Chapter 8: Fever
With a clearance from Kakashi-sensei, Naruto can now go full time in missions outside the village. It had been a while, but he was really looking forward to getting back on track to become the next Hokage. The missions he had gotten hadn't been what he had expected, though.
Missions about delivering items ranging from scrolls to packaged goods, escorting different kinds of people, doing construction jobs…it was a far cry from what he was used to. Almost no fighting and more on doing random errands. He realized that it was maybe due to the current peace between allied nations, but he was hoping a more action that what he got.
When he wished for more action, he didn't expect it to be this bad. The mission he was currently in was to be bodyguards of a merchant ship that will go roundtrip for two weeks between Fire and Water countries. He was in a team together with Shikamaru and Lee. There were rumors of pirates roaming around the route of the ship so they were there to protect the crew as well as the shipped goods. They did encounter the pirates midway through their travel to Water country, and dispatched them without much trouble. But the other things in between were the big downers of the mission.
Seeing nothing but the see for almost two weeks, eating crappy food, sleeping on cramped and smelly bedroom, and weathering a storm on the way back…as they finally reached back the Fire country he was starting to feel sick.
"Oi Naruto, you look pale, are you feeling okay?" Shikamaru was looking worried.
"Ugh…my stomach hurts…" he ran toward a nearby tree and puked. It seemed what he ate in the ship was messing up with his insides.
"Naruto-kun!? You look so bad!" Lee was already beside him.
"This is troublesome. We need to get back to a nearby village to get you some medical help. Let's help him travel, Lee!"
"N-no need, Shika…I'm oka…ugh!" He fell down and grabbed his stomach tightly.
"Naruto-kun! I will carry you from my back! Hop on!"
'Oh no! Is there any other choice!?'
As embarrassing as it looked getting a piggyback ride from Lee, he accepted the offer. He wanted to go home badly so he told them to go straight back to Konoha rather than make a stopover elsewhere.
They reached the village gates by the afternoon. When they were about to head to the hospital, Naruto stopped them and said to just bring him back to his apartment.
"B-b-but Naruto-kun! You need to be treated to the hospital right now!"
"No…no need Lee. I am feeling a bit better. Sleep will make me feel better soon. Don't worry…"
"Sigh…okay, Naruto. Lee, please bring him home. I will handle our report back to Hokage-sama. I will bring some medicine later on."
"Roger that, Shikamaru-kun!" And with that, they parted ways with Naruto and Lee heading back to his apartment.
"Naruto-kun, go lie down and rest. I will ask somebody to help you. Maybe Sakura-chan if she's available! See you later!"
"No need Lee-wait!"
Lee sprinted out of his apartment. Suddenly he was all alone in his home while feeling really sick.
He got up and cooked an instant ramen. Maybe eating his favorite food will make him feel better. If only he brought many of this during the mission, he would be fine and dandy today.
He took a bite of the noodles. It tasted so bland, like cardboard. He then drank the soup. It tasted nothing, like he's just drinking hot water. He lost appetite after that.
Lying back to bed, he remembered that he didn't get sick like this as much. He could count on his one hand how many times he got fever, and most of them happened back when he was just a kid. Probably his tough genes or having Kurama inside his body.
And he remembered why he didn't want to get sick like this. Being all alone, his room is so quiet and he felt lonely. He would see a pack of medicine on his bedside that was probably delivered by Hokage-jiji, but other than that nobody really was there to take care of him. He didn't want to feel sadder than he already was feeling so he decided to just sleep it off.
As he was about to close his eyes, he heard soft knocks on his apartment door.
'I said to Lee no need to bring somebody…sigh…'
He was surprised when he got sight of his latest visitor.
"Hi-hinata! I'm-I'm surprised to see you here!"
"Na-Naruto-kun, I got the news from Lee so I immediately went here. I am here to assist you with anything you need. How are you feeling right now?"
"Oh…I uh…I'm feeling fine! See! No need to worr…"
He suddenly felt dizzy and he was about to collapse. He braced for a hard impact to his head. He didn't expect his head to hit something softer. A sweet and comforting scent entered his nose, and seeking that beautiful scent, he angled his head sideways so his nose touched the source of that smell and continued sniffing.
'Hinata was in front of me earlier, could it be…?'
As he opened his eyes, he realized that his head was captured by Hinata's shoulder, with his nose rubbing the cloth of her hitai-ate, sniffing hard on Hinata's scent…
He jolted back and suddenly leaned back, blushing hard.
"So-so-Sorry, Hinata! I wasn't meant to uh…"
'Shit. Did Hinata notice I sniffed her? Oh no!'
He braced himself for a slap to the face from Hinata. The only thing that came was a soft touch of her hand to his cheeks.
"Naruto-kun, did you get hurt? Let's head to your room so you can rest, okay?"
"Y-yes, Hinata. Thanks…" Hinata was so concern about his well-being she didn't notice Naruto acting weird around her once again.
Despite feeling sick, Naruto was somewhat feeling a bit better with someone being here with him, despite his earlier protests to Lee about not asking someone to go here. And it was much better that it was Hinata. He was really getting used to Hinata taking care of his well-being.
Hinata was already doing a lot for him: helping him to take a vomit to the restroom while rubbing his back, helping him to drink medicine for fever and stomachache, assisting him in changing clothes, covering him with an extra blanket, cooling him off with a cold towel on his forehead, and currently preparing a dinner for him to eat.
