Chapitre 63: Chapter 63
"Athena, darling"
Athena had barely stepped foot into the house of the Uchiha clan leader and already she was in a tight embrace from the mother of her teammate. Mikoto held her tightly and regarded her as her own daughter, fussing over the blonde and chastising her for not visiting sooner. Athena in turn refrained from telling her that her visit was something that happened by chance as she ran into Itachi on her errand run. Not like she could do much talking when Mikoto was so happy talking to her and questioning her on the things she has been doing, also wondering if she and Sasuke got along better than they did as kids. At some point Athena found herself eating some dango and seated in the kitchen as the women prepared some food. Itachi wore this smug-looking smile on his face when he walked past her, waving goodbye as he left the house to do one thing or another. He had led her there, the bastard, having lured her with passive-aggressive insults until she found herself in the arms of his mother. Never before had someone deceived her in such a manner, but she could not complain about it for long, not when Mikoto was so happy to see her again. In all the time she has been back in the village she has not taken the time to come see the woman who had adored her as a child. Perhaps one of her reasons for not visiting was to avoid the head of the clan, the one and only Fugaku who shot her a deadly glare when he appeared, his eyes boring into her very being. She wasn't afraid of him, nor apprehensive, she just did not want to be around him as he would surely anger her. From the things she has heard from Sasuke, he's not the best father to the younger and he seems bitter about his plans being put to a stop. Likely he doesn't know much of how she interfered, but he knew enough to know that she has been involved and probably the cause. He never liked her to begin, the child far more talented than his oldest son had been at her age, and a Senju no less.
However, no matter his feelings towards the child he has long since accepted what had happened as it had not been something unforeseen by him. He knew that his son and his friend would come to a decision, he saw the outcome of all the choices they had and would admit that because of Athena's interference the worst of them did not come to be. It was because of her that the entire clan is still around today and he'll be grateful, though he'll likely never admit it.
Prideful person that he is.
"Oh don't mind him" Mikoto shot him her own glare, this one stern and warning, and the man left with a scoff.
Reminds Athena a bit of a certain Saiyan prince
"So how have you been Athena?" Mikoto asks the girl, giving her time to actually answer the question now.
"I've been great, aunt Mikoto"
The woman almost squealed after being referred to as Aunt, the chosen words absolutely endearing to the woman.
Why in the hell did the old man deny this woman's request to adopt Naruto? She would've been the greatest mother to him, as she is to Sasuke who adores her more than he'd like to admit.
"I heard you lot went on a dangerous mission"
She did? Didn't she tell Itachi to keep his damn mouth shut as to not worry the woman? Why does he always do the opposite of what she requests of him?
"Is Sasuke alright, he didn't get hurt or anything?" There's the concern she had been hoping to avoid.
"He's fine, well he did get hurt, but that's just how these things go," Athena said truthfully. "No need to worry about that duck haired idiot, I've already been asked to watch out for him, and I'll make sure he doesn't go get himself killed"
"It was Itachi wasn't it?" Mikoto asked with a knowing smile to which Athena nodded her confirmation.
"That's good, Sasuke needed a friend" She didn't like to see him the way he was, always by himself and trying to prove himself to his father.
"He's grown in the short time we've spent together," Athena said. "We've helped him grow stronger and he has his Sharingan fully awakened now"
"What?" Fugaku appeared out of the other room, shocked by Athena's easy admittance. "What caused this?"
"Me," She said with a shrug. "He really just needed a guiding hand and someone who could actually be there for him. The latter was more up Naruto's league as I did more of the torture, you know?"
She chuckled when she said that, recalling the things she showed him to trigger his awakening.
"Either way, he has three tomoe and we've been training him to best utilize his new abilities" she revealed. "On top of that, we've been attempting to teach him some more jutsu. He has lightning affinity on top of his natural fire ability, so teaching him some lightning abilities seems logical. Plus Naruto has taught him the shadow clone technique, and he has been training him taijutsu wise"
"It's only been a couple of days," Fugaku said, sounding baffled.
"Goes to show how much caring approach can help"
Mikoto couldn't be happier for her youngest, she couldn't be prouder and from the look Athena directed at Fugaku; she felt the exact same. Oh, and she was smug about it too, just rubbing it in the man's face that he failed to push his son towards this achievement.
