Love Among Survivors
Yo! I'm back, again! Same as always, I own nada!
Part 3
III
Last time on Love Among Survivors
"Please, Naruto-kun?" She stared with her eyes shining brightly in the moonlight, and her lower lip trembling. Naruto stood no chance.
"Oh, alright. If it'll put you with ease." he said, finally admitting defeat to her "begging puppy dog" look. Without warning, Naruto felt himself being pulled onto the bed, before the nurse captured him in a firm embrace, and then promptly fell to sleep. He tried to loosen her grip on him, but that only seemed to encouraged her to strengthen her hold. Figuring that any further attempts would be pointless, he relented and allowed Shizuka to cuddle against him as if he were some sort of large stuffed animal.
'She's quite the eccentric person. But I wonder if she's normally like this or it's the alcohol affecting her behavior.' thought the blonde shinobi, who decided to put off worrying about finding a way back home for while. Soon, he found himself becoming drowsier and drowsier by the second, before he finally allowed himself to fall asleep in Shizuka's arms.
Story Start:
III
He had always hated it whenever it happened. The Kyubi-no-Kitsune always seemedto know the most inopportune to call upon its host for a private conversation, face to face. The last thing he remembered was dozing off in Shizuka's soft embrace, the aroma of her tropical floral shampoo wafting by his nose. Yet, without any warning, he found himself standing in front of the mightiest of the bijū.Sure, the fox wasn't as energetic as it was three years ago, but it was still a frightening sight to be suddenly thrust into your face. It was because of this reason, as well as their past interactions during the war, that Naruto didn't use his normally loud and obnoxious way of greeting the sleeping demon before him. Instead, he chose to go with a more quieter approach. Naruto crept closer to the gate, the fox's ears twitched in response to the sound of the water being displaced with each footstep. One of its large red eyes opened slowly, revealing a slit pupil that lazily peered at the sudden disturbance. Seeing that it was none other than his host, the fox fully awoke from his slumber.
"Oh, it's you, again. And just what do you want, now?" growled the fox, as his deep voice seemed to echo throughout the the room.
"You tell me. I haven't heard a peep out of you since the battle against Madara. I thought you would've spoken up sooner once I regained conscious." stated Naruto. If he were still twelve, he would've literally exploded at the fox's grandeur attitude. But over time, he had learned to take it with a grain of salt.
The fox just snorted indifferently. "Hmph! Even beings such as I need to rest every now and then. Besides, it's too tiring to try and keep up with every little clusterfuck that you get yourself into."
"Hey! What the hell is that supposed to mean?" He had worked on reigning in his temper, and thought that he had made a lot of progress, but damn it, the fox knew how to push his buttons.
His sudden lapse only seemed to anger the fox. "Are you truly this dense? YOU CAN'T DO ANYTHING WITHOUT ROYALY SCREWING US OVER!" The roar sent water flying back, as Naruto's hair whipped about wildly from the sudden burst of wind. "Every mission you take, every task you try to complete, you just end up making things a hundred times harder than before! If you're assigned a simple escort mission, you end fighting for some oppressed people that you're never going to see again! And when you finally rid our world of that damned Uchiha, we end up stuck on some Kami-forsaken world that's already close to dying off completely!"
"Oi! Screw you, you nine-tailed asshole! I can't help that trouble always seems to find me! It's not like I actively go searching for conflict. And don't you dare blame our current predicament on me! I had no idea that Madara's death would have created a space-time portal of that magnitude to appear! You out of all sentient beings should know how dangerous that man is! And besides, none of this would have happened in the first place if you had just killed that prick the very first time you came across him!"
The fox growled at the mere mention of Madara, the one human that he utterly despised above all others. He always hated how easily that man had taken control over him with those thrice damned eyes. But at least now he could be happy in the fact that the cretin no longer existed, yet it was the end result for his host and himself that really bothered him. Naruto said nothing to break the awkward silence. He knew that his last jibe was pretty low of him, but he was already stressed out beyond belief with his current situation. Yet, the fox had always used his power to help him whenever he was in trouble, and didn't deserve to have his past thrown in his face like that.
"Look, Kurama, I,..." Naruto tired to say, before he sighed tiredly, "I'm sorry for throwing your past with Madara in your face. I shouldn't have acted so rashly like that, especially after everything that we've been through together. I'm just stressed with everything that's going around me, and I took my frustrations out on you. You deserved to be treated better, and I'm sorry."
The great fox just stared at the blonde for a moment, as if his host had grown another head, before he gave off a snort that he tried to make sound indignant. "Heh! Well, that was damn decent of you." he growled, yet a smirk could be seen stretched across his muzzle. Another awkward silence settled in, before Naruto spoke again.
"You know, this the part where you apologize for your own harsh words, right?"
"I know." Kurama's smirk never left his visage. Yet despite the great fox's supposedly callous attitude, he knew that was just how his tenant is.
"So, what did you mean by that this world is dying off?" asked Naruto, trying to move the conversation along.
"It's just as I said, this world is literally dying off! From what I've gathered during our short time here, the atmosphere is permeated with a deadly virus that's striking down almost the entire human population."
Naruto's eyebrows shot up at that statement. "You mean a virus is the cause of all this crap?"
"Of course it is, I can smell its rancid stench everywhere. Yet it is not like any virus that I've ever encountered in my entire existence, at least, any type that 's naturally occurring. I'd wager that this whole nightmare is the result of a biological weapons experiment, that you humans love to toil in, going horribly wrong because of some simpleton screwing up. Honestly, I've never seen a species that's so determined to quicken their own stride towards extinction. You claim that you want to live peacefully with each other and protect the environment, yet you're all thinking of newer ways on how to kill each other and destroy your own habitat for monetary gain! You hairless apes are living contradictions to yourselves!" the fox bellowed with laughter, finding the behavior of the "highly evolved" species hilarious. Naruto remained stony faced, and calmly waited until Kurama finally got tired of laughing. He didn't have to wait long, for as soon as the giant fox noticed his host's deadpanned expression, the laughter slowly and awkwardly died down, leaving a somewhat embarrassed bijū.
"Er,...right. Anyways, as I said, this virus doesn't show any characteristics of any virus that already exists in nature, which rules out the possibility that these undead were created by some sort of mutagenic variation that's naturally occurring in this world. And since I do not sense any trace of yokai, the only feasible explanation for the origin of this virus is that it is synthetic in nature. Despite the fact that it has spread all throughout this world's atmosphere, it appears that it only targets humans, and has a high susceptibility rate. But what's the most alarming part of this artificial plague is how easily it's transferred from victim to victim. If by some chance that a human isn't infected by the airborne strain, then they can still easily contract it from something as simple as a bite or scratch from an infected. Of course, this is a normal human being that we're talking about."
"Are you saying that because I'm from a different world, that I'm immune to the virus?"
