Bab 49: Chapter 49
Athena was staring out at the stars with an almost emotionless look in her eyes. There was still emotion present, just not as prominent. She had her legs folded as she usually did and just took in the stars. The constellations of the Naruto verse a far different than that of the earth she's familiar with. She has tried and failed to locate anything resembling the big dipper. She gave up at some point and would just watch the night sky. She wondered if out there was the same as on earth. Was there Mars? She didn't know. Maybe she should try to find out.
She shrugged to herself. Idle thoughts she supposed.
She looked away from the sky when Hinata came to sit next to her. She looked to her and met worried eyes. She smiled slightly before looking back to the sky. Of course she was worried. She's Hinata.
"I'm fine"
"Are you sure? "
"Yeah" she nodded and took a deep breath of the cold night air. "I was just thinking is all. It helps, I suppose"
"What were you thinking about? "Hinata asked curiously. Athena had an odd mindset and it always made her curious about what goes on in her head at times. She's cryptic sometimes, but she tends to be very open with her, which she appreciates.
"The stars? "Athena tilted her head as of she was trying to take in the world a bit better. "I suppose, the stars and planets out there. I wonder about that. Not a lot, but it's a recent thought is all"
As she stared she wondered if every anime could be found in one dimension. Could they all just be different planets out there? Could there be copies of earth that house the other anime? She didn't know where the question came from, but she was curious now.
Hinata let her gaze linger on the sky. She never really thought about what was put there. There are planets, moons, suns. She knew that, but she never sat down and thought about it. What do they look like. Do they harbor life? Are they like earth? She now found herself wondering about such things. Does Athena really sit and think about such things? It would explain how she always has a different outlook on things.
"Oh well" Athena dismissed her thoughts with a sigh. She let her gaze wander to a nearby tree. She was sure she just sensed Naruto's chakra, but it's gone. Is that guy trying to spy or is he just going out for some training? She'll ignore it for the moment. She looked back to Hinata and her eyes landed on the wooden necklace she had gifted her. She had a thought. "Hinata, lend me your necklace please"
Hinata didn't question her as she did as requested. She watched Athena as the girl inspected her creation. She removed her own and held them both in her palm. She placed her other hand over them and seemed to focus. What was she trying to do?
Athena was smiling when she removed her hand and took in her creation. The necklaces were still the lavender flowers, but it was different. Jt was multi colored. It looked as if the colors were flowing through the flower like a river. The rope was similar.
"What did you do? "Hinata asked.
"I infused my chakra I suppose. The colors are my chakra natures. Red for fire. Blue for water. White for wind. Green for earth. Yellow for lightening. The other varying colors are the ones I've created by mixing things up" Athena explained as she returned the modified necklace to its place around Hinata's neck.
"Others? "
Athena nodded and held up a hand. Slowly ice started to form and twirl around, with some focus she created the kanji for ice and let it drift in the air. She tapped it and snow flakes started to lazy descend. With the flick of her wrist her creation drifted towards the mesmerized Hinata. When the girl touched it, it pulsed for a moment.
"Wow"
Athena chuckled and rubbed her palms together at a moderate pace. She stopped in thirty seconds and held opened her palm. There was glimmering dust resting in her hand. She blew gently and watched it drift into the air. Hinata had her eyes on her new creation. She was smiling as she manipulated the crystal dust to form shapes and images.
"Are those crystals? "
"Yup" Athena leaned back on her hands. "There's a lot I can do that I haven't really explored yet" Athena admitted . "I have chakra that is practically natural energy, which is literally the energy needed to use senjutsu, which I can now easily pull off. I have two dojutsu that can manipulate time if I apply my yin yang release into the mix but I haven't tried that yet. At some point I suppose. If I can go back in time I might go visit my great grandfather. He was a fun guy. I would also like to see the future of this world"
"Yin yang release" Hinata stared at Athena. How does she possess such an ability? "You can create and manipulate life. At least I think that is what yin yang allows"
Athena nodded in confirmation. "That I can. Again, I haven't tried yet. I'm working on it. I want to bring some people back from the dead. It helps that I have their chakra right here" Athena held up her teardrop necklace with a fond smile. "Minato and Kushina. My godparents, Naruto's parents. They mean a lot and taught me a lot. I want to find a way to bring them back. I cannot be reckless, so I've been careful and doing as much research as I can. I want to be absolutely sure of what I need to do before I try anything. "
"You don't want anything go wrong "
Athena nodded. "Mistakes can not be made"
Hinata hummed and returned her gaze to the dancing crystals. They were nice to watch.
"You know, there's a prophecy about me" Athena suddenly sounded amused as she said that. "I've been dubbed the tittle : The Unknown Goddess. I guess it explains a lot about my powers"
"I suppose"
"And my name" Athena chuckled. "The name of a goddess. Goddess of Wisdom and War "
Hinata looked confused. She never heard of the goddess Athena. The blonde could read the look on her face and only smiled.
