Author's Note: Hey guys! This is my first Psycho Pass fanfiction. Season 2 is just so inspiring that I have to write something about this awesome anime. This fic takes place after Shogo's death and after Shimotsuki (does everyone think that she's such a b*tch?) decided to join MWPSB. However, this is before Togane and Hinakawa join the pack. Guess what, Shinya will be appearing in this fic!
Warnings: Slight graphical description of gore.
Disclaimer: I do not own PSYCHO PASS. This awesome piece of work, all rights and ownership of characters belong to Urobuchi Gen. Wished I have half of his talent for writing dark, horror stories.
Unexpected
Chapter 1: Jack the Ripper (File #1)
切り裂きジャック. ファイル１
It was the night of a new moon. Somewhere along the abandoned alley, a body was found and reported to the MWPSB. Upon receiving the intelligence, Division One of the Criminal Investigation Department sprang into action.
On the outskirts of the bustling Tokyo city, the Enforcers and Inspectors arrived at the crime scene. The victim's body was found at a dark end behind a deserted shopping mall. Drones cordoned the area off from the public. Little did the members of CID know, this was just the foreplay of a brutal history reenacted.
Brunette and deathly pale, the body was stripped bare of any clothes and horribly mutilated. Intestines were brutally ripped out from a long, horizontal, jagged wound sliced deeply into her abdomen and discarded near her body in bloody piles of mangled flesh. A long gash ripped open her throat, marred with signs of strangulation. The blood from her opened artery dyed the nearby cracked grunge wall red. This place reeked of blood, gore and death.
Inspector Shimotsuki Mika retched her dinner out at this gruesome scene. Her colleague, Inspector Tsunemori Akane rubbed her back soothingly even as her own dinner churned in her stomach. The Enforcers simply grimaced but otherwise looked fine. They must have seen far more gruesome bodies than this, Akane thought.
Forensic bots swarmed the crime scene and scanned the area and the body for evidence. They had identified that the pieces of flesh extracted to be the uterus of the deceased. Inspector Shimotsuki turned green. This time, she felt like emptying her stomach acids. Akane fought back the urge to throw up the bile that had reached her throat.
"Karanomori-san, I would like to request you to check the cymatic scans within this area," Akane called out to her wristcom. A languid voice replied from the other end, "Roger".
"Well if this isn't a butchery, how hideous. The victim was probably first strangled to death. Then with a jagged weapon, the murderer sliced her up. He must have had much confidence and some surgical skill seeing that he made a clean cut where the uterus is and correctly removed it." Ginoza Nobuchika grunted grimly.
Shimotsuki spat out more vomit-mixed saliva in an attempt to get rid of the foul taste in her mouth. "Nobody asked for your opinion!" she barked, glaring at the said Enforcer. "Why couldn't these latent criminals keep their thoughts to themselves?" she muttered angrily under her breath, but loud enough for everyone to hear.
"The victim is Minamiya Keiko, 24 years old. Her body was found fourteen minutes past midnight. She works as a prostitute in 4th district." Kunizuka Yayoi reported.
"That 4th district?" Shimotsuki echoed. After all, the 4th district was an infamous place rumored to harbour underground societies, black markets, gambling pubs, gay bars and nightclubs.
"Yes. The reason she became a prostitute was to pay off her debts. Quite a hefty amount, I would say." The Enforcer said as she scanned the information displayed on the blue hologram screen off her wristcom for further notable details.
"Tsunemori, don't you find this strange? Whoever who murdered her must be a sick-in-the-head homicidal psychopath. Yet, why have we received no warning from the Sibyl system of anyone with exceptionally high Crime Coefficient?" Ginoza pointed out.
Akane bit her nail. Her detective's intuition was telling her that this might be related to yet another murderer who was criminally asymptomatic. Of course, she could not spill Sibyl system's top, classified information to her fellow colleagues. Suddenly, a frantic buzz on her wristcom broke her train of thoughts. She quickly pressed a button and Shion appeared on the hologram screen.