"Well, with the blood of the Uzumaki clan coursing through your veins, and with me super-charging your immune system, I have no doubt that you won't be infected by the airborne virus strain anytime soon. But all the same, I'd advise you to do everything that you can to make sure that an infected never bites you, as I'm unsure of how the virus would behave once its viral agents are introduced into your body. If by some chance that you're bitten, I'm about eighty-five percent sure that your immune system can take care of it. But like I said, I'm not too keen on finding out the hard way."
Naruto had to agree with the bijū, it would probably be best that he never attempt to discover the limits of his healing factor on his own. Being a decaying undead was not something on his to-do list. But thinking over everything that he had encountered, he couldn't help but ask what had been bothering him the entire time. "What about the group that I've been traveling with? Is there some way that this virus can infect a person, but not kill them immediately, like some sort of a delayed effect?"
"Hmph! If those meatbags were carriers of this abomination, don't you think that I would have told you from the moment you joined their little party? To answer your question, no, I do not smell the stench of that disgusting filth on their person. If I did, I would have immediately told you to put them out of their misery."
"I...see. But back to the zombie matter, how is it that this virus is creating all of these zombies? Isn't that supposed to be physically impossible for the living dead to even exist?"
Naruto noticed Kurama shift a bit, as if he were unconformable talking about the topic. That little action alone sent warning bells off in his mind. "Normally, yes, these things wouldn't exist at all. But then again, there's always seems to be something unnatural causing shit like this to happen anyways. Except compared to your Nidamie Hokage's accursed Edo Tensei jutsu, this virus is a hundred times worse. It literally attacks everything inside the human body: muscles, nerve endings, organs, everything! And the rate at which the viral agents decimates the human body is astronomical to the point that the infected victim would be dead in a matter of seconds. Yet despite all of the damage that's done to the body, the brain, nervous system, and eardrums somehow remain intact, albeit in a severely damaged state. I'd reckon that would probably explain why the infected are driven by an intense hunger for flesh, despite the fact that their digestive system no longer functions. The fact that they're able to move about, even with rigor mortis affecting their entire body, is a wonder in itself. Whether or not their speed will increase once their legs begin to decay, therefore somewhat negating the stiffness caused by rigor mortis, still remains a mystery to me."
"That's just what we need now, running zombies." deadpanned Naruto.
"But that's not the worst part, I'm afraid." Naruto looked up at the fox, disbelief written on his face. "While normal infectious plagues do kill thousands, maybe even millions of people, they would eventually die out after an extended period of time. But since we're dealing with a synthetic virus, I have a feeling that this abomination won't die off on its own, and that the scientists here will have to construct an antidote on their own to counteract it. But if the rest of this planet is like what we've seen today, I fear that it'll only be a matter of time before you and your group are overrun with the undead."
"Yeah, well, that might happen if we stick to just using the conventional weapons of this world. If push comes to shove, then I'll just have to take things up a notch, ninja style!" declared Naruto, regaining some his old enthusiasm from his early years of his ninja career. Yet, it was quickly blown away when he saw Kurama flinch as if he were a regular fox caught trying to steal a farmer's chicken. "What? What is it?"
Kurama hesitated for a moment, before he gave a tired sigh. "Unfortunately, whilst you are immune to succumbing to the airborne strain, that doesn't mean that the virus is having no effect on you. The fact that this artificial garbage is floating all over the atmosphere is hampering your ability to regain your chakra while you're resting. Worse still, anytime that you use chakra, you end up putting a harmful strain on your body."
Naruto was about tovoice his disbelief on that particular claim, when he recalled that small sharp pain that shot through his body whenever he used wind manipulation techniques, and how he seemed more worn out than usual after he had used chakra to scale the school's wall. Kurama noticed that his host had finally remembered the specific moment that he was talking about.
"Even though you didn't use a large quantity of chakra whilst you were fighting, you still felt some sort of discomfort, correct?" At seeing Naruto nod his head, the fox continued. "It seems that this virus acts as some sort of resistance on your body whenever you use chakra. It's actually similar to blood trying to pass through a clogged artery, and is just as painful as well, depending on the amount of chakra you use. For example, if you were engage the undead using your old strategy of spamming the battlefield with shadow clones, your body would go into shock the moment you dispel them. And the strain will be even worse whenever you use more advanced techniques, such as your wind manipulation and Rasengan variations."
"Then what about my Sage Mode, or using your chakra? Are those basically off limits now?"
The fox became silent for a moment, before he answered him. "Since the virus doesn't seem to affect the flora and fauna on this world, as far as we know at least, you should theoretically be able to use nature chakra. But, since you are still a human being, and this virus only affects your species, I would surmise that the time that you're able to use senjutsu would be reduced by half if you refrain from using your more destructive Rasengan techniques. As for using my chakra, as well as our jinchuriki form, I'd recommend that we limit ourselves to about five minutes of usage, just to be on the safe side since we don't know how my chakra will behave in this world. But all the same, you'll need to be more careful with how much chakra you use, not only because your body currently can't withstand using the amount you usually use, but because you're recovering chakra at a much slower rate." At seeing the blonde's shocked expression, Kurama couldn't help but sigh; this explanation just seemed to go on and on. He was still dead tired, and all of this talking was seriously cutting into his sleep time. "In normal conditions, you would be able to recover about half of the chakra that you used whenever you're recuperating, since your stamina is above average compared to a regular shinobi. But when you were resting for that short amount of time on that thing you call a bus, you barely recovered a fourth of the chakra that you used cutting down those undead. And back when you first awakened from unconsciousness, your reserves had only recovered about forty-five percent of your chakra, when normally it would've been at least seventy percent. Your abilities to use and regain chakra might vary if you were to travel to an area where this synthetic crap isn't as concentrated as this area, but considering that there are currently more cons than pros for using ninjutsu, I really don't see any advantage to using your techniques unless there are no other options available. That being said, you need to understand that you're under quite a severe handicap, Naruto. And considering that that there are millions and millions of them wandering about, I don't think that there's any way that you our your new buddies can live long enough to see an antidote be administered to this world."
"Yes, we will!" said Naruto, his tone dead serious. "All of us will make it through this nightmare, I'll make sure of it."
"Even if it means killing thousands upon thousands of what used to be living human beings? I know how much that you detest killing, Naruto, even after your battle against Nagato's Six Paths of Pain, and the Zetsu clone army, let alone that vile abomination, Madara Uchiha. The fact that they weren't exactly alive or human may have helped you steel your resolve long enough for you to do the deed, but we're dealing with the recently deceased that have been reanimated through unnatural ways; humans that have been dead for barely a day. On top of that, you will have to ignore some people in danger, especially if they get bitten by them; there are just some people that you can't save."
"Don't you think that I already know that? I know that these things used to be living humans, but we don't have the luxury of just simply running away whenever we encounter them. If given the choice of killing a former human just to see tomorrow or simply doing nothing and letting it eat me, then you know that I'd choose the first option. The survival of our group is more important than sticking to my morals. I will do everything in my power to make sure that all of us survive long enough for a cure to be developed, no matter how many of them I have to kill."
