From behind the two-way mirror, the woman watches as the girl immerses herself in the books that have been provided to her. The girl has been given all sorts of things to read, from picture books to adult fiction, and she peruses all of them without prejudice. When she opens a book, she can sit and stare at the pages for hours, leafing through them with the same enthusiasm, as if each book is the first one she's ever seen.
The woman has never seen such a voracious consumer of knowledge, let alone one that is so young. Yet the precocity of the child is not complemented by development in other areas – she thinks far faster than she can speak, and as a result she prefers not to speak at all. When she does, however, it is as if the woman is talking to someone her own age, if not older.
Weirdly enough, she has become fond of the girl. She was assigned to watch over the girl whilst her parents were being dealt with by the relevant authorities, but even if her parents were by some miracle released from captivity, she would find it hard to give the child back to them – especially since every time the girl changes her clothes after a shower, the woman sees the marks on her arms, the bruises on her legs, the scars on her back, and the dents in her flesh.
She cannot in good conscience let the girl slip back into a world where she knows only pain. If push comes to shove, she will do what she must.
"So, that's our girl, huh?"
The woman turns to find her superior entering the room, a thin, gaunt man whose wrinkles and graying hair belie his younger age. Peering through the mirror, he looks relaxed, but his tightly-folded arms and twitching foot suggest that he is feeling every inch of the stress of his position.
"Welcome back, boss. How'd the conference go?"
"Same as usual." He unwraps a small piece of candy and pops it in his mouth, chewing and crunching it immediately without taking any time to savor the flavor. "Paper-pushers and professional time-wasters, the lot of them. I told them we'd secured the whistleblower, and that we had him in custody. They demanded to see him and talk to him, but he's not exactly in a divulgatory mood right now, and I made that clear to them. They didn't like that."
"Sounds horrible. I'm glad you're there to face the music just so I don't have to."
The man chortles and shakes his head. "You should count yourself lucky. Though if they end up sacking me, it'll be your turn."
"Then I can only hope you have a successful career ahead of you." The woman returns her gaze to the girl. "Have we found a guardian for her yet?"
"Nope. There's few enough orphanages in Tokyo as is, and with the exodus of people from the countryside into the cities, pretty much all of them are full. It's sad to see." He clicks his tongue in frustration. "This girl deserves better."
"I agree. I can only hope that the people who lead Sibyl know what they're doing."
"That's why we're here. So that kids like her can live better lives." The man turns to leave. "Oh, and one more thing."
"What's that?"
The man points at the girl, whose eyes have yet to leave the book she has been holding for the past few hours.
"You should take her for a walk," he says. "It's good that she likes reading, but too much of it will ruin her eyesight."
He pats the woman on the shoulder and departs the room. The woman sighs, and continues staring at the girl, the frown creasing her forehead never once loosening.
Kokonoe was revived into a world of white.
The cotton sheets beneath her were as feathers bearing her aloft, and upon them she flew into the warm arms of divine solace. Yet so soft and weightless were they that she, at the same time, felt she might sink into them for eternity. She closed her eyes, and allowed herself to be carried away with the waves of slumber.
Unfortunately, the intravenous drip hooked to her arm would not allow her to escape reality so easily.
She groaned and shifted her head around on the pillow, trying to make sense of the environment around her. It had been three days since she had been admitted to the hospital – one that was run by the government, meaning that it saw its fair share of officers injured in the line of duty. The advent of the Psycho-Pass had reduced that number somewhat, but all systems had their flaws, and the occasional murder or robbery inevitably popped up here and there.
Especially given that the only people who could commit crimes en masse were those that the Sibyl System could not see, and hence could not judge.
It was only now that Kokonoe was alone with her own thoughts that she could take time to mull over what had happened that night. It was, in hindsight, the first truly dumb thing she had done in a long while, even if she felt it was justified at the time. Not just because she had been ill, but because of the lies, however small, she had told to get there.
