Shukaku: Plz do not kill me for this okay? Anyway, enjoy this chapter, I guess.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto

Sasuke was awake by first light; he immediately looked down at Naruto to see if he was awake yet. His heart sank when he saw that his eyes were still closed, his mind and heart began to race as he went over what could have happened. Had he slipped into a coma? Was he ever going to see his pet smile again? These were only some of the fleeting questions that raced through the Uchiha's head. He held Naruto tightly as the minutes ticked by, he repeatedly checked to see if his pet was awake. Finally, two hours after he woke up, a low groan issued from the fox in his arms.

"Naruto!" Sasuke controlled his racing heart as he held his pet loosely. The fox's blue eyes opened slowly, he tilted his head to look at his master through half lidded eyes.

"Master Sasuke…..?" The Uchiha sighed and held him tightly.

"When you didn't wake up earlier I thought I'd lost you," He breathed into the blonde spikes.

"I would never leave you," He smiled. "Who would be here to make you happy if I did?"

"Stop thinking of only my happiness, dobe!" Naruto gave a shocked gasp; Sasuke had never called him something like that. "You know what's going on right?" The fox nodded slowly. "Then think about yourself for once," There was a long silence between them.

"Master, I'm scared," Sasuke nearly broke down again when he heard the frightened whimper. Naruto looked into the Uchiha's onyx eyes and saw the unspoken words, 'so am I'. Both males jumped when someone knocked on the door which opened to reveal Kyuubi and Tsunade.

"Sasuke, I need to speak with you," The woman beckoned him to her. The Uchiha's eyes widened, he couldn't possibly leave Naruto now, he'd only just woken up! "Kyuubi will watch him, he'll be fine," Reluctantly, he released his pet and got out of bed. He followed Tsunade out into the hall and lazily leaned against a wall as she closed the door. "I know you're worried about Naruto but please stop giving off that gloomy aura, Sasuke," She put her hands on her hips.

"It's not like me to worry so much about something but…. He's my best friend."

"Well don't give off such a gloomy aura; it'll only make things worse. Now listen to what I tell you closely okay?" The Uchiha nodded slightly, "I don't have any pain medicine for Naruto, and pets are immune to pain killers during this time. I do have this though," She held out a blue capsule. "If you think the pain is getting really bad just give him this."

"What will it do to him?" Sasuke questioned as he took the pill from her.

"It will put him a sort of suspended animation if you will, almost like a coma. His heart will slow along with his breathing so don't worry about not seeing his chest move. The drug only wears off once his coming of age ends and that's probably in three days time."

"Three days?! I have to watch my pet suffer for three whole days!?" He fell to his knees, eyes wide as he drew in gasping breathes.

"If you don't want to see him suffer, give him that pill," Tsunade said sternly. "I'll come back everyday when I can to check on him, take care and try not to destroy yourself over this." With that the busty vet left.

'I don't know if I can give him this,' Sasuke thought as he entered his room. 'I don't know if I could stand seeing him in that kind of state.'

"Sasuke, try to be happy or something because your damn gloomy attitude is pissing me off right now!" Kyuubi growled walking past him. The raven forced down his worries as he walked to the bed, setting the pill on the nightstand.

"How are you feeling so far?" He asked quietly as he held the fox in his arms.

"Good but I have to go to the bathroom," Sasuke chuckled as he released the fox. He watched as he disappeared into the bathroom, hopefully he wouldn't be struck down by the crippling pain while in there. The young Uchiha anxiously watched his pet emerge and immediately embraced him when he jumped onto the bed. Afraid of how silent his master was, Naruto chatted about the past few days and about his birthday, also about the past; Sasuke occasionally laughed as he too remembered their days of childhood. "Remember when—" He stopped talking and his eyes widened.

"It's starting," Sasuke fought back panic. Naruto gave a strangled cry as a wave of pain surged through his small body. He opened his mouth to scream as another, stronger wave surged through him; the raven placed his forearm near Naruto's mouth and winced when the fox bit down. If he hadn't done so, he'd have bitten his own tongue. After a few minutes the pain receded and Naruto released his master's bloodied arm to lay his head on his chest. It took him only a second to scent and taste the blood that was his masters.

"I'm sorry, Master, I didn't mean to hurt you," He said weakly.

"It wasn't your fault, I did it to stop you from biting your tongue," Sasuke examined his damaged arm and sighed, some were just flesh wounds while others had pierced the skin. "I'll be right back, call me if it starts again," He wasted no time in darting to the bathroom to retrieve the first aid kit. He sat on the bed as he cleaned the wounds, placing cotton over the bites before wrapping it in gauze.

Xxxx

This continued throughout the day, by nightfall Sasuke's entire right arm, including his hand, was bandaged. Everyone in the house was on edge, Lin was worried about both boys especially because Sasuke was refusing food and Naruto could barely hold any down. The small amount he did manage to retain usually came up the next time he ate; she was of course glad that both of them were at least taking liquids. Itachi sighed as he closed his brother's door; the teen was silent and growled at anyone who tried going near Naruto.

"I've never seen Sasuke like this before," Kyuubi mused as his master sat down.

"Nor have I," Itachi sighed heavily. "It's bad enough that Naruto is going through hell but now we have to put up with a very moody, very possessive Sasuke."

"He's always been possessive, Itachi-sama, it just never really showed until now."

"I guess you're right," A slow smirk spread across his face.

