Notes:

Chapter Title: Reincarnation - Kurono Kiria (CV Nanjou Yoshino)

"It took me a long time to finally learn how to stop focussing on myself, how I felt, and what I wanted to do. It was a lesson that was perhaps the hardest for me to learn, but it was one I thought I'd never forget—until I stood face-to-face with my younger sister again.

I'd spent four years wondering what I needed to do to meet her again, and four years thinking about the things I'd already tried and done. Not for a moment in those four years did I think about what she might've experienced in that same time frame.

How could I have been so stupid?" —Ayase Eli

Eli stared blankly at the illuminated screen of her phone, chin resting on the surface of the dining table with one arm extended in front of her, the other curled around her face as though it could shield her from everything she didn't want to deal with at the moment.

It was already 1120 in the morning, but she felt no actual need to move from where she was currently sitting.

Umi and Maki had tiptoed around her like mice ever since their meeting with Alisa three days ago. They spoke in low voices if she was in earshot and whenever they were home, huddled in corners of the apartment that she wasn't currently occupying, no doubt deep in discussion about how to best broach the topic with her. A few times, Maki had made what she thought was an attempt to talk to her, before being stopped by Umi.

Eli wasn't completely sure she even wanted to entertain the thought of discussing her sister with her friends. She was certain that Umi could only offer her murmured words of sympathy and Maki would only tell her to get over it, because Alisa wasn't worth her time if she was going to act that way.

But she was neither looking for nor did she want their empathy. I just want to know… what I'm supposed to do now.

Trying to actually process the question and all its uncertain possibilities was like trying to cup a handful of water between her fingers as though it was something tangible—a doomed effort before she could even begin to really try.

Suddenly, the desperate, overwhelming need to get away—to just run—consumed her, restless, pent-up energy flooding her limbs as Eli stood up, bolting to the door, wrenching it open and slamming it behind her as she half-raced down the stairs in her abrupt need to escape.

The bright summer sunshine outside seemed like a personal insult to her inner wasteland as she stalked through the campus grounds, purposeful in the sense that her body needed to exhaust the helpless apprehension festering just underneath her skin, but purposeless in the sense that she had nowhere to go. She gritted her teeth at the chatter of passing college students, unable to harbour a single shred of tolerance for someone else's bright mood when it so contrasted her own.

The streets of Tokyo outside were no better, as Eli scoured the neighbourhood for something that could potentially be an outlet for the feelings she was keeping precariously bottled inside. It took all of her self-control not to snap at a passerby who had accidentally bumped into her and she had to dig her nails into the skin of her palms to remind herself where she was.

Why didn't I try to find her sooner? Why didn't I try harder?

She wanted to strangle her own thoughts—not because she didn't want to listen, and not because she wanted to push them away, but because she knew they contained an indelible truth and it would hurt beyond what she was willing to bear that this moment to accept.

Listlessly, Eli found herself at the waterfront of Tokyo Bay without any memory or awareness of how she'd gotten there. She stared out across the water, but could find nothing in its blue waves except the memory of the faint scar etched into the skin around Alisa's collarbone, staring at her like an accusing eye, demanding to know why she hadn't put the pieces together sooner.

"You promised me you would come and get me. Don't… don't you know how long I waited for you?"

The recollection made her squeeze her eyes shut as she bent down, driven by agitation and picked up a rock, throwing it as hard as she could into the waters of the bay, not sure what to do with all the regret and pain. It felt like a billion insects crawling underneath the surface of her skin, ripping her from head to toe, the barbed wire spooling out to form a garrotte.

Part of her wanted to run away and never look back—and briefly, very briefly, Eli wondered in one insanity-driven moment, if Toujou had foreseen the outcome of her request. She had a vague memory of seeing the violet-haired woman last night, but she had been too caught up in her own emotional turmoil to even address her.

As she paced, she was no closer to the answer to her question than she had been trapped in their apartment. Is it worth it for me to keep trying to reach out to her, even after what's happened?

She found that she was afraid of the answer, not knowing—and unsure if she wanted to know—the amount of anguish it would bring, and yet unwilling to continue forward in fear of that answer.

Heartbeat far too rapid against her sternum, she finally sat down on a rock that jutted out from the descent into the water, unsettled energy finally spent as she tightened her arms just underneath her bra, leaving her untied hair free to be tugged by the wind.

