𝕃𝕠𝕧𝕖𝕣𝕤 𝕚𝕟 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕟𝕚𝕘𝕙𝕥 // Akaza x reader (+18)

Chapter 32 | Hunted

Night falls heavy and cold, the damp scent of rain clinging to the wooden beams of the hut. Exhaustion has long overtaken you, dragging your body into a restless sleep on the old futon. The weight in your chest lingers even in dreams.

You're not sure how long you've been asleep when a hand grips your shoulder.
Firm, not unkind, but urgent.

Your eyes fly open.

Akaza is crouched beside you, his yellow eyes sharper than you’ve ever seen them, scanning your face to make sure you're alert.

"Get up," he says, voice low and steady. "Now."

Your instincts jolt awake before your body does. “What?”

"Someone is here. A few ridges over. She's searching."

She?

"Who?", you ask. An unwelcoming ache starts spreading in your tummy.

"A kunoichi. Black hair, yellow bangs."

You gulp.
The words land like a thunderclap. Makio. One of Tengen's wives. If she's this close, it means she hasn’t found you yet… but she will. And if she does, there’s no telling what she’ll believe when she sees you with Akaza.

You sit up quickly, clutching your ribs as pain flares through your torso. Akaza doesn't wait, he moves to the door, scanning the treeline through a narrow crack.

“She hasn't caught our scent. Yet. But she will. We need to move. Over the mountains. There's a pass on the far side. I can get us there quickly.”

The realization hits harder than it should.

Makio.

Not a demon. Not a stranger. Not someone you can hate.

For a moment, you don’t move. You just sit there, clutching the cloak Akaza tossed you, your fingers curling into the fabric like it might keep the memories at bay.

You remember her hands—calloused from training, but gentle when she braided your hair one cold night after a visit with Rengoku. Her laughter, dry and biting, sharp as a kunai. The way she stood in front of you, back straight, daring any threat to get close. You used to feel safe behind her.

And now she’s chasing you.

Your throat tightens. She thinks you need saving. That you're a hostage. And if she finds you like this what would she even see?

You rise before the thought can fully bloom. There's no time to mourn who you were. Not when the version of you she remembers is already gone.

You stare at him. “You were watching her?”

His eyes flick back to yours, unreadable. “I wanted to know how close she was. Close enough.”

You rise shakily to your feet, every muscle protesting. “She’s here for me,” you murmur. “She thinks I’m being held captive.”

“Let her keep thinking that,” Akaza says, already picking up your katana and tossing it to you. “If she catches up to us now, we’ll be forced to kill her. And I know you’re not ready for that.”

There’s no time to argue.

The wind has picked up outside, howling between the rocks like a warning. Akaza steps outside first, eyes narrowed against the cold.
You follow, every step feeling like you’re walking deeper into a fate you can’t escape.

As you begin the climb into the dark mountain path, the forest disappears behind you, swallowed by shadow.

And somewhere, far below, Makio’s footsteps stir the fallen leaves. Still searching, still closing in.