On the Road to Recovery: A Banana Fish Fanfic AU

Ch: 33

𝐄𝐢𝐣𝐢'𝐬 𝐏𝐎𝐕

I laid down with Ash, I put his feet up and massaged his shoulders and arms.

"Thank you Eiji." Ash said.

"Are you feeling better?" I asked him.

"Yeah, my legs hurt though, and I'm very tired." Ash said.

"Why don't you take a nap, I'll come back later." I said and got up. I walked into the dining room and saw everyone sitting around the table,

"What are you guys doing?" I asked.

"Asking these new people questions." Josh said. "So, why did Ash bring you guys here?"

"Because Ash wanted us to help him help you." Alexis said. "We're not bad. We went through what you did when we were kids."

"How old were you?" Evan asked.

"I was 12." Alexis said. "Andy was 15. Billy was 17, and William was 11."

"Are you guys older than Eiji?" Ethan said.

"Most of us are yes." Andy said.

"Yay I'm not the oldest anymore." I said.

"You're still old." Came Ash's voice form behind me. I turned around and Ash was standing, limping, but standing.

"Hey look at you you're standing." Alexis said.

"Shut up, you drugged me." Ash said holding up a finger.

"We didn't know who you were, we had to be cautious." William said. "Also you're a giant."

"I'm only 6'4." Ash said.

"But you're also only 26." I said. "That's tall for someone that's not even 30. You were also 5'11 at 17."

"One of the things that makes me attractive." Ash said.

"Ash, you can keep resting me and the kids are trying to talk to everyone." I said. "I also forgot to tell you, I promised Ibe-San that I would allow his niece Akira to come over here and stay with us for a while."

"Isn't Akira boy name?" Ash asked.

"Yes, but that's besides the point. We're picking her up from the Airport in 3 weeks." I said. "Yut-Lung's funeral is also later this week." Ash turned around and lifted a finger,

"Oh right, I forgot about him." He said.

"Just get out." I said pushing Ash out of the room.

𝟑 𝐰𝐞𝐞𝐤𝐬 𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐫 (𝐀𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐀𝐢𝐫𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭)

Me and Ash were standing by the front doors looking around for Akira. I decided that I would go look for her,

"I'm gonna go look for Akira, Ash you can wait here." I said.

"By myself?" Ash asked.

"You're scary looking and not underage. You'll be fine." I said and walked further away from the front doors. I saw Akira standing by a post,

"Oi Akira!" I said. She looked in my direction and ran over.

"Eiji!" She said.

"You've gotten so big since I've seen you last. When I lived in Japan." I said.

"The last time you were in Japan was for that project with my uncle right?" Akira asked.

"Yes. And I didn't bring my husband that time, so you didn't meet him." I said. Akira tilted her head,

"You're married?" She asked. I nodded,

"I got married in December. Did I not bring up that I married a man at all when I went back to Japan?" I asked. Akira shook her head,

"Nope." She said.

"He's waiting by the front doors, waiting impatiently probably. Let's go." I grabbed Akira's luggage and started walking back towards the front doors. Ash was in the same place, right where I left him this time he was trying to ignore a woman. He saw me and walked over and just kissed me. The woman backed off. Ash pulled away from me and looked down at a shocked Akira.

"You must be Akira." He said and smiled. Akira couldn't say a word, she only said,

"You're beautiful." Ash was very flattered, he put a hand on his chest and said,

"Thank you!" I laughed.

"Akira, this is Ash my husband." I said. Akira looked back at me,

"Where'd you find him?" She asked.

"In a bar when he was 17." I said. "We should go." I grabbed Akira's hand, Aslan's hand and walked out the door.

In the car I sat in the back while Akira sat in the Passengers seat next to Aslan. She was asking him a lot of questions.

"How old were you when you met Okumura-san?" She asked.

"I was 17." Aslan said. "I was crazy and he was the therapy I needed."

"Where are you from?" Akira asked.

"I was born in Massachusetts." Ash said. "But I live in New York."

"How much do you love Eiji?" Akira asked.

"I love Eiji more than the amount stars in the milky way, I've also risked my life for him multiple times." Aslan said.

"Same here." I said putting my face between the two seats.

"Aww. That's cute, I imagine you guys loved each other at first sight." Akira said.

"I first fell in love with him when I saw him jump over a wall with a rusty pole." Aslan said.

"Oh I remember that. Then I landed on a bunch of boxes and got a piece of glass in my arm." I said.

"I'm glad those son of a bitches Marvin and Arthur are dead." Aslan said as if he forgot Akira was in the car. I was stunned at the sudden mention of Arthur. I haven't told Ash that I've been having nightmares and Arthur's been in them.

"Are you okay Eiji?" Aslan asked me. I hadn't realized I zoned out and was staring forward. I looked at Ash.

"Yeah. I'm fine." I said. Aslan pushed his glasses up his nose and looked at me like he knew I was lying.

"Why are you looking at me like that? I said I was fine." I said.

"The look in your eyes say otherwise." Aslan said. "We'll talk about this when we get home."

When Ash pulled up in front of the mansion I quickly ran inside. I ran passed Evan and Remy.

"Why are you running?" Remy asked.

"I'm running from Ash." I said.

"Why?" Evan asked.

"He's trying to make me talk about feelings." I said.

"But Ash told all of us that we should be open with our feelings." Remy said. "Did something happen to you that we don't know about?"

"And Ash still doesn't know about it so I'm gonna go." I said and kept running. I heard Ash come inside and introduce Akira to the older kids then I heard him walking towards our bedroom. I quickly locked myself in the bathroom. Aslan came into the bedroom,

"Eiji I know you're in here." He said. "Tell me what's been going on with you. And how long as it been an issue?"

"It's been an issue for 9 years! I hate Dino and Arthur!" I said. I could tell Ash knew what I meant,

"Eiji come out here." Ash said. His voice was calm. I unlocked the bathroom door and looked down as I walked out. I felt Ash's strong arms around me,

"How about you tell me what happened to you the night I killed Shorter." Ash said. "And tell me the truth, the full truth." I thought back to that night, trying to remember what I could.