The Right Decision
Akane took a deep breath as the elevator doors closed behind her, still not sure if she was making the right decision. She had already apologized to Kogami for shooting him like that, but there was still one more apology to make. The apartment was easy enough to find with the directions she had gotten from the database, and she stopped once she reached it. Staring at the door, Akane bit her lip and hesitated for another few seconds before knocking.
Masaoka opened the door a minute later, as she knew he would. He looked surprised to see her, but gave her a polite smile and opened the door wider to allow her to enter. "Good evening, young lady. What can I do for you?"
"Nothing," she replied stiffly, stepping inside and turning to face him as he closed the door. She was nervous, more nervous than she had been with Kogami, but she tried not to let it show as she continued. "Masaoka-san. I want to apologize for my conduct last night. I understand that while I am allowed to stop you if I believe you're doing something wrong, my behaviour was still unacceptable. I am very sorry."
Akane bowed low then, praying she was doing the right thing. She couldn't stop herself from blushing at the memory of having grabbed Masaoka around the waist to stop him from shooting that poor woman, but luckily her bow hid her face from view.
Masaoka made a soft sound of amusement as the seconds ticked by and she didn't move, then said, "You certainly make for an unusual Inspector, young lady. Apology accepted."
She sighed with relief and straightened up. Kogami had said much the same thing earlier, but she didn't mind. She was just happy both had accepted an apology from a superior, even though she was well within her rights to say nothing about her actions. "Thank you," she said, meeting his gaze and giving him a hesitant smile.
Masaoka smiled back, and she relaxed slightly. He didn't appear to be upset that she had disturbed him so late at night, and she knew she would be able to sleep better tonight. Unfortunately, there was still one issue between them that she wanted to resolve.
"About today…" she began, but her colleague held up a hand to stop her.
"How about we sit down? I have coffee made, otherwise there's just water," he said, motioning deeper into the apartment. Akane raised an eyebrow at the fact he was still drinking coffee at this time of night, then realized she could probably use a cup too. It had been a long day, and it wasn't over yet.
"Coffee's fine. Milk and sugar, please." Masaoka nodded, and she followed him down the stairs into his apartment. He motioned towards the nearest couch to the left of the stairs, and she settled on it as he continued to the small kitchen area. Akane folded her hands in her lap and looked around, curious to learn about the man she was responsible for. This was her first time inside the quarters of any of the Enforcers, and she wondered if they employed any holographic technology like hers did. She couldn't see any obvious signs - simple wood flooring, plain walls and black leather furniture. A splash of colour caught her eye, and she realized there was a half-finished painting on an easel in the open space between the kitchen and the row of windows that took up one wall of the apartment. A closer look around the room revealed that there were canvases leaning up everywhere, but the lighting was too dim to show if they were empty or not.
"You're an artist?" she asked curiously as Masaoka brought their coffees over.
"Yeah. Helps to pass the time, and I like to believe that it keeps me calm. I'm no da Vinci, though," he answered lightly, adding as he passed her a mug, "The coffee's pretty weak, but it's hot."
"Thank you. Well, I think you're pretty good. It's nice to see that some people still prefer canvas and paint over digital art programs." Akane dropped her gaze to the mug in her hands and watched the steam rise for a few seconds. As much as she would like to ignore this afternoon, she had to address it. Taking a small sip of the drink to steady her nerves, she turned and looked at Masaoka.
"What you said today…you were right, but you are also wrong. I'm not going to be like Ginoza in terms of how I deal with you and the others. I don't want to stand back and let you do all the work. I joined the Criminal Investigation Division for a reason, and I intend to do what I think is right, as much as I am able to without breaking the rules."
Masaoka was looking at her with interest, but she knew he was probably thinking she was a fool. Taking a deep breath, she plunged forward. "I know I'm new at everything. I know I might be overly idealistic at times. I know that at the moment, I'm nearly useless." She hated saying so, but it was the truth, even if admitting it hurt. "I'm willing to learn, but I don't want to become so cynical that I lose sight of who we're dealing with. I don't expect you understand, but I do want you to know that eventually, I won't be useless."
Akane couldn't look at him any longer, and so returned to staring at her coffee. As the silence stretched out, she kept her eyes fixed on the cup, taking frequent drinks in order to not let her jumbled thoughts overwhelm her.
After what seemed like an eternity, Masaoka sighed and a hand landed on her shoulder. "Whatever are we going to do with you?" he muttered, squeezing lightly to show he meant no harm. She couldn't bring herself to look at him as he continued gently, "This old dog is smarter than he looks you know, and he had a pretty good memory too. I was your age once, and while I wasn't quite as idealistic as you are, I was pretty open-minded. This job changes people. Changes them in ways that aren't apparent until after they've become so engrained they're impossible to remove. I may not like how you handle things at times, but I'll try and respect your decisions."
He fell silent for a moment, then he squeezed her shoulder again and added, "I'm willing to help you out when we're on a case, but I'm not going to go easy on you. So if I think you're being useless or doing something stupid, I'll say so." She gasped as he suddenly tipped her chin up and towards him, forcing their gazes to lock. Masaoka smiled fondly and finished with, "If my actions mean that you'll have to shoot me, then I'll just have to live with that, as well as any further punishment you wish to apply."
Akane felt her cheek turn red and she quickly pulled her chin free and turned away. "P-Punish you further?" she muttered shakily. Did she have enough authority to do that? Probably, but she didn't really want to find out. "Inspector Ginoza might do something like that, but I can't see myself doing so…"
Masaoka shifted as she finished speaking, and she realized he must have finished his coffee already as she heard him set his cup on the floor. His prosthetic left hand made it easy to hold a hot mug, and she figured he was probably used to drinking steaming coffee quickly. She was nearly done herself, so they sat in somewhat awkward silence while she emptied her mug. "Thank you for the coffee," she said politely, holding out her mug as she rose.
