Chapter 18: Breathalyzer
Even though only minutes had elapsed, Sakura's flask felt lighter than when she had left the bar. The alcohol no longer burned harshly as it glided down her throat—its warmth seemed to relocate to her limbs, instead.
A rustling in a nearby tree confirmed what she had already expected: Itachi arrived first. She should have felt alarmed, but she had not felt this relaxed in a long time and it would have been ungracious to waste it.
"Look who's here," Sakura drawled, "Have you come to slit another throat under the glow of the full moon?" She could feel his eyes boring into the back of her head, but her gaze was too occupied with the lovely night sky to turn back.
"It would make for an easy solution to the situation, but that's not why I'm here." Itachi's voice was calm despite her jabbing words. His hair might have been thick, but it seemed his skin was even thicker.
Sakura began to retort, "Oh yeah? Then—hiccup."
She mentally cursed her esophagus for its betrayal. There were few things more torturous than a bout of the hiccups. The only liquid she had on hand was her liquor, so she took a deep gulp to prevent them from continuing. Much to her relief, her esophagus seemed to rest rather than carry on with its spasms.
"As I was saying… Well, now that I think about it, I don't really remember what I was saying. But, you know, Itachi? I think that if you'd lived a normal life in Konoha—"
Itachi cut her off with an edge in his voice, "That was never a possibility, Sakura."
She burst into a fit of inappropriate laughter.
"For once, there's some emotion in that hollow voice of yours. You do so much injustice to your life by acting as if you've already died, Itachi. I know you've suffered through horrible, horrible things, but would it really hurt to let yourself smile once in a while?"
Sakura continued fervently, "Yeah, that's right. I've seen the corners of your mouth twitch when you want to smile, but you never let it creep all the way through. It's not that you can't find things to smile about; it's just that you won't let yourself. Sure, I understand, you have a villainy reputation to uphold, but I know the truth! Hell, you've fallen asleep with my hands touching your face. If you can't smile around the one person who knows, can you even smile when you're alone?"
She realized that she had gotten carried away and lowered her scathing voice to a softer tone. "What I was going to say before you cut me off, Itachi, is that I think…I think that if you'd lived a normal life in Konoha that maybe I wouldn't have fallen for Sasuke. Maybe I'd have fallen for you, instead."
Upon finishing her lengthy tirade, a silence so long and heavy ensued that she might have been uncomfortable if her words had not felt so cathartic. Sakura sat atop her tree and swung her legs like a child on a swing set. She felt strangely happy, as if she had finally come to terms with something she had not realized existed inside of herself until it broke free from her lips.
The silence finally extended long enough that Sakura turned around to check if Itachi was still there—he was. He stood atop his own tree a little shorter than hers and looked up at her with twin pools of obsidian sparkling under the moonlight. It occurred to her that she had never seen his eyes in their natural state before. Even though his mangekyou was undeniably powerful, his natural irises held a potency to which the mangekyou could never hope to compare.
Itachi spoke, "I'm taking you back to Konoha, Sakura."
She responded after a burst of jubilant laughter, "As much as I love my home, I'm not returning any time soon." Another cursed hiccup escaped her throat.
"…Is there something wrong with you?" he asked. He seemed concerned, but Sakura found herself giggling uncontrollably.
"Well, yes, I'd say there are a few things wrong with me. Which one did you want to know more about?" She downed another swig from her flask, which now felt half-empty.
"Sakura, what's in that flask?" Itachi pushed.
"Um, vodka. Duh." What the heck did he think she was drinking out of a flask? Flavored water?
"Are you drunk?"
She rolled her eyes in exasperation. "Do you like asking obvious questions? Want me to take a Breathalyzer test, too? Of course I'm drunk. Haven't you ever been drunk before?"
Itachi replied flatly, "No."
Sakura's heart stopped in her chest. How could that be possible?
"You know that living life thing I was just talking about? Now's the perfect time to start. I can't be friends with an adult who's never been drunk before." She tossed him the remainder of her flask. "Drink up. Tastes just like water."
