What a freak.

That had been Ash's first impression when he had talked to Eiji for the first time.

When seeing him, there had been nothing about him that had stood out. Nothing that would draw attention and would make you cast a second glance at him. He had been nothing special.

He had looked plain, ordinary and like everyone else in China Town. The only thing that had aroused his interest had been his huge brown eyes.

Still, there was something about him that had impressed him immensely.

The police had told Eiji that he was controlling most of New York as a ruthless gang leader. He had known he was a dangerous criminal who ruled Manhattan with cold-blooded leadership and an iron fist. And yet, Eiji hadn't been scared of him at all. He hadn't trembled, hadn't kept his distance, hadn't avoided eye contact with him.

Quite the contrary, in fact. Eiji had never watched his step around him and had walked right over to him without

the slightest hesitation. He had started talking to him in his lousy English without watching his back or looking around nervously. He had just stood next to him without the slightest sign of fear and had begun asking him questions as if he'd be the neighbor next door or any ordinary person he had just met.

At first, he had thought Eiji was strange. Weird. A freak. He had assumed at the time that it was because he was Japanese, and they had grown up in different countries and cultures. After talking to him for a while, he wondered if it was because they both hadn't communicated that well since Eiji's English was awful, and he had a hard accent, so Ash had a hard time understanding what he was trying to tell him.

But after a while, he had realized that both of those assumptions had been wrong. That hadn't been the case. Eventually, he had figured out the truth. He just felt comfortable around Eiji. Most people were scared of him, respected him or despised him and wanted to kill him. They called him a monster, a killer, a devil.

Eiji had been different. He hadn't been suspicious or prejudiced against him. He treated him like a typical 17-year old teenager and had just been openly curious about him because that was just how he ticked. Even more so, Ash had figured out; he had treated him like a human being.

Eiji's attitude had fascinated him. His huge eyes and his face or his body language didn't hide anything. He had had no poker face at all, and Ash had doubted at that point that he even knew how to tell a lie. His eyes and face had reflected an honesty that had been entirely new for him. Eiji had been so innocent, naive and cheerful it had made him relax and drop his guard more and more. His open face and his genuine smile had been so refreshing that he had forgotten all the people around him when he had been talking to him.

Yet, at the same time, Eiji had been stubborn, and there had been a blazing fire in his eyes when he had called him a kid. He had touched a sore subject, it seemed. His eyes had flared up suddenly as he had told him he was, in fact, older than him. Eiji had turned around and had cleared that up while staring right into his eyes without flinching. If anything, he had been irritated, and his gaze had been burning into his. No one dared to look at him like that. Most people just avoided meeting his gaze altogether or just did so on accident, flinching at once and immediately backing down or freezing up, too scared to move.

After a while, he had noticed that he had enjoyed talking to him and how a genuine smile had dawned on his face, and his features had softened more and more. Usually, his smile was more a sarcastic smirk or a sneer, he rarely smiled, and if he did, it was fake or forced; like a mask he put on for others to see, burying his true emotions deep inside. Eiji's pure smile, however, had brought out feelings he had always kept hidden deep inside his broken soul. Eiji's laugh was warming him from the inside. It was like a band-aid, it didn't heal you at once, but it made you feel better and stopped the pain.

There was something about Eiji that had comforted him and put him at ease. So when Eiji had asked to see his gun, he had been genuinely surprised. No one had ever lived to see the day trying to touch his gun. His gun had been a sign of respect, of authority, of power. In his life, power was everything. Without his gun and his shooting skills, he would have never survived this long. So, he would never let go of it, let alone hand it to other people.

Until Eiji had come along. Eiji had explained to him that guns were illegal in Japan and had asked him if he could hold it. That had been the significant difference here. Most people just grabbed his gun without permission. They just tried to touch it to make him lose face or, as a dare, a game. Eiji had been the first person who had asked for permission to touch his gun. No one had ever asked him that. Ever.

So, Ash had handed him his gun without thinking much about it. Ash had noticed with a smirk how the whole room had gone quiet instantly, and everyone had been holding their breaths. No one in his gang had ever expected that he would hand Eiji his gun. He had foreseen that and had enjoyed their stunned expressions.

However, Eiji hadn't been fazed by that at all. Maybe he hadn't even noticed how all eyes suddenly were on him?He had taken the gun from Ash, had checked it out, and had weighed it in his hand, commenting on how heavy it was.

Then, he had handed it back, even thanking him for showing it to him. He couldn't remember when anyone had ever thanked him. He lived in a world consisting of orders, threats or demands. Here, there wasn't any room for politeness or small talk.

He had still thought Eiji was a kid, but his innocence, his warm smile, his beaming eyes and his honesty had filled him up from the inside with a warmth he had never felt before. It had felt great, and after spending some time with Eiji, he had figured out that Eiji comforted him.

He made him feel complete as if he mended the broken parts of his injured soul back together and healed him from the inside with his cheerful personality. Eiji hadn't only changed his life for the better but had taken him by storm, only that the storm had been a gentle breeze.

Looking back, Ash would never forget their first meeting. That day had given his life a new meaning, a new reason to live. Therefore, this encounter was engraved in his heart forever.

The next chapter will be "Baking", it will probably lead to a baking battle of some sort;-)