Kurama stared at his host for a brief moment, as if he were watching some sort of television dramaunfold before him. "Hmph! Well, isn't this a surprise? You used to be so adamant about taking someone else's life, especially when you were younger. Yet, here you are, declaring that you have no qualms to the slaughter of countless people, their current state of liveliness aside. But then again, that's not the only thing that's changed about you."
"Say what now?" Naruto's unease grew as he saw the great demon smirk down at him as if he were a cornered, fat chicken.
"Oh, don't go and act innocent on me now. I'm on to your little scheme. What would that violent pink-haired medic, or that Hyuga heiress say if they saw you now? Who knew that you were that type of guy."
"What are you talking about?" asked Naruto, now getting irritated. Kurama just chuckled at the boy's expense.
"Oh, where do I begin? You're sleeping half-naked, in the arms of a woman who is completely nude, all the while sharing the same bed with said woman, who you've known for barely an entire day! Tell me, Naruto, do you prefer older women? Or has that perverted toad sage's preference for blonde female medics with big breasts finally rubbed off on you, hm?" Kurama asked, finishing with a leer. The reaction was instantaneous, as Naruto's face lit up with a bright red blush, and he attempted to stammer out a believable counter argument.
"Sh-sh-shut up, you...you perverted fox! Stop taking things out of context!" was the only thing that Naruto could say coherently.
"Hehhehheh...HAHAHAHAHA! Don't deny that you're enjoying every moment of your little cuddle session with her! If you were so against it, you would have escaped her clutches by now! But then again, I can see why you're trying to make this moment last as long as possible. This is by far the most enjoyable experience of physical contact that you've had in your life, especially considering the more unpleasant experiences you went through, like your first kiss for instance."
"OI! How many times do I have to tell you to stop bring that horrible moment up? That kiss did NOT count! I never meant to kiss that teme, some punk-ass chump knocked me off balance. And when I finally find that bastard, I'm gonna beat the living shit out of him!" the blonde ranted. It still irked him how easily everyone seemed to recall that embarrassing incident with ease.
Kurama just chuckled; it always amused him how easily his host lost his cool whenever that particular memory was brought up. "By the way, I'd suggest that you wake up now. The pinkette with the better developed feminine figure is standing awfully close to you right now." said the fox, right before their connection was nearly cut off.
"Oh, okay, thanks for th-wait, WHAT?"
III
Naruto's blue eyes snapped open to see Saya Takagi invading his personal space, with her hand outstretched towards his cheek. His gaze zeroed in on her bespectacled face, trying to gain an idea as to what her intentions were, but was disappointed that he couldn't garner anything from her expressionless face.
"Um, Takagi-san, what are you doing?" whispered Naruto so as not to wake up the other blonde.
Saya merely blinked, her stony facade never breaking for an instant. "There was a fly on your cheek. I was about to swat it off, but it flew away at the last moment."
"Oh...okay. Uh, thanks, I guess. But, what exactly are you doing in here?"
That seemed to have been the wrong thing to say, as the young genius shot Naruto a hard glare. "For your information, everyone was worried when you and Shizuka-Sensei disappeared without telling anyone where you'd be. I decided to go look for the both of you, and I find you two sleeping like logs. Which brings me to my next question: why are you sleeping with Sensei?"
The young shinobi felt a familiar sense of fear swelling in his heart, the fear that was specifically reserved for dealing with an angry Tsunade or Sakura. The type of fear where he knew that one little mistake was all that it took for him to enter a world of hurt.
"Well, I was just helping Marikawa-san to this guest room so that she could sleep off whatever alcoholic beverage she drank. I was just going to let her sleep on her own, but she asked me stay with her for a while, saying that she didn't feel comfortable sleeping by herself." explained Naruto, who was figuratively treading through a mine field.
"Oh, really? Then could you please explain to me why keeping Sensei company would entail you to share a bed with her?" Saya's eyes took on a frosty expression, almost the same way Sakura's did before she started beating him senseless.
"Well, the moment I said 'yes', she practically yanked me down onto the bed with her and used me as an oversized teddy bear. And since I couldn't really get out of her grasp without upsetting or waking her up, I thought it would be best to wait until her grip loosened up in her sleep. I guess fatigue finally caught up with me, and I sort of dozed off, which was when you popped up."
"I...see." was the curt reply that he got back, whilst Saya silently processed what she had learned. From what she had seen from the older woman, she knew that the nurse had a tendency to act a lot younger than her actual age from time to time, almost as if she were a teenage girl again. Add in the fact that alcohol made people do stupid things if they drank too much, and it wasn't such an improbable concept that Ms. Shizuka would behave in the manner that Naruto had described. Naruto, on the other hand, was deathly silent as he watched another potential human grim reaper stand before him, all the while preparing for her to finally strike. As he looked for all possible escape routes in case things took a turn for the worse, he noticed that Shizuka's arms weren't as tightly wound around him as they were earlier. Even though a part of him wanted to stay in the beautiful woman's embrace, his sense of self-preservation eventually won over his desires. With great care, the whiskered ninja slowly slipped out of Shizuka's grip, earning a disheartened moan from the nurse at the loss of her human teddy bear. Deciding that it would probably be best if he left the older woman to sleep on her own, he went to the chair where he had placed his jacket, undershirt, and his weapons. But as he got to the chair, all he saw were his swords resting against the furniture's leg, right where he left them.
"Hey, Takagi-san, do you know what happened to my shirt and jacket?" he asked, but received no reply from the girl. He turned to face her again and saw that her eyes looking directly at him, but seemed glazed over for some reason. "Takagi-san?"
His louder tone broke the girl from her inner musings, only for her to direct a heated glared at the blonde. If Naruto didn't know any better, he could have sworn that there was a small blush adorning her cheeks.
"W-What? What is it this time?" she asked, hotly.
"I said, do you know what happened to my shirt and jacket? I draped them on this chair before I went to sleep, and now they're missing."
"Busujima-san might have taken them. I saw her preparing a load of laundry for the washing machine a little while ago." For some reason, Saya was determined to keep her eyes from looking directly at him.
'Busu-I mean Saeko did that for me? Huh, that was nice of her.' thought Naruto as he strapped the swords on his back once again. He didn't know why he did so, especially since they were in a protected shelter, but he somehow felt a bit more at ease by having them with him. As he turned to leave the room, he managed to catch Saya trying unsuccessfully to stifle a yawn.
"You look as if you're about collapse from exhaustion any second now, Takagi-san. Maybe you should take a little nap, while everything's quiet. You can use the bed, that way you won't be uncomfortable sleeping on some chair, and Marikawa-san won't be lonely." suggested Naruto, as he walked out of the room, missing the glare that Saya sent him.
