Ending the Omnipotence Paradox

Chapter 4

Her obstinance caused him to grab her by the arm to pull her into another room. One which was bigger than he would have thought, but thankfully empty so they could have this conversation properly.

"Don't tell me you're still angry that I had to leave. I thought we came to an impasse in regards to that during your time at Shambala Float?" he reasoned as he released her and pushed the door to its frame so they wouldn't be bothered. "I did that for your safety and so you all wouldn't have to worry about what happened to me."

"Are you really implying that you've been running all this time on our behalf? So we wouldn't worry about you?" She asked him incredulously. "You cannot be that delusional, Kogami. I thought that maybe you'd..."

"Maybe I'd what, Inspector? That I'd come back one day and we'd simply pick up where we left off, as if the last few years hadn't happened?" He spat back at her. "It can't be that easy; we can't ever be two ordinary people after everything we've been through."

"You don't think I realize that?!" Akane questioned, unable to keep her voice from rising as it wavered. "Who said anything about ordinary, Kogami? We are so far past being capable of that. You can't possibly know how much I wish I could change things. How much I wish things were different between..."

Her words trailed off as she shook her head, her eyes shutting tightly and the emotion written across her face showing him a pain he'd never seen on her before.

"Between who, Akane? Between us?" He finished for her, the air in the room suddenly thick with tension at the turn in their conversation.

Akane's wide eyes snapped up to his, searching them like a lost child would for their mother. Or perhaps an addict for their next high. Kogami took a measured step toward her, unsure if she would stop him.

"I don't..." She started in a small voice, her gaze shifting between his eyes. "We couldn't -"

"The hell we couldn't," he interrupted as he quickly closed the gap between them and shoved his lips to hers. He could feel Akane gasp against him in response, both obviously caught off guard by the intensity of their bodies colliding. One side of his mouth pulled into a gentle smirk as he brought his hands up to cradle her face, an unexpected whimper escaping her throat. Their lips moved in tandem for a few moments and Kogami could have sworn she was on the precipice of relaxing into his hold on her when she suddenly pushed him away.

He was surprised at the sensation of her palm making swift contact with his cheek, the slap echoing throughout the spacious room. Akane recoiled at her own reaction, another gasp leaving her lips as her fingertips came up to graze them in shock.

"Akane, I-" he began, taking a step toward her again.

"How dare you," she breathed, her face crumpling in disbelief as her chest heaved. "How dare you, Shinya Kogami."

The fervor behind her words paled in comparison to the rarity of her saying his full name, the admonition coating her tone obvious. He hesitated, giving her a moment to work through his spontaneous actions; both of them watching the other intently.

"I will not allow you to blindside me like this," she rebuked in a harsh whispered tone. "You left, Kogami. Not me. You ran from your consequences, from your guilt, from me when all I ever wanted was to help you. And now it's too late -"

"It's not," he disagreed vehemently as he took an involuntary step toward her, the pull to be closer to her stronger than anything he'd ever felt. "It doesn't have to be."

"Don't you see? It's just like you said, we've been through too much now. We're too different," she pleaded before her words cut off in an agonized sob. Akane turned away from him to hide the tears threatening to fall from her eyes, wrapping her arms around herself protectively.

"Akane, please-"

"I apologize for the interruption, Inspector." Kogami's eyes snapped to the unexpected intrusion into their private conversation; Ginoza's analyzing gaze shifting between the two of them. "But we need to be going for our next meeting."

The slender Enforcer sent him a glare after taking in Akane's crestfallen demeanor.

"Gino, we need a few more minutes," the former detective told his estranged friend as he took in his unsurprisingly defensive stance.

"No," Akane objected firmly before clearing her throat. Her shoulders pulled back into her normally controlled posture as she turned to face both of them. "Ginoza's right, we don't have time for this right now. There are other, more pressing matters to be dealt with."

They looked at each other intensely for a moment before she shook her head, scoffing in exasperation and trying to briskly step past him. Kogami's hand darted out, catching her gently around the forearm to stop her. She snatched her wrist away from his grasp as Ginoza rushed between them.

"She said no, Kogami!" He reiterated sternly, forcefully pushing his former friend back to further separate them.

Kogami grabbed Ginoza by the lapel of his suit instinctively, gripping tightly at the physical barrier that came between them; the Enforcer reacted by flinging his fist directly into the same side of Kogami's face that his Inspector had slapped moments earlier.

"That's enough, both of you!" Akane ordered harshly as he stumbled back slightly, his hands unfurling from Ginoza's collar. "Don't think I'm afraid to use my Dominator to subdue either of you right now."

Both men glared at each other for a moment as their mutual adrenaline leveled off; Akane's hand still resting around the gun on her hip trepidatiously.

"Mister Ginoza, it's time we leave," she told her Enforcer as she laid her other hand on his shoulder calmly, before making eye contact with Kogami again. "Officer Kogami, please excuse us."

She nodded dismissively as she turned and walked toward the doorway, stopping to ensure her colleague was following her out.

"We'll see you around, Kogami," Ginoza imparted as he glared at him one last time, quickly adjusting his collar and stalking through the door after Akane.