"I'm so happy for him" Mikoto exclaimed joyously, already thinking of making his favorite as a reward when he returns. He obviously deserved it.
Fugaku on the other hand had no words regarding the matter anymore and simply left. Though Athena has heard enough from Mikoto to know that his demeanor towards Sasuke was his way of trying to push the boy toward his awakening, so she could only imagine how he must feel when he realized that he went about it entirely wrong.
"I should be on my way now, aunt Mikoto" Athena said as she stood from her place and her words brought a frown to the woman's face.
"Already?"
"I'm sorry, but I'm very busy at the moment" Athena admitted with an apologetic smile. "I promise I'll come visit again soon"
"If you don't I'll come to you, remember that"
~~~~~~~~~
"Sasuke, your mother is as beautiful as ever"
Sasuke did not expect those to be the words of greeting from Athena who had just spawned in front of him and almost scared the life out of him. As he processed her words his nose scrunched up in both embarrassment and slight disgust and Athena laughed at his expression. Her words weren't that much of an issue, it was the way she said it and that smile on her face, as if she was insinuating something far less innocent than her compliment.
"Why would you say it like that?"He had to ask in almost a plea and Athena simple bared her teeth
"What do you mean? I just complimented your mother" She said innocently, hands in her pockets and smile relaxed. "Am I not allowed to compliment Aunt Mikoto's beauty?"
Athena knew what she was doing and Sasuke realized this the longer she smiled at him and he debated his next move. Either he dropped it and forget the suggestive tone of voice Athena had used when referring to his mother's appearance, or... Well, he didn't know what else he could do about it.
So he huffed and looked away, officially stopping it where it was and Athena laughed.
"So what have you guys been up to?" Athena wondered as her eyes traveled to Kakashi who sat nearby. She did not expect to see him. "Are you actually teaching your students?"
"He's trying to teach Sasuke the Chidori" Naruto said with some overexcited hand gestures, clearly enthusiastic about seeing the jutsu first hand. "That thing is seriously cool"
And dangerous; she mentally adds.
"Where's Hinata?"
"With aunt Tsunade" Naruto points to the left where the mentioned could be found, completely separated from the rest. Huh, apparently Tsunade took it upon herself to educate Hinata in the practice of medical ninjutsu.
With that Athena left to approach them, waving at the boys to continue what it was they were previously doing. With the chunin exams coming up, they needed some good training and she would be especially focused on Hinata. She would very much not like it if she went up against Neji and ended up as she did originally. She had already warned Neji of the path he was following and she had already told Hinata's father that he was being stupid by not telling Neji what he needed to know. However, she still felt like Neji would be his destiny preaching self still and she would like Hinata to beat his ass.
"Athena" A greeting from her mother as she sat down next to her, smiling at the sight of the unfortunate fish between Tsunade and Hinata.
"Ah, the fish" She chuckled in good nature. "Poor guy"
Though he wasn't unfortunate for too long as Hinata applied what Tsunade had been teaching her for almost two hours straight. With her already good chakra control it was not too difficult to attempt something such as healing, however, it felt a bit different than just focusing her chakra, almost as if she were feeding it to the creature under her palms. She was thankful to Tsunade for taking the time to teach her and thankful to both her and Athena for wanting to teach her more. Athena had suggested learning a few ninjutsu to implement in her fighting and had also been encouraging her to create something of her own. Tsunade, having spent very little time with Hinata, was quick to pick up on her impressive chakra control, not at all surprising considering she's a Hyuga. And with Hinata wanting to grow stronger so she could be more useful in the field, Tsunade saw no reason not to teach her a thing or two.
The fish started to flop after a few tense moments, Hinata releasing a breath of relief with the animal's sudden struggle.
"Huh, that was incredibly fast," Tsunade said blankly, surprised by the fact that Hinata had already managed to heal the fish. "Have you been attempting this before?"
"Yes," She nods, referring to the times Athena would simply sit and watch whenever they deviated from sparring. Athena had promised to go more into depth with the medical training but had introduced her to fishes after her first explanation.
"So you were already teaching her" Tsunade notes with a look in Athena's direction, to which her daughter smiled and shrugged.
"I pride myself on being a good teacher," Athena said with a nod.
