Hey this is nice isn't it? I'm going to try to add another chapter, I know it's coming out pretty fast, I'm sorry I can't make it longer, the thing is most of the time I stop because it's the best place to leave off. Not that that's always okay, I would make that chapter longer but that means that it's going to take longer to plan it, write/type it and work it on out. Most of the time I work on this when I have free time, but you all know this… right?

Well today I would like to thank all my reviews for… well reviewing of course. Or is there another reason… hnn… Well I guess it's for pushing me this far. I want to get to 64 reviews this time, or at least 60, I've never gotten this many before. Thou one was a flame, but I can't blame the person, it's not that great when you read some other fics. But then again it's better than some too, so I guess it's in the middle… well that's all for today except…

If I had a moose, I'll name him Elk and give him a Wave Master hat and staff.

What would you do if you had a moose?

Chapter XVI

Childs Play

Naruto sighed, yesterday was a pretty bad day for him. He coughed violently for a moment. Was he sick? This was pretty new to him, he's never been sick before. Naruto lay in bed, his body was heavy, and he felt cold, even though he was sweating. He groaned as he curled his body together to keep the heat in. A shiver ran throughout his body. What about today?

He let out a groan and forced himself up, after sitting up and lifting his head, he laid back down after a dizzy spell. He began to shudder as cool air blew around him. Where was that from? He opened his eyes partly and looked up to see a pale hand going towards his head. He was too tired to fight, let alone think. He heard vague mutters but tuned them out to sleep some more.

Hours passed and Naruto was still asleep. Team 8 and 7 was in Naruto's apartment. It wasn't very clean. There were rude words on the wall and the bathroom was messy with all the mirror bits all over the floor. Did Naruto really live like this? His kitchen was a mess to, and he didn't seem to have any food anywhere.

Sakura sighed as she cleared off a seat and sat down. Sasuke and Shino stood still as statues. Kiba, was well, looking around and making rather rude comments. Hinata was checking on Naruto with her Byakugan, and not surprisingly enough he seemed to have gotten a cold somewhere. So they had the order of staying and watching Naruto while Kakashi was… doing something, he didn't even hint what. And Kurenai was getting medicine for the poor kid.

Naruto let out a loud groan. They all turned to him, Hinata was glowing from what they could see, and Naruto seemed to have curled toward her in the act of getting warmer. "S-Sakura san?" Hinata mumbled softly. Sakura looked up to see Hinata look a bit troubled.

"Hmm? What is it?"

"A-ano, can you get a b-blanket?"

"Sure… but I hope you realize that's like finding a needle in a hay stack." Sakura called back as she made her way to another room, which was closed and locked. "Damn."

"Were ninja's use your head." A voice called out. They all turned to the door, which was left open. They saw Kakashi's form behind Iruka who looked worried. He was also carrying a blanket, clean towels and some water bottles.

"Well, blankets found." Sakura muttered making her way back to her seat.

Iruka quickly made his way to Naruto and placed the blanket on him. Naruto shuddered violently for a minute before settling down. "How long was he sick?" Iruka asked placing his hand on his head. Naruto coughed.

"Since yesterday. He must of gotten worse after we worked at the river." Sasuke drawled out, he let out a little huff and muttered 'dobe'.

Sakura looked at Sasuke surprised. How did he know? She pondered before setting her eyes on their teacher. "Kakashi sensei?" She started but was cut off when he looked at her.

"Today we'll cancel the match, it'll be held off till he gets better, during the time, I'd prefer it if you trained, but that's your choice. You dismissed." Kakashi drew out lazily as he disappeared in a dust cloud. They began to make they're way out the door to see Kurenai walking in with a small bag.

"You guys on your way out?" she asked moving aside for them.

"Aa."

Sakura bobbed her head as they make they're way out. Kurenai sighed; they need to work on the teamwork department. "You guys can leave too if you want." Kiba let out a happy cry as Shino just nodded and left. Hinata stayed by Naruto. She wasn't surprised.

Naruto twitched from and furrowed his brows.

"Dew…" He muttered as if he was thinking deeply about it. They all looked at him. Dew? Kurenai and Iruka thought, why did that sound so familiar?

Hinata glanced at their faces and wondered what it had to do with anything. "Oh, I got him some cough drops, citrus flavored, and medicine, its cherry."

