{ WARNING! There is a nod to Ash's past sexual assault in this chapter. If you are sensitive, don't read the italics. 

Anyways, hi! Sorry for the late update. I moved for the first time in my life and am settling into my dorm while also writing two fanfictions behind the scenes. Plus you know, corona does wonders for writer's block. Now that I'm moved in I should update much more frequently! I love you all and thank you for being so patient. 

-Soki :) }

Ash normally woke up very early, earlier than the average thug, and even earlier than the average normal person. Except... something was different about that morning. If he would've felt someone next to him on any other day, he would've pulled a knife and shanked them out of reflex, but not then.

As he lifted his drowsy head, he found that Eiji had rolled over onto him in the middle of the night, the other's left arm draped over him and Eiji's head resting on his chest. Ash told himself that he couldn't think more of it than it was, slowly trying to untangle himself from the Japanese male. That was when he realized that he'd wrapped one of his own arms around Eiji as well, making his heart beat faster.

GOD FUCKING DAMN IT! He wasn't supposed to have any sort of feelings left after everything. Ash felt the urge to rip out his own hair from frustration, then took a deep breath and got off of the slightly deflated air mattress. He calmed himself and covered Eiji back up with the covers, an action which made him stir slightly. Thankfully, though, he stayed sleeping.

Ash resisted the voice in his head telling him to hurl himself out the window and went down from the loft. He needed a second to think about things. On his way out, he saw that everyone else was still passed out downstairs.

The sun outside was just beginning to peek out from behind the hill, reddish orange in its color. The backdrop was also purply pink and there were pretty grey clouds in the sky as well. He walked out there, putting his hands in his pockets and strolling through the damp grass. It was cool and crisp out there, about 50 degrees. He liked it that way, not too hot and not too cold.

After he reached the hill, he sat down and tucked his knees to his chest, watching the sun and the grass as it swayed in the breeze.

" Eiji..." He murmured. " Why are you so nice to someone like me...?"

It didn't take long after that for Eiji's body to notice the warmth beside him was gone and wake him up. He looked around and yawned, seeing that Ash was nowhere to be found. The sun was barely out and he squinted while looking out the window.

After heading downstairs from the loft, Eiji found Shorter and Skip awake, looking at something on Shorter's phone.

" Morning." Skip whispered, not wanting to wake up Max or Ibe.

" Good morning." Eiji replied quietly. " Do you know where Ash went?"

" I thought I heard him slip out earlier." Shorter yawned. He looked sort of different without his sunglasses on, but it was too early in the morning to wear them yet. He needed to give his eyes a minute to adjust first.

" Alright... I'm going for a walk." Eiji told them, then pulled the door open and escaped without making much noise.

Skip glanced over at Shorter, who was already looking to him.

" Did you really hear Ash leave or did you just tell him that?" He asked.

" I really heard him." Shorter replied. He couldn't help himself. He just wanted to see Ash happy, but that couldn't happen if he kept avoiding the things that brought him joy.

Eiji had to look around for a while before he saw Ash atop the hill.

" You didn't turn when you heard me coming. That's not like you." Eiji chuckled as he took a seat beside him, and by then, Ash had mellowed out. He didn't want to make a big deal about what had happened the night before and would've rather not talked about it.

" I knew it was you." Ash simply told him, turning and smirking slightly.

" Yeah? How is that?" Eiji asked.

" You hardly make any noise when you step. Neither does Ibe. I think it's a Japanese thing." The blonde explained, which made Eiji snicker. Americans did the weirdest things.

" I guess." He said, shifting and sitting cross legged beside him.

Eiji tried to push any thoughts of what happened the previous night aside. If Ash hadn't brought it up, then he wouldn't press about it either. It was just... Ash was so stubborn. He knew he couldn't convince him to sleep in the bed for as long as they were there, cause that was totally what this was about, right?

They stayed in silence for a while, just sitting by each other and keeping their eyes on the horizon where the sun was getting higher and higher in the sky. It seemed as though they didn't even need to say anything to have a conversation, not needing to speak as they stayed close together.

" What makes Eiji so different?" Skip asked Shorter, whispering as the two stayed at the bottom of the hill. After a while, they'd wondered if Eiji had really went to find Ash and investigated, not having been spotted by them. " I've never seen Ash like anyone in that way before..." The freshman added.

