Chapter 3: Everything Is Shit

The town enterance; it was slowly getting closer and closer. Naruto just wanted to collapse and just sleep. Traveling non-stop for over a day was too much, especially the emotional toll this new world was putting on him. Naruto was still walking on sheer will alone. He would admit that Tanzaku Town looked closer from the vantage point he was at earlier than he had expected and the 'I should have's' started.

With ever step Naruto took, his destination got closer inch by inch. He was closer and closer to giving in to his tired body's plea to just stop and sleep. He turned to some bushes and went to hide just in the event that Walkers came by and he drifted into sleep.

Naruto opened his eyes to find himself in his mindscape, which looked like a sewer. Before him was the very tailed beast that was sealed inside, Kurama. He asked Kurama for some of his chakra, just enough to get him to Tanzaku Town. Kurama granted Naruto's request and lent Naruto his chakra. Naruto returned to the real world with a new found strength and returned to the road and continued on his way. Naruto was almost there and he would go and find an inn, pay for a room and just sleep and barricade his door in the event that whatever shit happened in Kusagakure made its way to Tanzaku Town.

Naruto couldn't wait to sleep and he knew he'd probably sleep for days knowing how tired he really was. The emotional damage that he suffered by watching Orenji be ripped apart by Walkers was also a factor. The Walkers incredible strength was something Naruto couldn't comprehend and he couldn't believe it, he didn't want to believe it even if did happen. Naruto's thoughts carried on like a flowing river until he realized he was practically in front of Tanzaku Town.

Naruto stopped and started investigating a moment before continuing on. The town was lit up like it usually was but it was silent and that wasn't normal. Naruto chose to ignore that detail and he looked for smoke and saw none. Naruto smiled because it seemed to him everything was fine. He walked to the entrance of Tanzaku Town so he could find himself a room to sleep. As Naruto got closer to entering town, he could almost feel the bed he'd be sleeping in for the next day or so when he suddenly stopped. He couldn't move his body anymore. Is it shutting down? No, it couldn't be, he was running on Kurama's chakra to keep himself going.

"I wouldn't go into town if I were you, it would be quite troublesome," a voice called out.

The voice was quite familiar. As soon as Naruto could feel himself able to move again, he turned to the direction of the voice and saw someone of his age with black hair tied upward in a tail. He was wearing a Chunin flak jacket and underneath it he wore a long-sleeved brown shirt with his Konoha forehead protector plate stitched to the side of his left sleeve.

"Shikamaru?" Naruto questioned, not believing he was seeing his friend. The other teen recognized his voice.

"Naruto?" asked the teen. "Is that really you?"

"Man, I am so glad to find someone I actually know," Naruto said.

"Where's Sakura, Sai and Kakashi-sensei?" asked Shikamaru.

"I- I don't know," Naruto replied. "I woke up inside an abandoned hosue alone. I've been traveling by myself back to Konoha for the last week."

"Troublesome," Shikamaru replied.

"Now why can't I go into Tanzaku Town?" asked Naruto.

"The entire town is nothing but walking undead," answered Shikamaru.

Shikamaru's answer just shattered the hope Naruto regained about returning home. Whatever caused the rise of the dead reached Hi no Kuni after all.

"What about Konohagakure?" asked Naruto.

Shikamaru shook his head, "I don't know, I was leading a misson here when this all began happening. It was quite strange though because three days before people began getting ill and then dying and coming back to life, a strange orange dust blew through, almost like a sandstorm. I never seen anything like that around here."

Naruto suddenly felt like he couldn't move his body again and when Shikamaru jumped, Naruto followed. Naruto realized Shikamaru attatched his Kagemane no Jutsu and Shikamaru moved him out of the way of a lone Walker. It grunted and groaned as it tried to go after Naruto. However, Shikamaru broke his hold of Naruto and grabbed a hold of the Walker. All of a sudden a kunai was plunged through its head, blood and brain oozed out when the kunai was removed. When the Walker body fell to the ground, revealing a long blonde-haired girl wearing a purple top and skirt.

