Smoke & Mirrors

Chapter II: A Familiar Scent

Dime eagerly panted close to the window, causing fog to appear near his snout as the two of them admired the sprawl of the cityscape that laid before them. Ginoza smiled at his beloved dog knowing that the two of them will be happier now that they have windows allowing light into their space. The new apartment the MFA set up was more than spacious enough for the two of them; complete with floor to ceiling windows that overlooked the Tokyo skyline.

"Not to bad, huh?" Sugo walked into the living room, not bothering to hide his smug smile at Ginoza with an all-telling look of I told you so. While Ginoza remained composed and stoic, it warmed Sugo knowing that his friend was both at peace and excited for this new chapter in his life and what it will bring. For starters: sunlight.

"It's almost a little too grand for my taste." Ginoza left the window to Dime and continued surveying the apartment. "It could be me living so many years in a basement but it's almost a little too excessive, don't you think?"

"You'll get use to it." Sugo smiled as he watched Ginoza struggle hiding his giddiness. "It'll take a while for you to adjust but not because it's over-the-top. It's that guilt you got accustomed to after the PSB took so much from us. Our freedom. Or at least that's what my therapist said." They both laughed.

"Well we're not 100% free." Ginoza reminded Sugo. "I still can't vote and while I'm placed in a pretty one bedroom apartment fourteen floors in the sky; a kennel is still a kennel." Sugo sighed. Typical of Ginoza for finding reasons to not celebrate. While he can admit that Ginoza grew more carefree and gentle along the years of being an Enforcer, he still finds it difficult to enjoy the finer things for himself. Sugo wishes – no, he hopes that one day he'll help Gino realize that he can be selfish once in a while and celebrate the accomplishments that he deserved.

"Come on," Sugo gestured to the door. "Your car is still being issued so I'll drive you to work." Ginoza gave Dime one last ear scratch before following Sugo.

"It's a good thing you're only a few floors above me."

"Ehh the MFA thought it convenient in giving us apartments all within the same building – save Officer Hanashiro. She wouldn't be caught dead slumming it in these apartments with us. I hear she has a penthouse near the arts district." The two of them took the elevator down to the parking lot.

"What's she like? Anything I should know about before meeting her?" Ginoza straightened his tie. First impressions are always everything. He made sure to dry clean his suit before his first day at work which was hard to fit in considering how fast his transfer was. Mika's head must still be spinning.

"Frederica…" Sugo stared up at the elevator's screen, watching the numbers tick away. "She's dedicated and doesn't bother with any nonsense or drama. But she also treats everyone with respect and trusts us to make the right decision. For a dog keeper, she holds a long leash – unlike the Inspectors at the PSB. You'll like her."

"And I hope she likes me." Ginoza tightened his glove to make sure no metal stuck out from underneath.

While it's been several years with his prosthetic, he still finds himself self conscious about it from time to time. It took a lot for Gino to overcome the anxiety he had regarding his appearance. Shyness is what his grandmother would call it whenever she tried easing concerned teachers during their many parent teacher conferences. He was a shy boy she said, but a good boy - sweet and caring as the Spring. But Spring was always deemed a fragile season. It would be wrecked by lingering winter winds one day and mopped up by drenching showers the next. Most people begin to miss the winter or summer as Spring was so wishy-washy. They couldn't tell how to prepare for the day: scarf, umbrella, jacket, no jacket. Gino was like that as a boy. He would be full spirited and loud until something would spook him and then he would be silent and cold all week. Teachers would hover over him with worry whenever they saw his shirt stained with blood or knees coated in dirt but their concern would only make him recoil into himself even more. With the lack of a father to give him confidence and the loss of his mother, Ginoza began to corrode away and find ways to hide. First his glasses and then his hair. Lastly, he armored himself with sarcasm and a prickly personality that no one would have a chance to get close to that sweet boy his Grandmother spoke of. Only one boy was the exception.

But that was ancient history. As time continues to roll like a never-ending wheel and after a series of turbulent storms, Spring gave forth unto Summer. After losing the last members of who he considered family, Gino was all alone and had no one else to lean on, hide behind or more importantly... compared to. He's not going to lie that the thought doesn't sadden him whenever he realizes that it took loss and trauma for him to finally find himself. In fact, he talked about it at length with his previous therapist on the guilt he carried. That losing his father and best friend gave him the push he needed to start looking himself in the mirror, accepting himself and realize that the greatest love he deserves should come from him. By the time he was released from the facility after his father's death, he was proud that he visited his father's grave for the first time without hiding behind his glasses and hair. That he finally was strong enough to face his father fully as himself and not cower. For what it's worth, that therapist really helped him out a lot until the very end.


