With the full measure of the MWPSB waiting on the outskirts of the shrine property, the medical team, now escorted by Enforcers, were prepared to transport the remaining women from the geisha school to a nearby facility for physical and mental health care.  To respect the sacred pact of the Shintō shrine, no drones were permitted on the grounds, necessitating a need for extra personnel to investigate the crime scene and decipher the deadly riddle of the events that had unfolded at the school over the last month.

    Kogami left the furor of the investigation to join Takizawa in the courtyard.  A few of the warrior priests were present in the immediate vicinity, some guarding the shrine entrance, while others stood in the shadowed doorways of the buildings.  Their presence was meant to protect the sanctity of their hallowed home.

    "This is your investigation," Kogami said.  "And you're missing it."  He set a medical kit down on the edge of the basin beside Takizawa. 

    "Inspector Tsunemori is more than capable of handling it.  She has an extraordinary eye for detail that will only hone itself with time and experience."

    "That she does."  Kogami tapped the medical kit.  "When you refused to be seen by a tech, she sent me to have a look at that hand."  He removed the bloody handkerchief from Takizawa's hand and inspected the wound under a flashlight.  Wincing at the severity of the gash, Kogami frowned at the Division 10 Inspector.  "This is pretty deep.  Not sure why you refused to be treated," he said.  "This could probably use some stitches."

    "Scars are the mantra of a life well lived, Mr. Kogami, wouldn't you agree?  I have so many scars," he whispered sadly, "as I imagine that you do, too."  Takizawa snorted softly and then laughed.  "Isn't it odd how life reminds us of who we are by reminding of us of who we were?"

    Kogami stared in confusion.  "Come again?"

    "Remember that day when I was hiding under the bleachers?  It took you almost 20 minutes to coax me out from the shadows.  You were so kind as you took my hand.  Just as you've taken it now."  Takizawa brushed a strand of hair from Kogami's face.  "You sat me down and dried my tears and washed my scrapes with water from a nearby fountain.  It's no wonder I never got over my crush."

    Kogami dismissed the awkward discomfort tightening in his chest.  He applied antiseptic to clean the wound and then suture tape to close the wound as best as he could.  "I wouldn't be doing any fan dances, at least not until you check in with medical back at MWPSB."

    "Is that an order, Enforcer?"

    "Yep.  I plan on putting it in my report and scoring points with Ginoza."

    "Well played, Mr. Kogami.  I shall check in first thing in the morning.  Will that suffice?  I'm currently overdue for another appointment this evening.  "

    "I'll be checking the logs."

    "It's that very tenacity that made you such an expert in the martial arts.  You always were an impressive fighter."

    "Better for me to get my hands bloody than you, Inspector.  I prefer it that way, and so does Sibyl."  Kogami wrapped the wound in gauze to create a makeshift bandage for Takizawa's hand.  "Can't say I agree with how you handled this case, but you got the job done."

    "Fortune does favor the bold, Mr. Kogami, but not always.  Some matters require discretion."  He winced in pain as Kogami tightened the end of the gauze to secure it.

    "Sorry."

    "A trivial matter.  You may play the role of the fallen king turned mercenary, but you remain a king at heart."

    Kogami laughed and shook his head incredulously.  "If you really knew me, Inspector—."

    "You forget, Shinya.  I do know you...and I know that not every reputation that precedes a man speaks to the truth of his character, and I have every intention of writing that novel in my report."

    "Mr. Kogami?  Inspector Takizawa?"  Akane joined them in the courtyard.  Winded from the hurried walk from the geisha house, she took a moment to lean against the water basin and catch her breath.  "This is honestly the most unconventional case I've ever worked on."  She laughed, her breathing coming easier with rest. 

    "What have you uncovered, Inspector Tsunemori?"

    "You left no stone unturned, Inspector Takizawa.  Yumi Nukio had her sights on the position of senior geisha here at the school.  But there were eight other women ahead of her, all at various stages of apprenticeship, a maiko, and two full geishas."

    "So she systematically poisoned them with her tea, killing three of them.  Ambitious girl," Kogami whispered.  "Cold blooded."

    "Envy turns its green eyes on the blessings of others, causing us to forget the blessings that we have."  Takizawa rubbed his injured hand and stood up while testing movement in his fingers.

