"Kami, if you're here in this world, I want to thank you."
Forget what he said about Lady Luck. Yeah, sure, she can be a bit of a bitch sometimes. But this is one moment when he realizes how awesome she is. Or it can be. Whatever.
With a grunt, he puts more strength into his actions as the bag between his hands refuses to open. At least his hands don't tremble as they used to a week ago, and that's an improvement. They're still weak, though, and his muscles aren't as strong and solid as before. He knows that a softness will greet him if he digs a finger on his leg.
A loud sound comes from the plastic bag, and he gives a small shout of triumph. He looks at his prize with a silly smile. The smell of food is glorious, and he can feel his mouth water. His throat constricts as he fantasizes about eating all the contents. It's as if his hunger has increased.
They're just nuts, but to him, they're the best to have ever existed. And Naruto really wants to just shove the food inside his mouth and eat. But he can't. He's spent weeks without eating, only drinking the slightly acidic rain that fell. If he eats as much as he wants to, he'll throw up.
Even so, he eats a mouthful, slowly munching, tasting every bit. He may have moaned once or twice as he slowly swallows. He puts some more food into his hand and repeats the process, before grabbing the water bottle next to him. He drinks some and then sighs contently.
Luck really is on his side if he's fallen on the top of some store. There are bags he can use to carry what he needs. And maybe there's some ink he can use to make storage scrolls. If there scroll here, that is.
Overall, this world seems more evolved technologically speaking. And he's already thinking about all he can take from here—maybe all. He doesn't know what awaits him, and it's better to be prepared.
"Maybe the others need supplies so it's better to be stoked," he mumbles, hoping the others aren't lonely. They've spent so long that way already. He sighs. "Though both of their social skills suck. I hope they haven't killed anyone yet."
He rubs his hair with both hands in exasperation. "Let's see, Sasuke went east and Kurama northwest. If I go to Kurama first, Sasuke might kill whoever he finds if they piss him. If I go to Sasuke then Kurama might accidentally destroy stuff." He glances towards the wall at his left, looking intently from where he came from as if there was nothing to impede his sight. "They're smarter so they must be trying to go to where the portal appeared. Yeah, that sounds like something they would do. So I should go there."
He takes some time to bask in the good idea he just had before returning to his food. After all, first, he needs to eat, though he'll have to wait for his stomach to process the food before he eats more. Then he'll leave to search for the others. Kurama is probably worried even if that fuzzbutt would never admit it. Sasuke's most likely annoyed at him and will try to kick his ass so he needs to train and be prepared for that.
-
The store has a big name on the front though he can't read what it says. There are some green tents and dead bodies with green suits similar to his orange jumpsuit, now destroyed thanks to his fall. He's wearing clothes he's found inside the store. The only thing orange was a shirt at the back that was one size too small for him, but it still fits comfortably. It's been getting colder so he tries to prepare for the change of weather.
He's terrified of taking the boots of a dead body, but they're his size, and they seem warm. His chakra won't help him to stabilize his internal warmth so he's on his own. He still apologizes to the dead and prays for his ghost not to come for him. Then, Naruto leaves with a too full backpack filled with important things and everything else inside paper seals. He hopes the plastic he used to protect them will be enough against the rain and all kinds of situations.
There are a couple of buildings next to the store, but he wants to walk northeast instead of west, where he can see a city close. He has a hunch that tells him to avoid cities altogether, and when he closes his eyes, he can sense a trail of sadness and desperation—fear—coming from the city.
But everything is faint. There are no people there, he knows.
His body is still aching, so he walks instead of running.
.
.
"I think I saw that tree before."
He circles the mentioned tree, and sure enough, there's the mark he made with his kunai a couple of days ago.
He's probably lost, and the worst thing is that he knows why it keeps happening. He still knows which direction he must go, but this place is so different from home that he can't help but investigate whenever he reaches a new town. They're always empty and cold; it's obvious the people left quickly, barely grabbed the essentials, and left everything else behind.
There are family photos and plates with food on tables and mold growing on top. It's sad. He's never been a religious kind of person, and he doesn't know if the Shinigami reaps the souls in this world, but he prays anyway for the dead bodies he finds, hoping they find peace wherever they go.
