Chapter Fourteen: Alien In Tokyo
In the morning Aki began her morning as most people do; in the bathroom. As she turned on the water for her shower she noticed there were no more clean towels on the shelf. With eyes still blurry from sleep, she meandered into the laundry room. No clean towels there either. The steps creaked beneath her feet as she climbed the stairs to fetch a towel from the home's second bathroom. That's when she saw them. Ash and her children lay at the end of the hall like a pile of newborn puppies. It looked uncomfortable yet strangely comforting at the same time. Her stomach twisted. She wasn't sure what had happened last night but she got the feeling it was not good. She grabbed the towel she came up for and quietly returned downstairs to shower.
After she finished her shower, she prepared breakfast for everyone. Today was Sunday. On Sundays, they ate breakfast leisurely as a family. On weekdays, Miyuki and Aki had to rush off to school and work. And Saturdays were their day to all sleep in.
Aki poked her head up the stairs and yelled "Breakfast!" Normally, she would go up and knock on their doors. But they were all in the hall and she didn't want to make the situation awkward.
Single file they came down the stairs more stiff than usual. Hardwood floors did not make a great bed. In fact, they made a terrible bed. Miyuki led the group, followed by Eiji and Ash. They dropped into their seats at the table. A few sleepy "Ohayos" were muttered to Aki as she set their plates in front of them. They all sat in pajamas, none of them awake enough to manage real clothes. Eiji, however, did decide to throw on a shirt.
"There were no clean towels today when I went to shower." Aki told them in Japanese.
Eiji raised his eyebrows at Ash, non-verbally asking if he needed a translation. Ash shook his head 'no.'
"Sorry! It's my weekend to do laundry but I completely forgot to switch it out last night." Miyuki apologized.
"That is not why I brought it up." Aki said, this time in English.
They all looked at her in confusion. Except Ash. He had already deduced where this was going.
"I got a towel from your bathroom." She said in an even tone. She took a bite of her food. "And I saw you all. Sleeping in the hallway." The word 'hallway' was said in Japanese since she did not know the English translation. Ash understood. "Any of you want to tell me what that was about?" She asked calmly, with no hint of anger in her voice.
For a moment no one spoke. Miyuki played with her food nervously. Eiji looked almost angry. Ash stared at his plate. Aki knew of Ash's history with gangs. But that was all she knew.
"No one?" She asked, raking her eyes over each of them.
"My fault." Ash said casually. He took a sip of tea. "I kinda...had a breakdown." He didn't elaborate further.
Miyuki and Eiji stared at their plates.
"You want to talk about it, Ashu?" Aki asked. Her voice showed no surprise. She had suspected as much.
"Not really. Not at the breakfast table." He said coolly.
"You will tell me later." Aki said decidedly.
"Mom, no. He doesn't want to talk about it." Eiji said with some heat in his voice.
Ash stared at his food. He was suddenly not hungry in the least.
"Ashu?" She prompted.
"Eiji's right. I'd rather not." He said stiffly.
"Can Eiji say what you cannot?" She asked, determined to get to the bottom of this. She loved Ash as a son. She wanted to understand the hurting that she knew was buried deep down; the hurting he never showed her.
"Mom." Eiji warned.
Ash placed a gentle hand on Eiji's leg. He looked up at Aki. "That's fine." He said slowly. "Just not in front of me." He added, looking back to his food sadly.
"Thank you, Ashu." She said, bowing her head to him slightly. In Japanese, she added, "That's very brave of you." Eiji translated.
They ate in silence until Miyuki couldn't take it anymore. She decided to lighten the mood.
"Yesterday at lunch Ash and I decided it would be fun for the three of us" she gestured to herself, Ash, and Eiji " to go to Tokyo over my spring break." Miyuki said happily.
Eiji's face lightened. "That would be fun. We could visit dad."
"Are you okay with that mom?" Miyuki eagerly asked Aki in Japanese.
"Yes, that's fine. I can give you all money for a hotel roo-"
"I'm paying." Ash said firmly in Japanese. "I insist."
Aki stared at him and for a moment he wondered if he had offended her.
"Please. Let me pay. I want to."
"You are being nice. No one wants to pay." She retorted.
"I really do. Please. You let me live here for free. It's the least I can do."
"A mother does not make her son pay rent."
"Yeah, but I'm not your actual son." He said in a serious voice.
