CHAPTER ONE: WE ARE ALL A BIT INSANE

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, only my OC

I've been obsessed with OC fanfics in the Naruto fandoms for a while now and so many of them have inspired me while writing this story. So, shoutout to those!

OC description: half SI Uchiha OC, dark antagonist, yandere type

Notice: The OC (Uchiha Akari) is an antagonist kind of main character, with twisted morals, and shameless manipulations. I could describe her as a bloodthirsty, almost yandere kind of girl whose one obsession is her twin brother, Uchiha Sasuke.

Warning: Gore, torture scenes, obsession, lack of morals, mild incest themes and madness will be recurrent themes in the story.

That aside, I hope you enjoy the story!

EDIT: I started editing my chapters while also writing the third one. Hopefully, it's more bearable to read now :)

PS: thank you to RainRozae for your comment! So happy you're appreciating the story and thx for giving me the final push to start editing lol

Interlude: Monsters (she) aren't just born.

Monsters are created slowly, painfully with twisted remarks and knives in the back. They are molded in grit and in hatred, broken down till only shatters remain.

As for her…

She hadn't always been heartless. She hadn't always been cold, distrusting, and cruel.

But the world saw it fit to shatter her, to tear her apart at the hands of those she loved and trusted the most. They took her sunshine and twisted it into shadows with cruel claws. They hardened her heart with bittersweet lies and painted her red with the blood of the person she had once been.

To save herself, to preserve whatever of her life left, she killed her mind and got rid of the weak girl who people took so easily advantage of.

They had turned her into a nightmare, it is only fair she becomes theirs.

There are two types of monsters.

Those that are created slowly, ruined with malice, and others that are born with hatred hidden in their veins.

…

Prologue:

Stella had never thought she would die such a pathetic death.

Who would've thought that her undoing would be a small, fleeting moment of compassion, at the wrong time and in the wrong place?

Stella should've been more selfish, but she has always been bad at putting herself first, much to the others' pleasure.

There had been an attack, probably terrorist if all the panic screams could be trusted. Dull sounds echoed through the mall as the mass converged in a frazzled mess, pushing through towards the shopping mall's exit, pushing others to get ahead, trampling on those who had fallen with their survival solely in mind.

Truly humanity at its finest.

Stella looks around as soon as the news hit her and her friend group, assessing and tense as she urges the others to walk toward the exit, all huddled together. Her uncle had given her proper instructions for such an occurrence, but as Stella's father likes to yell, Stella is weak, and thus disregards the meticulous plan. Coral, Stella's cousin and older by a few months, would never be such a disappointment.

"What's happening?" Marie asks, voice trembling and so very fearful once thrust outside her privileged, little bubble of comfort.

"Probably an attack," Stella responds, only sparring her a quick glance as Ella side hugs Marie in solidarity.

"Don't worry, we'll be fine. Besides, Stella will protect us, right?" Ella looks at Stella, one eyebrow quirked, waiting for her affirmation. Affirmation that the girl who loves too deeply and cares too much will put their well-being first. Because that's all Stella is good for in their eyes, someone who would take all their pain away before it can harm them.

Oh, but how wrong they were.

"Of course." Stella smiles, jaw subtly clenching as Ella nods, satisfied at knowing she had a human shield by her side.

Bitch.

The gunshots get louder and the crowd, more and more desperate to escape, lashes out against the weaker for a chance at surviving. Stella takes a little step sideways, enough to distance herself from the tight-knit duo. No one is looking, everyone is focused on their own survival, and that is perfect.

Humans are at its core selfish.

And so, casually as if there is nothing wrong with what Stella's about to do, she extends a leg towards Marie who was clenching her eyes shut, probably to bury her head in the sand like she always does and Stella trips her, gleefully with satisfaction warming her heart.

Marie trips, eyes snapping open, and a startled cry escapes her. She drags in her fall Ella who immediately tries to get up, but that just won't do. Stella purposely steps on her hand, heel digging at it.

'Stay on the floor, that is what I want.'

Ella cries out in pain and Stella feels herself smile as the girl's eyes widen in surprise as if the brunette had never given Stella a reason to lash out.

As if Ella had not carefully nurtured Stella's hatred with betrayals and lies throughout their years of friendship. The poor girl has probably never realized how potent Stella's hatred could be. What a shame. Not.

Tic Toc, the clock is ticking, and Karma is calling.

Stella continues walking, pressing her steps forwards with a last glance towards where her 'friends' were on the floor. The sight that welcomes her steals a smile.

The two girls, more snakes than humans to be honest, are pushed on the floor, trampled on as the crowd walks all over them, desperate to flee and uncaring of the poor, poor teenagers who had fallen. After all, they weren't the only ones on the ground.

Her smile stretches itself wide, Stella's heart beating in her chest, pleased with her actions because it's not like she's going to lose sleep over that carefully considered decision. The hatred that usually boils underneath the teenager's skin like raging lava, so very hard to control, to curb, mellows down.

She has gotten her revenge.

No one will ever know Stella, perfect, sweet, little Stella has, whole heartily willingly, pushed down two little girls to the floor, knowing there were barely any chances for them to survive.

And if they do, well, Stella guess a hospital visit would be needed. In such a rush, would it be so hard for her to mess around with some of the machines? Probably not.

Stella passes the exit, the sun warming her face and legs still pushing forwards because though she left the death trap that has become the shopping mall, the gunshots could still be heard. She continues running, ignoring how her breath starts to shorten only to falter in her steps as she catches sight of a little boy simply standing, facing the mall exit. His little body is pushed by others, but he is still standing strong as if he was waiting for something. For someone.

Stella's eyes widen in recognition. It's Ryan. A sweet, little kid she used to mentor a few years back, barely a year since she last saw him in a gala.

The sixteen years old girl tries to ignore him. She truly tries because now is not the time to care for someone else, not when her survival should matter. But it barely does. She has long ago accepted the idea of death, the scars on her wrist burning at the simple reminder.

And Stella's heart, though half dead and shattered beyond repair by the ones she had loved, clenches for the child, so sweet and innocent, who should not be aware of how dark the world truly is. Unlike the spoiled brats Stella used to mentor, all children yet already rotten in their core, vicious and cruel, she had always been fond of Ryan, with his pure innocence and goodness, one of the sole unblemished souls she knew in this wretched world.

She steps closer and tugs at the small boy's arm, glaring at the woman who carelessly shoved him to the side in her hurry. The teenager brings him closer to her and tries to usher him forwards.

"Wait…" Ryan tries to stop her, protesting and voice breaking at his next words. "My mommy…wait…"

Stella ignores him, almost dragging his small body as they continue walking, following the others in what Stella assumes to be a safe location.

"She's probably dead sweetheart." She tells him, ignoring how Ryan shakes his head in denial, crying out that his mother would never leave him like that. It might be harsh, might be cruel to say something like that to a child no older than 5, but Stella does not have the time nor the ability to care.

Heck, she doesn't even know why she decided to bring him along, to save him from either being shot or trampled to death.

Stella shouldn't care.

And she doesn't.

Right?

That was something perfect Stella would have done ages ago, back when she was still blind to people's cruelty and selfishness. The good side in her has died after everything Stella has seen. Even if she knew little Ryan, had liked him, and cooed at his adorableness, Stella no longer has the bleeding heart she was so well known for.

So why?

Why care now?

Why care for someone she hasn't seen for a while, why care now when she has just left two of her supposed friends – they are no friends for friends should not make you want to kill yourself, should not laugh at your misery – to die?

Stella is too caught up in her thoughts, too busy criticizing her foolish decision, wondering why she cared again when all she could now is to hate, and hate, and hate. She doesn't notice how the people around them, standing in front, start to fall like flies.

Then, the gunshots snap her back in reality.

Only it is too late. Always too late.

Stella swears and will continue to swear it. Her body has moved on its own.

Because nothing else would explain what on earth pushed her to yank Ryan in her arms, using her own body as a shield to protect the five years old as the shooter aims at their group.

Motherfucker, that hurts.

Stella swears, her body has moved on its own. As stupid and cliché as it sounds, she really wasn't thinking, not even relying on her instincts honed through hours in the dojo with her instructor's eyes glaring down at any mistake. Because surely, anyone would prioritise their own survival, right? Apparently, not Stella.

How stupid.

She falls forward, the little boy still in her arms and seemingly unharmed. She makes sure her weight doesn't crush him, but God does it hurt. What she did was foolish. Foolish and stupid, and Stella already wants to go back in time and slap herself.

Stella whimpers from the burning, excruciating pain that tears at her back though it could have been so much worse if it wasn't for the adrenaline still coursing through her veins.

A small part of her can't help but acknowledge how smart the terrorists move is. Having an accomplice shooting down the survivors at the supposed secure location. Smart.

Marie would sneer and call Stella a horrible freak for thinking that.

But guess what? Dead people cannot speak.

Ryan opens his mouth as if for asking her if she was okay. Stella hushes him. "K-keep silent-t Ryan, k?" she whispers at him weakly. He nods, teary-eyed as he strokes her cheek softly as if to thank her, as if knowing what fate he had escaped. Ryan listens to Stella's request, tries to stifle his sobs too, and the teenager is thankful that the kid still blindly obeys her, trusting her like he used to. He doesn't looks yet corrupted by the privilege and cutthroat environment they both live in, still looking at her with those trusting eyes as if Stella was worth something.

No one looked at her like that anymore and the hatred that clings to Stella in an everlasting companionship slightly loosens his grip on her heart.

For what it is worth, Stella doesn't regret it.

Ryan deserves to live. Out of everyone in this rotten world, he deserves to see another day.

Damnit. Stella is going to die, isn't she? She's already feeling weaker, the thick and warm blood from her back steadily pours out of her trembling body. Oh well, a bit of a shame, but hey, at least Stella got to participate in her dearest, dearest friends' extermination. She says extermination because pests should be exterminated, it is the order of things. If only… if only she could have prolonged their suffering.

Stella feels her consciousness slip away, her eyelids becoming heavier and heavier. She cannot help but feel bitter.

Of course, the last act of kindness she will do is ultimately the cause of her death. And people say that kindness isn't a weakness. Ha, Stella calls bullshit.

And so, that was how Stella died. Pathetic right? Alone – she always is – and protecting some kid she hasn't seen for years, but who still looks at her so lovingly.

Here lies Stella – a pathetic fool who wasn't able to bury her heart – killed by kindness.