The pink-haired genius merely scoffed at the blonde's last comment, thinking that he was just acting like all the other perverted boys back at the academy. The fact that she first came across the boy sleeping in Shizuka-Sensei's arms just cemented the idea that the dual sword-wielding blonde was a lecher. She was about to call him out on his shamelessness, but for some absurd reason she just couldn't bring herself to do so. Something about watching how the two blondes slept so peacefully seemed to exude an aura of serenity and calm around the room, making her hesitant on breaking up such moment. His whisker marks reminding her of a sleeping fox just added to the cuteness of the scene. It was the same strange birth marks that had drawn her to almost touching the sleeping teen's cheek, just to find out if they would feel like real whiskers. But right when her fingers were about to land on his skin, the boy had decided to wake up. To think that she was nearly caught in such an embarrassing situation, and that she had been gawking at Uzumaki's bare chest, made her feel extremely foolish for behaving like some ditzy, boy-crazy girl that made up almost all of her fellow female classmates.
As another yawn broke through her self restraint, she felt her drowsiness steadily getting stronger. She eyed the now vacant spot of the double bed, her body's urges for sleep increasing, yet the boy's last words still rung in her mind which still sounded like some sort of perverted fantasy that a hot-blooded teenage boy would think of. On the other hand, the bed just looked so comfortable; why bother sleeping on an uncomfortable chair when there was a bed right in front of her? In the end, her need for sleep outweighed her apprehensions, and she decided just to rest for a couple of minutes so that no one would walk in on her in such an embarrassing situation. With great care, the pinkette slowly crept towards the bed and the woman sleeping on it. But she was in for a surprise, for the moment that she eased herself down on the mattress, Shizuka's arms shot out like striking cobras, wrapping around her waist and quickly drew the girl into a tight embrace. Saya tried to free herself from the older woman's bear hug, but it was all for naught.
"Maah~, you've really got to stop gorging on junk food, Naruto-kun. You've gotten too pudgy and squishy, now." Shizuka muttered in her sleep.
'What the hell? This Naruto person's only been with us for barely a day, and already Sensei is dreaming about him! Did something happen between those two whilst they were alone, or did she really drink an entire ca-wait a minute. Pudgy? PUDGY! I'm sure as hell not pudgy!' Saya renewed her efforts to break free from the nurse's grip, but it might as well have been like trying to get out of a boa constrictor's grasp. Finally realizing how futile her efforts were, Saya ceased struggling and allowed herself to relax. As sleep slowly claimed her, she couldn't help but take notice of one last thing. 'His spot's still warm.'
III
Naruto had barely gotten twenty steps away from the bedroom before he nearly ran into Takashi. Said brunette clearly had something on his mind, as he didn't see the approaching blonde until it was nearly too late.
"Ah, Naruto-san, there you are. Sorry for almost hitting you, I guess I was too caught up in my thoughts." said Takashi, as he scratched the back of his head in a sheepish manner.
"Eh, don't worry about it, Takashi." answered Naruto. "So, what brings you here?"
"Well, Saya went off to look for you and Shizuka-Sensei, but she hasn't returned yet. Have you seen her by any chance?"
"Actually, yeah I have. I, uh, sort of fell asleep when I put Marikawa-san to bed when she found us. She seemed kind of mad at me for some reason. I mean, I wasn't out of it for too long, was I?"
"Only for about thirty minutes or so." answered Takashi. "I apologize if Saya came off as a bit confrontational, but that's just how she copes with stressful situations. She's actually a great person once you get to know her."
"I...see." said Naruto, unsure about Saya actually being capable of showing kindness based on his first impression of her. "Well, I can show you where she is, if you want." Takashi merely nodded before he followed the ninja back into the room that he had just moments ago walked out of. But the sight that awaited the high school student was one his hormonal teenage brain wasn't expecting. There on the bed were the sleeping forms of Shizuka Marikawa, clad in only a towel, cuddling with Saya. Seeing two beautiful young women in such an appealing position had the teenager's face burn a deep crimson.
Naruto, on the other hand, was handling the scene a a bit better than Takashi, despite the light blush that stretched across his cheeks. 'Looks like Saya was really tired after all, maybe that's was why she was so crabby. But, damn it all, she took my spot!' thought Naruto. Glancing to his right, he saw Takashi's gobsmacked expression out of the corner of his eye, and just sighed at how easily flustered he was. Who knew that his time with Jiraiya would have made him more resistant to such erotic situations? Without a word, Naruto walked into the small closet that was in front of the bed, and returned with a white down feather comforter which he spread over the two sleeping females, covering them from the neck down. Now that the sensual sight was obstructed, Takashi was able to regain his wits and get his blush back under control.
"Come on, let's give them some peace and quiet." whispered Naruto, as he gestured to the open doorway with a quick jerk of his head. Takashi merely agreed with a nod, mentally thanking Naruto for maintaining some level of modesty amongst the house. As they made their way to the kitchenette, the two made small talk about what they had encountered before reuniting at the bridge, the possible cause for the outbreak, and what should be their next plan of action. As they turned a corner, Takashi stopped abruptly, causing Naruto to bump into him. He was about to ask the student what was the matter, when he saw from over the boy's shoulder Rei Miyamoto standing in the middle of the hallway. She was still clad in the pink tank top and panties when Naruto had last seen her, but something seemed a little bit off about her this time around.
"Rei? What's the matter?" asked Takashi. Said girl just swayed slightly from side to side, as if she were a tree being battered by a strong wind. Her eyes were unfocused, and her cheeks were colored a bright pink. When Rei finally noticed that she was no longer alone in the hall way, she stared at the two boys for a moment, before dissolving into a giggling fit.
"Hehehehehe! And now Takashi makesh three!" declared the girl, a slight slur to her voice. It became quite clear to what was ailing the girl.
'Looks like Rei has found whatever Marikawa-san was drinking.', deadpanned Naruto. Takashi, however, looked aghast as the scent of alcohol reached his nostrils.
"Rei! Don't tell me that you've been drinking!" At the sound of the boy's reprimand, Rei's attitude shifted to that of a child caught with her hand in the cookie jar, and even began to drag her foot across the floor as if she were drawing.
"We-We-Well, I jush thought that, since the world ish gonna end, wh-wh-why not enjoy things while they last? After all, sh-sho much has happened today...a-a-and Hisashi's dead, too." answered Rei, mournfully. Takashi's eyes narrowed at the mention of that particular name, as he abruptly walked past the girl and up the stairs to the kitchenette without saying another word. Naruto was surprised to see Takashi act so coldly to her, and neither did Rei if her surprised expression was anything to go by. He wanted know what had happened between the two of them to warrant such a harsh reaction from the boy, but figured that it was a personal matter. Instead he followed after Takashi, giving Rei a small smile as he passed her, only to bump into Takashi once again at the doorway leading into the kitchenette's interior.
