As the weeks passed by, and the days became colder and colder, Naruto's situation did not change in the slightest. Most days he would arrive home to find Mizuki already waiting for him, drowning his frustrations in a bottle of the cheapest alcohol he could find; before releasing his pent up anger upon the blonde boy. It was getting worse. The abuse was becoming more severe.

On multiple occasions, he had limbs that were almost broken and bruises so black they rivalled the boots that created them. His back still ached in certain positions from the night Mizuki had beaten him into unconsciousness; he still remembered the nightmare. Mere pieces of the hell he endured as a child. He was barely sleeping because of the memories and his concentration in class was steadily decreasing.

The only difference in his life at the moment was Sasuke. Over the past weeks, the raven haired boy had become Naruto's rock, only adding to the will the blonde possessed to survive the torture he found himself in. They had become exceedingly close. Even though they insulted each other constantly and on the surface it appeared that they disliked one another, it was their own personal way of bonding.

Butterflies circling in his stomach was a common occurrence for Naruto whenever he saw the raven, quite often he found his face heating up and had to turn away quickly in order to conceal it. Contrary to popular belief, Naruto was not stupid. He knew what these feelings meant. But how could he act on them when he himself did not deserve the raven's utter perfection? How could he inform Sasuke of the feelings he held when he himself was nothing more than a pathetic shell of a human being? He knew for certain that Sasuke would never return them.

After a particularly harsh beating from Mizuki the night before, he awoke once again to deafening silence and the rough texture of the living room floor boards. Blood stained the wood and he knew he would have to clean it up before his foster father returned home. Naruto did not have a death wish. Shakily hauling his broken body up and into a standing position, his eyes widened at the realization that he had arranged to meet Sasuke outside of school at 8:30. Glancing at the small, cracked clock on the corner shelf he jolted into action, the time it read imprinted into his brain; 7:55.

Moving as fast as his abused form would allow he located his bag and quickly changed his shirt, flinging the blood-stained one under his bed to deal with it at a later date. Hobbling out of the door he tried his very best to conceal his winces and grimaces of agony, refusing to become a burden to his raven-haired friend. Unwilling to admit defeat.

Panting heavily, Naruto arrived at the school gates, knowing almost immediately that he was late. He probably only had a few minutes to make it on time to his lessons. His body felt extremely weak and every couple of minutes his form would tremble and spasm irritating his wound and making them ache continuously. Somehow he didn't believe his temperature was normal either; a cold sweat had begun to form on his burning forehead and the edges of his vision where becoming increasingly blurry.

Shaking his head lightly to dispel the fuzziness he glanced around the outside of the school building and an empty feeling began to grow from the bottom of his stomach and spread throughout his being. Sasuke was nowhere in sight. Clutching his bag tightly and lowering his dull, lifeless orbs to his trainers he knew he could not expect Sasuke to stay and wait for him; especially if the blonde was late. And yet he could not help the feeling of absolute betrayal he was currently experiencing. He thought he had finally found someone who would never abandon him, so where was Sasuke now? Why had he just left Naruto?

"Your late idiot." A smooth, deep voice came from behind him, only slightly tinged with annoyance. His eyes widened in surprise and a familiar warmth replaced the empty feeling he had previously been experiencing; it spread through him and illuminated his features.

Twisting his neck too see the wall behind him, he found the raven; he was leaning with his back against the wall, his hands tucked into his pockets and his cool black orbs were focused intently on Naruto. If the blonde looked close enough he could see a slight frown in his features; a tell-tale sign he was mildly irritated at having been kept waiting.

"Whatever, Bastard! I woke up late, it happens." Naruto said and in reflex gained an almost defensive position, with his arms crossed lightly against his chest and a barely noticeable pout on his features.

Smirking briefly at both the blondes answer and his expression, Sasuke pushed himself off the wall and gracefully walked over to Naruto's side before continuing on ahead, replacing the smirk with his normal neutral expression.

"Hn. We better get to class. Unlike you, I don't make a habit of being late." The raven taunted his eyes closing after speaking and hands returning to his pockets as he walked, not speeding up until Naruto was beside him.

If Naruto had felt like himself at that moment he would have gritted his teeth before responding to Sasuke's insult, however the blonde felt absolutely terrible. The cold sweat he had been experiencing only moments before had multiplied and the trembles had only increased, making it quite difficult for Naruto to conceal them. His body felt as if it was on fire, coupled with the pain of his injuries, he didn't know if he would last the day.

Forcing down the sensations, he walked to catch up with Sasuke. As they entered the school side by side, Sasuke's black orbs calmly regarded Naruto, watching his movements intently and for a split, panic-filled, second, Naruto thought he was going to question him on his current condition.

Taking in the blondes form for a second longer, something flashed in Sasuke's deep eyes before he moved them to glance at the classroom in front of them. An inaudible sigh released his lips as the raven said nothing and turned his gaze to stare ahead, entering the classroom moments later. Reminding himself in his head that he could survive the day, that he would not collapse, Naruto followed, trying to act as normal and as casual as possible.

After chemistry had ended and Kabuto Sensei had left the room Naruto turned to Sasuke with a sheepish grin on his face. "Mind if I steal your notes? I zoned out halfway through him talking." The blonde asked. He brought his hand up to the back of his neck to emphasize his embarrassment and reluctance to ask Sasuke for a favour. What he did not mention was the fact that his vision had been darkening, and the fuzziness had only been increasing as the seconds ticked by making it almost impossible for him to concentrate. Regarding him frostily for a moment, Sasuke replied.

"Idiot. Learn to pay attention." He snapped a slight glare following his statement, before he breathed a small sigh in annoyance, stood up swiftly and got out the notes that he had placed in his bag only moments ago. Shoving them in Naruto's direction for him to take.

Forgetting the condition his body was currently in for a split second, Naruto jumped out of his seat and took the papers out of the raven's hand, giving Sasuke a sunny grin in appreciation as he did so. Before he could hear the ravens reply to his antics, his vision became hazy and the blackness that edged his eyes started to consume his sight. His lips parted trying to form the raven's name, trying to call out for him, trying to get him to help. No sound escaped.

Sasuke looked on in confusion as Naruto began to act strange, his eyes beginning to show the worry he felt at the blonde's actions and his eyebrows furrowed in slight panic as he realized he did not know what to do in this type of situation.

Swaying slightly from side to side and panting heavily, Naruto brought a clammy palm up to feel his burning forehead; cold sweat was almost dripping from it and his body had begun to feel numb. "Naruto?" he heard a smooth, slightly worried voice, echo in his eardrums, yet he had no focus and did not know where it had come from. Stumbling back slightly, the darkness consumed him and all he felt was his body falling. Falling. Falling into an endless pit, before he crashed, hit the bottom and floated into painless unconsciousness. One word reverbing through his brain as it was the last one he heard before fading from reality.

"Naruto!"

Authors Note:

Hope everyone liked it!

Thank you so much for the views and the comments, im so glad you enjoy my story! 3