FIVE MONTHS LATER

A tall brunette walked into Division One's command center. "Hello, I am Inspector Risa Aoyanagi. I've been transferred here to cover for Inspector Tsunemori."

Ginoza froze mid-typing.

"Does this mean Akane's had her baby?" asked Yayoi.

"Yes," said Risa.

"Boy or girl?" asked Yayoi.

"A boy," said Risa, "but that's all I know."

Ginoza's heart pounded and his mind raced. His stomach started to churn and gurgle. He tried to keep down vomit.

1...2...3...4...5...6..7...8...No, that's not right, that can't be right...the holiday party in December...That's the first time...and today is August….December to January...January to February...February to March…March to April...April to May...May to June...June to July...July to August...1...2...3...4...5...6...7..8…December to August...Eight months...That can't be right!...

"Is the baby healthy?" Ginoza asked in as steady a voice as possible.

"Woah...dude...you don't look so good," said Sho.

"Nobody told me otherwise," answered Risa. Ginoza ran to the wastebasket and vomited. "Woah, Enforcer!" Risa rushed to him. "Let's get you to medical."

"That's probably not necessary," said Yayoi under her breath.

Risa furrowed her brow. "And why not?"

"Ginoza was up all night working on a case," said Yayoi. "He does this a lot. You should just let him go home."

"Oh," said Risa. "That's very irresponsible. Okay, Enforcer."

"Wait," said Mika, "that's a lie."

Yayoi sighed. "Do you want a nauseous Enforcer, Inspector? Let the man go home."

"So he should go to medical," said Mika.

"ENOUGH!" Ginoza cried. "Inspector Aoyanagi, Inspector Shimotsuki, I'm the father of Inspector Tsunemori's baby. She wasn't due for another month. Please, may I go to her?"

Risa was dumbfounded. "Yes, Enforcer, you may go."

"What?!" exclaimed Mika.

"I win the pool!" shouted another Enforcer.

"Wow, Ginoza, congrats. I didn't think you had it in ya," said Sho. He reached into his pocket and passed a wad of money to the victorious Enforcer. Several others did the same.

"How many people knew about this? Does Chief Kasei know?" asked Mika.

"Can we discuss this later? I have a son," said Ginoza. "Good day, Inspector Shimotsuki. Thank you, Inspector Aoyanagi."

"But...!" protested Mika.

"HE SAID GOOD DAY!" said Yayoi. "Bitch!"

The Enforcers cheered as Ginoza rushed out the door. Risa stared dumbfounded as Mika and the Enforcers started shouting at each other. "This is the great Division One?" she asked herself.


After a lot of persuasion, Ginoza made his way to Akane's hospital room. He found her cradling a baby with a shock of jet black hair.

"Nobuchika!" she said, startled. "How did you...?"

"Well, first I threw up. Then I told everybody in Division One about us."

"Ohhhhhh...Nobuchika..."

"It's fine," he said. "But how's the baby? Did you name him? He looks...he looks completely healthy...and large, for a child his age!"

"I went with Karasuma," said Akane.

"Karasuma," repeated Ginoza. "May I?" She nodded, and he sat beside her. She placed the infant in his arms. "I don't understand," Ginoza said. "This baby is...too mature."

"You mean his hair?" asked Akane.

"Don't," said Ginoza, "don't play dumb. We're done playing dumb. I told everyone he's mine, but...he's clearly not."

"I'm sorry, Nobuchika," she said.

"It's fine," said Ginoza. "It was nine months ago. We were merely friends then. I'm not mad. I just wish you'd told me."

"I'm sorry," she repeated. "I didn't know how to tell you, and I didn't want to ruin what we had."

"That hurts," said Ginoza, "that you think it'd change anything. I still want to be a father." She started crying. "Although I would like to know who the real father is."

"It's exactly as I said," she said through tears. "I met him at a bar. Yada yada yada. It was my first time, can you believe that? I didn't think I'd get pregnant my first time. I wasn't on birth control."

"I'm glad," said Ginoza. "He's beautiful."

"I wasn't expecting this," said Akane. "I wasn't expecting any of this. The man, the baby, you...when I dragged you into that closet, it was fueled mostly by alcohol and pure lust, but now...you're so good to me, Nobuchika. Sometimes I think I don't deserve you."

"I don't know what I did to deserve you either," he said.

"I love you," said Akane. "I don't think I've ever said it before."

"You haven't," laughed Ginoza.

