Yashiro was sitting on a stretcher inside an ambulance, finishing wiping her face with a damp white towel, when Daiki walked towards her. The sky was pitch black, and the lights of the police cars and ambulances made her close her eyes at times.

"Inspector Takahashi. Inspector? Takahashi-san!"

She blinked and raised her eyebrows for a second, turning her head towards the back of the ambulance.

"You heard me?" Daiki asked in a softer voice.

"No. What?"

Yashiro stood up, leaving the towel on the stretcher, and walked towards him half crouching so as not to hit her head on the ambulance roof.

"I just wanted to check if you're okay," he walked over and rested a forearm on the back door. "Takahashi-san?"

"Hm?" she paused, raising her head to look at him.

"You okay?"

"Yeah. You?" she grabbed the door with one hand and jumped out of the ambulance.

"You had us worried today," he frowned and turned to her.

"I went too far, I know."

"How's the, uh…" he pointed a finger at his mouth and nose for a second, looking at hers.

"You know, I played basketball as a kid. I walked into a backboard pole once. It's a little worse," she squinted, turning her head to one side.

He smiled and nodded, "How you feeling?"

"It was just a small cut, but it will heal spontaneously. They wanted to run some tests, but I'm fine. I'll probably be forced to have them when we get back."

"You should go home, get some rest."

"Have you found out anything about these people?"

"Some were identified. There's no connection to Agawa. What happened there?" his voice echoed. "We found your dominator, but it was never active."

Yashiro looked at him and suddenly heard the buzzing of a security drone pass by, until it stopped near the ambulance a few meters away from them.

"We had a fight. I barely got out of there alive."

"Why didn't you use your dominator? I'm not buying—"

"I froze," she widened her eyes, shaking her head and looking away. "I'm sorry."

The drone continued on in the direction of a man who was in another ambulance, ready to be moved to the hospital.

"What are you more sorry about, that people died or that Agawa got away?"

Yashiro frowned for a second, "If I could do things differently—"

"You'd shoot Agawa in cold blood and plant the gun just like you did Miyake," he replied in a low, cautious voice. "That was your plan, right? That's why you split up divisions the way you did from the beginning. You wanted a quiet place to do it."

"Wouldn't you rather see him dead than out there alive?"

"I'd rather not have to cover up another one of your executions. Tell me everything you say about Agawa is true."

Slowly, Yashiro lifted her chin and sighed, gazing at a distant black police car. She recognized Tsunemori's short brown hair among other people.

"I swear," she assured after a pause, looking into his eyes.

Daiki nodded with a sigh and responded in a quieter voice, his eyes more closed, "Okay."

They made their way to the rest of the divisions, who gathered in the uncovered parking lot on the top floor forming a large circle among themselves. There were new familiar faces.

"Anything on Agawa?" Katashi looked at a hologram on his wrist, where the icon of a blonde woman was visible.

"No sightings. I'm running facial recognition in real time on all video surveillance. He couldn't have gotten far," Karanomori reported from her lab.

"How did they get out of here? I thought this place was on lockdown," Ginoza took off his glasses and rubbed his eyes. He had the standard blue CID jacket over a dark suit.

"Many drones were taken down by civilians or the suspects. It's possible they took advantage of the commotion to get out as well," explained Katashi.

"Agawa and his people are smart. They must have tampered with the security cameras. It's going to take time to verify," Kougami pointed out.

"I bet not all of them were his people. I recognized the ones he used as decoys. He made them help Miyake before betraying him," Yashiro spoke in a calm and distant voice, making everyone turn to her.

"Lando Calrissian," Kagari raised his eyebrows, swinging his legs in the air. He was sitting on a wall at the edge of the building.

"I don't know the rest," Yashiro shook her head.

"It's too soon to reach such a conclusion," Ginoza shot her a glance, one hand behind his back, and the other raised with a hologram over his wrist.

"Agawa knew we were coming. He wanted us to find all these people," she put her hands in her coat pockets.

"W-Why?" Tsunemori widened her eyes.

"So that no one can escape," she responded coolly.

"Not all civilians were injured or killed during the attack," Katashi frowned and glanced at Ginoza.

