'so you go your way and I'll go mine
and if we're meant to, I'll meet you there' - 5SOS
-
The days that followed after were calm ones. The aftermath of the downfall of the syndicate had been much less hassle and easier than they'd expected; any members of the syndicate left had been old followers of Akio who'd been trying to free themselves from Koji's reign as boss anyway. Tanaka had proved helpful in searching for any disgruntled members of the syndicate and he'd used his resources to dispose of said members.
Thanks to Max's connections, they set up a foundation that supported families of soldiers and anyone else affected by Banana Fish and the tyrannical ways of Koji Daikoku —Tora had handed over money left from her parents' will and any assets left in Koji's name to help fund the foundation. The crates of the counter drug 'Seikatsu' were found from the address Akio and Hina left behind, and it's to be used on the victims of Banana Fish. It will be used knowing full well that it's not the answer to completely reversing the effects of the drug itself but a way to live with it.
The one thing that they can almost certainly guarantee is that everyone involved in the production of Banana Fish itself has perished, all connections to either Golzine and Foxx or Koji completely cut off and without resources. Should anyone emerge from the shadows, the Foundation and the information the microSD contains will be more than sufficient in taking care of the repercussions.
Once they'd arrived back on land, Tora had been passed out almost the whole ride, they rushed her off to the hospital. She'd lost a lot of blood from her amputated finger and without the tip, they couldn't reattach anything. A few days of rest means that her body is much less sore than it was, despite the sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach that remains.
Leant over the balcony on the second floor of the house, Tora pulls her hood up, placing a cigarette between her bruised lips. She lights the end, inhaling deeply and exhaling into the cold air.
Her fingertips graze over the deep purple bruise on her neck and she glances down at the tip missing on her left pinkie finger, covered in bandages.
"Thought you might be here."
She raises her eyebrows, turning to see Ash standing leant against the doorway. His hands are in his jeans pockets and his red hoodie zipped up, a playful smirk on his lips.
"All packed?"
He points a thumb inside. "My bag is downstairs, not that I brought much with me."
Nodding, she turns her attention away from him and back to her cigarette, shivering slightly in the cold.
"How's your finger?" He asks.
"The doctors were right, I can't move it since the nerves are severed." She shrugs, pressing the tip of her cigarette against her lips. "A small price to pay for avenging my parents' deaths."
Sensing her aloof demeanour, Ash takes a seat on the bench. "I still can't believe it's all over."
She shakes her head. "Too good to be true."
"Blanca is back in the Caribbean, in case you wanted to know."
He takes her silence as her response to his statement.
"We couldn't have found out about the boss unless he'd gone with you that day. Max has helped too, with his connections in the journalism industry and everything."
She hums in response and he stands up, the bitter wind blowing through his hair.
"I don't have to leave, you know."
Huffing a laugh, Tora stubs out the end of the cigarette into the ashtray, turning her head to look at him. "What would you like me to do, beg you to stay? To choose me instead?"
Her nose and cheeks are flushed in the cold, her hair lazily scraped back into a ponytail, and Ash presses his lips into a thin line. "I never meant to hurt you. I'm sorry, Tora."
"You know what, don't be." She straightens, flashing him a smile. "Because it's— it's not so bad. You can't win against someone when you never had anything to lose."
Opening his mouth to answer, he purses his lips once again, nodding.
"Besides, we never would have worked out as a couple." Tora crosses her arms, leaning against the balcony as she smirks at him. "You're too stubborn for me."
He jokingly rolls his eyes. "And you're too brazen for me."
She laughs, shaking her head. "I think you're right."
"So," Ash exhales, looking out at the view. "What will you do now your only life goal has been achieved?"
Tora shrugs. "Maybe I'll take over Sensei's dojo now he's getting older, maybe I'll take a visit to London. Or perhaps I'll just do what I've always done and just simply carry on."
"I know the syndicate has been dissolved and you didn't have any desire in taking over, but has any of this changed your mind?" He asks.
She shakes her head. "Not at all."
"Will you work for Tanaka again?"
Tora sighs. "I don't know."
His eyes study her slim face, the mole below the right side of her pink lips, the mole underneath her left eye, her hazel eyes and long dark hair. He wants to remember every curve of her face, the sound of her voice when she's pissed off at him, or the sincere look in her eye as she smiles at him. Despite the cuts and bruises on her face and neck, she's at pretty as the day he first met her.
