He allowed himself to fall over with a thud, crashing on his couch in pure exhaustion.
The day had gone by rather quickly, considering all the time he put into training, but his insomnia was taking effect on the state of his weakened body.
Naruto's head hurt, his head burned, his eyes stung, his chest heaved, his left arm had numbed from all feeling, his legs twitched, his body sweated, his stomach churned, his heart contorted.
Not a single part of him was left in its blissful peacefulness. He sighed in defeat when bile rose in his throat, instantly dashing from his place to the bathroom.
His daily routine- for nearly two weeks now- was beginning to set in.
He would wake from a fitful drift of unconsciousness to perform his duty of hiding the bags under his eyes, attempt to eat- though he lost it straight afterwards- head to training and hide the pain that swallowed him, head home, lay back a moment, fall sick, and head to bed.
From what he remembered, he hadn't eaten a proper meal since his sickness first arose. The blond was dead hungry, yet everything he tried to fill himself with his stomach would refuse.
He knew he was sick, he knew it was deadly, but he hated the thought of receiving pity from anybody. And, more than that, he feared what the villagers whom still saw him as the Kyuubi would do after hearing about his weakness.
Fear drove him to suffer alone and quietly, perhaps until he died, even.
He was dying. He no longer would deny it. The longer he lived the more unhealthy he became.
'I'll make everything right before I go.'
He turned to his reflection in the mirror and frowned at the horrible sight he was welcomed with. After taking off his shirt it would be impossible not to notice his ribs protruding from his sides and the strange tint of green bruising at his stomach area. Not only was he being injured on the inside but also on the outside. He had never been in as much pain as he was in at this moment of his life.
A cough erupted from his lungs and he gripped at his chest from the burning sensation.
'I'll get through this...'
He weakly crawled over to the doorway and balanced himself along the walls, nausea already taking full-blown effect, disturbing his struggle to breath correctly and to make it to his room without falter.
Naruto stumbled multiple times before he finally made it to his bedroom. His hand went immediately for the light switch, flicking it up.
The mess...it was tolerable. Now that he had fallen sick, he didn't quite have enough strength to pick up even his headband if it fell.
In fact, not only had he gone out with nothing against his forehead- being asked multiple questions as to where it was- he was pretty sure it had disappeared underneath all the clutter.
Over the past week he had even become so fatigued he barely had a chance for a shower. THAT was something he couldn't stand.
He sighed in defeat before falling to his bed.
The blond would've fallen asleep if not for his light above still blazing down on him (he even still wore his jumpsuit and weapons holster).
He squinted his eyes when they made contact with the luminescence, yet he couldn't get up to turn it off. Or better yet, he was half dazed and unable to.
It was difficult. Everything was difficult and would never be simple as it had been in his genin years.
He had finally become a chunnin and so did Sasuke, as well. The two had been placed together as a team and, somehow, turned out to be the greatest duo imaginable. It was quite ironic, actually.
Naruto whished he could have enjoyed the title for just one more week. His body had told him otherwise. Only a month afterwards had he found out about his "illness" and knew he would never hear that name again.
Neither would he see Sasuke.
Neither would he see Sakura...
Never, is when he'd see himself.
His eyes felt heavy and before he knew it, his body had given way to blissful slumber.
Was it...the first he'd had in a long time, for sure.
The pain set in a moment, reverberating against his thought process until the unseemly and unreliable idea that flitted through his brain had vanished.
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Arigato!