{ *sips tea*

I brewed some tea for you all. Come on, take a seat. You know you want to... ;). }

" Ash, you were late to school for the past two days. What's going on?"

Ash said nothing and poked at his breakfast. He and the makeshift family of his were all sitting at the table and having a morning meal together, and Max looked up to Jessica. She stood up and pushed in her chair, taking Michael from the seat beside her.

" Come on, honey, Daddy and Ash have to talk about something really quick." She said, and the little boy looked across the table before gripping his mother's hand and walking with her out into the other room.

" Is something going on?" Max asked, setting down his fork.

" Don't ask questions you don't want to know the answers to." Ash lowly replied. Max knew that he was the head of a gang, yes, that much was true. But as far as the foster father was aware, things had been relatively peaceful recently. What was Ash supposed to say? He tried not to bring up Dino.

Max became more concerned at that and raised his eyebrows.

" Ash, I'm worried. I need you to tell me what's going on."

" Why? There's nothing you'll be able to do about it anyhow besides write it in the paper, and believe me... that's the last thing you want to do." Ash kept looking down.

" Is it something with Golzine? Is he giving you problems again?" Max asked. That was his first thought, being that Ash and he had quite a history, even if things had been quiet recently.

" So what if it is? I just have to go to school and act like a good boy regardless." Ash remarked.

" Don't be like that. If you're about to get tangled up with something, I need to know you're safe. If you're in danger by leaving this house then take a sick day-"

Ash had been gritting his teeth up until then, but he couldn't take it anymore. Max wasn't stupid, don't get him wrong, but when it came to this type of thing, he was dumber than a box of rocks.

" Don't you get it?! This isn't about one day! And frankly, you all are safer when I'm not here!" He yelled. " I'm not meant for school! It doesn't make any sense for me to be there. I'm a fucking ruthless murderer!"

" Don't speak about yourself that way!" Max raised his voice. " You still have a chance in this world!"

" Only as a killer! In case you didn't notice, the old man gave me a better education than any class ever could!" Ash stood and looked down at him, livid. " You expect too much of a thug like me!"

Max made a face as he tried to keep his temper at bay. Ash was such a smart boy and yet he could be so stupid. It was infuriating that he wouldn't just abandon the gang life, but at the same time, he tried to think of it from Ash's perspective. Those guys were his second family and it was sad to say, but he couldn't betray them. It would be like betraying himself.

" Listen... just... can you promise me that if you leave today, you'll at least try to be safe? I know that I can't keep you away from your guys, but I can plead with you to keep track of yourself." Max begged.

Ash pinched the bridge of his nose, knowing that with everything that was going on, it might be better if he wasn't home for the next few days.

" I'll be at Shorter's for a while. Some of my guys will be watching over the house, and in the meantime, you need to lock all of the doors and set the security system." Ash said before walking out of the kitchen. He found Michael in the living room, struggling to tie his shoes like Jessica had left him to do.

Ash took down the hood on his sweatshirt and knelt down by him, his makeshift little brother.

" Ash, help..." He whimpered and let go of the laces in a huff.

Ash managed to chuckle and then laced up the tiny red Converse on his feet. He'd begged Jessica for them at the store a few weeks ago since Ash had them.

" There. You be good while I'm gone, alright? I'm heading to my friend's for a while." The blonde used a soft voice, and Michael nodded. He stood and opened his arms for a hug, and Ash picked him up and held him, his eyes closing as he hugged him. Ever since he was old enough to not be a kid anymore, he had always had a soft spot for children.

Ash grabbed his bag and left the house, already having arranged to meet Shorter at his place before school, and when he arrived, Shorter was waiting for him at the doorstep.

" Sup."

" Max is starting to suspect something." Ash told him.

" I know you don't want to hear this, but the guy cares about you. It makes sense he'd be worried." Shorter chuckled awkwardly and let Ash in the house, and Ash rolled his eyes.

" The old fart might be better off minding his own business." He dropped his bag by the door. " For now, let's keep some of the Dino stuff secret. Tell your guys that they need to watch their backs, alright? I don't want this to tangle you up, too."

" What do you mean?! He's already killed plenty of my guys!" Shorter exclaimed. " We're in this together..."

" Fine... then... we have to be ready for anything." Ash sighed. " We'll all meet at the bar after school."

...

