"Damn," Deidara said, grabbing his and Sasori's carry on's from above them, "I feel like I need a vacation from vacation, yeah."
"Shit," Hidan grunted as he stretched. "Get me off this fuckin' plane."
"Here," Itachi said, handing Nari her bag as she stepped into the aisle. She smiled at him.
"Thanks," she said. "Got everything?"
"Come on, trouble makers," Kisame said fondly as he corralled them towards the exit of the plane.
"Oh, Nari," Konan called from behind Kisame, catching her attention. "Here's your charger back." Nari's fingers wrapped around it as they were slowly pushed towards the exit.
"Come on, my man," Deidara grunted, trying to drag his half awake boyfriend through the plane. It was a scene. All of them were raggedy and worn out from a week of rocking out and passing out on beaches. A few of them were sporting some very red and very angry sunburns. As someone bumped into her, she realized she was one of them.
All in all, Nari had a lot of fun. The final concert of their tour was an absolute success and she couldn't help but be a little proud of herself. She had only been a member of the band for a few weeks and she felt she was almost as good as them. Nari felt she was starting to earn her spot as the guitarist. It made her smile.
Despite the little hiccup she had, Nari had been able to recover. She'd never in a million years thought that visiting her parents' graves would help but it did. She told them everything. Nari told them about her brother, her friends, the bar, the band. She also told them about her boyfriend. She really didn't know what to do about him. She worked it out with them, told them why she stayed and why she wanted to leave. She told them her doubts, her frustrations, and her fears. She cried at their graves for the first time in years. Nari let it all out and when she was done, she left that grief and fear in the graveyard.
Then she went on to enjoy the rest of her trip.
"What the hell are you doing?" Kakuzu bit at Deidara as he dropped his bag on the floor loudly. Nari turned and watched as the blonde crouched before pulling his boyfriend on his back. Sasori had been walking too slow for his liking and had apparently decided piggy back was the best option.
"Hidan!" Tobi shouted, "You should give me one!"
"No way in hell!" he shouted back, trying to keep Tobi from climbing on him.
"You all are children," Kakuzu grumbled.
"At least they aren't terrorizing TSA again," Zetsu added.
"I don't know where they get the energy," Konan said before yawning. "What time is it?"
"Late," was the only response Pein gave her, dark bags lining his eyes. "The baggage claim is this way," he said, gesturing to a sign.
"You think they got a bathroom, yeah?" Deidara asked, walking up behind them, Sasori resting on his back. "I gotta piss."
"Why didn't you go on the plan?" Kisame asked.
"Because he's a fucking idiot," Hidan said before Deidara could answer.
"He is not!" Tobi insisted, cutting in. "He's very smart!"
"I hope they never change," Nari said quietly to Itachi. She looked up at him with a tired smile. He let the corners of his mouth twitch upward and nodded.
"Hm," came his quiet agreement. "Though, maybe their energy would be better suited for the morning." Nari laughed quietly, enjoying having their own little conversation to themselves. They were just off to the side of the rest of the group with Pein and Konan a little a head of them. Their little mess of a family joined the flow of foot traffic towards the luggage claim. It was pitch black outside but the harsh lights would make you think it was midday. It was the eerie timelessness of an airport but at least they were in their own city. As Nari noticed the wind and slight flurries, she realized her shorts and flip flops might not have been the best idea. She was happy she at least had the sense to wear her hoodie.
Her flip flops smacked against her feet as they walked, joining in the din of the people rushing past. Bags rolled along the tile floor and the whir of the elevators and moving walkways were like a low hum. The strap of her bag was digging into her sunburnt shoulder but she didn't dare complain. Nari knew if she did, Itachi would take it from her and rest it on his own shoulder. She could handle her own baggage. He had his own sunburn to worry about.
So when they finally reached the baggage claim they needed, she dropped it at her feet with a relieved sigh. The sound had caught Itachi's attention and she met his look, his eyebrows raised in silent question. She waved her hand in a silent dismissal.
Don't worry about it.
"You don't think we missed it, do you?" Deidara asked, setting down his boyfriend.
"Nah," Kisame said, stretching. "They're probably still unloading it all from the plane."
