"A dog is the only thing on Earth that loves you more than he loves himself."

Josh Billings

Hiding Lies

Did you ever fear something so much, that the thought of taking another step forward made you want to die rather than face what would come next? But yet, deep down you realize that there is no other choice for you. You must move on. You must take that next step, for if you were to ignore what you were facing it would be worse than death. Secrets are made to be revealed. But who should be the one to reveal them? Who should take that leap and risk everything to let the truth be known? Are those truths really worth the pain and suffering they would cause?

That is why she was here, standing on top of the head of her former master that had been carved into this mountain so long ago. Sitting down, stretching her legs out she contemplated. Some people say the Hokage monument is symbol of hope for the future, a place to remind us of what we've had to go through to get where we are now. But where are we really? How many people in this village understood what kind of place this really is? The very thought of the village now is enough to turn her stomach. This village is no better than the people they claim to be criminals are. How many are really aware what lay in the hearts of our leaders? The lust for power rivaling that of Akatsuki and Orochimaru. Snickering at that thought, at least those two organizations didn't hide their intentions. At least they told their members and followers what their true goal is. So unlike Konoha.

This is what it feels like to realize that your entire life has been a lie. The beliefs and ideals you were raised with now mean nothing in the face of this truth. Painful is the betrayal. Fear is what is felt when dealing with the next step. But regret? Did regret play a role in what her life had become? Just hours ago she had stumbled upon that room and found out what this place really was. Yet no matter what her life now was, she couldn't bring herself to regret the events that shaped her into what she was now. The missions, the heartbreak… everything played a part in shaping what she had become. Powerful. She had kept her promise to herself and had trained until she passed her own sanin sensei. No longer was she the girl who cowered behind others when faced with true danger. No. Now she could hold her own against the strongest in the village. Even Naruto had trouble keeping up with her at first. But at the end of all their sparring sessions he always managed to win, his massive stores of chakra eventually getting the best of her. Should she tell Naruto? Tell him that his entire existence was a lie? No… she couldn't bring herself to reveal that to her friend. Her teammate had dedicated his life to this village and despite his past he would die to protect anyone residing within its walls. She wouldn't be the one to destroy his loyalty. She had no right to, after everything he had suffered through she had no right to come in and tell him his efforts were wasted on those who didn't deserve his loyalty.

What now? In face of all these truths, she couldn't pretend that everything was the same. Eventually she would speak out against her higher ups about their actions. That would lead to the revelation of her snooping around in restricted files and then the revelation of their own deceit to the village. No doubt that if they found out that she knew she would be locked away in a cell for the rest of her life. With this conclusion came the one that she couldn't go to anyone with this knowledge. If she did, it would without a doubt get back to them. They would hunt her down and then do Kami knows what to the person she confided in. She couldn't let another suffer for her discovery.

That left only one option. To flee, leave everything that she'd ever known behind, her friends, her work, and her stability. Where would she go? No doubt it would only take a few days for people to start questioning her disappearance. Then once they figured out that she had left of her own free will she would be branded a missing-nin, hunted down, and killed. The people she had known since she was a child would hunt her down and kill her like they would with any other criminal. Would they think twice before running her through? Would they feel nothing? Hiding behind the illusion that they were following orders and could do nothing to help her?

Where could she go that they wouldn't be able to find her easily? That is what she was up here to contemplate, a mental map of the continent swirling around in her head. Any of the immediate territories surrounding Fire country would be out of the question, the border patrols would find her easily. She would have to travel far away from established ninja villages. The Land of Earth was still basically uncharted territory, true it did have a ninja village but it was situated close to the border. If she could get passed the capital without being noticed then she would be basically home free, she could join up with one of the newly established villages that was tucked away in the wilderness and offer her services. At least until the hunter-nins tracked her down.

Traveling that far would be difficult though. She'd be running practically halfway across the continent, not to mention the time it would take the trek over the mountains that bordered the Land of Earth. Then adding in the time she'd have to spend resting and the time that it would take for her to stop in a village to restock her supplies, it could take almost a month to get to her final destination. Sighing she ran a hand down her face, Shikamaru's coined phrase 'troublesome' fit perfectly with her situation. But there was nothing else she could do, no other option was acceptable. Standing up she formed a few hand signs poofing from view in a swirl of cherry blossoms.

A/N

Alrighty guys, this is a new idea I had. It's my first multi-chapter story, although I may decide not to continue it. Everything depends on what the reviews say! What do you like? What do you think needs to be changed? Have any questions? I know the plot may seem confusing at first, but don't worry! Everything will be explained in due time. Oh, and if anyone wants to volunteer to be a Beta that would just tickle me pink! Thanks for reading!

-Yumance