3 days later...

What's happening? Why are the dead literally coming back to life? Why did they go after the kids? What's happening to...me?

Naruto sighed as he sat in the back of Sasuke's truck, staring up at the star-filled sky. As always, the questions mounted faster than he could get answers. The only thing was, it wasn't a series of questions he could answer like he normally could. As he tried to come up with some form of solution, he found himself drifting to thoughts of everyone else that was with him.

He could see it in their eyes. They missed their old lives. They missed their families. They missed being safe.

They had given up literally everything to stay alive.

It would've been one thing had they done so cautiously, but so far, they'd survived on a combination of impulse, convenience, and luck. Naruto of all people knew that three things like that weren't going to last forever.

He felt Hinata stir slightly, nuzzling into his chest further. Akari frowned in her sleep and began to fidget, but calmed as Naruto gently pulled her closer to him. Shinji simply remained oblivious and snored the night away, earning a smirk from his blonde-haired father.

Sighing once more, he thought back to the confrontation with the group over his...incident...back at the estate.

*FLASHBACK*

"Oi dobe, we gotta talk." Sasuke said as he put another backpack of food away, shaking his head at how little they'd been left with. Naruto sighed as he quickly finished reassembling the m9 he'd been cleaning and set it down.

"What is it?" he asked, making his way to the Uchiha. Sasuke looked at him hard, his onyx eyes showing no emotion. He tilted his head back, signalling his captain to follow. He followed them a ways away from their small camp where Neji, Choji, Kiba, and Shikamaru were waiting.

"You mind telling us what happened back there?" Sasuke started off. Naruto sighed rubbing the back of his neck.

"Look, I don't know. I'm just as in the dark about it as you alright?" Sasuke continued to stare, until Choji spoke up.

"Listen Ace, we just need to know if you're okay. We can't have you waltzing around camp if you're nothing but a ticking timebomb." Choji said, crossing his arms. Naruto sighed once more, turning his back on the group.

"I don't know anything about it. All I know is that one minute I was trying to protect Shinji and Akari, the next i've got a blade the size of a goddamn claymore sticking out of my arm. I don't why it happened, why it went away, anything!" he said, his voice rising in frustration. Shikamaru looked at the ground in thought, before letting his eyes widen.

"Naruto...when we confronted those things, did it do anything to you? Hit you, bite you, scratch you, something?" he asked carefully. Naruto visibly stiffened before turning around, avoiding their gazes. As always Shikamaru had picked up on the tiniest of details

"Yeah, he stuck me with those claws..." he trailed off.

"Did it leave a mark or something?" Naruto sighed and nodded, lifting his shirt for his team to see. Kiba let out a whistle as he stared at the strange symbol imprinted in Naruto's gut.

"Wicked tat ya got there man." he said.

"Yeah..." the blonde giant mumbled. All of them gathered around to look at it, as if to decipher what exactly it meant.

"Well, it's no causing you any problems is it?" Neji asked, earning a nod from the blonde. Everyone seemed to mull over the new facts presented to them before letting out a sigh.

"As long as you've got this thing under wraps, I think we're all good." Kiba said with a shrug. All of them nodded.

"Go ahead back to camp, i'll be there in a sec." Naruto said, leaning against a tree.

"Don't take too long." Shikamaru droned as he walked away with the group. Sasuke lingered, choosing to lean against the tree opposite his best friend.

"Anything wrong?" Naruto asked with an eyebrow raised. Sasuke seemed to frown momentarily, but it dissappeared shortly afterwards.

"I know they're acting a little on the cold side, but I know you know that they're putting their families first, that's all." he said carefully. Naruto frowned, then nodded before heading back to the camp. Sasuke heaved a sigh of his own before following after him.

*END FLASHBACK*

Naruto continued to stare into the stars, hoping he would receive an answer or at least a little bit of solace to his problem, but the eternal silence they returned didn't help to ease his mind. He continued to stare into the night sky until the weight of his eyelids defeated his will, and sleep overcame him.

