Wrath: Irony is that we going on a practically year-long hiatus after we talk about doing regular updates. All the blame is on me, though, Pie finished her part last year and I may have gotten swallowed by other things.

Presentation of Psychotic Royalty

It was a new day. A new case, and a morbid one at that. "I believe that everyone is aware about our missing politician, Hashida Ryoji?" Ginoza asked, standing as Kougami sat down after walking into the office.

"Isn't he that one politician that people accused forging his Psycho Pass and faking his check-ups?" Tsunemori inquired.

Kunizuka nodded before Ginoza could say anything. "Yes. He apparently went missing three days ago," she added briefly.

Ginoza frowned. "Well, yes. However, the body that was discovered by the hologram maintenance department last night - Shion has identified it as Hashida Ryoji's body." He pressed some keys on his tablet, "This is what they found."

A screen popped up and expressions of disgust were similarly shared amongst the Enforcers. "Okay, I can understand the positioning of his head on his hands... but the intestines mess up the image," Kunizuka commented flatly.

Shion gave Kunizuka a look that Kougami did not want to interpret under any circumstances. "Well, other than that, the criminal seems to have made a statement of a kind." Enlarging a certain picture from an angle at the mutilated corpse's backside, she remarked, "His hippocampus was shoved up his anus."

Ginoza turned a rather peculiar shade of green, and Kougami himself had to resist a shudder. Unfortunately, the Enforcers were unable to display such restraint. "Ick, was this guy even wearing gloves when he arranged the body parts?" Kagari questioned, making a disgusted sound at the back of his throat.

"Well... that's one way to make a statement," Tsunemori quietly added her two cents. "What exactly did they do to the body that made the flesh appear that way?"

The lab analyst sighed, bringing up her cigarette-holding hand to cover her forehead. "I'm not quite sure, but from what I remember of my university biology courses, it looks like plastination. But that's a process that takes months, so I'll have to run more analysis before I say anything concrete."

"Plasti-" Kagari opened his mouth to ask exactly what the unknown four-syllable word meant, but Tsunemori was already on a roll with her obscure knowledge from unknown and best left unknown sources.

"Basically, a process which replaces living tissue with plastic polymers," she explained. "It's usually used for preserving specimens for teaching anatomy and such, though."

Kougami blinked, "Well, that explains something."

"Hm?"

"Maybe this criminal thinks of himself as a social critic, and arranged Hashida Ryoji's body like that to prove a lesson to... whoever his audience was," he thought aloud. "You said that it was for educational purposes, after all."

Masaoka coughed into his hand. "Kou, Miss, you may be trying to read deep into this. It could be that the criminal just wanted a convenient way to preserve the corpse for public view."

Tsunemori and Kougami simply turned flat stares to him before Ginoza decided that it would be a good time for all of Unit One to get back to desk-work.

It was barely an hour later when Shion made an urgent call to Unit 1.

"You finished analysing the body quite quickly," Kougami commented as he entered the lab. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Kunizuka settle on a chair whilst slurping on a bowl of udon. "Oi, Kunizuka. Aren't you going to get sick watching the body and eating at the same time?"

The Enforcer looked up from her bowl, slowly munching on the noodles. "... I'm not giving you any."

"That wasn't why I asked," he deadpanned.

Ginoza brushed past him, striding directly to Shion's computer. "Just ignore her, she doesn't feel anything for a corpse," he advised. "Well Karanomori, did you finish with your analysis on Hashida Ryoji?"

He was responded with a roll of her eyes. "Do you really think I can work that quickly. Even a genius like me has to take her time, you know!" her fingers clacked on her keyboard and the wide screen on the wall flooded with an image of Central Fountain Tower. "Unit 2 was called to investigate a body the holo maintenance department discovered."

The other Enforcers all finally gathered into the lab, they quickly scattered themselves over the various sofas and chairs spread in front of Shion's workstation.

"Again?" Sasayama chuckled. "Man, maybe we should hire some of those guys as the new Inspectors. They do our work better than us."

"I'm friends with the girl who works as Unit 2's analyst. She heard about Hashida Ryoji from me and quickly found that the new body shared a lot of similarities to how it was found… and to how it was presented," Shion explained.

The picture changed. It was still of the same area-only that the fountain Holo was turned off, displaying a peculiar, pale-skinned statue. It was of a female, porcelain-white body crucified and held together by metal poles, thorny vines and roses. Branching from the shoulders were a pair of legs instead of arms, rouged with a light pink. Where the legs should have been was replaced with a pair of long limbs twisted together in a neat coil. The head was placed directly over the stomach, the face -despite its unnaturally smooth texture- was of a life-like young girl with wide eyes and more roses crammed in her mouth.

"Man, this looks nothing like the old man we found," Kagari pointed out flatly. "His insides were like… all over the floor."

