After departing Ryoichi Nakano's inner sanctum, Senator Mariko Nakahara calls his assistant to him. "I want Senators Nishimura and Maki on the videophone the instant we get back to my office," he orders.
"Something wrong, senator?" the assistant asks.
"Very," Mariko answers.
An hour later, Senator Nakahara sits at his desk, Senators Katsu Nishimura and Daichi Maki ready and waiting on the videophone.
"I hate to spoil your day, but I have important information that must be shared," Mariko announces.
"Are Senators Kita and Saito joining us?" Daichi asks.
"No," Mariko answers. "The information I have is about Senator Saito, and until we can be sure Senator Kita will be on our side, I don't want this to spread more than it has to."
"Let me guess: Akiko is unable to prove Mizu‑dojo is innocent," Katsu guesses.
"It's worse than that," Mariko reveals. "Akiko's in on the scheme."
"That's a very bold claim to make," Daichi cautions.
"I have recorded evidence from one of her conspirators," Mariko counters. "A high‑ranking member of the Red Scarves, no less. It seems that dai‑sensei Chika Ueno has been exploiting her position as the Jade's envoy to the Red Scarves to bolster her own forces, and is now moving against the three dojos that she feels oppose her."
"Which would be Kinzoku, Mokuzai, and Tsuchi," Katsu concludes. "But why not also move against Kasai?"
"You know as well as I do that Kasai and Mizu are on very favourable terms with each other," Mariko reminds.
"I need to hear this evidence before we go any further," Daichi insists.
"Of course," Mariko agrees, keying in the necessary commands to send the recordings to the other two senators.
Fifteen minutes later, after both Katsu and Daichi have reviewed all the evidence, the three‑way video call is resumed.
"I never imagined any one of us would threaten the safety of the whole Republic," Daichi begins, a tone of sadness colouring his words.
"This is indeed a major revelation," Katsu agrees. "But I can't say I'm too surprised. Looking back, all that time Akiko and Chika were working together… It's all so obvious now."
"The question is, what are we going to do about it?" Mariko asks.
"We need to defend our cities," Daichi opines.
"And the best way to do that is to crush Mizutani before it can rise against us," Katsu declares.
"Hold on, I don't think going to war is a good idea," Daichi cautions.
"So, we do nothing and wait for the war to come to us?" Katsu demands. "Or do we take action now to stop Akiko and Chika before they become too powerful to stop?"
"And start a war that could tear apart the entire Republic?" Daichi retorts.
"Mizutani's going to tear it apart if we don't act now!" Katsu states angrily.
"Gentlemen, please, let's calm down," Mariko requests. "I'm as angry as you are at Akiko and Chika, but we have to make sure we're doing the right thing before we declare war."
"What happened to 'Fail, and we will be forced to take drastic action'?" Katsu demands.
"I know what I said," Mariko replies flatly. "Doesn't mean I'll rush into war."
"Hmm," Daichi muses.
Katsu and Mariko halt their argument, waiting for Daichi to speak.
"The more I think about this, the more I'm changing my mind," Daichi reveals.
"Explain," Mariko requests.
"Chika Ueno is the Jades' envoy to the Scarves, right?" Daichi begins.
"Yes," Katsu confirms.
"And the Scarves are now helping Mizu‑dojo," Daichi continues. "If I recall, didn't Chika recently visit Shang Tu?"
"Red Scarves HQ, but yes," Mariko confirms.
"A visit that would have to have been approved by Akiko," Daichi continues. "What if these meetings aren't intended to establish a diplomatic relationship between the Red Scarves and the Jade Alliance, but instead to ally Mizu‑dojo with the Scarves, and use them to destroy the other dojos?"
"I can believe that," Katsu accepts. "Mariko?"
"I have to admit, I have also considered that possibility," Mariko reveals.
"And yet here you are, so desperate to avoid a war that is looking ever more inevitable," Katsu continues.
Mariko sighs deeply. "You're right. We need to protect ourselves, and the best way to do so is to take down Mizutani before they do more harm."
"I wish it didn't have to be this way, but it seems we have no other choice," Daichi agrees. "Before we act though, we should speak to Senator Kita."
An hour later, Senator Jiro Kita has joined the video call and reviewed all the evidence, and is about to make his decision.
"I vote no war," Jiro decides.
"Seriously?" Katsu demands.
"The evidence is interesting, but it's not enough for me to go to war over," Jiro explains.