"Oh, come on, man! What is this ti-" Naruto's voice got caught in his throat as he saw what the teen in front of him was staring at. There, working diligently over the oven, was Saeko Busujima, clad in only an apron and a lacy black thong. Although Naruto wasn't as easily flustered with erotic scenarios as he used to, he couldn't stop himself from blushing at having such a sexy scene literally thrust in his face for a third time in a row. Saeko remained oblivious to the two sets of eyes that were locked onto her as she put the finishing touches on the food that she was preparing. Turning off the stove for a moment to add a few more ingredients, she noticed from the corner of her eye that she was no longer alone.
"Ah! Komuro-san, Uzumaki-san, I didn't see you two there. I was just busy preparing lunches for tomorrow, but dinner should ready in just a few minutes." said Saeko, brightly. As she turned to face them, she was able to get a better look at the two teenage boys that stood before her. Upon seeing how Takashi's t-shirt seemed to hug his slightly-built frame, and Naruto's lean muscular chest was out for everyone to see, the kendoka was blushing up a storm.
Takashi was the first to break out of his stupor. "W-wow, that's very thoughtful of you, Busujima-san. Isn't that right, Naruto-san?" Takashi made sure to give the ninja a quick elbow strike to the side. It managed to bring the other boy back to his senses and offer his own confirmation, although he was thoroughly embarrassed of acting so foolishly. Saeko seemed to understand what had caused the boys' erratic behavior, which made her blush increase.
"It's this apron, isn't it?" she asked. "Normally, I wouldn't be wearing such an outfit, but my clothes are already with the others in the washing machine." She then turned to Naruto. "I was going to ask if you wanted your clothes to be washed as well, Naruto-san, but you were sleeping. I saw your jacket and shirt draped over a chair, and figured that you would prefer your clothes to be cleaned instead of aired out. I'm sorry for taking them without asking."
"Ah, no, don't worry about that. I've been meaning to thank you for doing that for me anyways." replied Naruto.
Saeko smiled. "Still, to be dressed in something so provocative to the point it makes you two uneasy, it's so shameless!"
"Ah, no! No, that's not the problem! We..., er, ...well, that is, we were just thinking of possible escape plans if things take a turn for the worse. Weren't we, Naruto?" stammered Takashi.
"Y-yeah, yeah, that's exactly what we were thinking about. Besides, you don't need to worry, Saeko-chan, you look very cute in that apron." The moment the words left Naruto's mouth, he wished that he could have taken them back. He couldn't believe how easily he had let that slip out, and was sure that the kendoka was going to beat him to a bloody pulp for being a "pervert", just like Sakura did all the time. As he watched the girl's blush deepen, he steeled himself for what he assumed to be the beating of a lifetime.
"Th-Thank you, Naruto-kun." That was new, he had expected the girl to explode with anger and unleash the mother of all beatings on him. At least, that was what he had come to expect from watching Tsunade and Jiraiya interact, and from all the times that he had incurred Sakura's wrath. It was definitely a nice change for girl to thank him for complimenting her.
"TAKASHI! Listen to me when I'm talking to you, dammit!" It was Rei, who sounded a lot closer to their position, possibly in the middle of the stairwell. Judging by the clarity of her voice, she managed to get her slurring under control, but had taken to yelling instead. Takashi, however, looked torn on what to do. Judging by his facial expression, he really didn't want to talk to Rei at the moment, especially since she had already brought up the subject of Hisashi already, and would most likely talk about him again. But at the same time, he knew that he couldn't just ignore Rei and let her carry on as she was, that would just attract them to the shelter. Saeko seemed to pick up on the internal strife that Takashi was going through, and decided to give the teen her opinion on the matter.
"Takashi-san, I say you should just humor her, at the very least for her sake. Sometimes, a woman just needs a shoulder to lean on." said Saeko.
Naruto nodded in agreement. "You might as well talk to her, Takashi. Since alcohol is an inhibitor reducer, you're basically seeing her at her most vulnerable state as far as her emotions goes."
Takashi was surprised; he had somewhat expected an answer like that from Saeko, but not from Naruto But if the two of them agreed on the same idea, then he didn't see any harm in following their advice.
"Oh, alright." conceded Takashi. "If the both of you think that I should, I'll go and talk to her. I won't be long, Naruto-san, Busujima-san."
"Saeko." The brunette stop dead in his tracks and looked back at the purplette in confusion. "Please call me Saeko, Takashi-san. I'd like to believe that we are all friends, so that there won't be any need to use formalities when addressing each other." she explained.
Takashi's surprised expression melted into a relieved, friendly one. "Alright then, I'll keep that in mind from now on, Saeko-san.
"TAKASHI!", bellowed Rei, making the three teens cringe at the volume.
"Right, I best get going, and see what she wants, eh?" As Takashi awkwardly set off to calm Rei down, Naruto couldn't but shake his head in disbelief.
"Even though those two aren't even adults yet, they act like an old married couple." Naruto said aloud.
Saeko giggled. "Yes, they do act like from time to time, don't they?"
"Anyways, I just wanted to personally thank you for everything that you've done for us, Saeko-chan. Washing our clothes, cooking us lunch and dinner, you've really pulled out all the stops for all of us when you really didn't have to."
Saeko shook her head. "It was no problem, actually. To be honest, I think that I would've gone a bit stir crazy if I just sat around doing nothing all night. And if it helped everyone out, then it would be even more rewarding. It's the very least I can do, after everything that you and the others have done."
"Wha? What are you talking about, Saeko-chan? I hardly did anything extraordinary, all I did was fight alongside you, Kohta, and the others."
"That's where you're mistaken, Naruto-san. After seeing the way you fight, the way you came to Marikawa-Sensei's defense against that vile excuse of a man Shido, you've really inspired me on the way I fight. Up until now, I've always had some uncertainty getting in the way I fight, and I've subconsciously held back on my strength knowing that it would cause problems for me in the civilized world. Even now, despite our society's collapse, I still hold back out of fear of accidentally hurting someone. But then I saw you fight with such intensity and and determination in your eyes. You inspired me to stop restraining myself, and to fight with everything I have in order to live to see tomorrow." Naruto didn't know what to say. Sure, people told him that he had a way of inspiring people, but he had always just wrote it off as just giving them the final push that they needed to act. But hearing Saeko's passionate explanation made him begin to think that perhaps there was a grain of truth to the words of the people he encountered.
"JUST SHUT THE HELL UP!" Another shout broke the tranquil atmosphere, this time it came from Takashi. The outburst startled the two teenagers, both of them not expecting the mild-mannered boy to react so violently.
"On second thought, perhaps having those two talk it out wasn't such a good idea after all. Do you think that we should go in and stop them from doing something that they'll regret later on?"
