come out of hiding, i'm right here beside you

[barehands]

[A while after the execution has ended, everyone will find a simple note slipped under their door.]

If you don't want to be alone after everything that's happening, some of us will be in the dining room. Even if you decide not to come, please remember that you aren't alone here.

[The note isn't signed, but the handwriting is feminine and neat.

For anyone who decides to come, there's a good array of food laid out on the table. There are some small and simple cakes, cookies, and pastries, a healthy amount of okonomiyaki, okayu, and other Japanese dishes (with a focus on rice and eggs), along with curry. In addition, there are pancakes, and a large pot of soup. It looks like a few people collaborated to make enough food for everyone here.

Just like the meal they shared together earlier in the week, the candles from the storage room lend a more peaceful light than the fluorescent lights above.]

Comments

[imaginex]

[Food is... difficult for her right now. That's not what draws Sakura out of her room. It isn't the promise of company, either.

All she's looking for is a cup of hot tea, and a spot by the window in the external foyer. Time to settle, to think. To have some semblance of quiet without being oppressed by the overbearing silence in her room.

She'll take conversation as it comes, and eventually, she might hover by the food table when her body demands nutrients... but everyone will have to forgive her for looking blank-faced today. That trial wasn't very fun, now was it?]

[carnivorously]

[Crowds aren't Kogami's things either, but he's too curious about how people are taking this whole thing. Honestly, the man seems far too calm for this kind of situation, but he's somewhat made it clear that homicides are actually sort of his job. And they kind of excite him, even if he felt a bit sad it was Arietta.

Seeing Sakura is still alive and safe gives him an odd sense of hope. He'd come to like the girl already. Something about girls like her just... well... it probably reminds him of Tsunemori. He wonders how she's doing-- after all, it was just recently (he thinks) that her best friend was murdered right in front of her eyes while she couldn't do anything.

And this may be that kind of situation they're in. It's fucked up.

Super fucked up.

At least this is all what's going through his head as he takes a puff of his cigarette and takes a long exhale before starting to speak to Sakura.]

How are you taking this? You should look into therapy to--

[Fuck, that was habit for him.]

Sorry, ignore that. It's what I usually tell people who have seen some shit. It's my job, after all, to ensure people are safe.

[Mentally and physically.]

[imaginex]

[Silence, at first. She'd been lost in her thoughts (dark as always) and Sakura's surprised by Kogami's presence. The slight tilt of her head reflects that. After everything that happened in the trial - proof that the youngest among them was capable of murder - she expects most Patients to stay their distance now. Better for their chances of survival.

However, once she has time to process his question... she can't help it, the way her features break into a tiny smile. In recent memory, there's only one person who would have bothered to look after her wellbeing, and the memory makes her heart ache for home]

Are you offering, Shinya-san? [A joke. She'd never ask that of him, even if he did. She shakes her head, and tucks her loose hair behind her ears.]

If you don't mind... could you tell me a little bit about your job?

[Distract me, please]

[carnivorously]

[He sees that smile, and it's weird. He didn't really think his presence could be a comfort. Usually, it's a nuisance. He's a latent criminal and people like him may as well be considered scum of the earth. He's just a dog in a world of humans. A hunting dog.

But...]

Yeah, I can tell you.

[He removes his cigarette from his mouth, holding it between his index finger and thumb.]

I'm an Enforcer at the Ministry of Welfare's Public Safety Bureau. I suppose, in easier terms, I'm a policeman of sorts, though it's a lot more complicated than that. At my job, there are Inspectors and Enforcers-- Enforcers work under the supervision of the Inspectors so they don't have to do any dirty work. Every Enforcer is a latent criminal, meaning our crime-coefficients are in the 100 to 299 range. Sibyl had decided that either we be isolated from society in a holding cell for the rest of our lives or work like this if we have the aptitude.

I have no chance of recovery, so if I want to go outside, I have to be an Enforcer. I suppose I'm lucky in that regard because I'm not sure how well I would do stuck in isolation for the rest of my life because my mental health is a lot worse than others.

In order to thrive in society, people must have a clear Psycho-Pass as well as a crime-coefficient under 100. My job is to protect people so it stays that way. I... want to protect people and I want to be a detective, not a hunting dog.

However, I believe the term 'hunting dog' is the best word for what I do. I hunt down criminals, and I either paralyze them or kill them at Sibyl's discretion.

[imaginex]

[One would think a girl like Sakura would show some nervousness at the idea that she's in the presence of a criminal, but... no. Very little shows on her face except a quiet intrigue. Her head rhythmically bobs along, nodding.

At the end of it, her eyebrows knit slightly]

Is there no chance for you to integrate back into society after you've paid off your debts? [No, she won't ask him what he did; that's not her right, as far as she's concerned. But clearly the idea of him being confined to this lingering punishment for the rest of his life doesn't sit well in her stomach.]

