I just want to say that I DO NOT own either Naruto or Highschool of the Dead. And I hope you like the book. Please Read and Review! Thank you everyone for reviewing! It helps a lot and makes me feel really good haha.
Pairings: NarutoxHarem
"Speaking."Kyuubi speaking
"Thinking."Kyuubi thinking
"Speaking." Person speaking
"Thinking." Person thinking
~~o0O0o~~
Deceiving The Apocalypse
Chapter 4
~~o0O0o~~
The bus was silent.
The rumble of the engine, and the miscellaneous noises were the only sounds. Nobody wanted to break the silence. Mostly due to the shock of the day, and their exhaustion, but some of it equaled their concern to the wounded. A wet and ragged cough was the first thing to break the silence. Takuzo was sitting in the seat, looking very pale, almost greenish. He had bags under his eyes, and he had just coughed up some blood. Sweat was pouring down his forehead. He didn't look like he'd last longer than 15 minutes.
Naruto, despite the pain in his whole body, stood up from his sitting position earning the attention of basically the whole bus. He took a few steps until he was in front of Naomi and Takuzo, crouching down.
"Let me see." He all but demanded. Eyes were serious.
Everyone knew that he was a goner. Whether or not the two lovers knew was an entirely different matter… Takuzo held his arm out and Naruto gingerly grabbed it. He pushed the teen's sleeve up his arm, showing the bite mark. It was deep, a big gouge. The surrounding skin around the bite was already a dark grey. It had stopped bleeding, but…Ocean blue eyes lifted slowly to look into Takuzo's brown eyes.
He smiled sadly at the boy. "Looks painful."
Takuzo nodded, coughing some more. "It is."
Naruto dropped his arm and ran a hand through his hair. He regretted doing that, since all that happened was him getting his hands sticky from the blood that was already in his hair. He wiped his hands off on his pants. He sat on his haunches, thinking of how to approach this situation. Trying to ease into it might be a bad idea. Naruto's eyes now drifted over to Naomi, who was clinging to Takuzo's shoulder. Naruto was sure, that whatever would happen next wouldn't be easy for the girl. But that won't change a thing.
It was going to happen. Takuzo will die.
Naruto sighed, looking up at them again. "Do you know what happens when you're bit?" He asked softly, as if the three of them were the only ones there. It was a talent of Naruto's. When he talked to you, you felt important. Nobody else mattered.
Naomi's barely contained sob made Naruto look at her sadly. Takuzo smiled bitterly. "Yeah I do…"
"N-No! Takuzo's different, he won't turn into one of them! We can save him!" Naomi choked out, grabbing onto Naruto's arm, as if begging him.
Rei flinched. It was basically the exact same thing she had said when she was on the roof with Hisashi and Takashi. Naruto opened his mouth to say something, but Takuzo beat him to it. It was probably better for the girl to hear it from him anyway.
"No, Naomi, there isn't. Even if there was a way to stop this, we've wasted too much time…" Tears sprang into his eyes. "Soon, I'll be one of them. But I don't want to be one…"
Naomi sobbed and Naruto felt his eyes moisten. Takuzo was putting on a brave face, for his girlfriend, and for everyone on the bus. He nodded at the brunette, trying to hide his own pain. "You don't have much time left…"
Naomi clutched onto Naruto, "No! There has to be something we can do!" she turned towards her boyfriend. "I can't just let you d-die! We can save you! We have to-we can do something! I-I can't…I can't…" Tears were freely falling from her eyes now. "I can't live without you…" She sobbed into his shoulder, gasping for air and crying loudly. The bus was silently listening to them. The situations reflecting on their own thoughts and feelings.
Takuzo shot Naruto a pleading look. One Naruto understood quite well. He needn't voice his thoughts for him to know what Takuzo wanted. He wanted to be alone with Naomi. To have their moment intimate. Naruto felt his heart break, swallowing a lump in his throat. He nodded. He must be strong. He must be strong for Takuzo, for Naomi, for everyone here…but most importantly, for himself. He was bad with situations like these, they were more of Kakashi's thing. Kakashi always knew what to say. He always handled the situation well. Naruto clenched a fist.
He wished he was home.
He wished he never showed up on this stupid planet…but at the same time he was glad he did. His eyes drifted over the bus. He was sure that half of these people wouldn't be here if not for him. He had saved many, but he had lost one.
"You can't save them all, Naruto."
Naruto heard Kurama, but he didn't acknowledge the spirit. It just wasn't fair. This sucks. But out of everyone here, he was the only one to be able to do it. Naruto stood up, his body protesting against him. He turned towards Shizuka, who was peeking at him from the review mirror.
"Sensei, stop the bus."
Saya reeled back. "We can't stop the bus, are you crazy?"
She was immediately silenced by Naruto's frustrated glare. Most of them were startled by that. They've never seen this side of him. This serious side. They didn't know how to handle it. Naruto sighed and turned towards Shizuka again.
"Please, Shizuka. Stop the bus, we won't be gone long."
The sentence lingered in the air. It didn't need to be said, but everyone knew what he was implying. Takuzo wouldn't be returning with them.
Silently, Shizuka nodded and pulled over to the side of the road, seeing as how it looked clear. There was forest of cherry blossom trees surrounding one side of the road, and the other side, was a wall to the academy. Naruto opened the door for them and looked back at Takuzo.
"Can you walk?"
Takuzo frowned, "I-I think I can."
He tried to stand up but stumbled. Naruto and Naomi both caught him, Naomi letting out a strangled sob, tears still streaming down her face. Snot started to come out of her nose as well. Naruto smiled softly.
Takuzo cursed silently, struggling to stand. "I guess not, huh?"
Naruto silently, turned around and held his back for the boy to grab a hold of. Takuzo climbed onto Naruto's back with assistance, coughing and spitting up blood onto the blonde's shoulder.
"Sorry." Takuzo muttered, feeling his time slipping.
Naruto smiled, "Nothing to worry about."
He stood up, despite the ridiculous soreness in his whole body, pain still present. He looked at Shizuka, nodding at her. "We'll be back."
Naruto gestured for Naomi to get off, which she complied. Naruto and Takuzo followed shortly after. The Jinchuuriki could feel eyes on their backs. He could feel the morose cries from Naomi. He could feel the stifling silence choking at them.
