Notes: This was originally supposed to be for a zine, but, as you can tell by the wordcount, it got a little too big. I've got a few more ideas for this AU that I couldn't fit in this one-shot. Not sure if I'll write them or not, but it's a possibility. It's been a while since I've watched Psycho Pass, but it's one of my favorite animes of all time. (That includes the second season.) I wrote this entirely doing sprints, which is wild, but it did help me finish this in like two or three days. At least one of the roles in here will be surprising, but I've got a lot of headcanons already for this AU. I hope you enjoy the ride!
Disclaimer: I own neither BNHA or Psycho Pass.
Uraraka had never been one to believe that she was a better person simply because her Psycho Pass score was better than others. She'd always had a remarkably clear hue, even at a young age. Despite every day stressors that couldn't be avoided and the harsh realities that life dealt her sometimes, her hue remained a beautiful light pink. As her friends struggled and their scores slowly ticked up as time went on, she stayed so neutral that even her teachers noted how unusual it was. Even if she did show outward signs of stress, her hue rarely ever changed.
She credited this success to her parents, who had taught her to remain optimistic in the face of difficulties. Despite her father's business floundering from time-to-time and struggling financially throughout her childhood, their scores stayed safely below the latent criminal level to keep them out of trouble. She wanted to be just like them, a model citizen, but also something more. Watching her friends and family struggle to keep in line even over the simplest things made her realize that she was meant for something greater than following in her father's steps.
If she had a talent in keeping her score low, then she should use that ability for the greater good.
Before she'd even graduated, Uraraka had known that she wanted to join the CID. She wanted to save people. Growing up, she had spent a lot of time watching movies about heroes that saved the day. Yes, it was romanticized, but she couldn't get over the idea. Many people weren't as lucky as her. She had watched as classmates were taken away in the middle of exams, marked as latent criminals, never to be seen again. No one questioned it, but she couldn't help but feel that there was something else that she could do.
Even worse, there were victims of crimes that ended up with hues too clouded to be fixed. If there was a chance that she could save people from not only criminals but themselves, then it was her responsibility to do that. She'd learned early on that her crime coefficient rarely wavered. After being bullied relentlessly for her thrift shop clothes, the school's counselor had been concerned about her. She'd kept the situation a secret for a year so that no one would get in trouble. Allowing that kind of stress to fester was dangerous. However, when she was scanned by the Sybil System, they had found that her score had only gone up a single point. The counselor had been shocked.
Less than a year later, her bully was pulled out of the school, marked as a latent criminal at a mere eleven years of age. Uraraka wondered to this day if she could've helped him. Maybe, if she'd said something earlier about the bullying, he would've been able to get the therapy that he'd needed to keep his score down. By keeping quiet, she'd inadvertently hurt him as well. The school counselor had told her that it wasn't her fault, but for the first time she had felt the sense that she could've done something.
Joining the CID had shocked her friends and scared her parents. Uraraka knew what she looked like. She was a short young woman with brown hair that framed her round face and rosy cheeks and a soft body that looked like it was meant more for cuddling than chasing down criminals. She smiled a lot, laughed at bad jokes, and had a cheery disposition that was not common in the CID. Her top grades allowed her to apply, but she had no doubt that it was her exceptional Psycho Pass score that had got her the job as an Inspector. That relatively flat line would impress anyone, even the Enforcers positioned beneath her on Division 2.
It didn't impress everyone though.
Uraraka kicked the door to their office open, a large casefile in one hand, a tray with four coffees in the other, and a bag filled with breakfast pastries caught between her teeth. Her brow was furrowed in a concentrated expression as she nudged her way inside and then carefully made her way over to her desk. First, she set down the precarious hot coffees, then took the bag out of her mouth, before finally setting the file down and sighing in relief. When she turned around, however, she was met with the barrel of a Dominator pointed at her and she nearly jumped out of her socks.
"Bakugou!" Inspector Iida reproached as he stepped into the room. "You do not point your Dominator at an Inspector!"
The Enforcer in question raised an eyebrow, but didn't lower the gun, his eyes glowing a bright blue as the Sybil System assessed whether she was a criminal or not. With the initial shock over, Uraraka relaxed and leaned back against her desk. Iida opened his mouth to further reprimand him, but she held up a hand to stop him. The Dominator posed no threat to her. Not only was her score well below the latent criminal level, but Enforcers couldn't use the guns against Inspectors. It was little more than a scanner in Bakugou's hands when put against her. When the Dominator finally finished its judgement, he lowered the gun and his eyebrow.
"Satisfied?" Uraraka asked with perhaps a touch of sass.
Katsuki Bakugou certainly didn't look it, judging from the light scowl on his face. "Just checking."
"You say that every time you assess me," Uraraka pointed out, folding her arms across her chest.
Iida stormed over and snatched the weapon out of Bakugou's hands. "You shouldn't even have this outside of storage. I should check your crime coefficient. You know that if it gets too high–"
"I know, Four Eyes, I know," Bakugou interrupted. "You'll be forced to shoot me and I'll explode on everyone."
