Chapter 3

Realizing they are in Hiroshima before the bombing, the twins also evade the Kenpeitai. They also learn just a little more about the cave.

The twins stared at the Hiroshima Prefectural Industrial Promotion Hall standing fully intact and in operation. In their time it was just a dilapidated reminder of the horrors of war, most commonly referred to as the A-bomb Dome or in Japan, Genbaku Dome. Neither one of them knew anyone who called it by its name. Maybe the only people who would possibly call it by its actual name would be those who survived the bomb and then they might only call it the “old exhibition hall”

“This is impossible,” Kanon said. “But yet here we are.”

“How did we go from Miyagi to Hiroshima?” Ichiro asked. He looked at the houses that were all about the same height. One could see a decent distance without being blocked by a tall building. Hiroshima Castle was also visible from the bridge. The twins had been to Hiroshima before and they couldn’t see the castle from the Aioi Bridge. However, now it towered over the surrounding houses.“Not to mention being in the past.” He didn’t expect his sister to answer him. Any response she could give him would only be speculation.

“It’s too bad we couldn’t bring our phones. It would have been nice to be able to take pictures of this era.”

Ichiro shared his sister’s sentiment. While there were photographs of Hiroshima at this time, it would be better to be able to get better pictures with modern technology.

“What I want to know is: why are we here? Like why here? Why now?”

Kanon shrugged. “The only thing I can think of is to stop the bomb.”

“Yeah, but we don’t know how far away that day is. It could be tomorrow for all we know. And how are we to stop it?”

“We could warn people but that may not work. If I remember correctly, America dropped leaflets warning of the bombing.”

“Yes, but Hiroshima nor Nagasaki got any of those.”

“Seems a little messed up that the two cities they bombed didn’t get warned.”

“Hiroshima was the primary target and I agree should have gotten some warning but Kokura was supposed to be bombed but the weather prevented it so they switched to Nagasaki. There would be no way for Nagasaki to be warned since it was decided at the last minute.”

The twins began to walk toward the side of the river opposite of what would become the A-Bomb Dome. They kept getting stares from everyone. They wondered if it was their clothing or if there was something else they were doing that was attracting such attention.

“We’re gonna have to change clothes or something,” Kanon said. “Everyone keeps staring.”

“It could be the clothes and our faces. Even though we have very strong Japanese features, our western features are still slightly noticeable. In this time period, there weren’t many half Japanese, if any at all.”

Kanon eyed a woman in a purple and green kimono. She had only seen pictures of the time period and they don’t do the people justice. While there were plenty of women who wore such eloquent kimonos in her time, she got a different feeling from seeing it in a time where it was much more common, at least with those in the high echelon of society.

“We can’t do much about that. At least changing clothes would draw less attention to us. The only problem is finding clothes. Our money is no good here as I’m sure it looks different.”

“Then we’ll have to steal them.”

“HEY!” a voice shouted from one side of the bridge. The twins’ heads snapped in that direction at the same time. The man wore a standard military uniform but had a white armband on his left arm. The kanji characters read “law” and “soldier.” Ichiro’s eyes widened.

“It’s the Kenpeitai. Run!” They took off in a dead sprint. “Back to the cave!”

In front of them was more Kenpeitai. Ichiro grabbed his sister’s hand and suddenly darted right. He let go of her hand once she matched his speed. They stopped a few times and hid to catch their breath.

“Those guys are like the Gestapo, right?” Kanon asked hunched over with her hands on her knees. Ichiro nodded. “What will they do to us if we’re caught?”

“Question us then torture us and if they don’t imprison us then they’ll probably kill us. They are on the lookout for anything anti-Japanese and will silence it.” He cautiously looked around the area. “Looks okay to move. Let’s go.”

They made it back to the cave without incident. Their belongings were where they left them. Grabbing their stuff, they headed back into the main cavern.

“Should we try and climb out?”

Kanon didn’t immediately answer. She bit the side of her lower lip and exhaled loudly. “I wonder if there was something we are supposed to do there.”

“Like what?”

She shrugged. “I don’t know. Maybe observe how life was like before the bomb. Recording on our phones would be easy but we can’t bring them out. That would show that we can affect the past. I mean if we couldn’t then we should be able to take our phones and we wouldn’t have been chased.”

“That just sounds crazy but I guess it’s not any crazier than a time-traveling cave. But as we saw, we can interact with people but the purpose for all this is what I can’t figure out.”

“Wait, didn’t our grandmother live in Hiroshima?”

Ichiro nodded. “Yeah. Why? Are you suggesting we go find them?”

“Yeah. It would give us a chance to see what they were like.”

Ichiro agreed. It was an opportunity to see some relatives of whom he only had some fleeting memories. “Well, we’ll just have to steer clear of the Kenpeitai.”

The twins cautiously stepped out of the cave, wondering if they had been tracked up here. They didn’t see any evidence of anyone else around or that they had been followed. It looked just as it did when they left the cave the first time.

The twins returned to the city, this time much more careful and not as carefree as before. They kept a particular eye out for the Kenpeitai. They approached the Aioi Bridge once again but Kanon stopped before stepping onto the bridge. She grabbed her brother’s arm.

“Hold up. Something isn’t right.”

“What? Do you see the Kenpeitai?” His head swiveled sharply in all directions.

“No. Look at that woman on the other side of the bridge.”

“What about her?”

“I just saw her when we were here before.”

“Are you sure? It could just be someone that looks like her or maybe she doubled back.”

Kanon shook her head. “No, I know it’s the same woman because I recognize the kimono. She’s going about her business in the same manner as before.” She saw something else and ducked down below the bridge’s street level, dragging Ichiro down with her.” And that Kenpeitai officer that chased us is also there. He’s coming from the same direction as before. If he chased us then wouldn’t he be coming from this direction? I’m seeing a lot of the same people on the bridge when we were here last.”

“What are you getting at?”

“I’m saying everything reset itself.”