"How pretty." Takuzo mumbled quietly, staring up at the cherry blossoms. Naruto couldn't help but nod in agreement.
After a short walk, Naruto deemed that they were far enough away for some privacy. Between the two. Naruto gently set Takuzo on the ground, back against a tree. He nodded over at Naomi.
"I'll be over there, just come get me before too long, okay?" Whether or not Naomi heard him, he wasn't sure. She was already bent down by Takuzo and staring deeply into his eyes. Naruto took a mental picture of the scene. It was a sad scene, but one he'll never forget in all of his life time. He silently walked off, and went behind a tree. He was far enough away where he couldn't hear the two lovers.
Naruto allowed this moment to slump down on the ground, tears leaking out of the corner of his own eyes. He clenched his teeth and fought back a sob. He brought his fist up to his forehead and gently pounded it. He was frustrated. Frustrated at this situation. Frustrated at life. Frustrated that he wasn't home. Frustrated that he wasn't strong enough to protect them.
Why?
Just why did the gods above have to shit on him, every god damn step of the way?
Being sent to a world only a couple weeks before the apocalypse happening was but a tease. A fleeting moment of happiness ripped away from them, and him. His whole life was just a joke. Fighting day in and day out to be acknowledged, and to bring his best friend home and when he finally succeeds in doing it. He's ripped away from that world and thrust into another. He won't be a part of rebuilding Konoha, he won't be there when the people need him the most. Besides the war, he couldn't be there for his friends. When their loved ones had died, and he couldn't comfort them.
What kind of sick joke is that?
But no, he was put into a world that was peaceful, a world where the children didn't have to worry about being strong enough to protect themselves. A world where they could laugh and goof off as much as they wanted too. Naruto had caught a glimpse of that life style and he had to admit, he found it rather enjoyable. He had forgotten about his home, temporarily filling the void with new friends, and a new family.
But that all was taken from him as well.
He briefly wonders if he was somehow the cause of this whole situation. That maybe if he wasn't here, none of this would have happened. That this natural chakra Kurama had said he sense, somehow had come from him. Naruto felt his tears stop, and he wiped his face. This was not the time to cry. If this really was his fault, then he'd have to take responsibility. He couldn't just abandon these people. He'd already promised to protect them.
He won't fail that promise again.
He felt a tap on his shoulder and looked up to see Naomi standing there. She was a mess. Snot was running down her face, and her eyes were red and puffy, still crying. She had nodded to him. That was all Naruto needed to know. He stood up and put a hand on her shoulder as he walked by her. A way to comfort her, he guessed. "Wait here." She didn't respond, or move.
He walked over to Takuzo, who looked even worse than before. Quietly walking up to the teen, he crouched down in front of him. Takuzo laughed bitterly.
"She's an ugly crier, isn't she?"
Naruto couldn't help but chuckled lightly. "Yeah, I guess she is."
Brown eyes met blue eyes. "I guess it's time huh?"
Naruto nodded. Takuzo felt himself start to cry, unable to stop it. "Naruto, take care of her okay?" a nod. "Make sure she eats properly." A nod. "A-and make sure she'll clean herself." A nod. Takuzo choked out a sob, tears freely falling now. Naruto couldn't help but tear up and cry as well. "P-protect her f-for me too, ne?"
Naruto nodded, "I will."
Takuzo sobbed, pain wracking his body. "Naruto." Naruto smiled sadly in response. "Will it hurt?"
He pulled out his kunai, gently, looking down at it. "It'll be quick." Was his response.
Naruto brought the kunai up to the side of his head, he was aiming to impale to brain stem. The quickest death possible. Takuzo chuckled, humorlessly.
"I guess that's all I can ask." Silence. The only noise was the breeze swaying the trees. Takuzo choked out a sob. "I'm scared, Naruto…"
Naruto eye's fell on his form, tears silently falling form his eyes. Takuzo continued. "I don't want to die. I want to grow old, and ask Naomi to marry me. I want to have kids with her, one boy and one girl." He was openly sobbing again. "I want to name them Yuji and Itsuko! I want to send them off to school while I go to work. I want to come home and yell at them for being slackers like their dad. I want Naomi to calm me down, and cutting them some slack. I want…I-I want… I w-want to l-live!"
The boy gripped onto Naruto's sleeves. "I don't want to die…"
"I don't want to die…"
"I don't want to die…"
Naruto listened to him repeat it over and over again. His voice was haunting. He'll never forget this moment. For Takuzo deserve to be remembered no matter what. He deserved to die a human, and not a thing. He deserved to live long and happily. He deserved to have the strongest human in this world, place him in peace. Naruto couldn't stop crying. He swallowed the lump in his throat and put his head against Takuzo's. "Rest in peace, Takuzo."
The brunette nodded, smiling softly as more tears fell from his eyes, they started to turn into tears of blood. Naruto knew that a second longer, and he'd be one of them. Without another word, he jammed his kunai into the brunette's head, hearing a sharp gasp from him…and then no more. Naruto felt his tears drip down from his chin. He wordlessly pulled his kunai out from Takuzo's head, ignoring the sickening sound of metal against bone and flesh. He sat back and fell on his butt, staring at Takuzo's dead body. He noticed something though, something almost endearing.
Takuzo was smiling.
Naruto wiped the tears from his face and forced himself to stop crying. Takuzo died, not a creature, but a man. This was for the best. I'm sure nobody would want to see him turn into an undead. Especially not Naomi. Naruto's eyes drifted off to the side, to see Naomi sobbing on the ground, legs all but given up on her. Naruto sighed and stood up. Placing his kunai back in his pocket.
He took off his school jacket, leaving him in nothing but his orange shirt, and placed it over Takuzo's dead body. It covered his head and his upper body. As much as he deserved to be buried, there wasn't enough time for that, so this will have to do. Naruto slowly walked over to Naomi and stood above her, not sure how to get her attention. As it turns out, he didn't have too.
"I-Is he g-gone…?" She asked quietly.
Naruto sighed. "Yeah. He's at peace now."
With those words, she sprang up and grabbed a hold of Naruto's shirt, bawling into it. Naruto could only wrap his arm around her, providing her some comfort. He looked down with unfiltered anguish. "I'm sorry." He whispered, squeezing her tight.
