Fuji was in a bad mood. He was grumbling to himself in Japanese and McHale disapproved of what he was hearing but he was also highly amused. Fuji being in a bad mood was not unheard of but usually it only lasted for a little bit and then one of the guys would make a joke and his mood would improve. This time however, nobody seemed to be able to do anything to set things straight for him.
Finally, everything came to a head when Gruber came past Fuji and ruffled his hair.
Fuji slammed down the wooden spoon that he was using to stir their food and let loose a stream of Japanese that had McHale blushing and glad that he was the only other one that understood just what was said.
"Takeo Fujiwara", McHale thundered as he stormed into the cooks hut. "What was that you just said?"
Fuji looked up at McHale in alarm. "I...I...", Fuji stammered, not quite able to come up with a good enough excuse for language like he had just spouted off.
All the men were surrounding them by now and there was a mixture of amusement, confusion and disapproval on their faces. Tinker was the only one who masked what he was really feeling.
Gruber came up to Fuji with a stern look on his face. "I'll finish dinner", he said sharply as he took the spoon from Fuji's lax hand. "You go and compose yourself somewhere. I don't know what you said to me but I can pretty well guess from the skipper's reaction that it wasn't anything very nice. Now scoot", he said firmly and he finished up that with a swat aimed at the younger man. His aim was true and Fuji let out a squawk of outrage at the treatment and then stomped from the hut and off into the jungle.
"What's got into him?" Virgil asked as he stared in the direction that their cook and houseboy had just taken.
Christy shrugged. "I don't know. I was teasing him yesterday, just joking around and he looked like he wanted to bite my head off. Normally, he's a pretty sweet kid".
Happy shook his head in confusion and then went back to the letter he had been writing to his brother.
Willy didn't say anything but he stared off in the distance in the direction that Fuji had gone.
Parker didn't understand what was said but he gathered that his mother wouldn't have approved and it made his face red just to think of it.
McHale shook his head in frustration. "I just don't know what to think of that boy", he muttered.
Tinker listened for a minute and then unloaded on the whole lot of them. "I can't believe that none of you can figure out what's wrong with him", he burst out in anger.
McHale turned now to stare in shock at Tinker, hoping that his machinist wasn't going to go the way of his houseboy. "If you know, Tink, fill us in", McHale said tiredly.
"How would you like it if you were him?" Tinker said in frustration. "How would you like it if the top of your head didn't even come to the shoulder of most of the people around you? How would you like it if you were treated like a damn kid just because you were small? How would you like it if every time somebody came past you they were patting you on the head or even worse, the other end of you? How would you like it if people thought it was okay to scold you for your language just because they still considered you a kid? He's young, yeah but he's a young adult. Maybe he's tired of you bigger guys looking down on him like that".
Tinker finished his rant and then stared everyone down until one by one, they lowered their gaze, unable to face him.
McHale finally looked up at Tinker and sighed. "You're right, Tink. I'll go find him and apologize".
"Let me go, Skip", Tinker said. "I think I'm probably the only other one on the island that can understand what he's going through, what he's feeling right now".
McHale started to say something but then he realized just what Tinker meant and he nodded his head. "Go ahead", he said softly and a little guiltily.
Tinker took off into the jungle, trying to find Fuji. He found him a little over an hour later, sitting by a small stream. He was throwing leaves into the water and then watching them float away like small boats.
"Can I sit down with you?" Tinker asked.
Fuji looked up and saw who it was and he nodded his permission. Tinker liked to joke around but he usually treated Fuji with respect and care.
Tinker sat down next to the younger man and sighed. "Are you okay?" he asked.
Fuji shrugged and nodded. "Fuji okay", he muttered. "Fuji heart not okay".
Tinker sighed and glanced over at Fuji sympathetically. "Don't take things too much to heart", he said quietly. "Those guys are big dopes but they mean well".
"They treat Fuji like little boy", Fuji said frustratedly.
Tinker nodded. "Yeah, I know".
"Is because Fuji small", the young Japanese man said sadly.
Tinker sighed. "Fuj, before you came along, I was the one who had to put up with that".
Fuji looked at Tinker in shock. "Really?" he said in surprise.
Tinker nodded. "Just because I'm smaller than the rest of them". He thought back to that time and then shook his head almost as if to clear away the memories. "Please forgive me, Fuji but when you showed up and you were even smaller than I am, I was happy that the heat would be off of me for a while. I was happy that their attentions would be on someone else. I was happy that I wouldn't have to be the little guy anymore".
Fuji looked at Tinker for a minute and then grinned for the first time in days. "We almost same size", he said with a small laugh.
Tinker had to laugh too. "Yeah but I think I'm an inch or two taller and outweigh you by about twenty five pounds and I'm older too".
"I wish I was older", Fuji said, his gloom returning. "Maybe then they act better to me".
"When you get older and they can't deny that you're not a kid anymore, it will get better", Tinker said. "Thankfully, I was already older than you are now when I met those goons or I would have had it even worse than I did. They weren't scolding me or swatting me but they didn't take me seriously til you arrived. They wouldn't pay attention when I said something or if they did, they'd just smile and then change the subject, like what I said wasn't important".
Fuji grew quiet for a bit and then looked at Tinker. "What can Fuji do?" he asked softly.
"Just try to not let it bother you", Tinker advised. "They're not doing it to be mean. In fact, they're doing it because they're fond of you".
"Fond?" Fuji said, not understanding the word.
"It means they care about you, they love you. They just don't know how to show it without treating you like a kid".
Fuji sighed. "I can't look like kid forever and maybe then, they treat me different".
"That's the spirit", Tinker said, slapping Fuji on the back in a friendly way. "Now how about we go back to camp? The guys are gonna be worried sick by now". Tinker started laughing then and Fuji looked at him in confusion.
"They must be having kittens by now", he laughed. "Both of the little guys have gone missing now".
Fuji laughed too and then rose to his feet. "Let's go, Tinkersan", he said, his mood greatly improved.
Tinker rose to his feet and held up and imaginary glass of wine. "From one little guy to another", he said with a grin.
Fuji grinned back and clinked his own imaginary glass against Tinker's and then both men returned to their camp and to their friends, despite how annoying they could be sometimes.