save my soul | banana fish

☆ chapter 1 ☆

eiji's sister will be named kaori after the apple koi fics. they are so beautifully written. i highly recommend that you check them out.

this chapter deals with accidental self harm. read at own risk.

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2 months.

It had been 2 months since the apparent death of Ash.

Once Eiji got home to Japan, none of his family questioned why he looked so tired. None of them questioned why he cried heavy tears into his futon late into the night. None of them knew who or whatever Eiji loved so dearly.

That was probably for the best. 

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"Nii-chan. Nii-chan. Wake up."

Eiji woke up screaming at 4 a.m. He put a cold hand on his face, feeling his sweat dripping like a leaky faucet. "I thought I could forget you." He rubbed his eyes and lightly tossed his covers to the side. "I need to go to the restroom."

His featherlight footsteps made little creaks on the tatami as he made his way over to the restroom. He gently opened the door and sighed of relief. "My hair's gotten longer," Eiji smiled. Tender and callused hands go up to stroke his downy black hair that reached below his nape. Eiji ran his fingers through, untangling all his knots. 

"I've been busy lately, so I've no time to cut it," He whispers. Eiji continues to fiddle with his hair until he hears the door behind him click open. "Kaori?"

The smaller girl tilted her head, "Who are you speaking to? The mirror? And in English!" Eiji stops in his tracks and slams his hands over his agape mouth. "Sorry, I'm still half asleep so I wasn't really sure what I was saying," He fibbed. 

Kaori punched him in the stomach. "Whatever Nii-chan. Go back to bed." She stomped out the bathroom. Eiji gave out a small chuckle and  gave her a toothy grin. The door clicked. He fell to his knees. He grasped his arms tightly, panting. Eiji curled up into a ball and started to scratch his frail appendages. He looked at the ground. He looked at his arms. 

He gave out a shaky, wet breath and got up. "Bandage. Where are the bandages?" Eiji quietly wept. He held his arms and tiptoed back to his room. He opened a drawer and grabbed a small black bag. His cold hand trembled to get the zipper open and reach for the first aid kit. He opened the latch, and grabbed band-aids. But, these weren't the bandages Eiji was looking to find.

"S-Sesame Street. Band-aids.."

Eiji whimpered and slowly took off the wrappers.

It was going to be a long night.

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