Bildungsroman

Chapter 19

Trigger warning for alcohol abuse, underage drinking. It's only sparingly described, but this chapter deals with some of the consequences. If it bothers you, I suggest you read until the marker (I've put one in), and then skip to the second marker before the last section. It's not essential to the overarching plot. Please take care of yourself, and your mental health.

Disclaimer: This is a work of fanfiction, with no copyright infringement intended. I don't own PoT, which belongs to Takeshi Konomi.

Airi raised her eyebrows at Sakura's cheerful-looking doodles. "You're chipper." She murmured.

Sakura grinned. "Should I not be?" She asked, dodging the obvious query. Aiki rolled her eyes and jabbed her with a pen. Sakura hissed in pain, glancing around at the teacher.

"Ow. Bitch." She rubbed her shoulder. "Sanada-kun and I made up, alright? We're friends again."

Well. Okay. Airi had heard worse excuses for irritatingly high spirits. Granted, Sakura's happiness seemed disproportionate to the event, but who was she to judge? "Good. He apologized, though, right?" That trip to Rikkai had been awfully long, but she'd make it again if she had to.

But Sakura nodded. "Yeah, he did." The her grin turned a little sheepish. "I punched him too, but I didn't realize it was him then."

Airi snorted, and the two girls froze, looking up y to see a very unimpressed teacher glaring at them.

"This- is- torture." Sakura panted, lowering herself into another pushup. Seven.

Mikabi didn't reply, but the murderous focus in her eyes told everyone exactly what she was thinking. Kazumi made a sort of grunt, which Sakura took as agreement.

"Eight more, Kagawa, keep going." Imako smirked at the girl when she threw her senior a filthy look.

"Slave-driver." Sakura whispered to herself, pushing up again. Then down. Eight.

Mikabi was on twelve already, and no sign of a tremor in her arms. Sakura breathed, and pushed up, gritting her teeth.

Down again. Nine.

When she hit fifteen, she Heroically resisted the urge to collapse, instead lowering herself carefully to the ground, and finally letting go. "Fuck." She whimpered, curling a hand around her aching abs. Beside her, Mikabi was breathing hard- her menu stipulated thirty.

Thank Christ she wasn't a power player.

"No lying around, lazy," Imako nudged her with a toe. "Stretch those legs. If you're going to do stunts like that split, you better not tear something."

Yeah, no thanks for that. Sakura folded herself into a butterfly.

"Yamabuki isn't going to be a pushover." Kazumi began somberly. "I mean, we did beat them at districts, but I heard they've been tearing up the table lately."

"Yeah, well, we're pretty good ourselves." Mikabi replied, shifting into a cobra pose. Her voice came out slightly hoarse as she stretched her neck.

"And I've got a score to settle," Sakura gave a seraphic little smile. "So there's no way I'm losing to them again."

Kazumi winked at her. "That's the spirit."

"What, crush them?"

Mikabi snorted. "You're terrifying, really." Sakura made a face at her; she knew exactly how intimidating she was. Five feet five slender inches of teen girl didn't exactly strike fear into the hearts of men. She envied Sanada his height. It wasn't fair- he was already some kind of tennis god, did he really have to have the inches too? They were wasted on him!

Then again, Echizen was a prodigy while still being a shrimp, so maybe she wasn't so badly off. But still. It would be nice to be taller.

She caught sight of Tezuka and Nomura talking through the fence. As she watched, Nomura got a call, and excused herself. Tezuka nodded, and while the captain moved off to the side to take the call, he occupied himself by casting a critical eye over the practising girls.

The three mixed doubles players appeared to have formed a triumvirate off to the side, and were working on their physical conditioning. Kagawa, legs folded in a good butterfly form, caught his eye offered him a small smile. He nodded. It was a good thing she was working on staying flexible, if she was going to fall into honest to god splits on the court.

That had been a good play, albeit a shock for the rest of them. For two counter-punchers to come up with something as high-risk as that was a rare thing. He'd have expected that kind of madness from Kikumaru, who was known for making wild jumps and spins. But for Fuji to take a leap of faith like that- to trust Kagawa to ground them both with her weight- was no small thing.

