Archive of Our Own

He stood at the stairs outside of the dorm with a few things in hand. A gift bag, a bouquet of flowers, and those little candies she used to love as a child.

Sakyo saw him first.

"...Yukio-san." He muttered under his breath as he looked out the balcony window to see a strangely familiar man standing outside. For some reason, his hands itched until they closed into fists, and all of a sudden his heart had filled with a questionable feeling of resentment.

"What are you doing here?" He tried to keep a respectful tone in his voice when he met up with the man, and those who saw Sakyo go down the stairs with a dark look on his face watched from the balcony.

Yukio Tachibana stood just a couple of metres away from him with a warm smile on his face. Sakyo almost scoffed at how similar Izumi still was to him.

"I came to visit. I heard the company was doing well and wanted to give my little Izumi a present."

Sakyo ignored the kind gesture. Ignored how that term of endearment for Izumi made his heart flare in annoyance. "Where did you come from."

"...Overseas."

"I see." He quipped, arms crossed over his chest in a menacing way that left Mister Tachibana bewildered. Sakyo was completely different from the kid he remembered all those years ago; and that glare definitely looked like it could kill.

"You've grown so much, Sakyo—"

"Leave the gifts on the ground and go on your merry way, please."

Yukio chuckled, waving his bouquet. "Ah, I was hoping to see Izumi—"

Sakyo pinched the bridge of his nose. "I'm sorry. She isn't home."

"No, I am." The deadpan tone cause Sakyo to whip around, and his heart dropped when he saw Izumi standing behind him with a pained look on her face.

The demeanour he once held before Yukio-san had vanished. Sakyo tried to usher the woman back inside with a quiet murmur of reassurance, but Izumi slipped out of his grip with ease and waved her hand at him.

Yukio's face lit up when he saw his daughter approach him, not at all minding how she glared at him the same way Sakyo did not too long ago. The bag in his hand rustled as he met up with her in the middle, and he held the gifts out for her to take.

"I'm home. I just wanted to visit and see how you were doing," he rambled excitedly as Izumi took the flowers from his hand, motioning for him to just lay the other gifts at her feet with a solemn expression, "Yuzo told me how the company was thriving again thanks to your hard work and—"

It was Izumi's turn to interrupt him. "That's enough." She held her hand up to get him to stop speaking, and the smile that made her lips twitch was... unsettling.

The men on the balcony watched, uneasy. Sakyo had disappeared and was probably on his way to join everyone else.

Yukio's own smile dropped and he rubbed the back of his neck; slowly catching on to the fact that he didn't seem to be welcome here.

"Izumi.. I'm sorry I left you and your mother, but I'm here now." His voice was tender as he held his palms up, his arms held out as if he was welcoming the woman in for a hug, but Izumi scrunched her nose in distaste.

"You were gone for ten years." She said, incredulous. "And all I get is a one second apology and cheap gifts to make up for it? These candies are five cents a piece."

The venom in her voice couldn't be avoided, and suddenly Yukio knew he was taking part in a losing battle.

"I was hoping to have dinner with you to explain and catch up." He chuckled. But the man was walking on thin ice if he thought Izumi was going to give in just like that, and her grip on the flowers tightened.

There was a stunned silence, and Yukio took that as his chance to take a step closer towards his daughter.

The movement caught Izumi's attention though and she flipped the bouquet over in her hands, keeping Yukio at least an arm's length away to make sure he didn't reach her.

"Do not take a step closer." She seethed angrily, holding the bouquet of flowers up with the stems pressing against his throat. She inwardly apologised to Tsumugi for ruining a nice bundle, but the anger running through her veins was strong.

A mixed array of coloured petals fell from where her fingers clutched at the blooms, and she hissed when Yukio tried to ease the flowers from his neck.

"I don't want to see you here." She muttered, ignoring the way the sparkle in her father's eyes diminished. She flipped the bouquet in her hand back around so they were upright and shoved it against his chest while pushing him back with surprising strength.

"I don't care if you missed the theatre. Or me." She spat, swiping the gift bag and candies from the ground where he set them down, and kept pushing him away until they were at the gate of the dorm. "I wouldn't believe you if you said so anyways."