"Athena, also referred to as Athene, is a very important goddess of many things. She is goddess of wisdom, courage, inspiration, civilization, law and justice, strategic warfare, mathematics, strength, strategy, the arts, crafts, and skill. " Athena explained with a look of admiration im her eyes. Hinata never saw that look in her eyes before. "She is known most specifically for her strategic skill in warfare and is often portrayed as companion of heroes and is the patron goddess of heroic endeavour."
"You admire this goddess? "
Athena nodded. "I did and do. It's just... I don't really know, I just really like this goddess. Powerful and independent. Not afraid or insecure" Athena closed her eyes with a sigh. "I suppose I wanted to be like that. And I suppose I kind of am, aren't I? "
Hinata nodded and Athena laughed.
"Welp, at least you think so" Athena created more crystals. "You don't want to be leader of your clan , do you? "
The question was sudden and unexpected. Hinata looked to her a bit nervously but nodded. Athena didn't seem surprised . She already knew after all. She said nothing for some time.
"Have you told your father? "
"No"
"Afraid? "
She nodded. "I'm the oldest, it's tradition "
"But you don't want that"
Another nod.
"It's alright. I'll talk to your dad. He listens to me, which is something I did not expect" Athena said with a look. "Hanabi will make a good leader. She has the personality, that's for sure"
"She wants you to teach her how to fight like you "
"Me? "Athena chuckled. "Your father would not like that. "
"How did you block Neji's chakra points? "Hinata asked. She had been wondering this since Athena pulled it off.
"Oh, well, I'm a medical nin. I studied hard and actually memorized where each chakra point is on the body"
Hinata blinked. Athena was serious. She really memorized that.
"Want to test it? "
"I believe you"
"Yeah, I know, but it'll be fun. Go on"
Hinata nodded and wordlessly activated her Byukugan. She is always a bit surprised when she sees how massive Athena's reserves are. Her father had told her that her chakra rivals a tailed beast, but now she also had the chakra of a tailed beast on top of that. She knows for a fact that no one can beat Athena when it comes to chakra.
"I'm going to point them out and you tell me if I'm correct"
Hinata nodded.
She did believe Athena when she told her, but it was amazing to see her accurately point out the chakra points on her body. She was right on the dot. Hinata didn't think she could memorize such a thing.
"If you want to knock someone out quickly , go for the chest" Athena suggested. "They'll be out like a light"
Hinata blinked and the vains near her eyes disappeared.
"Do you know the gentle fist technique? "Hinata wondered.
"Yeah, I copied it from Neji the other day" Athena said casually.
Hinata wasn't too surprised by that. She was talking to Athena and the girl is known for her skill in almost everything.
~~~~~~~~
Naruto had a goofy grin on his face as he watched his sister and Hinata interact. Next to him in the chosen tree was an apprehensive Sasuke, who despite everything, seemed interested in what could happen between the two. He can't believe he let Naruto talk him into this. He caved because of dango, that wouldn't do. Although a year was hard to pass up. He was sure Itachi would have gave in as well. Sasuke sighed as he adjusted his position on the branch.
"She's going to find us" he told his excited friend.
"We'll cross that bridge when we get there" Naruto said.
Sasuke rolled his eyes. Athena had already looked towards their tree once. They were lucky to get away. There won't be a next time though. Sasuke was sure of that. The next time she looked at their tree it would be the end of the line for them. He just hoped he lived to at least get a stick of dango.
"They're just talking" Sasuke drawled. He didn't know why Naruto thought they would kiss. They have a connection, that much is obvious, but he didn't see what was so special about this night.
Apparently Naruto read his mind because he grinned. "You're no romantic, that's why you can't see it"
"Whatever you say" Sasuke shrugged. "I doubt Athena is a romantic "
"Eh, I don't even know. But my gut is telling me this is it."
"Yeah yeah "
"You owe me bowl of ramen if they kiss"
"Alright "it's not a bad deal. He would be getting dango either way so he saw no problem.
~~~~~~~
Hinata was embarrassed when Athena laughed at the color of her face at the moment. The other girl had said something that made heat rise to her face. Athena found her reaction to be hilarious and couldn't help herself. The face Hinata made was priceless.
"Hinata, your reaction"
"You're not being very fair"
"Me? " Athena snickered and tried to calm herself. It was hard because Hinata was actually pouting next to her. She didn't see how she was being unfair. She just said what was on her mind.
"Please stop laughing" Hinata had to try really hard not to stutter.
"I'm sorry, I'm trying" Athena chuckled and took a deep breath. She adopted a straight face but it didn't last long. "I am so sorry"
Hinata sighed and looked away from her.
"Are you angry? " Athena questioned when Hinata stopped looking at her.
