Started: Saturday, February 9, 2013
Draft Finished: Sunday, Februrary 10, 2013
Fiction: One-Shot
Rated: PG-13
Disclaimer: The character and names of Psycho Pass belongs to Production I.G. and Funimation.
Anime: Psycho Pass
Pairings: Akane/Kougami
Genre: Friendship/Humor
Summary: Akane subconsciously profiles Kougami while they are alone in the office. Set between episodes 9 and 10.
Analogies
In between monitoring cymatic scans and chasing latent criminals, Akane realized that time was a commodity when you're working for the Ministry of Welfare Public Safety Bureau. On most days, the level of activity in the Criminal Investigation Department would range from simple to chaotic. On simple days, the Inspectors and Enforcers would catch up on their paperwork, writing up statements and filling out reports before it would become an overwhelming pile of trepidation. The worst case scenario would be a scolding from Ginoza and an absolute certainty of pulling an all-nighter without the remuneration of overtime.
On chaotic days, it would require the Inspectors and Enforcers to step out into the field, facing the unpredictable dangers while hunting down the threat that disrupted the safety and security of the city. Although she preferred being active during working hours, Inspector Akane Tsunemori didn't like the idea of being behind on her work. The Enforcers, on the other hand, had a disclosed routine of multitasking that paved away their workload. The brunette was a little envious of their familiarity and diligence. During their time of inactivity, they would sit at their desk and continue their hobbies while the brunette tackled her escalating workload. As an Inspector, she had to double her efforts in order to lessen her burden.
Despite being labeled as latent criminals, the Enforcers had normal hobbies; not that Akane assumed they'd be out of the ordinary (although the thought of Enforcers collecting mementos did cross her mind a few times). After careful observation (instead of wild speculation), the Inspector noticed that her so-called subordinates must need hobbies to occupy themselves since their freedom was restricted to only the CID floor and their living quarters.
Kagari would play on his game consoles or surf the net, only leaving his desk whenever he was hungry. Like his go-lucky-attitude, his work station reflected his personality: filled with random toys or action figures, and often, soft drinks and bags of junk food that sat on his desk for days on end (even though they were empty).
Yayoi had an entirely different set up: her work station was well-organized, and on her down time, she would pick a bottle of polish from her silver tower and paint her nails in silence, changing her nail color every week out of boredom, or depending on her mood.
Masaoka's hobby was a mystery. While he enjoyed painting on his days off, Akane rarely saw him at his desk except when he needed to take his medication. The brunette figured he was probably off somewhere taking a nap seeing how his clothes were usually wrinkled when he returned to the office.
As for the remaining Enforcer, the brunette found that Kougami's hobby was to read.
On many occasions, the dark-haired detective would sit at his desk, reading articles he pulled from the mountainous pile of papers and dense leather-bound books he had on his desk. He rarely left his work station, and if he did, it was to get a bottle of water to keep him hydrated or a can of coffee to keep him awake. Sometimes, much to her displeasure, he would smoke, adding another stub to his one of four overflowing ash trays, and subtracting a few minutes of his life at a flick of his Zippo lighter. If it wasn't for his strong physique, Akane would assume that he survived on only coffee, cigarettes, and water.
The Inspector never considered Kougami to be a workaholic, but after realizing that the other Enforcers did not stay at their work stations for hours on end, she reckoned that he had a good reason to stay.
Currently, they were the only ones in the room. While she was typing away on her tablet, Kougami was sitting at his desk hunched over his reading material: a thick packet with the smallest font she had ever seen.
Her piquing curiosity caused her to momentarily pause. The fact that Kougami was reading from a packet of paper caught her interest. His gray orbs were concentrated on the text before him; his ears deaf to the hum of the electrical ceiling fans and the sparse sound of her typing. Seeing him so absorbed in such a quiet state, Akane couldn't help but wonder what Kougami was currently reading since she could never find the time to read things other than case files. After spending hours looking through statements and reports, the last thing she wanted to do was to read a novel in her spare time. When time was a commodity, sacrifices had to be made. Whenever she had time, she would spend it on catching up with her sleep, or visiting her grandmother.
