With the attack on the procession, the magistrates moved to locate any potential threats. None were visible, however, as they moved in to Investigate further. Based on the angle of the arrow it appeared to have come from rooftops, but there was no obvious indications of the shooter. Inspecting the arrow itself showed that it was all black: shaft, fletching, even the head had been painted. By the nock, however, was a small image:
Shiba Tetsuo took the arrow before Bayushi Shizuka had a chance to look it over more closely. With no active threats detected, the procession quickly made its way to the Shosuro Palace without further incident.
Back at the compound, Shinjo Sanefusa appeared to speak to Akodo Tadashi. He was concerned that Akodo Ume's recent poems, being spread more widely by Jewel, may be taking on a political component that might attract negative attention to the young Lion. Her recent poem, for example, could be misinterpreted to be addressing Magda in an unflattering light rather than simply the migrations of sparrows.
Later that evening Akodo Ume left to attend a reception for the competitors at a tea house in the Licensed Quarter. She returned hurriedly, claiming that something had happened that the magistrates had best look into before it raised alarm. Reaching the tea house, Iuchi Michisuna described how Kakita Shijin had been giving a lengthy toast when a bird flew in through the open window, alighted on his cup, and took a drink from it. He initially took this as a sign of good fortune, that his song would be a beautiful as that of the bird, but when he looked back found that the bird had fallen dead on the ground. Ume, sitting at the same table, noticed this and seeing that noone else appeared to have been afflicted, urged him to avoid attracting attention as she went to fetch the magistrates.
Kasuga investigated the bird and the cup, confirming that the former was dead. The poison used appeared to be one that would only have caused several days of incapacitating illness for Michisuna, but had been fatal to the small bird. Michisuna reported that the geisha who had served him, a clumsy, plain girl, was nowhere to be seen. The okaasan of the house informed them that another girl had been assigned to that section, although she had not hired anyone new or from another house for the event. Neither had she noticed anyone slipping in during the chaos. The geisha themselves referred to "the new girl", cattily criticizing her looks, gracelessness, poor hairstyle, and viewing her as a recent peasant hire. It was mentioned that her inexpertly applied makeup was still not enough to hide some stubble on her face.
Returning from the Licensed Quarter, Kasuga Osamu headed for his lab while the rest of the magistrates returned to the estate. As they did so, the latter were attacked by several armed men. Killing one, they took the other severely injured men into custody. Though unaware that they were Emerald Magistrates, they admitted to having been hired to kill them by a masked person in black with a feminine, Lion-accented voice and a slender, athletic frame. As far as they knew they were merely wealthy samurai, being offered 10 koku a head along with anything they could loot from the bodies.
Catching up with them, Kasuga described having seen Bayushi Shizuka speaking to an unknown, shifty-looking man in an alley near the docks. After a brief, tense exchange she handed him a small, heavy-looking parcel and he left, whereupon he was followed to what appeared to be an unlicensed bar in the Fisherman Quarter. During the exchange he noticed a brief flash of bright blue, apparently from a tattoo, on Shizuka's neck/shoulder.