Hinata awoke ridiculously stiff, only to giggle as she realized she'd become Naruto's personal teddy bear once more. He'd wrapped an arm around her waist, an another across her chest, constricting both arms. His legs were intertwined with hers, leaving her nearly completely immobile. After a few minutes of relentless squirming, she managed to turn herself to where she was facing her comatose husband.

"Naruto-kun, it's morning." she said softly. He grunted and murmured a garbled response, earning a giggle from Hinata. Fortunately, she spoke gibberish, and gently pried an arm loose to stroke his cheek. "Come on love,I know you're tired, but you need to wake up." she spoke once more. He mumbled another incoherent sentence before bringing her closer and using her chest as a pillow. Hinata blushed hotly as she ran a hand through his spiky blonde locks.

"I know my...breasts...are amazing, but you need to wake up!" she said exasperatedly. He cracked a sapphire eye open in annoyance before nestling his face back within what he deemed 'heaven'. She frowned before smirking evilly. "Well if you wanna sleep go ahead, but the twins are eating the last of the ramen." she said ominously. If you blinked you would've missed him explode from the pallet in the back of the truck. Hinata laughed as he sprinted and grabbed his children, shaking them and yelling barbarically strung together sentences.

"RAMEN! YOU SOMETHING IT WITH DID! WHERE IS RAMEN?!" Naruto shouted incoherently, shaking them both like leaves.

"D-dad we don't have any ramen!" Akari cried out as she desperately attempted to pry the large hand that held her above the ground. Shinji expertly twisted himself and struck his dad in the crook of his elbow, causing him to relinquish his grip with a scowl. Shinji smirked in triumph before scampering away to retrieve some ramen for his insane father.

"As for YOU..." Naruto shouted at his daughter, who scowled at him. He quickly tugged her shirt up and began blowing raspberries on her tummy. She giggled and and squealed for help while her mother giggled at the two's antics. he smiled at her before setting her on his shoulders and walking back to his wife.

"Why is it always ramen?" he asked before hugging her, smirking.

Hinata and Ino chatted menially while they washed clothes, whilst TenTen and and Temari also talked, making lunch for everyone. Tayuya busied herself by playing games with Mei and Izumi. Meanwhile, the men planned another trip into Konoha for supplies.

"Alright, so on the last trip, we went through hickory road, and...third street." Neji said as he circled the location they had recently looted with a red marker. Sasuke and Naruto looked at the map with him while Kiba, Choji, and Shikamaru readied weapons.

"So maybe we could try Simmer lane and Vent street?" Naruto asked, circling the area with his finger. Sasuke and Neji seemed to contemplate the move.

"Shikamaru, if you had to guess, where would you say the zombies headed from Hickory and Third?" Sasuke called, not taking his eyes from the map. Shikamaru looked hard at the magazine in his hands before giving a response.

"Not a clue. If I had to take a shot in the dark, i'd say downtown. There were still fires burning and apparently some commotion down there."

"Hn."

"Sooo...maybe Ninth avenue to Vent, then take that neighborhood and the few stores around there?" Naruto pondered, tracing the route. Neji looked at the route and nodded.

"I believe that would be the best course of action. Sasuke?" The uchiha followed the route with his eyes and nodded.

"Seems like the best choice we've got right now, ne?" he asked. The two nodded, Naruto broke away to give the situation while Sasuke and Neji packed up the map equipment.

"Alright! Sasuke, Neji, and myself are going in to town! Sho, Kiba, Shika, you guys are on guard duty!" Naruto said, ignoring the groan from Kiba and the smile from Shikamaru. "Anything I should look out for?" he asked as he began packing his equipment.

"Ramen!" Shinji and Akari cried, clinging to his legs. He sighed but smiled, prying them off and putting each of them on a hip.

"Anything else?" he asked, eyeing his children, who merely giggled.

"A generator?" Temari suggested.

"A tent! I'm sick of sleeping in daddy's car!" Izumi chirped, earning a scowl from her father and a laugh from her mother.

"New clothes!" Mei shouted.

