The Purple Heart (16 page)

She straightened up after
entering the partition and she saw Hiroshi standing in front of the center
window, which was covered in yellow lined paper. The sun’s rays bore down on
the window and gave it a warm glowing effect as it illuminated the dust
drifting in the air like specks of gold. Hiroshi was standing with his right
side to the window, at somewhat of an angle. He seemed in the middle of
undressing. His jersey was fully unbuttoned and the top button of his pants was
undone, revealing the top of his underwear. He was in the middle of dousing
himself with water from that familiar pail. He was holding the pail over his
head with his left hand, which allowed the water to spill onto his head. It then
cascaded down over his closed eyes, his nose, his cheeks, his lips and his
chin. She could see it trickling down his broad chest and over every ripple of
muscle across his stomach until finally the water soaked into his pants. The
rest just splashed down on the floor by his bare feet. Minami simply stared at him.
She did not know if she felt embarrassed or somewhat aroused.

Hiroshi lowered the pail to
his side and as if there was a delayed response of some sort, he opened his
eyes as water droplets clung to his eyelashes. He slowly turned his head and
saw Minami. There was something very deliberate in his eyes as he looked at her
standing there as if she had interrupted something. He dropped the pail, which
hit the floorboard with a metallic clunk, and walked toward Minami.

Minami froze as she watched
Hiroshi, water dripping from his hair, with his open jersey exposing the
droplets of water clinging to every muscle on his torso. His arms hung at his
sides. Each step was firm and deliberate as the distance closed between them.

Minami finally smiled and
lifted the ball up in her hand and said, “I caught the home…”

She couldn’t finish her
sentence as he closed the distance, drew her forcefully inward at the waist as
he placed his lips upon hers. Minami was taken aback by his aggressiveness as
his hand appeared behind her neck and pressed her lips tighter against his. His
hot breath surprised her and she gave into the rapturous moment. Her eyes
closed, her words muffled by his kiss and soon her arms found themselves around
his neck. Their lips melded together as Hiroshi’s hunger for Minami grew. His
tongue soon found Minami’s as they locked in a wet and steamy embrace. She felt
his strong tongue twirling about her own. Barely able to breathe, she broke the
kiss to catch a breath of air.

With a giggle Minami
exclaimed, “You’re all dirty and wet!”

Hiroshi didn’t relent and
stepped toward the wall with Minami firmly in his embrace until her body was
pressed up against it. He firmly drove his crotch into her, grabbed the back of
her hair, pulling it to the side and pressed his hot lips along her exposed
neck. Minami gasped, her neck arched backwards as her breathing became rapid. A
sudden sensation of warmth welled up around her face and neck. With a primal
urge, Hiroshi then dug his teeth firmly along her neck. Minami felt like being
devoured alive as she let out another gasp when the baseball fell from her hand.
She ran her fingers through the back of his hot wet hair and the palm of the
other crawled up the back his jersey, feeling his hot and sweaty skin.

Hiroshi firmly brought her
thigh around his waist as he massaged it. His thumb caught the hem of her dress
as it gave way as his fingers raked along the silky skin of her slender thigh
as reddish streaks trailed them.

A torrent of thoughts
flooded through Minami’s mind. She wanted Hiroshi, who was about to ravish her
against the wall. But from her mouth came some last remnants of reason,
“Hiroshi… we can’t, we’re going to get caug…”

Minami’s last words of
reason were swallowed up as Hiroshi placed his hot mouth onto hers. He inhaled
every last bit of hot breath from her body, depriving her of life-giving air.
For a moment, there was nothing between the two as their lips formed a perfect
seal. Hiroshi then inhaled slowly and shared his hot breath with Minami, who
could feel it filling her lungs. She also felt another unimaginable sensation
filling her very body. She couldn’t resist either, as she held onto him tighter
than ever, wanting to pull him into her. Hiroshi pulled away from the kiss once
more as he tugged at her dress revealing her breast. He hungrily placed his hot
mouth on Minami’s nipple and she gave out another gasp that turned into a low
pleasurable moan as her breathing became labored. She pressed her head once
more into the wall and shook it from side to side as the ends of her hair
gently whipped about her face. With both hands she pulled Hiroshi into her
bosom.

Hiroshi pushed her leg down
and moved his hand along her warm hip. He slipped his hand onto the side of her
underwear and eased it downward. It snagged momentarily until finally the
underwear began to slide downward. Minami lifted her leg up slightly as Hiroshi
skillfully eased it out from underneath her white shoe. Hiroshi immediately
rushed his hand back along her thigh and around her firm ass and massaged it
firmly.

