My Snippets: Part 1

Dead North 🧟‍♀️

She took a step forward and Hinata shrank back... but her partner, Naruto, also advanced. The pair met in the middle as they squared up to each other... sniffing and examining the other, before slowly leaning in to nuzzle against each other cheeks affectionately in greeting. Something that he had witnessed from other zombies before, who seemed to be showing signs of accepting another zombie into their "pack".

"I guess that's a good sign," Hinata said as she cautiously circled them to come and stand next to Sasuke. "How did you manage to make it all the way to Konoha," she asked him as they watched their partners get reacquainted with one another. "Last I had heard is that you and Sakura had moved to Suna... you know... before all of this happened."

'Before all hell broke loose,' Sasuke thought as he raked his hand through his black hair and sighed. "We've been traveling since everything went down. I didn't realize that this was Konoha..."

"Yeah...," Hinata said as a soft smile graced her lips; her eyes searching their surroundings. "A lot has changed."

"It has," he agreed before turning to look at her. "So, what happened to the others? Did they—"

"No," she said before frowning. "Well... not exactly. Some have been infected, like Sakura and Naruto, but some of us are still fine. We've set up a safe area not far from here if you would like to come." Sasuke glanced at Sakura and worried with his bottom lip, but Hinata nudged him to grab his attention once again. "She's welcome to... if she, um... can behave."

Sasuke nodded. "She'll be fine. She's just very protective of me."

Hinata glanced over at Naruto, who had been following Sakura around as she inspected her surroundings, very carefully. "I know what you mean... Naruto is as well."

30 minutes later...

The sun had just set and Sasuke was settling in nicely to his new "home"... with Sakura sticking close by his side of course. He sat next to her beside a roaring fire, after filling his belly with a warm meal prepared by Hinata and a few of the other females in their group, and quietly observed them as hushed conversations began. 'So... Naruto, Choji, Temari, TenTen, and Sai have all been affected, huh? But how will we go about finding the cure? I've been searching for so damn long... it almost seems hopeless.'

It wasn't until Sakura hissed under her breath beside him, that his attention was drawn back to her... and that's when he noticed the drops of blood coming down from her arm. He then realized that the shot Hinata had aimed early had apparently hit its mark on her right shoulder.

Sasuke cursed under his breath and reached around for his backpack before opening it and pulling out his first aid kit. "Sakura, come." She only grunted. "Now." She growled lowly at his tone and refused to acknowledge him further. He sighed and moved around to grab something before he brought it in front of him. "Sakura, if you behave," he spoke softly as she turned to look at him out of the corner of her eyes. "You can have this."

Her head tilted slightly at the sight of the small carcass in his hands, and his stomach twisted when she turned fully and snatched it from his hands before her lips parted and her sharp teeth sank into its flesh. His stomach still rolled sometimes as he watched her eat, but he guessed it was better to see her devouring dead animals than it would be to watch her feast on a human... dead or alive.

He ignored the sounds of ripping and proceeded to bring her large shirtsleeve down, his eyes focusing on the open wound on top of her shoulder blade. "I'm sorry about that, Sasuke," Hinata called softly and he waved her worry off with a simple flick of the wrist as he began to get to work.

While his tweezers pulled the bullet out, she hissed, green eyes flashing as she glared at him... but continued to feast on her meal. He gave her an apologetic look but continued as he placed the tool down to grab his needle and thread. "How... did it happen," Ino asked, her eyes fixated on the pair while Sai nuzzled against her back affectionately with the top of his head. Sasuke paused, as did Sakura, and a small, worried whimper escaped her lips while she nuzzled into his hand.

"It's fine," he told her before resuming his task. He took a beat to answer. "She was protecting me from them... and I couldn't do the same for her."

"But she's not lost," Karui stated. "At least not fully. She's just like the rest of them. Choji, Sai, Naruto... all of them. I know they say that zombies are inhuman monsters, but..."

"They are more human than you think," Shikamaru said as he pulled out a cigarette from between his lips. The dead ashes fell to the ground as he tapped on it, before he took another long-drawn-out drag. Temari, next to him, huffed and turned her back before curling in on herself as she did so, in order to try and sleep. "They aren't human, but they are still like us in many ways. More human-like than most give them credit for. Which is why we need to find a cure."

"To save them...," Hinata finished as she scratched Naruto affectionately on the ear. Shikamaru nodded in agreement before stuffing out his cigarette on the ground.

"What if we can't find it," Neji asked; his gaze focusing on Tenten as she made her way towards Sakura... who was still eating. As soon as the pinkette noticed this however, she growled angrily in warning... and everyone tensed as they waited to see what the pair of them would do.

After a brief stare off, thankfully, Tenten took the hint and moved away and the group relaxed once again. Sasuke sighed as he finished stitching her up and put his supplies away. "We have to succeed. We don't have a choice." His gaze moved to Sakura as she tossed the skeleton of her meal to the side before she curled up and snuggled up to his side; her head coming to rest on his lap as a soft sigh escaped her lips, her eyes closing tightly in contentment.

"I won't lose her...," he whispered into the night, while his head tilted up to look at the stars; his hand resting on his wife's shoulders. He closed his dark eyes and allowed the gentle breeze to blow soothingly across his skin... though the ache in his heart still remained. As steadfast as ever.

'I won't lose her, ever again. I promise, Sakura. It's my turn to save you.'

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Author's Notes:
If any of these sound like your own writing or another you have read, I apologize but I didn't copy anyone's work. This is entirely my own writing.