"I'm sorry," said Akane.

Karasuma gurgled, and Ginoza bent down to kiss him on the forehead. The baby started to cry. Ginoza passed him back to Akane. "So...the baby daddy?" She giggled, putting Karasuma to her breast. He continued, "I hate to press the issue, but, do you know his name?"

"I do," said Akane, "but it doesn't matter. I don't want to involve him. We didn't even exchange phone numbers."

"Right," said Ginoza. "Okay, I just wondered."

"Don't worry," she said. "His name is not Karasuma."

"Thank you for that," laughed Ginoza. He crawled into the hospital bed and spooned Akane.

Ginoza was filed as the official father of the baby and transferred to Division Two. Mika protested that this was wildly inappropriate and that Akane should be fired or resign immediately, but as Yayoi had predicted, nobody cared. Most importantly, Akane and Ginoza were now living together, and her psycho-pass remained crystal clear.

Karasuma was growing fast. He was well above the growth-curve for boys his age and very active. Ginoza worried that Karasuma might be negatively affected by being raised by a latent criminal, but Akane said she didn't care. If her son grew up to be an Enforcer, he could do worse for himself.

Ginoza did wonder about the boy's biological father. He suggested running a DNA test just to find out more about the guy. Akane refused. She didn't want to drag the poor guy into it, and running a paternity test would make government records of it. Ginoza dropped it, but he still thought maybe the poor guy would like to know he had a son. What if he had wanted one, too? And if not, didn't he at least deserve to know that his child was in good hands?

So Ginoza surreptitiously collected a sample of the boy's hair after Akane had cut it. He could order the test in secret, and maybe, one day, Akane would warm up to the idea. At the very least, Ginoza would know more about the man who had given half of his adopted son's DNA. It was so easy since Sybil kept DNA records of every person born in Japan. He ordered the test under the guise of police investigation. Working out of Division Two, Akane would never have to know.

The test came back within a couple of days. The rest of his Division was deep in discussion about a case. He sipped his coffee, casually turned to his computer screen, and opened the e-mail:

TSUNEMORI, KARASUMA

BORN AUGUST 11, 2115

MOTHER TSUNEMORI, AKANE

FATHER KOGAMI, SHINYA

He disregarded the rest of the information. Slowly, he read the name listed next to father. With trembling hands, he put his coffee mug back on the desk, and read the name again. It didn't change.

FATHER KOGAMI, SHINYA

"Impossible!" Ginoza whispered louder than he'd intended.

"What's impossible?" asked Teppei, bending over to look at Ginoza's screen. Ginoza quickly exited the e-mail.

"The...erm...yeah, what are we talking about?" Ginoza mumbled.

"We're ordering pizza?" Teppei said, baffled as to why Ginoza was baffled.

"Oh, yeah," said Ginoza. "Anything is fine...oh, shit." He ran and puked into a wastebasket.

"Seriously?!" Risa exclaimed.

"Sorry," said Ginoza.

"You're dismissed," said Risa.

"Thanks," said Ginoza.

"But let's try not to make this a habit, okay?"

"Uh-huh."


Akane was reading Karasuma a book when Ginoza burst through the door.

"Nobuchika, you look like you've seen a ghost," said Akane. "What happened?"

He stared at her in utter disbelief. "Where...?" he muttered.

"Excuse you?" she asked.

"How...?" said Ginoza. He abruptly started opening all of the closets and cabinets. "Where is he?"

"Who?" asked Akane. Karasuma started crying. "Nobuchika!"

"YOU KNOW WHO! Where are you hiding him?"

"Nobuchika, stop!" Akane ordered, using her Inspector voice. "Explain yourself."

Ginoza picked up Karasuma and studied his face. "Da-da?" Karasuma asked.

Ginoza started laughing hysterically. "How long have you had this planned?" Ginoza asked. "Did you plan this together? You and him?"

"Nobuchika...what do you know?" Akane asked slowly.

"I ordered a paternity test."

"You FUCKER!"

"Da-da?"

"I was curious about the man whose child I was raising, okay?" Ginoza said. "I didn't think it would be a big deal. Just some Joe Schmoe out there in the city, you know? But of course not. You're Akane Fucking Tsunemori, nothing's ever easy with you, oh no...okay, so, when did you start fucking him?"

"That's not how it was," said Akane, starting to cry.

"Don't play dumb, Akane," said Ginoza. "You were fucking me for months before anyone knew."

