A/N:

Hello everyone! I'm updating this story, correcting and all, so I hope new readers will enjoy it !

Summary: Naruto mysteriously starts to be sick as Team 7 is out on a mission. His team might realize that the mystery isn't such a mystery after all but what can they do about it? Can they figure out what's wrong before it's too late?

Disclaimer: I own this computer and, well... the ten fingers I use to type this story, as well as the idea for it but the rest all belongs to the amazing Masashi Kishimoto!

Naruto was quietly having breakfast in his sunlit kitchen when someone knocked at his door. He looked up from the cup of instant ramen he'd been eating from and frowned. Who could it be at this time in the morning? He slowly walked towards the door and cracked it open to see a smiling pink-haired kunoichi.

"Hey Sakura! What's up?" he greeted. She put her hands on her hips, her grin fading away.

"Lady Tsunade wants to see us in her office. Hurry up and get ready!" she urged. He nodded and picked up his ninja pouch before heading out with his teammate.

They walked silently through the busy streets of Konoha and all the way up to the Hokage tower. As soon as they reached the main hall, a woman sitting by the entrance desk waved for them to go upstairs as the Hokage was already waiting for them. They got in the room and Naruto saw that his other teammate and his sensei were already there, seemingly waiting for him to arrive.

The raven-haired kid sighed in despair, hands still in his pocket. "It was about time you arrived. I thought I'd be rooting here" he snarled. Naruto glared at him but stopped himself from getting into the other's game. At the same time, his sensei stood up and motioned for him to get closer.

"Now, now, Sasuke. There is no need to get all worked up for such a thing. Come on over Naruto. Sakura." the silver-haired jounin invited. The two got closer to the Hokage's desk.

Tsunade had been sitting back and yawning from a long night, listening closely to everything that was said without butting in. When he saw her, Naruto gave her a wide grin. "Hey Baa-chan! Seems to me like you've had a bit of a rough night!" he exclaimed. She frowned, annoyed.

"Shut up, brat! I stayed up working on the file I'm about to give you, so if you don't want to spend the day whipping crap in some D-rank mission, you better quiet down!" she threatened. Sasuke smirked in amusement and Naruto's grin faded a bit while he shut it up. She nodded her thanks and cleared her throat to proceed.

"What I'm giving you today is a C-rank mission. I've got a man who is waiting to be dismissed from the hospital at some time this morning. I want you guys to escort him back to the land of rice patties. He was hurt when a bunch of sound ninjas attacked the village and took some prisoners. As we suspected they were working for Orochimaru. We kept the man here for interrogation. Unfortunately, he couldn't be of any help and now that he is all stitched up, it would be about time for him to get home. It's a simple escort which would have been D-ranked if the attack hadn't come from Orochimaru's men. It should be safe though, so you guys can go ahead", she explained. Naruto dropped his shoulders in despair.

"Simple C-rank? You kidding me, granny?" he asked in hope she was joking and would just land him something harder.

"Remember my early proposition? It applies if you complain about the job! I need someone to watch over the kids in kindergarten, would you do that instead?" she snapped. Naruto sighed and waved both hands in the air above his head. "No way! I'll stop complaining, I promise, but don't send me there!" he pleaded. She smiled and choked a fierce giggle. "That's what I thought" she muttered.

A couple of hours later, Team 7 started to gather at Konoha's main gate. Sakura was the first one to show up as always. When Sasuke arrived second, she enjoyed the moment to get closer to him.

"Hey Sasuke! Now that we are alone, just you and I, would you care to join me for dinner after we finish our mission? Or a movie maybe, whatever you want!" she blushed. Sasuke shrugged with an exasperated look in his eyes.

"Sakura, we've been there before! I told you I wouldn't go out on a date with you!" he explained. Sakura's lips dropped into a shaking pout.

"But why Sasuke, why don't you want to hang out with me?" she asked. He pressed a hand to his forehead as if her cries were giving him a headache. "Because," he started, "you're my teammate. Nothing less, nothing more" he finished. Her stance went off as she just sadly stared at the floor. A couple of minutes later, their sensei came towards them with a small and fragile looking foreign civilian. His hairs were grayish and several lines in his face testified of the long years he had seen and the poise he got from living them. He offered Sakura a shy smile when their eyes met and introduced himself as Tomo-san.

Kakashi put his hands on his hips while looking all around himself. Of course, there was no sign of the blond ninja. He sighed and put his hands in his pocket. "Now, where is Naruto?" he asked the others. Sasuke shrugged.

"He's just fatefully being a pain. Nothing new…" he complained. Sakura nodded at Sasuke's comment and Kakashi closed his eye. Just before opening them, he heard the loud and obnoxious voice that could only belong to one person.

