Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. The pairing was my idea though.

REVISED! 3/28/12

Hello everyone. This is my first Naruto Fanfic.

I was a little disappointed at the lack of Konan X Naruto Fanfictions that were scattered here and there that were either pointless one shots or stories that never went anywhere( The author never went past Chapter one.) I am also VERY surprised that no one ever thought of the idea as I did.

Anyway, this is not a pairing just to make a pairing story. This story is actually almost a "This could've happened" story. They had all of the pieces there. No one did anything about it. Anyway, Just tell me what you think through constructive criticism. I will gladly accept any information about the Naruto universe.

Get ready, because I plan on making this a story of epic proportions.

One last thing, READ & REVIEW please.

Now on to the story…

Thoughts: 'Thoughts'

Speaking: "Speaking"

The Last One

Chapter 1: Survivor

"I think… I understand, Naruto," Nagato wheezed looking at the blonde haired ninja.

Nagato's body lay defenseless in front of the Konoha-nin, moving up and down from light breathing. Naruto looked at him sternly, quickly going through everything that went on in his mind. After hearing Nagato's explanation for his doings, Naruto knew what he was going through, but the Konoha-nin knew that it was the wrong way to go about the situation. Naruto Finally broke Nagato's outer shell.

"That is why I have decided on a few things." Nagato returned, "I will revive everyone I've killed recklessly. But before I do that, there is something you need to know."

Naruto gazed upon the nearly lifeless man, now curious as to what the Rain-nin had to say. Konan looked at her friend as well, keeping quiet so she would not interrupt him. Her face was solemn, but unsure of which emotion she needed.

"There are things about your family that you don't know. Things that were so dangerous that most of your relatives were killed in order to prevent chaos," Nagato croaked. He looked at the boy whose facial features softened from confusion.

"The truth is, your family held a very powerful bloodline trait Naruto. This trait was so deadly that during the Second Great Shinobi War, everyone made an attempt to kill them."

"Well, if they're all dead, then how does that relate to me?" The blonde-nin bluntly asked.

Nagato looked down at the boy, and then curled his lips upward. "Two of them survived the war Naruto."

The Leaf-nin widened his eyes upon that response. "Y-You mean, my father was a survivor!"

Nagato slightly chuckled which followed by a hacking cough. Once he settled down, he continued. "No Naruto. Your mother was the one who survived."

"My… Mother?" Naruto questioned.

Nagato received glances from both Naruto and Konan, but merely shrugged them off with an indifferent composure.

"Yes Naruto. Kushina Uzumaki was a survivor from the Shinobi War Clan Massacre. Her abilities were unawakened during the time of the massacre so no one could tell her descent. She then moved to Konoha to hide from the killings and turned herself into a Konoha ninja."

Naruto nodded at that, but then he realized something. "Wait. If two of them survived, then who is the other one?"

Nagato looked at him with his breathing still ragged from chakra consumption. Then he dropped the seriousness that etched across his face to let out the gentlest smile he could muster and replied.

"I am, Naruto."

Both Konan and the blonde haired Jinchuuriki face faulted at the Rinnegan Wielder.

"What? Nagato! Is this true?" Konan asked the red headed man, who willingly shook his head in compliance.

"Yes Konan, Naruto is my little cousin."

The Konoha-nin didn't know what to say about all of this new evidence. Everything he knew about himself and his heritage brought itself into a new light. All he did was drop to his knees and bang his hand on the floor. A few tears shed from his face followed by chants of "Why?" and "I can't believe it." obviously from the sudden realization that had taken place.

"Don't be sad Naruto. It was supposed to happen this way."

Naruto looked up at Nagato with teary eyes, who gave him a comforting smile. He then got back up and wiped his face with his sleeve feeling as if a boy shouldn't cry.

"Oh, so that's why you wanted him last. Is that why we never caught him as well?" Konan asked unsure of the situation. Nagato shook his head in agreement.

"That and because Naruto is just so powerful," A slight snicker escaped his lips, "Any information received about Naruto, I simply destroyed. I didn't want my cousin treated like some animal, like he had been treated for most of his life."

Naruto's eyes widened again at the statement, "You've-"

"That's right. I have been watching you ever since you became a ninja. I've watched you grow into what you are today and to say I'm impressed is an understatement. For a while, I thought you would've rebelled, but you kept your head held high. I guess… I guess that's something I envy about you."

