Chapter 10

Hiruzen found himself staring down at a mess of paperwork again. He had finished his last batch and received new complaints and problems. His dilemma was that everything was disorderly. His days of blissful paperwork had returned to the frustrating state it once was. He sighed, wishing Athena would arrange her system for him again.

A knock at his door broke his focus. He gave his verbal permission of entrance and waited. He was relieved someone came to distract him from his work. He would have to ask Athena to help with his papers the next he saw her. When was the last time they saw each other? Three days ago? He has been getting regular briefings on Athena's training progress from Kakashi. He has informed him of all her gained abilities and the talents she showed. Each time he was even more impressed than the last. Athena was a prodigy. It wasn't very difficult to see. She had almost perfect control of her chakra despite how unbelievably massive it was. She performed any learned jutsu with practiced ease. For some reason she can copy any move a person makes by just watching. There was a list of impressive brilliance she boasted.

"Lord Hokage"

Tenzo stood in front of him looking worried.

"What is it? "

"I lost Athena"

The old man sighed. Of course. What is it with that child? She always disappears for a long period of time and and just randomly appears. Hiruzen remembered why she left on her own the first two times. Worry washed over him as he envisioned the possibility. Could she be experiencing any negative emotions again? He was hoping that wasn't the case.

"Was something bothering her? "He aseked the ANBU in front of him. She tends to visit the KIA stone or the forest when she dived into her depression.

"I'm not sure" Tenzo frowned as he thought back to his time with the child. "I can never tell what she's thinking. Her eyes are always void of any emotion, or at least most of the time. When I can see emotion in her eyes it's difficult to tell what she's feeling" Tenzo looked uncomfortable at the memory

Hiruzen took a puff of his smoke. He understood Tenzo's discomfort. He's an ANBU and a master of reading and evaluating individuals demeanors. To have his match met in a child is unnerving to say the least. For a child to be such an expert in concealing their emotion. Athena was clearly suffering from emotional trauma. The thought angered the old man. For how many years did she suffer? What had she went through? What is she feeling? When will she tell him of her past? Will she ever reveal it?

"How long ago did you lose sight of her? "

"Not five minutes earlier"

Hiruzen sighed. Should he send ANBU in search of her? Should he send just Kakashi? Should he even send anyone in search of the young girl? When she uped and left like this the last times she understandably wanted some solitude. Should he rob her of her time to think?

In the end he sighed.

"She'll come back when she's ready. For now we just wait"

"Are you sure, lord Hokage? "

In all honesty he wasn't. Athena is a fragile child and needed to be handled delicately. He wasn't sure what sending anyone after her would situate.

"For now" he looked at his pipe just as he was about to take another puff. "Tell me, how's her training going? "

"Splendidly. She succeeds in everything  I demonstrate, advise or suggest. She does everything seemingly naturally and after only three or four tries she demonstrates such skill that its hard to believe she only practiced less than five times" Tenzo was amazed by the feats the child could achieve so easily. "She's a prodigy. Her performance surpasses what Itachi achieved at that age"

The old man nodded in agreement. Athena was indeed impressive. Her natural skill paired with her knowledge of this world made her a great asset.

~~~~~~~~~

Athena sighed into the scarf wrapped loosely around her neck. The scarf was utterly unnecessary and a hassle. She wasn't all that affected by the cold. She could feel it bite into her skin. Her hands were freezing, stiff and blue. The word rigor Mortis popped into her mind the longer she stared at her small hands. Despite it all she didn't feel at all bothered by the cold. Yes it numbed her fingers and toes, but she didn't really care. She never showed any ounce of care for her own well being. It never mattered. No matter what she did, she would end up hurt. So why care?

She found herself in the forest again. What is it with her and the forest? The last time she was troubled. The forest was oddly calming. The sound of chirping birds. Billowing wind. Flowing water. It was soothing.

"Why am I even out here? "

Athena wasn't conscious of her reason for being out in the wild. For some reason unknown to her she wandered out to the forest. Was something bothering her? A useless question. Something is always bothering her. Always worrying her. She criticized every choice she made. She promised she wouldn't second guess anything she does and yet she judged every choice she made. Now she felt a mix of emotions. She didn't like it. She didn't like experiencing too many emotions at once. It's hard to grasp and hold onto one emotion. To hold onto the emotion she desired. The emotion she needed. It would never stay long. Happiness. She always managed to slip away and hand the reigns over to doubt, depression, anger and hate. Once they gain control it's a hard battle to subdue them. Athena couldn't handle that. She wasn't strong enough to face them. They had guns while she had nothing. She wasn't strong enough on her own. That's why she blocks out all emotions. She blocks them out to protect herself. She doesn't want to be hurt. It made her feel weaker than she already was.

She wished these thoughts would go away.

She didn't want to think about it. She wanted to ignore it. The pain in her chest. The emptiness she felt.

Why was she still feeling this way?.

She wasn't alone anymore. She had friends. She had people who cared. Who believed. Who understood. She should be happy. She was. Whenever she spent time with Naruto or Hinata. Those were blissful moments. They make her forget to withhold her emotions. They made her forget about the pain. They made her forget about the weight on her shoulders.  When they're  not around, when she's away from Kakashi, Guy and Hiruzen, she reverts back to the frightful child she is.

"Why can't I just be normal?"

A question she asked herself everyday. She wanted to experience happiness. She wanted caring parents. She wanted happy memories. She wanted pleasant dreams when she slept. She wanted to go about her day without constantly worrying. Criticizing. She wanted the fear in her heart to disappear.

Athena shook her head trying to rid herself of the  negative thoughts

"Are you gonna cry princess? "

She paused and tilted her head in the direction the voice came from. Her right.

Before she could think she was sprinting in that direction. She didn't like the taunting tone in the voice. Something in the pit of her stomach knew who those words were aimed at and she felt the familiar flame of rage take hold of her with a deadly grip.

Before she was conscious of herself she was flying from branch to branch with skillful ease. She heard the voice again, closer this time. They were laughing. An arrogant laugh that fueled her rage even more.

She glared when the scene found her field of vision. Three boys loomed over the defenseless Hinata, each with a smug look on their faces.

Athena could feel her blood boil.

Who do they think they are?

They didn't know what hit them. One minute they were having fun the next their faces were buried in the snow.

