Ending the Omnipotence Paradox

Chapter 1

The closer Kogami got to being back in Japan, the more his pulse raced. Having been cleared as a tactical advisor through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs had eased his concerns of being a fugitive of Sibyl in his own country any longer. Yet it didn't do much to assuage the emotions he felt as his journey was finally drawing to an end.

Being on the run for so long had given him an almost neurotic awareness of staying in one place. One that he knew he'd have to acclimate from in the coming months, despite his previous training.

Home.

It had been nearly four years since he'd last set foot in Tokyo and, while he had missed the city he grew up in, he knew it wasn't where his mind went at the mention of that elusive place of peace and contentment. Not that he deserved to revel in happiness, with his past multitude of misdeeds, but he had come to the conclusion in recent months that maybe his sins were best amended surrounded by those that knew his struggles and could help him through them. Seeing his former colleagues from the MWPSB was a point of both comfort and uneasiness for the former detective, and once again, he wished he could have left all those years ago on better terms. He knew from his debriefings with Frederica that his friends in Division 1 were still doing well - Ginoza and Yayoi were teamed up now as enforcers with some new hires he'd meet shortly, and Shion was still working her magic behind the keyboard. He'd been surprised to hear that Professor Saiga had been recruited to the Sibyl cause, though he already knew this by the time he left Shambala Float.

Akane Tsunemori.

If he were honest with himself, he would know that most of his anxiety was because of her. He'd never had anyone call him out like his new boss had a few days ago in regards to his old colleagues, albeit indirectly, and the second he said her name in conversation again, he felt that same sense of longing wash over him. While she had never been too far from his thoughts in the time he was away, he'd never let himself consider going back to her; never felt he deserved to.

And it wasn't that the facts had changed; he was still the same man who obsessively hunted and killed Shogo Makishima in cold blood despite Sibyl's twisted commands. But he'd been given quite a few lessons about remorse and atonement over the years of aiding in the struggles of the persecuted, as hard as they were to learn. In swallowing the pill of humility, he realized that he'd been acting out of guilt and shame for too long; that continually making himself a martyr for the battles of others might have been heroic at the time, but it was far from brave.

"You know," his superior's voice cut through his silent reverie. "I never would have guessed you were an anxious traveler."

He pulled his attention away from the plane's window, glancing at the blonde across the aisle from him as he answered.

"What makes you think I'm anxious?" He questioned, his brow pulling in agitation.

"Oh, please; I can see you sweating bullets from here," Frederica replied with a disingenuous eyeroll. "It's not every day someone steps back into the country where they were a wanted fugitive."

"Yeah, well. Seems I might be able to put that all behind me now; thanks to MOFA," he retorted.

"I'm just saying that it's normal to be worried about being back, Kogami. No one would blame you," she reasoned.

"But maybe they should," he countered offhandedly, forcing the blonde to level her gaze at him skeptically. "Besides, perhaps it's like you said and maybe it's time I realize this road has led me back here."

"And perhaps this time, this country will get the justice it deserves," she asserted solemnly.

Kogami nodded absentmindedly, his thoughts going back to the classified objectives Frederica had brought him up to speed on since he signed the recruitment documents not forty-eight hours ago.

He still could hardly believe the effort that had gone into this covert operation so far; with more than one government agency coming together to inhibit the tyrannical overreach of the Sibyl system once and for all.

And at the center of it all was the one person he'd always known would be a game-changer.

Akane Tsunemori.