Beyond The Stars (Naruto Fanfiction)

Chapter 60~ Doubt

I sat contently on the edge of a bridge. My arms wrapped around the bridge so I could assure myself I wouldn't fall into the water below.

"You know princess, you don't have to sit so close to the edge." Karliah spoke a few feet away from me. Her body flushes with the ground as she looked at me. I took in a deep breath, taking in the scents of air. Sitting silently as more rain fell onto my figure. "This just feels right."

"Understandable." She nodded resting her head on the damp floor. We sat in silence for a little longer, me thinking if everything Sarutobi has done for me, and all I could've done for him. But in the end, I didn't. I let out a long sigh that I seemed to have been holding onto. "You know every time you sigh it lets a little bit of happiness get out?"

"Oh, hey Nara." I turned to see the intelligent shinobi clad in his black apparel. "I guess that makes sense, but I don't believe in stuff like that."

"Neither do I, it's just some crap my mother tells me." He rolled his eyes, he lowered himself to the ground so he could sit next to me. I nodded, saying that it was okay as he gave me a look. "Is there a reason that you're clinging to the bridge?"

"Absolutely none," I responded quickly, only to hear Karliah chuckle from my sad attempt of a lie. Nara looked me over and quirked a brow. "Whatever you say Kritanta."

We sat there for a few moments, a comfortable silence washing over us. The rain still coming down as I looked out into the stream below us. "You're afraid of water?"

"I-"

"No, I was wrong, you're afraid of bodies of water." Nara corrected himself as he looked from the water back to me. "So what? My phobias are mine to bear. No matter how childish they may be."

"I don't think it's childish at all." Nara replied him leaning up against a bridge post so he could face me. I turned my head ever so slightly to the side, trying to conceal my curiosity. "It's not wrong to have fears. Bu-"

"That seems to be the only thing people tell me recently. It's not wrong to cry, it's not wrong to feel things. It proves I'm human or some shit, but it still feels foreign to me. I know it's not wrong, but it isn't that it's wrong who proving I'm human. I still do all these things I just tend to handle things differently than others. My emotions look different to people who don't know me. For years I had to hide all the things I felt. No matter how sad, angry, or even happy I felt I couldn't let it show-"

"Princess, watch what-"

"That damn Orchimaru took everything away from me, And he still is! I lost my childhood to him, for a long time my rational sense. For fucks sake I even lost my ability to convey emotions to that damn snake!" I shouted, luckily for me the village was rather dead after the ceremony and I could see that Karliah had a look of shock on her face. "Did you say Orochimaru?"

"Oh shit." A small look of panic crossed over my features as I realized the amount of information I had just given out. I pushed myself away from the edge and scrambled to me feet. "What did I just do? Naruto doesn't even know this much, what have I don-"

"Kritanta will you stop!" He called out as my back hit the other side of the bridge. "I'm not judging you based on your past, to be honest, I don't really care about your past. You're a comrade and an ally, one I consider to be quite powerful. I'm not mad, we all have our secrets and I get where you're coming from. But if you would've let me finished earlier you could of heard what I had to say. Your fears don't define you, and lucky for you yours can be overcome. You just have to take the initiative and be determined to help yourself. Not to be human, or what's right or wrong. You have to be determined to be yourself and that's all that matters."

"You know, when I first met you and I asked you if you worked for him I owe you an apology. And thanks for what you did during the forest of death" I began to say but once again was cut off my Nara. "None required, you were new to the village and had yet to meet everyone and I expected you to trust me. It was my fault I read the situation wrong. Don't sweat it, troublesome women."

"Thank you, Nara, I will take what you said into consideration," I spoke softly, my head deep in thought with the ideas he proposed. "Just because I know snippets of your past doesn't make you any less of a valuable comrade. If anything it makes my respect for you grow, even more so after hearing what you did for Lord Hokage. Oh, I have to go. What a drag. Moms gonna kill be for being late for dinner. See you around Kritanta! Oh and quit calling me Nara the names Shikamaru!"

As soon as he was out of sight Karliah came to my side. "Remember what I said about him having no will, and was lazy?"

"Yes indeed I do princess, not that long ago in fact. Has your opinion changed?" I thought about the question for a short while before shaking my head. "No, when I first met him I didn't want to admit how much will and determination he really had. It was new to me and I was frustrated that I wasn't able to have such a complex emotion system."

"You wanna know something princess?" Karliah asked shaking herself of some water. I quirked a brow in her direction and waited for a response. "I think now you are, and what the kid said about being yourself. I think you should try to do that."

"Yeah maybe."