From Ashe Vol. 6: From Ashe, #6

By Joshua Piedra

As the writing competition comes to its conclusion, Ashe must turn the page and forge ahead, regardless of the outcome. However, the next chapter in her life proves to be a difficult one as she looks to challenge herself in ways she hadn't done so before. While she meets those challenges head-on, little does she know that events are happening in the background that could bring all of it to a grinding halt! Ashe is about to be put to the test!

• Language: English
• Publisher: Joshua Piedra
• Release date: May 4, 2023
• ISBN: 9798223935261

Book preview

PREFACE

Welcome and thank you for picking up the sixth volume of From Ashe!

With the writing competition coming to an end, it’s time for Ashe to set off on a new journey in the wake of its conclusion!

This book, much like the others as of late, has several layers to it that either continue events from previous volumes or call back to events from the past! Plus, some of the artwork may look a little different as Alex has been honing his craft and has really stepped up his anime game!

I hope you continue to enjoy the story as we enter, yet, another part of it!

As always, I will see you on the other side of the second-largest book I have ever written word-wise!

PAGE 36

And the Winner is…

And the winner is…

With four simple words, time stood still for Ashe and Mineko. Their ears focused on the silence as they awaited to hear who would become the winner of the writing competition. In that one fleeting moment, Ashe could not only feel the pounding of her heart, but she felt it reverberate throughout her entire body. Those few seconds which seemed like an eternity finally delivered to them the decision they wanted to hear.

...Ashe Sawyer, proclaimed Tiffany.

When Ashe heard her name, her mouth went agape and a look of shock and surprise washed over her face. All of the tension she had felt suddenly released itself like a cool, refreshing breeze caressing her entire body. The pounding of her heart continued but it was fueled by elation and excitement rather than pressure. She still couldn’t believe that she had pulled it off; however, what she didn’t notice was Mineko standing there with tears in her eyes as she knew that she had failed to deliver Noah her promise. Now, Noah was back to square one in trying to find a way to secure the money for his brother’s surgery.

Ashe continued to stare forward as she expected to hear the judges go over their stories but when they weren’t saying anything, she wondered what was going on. That’s when they saw that their collective attention was focused on Mineko. Slowly, Ashe turned her head and saw the state that she was in. Suddenly, all of that excitement turned to sorrow as her heart now ached with feelings for her. For someone who came into this tournament without much in the way of goals or aspirations, she was a bit surprised to see her so upset over the loss.

Do you need a minute Ms. Hoshikawa? asked Sebastian.

Mineko shook her head ‘no’ as she was ready to hear them go over their stories. Sebastian pulled up his sheet and cleared his throat, ready to begin.

We will now go ahead and break down each story. Mineko, for The Souls of the Arcane, we award 30 points for the premise, 20 points for characters, 30 points for uniqueness, and 10 points for grammar for a total of 90 points. If you could explain, Jennifer.

Mineko, you wrote a wonderful story! The Souls of the Arcane was a brilliant piece that told the story of how magic itself is alive and that it only gets stronger as it bonds to living things. You had several races in the story, each one had a different attunement to spirits than the others. The premise of the spirits going extinct and being replaced by innovation was a brilliant move. War breaks out when the spirits decide to fight for their survival against the mortal races. The premise was very, very solid; however, the characters were where things suffered. While the beast races seemed unique in appearance, you didn’t really expand on their cultures. While interesting, they all felt flat but we awarded higher points because of the tie-in with the spirits who we found to be the most interesting characters in the story. I feel if given more time, this could have been something with more depth.

Thank you, Jennifer, said Sebastian. As for Ashe, we gave Reincarnated as a Wolf Girl Assassin 30 points for the premise, 25 points for characters, 30 points for uniqueness, and 10 points for grammar for a total of 95 points. We will let Tiffany handle the explanation on this one.

