Chapter 48 - N

Three hours later, they're setting camp. Andrea's influenza has gotten slightly better thanks to the meds Naruto carried but it wasn't enough and it shows on her face. The blood loss and pains from her period aren't helping either. Naruto only hopes that the meds they found will help her at least with that.

"I hope this works," Andrea says as she sits on the hard ground and groans, looking at the boiling sea sponge she will have to use later. She takes a glance at the bag with the pills but Michonne shakes her head and gives her a bottle of clean water instead.

Naruto doesn't look up from the tramps he's setting but he makes sure he's not breathing through his nose, faintly uncomfortable at the smell of boiling blood. Is not the thought of men menstruating that makes him uneased. He even took a class in the Academy most guys scrunched their noses at while the girls blushed as they listened to the teacher with hard, solemn faces, paying more attention than they'd done before.

Naruto's also spent most of his teenage years with Jiraiya so he knows more about women's biology than he'd probably need. Not to mention his teammate is a woman and a medic to boot. So is not as if the concept of menstruation bothers him – it's his training that sharpens his other senses whenever he smells the barest hint of blood, making him suspicious of every sound. And that tires him greatly—always being in that constant paranoid state of mind.

Kunoichis have to take pills to cut their periods so it won't interrupt a mission or make the enemy aware of their presence fast his body doesn't feel like bursting at the seams this day, though Naruto still concentrates some of his energy into his palm and pushes it into the tree to have a decent sleep without waking up panicked, with an excess of energy that feels more exhausting than it should be.

Glancing down to check the others, Naruto sees Clementine preparing to sleep next to Andrea, Michonne staying up for the first shift, and he closes his eyes, knowing he'll have three hours of sleep before she wakes him up as he's always the one who does the second shift whenever they camp outside with Andrea doing just one hour.

Being the one who needs less sleep than the others and at the same time is more used to these kinds of nights. If nothing, ninja life gives you some habits that work amazingly for these kinds of situations.

Academy hasn't taught him how to survive some kind of Zombie Apocalypse, but it does have taught him how to survive. And considering how his childhood has been, Naruto is an expert in surviving.

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"Oh my God, you too?" Naruto wails at Michonne as he turns in her direction, looking utterly miserable with the bags under his eyes and the slump of his shoulders that hadn't managed to ease completely while his hand twitches for the kunai inside his pouch, more of a reflex than anything.

It's almost three days later when Naruto is taking a break, standing where the wind is strong, his usual turtle neck down to his chin, no longer making him look like the second coming Kakashi, that he realizes Michonne's blood problem. He's glad that the last couple of days there were no walkers near to surprise them because he wouldn't have been able to detect them in time with his nose covered, but he thought his torment would almost be over. It seems that's not the case.

"It's weird how you know the instant it comes," she says, giving him a flat look, the tight hold on her sword loosening. "Get a grip. Believe me, if I could, I'd stop it."

Naruto rubs the back of his neck, smiling sheepishly at her. She's already picked that his senses are sharper than normal because of how he knows when they're close to towns or walkers. "Sorry."

Andrea chuckles from behind them but it comes out as weak. "We're not that far from that prison you wanted to reach. I'd advise from being so loud, kid."

Naruto sighs as he puts the turtle neck up again, preparing himself for long days with twitching and almost stabbing whoever tries to wake him up. Though they kind of learned after the first two times and now just throw him small rocks when he stays sleeping longer than the usual.

It doesn't matter. Naruto is the kind of person that looks at the glass half full so maybe, this means his luck will change for the better soon.

-

Fuck his luck. Sakura would have probably punched him already for tempting fate that way, or that's what Naruto thinks as he tries to help Clementine stand up while kicking a walker in the face. He knew they shouldn't have stopped but honestly, that highway seemed lonely enough and those cars looked homey with the pouring rain. They didn't think that the sound of the girls trying to fix a car would make that many walkers appear.

Also, has he mentioned how it was raining? They needed to stop and this place was the better option.

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