Sugo knocked on the oak door before politely cracking it open for it's owner to recognize him.

"Mam?" He asked.

"Special Investigator, Sugo." A light but firm voice answered behind the door. "Please, come in." At the request of the owner of the voice, Sugo opened the door to reveal a large office drenched in sunlight. It was a pretty usual office that Ginoza could easily mistake for the thousand of offices he's been in under the Ministry of Welfare, but what stuck out for him the most was a large British flag hanging in a frame on the left side of the wall. "Special Investigator Ginoza, I presume." Gino looked over at the owner of the unexpected flag.

A beautiful tall woman with hair the color of golden wheat and sky blue eyes stood up gracefully from behind her computer. Complete with a set of tear-dropped ruby earrings, Gino can assume that this woman came from a long line of both money and education. She had a graceful countenance about her; one that inspired both respect and order from those around her. As she took in his appearance, he could tell that she was meant to be a leader for her gaze was both warm yet alert. Like even in the midst of a conversation, she was still considering all the aspects of her surroundings and the people within it; a constant watchtower monitoring for any disturbance.

"Thank you for offering me a place within your team, Chief Hanashiro." Ginoza bowed deeply before the woman.

"And thank you for accepting, Special Investigator Ginoza. Though for the record, I am not a Chief. Officer Hanashiro is what you can call me should you want to keep if formal. Chiefs, Inspectors, Enforcers are a thing of the PSB. We do things differently here at SAD which I know you'll start to realize." She tilted her head and smiled.

"Apologies, Ms. Hanashiro." Gino blushed. "Yes, Sugo is being most helpful in getting me adjusted to this new division. Its invigorating but similar to what you said, it's a lot."

"That's great to hear he's been there to help you through this whole process. We are thankful to have Sugo as well for he has been such a valuable member to this team's beginning. All of us at the MFA are looking forward to the achievements our Special Investigators will bring to Japan's safety now that steps are being made to move away from isolation."

"Of course, mam." Ginoza bowed again.

"Sugo, please give our new Investigator the full tour and introduce him to Ko-"

"Of course! Right away, Ms. Hanashiro." Sugo injected. He spun Ginoza around and lead him out the office hand in hand.

"Ugh...Thank you again, Ms. Hanashiro" Ginoza barely had enough time to say goodbye to his new boss as Sugo eagerly lead him out the office and to the elevator.


"And that's pretty much it." Sugo finished as he watched Ginoza settle down at his own desk within the vacant operations room. It was well into lunch time which Sugo had planned perfectly so that he could usher Ginoza through the facilities uninterrupted. Ginoza sank into his seat and realizing how new everything was. Not a speak of dust on his keyboard and the fabric of his chair still had that fresh-out-of-the-warehouse smell to it.

"Sugo," Ginoza began as he tested the arm rests of the chair. "You still haven't told me who the other person is on our team. Shouldn't you introduce me to them?"

"And we will." Sugo smiled as he nervously kept shifting his eyes to the doorway.

"I don't want to speed through my orientation but I also don't want to be benched for too long." Just then, Ginoza sniffed the air. "What's that smell?"

"I don't smell anything other than ciii-" Just then Sugo found the familiar ashtray of cigarettes over by the desk of the second Investigator. Shit! Quickly he walked over to it and pushed the whole thing behind the screen, casually disguising it as him leaning on the desk to face Ginoza. "I forgot to show you where the vending machines are! Come on, follow me." He waited until Ginoza got up till he left the desk he was hiding and shuffled the new member out the door.

"What's so special about the vending machines?"

"Oh, these new vending machines are great. Totally better selection than the one at PSB."

"Sugo…" Ginoza stopped in the middle of the hall and turned to face his friend; who was acting very out of character all of the sudden. He couldn't help but shake the feeling that the smell he found in the operations room was so familiar. It was faint but how it lingered in the far corners of a distant memory was agonizing. Where have I smelled it before? "Can you just cut to the chase and tell me what's going on?"

Ginoza faced Sugo and couldn't pick up that Sugo's eyes were darting back and forth between him and what was behind him.

"Uhhh-"Shit! Shit! Shit!

"If you roped me into accepting this job without telling me something that I should of known, I would be-"Ginoza crossed his arms and started to notice the tension in Sugo's face.

"Gino, I just didn't know how to-" Sugo stuttered.

"How to what? Sugo?" Ginoza took a step closer to Sugo, hoping his presence will pressure the ex-Enforcer into spilling what he's been hiding.