Akane was never an avid reader to begin with, but she have done enough reading to recognize references from classic literature without the aid of popular culture. In this day and age, there was no excuse to be nescient when every piece of information can be downloaded at a push of a button. Nowadays, people had the option to download books in the form of e-books right into their digital devices. Not only that, newspaper ceased to be printed, and magazines became available digitally due to convenience and speed. Outside of public libraries, it was rare to find someone reading an actual book; one with words printed on pieces of paper, completely bound and compact.
It was rather astonishing to find that the Enforcer favored the physical task of flipping through pages instead of just reading the words from his large screen.
If she had to choose a literary character for Kougami, it would be Sherlock Holmes.
She had many valid reasons for her choice. One was that the dark-haired Enforcer was essentially a consulting detective. As a tactical traditionalist, Kougami was never one to boast about his skills; his primary job description was, after all, to hunt down criminals. Nevertheless, his work as an Enforcer was helpful in the capturing of other latent criminals. Judging from his track record, even Ginoza (like Detective Inspector Lestrade) seem to appreciate the value of Kougami's intellect.
Personally, Akane could tell that Kougami tends to get easily bored, and to remedy his boredom, he would approach each case differently, using logical measures to capture the target. While Kougami did not find the need to dress up in disguises, he finds other ways to make the hunt more exciting. Whether it was using traditional methods to gather substantial evidence or chasing down multiple leads, it was like a game to him, and from prior experience, Akane learned that he enjoyed the thrill of the hunt more than anything since he could exercise his cunning mind and predict the actions of the criminals after a quick assessment of their profile. After her one-on-one session with Professor Saiga, Akane had a feeling that Kougami knew more about her life than she cared to share, which was a bit unnerving to comprehend. Regardless, he kept his observations to himself.
Despite his stoic and laid back attitude, he would always manage to drag her into reckless situations, resulting in some verbal bantering between them. Like Sherlock Holmes, Kougami had a dry sense of humor. Often, he would tease her relentlessly about the time she shot him with the Dominator, stating that he would rather not have her use it in fear that she would shoot him again. It was a harmless jest, and since he rarely showed his humorous side, Akane would let off him the hook by giving him a scowl or a glare. Once she even threatened to shoot him the next time he decides to do something reckless. He would brush it off and give her an amused smirk, which was a change of pace from his usual impassive demeanor.
On the many covers of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's classic novel, the protagonist would be featured in his iconic deerstalker hat, which became a stereotypical fashion accessory for detectives, made famous in The Adventure of Silver Blaze. Upon that notion, Akane realized that Kougami was never without his fur-lined jacket whenever they were on a case, and instead of a pipe, the Enforcer had his cigarettes on hand (although he'd rarely smoke while they were out solving a case). However, judging from his smoking habit, Akane assumed that he could be an expert in the study of cigar ash just like Sherlock Holmes (if he wanted).
To Akane, it was amusing to point out the similarities between an iconic detective and her so-called subordinate (not to mention the irony of it all), and by doing so, she found herself staring blankly at her screen when she was suppose to be typing up her report. The dark-haired Enforcer noticed the long moments of silence and looked up from his reading article to find the Inspector staring off into space.
"Are you stuck on something, Inspector?" Kougami asked her.
"No," she shook her head. "I was just contemplating."
"What about?"
"I was thinking how your character is similar to that of Sherlock Holmes," the brunette explained because lying was not her forte. With a tilt of his head, the Enforcer gave her his full attention.
"Are you saying I'm a great detective?" He said with grin on his face.
"In a way," she drawled, feeling a bit wary about blurting out her inner most thoughts; not to mention the piercing gaze Kougami was giving her was making her a tad uncomfortable.
'"I am not the law, but I represent justice so far as my feeble powers go," he quoted while he stretched his shoulders by drawing his hands up and placing them behind his head. "If I'm Sherlock Holmes, which character does that make you?"
"Watson, maybe," Akane replied. She was, after all, his handler, and since John Watson always kept Sherlock Holmes from overexerting himself, it made sense.
The Enforcer raised his left brow. "I think you're selling yourself short, Inspector."
"Well, we can't both be Sherlock Holmes," She reasoned, noting that he had moved his chair closer to her desk.
"Why not?"
"Because that does not make sense." Inwardly, she was wondering if he was delirious as a result of experiencing low blood sugar. She had been here since lunch and has yet to eat dinner, and knowing him, he probably skipped a meal.
"We can take turns." The Enforcer stated as he shrugged his shoulders.