"Hmm. Maybe not yet, but someday you will be." Aki said with a raised eyebrow and a slight smirk.
Ash understood the implication. Surely someday he'd be her son-in-law, assuming Eiji continued to feel the same as Ash did. Eiji understood as well. Miyuki looked lost. It was too early for this.
Eiji blushed, Ash did not. Instead, he leaned on the table and stared Aki in the eyes. "Good, then I'll pay while I still can." His eyes glinted devilishly.
Aki snorted and continued eating her food. Ash had won.
They all helped clear the table after they'd all finished.
"Ashu, Miyuki. Please do the dishes. Eiji, let's go for a walk." Aki instructed.
Everyone was now on the same page in regard to Ash. Aki had cried when Eiji told her the basics about Ash's past. When they'd returned home that morning, Aki gave Ash a long tearful hug, with his permission of course. After several days passed, Aki convinced Ash to seek help from a therapist. She had found him a great therapist in the next town over who spoke fluent English and specialized in trauma. She had offered to pay for his sessions but he obviously refused. Money was never the thing that had held him back. It was the anxiety that accompanied the non-negotiable vulnerability.
Each week Eiji went with Ash to the therapist. Sometimes just getting there was anxiety-inducing. Eiji helped with that. While he never joined the sessions, he was always there for Ash before and after. Some weeks Ash would leave feeling much better. Others, he left worse than he'd come in. But in the long run, it always helped. And things were improving between Eiji and Ash. Per the therapist's advice, making out was as far as things went as of now. Thanks to the help he'd been getting, Ash now had ways to cope with his emotions before they got out of hand. Two weeks had now gone by since his last panic attack. It was a major win. That didn't mean he stopped feeling anxious altogether, but he was learning to deal with it. And so was Eiji. Their communication on the subject improved greatly since the therapy had started. Helping Ash was a group effort and, for the most part, it was going well.
It was now a Friday night in late March. Miyuki's spring break technically began the second she left school that day. Tonight, they packed excitedly for their week in Tokyo. In the morning, they'd take the short hour and a half flight to Tokyo. Ash had already made reservations for the hotel. He had rented two rooms adjacent to each other. Miyuki was beyond excited to have her own room.
"I'm totally not gonna be able to sleep tonight!" Miyuki called to Eiji and Ash as she packed her toiletries bag.
Ash had already finished packing and now he lay across the foot of Eiji's bed, distracting him as he tried to pack.
"You said this place has a pool, right?" Eiji asked as he dug through his dresser in search of his rarely-used swim trunks."
"AND an onsen. It's the perfect marriage of Western and traditional Japanese."
Eiji found the trunks and pulled them out messily, causing other clothes to fall to the floor. "And what else does it have that's traditional Japanese?" Eiji asked suspiciously. He doubted there was anything. A Western Hotel with an onsen seemed like a gimmick to draw in American tourists.
"The food." Ash replied, biting back a smile. He knew Eiji already had the place pegged.
"Uh, huh." Eiji said, casting him a sarcastic smile. "Then their plan worked."
"And what's that?"
"They lured in the impressionable American." He said, smirking. Ash flipped him off.
Miyuki stormed down the hall. One arm grasped the doorway as she swung into the room. She pointed a toothbrush at Eiji threateningly.
"Hey!" She yelled. "I helped Ash pick the place, so I don't wanna hear it, mister! It's only two blocks from dad's, there's a bunch of great places to eat, AND the pool is to die for."
"Okay, okay, jeez!" Eiji held up his hands defensively.
Miyuki stormed out of the room and back down the hall. Ash let out a small laugh he'd been holding in.
"Be safe! Call me when you get there." Aki instructed in Japanese as she gave them all tight hugs in the airport terminal.
"We will, Mom." Eiji told her as he returned her tight hug.
"I love you all!" She called after them as they departed from her.
"Love you too!" They all called back, even Ash.
As they settled onto the plane, Ash noticed Eiji's sudden nervousness. His foot was shaking a mile a minute and he was playing restlessly with the collar of his shirt.
"What's the matter, Eiji?" Ash asked calmly, briefly placing a hand on Eiji's restless one to stop his fidgeting.
Eiji looked at their hands in surprise, obviously unaware he'd been messing with his shirt collar.
"Last time I was on a plane I was leaving New York."
