Yashiro had watched Kirino Touko closely that morning. She kept arranging her hair or tossing it to the side of her neck, more out of obsession than necessity, and she felt that this was just the beginning. She could not help but go and ask her what was going on, even though she already knew the answer.
"I think… I think it's my father," the young woman replied in a trembling tone.
Yashiro had read the nets and kept track of what was happening outside the academy. The girl seemed to be on the verge of collapse, though she had not yet seen the truth with her own eyes. She wanted to cry, yet she did not because she was standing next to her.
"We can confirm this, if you wish."
That same morning, they left the academy and went to the place where the third victim had been discovered. They were still dressed as they had attended the academy's anniversary, so they did not look like two students. However, Yashiro felt a responsibility to look over her shoulder every time they passed a busy street, for as soon as Touko concentrated on something else she would easily get lost in the crowd.
A few hours earlier the nets exploded with the same news, and society roared again in a stormy and distressing silence. A sickening terror seemed to invade the streets, as if everyone were taking precautions on their own. When they arrived at the Ueno Imperial Zoo they noticed that it was closed, and could overhear the voice of the police drone in the distance announcing that it was the Public Safety Bureau. The sky began to clear above their heads, in a warm and harmonious dawn.
"We're late," Touko complained raising her eyebrows.
When the young woman turned to Yashiro, she realized that she was not there. She looked around in desperation and discovered her companion several meters away, trying to access the establishment from the back. The walls were not very high and you could climb up if you were agile enough, but even so Touko could not believe what she was seeing. Yashiro's image was quite blurry at that time.
They were out of the academy, which was in itself an irresponsible act, but ignoring the law was something else. Took Kirino ran to her and was petrified, when she saw her managing with some debris to reach the wall and succeed in climbing. Yashiro extended her hand to help her, but she instead felt that her body was not responding to her demands.
"What are you waiting for, Kirino-san? Don't you want to see the truth with your own eyes?" Yashiro asked in a tempting tone.
Her words ignited in her an enthusiasm, like an energetic heat on a summer afternoon. Her body was reborn with an innate desire to break the rules and go out with something in her hands, however implausible it might be. Seconds passed slowly, and finally, Touko jumped up and came to take her hand, holding on to the wall. Yashiro made a strong move and grabbed her with both hands, until after half a minute, both of them were wrapped in sudden exhaustion from the effort and the shock. Touko was panting like a dog after a long run, while Yashiro seemed to recover more easily.
"This is what I get for skipping gym class," the younger one remarked with a half-smile.
The zoo was completely empty, and in a way, they found it strange to see animals locked up in the concrete jungle. As they passed by, Yashiro observed the transparent and natural gazes of those creatures and imagined herself living like them. They had long ceased to be the enemies of humanity, and were now gathered there as a reminder of the enormous power of the human species. They no longer suffered from hunger, cold or disease, they no longer had to make a spear to protect themselves from a tiger, but even so, when Yashiro passed by them, an impulse slammed into her body and forced her away, out of both respect and suspicion.
"You two! What are you doing here? The whole block is closed," exclaimed a hoarse and tired voice.
Both of them turned around, absorbed by such an interruption. Yashiro had been so focused on contemplating a raccoon, that she had completely forgotten about the possible presence of guards. The man was young and had the classic garb of a zookeeper. Touko had frozen to death, but Yashiro instantly drew a kind and stunned smile, while looking up at the sky in a helpless gesture.
"At last! We've been searching for someone to guide us for a long time," Yashiro spoke with indignation in her voice, and pointed to Kirino Touko. "Since my friend loves to take pictures, she brought an old camera with her, but she seems to have forgotten it. Could you tell us where the chimpanzee enclosure is located? That's where we took the last pictures, and when people started to leave, we forgot about it."
The man seemed to hesitate for a moment, but finally scratched his head and showed them the way, repeating that since the area was closed, they should leave as soon as possible. Yashiro thanked him with a big smile, apologizing for the inconvenience, and before leaving she promised not to tell anyone about the help. In the end, he was risking being scolded by his boss for letting civilians near the scene. And he might have done so after all, but Yashiro did not care and went ahead with her companion.
They walked for about ten more minutes until they finally arrived. There were no police drones, but they managed to see a tall young man in a suit talking to a shorter one, who was clearly a zookeeper. They were standing in front of the chimpanzee enclosure, analyzing the imposing and desolate figure that had caused so much chaos in the nets. Yashiro squinted, aware that in real life things looked more horrific. She found it hard to believe that this had been exposed by a human being.