    "It's quite the tale of ambition and betrayal and love, which led to murder," Akane said.  "Mr. and Mrs. Watanabe brought Yumi into their home to foster her after her parents were killed in a plane accident.  They treated her like their own daughter, but that's how they treat all the girls here.  Yumi wanted more.  She wanted to be the lead geisha."

    "So she started eliminating the competition," Takizawa said, "with Kenichi Akagi's help.  He confessed that it was his idea to use the tea as a poison."

    "That's right."  Akane nodded.  "When the girls fell ill, a few went home and never returned.  Yumi rose up in the ranks.  But when the remaining girls stayed on, she had to increase the amount of poison she was using."

    "The apricot seeds were a devious solution to her sordid scheme."  Takizawa sighed in disgust.  "Akagi's position under the teamaster, his father, made him a perfect accomplice for her.  He furnished her with the poison and the tea to cover it up."

    "He was also a med student," Akane added, "and familiar with other medicinal supplements that would hide the fact that the victims were being poisoned.  When Mrs. Watanabe drank the poisoned tea, it actually made her feel better, and she wanted more, further poisoning herself."

    "But why murder his mother?" Kogami asked.  He shoved his hands into his pockets in irritation.  "Doesn't make sense."

    "Step-mother," Takizawa corrected him.  "Kenichi's mother died some years ago.  In her honor, he goes by her surname and not his father's.  The current Mrs. Watanabe's death would serve as a catalyst."  Takizawa crossed his arms over his chest.  "After the death of his second wife, Mr. Watanabe would almost certainly retire.  As the only child, Kenichi would be the sole heir and proprietor of the geisha house and its services."

    "And Yumi, being his accomplice, would be the senior geisha in charge."  Kogami snatched the sword from the water basin's edge and rubbed his thumb aggressively over the hilt.  "Cymatic scans might have prevented this from ever happening."

    "Perhaps, Mr. Kogami, but even the scans can miss the obvious.  Kenichi's crime coefficient is just barely over 100.  He might have been pushed over the edge by our interference."  Takizawa flexed the fingers of his injured hand.  "What is Mrs. Watanabe's status?"

    "Thankfully, she'll recover, but there could be long-term neurological effects.  The other women should be fine after being treated with the antidote." 

    "Will they have to close the school and tea house?" Kogami asked. 

    "No," Akane said with a grin.  "There's a new restaurant opening uptown and the owners have already offered to help keep the tea house open by lending some of their geisha to the school to help with lessons, tea ceremonies, and maintaining appearances while Mrs. Watanabe recovers."

    "New restaurant, huh?" Kogami said.  "Sounds like you and your friends have a new weekend hang out."

    "The Palace of the Rising Sun?  There's a four-month waiting list to get reservations."  Akane closed the first aid kit and held it in both hands. "I'll take this back to the medical team.  I promised Mr. Watanabe that I would check in before they took him and his wife to the hospital."

    Kogami watched her go.  Since that morning, she had mastered the small, mindful steps of the geisha, while still managing to quicken her pace.  While he preferred her business suit over the kimono, the transformation into a graceful beauty had left him stunned and speechless.  Hands in his pockets, Kogami pressed the sword against his hip and walked over to the shrine gate.  Staring down the long stone staircase, he watched the final rays of the sun finally set below the horizon.

    "Why so pensive, Mr. Kogami?  The case is solved.  Two criminals brought to heel—one to the morgue, another to an isolation cell for life.  Three souls laid to rest in the name of Justice.  Accolades for all."

    "It's been such an unusual day," Kogami replied.  He laughed, despite himself, and ran a hand through his hair.  "Every other case, from here on out, is going to seem so normal after this one."

    "Division 10 could always use a resourceful Enforcer."  Takizawa took a deep breath and exhaled slowly.  He dared to reach out and caress Kogami's cheek.  "Every day could be an adventure into the unusual."

    "No, thanks."  Kogami met his gaze without flinching.  "Nothing wrong with normal, is there?"

    "Certainly not."  Withdrawing his hand, he crossed his arms over his chest and watched as the shadows about them lengthened with the coming night.  "I do believe Futsunushi was here within this shrine today.  Your gift from the shrine guardian is evidence of that."

    Kogami looked at the peace-bound wakizashi under his arm.  "I tried to give it back, but he refused."

    "One does not return gifts, Mr. Kogami, not without appearing ungrateful and rude."