An unwelcome feeling of guilt gnawed at her. Guilt over inconveniencing the Chief Inspector, guilt over lying to her Enforcers – but above all, guilt over biting the hand that fed her, and betraying the trust of the Sibyl System. She was perfectly entitled to pursue matters that were personal to her, but not if they pertained to her work or to the life and death of others. The longer the deception went on, the harder it would be to keep it from coming to light, and the graver the consequences would be the moment it was exposed.
Maybe she should tell the Chief what she knew after all. What the faceless man had revealed to her, the existence of the three cards, and what she had deduced so far from the cases. If the Sibyl System kept what she told it a secret from everyone else – though that in itself was not guaranteed – then she would have little to worry about, and could pursue the case with the full backing of their society's most powerful entity. It beat having a sword hanging over her head every time the Chief looked in her direction.
Plus, having no-one to confide a secret in was, in many ways, one of the loneliest things in the world.
The hours came and went, and as midday approached, the door slid open. Kokonoe, expecting the nurse bringing her lunch, was instead met by two people: her savior, the Chief Inspector, and a man whose face she would never have expected to see.
"Chief Inspector," she said as they drew near her bed. "And… Ginoza Nobuchika?"
"How are you feeling?" asked Ginoza. "You seem in better spirits."
"I feel a lot better." Kokonoe pushed herself into a seating position, angling her pillows so they propped up her back. "What brings you here?"
"You may not remember, but he was there that night," Shimotsuki explained. "He was with us when we got the call about you going off by yourself, and he offered to come along… after getting permission from Hanashiro, of course."
"I see. Thanks a lot. You really saved me back there."
"I just did what anyone would do," he replied with a faint smile. "Though that does beg the question of what you were doing there in the first place."
"I was… investigating." Kokonoe had not really thought of an excuse to give to anyone who questioned what she had been planning, so all she could try to do was offer up as little of the truth as possible for the time being. "Inaba found out that the three victims in the cases I'd been handling had all visited that nightclub in the past six months, so I decided to go for some… reconnaissance."
Shimotsuki and Ginoza looked at each other.
"And you didn't think to bring your Enforcers with you?" queried Shimotsuki in disbelief.
"I don't particularly want to hear that from someone who wouldn't trust her Enforcers to watch her back in a similar situation," Kokonoe riposted, drawing a smirk from Ginoza and a displeased grunt from the Chief Inspector. "I was just checking the place out. I didn't exactly expect to be set on by a gang of mystery assailants."
"Speaking of that gang," Ginoza interjected before Shimotsuki could retort, "we questioned the ones that we didn't end up eliminating. Apparently they were hired to patrol that maze of corridors that we found you in, but they didn't know the reason why, nor were they allowed to ask. Thing is, they never actually saw anyone using those corridors, so they didn't really take their jobs seriously. They spent most of their time standing around or taking rests."
"Did you find anything else in those corridors?" Kokonoe asked.
Shimotsuki shook her head. "They just led down into the sewers. There were a few empty rooms here and there – one of them had blood everywhere, thanks to you – but those were ostensibly just for resting or for keeping the fuse-boxes. Which just makes the whole thing stink even more."
If the women Kokonoe had seen that night had gone into the sewers, then there had to be more to the sewers themselves that met the eye. That, or there was a secret room somewhere that they had missed.
"How many people did you send to check those corridors?"
"We had Inogashira and Domoto help out," Shimotsuki said. "Speaking of which… there's something I wanted to tell you."
"What is it?"
"Chief Kasei's finalized her restructuring plans for the Criminal Investigation Department. As you know, the recent resignation of Kousaka and the latent criminalization of Senazawa have left a few big gaps in the hierarchy. So, the four current Divisions will be compressed into three." Shimotsuki held up three fingers. "Inogashira and Bando will be placed into the new Division 2, and you'll form part of Division 3 along with Domoto. We'll have two new recruits coming into Division 1 in the following days."
"I see." Kokonoe had always found it odd that she had been assigned to a separate Division on her own from the start of her tenure, rather than being paired up with one of the other Inspectors. Even when a few of the other Inspectors had resigned, been killed, became latent criminals, or otherwise been removed from their jobs, Chief Kasei had seemed content to let Kokonoe's isolation continue.
