Each passing moment is a nightmare of expectation. From the moment that Honjowara -sama first steps onto the stage, pandemonium erupts. The entire assemblage of people crowded among the rows and rows of tables filling the ballroom comes to its feet, applauding, exclaiming, filling the hall with the uproar of their voices. A barrage of machine-gun fire could erupt and Machiko would not hear it until too late.