Unlike most people when faced with that thought, he didn't look bothered in the slightest. Uraraka honestly didn't know much about him. Despite being the loudest (and admittedly most dangerous) one on the team, Bakugou wasn't an open book. He didn't talk about his past or how he had come to be an Enforcer. Most of the others on the team and in other divisions assumed that he'd been labeled a latent criminal when he was a kid, considering his crass and careless behavior. It was like he'd never bothered trying to conform to society or he'd simply turned his back on it.
Iida had once told her that Bakugou had one of the highest crime coefficients in the CID. Considering that his mere presence had a habit of raising the Area Stress Level,h he was a constant threat to be watched, not to mention his ability to raise the scores of the Inspectors that were entrusted with keeping him in line. Iida was one of the few who was capable of handling him without his hue becoming too clouded. Other Inspectors had not been so lucky, including one that was now an Enforcer alongside him on Division 2.
Izuku Midoriya had reassured her that it was not Bakugou's fault that he had fallen from Inspector to Enforcer. His own Psycho Pass score was just above the 100 mark that labeled him as a latent criminal. She couldn't see how with his baby face, freckles, and bright demeanor, but sure enough, when he'd suggested she check him, she had been shocked to find his score at 105. Once past that mark, even if it went back under the safe level, he could never go back to being an Inspector.
"Try and at least act like you care about how your actions affect those around you," Iida said as he put the Dominator back in its storage case.
"I dunno," Enforcer Kaminari quipped as he spun around in his seat in front of his computer. "I think it'd be kinda funny. Then he really would be King Explodo."
Bakugou reared on him. "How about next time I aim it at your face?"
Midoriya frantically waved his hands in the air, a nervous smile on his face. "Hey, let's all calm down! It's early and it's been a good week. Let's keep up the solid work!"
"Don't tell me what to do, Deku!" Bakugou snapped.
Uraraka rolled her eyes, but a fond smile slipped onto her face as she unfolded her arms and turned back around to her desk. Most people wouldn't think that a job in the CID was something that could be enjoyed – and she would be the first to admit that it was incredibly hard – but after six months of working on this team with no losses, she could honestly say that it felt a lot like home. These people were her family. Besides Iida, they would never be allowed the same freedom that she experienced, but they risked their lives daily to ensure that other people could.
How could she not respect them for that? Although they had already been marked as defunct members of society, they still served and protected it. Even Bakugou with his crude remarks, volatile nature, and general dismissiveness threw himself in the line of fire. They didn't just risk getting injured or killed on the job. There was always that looming threat of their crime coefficient getting too high or their hue too dark. If that were to happen, it was up to Iida and Uraraka to put them down.
This job was known for ruining people's psycho passes. She attended regular therapy sessions to ensure that it didn't happen to her, although her therapist was always surprised to find her score still low. The Enforcers did this job under the threat of death to protect a society that no longer wanted anything to do with them. They had all defended and protected her, be it against other criminals or other division members that didn't believe she was capable of her job. She believed that there was goodness in them.
"No one in the CID should be capable of having a score that low or hue so clear," Bakugou grumbled under his breath as he dropped into his seat. "It's unnatural."
Uraraka stepped past him to hand Kaminari a coffee and snack. "It's always been like that. I couldn't tell you why."
"It's because you're the sweetest person ever," Kaminari said before chugging half the coffee in one go and taking a massive bite out of the doughnut. He wasn't necessarily the brightest bulb on their team, but he was a whiz with technology and had a go-getter attitude that made people laugh. His voice was muffled and barely understandable, but she thought he added something like, "You are a gift."
Bakugou snapped, "Don't act like an animal," and reached out to smack him, but Kaminari rolled out of the way, cackling with a mouthful of food.
"Oh, you remembered my favorite flavor!" Mina gushed as she took her treat from Uraraka.
Of course she had. She also knew all of their birthdays. Most Inspectors didn't get familiar with their Enforcers, choosing to treat them more like attack dogs that they owned. Honestly, it disgusted her. These were people. Just because they were labeled as criminals didn't mean that they were animals. If any one of them were to die on the job, it would devastate her. She'd joked with them, worked with them, risked her life with them, had dinner with them… It was important to know that they deserved to live just as much as her. Otherwise, what were they doing?
Midoriya quietly thanked her, retreating back to the safety of his desk, and then she handed the last coffee and treat to Iida. They took turns getting breakfast twice a week for everyone. It was an easy way to get to know everyone. He had appreciated her initiative when she came up with the idea. Apparently his partner in between Midoriya and her had not been so friendly or warm. He'd escaped with his score still intact, but had requested a transfer after nearly coming to blows with Bakugou.
"Hey, where the hell is mine?" Bakugou demanded.
"You'll get one when you start being nice," Uraraka chirped teasingly before she sat down.