Takada was currently in a sideways plank position, and her form was fairly good. He'd have to tell Nomura about the slight sag at her hip area, but aside from that, 90 seconds was no mean feat. Kazumi was…skipping? There was a jump rope in her hands, and she was criss-crossing and reversing so fast the rope was a blur and a whistle. The others were giving her a wide berth, but quite a few eyes were fixed on her. Tezuka didn't blame them; Kazumi was good at putting on a show.

"Sorry about that." Nomura sounded slightly out of breath. "Where were we?"

Sakura flicked the call icon to the right. "Hi, what's up? She said through a mouthful of croissant.

There was a second's pause at the other end. "Don't talk with your mouth full."

"Don't be my mom." She retorted, taking another bite. "I'm hungry. Practice over?"

"Half an hour ago. I'm at a sports store now. My grip tape is running low."

"Yeah, good call. Hey, you ever heard about Echizen and Ibu Shinji's blood-feud over grip tape? I swear, they're both freaks."

"Fudomine's Ibu? I barely know him."

"Of course, Emperors don't talk to peasants." Sakura snorted. A corresponding snort sounded over the line. "No, but seriously, I thought Yanagi-san might've heard about it. Apparently they got into it in a sports shop and then settled it by catching a thief. Tennis was involved, somehow. I mean, it's Echizen, so it's not that surprising, but apparently Ibu's still not over it. He keeps muttering about it whenever Echizen's mentioned."

"I… still have no idea what happened."

"You should ask Momoshiro sometime, he was there. Apparently he and Kamio got into it over a bike… Kamio still calls him bike-thief, but personally I think he's just sore that Momoshiro goes out with Ann occasionally."

"…Momoshiro is dating Tachibana's sister?"

Sakura considered that. "I don't think they're dating, exactly, but they have gone on a few dates. Of course, Momoshiro doesn't call them dates, but they're dates alright."

"I don't understand."

Sakura sighed. Men were so dense. "They're a thing, but it's not official. They're just dates."

Silence. Then… "I… see." He very clearly did not see, but Sakura wasn't about to flog a dead horse. "How are your parents?"

She beamed. "They're good! Ma's getting restive, but the baby seems okay and so does she. Papa's working from home now, but we've still got a caretaker for her… I mean, he is working, after all."

"Naturally. They are very kind hosts… as are you, of course."

Sakura snickered. "Good save. And thanks, I'll tell them."

"The reason for my call was to extend my hospitality for Tanabata." Sakura blinked. "I know you could attend your usual festival, but Kanagawa's festival is quite unique, and I have it on good authority that there will be a puppet show this year. You mentioned once that… well, at any rate, Yukimura and I will be attending, perhaps with a few more from the team. You're very welcome to join us."

"Wow." Sakura shook her head to clear it. "Um, wow. That's- that's really nice of you." She eyed her tennis bag in the corner. "I have to ask my parents… and also, can I bring a friend? It's kind of far to travel alone, especially since we'll probably get back late."

"Of course, anyone you bring will be welcome as well. And please do ask your parents… naturally, they're welcome as well, but with your mother in a delicate condition, I doubt your father will want to leave her for so long."

Sakura chuckled. "Yeah, no, that's not going to happen. He's never going to let her alone, it drives her crazy. But thank you for asking me- I'll get back to you in a day or two. That okay?'

"Of course." He repeated. "I should go, I have homework."

"Yeah, sure. So do I, actually. See you around, Sanada-kun."

Ma and Papa had said yes, of course; her mother had been delighted, and while Papa had his reservations given the distance, he'd been impressed by the young man in question, so Sakura was free and (mostly) clear on that front. The 'mostly', of course, being the company bit.

"You can't go unless you have a friend with you. I don't want you travelling back on your own so late." Papa said firmly. Ma, who was more prone than ever to calling him an 'overprotective idiot', nodded as well. Sakura sighed, acquiesced, and began dialing.