Sometimes, he hears strange sounds, footsteps, and the like, and he always goes to them, thinking they're the survivors who live in this world. They never are but Naruto is hopeful he's going to find what happened here. He hasn't encountered one yet, but he's sure he will soon. However, so far those zombies are the only ones he finds. And he can't completely avoid them as they usually frequent the most interesting places. His chakra control is ruined, so he can't do the tree-climbing exercise correctly, but his stealth skills, gained by years of running from the ANBU, are still top-notch, and those don't need chakra.
Not that he doesn't have chakra. On the contrary, he has more than enough to give and spare.
It's his control that's gone haywire.
Sighing, he wonders how the others are faring as he guesses the contrary must be happening to them. Sasuke is probably the most used to being without too much chakra as most of his Justus were the kind that sap energy and to have the well-sized pool he has now, he probably has trained himself to chakra exhaustion. The same can't be said about Kurama, however, being made of chakra and all. He's probably never been with so little chakra. Naruto knows Kurama must be with little reserves because he can feel the power within him that's not his entwined with his own, and it's almost all Kurama's.
Naruto is worried.
Leaning against the tree, Naruto thumps his forehead against the bark, fingers trailing the faint seal on his navel. He remembers clearly the time Kurama was pulled out of him and into the Gedo Mazo, remembers feeling the chains around his neck, a ghost pain that came entirely from Kurama's as he was yanked away from the neck. Like a Band-Aid, he thinks, quickly ripped off so as to not make it hurt.
Not that it worked that way. Naruto remembers falling, breathless and dizzy as the emptiness wanting to swallow him whole, engulfed his entire body in pain.
It hurt. It hurts now, too. And he only knows that it's the presence that's always been with him that he misses. However, he cannot help but be grateful towards Kurama as he knows that without the bijuu shoving his power inside him, Naruto would have died. Perhaps not from the extraction, but for the lack of healing abilities Kurama's chakra has that's made his stomach be remade constantly these last weeks he wouldn't have been able to move. He'd have died from hunger without it.
Even so, he never wanted to feel Kurama's chakra, so entangled with his own, being ripped that way again, but it happened a second time now. And Naruto feels so uncomfortable in his own skin, as if it was too big for him, like a stuffed animal whose filling has gone missing and no longer has the consistency to sit upright. Now, he has to be careful with every step he takes, afraid he will fall flat on his face with a step badly taken from his part. And it's so weird to feel full and at the same time empty, but he has no other words to describe what feels, and he's never been too good at explaining.
The problem is that, without his friend's presence, the chakra is too wild for him to control and dangerous. There's always an excess that makes his skin tingle, a buzz of energy constantly coming from him, wanting to tear it from its bonds away and be free.
Something tells him that if Old Man Sage hadn't given him his power, he'd have exploded. Humans don't seem to be made to hold a bijuu's power without them to work as an outlet.
"I really want to see how Kurama's doing." Fingers clench on the sole orange shirt he found inside that store and he closes his eyes, attempting to brush the link he still can feel between Kurama and him. It's a faint, fragile thread, but it's the only thing he has that connects them. He's been trying to follow it, but with his power as wild as it is, he can't even manage to grasp it.
He huffs in exasperation. His forehead meets the bark of the tree and he takes a deep breath before concentrating on the Nature around him. He can't get into a proper Sage mode with his chakra control as it is but he can still connect with the world around him, even if faintly.
At least, it's enough to let him pass the excess power into the grass under his shoes and the trees around him so he can regain at least an ounce of control to attempt a hold for the link. Not that it works. The amount his control lets him transfer into Nature is never enough. However, it is sufficient to stop his body from feeling like it's going to explode sometime soon anymore. And that's always a plus. Also, that second spent meditating let him feel the presence of those around him for at least a couple of meters. There's an odd feeling he gets from those zombies but he doesn't have the control to properly try to understand what's happening inside their bodies. He merely senses where they are briefly.
He presses his right hand on the tree, and it twitches. He brushes a thumb against his palm and it's good he can still feel his connection to Sasuke. Naruto mostly uses it to check on him to make sure he's not going on a killing spree or something, though most of the time he doesn't feel anything but annoyance from his end. But that's Sasuke to you, so no surprises there. He doesn't know if the bastard can feel the emotions he sends through that link but he's been trying to send the equivalent of a cheeky grin every time he checks on him.
