In Sickness and In Health

Chapter one

Naruto Uzumaki groaned silently as the familiar feeling of elephants stomping across his brain, forced him to open his eyes and glance at the clock beside him on the nightstand. He had been waking up with migraines several times this week already, and the feeling of the pounding in his brain only left him feeling like he was going to get sick at any moment. Closing his eyes once more the 14-year-old tried to wish away the pain, he didn't need this today, he had several tests that he needed to take today, and obviously, it was necessary that he passes them. He wanted nothing more than to make his father just as proud of him as he was of his older brother Kurama. It seemed like no matter how hard Naruto tried, he couldn't do anything right, not like Kurama could anyways. And while this situation would make most people hate their older siblings, Naruto didn't hate Kurama in the slightest, because he knew how miserable his older brother was. He was tired of living his life the way their father wanted him to. Naruto hated that even though Kurama worked his ass off, it wasn't always good enough for Minato Uzumaki, who had been trying to make his children into perfect beings ever since their mother had died of cancer a few years before. Naruto didn't know why his once happy father had changed so much in the few years since Kushina had died. They had once been a happy family, but now they were all struggling with the loss of their mother and wife. Minato worked more than ever before, leaving both Kurama and Naruto alone, but when Minato was home he was always complaining about the things that Naruto was doing. Like if Naruto was watching TV, he should be in his room studying and trying to make his grades as good as Kurama's was. Even if Naruto had managed to finish his homework, Minato thought that Naruto's grades could use some improvement, so he didn't that Naruto had anything to do aside from studying.

Kurama, on the other hand, had perfect grades and held an after-school job, in which Minato was always pressuring him to work harder so that he could get promoted faster and make a little more money. Naruto knew that Kurama was quickly growing tired, he went to school five days a week and worked at his job six days a week. Naruto didn't know how Kurama was able to hold up under all the pressure that Minato was putting on him, he just knew that for whatever reason their father now expected nothing less than perfection from either of them, and it was quickly wearing them both down.

"Naruto are you up yet?" Kurama stuck his head through Naruto doorway and peered into the room.

"Sort of." Naruto moaned, his head continues to throb. He knew his father wouldn't like it very much if he missed a day of school, even if he was sick. Minato wanted both of his boys to get into the best colleges and get the best jobs possible. Naruto was sure that it had something to do with his father's rivalry with Fugaku Uchiha. The Uchiha had recently beaten Minato in the campaign to become the Governor over the Land of fire, which meant that Minato would be continuing his duties as Mayor of Konoha, which took Minato away from home often because he wanted to make a good impression on the citizens.

"Are you okay?" Kurama asked, concern in his voice. He knew that despite how hard Naruto tried to hide it, he had been having some vicious headaches lately. Kurama wished he could do something about it but Minato would likely only believe that there wasn't anything wrong with Naruto, that Naruto was only doing this to get his attention. Kurama wished he could tell Minato what he thought of the man, Naruto clearly needed medical attention, but he wouldn't be able to get it without his father's permission, something that Minato wouldn't allow to happen. Apparently, Minato deemed any kind of sickness as a sign of weakness, and Kami forbid the Uzumaki family to appear weak especially in front of the stone cold Uchiha's. The Uchiha's were a popular family in Konoha and the only other family that was richer than the Uzumaki's. Fugaku Uchiha had recently beaten Minato in a political campaign and didn't mind rubbing it in Minato's face whenever he got the opportunity, which only severed to irritate Minato which made the boys feel like they were walking on eggshells with the man, because no one wanted to get in Minato's way when he was irritated. Naruto went to school the Uchiha's youngest son, and it seemed to Naruto that Naruto followed in his father's footsteps and believed that he was better than anyone else. When Sasuke and his family had first moved to Konoha, Naruto had tried to be friendly with the pale skinned boy, but Sasuke had snubbed him and refused Naruto's offer of friendship, which had served to irritate Naruto to no end. Naruto knew that Sasuke also had an older brother who was a doctor and he wondered if he was anything like his family members. Surely not, because to be a good doctor you had to have at least a little compassion which both Fugaku and Sasuke appeared to lack.

"Do you want to skip school today?" Kurama asked. He wasn't sure how he would get that past his father but from Naruto's pale appearance, his head must have really been hurting. Minato would likely think that Naruto was faking, but Kurama didn't think so, that much pain couldn't be faked.

"Dad won't like it." Naruto moaned, his head pounding even more as the words escaped his lips. He felt like his head was going to explode at any second, and he wanted nothing more than to close his eyes and go back to sleep.

"Who cares what he thinks." Kurama replied, "Clearly you are sick."

"What won't I like?" Minato asked popping around the corner to see Kurama standing in Naruto's doorway. "Are you up and getting ready for school yet."

"He has another migraine," Kurama replied. "I don't think he should be going to school today."

"He can take some medicine, he can't miss a day of school," Minato replied. "I want you two to be on your way to school before I leave for the office."