Ashe. Here, you depicted a young boy, who has his muses, suddenly gets reincarnated into another world after he died in the real world. Here, I loved the self-awareness of the main character as he’s forced to act as one character while thinking like another. The supporting characters had some quirks to them and the action was pretty well done. Reincarnating into another world satisfied the supernatural aspect and then transformed the story into pure fantasy. Judging from your previous story, sci-fi and supernatural are not your forte but your first story showed how slice-of-life was. You led in with slice-of-life, had a supernatural event, and finished it out as fantasy and action. To me, that tells us that you did an incredible job masking your weakness by finding a way to transform it into one of your strengths. Good job.

Thank you, Tiffany, said Sebastian. Look, these were both incredible stories and the deciding factor came down to who handled their characters better. As we said, Mineko’s characters felt a bit flatter than Ashe’s but I think that’s because Mineko was dealing with a larger cast. You went for a large-scale piece that would probably best be suited for a novel, or even an entire series rather than a short story. It was ambitious but you still did an incredible job with it. With Ashe sticking to a smaller cast, I think it allowed her to focus more on those characters and refine them to a higher degree. Regardless of the outcome, you two produced some excellent material under pressure and I commend you both for all of your work!

The three judges gave them a round of applause but it wasn’t helping Mineko at all. She was still visibly upset over losing the competition even though she had calmed down slightly. The sting was obviously wearing off but now thoughts of how she was going to face Noah outside began to plague her mind.

Now, I’m going to turn it back over to Tiffany for a special announcement for Ashe.

As this competition’s creator, I wish to first thank Jennifer and Sebastian for their assistance in judging this competition. As we mentioned at the start of this, there was a secret prize in addition to the $5,000. We will be publishing the winning story in a special book which will contain a collection of winning entries from contests across the country. Once the book is published, there will be a mail-in voting card where those who read it will be able to pick their favorite story out of the book. Whoever is voted upon by the readers the most will win a grand prize of $25,000 and will have that work submitted to Meteora Press who will then consider you for a publishing contract.

Ashe was taken aback by that. She didn’t have to do a single thing and, yet, she now had the opportunity to win an additional $25,000. Plus, a publishing contract would be just the thing she could use to help jumpstart her goal of becoming a published author!

Wow… that sounds… amazing! T-Thank you very much! I hope my story stands out enough, haha.

Numerous competitions are going to be held between now and when the book is published so it won’t be for a while. Since this competition started in January, this is one of three that we held across the country. We have three more running in March, then another three this summer, and a final three this fall. The book and the voting won’t occur until next year so I’m sorry to say that being one of the first tournaments, you’ll probably have to wait a while.

No, it’s completely fine! I’m just happy to know I have that opportunity! Thank you very much!

Ashe pondered things for a moment. As of now, she was thinking about turning Shadow Wing into a book series. This meant that when the collection came out, she would become both a self-published and officially published author. She began to wonder if, perhaps, when people read her work, it would cause that popularity to spill over into book sales for Shadow Wing. 

You’re quite welcome! It was truly a pleasure to watch you two write. You really poured your hearts into this final round and while this competition got off to a bit of a rocky start with Ms. Cunningham, I’m happy that it ended the way we had envisioned it… with the good-natured spirit of competition!

Tiffany came forward and shook Ashe’s hand, and handed her a check for $5,000. Tiffany also shook Mineko’s hand and gave her a hug, hoping that it would help ease some of her tears. Ashe also embraced Mineko in a hug and asked if she was ready to head outside and tell everyone what happened. Mineko wasn’t but she knew that she couldn’t stand there forever so she nodded with regret.

Safe trip to you both back home. Mineko, I really hope you consider entering one of our future competitions. We would love for you to participate as what you were able to produce today tells us you have a knack for writing. Plus, those competitions, much like this one, will also have the same extra prize so there are more chances to join Ashe in the short story collection.

Mineko nodded and thanked the judges as she and Ashe took their leave, waving goodbye to everyone. As they made their way down the main hall, they could see everyone standing outside through the glass in the front doors. When Saraya saw them emerge, she began to wave with excitement as they couldn’t wait to hear what the results were.

