CHAPTER 2: STAINED RED
"So, tell me little girl, do you want to punish those who have wronged you? Do you wish for their death by your hands, to make them drown in the suffering they had inflicted you?"
"Yes."
"Even if it means to lose your humanity?"
"Humanity is what broke me in the first place."
…
"Akari."
"Yes, Sasuke?"
"What's this?" Sasuke gestures to their surroundings, a dense forest, dark with only a crescent moon as lighting as the twins walk. Akari glances to the side, guiding her brother through the roots and trees.
She hums. "Training ground 44"
Sasuke shoots her a deadpan. "Alright, and why are we here?" The 'is it even legal?' echoes silently between them.
"Well, I did say you would get to avenge our honor, didn't I?" Akari smiles mischievously, fingers interlacing themselves with her brother's. His hands are warm and callous, the skin rough from hours on end of training. Sasuke is always the dedicated one, desperate to improve, to get stronger.
They both are.
"You did, but you didn't elaborate. Are we even allowed here?"
"I didn't want to bore you with technicalities. And, well, it's not like anyone will know we were here."
She has made sure of it.
"We can't get caught breaking the law, Akari. You better be sure of this."
"Of course, I am!" Akari is almost offended by how he questions her, her and her planning, scowling till she catches glimpse of her brother's worried face as his eyes dart around to make sure it is safe for them. Her voice softens. "I'm your twin sister, that counts for something right? You know everything I do is for you, I would never do anything that would bring you harm."
The Uchiha heiress knows what would happen if anyone were to realize what they were about to do. Konoha wouldn't kill them – the village needs the Sharingan too much to allow their last Uchiha to die – but there are worst fates than being executed but being caught harming a fellow Leaf citizen is something they have to avoid.
Who cares about them? The only one who matters is Sasuke.
Regardless, Akari's soul demands retribution, craving, and lusting after blood and gore, hatred bubbling in her veins till they clog and it is the only thing she can think of.
"Of course, imouto. Sorry about that, you know I will always believe in you."
He is the only one that does.
"You're going to like this." Akari changes the subject, grateful for the lack of light to hide her blushing cheeks.
They arrive next to a tree, one not so different from the others surrounding him, though his branches were spread a bit more erratically than his neighbors. By its trunk lays the tied-up figure of one Nohano Ibi, gagged and quivering of fear at the sight of the two Uchiha heirs.
Like a pig stringed for slaughter.
Akari makes a grand gesture with her toned arm, a cheerful grin brightening her aristocratic face. "Tada!" Her voice slightly rings around them, pride lacing its every syllable.
Sasuke looks at their prisoner thoughtfully, turning towards their twin sister to press a kiss to the crow of her head with a pleased hum.
"Well done, Akari."
Akari preens at his warm words because if she is useful then Sasuke will not leave her.
It is the way of the world. To be loved is to be used.
Ibi from his position, strung up and already a bit bloody from Akari's 'gentle' care, glares at her. The young girl pokes her tongue out in response.
"Remember us?" Sasuke asks disdainfully, his child-like frame looming over the older man.
"I sure hope he does, we're all he can talk about." Akari remarks with a giggle.
Sasuke sneers. "Like everyone else."
Konoha cannot stop talking about either the Uchiha or their murderer, uncaring that two orphans are close enough to hear them gossip – gossip like high schoolers did, petty and gleeful at anyone's misfortune – about their family's death.
"But no one else dared to talk like you did," Sasuke crouches next to Ibi who trembles at his proximity. "What, you didn't think your words would have any consequences?" he asks, though Ibi cannot answer him through the gag, his voice muffled in unrecognizable noise. Sasuke takes out a kunai from his pouch – Akari had packed them up for him, sharpening the blades meticulously- and lightly traces the man's cheek with it. The blade is sharp enough that it cuts the skin already, letting a trail of blood in its wake, stinging Ibi who already moaned in pain.
So weak.
So pathetic.
The hatred bubbles happily within her and Akari enjoys the show.
It is not every day that one would see Sasuke so bad, so bloodthirsty in his revenge. But then again, no one has ever triggered him in the same way the Ibi did.
Sasuke has already been protective.
But no one had ever protected Stella. It was their academy's way: throw the student in the ice-cold water and see who manages to stay afloat. Heirs should not be protected from weakness; they should be taught to drown it out.
"You said we are sickening-" Sasuke makes another slice "- yet the only pig I see here is you." Another slice. The Uchiha heir pockets his kunai and lifts himself up. "Pathetic." He spits. "Useless."
Sasuke takes a step back before delivering a kick to his jaw, his leg enhanced by his chakra. A few teeth fly from his kick. "You said you wanted us all dead. You bastard." Punches and kicks rain on the maimed body, beating it black and blue. Ibi wheezes, blood dripping from his mouth.
Sasuke's fury is a beautiful thing.
"You really aren't pulling your punches, huh Sasuke" Akari quips from her position, before practically skipping where Ibi had been beaten up. "Not even ten minutes in and you already broke his ribs."
"Hn."
Akari giggles, taking out the cloth from Ibi's mouth with a disgusted grimace. The civilian tries to spit at her but she slaps him before he can, having already seen it coming.
Her brother frowns. "What are you doing?"
"Well, don't you want to hear him scream?"
"Not particularly, no." Akari pouts at his answer.
"Killjoy," she teases as Sasuke smirks at her.
"It's called being cautious." He responds.
"But you don't need to." Akari stabs Ibi in the shoulder, twisting the blade and smiling as he wails in agony. "I placed silencing seals around. No one will hear. No one will even notice."
"Smart." He compliments with a proud smile, and the Uchiha heiress curtsies in a flourish with a 'thank you my lord', giggling. You wouldn't think they were beating up someone if Ibi wasn't whimpering at their feet.
The twins' bond is something to be cherished, a red string that only straightened in the wake of their elder brother's betrayal.
But if Sasuke were to discover how truly horrible Akari is, will the string snap?
"P-peashe, n-no-o m-more" their prisoner interrupts, but Ibi's plead is left ignored by his tormentors.
"As if. You didn't shut up when they asked you to, did you?" Sasuke remarks, before continuing to beat him up.
Kicks, punches, all laced with chakra and Akari can hear the sound of some bones snapping under her brother's hits. Yet…
This is so boring.
"Ne, Sasuke?"
Sasuke grunts, eyes still on the swollen mess that is Ibi. "Yeah?"
"You're so boring."
The raven-haired boy turns around, eyebrows quirked and incredulous. "Me?" he points to himself. "Boring? What do you mean?"
"You're just beating him up. That's uncreative and boring." Akari doesn't want to be unsupportive, to criticize him when her sole role in this world is to support her twin brother but if this is the limit he has drawn, if that is the most cruelty he can use, then she has to rethink her plans. Rethink her entire person.
"Well, I don't see you have any ideas."
"Actually, I do. Aniki talked about it once –" Akari halts herself, biting her bottom lip at her slip, eyes wide and almost scared. Sasuke scowls.