"You don't get it do you?" Kurama said. "He's pale as a ghost and looks like he is going to get sick at any moment."

"Both of you have perfect attendance, why ruin it for a headache that will probably go away in a few hours. If he even has one, to begin with, he could be nervous about returning to school after I lost the campaign." Minato replied.

"Migraines don't just go away in a few hours, why don't you take a good look at him," Kurama hissed. "he looks like he's about to barf."

"He'll be fine." Minato insisted before disappearing down the hallway, leaving no room for Kurama to make another remark.

"That stupid son of a…" Kurama growled, irritated at the man that was his father.

"Don't worry about it Kura," Naruto moaned as he sat up, his head spinning in circles faster than it had been previously. "I'll be okay."

"Yeah, after you spend the majority of the morning with your head in the toilet," Kurama said. "You shouldn't have to go to school like this. It doesn't take a genius to see that you are sick."

"Well, Dad won't ever see it that way. I think I will always be a disappointment to him no matter what I do." Naruto said.

"You aren't a disappointment to me," Kurama said. "You work your ass off in school, so what that your grades aren't perfect. Not everyone is going to have perfect grades."

"I guess your opinion is the only that matters to me anyway," Naruto said, suddenly swallowing hard, he could feel the bile rising in his throat. He was going to be lucky if he even made it to school before his stomach decided to abandon its contents.

Moaning softly, Naruto rushed out of the bedroom and headed straight into the bathroom, where Kurama heard the sounds of violent heaving only a few seconds later. Kurama shook his head, their father was insane if he thought Naruto was going to be able to get through the school day like this. It wasn't right to even try and make Naruto go when he was clearly in agony. Just then an idea came to him that would hopefully get Minato off both of their backs, Kurama was friends with Itachi Uchiha, which was pretty much unknown to his father because of the whole campaign issue, anyway perhaps it would be possible for Naruto to stay with Itachi, since Kurama knew that Itachi wouldn't be going into work until later in the day.

Heading back down the hallway, Kurama reentered his bedroom, and grabbed his cell phone off the dresser, he quickly dialed Itachi's phone number and held the phone up to his ear, listening as the phone rang a couple times before a sleepy voice answered.

"Itachi Uchiha, what can I do for you?" the sleepy voice asked.

"It's me," Kurama said. "I hate to wake you up, but I have a problem that I can't seem to get around at the moment."

"What's going on?" Itachi asked, his voice sounding instantly alert.

"It's not me, it's my little brother, Naruto, he has another migraine again and our heartless prick of a father wants him to go to school. I don't think Naruto is going to be able to get through the school day." Kurama said. "I was wondering if he could stay with you until school was over. I'll pick him up and bring him home before I go to work."

"That's fine," Itachi said. "I don't care if he stays with me. How many migraines as he had this week?"

"This is his first migraine this week, but he had a couple last week that he tried to hide from me," Kurama replied.

"He's so young, he shouldn't be having migraines that often. Have you thought about having him get checked out?" Itachi asked.

"Yes, but Dad won't even consider it," Kurama replied. "He sees any kind of sickness as a blemish on his character."

"It's not like a person can control getting sick," Itachi said. "But something doesn't sound right with Naruto getting that many headaches."

"I'm going to keep trying to get our father to see sense," Kurama said. "I'm just not sure that it will do any good. Father is as stubborn as the day is long."

"Bring him on over," Itachi said. "I might be able to give him something to ease the pain, though it will likely make him go to sleep."

"That's fine." Kurama said. "he probably needs to get some rest anyway. I'll bring him over in a few minutes, he's kind of spilling his guts to the toilet at the moment."

"I'll be waiting for you," Itachi said before hanging up the phone. Kurama really hoped the school wouldn't call his dad and tell him about Naruto's absence. Naruto deserved to be able to stay home from school if he wasn't feeling well. Putting his phone in his pocket, Kurama exited his bedroom and headed towards the bathroom, where he found Naruto still knelt over the toilet, he wasn't heaving anymore, but his breathing was harsh and labored.

"Can you make it to Itachi's?" Kurama asked. "He's going to let you stay with him, while I'm at school."

"Itachi Uchiha?" Naruto moaned softly, raising his head to look up at his father. Kurama hated the absolute misery that he saw in his little brother's eyes.

"Yes, he's a good friend of mine, and he will know what to do to make your migraine go away," Kurama informed him.

"What about school?" Naruto asked.

"You're just going to have to miss a day," Kurama replied, "I'm hoping the school won't call our dad and inform him of your absence."

"Fat chance of that," Naruto said moaning again as he turned and dry heaved into the toilet.

"Come on," Kurama said when Naruto was finished, he reached down and gently helped Naruto to his feet.

"Itachi is going to give you something to make you feel better." Kurama murmured as he headed down the hall, Naruto shuffling slowly beside him.