"No, but their lives are ruined. Most of them must have become latent criminals. The overall stress will be affected, if it isn't right now."

"That… that can't be…" Tsunemori's voice trailed off.

"She's right. Stress level warnings increased in the area," Daiki studied a hologram above his wrist, which showed a map of the area with red circles. "The media's all over it. Great."

"A psycho hazard?" Masaoka exchanged a glance with Kougami, who lowered his head and lit a cigarette. "It's happening again."

Daiki frowned and looked at Yashiro. Katashi glanced at Masaoka and back at the senior inspector.

"We ended up causing a raid in Club Exoset," Kagari stretched a hand forward. "Even after some Spooky avatar helped us set up a killer, someone was able to hack costumes simultaneously, making them all look like him."

"Spooky Boogie? The well-known anarchist, helping the PSB?" Yashiro let out a slight chuckle with her mouth closed. "Well, that shouldn't come as a surprise."

"Do you know this avatar?" Ginoza raised an eyebrow.

"I spoke to her privately, once. That was years ago. She blocked my access," Yashiro shrugged her shoulders and looked away. "She sure has guts, making herself a target. Anything for an audience."

Ginoza frowned, "We are not sure she is—"

"The PSB is responsible? What's this crap?" Kagari frowned, leaning forward as he read a hologram on his wristcom. "Someone is spreading fake news."

Everyone raised their heads to look at him sitting on the wall.

"Why would anyone do that?" Tsunemori's eyes widened in horror.

"Because it helps trigger a psycho hazard and question the PSB," stated Yashiro.

"He's finding people willing to do his dirty work and die for him," Kougami stepped forward, slowly waving his hands in front of him and looking down. "It's a sort of divine worship. It's like… like they're some kind of followers."

"I knew you'd show up. This is the Kougami I remember," Ginoza narrowed his eyes and glared at him. "I'm not buying they would go this far because some nut job told them to."

"Agawa recognizes their potential and seduces them," Yashiro frowned, while Kougami slowly raised his head towards her and the others watched them. "A man worships him and kills for him. A girl is brainwashed to hide evidence. A man is arrested for helping him escape. Another takes a woman hostage to create a distraction for him. These people have dedicated years of their lives to him. We shouldn't ignore there might be some fanaticism at play here. It's like…"

"A cult. But if that's the case, I want to understand what it's about. Agawa's message?" Kougami took his cigarette out of his mouth for a few seconds.

"Koresh, Jones, Manson and others used mind control to reinforce their message of family and unity over the individual."

"Wasn't Manson the one who convinced his family to kill for his own selfish needs?"

"But he dressed it up with different motives. He tested his followers to prove their devotion. A true manipulator—"

"That's enough!" Ginoza frowned, raising his voice and lowering his head to stare at her. "Both of you. Crimes are solved with evidence, not your gut. We can't waste time speculating based on circumstantial evidence. We are here to maintain order and peace based on the crime coefficient judged by the Sibyl System."

"In such a peaceful society, an expert at hiding evidence has been killing for a decade with impunity. All we have is instinct," Kougami closed his eyes, raising his head to puff on his cigarette with one hand in the pocket of his black pants.

Kagari widened his eyes. Kunizuka, who was leaning against the wall with folded arms, looked at them with her eyebrows raised.

"Where did these people come from and how do we find them?" Katashi shook his head, drawing their attention. "They're nameless, faceless."

"We can start with the man Kougami and I arrested, right here, right now," Yashiro gazed at a distant ambulance.

"He is about to be transferred to the nearest hospital and then to headquarters for interrogation," Ginoza pointed out.

"He showed Agawa a way out. He might know places they usually meet, or even where they're heading now," Yashiro walked past them.

"I agree," Kougami opened his eyes and nodded.

"Where are you going?" Tsunemori took a few steps towards her.

"I'm going to see him."

"You'll talk to him, right?" she insisted, making her stop with a sigh.

"Yes, I'll see if I can find out something," Yashiro smiled and walked away, raising a hand for a moment.

However, she stopped in front of a vehicle when she heard the sound of long, hurried footsteps and smelled a cigarette.