She sat there, watching the sunlight play with the swell of the waves and heard the occasional shriek of a seagull; she was unsure of how much time had actually passed until cold numbness crept up her arms and legs, a product of sitting still in one position for far too long.

Picking herself up, Eli momentarily wondered what her next destination would be as she slowly made her way back up to the street that lined the waterfront, knowing that she didn't want to return home only to face Umi and Maki eying her with pity that stabbed her like thorns. She was sick of trying to keep her emotions to herself, but showing that emotion in front of her friends was a prospect that was undeniably worse.

It'll only make me do something useless. Like cry.

The melody of a song broke into her thoughts as she reached the pavement. It was familiar, but Eli couldn't place it until she turned in the direction of the sound, spotting the same girl that she'd seen at the bayfront over a week ago.

Her blue eyes widened when she realized that the girl hadn't done what she'd told her to do, and her sudden anger lent renewed strength into her lower legs as she strode towards the girl with every intention of berating her for not listening.

She didn't make it there, though, before a man in a group of passersby suddenly reached out to shove her to the ground, scattering her long silver hair in a pool around her. Eli felt her breath hitch in her chest as she watched.

"You Edenra scum need to get out of Tokyo," he growled at the girl. "Leeching our resources and tryin' to scam us of our money. Who d'you think you're trying to fool with that act of yours, huh?"

Before she was in range to intervene, a civil officer that had been patrolling the waterfront thrust his way to the front of the small crowd that was gathering. "Hey! Unprovoked violence is the grounds for an arrest," he told them, waving them off with both hands, one of them clutching a police baton. "Get outta here."

Eli looked down at the concrete, knowing full well that if one of the passersby had tried to push her over that way, she could've easily pressed charges if not get the man arrested right then and there on the grounds of assault.

The civil officer continued to stand over the girl, making no move to help her back up as the crowd dispersed, muttering angrily. "Get outta here, kid," he told her. "You've got no family registry in Tokyo, so if you're unlucky next time, I can't help you." With that, he turned to walk away, evidently uninterested in her wellbeing as he returned to his patrol.

Eli hesitantly approached her; her anger at the fact that the girl clearly hadn't made any attempts to abide by what she'd told her had all but evaporated.

Just like their previous encounter, the young girl looked around in her direction the moment she drew close, scrambling back up and smoothing out her dirty dress.

"Why are you back?" Her voice was a lifeless croak, but Eli was past caring about that now—she probably hadn't spoken aloud to anyone properly in days.

The girl jerked her head up in surprise, clearly having recognized her voice even though it was almost indistinguishable to herself. "I'm sorry," she murmured. "I promised you."

Eli felt the slender fingers of one hand curl into a fist, though the enemy in front of her wasn't one she could see, hear, or touch. "What makes you come back… over and over? When you know how much these people hate you?"

Her breath caught in her throat when she realized how much of an echo that question was of her own circumstances, but with difficulty, she buried the knife of panic that suddenly rose in her chest.

Underneath the bandana that hid her ruined eyes, the girl smiled, though it was wistful and drawn, an expression that inexplicitly reminded Eli of her younger sister. "Because I have to rely on other people to survive," she told her, in a soft voice that belied her young age. "The only thing I know how to do is smile, so…" She trailed off, tilting her head slightly in the afternoon breeze before she continued. "But you know… I understand their hate. It was someone from our district, after all, that started Bloody Valentine."

"But… aren't you a victim of that day?" Eli asked her, confused.

"Yes. But still, I understand why they're scared. They're afraid it might happen again, just like those of us who live in the outer districts. The things we're scared of… they're the same. We wake up human every morning, and wonder if, by the time we go to sleep again, we'll still be human."

The little girl turned as she finished speaking, moving with a dexterity that did not seem like it belonged to someone who could not see. "I should get back to my sister. Thank you again for coming to see me!" she called over her shoulder as she swiftly descended the rocky path that led to the makeshift bridge spanning across Tokyo Bay with practiced ease.

Eli stood at the side of the street for several minutes, staring at the spot where the girl had disappeared and out over the water of Tokyo Bay, the wind whipping her blonde hair into even more of a mess than it already was. There was something wet on her cheeks, and it was only when she raised a hand to impatiently brush it away that she realized she was crying.

We wake up human every morning, and wonder if, by the time we go to sleep again, we'll still be human.