"Now you're just being ridiculous," she told him, letting out an exasperating sigh.
"Am I?" Akane didn't dignify his question with an answer and gave him the cold shoulder. She heard him exert a small chuckle, and out of the corner of her eye, she could see him smirking at her.
"We could both use a break, Watson." He was trying to provoke her and she wasn't going to fall for it.
"Since when do you care about my well-being?"
"Since you compared me to Sherlock Holmes," he answered as he got out of his seat. "You have given me an obligation to live up to your expectations, and since we've been here since lunch time, I know you're hungry, Inspector." Her attention turned to the clock and it occurred to her how late it was. Suddenly, she felt the fatigue weighing her down, and the brunette let out a sigh and slumped back into her chair.
"I got distracted," she breathed out.
"Are you saying that I distracted you?" Kougami asked her.
"N-no!" She immediately told him, waving her arms up in protest. He continued to stare at her.
"You were working for six hours straight without stopping." Unable to hold his gaze, Akane looked down in embarrassment. "I actually thought you fainted when you stopped typing. If I had known that all I needed was your attention to get you to take a break, I would've said something sooner."
"I could say the same to you, Kougami-san," she retorted. "You've been sitting at your desk reading for as long as I have been writing up my reports."
"I was waiting for you." With that, he turned and started walking toward the glass doors without any further elaboration.
"What?" The Inspector got up and followed him, which wasn't an easy feat to do since he had longer legs than she did. Eventually, she caught up to his pace and they both walked down the hall side by side.
"I couldn't leave you alone knowing that you're going to wonder off somewhere," The Enforcer bluntly stated. "You don't have the best sense of direction."
"I know the location of the cafeteria just fine, thank you very much!" The brunette exclaimed. She asked him for directions once and from then on, he would always assume that she had no sense of direction. It didn't help that the MWPSB building had numerous floors that looked exactly the same. Not to mention, the signs were ambiguously labeled, which was no help to her at all.
"So do I," said Kougami, "which is why we are both heading in the right direction." Akane rolled her eyes, and ignored his sarcastic remark.
"You're being impossible, Kougami-san."
"Once you eliminate the impossible, whatever remains, no matter how improbable, must be the truth."
"And what is the truth?" She asked him as they turned the corner.
"You make a good Watson, Inspector." Kougami answered solemnly. The brunette turned her attention to the dark-haired detective and found that he was staring down at her. In that moment, she believed that she was right to compare him to Sherlock Holmes: a lone, isolated man, who chose to be socially detached because he didn't see the appeal of living a mundane Victorian lifestyle. Instead, he would bury himself in experiments, occasionally working on cases to exercise his mind.
The only person Sherlock Holmes would even bother to socialize with was Doctor John Watson, who tolerated Sherlock's antics and revered his quirks no matter how wild they would seem. In retrospect, Watson was essentially Sherlock's friend, someone who knew him best because they had an underlying respect for one another.
"After you." The Enforcer inclined his heard toward the entrance of the cafeteria seeing how they have arrived at their destination. For a short period of time, Akane wondered if there was a chance that they would one day become friends. If the closest thing they have to a relationship was akin to Sherlock Holmes and John Watson, then it wasn't so bad. Kougami was the emotionally-detached and misunderstood, social outcast of a consulting detective, and she was the considerate and practical, public upright of a handler. Together, they made a great a team.
Akane couldn't help but smile at that thought, and Kougami must have figured out her train of thought because he returned her gesture with a grin. Grabbing his arm, the brunette pulled him along her side as they both enter the vacant dining area. For now, Akane was content with the use of analogies. They might not be friends today, but maybe someday because sometimes, the truth could be found in fiction (even in the face of irony).
A/N: For an original anime, Psycho-Pass is full of literary references, which is one of the reasons for its success. I just wanted to point out the obvious aspect of Akane and Kougami's relationship. There is no doubt that their characterizations are heavily influenced by Sherlock Holmes and Doctor John Watson with Shougo Makishima as the infamous criminal mastermind James Moriarty. In my opinion, the cohesive amount of literary references and allusions (like the titles of each episode) adds to the anime, giving it an abundant amount of depth and comprehensive profoundness that shows today lack. By all means, I hope you enjoyed this piece! Please give me your thoughts on this story, or the reason why you watch Psycho-Pass!
Thank you for reading!