Eiji was walking out of his first period when he saw the people gathered at Ash's locker again, and before he could even realize it, Skip was walking up from behind him and saying hi. The Japanese male was startled but greeted him back.

" What's up?" Skip asked in a friendly way.

" Just... school? I guess." Eiji chuckled. He looked up and saw a bright blonde head of hair in the sea of people, and soon he and Skip had gone over to the locker as well. Ash had just pulled a pencil out of his locker and shut it, shoving it into his pocket.

" Good morning." Eiji greeted, and Ash turned away from his guys once he heard the sweet voice cut through them all.

" Good morning." He replied. " How's America treating you?"

" You know... pretty good." Eiji smiled, and he felt his cheeks heating up slightly as he stared at Ash. There was just something captivating about him, something that made him want to stay by him. Maybe that was how everyone else at the lockers felt, too.

There was a very large black guy with a kind of mohawk standing there, and with him was a shorter white guy with pinkish ginger colored hair. It was braided in the back and scruffy in the front, and Ash leaned to whisper by them soon enough.

" Kong, Bones. I need you to go with Alex and keep watch on Max and Jessica today. I've already arranged for someone to shadow them when they pick Michael up later, but leave and park down the street where you can see the house. If you see anything weird, Alex knows what to do" He whispered.

" Okay, Boss." They both replied, not even going to question him.

" So, Eiji, how tall are you?" Shorter chuckled, looking down at him. It had been a random question he was wondering, and Ash turned back to the conversation as Alex and the two others walked away without a word.

" Erm..." Eiji thought for a moment, and while he was distracted, Shorter glanced over his shoulder. He could feel them being watched, and he was right as he saw two guys across the hall and down some lockers. They whispered and stared at Ash's group, and Shorter noted it before tuning back in. " Like 5'4?"

" That's short." Skip poked fun.

" You're calling me short?!" Eiji exclaimed, looking at the pitifully small freshman.

" I'm in the middle of a growth spurt!" He stuck out his tongue, and Ash laughed while watching the exchange.

" I guess people are just smaller in Japan." He said, and everyone else began to laugh. Eiji wondered why everyone felt the need to follow or be a part of everything Ash said, but he didn't quite ask them.

" It's not my fault that you American's are tall." He retorted, and most of the guys watched in shock. No one EVER got sarcastic with Ash. No one besides Shorter or Skip. Who did this new guy think he was?

Ash patted Eiji's shoulder.

" Boo hoo." He teased, then got a chill as he realized that something wasn't right. His green eyes cut inconspicuously across the hall and he saw that there were some guys there, staring at his group. They began to walk away when they noticed that he had seen them, but Ash kept his guard up. He didn't know who specifically they were eyeballing, but he didn't want to take any chances.

" Hey, Skip. Meet me here after school before you go to the bar." Ash told him. The freshman was somewhat confused but went along with it anyways.

...

It was getting near to the end of the day when Eiji asked for a pass to go to his locker. He'd been so busy trying to get his essay in on time that he'd forgotten his math homework there, something which he rarely ever left behind. In Japan it was seen as socially unacceptable to do such a thing.

He was just undoing his lock when he got a weird feeling. It was something that he didn't have much experience with at all, but he knew that maybe something was... off. Looking over his shoulder, Eiji saw someone duck behind a corner.

" You're just imagining things..." He whispered to himself and pulled the locker door open, only to have a note fall at his feet.

Kneeling and picking it up, Eiji looked around himself again. There was nothing, absolutely nothing. He figured he was supposed to unfold it and read it, so he did.

You might wanna call in to work tonight samurai boy

Eiji gasped and looked around him, his breathing going shallower. He could hardly think as the words played over in his head. Who was there?! Who had left that?! Was that a threat?!

Right as Eiji was about to spiral into a panic attack and rush to the main office of the school, he found that someone familiar was in the hall. His eyes widened and he realized that it was Ash, and he tried not to continue with the commotion.

" Eiji? What's going on?" He asked, and Eiji was shaking as he handed over the note. Since Ash and Skip were essentially his only close friends, he knew he could share it with them.

Ash took it and once he read the words, his heart began to race. He didn't show it, however. Instead, Ash put forth his manly and dominant front, not wanting to seem vulnerable.

" You need to come to my locker after school." He told Eiji seriously.

" Why? Who would do this-"

" Listen, I know this must seem really strange of me to say, but I need you to trust me." Ash said, and there was just something about his tone and the look in his eyes that compelled Eiji to listen to whatever he said in that moment.