Now, however, that was set to change. Maybe the Chief no longer felt safe about letting Kokonoe operate on her own, so she had tasked Inspector Domoto, reputed for a sense of loyalty and duty towards his work that was matched only by the Chief Inspector, to keep an eye on her. Kasei would be well within her rights to do so, after what had recently transpired.
"There'll be a meeting about the restructuring at 6 o'clock tonight. Please stop by headquarters once you're discharged this afternoon."
Kokonoe nodded. "Alright. I'll be there… Hold on."
"What?"
"Have you moved my stuff out of my office already?"
"Yeah, we did that the day before yesterday," Shimotsuki replied. "Why?"
Kokonoe's eyes widened, and a feeling of dread gnawed at her heart. Had they seen the square cards hidden under her pill container? What had they done with them? Did any of them recognize the logo, or realize that they had something to do with the cases?
As those thoughts raced through her head, her gaze unwittingly flitted towards Ginoza, who had a strange expression on his face. Their eyes met, and to her great surprise, Ginoza winked.
"Anyway, I think we should be going. I'll see you tonight." Shimotsuki made for the door, but stopped when she realized she was alone. "Ginoza? Are you coming?"
"I think I'll stick around for a bit. There's a few things I wanted to talk to Kokonoe about regarding the murders."
"Suit yourself." Shimotsuki pulled the door shut behind her. Ginoza waited until the sound of Shimotsuki's high heels clopping down the corridor had faded, then pulled one of the nearby visitor's chairs next to Kokonoe's bed and sat down with a relaxed sigh.
"What did you want to talk about?" Kokonoe asked, though she had a feeling about what Ginoza was going to say next. And sure enough, Ginoza rummaged in his suit pocket and withdrew the very three square pieces of paper that Kokonoe had almost bust a gut worrying over.
"I'm guessing you were thinking about these just now."
"How… how do you-"
"How do I have them?" Ginoza placed the cards on the bedside table and leaned back, staring at the ceiling lights. "The movers left your miscellaneous items in a big box in front of your office, and I couldn't help taking a peek. Given that these cards weren't in one of your drawers, and were sitting on their own on top of your pill container, I figured you must either have left them out in the open, or hidden them under something. And seeing as I recognize the logo printed on them, I deduced that it must be the latter – meaning that you likely didn't want them to be found."
"You recognize the logo?"
"Of course. You may have been a bit too young to recall, but many people my age knew that symbol well. I figured you'd have asked around, seeing as those cards seemed important to you."
The thought had never occurred to Kokonoe to look up what the logo meant. She had recognized it and linked it to her father's work, but something had always internally held her back from delving any deeper into the matter. Perhaps it was the unpleasant memories that seeing the logo brought back, or perhaps it was merely her tunnel vision in investigating the message behind the cards, and a consequent inability to think laterally. Perhaps both. Whichever it was, she had never once felt the need or desire to find out the story behind the insignia itself.
If she had done so, maybe she would not have been so desperate that she felt the need to move forward on her own and almost get herself killed in the process. It was too late for regrets now, but that was a lesson that she evidently needed to learn.
"Maybe I should've done some research beforehand," she murmured.
"Maybe. Though I don't think you would've found anything useful."
"Why not?"
"Well, let me first tell you what the symbol represents. The Sibyl System was initially created and looked after by a technology company known as Sibyl, after which the Sibyl System was named. That company was eventually made redundant over a decade ago due to the Sibyl System's sheer efficiency in sustaining itself." Ginoza pointed at the cards. "This logo, the falcon with the world in its claws, was the logo of Sibyl."
"But surely that logo would still be everywhere, or would at least be more prominent than it is now," Kokonoe said. "I'd never heard of it, or that company, until today."
"That just means that the Sibyl System has done its job." Ginoza shifted uncomfortably in his seat. "I don't know the exact details of it myself, but one of the last steps in ensuring people's obedience towards the Sibyl System was for the Sibyl System to make itself appear completely autonomous and independent in every aspect, giving it a pretense of authority and impartiality that no human-operated machine could ever hope to have. At least... that's what I think was the case."