That done, Naruto stands straight and rolls his shoulders, stretching his whole body until loud pops fill the air from his bones. He moves a hand to fix his backpack into a better position as he watches his surroundings. It's quiet in the park. The grass that was once slightly gray and is now greener thanks to his chakra is tall and more alive. There are no chirps or other clues that nature is awake, but it's as if the park has taken a deep breath and can relax.
The town is small, too, just a couple of cabins and houses. There's nothing in there. Not even zombies. Naruto distracts himself by looking around and marveling at some constructions. He finds some stores, but most are empty or have just a few items in their stands. He even finds a bowl of something like instant ramen that makes his eyes shine. He hides it in a separate and empty storage seal to save it in case of celebrations.
Saving the ramen, he thinks in Ichiraku, and he wonders how everything is going back in his own world. He closes his eyes and finds his friends there. They're tired but content in his mind, grieving the dead and celebrating the victory. He knows it'll take time before they can stand again, but he's sure they'll be able to do it. They're no longer alone; they've got the help of the other villages. Together, they'll be able to put themselves.
.
.
The town is bigger this time and Naruto finally finds a couple of maps in one store that once sold magazines and newspapers. He doesn't know where he is until he recognizes the same scribble of a name on the map on a street. At least the words look similar enough. He uses it to navigate, thanks to the icons on some spots on the map. He doesn't want to go to what he guess is the library, but something tells him he needs to. He hopes there are books with pictures he can understand because he can't read zilch. His next stop will be the hospital.
-
-
The library is almost empty. The building, he guesses, is the Academy of the town, not so much. He manages to enter the library without being noticed and kills eight zombies. There are some good books. It's too bad he can no longer make hundreds of Shadow Clones without them exploding. Now he has to be happy making twenty with eleven looking as sick as his normal clones in the Academy looked. Well, at least nine work.
It takes him three days to sort most of what he thinks is interesting inside some storage seals. The place is not so big, and he counts his lucky stars.
Going outside is when everything goes downside. Apparently, his screams of frustration were heard by some zombies because there were a great number of them close to the doors.
Just great.
-
-
The hospital is equally frustrating. There are fewer zombies, but he doesn't know what each medicine they are for or what he should take.
He takes everything he can possibly hold.
That means he takes all.
Seals for the win!
-
-
Sleeping inside those machines with wheels is quite comfortable when he is on the road, and there's no town near. He's trying to make the Rasengan work but he can advance from the first exercise Ero-senin taught him. It explodes on his face when he tries to do it with a clone. After an hour of trying he has to let his arm rest for a couple of hours to let the burns in his hands heal.
He tries not to use the food he's found when he can hunt and eat, but sometimes he's really hungry, and the grip of his hand is too bad to even grab a kunai steadily—He can't continue like this. Indeed, he's always been impatient; he can only be still when he meditates, and he can no longer do that properly, thanks to his wild chakra.
It's probably time to start from zero. Some chakra-controlling exercises should help.
-
.
The leaf burns immediately after touching his forehead. He's shoved backward a couple of meters whenever he tries to stick to a tree, destroying some of the bark. He doesn't even want to try walking on water with how cold it is.
This is going to take some time.
-
-
Naruto has probably been without human contact for quite some time, ever since he came into this world. The only human interaction he gets is sometimes from Sasuke whenever he annoys him too much. Kurama's link is weaker and more peaceful; he's probably resting.
Naruto should probably not be constantly prodding at those links, but he feels so scared at the silence that surrounds him. It reminds him of his days when he was young and alone inside his small orphanage room, waiting for the food to be left on his table by the matron before she left with a quiet demand of 'Stay here.'
At least there are no stares this time.
-
-
By the week of walking alone, he hears the ruffle of leaves behind him. A kunai goes to his hand the next instant, ready for anything. There are no burns on his skin, so he's prepared. Even so, he goes cautiously towards the sound.
He tries to catch the scent with his nose, but there's no putrid smell coming from the direction the sound comes from. His nose is not of an Inuzuka, but his senses have always been sharper than those of a normal ninja. Also, the scent that comes from those zombies is really strong, so he should be able to catch it.
There's another sound, and Naruto shrugs. Best to check. His nose is not that good, anyway.
He approaches. The sound is clearer; there's a fight going on near. Naruto looks behind some bushes and sees a little girl being attacked by a zombie. He doesn't think twice as he goes to help her. He twirls the kunai, ready to go through his head. The zombie makes a last choking sound before it crumbles to the floor and the girl falls backward on her butt.