"Sit, please. There's something else I want to discuss with you," Masaoka answered, taking it and waving her back to her seat. Confused and now even more nervous, she sat and waited while he rinsed out the mugs and turned off the kitchen light.
"Masaoka-san…" She stiffened as the room went dark, not having realized that was the only light on. What was he planning? He was still a criminal, even if he didn't act like one.
"Relax, young lady. I'm not about to attack you," her colleague said soothingly, settling down beside her again. Akane felt her heart start to pound, and she considered bolting for the door. Then her eyes adjusted to the city light pouring in the windows, and she focused on Masaoka, ready to demand an explanation for his actions.
"I figure that since we'll be working together from now on, I'd try a trust-building exercise. It's a bit unorthodox, but you've shown that you're an unorthodox person. You're free to go at any time if you don't want to do it, but I'd like it if you'd stay," he said, effectively banishing her fears. She took a deep breath and stared at him, trying to divine another explanation from his shadowed face.
"What do you have in mind?" Akane asked after a long moment, still not entirely convinced he wasn't about to do something crazy. She trusted him, but only to a certain point.
"A massage. I know, I know, it's a crazy idea. But you've been tense every since getting here, and the coffee's not entirely to blame. It's been a long day, and you deserve to relax a little."
Akane frowned at him, not entirely pleased that he had noticed her hidden nervousness. She knew he was good at reading people based on what he had done this afternoon, but she hadn't realized he would read her. "And what will you get out of it?"
"The satisfaction of knowing that your second day on the job was better than your first," he said simply, and she realized this was his way of apologizing. While she was certain he'd say sorry if pressed, she didn't want to refuse solely because of what he was. Criminal Coefficient number aside, Masaoka was a good person, and she had to believe in him if they were going to work together.
"Alright, I'll do it. Just be gentle." This could be the worst decision of her life, but she hoped not.
"I will, I promise," Masaoka said, and she slowly shifted so that she was sitting on the couch with her back to him. Her skirt didn't allow her to cross her legs comfortably, so she kneeled instead. Masaoka moved as well, then placed his hands gently on her shoulders. Despite herself, Akane tensed up, unused to being touched like that. He chuckled softly and said, "I'm going to rub from here-" he tapped the top of her shoulders, "-to here." His hands slid down her back and stopped at the end of her shoulder blades. "That alright with you?"
"Yes." Taking a deep breath, she stared out the window across from her as he moved his hands back up and began to rub gently. She had thought her suit jacket might be a problem, but he didn't ask her to remove it, so she said nothing. For the first few minutes, she remained acutely aware of where his hands went and what they did. Slowly, she realized what he was doing felt good, and allowed herself to relax ever so slightly.
"You have a wonderful view," she eventually commented, enjoying the view of the city skyline that she could see.
"It's great. I'm grateful to have it," he said, and she wondered if he had ever been in jail. Probably, but it wasn't her place to ask, so she shifted a little and watched the lights twinkle in the distance. As Masaoka started to press his palms along her spine, careful never to press too hard, she sighed and closed her eyes. He was good at this, that much was obvious. Maybe he had done this before getting arrested? She supposed she could always check his file, but that felt like cheating. Besides, he didn't strike her as the type to have been a masseuse.
"Enjoying this?" he asked quietly, hands shifting to gently squeeze and rub her shoulders.
She blinked at his words, having been lost in a daze, then smiled and nodded. "Yeah. You're very good," she complimented, getting a soft snort in return. Akane hadn't realized how relaxed she had become, but she was confident now that her colleague meant her no harm. Yes, this situation was something that she never could have believed possible a mere hour ago, but everything had changed since then. Closing her eyes, she leaned back slightly and simply enjoyed the attention.
She had no idea how long they sat like that; a comfortable silence between them and a sense of trust that hadn't been present before. At least, Akane felt like she trusted Masaoka more, and she hoped he felt the same. He ended by giving her shoulders one last squeeze before saying, "There, that's enough for tonight. Do you feel any better?"
Twisting around to look over her shoulder, she smiled at him and answered, "I do actually. Thank you."
"You're very welcome," he said, sounding pleased. He got to his feet first, then held out a hand as she started to rise. "Allow me."
Akane felt her cheek grow warm and told herself that the room was too dark for him to notice, then accepted his hand and carefully stood. She was stiff from kneeling for so long, but thankfully her legs and feet hadn't fallen asleep so she was able to walk normally. He released her hand and escorted her up the stairs to the door, flicking on a small light so she could put on her shoes.
"Um…thanks for everything," she said once she had done so, not sure what else to say.
"Thank you for coming. You didn't have to do that, and yet you did." Masaoka paused, then smiled hesitantly as he added, "As I'm sure you're aware, I don't get many visitors so if you ever just want to talk or something, feel free to drop by."
Akane stared at him in surprise for a second, then nodded rapidly. "I'd…I'd really like that," she said awkwardly, aware that there was a deeper meaning to his offer than just wanting conversation. She would have to think about it more, but she was certainly going to come back.
Masaoka smiled more fully at that and nodded back and went to open the door. "Well then, you have a safe trip home, young lady, and I'll see you tomorrow."
"Goodnight, Masaoka-san," she answered, giving him another smile before she stepped out of his apartment. She could sense him watching her as she walked back towards the elevator, and smiled to herself. Things had turned out better than she had anticipated, and for that she was truly glad.