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

Chapter 33 | The Fever

In the hours that follow, fever takes hold fast.

Your body surrenders to the heat, and the wind fades from your ears like the tide drawing out. The cold vanishes, replaced by warmth. Not comfort, but fire. Familiar fire.

The mountain air fades.
You open your eyes.

You're standing in a field of scorched grass beneath a sky that burns with red-gold light. Like a wound that never closes. The scent of cinders lingers in the air. There is blackened soil beneath your feet, warm with dying embers. And in the distance, at the edge of a broken torii gate, he waits.

Rengoku.

Still and radiant, the edges of his haori glowing like it was cut from sunlight itself. His sword rests sheathed at his side. His posture is unchanged - proud, unwavering. Golden hair haloed by the firelight. His eyes - stern, impossibly bright - fixed on you.

But his face...

His face is not kind.

You open your mouth, but no sound comes. Your limbs are heavy, your throat locked.

You want to run to him. You want to fall to your knees and beg. But your legs don't move.

"Rengoku..." Your voice cracks. "I'm sorry."

He says nothing at first. Just looks at you. Like he's trying to decide if you're still you.

"I believed you would carry our light forward", he says finally. His voice is deeper than you remember. Quieter. "You stood behind me once. Behind all of us. Now you walk beside the one who killed me."

You flinch. "I tried-"

"You chose to walk with him. Even knowing what he is."

Your mouth goes dry. The heat around you seems to grow, the air thick with shame.

"I didn't plan to," you whisper. "It just... happened. I didn't mean to fall into this. I was-"

"Lost?" Rengoku finishes for you.

You nod. "I didn't want to betray anyone. I just... I didn't know how to keep going. Everything hurt. And he... didn't make it worse. He helped."

Silence. Long and weighted.

"You think kindness makes him less of a demon?" Rengoku asks. "You think pity changes what he is?"

Your heart cracks. "I know what he is. I just... I didn't want to be alone anymore."

Rengoku's eyes narrow. Not cruel. Just sad. "You were never alone. Not when I died. And not after. We believed in you. Oyakata-sama believed in you. Makio still believes in you. And yet you ran."

You fall to your knees.

"I know."

Softly. So softly you almost don't hear it:

"Why?"

You look up at him. And for once, you don't try to excuse it.

"Because I'm tired of being brave."

There's a long silence.

Then, Rengoku moves slowly, deliberately and kneels in front of you. You can smell the warmth of smoke in his robes, the sun in his skin.

"Your path was lost. But not your heart." he says.

You blink at him, startled. There's no hatred in him. That's what hurts the most.

"I am disappointed," he admits. "But I have not stopped hoping."

He reaches out, a calloused hand brushing your temple and the pain in your body fades for a moment. Not completely. But enough to breathe.

"You carry a storm inside you," he says. "But if your intention is to protect... then there is still a path forward. A narrow one. And dangerous."

Your voice is barely a breath. "Will you forgive me?"

"I already have."

Tears burn behind your eyes.

"You must choose," he adds, standing again. "You cannot walk between fire and shadow forever. The mountain will not shelter you much longer."

Then his form begins to fade, burning away like paper touched by flame.

But before he's gone, he speaks one last time:

"Remember this: when the time comes, be the one who stands between death and the innocent. Not behind it."

And then-blackness.