"Well"

Athena sighed as she stared out into the night sky. What time was it? She really didn't know. She couldn't sleep for some reason. It's nothing new. She did suffer from insomnia in the past. She doubt it completely went away. There are nights where she just can't go to sleep. Like this one. She had slipped out of her futon and came to sit on the windowsill. Naruto and Sasuke had not yet returned. True to their word they were going to be out all night. They better not over do it. They all go out to guard the old man the next day.

"Or is it today? " she wondered out loud. She really needed to see a clock. It could be the next day for all she knew. She searched around the room, the darkness hardly bothering her. There on the wall. She focused on the clock quirking a brow at the time. Had she really been up for five hours straight? It's two in the morning. All she had been doing in that time is staring out the window.

She wondered what could be bothering her. She usually gets a visit from her insomnia when she has something on her mind. To be fair she always has something on her mind. She's thinking about the chunin exams that's coming up. Orochimaru. Kabuto. Gaara and the likes. Orochimaru was a bastard. He really pissed her off. Not only was he one of the reasons Sasuke decided to leave, but he killed the old man and nearly destroyed the entire village. She huffed. She had a serious grudge against him. Despite all of that he was very helpful when he needed to be. Thinking about it now, would Orochimaru target Sasuke? He is not the only Uchiha alive. There are plenty, including the genius Itachi. Next to that, she was an obvious option. That thought actually made her shiver. Well if Orochimaru set his sights on her all the better. It meant Sasuke would not be in danger. She could take Orochimaru on, she was confident about that. She was not going to let the old man die. She could care less about the Kazekage. He was a bastard too. He deserved to die. What kind of father was he?

The people of the leaf and sand are idiots, in her personal opinion. They both treated Naruto and Gaara like trash as if they did not want a super weapon on their side.Wasn't that the whole point of them? And didn't Naruto save their lives? If the fox was not sealed within him they would've been in serious trouble. They treated him like trash for something he had no control over. And the sand was even worse. Gaara's dad actually tried to kill him. The one person he thought loved him turned out to be a bastard as well. They claimed to be a monster so it is their fault that they made him. No one else's. That guy deserved so much more.

He lived a pretty good life in the end. Athena kind of felt sorry for the adult Gaara. The animators really did him no justice. Why would they design him like that? The Boruto anime really didn't rub her the right way. The manga is good enough though, the anime not so much.

"Boruto" Athena hummed. Well, she doubt he will come into existence in this universe. After all, she was the one who claimed Hinata. She chuckled at that. She didn't like Boruto. He was disrespectful and arrogant and lazy and so many other stuff. But he was a genius, she'll give him that. Who she did like was Himawari. She's adorable. Really takes after her mom.

Interesting thoughts, but were they the reason she was still awake? She thought about such things all the time. What's bothering her?

She turned around on the windowsill, eyes falling on Hinata's sleeping form. She furrowed her brows in contemplation. Was it the fact that Hinata ended up with her? No. She already accepted it. Things were bound to change with her existance and the current world she found herself in was not the same she watched on TV. Even if Hinata didn't end up liking her there was still a chance of her being with someone other than Naruto. Such is the ways of alternate universes. Once a ripple starts there is no stopping it.

But something about their relationship was nagging at her. The fact that they were only twelve years old. Well thirteen seeing as her birthday is just a few months away. A lot can happen as time goes by. Maybe Hinata's feelings won't last.

Yeah. That's definitely what's keeping her up.

Things don't always stay the same after all. She really hoped they did though. She didn't want the change. She didn't want Hinata's feelings to change or go away.

"Love is troublesome" she said to herself. "Relationships are troublesome"

She and Shikamaru should spend some time together when she got back.

She continued to stare at Hinata. There was not much for her to do anyway. However, staring at someone's sleeping form is considered creepy. So she looked away, only to look back. There was no helping it. She really couldn't look way. Why is she cute? What god blessed her so? She was adorable. How could anyone not like Hinata?

Purple eyes manifested when she blinked. The world around her changed rapidly and she was observing the "strings of time" as she called them. Everyone had one. Even her. She followed her own line. White. I connected to her chest. She touched it, watching the images of her past. She followed the line as it got tangled in that of another. Lavender. She was connected to Hinata. It made her smile. She could only hope. She moved to touch her string again, wondering. She could see the future of whoever she wanted. She could see the future of those who are entangled. A useful ability. She wanted to see what their future told. Her fingers hovered just inches away from her string. She really wanted to know.

She blinked and it was all gone. She turned back to stare into the night. Sometimes it's best not to know. Maybe she wouldn't like the future she saw. She saw no reason to sadden herself right now. She was happy and would like to keep things that way.

But, what if she sees something good. The future she wants? But what if knowing of that future makes it not become a reality?

Time is complicated. She never tried to see her own future. She couldn't bring herself to do it in fear of what she might see or lose.

