Hello everyone! As you can see, I'm trying my hand at a new crossover that has been going around in my head lately. It's something I haven't seen done to the fullest extent before, so I want to try and make a solid attempt.
I love these niche crossovers so much and it makes me all the more excited to see them through.
If you are following any of my others stories, don't worry, I plan to continue them! I've recently released two updates for Blessings of Others and Love is Complicated, with more updates following soon! This applies to my other stories as well!
Since this is a new avenue for me, please leave feedback!
Review if you'd like, I encourage it!
Disclaimer: I don't own "Naruto," or "The Last of Us," they belong to their respective owners.
New Territory
"C'mon…c'mon…" Naruto mumbled to himself while quietly rummaging through an abandoned house. He was quietly scouring through cabinets, drawers, cupboards, dressers, and everywhere else he could to find anything valuable.
The thirteen-year-old boy was trying his hardest to keep hope alive. He wasn't finding as much food as he normally did when scavenging other areas. He hoped his great luck would continue to carry him forward.
Opening up another kitchen cabinet, Naruto was surprised to see it wasn't completely empty like the last four were. Instead, there seemed to be a can of food lying on its side. Reaching in and grabbing it, he wiped the small layer of dust from its surface.
"Nice! I got some canned corn!" Naruto thought to himself while quietly slipping off his backpack. The accessory was in good condition, black in color, and had multiple pockets. However, instead of simply putting the can in the bag, he retrieved a scroll.
Applying a small amount of chakra to the scroll, Naruto was happy to see that it accepted the can without issue. Putting everything back in his backpack and slipping it on, the blonde continued on his search.
While his body went through the motions of opening more drawers, the Shinobi began to let his mind wander. He thought back to how this all came to be, how he ended up wherever he was.
It all started with his clash against Sasuke in the Valley of the End. It felt like years ago when in reality, it only happened about two months ago. He remembered that his Rasengan and Sasuke's Chidori clashed mid-air, with dense chakra forming around them.
It was then that Naruto called upon the Kyuubi's chakra to give it all he could. Sasuke's snarl was imprinted on his mind as their fists collided. All he remembered was pouring more and more chakra into his attack before everything went white.
When he woke up after their clash, Naruto had felt like complete shit. His body was sore, his limbs felt like stone, and he constantly felt nauseous. He had awoken in a forested area with multiple bodies surrounding him, all of them sprouting some sort of mushroom from their bodies.
It was then that the Kyuubi explained his chakra was the only reason he was still alive. He had to constantly heal the blonde from his injuries suffered against Sasuke while also fending off these monsters that attacked the unconscious Shinobi. Their presence in this new location had caused a sonic boom, creating noise that attracted these creatures.
Naruto didn't know it at the time, but the fox had protected his unconscious body for 12 hours. That's how long it took to recover from his previous battle. It was fair to say it was the closest thing he had gotten to death.
Naruto didn't know if Sasuke also came with him or if the bastard was still back in the valley.
After walking out of the forested area on unstable legs, Naruto came across an entirely new world. Pavement that stretched for miles, green signs with landmark locations, and buildings unfamiliar to him littered his eyesight.
The slow-walking creatures that he would occasionally spot made the blonde narrow his eyes. At first, he assumed these were some experiments of Orochimaru that escaped containment but he could now confidently say the Snake Sannin had nothing to do with this.
The language all around him was unfamiliar. He should have woken up in a Konoha hospital, in the afterlife, or still at the Valley of the End. Yet, none of these things happened. It was beyond explanation for the blonde.
At first, he refused to believe he wasn't still in Konoha. Perhaps he was still in a coma from his fight and hallucinating everything. However, as minutes turned into hours, he realized this was real. This was his new life.
He couldn't spot any Shinobi around, any landmarks he recognized, or any hidden villages. He had walked miles away from where he initially woke up, yet he never saw anything that proved he was still in the Elemental Nations.
It was believed that his clash with Sasuke had somehow transported him into this new place. Space and time had to have been affected by their collision in such a way that Naruto was pushed into where he ended up. It was the only theory Naruto could think of that would make sense.
It almost broke the blonde when he realized he wasn't anywhere familiar. He almost wanted to give up, as if life didn't have meaning to him anymore. To his surprise, it was the Kyuubi of all people to snap him out of it. Of course, the fox claimed he was merely preserving his own life but the blonde assumed he cared deep inside.
Once he collected himself, Naruto decided to take his new life one day at a time. To pass the time and give himself some new meaning in life, he decided to learn what new world he was in. If he couldn't be Hokage anymore, he would just have to find something else worth living for. He had to.
Walking past abandoned town after abandoned town, Naruto slowly learned the value of looting. After rummaging through an old department store that had seen better days, he changed his current attire. It was a major upgrade in his opinion.
Gone was his orange jumpsuit that was in tatters. Instead, the blonde now wore a long-sleeved undershirt that was dark blue. Along with his shirt, he had black jeans, orange sneakers that were a size too big, and a flannel shirt patterned with black and white squares. Granted all of the clothes were rather dirty, but it was nothing a few washes by the river couldn't take care of.
Perhaps the biggest score the blonde had made in his two months of traveling alone, was a certain weapons store. It was one of the hardest places he had to clear, taking him about an hour, but it was worth it. After killing all nearby monsters, he had looted what remained.
It seemed some of it had been looted when the outbreak first began, but what was leftover wasn't bad at all. Naruto realized that his kunai and shuriken weren't common in the part of the world he was in. However, this weapons store had something that he found to be a good substitute.
