ANOTHER LIFE || Banana Fish: Alternative Ending ||

~Banana 20~

"Have you two made up?" Yut Lung enters the awkward atmosphere where he sees Eiji acting like a child who just got scolded, head down and sitting erectly.

"I-I misunderstood." Eiji stutters, his blush reaching up to his ears. "I'm sorry." He suffices while he uncomfortably keeps on wriggling in his seat.

Yut Lung laughs lightly and goes to join them. "Don't sweat it. We haven't even gone anywhere near your level."

Eiji, wide-eyed, bobs his head straight to Yut Lung's direction with smoke escaping from his ears with a puff sound. All of these things are making it hard for Eiji to keep up and it's making him go dizzy, promting Ash to take action.

"Stop teasing him." Ash says as he tossles Eiji's hair.

Sing throws his hands in the air and retires to a seat. "Okay, okay."

A man enters their field of vision and they all go quite to hear his report. "Dinner is ready, sir." He informs and bows lowly before taking his leave.

"That's right. I had my people prepare a feast to celebrate..." Yut Lung pauses to hunt for the right words but he fell lazy to do so. "I just felt like it."

"Ash, you go ahead. I'm not yet hungr---" Eiji is betrayed by his very own stomach becuase it grumbles right on cue as if it knew it wouldn't get any food if Eiji had pursued his lie and successfully got them to believe it, and so it sought ways to stop it, hence the embarassing intermission.

Ash just looks at Eiji smile sheepishly while scratching the back of his head but still remains pinned in his seat.

Eiji's voluntary laugh recedes. "W-What?" He asks when he notices Ash is raising an eyebrow at him.

"You're implicitly telling me that you're not going to go to the dining hall until I carry you there."

"O-Of course not!" Eiji splutters and quickly ejects from his seat and dashes out the room, brushing past Yut Lung who seems to be enjoying the little drama.

"Smooth." Yut Lung praises but only got regarded by Ash with a scowl who went on ahead of him, bumping against his shoulders deliberately on the process.

Soon, four of them including Sing gathers around the long table that stretches up to a good distance, food lining up til the very end part.

Eiji drools over the dishes of different kinds beautifully laced by intricate and tempting designs and also plated luciously.

"What about my men?" Ash plainly asks.

"Don't worry. They're having their own party in the next room." Replies Yut Lung as he takes his seat.

"Now, eat."

Eiji snaps his attention to Yut Lung and travels his suspecting eyes from him and back to the food.

Intrigued by Eiji's behaviour, Yut Lung finally asked. "Is there anything wrong?"

"You didn't poison these foods, did you?" Eiji blatantly asks which Yut Lung finds extremely amusing.

He holds back his laugh. "What if I did?" Eiji's eyes round in horror, clearly indicating he just bought the obvious lie. Ash also is forced to lead his attention to something else just to prevent his laugh from escaping from his lips. He knew it would make Eiji furious.