Chapter 25

"Athena! "

Upon hearing her name and the familiar voice, Athena turned around only to be tackled to the ground in a bonecrushing hug. All she managed to see before crashing onto the grass was a blob of orange and yellow. Familiar colors that were associated with her god brother. Apparently he hadn't changed one bit when it came to his excitement.

"Naruto, get off please"

Immediately the boy was on his feet and apologizing profusely. He quickly helped Athena up and dusted off her clothes. He stood in front of her with the biggest smile ever and was practically buzzing with excitement. He had so much to tell her. So much to show her. So much to ask her. He didn't expect to run into her on his way to the village Jiraiya had told him to come to after his mission. It was a delightful shock.

Athena could feel the excitement rolling off the young boy. She smiled and ruffled his hair. He had grown. He was finally taller than her. And his muscles were developed enough. He looked very well kept. Better. She was happy. He was doing good. She wondered how his training with Jiraiya went. What had her father taught the young ball of sunshine? Did he know as many seals as she did? How good was his taijutsu? How many jutsu had he learned? Did he already have the summoning technique?

"How have you been little brother? " she asked, the smile remaining. "Have you been eating well? You held back on the ramen like I told you, right? "

Naruto nodded rapidly. "Yeah. I only eat ramen two times a week and I make sure to eat enough veggies and fruits to keep me healthy. I always drink self made fruit juice and try to cook for myself as often as I can. I make sure to bath on time and always keep myself clean"

Athena couldn't help the laugh that escaped her. Naruto really followed all her advice. To the T. He paid close attention and was very proud of his achievement.

"That's good. I didn't expect you to take all of my advice" Athena admitted as the two started to walk together.

Naruto only grinned a response to that. He was shocked he even took all of her advice. He could be very forgetful.

"Where are you going? " he asked. It seemed as if they were heading in the same direction. Could they be heading to the same little village?

"The same place you are"

"Wow really? "

"Yes, Naruto. It's been three years already. You'll be handed over to my mother today "

Naruto blinked. Oh. He had forgotten about that. He had gotten so used to the perverted Jiraiya that he had totally forgotten that he would have to train under Tsunade at some point. He wondered what he would learn under her. His mother had told him that she was the best medical nin. Would he learn medical Ninjutsu? She also said she was super strong. She could reinforce her strenght with Chakra. That was cool. He wouldn't mind having such a technique.

"How did your mission go, Naruto? "Athena asked. She was curious. She wondered how the boy handled his first mission.

Naruto immediately brightened up. "It was a success. I got attacked on day two, but I easily took those guys down and interrogated one of them. He didn't know who sent them, but they were offered a lot of money by the mystery person. After that I had to brave through sandstorms to enter the village in the sand. I met the Kazekage. I didn't like him. He gave off a dirty vibe to me" Naruto recalled his mission and meeting the Kazekage. He didn't like the man. His eyes were cold. That man was no good. He could feel it in his bones. The way the man looked at him was territorial. It was as if he was an object standing before him. As if the man was already planning on ways to use him.

Naruto had realized that the man knew he was a Jinchūriki. He knew and it spelled trouble.

"I didn't stick around long. I had a bad feeling"

Athena nodded. Naruto did the right thing. It's good to trust your gut. Athena absolutely despises the Kazekage. He was a cruel man. He treated his own children as military weapons. He wanted to use Gaara as a weapon. When he realized he was doing the poor boy more harm than good and that the boy was scaring the villagers he ordered his death. He sent assassins after his own child. It pissed Athena off.

"Did you know the sand village has a Jinchūriki too? " Naruto asked.

"Yeah, the one tail"

"I met him. " Naruto said with a somber look in his eyes. "He was very sad. No one wanted to be around him. He was alone"

Naruto understood the feeling. He knew what it was like to be treated like a monster. He could relate to the boy. He tried to be his friend. He talked to him. At first it was hard. The boy didn't trust him, but he was persistent.

"His name is Gaara" Naruto told Athena. He had gotten the boy to introduce himself and talk a bit. He could tell he didn't know what to say. He wasn't used to talking to those his age or people at all. He was hurting. He had bags under his eyes. "I don't think he sleeps"

Athena looked to the ground. Gaara. Her heart went out to him. He had to go through so much. He had to suffer so much. He was alone. His father didn't care. His uncle tried to kill him. His siblings couldn't understand him. They feared him. They all feared him. He just wanted to be loved. All he needed was love.

"You tried to make friends? "

Naruto nodded. "Yeah, he didn't talk much, but I think I made him a bit happier. I told him not to give into the darkness. Things would get better. It may not be now, but things will get better for him, right? "

"Yeah. Most definitely. Things will improve for him"

"Do you think I can be his friend?"

