Summary: Students whom had a normal everyday life suddenly had their world ripped from under them when a virus began in their home town in Edmonton, Alberta. Sasuke, who was always his normal self, cold, emotionless self, didn't care to much about anyone, except Naruto. Once the virus hit he became very protective of his best friend, Naruto Uzumaki. Will it progress into something more? Read and find out!
Main pairing: Sasuke and Naruto. Side pairings: Kiba and Hinata, Neji and Shikamaru, Ino and Chouji.
Rating: M. This is a yaoi fanfic, if you don't like it then leave. You just won't get cookies. ^.^
Warning: Yaoi, Violence, gore, sex, etc..
Author's notes: So it took me a little longer the expected to get this chapter done, I apologize! Reviews help me a lot, and speed up my process (most of the time). So, please do!
"What the hell happened to you guys while I was scouting the area?" Itachi walked up to us, thorougly confused.
"Rin, he changed into one of those things-" Shikamaru began to explain but was cut off by Ino.
"Let's talk over there while we explain to you. Naruto is in a bit of a shock," Ino explained, giving me a sympathetic smile.
They all moved far enough that I couldn't hear, but Sasuke stayed with me and sat me down, so I could take a few moments to gather myself.
"Are you alright?" Sasuke asked.
"Yea, I'm fine," I replied.
We sat there for a few moments but I already had enough of the silence. I got up, albeit shakily, and headed towards the group. Once I got there, Shikamaru finished explaining the last of what had happened. They all noticed me and stared at me like I was some hurt puppy.
"I'm alright." I tried to convince them, but it didn't seem to work that well. "Okay, how did he turn? He was only bitten," I asked while Sasuke moved beside me, my shoulder touching his.
"Have you heard of zombies?" Gaara asked. I don't know where he came from. He wasn't with us while we were running up the stairs, but I'm glad he's here now. He saved us and I am in his debt.
"Zombies?" Chouji asked confused.
"Yes, zombies, the living dead. The dead that walks, biters, cannibal corpses. Take your pick," Gaara said.
"Is that what they are? Zombies?" Kiba asked. "That just seems so unreal."
"I don't know for sure they are, but for now... They have everything a zombie does. Dead eyes, the hunger, the moaning, although their flesh isn't rotting, but I think that's because they are new zombies," Gaara said.
"Alright, and how does a bite kill you?" I asked.
"That's where Sakura comes in." Sasuke looked over at Sakura, awaiting her answer.
"I don't know for sure, but the bite itself did not kill Rin, it was the fever. However the bite caused the fever in the first place," Sakura revealed.
"We have all seen some sort of zombie movie I hope. I don't know how much the movies act like the real thing, but that's all we have for now. We will also learn along the way," Gaara noted.
We were quick thinkers. In the movies they never knew what they were till a long time afterwards and almost always, they never knew how to kill them. Which reminds me, is it the same way? Destroying the brain?
"The brain." I looked around to see if I had everyone's attention. "In the movies you need to destroy the brain. We don't know if Rin died, or re-died because of the damage of the fall to his head or what. When Gaara hit him with the wooden plank, it didn't phase him."
"That's true. We will need to experiment then, but my guess, it was the damage to the brain. But, we also don't know if that's the only way to kill them," Shikamaru added.
"Okay, next... How do we get off of this roof?" Sasuke asked and we all looked at Itachi.
"There is an emergency ladder a little ways from here. First, is there any weapons we can use? I see that Naruto has a pipe, everyone go look around for something to use," Itachi commanded.
I walked with Sasuke to help him find his weapon while the others all split up. We were nearing the end of the roof when I saw a crowbar and went over to pick it up.
"Here." I handed Sasuke the crowbar, and looked away to see if we could see anything else on ground level. By anything else, I mean survivors, and by survivors, I mean Jiraiya and Iruka.
"Thanks. Naruto, are you sure you're alright? That was quite an ordeal. You can talk to me, you know." The last part was not a question but a statement. Honestly, I was happy that he was worrying about my well being.