"Hey," Kougami's deep voice made her stop and turn around, as he took the cigarette out of his mouth. "I saw what you did."

"I don't know what you're—"

"Tsunemori Akane. You left her. You just left her. She could've been shot," he turned to the side, waving his hands and shaking his head.

"I saw a man. I went after him," she responded calmly, more as a casual remark than an excuse.

"She needed you."

"I didn't know—"

"You didn't know what, that you were supposed to have her back? What the hell were you thinking?" his gray eyes widened, staring at her.

"I was thinking I was going to kill the man who tried to kill her and the one who made it all possible!" she raised her voice, frowning and waving her hand.

"It was the right thing to do!"

"The right thing? Agawa up there, these people here—"

"We look out for our own first!" he threw his cigarette to the ground.

"If it had been you and we were chasing Touma, you would've done the same damn thing," she took a few steps forward, getting closer to him. "You would've left her behind without even blinking."

Kougami narrowed his eyes and lifted his chin slowly. Yashiro smirked for a few seconds and turned around, walking across the parking lot. There were some people being questioned about the incident, others were sitting on the ground receiving medical attention. She stood behind an ambulance with her hands in her coat pockets. A security drone was positioned to the side of the vehicle, restricting passage. She lowered her head and climbed in, sitting next to the man dressed in a dark suit, who was lying on the stretcher with a gunshot wound to his leg, that was covered by a bandage.

"In general, it's considered safer for a bullet to exit the body after being fired. This is because, when a bullet enters the body, it can cause damage from the force of impact and the energy released into the tissue as the bullet moves. If the bullet remains inside the body, the material can cause an immune response, and create inflammation that can damage healthy tissue. The bullet can also cause damage to nearby organs and increase the risk of infection. I can see there is no exit wound, which is why you're in pain."

"I can handle it," Tanaka responded slowly, staring at her with a blank expression.

"Good," she put on a white latex glove with a calm, detached, cool voice and a relaxed face. "Here's how it works. I ask you a question, you answer truthfully."

"Or what?" he chuckled. "You're PSB. You can't—"

Yashiro pressed the palm of her hand on the wound, making him grunt and crane his neck forward. He was handcuffed, unable to move.

"Where's Agawa?" she narrowed her eyes.

"You won't get anything from me," he winced and clenched his fists.

"I don't have time for this, start talking."

"I don't know."

"I think your hue is going to get pretty clouded. So much you won't make it to a hospital," she aimed her wrist at him to scan his crime coefficient, and a hologram appeared over her arm. It was 274.

Breathing heavily, the man glanced at the number on the holographic screen. It kept going up. It reached 280. Sweat began to trickle down his forehead.

"Go ahead. Kill me," he curled his lip.

"I'm not going to kill you, but I'm going to get really, really close," she leaned forward slightly and pressed her fingers into his leg, drawing a cry from him. "Last chance. Where?"

"I-I don't—I don't know! I was supposed to-to wait for that woman!"

"Stop!" a female voice echoed.

"What woman?" Yashiro frowned, raising her voice. "I need a name."

"Step away from him!"

"I heard he called her—I think it was Hyun. Her accent—she wasn't Japanese," he stammered, shaking.

His crime coefficient was 288 by then.

"I d-didn't know any of that was—was going to happen! It-it's the truth!"

"I believe you," Yashiro leaned back and released his leg to manipulate the holographic display of her wristcom. "I got a name. Hyun. A woman, probably close to Agawa. She must be from South Korea or North Korea."

"Got it," Daiki's voice was heard. "I'll let you know as soon as I find out something."

"I'll fucking kill you," Tanaka muttered, staring at her with pursed lips. "If I can't, I hope he does."

"I heard that the people who threaten and instill fear… never say how frightened they really are," Yashiro turned off the hologram.

"Fear often shows people's true hearts," a calm, cheerful male voice echoed in her head.

Yashiro frowned, sitting motionless for a moment. She glanced at her hands, then at the man in front of her.

"I… I can't believe you…" a voice trailed off.