CHAPTER ONE: WE ARE ALL A BIT INSANE

When Uchiha Akari first opens her eyes, eyelids barely lifting themselves, she is dizzy. The bright, artificial light blinds her. Her surroundings are at best blurry, her limbs heavy and it is cold even as she is tucked under a blanket. There is some phantom pain lingering on her right arm, her head is pounding, and her throat feels scorched raw. Akari can barely register the voices whispering around her as if she wasn't there in the first place, though she can make out some words through her migraine.

"… stable condition…everyone else killed… poor child… brother…"

Brother.

The word echoes in her head and the dense mist that plagues her every thought lessens.

Brothers. Akari remembers having two brothers. One older, eyes older and warier than they should be as if they had seen far too much despite being a child, but who still looks at her as if she had hung the stars. The younger, bright and loving, adores her completely and she loves him just as much back.

Her beloved brothers.

And her twin. Her…

"Sasuke…" Akari lets out, her throat aching in protest at her efforts.

The whisper catches the nurse's attention, her eyes widening at her now awake patient.

"You're awake?" she asks.

Akari quirks an eyebrow and – unbeknown to her – sneers the haughty, typical Uchiha sneer.

No genius. Don't mind her. She's just a passing ghost.

Idiot.

Apparently, her face perfectly conveys her disdain for such a ridiculous question because the nurse blushes in embarrassment, averting her eyes as if she had been scolded. The nurse, young and obviously inexperienced, scurries off, probably getting Akari's parents.

Akari closes her eyes.

"Do you see?... the Uchiha's duty…get stronger, foolish little siblings…"

The words echo in her head, the voice familiar to her and acting as a balm, making her hear bask in the warmth she associates with Itachi.

Akari wishes he was already by her side, with his sad eyes and fond smile, to poke her lightly on the forehead. She already misses him. But he isn't there yet.

Neither Sasuke is there for that matter, and it is strange.

Akari frowns at the thought. Where is Sasuke? It is not like him to leave her, even if she is currently in the hospital. After all, they are inseparable, always attached to the hips much to their father's scorn.

"An Uchiha should not show that many emotions."

Father would quite often scold them, for lacking proper Uchiha pride, for not showing as much promise as Itachi, for Akari not being like Mother, demure and perfect.

However, Father's lectures cannot break the unshakable bond the twins share as the two children are unwilling to let anyone distance them.

The door opens and an old man comes in, exuding a powerful aura, the hat on his head depicting the kanji for fire.

The Hokage.

The Hokage pauses at her bedside, eyes sharp and assessing her, before his lips stretch into a warm smile. Akari smiles back, it is an automatic response, even if she wants to cringe away.

The old man is fake, so very fake. He doesn't look kind, more snakelike than human. Akari hates snakes.

Huh, she wonders why the word snake came to her mind while gazing at the Hokage.

"Hello Akari-chan," he greets.

"Hokage-sama" she responds, bowing her head deeply to make up for the fact she cannot stand and thus is unable to show him the due respect that comes with his title.

Akari has been raised well after all.

The Hokage takes a seat by her side, his entire posture lax as he gazes at her with gentleness and warmth, an illusion that falls short for Akari senses there is something lurking inside the man called not too long ago 'The Professor'.

Something cold and calculating.

Akari stops herself from straightening her spine from those thoughts, like a prey refusing to appear weak before its predator. Rather, she forces herself to relax and not tense as if in fight or flight mode.

There is no reason to feel threatened.

The Hokage is the Lord of their village, he is their beloved leader.

So why does she want to bare her teeth at him?

"Can I help you, Hokage-sama?" Akari asks, curious why Konoha's leader is there, in a hospital and not in his office, at her side instead of her family.

"I was wondering if you could tell me what you remember from that night." He answers and Akari tilts her head in confusion, unsure what he meant. The Hokage hums light as he stares at her, eyes strangely pitying.

If Akari had been more like Mother – elegant, poised, and perfect Uchiha Mikoto – more like how Father wished her to be, she would have raised an eyebrow at him, calm even in the presence of their leader. But Akari is just a child, a young girl in a hospital bed with no family member in sight, and she feels uncomfortable. Uncomfortable with seeing pity in all things because she had never been pitied before.

Revered, disdained, loved yes, but never pitied.

"Hokage-sama?"

"You don't remember," Hokage-sama says as if it is a simple, neutral observation.

"Remember what?" Akari asks.

She is curious, what hasn't she remembered? What was so important that THE Hokage would come to her bedside in the hospital to ask?

"Two days ago, Uchiha Itachi killed the Uchiha clan."

What?

That cannot be right.

Everything freezes. The Hokage's mouth keeps moving, probably explaining, but Akari cannot register a single sound coming from him, cannot hear anything except for the white noise, a buzzing that echoes in her ears as she feels her heart skip a beat. She is gaping, she knows it, but she cannot control herself, she can't act like a noble Uchiha, not now. Her mind feels like it's getting split into two, it hurts, and she can't breathe, she can't blink.

Flashes come to her, memories that are painful to watch and she wished she could just forget.

There is a blade in her hand and no matter where she looks, all she can see is red. It is dark and the entire compound stinks of blood. Akari is scared till she catches sight of Itachi's back because her older brother will be able to protect her, just like he always do. They can get Sasuke and leave. Everything's going to be fine.

But then she sees her parent's bodies sprawled on the floor, lying in a puddle of blood, and Itachi's sword is still bloody, tiny drops of crimson dripping down. The black-haired man, because that man, that murderer cannot be her sweet brother who had sung her to sleep, turns his eyes towards her and she is overwhelmed by scarlet.

Her lungs burn, and tears prick at her eyes.

She is hyperventilating, isn't she?

"I will come back soon Akari-chan," the Hokage tells her, not concerned over the fact that a child is having a small panic attack right in front of him.

Akari registers his words vaguely as she nods.

Itachi…

Sasuke is crying in her mind, she hates it, please, make it stop.

The old man pats her on the head softly, she tries to not flinch at the gesture because her father used to do the very same thing when her performance was satisfactory, before turning towards the exit, telling the nurse to contact the Yamanaka head for an appointment.

Wait. What about her twin? Did Itachi -?

"W-what about Sasuke?" Akari calls out desperately at him, voice cracking.

She has to know if there is still something for her here, that there is still something in this sea of numbness and coldness. She feels so relieved when the Hokage gives her a soft smile, assuring her of her twin's survival.

His smile means nothing to her, not when she can practically taste the plastic in it, but the fact that Sasuke is alive, well it rightens something in the world.

"Uchiha Sasuke is still in a coma, but he is well. You will be able to go and see him soon," he tells her.

Akari relaxes, her hands loosening around the blanket. She had not even realized she was gripping onto them.

"Thank you."

The Hokage waves her goodbye, and the doors close behind him, the nurse leaving too, probably to contact the Yamanaka Head as instructed.

Yamanaka, the mind-specialized clan. Akari wonders if the village wants to check whether she is a risk to Kohona.

Just like her brother.

Itachi.

The young girl closes her eyes and all she can remember is the scarlet in her brother's eyes, the Kaleidoscope swirling in his eyes. She remembers a tear rolling down his cheek, harsh words he spits as Akari's head pulses, and everything fades into black.

Father had left her behind. Mother had always been disappointed. Itachi sees in her a mirror of duty. Sasuke isn't waking up.

(Akari might be an Uchiha, might be stronger than other children, but she is still a child.

She is a child.

She is a child.

She is a child.

Take the world off her shoulders, children should not have to fight to be young. Children should not be left alone with monsters)

It hurts.

Akari silently screams, her hands fisting her hair as her mind burns. It twists and twists, burning like hot iron as pain erupts in both her head and her back. She curls into a ball, her mouth still opened in what was probably a silent scream, her eyes turned scarlet as two tomoes twirl around the iris.

"Stella…"

There is a dog barking, attacking and she throws herself in front of a brunette, crying as the teeth sink in her little arm. It hurts, but it's fine because she is doing it for Ella.

Ella and Marie sneer at her, eyes glaring.

"People don't love you, Stella. They're just using you to get closer to us. Stop thinking this is about you."

A mother cries out, a father destroys a vase as he snarls and her limbs are frozen, tears rolling down her cheeks.

"WHY ARE YOU CRYING!"

Akari is crying, she knows it's wrong, she shouldn't cry, but she can't help it. Her mind is tearing itself apart, her chest aches and she wants to claw her face off, anything, just make it stop.

"Pathetic, stupid."

She is crying – she always is – on her knees, as she tries to reach out to her friend, to the boy who had given her so much joy in the past year. Please don't leave. But he does, like everyone else, and all she can see is Ella and Marie's eyes, burning with jealously as they spit hateful comments.

"No one likes you." They mock and she wants to see them bleed.

Akari whimpers.

Her cousin, Coral, is laughing with her, dancing around in the backyard and Stella is happy because they will always have each other. But then, her uncle barges in, yelling at Coral for falling behind compared to Stella during their lessons. Coral throws her a bitter glance and Stella's smile stiffens. She wants to make things better for her cousin and so, she makes a few mistakes there and there in their next evaluation, makes a few clumsy kicks in their next martial art class to lift her cousin's spirit up. Coral places first, for the first time in a long time and preens under the family's praises. Alongside her father, she sneers disdainfully at Stella who placed second. As for Stella's parents, they are not pleased at her failure, yelling at her and forcing her to work harder. She cries, underneath her covers as she isn't allowed to, she knows there is no room for second place, but she just wants Coral to be happy. The next time Stella places first in their monthly evaluations and earns herself the family's praises, Coral ignores her for the rest of the week.

Stella wants to slap her, to twist her neck and see her crumble at her feet.

Stop. It hurts.

A table's leg is broken as her father kicks it, snarling in fury as he gestures to her. Her mother is frantic, trying to calm him down. She wonders what would happen if she shoved the table's leg into her father's chest. Just make him stop screaming.

Her limbs are frozen, curled around her as if she wanted to retreat into herself. But she can't, the memories – or flashes – are too vivid, too raw.

Stella smiles at Cynthia, giving important files she should not share, but her friend needs it and who is she to say no. She will not abandon her friend. Cynthia smiles back at her. And two years later, Cynthia laughs at her with her newest friends that she got, after exploiting the information she had received. Stella glances at Cynthia's large forehead, and she wants to carve it, to write on the flesh traitor, because that is what the teenager is. A filthy traitor.

Akari is no longer screaming, no longer agitated and if anyone would come in her hospital room, they would think she was dead, simply laying there in her bed, her eyes unseeing.