It was located in the back of the store, hidden within the inventory, but it was worth finding it. He had found a box full of throwing knives, a Karambit knife, a holster belt, and an empty Beretta pistol. After holstering the pistol on his new belt, putting all the throwing knives in his weapons pouch by his hip, and the Karambit on his leg pouch, he was good to go. He didn't have any ammo for his gun, but he didn't worry about it for now given his other weapons.
His Konoha headband was strapped around his left bicep now, showing one of the few things he had left. The old piece of fabric held so much meaning to the blonde, just as much as Tsunade's jewel necklace did. It reminded him of home.
His new diet had already done small wonders for the blonde. While he wasn't fat by any standard before, he could confidently say he lost even more weight in this new world. His stomach showed a faint outline of a four-pack, his biceps were slightly more prominent, and his facial cheekbones were slightly showing. It was clear that in a few years, he could be a very handsome man.
Now learning to survive on his own wasn't as big of a jump as Naruto expected. He had been forced to do the same thing in his younger years as an orphan. The monthly allowance from the Sandaime Hokage only covered so much. It didn't help that he lived in such a crappy apartment for so long.
As he traveled, gathering supplies, food, and clothing from each town, Naruto ran into his fair share of what he called 'monsters.' It was the best description he could think of. Those damn creatures still gave him shivers when he thought about the awful noises they made.
He was rather hesitant at first to kill them, given he hadn't taken a life before coming to this new place. However, after a deep conversation with the Kyuubi in terms of survival, he learned to adapt.
Thankfully, Naruto didn't have much trouble taking care of these monsters once he removed the mental barrier. His Shinobi training allowed him to easily dispatch most of them with ease. It was even easier to avoid them after he found out they traveled by sound. Being stealthy was a part of the motto of a ninja.
After changing his outfit, Naruto focused on two different things. First off, he needed to gain some knowledge of where he was. It took some time, but he eventually found a library that he could read from. Once he cleared all the monsters in the area, he took his time reading any book he understood.
It was then that the blonde learned his language was most similar to what this world called 'Japanese.' However, his dialect was similar to the warring periods of Japan if the books he read were correct. That meant that his language was considered ancient, which he found funny.
After learning multiple languages, since he didn't know which one was considered the main language in this land, Naruto realized this world was much different than his. After some heavy reading with the help of shadow clones, Naruto cleared out multiple libraries across his travels.
In that time, he had learned that this world was split up into multiple countries. Countries ranging from West to East made up the world with their respective governments being in control. They also had their militaries, similar to Konoha's. Cultures, inventions, history, technological advancements, and other new concepts flooded his brain. With the help of many shadow clones, he had relatively caught up to speed on this new world.
However, even in his vast search for knowledge, he didn't quite understand how the outbreak happened. He hoped that it would be explained in other forms of literature, but he never quite found the answer. The most he ever got was from a crumpled piece of newspaper on a board in a run-down store. All it said on the front was: "Outbreak from South America reaches the US!"
The rest of the newspaper was ripped off.
The second thing Naruto focused on was training. He often made clones and ordered them to work on his chakra control, something that had been out of whack since battling Sasuke. He believed it would take some time to get it back under control, but the blonde was willing to make it happen.
Another thing that Naruto practiced was his Fuinjutsu. It was one of the few things Jiraiya had taught him in preparation for the Chunin Exams. While he struggled on the more advanced topics of Fuinjutsu, he could easily make beginner-level seals like storage seals. That's why his backpack was full of storage seals, meaning he could carry much more supplies than any normal person could.
It was also Jiraiya's lessons in learning how to survive in the wild that helped the blonde. From remembering how to start a fire to collecting drinking water, Naruto was happy his old teacher forced him into so many habits during their month-long training session. It also helped that he learned new survival skills from the many books he read along his travels.
Naruto knew he was getting better day by day, getting his control back and practicing the Jutsu that he knew. He wondered if the Kyuubi would one day be willing to teach him more than what he already knew.
During the quiet moments in his travel, when he only had Kyuubi to talk to, Naruto sometimes thought back to his 'previous' life. How everything was before he was transported here.
He could still remember the amazing smell of ramen from Ichiraku, the sound of Kakashi-sensei's voice, the vibration of Sakura's fists pounding his head from flirting with her. He wondered how Tsunade was doing being in the Hokage seat. He never thought he would say goodbye to her so soon.
He still had her necklace around his neck, the green jewel shining bright under the blazing sun. He often tucked it under his flannel shirt, not wanting it to give away his position should he want to be stealthy.
His lifelong dream of becoming Hokage was down the drain as far as he could tell. All he could do now was pick up the pieces of his life and move on.
He couldn't give up on living. He couldn't do it to himself. So he continued on, moving from location to location in hopes of possibly meeting new people. That's when the blonde realized he needed a reason for living, a goal in his life.
It had taken many days and nights, to ponder over the question in his head. It was after one certain night, staring into the stars above, that it hit Naruto all at once. Just like in his previous world, he wanted to bring peace.
It was a dream of Jiraiya and it had developed in the blonde as well. It was easier said than done considering this world almost felt corrupted or dead, but he wanted peace. He didn't know how to achieve it just yet, choosing to simply survive for now, but he planned to work on it. It was the only thing keeping him going.
Now in terms of people, Naruto was glad to find out that there were other humans out there and the world wasn't just filled with these monsters. He had seen people in old magazines, media, and literature. He had even met a few people on his travels, however, they fell under what he called bandits.
He never outright fought these people, choosing to simply observe them. They walked, talked, and seemed to act like any other human from his world. The only difference was that they seemed to act with much more blood lust in their eyes, but he assumed that was what happens when you're in a world forced to survive.
He knew this world didn't have chakra. The most it was ever mentioned was in books about Hinduism and Buddhism but he could tell it wasn't quite the same thing as he was familiar with.
