Chapter 21

An explosion shook the earth in a peaceful village. The villagers were confused and worried. What could have caused such an explosion? The village scarcely dealt with problems. It was a quiet peaceful village. The villagers lived peaceful lives. They never caused problems and problems never came their way. It was good living. The day was like any other. The stalls were open and selling a variety of necessities. Green, fruits, rice, some candy for the kids, clothing, souvenirs, jewelry. They had everything they needed. There was hardly a need to leave the village. Everything was right there. They loved their village. They were small and practically unknown. There are hardly any natural disasters. No rogue ninja pass through and cause problems. There was no crime for the people were very friendly. They would happily welcome any visitors. 

A peaceful village. 

But a peaceful day was interrupted by a ground shaking explosion. What could be happening? 

~~~~~

Athena skillfully evaded her mother's powerful attack and retreated to the forest. That was a close call. Her mother almost got to her. She was quiet and stealthy. She easily snuck up on the seven year old. But Athena saw her plan just in time and threw herself out of the way. She had watched the cracks appear in the dirt and spread further. Her mother's blow was strong enough to send trees to the ground. Her area of effect was impressive. That is the power of a sannin. Athena was yet again impressed by her mother's show of strenght. It had been two years and she could still be amazed. She smiled to herself as she took to the trees. In the two years a lot had taken place. She had read and memorized her mother's medical book. She was taught every technique. Taught all the oddities. Her mother taught her everything. She started off small. She starts healing animals. A fish. A squirrel. A fox. She slowly moved on to bigger animals unti she was skilled enough to tend to a human being. Due to her mother's constant travels she developed quickly. In each village there was someone in need of medical attention. She was tasked with such things, along with Shizune of course. 

The tw years have bee great. But of course there were bumps. There always are. 

At some point Athena's past had to be revealed. At first she was distracted by her training. The thoughts of her past were starting to become rare. She was doing better. She was sleeping at night. She was starting to overcome all of her fears. She was starting to get better emotionally. Her mother was there for every step of the way. She was actually happy and believing in herself more. 

She had a nightmare once and everything came crashing down. She was reminded of everything. Her happiness was again threatened. The days after that weren't as bright, but they were not bad. Tsunade tried to cheer her up as best she could, but she could do nothing if Athena refused to talk. 

But she had to. And she did. 

It was doing het personal medical training. Athena was carefully inspecting the fish she had caught. She had managed to swipe a scalpel from Shizune. She was very careful in her endeavor. She had gently cut the fish open. Blood had started to leak and its organs were revealed. She wasn't affected. Blood wasn't something she feared. At least not at that moment. With the fish's insides revealed she inspected. She carefully inserted finger in search of its heart. She wiggled a bit and winced when a sharp pain shot through her. She had cut herself. She quickly retrieved her finger and made a move to wash it, but she froze. 

She was bleeding. 

When was the last time she saw her own blood? She couldn't remember. As she stared at her finger a feeling of dread started to take over. She was still missing a vital detail of her memories. She couldn't remember what had happened before she woke up near the leaf village. 

The feeling in her stomach grew the long she stared and wondered. Memories suddenly filled her head and she stumbled. It was overwhelming. There was so much going on. So many images just trying to fill her head. 

She remembered. She remembered the last time she bled. It wasn't pretty. There was so much. It was spilling from her chest. From her mouth. From her nose. She was bleeding too much. 

She remembered. 

She had died. 

~~~~~~

Athena snapped out of her thoughts though a flash of lightning was shot past her. Tsunade was hot on her tail. She would have to retaliate sooner or later. How should she do that. She had an arsenal of jutsu up her sleeve. She could choose any one. 

She jumped off the branch of a tree and bounced off another to turn herself around. She was facing her mother. She smirked as she quickly formed the familiar hand signs. 

"Fire style: Fire ball jutsu"

The attack was only a distraction. It would only deter her mother for a limited amount of time. She wasn't planning on attacking just yet. She needed a little more time. 

"Shadow clone jutsu"

The of her copies appeared and they scattered. That should buy her some time. 

She could hear her mother laugh behind her and she smiled. 

"Run as long as you want Athena! I'll catch you soon enough "

That she would but it would be on Athena's terms. 

~~~~~~

The revelation of her death had been hard. She had actually died. And contrary to what she thought she wasn't the one to end it all. She didn't kill herself despite thinking it. She had been killed. Shot three times. Right in the chest? Why? 

Someone found out. Someone found out about what was really taking place in her home. They had found out about things her "parents" did to her. The cuts. The bruises. The violation. The pain. They found out and tried to be a hero. Jokes on them. The police were called. They were afraid. They blamed her. She had told, hadn't she? She couldn't keep her mouth shut and be a good girl. It was always her fault. 

But she didn't tell. 

They didn't believe her. They were angry. Angrier than they had ever been. 

It didn't end very pleasantly. 

She always knew they would be the death of her. 

She could hardly breathe when she remembered. Everything came rushing back and hit her like a bullet. It was painful. She had succomb to panic again. 

She didn't know how long she was out there, but she was found by her mother at some point. She didn't remember much. All she could remember was a soothing voice and warm embrace. Her mother smelled nice. It was comforting. She broke down in tears as she was held. She cried like the child she was. 

She told her everything. 

