The sharp, soft sound of teaspoons against cups emanating a strong smell of coffee echoed in the wide hallway, as several people slowly stirred their drinks accompanied by sweet foods.
"Miyake Ren was loyal. And yet you allowed the PSB to kill him," Makishima took a madeleine from a round plate and dipped it in his tea before eating it.
"I lost a man and so did you. Touma Kouzaburou was loyal to you," Agawa's voice was deeper, making him suddenly look up. "I know about the Specimen Case."
"His killings were… personal. That's why the PSB was able to link him to them. He didn't know how to protect himself, and he didn't listen to me. He was a driven, independent individual… but his pride ultimately led to his downfall. So much potential… lost the day he was captured," Makishima picked up the cup and gently moved it in front of his mouth, to smell the tea before taking a sip.
"Hard for you to admit your followers' shortcomings?" Agawa smiled for a second, sipping his Irish coffee from a medium cup.
"I don't like to think of them as followers," Makishima's face became serious as he set the cup down on the table. "For there to be followers there must be a person or an idea to follow. The way you put it suggests you are comparing me to a charming cult leader or preacher."
"And there's a difference?" Agawa raised his eyebrows.
"I never instructed anyone to murder anyone. I have no interest in preaching my own moral, social or philosophical worldview."
"You don't guide and inspire people out of good will. You would be incapable, even pretending. There's power, and profit in it. Isn't that a form of religion?" Agawa gently moved his cup towards him and took another sip.
"You should know."
"Religion has always been a business," Agawa clicked his tongue and looked away with narrowed eyes, setting the cup down on the table with a light thump, and clenching a fist in front of his chest. "I hate religion and the hypocrisy of it. It's responsible for far more bloodshed than I could ever accomplish. More people have been killed in its name than any other cause and yet religion hides violence with words of peace. Religion is not about love or charity, but blood and sacrifice."
Makishima blinked and frowned, looking at the man in front of him more intently than before, as he watched people walking down the opposite hallway of the building. A security drone passed by their table, but Agawa curled his lip for a moment and continued drinking coffee.
"You may call them followers… I prefer to see them as friends," Makishima smirked with narrowed eyes.
"A shepherd won't ever see sheep as friends, no matter how friendly he may seem, for he knows lambs are for slaughter. They need God. They need heaven. Papa State. Mama Sibyl. You don't. And they know it. That's why people follow you. But don't forget the mask you wear. Friendship is based on equality. You don't lie, control, manipulate, brainwash, or guide a friend in any way," Agawa looked down into his cup.
"Perhaps you're right. All I ever wanted was an equal," Makishima raised an eyebrow and stared at the surface of the table.
"I would believe only in a God that knows how to dance," sighed Agawa.
Makishima widened his eyes and blinked. A short, spontaneous laugh escaped his mouth.
"Nietzsche," he grinned like a Cheshire cat.
"Your ideas were always vitalistic and focused on the will and vitality of the body. You and I may have different roots… but we're cut from the same cloth."
"So sure, are you?" Makishima turned his head slightly to the side.
"I have issues but I can recognize when someone else does too," Agawa finished drinking his coffee and left the empty cup on the table. "Envy is our sin."
Makishima frowned and his expression darkened. Agawa looked at him with a faint smile. A woman approached their table, making Agawa stand up with a serious face, and follow her away from him. Makishima watched them walk down the hallway, in front of the glass railing, until he lost sight of them. He lowered his head, looking at the half-filled teacup and a plate with some madeleines. Crossing his arms in front of the railing, Agawa raised his head and noticed a large chandelier hanging from the ceiling of the building. The woman stood next to him and looked down several floors.
"Two PSB vehicles were spotted heading this way," she stated.
"Was one of them a paddy wagon?" he tilted his head towards her, looking up at the colorful ceiling.
"No. Just cars."
"Then they will bring in one or two enforcers at most," he blinked and lowered his gaze. "And there's another division offering assistance."
"How did you know she would kill Miyake-san?" she turned to him with a frown.
Agawa raised an eyebrow for a second. His voice softened as he shook his head, "I didn't."
"You lied to him and set him up."
"I wanted to test her on the field. See if she can step outside Sibyl's sphere of action. She knew a man like him wouldn't stop… and only temporarily become a target for dominators after killing. She's a driven individual. I just wanted to motivate her. After all, anger can be exhilarating," he turned his head to one side, squinting his eyes.
"And you're drawing it right to you. Agawa, you need to think about this. There's no need for you to stay here. Both the PSB and these people could storm this place any second."
"Kougami Shinya… Akiyama Daiki. Given their fighting skills, she will lead one or both of them to me. Can you handle it?"
"Of course," she sighed and closed her eyes for a moment. "Are you sure they're going to split teams that way?"
"She is likely interested in isolating me. I need to know if Sibyl is aligned with her. If it isn't, she must have already assumed my hue is through the roof, and will come in as an inspector."
"You are not thinking clearly," she shook her head with a serious look, cupping his cheeks with her palms and pulling him down to look at her. "We need to go. Don't let her get to you."
"Thank you for your unsolicited advice. I know you mean well, but we will hold our course," Agawa gently pulled her hands away by grabbing her wrists, something that did not match his grave and impassive countenance.
