New Life amongst the Dead
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Pairings?
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Story Start
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Out of all the things he could have encountered in this new world zombies was nowhere on the list. He had seen a film or two, black and white images of shambling creatures feasting on people. It was for simple entertainment, it was laughable to think that these creatures would be a threat to shinobi. Shinobi could travel at great speeds, summon the elements, and many other things that shambling creatures far less intelligent then the child could hope to defend against it.
Then again, he was only a shinobi in skill and knowledge now. This offer, this choice to live a new life as his hero's reward as it was called fell onto him. It fell onto him and the one who opened the gateway to another world. He was an occupant for this world for all but six months when this disaster broke out.
He had seen some people attempt to fight these creatures off. Using these items, that he had come to known as guns. They shot projectiles, little metal he guessed, objects that pierced through the creature's body. Their bites were deadly; it was infectious and only took one of these bites to transform a person into one of those undead creatures.
He would soon come to learn that personally and as a result he found he couldn't use chakra anymore. Unlike others his body was able to fight the infection and because he and Kurama were separated upon granting his old friend his freedom he no longer had the bijuu to simply purge the substance. Slowly, but surely his body was fighting off the infection and each passing day he found he was getting a little bit stronger. He hadn't realized just how much he relied on his chakra reserves until it was gone.
He could react faster than other people and was much stronger than your average person. With each passing day he found a little bit of his strength returning. He had been in life and death situations, where others were frozen in terror, he simply acted. He found value in things other people simply abandoned. Guns and ammo were often among the first things to be taken. People were arming themselves, either to defend themselves or for other purposes. Regardless, bladed weapons weren't as coveted as much as guns were. So armed with a backpack, a few snack foods and bladed weapons Naruto began his journey out of the small town.
He felt more comfortable in a small town. The location reminded him of Konoha, being near the forest and all. Cities were too noisy and bustling for his like. The people in cities didn't have the commandrey that shinobi villages did. A scream tore him from his thoughts as he charged forward. A group of people were being ambushed by walkers. The group was small, a middle-aged man, a woman with blonde hair and a child. He guessed with the way the man was standing protectively in front of them they were a family. Then there was the other two, a small girl with a red and white cap and a man with a skin tone that reminded him of Kirabi and other Kumo denizens.
He charged forward, quickly formulating a plan of assault. Slipping the backpack he picked up off his shoulders he left it flew from his grip after a spin, nailing one of the walking dead. He then readied his katana, which he got from the private office of the military surplus store. He was not only thankful that the manager was something of a collector of items as the mass produced blade or those stainless ones definitely weren't fit from combat, but for Raine-sensei's lessons before they parted ways. "Get down!" Naruto ordered as he poised his blade. He darted towards the dark skinned man and girl. They ducked and Naruto's blade soared through the air, severing the head of a zombie from its shoulder. His grip tightened and he spun, and the edge sliced through the mouth of another zombie, splitting open her lips. Naruto pulled the blade back, adjusted his stance, and thrust the blade forward, piercing the skull of the creature.
"Aaah! No! Nooo!" a terrified scream tore through the air. The child, the boy had been grabbed by one of the creatures. Drawing a knife out of the pocket of the black vest he raided from an army store he flung it with all its strength, nailing the creature in the head and causing it to fly off the boy. The poor boy had been squirted by the blood of the reanimated creature. Though only it took was a single moment to be nabbed by one of those creatures.
A pair of hands clasped themselves into Naruto's shoulder. Raine had warned him to stay away from people. That trying to help everyone would get him killed, but leaving innocents to die was against who he was. And it was for that reason that one of the creatures was seconds away from sinking their teeth into the flesh of his skull.
Next time he knew the sound of an exploding head and the strength of the clutching creature vanished. The creature dropped down, his head shattered by a bullet of a newcomer. It was a woman, she was youthful and short brown hair. Not too far away from her was a young Asian man, wearing a cap, standing in front of a store. "Run!" he shouted as the woman fired several more shots at the creatures. Naruto decided to heed his advice and follow the others. There were too many of these creatures to safely combat, especially in unfamiliar terrain.
