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ROD: We live together.
NICKY: We're as close
As people can get.
ROD: We've been the best
of buddies...
NICKY: Ever since the
Day we met.
ROD: So he knows lots
Of ways to make me
Really upset.
Oh, every day is
An aggravation.
NICKY: Come on, that's
an exaggeration!
TAGGING: Joe Hart, Mama Hart, (mentions of Papa Hart’s grief), Kato Ichibei, and Rumiko Kurimoto
TIME FRAME: Late night of February 22nd 2016, the day of Kato’s dad’s funeral.
LOCATION: Rooftop of Tsukuba International School, Japan.
GENERAL NOTES: The Tsukuba Basketball Club’s Friendly trio has a moment of reflection back at one of their old hang outs.
Warning: Alcohol
“Remember what I said Joe...never let me forget.”
It had finally happened. Mizuki had passed away. After gradually losing his memory and falling into a coma, and after all of Sachiko’s hysterics. It was done with. Considering Sachiko only had an MRS degree from Oklahoma Christian, and no training in much of anything that could make a steady income for her and Kato (she had studied art, and graduated, but never had the time or money to invest in supplies), she had started working two jobs to support the two of them as Kato took part time classes as well as another job to help his mother pay bills as well. They both had an eventual goal though, the two of them had decided to move to America when Mizuki did eventually pass away. Sachiko had no more family in the country, having parents who were doing mission work in eastern Europe, and Mizuki no longer had any living relatives. They figured the best thing to do would be to begin saving to move to America, since their adopted family, the Harts, lived there.
The Harts had arrived in Japan as soon as they could after they had heard the news, and Sachiko had planned the funeral and wake so the Harts would be able to attend. Aimara’s mother Katia as well as Julian’s parents had helped with the cost of the last minute tickets, making it possible for them to arrive with some time before the funeral arrangements really began.
Once they had arrived in the country, the three of them had gone about different ways of grieving as well as helping Kato and Sachiko grieve, with the exception of Julian. The older man, who had no siblings of his own, had considered Mizuki to be his brother, and spent most of his time staring up at the ceiling of their hotel room as Aimara and Joe spent time with Sachiko and Kato. He had also barely spoken a word for a week, aside from when he absolutely needed to. Joe’s feelings were mixed, but Aimara understood and respected her husband’s need to be alone and be quiet.
“We all grieve differently honey.” Aimara said to Joe when he had asked her about it. “Remember how I couldn’t stop crying when your grandpa passed away? Well, this is just your father’s way of handling it. He’ll start speaking again eventually. Don’t you worry. All we can do right now is just be there for him, Sachi, and Kato.” Aimara told him with a weak smile after they had come back to the hotel one night and found Julian in the same place he had been when they had left him earlier that day. The day of the funeral, they had barely been able to get him out of the hotel room to go, and later that night, Aimara had shooed Joe away to go be with Kato, who had been nowhere to be found since the funeral earlier that day.
Joe had looked everywhere for his best friend, until one place had come to mind that he didn’t even try to look. The school rooftop, where the two of them had their fair share of conversations as well as the occasional drink when they were able to get away with it, which had of course led to Kato to have a slight drinking problem for awhile, but Joe figured all things considered, it would be okay for Kato drink, just as long as he was there and made sure to take the alcohol with him when he left. So, he went to the convince store on the way to the school, bought some beer, and headed for the school. With a skill that was similar to riding a bike, Joe was able to scale the fence and sneak up to the rooftop with surprising ease, just because he hadn’t done it in a few years. He had arrived on the rooftop to see a lone figure and smiled lightly.
“Oi. You, what are you doing, you’re not a student here!!” Joe boomed in the best native accented Japanese he could come up with, and Kato jumped up with a start, but rolled his eyes when he saw his dreadlocked best friend.
“Idiot. What do you want?” Kato told him as Joe walked towards him and sat beside him.
“To be your friend. Your dad was buried today after all. I thought you would need the company, and some alcohol.” Joe told him and offered him a beer, Kato looked at him in surprise. “I’m taking it back to the hotel, I figure considering the circumstances, and since you’ve been doing so well, you’ll be okay.” Kato just nodded and took the bottle from him. Wordlessly, Joe handed him a bottle opener which Kato took and opened the bottle with. After it was open, Kato took a long gulp from the bottle and made a face.
