Sakura sat by Hawk's hospital bed and watched with weary eyes as the monitor spiked and beeped consistently with a normal heartbeat. They had pumped his stomach to get rid of most of the alcohol and had put him on dialysis because of how high his blood alcohol levels were. Even that wasn't enough to completely detoxify him, they had to put him into a medically induced coma to combat the withdrawal as his body processed the rest of it.
The brunette put her head in her hands as she fought back tears. Mariko had left her to look after Hawks, how could she have let this happen? She should've known he wouldn't be okay to take care of himself. "I'm so stupid," she thought.
Her phone buzzed with an incoming call. Wiping her face, the female made out through blurry eyes that Hayato was the one calling her. She had been the one to request agent emergency services which were usually only supposed to be used when your own life was in danger. Those kinds of requests now went through Hayato as he was in administration.
"Hey Hayato," she said, her voice raspy from crying.
"Sakura? What's wrong. You ordered EMS. Did something happen?" he asked.
"I went to visit Hawks today, and when he didn't answer, I picked the lock. He was unconscious when I got there," she paused, her voice breaking. "Alcohol poisoning. Its bad, really bad."
She heard the blonde sigh on the other end of the line. "Where are you right now?" he asked.
"The Division Hospital, the private wing, he was registered under my name."
"I'll be there in a few."
Sakura breathed out shakily as she tried to calm herself down. Slowly, she drifted her gaze to the blonde unconscious on the hospital bed. "If I had been any later... he'd be dead." The thought sent a wave of guilt crashing over her. She had made a promise and she had broken it completely. The more she thought about it, the more she realized that there was no excuse for her failure. It had taken seconds to pick the lock to Hawks's apartment, why hadn't she done that earlier? Why had she waited for the last possible second? Why had she waited for him to make the first move? He wouldn't, and Sakura had known that. Hawks wasn't the type of person who usually sought the help of others, that much was reflected in his work ethic and was basically common knowledge. She should've known he would try to go it alone, and she should've known that it wouldn't have worked. "I should've known... so why..."
Her thoughts were interrupted when the door slid open and Hayato entered. Seeing her tear-stained face, the man sighed. He glanced up at the comatose hero and gazed at him with a grave expression before making his way towards the brunette.
"How is he?" he asked.
She swallowed thickly. "They had to put him in a coma while his body flushes the last of the alcohol out so the withdrawal doesn't kill him," she whispered hoarsely. "I promised Mari I'd take care of him... I failed both of them."
"He should've never been your responsibility in the first place Sakura. Mari was wrong to ask that of you," he told her.
Sakura didn't respond, there was nothing she could say to that anyways. It wasn't fair of Mari to ask that of her, but she didn't think that either one of them ever intended for Sakura to have to keep her promise. She also couldn't blame Mariko for trying to make sure Hawks would be okay if something happened for her. The love she'd had for that man was undeniable and unconditional, of course, she wouldn't want to see him suffer.
"He reminds me of her," she whispered.
"Yeah?" Hayato asked.
"mm... whenever I saw Hawks, Mari was always with him. She smiled so much around him... she was so happy. I didn't think I'd have to keep that promise you know," she confessed. "I thought she'd come back like always, she was supposed to come back," she choked on the words.
"I know."
"When I was in the apartment... all of her stuff was still there. He hasn't touched any of it. I get the feeling he can't. It'll hurt too much."
"Don't worry Sakura, there will come a day when it won't," he assured her.
The brunette shook her head. "That's the thing... I don't think it will. Maybe for us, but not for him. He's not one of us Hayato. He never had the time to make friends, so he's not used to losing them the same way we are. I can't imagine it- imaging a lifetime with someone only to have their life cut short in front of you. It'd kill me."
"He's strong Sakura, give it time and he'll be okay."
"I hope so... he's the only piece of Mariko we have left."