It was late spring and the plum blossoms, though delayed by an extended cold spell, were finally sprouting.  The tea house garden was filled with the overwhelming fragrant scent of the buds.  A small orchard of plum trees lined the walkways of a private alcove that served as a vestibule between the shrine and the geisha house.  Sand and rock gardens were interspersed among the impeccably manicured landscape that included a wooden bridge that spanned the shores of a creek.  Together, the organic and inorganic creations created a serene place that was a perfect sanctuary to get lost in thought and meditation.

    "Have either of you ever been to a formal tea ceremony?" Takizawa asked.  Hands clasped behind his back, he marveled at the plum blossoms.  Eyes closed, he drank in the tranquility of the natural sounds around him and the aromas of Spring's arrival.

    "I've never had the opportunity," Akane replied.  She sat down on a wooden bench beside Kogami.  "I understand there is a lot of pageantry that goes along with the tradition."

    Despite the potent scent of the plum blossoms, Kogami could smell Akane's perfume above the garden fragrance.  While there was space between them, his outstretched arm, which rested on the back of the bench, was merely inches from her bare neck.  If she sat back, it would be into his embrace.  The distraction was more than enough to make him forget where he was and his purpose for being there.

    "Mr. Kogami?"

    The Enforcer forced himself to focus.  "Enough to know there's not much conversation.  I'm curious as to how you plan to conduct a criminal investigation if you can't question potential suspects or witnesses?"

    Takizawa smiled.  "Ever on the scent.  Does he ever relent?"

    Akane tapped Kogami's thigh.  "Never."   

    Kogami snorted through flared nostrils.  He was well aware that the only distraction in the garden was sitting within arm's reach.

    "Let me worry about conducting the investigation.  It is imperative that you concentrate on my every action and follow my lead.  Even the smallest mistake here could jeopardize what little access we have and ruin our chances of getting to the bottom of what may have happened here."

    A bell chimed from around the corner of the tea house.  The sharp tone disrupted the serenity of the garden, even the soothing sounds of splashing water from a nearby pool.  "That's our cue," Takizawa said with a grin.  He led them to a small opening that was their doorway into the  tearoom.  The Inspector chuckled at Kogami's reaction.  "This small door is known simply as the nijiriguchi.  Daimyo or peasant, all must bow and submit to humility.  All are equal under the roof of the tea house.  Mr. Kogami, you will come in after me, and Inspector Tsunemori, you will come after him."  He removed a bamboo fan from his breastpocket and tapped it against his thigh.  "Watch for my signals."

    "Inspector Takizawa, you have a fan, too, like a geisha?"

    "My dear, Inspector, male geisha predate the onna geisha, the women, by a century."  He winked at her and bowed his head.  "Remember the willow tree."  Takizawa ducked beneath the low eave and crawled inside on his hands and knees.

    Kogami took a deep breath and stared into the dim interior of the tea house and its tatami mats beyond and hesitated. 

    "Well," Akane whispered, "what are you waiting for?  Nothing's going to bite you."

    "You sure about that?"

    "If there are monsters in there, you have this."  She tapped the hilt of the wakizashi with her fan and gave him a push.  "Let's not keep the Inspector waiting.  Punctuality, remember?"

    Ducking his head, Kogami reluctantly bent down low on all fours and crawled into the tearoom.  The dimensions were barely 16 by 16 feet and gave him an instant sense of claustrophobia.  He pulled the wakizashi along beside him and took a place on the tatami mat beside Takizawa, who tapped quietly on the floor as an indication of placement. 

    Despite her smaller size, Akane struggled to maneuver through the /nijiriguchi/.  Struggling with the many layers of the heavy kimono, she managed to maneuver herself into a kneeling position on the mat beside him. 

    Eyes on the Division 10 Inspector's fan, Kogami understood the silent directive to bow in the direction of a scroll hanging on the opposite wall. The scroll read, Sharpen your sword as the hound whets his teeth.  Unable to see Takizawa, Akane followed Kogami's lead and bowed to the scroll and then to a small sprig of plum blossom poised on a shelf beside it. 