Shorter pushed his sunglasses up his nose and thought about who Eiji was and how he was basically a ray of sunshine and innocence. He knew Ash saw something in him, and maybe it might've boiled down to how kind the foreigner was, not judging him for his past as most Americans did.

He didn't want to tell Skip that, though. The chance he would've blown Ash's cover around Eiji was too high, even if he wouldn't ever do that on purpose.

" I'm not sure..." Shorter replied. " But all I know is that he makes Ash really happy. We can't let anyone mess that up for them."

Skip nodded, and with that, he and Shorter began to head back toward the house.

...

It was early in the evening when Ash sat down for a drink with Max in the bar. The sun was still out, but they maybe had an hour of daylight left at best.

" We're going to figure all of this out and give Golzine what he deserves. I promise." Max said, raising up his partial glass of whiskey, and Ash only had a tiny bit in the bottom of his own as he clinked it with Max's.

" I can drink to that." Ash replied, and behind them, he heard the doors from the back swinging open. His father was arriving, making Ash have a straight face, one free from an emotion that would hint his mood one way or the other.

Max scowled and huffed, but tried to contain himself for Ash's sake. It was then when Shorter, Eiji, Skip, and Ibe all arrived, sitting down as well.

Ash slammed the rest of his drink and got up, leaving and shoving his hands in his pockets. He needed some time to himself before they left in the morning.

" Where are you all headed after you take Griff's things?" Ash's father asked, coming over and pulling out a chair before sitting down with a glass of hard liquor. There was a fair amount in there, one that a man his size would've had to have been careful with if he didn't want to pass out.

" What? Now you care?" Max asked.

" Well..." He sighed. " I do. I just... Ash and I did not leave on very good terms. Who are you anyways?"

" I'm Max. The one who adopted your kid." Max replied, drinking some more.

Eiji watched the whole thing in worry, not wanting a fight to ensue, but Shorter was ready to break one up if it so came to it.

" I see. Thank you for dealing with him. It was too much for me... but... Ash had a very troubled past. I can't blame him for being the way he is." The father admitted and took a large gulp from his glass, letting the alcohol sting his throat a lot. " He was about 8 when he first killed a guy..."

There was a gasp from everyone in the room.

" 8?! That's absurd!" Ibe exclaimed.

Eiji wondered if he should've even been listening to this. It felt like an invasion of Ash's privacy, but he didn't quite say that. He only sat there and looked down, feeling so bad for Ash after knowing it. Why would a child have to do such a thing?

" Why'd he do it?" Skip asked.

" It was his teacher... had a thing for young boys. It went on for over a year before Ash took one of my guns and defended himself. But after that... it was too much for him and he ran away..."

The world was so disgusting.

Meanwhile, Ash was just sitting out on the hillside and looking out into the vast area before him. He wanted to go back to a simpler time, but he knew that it was far too late for such wishes.

Even as he shook those thoughts from his mind, he found a certain dark chocolate color creeping up into his head. He thought about Eiji, how happy he was when he was by his side. He wondered if maybe it wasn't too late for him to find such a connection with someone, but then was brought down to reality. They lived in different worlds. They were polar opposites, he tried to convince himself.

But if that were the case... why was he always thinking of him?

Even as darkness fell upon the property and Ash hid away in the loft, he tried to make sense of himself. That wasn't any easier when he heard faint footsteps behind him, though, setting down the picture of his brother.

" Hey... you disappeared for a while. You feeling alright?" Eiji asked, sitting on the air mattress and glancing over at him. He patted beside himself as if telling Ash to take a seat. And for whatever reason, Ash listened and did so.

" I'm fine. Just tired." Ash told him, and Eiji didn't believe him, but it wasn't like he was going to press, even after having learned some things from Ash's father.

" Why don't you go to bed then? It's past 9 already..." Eiji suggested, and Ash pinched the bridge of his nose. He was sort of tired if he was being honest, not sure if being home was just stressing him out. Plus... it made it a little more tempting to listen when it was Eiji suggesting it to him.

Ash nodded, having a momentary thought of crawling on the floor, but Eiji got up. He told him to lay back and proceeded to put the covers over Ash.

