Eiji and Ibe were in the middle of their flight. Eiji was asleep (and leaning on Ibe's shoulder.)
Eiji suddenly woke up and his eyes shot open.
He breathed heavily and touched his heart.
"Ei-chan, daijobu?" (Ei-chan, are you ok?) Ibe said.
"Ibe-san. Ash is in trouble." Eiji said.
"I think you just had a nightmare." Ibe said.
"No, Ibe-san. (Touches his heart) I feel it in my heart. My heart is telling me that something is wrong with Ash." Eiji says and starts crying.
Ibe notices and believes Eiji.
"Unfortunately, we are mid-air and can't get back to New York, and he land in 4 hours. If you want, when we land, we can call Max and he can tell us how Ash is doing." Ibe said.
Eiji cried.
"I really hope he's ok, but something tells me that he is not. Don't you think it's awkward that he didn't come see me? And then I feel like we are soulmates. I know when something is wrong with Ash." Eiji said.
"I know, Ei-chan. I also know that you love him. And I can tell that he loves you." Ibe said.
Eiji cried when he heard that.
"I do. I'm head over heels in love with him." Eiji cried.
Meanwhile...
Ash was in the recovery room after yet another surgery.
*Ash's dream*
"Shorter! Skipper!" He shouted as Shorter and Skipper came to greet him.
"Welcome, Ash!" Shorter said.
Skipper ran and gave Ash a big hug.
"My baby!" Ash cried as he hugged Skipper.
"We missed you." Shorter said.
Ash looked at Shorter and he cried.
",Shorter .. I-"
"I know, man. But you saved me. You set me free. Banana Fish sucks." Shorter said.
Shorter quickly gave Ash a hug and kissed his cheek.
"Thank you. And Nadia was right. I love you so much." Shorter said.
Ash hugged Shorter and returned the kiss and cried.
"Shorter, I..."
"I know. I know you still love me and we'll always be each other's first love. But I also know that you love Eiji. And I love him too. I hope you don't hate me for having fallen for Eiji as well." Shorter said.
Skipper was confused.
"We were each other's first love. And we'll always love each other. " Ash said as he smiled at Skipper and leaned on Shorter.
"That is so sweet. But I didn't know that the both of you were into guys." Skipper said.
"Yeah, we like guys and girls." Shorter said.
"Have you ever liked someone, Skipper?" Ash asked.
"Yeah. Beyonce, and then there's this girl too. She was so pretty. " Skipper said as he smiled.
"I was gonna be a ladies' man, but stupid Marvin killed me." Skipper said all angry.
Shorter lowered himself to Skipper's level and pat him on the head.
"You can still be a ladies' man here in heaven. There are lots of pretty girls here and they'd be lucky to have you." Shorter said.
"That's right!" Skipper said.
Ash and Shorter smiled at Skipper.
Shorter wrapped his arm around Ash's waist.
"Has it healed yet?" Shorter asked.
"Somewhat. The stab wound from Arthur did, but the one from Lao still hasn't healed. But right now I don't feel pain. " Ash dais as he lifted his shirt to look at the stab wounds.
"Ash, thanks for visiting us." Shorter said.
"Eiji needs you." Skipper said.
"If Eiji finds out that you died, his heart is not gonna take it." Shorter said.
"I'm...dead?" Ash said.
"The doctor declared you dead three minutes ago, but they're not giving up on you." Skipper said.
"So... I'm not dreaming? This isn't a dream?" Ash asked.
Ash looked down and saw that doctors and nurses were trying to revive him.
"You need to go back. Eiji needs you." Shorter said.
"But he went back to Japan. I'm sure that he'll forget about me." Ash said.
"Nope. You two are soulmates. He needs you. And ironically, so does Yut-Lung." Skipper said.
"I believe that Yut-Lung can change his ways and do good. But he will need you. Go easy on him. The reason why he was being a big ole bitch is because he's hurt." Shorter said.
"You two have more in common than you think." Skipper said.
Ash grunted lightly.
"What happens to Eiji if I don't go back?" Ash asked.
"He'll be really lonely until he's 40. Michael will grow up and they'll get married. Unsurprisingly, despite the huge age gap, Max and Jessica will give Eiji their blessing. But Eiji will still remember you and Michael will be sad because he'll miss you and because his husband won't love him completely." Skipper said.
"Now go or else you'll really be dead!" Shorter said as he and Skipper pushed him down.
"Whaaaaaa!" Ash screamed as he was being pushed down back to earth.
"Best of luck, Ash!" Shorter and Skipper said.
Ash was now asleep on a hospital bed. Yut-Lung was sitting by his side and held his hand.
"Ei...ji..." Ash muttered as he slowly woke up. He gripped Yut-Lung's hand again.
"Ash!" Yut-Lung said.
Ash was struggling to wake up.
Sing came into the room with flowers.
"Ash! You're ok!" Sing said.
Ash woke up and saw Sing.
"Sing? What am I?"
Then he notices Yut-Lung...
"You!" He glared at Yut-Lung.
"Ash... Go easy on him. He saved you. He told me to go to the library and that's where we found you. Had it not been for him, you would have died there." Sing said.
Ash's expression softened a bit.
"He wrapped your wound up while we waited for an ambulance. You would've bled to death had it not been for him. He also gave you-" Sing said until Yut-Lung interrupted him.
"That's enough, Sing." Yut-Lung said in Chinese.