He hesitated. "Maybe some other time."
"The time is now," Sakura emphasized. Whenever she drank, she became especially persistent and tonight was no exception.
"Fine," Itachi retorted. He opened the flask, lifted it to his mouth, and took a deep chug. Sakura was surprised that he forewent the timid sip she had expected—and he only coughed twice afterward.
She opened her mouth to congratulate him, but Itachi spoke first, "We have to go to Konoha now."
"Absolutely not," Sakura denied. She had a lot to do before she went back to Konoha. She had to tell Sasuke the truth and in order to do that, she would have to find him first.
"Then I'm going to have to drag you back by force," Itachi stated.
Sakura threw her arms up in excitement and exclaimed, "Oh! I've always wanted to practice my Drunken Fist technique!"
Taking the immediate offensive, Sakura hopped down from her tree with her fist ready to land on Itachi's face. Fortunately for his facial structure, he disappeared from sight and left the tree to take the damage instead. The poor tree's branches slammed down to the ground under the weight of her fist.
Now on the forest floor, she sensed Itachi behind her and turned around with a charged kick. He backed up quickly enough to dodge, but she had been dangerously close. She sent forward two more punches, each of which Itachi sidestepped as they came.
Her offensive barrage proved relentless tonight. If Sakura could keep it up, she would win this fight. And if she won, she would be able to get away, find Sasuke, and tell him the truth he needed to hear. This knowledge only made her push harder.
As she launched forward with a backhand, Itachi ducked. Her onslaught was consistent enough to leave him no breaks from defending himself. Sakura pushed forward with punches and kicks made deadly by the boost of her chakra. She would not kill him, but she would not hesitate to cause damage.
Between dodging, Itachi repeated, "We have to go to Konoha now."
He could repeat himself until sunrise, but he was wasting his time. Plus, Sakura was too enthralled by her Drunken Fist's success to pay him any heed. Instead, she responded with attack after attack after attack, wearing a pleased smile the entire time.
"Sakura, Naruto's health is declining."
With one sentence, all of Sakura's fun and fury evaporated and the world froze. Time stopped and space took on a whole new meaning—her world collapsed into nothingness. While those words were ones she had hoped to never hear, she was especially unprepared to handle them in her current state. She stood still for a long time before she could form words with which to respond.
"You're lying," she claimed. It sounded like a statement, but they both knew it was a plea. Silence hung in the air as she tried to process his brief, but cutting report.
Sakura continued, "His condition's been steady for years. Why would it change now?"
Itachi looked grim. "According to my source, he began deteriorating the day of our first battle."
It seemed that even while comatose, Naruto knew when his friends were in danger. An extended silence filled the space between them as Sakura thought about her old friend.
"Naruto can't be. He's supposed to wake up someday. His dream is to become Hokage," her voice escalated as she continued, "He can't die in a hospital bed with a feeding tube! He can't!"
Itachi looked at her with sadness—her grief was the kind that one could not remedy with words.
"How do you know this? Whoever told you could be wrong." Her lips began to quiver on the verge of tears. Even she knew that she was looking for alternatives beyond rationality.
"I still have connections in Konoha. Before I left the last town to find you, I met up with one to ask if he'd heard anything. He said Tsunade put out a bounty to help bring you home in time. Tsunade expected Naruto to last another month at most," Itachi explained.
For what felt like a long time, Sakura looked at him. When the sun had risen, Sakura had no idea, but it casted a lovely shine onto his midnight hair. Today his face looked more exhausted than usual. She knew why he always looked tired, though: anyone who carried such a heavy burden would grow weary over years. In fact, she was feeling pretty weary herself.
Sakura swallowed in preparation for what she was about to say.
"I guess it's time for me to go home."
Authoress's Note:
Thank you all so much for reading! As usual, a special thanks to those who take the time to review - your opinion matters.
Have a wonderful evening,
A