" Sleep well." He told the blonde male, shutting off the lights and heading downstairs. All Eiji could hope was that Ash was getting by. He didn't need him to be perfect as far as his mental state went... but still... he needed Ash to at least be stable. He wanted to do more to help him... but he had the feeling that there were boundaries with Ash he shouldn't have crossed yet.

...

" Oh, yes... such a good boy... you love it when I spoil you..."

Ash wanted to puke.

Ash wanted to die.

Ash wanted his soul to disintegrate into nothingness.

" Tell me you like it..."

" I-... I like it..." He grit his teeth.

Things were always the same with the old man. He had to lie, pretend he still felt alive inside, and then he would get by. He did what he had to do to survive in that awful place... and every few days... Dino used him for whatever needs he had at that time.

And after it was all done, Ash was able to hose off everything. He trembled and slid down in the glass shower, clutching his hair and wishing that things could be different. He didn't need love, nothing so pretentious as that. He just wanted someone to care, to care about how many times he'd been raped and beaten and used.

It seemed like it would never end.

" I hope you're ready for round two, Sweetie..." Was chuckled in a deep voice as the bathroom door was unlocked from the outside.

And that was when Ash sat up, soaked with sweat and breathing heavily. He clutched the front of his shirt and looked around himself in a paranoid fashion, realizing that it had all been some demented nightmare.

He looked down and saw Eiji sleeping on the floor, snoring quietly and apparently content with it.

Ash wiped the sweat from his forehead and let out deeper, calmer breath. He needed some air. Putting on a sweater and grabbing his gun, he went outside and began to walk. It was close to midnight, or so the position of the moon told him.

He thought maybe a drink would help, even if it was just some water. Making his way toward the bar, he saw that there was an unfamiliar black car in front of the building. He drew his gun and stealthily approached, peering in the window to find two of Dino's men in suits. Shit! So they'd found them? They had to make a break for Los Angeles.

There was a clear struggle inside and a gunshot rang out as Ash's dad was shot in the leg, and Jennifer, who was behind the bar, screamed.

Ash ran around the front of the building, gritting his teeth and waiting for his opportunity.

Back at the house, Eiji was startled awake. That noise was way louder than Ash's gun. He scrambled off of the floor and went downstairs, finding Shorter already loading a gun and Skip running outside.

" What the hell is going on?" Max mumbled in a sleepy way from the futon.

" Fire up the truck in case we've gotta split. Now." Shorter said, then went rushing after Skip. Eiji followed after them as they all went running toward the bar, where the lights were on. There was one shot, then another, and as they all arrived in the doorway, they found Ash's father with a second bullet hole and a man in a suit with a headshot. Shorter saw the second suited man aiming for Ash, who'd stepped in front of Jennifer. That was all it took for Shorter to blow the guys brains out and he dropped like a sack of potatoes.

Eiji covered his mouth, but didn't throw up. And Ash rushed to his dad, putting pressure on his leg and lower left abdomen.

" Dad..." He said, actually emotional as tears gathered in his eyes. He might not have liked the guy, but he was his only blood family left.

" J-Jennifer, call the cops and say it was a robbery gone wrong." Ash's father said, gesturing for Shorter's gun, who handed it over. " You need to get out of here." He told them all.

Ash clenched his fists.

" But, Da-"

" Go."

By then, Max had already started up the truck and grabbed Ibe, throwing everyone's shit in the back haphazardly and speeding over to the front of the building. He was panicked, knowing that something had gone badly after all the gunshots.

Ash stayed with his dad until the last second when they started to hear sirens in the distance. Max was slowly pulling away with everyone else in response to that with the back of the truck open. That was what told Ash he had to run, telling them to take care and wiping his tears away as he chased after the truck.

" Shit!" He cursed to himself in a painful tone of voice, spelling out how distraught he was. It was like death followed wherever he went.

Shorter extended a hand and helped pull him inside of the truck as he caught up.

All Ash could hope was that LA would provide him some answers, hopefully with less devastation. 

{ Oooo... things are getting spicy. Are ya'll excited for Yut-Lung to come into the picture? The arch of the story veers away from canon events a lot after they meet him. 

And ya know... Ash and Eiji have some... bonding time. Not that kind, pervs. But it's cute. I'll hopefully be back to regular update schedule now. <3 }