Xxxx

Sasuke warily looked at the digital clock which flashed 1: 23 a.m. making him groan and shift Naruto in his lap. Neither of them had gotten any sleep yet, right now the fox was resting against his chest but Sasuke knew it was only a matter of time before another wave of pain hit.

"Master, I'm tired," Naruto whispered in a hoarse voice.

"You know you can't fall asleep," He whispered back. Sasuke sadly looked down at his pet's tear stained face, it was heart breaking to watch him suffer like this, he just wanted to take away the pain and make it his own.

"But I'm really tired," He complained in a childish voice.

"You'll just be woken up by the next wave of pain," The fox began to tremble again. "Another so soon?"

"I-it's happening again," He whimpered. Sasuke trapped the fox's legs between his own and tightened his hold on his upper body. Naruto's eyes widened and he let out a heart breaking cry of pain as his body began to shake violently in his masters arms. "IT HURTS!!" He screamed loudly. Sasuke placed his left hand in Naruto's mouth for him to bite down on.

"I know it hurts and I hate not being able to do anything about it." He clamped his jaw shut when his pet bit down hard, sending a jolt of pain up his arm. Two painful minutes later, Naruto's violent shaking slowly came to a stop and he unclenched his jaw, releasing the Uchiha's bloodied hand and wrist. Sasuke silently cleaned and bandaged the hand before wiping the blood from his pet's face. He snatched up a glass of water and made Naruto drink some in an attempt to rinse away the blood in his mouth. The pale teen stroked the fox's back soothingly, trying to calm him down.

"Try to get a few minutes rest, Naruto," He murmured to the exhausted boy. The fox gave a soft whimper and closed his eyes. 'I can't keep holding him every time he has an attack,' He thought. 'They just get stronger every time! Soon, they'll be too much for me to handle,' His eyes drifted around the room, landing on one of his school ties. 'Only if it comes to it,' He bit his lip at the thought of tying his pet down. He heard Naruto whimper and continued to stroke his back, whispering softly to him. "I won't leave you, I promise," He whispered to the resting fox.

Xxxx

The morning was no better for Sasuke or Naruto; the poor fox never stopped trembling from the intense attacks. The Uchiha's entire left arm was now bandaged and he was running out of ideas.

"Do you want to try and eat something?" He asked roughly. The pale teens' eyes were dark from lack of sleep, every time he drifted off Naruto's screams of pain would wake him with a start. The fox nodded weakly and nibbled on the muffin his master held to his lips. Sasuke smiled when the few bites he'd taken stayed down, maybe his stomach wasn't going to act up today. That smile faltered when Naruto's face 

paled and his skin became clammy. He snatched the pail from beside the bed just as Naruto climbed to the edge for it. A minute later the bites of muffin came up and he soon began dry heaving, tears spilling down his whiskered cheeks.

"My throat burns," He cried as Sasuke set the pail down to clean his face.

"It's okay, we'll try again later," The teen wiped his face and set the food tray aside. He pulled Naruto against him to lie on his side, hoping to better restrain his limbs when the next wave hit. It wasn't long before the pain returned and surged through his body; without thinking Sasuke pressed the fox's face to his shoulder and held back a gasp when he felt the sharp canines pierce his flesh through the thin black shirt he wore. The Uchiha counted the minutes as they passed, gritting his teeth against the pain as his pet continued to bite him. Finally, four minutes later, the pain stopped and Naruto's trembling subsided some as he released Sasuke's shoulder. Naruto forced down the water he was given and curled his trembling body into a loose ball after his limbs were released.

"I-isn't there something else I can bite into, Master Sasuke?" Naruto whined softly as he watched the raven bandage his shoulder, tugging at the ends with his teeth and left hand.

"I'll find something eventually, don't worry about it," He snorted. The fox was worrying about him again, even after that chat they'd had about worrying about him.

"But I keep hurting you!" He tried raising his voice but it came out funny.

"What did I tell you about worrying about me?" He growled at the trembling fox. "Now is not the time to worry about me! Worry about yourself, Naruto!"

"How can I worry about myself when you're in pain too?" He looked at his master's bandaged limbs.

"Just don't," Sasuke sighed. "Worrying too much is bad, especially for you in your current position."

"You're right, I'll try not to worry anymore," He gave a weak smile.

Xxxx

Itachi sighed as he shut the door of his room, Naruto's cry's always echoed through the house when the pain set in.

"Is it Friday yet?" Kyuubi complained, removing the pillow from his head.

"Stop asking me if it's Friday, Kyuubi," The elder Uchiha groaned rubbing his throbbing temples. "Your complaining isn't making this any better."

"Naruto's coming of age is insane, it's worse than mine!"

"Do you even know why, Kyuubi?"

"It could be a number of things, Itachi-sama," The fox pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Anything in his genes?" Kyuubi's head jerked up at that question.

"It could be I mean his mother was a pure fox pet, as was father. My mother was the same…. Never mind, it isn't in his genes." He slapped his forehead. "Tsunade already told me, and I almost forgot! It's because of his growth problem."

"I could have told you that," Truth be told, Naruto's endless cries of pain were giving everyone headaches, even making people forget some things. "These headaches are making people forget things," He sighed.

"Only two more days," Kyuubi fell back with a groan, once again covering his head with a pillow.

Shukaku: Again plz do not kill me! -runs from angry reviewers-

Sasuke: Evil bitch! Anyway plz R&R