Forward Unto Dawn Chapter 14: This is how Angels Die, a Naruto + Highschool of the Dead Crossover fanfic

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or Highschool of the Dead.

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"Explain, now." Naruto said in a commanding tone as he roughly gripped Jin's arm. He didn't like getting played for a fool. He frankly doubted anyone did. He also didn't like being lied to. Both of those ideals had just slammed into him full force mere moments ago. Over all, the lie wasn't a big issue. Going from friend to family member meant no different. However the fact that Jin strung him along on a lie did not win him any points in his book. At least not anymore. Not in this world.

Jin froze at the top of the porch under the blonde's gaze and grip. "What's there to say? It's my mother... we are just going through some tough times at the moment." Jin said reluctantly.

Naruto's jaw tightened at that. Family issues, that was a concept he was far too familiar with. "So she's here then?" Naruto asked with a frown. They didn't have the time to get into a big argument on the porch. If there was going to be an issue between them, then it can be taken care of during their down time.

Jin nodded as he looked over the front door, as if he was scanning the entire house with x-ray vision. "Yeah. I went to school the other day, and she went to go teach at the Children's Elementary, alongside Komuro's mother. She likely got done with school, and drove back here. Her car is out in the drive way. So I doubt she went today, given everything that's happening." Jin said quickly, a good deal of worry bleeding into his voice.

Jin quickly reached into his pocket and grabbed a key that was attached to what appeared to be a small bar of flint on a chain. He slid the key in with practiced ease, and turned to open the door.

It didn't budge.

Naruto raised an eyebrow, whilst Jin's eyes narrowed. He pushed against the door more heavily, only for the same problem to present itself. He appeared completely ready to throw his entire large body against the door in an effort to break it down. However Naruto tugging on his arm shot down that idea.

"Come on." Naruto whispered as he looked over the house in a new found light.

"But my-"

"Shut up, follow me." Naruto cut in coldly as he hopped off the side of the porch and proceeded to make his way around the side of the house.

Jin reluctantly let go of the doorknob and followed Naruto around to the back of the house. However it was only upon turning the corner that Jin opened and closed his mouth a couple times to effectively find the words for the sight he saw.

Naruto had since scaled the side of the house through use of the storm drain, and an incredibly tiny indent in the wall where he placed his foot. He was hanging with his left arm from the storm drain right in front of a window. "Which room does this window lead to?" Naruto whispered just loud enough for Jin to hear him down below.

Jin wracked his mind for a second not used to using window entrances before replying, "Umm, the bathroom."

Naruto nodded slightly before reaching into his tool bag with his free hand. He drew a kunai with a frown as he looked over the window for a moment. He used his teeth to roll up the sleeve on his right arm, revealing the metal shackle as well. However he was more focused on the window.

The window window was no different than any window he had in his own house. No fancy glass. No unique pattern woven into it. Just glass. However there was a very fine netted screen right before the window.

Naruto wedged his kunai in the top right corner of the of the netted screen before violently pushing up on his kunai. The effect of the screen popping off was achieved easily, and rather quietly.

Naruto then closed his eyes before he channeled a very small and fine layer of wind chakra to the tip of his kunai. It didn't need to be anything fancy, or anything with combat potential like Asuma's wind chakra providing additional length to his blades. He just needed a sharp fine tip.

He then quickly cut along the the top side, followed by the left and then the right. It was quick and effortless. He slowed his roll as he came to the last cut holding the glass together. He carefully cut a small circle in the bottom right corner of the window.

The action was followed by the blonde spinning his kunai in his hand, and giving one light tap on the circle with the blunt end of the kunai. The tiny circle of glass fell out, inside the house falling onto the tile floor with a small clinking sound in the silence.

Naruto tightened his jaw as he finished the deed by making the final cut along the bottom of the window. He then quietly lifted the window from it's frame through use of the tiny hole he had cut into it. He looked behind him, ignoring the surprised face of Jin as he swung the glass window, tossing it and sticking it into the dirt ground beside the teen.

"Be quiet when you climb in." Naruto whispered quietly before he lifted himself into the bathroom in complete silence.

Jin followed the blonde with his eyes briefly before casting his gaze to the large square of glass stuck in the dirt not far from him. All he could do was frown as he slung his crossbow onto his back before grabbing the drain pipe. He had a bunch of questions running through his head at that point concerning the blonde. However he had so few answers. So he instead merely opted on focusing on what he could do, and what he did know. It was those thoughts stuck in his head as he scaled the pipe into the bathroom.

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"Rei come on wait! Please!" Takashi pleaded as he briskly tried to catch up to the fleeing brown haired girl. "Can you at least talk to me!"

Slap!

The vicious crack resounded through the back yard that abruptly ended the chase between the two teens. The crack was followed by a deep silence, the only sound in the wind that of a light hammering from the driveway below. Even the blades of grass beneath their feet stood still as the two teens entered a cold stare off.

"You have no right to fucking speak to me Takashi." Rei said in a scathing tone as she leaned in further, her fist at her side clenching in anger.

Takashi's jaw tightened at that all the while his eyes gained a look of sad recognition. "What, you are mad about Miku?" Takashi asked with a frown.