"I'm fine." I looked over to him and he just gave me a look that told me that he didn't believe me. "Really, Sasuke. I'm fine. It was just mostly shock, and if I didn't do what I did, then who would have? It was sort of like instincts. I needed to save my friends and myself, so I acted."
"What if it didn't turn the way it did? What if you got bit? Naruto, when you ran I swear, I had a mini heart attack! You are so precious to me. If I lost you..." He cut himself off, looking to the ground. I didn't know it would impact him like this. I only wanted to save everyone, but I only hurt him instead.
This time I took him into my arms and wrapped my arms around his back and he leaned down to put his head on my shoulder. "I'm sorry Sasuke. I am, but you won't lose me, I promise. You have to know though, if this... Whatever this is, is big then it won't be my last time protecting you. It's my nature, I won't stand back into the shadows and let everyone fight for me. I will be right beside you, fighting for us and those we love."
"I just want you safe." Sasuke stepped back and headed back to everyone.
I will protect him. I will protect my friends. I will protect my family. There is no question about it, even if he hates me for it.
I sighed and went over to the group that was now formed again.
"Aright, everyone's got their weapon?" We all held up the weapons and Sasuke had the crowbar, Kiba had a sharp piece of metal that came from who knows where, Ino had another wooden plank but this one looked sturdier then Gaara's and she put some nails through the top of it, Gaara just had a huge rock, Itachi had a sharp piece of glass that had a piece of cloth on the end of it so he could hold it, and everyone else had nothing.
I looked over to Hinata who was shy but one of the kindest people I know. I could defend for myself so I walked up to her and handed her the pipe that I had. "You will need this more then I." That was all I said and she gave a very quiet thank you in return.
I walked back over to where I was standing and waited for instructions.
"Okay, there is a ladder over there." Itachi pointed to the side of the building that was not to far from us. "We will climb down and try to scout out the bus. I warn you, there might not be keys there for us, but knowing the bus driver, she should have the keys hidden just above the front tire closest to the door." Itachi listened to any arguments, but it was the best plan that we had.
"What about the rest of the class? They could be alive! We can't just leave them here." I protested.
"We can't stay here though. Naruto, I know how you feel about this, I do. We all feel the same way but we, right here, are survivors, and I intend for us to stay survivors. We don't know if any of them are alive. Hopefully, we will see some of them once we get down there, but if not, we are leaving. There are no ifs, and no buts," Itachi said, sneaking a glance towards me. I knew he was right. I just didn't want to believe they were dead. They just couldn't be.
"But... " I trailed off, my lips turning into a frown. "I... Ugh... Fine," I said at last.
"Alright, once we get down there we will get to the bus, but for those who do not have weapons be extra careful." Itachi warned.
We followed Itachi to the ladder that reached to the parking lot. He went first but instructed those without weapons, such as Neji, Chouji, Lee and myself, to go last. We did as told and we kept an eye out until they all got to ground floor.
I was the last one down, and could still hear the silent screaming on the inside from the zombies and people that where still inside.
"Alright, the bus is on the other side of the building. Everyone ready?" Itachi asked.
We all shook our heads to not make unnecessary noise. We started jogging towards the area the bus was in. There was no one in the parking lot except us. It was eerily quite and it gave me the creeps. Even without the zombies there where a ton of people going in and out of the mall.
We where on the side walk nearly at the corner where we have to turn when we heard an engine roar to life. We all immediately knew it was the bus. Who the hell was stealing our ticket out of here?
We ran around the corner and we saw the bus going in the opposite direction of us.
"Stop!" Kiba yelled as loud as he could.
Itachi hit Kiba on the head. "Don't be so loud! There could be zombies around here!" Itachi warned.
"But the bus!" Kiba wined.
I gotta say, I was about to lose all hope to get out of here when the bus suddenly stopped. It started driving in reverse and turned around speeding towards us.
We all took stand for a possible fight. It would help if I could see who was driving the bus, but the sun was in my eyes so I couldn't.
The bus stopped in front of us and the doors opened. I was behind everyone so I couldn't see who was climbing out of the bus, but everyone relaxed and gave a sigh of relief.
