They had traversed through the city by rooftop, heading for the market strip. Sakura was not tired physically, but her heart ached for her lost family. 'If only I had gotten here sooner' was a recurrent thought in her mind, not matter how much she tried to shake it. Naruto was kind… always so kind. She studied his back as he ran before her and shuddered to think of losing him as well. He was the only family she had left.

"Stop" Naruto said, coming to a halt on the rooftop ahead of her.

She and the others leapt over to him and gathered in a circle.

"We've made it to the market, now-" Naruto started.

"We can't stay too near here" Kiba cut him off, making eye contact with each of them. "The alleys are crawling with them. We should pick a place a block or two down, maybe on the left side where there are more apartments"

"I don't want to stay in an apartment, that's way too dangerous. There's probably infected trapped all inside those" Tenten argued.

Naruto scratched his chin at her remark, "What she said," He agreed.

"I think…" Sakura started, actually not sure what she thought, but deciding that the silence between them was far too much to handle with the sounds of the Infected below. There were still screams of terror going on that made her want go out and save every life, screw safety. "We need to be near here…and somewhere high, but not… how about the apartments above some of the stores? We would be still around all...this…but housing itself would be so safe!"

"We'd be surrounded on the outside…" Tenten remarked.

"But, we'd be near supplies. We would have to go through this no matter what if we wanted supplies. And besides, we can use rooftops to get around."

"Can we get on to the rooftop from inside of the apartment, though?" Tenten questioned.

"We'll find a way." Kiba countered. "It's a great idea, Sakura. Lead the way."

"One street over, almost to where you were talking about Kiba." She pointed to the left. "Across from the Yamanaka Flower Shoppe" It was a beautiful apartment she had always admired the architecture of when visiting her friend Ino at work. She pointed them to that one for precisely that reason, she had always wanted to live in it- or at least see the inside.

"Hopefully whoever lives there isn't around" Naruto said without thinking.

Tenten gave him a look, but said nothing and shook her head.

Crossing the street would prove difficult. Market streets were wide. Wide enough that I tired ninja would have trouble gathering enough chakra to cross by roof top.

"How do we get there?" Sakura thought aloud. Her voice was soft and carried through the air like vapor, condensing and fusing into their own thoughts as if they themselves had conjured her voice with mutual fear.

No one wanted to face the villagers they had sworn to protect. No one wanted to be near something so unknown and evil. No one wanted to become the fearsome monster. Who purposefully puts themselves in a danger they could otherwise avoid?

Taking a deep breath, Naruto turned around and started walking away. The others turned to watch him. Kiba opened his mouth as if he was about to rebuke him for being a coward, but closed it as the blonde boy turned back around. He raised his blue eyes to the sky and took another deep breath before lowering his determined face, eyes set on the roof across the way. He readied his body, crouching low and forward, chakra pooling at his feet like fire, and launched onward, feet pounding the rooftop as he neared the edge. He sprung powerfully off of his left leg.

The team watched as he glided through the air…at a steadily declining angle. He wasn't going to land on the opposing rooftop. They watched Naruto reach up and out with his arm as he neared the side of the building.

Sakura held her breath.

Naruto slammed into the wall, his hands grasping the gutters of the roof. Infected growled and pulled at his legs. He scrabbled, trying to lift his legs out of the grasp and find a new grip for his hands as the gutter began to pull away from the rooftop. Pooling chakra into his finger tips he planted his hand on the slanted roof top and began to pull himself up, one Infected gripping his heel. He kicked the wall, dangling by his one hand. "Get off!" He screamed at it. It was too weak to pull its head up to his leg, so turned his attention away from it and continued trying to pull himself up. The Infected let go as it's feet started to leave the ground, too weak to hold on. "That was too close." Naruto breathed, collapsing on the rooftop. "Don't do what I did." He called out to them, but Kiba was already running.

Kiba's feet left the ground and his arms were soon on the roof, scrambling to find a hold before he started slipping off. Naruto grabbed his wrist just in time and helped him up. "One of them touched me!" Kiba exclaimed, rushing away from the edge. "I hate that! I hate them!" He ranted, eyes wide.

They returned their gaze to the women across the street. "Should we have them do something else?" Naruto asked, concerned they wouldn't make it across. "I mean, we barely made it."

"What else could we do? They're both strong women. They'll make it." Kiba said, waving Sakura on.

She began running; she leapt, powerfully off one leg.

"You're on her team, and yet you forget she has the most powerful chakra control out of anyone we know, besides Tsunade." Kiba spoke confidently.

Naruto watched surprised, as the girl landed before them, teetering on the edge. He grabbed her hand to steady her and pull her forward. She sat down between them, a smirk on her face. "Wasn't nearly as hard as you both made it look."

They grunted and turned from her, crossing their arms.

She laughed.

