Shymia Hakuske sank to her knees, He wasn't always this way. He wasn't a monster. Or maybe I couldn't, wouldn't see that he was. She buried her tear streaked face in her hands, shivering as a cold burst of wind sliced through her thin hooded jacket. What changed? How could he do this? What happens next?

Chapter One: 96 hours earlier

"Time to get up! Time to get up!" The shrill electronic voice of her morning alarm pulled twenty five year old Shymia Hakuske from her sleep.

"I'm up, I'm up. You can stop now, Kola" grumbled Shymia as she sat up and swung her legs over the side of the bed.

"Today it is 82° and partly cloudy. There is a 65% chance of rain. Your psycho pass is a crystal clear blue this morning."

Of course it is. It's always that way. She thought to herself.

He once told her that it was one of the things that made her special. He said that- She shook her head. It didn't matter anymore. That was a long time ago.

After she'd eaten breakfast and taken a bath in her baroque styled bathroom she stood in front of a full length mirror. Running her hand across her flat belly she remembered how her friends had always told her how jealous they were of her naturally slender body.

I'd be much happier with it if I wasn't so small chested. I look like a boy.

Only the slight flare of her hips betrayed her femininity. Her face was accented by the brilliant green eyes she had inherited from her mother. Shymia lifted her hand and ran her fingertips lightly over the scar on her lips.

This is all people ever see. She thought bitterly.

The scar was a painful reminder of the night her parents had died. They had been walking home after seeing an evening movie when a frightened young woman nearly knocked her father down as she raced past them. A crazed looking man was close behind, waving a razor sharp butcher's knife.

"You worthless whore, come back here!"

Shymia's father blocked his path. The man paused then with a grin proceeded to stab her father six times in the chest.

"Shy, get out of here fast and go find help!" her mother cried before launching herself at the knife waving maniac. The terrified four year old stood frozen as her mother tried desperately to wrestle the knife from the man's hands. He landed a swift punch in her stomach and swung the blade across her throat as she began to double over.

Then, his gaze turned to little Shymia. Still frozen with fear, she could only watch wide eyed as the man advanced on her. She remembered the glint of steel and the taste of copper as he slashed her face.

Everyone was always telling her how lucky she was that she escaped with only a four inch vertical scar across her lips.

Luck had nothing to do with my survival.

While the killer had been preoccupied with the the Hakuske family, the young woman had fled and brought back help. She couldn't remember much about what had happened next. Just a loud shout, and blood everywhere. Then a grey haired man, about her father's age, kneeling down by her side and telling her that she was safe now. She remembered the tenderness in his eyes and the gentleness of his hand on her head, before she slipped into a dreamless sleep.

"The time is now eight forty-five AM. For you to arrive promptly to your work location you must leave at nine fifteen AM."

Shymia sighed and pressed the gray button on her compact, gray was the color she used for her preset work outfit. The deep blue blouse paired with a conservative pencil skirt gave her the illusion of height, which is why she picked it.

At work, the day seemed to have slowed to a crawl. Being a driven individual, she usually completed her tasks ahead of deadline, leaving her with nothing to do during her hours at the office.

Finally, noon rolled around and just as she was preparing to leave for lunch her attention was drawn to five people who had just entered the room. Two of them were wearing jackets bearing the logo for the MWPSB, while the others were dressed rather casually. The man wearing the logo jacket scanned the room before his eyes came to rest on her. He nodded to the others and they began to make their way toward her.

What would the MWPSB want with me?

"Shymia Hakuske?" asked the female officer.

"Yes, that's me".

"I'm officer Tsunemori and this is my partner officer Ginoza. We need you to come with us. We have a few questions regarding a former associate of yours".

"Uh, sure I was just about to go for lunch. Let me go tell my boss I might be a few minutes late retu-".

"Don't worry, we have already taken care of speaking with your supervisor" the other officer interrupted.

"Alright, I guess lead the way then" she said with a nervous smile.

Officer Tsunemori was a slender woman with sleepy brown eyes, while officer Ginoza had sharp angled features that were further offset by his black rimmed glasses.

Shymia followed quietly behind the two officers, a woman with raven black hair and a man with relaxed posture and an unreadable expression flanked her on either side. She hadn't managed to get a good look at him before they had begun walking and she didn't want to risk turning around and tripping over something.

They led her to the back of a paddy wagon, Officer Tsunemori and the three others, whom she assumed were enforcers, climbed into the back with her. Officer Ginoza closed the door and climbed into the front.

I don't know where they're taking me or what they want. But I have a feeling something very horrible has happened.