Manga: Naruto

Pairings: SasuSaku, NaruHina, NejiTen, ShikaTem, KibaIno

Inspiration: The Zombie Survival Guide: Complete Protection from the Living Dead

Written: 5.30.10

Sakura gripped Sasuke's arm tightly – too tightly, for her nails created blooming red crescents, tiny rivulets of blood running down to drip from his palm. The incessant wailing of ghouls filled the outside perimeter, no doubt attracting those who lurked nearby. She stared in horror at her best friend; Sasuke's other arm restraining her from touching Neji. Hard muscle locked to keep her in place, his body flush behind hers. They both knew the consequences of touching any body fluid of their bitten friend; the fatal mistake of attempting to touch or treat the wound. Tears formed in Sakura's eyes, and she struggled against Sasuke to reach out and try to do something. Neji hung back, a grim smile lifting his features.

"Sakura," he soothed, "Sasuke's right. You shouldn't touch me – none of you should. It's too dangerous."

"I don't care," she sobbed, fighting against Sasuke's embrace. The Uchiha moved to restrain her with both arms, hard eyes watching Neji painfully. "Gods, Neji…" Sakura furiously wiped away the tears with trembling hands, her M1 Garand falling noisily to the floor. The pale-eyed man shrugged, pulling on his gloves as he began to smoothly remove his weapons and other necessities and placed them on the ground. Matches, knives, guns and others joined Sakura's rifle on the floor, all distributed steadily by the Hyuuga. Sasuke's eyes fixed on the brown-purple gash. Teeth marks were clearly visible, and the poisonous flesh reeked of blood.

"How long?" Sasuke's voice was curt. He was struggling to keep a professional façade—something necessary in dealing with any fatally bitten victim. No matter how close the person was to you or how much they mattered, mercy killing was the only option. There was no cure to the Solanum virus. Nanotechnology was far from being achieved, and in the worst outbreaks of the country, medical help for even a cut from a professional was something of an impossible dream. Sakura's hands shook as she released Sasuke's arm. She knew the deadly effects of Solanum, how long Neji would be able to move about, and how long it took for the virus to completely manifest. She used to be a doctor – a medic, and was one of the few professionals left to treat wounds.

"Two hours," Neji panted. He grimaced at the look of pain shooting across Sakura's face and at the pain shooting up his arm from moving it. The bite seared on his shoulder, but he kept a calm, unaffected face in an attempt to placate Sakura. Within three hours, Neji would succumb to a deadly, raging fever and would be unable to help defend the fortress against zombies if needed. "Give me some gauze, please," he said, and Sasuke attempted to keep Sakura restrained as he reached for it. But the rosette broke violently free.

"I'm the medic in charge, Sasuke, so I'll bind it for him. Risk of infection or not, I will do everything I can for Neji—"

"Sakura," Neji intervened, soft white-gray pleading. "Please, don't. It is a kind gesture, and I appreciate it very much. But to risk infection for it is too much. You know that. Don't you understand the pain Sasuke would be in? You don't want to end up like Tenten and I…" he sighed. "Losing Tenten was the greatest pain I have ever felt, and I don't think you would ever want to inflict such horrors upon Sasuke." He locked eyes with the Uchiha who sent him a look of pained gratitude. "I can bind the wound myself, Sakura, I wouldn't dare risk passing the infection to you." He hastily bound the wound with the gauze Sasuke had thrown to him, binding it tightly with rows of medical tape. Neji quickly cleaned up the dried blood and made his way to his bed. He sank slowly down onto the mattress, where he spent the last hours of his life at full-health enjoying time quietly with his friends. Naruto and Sakura clung to each other desperately, Hinata gripping Neji's hand hard, knuckles white. "You'll make a good clan leader," he told her. "And you'll be able to make all the rules – you can marry Naruto instead of being forced into an arranged marriage." He turned to Naruto. "I give you my cousin and my blessing for your marriage and you will make a good leader for the Hyuuga clan, and if Konoha survives, a great Hokage as well." To Sakura. "Don't blame yourself for people you can't save. Don't tear yourself up too hard – for me. Don't think of me as leaving; think of me as rejoining Tenten…Sakura, I love you." He handed his dog tags to her and hugged her tightly. To Sasuke, "Rebuild your clan. Don't let Sakura go – take care of her for me. And Gods, Sasuke, marry her before two years are over, you emotionally constipated bastard. She loves you, you know." He said his words to the rest as well; Kiba, Ino, Shikamaru, Temari, Sai, Lee, Chouji and gave a good ear-scratching to Akamaru. The fifth hour steadily approached and he pulled the covers over himself, shivering and body wracked by the fever. "Don't let me survive past the eighth hour," he told Sakura, allowing her to crawl into his arms and hug him tightly, brushing her fingers through his long chocolate locks. He removed his headband, revealing the green seal and pressed it into Hinata's hands.

