Harumi Asai

The story is set in a village in the southern Japanese prefecture of Kōchi during World War II. Even in this remote mountainous area, the perception of American and British people as "brutes" has taken root, due to the deaths and injuries among the villagers' relatives. A elementary schoolgirl named Eiko transfers from the city of Yokohama to this village. Eiko happens to have blue eyes from her American father, and her classmates make no attempt to rein in their bullying. Other than Eiko's homeroom teacher Akiko, even the teachers view Eiko the same way that the children do. However, a boy named Kenta views Eiko more with curiosity than with hostility. The children's lives change as the injured father of one of Kenta's classmates returns from the battlefield and news of more casualties arrives in the village.

宝町で暮らす親を知らない少年クロとシロ。町で“ネコ”と呼ばれるふたりは、かつあげやかっぱらいで暮らしていた。その町で“子供の城”の建設話が持ち上がる。しかし、それは古めかしい宝町を近代化して支配しようとするヤクザの仕業。昔気質のヤクザのネズミは反対するが、彼のボスは謎の男“蛇”にこの計画を一任していた。残酷な蛇はクロとシロを邪魔者だと判断し、刺客をおくる。ケンカでは誰にも負けない凶暴なクロだったが、刺客の前では手も足も出ない。そして追いつめられたシロは刺されてしまう…。