This was a significantly shorter flight with a much happier end result. But that's not how anxiety works. The body only remembers the fear. Ash more than understood this.
"Anything I can do to help?" Ash asked him genuinely.
"Trade seats with me?" Eiji suggested.
They traded seats so that Eiji was now in the aisle seat feeling much less trapped. Miyuki poked Ash in the ribs from the seat beside him.
"Ow! What?" He said, turning to her. She was smiling from ear to ear as she looked at him.
"I'm so freaking excited! It's been an age since I've flown! We usually take the train." She beamed.
Ash poked her back in the stomach causing her to let out a chirp of laughter. Eiji watched the two pretend to bicker with a sweet smile. Suddenly, he was feeling much less anxious. He reached over and hugged Ash's arm and rested his head on his shoulder, causing Ash's head to whip around. He gave Eiji's hair a loving ruffle. Miyuki went bright red and hid her face. It was something of a rarity for the two to show each other public affection.
As they took off, Miyuki took multiple photos as the view of Izumo was replaced with giant, fluffy clouds.
"Here you are, Lynx-san" The hotel attendant said in Japanese, handing Ash the keys to the rooms.
"Arigato gozaimasu" Ash replied, taking the keys.
They passed the indoor pool on their way to the elevator. Miyuki paused to marvel at it. It was a gorgeous pool indeed, complete with decorative waterfalls, rocks, and an assortment of tropical plants. The roof of the pool house was glass, giving it a greenhouse feel.
"I don't care what either of you say, after lunch, I'm swimming!" She said as she continued to drag her luggage down the hall.
"I don't think either of us is going to argue with that." Eiji laughed. "That pool looks amazing."
When Ash didn't say anything, Miyuki turned around and walked backward, staring at Ash.
"You swim, don't you?" She inquired.
"I know how if that's what you're asking."
"But you will swim with us right?"
"Yeah, I will." He said with no emotion in his voice.
Eiji looked at Ash's face trying to read him. They stopped in front of the elevator, waiting for it to open. "But he doesn't have to, Mi-Chan. Not if it makes him uncomfortable."
Ding! The elevator chirped and they all filed in.
"I think it'll be fine." Ash decided.
A blast of chlorine-scented humid air bombarded them as the door to the pool opened. Miyuki let out a small squeal of glee. She set her stuff on a chair and ran to the pool's edge.
"Don't slip!" Eiji called after her.
"Okay, mom!" She called sarcastically over her shoulder as she jumped into the pool. She went under and screamed as she popped back up. "AHHH! Cold!" She shouted.
Eiji and Ash laughed from the side. Ash walked to the edge, cautiously dipping a foot into the blue water. "Seems alright." He decided.
"I'm getting used to it now." Miyuki called from the pool's center. "It's actually not that bad."
"Nice to have the place to ourselves." Eiji remarked as he joined Ash by the edge of the pool.
"Shhhh, Ei-Chan, you'll jinx it!" Ash teased.
"I'll what?" Eiji asked, confused by the word. His English had gotten so much better since Ash had first met him, but there were still some obscure phrases and words he needed clarified.
Miyuki shouted the approximate translation from the pool.
"How do you know that?" Eiji asked, genuinely impressed at how good her English was.
"TV!" She said simply.
"You getting in?" Ash asked him.
"Yeah, I a-"
As he said 'yeah' Ash pushed him into the pool, laughing evilly as he did so. He then jumped in almost directly on top of Eiji, just to give him a scare. Miyuki released a scream that was half-shock, half-pure joy. Eiji resurfaced, rubbing the water from his eyes.
"ASH!" He laughed. He then dunked Ash, pushing him under by his shoulders. Ash could have easily resisted, but he went along with it, letting Eiji dunk him. Once he was under, he swam down a bit and grabbed Eiji's ankles, pulling him under as well. As they resurfaced, Miyuki splashed them mercilessly. They both splashed right back.
Later, they took turns diving and jumping into the pool. They awarded each other arbitrary points for their jumps. Miyuki, as it turned out, was the best at diving, Eiji did the best flips, and Ash could make the biggest splashes.
After their diving contest, Miyuki suggested another game. They each took a turn saying a word to the others underwater. The other two had to try to guess what the word was. It was a lot harder than it looked, especially since Ash kept picking words the other two couldn't possibly know in English.
