PrologueFebruary 29, 2016For the sake of storytelling, any Japanese words and spoken language has been translated to English. Especially the meows of cats.It was a normal day in Tokyo, Japan. For the morning, it was the start of a routine that would be common, until past noon. At a grocery store, a woman was getting groceries for tonight, as someone had left their dog on a black trolley, as they went to look at some produce. A young girl wearing a bright pink and red jacket approached the dog for a quick pet, before she left through the automatic doors with her mother. For Mrs. Kataoka, the end of February was good, as spring was finally arriving. She carried white plastic bags of produce, as she went to the cashier to pay. Simple and quick. If she had enough time, she could catch the train to return home before her son Tsuneo arrives home.
It wasn't until she gotten a phone call from her husband, while walking down the sidewalk was when things had changed differently. "Suki? Suki, are you there?" her husband answered with a tone of urgent attention. "Yes? What is it, Ren?"
"It's..it's Tsuneo. He was hit by a car while riding home from school. They told me they are taking him to JR Tokyo General Hospital. Suki, are you there? Suki? Suki?" Ren tried to tell Suki, however the sudden news was already taking a toll of her. She had taught Tsuneo to be careful, but this is something that came out of the blue. She nearly dropped her groceries as she started to go into a state of shock.
The site of Tsuneo's accident had several policemen nearby, directing people and traffic away from the site. A single white car with a cracked windshield was stopped in the middle of the road. Small drips of blood were on the asphalt from Kataoka's where a smashed up bicycle was looking to be on the verge of scrap metal. A beefy police officer was interviewing the driver, where it appeared the driver was intoxicated. Among the crowd, who were noticing the aftermath of a spectacle, Sergeant Pepper stood in the midst of the crowd. Looking onwards towards the area of the accident with a sense of uncomfort within him.
March 14th, 2016It took around 13 days for Tsuneo to heal. Tsuneo's injuries were minor, except for his head. Even though no one saw Tsuneo getting hit, there was already evidence that Kataoka struck the windshield of the car with his head. Head trauma was obvious, though Tsuneo was in a mini coma for a whole week. Both of the Kataoka's were convincing the doctor and staff to save their son, but time was hard to tell. X-rays and examinations were made before and after he woke up. After Tsuneo woke up, he started to request for his headphones and MP3 player.
Tsuneo was propped up on his hospital cot, watching TV of all sorts of variety shows and comedians, when a doctor arrived to check up on Kataoka.
"Mr. Kataoka? I see that you're awake. You were out of it for a while." the doctor told Tsuneo, as he had a bandage wrapped around his head. His hair was all coming from the top of the wrapped bandages.
"How many days had it been?"
"We notificated your parents that you were awake. You were out for about a week. We took X-rays, but we didn't find signs of serious trauma. You're lucky that you managed to survive an accident like this."
"My body still feels like rubber, doctor."
"We put you on painkillers, Kataoka. We're trying to make sure that your body is better than it once was when we found you."
"Do you have my MP3 player, though? I want to make sure it isn't damaged."
"We are not in charge of your possessions, Mr. Kataoka. Only your health."
Eventually, Tsuneo's parents visited when the doctors and nurses reported that he was being in good state. Over the course of days, Kataoka was adjusting his somewhat healing head with the help of a soft pillow to sooth his recovering skull. According to his parents, they couldn't find his MP3 player that he enjoyed so much. Even if they did find it, it would most likely be broken. Hospital food wasn't really that good, but the checkups and tests to make sure nothing was permeantly damaged, since Tsuneo was out for a good while was to make sure nothing bad was in him. Some nurses would put some get well cards from some students next to him. Reading them with the hope you get better was something to have some positive mood in Tsuneo. On the day of his release, Tsuneo was given a release form. Some paperwork, though he didn't care to read it. He just wanted to go home.
He used a black pen to sign the empty line. His father made sure that he remembered to walk. "Don't worry, Dad. I can still walk." Tsuneo tried to explain to his father. "I'm making sure that we don't have any more accidents in this family. Your mother nearly had a heart attack. Come. I'm making sure you are in the car." Tsuneo's father was about to leave with his son, however the doctor stopped him.
"Mr. Kataoka. Your son needs his proper name." the doctor said, where Ren examined the release form. A little grunt emerged from his mouth. Not of annoyance, but more of something typical that he knows of that was briefly forgotten. "Yes. He likes to have his friends play him by nicknames. Let me sign his name here..and there you go." Ren said, as he had to sign Tsuneo's actual name in the release form.
The release form now had two names on the line.
Tsuneo Kataoka Mr. Kite
The Kataoka family and Kite lived in a small home in suburbian Shibuya. Ren drove the car down the narrow road, where he parked it in front of the house. Kite's father opened the door for his son, as his father unlocked the front door to the house. Kite took off his shoes with his father, as Kite sat down on the couch. "Tsuneo! You need to come to your mother. She's already worried you got disfigured from last minute surgery!" Kite's father yelled from the kitchen, as Kite went to check up on his mother. Already, Kite was greeted with a tight hug from his mother. "Tsuneo! You had the whole family concerned!"
"Mother. We went over this at the hospital." Kite couldn't help but feel some annoyance.
"You're lucky we have insurance, Tsuneo. Come on. We're not having dinner without you at the table." his father said, as Kite wanted to groan.
Kneeling on the pillow at the table, Kite's sister Sumiko joined the family, as they ate their meal. "Big brother? How is it at the hospital?" Sumiko asked Kite, as he just wanted to go into his room. "Boring. How has stuff been while I was away at home?"
"Your father and I have been meaning to tell you about how the school reacted, Tsuneo." Kite's mother said, steering the conversation. "Your principal called. You're aren't suspended, however they are requesting you don't attend school until you are now officially starting your 9th year." Kite's father explained.
"So I have an extra break?"
"You're still going to help me with the mochi stand, every now and then. Can't let my son of mine become lazy."
"I still know how to use the kine, Dad."
"I wanted to go to Takao-san to watch the firewalking, but I guess I need to stay home for now."
"They still show it online. Maybe on Instagram?" Sumiko said to Kite, though it's mainly uncommon for him to use social media.
"My friends near the stand helped with the parade for St. Patrick's Day. For the Irish Network." Kite's father took the family, explaining his stories about his fellow Kayōkyoku playing friends.
"Any performances for them schuleded?" his sister added. "Not yet. Summer is be coming soon. I want you all to be on some good behavior, however. Especially you, Tsuneo. You're becoming a young man, than just a kid to people. I know you to be more careful."
"I understand, Dad." Kite said to his father, where the family proceeded to finish up dinner. Kite went up to his room, hadn't seeing in for a while. He flicked on a switch. His room lit up, showing his colorful room. Kite had a fascination with some Western pop culture from both the United States and the United Kingdom. His biggest interest were the Beatles that he discovered, when his father gave him a computer to use for the first time. While his parents were interested in kayōkyoku, Kite was a fan of the classicals around the same time. Kite was pretty much a fan of a late Beatlemania. He digged into his drawer to see if there was a spare MP3 player that he didn't know he had. Nothing. He didn't want to go looking for one. There could be a cheap one he could get at a store at the station tomorrow.
He went over to his window to make sure it was closed completely. A little gap, but through it, Kite could hear a strange voice. It sounded like a man, but all the man outside could talk about was food. Food food food. It was all the voice was saying. Kite pushed open the window to see who was outside. It was hard to know where it was coming from, since it was dark, but all Kite could do was shut the window completely, blocking out the voice.
He laid down on his bed. He drifted off into a sleep. He was glad to be back home.