When Yashiro looked to the side, Tsunemori was outside the ambulance, next to the security drone, with the dominator pointed at her. The trigger was locked. Her eyes were wide open and her lips were pressed together. Kougami approached, standing next to her. His eyes narrowed, scrutinizing Yashiro's hands and body. A smiling face, with brown eyes, short brown hair and a beauty mark under the left eye, wearing a black vest, red tie and white shirt crossed his mind, making him blink and frown, as she gently pulled off the bloody latex glove and stood up, stepping out of the vehicle half crouched and with a slight hop. Tsunemori lowered her arms, leaving the weapon next to her body.

"Is it possible that he knows nothing about them? Agawa must have foreseen he would be captured," Yashiro walked past them, looking down and then at Kougami. "What about the other man you arrested?"

"We'll take him to headquarters for questioning."

"I can't let you hurt him," Tsunemori's face hardened as she turned away, raising her voice and shaking her head. "I won't. We all want to find the culprit, but this isn't the way to get it done!"

Yashiro raised an eyebrow for a moment and turned to her.

"Your devotion to rules is sometimes inspiring," she gazed at some skyscrapers ahead of them with hands in her coat pockets. "If we're going to end this, if we want to find Agawa and the rest of them, we have to start doing things a different way."

"I was going to thank you for saving me," Tsunemori's eyes narrowed as she looked at the other inspector, her tone heavy with disappointment. "But every time you do good… you end up doing something terrible that makes me think you're simply not capable of it… and question whether there's any good in you at all."

Kougami opened his eyes wider and looked at her out of the corner of his eye.

"Are you going to tell on me, file a complaint with the bureau chief, show the world how bad I've been?" Yashiro's face was cold and indifferent, with a hint of arrogance and defiance. Her eyes were piercing and unflinching.

"You're no better than him," Tsunemori's fists clenched at her side as she frowned and took a step forward. "The next time you break the law, I'll stop you myself no matter what."

"Because you want to do the moral, right thing all the time," Yashiro smiled for a moment, squinting her eyes. Her voice grew softer than before. "You want to be a hero. People don't want heroes to save them."

"How did you get like this?" sighed Tsunemori.

Yashiro raised her eyebrows and looked down, closing her eyes for a moment. She lowered her voice, "It was… more than one thing."

"I'd like to hear it," she insisted.

"I can tolerate… but I can't approve of a society that embraces and nurtures apathy as virtue," Yashiro shrugged her shoulders and shook her head.

"You're not different or better."

"I never said I was. I'm not," she replied slowly, watching the distant buildings. "I sympathize completely. Apathy is an escape."

"We were talking about mentally ill people. Crazies," Kougami pointed out. "Like Agawa."

"Agawa is not crazy," Yashiro frowned and narrowed her eyes. "He is fully aware of what he does and the consequences of his actions. We're talking about everyday life. Agawa's not the Devil. He's just a man."

"Fuck off," Kougami muttered, shaking his head and looking away.

"You say that the problem is people ask for the system's judgment rather than reflecting on the consequences for themselves. That they let others decide rather than rely on their own minds. But I don't care about people. Do you know why?" Tsunemori raised her head to look at the other inspector, eyebrows slightly drawn together, determined.

"Because you care?" Yashiro smiled for a second.

"Yes."

Kougami's eyes fixed on his inspector.

"And you'll make a difference. Tsunemori-san… reality is objective and facts are facts, regardless of the feelings, desires and beliefs of men…"

"But our capacity for thought allows us to understand reality and use knowledge to create the new," Tsunemori stated, making Yashiro's eyes slowly widen. "The point is that I… I don't think you gave up on society because you believe these things you say. You want to believe them because you're hopeless. And you want me to agree with you, say that you're right, that everything's lost. But I don't agree with you. I won't. I can't…"

Tsunemori frowned and pursed her lips, staring at her, until she turned and walked away with long, determined steps.

"What's wrong with her?" Yashiro raised an eyebrow and waved her hand at Kougami. "What? I merely stated the truth."

"She already knows the truth. That's why she shot me in her first case and now she's so upset. Go check on her," he took out a cigarette and lowered his head to light it.

"She wants to be alone," sighed Yashiro.

"Look, she's clearly having a hard time figuring out how this world works and adjusting to people dying. She believes in laws and justice the way we don't."

