So, site's still bugged as heck. But oh well, there's nothing we can do except wait until the problems are fixed. Hopefully those in charge will get to it soon… They will, won't they?
Now to all of you, my dear readers, please, please, read the author notes at the end once you're done with this chapter. There are some things I want to say. Only if you have the time tho.
Enjoy!
~ Chapter 8 : Necessary Precautions ~
The boxcar where most of the group except Kenny travelled in was completely silent, and only the sound of the train rolling down the seemingly never-ending tracks could be heard around. Nobody was really in the mood to talk or even enjoy the ride, worry written all over their faces.
The reason behind it? Duck.
Clem and Naruto were sitting by the right side of the open compartment, their legs dangling over the edge. A bit further to the left sat Ben, looking depressed as he stared at the floor. Lee and Carley stood against the wall, both of them glancing in Duck's direction. Katjaa was making sure he was as comfortable as possible, given the circumstances, but there was a limit to what she could actually do to try and help him.
Chuck was leaning against the opposite door's frame while absently staring at the passing trees. He couldn't help but feel a bit uncomfortable at the tense silence that loomed over the boxcar, and was thinking of anything to say that would get the others' attention away from the boy. At least for a minute. He didn't want to be rude though, as he knew this was the worst time for him to be tactless.
Duck suddenly started coughing blood, attracting everyone's eyes onto him. Katjaa panicked at seeing her boy's condition getting critical. "Lee, give me a hand here please", she hurriedly told the aforementioned, who wasted no time walking up to them.
He picked up a handkerchief the woman had left on the floor in front of her and gently cleaned the poor boy's face, shaking his head at the depressing sight before him. "God...", he breathed out, his chest tightening.
"He doesn't have much time left", Katjaa had tears in her eyes as she said this, and the others grew sad at the news. Clementine leaned onto Naruto for comfort, which he offered in the form of a side hug. "Lee, go get Kenny. I beg you. We must stop this train before something terrible happens..."
Lee immediately nodded, trying to ignore the horrible feeling of despair that filled his being at the thought of Duck turning. He mentally prepared himself to face Kenny and not leave until he talked some sense into him, yet no matter how much he breathed and tried to toughen up, his heart wouldn't stop beating in his chest.
"You don't have to do this alone, you know", a voice said right behind him, and he glanced over the shoulder to see Carley looking devastated but otherwise willing to help him in any way she could. "I can go with you."
Lee turned around and pulled the woman into a hug, closing his eyes for a moment. "I know, Carley", he told her, feeling grateful at her support. He pulled away from her and grabbed her hand, giving it a gentle squeeze. "But I think it's better if I do this on my own."
"Okay. I trust you, you know that, right?"
"I do."
He gave her the best smile he could muster before turning around and exiting the boxcar a moment later, heading to where Kenny was.
Back at the boxcar, Clementine was still leaning on Naruto's shoulder, who looked to be deep in thought. He had a troubled expression on his face, and his hands shook periodically, almost as if whatever was going through his head had him fighting a losing battle with himself.
Clem noticed his eyes were fixed on the moving scenery in front of them, yet he wasn't paying attention to any of it.
"What are you thinking about?", she couldn't help but ask, her curiosity getting the best out of her.
Naruto blinked his azure eyes and extended his free hand forward, proceeding to stare at it absently. He did this for a few moments before his seemingly calm expression twisted into a frown. "Duck", he simply said. "I want to help, but..."
"Oh", Clem remembered what they had talked about him being able to save their friend, but even though she knew he was different than other people, she didn't want him to feel responsible or even bad if he really couldn't do anything. "Don't feel bad, Naruto. It's okay if you can't help or don't know how to. I don't think anyone can help Duck right now."
The girl ignored the way he raised his eyes to stare at her, before looking down again, feeling hopeless. Clem was struggling not to let sadness get to her, but it was getting harder the more she thought about Duck not being able to make it. Next to her, Naruto silently kept pondering over the idea he'd had earlier, regarding the 'medic-nins' and their healing technique.
It was one in a million chance, and he didn't know whether it'd help at all. Even if he managed to apply the right amount of chakra and keep it flowing, would it really make any difference? Naruto wasn't sure of what his chakra would do to Duck once it entered his body, though he hoped it'd strengthen the boy and help him neutralize that which was quickly turning him into one of them.
There was no guarantee it'd do as he meant it to, but could he really just sit back and let his friend die without even trying?
No. He had to at least try. Even if Katjaa and the others got scared of him for showing his chakra, he wouldn't abandon the poor kid to such horrible fate.
Naruto gently pulled away from Clem and stood up, nodding to himself with determination written all over his face. The girl seemed to have noticed his previous change of mood and was surprised at seeing him get up. "Where are you going?"
"Wait here", he told her with a large grin. The kind he'd show when he was about to do something crazy, just like then.
Before Clem could even react, the blond made his way to Katjaa and her son, dutifully ignoring the many looks he got his way. As he reached there, he saw the woman raising her blue eyes to glance at him in surprise. "Naruto...?", she asked, her tone calm yet curious at the same time.
"I can help Duck", he told Katjaa, grinning.
"What? But how?", her initial confusion quickly turned into realization, and her features softened at thinking the poor boy just wanted to give her a hand at taking care of her son. "That's sweet, Naruto, and I appreciate what you're trying to do, but it's fine. I've got Duckie."
She half expected the boy to insist a little and then go back to Clem, but Naruto never lost the smile on his face as he eyed the woman, shaking his head. "No. I think I can save him."
Katjaa and everyone else listening glanced intently at him for a moment, not really knowing what he meant with that. The former just remained silent and couldn't help but think that whatever childish idea Naruto had, it would never work. No matter what he tried to do.
Though she never expected him to slowly raise his hands and see them glow blue for a moment, shocking everyone.
"W-W-What's that?", Katjaa hurriedly tried to shield her son from the Uzumaki, hugging him closer to her body.
Naruto kept his hands high to show he didn't mean the boy any harm. "It's okay, it's okay", he repeated. "It's chakra."
Under the shocked stare of everyone around him, the woman reluctantly began to lean Duck towards the blond. She couldn't believe what she was doing, but there was something about the Uzumaki that gave her hope, that told her everything would be fine if she just trusted him. Besides, how could she not? Naruto had proven to be a good friend to her son and someone who'd been there for her family in the direst of situations.