"You even called her when they could have been listening. They could have found out where you were," she widened her eyes for a moment and raised her voice.
"But they didn't. Truth is an old weapon we can use against her. Man's worst weakness is often his own darkness. She's surrounded by it."
"What did you get out of pulling that trigger? How does it feel to be victorious?" Agawa raised a hand in front of him with an open palm, gently turning his head to the side for a second.
"How… how do you manipulate your psycho pass that way?"
Yashiro knew that, in the underworld, there were drugs that specialized in reducing a person's crime coefficient temporarily, although an overdose could cause severe and harmful symptoms or death. The man in front of her was calm and fully aware of his surroundings. She looked him up and down. Agawa was not under the influence of any drugs. He was dressed in black, with a wrinkled shirt, an open blazer, a loose tie, pants and dress shoes, as if he had just come from a business meeting or job interview.
"You PSB are such linear and blunt instruments," he walked forward for a few seconds, making her step back. "You were tricked."
Slowly, Yashiro widened her eyes and lowered her gaze. Her grip softened, and her arms lowered slightly, still pointing the dominator at him. Her heart was beating fast against her chest. She frowned for a moment. Agawa walked over to the glass railing, rested his hands on it, and stared at the huge hologram in front of him. She kept pointing the dominator at him, though his crime coefficient dropped to 83 slowly. It was as if he wanted her to attack him from behind. But she did not move.
"People got used to not worrying because everything is premeditated. They don't know they can bleed. They have forgotten what pain is. Life is about suffering. Why not take some pleasure from it? Pain and suffering give life greater meaning. Purpose. Focus. You've been face to face with death. So you understand," he lowered his head with a serious expression.
"I don't think suffering is something to be proud of. Only the fight against suffering is. Do you realize what you've done—what you've set in motion? Skulking in the shadows all this time… now the PSB won't hesitate to hunt you down."
"Exactly. We need the fear. The overreaction. Sibyl has been choking us so slowly, people no longer notice."
"They will die," her voice echoed.
"That's the plan," his response was short, direct and quick. Her heart skipped a beat. "You're not angry with me. I'm just saying what you already know. Don't you think it serves them right?"
Agawa turned to her leaving one hand on the railing, bursts of gunfire ringing out on the second floor. Yashiro's eyes darted to the side, away from his gaze, and then to her dominator, which was still active.
"Without ideology… a majority will be taken over by anyone. No revolution, no matter how justified, and no movement no matter how popular, has ever succeeded without a political philosophy," she continued in a calm voice, watching as he let out a thin smile and lowered his gaze. "If your actions are justified by the misconception that you were chosen by a superior force… such as a god or Sibyl itself, and you have no choice but to obey the orders imposed by it, you shouldn't feel pleasure. But you enjoy killing."
"And inspectors don't?" he asked in a deep, soft tone, raising his eyebrows.
She looked down for a couple of seconds and responded slowly, "Inspectors only care about others."
"What would your father say? Even more so your mother," he narrowed his eyes.
"Don't," her tone was low, rumbling, but louder than she had intended.
"I wonder," he raised his voice and tilted his head, staring at her. "What would they think if they could see you now?"
Yashiro pursed her lips, holding her dominator tightly. One floor above, turning his head to the side, Makishima whispered, "Don't let him get to you."
"Why join the PSB? I don't even need to kill you… because leaving you there might be worse," Agawa walked to the side, studying her. "Not simply for justice. Oh… you have a purpose. Perhaps you are looking for something."
"You define yourself by the power to take lives… by what you feel when you look into their eyes for the last time… the sense of control and submission. You may have dominated your victims, but you killed them. And now you're alone. You have nothing."
His face contorted into a frown and his eyes narrowed for a moment.
"And what do you have?!" he waved his hand and took a few steps towards her. She backed away slowly. Had there been a nearby object to grab, he would have thrown it. "Everything you've ever known will be lost. Your entire division will be wiped out like they did Meyer's. And guess who the scapegoat will be."
His crime coefficient rose to 85 slowly, and did not change as he stopped, making her raise an eyebrow and look down. She lowered her arms, with the dominator pointed at his stomach and then at his hip, almost as if the weapon was too heavy for her.
"I know what you're doing. You're trying to cloud my hue. Will you be able to turn it so black you can shoot me down like you did the boy?" he smirked for a few seconds and gently approached the glass railing, gazing straight ahead. She stepped to the side, keeping her distance. "You've seen a lot. So have I. What makes a judgment wrong? The lack or avoidance of evidence, or the inclusion of considerations other than facts. Who determines the criterion for evaluating the character and actions of men, knowing that they possess the faculty of volition?"
He stopped with one foot further forward than the other, and turned his head towards her. She was still pointing the dominator at him, not looking him in the eye, and lowered her gaze for a moment. A question escaped her mouth, "Ethics?"
"And who designates the act of judging a man based solely on evidence, and evaluating by an objective moral criterion?" he looked at the hologram, demanding an answer, but she remained silent. "Justice."
"You lost the right to speak about justice when you killed an unborn child and your ex-girlfriend," she raised her voice, making him look at her with narrowed eyes. His crime coefficient slowly reached 87.
