A year later.
Eiji was back in the United States. Recently, he had been accepted to the university here in New York. The plan that he would study abroad worked out perfectly and everything seemed to be going well for him.
For a whole year, he devoted himself to practicing his English skills and studying hard. With the hope that Ash was still out there, somewhere. He was aware of the fact that he might never see his friend again, he still continued to hope that Ash was safe and happy, even after learning of his disappearance.
The japanese boy was exploring his new university campus. He was impressed by the beautiful buildings. Eiji felt glad to have found such a great place to learn. It was a good day, with the sun shining brightly.
Eiji had already viewed images of the campus online. The scenery here is even more beautiful than the website portrayed it. He observed a familiar face while walking around, and recognized the person. Their eyes met and held for a moment before either of them spoke.
"(Y/N)?"
(Y/N) was surprised to see Eiji here. She couldn't believe he would show up here unannounced. Why didn't he tell her he was back? The girl beamed with joy as she saw dear friend. "Eiji! When did you get back here?" (Y/N) was surprised and hugged him tightly when she saw him. He returned the hug, seeming genuinely happy to see her. It has been a year since Eiji left, and the two of them have never spoken once.
"I'm so happy to see you! I got back yesterday!" He looked very happy as he said this. Eiji was relieved beyond words, feeling like he had been through so much and now he finally had a friend back in his life. Being at a new school and unfamiliar surroundings can be difficult, especially for someone who is not familiar with a foreign country.
(Y/N) appeared surprised when she heard Eiji speak English almost fluently. "Wow. When did your English get better Eiji?"
He told her that he had spent the past year completely focused to his studies.
"But you know. We can still talk in japanese in case we want to talk about someone, or just in general like we used to."
Eiji smiled as he remembered some of the fun times they had. Thinking about the happy times they had spent together, laughing and joking. He felt lucky to have had such a good friend.
"Of course."
"You're letting your hair grow?" (Y/N) touched his hair lightly, feeling the soft strands between her fingers. The girl noticed that his hair had grown a bit longer since she last saw him.
Eiji chuckled and then scratched his head. He wasn't sure how to answer the question and didn't know what to say, so he just stood there awkwardly. "I don't know, I guess?"
"It looks weird."
Eiji was taken aback by what (Y/N) had said. He stared at her with confusion, not knowing what to say or do. She laughed and hit him playfully, suggesting that he was being silly.
"What? I'm kidding. Don't make a face like that."
(Y/N) was still worried about Eiji, even after he had been gone for so long. "You should have called me, Eiji. It was really weird just running into you here without any warning."
Eiji looked away, he was lost in thought, not able to come up with an explanation.
"We have lost contact (Y/N).."
After she sighed, she looked up at the sky. "Yeah I know. Maybe it was better that way. We both needed a break." Both of them were walking slowly towards the building, their steps slow and purposeful. Eiji stopped and turned to face (Y/N), wanting to fix the wrong that he had done, and make it right.
"You're right actually. I should've called you since I was actually worried.. about Shorter and everything. If I remember it right it was still affecting you a bit."
(Y/N)'s features gradually changed, as if she was feeling something new and unfamiliar. She hasn't heard that name in a long time. However, before Eiji could react, she just laughed it off and avoided his gaze.
"Oh come on Eiji. What are you talking about? You needed a break from all that has happened. Let's get going."
—
"So when did you decide to go here? I never even imagined that you would stay here."
Eiji asked her. He really was surprised, since he really didn't know how (Y/N) was doing after all. It was his own fault that he didn't try to reach out to her again, anyway.
The black-haired boy knew that he should have done something, but he was too afraid.
The reason why he came to America was in search of a more optimistic or fulfilling feeling. He was struggling with a deep depression after his accident and felt that he needed a change of scenery in order to get back on the right track. When Eiji returned from America last year, it became clear that the situation was worsening. Eventually, he tried to forget about it all and moved on. It seemed to work for awhile, until now.
"I know, after me trying to escape back then sort of failed. Well after all that has happened, I thought maybe I still had a future." She told him.
"I mean you know, since Dino is gone and all the others. So I thought maybe I should try leaving my old life behind, by applying for colleges. I wish Ash could've too. Oh and by the way. Sing is also going to uni here."
Now Eiji was completely taken aback by this. Sing had graduated from high school and was already attending college?
"What? Sing is here? I thought-"
(Y/N) interrupted him before he could continue speaking. "Can you believe it? He sort of left his gang life behind and even got taller. I think he's now tall like you. He used to be so short!"
"I didn't expect either that he would ever go to college. I'm not sure where he is right know though, we don't really talk. I can already tell you: he's going to be surprised as you are."
The way she told Eiji, it didn't seem like she was interested in how Sing was doing. He laughed nervously, unsure of what to say. "I really can't imagine that.."
—
(Y/N) and Eiji entered the lecture hall and took their seats. The room was already quite full, and the students were bustling about. This hall is significantly larger than the halls at Eijis old university. Everything felt so new, different, and unfamiliar. Eiji felt like he was discovering everything for the first time. Feeling overwhelmed with the new experiences and sights he was seeing. And he couldn't get enough of it.