She was so desperate she was willing to let Naruto do what he intended to do with that strange 'chakra' of his. Neither she nor anyone else on that boxcar had ever seen anything like it. It was mesmerizing, to say the least, and truly astonishing. Just what kind of boy was Naruto Uzumaki?
Naruto smiled reassuringly at the woman, and then turned to Duck, who wasn't even looking his way. He looked in a trance, like unaware of the events taking place around him. "I don't know if it work", he tried telling Katjaa then, deciding to be truthful and just lay it out to her. Naruto wanted to at least warn the woman and let her decide if she wanted him to go ahead or not.
After all, it was her choice. If he knew this would save Duck he'd have done it by now, but he had to make sure she understood what he meant.
Katjaa seemed to contemplate his words in silence, taking a moment to look at her dying son. She weighted her options, which weren't many, and eventually decided that if there was even one possibility of curing Duck she'd take it, even if it did more harm than good.
"...Okay, Naruto", she finally relented. "Please, be careful. He's very weak."
"I promise."
The blond took a deep breath and tried to calm his beating heart, focusing a low amount on chakra on the palm of his hands. They glowed blue, like they were surrounded by a strange and powerful aura. Naruto schooled his features and slowly but surely lowered his palms onto Duck's wound by the waist, allowing his chakra to cover the area.
He didn't really know how to conduct it inside the boy's body, so he imagined he was pushing his chakra through the bite, not sure whether that'd work. He was genuinely surprised when it did and Duck's skin began glowing from the inside.
"A-Ah..."
"What's happening to him!?"
Naruto frowned in concentration, while trying to keep the flow of chakra as steady as possible. He ignored Katjaa and the moaning Duck for the moment and gathered a bit more chakra. Sweat dropped from his forehead as he worked. This was even harder than the chakra control exercises he'd been doing on his training routines, but the Uzumaki persisted. One single mistake could be fatal, and of that, he was sure.
As he poured his energy into the wound, he felt something was terribly wrong with the boy. It was almost as if he lacked a chakra network to begin with. Back at the Academy, Naruto had learned that every person, including civilians, possessed a chakra network alongside the circulatory system that carried blood to the organs. The first network was as essential for humans as the second system, hence why he gasped in surprise at discovering Duck had no network that could transport his own chakra throughout the body.
'Come on, come on! I can't give up just yet!'
Seeing as though his chakra wasn't going anywhere, Naruto poured even more chakra into the wound, his frown deepening. Under the sudden pression being exerted on him, Duck's moans grew a little bit louder and his body started convulsing. Katjaa's face grew panicked at seeing her son in pain but couldn't ask Naruto to stop, her eyes staring at him pleadingly.
But the boy just shook his head and kept going, ignoring it all.
'It has to work. I know it can, if I give up now Duck will just die!'
He didn't know how much time he'd spent on his knees, exerting himself in an attempt to save the boy's life. Naruto never noticed he was screaming in frustration at seeing all his efforts were futile and wouldn't get them anywhere, or that the train had stopped, or the looks on everybody's faces. He just continued.
And it wasn't until someone put both hands on his shoulders that his eyes regained their focus and he pulled to a stop.
The very first thing he saw was Duck struggling to breathe and blood trailing down his mouth, his body shaking lightly. Raising his orbs a little bit upwards he saw Katjaa crying silently, multiple tears stained her cheeks as she shook her head. "No more, please, Duck is suffering..."
That was when Naruto finally realized what he'd been doing. He'd just hurt Duck more than he already was, and for what? For nothing.
"It's okay, Naruto", he absently heard a voice telling him from behind, squeezing his shoulders affectionately. "You did all you could. It's time to let Duck rest."
He didn't need to turn around to see Lee was the one at his back, nor did he move even after recognizing his voice. Naruto simply turned to Katjaa and mumbled: 'I'm sorry', before getting up and heading for the back. Ben scurried over to give him space, though the blond didn't even notice he was there and just sat down, away from everyone else.
No words were exchanged between the others even when Kenny showed up and asked what was going on, with Lee briefly informing him that Naruto had tried to help, but sparing the details as to how.
Katjaa gave Naruto's figure one last, sad look and mumbled 'thank you for everything you've done for us' before getting off the boxcar with Duck in her arms and Lee and Kenny following suit. Nobody could imagine that would be the last time they'd ever see Katjaa and Duck again.
Lee Everett ran through the forest as fast as he could, heading the same way he remembered Kenny and his family going. His heart pounded madly in his chest as he surged forward, never relenting despite his legs starting to get tired. He passed by many trees on his way, and kept an eye out for any nearby walkers that could be heading that way too.
Just a minute ago, the man had heard a gunshot coming right from where the two parents had decided to take Duck. He and Katjaa had convinced Kenny to let Lee be the one in charge of taking care of the infected boy, which was what the latter intended to do, though not before allowing them a minute to say goodbye. He was afraid of what would happen if it took them too long to be done, hence why he'd ran immediately towards the forest the moment he'd heard his friend screaming.
Lee picked up the pace and soon reached a clearing in the forest, seeing Kenny on his knees. "Kenny!? What happe-?", whatever he wanted to say next never made it past his lips at what he then saw next to the bearded man:
Katjaa was lying on the floor, dead. Blood poured from a hole on her forehead, and Lee noticed there was a gun in her hand. Without needing to ask, he immediately realized what had happened.
"Oh, no, no, no. Kat! Kat! Katjaa!"
Tears were flowing freely out of Kenny's eyes and down his cheeks as he stared at his dead wife for a full minute, incredulity written all over his face. Lee could do nothing but stand back and move his face away from the scene in grief, hearing as Kenny began sobbing.
"Why? You said you could do it, you said it, Kat... Oh fuck!"
Lee's expression saddened at that, but still refused to say anything. There was nothing he could say or do that would make things better for his friend, even if they still needed to take care of Duck, who was sitting against a nearby tree with half-lidded eyes. He didn't even seem to notice his own mother had shot herself in the head, which made things even more painful for the 37-year-old man.
"..."
Kenny slowly raised his head from his wife's corpse and glanced the way of Duck, staring at him in silence for a few moments. Then, he stood up, picked Katjaa's gun in his hands and walked up to the boy, followed closely behind by Lee.