"How can you defend Akiko after what she's done?" Katsu presses.
"I am defending no‑one," Jiro corrects. "I am simply showing restraint."
"You'd be singing a different tune if it was your citizens who were attacked," Mariko states.
"How do we know this… Danny person wasn't drugged or hypnotised?" Jiro asks.
"Are you really theorising the use of mind control?" Katsu snorts in derision.
"You know about the rumours surrounding Kaede Himura," Jiro retorts. "Who's to say she isn't behind this?"
"She's under house arrest," Daichi reminds. "She doesn't leave the dojo without me knowing. And she's not left it once."
"That you know of," Jiro challenges.
"She's under round‑the‑clock watch," Daichi assures. "She's gone nowhere since returning home from the hearing. That much I can guarantee."
"Why are you so afraid to act?" Katsu demands. "It's no secret you don't approve of how Akiko runs her city."
"I may not approve, but that doesn't mean I want to go to war," Jiro states. "Now if you'll excuse me, this has been a distraction too long. I have important things to do, and this is a waste of my time."
Jiro hangs up without giving anyone a chance to react.
"Well then, that settles that," Katsu decides.
"You're not suggesting Jiro's involved too?" Mariko asks.
"No, but he's not on our side either," Katsu explains. "It's just the three of us."
"It certainly looks that way," Daichi agrees.
"We're really going through with this?" Mariko asks.
"Of course," Katsu confirms.
"We have no other choice," Daichi acquiesces.
"Fifty years of peace…" Mariko sighs deeply. "I guess it wasn't meant to be."
Mid‑afternoon, and Senator Akiko Saito is enjoying a surprisingly relaxing afternoon. With her paperwork done for the day, she decides to snooze a while on the sofa in her office. After just a few minutes however, she is interrupted by an urgent buzz on the intercom.
"High priority message just arrived for you senator," the secretary announces.
"I'll read it later," Akiko mumbles, refusing to get up.
After a few moments of silence, the secretary speaks again. "Senator? This cannot wait."
"OK, OK," Akiko sighs as she gets up and moves to her desk, where she presses the 'reply' button. "Who's it from?"
"Senators Nakahara, Nishimura, and Maki," the secretary answers.
What on Avalice? "Send it through." This can't be good.
"Will do." The intercom clicks as the secretary closes the connection.
A few moments later, a notification on her computer signals the arrival of the message. Akiko opens it, and begins to read. As she reads, her expression passes through several emotions, chief among which are anger and disbelief. By the time she gets to the end though, her only emotion is desolation.
"Fifty years of peace, over," Akiko whispers to herself, tears slowly rolling down her cheeks. "I can't believe this is happening…"
Two hours later, in Chika Ueno's inner sanctum, Chika and Xander are snoozing lightly on the sofa.
"We should get up and do something," Chika suggests, half asleep.
"What do you want to do?" Xander asks, also half-asleep.
Chika thinks for a moment. "No idea," she admits.
The couple fall silent, content to continue snoozing. However, a knock at the door prevents them doing so. The knock takes Chika by surprise: she rolls off Xander and the sofa, and hits the floor with a thud.
"I'm OK," Chika assures as she gets up, the knock and the fall having woken her up. "Guess I'd better see who it is." Chika walks over to the door and opens it to find a worried‑looking kohai. "I'm not going to like this news, am I?" she sighs.
"No, sensei," the kohai agrees, handing an envelope to Chika.
"Thank you anyway," Chika replies, taking the envelope.
"Who's it from?" Xander asks, sitting up.
"Senator Saito," Chika answers, her face dark with concern. With no small amount of trepidation, Chika opens the envelope, extracts the letter, and begins to read. As she reads, her expression changes from concern, through worry, ending in despair as she drops the letter to the floor.
"Whatever it is, I'm here for you," Xander promises.
"Kinzokumori, Mokuzaihanto, and Tsuchidokutsu have declared war on Mizutani," Chika replies, near‑silent and quivering in shock.
"What‽" Xander exclaims in disbelief. "Why?"
"They think me, you, and Akiko are conspiring to bring down the Kinzoku, Mokuzai, and Tsuchi dojos, using the Red Scarves as terrorists," Chika explains.
"But… that's ridiculous!" Xander declares.
"I know," Chika agrees.
"What are we going to do?" Xander asks.
"I don't know," Chika admits. "I just… I don't know."