All Alone

Whew! What a ride it has been! This semester at my college was extremely busy. If I wasn't working on homework, I was busy doing some other kind of work. I had no intention of taking such a long break away from the story, but here I am! Hopefully this is the next chapter you have been waiting for. As always, please let me know if there is anything that could improve my writing abilities or the story. Enjoy chapter 6!

Chapter 6

"Naruto, what on earth are you?"

Temari could only stare at the hellish demon Naruto had become. The being before her bore no resemblance to the gentle ninja she knew. Is that really him? The ninja she had desperately wanted to talk to, now seemed nonexistent. She wanted to look away, to turn her head from the gruesome creature; but her body wouldn't allow it. What on earth has he been through? Temari's heart began to ache. Then she remembered what he said after Gaara died: "It hurts doesn't it? The feeling of loneliness. It's like you are bearing the weight of the world on your shoulders. You try to cry out for help, but no one is there to help because you are alone. That pain makes you want to die so you can be free from the burden you are carrying." Temari felt something wet on her face. She touched her cheek, only to realize tears were streaming down. Oh Naruto! Is this why you said that? Was it really you that never had anyone all along?

As Temari stood watching, green chakra started flowing around the demon fox. It cried out, seemingly in pain. Reaching for its chest, the demon pulled out a necklace and crushed it; the green chakra dissappeared, and it let out a demonic roar. For a second, the fox eyed its opponent. Suddenly, the demon vanished and Pain was sent flying. What just happened? It was so quick I couldn't see!

The demon began gathering bloody particles into a ball around its mouth. Just before it seemed finished, a massive boulder slammed down on top of it, creating the biggest explosion Temari had ever seen.

"NARUTO!" It was all Temari could do to not run out into the fray. Please don't be dead! As she thought this, the boulder started crumbling apart. The demon, seemingly unscathed, looked as if it would tear Pain apart. Thank God he's all right!

The two enemies eyed each other. Without warning, Pain took off in a direction away from the village. The demon fox sprinted off after him. Temari finally felt the air begin to lighten. Able to move again, Temari turned around and looked at Sakura.

Sakura's face was white as a sheet, and she was breathing extremely heavily. Determined to find out exactly what she had just seen, Temari posed a question: "What just happened to Naruto?"

"Because… I love you!"

Naruto had never heard these words before. It pricked him in his heart. How he had always longed for someone to care for him, to acknowledge him. Just to hear someone say those words and mean it. Time seemed to stop for Naruto altogether. He couldn't quite describe how he felt.

Before he could say a word, Pain raised his arm and sent Hinata flying into the air. To Naruto, she seemed to slowly float into the sky. She levitated for what seemed like an eternity. Then, Pain thrust his arm downwards. Naruto could only watch in horror as Hinata's body impacted the earth hard enough to create a crater. Mouth agape, Naruto watched as Pain appeared at Hinata's side. A black rod akin to those pinning Naruto to the ground protruded out of Pain's cloak. Pain reared back. Naruto's eyes widened. SHUK!

Naruto's mind went blank. He no longer cared about anything. He gave himself fully over to the hatred welling up within him.

"What just happened to Naruto?" Temari asked again. An extremely disturbed Sakura finally looked up.

"N..Nine-Tails…," Sakura managed to mumble.

"Nine-Tails? What do you mean?"

Gaining her composure, Sakura began telling Temari about the demon within Naruto. "Naruto has the Nine-Tailed Fox sealed within him. Whenever he lets his anger consume him, he loses control of the tailed beast."

Immediately, an image of Gaara flashed through her mind. Now it all makes sense! she thought to herself. How could I have been so stupid as to not realize what was going on? Temari finally understood why Naruto cared so much about Gaara. They are the same!

She began imagining just how Naruto had been treated during his whole life. How is he such a strong and happy person? From her experience with Gaara, Temari knew that Naruto had every right to hate the villagers; and yet, he was fighting to save them. Why would he go to such lengths? Temari also didn't know what kind of relationship Naruto had with Hinata. All she knew was Hinata's death was the catalyst for the beast that is now Naruto.

While Temari was deep in thought, a giant meteor began forming in the sky a few miles outside of the village.

Naruto came to his senses. Opening his eyes, he surveyed his surroundings. Everything was dark except for a tall golden gate. Red chakra was seeping out between the bars of the gate. He could hear deep breathing from the other side.

Naruto began remembering what had happened. Sinking to his knees, he began sobbing. A low, rumbling voice resounded from the other side of the gate, "You are weak! If you give yourself to me, I will make it all go away. I will kill the one that did this to you."

Naruto looked up and saw a devilish fox eyeing him from the gate. Consumed by hopelessness, Naruto began approaching the gate. The front of his jacket ripped open, revealing the seal that held the Nine-Tails captive. As Naruto trudged ever closer, the seal began oozing away. The closer he got, the more the seal leaked. He no longer cared. His life. His dreams. His beliefs. All were in vain. His vision began to blur. His movements became groggy. Soon it will be over…..