"Stop," Akane pleaded.

"You're still fucking him? You have him stashed away somewhere on the side? Or am I on the side? Well, of course I fucking am, god! I was so fucking stupid!"

"STOP! It's not like that AT ALL! Shut up and let me explain!" Karasuma's crying cut through the silence. Akane took her son out of Ginoza's arms and sat down on the couch. "Promise you won't say anything until I'm done," she said.

He sighed, sitting beside her. "Okay," he whispered.


It was dark. Division One chased the criminal into the woods, their Dominators poised and ready in front of them.

Akane's Dominator zeroed in on someone in the distance. "CRIME COEFFICIENT 77. SUSPECT IS NOT THE TARGET. DOMINATOR WILL REMAIN LOCKED," said Sybil.

"There's a civilian in here!" Akane shouted to her crew. "I'm going to go get them out of here!"

"I'll come with you," said Ginoza.

"No, you keep looking for the target," ordered Akane. "I'll be fine on my own." She ran in the direction of the civilian and found a small shack along a creek in the woods. A small fire was burning, and seated beside the fire was a man with long, thick black hair and a beard to match.

"Citizen," said Akane, "a dangerous criminal is in the area. I'm here to escort you back to the city."

The man laughed. "Sure, Tsunemori. I'll go quietly."

"Huh?" Akane asked. "How do you know my name?"

"Has it really been so long?" asked the man. Her heart pounded, and she raised her Dominator as she stepped closer.

"CRIME COEFFICIENT 77. SUSPECT IS NOT THE TARGET. DOMINATOR WILL REMAIN LOCKED."

She lowered the Dominator and recognized Kogami's eyes behind the hair. "Still an Inspector, huh?" he asked. "I'm not surprised. You're never going to cloud."

"But...," she said. She raised the Dominator again.

"CRIME COEFFICIENT 77. SUSPECT IS NOT THE TARGET. DOMINATOR WILL REMAIN LOCKED."

"Can't wait to blow me up, huh?"

"That's incredible," she said, lowering her weapon and slipping it inside her holster. "You're clear!"

"That's news to me," said Kogami. "Of course, I haven't been in society for...gosh, I've even lost track of time."

"It's been over a year," she said.

"How about that?" said Kogami. "Completely separated from society, and now I'm an upstanding citizen."

"How are you living?" Akane asked.

"Off the land," said Kogami. "The forest provides for me." In the distance, they heard the familiar pop and splat of a person exploding.

Akane's wristwatch glowed, and Ginoza's face appeared on the screen. She accepted the call. "Hello, Enforcer," she said.

"Suspect has been eliminated, and we're heading back to base. Where are you?" asked Ginoza.

"I'm still assisting the civilian I found," said Akane.

"Do you need backup?"

"No, thank you, Enforcer Ginoza. Proceed to base, and I'll catch up with you later."

"Roger."

She hung up, and Kogami shook his head. "You're something else. Didn't even miss a beat," he said. "So Ginoza is an Enforcer now?"

"Yeah," said Akane.

She proceeded to update him on the goings-on at Division One since he'd left. Time slipped by unnoticed, and Akane found herself resting her head on his shoulder. He smelled musky like the forest, but while strong, the odor wasn't unpleasant to her. She also couldn't help but notice that he hadn't lost any of his muscle tone.

"It's getting late," Kogami said.

She looked at her watch and gasped at the time. "Oh yeah," she said. "Well, they're obviously not worried about me."

"Still, we can't postpone the inevitable," he said. "Either you're taking me in, or I need to pack up and leave."

"Wha...why would I...and why would you...?"

"I did kill a guy," said Kogami. "Unless they changed the rule against murder, pretty sure that makes me a wanted criminal. So are you taking me in? I meant it when I said I'd go quietly."

Akane raised her Dominator. "CRIME COEFFICIENT 77. SUSPECT IS NOT THE TARGET. DOMINATOR WILL REMAIN LOCKED."

"The law is the same, but according to Sybil, you're not a threat," she said. "You could probably re-enter society and nobody would notice."

"And then my crime coefficient would skyrocket again," said Kogami. "Society's bad for me. At least, this society is. I've come to believe it's bad for everybody."

"That's not true," said Akane.

He ruffled her hair. "Still as loyal and naive as ever. But that's part of your charm. I've missed you, Akane."