Kagome and Momoko weren't picking up their phones. Scowling, Sakura dialed Airi.

"Oh, thank fuck, I was literally just about to call you." Was the first thing out of her friend's mouth. "Get to Kinoshita Hospital, now."

Sakura rocketed off the bed, already slipping into sneakers. "What happened?" She asked, throwing pillows around in search of her wallet.

"Kagome. Alcohol poisoning."

Oh god. Oh god oh god oh god. Sakura's heart nearly stopped.

"I'm on my way."

[TRIGGER WARNING! THE REST OF THE CHAPTER DEALS WITH UNDERAGE DRINKING AND ALCOHOL ABUSE. IF THIS BOTHERS YOU, PLEASE FEEL FREE TO SKIP TO THE LAST SECTION WHERE I'VE PUT ANOTHER MARKER. MENTAL HEALTH COMES FIRST!]

Airi, Momoko and Kagome's mother and father were slumped in chairs or against the wall. Only the two girls rose to greet her.

"What- the hell- happened?" She panted, bending over to catch her breath.

Airi's face could have been a mask, except for her eyes. They were burning. "She called Momo-chan at around lunchtime. No answer-"

"I was having lunch!" Momoko sobbed, clinging to Sakura, who wrapped an arm around her in a vain attempt to soothe her.

"Then she called me. Same. But I'd just gone to the bathroom, so I called back, and obviously, due to the goddamn slurring, figured she was drunk. Got my brother to track her phone's GPS because she had no fucking idea where she was. By the time we got there, she was out cold. We called her parents, called you two- well, you called me- and by then, doctors had moved her to the ICU. She's there now."

Sakura sagged against the wall. "Fuck." She whispered, burying her face in Momoko's hair. She didn't dare reach out to Airi. "Fuck. We should've talked to her earlier. The sneaking out, the drinking… fuck, we should've fucking talked to her."

"She always told us she didn't really drink that much." Momoko whispered. "She was just in it for the thrill."

Airi let out a hissing breath. "Everyone says they don't drink that much." Her voice was shaking. "We should've been smarter about this."

"We should've told someone." Sakura's voice cracked.

Airi opened her mouth, but she was cut off by Airi's father standing up. He glared at them. "Why didn't you tell us?" He demanded. Sakura swallowed and averted her gaze. "We're her parents, you didn't think we had a right to know?!"

"Dear, let's not-" Mrs Okubo began, but he ignored her. "My daughter was sneaking into college parties! Drinking! Smoking! We found cigarettes and a lighter in her purse just now! And you three knew about it and didn't tell-"

"Okubo-san, we didn't want to get her into trouble." Momoko whispered.

The man seemed to swell.

"TROUBLE?" He roared, making all of them flinch. "SHE'S IN THERE WITH ALCOHOL POISONING! WHAT 'TROUBLE' DID YOU SAVE HER?!"

"SSShhhhhh!" A nurse and Mrs Okubo hissed.

"Underage drinking charges." Sakura replied, staring at her feet. "I- We- We didn't think it would ever get this bad, Okubo-san. We thought she had it under control. But we were worried about her getting caught… so we promised never to tell anyone."

"Sakura-chan," Mrs Okubo stood up, shooting her husband a fierce look. He subsided, glaring at the girls. "I understand your fears- believe me, I do. I wish you had told us anyway, but you couldn't have known that Kagome was lying about how much she drank. But why didn't you come to us when you did think something was wrong?"

"Because we thought the sneaking out was the problem!" Airi snapped, balling her hands into fists. Mrs Okubo, well used to Airi's temper, raised an eyebrow; Airi gritted her teeth and softened her tone. "We never suspected that she was drinking too much. I drink. I smoke. It didn't seem like a big deal because I never thought it was a big deal, and I thought I had the experience to know. Momo-chan and Sakura listened to me. It's my fault." She bowed her head, hands shaking.

Sakura and Momoko exchanged a stunned glance. "That's not true!" Momoko protested, breaking out of Sakura's slackened grip. "I mean, Sakura-chan and I don't drink, but we were all worried. And we'd decided to talk to Kagome, but we were worried about the sneaking around because we thought that was the issue. It's not Airi-chan's fault."

