The Girl Who Made a Choice

It was hot. Sweat poured down Sakura's brow as she dodged a kick that the larger version of Qrow threw at her head. They were trying to show Qrow the benefits he had at changing forms while fighting. It would throw off an enemy if he was random enough with his movements and give him an advantage. He was having too much difficulty concentrating while being attacked to change and simultaneously get out of the way.

Qrow's moves were faster than they usually were, and Sakura had a feeling that he had picked up some speed with his usage of his 'chakra.' He slipped away as he sensed Kakashi coming up behind him. Sakura suppressed a grin at his action.

As the boy grew in skill rapidly (Sakura thought that had something to do with their location), the ninja pair had opted to show Qrow how well they fought together against him—not to mention to force him to think faster and strategize while barely thinking about it. Sakura had forgotten how seamlessly she and Kakashi could move together. It made her heart race; it was so thrilling. Sakura realized there was nothing quite as special as fighting with one of her fellow shinobi. They understood each other on a level that she needed to have with Qrow. Every day she was coming closer to that goal, and with the amount of frustration on Qrow's face, she hoped he knew it too.

Qrow shifted into his bird form and flew up into the sky away from them. Sakura narrowed her eyes, knowing that Qrow was about to come down and go for Kakashi's throat in some form. It wouldn't work, but for some reason, she felt like she could see through Qrow's eyes.

Sakura blinked, and Kakashi had dodged the intended attack. Then he was standing right in front of her face shaking her slightly. His hands were warm and slightly damp. His grip was tight and almost painful.

"Sakura, are you alright?" Sakura pinched the bridge of her nose and shook herself out of a daze. Qrow was nearby, and his red eyes gleamed in worry. She didn't understand why Qrow was worried about her when both of them teamed up against him. Sakura looked up at the sky to see the sun was starting to set. There was still time for them to have another round.

"I'm fine. Why are we stopping?"

Kakashi squinted at her. Sakura recognized that face. There was a puzzle that he was trying to figure out. The kunoichi turned her head and looked behind her to see if there was anything of note. There wasn't. "Sakura, for a second, you were transparent."

Sakura arched a brow. She knew she wore her heart on her sleeve, but that was no reason to stop in the middle of a training session. Sakura put her hands on her hips and tossed a stern look Kakashi's way.

"That's not a reason for us to stop training."

Kakashi stared at Sakura as if he couldn't believe what she had just said. He raised his head to the skies as if asking for guidance and then realized where he was and snorted. "Sakura, I meant you were intangible. You started fading away."

Sakura looked at Qrow for confirmation and then nodded. Sakura opened her mouth to question them both when Athena suddenly appeared in their midst.

"He's correct, child." Kakashi stilled, Qrow beamed, and Sakura's heart jumped out of her chest. She was surprised that Athena had been watching them train. It made sense that she would need to so that she could build upon their future abilities. She just hadn't expected her abrupt appearance. The woman was as stunning as ever, but her focus wasn't really on Sakura. It was on Kakashi. "How did you know that the boy," Athena gestured at Qrow, "needed special training?"

Kakashi looked down at Qrow. "He stills needs it, and we're not done with him. But it was just a process of elimination. You were trying to teach them both something they weren't getting because, for some reason, you opted not to give them all the details. Sakura's a smart girl and always has been." Kakashi affronted Sakura by the use of the term 'girl.' She was a grown woman. She had the battle scars to prove it. "If she couldn't figure it out, then the method of teaching had to change. The quickest way to get her to understand was to shake things up a little." Sakura's head darted back and forth between the two nervously. Athena's face was carved out of stone. "We are not from this world. Your ways are not ours. We don't serve your gods. So, if you want us to learn something from you, the reverse must happen."

"I lived eons before you were even a twinkle in your mother's eye. I've seen civilizations rise and fall. I practically gave birth to myself. And you think you can teach me, mortal? "

Kakashi's fingers twitched, and Sakura knew he was done with the conversation and itching to pull out a novel and put an end to it. Sakura softly wheezed, "Sensei, don't." In her stay, Qrow had told her a few things about the gods and goddesses. Sakura knew what they were the gods of.

