Hard footsteps pounded into the wet concrete, causing water to splash behind the two figures running through the rain. Both were panting a bit with their hands tightly clenched around the guns they'd been issued. The woman of the pair ran around the side of a building and stopped, her subordinate pausing beside her. The woman opened her mouth to speak.
"The suspect seems to be inside that warehouse. There are two points of entry: that of the front door and one around back. Ginoza, take the left and head through the back entrance. I will head to the right to go in the front. While I distract him, come up from behind and use your Dominator on him." Akane Tsunemori ordered her Enforcer.
The man, Nobuchika Ginoza, found himself momentarily hesitating to fulfill her orders. Akane had become more and more reckless as an inspector since the disappearance of Kougami and the death of Kagari a year prior. He was afraid the young detective would become injured or possibly killed by her somewhat rash decisions. Now was one of those times he felt that anxiety start to build up within him.
"Inspector...are you sure?" he asked, wanting to confirm Akane's plan of action. The brunet female nodded briskly.
"Yes. He won't be expecting you to come from behind to take him out as I distract him, so this is the best course of action." She paused, glancing at Ginoza from the corner of her eye, and flashed him a small smile. "Don't worry about me, Ginoza. I'll be fine. After all, you're the one backing me up. I'm confident this operation will go well." she told the older man, hoping to allay his fears.
The green eyed male nodded his head, determined not to fail his master. "Yes ma'am." he replied, heading off in the direction Akane had ordered him to. He sighed as a feeling of foreboding began to eat at him. 'Be careful, Akane. I don't want to lose another person I trust.' he said silently as he made his way to his position.
Nobuchika slowly opened the back entrance to the warehouse, wary of any potential attacks. When nothing happened, he went inside, quietly shutting the door behind him. The man slowly walked forward through the dim corridor with his gun held at the ready.
So far, he hadn't noticed anything out of the ordinary. Everything was quiet, almost as if the building was abandoned. Ginoza found himself questioning the information they had been given. 'Maybe Karanamori was wrong. The suspect may have already changed locations.' the brunet thought to himself.
Moments later, the man retracted his statement. He had come across a mutilated corpse. The smell of death and decay forced the Enforcer to cover the lower half of his face. Once he had regained his composure some, Gino slipped on a pair of latex gloves he had. He then knelt beside the body, examining it. From what he could tell of the few pieces that were still intact, the victim had been killed a short time ago.
Just as he grabbed his Dominator to identify the corpse, a high pitched scream echoed through the hall. Ginoza's head snapped to the side as he registered that the scream was that of his superior. He jumped up, sprinting in the direction of the cry. Ginoza's felt his heart racing as he rushed towards his endangered colleague. He feared for the woman as her scream had been filled within severe pain and fear.
'Just hold on Akane. I'm on my way.' he thought, determined to rescue her.
Ginoza found himself frozen as he took note of the scene before him. He couldn't move, couldn't speak, couldn't think. The entire world had tilted upside down in just one moment as the bloodied and brutalized body of Akane Tsunemori filled his gaze.
The inspector's eyes had been gouged out and her throat viciously ripped open by what appeared to be some kind of drill. The expression on her face was one of agonized terror, exemplified by her mouth being open in what Nobuchika figured had been the scream that had alerted him to her condition.
That fact brought the brunet man to his knees. He shuddered in shock and horror, mind refusing to compute the sensory information it was being shown.
"N-No...This...This can't be happening...A-Akane...NO!" he howled in agony, clutching his head as he went into hysterics. Wild screams escaped his throat as tears started to pour down his face. He sobbed brokenly for his fallen teammate, the stress the tragedy caused his psycho pass to shoot up, breaking 300.
A low chuckle of amusement underscored the primal screeches that escaped the Enforcer. Slow, steady footsteps clicked across the floor. Ginoza was still too caught up in his distress to notice that he wasn't alone. He snapped out of it once he registered the sound of clapping.
