"Hey Dad are you there?" Ruby knocked on the door several times. She was sure Doctor Gareth heard her but refused to open the door.
"This neighborhood is eerily quiet. There's not a single person in sight." Yushiro shivered when he glanced behind him.
Douma and Shinobu shrugged it off like it was nothing. The neighborhood didn't look as sketchy as how Yushiro made it out to be, there just wasn't many people here at this time. Everyone must've gone out to commemorate the Tsukimi Festival.
Someone on the other side slowly opened the door and peered from the narrowed crevice to see who was outside.
Ruby squinted her eyes at Doctor Gareth's who blinked a few times. The man saw his daughter and the three guests outside through the peephole. If it was just Ruby he'd have no problem letting her in but the presence of others made him apprehensive to do so.
Right before Ruby was about to explain to him why she brought Douma, Shinobu and Yushiro over, the man grunted and got ready to shut the door. Ruby's pleads were dismissed as Doctor Gareth tried to push her arms away which made the girl mad.
"Stop this dad! Just give me the chance to explain!" The red-haired girl grabbed the side of the door and forcefully tried to hold it in place.
Doctor Gareth refused to listen he shut the door behind him. Ruby screamed at the pain on her fingers. Douma and his friends noticed the door wasn't fully shut, it was put to a hold by Ruby's now bleeding fingers.
The man on the other side panicked seeing his daughter in pain he quickly ran to his table to look for some medical supplies that he had kept from the time he was still working with Atlas. He could feel the guilt rising this wasn't Ruby's fault.
When he found the right oil, he rushed over to the door and left it wide open for Ruby and the other three to walk in. As much as he didn't want to deal with anyone, Doctor Gareth had no other choice as long as Ruby wasn't in pain anymore. Should anything happen to her from that injury, the fault would be on him adding on to another burden on his shoulders.
"Douma maybe you should use your healing powers-" Yushiro whispered but was cut off when Douma flagged his arm opposingly.
"No." He said.
"What?"
"Let him handle it."
Yushiro was confused he wanted to object but after seeing Doctor Gareth treat Ruby's injury carefully he settled down. Ruby wasn't mad she was surprisingly calm during the process.
Maybe this was Douma's way of bringing them together. Yushiro didn't deny that. Doctor Gareth treating Ruby instead would evoke a sense of appreciation in her regardless of the troubles Doctor Gareth has brought to her over the years. He wasn't a harmful individual, Doctor Gareth was lost and Ruby would be able to help him once she realizes this simple act of kindness by her own father.
"Besides, Ruby would freak out if that happens. She doesn't know Douma's true identity and it's best if we leave it that way. Convincing her to bring us all the way here was already hard enough." Shinobu remarked and the both of them agreed.
"And with Doctor Gareth helping her recover, Ruby wouldn't have to live in fear of him doing something dangerously drastic. She already has this perception of her father because she is hesitant to speak with him. Hopefully she won't have any of these misconceptions anymore after this." Douma watched Doctor Gareth wrapping the bandages on Ruby's hand. She was smiling and responding to the man's questions cheerfully.
A sign that she was beginning to accept her father back into her life after so long.
"Who are they and what are they doing here?" Doctor Gareth rushed towards Douma and his friends threateningly.
"They mean no harm don't worry! They're here to talk to you about something important." Ruby told him.
Douma, Shinobu and Yushiro were getting worried. Doctor Gareth didn't seem to take Ruby's words seriously. He must still be thinking she was trying to bring more problems to him which clearly wasn't the case if he had paid attention to her explanations earlier. They could tell age was catching up with him, the man was starting to have grey hair and he barely had enough energy to chase them out if he wanted to.
"I get that all the time from these visitors."
"We're just here to talk sir." The blonde reassured him.
"Nonsense! You're just trying to set me up!" The man spat.
"It's not like that."
"Why should I believe you?"
Ruby got up from where she sat and strode towards them. "Because they're with me dad! Why would I set up my own father for him to suffer alone without anyone to turn to? That would make me a horrible daughter! I don't know how you see it but I would never do such a thing to my family no matter how awful they turn out to be."
