Angel of Wrath

Located at the exact opposite end of town from where the incident happened was the police department, which was currently on high alert. At that very moment, the entire compound was on lockdown, with teams of policemen and K-9 units searching every inch of the premises. Something very important had gone missing hours ago, after all, and their chief had ordered them to comb every nook and cranny nonstop until they found it.

And all the while, a man watched the search unfold from the terminal in the chiefs office.

Help your old man out, Taro, he thought anxiously as he glanced momentarily at his childs framed photo on the wall right across his desk. Who took you, and where did they take you?

Even now, the longtime lawman was at a loss as to how this couldve happened. That day had begun like any other, and there was nothing about how the day began that couldve clued any of them in as to what was in store for them later that afternoon. As his sons classes ended early that day, hed instructed his personal aide to fetch him from school and bring him back to the department. And once theyd arrived, his aide was to take him to the unused boardroom further down the hall from his office, and to babysit him there until they clocked out that evening.

Needless to say, the chief feared the worst when he came by the boardroom at exactly 6:00 in the evening to ask his aide and his son what they wanted for dinner, only to find said aide keeled over on the carpet with a tranquilizer dart buried in his neck – and his son not at all.

How could I let this happen!?

In hindsight, the chief knew this scenario wasn at all unlikely. Both he and the police department under his leadership had made more than their fair share of enemies, after all, and as difficult as it was to fathom, he knew better than to hope that those enemies wouldn sink so low as to harm innocent children. On the contrary, the half-dozen child predators his boys had arrested since the start of the year was sufficient evidence that some people were, in fact, that depraved, however much everyone wanted to pretend otherwise.

They better not hurt you, Taro, the chief said to himself as his thoughts took a correspondingly dark turn. If they do…

Mercifully, he was snapped out of that train of thought by a knock at his door.

”Come on in. ”

And when he saw who it was, the expression on his face went from one of fear and anxiety to an exhausted yet relieved smile.

”Im glad you
e alright, ” said the chief, his face brightening slightly as his aide entered the room. ”A welcome development, I hope? ”

”Oh, youll love this, sir, ” the aide replied with a look that told the older man exactly what he needed – and wanted – to know.

”Someone called me up from an unidentified number just a little while ago… ”

——

”Here, you have this, ” said Shugo with a reassuring smile as he extended the chocolate shake to the boy he found tied up in the trunk approximately an hour ago. ”My treat. ”

He then watched as the boy took the frozen drink and began sipping quietly, before going over to the seat right across. He placed one of the two remaining iced drinks – an iced coffee – on the table to his right, before starting to sip on the iced coffee hed ordered for himself. The boy before him had calmed down somewhat after being repeatedly reassured that he was safe, and that the bad men who had bound and gagged him weren going to hurt him again anytime soon. ”Nothing like a nice chocolate shake to lift our spirits, is there? ”

Though the boy gave no verbal reply, the slight laugh that came from him was as good a sign as any. As easy as it wouldve been to just ask him if he knew how to get home, Shugo considered the boys state of terror and distress when he was found and thought better of it. The boy could barely form a complete sentence, much less calm down long enough to call up his parents or guardians or whoever had been charged to look after him so they could come get him.

Hopefully, thisll get him to open up.

Shugo looked up at the sound of the restaurants door swinging open.

”Oh, its you, ” he said when he saw the new arrival – a young man not much older than Shugo himself – who then took the vacant seat beside him. ”That iced coffees yours, by the way. My treat. ”

It was something theyd agreed on. Just after freeing and ungagging the boy, Shugo confronted the straggler whod been abandoned by his companions. The straggler, who introduced himself as Akizuki Ayato, confessed that the gang paid him to act as their lookout while they retrieved a package of some sort. Apparently, Ayatos job was to keep watch and verify that they weren being pursued as they made their getaway. Once hed made absolutely sure that no one was in pursuit, the next step was for Ayato to meet them at a prearranged pickup point.

