Hello! Welcome to my third new story! I know I know, shouldn't I concentrate on writing the chapters for TBF and WFSM? I am so don't worry! This idea just suddenly came into my head and demanded I write it so enjoy!
Also, disclaimer: I don't own any canon!Naruto characters, but for the plotlines and possible OCs.
Synopsis: It was supposed to be a normal Chunin exams for Team 7, just like any other previous one. But then a pandemic rips across the five Elementals like no other, one not even Orochimaru could've predicted. Now with more than a third of the world population wiped out, their story will never be the same again.
Chapter 1: Chunin Exams
Sakura had been both excited and apprehensive about participating in the exams. When Kakashi-sensei had handed her and her team the forms, she had been dubious to his reasons for pushing them into the lion's den and excited that she would finally be a Chunin with Sasuke-kun and prove that she was more worthy of him than that stupid Ino-pig.
But now as she surveyed the damage Konoha was suffering from- no the Five Elemental nations were suffering from- she knew she could no longer be as naive as before. She had to be strong, for her teammates, for her friends, for her dead parents, for her still ailing older brother.
She felt Naruto squeeze her hand in comfort, both for her and for himself.
"You ready to head out? We- we're on the next yard shift…"
"Come on, Naruto-kun. We're meeting Sasuke-kun and Kakashi-sensei there."
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1
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1.5 months ago…
Sakura continued to cast doubtful glances past the broad shoulders of her older brother and towards the entrance of their house. Her parents had come down with a very nasty cough the night before but her older brother had ushered her out of the house so she wouldn't be late to hand in her registration forms for the Chunin exam.
"It's probably just a really bad cold, Sakura-chan. I'll take them to the doctors later", he said as he steered her back to looking forward, "but you need to register for the exams or else you'll not be able to participate."
The pinkette grumbled in frustration. "That's what our next door neighbor said earlier this week, Hinoki* nii-san, and it's gotten worse from the way oba-san's been coughing horribly at night. I hear her through the bedroom wall and I can barely sleep from the noise!"
Hinoki furrowed his brows but continued to push her down the road. "I'll go check up on oba-san as well. Most likely, some new type of flu or cold bug was brought in with the amount of foreigners entering the village for this event. It should pass sooner or later. But you have an exam to concentrate on."
She ended up barely managing to register with two minutes to spare and flinched at the glare she received from Sasuke. She'd forgotten for a split second how much this was affecting him.
"Sorry, Sasuke-kun, I-"
The Uchiha all but growled in annoyance and cut her off. "Just shut up and let's get going already."
"Hey!", Naruto got in Sasuke's face with an angered look. "You don't have to be mean about it! Sakura-chan has never been late and the one time she is slightly later than usual, you get angry at her?! She must have had a good reason!"
Sakura stiffened and turned away from Naruto, who wilted at her dismissal of him. Part of Sakura felt bad and a part of her wanted to snub him. Sakura had always been confused as to why, despite her having never treated the blond nicely, Naruto still continued to try befriending her. She knew, of course, that it was largely due to his crush on her; it was something she wanted to discourage him from. Unfortunately, like most girls her age, the only way she knew how to fend off a boy's affections was to push them away aggressively, sometimes violently.
I wish he would just stop trailing after me like some puppy wagging his tail for affections. Sakura thought as they headed up the flight of stairs to their designated room, 302. Though I should probably stop being so mean to him. After all, we need to stick together to pass this exam.
Sakura immediately figured out the genjutsu on the door of the second floor and got annoyed since she was sure she counted the flights of stairs correctly. Either people didn't know their arithmetics these days or someone was convincing everyone else that what they believed to be right was wrong.
"Can you please stop bullying people and get out of our way? This is clearly the second floor and there's a genjutsu on this door. You're blocking the staircase over on your right." Sasuke gave Sakura a surprised look and she immediately felt insecure, reverting right back into being the timid girl she wanted him to see. "R-right, Sasuke-kun?"
"Hn." He stiffened for a second before turning to glare at two older boys standing in front of them. Naruto went over and helped a green clad boy stand up from his spot on the floor and that was how Team seven found itself a new rival in one Hyuuga Neji, and Sakura yet another unwanted romantic attention in Rock Lee.