Rei fumed at the question as she straightened herself back up, "You're an idiot. You know that right?" she said bitterly crossing her arms over her ample chest while maintaining her glare.

Takashi rolled his eyes at the insult. "Whatever." he mumbled, not wanting to get into a game of name calling, particularly with a title Saya had called him far too many times in the past. "What is your problem?"

"My problem?" Rei repeated the words slowly before shaking her head and walking over to the railing of the elevated back yard that protected people from the drop into the driveway. "You haven't changed at all." she spat out in frustration.

"What change? Why would I change?" Takashi said bitterly as he took in her words. "It's not like I'm dating anyone Rei." he said pointedly, his emphasis calling on far too memories to count.

Rei turned and shot Takashi a dirty look, "Oh so that is why you choose to try and fuck the school slut? Because you aren't fucking dating anyone?" She asked in an emotional yell which quickly caused her to clench her jaw and try and bring herself down to Earth with her emotions.

Takashi barely restrained a growl at that, "Oh well sorry. Not everyone is fortunate enough to be in a relationship Rei." Takashi drawled in a condescending tone. "Not like you and Hisashi." he added on at the end to make the point perfectly clear.

Rei's hands tightened on the rail with that fact thrown in her face. "Your right. I was with Hisashi." Rei said quietly before turning to look the brown haired teen in the eyes. "And I almost felt guilty about that for a long time." Rei grimaced to herself as the image on her school crush before her laying there with Miku.

"Thank you... for making my decision to not feel guilty... so much easier."

Takashi winced at the past stab at his heart being brought back up. "Yes because how things turned out between us was all my fault right?" he questioned remembering the vivid images of days he would spot Rei in the school halls and not be spared a second glance.

"It's not." Rei quickly replied as she spared Takashi an honest glance, before her eyes got a flicker of sadness in them. "But the way you act..." she began as she pursed her lips and averted her eyes. "You're making it that way."

Takashi tightened his jaw but said nothing as Rei provided her own opinion on the matter.

"I never knew." Rei began slowly, taking the silence as room for her to talk. "In middleschool I was oblivious. You know my dad. He was strict, and controlling. He wanted me to get straight A's, without exception. I thought nothing of hanging out with you and Jin, you were both my friends. Between shoplifting and technically... illegally working that barista job during the summer? I didn't really pay attention to boys. I wasn't like the other girls my age like Yuuki Miku, or the two girls Ichijou Misuzu and Niki Toshimi who were all into boys. I just didn't care."

Takashi remained silent, but he ended up slouching down further against the railing at the mention of the trio of their past. A time when things were simple.

"But I liked you." Rei admitted quietly. The idea of how easily the word 'liked' rolled off her tongue bothering her ever so slightly. "I liked you since we were kids Takashi."

Takashi couldn't even help himself from repeating the childhood scene that had been plaguing his memories ever since he started highschool.

"Pinky promise... If you lie I'll make you swallow one thousand needles..."

Rei tensed as the childhood memory flooded through her own brain.

"I'm going to marry you, Takashi!"

"Really? Do you really mean it?"

"Yeah! Pinky promise!"

"Don't start that." Rei said as she squeezed her eyes shut as if it would help block out the memory.

"Start what?" Takashi said quietly as he gazed down into the driveway. Miku and Kohta both appeared to have dragged a bunch of parts for the Hum Vee out onto some form of a stretcher, and were working on the car.

"You know what." Rei replied quickly, lips quickly forming into a frown. "We were kids Takashi. You can't cling to that promise. You know why I ended up dating Hisashi."

Takashi sprung up straight at that comment at the statement itself, and how easily his childhood crush could read him. "Know why?" he nearly yelled. "No! I don't Rei! Tell me, because I certainly want to know!" this time he did yell. Quite loudly in fact. He was sure that people inside the house, as well as in the drive way heard him.

"Oh come on Takashi!" Rei matched the teen, quickly turning their formerly civil argument into a yelling match. "When high school started? I liked you! I liked you a lot! But whenever I asked you out? Whenever I wanted to spend time with you? You were too fucking busy with your damn friends on the roof to give me the time of day!" Rei yelled back as she physically pushed herself away from the rails, turning around to make her way back to the house.

Takashi grew a lump in his throat at Rei's admission. This was truthfully the first talk they were ever having on the subject. Never once did he actually think that his lack of action was the source of the change in their relationship.

"Give me your stupid thousand needles Takashi. I moved onto Hisashi because you didn't want to move on with me." Rei said in a low voice, her glare piercing through the brown haired boy before she briskly turned and marched back inside.

Takashi turned back to lean over the rail with a heavy sigh. He looked over the edge of the railing straight down with a tired gaze as the memories of days passed flashed through his mind. It was only when they finished running through his head that his gaze was left with him and the concrete floor below.

It was quite a long way down...

"I guess that didn't go so well Komuro-kun?" Saeko's voice called from the doorway, dragging the brown haired teen from his train of thought.

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"Damn." Jin muttered under his breath as he heaved himself into the bathroom, only to get a cold look from Naruto.

"What?" Jin muttered in confusion at the glare he gained.

Naruto shook his head, "You couldn't get in with a key. We probably aren't alone here. Keep quiet." the shinobi said near silently as he drew a trusted blade from his pouch, before slowly turning the door knob.