Kaminari and Mina laughed. Midoriya wisely stayed quiet behind his computer, although he was smiling. Meanwhile, Bakugou seethed and mumbled some choice words under his breath loud enough for her to hear. It only made her snort. He had such a colorful language. She wondered if he'd talked like this before his score had gone up or if he'd given himself the leeway to do so only after. Foul language did affect some people's hue.
A ringing sound interrupted the light-hearted air in the room, the tension immediately thickening. Iida pulled up the message on his screen and quickly read it over. The frown on his suddenly pale face told her that it was bad. Even the others noticed. Kaminari sunk in his seat while Bakugou wiped his face clean.
"A bank robbery in process," Iida notified them, not looking away from the screen. "Five confirmed dead, at least sixteen hostages, four known criminals. There's threat of a bomb as well."
Bakugou jumped to his feet. "Finally, some fucking action."
"This isn't a good thing," Midoriya pointed out.
Everyone prepared to head out as Iida gave them further instructions and details. Uraraka watched the Enforcers carefully as they walked out of the office. It had been a quiet week, as Midoriya had said earlier, but it appeared as if their peace had finally been disrupted. She waited for her team to file into the back of the transport vehicle before slipping into the passenger side of Iida's car. She hated the way they had to move Enforcers, but that was how it had always been done.
"Uraraka."
She turned to Iida, who looked more tense than normal. It had concerned her at first, thinking of how uptight Iida always seemed to be, until she'd realized that was just his nature. This time felt different. His knuckles were white on the steering wheel and his jaw was clenched, the muscles in his face and neck looking tight. Although his eyes were focused on the road ahead, they were distant as well, like his mind was elsewhere.
"Keep a close eye on Bakugou," Iida told her, startling her out of her thoughts.
"I always watch my Enforcers carefully," Uraraka replied, not liking the direction of this conversation.
For his part, Iida didn't seem to either. "His crime coefficient levels have taken a sharp turn in the past month. If you have to turn your Dominator on him at any point, I'm afraid the outcome of Sybil's judgement might not be so kind."
A shadow fell over Uraraka's face. As an Inspector, she had been forced to turn her weapon a twice on her subordinates. She'd done it once on Bakugou so that he wouldn't eliminate a victim that had been deemed beyond saving. The other time had been surprisingly on Midoriya, who had gotten into it viciously with a criminal. Both times she had been lucky in that they had only been paralyzed, but it could've been much worse. Midoriya had apologized, deeply embarrassed by his behavior. Bakugou had not, even though she had apologized to him.
"You did what you judged you had to do," Bakugou had scoffed. "It's your job, not mine, to decide what to do with me."
Uraraka hadn't known what to do with that. She still didn't. Here they were now, months later, and Iida was telling her to watch him – or maybe watch her own back. Bakugou couldn't hurt her with a Dominator, but he was taller than her, broader and more muscular. She knew how to fight, but she'd seen firsthand how brutal he could be. Enforcers were criminals. The worst of the bunch deemed good enough to be put to work so that Inspectors didn't cloud their hue. They were, essentially, sacrificial pawns at the end of the day.
Not to her. Each and every one of them meant something to her, even Bakugou.
"He'll be fine," Uraraka reassured her partner, turning her eyes to the road.
Iida took a deep breath and relaxed his shoulders. "His score had started to level itself. I don't know what changed. I went back through our cases, but didn't find any outliers. Maybe it's just the stress of the job."
It wasn't a funny situation, but Uraraka still chuckled, albeit somewhat mirthlessly. "I don't think this job stresses him out. If anything, it's a way for him to blow off steam. Without it, I don't know what he'd do."
"I'd rather not find out," Iida mumbled. He shook his head, getting rid of any lingering nasty thoughts. "Either way, I want you to be vigilant. If anything goes wrong, I don't want the others getting dragged into it." He peered at her out of the corner of his eyes right as she glanced back at him. "Bakugou is focused on you. I'd watch that as well. You wouldn't be the first Inspector he's brought down and not the last."
"If he's such a threat to Inspectors, then why is he still an Enforcer?" Uraraka asked curiously. Good Inspectors were hard enough to come by. This was not a job that many people sought out. It was dangerous for multiple reasons, death and getting rejected by society only two of them.
Iida didn't hesitate for a moment when he answered very seriously, "Because he's too good at his job. He's the best Enforcer the CID has."
The conversation ended after that. The blockade surrounding the bank could be seen in the distance, returning the tension in the car. Behind them was the police vehicle that contained their Enforcers. She couldn't help but think of Bakugou's narrowed, distrusting eyes as he'd lowered the Dominator from her. Had he been like this with the other Inspectors that had either left or fallen to the wayside? Was it just her that he was so aggressive with? Iida had told her to keep an eye on him, but he hadn't needed to say anything. She already did.
Once in front of the bank, she stepped out of the car and they got ready to work. While their team picked out their Dominators, Iida explained the situation in further detail with the hologram information that the Sybil System had been able to give him and they created a plan. As usual, the Enforcers took the brunt of the work and put themselves on the line the most. It was their job to hunt and take down the bad guys. The Inspectors made sure that they did that job and didn't go overboard in the process. A person's crime coefficient was more likely to raise the higher it was.