Yes, a low voice whispers. Make him fall.
Itachi is more knowledgeable, he can torture better. Doesn't Sasuke want to be better?
"Sorry," Akari breathes. "Forget I even said something, this is more than good, it's-"
The teenager takes a gamble with her seemingly innocent slip up.
Will her twin raise to the bait? Will he fall deeper into the mad abyss she had made herself home in?
Akari is aware it was a rather poor manipulation she's been taught better than that, but Sasuke's mind is hazed by adrenaline and so she pushes him, pushes him to embrace his darkest instincts.
So, he can accept her.
He falls.
"Show me." Sasuke barks and Akari obliges, smile tugging at her lips but she stops it before it can blossom.
"Of course, niichan."
She takes out a kunai, snatching and twisting one of Ibi's arms, pushing his head in the dirt. The older man can't move, only whimpering at the delighted gleam he catches in the small girl's eyes.
"Psease…"
Akari places his left arm on the floor, palm faced down, glancing at Sasuke who watches her with hawk like eyes before brutally stabbing Ibi in the wrist. He immediately cries out, screams in pain as he flails, trying to get away from that demon, but Sasuke doesn't let him.
"You see – "Akari starts explaining, twisting her kunai in the wound, relishing in the pained cries. "- there are so many little blood vessels and nerves here. – "she twists the kunai again, twists it and starts slashing it forward and backward. "- so, it's pretty painful if you play in it." She yanks the kunai out and blood gushes out from the wound like a little sprinkle. "If we let him unattended, he risks of dying of blood loss."
Akari sighs, quickly going through the hand signs and shoves her index deep in the wound, nail scraping at the flesh and tearing it. She malaxes her chakra, feeling her finger heat up till a small flame appeared at it's tip, still scorching hot, and she burns and cauterizes the wound. Ibi wails in pain as the smell of burnt flesh starts to make itself known. Sasuke watches as if mesmerized by her explanation and her demonstration.
"But if we don't let him die, it's pretty painful" She finishes and Sasuke looks at her impressed.
"Hn."
Akari smiles at Sasuke, wiping away some of the blood that splattered onto her. "Jealous?" she asks teasingly and her brother gives a small scoff.
"As if. I can clearly do better than that."
'Better than Itachi' is left unsaid.
"Clearly," Akari repeats. She approaches her twin, pressing a light kiss to his jaw. "Well then, I'm going to check on the seals. I'll leave you to it."
"I'll be done by then."
"Have fun. Remember, he wants us dead. He spit, publicly, on the Uchiha name. That man thinks we are weak."
"You don't need to remind me" Sasuke grumbles at Akari and the girl giggles apologetically.
She isn't, she wants him to hate Nohano Ibi.
Hate him for saying what others think.
But most importantly, hate the world as much as she does.
…..
When Akari comes back, Nohano Ibi is a sobbing, fingerless, bleeding mess, sprawled on the forest's dirt with limps twisted horribly and cuts littering all over his body. Sasuke is leaning on a neighboring tree, looking pleased with himself.
She whistles.
"Well then, Ibi-san. Are we still pathetic?" she asks pleasantly but the man cannot answer her, he is too busy crying out to his mother.
Disgusting. She wishes she could cut off his tongue. She could do so much more. Carve him open, strangle him with his intestines. But she can't. Sasuke is still so innocent, so untouched. And Akari doesn't want him to become as twisted as she is. Twisted, yes. But not raging mad, with dark whispers following his every step.
"What do we do now?" Sasuke asks, his back to her, as he wipes away the blood from his kunai with a little cloth. Akari hides a smile. She had embroidered the cloth for him, and etched the Uchiha fan and Sasuke uses it religiously.
Ella asks for expensive makeup as a gift. Marie asks for expensive culinary equipment. Stella gives them the gifts and the little girl is rewarded with a rare, friendly smile. For as long as she is useful, they keep her close by. It's better than being left alone.
For her birthday, she receives old candy, from last year edition. Everyone knows Stella can't eat candies. She hates those sugary sweets she never could stomach. Everyone knows it.
And her mouth tastes of copper, from biting her tongue till it bled.
She smiles regardless.
Two years after, the raven-haired girl gives Marie two boxes of stuffed chocolate for her birthday with a smile.
"Don't eat too much," she chirps, eyeing Marie up and down thoughtfully with a little grimace. "You already look a bit heavy."
Stella knows the blonde is conscious of her weight and struggles around their friend group filled with slim and slender girls. Everyone knows it and they like to poke fun at her sometimes.
Before, Stella would gladly defend or reassure Marie.
But now, she joins the snakes and lashes out, spitting venom.
( a small part of her cries for the girl who had been so sweet to her four years ago. Stella viciously ignores it. Marie had made her choice, time for her to choke on the ashes of the love she destroyed.)
Akari has the matching one, the cloth carefully folded in one of her weapon pouches, alongside a polished, wooden little plate with the Uchiha fan carved into it. Sasuke carved it for her.
"We kill him."
Sasuke agrees, unfazed by the idea of murder, long since desensitized by the shinobi propaganda.
"Do you want to slice his throat open?" he asks, but Akari shakes her head.
"I was thinking of another way," at Sasuke's questioning glance, she fidgets slightly. "We could just use a fire jutsu to kill him."
Sasuke shoots her a glance, and Akari tries not to stiffen. It's fine it's fine, he won't turn against her, it's fine.
"Akari… he would be burnt alive."
The raven-haired girl shrugs, tucking her panic into a small box. "We have to get rid of the body anyway." She approaches Sasuke from behind, snaking her arms around his middle as she presses her cheek on his muscled back. "And what better way for him to die by an Uchiha jutsu? Killed by something he hates."
Sasuke doesn't respond, but he doesn't stop her either from continuing.
"This animal wants Itachi to kill us. He didn't want us to survive the massacre. He-"she inhales, her breath hitching because the idea itself makes her want to retch "- he said I was nothing more than a brood mare, and if anything I should have been the only one left alive." Akari feels Sasuke stiffen in her arms. He doesn't like the idea of her being left alone in Konoha, with him, her own twin brother, incapable of protecting her. "I hate him for it. For thinking our clan should have all died. That you, we weren't strong enough. That Itachi is the only one that matters."
The Uchiha heir sucks in a breath at her last words, and Akari can feel her lips curve into a malicious smirk because she knows she hit him where it hurt.
One more push.
She never wanted to hurt him, but it is necessary.
"It's your choice, Sasuke. But know that, regardless, I will always love you. Even if you can't burn that alive."
She takes a few steps back, already missing his warmth that reminded so much of home, and watches as Sasuke's jaw clenches ever slightly as he ponders about her suggestion, a malicious idea that had her almost purring of pleasure at the idea of Ibi dying while screaming.
"No," Sasuke breathes, eyes staring at Ibi who trembles before the might of the Uchiha. He nods to himself. "You're right."
