Poston

Chapter seventeen : Heart Mountain

June 10th, 1944

Dear Satoshi,

I would be flat out lying if I wrote to you and told you that I don't miss you, but you can always see right through me anyway so what's the point in lying? I miss you like crazy, and my mind hasn't been busy enough to try and forget that every day I live could be the last day of your life over in Europe. Even though it's been over four months since you left, every day I wake up without you I feel like a part of my soul is just dying to be close to you again. Are you safe? Are you hurt? Will this letter even reach you in time? Masaki told me that he could definitely keep me up to date on your squad and to update me on anything major, but he can only do so much. It's amazing I haven't gone completely insane yet.

Everything is pretty much the same here. School has ended for the summer, and the children are pretty excited about no homework. I think Jun is pretty happy too because he now has the chance to spend more time with Mao. They claim to be dating, but I don't think I've ever seen them kiss or do anything romantic. Maybe they're just too shy. I can tell they're in love, but we saw Masaki and Mai do more stuff than these two are letting on! I think even Samantha and Charlie are getting anxious about it. Last week, they all but kicked their father out of the barrack to go spend time with Mao. At least they like her.

Have you heard? The US military was able to land on a beach in France and successfully fight off the Germans. They say that the Normandy landings are going to be a big turning point in the war. Some are saying that this is the beginning of the end. I hope so because the end of this war means you can come home.

The next time I write to you, I'll probably be just coming back from Wyoming. Our baseball team is heading to Heart Mountain in two days, and Mao is going to be a chaperone with me when we go. Normally, I would probably take Jun but since we have Minami on the team, it might be good to have a female teacher with us (just don't tell the guys at Heart Mountain we have a girl on the team, alright?). Wish us luck in winning our championship!

Please write soon. Every day I go without a letter I get more and more worried. But at least I'm not getting a telegram. In a way, no news is better than bad news. Please be safe.

I love you with everything I have. Never forget that.

Only yours, Kazu

--

"You don't honestly think that you'll get in trouble for sneaking a girl on the team, do you?" Jun asked as Nino packed up his suitcase.

"Yeah, I do," Nino answered him. "Girls don't play baseball. But Minami is one of the strongest players on the team. I can't just tell her to stay here while we go to Wyoming without her! Besides, she deserves to go just as much as anyone else on the team. But, just in case, Mao's coming with me in case some 'girly' thing happens."

"'Girly'?" Jun asked. "Like what?"

"I don't know! You know how girls are! Besides, she's a sixteen year old girl who has a huge crush on Daiki and that alone might disrupt her ability to think straight! I can't talk to her about 'girly' stuff! If she can talk to Mao about this a little bit, maybe it'll help."

"How do you know she has a crush on him?"

"How do you not know?"

Jun sighed. "Just... be safe, okay? Wyoming is a lot farther than Gila River is."

"Fifteen hours. I know." Nino closed up his suitcase and faced his friend. "We'll be okay. And I promise to bring Mao-chan home safely."

"Please do so," Jun responded. "I can't lose anyone else that I care about."

--

The team was given leave for Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. Everyone got up before the sun rose on Friday to try and make it to Heart Mountain as fast as they possibly could. The mess hall provided breakfast and lunch for the team and the guards coming with them, as well as plenty of water and Coca-Cola to help try and keep the team well off despite having to ride in a hot bus for fifteen hours. Everyone was in charge of their own uniforms, sewn proudly by everyone's own mother, and Nino made sure they had all the bats, gloves, and baseballs that they could possibly need stuffed into the bottom of the bus.

"Thank you for allowing us to go, Mr. Howard," Nino said, shaking the man's hand before he boarded the bus with the kids. "I will do everything I can to repay you for your hard work and kindness."

Mr. Howard just smiled. "Just bring home a victory," he said. "I have a very important bet going on, you see, and if I lose this bet then I'm in trouble among us generals."

Nino laughed. "Yes, sir. I will try my best to make sure you aren't put into that position."

"You guys have a swell time."

"Thank you, Mr. Howard."

As soon as Nino and Mao were on the bus and had taken their seats at the front with the guards, the doors closed and they were on the road, eventually hitting pavement and highway as everyone prepared for a long trip. Most of the team slept, but Nino couldn't help but stare out of the window and let himself alone to his thoughts.

"Are you alright?" Mao asked him.

Nino nodded. "I'm okay," he told her. "Just nervous."

"About the game or something more important?"

"I'm always nervous for Satoshi. Even when he was here, I was always scared he would be taken from me. Now it looks like he has been."

"You're acting as if he's dead," Mao said. "He's not. He's alive. Be grateful, Nino. It could be worse."

Nino frowned as he leaned his head back, trying to sleep if only for a little bit to get his mind off of everything.

Over the day, the scenery changed from dry, desert land to green and yellow fields and gorgeous mountains and an endless blue sky. They made a total of three stops along the way and drove through Arizona, Nevada, and Utah before finally reaching Wyoming state lines. By the time they made it to Heart Mountain, it was already dark except for the lights that lit up the front of the camp to signal what it was. The bus drove up to the main headquarters and parked there, allowing the tired team and their coach and guards to get off the bus for what seemed like the first time all day. They were greeted by another guard, a White high ranking official, and who Nino thought was probably the baseball coach.

"Mr. Ninomiya?" the official asked as he stepped up. "Nice to meet you sir. I'm Guy Robertson, director of the camp. Welcome to Heart Mountain, Wyoming."

"Thank you," Nino said shaking his hand. "It looks beautiful here. And it's not very hot here. It's a big difference than what we're used to."

"I understand that!" Mr. Robertson laughed. "This man right here is Mr. Liam Tetsuyama, the coach of the Heart Mountain All-Stars!"

Mr. Tetsuyama also shook Nino's hand. "We are very proud of our team," he said. "As I'm sure you'll find out tomorrow."

"I look forward to it," Nino said.

"Mr. Ninomiya, you and your team will sleep in an empty half barrack we have provided for you. All of you will have a mattress and a bed to sleep on, and you and your wife are welcome to share a bed."

Before Nino could correct him, the rest of the team had finally gotten off the bus and were being led to drop off their suitcases at the barrack they would be sharing. "Wife?" Mao asked him.

Nino shrugged. "They said it, not me."

Mao picked up her suitcase and a bag of equipment and followed the team. "It just seems weird," she said. "They automatically assume—"

"Of course they do. How else would they assume why I brought a pretty girl with me to Wyoming to watch baseball?"

"Are we going to tell them about Minami?"

"I haven't decided yet. Let me decide after we win our three games tomorrow."

--

The next morning, Nino woke up and after getting dressed he went outside the barrack and looked around. The barracks looked to be made the same way they were in Poston, and there was still the barbed wire fence, but it was different. The scenery with the mountains in the back were absolutely gorgeous, and it was isolated but not too hot. Everybody was already going out about their business even if it was early in the morning, which in Poston was hard to do because it was so hot. But it was nice and cool here.