    "Inspector Tsunemori, if you would please close the door," Takizawa whispered.  "You needn't be gentle about it.  This is how we summon our host."

    Akane leaned over and shut the crawl space door with an audible snap.  On cue, a geisha in a purple kimono with a pink obi appeared from behind a shoji screen in the back corner of the room.  The screen covered a doorway that led to a corridor and an adjoining room.  From the delicious smells coming from that corner, Kogami guessed it was a kitchen. 

    The geisha knelt down in front of them in seiza position near a small hearth along the back wall. She bowed respectfully to each guest and then a final time to all three of them.  "I am your host for the evening.  My name is Yumi, and I welcome you to the Futsunushi Tea-House and Geisha School."  

    Kogami was only vaguely familiar with the tea ceremony.  Much to his chagrin, his mother had insisted on such traditions.  To spare her from even the slightest hint of disrespect, he had participated, though begrudgingly.  He recalled the implements of the ceremony:  the tea caddy, the various bowls, the whisk, and the bamboo scoop.  A bamboo ladle was arranged on a purple cloth of silk.  Each utensil was presented to them on a large mat for inspection as the guests.

    Yumi set to work cleaning the utensils for the ceremony.  His face stony with cold observation, Takizawa watched her begin the formal task.  Throughout the morning, the Inspector's mood had not  deviated from the empathetic, light-hearted scholar Kogami had met in the garage.  His playful antics with the fan revealed a whimsical depth of character.  Neither facet could have prepared Kogami for the stern, taciturn mood that settled over the man in that moment.  His disapproval mounting as the geisha continued to clean the utensils, Takizawa watched Yumi with the tenacity of a tyrant overseer.

    Without warning, moving with the swiftness of a cobra, Takizawa struck the geisha's hand with the bamboo fan.  "There is a proper order to all things, as there is an order to all seasons. I would expect a proper geisha to know this."   

    The geisha reacted wordlessly, soundlessly, dropping the bamboo tea scoop to the mat in shock.  Her awe gave way to indignation.  Eyes narrowed, she glared at Takizawa before she remembered her place, and her expression softened.  Pressing her forehead against the tatami mat, she bowed apologetically and retrieved the scoop.  She began again, this time in a prescribed order, cleaning the utensils. 

    Seeming more pleased with her performance, Takizawa sat back and watched intently.  His demeanor was unchanged as he looked for any excuse to reprimand her.

    From the back of the room, a dish was laid behind the geisha.  She turned deftly toward the door, her eyes on Takizawa, and brought the plate of dango around to be served to her guests.  Meticulously, Yumi laid out the sweets on separate plates and place them on a small tray that she presented to Takizawa with a bow.

    Takizawa glanced at the black lacquer tray in disgust.  "Is this consideration?  Is this the gift of respect between a host and her guests?  I would find better fare at a charnel house!"

    Immediately putting her forehead to the tatami mat, Yumi bowed.  With tears brimming in her eyes, the emotional geisha quickly got to her feet, retrieved the tray of sweets, and hurried behind the shoji screen.

    The Inspector's tone was biting and malevolent, cruel enough that Kogami was poised to chase after the poor girl to offer apologies.  Takizawa stopped him by slapping the fan soundly across the Enforcer's chest.  "Mind your place, Mr. Kogami.  Read the scroll, and heed its meaning."

    "Was that really necessary?"

    "The only way to purify gold, Mr. Kogami, is to put it in the fire and burn out the impurities."

    Moments later, Yumi returned with a new tray of sweets that were fresh from the oven.  She resumed a kneeling position and bowed down to Takizawa.  "Shall I continue?"

    "If you are capable, yes," he replied harshly.

    This time, with proper garnishments, the young geisha offered the black lacquer tray with three dango properly arranged for presentation.

    Takizawa regarded the sweets with obvious contempt.  "Better.  But my mood remains as dismal as the service rendered."  He took the tray and sampled one of the sweets and then bowed respectfully to the geisha before presenting the sweets tray to Kogami.  Tapping the floor with his fan, he signaled his expectations to the Enforcer.