"Some sleep-aid would be nice." Sakura said

"Some more gas." Shikamaru drawled.

"Umm, would cinnamon bun ingredients be too much trouble?" Naruto made a mental checklist and laughed at the last suggestion, earning a blush from his wife.

"Alright we'll do out best, hopefully be back by sundown. Walkies are on channel 2." he called as he finished packing. "Look guys, m-16's and m9's only, 25 rounds a piece. We don't have ammo to just piss away anymore, yeah?" he asked with a sigh, earning a murmur of agreement amongst the Uchiha and Hyuga. He stuck a 3/4 full clip into his rifle, holstering his pistol afterwards.

"Don't forget your suppressors" Sasuke grunted.

"Gas cans ready?" Neji asked, adjusting the sight to his rifle.

"4 10 gallon cans." Naruto said.

"Alright let's head out!" Naruto barked, strolling behind his comrades as they made their way to Kiba's truck.

"Wait! I'm coming with you guys!" TenTen said, picking up an m-16 magazine to load. Neji stared at her as if she'd lost her mind.

"TenTen, no." he said simply, grasping the magazine in her hand, only for her to glare at him.

"Yes. I'm coming. Non-negotiable." she growled, snatching the magazine from him.

"What the hell do you mean 'non-negotiable'?! TenTen you're my wife! It's not safe out there!" Neji said, his voice beginning to raise. She in turn rolled her eyes , slamming the mag in the rifle and picking up a pistol magazine, loading it with 25 9mm bullets. He gave a frustrated sigh as he realized he would have to deal with her. She smirked as she finished loading her weapons. Quickly throwing some essentials in a knapsack, she hurried she gave a mock salute to Naruto, who grunted.

"Oh relax you guys, I know how to shoot!" she chirped.

"Yeah, yeah, just be careful." Sasuke said as he climbed into the driver's seat. Naruto reached for the handle to the passenger seat, he heard a voice behind him.

"Naruto wait! Naruto!" Ino called as she ran up to him. He turned around and looked at her curiously. "If you could get me this, um, hair straightener, i'd really appreciate it!" she said, handing him a slip of paper. The blonde giant looked at the paper and nodded, noticing she wouldn't meet his gaze, and the edge in her voice.

"Yeah, i'll do my best. Be back in a bit." She nodded before walking back to the camp. Sasuke started the truck and backed out of the camp, driving back towards the city.

"What'd you need to tell Naruto?" Choji asked gently as she crawled into his arms.

"Oh nothing, I just wanted to know if he would get me my hair straightener" she said with a smile, pecking him on the lips. He smiled back, pressing his forehead to hers.

"Yo lovebirds, lunch is ready!" Sakura called as she began putting food out for everyone. Ino led Choji by the hand so they could get some food, much to the goliath's delight.

'Please come through for me Naruto...'

"TenTen this seriously isn't a-" Neji started, clearly exasperated, and even more so worried because his wife was going to be with them. He was interrupted almost immediately as she turned to him.

"Neji I already told you, it'll be fine! I know how to shoot, I'm still in shape, and i'm quick on my feet. Sure I may not have the experience yet, but it'll all be fine babe." she smiled sweetly. Neji groaned before continuing to argue. Naruto mentally sighed as he pulled the piece of paper out of his pocket.

"THe hell does she need a hair straightener for anyway? It's the apocalypse for Kami's sake." he muttered, opening the paper.

'Naruto, What I'm about to tell you I NEED YOU TO KEEP SECRET, PLEASE! If you can, try and get me some pregnancy tests? I've been having a little morning sickness lately, and i've been getting weird cravings. Like I said, i'm counting on you to keep this a secret. I'm not sure what i'll do if I am pregnant, I guess we'll cross that bridge when we get to it.

-Ino

Naruto stared at the piece of paper in his hand in utter shock. What would they do if she was pregnant? Kami, what would they do if she wanted to keep it?

"Earth to dobe! We're ready!" Sasuke said, clearly annoyed. Naruto shook his head and looked at him, a grin on his face.

