How could he have let it happen to her? How could he have allowed her to witness such an atrocity? The happenings of the past 24 hours weighed on Enforcer Shinya Kougami's shoulders as he pulled his clothing back on over his patched up sides, covering up his bullet wounds.
He couldn't stand it. He had let her run ahead of him. He never should have let a few bullets keep him down. And when he tapped her shoulder and forced the whole experience back out of her—he regretted every minute of it. His pure white inspector would forever be stained with an experience that she would never be able to forget.
He hated it.
As he stepped out of the head quarters and into the early morning air, the sun not even risen yet, Kougami pulled his phone from his pocket.
I couldn't save her. I just watched her die. I just stood there.
"Yuki…" Akane Tsunemori's eyes were empty as she lay in her bed staring at the ceiling. All she could think of was her friends' cries for help, and her own inability to be of any.
She couldn't save one girl—one girl so important to her. She had begun to doubt she could have anyone. She should have listened to her parents. She could have fit into any career she liked. If she had chosen something else—anything else—Yuki would still be…
The sound of her phone vibrating on the corner of her headboard broke her train of thought. Her eyes began to focus on it, hovering above her head, but she hesitated to reach for it. The last late night message she had received was from Yuki. Or she had been deceived to believe.
She no longer had to make the decision as the phone finally shook itself from the corner of her headboard and fell to the pillow beside her head.
Incoming Call : Shinya Kougami
Akane reached for the phone and touched a green button to accept the call. She held it to her ear, and before she could answer, the caller spoke.
"Inspector?"
She hoped it wasn't about the case. She just wanted to forget. Though she knew she couldn't. "Yes?" She answered meekly.
"Are you alright, Inspector?"
Was she alright? What sort of question was that? She shut her eyes and tried to hold together, tried to think of an appropriate answer.
"Inspector?" Kougami repeated.
"Of coarse I'm not alright!" She shouted into the receiver. "I just watched my best friend die! I could never be alright! I'm not a heartless monster like you!" She bit her lip, on the verge of tears once again. She had crossed the line, she was sure of it.
"Inspector…" Kougami repeated once more.
Akane cursed in her mind. "What? Haven't I been hurt enough tonight?"
"Open your door, Inspector."
"What?" Akane's eyes flashed open with confusion.
There was a light flash behind her as her holographic Jellyfish of a day planner appeared on her shoulder. "Akane! There's someone at the front door, Akane! Shall I send them away, Akane?"
The inspector looked at the hologram, puzzled, and then replied. "No. Go back to sleep mode, Candy. Thank you."
"Roger that!" And with that, the jellyfish disappeared again.
The other end of the phone was silent, but still the call was active. Akane stood up from her bed, in her wafting yellow pajamas, and slowly walked towards the door. She placed her hand on the doorknob, and after a quick moment of hesitation, turned it and opened the door.
Low and behold, behind the door stood Enforcer Shinya Kougami, dressed in his usually suit—sans the jacket—still holding his phone to his ear.
"Kougami…san?" Akane questioned, still confused by her current predicament.
Kougami pulled his phone from his ear and hung up, now standing in front of his conversation partner. He stepped forward, and Akane stumbled backwards, as he had expected. He silently closed the door behind him.
"Ko-Kougami-san!" Akane almost shouted, trying to keep dominance in her own household, "What are you doing here?"
The enforcer reached out and touched her cheek. Akane flinched for a moment, but fell into the tender feeling of another person, and allowed him to rub her cheek gently. "I was worried you wouldn't cry."
"Wh-what?" Akane asked surprised, but felt a tear begin to form in the corner of her eye with just the thought.
"I was afraid you wouldn't adjust and your psycho-pass would become cloudy. It's alright, Inspector."
Akane felt a tear begin to roll down her cheek. "How can I adjust? After what I saw today… After all that happened…"
"You asked me this morning if we were mixing professional and personal lives." Kougami said, interrupting her. He moved his thumb across her cheek and flicked a tear away. "Now, I'd have to say yes." He took half a step forward and moved his hand down Akane's back, and pulled her forwards towards him. He wrapped one arm around her back and whispered into her ear. "I'm sorry, Akane."
Akane bit her lip as her eyes bursted into tears. She cried out in sadness and threw her arms around Kougami.
He felt her arm graze one of his patch worked wounds and flinched. Kougami let his legs give out under him and collapsed against the door he had came in through, bringing Akane down with him. The young woman stayed clinging to him and wept onto his dress shirt kneeling between his out sprawled legs. Kougami said nothing, and softly smoothed her hair with his hand as she let out everything she had kept bundled up inside.
Akane's tears didn't stop until she had sobbed herself to sleep. Kougami leaned back and rested his head against the door. What would he do with her now? His superior was sleeping in his lap on the floor of her house. He looked at her in her tiny pajamas, the bottoms of which seemed virtually invisible beneath the frilled out top. She would catch a cold in no time if he left her there.
Kougami slipped one arm under her knees and supported her shoulders with his other and lifted her with little effort. He brought himself to his feet. Maybe it was from having worked closely only with other men, but he hadn't expected her to be so light.