No words were exchanged between them as the man shakily aimed the weapon at his own son's head. Lee noticed the way his friend seemed to be having trouble even holding the gun steady and gently extended his hand towards him.
"I'll do it, Kenny."
The man was quick to hand him the gun and take a step back, which made Lee feel as though he was doing the right thing, even if it killed him to be the one to put a poor kid out of his misery. He steeled himself, doing his best to ignore the look on Duck's dying face, aimed the gun and stared at the boy. Naruto came to his mind at that moment, and the way the extraordinary boy had tried to save his friend by using a kind of power or something only he had.
Back then, Lee had frozen the moment his eyes had caught sight of that blue energy. Whatever that had been, he immediately realized it belonged to Naruto and Naruto only, and that if there was someone who could achieve the impossible it was him.
This time, however, it wasn't meant to be.
"I'm sorry."
And after taking a last glance at Kenny's son, Lee finally pulled the trigger, sparing Duck of a fate worse than death.
"What a mess, that poor kid and his mother, gone..."
Clem raised her head and glanced in the way of Chuck, who was leaning against the opposite wall of the boxcar. The train had started moving again a few minutes ago and nobody had been able to say a word after learning what had happened not only to Duck, but Katjaa too. It'd meant a huge blow on the group, especially the kids, who looked devastated at the news.
Ben had stormed out the wagon as soon as Lee told them what took place back at the forest, leaving Carley and Chuck behind with Naruto and Clementine. The young blond still refused to come out of the back of the boxcar, and Clem had decided to give him some space. She knew he was having it worse than anybody else except Kenny after his failed attempt to cure Duck, so it was better not to bother him at the moment.
"I can't believe she did that", Carley began, a troubled look crossing her features. "I mean, Katjaa was a strong woman, and I can't imagine how difficult it must be to lose your own son of all people, but how could someone give up so easily?"
Chuck sighed at her remark. "She must have realized there was no future in store for her without her son, can't blame her for makin' that choice", he said matter-of-factly, not showing even the slightest hint of remorse as he spoke. His words were met with wide eyes from Carley, who couldn't believe what she was hearing.
"Are you being serious right now?", she faced him. "Katjaa was not even bitten! She could have had a future with Kenny by her side!"
Clementine noticed Carley growing even angrier at seeing Chuck letting out a dry chuckle. "Young lady, anyone who needs to rely on others for survival never makes it too far in this world. Take that little girl that's looking at us right now like a scared bunny", the man then turned Clem's way with narrowed eyes. "If she keeps waiting for that Naruto boy back there to keep her safe every time she's in danger, the same that happened to Duck will happen to her. I guarantee you that."
The girl's face immediately fell at hearing those horrible things the newest member of the group said about her. Clem couldn't help but turn her head to the front and try to tune out the rest of the conversation, as she didn't want Chuck to keep hurting and scaring her.
"I can't believe you just said that to a little girl!", Carley snapped. "Do you want to scare her to death!? Because in case you haven't noticed it yet, asshole, we've just lost two good people and we are not in the mood to hear you make stupid jokes!"
Despite being practically yelled at right in his face, Chuck merely shrugged his shoulders, much to Carley's annoyance. "It's not a joke, I'm just-", the old man was forced to leave his sentence unfinished at a sudden and rather forceful tap he felt on his back. "Yeah, what is it?"
He only managed to turn around before he found himself being punched in the face - the force of the impact knocked him off his feet and threw him backwards, making him fall on his rear.
"D-Damn...", he moaned, rubbing his aching cheek. "That's gonna leave a mark."
"You! Shut up!"
Carley and Clementine watched in silent awe as Naruto stood over a man three times bigger than him, his face twisted into a furious scowl. Chuck was taken aback the moment he realized a kid had been the one to knock him flat, though he couldn't help but feel more respect towards him for managing to do so. "Nice one kid, you got me good", Chuck struggled to get back on his feet as the blond took a step back and got ready to fight him if the old man tried anything stupid. "But I wasn't kiddin' back there. I know you are teaching your little girlfriend how to protect herself with that weapon you call... hell, I don't even remember its name. Suppose it doesn't make much difference."
Chuck failed to notice the way his word only seemed to upset Naruto further. The latter's scowl only deepened and his small hands balled into fists once again.
"Anyways, what you're tryin' to do is fine and all, but it ain't enough", Chuck ran a hand through his dirty white hair, trying to come up with the right words so as not to get punched again. "Unfortunately, there is not much only you can do before she is ready to take care of herself. But don't ya worry, I'll have a word with Lee about it in a minute."
He tried to give Naruto a friendly smile, but the blond merely narrowed his eyes and turned away from the old man. "Stay away from Clem", was all he said before he went and took a seat right next to said girl, leaving a silent Chuck behind. The aforementioned shrugged and left the boxcar a moment later, hoping to get some air at the front.
Meanwhile, Carley, who'd just been able to get out of her previous astonishment at seeing Naruto kick that guy's ass, not literally of course, smiled at seeing the kids together again and decided to head outside for the moment, giving them some space until Lee came back from checking on Kenny. She knew those two had some stuff to talk about, and honestly, she was dying for a hug herself.
For a few minutes, Naruto and Clementine just sat by the open door, watching the trees the train passed by in its path. The sound of the locomotive running down the railroad was surprisingly peaceful, more so to the Uzumaki who'd been initially afraid of riding such a strange transport. He was sure those didn't exist back where he was from, which made them all the more fascinating. Under different circumstances, he'd have allowed himself a moment to relax and forget about everything else, but Duck's and Katjaa's deaths were still very fresh in his mind to just pretend they were not gone.
"Are you okay?", Naruto suddenly asked, scooting a bit closer to his silent friend.
Clem looked down at the question. "I guess", she told him. "How about you?"
"Not good."
His answer had been so sincere, so honest that it'd made Clem shift her eyes until she was staring right at his face. "Do you miss Duck and Katjaa?", she couldn't help but ask, though she already knew the answer to said inquiry. Naruto inclined his head with a sigh, feeling a heavy weight on his shoulders. "Me too", Clem admitted quietly, looking away from the blond. "I'm sad they are gone and that I couldn't do anything to help."
"Clem...", Naruto grew sad at hearing her speak like that, and gently placed his hand atop hers, watching as Clementine turned her palm around and allowed their fingers to intertwine. "You can't help. I can't help. It's late."