"You're a terrifying teacher!" Naruto shouted from the other side of the field, having picked up on the conversation through their mental link.
"Shut up"
Tsunade laughed, fully understanding how her daughter could be a terrifying mentor, what with her sternness and cold personality every now and then.
Athena scoffed when Naruto shouted something offensive about her, ignoring him in favor of focusing on the situation at hand. He would have his fun training with Sasuke and Kakashi. She wonders where her father had gone for a moment, shrugging once she realized he could be spying on some poor women. Either that or he's actually busy with something serious.
"I need everyone to be stronger within a few days," Athena said, gazing towards the sky for a moment. "The entire village will be in danger soon and I'll likely be occupied, too occupied to stick with the team and because of that I need to know that you and Sasuke will be fine on your own"
The seriousness in Athena's voice made Hinata tense, feeling uneasy and nervous about what Athena saw in the future. Though, as serious as she was, she smiled anyway, admitting that she was very confident in Hinata's ability to grow stronger by then. Her complete and utter confidence in her ability and potential bringing a blush to Hinata's face.
"And I must apologize for telling you not to change" Her words bring confusion to Hinata, who needed a moment to recall those words. "That was wrong of me. Instead, you should change if that is something you want, change if you feel you need to. Change for yourself and not for someone else, not for me, your father or anyone who may judge you"
The statement was completely unexpected, blindsiding the young Hyuga, who at a loss for words, simply nodded to Athena's apology and advice. That seemed to be good enough for the other as she smiled at the simple action, content with having said her piece. If Hinata isn't satisfied with the person she is, if she wishes to change, to be better than what she is, then she should and could.
"Okay then" Athena clapped her hand, seeming determined. "Let's get to work"
~~~~~~~~~
It was getting dark by the time Athena made sure Sasuke and Hinata returned to their homes, not willing to let them spend the night with the prospect of Danzo coming for her. When Yuki appeared at her side, wordless yet saying everything that she needed to know, Athena knew she had to be on extra high alert. One slip up and she could be in serious trouble. Naruto for his part set to making more seals and paper bombs, something he does quite often. He goes about it normally, showing no signs of being affected by the prospect of ANBU showing up at their house to try and get them. He was calm, something many don't expect from the boy, but something he has picked up from Athena. He's enthusiastic more often than not, yes, but he's also smart and far more mature than he lets people think.
When the sun had completely disappeared under the Horizon, Yuki appeared once more, going through the fridge and finding herself some milk. Pouring herself a generous amount she settled herself on the floor near Naruto, silently watching him work and accepting the seals he hands her, already knowing what to do with them.
"What are the chances of him showing up tonight?" Naruto asked as he gathered his new seals and put them aside, resuming his work on creating bombs this time around.
"Very high" Athena responded, approaching with the carton of milk and refilling Yuki's glass before she runs out. The girl absolutely loves milk and anything that contains it.
"Who's he after?"
"Both of us, I'd assume"
"The fox?"
"Amongst other things"
If Danzo did come for them then Athena was definitely going to kill him. She had no reason to spare him and did not understand how he continued to do the things he does even after Athena had told Hiruzen about the things he did and planned on doing. She could only assume it was because Hiruzen and him were childhood friends, trained under the same mentor, and have grown up together. That and perhaps the fact that the elders never seem to notice the things the man does in the dark.
From what Athena knows, Root should have been disbanded a long time ago.
No matter, once she deals with Danzo she'll handle the ANBU situation. She's especially interested in Sai, as around this time he would still be more intuned with his emotions. She's not sure if he had already been initiated or if his brother had already died, but she was certain he was not too far gone yet.
She finished the last of her dango when she noted a few chakra signals popping up nearby. Sighing she rested her head against the back of her chair, mentally preparing herself to face the man she truly could not stand.
"Things are far less exciting when they're expected" She mumbled.
Yuki's response to that was to draw her katana, the metal of it gleaming in the low light in the living room.
"I will kill him" The girl announces, holding her katana before her face. "I'll cut him to pieces"
"Yes, I'm aware of what you want to do to him" Athena sighed.
"I'll gauge his eyes out"
"Yes Yuki"
"Master, I crave violence"
État de l’alimentation hebdomadaire
-- Classement
Power Stone 
-- Power
stone