    Kogami sampled the sweet confection and bowed to the geisha and then Takizawa.  Looking frightened and uncertain, Akane imitated his actions based on Takizawa's lead.  Between them, they shared a look of distress, but there was nothing to do except follow the Division 10 Inspector's lead.

    Yumi quietly prepared the tea bowl, cleaning it with a linen cloth.  Following tradition, she used a bamboo scoop to place the powdered green tea into the bowl, and then with great ceremony, she used the dipper to pour water on top of it.  With the whisk, she stirred the tea until a green froth rose from the mixture.  Bowing, the geisha placed the bowl in front of Takizawa.

    As first guest, Takizawa turned to Kogami and bowed to him.  "Forgive me for drinking before you," he whispered.  He retrieved the offered tea and drank from the bowl.  After sampling the brew, he paused momentarily and placed the tea bowl down in front of him.  "Cold?  Cold tea?  Unacceptable!"

    Yumi kept her face composed and expressionless, but the hatred in her eyes was menacing.  Bowing rigidly, she reached for the tea bowl, but was met with the sharp bite of Takizawa's fan.  The young geisha winced in pain and retracted her hand in terror.  Recoiling in fear as he leaned in for another blow, she sobbed quietly under her breath and retreated from the tea room.

    "No disrespect, Inspector Takizawa," Akane said.  "But aren't you being a little harsh?"   

    "Wisdom is the proper use of experience, Inspector Tsunemori.  When it comes to artistry, such as the geisha, there is no room for practice during a performance.  This is girl no geisha.  She is barely a maiko."

    There was a scurrying of footsteps from behind the shoji screen, which was moved slightly to the side to reveal the door behind it.  An elderly man emerged from the corridor beyond it.  Dressed in an olive-green kimono, a distinguished gentleman took a kneeling position on the tatami mats and bowed formally to the Inspector and his guests. 

    "In this thatched hut there ought not to be a speck of dust of any kind; both master and visitors are expected to be on terms of absolute sincerity; no ordinary measures of proportion or etiquette or conventionalism are to be followed." 

    "Inspector Takizawa, your presence honors me and your recitation of verse written by Sen no Rikyū honors my house."

    "Mr. Watanabe," Takizawa replied.  "I have brought shame on myself, your house, and your kind invitation.  It was not my intention to so severely scold our host."

    "If there is shame, it is mine for allowing an ambitious girl to step into a role as yet too large for her."  Watanabe stoked the waning fire beneath the small hearth until the flames leaped hungrily at the bottom of the ceramic pot.  "My wife has been ill recently, but I have no other geisha of superior quality to offer you, Inspector."

    "I do not wish to impose on her health."

    "It is a matter of honor, Inspector.  An impropriety cannot be met with excuses."  Watanabe reached for a small bell on the floor and rang it.

    From behind the shoji screen, with small graceful steps, the tea master's wife appeared at the door in full kimono.  The fine silk fabric was immaculately free of wrinkles, its lavender color enhanced with streaks of white and darker shades of purple.  Cranes played on the white, foamy crowns of sea caps breaking onto shore.  Mrs. Watanabe took a kneeling position on the tatami mats near the hearth beside her husband.  She bowed deeply to the honored first guest and then to Kogami and Akane.  Her movements, while graceful and deliberate, appeared labored and encumbered by effort.

    Kogami felt his chest tighten and watched helplessly as sweat beaded through the elaborate white face paint on her forehead.  "Inspector?"  He refused to be silenced and allow a sick woman to risk her health for matters of propriety.

    "Steady on, Mr. Kogami," Takizawa whispered.  "Mr. and Mrs. Watanabe, your willingness to consider your guests above your health is honor enough.  Please—" As he spoke, the ailing geisha tumbled forward on the floor.

    "Michiyo?" Mr. Watanabe cried.  "Michiyo!"

    "You said she's been ill," Takizawa said.  "What are her symptoms?"  He slowly loosened the folds of her kimono, untying the sash to permit her to breathe easier.

    "On her good days, she was having dizzy spells and headaches," the elderly teamaster replied.  "Bad days, shortness of breath and fainting."   

