On the Plane

On the Plane is a fanfiction by Japanlover86, it focuses on Ichiro being sent to America after his parents' death. It is told from Ichiro's POV.

Chapter 1
I went on to the plane, when they saw me, I was a lot thinner and my stomach had a dull ache for some reason, I also felt empty, like my deep veins were clotting, I hardly ate in August, I was going to live with an adoptive family.

I got in the plane, and sat down, Maria-Kitsune sat down also, I looked at the island of Japan as the plane flew away.

I sat down, and slept, I was tired from walking, but a few hours later, I was awoke by my cramping stomach, which growled loudly in hunger and a cramp started, probably from hunger, I attempted to block off the noise with my right hand and I groaned in pain, I felt ribs and muscle stick out underneath my flesh and uniform, how long did I last ate? I think a week ago when in Allied custody in a prison, They thought I wasn't there, I was asleep the whole time, how did I fail to notice I was hungry?, one of the soldiers looked at me, he was sitting next to me, watching me clench my teeth while I clutched my stomach in pain.

A lady around 22 looked concerned during my hunger pains, my stomach felt like it was going to eat my intestines.

"What's wrong, does your stomach hurt?" One of the women asked me, I didn't say anything, then my stomach voiced its lack of nourishment.

"How long have you last eaten?" She asked me, concerned.

" (A week.....)" I said in Japanese., I've lost 26 pounds due to the lack of food

I never really ate well, The POW camp I worked at never had anything decent.

Then one of them got up, and I looked at him

" (I'm.....so......hungry.......)" I said weakly in my native language, I placed my hand on my empty stomach in discontent and rubbed it to soothe the cramps.

"D***, you have a lion in your stomach, You hungry?" He said, I nodded, he passed me what appeared to be an cake-like biscuit, "These are Jaffa Cakes, they have an orange fillings inside, the pain will stop if you eat it."

I took a bite, I ate with patience even though I was starved for a week and tempted to gobble it down like a maniac, and I took another bite, wow, I like them, when I finished it, I looked at him.

"That was the first thing I have ever ate in a week." I said

He handed me another, which I ate patiently, despite my malnourished state.

"What will I wear? The only clothing I have is an Imperial Japanese Army uniform...." I said nervously to the GI

"Don't worry, kiddo, my colleagues will buy you clothing." he said to me

"Okay, Ichiro, since you are technically a POW, you will not be released back to Japan until it is no longer occupied by the Allies, and you will not be able to open a bank account." He said to me

When the plane landed, me and two American GIs got into a car, and we drove to Florida.

It was very long, I was tired from the drive and fell asleep on the trip

I yawned, then one of the US soldiers got a blanket and put it over me and Maria-Kitsune

"D***, he must be tired from us walking and having to drive him to an airport in Tokyo." One of them said

Sone time after, I arrived in Florida, I woke up, picked up Maria-Kitsune, I took off my hat and army coat, only wearing the army trousers and white undershirt, one of the US soldiers knocked in the door, a man and a woman opened it

"Hello? Oh, who's this?" The man said, I hid behind the US soldier's back, being the shy person I am, I refused to speak.

"This is Ichiro Tachimi, his parents died in Hiroshima and since he has learning difficulties, can you look after him until Japan gets rebuilt?" One of the soldiers said

The woman's eyes widened.

"Ichiro?" She said.

I looked at the woman, I just looked at her.

"Clare?" I said back.

"You two know eachother?" One of them asked.

"Yeah, Ichiro lived here before the war started, he was a sweet boy, He was sweet and adorable." She said.

"And we found out he is a dual Japanese-American citizen, found his US passport, still intact, He also told me in jail that you people were his last family members." The other said

"It's okay, sweetie, come inside." The woman took my hand and lead me and my fox inside.

"Oh, he has an acute liver condition and doesn't have long left to live, malnourishment has taken its toll on him." The GI said.

Clare looked at him.

"YOU!" I heard a yell, then someone came down stairs.

"Mikey-san...." I said, unapologetically.

"Aunt Clare, Uncle Kent? Why is the little Omori cut living with you? He almost tortured me to death!" He said.

I was in the prison camp, about as emaciated as a prisoner and I often had my shirt off to protect me from the subtropical heat.

"Honey, look, his parents died and is very inexperienced with looking after himself, he doesn't have any other family members other than us, So, we don't want him dying in poverty or hunger." The lady, Claire explained to him about me being here, the lady also didn't want me dying of starvation.

"He should starve, he doesn't deserve food." Mikey said to the lady, glaring at me.

I looked at Mikey, my father wrote a pact if he or mom died, The Kimmings were the ones to take me in and Sachiko, but Sachiko died before that could happen with her.

I walked towards him.

”Do....you remember the tarot markings?” I asked him.

Mikey’s eyes widened and lifted up his right sleeve as I did mine.

”You still have it, the Roman numerals for 5, the Hierophant.” He said.

"Want to lead me to your room?" The man asked me, I nodded.

He then led me upstairs to a room, it looked better than those barracks.