"Even if the culprit was trying a different style, this is quite an... abrupt change," Tsunemori added.

Shion leaned back on her chair. "Well, even if style is quite different, the process so far look the same. It's up to the Inspectors though if they want to take this case off Unit 2's hands and make me work overtime."

The Inspectors in question exchanged looks.

"Well, who is the victim?" Ginoza asked. "Does she have any connection to Hashida Ryoji?"

"Her name's Kuzuhara Satsuki, a student from a prestigious boarding school- Oso Academy," Shion replied. "So far, I've found nothing on their personal records which could tie them together. But, finding out if they're related somehow is your job, right Inspector?"

Kougami stared at the body for a little longer before nodding his head. "Gino, let's take the case," he urged.

"Well, since they both turned up the same day and were- wait, what did you just call me?" Ginoza jerked his head at Kougami's direction, clearly taken back by the sudden nickname.

"It's not much of a problem, is it Gino-san?" Kagari sighed. "Only Akane-chan and Kunicchi here actually call you by your full name."

Masaoka reached over to slap Kougami on the back with a metal hand- almost sending the Inspector flat on the ground in the process. "You two are partners, giving each other nicknames is a good thing!" he said wholeheartedly. "Now, what should Nobu call you? Kou, maybe?"

"I'll pay you if you call him 'Kou-chan'!'" Sasayama sniggered. "Oh oh wait, maybe even Shin-chan! That would be priceless, man."

"A cute charm does work well with the ladies, Gino-san!" Kagari chipped in.

"We're taking the case!" Ginoza announced with a scowl. He briskly stalked out of the lab with the Enforcers' chuckles following behind him.

"Makishima-sensei, may I ask you something?" a student's voice called out politely, causing him to blink at the line in the book he had been reading before looking up to make eye contact. The girl (Shiraishi Akari, sixteen, notorious for staring out the window during class and generally being absentminded, tended to ask questions unrelated to whatever topic he was teaching) was staring intently at her hands, which were nervously knotting and tugging at her skirt.

He gave her five seconds to say something while his attention was briefly diverted on her before he mentally sighed and prompted, "Yes, Shiraishi-san?" From where he sat, if he looked over her left shoulder, Makishima could easily spot a group of girls giggling amongst themselves and frequently peeking at their friend. From their behavior and hers, he could easily guess Shiraishi's reason for attempting to speak with him outside of class.

The girl inhaled deeply, and her hands fisted at her skirt, freezing themselves there. "Makishima-sensei... are you possibly married, or have a significant other out there?" she blurted.

Oh, so she was showing interest in him. Romantic interest. Makishima patiently ticked ten seconds off in his head before returning to his book, adjusting his posture so that there would be no room for ridiculous interpretation from his next words. "I have no interest in those things," he announced, noticing that the tittering from the hallway had quieted, and his student had turned stone-white, "Though there is someone I am seeking, someone that I wish to have placed securely by my side so they can't... disappear." Again.

Thankfully he didn't have to resort to drastic measures such as naming the person, as the student gave a quick nod, lowering her face with disappointment before going to rejoin her gaggle of acquaintance, who were now cooing words of encouragement.

Makishima found it all almost laughable as he turned another page of his book, the image of what someone's expression would have been had she heard flitting across his thoughts.

"...I beg your pardon?"

Choe's face was twisted with undisguised confusion. He nearly dropped the teapot he was holding when his employer, Makishima Shougo gave his newest command.

"I would like you to stay close to Oyrou Rikako," he repeated. "She and Kouzaborou Touma have a lot of demands when it comes to creating their works. I've decided to split the workload between us, so I will cater to Kouzaborou's needs and you will for Oyrou's. But to be in a position where you can freely walk around the school and interact with her…"

His voice trailed off, unfortunately at the point where Choe really needed to hear the most. The kettle was roaring quite loudly at the time when Makishima suggested exactly what Choe should disguise as, so he couldn't be entirely sure- or was hoping he heard wrong.

"So you want me to disguise myself as a member of staff?" Choe prompted.

Makishima's smile inched a little wider, he looked as if he was thoroughly enjoying himself. "You have heard me wrong, Choe Gu Song. I would like you to disguise as a student."

Forget that it was Choe's 42nd birthday this year, his employer was asking him to act as a student at an all-girl's school. He felt like pointing it out but quickly decided against it, there was really no point, Makishima wanted him to be in a position where he could be able to approach Oyrou naturally- and that could be none other than a fellow classmate.

The kettle died down to a faint hiss, Makishima's golden eyes flickered towards it.

"Oh, I guess we should make the tea then," he abruptly announced, picking up the teapot from Choe's frozen hands and went searching for the box of tea leaves.

Choe could only imagine Tsunemori's reaction if she was still was with them. She would probably even help him design his new disguise for the hilarity.

The news channel was switched off. Rikako sighed and turned away from the screen, sinking deeper into her seat.