    "Her pulse is a bit rapid.  Inspector Tsunemori, please call for emergency medical services.  Mr. Watanabe, prepare a room for your wife and her privacy," Takizawa said.  "Mr. Kogami, help me make Mrs. Watanabe more comfortable until their arrival."

    With Kogami's help, Takizawa gently rolled the geisha on her back and cradled her head in his hand, so that the elaborate hairstyle would not be mussed.

    "Isn't a little late for vanity?" Kogami asked.

    "Despite your disdain, Mr. Kogami, propriety is everything to the geisha," he replied, "whether performing for guests or preparing behind the scenes.  Even the comfort of sleep must not come before this ideal.  I will not allow her illness to take this small dignity from her."

    The ardor in Takizawa's voice struck Kogami with a sense of pride.  If this was the quality of Inspectors from Division 10, he would be not be bothered if ever they called on him again.

    "Mr. Kogami, take this."  Takizawa handed him a small handkerchief.  "Dip it in that small bowl of water there.  Don't soak it.  Just dampen it.  Now wipe her face along and slightly below the jawline.  Just enough to remove her makeup." When the Enforcer hesitated, Takizawa glanced up at him with a reassuring smile.  "No need for modesty here, Mr. Kogami.  Your patience has been its own reward.  This is where our investigation truly begins.  Proceed."

    Kogami dipped the handkerchief in the small bowl, just enough to dampen it as instructed, and then he rubbed her face gently in a circular motion.  The white face paint faded into the surrounding skin.  Beneath the white powder, the geisha's genuine complexion was unnatural.  While pale, nearly as pale as the face paint she wore, there were unusual patterns, splotches of cherry red that spread across her cheek, jaw, and neckline.  "This mean something to you?"

    "Yes," Takizawa said grimly.  "A sign of cyanide poisoning.  Only Mrs. Watanabe is still breathing.  At least for the moment."

    "And we're going to keep it that way, right?"

    "On my honor, Mr. Kogami."

    "Is there anything I can do?" Akane asked.  "Emergency services are on the way.  ETA 8 minutes."

    "Tea, Inspector Tsunemori.  Not terribly hot, but plenty of sugar.  Glucose is an antidote for cyanide poisoning.  We can at least attempt to arrest the effects until the proper medical help gets here."

    "Burning out the impurities, huh?" Kogami jeered.  "Is this how we're solving the case?"

    "Patience, Mr. Kogami, you are over eager.  We have only scratched the surface of this mystery."

    With a brilliance that masked the cityscape from view, the sun was setting into the distant horizon.  As the surrounding shadows lengthened beneath the plum trees, the skies overhead were bathed with a faint glow of orange and reddish illumination.  Kogami leaned against the wooden railing of a garden bridge that arced over the narrow bed of a creek and watched the sun fade.  The sound of running water soothed him, despite the bustle of activity behind him in the geisha school.  He listened to the medical team moving in and out of the house while they searched for evidence of cyanide contamination.

    "I don't get it, Inspector," Kogami said.  "What did you get out of humiliating that girl?  You say we've only scratched the surface.  We're no closer to solving this case than when we first got here."

    Takizawa stood beside him, hands folded, eyes closed, listening to the water. "We wear the mask that grins and lies.  It hides our cheeks and shades our eyes.  This debt we pay to human guile.  With torn and bleeding hearts we smile.  And mouth with myriad subtleties."  Takizawa opened his eyes and smiled at Kogami.  "Why should the world be over-wise.  In counting all our tears and sighs?  Nay, let them only see us, while—We wear the mask.  We smile, but, O great Christ, our cries.  To thee from tortured souls arise.  We sing, but old the clay is vile.  Beneath our feet, and long the mile.  But let the world dream otherwise.  We wear the mask!"

    "Paul Lawrence Dunbar.  You suggesting I'm hiding something?"

    "We are all hiding something, Mr. Kogami.  We are all guilty of wearing masks.  Some more obvious than others."  Takizawa took up his fan and, spreading the bamboo leaves wide, before he slapped it abruptly against his palm to close it.  "You don't remember me, do you?"

    "Should I?"

