it was black ◎ psycho pass

~Chapter 1~

italics- conscience (unless flashback, etc.)
bold- own thoughts

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The blades of grass cut through skin, and I didn't mean that metaphorically. I was starting to get cuts on the sides of my legs, but surprisingly that pain was the least of my worries. The sheep in the nightmare land were more inclined to eating me than the cutting edge grass.

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"Good morning, Zara!"

The light of the morning, although predictable like any other morning, still took a while to adjust to. The only noise that sounded was a stagnant beeping that filled the emptiness of solitary living.

I groggily walked to the bathroom and stripped off to have a shower, cursing my nightmares for getting the better of me. I keep telling myself that they're not real, and that if I really try I can overcome them. Well, that's what everybody else says. After a couple of minutes trying to readjust the shower and burning myself multiple times in the process, I managed to clamber into the shower and massage shampoo into my hair. The zesty flavour at least woke me up a little bit more.

"HEY!" Somebody yelled. I jerked shampoo into my eyes and soon felt the burning. I hissed in pain.

"For gods sake, Miki!"

The tech-cat, as if on cue, morphed out of the wall. Miki's a house cat- gives me somebody to talk to when I need to and makes me really good cereal. Awkwardly trying to cover myself with the shower curtain, I squinted at the mass of pixels.

"What... do you want?"

why do we still have her here as our house cat?

"Your Hue is a clear pink today, and your Crime Coefficient is now at 55. The Psycho-Hazard is pretty high, so don't forget to take your tablets every hour. Um... it's mostly clear today with chances of showers.. so maybe you should take your umbrella!"

"Thanks... is my watch on?" I mumbled. "Do I even have an umbrella..?" The last part was caught under the torrent that was the shower. I can't count how many times I had either left it on the bus or had it stolen.

"Online and ready to go!!"

Eager to get her over-zealous attitude out of my face, I asked her as kindly as possible to make me some cereal.

"As you wish!" She disappeared into the wall again. Some cluttering from the kitchen confirmed that I was going to have to clean up some broken bowl soon.

Turning off the shower, I reflected on my first week as a Psycho-Councillor. It wasn't terrible, but it wasn't good either. My Crime Coefficient did reach late 100's a couple of times, but that was probably because some dude punched me in the face. And how was I meant to know that guy was leader of the street gang? It wasn't my fault that their name was BTS, and you never get street gangs with that name.

I changed my outer layers. A quick look in the mirror confirmed the life I'd lived perfectly. The tire marks under my eyes were the nights spent paranoid that my next door neighbour was a hologram. The cut on my ear was a fairly pleasant experience with a hairstylist in hospital, who'd insisted that I would look good with shorter hair. The tufts of brown and blonde floating around my neck were a striking contrast to the pale complexion of skin and defined collar bones.

I pattered to the kitchen and slid to the table, content with slurping my cereal. My watch beeped and ran through standard protocol. I half sung along with the power on tune, like you do with a Mac or a DS.

"Please state your name."

I swallowed my cereal quickly, and spoke as clearly as I could.

"Zara Evergreen."

"Voice recognition complete. Welcome, Zara, to the Psycho-watch. Your Crime Coefficient is a reading of 53."

Now that was over and done with, I pushed the dishwasher shut and made a beeline for the door. I tossed my bag over my shoulder and gave a half smile to Miki as I shut the door behind me.

Now that we're out of the house, can you acknowledge my existence?

no

fab

Before she got all haughty about me ignoring her, I let my conscience into my thought process and felt a fullness in my mind space. I promptly told my conscience off for trying to talk to me this early in the morning, which she didn't take well. She grumbled for a bit about how I couldn't sleep anyway and I should 'knock myself out with drugs', but quietened down.

I carried on my way to work. The crimson carpet was stapled onto the floorboards, and the cream walls were tattooed with intricate patterns and designs. A fairly clean place, decent WiFi, and the coffee's alright too. I have no complaints. I soon reached the door, and opened it to welcome in a harsh wind. Winding my coat tighter around my body, I jogged down the steps. I sat down on the bus stop, pulling my hair closer to my neck. Nobody was around, so I pushed a few buttons on my watch.

"Your highest Crime Coefficient this week has been 304. Your hue has so far has been a... light blue."

"Not so bad.." I mumbled, accidentally pressing the button that started the welcome procedure.

"No..." I sighed exasperatedly. The start-up procedure was too long, and if the bus was coming in... two minutes, I wouldn't want anyone to see me with my fancy gadgets. Long story short- I'd probably get mobbed.

"Welcome to the Pyscho-Pass Watch Beta 3.0. This watch will help you control your Pyscho-Pass and stress levels so you can live a carefree lifestyle."

I scoffed as the watch beeped a few times.

"Timer set. Every hour, you will be reminded to take your tablets. If your hue gets too cloudy, this watch will supply you with high concentration Iosine tablets to relax the muscles."

Iosine is a drug that is used to knock out the worst criminals, extremely effective on the common person, but mildly effective on me. Because of that, I need to take higher doses- which isn't tested for safety, only effectiveness. I heard around the hospital that there's been multiple thefts of the drug, but at least I know if I get attacked I won't be affected because any mugger that decides to cross paths with me will really regret it.

"If your Crime Coefficient goes over... 60, this watch will inject you with a mild calming drug. If your Crime Coefficient goes over... 100, this watch will inject you with strong calming drug."

I tutted a little at the unfairness of it all. I hardly know any of the drugs and I'm expected to take them like the good little guinea pig I am.

No use getting upset Zara, you don't want to get-

"Ah!"

I clutched my wrist, wincing as the needle pulled out. It effectively numbed all the muscles and joints that it reached, and my arm was the first to fall limply in my lap. Soon I had slumped against the bus stop, trying to look like a dozing pedestrian as the bus reeled in.

"Your Crime Coefficient is... 61. Please do not struggle, as this will cause you more pain."

aHhgffDFFHHHHH

AHHGAFDGGGHH

~END~