Aftermath of Destruction

"Akari, are you alright? Someone get her a soldier pill!" someone called. The woman named Akari reached for one of the spare soldier pills offered by her comrades. The...the target was eliminated...so where was this sense of dread coming from?

"Wait, what is that?! Takamaru-taichou, look out!"

Akari was not sure what kept her head pinned to the floor, but...the sounds of her comrades would haunt her for many nights to come. The screams of her...former friends, and her...former teammates. From the look below she could see that the fire jutsu she had unleashed had done nothing against a thick wall that had come forward. The wall's face then began to morph into an uncountable number of needle-like blades. They sailed through the air. Her ears could hear the whistle and then...came the screams.

Her friends...her brothers in arms...she couldn't move. She couldn't even eat the soldier pill that had fallen in front of her. Covered in rich, fresh blood. Needle after needle, scream after scream, they just kept coming. How...how could a little child do all of this?! He...he wasn't human! He wasn't even a demon! She had met too many people with a demon moniker in their title. No...he was...a devil.

Slowly, the screams stopped. From where she laid, her head still bowed low to the floor, she watched a river of red crawl across the carpeted floors of the mansion everyone had resided in. That liquid was traveling...towards the feet that stood just a few inches from her. Like a sponge, the feet absorbed the blood like it was not even there. That blood...the blood of her comrades...was going to be used for the agony and destruction of Kusagakure...her home. Yet, she could do nothing, but tremble like some frightened child underneath a bed.

"Uzumei-chan, Yugao-chan, clear out the rooms. Kill anyone you find," Naruto said. Akari heard footsteps that left without a word. She kept her head lowered. The boy's two warriors were gone, but so paralyzed was she that she couldn't even think to grab the soldier pill in front of her.

She shivered when she saw his hand grab the pill. Then, he placed his hand on her cheek. Despite how cold her body felt, his hand was surprisingly warm, but...it was too warm. He then took her face and brought her eyes to meet his own. So red. So mesmerizing. So...cruel. In those eyes, she felt so small.

"Isn't this the part where you claim revenge on me in the name of your teammates?" the boy asked her, a smile on his face. He then...offered her the soldier pill. The smile on his face only seemed to widen.

The Kusagakure chunin was quick to understand the gesture. He was taunting her. It was no surprise. She would have done the same thing to a defeated enemy. He was daring her to attack so that she could meet the same end as her fellow Kusagakure shinobi. Heh, hehe, it was kinda funny. Her parents always did tell her that maybe the shinobi life wasn't for her. She was asked just to settle down and manage their civilian shop, but she adamantly tried to be great, to a pursuer of her village's former glory. Now, all she cared for was...survival. She felt his fingers caress her short, black hair. Her equally black eyes shivered beneath his gaze.

She held up her hands and reached forward! She took his hand and, her body shaking, pressed it to her lips. "S-Satomaru-sama has retreated back to his quarters most likely in a hidden entrance. I...I can unlock it for you, and...you can take control of the Grass Fruit Group," she said.

Even now the words felt like hot coals on her tongue. Her very betrayal of her countrymen was not lost on her, but...what else could she do? Any resistance she offered...would have been put down just as easily as the others. She was no idiot. He was ready to kill her at any moment. What...offense could she possibly make?

"Is that right? I'm sure if I keep searching for him I'll find him eventually. Why would I need your help? You couldn't even beat three intruders. As far as I'm concerned you're only a liability" He said.

Akari's brain must have been racing faster than she was capable of comprehending. She tried to think of any motive she could use that would work in her favor. It would have been better if she at least knew why he was attacking them in the first place, but she had nothing to go off of.

"E-Even if my combat skills are slacking, I have...other strengths!" she said, obviously she left the question open to his interpretation. However, the young blonde boy looked at her with sharper eyes. There seemed to be a belaying sense of sick humor behind his eyes. All her begging, pleading, and bargaining for her life seemed to amuse him greatly. She honestly wondered...if she would even live to see the sunrise tomorrow.

"Even...even if I'm not the best...I can be a great source of...entertainment," she finally said. Truth be told, Akari was not ashamed of her body. Nor was she ashamed to use it to further her own ends. She was a kunoichi. Her body was just another weapon used to slay her enemies. In this case...it was used to save her life. She prayed that this might work. Young boys around his age were always into that kind of thing!

"HAHAAHAHAHAHAHAAHHAHA!"

Akari blinked as she saw the boy suddenly burst out laughing. He grabbed his stomach and his voice was filled with the sounds of his own twisted amusement. She...didn't know what this laughing was supposed to mean. Did he think she was stupid for suggesting it? Was he laughing at her notion of coming onto a pre-adolescent boy? It...it shouldn't have been that surprising. She had seen many snobby noble brats who used their maids for...that purpose. Not that some of the maids seemed to mind. Akari seemed to think they sometimes enjoyed it.

Slowly, he stopped laughing and cleared his throat. "Sorry, that was just funnier than anything I've heard in awhile. You amuse me, dattebayo! Alright, I'll take you...and your various forms of entertainment, but...you'll have to do something for me," he said.

....

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