    "We were in high school together."

    "You seem a little young for that."

    "I was young," Takizawa said.  "I was a first year when you were in your fourth.  Having skipped the last two years of middle school because of my grades, I was much younger than everyone else in the freshman class and often a target of their teasing.  That's how we met."

    "I don't remember you."  Kogami reached for a cigarette, but only went so far as to tuck it in the corner of his mouth to sate his craving.  He had no intention of lighting it in case one of the Shinto priests was nearby watching.

    "The day we met, I was hiding under the stadium bleachers near the soccer field.  Some cruel boys had cornered me there like a frightened fox.  I crawled as far under the bleachers as I could.  They were too big to reach me, but I was unable to escape."  Takizawa leaned over the bridge railing and laughed, but it was a melancholy sound. "You were on your way to the Martial Arts club when you saw them.  I was terrified that you would join in, but you didn't.  It took you only a moment to recognize their villainy, and you beat them up.  All five of them.  Beat them bloody.  And you swore if they ever bothered me again, you'd do the same."

    "But that, that—"  Kogami stiffened and took a cautionary step back.  The cigarette fell from his lips, slipping between the bridge's wooden slats and into the water.  "That couldn't have been you!"

    "When last we met, Shinya, I was a young girl."  Takizawa ran his fingers along Kogami's wrinkled shirt and tie.  "You were suspended for three days.  All because you wouldn't tell the principal what had happened.  In fact, your parents were in the midst of admonishing you when mine arrived at your home."

    "Your family brought dinner from your restaurant.  Your mother was a geisha."

    "When my father explained what had happened, your parents never let on that you had not told them the truth."

    Kogami's heart raced with the revelation and the memory of that night.  "The next day your father went to the principal and had my suspension rescinded."

    Leaning against the railing, Takizawa stared into Kogami's eyes.  "I had the biggest crush on you after that.  You have no idea how hard I fell for you.  I used to put love poems in your locker."

    "That was you?"

    "That was me.  And thanks to your advocacy, no one ever bothered me in school again."  Takizawa sighed and struggled to keep his smile.  "After you graduated, I felt a bit lost at first, but then I realized that I had always been a little lost.  So I decided to embrace who I was, who I really was.  I spent my last year of high school as a boy, preparing for the transition surgery."

    "Your parents?"

    "They were supportive, but hopeful that I would somehow change my mind.  While my mother respected the taikomochi, the male geisha, she had raised a girl.  She hid her disappointment well, but I always knew."  The Inspector slapped the fan quietly against the palm of his hand.  "The next year I applied for the Ministry of Welfare and was awarded a position as an Inspector.  That's where I heard about you, my guardian angel, Shinya Kogami."

    "Then you must have heard about my fall from grace?"

    "During my time with Division 10, I've learned so much from individuals whose intelligence dwarfs my own thinking.  It's astounding really.  What I heard about you is the story I've heard all my life as told in great literature.  Only the finest of heroes ever takes that fall.  From Arthur to Achilles to Lucifer—for love or for wrath—in the end that fall from grace is the answer to a question that the rest of us are too frightened to ask.  So we cower under the bleachers, waiting for such an angel to take pity on us and then rescue us.  Sometimes from ourselves."

    "Inspector Takizawa?" Akane said.  Joining them on the bridge, she carried a tray of tea in her arms.

    In the absence of a cigarette, Kogami graciously accepted the tea.  In the growing cold, he warmed his hands and savored the aroma of the steaming brew. "Heavy on the sugar?"

    "Just how you like it."  Akane winked at him.  "Though Mrs. Watanabe's might be a little sweeter."  She offered a mug to Takizawa. 

    "I must say, Inspector Tsunemori, if the MWPSB doesn't work out for you, there is a place for you among the geisha.  And for comparable pay, I might add, if not more."

    "Thank you, Inspector, but I think my psycho pass couldn't bare the stress of persistent perfection."

    "That's not likely," Kogami said.  He dodged an elbow as she retaliated for the rude comment.

    "How fare's Mrs. Watanabe?"  Takizawa asked.