Jin tensed at that bit of information he had overlooked, and quickly armed his crossbow with a bolt before following after the blonde.

Naruto looked cautiously over his shoulder to check if the teen was following him. He could probably search the house himself rather easily. However with the teen behind him following him, he wasn't willing to do anything flashy.

However to his own surprise, Jin's actions served to calm the shinobi a great deal. It was a simple gesture, one that probably would mean next to nothing for anyone else. Yet the simple action of Jin gently tapping the blonde on the shoulder threw him back to a time where he was training for ANBU. A time where having a teammate at your back was common, and their presence was calming.

They didn't walk far. They only had to make a journey past a single closet before Jin's voice quietly broke the silence.

"That's my mom's!" Jin whispered in a panic as they stood before the staircase. At the very bottom of the staircase was a coat hanger at the front door, that had since been barricaded with a wooden desk. The small red coat hung there motionless in the silent house, despite there being something considerably off with their surroundings.

Although that fact didn't seem to bother Jin in the slightest as he rushed down the stairs, all the while his footfalls still retaining some surprising level of silence.

The teen had crossbow in grasp carefully turning to the right and left checking the rooms quickly to make sure he was safe at the foot of the stairs. It was only upon realizing that he was safe that he snatched his hand up to the red coat on the hanger, and grasped it tightly in his hand.

Naruto stood up straight, the tension his body formerly had ready to pounce at any prey gone. He personally didn't see the purpose of going down the stairs to grab the coat, particularly when the teen could identify it from the top of the stairs. Yet reluctantly, Naruto had to admit his experience in this situation was probably forever going to be absent. He had no family, and all of his friends carried swords and weren't to be messed with. The chances of this scenario ever happening to him was slim to none.

Perhaps there was a significance to the coat that was foreign to him? Perhaps the teen just wanted something of his mother. Perhaps simple reassurance that she was safe? The concept of sentimental items was one he long since discarded from his life. His sleeping cap, Iruka's headband, even...

Naruto reached up as the weight on his neck suddenly felt a great deal heavier than he remembered. A single crystal held up by a single string with a worth that was more than a mountain. 'Perhaps I didn't get rid of everything sentimental...' Naruto thought to himself sadly as before making sure he buried the necklace beneath his clothes once again.

Naruto sighed to himself, relenting his own internal warfare with how he should handle the situation. He would freely admit he was exhausted on his feet. However at the same time, this wasn't the first time he had been up for nearly a week straight. It just meant that the experience never got any better.

However perhaps maybe one of the reasons that he was getting so exhausted was because he was worrying too much. Perhaps he hadn't transitioned into this world as seamlessly as he thought? Going from a world at war with lightning fast shinobi capable of birthing forests in a matter of seconds in contrast to the sluggishly slow beings that plagued the people of this current time? Perhaps he was being too hard on people, and as consequence too hard on himself?

Naruto quietly followed the teen down the staircase. He silently took the time to gaze at the pictures that lined the wall, a fact that was always quite the depressing site for him.

He had no love for his parents. One of them could have survived that day. Instead they both tried to take some twisted morale high road, and they both ended up getting themselves killed.

However the real kicker wasn't that they both got themselves killed. It was that they left him nothing. There was no difference between him and a random street urchin in his childhood days, or so he had thought at the time. However being the Kyuubi jinchuriki, and essentially royalty forced to live in a run down apartment in the proclaimed "New Red Light District" of town? That made him angry.

Yet his blood would boil at the thought of his god parents. Well one of his god parents. It was almost funny really. Almost like the start of an old fable.

'Three outcasts,' Naruto began in his head in amusement. 'A prince, a princess, and an idealist. Between them there is a rare bond that ties them together. Each outcast has reason to be angry with the other two. Who's wrong? Who's right? Which side do the common people reside?'

Tsunade Senju, the princess of the Senju. Uzumaki Naruto, the prince, and last remaining heir of the Uzumaki. The Legendary Jiraiya, the idealist, with a spy network that had no limits. The rare bond that tied them together was the fact that the older two were the youngest's god parents.

Yet the youngest only had a loathing hatred for one of them.

The godfather.

Naruto pursed his lips weakly as he recalled upon the memories that lead to that loathing.

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Flashback

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"Uzumaki-san please wait! Hokage-sama is busy in a meeting!" the female assistant at the front desk yelled out as the orange clad blonde haired teen stormed past the reception desk to the red hallways leading to the Hokage's office.

"You seem to think I give a fuck." Naruto spat out as he quickly moved making large steps scaling past two stairs at a time in his march. The words of the documents he read seared into his mind.

Uzumaki Kushina of Konohagakure no Sato

Birth Place: Uzushiogakure

Birth Date: July 10th

Age: 34 (Deceased)

Height: 5'4

Weight: 103.6lbs

Clan: Uzumaki

Notable information:

Former Jinchuriki of the Kyuubi

Heiressleader of(Edited upon Uzumaki Mito's death) the Uzumaki Clan

It had been nearly a week since Naruto had his encounter with Yugao in the training room. And since then he had heeded her advice, but this detail, this one detail was something he could never fully push from his mind. Naruto was seething in rage as he listed off each fact in his head. Every line of the document he found was seared into his memory. Each letter like a vibrant flame, like a rare flake of snow never to be forgotten.