"I'm so sorry."
~~o0O0o~~
Rei worriedly, and quite moodily, watched over the forest. She was waiting for Naruto to get back. The silence in the bus was stifling. Saeko was on the lookout for any undead, and Takashi kept sending Rei glances. Kohta was repairing his makeshift weapon and Saya was tapping her fingers in irritation. Shido looked around at everyone, and smirked to himself. The blonde was gone, but he was sure that he could start a conversation.
"Thank you for saving us!" He stood up and walked forward a little bit, leaning over Saeko's seat smirking down at her. "Are you the leader, Busujima-san?"
Saeko spared him a glance, not dropping her guard around the man. "We are without one. Our survival is simply the product of our team work."
Shido lowered his head, almost smiling in glee. "Well that's no good. A leader is required for us to survive. One who manages everything."
Rei glared at the man, her hatred filling her completely. She turned to Takashi, "You're going to regret this." Her eyebrows twitching with barely contained anger. "You're definitely going to regret saving him."
"Uzumaki-kun is back!" Niki pointed out, staring at the window.
Everyone looked over and out the window, indeed. Naruto was back. His face was blank and stony; Naomi was clutching to his arm. She was crying and Takuzo wasn't with them. Rei felt her heart drop into her stomach, knowing exactly what happened to Takuzo, but her eyes shifted to Naruto's form. He wasn't wearing his jacket, showing his stump, and the orange shirt that he usually wears underneath.
Naruto opened the door to the bus and let Naomi go inside first, following shortly after her. He closed the door behind him, and went to go sit down on the ground again when he felt a tug on his arm. Naomi was pleading him with her eyes to not leave her side. He sweat dropped but forced a smile. He allowed her to drag him to the seat where she still clung to his arm, mourning the loss of her lover.
Naruto looked at Shizuka, nodding. "You can leave."
"Yes sir!" Stated Shizuka, and she put the bus in gear and took off. Shido's eyes lingered on the back of Naruto's head, narrowing slightly. Naruto's very presence alone has commanded all of the attention of everyone on the bus, halting any conversation that was taking place. He was, unconsciously, leading these rag tag group of kids. That cannot do…that cannot do at all.
"Our city!"
Everyone looked out the window as they rounded a corner, showing the town was faring no better than the high school. It was chaos, fire was ablaze, boats had crashed into the shore, and undead lurked around the roads. Naruto stared at the destruction, a mental picture of the war flashing through his head. He looked behind him, at everyone else in the bus, gauging their reactions.
Most of them were shocked, but more bitter than anything else. It was hard to see your home like this. Naruto know. Although it was a little bit different in his case, since his home was actually just a big hole when he had first seen it. Naruto was sure this was hard on them. They continued to drive through the streets, until they past a convenience store on the side of the road. Running over an undead in the process.
For the first time since he's gotten on the bus, Tsunoda had spoken up. "Look! We'll never make it if we keep going!" He stood up and walked forward a little bit. Naruto turned and looked at him over his shoulder. "First off, why do we have to do whatever you guys planned to do? You all decided to go back to the city without asking us. Couldn't we have just looked for a safe place inside the school?"
Shizuka looked over her shoulder, feeling her irritation spike from the outburst. She adjusted the seatbelt around her shoulders. One of Shido's members spoke up, "That's right. We should find a place to hide, like that convenience store we just passed by."
Shizuka slammed on the break, almost knocking Tsunoda over. She unbuckled herself and turned around glaring at everyone. "I've had it!" she yelled back at everyone. "I can't drive with all of you yelling!"
Her breasts swung in the air, and Naruto blushed slightly, adverting his eyes quickly. Oh god, Shizuka-chan. I think you're bigger than Tsunade. Don't just flaunt them like that.
Tsunoda was apparently unaffected, due to his anger. "What…the hell?"
Saeko crossed her arms over her chest. "Then what do you plan to do?"
Tsunoda glared at Saeko, for a second Naruto thought that he might attack Saeko, but instead he flung his hand out and started point at…Naruto. The blonde blinked.
"I can't…" he glared at Saeko, frustrated with the whole situation. "I can't stand this guy!"
Kohta clicked his tongue and went to go aim at the guy, but Saya held her hand out, trying to avoid too much conflict between them all. Plus, she wanted to see what Naruto would say.
Naruto scratched his cheek and looked away, standing up as well. "Well…" He chuckled lightly. "I think I can understand that."
Several people face planted. Oh yeah, that's right. Naruto had been specifically targeting Tsunoda every time the guy bullied someone. Saeko almost giggled into her hand, while Saya sighed and covered her face. Rei rubbed her temples, fighting off a headache.
Tsunoda held up a fist at Naruto. "Do you have any idea how much pain you've put me through this week!"
Naruto shrugged, "Well I've asked you to stop. You just didn't listen."
"You bastard…" Tsunoda felt his eyebrow twitch in annoyance.
"Besides…" Naruto pouted. "You never even accepted any of my offers to go out to eat! I should be the one upset here and not you! My dear Tsuno-kun! You've ignored me this whole time, y'know!" His verbal tic came out, but he ducked his head into his elbow and pretended to cry. Niki and Misuzu actually giggled out loud. Rei and Saya sighed simultaneously. Takashi grinned in amusement at his friend's attitude. Nothing seemed to get the guy down.
Tsunoda clenched his teeth and felt himself blush in embarrassement. "S-shut up! You've been nothing but annoying this whole time."
"I've been called worse than that!" Naruto suddenly jumped forward, landing right in front of Tsunoda. He took a step back in shock but Naruto continued. "If all I am is annoying, I think I can live with that."
Clapping interrupted the argument, and Tsunoda angrily turned around at the interruption. He glared at Shido, even the fake blonde hadn't liked the guy, but he only followed him because he didn't want to be alone fighting those…things. Naruto peaked around Tsunoda and instantly his mood fell. He had forgotten about this guy, with the whole Takuzo thing happening, and combined with his pain, it really wasn't on the top of his list.
But now…
Looking at him, clapping at them, as if they had put on a play, Naruto couldn't help but glare at the man. He's not one to say that he hates that many people, but he reminded him far too much of a certain glasses wearing, white haired, Orochimaru follower. The thought of Kabuto would always leave him with a bad taste in his mouth.