"Thinking back about our life in Konoha again?" The fox snorted in his mindscape, cracking one eye open. "It doesn't matter where we end up, both places are hell for me…however, I can slightly tolerate this one better."
For the Kyuubi, it felt nice knowing he didn't have to constantly worry about some Shinobi trying to use his power as a weapon. For once, he didn't want to be hunted down simply for a lunatic's ambitions. Thankfully, he didn't have to worry about that anymore given they weren't even in the Elemental Nations anymore.
Naruto snapped out of his inner thoughts, blinking back into reality. He felt like he had been thinking for the past twenty minutes but it had only actually been about a minute. Time had a weird way of working when he was lost in thought.
Closing the cabinet he was holding open, Naruto walked upstairs to look for any more valuables. As he entered what used to be somebody's master bedroom, he spoke back to the Kyuubi in his mindscape. "Of course, I miss home…I mean, don't you miss anybody from back home?" Naruto thought while lifting the mattress, finding nothing but nude magazines and coins.
Naruto remembered when he first arrived in this new world and tried to summon any toads. To his dismay, nothing but a poof of smoke appeared when he tried to summon it. It seemed that not even his summoning contract could bring him back.
The fox didn't respond to Naruto's question, but the blonde swore he could hear the beast mumble something. Before he could ponder on it any longer, Naruto felt a thin piece of paper from the clothes drawer he was rummaging through.
Lifting it up to his face, the blonde chuckled at what he was seeing. It was another one of the comics he had been seeing lately. Running his thumb over the title, Naruto realized this was a new issue that he hadn't seen before.
It was something of a side hobby he had been doing. Collecting these comics was a fun past time and he read them from time to time. It was a small break from the constant hell of surviving.
"Savage Starlight…I wonder how many more issues are out there…" Naruto thought to himself while sealing the comic into another storage scroll. He slipped his backpack back on and prepared to continue his search of the neighborhood. It seemed this house had already been looted of anything useful.
He planned to hit a few more houses, possibly another neighborhood, before deciding what to do for the day. While the sun was still high in the sky, he knew the sunset was only a few hours away.
Suddenly, all hell broke loose.
SCREECH!
Hearing the sound of these monsters instantly brought Naruto to attention. He knew the neighborhood he was exploring was closer to the center of town and it brought greater risks, but it also brought greater rewards. It was why he was looting here in the first place.
However, he didn't expect to suddenly hear one of these monsters screech. That meant others would soon come to the noise and chase whatever the first one had been alerted to.
Unlike many times before, he could hear multiple other screeches follow. The sounds kept multiplying further and further. To his estimation, he could be dealing with hundreds of these creatures, something he didn't like the sound of.
Whatever triggered their senses had really pissed them off.
"Shit…! Did I set them off?!" Naruto thought to himself while quickly strapping everything to himself. Grabbing a shelf from the bedroom, the blonde set it near the staircase in case any of these creatures tried running up the stairs on him. It would provide a small barrier in the meantime.
Opening a nearby window, the blonde cracked it open just enough for him to jump out of it. He didn't have to worry too much about the height given his enhanced endurance and abilities due to his Chakra system.
To his surprise, Naruto realized he hadn't set off the monsters. Instead, it was a young girl around his age instead, who was running for her life. She was running up ahead, down an alleyway with multiple monsters on her tail.
She ran with her entire body, trying to use every moment to get away. Just as she was beginning to create a wide gap between her and the tailing monsters, she unfortunately tripped over an exposed tree root.
At that moment, Naruto knew what he had to do. Even though he was slightly more cynical and cautious in life, he couldn't help his helping nature. It just felt like the right thing to do, something that could never be beaten out of his morals.
Just as the closest monster came to bite the girl on her leg, a throwing knife instead was lodged through its throat. Another knife soon followed it, crashing through its skull and stabbing into a nearby pile of dirt. It had completely ripped through its head.
Hearing a small wheeze, the girl saw the creature fall sideways and lay unmoving. It was clear that it was dead.
Jumping from his position on the window, Naruto pumped chakra into his legs and landed on a nearby roof. He jumped from roof to roof until he came across the girl, who was still stunned at her near death. It was clear she was going through some form of flashback as she was lost in thought.
Naruto landed next to her and quickly retrieved both of his throwing knives. He could hear multiple of these creatures running for them, only seconds away. They needed to move before others followed.
While he could possibly take out the incoming horde, Naruto knew it was better for them to disperse naturally. For all he knew, killing these creatures would only alert even more of them to their location. Then they wouldn't have to worry about hundreds of them, but thousands. That was something he wanted to avoid.
As he turned his head to look at the girl, Naruto swore he heard something mumble under her breath. It sounded like she mumbled "Riley" but he wasn't quite sure.
Snapping his fingers in front of her, Naruto spoke out. Given she mumbled an English name, he also assumed she spoke the same language. "Hey, we should get out of here before they get on us!"
The girl blinked in surprise, letting the events catch up to her. One moment she saw a clicker lunging for her and it was dead the next. She had only seen the knives embed themselves into the creature before this blonde boy appeared beside her.
It all happened so fast.
Shaking her head, she nodded. "Right, we should go!"
Helping her stand up, Naruto spoke with conviction, "Follow me, I know a safe spot up ahead!"
The girl didn't have time to argue, simply choosing to nod in response. She readjusted her backpack straps and followed the blonde. She didn't say much as they ran, passing through neighborhoods and various rundown stores.
They ran and ran, ignoring the screeches far behind them. They ran until the noises got fainter and fainter. When the noises went away, they ran even more. They ran until the blonde ushered her into a specific house, opening a side door for her.
Only then, did they stop running.