At the sixth hour, his fever had risen to 102. Cool cloths were pressed to his head, and he mumbled about caged birds, fate and Tenten. In front of the eyes of all his friends, Neji deteriorated even further – at an alarming rate. Solanum was a horror. Sakura could do nothing but watch – her healing green hands could not stop the virus without killing Neji, nor could she slow the process without prolonging his torture till eventual death. He grew deathly pale and vomited frequently into the scratched black bucket, head lolling weakly onto the pillow. The area around his wound darkened beneath the bandages, the virus taking a deadly toll on his body.

At the seventh hour, he no longer had the strength to rise from his bed. Blood sometimes accompanied vomit. His teeth chattered and even though his mental state and physical condition worsened, he had sense enough to refuse water or food, claiming they shouldn't waste it on someone who didn't need it. They needed to conserve what they could. At the seventh hour, Sakura busied herself with creating a painless injection of poison – it was the very least she could do for her dying best friend.

At the eighth hour, they said their final goodbyes. Neji could no longer lift his arms or do much of anything. He smiled at them, his final words being "See you all much, much later" and laid back on his pillows, still vaguely mumbling about Tenten and birds and too weak to lift himself to vomit into the bucket. Sakura injected the poison and he passed painlessly minutes later, a peaceful smile on his lips. Sakura knew that even though Neji had already died, his body would reanimate unless the brain was destroyed. With the help of Sasuke, they wheeled the lifeless, Solanum-active body out to the courtyard and lit both the body and bed on fire on top of a sheet. They collected his ashes later and placed them within an empty glass vase.

As soon as they made it back into the fortress, the most controlled shot off the moaning ghouls at the concrete gates with furious hostility. Sasuke held Sakura tightly as she moved around, immediately disposing of possibly contaminated substances with gloves and cleaned the guns and knives with alcohol. When she was finished, he pressed her to his chest and cried quietly with her.

"He's with Tenten now," Sasuke murmured, voice broken and cracked. "He's not suffering anymore." He carried her quietly to their bed, wrapping himself around her and let her sob into his shirt, all of the group drifting off to sleep with red, puffy eyes and torn hearts. None of them would ever forget the stoic, sturdy Hyuuga with pale, silvery eyes and a handsome, chocolate-framed face.

In the morning, Neji's name joined the murmured ones of Kakashi, Asuma, Shino, Tenten, Jiraiya and Kurenai in prayer. His ashes were placed beside Tenten's, headband wrapped tightly around the neck. Sakura whirled across the rooftops in vengeance, expertly picking off each and every ghoul that swarmed the gates. Sasuke watched her quietly from afar, aching to reach out and hold her, but knowing he had to give her time for her rage to settle. After all, he'd spent years hurting her and shoving her away. It was time for him to do some waiting. Sometimes he learned something new about the woman he loved and sometimes she shocked him still. She did now, hitting each and every zombie she shot at. The burning determination in her eyes the day she'd fought Sasuke himself was there now, determined to kill each and every zombie littering the walls with their hellish screams. Sakura quickly reloaded the M1 Garand and resumed the slaughter.

It would've been more efficient if Sasuke were to help, but he could let Sakura blow off some steam this once. Neji had really made her believe she wasn't weak or worthless. He showed her that she wasn't trapped under weakness – like a caged bird – and helped her break free. Sasuke watched with guilt-ridden eyes as she silenced their moaning cries, letting out several screams of fury as she spun on the rooftop. Sasuke watched her cautiously, prepared to spring forward and drag her back if she showed any intentions of trying to jump off the parapet and fiercely battle the onslaught with her knives. Neji had taught her she was strong, had helped her to help herself stand when there was no one left to believe in her. He was just as valuable as Naruto and Sasuke were to Sakura, and Sasuke didn't know what to say.

"Fight me," she suddenly said, turning to Sasuke, daggers drawn. When he did not respond, she said it louder. "Fight me." The metal flickered between her hands, green eyes flashing.

