Chapter 2 Memories

Disclaimer: I do Not own Naruto or anything within the Naruto-verse Masashi Kishimoto has created.

Over the centuries it had become a saying that at the moment one's death that person has a flood of memories quickly assemble themselves indiscriminately in their mind as a final reminder of what is being left behind. It has also been said that this occurence also happens as one has an extremely near death experience. In Naruto's case, it was the latter.

Naruto knew, the second his attack left his hands, that he had a minimal chance of surviving it himself. He was too close.

The battle with Madara, in it's longevity, had taken nearly all of his as well as Kurama's chakra to draw the reincarnated Uchiha back to the afterlife. Never before had he been so utterly exhausted in chakra reserves.

As the Wind Style Rasenshruiken struck his opponent, Naruto had become completely exhausted. His last feeble attempt to move away had been in vain as the blinding, white light enveloped his enemy and expanded. His sage mode had disappeared as well as the chakra cloak provided by Kyubi resulting in his own attack incapsulating his own body as well.

The result of the attack brought about an eerily similar effect to the entirety of his body which only his hand had suffered from in his previous defeat of Kakuzu. HIs chakra network was devoured by the white wind technique which had already proven to be fatal to nearly anyone that happened to be the unfortunate recipient of such a devastating force.

As Naruto felt his chakra network being destroyed quickly from the concussion of his earlier attack, his mind flashed some memories before his very eyes.

Flashback

The night he became a Genin. Mizuki was pommelled with the overwhelming number of shadow clones Naruto had created. As a result Iruka was alive, sitting with his injuries, against the tree, a good distance from the village.

"Naruto, you've done well. You shouldn't have had to suffer like you have. I'm sorry I couldn't help you. I'm proud to be able to have you as a student. Close your eyes."

As Naruto closed his eyes he felt his googles slip from his forehead. He couldn't help but wonder what was going on.

When he opened his eyes he saw Iruka smiling back at him in the moonlight night. As he looked down he noticed that Iruka was holding his googles. Returning his gaze to his smiling instructor, he noticed the head band was missing from his forehead.

As he reached up he felt the metallic object resting against his own in place of his googles.

"You are worthy of being a shinobi Naruto. This is the least I can do for you."

Instantly after his soft speech, Naruto's mind sent him to another memory.

It was the finals during the Chunnin exams, prior to the betrayal of the Village Hidden in the Sand.

Naruto was standing over Neji in the crater that had formed from his stunning, defiant assault, victorious in the fight against the stronger opponent from the Hyuga Clan. He had promised her that he would win no matter what and he was able to fulfill his oath he had made with her blood as a seal.

"How could this have happened. You were fated to lose. It was your destiny." Neji spat as he looked up at the blonde haired dead-last.

"Fate is what you make it to be." Naruto replied coldly."Even though you are a genius, you lost because I changed my own fate. I worked harder and got stronger. Hinata has done so as well and perhaps you will see that with your own eyes someday."

One final memory, unlike the others, floated into Naruto's mind.

Naruto had been putting up a good fight with the one called Pain. He had demolished the first five version's of the self-proclaimed deity, and yet he was pinned to the earth in the middle of the crater once known as Konoha. Steel-grey chakra rods protruded from each of his limbs, most notably his hands in front of him. His immobility brought on a sense of helplessness that couldn't be shed no matter how hard he tried.

He was finished.

"I have placed these rods, missing all vital organs, and there is no means of breaking yourself free. Surrender to death and the peace that will follow with it."

As these words began to register in Naruto's mind, he couldn't help but think of all of his comrades, his precious people that he had failed to protect. Although his attempt to take on the leader of the organization out to capture him had surpassed his sensei's , he knew he was at his end. His sage mode was useless against his enemy. With a cloak of anger he screamed out towards Pain in a feeble attempt to cover his helplessness.

Pain took a step towards him, declaring himself the victor over the Nine-tails Jinchuriki. Before he could get within arms reach of Naruto, however, a flash of blue and lavender jumped quickly in between the two opponents, facing away from Naruto staring dead-eye into the Tendo version of Pain.

Naruto, quickly realizing who had materialized in between him and his death, shouted out,"What are you doing here?!He's too powerful for you!Save yourself you cannot match up to him!"