"Since, um, your are Japanese, I added a futon, I added kanji writings." He said

"I like it." I said

"Dinner will be in half-an-hour, we'll be having beef stew." He said as I stayed in my room

My stomach growled with hunger as he mentioned beef stew, argh, my stomach was growling like a lion, It was one of my favourite dish, I clutched my midsection to attempt to block the noise, D***, I wonder why none of the US soldiers stopped to get something to eat, the only thing I ate before that was 2 Jaffa Cakes

"Ichiro, was that you?" He said.

"........" I was silent.

"Are you hungry?" He asked me.

I nodded, my stomach was basically killing me at this point, I have barely eaten in days, hunger pains were getting more frequent.

"Okay, my wife will lead you down when dinner's ready, okay?" I said

I nodded again

I sat on my bed, and sat Maria-Kitsune on the pet bed, I yawned.

I still held my hat and coat, there was a wardrobe, so I put them up, then rested on the bed.

I was very tired, hungry, and was slightly feverish, probably from hunger or fatigue or something.

Chapter 2
The same lady went up to my room to come down for dinner, I held her hand and went downstairs, I got a pair of chopsticks that I was allowed to keep and started eating the beef stew, rather patiently, even though I've barely ate anything throughout the day, but, it was better then the Red Cross boxes

It really hit the spot, and was the first cooked dish I've ever had in a year, the man looked so relieved I had something in my stomach.

"Was that your first dish during the war?" She asked

I nodded.

Then the man decided to talk to me.

"Why did you torture Mikey? He told me everything that happened." He said to me

"He scarred me, you could of never known how much I hated your nephew, during my stay here as a child with my parents and little sister, you could have never known what he did to me." I said to the man.

I explained everything that Mikey did to me as a child and my reasons for torturing him.

Despite all this, I understood why he hated the Japanese so much and that he would hate the fact I’m living with him as a brother.

"Did you ever get something to eat during in Omori?" The woman asked me

"Once in every few days or so, Even as a POW guard, I often went hungry and didn't have a good place to sleep, and being hungry while beating POWs was absolute miserable, I barely done most things except beating Mikey's a**, but when those Red Cross boxes came, other guards gave me one because my otosan doesn't want to come into Omori to find me with 20 pounds lost, Mikey kept drooling as I was eating the food that came with the box." I said

"No wonder you're so thin." The man said

"It didn't have everything, and if Omori was too disease-ridden, My otosan would take me out of Omori temporarly, where I would be fed, bathed and everything." I said

I finished my beef stew, then got up.

" (Thank you very much)" I spoke in Japanese and bowed.

I went back to my room, And fell asleep on the soft bed.

Then I found a buttoned shirt, tie, overcoat, and trousers, I've decided to put them on.

Then that lady came in when I was picking up the buttoned shirt, I was bare chested, My ribs were slightly seen due to the lack of food in days

She got horrified, and she went up to me.

"I can see your ribs, how much did you eat in WWII?" She said to me

"Once in every few days or so, when I was weighed by American soldiers, my weight was 84 pounds." I said

It wasn't healthy for a five-foot-four man, and she was horrified, she poked a finger at one of my ribs

"I should consult a doctor." She said

"It's fine, If I keep eating, I will get up to 110 pounds." I said, rather relaxed about my condition.

"Okay, but how?" She said

"I'm a patient eater." I said

She nodded, and decided to sit down on the bed with me.

"Most Japanese military deaths were caused by starvation." She said

"I know, they were poorly rationed, I got a non-combat role, as a POW guard, the camps smelled like someone had died and if it was too diseased, otosan would take me out, he would often weigh me because I went hungry in Omori, the guards tried to tell my father I lived off Red Cross boxes and had to ration them because I didn't eat much, Didn’t like the camps that much." I said

Oh, you're going to university on September 1st with Mikey, what did you do in high school?" She asked me

"I graduated school early at the age of 17 because Japan was ready for war, my father taught me how to fight and I joined the Imperial Japanese Army and my father trained me." I said

"Okay." She asked

"He was one of the very few officers who did not beat cadets, it was common to prepare them, but, he was also in charge of a platoon that he called the Black Unit, the leader was named Hiro Shinozawa, he chose him to be leader because he was more sane and least likely to attack others, Huizong was far from a model soldier, The second in command job interfered with his party life." I said.

Chapter 3
Mikey's family came to visit to celebrate the end of WWII, I thought they would be shocked to find an orphaned Japanese soldier in their relative's house.

"Hey, Sasha, Tamara, John, Tommy, and ooh, baby Vicki and little Eleanor!" The lady happily greeted while I was setting out food for my new family, it made me a little hungry.

After I finished, Tamara walked over to me, Maria-Kitsune was sleeping on my lap

"Aw, who's this?" She asked Clare-san

"This is Ichiro, he was orphaned after WWII, he was in the same camp Mikey was held at, Mikey was a POW while Ichiro was a guard, his parents and sister died, and he was put in an Allied prison for a week, the worst part is that he barely ate anything in there and I offered to take him in, when we saw him he was thin and tired, but he's getting used to it, aren't you?" She said then turned over and asked me

She then turned to Tamara.

"Please go easy on Ichiro, he suffered the loss of his family, a horrible liver condition, and poor conditions in a POW camp." She said.

I nodded.

Then a girl around three wobbled over to me.

"Hiya Mister! What's your name?" She asked me

"Ichiro, Tachimi Ichiro....." I said.