"Justice is merely a concept shaped by the current power base," he turned his head to the side, waving a hand for a second. "A base which, according to my observations, is a fraud. Would you say that the clowns in government hold any power? Politics is a reality show and politicians are good for ticket sales. Their careers were driven from a young age by their potential to please the masses. They are lapdogs like inspectors and enforcers, handpicked by Sibyl.
"A society is governed either by the rule of law or by the rule of human whim. Old political states were governed by the arbitrary whim of a ruler or group of rulers, creating a population conditioned to submit. Under the rule of arbitrary preference, the constitution lacks objective meaning, and must therefore be interpreted as a judge or justice sees fit. You claim security and welfare, but mostly keep law and order all in service of their greater goals."
"Cut the shit. You can make your followers believe whatever lie you've told them, but you don't fool me. Using the contradictions to justify your nature. You're just as bad as the ones who created them. In the end, you'd betray everyone."
"You said that what you want is a society in which each person can enjoy the maximum possible level of individual liberty, which is why we cannot enslave our neighbors. But when laws are subjective, why is that supposed to be good, because then everybody can have what they want? This is the subjectivism coming out even when you say that the opposite might be undesirable. Undesirable in fact or undesired by many people? Those who want their liberty, don't tread on me. That's great if you don't want it, but if I want to tread on some person, as far as I can tell, neither you nor Sibyl give me a reason why I shouldn't."
"Because there are consequences," she widened her eyes, raising her voice. "We can learn from theory and history that regimes that deviate from these ideas end up pretty badly like Cuba, Venezuela or Russia."
"According to Sibyl ethics is subjective. So how can you say a society is bad in fact, or that a man's actions are immoral? You can't."
"But—that doesn't mean we can't have a moral framework," she slowly lowered her arms.
"Then let's acknowledge what it is. A made-up to your liking."
"You're not trying to justify yourself…"
"You understand how pointless their fight is. Look around," he shook his head, waving a hand to the side.
"They're not your people, are they?" her voice echoed, lower than before, no longer pointing the dominator at him.
"What is your moral framework?" Agawa squinted his eyes.
"Why do you care? You already have your own."
"A moderately intelligent inspector would keep me entertained, trying to get as much information as possible, while reinforcements arrive."
Yashiro huffed and pursed her lips. Her gaze fell, until she blurted out, "Self-ownership. If you recognize you have that right, you recognize that of others, which is why you don't tread on them."
"But that's compatible with Sibyl's subjectivism. Why do people have an objective right to self-ownership?"
"I'm not here to debate libertarianism with you," she raised her arms again to point the dominator at him.
"Ah… I see. I get it now," Agawa let out a short laugh, barely opening his mouth and showing his white teeth. He took a step towards her, looking her up and down, as she backed away slightly. The dominator's trigger remained locked. "You're not like—you don't want to have to choose who gets to live and who has to die. You don't want to determine the value of a life or to decide how others should dispose of it. But you wouldn't be the one to choose. It's about power. Anyone with enough power can prescribe and choose a life's value. I'm sure you've seen it. Am I right? You're one of the last moral women I've ever met."
"You don't know anything about me," she shook her head and curled her lip for a moment.
"But I do. Opposing morals aside, you and I are basically the same. You believe in individuals, in spontaneous order and self-government. You recognize the right of people to be moral or immoral according to their particular judgment. No action can be considered virtuous unless it's done in freedom. Frank Meyer said that men cannot be forced to be free or virtuous. To a certain extent we can force them to act as if they were, but virtue is the fruit of well-used freedom. A coerced act implies neither virtue nor vice. When a person is forced to perform a certain action, it no longer implies a moral choice.
"Morality is found in the conscience of the individual. It's the result of free choice. Imposing moral actions or forbidding immoral actions doesn't promote morality or virtue. On the contrary, coercion stunts morality because it deprives the individual of the freedom to be moral or immoral, and then necessarily robs people of the possibility of being virtuous. Paradoxically, compulsory morality robs us of the very opportunity to act morally."
Yashiro looked down with slightly parted lips and a raised eyebrow. Her hands dropped again, unable to pull the trigger, and she held her dominator with one hand next to her body. His crime coefficient was still low. The corner of his lips twisted into a lopsided smile.
"I know you've seen the double standard," he glanced at her gun and lowered his head with a serious expression, walking to the side with hands in his pants pockets. "Endo Seiji, Fueki Isamu and Miyake Ren were simple representations. Even… Meyer."
Agawa blinked and frowned for a second after mentioning the former inspector. She felt the urge to raise her hand and measure his crime coefficient again, but kept looking at him as he paused, and raised his head again with a distant expression.
"You're the one who told the surgeon we were coming. You set Fueki and Miyake up," she lifted an eyebrow, making him blink and turn to her.
"Some people are more equal than others, wouldn't you say? And they receive better treatment than those whose rights have been violated. There is no rule of law, since some individuals are privileged and arbitrary differences can be established. Laws are subjective and Justice is unfair. The purpose of law should be to define what constitutes a crime objectively, or what is prohibited, and the penalty that would be imposed on a man if he performed such an action, to establish principles of conduct that would respect individual rights, and prevent citizens from infringing on the rights of others. Don't you think that Sibyl's greatest achievement is also its greatest flaw? But such a flaw is not accidental. From isolationism to import substitution industrialization… everything is built upon the same great line."
