Ginoza invited Akane over to his place for a bit.

"Are you hungry?" he asked her.

Akane saw that it was past seven already, and that she was starting to get hungry. Her stomach began to grumble and protest the lack of food for five hours already, but she was being polite and did not want to bother Ginoza.

"But Dime…"

"Dime can wait," Ginoza said. "I will cook first before we take him out for a walk."

"Thanks, Ginoza-san," Akane said. "You are so kind."

Ginoza smiled and went on his task on preparing dinner for him and his guest. Akane left the Enforcer alone to do what he had to do and approached the wooden kennel where Dime was situated. The tan-and-white Siberian husky stood up and wagged its tail in anticipation, a grin on its face, its tongue sticking out.

"Hello, Dime," Akane greeted with a smile.

The dog barked happily and moved forward. Akane placed a hand inside the cage and touched the dog on its nose. Dime moved his head up and began licking Akane's hand.

"Such a good boy," Akane talked to the dog.

Ginoza walked from the kitchen to the dog cage. He saw the Inspector sitting on the floor, playing with his dog. A smile lit up his face to see the Inspector looking at peace while interacting with an animal.

"That dog… was given to me by my obaachan (grandma) when I was young," Ginoza shared. "That was to prevent my Psycho-Pass from getting clouded."

Akane turned to look at Ginoza with a sad face.

"I'm sorry to hear that."

"Why?"

"Your Psycho-Pass had been clouded now," Akane replied.

Ginoza lit up a small smile on his face. "I know. But Dime still kept me at ease. He sometimes remind me of Kougami."

The mention of the name was enough to dull Akane's bright mood earlier. She turned her attention back to the dog.

"Kougami-san?"

"The dog is intelligent and strong," Ginoza said. "And very loyal."

"Kougami-san isn't loyal," Akane replied, looking back at him again.

But Ginoza could see past Akane's feeling of betrayal.

"I don't know how it all ended between the two of you, the conversation the two of you had before he left, if he had it with you, but Kougami might actually be doing you a favor."

"Favor?" she turned to him, her eyebrows crossed now.

"Yeah. He knew that he had to do what he had to, and we can no longer do something about it. Even if we are given orders to hunt him down, even with the help of Shion, we might not track him down still. Maybe he's doing that to protect you, to protect your Psycho-Pass. That's the favor I'm talking about."

Akane felt the wetness on her hand, and the gentle bite the dog was giving to her. She felt ticklish because the dog was lapping her palm. Yet, her vision was still pinned at Ginoza.

"We… have things that remind us of him," she told him in her sad voice.

"I know," Ginoza replied. "But then, Dime isn't just all about Kougami to me. He also reminds me of my obaachan, and all the things I could have been if I hadn't been an Enforcer. But now, coming to terms with it, Dime is my stress reliever. I am glad to have him around."

"Do you think I can get a dog too?" she asked him, imploring through his gentle eyes.

But Ginoza, a holder of a Dog Therapist's License, did not respond. He knew that while Akane could make use of the companionship of an animal, his therapeutic approach might not work on hers.

"Well, I guess… I might not need a dog," Akane answered her own question. "Or even a cat."

"While you're contemplating as to what you really want," Ginoza informed her. "I will continue cooking so we could eat."

"Of course, please go ahead," Akane said.

~~.

Ginoza fed Dime before he had his dinner together with Akane. And Akane offered to wash the dishes for him because she had felt indebted to his kindness. Much as he refused to do so, because this was his apartment space, Akane replied that she wanted to. It was her way of giving back to him.

Finally, the two stepped out with the dog. Akane was still in her formal working attire, while Ginoza wore a sporty attire. He knew that once Dime is out in the open, nothing's gonna stop the dog from running away, and Ginoza needed to be flexible enough to catch his dog. While struggling to hold the leash and keep his dog close to him, Ginoza snatched something from his right pocket and did his best to open the door of his car.

"You look like Dime is gonna run away with you," Akane chuckled, feeling sorry for her Enforcer. "I won't mind driving for you."

Ginoza stopped on his track, and turned to Akane with eyes wide open. "What?"

"Please?"

Ginoza pursed his lips before replying, "How can I let my boss drive for me?"

"Ginoza-san, out of work, we're just two friends," Akane assured him. "There's no Enforcer nor Inspector. So let me drive for you while you keep your dog in check."

Ginoza nodded thoughtfully and handed the keys to Akane. For Akane, Enforcers were worthy of respect as well, and he could now understand why she became fast friends with Kougami, and Kougami opening up to her. Maybe, in that span of time too, Akane had fallen in love with Kougami. It was quite obvious.

"Thanks heaps," Akane cheerfully replied as she took the keys. She opened the door to the back passenger seat so Ginoza can get in with his dog.

Dime barked in delight, finally being able to get out and roam around. Ginoza stepped in the back seat and waited as Akane closed the door for him. And on the other hand, Akane opened the door to the driver's side and stepped in.

"To the soccer field, you say?" she asked him for verification.

"Yes, please," Ginoza replied.

Akane closed the door and turned on the ignition. As she started to drive, she became startled when Ginoza's mobile phone (not the electronic bracelet he used for work) rang.

"Yeah, Shion? What's up?"

Akane looked through the rear-view mirror. She could see Dime panting happily, and she could see Ginoza smirking while talking with Shion in his phone.

"Sure, bye," Ginoza told Shion before hanging up.

Akane smiled awkwardly before starting up a convo.

"I didn't know you and Karanomori-san are fast friends," Akane told him.

A smirk lit up Ginoza's handsome face, "Yeah, we're… making a fast connection. That's good, right?"

"Yeah, I guess so," Akane replied.

Not knowing what else to talk about, Akane shifted to what she thought was a safer topic.

"What do you think of the new Enforcer that is assigned to us?" Akane asked him.

"Hinakawa?" Ginoza asked. "He's a shy kid, I could sense that. As to work, I could see he'll do a good job."

"He's said to be good with holograms and such," Akane replied. "We might make use of that skill someday."

"There will also be another Enforcer to be assigned to our Division, though I have not the slightest idea as to who it will be," Ginoza informed her. "Aoyanagi did not even said that there will be Enforcers transferred from their division to ours."

Akane decided not to entertain the thought of a new Enforcer. Her mind was on the road, and her life, as well as that of Gino and Dime, were in her hands. Ginoza, meanwhile, continued to study Akane. Why did it seem like she was carrying something that she did not want anybody to help her with?

~~.