Hey guys! I started the GinAka (GinoKane, Ginoza x Akane) community a year and 3 months ago. And I am ashamed that it took me THIS long to publish the first part of this story. I started this a year and a half ago. But with the blatant change in Ginoza and Akane's chemistry (for the better) at the beginning of S2, I was reinvested in my ship. So at long last, a little bit of angst, emotional evolution, and purpose behind who Akane and Ginoza are now...

Uchikakeru to Dakisuru:

Chapter 1: Awaken

A pair of green eyes flew open in a flash, hurriedly ushering the panicked dreamer back into reality; one in which he was coated with sweat induced by the stress of his subconscious. Ginoza Nobuchika readjusted to his current surroundings. Wide windows allowed the moonlight, adulterated by the urban glow, to flood the room. His hazy gaze settled on his father's easel that remained untouched for well over eight months. Left alone on purpose, the unfinished artwork served as a daily reminder of Masaoka's wisdom and talent; wisdom that, although had seemingly fallen upon deaf ears in years past, had lodged themselves in an estranged son's memory to later become hauntingly resonant. In the two months he spent in the isolation facility, Nobuchika had forgiven his father, coming to terms with his new status and reconciling his once skewed and biased perspective.

A sigh of relief escaped his lips.

After the first few months in his new title as an enforcer, Ginoza found himself dwelling on his experiences as an inspector more often than he'd care to admit. Tsunemori had taken over his position and was now, like he had been, meeting with the chief with unusual frequency. Now more than ever, he found himself increasingly worried about what was going on with her situation, as he was all too familiar with the Chief's manipulative tendencies. Something was wrong and he knew it. He hoped like hell that she wasn't in over her head, and found it more difficult with every passing day to abstain from discussing the matter with his former partner.

The anxiety even caused him to dream about it.

As he had departed from his dream, Ginoza recalled leaving behind a stressed out young inspector who had found comfort in his embrace. It was the first time he'd ever dreamt of Akane in any capacity other than their real-life professional one. He found himself strangely unsettled. After further contemplation, he remembered that, in his dream, he had finally come clean about his past dealings with the Chief and expressed his desire to help her. Admittedly, his worrying for her had been a long-recognized fact, considering how young and petite she is in the face of such dangerous work. The even-keeled woman had shown herself to be above and beyond any and all of his original expectations. She was taking charge, and not taking flack. But in recent days, he had started questioning as to why he felt so protective of her. Was he filling Kougami's shoes, and turning into her personal guard dog, or was it something deeper than that?

Akane is a bright young woman. I'm sure she's already suspicious of the chief's motives, he thought, trying to quell the tightening in his chest.

The shaggy-haired former inspector slicked the sweat off of his forehead with palm of his hand and rolled over, consciously trying to dive back into his reverie and find the doe-eyed brunette in his arms once again.

"It's five-thirty, and time to rise and shine!" chirped the little pink jellyfish.

With a groan and an aggravated toss of one of her pillows, Tsunemori Akane managed to grumble an order at her holographic companion, "Snooze ten minutes, Candy."

"You got it!" she replied, annoyingly cheerful for the pre-dawn hour. In a blink, she disappeared.

Akane huffed, exasperated, and re-positioned herself to attempt a few more minutes of sleep. She had endured yet another dream about her long-lost companion. It had been the better part of a year now since she'd last seen him. The young inspector still berated herself occasionally for not being strong enough to stop Kougami from what she had reasoned to be ultimately inevitable. This time she had dreamt of his return. Her recollection was hazy but she remembered flashes of her and Ginoza using some odd new device, leading a large group of people to the Nona Tower to destroy the Sibyl System. And then shortly after that, Kougami showed up out of the blue.

She had been confused by his sudden reappearance, but what confused her more was her innate trust of her former partner, Ginoza. The stress of keeping her secret was getting to her, she had realized. That, paired with the chief hanging her job and ultimately her life over her head on a daily basis, began to wear her quite thin. Whenever she got really overwhelmed, her subconscious always seemed to direct her to Ginoza. Akane knew he had been the one to take orders from the chief in the past, and could possibly have some insight. But she was on the verge of wanting to just tell him everything. Something told her, deep down, that he would undoubtedly be the one to confide in…that she could trust him. Although Akane couldn't completely rationalize why she felt that way, she didn't deny her gut feeling.

In the office, out on the field, sitting at lunch with the others, she had noticed a subtle change in the green-eyed enforcer. Considering he lost his father, his partner and his status, Ginoza must have done some soul searching.