Holding the weapon with one hand in front of her, Yashiro looked at the top of a small blue brain above the trigger guard. Underneath it read Sibyl System. Agawa approached and lowered his head, towering over her. This time she did not step back. He must have been the same height as Choe Gu-sung, who was one of the tallest people she had ever met. She did not even flinch and raised her head, looking at his chest. His body was well-built with slightly broad shoulders.
"And I think you know it," he stated almost in a whisper, looking into her eyes.
Yashiro blinked and slowly turned her head to one side, and then the other. Suddenly, she kicked forward. Agawa shielded himself with his arms, and stepped back as a roundhouse kick was aimed at his face. Yashiro pursed her lips as she saw his crime coefficient. It was still below 90, and did not change even when she lunged to hit him with the dominator. He grabbed its barrel and pulled towards him, making her wince. Then he thrust, hitting her chest with the gun. She grunted and backed away, pulling him in, until they stopped.
Using both hands, Yashiro pushed the gun towards his neck, but he released the barrel, punching her chest and propelling her backwards. She gritted her teeth and tried to strike him with her left hand. Holding her wrist, he began to hit her with the gun, until he brought her arm up to her face, and slapped the barrel of the gun next to her cheek. The sound of iron and metal clashing against her skin echoed in her head. She staggered to the side with her eyes tightly shut, almost stumbling. The dominator fell to the ground.
Agawa rushed over, but when she turned and raised her fist, dizzily, he ducked. Crossing an arm across her lower back and grabbing her leg with one hand, he lifted her by twisting her vertically in the air and tossed her aside. A grunt escaped her mouth. Her fists clenched and her body tensed as her back hit the ground. Opening her eyes, she spun around as a black dress shoe went to her chest, and hit the floor with a loud thud. She slid her legs into his, making him fall backwards. Placing both hands on the ground, she tried to strike him with her foot. He rolled to the side and got up, but she kicked him, hitting him in the shoulder and sending him staggering.
When Yashiro got up with one knee on the ground, Agawa kicked towards her face. Grabbing his leg, she quickly pushed it to the side. He managed to kick hers, making her fall back down. Her eyes widened as she was forced to spin on the ground to dodge his foot, which tried to step on her several times. Finally, she was able to kick him in the stomach, sending him staggering backwards. He leaned forward with tight lips and a hand where he was struck, as she stood up.
Breathing heavily, she raised her hands, leaving her left hand open in front of her waist, and her right fist next to her chest. Her body was slightly bent, with her legs barely apart. When he stood upright again, he walked towards her calmly, making her step back. His lips parted in a fleeting smile as he saw her glance back. Suddenly, with quick, precise movements aimed at her neck, he tried to strike her. She parried him, but flinched as she was pushed back. For a second, he remained slightly crouched, palms facing him.
Agawa continued walking towards her, with a relaxed pace and his eyes narrowed, fixed on hers. In a motion that seemed a blur, he drove his elbow into her neck and then his knee into her chest, which Yashiro stopped with her forearms. She let out a grunt as his foot struck her leg, and staggering backwards, she shifted her arms with her right fist outstretched at waist level, and her left palm in front of her chest. The dominator was several meters behind him.
"You're ambidextrous," he taunted, glancing at her feet and hands. "Outstanding."
Yashiro spun around trying to strike his foot with hers, and ducked as Agawa delivered a kick to her face, unable to dodge another aimed at her leg that sent her reeling back. When he threw a punch at her, she caught his wrist and struck his forearm, bending his arm downward and drawing a low grunt from him. However, Agawa grabbed her shoulder and wrist and dropped backwards, pulling her back and wrapping his legs around her, to turn around and straddle her on the floor. She raised her forearms as he began to strike her with his, and rested both of them on hers with the weight of his body, staring at her.
Suddenly, Agawa pulled her arms away and threw a punch. Yashiro dodged it, but let out a slight cry of pain as she felt his knuckles graze her mouth, and heard the thud of his fist against the ground, next to her ear. He smirked and went back to punching her in the face, which she avoided by lowering his forearms, until she was able to grab him by the neck, and squeezed so hard it made him grunt. Pushing her arms away, he grabbed hers making her squirm and bring her hands to his chest, clutching at his black shirt.
Yashiro tried to grab him by the chin and punch him in the face, but Agawa was out of reach, serious, eyes narrowed and arms outstretched. A pressure in her chest began to blur her vision. She could feel the air being squeezed out of her lungs. He shivered slightly and gasped for a second. She recognized the shape of a tie between her fingers. Grasping it with one hand and pressing it against his neck with the other, she pulled him closer making him let go, until she slammed a forearm into his face and pulled him away from her, seconds before everything melted into black.
Agawa rolled on the floor and staggered to his feet, yanking off his tie and tossing it aside. Yashiro stood up helping herself with one hand, while with the other she touched her neck, stepping back. There was a sweet taste in her mouth. As she gasped, coughing and wheezing, drops of blood stained the floor. A couple standing in front of the glass railing turned as she came out of the hallway, and murmured as they saw a man approaching her.
Agawa launched a flurry of strikes she blocked, but in a matter of seconds, he managed to grab her wrist and strike her face with the back of his other hand. A grunt and a drop of blood escaped her mouth. Her body jerked back, but Agawa pulled at him, blocking her fist and delivering a solid punch to her chest. Her body leaned forward staggering backwards. A group of people formed around them.
