Inconvenient truth

A big thank you to all my reviewers! I really appreciate your time spent reading and then typing up a review! Thank you very much indeed! I'll be responding to reviewers in the next chapter - didn't have time today! Haha!


Chapter Two


Sasuke jumped from roof to roof, the glass vial clutched in one hand. Unknowingly, a concerned frown marred his face as he thought about his teammate. As long as Sasuke had known him, Naruto had never been sick. Ever. Not even the sniffles when it seemed that everyone in the entire village was ill, even Sasuke himself. So, now he had something so bad he had to miss training? For weeks, according to Kakashi-sensei. At least it would be a month or so free of the dobe’s irritating mannerisms and ridiculous Hokage pronouncements.

‘Hokage this, Hokage that…God, he never shuts up…’ Sasuke allowed himself a small smirk that quickly faded as he tried to remember the way to Naruto’s apartment. He’d only ever been there once, to the door, when the rest of Team 7 had picked up the orange-clad boy for some unremembered reason. He saw the building in the distance, relieved he’d recalled where it was. Landing on the roof, he quickly swung down to the balcony, glancing in the window before swinging it open. What kind of ninja would he be if he used the front door?

He landed in a darkened room, glancing about quickly and realizing it was a lounge area. A look to the side revealed a small kitchenette, sink piled high with dishes, cartons of milk and empty ramen containers everywhere.

‘I feel sorry for whoever he has to live with…’

With a start he realized he didn’t actually know who Naruto lived with, he’d never asked and the boy hadn’t volunteered the information. He shrugged, frowning when there seemed to be only one room leading off the lounge.

‘Does he live by himself…?’ The thought settled itself in his head slowly, making him feel slightly uneasy. In fact, he’d never seen the dobe with anyone aside from them. Did Naruto have no one at all? Like him?

The smell of the kitchen was getting to him and he grimaced, turning away to activate his sharingan, helping him see better in the dim lighting. He narrowed his eyes, trying to make his way across it to the doorway on the far side, where he assumed Naruto would be. There was a tiny flicker of light from underneath the door that didn’t waver as Sasuke picked his way across the clothes-littered floor. The dobe didn’t seem to have many clothes but all he did have were scattered about in various states of cleanliness. He wrinkled his nose, stepping over a pile larger than the others, trying not to breathe. It seemed the dobe hadn’t done his laundry in a while either.

He’d almost reached the door when he suddenly felt his foot catch on something, tripping him and making him fall flat on his face, creating quite a racket and probably bruising his knees.

‘Some ninja reflexes I have there…’ He scowled, kicking with his foot to try and free himself from the clutches of…he glanced down…a rumpled, black T-shirt, which seemed to have developed a sentient life of its own. He was freeing himself when suddenly the door in front of him was thrown open, an angry, tired and, above all, ill-looking Naruto staggering out, kunai clutched loosely in his hand. He blinked blearily at the shinobi lying on his floor, entangled in his clothes. The anger faded from his face, replaced by confusion.

“Sasuke…? What are you doin’ here?” He murmured raggedly, bringing one hand up to rub at his eye, yawning loudly as the other dropped the kunai on the floor. His voice sounded coarse with sleep and sickness, raspy and choked. Sasuke felt the tiny flame of concern in him flicker a bit higher.

“Hn.” The Uchiha heir got to his feet, kicking off the remainder of the shirt which had tangled around his foot, tripping him in the first place. He winced slightly as he placed more weight on his injured knee but quickly erased it from his face. He held out the vial wordlessly, shaking it to get Naruto’s attention, which seemed to be wavering all over the place, unable to focus in one direction for any length of time.

“Dobe. Dobe. HEY DOBE!” He scowled as Naruto’s head whipped up, making him sway slightly on his feet. “Kakashi-sensei gave me this. For you. He said he couldn’t bring it.”

Naruto nodded slowly, raising a hand to reach for the medicine but before he got halfway he let out a low groan, eyes rolling up in his head and crumpling to the floor.

Sasuke’s eyes widened and he dropped the bottle, rushing forward to grab him before he smacked his head against the doorframe. His hands made contact and he almost recoiled in shock. Naruto was burning hot, sweat slicking his skin, his breath coming in short, shallow pants. Sasuke quickly lifted his teammate into his arms and carried him back into the room he’d come from.

Naruto’s room was a complete mess. Half-empty cups littered the bedside table, the covers were rucked up down the end of the bed, some on the floor. More grubby clothes littered the ground, making the small room smell worse than the lounge. He wrinkled his nose again and set the dobe down on the bed with a face of distaste.

He stood quickly, feeling grubby all of a sudden and wiping his hands on his shorts. He glared down at the unconscious boy laying half on the bed.

He couldn’t just leave him there.

Could he?

The idea of just leaving meandered its way through his head, quickly followed by the thought that, if he did leave, the dobe might somehow become so ill they’d have to replace him in the team and, even though he really couldn’t stand his presence, there were a lot of other people Sasuke would rather not be teamed up with.

That decided, he grasped Naruto’s legs by his ankles and heaved the rest of him up on the bed, pushing and shoving him around with no gentleness till he was more or less lying where he should. He grabbed a cover, chucking it across him, lest he catch some kind of chill, before remembering the dropped medicine out in the lounge. He went and retrieved it, reading the label as he made his way back to the bedroom.

“Take 1 dose before eating and 1 dose before going to sleep till finished.” He read out loud, glancing at the sleeping boy on the bed. “Hn. Well I guess he’s stuffed that up already.” He set the bottle next to the bed, shoving some of the empty cups out of the way. One fell from the dresser and Sasuke caught it before it hit the floor, quickly swapping it to his other hand as the end of a finger accidentally swiped inside, across sticky reside on the lip of the cup.

“Gross, Naruto…that’s disgusting…” He screwed up his face, carrying the cup back to the kitchen, gingerly setting it on the table with many others. He wanted to wash his hands but he surveyed the garbage heap that would normally be called a kitchen and backed away slowly. He knew that Naruto wasn’t normally this untidy and was actually a kind of clean person, but this was just plain revolting

‘Must be cause he’s sick…can’t do it himself. Hasn’t got anyone to do it for him.’ Sasuke felt a twinge of sadness and empathy for the boy, realizing they both had to deal with the loneliness that came from living alone with no family or close friends. He shook his head violently.

‘I did not just empathize with the damn dobe…’

He ducked his head back into the room, noting that Naruto had kicked the sheet back down. He scowled and went in, tugging it back up sharply and tucking it in so firmly he doubt Naruto would be able to get out, even if awake. Satisfied with his work, he stepped back, reaching to turn off the bedside lamp.

Sharingan activated, he looked down at the sleeping boy, his sweat-slicked skin glistening in the dim light coming from the windows. Sasuke glared at him briefly before walking to the end of the bed.

“’Night…usuratonkachi.” He murmured, turning away and pulling the door shut behind him.

It was only once he’d gotten home that he remembered the paint on his face, thanking whatever god was currently available that the dobe had been too sick to notice.


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So far this story only has about 7 chapters, so it's not terribly long. Although at the end people may be calling for a continuation or sequel, who knows?