"Hey," Uraraka said right before Bakugou followed Midoriya around the back of the bank. He paused and glanced back at her, his Dominator held loosely in his hands before him. The look in his eyes was unreadable, but she got the sense that he was the one trying to read and pick her apart. She gave him a determined look. "Be careful."
"Worried about me, Inspector?" Bakugou drawled.
Uraraka smiled, trying to put more strength in it than she suddenly felt she had. "Should I be?"
Bakugou didn't answer her. His expression changed, if only for a moment, to something tangible that made her want to reach out to him and touch his face. She didn't. It would've been highly inappropriate. There was something about that look that made her feel like something was missing. If he had been any other person, she would have given him physical comfort, but she couldn't. He was an Enforcer; she was an Inspector. There was a carefully drawn line between them for a reason and it was to protect her. He knew that, which was perhaps why he turned away from her without responding and disappeared into the dark alley.
All Uraraka could do was stare after he'd gone and hope that things would be okay. She had to believe that they would. It was part of why her hue remained so clear. She believed in so many good things. Even when they were dashed away, she kept on believing. Nothing could shatter her.
How could she have been so foolish?
Maybe she should've taken Iida's words more to heart. Maybe trusting her Enforcers or treating them like humans was a mistake. Maybe she wasn't meant for this job. She was too compassionate, too bright, too hopeful. People like that weren't meant to be Inspectors. Why should she have risked clouding her hue for people that had ignored their own? Maybe she really was stupid for believing that she could do something – that she could save people from themselves – that she could save those that had already gone to the dark.
She really was an idiot for believing that she could save someone as far gone as Bakugou.
It took less than twenty minutes for reality to come crashing down on her, ripping her hopes to shreds and leaving her standing in the wake of a horror she had never imagined. The bloodshed in the bank had been worse than they had realized, the criminals further gone than they'd thought. It hadn't just been a bank robbery and a hostage situation. It had been a full-on meltdown. It happened sometimes when people were flagged by bots and told to get therapy or face being detained in a facility. Some people got help and some… Well, some tipped over completely and went on a rampage, feeling like they had nothing left to lose.
Uraraka found herself standing in the middle of the bank, her Dominator trembling in her hands as she stared at the scene before her. Half of the hostages had been killed. Kaminari sat in the corner with his back to the wall and a hand on his shoulder to keep his gunshot wound from bleeding all over the place, the goofy smile on his face replaced by a clammy complexion and grit teeth. Two of the bank robbers were dead, Bakugou's and Midoriya's Dominators having decided that they were too far gone to be kept alive. It broke Uraraka's heart whenever that happened, even if they had done terrible things.
Movement in the corner of her peripheral vision caught Uraraka's eye and she turned just in time to see a gun pointed at her. She dived to the side as a gunshot exploded and Kaminari screamed her name. It hit the wall behind her and she scrambled to take cover behind a large marble pillar. More gunshots pierced the air and she winced. Glancing around, she spotted Kaminari's dropped Dominator in the middle of the floor and then caught eyes with him where he had hid underneath a table. Both of them were pinned in their positions.
"Hey, shitface!"
Uraraka's heart skipped a beat upon recognizing Bakugou's voice. She would've known it was him just by his choice of words. The sound of a Dominator letting loose a paralyzing shot resounded in the air, but there was only a grunt of pain that followed instead of a body collapsing. She moved around the pillar, trying to find a vantage point to take out the shooter when a hand grabbed her hair from behind and she was dragged from her hiding place. Before she could move to aim her weapon at her attacker, he ripped it from her hand and used the butt of it to whack her in the head. Stars and black spots burst into her vision and she tripped over her own feet as her mind struggled to stay aware.
When she came to her senses again, she found herself behind held hostage, the muzzle of an old school handgun pressed against her temple and one of her arms twisted painfully behind her back. Her attacker was much larger than her and reeked of sweat, likely either due to adrenaline or narcotics. A lot of people boosted before commiting a crime so that the Dominator paralyzers had less of a chance working on them.
Bakugou stood in front of her, pointing the Dominator in her direction as he had done an hour ago. There was a cold expression on his face, one that said he would get the job done no matter what, and a fire in his red eyes that made him look like the devil himself. Blood stained his jacket, the red liquid shining in the light of the sun peeking through the broken windows. He stood straight and tall, no hint of any injuries, insecurities, or fears. This was the job he was meant to do. He'd been born to be an Enforcer.
At least that was the air he gave off. She could tell by her captor's shuffling feet and the way he tightened his grip on her and began to breathe heavily that he could feel the dangerous aura that Bakugou exuded.
"You can't shoot me!" her captor shouted in a panic. "Not while I've got your Inspector!"
Bakugou eyes narrowed into slits. "I can't believe you let yourself get captured."