In response, the lavender-eyed beauty simply said, "I know."

He couldn't believe what he was seeing. 'Why?' he thought. 'Why would she do this? She can't possibly take him would she do this to herself?'

"Why are you doing this HInata? Get out of here. Save yourself, I do not want you dying because of me!"

"I'm being selfish," the blue-haired girl said without a hint of hesitation. "You've always been there for me whether you knew it or not. You have always been an inspiration to me, to never give up, no matter what. You are a precious person to me and have been for as long as it has been since I first met you. Your smile saved me, your determination drove me. I'm out here because of you. Never to give up and not going back on my word, I'm here to protect you even if it means my death. I do this because...I...Love You..."

As she finished with those words, Naruto's mind went out on him. Never had he heard anyone say that to him in his life. The Third Hokage never told him that. Iruka never told him that. His guardian at the orphanage never told him that.

With the last memory ringing freshly in his mind, Naruto smiled. Even in death he knew that with what he had done he could protect his precious people, the remnants of the Rookie 9, the village of Konoha, every one of the elemental nations and the shinobi therein, but most importantly he could protect her.

The smile still held on his face as the world around him went dark. 'Hinata, I love you too' was the last thought that went through his mind as he his breath grew shallow and he gave in to the darkness for what he thought to be the final time.

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Moments after the dust around Madara's body had settled, Kakashi, Hiashi, and numerous prominent shinobi had gathered around the location to confirm the Uchiha's defeat and consequent death. It didn't take long for the group to conclude that Naruto's Wind Style Rasenshuriken was responsible for the massive amount of energy which spawned the nearly blinding white light. Madara's body was decimated beyond repair from the massive amount of slits within his Chakra network. Although he was a reincarnated entity, the Chakra Network he held within was utterly destroyed by the young hero's extraordinary attack rendering Madara completely useless.

One thing the gathered shinobi could not explain was how Naruto had managed to actually kill the reincarnated monstrosity that was Madara Uchiha. The only means of incapacitating a reanimated corpse would be to have it sealed, yet no one had noticed any sort of sealing occur as Naruto's attack hit him.

"What happened here Kakashi?" Hiashi asked with a hint of fear and amazement. "In order to stop a reanimation, doesn't the person in question need to be sealed?"

"Naturally, the only way to defeat the reanimation jutsu is to first find the caster. However, during the battle it seemed as though the caster of the original jutsu had been discovered and stopped. With that being said, Madara had somehow discovered a way of escaping the cursed jutsu and consequently freed himself from the fate of the caster. That, in and of itself, should have not been possible." Kakashi stated in a matter-of fact tone.

"It would seem there are still a number of questions yet to be answered," Hiashi replied. "Has there been any word on the fate of Naruto?"

"None so far," the grey-haired shinobi replied sadly. "It troubles me that Naruto, who in the end single-handedly ended the war, is unable to be here with us in celebration. I have hope that the teams dispersed will have luck finding him."

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It had been only an hour ago that Madara had fallen motionless to the earth in defeat, yet the end of the war could do nothing to replace the feeling of despair creeping quickly into Hinata's heart.

Kakashi and Sakura had given her the utmost assurance that they would find Naruto, however that was an hour ago. The search team of the recently reunited Team 7 minus Kakashi and Naruto, surviving members of Team Guy, Team 8 minus Kurenai, as well as the remaining Huygas, had provided few answers to the questions her heart was bringing to the forefront of her mind.

'What happened within that light? He should be here right now. What if he is dead? Why haven't we found him yet? Hinata turned these thoughts over and over again in her mind. Her Byakugan's reach had grown to a nearly impossible level as her determination to find the man she loved grew desperate.

Team 8 had spread out at fifteen meter intervals heading west from the location Kakashi and Hiashi had determined to be the center of the blast. Exhaustion threatened to overwhelm the young shinobi in their desperate search to find their comrade, the hero from the leaf who had ended the war. Minutes grew into hours as the three team mates made their way through the wasteland of the immense battlefield.

Hinata raced through the destruction around her at an unmatchable speed with the intent of finding the man she had grown to love above anything else.