Saeko's concerned gaze lingered at the doorway for a brief moment before she turned back to face Naruto. "No, I don't think that will be necessary. From what I've seen from Takashi-san, he is not one to instigate physical confrontations, especially with Rei-san. I think that it would be best if we allow them to solve whatever problems they have on their own, but if it degenerates into violence, we will intervene then."
"I guess you've got a point there. But did something happen between those two that I don't know about?" Before Saeko could answer him, they heard the loud telltale sounds of guns being fired near the balcony, where Kohta was supposedly last seen. The two shared a brief look before they ran off to where they heard the gunshots. They met up with Takashi and an abruptly-sobered Rei along the way, to see Kohta staring out into the night air through a pair of binoculars. Out in the distance, they could see the occasional flash of bright light followed by a loud bang, indicating that guns were being fired. Yet the ever increasing sounds of their groaning, the screams of terror, as well as the more frequent sounds of flesh and bone being torn apart, it was clear that the survivors were rapidly being taken down.
"This just started a few minutes ago." said Kohta, solemnly, as offered the pair of binoculars that he was using to Takashi. "There were a bunch of people sneaking through the streets until someone accidentally knocked over a trash can. After that, all hell broke loose; those poor saps didn't have a chance."
"How horrible..." murmured Rei. If she wasn't somewhat sober from when she was in the building, she was now after seeing such savagery occur in front of her.
"This just too much." said Takashi, as he passed the binoculars to Saeko. "We have to help them. Kohta, can you lay down some cover fire for them?"
The teenage marksman understood where Takashi was going, and hefted a large MK-47 assault rifle up to his hands, and took aim at one of them.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa, hold on there, Mr. Sharpshooter. While I know that you can make the shot, I'm pretty sure that the resulting consequences aren't going to do us any favors." said Naruto, as he gently pushed down the firearm's barrel.
"Naruto-san, what do you think you're doing? We have to help them!" exclaimed Takashi.
The blonde boy just looked at the stressed brunette, unable to believe that he was the one acting as the group's voice of reason. "Don't you remember what Takagi-san said? These things hunt through their sense of hearing. If Kohta starts shooting them down, one after another, where do you think they'll go to next? And with the number of them running about, we'd be completely surrounded in a matter of minutes."
"He's right, Takashi-san." added Saeko, gaining a shocked expression from the boy. "If Kohta so much as fires a single shot, it will just attract them to our position. And even if you did manage to save a few survivors, what's to say that they won't turn on us the moment they're inside. Desperation can cause even the most level-headed men and women to do unspeakable acts." She then gestured to the scene before them. "Take a good long look at what is out here tonight, because you will be seeing several instances of this in the near future. Everyone must fight on their own in order to survive. I understand if you disagree; when the situation took a turn for the worse, you took charge like any honorable man would. But you must understand, the civilized world that we've all grown used to is slowly coming to an end." With that, Saeko turned to walk back into the building.
"I thought that you would be all for helping those in need, Saeko-san." said Takashi, his grip on the binoculars tightening until his knuckles turned white. "Your kindness was what I really admired about you. How can you go from acting so kind and compassionate in one instance, to being callous the next?"
Saeko turned back, a sad smile adorning her visage. "I'm sorry if I come off as harsh, Takashi-san, but I am only stating the facts. How you handle them is entire up to you." And on that final note, Saeko reentered the building, followed shortly by Rei. This left the three boys alone out on the balcony, with the occasional scream and gunshot going off in the background.
"She's right, you know." said Naruto, finally breaking the awkward silence between the three of them. He sighed as Takashi shot him a confused expression. "Saeko-chan wasn't trying to be mean or anything, Takashi, she was just concerned that your good nature will someday be your undoing. Even though it's commendable that you want to help those that are in trouble, you have to understand that as a whole, we don't have the time or resources to rescue every single survivor that we come across. Like Saeko-chan said, desperate times will make people do anything just to survive, even if it comes to sacrificing fellow survivors. I've seen it happen a few times in the past, and the end results are never pretty. I mean, I'm pretty sure that you've already seen such instances before, right?" Naruto paused while Takashi recalled his encounters with Shido, and the others that he and Rei experienced. "Look, I'm not saying that you need to cut off your emotions and become completely paranoid towards any other survivors that we come across. But you have to accept that the civilized world that you and your friends have grown up in no longer exists. As of now, it's survival of the fittest, and you will have to be willing to do just about anything to survive."
Without another word, Naruto walked back into the building suddenly feeling cold, and not just from the night's air. Even though his words held truth to them, he couldn't help but feel somewhat disgusted with himself for sounding like that backstabbing traitor, Danzō Shimura. The man's methods of using his emotionless minions to shamelessly prey on people's vulnerabilities for his own gain sickened him to no end. Yet at the same time, he knew that Danzō's methods were best suited for their current crisis. It was both frightening and revolting to know that damn conspirator's beliefs had some merit to them. Breaking out of his thoughts, he was surprised to see Saeko and Rei in some sort of heated stare-off. The two girls suddenly turned away from each other with a small hmph, both sporting a small scowl on their faces. The little display wasn't exactly foreign to Naruto, he had seen it happen between Sakura and Ino when they were still genin, though he was curious as to what had caused their little argument in the first place. But he didn't dare ask them himself, somehow that didn't really seem tactful at the moment.
Suddenly, the trio heard a loud commotion and gunshots coming from the balcony. A second later, Takashi rushed back into the building.
"Oi, Takashi, what gives?!" yelled Naruto. He had thought that Takashi would've played things more safely after his and Saeko's warnings.
"Takashi, what's going on?" asked Rei.
"There was a father and daughter trying to find shelter from them, but the father was stabbed to death when they tried to get into one of the houses! Now that little girl's out in the alley, and about to be swarmed by them. Kohta's providing cover fire, but it's not going to be enough."
"I'll go with you!" said Rei. She was just about to bolt and grab her gear, when Takashi stopped her.
"No, Rei, I need you and Saeko-san to sat here and hold down the fort."
"What? But you wouldn't last a second out there on your own!"
"But it'll be better and quicker if I went alone using the motor bike. That way, if things go south, then we'll only risk losing one member of our group instead of two. Besides, the noise from Kohta's guns will attract the majority of them to our position, and I think it would be best if we had as many people here to fight them off." He then turned to Saeko, who had remained silent throughout the entire exchange. "Bu-I mean Saeko-san, I'm sorry for how I acted earlier. You and Naruto are right, this isn't the world we know anymore, and we can't always save every helpless person that we come across. But I just can't stand by idly in this case, not when its a child that saw her father get killed right in front of her eyes."
Saeko remained silent, her deep blue eyes gazing deep into Takashi's hazel eyes, until she finally broke eye contact as she shook her head, a ghost of a smile stretching across her visage. "I doubt that there's any way that I can convince you not to go through with this, is there?" she said at last, in which Takashi nodded in return. "Then get going, you have a little girl to save. We'll stay here and prepare the apartment for another guest."