    "Wasn't my intention to offend him."  Kogami grew uncomfortable with the notion that his actions might be perceived as impolite.  "I thought maybe he gave it to me until we solved the case."

    "If there was any offense, it would be excused for ignorance and forgiven by what was accomplished.  The elder would not have taken it back in any case because the sword is now a vessel for your soul?"

    "How's that?"

    "The warrior monks believe their souls exist within their swords.  Take a man's sword and you steal his soul.  Break the sword, and you break his soul."  He fixed his eyes on Kogami.  "Keep it safe, Mr. Kogami.  That sword is your ticket to sanctuary, if ever the Sibyl System deems you unfit to live.  Remember, Shinto shrines are sacred and beyond the jurisdiction of the MWPSB.  No cymatic scanners, no drones, no Sibyl.  No psycho pass.  No crime coefficients."

    Kogami shrugged, his eyes narrowing in suspicion.  "It's no paradise."

    "Tell that to a fallen angel."

    "I wouldn't read too much into it, Inspector Takizawa.  I'm nobody."

    "There's a saying from an Italian filmmaker that I've come to love," Takizawa said. "Each of us is an angel with only one wing, and that in order to fly, we must embrace each other." 

    "What are doing?" Kogami asked.

    "Something I should have done a long time ago."  Takizawa put his arms about Kogami's neck and pulled him close for a tender embrace.  He laid his head against the Enforcer's shoulder.  

    Braced in this awkward position, Kogami stiffened.  But looking into Takizawa's eyes, he recognized the little girl there, alone beneath the bleachers, in desperate need of someone, anyone, to notice her and care.  He relented, bowing his head in submission.  His guard was still up, but subdued.

    Pulling away with a pleasant smile, Takizawa allowed his hand to linger on Kogami's chest.  "Thank you for not rebuking or judging me."

    Uncertain how to respond, Kogami remained quiet.

    "That brooding silence?  It's what makes you so terribly attractive."  Takizawa moved a few paces away to relieve the Enforcer's discomfort and tension.

    Clearing her throat, Akane walked toward them.  "Mr. Watanabe wanted to extend his thank you, Inspector Takizawa, and to the MWPSB for their discretion in this investigation," she said.  "The medical team left about five minutes ago.  The forensics team should be wrapping up in a few hours."  She clasped her hands in front of her and rocked back and forth on her toes with an anxious grin.  "Case closed, gentlemen."

    "Akishiro!" The serenity of the night was shattered by a loud voice that wailed from the direction of the geisha school.  "Inspector Akishiro Takizawa, we are going to be late for the opening of our own restaurant!" 

    Dressed in an elegant, but elaborately layered white kimono that was adorned with cherry blossoms sewn onto the silk fabric, a slender young woman came running into the shrine courtyard.  Her hair was swept back in the traditional maiden leaf hairstyle with kanzashi ornaments dangling and swinging back and forth above her forehead.  Her face was painted in the traditional white of the geisha with cherry red accents for her lips and eyes.

    "Makiko," Takizawa said, taking her hand.  "Your manners!"

    "No time for manners," she panted.

    "Then at least introductions.  This is Inspector Akane Tsunemori of Division 1, and this is Enforcer Shinya Kogami."

    In mid-bow to Akane, Makiko hesitated.  "Shinya Kogami?  The old classmate you're always talking about?"  She quickly stepped out of her okobo, pushing the traditional wooden sandals behind her, and fell to her knees in a position of dogez/, the highest form of honor.  Placing her head on the ground at Kogami's feet, she bowed to him.

    Kogami gasped.  The quick flush of embarrassment rose up his neck and across his cheeks.  "You don't have to do that!"

    "I must," she said, bowing once more.  "You are the one responsible for my husband becoming the man that he is.  Without your influence, Akishiro might not have come to his current station in the world."  With Takizawa's help, she got back on her feet and agilely stepped back into the okobo.

    "Husband?" Kogami asked, perplexed.

    "Enforcer Kogami, this is my sweet, but impulsive wife, Makiko Takizawa.  For whom I have no idea why she is here, or why she is in such a fluster.  It's unbecoming of a geisha."

    "Didn't you hear me?" she asked, ignoring his admonishment. "I'm here because you are nearly an hour overdue."  Makiko turned to her husband's colleagues to forge alliances.  "We're opening a new restaurant in the area.  Palace of the Rising Sun.  Have you heard of it?  It's geisha-themed." 