Naruto makes sure the zombie will not stand up again before he turns around. The girl's eyes are shadowed by a dirty blue and white cap, so he can't see her eyes. But he can see her two small ponytails, her skin slightly lighter than his own, and the arm she clutches tight against her chest.
He doesn't want to scare her, but he can see red on the arm she's trying to hide. Naruto kneels, trying to be at her eye level as much as he can before he speaks, signaling her arm, "Are you fine?"
The girl's head looks up and he catches brown, tired eyes. She hesitates, and he can see some fright in her expression. Naruto smiles reassuringly while scratching the back of his head. "I'm not good like Sakura with this stuff, but I know some first aid. My name's Naruto, by the way, ninja extraordinaire and future Hokage. What's yours?"
"Clementine," she answers, some reluctance in her voice. However, her posture relaxes slightly at his smile, and the grip on her arm loosens. Naruto is able to peek better at the damage, and he frowns at how serious it looks.
"Well, nice to meet you, Clementine." He points at her arm again with a small smile. "That looks like a nasty bite."
Her whole body tenses. "It's a dog bite, I swear. They have not bitten me. I've not."
Naruto blinks again, not sure what's putting her on edge. "Okay? I was saying this because it looks pretty bad. Do you want me to take a look at it? Bites can become a dangerous problem if they're at least not disinfected."
Or that's what he remembers Kiba saying when he asked why they had to put shots at the ninken and other animals.
Clementine seems confused, and she warily shows him her arm. "It needs to be cleaned and stitched. I know how; I've seen it, but I don't have the stuff to do it."
"You know first aid? That's amazing for someone so young! I learned the basics when I was fifteen, and only because Sakura strapped me to a chair and threatened to beat me purple if I didn't hear her lessons. How old are you, Clem? Can I call you Clem?"
Clementine smiles at his ramble as she watches him look for the kit he's put inside the backpack in case he sees someone needing help and cannot find the right paper he packed the other things in.
"I don't mind. Most called me Clem. I don't know how long it has been since the dead attacked, but I think I must be ten."
It sends a pang through his heart to know someone doesn't even recollect the date.
"You mean those zombies? It's not been long since they appeared?"
She gives him a weird look as Naruto puts a bottle that smells of peroxide, some bandages, and a needle on top of his knees. There's an only fish wire for him to use but that's enough for now.
"A couple of months, I think. You… don't know?" she says quietly, and Naruto can see something old in her eyes, something worn out. He wonders what she's seen to have those eyes. It reminds him of the ninja in the war, in a way, Drained and barely optimistic.
"Well, I'm kind of new here. It's been a couple of weeks? I was injured and had to stay in one place for too long. Just have been able to walk three days ago."
Naruto scratches a cheek. Clementine follows the movement, and her eyes stay on his whiskers-like Mark's, for a long second. "Oh. That explains why you weren't weirded out by…" She lifts her arm before signaling to the dead body that attacked her previously. "When they bite you, they infect you, and then you turn into them."
"What, seriously? Like real zombies?"
"Yes, kinda. But I swear this bite was from a dog! I found some food, and he attacked me to get the can. It's not from them."
She's panicking, Naruto realizes. She's afraid of what would happen if he thinks she's been infected. It makes him wonder what she's seen others do to the infected.
Naruto gives her his brighter smile. "Don't worry Clem. I've seen lots of dog bites and I know yours is one. Though I'm curious, is there no cure?"
She hunches and looks down, head shaking. "I wish there was. My friend… I had to—I had to," she finishes biting her lips, her gaze not moving upwards. Naruto sees her loneliness in her posture and her tone, and it reminds him of his old self, away from the other kids, always wondering if there'll come a time someone will want to play with him. He wants to help her but doesn't want to scare her off with physical contact and doesn't know if she'll react badly to a hug.
So he rests a hand on top of her cap, using some of Kurama's soothing chakra to calm her, and speaks with all the sincerity he can muster. "I don't know how this world works, Clem. I'm new here. Would you like to team up with me? I think we could use some help."
She looks up, a small frown between her eyebrows. "I can take care of myself. Lee—Lee taught me how to."
"I bet. You look more mature than I was at your age, though I was a brat. But the thing is, it's always better to have someone to rely upon. I don't like to be alone, and I've discovered that friends are sometimes all you need."