She hates them.

She hates the world.

Her cousin sneers at her. She says that Stella is nothing to her. Stella just wants love, but everyone she turns to no longer look at her as if she was worth something. They look at her as if she was expendable, worthless. She wants to gouge their eyes out, scoop them out with a spoon and who would be laughing now.

Who is she?

The Uchiha princess, talented but never enough, never as good as the clan heir. Nothing more than a glorified broodmare?

The perfect doll who her parents parade around as if she was something greater than she will ever be?

Stop. Please stop.

Let me live. Let me be me.

Make them leave screaming.

Stella is twisted and all she knows is hate.

Her heart turns cold. She can still hear their mocking words, still hear her father's yelling and feel her bones break for others who spit on her sacrifices. She fists her hair harshly, her head is pounding as her temples throb and everything else is just a blur, the hospital room closing onto itself

They are at the table, eating in a restaurant, and Stella ignores the snickering as the duo talk, sometimes glancing at her. She has practice ignoring them when they decide that today, the two friends will let go of their masks and be upfront about their distaste for her. She sees one of her older friends and waves at him. He comes and talks to her for a bit before leaving.

"Wow, she's so desperate. Poor Stella, can't you see he can't stand you?" Marie says and Stella wants to rip her tongue off. Instead, she just smiles crisply as Ella laughs in agreement.

"Right?" Ella chuckles. "It's hard to talk to you, you're just so annoying sometimes. If only you didn't have such chubby cheeks, then maybe he would have stayed a bit longer."

Stella clenches her hands around her knife, and she hates them. The hatred whispers to her, tells her how easy it would be to just stab her in the neck, but she knows she can't. Not when there are so many variables that could screw her over. She is content to listen to her hatred as it tells her how she could make those bitches, those monsters suffer.

"I mean, there's a lot of people who hate you at school. I know you're a liar and a brat, but still, it's sad, isn't it?"

"That's kinda mean, Ella" Stella mumbles through gritted teeth.

Ella waves her off as Marie pipes up. "Even Coral can't stand being around you lately, no?"

Oh, how Stella wants to kill them.

Murder has never seemed sweeter.

"We're just saying that cause we love you Stella and we don't want you to get hurt by any snakes!"

They're the snakes, they are the animals, the monsters.

Kill. Exterminate.

Red.

Red.

The group leaves the restaurant, and Stella pays for all of them, like always. It's the only reason why she is invited, but she can't bring herself to refuse their invitation.

Because or else, she would be all alone. Alone with her parents' fighting and with her extended family's scrutiny and expectant eyes.

She is alone.

She has Sasuke.

No one will ever love her. She hates everyone.

Her family loves her. No, they don't. Her brothers adore her.

Stella. Akari. She sees both lives, one filled with so much hatred and bitterness, the other filled with familial love and she is confused.

Who is she, what is she?

Akari is lost, heaving as she tries to inhale, her mind torn between two lives, memories jumbling together as they insert themselves into her brain. Memories of advanced technologies are added to her Uchiha studies, the will of Fire suffocated by the idea of freedom and independence. A ninja like mentality is harshly critiqued by her modern ideals. And the hatred slithers into her heart, tainting it black because this world is rotten and there is nothing she can do, but hate.

"Uchiha-san?"

Akari turns towards the nurse, a different one this time who is standing at the room's entrance. Her eyes are probably swollen, red and puffy because the older woman looks at her in pity as if she was about to break apart which wasn't far off, her movements careful to not startle her. Akari wants to ignore her, to curl herself into a ball and forget everything, but the nurse's next words make her head snap up.

"Do you want to see your brother?" she asks gently, smiling when Akari nods eagerly, almost like a puppy.

Even if the child looks so distraught, she is still very pretty, a fine lady of the Uchiha clan, silky luscious hair framing an oval, aristocratic face and plump lips.

The nurse – she tells Akari that her name is Mizu, but Akari doesn't care about that – ushers the little girl on a wheelchair before pushing her into the hospital hallway. Only a few doors away, the name Uchiha Sasukeis written on a small plank and Akari holds her breath as Mizu pushes the door open and enters the room with her.

Akari hates how weak she is, to be pushed around in a wheelchair, by a civilian nonetheless, as her Uchiha pride bristles at her weakness, but all her dark thoughts halt themselves as she catches glimpses of a small, raven-haired child laying still in the hospital bed. He is pale, almost deathly so, and only the slow rise and fall of his chest hints at his survival. But even looking weak, almost like a corpse, he is perfect.

Akari gives a small whimper.

Sasuke. Her twin.

He looks dead. But he isn't, he can't leave her too, she needs him too much. Everyone leaves, there is nothing worthwhile in you to stay. But not Sasuke, he wouldn't leave her.

Foolish. Loving. Hopeful.

Akari lifts herself from her wheelchair, clenching her jaw as her small frame wobbles slightly, and crawls into her twin's bed. He is so small compared to the bedside, and she gently cradles him in her arms, tears pricking her eyes as he sags against her, limp. Mizu adjusts the blankets and pillows around the two twins to give them some comfort and Akari smiles at her gratefully. The nurse looks a bit surprised at the sight of an Uchiha smiling at a stranger, but Akari has Stella's memories and realizes how easily people are fooled by a smile. She adjusts herself, like her mind adapts itself to the dark whispers of hate now plaguing her.

The small girl threads her small fingers into her brother's raven locks, silently marveling at the soft texture. She presses one, two, multiple kisses to his head, cradles his face in her hands, and thinks of home. He feels like home, and she can feel herself breathe better with him in her arms.

Hers. Mine.

"Sasuke…" she whispers to him, her voice soft and loving. His name alone is enough to lift a huge weight on her chest, it makes it easier to breathe. "Wake up niichan…please."

But he doesn't wake up, remains limp to her pleas.

Akari still feels like herself, a proud member of the Uchiha clan, and beloved sister of both Uchiha Itachi and Sasuke. She still remembers blissful days running around with her twin, begging their Aniki to train with them. She still loves them with all her heart, but although she remembers being sweet and innocent, she isn't anymore.

Instead, she remembers her previous life as Stella and she feels her heart turns cold, ripping itself as betrayals hit her and hatred starts to consume her. She hated the world as Stella, hated the world for not seeing all those monsters disguised as humans, and all she wanted to do was to lash out and make them suffer like she suffered her entire life in their hands.

Akari still feels that hatred, she knows of the hidden madness that was nestled into her heart as soon as the memories had come back to her, but she can't bring herself to care.

Dying had hurt.

When death comes to claim you, it is not as swift as you would think and not nearly as painless as some would hope. It burns, it shatters your entire being, rips away your soul with his skeleton-like, cold hands.

Overall, not a fun experience.

Akari was born and raised in the Uchiha clan, in Konoha and is aware of their prestigious bloodline. She could trace back their noble family to the War clans' period, capable to recite with ease their clan's laws and traditions, the perfect princess and broodmare their clan deserved, alongside her elder brother, the prodigious clan heir.

But it had never been enough for Mother and Father, has it?

But as Stella, she vaguely remembers an anime Coral used to ramble about in their spare time, rambles that Stella didn't care for and had, thus, only listened to with an absentminded mind.

The tales of Uzumaki Naruto, an anime depicting the rise of an underdog hero, with his team.

Stelle never watched an entire episode, however, she remembers not understanding the protagonist, left baffled by his incessant need to be loved by a village that wanted nothing to do with him. Uzumaki Naruto is the one guy who had every reason, every right to destroy his abusive village, but instead, he chooses to save those pests again and again. Stella, and now Akari- while she never really knew Naruto as he was too far in the social hierarchy for her to care- could never understand that.

Unfortunately, Stella also remembers a dark emo-boy her cousin used to rave about: the sole survivor of his clan's massacre. She recalls pitying the character, the last Uchiha. Sasuke.

And here is the thing, Uchiha Sasuke was a fictional character. One Stella barely knew about, a mere drawing on her television screen every few weekends, and Akari snarls at the idea of her twin being anything else but a breathing human. Because here he was, cradled in her arms, her twin, warm and breathing, and the memories of them cuddling together in their silk-clad bed, with his soft voice calling at her is anything but real.

However, there had not been any twin sister in Naruto.

Uchiha Sasuke only had a brother, no sister, and especially not a twin. And Akari's heart aches at the idea she did not exist. For if her newest life wasn't in the anime, in a show that had no place for her, then why was she there?

Did Akari even exist, what was her purpose?

The raven-haired girl frowns, her little face still tucked into her brother's soft hair, ignoring how he probably hadn't washed it for a little time if she were to believe how strong his natural scent was. Some would grimace, but Akari drew comfort at anything that tied her to this universe, associating the scent with home. She bites her lip, swallowing her urge to whimper as she lightly shifted her position to hold Sasuke better. She could still hear the screams, still see the bodies dropping like flies in a fountain of crimson, and the burning, oh the burning, that tore her back as the bullets were shot at her.

Stella had died, didn't she?

Died a pathetic death, for someone who will forget her, after she knowingly condemned her so-called friends to a pig's death, and god, was this satisfying to let them fall to the ground, where they belonged.

Stella died, she finally left her wretched world that had ruined her childhood, that had ruined her, only to be thrust into another life as Uchiha Akari. She traded a corrupted, rotten world for another one, probably as bad, without her consent.

Sasuke isn't waking up.

Frankly, the Uchiha's fate is a tragic one.

And perhaps, Akari is one of its greatest tragedies. For what is life in a body desperate to die?

The little girl, barely eight, could have spent her entire life in Konoha, perhaps finding true love within her family and clan, learning to be a kunoichi worthy of the Uchiha name yet protected from the wickedness plaguing the Elemental nations.

Akari could have lived without the burden of Stella's memories.

Without knowing how truly horrible humankind is.

Without that hopeless hatred that consumes her every thought.

Yet, here she is, alive with her eldest brother killing their clan and sparing only his youngest siblings.

Was it as compassion or as a weakness?

Akari doesn't know and while she does not care much for Itachi's bloody crusade – God she wanted to do the same thing, maybe as Stella, maybe as Akari, it is easy to get confused.

But those eyes…

Itachi's Sharingan triggered something within her, unlocked the gate in her mind that kept at bay memories of her previous life. And now, she could barely remember of the fondness she had for dango, could barely remember how warm she felt at her father's praises as rare and backhanded as they were.

Sasuke is still dead to the world. Akari is still alone.