In her brief return to sleep, Akane had returned to Ginoza's side. Kougami was inexplicably nowhere to be found.

"We did it," he proudly informed her. He holstered his weapon and turned to her with a calm, yet satisfied smile. "If it weren't for you, Akane, we couldn't have succeeded…but then again..."

Her raven-haired enforcer's words trailed off as placed his hand on her shoulder and simply continued to smile softly down at her. "You've always been an inspiration." The place where his hand sat was gathering warmth and it seemed to creep into the rest of her body, making her slightly uncomfortable.

But surprisingly, it wasn't in a negative way.

"Ah…Ginoza-san?" she peered up to meet his unfaltering gaze. The corner of his mouth twitched and suddenly, the petite inspector found herself enveloped in his arms with a face full of his shirt and jacket. Her breath hitched-

And her eyes flew open. Slowly, she exhaled, rubbing her eyes as if it would wipe away the tingle that racked her body.

What was that?

She flipped back her blankets and sat up just as Candy reappeared to wake her, mere seconds too late.

From the moment he walked into the office that morning, Ginoza couldn't shake the notion that Akane seemed unusually awkward around him. It reminded of how she behaved when she had first joined the Division: easily caught off-guard, hesitant in her responses, and even mildly flustered by everyday occurrences. He tried to rationalize that it could just be his own lingering nerves from his dreams the night before. But the enforcer mentally assessed himself, realizing that he definitely felt focused and calm. Factoring in that her behavior toward the other two ladies in the office appeared normal, he was sure he wasn't imagining things. That was when his protective nature kicked in, bringing on more worry.

Something's definitely bothering her.

Akane was becoming slightly frustrated with herself and her lack of focus. Just when she had gotten immersed in a file in front of her, Ginoza would have a question for her regarding a case or bring over a report. Then a wave of butterflies would consume her all over again. When he had come over to place a report on her desk, he stood close enough that the young agent caught a whiff of his light cologne. And as aware as she was that it was merely this morning's dream lingering in her mind, Akane couldn't seem to employ her usual means of dismissing the emotional. The constant hyper-awareness of his presence nagged at her.

The frazzled brunette inhaled deeply and exhaled steadily, finally getting her shoulders to relax and her pulse to slow. Fingers resumed their dance on the keyboard in front of her and focus now regained until lunchtime arrived.

Noontime hit and Shimotsuki, Kunizuka joined Karanomori and made their way to the cafeteria, leaving Tsunemori and Ginoza alone for a moment. Akane was finishing some edits on a report that Mika had given her. Ginoza's report was, as always, flawless. But the only way to get a moment to talk to him without being watched by scanners and surveillance in the MWPSB would be to get him out of the building inconspicuously.

"Ginoza-san, there are some mistakes in your report I suggest you double-check," she informed him as she handed back the report he had submitted earlier. He merely raised a brow at her, knowing he had proofread his report five times before giving it to her. But to his surprise, when he opened the folder there was a hand written note.

"This may sound odd, but I need to speak with you outside of the building. What I am about to say, just oblige and come with me, please."

He met her gaze and nodded, making it seem like he was accepting of his necessary 'editing'. But inwardly he was uneasy as he recalled the flashes of his subconscious. The stoic enforcer tried his damnedest to stay calm, and swallowed back the butterflies in his stomach. Don't let this affect your crime coefficient. Gino had known there was something amiss, and he was almost sure that he would be finding out soon enough.

"Ginoza-san," Akane said, reclaiming his attention. "I have a couple of errands to attend to on our break. However, with the nature of our latest case, I'm wary of heading back to that end of town on my own. Could I ask for your accompaniment? I'd be happy to compensate you with lunch."

Her alibi was air-tight. He couldn't have expected any less from his amazingly intelligent superior.

"But of course, Tsunemori. This department cannot afford to lose another valuable member of its force, after all," he replied, putting on a good show for anyone who could be listening in on their conversation.

Taking the note in hand, Ginoza stuffed it in his pocket out of view of the camera above the door. Akane lead the way out of the building while she verified their leaving the building for personal matters and protective services respectively. Once cleared, they walked out the doors into the parking garage to her car. Once out of range of the scanners near the entryway, Akane turned to her companion.

"We're going to see your father, first. Cemeteries are the one private place still left in this city. We'll talk when we get there. As even the car is not completely safe," she informed him. "There aren't too many places left unwatched by Sibyl's eyes."