She gave him an absent nod, knowing he was absolutely right. She understood it wouldn't do to keep beating herself about it, but still couldn't stop feeling terrible about it. Her thoughts then shifted to Chuck and what he'd said earlier, something that made Clem's face fall in sadness. "Do you think Chuck was right when he said I'm going to end like Duck?"
"No!", the blond shook his head fervently. "He's stupid. I can help you get strong. Really strong. With training."
There was something in the way he spoke that was very reassuring to Clementine, almost as if he really believed in her and wasn't going to let that change any time soon. She smiled at that, squeezing his hand. "I'd like that", she told him, already feeling better. If she could get anywhere near Naruto's level there would be nothing that'd scare her. "You didn't need to hurt Chuck though, he's just an elderly person."
"Sorry. I got angry."
"I know", Clementine giggled at the awkward way in which Naruto rubbed the back of his head, and that goofy grin of his' she liked so much was so cheerful and bright... It was like staring at the Sun itself. "You're the best friend I've ever had, Naruto."
"Alfred?"
"Yes, even more than Alfred", she smiled at him, watching Naruto grow happy. "Don't ever leave me, Naruto."
"Nuh-uh, never!"
She loved her best friend very much; he really did know how to make even the saddest day good again. Was that one of his unique powers, too?
Lee was walking back to the boxcar with Carley in tow when Ben's voice caught their attention and made them stop right in their tracks.
"It was me."
"Huh?"
Both adults turned his way and saw him leaning on the railer at the back of the train, his face showing a look of deep regret. Carley raised an eyebrow at the young teen and couldn't help but place a hand on her hip. "What do you mean it was you?", she asked suspiciously. For him to sound so worked up over something, she guessed it had to be bad. Very bad.
Ben decided to stop beating around the bush and be honest for a change. No matter what happened to him after sharing this with the people he'd grown to care about, he had to reveal the truth. "I... I was the one giving the bandits our supplies", he said, closing his eyes. He couldn't bring himself to face them, not after what he'd done. "The attack on the motel and Duck getting bitten, all of that was my fault."
Carley's initial reaction was to widen her eyes in shock. "Is that true? Please tell me you're joking..."
"N-No, it's the truth", Ben told them, his guilt preventing him from even looking at the adults. He didn't want to see the disappointment, hatred or whatever was it they felt at his actions.
"Jesus, Ben...", Lee covered his face with both hands, absolutely incredulous. "Why the hell did you do that for?"
"They told me they had my friend, Travis! I couldn't just let him die, even if it was just a lie..."
Carley scoffed at his words. She couldn't believe what she was hearing. "You should have said something sooner. If you had, none of this would have happened!", she spat, before shaking her head in disappointment. "I defended you back when Lilly accused you, God, I was so stupid!"
"I know, and I'm sorry! I really am! I just... panicked, I thought Lilly and Kenny would leave me behind if I told the truth. I don't want to be alone..."
Lee placed a hand on Carley's shoulder, shaking his head at her. "We won't say anything to the others, and you shouldn't, either. It's not going to end well for you if you don't keep it to yourself."
Ben looked hesitant at doing what Lee suggested, but just imagining what Kenny could do to him if he were to find out the truth made him realize it wasn't a good idea to tell Duck's dad the truth. At least not right now when Kenny'd lost all he ever loved because of him.
"...Okay", the teen mumbled and went back to his thoughts.
Lee and Carley walked up to the door and after checking Ben wasn't looking at them, shared a look. No words were needed between them to understand things could get even worse if Kenny ever found out. Carley felt he had to know the truth, just like when she told Lee to share his past with everyone because it was the right thing to do.
Though she did agree with Lee on the fact now was a terrible time, so she decided to keep it to herself for now.
Both adults walked into the boxcar and were a little surprised at seeing Clementine trying to stab Naruto with her kunai.
"What's going on here!?"
The little girl found her attack being deflected by Naruto's own weapon, their kunais clashing with a loud 'cling'. She was about to jump back and try something else when she finally realized Lee and Carley were standing by the entrance, looking alarmed. "Oh, hi Lee, Carley", Clem smiled at them and waved her small hand in greeting. "We were just training with Naruto."
"Hi Lee and Carley!", Naruto said nonchalantly.
"Don't hi me young man", Lee admonished. "You have to be more careful! What if you or Clem get hurt?"
The Uzumaki rolled his eyes before he gave the man a thumbs-up. "It's okay! Training is good."
"Yeah! It's so much fun", Clem couldn't help but nod her head in agreement. "Don't worry, Lee. Naruto always stops my attacks. I can't even get close to him for some reason!"
"Hehehe, I'm fast."
"Hmph. You could slow down a bit to make it fair..."
"Nope!"
Lee was baffled at the way Naruto chuckled after seeing Clem pout in frustration, almost as if he enjoyed the look on her face. Clem looked a little red and tired from training, which had Lee wondering, were those kids even taking it slow at least? That kind of practice was dangerous! Naruto was one thing, but Clementine was too young to be playing with such things.
He was about to speak his mind about the whole deal when Carley beat him to it.
"All right, that's fine by me."
Lee turned to the woman with a flabbergasted look on his face. "Carley? You can't be serious..."
He expected her to side with him, and agree that it was better for them to be more careful, but she merely shrugged her shoulders. "Actually, yes. I trust Naruto wouldn't hurt Clementine even by accident, so I say we let them work out as much as they want", secretly finding the way he then stared at her cute, she turned to the kids and smiled at them. "Besides, you told Chuck you'd make sure Clem was ready for the world out there. I think this is a really good way to prepare for it, don't you?"
As Carley went on to praise Clementine on wanting to get stronger, Lee blinked in incredulity for a few moments before letting out a long sigh. "Fine. I won't oppose to it", he told them, making the children flash happy grins his way and high-five each other in celebration. Lee couldn't help but smile at the sight before his previous conversation with Chuck reminded him of something he needed to discuss with them. "Still, that alone won't be enough for Clem. There are other things we need to do."
"Oh, you spoke with him", the little girl lowered her eyes, saddening at the memory of that horrible stuff Chuck had said to her. "Did you get mad? Please, tell me you didn't..."
Lee cocked an eyebrow. "No. I didn't punch him in the face, if that's what you are asking", as he said this, his dark orbs glanced at Naruto, who had the decency of looking mildly embarrassed about losing his cool back there. Not that he regretted hitting Chuck though - the old man had it coming in his opinion. "Look, what he said to you was out of line, but he does have a point. We are not going to let anything bad happen to you, but there are some precautions we need to take."