"FUCK! GODDAMMIT, FUCK!" Joel yelled while smashing his hands into a nearby table. He had just lost Ellie in the ensuing chaos they had created from setting off Bill's traps. It seemed in all the panic, they had gotten split up. "I LOST THE GIRL!"
"Who gives a shit?!" Bill spat out, locking the warehouse door behind him. They were currently locked up in his safe house, only the both of them. He had checked Joel for bite wounds earlier and was relieved to see none.
"I GIVE A SHIT!" Joel yelled while pointing to himself. He stood in front of Bill, screaming directly in his face. The 5'11, muscular man was feeling his anger rise. He didn't think he was so careless as to lose Ellie in the thick of it. He couldn't stop kicking himself over it.
"You told me back there that you were just smuggling the girl for a weapons cache! A fucking weapons cache! Why does that matter to you so much? Just get over it! If she's dead, you didn't lose much!" Bill yelled back, throwing his machete onto a nearby table. He was starting to get sick of Joel's attitude, especially after he felt he was doing him a favor.
They had all been running to Bill's safe house when shit hit the fan. Now, it was just him who had survived the encounter. For all he knew, Ellie was somewhere out there lying dead.
"IT'S MORE…" Joel shouted before letting out a tired sigh. The man slumped against a nearby brick wall, choosing to slowly slide down. He let his head hang down, feeling sorrow leak into his voice. "…it's more than just a damn weapons cache. Tess died bringing this girl out of the Boston QZ …I didn't want her death to be for nothing…"
Bill felt his eyes slightly widen, not realizing just how serious Joel was taking this mission. Now, he could understand the man slightly more. They weren't friends, they were barely acquaintances, but he wasn't a completely heartless bastard.
Sighing himself, Bill looked at the slumped man. "Listen, Joel, we don't know if she's dead or not. But we can't know for sure until we have daylight on our side. It's gonna be sundown soon and then night, which we both know isn't smart to move in."
Bill walked over to a weapons rack he had, grabbing a shotgun. He cocked the weapon and ensured nothing was out of place. After nodding in satisfaction, he began speaking again. "What's that favor you needed out of me? You mentioned it back there but didn't go into specifics."
Joel spoke in a low tone, thinking over the previous events. "I need a car…a working car…" He originally planned to use it so he could transport Ellie, but now he just wanted to meet with his brother at this point.
"A car, that's gonna be a tough one," Bill admitted while shaking his head. "I'm guessing if I do this for you, all debts are paid? No more favors?" He looked over with a raised brow, waiting for the man's response.
All Joel did was nod in acknowledgment.
The favors Bill owed Joel were great. It was a type of debt that carried a lot of weight behind it, so Bill saw this as a benefit for him. If he could clear all favors with Joel after this, it would be a lot off of his shoulders.
He could go back to surviving in this town. Living day by day in the place he called home.
"Well, I don't have a working car with me…but I could get some gear to make one work. It's across town so it'll be a trip, but I can put something together if we get it." Bill said while double-checking all doors were locked. The last thing they needed was a clicker walking in while they were asleep.
"For now, get some sleep. We'll see if we can find that girl first thing in the morning and if not…"
Joel didn't need Bill to finish the sentence to understand what he meant. It was low odds that Ellie was alive, even lower that she would be tomorrow, but they would have to wait it out for now. Too many infected were walking around at the moment so they needed to let them rest for a day.
Joel just hoped Tess's death wasn't in vain.
"Okay, I think we're good now," Naruto mentioned while taking a seat across from the girl he just saved. He had double-checked and ensured all entrances were still barricaded or locked. Looking over, he could see she was still huffing and puffing for so long.
"Damn man…how are you…not exhausted…" The girl hunched over, taking in deep breaths. She was slowly coming to her senses, feeling adrenaline slowly leave her system. Placing one hand on a nearby support beam, she began scanning her surroundings.
It seemed like any other normal house in this neighborhood. The only difference was that she could tell someone had been living here recently or using it as a base. Food cans were scattered across the kitchen counter and all entrances were either boarded up or barricaded.
Finally, she got a good look at the person who saved her. In the chaos, she hadn't really seen her savior's face. Now, she could say it was perhaps one of the most unique features she had ever seen on anybody.
He had blonde hair so bright, it was like a reflection of the sun. It was rare to see such a bright shade of blonde on anybody given their entire world revolved around getting dirty. His eyes were a deep blue that stared back at her with a smile. However, perhaps the weirdest thing was the marks on his cheeks.
"Dude, are those tattoos?"
Before Naruto could respond, Naruto watched as the girl walked up to him and examined his face. Feeling a small blush come on his face from the close contact, the blonde let out a nervous chuckle.
"No, I was actually born with these. They're not tattoos." Naruto responded as he watched the girl look at his face. Getting a closer look on his end, the Shinobi realized the girl was rather cute. She had light freckles on her face, pale green eyes, and red hair.
She seemed to be slightly shorter than him but only by an inch or two. He realized they still hadn't exchanged names, so Naruto took the initiative.
Setting his backpack down on a nearby couch, the blonde smiled and looked over his shoulder. "I forgot to introduce myself, but I'm Naruto…!"
The girl took a second before a blush of embarrassment appeared on her face. She had also forgotten to introduce herself given recent circumstances. "No worries, I forgot to introduce myself too. The name's Ellie." She pointed at herself with her thumb, letting a small grin spread on her face.
Not wanting the air to fill up with awkwardness, Naruto decided to keep the conversation going. After placing his backpack down on the couch, he invited Ellie over to the kitchen table. Soon enough, both teens were sitting across from each other.
Ellie decided to place her backpack on a nearby chair. It was well within arms reach should she need it.