"We didn't see an addict," Sakura added, her tone hollow. Everyone flinched at the word; Sakura winced. "We saw our friend with a severely messed up sleep cycle and falling grades. We never saw her sneak a drink in the bathroom, or… or act like she needed a drink. We never even suspected…" Her voice broke, and it was Momoko who pulled her into her arms now.

Hot tears trickled down Sakura's cheeks. Mrs Okubo was crying too, but before anyone could say anything else, a doctor stepped out.

"Okubo Kagome?" He looked at them all. God knows what he saw on their faces, but his face softened. "She'll be alright soon." He rushed to assure them. "Her blood alcohol levels were dangerously high, but we've taken care of that. She's sleeping, and we'll be moving her to a general ward soon. You'll be able to see her then."

Sakura could hardly breathe around the relief expanding in her lungs. Momoko's grip crushed her hand.

The doctor looked at Mr and Mrs Okubo. "May I have a word with the two of you?" He asked. His tone was somber. "In my office?"

Mr Okubo still wore a gobsmacked expression. "Of- of course." He took his wife's hand very tenderly, and led her after the doctor.

Momoko seized Sakura in a crushing embrace. Sakura squeezed back, not caring about lungs or breathing or anything. "Thank Christ." She whispered, voice like jelly.

Momoko's only reply was a sob.

Abruptly, Airi spun on her heel and stormed away. The other two broke apart, startled, and stared after her.

"You go after her." Momoko sank into a chair. "I'll wait here."

"You're okay?" Sakura asked, peering into her face. Momoko gave her a wan smile. "No. But Airi-chan needs you. I'll cope."

Sakura didn't like leaving her there alone. "Be back soon." She promised, gripping Momoko's hand tightly for a second. The girl returned the pressure, before letting go and sagging in her seat.

"Go."

Sakura took off at a run, casting an eye down every corridor. Nurses glared at her- running in a hospital wasn't allowed- but she merely slowed to a jog.

Finally she turned a corner and saw the ladies' toilet. It didn't hurt to check, and where else could Airi find privacy in a hospital? She couldn't very well lock herself in a ward.

Luckily, the washroom was empty. "Airi?" Sakura called softly. "Airi, it's Sakura. Are you in here?"

"Go the fuck away." A snarl came from the last cubicle. Sakura bit her lip. "Airi, c'mon. Kagome's okay. Talk to me."

"Fuck you." Airi's voice came out guttural and low. "Nothing's okay."

"She is. She will be. C'mon Airi, open the door and talk to me, please." Sakura tapped the door gently. "Airi, please. Don't make me worry about you too."

Airi scoffed. It sounded wet. "You don't have to fucking worry about me. Go and keep Momoko company or she'll flood the hospital with crying."

"And then she'll set me off and you'll have to scuba-dive to get us out." Sakura hoped the feeble joke might've elicited an eye-roll, at least. "Seriously, we need you there while we both cry. Open the door, Airi, come on."

"You're so needy." Airi snapped, but the door swung open violently; Sakura's eyes softened as she took in Airi's own red eyes and wet cheeks.

"Shut up." The other girl muttered.

Sakura shut up, merely squeezing into the cubicle and locking the door behind them. She leaned against the wall as Airi sank back down on the closed toilet seat, buring her face in her hands.

"She was just out cold in this sick little corridor off to the side in the arcade." Airi's voice came out slightly garbled, but it was clear enough. Sakura's blood ran cold at the thought. "Just… lying there. And there were all these bottles in her bag- I can't believe we never knew, Sakura- we're supposed to be her friends—"

Sakura drew in a shuddering breath. "I know. We just… didn't know. How could we not know?"