"I'm impressed that you are able to keep yourself composed so much, Uzumaki-kun." Naruto narrowed his eyes, he didn't like the way he had said his name. "But hmmm, the fact that this conflict arose simply proves what I stated earlier."
Naruto looked behind him and at Saeko, "What did he say earlier?" Naruto questioned quietly, having not been present at that moment.
Shido answered for him. "We really do need a leader. Do you understand?"
Saya pushed her glasses up, glaring at the older man as well. "And there's only one person who can do the job, right?" Sarcasm dripped off her voice, clearly she was indicating that Shido wanted to be the leader.
Shido leaned down to her level, and she adverted her face, not wanting to look at it any closer than necessary. "Well Takagi-san, I'm a teacher and the rest of you are students. That alone should be more than enough to say who's more qualified."
Rei and Takashi bristled at the implication, neither one of them liking the idea. Shido was smirking in front of everyone, feeling confident in his own charisma. Saya clicked her tongue and Saeko even narrowed her eyes at the man. This was a dangerous situation. One wrong move could change the fate of their group. Kohta growled under his breath, gripping his nail gun tighter.
"No way in fucking hell is that happening."
Many of them gasped at the vulgar language, but they turned and saw Naruto standing there, lone fish clenched and shaking, glaring daggers at the suit clad man. Shido smirked, hoping to rile up the boy, to prove that he would be unqualified.
"And you think you can lead Uzumaki-kun? You are but a child. And to top that off, you have but one arm. If anything you are the weak link."
Naruto walked forward, looking fairly intimidating. Shido actually started to take a step back, but then held his ground. He was sure this was the challenge. The fight for leadership right here. He couldn't back down to him, he wouldn't.
Naruto grabbed the front of his jacket and pulled him roughly forward. Shido flinched as he was jerked and then opened his eyes, staring straight back into not blue eyes, but blood red eyes with slits in them. He felt a shiver of fear run down his spine and he took a breath in.
"I don't give a shit if I don't have both of my legs, a piece of shit like you will not be leader." Naruto threw him back, knocking Shido over on his back. Naruto walked up and stared down in fury at the greasy haired man. "My sensei once told me that those who abandon the rules are trash…" He muttered loud enough for everyone to hear. But his eyes were focused solely on Shido's bearing into them, showing promise of pain.
"But those who abandon those comrades are lower than trash. And you had abandoned your comrade out in the that parking lot." Naruto emphasized by pointing at the boy he had saved, whose face was swollen and bloody. "I won't allow anyone here to be led by a man, lower than trash. And if you want to lead so badly, I'll allow you to take it from me. You can fight me for the title of leader, especially if you think that my missing limb is a hindrance to my capabilities."
No one breathed for a second. The tension was stifling. It could be cut with a knife. Naruto towered over Shido, glaring down at the man with a scary expression on his face. Red eyes gone now, and replaced by ice cold blue ones. Shido suddenly realized something in the presence of the blonde. Him standing there, while he was lying on the floor, was proof of their situation. Naruto stood over him, in every way. Naruto was a wall that Shido couldn't combat against. For the first time in a long time, Shido felt like a child. An image of his father holding his fist back, getting ready to punch him, flashed before his eyes. Suddenly that image was gone and there was Naruto standing there, holding his hand out for him to take it.
Shido stared at the hand. Naruto was offering his assistance to stand up. Naruto wasn't smiling down at him, but he wasn't glaring at him either. He had a passive look on his face.
"Shido, you probably mean well. But unlike you, I will never abandon my friends." Naruto started, the whole bus staring at him, captured by every single syllable that he had uttered. "I'm not from around here. My parents are dead, and I have no family." A few people gasped in surprised, they never would have taken him for an orphan… "My old friends are safe, I'm sure of it. The only family I do have right now is all of us on this bus. And I swear on my life, I'll do everything I possibly can to protect everyone here. And while I'm not a teacher…" This time Naruto did smile at Shido. "I have plenty of survival experience from various training that I have received throughout my life. I know what I'm doing. And I think that I would be best fit to be the 'leader' in this situation, y'know?"
Naruto shrugged nonchalantly. "And if you don't want to listen to me, then too bad. I'll just have to be your dictator. Whether you like it or not, I'll keep you safe and sound. Even if it takes everyone's hatred to do it."
Naruto's hand was still extended as everyone stared in shock. His words had filled them with a sense of pride of sorts. It was strange. They were all okay with the prankster being their leader. Shido stared at it in shock for a few seconds. And before he even knew what he was doing, his hand reached up and grabbed his. Naruto easily pulled the man to his feet, but still held onto his hand. He was squeezing Shido's hand painfully.
"I don't care if you want to be trash. But nobody here is allowed to abandon their comrades. Not while I'm here." Naruto squeezed Shido's hand harder, earning a flinch from the elder. "And I'll just have to beat that idea into your head, so you learn it eventually... Now go sit down, my body aches and I'm tired of standing."
With that Naruto went towards the front of the bus again, sitting down in a slump next to Naomi, who now had fallen asleep on the window, probably having cried herself into exhaustion. Shido watched as the boy walked away, feeling something move in his heart. He was amazing. If there was anyone out there that would be considered a true leader…he'd have to guess that the blonde would be him. Flashes of past presidents and commanders appeared in his mind, each of them had Naruto's face.
A true leader…Naruto fit the bill perfectly, despite Shido's anger at the situation, he couldn't help but feel moved by Naruto's actions. Nobody has helped him, he is who he is today because he had relied on his own strength. His father, abusive and uncaring, was the complete opposite of Naruto, who was aggressive but caring. Even if at some point in time he had a chance to take Naruto's place, he would grasp that opportunity. His dream can come true even if he's not the leader himself. He can be Naruto's right hand man, mooching off the power and presence that Naruto commands. He doesn't have to be the one responsible. Naruto will do that all for them. He will do everything for them.
His dream was suddenly warped, stretching into something else that was similar but not quite. Naruto will be the supreme leader, and Shido will be seen as his right hand man. How wonderful. He wouldn't fail, he couldn't. With Naruto, he felt powerful, he felt like he could do whatever he wanted to.