Once in the car, Akane punched in the coordinates in the GPS and engaged the autopilot. The car made its way out of the parking garage and onto the streets. Ginoza stared out the window, his verdant gaze lost in the passing clouds overhead. He was consciously trying to avoid looking in her direction. Every time he caught her eye, her desperate and tearful face flashed in his mind's eye. He could practically feel her clinging to the lapels of his jacket. Concealing the heat that was rising to his face, he turned farther away from her line of sight, seemingly watching the scenery passing by.

Akane felt the temperature of the interior rise a bit as the undercurrent of unspoken tension mounted. It seemed odd how much Ginoza seemed to be ignoring her. At least lately, he had been a bit more talkative than usual, but today her partner appeared a touch unsettled, mirroring her own state.

"Ginoza..."

His name left her lips with a gentle urgency, surprisingly without honorific, making him take a sharp, quiet breath and hold it. It was a rare occasion that she seemed somewhat tender, her emotions bubbling to the surface, "Is there something wrong?"

Akane breathed a sigh as his earthy sage eyes connected with hers when he turned to finally regard her. Her questions made clear in her face. His eyes closed as he inhaled deeply.

"Nothing more than usual. You've said it yourself: I worry too much about everything," he replied with a glance at the GPS screen and monitoring system.

Akane caught the subtle implication, recognizing that there was more to be said when they arrived. She gave him a nod and looked back over to the screen and noticed that they only had a couple of kilometers left to their destination. A wave of relief washed over her with the knowledge that they only had to wait mere minutes until they were no longer restricted in their communication.

Other than one last questioning glance between the two co-workers, they kept silent, avoiding any interaction that could be even mildly incriminating.

Once at the burial site, they parked and headed toward Masaoka's grave. Knowing they were finally out of ear shot, Akane spoke first.

"I need you to know that you are the one person that I know I can trust," she stated, glancing sideways up at him as they kept moving. Butterflies swarmed in her stomach, never had she ever been so frank about her feelings to another person. But she felt the words needed to be said.

"I'm honored, Tsunemori, as I hold you in high respect," replied the former inspector as they approached the grave of the late Masaoka Tomomi. He looked down at the remnants of flowers and incense that lingered among the array of knickknacks. "I know Dad did, too."

"Thank you, Ginoza," she said with a somber smile, remembering the kindness the late enforcer always showed her as she turned upright the sake bottle that had tipped over. She pondered what Masaoka would have been thinking to see her standing there with her son, as she considered trusting him with her deepest troubles. The now-seasoned veteran inspector inhaled deeply as she could practically hear the gruff older man's likely words in the back of her mind.

"Nobuchika is a good and trustworthy man. I would know, he is MY son."

She looked up to her quiet companion and was met with a gentle openness in his eyes, recognizing the quality similar to the man whose grave they came to visit.

Indeed, he is.

"Now that I have all of your old duties, Ginoza, I realize just how much pressure you were under," Akane began to explain. The handsome enforcer cocked a questioning brow at her, urging her to elaborate. He could feel the point of this dialogue poised on the tip of her tongue.

"I need to know your opinion on your experiences with Chief Kasei," she stated, cutting to the chase.

I knew it, he thought. She knows something. She has the same gut feeling I do.

"Well, let's just say that her motives and practices have always seemed suspicious to me," he answered delicately. "Something had always told me not to trust her. I didn't know quite what to make of it until she tried to get me to kill Kou..."

"Listen to what I am about to tell you," she interrupted fiercely, recalling that moment when she had stepped in and paralyzed her Enforcer. "Your suspicions are correct."

Taken aback by her words, he needed to reinforce that he had heard her correctly.

"What are you-?"

"I do not want to burden you with the details yet. But know this: she is a part of Sibyl, doing its bidding," Akane warned him. She hesitated before admitting her darkest truth. "I have seen Sibyl. I know exactly what it is. It's massive and horrifying...I also know that it was the last thing Kagari saw before he..."

The prodigal son stood dumbfounded, mouth agape at what he hearing.

"So what exactly-?"

"Please don't ask me that yet," she begged, recalling the immense room of brains, churning and shifting like a wicked factory. "I will tell you in time. Just know that it's more complicated that we could ever have imagined. And, I hate to admit that I now understand Makishima Shougo's motives for everything he did, even though I disagree with what he did. I now live under the Chief and the System's thumb as their primary 'pawn'...but I know I was the right person to be put in this position."

"Because you can keep your Psycho-Pass clear."