Sasuke goes through the hand signs and exhales a large fire jet from his mouth, directing it towards Nohano Ibi. The Uchiha heir watches as he goes up in flames, screaming in agony as the fire eats away at his flesh. Sasuke averts his eyes, but Akari keeps on watching, admiring how the eyes seem to melt into their socket, though she keeps her fascination well hidden beneath her mask.
His screams are like music to her ears, the shrilling so strident, so agonized and she thinks it's beautiful. That man ran his mouth, insulting Sasuke, wishing her brother was dead. Trash. Only for Sasuke to set him on fire. A beautiful, fitting ending.
After all, karma's a bitch.
Soon enough, the fire dies out, the screams long since silenced as the drunk man who dared to speak against the Uchiha crumbles into ashes – those, Akari seals into a storage scroll to lowly disperse throughout the village to avoid any suspicion. Sasuke swallows audibly, nose wrinkling at the burned flesh odor that plagues their surroundings as Akari casts a small wind jutsu- trust his twin sister to pick up unusual ninjutsu techniques to suit her needs- to get rid of the scent more quickly. He lets his shoulders sag as he dips his head down, pressing his forehead to Akari's shoulder.
He doesn't say anything, he doesn't have to. It's his first kill. He killed a Konoha civilian, a horrible one yes, but a civilian, nonetheless. Sasuke isn't a stranger to the concept of killing, after all, he is going to the Academy and planning to kill Itachi soon, but somehow, death feels a lot more definitive now.
"I'm proud of you," Akari whispers, a hand softly threading through her brother's softly spiked hair.
Sasuke inhales sharply. "Hn."
"He deserved it."
There is a short pause.
"Yeah."
…
But what if living was the greatest tragedy of all?
…
Akari wakes up, tears pricking her eyes as the images of her dream continue to play before her eyes, like a broken record that cannot let go a particular sequence and plays it again and again and again. It's cold, even with Sasuke there next to her, and the coldness sits heavy in her gut. She takes a shuddering breath in, ignoring how the cold air scrapes her raw.
It's just a dream, nothing more.
Just a dream.
But if had felt so real.
There's a hollowness in her chest, as if a hole had etched itself into it, a void sucking away all feelings only to leave behind an empty shell. Akari tucks her knees to her chest as she chokes back a whimper that threatens to escape her chapped lips.
Useless, unwanted.
The words echo in her head, yelled and whispered by voices of the past, a past out of reach, a lifetime away.
It's been a while since her memories as Stella haunted her at night, she thought that she had managed the worst part of them away, in a box tucked deep inside her mind. Akari quietly slips out of the bed, making sure that Sasuke doesn't awaken from his slumber. He doesn't, his chest rising in a steady rhythm as his features remain peaceful while sleeping. Even looking at Sasuke isn't enough to quieten the memories.
Why am I even alive?
A valid question.
Uchiha Akari had never existed in the anime.
So why is she here?
The Uchiha princess walks to one of the clan's training ground, as far as possible from the main house as she could. As she steps further away from Sasuke, she feels the shackles tighten around her, the frost biting at her soul. The summer breeze was warm, gently caressing her face and making her raven locks sway as the moonlight shone brightly. It was a beautiful night.
A beautiful night for a tragedy.
Akari closes her eyes as she slips off her slippers, her bare feet pressing themselves into the soft grass of the training ground. Concentrating, she visualises her chakra, feels it pooling at her feet, cool at the touch. She takes a step forward, walking onto the pond and holds her breath.
She doesn't sink into the water. She doesn't fail the water walking technique. Akari wants to smile, yet her lips feel heavy.
It's cold.
Hollow.
She continues walking, distancing herself from the pond's edge and walks towards the middle, still conscious of her chakra concentrated to her feet. The water ripples at her steps as her reflection stares back at her. Akari placed herself in position, her body going into autopilot as it goes through a kata's motions robotically.
A kick, crouch, a top spin as she backflipped. Kick, punch, twist, repeat.
Akari doesn't think, well rather, she tries not to as she continues her clan's kata, trying to balance her chakra control with her body's movements. It's hard and her muscles are already sore from today's training, but Akari doesn't stop. She can't.
Another high kick.
Her mother is yelling. Her father too, both voices strident and making her head hurt.
"It's pathetic how hard you work and yet, someone can easily beat you."
Akari falters as she crouches low, swiping her right leg in an arc. She feels her control slipping and before she can even try and grasp it back, she sinks into the pond's cold water as the chakra holding her at the water's surface dissipates.
"Why can't you do anything right?"
But she's trying.
Akari sinks.
The water is cold, even on the summer night, and dark despite the moonlight that desperately tries to breach the water's density. The Uchiha heiress feels herself sink deeper, her night clothes weighing her down as they grow heavier, absorbing the water.
Ah. It feels empty.
Everything feels empty.
Akari opens her mouth and instantly gets a mouthful of water. It makes her think of her uncle, of Louis.
Of endless training sessions and drowning, and always having a bad time.
She's drowning, isn't she?
It's not the first time she feels that particular feeling when you feel as if your head will explode from the water's pressure, burning your lungs.
But it is the first time she doesn't try to fight it.
Akari knows how to swim, in both lives, it is almost an instinct for her to seek out the water's surface, but tonight, she feels heavy as of her limbs weighted like bricks. She doesn't flail her arms in a panic or kick her legs in an attempt to go back up. Her body is limp as she feels herself sink deeper.
She hits the bottom and just lays there.
Her lungs are burning, everything is. It's burning, like a raging inferno that claws its way into her airway, into her lungs and her head pounds, her ears sizzle. There is no oxygen to breathe. She takes another breath in, it's instinctual and water swallows her whole.
It hurts.
Coward.
Burden.
Failu-
"Akari." Sasuke's voice reaches her, he isn't anywhere near, yet she can hear him, his gentle, loving voice that caresses her name like it is the finest silk he could ever find.
Sasuke.
Akari pushes herself up, arms breaking the water's natural pressure as her legs kick upwards. The light is getting closer.
Air.
She chokes, gagging and coughing out water as she hits her chest repeatedly. Tears roll down her cheek, losing themselves in the water puddle that surrounds her as Akari is bent over forwards, elbows digging themselves into the soft grass. The burning in her lungs subsides, albeit faintly, and her mind clears itself. The weight of what just happened hits her, almost like a slap to the face, and she chokes back another sob.
Akari had almost let herself die, yet again. Almost died with only a twin brother and a few acquaintances left to mourn her. Something is gnawing her, tasting almost bitter on her tongue.
Guilt.
She let herself drown.
What would Sasuke think?
To have such a cowardly failure as a sister.
Akari can't believe that she almost condemned her beloved twin to suffer the humiliation of having a sibling die by simply drowning.
The shame he would have felt.
She regrets it already. She, like always, was acting recklessly and selfishly, wasn't she? The guilt runs deep, and her fingers automatically go to her right wrist, searching manually for the rough scars that adorn it.
They aren't there.
They were her mark of shame.
But in this life, Akari had not humiliated herself and her family like that. But she can still feel them, even if she can't see them, even if they aren't carved into her very flesh, she still feels the burning, still feel the rough skin that grew back into angry lines.