When they stepped outside, the look on Mineko’s face told the entire story within a single instant. Noah’s heart sank as he rushed over and embraced Mineko in a hug. All she could do was apologize over and over as she cried into his shoulder. While Saraya, Kaden, and Renji wanted to cheer for Ashe, they didn’t know if it would be appropriate to do so with Mineko in that state. Ashe walked over and placed her hand on her shoulder, giving it a bit of a tap to get her attention.

Hey. I know losing doesn’t feel good but you shouldn’t be so upset. You put out an incredible story that you should be proud of. You’re a fantastic writer Mineko and it’s because of your dominating performance in the second round that made me push myself to my limits. Even with what I wrote, I thought I was going to fail against you. You’re that good so don’t cry, okay?

It’s not that. I don’t care about the story…

Then why are you so upset?

Noah… can… can I tell her?

I think you should. After all, I feel bad that we hid this from her. I think she deserves to know the truth.

Ashe looked a bit confused when Noah said that. She took a step back, looking on as Mineko wiped the tears from her eyes.

You know about Noah’s brother and how he wanted to use the prize money, right? I felt so bad that Noah lost that I promised him that if I won, I would give my winnings to him so his brother could have the surgery. I was his second chance and now that I lost… I… I really let him down.

So, you didn’t tell me because you thought that after you two became a couple, it would seem like you were scheming against me to steal the prize money?

Yeah…

Mineko… making a promise to Noah in case you won isn’t scheming. You wanted to do something wonderful for him because it shows just how much you care. That’s nothing to be ashamed of. Had I known, would it have added some extra pressure? Yes, probably… but I wouldn’t think for one second that you two were plotting anything. I’ve only known you guys for a couple of weeks but you two are really good people. There’s no way you two would be devious enough to do something like that on purpose! You guys were worrying for nothing!

Thank you, Ashe, said Noah. I’m happy you’re not mad.

Of course, I’m not mad! In fact, today is your lucky day. My house recently got broken into and suffered some damage. The money from this competition could have helped restore my bank account after it took a serious hit but… thankfully… the insurance world exists and did that for me. Therefore, while $5,000 would be nice, I, technically, don’t really need it. That’s why I want to help you out and do what Mineko wanted to do for you. I want to give you my check so your brother can get his surgery.

What!!!? D-Do you really mean it, Ashe!?

Yes. What am I going to do with $5,000 anyway? At this point, it’s just going to sit in my bank account and I would probably forget that it’s even there after a couple of weeks. I think if you had it, you could put it to better use so… here…

Ashe reached into her pocket and pulled out the check. She handed it to Noah whose look went from one of excitement to disappointment.

Ashe… I can’t take this check.

Huh? Why not?

Because it’s yours.

I just told you that I want you to have it. It’s yours now, silly.

No… I mean it’s yours in the literal sense. It’s made out in your name which means only you can cash it.

Oooooh…. Oopsie. I didn’t really think about that part. I guess what I can do is cash it at the bank and just give you the money once I do. In fact, I have a great idea! It’s not too late in the afternoon so why don’t I leave and skip over to the bank and cash it now… then, tonight, we throw a big celebration party for both my win as well as your brother’s surgery! We can have it at my house and I’ll give you the money there! What do you say!?

Sure! I mean… if that’s really okay with you…

Of course, it is! I would love to have both you and Mineko there! Um… being too young to drive, you may need to have your parents bring you, or I could come pick you up. Whichever you prefer.

Is that okay with you, Mineko? asked Noah to which Mineko gave an approving nod.

Awesome! Then it’s settled! We’ll hold the party around 6 PM at my place. Here, let me give you my address!

Ashe scribbled down her address on a piece of paper and gave it to Noah. She also included her phone number on it in case they needed to call and have her come pick them up instead. Noah graciously accepted it and couldn’t thank Ashe enough for everything that she was doing for them. She bid them farewell and told them she would see them tonight.

With that, Ashe’s first-ever writing competition was in the books, and the victory filled her with a new sense of pride, accomplishment, and more importantly, validation!