She then remembered that Touko was with her, and that she was the daughter of the man who was right there, surrounded by chimpanzees that had chopped him up to eat his insides. When she looked for her, she noticed that she was already heading towards the crime scene, at a slow and idiotic pace as if she could not believe what was in front of her eyes, but even so she was attracted like an insect to the light.
Yashiro grunted inwardly as she lay hidden behind a wall, several meters away. She had become distracted again and Touko was getting into trouble. At first the two men were unaware of her presence, but when the young woman stood in front of the fence, two meters away from them, they stared at her in dismay as if she were a ghost.
The one dressed in black, who seemed to be working for the Public Safety Bureau, rushed towards her and when he was beside her, he stopped in his tracks. Then, Touko turned to him with her face completely red from sobbing, and pounced on his body in a desperate embrace, that to her surprise, the young man received without bothering, as if he had really known her all his life and had expected that reaction. Yashiro frowned and felt her heart stop as she recognized that face, the same one she had studied at the academy for so long. A stream of anger ran through her entire body, and for an instant her hands trembled and closed tightly.
"You shouldn't be here. It's a restricted area, how did you get in?" the man said placing his hands on the shoulders of the younger one.
The voice, grave and harsh, harbored an almost paternal concern and echoed in her mind, as she watched them. Yashiro closed her eyes and breathed deeply, until after some seconds, standing up completely and stretching out her arms, she moved away from the wall and went towards them with a firm step. It took them a while to hear her steps, but when they did, they instantly parted, giving her a slight smile like one who enjoys watching two lovebirds from the shadows.
"Who are you?" the enforcer inquired in a threatening tone.
Touko wiped away the tears that covered her cheeks, and avoided looking at the remains of her former father again. Yashiro approached her and gave her a gentle hug, patting her back to try and cheer her up, though she well knew that nothing could repair the damage that had already been done, and no gift could serve as an apology. Death was something unavoidable that no matter how much time passed, remained in the memory of those closest to him.
When Yashiro separated from her companion, she looked at the man slowly. His eyes were dark brown and watched her voraciously, as if despite the gesture she had made for Touko, he still distrusted her presence. His hair was brown and quite short, with a certainly rebellious and somewhat crazy appearance. What bothered her most was his tone of voice, which was so sly, as if he were expressing that his work was of the simplest and most banal kind.
There was a break in which both studied each other, with equally shared suspicion. Yashiro felt a pang of emptiness across her chest, the same one that lately disturbed her every night before she went to sleep, and she had to make a great effort to curve her lips into a nice, polite smile, ignoring the irrational requests of her fists. A force seemed to incline her slightly forward, guiding her to the man, but her will was stronger and she was able to contain her more primitive impulses.
"Takahashi Yashiro," she introduced herself, without taking any kind of bow.
The young man raised his eyebrows at her name and frowned, with a certain irony on his face. He looked at her with a growing curiosity that left Touko puzzled. The enforcer took a few steps forward and stopped again, standing about three feet away, as if Yashiro's presence gave off an eerie aura.
"The miracle girl," he corrected.
Yashiro narrowed her eyes, incredulous. Those words sounded as innocent as funny, and she merely nodded her head, releasing a smirk. A current of anger transformed her appearance for a thousandth of a second and her teeth came out delicately, but she managed to hide them by letting out a breath of tiredness.
"Let's see if my memory does not fail… Sasayama Mitsuru?" Yashiro mumbled, pretending to make an effort to remember his name.
The enforcer gave off a big smile, showing his teeth like a cat. Neither of them had expected to be recognized by the other, and an uncomfortable silence was created, or at least that way Touko felt it, who could perceive a strange tension in the atmosphere, becoming darker and darker.
"Who could have done such a thing?" the younger one changed the subject.
They both turned their gaze to her, breaking the temporary bubble that had locked them in for an instant. Yashiro looked up, focusing on the scene surrounding the victim. The chimpanzees ran around ignoring that they were being watched, and some remained near the body. Touko could no longer turn around, but she came closer. If it were not for the enclosure being closed, she would have walked until she was in front of the man.
She could not help but arch an eyebrow while studying him. Different parts of his body had been opened and filled with chimpanzee feed and toys. The brain and the internal organs were not in sight, so she assumed they had been removed to make more space for the fillings. Chimpanzees had been feeding on that body partially and the remains must have been in their stomachs.
"It's your father. Do you know if he had any enemies?" Yashiro gently hinted, receiving head shakes, until an idea crossed her mind and she tilted her head. "Any people with a grudge against him?"
