The Purple Heart (20 page)

“Mr. Ito, you are free,
look around you. Do you see your family?”

A frenzied Mr. Ito then
cautiously looked to his right and saw his wife. He then looked to his left and
saw his children still cowering on the bed. He rubbed his eyes with his free
hand and then screamed back.

“They can’t be here! You’ve
kept me away from them for so long, always promising me that I will see them,
but they’ve all been lies!”

“Mr. Ito, I assure you your
family is here and you’re scaring them. You don’t want to scare them right?”

“No,” and Mr. Ito paused as
he stared up into the ceiling with an expression of anguish on his face. He
then looked back down at Hiroshi with intense eyes.

“I only want to see my
family and you’re keeping them away from me. I’ve answered all your questions,”
said Mr. Ito as he choked back his tears.

Hiroshi realized that Mr.
Ito wasn’t seeing him for him. He was remembering something horrible from
whatever place the U.S. Army took him to. Mr. Ito was talking to Hiroshi as if
he was someone from that unknown place. He had to convince Mr. Ito to snap out
of whatever hallucination he was in.

“And you answered them so
well that now you’re back, back with your fam…” said Hiroshi when he suddenly
said something wrong.

“All lies!” screamed Mr.
Ito as he lunged at Hiroshi with the knife.

Hiroshi’s eyes lit up
momentarily as he deflected the knife away. He spun around with his back to Mr.
Ito and gripped his right wrist with his right hand as everyone in the room
screamed. He tightened his grip, which elicited a grunt of frustration from Mr.
Ito, who pulled back sharply. But Hiroshi held his arm in place. He then
brought Mr. Ito’s hand forcibly onto his raised knee and the knife sprang from
Mr. Ito’s grip and onto the floor in front of them. Hiroshi took a step forward
but found Mr. Ito surprisingly strong. He took another step forward and kicked
the knife out of the way.

“No! I need that to fight
back, to escape!” exclaimed Mr. Ito who then threw his left arm around
Hiroshi’s neck.

Hiroshi gasped for breath
as he felt his Adam’s apple being crushed as his veins started to pulsate.
Instinctively, Hiroshi elbowed Mr. Ito’s mid-section, which released the arm
around his neck and made Mr. Ito stagger back a couple of steps. Then suddenly,
Hiroshi landed a powerful spinning back kick onto Mr. Ito’s chest. This sent
him flying backwards through the center window as glass exploded everywhere.

Hiroshi stood stunned. Outside
on the ground, Mr. Ito was flat on his back with glass and wooden shards of the
window all around him.

“Hiroshi!” screamed Minami
in horror.

Hiroshi was in shock
himself. He had not intended to kick Mr. Ito out through the window–it just
happened. Minami looked at him with rage as he stared at the broken window in
front of him. Then Hiroshi did another unexpected thing, he jumped through the
window.

Hiroshi rushed to Mr. Ito,
who was lying on his back mumbling incoherently and staring up into the night
sky. He clutched the front of Mr. Ito’s shirt and placed his left hand behind
Mr. Ito’s neck and eased him up into a seated position.

“Mr. Ito,” said Hiroshi
calmly. “Are you hurt?”

Mr. Ito’s head shook a bit
and then his gaze settled onto Hiroshi. He gazed aimlessly as he said, “I just
flew out of a window.”

A look of guilt and concern
came over Hiroshi’s face as he first closed his eyes, looked down and then back
at Mr. Ito. “I’m sorry about that. I didn’t mean to… you were just fighting
back…”

“I can’t fight back. I
can’t fight back,” Mr. Ito’s words tumbled out of his mouth. “I fought back
every single day until I finally believed them.” Tears of immense guilt
streamed down Mr. Ito’s face.

Hiroshi realized that Mr.
Ito was still in that place and he needed to get Mr. Ito out of it fast. While
he was still clutching his shirt, Hiroshi firmly backhanded Mr. Ito across his
face, knocking his head to his right. Hiroshi slapped him again, sending Mr.
Ito’s face to his left. When he began to swing his hand again, Mr. Ito caught
it firmly with his right hand, inches away from his face. There was a momentary
struggle of will when Hiroshi relaxed and brought his left hand down. He looked
deep into Mr. Ito’s eyes.