Minami’s arousal was
seething through her entire body just when Hiroshi pressed his entire body up
against hers and began grinding his crotch into her own. She felt the immense
warmth emanating from his body as she worked to get his jersey off to no avail
as his hands were all over her, reaching into every part of her body unchallenged.
She felt the throbbing and pulsating sensation along his crotch as he rubbed
against her with a grinding motion that aroused her even more.

Hiroshi gently pulled her
away from the wall, still entangled in their ravenous embrace and walked the short
distance to the cot. In the next moment, Hiroshi slid on top of her. He moved
his face up along her chest, inhaling her very scent, until he placed another
firm kiss on her lips to find her tongue.

Minami’s hand found the
back of Hiroshi’s neck as her other hand slipped between his underwear and the
hot skin underneath. Her fingers glided over his firm ass and Hiroshi responded
by grinding into her as she instinctively spread her legs.

Hiroshi placed both of his
hands to the sides of Minami’s shoulders and pushed himself up and over her.
Minami twirled her tongue along her lips and her breathing was short and rapid.
Her eyes fluttered as Hiroshi simply stared down at the most alluring woman he
had ever laid eyes on. Her wondrous eyes looked up at him in anticipation and
her mouth was open slightly as her very lips seemed to pulsate with ardent
redness. The right side of her dress was pulled off her shoulder, revealing her
breast. The other partially revealed. She was the object of his every desire
that he so urgently wanted.

Hiroshi grabbed the left
side of her dress and pulled it down to reveal her other breast, and sunk his
teeth gently but firmly onto her nipple. Minami moaned as Hiroshi unzipped his
pants and worked to get them down. Minami’s hands rushed down as the pants soon
dropped over the end of the bed.

Hiroshi then grabbed the
back of Minami’s neck and slid his entire body in a fluid upward motion between
her legs, and before Minami could anticipate it, he was inside of her. She
arched her back to accept him before finally settling back down on the
mattress. And like the well-oiled machine that he was, he slid in and out of
her. Minami found that she could barely breathe as ripples of pleasure that had
started small, slowly began building up like tsunamis within her. She wrapped
her arms around Hiroshi and pulled him deeper into her and found that she had
to dig her own teeth into his shoulder to keep from screaming. Hiroshi reacted
to her bites and embraced Minami ever so much more, pressing himself into her
body as he undulated back and forth inside her. Minami could feel all of
Hiroshi deep within her and she wanted him, she wanted him so much and allowed
all her inhibitions to dissolve away, letting only pleasure to roil her body.

Hiroshi pressed his hot
lips onto Minami’s. He wanted to taste her, breathe her, and suck the very life
out of her, leaving nothing but pleasure in its wake. She was absolutely
beautiful, sensual, and desirable. Minami could barely endure his hard
determination and the length to which he would go to pleasure her any longer.
She could barely breathe but she didn’t care. The torrents of pleasure that
squeezed her like a snake coiling itself around its prey was beyond her
comprehension. Until finally the sensation that she’d never felt before erupted
throughout her entire body and tensed up every single muscle in her body as she
wrapped her legs tighter around Hiroshi’s waist. Then, Hiroshi thrust deep into
her as pleasure released itself and quaked through his hard body.

Minami lay on her right
side next to Hiroshi, who held onto her with his left arm. There was a tranquil
silence between them as Minami played with the fingers of Hiroshi’s right hand.
She had her leg slightly draped over Hiroshi’s lower body. Minami’s dress clung
clumsily to her body with a good portion of it bunched up around her waist.
They had pulled the blanket over themselves. Minami traced her fingertips along
Hiroshi’s right arm, first from his wrist, up his forearm, along the ridge
separating his bicep and triceps, and then to the rounded curve of his right
shoulder. She massaged it slightly and then asked, “I thought you hurt your
right arm?”

Hiroshi looked down at
Minami whose gaze was fixed on his right shoulder. She looked so relaxed as the
ends of her lips curled upward in a slight smile. She was absolutely luminous
with a soft beauty that captivated him. He replied, “I did.”

“But it didn’t seem to
bother you just now,” Minami asked teasingly.

Hiroshi smiled and spoke,
“Well I was doing more gripping than pitching this time. Ouch!”