"Where's my son?!" A familiar voice asked worriedly. I instantly knew who it was.
"Jiraiya!" I ran through everyone knocking into shoulders and stepping on feet, but I didn't care. My mind was just filled with relief.
"Oh thank god!" Jiraiya hugged me back. I could feel him shaking, he was crying.
" I didn't think you made it!" I cry out.
"Well I did. I won't leave you again, I promise." It was unusual for Jiraiya to be like this. He was always the dumb, drunk, flirt of the town. I loved him so much though. He is my father, even if it's not by blood. He raised me, fed me, clothed me, and loved me. If that's not a father, then I don't know what is.
"You better not!" No one bothered us. They knew this was a precious moment. They knew how worried I was, and because we where not in any immediate danger at the moment, we were not rushed.
Someone behind Jiraiya coughed and I looked past Jiraiya's shoulder to see who it was. A familiar face that was beaming with a smile came intruded my vision.
"Iruka! You are here too?!" I let go of Jiraiya and walked up to Iruka to give him a much needed hug. The two adults that I thought as family were here, unharmed.
"Wait, where's Kakashi?" I asked. I looked around, and into the bus, but I did not see the silver hair that is usually spiked up.
Iruka shook his head. "I have not seen him. I met with Jiraiya when I arrived outside. Both our groups... they are gone. I'm amazed that all of your group is still standing!" Iruka looked at all of us, giving a small smile of greeting to everyone.
"I'm sure he's fine. It's Kakashi after all. He can get through anything, right?" I tried to encourage him and myself. Kakashi was like a brother to myself and Sasuke. He was always there, he was kind of like our mentor. He picked on us, gave us advice, helped us, you name it, he did it. I learned a lot from him.
"Yea, I hope so." Iruka looked at the ground then back at the group. "But how did your group all come out safely? Not that I'm not glad, it's just my whole group did not make it, nor did Jiraiya's."
"It's all thanks to Naruto, and this guy named Rin," Ino spoke up, walking up beside us. She told the whole story of how Rin saved us, then he was bit and turned, and how I kicked him off the roof. I couldn't get his face out of my mind. I should remember the kind face that saved us, but I only remembered that vicious face that was trying to chop down on me.
"Wait, zombies? Like the dead that walk?" Jiraiya asked. He looked stunned. "I guess that's a reasonable assumption given what happened to you. I never saw them turn, they just seem to appear. Larger numbers every minute."
"And Naruto, you saved everyone. You were brave! I'm proud of you," Iruka told me. I couldn't look at him. I wanted to forget, I didn't want to kill him. He saved us all, but when it came to the moment, the natural flight or fight response kicked in and I chose fight.
"Thanks," I replied.
Sasuke came up to me and pulled me closer to him. I didn't object, he knew exactly how I felt about that situation because he was there. He held me while I burst into tears.
I might cry a lot, but I am not weak. I will do what is needed when it's needed. I might not like it, but that does not change the fact that I am certain that if I can, I will protect those who I love. Sasuke, on the other hand, does not want me to protect anyone. He wants me in a little cage that he can carry. He wants me to besafe, but I want him to be safe as well. We are a team; we will fight like a team.
"So it's just the two of you then?" Itachi asked looking from Iruka to Jiraiya. "Alright, lets get moving then."
Jiraiya was the first on the bus, and he sat in the drivers seat. We all got on two at a time and sat with one other person, kind of like a buddy system. Sasuke sat with his brother at the nearest seat near the door. Ino sat with Sakura across from Sasuke's seat. Chouji sat with Shikamaru behind Ino's seat. Kiba sat with Lee next to Chouji's seat. Neji sat with Hinata behind Kiba's seat. I sat with Iruka beside them, then there was Gaara. He sat behind me by himself.
We where told that if we somehow got split up with the group then we were to try to stick with at least one other person until we found away back to each other. I thought it was a decent plan. Although Jiraiya and Gaara are by themselves at the moment.
