FAKE Ficlet: Duty Bound
Apr. 18th, 2025 06:14 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
badly_knittedTitle: Duty Bound
Fandom: FAKE
Author:
badly_knittedCharacters: Ryo, Bikky, OCs.
Rating: PG
Setting: During the manga.
Summary: Like all cops, Ryo in on duty even when he’s officially off duty.
Word Count: 840
Written For: Challenge 469: Duty at
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fan_flashworks.Disclaimer: I don’t own FAKE, or the characters. They belong to the wonderful Sanami Matoh.
Being both a single parent and a cop could be difficult, Ryo had expected that, but he’d taken Bikky in anyway, and over the past couple of years he’d gotten used to juggling his responsibilities. Even so, some days fate seemed determined to make his life as complicated as it possibly could be. He and Bikky had been looking forward to some father-son bonding time on Ryo’s day off; nothing elaborate, just a simple trip to the Central Park Zoo, but now work was getting in the way of fun, all because of a purse snatcher.
Ryo had heard a woman scream, turned to look, and seen some guy in a hoodie wrench the woman’s bag from her hands and take off running flat out down the path, as the woman stood shouting after the thief to stop. She was unable to give chase herself because she had a toddler in a stroller, who was starting to wail loudly, upset by the commotion. Taking the whole situation in at a glance, Ryo told his son to stay where he was, and ran to intercept the thief, blocking his getaway and holding up his badge, identifying himself as a police officer.
The thief could have dropped the bag and made a break for it, but instead he pulled a knife, lunged towards Ryo, slashing at him with the blade, and… well, that wasn’t a wise move; the next thing he knew, he was facedown on the path, having his wrists cuffed behind him as Ryo read him his rights.
Of course, that meant Ryo then had to phone the incident in, wait for uniforms from the Central Park Precinct to arrive and take the thief into custody, and give a statement. The victim of the theft was reluctant to press charges once she got her bag back, but the thief had assaulted a police officer, it still counted even though Ryo hadn’t been injured, plus he was going to be charged with carrying a concealed weapon, using threatening behaviour, a few other things as well, which led to everyone having to go to the local precinct.
“I’m really sorry about this, Biks,” Ryo apologised to the boy.
Bikky sat on a hard chair, shoulders slumped. “Why’d you have to chase him? It’s your day off, and this isn’t even your precinct.”
“Should I have just let a thief take that woman’s purse, with all her money, her keys, and other important things in it?”
“I guess not.” Bikky sighed heavily. “Why couldn’t someone else have done something though?”
“Because I’m a cop, and I was there, I saw everything that happened. That’s the thing about my job, Biks; police officers are never really off duty. We’re officially on duty during our shifts, but after we clock out, even on days off, if we see a crime being committed, we have to respond. It’s part of the oath we swore when we graduated from the academy, to protect and to serve, and that means all the time, not just when it’s convenient. We have a responsibility to help anyone who needs our assistance. It wasn’t just that he stole her purse. He could have gotten her address from her wallet, gone to her home, let himself in with her keys…” Ryo trailed off as Bikky looked up at him in horror, understanding what that could mean, even though he was only twelve.
“I hadn’t thought of that, and he had a knife…”
“Yeah, he did.”
“It was kinda cool seeing you take him down though.” Bikky smiled at his foster father. “You were amazing! I was scared when he pulled the knife out, but then you just sorta grabbed him and… wham! Flat on his face. I almost cheered. He didn’t stand a chance against my dad.”
“It’s all part of being a cop, I’ve been trained to disarm suspects quickly and effectively.”
“It was effective alright; he got a mouthful of dirt for his trouble. Deserved it too.”
“Maybe,” Ryo agreed. “I hope his victim agrees to press charges. I know it’s a lot for her to deal with when she’s got a young child, but if we want to get him off the street, we need her testimony in court.”
“She’s just scared. I guess I would be too.”
“Anyone would be. He threatened her kid.”
