Ghost

Chapter 1

(Third Person)

"Hey guys the plane has landed! Let's go!" Eiji shouts while shaking Ash and the other two awake. Ash smacks his hand away after being jostled from his peaceful sleep; and continues to grumble as he runs his hands down his face and stretches out his sore limbs. Eiji rolls his eyes at Ash's antics; meanwhile the other two grown men, watch on in fear waiting to be yelled at by the cranky lynx. "Yeah, yeah I'm up. Let's go shall we? I wanna meet this sister of yours, I bet she's cute." Ash think aloud, in a mocking tone. "Eh?!?! You can't say that about my sister; Ayumi is off limits! Don't think of anything." Eiji scolds whilst flicking Ash in the middle of his forehead. "Ouch! You're so mean!" Ash whines in response and rubs his forehead, while the other two chuckle at their silly antics. "Come on guys, you're stalling! We shouldn't keep Eiji's family waiting that would be very rude of us!" Ibe interjects. All of the men nod in agreement and follow each other to the exit of the plane.

As Eiji his friends move to the escalator and make their descent, Eiji spots them. His parents, although oddly enough his little sister was not there. 'Hmmm, maybe she's hanging out with friends and couldn't make it?' Eiji thought to himself as he proceeded to wave at his parents. "Mom! Dad! I haven't seen you in so long, I missed you guys!" Eiji shouts as he leaves behind his friends to hug his parents. They smelled of the ocean and of the trees, they smelled like home. But, there was something in their eyes that have changed. They seemed to be clouded over with sadness. What is because they missed him too? He hadn't seen them in so long, things must have changed drastically while he's been overseas. He didn't realize how much he missed them until now.

"Eiji my son! I've missed you so much, how was your trip? I hope you didn't get into too much trouble. Oh? Are these your two friends you were telling us about? Well it's very nice to meet you two. I trust Eiji hasn't been too much trouble?" Eiji's mother inquired as she pointed to the two mean standing awkward in place. The said men smiled and bowed to Eiji's parents. "Hello! It's very nice to meet you, we are some of Eiji's friends from America. Eiji hasn't been trouble at all! In fact he's been keeping much better care of us than we have before he came. He's very kind and always a joy to have around, you have a great son." Ash responds, while sending her an award winning smile. Eijis parents blushed the the compliment. "Hey mom and dad; where's Ayumi? She promised she would be here when I came back to Japan." Eiji questions with a hint of hurt and curiosity in his voice. Eijis parents both exchanged a look; one that Ash didn't miss. "Well..... she's busy with school right now...and she's studying for entrance exams with some friends at their house. So she's really busy and she told me to send her regards to you. She wishes that she could've been here.... but you know how Japan is with schooling is nowadays." Eiji's mother squeaks our rather nervously as she avoided her gaze with Eiji and shifted from foot to foot. Ash immediately picks up on the fact that she is very obviously lying, but chooses not to bring it up for Eijis sake. Eiji meanwhile nods his head. "I'm glad to hear she's studying! Staying focused on school is very important, hopefully I will see her tomorrow." Ash narrows his eyes as Eijis father clears his throat to break through the tension surrounding the group. "Well you guys must be jet lagged from the flight! How about we all get into the car and head back to the house and we will set you guys up so you can rest. We will talk in the morning, and catch up on everything then. Is that okay?" Eiji's father informs the group of men in front of him. "Yes sir!" All the men shout simultaneously. Eijis parents nod and the small group of people slowly head out of the airport. As they are walking out Ash overhears Eijis mother whisper softly to his father, "When should we tell him? He has the right to know dear." Ash raises his brows at this. 'What are they hiding from Eiji? This probably has something to do with his sister' Ash thinks, his mind mulling over different scenarios in his head. "We will y'all him tomorrow just let him be happy right now, it'll crush him." Ash hears Eijis father whisper back. Ash tries to ignore the growing suspicion. Now that Ash thinks about it, everyone in the airport seems very quiet and on edge, as if waiting for the worst to happen. Or like something is happening that they don't know about. As they walk, he can feel the eyes of the other people in the building stare at him with hostility in their eyes. 'What is going on here?' Ash thinks. "Hey Ash! You coming you're taking forever!" Eiji shouts to Ash as he is snapped form his thoughts. Ash shakes his head, and waves to Eiji that he's coming.
*Timeskip to at the Okumura household*
"Thank you again for letting us stay with you while we visit!" Max thanks again and bows politely to Eijis parents. "Are you sure Eijis sister will be alright with us sleeping in here?" Aha inquires, curious to see how they react. They both suck in a sharp breath and quickly avert their eyes before slowly looking back at their guests, now with a fake smile that never reached their eyes. "Of course! Ayumi would've slept on the couch anyways, she wouldn't want her guests to sleep on the floor. Now we will let you two be and I'll have Eiji wake you up in the morning. Goodnight. Eijis mother bowed before her and her husband scurried from the room. "What was that about? Are they okay? They seemed uncomfortable to even talk about their own daughter." Max inquired while rubbing his chin, and then yawned.

Ash raised a brow at this behaviour as well, before sighing and falling back onto the bed. He looks to his side to see a photo of Eiji and his parents, and also a young girl. She has the same pitch black hair, warm brown eyes that make you feel safe and protected, and pale porcelain skin that makes her seem unearthly. Ash picks up the photo and inspects it closely. The girl has an almost unearthly beauty to her, she has the kindest smile that brightens up anyone's day in her presence. "Is that his sister?" Max looks down at the photo in Ash's hands. Ash traces the frame with his hands. "She's very beautiful.... Eijis parents aren't telling him something about his sister." Ash states matter of factly, and meanwhile puts the photo back onto the dresser and curls up into a ball on the bed. Max tried to question him by what he means but is dismissed and grumbles about Ash's attitude before laying down himself and slowly falling asleep. Ash lays awake for a while pondering over what might've happened to Eijis sister, before slowly falling asleep himself.