Disclaimer: Misashi Kishimoto owns all!

AN: Finally, the next chapter! This one didn't take as long as I thought it would but caused me some trouble. Example, writing this in class when I should've been doing the work (to me) isn't a big deal...when the teacher is strict and evil and catches you because some girl who was also not doing the work decides to look over so she can copy yours and screams, 'what are you doing, this isn't the work!' and the teacher comes over, yells at you both, gives extra homework and throws the pages of my story away...that is TROUBLE! Stupid girl!! Stupid, I hate her! I had to rewrite this chapter because of her...I HATE HER...!! Rant over. Enjoy the chapter.

Blah! – Thoughts

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Nothing Out of the Ordinary –

Light filtered into his vision, bright white light that burned his eyes. He shut them. Tight. Held them shut. Not wanting to look at something that caused him pain. Sensation came back to his body and immediately he was as heavy as lead. Even his small arms weighed tons. He didn't try to move again, for even that was painful. The material underneath him was soft, not unlike his blankets at home. He took some comfort in that; believing he was safe.

He heard a slight rustle; a sound that could've been no louder than someone dropping a sheet of paper (AN: it does make noise! I checked). He focused his senses on that noise, suddenly feeling tense and alert. Footsteps accompanied the noise. Someone was there, nearby, next to him. Carefully, he opened his eyes, letting in the bare minimum of light. He glanced around. The room was bright white as well; in the room was white. There was no other colour. No other person. But the rustling continued.

He flexed his fingers, his toes, his entire body and hoisted himself up on his arms. Apart from the slight cracking of his bones, he felt fine; if not a little tired. He rubbed the sleep from his eyes, giving a small yawn as he did. He started slightly when a small beeping noise (that he hadn't heard before) caught his attention. He looked to his right. A small white box stood on a stand, fine green lines running across a black screen every now and then in a zigzag motion. A grey wire trailed from the bottom of it, curling around the floor and up the bedpost, across the mattress and under his shirt. He lifted the white shirt up to reveal two small blue pads stuck to his chest. Grabbing the wires, he yanked them off his chest and the beeping stopped. But continued. He turned to his left to seek out the other annoying beeping. His eyes widened.

"I-Ita-chi?"

Sasuke pushed back the bedcovers and climbed out of the bed, an icy chill hitting his skin. He almost stumbled as his feet hit the floor; his legs not quite out of entropy. Sticking his arms out, he attempted to balance himself. A few wobbly steps brought him to Itachi's motionless form. Sasuke only just passed the height of the hospital bed; he had to lift one of his legs up onto the bed and push himself up, effectively rolling on. He got into a kneeling position and placed his hands on Itachi's chest, gently shaking him, wondering how worried Itachi had been. Nothing. Whatever smile had been on Sasuke's face, after seeing Itachi, had vanished. Normally, Itachi would've woken the minute he heard Sasuke's feet touch the floor. Maybe he was teasing. Sasuke shook him harder, grabbing the collar of his hospital shirt and tugging at it. Nothing worked. Sasuke's small hands trembled as they drifted over Itachi's face; feeling the chill coming off of him. His vision swam with tears. He fisted Itachi's hair and pulled on it; knowing his aniki hated that. Nothing.

"Itachi? Itachi?!" whimpered Sasuke, running his fingers through his brothers, normally, silky hair; only to find it dry and course. "Come on, Itachi." Nothing. Itachi remained still, his short breaths harsh and fogged. Sasuke inhaled sharply and drew back; slumping back against the metal bedposts. His eyes were wide with disbelief, the tears (unknowingly) streaming down his face, his body shaking furiously. Why was his aniki doing this? It wasn't funny. And it never would be funny.

Sasuke leaned forward again, clutching the pale hand that wasn't covered. It was icy. Quickly, Sasuke covered Itachi's hand with both of his; rubbing it, in an attempt to warm it. But it remained cold.

"Itachi?!" he cried softly, rubbing the tears from his eyes only to make way for more. "'Tachi, why are you doing this? S'not funny! It's not right." The sobs became worse, the shaking uncontrollable. "You can't die! You can't! I-it's not f-fair. You're meant to p-protect me. Please...don't go...please...please...please...ANIKI!"

Sasuke fell forward on top of Itachi, grabbing fistfuls of his shirt and sobbing into it. His aniki couldn't go; he just couldn't. He buried his face in Itachi's hair, breathing in the scent that was his brother. He closed his eyes, not wanting to see Itachi's pale, still form. Just to hold him. To listen to him. He had him. He was still alive.

"A- ani-ki, p-please...please don't leave me. I won't ask you t-to help me w-with shuriken practice anymore! I-I w-won't bother you when you come home from a mission! I won't pull on your hair! I won't do anything! ANIKI PLEASE COME BACK!"

"S-sasu-ke?"

Sasuke stopped crying. He pushed himself up and stared at his brother, tears dripping onto his face. Itachi was motionless.

"Sasu-ke?"

Sasuke looked towards the sound. Standing in the door was his mother. Her hair was dishevelled and lanky; nothing like it used to be, her eyes were dull and lifeless; the once unnoticeable wrinkles on her face clear. Sasuke couldn't speak, he just lay his head down on Itachi's chest, listening to the low beat.

His mother took a step forward, "Sasuke?" He looked into her eyes and with no movement or sound he confirmed her question. She rushed forward and wrapped her arms around her youngest son. Sasuke said nothing, but let his mother hold him, hoping the heat from her body would help warm Itachi. "Aniki." He whispered. His mother released her hold on him and began running her hands through his hair and rubbing his back in comfort. "Sasuke, don't worry," she said softly. "He'll wake up, I know it."