"One more," Kiba said, turning his gaze upon the lone Tenten.

"She's nervous; she says her chakra control has never been that great" Sakura said, keeping her eyes on her teammate. "You can do it, Tenten!" She shouted, hands cupped around her mouth. She saw Tenten ready herself and gaze steadily at her target, just as if she were facing an enemy. She ran and jumped determinedly.

They weren't sure she was going to make it.

They ran to the edge, just as one of her hands caught the gutter. She gasped, the gutter pulling free. She reached with her left hand, grabbing Naruto's arm as he took her wrist. The gutter pulled free, Kiba took hold of her hand just in time as Infected licked at her feet.

Tenten collapsed on the rooftop, "We're not doing that again. We're not doing that again" she resolved. "That was awful. I don't want to die" She wiped sweat from her brow and looked up Sakura, "Where to next?"

Sakura pointed across the next street over. The buildings on the other side of the street were taller, since they each had an apartment on the second floor. Her beautifully architected building stood flanked by another street and a slightly shorter building.

"There's no way we're jumping to that one." Tenten assessed. She didn't want anybody to even suggest such a thing.

"No, I suppose not." Sakura agreed, "I don't know what we're going to do about this one."

Surveying the area, Kiba found a telephone wire stretching from their row of buildings to the block before them. "You ready, Sakura?" He asked with a slight smirk on his face.

She looked at him skeptically, "Ready for what?" She dared ask.

He pointed to their left at the slim piece of wire. "You're the smallest and you have the best chakra control."

She gaped at him. "Excuse me?" She sputtered

"We need you to cross that wire to the other side." Kiba commanded.

"Who exactly is 'we'? I don't remember being consulted about this" Naruto argued, his eyes piercing Kiba's.

"He's right." Tenten butted in.

Naruto nodded appreciatively.

"No, Kiba's right." Tenten said, pointing toward him. Naruto growled and began to protest, but Tenten continued. "What other choice do we have? Do you see another way? We obviously can't stay here; we have to get over there. She has to test it out for us. See if it's stable enough for the rest of us to follow."

"Then why don't you shimmy across that wire?" Sakura said darkly.

Tenten looked startled, "You have a point." She breathed.

Just then, thunder clapped. They had been so caught up in the excitement of the day that they hadn't noticed the sky growing every so slowly dark since morning dawned. Rain began to fall in little scattered droplets, decorating the earth with its sprinkles.

In Konoha, thunderstorms were harsh. They came upon suddenly and severely. Lightning frequently struck towers, thunder shook the earth, and rain poured mercilessly. The whole charade would last hours on end.

Below them, Infected were breaking through windows to reach anyone who may be hiding out inside the buildings. Screams were heard, along with more sounds of shattering glass and overturned furniture.

The group clenched their jaws and refused to make eye contact. They knew they couldn't get down there without getting bitten, there were too many of them and they were too riled up.

"Can't we try something else?" Naruto pleaded. "We could launch her. She could run and-"

"None of us have enough chakra for that." Kiba cut him off sharply. "We haven't slept since the night before last and we've been running from and fighting off these damned things since last night and I can't even remember the last time I ate. I'm pretty sure you're all in that same boat. We are running out of energy, Naruto. We need to be done. And I'm sure we're all a little pissed off and would like to get some rest, so let's get this over with." He spoke in a spitting, yet commanding tone that none of them could argue with. In fact, none of them would- he was right about all of it.

"Let's get this over with," Sakura said, defeated.

"Is now really the best time?" Tenten said, now concerned.

They turned to look her. She hesitated before waving her hand toward the sky, "With the….lightning and everything. The wire will be wet…and what if someone makes a call? There's a crisis, you know? Maybe we should find another way."

"If we wait too long then there actually will be lightning for concern. These storms last for hours- we can't stay on the roof and be safe. We have to move now or never." Kiba declared.

Tenten's face still betraying her concern, she nodded and they walked on toward the wire. She squeezed Sakura's hand before her comrade faced her challenge. "Good luck," she whispered.

"I'll need it," Sakura breathed back. She set out resolutely toward the wire. With one foot planted on the tight cord, she glanced back to her comrades. Her face hardened, jaw locking and eyes unwaveringly set on her destination. Concentrating her chakra to her feet, she held her arms out and began the challenge. Rain pattered around her, rousing the predator's fury below, causing them to look up and catch notice of her.

Her comrades watched in heightened fear as the Infected's attention turned to Sakura. Their bodies began to move like a large mass being pressed in on both sides as they gathered beneath Sakura's small frame.

"Just don't look down, Sakura" Kiba breathed.

Their arms reached for the unattainable. Their unnerving voices carried through the air with frustration. They trampled over each other. They growled. They slobbered.