"Hey you guys! Sorry I'm late!" he apologized as he ran by their side. Sakura was raging in her corner. "Couldn't you ever be on time? Jeez, Naruto, you're so unreliable!" she said through gritted teeth. He flung his arms behind his head and smiled to hide the fact that he was hurt by Sakura's words. The man they were supposed to walk home took a scrutinizing look at the newcomer. With such a flashy orange suit, they were sure to be given away if they were ever followed by rogue shinobi.

"Is this guy coming along?" Tomo asked. Kakashi nodded. "Naruto is part of the team, so yes he is coming along!" he spoke. Naruto gave his sensei a thankful look.

"Whatever, just don't get in the way, kid!" the man growled. Naruto dropped his hands to his sides as they were curling into fists. "What's that supposed to mean, old man! If I was given this mission, it's because granny Tsunade believes in me! I don't need some old fart telling me what I can and cannot do! If you want to, you can just go ahead on your own and get your ass kicked just to see if I care!" he spat, his fists up. Sakura let out an annoyed growl before landing a powerful fist on the back of Naruto's head, causing him to bite the inside of his cheek from the impact. "Shut up, Baka! This is our client you're talking to! Now stop being such an idiot and show him he can trust you, because honestly, as lousy as you are, it's no doubt he's fearing for his life! Make us proud for once and stop being such an annoying brat!" she yelled.

A metallic taste filled his mouth and rounded the corners of his mouth. "Shit" he muttered as he spat out the blood. "Naruto are you okay?" Kakashi asked worried, seeing his student waver on his feet, eyes dazed. It took two seconds and the feeling vanished and Naruto started being Naruto again.

"DARN IT SAKURA-CHAN, THAT HURTS!" he shouted, running a hand behind his head and turning his head to pout. Kakashi looked in disbelief and despair. 'Just what I'd expect from the number one unpredictable hyperactive ninja'.

Sakura crossed her arms and looked away while Sasuke just rolled his eyes. "Can we go now?" he grunted. "We've wasted enough time already" he pointed out. "Right" Kakashi replied and gave the signal for everyone to follow him. Tomo stayed quiet and followed the team that was to lead him back to his village.

They walked for a long while without talking. Naruto and Sakura still wouldn't look at each other and Sasuke led the way as he seemed to be thinking he was the only one who was mature enough to deserve to lead. Kakashi stayed behind with their client while keeping an eye out, just in case.

Some time later, Kakashi halted and cleared his throat. "Alright guys, we're going to take a break here" he announced. Naruto spun over in disbelief. "What, already?" he asked, obviously disagreeing. "Some of us need a break" Kakashi insisted, motioning to Tomo who was already down and cooling himself down with a bottle of water. "Lazy old man…" Naruto groaned as he put his bag down and jumped on a higher branch to rest.

Sakura walked over to Tomo and engaged a conversation with him. "Are you okay, sir?" she asked calmly. He offered her another shy smile and nodded. "Yeah. Just tired" he admitted. Naruto rolled his eyes and leant against the trunk, closing his eyes.

"Well if you need anything, you can just ask" she offered. He nodded thankfully. "Arigatou, Sakura-chan" he replied.

Kakashi joined Sasuke who seemed a little tensed. "Hey Sasuke? Are you okay?" the jounin asked. Just as Sasuke opened his mouth to reply, a kunai knife flew out of nowhere, aiming for the silver-haired teacher. Kakashi only had time to see it before it embed into his chest. Sasuke gasped at the sight before being blinded by a cloud of smoke.

As it cleared, the Uchiha took sight of a sitting log with a kunai plunged into it. 'Substitution' he thought, proud that his sensei reacted in time. Kakashi reappeared from the ground to guard in front of Tomo. "Sakura, you watch him!" he ordered. Sakura nodded and replaced her sensei, whom was already onto something else. This time, two kunai flew out of different spots. Sasuke gave himself a push and stopped one with his own kunai. He then took a rebound on his hands and pushed himself into the air to stop the other one that was going right at Sakura.

She blushed when her crush sent the kunai flying away from her. He had saved her. She dozed off for a second before putting her mind right back into the business. As her senses came back, she noticed her blond friend wasn't around. She looked all over to finally see him on the tree branch he'd been sitting on earlier. He apparently had fallen asleep.

Two ninjas came out of the bushes and Kakashi jumped onto one of them, leaving the other to Sasuke. The latter was now fighting a sound ninja in a close taijutsu combat. Sakura couldn't keep her eyes off him. The kid managed to block a punch aimed at his face, but wasn't fast enough to block the kick in the stomach that came right after. He landed next to Sakura and looked up to her, Sharingan activated.