"What is a Japanese man doing here?" She asked innocently

"My parents died and I couldn't look after myself, so here I am." I said

"I'm sowwy." She said

"Iie, iie, it's fine." I said, assuring her it didn't anger me.

"How old are you Ichiro?" Tamara asked me

"Juukyū-sai." I said

"He's 19, he'll be 20 in a month." Clare said to her sister

"He's such a cutie, where did he come from?" She asked

"Tokyo, Empire of Japan, but I think it's going to be dissolved in the next years, He can't go back, he told me he was given strict orders not to come back to Japan until the occupation of Japan by the Allied forces was over, as he would of died." She said

I got up and got some food then sat down.

"I fought in Burma until 1942, due to my gentleness, I had a non-combat role, where I went to Omori, me and Mikey used to be in Shangi, then we both got moved to Omori as okasan wanted me more closer to home, so Omori bay, Tokyo, but in both camps, I barely got anything to eat due to the poor rations." I said.

Mikey was eating from a plate and glaring at me, then he walked over to me.

"Gimme your food, you d*** rat, You should starve to death, like POWs in Omori." He hissed at me.

"No, you stomach-stabbing b*****d." I responded.

The family gasped at what I said.

"Huh...." Tamara said

I took off my army coat and undershirt, revealing a 6 inch large scar on my abdomen, but since I have eaten in the past few days, my ribs were no longer visible, and I had a more healthy look.

"He sneaked into my former US residence, I was taking a shower, dragged me out, naked, and he stabbed me with a kitchen knife 5-7 times with a knife before an onlooker stopped him, he kneeled me in the testicles doing it, ow, he done many ways to torture me there, he once tied me to a cross and left me there for days, dear god....." I said

It was a horrible memory for me and I tried very hard to block that memory, Despite all this, I considered Mikey my fellow tarot-holder

After a few minutes I've finished eating, then Tamara handed me a baby and I held it.

"This is Vicki, she was born when the war ended with Germany, May 8th." She said softly

I thought she was adorable, she was in a blue dress with shoes of the same colour, she babbled as I held her.

"Kawaii........" I said quietly.

"You like her?" Tamara said

"Hai....." I said.

"Would you like children when you're older?" Tamara said

"I would love to have a baby girl." I said.

"Really?" Tamara asked.

"Hai, but the girls born to my family have a higher chance of developing a fatal birth defect that always kills them before the age of one, my otosan described it as where your left coronary artery is connected to the pulmonary artery instead of the aorta, it is responsible for most of the female deaths in my family, except my sister, she lived to the age of 15, she had a few heart attacks but was always revived, I think it's a gene." I said.

"Oh, Anomalous Left Coronary Artery from the Pulmonary Artery?" Tamara said.

"Yeah, I forgot the name, I wasn't expected to live past the age of five, I had a liver condition, but none of the men in my family had it." I said.

I then had a thought.

"Why are you kind to me? I tortured your family member." I said to Clare.

"Look, I remember when you were a little boy, you were very sweet and shy." Clare said.

The older members of the Kimmings family remembered me very well as a little boy.

He turned to Mikey, Mikey had already finished his meal and I went to knock on the door.

”Mikey?” I knocked on the door.

He opened it, He didn’t speak.

”I think we are supposed to be intertwined together, my family went under the tarot tradition too.” I said.

I told him my father was Temperance, my mother was The Tower and my sister was The Wheel of Fortune.

”Yeah, I remember the pact, if your parents died, you and Sachiko became my adopted brother and sister.” Mikey said,

”Except with Sachiko, that didn’t happen.” I said, pointing it out.

”Look, Ichiro, I’m sorry about dinner, let’s call it truce, okay?” Mikey said,

Chapter 4
I started university today alongside Mikey, I wore a shirt, tie, and trousers and so did he.

"Have fun boys!" She said as me and Mikey were dropped off at Miami University

"Wow." I said.

"Oh, you must be Ichiro and uh, who are you again?" a teacher greeted us both

"Mikey." Mikey said.

”Ichiro.” I said.

"Ah, let me lead you two inside." She said as me and Mikey followed her.

Ae went into the classroom.

"Ooh, who's the cute Asian dude? Is he from China? He's hot!" We heard murmurs from female students.

Then I noticed a shy Japanese girl around my age, she had black hair and was very pretty.

Then she went up to introduce herself to me, she was blushing.

"K-K-Konnichiwa, My name is Matsuko." She said.

"Kon--" I said before I was interrupted by a high-pitched squealing voice.

"Hey, get away from him you ugly whore!" A girl with blonde hair stood up, she was in, kinda flashy gear and wore short shorts.

I glared at her, I don't like her, she just was coming to say hello.

"Don't touch her new kid, she has Jap germs." She said.

"I'm Japanese." I told her, glaring at her, quite offended on what she said.

"No, you're Korean, don't lie." She said

I was usually a very gentle 19-year old man who would never hurt a fly, but she was really upsetting me.

"I don't speak Korean." I said to her.

Then a boy stood up and walked over to me.