"Indeed, and I want to find a way to expose the lie this society has been living for the past thirty years," she declared adamantly. "I will need your help eventually. And I need you to trust me as much as I trust you."

Looking down at his brown leather shoes, he absorbed the depth of what was transpiring. Never in his life had anyone put so much trust and faith in him, other than possibly his own father. Had he been better at managing his own Psycho-Pass, he could have been the one in her shoes: the only living person to truly know the seedy underbelly of the entity that ruled their world.

Ginoza's heart stirred for the first time since he had worked through his feelings concerning his late father. Recalling what the therapist had told him so long ago, he decided that Akane was the one person he had left in this world that he could entrust with his own well-being. With that revelation, he promised himself that, for the first time in his life, he would let someone into the broken world he kept so deeply buried.

"I do trust you," he began, looking up to meet her gaze. "I think you are the only one I can. It has been difficult over the years to trust anyone. Not after Kou...and Dad..." He went quiet for a moment before reaching out and gently grasping her upper arm with his right arm. He could feel her muscles tense slightly, then quickly relax at his touch. "I have my own secrets that I, too, refuse to share with others. But if you agree that we have a...friendship, of sorts, then I will tell you everything I can. And I hope you will do the same."

Akane felt a bit of warmth flushing her cheeks. She had friends over the years, but they were superficial in comparison-never digging too deeply. The fact that this man, her now-subordinate who, like herself, had always been a bit aloof and self-reliant, was allowing a bond of trust between them took her aback. She had asked for his trust. And now that he was openly giving it to her, the look on his face took on a completely different nuance. She could see that he was holding back a deluge behind those verdant floodgates.

There is so much more to him than I expected. He may be an enforcer, a latent criminal, but he walks the line between pragmatism and unconventionality. So very emotional, but equally self-controlled by intellect.

Now that it was there before her, she found herself even more intrigued by this usually calm and collected man before her. The mutual respect they had for each other was making way for a new level of emotional intimacy: a confidante. Neither of them had ever experienced that before. The images from her dream flashed in her mind. Even something as simple and comforting as a hug from a friend seemed all the more appealing. But she couldn't bring herself to act upon that notion. Not yet. A small smile crept onto her face as she hummed in agreement.

The two officers made a couple other stops before heading to a cafe on their way back. Lunch was relaxed, and they chatted a bit more about the past. Akane talked about the time Kougami had brought her to meet Saiga-sensei, and how he was able to peg her with details no one but her family and close friends would know. She reminisced at how sheltered and naïve she had always been. They shared light laughter at her embarrassment at being called a "Grandma's Girl." The discussion of family prompted the somber enforcer to divulge some of his regret in the passing of his father.

"When I was young, I was happy to be my father's son," he admitted abruptly on the heels of Akane's comment about her grandmother.

Akane paused, realizing the turn the conversation was taking and put all of her effort into truly understanding her companion. She recalled his late father's words of empathy: how the older man admitted that his son had lead a life of persecution because of his status as a latent criminal.

"I couldn't recall those feelings for a long time...not until I missed him," he recalled calmly, picking at the meal on his plate. He looked up to Akane, meeting her watchful gaze. "I know you miss him, too. For that I am thankful. He saw you as a father to a daughter..." He assessed the woman before him, taking in her personal strength and determination, the inner beauty that radiated outward. "Dad really cared about you."

There was a moment in which they just connected silently. Ginoza sat before her, the invocation of his father suddenly evident. The prosthetic arm, the long tan trench coat and the far more laid-back attitude all reflected Masaoka. Now, his words struck a chord as she replaced the image of Masaoka with Ginoza, the inference was clear. Ginoza cleared his throat before speaking further.

"By the way, I just need to get this off my chest," he began. "I want to apologize for being such a stuck up prick when you started here."

Akane was flustered by his unexpected confession and apology. She had no idea how to react.

"Ginoza, it's-"

"Don't say it's alright, because it wasn't. In the end it was I who was the fool, and you...the wise one."

He had stopped her in her tracks as his metallic hand landed gently but firmly on hers. The gesture only spoke louder than any further words ever could. His guilt, his regret, his wish to right the wrongs.

"Well, your apology is readily accepted," she replied, placing her free hand on top of the his that grasped her other. "So let's look toward the future, yes? You said it yourself."

He smiled slightly and nodded.

"I suppose you're right."

A/N: Hope you enjoyed my first chapter. I intend this to be a shorter multi-chapter, maybe 15-20k words. we'll see...