"Wait up Hinata!" Kiba screamed as he attempted to catch up to his long-time teammate and close friend. "We'll find him, just slow down a little. We are all exhausted from the war we just walked out of. We need to take a rest."

As if she didn't hear a thing he said Hinata continued to press forward with break-neck speed. Her eyes, illuminated by the Byakugan never once stopping for moment to relinquish their gaze from the land around them.

"Kiba is right Hinata," came a voice to her back right, twenty five meters away. "We are running on desperation and that is not the way we can help Naruto. If we cannot maintain our composure and our own health we can do little to assist our friend."

At Shino's words, Hinata slowed her pace slightly, just enough that she could glare at her teammates for a brief second before she said,"And what if he's dying right now?!We won't be able to help him if we stop now." Her declaration fell heavy on the somber hearts of her companions.

"I know what you're saying and I would like nothing more than to find him right now, but we are about out of chakra from moving so quickly, especially after everything that's happened. We need to rest Hinata, as much as I don't like it myself, it's the truth," Shino replied solemnly.

His words brought tears to the nearly heartbroken woman as she slowed her pace to virtually nothing more than a light walk before her feet gave out on her. 'He's right.' She thought.

After seeing Hinata fall to her knees on the cold, course rocks, her two teammates joined her quickly with an embrace of sorrow. They understood the way Hinata felt about Naruto, they had seen it for years. The three teammates were as close as actual family if not closer. Each of their individual pain was felt by the others on a primal level that no one had come close to mimicking.

Kiba guided Hinata to a seat on a nearby, rock close to a small stream. Shino gathered what he could of firewood to set up a make-shift camp for the night.

Stars grew bright as the night drew on. Nothing but sobs came to the lavender-eyed woman as her companions sought nothing but to comfort their teammate. Eventually, the two men felt their exhaustion overwhelm them and they passed out on the earth beside her, close to the warmth-filled flames.

Hinata sat there in thought, tears streaming down her pale cheeks in the starry night. Sleep, nor exhaustion could overwhelm her as the memories of her love fought both for dominance in her mind.

Flashback:

Walking along the dirt pathway on a side-street in the village of Konoha, Hinata had accidentally walked into a boy in a three man group. As a result, the young boy had dropped his ice-cream on the dirt path near his feet. After gaining his composure he recognized her as on of the Hyuga clan members. His only experience with one prior to had been with her arrogant cousin, Neji.

As he responded to the collision, he and his friends, guided the young girl to the nearby line of trees. With anger and malice he verbally attacked her. "You Hyugas are all the same. You think you're better than everyone else. I want you to APOLOGIZE!"

Hinata cowered at the bully's words and began to make a broken apology,"I..I..I'm...so..so..sorrr..sorry," she stuttered as her eyes filled with tears. The boy held her head towards the ground as if he thought she should bow before him.

Before the boy could continue the assault, another voice entered the fray. "Let her GO!"

The young delinquent turned in time to see the young boy in orange standing before hime with his fists drawn at his sides. The Blonde hair, whisker marks and indescribable blue eyes could not hide the anger the young boy held as an expression on his face. "I said, let her GO!" He screamed again.

Without a chance to respond to the new kid in front of him, the blonde boy sprang forward in a fit of fury and tackled the leader of the three-man troupe. The surprise attack had paralyzed the leader into inaction as the young man began pounding his fists into the other's chest and face.

Before he could do anything substantial, however, the two cronies of the bully pulled Naruto off of the boy and began to attack him without mercy.

As the assault on the blonde-haired boy continued, Hinata could do nothing but look on as her hero was beaten tremendously. Her tears fell for him as her guardian came into view upon hearing the scuffle. Thankfully, to Hinata''s relief, the young bullies fled at the sight of the adult coming her way.

Before Hinata could properly thank the unconscious boy who had saved her she was whisked away by Ko, her assigned protector.

"Lady Hinata, you are not to be around that boy. Let's go home." Ko said before she could muster up any sort of resistance.

End of Flashback

"Naruto-kun," Hinata said as exhaustion began to take hold, "I love you, please be alright..."

As she fell into the pit of exhaustion and her eyes closed against her will, Naruto's last thought replayed through his mind for the last time before he was overwhelmed, 'Hinata, I love you.'