Akari lets herself fall on her back, gaze lifted upwards towards the night sky as she wipes away some water that runs down her face and into her eyes. Her hands are trembling slightly. She sighs tiredly at the familiar ache that settles into her chest, at the feeling of having her heart twist and tear itself apart as every breath she takes feels as if it was a chore. She wants to cry, but her eyes, while red and puffy from earlier, remain dry face to her emotional plight. There's a void in her chest, dark and cold, and she feels as if she could crumble there and never get up again.
Not that she could.
But she wishes.
It is a familiar feeling, one horribly unpleasant, but familiar, nonetheless.
Haaa. She hears her heartbeat, feels every time it pulsates, the very proof that she is alive, but it brings her a bitter, fool flavored taste in her mouth. She never likes it.
Akari presses her forearm on her eyes as she chuckles bitterly.
"Happy birthday Stella." She says, to herself, to the moon, that she doesn't know. But she knows that today will be a miserable one, it always is.
Stella's birthday.
She curls herself into a small ball, covered by her blanket as she stifles her sobs into her tear-stained pillow. She feels her chest ache, as if her heart had been stabbed by an iron hot dagger, leaving only a bitter void behind, a void that sucks away all happiness from her very soul.
Ting.
Her phone lights up as a notification appears.
Happy birthday.
Stella doesn't feel a thing at the text, not the joy one would expect from the birthday girl, her lips heavy and tugging downwards. She doesn't feel at all, only the hollowness that plagues her, like heavy metal chains that tighten themselves around her, making it hard to breathe. She wants to break down completely, but she can't. How can she when there are guests downstairs, celebrating her birthday and profiting to the occasion to sneak in some insidious remarks on her latest performance.
How pathetic that she feels so miserable on the day that she was born.
How sad it is that she hates this day above all.
Akari sighs, lifting herself up and dusting away some grass strands that stuck on her wet clothing. She should train more, she knows it, but although her mind is yelling, screaming at her to stop such foolishness, her limbs do not obey her, rather, her legs drag themselves back towards the main house. Akari is tired, and she knows that she won't be able to get some quality training in her current state.
"If you can't do it perfectly, then quit right now before you humiliate yourself."
Her father had always told her that when her performance during training was lacking.
She sneaks into the house, making sure the wood doesn't creak under her weight. If it did, she would have been a poor excuse of a ninja. She shivers slightly.
Why am I even alive?
"Welcome back."
Akari snaps her head up and sees Sasuke standing there, leaning on the living room's door frame, arms crossed. He lifts an eyebrow at her disheveled state, at her wet appearance, concerned and worried.
When had anyone been worried about her?
"I'm home." She breathes, and that's all she can say, because she is afraid, she would break down crying if she said any more.
Sasuke seems to sense her mood as he straightens himself. He opens his arms. "Akari."
Akari doesn't need him to call her twice, immediately, she rushes forwards, a broken sob escaping her lips as she sinks into her brother's embrace. His arms round up around her, uncaring if he gets wet from her clothes, if anything, he hugs her tighter. He doesn't say a thing, simply allowing her to cry in his chest, safe in his embrace.
Sasuke is warm.
Right. This is the reason why I am alive.
…
Though the whispers in her head are always present, always whispering and craving blood, Akari tries to ignore them.
She does.
And then, Akari overhears Ami by chance.
A snake amidst so many others, yet a snake all the same.
She was talking to girls around their age, their clothes rather ragged and obviously second-hand. Not that Akari minded, she knows of her luck to be from a prestigious family with money overflowing their coffers.
But what she does mind is what Ami is saying.
"Sasuke-kun is so handsome! And cool! And strong! And mysterious!" one of Ami's friends squeals.
Like a pig.
Ami giggles, nodding in agreement. "I know right! And he's so rich!-" Akari scowls at how superficial they are. "- but you know, he's one of my best friends."
The other girls, from Konoha's orphanage Akari guesses, are hysterical, in awe at her big news. The Uchiha princess wants to scoff. Sasuke doesn't even know nor cares for anyone other than his twin.
And that is perfect.
"Oh my kami! You're so lucky, Ami! You'll probably be the next Uchiha Lady!"
"Ne, isn't Sasuke-kun's sister the lady?"
Ami sneers, the expression only worsening her features, pudgy and common. Her eyes flash with contempt, loathing even for the girl, smarter, more popular, and overall better.
"That bitch? Maybe, but not after I marry Sasuke-kun. I'll exile her out of the clan, she doesn't deserve to stand by Sasuke-kun's side."
Oh, that motherfucker.
Akari doesn't care for the insult, being called a bitch was rather bland, she had been called worse and she still wouldn't bat an eyelash – maybe deep down, Akari agrees with every venomous whisper, every insult because there must be a reason why people leave her, right? – but the implication of her, not being enough to be with her twin is enough to make her rage.
Not good enough.
Never enough.
She needs to be perfect.
But she was doing her best.
It's not enough. Not for now, not for later.
Panic, despair.
Akari feels her breath hitch, the ringing in her ears getting louder and louder and she wants to make it stop because she will not be so weak, not now, not in public.
Kill Ami.
Make her disappear.
The Uchiha princess pauses, contemplates. It would be possible for her to do so. To make her disappear, never to be seen again.
Snake.
After all, Ami is all, but a civilian. An orphan, maybe pretty and popular to some, but an orphan. No one would truly miss her. The brunette is that insignificant.
But she is still a child, one training to be a kunoichi and Akari doesn't want to risk anything for that trash. She doesn't want to garner some scrutinizing eyes for slitting that girl's throat.
Right.
Akari isn't much of a monster.
She wouldn't kill a loud-mouthed child who doesn't know better.
The whispers protest, grasping her heart and squeezing, but she doesn't let them get to her.
A child, she thinks.
A child.
A ch-
"But honestly, Sasuke-kun is my second choice."
What.
"He's such a jerk sometimes! He always ignores us, but when that bitch comes, he's all attentive to her. He acts like he's better than anyone, but let's face it, if he wasn't the last Uchiha heir, no one would even like him."
"Ami-chan! Isn't that too much?"
Ami scoffs as she flips her hair, light brown and silky – she takes care of it quite often, thank you very much. "It's true! Itachi is so much better than Sasuke, you know before he became crazy. Hopefully, Sasuke-kun isn't crazy like his brother, but since he isn't as good as him, I'm sure it's not the case."
Akari sees red. Angry, vivid red.
How dare she.
That bitch.
That whore.
Kill. Kill. Exterminate.
She is pissed, no downright furious at Ami, at those girls who dare gossip and objectify her brother. They dare criticise him as if he was something to be prodded at, a prize rather than a person.
This.
This is why she hates the world.
Wretched, rotten world filled with monsters.
Filled with selfish, backstabbing snakes.
It's been a while since someone dared to insult her brother.
Akari isn't sure when she got home, she ignores Sasuke's glance when she declines his offer to go train together as she locks herself in the study. A room where she researches and plots and trains.