Eiji gulped.

" O-... Okay?"

Nothing like this ever happened in Japan. He could never recall being so confused about a person in his life. People there were usually all work and no play, or at least at school. It was rare to have an incident like this happen in his life, let alone at school of all places.

Ash put the note into his pocket, then tried to calm himself down. He leaned on the locker next to Eiji's, glancing down at him.

" Grab what you need." He told him. Normally he would've just left, but Eiji was close with Skip and welcomed by his guys. He was practically one of his own after just a few days. There was no way he could just leave him there.

Eiji gulped and nodded, his hands fumbling on the inside of the locker until he pulled out a graph paper notebook. He stood and locked his locker, then looked over to the American. Even if he wouldn't admit it, having him there provided him with some assurance.

Ash walked by Eiji's side with his hands in his pockets, only glancing down each hall they passed for a moment to check it. And as he eventually got him back to math class, he knew that something was up. With Dino's rats on the inside of the school... word of Eiji's arrival must've gotten back to him.

But just what did that note mean?

...

He'd never planned on bringing Eiji anywhere outside of school, not once before then. What other choice did he have, though? Just letting Eiji go to work would've been sending him to his death as far as he knew.

" So where are we going? I haven't been on this street before..." Eiji said, his eyes catching on all the buildings as they went.

Skip glanced back to Shorter, who glanced back to Ash.

" Our after school hangout." He replied calmly.

" But what is it?" Eiji asked.

Shorter chuckled and draped an arm over his shoulder in a chummy way.

" You ask too many questions. Just come on. We don't wanna be late to the party." He told him, guiding his shoulders and trying to get him to walk faster. Ash got the hint and picked up his pace, all the while keeping his eyes on his back, and Skip was nearly out of breath from trying to keep up with them.

When they finally arrived to the bar, they showed Eiji down the stairs.

" Should I tell Ibe I'm here?" Eiji asked.

" Nah. We'll have you home later."

" What about work-"

There were so many things that he couldn't know, but Ash thought about how they'd have to tell Eiji at least something. The foreigner wasn't stupid, and he wouldn't just go with what they said without knowing anything, even if it was for his own good.

When they hit the bottom of the stairs, Ash couldn't take it anymore and grabbed Eiji's wrist, pulling him toward the back room.

" Hey, what-"

" I'm only going to say this once, so listen." Ash told him, shutting the door and letting go of him. There was something so serious about his demeanor that Eiji couldn't help but shut his mouth. " My name is Ash Lynx, I'm 17, and I'm the leader of one of New York's most dangerous gangs. We control the downtown market and minimize fights between other gangs, and so many people stand by my locker because they're a part of it." He said, and Eiji stood there with wide eyes. " I wanted to keep you out of things, but with the note, they know you're affiliated with us. This is for your own safety that we've brought you here. Tonight when you go home, I'm going to have one of my guys on the street keeping watch over your place. Do you understand?"

Eiji was speechless at that point, his mind racing. A gang?! American gangs had guns and knives and they hurt people, and Ash was right there with a pretty face and a cool and calm demeanor. He didn't seem like a killer at all!

" I-... have you ever killed anyone?" Eiji asked, and Ash stood still for a second.

" Yeah."

" I-um... what about Skip and the others? You guys don't seem so bad-"

" Skip befriended you because you were new and nice. He never meant to get you involved with this." Ash explained. " You can't go to the police or adults with this. We will keep you safe, but you need to trust me."

" Safe from who?"

Ash looked down and sighed. Now that was a whole other issue and explanation.

" Just... bad people. Very bad people."

This didn't seem real. Eiji was in disbelief, but there was something about Ash that made it impossible to not believe what he said. He didn't doubt for a second that he was telling the truth, however. He knew he couldn't tell Ibe or anyone else about what was going on, even if it was all starting to make sense. Everyone was scared of and respected Ash because he was the leader, and they listened to him because they were fighting bad people.

And now he was in the middle of it.

They re-emerged from the room and Eiji had his hands tightly gripping the straps of his backpack, everyone looking their way.

" Everyone be on guard. We have reason to believe that that danger is coming. Eiji is one of us now, so you are to protect him like our own."

" Yes, Boss!"

Eiji felt himself break into a nervous sweat.

What had he gotten himself into?

{ Eiji just realized some s h i z z O-O }