The red head lowered his view from wandering eyes and softly continued, "That is why, before I go, I have something to give you. Approach me Naruto."

The Konoha-nin was wary, but did as was told by taking reluctant steps closer to the man. Naruto heard a soft click on the left and right arm braces that held Nagato's hands. His arms trembled weakly as he tried to release them from the arm cuffs. Finally, he extracted his hands only to have them flop to his sides. The blonde ninja climbed onto the mechanized, four legged vehicle getting within reach of the Rinnegan wielder.

Nagato smiled at the boy before him as he lifted his arms. He brought them up in great difficulty, placing his thumbs on both cheeks underneath the eyes of the Konoha-nin's face. He then placed both his index fingers and middle fingers on Naruto's temples, gaining full attention of the boy.

"This may hurt a little at first, but it will go away in a moment." Nagato assured him, only to get a frightened look from the Leaf Ninja.

The red head then closed his eyes and began chanting a mantra, producing a lavender chakra through his fingers that seeped into Naruto's skin. Not even a moment later, the blonde ninja began screaming in agony.

"Gyack!" Naruto choked out as the mantra continued. More chakra dispersed through his fingers as Nagato proceeded with the chant, which made small steam formations begin to appear around said fingers.

Naruto closed his eyes as a burning sensation swept through his entire body. He felt like he was in his own personal hell as Fire seemed to invisibly consume the boy making all of his nervous system react to the painful feeling. This lasted for another few seconds before, finally, Nagato released his grip, in turn making Naruto fall to the floor with steam protruding from the Akatsuki's former finger placements. The Konoha-nin made several attempts to vomit, but never succeeded as the feeling died slowly. Naruto fought to get back up by fumbling a few times on his feet, but managed to reach full height again. His eyes stung to the degree that he had to keep them shut for the time being.

A minute or so passed as Nagato started up again. "Alright, Naruto. You can open your eyes now."

The blonde haired boy opened them and blinked a few times before fully focusing again. Nagato looked at Naruto and gave him a slight smile in confidence.

"I have awakened your ability. The ability of the Rinnegan. It is not a full Rinnegan because you have not mastered it yet, but I don't see a problem with you increasing it to its fullest potential."

Naruto looked at his reflection on one of the metal braces and realized that two violet rings had replaced his irises entirely. The scene caused him to jump back in amazement, in turn making him stumble over his own feet. Nagato started talking once Naruto jumped up to his feet again.

"Yes, your eyes have turned to Rinnegan, but it's never permanently that way. You can turn it on or off whenever you use it, sort of like the Byakugan from the Hyuuga clan."

The blonde-nin shook his head as the Rinnegan faded into his normal ocean blue eyes. Konan was speechless. The boy who had fought against them for so long was, in actuality, Nagato's cousin, another holder of the Rinnegan.

'Nagato must have full trust in this boy. I have never seen him like this before.' Konan thought as she gazed upon the two.

A few minutes passed as Nagato finally spoke up.

"Naruto, I am sorry about what I have done. Hopefully you will use the Rinnegan better than I have."

The blonde haired ninja looked at Nagato, and then gave him a sad smile.

"By the time I have revived everyone, I will hopefully have moved on to a better place. My own peace."

"Wait! No! You can't die!" Konan shouted as she watched the man prepare himself.

He looked at her solemnly, as if he was contemplating something, then gave her a happy glare.

"It has to be done Konan. I was foolish. I killed thousands of people trying to find an answer. Now I am paying for my actions."

"No! Please! I need you! I'll have no one left if you're gone!" She returned.

"Naruto?" Nagato called to him completely ignoring his friend.

The blonde Jinchuuriki met the operators gaze.

"Take care of Konan for me."

Naruto nodded his head and watched as the Rinnegan wielder made a few hand signs to pour the rest of his chakra into the move.

It took well over a minute before they witnessed Nagato's body go limp and all signs of life fade. Naruto sighed as he recalled everything that occurred previously. His very last family member died before his very eyes. A family member he never even knew he had. It brought on a feeling of remorse, which caused him to stifle tears by blinking a few times.

Konan lay silent as she took in the information as well. Her best friend of many years revealed evidence that she never knew or didn't bother to put the pieces together. How could she have missed it? How could Nagato not tell her something of this importance? They were friends right?

