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The soft orange glow of the evening's setting sun shone through the windows as the chestnut haired man tidied up his office. He hummed quietly to himself as he organised all of his papers and polished his desk.
The TV in the corner of the room for a bit of background noise as Takuto continued clearing up for the day. The news was just repeating the same handful of stories over and over; the main one being the capture of the leader of the Phantom Thieves.
Takuto didn't really pay any mind to the story. Sure, he knew that his son was the leader of the Phantom Thieves, but he also knew how tough his son was. If his knowledge of cognitive psience was correct, Takuto knew that the cognitive worlds of these twisted individuals must be pretty dangerous. Just the fact that Ren had infiltrated those worlds and come out on top just showed how tough he was.
Takuto had faith in him. If the Phantom Thieves could get out of all their previous scrapes, then Ren could get out of this one. A proud smirk appeared on Takuto's face at that thought.
"Maruki-sensei? I have your schedule for all of tomorrow's appointments here." One of his colleagues announced as they peaked their head around the doorframe, showing off a sheet of paper.
"Oh! Thanks for that! Um, could you just put that on my desk for me, please? My hands are a little full right now." He replied, gesturing to the pile of folders in his hands.
"Sure thing!" His colleague cheerfully replied as they wandered over to his desk and set the paper down.
They flashed him a friendly smile as they walked back to the door, glancing over at the TV as the words 'Breaking News' flashed onto the screen.
"We have some breaking news. The young man being held in custody has committed suicide. The police have confirmed his death."
Takuto's files crashed to the floor at those words.
His colleague flinched at the sudden noise.
"A-Are you alright there, Maruki-sensei?" They awkwardly chuckled as the glasses wearing man bent down to pick them back up.
"Y-Yeah! Sorry 'bout that! Butterfingers…" He replied with a somewhat forced smile. Luckily his colleague didn't notice the strain in his voice and laughed carefreely.
"You really oughta be more careful, Sensei! You're always spacing out! Well, anyway, I'll see you tomorrow. Bye, Sensei, have a good night!" They cheerfully waved to him as they left the room.
"Y-Yeah, you too…" Takuto weakly called back.
As soon as they left, he looked back at the TV with a worried expression. His stomach was churning as he waited for any additional information. However, that information never appeared. Takuto bit his thumb as his brain started to go into overdrive.
This has to be a lie! Ren would never do that… He's a phantom thief, he probably managed to escape! Although, if he had escaped, surely they would have informed the public and told them to keep an eye out for him… Ren couldn't be dead, it didn't make any sense, he wouldn't kill himself! Unless…
What if he didn't? What… What if someone else did it? Could he have been murdered? Wait, no! That's ridiculous! He was in a police station! Yeah, there's no way that could've happened! … Wait… What if… What if it was someone in the force…?
Takuto began to feel dizzy as all of these frenzied thoughts swirled around in his head. There was just no way… He refused to believe it! He took a deep breath to calm himself down as he placed all of his files into their respective drawers with trembling hands.
No… No, he couldn't accept this! He had to see for himself! He had to prove that news was a lie! After making up his mind, he grabbed his coat and his bag and made his way over to the train station, ready for a journey to Yongen-Jaya.
The sun had completely set and the wind had a wintery bite to it by the time Takuto arrived in Yongen. He jogged over to Leblanc, desperate to know about his son's status. As he turned the corner, he found the owner locking up for the night.
"E-Excuse me!" He called out, speeding up slightly.
"We're closed for the night." Sakura hurriedly replied as he slid the key into his pocket and turned to face Takuto.
"Please! I-I just-!" Takuto gasped out as he screeched to a halt in front of the barista. Sojiro's eyes widened behind his glasses.
"You're… Maruki, right?" He asked, the air fogging up as he spoke. He recognised this guy… He was Ren's dad, if he remembered correctly. Takuto nodded slightly with a panicked look in his eyes.
"...I-Is Ren-?" The therapist asked as his heart pounded anxiously against his chest.
Sojiro looked at the man with a troubled frown before cautiously glancing around their surroundings. He pulled the key back out of his pocket and subtly handed it to Takuto, leaning closer and whispering,
"He's upstairs. He's a little jumpy so be gentle with him."
Takuto let out a shaky breath of relief as he heard those words. He was alive… Thank god…
"Thank you so much…!" He gasped out with gratitude. Sojiro didn't reply. He just smiled before heading home.
Takuto took a deep breath to prepare himself as he unlocked the café's door. Why was Ren jumpy? What could have happened to him to make him jumpy? Those questions whizzed around his mind as he locked the door back up behind him before quietly making his way over to the stairs. All he could hear was his heartbeat pulsing through his eardrums as he slowly walked up the stairs.
And then he saw him.
It was dark and Ren was huddled in the corner of the room, but still he was there. His cat noticed Takuto was there before Ren did.
"Ren." Takuto softly called out to his son. Ren flinched in alarm as he whipped his head in the direction of Takuto's voice.
This was when Takuto was able to get a look at him. He was absolutely covered in bruises and bandages. But, Takuto didn't have time to think about that as he flung himself across the room and wrapped his arms around his son.
"Oh, thank god… You're alive…" He shakily muttered as grateful tears began spilling from his eyes.
After a few seconds, Ren finally realised what was happening and wrapped his own arms around Takuto, clinging to his clothes like a lost child. Takuto could feel Ren trembling as he gently stroked his back.
"Shh… Shh… It's okay, I'm right here…" Takuto whispered comfortingly, just like he did whenever Ren used to have nightmares.
"I-I… They… I didn't- I-It-" Ren stuttered as he tried to form coherent sentences. Takuto stroked his hair to calm him down.
"It's okay. You don't have to talk about right now… You've been through a lot today, so just relax, okay?" Takuto reassured him.
He could pick up a slight wheeze whenever Ren breathed out… Did they crack his ribs? He forced himself to keep a straight face as that thought crossed his mind, not wanting to scare Ren any more than he already was. He gently cupped Ren's cheeks and made him look up at him.
"Let me get a good look at you…" He requested, just wanting to make absolutely certain that his son was right in front of him.
Ren's eyes were tired, his whole face was littered with bruises, his right cheek was slightly swollen, there was some dry, crusted blood under his nose. Just what the hell did those monsters do to an unarmed, defenseless child?! Takuto pulled Ren back into a hug so he wouldn't have to see his father's enraged glower.
"Don't worry, Ren… I won't let anyone else hurt you, ever again." He declared with a determined whisper into Ren's ear. Ren hummed quietly as he buried his face into his dad's shoulder. Morgana watched Takuto with a worried expression as the man glared out the window. The look in his eyes scared the cat…
Just what the hell was wrong with this world?! Why? Why the hell do the people in power get away with stuff like this?! They were really going to murder a child all because… What? He was a threat? Bullshit! He's just a child! Now, whatever happened in that police station was going to haunt Ren for the rest of his life… Why should he have to suffer when those demons got to toy with the world as they see fit?!
That was it… Takuto had made up his mind. It didn't matter what it took or how long it took; he was going to make the world a better place. A place where his son could be safe and happy. He pulled his son closer as he let out a resolved huff.
"I'll keep you safe. I promise."