"Maybe"
"What? "Athena was amused. "Why are you angry. You can't be mad at me, Hinata . I did nothing wrong"
Hinata still didn't look at her. Athena was amused.
"Hinata " Athena sang, trying to get the girl to look at her. "Hinata. Hi-na-ta" she played around with the Hyuga's name. She raised an eyebrow when the girl still didn't look at hee.
She hummed with a smile.
"I love you"
Hinata's gaze was immediately on her and Athena grinned as big as Naruto
"I made you look"
Hinata blushed and hid behind her jacket. Why did Athena have to say that?
"You ok there? "
Hinata nodded.
"Look at me"
Hinata shook her head.
"Hey, don't be that way"
Hinata shook her head again.
Athena sighed. She wondered if she said it again, would Hinata look?
"I love you"
She did. She did look at her. Her face was red enough to see in the night.
"Is this how I need to get you to look at me now? "Athena teased. "Not that I mind"
Hinata opened her mouth to say something, but she was a stuttering mess. She whined and looked away again.
"It's alright" Athena reassured with a pat on the head.
No it's not. She wanted to say it too, but she just kept stuttering. It was frustrating. She understood that Athena can easily read her and probably already knows what she's trying to say, but she wanted to say it. She just needed to calm down enough to form words.
She took a deep breath and forced herself to stop feeling such embarrassment.
"I love you too"
At first there came no reaction from Athena. Hinata was starting to worry, but then there was the slightest tint of pink on the blonde's face. She was blushing? Hinata could hardly believe it. She never saw Athena blush. She never though she would see the day.
"You're blushing. "She never thought she would ever say that to Athena and yet here she was.
Athena chuckled nervously and did not look at the girl.
"Yeah um... It's just I didn't think you would say it" Athena admitted. "I just... It was unexpected.. And.. And.. " she wasn't ready at all. Her heart was not prepared. Now it's beating out of her chest. That was not something she was used to, and it was embarrassing.
"You're embarrassed? "Hinata asked with a smile. Would you look at that.
Athena nodded again and finally looked a the smiling Hinata.
"Don't look at me like that"
Hinata giggled. "but you're actually blushing in embarrassment. I never thought I'd see you do such a thing"
"I'm a human being" Athena said a bit defensively.
"Yes you are" Hinata giggled again. She kind of understood Athena's amusement now. Whenever she got red in the face Athena just had a smile on her face and amusement in her eyes. She understood why now. Athena was really cute.
Athena sighed and finally got her heart rate back to normal. She looked back to the smiling Hinata.
"Close your eyes" she said with a smile.
"Why? "
"No questions, just do it" Athena tapped her forhead playfully.
Hinata was confused but closed her eyes anyway. Why would Athena want her to close her eyes?
Athena was smiling as she silently decreased their distance. She stopped just inches away from Hinata. She could only imagine the girl's reaction when she does this , but she really wanted to.
Hinata let out a surprised sound when Athena connected their lips. She was absolutely not expecting the blonde to kiss her, but it was amazing. The kiss was soft, loving and so gentle. Athena tasted like the dango she had eaten. Her lips were very soft and she gently sucked on Hinata's own. Hinata felt total bliss in that moment. There was complete warmth starting at her chest and it felt wonderful.
Athena pulled away at some point. The kiss wasn't long. A few seconds, but it could have been minutes for all the knew. Athena was smiling when Hinata finally opened her eyes. The Hyuga took a moment to let everything register. It was slow, but the redness finally made it's way to her cheeks
Athena knew that if Hinata continued to increase in shade she would most likely pass out.
"Hinata, don't pass out" Athena chuckled as she gently rested both hands on the other's cheeks. She needed to control the heat rising to her face.
Athena's hands were cold on her cheeks and she started the lose her dizzyness. Athena had amusement in her eyes again.
"One kiss and you're ready to black out on me" Athena teased as she kissed her forehead.
Hinata let out an embarrassed sound and pulled her hood over her head. Athena pulled it down only for Hinata to pull it back up. The other laughed. She tilted Hinata's head upwards by her chin and the hood fell off.
"I should kiss you again" she whispered and would have done just that had she not felt familair chakra. She snapped her eyes to the tree she had suspected.
In an instant she was on her feet and retrieving two kunai.
Hinata watched as she threw her weapons and two boys fell out of the nearby tree. Naruto rolled around on the ground in pain while Sasuke was rubbing his wrist.
How long were they there?
"You get a thirty second head start" Athena said. Everything about her was calm except for her eyes. They had a dangerous glint in them.
Naruto was on his feet immediately and Sasuke had already taken off.
"You owe me a bowl of ramen! "
"Not the time Naruto! "
"Of course this is the time, I was right! "
"Shut up and run for your life, you fool! "
Status Power Mingguan
-- Peringkat
Power 
-- Power
stone