Yashiro nearly tripped over the moving escalator if she had not grabbed the railing, and spread her legs apart when he stood one step below. Although she dodged a few blows, Agawa moved to the same step and drove his forearm into her chest, gripping her neck with one hand. Her lips parted, a trickle of blood sliding down her chin and her teeth clenched, stained red. Sweat dripped down each side of his head, wetting black locks by his ears.
"I know your psycho pass is low even now. How do you do it? What's the secret? Or are you just so fuckin' special?" he leaned towards her, pursing his lips. A faint smell of coffee and whiskey wafted over her.
Yashiro tried to punch him in the face, but Agawa pushed her against the stair railing, using his own weight to pin her down. Letting out a grunt, she grabbed his wrist and clung to the back of his shoulder, glancing back. When they reached the floor above, he walked without letting go of her neck. She stopped him by bringing her palm to his chin, and struck at the center of his arm to free herself from his grip. However, Agawa caught her wrist and cheek, pulling her back.
Yashiro gasped as she hit a column, but managed to punch his chest and kick his knee. When Agawa raised his hand, she ducked down giving him a flurry of blows to the chest, knocking him back. Suddenly, he blocked one of them, digging his fingers into her shoulder and bending one arm behind her back. She let out a cry of pain, and countered with her elbow. He stopped her with his forearm, and pushed her away.
She staggered forward, almost falling over, and turned around with her hand on her shoulder. Her face contorted into a grimace for a few seconds. His body was slightly bent over, his hands open in front of him, one more forward than the other. A smile lit up his face as he looked her up and down, and kicked her. Yashiro was quick, positioning her body sideways and holding his leg. Suddenly, Agawa crossed it behind her waist, and grabbing her by the neck and arm, he lifted her into the air and threw her onto an empty round table.
The glass surface shattered with a sharp sound, sending an electric current down her back. Her vision blurred, forcing her to close her eyes. Slowly, Yashiro rolled her body over shards of glass. His breathing grew calmer, as he lifted his head to look up at the colorful ceiling, sweat soaking tousled strands of hair over his forehead, and then looked back at her. Despite the dizziness and pain, she covered herself with her forearms as a kick went to her chest, and she spun around on the floor.
Agawa stood panting for a moment, watching her body tense, and ran to her as she leaned on her hands to get up. Wrapping his legs around her back, he grabbed her shoulder and waist. With a swift movement, he somersaulted forward and threw her into the air three feet away from him. A grunt escaped her lips, and a twinge of pain shot through her body, as Yashiro hit the ground.
Agawa staggered to his feet, taking a step towards her, but his body ducked as he heard a gunshot. He looked to one side of the wide hallway, and a burst of gunfire sent him running ducking between the tables. They heard a woman's screams and a loud thud on the floor. Agawa yanked his way through the people who were beginning to disperse, pushing each other. Yashiro heard footsteps and shouts mingling with the electronic music in the building.
Her eyes squeezed shut as a tall figure walked past her, pulling the trigger. The gunfire ceased after the sharp sound of a revolver running out of bullets. Yashiro rolled over on the ground. Her whole body tensed with every movement she made. She lay on her side, breathing heavily. The wasp-like buzzing of a drone echoed in her ears as it crossed the hallway.
"I have detected that you are experiencing a great deal of stress. I recommend you seek immediate mental care from a specialized medical facility. Are you distressed? The Ministry of Welfare's Urban Service helps everyone live a healthy life," she heard a high-pitched, cheerful female voice, followed by footsteps. "If there is someone who has been injured or has suddenly become unwell, would you like to request an ambulance from the nearest emergency hospital? If so, be aware you will be charged an uninsured service fee at a later date."
As soon as Yashiro felt a hand land on her arm, she quickly stretched hers forward, and closed her other fist in front of her chest, freeing herself from the grip. Her body shuddered and she opened her eyes.
"Hello, Yashiro," Makishima grinned with narrowed eyes, turning serious for a second and then tilting his head with a smile.
Her grip between his beige vest and dark brown tie made her feel slow heartbeats under her fingers. Crouching with one knee on the floor beside her, he put a thumb on her cheek and his palm on her neck. Loosening her grip and lowering her arms, she turned around lying on her back. His gaze became more serious, eyes fixed on her like those of a doctor saving a patient.
Yashiro looked up and saw a distant group of people around a woman who had been injured in the shooting. Their gazes were serious, some were recording her with cell phones. In front of her was a drone, with a hologram of a smiling girl with a big head. The inverted vision made her close her eyes with a slight headache. He pulled his hand away from her face, noting the trickle of dried blood under her nose and the corner of her lips.
"She's going to be fine," his voice sounded deep and soft, as he ran the back of his hand across her forehead, and brushed a strand of hair away from her face. "Of course. I wouldn't like them to believe we are in… cahoots."
He stood up, mingling in the distant crowd with his revolver, when hurried footsteps were heard in the distance, coming from the escalator Yashiro had climbed minutes before. She spun on the ground and rose to her feet, helping herself up with her hands. Taking several steps forward, she staggered to one side and rested her forearm on a column. With her head down, she closed her eyes for a few seconds before walking again, swaying. A hand grabbed her shoulder and she turned around, directing an elbow backward.