Takashi gave her a sincere and thankful smile, before he dashed out the front door, followed by Saeko and Rei. Naruto was left standing in the now empty hallway, stuck at the figurative fork in the road. On one hand, he could go with Takashi and save the girl from being eaten alive by the horde of living dead, or just sit back and not bother wasting energy on a person that had a very slim chance of surviving. He knew that by going out in the open now was akin to a death wish, especially since the recent disturbances would have them all worked up and racing towards any source of sound, specifically their base. But at the same time, he was disappointed in himself for even thinking of leaving a defenseless little girl to die after she had just saw her father get killed in front of her own eyes! It soon degraded into a battle of the brain vs. the heart, rational thinking vs. human instincts, until very soon the boy was left with a headache that was slowly getting worse.
"Goddammit." muttered Naruto. He rushed out the door, and into the front yard. He shuddered slightly as he completely left the warm confines of the apartment, making the ninja wish that he at least had shirt to wear. He saw Rei and Saeko at the gate, whilst Takashi was trying to get the motor bike started.
"Takashi! Hey, Takashi, hold up for a minute!" The three teens turned to look at the blond as he ran to where Takashi was still trying to get the blasted bike to start. "I'm going with you. If it's as bad as you say it is, you're going to need more than one person to reach that girl in time."
"Are you sure, Naruto-san?"
"Hey, you're going out to fight a horde of undead to save a little girl, and you actually thought that I would just sit back and let you have all the fun? Besides, don't you know that it's always better to have a contingency plan just in case? Because, well no offense, I don't think that crowbar is going to cut it against them, if you know what I mean." Naruto took hold of the sword on his right side, withdrawing it from its sheathe far enough for the moonlight to shine off of the exposed blade's metallic surface. "Besides, if I go along with you, it'll ease Saeko-chan and Rei-san's worries about you going out alone. Right, ladies?"
Both girls looked a bit hesitant at first, but finally nodded their heads in consent. After all, two heads were better than one. Even Takashi had to agree with the blonde's reasoning.
"Alright, Naruto-san, you've made your point. Get on." Happy that he wouldn't be stuck on the sidelines, Naruto hopped onto the motor bike, although he felt a bit awkward mounting the strange contraption for the first time.
"So, how are we gonna do this then?" asked Naruto.
"It's simple, really. Rei and Saeko-san will open the gates for us, and then close after we move out. We weave through them, with Kohta providing cover fire, grab the girl, and then rush back as fast we can." explained Takashi.
"So, a quick 'grab-n-go' rescue, eh?" Naruto withdrew both of his swords, flipping them both in a reverse grip. "Sounds easy enough."
III
'This is SO not a 'grab-n-go'!' Naruto mentally screamed. He was still in shock at how easily things fell apart for him and Takashi. Sure, things started out just fine: Kohta managed to keep several of them from blindsiding the duo, whilst the blond sliced through any stranglers that managed to get too close. They were about three-fourths of the way to the girl, when suddenly one of them came charging from their right a lot faster than what they had expected from an undead. Takashi managed to maneuver themselves out of harms way, but the sudden movement made him lose control of the vehicle. The brunette tried to reestablish control over the bike, but in his haste he accidentally made it accelerate, which in turn made the bike flip over to the side, throwing off the two boys and onto the unforgiving concrete. They weren't hurt too badly, but the bike's forward inertia and the loud scrapping noises it made as it skidded across the street didn't help their situation.
They didn't have time to dwell on their predicament, however, as the little girl didn't have much time left if her screams of fright were anything to go by. Despite their new scrapes and bruises, the boys dashed to where they heard the girl's scream. They arrived just in time to see the girl in question being cornered by a group of them, but were surprised to see a puppy dog standing protectively in front of the child, futilely barking at the advancing living corpses. Wasting no time, they sprung into action; with Takashi bashing their heads with his crowbar resulting in explosions of decayed bone and brain matter, whilst Naruto sliced and diced his way through them, leaving nothing but headless bodies with bloody geysers shooting from their severed necks.
After making sure horde was permanently dealt with, the boys checked to see if the girl was uninjured, until the poor girl brought up her father, whose body was laying close by. Somberly, the three draped a cloth over the devoted parent's face, and placed a flower on the man's chest as sign of respect, while offering the deceased a quick prayer. Unfortunately for the three humans and one canine, their situation continued to worsen at an alarming rate. The crash had all but totaled the bike, meaning that they would have to make the trip back to their shelter on foot. The very thought of having to fight their way through all of them, especially with a young girl following them, wasn't very when they looked back at the apartment, the boys were further dismayed to see dozens of them crowding at the gates, trying to break through the barrier separating the rest of their party from a horrid death. Figuring that walking down the road was much too dangerous, they decided that traveling via the concrete barriers that enclosed the buildings was the only viable choice.
The trip was quite harrowing, with Takashi carrying the girl on his shoulders, whilst Naruto delicately balanced the pup on top of his head in a way similar to how Kiba did when Akamaru was younger. They had a few close calls in which they had barely avoided being knocked off the narrow walkway by a few of them that came too close. But for Naruto, there was one bright moment in their dire situation, in which he couldn't help but find hilarious. With everything that had happened, the action and drama apparently caused the girl's bladder to work overtime to the point where she couldn't hold it in anymore. Unfortunately, they couldn't just hop off and find a place for the girl to do her business, in fear that they would be attacked the moment they set foot on the ground. So, in a move that caught Naruto by surprise, Takashi allowed to the little girl to relieve herself on him! He had to give the high school student credit, not many guys would willingly allow a little girl to urinate on them to prevent them from becoming zombie bait. Then again, this was the first time that he had ever encountered a situation dealing with the cannibalistic living dead. But his amusement didn't last long, as they approached a section next to the road where the amount of them seemed to have tripled.
'This is terrible. Even if we do make it back to the apartment, there will so many of them bashing against the gate that it'll collapse in a matter of seconds. And once they make it pass the outer defense, it'll all be over for us. If only I could use my jutsu, then I'd be able to clear the streets in no time. But then, that would just bring up too many questions. Plus, with this damn virus still in the air, I'd just be dead weight to Takashi and the girl afterward.',thought Naruto. 'Is this really how we're going to die?'
The sudden sound of a heavy-duty motor approaching broke the blonde out of his inner rantings. His eyes focused to where he thought where the noise was coming from, and was greeted with the sight of the armored vehicle that he had seen earlier, charging down the street and running down all of them that lingered in its path. As it approached to their position, he could make Kohta armed with another firearm and Saeko holding her bokken at the ready, both of them standing through an opening that was placed on the vehicle's roof. The massive contraption came to a stop beside them, giving Naruto a chance to see Shizuka sitting behind the steering wheel, who was for some reason only clad in the towel she wore to bed. Despite the critical situation that he was in, Naruto couldn't help but blush profusely at the thought that the nurse was all but completely nude.