"Heh, sorry about that teme. We're about a mile away from Ninth avenue, as always, keep it tight, hand signals and whispers, Neji stick close to your woman, let's go." he said curtly. The small group exited the truck and looked around, giving a small breath of relief that no zombies had made themselves present.

"Easy pace for now, let's move." Naruto said. The group began a light jog down the war-torn road. TenTen held back the urge to be sick with an audible gulp, running closer to Neji. He squeezed her hand and gave her a reassuring look. Naruto looked on sadly at the battered remains of his hometown as they continued to Ninth avenue. He abruptly stopped them as a gunshot rang out. All of them stopped and ducked behind a car, looking out.

"Location?" Naruto muttered, his sapphire eyes quickly darting around the landscape. Sasuke and Neji both shook their heads. The blonde ground his teeth as he pulled out a map and tried to find a route to avoid the gunshot. As he traced different roads, another shot rang out, startling the group.

"Their not moving, guess that's a plus." Sasuke murmured. The others nodded in recognition. Naruto stared hard at the map, only looking up as Neji scooted over to him.

"We'll take the normal route, but cut at Denton street, then lap around here to get to Vent. We would end up on the opposite side of the neighborhood, far away form the shooters, and we'd swing by the pharmacy and stores on the way out." he finished, tracing the route out. Naruto and Sasuke seemed to contemplate the route, before nodding their heads.

"Well we're not gaining any time just sittin' here, let's go." Naruto grunted. They all gave a silent nod before proceeding with the new path. Naruto peeked up over the car, then gave a short hand signal, telling them to move while he covered them. The three did so with gusto, quickly sprinting to a house a few hundred feet away. Sasuke gave Naruto a signal, peeking out to cover him in the case he was spotted. The blonde giant sprinted to the house and pressed against the wall, taking a quick peek in the direction of the shots. He gave a nod and took the front, leading them to the opposite end of the neighborhood.

"Sir subject Gamma-3011 is in the immediate area, should we deploy him in order to gauge the progress of Subject Hades?" The gray haired man inquired. His superior seemed to ponder the thought for a moment as he stared at his computer screen, hands clasped together.

"Why not? Monitor the viral restrictors and his stability throughout their engagement, make sure Hades doesn't get out of hand." he answered. The gray haired man almost let his scoff escape him, but cleared his throat to cover.

"Sir, with all due respect, Gamma-3011 is one of the more promising subjects, are you positive you want to keep Hades' restrictors locked in?" He received a chuckle in return before the chair swiveled around.

"Kabuto you underestimate Hades. He'll be able to handle himself." The man said with a smile before continuing back to his observation of the computer screen.

"As you wish sir." The man now identified as Kabuto said before briskly walking away.

"That's all I can carry." Naruto grunted, shouldering another large rucksack. They had just finished ransacking the pharmacy which was at the end of the neighborhood. It was 6:02 and the sun was beginning it's decent.

"Alright, that's all we can get for now. Everyone alright?" Sasuke asked, strapping the rucksack to his back. He, Neji, and TenTen all had military backpack's crammed to the brim with supplies, while Naruto carried two. Neji and TenTen both carried food in their packs, Sasuke carried various clothes, a sizeable tent, and a few medical supplies. Naruto's raw strength had really come in handy this time around. He carried a small generator they'd taken from one of the small gas stations, along with nearly 60 pounds of fuel in the other pack. All three nodded, getting ready as Neji stood by the door. They were down to bare-bones on their ammunition. While they hadn't encountered any zombies on their initial route, once they'd actually entered the neighborhood, they'd found quite a few, which had drained them significantly of their ammunition.

"Alright. 3. 2. 1. Here we go!" Sasuke hissed, following Neji closely out of the door. They were at the pharmacy, and their truck was in sight. TenTen smiled and grabbed Neji's hand, whom gave her a ghost of a smile.