"Sorry about Bella, she's the most popular girl and is in the popular clique, Matsuko here, she came from the US from Japan, but really, most of the class hate her, especially how she treats Matsu-chan, she thinks every girl should like those skimpy role models that teach girls to sexualise themselves prematurely, I'm Ronnie." He said

"I'm Ichiro." I greeted myself.

"Japanese?" He said

"Hai, my parents died in Hiroshima alongside my sister and I couldn't look after myself, so, I have faced starvation, until I was found by the Americans, then they brought me here, so, here I am." I said.

"No way, he's Korean." Bella said.

"He's not, He doesn't speak it. His name is not used in the Korean language, It is a Japanese name, meaning "first son", He said his family died in Hiroshima." Ronnie said, glaring at Bella.

Then me and Matsuko went out of the classroom.

" (Does she always do that to you?)" I said in Japanese.

" (Yes, my father was in a brutal March where Flipino and American POWs were marched miles and miles to a POW camp)" she said in Japanese

" (Baatan Death March, my father was there and he told me about it, I was orphaned after wartime, I arrived in Tokyo with strict orders I was on my own, my stomach, arms, and knees were hurting from hunger and fatigue, I was so hungry that when my stomach growled, a cramp followed aswell, it was like having a knife through your stomach, I even tried finding food in a dumpster, I haven't eaten in days during that time, I was found by American soldiers, I was examined, they found out my liver had been permanently damaged due to hunger, leaving me with no ability to drink alcohol, had me in prison for a week, then came here, so, here I am)" I said in Japanese

Then we went back into the class, holding hands, Matsuko put a hand on my abdomen, causing me to wince a little due to the scar and the fact it was quite ticklish

" (Ooh, Are you ticklish there?)" She cooed in a motherly tone.

" (No, no, no, a thousand times no!)" I replied.

My sister used to tickle me before bed back in Japan, she would say "Is the Fox of Imperial Japan ticklish? Is he, is he, is he?" in Japanese.

" (Okay)" she seemed satisfied with my answer.

" (Matsu-chan, I am still pretty undernourished from the lack of food when I was in prison and my final days in Japan, sorry if I faint during class, I am still recovering, my liver cannot handle alcohol, I might have to get a transplant next year or so)" I said.

We went back in, and I sat at my seat alongside Matsuko-chan, who sat next to me, Bella looked heartbroken, she angrily got up.

"That does it! That girl is a f***ing w**** and a prostitute!" She shouted

"You dress like one, ianfu, na on'na." I said, calling her a slut in my native language

The class erupted into laughter except Bella, even Mikey thought it was hilarious, he was laughing too, and a couple of the boys high-fived me.

The teacher came in and we all were quiet.

"Teacher! Teacher! The new kid called me a sl*t!" Bella said

"Explain, Ichiro." The teacher said

I got up, and pointed at her

"This girl, is nothing but a f***ing narcissistic w**** who bullies Matsu-chan because she is prettier than her and the boys love her, I called her a sl*t because, she dresses exactly like one, while Matsuko-san dresses in modest and businesswoman like clothing, and yet she calls her a prostitute, she cried like a baby because I like Matsuko-chan more than her, I'd rather date a cow than date her." I said, I never usually swore unless I was angry, but I was calm when saying all of this.

"WOOO! YOU GO, BOY!" A female student of Chinese descent said, she had black hair, wore a knee length skirt and blouse, she high-fived me.

"I'm Zhuyi, you are?" She said.

"Ichiro, Tachimi Ichiro." I said.

"Japanese?" She said

"Yeah." I said

"I'm from Peking, I came here to escape the Sino-Japanese war." She said

"I'm sorry, but, I never visited China." I said.

"I had to escape because of the Japanese invasion of China." She said

"Um, I did not fight in China and I am very sorry for the henious crimes committed." He said

"It's fine, It's fine." She said

"Maybe he can tell us about his experiences." Zhiyu said to her classmates.

"Um okay, I used to fight in Burma, I accidentally decapitated a British POW by accident in Shangi, I was meaning to go for another POW and I really couldn't forgive myself for it, I think his name was Arthur Landers or something, but I am going to meet his widow, and I think she will very nice when she visited me yesterday, and am going to give her the sword with her husband's blood on it, but I used another sword that was not even mine, I was wearing gloves, but, I had really poor rations and my father checked to see if I was fine, because fighting in Burma and the Pacific was so high-risk for both sides, I switched camps because I couldn't forgive myself.” I said.

I was very remorseful because I didn’t mean to do it, most Japanese soldiers took pleasure in doing things like that, torturing and killing, but me, No, I never.

”Even though Omori was dirty like a poor pig farm and the rationing for Japanese soldiers was even worse, but, it was close to home, my father took part in most of the fighting against the U.S, until he was captured in Iwo Jima, but he was deported to Tokyo soon after he told them he had to check me and it took them at least five days to find out they forgot to feed him because, they forgot what his name was and he never came out of his room at that time, they confiscated his shin gunto to stop him from committing suicide." I explained.

"So, you were fighting for the Japanese?" A female student asked.

"Unfortunately, yes, it was my father who trained me and he refused to let any other officer train me, because they often beat the recruits and my father was one of the more "humane" officers despite how brutal most officers were at the time." I said.

"No wonder he's not as brutal as other Japanese soldiers." Zhiyu said.