    "The new restaurant is yours?" Akane asked.  "That explains how the geisha school got help so quickly.  Inspector Takizawa, you're a marvel!"

    "Just following in my parents' footsteps.  Mr. Kogami and you must come by and let us serve you as honored guests.  No reservations necessary—ever."     "Why not tonight?"

    "Makiko, you are being too forward."

    "Akishiro, we are undone.  The Minister of Finance has canceled his dinner at the restaurant opening tonight.  We are without an honored guest.  Mr. Kogami and Miss Tsunemori would be perfect!  Now I can make the final preparations."  Without warning, she rushed up to Kogami and kissed his cheek.  "The kiss of a geisha brings blessings from the gods." 

    In a self-absorbed bluster that reminded Kogami of Akane, the geisha bowed to him and then to Akane.  "Akishiro, please hurry. We must be going, darling."  She took her husband by the hand and hurried him back toward the geisha school, all the while talking to herself.

    "Please forgive her."  Chided by her boldness, Takizawa looked helplessly at Akane and Kogami and reluctantly allowed himself to be led away.

    "Reminds me of someone I once knew," Kogami said, shoving his hands in his pocket.  "And someone I know now."  He glanced at Akane and then leaned out of reach as she feigned an incoming slap to the face.

    "There is an access road on the other side of the compound if you want to avoid taking the stairs," Takizawa said.

    "Now you tell me," Kogami complained.  "We couldn't have used that entrance rather than climbing 1000 stairs?"

    "The access road is for deliveries, Mr. Kogami."  Takizawa was shouting now, as his wife continued to pull him away toward a waiting car.  "Besides, some things are meant to be experienced by taking the longer path.  But you are always welcomed to ride with us."

    Kogami glanced over his shoulder at the stone stairway.  The moon was out and cast a pale illumination over the steep descent.  "We'll meet you at the restaurant."

    "Very well, I'll send the directions to your wristcom."  Gently tapping his wife on the backside with his bamboo fan, Takizawa chastised her behavior in low tones.  His words seemed to have little effect, neither dulling her excitement nor slowing her swift pace.  While he spoke of decorum and tradition, she retorted with details of the impending opening.  If she had the same meticulous attention to detail as her husband, Kogami was certain that nothing would be out of place or left to chance.

    "Palace of the Rising Sun?" Akane clapped her hands together in anticipation and spun in a circle.  "Wait until I tell Yuki and Minase.  Kogami, it's a 12-course dinner!"

    "Good. I'm starving."

    "Kogami, it would cost a fortune to dine there, and we're invited guests!"

    "Not exactly dressed for it," Kogami said, restraining his own excitement.  "At least I'm not.  You'll fit in."

    Akane playfully pulled him closer to her by the lapel of his coat.  Straightening his tie, she tightened the knot and pushed it closer to his neck.  "I think you look just fine."  Then staring up at him, tilting her head to the side, she said, "You know, we can always send someone for the car and ride along with Inspector Takizawa and his wife.  We don't have to go back down the steps, unless you want to carry me."

    Kogami smiled and slightly bowed his head to her.  Tucking the wakizashi and its scabbard in his belt, he carefully scooped her up in his arms.

    "Are you sure about this?" she asked.  "I wouldn't want you to strain your wing."

    Kogami met her teasing eyes.  "How much did you hear?"

    "All of it.  Back in the garden and here in the courtyard.   You are someone very important to Inspector Takizawa."  She pulled the fan from the folds of her kimono and tapped her nose.

    Remembering the signal for jealousy, Kogami laughed and adjusted his grip beneath her.

    Akane rolled up the kimono sleeve and held the fabric over her hand.  Dampening it slightly with her tongue, she wiped vigorously at his cheek.  The silk was lightly stained with the removal of Makiko's lipstick.  She then tucked the fan back into the folds of her kimono, wrapped her arms tightly around his neck and kissed him on the cheek.

    "What are you doing?"

    "Marking my territory.  I don't want another geisha, male or female, to get the wrong ideas."

    Cradling her firmly against his chest, Kogami secured his grip and carefully made his way down the shrine stairs.  "Inspector Tsunemori, whatever am I going to do with you?"

    "Well, first, just get me down from this mountain without breaking both our necks.  After that, I'm open to discussion."