To become better.
To become useful.
To be loved.
She sets herself to the task, she plans, she stalks and the whispers purr in agreement. The hatred deeply etched into her mind, bubbling and hot like raging lave, is enough to make push her to go deeper in the abyss.
They say: look too far into the abyss, go too far and you will lose yourself to it.
Bullshit.
Akari has stared into the abyss. And she found a place she could be herself, all masks dropped.
She didn't lose herself in the darkness.
Rather, she found her purpose and the drive to say fuck everything else, she owes this world nothing.
But she owes everything to Sasuke for being with her.
….
Ami from the class 1-A drops out, unexpectedly from the Academy and while some friends of hers claim that she was kidnapped, no one searched for her.
No one cares.
Because Ami isn't a talented student.
She isn't from a clan.
She is nothing.
And Akari makes sure to tell her that, as she carves into Ami's stomach the word TRASH with a sharp, pointy kunai.
"Everyone already forgot all about you," Akari tells her.
Red.
Ami cries.
Satisfaction grumbles in Akari's chest.
"You know, Ami-chan," Akari chirps, eyebrows slightly furrowed as she holds into the girl's earlobe and carefully uses her kunai like a saw. The girl, tied up, broken and bloodied, whimpers. "I didn't want to do this. Not really. But you just had to open your big mouth, huh?"
Ami looks confused at her words and Akari sighs.
"A little birdie told me a funny story about you and Sasuke. Who would've that little, civilian Ami would dare say that Sasuke, my brother, was not good enough? A second choice?"
Ami's eyes widen, but the raven-haired girl ignores it, maybe doesn't even notice it.
She's too far in her own mind to listen.
Too caught up in memories and voices that just won't let go.
"Listen," she finishes to slice off the ear off with a happy smile, manipulating her chakra to conjure a small flame on the tip of her index – it is an impressive, powerful move, Akari knows it very well, that's why she learnt it – and cauterize the wound so that the girl doesn't die.
It smells of burnt flesh and her finger gets stained red.
"I don't care what you think of me –" lies, a small part of her will always be scared of rejection, of abandonment – "but how you view Sasuke? Ha, that's unforgiveable. You should count yourself lucky that you are even allowed to be around him. You are nothing. Nothing, but worthless trash." Akari tangles the cut-off ear in front of Ami before tossing it to one of her summons.
Yes, summon.
Akari had acquired a simple panther contract - it had been buried in a pile of summon contracts, why anyone wouldn't want it, that Akari didn't know (probably because of the bloodthirsty summons who needed to actively kill to cooperate) - and had almost died signing it. Something she had been particularly irked about, but the predators had applauded her for being one of the rare ones who even survived the initial reverse summoning. So, that worked out.
"Y-you don't deserve him." Ami takes a shaky breath, wheezing and painful, but she pushes through, she wants to hurt the smaller girl, hurt like she is hurting. Everything is agonizing, it burns and she feels like dying, at least, it would save her from being carved open. "H-he will stop lov-ving you-u."
Akari freezes.
Stop loving her?
Jean smiles gently at Stella, tucking a silky strand of hair behind her ear, eyes soft and loving. He isn't her boyfriend – though the ones around them would beg to differ – but he still cares for her like she is his priority, his number one girl.
That was their unspoken agreement.
They love each other, yes, in a platonic way, although Stella knows hers is stronger, fiercer, and aren't afraid to show it through gestures, gestures easily misunderstood. For no one in their school have such bond with no string attached.
But Jean and Stella ignore the whispers and the rumors, people claiming to be their friend to spread tales of their supposed romance. The teenager knows that her best friend doesn't love her that way, she knows that she will never have his heart the way she wants to, but it's fine because she still has him, right?
"I love you. And I'll always be there for you, ok?"
"Always?"
"Always and forever."
LIAR.
Love is fickle and like everyone else, Jean stops loving her. Stella doesn't know why, or what she did to make him leave her, he just stops and acts like what they had in the past years was nothing. They acknowledge each other with a nod in passing, a far cry from their previous hugs and head pats, and everyone gleefully watches.
And Stella's heart shatters.
"Poor you! Though, don't tell me you were surprised Stella! Honestly, I'm surprised it took him that long to ditch you."
"He promised you to be always by your side? HA! Don't be so stupid."
"Why would he stay for you when there is so much better around?"
"Please, stop. Stop talking." Stella mutters, her arms wrapped around herself, almost acting like a shield to distance herself from the others. But it doesn't shield her from the venom, it doesn't shield her from the hurtful things thrown at her disguised as jokes.
"Truth hurts, doesn't it?"
It does.
No. Sasuke wouldn't leave her.
He loves her.
So did Jean, he loved her once upon a time. And he left.
He is her brother, her everything. He loves her too much to leave. He said it, he said that he would always be there.
Oh.
Always.
Akari wants to cry. Cry or destroy something, whichever comes first, her fingers curl, tighten themselves into fists as she trembles.
"Shut up. Shut up. Shut up."
Ami laughs, probably delirious from the pain of having her ear carved off, high from the pain, the agony inflicted. She looks almost gleeful, happy as Akari feels like her world is threatened and how dare she laugh?
"Truth hurts, doesn't it?"
The Uchiha princess freezes for the briefest moment, her world flashing white as Ami's hysterics, mixed with sobs, fade away into a white noise, a faint buzzing.
Truth. Hurts. Doesn't. It?
Ami's thick locks become Ella's.
Her eyes become Marie's.
Her nose is Kelly's.
And suddenly, Akari doesn't see Ami anymore.
"You bitch!"
Her hand moves by her own, fingers shaking, curled almost like claws as she yanks on Ami's thick, brown hair. She brings her face closer, and with a fist reinforced by chakra, she takes a swing.
One, two, three.
Red.
Akari looses count as she hits the girl's body. She spins with her left leg slightly bent, and kicks Ami's head, hard enough to make it hurt, but not with chakra. The thick mane still in her grasp, she drags the civilian on the floor, smearing blood all over it.
Red.
Beautiful red.
She pulls at the hair, approaching the small river that is close to them, drags that trash and with a push, shoves Ami's head underwater.
Ami flails beneath the water, little air bubbles bubbling at the water's surface, but Akari doesn't budge, she waits, 35 seconds, before yanking Ami's head out. Ami gasps for air, splutters as she chokes, turning wide eyes at her torturer and only gets a scowl in response.
Akari almost drowns the civilian girl five times.
She wishes she did, but it would be too merciful. Too nice. The raven-haired girl had suffered too much to let Ami go.
She crouches at Ami's level.
"Hurts, huh?" Akari smiles with a manic gleam in her eyes. Ami is too busy coughing out water and trying to inhale as much oxygen as possible to answer her. The heiress doesn't like it, she doesn't like the disrespect.
She steps on Ami's hand, twisting her heel hard. She feels the bones break beneath her foot. "Well? Does it?"
Ami gurgles a small, pained yes and Akari giggles.