“Yes, that’s it Mr. Ito!
Fight back! I don’t know what hellhole they put you in. I don’t know what god-awful
things they did to you but you’re not there now. But you brought them back with
you in your head and you need to fight them. Do you understand me?” asked
Hiroshi.

For a moment, the watery
glaze over Mr. Ito’s eyes cleared as the ferocious intensity that blared from
his eyes receded. He blinked again as clarity returned and looked straight at
Hiroshi. “I can fight back again?”

“Yes, you can fight back,”
stammered Hiroshi. “You can fight…”

Before Hiroshi could
finish, Minami rushed to her fallen father and violently shoved Hiroshi off of
him sending Mr. Ito onto his back again as he let out a gasp.

“How could you kick my
father out the window!” screamed Minami at Hiroshi. There was such anger in her
eyes that Hiroshi was too stunned to respond.

“Hiroshi said I can fight
back,” Mr. Ito said as he struggled into a sitting position.

Minami glared at Hiroshi
but spun around, brushed her hair aside and lowered herself beside her father
as her mother arrived to kneel beside him.

“Mayumi! My beautiful
Mayumi!” Mr. Ito said to his wife who at first was taken aback by his
clamoring. Mr. Ito then looked at Minami, “My sweet daughter, Minami! Oh my
children!” as Miho, Yuka and Yoshi rushed to their father’s side but they
weren’t prepared for his boisterous embrace as Mr. Ito pulled his family
inward.

“I’m so sorry, can you ever
forgive me?” pleaded Mr. Ito as he rocked his family back and forth. Everyone
was sobbing softly. In an almost relieved tone Mr. Ito said, “I can fight back
now.”

Mrs. Ito looked up at her
husband in a confused look and replied, “Fight what?”

Mr. Ito looked down into
his wife’s eyes whose ever-present beauty he had always admired, but had
neglected in the past few months. He looked up to his right to see Hiroshi
hovering over them a few feet away. Mr. Ito hadn’t noticed Hiroshi either, just
vaguely remembering him on that first day when he returned to his family. He
noticed his strong build, his handsome features and for a moment, Hiroshi
reminded him of himself when he was younger. He extended his hand out to
Hiroshi. Hiroshi at first hesitated. He didn’t know how the rest of his family,
especially Minami, felt about him since he had just kicked their father out the
window.

But Mr. Ito beckoned with
his right hand and Hiroshi walked forward and shook his hand. Mr. Ito’s handshake
was surprisingly strong. He looked up at Hiroshi once more and spoke, “Thank
you Hiroshi, for making me see again.”

That’s when Minami bolted
upwards, slapped their hands apart and blurted out, “Thank him for what!”
Minami then turned to Hiroshi and pushed him back with her hands when her
father sharply interjected, “Minami!”

There was a familiar
strength to his tone, it sounded confident and it shook through Minami’s very
being. She turned to her father obediently. Her father didn’t look angry. Rather
there was a sense of calm in his expression. “Minami,” he spoke her name
gently. “Don’t be mad at Hiroshi. He’s actually done me a favor, which is hard to
explain. Just accept it and know that it’s a good thing.”

Mr. Ito then looked firmly at
each of his children. Then he looked at his wife and he whispered to her, “He
did a good thing, trust me.” Mrs. Ito was just as confused, but there was a
sense of familiarity back in his voice that convinced her. “Okay, why don’t you
help me up and we’ll go back together. I promise I won’t yell anymore tonight.”

Mrs. Ito and Minami helped
their father up and he looked up at the broken window, as shards of jagged
glass and splintered wood clung along the frame of the window. Mr. Ito shook
his head in disbelief and then looked back at Hiroshi.

“Karate?”

“Yes Mr. Ito.”

“Mmm… maybe you can get me
back into shape one of these days. I used to know a few moves in my younger days.”

“Any day, Mr. Ito, it’d be
my pleasure,” replied Hiroshi.