    "She's already showing signs of recovery thanks to your suggestions.  The medical team is prepping to take her to a proper medical facility as soon as an urgent care vehicle arrives.  They've confirmed your suspicion of cyanide poisoning."  Akane tucked the tray under her arm.  "The only question is how.  Nothing in the house comes up positive for even the slightest traces of the poison.  It's slow work without the drones or forensic bots to assist in the investigation."

    "And the other girls?"

    "They also tested positive and will require treatment.  Despite all of this, they're so very upbeat and kind—one big, happy family.  Mrs. Watanabe is like a mother to all of them.  Yumi even brewed some of her special apricot tea to share for Mrs. Watanabe and the rest of us."

    "Yumi?"

    "You were right about her not being a geisha.  She's almost ready, but not quite.  In wake of three deaths, there's been a lot of responsibility to take on as the senior maiko."

    "Apricot tea?  Prepared by Yumi?"  Takizawa turned to Kogami as he was about to sip from the cup.  "I wouldn't drink that, if I were you.  Inspector Tsunemori, your tray."

    "Inspector Takizawa?" Akane whispered.  "Do you suspect something is wrong with the tea?"

    "Indulge me for a moment."  He undid the clasp of his wristcom and turned it over to loosen the rear seal.  "A companion of mine in Division 10 is a brilliant robotics scientist.  He's been working on ways to make the tools of our trade more accessible to Inspectors and Enforcers in the field, especially in situations when discretion is required."  He twisted off the back of the device and revealed a tiny pillbot nestled within the complications.  "Power up authorization:  Division 10–Takizawa."

    At the sound of his voice, the forensic robot slowly came to life.  Extending its six willowy legs, it exited the wristcom and walked onto the tray.  Barely the size of a honeybee, it flashed a green light to acknowledge its functionality.  "

    "Scan liquids for traces of cyanide—priority search."  Within seconds, the forensic bot's green light flashed yellow and then red.  "It's detecting trace amounts of cyanide in the tea.  Not enough to kill a healthy individual, but certainly enough to make them quite ill."  Takizawa read the data stream flashing across the holoscreen of his wristcom. 

    "Cyanide?" Kogami said.  "From apricots?"

    "When ground up, apricot seeds can induce cyanide poisoning, which can reach toxic levels, especially if intentionally given over a period of time.  The medical team could search every inch of this house, but if they didn't know what they were looking for, the evidence would go unseen.  Right under their noses."

    "Yumi is serving that tea to Mrs. Watanabe right now!" Akane said.  She left the tray sitting on the rail and was already in motion, running back toward the main house.

    "Akane, wait!" Kogami shouted.  "Yumi can't be acting alone!" 

    As he gave the warning, a shadow emerged from behind a shoji screen near the main house entrance.  With a guttural roar, the man viciously lunged for Akane's throat.  Pushing her back, Kogami threw himself between the Inspector and the assailant.   

    "He's armed!" Akane shouted. 

    "Mr. Akagi, restrain yourself!" Takizawa ordered.  He recoiled in pain when the young man slashed at him with a knife.  Gasping in pain, he flinched as the sharp blade sliced his palm.  Fingers trembling, Takizawa tightly clenched the hand closed to staunch the flow of blood running between his fingers.

Always getting too close to the front line, Kogami thought, teeth gritted in anger.  Without Dominators, the best weapon an Inspector had was an Enforcer.  Mindful that he should not break the peace bond, Kogami wielded the sheathed wakizashi in one hand and brought it down across the back of Akagi's hand.  The impact of the hardened wood across bare flesh made the assailant's fingers go numb.  He dropped the knife, but he wasn't done fighting.

    Kogami grasped the sword in both hands and brought the hilt down hard against his head.  He quickly needed to end the fight and put Akagi down without further injury to Takizawa.  Ramming his elbow into Akagi's throat, he heard the satisfying grunt of pain and a gasp for air.  The tea master's son dropped to his knees where Kogami delivered a secondary blow to the back of his head. 

    Akane darted passed Kogami and ran through the doorway into the house.  "I have to stop her!"