"Even though I tortured the s*** out of Mikey, but my father taught me to be kind and sweet to everyone, except him and now he’s technically my adoptive brother." I said.

"Do you have any pets?" Zhiyu asked.

"A pet fox named Maria, I know it is very unusual, but I found this fox after her okasan and otosan we killed when a mine exploded between their feet, she was the only survivor, since I cared for nation so much, I treated her, the doctors had her spayed, which is where you remove a pet's reproductive parts, was given a collar, and she was my comfort pet, she really liked me, she was like a cross between a cat and dog." I said.

"Why do you hate Mikey?" Said Matsuko

I took off the coat, tie and undershirt, revealing a six inch scar on my abdomen, since he arrived, my ribs were gone and I developed a slight muscular build overtime but was still pretty feminine-like, such as the hips.

"Good God....." Ronnie said.

"It looks like he poured hot oil on your stomach." Zhuyi said, shocked.

"It still stings!" I shouted at him.

"U-um, can you put your shirt back on?" Matsuko asked him, blushing.

"Oh, hai." I said before I buttoned the undershirt back up, putting my tie on and putting the coat back on.

"Arigatō." She said bowing to the nineteen year old man.

"My father thought American POW camps were just like the Japanese ones that he refused to look at any of the GIs in the eyes and kept them shut, they accidentally starved him for five days and they found him slouching against a wall, hand on stomach, shivering and everything, he was deported back to Japan soon after and he never was in another battle after Iwo Jima because the hunger had make his stomach sensitive the moment he came home and often refused to eat and if he did, he would vomit 2 hours later, even though he was starving by then, he spent 7 days on Iwo Jima without food and 5 days in the POW camp and didn't eat for 3 days when he came back to Tokyo, that's 15 days all without eating, that's 12 days, but he recovered soon after and mom feared my father would die of starvation in another battle." I explained about my dad.

"Oh..." She said

"I was born with a liver condition that would became life-threatening as I became older, when I was born, it was one-in-a-thousand at the time and it didn't even had a name at the time, it caused my liver to malfunction and some of it's functions didn't work or failed, it was a result of my stomach cramps because it pushed into my stomach and large intestine and poor alcohol tolerance, the medical expertise I required just wasn't available in Japan and my family didn't have enough money to travel to America due to the anti-immigration policy, but it is a very high-risk operation as I can risk damage to my other organs." I said.

I then talked to Zhiyu.

”Zhi, How come you are not angry at me?” I asked.

”Well, Ichiro, You were only 7 when Mukden happened, only 12 when Nanking happened, 10 when Unit 731 opened it’s doors and I heard you weren’t in China.” She said.

”Yeah, Only a kid, I didn’t really have it easy either.” He said.

Chapter 5
I was in the dorm with twelve boys around my age, I was fast asleep in bed.

It was almost close to my birthday, I couldn't wait, there was also a Vietnamese boy, Huy, he moved from French Indo-China with his parents.

"Hey, Ichiro." Huy said.

I got up.

"Come on, it's time to wake up." He said.

Huy and me went down to the breakfast table.

I just had a bowl of cereal.

"I only have 6-8 weeks left to live." I said.

"But, you will get an operation, right?" Huy said.

"Yeah." I said.

"I only have a few more years left to live, I suffered tuberculosis throughout my life, I won't live to the 50's." He said

"I'm sorry, my liver operation is in days, my liver condition should have killed me before my fifth birthday." I said

Being in a diseased POW camp on an empty stomach, these were hardly doctor's orders for a liver disease patient and it, unknown to me, severely life threatening and now wasn't expected to live to twenty.

Chapter 6
It was the day that will change my life, the surgeons told my adoptive family it will take 6 hours to remove the infected and dead liver, and they will give me a liver transplant once the stitches and scars heal.

And when they took me to the hospital, my orders were not to eat anything, my last dish was two sandwiches and a small glass of milk hours earlier.

"The doctors in Japan couldn't treat my liver, the medical expertise wasn't available and my fellow soldiers wondered how the h*** I managed to get enlisted, but, I was exposed to a metric ton of disease and it unknowingly made my condition worse." I said to Clare

"You'll live, have children, have grandchildren to tell this story to." She said.

A few hours later, I arrived at Westchester General Hospital, Clare held my hand and led me into the waiting room.

"His name's Ichiro, he's my adoptive nephew, he's nineteen years old, born October 31st 1925, he has a liver condition that caused it to fail and it became badly diseased, we are here for an operation to remove the affected liver.

"Ah, Ichiro, keep in mind miss, this a dangerous prodecure and the team can risk damage to some of Ichiro's digestive organs, and this dead liver and its abnormal vessels can bleed a lot, it's very important that we don't damage anything, there is a 1 in 20 chance he will die on the operating table." He said to Clare.

We waited in the living room until a female nurse walked towards us.

"Ichiro, darling, your turn." The nurse said, then I followed the nurse to the operation theatre and lied on the table, the surgeons applied anaesthetics and I quickly fell asleep.

I felt myself float, almost as if I died, but the monitor was still working, that must mean I’m alive.

The surgeon removed my shirt and made the first incision across my stomach so he could work on removing the liver, then he peeled back the skin to expose my liver and surrounding parts.

