Disclaimer: I really want to own Naruto, but if I did it wouldn't be as good, so I'm glad Misashi Kishimoto does.

AN: Kanshisha – Guardian(s), just so you know. Full Summary: Set before the Uchiha massacre. Two brothers and two Jinchuuriki succumb to an unknown illness. When they recover it seems that nothing has changed, but when the Uchiha compound is attacked and the two Jinchuuriki abused by the villagers again, the effects of the strange illness begin to show. ItaNaru! Powerful Ita, Naru, Sasu and Gaa. Good Itachi! Slightly cleverer Naruto! Reviews are appreciated so much!

'Blah' Normal speak

'Blah' thoughts

No Protection

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"Though the symptoms are slightly different, it is unfortunately the same illness."

Mikoto buried her face into the sheets of Itachi's hospital bed. Both of her sons were ill and there was nothing that she could do. Itachi had always been so strong and resilient, but had taken Sasuke's illness hard. He hadn't spoke for days or eaten or slept and (what now seemed inevitable) had caught the illness. Her husbands, Fugaku, hadn't reacted at all when she had told him that Itachi was sick as well; but she could see that his fear was eating him up on the inside.

She spent the next few days sitting between their beds, quietly potting about doing needless things. She sighed heavily, the doctors were worried that this illness would be contagious and had quarantined their room. They had originally tried to stop Mikoto from going in the room but a quick flash of her Sharingan persuaded the doctors to let her in; nobody messed with her when it came to her sons. She didn't care if she caught the illness as long as she could be there to tend to her children; even though, in her mind, it was selfish of her, she didn't want to leave Fugaku to deal with everything if she fell ill too, but she was compelled to be with her sons.

It was into the third day, since Itachi had collapsed, that the Hokage visited. He knocked softly on the door, just loud enough to make Mikoto snap out of her trance. The Sandiame's brow furrowed as he saw the barren look in Mikoto's eyes; it was clear that she had had little sleep and had possibly been crying, from the red blotches under her eyes. It was, of course, understandable, both of her sons were gravely ill; he couldn't imagine how she was feeling but was sure that he would feel the same if it was his grandson. The medics had told him not to go in but knew that Mikoto wouldn't leave so he could speak to her.

He entered the pristine white room and pulled up a seat next to Mikoto; her eyes slowly following him as he did so then dropping as he sat. On both sides of them were the light beeping sounds of the heart monitors; somehow they were soothing, one of the only reminders that both boys were still alive; their cold, pale skin saying otherwise.

"Mikoto," said Sarutobi. Mikoto lifted her head, her eyes watering. "I can't begin to say that I know how you are feeling right now, but...I do believe that both Itachi and Sasuke will pull through this, and so must you."

Mikoto said nothing, but let her eyes widen slightly and her tears fall.

"They are both strong boys and I doubt that they will let some unknown illness get the better of them; especially Itachi, he would want to know that Sasuke was alright before he let something as simple as this effect him so."

Mikoto smiled, knowing this to be true. She had two very strong and skilled boys, who both had aspiring futures; but it was just so hard to except when both of those boys were laying either side of her just barely clinging onto life. Once again, her smile faltered and she let her tears flow freely.

--

It was already one o'clock in the afternoon and the Jiji still had to buy him the Ramen he had been promised. Naruto ran up the streets of Konoha, ignoring the glares that were sent his way, passed Ichiraku; the smell of the ramen wafting up his nose and causing him to drool. He knew that the old man wasn't in the Hokage Tower (he'd been there first) and was unfortunately reduced to wondering up and down the streets looking for him. He would have asked someone but decided that he wanted to keep all the parts of his body intact rather than risk the townsfolk trying to rip him apart...again. Just as he was about to give up, he spied the Hokage entering the hospital. Naruto frowned. 'What's he going in there for, I hope he's alright.' He hurried over to the hospital entrance knocking into a woman on the way. He apologise quickly, wincing at the cry of 'How dare you touch me, demon!', and carried on.

He knew some of the medics didn't like him being in the hospital so he had to keep low and try to sneak through. He carefully opened the entrance door and slipped through, avoiding the notice of anyone sitting in the waiting area. The hospital was very busy today, which Naruto decided would working in his favour. 'If I can just act casual and blend in with the crowds nobody should notice me...well in theory anyway.' Placing his hands in his short pockets, he walked at a steady pace past the reception and down the corridor, steering clear of the medics by hiding behind large groups of people.

The further up the corridor the less people there were, which made it harder to hide. He was nearly spotted just as he saw the Hokage going into a room up a deserted corridor and he turned off quickly before he was noticed; failing to spot the sign that read 'Quarantined area, no unauthorised personnel allowed'. He broke into a light run and stopped outside of the room that the old man had entered, placing a small hand on the handle that was high enough up to make him need to stand on his toes to reach it. He turned the handle and slowly opened the door hoping that there weren't any medics that didn't like him in the room; the Hokage was there so it didn't really matter, he just didn't like seeing that icy stare that they gave him. He poked his head around the door, letting his eyes scan the room, only seeing the Hokage, a crying woman, and two kids in the beds; both who looked very ill. Naruto entered the room, unnoticed by anyone, the woman too busy crying and the Hokage too busy trying to comfort her. 'She must be their Mum' thought Naruto (referring to the two boys).