Was he actually directing his anger towards her in a moment like this? She would've told him off if not for the fact that she was concerned that any odd or sudden movement from her would trip the guy into pulling the trigger. However, her jaw dropped when she noticed Bakugou aim the Dominator a little lower and the telltale blue glow in his eyes. He was assessing her. She was being held captive and could potentially die and he was making sure her score was at an appropriate level.
Is he mad? Uraraka couldn't help but wonder, even as her heart pounded in her chest. She cringed as the man lifted her arm up higher, forcing her to step on her tiptoes to relieve some of the pressure.
To be honest, when Bakugou frowned, Uraraka couldn't tell if it was a good or bad thing. Had her score gone too high? Her mind flashed to all the victims of crimes whose hues had become too clouded, whose crime coefficients had become too high, whose Psycho Pass scores turned them from innocent civilian to a latent criminal in need of being exterminated. The one time she shot Bakugou came to mind. She couldn't let him kill that woman, no matter what the Sybil System had said. She'd done nothing wrong. It wasn't right.
Would he hesitate if it labeled her in such a way?
The Dominator didn't activate. It had judged her innocent. Uraraka couldn't sigh in relief when that meant that she was blocking his shot. He wouldn't be able to get a decent read on the criminal holding her captive and slowly inching his way to the door that lead to the back. Where were Iida, Midoriya, and Mina? Had they found the bomb? Midoriya was probably the only one that had the knowledge to defuse it.
"I'm leaving!" the criminal declared, sounding more panicky than confident. "If anyone tries to follow me, I'll kill her and blow this place sky high!"
Knowing that he couldn't get a shot, Bakugou let the Dominator fall harmlessly to his side in one hand and it went into inactive mode. Then, he tilted his head in a curious manner. "You don't have the detonator." His tone was strange, off, but Uraraka had no time to process it before he pulled a handgun out of his pocket and fired off a shot.
Humiliating as it was, Uraraka screamed as the criminal's blood splattered over her. She dropped to her knees when his grip on her loosened and he dropped to the floor. Her left ear was ringing and she pressed a palm against it in an attempt to stop the pain. When she pulled her hand away though, she found it covered in blood. It was sticky and warm and made her want to vomit. Slowly she turned her head in the direction of the criminal, soaking in the sight of his prone body as blood pooled around his head. There was a bullet hole right between his eyes.
Bakugou had shot and killed him with an actual gun, not a Dominator. He must have taken it from one of the downed bank robbers. Horror filled her to the brim until she felt like she was choking on it. He shouldn't be anywhere near that. If anyone were to point a Dominator at him with that in his hand, it would determine to exterminate him on the spot. It would judge him too guilty to live. He would die. And for what? Because he'd decided to go outside the lines and pushed himself past the limit to save her?
He would be killed because he'd chosen to protect her over keeping his score low enough to protect himself.
"What's going on?"
Uraraka whipped her head around as Iida came rushing back into the room with Midoriya and Mina at his heels. She saw Kaminari pushing himself back to his feet, using the wall as leverage. Bakugou glanced at her before he turned to face Iida and released the gun, letting it drop to the ground at his feet. Iida stared at him in disbelief, but it was the painful realization dawning on Midoriya's face that tugged at her heart the most.
"Kacchan, what did you do?" Midoriya questioned in a hoarse whisper.
"I did what I had to do in order to protect my Inspector," Bakugou answered without any guilt in his voice. He didn't regret what he had done for a second. "That's my job, isn't it?"
Despite the obvious conflict raging in his mind, Iida lifted his Dominator and pointed it at Bakugou. No one could hear what the Sybil System told him through the weapon except for him, but they didn't need to in order to know what was going on. She watched as it changed from non-lethal to lethal mode, growing in size and glowing bright blue as it readied the chamber with a bullet that would destroy Bakugou from the inside out.
As an Inspector and a law-abiding citizen, Uraraka should have stood by and watched as judgement was passed down. It was not up to them to decide who lived and died. That was what made their society so good. They dealt with the worst of the worst, but for the most part, even petty crimes barely existed anymore. Most people lived in peace because people like Bakugou died.
But she couldn't do it. Uraraka knew that her score couldn't be as low as it was if she wasn't the type of person that truly believed she could save people and that good would triumph.
Jumping to her feet, she ran without thinking and jumped in front of Bakugou, throwing her arms out and shielding him with her body as best as she could. "Stop! Don't shoot!" She was smaller than him, not someone built to give another person cover, but she tried to make herself bigger as she protected him.
Bakugou grunted in shock behind her and grabbed her by the waist. "Uraraka, move!"
"Get out of the way!" Iida demanded, the gun not wavering.
"Iida, don't shoot," Uraraka repeated, panting heavily and digging her feet into the ground to push back on Bakugou's grip. She couldn't move. She wouldn't.
"The Dominator–" And damnit if Bakugou didn't choke on the words. For the first time, she heard something different in his voice. It wasn't arrogance, contempt, dismissal, or rage. It was fear. He was staring down the barrel of a gun that would deem him worth less than trash and he was afraid, but not for himself. He was afraid for her.
