- Catharsis -
- カタルシス -
- 02. The Road Not Taken -
- 道は取らないで -
The streets of Tokyo was overcrowded with numerous vehicles. Using Asami's Jeep, Yaoyi easily managed to avert away from the massive traffic by driving into a shortcut.
Inside the Jeep, Yaoyi sat at the drivers seat controlling the car, Ginoza sat at the backseat looking very calm and collected, and Asami sat at the passenger seat with an anxious look on her face.
"Don't worry Asami, we'll get there." Yaoyi said reassuringly as she focused on the road.
"I know but should we devise some strategic plan instead of facing that Zhao-guy head on?" Asami suggested.
Ginoza answered, "Trust me, Inspector. Facing him head on is our only option."
"But—" Asami was then interrupted by Ginoza.
"Whatever you learned at the Academy, it's a waste. You don't need to follow the book and abide to protocol. All you need is your sheer instincts and intuition." The Enforcer explained to her.
He was speaking from experience.
Because of following the rules, Ginoza did not save many lives. That included his own father. He thought that intuition would get you killed, but he eventually realized that it would save his life.
Asami sighed, "For an Enforcer, you sure know what to say."
"I may be an Enforcer, but I've seen far too many Inspector's downfall because they are blinded by their own perception of right or wrong." Ginoza said in his defense.
Before Asami could respond to him, Yaoyi interrupted her, "We're here."
She clearly did not want to hear them getting on the verge of an argument.
The three parked the jeep at an abandoned alleyway, and left the Jeep holding their Dominators.
They arrived at the front gate of Zhao Wong's manor. It was quite elegant and beautiful because of the front lawn had a series of flowers and the mansion was very big and spacious. The lights were open and they instantly knew that Zhao must be inside his place.
But the gates were heavily locked and the security system was at its highest setting.
"Damn, it's locked." Yaoyi muttered.
Ginoza was about to aim his Dominator at the gate, but Asami stopped him.
"Hey! He'll escape if he finds out we're right here." Asami alerted him, "Let me do it."
She grabbed a magnetic device inside the pockets of her jacket, and placed it on the gates. It made a beeping sound and a blue light emitted from the device.
"I brought one just in case." Asami stated as the blue light disappeared and grabbed the device from the gate.
Yaoyi opened the front gate door and checked if there was anyone at the front lawn of the manor, "C'mon."
Both Ginoza and Asami followed behind Yaoyi as she brutally kicked the door of the mansion open. They entered the mansion only to see that there was no one in sight. But Asami knew that Zhao was hiding somewhere.
"Zhao Wong, this is the MWPSB!" Asami hollered as she held her Dominator tightly, "Please show yourself or we're gonna have to do things we might not regret."
Ginoza examined the entire room and he saw Zhao emerging from the staircase, and he aimed his gun at Asami.
"Look out!" Ginoza shouted as he shoved Asami to the ground as the sounds of gunshots pierced through their ears.
He tried to shield Asami from the gunshots so she would not get hurt.
Yaoyi rushed upstairs to catch up with Zhao leaving Ginoza and Asami alone together.
They were both in the weirdest, yet awkward postion. Asami was lying on the ground while Ginoza was on top of her looking down on her.
Ginoza couldn't help but notice her appearance. He got a better look at her cerulean blue eyes and pale skin. Her ebony black, long hair cascaded on the ground.
Her cheeks turned red because she was even more embarassed by the turn of events.
He snapped out of his train of thought and got up from the ground and extended a hand to her.
She reluctantly grabbed his hand and got up from the ground.
Asami nervously apologized to him, "Mr. Nobuchika, I'm sorry—"
"It doesn't matter." Ginoza interrupted her, "Your safety is all that matters."
And he really meant it.
To not let the tension go on, Asami eventually realized something, "Yaoyi needs us!"
Without wasting anytime, they grabbed their Dominators on the floor and ran upstairs only to see Zhao at the balcony while Yaoyi aimed her Dominator at him.
"Please!" Zhao pleaded as he began to cry, "Don't kill me! I'm all that my daughter has left! I needed Amaya to accept the business offer so I could have enough money to give a heart transplant for my daughter!"
Asami's eyes softened because she knew what it felt like to have nothing left in the world.
Yaoyi stiffened, "Your daughter will be sent to a social worker so she could be in a better family enviormment."
"Yaoyi! Please, put the Dominator down." Asami ordered her, "His daughter would be orphaned if he dies."
"With all due respect, Inspector, he's a latent criminal and must be eliminated." Yaoyi pointed out as she still pointed her Dominator at Zhao.
Ginoza chose the time to intervene, "Kunizuka is right. He has to pay the price for the crime he committed."
"Can we make an exception? He has good intentions in doing such a terrible crime." Asami implored her fellow Enforcers.
Ginoza pointed his Dominator at Zhao who had a horrified look on his face.
The Dominator said, "Crime Coefficient 300. Lethal Eliminator Activated."
"No!" Asami ran and shoved the Dominator out of his hand, causing Ginoza to look rather furious.
But it was too late.
Yaoyi did the job. She shot Zhao with the Lethal Eliminator which resulted Zhao's guts to explode and blood poured down on the balcony.
"No." Asami gasped.
"It had to be done." Yaoyi said stiffly, "This is our job, Inspector. We eliminate any threats against society."
"But—" Asami was interrupted by Ginoza, again.
"You could've gotten yourself killed for standing in front of a Dominator!" Ginoza scolded her, "Use you head on the field, not your personal feelings."
Yaoyi knew where this would head into, "I'll call Inspector Tsunemori and for more back up to clean up the area."
Once she went downstairs, Ginoza continued to reprimand her, "Never let your sense of morals prevent you from doing what is right."
"Don't tell me you're quoting Isaac Asimov." Asami scoffed and crossed her arms.
"I can't believe someone like you have read a book like Foundation." Ginoza remarked. He was instantly intrigued by her. She was highly intelligent even though she was twenty one years old. And she had good taste in literature.
"I get bored, sometimes so I read for fun." Asami shrugged, "And what I did earlier was right."
"Regardless, it doesn't matter if a criminal has a loving family because it would only be in the way to do what we have to do." Ginoza concluded.
"What if you were in his daughter's own shoes, imagine the loneliness and suffering it would feel if you lost your father." Asami quipped.
He was being hypocritical right now because he knew what it felt like when he lost his mother and father right in front of him.
But he did not want his personal experiences and feelings get in the way of his job.
"It doesn't matter." Ginoza said to her sternly, "You have lots to learn if you want to succeed, Inspector Yukimura."
He walked past her and left Asami alone at the balcony, and went downstairs with Yaoyi.
Asami knew that Ginoza was right as always.
She had lots to learn in order to be a better Inspector.
One setback would not stop Asami from continuing her job as an Inspector.
There was going to be many moments where she would fail, but there would be other moments where she would make everyone proud.
Once Asami found her composure, she went downstairs and joined the others.
This marked Asami's unsuccessful yet successful day as an Inspector.
Author's Note: I couldn't help myself so I typed up the second chapter and posted it here. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter!
Guest1995: Thank you for being the first reviewer and I hope you enjoyed this chapter and finally know what Asami looks like :)
Reviews, follows, or favorites are appreciated.