Minami had pinched his
right shoulder evoking the desired response as he flinched. “Bad boy,” said
Minami teasingly.

Hiroshi playfully shifted
his weight to roll Minami onto her back and planted his full weight on top of
her. Inches separated their two faces from one other. She had a great smile on
her face, as she looked deeply into his soulful yet determined brown eyes.
Hiroshi looked into Minami’s wondrous eyes and they glistened back with
serenity. He lowered his lips toward hers when they suddenly heard the door of
the barrack creak open and they looked at each with a stunned look.

“Hiroshi, son, we’re back!”
yelled out Mr. Satoh as he and his wife entered the barrack. The two parents
walked slowly back toward their unit and when they parted the partition, they
found Hiroshi by the window buttoning up his shirt. The sweat soaked jersey was
draped over his left forearm. They looked at the bed, with the sheets pulled
neatly over it, to see Minami sitting on the side of the bed facing the
parents. The parents offered a smile and then looked at Hiroshi.

“Mom, Dad, I want you to
meet Minami, she’s the girl that I met here,” said Hiroshi calmly.

Minami straightened up and
bowed respectfully to Hiroshi’s parents. “It’s nice to meet you Mr. and Mrs.
Satoh,” she said.

“Ahhh. Minami-san,” replied
Mr. Satoh. “It’s nice to meet you too.”

“She’s the girl that caught
the home run ball,” Hiroshi said with pride.

Minami bounced the ball
slightly and it fell back into her hand. Then with a mischievous smile, Minami
said, “Yes, it was an amazing home run.”

In the days following the
baseball game, it was common for Minami and Hiroshi to be seen walking hand in
hand. They had hidden their relationship up until the baseball game when Minami
and Hiroshi finally met each other’s families.

Other people had a great
deal of respect for Hiroshi, especially the kids. Hiroshi had become their hero
when before there was none. Scores of children would run up to him chanting “Home
run! Home run!” which became Hiroshi’s new nickname. More often than not,
Minami was swept aside as the children swarmed around Hiroshi, who would
entertain them graciously. He would crouch down with a cheerful smile, throw a
ball here and there, and unexpectedly sign autographs.

Even the older Japanese
Americans would come up and respectfully offer their congratulations. Younger
men would come up to him, pat him on the back, and share a laugh with him. However,
Minami wasn’t too happy when young women approached him for an autograph.

Minami too enjoyed watching
Hiroshi, but she didn’t see the baseball player, or the waterboy, she saw the
man. A man who was young, in the prime years of his life. A man who was confident
and a bit cocky, but yet profoundly humble, graciously generous, and a virile
lover. He was the man she wanted to be with for the rest of her life. He was
the man she would love forever if only he would also love her the same way.

It was after dinner the
following Saturday evening when Hiroshi and Minami scurried away from their
parents, who had started to eat dinner together. The Satohs had enjoyed meeting
Mrs. Ito and the rest of the family earlier in the week. Mrs. Satoh was
enthralled with Yoshi and doted over him, as she never had any children after
Hiroshi.

Hiroshi and Minami walked
along the fence with the barracks off to their left side. It gave them the
feeling that they were away from everyone else, but not too close to the fence,
because it would remind them that they were imprisoned. Minami clung loosely
onto Hiroshi’s left hand with both of hers and swung it every now and then.

It was one of the things
Hiroshi enjoyed, these simple strolls with Minami. But he just wished so deeply
that he could whisk her away. It just wasn’t fair that they were imprisoned,
deprived of the opportunity to just be free and their patriotism second-guessed,
he thought.

Since he’d met Minami,
Hiroshi started to worry that he couldn’t be all that he could be to her. He
felt that his desire to build a future for himself and Minami was being robbed
from them because he didn’t know how long they would have to stay in the darned
prison camp. He wanted to be with Minami, but the prison camp wasn’t the place
to do it. Yet he kept his spirit up and, like everyone else, he made do given
the circumstances. He just hoped deep inside that Minami wasn’t disappointed.

“It’s a nice night,”
remarked Hiroshi breaking the silence.

“Mmm… it is,” replied
Minami as she managed a small smile. She kept her eyes fixed downward, watching
her feet appear from underneath the hem of her dress with each step she took.
It was another favorite floral sundress of hers. Hiroshi was wearing his usual
jeans and a white tank top that showed off his broad shoulders and muscular
arms.

It was a warm night for the
start of summer. The night sky was clear, with the moon hanging high above like
a pearl floating in the dark ripples of a dark bluish sea. The stars glistened
silently as if they were beckoning for the stargazers’ attention.