"Alright, you two go, TenTen and I will cover." Neji muttered. Naruto nodded, promptly sprinting to the truck, thankful for the lack of undead in the vicinity. He quickly tossed his equipment in the backseats and crouched against the truck, taking his position. Naruto gave the hand signal for them to proceed, and gripped his pistol tightly. Sasuke came next, throwing his pack in with Naruto's and got in the driver's seat, starting the car. Naruto signaled TenTen to come next. Neji gripped her hand tightly, giving her a few words of encouragement. She nodded worriedly before quickly running towards the truck.

The ground began to shake, causing TenTen to trip. She quickly got to her feet, dusting off her knees and giving a much relieved Neji a reassuring look. As she smiled at him and nodded, before being raised to the ground. She looked at Neji, confused as to why he was screaming and running towards her. As he gaze traveled to Naruto and Sasuke, both who were shouting at Neji and had their guns raised, her eyes came into contact with the giant grey and black spike that was jutting out of her midsection. She coughed, sending a shower of blood everywhere, before her eyes rolled into the back of her head, and her head lolled to the side, motionless.

Neji had been screaming and running towards the large burly man that had impaled his wife with some sort of spike on his arm. He ignored his teammates screaming at him to stop, and raised his rifle, firing off what was left in his magazine. The man seemed to emit some form of growl before flinging TenTen's body from his arm. Naruto and Sasuke followed suite, firing off what little bit they had left in their M-16's before pulling out their pistols. All three paused as the man's arm began to mutate.

With a sickening 'CRACK!', a strange grey colored handle of sorts jutted from his shoulder. He reached over and grasped the handle with his other arm, and in one motion, pulled the giant blade from his arm. His arm made a sick squelching sound before taking a normal appearance. He hefted the gigantic, 10 foot long blade onto his shoulders, and slowly moved his head from side to side, observing the trio he was up against.

They all stared back at the man who seemed to be a good 10 inches taller than even Naruto. His skin had a somewhat grey, pale complexion. His hair was scraggly and black, spiking in every direction, while his face from his nose down was covered in several bandages. His beady black eyes held a cold, calculating gaze about them as they shifted from soldier to soldier.

Neji gave a battle cry before unloading his pistol magazine into the assailant, causing the man to recoil once more, before turning his fierce gaze to the hyuga. Neji, hastily slammed another magazine into his m9, but it was all in vain. The man charged him and swung his massive blade, cutting a horridly deep gash in Neji's leg. He cried out in pain as he feel to his knee, only to be gripped by the throat and lifted from the ground. Naruto and Sasuke began firing with their pistols, causing him to whirl around and face them. He jammed the large blade in the ground, bringing his now free hand to untie the bandages from his face. All three soldier's eyes widened at the razor-sharp set of teeth that were in his grinning mouth.

"Any last words?" his gravelly voice traveled throughout the road. In a final act of defiance, Neji spit in the man's face.

"Fair enough." he said as he wiped the saliva from his face. He opened his jaws impossibly wide before biting into Neji's throat.

"NEJI!" Naruto and Sasuke screamed simultaneously, raising their weapons and emptying another magazine as the man tore out a piece of their pale-eyed friend's throat right before their eyes. He seemed to chew for a moment before swallowing the hunk of meat. He tossed Neji's body next to TenTen's. Wiping his mouth, he turned to the other two awe-struck soldiers grinning.

"What the hell are you?" Sasuke asked in fear-struck wonder. The man let out a gravelly chuckle.

"Name's Zabuza Momochi. Judging by your faces, you remember me from my time in Kiri, no?" he asked as he raised an eyebrow. Both soldiers gulped.

A former lieutenant of Kirigakure's military, whom had defected. He had gone a spree of gruesome murders, primarily killing travelers between Konoha and Kiri during the misty morning, hence his nickname, "The Demon of the Mist". All 38 of his victims were found with a fatal stab wound to a major organ. In short, the perfect assassin. The far more grisly fact that had been concealed from the media however, was what he did after the murders. While the cause of death had been identified as a fatal organ stab, it was a wonder they'd managed to extract that from the remains. It was soon discovered that he had been surviving off of his victims' flesh...

