Started on May 5, 2019| Philippines| 23:27 hours
Out of School, Into Hell
"Time to get busy again." Naruto says, his eyes locked with Shizuka's. "Marikawa-sensei, please, walk with me." He says before heading for the door.
"Marikawa-sensei wait-" Saya calls out only for a Helghast to place an hand on her shoulder. "What are-"
"It's best you stay out of this." He says and looks to his brother. "Let's keep them inside."
The other one nods before taking a seat by the door where Naruto waits, face blank of any emotion although his eyes show impatience.
Shizuka smiles at Saya and pats her on the head. "I'm a grown woman, I can take care of myself."
Saya groans at those words. "It's precisely because you're you I don't-"
"Shh…" Shizuka lets out with a smile and a wink. "That was all a front." She then places an arm around Naruto's and smiles. "This man," she pauses as she traces his chest, "saw right through me and my act."
While all this was happening, Takashi had different thoughts in his mind. "First, how did that guy know her name? Each of us had to introduce ourselves to him or mention the other's name." Here he looks to the soldiers. "These guys look nothing like the SDF. Something's going on but best I play along for a bit." His brow then raises and he looks out into the sea of undead. "And where the hell did I get all these thoughts? Why do I feel smarter than even Saya-chan now?"
Takashi's musings aside, the two blondes nod in thanks to the Helghast and start to walk the halls of the level they are on.
Once they are a few feet away from the door, Naruto decides to speak. "Care to explain what an EGO scientist like you is doing in a school?"
Shizuka smiles. "Come now, Naruto-kun, do you really want me to-"
"My men were attacked by EGO forces, Shizuka." Naruto replies sharply. "They must have known you were nearby but not exactly where you are, so give me one good reason why I shouldn't just feed you to your kids."
"Because I created the strain with the intent of making a cure."
"Stupid." Naruto says in annoyance. "Humans are always stupid."
Shizuka smiles. "I'll agree with that." She then stops and looks out one of the windows and frowns. "I didn't mean for this to happen. Unfortunately it did, and I can't change that. I left EGO for a reason, uh… Naruto, right?"
The male blonde nods.
"I'm sorry, for what it's worth."
He snorts. "If you're really sorry, you need to tell me how this outbreak even started. How it even got inside this school and how it had spread itself so quickly."
Shizuka nods with a sad smile. "Very well. It happened because one of the students tried to harass me. Guess what was the closest defensive weapon I could get?"
"Out of all the stupid fucking reasons…" He groans out before sighing in resignation. "You're still stupid, but whatever. What's done is done."
"Ehehehe…"
"So, what about these runners?"
"Huh?"
Naruto looks her in the eye and says, "I saw runners, Shizuka. That female teacher who turned, she was a runner. The rest are slow, dumb, stupid, but I don't think that teacher who turned into a runner is any of that."
"That's impossible. My creation was meant to be a cure, but when it went haywire, all that came out were slower ones, dumber ones as you say, but they're also stronger than normal."
Naruto's eyes narrow at that before nodding. "Let's go back. I-" He stops mid-sentence, eyes narrowed at the feeling in his gut. He turns 180 and glares at the end of the hallway. "Shizuka, run back to the faculty room."
"What-"
"Now or I'll kill you." He says and a yelp from his fellow blonde is all he needs as he raises his SCAR.
It starts out as a low growling, animalistic, and Naruto shifts his weight as he steps forward, his steps ever so silent.
"Boss, you alright out there?"
"We'll see. Take care of them." He mumbles before looking at one of the corpses and kneels down beside it. "Cortana, can you do a remote analysis of this virus?"
"Gee, Naruto, the most advance AI can't even do that?"
"Hey, I don't know everything about you just like you don't know everything about me." Naruto replies as he touches the blood of one of the corpses, his fingertips making contact and glowing blue. "Do you have it?"
"Yeah, got it, thanks cutie."
Naruto raises a brow at that. "Cutie? Where the fuck did that come from?"
"What, can't a girl call a guy cute?"
"Not what I meant, but busy so I'll call you back." Naruto replies, all but disregarding his AI friend. He lowers his weapon as the growling stops. "Odd…" He mutters out before shrugging and turning on his heels to head back to the faculty room.
Ten steps later, he spins and does a slicing motion with his spatha.
A soft thud follows.
"So it really isn't dumb." Naruto mutters to himself as he looks at the decapitated body of the female teacher. "Either the virus is mutating or things are going back to what they were…"
"Gray Leader, this is Black leader. White Team and Black Team await your instructions. We're on the ground floor just across the front gates of the school. EGO forces have retreated, unable to pursue."
"Copy, ready to advance. They're on easy mode but you never know if there are special ones mixed in. Eyes open, guns at the ready. Advance on my word."
"Copy Gray Leader."
Naruto makes his way to the faculty room and once arriving the door is opened to see everyone present. "Sorry guys, we're leaving earlier than planed. Let's go."
"We can take the coast-"
"No, we're walking." Naruto says with a tone of finality. "Unless you want to get into any unnecessary trouble, you stay on foot."
Takashi sighs. "Uh… Naruto-san?" He calls out. "I don't think we'll be able to walk. We're all still pretty tired and-"
"Those things won't care, Takashi." Naruto says, his voice stern. "Now, we can get out of here ASAP my way, or take your way in which I'm leaving you."
"And where will we go, exactly?" Rei asks, her eyes hardened.
"As to be expected of someone who has lost someone dear." Naruto thinks to himself before nodding. "We'll head for the safest known location in the city."
