Second Chances

Chapter 31

"I'm telling you, I heard something down here," a member of the crew said as he looked around the cargo hold.

"Are you sure you didn't have too much to drink last night?" another crew member asked as he stared at his friend with disinterest.

"You got to believe me. I swear I heard voices down here," the crew member said.

"Maybe it was all in your head," the other crew member said as he headed out of the cargo hold.

"I swear, I heard something," the crew member whispered as he followed his friend.

Once the hatch was closed, the Umino family sighed in relief. Luckily, the genjustu was still active meaning all the crew members could see were crates full of fruit.

"I told you two to stop arguing didn't I," Iruka said as he put away his kunai.

"Don't look at me, Shino started it," Kurama said as he put away his chakra blades.

"Oh please, we both know you started it," Shino said as recalled his insects.

"I don't care who started it," Iruka said through gritted teeth. "Because of your constant bickering we were almost caught!"

"We're sorry mother," Shino and Kurama said to which Iruka sighed in annoyance.

Iruka just ignored their apology and instead chose to tend to Naruto. Shino left to check whether the crew members were still nearby.

"Sometimes I feel like the quads are more mature than both of you," Iruka said as he sat down by Naruto's side.

He checked the sleeping Naruto's temperature and sighed in relief.

"At least his fever has gone down," Iruka said relieved.

"It's been a week already, you'd think he'd be over it by now," Kurama said as he kneeled down by Naruto's side.

'He's way too pale,' Kurama thought as he stared at his sleeping brother.

"I knew he was prone to sea sickness but I didn't think it'd be this bad," Iruka said worriedly.

Naruto whined when his fever began to spike.

"My poor baby," Iruka said as he nuzzled Naruto's clammy forehead.

"Just when you think he's getting better his fever spikes," Kurama whined. "I should have just given him some soup."

"That wouldn't have worked. You saw how sick he was last night. He wouldn't have been able to keep it down," Shino said as he came back with a bowl of cold water.

He gave the bowl to Kurama then took a seat beside him.

"Well it's better than trying to give him medicine on an empty stomach," Kurama said as he placed a damp cloth on Naruto's forehead.

"What other choice did we have? At least the was a chance the medicine would work," Shino said as he placed another damp cloth on Naruto's chest.

"On an empty stomach!? That would have made him more sick," Kurama said.

"Little ones, you are not having that argument again," Iruka said as he covered Naruto's lower body with a blanket.

"It's that same argument that almost got us caught. I know you're both worried about him but your arguing is only making things worse. You know how sensitive he is," Iruka said with a sigh.

"He's almost as sensitive as a new born. He might react to your anxiety and alert the crew to our presence. With him in this condition we won't be fighting at full strength. We'd be more focused on protecting him rather than fighting, making us vulnerable," Iruka said as he watched his youngest shiver.