"You're—"

"Just fight me!" she screamed, and Sasuke reluctantly gave in. He drew his Ninjite, opting for the shorter sword rather than his Katana. Like quicksilver, shuriken littered the rooftop as fast as Sasuke moved, narrowly avoiding them all. He and Sakura were perfectly evenly matched – something he discerned just minutes into the fight. Her blows had the same strength as his, and though he forced her back several times and vice versa, it was always an equal distance. She whirled and the daggers hurtled towards his side. Sasuke twisted his body out of the way and locked his Ninjite with her other dagger. But in a fight fueled by anger, Sakura began to blindly throw slashes. Sasuke quickly overpowered her and pinned her to the ground. Honestly, he would've wanted to let her win. But he could never live with himself he did not fight her with his full potential – and it would torment her forever. For in doing so would tell her he thought of her as weak. She bucked uselessly against the cage of his body, finally slumping and surrendering.

"You only lost because you let your anger control you," Sasuke told her huskily, roughly. His arms dropped to either side of her head, nose skimming hers. "If you had not let your emotions get in the way, you would have won." Sakura kissed him hard in response, because it was Sasuke's way of telling her she was strong. Just like Neji had made her believe she was years ago. She watched from the safety of his arms as he collected their weapons and shuriken, picking the straggler zombies off before retreating inside, Sakura held in his embrace.

"We're going to need to switch bases before the end of next month," Shikamaru stated gravely. "I've been looking over the map to see which base we can make ours – we're starting to get low on ammo and rations. While the fortress is ideal, the soil is too dry to plant food and there is no game around to hunt." He slipped a lazy arm around Temari, the other hand gesturing to places on the map. "A military fort would be best, or we could take to the sea and get a hold of an oil rig, or better yet – find a prison, preferably from the 1960's era. All prisons with only two fences and a ring of barbed wire we can stamp out as a possibility." He locked eyes with Sasuke, who nodded sharply and added to Shikamaru's defense.

"I agree. An oil rig would be preferable – an artificial island. We wouldn't have to worry about zombie attacks. We would have fuel. The only problem would be erosion. We'd have to move within two years, if we planned to stay that long. We'd have plentiful food, and I've worked on one before, when…" Sasuke trailed off, quickly moving on, promising to make up for the hurt that flashed in Sakura's eyes later. He'd been on one in the years he'd left. "Anyway, drawing up oil wouldn't be a problem, and there are living and operational quarters as well. A prison would also be ideal…provided its defenses are strong enough to hold up against hordes of attacks. There would be a garden so we could grow food, but obtaining seeds, which is dangerous and hunting meat would be a little bit of a problem. There'd also be a library full of books about medical and other advice, but we would forego that if we had an oil rig to go to. However, going for an oil rig is our best bet. The riskiest part is getting there and fighting any possible zombies. It is most likely deserted, which is a good thing. We should try and find an offshore oilrig." His hand drifted to Sakura's, squeezing it lightly. Sasuke dropped a kiss to her temple, arm slipping around her waist and pulling her closer.

"Who says we should move to the offshore oilrig?" asked Shikamaru, after five minutes of contemplation. Sakura, Ino, Shikamaru, Sasuke, Sai, Lee and Chouji all readily agreed, while Kiba, Naruto, Hinata and Temari seemed to opt for the prison. "Alright, it seems the oilrig wins. Why would you want to go to the prison? The risk of zombie attacks and overruns are far greater."

"…I don't like swimming," declared Naruto. Shikamaru shook his head.

"We won't be swimming. It'd be too dangerous. Who knows where the occasional zombie is lurking beneath the water? Besides, getting our ammunition wet and possibly losing some by swimming with it all would be too dangerous," said Sasuke. Sakura nodded.

"I just voted what Naruto voted for," Hinata said shyly. "I don't mind where we go, just the safest."

"I think getting to the oilrig would be risky," declared Kiba. "Sure, getting there would be amazing, but travelling the open ocean with possible zombies walking the seafloor or bloated among the waves is treacherous."

"A prison is dangerous, too," said Ino, tossing her long blond hair. "We have no idea if the walls will cave or a crack will appear, and if that happens there were probably be a horde of zombies waiting to devour us. We have no idea if the inmates are still locked up or are free or are zombies or are even there anymore, and we have no idea if the walls have already been broken into. With an oilrig, there could be zombies aboard but there would be no way to get fresh ones inside. We'd have an easier time shooting off the lone zombie in the water rather than battling a possible onslaught. Of course, we'd have to bring the car with us, so acquiring a ferry possibly infested with zombies will be a problem. But the oilrig is still the better idea." She leaned into her boyfriend, nose brushing the tattoos on his cheeks. Akamaru seemed to whine in assent, and Kiba gave in. Temari shrugged.