Naruto rounded the bend of the circular halls of the Hokage tower, stopping before the doors for a mere moment as his hands clenched tightly. The sheer awkward feeling that overcame him. That feeling coupled with anguish, disgust, betrayal, and numerous other emotions he had long since stopped trying to identify.

As he stood before these doors he could only bring himself to think back to where a mere couple weeks before he had barged in to the room and had been happy to visit. As he had been happy to visit the elder Hokage ever time since his childhood. Yet here he stood frozen, as if he was about to meet the famed Hokage for the first time. The images of a grandfatherly supportive figure, a friend, and someone he could trust vanished from his thoughts. All that was left with the sad feeling of betrayal.

He had never had to experience such a situation. And he never thought he ever would. He wasn't close to many people. The handful of people he was close to, he never thought would betray him in such a way. Is this how people feel when their lover cheats on them with their best friend? The utter distrust and disgust you feel for the parties involved. The irreparable damage that wedges itself in between the now fragmented pieces of one's soul?

Naruto tightened every inch of his body, clenching his eyes and fists as he stood before the door and gathered his barrings. It was then with one final confident push that he outright kicked the doors open, causing them to slam against the inside walls.

"Old man!" Naruto yelled in confidence. A confidence that he was trying to maintain realizing he had seemingly interrupted a meeting between him and a scarred man with a cane.

Without missing a beat, the cane wielding man said, "I see Hiruzen. Your methods seem to produce promising shinobi as always." he drawled as he turned his single eyed gaze upon.

Naruto bristled at the comment, and on most occasions probably would have turned his attention to the old man he didn't know, but he knew his current problem was with the man behind the desk.

"Naruto... I'm in a meeting." the elder Hokage said with a light smile in a quiet but respectful tone. A large contrast to the blonde who acted like he was about to report a maelstrom sweeping through Konoha.

"No! We need to talk!" Naruto all but yelled adamantly at the aging Hokage.

The scarred man with a cane turned to the Hokage whom sat behind his desk with an appraising but condescending gaze, as if judging how he would handle his current situation.

Hiruzen shot the battered man a cold look that went unnoticed by the blonde, as all the dangers the look foretold slipped past him. "Naruto perhaps we can talk tomorrow. I'm afraid that I am going to be busy discussing some matters with Danzo today."

Naruto huffed up at that like a dragon about to exhale smoke from it's nose. "Really? Tomorrow." Naruto repeated the words in his head and mouth as if mulling the concept over. At least that was until the crushing weight of the idea of getting to the bottom of the mystery that was his parents was laid out before him once again. "How 'bout instead... you tell me about Uzumaki Kushina! And how I'm not some fucking orphan!"

The old Sarutobi's eyes snapped up as the formerly calm and carefree attitude he had about the impending conversation turned into one that was gravely serious. "Leave us." Hiruzen said in a commanding tone as he cast a glance at Danzo.

The old war veteran scoffed as he looked from the Hokage to the Jinchuriki and back again before making his way to the exit with the hobble of his cane. "Dogs without leashes run wild Hiruzen." Danzo stated in a condescending tone as he made his way out the doorway, leaving a thoroughly disgruntled Hokage behind.

The Professor gave a heavy sigh as he motioned for the blonde teen to take a seat in the chair before the desk. "Who told you that name Naruto?" the wise old man asked, moving straight to business, more than ready to punish anyone responsible for the leak.

Naruto snorted in anger as he crossed his arms over his chest, "I found it on a little note in the sewer, surrounded by all the other bullshit you've lied to me about over the years."

"Naruto..." the Hokage began sternly with a tone adopted for when scolding a child.

The young boy bristled at the tone he recognized all too well from his time pulling pranks. "What does it even matter? Why can't you just tell me the truth?" Naruto asked loudly, sitting up straight in his chair. "I asked you about my parents before! And you told me you didn't know. You told me I was an orphan and that I had no family!" Naruto yelled passionately, despite his anger he was fighting down the oncoming tears.

Hiruzen abopted a somber gaze as he rested his hands gently on the desk before him. "The best lies are always those with some truth to them." Hiruzen began, only to witness Naruto adopt a vicious scowl on his face. Obviously not the best way to start of his statement. "But Naruto... Sometimes in our profession... you have to lie to the people you love in order to protect them. The truth hurts, Naruto..."

Without missing a beat, Naruto had his arms crossed over his chest as he said, "So does betrayal."

Hiruzen's expression turned to one of sadness as he recalled upon a young pale faced black haired boy that later became his student. "Yes... betrayal hurts too. But so-"

"If you think you trying to take some morale highroad with me after lying to me for my entire life is going to change a thing? You're damn wrong." Naruto cut in growing tired of the Sandaime's explanations.

The old Sarutobi sighed heavily at that, "Alright Naruto. If you tell me honestly how you came across this information? I will give you the information you want."

Naruto tightened his jaw, but his retort died on his lips at the reasonable request. "At the underground ANBU headquarters. I saw her name on the obstacle course's top five. I went to the archives after that and found her ANBU record which had a lot of information." Naruto said, putting heavy emphasis on just how much information he found out regarding the woman somehow related to him.