"Akane-chan? There's only one person detected by the cymatic scans in this area. Don't faint when you hear this. That person is…"
"Kougami Shinya."
XXXXXXXXXXXXXX
"Senpai, who is Kougami Shinya?"
Akane stiffened. She paused in the midst of her research, her fingers trembling above her glowing keyboard. Ginoza noticed the unmistakable flinch and replied, "He was a former Inspector turned Enforcer. He left MWPSB three months ago and his current location is unknown. Well to enlighten your memory, he also participated in investigation of Oryo Rikako case in Oso Academy."
Shimotsuki almost hissed in annoyance at Ginoza. "Then he is a latent criminal on the run? We should capture him as soon as possible," she said matter-of-factly to Akane.
Everyone waited with bated breath for Inspector Tsunemori's order. After a few moments of crushing silence, Akane looked at her coworkers and gave them a weak, apologetic smile. "My bad, I'm not feeling well today so I will be going home first. I promise to give all of you an answer by tomorrow. See you…"
After Akane gathered her belongings and left the division, she mentally debated if she should report this to Chief Kasei. Nope, bad idea. She had a sinking feeling that once the cunning Chief Kasei caught wind of this report, she would order Kougami to be eliminated lest he pose a threat to Sibyl system. Akane would pay a visit to the analyst's lab instead. She had some questions due for a particular blonde.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Karanomori Shion had been waiting. When the door of her lab swished open, she turned around and grinned at Akane's expected arrival. The analyst cleared away some leftover cigarette packets and fashion magazines strewn on the sofa behind her and offers the Inspector a seat.
"This doesn't make sense." Akane began.
Shion interrupted the Inspector and handed her a cup of Darjeeling tea. "Well relax, Akane-chan. I know you have an amazing record for owning a clear Psycho Pass but that doesn't mean you are totally immune."
Akane gratefully sipped the hot tea and gathered her scattered thoughts.
"At 23:47, Shinya is captured by the scanners roughly one kilometre away from the murder site. This coincides with the estimated time of death of Minamiya Keiko, from 22:30 to 24:00. From the last cymatic scans we got, his hue is perfectly normal." The blonde analyst summarized her data.
"What are the possibilities of him being a holographic appearance?"
"Impossible. He's the real thing. The problem is, why is his Psycho Pass clear?"
"In a way, Kougami-san's Psycho Pass was clouded because of Makishima Shogo's existence right? Now that after Makishima's death, maybe, his hue could have returned to normal? Or, in a troublesome scenario, there could be a third party who is clearing his pass for him," Akane frowned, making a bold speculation.
"But what is his goal for reappearing again? Is he… connected to this case?" Akane asked herself quietly. "Well, that's too early for us to say for sure." The blonde lazily exhaled a long wisp of smoke. "Who knows, maybe Shinya misses our darling Inspector here~" she teased.
Akane blushed beet red and pouted, earning Shion a laugh. Stuttering farewell, the Inspector hurriedly left the lab. Sure Akane had always been rather attached to all the Enforcers under her care, especially *cough* Kogami-san, but they had always strictly been work-related pals. (That time Kougami-san took her to an all-you-can-eat barbeque lunch did NOT count as a date. They even apprehended a latent criminal in that same restaurant!) On the professional level, she admired Kougami-san's deductive skills. He was a more composed detective than her and always seemed to be able to grasp the crucial clue that led to the solving of a case. On a personal level, she felt being around him was relaxing. Kougami-san was her moral support, always guiding her in the shadow, encouraging and affirming her skills as an Inspector.
The letter Kougami-san had left behind, which Akane had carefully laminated and stowed away, was the last notice from him. At that time, the brunette Inspector instinctively knew that they would meet again. It was their fate.
While reminiscing about the said latent criminal, Akane could not help but feel a pang of forlornness hit her. She could never return to the time when she first entered Division One.