The young girl's voice reverberated in her mind as she repeated the simple statement to herself. A second of clarity lent itself to her thoughts as she did so, stripping away the barbs and edges that had been all they could contain for the last few days.

Whatever happens, I only have so much time to speak with her. If I don't keep trying, I'll never get the chance to. Whatever bundle of hurt is waiting for me at the end of this, it can't get any worse than it already is.

Right on cue, as if to punctuate her new resolve, her cellphone rang, buzzing with unnecessary force as she ignored its first few rings before raising it to her ear, noting the number and expecting Koizumi's timid tones as she answered it.

"Hello?"

"Eli-san, it is I."

Eli froze as her mind registered the caller's voice, her tones as delicate and crisp as ever. "Toujou-sama…?"

Why is she calling me personally? For a moment, she wondered where Toujou had gotten her number, and then she remembered who she was speaking to. Why isn't she sending this message through Koizumi like she usually does?

"Can I help you?" To her relief, her voice came out mostly neutral, though she winced at the loud shriek of a seagull landing on the rocks behind her.

"Yes," came the reply on the other end. "If you're prepared to take on a job, that is."

Eli had no doubts that the sentiment underneath the carefully-guarded statement was a subtle reference to the events that the violet-haired woman had witnessed three nights ago, though she had taken care not to bring it up directly.

Her fingers tightened ever so slightly on the metal casing of her cell phone as she stood there. She deliberated for a few, very short seconds. If she declined, Toujou would simply hang up then and there on the pretense of leaving her alone. But she knew herself well enough that if she continued to be left to her own devices about the issue currently at hand, there was a good chance that she would find some way to talk herself out of her own conclusion.

No, she needed something to help keep her from thinking too much.

"No, it's fine." If Toujou detected a sliver of hesitation in her voice, she didn't show it.

"Good. I'd like you to meet me at the Defence Ministry in forty-five minutes."

She hung up.

Eli had never actually been to the Defense Ministry, though it was a location in Tokyo she knew well enough from her previous work experiences. Still, she couldn't help but feel a small twinge of apprehension as she paused for a moment outside its glass doors, before stepping inside.

Almost immediately, she felt the gaze of no fewer than half a dozen security guards trained on her from various angles, and she narrowed her cerulean eyes at the closest pair standing on either side of an empty desk.

Toujou was already there, speaking with a man she couldn't immediately recognize, though his police uniform gave away his profession. Beside her stood the unwavering presence of Fujiwara Hayato, hands behind his back in gesture of respect, though she privately doubted that he held any respect for anyone in room, except perhaps save Toujou herself. She swallowed a bitter taste of dislike when the man locked eyes with her, disdain filling his gaze almost instantaneously.

Toujou greeted her warmly enough, however, though Eli wasn't one hundred percent sure whether or not she was imagining the slight tone of concern in her voice as Toujou's verdant gaze raked over her features, no doubt taking in the head of blonde hair that she hadn't bothered untangling for a few days and the too-short, chewed-off nailbeds of her fingers.

She refrained from making a comment though, as she returned to speak with who Eli assumed was the chief of police, because he clasped his hands behind his back at once. "Of course, Toujou-sama," she heard him tell her.

While Toujou was occupied, she heard someone come up behind her. Instinct told her that it was Fujiwara, but despite the raw edge of the emotional storm she'd just managed to bury, Eli wasn't going to give him the satisfaction of turning around just to acknowledge him.

Fujiwara spoke in a deep tone that was too low of Toujou to overhear while speaking to the chief of police, like millstones trying to grind gravel. "Don't get too comfortable with your current position, Ayase."

He took a few steps forward so that he was right beside her, almost shoulder to shoulder if it wasn't for his greater height. "I don't know what you're talking about," she hissed back, anger driving out the remaining vestiges of her earlier inner turmoil.

"I sincerely hope that you do not, Ayase-san." She noticed that he'd thrown in the honorific on purpose this time. "But here's the problem as I see it—both of us know the kind of people you've worked with in the past. While it's true our leaks seemed to have stopped since Toujou-sama has hired you, I wouldn't put it past someone of your background to accidentally… let something slip."

Eli slowly clenched the fingers of one hand into a fist before relaxing it, reigning in her temper before she could lose it—a poor decision given the amount of security guards that currently surrounded them.

"Then you'll be looking for a very long time," she said, unable to completely eradicate the hint of a snarl from the sentence.

