AN: The pressure point on the forearm works for angina attacks that are acute only. It works. I know, I use it when I get the attacks. Keep the pressure there for a minute on both forearms and it should help relieve the pain a bit if not entirely. Consult a doc right away, though. (Crowd-Yes, Dr. House…-rolls eyes-)(I don't own the TV show House))

Lifeless Husk

Naruto writhed in pain on the floor of his apartment, mentally begging for his pain to recede without avail. His hand tried desperately to reach for the sink for some cool water only for a new wave of pain to wash over him, making him gasp audibly. The blond wanted the pain to stop. He tried remembering a time when there was no pain at all, but it was all for naught. Pain numbed all his senses until they seemed as a far-off memory. He made the extra effort to stand up, dipping his hand into the sink with his left hand and turning on the cold water with the right. His ribs seared with pain as he broke into a coughing fit, all the muscles in his body tensing.

'Help…someone…'

Naruto didn't remember closing his eyes, but his hurting body slinked to the floor, void of any expression but relief to have finally subdued into the blissful thing called darkness.

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Slowly but surely, Naruto's eyes opened up, finding himself staring at the legs of the chair. He had slept on the floor for god knows how many hours. He felt his stomach flip a few times as he turned to the side, bringing up anything that was leftover in his stomach. He slowly wiped the side of his mouth with a hand, eyes widening as he brought up more, this time, bile added.

'What did that bastard do to me…?'

Naruto questioned silently, feeling an empty but 'airy' stomach. He no longer felt the urge to throw up, but he was sure as hell that he didn't want to eat until his stomach settled down. He closed his eyes, hearing the sound of the water running on full force, spiraling down the sink. He heaved himself up when he felt a little more stable, placing his mouth under the faucet and letting the water run in and back out his mouth, relinquishing himself from the taste of vomit. The blond finally shut the water, leaning on the sink for support.

There was a knock on the door, making him turn his head in wonder. He clutched his stomach as he walked to go open it, seeing that Hinata was standing there, a basket in her hands.

"U-um…Naruto-kun…I know that you brought back Sasuke…and Sakura, Ino and I made this to thank you…"

Hinata held up the basket, a groan escaped Naruto's lips as he brought a hand to his head, leaning against the door.

"Are you okay…?"

His head perked up, not knowing what he said before it left his mouth.

"I'm fine! Just a little tired."

"You should rest more…you don't look too well…"

A feigned smile crossed his lips, making her blush.

"You worry too much! I just need to get some sleep and I'll be fit as a fiddle!"

He flexed a muscle, her face growing a deeper red.

"I-I'll l-leave then…bye, Naruto-kun!"

She handed him the basket, waving as she left before she had the time to faint on his front porch, causing him even more problems.

Naruto closed his door, eyeing the throw up on the kitchen floor. His hand reached for a towel and threw it over the mess, opening up Hinata's basket. Inside lay rice balls with anko-filled dumplings inside. He groaned and placed the basket on the counter, not trying to be rude by the girl's heartfelt appreciation. The blue eyes boy went over to his mess and finished cleaning it up, changing into his pajamas before retiring to bed, not caring about the time. His chest began to ache, now pinpointing the pain belonging to his heart. He pressed two fingers moderately in the middle of his forearm with his palm facing upwards, relieving himself of some pain. He sighed in relief, a content expression on his face after a minute. He proceeded to do the same to his other arm, sitting down on his bed and laying back with his eyes closed.

"That bastard did do something to me…"

He spoke out loud, opening his eyes now. The clock number flipped to show that it was 4:03 in the afternoon. The blue orbs were once hidden again by his eyelids as the slid over his eyeballs, falling into a voluntary slumber.

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The usual hyperactive blond awoke with a refreshing feeling, stretching as he sat up, looking outside the window. He made his way to the basket that Hinata brought over, opening it up to find the goodies beginning to rot. His eyes widened, looking over at the cock. It told him that it was 12:39 in the afternoon, but not the date in which it was. He scratched his head and made his way out the door, locking it behind him.

"Ah, Naruto! Where have you been? You've been needed for mission!"

"Sakura-chan… where's Sasuke?"

"He's at home…but you've been home all week."

Naruto's eyes widened.

"B-but I just went to-"

He stopped himself from talking, remembering the rotting food on the counter.

"Right…I've been catching up on sleep! Sorry!"

"Well, Tsunade-sama won't be when she hurts you."

Sakura waved and walked away, off. Naruto rose a hand, wanting to ask Sakura the date and what happened to him, but let his hand fall. What would he tell Sakura? He fell asleep for how many days after nearly having a cardiac arrest or whatever the hell that was?

'I can't make her worry about me…she's got enough with Sasuke…'

The blond thought to himself, his eyes turning downcast. He'd have to suffer this screaming pain in silent agony until it passed.

He turned his eyes up, plastered a smile on his face and began his day.

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"Tsunade-no-baa-san-"

Naruto entered Tsunade's office, greeted by her sudden outburst of her standing up suddenly.

"Do you have any idea how long you've been on your little vacation…?"

Sweat began to pour down Naruto's temple, he rising up two hands in a truce as he shook his head.

"It's been already three days! How long do you have to keep me waiting!? Last time I checked, you pay your own bills! Work for your money!"

"O-oi…I was catching up on sleep and I didn't feel too well."

Tsunade's eyes narrowed.

"What do you mean? Are you well now?"

"Of course!"

"Good. You have a mission."

Naruto nodded, feeling his chest begin to tighten again.

"It's a B-ranked mission, so I hope you got your rest."

"Don't worry! I'm fit!"