He was now standing directly in front of the gate. "Now," the voice began, "all you have to do is remove the seal on this gate, and I will take care of all your problems." Water began to lift Naruto up to the seal. The closer he got, the more he felt an increasing weight in his chest. The sadness wouldn't go away.

He was now eye level with the seal. Slowly, he stretched forth his hand. He curled his fingers around the top of the seal. Just as he began to pull the seal off the gate, something grabbed his arm and drug him down to the ground. Shocked, Naruto looked up at his assailant. He couldn't believe his eyes. The man standing in front of him bore the same likeness as the face of the fourth hokage that was carved into the mountain in Konoha.

"Wh…Who are you?"

"What is that?" Temari looked to where Sakura was pointing. A massive meteor was floating in the sky. Is this the power of Pain? Temari didn't know what to do. She wanted to help Naruto, but she knew she would only get in the way and cause more grief for him. I must be able to do something! Naruto was there for her in her time of need. And yet, when he needs help the most, she is powerless to help. Why am I always like this? I am always too late and useless when people need me the most!

"Sakura, isn't there anything we can do?" Being an outsider, Temari figured someone from Konoha would have some idea of what could be done.

"All we can do now is trust in Naruto to defeat Pain."

All we can do….. "There has to be something, anything!" Temari was almost shouting when she spoke. Sakura was shocked at Temari's reaction. Why should Temari even care? She wasn't from the village.

"If you really want to help Naruto, the best thing would be to stay out of his way. He would want us to treat the wounded here in Konoha before anything else." Sakura could tell by the look in Temari's eyes that she hadn't given up the thought of chasing after Naruto. "I know it looks bad, but I believe Naruto will pull it off. He already defeated the other five pains, so I know he can beat the last one."

Still unsure of what to do, Temari relented and decided to help treat the wounded of Konoha. Sakura asked Katsuyu to relay a message to everyone to help search for survivors of the battle. She also created a rendezvous point for every able-bodied medic ninja to meet at. Everyone was to bring any wounded to the same place.

The first person Temari went to check on was Hinata. She flew down to the girl to see if there was any chance she was alive. When she arrived, she knew immediately that Hinata was not among the living. Her corpse was crushed into the earth. Body parts were sticking out in sickening places and angles, and a single hole had been gouged straight through her heart.

Oh Hinata… I don't know what you meant to Naruto, but I'll do my best to see that you are properly taken care of.

Carefully, Temari extracted Hinata from the hole in the ground. She gingerly laid the girl across her fan and took a smaller fan out of her pouch. With it, she made an air current that carried her and Hinata into the air. The wind took them both back to the medical ninjas. When Sakura saw Hinata, a look of horror flashed across her face before quickly reverting back to medical ninja mode.

"Thank you for taking care of Hinata, Temari. I will make sure she is given proper treatment." Then Sakura ordered some medical ninjas to carry Hinata away. Temari watched as they carried her off. Pushing any feelings of sadness away, Temari continued searching for the injured.

Using her fan, Temari scouted from the sky. If she found someone, she would glide down to investigate. If they were dead, she would take them to a safe place to be buried. If they were alive, she would take them to the temporary medical ninja camp.

In between delivering patients to the medical ninjas, many of the injured people voiced their concern of Naruto. Everyone wanted to know if he was okay, or if he had defeated Pain yet. It seemed as if every villager truly seemed to care about his well-being.

What is going on? Why do these people care and respect Naruto so much? All the sand villagers hated Gaara simply because he was a Jinchuuriki, but these villagers seem to not even care that he is a tailed-beast vessel.

Temari was extremely confused. She didn't know why they cared so much about Naruto. It made her want to talk to him even more.

After a while, Temari had scoured the entire village by air. If anyone was left, they were crushed to death by Pain's jutsu. Only sensory type ninjas would find them. She swung her fan around and headed back towards the rendezvous point. On her way there, she surveyed the landscape below her. Crushed buildings, trees, and chunks of earth were piled up against the walls of Konoha. The dust from the explosion had finally dissipated, and the crater in the center of the village was fully visible. Debris was scattered across the village. The great stone faces of the past hokages seemed to weep as the looked at their once thriving village. Temari thought back to a year ago when she had left the village. Will I ever see the beautiful trees and plants again or take a relaxing bath in the hot springs? The thought of what the village used to be and the shell it had become saddened her.

She looked back towards the giant meteor that was floating in the sky and noticed that it was falling apart. I hope Naruto is alright.

Upon arriving at the camp, Temari noticed several people running around. Some were gathering supplies and help, while others carried patients to and fro. Everything was operating like a well-oiled machine. So that she didn't get in the way, Temari stuck to the outskirts of the camp and helped whenever she could.