"Okay, yeah, that makes sense", Clem shrugged, getting a nod from Carley. "What should we do then? Train more with Naruto?"
The aforementioned grinned at the idea, though Lee shook his head.
"Other stuff. Like tidy you up a little so that you can't get grabbed so easily and make a plan for when we get to Savannah."
"I'd like that!", the girl gave Lee an enthusiastic smile, which he soon reciprocated.
"That's good, sweet pea. Now, why don't you and Naruto sit down over there while I go look for something? I'll be with you two in a moment."
The kids looked at each other and after realizing training time was over for now, they sat down at the usual spot by the boxcar right's entrance. Carley nodded at Lee and sat right next to Clementine while he approached Chuck's bag and retrieved a pair of scissors from within.
Lee examined the item in his hands, making sure they were clean and sharp enough for what he was about to do. 'These will work', he smiled in satisfaction, before walking up to the kids and crouching down behind them.
He had to clear his throat to get their attention, as they were all staring calmly at the sight before them.
"So, Clem, we need to talk about your hair...", Lee saw the look Clementine gave him, but forced himself to continue anyway. "It's not safe."
His words seemed to upset the little girl, who frowned at him. "That's not nice."
"Huh?"
"Are you saying it smells?"
Lee was slightly taken aback at her innocent question, but quickly composed himself and gave her a reassuring smile. "No, honey, that's not what I meant."
"Because I know it does. Kinda."
By her side, Naruto scooped a little closer and started sniffing on her hair, much to his friend's annoyance. "Hey! Stop it!", she gave him a light push, her face expression quickly growing flustered the more he tried to check whether Lee was right or not.
"It smells", the Uzumaki couldn't help but scrunch his nose jokingly, making Lee chuckle and Carley raise an eyebrow at the silly boy.
"S-Shut up!", Clementine mumbled, pouting. Her cheeks were a bit red as she averted her eyes to the side. "You smell too, meanie."
"That's not a very nice thing to say to a girl, Naruto", Carley admonished him, albeit with a barely concealed smile on her lips. "You should be more careful of what you say around Clementine. After all, you don't want to hurt her feelings now, do you?"
Her words seemed to have the desired effect upon the boy, who went from looking cheeky to terrified in just an instant. He then threw his arms around a surprised Clem and started asking for her forgiveness, cascades of tears flowing comically down his cheeks as he did so. Both Carley and Lee looked at each other with knowing smiles, the former winking an eye at him as Clem just let out a sigh and started patting Naruto's head in a motherly fashion.
"There there, it's okay you big dummy, I'm not mad..."
This carried on for a few more moments until Naruto managed to calm down enough to let her go, much to the adults' amusement. Naruto was a tough kid, but like any other person, he did have his weaknesses, Clem being one clear example of those.
Carley giggled to herself. She couldn't help it, those two were just too cute for their own good.
"All right, I think I'm done here."
Lee finally pulled the scissors away from Clem's hair, taking a good look at her changed appearance. Not too shabby for a first try, he mussed inwardly, as Carley and Naruto eyed the girl and her new look.
"Whoa Lee, you actually did better than I expected. I was right to leave it to you."
The man raised an eyebrow at Carley's remark. "What's that supposed to mean?"
"Nothing, take it as a compliment", she shrugged, before giving an expectant looking Clementine a smile of approval. "Don't worry Clem, you look prettier now."
Clementine wasn't really sure that was the case as she proceeded to touch the back of her head and the small pigtails Lee had tied her hair into. It felt so weird having short hair, like a part of her was missing. "Does it look dumb?", she couldn't help but ask, pouting at the adults. She inadvertently glanced Naruto's way after getting two identical shakes of the head from Lee and Carley, and felt a little sad at noticing her best friend was staring at her as if she had grown a second head or something. "Naruto?"
He didn't seem to react to her question, nor to the way everyone turned his way in expectation. He wasn't even blinking, which led Clementine to avert her eyes and wonder, did it really look that weird to him?
"...That bad, huh?"
Lee saw the look on Clem's face and clapped his hands rather loudly. "Naruto!", he exclaimed, breaking the boy out of his daze. The Uzumaki blinked his azure eyes a few times before he turned to Lee and Carley.
"What?"
"How does Clementine look now?"
"She's waiting, don't be mean to her!", Carley mouthed to the boy while gesturing her way.
It took a moment for the blond's mind to process the information he was being given, but when he did, his mouth turned into an 'o' shape and he nodded, making the adults smile. His cerulean orbs slowly glanced at Clem, and noticed she wasn't even looking his way.
"H-Hey, Clem."
"Yes?"
Naruto grew nervous at seeing her head turning to him, and he couldn't help but avert his eyes and rub the back of his head. "You...", he gulped, blushing a little. It would have been easier to speak his mind if Lee and Carley weren't around. And those weird smiles on their faces weren't helping either. He wanted to tell them to turn away or leave altogether, but it was too late now.
Clem was already waiting for whatever he wanted to say.
"Y-You..."
"Me?"
The blond took a deep breath, closed his eyes and finally said in a low voice, "...you look pretty."
"What?"
"You look pretty. Very pretty", Naruto repeated, a bit more confidently this time. His cheeks were burning from the embarrassment, but he put up with it. "Your hair is cute."
There was only a moment of silence in which Clem just stared at him, almost as if scrutinizing his words. But little by little, her dejected expression started turning into one of hope. "Really?"
"Yes. Promise", Naruto couldn't take the embarrassing looks the others were giving him and turned around, giving the girl his back. He didn't want them to see his reddened face any more than they already had.
Though by doing so, he failed to notice the way Clem's visage brightened up at his words and the smile she now had on her lips. "Thanks, Naruto", she happily told him, feeling much more confident about her new haircut. After all, if Naruto said she looked pretty, then it had to be true. "Thank you, Lee, for making my hair safer."
Lee nodded and handed her hat back to her, which she promptly put over her head again. Clem started to swing her legs back and forth from her sitting position by the boxcar's right side, humming a joyous tune to herself. Carley walked up to Lee and leaned on him, whispering something into his ear.
The aforementioned was soon chuckling at that, though both kids ignored what was going on.