'I do remember something that happened when we received data regarding the nine tails.' She looked at the blonde ninja falling into a not so distant memory.

===Flashback===

Pain held himself primarily in the desk room of his house in Amegakure, assorting papers and scrolls alike on whereabouts of Jinchuuriki and other information such as conditions of other villages and teammates of the Akatsuki. His office was rather dark, only lit up by a small lamp to his left. Bookshelves littered his office with hundreds of books old and new and he had one massive wall sized window looking out into the entire village. He came across the two-tailed Jinchuuriki report and began glancing through the scroll looking for keywords containing any clues to her whereabouts.

A knock rapped on his door followed by a grunt from Pain signaling entrance to his office.

"Uhm… Pain-Taichou?" Konan asked the orange haired Akatsuki.

"Speak your matters." He replied busy looking over the scroll.

"I have information regarding the nine tails Jinchuuriki." She returned, pulling a scroll from a pouch underneath her cloak and placing it on his desk.

Pain widened his eyes placing them on the scroll.

"The… Nine-Tails?"

He reached his hand laying it upon the wrapped paper. Then, with a swift motion, he opened the scroll. This was the first information he received of the Nine-Tail fox, so he wanted to read it as quickly as possible. Information came in the following:

REPORT

Jinchuuriki: Uzumaki Naruto

Age: 12 yrs old

Demon: Kitsune

# Of Tails: Total of nine

Village of Origin: Konohagakure

Last Known Location: Konohagakure

"What?" 'No, it can't be.' He looked over it, and then over it a second time, a third time, even a forth time until it finally sank in.

"Uzumaki…" The name dripped from his tongue in astonishment. He hadn't heard that name in nearly thirteen years and to say he was shocked was a poor choice of words. He was speechless.

'Another Uzumaki is still alive? Another Uzumaki?' He mused to himself.

He had received word of Kushina's death, but never knew she bore a son, Much less a son that now possessed the Jinchuuriki.

"Is something wrong?" Konan, confused in the situation, asked her long time friend, only to receive a sharp glare from Pain.

"Send for Itachi Immediately!"

Konan felt paralyzed from the sudden outburst for a second only to shrug it off and disappear into paper. She appeared with Itachi moments later who gave Pain a silent stare.

"Itachi, there is a matter that has to be handled with utmost importance."

The Uchiha still seemed unphased while quietly eyeing the head Akatsuki. "Continue."

"There is a boy from Konohagakure that possesses the Kyuubi. I'm sure you have knowledge about the layout of Konoha."

Itachi lightly nodded.

"That's why I need you to keep a full eye on this boy. Any new information you receive comes directly to me. I don't want anything happening to him. I want to be the one to face him. I'm sure you have an understanding as to why I'm doing this?"

The Uchiha raised a slight eyebrow from the barely noticeable signals the Akatsuki leader was gesturing. Konan didn't notice them, but Itachi very well did. He knew exactly what Pain was talking about as if it were a mutual feeling that no one else could understand.

"Understood, Pain-Taichou." And with that, the Uchiha disappeared by Shunshin.

The orange haired Akatsuki sat back down at his desk, unaware that he got up from his seat to relay the message. Konan looked at her friend unsure of what was going on in his mind, but she knew that deep down something was troubling him. They've known each other for a long time, so it's not as if anything Pain does would go unnoticed by her. Feeling she needs to find the underlying cause of the situation, Konan decides to ask him.

"Pain?" She asked him with uncertainty in her voice.

"What is it Konan?" The Akatsuki head returned.

She walked a little closer to him and held her weight on her palm to his desk. "Is there a problem with the Nine-Tails? You seem hesitant."

He stopped immediately what he was doing, which startled her slightly.

"Everything's fine Konan. No need to worry. He's just the strongest one is all." He gave her an assured smile, but she wasn't buying it.

"You think you can hide it, but I know there's s-"

"EVERYTHING'S FINE KONAN!" He shouted with more force than he wanted, which made the paper angel wince from the sudden noise.

"Well, if you ever need anyone to talk to, I am here Nagato." She told the man while giving him a sad look.

"I know Konan, I know." Pain replied breathlessly.