"So what made you piss off all those creatures back there?" Naruto asked while leaning back in his chair. This was the first person he had really met since coming to this new world and wanted to learn more about it.
As for Ellie, she was just happy to find someone around her age for once. She didn't have many friends and if she did, they didn't stick around for long. Being around adults was fine, but having someone around her age was a breath of fresh air.
"I was actually traveling around with this guy before we got separated. We were trying to find his friend's warehouse so we could get a car. Then everything turned to shit…" Ellie clenched her fists toward the end of her sentence.
"A car?" Naruto tilted his head to the side. "I'm guessing you both were trying to head out of here?"
"Yeah, we're actually trying to locate…" Ellie held her tongue for a second, not sure what to say. She knew she should be more secret about her motives, but the teen in front of her had saved her life. It was hard to remember, but Joel did state how they should keep their mission as secretive as possible.
Naruto blinked, wondering why Ellie cut off her sentence. Unknown to him, the girl was wondering what to say next. She didn't know if she should continue and if she did, she didn't know Naruto's opinion on the fireflies. If he hated the group or turned hostile, she didn't know if she could fend him off. She had seen his precision with his weapons after all.
As for the blonde, he realized Ellie was stuck on her words. Whether it was because she didn't want to say what came next or she was genuinely lost in thought, he decided to make it easy for her.
"Well, then I think the first thing we should do is find that guy you were traveling with. If you got split up from him, then it makes the most sense to search for him."
Ellie, internally grateful, nodded with a small smile. However, the girl then raised a single brow, "Wait, we?"
"Yeah of course," Naruto smiled brightly while bringing both hands behind his head, "I can't just let you back out there, there's too many of those monsters out there. If I can help in any way, then I don't mind!"
It felt nice being helpful after all. The Kyuubi called it his bleeding heart while he personally believed it was just doing the right thing.
At that moment, Ellie let out a laugh. The blonde looked on in confusion, wondering if he said something funny.
"Monsters? Did you call them monsters?" Ellie chuckled while eyeing the blonde.
"Uhh…yes?" Naruto wondered what was wrong with his terminology. In all the books he read, monsters were a valid term for these creatures.
"Dude, they're called Infected!" Ellie smiled while leaning back in her chair. She shook her head in amusement, "Depending on what you're facing, some of them are called Runners or Clickers."
"Infected? Runners? Clickers?" Naruto thought for a second, wondering what she was talking about. It seemed the 'monsters' as he put it had names for their different variants. He shook his head at the thought, it was a discussion for another time.
Calming down from her laughing fit, Ellie spoke while crossing her arms. "But anyway, are you sure you want to help? I can't really offer you anything in return as a reward…I mean, why would you want to help at all?"
Ellie just couldn't wrap her mind around the blonde's personality. She had never met anyone who would help others without some incentive or reward. It was just the way of the world.
While some people may have taken this question as offensive, Naruto didn't mind explaining himself.
"It's just the right thing to do. I don't need a reason to do the right thing."
They were simple words. In fact, Ellie found them to be slightly naive or childish in concept. There were just too many people who would take advantage of the blonde's kindness.
However, deep inside, she also found them to be commendable. There weren't many people left in the world with a moral compass. Even Joel, someone who she respected, did things if he could get something out of it. It was just normal to expect something in return.
"What about your parents? I'm assuming you all live here or something?" Ellie asked while looking around. She believed the blonde lived in this house or somewhere in town.
"Don't have any parents, I've been an orphan my whole life," Naruto admitted while letting a sad smile stretch across his face. He always wondered what life would have been like if his parents were there. He often times dreamed of their faces, of their voices. "I've just been using this place as a hideout while looting here. I'm actually a traveler, just going from town to town."
Ellie bit her lip, feeling bad about bringing up sad memories for the blonde. As a fellow orphan, she could understand the feeling of missing your parents. "Sorry about that…"
"It's alright, I've made peace with it," Naruto waved her concerns off with a wave of his hand. He tried to smile while telling the bold lie.
Deciding to take their minds off of the sad conversation, Ellie asked another question. "So what do you mean you're a traveler? Don't you ever come across infected?" She knew the entire planet at this point had infected crawling all over it. It was a major risk to travel alone especially when you're younger.
"I've run across my fair share," Naruto admitted with a nod of his head, "But it's not anything I can't handle. My weapons and survival skills have gotten me this far," He joked while patting his weapons pouch.
"Damn really? Like, you haven't even lived in the quarantine zones? Settlements? Nothing?" Ellie asked with wide eyes, finding the person in front of her to be an enigma. She just couldn't wrap her mind around someone living on their own their whole life and surviving in such a hellish world.
"Nope, never lived in anything like that. I was raised in a village, but that was about it," Naruto said with a shrug of his shoulders. He didn't consider his survival alone as impressive but it seemed Ellie was getting that impression. He could see the awe in her eyes at his story.
"Wow…" Ellie said for a second, processing everything in her mind. She wondered just how efficient the blonde was. She had seen his skills firsthand but to hear he survived on his own was boggling. Even she had been raised in a military settlement for the first half of her life.
Before they could continue their conversation, they saw the light outside slightly dim. Looking through a nearby window, they could see the sun was about to set. They were only hours away from the night.
"Well it's best if we probably search for your missing squad tomorrow," Naruto said while seeing the light slowly dim outside. He looked over at Ellie and expected some resistance, but to his surprise, she nodded in agreement.
Ellie didn't want to have to explore at night again if she could help it. She had just recently escaped with Joel from the Boston QZ under the shade of night and it had been horrible for the teen. She still remembered the scuffle Tess had in the dark right before she had…been infected.