"I guess that makes sense, from a certain perspective."
"It's worked so far. Yet the Sibyl System took its quest of self-revisionism very seriously. Maybe too seriously. This meant that by the time the Sibyl System had been fully established all over Japan – which was when you were likely still a kid – all traces of the company's existence had been wiped from the public eye, including any pictures, details or biographies that remained on the Internet. Classes did not teach about it; people did not talk about it. Sibyl, and the origins of the Sibyl System, were essentially erased from history, replaced with a vague, sanitized version of events. They became the greatest open secret of our time."
"But people still remember who created the Sibyl System and what came before it, right?"
"The older generations do, of course. But when they die out, nobody will be left to tell the tale – the Sibyl System will simply always have been there. Once that happens, we will no longer be able to imagine a viable alternative to our current mode of living."
Silence descended upon them. The notion that history could be rewritten at will and with such ease, all for the sake of maintaining control over the masses, was somewhat sobering. Yet it did not cause as much consternation to Kokonoe as she thought it would… if indeed it caused any consternation at all.
Maybe she subconsciously felt that, having sold her soul to the System and reaped its rewards, she did not have any right or reason to suggest that others ought to free themselves from its grip. Or maybe she was merely a product of the Sibyl System's efforts at rewriting the world in its own image, which had stymied any ideas of resistance in her.
"In any case, you haven't told me why you have those cards," Ginoza continued. "Is there a reason you've been keeping them around?"
The abrupt return to the topic at hand threw Kokonoe off, and she scrambled to think of a sufficient answer.
"My father had Sibyl's logos printed on most of his work documents – at least, the ones that I could see." Kokonoe chewed on her finger, apparently deep in thought. "I didn't know much about what he did, but he must have worked for Sibyl."
"What happened to your father?"
"He was… taken away." Kokonoe sighed. "I don't know the full details myself; my guardian never told me the whole truth. She just said he had committed a crime, and that he had died in prison shortly after he was arrested. But she would never say what he had done."
"I'm sorry to hear that."
"Don't be. I never loved my parents, and they never loved me. When they did interact with me, it was only to hurt me. To kick me while I was down. I'm not all that curious about what happened to them."
"I see." Ginoza's face corrugated in a look of pain, though he retained his typically measured smile. "I don't know anything about your circumstances, but I used to think the same about my father. I don't think I've told you about him, have I?"
Kokonoe shook her head. "I've heard rumors, but I don't know what's true and what isn't."
"He was a detective, but the stress and pressure of his work drove him to latent criminalization, and he was condemned to an isolation facility when I was nine. I hated him for his weakness, for his abandoning us, and for his supposed crimes. That resentment was what ultimately drove me to become an Inspector, and he ended up serving as an Enforcer under my command. Fate has an ironic sense of humor, it seems." Ginoza pressed his eyes shut with his fingers, massaging his eyelids. "He was killed in the line of duty before I could properly reconcile with him."
This time, it was Kokonoe's turn to offer condolences. "I'm sorry."
"Nothing to be sorry about – you've probably had it far worse than I have. I guess what I'm trying to say is, even if your parents hurt you or caused you irreversible harm, the only path to inner peace is forgiveness. Forgiving them, and forgiving yourself. Easier said than done, but that's the lesson I've learned."
Kokonoe did not reply. She knew Ginoza meant well, but how could he possibly know what she had been through? How could he empathize with the agony of a childhood filled with nothing but physical and mental abuse if he had never experienced something similar himself? She was tempted to lash out, to tell him that he was wrong, to impress on him that there could be no forgiveness for those who repeatedly betrayed the trust of the people who relied on them. But if she had learned one lesson from the trespasses of her father, it was that patience was among the highest of virtues.
Her father had been short-tempered, demanding, and constantly discontent even on the best of days. She would do her utmost not to be the same.
Wordlessly, she looked away from Ginoza and towards the window, letting her disquiet wash off in the warmth of the midday sun. The sky was clear, save for a few sparse clouds casting blurry shadows over the landscape. The rooftops dotting the skyline shone brightly, and beyond them the ocean was a swathe of serene blue and glittering white. The sight soothed her, and soon her momentary anger had been siphoned away.
