To My Sunflower

As soon as they realized the men were giving them good medical attention and were nice people; it wasn"t long before all the women were attempting to match-make them with their daughters. Especially Eiji who was appealing in their eyes and held a stoicism and intelligence that oozed of a rich-man"s son. This made Eiji groan as he was starting to run out of excuses. He was willing to put up with as much as he could to be able to learn more of the war from them.

He had also learned more of his teacher"s life after his time at school.

Ohno-sensei had lost his job when their school was bombed in the Tokyo air raids. He had been unable to secure a teaching job at another school for the months following.

When he was finally given a teaching job at a Saka high school, he had arrived to his new school being closed down. The government had repurposed it as a training barrack for navy recruits.

Many schools around the area had also been closed or weren"t taking in new students or teachers. So he enlisted in the navy as a means to support his family and bring honour.

This fact made Eiji sad. He felt it was his duty to work hard for the people of Saka in his teacher"s honour.

Eiji and Kei had reverted to playing nurse and lackeys for their part at the makeshift clinic. Gathering supplies and ingredients from the area or neighbouring towns for treatment. They were becoming known to the area. Fortunately, they weren"t suspected by the Tonarigumi or local authorities. Yet.

A lot of the kids had grown fond of Eiji. He treated them cordially and gave archery lessons during their down times. This made a lot of the teenage girls and young women swoon with adoration. He was a pleasant distraction for their dreary days working in the factories.  

Girls shyly found an excuse to chat or give him flowers. A few mothers and old ladies had also warmed to him as well. Especially when he was willing to listen to their stories.

This had also earned him a friendship with Ren, who was a renowned champion for the prefecture.  The two spent some occasions challenging each other at practices. As well as getting to know each other within cautionary limits. 

Kei, on the other hand, was treated with distrust. Sean chuckled at the way kids would run from the man despite his wiry frame and clean cut four-eyes image. On first appearances he came across as a bank worker until you saw his "keep back" stare. His presence entertained kids with dare games and to see who was the bravest to handle his aggressive cussing.

"F*cking brats!" Kei grumbled as he unloaded a crate of tin goods on shelves in the clinic"s small pantry room adjoined to the large kitchen.

A few kids had taunted him down the street with cheeky slurs to bait a reaction from him.  Of course, he had fallen for their bait and chased them angrily back towards the clinic, where they trailed off onto paths towards the sea.  He wasn"t bothered to chase them down.

He slammed the tins of dry bread to the pantry"s wall shelves with frustration.  Find authorized novels in Webnovel，faster updates, better experience，Please click for visiting.

"Kei! Don"t damage the goods!" Eiji scolded him as he unpacked his load meticulously on the shelves below his.

"Why"d those brats pick on me? They"re all sweet to you!" Kei snapped to Eiji. 

Eiji chuckled. "Cause you give them a look that provokes them." 

Kei glowered at Eiji who laughed and confirmed that his current expression was the reason.

"Tsk." Kei dropped the subject and focused on stocking the shelves. 

In the connected hall, Tyne was cordially attending to patients.

The clinic was originally built to be an elementary school before the air raids had occurred. The town"s mayor turned it into a clinic when a lot of people were injured in the first raids. 

Its two cla.s.srooms were repurposed as wards. What should"ve been a canteen hall and kitchen to support one hundred students, had been cleansed and cleared to contain two rows of free-standing medical beds, ba.s.sinets and cots that could be wheeled about.  A lot of them had been locally made with a mismatch of parts or donations from the training barracks.

A metal bench and gla.s.s cabinet (containing surgical utensils and medical apparatuses) were propped against the back wall near a row of sinks. Next to them was a teacher"s writing desk and a 6-tier bookshelf containing various medical journals. No doubt from the late doctor"s personal library and expenditure.

Tyne spent most of his time in there. St.i.tching, bandaging and diagnosing ailments to the locals. He realized most wounds were caused by work accidents. More accurately to say, work mistreatment. Likely as a form of punishment by some of the factory"s bosses.  

Naturally,  a lot of the elderly were cautious and slightly reluctant for his treatment. They soon warmed to him when they realized he was fluent with their language and customs.   

Where Tyne was working the surgery. Sean was making house calls and tending to the injured that way.

Similar to Tyne, it took a while for doors to open up to him. When word had spread that his treatment had seen to the speedy recovery of others, and coupled with his presentable looks and good manners. He was welcomed in as a respected doctor.

People stopped thinking that Tyne and Sean were Germans (or of any other race).  The men were easing into being a firm part of Saka"s community.