She clenches her jaw, dark eyes stormy as she thinks back on everything she had brushed off as a child, but now, with a sixteen-year-old perspective, she could not stay blind to this world's flaws. A military tyranny, propaganda fed to toddlers to the point they could vomit it back in their sleep, utter blindness, and no sense of independence.

No.

She doesn't want that.

Akari doesn't want to live again in a world that would rather see her as a mindless doll if her opinions weren't shaped by their views.

She had lived 16 years as one, seen other pretty dolls shattered and thrown aside, lived through its hell that tore at her porcelain skin.

No, no.

Akari refuses to be forced into a role, a charade she did not want, she did not want to live somewhere she shouldn't exist in the first place. Let it all burn, let them all die, leave, you don't owe them a single damn thing. Oh, she hates this, the chakra slithering in her body, in her surroundings like a parasite she never asked for, the absence of her phone, what will she ever do without the internet?

Why should she want to be a child soldier?

Why must she give her soul to a Hokage that hadn't cared for the traumatized eight-year-old left alone and orphaned?

She owes this world nothing.

Akari is seething, why, why, why was she even here. Screw this, why should she…

"Akari?"

Akari immediately halts in her dark musing, eyes flickering down to the boy she is still holding on to for dear life. Onyx met onyx and the raven-haired girl sniffles, tears rolling down her cheeks.

Her breath hitches as they lock gazes as she is swept away by the raw emotions swirling in her twin's eyes, so trusting and loving, gazing at her as if she were his most precious thing, a treasure to be cherished.

A sea of ebony, fervent and wild.

Something in her chest purrs, like a kindred soul finding its soulmate.

One might think it was offensive to be seen as a precious thing, something to be protected, but the love she can feel from her brother, so potent she could taste it on the tip of her tongue, tastes like starlight, sweet and so very addicting.

"Sasuke" she breathes out like a prayer.

"You're safe, you- "Sasuke nuzzles into her embrace, and she feels herself smiling softly for he does not recoil at her touch, not realizing of the dark whispers that taint her mind. And he won't ever have to know, it is not his burden to bear. Her twin brother melts in her arms, clutching her hospital gown as if he is afraid that she is but a dream.

Sasuke is her brother. Her twin.

Blood of her blood, flesh of her flesh.

He looks at her as if she is the sun itself.

Sasuke loves her, has loved her since they came into the world together, and he looks at her, just at her, like she matters.

She strokes Sasuke's hair, petting it in the same way she used to when they were younger, knowing he is slowly recollecting his memories, bearings now that he had his precious twin by his side.

In one life, he had no one, driven bitter and blinded by his revenge, stepping over again and again the fine line between traitor and insanity. In this one, he had the devil dressed at the angel to keep him sane, well as sane as you could be with such a twisted, immoral soul by your side.

"Aniki…he…"

Akari falters a bit before adjusting her position to face her brother who looks so sullen, and broken. Sasuke lifts his head, his eyes filled with tears and Akari feels horrible, powerless as her beloved twin sniffles. She hates it, hates that she can do nothing to soothe his pain at their elder brother's betrayal.

Stella is used to betrayals, Sasuke isn't.

Betrayals are nothing new to her, something that haunts her every step and has molded her through pain and lies.

Sasuke looks so torn apart by it. As if his entire world has been set ablaze in front of his helpless eyes. Akari's heart clenches. He deserves better.

But one does not choose who they are born with.

Perhaps the Akari from before – before the massacre, before Itachi turned his sharingan against his little sister – would have been just as destroyed. But now, Akari mostly feels apathetic at the thought of Itachi killing everyone else. He had lashed out in the same way she had longed to when she had been Stella, and for that, she understood. Sure, it was messed up, and immoral for her to think that way, but she did not care for the ones he killed. Akari did not care for a father whose love was conditional and a mother who was too busy thinking of their clan to care for her youngest children.

She cares about nothing.

Nothing except Sasuke.

Because her twin is all that matters, all that remains to her.

"He killed them."

It's an observation.

Akari bites her lip, nodding in answer, not trusting her voice. Would it sound as cold as she feels for her massacred relatives?

"He hurt you."

The observation is spat like a curse and Akari tilts her head.

"I- I don't remember much."

Something in Sasuke wavers – softens and hardens at the same time at her admission. He clenches his teeth, scowling. "I do." He whispers. "And I can't unsee it."

The world is a cruel place for a child of eight years to remember so clearly the death of his family.

Her twin brother's grip tightens on her hospital gown. "He said he wanted to see his strength…he killed Father and Mother just for that…" His scowl twists into something truly hateful and Akari wants to kiss those frowns away, to protect the childhood innocence she had longed for as Stella, although she knows it is no longer possible. Not when her twin had been brutally thrust into the rotten world.

She will make this rotten world pay for it.

It's funny that even with the additional memories, Akari doesn't feel as if she has changed must. After all, she still loves Sasuke as if he was her sun and stars. Yes, she did trade her childhood innocence for the everlasting hate Stella bore to the world, but she is still Uchiha Akari.

And she always will be.

Sasuke snatches his sister's hand, clasping it tightly, as if he was afraid that she would slip away from him too if he ever was to let go.

"I'll kill him." He vows to her, still holding her small hand in his, clinging to it with the same desperation of a drowned man. "I will kill him and avenge our clan. He won't- he can't hurt you again- "

Long gone is the sweet Sasuke who would wait hours on end for Itachi to come back from his missions. All that remains is an angry, furious, and bitter child. His eyes, as black as ink, gleam in obsessive anger and bloodlust.

The Uchiha has always danced around the thin line between love and obsession.

The twins are no different.

Akari hums in agreement, tilting her head forward. She presses a soft, loving kiss to his forehead before smiling at him.

"You will," she assures him confidently and Sasuke's heart warms itself, knowing that his twin believes in him, and did not dismiss his quest for fratricide like some others would. "And I will help you."

Sasuke shakes his head. "I don't need help, Akari. It's my duty to kill him. My duty alone."

"And what about me, Sasuke?"

Will his thirst for revenge become stronger than his love?

Oh. That won't do.

That won't do at all.

"You need to stay safe. Safe, alive, and happy." He responds.

Sasuke's love has always been the sweetest thing, and Akari refuses to lose it. She can't, not again.

"You can't leave me behind for him Sasuke, you can't leave me like Father and Mother did."

"That's why I need to kill him! I won't let Itachi take you away from me. I won't lose you."

But what good can an eight-year-old child do against a thirteen-year-old murderer?

And yet, impossibly, Akari believes him.

She would believe him if he told her that the sky is red.

"Then put me first. Let me help you. I am an Uchiha, your twin. I don't need your protection, I need you."

"And then, what happens when I lose you? What happens if you get injured and I can't help? Akari, it's my duty to kill him. " Sasuke shoots back.

Even dead, Father's words continue to hunt them both. Duty. It had been Sasuke's duty to disappear into the shadows for Itachi to shine brighter as heir.

"And you will. You can't lose me Sasuke. Not even the heavens can try to separate us. I'll always find my way to you. Because that's my duty, to always be at your side."

"Promise?" he asks and his voice trembles slightly.

What has Itachi done to him? Why does he doubt her words?

Akari would condemn her soul to eternal damnation, would kill anyone and everyone if it means she can stay with Sasuke.

"Promise."

The last Uchiha heir gives her a tight smile, a far cry from the beaming grin he used to have, but still a smile. He closes his eyes, which were already heavy with sleep, and relaxes on the tilted bed.

Already, sleep comes and claims him.

Akari has always loved her brothers. They were her companions, the people who treasured her unconditionally. However, the Uchiha heiress has also always favored her twin, and loved him a bit more because Sasuke is her twin brother, the other half of her soul, and has always been by her side since they were born.

And while her love, prior to the massacre, had been sweet, innocent, and powerful, his love was hers. She wants Sasuke to continue looking at her as if she is the only thing, perhaps except for his revenge, that matters in his eyes.

Loving Sasuke had always been as easy as breathing. But now, loving him is a sweet, addicted poison she could not live without.

As for Itachi…

Akari understands why Itachi killed their clan, at least, she thinks so. She doesn't mind the bloodshed; she knows how horrible many families are.

Fools. Monsters who deserve to be cut down, massacred by the one they praised and praised as if he was an extension of their own power. Pathetic.

The raven-haired child remembers an Elder comparing Sasuke to the Uchiha prodigy, cutting the spare down with harsh and unnecessary words and Akari wishes she was the one who killed him. That she had carved out the Elder's eyes he held so dear and shoved them into his mouth, just for him to shut up. Gut him like the pig he is, with his organs spilling on the floor. But she didn't, which was a shame. She hopes Itachi had not given him a merciful death.

"Sasuke," she whispers quietly to her brother who is still sleeping by her side, at peace next to someone barely human, barely good. Her voice is faint, afraid that anyone would overhear as she was aware of their guards, unscrupulous stalkers, were not too far. But they don't hear, don't catch her fervent words, her vow borderline fanatical as she enslaves herself, with a smile, to her brother, to do anything he would have her do. "My Sasuke. I swear, I will burn this world to the ground if you want it."

She inhales, smiling sweetly.

"Anything for my precious brother."

Konoha does not realize the threat, the monster born from her family's tragedy, traumatic enough it unlocked a hatred that had plagued her in another life. Because they never saw the monsters, they, themselves, were the monsters. Akari is only a child, whose wilted heart only loves, no, worships one person in this universe, and whose mind, aged and wiser than a normal child, is a ticking time bomb.

With hatred cursing into her veins, she is born to spill blood. And in a ninja world, who could stop her?

…

Let me tell you about my life, about my childhood. Damaged and ripped apart, I had been unhappy for as long as I could remember.

I was born a blank canvas, and through violence, deceit, and lies, I was shaped into a monster, and my world got stained with red.

So, let me tell you about the monster. Let me tell you of its sharp teeth.

Let me tell you how pain brings more pain, and the cycle of hurt never ends.

Is there a home for me somewhere?

The people whisper about me as I pass by.

How terrible that you could do all this to yourself.

How lonely you must be.

But the thing is, I didn't ask for it.

…

A few days after, the Uchiha twins are discharged from the hospital, cleared of any physical injuries – although let's be real, their mental states are far from being alright – and the authorities send them on their merry ways.

Konoha has never been kind to orphans after all.

Many clans, shinobi and civilian alike, are eager to sink their clans into the two – the heir and the broodmare – but the Hokage stops them. Not out of love or out of pity for the newfound orphans, but rather to continue the political balance that allows him to hold so much power, for himself and his council. From the same law that isolated the jinchuuriki, the Uchiha children are protected from outside influences, thus they are sent back to their compound to live.