”I swear, I didn know that the package was a kid, ” Ayato had insisted earlier. ”Please, youve got to believe me! ”

Shugo took him at his word – though of course, it helped that he, Shugo, knew for certain that Ayato was telling the truth. Neither he nor the spirit attached to him sensed any malice or ill intent emanating from Ayato, which was more than could be said about the rest of the gang hed dealt with. Besides, it was Ayatos idea to accompany him as they waited to return the boy to his family. Whether it stemmed from a sense of pragmatism and self-preservation or from genuine shame and remorse at what hed gotten involved in, it was clear to Shugo that Ayato felt compelled to make up for what happened.

”They should be here any minute now, ” Ayato informed both of them in between sips from his own frozen drink, before turning his attention to the boy in particular. ”Sorry you had to go through all that. ”

Still the boy said nothing – in fact, hed barely said a word since he was freed from the trunk – though the small smile he flashed towards the lean, shaggy-haired youth whod just spoken was nevertheless encouraging. Judging from his behavior, Shugo surmised that while he did make the right call, it was nevertheless likely that only someone from the boys family could get him to open up.

Well, at least hes safe now, thought Shugo as he watched the boy across him who had finished half his chocolate shake and was now continuing to sip on what was left.

Shugo didn hold it against the boy, either. On one hand, the fact that the child went with him and Ayato at least indicated his trust that the two were friends, or at least meant him no harm. Shugo in particular took that as a good sign, not least because his clothes – now concealed under the blue-and-white jacket Ayato lent to him – were covered in blood and riddled with bullet holes all over when the child first laid eyes on him. At the same time, he also realized how unrealistic it was to expect the child to open up so quickly about the ordeal hed literally just gone through, and even less so to two people hed just met and barely knew.

Just then, Ayatos phone rang.

”Hello? ” Ayato said tentatively as he picked up the call, only to hand it to the child immediately after. ”Its for you. ”

”Hello? ” said the boy to the unknown caller. ”Yeah, we
e here. ”

”Okay, see you soon! ” he then added a moment later, just before giving the phone back to its owner. ”Bye! ”

As it turned out, soon wound up being shorthand for five minutes later at most. Not long after the phone call, all three of them spied a dark red sedan with tinted windows come to a stop right in front of the establishment. Ayato and Shugo followed not too far behind as the boy leapt to his feet and ran outside to meet whoever it was who came to pick him up. Though the two had differing reasons for feeling the way they did, both of them felt a mingled sense of curiousity and apprehension at the idea of meeting the boys fetcher.

…Fetchers, rather.

And those feelings were only amplified further when two males exited from the driver and passenger sides of the car.

On the right was a spry young man, likely in his twenties, with dark hair cropped close to his scalp. He was clad in an olive-green sweater with matching cargo pants, the right side pocket of which contained something that jutted out just enough to give warning of what he was carrying. As Shugo sized him up carefully and watched the boy run up and hug him around the waist, he wondered just who this kid was to warrant the protection of an armed bodyguard.

And the other one must be…

Meanwhile, the other man was much older, likely in his late thirties or early forties if Ayato were to guess. He was clad in the navy blue uniform of a high-ranking police officer, which said something about his position within the police department. This impression was further reinforced by the mans graying hair and imposing demeanor, which further suggested that he earned his current rank – whatever it was – through years worth of service, and that he wasn one to be messed with.

”They
e nice guys, Dad! ” exclaimed the boy as the policeman – his father – got down on one knee to embrace his son. ”They saved me! And they even got me a chocolate shake while we waited for you! ”

”Hush now, Taro, ” the policeman said gently but firmly to his son, before he opened the door just behind the drivers seat and gestured for his son to get inside. ”Here, get in. Im sure you
e exhausted after everything youve been through today. ”

The man watched for a moment as his aide took his son and ushered him into the car.

And when that moment passed, he then he turned towards Ayato and Shugo, who had been watching the reunion, with an unreadable look in his face as his eyes darted between the two. ”Ill have to thank you for helping out my boy, ” he began with a slight smile.

”My name is Hikawa Ryoma, ” the longtime lawman said as he introduced himself, while at the same time extending his hand to the two youths in in invitation to a handshake. ”Im pleased to meet you two. ”