He'd checked her before and found her score to be sufficient, but that was before he had shot and killed a man just inches away from her. They had both seen people go from innocent to latent criminal after witnessing something like that, even worse when they were in the thick of it. People's hues could get clouded simply by being around crime. It was why they had to evacuate buildings when the Stress Area Level became too high. She was covered in that man's blood. It dripped from her jaw onto the floor, her hair sticky with it. She must have looked awful.
If the Sybil System judged her score to be too high – if it decided that her arguing against Iida's orders and doing something out of the ordinary by protecting Bakugou warranted a raise in her crime coefficient – then Iida would be forced to put her down like the rest of them. Maybe it would only be a paralyzer, but then she would be in the same position as Midoriya, a once promising Inspector turned into a disgraced Enforcer. She had to risk it. She had to do something more with what she'd been given.
A shocked and relieved expression flooded Iida's face as the Dominator backed down, returning to its inactive state. Only then did Uraraka drop her arms. She was safe. She was fine. She had been judged and she was innocent. It was the first time she had ever worried about herself. Closing her eyes, she gulped down a deep, shuddering breath and then let all the tension bleed out of her body. They weren't out of the woods yet. Her score was clean, but behind her, Bakugou's was not.
"The system passed its judgement," Iida told her quietly.
"I don't care," Uraraka ground out. "Let me… Just give me a moment, please. I can fix this."
"You can't," Iida said.
Bakugou still hadn't let go of her. If anything, his grip on her waist tightened. "It's done."
"No!" Uraraka spun around to face him, his hand sliding over her stomach but not moving from its place. She took a step closer, invading his space, and she watched him suck in a gasp of air. There was fire in his eyes, but it was different from before. It was alive. It was wanting. He shouldn't be touching her. He knew that. Keeping his hand on her now was overstepping every boundary written in the guidelines. She should've pushed him away, but instead she pulled him in closer.
"The judgement is final for us, Uraraka," Bakugou said, his voice raspy and low. "You can't change it. I'm not good like you."
Taking a deep breath, she did what she had wanted to do earlier and lifted a hand to lay it on his cheek. At first, he tensed up and she thought he might pull away, but then he leaned into it and closed his eyes, practically reveling in her touch. If this didn't work – if she couldn't save him – then this would very likely be the last time he could enjoy any sort of human contact. It was unsupervised, unscripted, un-everything that made him an Enforcer. For a moment, he could be just a man and her a woman.
"What happened?" Uraraka asked. "What changed?"
"I don't know."
Uraraka narrowed her eyes. "Bullshit."
A cold smile crossed Bakugou's face and he opened his eyes. "Should've expected that. You're perceptive as fuck."
"Iida told me that your crime coefficient started rising a few months ago," Uraraka continued, not giving him the time to skip over this or the ability to deflect. He could try all he wanted, but she would always pull him back to this. "That was around the time I shot you. Was it that? Was it something I did?"
"No, it wasn't–" Bakugou cut himself off and stared down at her, a thousand unspoken words resting between them. He was all sharp edges and hard muscles, but there was something undeniably soft about the way he gazed at her now, despite his absurdly high score. She should step away from him. Let him be taken care of. Maybe it would be doing him a favor. How tired was he of being the CID's favorite attack dog? "It was you, but not like you think."
Uraraka pulled her hand away from his face and put both of them on her hips. "Explain it to me then."
"Your Psycho Pass score rose," Bakugou said, sounding terribly hurt. She tilted her head in confusion. "I've checked the score of every Inspector I've had during my time as an Enforcer, but not a single one has ever stayed level like yours. I didn't understand it. Even when you were being held hostage and threatened, it stayed steady."
She didn't understand why it bothered him so much. Her score was bound to rise every once in a while, considering what she saw and went through with the job. "That's not a bad thing, is it? I took this job because of that."
"After you shot me," Bakugou emphasized, "your score rose." He shook his head. "I checked the records. It didn't rise after you shot Deku. It didn't rise during any of the investigations we did." He waved a hand around the area. Her eyes skirted over the dark shapes that were unmistakably bodies. "Your score didn't rise when you walked in and saw this! But it did when you shot me ?"
"I don't know what you want me to tell you," Uraraka replied quietly.
Bakugou put a hand to the side of his head and huffed an irritated breath. He apparently didn't know either. "You can't do that. Surely the others explained it to you."
Uraraka blinked in confusion. "Do what?"
"Care about me!" Bakugou exploded, throwing his hand out. "About us!" He waved a hand to Midoriya and Mina, who were wearing a knowing expression and looking away respectively, and then to Kaminari, who dropped his gaze to the ground, one hand still on his shoulder. "We're not like everyone else. We're not good, Uraraka. We can smile, laugh, make jokes, cry, and get into arguments like every other asshole on this planet – but we live in a different world. You can't just treat us like we're equals."