Touko opened her eyes slowly, absorbed by her words. The surprise was such that her thin lips parted, and she seemed to look nowhere in particular. Sasayama leaned in slightly, interested in her reaction.
"Touma Kouzaburou," the younger one blurted out in a whisper, directing all her attention to Yashiro. "He hated him because he knew he would not let him be with me. My father was the head of the charity that got him out of Ogishima… his hometown. During the anniversary of the Ousou Academy… he told me that things would change. But I never thought that he…"
Touko covered her mouth, unable to continue reflecting on the matter, and her face filled with tears again. The enforcer frowned in an exacerbated manner. It was too much information to process, and he was still shocked. Yashiro observed the treetops, the way chimpanzees climbed to feed from a greater height. The Public Safety Bureau had done a better job of closing the area. When the politician was displayed everyone believed he was a hologram, but upon finding out that he was a flesh and blood person, the psycho pass of everyone went up. She wondered if the same thing had happened in that zoo.
"I cannot believe he did such a thing…"
Yashiro's voice sounded hesitant and broken, as if her own echo were insignificant to her. Her eyes shone with dismay as she turned to her and her lips were left half open, as if she were unable to say anything else. She had trusted that Touma would try to persuade Touko's father, but she would never have believed that he would be capable of murdering him, as he was the father of his beloved; the only thing he achieved with such an act was to provoke Touko to hate him for the rest of his life.
When they left the zoo, Sasayama met another man at the entrance of the establishment, who was dressed just like him and looked less decrepit. There were police drones guarding the surroundings, forbidding passage to pedestrians who, in those early hours, were fortunately scarce. Touko watched attentively, feeling vulnerable in that hostile world that was still out of her hands.
"This is all my fault… if I had accompanied my father none of this would have happened," manifested Touko with a voice that seemed to twist in pain.
Yashiro returned to reality and looked down, studying her for a few seconds. She could feel the guilt inside her, and when she placed a hand on her shoulder the younger one raised her huge and bright eyes.
"You could not have known, Kirino-san…"
"I should have!" the young woman exclaimed, bringing her hands to her head. "I have known him for as long as I can remember, and yet… how could I have been so blind? My father was always right to distrust him. When he found him in Ogishima he had such a clear hue… even though his mother had been lying dead in bed for who knows when. He must have killed her!"
Yashiro grabbed her by the shoulders with little strength, to gently shake her and force her to look into her eyes. Her face was still red from the incessant crying, but there was a shadow of remorse that seemed to fan her, leading her into the flames of discord. The Kirino Touko she had known was beginning to fade away, and Yashiro was both proud and worried.
"Hey! You are not the only one who trusted him, you know."
Yashiro's words awakened something in the mind of Touko, who blinked in silence as if she found it hard to believe, recognizing that she was not a person who expressed her emotions in front of just anyone. Yashiro frowned not knowing where those words had come from, but focused again on her companion, who was already immersed in the members of the Public Safety Bureau.
The two agents seemed to be talking about the new leads they had on the table. Yashiro squinted at the features of the man who was with Sasayama. The black short hair, the gray and authoritarian eyes that yearned for justice. Despite this, he did not convey to her the same aggressiveness as the enforcer. He directed his curious gaze at her and Yashiro held it, feeling an eagerness to discover what he thought about the crime of Abele Altoromagi. However, before he could approach the students, a black car slowly parked in front of the zoo entrance, and two men and a woman got out.
"I can't… I don't want to stand idly by while they look for him," spluttered Touko with clenched fists.
Yashiro arched an eyebrow and refrained from turning in her direction. Something in her voice emanated a deep but powerful emptiness, like a current of air that pushed her towards barbarism and swept everything around her. She did not cease to observe the enforcer as if she longed to follow his example, to be just like him. She was losing her little by little; she was starting to have a personal interest in that case and she could not allow her to be in danger.
"You have already done more than enough," Yashiro rebuked her with absolute delicacy. "You gave them a clue they might never have found on their own…"
"It's my father!" Touko grunted, circling around as she placed both hands on her hip. "If I don't find Touma first, I'll never forgive myself…"
Yashiro sighed deeply and nodded. She understood perfectly what she was going through. She knew the abyss into which she had fallen, the very one from which she herself was unable to emerge. That hatred made her both strong and vulnerable at the same time, Yashiro shuddered as she imagined a dominator aiming in the girl's direction. At that moment, she was so blinded by the mere thought of seeing Touma die that she did not fall back into the danger that it entailed.