Naruto will carry his dream, whether he knew it or not.
Tsunoda also sat back down in his seat, both thinking about the blonde's words and not finding it in him to argue against him anymore. His previous anger was all but forgotten after Naruto's short speech. His eyes lingered on the back of the blonde and red mop of hair. Naruto would be…his leader.
Shido hadn't sat back down yet, still staring ahead. Regaining his composer, Shido spoke up loud enough for everyone to hear him. "I say we take a vote."
Saya gaped, "Hah? You're still going on about that?"
Shido kept his face blank, and serious. No smile, no smirk, nothing. He simply stood there. He nodded at the pinkette. "Yes, I say we officially settle this. We vote for who our leader is."
Rei could barely contain her rage. After Naruto had defused the situation, this man was starting it again. Naruto glanced at him over his shoulder, not bothering with answering the man anymore. Shido pushed his glasses up.
"Raise your hand if you are in favor of electing your leader to be…." He paused dramatically, staring at the scowling faces in front of him. But his eyes landed on Naruto's. "Uzumaki Naruto."
He proceeded to raise his own hand, effectively declaring his vote to be for Naruto. Naruto's eyes widened, he wasn't expecting the man to listen so easily. But what Naruto wasn't aware of, was how much his one single action had meant to Shido.
Of course, Niki and Misuzu had raised their hands almost instantly, followed by Saeko, Saya, Kohta, and Takashi was simply too surprised to raise his own hand, but after Saya elbowed him in his ribs, he raised it quickly. One by one, hands filled the air as it had seemed that the unanimous decision would be accepted. Naruto would be their leader. Tsunoda was the last one to raise his hand up in the air, doing it slowly and slightly embarrassed. Naruto smiled lightly at everyone, not expecting this to work out as well as it had.
"Thanks you guys."
Rei kept glaring at Shido, growling lowly. "I can't believe this." She muttered and with a huff she stormed off of the bus, kicking the door open.
Takashi stood up, "Rei!"
The light haired girl turned and glared at her childhood friend. "Screw this! No way in hell am I going to be anywhere near him!" Clearly she was referring to Shido, having already shown her hatred for the man.
Naruto grasped Takashi's shoulder, smiling at him. "I'll go get her."
Takashi could only nod as he watched the blonde go after her. "Oi, Uzumaki-kun!" Saya called out, her hand reaching out to him. She clicked her tongue in annoyance. Naruto jogged to catch up to the now walking away Rei. He grabbed her arm lightly.
"Rei-chan, come on, let's get back to the bus."
Rei ripped her arm out of his grip, "No! I'm not going near that scum!"
Naruto scratched his head, "Troublesome woman, I won't let him do anything to you, y'know? You'll just have to give him a chance."
Rei was about to retort when the sound of an engine caught all of their attention. Naruto and Rei's eyes widened when they saw a bus coming at them ridiculously fast. On the bus, Saeko was watching the two of them talk, before she heard the sound as well. She looked up and saw the bus approaching them at high speeds. Her eyes widened and a sudden fear gripped at her.
"Uzumaki-kun! Watch out!"
The bus hit a car and flipped back over front, landing on his side and skidding towards the tunnel the pair were standing at. Naruto shrieked girlishly in surprise before grabbing Rei and dodging backwards into the tunnel. The bus skidded to the tunnel but crashed into the side, seeing as it was too big to fit into the tunnel. Naruto groaned in pain as he looked down behind his shoulder, seeing a chunk of metal sticking out of him.
The bus lit on fire, and filled the tunnel with warmth and light, allowing Naruto to look down at Rei. "Are you okay, Rei-chan?"
Rei nodded, a bit shaken before sitting up and looking at the flaming pile of metal in front of them. "Now we're split."
If Naruto had his chakra control, he would have simply just walked up the side of the building behind them, and hopped down, carrying Rei with him, but unfortunately he was privy to those abilities right now. He flinched in pain and reached for the metal debris stuck in his shoulder. Rei looked over at him and gasped, her hands shooting to her mouth.
"Oh my god, Naruto, are you okay?"
Naruto gave her a dead panned look. "Does it look like I'm okay? I got a piece of metal stickin outta me, y'know?"
Rei kept staring at it, but before she could do anything they heard someone yell. It was Saeko. "Uzumaki-kun, Are you two unharmed?"
Naruto frowned, Rei looking back at Naruto's shoulder when they were questioned. Naruto yelled over the fire back at Saeko, "Yeah, we're mostly fine!" He paused and with an aftermath of thought he added, "And call me Naruto, dammit!"
At her yell, they watched as flaming zombies climbed out of the bus, stumbling towards her. Naruto stood up, and helped Rei to her feet. He looked at the orange haired girl. "We should try to meet them somewhere, but I don't know the town very well."
Rei nodded and then called over to Saeko, "We'll meet at the East Police Station!"
Saeko called back, "At what time?"
This time it was Naruto who answered, "At 7pm! If not tonight, then tomorrow! Saeko, you're in charge while I'm gone!"
Saeko nodded and prepared herself to kill a few of the undead, but paused in surprise when she had seen that they fell over. Most likely due to the flames. Saeko ran back onto the bus, and hopped in, closing the door. "Marikawa-sensei, we can't advance. We're going to the east police station."
Shizuka nodded and started to turn around the bus, "Alright, I'll turn back and find another route. Just you wait Naruto-kun!"
Her exclamation had surprised several people on the bus, including Saeko. They weren't aware that Naruto and Shizuka were that close. The bus drove back where it came from, hoping to find a way to get to the two stranded people now.
Rei grabbed Naruto's hand and started to pull him away from the fire. "Come on, we have to go. It might blow!"
Naruto tilted his head in confusion, still not really sure how vehicles work. "Blow?"
As if on cue, the bus behind them exploded, sending fire and shrapnel flying through the tunnel. Naruto shrieked again before taking of sprinting, this time holding onto Rei, who was now practically dragged behind the blonde. They ran out of the tunnel at the last second, avoiding any painful burns. But they both kept running until they were a safe distance away from the now flaming hell hole.
Rei panted as she looked back at the tunnel, and Naruto tried reaching for the shrapnel in his shoulder again, getting tired of the pain it was causing him. It was positioned on his right shoulder blade, low enough where he couldn't reach it from over top, but high enough that it was useless for him to try to take it out from the angle his arm was at. Rei turned to see him struggling with it, his face contorted in pain.