The thought of Kakashi pulling out pornography before a goddess known for chastity did not seem like the best idea. Treating the Goddess of War like her battle prowess held no weight seemed worse. She didn't know why the two of them couldn't be peaceful with each other, but she wished they could find common ground.

"I think I already have." Kakashi retorted, forgoing the book and just being the man who was one of the most feared men in the five shinobi nations. Sakura should have just let him pull out the porn.

Athena pointed a sword at Kakashi's throat, and Qrow let out a small squeak because the situation escalated rather quickly. Sakura cleared her throat, only slightly, drawing the attention of the pair.

"Will someone please tell me what's going on?"

Sakura wasn't surprised when it was Qrow that spoke first because apparently, he was more mature than her older teammate and a goddess that had lived for eons.

"I think you were in my head while we were fighting."

Sakura couldn't hide her surprise. Instead, she knelt, putting herself at eye level with the boy. Kakashi and Athena had grown silent, and Sakura secretly thought that was a good thing. They should never speak to each other. She made a mental note to make that a priority. "What do you mean?"

"I could feel you were listening to my thoughts, and I could hear yours."

Sakura tilted her head curiously. "Is that even possible?"

Kakashi stepped closer to Sakura and away from Athena's blade. The Goddess lowered it, seemingly more interested in the conversation than in killing Kakashi.

"It's more than that," her Sensei supplied. "You were disappearing. If I had to guess, I'd say that the two of you were merging."

Athena stepped forward, her white robes swishing around her and the gold of her jewelry glimmering in the sunlight. "They were merging. It was only partial because the mortal," Athena gestured at Kakashi like he was the only mortal in their midst. "Interfered."

Sakura took a moment to think about that because her first instinct made her want to run. That they could merge had connotations that she found unsettling and wanted to erase them from existence, but she couldn't. Athena came closer to Sakura. She placed a finger beneath her chin and raised her head until Sakura met her eyes.

"Do not be afraid. You will not lose your sense of self if you merge with Qrow. You will still be you." Sakura opened her mouth to retort, but Athena shook her head negatively, making Sakura abort her actions. "The merge is only temporary and can be broken if you will it so or if your concentration is dubious as you have already noted."

Athena pulled her hand back, and instinctually, Sakura's gaze went to Qrow to see if she could gauge what he was thinking from his expression. He looked surprised, maybe even apprehensive. Sakura tossed a lopsided grin his way, and he bowed his head and shrugged his shoulders.

"How will that help us in battle?"

It was Kakashi who answered even as Athena's eyes twitched in irritation. It seemed unreasonable to Sakura. Kakashi was her Sensei. She supposed the gods didn't like it when someone stole their thunder. "Imagine what we could do if our minds, abilities, and body merged in battle."

Sakura gasped. Because first, the visual aspect of that was frightening. Just what would they look like? Genitalia alone was perplexing. She couldn't even force herself to think about wallowing in the sketchy depths of Kakashi's mind. Sakura shuddered.

The ability wasn't a tiny thing. Sakura and Kakashi together…the battle prowess. They would terrify everyone in the Five Shinobi Nations. Kakashi was scary in his own right. Combine them—

Sakura shook her head because that was moot. That wasn't what they were doing. The potential merger would be with Qrow. "Wait. Would that mean I'd be able to fly? Be able to transform into an owl?"

Athena nodded. "You'd also be able to wield his weapon." Sakura thought about the gigantic sword that Qrow used. She wasn't a stranger to swords but using one that large and bulky seemed a daunting task. Having Qrow in her mind and body taking that burden from her…it had a certain appeal.

"This is something we need to be cautious about, Sakura," Kakashi interjected, his tone grim. "We don't know if there would have any side effects. It took you a while to come out of that daze. If that happened in battle, you could die."