“It’s been quite a week
hasn’t it?” asked Hiroshi.

“Mmm… it has,” replied
Minami.

“Can you say more than a
couple of words tonight?” asked Hiroshi teasingly.

“Mmm… maybe,” said Minami
as she looked up at Hiroshi and giggled softly.

“Sometimes, you’re just too
adorable.”

“I’m only playing with you,
Hiroshi.”

“It’s been a long and short
week. I never thought that I would earn such a reputation just playing baseball.”

“You were amazing. You
inspired so many people and you’ve given us something to be so proud of.”

“Are you just saying that
because you really think that, or you think that’s what I want to hear?”
inquired Hiroshi with a smirk on his face.

Minami broke away from
Hiroshi’s hand and stepped in front of him. She gracefully spun around and
walked backwards.

“Well I don’t know Hiroshi,
or, should I say Home Run? Don’t you just love all the attention?” said Minami playfully.

 “Well Miss Minami Ito,”
Hiroshi responded nonchalantly, “I would have to say that all the attention has
been fun. But it gets a little tiring.”

“Oh, it’s getting tiring?”
Minami decided to chide Hiroshi further. “Are you saying you didn’t enjoy it
when all those women came up for an autograph?”

Hiroshi smiled back as his
eyes widened in astonishment and he simply said, “I didn’t notice the younger
women.”

Minami knew she had Hiroshi
and pursued it further. “Oh, so you noticed that they were younger?”

“Hey, I didn’t give them a
second look,” said Hiroshi as he struggled to redeem himself.

Minami was thoroughly
enjoying this moment. She knew that Hiroshi didn’t mean a thing by it, but she
did take some delight in watching him squirm a bit. It was just a natural thing
for a girl to do, especially to someone who had earned the nickname Home Run.

“Oh, Home Run actually
ignored
all
the younger women,” said Minami sarcastically. Then in an
animated girlish fashion she spoke, “Home Run, can I have your autograph?”

Hiroshi had just enough of
Minami’s childish if not somewhat seductive behavior as he lunged toward her.
Minami gave off a playful squeal and tried to turn but she wasn’t fast enough
as Hiroshi’s arms wrapped around her. She playfully struggled away to no avail.

“I’ll show you an autograph
missy,” said Hiroshi as he firmly pulled down the neckline of her dress.

“No, no, no,” said Minami
as she let out a giggle as Hiroshi planted a firm kiss on her neck. She then
buried her head into Hiroshi’s shoulder to muffle her laughter. And soon
enough, they were both sharing a laugh and a warm embrace.

Minami and Hiroshi stood
there together, both holding one another and gently swaying their bodies from
side to side to the swirls of a cool wind.

Hiroshi arched his head
gently back and Minami turned to meet his gaze.

“Hey, it’s a clear night.
Let’s do some stargazing. I think we can see some bears,” offered Hiroshi with
his boyish smile.

“Mmm… that sounds good,”
responded Minami. “Let me go get a jacket. It’s kind of cool tonight,” said
Minami as she turned toward her barrack.

“I’ll meet you over at the
mess hall, then. They should just be wrapping up dinner service now, so it
should be empty by the time we get there.”

“Mmm… sounds good,” said
Minami. She tilted her head upwards and gave Hiroshi a quick kiss and a smile
to go along with it as Hiroshi smiled back. He looked back at her and she just
liked the way he looked at her. It was the kind of look that would make any
girl feel entirely desirable. She giggled and then turned to walk toward her
barrack. As they started to walk away from each other, their hands clung to one
another until the last possible moment when distance finally broke their clasp.
Then she heard Hiroshi shuffling off in the direction of the mess hall.

Minami brought her arms
around herself to ward off a sudden chilly wind. She thought how odd it was
that when she was with Hiroshi, she was entirely oblivious to such things. But
that was probably the indescribable effect he had on her that made her fall for
him. She looked up at the night sky. It was a beautiful night to share, she
thought. They hadn’t had much time together lately, let alone privacy, since
the baseball game. She bounced up the steps of her barrack and pushed back the
door. Some of the families had already returned and were settling into their
nightly routines. They bowed to Minami in an understated manner and Minami
returned with a bow of cordial respect. She was now known as Home Run’s
girlfriend and thought how amusing that was.