Mr. Ito and his caring
family were about to round the corner when he paused and whispered something
into Minami’s ear. Minami turned toward Hiroshi with a cautious look and nodded
her head. She gently eased her father’s arm off her shoulders and onto Miho’s.

Minami walked over without
any expression on her face. Hiroshi stood there, not knowing what to expect.
She stopped in front of him and simply looked up at him with her arms crossed.

“I should be mad at you,”
said Minami.

“And I would totally
understand why, and if it would make you feel any better, I’d let you slap me,”
offered Hiroshi.

“But I’m not. Well, not
anymore,” said Minami.

“Really?” asked Hiroshi,
almost stupefied by her answer.

“What did you say to him?
Because whatever you said to him, it seemed to have gotten through. He seems to
be back to his normal self.”

“Well give him a couple of
days, he still has a few fights left but now, he can fight them without any more
fear.”

Minami looked confused,
“What do you mean by that?”

“Oh, I think you’ll need to
ask your father once he’s ready.”

Minami gave Hiroshi a blank
stare, then just nodded and reluctantly accepted his answer. She let out a
small laugh.

“What’s so funny?” asked
Hiroshi.

Minami looked up but she
had a smile on her face. “I was just thinking about you. I don’t understand
what it is with you and violence. First you let the general tell your two
friends to punch you in the stomach and as it turned out, your friends faked the
entire thing. And just now, you kicked my father out of our window, and he
actually appreciated it. What is it with men and violence? Is it some primal
form of communication? Because I don’t get it.”

Hiroshi looked down at
Minami in amusement and was about to reply when Minami continued. “Well, except
for Kiddache, you can keep beating him up, for all I care. Kick him out the
window any day.”

Hiroshi gave out a laugh as
Minami chuckled. Hiroshi then simply said, “I think it’s a guy thing.”

“I guess it is,” replied
Minami. “Well whatever it is and for what it’s worth, thank you for getting
through to my father.”

“You’re welcome. I just
hope I don’t have to kick him out of another window.”

“You better hope not!”
admonished Minami. She shook her right fist at Hiroshi as she scrunched up her
face in mock anger.

Hiroshi leaned backwards
playfully. “Whoa, what’s that?”

“That’s my secret weapon
and you better watch out for it,” as she extended her fist outward in a punch.

Hiroshi easily leaned into
the inside of the punch and quickly turned left to throw his left hip against
Minami’s right hip and pulled her inward and upward. Minami was caught off
guard by his swift move and gleefully tried to pull away, but it was too late.
She struggled playfully, pushing down on both of his arms, which were not too
firmly around her waist. She twisted left and right and then finally settled
down into his grasp and looked into his eyes.

“So what is it going to
take to get you to set me free?” asked Minami.

Hiroshi didn’t hesitate and
said with a naughty grin, “A kiss.”

“Oh, a kiss? Something like
this?” Minami then leaned in and placed a gentle kiss on Hiroshi’s lips.

Hiroshi responded,
“Actually, I was thinking more of something like this.” Hiroshi turned his head
slightly to the right and placed his lips on Minami’s soft lips and gently
twirled his tongue on them.

Minami then shook her head
disapprovingly. “No. I think it’s more like this.” She grabbed the back of
Hiroshi’s hair and cocked his head to the right with her hand. She then placed
a firm kiss on his lips and delved her tongue into his warm mouth as she
sensually wrapped her arms around his neck.

Hiroshi immediately
loosened his arms around her waist and was about to embrace her again when
Minami snuck out from underneath them. She had a mischievous smile on her face
as her eyes glinted beautifully from the partially exposed moon.

Hiroshi arched his body
backwards and let out an “Argh!” to reflect on his missed opportunity and her
successful escape. He straightened up and saw Minami beaming. She found herself
happy with Hiroshi’s frustration.

“I told you so,” said
Minami playfully.

Hiroshi placed his hands to
his sides, shifted his weight to one foot, bent his head down and looked back
up with his boyish grin. “I guess so.”

Minami suddenly looked to
the broken window as she heard voices coming from her family. “I better get
going,” said Minami.

“Okay and don’t worry about
the window. I’ll be back in the morning to fix it.”