Sasuke buried his face further into Itachi's chest, "How? H-how do you know?!"

His mother smiled, "Because you woke up." Sasuke remained lying on Itachi, but turned to look at his mother in confusion.

"What...what do you mean?"

"You both had the same illness, if you woke up then I'm sure Itachi will too."

Sasuke didn't smile; in fact it made him feel worse. He grasped Itachi's freezing hand, "Is it my fault? That aniki is ill?" His mother looked at him; startled by the question. "Of course not! Why on Earth would you think that?"

"Cause aniki never gets ill! He's too strong for that. It has to be my fault...i-it must!"

His mother could do nothing but watch her youngest break down in front of her. There was no real comfort she could offer; no words to sooth her sons fears, for even she was breaking inside. But Sasuke had given her hope; even though Itachi's symptoms were slightly different to Sasuke's, which meant that the illness could be worse for him. She shook her head; willing herself not to think such thoughts. Instead, she continued rubbing Sasuke's back gently, trying her best to comfort him.

Sasuke could feel the blanket becoming increasingly wet. He was no longer crying but the occasional tear slipped down his cheek into his hair. He lay wide-eyed on top of Itachi's chest, listening to the offbeat; hands scrunching the thin material of the sheets. It was then that he noticed a head of blonde hair sprawled over the pillow of the bed next to Itachi's. Momentarily, the tears stopped completely and confusion took over. Careful not to hurt Itachi, he pushed himself up and slid off the bed; creaking as it was relieved of the extra weight. He laid his hands on the next bed, standing on his toes to get a better look at who was occupying the bed.

A boy. No older than him. Thick golden blonde locks cascading over his face; his skin was beautifully tanned; but it was very clear that the effects of the chill were invading him as the colour had left his hands and a fog was emitted from his mouth as he breathed. However, what stood out about him wasn't the brightness of his hair or the colour of his skin, but the three whisker –like marks that adorned each cheek. Sasuke couldn't think of anyone else in the village who had marks like those, and he knew every clan. He felt a hand press on his shoulder and squeeze it comfortingly. He turned to look up at his mother, his reddened eyes holding a questioning look.

"Kaasan, who is this?"

"I believe his name is Naruto. Yes, Uzumaki Naruto."

Uzumaki? It wasn't a name he had heard before. "Is he ill, too?"

"Yes, unfortunately. He fell ill about two days after Itachi did."

Sasuke tilted his head to the side. Had only three of them fallen ill? He didn't even remember anything happening. He leaned forwards to place a hand on Naruto's but recoiled when he felt the extent of the cold pouring off of him. It was beyond what he had felt on Itachi. He was sure that his hand would've stuck to Naruto's, had he touched it.

"Somehow, he seems to be affected the worst. It's amazing to think that his body temperature is so low, yet he is still alive." Sasuke nodded in agreement, a look of deep worry crossing his face as he looked back to Itachi. His heart wrenched at the thought of anything happening to Itachi; the thought of losing him was far too much to bear. He stared down at his feet, not wanting to let his mother see that the tears had come again.

--

He brushed his hair out of his face, wincing as the light caught his eyes. The blankets were tight around him; making him suspect that his mother had done it. He leant back against the bed board, sighing as he stared around the room at the familiar setting that he had become accustomed to. In his opinion, the room was far too bright; no wonder people didn't like hospitals. The putrid smell of disinfectant drifted through the room, making him scrunch his nose in disgust. He turned to look at the pale form of his brother. He was still asleep. Sorrow struck him like a hammer; his brother was still unwell. He would've given anything in the world for him to be alright.

Throwing his legs over the side of the bed, he stood up, walked over to his brother's bed and sat down. His brother looked more relaxed and instead of being extremely cold, like he had been, he was burning up, slightly. He took his brother's hand in his, feeling the warmth of it. He smiled slightly, hoping that this was a sign that his brother was waking up.

"I-Ita-chi?"

Itachi looked up and saw his brother's eyes were open. But before he could say anything, Sasuke threw himself at Itachi, wrapping his arms around him in a tight embrace; intent on never letting go. Itachi's smile softened and he leaned his head against Sasuke's, hoping beyond all hope that this wasn't a dream.

"Aniki! You're awake!"

Itachi wanted to question Sasuke but remained silent, perfectly content just holding him. He had been so worried. For days he had sat by Sasuke's side, waiting, hoping, praying for him to wake, and then he had fallen ill too. He pulled Sasuke back and surveyed him, noticing that Sasuke's eyes were bloodshot; possibly from crying. Apart from being a little pale, he looked far better than he had done. "Sasuke...I...I was so worried. I...I didn't think...think that...you would wake up. Please tell me you're alright!"

Sasuke looked slightly shocked at his brother's words; never expecting to hear something so emotional from Itachi. He smiled happily, "Of course, I'm fine. The doctors said there's nothing wrong with me."

Itachi breathed a sigh of relief, but couldn't stop the thoughts of 'why?' and 'how?' running through his head. What kind of illness makes your body temperature drop without killing you? Puts you into a coma for a few days and then just disappears? Plus...why has it only affected us?

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AN: Two of them woke up! Yay! I was going to leave Itachi for the next chapter, but I had it all planned out and it wouldn't work as well if I'd left it. Please tell me if you liked it, your reviews really do make me happy and inspire me to keep writing.

Next chapter: I Have Been Captured. Itachi and Naruto.

See ya!