He had one good reason for coming here, though it wasn't the only one. The most important thing was that he would get the answers he needed.
"I saw a poster today, of Ash. They're still being hung up at some places."
Eiji also saw the missing persons poster of Ash in the city when he arrived yesterday. He couldn't help but worry, wanting to find him as soon as possible. No matter how hard he tried, he could never forget Ash. Sometimes he wishes he could go back and change everything that happened. Wishing he could rewind time and have a different life, one where he never met him.
"Ash Lynx
...
Missing.
19 years old.
..."
The disappearance of him was mentioned in the newspaper. Ash briefly appeared in the article. Since the case has been unsolved for a long time, no one seems to be interested anymore. Last year, the case was quite popular. Not just in the US, but all over the world.
"I also saw one yesterday. But.. I mean he's dead right? That's probably it."
For a brief moment, there was silence.
Eiji never sounds hopeless, and no one could ever imagine hearing something so discouraging from him. He was the one who always said he would wait forever for Ash. Someone who always keeps his word.
"I.. never really thought you'd say that."
(Y/N) answered him with a hesitant voice.
After his statement, she wasn't really sure what to think. She certainly was surprised to see Eiji in this light, as it was usually the other way around. They chatted for a little before the lecture started.
Eiji thought about what he and (Y/N) could talk about, given how long it's been since they've seen each other. They could probably talk about anything, but Eiji is particularly interested in what she has been up to. "Do you live on campus (Y/N)?"
(Y/N) shook her head. "Uh no. I live at my house. At first I wanted to move in here later, but now I don't really want to anymore. What about you?"
"I own a place nearby now.." He replied, fiddling with his pen nervously.
Their conversations were starting to feel really awkward. Well, it's been so long. But still, Eiji couldn't think of anything to talk to her about, even after all this time. They were once so close (Y/N) tried to avoid talking about Ash, mostly because she didn't want to upset him and partly because she did not want to bring up a painful topic. Eiji was a bit disappointed when she didn't mention Ash during their conversation. It was difficult to accept that everything had changed.
As the lecture began, they saw someone walking past them. The person was moving quickly, and they seemed to be in a hurry.
"Great. See who's here.."
(Y/N) eyed the person, who she could only assume was Sing.
Sing was surprised to see Eiji sitting next to (Y/N), as he hadn't seen him in a while. It was clear to them that he was surprised, and his facial expression told them all they needed to know. With a single step, he turned away from them and headed to his seat. (Y/N) couldn't help but feel disappointed that it was all he did, just sitting there without saying hello or making any effort to engage with them.
Eiji looked perplexed about the encounter and couldn't quite figure out what was going on. "That's weird.. What's up with the both of you? Are you fighting?"
(Y/N) on the other side seemed unfazed by the situation, while Sing appeared to be upset. "I didn't just loose touch with you Eiji. Sing and me lost touch too right after you left. But I don't care. He's annoying anyway."
(Y/N) was disturbed by a message on her phone, her mood switching rapidly between nervousness and unease.
"Are you okay?"
Eiji noticed that something was off.
(Y/N)'s eyes turned straight away from the phone. She looked at Eiji and nodded in agreement. "Hm? Sure." He looked over at Sing, who looked back at him. They seemed to share a moment of understanding before Sing turned away, back to focus on the lecture.
After classes were over, (Y/N) and Eiji walked back home together. He indeed had a positive first day at his new college and was looking forward to his studies here. It's possible that his life was going in the right direction, or he may have just been lucky. (Y/N) noticed another missing poster of Ash as they walked home. She wondered if he was okay, and whether anyone had seen him or knew where he was.
".. Does it ever stop? I'm tired of looking at it." Eiji let out a heavy sigh, tearing the paper off the board where it was pinned.
"I'm sorry Eiji, try not to think about it. They're going to find him. I'll call you later alright?" (Y/N) struggled to find the right words to comfort him, unsure of what to say.
"Yeah. Bye."
—
Eiji finished his work and was ready to take a break. He headed to the New York library, where he was supposed to meet (Y/N). Ever since Eiji returned, he has been wanting to visit the library. At the same time, it pains him to think about all the memories he had made at that place.
Eiji always looked for Ash, no matter where he was. He found himself drawn to him and developing a strong connection to him. There is no way to change what will always remain the same.
The boy saw flashing red and blue lights in the distance, which indicated that there was an emergency. He quickly approached the scene to find out what was happening.
That is very strange, he thought.
Eiji was surprised to see the ambulance and police cars parked in front of the library, he started to have a bad feeling, unsure what was causing it.
He started to run as quickly as he could.
.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.
.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.
When Eiji saw (Y/N) at the scene, he instinctively hugged her and couldn't be more glad that she was safe and sound.
"You're okay! What happened?!"
"They found him." she told him, with a blank expression.
Eiji could feel that (Y/N) was shaking as he held her hand. He became even more concerned as he realized the seriousness of the situation. "Ash! Where is he? Let me see him-" While he searching for an entrance into the library, (Y/N) grabbed his arm to prevent him from going any further.
"Eiji."
He turned around, looking at her.
"They found his body."