Beautiful Monster (Official rewrite)

Destruction of a Life

Two figures stand atop a hill overlooking a small village, the fireworks and laughter a stark contrast to their mood. One, a small female with frosty blue eyes and sadistic tendencies, and the other, a rock of a man that holds a disapproving smirk on his scarred lips. The warm summer breeze carries the sounds of the festivities over to the two watchers, and the female bounces in anticipation, resisting the urge to rush in and destroy the village herself.

"Patience, Akari. We have to wait till the village is asleep." The man speaks to his partner, Akari.

She scoffs, rolling her eyes in an almost childish manner despite her age. "I know Riku." She spits. "But this is so boring. I just wanna kill someone already."

Akari peers at his partner, internally groaning at his long time partner and friend. He watches her form bounce back and forth impatiently, and he shakes his head before he looks back down to the lively village.

"Soon." Riku murmured, both to himself and his partner. "Soon we will attack, and leave waste to this pathetic village."

Meanwhile, the people down in the village celebrate the coming of summer and new beginnings, completely oblivious to the tragedy that awaits them.

>>>

Late in the night, Akari and Riku walk the empty village streets, stepping over bodies of villagers and the few ninja that had weakly attempted to defend their village. Akari hums a sickening tune, her body alive with the energy she gets from killing people. She wipes the blood off of her katana, sticking a few drops onto her awaiting tongue. Riku walks with his hands in his pockets, his eyes wandering everywhere but his victims.

Akari holds her hands up to her mouth, and blows fire out, a nasty smirk on her face. The two watch as the village is set ablaze, the flames crackling up into the air and carrying the smell of burning human flesh and crops.

"It's done. We should get back before we have to kill anyone else."

"I suppose." Akari hums, licking the last of the blood off of her katana as she sheathes it. Her body is finally satisfied, no longer shaking from killing intent. As the two ninja walk away from the blazing village, they hear it.

A child crying.

Akari turns around at the sound, staring into the red heat for a moments time.

"Don't you dare." Riku hisses, gripping her arm.

Akari jerks out of his hold, turning to him. "I'm not." But she struggles to turn away from the sound, for some reason feeling a sickening twist in her gut at leaving the child to burn. Riku turns away, Akari on his tail. When they are almost out of site of the village, Riku turns to Akari, only to find that she isn't there.

"Fuck."

>>>

Akari sprints towards the smoldering village, her heart pumping as she prays that she isn't too late. Smoke clouds her vision, and she coughs heavily. She can't hear the baby's cries anymore, but she blames the deafening sound of the flames so she searches for the faintest hint of chakra. For a moment, she can't find anything, and Akari almost calls it a night, almost leaves the blistering heat, but then she feels it. A faint- almost dead- chakra.

Akari races towards it, gracefully jumoing over burning rubble and bodies, until she comes upon a small village house that has just begun to catch fire, with a dead woman on the porch. Akari enters the house, racing up the frail wooden steps and into a pink childs room. Smoke layers the house in thick streams, and Akari rushes over to the child whimpering in the crib. She picks it up, and jumps out of the house, running till she reaches the edge of the village.

The child had begun to cough softly, heaving in little breaths into her tiny lungs, but her verdant eyes stare up at Akari with an innocence that shocks Akari to the core. Akari lifts up her blood covered hand, and strokes the little girl's face much like a mother would.

"Hello, beautiful."

>>>

It's almost dawn by the time Akari meanders her way over to Riku, the small girl asleep in her arms. Riku glares, standing up with his arms crossed as he watches Akari approach him with an unapologetic expression on her face.

"I believe that was the very thing I told you not to do." He hisses.

Akari scoffs, clutching the child closer to her chest and rolling her eyes. "Did you really think I'd listen?"

Riku growls, muttering things under his breath, but his anger slightly dissipates as he watches Akari interact with the child. He comes over to gaze at it, and he finds himself bitterly admitting that it is rather cute.

"So." He murmurs. "Do you have a name?"

Akari smiles, peering down at the small girl.

"Selina. Her name is Selina."

Quote of the day: Mercy to the guilty is cruelty to the innocent.