"ANBU?" the Hokage questioned with a raised eyebrow, "Why were you there Naruto?"

Naruto pursed his lips at the question with his arms still crossed over his chest. He wasn't too keen on how the conversation continually strayed from the mystery that was Uzumaki Kushina. "I applied to join ANBU. I'm going through the training right now before I get put on a team. And I will get put on a team." Naruto said coldly, as the thoughts of the betrayal the Sandaime had done to him throughout his life came to the forefront of his mind full force.

The Sandaime adopted a far away calculating look as he apparently mulled over that fact in his mind.

"Well?" Naruto asked stubbornly, not likng how the older man suddenly fell silent after he upheld his end of the bargain.

Hiruzen shook his head with his eyes closed, "Naruto, go see Jiraiya. When I felt it was time, he requested he be the one to tell you about your parents." he replied absent mindedly.

A deathly cold chill washed over Naruto as that information floated into his ears, "Wait..." Naruto began as he repeated what was just said in his head almost not believing it. "You're telling me Ero-senin knew? Who the hell else knew about my parents!" Naruto yelled in frustration, his hands clenching at the wooden armrests of the chair before him.

Sarutobi however was in the process of standing, and sweeping on his Hokage cloak, and grabbing his pipe. His attention to Naruto had suddenly died it seemed. "Kakashi, he was ordered not to speak of the matter." he replied quickly as he pulled the hat over his head to cast a shadow over his features. "Now Naruto I must take leave to go see some individuals for a meeting. You will be able to find Jiraiya-kun quite fine I imagine."

Naruto had stood up the moment the older man had said that, a fierce fire beginning to grow in his eyes. He gripped the rim of the desk so tightly that the wood threatened to splinter under his strength.

'They all knew. The old man... Kakashi-sensei... even Ero-senin. They all knew yet they didn't want to tell me...'

The aged Hokage swept past Naruto quickly at a brisk pace to the door which only allowed Naruto to give out one last anger infused shout.

"Glad to know that not a single person I looked up to could be honest with me!" Naruto yelled down to the desk he leaned upon, not given the old Hokage the satisfaction of seeing the tears that threatened to spill from his eyes.

The God of Shinobi paused in the doorway from the boy's cries before looking down, and proceeded out of his office.

XXXXXXXXXX

"Naruto... Naruto... Naruto!" Jin's voice repeated as Naruto had zoned out. "Hey man are you alright? Are you feeling sick or something? I don't want you passing out or throwing up or anything like that again..." Jin said with a bit of concern in his voice waving a hand in front of the blonde's face.

Naruto scowled as the memory of the image of the blonde individual flooded to the forefront of his mind once again, that and all of the unpleasant physical aspects the individual brought with them. "I'm fine." Naruto replied quickly, slapping away the intrusive hand. "Just thinking."

Jin took the statement at face value, his own goals outweighing his curiosity. "Well this is my mother's." Jin said quietly as he held his crossbow at his side, and had a red coat draped over his elbow. "She doesn't go anywhere without it. Her car keys are even in the pocket." he said as he shifted the jacket to give the keys a ring for emphasis. "My dad was a bit of a survival guy, so I'm positive my mom just put up this barricade. She is probably somewhere in the house, likely in the small cellar below."

Naruto brought himself back to reality and left the past behind him as he took the information into account, allowing his own past to lie as he thought up a plan. Something which didn't take long for the shinobi general.

"Alright, we are still going to quickly search the house from top to bottom. I don't want any surprises sneaking up on us, and I don't want us searching aimlessly." Naruto said as he motioned his head for the teen to follow him up the stairs. Yet he would be lying if he said the journey was an easy one. It was obvious that Jin's family seemed to be very family oriented. Every step he took felt like a memory in itself as he walked up the stairs, glancing at the pictures that lined the walls.

It reminded him vividly of Sakura's house, or someone from the Ino-Shika-Cho trio. Families that covered the walls of their homes in memories. From Barbecues thrown by Chouji's family, small dinner get togethers thrown by Shikamaru's mother, photos of childhood playdates between the two young kunoichi. The feeling of getting to know a family by simply stepping in their door way. A feeling that Naruto knew he would never actually have himself.

"Tell me..." Naruto said tensely as he forced himself to look away from the photos on the wall. "Tell me about your family... why did you try and hide the fact that who we were searching for was your mom?"

Jin tensed as he heard Naruto ask that question, before visibly relaxing and lowered his crossbow a bit as the searched the house at a rather leisurely pace. "I guess you deserve to know at this point don'tcha." Jin said as he pursed his lips. He took the moment to give Naruto a glance, particularly taking note of his features.

"Are you American?" Jin asked as he examined the shinobi's features.

Naruto snorted at that thought having gleaned a bit of information on the long walk the group had. He could safely say he was not American. He could safely say he was not anything around here. "No, I'm not."

Jin's eyebrow hiked a bit further at that, "Really? German or something then right? You have to be European." Jin analyzed simply.

Naruto shrugged his shoulders not too keen on getting into the subject, "What's the point of this?"