"Hungry," Sasori mumbled from under his red hood. He turned to shuffle away but Deidara tugged him back with a grin, slinging his arm around his shoulder.
"Sasori, my man," Deidara said, "we'll get some food later."
"Yeah!" Tobi cheered, tugging on Sasori's arm. "We should eat at the diner!"
"Best fucking idea I've heard this week," Hidan said with a lazy grin.
"Lemme call ahead and let them know," Konan said as she turned on her phone.
"Oh, shit," Nari said, pulling out her own phone. "I forgot to let my roommate know I'm coming home."
"Is that a problem?" Itachi asked her, his voice difficult to read. He met Pein's stare as she started her phone, oblivious to their subtle unease. A small smile was on her face and she hummed as she shrugged.
"Not really," she explained, giving him a reassuring smile while she waited for it to turn on. "I just don't want her to think someone's breaking in."
"Bags are coming," Kakuzu told them. "Pay attention. I'm not waiting all night just because one of you missed your bag."
"When are you gonna get that stick outta your ass?" Hidan asked him though he stepped closer to the baggage claim.
"When are you going to grow up?" Kakuzu bit back at him. Hidan put his hands on his hips and leaned forward with a smug look on his face.
"I don't gotta do shit," Hidan announced proudly. "I'm practically immortal."
"Wanna test that theory?" Kakuzu bristled.
"Oh, stop it you two," Konona huffed. The conveyor belt whirred to life as the light on top of it spun, flashing and grabbing people's attention. One by one bags and suitcases were rolled out from under the flaps. People around them began grabbing their belongings or checking the tags.
"Yay!" Tobi cheered as he saw his bright orange bag. He gripped the handles and lifted it with ease. He didn't even have to bother to look for his name. It was pretty obviously his. It was hard to miss.
"Is this yours, babe?" Deidara asked as a dark brown leather bag rolled towards them. Deidara leaned over and checked the name on the tag. "Yup!"
"Hu?" Nari let out a surprised noise, catching Itachi's attention. He looked down at her, seeing her scroll through an impressive amount of notifications.
"Worried texts?" he asked quietly.
"No," she said, not looking up from her phone. "Missed calls. There's a few voicemails." She pressed a button and held the phone to her ear. Her smile was gone now, lips pressed into a worried line. She bounced her leg nervously as the unfamiliar voice spoke over the phone.
"-trying to reach you about an important-" was all she could make out. It was too loud in the airport. People were talking, laughing, arguing. The whirring and beeping was too much. She couldn't hear.
"What's wrong?" Itachi asked gently. She shook her head and stepped away to try and get farther away from the noise, leaving her bag on the floor by his feet. He stayed where he was and watched her move away, far enough away he wouldn't be able to hear anything she said.
"What's going on?" Konan asked, stepping up next to him. The two watched her pace and pull the phone away from her ear.
"I don't know," Itachi said. "She had a lot of missed calls."
"Her boyfriend?" Konan asked tensly.
"I'm not sure."
"Itachi!" Kisame called, grabbing his attention. "I think this is your bag, man." Itachi left Konan to retrieve his luggage and Pein quickly took his place, gently tugging her elbow.
"Give her space," he told her quietly. Konan wasn't convinced. She didn't let him turn her attention away from her friend. It was a good thing he didn't otherwise they would have never noticed what she did next. Nari stopped pacing and for a moment was as still as a statue.
Then she ran.
"Nari!" Konan called after her over the noise of the airport before running after her. Everyone in their group turned to see what was going on.
"Oi!" Hidan shouted as she ran down the hall, flip flops slapping loudly. "Where the fuck are you going?"
"Stay here," Pein ordered firmly before running after his girlfriend and their guitarist. Konan knew he would follow. She had no doubt about that. She ran as fast as she could, her jacket flapping around her, her hair starting to fall out of the messy bun. It was all she could do to keep that red hair in her line of sight.
"Nari!" she shouted again, trying desperately to catch up to her friend. "Nari, wait!" Konan pushed her legs harder as she watched Nari slam through the exit. As her fingers wrapped around the cold metal bar of the door, her heart leapt to her throat and she screamed her friend's name as Nari jumped in front of a cab.