Meanwhile Sugo was frozen in place; barely paying attention to Ginoza's annoyance as he watched the train wreck he had been avoiding all day slowly fall perfectly into place.

Shit.

"Hey."

Ginoza stiffened at the sound of the voice like he had just been shot. Baffled and in disbelief, he didn't turn around to see the source of the greeting. Ginoza's green eyes widen in shock and then narrowed towards Sogu; burning through his partner's panicked face in anger and betrayal.

"You son of a bitch." The long haired man whispered yet no one knew if he was speaking to Sugo or the person who walked up behind him.

"I tried…" Sugo whispered to him in a weak attempt to plead for his forgiveness though Ginoza's face didn't soften.

"Tried what?"

Ginoza's eyes rolled in annoyance, already pissed off at the flatness of his voice and how oblivious he always was. The long haired man took a deep breath and slowly turned around but not giving Sugo a linger stare that promised him he is NOT off the hook.

And there he was. Shinya Kogami.

Blue eyes peering through disheveled hair, clothes haphazardly pulled together while he stood there reeking of cigarettes and sweat. That familiar scent. He was in better shape than when Ginoza last saw him in the jungle; bleeding and beaten after coming out of a fight with a vicious mercenary. And yet he seemed older, his face a touch more worn down and his eyes harder. He didn't even seem happy greeting Ginoza even though its been over four years since they last saw each other.

The best friend Ginoza was so proud of in forgetting; coming back to haunt him once more.

The last time he saw Ginoza, Kogami was exhausted after enduring a bloody fight and believed that he was going to be shot dead. That was until a gun was carelessly flung towards him and his childhood friend walked away without looking back; leaving him to disappear once more into the chaos of the battle. After the dust settled and Kogami was able to breath in relief to live another day, he could barely piece together the image of Ginoza that saved him that day. But what he did remember so vividly was the sound of the gun being tossed in his direction, as if it were in pity, and the threatening tone in Ginoza's voice warning him to never return back to Japan. Four years is a long time to uphold a threat over someone's head, but Ginoza always had an excellent memory and even better resolve.

"What are you doing here?" Ginoza said softly. It kinda took Kogami back when hearing Ginoza's voice. For he assumed it would hold more anger, more violence and maliciousness towards him. Instead Ginoza sounded disappointment which for some reason, hurt Kogami even more.

"Same reason why you are here, I guess." Ginoza nodded at Kogami's lazy answer. Just like him to throw it back at Ginoza with even more contempt.

Sugo was too afraid to more much less breath or it would incite a fight between the two. He waited and watched for any sudden movements that would give away any signs of the two about to go head to head with one another.

"Sugo," Ginoza finally said without taking his eyes off of Kogami.

"Ugh, yeah?" Sugo answered; still cursing to himself that he let this encounter happen.

"I'm ready to continue on the tour." And with that Ginoza walked around Kogami without a second thought; like he were a misplaced trashcan that Gino was too lazy to put back himself.

"Ss-sure!" Sugo teetered after Ginoza but made sure to keep his distance from him in case the long haired man decided to redirect his anger towards him instead.

"Gino!" Kogami called out, disappointed that Ginoza was cutting this reunion so quickly after four long years. Ginoza stopped and barely turned around, he merely looked over his shoulder.

"What?" His voice was as flat and unassuming. Like he was paused on his walk by a stranger asking for money.

"It's good to see you." Kogami hoped this little olive branch would coax Gino into thinking that it was okay to open up to him again, that he did miss him after all these years and that he wished they can start over after so much loss. Unfortunately Ginoza didn't feel the same. He had moved on and he wanted Kogami to know that.

"Sure."


BOOM!

Sugo barely felt the pain in the back of his head after Ginoza shoved him into the vending machines.

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I know! I should of-" He pleaded to Ginoza with his hands.

"God dammit, Sugo!" Ginoza pushed his colleague again into the machine, his mouth barely inches away from Sugo's.

"I know that if I told you, you wouldn't have taken the job! But if you didn't take this job, you'd be miserable until they institutionalized you or worse! At least with this department and this position, you'll spared that fate – you're not a latent criminal anymore!"

"ahhh!" Ginoza roughly walked away from his, rubbing the pain away from his eyes as he could already feel a stress headache coming on. "We're still criminals, Sugo! Just with hall passes. Something that's not worth having if it means I gotta work along side him again."

"What are you talking about?" Sugo walked over to Ginoza, not comprehending what he was saying. "You're telling me that you hate Kogami that much where you'll forgo the chance of being free just so you don't have to work with him."

"It's not that simple!"

"Then explain it to me!" Sugo was beginning to feel exasperated towards Ginoza's unwillingness in working alongside Kogami even though they've been partners before. "The two of you worked together before, even as Inspector and Enforcer and you had no problems."