A few minutes later, a female surgeon made the first incision on the main vessel that connected my liver to other parts and the other parts, but here was a problem, I was losing blood throughout the surgery and the one handling my blood transfusion couldn't replace it quickly enough.

"Should we halt the surgery?" The female asked.

"Wait for more blood to arrive." The main surgeron said.

The surgery halted, as more blood was given to me, they said I needed time to process it before the operation can continue.

A few hours later, my condition was stable and they could carry on, the most riskiest part had to take place now, after 7 hours of surgery, the female surgeon disconnected my liver, and was extracted, and they unpeeled the skin and stitched it.

After 9 exhausting hours and a dramatic loss of blood, I woke up two hours later, my lifesaving surgery was complete

After 2 days recovering the ward and the the scars healed.

"It's okay, sweetie, come on...." Clare said to me.

I got up gently, and she helped me out of bed.

"You can rest when you get home." She said.

The nurse gave me a bread, water and what appeared to be soup, I ate it slowly and gently.

A few minutes after finishing it, I went home with Clare and she put me on the guest room bed.

I rested very well that night, the doctor said I should stay off university for the next few days until I had the strength to make it out of bed.

Well, the side effects were I ate more than usual, and increased hunger, which was normal, but worn off after a number of days.

Chapter 7
A month has passed, and by the time, I now had a liver transplant, and it was my 20th birthday in a few days time, Mikey just turned 20.

Maria-Kitsune climbed on my bed, and I hugged her and she licked my face.

Kent came in.

"Hey, Ichiro, how are you now?" He asked.

"Doing very well, thank you, my parents would be so proud of me." I replied.

"I got someone here to see you." He said as Matsuko walked in.

"Hi, Ichiro-san, how are you feeling?" She asked.

"A little exhausted, but doing well." I replied.

Kent left the room, leaving both alone.

"Um, when Japan gets better, will you marry me?" She said,

My eyes widened, I never had an interest in women.

"Hai, of course I would." I said.

She lied on the bed next to me.

"What's it like living in the USA?" She asked.

"Well, It's kind of better than Japan, a little, I have to stay here until Japan recovers and the US occupation ends." I said.

"Me too, I am going back to Japan after the occupation ends too, my father just came back, my parents were divorced and I actually spent my years in America and was in the internment camps until Japan's surrender speech, and I never got to see him very often, but my parents were still good friends and remained in contact and he would phone me, I loved him as a dad, not as a killer." She said.

”Did you have any siblings?” I asked.

”Hiroshi, my older brother, he was 19 when he joined up, when he finally saw otosan again, He slapped him across the face, To Hiroshi-kun, Our father abandoned us.” She said.

Chapter 8
I went to visit Mikey's mother in hospital with Kent, Clare and Mikey, she had cancer and I decided to visit her, since I've known her from a young age.

"Hey, I....um...wrote you a get well soon card." I said to her.

"That's Ichiro, Ichiro Tachimi." Clare said.

"Wait, the Ichiro Tachimi, the boy my son attacked?" She said, shocked.

"Yeah." I replied.

"So, you have you been?" She said.

"Very well, except during WWII, my liver condition got even worse, when I wasn't supposed to be in the army, but, They told my dad if I wasn't drafted, they would force me to, I got a liver removal and transplant, and a coincidence, your son was in the same Japanese POW camp I worked at, I would kick and beat him and was the only one to do so, to be honest, I recognised him from a couple of moles on his arms and a large port wine birthmark on his cheek." Ichiro said.

"Yeah, learned about it, why did you do it?" She asked him.

"I hated him since I got back into Japan and until the end of WWII." I replied.

Over the years, I will never be a normal teenage boy, those memories will scar me forever.

”But, He’s going to be my adoptive brother from now on, It’s unusual, but It’s going to be weird if we have kids and one of them marries the other.” I said.

Chapter 9
I was fast asleep in bed, I looked at the calendar groggily, it read 31st October 1945.

Clare went in.

"Happy 20th birthday." She said.

Three men walked in to the room, which I assumed were the GIs that brought me to America.

"How are you feeling Ichiro?" The leader asked.

"He is doing very well, he's eating normally, he's from 84 to 110, he's a very quiet yet peaceful boy, he just turned 20 years old." She said.

Kent came in with eight birthday gifts, Ichiro unwrapped them slowly.

"A Japanese caligraphy set, a toy fox, some books, some graphic novels from USA, some paintings, and what's this?" I said, I liked them until I saw how weird the last one looked.

"It's a dream catcher, it was used by Native Americans to capture nightmares and keep good dreams." She said.

"I have nightmares of a man I accidentally killed." I said.

"He's talking about the British Army soldier that he accidentally killed, I forgot his name." He said.

"Arthur, his wife is going to kill me and hate me forever." He said.

"Actually, Ichiro, we have his wife outside the house, she wants to talk to you." She said.

Ichiro went outside and saw a seven-month pregnant British woman.

"Ichiro." She said.

"I'm....sorry....." I said, making sure I didn't make her angry.

"It's okay, honey, look, accidents happen." She said, seemingly forgiving.

"Thank you, what gender is your child going to be?" I asked.