Jin looked from Naruto before motioning with his head to the wall beside them in the upstairs hallway, "Here." Jin said calmly as he turned and faced a picture on the wall.

The picture was an old photo, that much was certain. It showcased a young boy who looked no more than eight years old, sitting on the front porch of the very house they were in. He had a head of blonde hair that stood out quite a bit. Particularly so when compared with the others in the picture.

The woman in the picture was young and beautiful. She had long black hair that flowed down her back coupled with fair skin that was completely absent wrinkles. Naruto would have been hard pressed to say the woman was anywhere a day past twenty. She stood directly behind the young boy, leaning back into a pair of big strong arms wrapped around her, a brilliant and playful smile upon her face.

The strong arms wrapped protectively around the young woman belonged to quite the size of a man. He was easily on the taller side of men Naruto had ever seen. He probably stood at the size of 6'4, with an equally strong build to match, as if he was a man that performed manual instruction or was some form of fighter. However his imposing form was offset by his light brown hair, and cheerful expression as he was giving the woman in his arms a kiss on the cheek.

Naruto couldn't hold back a smile at the picture. It was almost disturbingly sappy. However for a person that didn't have a family, it was pictures and moments like these that he felt others truly took for granted. Well, at least he knew by how the walls were lined in this house, Jin's family certainly didn't take it for granted.

"My actual name is Jake, or should I say Jacob. Full name Jake Jin Homura." The tall teen began as he looked upon the picture hanging from the wall with a focused gaze.

Naruto perked up slightly at that bit of information. Ever since the teen had offhandedly given him a name to call him when he got off that bus that day, he knew that there was something off about it. 'I suppose now I know why.' Naruto thought to himself in a bit of amusement despite the serious tone Jin was taking with the subject.

"My father was American. A little fact that the kids at school never really got past at school. I mean I can't say that I can really blame them. I went by Jake for all of Elementary school, and only switched to Jin upon going to middle school. The fact that I turned into a bit of a giant among my classmen didn't help much either." Jin said before taking a pause as if reflecting back to the time. "I was the kid that got picked on in my early years for it, pretty much just 'cause I was there." he said quietly as he lifted his head up at the memory.

Naruto's gaze however fell from the picture at that note. What Jin had just said was not a concept foreign to him in the slightest. He in fact knew the feeling of being picked on in school very well.

"I know it isn't tradition for Japanese kids to have middle names, so you don't need to tell me that much. It's just that apparently my mom when she was in college decided to take a semester in America. It was there that she actually met my dad. And well..." Jin couldn't contain a snort and a bit of laughter as he told the tale, "I guess he got her pregnant or something while she was out there. Thankfully though he told me that they were very much in love even if it had only been a short time. If it had been some other way, that likely would have destroyed my childhood." he stated with a laugh.

Naruto smiled lightly as he listened to the story. It was actually rather relaxing to just listen to the teen talk. A luxury that had been stripped from his as the war moved further and further on. Even his time spent in this new world, the only bit of talking he had really done was with Rei under less than desirable circumstances, and his brief encounter with Saeko that was far too close to his secrets for his own taste.

"My mom came from a family of two younger sisters. And in Japan, family and carrying on the name means a lot. So my grandparents, while they love my mom and her sister's already weren't that happy at having so many daughters. So when they heard that my mom went off and got pregnant with a guy they had never even met or heard of... well they were...-"

"Pissed?" Naruto provided in amusement, getting a bit involved in the tale that was so foreign to him.

"Pretty much." Jin confirmed with a smirk. "They were quick to send out two tickets to both my dad and my mom, only one of them was a return flight. Apparently they 'wanted to get to the bottom' of the whole situation. Frankly I think they wanted my mom to get rid of me. She never told me that though, I think she wanted me to think a bit better of my grandparents. However that doesn't matter that much." Jin admitted.

"My mom and dad got out here and had this big meeting, introductions, and everything. And my dad told me that it frankly couldn't have gone worse. He says my mom was a bit of a hothead back then, and a free spirit. So when they landed out here, instead of going straight to the family house? She took my dad out to eat at not one! But two of her favorite restaurants!" Jin applied with a laugh, obviously recalling more personal memories of the tale than Naruto was recalling. Although the blonde shinobi was smiling in amusement all the while.

"My dad told me that when they ended up getting to the house, hours late. They proceeded to call him a bad influence on my mom and all sorts of names, like an outsider. Oh I wish I was actually there, it sounds like it was hilarious really." Jin said with a smile before he adopted a more proud look. "However dinner rolled around and naturally the idea of carrying on the family name came up pretty quickly. I personally don't see why it was such a huge issue. My mom and dad didn't raise me like that. Although I guess my dad instantly went from some hated outsider to the top of the A-list with them when he said that I could carry their family name, and I would just adopt his first name or something like that." Jin scoffed with a roll of the eyes.

"They have right spoiled the shit out of me since then, not kidding. Particularly when my dad essentially brought christmas into the family which is really just a big excuse to throw gifts and money at family members." he finished with a grin.

It was then that Jin shook his head, "Sorry, I must be boring the shit out of you. Come on lets go." he said quietly as he hoisted his crossbow up to rest on his shoulder.

