Date With A Demon [Private w/ Kuroyuki]

[Akechi]

The Spire.

The Spire was the grandest of all architectural marvels within Iwagakure. Nature hadn’t truly been preserved in its purest form but the village of Stone still maintained an aura of beauty in its own way. The abnormally tall building was created by the men in this village as a symbol of their village. It was the home of the Tsuchikage as well as several other important figures in their society. In many ways, it was the heart of their village. A structure that held great significance to these people, and may have even been revered to some as another pillar of sanctity… similar to the temple that Akechi had visited before. ”So this is what he sees. Ants. A bunch of worker ants, each faithfully carrying out the duties without question. I guess it’s easy to lose sight of who you are supposed to be protecting from up here.” Akechi mused, mostly to himself as he stared out into the night sky, his reddened eyes finding solace in the calming ‘lights’ of the chakras below. Here, at the apex of the city, the Uchiha stood over top of everything else. ”I can get used to this.” He understood why so many people were clamoring for such a position. After all, the view from here was exquisite…

”Ah. So you made it, Ashuri-chan. Nice view isn’t it?” The man questioned, taking a look behind him to see the little sadistic woman behind him. Though she was quite the ‘innocent sadist,’ he wasn’t afraid of her. She tended to keep her cravings in check when she was around him. Ironically, in spite of the girl’s masochistic tendencies and cannibalistic desires, he actually felt most comfortable around the girl. He seemed to have trusted her more than he trusted anyone else. Whether she felt the same about him remains to be seen, but it probably wouldn’t alter Akechi’s perception of her. It was an awkward emotion, almost as if he had been caught in a trance. Perhaps this was Kuroyuki’s influence over him… or perhaps something different altogether.

”It’s been weeks. Where have you been hiding?” He giggled, turning back toward the void filled with ‘lights’ as he questioned her whereabouts. Not that he expected her to be needlessly causing trouble but she was a cannibal, she tended to eat people when she was hungry. It had been awhile since he had seen her last too. Was she avoiding him? Or perhaps they simply missed each other as they carried out their own personal tasks? After all, Akechi was pretty busy these days. Maybe she would even accuse him of avoiding her. Who knows?

”I missed you, Ashuri-chan.”

[Topic Entered/Standing at the top of the tower]

 

[Muramasa Maya]

"....." It was quite the view; ahead of them the entire village sprawled out infront of them, every building, every street... people as mere specks under their vision. For someone with ambition, the view may have been inspiring; serving as motivation to reach out the sky and grasp what it was they desired. But for someone like Ashuri, she...was very aware that she preferred to be down in her alleys, thank you very much.

While Akechi appeared to enjoy the view from the highest position in the village, Ashuri felt otherwise; ".............." Turn left. Turn right. The genin shook her head in disagreement. Shakeshakeshakeshake. Her small body visibly quivering, and it wasn't from the chilly atmosphere being so high up provided (although it -was- notably cooler). She didn't understand why; she understood that she wasn't in danger of having the spire suddenly crack beneath her feet, nor did she feel unease from Akechi. And knew that even if she were to somehow fall, she would likely be on her feet at the end of a week or two. Logically, she understood perfectly well that she should have no need to feel any unease whatsoever. Realistically...Shakeshakeshake. Heights, Water....she preferred to have her feet on the earth.

Although she was generally quiet unless being spoken to, today she was even more quiet than usual the higher up the tower they went. It was almost as if she were speaking as the timid Sawako rather than herself. "I-I....haven't b-been....hiding..." she spoke in a quivering voice a step behind Akechi; only occasionally risking to lean forwards to peak at the village below. "I...have been training...st-studying....like you said...t-try-trying to make up for my lost t-time..." She spoke. Not only that, but she had been reorganizing the room that had once been an abandoned building, making it actually more aesthetically pleasing.

As for her appearance...even her clothing no longer was torn rags, but now actually nice and intact. Finally, although she was still unnaturally pale, her complexion no longer appeared deathly ill; she was well-fed at this point, afterall. That being said...she hadn't touched any food since a couple of weeks ago, with the blind girl. Fortunately; it seemed she didn't actually require all-that much sustenance, so long as she wasn't heavily using her regenerative abilities. She was certain that if she had to recover from notable damage that she'd likely end up starving for nutrition...

*Nod Nod Nod* "....I knew y-you w-wou-wouldn't leave the village. You...promised....But I still...like it better when I'm around..." She nodded again, with a faint smile. In most cases, she would have felt at ease and tranquil, but given the...high...circumstances, well...Even Akechi's prescence wasn't enough to calm her. "The....Tsuchikage doesn't mind? That we're on his...building?..." I mean, just because he had super-eyesight didn't mean he had to go around looking at everything. She had a super-body, but she didn't go around injuring herself. Much...

 

[Akechi]

He giggled a bit as he looked down at the girl. While Akechi reveled in the visually astounding view of Iwagakure from above, the young woman seemed to have been a bit uncomfortable with standing at so great a height. From here, the sky was in arm’s reach; the heaven’s maybe even a tall leap away and Akechi could feel himself closer to his own ambition. He reached forward and opened the palm of his right hand as he envisioned the entire village within his grasp. ”Are you ok? I haven’t seen you this timid in awhile…” Akechi spoke, laughing as he gradually tightened his grip as to signify keeping said village in his grasp; a clear departure from the subject matter that he mentioned to Ashuri. ”You know. You are rather cute when you are this way… innocent even. I almost forgot how fragile you can look.” After all, it was a huge departure from the menacing Ashuri that he had witnessed with his own eyes, and even the deceitful Kuroyuki that lurked in the shadow of the girl. The thought of the girl being afraid of something that more than likely couldn’t kill her was hilarious to him. Her vulnerability to such emotion bringing a smile to his face, not because of the quiver of her body, but the irregular behavior that she exhibited.