"Anyway." Ginoza rose from his chair. "I'm sorry for keeping you for so long – I'll let you rest for now." He patted the cards. "Keep them safe. Also, don't tell the Chief Inspector that I looked through your things. She'd have my head."
"Will do. Thanks for coming." Kokonoe watched as Ginoza's back receded into the corridor, then slid down the pillows on her back and released a relieved breath. She extended an arm towards the bedside table and quietly slipped the cards into her pocket.
She had never talked much to Ginoza – he had transferred away from the Criminal Investigation Department before Kokonoe had joined – but he had always come off as a thoughtful and learned individual on the few occasions they met, and this impression was only reinforced after their conversation today. She also appreciated him not pressing her on the issue of the cards. The secret behind them was hers to keep for now, but she knew that their existence could not be concealed forever. She would have to keep pace with her enigmatic adversary as best as she could, assuming her body stayed intact long enough for her to find the answers she sought.
The door hissed open again, and a nurse entered, carrying a small pink tray.
"Your lunch is ready," said the nurse with a warm smile.
"Thank you for coming at such short notice." Chief Kasei stood at the front of the conference hall, peering carefully at each of the people gathered in turn as she spoke. "Aside from Inspector Kokonoe, who has already been briefed by Chief Inspector Shimotsuki, I surmise that most of you are not sure why this meeting has been called."
Murmurs of affirmation rippled across the room. The conference hall could fit over a hundred people with seats to spare, but such was the diminished scale of the Criminal Investigation Department that only the central column was ever filled. As such, the Chief could observe all their reactions without having to move her head an inch.
"As you are aware, all four Divisions have been operating as single-Inspector units for several weeks. Division 4, in particular, has been doing so since Inspector Kokonoe was recruited two years ago." Kasei narrowed her eyes. "However, I believe that the time is right to put this experiment to an end. Taking into account the recent vacancies, we will revert to having three Divisions of two Inspectors each. Inogashira, Bando, the two of you will now form Division 2. Domoto and Kokonoe, you are now Division 3."
Domoto, who was seated behind Kokonoe, tapped her on the shoulder. "Look forward to working with you," he whispered.
Kokonoe nodded. "Let's get along."
Inogashira, sitting at the very front, raised his hand. "What about Division 1?" he asked. "If Domoto goes to Division 3, then Division 1 will be empty."
"We began the recruitment process after former Inspector Senazawa was removed from her position. The shortlist has been narrowed down to four candidates, so we will have two new Inspectors by the end of next week. I will convene another meeting to introduce you to them when the process is finalized."
Shimotsuki, who had been waiting beside the Chief, cleared her throat. "Another thing. Domoto and Kokonoe, the two of you together will be responsible for the murder cases that Kokonoe has been investigating. Division 2, you will provide assistance should they require any. We want the killers – or killer – found as soon as possible."
A chorus of "yes ma'ams" rang out from the Inspectors and Enforcers present.
"Also, before we go-"
Just then, the wrist-links of the Inspectors present glowed blue, and the pale face of Karanomori Shion, the Department's senior resident analyst, was projected onto their respective holographic displays.
"Inspectors, sorry to interrupt, but we have a problem," she said, a look of deep concern etched on her face. "There's a rapid Area Stress elevation in Toshima – it may be a potential Psycho-Hazard. I'm sending you the details now."
Karanomori's face gave way to a map with a cluster of blinking red dots, with each dot representing a Psycho-Pass that was being raised at a rate that surpassed a predetermined threshold. As they watched, the number of dots increased, and the cluster grew denser and denser.
"I'll stay behind to monitor the situation with Karanomori. Get to work, Inspectors," Shimotsuki ordered.
The two new Divisions needed no further encouragement, and they quickly filed out of the hall. Traveling down the elevators to the carpark, they found their vehicles and two dozen patrol drones already waiting for them in a line in front of the doorway, emergency lights searing trails of red and blue into their vision.