"Izumi," her father pleaded, stumbling over his feet as he panicked at how he was obviously losing the privilege to speak to his daughter, "please. You're not giving me a chance."

"A chance?" She gasped, mockingly scandalised. She gave one last shove to Yukio until he was on the other side of the gate and tossed the crumpled flowers by his feet, shutting the door. "You fucking left your family without a goodbye and didn't give one single explanation." She gritted out, pointing at Yukio from across the barrier.

"Don't talk about chances when you didn't give us one either." She spat. "You left us in debt, and mom had to work three jobs. Three!  Not once did we receive a phone call, hell, a letter. And the only person you kept in touch with was Yuzo? Get the hell out of here, man.

You're acting like this isn't a big deal, but you were gone for a decade. I looked for you everywhere and left empty handed every time. I had to clean the mess you left at Mankai and you want to come back now? You want to be a father now? I'm twenty-six for fuck's sake. I'm way past being 'daddy's little girl'."

"Izumi, just one hour of your time—"

"Fuck. That." She held up her middle finger as she began to step back, not once looking away from crestfallen eyes. "You can try and talk to mom, but she's not happy with you either. Last I saw, she was filing for annulment and was gonna pry your information from Yuzo."

"Don't come back." She huffed, spinning around on her heel. Her steps were hurried as she strode back inside the dorm with the gifts, and threw them on the table in the lounge after changing into her slippers.

The adrenaline that ran through her was ebbing away slowly as she noticed the very few petals that still stuck to her palms from when she clenched the bouquet in her grip. She tried to swipe them away, but they stuck to her sweaty palms with each flick.

She tried over and over again to get rid of the remnants of her father's visit and sighed shakily when they rolled beneath her fingers and dropped to the floor, the weight on her shoulders too heavy for her to pick her head up.

There were several distinct footfalls coming up from behind her as she tried to remain calm, but a distinct loneliness left her shuddering.

"Don't." She choked out, moving away from whoever was reaching out to hold her; Omi. She held her head in her palm while outstretching her other hand to tell him to stop.

She felt dizzy. Her head was hurting. That was probably one of the worst encounters she's ever had in her life and all she wants to do now is pass out and forget about everything that just happened.

"No. No, no, no." The actors, Tasuku, Tsuzuru, Misumi, tried to comfort her with gentle pats to her back or with kind words, but she forced herself away from them, panicked.

Her heart was racing at an irregular pace, forcing her to clutch at her chest in desperation to just– chill.

"Just– just don't let the kids see me, okay?" She didn't bother to look at any of the other men who hovered around her with concern and stumbled towards the hallway that would lead to her room.

It felt like her feet were made of lead as she walked, knees barely bending to keep her moving forward as she aimlessly trudged around.

She always practised her reaction to Yukio coming home, but she never once expected to see him ever again. She failed to do a single thing she promised she'd do if she ever saw his face again, and the mistake caused the pain in her heart to grow.

She wanted to punch him. Kick him. Make him kneel on the floor and beg for forgiveness. For leaving her and her mom; and for making her company fall apart with no place for the long forgotten members to go. She wanted him to explain his sudden disappearance and the lack of phone calls and letters. She had so many questions, but she never gave him the chance to open his mouth.

But how could she let him anyways? So many years gone with that trust broken; it isn't easy to keep calm. She expected herself to stay calm, but she lost her cool.

The estrangement left her lonely and confused, and she would've had difficulty believing his each and every word; any ounce of his credibility left long ago.

To forgive was an easy thing to say, but an action quite difficult to do. She didn't want to leave things behind her when he looked like he was acting like a decade hadn't just passed without him in her life. When she needed him most.

Stupidly, she tripped over her feet just as she made it to her door and fell to the ground, hands braced to the floor as her head hung low.

"Izumi." A familiar voice whispered gently. A voice she didn't know she missed all those years ago until she saw him again.

Her wrists were taken in by calloused hands, and she tried to fight back with a shaky exhale, her eyes beginning to well with tears.

"No.. Leave me alone, please." She murmured pathetically, tugging at her wrists in an attempt to escape the strong hold.