Kougami carried the lady inspector to her bedroom and softly laid her on her bed. He pulled a comforter from the foot of her bed up and over her, covered her up to the shoulders. He sat carefully of the edge of her bed and brushed her bangs out of her face. He probably shouldn't stay much longer, he thought. Seeing her innocent beauty sleeping so peacefully, it took all he had to control his thoughts.
He was at her beck and call. Old Man Masaoka called the enforcers dogs, and that's exactly how he felt around her, but he didn't mind. She could drag him everywhere with her, and he would follow without argument. He didn't need a leash. He had hardly known her as nearly long as he felt it had been, and she had already trained him so well.
She didn't even need to ask him tonight. He just felt his inspector needed comfort. He knew he would be dough in her hands for a long time coming. That was all right. As it was, he was prepared for his life to end at Akane's hand. Maybe he would get out of line, maybe she would just get tired of him, or maybe he'd coldly attempt to take someone's life in an unjust way, just like their first day on the job together.
But he was sure, one day, she would pull the trigger of the Dominator, and he would be on the other end, and he wouldn't walk away from that shot.
"…Yuki…" Akane's voice brought Kougami out of his land of thoughts and he came back to reality to find Akane's forehead cold with sweat, as she shook in her sleep. "Yuki…!"
Kougami quickly leaned over her, placed both his hands on her shoulders and began to lightly shake the young woman. "Inspector. Inspector wake up."
Akane clenched her eyes shut tighter as more sweat ran down her face. "No, Yuki…"
"Akane!" Kougami shouted.
Her eyes snapped open. It was the second time he'd called her by name, and he got the same response. Akane began to weep again, and without questioning his current location, flung her arms around his shoulders and pulled Kougami down on top of her, as she poured her eyes out into the crook of his neck.
"It's all my fault, Kougami." She mumbled through her tears.
No, it's mine.
"It should have been me. Yuki didn't deserve to die."
I would have gone mad if it had been you.
"If I had chosen any other career, Yuki would still be alive."
… … …
Akane sniveled back some tears, she felt like she was running out of tears in her body to shed. "Please say something, Kougami."
Kougami had so many things in his head, but none of them would stop her tears. He could feel her smaller body underneath him, her comforter separating them. He was sure speaking the part of his mind which that enticed wouldn't cheer her up either. Instead of replying, he kicked his shoes off his ankles. They fell to her floor with loud klunking sounds, which echoed through the room.
"Kougami… Why did you come here?" Akane asked.
The room remained silent, as Kougami shifted his weight and balanced himself on his elbows above Akane. He stretched forward towards her face, and softly laid a kiss on her forehead. He could feel her face grow warmer as she blushed.
"Kou-Kougami!" She yelped, as he pulled his face away. She timidly put her hand over her forehead, hiding the kiss.
Kougami slowly pulled her hand away from her face and leaned back down towards her, bringing his face so close that she could feel his breath on her lips. Akane's breathing slowed as she braced herself for whatever would come next.
"Maybe I'm just not the heartless monster you think I am." He whispered onto her lips.
Akane averted her gaze. "I'm sorry, Kougami. That was uncalled—"
Before she could finish, Kougami pressed his lips softly onto hers. Akane jumped in shock and sat up suddenly, leaning against her headboard. "Kougami!" She shouted, covering her mouth with one hand.
The young man grasped her wrist and pulled the shield from her lips and kissed her again. This time she didn't fight and instead pulled her hand from his and wrapped it behind his head, brushing his hair with her fingers.
Kougami suddenly pulled away. He quickly arranged his thoughts and moved off of her bed.
"Kou… gami?" Akane questioned, reaching out for him.
"I should leave." He said in a short breath, and stomped over to his discarded shoes.
"Leave?" Akane sounded like she might start whining.
He never should have kissed her. He let his urges get the better of him. It was disgusting. He was just taking advantage of her in a time of need. As he walked past her bed she grabbed his arm and yanked him back onto the bed. "You can't leave now!" she complained.
He could hear some of her fight coming back. It comforted him a little, but he still had to leave. Though it wasn't the only contributing factor, he knew that Akane's virginity status was part of the innocence that kept her psycho-pass so unclouded. She had gone through too much in the last day, he couldn't risk causing a cloud in the clear sky that was her soul.
"I have to." He replied without looking back to her. Akane's grip on he arm lightened.
"At least stay until I fall asleep again…" She pleaded, looking down at her sheets.
Kougami sighed reluctantly. "Okay."
Akane smiled lightly, and layed back down, then pulled her comforter back up to her chin. She reached one hand out and layed it open on the bed. "Hold my hand."
Kougami sighed again, she had put his leash back on him. She probably hadn't even realized it. "Yes ma'am." He said, and softly gripped her hand in his. The light of the sunrise began to trickle in through her bedroom window onto them.
"Call me Akane again." She said, beginning to sound groggy.
"Yes, Akane." He replied.
"Will I see you at the office tomorrow." She asked, partly mumbled.
"Of coarse." Kougami felt her hands grip loosen as she drifted off to sleep. "Akane?" He asked. There was no response.
"I'm all yours."
Author Notes:
I've been watching anime for a long time, and nothing's torn me apart the way that episode of 11 of Psycho-Pass did. I hope this helps anyone else who might ship this couple deal with that shocking episode.
As usual, written at 12-3 am after planning it out in my head all day instead of sleeping. Enjoy!
