went straight to my room.

A small box was placed on my desk and I opened it. I took the USB out and sighed. I picked my phone up and texted Ibe-san.

"I got the USB."