"A boy, me and Artie were separated, but we still loved eachother very much." She said.

One of the GIs got out a shin gunto, and there was reddish brown stains in the blade, probably blood.

"Don't worry, Ichiro's fingerprints are not on it, he told me he was wearing gloves because it made him feel comfortable, he moved camps because he was so traumatised." He said.

"You can have it, I never remembered his name and this is the only thing I know of him." I said.

"Thank you, darling, most widows would react negatively to this, but I won't, you never meant to do it and I don't think you mean any harm, Artie used to visit America and he said that he saved a Japanese boy from being knifed to death in 1936-7." She said.

"That boy was me, I didn't realise it was him." I said.

A car pulled over.

"I got to go now, back to Britain I go, see you soon." She said as she got into the car.

I waved, I smiled a little, thankful she didn't hate me.

Clare took my hand and took me inside.

"SURPRISE!" My friends from university, they shouted.

"Happy birthday!" Matsuko and Zhiyu said.

Huy grabbed my hand and put me on a chair

After five pieces of cake, I fell asleep to digest everything.

After an hour, me and my friends went out to celebrate.

After my birthday, I went to bed, tomorrow, I got up from my bed,

I have to be relieved, living with them, I was better fed, had now better hygiene, and was more healthier then I was during WWII.

"You feeling okay?" Clare said as she walked in.

I was still tired from the surgery weeks earlier, and I fainted on the bed.

Clare put a hand on my forehead for a moment,

"Hm, A little warm, I'll call the university up." She said.

I fell back asleep, but my stomach ached a little and I generally knew it was from hunger, but waited after Clare finished her phone call.

"Clare-san, I'm hungry." I said.

"I'll be there in a minute." She said.

A minute later, she served Ichiro some bread and soup.

Chapter 10
When I got better, Matsuko came around to visit, I didn't wear my uniform anymore, I now opted for western style clothing, but Mikey can still see my angry side, even without that uniform.

"So, Ichiro, how come the US soldiers didn't murder you?" She asked.

"They found my US passport in my jacket pocket, still in perfect condition, and they realised I was a Japanese-American dual citizen and I spoke English, and they gave me strict orders not to open a bank account, never go back to Japan until the occupation is over, and I am not even allowed to leave the United States, because, under the Geneva Convention, I am technically a POW, so, they go here once a week to see if I am fine, So, I will be kept here until the occupation is over." I said.

I then looked at her.

"I once killed a British POW by accident, Mikey was in the same camp, but, but......I was aiming for Mikey, not to kill him, but seriously injure him, but I accidentally chopped another POW's head off because I swung the katana at the wrong time and he didn't see me coming, I screamed, and one of the other guards had to take me out of the camp, but, I've always regretted it, no matter how badly I want to apologise, I think I've lost my chance and he's gone." I said.

"But, his wife forgave you, right?" She said to me.

I smiled and tears streamed down.

"Yes, yes..." I said before I broke down.

She hugged me, she then spoke in her native language.

" (There, there, have a good cry.....)" She said in Japanese, I sobbed softly into her arms.

'For a young adult male, he sure is sensitive....' She thought.

I screamed in Japanese.

After crying for at least eight minutes, I collapsed from exhaustion.

Her hands massaged my temples, cheeks, neck, chest, I flinched a little when she did it around my stomach, then in the same order, it felt good, actually.

"Do it again, I like it." He said.

She done it again, and I fell asleep into her arms.

I felt emotionally fragile.

Chapter 11: Happy New Year 1946.
It was the final year of 1945, I was actually getting excited.

I sat on the couch, flapping my hands and stuff

"大晦日、大晦日、大晦日~! (Ōmisoka, Ōmisoka, Ōmisoka~!) " I said cheerfully

Matsuko turned to Clare.

"Ōmisoka is the Japanese new year, he seems pretty excited about 1945 being left behind." She said to Clare

"Yeah, from the c*** he and Mikey suffered." She said.

"大晦日! (Ōmisoka!)" I said before sitting down on the couch.

It was 23:59 hours.

"The countdown's starting!" Clare said.

Everyone counted down in English, Me and Matsuko decided to do it in Japanese

"五, 四, 三, 二, 一, 明けましておめでとうございます! (Five, four, three, two, one, Happy New Year!)" We both said said as 1946 began

The fireworks went off, and everyone had a party, I kissed Matsuko on the lips.

Chapter 12
Me and Matsuko went roller-skating, people stared at us at the fact it was a Japanese couple.

"I like roller-skating, Since I was mostly legs and was pretty thin, I was in no shape to play rugby or soccer, so, I like roller-skating." He said.

She nodded, then a man came up to me.

"I heard a phone ringing, it's for you." He said.

I got off the rink and went to the telephone.

"もしもし? (Hello)" I said.

"Hello, Ichiro-san.........It's Huy's mom, Nguyen Thi Khanh Chi, come to my house, I need to tell you something." SHe sair

"Okay." I said.

I hanged up, and a few minutes later, I went to Huy's house, where his mother looked heartbroken.

"Huy has died in his sleep from TB, his condition worsened and he was brought to hospital after New Year's Eve, he was taken home, sadly, he didn't make it and he died a day later." She said.