"The higher you climb, the harder you fall. Let her see it for herself, like we had to."

Kougami frowned and walked over to her, getting so close that they could hear each other's breathing. Yashiro lifted her head to look him in the eyes, wrinkling her nose as she felt the smell of cigarettes around her.

"Just because life stopped for you… doesn't mean it should stop for everyone else," his voice was soft, grave, and strict all at once.

Her expression remained blank and emotionless, but her eyes flickered with a hint of something unreadable, as if his words had struck a nerve. A shadow passed over her features, and for a moment she seemed almost angry, before quickly composing herself.

"I'll talk to her and then I'll be out of your hair," her tone was cold and detached.

She walked past him with a rigid posture, her jaw clenched tightly, and her eyes fixed straight ahead, refusing to meet his gaze. Her breathing was heavy and shallow, and her hands were balled into fists in her coat pockets. Despite her effort to keep her cool, the intensity of her anger was palpable, and it radiated off of her in waves. Kougami closed his eyes and puffed on his cigarette, without turning around.

When she walked into the mall and saw two escalators working, she stood there observing the place for several seconds, as if it was the first time she entered, but finally continued walking down an aisle. Her steps started out long and determined and became slower, until she stopped in front of a white column, taking a deep breath and resting both her head and one hand on the surface, while with the other she pressed her chest. She squinted her eyes, feeling a pressure rising up to her throat, and her heartbeat increasing. Her body trembled, and she clenched her fists trying to breathe. A slight, low grunt escaped her lips, as a shiver ran down her spine.

Slowly, she moved her head to the side, and looked down the hallway on the other side of the building, where people were talking in front of a security drone that had a hologram of a little girl activated. As she caught sight of a slender, straight brown-haired woman standing with her back turned, her heart rate slowed, and the tension in her shoulders and chest dissipated. She was able to gently open her hands, pulling one of them away from her chest, as she no longer felt the choking sensation.

When the woman turned around and Yashiro saw her face clearly, her heart shrank as she realized that the woman she had been watching from afar was a stranger. She turned away from the column, closing her eyes tightly for a moment, before walking down the hallway. Tsunemori Akane was standing alone in front of the glass railing. Yashiro paused for a few seconds before approaching. She looked at her with parted lips, then lowered her gaze, watching different holograms of the building.

"How do you do it?" Tsunemori asked in a whisper, without turning to her. "How were you able to figure it out the way Kougami-san did?"

"I don't follow. Figure what out?"

"Well… everything. That the culprit would be on one of the upper floors of the building, if all we knew was that he had been spotted on his way in. That his accomplices are followers. The similarity to a cult. I can't believe you were able to understand how he thought and predict his behavior so accurately. I get that the culprit holds a deep hatred. However, I don't understand why anyone would take things this far. It's just… too wicked."

Yashiro froze. Her eyes widened slightly, looking down.

"As Inspector Ginoza said, we need conclusive evidence. We also need more data. And yet… just like an enforcer would… you had the same suspicion as Kougami-san."

"It was a hunch," Yashiro sighed, glancing at a passing security drone with narrowed eyes.

"Really? I thought you figured it out naturally. You were in sync with Kougami-san. And, well…"

"You wonder how I can think and behave like him, and still be an inspector," guessed Yashiro.

"On my first day, I was told that enforcers are not human beings. But they all look like normal people to me."

"That must have been Ginoza-san. Well, they're not criminals. They haven't committed crimes. Do you truly think a person like the ones we faced today, would be allowed to work at the PSB?"

"Uh… no," Tsunemori whispered and frowned, lowering her head. "I was wondering about Enforcer Kougami. I've been thinking about the meaning of being an inspector. What it means to be strong. We are taught that strength, success and happiness is reflected in a healthy psycho pass, in multiple career and academic options that we can choose from, and that to a greater extent, will define our future. But neither of you, and forgive me for saying so, fit the normal criteria. You are both strong… in a way that people before Sibyl were."

"Are you scared?" Yashiro's voice was gentle and low, but her expression betrayed neither warmth nor compassion.

