Naruto In The Apocalypse

Chapter 28

Naruto felt his desperation setting in as every day passed with little to no success of finding Sasuke and Hinata. At first he thought, how hard could it really be to find them? He had underestimated just how large their hometown was, and that was assuming they were still there.

Naruto held his breath, praying that they hadn't left town. It was dark and he was currently staying in an abandoned shop, absentmindedly drawing in a book. That was when he thought of a plan. Flipping to a blank page, he quickly wrote a note in a language he and Hinata had created when they were younger.

No matter how long ago, he would never be able to forget that language and he hoped the same could be said about Hinata. He left the note on a fridge door, knowing that if they were to come here, they would most likely be looking for some supplies, the most obvious being water.

He hoped that Hinata would be able to understand what he had wrote, he didn't want to write it in their own language, seeing as there might be other people around.

If they found the note and not Hinata, then at least he could be assured that they won't understand what he had wrote, follow the instructions to where he had said he'd go next and rob him, maybe possibly even kill him. With the zombie apocalypse, everyone apparently threw away their humanity and decided it was okay to kill each other instead of surviving together.

Naruto knew from personal experience that there is safety in numbers. Naruto froze as he thought about Iruka, the man who was like a brother to him. They had met when he was younger, before he went to high school.

He hadn't had enough money to pay entirely for his ramen, but Iruka showed up and offered to pay the rest for him. Naruto had looked at him like he was going to worship the man. He would have, too, if Iruka hadn't laughed and introduced himself, offering to buy him another bowl of ramen. Naruto smiled sadly at the memory. Hopefully, Iruka sensei was resting in peace and not pieces.

Two weeks. Two whole weeks, and they still haven't found him. How could they possibly manage to miss him every single time? Sasuke sighed, he couldn't sleep, he kept thinking of Naruto and how lonely the idiot must be.

They were staying in a nice little house for the night, because it was a lot more dangerous traveling at night. Hinata was asleep next to him, using his chest as a pillow as she snuggles closer to him. He could still remember the deadly glare that Karin had given her.

Hinata had almost pulled away from him, whispering about how she would go and find some other place to sleep. He had pulled her back, holding tightly onto her with his right arm, he still was.

He refused to let go of her, he felt vulnerable without her there with him. Sasuke turned his head, his nose being tickled by Hinata's hair as he breathed in her smell and it slowly lulled him into sleep.

Juugo was sitting, watching through one of the windows. He was guarding the others, seeing as he wasn't necessarily tired.  He could see Sasuke, clearly still awake.

He knew, the Uchiha felt desperate to find their friend, but they were simply exhausted. They needed to take a day or two, just to recover. He watched as Sasuke's breathing finally slowed. Even Karin and Suigetsu were utterly exhausted, especially Suigetsu.

The two had argued where the other would sleep after Sasuke and Hinata took up the couch. Juugo was slightly annoyed and so he went upstairs, found a single mattress and dropped it in front of them.

They had sputtered at him, telling him they wouldn't sleep together, but then Sasuke lost his patience and stood up, screaming at the both of them. Jūgo suspected that Sasuke had just snapped under the stress of finding their friend.

Hinata had sat there, one of her hands fisted in front of her mouth as she watched Sasuke with worry. The teen had screamed at Karin and Suigetsu, telling them how utterly hard they always made things and to just stop fighting for more than ten minutes.

Sasuke also yelled at Karin for constantly glaring at Hinata, how he disliked it and if she continued, he would start disliking her even more. Then he proceeded to tell them all how he loved Hinata and if Karin didn't stop her incessant flirting, they would just leave.

Jūgo had stepped in at that point, calming Sasuke down when he said that he was worrying Hinata. Sasuke had then apologized and retreated to the bathroom, slamming the door shut behind him. It was silent for a long time, none of them daring to move. Sasuke’s outburst was so unusual and worrisome, that they all froze.

Hinata gave him fifteen minutes before she stood up gracefully and walked to the bathroom, knocking softly before walking in. They were gone for a while, but Hinata moving first caused them all to snap back to reality.

Karin and Suigetsu shared a look before Suigetsu sighed in exhaustion, climbing onto the mattress and making sure there was still enough space for her. Karin took a moment before she too climbed onto the mattress, taking the covers Suigetsu had held up for her to climb in, and snuggled into the warmth.

They were tense at first before Suigetsu succumbed to exhaustion and fell asleep first, Karin not too far behind him. Now, they were sleeping extremely close to one another, though Suigetsu hardly moved, Karin had turned and moved closer to him, resting her face close to his back, holding onto his shirt.

Jūgo smiled at the two, he hoped that they would be friends now, or at least better acquainted.

He sat there until morning, switching from watching the streets to watching over his friends. It was nearing noon and still none of them woke up. Suigetsu had turned over once in his sleep, but Karin hadn't moved again.

Instead, her head rested against his chest, holding the front of his shirt, Suigetsu having thrown a lazy arm over her waist. He suspected Karin was looking for some comfort seeing how Sasuke had snapped at her, basically admitting that he would never feel anything for her.

In Jūgo's opinion, the two never would have fit together. To him, Karin should just leave Sasuke behind and move on to someone else, namely Suigetsu. Jūgo thought that they could definitely be together, their arguments aside, they would make a rather appealing couple.

He nearly laughed at the mere thought of it, but the more he did think about it, the more he liked it. Yes, with them laying the way they were, Jūgo had the perfect image in his mind of them together. Now, all he had to do was try and convince them.

The first to wake up was Hinata. She slipped out of Sasuke's hold and came to sit next to him. It was silent for a while before she turned to him, a soft smile on her face.

"Don't you want to get some sleep?" She asked softly.
"I have to keep watch," he stated, not looking at her.
"I-I can do it," she spoke.
Jūgo turned to her, unsure.
"Are you sure?" He asked, briefly looking her over.

"Yes, you must be tired, go on ahead," she assured with a firm nod.
"Alright, just call when there's a problem, okay?" He asked with a sigh.
"Very well," Hinata smiled at him.
Jūgo returned her smile before he stood and walked to the armchair, somehow managing to stretch across it and fall asleep within minutes.