The first exam was quite easy for Sakura, though she panicked when she thought of Naruto and his test taking incompetency, and later when she thought he was raising his hand to forfeit.
"There's no way in hell I'll ever give up!" He shouted with the exuberance he always exuded after slamming his raised hand dramatically down onto the table. Sakura personally thought that had to hurt his hand.
"If I have to be a Genin forever, I don't care either! I'll still find a way Hokage, just you watch, dattebayo!"
Morino Ibiki, the head of the Torture and Interrogation Bureau also known as T&I, and the proctor for this exam, looked mildly surprised and amused. He turned his sinister smirk towards the blond and the pinkette swore the whiskered boy swallowed loudly. Unexpectedly, he remained firm.
"Is that your final decision?"
"Of course it is!"
"I wasn't just asking you, runt." He surveyed the rest of the room, "the question applies to all of you; is this your final decision? Anyone else who wants to back out?"
When no one spoke up, he smirked and leaned back against the teacher's desk with arms crossed at his chest. "Well then, I congratulate all of you for passing this first exam."
"What?! That's it?!"
"What about our actual test paper?! Was that for nothing?!"
"Why have us do the test then?!"
"What's the meaning of all this then?!"
"Just shut up and sit down! There is, of course, a reason for the first part of the test…."
Sakura's attention, however, was suddenly drawn to the rows of Chunin proctors, four seats to her left, one of whom started coughing roughly and quickly left. The man had been wheezing and she noticed he was much paler than the rest of the group of observers. Did he catch that flu bug as well?
"Alright, you maggots don't you celebrate yet!" Something crashed through the window at the front of the room and everyone instinctively grabbed weapon fro their holsters. When Morino only reacted with eye rolling and an exasperated muttering, the Genin in the room slowly backed down, though wariness was still present. Sakura sighed. She must have missed Morino's explanation.
It was a woman who had barged in so violently, purple hair gone slightly wild from her dramatic entrance and there were small flecks of glass shards in it too. She had a Jounin vest on and a wicked grin decorating her face, making her look feral for a human being. Behind her was a banner that read, 'Welcome to the Second Exam!'. People groaned and Sakura couldn't help the mutual feeling as well. Did they not get breaks between the different portions of the test?
"Or you can celebrate now while you can before I wipe out half of you during my part of the test!", she cackled wickedly and if her grin could get any wider, it would. "Ibiki! Why the heck are there so many extra teams that passed?! You've gotten way too soft! Hmph! But no worries… Not many survive my testing after all.
"Okay! The name's Mitarashi Anko and I'll be your proctor for the second part of the Chunin exams!" She jabbed a finger towards herself, "now if all you little runts can get your asses out of your seats and follow me!"
Sakura quickly made her way to her other teammates and followed the violent looking Anko out the door.
"What do you think this part is going to consist of?" Naruto stage whispered and Sasuke gave him an annoyed glance. "I mean, she did say she plans on getting rid of at least of us by the end of it."
For once Sakura didn't yell at him to shut up as she thought about it. Naruto did, however reluctantly she admitted it, bring up a valid question. Removing half the competition in a single part of an exam was a pretty huge deal and it resulted in a higher chance for them to fail.
Arghhhh! Stop thinking so pessimistically, Sakura! You have Sasuke-kun here after all!
There's no way a genius like him can fail! Inner Sakura shouted in agreement. We will make sure no one, especially Naruto for that matter, can get in the way of Sasuke's goal! Cha!
That resolve faltered a little along with a stutter of her heart when the group of Chunin-hopefuls gathered before a massive, fenced area; a large sign painted in blood red labeled it 'Training Ground 44'.
Anko swept a hand behind her with an aura of grandeur. "Let me introduce you to the lovely training ground number forty-four or otherwise known as the Forest of Death."
Murmurs broke out at the name but Anko continued her speech with a pleased look about her.
