His mind is an array of nearly muted sounds and thick mist. Formless, as it seems, he drifts through pockets of heavy, choking pressure, without direction.
On the edge, there is voice. One of an urgent tenor that his seemingly deafened ears catch. Feeling properly returns and with that comes the sensation of lukewarm water. Moisture that drips onto quivering lips and down even warmer cheeks.
Naruto comes back to the world in slow, raspy breaths and confusion.
A blurred, white arm is the only thing he is able to make out. Maybe one of the villagers found him. His eyes must be a bit swollen from the reaction, as he is unable to open them fully. Another labored breath tells him his throat must have fallen to the same fate.
He lets out a croaking noise that should've sounded like a 'Thanks'. He doesn't want to be ungrateful, but his body has surely started pruning now, and he hopes this person will decide to get him out of the rain. Naruto's head is still throbbing, this must be another side effect from the inflammation.
Which reminds him.
He never did find that fucking flower. Moving a trembling hand to the front of his soaked coat, he tries shifting the now heavy fabric apart, the sound of wheezing emits from his mouth.
Pale lips press into a firm line, the boys condition not looking very good. Sasuke had seen people in similar states before and he is almost certain this is a reaction to poison. Naruto had started to open his eyes and a raspy, incomprehensible sound was forced out of his lips. Alarmed, Sasuke hooks an arm under the blond's knees and another under his torso to lift him up of the sodden ground. "Don't talk, I'm going to get you out of the rain and get you some help."
The pouring rain continues as the Uchiha carries his once teammate back through the forest. The water had made Naruto twice as heavy and the trudge through thick mud was proving to be very difficult but Sasuke knows he has to get indoors and fast. The blond drifted in and out of consciousness, his laboured moans pushing Sasuke to move faster. The temporary shelter Sasuke had been staying in was on the very outskirts of the village and luckily the raven was stocked up on basic antidotes and medical supplies. He just hopes they are enough.
Finally reaching his little cabin, he boots the door open and lays Naruto on the bed. His first priority is to get the blond out of his soaked clothes and warm. He sits on the corner of the bed, pulling the others shoes off, followed by his cloak, jacket, shirt and pants. Sasuke decides to leave Naruto's underwear and with a dusting of pink on his cheeks, tears his eyes away from the others lithe form to hunt out some warm blankets. He wraps the blond loosely in the blankets and picks up his soaked clothes; out of the corner of his eye Sasuke sees a flower drop from one of the pockets. Onyx eyes narrowed, he bends to get a closer look, immediately covering his airways when he recognises it. Damn it dobe…
The flower was a rare but poisonous species of plant, when Sasuke had first arrived at the village he had been warned at the general store about such plants and was sold a small antidote bottle. If left untreated the throat of the affected person would eventually just close up and that would be fatal. Thankful to the store owner, Sasuke retrieves the antidote from the shelf and pours its between Naruto's parted lips. It would take a few hours to take affect fully, until then the blond could rest. Sasuke sighs suddenly exhausted and remembering the dreaded flower he picks it up carefully and discards it out of the window before slumping into a chair in the corner of the room. There was no use fighting it today, the sleep his body yearned weighed heavily on his eyelids and he welcomed the darkness that followed.