"And where is that supposed to be exactly?" Saya asks, her tone sarcastic. "Look, all of us just want to see our parents. But I guess you wouldn't understand, huh?"
Naruto smiles. "Listen here you little twat." He taps his forearm bracer and a hologram appears showing pictures. "You see that? Those thing are what lie outside Japan; and they aren't even the worst things that go on outside. The world went to shit long before, and the government never did anything to stop it." He closes the hologram and doesn't even care to look at the look of horror plastered on their faces. "Now, I want out of here before any of the damn Z's mutate into those shits."
"But why can't we leave later?"
Naruto looks at them before looking at the sun; it was now noon.
"Because if there is one thing you should do more than run, it's to fear the night." He mutters to himself before nodding. "Because there is a war going on, far greater than even this battle between the living and the undead."
"Naruto, come in."
"Go ahead Cortana." He says while heading to the door.
"I did some background check on some EGO members in Japan. There are two in that school you're in."
"Speak to me; I've only met one." Naruto says before leaving. He shouts back to the group and says, "I'm leaving with or without you, your choice!" His two Helghast shrug before following after him.
"The guy's name is Koichi Shidou, a teacher. His public appearance as a kind teacher is something of a problem if you were to apprehend him. He also has followers both in and out of the government, not to mention in the student body."
"Well, what can you tell me about a Shizuka Marikawa?" Naruto asks, he arrives at a set of stairs that head down to the floor below them.
As Cortana begins to explain, Naruto makes short work of all the infected around him, his men following his example. "Shizuka Marikawa? Okay, wait… got it. So, this blonde bimbo, let's be honest, she is; is a… oh, former EGO scientist. Former, huh? Makes you wonder why… oh, it says here she tried to make a cure for the virus, but when she made a stronger variant by accident, she wanted to destroy the results. Her attempt failed and EGO wanted to weaponize it. Interesting."
"Any connection with her and Shidou?" Naruto asks while stabbing an infected through the gut with his spatha before using his gladius to cut the head off.
"Ooh la la."
"Focus, Cortana."
"Right, well, it seems like she knows who Shidou is, while the man himself has simply been trying to get into any girl's pants. Disgusting."
"You'd be saying something else if it were me."
"Don't flatter yourself. That aside, I'm blind out here. Any attempt at trying to get a satellite feed would alert all EGO forces to our location and we'll pretty much be sitting ducks. You won't be able to receive any reinforcements should you need them."
Naruto shrugs. "Well, update me as soon as you can make a secure contact with Shikamaru and Shisui."
"You're the man. Anything else?"
"Yeah, tell the Pelicans to bring cannons next time. Bitches love cannons."
"You seem to be expecting them some time soon."
Naruto smiles. He chooses not to reply and instead radios in his teams outside. "Black team, White team, the rest of Gray team, advance towards the school gates. Do a clean sweep of the area if you would be so kind?"
The teams reply in chorus. "Orders acknowledged, Hail Caesar!"
The next few minutes are spent with Naruto making his way to the front door before kicking it open just in time to hear an echo of metal clanging against metal from the stairs behind him. It is then followed by a scream.
"RUUUUUUN!"
Naruto sighs as he looks back to see the teens he was with earlier running for the door. He takes a step to the side and allows them to pass, their destination being the school coaster.
He radios in his men with a sigh. "All weapons free, suppressors off."
"Copy, Caesar."
As soon as those words were uttered, everyone in the school hears a hail of gunfire before a clang from metal breaking resounds throughout the school grounds.
"WAIT!" A man shouts as he and more students burst from the school's front door.
Naruto clicks his tongue in disgust after quickly matching the mans face to that of Shidou from the information that Cortana sent him. "Let's go. I want nothing to do with him."
"Should we not just kill him now, sir?" One of his men with him asks.
"Not yet. Plus, he might lead us back to an EGO base." Naruto replies calmly as he and his men make his way towards the rest of the Helghast units stationed just outside the gate. As they do so, the blonde keeps an eye out on the teacher. Once arriving with his men, he nods in satisfaction. "He has no idea who we are. That's a good thing." He says to his men in a muffled tone as the sound of gunfire returns to their suppressed bursts.
"Sir, no losses so far." A Helghast says as he steps in sync with Naruto.
"Good. Fan them out. I want no surprises."
"Naruto, we have a bit of a problem." Cortana says over the radio. "I just received an alert that a satellite is about to lock in on your position."
Naruto hums before smiling. "Time to play a game."
"What do you have in mind, boss?"
Naruto opens his tacmap and grins. "Police station is five kilometers out. Ready for a hike, gents?"
The Helghast laugh. "More like a race."
If possible, Naruto's grin only widens in glee. "No restrictions."
The men chuckle before they tap their left bracer and their rifles bursts into a cloud of nanobots and form as claws on their gloves.
"Go."
===== South Korea | Busan =====
A woman stands inside a room located underground, the room having screens showing thirty one figures moving through the streets of Japan faster than any human is supposedly capable of moving.
"There you are, Caesar." She says, her black black eyes scanning his every movement. "What are you, really?" Shes asks no one in particular before the sound of boots disrupt her. "Time to go." She says before her body fades out of existence.
On the surface, not three minutes later, an explosion rocks the city that is already filled with the dead.
"Mary, get me a flight to Japan." The woman says from the top of a building.
"Already on it's way, Miss Uchiha."
The woman nods before watching as a black hawk closes in on her. "Is that the bird?"
"Uh… no…"
The woman smiles. "Well, guess the fun never stops."
===== TBC =====
Finished on May 12, 2019| Philippines| 08:02 hours.
Not yet proofread.