"You can have the master bedroom upstairs if you want and I'll take the couch down here," Naruto said while standing up from his chair. He stretched and allowed a few bones to pop, giving his body immediate relief.
"Wow, what a gentleman," Ellie laughed while grabbing her backpack. She was ready to get some rest and be out on the move again tomorrow. She just hoped Joel didn't skip town in the night they stayed apart. Just when she was warming up to him too.
Naruto stared out the window, hoping he could help Ellie search for her missing partner. He wanted to do good in this world. He wanted to work towards his new goal.
He wanted to bring peace. One step at a time.
Hours Later
"Haha, no way…!" Ellie snorted out her nose while throwing her head back. She was currently sitting on the couch while the blonde pulled up a chair across from her. The two were having a good time given their circumstances.
"It's true! I literally found a nude magazine under this guy's mattress!" Naruto said while smiling himself. They had been exchanging funny moments from their time looting and he had been eager to share his recent experience.
Feeling her face hurt from laughing so much, Ellie couldn't help but take a second to reflect on her life. She had been raised to fight the infected and survive her entire life. She had a rough life and didn't get to laugh often.
And yet, in one simple night of meeting this stranger, she was feeling nothing but smiles on her face. She knew she was a smartass, it came with the reality of this world. There wasn't much positivity and if there was, it never lasted for long.
Naruto was a funny person in her opinion. He wasn't afraid to wear his emotions on his sleeve from what she'd seen so far, which was a rare trait. Most people either hid their intentions or remained cold, but he offered this presence of warmth.
Feeling a slight blush appear on her face, Ellie quickly shook her head away at those thoughts. She had just met this boy, she couldn't go and start fantasizing on how he really was. After all, she had to keep a tough exterior at the end of the day to survive in this world.
But it was so damn hard to act tough and mean when the other person was good at making you laugh and feel comfortable.
"Dude, no way!" Ellie suddenly said, garnering Naruto's attention. She had glanced her eyes over to a nearby table and saw something she loved to read. "You also read the Savage Starlight comics? I don't think I've met anybody that actually gives a damn about those!"
She stood up and walked over to the table. Picking up the comic, she realized it was one of the few she didn't have. "Can I read this?" It felt slightly awkward to ask permission, but Ellie didn't want Naruto to think she was inconsiderate. It was his property at the end of the day.
"Yeah for sure! I got a bunch of those!… Oh wait…!" Naruto quickly announced while rummaging through his bag, He had unsealed a few items earlier while Ellie was upstairs so he could eat, drink, and have some light reading throughout the night. He had tried to read more often and make it a habit.
Finally feeling the piece of material he was searching for, Naruto retrieved a few more issues. He had a habit of rereading the series when he was bored or wanted to pass the time. While he didn't mean to collect them at first, it had become something of a side hobby of his. Anything to keep his sanity.
"No. Fucking. Way." Ellie said with wide eyes, marveling at the revelation before her. It felt like she had just been awarded the lottery the way her eyes sparkled with awe. Walking over, Ellie gently grasped the comics Naruto handed over. She held them within her hands and spread them out, seeing that he had many more comics than before.
"How the fuck did you find these?" Ellie said while shuffling through the comics, "I'm so jealous of your luck right now." She had been hard-pressed to find a few on her travels with Joel, yet Naruto seemed to have his own mini-collection.
The blonde simply shrugged in response, not seeing anything impressive about the achievement. "I just came across them while traveling. I did get quite a few from a bookstore a while back. It's become something of a little hobby of mine."
If Ellie didn't want to be friends before, she certainly had the thought enter her head at this moment. Not only was Naruto easy to get along with, but he also read Savage Starlight. That was the pinnacle of being cool in her mind.
Just before the girl could continue to talk about the piece of media, she realized something she hadn't before. Setting the comics aside on a wooden coffee table, she glanced at Naruto's waist. "Is that a pistol?"
Following her line of sight, Naruto realized Ellie was talking about his firearm. He wondered how she was barely realizing it now, but he didn't mind. "Yeah, I found it while looting this weapons store a while back. It's how I found most of my gear. Wanna take a look at it?"
"YES!" Ellie said before quickly quieting down, not wanting to alert any infected outside. "Sorry…I mean yeah, I'd love to see it!"
Chuckling, Naruto unholstered his weapon and handed it over to the girl. He didn't have to worry about any negligent discharges since the magazine was empty. He still hadn't found ammo for the gun but he didn't mind. His knives were keeping him just fine at the moment.
Quietly examining the gun in her hands, Ellie stared at it like it was made of gold. The cold steel felt right in her hands and the weight of the firearm carried an unspoken power behind it. It wasn't widely known, but Ellie liked her fair share of firearms. She was raised in a military zone after all.
"Not even Joel trusts me enough to carry a gun…" Ellie thought while examining the Beretta. She ejected the magazine to see it was empty, likely a sign that Naruto hadn't found ammo for the weapon or he didn't know what ammo went in it. Either way, Ellie made sure the safety was on when she handed the pistol back.
Thinking of Joel also made the girl wonder how he was doing.
Putting the gun back on his belt, Naruto saw Ellie smile. At that moment, Naruto wanted Ellie to smile more. She looked cute when she did in his opinion.
"So if we're gonna bunker down here for the night, tell me more about yourself whiskers," Ellie commented while pulling out a ration bar from her backpack. She opened the plastic wrapper and tossed it on the ground, slowly munching on her treat.
"Whiskers?" Naruto scratched his cheek in mild embarrassment, not sure what to say. He was often used to giving other people nicknames, but he wasn't used to getting many himself. The most he ever got was when the villagers back home called him a 'demon' or 'monster' but that was long ago.