Her eyes are watering, but she doesn't cry. She gives a tiny nod of acceptance and a small smile. "I'd like to."
"Yosh! Then it's better we heal up that wound and then eat something. You look hungry, Clem." Naruto smiles brightly as he gently takes her hand and starts. "Oh! And you could help me figure out what I have in my pack. I woke up in a giant store and grabbed all I could."
She gives him another odd look before she says, "Sure."
"Naruto and Clem against the world! Fear us, cheap zombies, we'll destroy you!" He lowers his hand with the wet gauze. "Oh, uh, this will probably hurt. I'll try to be gentle. So unless you cry nothing will happen."
"Unless I cry? Why?"
"Because then I cry."
She didn't look so reassured anymore, but he'd done this twice with Sakura before. It's always been with an injured animal, and he always ended up in a trembling wreck.
Great, now he's nervous.
"You said you're a ninja, how so?"
"How so? I went to the Academy, of course. It was such a drag so I was always pulling pranks but now I'm one of the best ninjas in my village!"
Clementine gives him a look. "You went to the Academy to become a ninja?"
"Yup. I was the best on trap setting and stealth. Not so much on everything else."
Naruto thinks he hears her mumbling a confused 'trap setting?' before she asks, "You're out of the Academy then? Do you miss it?"
Grimacing, Naruto looks to the side, away from Clementine. "Do you miss the school thingy you mentioned?"
When he hears no response, he looks down at her.
"Clem?"
"I do miss it. I had a couple of friends in there. And we always went to lunch together to eat and play… It was fun." She adjusts her cap before looking up at him with a small smile. "I don't miss Math, though."
"Tell me about it."
They're quiet for a few minutes until Clementine asks, "And what else do they teach you in a ninja Academy?"
-
-
"Really?"
"Yeah, so now I'm worried about Kurama; he's the one who must be the worst of us. I don't care if my chakra control is shot off its axis. Though I do feel like some time bomb, sometimes." He grabs one leaf that's falling and presses it against his forehead. Not a second later, it explodes. "Yep, chakra control sucks."
Clementine takes a step away from him, but Naruto can see it's mostly for humor rather than because of actual fright. "You said he got bigger when he received, um, his both parts? Does that mean he's small now that you've most of his power?"
Naruto stops dead on his feet and regards Clementine with a serious look. "I've not thought about it. He's probably really, really small," he murmurs, frowning as he looks towards the direction Kurama flies away.
"Are you okay, Naruto?" He nods absently, which doesn't satisfy Clementine. "What are you thinking about?"
Blinking, he looks down at the small girl walking beside him. It's been a couple of days, but Clementine is already less guarded around him. He's not one for silence, but Clementine is, and he respects that. "I was just wondering how much time I'd have to hug tiny Kurama before he gets big and stomps me into oblivion."
Clementine giggles in the way little girls can only do.
"Want another story in which I save the day?"
"Is there going to be Sakura there, too?"
Naruto tilts his head, his hand going under his chin in mock thought. "Sure! Most of those stories involve her hitting me in some way but she's always badass."
She nods. "I wanted to be a doctor and she does sounds like an amazing doctor."
"She is! And damn strong, too."
-
-
"You want to do what?"
Naruto nods. He's trying to take a bite of a couple of birds they hunted, but their skin is not as tender as he remembers it to be. Probably his cooking is at fault. "Yeah. I want to help whoever I can while searching for my friends. And then see what I can do after I reunite with them. Then we'll look for a way to return to our home."
"Like a comic book hero."
Now is Naruto's time to be confused. "What?"
"It doesn't matter. Do you have some idea how to do that?"
"Well, I was thinking of looking for a secure place first and then doing something like the village's walls of my home. That way, the zombies couldn't enter. But someplace secure enough to help people will suffice for now."
Clementine nods. "I don't know if secured places are big enough for what you want. Maybe some secluded town or a fabric."
"I have some maps; maybe you can help me find good places? I can't read the language, so I don't know what it says." Naruto opens his backpack, searching for the maps he had put in a few days before. "I got them from the library. This world is big, I tell you."
"Um, that's another thing. Probably, you shouldn't say you're a ninja. There are no ninjas here unless they're make-believe."
Naruto frowns. "Ninjas don't exist? There is no one with the kind of powers I have here?"
She shakes her head. "You'll probably sound crazy or scare some people if they see what you can do," she says, looking at the scorch mark he made in one of the trees while trying to tree climb again.