"Hehe, maybe, who knows", he mysteriously said, before pulling out his gun. "Okay you two, could you come over here for a second?"
Naruto and Clem turned curiously towards Lee and saw him waiting patiently for them by Carley's side. The kids shared an innocent look before going over to where he was, their expressions growing curious at what he could have in store for them.
"So... earlier I told you we needed to teach Clementine how to protect herself. Now, I know Naruto here has been showing her how to use that blade of his, but like I said, that alone won't be enough", the man walked up to Clem and presented his gun to her, noticing how she grew scared all of a sudden at seeing it. "If we all want to survive, you'll need to know how to use one of these."
Under the silent stare of her best friend, Clem hesitantly took the handgun in her hands, a look of discomfort now etched on her visage.
"How does it feel?", Carley asked her.
"It's heavy!", the girl complained, before trying to give it back to Lee. "I don't like it. Kunais are better."
By her side, Naruto nodded in understanding. He too felt the same way about those strange weapons, even though he'd only shot a rifle so far. He knew the gun on Lee's hands was a smaller and less potent version, but still a very noisy one.
"Let's try to put up with it for the moment. You too, Naruto."
Carley took out her own gun and presented it to the blond, who stared at it with uncertainty in his eyes. "Here Naruto, you can use mine", she smiled encouragingly at him.
"But I don't want to! I can protect me and Clem!"
"Yes, we know you can. But it's always useful to have more than one choice when it comes to self-defense or protecting others", Carley patiently explained, seeing Naruto frown in thought. "Guns are not the best option most of the times, yes, but they always come in handy. You can trust me on that one."
The blond seemed to ponder over her words as he stared at the weapon for a few moments, not really sure whether he should just get it over with or refuse. After all, his kunai and shuriken were just some of the options he had at his disposal. He could still rely on his fists to do the talking when necessary, or even the few ninjutsu he knew. Like his transformation or replacement jutsus, which he had yet to use in this world. So far, he just hadn't felt the need to do so.
Naruto didn't like what he was being offered, but eventually decided to take it and practice a bit with it. Carley was kind of right, he guessed, and it wouldn't really hurt to know how to use a long-range weapon like that one. Everyone seemed pleased with his decision, and Lee proceeded to give both kids some pointers.
"Good. Now, don't be afraid of what you have in your hands. It's just a thing", the man waited until both children inclined their heads in understanding before walking to the back of the boxcar.
He looked around for a minute in search of something they could shoot for practice and quickly found a couple of empty bottles in one of the boxes piled up near his position. Lee quickly placed two of them on top of a rather wide box, made sure there was plenty of distance between the bottles and finally turned to an expectant pair of children.
"I want you two to point the end of the barrel at the bottles. Naruto, you got the one of the left. Clem, the right one."
"Is there anything else we should know?", Clem asked innocently.
"Well... There's one thing", Lee rubbed his chin. "Don't squeeze the trigger when you're about to shoot, just pull it. Gently. And relax."
Both kids stood side by side, leaving just enough room between them so that they wouldn't bump into each other while preparing to shoot. Naruto got in position and smiled at Clem, who was looking a tad insecure at having to use a gun. "I shoot first", Naruto announced, aiming his gun forward. Carley examined his posture for a moment before making him relax his shoulders a bit more and spread his legs a bit further.
"Do you remember what Kenny taught you about rifles?", after seeing Naruto give her a nod, Carley smiled. "Then it's the same thing. Only difference is you don't have to use your shoulder to with these."
"And they lack a scope", Lee added.
"Yeah, they do", Carley then took a step back and allowed the boy to aim. "All right, you're ready. Shoot only when you're sure you got your target in sight."
Naruto squinted his eyes and adjusted the weapon in his hands until the muzzle was facing the bottle Lee had chosen for him. He took a deep breath, and exhaled, pulling the trigger in just a fraction of a second. A loud bang echoed for a moment in the boxcar as a lone bullet ran through the glass bottle, shattering it into several pieces.
"Way to go! You did it Naruto!", Clem celebrated, flashing the boy an impressed smile.
"Well well well, it seems we have a natural here."
"No kidding."
"Hehehe", the Uzumaki gave them all the victory sign and grinned in the way only he could do, before lowering the gun and looking excited. "More!"
Lee and Carley chuckled at his enthusiasm. Some minutes ago, he was openly complaining about how he didn't like guns and that he didn't want to train with them, but now it was the complete opposite. "Guns aren't so bad after all, huh?", Lee casually commented, watching as Naruto simply shook his head and waited for more bottles to shoot.
"Okay cowboy, let Clementine try now."
"Good luck, Clem!", Naruto encouraged his best friend by giving her a thumbs-up, which she appreciated. Her hazel eyes turned towards her target, and after letting out a calming sigh, she slowly raised her weapon. Lee helped her by retracting her arms a bit so that she was flexing them instead of keeping them rigid, and then covered her ears to protect them from the loud noise that would follow the gunshot.
"Remember, take a breath, keep it steady and... "
*BANG!*
"Eep!"
Clementine felt her heart pounding madly in her chest as she stared at the intact bottle. She'd missed, not by much by the looks of it, but a miss was a miss. She couldn't help but be a little disappointed at not having been able to hit the target on the first try just like Naruto had, though she did smile at the blond's attempt to encourage her by telling it was okay and that she could do it.
"Are you okay, Clem?"
She shook her head. "My hands hurt! But I'm fine, I want to try again. Maybe next time I'll get it", as she said this, her eyes inadvertently turned to Naruto, who had both arms folded over his chest and was glancing in a different direction. He seemed to be patiently waiting for his turn again.
"That's right, sweet pea", Lee nodded. "Let's try one more time. Here, I'll tell you what to do so that you don't miss."
Their shooting practice continued for a little while, with Clem making awesome progress in just a few minutes. For the very first two attempts she'd needed Lee to assist her before she could even hit the target, but then she'd gone and shot two consecutive bottles on her own.
Lee and Carley were silently impressed at how much improvement she'd shown in such a short amount of time, though they knew it'd been thanks to Naruto serving as motivation for her. He seemed to have really good aim, even if he'd gotten bored fairly quickly of practising with Carley's gun and decided to sit back and watch as Clem proceeded to shoot those empty bottles.