Deciding to ignore it for now, Naruto crossed his arms and leaned back, "Well, I come from a small village. Like I said earlier, I'm an orphan so I had to raise myself a majority of the time. Thankfully, I had a few friends along the way to make it easier…" Images of Shikamaru, Kiba, Choji, Neji, and even Gaara popped into the blonde's head. Thinking of them made his heart clench momentarily.
Getting back on track, Naruto continued, "Anyway, after a while, I got pushed out of my village. It's not something I really like to talk about…" The blonde didn't want to explain how he was from a different world and dump everything so quickly on someone he was starting to consider as a friend. This was the easiest way he could explain it without overwhelming Ellie's mind.
"Pushed out?" Ellie raised a brow while finishing her ration bar. Gulping down the food, she quickly gained a glare in her eyes. "Well screw those bastards then! Their loss!" She might not have known the blonde that well, but she could see he meant well. That was already rare enough. To push him out meant those village people must've sucked.
"Thanks…!" Naruto chuckled, happy to see Ellie come to his defense. Continuing on, the blonde shared snippets of his life without talking about chakra, his tailed beast, or anything that could give away his previous life. He mentioned people that had a positive impact on his life.
As for Ellie, she also shared moments of her life. While she didn't go too in-depth, she did speak about some of her early life in a military settlement. Naruto learned she regularly took classes in firearms training, close combat, and knife combat. She even showed him her favorite knife, a switchblade that she carried everywhere.
Naruto also showed her his Karambit. While both argued who's blade was better, Naruto concluded that he was the winner. After all, his looked way cooler than Ellie's in his opinion.
As the night dragged on, both people shared stories and laughed a lot more than most people did. They cracked jokes and exchanged experiences. They didn't get much sleep that night as most of it was spent getting to know each other.
Ellie even took the time to break down all the different variants of Infected she had encountered. She also mentioned how they operated and the ways to take them down. That's when Naruto was able to finally put names to the Infected he had encountered before.
However, one thing did stick out about the night.
Naruto learned about the Fireflies.
The morning sun shined through the windows of Naruto's safe house. Feeling the heat flush on her face, Ellie groaned awake while cracking open her eyes. She was sleeping in the master bedroom upstairs and pushed the covers off her body.
"Man, Joel would've killed me for falling asleep so easily…" Ellie yawned while stretching out. The two had a system of keeping watch at night. He would have definitely scolded her for letting her guard down around a stranger.
The only problem was that Naruto's charisma was something even she found to be infectious. And that was saying something given she was a rather negative person.
Grabbing her bag, Ellie walked downstairs while rubbing the crust from her eyes. Given the position of the sun, it was safe to say the day had barely started about an hour ago. As she walked down the stairs, she remembered some of the things from the previous night.
Around an hour or so into their conversations, Ellie had accidentally spilled the beans of her mission to find the Fireflies. It had been on complete accident as well. She had just brought it up faster than her brain could think and said it aloud.
All she mentioned was that she was searching for the group. That was all. At least she could say she didn't give away everything.
She had feared Naruto's reaction after saying those words. She didn't know how he would react or if he would kick her out. Everyone had different experiences with the group after all. Some saw them as terrorists while others viewed them as a light in the darkness of this world.
To her surprise, Naruto didn't react with joy or anger. Instead, he was confused about what the Fireflies were.
Now this was something Ellie hadn't considered. To her knowledge, everyone had heard about the Fireflies in some capacity. They were well-known throughout the country. It seemed the blonde had been sheltered from the outside world more than she previously thought.
After breaking down what they stood for, what little she knew of their goals, and how they were structured, Naruto seemed to get a better picture of the group. He still didn't really have an opinion on the group but if Ellie deemed them as important, he concluded they held some significance.
Just as they got downstairs, Ellie walked in to see Naruto already staring out the window. Turning around, he greeted her with a smile, "Good morning! Good to see you're already out of bed."
"I had to get an early start to the day…or at least that's what Joel always said," Ellie finished the sentence in her head. She could see the blonde was a morning person and that was something she could never be. It was just not possible in her eyes. She was more of a night owl anyway.
Naruto nodded while reaching into his bag. He then retrieved a plastic bag full of blueberries, strawberries, and nuts. He also grabbed a water bottle and handed both items to the girl in front of him.
"Here's breakfast for today!" Naruto grinned, "Can't be hungry while out on the field, we still have to find the missing part of your team."
It was a simple collection of items. The berries and nuts had been picked by the blonde earlier in the week. They stayed fresh thanks to the components of his storage seal so they didn't risk going bad. He often bagged them up so he could keep them as miniature lunches while out traveling.
The water bottle was simple. He boiled some water and poured the clean contents into a plastic bottle that he cleaned. After cooling it, it was now drinkable water.
However, in Ellie's eyes, this was a godsend. It wasn't often that someone could eat something so exquisite in her eyes. Slop, chow, or whatever Joel could muster up was usually on the menu. They would sometimes have meat on the rare occasion, but this was a nice change of pace.
Joel wasn't a bad provider at all when they needed food, but she was used to eating ration bars and beans by this point. It was all in the perks of surviving.
"Dude, yes! This is so awesome!" Ellie perked up when she saw the breakfast items before her. Grabbing the plastic bag, she began downing the food. Once the bag was empty, she proceeded to empty the water bottle in a few gulps. "Ahh…now that was good…"
Let it be known that Ellie didn't care much for manners. Back at the military academy, some had called her a tomboy while others called her disgusting. However, she didn't have time for all of that when surviving was a priority in her mind. Manners could come later. Or never. Never was fine with her.
Chuckling and shaking his head in amusement, Naruto realized just how different Ellie was from Sakura. She was pretty much the only female friend he had before meeting Ellie yet the two were wildly different. Sakura cared about looks, and Ellie cared about her next meal. Sakura pursued boys while Ellie wanted to play with guns.