"Why not?" Uraraka put her hands on her hips. "You're not animals. You're still human. It doesn't matter if you've been labeled as a latent criminals; that won't stop you from having the same hopes, dreams, fears, and wants that every other human does. I'm not going to treat you like a dog. You're more important to me than that."
Bakugou practically seethed as he glared down at her and then licked his lips. "You don't know what you're saying. You should never have taken a job with the CID."
It felt as if Bakugou had slapped her in the face. Her eyes widened in shock and she took a step back, the wall between them suddenly too palpable. "Why? Do you think I'm too weak?"
"You're anything but weak," Bakugou said, turning away from her slightly. A shadow fell over his face, one that he seemed to perpetually live in. "You're just too good. You'll only get corrupted down here. It's not right. You deserve better than that. Some nice, cheery life with pleasant, good people. A nice house in the suburbs, a cute dog, the perfect boyfriend who cooks you breakfast and kisses you when you get home from your easy job. That's what you deserve, not this nightmare of a shithole."
That was it? All that fighting, scowling, and judgemental glares – and it was because he was being protective? She knew that he didn't look at it that way, but that was what he was doing. He'd risked dying to save her, after all. He had known that her score would likely rise if she was taken by the criminal. Someone that desperate would've likely hurt her further or killed her altogether. He had known full well that the Sybil System would judge him as too much of a threat and he had done it anyways.
Uraraka poked him in the chest. "Did you ever stop to think that's exactly why I chose this job? So that other people could have those lives that they deserve? So they don't end up in your position or, even worse, his?"
She waved a hand in the direction of the man that Bakugou had killed. Behind her, she knew that Iida was avoiding it. Being in here too long could possibly cloud his hue. She heard Midoriya mumbling just that to him. It didn't raise hers and Bakugou knew it, which seemed to irritate him further.
"If you stay in the CID…" Bakugou's voice faded and he clenched his jaw.
"My score has been consistent my entire life. I don't know why, but I came to the conclusion early on that I wanted to use that ability to help others, even those deemed too far gone, even you." Uraraka allowed herself to soften. Most Inspectors would've called her a fool, maybe even Iida, but she stood before him completely vulnerable. She didn't need her Dominator to know that he deserved to live. "You're right. This job isn't easy. It's crushing and devastating. I spend some nights crying in bed. Silly, I know. I don't want an easy job or some nice, pleasant, cheery life in the suburbs. I want other people to have that. That's my dream."
"Gods, you're such a sap," Bakugou grumbled.
A smile touched Uraraka. "You could've just said that you were worried about me instead of checking my score every day, you know."
His eyes flickered to hers, but he didn't say anything. He didn't want her to know that he worried about her in any way. That would imply that he cared about her and he certainly couldn't do that. He was an Enforcer. Yes it was his job to protect her, but care suggested that he might even be fond of her and that was too much. He wasn't allowed that.
Iida cleared his throat. "Uraraka?"
"Midoriya, could you hand me my Dominator?" Uraraka asked calmly, holding out a hand but not looking away from Bakugou's eyes. She could see a hint of fear in them now. For as flippant as he was about the whole thing every time Iida reprimanded him, he didn't want to die, especially not after she had given him a taste of what he dreamed about. It could never happen. He could never give her what he thought she deserved, but right now – being on this team, doing her job, working with him at her side – she had what she wanted.
After a moment's hesitation, Midoriya stepped through the carnage to retrieve her Dominator. The bots wouldn't come in to clean up this disaster until the CID gave them the all-clear. One more thing had to be done before they could do that and get Kaminari to the hospital. She knew that Iida wouldn't let Bakugou just walk out of here because she had shielded him. The judgement had still been made and it had to be passed. After carefully placing the gun in her hand, Midoriya stepped back out of the way. He wasn't pleased with the decision either.
Uraraka stared into his eyes. "Do you trust me now?"
"You should let Iida do it," Bakugou said instead, trying to erase all the emotions from his voice and failing entirely. He felt things too deeply. Perhaps that was why his score had risen to dangerous levels and he'd become an Enforcer. He let go of his Dominator and it clattered uselessly to the floor, the sound echoing in the quiet bank as everyone held their breaths. It wasn't easy losing a colleague, even if they were a latent criminal, because it reminded the rest of them that they were ticking time bombs.
"Do you trust me?" Uraraka repeated, firmer this time.
Bakugou's lips twitched into a frown. "You know I do. Assessing you daily was never about distrust or thinking that you were too fragile for the job."
"Then trust me when I say that you aren't going to die," Uraraka told him.
"My score–"
"Is not who you are," she cut in, even though she knew that he hated being interrupted. "You have a good heart, Bakugou. You're not as far gone as you think. Let me help you."
Even though he was hesitant to believe in himself, Uraraka had to hope that he would believe in her. She had to hope that he could be saved. It was why her score stayed down. When she had been forced to paralyze him with the Dominator, maybe that belief had wavered, hence why it had raised. Then again, why hadn't it raised when she had shot Deku? Was it because of the circumstances?