"Izumi." His tone changed into something more firm once he heard her first sob, and trapped her wrists with one hand to make the woman look at him. His thumb and index lightly tipped her chin up, and Izumi finally looked at Sakyo with tears still in her eyes.

"Can you breathe for me? Slowly." The hand on her chin moved to cup the side of her face as he gave her instructions, demonstrating for Izumi how he wanted her to calm her erratic breathing.

Her eyes were crystalline as she continued to silently cry, hand held up to her mouth to hide the trembling frown she wore. She was embarrassed to have him see her like this, of all people, but.. she'd have him over anyone else right now.

She tried to copy him, show him that she was able to do something so simple, but after her second choppy breath, she couldn't.

"Kyo.." She whimpered high in her throat; trying not to sob out his name. Her brows furrowed as Sakyo looked at her expectantly, but she just... she couldn't. She couldn't.

"Okay. Okay, alright." He sighed after a few more seconds, his heart twitching at that nickname she used to call him when they were kids.

He leaned back against the door to her bedroom and pulled at her wrist again, leading the woman forward to have her sit in his lap sideways, her shoulder tucked against his front while her head rested in the crook of his neck.

His arms were warm around her as he held her around the waist, and that's when Izumi fell apart.

Her tears picked up again as she was reminded of the past when Sakyo would hold her like this whenever she cried, and she couldn't help but wrap her arms around his neck as she sobbed into his jaw.

"I don't understand.." The pain and confusion was so clear on her face, even from down the hallway where a few of the others were peering in; to understand what was going on.

Izumi Tachibana.. a strong willed woman with an undying determination and love for everyone who followed her thus far.. was reduced to tears. And nobody knew what to do.

Nobody but Sakyo at least.

"It hurts so much.." She choked, fingers digging into the fabric of his coat. It felt like there were thorns digging into her throat whenever she breathed, her heart crumpling like a piece of paper.

Her strangled breathing and wet hiccups could be heard from the lounge room, where everyone else who had witnessed everything go down was. They couldn't bear to look at the sight of their director looking torn, but their hearts felt like they were twisting with each whimper she let out.

"Should I have let him talk?" She smiled suddenly, but the twinge of sadness was still there along with a new hint of regret.

"Maybe I was too aggressive.." Izumi whispered beneath her breath, lashes wet with tears as her body still shook with silent sobs.

Sakyo sighed and lifted a hand to pet her hair, his heart feeling uneasy at this side of Izumi resurfacing again. Insecure, self-doubting, Izumi. Someone he didn't want to see ever again, but here she was.

"Stop thinking. You can't change the outcome anymore." His voice was firm to make sure Izumi didn't fall further down the spiral she was struggling to escape, and manoeuvred her around so that her legs were wrapped around his waist when he saw Tasuku and Omi come by.

He held his hands out for the men to grab onto and hoisted the both of them up until Sakyo was onto his feet, Izumi still snug and comfortably hanging onto him.

"You really can't.." Sakyo sighed again upon hearing Izumi's sniffle, and followed the two other actors towards the lounge room. He then headed towards the kitchen to find Izumi a glass of water. "Unless Yukio comes around again, we'll have to just deal with what we've ended up with."

"I'm sorry." She muttered, pinching her palms with her nails to scold herself. Here she was, losing her mind. Everyone was growing uncomfortable and Sakyo didn't have anything else to say. Her heart sunk while the fog in her mind began to clear up and inwardly cringed at her two outbursts.

"I said stop thinking, idiot." Sakyo scoffed, setting the woman on the counter so that he'd have an easier time getting her water.

"And I know your relationship with your mom hasn't been too great lately." He murmured, the cogs in his head turning to help him figure out what was a comforting thing to say.

"..But we're your family now." Sakyo offered her the glass of water to take and Izumi took it with a grateful nod. The mention of family left a foreign feeling to settle in her stomach, making her turn her head towards the lounge where a few of the members sat.

They all waved at her, and oddly enough... their smiles were.. familial. Warm, inviting. Cozy..

That feeling in her stomach began to bloom and it spread a tingling feeling towards her fingertips. She felt like she was buzzing now, and the cold sadness that loomed over her was replaced with a blanket of security and warmth.

And this time, her tears were due to the relief that washed over her as she realised that, yes.

They're her family now.