Athena whirled on Kakashi, her face a mask of fury. Sakura didn't understand why. His point was valid. There could be consequences to a whole-body merger between her and Qrow. Being cautious and having questions was only natural. Something about Kakashi bothered Athena. She was familiar with that sentiment. The man was naturally infuriating. However, this was a case where he wasn't going out of his way to antagonize anyone. He was offering council.

"I grow weary of your presence, mortal. You speak when you should be silent. You should leave Olympus before you end up hurt."

Kakashi's eyes grew cold, and Sakura immediately started moving to place her body between Athena and Kakashi. Kakashi just picked Sakura up and put her behind him. The action surprised her enough that she stood stunned for a while. She stared at Kakashi's back, not able to see anything but it. If he hadn't, she would have seen Athen's eyes glow a familiar eerie yellow.

"That is not an option. There is no way I'm leaving Sakura here by herself. Do you think I don't see how much of a pawn she is in the games played in this place? You want to isolate her so all she has no one else to depend up when that isn't true. I am here, and I am staying here."

Sakura felt her eyes tear up. She didn't know what was going on with her Sensei lately, but she was glad that he was here. She reached out and placed her hand on his back, letting him know she was there. Hopefully, it also conveyed how much she appreciated his words.

"Are you implying that I mean her harm?"

Sakura could hear the boredom in Kakashi's tone as he answered, "No. I'm implying that you won't have the opportunity." Sakura stiffened, and before she could move, and try to deescalate the situation. Kakashi started falling back towards her. His weight hit her body, making her stumble before Sakura caught him in her arms, confused about what was going on. She slowly lowered him to the ground to find that his throat was bleeding profusely. She glanced up at Athena, whose sword was in her hand and covered in blood. Her white clothing was stained red.

There was only one logical conclusion about what had occurred, but Sakura couldn't let her mind understand it. Instead, she focused on doing what she could, and that was stopping the bleeding before Kakashi died on her. She didn't notice Qrow come closer, and she didn't hear the words that he spoke. All of her attention was on where it was supposed to be—on her Sensei.

"Don't worry, Sensei. It will be okay."

His eye was grim, and she could tell he didn't believe her. His gasps for breath would haunt her for years to come.

Her hand glowed green, and she worked her mojo, desperately unaware of the tears that were spilling down her cheeks and the heaviness in her heart. The injury was grave—too grave and too deep for her to fix on her own. If her Master had been here, there was a good chance that she could save him. She was alone, though, and not good enough. Wasn't that the bitter story of her life? Never being a part of the team, always needing someone to help and save her, and not being enough. Kakashi-sensei came from their homeworld and searched for her. He had thought she was important enough to find. He followed her, protected her, and she wasn't even a medic sufficient to save his life.

"Neh, Sensei. Don't give up on me now." Sakura continued pouring her chakra into him, trying to knit skin, trying to give life where there was none. Sakura wasn't sure how long she kept going, but it was Qrow tugging on her arm that brought her back to reality.

His bright red eyes shone at her with tears unshed. Why was that? He hadn't even known Kakashi. He didn't care.

"What?" She barked, and Qrow flinched, but she couldn't find it in herself to apologize.

"He's gone, Sakura. There's nothing you can do for him now." No. That wasn't true. There was one thing last thing she could do for her Sensei. Sakura reached out and adjusted his mask to ensure it covered all of his face. Somehow, in the fall, it had shifted a little. She knew he wouldn't be happy if someone saw him without his permission.

When she pulled away, Sakura stared at her hands that had somehow become stained with blood. It wasn't something that had bothered her in the past. She's killed her enemies. She's ripped hearts out of chests and crushed them. She kept fighting and kept moving forward. Kakashi's blood on her hands made her want to start screaming and never stop. Instead, she bit her tongue until she could taste her blood instead of seeing his.

She was finally able to see more than the ruins of his injury, so Sakura stared at Kakashi's sightless eye. She reached out and closed the eye staring at her.

