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Gathered in the Salon, Akashi was about to set the team in motion for the morning. It wasn't a particularly busy day, and it would consist mostly of work within SGS. But as he walked to the table where everyone was gathered, Masumi and Natsuki both finishing their breakfast, Sakura drinking coffee, Souta and Eiji chatting over coffee, Makino entered the room. "Akashi." He spoke, a tone of worry on his voice. Worry, sorrow, and a sympathy that Akashi didn't quite understand. "You need to read this." Makino urged.
"Makino-sensei?" Akashi turned, cocking his head slightly as Makino held out an envelope to him. It had already been opened. And as Akashi took it, he found it was addressed to Makino. So why was it being passed to him? Akashi froze for a moment as he noticed the name on the return address. the letter was from his father. He quickly tugged the paper from within the envelope and unfolded it, his eyes scanning over the message that his father had sent to Makino instead of him.His shoulders slumped slightly, and he slipped out of the leadership mentality he took with the team as he read more and more of the message. Akashi stepped away from where the team was gathered as he finished reading the letter that Makino had handed him. He turned his back to them, crossing the Salon and walking up the steps to sit, with his back to the room, in the chair. He had deliberately separated himself from the others, and they all took notice. Akashi read the letter over a second time, needing to make sure he hadn’t made some kind of mistake in reading it. But he hadn’t.
Akashi Kouichi had died.
Akashi's hand clenched around the letter, crumpling the thin paper. It hadn’t even been some kind of accident while he’d been on an adventure. The old man had just gotten sick and died. And what was worse, he’d made no effort to make contact. No effort to say good-bye to his only goddamned son. Just this letter to someone else. Akashi’s empty hand balled into a fist and slammed down on the chair, resulting in a loud crack from the plastic.
"Chief?"
Sakura stood at the top of the stairs, having been the one designated by the group to see what was wrong. After all, she was closer to him than anyone else was. They had been partners the longest, and they had undertaken the SGS Space project together. Akashi simply shook his head, bringing up a hand in a silent request for her to stop and go back. Still concerned, Sakura stepped forward anyway, then stopped when she realized their Chief, his head bowed in an attempt to hide it, was in tears. Sakura stood for a moment, needing that time to comprehend what was happening. That something so devastating had been handed to him that it had brought Akashi Satoru to tears. The man she had always seen as unbreakable embodiment of adventure had been reduced to someone vulnerable and scared and painfully human. As that moment passed, Sakura knew what had to be done. She straightened her back and turned back down the short set of stairs. "Takaoka. You're on SGS Rescue today." She ordered,taking command of the situation. "Souta. I want full data for the missions in queue on my desk by the end of shift. Masumi, Natsuki, I want all of your mission reports complete by the same time. Go."
Masumi stepped forward to argue, but Souta grabbed his arm and shook his head. Souta looked back to Sakura and lifted his free hand in a salute. "Sub-Chief. Handle things here." And as if to signal the others to obey the order, he turned for the door to head down to the research library to do his part for the day. Eiji glanced toward where Akashi was still seated, not having moved or made a sound, and then to Sakura, who was sternly holding her place at the bottom of the stairs. He gave her a nod, trusting her to be able to at least get Akashi back to himself. He patted Masumi's shoulder as he passed, and left the Salon for his assignment.
Masumi met Sakura's glare, and held it for a few seconds. When she didn't back down from the challenge -- Unsurprising, as she never did. -- Masumi sighed and shrugged in defeat. "Come on, Natsuki." Masumi mumbled, taking his partner by the arm and leading her out. As Makino retreated to his workshop, Sakura let the authority drain out of her posture and looked up at Akashi sadly. She turned and climbed the steps again, moving to stand in front of Akashi, and reached out to lay a hand gently on his shoulder.
"He couldn't even be bothered to say goodbye to me? Or at least tell me he was sick?" Akashi mumbled bitterly, more to himself than to Sakura. He lifted his head, unable to stop himself from crying, and looked up at his second-in-command with a helplessness that she didn't know was possible from him. He spoke, questioning her in the most pitiful voice, "What am I supposed to do?"
Sakura still didn't understand, but she moved to sit beside him on the chair, taking a handkerchief from the pocket of her jacket to gently wipe his face. "What happened?" Akashi simply held the letter out to her. Sakura took it, reading it over slowly and quietly just as Akashi had. As she finished, she lay the letter in her lap. She remembered having met Akashi's father once, and she knew they weren't exactly close. None the less, the news had reduced her Chief to this. Akashi had loved his father, whether he would admit to it, or had even realized it, or not. Sakura reached over to take his hand. "Satoru-san…" Sakura spoke softly, resorting to Akashi's first name given the situation, "I know you weren't very close with your father but this must still be very difficult for you." Sakura felt like an idiot. She must have sounded so cold just saying the usual lines for this kind of situation. but Sakura was never really that good at expressing herself. What was she supposed to say? Sakura felt Akashi's grip on her hand tighten, watched his head come up to meet her eyes. She had never seen him cry before, and to witness it was heartbreaking.
