She is distracted from her thoughts when another GSG enters through the door at her immediate left. He kneels to the left of the doorway, glances at her, briefly bows. The settled strength of his posture seems familiar, and marks him clearly as a warrior, yet his face is unknown, and young. Machiko concludes that he must have come only very recently from the GSG academy. Otherwise, she would have met him before now. Had there been any doubt as to his identity, he would not have passed the twenty GSG standing watch outside this room.