***

As Ashe was inside the bank cashing the check, Saraya, Kaden, and Renji waited in the car for her. Renji didn’t quite know what to say as he wasn’t used to carrying a conversation; however, Saraya felt it was too quiet and decided to break the ice a bit.

Say, Kaden? Do you think Renji would mind if we made out in the back seat?

Of course, I’d mind… muttered Renji in a bit of an annoyed tone.

Ah, finally got you to talk. You’ve been kind of quiet ever since Ashe came out from the auditorium. Anything you’d like to tell us?

Promise not to tell Ashe?

Of course!

I really mean it, Saraya. This isn’t one of those things that you can just blurt out when the two of you are alone. I want you to promise me that you won’t tell her.

Wow, is it really something that serious? Okay. I swear that I won’t say anything, Renji. I promise.

Even though I know she’s doing it for a good cause, I don’t want her to give that $5,000 away. I think it’s an irrational decision. Not only did she work hard to win that competition, she almost got fired at work… What if something else happens and Ashe ends up losing her job? That money could have been a nice cushion until she found something else… but… when I also think about that scenario… I feel really selfish and guilty for thinking it.

Because you, yourself, don’t work, right?

... yeah …

Renji, I’m going to say some really mushy stuff that Ashe should probably say to you but I think it needs to be said from someone else’s perspective. You’re a really sweet guy. I always thought that from the moment I met you despite your obvious communication issues. You’ve gotten a lot better at that recently and I think you’re really turning the page on a chapter of your life that you wished you could move past. Be that as it may, the fact that you feel guilty for not working proves just how much you’re changing so… why don’t you think about getting yourself a job?

I have thought about it. I’m just not good at anything besides taking up space and playing video games. That’s why I always cook for Ashe and why I’m trying to find more ways to be a better boyfriend. I want to do something to help her… it’s just… I don’t really know what to do job-wise since I’m not good at anything.

That’s not true!! Remember when I twisted my ankle at the bowling alley? You were an amazing bowler! Maybe you should get a job there? The guy at the front desk kind of sucks because all he does is sit there and hand shoes out to people when they come in and take their money when they leave. He barely says a word which is right up your alley! Well… I mean the old you’s alley.

The bowling alley? Hmm…

Just as Renji was giving it some thought, the door opened and Ashe returned with a fat envelope of cash. She flung it onto Renji’s lap and asked him to hold it until they got home. While Renji was happy to oblige, he looked a bit conflicted as he held onto the money. Saraya and Kaden knew exactly why but they both promised to not say a word. This was something that Renji was going to have to handle on his own.

***

Noah arrived home and he bid Mineko farewell. She gave him a quick kiss on the cheek and said that she would see him later tonight at Ashe’s house. While walking back, Noah had Mineko copy down Ashe’s address and phone number as she said that she would be getting her own ride there. Noah offered one to her; however, she brought up a great point that she hadn’t even been introduced to his parents yet. Telling his parents that he secured both $5,000 and a girlfriend at the same time would probably be too much for them to process so they decided to handle one thing at a time.

When Noah went inside, he took a deep breath. He knew it didn’t go very well with his brother the last time they talked; however, now that he was about to have the money he desperately sought, he felt it was time to take his shot.

Noah walked over to Nick’s bedroom and lightly tapped on the door. Nick, who had been laying down on his bed, looked up and saw his brother standing there. He invited him in to which Noah took another deep breath and prepared himself for a rough conversation.

Hey, Nick. Promise not to get mad at me?

Are you here to talk about my hand again?

...yeah…

We already talked about this. There’s nothing more to say.

What if I told you I got the $5,000 for your surgery?

When Noah said that, Nick sat up in his bed with a look of hope in his eyes. That look lasted for all but a brief moment before it turned into a scowl.

How in the hell did you end up with $5,000?

My friend Ashe from the competition won and after hearing about the situation, decided to give me the prize money.

"Wait… so you’re essentially taking someone else’s winnings? How selfish can you get, Noah!? I won’t accept the money!