"Tres bien. Such a visceral display of sorrow for your dead friend. I applaud you." Shuu Tsukiyama told the brunet, a smile on his face. Nobuchika scrambled backwards, eyes wide with fear.
"Wh-Who are you?" he stuttered out, freezing once he hit a wall. Tsukiyama chuckled as he stopped clapping. He spread his hands wide, gesturing towards the mangled corpse of Akane. "Why, I'm the one you two Doves came looking for: Shuu Tsukiyama." he replied, smile widening. He held up his right arm, showing the other man the scarlet liquid that was smeared on his fingers.
"And, I was the one who murdered your pretty friend." he confessed. He then brought the blood-covered digits to his lips, indulgently licking them clean. He shuddered. "Mmm. Delicious." he commented, running his tongue over his lips.
The words caused Ginoza to snap. He stood up, charging at the ghoul. "You bastard!" He yelled as he pulled up his gun to shoot. Before he could get Sybil to judge the Gourmet, Tsukiyama jumped up into a roundhouse kick, slamming a foot into Nobuchika's cheek. The Enforcer flew across the room and crashed into the wall, cracking it.
Ginoza's breath was knocked out of him as he landed. His head ached terribly from the impact as blood slid down his face. He groaned a little in pain, then gritted his teeth and placed his hand on the wall, using it to stabilize himself as he tried to straighten up. Before he could return to a full standing position, Tsukiyama appeared in front of him. The purple haired ghoul grabbed the Enforcer's throat and rammed his head against the wall. He squeezed it tightly.
"I was expecting more from you, Ginoza-san. Your reputation precedes you. I'm curious about one thing though: Just how good does a famous MWPSB member taste? Let's find out shall we?" he purred, a mad glint in his darkened amethyst eyes. He then grabbed Ginoza's right wrist, his left hand keeping the man pinned to the wall.
A sadistic smile crossed Tsukiyama's face as he pressed the brunet's hand back toward his elbow. He then suddenly yanked the appendage viciously towards the right, ripping it out of place. A scream was torn from Ginoza's lips at the unexpected pain. Shuu chuckled and began to twist the arm around the elbow in a counterclockwise motion, destroying the ligaments, tendons, and bone near the joint. He then snapped it back down towards the wall, snapping Nobuchika's arm in half.
Inhuman screeches of agony streamed out of the ex-Inspector's mouth as the indescribable pain seared through his arm. A demented laugh escaped the Gourmet. "Tell me Ginoza-san, does it hurt?" he asked, grabbing the dangling remains of the green-eyed male's forearm and twisting it, splintering Gino's ulna and radius. Unable to deal with the torture any longer, Nobuchika blacked out.
Dream Sequence
Ginoza found himself in an empty, white room. He looked around in confusion for a moment. 'Where...am I? Am I dead?' he thought to himself. As he pondered those questions, the scenery changed. The room warped into a medium-sized living room decorated with pictures of a family. Emerald orbs widened in surprise as he realized where he was.
'This is...the house where I grew up…' he said silently. He walked across the living room, stopping in front of a picture sitting on a table. He picked it up, tears gathering in his eyes. It was a photo of him and his father, back when Ginoza was about five. The pair were smiling, Masaoka clutching his son's legs happily as the young boy grinned from his position on the man's shoulders.
A choked sob left the brunet's lips. "I'm so sorry Father. I'm sorry I was cold and dismissive of you. I-I failed you as a son. I'm a disappointment to your memory." he confessed to the picture. His shoulders began to shake in grief before a pair of strong hands landed on them.
"I never thought you were a disappointment, Nobuchika." a gruff voice told him. Said male's eyes widened as he whirled around and came face to face with Tomomi Masaoka. The Enforcer found himself frozen with shock.
"D-Dad…? Is that really you…?" he asked softly. A grin and laugh was the older man's response. A hand came back down to pat his shoulder affectionately.