"Where's the dobe when we need him" he grunted. Sakura motioned towards the tree. Sasuke looked up and saw the sleeping form. "Naruto! What the hell are you doing?" he shouted but the other one didn't budge. Sakura came forward to help but Sasuke pushed her back. "You stay with Tomo-san!" he spat. She took a few steps back and pulled her guard up.

Sasuke ran for the other shinobi again. He was ready to not let himself be hit this time. He kicked the ninja in the stomach, making him lose his balance. As he wavered, Sasuke plunged underneath him and gave a kick upwards, in a fashion Lee would use. The sound ninja flew in the air as Sasuke went down on him and kicked him hard. The ninja fell to the ground with a thud. As Sasuke fell elegantly next to him, his opponent rose back to his feet and performed a wind jutsu. Sasuke ran away from it to save himself. He jumped on a higher branch and took a deep breath. The other ninja was again preparing his wind jutsu. As he set it on, Sasuke inhaled deeply and spat a humongous fireball, a popular jutsu from his deceased clan. As the wind caught into his fire, it fed it and the flames burned bigger and brighter. The sound ninja's eyes widened as he was caught in the flames and pushed away. Sasuke went back down and contemplated the scene.

Kakashi was fighting the other ninja. His headband was pulled up, displaying his Sharingan eye. His opponent seemed stronger than the one Sasuke had to face. The shinobi pulled back and performed a quick set of hand signs. Suddenly, a dragon shaped fire appeared. Kakashi smiled under his mask and dodged the attack. He performed his own hand signs, too quick for Sasuke to see. This time, a dragon shaped whirlpool appeared and drowned the fire dragon. The sound ninja gasped in horror and ran away, this time, towards Sakura.

She put her guard up but the man was faster and punched her in the gut. She fell down, gasping for breath. Sasuke grabbed the ninja and pulled him off her. He pinned him to the ground with taijutsu and raised his right hand fiercely. "Chidori!" he screamed as the lightning bout ran through the other man, knocking him out cold.

Sasuke took Sakura aside and sat her down. "Are you okay?" he asked. She was panting heavily but managed to offer him a nod. He ran a hand on her back while she sought for air. Kakashi was busy studying the man Sasuke had knocked out with his Chidori. He was most definitely a sound ninja. The jounin thought he might be after Tomo. The latter breathed a sigh of relief after seeing such a combat. He pulled himself up when something grabbed him by behind.

The first sound ninja had reappeared and had taken Tomo by surprise. The old man gasped and closed his eyes, knowing it would be the end of him. The shinobi pressed a kunai against the old man's throat while staring at the others.

"If you move, gramps dies!" he threatened. Cold sweat ran down the old man's brow. He was making up his last wish. Kakashi was tensed up and Sakura was looking in disbelief. She had failed.

"Leave him alone" a voice called out. They all turned to see Naruto getting down from the tree he'd been sleeping in. The rogue ninja started to laugh coldly and pressed the tip of the knife on the man's neck, causing some blood to trickle down.

"Fine then" Naruto exhaled. He placed his hands in a familiar pattern. "Kage bunshin no jutsu" he called as three other Naruto appeared. Kakashi's eyes grew wide open. "No, Naruto!" he screamed. The clones ran towards the ninja and he was about to plunge the kunai deeper when he felt something cold against his own neck. He looked aside to see a fifth Naruto holding a kunai to his own neck.

"How did you…?" he started when he noticed the whole in the ground behind him.

"My clones were just a distraction so I could sneak behind you" he said. The ninja gulped in fear, and he was right to be scared. Naruto grabbed his jacket and shoved him to the ground behind him. The four clones then ran up to the opponent and chained up to kick him into the air. The real Naruto leaped up and kicked the man on the head. His team could only watch in admiration for the boy's actions.

As the man hit the ground, he looked up to see Naruto rushing towards him with a massive ball of concentrated chakra in his hand. "Rasengan!" he yelled as he thrust the jutsu in the man's stomach. The hit was so powerful that it dug the man's flesh, causing him intense pain. The ninja gave one last gasp before succumbing to the darkness.

Naruto got a hold of Tomo and handed him over to Kakashi. His sensei checked the neck wound but found it was really just a scratch. Naruto sat on a rock and patted his forehead with a frown. Sasuke noticed the gesture.

He and Sakura were looking at Naruto with eyes wide in shock. When Tomo regained enough self control to stop shaking, he looked over at the blond with deep eyes. "You saved me there, kid. Sorry for underestimating you and thank you for not letting me die!" he said sincerely. Naruto shrugged it off as if it were nothing. Kakashi furrowed his eyes to look at his student.

