Psycho Pass: Redemption (UPDATING)

4 (UPDATED)

Darkness hung over her like a cold, clinging blanket. She was in a river of scarlet water, so far from the shore that the current seemed to guide her of its own volition. She wanted to scream, but a superior force prevented her. Her body was so weak that she could barely move or struggle to keep from drowning. The roar of the waves against the rocks on the sides was distant and deafening, and for a brief moment she fell asleep. A feeling of oblivion and deep calm that made her long for sleep.

She heard her name in the distance like a longing whisper, which was then slowly consumed by the wind until she was suddenly swept away by the violent waters. Despite struggling to surface, her lungs released what little oxygen they contained, and just then, she felt like she could reach the clouds with her hands. Her heartbeat stopped completely and all she felt was that time was fading away. She stretched out her hands with all her remaining strength, searching for something to hold on to, hoping for a miracle that she knew would never come.

The waterfall was like a sweet farewell, and as it began to fall at immeasurable speed, a shiver ran down her spine. She felt the cold air sink into her bones, filling her with a deep emptiness again and again, like an endless torment that killed her slowly, without quite doing it. In those moments, death was drawing her in, but somehow, she never hit bottom, she was trapped in its waters.

"Takahashi-senpai?"

The jump she made in her seat was like an insect bite. As soon as she opened her eyes, her eyelids felt heavy. The coldness of the water, the relentless abyss of the fall, was still etched in her senses.

She kept remembering her helplessness in the river, as she was driven into the arms of death. For several seconds she remained motionless, her fists clenched on the table and her gaze fixed on a fixed point. She felt a cold sweat on her back as if she had been running.

"When was the last time you slept?"

The same female voice broke the silence again. Yashiro blinked and looked around for the owner. On one side of the table stood none other than Shimotsuki Mika and her two childhood friends. They were always seen together at the academy.

Shimotsuki kept looking at Yashiro with energetic brown eyes and hands on her hips. Her hair was pulled back in a ponytail and her bangs were tousled over her forehead. Yashiro smiled with slightly narrowed eyes.

"Exams are coming up," Yashiro waved a hand and shrugged.

The three of them watched her for a few moments, noticing the almost imperceptible dark circles under her eyes.

"You had a nightmare, huh?" Shimotsuki guessed. "It's normal to have them sometimes."

Yashiro frowned as she felt her stomach growl. The last thing she remembered was heading to the academy's dining hall. She glanced around quickly. No one was there. It must have been several hours.

"I don't often have dreams, and I end up forgetting the few I do have. It's been a long time since I've had this feeling, which is most incredible... but terrifying," Yashiro smiled again, looking at Shimotsuki.

They sat across from Yashiro, side by side.

"Why do you say that?" Okubo Yoshika asked, resting her cheeks on her fists.

Her light brown eyes landed on Yashiro, matching the brown hair she had pulled back in two pigtails. Yashiro could not suppress a yawn that she managed to hide behind her palm. For a few seconds her eyes closed so tightly, that she had to rub them with her hands.

"Did you watch Inception?" asked Yashiro. "You take the dream as reality itself. It's only when you wake up that you realize its strangeness or peculiarity."