Sent back to a ghost town, a cemetery and they do not see how Akari's eyes flashes, for the briefest of second, with disgust.

Akari is seething, even as she thanks the Hokage with a gentle smile for his aid and generosity, at the idea of her brother being sent back to a corpse-ridden compound, with only her as company.

Sasuke loves their clan, it's all he's ever known.

How cruel it is for him to have their corpses lying around. Sasuke looks almost green as he takes in the sight of their home, now a cemetery, bloody and filled with death.

Akari grabs his wrist, to root him in reality as she feels him slip, slip in darkness and she will be damned before she allows Sasuke to lose himself, blinded by his hatred. If her twin wanted to destroy Itachi for revenge, Akari does not mind, she will be there with him at every step. But she refuses to see him get so bitter, in a situation forced upon them by selfish, tyrannical elders whose death should come anytime soon as far as she was concerned. She walks quickly towards their house, standing proud in the middle of their compound, richness, and prestige oozing from the very structure, carefully avoiding the room she knows, her parents' corpses are rotting in.

"We have to give them a burial," Sasuke says as they sit on his old bed.

"Do you want to? We can always issue a C or D-rank to take care of that."

Sasuke scowls. It seems he heavily relies on that expression, now, his resting bitch face. Akari doesn't like it that much, as she remembers him as a happy child, but she understands that it is related to their shared trauma and hey, if that is how he wanted to cope with it, it is fine.

"They are Uchihas, it is our responsibility." Her brother tells her firmly and Akari agrees with him. She did not care for those nameless corpses, but she still holds the same Uchiha pride as Sasuke, ages of clan pride beaten into her in her last years.

"True. Then, I'll take care of Mother and Father, you can start with the rest. I'll join you when I'm done."

Sasuke looks like he wants to protest, probably to shoulder the burden to wash out their parents 'blood, but Akari won't let him.

"Aka- "

"Please."

No, Akari won't let her twin destroy himself, again and again, as he drags out their parents' corpses and washes away their blood from the wooden floor. Sasuke loves them, adores them and she absolutely refuses to let her twin suffer, seeing them dead, killed like cattle by their eldest brother. Akari, while she did not know exactly how she would react to seeing her parents dead, she would rather act as a shield, and not let Sasuke see how far the people who raised him, who he idolized dead.

Sasuke pauses. "I don't want you to go through it alone." He tells her, sweet and caring even when the world seeks to destroy him.

No one should be able to see that side of him.

No one except her.

"I'll be fine, Sasuke. Trust me."

Sasuke pauses before nodding his agreement, albeit reluctantly. Akari thanks him with a small smile, small because she is still mourning, but still thankful. He leaves the house by the window, silently, and Akari ventures into the house with a small frown. She quickly comes to face with her parents 'bodies and she waits. Waits to see if there was still a small part of her who still cared. But as she gazes at the corpses, lying in a puddle of their own blood, she doesn't feel a thing. Only a faint, almost insignificant pang of pain that barely lasts a second, but other than that, nothing.

"I'm sorry."

Sorry for being such a bad daughter, a daughter unable to cry for their death.

Akari knows there is something wrong with her, for not crying, not grieving for the people who raised her, but her heart doesn't care.

To be honest, Akari feels a bit guilty for not breaking down in tears. She shouldn't. They're her parents. They didn't love her. They did. It was conditional love. But they still loved her. But what kind of love and at what price?

You are an Uchiha, you are better than this. How can you be so stupid? Again. Pathetic. Itachi could do so much more at your age. Prove me there is some value in you. If you can't succeed, you are worthless.

Voices, echoes of her pasts, reverberates in her head and she cringes, because they are all dead, she doesn't want to hear them.

Shut up, shut up.

(Tell me, broken child, what is it like to drown in memories?

It feels as if she is suffocating.)

Akari remembers crying, bitterly wishing she was enough, with her parents' disappointment tasting like ashes on her tongue. She remembers her mother's efforts to love her, but every time she doesn't show Itachi's genius abilities, every time she has to correct Akari while she practices the tea ceremony, her mother's lips tighten because why can't she be like her brother? Why can't she be the perfect heiress their clan expects?

There were so many expectations. Too many for someone too young.

Not that anyone cared about that fact.

Akari was only an extension of her parents' power.

Stella, get better grades. Akari, do you even know what you are doing with those flowers? Get perfect, be worthy of the Uchiha name, be better.

Whispers and cold words of expectations weigh on her back, heavy and adding every day till she feels like crumbling and something in her mind is shattering, because nothing she will ever do will make them proud of her, make her enough in their eyes.

Eyes. Sharingan. Scarlet. Kaleidoscopes.

Akari takes care of her mother first.

Uchiha Mikoto has been a devoted wife, a perfect Uchiha matriarch, a skilled kunoichi, and a mother by duty.

And in that order, Sasuke and Akari were at the bottom of her list.

However, there had been a few moments that Akari truly treasures, snippets of times when Uchiha Mikoto had acted like a mother and not like the Uchiha matriarch she had been born to be.

It is surprising those moments even exist for Mother's distant care is the way of a noble clan. They are Uchiha first, matriarch and heiress second, and mother and daughter third.

But sometimes, Mother had been kind. Soft and warm as she slid Akari's favorite food on the table, whispering encouragement when Akari felt like crumbling. Unfortunately, those moments are far and wide, and Akari wonders if she has imagined her mother's warmth, if only to cope. Yes, the Uchiha heiress will miss her mother's cooking, but her eyes remain dry as she brings the corpse outside, setting it a bit away from the other clan members' corpses out of respect for her matriarch.

Thank you for loving her.

It must have not been easy to love a disappointment.

And then Akari gets to her father.

It is easier and harder to do so because Father had rarely if ever stopped being her Clan Head first and foremost. Yet, something in her chest aches at his face, and her mind burns as the taste of betrayal fills her mouth.

An echo of a memory forgotten in a haze of scarlet.

The thing about Father is that they had been raised to value his opinion, to crave for the slightest bit of acknowledgment. Even now, she has the urge to show him something.

Look Father, I am not the same weak little girl anymore.

But Father doesn't answer. He never did even while he was alive, a distracted hum being the best answer Akari could hope for with a soft pat to the head, condescending and heavy.

The only things Father ever spoke to her were instructions and critics.

They were never kind too, not like Father's endless praises towards Itachi, or even Sasuke as rare as it was.

Akari feels cold as she gazes at his slit throat, his voice echoing in her head and before, it used to make her freeze in fear, but now, she feels a strange satisfaction. He is not Stella's father, but he is still awfully similar, and she is happy looking at him, dead on the floor, already forgotten.

Father… dad…

Paternal love is not something one can often have.

But she does not hate Father for the cold, conditional love he held for his youngest, a daughter he never took the time to bond with outside of training and meals.

Akari hates him because Father failed Sasuke.

Father failed to give the love Sasuke has always wished for. Maybe, if he had been softer, more open and a father rather than their Clan Head, then perhaps her twin brother wouldn't have found in Itachi a paternal figure and a source of love and pride.

Perhaps Itachi's betrayal wouldn't have hurt him as much.

Akari remembers Sasuke's teary expressions as their father brushes him aside for not being enough compared to Itachi. She remembers her brother's training wounds for reaching too far for his young age.

And Akari hates.

She doesn't care about how Father treated her, harshly, but with some gentleness associated with her gender. As if her falling short of the Uchiha standards could be excused for being a girl.

"Stella, stop trying to make up excuses for your failures. It makes you even more pathetic."

Akari assesses Father's state and cannot help but think he died too easily.

Maybe Akari isn't fair to him, maybe Uchiha Fugaku does not warrant so much animosity, but lines are blurred, and Stella's hatred is Akari's hatred, and she despises her father.

Father, dad, is there even a difference?

Both had only liked perfection, and just as they often reminded her, StellaAkari is far from it.

Hate, hate, die.

So, she drags his corpse outside, dropping it by Mikoto's side and moves on, because she doesn't want Sasuke to see her look at their parents with such loathing. She did not want him to see her with bloodlust in her eyes and madness in her mind.

Because if he was to reject her, god, what would she do?

She doesn't know.

He can't leave her like the others, not him, not Sasuke. She would rather die. Continue loving me like no one else ever did.

They finish rounding up the corpses, all brutally slashed down like pigs, some of their cadavers' limbs still frozen, and the smell is putrid, Akari wants to gag, but she doesn't because Sasuke doesn't, and she will not show herself unworthy of his presence.

And when Sasuke uses their traditional fire jutsu, eyes glistening with unshed tears, she pretends she doesn't see them, standing close by his side in silent support before wrapping her arms around his waist, nuzzling her face in his chest and act as if she does not feel his tears drip on her hair as he shakes slightly in her embrace.

That is the last time she saw Sasuke cry.

And her hatred towards this world increases a little bit for taking her brother's childhood so soon. To force him alone, with his traumatized eight-year-old twin sister, to clean up his family's massacre, in a childhood compound, now forever haunted by ghosts. But Akari endured, she ignores the madness that whispers into her ear, like the devil on her shoulder, to destroy anything that would upset her twin.

She ignores it, for now, at least.

…

If there was one thing Akari is incredibly grateful for was that the shinobi world perfectly suited her bloodlust. Unlike Stella's world in which she had to beat down the urge to stab someone for fear of being outed to authorities, confined in a stray jacket to protect others, but who had protected her from the others, no one would bat an eye if Akari is a bit more vicious in some of her taijutsu sparring matches. She can collect and hoard as many weapons as she wanted, and adults will provide them to her with a proud smile.

But this world was as rotten as her previous one, and Akari throws herself into a new role, just like how she used to as Stella, both in school and in life.

Uchiha Akari is a sweet girl who decided to devote her dream to protecting her precious people as a consequence of her family's massacre. A positive child who tries to cling to the brighter side of life, but whose Will of Fire burns bright and strong. An idea Konoha-nin, a talented Uchiha.

They never did notice how strong Akari's hatred entrapped her, how twisted her mind was. Because while they knew she was not as perfect as she portrayed herself to be, as long as she was efficient, perfect even, in her work, they did not care.

And one day, they will rue the day they never tried to see the devil that hid itself so well.

Blind fools.

…

Sasuke is training outside, he had already started to do so two hours ago and Akari knows he isn't going to stop anytime soon. So, she sneaks into the clan's library, sharingan activated as she scurries around, grasping books varying from seals to politics to jutsus.