Naruto falsely reassured her, flashing her a foxy grin, now noticing that Shino, Kiba and Hinata were surrounding him. He was about to address them before Tsunade cut him.

"Okay…there have been rumors around the hidden waterfall village that rogue ninjas are trying to break in. I want you, Shino, Hinata and Kiba to make sure that they are rid of. Also, the feudal lord wants you to join him for his wedding as honorary guests. This all has to be done before his bride arrives in four day's time."

Naruto nodded, turning to his new teammates.

"Shino is the leader. You start today as soon as you can. Dismissed. Oh, and before I forget, you are going to bring back the dead bodies to them. The rumors are thought to be either true or paranoia. If it is only paranoia, you are to stay an extra three days. You have to guard the feudal lord and his wife. That is all."

They left, Naruto having to bring a hand up to his chest to try and put pressure on the place where is was hurting, relieving it somewhat.

"What's wrong, Naruto-kun?"

"A-ah, it's nothing. That Tsunade surprised me before is all."

He laughed sheepishly, scratching that back of his head.

"All of you are to meet up at the gate in half an hour…please try not to be late…"

Shino explained monotonously, leaving them behind.

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They were only about three hours in their mission, Naruto's head was swirling as he tried to focus on his footing, sweat dribbled down his chin.

"Dude, what's up with you?"

Kiba questioned, taking a closer look at Naruto's face.

"Back away…"

Naruto warned, throwing him an un-amused face.

"He doesn't look good…Shino-kun, why don't we turn back-"

"I'm alright! Let's keep going!"

Naruto cut off Hinata, panting heavily. The female was taken back.

"It's just a little warm outside…"

Naruto slipped off his vest, the breeze cooling him down. Shino stared at Naruto harshly through his glasses, making Naruto shiver.

"Let's keep going. There's no reason to stop if he's just warm."

Shino told them, turning his back as he continued walking.

Naruto heaved a sigh, wiping some sweat from his head. Hinata searched in her bag, pulling out a water bottle with droplets of condensation on dripping on the outside of the bottle, a little ice formed on the bottom of it.

"H-here…i-if you're warm…"

She held it out to him, Naruto smiling as he took it gratefully.

"Thanks…"

She smiled kindly, happy that Naruto was giving her his undivided attention even if it was for a little while.

"Your welcome…it really is warm outside, though…"

She unzipped her jacket, the black t-shirt under showing. Naruto looked at her bosoms and blushed, his eyes turning upwards, trying to think about something other than those. He unscrewed the cap and drank the water greedily, pressing the cool bottle against his forehead.

"We should reach there in about two hours. Let's take a lunch break soon and continue on later."

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Upon their arrival to the hidden waterfall village, they came across two waterfall guards, wary of the newcomers.

"Who goes there?"

One asked, holding out a poised naginata, ready to strike them.

"We are the Konoha shinobi that the feudal lord requested for."

"You're a bunch of kids. What can you do?"

They didn't answer. Nor did Naruto for the first time, he being too busy concentrating on keeping conscious long enough before he would be allowed to sleep.

"And what's up with that kid? He looks half dead!"

"He's concentrating to see if there are any surrounding enemies. It's what he does sometimes."

Shino covered up for Naruto, obviously knowing that something was wrong.

"Right…go on."

The man made a series of hand seals, the rock behind the waterfall vanished and the falls split in two, allowing them entrance.

"To see the feudal lord, you keep walking down the road. It's straight ahead, you can't miss it."

The approached the manor, Naruto's head swirling.

"Hinata…do you have any more water…?"

"Yeah, here."

She grabbed another bottle from her bag, handing it over to him. He opened it, taking it all in at once. Kiba eyed him uneasily, Akamaru barking a little until Kiba rested a hand on his head.

"Oh, so nice to see you, Konoha shinobi!"

They were greeted by the feudal lord, whom was taking a leisure walk through his vibrant garden.

"Welcome! It must have been the journey! Why don't you rest for the rest of the day and start tomorrow?"

Naruto's head perked up, grateful.

"That'd be for the best…we haven't stopped at all today."

Another lie came from Shino's lips as easily as he breathing. The feudal lord nodded, the four approaching him and bowing.

"I'll have my maid show you to your rooms. Rest and eat hearty. You start tomorrow."

They nodded, following him in.

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Kiba went up to Naruto, pinning him against a wall. The dog trainer's eyes were angry slits.

"You're fine and dandy, aren't you? Drinking like a fish and barely able to stand on your own? I think you're far from fine! What the hell is going on!?"

Shino placed a hand on Kiba's arm, Kiba letting go, scowling.

"I don't want to lie for a third time for you. Either you function as a shinobi or I send you back with a sick leave."

"Look, they don't know what I have, okay? Just…just don't tell baa-san. She's gonna get freaked."

"No kidding! You've got to stop this and-"

"Just don't tell anyone! I don't know what happening and if the doctors don't find anything, they can't do anything. Keep it a secret for me…you can't tell Sakura-chan or Hinata either…they'll think it's their fault."

"If the safety relies on them knowing, they will."

Shino explained, earning a nod from Naruto.

"Yeah…okay. I'm gonna go for a walk."

They nodded hesitantly, watching Naruto leave.

The blond took no more than a few seconds before sinking to his knees, collapsing on the ground in front of his teammates.

"Naruto!"

Kiba called out his name, rushing over to his side. He chose to suffer silently, wanting no one to know about his mysterious illness, but he knew it couldn't be a secret for too long.

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AN: Gomen ne…I wasn't gonna update this until I finished a story, but I had an idea….