"And I've missed you," she said. "Sometimes when I'm on a difficult case, I ask myself what you would do. I've even held imaginary conversations with you." She blushed and put her hands over her mouth. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to tell you that."

"It's okay," he said. "Society is bad for me, but you weren't. You're the only person I think I could stand to be around. It's gonna kill me to leave."

"Then don't," said Akane. "Stay here. I'll come visit you."

He shook his head. "Too risky."

"I wouldn't tell anyone."

"It's not you I'm worried about." He slipped his arm around her waist and kissed her.

She couldn't deny she had wanted this. She'd buried her feelings for Shinya deep inside her, only to come out in her solitude. But when she realized she wasn't dreaming-he was really kissing her, and she was reciprocating-she pushed him back.

"I can't," she said. "I'm sorry. My psycho-pass..."

"It won't cloud, trust me," he said. He stared into the fire. "But I'm sorry."

"Don't be," she said, her hand still resting on his arm. "So...now what?"

"That's up to you," he said.

"I should go," she said.

"Then go."

"And I'll never see you again."

"It's a pretty safe assumption."

"Then I guess I can stay a bit longer," she said.

He nodded.

She leaned against him again and sighed, wondering how to get back to that place where Shinya had kissed her. She felt like it was her first day on the job again, and she'd been thrown into a situation she was completely unprepared for. And then she remembered the person who had helped her most become the Inspector she was today.

"Shinya?" she said.

"Yes, Akane?"

"I do," she said, "trust you."

She wrapped her arms around his neck, and he turned to her, and their lips met again. This time, her mind didn't tell her to stop. She let herself melt into him. His arms completely enveloped her, and he pulled her forward until her body was resting on nothing else. She wondered how long Shinya had been pining for her, or if the thought had simply occurred to him as they were talking. She decided she didn't care. She knew Shinya was holding back, and she didn't want to, not anymore.

She grabbed him by the back of the neck and shoulder and pushed herself up onto him. When his lips parted, she slipped her tongue past. Shinya relaxed his arms and allowed his hands to wander. He broke their kiss, and Akane whispered, "Don't stop." His beard tickled her face as he kissed her ear and down her neck.

He slipped his hands under her jacket, and although she still had a shirt on underneath, the feeling of his strong hands against her body made her sigh. She wanted to be closer, wanted to know him deeper. She let him take off her jacket. When it fell to the forest floor, her mind absurdly wandered to the fact that she'd have to wash it tonight before going back to work tomorrow. Meanwhile, Shinya was gently kissing her neck and caressing her breast. She repositioned herself on his lap and felt a hard bulge against her thigh. He moved her so he could put his hand under her skirt. She gasped and pressed her mouth against his. She kicked off her shoes, and again her absurd mind reminded at her she'd have to clean them.

"Do you want to go inside?" he whispered.

Her face and neck flushed, and she giggled. "What inside?" she asked. They were in the middle of a forest.

"It's not much, but...I do have some blankets," he said.

She knew she shouldn't, but she couldn't say no. "Okay," she breathed. He swept her off her feet and carried her inside his shack.


Ginoza stared at the wall. Karasuma had fallen asleep as if Akane had simply told another bedtime story. Tears started to fall from Ginoza's eyes, causing his hair to stick to his cheeks.

"I went back," she said. "He's not there anymore. I have no idea where he is now. I swear to god."

"I believe you," said Ginoza.

"And I didn't know I was pregnant when I...when we..."

"Shhh," he said. "It's okay."

"You believe me, right? That's important. I didn't mean to put you in this position. I merely wanted..."

"To fill a hole," he finished. She looked at him questioningly. "When Kogami left, there was a hole in the division, but a bigger hole in you. We all saw it. And seeing him again, and...you know...that only made the hole bigger for you. You needed someone to fill that hole, and there I was."

She hung her head. "I didn't mean to make this mess. But you're right. That's how it started with us."

"I'm a rebound that you got stuck with," he said.

"No," she said. "You're a...I chose to get stuck with you. I don't know that that makes it any better for you. I wouldn't blame you if you left. I quickly realized nobody could replace Shinya to me," she said, "but nobody can replace you to me either. I do love you. I didn't say that just to say it, or to trap you, or to trick you. I love you."

"But not as much as him," he said.

She started to cry. "That's not fair, Nobuchika."

"Okay," he said, looking down at Karasuma. "I'm going to put him to bed."

"And then what?" she asked.

"I don't know," he said. "I need to sleep on it."