Her mind was filled with all kinds of thoughts and emotions. Worst of all, she kept remembering Naruto's words: "I'm sorry for everything you have had to go through. As long as I'm here, you don't have to be alone." No matter what she did, they continued flowing through her mind, haunting her. Visions of Naruto suffering alone swept through her mind. She couldn't help but feel that deep inside, Naruto was harboring all sorts of pain and grief.

She wanted to be there for him when he returned. If nothing else, at least he won't have to suffer alone; I will make sure of that.

Without warning, green lights started pouring into the village. Each light entered into one of the dead corpses being prepared for burial.

What is going on?! The lights continued to rain down on the village for another thirty seconds, before vanishing just as quickly as they came.

Everyone rushed to the bodies to see what had happened. Suddenly, half of the people presumed to be dead began to move. Cheers rang out. "HE DID IT! NARUTO BEAT PAIN!" As the once dead began to reunite with loved ones, Temari was bewildered. None had ever heard of the dead coming back to life, let alone thousands at the same time. Hinata!

Temari sprinted to the main part of the camp that Sakura was in control of. Finding Sakura, she frantically asked, "Where is Hinata?! Is she okay?"

Sakura looked confused. She pointed to the far side of the camp, "Over there, but why do you need to know?"

"After those green lights entered the village, a bunch of the dead came back to life!"

Amazed, Sakura asked, "Are you sure?"

"Yes! Go check it out for yourself!" With that, Temari left Sakura behind and sprinted in the direction of Hinata. Please be alive!

As she neared where Hinata lay, a feeling of dread overcame her. The closer she got, she knew something was wrong. No one was excited or running about. Arriving at the tent Hinata was being taken care of, Temari's fears were confirmed. There Hinata lay, as still as a statue. Her lifeless corpse seemed like it could jump up at any time, but it never would. The medical team had fixed Hinata's body so that it would look normal. However, even though the dead were coming back to life, Hinata wasn't. Later, Temari would discover that not everyone who died came back to life.

Tears began to form in her eyes. Why am I crying? I barely even knew her. Temari slowly walked away from the tent and began to make her way back to the cheering crowd. On her way, she ran into Sakura.

"How is…" Sakura stopped short of her question. One look at Temari and she knew that Hinata was still among the dead. "Oh…." Sakura didn't know what to say, so she kept heading towards Hinata's tent.

As Sakura left, sadness began gripping Temari's heart. All she wanted was to meet with Naruto and be with him.

I hope Naruto is okay…

"This is all I can do to fix the evil I have wrought upon your village." Nagato clasped his hands together. His hair began to whiten; his body aged seemed to age thirty years.

"What's going on?" Naruto demanded.

"The Rinne Rebirth Jutsu," answered Konan. "It is a jutsu that revives the dead in exchange for the user's life."

She looked extremely sad to Naruto. "Why would you do this?" he questioned.

"Naruto," began Nagato, "you made me realize that I have been a fool. I am leaving the future in your hands. With my last breaths of life, I will try to right my wrongs. I won't be able to revive everyone, but at least I will have saved most of them."

Stunned, Naruto stared at Nagato. "Thank you. It means more to me than you can imagine."

Nagato smiled and looked up towards the heavens. "I wonder if Master Jiraiya is smiling on me right now."

Nagato's hands lowered to his side, and his head bowed forward. He was no more.

"Amen."

Konan placed paper flowers on the grave before her. "Naruto, I am on your side now. If the Leaf or you should ever need me, do not hesitate to call."

"Are you sure this is okay?" asked Naruto.

"I am positive. Nagato left the future in your hands. I fully trust in Nagato. Please bring honor to him and fulfill your promise of world peace."

"Don't worry. I will make it happen. I'm not sure how yet, but I know that I can make it happen."

Konan smiled. "Thank you, Naruto." She placed a beautiful bouquet of flowers into Naruto's arms. "Thank you for helping Nagato to remember his true self."

After speaking those words, Konan walked off into the woods. Naruto watched her until she was out of sight. Then he placed his flowers on Nagato's grave and headed back towards the village.

Naruto was exhausted. He had been through so much. His steps became slowed, and he wavered from side to side. Just as he was starting to fall forward, someone appeared and caught him. Naruto looked up at his catcher and instantly recognized him. "Kakashi Sensei, I did it." Barely finishing his sentence, Naruto collapsed into Kakashi's arms and fell asleep.

"Get some rest Naruto. You've earned it."

I hope you all enjoyed chapter 6. I tried to employ a different style by inserting different segments of Naruto's point of view. I didn't go into the fight in full detail though. If someone hasn't seen the fight between Naruto and Pain, then a quick search will show you what you need to know. I left in the important parts that will impact the story. I hope this new chapter was everything that you have been waiting for. Please let me know if you enjoyed it. Also, if you have any sort of critiques, I would love to hear them. Anything that can improve my writing skills is much appreciated. Until next time!