Chương 5: Revelations
There's something both terrifying and intriguing about being launched into the unknown, or rather, one's perception of the unknown. Whether that be in a relationship, a battle, or in our everyday lives,
If someone goes through it long enough, their perception of the unknown can lose everything that made it worth fearing. Or rather, they can adapt to what made it seem so fearful. It can still be surprising and shocking, but not as much as it once was, or rather, as it should be.
So when Athena wakes with a spark bolting up from her position on the ground, the fear she feels settles as quickly as it had come, replaced with a cautious gaze.
She spares herself a glance, a small frown breaking out against her features as she's greeted by her old body. Everything, down to the very clothes she wears, is the same as before she died.
It makes her shoulders tense and her hands shake, but she ignores it as she scans the area.
She greets her surroundings with a cautious gaze, her eyes quickly scanning over the deep blue starlit sky and beautiful open field. It's not until she peers closer at her surroundings that she becomes aware of what truly surrounds her.
The field is filled to the brim with overgrown flora and scattered remnants of training terrain, seemingly safe to the illiterate and untrained eye.
To her, however, lay an almost inconspicuous death trap, its danger concealed by its surrounding beauty.
In the north lay an assortment of flowers: belladonna, lily of the valley, azaleas, and angel trumpet, each one a deadly poison in its own right.
To the east, in a meadow surrounded by large pine trees, rests the paralysis plant Gelsemium elegans, also known as heartbreak grass.
To the south, in little patches on the forest floor, spread dogbane, wallflower, and ouabain, each causing one cardiac problem or another.
The west was surprisingly vacant, with only poison ivy surrounding the roots of the trees.
And lastly, surrounding her but not quite invasive in its reach were an array of the more basic phytotoxins.
Suddenly, she feels incredibly lethargic, pulled down by her own thoughts and the surrounding silence. She's never felt so alone.
There are others, some of whom look near ethereal in appearance and others who look painstakingly plain, but she holds no doubt that those are the ones that could kill her.
She opens her mouth, calling out into the silence as she gains her bearings. She feels confined despite being out in flowing fields of evergreen.
She feels stupid for doing it but it was better than doing nothing in the beautified death trap.
As soon as she feels her thoughts calm, Athena stands. She releases the tension from her shoulders and forces her hands to stop shaking by wrapping them around herself. She's careful with herself and her surroundings as her gaze scans the area.
It doesn't help that this feels like a rendition of the first glimpse of her new life.
Soundlessly, she tilts her head back, basking in the moonlight as she listens in silence.
It was a constant in her old life: looking up at the stars or basking in the moonlight to think, calm her nerves, or clear her head. It and the night itself had always served to remind her how insignificant life was and how fleeting its existence was, yet still, there was something calming about this silence she found herself in.
It took her a while to notice the dark figure that had taken a seat by her side. She couldn't be sure if it was human or animal, but its presence was familiar, and that alone brought her comfort.
Athena sighs as the minutes pass, torn between her desire to stay in the calmness of the moment and the potential danger posed by the figure behind her. She knows it's foolish not to turn around and face them, but she can't help herself. For the first time in months, her mind feels clear. She doesn't want to let go of this feeling, even though she understands that it's just a reminder of her past.
"Do you know why you're here?" The figure asks
Athena hums, locking eyes with the beastly figure. "No, I don't suppose you're here to tell me." She asks, watching as the figure fully turns to face her.
Teeth come into focus as her eyes roam—it's? His — his form. Twin rows of sharpened canines that seem to gleam in the light. He's large, taking up most of the space beside her without trying. His paw alone looks like it could be the size of her entire body, and despite looking like it could kill her in half a second, his presence still brought her that weird sense of comfort.
A Wolf.
His body would remind her of the Greek King if not for the swish of multiple tails at its back and its wholly animal appearance.
Her skin prickles at the thought and at the memories it brings, but she ignores them. A low growl echoes in the space between them.
The urge to run a hand through his fur has her gazing thoughtfully to the side just as, at the same moment, she realizes his eyes.