"But if you're wondering about this beauty," he paused, gesturing to the large blade, "This is my new pride and joy, Kubikiribocho. As for it being a part of me? That crazy virus that's been going around lately, guess I had a partial immunity to it. Let's me do neat stuff like that." he said chuckling.

"Alas, enough explanations, it's time for you two to die." he said before running towards them, a grating sound accompanying him from his sword draggin along the asphalt. Naruto tackled Sasuke to the side as the cleaver impacted where they were merely two seconds earlier. Zabuza quickly turned, bringing the sword down on the blonde. Naruto quickly rolled to the side, barely avoiding the giant cleaver once more before hopping to his feet. Zabuza pulled the sword from the ground

'CLANG!'. Naruto cracked open an eyes to see the his arm had mutated into the blade once more. Zabuza looked at him in amazement before jumping back. Naruto stared at his arm in awe.

'Now's not the time for cold feet. Put this thing to some use!' he screamed in his mind. With a guttural roar, he charged the large man before him. Their blades met once more as the two reached a deadlock, both trying to out-muscle the other.

"I've had yet to find someone who can give me a challenge, much less someone like me!" Zabuza laughed before breaking the deadlock.

"Oh I'll give you a challenge you son of a bitch!" Naruto snarled, charging him once more. The two engaged eachother once more, blades clashing, cuts opening, and two pillars of pure rage crashing together. However, it wasn't long before Zabuza started to gain the upper hand. Having the blade as a part of your body granted much more powerful attacks, but your movement was hindered, while removing it to treat it as a sword allowed for much more versatile strikes. Zabuza ducked a powerful horizontal strike, then slid past the blonde warrior, slicing a deep gash in hip. Naruto gasped in pain, before turning to face the demon. Naruto eyed the Kubikiribocho carefully, wishing he had a blade of his own instead of this arm.

'I know the thing's strong and all, but I need something faster!' he thought worriedly. As if on cue, the strange spike the jutted from his elbow seemed to morph and change, taking on the form of a stout handguard. As if his body was telling him what to do, he gave the handle a tug, unsheathing an impressive looking, 5 foot long, black and red streaked blade (Check my profile). Zabuza eyed the sword warily before charging once more, Kubikiribocho poised for an overhead strike. Naruto barely had time to react, raising his sword to block. Zabuza smirked, expecting to simply cleave him in two, sword and all. Naruto braced for the impact, praying his sword could withstand the blow.

'CLANG!'. Naruto felt his teeth rattle in his head as the burly man's sword slammed into his with wrecking ball force. Zabuza jumped back and eyed his blonde haired opponent warily. Naruto returned his fierce gaze before squeezing his sword and charging. He smirked inwardly as he remembered the various kenjutsu classes he'd taken over the years. Everyone always told him he was a 'prodigy' or a 'natural' and he would just laugh, saying he worked hard. 'I don't think I could be any more thankful for my hard work or those classes than right now' he thought, bringing his sword down onto Zabuza's massive blade. The two engaged in a vicious battle once more, attempting to tear one-another apart with each swing. Naruto finally caught his opportunity as Zabuza kicked him and followed it with a large vertical slash. He jumped towards him, letting the blade pass mere inches in front of him before embedding itself in the hard asphalt. He roared as he plunged the sword into the demon's chest, taking him to the ground in the process. The murderer attempted to push Naruto off, but the blonde giant held fast, pressing even harder, allowing the sword to go deeper into the man. Zabuza grit his teeth as blood began leaking from his mouth, before his eyes rolled to the back of his head and he stopped his struggle. Naruto panted and looked at the man with ragged eyes before pulling the blade from his chest. He stared at the exotic sword for a moment, mesmerized by it's seeming expert design and craftsmanship, the way it felt perfect for him.

The way it seemed...alive. As he turned the blade over, it promptly morphed and receded into his arm.