She had to get stronger.

Her scarlet eyes devour the books, forever engraving the information in her mind as Akari takes note on a notebook, annotating the information and trying to see how she could manipulate her chakra. She ignores the hunger gnawing in her stomach as it grumbles, she ignores how heavy her eyelids become, the strain of using her eyes heavy for one so young.

She could be useful.

So, never leave her behind.

She is sore, muscles tense from her training and joints aching from pushing far above her limits to the point she had crumbled down, panting, and exhausted. Her fingers too are hurting, hurting enough that simply holding her pen is straining. But Akari has no regret, she doesn't regret pushing herself so far because she knows that to become strong, she must break first.

Break under the weight of expectations, collect yourself and build yourself back together again.

Because you are not good enough, not yet.

Akari breathes in, reaches for her chakra and meticulously directs it towards her palm. She imagines a fire, sees it so very clearly in her mind and wills it to happen. She pushes, molds, creates as flames start to lick at her opened hand, and Akari wants to cry out of joy because she has pushed the boundaries, did something she knew was rare.

She remembers crying as chakra burns litter her hands.

She had worn wide, long sleeves kimonos that week. She had continued working diligently, even as the recently healed skin was extremely sensible to her hours of calligraphy.

It will be worth it.

Every break.

Every time she crumbled down.

Every time she bled.

It is all worth it.

Love her, for Akari is worthy of this love.

She is worthy of happiness, no?

She had broken herself to become better.

For Sasuke.

Always for Sasuke.

If that isn't enough, well, Akari has never cared for her limits anyway.

…

"So, how are you Akari-chan?" Yamanaka Inoichi asks her with a gentle voice, posture relaxed and eyes sincere.

Fake, fake, fake.

"I'm f-fine."

Her therapist smiles good-naturedly at her, trying to put her at ease, but Akari can only see Stella's therapist in his place, the one who wrote down her worries and gave it to her mother to peruse.

Stella has learned to be private.

Self-preservation has taught her so. To hold her tongue and never dwell in public on her woes. Because only then will no one know of her weaknesses. Yamanaka is the same. Locked outside of her mind, and all will be well.

There's nothing wrong with Akari after all.

"Are you?"

No. She hasn't been fine for a while.

"I- I don't really know. I mean, Aniki just k-killed everyone and-"

"I'm sorry for that. Why do you think he did it?" Because this world is filled with monsters.

The older man asks her as if she knew why Itachi chose to spare her.

"I don't know. Aniki never told me anything, said I was his precious imouto, and I should just enjoy being a child with Sasuke. "

"Do you hate him? Do you want revenge?"

Konoha is wary of her loyalties, isn't it? Worried that the last Uchiha female runs away and never looks back.

Akari gasps, a bit startled, and shoots a judgmental look at her therapist.

The Uchiha heiress does not care for revenge unless Sasuke wants it.

But does she hate Itachi?

Y-No.

Akari hates the monsters.

She hates Konoha and this world.

But, she could never truly hate one of her precious brothers who loved her unconditionally since her birth. So very few people love her, after all.

"Yamanaka-sama, Itachi is still my Aniki, you know? I'm angry that he betrayed Konoha and left the village, but hate? I should. But I read in a book that 'to hate someone is to drink poison and expect the other to die'. I just want to stay with Sasuke."

If hatred was a poison, then Akari is addicted to it. Even if it will kill her, nothing is ever so true in her life than the hatred that never left her.

The blonde nods, looking understanding as he jots down some notes on his clipboard.

"A wise saying indeed, Akari-chan. Is that all? Do you feel any anger?"

A child would feel anger at the injustice.

"Yes, I'm angry he just left us like that. He killed everyone and left."

Itachi left Sasuke in a coma. How could he? What happened to his promise?

"And how does that make you feel?" he asks.

"Do you know why you're here, Stella?"

"Because I hurt myself." The scars on her wrist have never felt as heavy.

"And how does it make you feel?"

Ashamed. Angry. Cowardly. Good.

"Lost." She admits in a whisper.

"How are you planning to deal with it?"

"With Sasuke and my friends, I guess. I have to look at the present, after all."

"Yes indeed. The past is the past. You are quite mature, you know."

Akari blushes at his compliment, telling him a quiet thank you that earns her a soft, for once sincere, smile.

"What about your friends? How is it going with them, at the Academy?"

"It's going well. They're really trying to be considerate of me. They give me a lot of ice cream! They're so sweet and I love spending time with them at the Academy."

Most of her classmates act as if the Uchiha Massacre is a simple tragic backstory that adds mystery and interest to their lives.

Just like a story.

"That's great to hear! How about your training? I heard you got yourself a little reputation in taijutsu class."

"I do?" Akari tilts her head for better effect.

"Some children fear going against you while sparring. They say you're particularly vicious sometimes."

"They-they're scared of me?" her eyes glisten.

Stella's acting classes, though a hassle, do help sometimes.

"You didn't know?"

"No! Why would they be scared?"

It's not like Akari truly beaten them up. It's not like she has shown them how little care she truly holds for all of them.

"Akari-chan, you broke someone's arm."

And she enjoyed it thoroughly.

"I- I didn't mean to. I mean, I didn't think I was that strong, you know? It just went so fast and…"

Does he believe her? Does he buy into her little act? Is he scared of what she could do?

"Don't worry about it, Akari-can! It was an accident, after all. You're too strong for your classmates," Yamanaka teases her with a wink and Akari lets herself relax.

He believes.

"Alright, Akari-chan, that will be all for today. Thank you!"

Akari stands up and bows deeply, a polite smile on her lips. "Thank you, Yamanaka-sama."

Did he see? Did he see the twisted, the madness?

…

Yamanaka Inoichi is used to traumatic experiences, in fact, he is very qualified to help other Konoha-nin deal with their mental, and emotional issues. With many years of practice, he likes to think of himself as an experienced therapist, well versed in psychology.

So when the Hokage assigned him the Uchiha twins' case to watch over, to assess their mental state and whether or not, they were a threat to Konoha, he was intrigued. The last Uchiha are his little Ino's age, barely eight-year-old, and, already, they were struck by tragedy.

The Uchiha never let the world know of their feelings.

He wonders if the twins will be any different from the cold reclused that was their family.

The council asked him, the Yamanaka head, to evaluate if the talented, almost prodigious, Uchihas would ever snap the same way their elder brother did. They are a bit wary of their incredible performance, fearing that another Uchiha, in search of power, will massacre another clan.

Inoichi remembers Fukagu's stern frowns well and his fierce pride to have a prodigy for a son and heir. He is sure the Uchiha Head would've been just as proud of his twins.

Though it had been Itachi's name and Itachi's name only that could be found on Fukagu or any other Uchiha's lips.

He starts with Uchiha Sasuke first, the older twin, and the boy his precious Ino would rave about at home. His little girl always shares her tales of a dark, tragic prince that was hurt by the world and just waiting for someone to give him light.

But all Inoichi can see is a traumatized, revenge-driven, and bitter little boy.

His initial evaluation is that Sasuke is a big flight risk if it means he gets to take his revenge on Itachi. However, Inoichi did not want to condemn the child to an early death, or any way the council would choose to control one of their last Uchiha. So, he continued to listen, to watch.

Sasuke's sanity is deeply rooted in his twin sister's presence, that is a fact Inoichi caught somewhat early on. The younger twin is the light in his darkness, an important link that ties him to Konoha, because Akari cares about their village, cares about her deceased clan. She tells Sasuke that so many famous Konoha-nins grew strong in the village and that he could grow stronger there too, with her.

She is the balm to his shattered heart, destroyed by his beloved, elder brother's betrayal. His sullen, broody mood can be understood, it is not a problem.

That is Uchiha Sasuke.

As for Uchiha Akari, it is slightly more complex, and difficult to understand her.

She is good, there is no denying it, but he has years above her in psychology, and he can see how her experiences changed and traumatized her.

But the fool did not see how dark her thoughts are.

Her eyes, while swollen and red from crying, which meant she is still haunted by nightmares, poor thing, are older than they should be. That was the most alarming thing about little Akari, her obsidian eyes sharper, colder than what they used to be, when Inoichi last saw her in the clan's convention, a ray of sunshine among her tense Uchiha main family.

But considering what he heard from the Uchiha massacre, can he truly be surprised?

He questions her, his interrogation gentler than what he did with Sasuke, because he doesn't feel as if she would react out of anger like her twin did at the mere mention of Itachi. She is lost, torn between her loyalty to both her deceased family and Konoha and her love for her elder brother. Inoichi remembers how the Elders were glad for the little Uchiha princess to have such a strong Will of Fire, they will be pleased to know it did not change. It is probably one of the only things that matters to them for Uchiha Akari, the broodmare that will give the village more Sharingan, less prone to rebellion than her brother. The Yamaka head feels a bit bad, a bit guilty knowing how Konoha views the little girl, but they will not stop her from being a kunoichi, her natural talents cannot be ignored, and she will perhaps fall in love by her own and not be forced into a marriage with a loyal Konoha shinobi.

Her maturity is a bit uncomfortable, as she seems to be able easily to lead the tone with her silver tongue, but it is not the first time a genius would express themselves in such way. With situation awareness and subtle manipulation, able to discern the conversation pitfalls that litter their talks.

But if anyone would truly ask Yamanaka Inoichi about Uchiha Akari, he would tell you to be cautious for the devil was once an angel too.

Only, when he realized it, it was far too late.

…

The thing about being one of the last Uchiha is that everyone wants something from them.

Konoha wishes for their undying devotion and bloodlimit.

The shinobi forces want their strength, both bred and beaten into them.

But fangirls – the bane of her twin's existence and her biggest challenge at maintaining the façade she adopted when she came back to the Academy following the massacre, disgusting pigs they are – only want one thing.

"Sasuke-kunnn!"

The right to call Uchiha Sasuke theirs.

As if he is a possession, a treasure to be admired but not a human in his own right. They see a bad boy with an unfortunate backstory that adds mystery to him.

Akari hates them.

Why is everyone so selfish?

Why are they trying to take the sole good thing Akari has? Why WHy WHY

Sasuke's fangirls are pathetic. Weak, annoying, useless, worthless. Yet, despite all their faults, they are not rejected by their peers nor mocked till they shatter. After all, there is safety in numbers.

If you called one fangirl stupid, then all fangirls are.

Though they cut each other with words and false kindness, there is a bond that unites them. It is not fair how they can still call each other friends when Stella lost everyone.