She caught the corner of his mouth quirk upwards in an expression she couldn't immediately identify. "Don't think you're untouchable just because you happened to be there on the right day and at the right time to save Toujou-sama's life. She may have taken a liking to you, but remember, I warned you—I will be watching you. That will not be changing anytime soon."

He strode in front of her just as Toujou turned around, looking curiously at the two of them. "Is something the matter, Fujiwara-san?" she asked.

"Nothing," he lied smoothly as he clasped his hands behind his back again. "We should get started."

Eli met Toujou's gaze for a single heartbeat, reading the silent question in her emerald gaze before she looked away. While the conversation she'd just had was enough to tip her opinion of Toujou's chief advisor from 'unlikable' to downright obnoxious, she wasn't about to confide her opinion of him to her—especially because she didn't know how much Toujou trusted the man.

She followed the two of them down a darkened hallway, noting the amount of security guards that were following her. Finally, the chief of police stopped beside a door at the very end, but Eli didn't have an opportunity to read the small text of the plate beside it before being ushered through the door by one of the security guards.

The room they were in was small, furnished only with two sets of crudely made couches and a computer set; she realized with a jolt where they were when she spotted a large, stainless still gurney alongside a wall.

Toujou beckoned for her to sit down before one of the security guards went over to the gurney, and picked up a small device sealed away in an evidence bag. Toujou took it from him and placed it on the low table before her before speaking; she recognized the object in the clear bag as a cellphone.

"As you're probably aware, Samejima Sho was killed during the riot held in front of the district building last week. Based on the police department's report, he received a phone call less than thirty minutes before he left to join the riot. He also received a text message approximately fifteen minutes before he was killed. However…" Toujou picked up the bag with the broken cellphone in it. "He had custom security firmware that was installed on his phone sometime before he died that the police department has not been able to bypass." She gave Eli her familiar, half-smile as she continued. "I was hoping you would be able to."

She put down the bag and slid it halfway across the table.

Eli could feel the angry stare of Fujiwara Hayato burning into the back of her neck as she reached out to take the phone in the evidence bag. It was unusually heavy for a phone of its size, and she frowned when she turned it over, noting the amount of damage present on its back.

"I can try," she said, not wanting to promise something that she couldn't guarantee she could accomplish. Especially since he had something that the police department couldn't break into. Not that she put much stock into the police department's capabilities, considering the amount of corruption that ran rampant in Tokyo's streets even with their presence.

Toujou gestured towards the computer. "Please."

One of the security guards removed the phone from the bag for her, plugging it into the computer as its screen blinked to life, clearly not wanting her to touch the phone directly. As it rebooted, Eli noticed the extra lines of text that were briefly displayed on its illuminated surface, before a familiar interface demanded a password.

If she hadn't worked for several high profile businessmen who had wanted their phones encrypted with a very similar firmware, she was fairly confident that she wouldn't have had the necessary knowledge to bypass it. As things were, however, it didn't take her very long before she was able to crack it, the data on the phone showing up as a separate folder on the computer's screen.

She heard the rustle of cloth against rough fabric as Toujou stood up behind her.

Eli scrolled through the files in the various folders, picking the one she wanted as she heard both Toujou and Fujiwara approach the computer desk soundlessly.

The final phone call that Samejima had received was recorded in the phone's data log. There would be no way of listening to that conversation, but the log would've still recorded the number that he had been called from. She turned her head slightly in cynical surprise as she scanned the data—the caller's number was not assigned to a Tokyo area code.

Samejima's final, unopened text message contained only two words: Scarlet Snow.

She stared at those two words for a heartbeat before she remembered where she'd seen them before—in the files off Tenjoin Ryosuke's computer that she had obtained for Toujou the very first time they'd met.

Eli half-glanced back at Toujou, but the violet-haired woman wasn't looking at her—she was staring at the screen in front of them. In the darkness of the room, Fujiwara's expression was unreadable.

Toujou pressed a long, gloved finger against the last phone number recorded in the phone's data. "Can you look this up?" The tone of her voice was tantamount to the fact that, she too, was aware of the fact that it was not a Tokyo-area phone number.

"I can," Eli replied hesitantly, giving her another look over her shoulder, "but that most likely means breaking into another district's government records." Their eyes met for a fleeting moment, and in that moment, she knew that both of them were thinking the same thing.

The district ruler's face was impassive in the half-illumination of the brightness of the computer screen, but there was no mistaking the intensity in her green gaze. "You have my authority to do so."

