After Darkness: Chapter 18: Tokyo, 1942 Summary & Analysis

When the ship lands, Dr. Ibaraki returns to his family home in Tokyo. The neighborhood is dirtier than he remembers. Upon seeing his mother, Ibaraki is hit with the realization of how deeply Nobuhiro’s death has affected her. Over time, Ibaraki readjusts to his neighborhood. Many months later, after Ibaraki has secured a job at a hospital, he contacts Kayoko. They arrange to meet for coffee.

At the coffee shop, seeing each other for the first time in almost five years, Dr. Ibaraki and Kayoko catch up. He notices a change in her, having aged and been affected by the stress of the war. She expresses how glad she is that he is still alive. However, when Ibaraki asks her to return to live with him, she tells him no. Although she wants to, she still needs more time to heal. Ibaraki begins to tell her the truth about the laboratory, but she interrupts him, saying she understands that he had commitments. Ibaraki vows to wait for her.

While he waits for Kayoko, Dr. Ibaraki quickly rises in the ranks at the hospital. Like his father, he becomes a surgeon. During that time, Ibaraki also receives word that Harada has died. He grieves intensely. Also during that time, the United States frequently attacks Tokyo via air raid; Ibaraki and his mother must often take shelter beneath the kitchen bench. The hospital becomes crowded, full of victims of these air raids. Ibaraki fights off memories of the bodies he worked with in the lab.

One night, when Dr. Ibaraki returns home from the hospital, he finds his mother waiting for him. She tells him that Kayoko’s aunt came to see her with terrible news. Before she is able to speak it out loud, Ibaraki knows Kayoko has died.