"How could I not know?" Airi whispered, lowering her hands and staring at the ground. "I.. I'm supposed to be the one who knows about this stuff. I'm supposed to be the bad girl of the group- I know what addiction looks like—"

Sakura knelt down before her. It was a tight fit- her butt grazed the door- but she grabbed Airi's hands and forced her to meet her eyes. The air was thick with Phenyl and some flowery bathroom cleaner. "You're sixteen." She ground out. "Not all addicts behave the same- you know that. Kagome's a good liar- we know that now- so don't try and shoulder all the blame. Momoko and I are equally to blame. None of us saw it."

Airi's shoulders sagged, but it was out of relief, not guilt. Sakura hoped. She grabbed her arm and pulled her up. "C'mon. I don't want to leave Momoko alone for too long. That flood is a legitimate concern."

A soft scoff escaped Airi. "You're telling me. You look like you're gonna cry yourself.

Sakura elbowed her. "You're literally crying."

"Shut up."

The washroom wasn't empty when they opened the stall door; a woman fixing her hair before the mirror gave them a look that was part-amusement, part-scandal. Airi rolled her eyes and proceeded to yank several paper towels out of the dispenser and mop her face. Sakura pressed wet hands to her eyes and cheeks, hoping to cool away the tell-tale redness.

"How'd you get here so quickly, anyway?" Airi asked as they retraced their steps.

"Drove." Sakura replied. Airi frowned. "Didn't know you've a licence."

Sakura shot her an unreadable look. "I don't."

Airi gaped, but before she could begin yelling about driving without a licence, you crazy bitch, they caught sight of Momoko. Whose shoulders were shaking something fierce.

"Good thing we grabbed some extra tissues." Sakura murmured, moving forward swiftly to envelop their friend in her arms.

There didn't seem to be much point in hanging around while Kagome slept, and anyway, Mr and Mrs Okubo definitely wanted to be alone with their daughter. So Sakura, Momoko and Airi left quietly, though not without Mrs Okubo following them for a quiet word.

"Just know," She murmured, stroking Airi's hair and looking at all of them with the kindness they all knew so well. "That we don't blame you. Any of you. No matter what my husband said."

Airi stared at the ground. Sakura and Momoko teared up again.

She seemed to understand, though; she was pale and wan as she left them, though there was a smile on her lips. "God." Airi's voice shook. "I almost wish she did blame us."

"No you don't." Sakura nudged her. Airi looked away.

Momoko wiped her cheeks. "I guess Kagome-chan's going to go into rehab, isn't she?"

They looked at each other.

"Maybe." Airi hedged. "But you have to want to get better. Otherwise rehab's just a waste of time."

Momoko and Sakura nodded, understanding. But before they could reply, Airi's gaze hardened into a glare, and she turned on Sakura. "Anyway, how are you going to legally get home?"

Sakura froze; Momoko frowned. "What'd you mean?"

Ignoring Sakura's pleading eyes, Airi gave the dreaded answer. "Our darling Sakura," She ground out. "Drove here. Without a license. Alone."

"Sakura-chan!" Momoko cried, horrified. Sakura threw up her hands. "What was I supposed to do?" She demanded. "Wait for a bus? After you said alcohol poisoning?"

"Yes!" The two girls snapped together. "What if you'd had an accident?" Momoko continued, looking tearful. "We'd have had two friends in the hospital then! Did you even think of that?"

"Yes," Sakura snapped back. "Before I remembered that I know how to drive."

"What if you'd been caught!" Airi all but shouted. "Between your underage driving and Kagome's underage drinking-"

"How fucking dare you- I've literally never done this before!" Sakura yelled back. "And you're one to talk about underage drinking!"

"Both of you, shut up!"

Sakura and Airi started; Momoko was crying again, and wow, when had they gotten so close? They were practically screaming in each other's face.

"Sakura-chan," Momoko pointed an accusatory finger at her. "You know that what you did was wrong. You can't just take the car without a licence. How d'you think your mother would feel if something happened to you?"

The retort died on Sakura's lips.

"Airi-chan," The finger swung around to her, and Airi looked uncomfortable. "You can't compare a single instance to Kagome-chan's alcohol abuse, especially when Sakura-chan was honest about it. And she wanted to be here for her friend. I don't like it, but I can respect her reason. Can you?"