He ran inside only for the gate to the store to be hastily shut. Inside of the store was rather barren, the lights were low and there were other survivors. Naruto swore under his breath when he realized he forgot his back outside. It looked like no matter how much time would past, there was going to always be a part of him that was an impulsive hero first.
"We can't take risks like this!"
Naruto was jerked from his thoughts when another survivor began to speak. She was also rather young, maybe in her late twenties with dark hair and a rather hawk-like gaze. From what he can tell she was athletic, her frame of that of a soldier with her toned body.
"And we can't just let people die either." The brown haired woman argued. The brown haired woman was pretty cute, softer facial features and where the other woman was taller and built this woman had a curvier form with fuller breasts.
"When I SAY that store stays shut I fucking MEAN it." The woman in the black tank top argued. She seemed to put emphasis on particular words that phrased it like an order. "We don't know who these people are. They could be dangerous."
It was a sad truth. Human nature, people did things they would normally never do when scared. "And they led the damn things right to us." Now a large man began speaking. He easily dwarfed everyone in such, wearing a permanent scowl, had a large nose and graying guy was massive with arms one would compare to a tank.
"Where's your humanity?" the brown haired woman asked. "They would have died out there."
"We have kids with us."
The argument continued on and things seemed to escalate. He didn't blame them for being frightened and confused. In a way, he was used to fighting these things. The Zetsus were the closest his world came to having zombies. They were soulless creatures that existed only to kill. The zombies were simply dumber, less-organized Zetsu in a sense.
The large man then started for the boy to be thrown out. The woman, his mother was ensuring he was fine. A child. He was a child. How could anyone be so ready sacrifice a child?
"We got to throw him out! Or smash his head in!"
"Kenny! STOP HIM!" The blonde haired woman pleaded.
"Lee, what do we do about this guy?" the moustache man asked the dark skinned man.
"We kick his ass!" the man supported his friend.
"Now that's what I'm talking about.
"Everyone CHILL THE FUCK OUT!" The gun bearer suddenly exclaimed. Despite not saying anything, he was sure she was against the boy being thrown out too.
"Nobody is doing anything!" the tank top wearing woman cut in.
"Shut up, Lily!" the large man undercut her. He continued his tirade, swearing at the brown haired girl as he continued to incite paranoia and fear. As the heated discussion continued names were learned. The woman and child were Kat and Duck respectively, which he assumed was nicknames.
"And we're tossing him out now!"
Something within Naruto snapped when he heard those words. A man willing to callously endanger the life of a child reminded him of the story his father told him. Of how his life was endangered within the minute he was born. It wasn't just his story either. All the horrible childhoods of his friends and fellow jinchuuriki began resonated within him. So many times he wished someone, anyone could have done something to help any of them, but the past couldn't be changed. Though, this was not the past. This was the present and he couldn't do by and do nothing.
"That's enough!" his voice resonated, katana drawn, poised and raised at the man's neck in an instant. They were all so absorbed into the dispute his presence was forgotten.
"Why you little shit!" the man swore at Naruto.
"Holy shit dude!" the Asian guy exclaimed.
"Put the weapon down NOW ass-hole or I'll blow your brains out!" Lily ordered, training the weapon on Naruto's head. Faster than anyone could register he had snatched the weapon from her hand and trained it on her.
"Word of advice! Never aim a weapon on me unless you have the intent to kill!" he advised. He could feel the animosity growing and how tense they were.
"Carley you fucking idiot! I told you these people were dangerous!" the large man continued to berate the woman.
"Kat, was it?" Naruto asked, turning his attention towards the mother. "There's no bite?" He asked her.
"He's fine! He wasn't bitten!" the woman assured for the fourth of fifth time. He hadn't been keeping count. Naruto eyes fell upon the spooked child. He still had blood smeared on him, he was in shock.
"There you go," Naruto simply remarked as he turned their attention back to them. "I don't know who the hell you think you are, but I'm not a fan of a bully who berates people and threatens children. You don't think you can be around the boy, you're happy to take a walk right out this shop." He titled his head towards the door where the hungry dead were lurking.