"How're you feeling?" asked Domoto as they jumped into their squad car while their Enforcers loaded into the van behind them. He was a sharp-jawed man in his thirties, with jet-black hair slicked back and wrinkles starting to form around his dark-brown eyes. Kokonoe didn't know much about him beyond his usually serious and obedient façade at work, but at least he did not seem overly robotic at first glance. Either way, she would get to know him well in the coming weeks and months. "If you're not doing too well, maybe you should stay behind for now."
"Thanks for your concern, but I'm well recovered." Kokonoe stretched her arms up and gave her shoulders a few quick squeezes. "As long as my Dominator's with me, I can hold my own."
"Alright. As long as you're sure you won't jeopardize our task."
Their car screeched out of the carpark and onto the highway, followed closely by the others. The car's dashboard computer flashed into life, and Karanomori's features reappeared.
"Do we have eyes on the scene?" asked Domoto.
Karanomori pushed her golden locks back and shook her head. "They're congregated around a blind spot. We can see their Psycho-Passes, but we can't actually see what they're looking at. Doesn't help that the people themselves are blocking the view." She dragged a video onto the display, where the two Inspectors could see a crowd gathered around a street corner. Most of them were stood completely still or milling about uncomfortably, staring at something that was obscured by the adjacent building. A few of them had their phones out, snapping photos of the unidentified object of interest before walking away.
"Many of them already have clouded Hues," Karanomori added. "We already have drones blocking off the intersection, but I'm not sure we got them all."
"We'll worry about that later," Kokonoe replied. "For now, we have to figure out what's going on."
Within a matter of minutes, the car came to a halt in front of the wall of drones lining the entrance to the street where the Psycho-Hazard had been detected. Domoto and Kokonoe leapt out and hurried to the van, where their Dominators were being rolled out on the rack protruding from the side of the vehicle. Kokonoe plucked her weapon out, and a wave of satisfaction washed over her as it sprang into action in her hands. It had only been three days since she'd last held a Dominator; nonetheless, she had missed this feeling.
Inaba and Kitahara, along with Domoto's three Enforcers, did the same. As they registered themselves in their Dominators' systems, the members of the new Division 2 approached.
"We'll help the drones hoover up the latent criminals," said Inogashira. "You head to ground zero first. We'll join you later."
Kokonoe and Domoto nodded, and they eased through the drone wall and headed towards the throng of people. The site of the incident was the entrance to a shopping mall, where an enclave covered by a concrete roof shielded much of the foyer from view of the street cameras. Vision was also hindered by several pillars that propped the roof up, between which stretched several panes of decorative tinted glass. At night, those sheets of dark glass became practically opaque.
In short, it was the perfect place to get away with a crime that you wanted to commit in full view of the public.
"Excuse me," called Kokonoe as they pushed through the crowd. The Inspectors both wore their blue uniform windbreakers, so they were immediately recognizable even if the Enforcers behind them were not. "Step aside please. We're from the Public Safety Bureau."
The sea of people was gradually parted, and in the eye of the Psycho-Hazard storm, they beheld the source of all the trouble. Kokonoe's heart plummeted as she saw what it was.
A body lying in a pool of its own blood, its clothes steeped in crimson, its arms and legs splayed out at awkward angles… and its head shattered, splintered, blown into a million gory, bony, infinitesimal pieces.
"The sheer gall of this," Kitahara muttered as he stepped beside Kokonoe. "That makes four in four weeks."
A lump lodged in her throat, and the concrete beneath her feet seemed to turn to quicksand, pulling her into its deathly embrace, collapsing the foundations upon which her reality was built. Though the essentially decapitated body was by now not an unfamiliar sight, it turned most of what she reckoned she knew about the murders upside down. In one fell swoop, she had been cast all the way back to square one.
If those three cards – and the victims they corresponded to – had not been the end, then what did the letters truly mean? What did the perpetrator really intend to tell her, or want her to find out? What was the significance of the hideout at Ota, if it was significant at all? Would she find another card at this new victim's house, and if so, what letter would be printed on it?
But most importantly… would there be any more to come?