To My Sunflower

The house was positioned on a low rise and stilts to keep flood waters from affecting it during the rainy season. It was about six tatami mates in breadth and width with opened shoji panels and doors to allow in the warm evening breeze. There weren't any decorations or much space. A few of the lighting fixtures were dangling off chains or hooks. Some of the shoji doors had water stained rice paper panels. Only the main doors had some of the paper replaced.

Mizuki offered them a place at her low table in the main room. She disappeared into an alcove to make tea. 

Tyne helped the old man to a cushion at the coolest and comfortable spot of the house. 

Sounds of the main door sliding open, drew their attention to the newcomer. 

A gaunt, wiry boy, entered the room. He looked no older than twelve years of age.  His head was shaved to the scalp as a means to deter lice. His singlet, shorts and sandals were heavily stained or threadbare. Like he had been wearing the same clothes every day. 

Tyne noticed some hard callouses on his knuckles, soles and cracked skin around his joints. Symptoms from spending days working out in the elements. 

Eiji frowned at the purplish mark around his eye and on his bare arm. They looked recent.

"Hello." Sean greeted the boy in his German accent. 

The boy screamed for his mother who came rushing into the room.

"Strangers!" He pointed his finger at them. 

"It's okay Natsuo-chan. They helped grandfather." Mizuki reassured her son. 

She poured tea for her guests. Her eyes lingered on the bruises to the boy's eyes and arm. She sighed and gave her attention to her father.

Sean carefully eyed the boy's deep bruises. He concluded that a hard slap with something like a hand fan was the cause,  based on the angle of the wounds. He had also concluded that the boy's eye would puff up like a bee sting within the hour.  It needed to be cooled with ice. A quick glance around the humid house made him realize it was likely a tall order.

Further conversation was interrupted by an abrupt horn blow.  Mizuki hurried to her feet and began placing her shoes on at the genkan. 

"Please accept my apologize. I must start my shift." She bowed before the men. "Natsuo will care for you in my place."

She issued a few instructions to Natsuo who acknowledged them with a dutiful nod. Turned and left the house. 

"Ah that Mizuki." The old man grumbled when he came around. "She's a good girl." 

Tyne nodded his head.

"Do you go to school?" Eiji innocently asked Natuso.

Natuso, frowned perplexed. "Bah. School's for rich folk. I work hard."

He sat proudly before the men.

"Everyone works hard to eat. I do my duty for country to give food for mum and grandpa."

"All the children work?" Eiji soberly asked, doing his best to keep his eyes away from the bruise.

"We work hard for country. No need for school." Natsuo proudly answered.

Eiji gulped, unsure on whether to give Mizuki the letter.

"Some were given the honour to work in the factories. To make food rations for our soldiers. The others were sent away." The old man added with a bit pride to his voice.

"Sent away? To where?" Eiji blurted.

"You're so ignorant. They were  sent away ." Kei answered. 

"Those kids were trouble." The old man justified with his croaky voice. "The ones, like our Natsuo-kun, work hard to make rations for our soldiers. That's pride we can give." 

"How much food do you receive in return?" Tyne quietly asked. 

"What our government allows. But we keep below the quota." The old man proudly answered again. "Unlike some of the soft city folk."

Tyne was amazed at their stout hearts beneath their fragile exterior.

Natsuo was doing his best not to feel pain, but eventually he wasn't able to withstand it. 

"Do you mind if I take a look?" Sean offered to Natsuo, whilst waiting for the old man's acknowledgement.

"Hmm. You did help me back there." The old man rubbed at his chin. "The boy needs a look." 

Sean bowed and carefully observed Natsuo's arm and eye. Making sure not to aggravate either.

"Did someone give this too you?"

Natsuo's earlier confidence was replaced with both fear and anger. A mixed expression, which showed that he wanted to deny the truth of his inflictions, but wasn't able to cope with the pain. 

Sean pulled out an unused handkerchief from his pants pocket and soaked up some of his cooled tea with it.  He wrung out the excess back into the cup. Then began dabbing the bruise around the boy's eye.

"Keep this over your eye until the pain is better." Sean advised the boy. "If the cloth is dry, soak it in tea again, like I did."

He told Natsuo that he could do the same for this arm. 

Natsuo's face showed a wonder struck expression for the first time. He was showing his age. 

"That's like what mother does." He piped up. 

The old man frowned, wondering who the foreign men before him were.  They weren't the enemy, were they? No. They spoke that fancy accent and looked similar to some of the other foreigners he once saw at the army base.  He wondered if they were doctors.

"You doctors?"

Tyne nodded. "Introductions are in order."

He formally introduced himself and the others. Sighing with relief when the old man and Natsuo accepted their covers without further questions.

The men learned that the old man was named Daisuke Ohno. He was Ohno-sensei's father and only other living relative apart from Mizuki and Natsuo.

"You're here for the base?" Daisuke calmly asked. 

"No." Tyne answered and gave a plausible reason for being there.

Daisuke gave Natsuo some instructions that would see the boy leave the house. When the boy was out of earshot, he continued the conversation with the men. 

"You have my son's letter?" 

Daisuke eyed Eiji suspiciously. How was it possible he could hold his son's letter? If he hadn't been fighting alongside him?

"I was stationed near Makurazaki at the time. Our meeting was brief. He must've realized it was his chance since I stayed on the mainland." Eiji lied.

He held his breath for the man's response. 

"So it was fate's hand." Daisuke sighed. "Aye. I thank you." 

Eiji sighed and handed over his teacher's letter to Daisuke.

Natsuo returned from completing his errand.

The men rose, seeing this as a sign for their departure. They bowed their apologizes to leave before Daisuke.

"You're not staying the night?" The boy looked sad to see them go.

The men politely said their farewells like he was the man of the house. This gave Natsuo a sense of self worth and pride.

They made their way back to the car. A tonarigumi officer was waiting for them before the hood.

"In a hurry to leave sensei?" 

Eiji cordially greeted the upstart young man in his spiffy new khaki uniform and stiff peak cap. 

"We need to have a chat." The young officer stoically demanded.

Eiji flicked a glance towards Kei and Sean next to him. Both held their best poker faces.