"Ah thanks." Iruka smiled at her, she glanced at Naruto's sweating face he had a towel on his forehead. The cold seemed pretty serious.

Else where-

Kakashi appeared at the doorway of the Hokage and waltzed in as if nothing happened. He made his way to the Sandaime who seemed slightly peeved by his entrance.

"It doesn't matter how many times I ask you to knock does it?"

"Nope, by the way, Naruto's sick." Kakashi said calmly.

"Well this is a first, what do you think caused it?" Sarutobi asked his eyes on Kakashi. The grey haired man shrugged carelessly.

"I think it's caused by his training." Kakashi 'pondered' aloud.

"You made him train in the rain?" Sarutobi questioned alarmed at the thought.

"No he trained, then fell asleep outside. Then it rained." Kakashi said about to pull out his little orange book. He looked at Sarutobi with a stern look. "I don't make anyone work that hard, that's something only they can do."

"Then what of the Haruno girl?"

"She doesn't really try, the only time she does anything that seems useful she uses it on Naruto. And nearly kills him with it."

The Sandaime sighed; it couldn't be helped, could it? "What else is going on?"

"Hmm, it seems that the search of a certain someone is proving to be… quite difficult."

"She wasn't known as a Spirit amongst Ninjas for nothing. But my question really lies in, what have they found out about her?" Sandaime sighed, the looked everywhere for her and she wasn't found. For years they've searched for her, only to find out that she slipped away yet again.

"There been some sightings of her, but they can't find her once the actually seem to look for her. There been some photos of her, but it was quick and most of them… by accident." Kakashi handed over some photos over to the elder and watched his eyes widen.

"Is she truly this far away?" He asked his eyes furrowed, the picture of the blond haired woman in a crowd pointing to something in the distance. She appeared to be in great health and from what he last remembered, she seemed… different. "Well, I got doctors to look for anyone who shared a DNA close to Naruto. The ones in Konoha usually come back about two or so month's later saying that it couldn't be found…"

Kakashi looked up; Sarutobi seemed to have taken a deep breath. He held out a sheet of paper.

"I hired doctors from other countries to look, gave them full pass to look everywhere and anywhere as long as they keep it all hidden with in them selves forever. I had them confirmed, over and over again, for maybe about three years now."

Kakashi looked at the sheet of paper and stared in shock.

Naruto's house

Three days passed and it seemed that Naruto was getting worse and worse, of course this didn't help Iruka, who took those days off to care for Naruto, he watched the Cleaners come and clear up the apartment, all they had to do now was paint the walls. But he didn't allow them to do that, he was concerned for Naruto and decided it was time to take him to the hospital, and while he was there they could paint. Hinata was also someone who came over as often as she could; she would come as soon as ten in the morning and leave at a reasonable time of six the latest.

From what he could tell she was trying to work hard herself. She and some injuries that were well hidden within her long sleeves and seemed to be in pain every time she held something. She also seemed to have trouble holding things. She was obviously working on her taijutsu.

Iruka sighed; they grew up so much in the last five months. He began to clear the space he had to walk through.

"I-Iruka sensei?" Hinata called peeping her head pass the door, she watched him pick Naruto off the bed.

"Ah, konnichiwa. Hinata san." Iruka called over his shoulder as he tried to heft Naruto into a comfortable position and still have a blanket on him.

"A-ano. S-sensei what are you d-doing?" Hinata looked worried as Naruto seemed to be so sick.

"From what I know, Naruto's too sick to be home alone, and we can't stay with him all the time." Hinata looked worried and used her blood line limit. She gasped, she didn't see this before.

"H-he has something in his lungs." Iruka paled, that's not good, no matter how small it is. And they began to rush to the hospital.

Days later

Naruto groaned he felt, stiff and his butt were numb from sitting on it for so long. He's been in the hospital for a week almost by now; he was suffering from a cold and a now light pneumonia. He still had a bit of trouble breathing, but it wasn't as bad. He coughed.

Hinata was here today, lately she's been visiting as often as she could, and she was always stuttered and was blushing, Naruto curled up in the covers, he was thirsty but didn't want to stick his hand out of the covers. So instead he stared at it longingly.

She couldn't help but smile at that, quickly standing up she took hold of the glass and brought it closer to him.

