Trigger Locked

Summary: The child was doomed from the start. "Every atom that made up Shusei Kagari was gone from the world."

-Well, the sun one day will leave us all behind-

One. There's gunpowder and smoke and blood but the Enforcer is nowhere to be seen. The broken Dominator lies (in more ways than one) useless against the pavement. Like the discarded collar of a dog, it is a trinket of the orange-haired youth; of the jelly bean jars, hair clips, and laughs that make (made) up the man.

…

Two. When Shusei Kagari was five he was given his first psycho-pass test.

By the age of seven the boy knows only of a glass prison, glided with metal and fool's gold (measured in promises no one can keep) and the hollow sound of his own cries.

…

Three. For days he cries out, wailing for the parents he barely remembers, the monsters that locked him in this cage. He wants them to turn around and see that he isn't bad and he'll never steal another cookie from the jar and he'll share his toys with his sister and—he hears footsteps echoing down the long corridor, away from his glass prison.

…

Four. Shusei eventually learns to cope, to adjust to his undeserved solitude. He begins to smile, wave at the droids, laugh… the man almost forgets he's in a cell. He reads, plays handheld video games (despite the risk of raising his psycho-pass even more (not that it matters, since he's always been beyond the reach of therapy)), and even begins to cook. For a while, he's happy—until a heavy feeling in the pit of his stomach woke him one night. He was—and always would be—alone in this room.

…

Five. He smiles at his horrible luck, of the irony of it all. Just after learning the truth behind the Sibyl system, learning that nothing but the rotten brains of latent criminals with faulty psycho-passes were the ones to deem his life expendable, he has a Dominator pointed at his face. The gun unlocks and turns to Decomposer mode and the man stares down at his killer, his death mere seconds away, and all hopes of leaving the Sibyl system alive disappears. The light is bright, blinding, and he wishes for so many things to have been different and that maybe, if he had just tried harder as a child he could have lived a normal life and—nothing remains to fill the hollow space where the man once stood. Every atom that made up Shusei Kagari was gone from the world.

…

Six. The empty desk is hard to look at. No one dares to move his stuff, from the plastic dinosaurs to the jar of jellybeans; no one wants to admit he's gone. It would be better, they think, if he really did escape and that he's living the life he should have—but they all know it's nothing more than a fool's hope. Shusei Kagari is dead and no one has the strength to pick up his things and dispose of them. Instead, they almost cling to his belongings, as if a part of his soul resides in his chair and desk. It might, Akane thinks, as she stays in the office one late afternoon to finish paperwork. If she squints she can almost see the visage of the orange-haired man smiling, goofing off as usual, but the tears blur her vision and all she can think is that Sibyl is a liar and he's not dead and they'll all be able to go home once the case is over. But, Akane Tsunemori has never been a good liar.

…

Seven. It is when Shusei turns twenty-four that a raven-haired man asks him to become an Enforcer. He almost snorts. He'd do anything to escape his prison, even if it meant becoming a hunting dog for the people who imprisoned him in the first place. A few days later he leaves his cell for the first time in decades and is stunned by the beauty of the world. For the first year he would test his leash. See how far he could go until Ginoza would pull him back. There were times when he thought of escaping, to leave and never look back at the doghouse. Let the Sibyl system be damned, he thought, he'd make his own path. That's why the appearance of the frail-looking girl with a faulty philosophy shakes the man to the core.

…

Eight. Akane Tsunemori, a girl who chose her own difficult path despite all the other options she had, was the second person he could ever call a friend. She was head-strong to a fault, as reckless as Kogami, but she had heart, and intuition, and faith… and a clear psycho-pass. The jealousy that boils inside the man makes him feel sick. But, the feeling eventually ebbs away as the girl worms her way into his heart. If anything, he did not want to see this poor, frail, happy girl cry. So he does his best to protect her, in his own way. He ate dinner with her most nights, told her exaggerated stories of his past cases, drank wine with her until he was so wasted he would fall asleep in her lap. His only regret, it seemed, was not telling her how much she meant to him.

…

Nine. His spirit pays a visit, every now and then. After the Makishima case, Akane and Shinya run from the city to a place they could live together, in peace. They moved to Ireland, integrating nicely into the laid-back lifestyle. The fields are green and there's actual grass and the water never seemed so clear. There are no holographs or psycho-pass checks and it's quiet. And, if the bump forming in Akane's stomach is any indication, they were ready to live a peaceful, rustic, and family-oriented life.

The man kisses the former Inspector on the forehead, rubbing her stomach warmly before returning to the stove. "Do you have a name picked out?" He questions one morning whilst cooking breakfast. She laughs, brushing her shoulder-length hair behind her ear.

"What do you think detective?"

"I'd have to say," he pauses, pretending to think hard on the question, rubbing his chin thoughtfully, "Yes, you do."

"Correct!" She chirps, leaving her chair to help the man as he carries the plates to the table. "I want to name him Shusei…' it's barely audible but the man smiles, grasping her smaller hand in his own.

"I'm sure he would appreciate it. That idiot is probably at us from above, wondering how we ever got so soft.

"Oh, I'm sure he's having a fit."

They laugh, if only to stop the tears.

"Remember the time he tried to teach you how to cook?" Shinya questions, taking a large bite of his pancake.

"Of course. I nearly burnt the building down!" That's why you're the chef around here." She grins devilishly, smirking at another memory.

"Remember when he hid your Dominator under the couch?"

That idiot… I nearly broke his arm for that prank. He nearly made me lose my job." The dark haired man leaves to put up the dishes, leaving Akane at the table.

"Hey, Akane!" Shusei greets her, waving. Even now, his body is fading, becoming more and more translucent.

"So I see you're pregnant… congratulations! I'm really happy for the both of you. If I hadn't died I would be a bit more jealous, you know. I think I really loved you." He confesses, wishing he could brush the tears away from her amber eyes.

"I promise I'll never forget you, Shusei."

"I know."

He smiles a real, genuine smile, fading away. A voice whispers for the final time, "Thank you, Inspector, for believing in me. For thinking I wasn't evil. It meant a lot, you know."

…

Ten. She's left a sobbing mess, crying out for the lost Enforcer. Kogami rushes to her side, cradling her to his chest. She cries until her eyes are puffy and her chest hurts. But, she feels as if a bit of his soul would never leave.

…

Eleven. Despite having no remains, the pair builds a sort of memorial to their lost friend. They bury all his belongings (after five long years), his junk, some of his clothes, and the broken Dominator, in a box. There's more they want to say more they want to do but for now this is enough and Shusei can finally rest in peace. He's free from Sibyl, his true captor. And despite all the heartache, it's the sweetest thing in the world.

Somewhere, between this world and the next, he laughs.