Killing Time
Summary: A-Z of Shougo Makishima. Mostly dark but with a few pieces of humor mixed in! Chapter 1, A is for Angels.
A/N: Hello everyone! I have a story similar to this called 'Jellybeans, Plastic Dinosaurs, and Robots', an A-Z of Shusei Kagari. I wanted to do one for my second favorite character, Shougo Makishima. While Kagari's is mostly fluff w/ a few pieces of horror/tragedy, Makishima's will be the opposite. It will rely heavily on tragedy and horror so if you're looking for a more humorous tale involving Makishima check out 'Between the Raindrops' instead! Anyway, as usual, reviews and suggestions for future chapters are greatly appreciated! Thanks!
-Isis
Chapter 1- A is for Angels
(AU in which Choe Gu-Sung is present for Makishima's death)
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"I was walking among the fires of Hell, delighted with the enjoyments of Genius; which to Angels look like torment and insanity."
-William Blake
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The closing dawn bathed the trio in golden light. A silver-haired angel held out his arms, staring up at the sun as it dived into the horizon, disappearing entirely. It was as if the ground had swallowed the sleeping giant, leaving nothing but the faint traces of yellow and violet.
A gun was cocked. The bicolored-eyed man stood frozen as the raven-haired Enforcer pressed the gun against Makishima's head.
A light chuckle followed. "Will you find someone to replace me?"
The Enforcer smirked, "I sure hope not."
This answer seemed to please the asymptomatic as he gave a small smile, closing his topaz eyes.
For Choe Gu-Sung, the gunshot was deafening.
A short thud followed afterward, ringing in the computer hacker's ears (into his very being). Blood pooled from white hair, creating a twisted halo in the ground.
Kougami finally peeled his eyes from the body to turn towards the Korean, smoking gun in hand.
"Choe Gu-Sung was it? Do you have anything to say for your actions? For following this man?" He motioned towards Makishima—the corpse, Choe corrected himself.
"I have no reason to explain myself to you. My actions are privy to my thoughts only." He replied, staring down the barrel of the gun.
The light had gone away completely, setting a hazy purple backdrop as the two faced each other.
"I'm surprised you stayed until the end. Why didn't you run away?"
"Because no matter where I run Sibyl will follow. At least with this I—we had a chance of changing the world. Don't you want real happiness? Something that comes from the heart and not from a machine?" Choe sounded exasperated, red-yellow eyes clouded. But, the tears never came.
Despite how much he wanted to cradle the body to his chest, to sob into the blood-stained shirt and remember a time where a true utopia was just fingertips away, his eyes betrayed him. A storm of pixelated numbers crossed his eyes, a binary code no one alive could crack. Tears were impossible for nonhuman eyes.
So, he stared coldly at the Enforcer in front of him, willing his teeth to stop chattering and for his body to stop shivering. The fear was paralyzing. It felt as if cords were wrapped around his chest, neck, and arms, holding him in place as Death came to give him a cold kiss on the cheek. He couldn't breathe, couldn't move as he watched the man pull the trigger. I don't want to die, I don't want to die, I don't want to—
"Kougami-san!" A breathless cry caused the man to tilt the gun slightly, the bullet missing its target by mere centimeters, grazing the side of the Korean's ear. Crimson slid down his temple as he collapsed onto the field of wheat, eyes locking with the frozen ones of Shougo Makishima. It seemed that the angel had opened his eyes to see Death after all, topaz eyes glassy and cold. His pale lips were open wordlessly, as if he had one final statement to make before he died. Join me, Choe Gu-Sung…
The raven-haired man cursed lightly, throwing the gun away and fleeing into the thicket of trees. The amber-eyed Inspector stumbled upon the scene, covering her mouth with her hands. Choe gave a weak smile, coughing as the image of the Inspector shifted and clouded. The ringing was back and while her lips moved quickly, eyebrows furrowed in a flurry of mixed emotions, he could hear nothing.
Then, only darkness remained.
So, Choe, will you find a replacement for me as well?
Time moved slowly for the new Enforcer.
Sitting at a desk once owned by a certain orange-haired youth, the man brought the teacup to his lips. A worn book was propped next to his computer monitor, the words Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? now a faded red.
