I do not own Naruto or Highschool of the Dead.
Cynical
Beginning of the End
This was not Naruto Uzumaki's year.
Sure, it had started out great. He had finally graduated. He had gotten onto a team with Sakura-chan. He got free reward-ramen. The Old Man was proud of him…
That was just about that for the good news.
He was also on a team with Sasuke-teme. His sensei was lazy, late and never trained with them. His first mission led to the death of one of his first true friends. He found out about the Kyuubi. He had seen Iruka be crippled. He had killed for the first time. He had almost flunked the Chuunin exams. He got pulverised by some weird ungodly-strong freak from Kusa.
And now he couldn't get to fucking sleep because his stomach was trying to fucking kill him.
Naruto curled himself into an even tighter ball. He would get in so much trouble if he woke Sakura-chan. It had happened on the Wave-mission. It had not been pretty.
But the pain! Naruto had already drawn blood as he clenched his fist, nails digging into his palms. What had that freak done to him?
GAH!
Another wave of pain rose over him, harsher and stronger than the high that Naruto felt that he could taste it. Blood and iron, tears and sweat.
And again.
And again.
And again.
Each time, it was more painful. Each time he was sure it couldn't get any worse.
Each time he was wrong.
He had drawn himself up into a little ball, arms clenched behind his knees. He wouldn't scream. He wouldn't.
He was Naruto fucking Uzumaki. Uzumaki didn't cry.
Anko was trying to get a betting pool underway.
It was kinda difficult if you didn't know who was in the running, but hell. Why not live a little? They were shinobi. That had to take their little slices of pleasure where they could.
Before she could try to convince one of the chuunin that no, betting wasn't against regulations, she was knocked over by an explosion higher up in the tower.
Ohgodohgodherfeetweregone!
The pain was unbearable. But even through it all, the little voice in Sakura's head didn't waver.
Bandages now. Rip your clothing. Nudity is better than death.
It had a point. Grabbing a kunai, Sakura started shredding her sheets and clothes, anything she could get her hands on to try and stopthebleeding.
Anko was very surprised when she saw what that pink-haired little genin was doing.
This one is surprising.
Many would think that bandaging any life-threatening wounds would be common sense, and they would be right. But not many realised how difficult it was to keep common sense alive you were the one dying.
But this little puffball had done exactly that. Oh, she was crying and screaming and shivering, but she was also coping. Or trying to. The scraps she was tying around her shattered legs wouldn't do a lot, but it was something at least.
But what happened here?
Anko was scanning the area, trying to get some sense of perspective.
Okay. Hole in the tower about 6 metres across. Not explosive in nature, no shrapnel or scorch marks. It was like someone had just scooped out a chunk of the tower.
Wait.
She was on team seven. Where was the Jinchuuriki?
Anko glanced back at the hole. If she remembered correctly… the other bed should have been right in the middle of it.
The Hokage was going to be pissed.
Naruto woke up.
Naruto realised he was falling.
Naruto was promptly struck by the falling ceiling, just after he impacted the ground.
The fuck is going on?
He was buried beneath a lot of rubble. Naruto could still feel the mattress of his assigned bunk under him, so he was probably in the tower. So what had happened? Had the floor just collapsed? Explosive note? The demon acting up? Assassination attempt?
Doesn't matter. Still alive.
Naruto started digging his way out of the mess he had landed in. It was a tedious process, not so much because it was difficult, but because he was getting splinters everywhere. He was just damn grateful he still had his jumpsuit on, otherwise there would have been splinters where splinters should never be.
Oh, hello. This wasn't the tower.
Huh. Wasn't Konoha either.
Shit. It wasn't anyplace he had ever seen before.
What the hell happened?
Crap. Time to put his training to use. He owed it to Iruka-sensei.
Step one, check for hazards.
The area around him was quiet. Nothing moved, nothing made a sound except the wind. It was a strange place, concrete everywhere. That spoke well of wherever-he-was's financial situation. Concrete was freakin' expensive. Or so he thought.
Step two, take stock.
Okay. He had his juimpsuit. No kunai-pouch. No shoes or sandals. His headband. Physically, he was fine. The splinters were a mild annoyance at best. Judging by the slight stinging from his back, he had taken a cut or something there. His stomach was, to his surprise, a lot better.
He tried to channel enough chakra to make a kage bunshin. Nope. Still not fixed then. And that little spike of agony he just felt? He better be careful with his chakra.
Step three, gather useful items in close proximity.
Looking around, Naruto could see a lot of crap. His kunai pouch was actually here, just halfway hidden behind some broken planks. He could see a bit of blue as well, and so he found his first sandal. After digging around a bit, he found the other one as well. So he now had weapons and shoes. What else?