Once out of NONA Tower, Akane gazed up at the starless and moonless night sky. This city was always dark. And just like this city, everyone was submerged in the oblivion of darkness. No amount of light could expose the fabricated façade and injustice of this society. Someday, she would prove to the Sibyl system that the darkness within the depths of a human heart could not be measured by any man-made device.
"Come back to me, Kougami-san." Akane whispered.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Chief Kasei narrowed her eyes in interest at the video record of the cymatic scans. She smirked when the betrayer's face showed up.
"Kougami Shinya, you chose to challenge the Sibyl system. Don't blame us that we have to put down another hound. You are sniffing around too much and this interferes with our evolution. After all, curiosity kills."
Hidden amidst the shadows, her maniac laughter reverberated throughout the walls of her spacious office.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Back in Division One, the sound of his name still hung in the air, bringing about mixed feelings.
Kougami Shinya.
That name stirred the memories that the old members of Division One had been desperately trying to bury in the depths of time. Memories of the incessant complaints of workload by a cheeky Kagari; that familiar smell of cigarettes Kougami always smoked; the wrinkled grin Masaoka had when he exposed blackmail materials on Ginoza and Kougami to Akane, Kagari and Yayoi. However, a fuming Inspector abruptly hindered the bittersweet stroll down the memory lane.
"I can't believe her. Shouldn't we apprehend all latent criminals as soon as possible? That's what Sibyl system had CID for! Honestly, just how irresponsible is senpai going to be? Her Psycho Pass is going to get clouded someday, I swear." Shimotsuki grumbled in frustration.
"Well don't say that Inspector. Sometimes one-sided views only lead you to perceive one type of truth. Though, I'm not asking you to start doubting the Sibyl system. It is important too to have your own view of this world." Yayoi gave Shimotsuki a gentle smile.
"K-Kunizuka-san…" Shimotsuki's cheeks dusted pink as she stuttered slightly. However, the blush quickly faded and she cleared her throat. "Still, senpai really needs to be careful. She is too compassionate for her own good. After all, if she starts to think like a latent criminal…"
For once, Ginoza felt like agreeing with the obnoxious Inspector. During his days as one of the most reputable Inspectors, he had constantly warned Tsunemori the dangers of walking too close with the Enforcers. The trauma of his father dying in his arms and betrayal of his best pal are enough emotional shock to permanently cloud his Psycho Pass and get him demoted to a latent criminal; an Enforcer – Sibyl's hunting dog.
However, Ginoza knew that no matter how much he worried for the said Inspector's hue, she was a strong individual. Tsunemori would never let her negative emotions get in the way. Instead, she would strive to prove her own justice in a rational manner. However, Ginoza still could not rid of that gnawing feeling that this case carried a foul stench; one that only beasts like him could whiff out. Somehow, he could relate to his father's words of "a beast's instinct" now. How ironic. Ginoza stared at his late father's picture. He did not want to be left behind again. Not by another dear friend.
Division One soon sank back into silence. They still had much overtime work to do to crack the current case.
"Gino, Inspector Shimotsuki. I have something to report." Kunizuka Yayoi broke the stifling silence, which persisted for fifteen minutes. The usually stoic Enforcer had a look of seriousness. "This case resembles the 1880s London murders closely. Rather, they are exactly identical. All the victims at that time were females; their uteri were ripped out and their throats were slashed. What's more, the girls were prostitutes. That homicidal maniac back then was known as the Whitechapel Murderer."
"Or… Jack the Ripper."
XXXXXXXXXXXXXX
On the streets of Tokyo, the individual much discussed by people from MWPSB strolled on. He occasionally glanced at the surrounding skyscrapers and the society's peace and order brought by the Sibyl system. It was high time to settle some old scores.
"I wonder how's she doing right now." He mused.
Author's Note: I tried to recreate a plausible episode. Some sprinkles of light romance, mainly AkaKou. I can't decide to place my emphasis on mystery/horror or romance, thus I included both. Please review and all constructive feedback are welcomed!