"The rules are rather simple; there are two scrolls in my hands, a Heaven scroll and an Earth scroll. Each team will get one of the two from within the tent over there by the large tree. The goal is for each team to have two different scrolls by the time they reach the tower at the center of the forest with their complete team before three days are up. Any team with less than the three original members by the time they make it the tower is disqualified. Any who open either scrolls before they make it to the tower is disqualified. Any who don't make it to the tower within the three day period will fail.
"You will also be signing two forms, one for your willingness to participate in this exam without outside coercion and another that states that you agree Konohagakure no Sato is not responsible for your possible death that may occur during this time.
"There will also be teams of proctors at the tower as well as within the forest to make sure nothing untoward happens, such as but not limited to escaping the forest, bringing in outside help, et cetera. Any questions?"
A boy Sakura recognized as a member of a team from Iwa and who sat behind her during the written exam, raised a hand. "What happens if someone opens one of the scrolls before they make it to the tower?" He gulped when he saw the glower Anko bestowed upon him and quickly added, "by accident?"
"It doesn't matter whether it is intentional or by accident, brat", she sneered, "this is a test of multiple layers. It is testing your self-discipline and professionalism, your ability to gain information on your targets, fighting abilities and tactics. If you're stupid enough to 'by accidentally' open a damn scroll, you might as well quite being a shinobi right here on the spot before you embarrass yourself and the nation you represent when on the job. You're not suited to be one."
She glared at the other test-takers. "Any more stupid questions? No? Good now get to signing the papers."
She passed out sheets of stapled documents and the Genin began to bite their thumbs to press onto the paper.
"Hah! As if something like this will actually scare me!" Naruto harrumphed as he quickly signed his contracts. Sakura rolled her eyes.
"Can you just shut up for a second before you get us all in trouble?"
"Hahaha! You tell him, Sakura!" A voice came from behind her and she turned to see Kiba and his team walked up, Rock Lee's team close behind. "He's way too loud for his own good!"
"Kiba-kun…." Hinata nervously pleaded, glancing at a ruffled Naruto and her smug teammate.
"You're not any better either, Inuzuka." The girl in Rock Lee's team, Tenten warned quietly as she glanced around her cautiously. "Why don't you listen to this senpai's advice and just be aware of your own actions before telling others off. This isn't a game."
"Tenten, you're wasting your breath on people who don't look like they'll listen to you. You'll just get struck by lightning for your good-will when it comes to ignorant people like him. Lee, hurry up and do what you intended. We need to head for our gate soon."
Sakura shrunk away a little but stood firm when the green clad boy walked up to her, expecting another spiel about her youthful flower blooming or some such. She was surprised when he had a serious look on his face.
"Sakura-san, as you may know, this part of the exam is not going to be easy. I cannot do much to help you but there is two things I can promise. My team will not, under any circumstances, try to take a scroll from you. Personally, I vow that should you be in any grave danger, I will do my utmost to protect you! So please be safe and I expect to see you and your team at the tower by the end of this exam."
Sakura, as well as the rest of her team, gaped at Lee's declaration before she nodded slowly in acknowledgement. Maybe the boy wasn't so bad after all.
"I don't expect any less of myself or my team either, Lee-san…" She hesitated before she added, "I expect nothing less from you than to see you at the tower and pass as well. I wish good luck to you and your team."
Lee's eyes sparkled, "ahh, I get to see your beautiful smile and youth before the upcoming trial! How inspiring! If I don't finish this exam before the fifth day, then I will punish myself by doing two hundred laps around the village on my hands! Yosh!"
"Lee…." Tenten groaned and Sakura regretted being nice to him for once.
"Alright, maggots! Hurry up and finish handing in your paper for your scroll and get into position! I don't have all kami damned day!"
Team seven quickly got to the tent, handed in their forms and received a Heaven scroll. They wordlessly handed the scroll to Sakura; Naruto was too obvious and Sasuke was their offense and can't afford to be forced into defense in order to protect the scroll.
Soon they were positioned at gate number thirteen.
"Alright, our goal is to make it as far in as possible and observe other teams. We'll set up a trap and try to snatch an Earth scroll as quickly as possible with the least amount of confrontation. The majority of the time will probably be allotted to making sure we keep the scrolls safe and make it to the tower. Understood?" Sasuke, it seemed, was quick on taking up the leadership within the team. Since no one else had a better plan, they nodded their heads, apprehension and excitement welling up.