“This isn’t as good as I remember.” Kato told him and Joe smiled.
“Good, then you won’t be wanting it too much then.” Joe replied as he opened his own bottle and took a long drink from it. Kato was right, the two of them had been more into rum or whiskey, but considering neither of them really enjoyed beer in particular, he figured that was a plus, and wouldn’t be as much of a potential trigger for Kato, even though someone dying was probably enough of a trigger as it was. “But like I said, I figured you’d need it. Considering a kinda big thing happened today after all.” Kato only smirked.
“Wow, I wonder what that was.” he joked wryly. “How’s your dad? I know he’s taking it about as hard as my mom and I are.” Kato told him and Joe shrugged.
“He’s still not talking. He only speaks if he needs to, and even when he needs to, my mom is usually the one who speaks for him.” Joe told him. Kato nodded and took another sip of the beer as he sat on the edge of the building, his feet dangling off of the roof. “Rumiko was looking for you too. She was pissed at me about the beer.”
“Well, as she should be, I was kind of an alcoholic for awhile. Though, my mom has everyone in town paid off not to sell any to me, so no issues there I think. You didn’t tell her where I was did you?” he asked Joe. Joe shrugged, but gave him a look. Kato just sighed. “Yeah, I know...” The three of them, while not being friends for very long after Joe started high school in Japan, had developed a very close relationship, and she would occasionally frequent the rooftop with Joe and Kato. Rumi was still a student, currently being in the middle of 11th grade, and it was to be expected that, much like Joe, this would be one of the places she would go to look for them both.
As if being summoned, Rumiko silently approached from behind them.
“There you guys are.” she told them both and sat beside Kato, kissing him on the cheek suddenly. “Are you okay?” she asked him, but then saw the drink in his hand, shooting a glare at Joe, only to have Kato calm her down.
“It’s cool, we’re just going to finish off what Joe brought up then I’m done. I’m not planning on getting smashed.” Kato told Rumiko and Rumiko wordlessly took a bottle from the pack and the bottle opener from right by the back. “Rumi!” Rumiko just shrugged.
“I’ve drunk with you guys before. Don’t be surprised, and you’re right. It is special circumstances. Besides, are you guys gonna tell?” she asked them, and the two boys just shrugged, gulping down their drinks to fill the silence. The three sat in silence and looked up at the starry sky when Rumiko finally spoke. “Ojisan*...he’s really gone huh?” she mumbled. She had never gotten to know Mizuki before he started losing his memory, but she cared about and loved him just as much as Kato and Joe did, and helped the two of them through the roughest bits as Mizuki’s condition got worse. Kato nodded.
“He’d be so disappointed right now. Everything that’s happened since he had to quit.” Kato said sadly as he looked up at the sky. Joe patted his friend’s back. “I can’t believe all of that happened. The stuff with your Dad, and now the stuff with my Mom...” Kato told Joe. Joe just sighed.
“It’ll all come to something in the end. Everything is gonna work out the way God wants it to.” Joe told Kato. “Besides, who knows? Maybe when the two of you move to the States your mom can work with my parents again, and we’ll take over when they can’t do it anymore.” Joe told him, and Kato looked suddenly serious and thoughtful.
“Joe, remember what I told you in May? When I asked you to not let me forget. Remember what I said Joe...never let me forget. Never let me forget you, or Rumi, or my Mom, or any of the stuff our parents did together for missions. Never let me forget.” Kato told him. “Promise me. You too Rumi.” Kato said and looked over at his girlfriend. The two nodded.
“Never.” they both said in unison. Kato raised his bottle, the last bit, about one long sip’s worth. “Let’s make a toast. To my father, one of the greatest men I’ve ever known, and to you two, my friends who have always been here and will be here.” the two smiled and the three of them clinked bottles.
Notes: Kato and Joe go for a walk and Kato reminds Joe that God wants people to give thanks in everything, not just the big things.
It had been four hours since Tina and her parents had left in rage and headed back on the next plane to Ohio. Julian, Aimara, and Katia were enraged, but tried to hide it when they talked to Joe. The three of them understood where the boy was coming from, but that didn't mean they necessarily agreed with the timing of the situation. Joe found this out as he walked passed the guest room that his parents were staying in shortly after the Cohen-Changs had left.