"Iie, He's not dead!" I said in denial with a forced and broken smile.

His mother lead me in and we saw Huy's body, he was emaciated, pale, something she said was called "galloping consumption" which was weight loss.

"Huy, Huy, HUY WAKE UP!" I said.

I cried on his cold body.

"His funeral will be in a few days." She said.

A few days later, It was Huy's funeral, the wreath's ribbon said "Nguyen Hong Huy, 1925-1946, Nghỉ ngơi tốt"

His body was in a coffin.

My people were usually cremated, I was unfamiliar with burial.

But I had a clear concept of death, I sobbed in to a corner.

"He's been through some s***, He's lost his entire family." Clare said.

Mikey walked over to me, I prepared to attack until he gently patted my back.

"I may have never liked you and you never liked me but............I am sorry about Huy." He said.

I weeped softly.

"This makes me wonder why I even got drafted anyway." I said.

"Yeah, I get that too." He said

A few days later, Mikey recieved some crushing news.

"Your mother is dead, Mikey." I said with a small hint of sadness.

He out his hand over his mouth.

Chapter 13
Time has gone by so fast, Me and Mikey were now 25, Mikey's mother died four years ago.

It was 1950.

"A war has started in Korea." I said.

"Do you know anything about Korea?" Mikey asked.

"No, not much, my father was only 9 when they took over and he never visited it, but he did know of Koreans that were in the Japanese Army, and they were more brutal than their Japanese counterparts, I wasn't even allowed near them, I knew one called Shōichi, real name Jung-il, and he was more violent to POWs than any of his small unit members were, he was more likely to hurt them, he was under a different officer before being drafted, he died in the Nagasaki bombing, aged 21." I said.

Maria was now 5, she was still as energetic as ever, Mikey had gotten more used to her and Ichiro.

"What years were your parents born in?" He asked.

"My otosan, 1903, 36th year of Meiji, okasan, 1904, 37th year of Meiji, they were 22 and 21 when they had me, and 28 and 29 when they had my little sister, she was born in 1930, 5th year of Shōwa, I was born in 14th year of Taishō, I miss her." I said.

Ichiro still used the Japanese calender, he would always say the year before saying the Japanese equivalent, since 1868, Japan now used the Emperor's reign names.

Ichiro started crying, Mikey wasn't expecting it.

"Ichiro..." Mikey said.

Mikey got out some Captain America comics.

"Here, I've got you comic books, read those." He said.

Ichiro took them, tears still running down his face.

"Do you think we'll be able to enlist?" I asked.

"No, you suffered severe malnourishment and so did I, Omori has done enough damage as it is." He said.

I was mildly coughing from crying.

Matsuko came over, she sat next to Mikey.

"You read American comics?" She asked.

"He steals them from captured US soldiers, he doesn't give a s*** about US propaganda." Mikey said.

I read the comics in a slow and fancy way.

”In Japan, books are read the opposite way.” I said.

She noticed a Roman numeral on our arms, V on me and XI on Mikey.

”Can I ask you two about the Roman numerals?” She asked.

”It was a tradition in both our families, remember how I call him Hermit and he calls me Hierophant?” I told her.

”Yeah?” Matsuko asked.

”It’s a rite of passage, I’m the Hierophant and Mikey is the Hermit, My family adopted this.” I explained.

Chapter 13
Matsuko went over to me, I was sitting down on the couch.

"Did you parents have any rules?" Matsuko asked.

"My dad was severely allergic to coconuts, his unit had to ban soldiers from eating coconuts if he was there to protect him, they didn't even allow it in the house, my dad suffered a severe reaction to coconut while he was in an American POW camp and was saved by a nurse after injecting him with antihistamines, he can do all this other great s*** such as using karate on enemy soldiers but can get killed by a coconut." I said.

"So, was it banned in the house?" She asked.

"Yes, pretty much so, sometimes, before the war, after we moved back from America, before the war with the US, Sachiko often got candy containing coconuts from her middle and high schools, okasan told her to eat it outside then wash her mouth out in case she touched or kissed our father." I said.

My old house banned coconuts.

"What was his symptoms?" She asked.

"His bronchi would swell, making it difficult to breath, his face would swell like a balloon, if he ingested it, his stomach would swell like a pregnant woman." I explained.

"Did you inherit it?" She asked.

"No, I could eat them, as long as my dad wasn't in the room." I said.

Chapter 14: Hiroshi
Hiroshi Shizawa, now 26 was now at home with his mother Hiroko when Ichiro visited.

”Hiro-kun!” Matsuko said, knocking on the door.

Hiroshi opened the door and saw Ichiro and Matsuko.

”So, You’re Ichiro, Konnichiwa, I am Hiroshi.” He spoke.

Hiroshi had dark hair and was much taller than he was, he wore a formal suit.

”Hey, You’re free to come inside.” Hiroshi said.

The couple walked in.

”I never met your dad, sumimasen.” I said.

”Don’t worry about it, I’m not pissed off at you.” Hiroshi assured.

Hiroshi and Matsuko’s mom Hiroko entered the room.

”Hi, Shizawa-san.” He said.

Hiroko smiled.

” (My husband is getting sent here and Hiro-kun himself isn’t really happy about it)” Hiroko said.