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.’As we passed gold-panelled rooms to our left and right, the sound of laughter and conversation swelled and dimmed like the roar of a passing train.The singing and the shamisen grew louder and clearer as we approached the back wall.For a moment, I thought we would be taken to the source of the music, but then we were ushered into an empty room.The grassy smell of tatami greeted us.A long lacquer table graced the centre of the room.Ishii and Kimura sat down on one side, while Shimada, Yamamoto and I sat on the other.Ishii ordered sake and whisky.‘That will do us to start.And bring the girls, quick!’As soon as the waitress had pulled the door shut, Ishii made a face.‘The service here is terrible.So slow, and did you see the way the old hag treated me, after all the money I’ve spent? I should go somewhere else.But they have the prettiest girls.They start them young.’I knew Nomura and Ota would be bitter when they learned I had been invited to drink with Ishii and Kimura.If they had joined us, they would no doubt have used the opportunity to ingratiate themselves with Ishii—especially Ota.But I was too timid to do such things.Truth be told, Ishii frightened me.He had a reputation for picking on junior workers and forcing them to do the worst jobs.Even Kimura, who was slightly older than Ishii and had once been ranked higher than him, had been bullied into coming out tonight.I hoped the evening would pass quickly and I could return home without humiliation.The door slid open and a porcelain face appeared.‘Eriko!’ Ishii thumped the space next to him at the table to indicate she should join him.Eriko bowed until her forehead touched the tatami.When she lifted her head, she smiled.She was very beautiful.Her eyes were even and perfectly shaped.Her lips, which were painted crimson, were defined by a deep cleft.Her nose was long and slender—unusual in an Oriental woman.All her features coalesced in symmetrical perfection.She greeted Kimura and Shimada by name, then introduced herself to Yamamoto and me, before settling herself next to Ishii.Her kimono rustled against the tatami.‘It has been too long, Ishii-sensei.Have you been in Manchukuo all this time?’ She had a slightly husky voice, making her seem older than she appeared.‘Aside from a couple of brief visits, yes.The new project has been very demanding.’‘You didn’t come to visit me while you were here?’ Eriko pouted.‘You’ll have to come visit me in Manchukuo next time.I’ll give you your own apartment within the compound.There’s a cinema there, too.’ He tugged at her kimono sleeve.She playfully swatted away his hand.‘If only I could.You know that’s against the rules.As much as I’d like to, I’d be banished from my okiya if I ran away with you.’The waitress appeared with the sake and whisky, and Eriko poured drinks for everyone.She handed me a cup.Ishii leaned forward and spoke to me.‘I hope you can drink more than Kimura’s cousin here.A glass of whisky and he’s already asleep.’ He nudged Yamamoto beneath the table.Yamamoto jolted upright, murmuring an apology.Ishii held his cup aloft.‘To His Majesty the Emperor.Kanpai!’ We clinked cups and downed the sake.It warmed my chest, but the pain at my temples surged.I winced.Across the table, Ishii was watching me.Heat rushed to my cheeks.I reached across to refill his cup, careful not to let my hands tremble.He said nothing while I poured.Then he lifted the cup and emptied it into his mouth.‘How did you get a position at my laboratory, anyway? I don’t recognise your name or your face.Let me guess: a connection to Kimura?’Before I had a chance to explain, Shimada spoke up.‘Ibaraki’s father was a surgeon at Tokyo Hospital.Ibaraki Shuichiro.’‘A surgeon at Tokyo Hospital? Is that so?’ Ishii regarded me coolly.‘Yes, that’s right,’ I said.‘One of the very best,’ Kimura said.‘I worked for him when I was an intern.’Although I was aware of my father’s outstanding reputation, hearing Kimura confirm it made me glow with pride.Ishii took out a cigarette, and Eriko brought out a lighter from one of the folds of her kimono to light it.He leaned back and inhaled deeply, still looking at me as he did so.He tilted his head towards the ceiling and exhaled a plume of grey smoke.It was a showy gesture that demanded an audience.The room fell silent.‘You know, I wanted to be a surgeon when I was younger.It seemed to me to be the noblest of professions.But really, what can one surgeon do? He can only heal patients one at a time.But a medical scientist.ah.A scientist can heal the world.When I realised that, I decided to dedicate my life to medical research.As my mentor says: “Great doctors tend their country, good doctors tend people, and lesser doctors heal illnesses.” A great doctor, just like a great military commander, knows that sometimes a few lives have to be sacrificed to save thousands of others.When this war is over, great doctors will be remembered.The question is, what type of doctor will you be, Ibaraki-kun?’It wasn’t a question that demanded a response, but over the next few hours as we drank steadily I was concerned Ishii was testing me.Kimura and Yamamoto became so drunk that they fell asleep.As Shimada, Ishii and Eriko continued talking, I became more and more quiet.At about eleven o’clock the geisha Momotaro appeared.She was another porcelain-skinned beauty of tender age, who smiled slyly upon seeing Ishii.‘Ah—she’s here!’ Ishii exclaimed.‘But she’s a bad girl for making me wait.’ Eriko got up and Momotaro arranged herself next to Ishii and proceeded to fawn over him, pouring him drinks and speaking to him in soothing tones.Soon afterwards, they disappeared together into the hallway.I took the opportunity to leave.When I opened the front door to my home, the aroma of simmering broth reached me.My stomach turned.Although I ordinarily enjoyed Kayoko’s cooking, I felt ill from the alcohol, my headache and the long day I’d had.I wanted nothing more than to go straight to the bathroom to scrub myself clean.I was surprised to find Kayoko waiting for me at the kotatsu, and the table set for two.‘You waited for me? But it’s almost midnight.’‘I’ve hardly seen you all week.I wanted to spend time with you.Come, let’s eat.’She went into the kitchen to serve the meal.A warm bath beckoned, but I knew I couldn’t refuse Kayoko after the effort she’d gone to.I removed my jacket and stood at the threshold between the kitchen and sitting area, and smoked a cigarette.I tried to empty my mind of the images I’d seen that day.Rotting flesh.Blackened limbs.I heard the pad of Kayoko’s feet and the clack of bowls as she set them down on the table.I smelled soy sauce and mirin
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