He gives a laugh, one that reflected his growing excitement at the trip to come. “Obviously,” he agrees. Eiji was surprised, more so that Ash seemed shocked that he’d want him in Japan. Of course, he would. Perhaps subconsciously it had been something he wanted all along. Somewhere along the lines of sharing his culture with Ash the way the blond had, he’d started thinking of things Ash might need to know if he were in Japan. Fast forward to now and he had come to imagine what sights the other would be interested in.
“Good,” because he meant it. While the start had been rocky, his trip to America had turned into an adventure he’d liked (minus the deadly moments). The same could happen with Ash…
“I thought he taught you all the basic words already,” he teases Ash, nudging him playfully. “What should I teach you first? How to order food? Or how to ask for directions if you get lost?” The mood seems to lighten as his cheerful smile settles on his expression. The people continue to filter about them, more of them appearing despite how late it was starting to get. Soon, they’d have to head back, but maybe Ash would let them stay a little longer.
“You learn best if you need to use the language a lot. I think you can learn quickly.” Ash was smart, much more than most people he’d met. He was amazing even in that aspect.
For the longest time, Ash imagined Eiji going home after all this, first with Eiji leaving because he wanted to, but then leaving because he had to. How could he think otherwise? This was a temporary trip to America, a trip that was supposed to bring new perspective and a breath of fresh air to Eiji. Ibe had told him about it some, enough for Ash to fill in the blanks and understand even more than what Eiji had told him before. To hear it from multiple perspectives was always good. Ash hadn’t even thought about visiting Eiji because he felt chained to New York, not because he loved the city, but because of everything that kept him here. Leaving his gang behind hurt, plus some of the things he did love about New York, but... there were more things chaining him down then not.
Knowing that Eiji wanted him there made him realize that he would see Eiji again though, even if it wasn’t permanent. It was hard to imagine, but Ash liked to be hopeful for it. Even with the beginning hesitance, Ash wanted to go and he wanted to go for a long time. Seeing Eiji’s home life... Ash could only imagine, especially since Eiji thought so fondly of it.
“Basic words aren’t gonna do me much good if I’m gonna be there for a while, y’know?” Ash teases back with a little grin, tilting his head at Eiji curiously. “So maybe you should teach me how to ask for where I’m going... or maybe get me one of those books that makes it totally obvious I’m a tourist.” He can’t help but smirk at the mental picture, then laughs a little as his posture relaxes back into the bench. There’s not a person on this Earth he’s as relaxed with as he is with Eiji... the only other people who could compare were deceased.
“I think I’ll be fine. I just want to learn... think it’ll be easier to show me around if I can speak some Japanese, huh?”
