Psycho Pass: Colorful World

7

"Yashiro... are you sure about this? This is going to be an advanced lesson," a mocking voice echoed throughout the classroom.

Touma Kouzaburou was sitting in his chair, legs spread wide apart, while Yashiro leaned on his desk with her back to him. Crossing his arms over his black vest, he tilted his head and smiled.

"I'm sure," she responded.

"The ability to control your psycho pass at will is pretty complex, and by doing so you are protected from anything and anyone. In order for it to work, you need to think of a memory—but not just any memory—a very powerful one. You and I come from nothing, but here we are. You know, I could've prevented my mother from taking pills, but I didn't. And after she died, I didn't lose any sleep over it. I still don't. There must be something you wouldn't admit to anybody, because you know you stepped out of line..."

Yashiro nodded, and he lifted his head to continue, "Remember that feeling. Allow it to fill you up, then lose yourself. Think like the Sibyl System. You are above the law. No—you are the law. You are the symphony, rather than the orchestrator."

Yashiro closed her eyes. The memory was almost vivid, but it was difficult for her to remember it completely from the beginning. There was blood on her hands, and she felt her heart pounding hard against her chest. Touma started checking on her psycho pass, but only after a minute, his eyes widened. Her crime coefficient dropped quite fast, but gradually in the end.

"Good," Touma raised his head to her. "You've reached zero. Here comes the worst part... hang on, concentrate on that feeling before you get it up to 50 again... slow down, control your emotions Yashiro. You're going up too fast—"

"I can't," she shook her head, opening her eyes and blinking a couple of times.

When she got up, Touma raised an eyebrow and handed her a glass of whisky. Yashiro looked down at him, realizing he had his own glass as well. He narrowed his eyes and smiled again, making his beauty mark below his left eye remarkably seen, which gave him a somewhat childlike expression.

"It's okay," he uttered in a casual voice. "I didn't expect you to do it the first time. What were you thinking? Which memory did you choose?"

"The night I killed my father," her voice was clear and loud.

Yashiro took a sip, as Touma nodded deeply, and they both walked towards the long window to look out over the empty, blurry courtyard of the academy.

"That's a good one... depending on your emotions. Did you feel guilty?"

Yashiro shook her head and frowned.

"You still hate yourself for your mother's death," Touma slightly widened his eyes, looking down at her. "When you turned yourself in to the PSB, you wanted to die."

Yashiro looked away and sighed. Her eyes began to sparkle, yet she held back tears. Then suddenly, Touma slipped his left arm around her shoulders and pulled her close in a warm embrace. Since he was taller, Yashiro had to rest her head on his chest, right between his black vest and red tie. She could feel his heartbeat against her ear.

"This isn't real. You're not real," she sighed.

Then Yashiro woke up all of a sudden. Her moist narrowed eyes fixed on the ceiling. The room was completely dark and silent but she could not fall asleep again. Finally, she stood up ready to start the day despite being four in the morning. Her movements were slower than usual, as that of a disoriented drunk woman. She could remember every part of the dream. The voice. The hug. Yashiro shuddered at the feeling and closed her eyes. Then she pondered the possibility of being able to control a crime coefficient through emotions, as the Touma in her dream suggested.