Meet You Again (Banana Fish)

Ash (9)

A Day Ago

-Ash Lynx-

"I'll miss you, son..."

I remember what my dad said before I left. I smiled at the thought of his face. I thought of his warmth when he pulled me in his embrace. His scent when I buried my face on his shoulder.

"I'll miss you too."

I boarded the plane and tried my best to ignore the nervousness I felt.

Now that I'm on my way to Japan.., I haven't thought of what to do after I arrive. I facepalmed. How could I not think of what to do after I got there, stupid!

I groaned, annoyed.

***

A few hours passed and I awoke from my nap. Fire was burning in my eyes as soon as I realized what woke me up. I glanced behind me and saw a little boy sneakily kicking my seat. I shrunk down my chair, covering my face with my hand to cover my annoyed face.

Now I wonder what was worse. A little boy kicking your chair like a brat who wasn't taught to respect people, or a baby picking his/her nose while crying louder than a speaker.

This flight wasn't going very well and I looked at the person beside me like I was hoping that it would make me feel better.

Thank God the person sitting beside me is mature enough to ignore my existence. I ignored the kicks from the kid and calmed myself down.

"I so can't wait to get out of this plane" I mumbled to myself as I rolled my eyes.

If this was another person's perspective he/she might be thinking that my life is now a comedy movie or something.

I pity this child.

***

"Ah, my legs are all stiff!" I stretched as soon as I got off the last step of the stairs to get off the plane. Finally, no kid to ruin my day. I fixed my bag that was hanging on my shoulder and walked away.

***

"So this is Gizmo..." I mumbled while looking out the window of the cab.

"I-zu-mo"

I smiled sadly at the memory. I remember that day very well. The day he almost died. "Izumo..."

***

Present

"Ash?! But how?" Jessica shouted in shock, her eyeballs almost popping out. "Let's just say that everything you saw on the news is fake news." I smiled innocently at the couple in front of me.

"That's how I reacted too." Max looked at his wife. "Yeah, you looked older tho." I said shamefully. I laughed at his pissed face. "I need more than that, I need a real explanation." Jessica demanded. "Max will explain everything to you, but not now. We have more things to worry about." I said as the anxiety built up inside me again.

"Like what?" Jessica said as she put her hands on her hips like the scary old lady she is. "Like what I'm gonna do after Eiji meets me and finds out that I was alive. I assume he thought I was dead." I said, trying not to show any sign of nervousness.

"Oh, well you can slap his arm so mad hard that it's still red even after a day just to check if he was hallucinating or not." Max said sarcastically while he looked at me with his deadly eyes. He's still mad about that? I snickered silently. "We still have a few hours until we leave to go see them. That's a lot of time to prepare yourself." Jessica said. I nodded and thought of the possible reactions Eiji can give. What if he gets mad about it and then starts hating me. Heck no, please...not that. I shook the thoughts off.

"Mom?" I looked at the person behind me and every negative feeling faded away. There he was, rubbing his eyes while leaning on the door frame. He must've just woken up. "Michael!" He looked at me and his face brightened. "Ash?" I smiled at him and in a blink of an eye, his arms were wrapped around my waist. "You've grown so much!" I proudly said. "You didn't come to visit us for so long! I missed you." He looked up at me and a sudden realization hit me. So he didn't know that I was "dead". I kept smiling. "It's amazing that you're in Japan too!" He giggled. I lifted him off the ground and hugged him tighter.

***

"I'm glad you two didn't tell him." I said. "He's still a kid, he would be so heartbroken if he knew." Max said with a sad smile. "I wonder how Eiji would react." I smiled at myself.

"Whatever reaction he gives, you have to explain everything to him. Comfort him when he's crying, leave him alone when he's mad." Jessica said. "I will, he deserves the truth."

***

-Eiji Okumura-

"Are you excited to see Michael?" Ibe-san asked. "Of course, it's been years since I last saw him..." I said, feeling a little bit down. "Ash was still alive the last time I saw Michael." Ibe-san looked at me and I saw the hint of pity and sadness in his eyes. "You have to move on Eiji. Look forward and be happy." I looked at him and tried to give him my best smile.

We entered the cafe we chose to meet up. We sat on the chairs beside the glass wall that was also beside the entrance door, and we waited. I looked outside and realized that it was snowing. 4 people suddenly appeared. The little boy looked at me from outside with a big smile on his face. "Michael! Ibe-san they're here!" I said excitedly. I looked at the people who entered the cafe, one by one. Michael ran up to me and hugged me. "Eiji!" He did little jumps, showing how excited he was. I then looked at Jessica, then Max, then.., "Hi, Eiji."

That's when my world lit up. I stood up and did not even hesitate to come running at him. I hugged him as tight as I could and let the tears fall on his shoulder. I felt his arms slowly wrap around me and I cried harder. "You're here..." I whispered, followed by sobs. "I missed you so much." He said. At this point, I couldn't stop myself from crying. He was real, and I can finally feel his warmth again after years of grief.

I thought seeing him again would break me more than when I saw his pictures. I was wrong, his pictures broke me, but him being here in front of me, alive, fixed me. I felt so happy that I think I was about to pass out if that's possible. If I was dreaming, I hope I was sleeping forever.