"Of course" Athena ruffled blonde hair again. "You can be anyone's friend"

"You're just being nice" Naruto blushed and Athena laughed. "How about you? How was your mission"

"A success. I was also asualted on day two, but that was easily taken care of. My attackers also had a secret benefactor." She told the younger. "I made it to the cloud village on time and delivered the scroll. It wasn't so interesting. "

"Awe, didn't you meet anyone interesting? "

"I met Killer Bee" Athena admited. "He's the Jinchūriki of the eight tails. He likes to rap" Athena remembered meeting the man very vividly. He was interesting. He immediately took a liking to her when he noticed that she could care less about what his older brother told her. It was kinda funny. The Raikage was yelling at her for being ignorant and she was ignoring him. Bee was a laughing mess and decided to take Athena out to one of his concerts. He even tried to teach her to rap.

"You met a rapper!? "

"Yes I did. He tried to teach me to rap"

"Did it work?"

"I don't know. I never tried to rap" Athena shrugged.

"Come on try it" Naruto had stars in his eyes. The possibility of seeing Athena rap was so enticing.

"Naruto, I'm not a rapper"

"Come on. It can't be that hard. You just have to make words ryme. "

Athena raised an eyebrow. "Alright, then rap".

Naruto blinked. "Huh? "

"Rap" Athena repeated. "If it's so easy you should have no problem doing it"

"But... "

"If you can come up with a small rap I'll try it too"

"Really? "

"Yes"

Naruto hummed and looked to the ground in thought. He needed to come up with a rap no matter how bad it might be. He just needed words to ryme.

"Okay. My name is Naruto Uzumaki..... I'm gonna be Hokage so the village can see I'm not a beast ... A hero is what I'll be? With Athena by my side there is no... No... No mountain I can't climb. Together we will rise to the top, never stop. Potential unlock.. " Naruto grinned brightly. That was not so bad. "Hey, that was pretty good. My name is Naruto Uzumaki. I'm gonna be Hokage so the village can see I'm not a beast a hero is what I'll be. With Athena by my side there's no mountain I can't climb. Together we will rise to the top, never stop. Potential unlocked" Naruto started bouncing to whatever beat he had in his head.

Athena could only watch in amusement. He tried his best and it came out pretty good. Bee would've been impressed.

"Now you" Naruto was beaming as he gazed upon the casual Athena.

"I can't rap, Naruto"

"Try. Please "

Athena sighed. "Athena Senju, packed with all the Jutsu. Start my life a new. Since arriving here I knew. I would have to be strong for I found where I belong. Work hard all day long to make sure nothing goes wrong. I must not fail. Always prevail. This world I will save from a fate so grave I must never be afraid it's part of my ninja way"

Athena wasn't impressed with her "rap". But she was saying what she had on her mind. Naruto seemed very happy so she smiled.

"More"

"What? "

"Come on. More rhymes"

"No, Naruto "

"Please"

"No"

"Athena. Athena. Athena. Athena. Athena. Athena. Athena " Naruto annoyingly chanted her name over and over. She regretted mentioning Bee to him. He would no let it go.

"Fine, shut up"

"Yes! " Naruto fistbumped the air and waited patiently for Athena to continue but she said nothing. "Hey! Did you lie to shut me up? "

"Yes"

"No fair"

"You're being Annoying right now"

"But sis"

Athena sighed. "I have a little brother who wants to be Hokage so by his side I must stay. I will help him on his way and watch him become great. He is really really brave and has a cool ninja way. His future has taken shape. I have opened up the gate. From his path he won't ever stray"

Naruto was just buzzing with excitement and could not resist the urge to hug her as tight as he could.

"You're so cool"

Athena sighed and wiggled out of Naruto's grip. He was impressively strong.

"Can we move on? "

Naruto nodded. "Sure. Does mom train you too? "

"Yes she does"

Naruto nodded with a smile on his face. "She taught me how to strengthen the seal on my stomach. Apparently it's weakening and the fox's chakra is leaking out. I think he's trying to escape"

"Of course he is Naruto. He's trapped in there" Athena poked Naruto's stomach. "There's an upside to his attempts though. Due to his chakra leaking you have stronger chakra reserves and I'm pretty sure you heal rapidly "

"That's cool" Naruto touched his stomach. "Should I worry about it? "

"Not at the moment. Benefit from it"

"If you say so"

"Trust me. When you reach the age of twelve you can strengthen it"

"Alright" Naruto slipped his hands into his pocket. "Do you want to go out for ramen when we reach the village? "

"Sure, I don't see why not"

"Can we get miso ramen with extra pork? "

"Sure"

"What's your favorite food? Do you like ramen too? "

"I like ramen, but my favorite food is dango, well that's a sweet, isn't it? "

"It still counts as food" Naruto said. "What's your second favorite food? "

"Ramen"

Naruto fist pumped the air at that. Did he seriously want Athena to like ramen as much as him?

"Seriously Naruto "

"Do you want to spar when we get there? "

"If I say no will you ask the question again? "

"Yes. I want to show you what I can do"

"If that's what you want I have no problem with it"