"Shion," one of the agents later spoke through his communicator, while arranging his glasses. "We have a suspect identified as Touma Kouzaburou. Run a background check on him and send us his address."
Yashiro focused on the emitter, whose appearance denoted determination. He walked completely upright and his clothes did not have a single crease or wrinkle. His voice seemed to be controlled as if he were protecting himself from something. The one accompanying him was older and conveyed the opposite. He was a more natural person, humanized in a certain way, and although his robustness made him intimidating, Yashiro did not perceive any kind of threat in him. The only woman among them was very thin, had blue eyes and a look of meaninglessness that seemed to analyze everything around her. Her long straight hair was tied back in a too neat ponytail.
The woman on the other side showed no signs of a criminal record, but was able to tell him where he was. Finally, they organized to go to the Ousou Academy and capture the professor, who was teaching. Yashiro frowned imagining the agents running through the corridors of the academy, shooting at any student in their way as they tried to catch Touma. She could hear the screams echoing throughout the establishment as if she were present right there. She had been so self-absorbed for so long, that she did not notice the agent's footsteps when he approached both students.
"I am Inspector Ginoza Nobuchika. You two will accompany Inspector Kougami Shinya and the enforcer Sasayama Mitsuru," he took her back with a rigid voice, pausing for a long time. "You have a lot of explaining to do in your academy. What are students like you doing at the scene?"
The green eyes radiated in a majestic way, and at the same time, completely cold under his glasses. Yashiro observed him inexpressively in the same way, without giving in. There was something about him that disgusted her, and it was much lower than his attitude. She wondered if the other agents would be like him. The short distance, in turn, allowed her to discover that he was very young, even though both his voice and his behavior denoted the opposite.
"You also have a lot to explain with the arrest warrant," she dared to say, ignoring the question.
Out of the corner of her eye she noticed that Touko touched her arms, as if the atmosphere had suddenly cooled down. The inspector in front of her even arched an eyebrow and seemed not to have expected that comment, since a darkness flooded his entire face in a culminating way, as if he wanted to disintegrate her at that very moment. However, before she could add anything the enforcer approached them, and Yashiro looked at him slowly.
"Yes, that there is a killer on the loose who is capable of anything and that if we don't find him someone else will die," Sasayama snapped at her making sarcastic gestures with his hands.
Yashiro was about to burst out laughing, but she held back with all her might. Instead, she only curled her lips in mockery, while shaking her head.
"Someone always dies," she rebuked, tilting her head to the opposite side in an exaggerated manner. "Everyone talks about how safety improved, but no one mentions the side effects. The strange cases of suicide, the people who loses everything suddenly just because they are stressed, as can happen with students…"
"Takahashi-san is right," Ginoza voiced turning to the enforcer. "We have no proof but mere suppositions, so we must avoid disturbing the psycho pass in the academy."
Yashiro looked at him again, this time gently. He must have wanted to catch the culprit, but unlike Sasayama, he was not willing to break routine protocols to do so. He was not as impulsive as the other, and his patience was unquestionable. The enforcer, upon hearing these words, raised his head to the sky as if he wanted to let out a roar, but only remained silent, grunting furtively like a teenager who is forbidden a whim. And they immediately set off with their usual procedure.
They traveled in different cars, and Yashiro felt a strange heaviness when silence reigned inside the vehicle. Touko, at her side, was gazing through the glass searching for something to distract her, with her hands together on her thighs. The tears had dried on her cheeks, but the glow in her eyes was evidence of the pain. So much had happened in one day and she was mentally exhausted. It was impressive to her that until then her psycho pass had not become cloudy. She was beginning to wonder how long it would last.
The Ousou Academy, peaceful and solitary, was soon interrupted by the characteristic lights of the police drones that roamed the courtyard from side to side. A curfew was imposed on both students and teachers, and only members of the Public Safety Bureau were allowed to enter or leave. The management of the Ousou Academy was so busy with the news that a teacher behind its walls was suspected of murder, that it did not even bother with the two students who had run away from the establishment. Both more than once. So it did not hesitate to open its door to the authoritarian and imminent presence of Inspector Ginoza. However, they made it very clear that they did not want violence, and asked the agents to try to be as discreet as possible when looking for Touma Kouzaburou.
While one of the directors was talking to the two inspectors in the courtyard, Yashiro noticed that Sasayama and Touko had entered the academy without authorization, and grunted inwardly determined to follow them. When she went inside, she realized that she had arrived too late, since the corridors were empty, most of the students must have been in their rooms. She had lost track of them, but she knew that they would go after Touma, and if she found him, she would find them too.