"Well, it was not as if I was expecting our work to be placed on screen," she sighed. "Still, I'm disappointed that we got nearly no public recognition." She paused. "Kozaborou-sensei, your works are always so brutal so they may have been put off showing them."

A gleeful smile lit on Touma's face. "I like to think of it as a crude sense of humour. Try not to mock my art, Oyrou-san, it was hard work skinning them correctly."

"Was it all that necessary to twist the bones like that?" Rikako sighed. "All of it is done so randomly that there is no sense of symmetry or pattern. It almost looked as if you just clobbered a hammer on their limbs."

It was then Touma's turn to sigh. "Oyrou-san, it would seem you don't quite understand my style. What I'm trying to do is not beautify human nature but expose it's ugly truth. There is much more to art than just trying to make something 'look pretty.'"

Rikako got out of her seat so she could take another look at his sketches displayed across his desk.

"Don't treat me so childishly, sensei," she sniffed. "I simply prefer a more elegant style, but that does not mean I cannot appreciate others. Sensei's however…" she flipped through the pages of grimy pencil sketches of mutilated corpses with their limbs hacked off and draped in various positions. "... the intestines were a nice touch, but the rest of it looks too cluttered to be considered stylistic."

"I'll take that as a compliment," Touma said with an unwavering smile. "But our opinions on each other does not really matter- after all, it is Shougo-kun who is the judge."

Rikako looped her fingers together. "Yes, I look forward to Makishima-sensei's opinion." She paused. "Though, we should also begin preparing our next works. I believe sensei's acquaintance- Choe Gu Song has been assigned to see to my equipment. I wonder how he'll sneak into the school?"

There was a moment of silence as the two began to think of possible disguises.

"Who is your next piece anyway?" Touma suddenly asked.

Rikako blinked. "Oh, that would be Yoshika-" she was cut off when the door slid open.

A soft voice called out, "Oyrou Rikako-san? Are you here?"

A tall senior student dressed in the Academy uniform stepped into the classroom. Her face at first glance would seem plain, but upon a closer look she had rather mature-looking eyes and a graceful stance.

Rikako's finger twitched, a sudden urge to draw the unknown student in front of her appearing. Possibly with her head decapitated and held in her willowy fingers. Rikako managed to place her usual polite smile, whilst eying the student to make a rough guess of her three sizes.

"Yes, that would be me," she replied with a short bow.

The student furrowed her eyebrows, apparently confused at Rikako's unfamiliarity. "Oyrou Rikako-san, I'm sure Makishima-sensei has informed you about my arrival," the girl said.

Touma subtly shut his sketchbook behind him. "Well, I'm sure I would definitely remember a cute student like you before if Makishima-sensei had mentioned it."

The student's frown grew deeper. "I'm not a student at this school, I've been employed by Makishima-san to assist Oyrou Rikako-san."

"Oh, so you are Choe Gu Song," Rikako deduced. "Well, it is a pleasure to meet you." She offered a hand to the girl who hesitantly accepted it. "What do I call you whilst in class hours?"

"Kurokawa Hana is fine," Choe replied. "I hope you understand that I am wearing a disguise too."

"Well, I did expect you to be younger," Rikako said. "But that's fine, I'm sure we'll get along."

Choe slipped out of Rikako's prolonged handshake and gave her an awkward nod.

"...yes, I'm sure we will," he mumbled, filled with regret.

The general urge to knock out Sasayama or something was building.

The temptation to somehow get the back door of the paddy wagon open to kick him into the road even more so.

Even Kagari wasn't joining in on Sasayama's usual loudmouth tendencies and was looking sourly at the older Enforcer. Kagari hadn't been too entirely happy with being dragged out of bed at seven in the morning after staying up until four playing video games. Even though the entire Unit One was en route to an all-girl's school, Osou Academy, where Kuzuhara Satsuki had been boarding.

"Hey guys, I bet that since it's an all-girls boarding school, they'll be all shy and shit and be in awe when I show up there! Though if any of them do come up to me, I'll have to reject them because 'kane-chan's the only one for meee~" Sasayama gave a dramatic sigh, throwing his arms over the back of the seat. Kagari practically hugged the wall trying to catch up on his sleep and shutting out Sasayama's overly exuberant speech.

Tsunemori simply understanding shared looks with Kunizuka and Masaoka, both of which were sitting with her across from Sasayama. Five minutes, she estimated, before one of them three either started scolding him on his harem fantasies of underage girls or simply knocked him out.

As he opened his mouth to go off again, she subtly ticked herself three centimeters closer to Masaoka and the bottle of alcohol he kept in his pocket. Hitting him with it might give him a concussion, but at least they'd have silence.

Pie: This is by far the best love triangle we have come up with.

Wrath: It is generally agreed between us that being Choe Gu-Song is absolutely suffering.

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