Akane inhales deeply and glances down at the cigarette between her fingertips. The smoke bends this way and that as the breeze catches it, twisting and fading above the city until it disappears. It goes any direction it's pulled before it's gone forever. It doesn't follow a path and it never will. It simply goes its own way, guided by something, but never for very long.
Just like him.
She smiles to herself, wondering if she's just being dramatic. Kogami wasn't the type of man who could stay put for long. Even if he were, she thinks, he'd still be pulled in one direction or another. It's just his nature, as Ginoza had put it after his latest disappearance - that of a hound hunting its prey. Akane has never once thought otherwise. Even during their time working together, there were times she'd even thought this facet of his nature might be the most prominent. Dangerous, yet alluring. She'd only been a girl then. It was natural that such a nature would sometimes lead to other thoughts - the kind that a girl like her shouldn't even consider. After all, Akane has always considered herself a rational woman.
At least, in most ways.
A rational woman wouldn't have become so enthralled with a man on the other end of the law. She wouldn't have savored the feel of his lips against hers, both rough and tender and irrationally intoxicating. She wouldn't have complied with the calloused hands resting gently on her hips as she moved with him, both grasping at some unspoken promise that was meant to be broken. A rational woman wouldn't stare at a cigarette left burning in the ashtray the next morning, welcoming uncertainty like an old friend.
Akane watches an ash fall to the city beneath her. The breeze catches the smoke again and once again changes its form. It's almost comforting, she thinks as it fades into the air. Maybe it isn't rational, but she knows it's just her nature.