Colorless

Judgment

When Shinya Kogami pulled the trigger and ended Makishima's life, he had only a moment to feel satisfaction. First because now that Makishima was gone, a goal that he had spent years of life pursuing was now met, leaving him feeling slightly hollow and empty. The other reason was the woman in the blue MWPSB jacket who had just come into view and was pointing her Dominator at him.

Akane Tsunemori was shaking as she pointed the weapon at Kogami. This wasn't supposed to happen. She had talked the Sibyl system into an exchange: Makashima's life for Kogami. Now Makashima was dead, there was now way that the execution order on Kogami would be lifted, and as an Inspector, it was her duty to stun Kogami so he could be taken in and executed.

Kogami looked into the Inspector's brown eyes and saw the hesitation and conflict in them. He knew that Akane would not be able to shoot him with the Dominator. He should be walking off now, leaving before another member of Division 1 without Akane's soft heart arrived and took the shot.

I can't. If she lets me get away then her career as an Inspector is over. I refuse to let her be condemned with me, Kogami thought.

"Do it," Kogami said.

Akane stared at him.

"What?" She asked, shaking even more.

Kogami walked towards her until he stood a few feet away from the muzzle of the Dominator. It was pointing straight at him yet it remained in Paralyzer mode, not having gone into Lethal Eliminator mode. Did that mean that killing Makashima hadn't put Kogami's Psycho-Pass over 300?

"Shoot me. Preferable in the shoulder or the leg. I don't care much about pain, but I am not a masochist," Kogami answered.

"But if I take you in then...you'll die," Akane said.

"I knew what I was doing when I left to hunt Makashima on my own, that this would be the price. I choose this so go ahead and shoot me," Kogami said.

Akane shook her head and Kogami sighed.

The way this was going, Ginoza was going to arrive before she took the shot and Ginoza would have no hesitation about gunning down Kogami. The MWPSB Inspector had probably wanted to do it for a long time any way.

That leaves one option, Kogami thought.

Kogami lunged at Akane, reaching for the Dominator. His movement so fast that Akane had no time to think, only react. She reacted as all MWPSB Inspectors were trained to: she squeezed the trigger and fired at the oncoming attacker.

Despite the burst of white hot agony as the tranquilizer bolt made contact with his chest, Kogami smiled at a horrified Akane before he collapsed to the ground, unconscious.

"Kogami," Akane said with a sigh.

She knew exactly what Kogami had just done and despite being the target of it, had to admire his manipulation skills. Of course that didn't mean he hadn't left her with a massive problem, the suicidal jerk.

"Inspector Akane Tsunemori," a voice said.

Akane jumped then realized that she was still holding her Dominator and the voice had sounded robotic.

"Yes," Akane said to the Sybl system.

"We have a new judgement regarding Shinya Kogami..."

Kogami groaned as pins and needles pricked his body. The Dominator's paralyzer bolts were electric charges that temporarily disrupted the nervous system and getting hit by one made the victim lose all feeling along with consciousness. By some terrible coincidence, though, feeling didn't start returning until consciousness was well on the way to.

A blurry scene greeted Kogami as he opened his eyes, causing him to shut them again and focus a bit more before opening. When he did, the sight that created him surprised him.

Instead of the flawless white concrete of an isolation cell, he was looking at the dull gray, chipping plaster of the recovery room in MWPSB headquarters in Nona Tower. The familiar huge fan sat off to his left and a yellow bag hung suspended from a nearby IV pole, the IV line attached firmly to his left arm.

I don't get it. Surely they wouldn't keep me here before my execution, Kogami thought.

He wasn't even wearing any restraints just a normal pair of hospital clothes. All he would have to do is steal a shirt and pants and he could get away with ease.

"Glad to see your finally awake."

Kogami's attention snapped to the right of his bed, where an older woman with a hooked nose and glasses had situated herself. 

"Chief Kasei, why I am not dead yet?" he asked.

Chief Kasei raised one manicured eyebrow. "You sound a bit ungrateful for that."

"Thank you," Kogami said. "Now what is going on?" 

"Given how many times you have been shot with a Dominator, I would think this would be a standard situation for you. You are recovering from your injuries and then will be returned to Division 1 and your duties as an Enforcer," Chief Kasei said.

"This situation is anything, but standard. I don't usually wake up to find the Chief of the MWPSB waiting for me," Kogami pointed out.

"Fair enough," She said. "I am here to tell you that Sibyl has rescinded the execution order on you. Too many good enforcers were lost to Makishima and the chaos he caused and you are needed."

"That can't be the reason. It doesn't matter to you how many Enforcers die. There are more where they come from," Kogami said.

"True. You are a very special case, though. You hunted down a criminal that the Sibyl system had trouble bringing to justice. That experience has been deemed invaluable because, while Makishima's ability was a rare one, there are others out there like him. You think like they do without being one of them so if another one pops up then you are the best defense," Chief Kasei said.

That should be enough for Shinya Kogami. Based on what the Sibyl System had seen, the man was stubborn and intelligent, but the answer she had given was a plausible one and had the benefit of being true. It was not, however, the entire reason for the change in judgement and Chief Kasei could see the doubt in Shinya Kogami's eyes.

He might have pursued the matter further, but at that moment, Akane Tsunemori entered the room.

"Kogami, I_Chief Kasei, I didn't see you there."
Chief Kasei rose from her seat.

"I have other business to attend to," she said, walking past Akane out of the room.

Akane watched her go and Kogami noted that the look in her eyes was slightly angry as if the Inspector resented Chief Kasei's presence by Kogami's bedside.

Kogami took a moment to appreciate just how unexpected the moment was. He had run away from the MWPSB and killed a criminal without permission yet here he was being welcomed back to the MWPSB as if nothing of note had happened.

Chief Kasei's answer had made sense and alleviated a lot of his curiosity, but Kogami's gut told him there was more going on in this situation and that was something he was not in the habit of ignoring.