Ash smirked as he parked his motorbike outside the bar that served as his gang's primary base of operations. He had just been discharged from hospital after Lao had stabbed him and while he knew that he needed to handle the Chinatown Gang, Ash wasn't in a rush to dive into another gang war. Not while the dust was still settling in the wake of Golzine's death, protecting the peace was better than stirring up more chaos in an already fractured city. That said, if his 'mercy' was tested again, he'd happily deliver. It was tempting to wash his hands of New York altogether, Eiji would be back in Japan by now and it was tempting to reach out, to book a flight. But Ash knew that wherever he went, danger was sure to follow and Eiji deserved to be safe. As much as it hurt to let him go.

Making his way into the bar, he turned his mind to business- namely, how he was going to restore order to New York City without starting a war. His biggest concern was Yut-Lung, the young head of the Lee family and now that the Chinatown Gang were in his pocket, they needed to be dealt with. Shorter would have been invaluable in bringing his old gang to heel, but Ash had to make do without his best friend. Shaking his head, as if to shake off the memory of Shorter's death, he let out a sigh as he approached the bar. "I don't care what you get me, as long as it's strong." He told the bartender, who was quick to oblige.

As he drank, he ignored the questioning stares from his men, he didn't have answers for them right now, nor did he want their pity. They should have been celebrating, damn it. But the air felt tense and Ash would have regretted heading back to the bar so soon, if not for the fact he needed his men to see that he was fine, that he wasn't worried about the trouble that awaited them on the horizon. After slamming back his first drink with a grimace, he waved down the bartender for another. Despite his best efforts to keep his mind from wandering, Ash couldn't help but wonder what might be different if his brother was there. It had been nearly a decade since he had seen him last, hell, he didn't even know if he was still alive. His brother had been sold off to some rich asshole around the same time that Golzine had taken him under his wing, so all things considered, maybe it would be for the best if he was dead.

That wasn't going to stop Ash from searching for his brother though.

Five months had passed before Ash finally found a lead on his brother's whereabouts. He had spent the last five months utilizing every resource at his disposal, every favour he had left to call in. But it had finally paid off. He'd gotten the tip off that morning that a private jet was due to land in New York City that morning, the owner of which had been a long time friend of Golzine's. Acting on little more than a hunch- or perhaps it was desperation -Ash had made his way to the airport. He'd gone with the intention of tailing the asshole to whatever swanky hotel he was set to stay at so he could press him for information, but when he saw his brother making his way through the airport with the bastard, Ash felt like the air had been punched out of him. It hadn't taken more than a couple of seconds before he had launched into action.

Following his brother and a bulky bodyguard into a bathroom, Ash hadn't hesitated to draw his gun and silence the bodyguard with a sharp crack to the temple with the barrel. Cracking his neck as the large man slumped to the ground with a satisfying groan, Ash felt a rush of bloom in his chest. This was the first time his brother had seen him in over a decade and this was the first impression he was making; that of a violent brute. More than enough people already saw him as a monster, and maybe he was, but the last person Ash wanted to think that about him was his brother. Still, it was too late for regrets now. "Hey..." He said, making an effort to keep his voice soft, as if he were trying to calm down a frightened animal. "Remember me?"

They didn't have time to draw this out, but Ash would be damned if he wasn't going to give his twin a second to process what had just happened.