Fujiwara's shoulder and arm twitched beside her, as though he wanted to make a move to stop her physically, before he controlled himself with visible effort. Eli didn't need to see the expression on his face to distinguish his disapproval as she turned back to the screen in front of her.

A quick search told her that the number was from the Kyoto region. Opening up the Kyoto District government database, she hesitated for a second. If this was anybody but her, I would've asked them if they were sure they wanted me to do this. But Eli was painfully aware of whom she was speaking to—and the expression of the woman in question had not changed.

Turning her attention back to the screen, she was in Kyoto's government database in minutes. Quickly setting the computer to search for a match to the phone number found in Samejima's call log, it was several minutes before the system found a match.

The name beside it was Misawa Shou—a name she instantly recognized. She clicked into his file without waiting for a direction from Toujou, scrolling down until she found what she was looking for. Reading through his list of offices, she found the building that she had once located for Toujou—as well as the address for his business partner in Tokyo.

Eli narrowed her eyes at the name. Izayoi Tetsu was a name that she recognized, but she didn't want to voice that knowledge aloud.

"Izayoi is one of this city's biggest financial contributors," Fujiwara growled behind her. "Surely you don't think he could be involved in this."

"What you see and what the truth is can be two completely different things," Toujou responded sweetly. She reached over Eli's shoulder and tapped something onto the computer, bringing up Tokyo's own government database in a few moments. She entered Izayoi's name into the registry and waited for his file to load.

Scrolling down with one slender finger, she paused under Izayoi's employment history—confirming what Eli already thought she knew.

"He was Samejima's old business partner, before the events of Bloody Valentine," Toujou read aloud. Her voice was still calm, but it had lost its delicate tone as Eli watched the muscles in her arm tense ever so slightly before she turned around, rearranging her long braid of plum-coloured hair. "I think this warrants an investigation, do you not, Advisor?"

Nozomi sat in her chair in her conference room, arms wrapped around her knees in a posture of formality, even though the camera would not be able to pick it up.

It was the day after she'd called Ayase Eli into the Defence Ministry and the discovery of the contents of Samejima Sho's cellphone. If truth was told, she had expected the young woman to decline her offer—which was why Nozomi had seen fit to call her personally. She didn't know the extent of how badly her meeting with her younger sister had affected her, but if her inadvertent display of emotion in her office had been any indication, then the past few days wouldn't have been easy on her.

But Eli's voice had sounded surprisingly steady over the phone, and Nozomi had not been prepared for her disheveled, haggard appearance when blonde had finally shown up at the Defence Ministry. It would've been appropriate for her to address it, but she had a feeling that Eli wouldn't have wanted her to bring it up, especially in front of Fujiwara.

Speaking of Fujiwara… She knew with absolute certainty that her advisor had said something to her while she had been speaking to the chief of police. He had lied easily to her face when she'd asked him about it; while she didn't expect him to admit it in front of Eli, she also didn't expect the recalcitrant young woman to disclose what he'd said to her either—she didn't exactly volunteer that kind of information unless there was a very good reason for her to do so, and Nozomi didn't think Fujiwara was at the top of her list at the moment.

Nonetheless, her advisor's irritation with her was more than obvious, and she wondered where it had stemmed from. If it was just because I hired her over the people he recommended, he's still going a little too far, even for him. She wondered if it was because someone had told him about their meeting in the garden after the assassination attempt—a fact that was sure to infuriate him further than he already was, mainly because he didn't approve of her spending time with people that weren't in his favour.

She knew why that was, of course—the more dissenting opinions she got from other people, the less likely she was to listen to him.

If I'm honest, that's exactly why I wanted to spend more time with her. I've never interacted with someone who didn't grow up privileged and self-serving in my entire life… because that's not the life I was raised to live. The fact that the young woman had saved her life was just another reason why she wanted to know her better—the way that Eli had dismissed it made her feel more uncomfortable than it really should have. Perhaps it's because I've only known people who would have done it only because it would allow them to demand something in return. Still, am I being too obvious? She resisted the temptation to press her lips together. Oh well.

"Toujou-sama, the conference is ready." One of her attendants spoke at her side as she looked up, dismissing her thoughts. She had plenty of time to muse about other subjects later—right now, she had a meeting scheduled with Izayoi Tetsu, although she hadn't informed the man the reason for their call. She had spoken to him in the past, as he had been the one to help finance the rebuilding of Tokyo after Bloody Valentine, and he was a frequent guest at political meetings open to the public, but she found herself unusually nervous as she nodded for one of her tech specialists to begin the conference.

