TOJI POV
The house is quiet.
It's too quiet without her here.
I'm sitting in the living room, my hands clenched so tightly into fists that my knuckles are white. The silence in the room is suffocating, broken only by the faint ticking of the clock on the wall.
Across from me sits Megumi.
He's just a kid, but he's smart. Too smart. Any other brat his age would be bawling his eyes out, screaming for his mother, or making a mess. But Megumi just sits there, completely quiet, his big, dark eyes staring directly at me. I can see the tight, pale look on his face—the kid is terrified, his tiny hands clutching his shorts so hard his knuckles are white, completely worried sick about his mom. But he's holding it all inside, biting his lip to swallow his own tears just so he doesn't weigh me down or worry me further. He's just waiting, giving me the quiet space I desperately need to think. To figure out how I'm going to bring Shizuka back home safely.
"Don't worry, son," I say, my voice rough but softer than usual as I lean forward. "I'm gonna bring your mom safely home, and everything will be alright. I will bring her no matter what."
Megumi gives a slow, hesitant nod, his big eyes glistening still holding back the tears.
He trusts me.
Seeing his expression makes me feel extremely guilty. Because of my past, our happy family is in danger. I turn my face away from him, unable to meet his eyes any longer.
Why?
How did this happen to her?
I should have erased all of my past. I should have killed anyone who even slightly knew about me. It's all my fault.
My mind keeps dragging me back to how it happened. How the hell did they manage to kidnapped her?
FLASHBACK –
We were just closing down the gym, locking up the front doors, and heading back home after a long day. Megumi was walking right along with us.
"It's really been so much easier these days with Emiya-kun helping out," Shizuka said, stretching her arms with a bright smile. "He always helps clean up the mats and tidy up the place before we leave."
"Yeah," I replied, nodding genuinely. "He's a good kid. I've never met anyone of his kind who is anything like him."
I've never met a jujutsu sorcerer who doesn't view common people as monkeys or inferior trash, I added silently to myself. Every other sorcerer thinks they're either gods among men or self-righteous protectors looking down on the weak.
Emiya is the only one who sees people as people instead of labeling them either jujutsu sorcerer or ordinary folks.
"What do you mean by that, Toji-kun?" Shizuka asked, tilting her head curiously at my tone.
"Nothing," I said, offering a small, reassuring smile to brush it off.
"Well, he really is such a good boy," Shizuka continued, completely oblivious to the dark world Emiya belongs to. "Always helping out whenever he can."
Looking at her beside me, still talking about Emiya, I slide my hand onto her shoulder and stop walking. Slipping my fingers under her chin, I gently tilt her face up so her eyes meet mine. She goes completely still, looking up at me with wide, affectionate eyes while little Megumi just stands beside us, letting out a heavy, long-suffering sigh.
"Enough talking about another man," I murmur, a faint smirk playing on my lips. "I'm starting to get jealous here."
The air between us softened completely. The stress of the day melted away. Shizuka blushed deeply, her eyelashes fluttering as she closed her eyes, leaning in. I leaned down, completely ready to kiss my wife right there in the open air.
Suddenly, a loud, deliberate cough broke the silence.
"Ahem. Enough, you two," Megumi muttered, crossing his arms and looking thoroughly exhausted by his parents. "We're literally in the middle of the street."
Shizuka jolted, her eyes snapping open as she hurriedly separated herself from me, her face turning bright red as she smoothed down herself in a panic.