However, through all of this, he still cares for Eiji and he means more to Ash than his own life itself. He's the only person to have never asked for anything in return and Ash loves him for that.
As much as it pains him to think it, Tora and he were simply meant to meet to save each other and now they've succeeded in that, it's time to part.
"You should come with me, meet him for yourself."
Shaking her head, she tucks a strand of hair behind her ear. "I don't think that's a good idea."
"Why not?" He frowns.
"Ichi-go, Ichi-e," She tells him. "It means One time, One meeting, an encounter that only happens once in a lifetime. You learn to treasure this meeting, for it only happens once and will never recur."
He opens his mouth to answer and she steps closer to him, a hand on his shoulder as she smiles at him contently.
"I'll take you to the station."
-
People around them chatter, collecting tickets from machines, meeting old friends, answering phone calls, or taking solo adventures.
The overhead speaker crackles, announcing the imminent arrival of trains, including the one on platform 4. Ash looks up at the sign, reading 'Nishi-Izumo to Tokyo' and his chest tightens.
"He's almost here."
"You know, he's had to travel like eight hours to get here, right?"
Ash frowns, turning his attention to Tora, sat on the metal bench beside him, a strawberry flavoured lollipop in her mouth. "Another vice of yours, sugar?"
She shrugs. "Maybe I'm trying to cut down on my cigarette intake."
He looks back at the platform, eyes widening as the train pulls in. "He's here."
The train comes to a halt and after a few moments the doors open. His eyes search the crowd, scanning faces upon faces of passengers as they walk off the train and along the platform. The sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach is quickly replaced by butterflies and his chest glows with warmth.
With a backpack on his back and wearing the same attire he remembers fondly, Ash spots his mess of black hair and more importantly his wide brown eyes. The familiar smile appears on Eiji's face and he hurries through the crowds towards the ticket barrier.
His shaking hand feeds the ticket into the machine, grabbing it and stuffing it into his pocket as the gate opens. He runs into Ash's open arms, resting his head on his chest. Ash smiles, pulling him in tighter, his chin on the top of Eiji's head.
"Ash, I've been so worried about you."
Ash shakes his head. "You didn't need to be. I've been fine, knowing that I'd get to see you again someday."
"I'm so happy to see you," Eiji tells him.
They pull away, Ash placing a cold hand on Eiji's warm cheek and leaning down. His eyes stare into Eiji's, asking for permission to go further. After receiving a swift nod from him, Ash closes his eyes and presses their lips together. Eiji melts into his warmth, firmly kissing him back.
They both smile, Ash savouring the taste of his sweet lips as they pull away. "I've missed you, Eiji."
"I'm excited to meet this friend of yours that you spoke about," Eiji searches behind Ash. "Where is she?"
Eyebrows furrowed, Ash looks around, desperately trying to find her. "Tora?"
He hurries back over to where she was sitting on the bench, now an empty spot with nothing but a black biro pen left on the seat.
"Tora..." His lip quivers and he squeezes his eyes shut.
Eiji follows after him, placing a hand on his shoulder. "Ash? What's wrong?"
A tear runs down his cheek and he reaches into his pocket for his phone, eyebrows raised as his fingers brush against a piece of paper. He pulls out the folded paper and Eiji looks down.
"A letter?"
Ash looks up from the letter in his hands, glancing around before he wipes the tear away.
"Who's it from?" Eiji asks.
Ash smiles to himself. "My saviour."
Watching from afar with an unlit cigarette in her mouth, Tora tugs the hood of her hoodie up over her head, placing the cigarette back in her pocket. She tucks her hands into the pockets of her fluffy brown aviator jacket, scuffing the top of her black boots on the pavement.
Despite loving Ash as much as she does, she doesn't hate him —or Eiji for that matter. No matter how much love she feels or the pain in her chest as she walks out of the station away from him and down the busy street, she doesn't hate him for breaking her heart —the true sign of how much love she has for him.
Besides, the smile on his face that she just witnessed as he spotted Eiji was the biggest smile she's ever seen him have —much bigger than any smile she could ever hope for herself.
No matter how much her heart yearns for him and wants to hold on, she must let him go.
"Enough now," She mutters to herself. "Enough."
Her phone lights up and buzzes in her pocket. She glances down at the caller ID to see Tanaka's name and she shrugs to herself, declining the call.
"He can wait."
-
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The End.