Foundations

Chapter 9

Sakura and Sasuke rushed Menma back to Tazuna's house, bursting through the door and startling the family as they did. Tsunami even stepped forward to help, directing them to one of the rooms.

"Is... is there anything I can do to help?" She asked with a shaky voice. "Anything at all?" She'd been disinclined to interact with them before, but Sakura could see the worry in her face and welcomed the assistance.

"Um, yeah. Do you have any of these herbs?" She held out a list, letting Tsunami skim it thoughtfully. "I need them to make an antidote, one that I, um... well, I-I think it'll work, I hope." It was a very generic antidote, so the antidote would work as long as the poison was a simple concoction. The rest would be reliant on Menma's body and his natural ability to heal and recover.

"I have a small garden... I'll check. If not, I can run down to the store and see what else is there." Tsunami took note of the list and disappeared out the back door, leaving Sakura to start rifling through her bag. She pulled out a mortar and pestle and a few ground herbs she already had on hand, as well as some simple carrier oils she could use to create a paste.

"Sakura, he's burning up," Sasuke warned, having grabbed a bowl of water with a cool cloth to start dabbing at their friend's face. Menma's complexion was still pale and ashy, but he was beginning to flush in the cheeks, indicating a fever.

"I-I know, I know, o-okay! Just, um... Just try to, um, keep him cool as best you can, and um, I-I'll work as quick as I can." Sakura was nervous and worried, stumbling over her words as her hands shook. Tsunami returned with some herbs, and Sakura ground them and added small bits of oil to turn it into a thick paste. Once it was made, she spread it carefully over the wound using her fingers. Menma hollered in pain as the paste burned on the wound, barely able to make out Sakura's stuttered apologies as she tried to tend to it. A bit of gauze bandaging was wrapped around it, leaving them with just one option left.

They had to wait. Waiting would determine how easily Menma would recover from the poison or not; if it were more complex, then his condition would start to worsen, and if it were simple, he would begin to improve. Sakura sat next to the bed he was on in a large armchair that Tsunami had brought in, pulling her knees up to her chest to try and get comfortable.

Too many thoughts were going through her head. She was silently praying that she'd made the right choice of herbs and concoction, mixing them at the right amounts to counteract the poison. She'd only started to learn about toxins, and while she'd done a significant amount of research, poisons and antidotes were a very delicate procedure. Some considered them more mentally intensive than actual medical ninjutsu; in complex toxins, the slightest inaccuracy in ingredients could be completely ineffective.

She was also afraid. What were the chances Menma was going to survive? The actual wound wasn't a problem; if it were just the cut, he would've been up and moving with ease. The last thing she wanted was to lose anyone again. Sure, Menma was kind of hot and cold with her most of the time, but he was still a good person; that much she could confirm. Turning her gaze to the Uzumaki briefly, she stared at him with a sad expression. "Please be okay," she whispered in his direction. "Please, just be okay."

Sasuke, in the meantime, sat outside on the house's back porch, staring up at the sky and going over the scenario in his head. He'd been ready to protect Sakura not because of their training, but because of his promise... but Menma just had to get in the way, didn't he? What a damn show-off. On the one hand, it pissed Sasuke off that Menma always seemed to have to show him up no matter what he tried to do, and on the other hand, he was grateful Menma had taken that blow. If he were in that position, Sakura might not have been able to maintain her composure as easily. She'd barely maintained it looking after Menma.