Work Text:
Everything was harder with Aoi gone.
Zenkichi couldn’t sleep, he had no appetite, and he’d lost all motivation to keep in touch with his friends and coworkers. He was like a zombie, shambling through his daily routine and collapsing into bed every night. His work, his mission, was the only thing keeping him alive right now, chaining his hands and yanking him towards life no matter how deeply he despised its cruelty.
There was no point to anything anymore.
Zenkichi knew Akane had noticed, but she had barely spoken to him for weeks, so they hadn’t had a chance to talk about it.
All that mattered to Zenkichi was finding the person who had killed his wife, and bringing them to justice.
When he got too close, and the bastard started threatening Akane, he had to stop using his government resources, which made the task so much more difficult and time-consuming. It got to the point where he was working ten hours a day, and then coming home to work another ten. He wasn’t sleeping through the night, anyway, so it didn’t matter.
All that mattered was the truth.
Even that felt out of reach, sometimes.
Finally, after five weeks of working twenty hours a day - working his fingers to the bone - Zenkichi’s body gave out underneath him, and he collapsed at his desk.
Akane came home from school, already in a bad mood. She’d been given a letter for Dad to sign, and knowing him, he was just going to shove her away and tell her he’d do it later. He never actually made time to do anything she asked him to.
Not since Mom died.
Leaving her bookbag in the kitchen, leaning up against the leg of the kitchen table, Akane went to her dad’s office. It wasn’t as though he’d be anywhere else. He practically lived in there these days, only coming out to use the bathroom and to get food.
He was such a terrible dad.
The thought made Akane feel guilty, but it was true. If he really loved her, he wouldn’t have needed Mom to make him act like a good parent. He’d just do it.
Akane knocked on the door to the study, waiting for him to react. When he didn’t, she shoved the door open anyway. “Dad, I need you to…”
She trailed off, as her gaze shifted to the desk, where Dad was slumped over his desk, unconscious. There was something pathetic about how he looked in that moment, small and vulnerable. It should have made her feel bad for him, but it just made her angry.
Kicking her chair, she watched him slowly stir, looking at her with bloodshot eyes.
“Akane…?” he slurred.
“Are you drunk ?!” Akane shouted, the letter in her hand forgotten. “ Seriously ? It’s four in the afternoon . Why can’t you just be a normal dad for once?”
Her father didn’t say anything, simply staring at her, bewildered.
“God dammit, Dad!” Akane had forgotten how good it felt to be angry. She’d spent so long wailing in her room every day since Mom died ; being able to feel anything other than sadness felt amazing . “I can’t believe you… Dad? Dad!”
He was crying.
Akane had never seen her father cry. Even at Mom’s funeral, he’d remained stoic, even as Akane sobbed into his sleeve. He never cried, no matter how bad things got.
Anger quickly forgotten, Akane flailed, unsure of what to do. She’d made her dad cry.
“Dad? Dad, I’m sorry,” Akane whispered, on the verge of tears herself.
Zenkichi went very still, before breaking into movement. He slid off his desk chair, settling on his knees in front of Akane and hugging her tightly. “Akane… it’s not your fault. I have failed you. I’ve failed you so badly. I don’t know what to do with myself, now that your mother’s gone. I don’t know if I can be a father anymore. I don't know if I can be the person you need me to be.”
Akane started sobbing. “I love you, Dad. I’m sorry. I didn't mean it.”
Zenkichi didn't say anything else. He simply kept sobbing.
The next morning, Zenkichi emerged from his office with bags under his eyes and shaky hands.
He told Akane that he decided that they should move to Kyoto so Akane could be closer to her grandparents.
Akane knew exactly what that meant.
Dad was pawning her off on her grandparents so he wouldn’t have to deal with her.
Fine.
She didn’t want to be around him anymore, either.
She didn’t care about him. She really didn’t.
He’d get what was coming to him.