Title- The Bitter Taste of Pity

Author – D.M. Evans

Disclaimer- Urobuchi owns all

Summary- Akane knows her pity is worthless.

XXX

Akane felt sore all over. It had been another tough case in the pouring rain. She wasn't even sure how late it was. Sleep snatched at her, but she was still at work. How could she go home when there were still reports to file? They had to use the Destroy-Decomposer mode on the Dominators tonight to bring down the rape gang. Well, Kagari and Kogami had, sparing her some of the guilt of having to kill someone. What unsettled Akane more was she didn't think she would feel that much guilt. She had seen what the men had done to their victims, school kids.

Did that mean she was getting to be more like the Enforcers? Was her psycho-pass clouding? Akane didn't think so, but she wasn't sure what that meant. Masaoka might say she was like the police in the days before the psycho-passes. Akane wasn't sure if that was good or bad either.

She glanced up from the copious paperwork. Kagari looked half asleep in front of his computer station. He had a bandage over his cheek where he had taken a knife slash. She felt more sorry for him than usual. Ginoza would be disappointed if he knew what she was thinking. Akane didn't care. She did feel pity for Kagari. She couldn't imagine being labeled a latent criminal as a child, growing up in an institution as he had done. In spite of herself, Akane liked Kagari. He was funny and occasionally sweet. She had yet to see the monster inside him, but trusted that Sibyl was right, that it lurked just under the surface.

Akane was even less convinced that Kogami was dangerous, in spite of what Ginoza said. Masaoka had told her how good of an Inspector Kogami had been. She was sorry she hadn't known him then, but it would probably make his fate harder to handle. She watched him type up his report.

Kogami swiveled in his chair, as if sensing her eyes on him. He waved a hand toward the door. "Why don't you go home, Tsunemori? Kagari and I can handle these reports?"

"I can help you finish," she protested.

"Ko's right. We've got this," Kagari said. "What else do we have to do? We're stuck here."

Kogami narrowed his eyes at Kagari for reminding her they were virtual prisoners. He turned his attention back to Akane. "Go home and get some sleep. We'll see you in the morning."

If she weren't dead on her feet, Akane would have argued longer. She hated when Kogami got his dismissive attitude rolling. She did finish the report she was working on before packing it in for the night. As much as she wanted her bed, Akane was flooded with conflicting feelings. The one thing she couldn't let Kogami or Kagari know was that one reason she often dragged her heels about going home was that she felt guilty that she got to go home to a nice apartment and a soft bed while they were stuck there in their tiny places, feeling their wrist cuffs chaffing on their arms while they tried to sleep.

None of them would appreciate her sympathy. Kagari had blown up at her for complaining that she had too many choices of career. She could only imagine what he'd do if she let her softer side show. Kogami would probably favor her with that cold flat look of his. No, it was better that they never knew how she felt, but deep in her bones, Akane wondered if she was transparent to them. She sometimes thought she might be. Still, there was a difference between suspecting how she felt and hearing it out loud. No, Akane would keep that to herself because, after all, what else could she do? Something told her Kagari and Kogami's fates were already sealed.

She hated that fact more than anything.