All Alone – Chapter 8
Wow! Time has gotten away from me again. I was fortunate enough to have an essential job, so I have been working hard ever since it broke out. I also recently have moved into a new house. So much has happened since the last chapter I posted. Hopefully I can do this story justice.
"T..T..Temari?"
Naruto was stunned. Why on earth is Temari here? The sand village is a three days journey away! And yet, here she was. To say that Naruto didn't fully understand his emotions would be an understatement.
"What are you doing here?" Naruto could barely get the words out. The whirlwind of chakra made it almost impossible to speak.
Temari struggled to breathe with the mass of red chakra all around her. She used all of her strength to look up at Naruto. What she saw was a broken man. One that, despite earlier looking so joyful, had almost given up all hope. It pained her to see him this way. Tears welled up in her eyes. "I wanted to make sure you were okay."
Naruto looked at her in awe. He remembered helping her after Gaara's death, but never thought anything else of it. I don't understand! Why would she go out of her way to help me? Another tail sprouted. His features began to look more foxlike, and his chakra became even more ominous.
Naruto's chakra was so intense, Temari was starting to lose consciousness. Each wave burned her as it lapped against her skin. The air was so heavy, it was suffocating her. With the last remaining energy she could muster, she spoke, "As long as I'm here, you don't have to be alone…" Then, she fainted.
Naruto froze. The chakra stopped in its tracks, then slowly dissipated. He slowly started coming back to his senses. The pain and grief were still there, but now the anger had been lifted. He looked at his surroundings. A massive area had been demolished by his chakra. Temari walked through all of that! He was afraid to look down. What if I killed her in my rage? Slowly he looked down at the now limp girl in his arms. Her entire body was covered in burn marks from his chakra. Her clothes were torn to tatters, and some of her hair had been burnt. He checked her pulse. It was still beating. Carefully he set her down. I probably shouldn't move her for now. Naruto began making a temporary shelter to protect Temari from the elements. He finished just as the sun was beginning to set.
All night Naruto stayed on lookout. He had to make sure Temari was safe. He had finally calmed down and was able to fully process everything that had happened. It was a quiet night, leaving Naruto uninterrupted with his thoughts. The village, Hinata, meeting his father, defeating Pain, finally achieving one of his lifelong goals, and now this. He turned and looked at Temari.
He felt nothing but pain and self-hatred at himself for hurting her. If only he could control his rage better. Why was she even near Konoha anyway? And why did she put herself in harm's way just to try and save me from myself? He knew he had saved her from taking her own life, but he couldn't quite process what that truly meant to her. Unsure of what to think, he stepped outside of the lean-to.
It was a beautiful evening. The moon was out and the sky was blanketed with stars. A cool breeze swept through the forest. Naruto looked upwards, contemplating his life.
"I'm sorry Dad," he spoke aloud. "Even though I said I would never let the fox take me over again, I almost did again in the same day."
He started walking around the area of destruction. "I'm sorry Hinata. You said you loved me, and yet I couldn't even save you. In all honesty, I don't really know how to feel about what you said. I knew you as a fellow shinobi, but that's about it. No one has ever taken the time to say they love me before. I am sure I could have loved you the way you loved me if things had gone differently. Now I guess I'll never know."
Naruto felt better now. It was as if a heavy weight had been lifted from his chest just from speaking his thoughts. He headed back inside the shelter.
As Naruto entered the lean-to, he looked at Temari. Time seemed to stop. For the second time in his life, he truly believed he was looking at a real-life angel. Even with the burn marks and burnt hair, Temari seemed to glow with an almost divine aura. For a minute, Naruto forgot everything that had happened that day.
His mind became filled with all sorts of emotions he hadn't felt before. What is this sensation in my chest? Too much had happened in one day for him to properly digest what he was feeling, so he just sat down opposite Temari and stayed on lookout in case of trouble. The rest of the night, his mind was occupied dissecting all of the emotions he had felt that day and what they could mean.
Eventually, the sun started to rise. Naruto's eyes began to get heavy. Just as he was about to give in to sleep, he heard a faint whisper. "Na...ru...to..."
Alright! That's the new chapter folks! Hopefully it was interesting. I wanted it to focus more on Naruto in order to show his thoughts. I'm unsure as to whether or not I did a good job in describing how he feels, but I think the point will still get across. It was a tad short, but I needed it to be this way to set up the next section. So until then, I hope you all have enjoyed the story thus far!