"I feel that thinking about him and you is dangerous, but not in the sense that others usually mean it. I don't know how to explain it. It's complicated."

"You're curious."

"Inspector Ginoza says that learning through experience is what foolish people do," Tsunemori sighed and fiddled with her fingers, hands clasped in front of her hips.

"Throughout his career, he must have seen many of his colleagues and friends become latent criminals because their hues clouded. I know that affected him. That's why he doesn't want the same thing to happen to you."

Tsunemori widened her eyes for a moment, and her brows lowered.

"Takahashi-san… what do you think of my hue?"

"I have no right to think of it."

"But… you must have wondered about it."

"I did… after we first met. Not since," her voice was firm and unyielding.

"You've never asked me anything about it."

"And won't."

Tsunemori blinked and gaped at Yashiro. Her face was something one could not question, alter or implore. It had high cheekbones over gaunt, hollow cheeks, cold, steady, gray eyes, and a contemptuous mouth shut tight, making her look like an executioner or a saint.

"See? That's exactly what I mean. Neither you nor Kougami-san think about your own or other people's hues. You have your… own way of judging people. And that's why I think you… seem to understand him better than anyone else."

"I don't think we ever get to know, let alone fully understand someone. People aren't always what they seem. There is always a little private space in each mind, unreachable to others. Even when you think you know someone completely... you can end up disappointed. We don't really know what's going on in someone else's mind… and life could become intolerable if we did."

Tsunemori looked down, thoughtful.

"I have no right to tell you what you should or shouldn't do. I believe you're capable of doing this job and I hope I haven't given you the wrong impression with the things I say," Yashiro leaned forward and rested her forearms on the railing, oblivious to how she made Tsunemori's lips part, and look at her out of the corner of her eye. "The reason Ginoza-san is worried about you, is because he doesn't want to lose you. The longer you stay in the PSB, the closer you get to enforcers and criminals, meaning that your hue will be exposed to the darker side of human nature and life."

"The abyss," Tsunemori blinked, her voice low and steady. "Masaoka-san made that comparison. He said that in order to understand Kougami-san, I have to think like him and see the world the way he sees it, but if I do that, my hue will become like his…"

"You must feel pain as he feels it. What is his message?" Kasei's voice echoed in her head.

"Takahashi-san… are you okay?" she tilted her head, looking at the other inspector.

"Forgive me. What were you saying?" Yashiro opened her eyes and realized that her fists were clenched.

"You understand the abyss. You know how Kougami-san thinks. I believed the mere thought of him or you was dangerous, after witnessing your… unorthodox way of operating."

"You can understand someone but that doesn't mean you share that person's belief. It only means you acknowledge the right to believe and obey one's conscience. The abyss is the emptiness or lack of meaning in life. Nietzsche believed that because we are aware of our own mortality and lack of transcendent purpose in life, we may feel a sense of anguish or despair that leads us to confront the abyss. In that sense, it can be seen as a human condition shared by all, even if not everyone is aware of it to the same extent. For him, it's through direct confrontation that man can discover his true nature and create his own values. It's up to you to evaluate whether understanding Kougami and aspiring to be like him is a risk you're willing to take."

A sense of awe washed over Tsunemori. Yashiro's ethereal appearance leaning against the railing was only amplified by the strength of her words, and the quiet intensity that radiated from her. Tsunemori's lips parted unconsciously, and she suddenly turned her head forward with wide eyes, realizing that she had been staring at her for too long.

"I... there's something I wanted to talk to you about, Takahashi-san. I wanted to ask for your advice."

"What is it?"

"Well, you know, they say everything about you, even that you're crazy. But I don't believe that. You know a lot about different things, you understand how this world and the system works better than those who say all that. You love the pursuit of truth and justice, you're passionate about things the way they're not. I know it's awful of me to ask about my business, just today with all that—"

"Forget it. What is it?"

"Well, I don't know why, and I've never said it before, but you see, I'd rather have your opinion on things than Inspector Ginoza's. I'd probably follow his, but it's just—I don't know why yours means more to me. And it doesn't make sense because we hardly know each other and we don't always agree. I don't know why I'm saying all this either…"

Yashiro looked at her with a raised eyebrow and laughed. It was a young, kind, friendly laugh. A thing so rare to hear from her, Tsunemori felt as if someone had put a hand on her shoulder in support, making her completely forget everything that had happened that day, and that she had to write a report describing how she had dealt with the situation.

