If I owned Naruto I wouldn't be sewing my own costumes together, and living off of dollar store food.

So, in simple terms, I do not own Naruto now, and I doubt I ever will. .


Dying Inside

Chapter Four: Sleepy Eyes


Tsunade had only been half right on the missions status. The client, indeed, had only highered the ninjas for the pleasure of their company on the road back home. Every night he stayed up late by the campfire telling ghost stories, helped with the evening watch, and even made breakfast in the morning when it became apparent that he was the best cook.

What Kakashi had feared might become another repeat of the Zabuza incident was nothing more than a pleasant walk in the forest, with more than enough time for idle chit chat and dubious reading.

But, what Tsunade had been wrong about was the length of the trip. She had told Kakashi a week, tops. It had taken the group six days to reach the clients destination, and would take another six to reach home, if the fair weather lasted.

Unfortunately this meant disobeying Naruto's doctors orders, and possibly sending Iruka into a frenzy of worry back home. Kakashi was wondering if it would be safer to send Naruto into the village first when they arrived, to signal that he was all right to the chuunin.

"Kakashi-sensei," Naruto whispered, tugging gently at the jounnin's vest, "Can we stop for a rest yet?"

Kakashi eyed the boy, looking him over closely from top to bottom. He had been quiet all day, but had blamed it on a sleepless night and bad dreams, both excuses Kakashi knew to be false from his time on guard duty the previous evening. And the boy had refused his breakfast, saying he was saving room for a big dinner, yet another bad sign.

"Dobe too weak to even walk far enough for the evening camp?" Sasuke sneered, stopping to eye Naruto quizzically. He had never seen the blonde look so bad in his entire life.

"Go scout ahead for a good site, Sasuke," Kakashi snapped, drawing his hand away from Naruto's forehead in horror as he felt the scorching heat emanating from the small boy, "We're setting up camp for the night."

"But sensei, it's not even noon!" Sakura complained as Sasuke dashed down the path.

"Naruto, how long have you been feeling sick?" the silver haired jounin questioned the boy, ignoring the pink haired girl with ease.

"I dunno," Naruto smiled weakly, "But it's not that bad. I'm just tired, I'll be fine after a nap."

"Like hell you will," Kakashi growled, looking up as Sasuke reappeared, panting for breath. He had had to run quite a while to find a suitable camping site.

"Two miles down the road, there's a good spo- Naruto!" Sasuke yelped in mid sentence, catching the blonde as he collapsed backwards, the blonde's eyes rolling back in his head.

"Damn it! I told Tsunade this was a bad idea," Kakashi growled, signaling for Sasuke to show him the site as he held Naruto's unconscious form gently in his arms, Sakura following behind, completely lost on what was going on.

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Sasuke replaced the wet rag on his teammates forehead worriedly, wiping away the heavy sweat that was seeping through his yellowish skin. He had to admit, it wasn't looking good for the limp boy. The fever, rather than decreasing, seemed to be burning even hotter with every passing minute, with no end in sight.

"Will he be all right, sensei?" Sasuke whispered, looking up as Kakashi entered the tent.

"I don't know. He's very sick, and without medical treatment, I doubt he'll make it," the silver haired jounnin whispered, brushing strands of sweat stained hair off of Naruto's face.

"If he's so sick, then why did you bring him on the mission!?" Sasuke demanded, "He may die because of you!"

"Because we're ninjas, and we must always be ready to accept a mission, even at the cost of our own lives," Kakashi replied, looking away from the dark haired boy sobbing in front of him.

"But not Naruto! I was supposed to beat him," Sasuke hiccuped, "But he was supposed to become Hokage! The Hokage can't die in the forest, not like this!"

"Supposed to beat him!? Is that all you can think about!?" Kakashi demanded, picking the boy up by his collar, "Is that all you ever think about, power!?"

"If I could beat the future Hokage," Sasuke sniffled, trying to explain himself, "Then I could prove to Itachi how powerful I really am!"

"You're pathetic," Kakashi growled angrily, "You'll never beat Itachi by flaunting your victory over a dying boy!"

"Dying!?" Sakura squeaked, looking past the two angered ninjas at the sick boy.

Naruto's rasping breaths, proving just how hard he was fighting to fill his lungs with precious air, echoed through the tent.

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Authoress' Notes:

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Yay, another chapter! (And I just realized that has stopped me from using my little kitty anime faces to make my chipper comments even more happy! ;-;)

Hmmm.... and the plot thickens. Will Naruto live through the next chapter, or will he become yet another casualty to my over angsty imagination!? Stay tuned sometime later for the dramatic non-conclusion at the same fanfic place, same fanfic time! -falls off chair from sarcasm overdose-

Yeah. I know, I know, I STILL haven't revealed the deadly illness. Probably in the next chapter, the one after that at the latest. But, don't worry, as I FINALLY completed my Temari costume, I should probably be done with the next chapter by Thursday, latest. If it's not posted by then, that means either my power has gone out, or my phone lines have gone down. Both seem to be an actual outcome with the storms currently ravaging the area I live in.

One again, a WONDERFUL thanks to my WONDERFUL reviewers: trubluewolfeyes, Firegirl531, DieChan, Paranoia-shoujo, insanechildfanfic, Alamandorious, Hitomi No Ryu , Dancing Kitsune, kurokioku, imaginary friend, someone , Dargon Sheinto, dark-and-daisuke, Jiyu Hatell Kodai, fluffy-kins, and Spooy.

Oh, I'm not sure on whether or not to make this a Naruto x Sasuke fic. I probably won't, or I really might. The jury is still out on that one. Give me a night or two to mull over any other possible relationships, if there are going to be any others. So no promises!