In the last handful of months, I've come to learn more about this new universe. However, I will start with updating where I last left off. The kid has friends now. A pink haired kunoichi in training named Sakura Haruno, and a brooding dark haired boy, the last of his clan, Sasuke Uchiha. I know little about them, only what is relayed to me through Naruto mumblings at his dining table.
It's really nice to see him be accepted by people, though I wonder if he feels like it's forced, as if they were obligated to be his friends as assigned teammates.
That's how I would feel. Back in my universe, I didn't get along well with many people. I wasn't a nuisance or anything, but I just didn't have the social skills or the desire to communicate so freely with others. I was more of a loner, you could say. Even so, I did appreciate subtle moments of attention and recognition, especially from those I admired. Unfortunately, because I didn't have the strength to put myself out there, those moments were very rare and I could never develop relationships beyond that of acquaintances.
Some time later, I had heard of the boy's efforts in the Land of Waves and furthermore, in the Chunin Exams. It was then that I realized what I had been missing in my past life. Friendship never had to be about putting yourself out there to appease people, or moving drastically out of your comfort zone just to find someone who cares. Friendship comes in all shapes and sizes.
When I heard the commotion outside caused by the attack on the Leaf Village in the final stage of the Chunin Exams, I feared for my life, as I was only as safe as this house was. Had the enemies succeeded, who knows what would've happened to me? I could've been a refrigerator for a heartless monster, as silly as it sounds.
Things didn't turn out that way, and it's partly because of the boy here. Naruto has this ability to make you believe in him, to make you feel safe and wanted. Naruto makes even a lost soul like me feel like I can be something, that I don't have to submit to my emotional hurdles.
My chakra control has strengthened every week and I've slowly been able to connect myself to the chakra network of the village. The chakra that flows through the Earth, the plants and even some of the structures. It allowed me to get a better understanding of the situations going on around me. Like I was a spectator, though I can't visualize these things as of yet. Alas, it helped me to witness Naruto's confrontation with the boy from the Sand Village, Gaara. They seemed to have very similar upbringings and that's where I truly came to believe in Naruto.
A kid like Gaara, that had no intention of making friends or faking being an extrovert to come off more presentable. Even he was enthralled in Naruto's philosophy. That showed me that even the loneliest people can make friends.
So, that's been my new goal. I want… to make friends!
…It's still a work-in-progress though.