The screen in front of her crackled to life, and Izayoi Tetsu's face appeared in front of her. He had thick, bushy black hair despite his age, and there was a slight grin on his face as he greeted her. From the way he was looking at her, it appeared that no one had already informed him the contents of their meeting today, which suited Nozomi just fine as it would give her the opportunity to read his intent.

"To what do I owe the pleasure of this meeting, Toujou-sama?"

"I'd like to ask you about the death of Samejima Sho," she responded without preamble, though she was careful to maintain a cheerful, non-threatening tone. "As I understand it, he was your old business partner."

She watched him carefully as he paused. There was a little bit of tension around his shoulder that had not been present previously. "Yes," he said slowly, dragging out his words. "I heard about his death. A shame—he had good ideas for the future of this city."

"Did you agree with them?" she prompted gently.

Izayoi looked uncomfortable, crossing his arms, as though their conversation wasn't at all going in the way he thought it would. "I-I'm not a policitian, Toujou-sama. I really couldn't say."

"So you didn't have any contact with him at all before he died, Izayoi-san?" she pressed harder, knowing discomfort when she saw it. Izayoi might have been a practiced liar, just like most of her senate and advisors, but over the years, Nozomi had found that she had a particular knack for drawing out the truth in the most unorthodox of ways. She gave him a small, sad half-smile as she continued. "I'd just like to find out what I can about his death. As you know, he opposed the policy that I proposed, so…" She trailed off purposefully, leaving what she knew would be the impression that she wanted to clear her own name from suspicion.

"No, Toujou-sama," Izayoi offered, somewhat weakly. "We hadn't spoken in some time before he died."

Instinct and years of speaking to politicians and businessmen alike allowed her to keep her face impassive. "Is that so? Would you care to explain, then, the call made from your current business partner's number in Kyoto to his personal cell phone an hour before he died?"

Izayoi paled, before his face twisted into a snarl that he did his best to erase as fast as possible. Even if hadn't been for the fact that Eli had confirmed his involvement through further digging of his personal files that morning, she would've known without a doubt that he was a man who had just been caught in a lie.

"Wh-I don't know what you're talking about, Toujou-sama!" he spluttered.

Nozomi allowed her smile to widen by the smallest margin. "Unfortunately, your records say otherwise."

He visibly gnawed his bottom lip through the video conference. "I thought there was a brief period of time this morning that my files had been opened on my server. It was you, wasn't it?" he muttered, all pretense of not knowing gone.

"Tell me," she said softly, abandoning her previous façade of friendliness as she continued. "The innocent victims of the riot in the hospital you planned to bomb in three days—do their lives mean nothing to you? You killed someone who supported your goals… for what?"

His face contorted into a dark expression of frustration and rage. "I don't expect someone as young as you to understand, Toujou-sama. The Ceresis need to be eliminated—along with the Edenra victims that you sympathize with so much. It's unfortunate that you can't see that, especially since there are so many in this city that can."

Nozomi stood up, but she felt icily calm as she addressed him once more. "I can't allow that. If you do not surrender yourself to the district of Tokyo within twenty-four hours, then I will be forced to take action."

Izayoi uncrossed his arms as he stood too. "You're welcome to try," he laughed, hanging up the video call before she could make the order to.

For a few minutes, all Nozomi could do was stand there, unable—or unwilling—to believe the words that the businessman had just said to her. Her blood felt like fire in her veins as she paced, ignoring the shocked exclamations from her attendants.

She had absolutely no doubt that there were at least a few private military corporations owned by Izayoi in the city, although there was a chance the mercenaries that belonged to it wouldn't be willing to fight against the district. Was it him? Was he the one who tried to kill me in my meeting with President Tenjoin? It was a possibility, although she didn't think it was a large one. Izayoi was a power-hungry man who liked his money, but it would take a lot more than money to hire a sniper of that calibre. The unknown sniper had been both discreet and careful—two qualities that he had just proven he so conspicuously lacked.

She raised a hand to silence the amount of noise in the conference room. "Call a meeting," she said firmly. "Any private military corporation willing to respond to a job from the district is to meet at the Defence Ministry in two hours."