"Oh trust me – there were problems." Ginoza scuffed. "I was just better at hiding them in the past. Now I'm not gonna put myself in that situation anymore. I've changed-"

"And so did he." Ginoza stopped and stared at Sugo with little faith in his words. "I don't know what happened between the two of you out there in the jungle but the Ko I knew back in PSB and the Ko now are totally different."

"Stop bullshitting me." Ginoza was about to walk away until Sugo caught him by the arm.

"I'm not!" He took in a deep breath. "Look, I understand the two of you have baggage. I get it. We all do! But Frederica chose us for a reason. Sibyl chose us. They know that not only are we the best who can do this job justice but we also are the most compatible when we are all together. Your achievements when working alongside Ko all those years proves it!"

"What are you getting at, Sugo?" Ginoza took his arm back. "First you're saying the past in the past, we're all different now. And in the same breath you're saying that because Kogami and I worked so well together in the past, we'll work well again now?" Ginoza shook his head and was about to leave once more until he felt his hand being grabbed.

"Look," Sugo took Gino's hand; keeping him from running away. "All I know is that as angry as I was, still am, at Otomo – I wouldn't hesitate in being back in the trenches with him again." Ginoza noticed the hurt in Sugo's eyes when he said that. He never talked about his past before being an Enforcer. In fact, he did so much to deflect any mentioning of his previous life before he came to the PSB. To this day, Ginoza didn't know if he was embarrassed over what happened in his previous life or if he was ashamed of his current one. Whichever the case, Gino knew that it took a lot for Sugo to bring up his ex-best friend's name – the one that he trusted the most only to have been tricked by him in the end. It was probably why Sugo always carried such cold eyes, even when he was in a good mood. A betrayal like that stays with you.

Ginoza took a long and deep sigh while doing the math on how many hours he would have to endure before he was allowed to go back home.

"Time Machines are things what kids dream up. In real life, there's no such thing as going back to where things were."

"Listen," Sugo released Ginoza's hand; a little embarrassed that he held onto longer than he anticipated in fear that Gino would notice. "Just take it day by day. You ended up becoming a hell of a detective while Kogami was out playing solider in the jungle. At least give him the chance to see that."

And that's where Sugo had a point that not even Ginoza could contest. He was right about one thing: Ginoza was miserable and bored at Division One. What's worse is that they didn't need him there any longer. With a new Chief, new team – the PSB was moving on without him. Akane was his only anchor there. His north star. Every day she reminded him in small ways the value he put into the team. But eventually the PSB kicked Akane out and in turn, alienated Ginoza. His expiration date was coming up. They practically were phasing him out and for what?! He had more than enough strength and tact to take on half of Tokyo's criminals while the younger generation were still typing up reports. In the end, Ginoza had out grown Tokyo's criminals. It's time he helped protect his country from more powerful criminals. Criminals that were outside of the reaches of the Sibyl system.

"I hate it when you're the right one."

Sugo laughed and patted Ginoza on the chest as he walked past him.

"See, I know I would of worn you down." He smiled back at the long haired me.

"Is that your whole grand scheme?" Ginzoa followed suit after him; like he always does. "Wearing me out until I give in like some pushy toddler."

"Hmmmm…" Sugo laughed at how little Gino knew. "Maybe? It's working so far, right?"

"Shut up and finish up this tour of yours." Ginoza stuck his hands in his pockets; feeling his body loosen up after the stressful encounter.

"Uhh that was actually it."

"What?!"

"Yeah – I took you to all the places that I know." Sugo stopped, lost in where to go next. "I mean, I've only been here for a month. There are places that even I don't know. Like I heard they have two gyms here."

"Hmm…" Ginoza scanned the hallways void of people. "Might as well check it out now. I can't imagine how long you'll get another pass where all you have to do is show me off." Ginoza playfully shrugged his shoulders and tilted his head inviting a laugh from the ex-Enforcer. Sugo hid his smile from Gino from his hand. He tried his best to not show how much he enjoyed the rare moments when Ginoza acted cute.

"Come on, jerk."

Hope everyone is enjoying the set-up of this story so far.

Trying to lightly hint the fact that there mayyyy be something brewing between Ginoza and Sugo. I always thought it would be an interesting mix seeing as how they experienced similar situations when it comes to trust and betrayal.

This chapter was really to introduce Kogami into the mix but don't worry, next chapter I'm really gonna turn up the dial when it comes to the clash between Ginoza and Kogami. Stay tuned!

Real question: Is it Sugo or Sugou?