Naruto began to zone out as soon as he was done with the water.

"T-thanks…" He mumbled as his eyes slowly shut. Hinata smiled at him shyly.

"Y-you're welcome." She told him going back to her seat. She stared at him, his hair, his face, and the markings. She wondered how he got them, all the time, but she could barely say anything to him anyways. He shifted and curled into a tighter ball.

She smiled and got her stuff, knowing him, he won't be up till one in the morning.

Later

Naruto abruptly opened his eyes and let out a cough. Then after the coughing fit, a few more followed. He glanced at the clock on the wall, one in the morning, again. He looked over to the open seat. She wasn't there. Nor was anyone else. That meaning that well, there not there. Not surprising, who wants to be a sick kid.

Naruto got up and rushed to the bathroom. After another coughing fit and nearly throwing up, he got a drink of water, a large drink. After that he had to yet again go to the bathroom. Once in bed he cursed at his luck. He soon his vision stared to fade into darkness.

Naruto quickly jumped up out of bed; now that the nurses were gone he didn't need to worry anymore. He knew what they talked about, always the same. He wasn't worth taking care of, the only reason they do was because the Hokage came in every once in a while.

He covered his mouth and held his breath. That was one of the few ways to stop the cough, but normally didn't work if it was strong. He sighed; his throat was dry from all the coughing, and sore.

He dressed as quickly as he could, halfway he checked to make sure that the hall was clear. The nurses, especially the ones who knew him when he was younger, were wary of his ways. Knowing he was a former prankster they still treated him as such and checked on him every half hour, sometimes less than. Once finished dressed he quickly put on his shoes and made a dive out the window.

"N-Naruto kun!" He heard vaguely, he cursed made a pivot and a rebound up as soon his he hit the ground, and came face to face with Hinata. They both blushed to be so close to each other, and soon realized that Naruto had no way in because of the fact Hinata was at the window. In the end he ended up on top of her.

"EKK!"

"GAH!"

They both cried as Naruto quickly tried to get up.

"H-H-H-H-Hinata chan!" Naruto cried as her face redden at 'chan'. And she passed out. "HINATA!"

An hour of worrying, she finally woke to the world of the living. She groaned as she placed her hand on her bruised head. Looking up she saw a pair of blue eyes with worried expression. She blushed and quickly looked down and twiddles her fingers.

"Are you okay?" Naruto asked, why did she always look away from him?

"I-I'm f-fine." She stuttered her eyes on the hospital blanket… she was in bed? How did she get there?

"I had to put you there, uh; I didn't do anything… but… uh…" Naruto trailed off his face bright. They both jumped as the door busted open.

"Eh? Naruto? I thought that you were sick. Why is Hinata in bed?" Sakura asked as she walked in and shut the door. She looked at them both. Their red faces. And grinned. Widely. To the point they wanted her to leave, or if they could they would have faded away.

"Well?" She asked her grin rivaling the Cheshire cat. They both glanced at each other.

"Uh, I-I have tah go." Naruto muttered is face still red; he quickly made his exit out by the window. Hinata feeling the glaze on her quickly followed before being caught by the girl.

Sakura sighed, there they go, now she doesn't have a story to tell anyone, she thought. She turned to leave and looked at her hand when she was about to open the door.

"Oops?"

Days later after the encounter, Naruto was finally not sick, cough occasionally yes, but survived nonetheless, and he always kept a water bottle with him. He popped a cough drop in his mouth, he got them from Sakura, and they were surprisingly effective. They also tasted pretty good… for medicine.

Today they were supposed to help plant rice for the up coming summer. Then afterward help clear the streets of Konoha. They were going to have an event. And somehow he seemed to be acting… fake, he seemed, off. Something about him was different then before he was sick.

What could have happened? Sasuke thought as he eyed Naruto who just tripped on a root and fell on his butt splashing water everywhere. "GAH! COLD!" Half an hour later Naruto continued working in the field with a different pair of pants. His face downward with a slight blush on his face, he was embarrassed that was obvious.

"So, Naruto… what's it like to go commando?" Kakashi asked his lone eye curved, Naruto froze and turned on him.

"Find out on your own." Naruto shivered as he continued on turning his back on his teacher he muttered 'pervert' and stared at he plants.