"Shit," Pein breathed as he all but crashed into his girlfriend's back. He had gotten there just in time to see Nari jump off the curb, just in time to see the cab come to a screeching halt mere inches from her legs. Pein reached past Konan and shoved open the door, stepping out into the bitter wind. "Nari!" he shouted loudly but she didn't even look his way. Instead, she stepped around the car and got in.
"Fuck," Konan hissed as Pein stepped back inside. "Fuck, Pein, I don't-"
"It's alright," he assured her, rubbing her arms. "She can handle herself."
"What if-"
"Worrying about that won't do any good," he told her. "Let's let her deal with it. I have a feeling she'll tell you when she can."
"She just…" Konan swallowed, wrapping her arms around herself as she tried not to cry. "She just took off. I don't…" Pein pulled her close, resting his chin on her head.
"Let's get back to everyone else," he suggested. "We'll figure out what to do from there." Konan weakly agreed and Pein took it as a small victory. The truth of it was he was just as worried as Konan. He had no idea what could have made her run so wildly from them. She didn't seem like she was running from something. That would have made more sense to him. She seemed desperate to get somewhere and he couldn't figure out where. Pein tried to take his own advice and push out the intruding "what if?"
They had to trust she would come back.
Ice had wrapped around her heart and the air was stolen from her lungs. She couldn't feel her body, she couldn't feel the tears. It was like a dream. It was like a horrible, awful nightmare and she couldn't wake up from it.
"No," she heard her raspy voice choke out.
"I'm so sorry, Nari," Sakura said gently. Her voice sounded warbled, like she was under water. Sakura got a little further away. Nari's head filled with cotton and she blinked, trying to force away the haze. It didn't make sense, nothing made sense.
"He's not," Nari insisted.
"Nari," Sakura sighed. "Nari, we tried. We tried to reach you and we couldn't. We had to call the secondary contact."
"Why didn't you call me?" Nari whispered, feeling herself start to shake. Sluggishly she reached out to her friend, gripping the sleeve of her scrub. "Why didn't you tell me?"
"Nari, we tried," Sakura said again. "We tried to call you. They were running out of time and a decision had to be made."
"Who made it?" Nari asked, feeling anger bubble up inside her. Who had the right? Who had the right to make this decision? This was her brother! "Who made the decision to let him die." The venom that dripped from her voice was a sharp change from the heartbroken whisper and Sakura jolted for a moment, caught off guard. "Who!" Nari snapped, shaking her from her surprise.
"We had to call the secondary contact," Sakura repeated carefully. Nari watched her, waiting for the name of the person who had caused her so much grief. "We called Eric-"
"No-" she choked. "No, you didn't."
"I'm sorry, Nari," Sakura said honestly, sympathy seeping from her. Her gentle hands rested on the woman's shoulders. "I am so sorry." Nari just stared at her. Tears clouded her vision but she didn't cry. She wasn't even sure she was breathing. Nari just stared. She was frozen, she couldn't move, she couldn't think. Sakura watched her, her green eyes flicking over her face, watching her go pale. She slowly began rubbing her friend's arms, hoping to ground her, bring her back again. Nari continued to stare at her, wide eyed and heart racing impossibly fast. "Is there someone we can call?" Sakura asked gently, keeping her voice as soothing as possible. "Do you want me to call anyone for you?" she tried, asking it a little differently. Sakura began to grow worried when Nari didn't do anything but blink. "Is there anyone who can be with you right now?"
I don't have anyone left.
"I don't-" Nari had started but her hand began to buzz quietly. She and Sakura looked to the buzzing and glowing phone in her hand. Nari made no indication of answering it, so Sakura gently took it from her. Keeping one hand on Nari's shoulder, she gently guided her backwards, gently settling her on a bench. The phone buzzed once more before it stopped. They had missed whoever was calling.
"Do you have any friends I can call for you?" Sakura asked, crouching in front of her a bit. Before Nari could answer, the phone buzzed in Sakura's hand. Sakura looked at it for a moment. It was the same name of the person who had just tried to reach Nari. "I'm going to answer the phone, ok?" Sakura asked. There was no response from Nari so she answered the call. "Hello?"
"Nari?" a worried voice came through.