~~~~~~

Athena skidded to a halt in a clearing. The space was wide and there was a lake right at her side. Perfect. 

She had calculated everything. Every move she made was all apart of her crazy plan. She had timed everything. If her calculations were correct she had no more than a few seconds remaining. 

It was time. It took her far longer than she would like to learn the jutsu she was going to use. It was one of the many jutsu she wanted to learn so very badly.

She took a breath and prepared herself. The Jutsu she was about to use is most likely every Naruto fan's dream. 

"Ushi, Saru, U, Ne , I, Tori, Ushi, Uma, Tori, Ne, Tora, Inu, Tora, Mi, Ushi, Hitsuji, Mi, I, Hitsuji, Ne, Jin, Saru, Tori, Tatsu, Tori, Ushi, Uma, Hitsuji, Tora, Mi, Ne, Saru, U, I, Tatsu, Hitsuji, Ne, Ushi, Saru, Tori, Jin, Ne, I, Tori "

She succeeded in one breath and smiled happily. She worked hard on that jutsu. She completed the jutsu just as her mother came into sight. Victory shall be hers. 

"Water style: Water dragon jutsu"

~~~~~~~

Athena was feeling very proud. Her jutsu worked without a hitch. Her signs were formed perfectly. Her chakra was controlled precisely. The satisfaction she felt when she saw her mother dripping wet with water was something she could get used to. She knew her mother could withstand the attack. It was not used to defeat her. It was used for Athena's amusement. That was something Tsunade easily picked up on. 

"Lady Tsunade what happened to you?" Shizune questioned while trying to withhold her laughter. Tsunade was wet from head to toe. Her bangs were in her face and she made no move to fix that issue. She looked slightly annoyed to be honest. Athena contrasted. She was smiling brightly. 

"Athena decided to use water dragon jutsu"

"You know that jutsu? "When had Athena learned it? It wasn't one Tsunade had taught her. She must have spent time training on her own again. 

"Yes. I worked hard to master it "

Tsunade sighed as she splattered some water on the seven year old. She was Annoyed but she was also happy. Athena had been doing great for the past few months. When she had revealed everything to her, her heart had broken. How could someone do such things. How could they treat a child as if she was nothing. Meant nothing. They had traumatized her. It was because of them that her daughter was hurting. 

Just thinking about it made her angry. 

Athena had fell into her depression after that but Tsunade would not allow her to dwell on the past. She was with her. With her real mother. The mother that would never hurt her. The mother that loved her with everything she had. She made sure to be there for her. 

"Cheeky" Tsunade teasingly pinched Athena's cheeks. It always irritated the seven year old. It was pay back for practically sending an entire lake and then some on her. 

Athena grumbled and tried to pull away from her mother's grip, but to no avail. 

"Let go"

"Not until you apologize"

"I do not have To apologize for anything. That jutsu was within our rules of engagement. It was a legal attack"

"Yes that may be so but you only used it for your amusement "

"We have no rule about such a thing. You have nothing against me, woman"

Tsunade hummed. Athena had a very valid point. Tsunade still wanted an apology though. 

Something pulsated with light under Athena's shirt and her eyes fell to it. It was the necklace she had created before leaving the village. She managed to construct it as she wished. Tsunade wasn't aware of how she connected the two necklaces, but she did and it was impressive. 

Athena reached for the necklace. She had a lavender flower. Same as Hinata. She couldn't do much with the necklace. All she could Make it do was pulsate whenever Hinata added chakra to her own necklace. It was their one way of communication, next to letters of course. 

Athena took her necklace in hand and sent her own pulse of chakra through it. 

She wondered how Hinata was doing. 

The glow stopped and she returned it back to its place with a smile. She glanced at her mother who was eyeing her with a smile she did not like. 

"Don't look at me like that "

Shizune burst into a fit of giggles at the face Athena was making. She wasn't sure if she was aware of it or not but the child had puffed out her cheeks in a pout. 

"Don't be embarrassed Athena " Tsunade snickered as she patted an annoyed Athena on the head. 

"I'm not embarrassed. I just don't like that Annoying smile you plaster on your face"

"You say such cruel things to your mother"

"My mother should stop teasing me"