The sheets could be used for makeshift rope, bandages or hammock. Take it. Wrap around chest. Was there anything he missed?
…
Nope.
Step four, gather information.
Where was he going to find something like that? For all intents and purposes, the place seemed abandoned. He hadn't seen anyone or anything that moved. He hadn't heard anything that indicated life. But that was a lie, wasn't it?
Naruto could actually hear some screaming. And where there was screaming, there were people.
So he started jogging towards the screaming, as was his nature.
Naruto never did see the two dainty little feet that had been buried in the rubble.
Everyone was drunk.
Literally everyone naruto could see was just stumbling around in a stupor, totally ignoring the blood that coated the ground they were walking on.
Must have been some brawl.
But there was still screaming. A lot of it. Why didn't these people do anything? That wasn't right. So he decided to do what Naruto Uzumaki did best.
He jumped through the air and landed next to one of the bigger stumblers and grabbed his shoulder. "OI! Don't you hear that? Someone's in trouble. Come-on, you can be drunk later."
Naruto was surprised at the man's expression. That wasn't the face of a drunkard. Oh, no, no at all.
In fact, the closest thing he had seen to that expression was Haku…
Lost in sad remembrance, Naruto was way too late to stop the man from biting into his shoulder.
AN: Okay, Naruto/HSotD…
First of all (since it bears repeating) I HATE my muse. It can't leave anything alone.
Okay, now that that's out of the way…
This isn't your typical version of this particular crossover. The ones I've read (and they've only been a few, I admit that) follow some kind of Badass!Naruto. I'm talking either ANBU, Rinnegan or Naruto who was not only aware of where he was going, but also specifically prepared for it. Please note that I'm not flaming anything or trying to be an insulting bastard, but that's the equivalent of giving one kid a shotgun and the rest peashooters.
So no. I'm not doing that. Instead of Naruto at his godly prime, we have Naruto at his humble beginnings. This is Naruto, just after the first stage of the Chuunin exams. This is Naruto sealed by both the Shinigami and Orichimaru. This is Naruto who only knows kage bunshin, kawarimi and henge. This is fifteen year old, unprepared Naruto, thrown into a world of absolute chaos.
Fifteen year old Naruto? What madness is this? Remember in canon that Naruto failed two final-academy exams? And it didn't make any kind of impact what-so-freakin-ever? Not here. This Naruto was held back two years, not because he was stupid, but because the Hokage wanted all the important people (clan heirs, last Uchiha and the Jinchuuriki) in the same group. He is not a nice man in this world.
Naruto knows about the Kyuubi, but he believes his healing and chakra came from his Uzumaki-heritage (the Hokage told him). The effects of Orichomaru's sealing basically means that Naruto can't channel any large amount of chakra (a.k.a. kage bunshin), but the Kyuubi can still heal him… to an extent.
Naruto isn't going to turn. But he is going to weakened even more. I imagine he's going to end up as effective as Takashi in battle. And yes, he is hooking up with the canon!survivor group.
About that… No pairings with Naruto. Ever. The only thing that is going to happen to him is hugs, accidental touching or peeping or a platonic!kiss. He's a bit too young for me to feel comfortable to write about that.
As for how he got here… both seals affected each other. Naruto hurt himself due to that pain. Kyuubi releases more chakra to heal him, hurts Naruto more, Naruto hurts himself more, more chakra released, you get the point. It reaches a certain point and BAM! Hole in the fabric of reality. That hole basically cut out a sphere approximately 3 meters wide out of Naruto's world and places it in HSotD.
Yes, Sakura lost her feet to the sphere. No, I'm not expanding on the Naruto verse, except to explain certain things. It is not part of the story as it is.
'Crippled Iruka? WHAT.' That Fuuma-shuriken hit his spine. He can't move his legs anymore. Also a reason why Naruto is a bit different and suddenly pays attention to lessons and his environment. It's his way of atoning for Iruka.
Quick note, though? Naruto is probably one of the worst possible people to get transported to zombie!verse. His MO, in my mind, is to get right in someone's face, take what they dish out and use that opportunity to give it back ten-fold. Try that with zombies? Not gonna end well. Hmmmmm... I may actually expand on that... create a series of drabbles that NO! Bad Muse. Too many things already. (Might still happen though).
But this Naruto is a bit more clever that in canon. He thinks. Which should help a bit.
But this is getting waaaaaaaaay too long.
Read, enjoy, review.
~GrinGrin
Written: 20/12/2013
Updated: 20/12/2013