"Why didn't he write to me? Why did he write to Makino-sensei? "Akashi asked desperately, reaching up to grip her shoulders as if Sakura would be able to give him the answers, "He didn't even mention me. Why?" Sakura froze up for several seconds, unsure of how to answer. Then it occurred to her that no answer was really needed. the answer itself wasn't what he was looking for from her. So Sakura simply lifted her arms and brought them around Akashi, pulling him into her. Akashi's hold on her sleeves loosened and his arms came around Sakura's shoulders to cling to her as she lightly rubbed his back and let him cry.
"I don't know if this is right," Sakura prefaced, speaking softly after a few silent moments as she continued to hold Akashi. To comfort him so personally was still difficult and a little embarrassing. But if he was willing to so openly seek comfort from her, if he felt their relationship was close enough to be so personal, then who was she to turn him away? "But maybe he just…" Sakura paused, trying to think of the right way to put this, "…had nothing at he needed to say to you." Akashi lifted his head from her shoulder, pulling out of her hold, confusion on his face as he searched her expression for what she meant. Sakura looked down at her lap, realizing that it hadn't come out right. "What I mean is, He's seen the sort of man that you've become. He's seen the team that have devoted themselves to your leadership, and the love you have for them and for what you do." Sakura lifted a hand to place it on his arm, "It was an incorrect assumption, but maybe he thought there was nothing more that you needed from him."
Akashi watched Sakura for a moment, then slumped over to lean on her shoulder. He felt bad about this, knowing that this sort of thing made her uncomfortable but pushing her into comforting him anyway. He should have gone to Natsuki or Souta. They were much better with this sort of thing. But of everyone, Sakura had been at his side the longest. The team had once, though just briefly, been just the two of them, and when he'd stepped down from the Boukenger unit to work with SGS Space, it had become, unexpectedly, just the two of them again. For a woman who had once said that she never intended to enjoy an adventure, she certainly seemed to love seeking them out these days. "I'm sorry." Akashi spoke lightly, taking Sakura's hand in his as he continued to lean on her shoulder. He could feel the tension in her body. Contact like this made her so nervous. "I know this sort of thing makes you uneasy. It's selfish of me to demand your attention this way when you probably just want to get back to work."
"Chief…" Sakura's tone was surprised and she shook her head, "Satoru-san… I…. I don't mind." Her voice shook slightly as she gripped his hand, "We are friends. I want to be able to help you. I just don't want to say the wrong thing and make this even harder on you." Sakura kept her head down, her gaze away from her leader, her friend, the incredibly oblivious object of her affections, "Anyone else would know exactly what to do or say to make you feel better, I'm sure." Sakura sighed and shook her head, "I don't know what to do at all. Akashi lifted himself from Sakura's shoulder again, shifting slightly to face her more properly, tugging on her hand a bit in the hopes that she'd make eye contact.
"You knew what to do for me." Akashi spoke, calm and level, with the slight authority that he was sure Sakura would respond better to than something more personal. Now that he'd gotten his initial shock and grief out of his system and could think about something other an the sudden fact that his father was no longer alive, Akashi felt slightly more sure of himself. "When the situation needed to be put under control, you stepped up and handled it. I'll talk to the others in time, and I'm sure once I've talked to everyone, I'll feel much better and things will settle back into what they were. But I needed a few minutes to myself first, and you were able to create the space I needed for that." Akashi smiled a little and gripped Sakura's hand, "As usual, you did exactly what I needed from you without any indication that it was what I needed. Whether I know it ahead of time or not, you always seem to be doing what's best for me."
Sakura bit her lower lip, keeping her head down, embarrassed by the praise. She didn't feel that she really deserved it when all she'd done was chase off the others and sit awkwardly with him. "Y-You chose me as Sub-Chief because I'm reliable." Sakura said softly, "Part of my duty is to handle the situation if you are, for some reason, unable. That's all." That wasn't all. That wasn't even close to all. Akashi, for all that Sakura admired him, could be short-sighted and too caught up in the adventure to realize how much danger he was sometimes in. She wanted to protect him. He was strong and bright and kind, but he needed someone to watch out for him. Sakura, though she didn't know how to express it openly, wanted to be that person. Akashi simply smiled at her and shook his head.
"I'm not really sure what to do with myself now." Akashi admitted.
"You get bereavement time… For a parent, it's two weeks." Sakura said gently, "I suggest taking that time and having an adventure. One not related to work. If possible, maybe one related to your father. Say goodbye to him that way.I'll handle all of the paperwork. you can just go." Sakura tried to smile, "We can manage things here until you're ready to come back."
Akashi found himself slightly started by her solution, even though it had to have been the most obvious one. An adventure. Akashi let out a small chuckle, lifting his hand to pat Sakura's shoulder. "Yeah… I'll do that. Thank you, Sakura, for all of this. I'm not sure how I'd get by without you looking out for me." He rose from the chair. "I'll keep in touch." Akashi looked down at Sakura, "If I need help…"
"…Just call. We'll come." Sakura smiled back him. Akashi nodded, deciding no more needed to be said. He gave Sakura's shoulder a small squeeze in a gesture of thanks, then took back the letter and descended the stairs. Sakura rose, watching him cross the Salon and step out into the elevator, able to only hope that when he returned, he'd be the Akashi had pledged her life to follow to the ends of the Earth.