"Stop it, calm down!" a taller man leaned back, grabbing her arm before she could strike his face. "Which way did he go?"
The smell of cigarettes made her frown and wrinkle her nose. Everything around her stopped moving. Yashiro could recognize the short black hair, the gray eyes just inches from her, and the tight grip. There was dried blood on his nose and sweat on his forehead. She pulled away from him, and turned to look at the woman lying on the ground, several feet away from them. The drone was still in front of her, but her body was no longer moving, and her eyes remained open, staring into space.
"Kougami-san," Daiki's voice echoed, near the stairs. "Up there!"
Kougami raised his dominator with one hand and turned around. In front of the railing on the floor above, on the other side of the building, so far away that they could not hear them, Agawa was standing with a man dressed in a dark blue suit, with short brown hair, among several people.
"I'm Tanaka. It's a pleasure," the man bowed in front of him.
"Nice to meet you," Agawa smiled with narrowed eyes, but did not return the greeting.
"Get out of the way!" Kougami made his way to the escalators. "PSB! Stay back!"
The shouts of some people around alerted the two men, who turned and managed to see them among the fleeing people.
"This way, sir," he whispered, leaning behind Agawa.
The two melted into the crowd, as enforcers ran up the escalator to the next floor.
"Daiki, I told you to… stay with the others," Yashiro tried to keep up with them.
"Take that side," Kougami looked at the younger enforcer, pointing to a corridor, and ran down the opposite one past the crowd.
Hurried footsteps echoed down a long, narrow, well-lit corridor. Agawa walked behind Tanaka with a serious and calm countenance, like a foreigner following a tour guide. Top Garage was marked on the corner of a wall. Tanaka turned into a hallway on the right and took a few long, almost running steps, pressing his finger several times on a small touchpad next to an elevator door. Then he glanced at the screen indicating the floor. Agawa returned to the previous corridor, standing behind the wall, and looked both ways.
A door opened near the hallway they were in, and Agawa automatically turned around, putting a hand in his pants pocket and lowering his head. However, the sound of footsteps increased in his direction. A plump, short-haired man walked past him, but stopped short and stepped back with a frown, seeing the other man in front of the elevator door. Both Agawa and Tanaka turned around.
"Who are you? What are—"
The man widened his eyes and looked down, panting, just as a long-haired young woman crossed the hallway and walked past him, heading for the two men waiting for the elevator. The guard put his hand to the side of his abdomen, his fingers beginning to bathe in blood. The woman wiped the blade of a knife before manually closing it with both hands. The man backed up a few steps, turning into the hallway and clutching the wall with one hand, but dizziness caused him to stagger and fall backwards. Blood began to soak through his white shirt.
Agawa leaned his body forward a few inches and tilted his head slowly, one hand in his pants pocket. His eyes were narrowed, watching the man bleeding to death on the ground. His brown eyes stared at him, breathing hard, until they narrowed as seconds ticked by. The elevator door opened and Agawa turned around, stepping in first.
When Kougami reached the same hallway, they were gone. Crouching down in front of the man, he put two fingers on his neck, looking for vital signs. He clenched his fist, not feeling a heartbeat. The wound in his stomach was covered by the blood-soaked hand. His eyes were closed, as if he had passed out from the bleeding before he died. Kougami got up again and ran down a short hallway, where there was a closed elevator door and the display above indicated that it was in use. A sound of footsteps made him stand with his back to the wall, and after a few seconds, he stepped out into the hallway in one swift movement, lifting the dominator. His narrowed gray eyes melted into a light blue.
Crime coefficient is 23. Inspector registered at the Criminal Investigation Department. Warning. Any rebellious conduct by enforcers will be recorded and reported to headquarters.
"What are you doing here?" Kougami lowered his arm, taking a few steps forward. "Where's your dominator?"
Yashiro patted her hands on her coat, but stopped. Then she motioned with her head towards a door beside her. Kougami stood in front of it, opening it and crossing it with the dominator in both hands. In front of them were stairs going up and stairs going down. He held the gun in one hand and started running up the stairs. She followed more slowly, clinging to the railing, but stopped for a few seconds when she heard two thumps and a grunt.
When Yashiro arrived at the parking lot, Kougami was lying on his forearms on the ground. The dominator had fallen in front of him, but a man dressed in a dark blue suit picked it up. He had a metal bar in his other hand. She recognized him as the man who had spoken to Agawa. He raised his right arm, pointing the weapon at Kougami, but frowned and clicked his tongue. The dominator's lines were red and the trigger was locked.
His eyes widened as she took a few steps towards him, grabbing his forearm and punching him in the face. The man staggered back with a grunt of pain, but when she bent down to grab the dominator on the ground, he kicked it away and tried to hit her with the metal bar. Yashiro dodged it and managed to kick him in the leg. The man went down with one knee on the floor, and she stepped forward, grabbing his wrist and driving her knee into his face.
The sound of metal against the ground echoed through the parking garage. Kougami helped himself up with his hands, closing his eyes tightly as his vision blurred. The man was lying on his back on the ground, turning his body slowly with hands over his bloody nose. But Kougami turned around as he heard footsteps approaching. His gaze fixed on the barrel of a gun pointed at him.