He got up, walked over to the wall-sized window, and began looking out into the rain as if something was there. It seemed like he wanted to talk about it, but he just didn't have the heart to. Konan could feel his sadness radiating from him. She knew something was hurting inside of Pain. A new anguish that made him second-guess a couple of things. Maybe it was something she could help with. They have been friends since they were kids, so there shouldn't be anything that they couldn't tell each other. However, there was something that he didn't want to reveal to his friend, which left her slightly confused. Finally, she concluded that nothing else said could change his mind about it so she asked one final question.

"Need me for anything else, Pain-Taichou?" She asked reluctantly.

"You're dismissed." He called.

"Yes sir." The purple haired Akatsuki responded walking out of the door. She turned her head one last time to look at Pain, who was still gazing our into the rain filled city lost in thought. She then lowered her head slightly and softly closed the door.

===End Flashback===

After she remembered that, she felt like a total idiot. All of that time she had to figure it out and she fell completely oblivious to it. Then her gaze turned back to Nagato. Her friend from umpteen years was dead. Her last friend from the trio, which now consisted of one, was dead. The realization finally hit her. Then for the first time since the war, she began to cry.

She slumped to her knees and pushed her hands to the floor, a tear or two rolled from her cheeks as she continued to lightly sob. She didn't know what to do anymore. Her friend Nagato was head of the organization ever since Yahiko died. She could continue as leader, but there was no reason to continue a society that had no purpose anymore, since the previous owner defected himself before he passed on. She sobbed even more each time she thought about his death.

Naruto watched her sulk in her own misery and started to feel sorry for the lowly Rain-nin. He didn't know what to do for Konan since she was once the enemy, but something told him that deep down inside, she too was human just like him. He walked over to her feeling the need to console her because he has been there before and he knows how it feels. Then she began to shout hysterically.

"KEEP AWAY FROM ME!" She began worming her way to get farther from him.

"Konan, I understand how you feel. How-"

"SHUT UP! You understand NOTHING!" That last word had so much disgust in each syllable that it spat from her mouth like acid. Naruto tried to move closer but she still wormed even farther until she reached a wall continuing to sob with her face turned in an angle that blocked Naruto's view to see her cry.

"STAY AWAY!" Konan yelled making Naruto wince. He knew she really didn't want him to keep away from her, but she really wasn't the type he would just up and hug either. He didn't know her too well, but Nagato did tell him to take care of her, so he went for second best.

"You think I didn't cry when Jiraiya sensei died? I don't think that pain will every go away. Jiraiya sensei was my godfather!"

He began to feel enraged the more he thought about it. It was something he wanted to get off his chest for a very long time. He could not believe he was actually saying it, but there he was on autopilot, speaking whatever his heart felt now.

"He taught me almost everything! I wouldn't be alive right now if it wasn't for him!"

She still sobbed on the wall not saying a word, which made Naruto vent even more. He slapped his hands on his face from the frustration then screamed.

"I JUST KILLED MY COUSIN! MY LAST FAMILY MEMBER I WILL EVER KNOW IS DEAD! I'M ALONE JUST AS MUCH AS YOU ARE DAMN IT!" He then kicked a stone across the cave making it ricochet from the wall until it landed several yards away.

After that response, Konan looked up at him. Naruto was actually crying again, but his face wasn't sad. No, he had an enraged air about him now, something she had never seen before, which frightened her a bit.

"Try living with no family your whole life and knowing everybody hates your guts. It'll give you a good kick in the teeth."

That scenario seemed familiar to her. Then she remembered Nagato and his life. The sudden revelation brought Konan wide eyed again. Nagato and Naruto weren't too much different. Nagato lost his parents in the war when he was young. The Rinnegan he had made people shun him for what he was. Then she reviewed Naruto. From what she knew, His parents died when he was a baby and everybody shunned him for the Kyuubi sealed away inside of his body. Her mouth then dropped open upon that fact.

"You're right."

"Huh?" Naruto responded. He didn't think it would stick to her this quickly, so it threw him for a loop.

"You are absolutely right, Naruto Uzumaki." She got up from her position using the cave wall to prop herself up from the floor. She wasn't crying, but the tearstains and running mascara proved she did at one point. "There are people who have suffered far worse than I have. I shouldn't embarrass myself with such trivial things." She then wiped her face with her palms to remove the emotional stains that covered her cheeks.