Silence dawned over them. Doctor Gareth scoffed and walked away. "Fine then since you came here with Ruby I'll give you all a chance but you've only got a few minutes."
Douma, Shinobu and Yushiro exchanged a few glances while Ruby stood there feeling a little relieved that her father was willing to hear what his guests had to say, he never did and this was going to be the first time after years of hiding.
"We heard about your stories from Atlas." The blonde said while Doctor Gareth nodded in acknowledgment, back still facing him as though he didn't want to have this conversation.
"Might I add that I've decided that I will admit myself regardless of the consequences that I will have to endure."
Ruby looked at Doctor Gareth in shock. Not that she was against his decision it was the right thing to do but this was out of the ordinary.
"About time!" Yushiro cheered as Shinobu narrowed her eyes at him.
"So you're aware of the outcome of these recent events. It didn't have to take you this long to realize how much danger you've put everyone through." Douma continued on.
"It seems you know about my involvement with YNeons, how Neb became the monster that we know of today. All because of my negligence." Doctor Gareth glanced at the three friends with a cold look on his face.
"That's enough dad! If you keep this up you won't be able to hear what they've gotta say!"
Doctor Gareth ignored Ruby and sat down on his couch sipping on his tea on the table. "Ruby there's still some tea. Our guests need to feel comfortable here."
Ruby nodded her father didn't seem mad at her for what she said, maybe he was starting to open up more. The girl walked away leaving Doctor Gareth with the other three in the living room.
"I don't want Ruby to suffer because of me and I will continue to do my part to make sure she's safe." Doctor Gareth took another sip of his tea. "So I've thought about it after some time, even though the visitors who knock on my door once in a while haven't done anything drastic yet that doesn't mean their actions didn't get me thinking."
"Sir, you've made some very bad decisions. I don't think anyone is going to forgive you that easily." When Douma said that Doctor Gareth sighed and put down his mug.
"Let me guess, the three of you have been doing some digging about Nebulas? That's impressive, I thought my secrets were kept hidden."
"They're not just yours." Shinobu put up one of the images that she kept with her. Doctor Gareth was shocked to see that old image of Nebulas in the lab.
How could this be? Doctor Gareth was stunned, there's no way these three could've gotten these images unless they knew someone who had them.
"In case you're wondering, we got a hold of Hanako Watsume. He's not safe either and it turns out, the guy's planning to come out of his cave so we're just left with you now. What you said earlier could just be a diversion for other plans." The violette kept the picture and waited for Doctor Gareth's response.
"I've made up my mind and you don't have to worry about any underlying plans. Keeping this to myself is something I gave up a longtime ago. I can't keep living like this." Doctor Gareth looked up to see Ruby placing three mugs on the table.
"Ruby is a brave girl, she's able to withstand all the trouble I've caused." Doctor Gareth said quietly as his daughter went back to her seat to reply to check on a message she got on her phone. "I thought Neb would be able to push aside these matters but I guess not. This isn't something I enforced on him so when I found out about the troubles that bug's been stirring up I was very disappointed. He's better than that."
Douma, Shinobu and Yushiro remained quiet. This man sounded honest he wasn't trying to sugarcoat his sentences or make up lies. He seemed apologetic about what he's done.
"If you care about Ruby than your decision will help her move forward with ease. She's been really worried about you." The blonde said in an understanding tone.
"Of course, she won't have to suffer because of my mistakes anymore. This is for the best. Mr Oshiro is probably still trying to track me down, he has every right to, I betrayed him like that. Who wouldn't resort to such measures?"
"Mr Oshiro has been tracking you from the very start, and he still is now." Douma replied sheepishly.
Both Ruby and Doctor Gareth gasped and exchanged glances. "You know Mr Oshiro-"
"Yeah and don't expect a friendly welcome from him."
"Oh certainly not."
Douma crossed his arms and watched Doctor Gareth spiral into guilt. He finally realized his mistakes and owned up to them.