A quick shout from Takashi brought Naruto back to more pressing matters. With a great effort, Takashi leaped off the ledge and landed on the vehicle's roof. Saeko then proceeded to help the young girl into the vehicle as Kohta shot down every one of them that got too close. Yet, despite the bespectacled shooter's best efforts, more and more of them swarmed around the armored transport, which soon began to sway from their efforts.
'Goddammit this is not good.' thought Naruto as he glimpsed at the group's frightened visages. 'With all of these things crowding around, it'll only be a matter of time before they manage to break through. And I doubt that Kohta, Saeko-chan, and I can take down all of them fast enough to escape. If I could just use my jutsu, or maybe my explosive tags, I might be able to get rid of the majority of them, or at least enough for us to escape safely. But that will just show everyone that I'm not from this world, and will most likely think that I'm some sort freak, or an abomination of science. But if I don't do something, they'll all be eaten alive.'
"Naruto-san!" Takashi's urgent sounding voice brought him back to reality. Looking back down at the parked vehicle, he saw both Takashi and Saeko gazing up at him with frantic expressions. "Naruto-san, what are you waiting for? Jump! We have get moving before more of them appear!" Sure enough, several more of the undead were clambering to their location. The ninja looked from the group to the large mass of them approaching, and then back to the group, before he made is decision with a deep sigh.
"I'm sorry, Takashi, but I can't." he said, his tone eerily calm yet firm at the same time.
"What? Why the hell not?" exclaimed Takashi. Saeko's expressionbecame even more frantic, showing that she had heard what he said over the gunshots.
Naruto stayed silent as he carefully removed the puppy from his head. "Because I'm staying here as a distraction." With that, he tossed the puppy to Takashi, who caught the now whimpering canine. "I'm going to draw them away long enough for all of you to get away. I'll catch up with you guys after I take them down."
"Just you against all them? You'd be torn apart in seconds!" exclaimed Saeko.
"We're not leaving you behind, Naruto!" shouted Kohta, gaining the attention of the other passengers.
"What's going on? Naruto, what do you think you're doing?" interjected Rei.
Naruto just sent her a small smile. "Don't worry, Rei. I have a plan."
"And just what is this oh so brilliant plan of yours, anyways?" If anything, Saya seemed even more irritable with him than before. Not that Naruto could blame her, considering what he was about to do. He managed to give the girl a sheepish grin, which only seemed to agitate the girl even more.
"Well, to be honest, I've sorta been holding out on you guys. But, it was for a good reason, I assure you." Naruto added hastily, so as not to infuriate the pinkette even more. "Before I met up with you guys, I came across a few small-scale explosives on the remains of a guy that was torn to shreds. They should be strong enough to exterminate a good lot of them, but they've suffered some severe damage to the point that someone needs stay behind to make sure that they detonate properly."
"Stay behind? Detonate properly?" murmured Takashi, before his eyes widened in recognition. But his comments were overheard by the others, who were able to come up with the same conclusion as the group's leader. "Naruto-san, don't tell me th-"
"NO!" interrupted Naruto, "NO! Don't even think like that, Takashi! I am not that type of person that throws away his life at the first signs of trouble, so get that thought out of your head this instant!
"But then why do you have to stay behind? Maybe the damage isn't as severe as you think it is! If you explained how to use them properly, then you won't have to stay behind!"
Naruto had to hold back the wince as he looked Kohta in the eyes. "Sorry, Kohta, but there's not enough time. These explosives are very difficult to handle correctly, and I don't have the time to explain how they work. And besides, I'm the only one that's capable of moving about; if any of you guys try to get out, you'd just put yourself and everyone else in danger."
"But-"
"I'm sorry, but this is something only I can do. But I will meet up with you all once I take care of this situation, this I promise all of you! And if there's anything that you should know about me, it's that I never go back on my word." interjected Naruto, his gaze hard as steel. Everyone became silent, no doubt trying to think of a way that they could all escape without having to leave him behind. While Naruto was touched that they cared that much about him, it was starting to test his patience. He was grateful when Saeko broke the silence.
"...We have to go, now. If Naruto-kun is going to risk his life for us, then we should respect his wishes and use the time he buys us to our advantage." said Saeko, grimly, shocking everyone in the vehicle.
"What? NO! We can't just leave him here!" shrieked Shizuka, surprising everyone once again; if the normally jovial school nurse reacted this strongly to an idea, then it was obvious that it wasn't one that she would recommend.
Naruto felt a twinge of regret for making the nurse so upset with his decision, but he knew that he had to go through with it. At least Saeko was understanding enough. "Real quick, do you guys have any idea where you're all heading to?"
It was Kohta who answered, in a somewhat somber manner. "...The other side of the river, the one that we saw from the balcony on the other side of this neighborhood."
"Right then. I'll meet up with you guys just as soon as I take care of this mess! Now go!" Before the others could say anything else, Naruto withdrew his left sword and a kunai from his pouch, before he ran the point of the throwing knife on the flat side of the blade. The effect was instantaneous, the sound of metal scrapping against metal carrying over the thrum of the internal combustion engine, alerting the undead of a new possible victim. Repeating this action again and again as he ran away further into the alleyway, he managed to lead them away from the group. Chancing a glance behind him, he saw to his relief that the armored transport was already on the move. Pleased to see that the others were making their way to safety, he stopped at a corner where the fence stopped to make way for a four-way intersection. Looking down from the ledge, he saw that the entire street was now completely overflown with them, which suited the ninja just fine.
"Alright, you reanimated, cannibalistic bastards, this is were the all-you-can-eat buffet ends!" Naruto shouted at the top of his lungs, making sure that the living dead were focused on him as he withdrew several exploding tags and kunai from his pouch. With a few quick flicks of his wrist, he twisted the highly volatile slips of paper around the handles of the kunai, creating a few makeshift frag grenades.
"Let's go wild!" roared Naruto, as he leaped into the air, and let the few explosive kunai fly from his hand, towards the large undead masses.
To Be Continued...
III
Oh-kay then, the third addition is finally done. I did not expect this to turn out so long. In fact, I had expected to include the fight scene, But I guess it'll have to wait until next time. I've gotten a few reviews criticizing how I made Naruto fight like a normal civilian and not as a ninja. Do not fret, I had no intention of just leaving that part unexplained, much like Stephenie Meyer does in regards to why her sparkly vampires can never see the simpler solutions to the predicaments they face in life. (Oh yeah, I went there. Suck it, Stephenie Meyer!) Hopefully, this chapter will explain why Naruto isn't spamming shadow clones the moment he arrived in Zombieland. Sorry that there was such a long time in updates. But I lost my flash drive that held all of the data for the stories, and had to rely on the back-up copies that was last saved during the very early stages of writing. And it has been a real pain to literally rewrite this entire chapter. So, enjoy my friends. If you like it, why not leave a review. If you hate, why not leave a review explaining why, so that I can try harder next time.