Sakura held her breath as she saw the end drawing nearer. Her muscles tensed as her brought her foot down on the solid rooftop. Taking a deep breath, she raised her eyes to her fellow teammates. She waved an arm.

Kiba's eyes landed on Tenten. "Go." He told her.

Tenten swallowed, knowing she had never been the best at chakra control. That's why she's a weapon's specialist and not a med-nin.

"You can do it, Tenten!" Naruto said, holding a thumbs up and sporting his cheese smile.

She smiled at him before turning to the cord. She couldn't raise her gaze above a few feet ahead of her. Doing the best she could to concentrate her chakra, she began her trek. The storm was picking up. In the distance she heard thunder. She tried to drown it out and focus on her balance. She was doing okay for now. Wind began to blow around her, messing up her balance. She leaned forward over the wire and continued, hoping she was close but remaining unwilling to look up. Just below the rope she could make out blurry images of Infected rustling around.

Abruptly, the wind and the rain picked up at just the same moment. She felt her body tip, her eyes widened as her vision took in the sky rather than the cord. Her feet were no longer where they should be. Suddenly she saw the cord before her vision, quickly becoming further away. She reached out with both hands, her right hand missed. Luckly, she felt her left hand wrap itself around her refuge. The infected filled the streets. She couldn't help but notice them from here. She faced them in her vulnerability. They saw her and they were rushing. A breath forced itself from her lungs and she tore her eyes away from the scene. She focused in on the wire, bringing her right hand up to grab it.

Lightning flashed and thunder rolled. They were running out of time. If she didn't hurry Naruto and Kiba wouldn't make it. Something bumped her foot. Quickly, she curled her body up, wrapping her legs around the wire. She would shimmy. She spared a glance down as she continued moving. Crazed, yellow eyes met hers and she turned her head back abruptly.

"Almost there, Tenten! Watch your head!"

Just then her head knocked into the wall, sending furious pain through her skull and neck. She swung around and climbed up. Turning around she saw Kiba running at the rope. "What is he doing?!" She gasped.

"He's determined." Sakura said, a small smile tugging at her lips although her eyes betrayed her fear.

In moments he was there. Beside them, breathing hard and eyes wild.

Tenten couldn't help but brighten up when his eyes met hers. "You are crazy. I'm impressed."

He gave her an exhausted smile and thumbs up

"That shouldn't have worked." Sakura remarked.

"Yeah, I know" He agreed, running his hand through his hair. "But we were running out of time"

Naruto was shimmying across the wire in much the same way Tenten had finished her turn. He was doing it quickly as the rain had begun to pour in thousands of large droplets. The wire was becoming much to slippery; more than once they saw his hands slip and his torso descend quickly toward those who wish to dine with it.

When they had all made it safely to the other side, they made their way to the balcony.

"Hopefully no one is….undead in there." Sakura breathed, reaching for the sliding glass door. Drapes hung over the opening, shading their vision to the inside.

"We'll check every room." Kiba said.

"Be careful, everyone." Naruto warned.

Sakura pulled the slid the door open. Kunai ready in one hand, she abruptly swung the drapes aside. They weren't prepared for what they saw.

A higher pitched growl than the ones they hadn't realized they'd gotten used to hearing arose in the room. Their eyes locked on two small children and a woman, all infected. The undead pounced forward. Sakura jumped to the side, dodging the woman and her grasp. In a flash Naruto appeared before her, slashing the head off the woman's shoulder. It thumped to the ground, its eyes fixed upon them in anger as it's mouth stretching open in a furious attempt to rip open their flesh.

Sakura's breathing hitched, "Why is it-"

Naruto let out a frustrated yell as he smashed his foot down on the woman's head, crushing her skull. Sakura could just make out a wet gleam on his cheeks before he turned toward the rest of the room.

Tenten was standing on top of a tall counter separating the living room from the kitchen, she had a kunai in one hand, stretched in front of her, but Sakura could tell she didn't want to use it. Her eyes were wide with a confusion, frustration, sadness. Below her was a small child, arms outstretched toward her, hissing. The child grabbed one of the barstools, intending to climb toward it's prey. Tenten's foot came down, knocking the chair over. She looked around, making eye contact with Sakura for a brief moment. Her eyes showed her terror; they were blurry with tears.

"What do we do?" Naruto whispered.

Kiba let out a frustrated yell. His hands gripped the hair on either side of a young girl about 5 years old. She was gripping his arms, tearing at his skin. His lips were pulled back in a snarl, his eyebrows narrowed. She was twisting, growling, trying futilely to bite his wrists. In a quick moment he let out a growl before twisting her head quickly in his hands, breaking her neck.

The girl's body collapsed to the floor with a sickening thump, her head turned awkwardly. Kiba's knees weakened and he dropped beside her, feeling defeated despite bringing down an Infected.