Slowly, Uraraka raised the Dominator and pointed it at him. Her eyes glowed blue as the Sybil System began to analyze him. She wouldn't kill him. She didn't care what it decided. She'd throw the gun to the side and throw herself over him again if she had to in order to keep him alive. It wasn't that he was the best at his job. He mattered to her. Latent criminal, subordinate, Enforcer – she wanted him to remain in her life. He'd become too important of a piece for her to simply let him go.
"The target's threat judgement has been reappraised. Enforcement mode: not lethal – paralyzer."
Tears sprang to her eyes as Bakugou laughed, tilting his head back and wearing what almost looked like a smile. "Ah, not this shit again. It hurts like a bitch."
"Better that getting blown to bits," Kaminari joked half-heartedly.
"Sorry," Uraraka told him, but she only sort of meant him. He kind of deserved this after the stress that he'd put them all through and he knew it too. He dropped his chin and looked at her one last time, total acceptance openly shining in his eyes and on his face.
And then she pulled the trigger.
It didn't matter if it was at point blank range. The paralyzer struck Bakugou in the chest, his body shaking as it worked on shutting his muscles down. When it finally ended, he fell to his knees, but she reached down and caught him at the last second before he fell on his face. He was heavy in her arms, his body more solid than it looked underneath his black and red suit. She gently laid him on the ground and then stood up to wipe the sweat off her brow. As calm as she had looked, her heart had been pounding the entire time.
Finally, Uraraka turned to face the others. Iida wore an expression that looked torn between relief and disapproval. Obviously he was happy that he hadn't been forced to execute Bakugou, but he wasn't pleased that Uraraka had gotten in the way and disobeyed a direct order. She wouldn't have been surprised if he decided to assess her level again, but he didn't. Ignoring an order wasn't the same as committing a crime. In her heart, she knew that her score was fine, if not lowered now. She gazed down at Bakugou, who looked so peaceful that he might as well simply be taking a nap. He never let himself be this relaxed.
In a way, he almost looked happy, which was strange, seeing as how she'd just shot him. He'd definitely be feeling that later. She did not want to be around him when he woke up.
Midoriya had a hand on Mina's shoulder, reassuring her that everything was alright. Despite the fact that he had embraced the role of Enforcer, Uraraka got the feeling that he would never be able to shake the Inspector out of him. He must have been like her, the type that cared for his subordinates, but unlike her, it had gotten to him. She felt a stab of shame, not knowing where it came from. Why didn't it affect her so much? She knew that she wasn't heartless since it was her concern for them that bothered Bakugo. Yet while Midoriya had fallen from grace, here she was, surrounded by corpses, almost kidnapped, and had someone's blood all over her and she was fine. Why was she so much better off than Kaminari, who had been deemed a latent criminal as a child, or Mina, who had simply gotten mixed up in the wrong crowd and determined to be one by association?
Those were questions for another day. Uraraka was honestly too exhausted to sort through them now. All she wanted to do was take a hot shower to get this blood off and work on the report so she could sleep. Likely everyone would need to go to a therapy session to ensure that their scores didn't get too high. Iida was constantly on them to make sure that they remained vigilant in taking care of themselves unlike a lot of Inspectors that treated their Enforcers as disposable. She supposed that part of it came from the fact that he and Midoriya had worked together. Maybe seeing him go from Inspector to Enforcer had made him realize that they needed to be taken care of as well.
A hand on her shoulder jerked Uraraka out of her thoughts. She'd expected it to be Iida, but when she looked back, she saw that it was Midoriya. "You did good. Thank you."
That caught Uraraka off guard. She twisted her lips into a frown. "Thank you? What for?"
"For believing in him," Midoriya said, "for saving him." He pulled his hand away and dropped his gaze down to Bakugou. The two of them were often at odds with each other – to the point where the rumors about Bakugou forcing his score to go up didn't seem like rumors – but it was obvious in moments like these that Midoriya admired him. "Not many people would, if any, especially Inspectors."
"Would you?" Uraraka asked.
Midoriya's lips twitched into a half smile. "I'm here, aren't I?"
It wasn't Bakugou's fault that Midoriya was an Enforcer, but he'd had something to do with it. One day, she would ask him about it. For now, she let him keep the secret. It was theirs and she had no right to it. Enforcers had so little that was actually theirs to keep. They couldn't own much of anything and had little more freedom than the latent criminals locked away under therapy. She'd let them decide to tell her on their own time.
When Midoriya walked away to help Kaminari, Uraraka crouched down next to Bakugou. She picked up his fallen Dominator and set it aside next to hers. In anyone else's hands but theirs, the weapons were harmless. With her hands freed, she brushed his ashe-blond hair out of his face. It was softer than she'd expected from how spikey it looked. She imagined that he rolled out of bed like this and tousled it to look just right. He had an image to keep up, after all. The thought made her smile.
You're more than this, Uraraka thought. You can be more.
This wasn't where his story ended. He still had a job to do and a life to live.