"You deserve it. You pathetic trash. Parasite. Worthless little bitch who should have been drowned at birth. Do you know how long I've waited for this? Ella, Marie, Coral, Tia, Kelly… How does it feel to be the one who's hurting huh? Bet you enjoyed laughing at poor, little Stella because she was too weak to defend herself. Just go ahead and use your childhood friend because who cares about her, AM I RIGHT?"
Akari is screaming and spitting as she uses a high kick and brings her leg down harshly on Ami's hunched back.
The brunette lays flat on the ground, face down in a puddle of dirty water and vomit as she feels as if her back was split into two.
"You thought you could just throw me aside like some trash but guess what. I am still here. And I want blood."
Akari snaps Ami's legs, twits and bend them into unnatural and painful angles. She pops out Ami's right kneecap and the orphan screams, her voice breaking as her sore vocal cords shake. She screams and cries, big ugly tears rolling down her cut-up cheeks, the salt burning her cuts. Her wails are loud and if Akari hadn't covered the entire place in silencing seals and genjutsus, she would have had to cut Ami's tongue off. Which, frankly, would have been a shame.
Red.
Make her pay.
"M-Monster…" Ami chokes out, wheezing, crying from the pain.
Akari hums in agreement.
Monster.
Insignificant.
Worthless.
Akari knows what she is. And so, what? So what, she is a monster, everyone else is. Everyone is evil, she will not survive by believing that someone will come in and save the day.
Sure.
Uchiha Akari can be the monster, the villain in Ami's story, she would gladly take on that role.
As long as she is the last one standing, she will continue with that role that suits her hatred so well.
And so, she smiles.
"Indeed."
She rips off the girl's fingernails, one by one, crushing them with a stone. She adds the little powder into a foul-smelling, thick mixture, all in front of Ami, and forcefully feeds it to her. Ami gags, cries and pleads for mercy, anything, just make it stop, but Akari doesn't stop.
She doesn't want to stop.
Red.
Red.
Keep crying.
See what happens to monsters.
"Look at me, girls. Look at what you created." she laughs, kunai in her hand that is still bloody, and twirls with it, sending droplets of crimson a bit around in a light drizzle.
Red.
"What a try hard."
They mock, they laugh.
She wants to see them dead. Burnt. Killed.
Akari knows the night is almost over, she barely has a few hours left, barely enough time to clean up her mess, a glorious, bloody mess.
"Ami-chan" she sings in a chirper voice at the unrecognizable mess of flesh, blood and bones laying at her feet. "Our little time together will have to come to an end. It's sad. I had so much more to do. Like shoving a stick of wood in your chest and burn it. What a shame. So, here's my last gift."
Akari tilts the kunai blade towards herself, glances at her slightly deformed reflection, with her wide grin, blood splattered aristocratic face and shrugs. She then brutally stabs Ami in the stomach and cuts it open, ignoring the wails and whimpers, already well used to them.
Instead, Akari shoves her hand in the deep cut and grabs Ami's intestines. The organ is squishy and warm to the touch. "Look Ella" she chirps. "I did tell you that one day, you'll choke on your bullshit." She wraps the intestine, wraps it more than once, around Ami's small, frail neck.
The Uchiha princess smiles brightly, like the sun.
"So, choke on it." She tightens her little makeshift knot, and though she knows it will not kill her, Akari is happy to be able to follow up on one of her promises.
(Sasuke will stop loving her, if he finds out how truly messed up, she is.)
No, he won't. He doesn't need to know.
Akari whistles and her summons, who had watched their summoner amuse herself, approach the pair, steps slow and intimidating.
"Snack, boys"
That is all she needs to say before her panthers pounce on their new meal, snarling and fangs jutted out.
She watches as Ami is torn apart, screaming.
Red.
The hatred, the mad whispers purr in satisfaction. It fogs her mind, albeit slightly, but she feels as if a weight has been lifted off her, her heart is beating quickly and she wants to laugh once more, because it has been a while since she had been this comfortable as herself – as Akari or Stella, it doesn't matter.
She doesn't want this to be her first and only time. She reveled in it, felt alive, full, as if there was a purpose, a sense of belonging instead of her usual blind clinging to the only good thing she has in this world.
"Do you feel guilty?"
Akari tilts her head, her gaze questioning as she glances at her biggest summon, his muzzle-stained crimson. "No."
"Did you like it?"
She pauses.
"Yes."
"Good."
Akari had liked torturing and taking her revenge. She likes killing. And she doesn't know where to draw the line anymore.
After all, one who tastes blood will never again be satisfied with water.
…
You cannot create a monster and then condemn it.
Hate its ugly features, its terrible gait, and bloodstained smile.
But when I look into the mirror, I do not see myself.
But all of you who made me.
…
Akari is well aware of how Sasuke is still haunted by their eldest brother's words, taunting him for being so weak and failing at protecting her. She is there, when her twin brother wakes up at night with her name on his lips or Itachi's, panting and stricken. She hears his curses and senses him detangling himself from the twisted sheets, his weight leaving the bed to go train for at least an hour.
During some nights - those are her favorite ones - he seeks her out immediately, twisting to her side and arms wrapping themselves tightly around her as he nuzzles his nose in the crook of her neck. His fervent whisper of her name - she never knew her name could sound so perfect - warms her dead heart as she snuggles closer. Sometimes she stays silent, a silent reminder that she was still there by him, the only one who didn't leave, she will never leave him, and she feels Sasuke's faint trembling as he remembers their family's bodies, slaughtered open, welcoming the twins home that fateful night. Other times, she shifts in his arm, facing him with his dilated pupils from his nightmare.
But was it a nightmare or a memory tonight?
"Akari" he breathes. "You're here. You're alright."
"Shhh, don't worry Sasuke. It was just a dream."
Sasuke flinches. "It wasn't. Or was it? I-y-you were dead. Itachi killed you."
Akari grabs her brother's hand and places it on her chest, right above her heart. She sees him relax slightly at her heartbeat. His hand doesn't move from its position, a warm balm to her shattered heart. "I'm still here. Always."
"But what if you aren't?"
Then she will tear this world apart to find him once more.
Even if it means the village will burn.
Even if it means the sky will rain down blood in her fury.
Sasuke is worth all of it.
"Then I'll find my way back to you. Always, and always."
Her brother slightly frowns, slipping his hand to her waist, pulling her closer in his embrace as if she were to slip away. Their position is intimate, painfully so with their limbs entangled and their hair – the same ebony with navy hue – mixing themselves together but the twins do not mind.
It reminds them they still are there, they still have each other.
"Don't" Sasuke whispers. "Don't say this when Itachi is still out there. Not when I could lose you at any moment"
"How can you lose me when I have you to protect me?"
How can he lose her when he is her heart and soul?
"That's right," Sasuke mutters, to her or himself that she doesn't know. "I will never let him separate us. Not him, not the world."
That answer steals a smile from Akari, the darkness hiding away it's manic sharpness from her brother's eyes.