The little girl's scream drew their attention. "Clementine!" Lee shouted as he rushed over to the girl, falling over in the process. He was obviously suffering from some sort of leg injury. He quickly rushed over to her. Without thinking Naruto dropped the gun and followed as well as he readied his blade. He always felt more comfortable using it than a gun.
The man, Lee was able to wrestle the zombie away, but his injury left him at a disadvantage. Naruto impaled the creature through the bottom of his jaw and through the top of his head. The force of the attack had drove them both back, the edge of the blade clanging across the metal grate and generating a loud humming noise. He pulled the now flesh covered blade from the creature as it dropped to the ground. He inspected the katana shortly afterwards to make sure it was still in prime condition.
"Thank you." Lee thanked him in-between labored breaths.
That was when they came. The sound of banging and raspy drawls could be heard outside. The zombies had been attracted by the noise. Seconds later the sounds of gunfire could be heard from outside the pharmacy.
"Is that the Military?" Lee wondered out loud as Clementine clung to his leg. By the way she was shivering it was obvious she was still quite spooked.
"I don't know." Lily responded. Everyone had gotten down, shielding themselves from the sight of the hungry creatures hoping that they would eventually shamble away from the store. The stress apparently proved too much for the large man and he collapsed. A shout of dad drew his attention.
The woman soon stated he had heart problems and he needed nitroglycerin pills. It was the reason why the group was there in the first place. Names were soon being exchanged along with duties. Doug and Lisa, who had remained quite during the whole dispute, were on lookout. Lee was pretty much volunteered to try and find a way into the pharmacy.
As for him, no one was making any strides to approach the unknown katana wielder. After Lee and Kenny finish their discussion the blond approached the man's family. "I hope your son gets better. Children shouldn't be placed into situations like this." Were they weary of him? Even, if he acted in their defense? "The matter wasn't of my business, but I just couldn't stand by and do nothing."
"You kidding? That's twice you saved my boy now. As far as I'm concerned you're alright by me. My name is Kenny and this is my way Katjaa." He introduced his wife. "And my boy Ken Jr. or Duck."
"Thank you." Katjaa once more thanked him.
"It's no problem. My name is Naruto." He pretty much ignored the looks people gave him when he introduced himself. After all, most blond hair, blue-eyed blonds didn't have names like his. "Having company beats being alone."
"You're welcome to join my family and I if you want. You handle yourself pretty well against the Walkers." Kenny invited him.
"I…I'll keep that in mind." Naruto remarked. After he was done he took a few steps when he was approached by the blonde.
He didn't know why, maybe it was fate's calling but his attention was drawn to the woman, Carley if he was remembering correctly.
Naruto walked over to her, glancing at the empty food donation box and week old paper on the counter. Carley seemed preoccupied with a radio. "I want to thank you for killing that creature when you did. You saved my life."
"Yeah well, I couldn't stand by and do nothing. I don't think I ever seen anyone move like you did, especially with a blade. That's pretty ballsy." She remarked.
"Yeah well, let's just say I'm not good with guns." He admitted. He just couldn't get the hang of them. "I'm Naruto by the way."
"Name's Carley Lewis." She introduced herself as she continued to fiddle with the radio.
"Trouble?" he asked as the woman sighed and fit it down.
"I can't get this radio to work."
"Here, let me have a look at it." He asked, picking up the device. Radios were one of the few things he knew how to work. Music soon became one of his comforts in this strange new world and the device was simply enough for him to use. A hell of a lot simpler than an I-pod, pad, or the rest of those hand held devices.
After fumbling about for a few seconds Naruto turned it over and popped up the back. "Isn't these one of those things that needs batteries?"
"What now?"
"You know there's no batteries in here right?" he answered her question with one of his own. If he was remembering correctly all these devices used some sort of battery.
"Yeah, of course." She hastily answered, trying to cover her temporary moment of ditzyness. Seeing the amused look on Naruto's face along with a single raised eyebrow she realized he didn't by it. "No." she finally admitted.