Naruto smiled and honest smile. He was actually quite enjoying the story. "Not at all." He admitted as he gently pat the tall teen on the shoulder. "But how 'bout you tell me while we continue looking for your mom."

Jin stood up straight at that and nodded his head, reaffirming the reason why they were there in the first place. "Yeah, lets finish up here. I'm sure she is going to be in the downstairs cellar. That is where dad told us to go if things went south. Well... that or the garage."

"Well anyways, my dad came from a family of four other brothers. So me carrying on the name of my mom's side of the family wasn't that hard of a choice to make. So he had me adopt his first name as my own. Personally I preferred his middle name, I think 'Archer' is rather badass. It fit my dad a lot better than me though."

Naruto snorted at that as he looked over his shoulder having just gotten done searching a closet. He gave a pointed look to the teen with the crossbow resting in his grasp, "Well I don't know about that."

Jin smiled on that note, "Well anyways yeah my dad ended up giving up a lot to move out here to be closer to my mom and her parents. Given the fact that he didn't know the language that well, a lot of the experience he went through in college wasn't that useful. He had a bit of trouble getting a job. And since my mom is a teacher... well." he spread his arms out to motion to the walls of the house. "I guess it pays so well to be a teacher that you virtually end up in the closest thing to a ghetto that this city has." Jin finished with a bitter attitude.

"Well how did you learn to use your crossbow? That isn't your conventional use of weapon I imagine." Naruto said calmly, trying to get the one question that had been bugging him since arriving in this new world. Where the hell did they keep their weapons? Where he came from you had multiple stores in a city for them. There were weapons in Rika's house. So they had to get them from somewhere. Yet he had done a lot of traveling thus far, and hadn't spotted anything.

"My dad actually." Jin replied calmly before waiting for Naruto to catch up to him in the hallway before they proceeded down the stairs. "His grandfather hunted, whom taught his father. And his father passed it on to him, and well naturally, he passed it on to me. He actually knew how to build them, and would make them for me to practice with. Always told me that we would end up going hunting one day. And it was only then that I'd get a real crossbow or bow of my choosing. Well... that and the fact that he said I was 'growing like a fucking weed' and it would be impractical for him to go through the process of having to buy the piece in parts to assemble it here with how I was growing."

Naruto nodded at that. That just made sense. It would be the same as buying a blade you expect a child to use for the rest of his life. It would either be too heavy and long when he was young, or too short and lacking weight when he was bigger and older.

"Come on this way." Naruto said calmly as he proceeded into the room to the right of the stairs.

Jin did a double take as he looked back to Naruto. He had already been clean on his way to the left leading into the kitchen. "Hey man, my mom is like I said going to be in the cellar. It's just this way past the kitchen."

Naruto rolled his eyes at that, "Then there is no need to rush. Where as there is a need to make sure nothing sneaks up on us from behind." Naruto drawled as he looked through what appeared to be the living room of the house.

Jin nodded tensely at that. Considering how far the blonde had come with him, there wasn't much point in trying to argue with the teen over a couple extra minutes, particularly when he was just being careful.

It only took a couple moments to search the relatively open room for any potential surprises. "So while I have enjoyed the story you have told me. This doesn't really tell me that much. It still doesn't answer why you decided to hide the fact that we were trying to help your mom?" Naruto said as he relaxed his blade hand once again upon finishing inspection of the room.

Jin developed a frown at the thought. "True." he said reluctantly. "There is a reason for that." Jin continued as he clutched tightly at his crossbow.

"Me and my dad, we took a trip to America for a semester and a summer. California actually. The weather is as good as everyone says it is. Seventy degrees of sunshine, year round. I didn't get to see my dad's side of the family much, so he thought I should have the experience. Naturally my mom being a teacher, she couldn't go for such a long time. However my dad was able to snag his old job. Apparently he was a hell of a barback, and a bartender when he was in college. Although he admitted to being a bit of a showboating asshole."

Jin shrugged his shoulders as he told his story, while the moved into the kitchen. "It was fun, I learned a lot. The sort of entertainment they had out there, and how many people actually drove around everywhere was a bit crazy to me. My dad ended up bullying me into getting my license out there the moment I turned sixteen...-"

Naruto perked up a bit at that knowledge. "So you are capable of driving around those vehicles outside?"

Jin gained a strained look as if the weight of those words were actually crushing him. "Yeah I guess but i-"

"Good. We can use your mother's vehicle to travel back to the group. We have already been out here for quite a deal longer than I would have liked." Naruto said as he glanced around the kitchen.

Jin pursed his lips, but said nothing other than, "The cellar is right here. When we get my mom, she can drive us out of here and back to the group."

Naruto merely nodded in response and motioned for the teen to open the door on the ground.

He pulled it open with one swing calling out, "Hey mom!" as the lights downstairs automatically began to flicker on.

Naruto was expecting numerous scenarios and was mentally preparing himself for anything to be down in the cellar. While he silently hoped it was Jin's mother, he knew that there was always going to be a chance that they would find the cellar empty. Or worse, find the woman dead. However the sight of a group of teenagers, and more importantly a single teenage girl holding a makeshift spear pointed at what was formerly the cellar door, and now Jin. That was not something he was immediately expecting.