Naruto looked at both boys. One was about (or looked about) his age, the other maybe twice as old as him. If Naruto hadn't heard the faint beeping of the heart monitors he would have assumed that they were both dead; hence why their mother was crying. But she was obviously crying because they were both very sick, and in every way they looked it; their skin was pasty white, their chests just barely rising and falling (if you looked hard enough) and Naruto could practically feel the coldness coming off of them; so much so that it made him shiver.

Naruto moved forwards to get a closer look at the older boy, but as soon as he placed his foot forward it echoed slightly. Both the woman and the Hokage were instantly on alert; the woman had drawn a kunai and had a vicious look in her eyes. Naruto immediately stepped back to get further away from the crazed lady.

The Sandiame relaxed as soon as he saw who it was and laid a hand on the woman's arm to lower her kunai. The woman's gaze softened and she slumped back down into her chair, assuming the barren look that she had previously held.

Naruto stared worryingly at her, feeling a deep sympathy towards her. He hated seeing others in pain, especially after what he had went through. He had suffered all types of abuse and pain and never wanted someone to feel even a glimmer of what he had felt. A lot of the villagers assumed that eventually he would try to strike back at them and injure them which meant that they would have an excuse to kill him, but he never would, it would only be playing right into their hands, the more he resisted their attacks the stronger he would become.

"Naruto-kun, what are you doing here?" asked the Hokage. "You do know that this is a quarantined area, don't you?"

"Huh?" Naruto looked at the Hokage with confusion written all over his face.

"This area of the hospital has been sealed off. It is very dangerous for you to be here right now."

Naruto thought back. He didn't remember any signs that said anything, but then again, he had been in a hurry and trying not get spotted. The Hokage now had a very concerned look on his face and made to usher Naruto out of the room just as Naruto remembered why he was there.

"Hey, old man...stop it." He whined, as he was guided towards the door. "I was only here to find you because you promised to take me for Ramen!"

The Sandiame stopped pushing him and smiled in understanding. "Ah, yes, how could I have forgotten? How about we take a trip to Ichiraku now?"

A huge grin bloomed on Naruto's face; he would have started bouncing around but he held onto his excitement for when he was outside the hospital, not wanting to disturb the thick silence that the woman's morbid expression was creating.

"Wait, outside whilst I speak with Mikoto." said the Hokage, turning back to the woman or Mikoto, as he had called her.

Naruto stepped outside the door, letting it close behind him and leaning against the wall. He had never seen two people who looked so ill before; well, maybe he had, but not as young as them. They looked as though they were sitting at death's door and probably were. Naruto shuddered; he didn't want to think about things like that and instead focused his mind on the Ichiraku ramen that was waiting for him.

A few moments later, the door slid open and the Hokage stepped out. Naruto suddenly noticed how old he looked, the lines on his face were more pronounced that ever and there was a dullness in his eyes that Naruto had never seen. Naruto also noticed how quickly his expression changed when he turned to look at him, back to a cheery smile that would comfort the villagers and let them know that everything was alright; if it wasn't why would their Hokage smile. Naruto recognised the mask; it was one that he used a lot; one that would cover up any sadness and grief just back forcing a smile onto your face. Naruto was pained to know that even the Hokage had to use it now and again; if any of his villagers were unhappy so was he. Naruto was the same and he knew that this type of love was a very depressing one.

"Well, Naruto-kun, shall we head off."

Naruto smiled and nodded, walking alongside the Hokage as they went to leave the hospital. Many greeted the Hokage as they passed through the busy corridors, but nobody paid any mind to Naruto, unless it was a subtle glare. Naruto sighed and bowed his head; he couldn't stand the stares, even now he could feel his mask breaking and the tears beginning to form. The Sandiame placed a hand on Naruto's shoulder and cast him a sorrowful look. He had tried to make the villagers see that Naruto was a hero, but they still only saw the Kyuubi that resided inside of him; the thing that they wanted dead.

"Hey Jiji," came Naruto's mumbled voice. The Sandiame snapped out of his thoughts and looked down at the still withdrawn Naruto. "What's wrong with them?"

Sarutobi sighed; he should have known Naruto would ask. "We are not sure. Whatever ails them is something that we have never dealt with before." He stopped walking and bent down to Naruto's level, putting his hands on Naruto's small shoulders. "Listen to me, Naruto. You are not to mention this to anybody; we do not want the people of Konoha to panic." Naruto nodded. "Right now, the best thing we can hope for is that this illness, or disease or whatever it is, isn't passed onto anybody else and that both boys wake up healthy."

Naruto nodded again. He really did hope that both of the boys would be okay; if only to keep from seeing the same mask that he used on someone else.

--

He couldn't drown out the cheers. Couldn't stomach the joy. The shouts of 'The Demon is dying!', 'Kami, is finally taking the beast from us!' that were ringing through his ears. It was too much. His vision wavered as he lay on the ground, body jerking severely. Blurred figures were standing all around him and in the distance he could just make out more blurs hurrying towards him. His body shivered to the core, an icy coldness that reminded him of the chill that came off of the two boys. In the last few seconds of consciousness, he heard (what he thought was) the Hokage. He couldn't say for sure, nor could he make out anything he was saying; but the last thing he remembered was being picked up off of the ground and feeling the wind rush passed his face before letting the darkness take him.

--



AN: Next chapter: The Sand's Weakness. I've never written a Naruto fic before, so I'm not quite sure if I've grasped their characters completely. The next chapter will be slightly short...that is if anyone would like me to continue this.

See ya!