"You're better off without him." Athena's voice rang in her ears, and slowly Sakura turned her head to look at her. There was no remorse on her face. She looked cold and indifferent. If it hadn't been for her blood-stained clothes, the kunoichi wouldn't be able to tell that the woman had just taken a life. She rose to her feet and walked closer to the woman. She didn't look afraid of Sakura, and she shouldn't be. The kunoichi had a feeling that she could strike Sakura down with minimal effort on her part. "He was insolent and only getting in your way."

Sakura laughed mirthlessly. "For the majority of my shinobi career, that man opted to teach my teammates rather than me. I always told myself that it was okay that he did so. Naruto and Sasuke…in the grand scheme of things were more important than I would ever be. I was just the female on a team with renowned men."

"If you thought that, if he thought that, then he is a fool, and he deserved to die for letting you believe it."

Sakura continued as if she hadn't heard Athena speak. "Then he left our Village, our home, right after our countries were at war. When peace was probably tentative, and he came searching For. Me. He scoured this world that he knew nothing about how to find me; then he accomplished his goal.

He watched my back from the shadows to figure out if the people I was with were a threat so he could figure how to extract me. When he realized they weren't a threat, he let me live my life. Sure, I would have been happy if he had joined me, but he probably saw that for the first time, I wasn't wasting away in someone's shadow.

When I struck out on my own, he decided to follow. He discovered how to train Qrow and me so I could a better way to protect myself. He put himself between me and a goddess for my best interests. He told me I have the right to ask for things and stayed because I mustered up to courage to ask. He didn't have to do any of it. If he hadn't, he'd still be alive. And you have the nerve to say that I'm better off without him. He was the best shinobi I've ever known. Right now, I wished he thought I wasn't worth it." Sakura scrubbed at her face, furiously.

Athena stared at Sakura as if she didn't believe a word that had come out of her mouth. Sakura scoffed derisively. "I don't know who is coming for the deities here, but frankly, right now, I can understand why. I wish you all the best of luck dealing with it."

Sakura turned around and went back to Kakashi's body and knelt.

"Sakura," Sakura heard Qrow say softly, and she finally focused on him. He was frightened. He had probably never seen a mortal talk to a goddess so frankly. He probably feared that it would be seconds before her life was over.

"I'm leaving this place, Qrow. You can come with me if you want, but you have to make a choice. Is it them, or is it me?" Sakura hefted Kakashi into her arms and started walking away. She heard Athena call out, "Your training has only just begun. Don't cling to the teachings of this man. He was only crippling you. You are more this. "

"This man taught me one thing that is a fundamental part of who I am. I'm going to respect that legacy."

"You can't leave!"

*"I'll go wherever the hell I want to go."

:::

Night had fallen, and Sakura was stumbling about, trying to find a way off Olympus. She had followed Qrow there. She could figure the way back on her own, but she was frustrated, upset, and angry. She needed to stop and think, but she kept marching forward, knowing that if she stayed in Athena's presence a second longer, then her actions would become questionable. Qrow hadn't followed her, and that stung even though she had told him he had a choice. She hadn't realized just how much her little Qrow had come to mean to her. Rock bottom felt like this.

Losing Clark (she never had him) had been a blow. She'd been suppressing how she felt when the League tossed her out. Bruce pushing her away had hurt, but she understood it. Finding out that her teammates had tossed her away like a used tissue had carved a piece of her heart out. Then Qrow chose Athena over her. None of that compared to Kakashi's death, though.

He shouldn't have done it. He had, and he couldn't take it back. Sakura just wished she understood why he'd do something so foolish. Reckless wasn't like him at all.

There was a gaping hole inside her that would never fill because she knew she never wanted to go back to Konoha. Kakashi was her piece of home, and now he was gone. "You're an idiot," Sakura whispered to him. "You promised you'd stay with me. You're an idiot and a liar." Kakashi didn't respond.

