Psycho Pass: All Alone With You

Scales of Justice, Pt. 1

"In order of nature angels rank above men, yet, by scale of justice, good men are of greater value than bad angels." —Saint Augustine

Shinya Kogami awoke to the chromatic chaos of a fireworks display. It was the main finale with vivid swatches of color and flashes of light, and it was all inside his head. He recognized the aftereffects of being paralyzed by a Dominator. A doctor in the medical bay once described the condition as being akin to surviving a brain aneurism. What he didn't recognize was where he was as his consciousness slowly returned. After being shot, he usually awoke to find himself some hours later lying in a bed in the MWPSB's infirmary. Currently, he was supine, on his back, on the black rubber matting of a paddy wagon as the vehicle gently rocked back and forth in motion.

"He lives," a gruff voice greeted him. It was not Kagari's voice. Too much baritone. It was not Masaoka. Too worldly. "Welcome back."

Kogami tried to sit up but felt his arms collapse beneath his weight. Fortunately, other arms proved stronger and held him, stabilizing him while the dense fog in his head continued to dissipate.

"Give him some water, Kumi."

A bottle was held to his lips. Water was the last thing he wanted, but Kogami drank slowly, giving himself a chance to assess his surroundings. He was definitely in the back of an MWPSB paddy wagon, but not with the usual cast of colleagues. To the right of him, he saw a woman dressed in a dark green trench coat. Her blond hair hung loosely about her shoulders in waves of spiraled curls that buried the fragile, lace collar. A fox-fur stole was draped over her shoulders. The dead thing's glass eyes caught what little light there was and flickered in the dimness.

"Easy now," she whispered. "Give yourself a moment."

Legs crossed, a man sat quietly beside her with his arms folded across his chest. His blond hair was closely clipped at the sides and in the back, with the top half worn long and spiked, over the crown of his head. His eyes were wide, too wide to be natural, as if he had been drinking too much coffee and was overstimulated. "He's beaten your record, Barabbas. Never seen anyone come back from being paralyzed so soon."

"Told you we should have taken bets." The man they called Barabbas was easily a half foot taller than Kogami and a good 50 pounds heavier, all of it muscle. Sitting over Kogami, his hair trimmed high and tight, he appeared as wide as he was tall. Dressed in a dark red leather duster and leather pants, he leaned forward, elbows on his thighs, and grinned in Kogami's face. "Do you remember what happened?"

"I came in a Division 1 van," Kogami whispered, struggling through his most recent memories.

"And you left in a Division 5 paddy wagon. Inspector Masato Roninn wanted to give the infamous Hellhound of Division 1 a trial run in the field with the rest of his pack," Barabbas said. "Congratulations. He liked what he saw. Now you belong to him. Division 5 is your new home."

Slowly the vague recollections of that morning returned to him.

"Kogami, you can't let Ginoza do this to you!" Akane had said, gripping his sleeve.

"And what do you expect me to do? It's not like I have any say in it."

"I'll file a formal complaint."

"On what basis?" he argued, knowing the answer. As she struggled to come up with one, he pushed her hand away. "Exactly. Get over it, Inspector. It's been a good run, but nothing lasts forever. I'm just another hound, not your equal." With that cruelty on his tongue, he had turned his back on her and walked away. Ginoza watched him silently as he took his seat in the back of the Divison 1 paddy wagon for transport to a crime scene.