Chapter 53

A gasp caught the attention of the rest of team seven. They looked towards Athena and Sasuke wondering what had taken place. Sasuke was on his hands and knees, tears leaving his eyes. Athena sat opposite him, her eyes back to normal. She watched him with a remorseful look in her eyes. She made no move to console the boy. She just let him get everything out.

"He killed them" Sasuke dug his nails into the dirt. He killed them. Itachi killed them all. Their parents. Izumi. His friends. Everyone. He killed them all. There was so much blood spilled. No one had a chance of survival. They didn't have the chance to defend themselves. They could do nothing. They had brought it upon themselves,but they didn't deserve to die. He could've went about it differently, but at the time he had little choice. He killed them all. But he left him alive. He was the only one remaining. Him alone. He was alone. Without his mother. Without his father. Without his brother. The brother he looked up to. Had he not known the circumstances he would hate him. He would despise him with every ounce of his being. He would seek revenge. He would kill him for what he had done. And he did, didn't he. That version of him hated his brother for what he had done. He does not know the circumstances. He does not know the true motives. Itachi refused to tell him. He made himself the enemy. He wanted him to hate him. He wanted him to exact his revenge. He wanted him to kill him.

He left him broken and traumatized. He abandoned him. All for the sake of protecting him and the leaf village.

All of that could've happened to him. All of that was so very close to becoming a reality. That world was only lacking one person. One person changed everything. One person decided between life and death. One person could make such a big difference.

"Are you alright? "

No, he wasn't. He was still trying to accept everything. It was hard to wrap his head around it all. It hurt. It hurt terribly. He witnessed the death of his parents by the hands of his brother. He witnessed his cold stare. The cold eyes of one who had no remorse. His words. Just thinking about his reason. He did it to test his limits? Why? He knew his brother was not being truthful. He knew he put up an act. He knew he made himself the enemy to protect him. He knew that, but everytime he thought about it all it just brought an aching pain and the feeling of dread.

"Sasuke"

He heard his name. He heard Athena call him. He wanted to respond, but he couldn't. He could only let the tears free. He could only succumb to the pain and realization. The world is a cold place and if he remained ignorant he would surely be crushed. It was already excruciating to come to terms with.

"Sasuke" Athena flicked his forehead to snap him out of his thoughts. He looked at her, tears trailing down his cheeks. Athena stared into his eyes with a serious expression.

Sasuke flinched away from her before her hand even came close to touching him. He blinked in shock. He had seen that coming. He saw the slightest tension in her arms before she fully moved. He didn't know exactly what she planned on doing, but he reacted to it.

"What? "

Athena simply pointed to the little pond she had created. Sasuke was quick to place himself in front of it. He stared into the water, eying his reflexion. His eyes were red. Red with two tomoe. He awakened his sharingan. He wiped his tears away as he stared at his eyes. There really was no point in crying was there? That was not his reality and he can't change what happened to the other him. All he could do is learn from it. Learning was very painful apparently.

"It actually worked" Kakashi said to himself in wonder. "What in the world did she show him? "

"Something very traumatizing, obviously " Naruto shrugged.

"It didn't have to be, did it? "Hinata questioned with worry. "It isn't set in stone that the user has to go through something negative. A desire to protect a loved one can be just as strong"

"Yes, you are absolutely right" Athens said, suddenly appearing at Hinata's side. "I could've let things unfold as they should, but I needed him to see something important. I promised to answer his questions and I did"

Sasuke stumbled when Naruto slapped him on the back. He was pulled back to his feet before he fell into the water in front of him. He sighed.

"Sorry" Naruto was quick to apologize. "Are you ok? "

Sasuke took a moment to answer. It still hurt to think of everything, but he got the answers he was in search of. There's no point in being depressed about something he can't change. That was the fate of the world. That was the fate of the alternate version of him. He had his own life and his own future to achieve. He was sure the other him had his own future to live up to.

"I guess"

"That's as good an answer as any" Naruto grinned and moved to stand in front of him. He stared at him, with a pensive look on his face. "So that's what it looks like up close. It's pretty cool"

Sasuke watched Naruto take multiple steps back.

"I dare you to copy me" the boy challenged.

Sasuke raised a eyebrow and nodded. It could be great practice.

"Alright here goes" Naruto nodded and proceeded to rapidly form handsigns while mouthing them as well. He was not trying to perform a justsu, he was jus trying to help Sasuke get a grasp of his new ability. It was also his way of learning about the dojutsu. It was pretty cool.

Athena stood aside and watched the two throw handsigns. Sasuke was copying to his own shock and amazement. He didn't think he would be able to keep up with Naruto's speed. He most likely can't. Naruto must have slowed his pace.

"I'll be training him from now on" Athena finally said. Her words made then both freeze.

"What?! I wanna train him. I can learn so much. The sharingan is so cool" Naruto protested. "Let me train him. I promise you he'll have the mastered sharingan in a few days"

Athena raised an eyebrow. That was a big promise. But Naruto could actually keep it. Athena had a dojutsu that has a few similar abilities so she thought she could be a good help to him because of that. But if Naruto wished to be his trainer then so be it.