Only time will tell, as she liked to say.

~~~~~~~

"Are you alive? "

Yes, he was. By some miracle, he was still alive. Sasuke stared up at the night sky. The moon and stars were hidden behind the clouds. He was panting, trying to catch his breath. His everything hurt. He felt pain in places he didn't even know could feel pain. He was feeling all types of new pain. It was an eye opener. Naruto did not go easy on him. Then again he did tell him not the hold back. His body regretted the words. His mind did not. He may be in pain, but he liked to believe his training did some good.

"Can you get up?" Naruto asked as he stood above him.

"I don't think so" he could hardly twitch his fingers. Let alone move any of his limbs. He could not get up.

Naruto nodded before crouching before him. He put his hand out, just above Sasuke's chest and focused. A blue glow formed in his palm as he began to heal his teammate. Medical ninjutsu was more Athena's style. Naruto hardly used it. Since Athena wasn't around he would have to fix Sasuke up. Especially since he's the one that put him in his current state. Using healing ninjutsu was harder for Naruto because he had to be very careful. He could not mix in the fox's chakra or he would be doing damage instead of fixing. Athena was way better at splitting her chakra than he was.

Within moments Sasuke was feeling better. He felt no pain in his joints and all the new places he discovered. He clutched his fist and sighed.

"Thanks"

"I'm amazing" Naruto boasted with a proud grin.

"Don't kid yourself" Sasuke sat up and rolled his shoulders. "What time is it? "

"Don't know, maybe around two or three in the morning"

"Shouldn't we head back"

"What happened to training all night? "

"It would be for nothing if we're too sleep deprived to help in the morning"

"Sleep is for the weak" Naruto said with conviction

"You're an idiot"

Naruto only grinned and turned away. He started taking his jacket off, throwing it to the grass. His shirt and pants followed until he was just in his boxers. The last to go was his head band.

"Naruto you must be out of your mind if you're actually planning to go swimming. The water is freezing" Sasuke warned. What was he thinking?

"Watch me" and with that he took off running. With a whoop of excitement he jumped into the water. Sasuke scooted back to avoid getting wet. He could not believe him. Naruto resurfaced with clattering teeth, but somehow pulled his lips into a grin. "It's not cold at all. "

Sasuke facepalmed in frustration. Naruto could not be serious. He was a real idiot some times. Sasuke was not joining him. He stood fully and started climbing up a tree. If they were going to be out all night he might as well find somewhere comfortable and high up. From his chosen branch he could see Naruto happily swimming around. He spotted a purple diamond on his forehead and furrowed his brow in curiosity.

"Hey, Naruto"

"Yeah? "

"What's with that diamond on your forehead? "

Naruto reached up at the mention of the seal. He almost forgot he had that. Placing chakra into it had become such a normal activity for him now.

"Strength of a Hundred Seal" is all he said as he drifted in the water. From his place he could see Sasuke's eyes widen just slightly. "Yes, that legendary seal"

"It's a jutsu from the sage of six paths era" Sasuke gaped .

"Yup. Grandma Tsunade taught me" Naruto informed. "Athena has it too"

Sasuke almost forgot that the two were trained by two of the legendary sanin. He was curious as to what type of training they were put through.

"So let me get this straight" Sasuke sat up, his eyes on the casual Naruto. "You have the tailed beast sealed within"

"Yup"

"You can use the flying thunder god technique "

"Yup"

"You're kind of a medical nin on top of that along with a skilled taijustu user"

"Sounds about right"

"What else? "

"I can make seals" Naruto informed. "And other stuff. Although I can't use genjutsu"

Yes or course, thats the one thing he could not do.

"If you think I'm something then what about Athena? "Naruto chuckled. "She's a badass and skilled in many things. Be it genjutsu, ninjutsu, taijutsu, bukijutsu, sealing techniques and medical ninjutsu. She can do it all and then some. She has two dojutsu no one has ever heard of. Both of them have something to do with time and chakra. Plus she has chakra that is almost natural energy. She can use all five afinities and naturally possesses yin yang release"

Sasuke did a double take when he heard the last bit. Yin yang release? Without the rinnegan? What the hell? How does she possess so many abilities? Plus she was a jinchuriki. Was Athena even a human being? Could they be absolutely certain that she is not a goddess.

"Oh and there's this prophecy about her, calling her the unknown goddess"

Sasuke blinked, his face blank. Yes of course. He nodded. It made perfect sense. He was but a lowly peasant before the godly being that was Athena Senju. He should be thankful to graced with her presence. He was blessed to actually talk to her magnificence.

Is that even a word?

He couldn't feel smaller than he already did.

~~~

The boys returned a few hours later. It was seven in the morning by the time they entered the house. Tsunami was already awake and getting breakfast ready. They greeted her before heading up the stairs to meet with Athena and the rest. They were all guarding the old man later in the day. Actually an hour later. The felt full of energy, not one bit dragged down by sleep deprivation.

"Athena we're back! "Naruto shouted gleefully as he bursted into Athena and Hinata's shared room. The minute he did he froze on the spot, causing Sasuke to bump into him. The Uchiha peered over his shoulder and stiffened, cursing the blonde idiot.

He just made a massive mistake.

Before he had so rudely and loudly bursted into their room, Athena and Hinata were happily asleep. It seemed Athena decided to join Hinata and was spooning the Hyuga. She was obviously very content in her position.

But then Naruto bursted into the room. His loudness shocking Hinata awake.

And that was the big mistake.

There was a growl as Athena abruptly sat up. Naruto gulped when those eyes settled on him. He made to take a step back. Sasuke wanted nothing to do with this. He was nowhere to be found, having quickly made himself scarce. Naruto was not dragging him into his mess again. He wished him luck and would pray for his soul.

"Naruto"

A shiver ran up his spine at the coldness in Athena's voice.

"You've committed a great sin"

"I'm sorry! "Naruto screamed and ran. "I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to wake her! "

"I'll kill you Naruto!"

"No please! " Naruto turned down a hallway almost falling face first. "Don't do it sis! I love you! I promise I won't ever do it again! "

"It's too late"

Hinata who, had watched in a daze blinked. She was still recovering from her sleep to actually register what was happening. But when she did she yelped and immediately got out of bed and out the room

"Athena, don't kill him! "

Kakashi, who had left his room to see what all the commotion was about almost collided with a terrified Naruto. He quickly stepped aside when Athena came running after him, followed by a very worried Hinata.

"What? "

Sasuke ducked a corner, evading everyone. He was not getting into this. He hid behind a wall, letting out a sigh of relief.

"It was nice knowing you Naruto. I will honor your name with a bowl of ramen when we return"