"I can't believe he did that!" Joe heard Aimara groan as he walked past the door. He heard his father sigh a half-hearted sigh and heard him sit on the bed beside his wife.
"Darling, I know, but he's young, and really, it's better for him to do this now rather then after they had gotten married right?" Julian asked her, and Aimara only sighed in agreement. He heard his mother sigh sadly.
"I just at least wanted our first Thanksgiving back in the United States to be a happy one!" she cried, and he heard her start crying, and he heard his father try to calm her down.
"Yes, I know, I know. But look it this way my love, we're here, we're happy, sure we might not have jobs yet, but we have a roof above our head and a place to sleep, and look! We get to see Joe more then once or twice a year. We wouldn't have been able to do that if we had stayed in Japan." Julian pointed out. Joe didn't hear the rest of the conversation, and instead walked back to the room that him and Kato were sharing. It was a room with bunk beds that Joe's grandparents had gotten when Joe was really little, but old enough to sleep in a bed on his own, with the hopes that maybe one day they would have another grandchild to sleep in the room with him. Kato was currently on the bottom bunk, one of his few ESL books opened in one hand, his other hand idly petting Princess as he read. He looked up when he saw Joe enter the room.
"So, what are you gonna do now? Your parents are pissed you know that right?" Kato told him and Joe grabbed Princess's leash from around the door knob, the dog looked over at Joe, her tail wagging slightly as she looked at Joe eagerly. "Where you going?" Kato asked him.
"Hey girl. Want to go for a walk?" Joe asked Princess and at the word 'walk' Princess was up and standing, waiting patiently for Joe to put the leash on her. "Good girl." Joe cooed, and glanced back at Kato. "Gonna go walk with Princess. Wanna come?" he asked Kato. Kato only shrugged and closed his book, getting up from the bed.
"Sure, why not." Kato replied as the two headed down stairs and outside, with shouts of going for a walk to Joe's parents and grandmother. As the two began to walk through the dark streets in silence, Joe sighed.
"I'm so done. This year has been awful." Joe told Kato, and Kato shot Joe a look. "My parents had to leave Japan, I had to leave Hope, I broke up with Tina, my parents aren't working. I just don't know what to do anymore." Kato groaned.
"You've still got it better then me, you know that right?" Kato told Joe. "My father is basically comatose waiting to die back in Japan. And I was sent here because there was no room for me at home. Both your parents are fully functioning, in the same country as you, you actually got to have Thanksgiving dinner. And dude, you set yourself up for the thing with Tina! And don't you also have a friend from your American high school who had a little brother die a few months ago? How do you think he feels?!" Kato pointed out shortly. Joe stood, and looked at his best friend stunned. "You have it a lot better then you think you do Joe. You just don't choose to acknowledge it." Kato told him, and in the light of a distant porch light, Joe saw the distraught and hurt look on Kato's face. Joe looked at his friend and took some steps toward him.
"Kato. I'm sorry." Joe told Kato and he hugged his best friend. "I'm so sorry. You're right you know." Kato hugged Joe back, a gesture he would have normally been uncomfortable receiving, but since it was Joe and no one was around, he was comfortable hugging back. After a quick hug, Joe looked at Kato. "You've really been worried about your Dad huh?" Joe asked, and he felt twinges of guilt. He had been such a horrible friend lately. He had hardly been paying any attention at all to Kato, what with his parents being forced to leave Japan, moving to Oklahoma, the breakup with Tina.
"I haven't really been drinking at all. Kinda hard to at OC, but yes, it's been killing me a lot lately. I really want to go home and be with my mom now that your parents are back over here." Kato explained. Joe nodded. "I actually think I will. I've been thinking about that a lot lately. I think I'm going to leave in December and go back to Japan and help my mother with her ministry. It'll be easier for her to carry on if she has a guy help her." Kato told Joe. "Just please Joe, you have it a lot better then you think you do. It may be bad right now, but thankfulness in all circumstances is what God wants from us you know. What's that thing they've been talking about in church lately? When things are great, we forget about God, but when things are bad is when we cry out."
Joe nodded as the two continued walking down the street in silence. Kato was right. Joe did have a lot to be thankful for this year, even if it wasn't anything someone would consider significant, all that mattered was that he was alive, he had food to eat, and he had friends like Kato to remind him of what truly mattered.