They continued like this for hours. Each taking turns picking a new ridiculous game to try. They felt like children, playing to their heart's content. If Aki could see them now, she'd be shedding happy tears.
Eventually, they got tired and hungry. It was a specific type of hungry known only to those who just spent hours in a pool.
As they dried off Ash asked, "Are there pizza places in Tokyo?"
"Yes, Ash." Eiji said, rolling his eyes in amusement.
"Cool, then I vote, we order some and have it delivered to the room. You like pizza right, Mi-Chan?"
"YES! I haven't had it in forever!" She said as she threw on a shirt over her still-wet teal bikini.
The two rooms were adjoined by a connecting door that could be closed when needed. Right now, it was open. They had all congregated in Ash and Eiji's room. They sat on the bed eating pizza with still-wet hair and wrinkled fingertips.
"Oh!" Ash said as he bounced off the bed and began to dig through his suitcase. "I ordered a few movies online for the trip…." he dug around and, after a moment, pulled them out triumphantly.
"We have…" He said, tossing them on the bed by Miyuki and Eiji as he announced their names "Rear Window…Raiders of the Lost Arc...Monty Python and the Holy Grail...and...Alien."
He climbed back on the bed and grabbed another slice of pizza. "All classics." He explained as he took a bite. "This one," he said tapping the first movie with his knuckle, "Is an old scary movie, which means it's not actually that scary. It's a Hitchcock. All his movies are gold." He took another bite. "And this one is part of a series. It's an adventure movie about a guy looking for the Arc of the Covenant. Lots of fun." He pointed to the next case. "This one here is a comedy. It's about these knights on a quest to find the Holy Grail. Absolutely hilarious." He took another bite and pointed to the final movie. "And Alien is an actual scary movie. It's about this evil alien who's loose on this spaceship." Ash took a drink of soda. "I like them all, so I'll let you two pick."
Miyuki thrust her arm in the air as if she were a student answering a question in class. "I vote for the scary one!"
"...How scary is it exactly?" Eiji asked apprehensively.
"It'll make you jump. It's one of those that's scary in the moment but it won't keep you up at night, ya know." Ash explained. "Don't worry, I'll let you hold my hand." Ash teased.
Eiji slapped him with the back of his now-empty paper plate. "Ok, I'll watch it."
The three of them lay on the giant king-sized bed as they watched Alien. Miyuki was just two eyes sticking out of a fluffy white blanket. Ash lay in the middle, with Eiji clinging nervously to his side. Ash couldn't help but chuckle as the two siblings on either side of him screamed in fright at each jump-scare.
"Great! Now I don't want to sleep in my own room!" Miyuki said as the movie ended. She rubbed her arms trying to shake the shiver that ran through her body.
"You're the one who picked it." Eiji teased with a smirk.
"Ash is the one who brought it." She argued.
"Oh, like you didn't like it." Eiji replied with an eye roll.
"Yeah, ok, it was good. But I'm still gonna have trouble sleeping." She complained.
"You can sleep in here with Eiji and I can take the other bed if you're really that scared." Ash suggested. Miyuki wasn't sure if he was joking or not.
"What!? Ash, no! Then I'll be scared." Eiji complained.
"Oh my God, you guys are too much. It wasn't even that scary."
"Says the guy who's literally scared of pumpkins." Eiji said.
"What!?" Miyuki asked in shock.
Ash slapped his forehead. "Well, what do you want me to do then?"
"Well we all fit in this giant bed, we could just stay like this." Miyuki suggested it as if it were so simple. "I mean it's not any different than that night we all slept in the hallway."
"Ash?" Eiji asked cautiously.
"Yeah, I'm cool with that." He said casually.
"Cool! I'm gonna go brush my teeth!" Miyuki said as she left the room.
Eiji turned to Ash, leaning over him on one elbow. "She just proved how much progress you've made." Eiji said smiling.
"Hmm, yeah I suppose she did…"
"I'm so proud of you." Eiji said with shimmering eyes. He leaned down and pressed a kiss to Ash's forehead before collapsing on the bed beside him.
Miyuki returned to the room after a few minutes and jumped in bed. "Night!" She yelled as she turned off the bedside lamp. She lay facing away from Ash and Eiji.
"Any aliens attack you while you were brushing your teeth?" Ash asked into the darkness.
"I said GOOD NIGHT." She teased with a giant smile that Ash could not see.