That's right.
The world is against the Uchiha.
Everyone is against them, but they will not allow it.
"I trust you- "she does really, she trusts him the most, but the rotten world has taught her how fickle love, loyalty, happiness is and Akari will be damned before she allows Sasuke's love to slip away from her fingers. "- because it's you and me against the world. No one else cares like you do. You're all I have, Sasuke."
Sasuke's scowls soften at her words, her heart is fluttering because no one else can see, can taste Sasuke's love the way she does, as he kisses her knuckles lovingly. Though, Akari knows that, while she believes her words with all her heart, she only voices them, cunningly at the right moment when Sasuke's emotional state is most vulnerable, to ensnare him even further. Like a viper, whispering sweet words, she watches as Sasuke whole heartily believes her, why wouldn't he when she tells him that so often?
"And you are all I have, Akari. You and me, against the world."
Akari is lulled back to sleep, his words still echoing in her mind, and she feels light as if her hatred that weights down on her were lifted in Sasuke's embrace.
Because his love roars louder than her demons.
…
One time, Akari spies Shikamaru lazing a bit further from their school, up in a small hill. The warning bell had already rung, and she knows the Nara heir is planning to skip the history class. Not that she can blame him, she slumbers during that class too.
"Go ahead Sasuke" she tells her brother, pushing him slightly towards the school entrance. "I'll see you in taijutsu class."
Sasuke quirk an eyebrow at her, frowning slightly.
"It's not like I need any history class," she snickers.
"Hn, do you want me to skip with you?"
Akari smiles lovingly at her brother.
"No need," she chirps. "Besides, didn't you want to have a perfect record as Rookie of the Year?"
"Well, if my imouto wants me to skip classes with her, who I am to say no to her?"
They say you can not love someone truly till you love yourself. That was utter crap, Akari doesn't love herself much, but God, she loves her brother.
"No need, I'll just nap with Shikamaru-" at Sasuke's sharp glance, she shrugged lightly, "-so don't worry about me."
"… Fine, but he better be a perfect gentleman."
"He's Shika, of course he will."
"Hn."
Akari waves her brother goodbye, walking quickly towards Shikamaru's rest place, making sure she isn't caught by any teacher.
At her arrival, Shikamaru lifts an eyelid lazily, acknowledging her with a muttered "troublesome woman" to which Akari takes no offence in, at this point, it might even be a term of endearment. He shifts a bit, making place for her at the grass and Asuka chirps a thanks as she lays next to him. It is a bit warm, probably from Shikamaru's body heat, and Akari sighs contentedly.
The silence envelops the two children like a blanket, not heavy or uncomfortable, rather in pleasant, warm.
"It's a rabbit"
Akari looks at the Nara heir, lounging at her side, as he points at a cloud in the baby blue sky. She gives a small laugh, and pretends not to see how Shikamaru's eyes soften, a bit, but still soften. Because, it is what she wants, right? He will leave soon enough, why not enjoy this little illusion while it lasts? Shikamaru would not do that, he wouldn't leave her like how the others did. He isn't Sasuke.
"Wouldn't it be a cat?" she questions and the boy scoffs at her answer.
"Maybe, but it would be one tiny cat with abnormally long ears."
"Hey, you never know! Don't underestimate cats! Mother brought me at one of the Uchiha cat summons and…"
Her voice dies, taken away in the wind, and Shikamaru scratches the back of his neck.
It is easy to play the victim. To use the pitiful card, not like she uses it often with Shikamaru.
"Sorry," she breathes, embarrassed at destroying their amicable atmosphere. Shika takes a hold of her hand, his grip light - though he doesn't let it go - as he mumbles "no worries."
They stay silent, still watching the clouds pass before their eyes.
"Hey Akari," the Nara heir says after a few minutes of comfortable silence.
"Hmm?"
"Want to come over to my house this evening?"
"Let me guess, you're challenging me to Shogi?"
"That and my mother insists that I bring you over more often. She likes you."
"I like her too" Akari smiles and Shikamaru smiles back.
"But Sasuke's going to be disappointed, he never likes coming over to your house." She points out.
Shikamaru grumbles beneath his breath. "He just doesn't have the patience to understand Shogi properly."
Akari doesn't refute his claim, though she knows it only plays a small reason why Sasuke doesn't like her going to the Nara compound. The two twins are aware of Shikamaru's mother matchmaking efforts, and while Shika acts oblivious, he doesn't seem to mind. Sasuke doesn't like it much, and Akari doesn't care much to tie herself to a clan when she whole heartily belongs to her brother and their own clan.
Although, she does enjoy Shika's company, after all, he is much more mature than her other classmates, and she feels a connection with the shadow user, his eyes gleaming sharply and following her as if she is a puzzle he is dying to solve.
It was sweet, and flattering.
When the two friends arrive at the Nara compound, Akari is greeted with Shikamaru's mother cheerful laugh.
"Hi Akari-chan!" she grins.
"Hi Yoshino-san. I hope you're doing well." Her smile is angelic, soft and the Nara matriarch coos.
"Of course, sweetie. What are you two up to now?"
Akari opens her mouth, but before she can, Shikamaru tugs at her hand.
"Nothing much," he smoothly interjects, nonchalantly slouching in his stance, but still hovering near Akari, enough so she can bump her shoulder to him.
Shikamaru feels safe.
Safe, but it will change. Because he won't be there forever. No one will.
Akari throws him a heavy glance. "Shika-kun challenged me to Shogi again," she elaborates.
"Oh yeah, it's been a while since you two played, right? Shikamaru was getting impatient to get you alone for himself." Yoshino says with a teasing smile as she ruffles her son's hair, still tied up in its usual pineapple hairstyle.
The Nara heir blushes faintly, swatting away his mother's hand, as he clears his throat. He looks as collected as ever when he glances back at Akari, though his ears tinted pink hints at his flustered state. The raven-haired girl wiggles her eyebrows jokingly, only for a second or so, before smoothing out her amusement in fear of pushing Shikamaru a bit too far.
She – she doesn't want him to hate her.
Please.
Don't leave her, too.
"I missed you too, Shika."
"Troublesome woman, I know. Me too."
Akari smiles, letting herself being dragged by the wrist, gently, but still dragged, probably to avoid anymore teasing from Shikamaru's mother, to the Shogi room.
Soon enough, they were playing, each seated comfortably next to the board, Akari seated in senza on her favorite pillow, one she claimed as hers a while ago, a deep navy with some red twirls embroidery etched into the silk. Akari pretends she doesn't notices the additional touches, the little nod to her Uchiha heritage as her visits to the Shadow clan compound become more often, though she gracefully thanked Shikamaru, so subtle, only the small light of understanding that passes through his eyes, tells her he understood her gratitude.
It was nice, not being alone in a sea of idiocy sometimes.
The sound of their pieces clink as they move them into positions across the board. Akari moves her Rook, well aware of the trap that her friend set up, but she doesn't mind it, after all, what was a piece worth compared to victory?