~~~~~~~

Why is it that she always ends up in such situations? Why was she lost in the forest again? Why was she always being targeted? Did she do something wrong? She probably did. She always did something wrong. Whatever she did. She could never do it as perfectly as her father desired. Her strikes were too weak. Her moves were too slow. Her posture was wrong.

She was weak.

Is that why she was always treated this way?.

Her bottom was cold and becoming numb the longer she sat in the snow. She couldn't get up. They would just push her again. She wanted them to go away. Their words were painful. Tears stung in the back of her eyes, but she couldn't cry. She'd seem weaker than she already did.

She shut her eyes to stop the tears. To not look at the smug smiles her bullies adored. To make everything disappear.

There was a thud. A pained groan. And a growl.

Hinata hesitantly opened her eyes and was met with a furious Athena holding one boy by the collar. Another was cowering under her heel and the last was frozen in fear.

Hinata was shocked. Athena was the last person she expected to see. It had been so long since they last saw each other. There were so many questions. Was she alright? Did she still have those thoughts in her head? What was she doing out here again?

Hinata didn't know what to do when Athena met her eyes. Her shy nature overtook her and she looked to the snow. She couldn't meet her eyes. She must think she's weak now.

"Are you alright? "

She nodded weakly in response.

There was silence. She was still afraid to meet those golden amber eyes. Athena would be disappointed in her.

"Hey"

Athena got down in front of her. She sounded worried. She never heard that tone in her voice before. Well, they were only around each other for short periods. There's a lot of Athena she hadn't seen.

"Why won't you look at me?"

Silence.

She whimpered when Athena gently touched her chin and made her meet her eyes. She wanted to look away. She really did. But Athena looked at her with such worry filled eyes that she couldn't. When was the last time someone looked at her like that?

"Why are you afraid?"

"I.. "

Athena stared at her for an unknown amount of time.

Suddenly she felt herself being pulled up and out of the snow. She stumbled and landed in Athena's arms. She was surprisingly warm.

"You're not weak you know "

Hinata tensed at those words. Athena knew why she was afraid. Of course she did. She told her herself. She's good at reading people. Hinata wasn't good at hiding her emotions. Not like Athena.

"Those boys are the weak ones. Those who prey on others are weak scum" Athena spoke with clear distaste as she removed any remaining snow from Hinata. "And your father. Well I really can't say anything nice about him at the moment"

Athena stared at her again. Heat rised to Hinata's cheeks, making her temporarily forget about the numbing  cold. Why does she always stare? It was as if she was staring into her very being.

"You're cold"

Hinata tried her very best to convince Athena to keep her scarf. She didn't listen and Hinata was soon hiding her blushing face in the equally red scarf.

"What did those boys say to you?"

"Um.. " Hinata looked to the dirt they stood on. She could feel Athena's intense gaze on her. She couldn't understand. Why was she hesitant to answer the question? They said a lot of hurtful words. They hurt a lot, but what hurt the most was what they said about her eyes.

~~~~~~

Athena stuffed her hands in her pockets in hopes of containing her rage. Hinata was hesitant, but she told her everything. With each word that left her mouth Athena's rage grew. How dare those bastards belittle Hinata like that? She should have given them a harder beating.

Matters not.

She'll hunt them down just like she did Naruto's bullies.

They'll pay.

"Your eyes are beautiful" Athena let a small smile grace her lips as she gazed into the lavender eyes of Hinata. "They're always filled with this kindness I'm not used to. They always display your emotions whether you like it or not. That's something I can't bring myself to do, which is why I like your eyes so much"

Athena didn't take her eyes off the Hyūga even when she looked away in embarrassment.

"Hey, I learned some taijutsu and am pretty confident in my ability to take you on. I do remember promising you a match"

Athena's attempt to pull a smile out the other worked. Her smile grew.

It seems happiness decided to take the reigns again.