"I feel as I'm being disregarded" Kakashi commented.

"That's because the brat is doing your job" Yin Kurama said bluntly.

Kakashi made a distance between himself and the tailed beast. He did not want a repeat of the last time.

"I still think I should train him" Athena said.

"Come on" Naruto pleaded and then grinned. "If I'm train him you get to train Hinata, don't you? "

Athena stared at her brother . She knew what his game was. He thought that pointing such a thing out would succeed in getting Athena to back down. It was a very smart thing to do. He did know how much Athena favored the girl. He knew better than anyone that she would pick Hinata over everyone and anything else. It was practically written in stone.

At some point Athena shrugged and looked away from him. Naruto fisted the air in his joy and victory.

"Oh yeah! I get to train Sasuke! "

Sasuke sighed in relief. He preferred Naruto over Athena for obvious reasons. She can be terrifying. He knew that training under her would seriously benefit him. She knows a lot and she has a dojutsu of her own. He couldn't help but think training under her would majorly increase his skills overall in a short amount of time. But training with Naruto would be less terrifying. His friend was a cheerful, but very smart boy. Training under him would benefit as well. If anything he could see his speed and reaction time increasing. Naruto might just be a great trainer if he planned to master his sharingan soon. He wasn't ignorant. He knew that just being capable of predicting one's move will do him no good if he does not have the skill to accompany it. It would be useless if he could not time and control his reactions. He should also be fast enough to counter any predicted move. Sasuke was sure Naruto was the fastest person he knew, so that would work out.

"Alright Sasuke let's get to it" Naruto proceeded to drag the Uchiha away with a cheerful air about him. "We're going to have a lot of fun"

Sasuke let himself be pulled away. There was really no point in struggling against the boy. As he was dragged off he caught Athena's eye. She smiled as she waved him off. He couldn't help but wonder if she felt bad about showing him that alternate universe. Athena wasn't easy to read so he wasn't entirely sure. He did know that she was affected by it all. She didn't like it anymore than he did. If she did feel bad he would have to reassure her. He didn't have any negative feelings towards her for any of it. He didn't hold any negativity towards his brother. He knew better than that. The only person who he found himself seriously despising was Danzo.

How he wanted to kill that bastard.

~~~~~~~

Kakashi decided to invest himself in his books. He would not be bothered by any of this. Athena seems to have everything under control. She literally just took his job. He had little to do now and he was fine with it. He could read his books and take a nap. It was all good. He wondered why the old man didn't just hand the girl the title of jonin and give her a team. She may be young, but she's a force to be reckoned with.

At the moment she was occupied with Hinata and the fox.

Yin Kurama was lying on Hinata's lap, his tails lazily twisting behind him. As proud as he was he had to admit he enjoyed the girl's presence. She was very kind to him, although a bit hesitant. He could see why Athena liked her. She wasn't one to judge others based on what has been said about them. There was little trace of fear detected from her when he had first met her. There was still the slightest hint of fear, but it was gone soon enough. Her trust in Athena made her trust him. Because of that trust he has decided to be placid around her.

That was not the only reason he occupied her lap. The second and most important reason was that he seemed to annoy Athena now. Him sprawled out in Hinata's lap annoyed Athena and he loved it.

"I'm seriously not liking you right now" Athena said in her calm manner.

"Is that so? "

Yang Kurama eyed his brother. Of course he had to find someway to annoy his host. His eyes lingered. Must be nice to be petted. Oh well. He didn't need to stick around. Without a word he turned and headed in the direction of Naruto and Sasuke. He might as well stick close to his ever cheerful host. He would rather not be around when the other two get into a fight as per usual.

"Is something bothering you? "Hinata asked, oblivious to the situation taking place.

"No, I'm perfectly fine" Athena looked away from the sly fox. "Kurama is just being smug"

"He is? "Hinata looked at the fox in her lap. He was surprisingly well behaved with her. He not once acted hostile towards her. He just let her pet him and seemed to enjoy it a great deal.

"She's just jealous" Kurama taunted.

"Jealousy is an ungly emotion I do not wish to associate myself with"

"And yet here we are" Kurama smirked.

"I am not jealous, you dumb fox"

"Sure"

Hinata was trying to understand why Kurama thought Athena was jealous and wondered why she would have to be jealous. She didn't take her for the type so she had to agree with Athena. She doubt she would ever be jealous no matter the situation.

Athena sighed and decided to ignore the fox. He knew damn well what he was doing. There was no point in humoring him. All he wanted was to get on her nerves.

"What form of training will you be putting me through? " Hinata decided to ask. It was apparent that Athena would be overlooking her training from now on and she was curious.

"She can train you in many intimate ways" Kurama said with a chuckle. This resulted in him being thrown across the clearing they found themselves in.

Athena glared in the direction she threw him for a moment before her attention was back on Hinata. Said girl stared in that direction as well, confused.

"Why did you throw him? "

"He is a fool"

She didn't need him planting images and thoughts in her head right now.

"You little brat! "

Athena smirk as she heard the fox shout and curse from a distance.

"That's what you get, you dumbass"