They're so blue.
"Now why would you think that?"
Her brows furrow, a hand reaching up to tug at long brown locks as she's brought back to the present.
"You're the one who brought me here." She says, "I would assume you'd know the reason."
He chuckles, his voice soft, as he turns his gaze to face the edge of the small meadow. He says nothing for a moment, and the shift she feels in the air is as quiet as it is deafening.
"You're here." He starts. "Because you are clueless and guilt-ridden. You're here because, like two others before you, you do not understand your situation. I am here to guide you, support you, and help you in your future endeavors."
Something sharp slithers down her spine as he continues.
"You little inhuman are here for an explanation and a good straightening out because you have spent the last three to four months grieving and blaming yourself for something that was not your fault."
She flinches.
"You are here to get a complete rundown of your situation and more. In fact, he smirked. You are going to be downright shocked by it."
He stands to his full height, the fluff of his fur bouncing as he motions for her to follow. He trots toward the poison-filled meadow and quite promptly plants himself in the very center of it.
Hesitantly, she follows suit, tracing the shape of the canopy with her eye as she steps between the poisonous flora. She takes three steps, looking from the wolf to the floor, before planting herself directly on his back, deeming him the safest of the two.
He raises a brow as one of his tails idly curls around her leg, surprised by her forwardness despite her earlier wariness.
She's learned by now that it's better to take action than to wait for it.
It happens again, with them staring into the open field in silence. They say nothing and do nothing; she doesn't even realize she's facing him again until their eyes meet.
She doesn't know why he's staring, his eyes blank amidst a vortex of blue, but she doesn't dare break his gaze.
She stares and stares, and then suddenly she feels something. It sparks in the back of her mind like an electric current, traveling through her body with the effects of an electric shock.
Her center of gravity shifts, and suddenly she's sprawled out against his stomach. She's convulsing, and almost instinctively, she curls in on herself.
Something protrudes from the back of her mind, insistent but not quite intrusive in its presence. It's perilous, but despite the pain it brings, she lets that feeling consume her.
What follows is like watching a scene from a 1960s movie, all in black and white.
Multiple visions flash before her eyes—a series of disconnected imagery and memories that seem both realistic and fantastical in their presentation.
She sees herself—younger, naive, happier, with a childlike wonder that seemed to light up the world around her—sitting in front of the TV with her father by her side. She sees herself again, older now, with a hand over her eyes as she mercilessly shoots a man through the scull.
Nathaniel appears in the next one, eyes alight, a teasing smirk on his lips as he makes fun of both her and Malia. It's a peaceful moment, one that's shattered by the image of the three of them painted in blood. Cleaning it off the weapons they each held.
More images appear, some wholesome and welcoming in their appearance, others causing a hammering pain in her heart.
As quick as they come, they stop, ending with a dull blankness and a sudden blinding light. The memories of her old life end, and a new strip of images and memories fly through her mind.
A yellow-haired ball of sunshine, a village going through grief, a prophecy, and the gleaming red of the Sharingan
She's fully sprawled out against his stomach now, releasing pained gasps and blinking black spots from her vision. She can practically see the tension wring itself from her bones as she lays eyes on the poisonous meadow once again.
It takes a minute for her to gain her bearings, but when she does, her thoughts swirl like a fierce thunderstorm.
It makes sense, she thinks, her veins filling with dread. Of course, Naruto was in her memories; she'd watched him as a kid and even as an adult when she was feeling nostalgic. She knows why he's there. But now it means more; it has a bigger meaning than just fond childhood memories.
Athena knows what it means. Has known ever since the word Hokage had rooted itself at the forefront of her mind. It doesn't stop her from turning to him back straight, her gaze cold, unyielding, and dreadful.
At her core, she knows the answer to what she's about to ask and the implications behind it. It doesn't stop her from asking anyway.
"What does any of this have to do with a kid's show I watched in the past? What does any of what's happening right now have to do with Naruto Uzumaki?"
He smiles, his teeth glinting.
"Everything."
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