Their common goal is simple.

They want Sasuke as a prize and the title of the next Lady Uchiha.

Too bad for them that it will never happen for Akari is the only one worthy of such a title.

She's the only one who can stand by Sasuke's side.

And she will slaughter anyone who tries to take her place.

Akari doesn't care they are children sprouting like sheep what their families had told them. She does not care if they truly love Sasuke though it does not seem to be the case.

She will destroy anyone who tries to take her twin away from her. Akari wants the fangirls to leave, to cut off their arms off to give them a reason to scream, to scream in pain instead of screeching like harpies to get her brother's attention.

Not that he pays attention. Sasuke only has eyes on her and on his revenge.

His love is her oxygen. She won't let it go.

They had changed since the Uchiha massacre, everyone knows that. Sasuke got moodier, obsessed in his quest of strength, being the best and being by his sister's side. Akari stopped smiling as much as she did, her smile no longer the full-blown grin she used to have, but still, she kept the sunshine charisma her classmates loved.

It is tiring though, to keep the mask up and calculate every interaction.

"Hey Akari-chan, do you think Sasuke will accept my bento?" Yamanaka Ino asks her one day. The Yamanaka heiress proudly leads Sasuke's biggest fanclub, but unlike many other girls, she prefers cultivating Akari's approval rather than try and compete against the Uchiha heiress.

Smart girl.

"Niichan usually doesn't accept gifts, you know that," Akari says with a little frown, easing her features into a gentle mask.

Ino pouts. "But he would make an exception for his sister's friend, ne?"

Friend.

Ha. They are not friends. Akari does not have any – at least not to her eyes as she had enough of them in her past life, and she is very reluctant to open her heart to those who will break it – nor does she need any. She has Sasuke. She doesn't need anyone else.

Akari smiles brightly in answer. "You know what, you're probably right." The Uchiha heiress knows her brother would do anything and everything for her. Including accepting a pest's gift.

Ino, though useless and a pest now, will be useful once she rises as the Yamanaka Clan leader and the next Intelligence Head. After all, nepotism is something still prevalent in Konoha, and it is something Akari can make full use of.

For Sasuke, to collect the allies he might need, Akari will forge herself a new identity.

As Stella, the teenager had a lot of practice acting as if she cared about her so-called friends, and so, she based herself on that experience. As Akari, she endears herself to her class, a class filled with clan heirs and future cannon fodder, with a few smiles, making sure to crinkle her eyes, a few spontaneous laughs, and witty, funny remarks.

"So, you'll give it to him?" Ino sends her what she thinks is a sly smile, but her intentions are all too clear. Perhaps the blonde does truly think of them as friends. Or she is that incompetent.

"Haii, if you don't mind me stealing some as well," Akari winks. "I'm sure your food is going to be really good!"

Ino beams. "Go ahead! That's great, thanks Akari-chan!"

"No problem, Ino-chan!"

Does the blonde hate her? Does Ino think of Akari as an annoyance, arrogant, and flaunting her deep connection with the object of her desires? She is just a child, there is no darkness in her.

So were the others, look where it got you. Everyone will leave, there is nothing worthwhile to stay for.

Ino skips away, only halting as Akari pipes up from behind her. "But Ino-chan," the Uchiha heiress's smile sharpens. "Just this once, alright? Sasuke won't be happy otherwise."

"Sure!"

Threatening Sasuke's unhappiness is one of the best ways for the fangirls to leave them alone Akari has learned. They are all so ready to bend themselves backyards for a glimpse of her twin brother.

If Sasuke asked them to jump off the Hokage's cliff, they would asl 'how high?'

If Akari didn't have a role to play, she would have asked him to do so.

Just to make those eyesores disappear.

Akari returns to Sasuke who quirks an eyebrow at her. She only smiles, walking towards her classroom alongside him. He opens the door like a gentleman, with adoring eyes as they are the only ones around, the type that made her heart flutter and the mad whispers quiet down. As Stella, she wasn't used to such politeness, but as it was one of Sasuke's ways to show her his love, she doesn't mind, she adores it. She entered first, still at Sasuke's side, and cheerful greetings immediately echo in the classroom, some enthusiastic as her fanboys marvel at her dark beauty – their words, not hers – and others calmer as her friends smile at her.

"TEME!"

An orange-clad figure barges in towards them, his loud voice yelling after her brother, perhaps in greeting, but Akari is used to the usual greeting her brother's so-called rival shouts every morning. She leaves her brother's side, content with leaving him with the overeager child, much to his dismay. Akari did not care much about Uzumaki Naruto, his obnoxious attitude giving her a headache quite often.

"Dobe." Sasuke deadpans and soon enough, the two of them start bickering, as Naruto nags Sasuke and the Uchiha heir ignores him, walking towards his seat.

He throws a glance at his sister, but she doesn't see him from her side of the class.

"Hey Shika-kun" Akari smiles as she gracefully sits herself on her usual chair next to the slumbering boy. "Hey Choiji-kun."

The Akimichi heir waves at her with his right hand, his left one in his chip bag. Shikamaru grumbles a greeting, lazily opening an eye to look at her before closing it again. Akari ignores his rather rude attitude, aware and used to his laid-back attitude. Like him, she rests her head on her arms, waiting for the start of class, ignoring the chatters around her as it drowns out.

Sweet sleep.

Better that, than to listen to all of the morons surrounding her.

"Uchiha-san!"

Iruka's voice echoes in the silent classroom and Akari lifts her head up, eyes alert despite the fact she had been resting not even a few seconds ago.

"Which one sensei?" she asks cheekily, grinning at her teacher who smiles exasperatedly at her. A few classmates chuckle at her teasing.

"The sleeping one." he answers and Akari turns towards Sasuke who is watching her, cold, but to her who knows him so well, mildly amused at her antics.

"Ne niichan, since when do you sleep in class?"

They chuckle again, Akari doesn't mind because it fits her role, it makes her classmates fonder of her which perfectly suits her needs.

Everyone is laughing.

Laughing at her, Stella realizes early on. They laugh at her, rarely with her.

"No imouto, you do," Sasuke sighs and Akari gives a small giggle, ignoring yet conscious of how some of her classmates sigh dreamily at her laugh.

They're children.

"Right, yes sensei?"

"Who is the Yellow Flash?"

Akari wants to grimace at his question, it is ridiculously easy for her to remember their learning material, but she doesn't. Iruka-sensei doesn't know the extent of her intellect. Not the full one, she doesn't want to outshine Sasuke with her added maturity, courtesy of Stella's memories.

She doesn't want him to dislike her.

Ella had always told her how she hated that everything came easy to Stella.

Akari doesn't want that to happen again.

But still, she did have to make some efforts in order to acquire the top Kunoichi spot. Sasuke expects nothing less from her.

The expectations are always weighing her down, like shackles dragging her to the bottom of the dark ocean.

In both lives, it is a recurrent theme.

Be better. Have good grades. Be worthy of your name. Never become a failure.

Akari is, for one, glad that the Sharingan allows her to recall anything she reads perfectly, it saves her a great deal of additional pain.

"The Yellow Flash, better known as Namikaze Minato, was our Fourth Hokage, most famous for perfecting the Flying Thunder Jutsu and killing more than a hundred Iwa shinobi by himself. He was the student of Jiraiya-sama and died saving the village from the Kyuubi on October 10th."

Akari notices Naruto flinching from the corner of her eyes, but she doesn't know why nor does she care.

"Excellent as always, Akari-chan" Iruka compliments her. Akari accepts his praise with a humble nod, shyly glancing at her desk, like the heiress she is. She pretends not to notice how fond her sensei smile is, but she knows, and she is glad to have another ally that thinks she can do no wrong.

Naïve. Easy.

Shikamaru glances at her, patting her hand almost mockingly as if to congratulate a pet for doing good. Akari could have taken offense to it, for the almost patronizing like gesture, but she knows he is merely jesting. Additionally, the fact that the Nara heir is making the effort to tease her has enough meaning for her to ignore the urge to bare her teeth at the tease, because she doesn't like when her 'friends' tease her. Not that they knew.

It is not the same teasing as before.

She knows it.

Really.

She does.

Attention whore.

Desperate for attention.

It's not the same teasing.

Ella and Marie aren't there to comment, but she still hears their sneer and Akari feels her jaw clench slightly at their faint voices. They aren't real, dead in another life, yet she feels like crumbling as if she was the same little Stella who clung to any crumb of affection given to her.

Does she annoy Shikamaru, too?

Is he talking behind her back?

Liar. Freak. No one will ever love you. Fake.

It's too much, maybe too familiar, and tears prick at her eyes as Akari takes a sharp breath, trying to steady herself. Everything is blurring, white noise ringing in her ears as she stares ahead, incapable of registering Iruka continuing his lecture or Shikamaru sleeping next to her. The walls are closing in, all she can hear Ella and Marie's voices, Akari can almost see their faint outline, standing in the front, judging - always judging – her for every single mistake and she can't breathe, she can't-

She hears a tapping sound, and she glances behind her. Sasuke gives her a look, glancing at his hand. He taps again. Taps his desk twice, pauses, and then thrice with his index.

I love you. he signs.

She signs back, I love you too and her heart warms itself. The whispers fade into nothingness, Akari unclenches her jaw, and her vision clears itself.

Sasuke really is the only good thing in this world.

…

Everywhere they go, whispers follow, and eyes scrutinize them. The Konoha village isn't well known for its civilian counterparts, which allows the village to save face for having such idiots living in it. Gossips, pedophiles who scheme to get their hands on both Uchiha heirs and prejudiced people littered the streets almost daily and Akari hates the times she has to walk through their main streets.

Usually, the Uchihas are revered, bows and mutters of Uchiha-sama are a common norm for the two twins. After all, they hail from one of the founding clans, have a noble pedigree and are destined to be skilled Konoha shinobis.

To most civilians, they were akin to royalty with the Slug Princess gone and their clan tragically massacred.

But then there are others, fools, who can't help but feel bitter about the clan's importance.

Such is the case of Nohano Ibi. Ibi is a loud-mouthed, prone to anger civilian, single – though he has some bastards running around in the slumps. Failed the Academy, never even achieving the rank genin, his only saving grace from being a pure nobody was that he was the grandson of a middle-class merchant who, reluctantly, paid off his debts and bailed him out of jail. In short, he is a pathetic man. And a dead one.