"If everyone's opting for the oilrig, I don't see why not."

The armored car hurtled down the abandoned road, swerving around numerous zombies and roaring down to the ocean – which had taken several hours. Sasuke shook them all awake as the alarm on his watch beeped. They were thirty minutes away from their destination, and they needed to be prepared to all hop out of the car and mow down any stumbling ghoul in their way. Of course, all the zombies would be lured to the roar of the engine approaching, and all would probably gather and wait for them. Sakura adjusted the holster, re-strapping the daggers high on her shoulder blades and slinging the AK-47 across her back, nestled between the two. She carried her trusty M1 Garand in her hand and strapped shorter shotguns to her hips. Tied tight around her ribs, the handles of two pistols stuck out from behind her back, snugly encased in their modified holsters. The others were equipped basically the same way. They waited tensely, Shikamaru quietly explaining the plan and going over it a fifth time for precautions. Kiba scanned the area, cutting the engine and gazing at the army of ghouls, rotted bodies making both his and Akamaru's nose twitch. The dog growled twice, and they burst out of the armored car without pause. Sai took the wheel and started the car up again as they slammed the doors shut, Ino at his side in the passenger side to help pick off ghouls. She was an expert sharpshooter, and could hit things with deadly accuracy from a moving car.

Naruto tumbled to the ground and whirled about, guns blazing as he mowed down a line of zombies. Temari stood at his side, the others standing around him in a loose half circle as the armored car covered the other half. The ghouls staggered forward, the stench of putrid flesh overpowering the salty ocean air. Sakura whipped her gun in a small half-circle, each shot she fired finishing off each zombie she aimed at. Their impeccable accuracy quickly cleared a path to beeline for the dock where a ferry floated – and they all jumped into the car and hurtled down the road, mowing several unlucky ghouls down. They began to stagger slowly towards the dock, and Sasuke thanked the Gods they were highly incapable of running. Ino cleared the ghouls on the dock and Lee grabbed two cans of gasoline for the ferry, preparing for a mad dash onto the boat. The hellish moans of zombies had already alerted the others, so Sai didn't have to worry about any as he honked the horn, inviting zombies possibly in the ferry to surface. Ino picked them off quickly as two others jumped from the car and covered the back, Naruto and Hinata shooting from the inside. Sasuke and Sakura ran with Lee as the bushy-browed man leapt forward carrying to heavy jugs of gasoline, killing zombies as they ran. Lee quickly got to the motor and poured the oil in as the couple protected their position, killing all the ghouls rising from the captain's hold and other things. Sai revved the engine as Temari and Shikamaru leapt back into the car and slammed the doors as he drove the car quickly onto the ferry. Chouji leapt out and slashed the rope and the boat shuddered away from the dock as the ferry roared to life. Several zombies splashed into the water in a futile attempt to reach them, but Ino and Chouji both began to pick them off.

Sasuke grabbed the wheel as Sakura and Naruto headed down below, knocking loudly on the metal door to attract any ghouls if they were left. One stumbled down the hallway, but Naruto got a bullet cleanly through the thing's head before it could reach them. They barged into the several rooms and found there were no zombies left, although the stench of corpses and the bodies themselves remained. They bolted back on deck, locking the door just in case they had missed one. Lee and Chouji worked on securing the armored car down to the boat and deck, Hinata and Ino unloading the car and packing all their items into bags and boxes. Once it was ready to be hauled onto the oilrig, the crew quickly reloaded their guns and drew close to the rig, throwing the anchor around the complex system that allowed the boat to stay near the oilrig without being pushed to sea or being smashed into the rig itself. They began to yell, no doubt attracting the possible ghouls or alerting humans of their prescence. Three were designated to stay on board. Sharp commands from Kiba to Akamaru had the dog sniff the air and confirm that there were ghouls onboard the rig but no living humans. All but three scampered up the ladder, Akamaru forced to wait onboard until the pulley system could be lowered to bring him up.