Suddenly, Naruto turned around and was grabbed by an undead who had literally chucked itself at him. He landed backwards and onto his shoulder, pushing the shrapnel deeper into him. He grunted in pain, as he grabbed the undead by the helmet he was wearing. How lucky, that made this situation so much easier. He was about to kick the undead off of him, when Rei slammed a slab of concrete to the back of its head, effectively killing it.
Naruto pushed it to the side and looked at Rei with a grateful smile. "Thank you, Rei-chan."
He stood up, painfully, and flinched as the shrapnel in his shoulder hurt him even more. Rei frowned, "Here let me take a look at that."
Naruto turned around, but he was alert this time, watching for any potential undead threats. Rei bit her lip at seeing his wound. It was deep, and long, maybe four inches wide, and god knows how of it was inside of the blonde. Rei gingerly touched around it, noticing that Naruto didn't even flinch, much to her surprise. She was sure that it was very painful.
"Could you take it out?" Naruto said softly over his shoulder.
Rei nodded, "I can try. I'm sorry if this hurts you…" She trailed off. She placed one hand in the middle of his back, and the grabbed the shrapnel with her other hand.
Naruto nodded to her. "Do your worst. I'm ready." She smiled a little, glad that he was still able to crack jokes in situations like these.
She gripped hard on the metal piece before tugging. Naruto grunted in pain as he could feel it slowly be removed. Rei bit her lip, struggling to keep a hold of the metal. And with a final tug of effort, she ripped out the piece of metal from his shoulder, but she gasped in pain as she proceeded to cut her hand from the metal. She held her wrist and looked down at her injury as it was bleeding. It didn't look deep, but it was long, going from the base of her thumb, to the middle of her palm.
Naruto sighed relief from the lack of metal in his shoulder, feeling the blood ooze out of his wound. He turned to Rei to thank her before noticing her own bloody hand. "Gah! Rei, did you don that taking out the metal?"
She nodded, "Yeah, it must've slipped from my hand when I pulled it out."
Naruto ripped off a part of his left sleeve with his teeth, and grabbed it, he used his left hand to wrap the cloth around her hand. "Could you hold this?" He asked, indicating to the strip of cloth form his shirt. She nodded and did as she was told, so he could tie it tightly and securely, attempting to stop the bleeding. After he tied it, he nodded at his handy work then looked at her sheepishly.
"Sorry, I wasn't hurt, you wouldn't have to get hurt." He frowned.
She shook her head to the side, "No, I'm fine, it's just a light cut. Thank you for wrapping it." She smiled at the other teen, who blushed lightly and averted his eyes. God Rei was pretty when she smiled like that. He coughed awkwardly.
"Well, let's go on top of this hill. We might be able to find something to help us travel."
They walked up the hill, Rei leaning on Naruto as he helped her climb. At the top, he surveyed his surroundings, looking for anything. "Look, Naruto!"
Naruto looked down and saw a bike of sorts. He had no idea how they would work with this, but it'll have to do. "Can you drive one, Rei-chan?"
She bit her lip, hesitantly. "Maybe, but I'll have to do it anyway." She looked at him from the corner of her eye, a smile tugging her lips. "because there's no way I'm letting you drive that."
Naruto put a hand over his heart and made a noise. "Ack! No faith! Rei-chan has no faith in me!"
She giggled and went down the slope to retrieve the bike, Naruto following shortly. Together they both leaned the bike up and pushed it up the hill, quickly taking the time to observe their surroundings. They looked for any undead, and after determining the coast was clear, Rei hopped on the bike first. She was glad that they lucked out, and the keys were still in the bike. She turned it on, and tested it out. She looked over at Naruto, who was grinning at her.
"I'm impressed Rei, you're pretty badass that you can do that."
She blushed, but grinned back. His smile was just so god damn contagious. She held her hand out for him to take. "Let's go, Naruto-kun."
Naruto took her hand, and hopped on the back of the bike, wrapping his arm around her waist, much to her embarrassement. Naruto snuggled his face into her back, smelling her hair and her clothes. It was weird, but she couldn't help but find it…somewhat cute. Very Naruto-ish. She smiled again, fighting down her blush and took off into the city night, the pair of them enjoying the fresh air.
The two of them drove for a while, the night getting darker, until only the city lights illuminated the sky. It had been a while before they stopped, but currently Naruto and Rei were stopped on an upper part of a road, staring down into a street filled with undead. Naruto had a grim look on his face and Rei had her brows furrowed. She stared at the creatures stumbling and groaning. Once human beings. She thought about many of them must have died a horrible death. It wasn't fair. She frowned.
"Do you think someone will come and help us?"
Naruto looked at her, staring at her face briefly. He sighed then looked back at the horde of zombies. "I doubt it, but it doesn't hurt to hope." He smiled warmly at her, blue eyes sparkling in the street light.
She smiled, "You're always so positive…" she mumbled.
Naruto shrugged, "I don't understand why people have to be negative. If life's beating you down, why go and make it more depressing. I'd rather be a happy idiot, than a miserable genius." Naruto smirked at her. In fact, thoughts of his best friend filled his mind.
Rei smiled softly, looking down at the handle bars. "You're always like this…you always say the right thing at the right time."
Naruto gave her his patented foxy smirk, and she blushed at the proximity of their faces. "That's because I'm just that awesome, y'know?"
Rei gave him her own warm smile, before nodding. Then they heard the groans of zombies behind them. Naruto looked at her and nodded, indicating that it was time to take off. Rei nodded back in understanding, before kicking off and driving away from the spot.
~~o0O0o~~
Back on the bus, the group of students were lazily sitting around. Listening to the guards outside the bus tell people not to leave their vehicles. Saeko was standing next to Saya and Kohta. Niki and Misuzu sitting in front of them. They all were watching the traffic outside of their bus.
"We progress at roughly one kilometer an hour…" Saeko said, frowning.
Misuzu leaned her head against the seat behind her, "That's so slow. I feel like we're crawling."
Niki nodded her agreement. "I wonder if we can even make it over the bridge before morning at this rate?" Saya pondered.
