◇Fighting Fate◇ : Kougami Shinya x [Reader] : Psycho Pass

Epilogue

It was another game of hide-and-seek, one that had him running in circles in hopes of finding a needle in the haystack. No one had any clues of where a dead person could be, though a sane person would know the answer in a heartbeat: a cemetery; and a sane person would easily accept that answer, but not him.

Desperation was truly a demeaning emotion. It stripped him of every trait stitched in him until it reached his vulnerable core. He ripped his heart out, put his sanity on the line. For what? To be cast aside and living amongst those who have no place in the world?

He was beginning to wonder if what Makashima had said held any truth. However, to regret this search would be the end of him. After all, the only thought keeping him together was the thought that [Name] might still live.

"Excuse me--"

The ex-Enforcer raised his head to meet the curious gaze of a villager. He couldn't see their face as it was masked, but what stood out was their metal hand that was offering him the only food available in this desolate village, a bowl of stew. 

It was a delicacy among those who were deserted by the Sybil system as they lived in a practically harsh environment. Their surroundings was dressed in dirt, litter, and smoke. Not at all pleasing to the eyes or nose to say the least. It felt like the world had ended and this was the last of human civilization with their makeshift tents consisting of sticks, mud, and paper.

It was hard to believe that thousands of miles away there was a different civilization populated. A city that robbed him of hope.

"Sir?" His refocused his attention onto the villager, who was still attempting to feed him.

"Thank you," Kougami mumbled as he accepted the food. His stomach growled at the smell; he hadn't eaten in a while, having no source of income during his search for her.

As he ate, his eyes lingered on the villager, who traveled from person to person as they distributed food. Those that received the food looked the same to him with missing limbs and hope vacant in their expressions. Any missing extremities were replaced with makeshift parts-- some didn't make sense like a scrap of metal or a hammer-- but they did with what they could with what they had.

Kougami continued to watch as he wolfed down the rest of the soup. Once finished, he wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and dragged his feet to the kind villager. When he captured their attention, he handed them the empty bowl.

"Would you like more?" they asked, their voice cracked from dehydration.

Although he wanted to be considerate, he didn't know when would be his next meal. He hadn't been so lucky with food in the past when other villages refused to feed nomads like him. He understood though, food was hard to come by these days. But he needed the energy for his travels tomorrow. 

"Is there enough?" he replied gruffly.

An airy chuckle left the masked person, and it's an endearing sound to his ears. "Yes, we have some leftovers that I was going to use to feed the dogs."

So he's like a dog to them? He might have detested the sentiment in the city, but he could only feel gratitude to be feed. "If you don't mind."

"I don't," they quickly stated, which was then followed by a noticeable pause. "I... I didn't mean to call you a dog. What I said came out wrong." They sounded flustered.

He didn't care though, his energy for banter long gone. "Ah."

"Okay, I'll shut up now," they mumbled to themselves. Grabbing his bowl, they rushed over to the public pot of soup. He trailed behind them and noticed how the eyes of the living dead followed him.