"It was a nice plan you pulled off, Naruto. Thanks to you, Tomo here is alive. Nice work!" he congratulated. Naruto shrugged once more with a slight down on energy. Something the others didn't quite notice yet. "I'm not the idiot everyone thinks I am…" he mumbled. Sakura bowed her head to that. "You did good, Naruto" she finally admitted, frustrated inside that he had succeeded where she had not. He nodded in response. "Maybe you should sleep more often if that makes you useful in the end" Sasuke growled, his voice full of contempt. Naruto suddenly found the ground very interesting. He never wanted to fall asleep, it just sort of happened.

As soon as they were all back on their feet, they pursued their road towards the land of rice patties. Kakashi was watching their backs a lot more now that their mission had gone from a C-ranked to a B-ranked and maybe even an A-ranked. He thought of the events for a second and turned to a dozing off Tomo.

"Excuse me, Tomo-san, but do you know why these sound ninjas were attacking you?" he asked. The man looked at him and didn't bother correcting Kakashi because he knew the ninjas really were after him.

"I haven't a clue to be honest. I have never in my life dealt with anything related to the shinobi world. I stayed away from it as much as I could. When they attacked our village, they took some people with them. Rumor has it that Orochimaru uses these people for experiences. That is all I know and I can only guess that these sound ninjas knew I had been in Konoha for a while and they must have thought I turned them in" he explained. Kakashi nodded.

"That must be it. You are sure that no one is purposely after you?" he asked. The man nodded. "I swear I have nothing to do with ninjas" he claimed. Kakashi nodded, reassured. "I'm asking you this because we, Team 7, have been assigned on an escort mission before. It was supposed to be safe when we were attacked by several shinobi who were actually chasing the guy we were guarding and the guy knew about it but lied to us because he couldn't afford to get more security. It could have been fatal to us if those guys here hadn't been one of the best teams I have ever taught" he told. Sakura looked up at the statement.

"Is that true, Kakashi-sensei?" she asked with sparkles of hope in her eyes. He grinned, his one smiling eye visible. "Of course it is, Sakura. You guys are well-advanced for genin your age! The one I'm mostly proud of right now is you, Naruto!" the jounin exclaimed. The blond kid turned his head slowly.

"Me?" he asked, his voice hoarse. His sensei's grin grew larger under his mask, if that were possible. "Yes, you! I mean, don't get me wrong, Sasuke and Sakura have always been incredibly talented students and proved me everyday that their hard work was worth the shot. But you, Naruto, it's something else! I must admit I doubted you when I first saw you and I was left pondering after some of our first missions but you never gave up hope and never stopped working. I'm watching you these days and I'm confident that you might become even stronger than me!" he admitted cheerfully. Naruto smiled at the praise but it soon died off as he reached a hand to his forehead. Sasuke noticed it was the same pattern as he had seen before.

"Naruto, are you okay?" he asked his teammate. Naruto spun around to face him and gave him a wide grin. "Sure! Why wouldn't I be?" he asked. Sasuke frowned. "I noticed you were holding your head after we fought the sound ninja but I didn't give it any further thought before I saw you do it again a few seconds ago" he stated. Naruto sighed but his smile didn't fade. "I'm okay. It's just a headache I've been carrying around for a while" he confessed. Sasuke frowned but let it go. Kakashi studied his student.

"You do look a little pale, though" he pointed out. Naruto waved him off with his hand. "No need to worry, sensei. I'm fine!" he cheered, sticking his thumb up. They finally nodded and let it go. They continued like this for another while before the light started to dim.

"Alright everyone! We'll camp here for the night. We'll get to the land of rice patties tomorrow morning" Kakashi announced. Sasuke activated his Sharingan and scanned the spot. "There's no one around, although I do suggest that we take turns to guard up tonight" he stated. Kakashi nodded. While scanning, Sasuke had noticed a nice spot to install the tents. They started setting them up. Kakashi observed Naruto from the corner of his eye. He started peeking when the boy didn't even complain when they stopped early for the night. Naruto was always the one saying that he wasn't tired and that he could still go on. The kid had paled, if possible. From time to time, he would clutch to his head and his eyes were dim and unfocused.

Kakashi shuddered in worry and put his hand over Naruto's as the latter was – too slowly – pulling out his camping material. The blond shivered at the cool touch and looked up to his teacher. "Sensseii…" he slurred. Kakashi frowned from the heat radiating from the kid's hand. "Naruto, you're burning…" Kakashi went to say but he stopped when he saw his pupil's eyes roll back into his head. Naruto shivered before giving into the embracing darkness.

That's it for now. Anything I can do to make it better, just anything you want to say, just press the button and make me happy! Thanks for reading!

THwriter