A low growl brought them all out of their thoughts, Kohta looked down in embarrassement. Saya glared at him, "Oh shut up! Put a lid on it!"
Kohta scratched his head, embarrassed. "Put a lid on it? But…I'm hungry…" Fake tears fell down his face as he thought about eating some dinner.
Gun shots all attracted their attention to the other side of the bus. Officers were shooting an undead that stumbled upon the whole mess. Shots firing out. On the bus a few people flinched from the sound. The two girls behind Kohta and Saya both covered their ears and cried out.
Shido slid in front of them, hoping to comfort the girls. "There there."
Shido leaned forward and hugged them in a comforting manner. "We're safe in here. Naruto-kun will be back, and he'll take care of us like he said. We'll be okay. We'll all be okaaaayyyy."
The girls nodded, both taking comfort in his words. Saeko stared at him in hidden suspicion while Saya made a gagging motion to Kohta who smiled at her. Shido seemed to be a slithery little snakey snake. Not to be trusted, and definitely trying to do something. The way he had said Naruto's name, as if it was an instant ticket to safety, made her worried. Saeko has known people like Shido for a long time, and they are most definitely trouble. While she was stunned and somewhat proud that Naruto was able to convince this man that the blonde would be a better leader, she silently wished that he would have just kicked Shido off of the bus.
She looked at the window and prayed for the two's safe return to them, knowing that if they were gone for too long, Shido would most definitely step forward with some plan.
~~o0O0o~~
Naruto kept a watchful eye out, as Rei drove through streets. Each street they kept going down looked to be worse and worse. Windows were broken, cars were stranded, blood was on the streets and the walls of buildings and shattered glass was everywhere. It was a barren wasteland. No sign of life anywhere. No sign of the undead either.
"There's…" Rei slowed the bike down to a stop, looking around. "…no one here."
Naruto looked around, "Either they ran away, or they died."
"If they died, they'd be walking around!" Rei retorted.
Naruto hummed, "You're right. They may have ran after the living people, but we can assume they might be lurking around. Since nobody's been here, there hasn't been any noise. I'd say keep your guard up."
Rei nodded. She looked forward and saw a cop car. "Naruto look!"
Naruto looked over her shoulder and saw the vehicle. He tilted his head, confused. "Cool? I guess."
Rei glared at him, "There might be people in there, or at least weapons. Let's go check it out."
She parked the bike, and got off, Naruto following shortly. She noticed he seemed unusually tense, which was easy to understand. What he said earlier was definitely a possibility. Undead could be lurking in any of these buildings waiting for someone to make noise.
He walked forward as Rei peeked the corner. The cops were dead, hit by a truck. Naruto scratched his head, "Bad luck for them I guess."
They walked forward and Naruto opened one of the doors, leaning down and peeking into it. The two of them silently shuffled through the car, gathering anything that might be of use. They both finished searching when they put the stuff down on the street, seeing what they have gathered all together. A baton, handcuffs with the keys, and a gun with ten bullets. Naruto scratched his head.
"Not a lot here. But it's something."
Rei nodded in agreement. She picked up the gun and handed it to him. "Do you know how to use a gun, Naruto?"
"No I have no idea." Rei lowered the weapon to her side. Naruto looked at it and smiled at her. "You take it Rei-chan, I don't feel comfortable using a weapon I'm not familiar with."
Rei smiled at him, "Thank you."
She started to pocket the gun and extra bullets before she picked up the baton. A clinking nose gained her attention as Naruto picked up the cuffs. He raised an eyebrow and smirked at her. "Although I know how to use these. Why don't we give 'em a whirl?" He grinned at the end, twirling them around a finger.
Rei took a step back, flabbergasted. She blushed heavily at what Naruto implied. "How can you even suggest such a shameless thing? How disgusting. You're a creep!"
She stormed off, heading towards the bike. Naruto chuckled in amusement though. "Rei, it was a joke." No answer as she climbed on the bike. "Rei?" She turned on the bike. "Eh?! Rei, don't leave me!"
Before she could take off, Naruto hopped on just in time as she started to drive away. Naruto sweat dropped and laughed lightly in her ear. He leaned his head back and enjoyed the feeling of the breeze flowing through his hair. He missed the small little smile that Rei had on her face, however.
They continued to drive for another couple of hours, little words were spoken between them since the bike and the breeze was loud. It had to be the middle of the night by now. Rei looked over her shoulder and yelled back to Naruto.
"I need to get gas!"
Naruto merely nodded and they stopped at a nearest self-serve gas station. Rei frowned looking at the pump. "I wonder if they still have some gas…"
Naruto shrugged. "They probably do. We might as well try it."
Rei walked up to the pump, and froze. "It's a self-serve gas station. We have to put in money before we pay… And I don't have any on me." Rei looked at Naruto hopefully. "You don't have any on you, do you?"
Naruto chuckled, "Don't be silly, you're my source of income Rei-chan."
She blinked a few times, registering what he had said. Then the light haired girl gave him a disgusted look. "You suck."
He chuckled sheepishly and scratched the back of his head. She sighed and thought about what they could do. Naruto put his hand in his pocket. "I'll go check inside, they have registers in their right? They might have some money inside of them."
Rei smiled at him, "You suck a little less now."
"Whaaaaaat?" The blonde pouted. "Only a little?"
She giggled and leaned against the bike. "Yes only a little. Now go, I'll watch the bike. If anything happens, I'll just scream." She beamed at him. Naruto fought down his own blush and grinned back, waving as he walked inside the gas station. Naruto entered, looking around. The lights were off, possibly because of power outage. He walked behind the counter and looked at the register.
Humming in thought, he pushed all of the buttons on the register. But of course nothing happened. He scratched his cheek in amusement. "Is this really worth using chakra to break into?"
"It could be worse brat. You could have no way to get inside of it."
He sighed, closing his eyes in exasperation. "Always one to brighten the mood, eh?"
Kurama growled lowly, amused. "That's me. The happy ball of fur."
Naruto chuckled out loud, but didn't respond. He flinched as he focused his chakra into his arm, punching the register. He punched it again, then again, until it finally busted open enough where he could get some money out. He grabbed a handful of the paper bills, stuffing it into his pants. He was about to grab some more when he heard a scream outside. His eyes widened and his heart jumped into his throat.