A small group of zombies converged on the eight humans, and they quickly blasted them overboard. They tossed the radios – which they only used when finding new territory – to each other and separated into four groups of two. Sasuke and Sakura headed off to investigate the remaining outside of the platform while Ino and Kiba headed inside. Shikamaru and Temari took on the offices while Sai and Naruto headed into the living quarters. After a sweep of the outside, Sasuke and Sakura headed into the operating system room and found nothing but a decomposing ghoul. They took care of it, and with gloved hands, carried the corpse over the side. The rest of the ghouls were disposed that way, and in a matter of an hour it was safe to lower the pulley system and bring Akamaru aboard. In the hour they deemed the oilrig safe from zombies, Lee, Hinata and Chouji had cleaned the ferry and made it sanitary. Akamaru confirmed no humans or ghouls were left and they brought the supplies up, the people last after securing the boat and car well. Sakura replaced her Glock 22's in their holsters and headed inside to help clean and dispose of the remains of unlucky humans.

Sakura and Sasuke had just thrown loaves of moldy bread over the side into ocean when a telltale moan and awkward shuffling alerted them to the prescence of a ghoul. Fast as thought, Sasuke shoved Sakura behind him even though she didn't need to be protected. The gray-skinned thing limped forward, mouth open in a wide, gaping hiss. It advanced; empty eyes fixated directly on them and trying to limp forward faster, the stench of rotting, decomposing meat washing over them. Sasuke whipped his gun up and shot a clean one through the ghoul's skull, whipping around and banging his gun on a nearby metal canister, grabbing Sakura and pressing her tightly against him. Sakura drew her own gun, aiding Sasuke in drawing ghouls – if there were any left. They stayed as quiet as possible, listening for the steps of the undead. Sakura quickly shot twice, and they heard two splashes of water several seconds later. Together they raced back to the sleeping quarters, shaking hands unlocking the door and collapsing inside.

"Naruto?" called Sakura hesitatingly, and was relieved when his answering shout came their way. "We just encountered three zombies," she informed. The others immediately rose, locking doors and boarding up windows as best they could. "We weren't bitten, but there may be others about."

"From now on," declared Sasuke, "no one is to go outside at night until we establish that all the zombies are gone." His grip tightened on Sakura's waist, hand trembling at the thought of losing her. They made their way stiffly to their bedroom, still shocked by the event. They slid their beds together to attempt to make a double, but even though the double had been made Sakura climbed in bed with her boyfriend, snuggling up to his side and dumping her boots on the opposite bed. Sasuke smiled softly at this, tucking her head under his chin and drawing the blanket up and over them.

"Do you think it'll be like this forever, S'ske-kun?" Sakura's voice was heavy and murmured with sleep, and Sasuke almost smiled. But the question kept him grim.

"I certainly hope not," Sasuke said into her hair. "But they're going to stop soon so you and I can finally have a freaking family and have lots and lots of pretty babies," he slurred, tired as well. He quickly fell asleep, though his answer had Sakura wide-awake with elation.

Ino watched as her own boyfriend finished boarding up the window, back slicked with perspiration and muscles rippling smoothly as he did so. She licked her lips, getting up from her seat as he finished, leaning his head against the wall and panting softly. Her arms ran around his waist as she kissed the middle of his back gently, laughing quietly as he spun and caged her against the wall, kissing her passionately. A hellish moan suddenly reverberated throughout the oilrig, and they fell silent, retreating to the bed and falling onto it noiselessly. Ino reached for her Glock 22 and placed it within reach, slipping her shoes on and making sure everything was in reach. Kiba did the same, kissing her quickly before cradling her in his arms, Akamaru leaping onto the other bed and ears cocked. The others did the same, plugging their ears with earplugs and falling asleep. The terrors of the zombies were far from over – they'd have to fight off the remaining ghouls on the oilrig and survive the years to come, but at least they were all alive. And, Sakura thought, with all of them – they just might survive. They'd kill those moaning fuckers and she'd settle down somewhere with Sasuke; maybe the old Uchiha district and they'd have lots of beautiful children. Sasuke smiled in his sleep, thinking of black-haired, black-eyed miniature versions of himself and Sakura, and of apple green eyes and soft pink hair. He woke up when he knocked his own Glock 22 off the table, and he decided that even if his dream was miles and miles away, he'd make it fucking happen no matter what. Besides, the Hyuuga had told him to, right? Uchiha's – and soon to be Uchiha's – always won a challenge, no matter how hard.

The name Solanum comes from The Zombie Survival Guide, as with the 'manifestation' of the 'deadly virus'.

I wanted to try something new, and after reading a survival guide about zombies - why not?

Also working on a SasuSaku, faery-world oneshot, inspired by Holly Black and her books; Valiant, Tithe, and Ironside.