[carnivorously]

It's not a matter of that-- I never physically committed any crime.

[All his crimes were thoughtcrimes, technically. He was so mad. So upset. He... He needs to calm down before he thinks too much into it.]

I'll never integrate back into society. I'll never recover.

[It's not that Kogami's a pessimist, it's just that he knows how it works.]

I only did this to myself.

[imaginex]

[Her expression deepens into concern for a beat. That, and confusion. If it wasn't a physical crime, then how was he charged?]

Aa...

[After a beat, she suddenly scoots over from the ledge she's sitting on, the one by the window. Y'know... if he wants to sit.]

In that case, I'm glad being an Enforcer lets you go outside.

[carnivorously]

[Glad? She's weird. But that's okay. A bit of a smile forms on Kogami's face at that. He won't sit down though. He'll remain standing though he'll walk towards her a bit as he takes a drag of his cigarette.]

Only with permission. Luckily, my supervising Inspector is pretty easy to push around. She's... really special, that girl.

[He chuckles a bit, though it's clear he has a fond look on his face. Not something like he's thinking of a loved one, like a significant other or something like that... just like he's thinking fondly of someone he considers his family... like a little sister.]

[imaginex]

[By now, he can probably work out that Sakura's a girl who will take any act of kindness offered, so the fact he approaches at all is good enough. Her features relax, and then relax once more when he mentions his supervisor. Of course she sees that lurking fondness in his eyes]

She lets you go out often? [Well good]

food table

[cadmiums]

Don't see anything you like?

[imaginex]

... I'm not that hungry, to be honest.

[A pinched smile]

[cadmiums]

You should still eat something, Sakura-chan. What's your favorite food? [ Says the boy who hasn't eaten anything either.]

[imaginex]

[Does she have a favorite? It's... difficult to think straight, honestly.]

I've always been fond of sweet things.

[Ha ha, just like her profile says.]

[cadmiums]

What about...pancakes? It's the first thing I've successfully cooked here. [ He is a bit proud of that honestly! And they actually look good and unlike the disaster that were his first two kitchen attempts.]

[imaginex]

You made them, Ryoji-san?

[Okay that does perk her interest - both at the food option and the fact this guy made it. She catches the look of pride in his eyes and focuses on the table again]

... Well, in that case, I should have some.

[cadmiums]

I did! There's some with berries too, if you'd rather have that. [ He had to make up for slaughtering the berries in the name of an art project Thursday.]

[imaginex]

[Oh, fruit. Another plus. She straightens up a little, and good on him, even manages a smile]

That sounds delicious. Maybe one day you could give me the recipe?

[heritrix]

[How about much, much later, Sakura? Will you be chilling in Room 10 tonight if Rin comes looking for you?]

[imaginex]

[She will be - settled on her bed nursing a cup of tea that's long since gone cold.

Though don't expect the door to open immediately. After everything that's happened, there are only two people Sakura would blindly allow into her bedroom, and that after having them verify their identities.

If Rin knocks at the door, she'll hear a shuffle on the other side of the door before, much closer:]

Who is it?

[heritrix]

[Good work, actually, Sakura. You've spared yourself a lecture today.]

It's me. Hurry up.

[imaginex]

[The door unlocks, then slits open. A second later she pulls it open completely and moves to the side]

Tohsaka-senpai.

[She was expecting her, actually]

[heritrix]

[Rin strides in, skipping the greeting until Sakura's closed the door behind her.]

Good work, confirming it was me. After today, I would have scolded you if you had opened it for just anyone.

[imaginex]

[The praise is always welcome... just...

It's hard to work up the energy for a smile. Sakura settles on nodding instead, heading back to her bed.

Not to sit on it, as she won't until Rin finds a spot. The pacing is for something to do.]

Yes... We'll have to be even more careful from now on. [Throat tightening, but she forces herself to keep talking] If Arietta-chan was already prepared to kill...

[And a friend of hers, no less.]

[heritrix]

[Rin pretends to look about, determining her seat while reflecting back on today.

She'd watched, of course, as Arietta went back to her podium and the two shared their goodbyes. She wonders what they said. She hopes it gave Sakura some closure.

But even if it didn't, encountering death is just a part of being a mage.]

It makes no difference for us. We were prepared that it could be any of them to begin with. [Rin decides to sit at the desk, turning sideways in her chair so she can face Sakura should she choose to sit on the edge of the bed.] But the others... Those who weren't already will be more wary now than ever before. That the person among us they most wanted to protect would betray them first will be a harsh blow.

[And that her victim was so kind; that was done in by her compassion... That makes it worse, but Rin can't bring herself to be the one to drag Felicia's name into this first.]

[imaginex]

Yes...

[Chewing on her bottom lip, she takes a seat at the edge of her bed as expected.]

Everyone seemed more closed off than usual today.

... Shinya-san was also a little on edge.