He sprinted out the door as fast as he could, and was met with a blood boiling scene. Rei was grabbed from behind by a man, clearly not an undead. A knife was held at her throat. He had a doorag on and some baggy clothes, but Naruto noticed that his eyes were wild and crazy. Clearly he had just snapped. He turned towards Naruto and grinned at the blonde. Naruto felt his face settle in a stony scowl, blue eye ice cold, glaring hard at the man holding Rei.
He suddenly started to laugh, and Naruto tried as discretely as he could to pull his kunai out of his pocket. The man spoke "Hey bro! Your girl is fuckin' sweet!"
Naruto glanced at Rei, staring into her fear ridden eyes. She was flickering back and forth between the knife and Naruto in front of her. Naruto stared very hard into her eyes, trying as hard as he could to tell Rei to do something, anything. Hit him in the balls, the stomach, stomp on his toes, literally attempt to do any single thing! Naruto clicked his tongue as he noticed that she wasn't focused enough for her to understand what he wanted her to do.
His eyes gazed back at the crazed lunatic. "Let her go." He said quietly. Preparing to launch forward at the tiniest little distraction that he could use. And despite the agonizing pain going through his legs right now, he had pumped chakra into them and kept it there, idle.
The man laughed at Naruto. "You dumb? Like hell I'd do that. I need me a fine woman if I'm gonna live with these monsters."
His arm reached up and brushed the underside of Rei's breast. Naruto watched him do it. This man was enjoying every minute of this. Naruto could feel the sweat start to form on his forehead, not from the situation, but from the pain in his legs. He was trying to keep the best poker face that he could manage at this moment in time. He didn't say anything to the man, but he laughed again.
"I saw my family turn into those monsters! I had to smash their heads in! My dad, my mom, my grandma, my little brother…even my little sister who just started grade school…how the fuck could I stay sane!" He burst out and started laughing, Naruto felt his eyebrow twitch in annoyance. Of course this guy is fucking psycho. Although Naruto had to agree, he wasn't sure if he could come out mentally unscathed after doing what this man had done. But unfortunately, he picked the wrong people to fuck with.
He grabbed her breast with his hand, knife still on her throat. Rei gasped in surprise and disgust, squirming to get out of his grip. Naruto felt his blood boil and he could feel his unconscious use of the Kyuubi's chakra. If he were to guess right now, he'd guess that his eyes were red and slitted.
The man shuddered, "Ahhh, her tits and her voice are mighty fine! And these are p-pretty big! You fuck her, right? You fuck her every night right? Or…wait…you don't do you? You fucking dumb? Look how hot she is!"
The man lowered her shirt a little bit more, showing off bra for the world to see. Naruto felt something snap inside of him. He should have done this earlier. He never should have let this man even touch Rei…Naruto mentally apologized to the girl, for being indecisive. Pain was nothing compared to her innocence. It was unacceptable. Naruto mentally punched himself. He was an idiot.
He channeled much more of Kurama's chakra through his body, this time grunting at the immense pain that followed. His body flared up in the golden light, shocking both the man and Rei. Naruto's red slitted eyes staring at the man with contained fury.
"You fucked up."
Naruto disappeared, and Rei felt the hold on her release. She heard a clang behind her and she turned around. Her eyes were as wide as saucers when she saw Naruto standing there, the golden cloak of flame dispersing around him, returning into his normal self. She could feel her heart hammering in her chest. Naruto was holding the man up in the air by his throat, slammed against the pump. His eyes were boring into the other mans. The knife was on the ground completely forgotten.
Choking sounds strangled out as the man was fighting against the grip around his neck. His hands were clawing at his arm and reaching for his face. Naruto sat there glaring holes into his head. It was unacceptable to even think about rape. Whether it was a girl's innocence or a man's, it didn't matter. Rape in Naruto's eyes…
Was punishable by death.
Naruto brought his leg up and kicked the man hard between the legs. He let out a shriek of pain and he slumped over. Naruto growled and grabbed the man by his foot, dragging him to the middle of the street. He stopped when he saw the knife, and picked it up. He continued to drag the howling man on the concrete, watching as undead started come out of their hiding places and hobble towards them.
Naruto chucked some money to Rei, "Rei please fill the bike up, we're going to be leaving soon."
Shakily, she nodded, wiping tears away as she struggled to put money into the pump. Naruto stopped dragging the man, and took his knife out of his pocket. He opened it up and stepped on one of his hands. With as much strength as he could, he slammed the blade down onto the hand, pinning him to the ground. The man howled in agony as he was officially nailed down into the concrete of the road.
Naruto grabbed his cheeks and stared into his eyes. The main started to cry in front of him, but he held no remorse. "Now listen here you piece of fuck." Naruto growled dangerously low, only allowing the guy to hear him.
"I'm not going to kill you." His eyes widened in surprise as Naruto's ice blue eyes bore into his. "But I'm sure as hell not going to save you."
Naruto stood up and walked away from the man, who just now noticed the crowd of undead that were stumbled towards him. He started to beg, to plead for him to help. Cries filled the air, as the undead started to feast on the skin of this most unfortunate soul. Naruto held no pity for him and he continued to walk towards Rei, who was shaken up, and crying. Naruto felt his eyes soften seeing her standing there looking like a mess.
This was all his fault.
Rei finished filling the tank as Naruto walked up, his eyes staring at her with concern. She flinched at his gaze, unable to meet it. What was that just now. He was covered in that golden light, and he basically teleported…she couldn't continue her thoughts as the sounds of moans and groans from undead disrupted them. She sniffled and got on the bike, intending to get as far away as possible. Naruto hopped on behind her, and she didn't look at him. She started the bike and took off without hesitation.
She had no idea where to go, nor did she care. She just wanted to get away from this place. She wanted answers, and she wanted them soon.
She could feel the tears running down her face as she drove off. Naruto only provided her with a squeeze of comfort around her abdomen.
~~o0O0o~~
Chapter 4 done. Please read and review! I'm going to start the next chapter as soon as possible! Upcoming chapter will contain Naruto and Rei talking about his powers! And Rei being comforted by the fact she was almost raped! The gang is brought back together as well! Please keep following and I hope you all enjoy the chapter.
Ja Ne.