She had to take Kakashi's body away from this place. There was no way she was going to leave him on Olympus—buried or not. Sakura held Kakashi tighter to her body because he was already growing colder. She should take Kakashi back to Gotham. Bruce would know…

Sakura shut down that line of thought because Bruce didn't want her in Gotham. Bruce's focus was on a case. She'd told herself that she would give him the space he needed, and that's what she would do. She needed to solve her problems and stop relying on other people to do it for her. She was a grown woman. How hard was it to figure out where to bury—

A sob broke out of Sakura's throat. Kakashi was dead, and he'd died for no good reason. It was a thought that kept resonating in her mind, and she was trying her damndest to silence it. Sakura looked around herself, trying to figure out where she was. She could think or remember how to get off Olympus. Tears were blurring her vision, and she needed to focus because she had to leave.

"Well, if it isn't the chosen of the gods." The words were full of derision, and it made rage nearly overwhelm her. She hadn't asked to be their chosen. They were the ones that dragged her into this mess. They were the ones that had murdered her Sensei because he had a mind and a voice.

Sakura forced herself to calm. It was difficult, and trying to force serenity only made hysteria nearly bubble to the surface. Still, Sakura forced herself to relax, and she scanned the area for the feminine voice that thought now was the best time for conversation.

"I choose to damn you all to hell."

Aphrodite emerged from the shadows, and Sakura tensed. She remembered Eros' words of caution. The goddess was still every bit as beautiful as the last time Sakura saw her. From the malice in her eyes, Sakura realized she was just as spiteful too. She stalked forward, and Sakura suspected that Aphrodite was about the wrench Kakashi from her arms, so she held him tighter.

When she was within arm's length (why did Sakura let her get that close?), she grinned savagely and murmured, "You first. Send Hades my regards."

Sakura was suddenly flying backward and falling. Her chest ached, and she was having difficulty breathing from the blow. As she plummeted to the ground, the kunoichi realized where she had been—not that it was doing her any good as she fell. The force of Aphrodite's shove knocked Kakashi's body out of her arms, and she let out a yell of frustration. She tried to twist her body around so she could see the direction it fell but knew that in the end, that wouldn't help her much.

Grimly as the wind lashed at her skin, she realized that her current situation was similar to her arrival in this world. The difference was that she had options. She didn't have to die. She could very quickly open her mouth and call for Superman. He'd come for her, and she knew it. She didn't want to do it, but more than that, she didn't want to die. She didn't have that much pride.

Before she could call for him, though, she saw a small figure falling rapidly toward her from above. She wondered if Aphrodite had thrown someone else off Mt Olympus. The bitch probably had a lot of people she didn't like.

The body gained speed, and soon Sakura could distinguish features. Red eyes glowed, and dark hair ruffled in the wind. Determination gleamed in his eyes, and that was when Sakura realized his fall was not accidental.

"Qrow?" Sakura asked incredulously, not knowing if he could hear her. His body crashed into hers and wrapped around her tightly. Sakura, in turn, wrapped her arms around him and held on tight.

Another option presented itself, and Sakura watched as Qrow raised his head and met her eyes, and she let herself fall into them.

"I choose you." She heard Qrow shout before her body erupted in flames.

Sakura smiled.

A/N: So that was a thing that I did. Okay, so in the story, it was always my intention to have Sakura fall. But as the story progressed, I asked myself, "Self, how does Kakashi get down from Mount Olympus if Sakura falls?" I couldn't answer except with, "He's Kakashi. He'll find a way."

That just wasn't good enough. So next, my brain shrugged and said, "Meh, kill him first." And thus, this chapter was born.

"But Juni," you may say, "that doesn't fit in with where you said the story was going to go."

And to you, my friend, I reply, "Doesn't it, though?"

Also, did you notice that thing that I did? I was trying to be subtle, but did you catch it? Huh? Huh? :3

*Was watching classic X-men cartoons, and Wolverine kept saying, "I go where I wanna go." It tickled me, then it stuck in my head, and now I'm passing it on. Mentally apply it to as many situations as you can.