I turned around to face Gaara. "Well since you and Jiraiya are both alone, it would make sense for you two to stick together, but if anything happens you are always welcome to come with me." I smiled at him, and he just gave me a look that I couldn't decipher. Confusion? Hopefulness? What ever it is, I knew the look. I often looked that way when I was younger.
"Thanks?" Gaara thanked me, but it sounded more like a question.
"Alright! So, I saw that some of you had weapons, right?" Jiraiya asked from the drivers seat.
"Yes, Ino, Sasuke, Gaara, Kiba, and myself have the weapons. Nothing very good, but it's only what we found on the roof." Itachi explained.
"Alright. I have nothing, and neither does Iruka." Jiraiya said. "So, once we get off the bus we will try to look for some better weapons."
"Alright. Sounds like a plan," Itachi replied.
"Do we know if we need weapons? We haven't seen any zombies since we got out of the mall," Sakura asked.
"There's more, definitely," Gaara said with a fierce certainty.
"How do you know?" Ino turned around in her seat to look at him.
"Are you that dumb? I know you're a blonde and all, but it's kinda sad," Gaara insulted.
"Hey!" Ino yelled at Gaara.
"Okay, okay. Look, do you really think there would be zombies just in the mall? How do you think they got in the mall in the first place? Magic? They will grow in numbers, and I'm sure no one has a... cure for it. Once you get bitten you are certainly dead," Gaara explained.
Ino turned back in her seat satisfied with his answer but still fuming mad about the blonde comment. She kept on mumbling things like "You don't know me." or "You are just a red headed freak."
Gaara seems a little on the mean side, but he was realistic and up front about things. I like that.
"Where are we going?" I asked Jiraiya since he was the one driving.
"Right now, I don't know. Out of the city for sure," Jiraiya replied while keeping his gaze to the road and surroundings.
I turned my head towards the window and sat there looking out through it. It was still pretty bright out so I'm guessing it's around 4:00-5:00 pm. It was going to be a long drive. Especially when we don't know the exact place we are going to.
"I'm so hungry!" Chouji complained. "We didn't have much for breakfast and there was no lunch!"
"Chouji, we will hopefully get something soon."
Chouji grumbled and slouched into his seat.
I remembered I still had one of the bars that Itachi gave us in my pocket and stood up. "Excuse me Iruka, I just need to get by you." Iruka looked up at me from his deep thoughts and stood up into the isle to let me get out. "Thank you." He was probably thinking about Kakashi. I sure hope he's okay.
I walked up to Chouji and tapped his shoulder. He looked up at me with curious eyes and I handed him the bar. As I did that, he looked surprised, but his eyes lit up. In this situation even a tiny bit of food can give you happiness, especially to Chouji.
"Thank you, Naruto!" Chouji quickly unwrapped the bar from it's wrapper and bit down on it.
"No problem, just take your time." We don't know how much food we will actually have if we need to keep running from place to place.
He did exactly that, and I was satisfied. I went back to my seat, but realized that Sasuke and Iruka switched seats.
"Hey." I sat down with him. I now was in the isle seat and he in the window seat.
"Hey," he replied. He looked like he was doing a bit of thinking. "Naruto..." Sasuke began but suddenly the bus screeching and turning took more importance then Sasuke's next words.
I grabbed onto the seat in front of me, hoping to stay in my seat instead of whipping across the bus. Screams were heard from everyone and then the bus toppled to it's side and started rolling over down what seems like a hill.
I was forced into Sasuke's side, and felt an arm go around my shoulders, securing me to the spot. Everything seems to be going in slow motion, I saw everyone's expression in front of me, and they were terrified. Jiraiya had his seat belt on, so he was in his seat still, but it looked like he was knocked out. Kiba and Chouji where not in their original seats anymore, and now where flying everywhere as the bus rolled over and over.
I looked over to see Sasuke, who had his right arm on the window, so he didn't knock into it, while he was looking at everyone as well. He turned his head towards me, and the last thing I saw were his coal like eyes staring into mine, as the bus came to a sudden halt and I went forward hitting my head on the seat ahead of me.
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