She entered the empty unit
and walked over to her side of the bed. She rummaged through a pile of
clothing, which she had draped over with plastic to protect it from the sand.
There hadn’t been much of it lately, but it just became good practice. She
found her jacket and held it up by the shoulders. What she wouldn’t do for an
iron, she thought and lowered the jacket when the infamous home run ball came
into view. It was sitting on top of a table that she had been able to salvage
some time ago. She used it to hold her personal items. The baseball was one of
those items, just sitting there to be admired. No one would see it except for
her and perhaps her family, but it still sat there proudly as part of the
prison camp’s history. She picked it up and held it in her hand, admiring it,
remembering how she raised her hands up when it almost magically appeared in
her hands. She blew off some dust and suddenly had the great idea to get
Hiroshi to autograph it. She placed the baseball in the pocket of her jacket, put
it on, and left the barrack.

Minami stepped out into the
cool night and began walking toward the mess hall. It was a relatively quiet
night with a few people walking about. The edges of the barracks were eerily
illuminated by the moonlight from above as windows glowed a soft yellow from
within. As Minami passed one barrack after another, she could hear a few
murmuring and chattering voices, but nothing really intelligible. She turned
left and down towards block twelve when a slight chill slithered down the back
of her neck and quickly disappeared.

She walked past the bathroom
and saw a couple of men exiting it and turning away in the other direction.
They were chatting softly before they disappeared altogether around the corner.
She passed the darkened laundry room and finally arrived at the mess hall,
which was indeed closed up for the night. She turned left, walked alongside it
and found the ladder propped up against the side of the mess hall.

“Hiroshi,” Minami called
out quietly as she looked up. There was no response. She called out again and a
little louder, “Hiroshi.”

“Looking for your
boyfriend?” asked the voice.

Minami instinctively spun
around and was startled to find the one man she didn’t expect, Kiddache.

He stood about five feet
away from Minami, hovering ominously over her despite the distance. He was
smoking on a cigarette and had just taken a drag, bringing the cigarette down
to the side of his leg. The stream of smoke escaped from the right side of his
face. The stern look from his eyes bore down on Minami.

The hairs on the back of
her neck stood on end. Just when she didn’t think things could look worse, a
lone dark cloud passed in front of the moon, reducing Kiddache to a shadowy
figure. But she could still see his eyes as they glinted from the ambient light
and every time he brought the cigarette to his face, they seemed to glow red
like the devil. He then exhaled one last stream of smoke and flicked the
cigarette to the ground. Being between two dark, empty buildings with Kiddache
was unnerving. Minami’s instinct told her to get out of there as quickly as
possible.

“Actually, I should be
headed back to my barrack,” said Minami weakly as she looked away from
Kiddache.

She began walking along the
wall of the mess hall doubling back to her own barrack when abruptly, Kiddache planted
his arm against the wall, barring her path. Minami took a sudden step back.

“Why so fast? I’m just
trying to be friendly,” said Kiddache in a menacing tone.

Minami’s eyes widened with fear.
Where was Hiroshi
? Why wasn’t he here? He said he would be here at the
mess hall to meet her. If he were here, Kiddache wouldn’t dare act like this.

Then she remembered the
ladder. Hiroshi was already here, why else would the ladder be propped up
against the wall? Unless–and a frightful thought passed through her mind–unless
Kiddache had done something to Hiroshi.

“I’m going to head back to
my barrack,” said Minami in a firmer tone as she tried to mask her fear.

“Sure, you can go back to
your barrack once you give me something,” said Kiddache in a low and deliberate
tone.

Minami reacted immediately
to his words by turning the other way hoping to walk in the other direction.
But Kiddache had already anticipated Minami’s move and stuck out his right arm
against the wall to block her escape. She pressed her back against the wall. She
was between his arms, and his face was only two feet away. She was frozen in
fear.

“You know, you’re pretty
good-looking for a Jap,” said Kiddache with a contemptuous tone. “I think for
all the good American boys your kind killed, you should give me a little
something.”

Kiddache then moved into
Minami and tried to plant his lips on hers. Minami, with her widened eyes,
screamed out “No!” and immediately brought her hands up to push him off.
Kiddache brushed her hands aside and pressed his body up against Minami’s
struggling body. She fought back by hammering down on his shoulders with her
clenched fists as she shook her head from side to side in revulsion. Kiddache
was persistent. He dug his mouth along Minami’s neck and roughly pulled down
the left side of her jacket and dress, exposing her shoulder, which he then
bored down on with his mouth.