Tenten's focus had drifted to Kiba, along with the child's attention below her. It had lost interest in Tenten and was rushing toward him with a furious growl. Forgetting the nature of the Infected below her, all she could register was the danger of comrade. "No!" She launched from the table, her feet landing just a step behind the little boy. One of her arms wrapped around the top of the boy's head, the other took a kunai across his neck, slashing it open. Her eyes locked on Kiba's, both sharing the same feelings of hopelessness, shame, fear.

A growing growl was still emulating off of the child in her arms.

"You have to get its brain." A defeated voice said from the other side of the room, Naruto.

She couldn't control it anymore. Tears fell from eyes in streams. She screamed, throwing the boy away from her. He charged back anyway, his head wobbling on his shoulders, off balancing him. He fell over and she stretched forward, thrusting the kunai in his head. She laid there, hand still grasped around the kunai sticking out of his head and sobbed.

Another small growl was heard and a pitiful sound escaped Kiba's mouth as he realized the girl's brain had not been damaged. He had paralyzed her body but she was still….'alive'. Weakly he reached for his kunai and held it out above her head. He brought it down with force, blood splashed up from her skull. He dropped his hand and bowed his head. His shoulders were shaking.

Naruto and Sakura approached their comrades. Sakura gently took Tenten's hand off the kunai to remove it from the boy's head. She took the child in her arms and dragged it from the room toward the balcony where she toppled it off the rail. Shortly after, Naruto came with the little girl. They had already removed the woman's body.

They returned to find the other two just as they had left them on the floor.

Naruto walked up to Kiba and took him by the shoulder to raise him up.

Kiba looked into his eyes, "They're children. Innocent…civilian…children" He choked out.

Naruto dropped his gaze, "I know." He whispered. "but those where no longer innocent children. They weren't human any longer. We can't view them for who they were" He said, returning his blue eyed gaze to Kiba. Tears blurred his eyes, but the convincing intensity remained. "We have to stay strong."

Kiba squeezed the bridge of his nose, squeezing his eyes shut to push back the tears. "Yeah." He looked toward the kitchen. "Let's find food."

The boy's browsed the kitchen and cooked up some ramen while Tenten remained laying on the floor, facing the ceiling. She had just murdered a child.

"Tenten, you should eat with us." Sakura said softly.

"Our village…it's gone, isn't it?" Tenten said, her gaze fixed on the ceiling.

"We don't know for sure….we've only seen-"

"Enough to know it's doomed." Kiba finished, walking up with two bowls of ramen. He handed one to Sakura and set the other by Tenten on the floor. "Tenten's right." He said, walking back to grab his own bowl while Naruto sat at the bar devouring his own large bowl. "This is a beginning of something new. Something we're entirely unprepared for. We'll have to adapt to living completely in survival mode and start seeing civilians …children…" He closed his eyes tightened his jaw, "what used to be civilians and children, as something other than human. Our lives have taken a new turn."

Naruto slowed down his pace and looked around the room. "We're going to make it. And we'll find others. We're not alone. These things aren't going to take over if I have anything to do with it!" He proclaimed, slamming his fist down on the table, splashing his ramen on the counter.

Kiba sighed and grabbed a paper towel, cleaning up the mess.

"How long will we stay here?" Sakura asked.

"As long as we have to," Kiba said. "I'm going to check to make sure this place is secure." He said and left the room. He returned a few moments later. "The only doors out of here are to the balcony and this one," He said gesturing to the door next to the kitchen on the far wall, "Which leads to the store downstairs. Never open it. In fact, Naruto, Move the fridge in front of that door if you can. Everywhere else looks fine. I'm going to sleep; you should all do the same." He collapsed on to the couch and closed his eyes.

Sakura looked around, feeling lost. Tenten wasn't moving from her spot, but Sakura didn't want to sleep on the floor and she didn't want to go anywhere alone. She stood up to help Naruto move the fridge. "Will the cord even stretch that far?" She asked.

"Yeah, it's only a few feet from the door anyway." Naruto said as they pushed it to block the passageway.

"Well, goodnight Sakura." Naruto said, finding his way to the master bedroom.

Sakura remained lonely in the kitchen, overwhelming feelings of loneliness clouding her mind. She tried not to think of her parents and how she had just become an orphan. She tried not to think of how she was also now homeless, her entire village ransacked by a disease. She poured a glass of milk, securing herself in knowing that it would go bad soon if no one drank it. "Tenten?"

"Hn."

"Are you going to stay there all night? There's beds…"

Silence. Sakura thought she may have heard a small unintelligible sound from the girl, but took it as she didn't care. Sakura had never hurt a child before- especially not on top of a crisis. She let the other girl deal with the situation in her own way and decided she would deal with hers in her way. She would not be alone. And she would not sleep on the floor. Sakura made her way to the master bedroom where she found Naruto sound asleep and climbed in to bed beside him.