"You're not afraid of me, are you? What do you want to ask about?" Yashiro's voice was soft, as she looked forward again.

"I know Inspector Ginoza is right, but sometimes I think Kougami-san and you are too, despite your methods. I'm… conflicted about which way to go. I don't know whether to follow Inspector Ginoza, Kougami-san, or you."

Yashiro's fingers moved slowly, beating against the glass railing. Her face hardened, eyes scrutinizing the building.

"You are making a mistake in asking for my opinion. Or asking anyone else. Don't ever do that. Don't ask anyone's opinion. If you don't think for yourself and make your own choices, someone else will do it for you without thinking of you at all. The choice to either aspire to be like Kougami, or me, or follow Ginoza's prime example is only yours to make. Don't you know what you want? How can you stand it?"

"That's what I admire about you. You always know."

"Drop the compliments," Yashiro shook her head.

"How do you always manage to decide?"

"I don't always make the right choices. I regret many of them. I have made mistakes," Yashiro's eyes narrowed for a moment. "But how can you let someone else decide for you?"

"I… but you see, I'm not sure. I'm never sure of myself. I don't know if… I'm as good and capable as you tell me I am. I've never admitted that to anyone before. I think it's because you always seem so certain of your abilities and what you want in life that..."

"You feel safe to share your doubts with me?" Yashiro finished her question with ease.

"You see, I… I wasn't sure about choosing this profession in the first place. Sometimes I wonder if I made the right choice. Being an inspector is such a demanding job… and I'm not always sure if I'm doing the right thing," Tsunemori frowned, looking down.

"What do you mean by the right thing, following the rules and protocols?"

"Yes, but also making the right ethical decisions. Sometimes I feel like I'm not equipped to make those kinds of judgments. I don't even know what the purpose of life is," Tsunemori shook her head and sighed.

"What's the purpose of your life?" Yashiro asked, raising her head slightly. "I believe that life has as its purpose the pursuit and attainment of personal satisfaction and the realization of one's goals and values."

"Sometimes it feels like the system we work for doesn't always align with that purpose."

"Therein lies the challenge, striving to align your actions with your values, even when it goes against the status quo. You've had that experience. The first case you worked on was a good example. You shot Kougami for what you believed in. Unlike most people who follow the crowd and conform to the expectations of others, you live a life true to yourself."

Tsunemori gaped for a moment, until she smiled and bowed, "Thank you, Inspector Takahashi. I really appreciate your advice. You… you seem to be fighting for some principle… but why do you always act like it's you against the world?"

Yashiro looked down with narrowed eyes. Tsunemori leaned forward slightly for a few seconds, hands clasped in front of her, searching for a reaction from her. Yashiro straightened up by leaning back, and put her hands in her coat pockets. Something was gone. The one moment was lost. Tsunemori did not know it, but she felt that Yashiro did. Her gray, distant eyes made Tsunemori slowly lean back.

"I… I'm sorry for what happened to the inspector and enforcer from your division. I can't imagine how hard it must be for you. Makes it even harder to do the right thing."

"Why? We didn't lose them," Yashiro's face was stoic.

"But… they're not here. They're not with you. You're supposed to be a team, right?"

"We are. This division existed long before Aoyanagi and Kozuki were part of it, and it will exist no matter what happens to us," Yashiro frowned in a strict, cold voice. "We will figure out a solution, as we always do."

Tsunemori slowly widened her eyes and closed them, sighing.

"Everything's upside down and changing and you don't even care," she blurted out with a frown, opening her eyes again and lowering her gaze.

Yashiro raised an eyebrow, "Change is a fundamental part of life I'm not sure how I should care. It happens whether you're ready or not."

"Two people from your division were almost killed. Dozens of people died today and many others were injured. Why doesn't that bother you?" Tsunemori raised her voice, turning to her slowly.

"No one wants the man who did this more than I do," she barely curled her lip for a second.