Naruto remembers the towns he visited with Ero-senin. The ones that didn't have any ninjas around or were uncommon. He recalls how they moved away from them, scared about the feats they've been told they were able to commit. If this world is like one of those towns then he can understand. He wants to help people not scare them away.
"I understand," he says, giving Clementine the maps. "Just in case of emergencies then."
"Just in emergencies."
She receives them and smiles at him before opening the papers.
.
.
"Not close to the cities."
"Okay."
"Possibly near to some lake."
"Okay."
"If you can find anything close to where I separated from my friends, that would be awesome."
"I'll try, though I'm not good with maps. Do you know where we are?"
"Uh, I think we're close to… here?"
Clementine hums for a bit, and it's not until a few minutes have passed that she says, "There's one cotton factory that looks big around here. There's a prison here and a farm there. Those are the closest; what do you think?"
"The farm is too open. The cotton factory, I don't know. Its walls don't sound too reliable. The only prison I went to was safe and easy to protect. There must also be cells for the prisoners, and we can use them as rooms. There must be a kitchen and infirmary. It's better equipped. The downside is that all the people inside must have been turned, so it must be pretty infested."
Clementine looks at him, clearly expecting his decision, "So…"
Naruto sighs. "The prison it is."
"So we go around this direction?"
"Yeah, we've got to eventually find it. Maybe we can get someone to help us read the map better on the way."
"So east?"
"Well, it looks that way."
-
-
Naruto still tries to contact with the others and train on his chakra control. Clementine always looks at him when he does that, curious about the process and awed at what he does. She hasn't said much about her past, but he can see it's affected her deeply. He's never been too good at lying so he doesn't try to hide anything. She seems to take comfort in that because sometimes she imparts him with some lessons his friend Lee gave her. Or some moments she shared with his parents.
She's smart, though, sometimes eerily so. Not in a genius kind of way, but in the kind of way one gains from experience. It's scary because she's just ten years old, but she's a good kid.
"Did you hear that?" she asks lowly, looking at him from the corner of her eyes before looking at the meat they've been trying to fry. "Walkers?"
Naruto shakes his head and shrugs. He can smell anything, but that can be because of the faint smoke. "Maybe they're people attracted by the food?"
She looks at him dubiously, but they both decide to quench the fire with dirt until there's no smoke from their campfire.
"Hide inside behind that tree."
They've already discussed how things will work in this kind of case, so even if she protested initially, she didn't. Instead, she hid, following his instructions.
The sounds are nearer, and Naruto tenses. The familiar scent comes at the same time he sees two zombies walking forward without arms and jaws. They stumble towards them, but Naruto's too dumbfounded at the sight to think, so he lazily throws a kunai into one of their brains.
There's the familiar sound of metal clashing against a skull, but instead of the zombie falling like a puppet with its strings cut, the body is thrown away into Naruto's path. He evades easily and it's thanks to the constant fights he's had with Sasuke that makes him ready for the sword that comes next.
"I don't want to fight," he says to the woman before him, who reminds him of Karui. She's wearing a hoodie that smells like zombies, but he gets the feeling she's not one of them. Behind him, another with a similar hoodie is holding the weird weapon Clementine named Gun, blonde like him.
"You were the one who killed my walker."
"Hey! You're the one who scared me with the zombies!" Naruto stops his shouts. His kunai is still in front of him, and he tilts his head. "What are the zombies for, anyway?"
The blonde is the one who answers. "They mask our scent."
"Oh, that's smart." Naruto lowers his kunai, but his posture never leaves its readiness, even as he scratches the back of his head. "I'm sorry, I didn't know. My name's Naruto."
There is a long silence before the Karui-look-alike speaks, not lowering her sword. "Michonne. She's Andrea."
"Uh, well, nice to meet you?" He looks down at the food they are cooking. It's enough for four, he decides before smiling at them. "So! Do you want to eat with us? We've enough for all; the more the merrier, as they say."
Michonne raises an eyebrow. "We?"
"Yeah. You're hungry, right?"
There's another long silence before Andrea lowers her gun and steps forward, explaining. "You said 'us' and 'we', I only see you here."
Naruto blinks. He looks towards the tree. "Clem, they don't seem like bad people."
The girl comes out and gives a small, nervous smile. "Hello. My name's Clementine."