A bell rang and a shout declared the beginning of the second part of the Chunin exam.
"Begin!"
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1
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Present…
The deep bellied tolling of a bell rang in the distance as Sakura and Naruto met up with Kakashi and Sasuke. All four of them were pale from nights without sleep and exhaustive digging they had to do. Each wore long sleeves and pants with masks covering their face. On their feet were the rarely used winter shoes used for missions in the far north where temperatures went far below zero. They were in the middle of summer.
"We've been assigned to the Eastern district to collect the bodies. From the number of ringing, another seven have died just now in our area. We'll have to collect those too. Be sure to take a soldier pill before we head out."
"Hai, Sensei."
The graves had initially been made by those who knew earth jutsu, but because of the amount of graves they had to dig, they soon became exhausted and reverted to manually digging and being assigned rotations. As there were too many dying at an alarming rate, they had to resort to making mass burial sites outside the gates of Konoha.
"H-how's your older brother doing?" Sasuke muttered quietly and Sakura trembled with all the worry and regret she had suppressed for the last month. But she tamped down on it and replied with an equally soft voice. Now wasn't the time to get all emotional and weak- they had a job to do and she should be thankful that her brother was still alive for another day. "He's still very sick but it seems the swelling and coughing is receding… I-I've been circulating a bit of my chakra in him to keep his blood flow going and it seems to be working."
Kakashi looked surprised at her. "How did you think of trying that?"
"I- I read some medical books because I was desperate in helping my… my parents get through the sickness. Their fingers and toes were becoming black and I read that when blood doesn't flow to certain areas, the cells begin to die and turn black from decay. That's when I thought maybe helping maintain their blood flow will work or something." Sakura couldn't help the sniffling noise she made when mentioning her parents. "But… I was too late in saving my parents. There's no way I'm letting Hinoki nii-san go that easily!"
Kakashi nodded in understanding as he patted her shoulder. "You've done well already. If the method helps, maybe you should notify the hospital as well so they can try it out on other patients. They need all the help they can get."
She quickly nodded and they set about popping a soldier pill into their mouths dry and going from house to house to collect bodies.
Sakura knocked quietly on a beautifully varnished door, the house quaint and warm. When no one answered after numerous louder knocks, she grabbed the handle and forced the door open with her chakra with her heart plummeting down to her stomach. The lights were off and the stench of rotting food wafted towards her. She immediately sent out a small tendril of chakra to probe around the house for signs of life as she headed in. She found none.
After all, the family of six were dead in their bedrooms. She gave small burst of chakra and Kakashi soon appeared next to her.
"I see. Let's bring them all into the living room downstairs for easier use of the containment scroll."
They quickly and with as much gentleness as possible, collected the bodies and headed outside where Naruto and Sasuke were holding scrolls as well. Sakura took out a vial of red paint and painted the door with a large 'X' on it, tainting the light brown wood with the sign of death.
Naruto clutched his scroll as he walked down the steps of the house he had gone into and joined the rest of his team with his head down. Both Sasuke and Sakura placed a hand on either side of his shoulders and squeezed gently.
"Let's go."
Not one person believed themselves to ever get used to the mourning they heard as they left the family members of the dead behind them.
The cries of agony and sorrow will probably be forever imprinted in their memories, haunting them in their sleep.
A/N:
*Hinoki- Cypress tree
Hey! I think you all must thinking why I'm writing such a morbid scene in the first chapter of a new story- why I'm even writing such a morbid story as a matter of fact. Diseases deriving from bacteria and viruses have always fascinated me and now that we're living in a world where we are becoming increasingly aware of the types epidemics and pandemics that occur around us, I suddenly had this thought; what if this happened in canon!Naruto? What would have happened then and how drastically would the changes be?
As to what this disease is, a I don't think it'll be that hard to guess after the next chapter or two, or even now. Do let me know what you think of this story so far and if you figured out what this disease is, write it in as well! Of course, I'll create some twists to it as well. Please read and review! I'll love you all the more for it!
Sincerely,
Hitori no kage