"This is her phone," Sakura explained. "I'm with her now. May I ask who is calling?"
"My name is Konan, I'm her friend," the voice on the other end insisted. "Who are you? Where is she? Is she ok?"
"My name is Sakura, I'm one of the nurses that have been caring for her brother." Sakura spoke calmly as she continued to watch Nari. She sat there, lifeless and too much like a puppet whose strings have been cut. "Nari's safe. She's with me."
"She's at the hospital?" Konan asked, her voice getting tenser. Sakura heard a man's frustrated voice shout something on the other line but she couldn't quite make it out.
"She's ok," Sakura said, though she wasn't overly sure. "Are you able to come pick her up?"
"Of course, what happened? Is she hurt?" Konan asked.
"She's not hurt," Sakura assured before moving the phone from her ear. "Nari, I'm going to tell them what happened, ok?" Nari just stared, blinking. Sakura patted her knee, trying to get her attention. "Nari?"
"I'm ok," she mumbled.
"Nari, I'm talking to Konan," Sakura told her. "I'm going to have her come get you."
"Kay," Nari said quietly.
"I'm going to tell her what happened, alright?"
"Kay." Sakura wasn't too sure Nari was going to be able to leave and for a moment she considered calling another nurse. Nari seemed to be going into shock.
"Why isn't she answering the phone?" Konan asked.
"Nari's not hurt," Sakura explained calmly. "Her brother passed." Sakura heard the other woman swearing on the other line.
"We'll be there as soon as we can," Konan assured. "Thank you for your help."
"Not a problem," Sakura assured. "When you get here, come up to the ICU. We'll be waiting by the front desk."
"Got it."
Nari sat there, watching Sakura talk on the phone. She assumed it was Konan but she wasn't really sure of anything. She wasn't even sure any of this was real. It had to be a bad dream. Through a blurry haze, she watched as Sakura put her phone back in her hand and stand. A warbled noise told her Sakura was speaking but she couldn't understand it. A gentle hand rested on her shoulder but she didn't move.
She sat there on the bench, hardly aware of the world around her. Time didn't exist. Each inhale took hours and each exhale milliseconds, but the pause in between each breath took days. She couldn't feel the bench under her or the floor beneath her feet. All she could feel was that deep ache; the one where it feels as though someone gouged out your soul, leaving you hollow. It was over.
He was gone.
Leo was gone.
He wasn't waking up. She couldn't lie to them anymore. What's worse is she couldn't lie to herself. Leo was dead and it was her fault. If she hadn't been on that plane, if she'd had her phone on, if she'd stayed home. If she hadn't joined the band, if she had turned down Konan's offer, Leo would still be alive.
Leo would never have the chance to wake up and it was all her fault.
Nari sat there with this truth weighing heavy on her shoulders. She sat there like a statue for centuries. Slowly, she was dragged out of that haze as the sound of footsteps came closer and closer. Each step slowly brought her back to her world, the world where Leo was no longer with her. Shoes stood in front of her and she slowly followed the legs up to the face of the woman before her. Worried amber eyes stared back. She knew this person.
"Nari?" Konan called gently and everything came crashing over her like thunder. The damn burst and those tears finally fell. The pain shot through her like a spear, ripping and tearing at her heart. Her body was cold as ice and she couldn't take it anymore. She couldn't take the terrifying loneliness.
Nari shot off the bench, the blanket she didn't even realize had been draped over her fell behind her. She crashed into her friend, grabbing onto her desperately like a lifeline, like Konan was the only thing keeping her above the flood of despair that threatened to pull her under.
Konan held her, wrapping her arms around her tightly. Her friend shoved her face into her shoulder and let out a heart wrenching wail that rivaled a mourning banshee. Had Nari not buried her face in Konan's shoulder, there was no doubt the sound would have carried all through the hospital.
"I'm here," Konan assured as her friend fell apart in her arms. Her fingers ran through her hair to sooth her. "Oh, Nari," she breathed, "I'm here. I've got you." A hand rested on her shoulder and she looked up into Pein's eyes. The two stared at each other and Konan rested her cheek on her friends head as Nari was wracked by the sobs. "We've got you, Nari. We've got you."