Summary

Chapter 9, "Impasse," opens with Nori and Kiyomi in the back of a car on their way to Tokyo to meet Nori's buyer. Nori has wrapped a knife in three of her mother's ribbons and strapped the blade to her thigh. In the car, Kiyomi begs Nori to live, but Nori has made up her mind. When the car ride ends, Nori sees Tokyo for the first time, specifically "the royal ward of Tokyo...[where] the richest, most powerful people in the country" lived (175). Kiyomi leaves Nori, and Nori waits for her buyer to arrive. When she is alone, she slices her thigh open, though she suspects she has missed dealing herself a fatal blow. As Nori collapses, Akira rushes into the room.

In the beginning of Chapter 10, "Sonata," Nori floats in and out of unconsciousness before finally awaking to find Akira next to...