"Ino?"

"So you're alive after all," said the girl.

"Does that mean Choji is with you too?" Naruto asked.

"Yes and Kotetsu and a few surviving townspeople from Tanzaku Town," answered not Ino but Shikamaru. "We have a base came up the hill inside a cave where we can keep these undead from reaching us."

Two more Walkers came out of Tanzaku Town, luckily for the Konoha-nin, they were slow. Shikamaru sighed, these undead were so troublesome.

"Come on, let's get to the hideout, they're coming out because they're hearing our voices," advised Shikamaru.

Naruto followed Shikamaru and Ino. When they began climbing up a hill side, Naruto sighed. He was already tired from the nonstop traveling for over a day and with Kurama's chakra beginning to stop, he didn't know if he was going to make it. Luckily for the blonde ninja, it wasn't too much longer when they reached the top of the hill. They came to a large boulder with a seal on it, it looked to have sealed something off. Shikamaru made a hand sign and the boulder rolled to the right, revealing an opening to a cave. That would surely keep Walkers out. The opening itself was just enough to let the three ninja into the cave. Once they were inside the cave, which was lit with torches along the cave walls, Shikamaru made another hand seal and the boulder rolled to the left, sealing the cave.

"Wow, this place is definately safe," admired Naruto. "Was it your idea for the boulder?"

Ino, Shikamaru and Naruto began walking through the cave, "Yes it was, but Kotetsu was the one to teach me how to use that seal that moves the boulder."

The three continued walking through the torch-lit cave in silence and finally came to a huge room in the cave. Naruto looked around to find there were about six people, they looked like the villagers Shikamaru said they had. He looked to the left corner to find a rack with food rations on it. That's when Naruto saw Choji about to take something off the rack.

"Choji, so it is you taking extra rations!" Shikamaru called out, startling the big, long brown haired ninja. He wore a red suit with plated armor. His chest armor had the kanji for food.

"B-but Shikamaru, I'm so hungry!" protested Choji. He noticed Shikamaru's guest, the blonde-haired, orange and black jumpsuit wearing ninja.

"Naruto! You're alive!" Choji exclaimed.

"Yes I am, thankfully," replied Naruto. Kotetsu, who had long black hair and dark colored eyes, wearing his standard Shinobi attire and Chunin flak jacket.

"Well, well, look at what we have here," he said after overhearing Choji. Naruto waved his hands. He was tired, so very tired.

"Are you okay?" Shikamaru asked.

Naruto shook his head, "I've been traveling nonstop for nearly two days, I need some rest."

Shikamaru motioned for the blonde to follow, even though Naruto just wanted to drop to the ground where he was, but he followed. He past the six villages who just looked at him strangely. He payed no attention at this point because all he wanted was glorious sleep.

"This can be your sleeping spot," Shikamaru said. Naruto walked to the empty area and threw his backpack down to the ground and nearly just fell down. He didn't bother taking out his sleeping back, he just used the backpack as his pillow. As soon as he closed his eyes, he was out.

"Troublesome," Shikamaru said to himself as he sat down nearby.

Ino looked at Naruto with a worried look in her eyes. Shikamaru noticed, at first he thought it was for Naruto which confused him since he didn't believe Ino to like Naruto that much.

"What's wrong Ino?" Shikamaru asked but he wished he didn't.

"Naruto was by himself, I just hope Sakura is okay," she said.

Shikamaru sighed, she was just worried about her best friend and rival after all.

"I don't know, Naruto said he woke up alone in some abandoned house and he has no idea where his team is now," Shikamaru said. He knew this wasn't going to make the blonde girl feel any better, but it had to be said. Lying would be so troublesome.