He clicked away at the keyboard, every once in a while stopping to bring the cup to his lips and then back to the plate, clattering lightly. The Korean tipped his head back, watching as the ceiling fan made its slow rotations. Six months had come and gone at a torturous rate. Even now, his thoughts drifted to the corpse in the wheat field, to the dreams that had burned away that autumn night. The man sighed, shuffling the papers into a neat file.
He loosened his red tie, removing the dark blazer to sit in a white dress-shirt. If there was one thing he would never get used to it would be the stuffy attire that was the 'standard' uniform of hunting dogs. The brunette brushed his bangs behind his ears, gold earrings flashing against the fluorescent lights of the office. Well, at least they let him keep some semblance of individuality.
So, as he continued to type away at the computer (he was part computer analyst, part field Enforcer) he reminisced bitterly on the freedom he once had, when all he needed was a single click of his laptop to set off street scanners and allow himself to glide through the underbelly of the city unseen by Sibyl.
What would Makishima think of him now? A self-proclaimed anarchist, a genius by many people's standards, working under the same system he swore to overthrow. It was almost humorous. He had no delusions of grandeur; he only worked as an Enforcer to escape death. The coward inside him always won over the idealist. Now, he was one of the 'sheep' Makishima had always ridiculed and pitied.
"Choe-san?" Akane said, typing on an electronic tablet. She tapped on the man's back, pointing at the words. He gave a small smile as he typed away on his own tablet, giving a simple response.
It's nothing, really.
Choe…
I was just thinking of the irony of my situation. Six months ago you would have—well, probably not you but the rest of the team, would have killed me on the spot. If anyone but you had found me in the field that night I would be dead, or worse, trapped in a therapy facility until I withered away to nothing.
She stared sadly at the ex-computer hacker, hazel eyes gazing towards a jellybean jar hidden behind a binder.
Is that—
Yes. It was here when I was assigned this desk. I don't know why but I just couldn't remove it. Was it that Enforcer's, the one who disappeared during the riots?
She nodded, looking away. You don't have to keep it, you know…
He smiled, gripping her shoulder comfortingly. I know. But, the memories of those we love live on in our hearts. It should be fine to keep mementos of the people we loved. You considered him a friend, right? I heard you were much more intimate with Enforcers before the 'incident.'
For a moment he thought he saw the ghost of tears in her eyes. But, they quickly disappeared as the rest of the team walked through the glass doors, talking amongst themselves. Even Akane had lost the ability to cry.
As the light refracted against the windows, Choe stared out into the bustling city, scanning the skyscrapers and flurry of vehicles. He saw his reflection, and, if he squinted hard enough, he could still see the visage of a silver-haired man.
And he smiled.
There is no one who could ever replace you, Makishima-san…
Maybe one day he would expose the truth of Sibyl to the public. Maybe the citizens of the city would be less like sheep and more like humans and such a discovery would lead to resolve and not needless chaos. Maybe he would finally have his freedom in life and not in death.
But, it was too soon to tell.
A/N: I wanted to clarify some things with this AU. In the anime, when Choe points his weapon at the Chief, you can hear something that sounds sort of like a whimper. I think he knew he was going to die and was afraid, which explains my characterization of him in this chapter. Also, the reason why Choe 'pretends' to not know of Kagari (In this AU Kagari is shot first and then Choe manages to kill the Chief and escape, but due to the spiral of events, loses his phone in his escape and subsequently loses all real proof of Sibyl's true existence) is because for some reason, even though he knows what Sibyl truly is, the system is letting him live as an Enforcer. Perhaps it sees some benefit in letting him live or believes he won't tell anyone about the truth since Makishima died. So, both Akane and Choe know what the system is but are both hiding this knowledge. Lol, for some reason, since I've written a lot of fanfiction w/ Choe in it, I've grown to like his character a lot :P Oh, and I apologize for any OOC-ness that may have appeared; Choe rarely had any speaking lines so it's hard to define his personality but I feel he must have a kind side hidden somewhere since we never see him physically kill someone. Poor Choe, Makishima's dead, he's lost his hearing, and he has to work under the same system that killed his friend; poor guy T-T
Anyway, thanks again for taking the time to read the chapter and my little rant! I'll see you guys in Ch.2!
-Isis