    "Akane!" Kogami shouted after her.  He grabbed Akagi by the collar of his kimono and wrestled the semi-conscious man to the grass.  Rolling him onto his stomach, Kogami cuffed his hands behind his back.

    "Go after her," Takizawa said breathlessly.  He wrapped a handkerchief around his bloody hand.  "Quickly, Mr. Kogami, a geisha may be beautiful, but beauty is often quite beguiling and dangerous.  Go!"

    "Kogami!"

    Akane's desperate voice rang out from the top floor of the tea house.  The high-pitch notes of his name carried the notes of desperation and fear.  Kogami sprinted through the entrance.  Racing up the first and second flights, he took the stairs two at a time.  On the third floor, debris littered an adjoining hallway, and Kogami stumbled on the cracked remnants of a vase.  There were signs of a struggle that had started in the corridor and led into a back room. 

    "Get back!" Yumi rushed out of the rearmost room and into the hallway.   Reaching up to her hair, she snatched one of the kanzashi free and threw it at him.

    Kogami ducked, falling back against a table as the spinning knife embedded itself in the wall behind him.  The projectile missed his head by mere inches. 

    "Yumi, don't do this!" Akane pleaded.  Arms extended from her sides, she put herself between the crazed geisha and the other women in the room.  Behind them, the ailing Mrs. Watanabe weakly cringed in her bed. 

    "You've ruined everything!"  Yumi drew two more hairpins from her elaborate hairstyle and wielded the ornate knives in each hand.  Marred with tears, her white face paint had gone gray from crying.  Ugly lines of smeared red eye shadow and mascara ran down the length of her face.  She lunged at Kogami and then promptly retreated back toward the doorway, where she glared at the group of women behind her.  In terror, they cowered away from her into a corner. 

    Kogami sighed despondently and shook his head.  He was loathed to the idea of striking a woman, even an armed one.  The Dominator, with its sterile judgments, made it easy to see just a perpetrator and not a gender.  But there was no oracle, no directional voice to guide him here, so he chose a different approach.

    "What was there to ruin?" Kogami asked. "You're a lousy geisha with no skill or substance, even I can see that."  He brought the sword up and nonchalantly rested it on his shoulder and shrugged indifferently.

    Yumi's eyes widened in shock.  "Wh-what did you say?"

    "I said you're a lousy geisha.  Might as well tie that obi in front and put yourself to work on the street," he added.  "You'd be put to better use out there than in here.  At least the customers will be too busy to notice if you're lousy at that, too."

    "You bastard!" Yumi screamed.  With both knives raised in the air like the talons of a predatory bird, she charged him.

    Kogami stood his ground as she bore down on him with the intent to kill, and then at the last moment, he stepped aside and watched her race passed him.  Yumi was so intent on stabbing him that she could not stop herself.  Grace and poise failed her in that moment, and she fell headfirst down the staircase.

    "Kogami!" Akane yelled, running to his side.  "Are you hurt!"

    "No.  Can't say the same for her."  He peered down the steps to where Yumi's body came to rest at the bottom of the stairs. 

    One of the knives had pierced the center of her chest, while the other was still clasped in her clawed hand.  Staring blankly, the fallen geisha looked up at them.  Her neck was bent at an unnatural angle, broken in the fall.  Undone in the mayhem, her loosened hair did little to bring any sense of peace or beauty to her face.  The smeared, running make up and her mouth, now drawn and opened in an agonized scowl, made her look like a sea hag stranded on land, rather than the graceful geisha she had hoped to be.

    "Is she?"

    Kogami carefully made his way down the staircase.  Before checking for a pulse, he removed the knife from Yumi's hand.  He shook his head and looked up at Akane and other girls who came to the railing to view the corpse.  "She's dead."  Solemnly, Kogami took a folded table cloth from a nearby bundle of laundry and unfolded it over the body.  "Is this the only way into the house?"

    "Yes," one of the geisha replied. 

    "Inspector Tsunemori, get the ladies back into the room with Mrs. Watananbe.  Keep them calm."

    "What about you?"

    "I'll be right here."  Kogami held up the wakizashi in his hand.  "Where a good hound should be, guarding the door."