Chapter 5

The twins, under the guise of being relatives from another prefecture, stay with their future grandmother's family.

Ichiro pushed his sister back around the corner. They flattened themselves against the wall. They didn’t dare breathe in fear of being noticed.

“My clothes!” the man said.

“I don’t think he saw us,” Ichiro said slowly and in the softest of whispers. They heard the voice trail off talking to someone else but they didn’t hear the door shut.

Kanon matched his tone. “Let’s wait a moment before taking off just to be sure he’s gone.” A few long minutes passed before they deemed it was safe to move. The slowly moved to the corner just as someone turned the corner and stood in front of them. Their eyes widened and their bodies felt hot as they realized it was the man whose clothes they stole. The man immediately recognized the clothes.

“What do you think you’re doing,” he said grabbing the twins with one hand each. The twins punched at the man’s arm hoping to break free but it didn’t faze him. “You little thieves! You dare steal from a military officer? I’m taking you to the police. They’ll teach you not to steal.”

He began to pull them but they resisted, dragging their feet and pulling the opposite direction. His grip was firm and unrelenting. Kanon thought of the only way to break free. She kicked the man in the groin. He let go and held himself as he dropped to the ground. The twins sprinted off. The man was in too much pain to chase them.

“Maybe these clothes will draw more attention than our normal clothes,” Kanon said.

“Damned regardless of what we do,” Ichiro said looking at the nameplates as they ran by. His eyes locked onto one and he stopped dead in his tracks. Kanon over shot him but quickly stopped while keeping an eye on him. “I think I found it.”

“So now what do we do?”

“We knock.” Ichiro opened the gate to the small yard and walked up to the front door with Kanon a few steps behind. A pregnant woman in her twenties appeared in the doorway after Ichiro knocked.

“Yes?” She eyed the kid in the soldier’s uniform and the school girl. It was strange to see a soldier and a school girl together. The girl looked fine but the soldier looked slightly too young to be one.

“Is this the house of Hoshino Ryunosuke?” Ichiro asked.

“It is but he’s not home,” the woman said. “I’m his wife, Ayana.”

“We’re sorry for troubling you but we’re your relatives from Chiba.”

“You must be from Haruto’s side of the family.” She invited the twins into the house. In the main room sat a little girl around six or seven and a boy that appeared slightly younger. “The girl is Tamaki and the boy is Tomoki. They are a year apart. They’ll get a sibling in January. Yuki if it’s a boy and Yuka if it’s a girl.”

Kanon noticed the subtle look her brother gave her. There was something he needed to tell her. A man walked into the room and sat down between the two kids.

“We have guests, it appears.”

“This is Ryunosuke’s brother, Kensuke.” Ayana motioned for the twins to sit down. “They’re from Haruto’s side of the family in Chiba.”

“Ah, Uncle Haruto! I haven’t heard from him in years. So that means you’re Yukito’s kids.”

Ichiro nodded. “That’s right. That’s our father.”

“If you’re a soldier from Chiba, then what are you doing here? Does it have something to do with the bombings last month? I heard Chiba was bombed to hell and back last month.”

“It was.” Ichiro now knew they were in August of 1945. The Americans had bombed Chiba on July 6th. It was called the Tanabata Air Raid. He feigned sadness and Kanon followed his lead. “They’re all gone.”

“Who’s all gone? Your unit? Were they killed in the bombing?”

“Not just them but our entire family. They were all killed in the bombings. We’re the only ones that made it out.”

Ayana and Kensuke just stared at the twins, unable to fathom the idea of the whole family being killed in the bombing.

“Tamaki, Tomoki, how about you two go play in another room,” Ayana said. The two kids did as they were told. Ichiro watched Tomoki disappear around the corner. Once they were out of the room, Ayana returned her attention to the twins. “And that’s why you came here, isn’t it?”

“We didn’t know where else to go,” Kanon said.

“That’s okay. You can stay here. We don’t have much but you’re family and we have to look out for each other.”

“I have some clothes you can wear to get you out of that uniform. It may help you get away with desertion and I’m okay with that. We don’t need you going off to fight in this damn war.”

Ichiro wasn’t sure how to respond to that. “To be honest, I don’t want to be shipped out only to die a senseless death.”

“Dying for one’s country isn’t necessarily senseless but the reasons have to be right. And right now, the war isn’t right.”

“You’re against the war?” Kanon asked.

“Since the beginning,” Kensuke said. “Invading our neighbors is immoral. There’s no reason for it. Instigating the Americans was a mistake. I am not so deluded to believe we Japanese are the superior race to our neighbors and can withstand against the might of the Americans.”

“I think so too,” Ichiro said. “The military has stepped up its recruiting.”

“Things are suspicious. There is too much propaganda about Japan winning the war. And if the military has increased its efforts to recruit more soldiers then something is amiss. If we’re winning then why are they trying so hard to convince the populace of that?”

“The war is going badly for Japan, far more than what is generally known. It has been for some time. I talked with other soldiers back in Chiba and several think defeat is coming. The Americans are working their way up to the mainland. I heard they’re now in the Ryukyu chain.”

“That means they’ll reach Kyushu soon,” Ayana said.

“We were told that there is no retreat. We either win or we die on the battlefield.”

“There won’t be a Japan left if they want the people to die when the Americans come,” Kensuke said. “Are they stupid?”

“You’re really vocal about the war,” Kanon said.

“Yes, but only within these walls. I will not end up locked up like my brother who opened his mouth in public with complaints against the war. You can guess what happened next.”

“Kenpeitai?”

Kensuke nodded. “They took him away and locked him up. He’s in prison with the American prisoners. That’s why he’s not here. Not sure if they’ll ever let him out.”

Ichiro started to think. Something wasn’t adding up.