Different worlds produced different people he supposed, but it was still a funny distinction in his mind. At least Ellie hadn't hit him on the head yet for no reason. That was a nice change of pace.
And while he wouldn't admit it aloud, he did prefer Ellie's red hair over Sakura's pink hair. Something about the shade of her hair made him blush. Maybe he had a thing for girls with exotic hair.
Deciding to put those thoughts behind him for now, Naruto prepared to trek on for the day. He had already collected everything he needed from the house. He didn't expect to come back to this safe house after today, fully planning on leaving the town after helping Ellie.
"Well, let's get ready for the day ahead of us freckles," Naruto said while double-checking he had everything. After patting himself down, he gave a small nod of confidence to himself. It was always better to be safe than sorry.
"Freckles?" Ellie chuckled while walking up to the blonde.
"Yeah, freckles. You called me whiskers, so now you're freckles. It's a fair exchange," Naruto joked with a twinkle in his eyes. He wouldn't let anyone give him a nickname without giving one in return. After all, he was known for his nicknames. He couldn't be outplayed in his field of work. That included pranks.
"Ehh, I've heard worse," Ellie shrugged in response. If she was now 'freckles,' then she could live with it.
"Alright then," Naruto smiled while slowly opening the side door they entered from. After peeking and making sure the coast was clear, he signaled for Ellie to follow him. The two walked outside and were greeted by a mostly empty neighborhood. A few Runners were walking aimlessly down the street, but it seemed that was the extent at the moment.
"So where was the last place you were going? I think that would be a good start," Naruto said while scanning his surroundings. It never hurt to make sure.
"Right, follow me. We were on the way to this safe house in town, I think I know the way to get there from here…I hope…" Ellie whispered toward the end, walking down the road. Naruto stared at her back, hearing the last thing she said.
Catching up to her, Naruto followed the girl's lead. "Let's hope your team hasn't ditched town by now. The quicker we get there, the better."
Ellie sighed, hoping that wasn't the outcome. Joel was the last hope she had in terms of finding the Fireflies. If something had happened to him or if left town by now…no, she couldn't think like that just yet. She still had to find him.
Gripping the straps of her backpack, Ellie was determined to find the man. She had to find him.
As the two walked through the town, Ellie was happy for Naruto's presence. He had clear signs of either training or survival skills given the way he examined things closely and kept his ears perked.
It felt nice having a friend watching your back.
BOOM! Done with the first chapter of this story so far! This was fun to write and I have so many ideas of where I want to take this! If this is well received, I don't mind continuing it!
Also, below I listed multiple things to help get a picture of this version of Naruto. Check it out if you want to paint a better mental image.
Naruto's current outfit:
- Long-sleeved undershirt (Dark navy blue)
- Flannel shirt (Black and white squared pattern)
- Orange sneakers (A size too big because they didn't fit him, but he loved the color/design so much he needed to wear them)
- Black Jeans
- Tsunade's jewel necklace around his neck (Often tucked inside his flannel shirt)
- Konoha headband wrapped around left bicep
Naruto's current weapons:
- Throwing knives in his weapons pouch (replacing his kunai and shuriken – these were all used up in his battle with Sasuke)
- Karambit knife in his leg pouch – ready for easy access if needed
- Empty Beretta 92FS Brigadier pistol on his belt
Naruto's abilities:
- Shadow Clones
- Henge (Sexy Jutsu included)
- Rasengan (With a clone's help)
- Kawarimi
Height: 5'6
Age: 13
Now, onto addressing some things!
1) First off, let's mention how Naruto is going to fare in this world. With chakra and his enhanced abilities, it's fair to say that he should solo anybody in this universe.
If I downplay his abilities, people will claim it makes no sense. If I make him overpowered and one-tap everyone, there is no real story to read. There is no threat, suspense, or story because Naruto can be used as a 'bailout' card. Some might disagree, but I usually don't like reading stories where the MC is so overpowered that no one can match them.
So in this case, I will try my best to find a balance of both worlds. Not to make him extremely overpowered, but also not to make him weak. It'll be difficult, but I'll try my best to make it work. Nonetheless, there will be people who will be mad no matter what. Can't please everyone.
2) As things are right now, I don't plan to bring in any Naruto-verse characters into this story. However, this could change as I have multiple plot lines I'm looking at. If people do or don't want to see more Naruto characters, let me know. Would love feedback on this specifically.
3) I plan on doing some things different from the main story line of the game. I will follow some main points but I want to include other things and story elements I want to explore. If this turns you off, it's best to peace out now.
4) If anyone is curious how Naruto could travel alone for two months and not meet any survivors, humans, etc. just remember how the Last of Us world is at the beginning of the first game. Most people live in QZ's or settlements. Furthermore, the US is MASSIVE in terms of land size. It's easy to drive for hundreds of miles in rural America and not hit anything or hit small towns. These are the same kinds of towns that Naruto DID encounter, but they have been long abandoned. This is twenty years after the breakout started after all.
5) If anyone is wondering why Naruto's signature happy-go-lucky attitude isn't as present, it's because things are different here. He is constantly having to survive, aimlessly wandering throughout the land to search for a purpose. He was taken out of his home, shoved into a new one, and left to fend for himself. Imagine how you would feel in that situation, no matter how positive you normally are.
He's being forced to grow up in a quicker rate than he was back in Konoha and he already didn't have it easy back then. I like to try and keep things realistic and take into account a character's personality at the same time. It can of course change over time, but I'm gonna try my best to make it work.
That's all for now! Hope you enjoyed it!
Cheers~