Blood Oranges
Season 1 Episode 1: A New Day
It was just Naruto's luck that the first time Jiraiya left him to play with Hiraishin, he was sent to a different world.
The point was further driven home when the locals decided it was a good time to eat each other.
He was observing from afar, at first. As an outsider, he needed to observe the culture of the locals in fear of breaking some sort of societal norm that would draw attention to himself. After sending a couple of henged bunshins to gather info and fetch some necessities, he remained on top of a building, reading a Children's book of all things that teaches English through colourful imagery—something he had to steal, much to his conscience.
It all started in the hospital. There were shouts and screams and there were a lot of men in blue with metal carriages with blue and red lights. There were a lot of patients, unconscious and not- to the point that the hospital wasn't big enough to accept them all. It was obvious to anybody that there was some sort of an epidemic.
From the color of the sleeping patients, he knew that whatever disease it was, has taken over. And so, he was shocked when the supposedly dead people began to devour the living.
It was horrific.
People were wounded and eaten. Too much blood and gore and screams and explosive popping noises so loud, it made his ears ring. Some were even crushed by the people trying to get away. Children were left behind.
An elderly man crushed by the crowd, a little girl crying for her mother, a woman desperately trying to stop the blood from spilling out of her torn throat— for every time he helped one, three more in need of help would appear.
It felt like a nightmare. 14 year old Naruto imagined war must be something like this. No, this must be worse. These were civilians who knew nothing about defending themselves. Civilians who die and wake up as mindless monsters who only knew how to devour flesh—Like some fucked up version of Edo Tensei.
He has dispatched more than enough henged clones to help but he wanted to join the fray himself.
He has a kunai already pulled out but he hesitates because he knew what a single bite can do. His body vibrated with the urge to protect but he's in a completely different world and the bites have no cure and he's alone. Even Ero-sennin will agree that it was the smart thing to do but that doesn't mean he has to like it.
Unconsciously, he registered the same noises coming from miles away.
He realized with a shiver that whatever was happening in this place… Macon he thinks its name was -is something widespread. Something even a kunai cannot solve.
He felt his clones coming with food, water, clothes and other necessities 'collected' from vacated stores. It included knives and other sharp useful tools, much to his relief.
The sight of his clones jumping and appearing out of thin air caused the witnesses to panic even further. He filed this information away and retreated in a dark alley to deal with his bunshins.
He prays Ero-sennin will find a way to bring him back.
He does not like this world at all.
Lee and Doug drag away the dead walker out of the bathroom. They were fortunate that it was already dead when Clementine opened the door. How it got there or who stabbed it in the head, nobody knew but at least the little girl's scream defused the welcoming committee's shit show.
Downside is that they now have to find medicine for Larry's colder-than-a-walker's dead heart.
Before Lee can continue his investigation, he noticed a flash of gold in the corner of his eye.
There, in the corner, was a little boy who looked around 14 or 15, reading and muttering to himself. He's wearing a white shirt, an orange hoodie, cargo shorts that looked filled to the brim and strange blue sandals. His wild blond locks reach his brows and brilliant blue eyes. In closer inspection, Lee found very thin whisker-like marks on both of his cheeks and found himself more curious about the boy nobody's speaking to.
"Hello, nice book you've got there. What's your name?" He asked the blonde and was met with a confused stare and a head tilt. It wasn't until Glenn spoke that he understood.
"Oh, you mean Whiskers? He can't speak English to save his life."
Ah, so that's how it is, Lee thought but didn't give up and gestured to himself.
"L-ee." he said, elongating the word for emphasis and then gestured to the blonde who remained mute.
"Ll-eee." He tried again, this time, as though talking to a two year old. Someone giggled at his side and Lee shot a embarrassed but amused look at a little girl.
Lee then gestured to her who was now staring at the boy with wide and curious eyes. "Cle-men-tine."
Upon the reaction, or lack thereof, he continued to think of what the blonde might understand. Lee's eyes lit up and produced an energy bar from his back pocket. Everybody likes food and the blonde could at least recognize it as a sign of good will. He has fed the children and Larry anyway and the blonde seems to be the third youngest.
The boy looked at the bar hesitantly before accepting it with both hands. He looked at the two strangers' expectant faces before reluctantly, gesturing to himself, muttering in an almost inaudible shy sound.
"Naruto,"
Lee would've never thought that a single candy bar would be enough to buy the strange boy's loyalty. But it did.
Later on, the name everyone didn't think mattered would be the same name they will have to rely on in times of great need.
They just didn't know it yet.
Naruto studied the letters again, Clem patiently pointing out how each one is pronounced. He wasn't sure how it happened but he ended up being the little girl's babysitter… or maybe it was the other way around?
"C-l-e-m"
He muttered to himself, writing the name in English on his notebook before looking at the smiling girl at his side who nodded. "That's right."
"L-i-" He muttered, writing again.
"Ah no, that's wrong. It's supposed to be double-"
Before the girl can finish however, there was an ear-splitting ringing sound.
Suddenly, Clem was holding his hand and everyone is rushing and the moustache man was pointing and yelling things he couldn't understand. Others started to leave while some stayed to push the doors closed.
Someone clutched his arm in a firm grip and looked up to see Lee, his other hand on Clem. "Clem… Naruto. Stay. Together. Okay?"
Naruto only caught their names but judging by the way Clem tightened her hand on his, he thinks he understood. Lee replaced the capped guy in pushing the doors with two others and Naruto meanwhile pushed his back on the shaking furniture barricading one of the windows. The skirt lady later joined his side to push along.
He noticed the door handles and looked for something to stick in-between them. "Ruto, what's wrong?"
"Ano- eto..." He pointed at the handles, quickly gesturing his message. "Stop… stick… Lee"
Somehow, Clem caught up and quickly went to a separate room and reappeared with a cane which she immediately gave to Lee. "Stick it in between!"
"Good idea, Clem!"
After sticking it in between however, two people screamed for him at once.
The guy on a green shirt was being pulled at the windows while the woman is being pulled by the ankle.
Immediately, Naruto abandoned his barricade and plunged the kunai on the dead guy's head that was pulling at the lady while Lee pulled away the green shirted man from the windows.
"Whoa," The lady stared at him, suddenly pale. "Thanks, but where did you-?"
"Let's GO!" Kenny ordered the retreat and they were hastily scrambling away.
One of the dead pulled at Clem's ankle but was easily dismantled with the boy's sharp stomp from a heel. He pulled the girl from the floor and headed to the exit where the sick old guy was, Lee at their heels. The two made it out and the boy heard the sound of somebody getting sucker punched.
"No!" Clem shouted at Lee's collapsed form and Naruto gripped at his bloodied kunai wondering if it would be okay to stick it on the old man's deteriorating heart.
Unfortunately, the pointy end ended up sticking on the dead pursuing Lee before he offered a hand to the man on the floor.
They followed Moustache and Old Man out, Naruto holding in the murderous intent on the latter.
This world sucks ass but Naruto finally found friends to look after. He wasn't going to lose them anytime soon.
AN: Going to dump A LOT of unpublished stuff soon.