Bound by Fate *Psycho-Pass*(Kogami x OC)

My Dearest Mr. Holmes

I honestly never thought I would fall in love with anyone after Shogo, certainly not with the man who killed him. But you've shown me what real love is and how amazing it can be. Loving you was the most wonderful thing that ever could have happened to me. You showed me what it was like to be happy, and I can never thank you enough for that. My only regret is that I couldn't spend the rest of my life being happy with you. Perhaps in a different world, a different life, things would be different. Maybe next time around we can be a real couple, like in the old days. Thank you for being the best thing that's ever happened to me.

Yours forever and always,

Irene Adler

I didn't realize I'd been crying until my tears hit the page. I scolded myself as I wiped my eyes. Get it together, Ko. You're useless as a blubbering mess. No woman had ever brought me to tears before. It was amazing how Mariko could reduce me to such a state with so few words. Truly, she was Irene Adler. Not because of her betrayal as I'd originally thought, however, but rather because she was my version of The Woman. Everything I had ever wanted in a woman, she had stolen my heart completely and I would have given it gladly a hundred times over.

Which was exactly why there was no way in hell I was letting her get away so easily.

If Mariko had told me that she hated me and never wanted to see me again, I would have cut my losses and let her go. As much as I hated it, I couldn't bring myself to hurt her. Her happiness was the only thing I truly cared about anymore, which meant that I would let her go if she truly wished to be away from me. Even so, I could say that Mariko needed to be stopped, that saving her was the only way because she was unhappy or doing it against her will. However, that wasn't the truth. The truth was much more simple, and it drove me to stuff the letter in my pocket and speed all the way to the Ministry of Welfare.

When I arrived, there was almost no one inside. I paused for a moment, considering where I should go. As if on instinct, I ran up the stairs to the top floor. An old memory tickled at my mind of the last time I had raced up these stairs. My encounter with Makishima that day had led up to this moment and I couldn't say that I regretted it.

Unlike the last time I had been up here, there were no helmet-wearing guards waiting for me when I arrived. There was only one person waiting for me when I got upstairs, and it was someone I knew well.

Ryder Harkness smirked at me, his brown eyes twinkling with mischief. "Hey there, bro." He emphasized the last word mockingly. I clenched my fists and glared at the brown-haired man. "You like?" He gestured around the tower. "We thought it would be ironic. You know, you confronting the only woman you've ever loved for the last time in the same place where you first met the man you hate most in the world."

"Harkness," I growled. "Where's Mariko?"

He laughed. "After everything she's done, you're still fawning over her?" Ryder scoffed. "Man, you really must be stupid. Or maybe you're just desperate," he added with a smirk. "Either way, she'll be here soon enough. She just needed to get dressed first." At my wide-eyed look, he continued. "Oh, don't worry," he assured me. "Unlike you, I don't particularly care for sloppy seconds."

"You bastard!" I shouted angrily. "Why the hell are you doing this?!"

"Because I can," he answered simply. Ryder smiled and gestured out to the Japanese skyline, visible through the tower. "Some people in this world don't need a reason or a tragic backstory, Ko. They just want to watch the world burn." He looked back at me with a wicked grin. "Shogo Makishima and I were two such people.

"I was born in Japan, though my parents were both American. I met Shogo when we were just teenagers, I guess you could say we were fast friends. Once he told me about his crazy little plan, I was instantly on board. Together we built our little network and were poised to take down the Sybil System. That is," he added with a murderous glare, "until you came along." Suddenly, Ryder looked up at the stairs and smiled sweetly. "Isn't that right, dear?" I followed his gaze and felt my heart leap into my throat.

She had changed her outfit once more, just like Ryder had said. This time, she wore a tight-fitting black suit which completely covered her body and yet left very little to the imagination. The only thing exposed was her head and her long black hair, which was flowing loosely down her back. I couldn't help but think of how beautiful she was despite myself.

Mariko walked down the same stairs Shogo Makishima had descended over three years ago. Her blue eyes were trained on me and I kept my own gaze trained on her. Instead of coming towards me however, she moved to stand beside Ryder and nodded softly.

Ryder's voice distracted me from Mariko. "Oh, you know what I was saying earlier about sloppy seconds?" I turned to give him an angry retort but was quickly silenced by Ryder pulling Mariko to him in a rough kiss. I watched, frozen, as he held her tightly in his arms for what seemed like hours before pushing her away roughly and grinning at me. "I lied." Before I could react, Mariko aimed a .45 caliber at me, a silent tear rolling down her face. Once more, it was Ryder's grating voice which met my ears. "Welcome to your death, Shinya Kogami."