Chapter 36 - N

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 is with this stuff but I do 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 but 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. I've not been bitten by them. I've not."

Naruto blinks again not sure what's put her on edge. "Okay? I was just 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 to 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 think 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 saw someone in need of help and couldn't bother to search for the right paper he packed the other things in.

"I don't mind. Most called me Clem. I don't know how long has it 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 have recollections of 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. I think 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 weird 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 he 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 really new here. Would you like to team up with me, I think we could really 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 kind of 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 better we heal up that wound and then eat something. You look hungry, Clem." Naruto smiles brightly as he takes gently her hand and starts. "Oh! And you could help me figure out what the things I have in my pack are. I kinda 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's done this twice with Sakura before. Though it's always been with an injured animal and he always ended a trembling wreck.

Great, now he's nervous.

.

Thank you for your support! And if you want to give even more support (Or read more chapters ahead), then go to my pa_treon/JorieDS