"Fuck you." the girl said calmly, before she lunged her spear forward at the tall crossbow wielding teen.

XXXXXXXXXXX

Alright well it has been awhile but I finally decided to release a chapter. Truthfully I have been sitting on about 20k words or something like that for the past couple months. However I decided not to upload because I was in the process of looking for a job, and trying to get work. The fact that I was writing during that time just made getting a job a bit too tough. However now that I have a job, and things are going a bit smoother? I don't feel bad about finally releasing this chapter.

Originally my plan was to go ahead and release two 20k word chapters or something like that because I felt at times the story was going slow, as did other people reading the story. So that frankly wasn't fun. However with my long break, that really just isn't an option anymore as I'd need to get back into the swing of writing the characters in this story. So over the course of the next few chapters you are going to see things build up to become bigger and bigger and bigger until the climax of this arc truly comes to a close. Things you will see during the remainder of this arc will be...

Pretty much the close on the expansion of Jin's character(For a good long time, until like the 4th arc).

The mysterious shackle

The reveal of this mystery character that is plaguing Naruto mind.

Takashi finally coming into his own as a character and protagonist that can legitimately hold his own as a standalone character opposed by the other leading characters in the story.

The start and initial sights of the expansion on Saeko as a fully fleshed out character.

The conclusion of the Rika's apartment arc, and the introduction to the across the river arc(Saya's house, the mall, police station, etc).

And perhaps the first truly tense action scenes in the story(I'm not confirming this as the above I have already written, these parts I have not yet written.)

Anyways I am telling you this as to just give you a feel for what is to come and the direction the story is taking. There are a lot of Highschool of the Dead stories out there, and as I sat down and started writing mine, I just really realized that mine isn't going to be just sex and action. It won't be like the original Highschool of the Dead. It will be dark, and it will have conflict, there will be character deaths. Perhaps there will be sex, perhaps there will be intense action. However the true goal and direction with this story is going to be how the characters are surviving and forced to adapt and overcome their challenges.

I am telling you this because if you were one of the readers hoping for some great action sequences that threaten life and death, or showcase Naruto obliterating hordes upon hordes of zombies with a finger flick?

You're probably gonna have a bad time.

So to answer some questions?

Hangman1

No, sorry I ate all the cookies on my multi-month hiatus.

By Far The Coldest

Hue hue hue hue hue, I heard Tina came out of the closet.

pokemaster12

I do in fact know Naruto will eventually get a pairing. I just don't know with who yet. However I do know it will happen.

BlackRevenant

I agree, there are indeed quite a lot of subplots in the story right now. Hopefully over the course of the next couple chapters though it will tone that down to 3 or 4 running plots, which frankly isn't a lot for a zombie apocalypse story.

As for why I chose Rei for him to bond with instead of Takashi or Kohta? Both Takashi and Kohta are relatively decent guys in the canon series, and while their potential wasn't really used? It wasn't like anyone particularly hated them because they were bad characters. Rei however was a rather flat character that was essentially written out to have a lot of depth, but was showcased as a walking jealousy bomb. I killed a field of birds with a single stone picking Rei as the one Naruto bonded with. (Makes Rei a better character, allows for scenes that give insight into Naruto's past with ANBU, Allowed for me to expand on the actually issues with Rei and Takashi, while at the same time giving Rei a strong figure to compare Takashi to.)

MathiasMatt

Nope, I haz eaten the cookies.

Tacobeard

Thank you! And does your beard taste like tacos?

EBM6969

There are only a handful of stories in this category, and most of them aren't being updated. It frankly is a rather easy story to find. Although... I personally didn't bother to remember the name because well... I usually hate harems. So there you have that haha...

Anonymous

Just because Jin is OC doesn't mean it is the soul reason Naruto followed him. He told the group to stay put, and then Jin ran off with a weapon. As a military leader, Naruto has naturally had to deal with deserters, and he also knows that resources are everything. He followed Jin for initially very military-like and cold reasons. Yet his curiosity ended up getting the best of him

As for the arc, A big portion of why the arc with Jin happened is it allowed me to expand on Jin. However perhaps more importantly? Takashi was always taking a back seat with Naruto around. With Naruto gone, you get to really see Takashi grow into that character that ended up convincing all of the girls that surrounded him to pine after him.

Juopunumies

Pretty much the above. I mean is Jin my baby? Nah not really. However Jin was one character I instantly knew how I wanted to take him with the story. Well him and Saeko, I knew right away. It just wasn't Saeko's time yet.

And as for why Jin and Naruto are getting such a heavy focus? There is a bit of a time difference that I haven't been touching on that much in the actual story. However I have stated it is there. Naruto and Jin are both essentially moving 5-7 hours before the group is even making their moves. So the amount of things you see Jin and Naruto pulling off? You are seeing them more because they are essentially having more time they have to showcase.

Both groups are eventually going to meet up once again at the same time, but you will have seen/experienced more time with Jin and Naruto. Is this a bad or good thing? I don't know. I don't really care either. Fleshing out characters is fleshing out characters. Every character showcased already has a specific time they will be getting fleshed out with the exception of like 3 characters.

I will PM the remaining people, this is getting far longer than I anticipated. Anyways read and review everyone, I hope you enjoyed the chapter.