Bikky frowned. “I know it’s messed up our plans, and that sucks, but… I think I’m glad you were there, ‘cause if you hadn’t been, that man would’a gotten away, and then he might’ve done something even worse.”
“I’ll make it up to you, I promise. We can go to the zoo on my next day off, or somewhere else, anywhere you like. Within reason.”
“That’s okay. Can we maybe go for pizza when we get out of here?”
“Sure, if that’s what you want.”
Bikky nodded. “That would be good. I just hope no one decides to hold up the pizza place while we’re there though, otherwise you’ll have to arrest them too.”
The End
Ryo had heard a woman scream, turned to look, and seen some guy in a hoodie wrench the woman’s bag from her hands and take off running flat out down the path, as the woman stood shouting after the thief to stop. She was unable to give chase herself because she had a toddler in a stroller, who was starting to wail loudly, upset by the commotion. Taking the whole situation in at a glance, Ryo told his son to stay where he was, and ran to intercept the thief, blocking his getaway and holding up his badge, identifying himself as a police officer.
The thief could have dropped the bag and made a break for it, but instead he pulled a knife, lunged towards Ryo, slashing at him with the blade, and… well, that wasn’t a wise move; the next thing he knew, he was facedown on the path, having his wrists cuffed behind him as Ryo read him his rights.
Of course, that meant Ryo then had to phone the incident in, wait for uniforms from the Central Park Precinct to arrive and take the thief into custody, and give a statement. The victim of the theft was reluctant to press charges once she got her bag back, but the thief had assaulted a police officer, it still counted even though Ryo hadn’t been injured, plus he was going to be charged with carrying a concealed weapon, using threatening behaviour, a few other things as well, which led to everyone having to go to the local precinct.
“I’m really sorry about this, Biks,” Ryo apologised to the boy.
Bikky sat on a hard chair, shoulders slumped. “Why’d you have to chase him? It’s your day off, and this isn’t even your precinct.”
“Should I have just let a thief take that woman’s purse, with all her money, her keys, and other important things in it?”
“I guess not.” Bikky sighed heavily. “Why couldn’t someone else have done something though?”
“Because I’m a cop, and I was there, I saw everything that happened. That’s the thing about my job, Biks; police officers are never really off duty. We’re officially on duty during our shifts, but after we clock out, even on days off, if we see a crime being committed, we have to respond. It’s part of the oath we swore when we graduated from the academy, to protect and to serve, and that means all the time, not just when it’s convenient. We have a responsibility to help anyone who needs our assistance. It wasn’t just that he stole her purse. He could have gotten her address from her wallet, gone to her home, let himself in with her keys…” Ryo trailed off as Bikky looked up at him in horror, understanding what that could mean, even though he was only twelve.
“I hadn’t thought of that, and he had a knife…”
“Yeah, he did.”
“It was kinda cool seeing you take him down though.” Bikky smiled at his foster father. “You were amazing! I was scared when he pulled the knife out, but then you just sorta grabbed him and… wham! Flat on his face. I almost cheered. He didn’t stand a chance against my dad.”
“It’s all part of being a cop, I’ve been trained to disarm suspects quickly and effectively.”
“It was effective alright; he got a mouthful of dirt for his trouble. Deserved it too.”
“Maybe,” Ryo agreed. “I hope his victim agrees to press charges. I know it’s a lot for her to deal with when she’s got a young child, but if we want to get him off the street, we need her testimony in court.”
“She’s just scared. I guess I would be too.”
“Anyone would be. He threatened her kid.”
Bikky frowned. “I know it’s messed up our plans, and that sucks, but… I think I’m glad you were there, ‘cause if you hadn’t been, that man would’a gotten away, and then he might’ve done something even worse.”
“I’ll make it up to you, I promise. We can go to the zoo on my next day off, or somewhere else, anywhere you like. Within reason.”
“That’s okay. Can we maybe go for pizza when we get out of here?”
“Sure, if that’s what you want.”
Bikky nodded. “That would be good. I just hope no one decides to hold up the pizza place while we’re there though, otherwise you’ll have to arrest them too.”
The End
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