"I don't think we've had the pleasure. Kougami Shinya, aren't you?" a quiet voice echoed. "A hound and… a part-time shepherd."
Yashiro turned around and narrowed her eyes. Agawa was calmly walking down the stairs, a pistol in one hand. The man behind her staggered to his feet, feeling his nose with one hand, and approached him. Kougami exchanged a glance with her, and searched the dominator on the floor with his eyes.
"Whatever you're considering doing, don't," Agawa looked at him, waving his gun in the air. "The second you move you'll need a mortician."
"So much for justice," Yashiro raised her eyebrows for a couple of seconds.
"You would be the first to thank me," he turned to her, still pointing the gun at Kougami.
"Why's that, Agawa?"
"Because he was part of that case. Am I right? He may not have pulled the trigger, but he was responsible for the groundwork. What should I do with you? Kill you?" he pointed the gun at her face. His eyebrows lowered and pulled closer together. His lips parted for a moment, revealing white teeth. She flinched, staring at him. "Here? Now? Hmm? You see, I find guns most uneventful. And I wouldn't let you die in a parking garage. That's hardly exciting at all."
He let out a short chuckle and swiftly lowered his arm. She shook her head and blurted out, "You might as well do it anyway. Why don't you just get it over with?"
Agawa's smile faded. Kougami opened his eyes wider as he looked at her.
"Don't you think there's an extraordinary symmetry to this? You, me, here at this moment? I want you to live and see everything to the end," he raised his voice, gritting his teeth and pointing the gun at her face again. "I must admit, you have proved remarkably resilient so far. I'm curious whether you can hold up… living on that side."
"I'll handle myself," Yashiro turned her head to the side.
"Can you afford to take that chance?" he raised an eyebrow.
"Can you?"
"Fear makes you sassy, Yashiro. The only reason you're here is because I wanted you to be. You're alive because I didn't pull the trigger. Remember that for the rest of your life. You know I'm a forgiver," Agawa paused, leaning forward and tilting his head. "That's a Depeche Mode reference, by the way."
Yashiro frowned with pursed lips and clenched fists, and looked down. Soft footsteps echoed in the parking garage, making everyone look towards the stairs, where a long-haired young woman stopped. Kougami frowned instantly. Yashiro got the impression that the two knew each other, because the woman let out a thin smile at the sight of him.
"We should leave," she nodded to Agawa.
Yashiro exchanged a glance with her, and looked back at Agawa as he handed his pistol to the other man. He watched her for a few seconds, until he turned to the woman and took long strides up the stairs after her, and they disappeared from her sight. Yashiro moved forward, but a taller figure stepped in a meter away from her.
"Don't," the man pointed the gun at her.
Kougami saw the weak grip of the man, who was holding the pistol in his right hand and pointing it at her chest.
"Agawa wants me alive," she reminded him.
"I'll shoot you in the leg," he shrugged his shoulders.
Yashiro lifted one leg and struck his wrist with her foot, pushing it against his chest to point the gun in another direction. The man let out a grunt and yanked her leg away, sending her reeling. When he raised the gun again, Kougami spun him around grabbing him by the forearm and wrist, placing his back in front of him. A shot rang out, but Kougami struck the man's arm and the gun fell to the ground. Slamming his elbow into the man's chest, he broke away from him and kicked him, throwing him to the ground.
Kougami frowned as he saw him grinning, lying on his back on the ground with blood on his nose, but he turned and ran a few feet away from him, where his dominator was. As he turned back to him, he saw Yashiro crouch down clutching the pistol, and take a few steps towards the man who had risen. She paused for a few seconds and pulled the trigger. A scream of pain echoed throughout the parking garage. The man fell to the ground, holding both hands to his leg and breathing heavily. Blood began to pour from him, staining his dark blue dress pants and the ground.
Yashiro ran towards the stairs, clutching the railing with one hand. Kougami followed her, glancing at the man who stood up for a moment and fell back down with a grunt. He came to see her figure a few steps ahead, holding the pistol with one hand and then with both, pointing it at the ground, as she approached a half-open door trying to catch her breath. Crossing it, they found themselves on the top floor of the building, which was an uncovered parking lot, full of cars and people getting into them to leave the mall. Agawa and the woman had disappeared.
Suddenly, they heard a high-pitched scream in the distance, and looked over the people rushing for their cars and those driving in line to leave. Kougami lifted his dominator with one hand, and started running towards a remote area of the parking lot, where a young man was holding a woman by the neck with his arm, and holding a gun next to her face, pointing it forward.
"I have to do this," he raised his voice.
Daiki and Katashi were a couple of meters away, aiming their dominators at him. Yashiro crouched next to a gray car, gun pointed at the ground. The woman who had been taken hostage had a trickle of blood running down her forehead, and more dried in her hair.
"Let her go, she doesn't deserve this," Daiki shook his head, stepping forward.
"Stay where you are!" he pointed his gun at the woman's head.
"Throw out the gun," the enforcer insisted. "This can end right now. Nobody has to get hurt."
"He's counting on me…!"
"Agawa doesn't care if you live or you die," Yashiro raised her voice, looking at Kougami through the car window, who nodded and disappeared from her sight. "He doesn't even know you exist."
