Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, nor the characters in Naruto. I just manipulate them like my own personal voodoo dolls.


Lithium

Chapter Two: Fragile

Looking down at the drunken kunoichi Kakashi stifled a sigh.

Swallowing hard he began to pick his way through the various pieces of broken furniture towards the now unconscious medic.

It seemed that Sakura had not been well in his absence.

Her emancipated drunken form were evidence enough, but her response to his arrival was frightening.

Just how long had she been like this?

Naruto had told him that Sakura wasn't coping well, but he had never imagined that she could fall this far in such a short period of time.

Sakura was supposed to be the most level headed of them all.

Kneeling down by her side he rolled her over slightly, brushing her bubblegum pink locks from her face.

"Oh, Sakura…" he murmured, taking his former student in his arms.

Out of the corner of his eye he saw what he thought was a shadow on the kunoichi's face.

Closer inspection however proved this theory incorrect.

Gently he pushed Sakura's head back with two fingers, revealing dark bruising to her jaw.

This mark was no accident.

That kind of bruising was the direct result of a harsh upper cut to the jaw.

Glancing back at the barricade Sakura had constructed, it seemed that there was more to this situation than met the eye.

Sakura was defending herself, but from whom?

A soft groan escaped from the kunoichi's lips, forcing the silver haired shinobi to stop his musing and return his attention to his former pupil.

Initially he had assumed that she had collapsed from utter inebriation.

However, as he knelt beside her he noticed the blood staining the carpet and the glass embedded in her feet.

Looking back the way she had come he saw a multitude of broken bottles on the floor and her bloody footsteps.

It seemed that a particularly nasty shard had torn through her heel.

Lifting the kunoichi up, he marveled once again at her frailty.

Sakura's weight had dropped drastically, her figure bony and taunt.

Kakashi carried her gently, worried that if he applied too much pressure, she'd break.

Following the trail of her bloodied footprints he located her bedroom.

The bed seemed to be the best option.

Around it however was a minefield of broken glass – it was on these shards that Sakura had cut her feet.

The source seemed to be a myriad of alcoholic containers, discarded once drained.

These ranged from cheap wine and beer to vodka and rum bottles.

Being careful to avoid the broken glass, he placed the kunoichi's unconscious form on the bed.

Sakura's face twitched, her brow furrowing and her mouth forming a hard line.

Whatever she saw, it could not have been good.

Regardless, he needed to focus his attention on her feet.

Depending on how far the shard had penetrated her foot, Sakura could possibly need better medical attention that he could provide.

Retrieving her medical pouch he set to work, removing the pieces of glass one by one.

The skin on her feet was awfully thin, the blue of her veins standing out against the almost translucent alabaster.

In fact, Sakura's entire body was thin and pale.

Whatever her condition, it seemed that she had been like this for quite some time.

Why had no one intervened?

This question swirled around as he pulled the bits of glass one by one from her feet.

Even as he did so, he noticed the blood ceasing to flow, the skin beginning to knit shut.

Sakura was automatically healing the damage even as she slept.

Carefully extracting the largest shard he started when the slightest groan of pain issued from the kunoichi's lips.

Glancing over at his unconscious charge he double-checked that she was indeed asleep.

Sakura's tired face was scrunched up into a mask of pain, but still she slept.

Whether it was her dream or his own attempt at healing he wasn't certain.

All that mattered was that she was still asleep.

Relieved, he removed the final shard and examined the wound.

Blood oozed slowly from it, but even that was slowly halting, the skin beginning to harden with dark scab.

Regardless, he decided to help her along somewhat.

Smearing the wounds with an ointment he found in her pouch he contemplated his options.

Kakashi knew that he couldn't leave her like this.

Sakura needed his help.

Leaving now would result in the kunoichi resuming her old habits, regardless of his protests.

His best chance of helping her beat this was to push her through it.

That would mean staying here long term.

Sakura needed to sober up, and fast.

All trace of alcohol needed to be removed from her reach, as soon as possible.

While she may not enjoy his methods, he refused to watch her destroy herself.

Looking around the room he couldn't help but sigh.

It was mess.

That was going have to change.

Immediately.


[EndChapterTwo]