Grave of the Fireflies (synopsis - Page 9)
Synopsis - Chapter Nine: Uh-oh
Seita and Setsuko carry the food they found through town and come upon a police officer walking his bike. Setsuko drops some potatoes right in front of him. He reaches down to pick them up for her, but Seita walks past, quickly picking them up as he goes. Setsuko follows, hiding the other potatoes behind her back. The officer watches them suspiciously, so Seita picks up Setsuko and makes a break for it.
It begins to rain on the way, flooding ditches and making their rice stove useless for the time being. After the rain, the two hang their wet clothes up on a line, and Seita brushes Setsuko's hair next to the lake while their vegetables and fish are cooking. They both have terrible, bleeding rashes. Setsuko complains of diarrhea.
Late at night, Seita returns to the fields and pulls up some sugar plants and other vegetables. A farmer catches him, and accuses him of being the one who's been stealing crops in that area. Seita begs forgiveness, but keeps grabbing for the sugar plant the farmer is holding. It's for his sister, to cure her diarrhea. The farmer informs him that stealing food during wartime is a serious crime, then proceeds to kick and push Seita. Seita tackles the farmer and takes the sugar plant back, but he doesn't get far before the farmer catches him. After a struggle, he makes Seita lead him to the shelter, where the farmer finds more stolen crops. Setsuko comes out as the farmer pushes Seita to the ground. Seita begs for forgiveness again, but the farmer doesn't; instead, he drags Seita up pushes him down the road, towards town, to take him to the police. Setsuko cries out for her brother, then follows him.
The officer on duty, who appears to be more military than police, realizes the nature of the crime, but not the crime that Seita committed. He tells the farmer to leave, but he seems shocked by this. The officer steps over to Seita and examines his wounds, then tells the farmer that he's knocked the boy around enough; maybe too much. He touches the hilt of his sword and threatens to take the farmer in for assault and battery. The farmer leaves very quickly, then the officer sits down, takes off his hat, and offers Seita a glass of water.
Outside, Setsuko has been waiting for her brother. When he comes out, he sees her, then looks away. Setsuko runs up to him and hugs his legs. He begins to cry, so she asks him if he's hurting somewhere, and if she should get a doctor. He kneels beside her, and she says she needs to go pee. He picks her up on his back and heads off for the shelter.
The next morning, Seita leaves Setsuko at the shelter and runs off to the city as American fighters fly overhead. A Corsair dive bombs some houses as townspeople dive into foxholes. Seita runs towards the explosions, and then goes in an empty house. He grabs a conveniently located knapsack and fills it with goods. He finds a steamer full of rice and digs in. He saves some for Setsuko, along with some pumpkin.
When he returns to the shelter, he finds Setsuko lying on her mat, holding her dolly. She says she doesn't like pumpkin, but her puts her in his lap and feeds it to her with fancy chopsticks.