”That’s good. As long as you aren’t overworking yourself, of course. During your studies, did you find anything amusing? Maybe something you didn’t understand?” Akechi asked, scratching his chin as his eyes wandered off toward the dancing lights again. There was so much that the girl needed to catch up on that she had to feel like it was a rather daunting task. At least, Akechi would be. Ashuri, on the other hand, tended to view things quite differently from the Uchihan savior. Though he attempted to break through her dystopic psyche, but it seemed as if her nature wouldn’t allow for optimism. Instead, she focused on more of what was tangible and realistic; her thinking was very primal and her beliefs were deeply rooted in what was explicit.

”Who Endo? He gave it to me for the day because he owes me one,” Akechi giggled, obviously joking about “renting” out the Kage’s tower. Not like it mattered anyways because the Uchiha tended to do whatever he felt like anyways. What was the worst that could happen? Someone believe he was trying to blow up a Kage tower in the middle of the day? Not very likely but ANBU were always rather skeptical for dumber reasons.

”Looks like your body is healing well. The complexion is coming back in your skin and it looks like you even grew an inch. Have you been eating well?” He asked, knowing full well what her diet was derived from. It did beg the question of her growth though. Depending on just how much she had been digesting, amplifying the amount may have caused her body to grow even quicker. He wonder just how “active” she had been…

Not like he heard about any missing blind girls since the first…

 

[Muramasa Maya]

*Inhale* She paused a moment, closing her eyelids over the the ever-inquisitive emerald spheres that were her eyes. *Exhale* With a momentary pause, she attempted to gain control over the unnatural and irrational feelings within her body.

"...That is....only because I'm small right now...Y-you know I'm not fragile. Once I grow taller, I'll look more intimidating, too..." She muttered softly. Although she didn't like associating the words "innocent" or "timid" to herself, she had noticed the benefit of her childish appearance; people rarely had their guard up to her (so long as she wore long sleeves and pants to cover her scarred body). She could stutter, whether intentional or not, to avoid questions and conversation, act lost to approach someone with a question, and likely get away with saying or doing things someone her real age generally wouldn't do. Her mind's view on things was strange, but clever.

As far as her learning; she shook her head in reply to Akechi's question on finding things difficult to understand. "I...I can't sleep, s-so I have alot of time...I read alot; its easy for me to memorize things I read or see, but hard for me when someone speaks to me. So...I watch how other people act and try to mimic what they would do..." *Inhale* For example; *exhale* Her eyes widened from their usual dull-look, and she flashed Akechi an innocent smile. "People seem to like it when you smile at them, so I try to do it if I want to make them happy! Maybe Endo will let me borrow it one day, too!" She enthusiastically spoke to Akechi about her discovering of manipulation, before her expression dimed to her default one. "...Do you think it works? Its harder when I'm up here though....Or if I'm in a situation I don't know how to react to..." She learned by watching others, but struggled when it came to actually interacting with them without an idea of what to do or say.

"...I haven't eaten since you were with me. I didn't like seeing you disappointed, so I'm waiting until I'm sure it is the right person. I think I can wait another week or so, unless I get injured." She replied truthfully. Not for the lack of trying though; she did go out on several occasions, understanding that waiting until she was actually hungry wasn't ideal, only to have a change of heart at the last second after recalling Akechi's horror. She placed value in his perception of her.

"I'd like it better if you were with me, though. Even if you don't want to share." She added. It was the result of two feelings buried within the girl; her own insecurity when it came to finding suitable targets (suitable in Akechi's eyes at least; in her eyes she wasn't picky, so going for an -easy- target seemed like the much more "logical" choice) and her feeling of comfort around Akechi. Although she had trouble understanding what the Uchiha saw through his crimson eyes and what he had expected, she felt that he understood her and felt a kinship that she didn't want to see lost. It was also why he was the only one she'd let call her Ashuri, her original name, out of some odd feeling of specialty.
...She understood she was pretty irrational, herself.

[MFT]

 

[Akechi]

”Small but strong. Smart and cute too.” Akechi giggled, nudging the girl’s arm as he spoke. She tended to discount the tremendous potential that she possessed. She had a talent for insight, and also harbored an appetite for knowledge. The girl was impressive in every sense of the word, and mildly intimidating under certain conditions. Though she was still learning about this world, the girl had already developed a keen understanding for the way that things worked. She had become somewhat of a realist, blatantly stating what was obvious instead of what was optimistic. Akechi viewed the world through gray filters while Ashuri stared at a world that was only black or white. ”I’m sure you’ll grow into a beautiful woman. Confident and assertive too.”

”Scary…” The woman truly was scary. Akechi wasn’t fearful of the girl or anything like that, but he was truly surprised by her “mastery” of such a deceitful tactic. The way she flashed her eyes and widened her smile to match that of an innocent child was incredible. She truly looked, if only for just a second, like she was a normal girl that didn’t have this horrible curse forced upon her. ”Scary how authentic that looked. You know. You really do have a beautiful smile.” Beautiful, yet eerily sinister at times. Then again, anyone that possessed the diet that she had would have been considered as such. A demon that feasted on the flesh of the living tended to carry that type of connotation with it.

”I’m sorry then.” She was his responsibility above all else. As terrifying as it was to witness her feasting like that, it was his responsibility to make sure that she was well nourished. Akechi knew that. He had failed her, and he wouldn’t fail again. ”I failed you. You need nourishment. You need it to survive,” Akechi spoke, looking over toward the girl as he flashed a smile in her direction. He knew what he had to do, even if it went against what he considered his true nature. ”Alright. Let’s do it. Point at a direction. Any one of them.”