Naruto's demeanor changed toward her after that. Noticing the way she was now, it made him finally realize that war does things to people. It was almost as if she was a scared child in an older body. He then sauntered himself over to the Rain-nin and gently placed his left hand on her shoulder.

"Look Konan, I know it hurts, but there is no reason to beat yourself up about it. The only thing you can do now is keep moving forward, you know?"

She dared a look into his eyes and saw a fire swelling deep within those pools of ocean blue. The same fire someone she once loved had at one point and just for a split second, she thought it was this person. An unnoticed smile grew on her facial features. Her smile was not enough to show appreciation for Naruto's attempt to console her, but just enough to show she concluded in her mind about something.

"Well…" Naruto started scratching his cheek with his index finger, breaking eye contact by embarrassment. "I could… Ask if you could… mmn, I don't know… Join Konoha or something."

That statement broke her ruminations. The sheer thought of her joining the Leaf seemed preposterous. She was an S-Rank criminal who was in the most feared organization of the land. Her smile faded as she shook her head in rejection.

"As sweet as the offer sounds, I don't think I can." She lowered her head and moved a few feet from Naruto.

"But Konan, I could tell them that you changed your mind about your ways or you helped me w-"

"No, Naruto, I just can't." She interrupted staring him in the eyes. "If I tried to leave to your village they would only ask for my execution."

Naruto stared at her in disbelief. She seemed like she wanted to go. He could see the sadness in her eyes even though it wasn't apparent at the moment. Nevertheless, even though there was sadness, her lips seemed to say something else to reject the boy.

"But,"

"No buts." Konan retorted disrupting his sentence again. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have matters to attend to."

She turned to leave the cave, only to receive an angry look from the blonde-nin.

"But I'm supposed to protect you!" Naruto burst clenching his fists.

Konan stopped dead in her tracks. A gasp entered her lungs as once again, another thing about this boy reminded her of Yahiko. The orange haired ninja had said that to Konan one last time before he died. The girl was very distraught about the death of her teammate, since she did have a crush on him after all. But after Nagato replaced him as Akatsuki leader, neither one of them spoke about it again. The purple haired Nin then looked at Naruto, who flustered looking for an answer.

"Not like that! I meant, Nagato told me to protect you so…" His sentence cut itself short as she walked over and gently wrapped her arms around him. It wasn't an affectionate hug. It wasn't even a friendly hug. It was just a simple hug of compassion. Just as soon as he got used to the feeling, she quickly pulled back making sure to signal to him that it was not a pass. While her arms came from around his chest, she held out something to him.

"Flowers?" The blonde Nin asked.

Konan was holding a bouquet of origami flowers. Naruto had never seen anything like them before so he was a little curious.

"It's a sign of friendship and trust." Konan told the boy before he grabbed them. He eyed them studiously alternating between her and the flowers. "I can't go with you Naruto; I have another village to look after." She continued as the ex-Akatsuki began to take her leave.

Naruto fumbled quickly trying to think of what to say. "W-well, will I ever see you again?"

She turned her head to eye him. A smile came over her features as she did a Shunshin by paper from her spot leaving an anxious and confused Naruto.

Well Dang! That sums up Chapter 1 to a tee. It was supposed to be longer because I have more written on regular pieces of paper. But if I added that to this chapter, I would have an even bigger first chapter that would have been double the size of this file. Then I thought, "Well since the other half can be a chapter all to its own, I might as well make it a separate chapter altogether." Therefore, that's what I did.

This pairing was my idea originally. I thought it would be sweet to see Konan in a new light. As I said before, there weren't any Konan X Naruto stories on FanFiction,.net worth mentioning. I think that after looking through a BUNCH of Naruto fics, I only saw three. THREE! This was after going through countless NaruSaku, NaruHina, and NaruIno pairings. I don't have anything against those pairings because I enjoy seeing the many different ways the other authors try to put them together. But there is just no way that people are so decisive about those three couples to leave out any of the better ones that could go farther than those. Hopefully, this Fanfic will give the KonanXNaruto fandom justice that was deserved OH so long ago. Like I said previously, I would appreciate constructive criticism for my story. Flamers will be rightfully ignored.

Review if you want. I think the more Reviews I get, the more appreciated my story is. I'm going to finish the story even if you review or not, but it's nice to see people make the effort to write a few nice words.