As the world refocused to him, he whirled around once he heard screaming and a strange gurgling sound. Sasuke had his shirt pressed into Neji's throat, desperately trying to keep him alive. Naruto rushed to his side, looking at his friend with wide eyes. Neji looked at him and did the one thing Naruto wished he'd never see again. Neji raised his hand weakly, attempting to grasp Naruto's with his own. Naruto gripped the Hyuga's hand tightly, tears making his way down his face as Neji's grip began to weaken. Neji raised his opposite hand and held it to Sasuke, who took it in earnest.

"Neji...please don't leave...please..." Naruto cried, desperately gripping his pale-eyed friend's hand. Neji gave a small shake of his head before squeezing tighter.

"Just...don't let us die...in vain...make sure...Hana...and...the others...make...it..." he choked. With one final, ragged, blood filled breath, the life seemed to just drift out of him

"Neji? NEJI?! NEJI NO?!" Naruto and Sasuke's screams echoed through the air at the loss of their comrade. Even at his wits end, Sasuke managed to pull himself together, quickly grabbing the packs and flinging them into the back of the truck.

"Naruto get up! We've gotta go now!"the Uchiha barked, jumping into the drivers seat. Naruto gripped his friend's hand, giving it one final squeeze before turning to the large group of undead approaching, giving them one final hateful glare, he staggered to the truck, slamming the door.

As the truck roared to the campgrounds, the cabin remained silent. Sasuke gripped the steering wheel tightly, grinding his teeth, while his blonde counterpart slumped in his seat, tears brimming in his sapphire eyes.

"Naruto..." The Uchiha called softly. He turned his head when he saw him weakly raise his head.

"You know it wasn't your fault, there was nothing you could've done." He said calmly. Naruto hung his head in defeat, the image of TenTen and Neji being murdered right before his eyes.

It was Gaara and the mission to the rockies all over again.

"We just shouldn't have gone at all. After we found out there were more people, we should've called it off and waited. It wasn't safe, I knew-"

"Naruto you can't possibly be blaming yourself for this! How were we supposed to know that some freak like Zabuza would just show up outta nowhere?!Much less if he'd fucking ATTACK us?!" Sasuke's harsh reply. Sasuke immediately regretted raising his voice over the subject. He braced for the booming yelling that would follow, but was taken aback when he heard a deep chuckling.

"Does that matter now Sasuke? Does it? What we did only proves we were going in blind when we should have just backed out of it all together! Everyone looks at me as being the leader of our little 'group', the one responsible. HOW THE HELL AM I SUPPOSED TO TELL THEM NEJI AND TENTEN DIED OVER A GENERATOR, SOME BANDAIDS, AND A COUPLE CANS OF FOOD?! HUH?! HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO TELL THEM WE LEFT THEIR BODIES BACK THERE AS SNACKS TO THE FUCKING ZOMBIES?! HUH?! DID YOU THINK ABOUT HANA?! HUH?! HOW DO I TELL HER THAT HER PARENTS DIED FOR SOME FUCKING SUPPLIES?!" Naruto roared, his voice practically shaking the truck. Sasuke was silenced by his friend's retort. He'd completely forgotten about addressing the others, much less having to break it to their daughter. He stared on as they continued the drive to the camp grounds.

The red sun had begun to set, basking everything in a beautiful orange and red skin. The group anxiously awaited the return of Naruto's team, hoping they would be able to replenish, at least somewhat, the dwindling supplies they were living off of. The children played, read, or talked, entertaining themselves while the adults waited with bated breath for their friend's (and loved one's) return.

"Yo! Here they come!" Shikamaru called, letting the binoculars fall from his hands and hang on his neck. Everyone flocked to the entrance of the campgrounds as the truck pulled in. As the two men exited, everyone immediately sensed something was wrong. The feeling was only slammed home as they saw no other movement inside of the truck. Naruto's bright, sapphire blue eyes seemed to have grayed over, while Sasuke's gaze seemed, even more lifeless than usual. They hefted the packs out of the vehicle and gave them to Kiba, Choji, and Shikamaru. Hana seemed to ask the question everyone was wanting to ask, and trotted over, tugging on Naruto's monstrous hand.