"Maybe I can find some. " He looked at the empty space. Two cylinder shaped ones would do right? A brand? Double AA brand? He sighed; he would just have to grab whatever he could find. Naruto began looking around, eventually finding a battery near the greeting cards and one on a shelf. He began his walk back over to Carley when suddenly felt faint. He stopped and leaned against the wall. Of all the things that could have carried over, why did his metabolism have to be one of them? He had eaten since this morning, a pack of crackers. While that would have tied over less hungry eaters, he ate far more than the average person when it came to meals.
"You alright?"
Naruto looked up, seeing it was Lee. "I'm…fine." He said, before being offered a candy bar. "Are you, sure?"
"I never got to thank you for what happened outside. Besides, you look like you could use it more than I do."
Naruto thanked him, graciously taking the candy bar. He returned back to Carley with the batteries. "These should do."
"Thanks." Taking the batteries from his hand she proceeded to put them in. Though the radio still wouldn't come on. "What's with this stupid thing?"
"Want me to take a look at it?" he asked.
"Be my guest." She said as Naruto proceeded to check the batteries.
"I'm not an expert but I thought these go in directions?" he said, pointing out that the batteries were in wrong. He then proceeded to match them up right. He noticed Carley's face heated up in embarrassment. "It's okay. After everything that's been going on I don't blame you for scattered thoughts." He said, turning it on as a broadcast played.
Carley was relieved that the station appeared to be safe. "It's been rough you know. I haven't had a decent meal or a wink of sleep in the past few days. Not since what happened at the station."
"Station?" he asked.
"I'm a reporter. A few days ago the station was attacked and that's when I was saved by that guy over there." She gestured her head to the lookout Doug.
"That guy?" Naruto asked in interest. He seemed so unassuming and passive.
"I can guess what you're probably thinking. That guy over there? He's king of dorky, but in a sweet kind of way, you know. I'd be dead if it wasn't for him. So what about you? What's your story?"
"I'm just a simple traveler. I don't have any family that lives here; in fact I arrived here recently. I just wanted to start my life over. So much for that."
Suddenly there was another radio transmission and a ending signal that didn't sound too well. "I'm sure they're okay."
"I'm fine…" after a moment. "Then again maybe not."
"I'll…I'll leave you to your thoughts." Before he was about to leave he suddenly remember the candy bar. "I know it's not much, but here, you take it."
Suddenly a distress call came in from the Walkie-Talkie. Glenn was trapped and he needed assistance. "I think Doug's not great around zombies and you've got your family here. I'll take Carley and her dead-eye down to the motor-inn, get Glenn, and get back here as fast as we can." Lee volunteered.
"If that's what you want to do." Kenny accepted.
"Somebody's got to."
"Yeah, I'm in." Carley accepted.
"Need some back-up?" Naruto volunteered as well and Lee shook his head.
"We'll want to travel small. We're just going to slip in and slip out; besides, you should save your strength. In case things don't go as planned when we leave."
"Alright." Naruto accepted the suggestion without argument. He watched as the two of them left to go rescue Glenn. He found himself a spot alone and decided to take a nap. He couldn't remember the last time he felt safe enough to sleep. The sound of the pharmacy alarm awoke Naruto. It happened so quickly. Kenny had started giving out orders as the creatures attacked. Naruto found himself on defense duty as the creatures piled up against the doors and windows.
"Aah! Get off, get off!" Doug screamed as he fought against the creatures. Their grimy hands had slithered in-between the holes in the boarded up window, snagging the back of his shirt.
"Shit! I'm out!" Carley was in trouble as well. A legless walker had snagged her by the leg and she was out of ammo. Another one was fast approaching. "Help! There's ammo in my purse!" said purse was at the counter and out of reach.
"I'll help Carley! Get Doug!" Naruto shouted as he shot over to help the reporter. Snatching the bag up his left hand he tossed it to the reporter who caught it. Replacing the empty clip she shot the zombie that had her ankle then quickly put one between the eyes of the walker. Though there was just too many of them. Clementine on her way to the door had been snatched by another one of those creatures. How he got in was anyone's guess. It was a tough choice, made almost immediately. Lee chose to save Clementine and unfortunately Doug had to pay the price. The ride over to the motor-inn was silent.
Clementine was still rather shaken up, poor thing. That was the second time in twenty-four hours one of those things grabbed her. And Lee, there was so much guilt in the man's eyes. He was probably blaming himself, wondering if he could have done more.