He didn't know if it was sickness or the medicine, but his thoughts were just all over the place. Somehow, he imagined himself being taken care of like this by his mother. If his family was still alive, maybe…
'Is this what it feels like to have a family taking care of you?'
Hinata came back with a tray of food inside a closed bowl and a cup of hot tea.
"Naruto-kun, sorry to intrude your kitchen. I cooked something that will help you feel much better."
"Th-thanks, Hinata…but I just don't have…appetite…and everything I eat tastes bland."
"You need to eat because you need nutrition, Naruto-kun. Anyway, why won't you try my food first?"
She revealed the contents of the bowl as she opened up its lead. It was a very good-looking rice porridge, with chicken meat mixed in and some colorful minced vegetables. It really looked delicious, and it's guaranteed especially because it was cooked by Hinata, but he hoped he would not disappoint her by because of his lack of appetite.
She took a spoonful of porridge, cooled it off a bit and served it to him. He was surprised that it was very tasty.
"Well?"
"It's…delicious! How…?"
"This is my mother's recipe. She cooked it before when I got fever as a kid. Then I asked her to teach me this so I can serve her back when she gets sick…"
"This is really great…thanks, Hinata…"
"You are welcome, Naruto-kun…let's finish this up, shall we?"
She continued to feed him until the bowl was empty. He couldn't believe that he could eat that much given that he didn't even finish his favorite instant ramen after the first bite. After drinking the hot tea, he felt so much better and some of his energy started to get back.
"Naruto-kun, your clothes are soaking with sweat. Let me help you clean. Wait a moment."
"Uh...okay…"
She returned with a basin of warm water, a towel and an extra shirt.
"Let's remove your shirt, Naruto-kun."
"Uh…yes…" He felt his cheeks heat up a bit while she helped him undress, but because his thoughts are floating, he felt compliant to her every command.
She started wiping his body with a warm, damp towel. She started from his face, then to his neck, then to his arms, chest, and back. He felt again the now familiar warm and comforting feeling when she was around Hinata.
'I really could get used to this…'
After getting a new shirt on, Hinata excused herself to clean up the place a bit. It was late in the evening, and Naruto was feeling drowsy. Despite trying to stay awake, his eyelids were just not cooperating with him. He didn't want to close his eyes because he thought if he did, Hinata won't be there when he wakes up.
Hinata entered the bedroom to see that Naruto was already sleeping. She fixed his covers and placed again a cool towel on his forehead.
"Good night, Naruto-kun. I hope you feel better tomorrow."
Just as she was about to leave, she felt Naruto's hand grab hers.
"Hinata…please…don't go."
"Naruto-kun?"
"I…need you…here…beside me…" He didn't really know why he was saying those things, but he just felt so vulnerable that his inner feelings were just leaking out.
"I feel so…so…lonely. Please stay by my side…"
"Yes, Naruto-kun, I will stay by your side."
"Promise…?" He wasn't even aware that he sounded like a helpless kid.
"Yes, I promise Naruto-kun."
"Thank you, Hinata…" He slept while holding her very comforting hand.
"Go to sleep now. Good night, Naruto-kun…"
He wasn't sure if it was real or it was in his dream, but he felt something soft and warm touch his forehead.
He woke up to the sound of the birds outside his window.
'It's morning now, huh…'
He remembered holding Hinata's hand before he slept. He looked at his hand and it was gripping nothing. He glanced at the chair beside his bed and it was empty.
'Was it just a dream? It felt too real, though.'
As he sat up and stretched, he noticed the medicine and a glass of water Hinata left last night.
'It really was real…' He blushed at the memory of Hinata's hand in his. He was a bit disappointed that Hinata was not there anymore, though.
'Did she leave so early while I was asleep? Sigh…'
His thoughts were interrupted by the sound of approaching footsteps. He looked at the direction to see Hinata looking the same as last night, but wearing an apron on top.
"Good morning, Naruto-kun! How are you feeling right now?"
"Hi-Hinata! I thought you already left?"
"Didn't I promise to stay with you yesterday? I just cooked you some breakfast. I hope you are okay with these…" She brought a tray of beef stew on rice. It looked delicious and he really needed to eat heavy after all the bad food he ate for two weeks and vomiting he had yesterday.
"Ah, wait a moment Naruto-kun…" She placed the tray to the table and sat beside him.
"Naruto-kun, please stay still for a moment…" Her hand gently patted his head. She was leaning in, and her voice was so low…
"Wai…what! Hinata…?" He was starting to get nervous but he stayed still.
"It will not take long, Naruto-kun…"
"Ahhh…wait…"
'I-i-is she going to…ki-ki-kiss!?'
He was blushing mad, gripping the bed sheet tight, and his eyelids suddenly felt heavy that he closed his eyes…
He waited…and waited…and waited some more…
After a good minute of not feeling anything touch his lips, he opened his eyes to see Hinata's face up close. Her eyes were not looking directly at him, but instead were looking up and her face was in deep concentration. And he realized that their foreheads were touching. He felt his face burning.
Once she leaned back away from him, he started to release his breath that he didn't know he kept holding.
"I checked you earlier and your fever seemed to go down, but your temperature now is higher…Hmmm…"
'That's not because of the fever Hinata!'
-Chapter 8 End-
End notes: Scenarios where fever happened tend to have lovey-dovey moments in manga and anime. Sorry if it's a little too cliché Lol.