"It's good to see you again son." Masaoka replied, smiling warmly at the Enforcer. A lost look appeared on the 27-year-old's face. Tears filled his eyes once more as he struggled to express the regret and sorrow within him.
"Dad, I-I…" his voice wavered and broke from the intensity of his emotions. He was stopped by a reassuring squeeze to his arm. He looked up in wonder at his father.
"You don't have to say anything, Nobuchika. I already know. I love you too, son." he said, answering the green-eyed man's unspoken thoughts. Those words were the breaking point for the former Inspector, who then started to sob in relief. He was pulled against a firm chest as a pair of arms wrapped around him.
"It's alright Nobuchika. You don't have to hold it all back anymore." he whispered comfortingly to his son. Shuddering cries poured forth from the brunet. His father simply held him, allowing him to vent.
After a while, Ginoza calmed himself and rested tiredly against Masaoka. "I want to stay here with you." he said raspily, voice quieted by his crying. The dead Enforcer sighed.
"You just might be soon enough." he said, a melancholic lilt in his voice. Before Nobuchika could ask what the man meant, the dream ended.
End Dream Sequence
Ginoza returned to consciousness. At first, he was unaware of what was happening around him. Then, the pain from Tsukiyama's attack began to register. Nobuchika cried out at the sensation. A chuckle answered him as his tormentor moved into his line of sight.
"Nice to see that you have returned from your state of unconsciousness, Ginoza-san." Shuu told the Enforcer with small smile. The brunet was unable to bring himself to answer, trying to focus on maintaining his composure. The lack of response made the purple haired smirk coldly.
"Well, as you may have noticed, I moved you around as you slept. You're chained to the wall with your hands above your head, which is the reason behind the increased agony you feel in your arm." Tsukiyama paused in his explanation. Ginoza gritted his teeth in pain and anger.
"Y-You're...a sadistic...b-bastard…" he ground out, directing a weak glare at the man in front of him. That earned him a laugh from the Gourmet.
"You're correct. I rather enjoy playing with my food. I believe doing so makes the meal even more delicious. Speaking of which, I hope you don't mind that I invited an extra person to dinner." he said, a cruel smile spreading across the ghoul's face.
Ginoza was confused by the other man's words, but before he could voice that uncertainty, Tsukiyama moved to the side, revealing Shinya Kougami. The brunet was tied up with rope binding his arms and legs. The ex-Enforcer was struggling heavily against the restraints, then he froze, his steel gray eyes widening in horror once he saw Ginoza. His expression reflected that of Nobuchika, who was stricken with terror and started to flail around madly.
"NO! You can't! Leave him out of this! He has nothing to do with any of it! Please. Eat me if you must...but leave Kougami alone...I'm begging you." he said, voice trailing off into a series of deep sobs. Shuu applauded Ginoza once more.
"It's clear that you care for your allies very much, Ginoza-san. That's admirable trait." he stated, looking keenly at his prey. Kougami glared heatedly at the ghoul, then moved his gaze over to Ginoza, eyes softening just a little.
"Gino, you don't need to worry about me. I'll be fine. Just-" Shinya was brutally interrupted by Tsukiyama slamming his kagune through the brunet's chest and spiralling it, tearing completely through his torso.
The fugitive coughed up blood and shuddered before expiring, the cool light in his eyes fading. Nobuchika shrieked with grief, his cries reverberating throughout the warehouse. The Enforcer's Psycho Pass jumped up into the 700s from the anguish of losing his best friend. A demented chuckle came from his captor as he slowly made his way towards Ginoza. He paused to gently stroke the man's face.
"This has been a lot of fun,Ginoza-san but it's time to say au revoir." he said quietly. When the words registered, green eyes shot open in fear. Tsukiyama smirked and sunk his teeth into Nobuchika's neck and shoulder, mercilessly ripping into the flesh while blood-curdling screams echoed around him.