Tsunemori shook her head and took a deep breath, "You never sought out Abe Asuka's husband because you wanted to help him prove his innocence. All you were looking for was information. Inspector Aoyanagi was right. You can't see past the killer."

"She's dead because of you!" a man pointed his index finger at her. "Should've told her not to talk, should've…"

Yashiro widened her eyes, looking down. She heard the gunshot of two dominators chanting in unison and glass shattering. She saw herself standing on the edge of a building, watching the skyscrapers ahead, as the bloodied remains of a man fell through a broken triangular glass structure, from which the interior of a building could be seen.

"First, that man. And then this woman—"

"That's not on you," Yashiro shook her head and closed her eyes for a second.

"I know, but I should have…"

"Things won't always work out the way you hope. You can't save everyone."

"But... that doesn't mean we shouldn't do anything about it. As detectives, we have a responsibility to protect people and bring justice," Tsunemori lowered her gaze for a moment, and then raised her head again. "I can be sure of one thing. I'm proud that saving people is what I chose to do for a living."

A barely visible smile lit up Yashiro's face, until she spotted the tall figure of a security drone a few meters away from them, next to a column. Her expression was shadowed by more narrowed, piercing eyes.

"If you allow yourself to be affected by the death of every single victim, I can see why Ginoza-san is so worried about you. The same goes for us. What happened to Kozuki-san could someday happen to someone in your division as well. And you could find yourself in the same position as me. The reason I didn't follow Kasei's orders about executing him… is because there was no objective evidence to implicate him as an accomplice. We must adapt. That's what inspectors do."

"We're more than that," Tsunemori closed her eyes for a moment. "What do you think about family?"

"It's a biological accident. It's about chance," she pulled a die from an inside pocket of her coat. "We don't choose to be born—let alone the family we grow up in."

"We don't choose our blood families but we choose our friends. And friends are like family. Aren't we friends?" she asked in a gentler, almost pleading voice, turning to her.

"Well, uh, yes, we are. Of course we are," Yashiro looked from the die to the railing in front of them.

"Then why don't you ever act like one?"

Yashiro raised her eyebrows and then her head, contemplating the holograms. She took a deep breath in silence for several seconds, and lowered her gaze. As realization sunk in, a heavy weight seemed to settle in the pit of Tsunemori's stomach. The corners of her lips turned downwards in a deep frown, and her eyes lost their usual brightness.

"I don't know what family and friendship means anymore. My mind may… process thoughts differently… but it doesn't mean that I feel any less than you. Tsunemori-san," she frowned for a second and finally turned to her, fixing her gaze on one of her shoulders. "Don't think all inspectors are like you. Most of them simply work because Sibyl suggested they are good at it, some work for a living, others love to show off the uniform, and some others… become an inspector to find out who they are."

Yashiro looked into her eyes for a second, and walked past her with hands in her coat pockets. Tsunemori watched her quiet gait with eyebrows furrowed downward, until she turned into a darker narrow hallway and lost sight of her. A security drone whizzed past, following the inspector. The rest of their divisions had descended to the second floor of the building. Outside, with the sky already darkening, several security drones had formed a holographic barricade to keep civilians out. However, a few small drones from some television programs were flying around the area.

Daiki and Katashi followed Yashiro as she walked towards the exit of the building. However, Daiki stopped in front of a huge blue hologram near the entrance. As Yashiro kept walking with hands in her coat pockets taking long strides, Katashi frowned and stopped a few feet away from him, turning around and looking at him. Daiki had his head up, a serious but curious look, unusual for him, fixed on the Sibyl System logo.

"Hey, Katashi. This Sibyl System... do you think we are making the country better?" he asked in a casual voice.

Katashi raised an eyebrow and turned his head to the side for a second, "We're enforcers. We do what needs to be done."

Daiki frowned, lowering his gaze and turning to the hologram above his head again. After a few seconds, he walked towards him, observing Yashiro's figure several meters ahead.

"Do you know what makes us different from drones? We are born with the capacity for thought. We make our own choices. And we have to live with them."

Daiki had stopped in front of him, but after looking him in the eye for a moment, he continued on his way to the inspector.