Nothing matters other than Sasuke and his goals.
She doesn't react as Shikamaru takes her Rook, rather she moves her bishop, threatening the boy's Golden General with a serene smile.
"Troublesome." Shikamaru mutters as he analyzes the board, looking at one of his closest friends in contemplation.
"For you, that is." She smirks at him, and he can't bring himself to be mad at her, it isn't the first time she sprung traps at him, always keeping him on the edge of his seat. There was a reason why he likes to seek her out to play Shogi, that and she makes excellent company.
"She got you there, son."
Shikaku is watching the two friends for the room's entrance, his back slouched in a lazy position, though his eyes remain sharp. The Nara clan's head smiles fondly at the sight of Shikamaru, his heir and beloved son, sharp and not utterly bored in the Uchiha princess's presence.
"Yeah, five moves left," the Nara heir sighs as he moves his lance.
"Actually, two," Akari snickers.
"Troublesome woman. Let's just stop there," he says, letting the pieces in place even as he gets up, probably planning to analyse the game later with his father, not that Akari minded. She would have been rather flattered if it wasn't for the fact that she, technically, is older and has past memories to help.
How shameful.
Besides, she suspects that Shikamaru will soon enough beat her without much trouble, after all, who is she to compare to the Nara genius?
A lost little girl.
….
After class, Akari approaches Iruka with an almost shy grin. She makes sure her posture screams of bashfulness, her silky hair neatly tucked behind her ear and her hands placed in front of her.
"What can I do for you, Akari-chan?" Iruka smiles at one of his favorite pupils,
"I was wondering if you knew where I could find some Fuinjutsu scrolls?"
"I do not know. Why that question, Akari-chan?"
"I've come across them in some books I've read, and it seems very interesting. I already starts dissecting and analysing some seals, but I lack some knowledge to carry on. Do you think I would be able to find the scrolls?"
"I'm sure you could. But I'll spare you the trouble and see what I can do for you."
"That would be amazing, Iruka-sensei, thank you."
"Of course, Akari-chan, I'm your teacher."
A week later, Iruka gave her at the end of the day three scrolls with a proud smile.
He wouldn't be proud if he knew what she was planning to do with them.
Akari knows he helps her so eagerly in the name of Konoha.
But is it not Konoha Akari would die for.
…
"Akari."
Akari finishes her kanji, pausing her brush in midair as she glances upwards. "Hey Shika! What's up?"
"I called you twice, already."
Her lips curve up sheepishly.
"Ahaha, sorry about that, you know how I get when I'm fully concentrating"
"I know" He looks amused. "So, what are you doing?"
"I'm working on fuinjutsu."
"Yeah? How is it?"
"It's –"
She remembers Alex sighing at her. What did she do wrong this time?
"God do you ever shut up?"
Stella falters in her ramble, words locked into her throat, eyes down casted as she bites her lips.
"It's annoying hearing you talk so much."
His words are like knives twisting in her heart. Stella feels the tears well up in her eyes. She wants to defend herself, but what good would that do?
"Sorry" She mumbles.
"Yes?"
Akari averts her eyes. "Ah well, you know, it's interesting."
"Having fun?"
"Yep."
Why is he asking that? Why, why, why, there's no reason why he would be interested if she was having fun.
Don't give her false hope.
Akari wants to rave about her seals, how interesting they are and how much potential they hold, but she doesn't. She knows better than start rambling on one of her passions. Shikamaru gives her a weird look, eyes flashing briefly, but he doesn't comment.
She is grateful for him.
Akari reaches out, with a hand stained black with ink and squeezes Shikamaru's hand gently. To tell him how much she appreciates him.
He squeezes it back.
…
"Akari."
Akari tilts her head to the side, attentive and whole heartily focused on her precious brother.
"Yes?"
Sasuke looks hesitant, almost vulnerable.
What is it?
Who should Akari kill for his happiness?
"Do you think we will be on the same team?"
Oh. So no killing. Yet.
"Most likely," she says, adjusting her headband, humming in though. "I am the top kunoichi and you are the Rookie of the year, it would be irrational to separate us."
"Good," Sasuke sighs. "I only trust you to watch my back."
Akari beams at his words.
"And I only trust you."
He smiles slightly at her, a simple curve of the lips, looking at her as if she was the only thing that mattered and Akari adores it. She is addicted to his love, she would never let it go for it is to her the oxygen she needs.
"Now that we graduated, the next step is to kill Itachi," Sasuke adds, acting nonchalant but Akari knows her brother well, knows of his fear that his efforts won't be enough for him to avenge their clan. Because Konoha would rather have them in the village – weak and helpless – rather than have them hunt down Itachi.
It's disdainful and both siblings dislike how their pursuit of power is hindered.
"You are only children. You still have time to grow stronger." The Hokage told them when they asked for access to jounin level books and become apprentices. "Enjoy your childhood, enjoy your time at the Academy."
Akari likes to think the old man means well.
But he is soft, blind to the darkness that shadows Konoha.
Children.
Ha.
They stopped being children when their clan was massacred.
She stopped being human the first time she spilled blood to ease the whispers in her head.
There is no childhood left to have, only the vestige of a past stained red of their kin's blood by their elder brother.
And the clock keeps ticking and with it looms the threat that Itachi will come for everything the twins hold dear.
So, no. The Uchiha twins are not children, nor do they have the time to be one.
"Sounds about right."
"You'll join?"
"Of course, Sasuke. I'll help you because we are one." Akari promises.
It might sound a bit cringy, too soft but it is a fact.
Akari and Sasuke.
Sasuke and Akari.
You cannot have one without the other, two halves of the same broken soul.
They are the night and the moon, two sides of the same coin, with only a fine line separating the two. A line Akari hopes Sasuke will cross one day.
"Anyone that isn't us doesn't matter."
Akari smiles at Sasuke's words, an echo of what she whispers at him at night when he wakes up trembling and their parents corpses still in front of him.
"You are all that matters."
Sasuke kisses her forehead.
"You too."
Akari is hellfire in human form, a deep, passionate fire that threatens to consume everything. Laughing as she spills blood and dancing on the ashes of her destruction. She is both a devil and a goddess, shining so very brightly and a hurricane of passion, and perhaps madness, but who was truly sane in a blood-filled world. You could bow down before her or be swept away in her fury, leaving behind only a broken, mangled corpse, for no one was safe from her. And at the eye of the hurricane stands Uchiha Sasuke, the only one able to tame her for she is his and he is hers and she will sooner die than be anything less than useful to him.
Madness is subjective, yet no one knew how deep it ran in Uchiha Akari's soul.
The world can burn for all she cares, if only her brother wills it.
…
Have you ever seen the night in human form?
She laughs as she spills blood, with her eyes full of stars.
She dances on the ashes of the day she used to be.
She is made of darkness and anger and beauty.
She talks in whispers of doubt and love as if a clear voice would cut her down deeper than a rival's sword.
She is cold and hard but melts in the hands of the moon.
I have never seen a love so true.
Jasmine Scroggins