They hadn't even bothered to stop him, after all, he'd proven himself more than capable with fire arms to the point where he could be given one and carry it around. Lee doubted he would accept it though - that Naruto'd had fun didn't mean he was going to change his strange weapons for one of those. At least not for now.
At the moment, the group of four were currently relaxing at the boxcar. Naruto was sitting cross-legged next to Clementine, who was calmly drinking some water from a bottle they shared. No words were exchanged between them or Lee and Carley as they enjoyed the ride, not knowing when they'd all have the chance to just sit down and be at ease where no walkers, no bandits, no killers, nothing could get them.
Savannah was going to be dangerous. Being such a large city, it'd have been foolish to think otherwise. Still, Lee guessed they'd cross that bridge when they got there, though it wouldn't be a bad idea to plan ahead for what was about to come. He had that map of Savannah he'd found amongst Chuck's possessions, which would give them a general idea of what to expect upon arrival and where to go in case they got separated, for instance.
Just as Lee made up his mind and was about to pull out the map from his pocket, Clem suddenly spoke up. "So... Me and Naruto have been talking and, uhm, we have a question for you Lee, and Carley too."
"Yeah! Question, question!", Naruto added, bobbing his head up and down in agreement.
Both adults looked at each other in curiosity before turning to the kids, the Uzumaki grinning innocently at them. "Uh, yeah sure, shoot", Carley shrugged.
Said girl blinked and said, "Do you like each other?"
The bluntness of her question took them by surprise, which soon showed on their faces. Lee was able to get out of it first, and he gave the girl a cautious nod. "Err... Of course we do."
"I mean, do you like-like her, Lee?"
"O-Oh."
Now that Lee understood where this was going, his cheeks grew slightly red at the implication behind her question. He felt Carley looking intently at him, she too being a bit embarrassed about the topic but nevertheless expecting an answer. Lee didn't need to think too much, because his feelings for the woman by his side were clear, though that didn't make it any easier for him to talk about it openly with the kids.
Hell, he hadn't even spoken with Carley about it yet. They'd just gone with the flow, seeing where it'd lead them. Lee knew they would have to sit down and talk eventually, once they could find the time and place. Then again... the kids had noticed that something had changed between them, so he figured it'd be better to just be honest and let it all play out as it should.
"I do. A lot", he confessed, his tone confident and calm, a reflection of the truth behind his words. He missed the way Carley looked away from them so that they wouldn't see the shy smile on her lips, or the blush on her cheeks.
"Oh, so you're a couple now?", Clem continued, looking excited about something. "As in, girlfriend and boyfriend?"
"Girlfriend and boyfriend, hehehe", Naruto chuckled childishly at that, making Lee and Carley feel a bit more embarrassed than they were before.
"W-Well..."
"We are not dating...", Carley suddenly spoke up, a bit louder than she initially intended but confident nonetheless. She turned to the kids and then to Lee, meeting his eyes. "...Yet. But maybe later we could..."
Lee smiled at the woman. "I would like that", he reached for her hand and gave it a loving squeeze, one that she returned.
Whereas Naruto looked confused and failed to understand what they were talking about, Clementine just smiled at them. "That's good. I'm happy for you two", she indeed looked that way about both Lee and Carley becoming an item, and the two of them nodded appreciatively at the girl. Clem then turned to Naruto, before tugging on his sleeve. "Aren't you happy too, Naruto?"
"I guess", the blond shrugged, not really seeing what was so exciting about two adults becoming a couple. He'd seen those before in Konoha. They held hands, acted really weird around each other and even kissed in public. And not just any kiss, but one on the lips! That seemed so gross the mere of thought of it was enough for him to gag.
"Aww come on Naruto, don't be like that... It's a good thing, see?", Clem tried to convince her best friend to see it from a different perspective, but he didn't seem to care much about it.
"It's okay Clem, Naruto's still too young to care about relationships", Naruto nodded emphatically at Lee's words, feeling understood for a change.
"Yeah, or maybe he's just pretending not to care", Carley said with a barely concealed sly smirk, one that didn't go unnoticed by the man by her side, who shook his head in amusement. "Maybe he already likes someone and he's just too shy to tell."
"Eh? It's that true Naruto? Do you like-like someone?"
The blond grew pale at that and waved his hands around frantically. "Not true!", he simply said, ignoring as Lee and Carley shared a short chuckle at his embarrassment. Clem just stared at him suspiciously for a while, like she didn't believe he was telling the truth for whatever reason.
Eventually, she just shrugged and decided to let it go. "Okay. But if you ever like a girl you have to tell me, I'm your best friend! You can tell me anything, you know that."
Naruto let out a sigh, his previous embarrassment quickly forgotten at seeing Clem finally believing him. He gave her a grin, before nodding. "Yeah, I promise!"
Lee decided the blond had been teased enough and reached for his pocket. He took out a map of Savannah and showed it to the kids, promptly catching their attention again.
"What's that?", the boy couldn't help but ask, tilting his head to the side in curiosity.
"It's a map of Savannah", Lee gestured for the kids to move and leave a space on the ground so that he could unfold the map and take a look at it. "Me and Carley figured that since we are heading there, we may as well make a plan. Like... think about what to do and where should we go when we arrive."
Clem thought about it for a moment. "Maybe we can look for my parents too?"
There was hope in her voice as she brought up the possibility of her parents being still alive, her hazel eyes looking at Lee expectantly. By her side, Lee saw Naruto's face saddening, and both the man and Carley understood why. The boy was more inclined to believe Clem's mom and dad hadn't survived out there, something shared by the adults in the boxcar, especially by Lee.
Every time Clem mentioned her parents, Lee would be reminded of the voice messages he'd heard back at her house. Just thinking about the despair in that poor woman's voice during her final moments was enough to make him close his eyes and pray nothing like that would ever happen to Clem, Naruto or Carley.
Lee smiled at the little girl, though it didn't really reach his eyes. He didn't want to lie to her, but neither did he want to crush her hopes just like that. Would it really hurt to take a quick look around if it was safe enough for them to explore? He guessed it'd help her move on if she failed to find them. Maybe it was better that way.
"...Sure, we will look for them", Lee said after a few moments of silence, nodding with barely concealed uncertainty on his face. Next to him, Carley stared at him with an uneasy look, but decided not to make any comments of the matter in front of the children. Even less so after noticing the happy expression on Clementine's face.