Airi mumbled something that sounded like assent.

"We can't fight amongst ourselves." Momoko's voice trembled. "We need to be strong for each other, and for Kagome-chan. Can you two please, please sort out disagreements like adults instead of screaming like children?"

The two girls exchanged a shamefaced glance. "Sorry." Airi murmured.

"Me too." Sakura bumped her shoulder. A sob from Momoko alerted them to another oncoming downpour, and in tandem, they hurried forward.

Once they'd all cried (again), and mopped their eyes (again), Airi perched her car hood and raised an eyebrow at Sakura. "How are you going to get home, though? Don't think we're letting you swan off again."

"Not going to." Sakura sighed, pulling out her phone. The sky was darkening overhead. "It's late. Papa was out on a grocery run, but he should be back now."

I'm in so much trouble. "Momo-chan, want a ride home?"

Momoko gave her a weak smile. "Yeah, right. Don't try and use me to escape the storm."

Busted. "Well, you know where my will is." Sakura joked lamely, hitting the call button.

"Sakura! Where are you!"

Oh boy….

[END OF TRIGGERING SECTION. SAFE]

"I cannot believe this!" Daisuke fumed, slamming the car door and starting the engine. "This is not how we raised you, young lady- why didn't you just call me?"

Sakura mumbled something about not wanting to wait, and Daisuke's eyes flashed. "So you took the car on your own, without a licence! What if you'd had an accident- what if you'd been caught?"

"Papa, Momoko and Airi already read me the riot act-" She shut her mouth upon seeing the fury in his eyes.

"They're your friends. I'm your father. I hope you know the difference. If you don't, maybe you don't deserve your privileges!"

Sakura sat frozen, afraid to say a word. After driving for a few moments in silence, her father appeared to deflate. He let out a sigh. "How's Kagome-chan?"

Sakura swallowed. "She's… out of danger."

Daisuke shook his head. "Alcohol poisoning at her age… that'll be difficult for her." He directed a piercing look at his daughter. "Anything you want to tell me?"

She scowled. "I'm an athlete. I don't drink."

"Or smoke?" He pressed.

"Or smoke. Or have ever experimented with drugs- or any kind of narcotic, pain meds… nothing. You don't need to worry about that."

He sighed again. "I'll always worry about you."

Sakura hazarded a joke. "Maybe that I'll fall in love with someone you don't like and run away before I'm twenty-one."

The corner of Daisuke's mouth turned up. "That's just family tradition. Although," He looked a little sly. "That Sanada boy-"

"Is just a friend." Sakura groaned. "Seriously. Nothing there."

"Oh, I don't know." Daisuke hummed, now grinning broadly. "A boy doesn't just invite a girl to Tanabata. Not in my day, anyway."

"Wasn't your and Ma's first date on Tanabata?" Sakura sniped. Her father's eyes danced.

"Another family tradition, apparently."

Sakura slumped in her seat grumpily. Hook, line and sinker.

As they pulled into the garage, Daisuke's expression turned serious. "Sakura," And she looked at him warily. "I'm not going to tell your mother about this. She doesn't need to worry- but only if you promise never to pull this stunt again. I don't care that you know how to drive. You get a licence first, got it?"

"I promise." Sakura swore, throwing herself into her father's arms. He hugged her tightly. "I'm sorry, Papa. I was just so worried—"

He stroked her back. "I know, kid. But you got me worried too. And it was okay in the end, but there's always the chance that it won't be. And that's not a chance I'm willing to take with my baby girl."

She wrinkled her nose. "I'm sixteen."

"I know." He said dryly. "Hence the problem."

Thank you for reading! If you skipped to the end after the trigger warning, here's a quick summary of what happened: Kagome is out of danger, but Airi, Sakura, and Momoko (as well as her parents) are dealing with the scare, as well as the knowledge that Kagome lied to her friends about her alcohol addiction. Airi and Sakura fight about Sakura driving to the hospital without a licence. Momoko shouts them down. Sakura calls her father.

Please let me know what you think! Reviews are love!

Cheers,
Chilli.