"Uncle Naru? Where's mommy and daddy?" she asked curiously. Everyone watched silently as he visibly stiffened, looking down at her. He slowly knelt down to her level, much to the horror of everyone who was watching.

"They...They didn't make it" he said softly, placing his hands on her tiny shoulders. Hana looked at him strangely, before deciphering what he meant. Her brown eyes widened, and her mouth opened slightly.

"T-they're d-d-dead?" she practically whispered. Naruto let his head fall, staring at the ground as her form began to quiver in his hands.

"I-I'm sorry Hana..." he spoke softly. Tears began to fall from her face, hitting the ground and mixing with his own. She broke from his grasp and ran from the group.

"Hana wait!" Temari called, running after her. Tayuya quickly followed her. Everyone else simply stood by, completely shell-shocked by what they had just learned. Naruto rose to his feet, his expression one of complete sorrow. He walked over and sat in a chair by the fire. A lone tear trailed its way down his rugged, whiskered face, it's small 'pat' on the ground, seeming to resonate throughout the encampment. Another tear rolled down. Then another. He continued to sit silently and stare into the fire, thinking back to when he'd first gained the Hyuga's friendship and respect...

*FLASHBACK*

"Alright you guys, no being assholes, no crippling blows, above the belt, and since you two are too macho to wear correct equipment, go easy on the face. Hell, who am I kidding, FIGHT!" the lieutenant shouted. A 22 year old Naruto, and 23 year old Neji both quickly stepped in and began hammering on one-another, their boxing gloves smashing into cheeks, ribs, kidneys, and stomachs with wrecking ball force. Neither seemed to have even the slightest hint of submitting about them, even as their eyes swelled, and sickly purple bruises developed everywhere a punch was thrown. The brawl went on for several minutes, marines shouting on all sides of the ring, a rather sizeable portion of their pay in their hands, staked on their fighter of choice.

Naruto barely dodged a powerful hook from his Hyuga counterpart, throwing a crushing body strike that made him tuck up to cover his midsection. Naruto grinned internally as he threw a powerful left haymaker, striking Neji right in the jaw. The Hyuga seemed to sway for a moment before collapsing. Naruto howled in victory, before removing his gloves. He took a drink from his water bottle as he looked at the unconscious form of Neji that was being tended to by a few fellow soldiers.

"Come on dude! Wake up!" A corporal said, lightly smacking him for what seemed like the hundredth time. "Christ, how hard did Naruto hit the guy?" he muttered to himself. There was a groan, followed by a few whoops from the soldiers. Neji's pale eyes slowly came into focus, and he stared at the cluster of soldiers that were crouched around him.

"Did I win?" he slurred, slowly sitting up. He was met by raucous laughter and a bottle of water.

"Hate ta break it to ya Hyuga, but I won." Naruto said rather brashly. Neji frowned before getting to his feet, removing his gloves. He walked forward and held his hand out.

"Looks like I was wrong Uzumaki. Guess you do deserve to be a solider." Neji said, a small smirk visible on his face. Naruto looked at him for a moment, pondering if his offer was genuine, before tightly grasping his hand with a grin.

*FLASHBACK END*

And that's a wrap on our 5th chapter! I'm really sorry guys, but some different things have been happening lately that's caused a massive delay in my writing. I've lost a couple family members, school's been brutal, and i've been having a few personal problems i've been dealing with. All this together has really killed my motivation to write. Now while i've lost motivation, that doesn't mean i've simply given up, far from it. I'm constantly writing down other ideas I have, as well as occasionally working on my current stories. I'm going to be putting my other two stories up for adoption in hopes someone else can make something out of them, as I really only have the desire to continue with this one and another story im currently working on on the side. Anyway, I'll update this one as often as I can (which may not be that often sadly), so just pop in and check it out every once in a while, who knows, a new chapter may be waiting for you!

As always, reviews, good, bad, and ugly are always welcome! Hope you guys take it easy, see ya at the next update!

-Fett-spy