Akari and Sasuke are walking through the market, each holding a grocery bag as they debate the importance of chakra manipulation, a topic Akari is interested in to see if she could eventually push the known boundaries of its elemental potential. Yes, she had inspiration from the last Airbender show she used to watch as Stella in her earlier years, you can't blame her, imagine being as powerful as Zuko. The possibilities. Sometimes, she will see some of the local civilians, both vendors and normal, she knows and Akari waves at them with a bright smile, her brother grunting in acknowledgment to those he knows Akari talks to often.

"That Uchiha is such a whore."

Akari's smile doesn't falter, she ignores the remark with ease. She had been called worse after all.

Worthless, bitch, snake, monster.

Sasuke by her side twitches at the insult and she lightly taps the side of his arm to calm him and soon enough, the storm brewing in his eyes calms itself from her touch.

She was the only one who could tame his rage, his darkness. The angel on his shoulder. Too bad she was no angel.

And it was addictive, that devotion, that power.

"Those Uchiha bastards are so sickening. Prancing around like they're so important."

But they are.

"Shut up Ibi, they might hear you!"

"HA! Like those pathetic kids have the skill to hear us from that far –" actually they did, but Nohano Ibi is no smart, something that is painfully obvious as he gesticulates, red from drinking too much . "- That Itachi boy should have killed all of them, don't know why he would let those pigs alive. Or he should have only left the girl alive so that we good Konoha people can breed her like the bitch she is. No need for her irrelevant brother, he will never be as good as the heir anyway, it's a lost battle."

The sad thing is that his misogynistic remarks are nothing new to Akari, having heard enough of them in two lifetimes. It doesn't matter how smart or great she is, there will always be someone that only sees her as an accessory, a wife and mother though she is not an adult.

But.

BUT.

What the fuck did he just say about Sasuke?

IRREleVANT?

Aha. NO

"Shut the fuck up! They are kids, stop being a dick."

"But I'm right! The Uchiha massacre was one of the best things that happened!"

Murmurs of disapproval start to spread as many glares at the pair arguing. But what good is this disapproval if no one shuts him up if no one steps up?

Konoha is filled with useless, passive sheep.

A lady walks up to the twins with a sweet smile and hands them a box of dangos. Her hands are a bit sweaty, her smile slightly strained if you know what to look for, and she avoids their gaze.

"Don't listen to that guy," she says in a motherly, gentle tone. "We are so glad you two are still alive."

Perhaps a normal eight years old who never knew of loss and death would have been appeased by those useless, empty reassurances.

But Akari and Sasuke are not normal eight years old. They are no naïve children.

The world has seen to it.

Akari knows that it is not out of pity and concern that the lady stepped up to them, and bribed them with sweets, trying to erase the stain that Ibi left from his crude words. After all, the village needs their eyes. It needs their loyalty, and Ibi is not encouraging it. That civilian must think Akari is stupid to just believe her words.

Konoha has done nothing for the Uchiha clan. It has not managed to intervene during the massacre nor did it bring Itachi to justice.

Yet.

"Thanks lady-san! That is kind of you. We really appreciate it" Akari smiles, bowing with Sasuke in gratitude.

The show must go on.

"No problem, sweetie." If Akari's maturity surprised the older woman, she doesn't let it show.

Just like how Akari doesn't show how livid she is, furious and kill, kill that trash, eradicate the pest, kill-

That drunk man, spitting so much venom against her family, is infuriating, that is true, but Akari can brush it off like a mature kunoichi although how dares he insults her family. But as soon as he wishes for her brother's death, wishes that Itachi had not spared Sasuke, her Sasuke, her life, she is blinded by her fury as she feels her blood boiling.

Kill him, make him beg for mercy, burn him, gut him.

Akari wants to act, to lash out at the man, at the whispering civilians who let two children be slandered almost to their faces, but her mask stays in place even as she hears the whispers in her mind, vicious and so very loud, call for blood.

Because Uchiha Akari is no threat to Konoha, she cares too much about the village.

The voices in her mind growl in disgust at her submission to others 'opinions.

Weak, they whisper with scorn.

It's to survive, she responds, and they sneer again. Another excuse.

Akari expected nothing from this event. She is too weak to stand up against a Leaf citizen in broad daylight, too cowardly to act and allow her mask to slip away.

Till her twin brother steps up. No one ever did before.

You might think that Ibi would take advantage of their inattention to slink away in the shadows for it is still a crime to badmouth a noble clan. Unfortunately, the ones in charge of that are dead, all Uchiha slaughtered, and none of the surrounding shinobi seem interested to step in.

So, Ibi continues shooting off his mouth, digging his own grave inch by inch.

"I want to be one of the first to go at her."

"Alright, that's it." Sasuke seethes, stomping towards the drunk man, eyes blazing.

Her brother lashes out, attacks the man to defend her, she doesn't need anyone to defend her, she can make him bleed by her own, but the thought is sweet and Akari cannot remember when someone stood up for her instead of bringing her down.

A room of friends, all silent as they watch Ella and Marie tear Stella down to tears. Why are they just standing there, why are they not helping her? Someone, anyone, please show her that they care. Are they not friends? She cries, she shatters under the monsters' eyes, alone, forever alone in her misery.

The civilians take a cautious step back at his anger, cowardly till the end and pale from ghosts of the past. Akari's brother stares and lifts his leg, kicking the one insulting his family, his sister, to the side, nodding in satisfaction as the fool doubles over in pain. He glares fiercely, arms crossed on his chest as he stares down at the moaning man.

"Do not insult my clan, nor my sister ever again. This is your only warning."

Sasuke takes a step back. Waiting, pondering.

Then, he turns around swiftly, draws his fist back and promptly punches Ibi in the face, breaking the drunk's nose in the process.

If you lose him, a soft voice murmurs to Akari, there won't be anyone left to care. If you lose him, you lose everything.

Akari loves her twin brother.

Because Sasuke cares, Sasuke is there and he doesn't remain silent or passive, he cares about her, even if he is the only one that does.

And when they get home, in their lonely and silent compound, Akari hugs him fiercely as he kisses the top of her head.

"No one will ever hurt you." Sasuke promises her, huffing at the mere thought of the civilian. "That bastard, I can't believe he dared say that in public, does he think that the Uchiha are no longer powerful just because we are the last two?"

"Don't worry Niichan, everyone knows we are still one of the Noble clans, everyone knows our power. He's just a fool."

"A fool huh… well, he learned his lesson."

"Did he really?"

Sasuke stares at his sister in bemusement as she smiles at him, her smile sharp and her eyes glinting. He knows she is planning something, she always is, and he is curious.

"What are you planning?" he asks.

"Who says I'm planning anything?"

"Akari, every time you have a scheme going on, you have that look in your eyes."

"I don't have a look in my eyes." Akari grumbles and Sasuke sighs, poking at her forehead fondly.

"You do, though I'm the only one who can see it," his voice is satisfied, smug at being the only one able to read Akari well because the others keep getting fooled by her mask.

But, does he know everything?

Knows how the darkness and hatred bleeds deep into her soul?

"Sure Sasuke. But seriously, do you think that man -" she spits the word as if it tasted particularly horrible, "- learned his lesson?"

"I broke his nose and publicly humiliated him, Akari."

"Which was perfect, the perfect public response befitting the Uchiha heir-" Sasuke preens at her praise like always, pleased at the adoration adorning her voice, the approval he never got from their father. "'But he insulted our clan, he insulted us. H-He said we should be dead. That you should be dead."

Akari hides a smile when Sasuke's eyes sharpen at her reminder, his lips etching themselves into a frown as he recalls the contempt that lowlife dared to bare to them, to the noble Uchiha. Her brother's feathers are always ruffled when pride is involved, when his strength is subtly questioned, by Naruto, by his memories of a brother so much better at their age. Akari knows how much it weights him down, and if she were normal, anything good, she would have tried to save Sasuke from such a destructive mindset. To tell him he should live for himself, to not compare himself to Itachi and try so hard to avenge their clan and protect her.

Like her namesake, Akari should be the beacon of light in her twin's darkness and save him from himself. But the Uchiha princess is selfish, she does not care about her brother's growing darkness, does not care how obsessively driven he becomes as time flies back.

Depend on her.

Akari loves, she needs that adoring, possessive look Sasuke gets when he looks at her as if she was his most precious treasure. Like she was the only thing that mattered. It is not healthy, how much the two of them love, depend on each other but there is no one else, no one else to tell them it's wrong.

Never stop loving her.

"What do you suggest then?"

"Make him pay. Make him regret ever thinking about us in such bad light. Make him bow to your power, permanently."

Sasuke gives her a look, eyebrow quirking. "It is illegal for shinobis to attack Konoha civilians if it isn't self defense."

"But there is no harm done if no one knows."

"Imouto, there are ANBU tasked to protect said civilians. Someone is bound to notice."

"Don't worry niichan, let me figure out the details. Unless you want us to let the insult slide?"

Her brother sighs, pinching the bridge of his nose in fond exasperation. "Go ahead."

Akari gives him a bright grin in response, happy that Sasuke gives her his blessing for revenge. Truthfully, it matters not that he gives her his approval or not, the monster rumbling in her chest demands blood for the slander, the insults because in this world, she does not need to bite her tongue till it bleeds to stay within society's standards.

The damp mist plaguing her mind, dark whispers that follow her at every step, cannot be fully tamed, because the man dares to wish for her brother's death.

Sasuke, her twin, her other half, her soul. The only good thing in the wretched world dead? Akari trembles at the thought, both in fury and worry, because she cannot imagine not having Sasuke by her side. She cannot imagine waking up in that hospital bed, sharingan activated as a miserable lifetime catches up to her, where she is all alone, left vulnerable, alone and cold.

But Akari is scared too. Scared of falling too far, of crossing Sasuke's limit without knowing and to push him away from her.

After all, everyone left even when Stella gave them everything she had and even more.

What more could she give to her twin for him not to leave her?

She doesn't know. Akari knows there is something distinctively wrong with her, she had known that since Stella smashed a bird's head with a stone because it was free when she wasn't. He could fly away when she was shackled to the ground, alone among monsters and snakes alike.

Back then, in her original world, sometimes, her mask would slip. Stella, being young and inexperienced, would show her bloodlust, albeit briefly, and people would run away, disturbed. Not that they were any better than her. She just has a more peculiar taste in misery.

After all, at the end of the day, they are the same.

Monsters dressed up as humans.

…

Some people survive chaos, and that is how they grow.

And some people thrive in chaos because chaos is all they know.