Ino sighed and sat down on the other side of the cave. She pulled her knees to her chest as this was becoming too much for her to take. Choji noticed the girl's behavior and went to her and sat next to her. The girl just began to cry. Shikamaru sighed and laid back with his hands behind his head. He stared at the cave ceiling wishing it was the blue sky full of white puffy clouds which he pictured until his eyes got heavy and closed.

"Sakura!" yelled Naruto as he woke up quickly.

Naruto looked around to find himsefl inside a cave. Memories flooded his mind as he remembered Tanzaku Town, Shikamaru and Ino.

"You okay?" Shikamaru asked as he walked over to the blonde to see what was going on. "It was quiet and all of a sudden you yelled out for Sakura."

Naruto, still breathing heavily, nodded, "Yeah, I'm okay."

"I hope so, you've been asleep for two days straight," Shikamaru added. He handed Naruto some food and Naruto accepted it and began eating.

"I know it isn't much, but it's got to last until we can sneak into the village to get more," said the lazy Chunin.

Naruto thanked Shikamaru and finished the little bit he was given. Naruto's thoughts went back to his pink-haired teammate. He continued to pray to Kami she was still okay. He sighed, he loved her so much and the thought of her having died was killing him inside. He also knew she wouldn't return his feelings anyway but didn't care, well that is a lie, he cared a little but mostly he just wanted Sakura to be safe and happy and nothing more. Naruto also didn't want anything badn to happen to Kakashi and Yamato and yes, even Sai but his main focus was Sakura. Naruto sighed, wishing that day that he never got injured otherwise, wherever Sakura was at, he'd be there with her at this very moment. Naruto did have to admit to himself that at least he was with some people he actually knew. Finding Shikamaru was the biggest relief he had felt since he woke up from the coma he had been in. Naruto had been so lost in his thoughts that he didn't realize Shikamaru had sat down next to him.

"Naruto?" Shikamaru called out but no answer. He could tell the blonde was deep in thought. Shikamaru then punched Naruto in the arm lightly. That stirred Naruto from his thoughts.

"Huh?" Naruto turned to Shikamaru, "Oh Shikamaru, what's up?"

"I wanted to ask you this two days ago, but you were so tired you pretty much crashed out as soon as you got here," Shikamaru began. "When we found you, you said you woke up alone, how?"

Naruto sighed, "The misson we were on, which was to track down a group of Missing-nin from Kusagakure, went horribly bad. We were attacked by t hem and it turned out there were way more of them than what the mission briefing about the mission said. While we were attempting to escape, somehow I took a sword or a kunai through my shoulder and the wound was so bad that even Kurama's chakra couldn't heal it fast enough. Shortly after that, I fell unconcious and the next thing I knew, I woke up in some abandoned house. I found the windows were blacked out which turned out to be used from Sai's ink so I couldn't see outside. The front and back doors were boarded shut from the outside. I don't really know how long I stayed in the house but I did wait for my time for a while until I got tired of waiting and managed to escape the house only to find a bunch of dead bodies scattered across the broken ground of what used to be the front yard. Once I reached the village we had been staying in, that's when I found out how this world turned to shit with all these Walkers around."

"Walkers huh?" Shikamaru said in amusement, "Nice name for them."

"I guess, some Kusagakure-nin called them that and it just stuck. That's when I found out I had been in a coma for about three weeks," finished Naruto.

"And you traveled all the way here by yourself?" asked Shikamaru.

"Pretty much, because that Kusagakure-nin that helped me out was eaten alive by Walkers. A day later, I found another Kusagakure-nin but she slipped out of a tree and was too ripped apart by them but that one was my fault. I was going to help her out by letting her ride on my back to move through the trees but she slipped from my grasp," confessed Naruto.

"Man, that's some journey," continued Shikamaru.

"Yeah and I was really hoping whatever happened over there didn't spread this far," Naruto sighed, staring at the ground.

"Naruto, I hate to say it but," Shikamaru began, "Everything is shit now."