The man pursed his lips and frowned, tightening his grip on the woman's neck, who was desperately trying to breathe. He lowered his gaze for a few seconds and raised his arm again, pointing at the enforcers. A light blue line broke through just as they heard the cutting sound of a gunshot, impacting against the man's back and causing him to drop the woman and his gun. Yashiro opened her eyes wider and looked at the enforcers, but the man had missed the shot.
As the area swelled and his body exploded, Yashiro stood up, discovering Kougami turning away from a van and walking towards them. His dominator transformed in a second with pieces sliding and spinning. Yashiro smiled for a few seconds as she recognized Tsunemori's short figure and Kagari's orange hair as they ran towards them, making their way through a group of people who stood watching.
A short, sharp scream tensed Yashiro's body, and looked back at the woman, who had fallen to the ground drenched in blood. Katashi was the first to point his dominator at her, as she slid to grab the gun near her, with trembling and inexperienced hands, to point in his direction and then even at Tsunemori, who was with Kagari behind a car. They all pointed the dominators at her. Daiki was the only one who took a few steps forward, drawing their attention.
"G-Get back!" her voice broke. "I want to see my son!"
"You will, it's okay," Daiki's quiet voice made her point the gun at him. "You're safe now. We'll get you to him. Please calm down and put down the gun first."
"Y-You're pointing your guns at me? That crazy man tried to kill me! I-I didn't do anything—"
"I know, but please put it down."
"If something happens to him I'm going to kill you people…!" her hands were shaking as she aimed at his face.
Kagari raised his eyebrows, still crouched behind a black car, gun on the hood. He murmured, "Uh, you guys checked her hue, right? We can't take her into protective custody, Gino-chan and the chief will—"
"Your son could be safe right now. We're from the Public Safety Bureau. We're here to help you. Put it down, please," Tsunemori's voice was more delicate, almost pleading, as she walked towards her.
Yashiro slightly raised her eyebrows, looking at her. Tsunemori was no longer pointing her dominator at the woman. Daiki blinked and half-opened his lips for a few seconds, but motioned with his hand towards Katashi, who was a meter away from him. He looked at him and lowered his gun. Daiki set it down on the ground in front of him in a slow motion, stretching his hands forward. The woman lowered her arm for a few seconds, but raised her voice again with a contorted face, "N-No… I don't believe you."
Yashiro's eyes narrowed for a second as she saw the woman point her gun at Tsunemori, stopping her in her tracks with wide eyes and parted lips. Kagari clicked his tongue and frowned, but everyone flinched at a short, deafening sound. Taking a few steps forward, Yashiro, who had fired at the ground near the woman as calmly as she would throw a stone into a lake, raised her arms slowly, holding the gun in both hands and aiming it at her legs. The woman shivered from head to toe, but her eyes opened wider, focusing on her.
"The next bullet will be fired at you. If you kill that woman, he'll grow up as a murderer's son. You have no idea what that's like," Yashiro's voice was calm and clear, managing to soothe her breathing.
"What you know about—"
"Are you a killer? Is that who you really are? The thought of him becoming someone like you will haunt him. If you want the best for him, you need to stop now."
The woman sobbed, closing her eyes, and slowly let go of the gun. Yashiro put the safety on her own and lowered her arms, looking at Kougami a few feet ahead of them, who was concentrating on the way she held the gun, as if seeing her for the first time. As the woman raised her head again, they suddenly heard a loud, low sound, and a light blue line flashed past Yashiro in an instant, impacting the woman's chest with a concentrated burst of energy. The affected area quickly swelled and shattered in an explosion.
Yashiro's heart rate increased. A slight headache made her squint. Tsunemori turned around with wide eyes and half-open lips. Kagari widened his eyes for a moment, and stood up next to a car to walk towards her. Katashi's arm was stretched forward, holding his dominator with both hands and pointing towards the blood spilled on the ground. After a few seconds, the gun barrel parts rotated automatically, locking the trigger, and he lowered his arms, holding the gun with one hand to the side of his body. A car alarm sounded in the distance, then went off.
"We could have resolved this without more bloodshed!" Daiki raised his voice, waving his hand.
"Why give her false hope if everyone here knows she was going to die later anyway? You saw her hue. Even if it got a little better at the end, it was too high," Katashi's voice was deeper and quieter.
"We promised a peaceful—"
"They did," Katashi looked over his shoulder. "Sibyl didn't."
Daiki closed his eyes for a couple of seconds and took a deep breath, turning around. Tsunemori watched them with wide brown eyes. Yashiro watched the blood in front of her, shaking her head, then turned away.
"Takahashi-san, are you okay?" Daiki's voice echoed, as he took a few steps towards her.
"Just let her go," Kougami's voice was soft and low, as he took a cigarette out of the pack and lit it.
For a moment, everyone watched her walk away until they lost sight of her among the vehicles. When Yashiro was alone, she rested her forearms on the hood of a car, lowering her head for several seconds. She took a deep breath, looked up and lost her gaze on some people getting into a car, and then on the tall buildings of the city. As she stepped away from the car, she left the gun on the hood, and reached into the closed inside pocket of her coat, pulling out a small bottle of aspirin. She tapped it in her palm, pulled one out and swallowed it. Then she put it back in her pocket.