"Thank you, Lee", Clem smiled. "Where do you think we should start looking?"
"Well, I don't really know Savannah that well", the man glanced the way of the map on the floor, giving it a quick read. "I went there once with my family when I was young, but that was a long time ago", putting aside the sudden memories of said trip with his deceased parents and brother, Lee then turned to Carley. "Any ideas?"
"Nope."
"And I guess Naruto here has never been to this place before, am I right?", Lee saw the blond rubbing the back of his head in bewilderment and sighed. "Right. It's up to you then, sweet pea. Where do your parents usually stay when they go there?"
Clem's face scrunched up in concentration and she started thinking really hard about what Lee was asking her. "They always go to the same hotel, but I don't remember the name. It's called the M... Ma... Mars..."
As she kept squeezing her brain for the answer, Carley scooted closer to the map and looked at the highlighted buildings across the city. She discarded the ones that didn't start with the letter 'M' and eventually came across one hotel that stood out amongst the rest. "Is it the Marsh House by any chance?", Carley offered, and immediately saw Clementine nodding energetically.
"Yes! That's it!", she turned to Naruto, and grinned at him. "Did you hear that? We are going to find my parents!"
She was so happy the blond quickly returned the gesture with a grin of his own. "Yeah! I can help!"
"Hey, don't forget about me", Carley interceded. "If you're going to look for them, I want to help too. An extra pair of eyes could be a big help out there, don't you think?"
Clem nodded appreciatively at her, expressing her gratitude with a wide smile she flashed her way.
"It's settled then, we'll start with the Marsh House and then work our way from there", Lee folded up the map and put it back on his pocket. "After that, and regardless of what happens, I was thinking we could help Kenny find a big boat enough for all of us and go somewhere different. Maybe with less walkers around."
"Like a desert island?", Clem wondered aloud before quickly explaining what 'island' meant to Naruto. She had left her drawing book back at the motel, so it was a bit difficult for him to grasp the meaning behind the word. In the end, she promised her friend she'd draw one for him as soon as they found some paper and something to draw or write with.
Lee shrugged. "I don't know, maybe."
"Honestly, an island doesn't sound too bad right now. I'd even sleep on the ground if that meant not having to look over my shoulder every two seconds", Carley tried to be positive about the idea, something that Lee appreciated. They could really use some positivity those days where tragedy had become a recurrent thing in their lives.
"Agreed", the man nodded, before turning to the kids. Both looked a bit unsure about having to escape to an island of all places, and Lee didn't fail to pick up on their uncertainty. "Anyway, it's just an idea. But I think we should stick with Kenny and the others. It's hard to find nice people like us out there, and it's safer that way."
Naruto, who had been silent for a while, couldn't help but hum in agreement. "Kenny is good with guns. Guns suck but kill walkers fast", his solid argument soon had Clem giggling and the adults smiling at his comment.
"Can't argue with you there, Naruto."
"He's not wrong, though", Lee added. "We are stronger together. And I like to think of us as a team. Me, Carley, Clem and Naruto."
As Carley directed her smile towards the man, Clementine nodded her head and Naruto grinned enthusiastically. He liked being part of a team, especially if his loved ones were part of said team. "Team Uzumaki!", Naruto chanted, giving them all a thumbs-up.
"Hehehe, silly! Since we are all part of it, we should use our initials for the name."
"Initials?"
Clem saw the blond tilting his head to the side in confusion and couldn't help but shake her head in mock resignation. "Yep, like: L.C.C.N! Or C.L.N.C! Well, that doesn't sound very nice when you think about it. But we'll come up with something, I promise."
The girl then did something that was very Naruto-esque and proceeded to rub the back of her head awkwardly, much to Lee's and Carley's amusement. That Naruto... He was already influencing her more than any of them realized. It wasn't too surprising though; after all, Clementine was always around him, and clearly looked up to the boy.
"So it's settled then; we'll help Kenny find a boat and also look for Clem's parents when we can", Lee noticed that all eyes were on him now, and that there were smiles of enthusiasm and satisfaction on their faces. "What do you all think about it?"
"I think it's a good plan, considering."
"Yep, good plan Lee!"
"It's very good", Clementine added, nodding her head.
"Okay then, I-"
Whatever was it that Lee wanted to say next never found its way out of his mouth as the sudden sound of the train's brakes prevented him from speaking any further. He barely even had time to realize what was happening when he was forced to hold onto the wall of the boxcar to prevent himself and Carley from falling over due to the abrupt decrease in speed. The train continued to slow down as seconds went by, and before they knew it, they had stopped altogether.
Naruto immediately jumped out of the boxcar despite Clementine's and Lee's protests and looked around, frowning at what he saw.
"Not Savannah..."
"What's going on?", Carley couldn't help but ask, her face growing worried by the minute.
Lee was about to stand up and head for the front to check on Kenny, when he heard him yelling at the top of his lungs from the distance.
"FUUUUCKK!"
"Oh oh."
That sounded like trouble.
To be continued…
I always like to explain my thought process when it comes to my ideas, so let's address the elephant in the room, shall we?
Why couldn't Naruto save Duck?
Now I know what you may be thinking, "why didn't the Kyuubi give Naruto his chakra? It'd have been the key to saving Duck!"
The way I see it, Kurama's chakra (the red one we get to see before Naruto defeats the Fox and submits him) only provides Naruto with a huge boost to his abilities and overall chakra. One of the natural abilities that are benefited from Kurama's energy is the healing factor, but apart from that, I don't see how using the Kyuubi's chakra on its own could heal a human being with no chakra network. Also, the only time Naruto was able to share Kurama's power with others was when he fully synced with his tenant and got into Kurama Mode.
Medic-nins are an entirely different matter, yes. They can practically cure any living being, chakra network or not, but that takes expert chakra control and knowing exactly what to do. Something the ten-year-old Naruto of this crossover is not yet capable of doing.
On a side note, bear in mind that all the events depicted in this story (including Katjaa's and Duck's deaths) are done on purpose and will lead to certain things happening later down the line. Important things.
And as regards Kurama… His time to take a bigger role in the fic is coming close. Worry not.
There's another important announcement I would like to make regarding the next update:
Chapter 9 will be posted on Friday 17th. My birthday happens to be on that day, and since updating my stories is one of the things that I like most, I'll treat myself and you all, of course, to another chap.
See you when I get older!
Luke.