"That sounds too good to be true." Naruto moaned as Kurama stopped and grabbed both of their backpacks. Before returning to Naruto's side and helping him towards the door.

"I'll see you, boys, when you get home from school," Minato said looking up from the newspaper that he was reading at the kitchen table.

"See you," Naruto mumbled, his head still pounding painfully. He wanted nothing more than to be able to go back to sleep and forget the world even existed at that moment in time.

"How long is it going to take to get to his place and does he still live with Sasuke?" Naruto asked.

"He has his own apartment," Kurama replied. "Sasuke visits pretty frequently though."

"Great," Naruto muttered. "Sasuke hates me and I don't know why it's not like I done anything to him. He seems just like his father, thinking that he's better than everyone else just because he has more money than most."

"He hasn't had an easy life either. His father is much like our own, and instead of letting it roll off his back like we do. He's had to become colder and meaner just to be able to survive under his father's roof. That's one of the reasons that Itachi left, he's trying to get Sasuke to come live with him but hasn't had much luck as of yet."

"I would say that it's too late for that to make any difference," Naruto muttered. "He's as cold as ice and it would take more than an inferno to thaw him out."

"That doesn't mean that Itachi shouldn't try," Kurama said as they headed down the street. Itachi lived pretty close to Kurama and Naruto's house. Kurama was also thankful that his father wasn't aware of this little fact, he was sure Minato would move them just out of spite.

Five short minutes later, and Kurama was knocking on the door, and a bare-chested man answered the door. Naruto stared briefly at the long-haired man before averting his eyes to the floor. Naruto wondered how it was possible for a pale man to be so absolutely stunning.

"How's your head?" Itachi asked, noticing the light blush that colored Naruto's cheeks.

"It still feels like I have a thousand elephants stampeding on my brain," Naruto replied, and swallowed hard again, praying that the bile would stay down. He didn't want to end up vomiting in front of this beautiful man.

"I think I can make that feel better," Itachi said gently, holding the door open so that Naruto and Kurama could enter. Kurama gently shoved Naruto through the door and directed Naruto to the bathroom, where he dropped to his knees and began vomiting again.

"I don't know if he's going to be able to keep it down," Kurama told Itachi who stood in the doorway, watching silently.

"I can give him a shot," Itachi said. "It's a stronger dose of the medication."

"If it eases his pain, I will do anything," Kurama replied and Itachi disappeared a few seconds later and reappeared with a syringe in his hand. Naruto was still bent over the toilet.

"I'm going to give you a shot," Itachi said gently, reaching out and gently touching Naruto's arm so as not to startle him. "It's going to make a migraine go away and help you to get some rest."

"Good." Naruto moaned softly, before vomiting into the toilet again. Itachi grimaced and gently held out Naruto's arm so that he could insert the needle into the crook of his elbow. Pulling the syringe out after emptying the liquid into Naruto's system, Itachi tossed the needle into the garbage.

"Let's get him into my bedroom." Itachi said, "he can get some rest there." Kurama nodded and with Itachi's help, they managed to get Naruto to his feet. Exiting the bathroom, they walked toward's Itachi's bedroom, slowly as Naruto's head and stomach was still twisting and turning.

Suddenly a door opened and another dark haired teen stepped out of the bedroom.

"What's he doing here?" The teen asked suddenly, shooting a hateful glare at Naruto.

"He's not feeling well and he's going to stay here until Kurama is out of school," Itachi replied as he helped Naruto cross the room and lay down on his bed.

"Get some rest kid," Itachi said as he made sure Naruto was comfortable on his side, a small garbage pail beside the bed in case Naruto felt the need to get sick again.

"Why is he here?" Sasuke asked. "If he's sick why not just stay at home?"

"Because our dad won't allow him to," Kurama replied. "He doesn't want Naruto to mess up his perfect attendance."

"And I thought our dad was messed up," Sasuke muttered glancing back at his classmate once more before turning and heading for the apartment door.

After making sure that Naruto was okay for the moment, Itachi turned and heading back out of the room, flicking the light switch to the off position as he done so.

"You really need to talk your dad into getting him checked out. There could be something serious causing his migraines." Itachi told Kurama.

"I know, but like I said any kind of sickness makes him look weak or so he thinks," Kurama replied.

"Your father has a twisted way of thinking especially after your mom died of brain cancer."

"Don't I know it," Kurama replied as he started towards the door. "You'll call me if anything happens?"

"Of course, I would get him to the hospital first, but I will let you know," Itachi replied.

"I appreciate it," Kurama said. "Our father seems to think all Uchiha's are the devil, clearly you are not."

"No, just our father," Itachi replied. "Which is why I moved away from him."

"I would, but I don't want to leave Naruto alone with him, especially when he's been getting sick lately." Kurama replied. "I'll call around lunch to check up on him."

"That's fine. I won't be going anywhere." Itachi replied, shutting the door behind Kurama as the red haired man left.