"Alright everyone, let's search the motel and clear out all the dead. We need to fortify this place as soon as possible."
It was a better plan than nothing at all. It took about half an hour to clear out all the dead that was loitering about. Carley, Lee, and Glenn did a pretty good job on whichever creatures were here. Those that were found were dragged together and piled up. They would have to be disposed of before the night was over. A broadcast was heard throughout the lot. Naruto began looking around, seeing if he could put himself to some use. "You gotta do what you gotta do." He stopped, catching the tail end of a conversation between Lee and Glenn.
"And I gotta do this."
"I respect that!"
"You guys be safe!"
The former seemed intent on leaving to go help his friends in Georgia. It was dangerous, but Naruto couldn't help but respect the man. He wasn't a fighter in the typical sense, but courage didn't come from foolish attempts at bravery, but choosing to do some novel, despite the odds being against you. It took someone with courage to continue on, even if they weren't all that strong.
"How did you make the choice?"
Naruto turned to the speaker, a bit startled. "I…I don't know what you mean."
Carley repeated herself. "You didn't even hesitate to help me. How did you make that choice?"
For a moment, Naruto briefly considered why her and not Doug. "I owe you my life."
"Is that the only reason?"
Naruto shook his head. "No," he was tired, drained, his eyes felt heavy and his throat dry. He swallowed the bit of saliva that was gathered in his mouth. "You chose to risk your life to help me and the others. You have a good heart and you're a good person. I can relate to that, putting one's life on the line for the sake of helping others. I, I'm still new to everyone. I don't belong to either group, so I haven't had time to really form any bonds, so I didn't know Doug all that well. I'm sure he was a nice guy, and for what it's worth, I'm sorry we couldn't save him." If only I was in prime condition. Then maybe I could have been a bit more help. "I could have chosen to stay, but instead I chose to fled."
Carley picked up on the fact that the blond was feeling guilty. "No, don't blame yourself. You're not the only one. I could have chosen to stay as well."
"It all happened so fast. We all made our choices, you, me, and even Lee. We can't change the past."
"I know…it's stupid, we just met and…he was just…I think that I liked him." She admitted. "I just wished we both could have made it."
"I'm sorry Carley." He admitted, looking down at the ground. 'I…If I were to use that… no…there's no guarantee.'
"It's okay." She shook her head. "Thanks though, there's been a lot of death in the past few days. Anyway, I'd rather be alone, I think."
"I understand," Naruto walked away, leaving Carley to her thoughts. He looked towards the entrance and noticed that Lee, Kenny, and Lily seemed to be discussing something. At the very least, things could only get better on from there. Suddenly all the lights had went off, leaving them in a blanket of darkness. That was life for you, jerking you in the worse ways possible.
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Chapter End
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I have one more thing to say though.
Most if not all Zombie Naruto stories have the Naruto characters underpowered as hell and easily killed. Which considering they can summon the elements and can damn near alter reality, its fucking stupid to think that zombies would post a threat to them, unless their systems are weakened by an airborne strain and a majority of the world has already turned. Seeing as no story I read has done either of those, its completely moronic.
My thing is, it's annoying to see Jounins easily defeated by these creatures. For god's sake they can easily jump on top of trees and buildings, I'm sure zombies aren't going to be a damn problem. (Real world/AU with no chakra-Just Ugh!) And especially don't have Kakashi of all fucking people lose to a damn zombie. Because that's just read of you being a numbskull who only read bios and looked at the pictures and aren't a real fan of the series. (Most highschool, yaoi fangirls, real world writers.)
So I decided to do things a little differently. Playing upon a lack of zombie knowledge, the only thing being close is the impure world resurrection undead users so of course Naruto would not know the dos and dont's of handling zombies. Now because of his powerful genetics and chakra the infection does not kill him but does heavy damage and weakens him so like how any body fights off an infection its going to take time for him to recover.
I wanted to avoid the cop-out of making him human and or giving him knowledge he wouldn't have without gaining the experience by thriving and surviving. Now there will be some twists much further down the story that I know for a fact none of you will guess so be prepared and keep an eye out.