Sasuke twitched when he realized that Sakura had edged towards him while he was watching them. He waited for the question.

"Do you think Naruto's acting a little… odd?" Sakura asked, that was something he wasn't expecting. He was actually expecting the, "Sasuke, do you want to go out with me?"

He turned to her, unsure how to answer. He decided to answer with a simple 'hn' and turn away, he heard her sigh. He knew she was watching Naruto closely. And before he knew it, he was too.

Naruto inwardly twitched, he had eyes on him, and it doesn't seem like it was going to stop anytime soon. He grunted as he took a step forward his foot seemed to have sunk into the soft soil as he stood there. Other then a few more slips but no falls later they went home, of course they had to see the Hokage to turn in their reports. Which Kakashi did for them seeing as they didn't know how yet.

Naruto sighed as soon at they got everything turned in and paid for Naruto turned to leave only to stop when Kakashi made a small announcement that the "fight" was going to be the day after tomorrow. Naruto cheered while Kakashi ignored them and disappeared off to who knows where.

"Naruto." A voice called, Naruto sighed and turned once more to face the Hokage. "I'm assured that you're alright now?" Naruto grinned brightly. "I'm always alright! I have to be because I'm gonna be the Hokage!"

He smiled at him and told him to go on, Naruto happy with that ran off, leaving everyone else there to watch him off. As soon as he left they all turned to leave as well, it was late after all.

Naruto walked into his apartment, it was much cleaner now, now that there wasn't writing on the wall, a dead fox in his sink and the mirror in the bathroom was in one piece. As soon he was do with the bathroom stuff he decided to go to sleep.

His dreams consisted of a woman in a flowing dress and a man known as the Yondaime. Naruto watched them from a distance, he couldn't call out to them, nor could he move. He watched the happy couple. Soon his vision of them faded and was nothing but darkness.

But of course as most dreams, it was quickly forgotten.

The next morn, they all gathered to at the bridge, Naruto ran up to them slightly panting. He quickly greeted Sakura and went to Hinata afterwards smiling at her. She blushed and turned away.

"Hey I had the most weirdest dream!" Naruto cried, they all turned to him with a blank look.

"Naruto, your not suppose to have the word 'most' next to 'weirdest' just say 'weirdest' that alone is enough." Kurenai said shaking her head.

"But it was really, really, REALLY weird!" Naruto said waving his arms around to show how strange it was.

"There was this, this uh… Llama and it had a really big tub of peanut butter jar, and it was eating it with a straw and it was also wearing this kimono. It was all Hawaii pattern but not only that it was on its hind legs. Then all the sudden I see Sasuke with his hair all the way down to his waist and its tye dyed. Tye dyed. And he comes up to me and asks me if I've seen his spleen!"

They all stared at him. Apparently he wasn't finished as he opened his mouth once more to say more.

"After that this weird guy with really dark skin comes to me and says, 'My life for Aiur!' and some other stuff, but that's all I really remember. And then Bob comes up to me, I don't know how I know his name but I do… But he comes up to me and goes, 'You can call me Bob, Bob-o or Bobo.' And then Kiba came outta nowhere and said 'Hey you realize if you play with some of the letters you get boob!' And then he goes away laughing.

"Then I watch Shikamaru coming pass me while I was walking to the Hokage monument and he says, 'Troublesome woodland creatures.' And walks away with Chouji, whose eating like a cart of food! Then Kakashi sensei appears with Iruka sensei and does a river dance. While they were in the background you can see all these animals, and Akamaru singing the Hamster Dance song.

"All the sudden everything disappears and I'm at an… uh… Well, I really don't know where I am, just this room, but I can't remember anything beyond that… " Naruto finished confused, they all stared at him, that had to be on of the strangest dreams.

"Uh… That's… nice Naruto…" Kurenai said that is some whack out dream. She thought as she stared at him.

End

Fin

Whatever which ever works I don't wanna type any more! Gah!

I think this is enough for the next two months… Muhahahahahaha, It's okay it might b sooner then that, maybe. You have to know that I have a life of my own… maybe…

Well that was quite a chapter. I think it's strange that I have to do so much like this. I think it's kinda fun. Well this week been crazy, all I have to say is…

I wanna throw a grape at a melon.