Akane was running.
Her slender yet heavy legs pounded against the tough, bone dry mud of the forest as she narrowed her eyes, her once smooth skin now covered in grime, blood and bruises.
"Come on... aren't ya gonna fight?" she growled, tightly gripping the bloodied blade she had already slashed around numerous times.
Hajime was sprinting as fast as his untrained legs would carry him. Sweat beaded along his pale skin as he listened to the vicious girl's taunts. It was clear to Hajime that this wasn't Akane's first time hunting- or killing, for that matter.
Narrowing her eyes, Akane drew to a halt at the sound of a twig snapping. Paranoia swept over her as she spun round, the blade in her hand splitting some sort of fabric.
A red-headed girl cried out in pain, stumbling back as her hands flew to the gaping wound in her stomach. Akane twitched a little as Mahiru Koizumi's body dropped to the ground, although she couldn't quite tell whether the reflex was due to her lack of sanity, or something much deeper.
Fear? Empathy for the other tributes?
Fury flooded through Akane's veins at the mere thought. She wasn't weak. She was strong, and she was going to win these games to prove it.
The pure thought of victory was clouding her mind as she straightened up, wiping a splash of Mahiru's blood from her cheek.
While she had been distracted by Mahiru's corpse, Hajime had escaped. He collapsed onto the ground as the canon boomed in the distance, causing him to drop to the floor in a flurry of exhaustion and grief.
That girl was too much... she had to have a weak point... right?
x
Daytime passed within what felt like a heartbeat, since before she knew it, Akane was wolfing down some sort of mystery bird she had hunted down prior, a sheet of stars dimly cracking through the thick gathering of leaves over her.
Just as she tossed aside another bone, she froze as the bushes around her rustled. Instinctively, her hand crept towards the knife buried within her torn clothes, but her actions were fully frozen when the sharp arrow buried itself into the tree directly above her, grazing her head slightly.
She snapped upright, her eyes trained on the bush from which the arrow split through. Chillingly, the sound of high pitched giggling filled the small space as a tuft of white hair poked out from the shrubbery.
"Stand up," Akane ordered lowly, knowing full well the concealed figure wasn't going to shoot at her again.
Still giggling, the figure obliged, waving their arms as they jumped up. Two loose pigtails waved as the girl swayed a little. Across her torso was a strap, which held together the quiver of arrows daintily resting within.
Akane thrust the knife closer to the oddly cheery girl. "Who are you?" she demanded.
Within seconds, the girl was trembling, her palms pressed together above her head as she screwed her face up. "Don't kill Angie! Please!" she begged.
Scoffing, Akane pressed the knife against Angie's throat. "I have a right mind to. I'm much stronger than you think, y'know," she snarled, her grip on the handle tightening.
Angie's legs began to shake so much they could hardly hold her weight. "P-please! Angie did nothing wrong! She just wanted to alarm you of the nest of wasps above you!" she cried out, utterly terrified.
Shocked, Akane's head snapped up to view exactly what Angie just described. Dozens of wasps were buzzing around a bulky nest, much to Akane's dismay.
Akane turned back to Angie, who was shaking a little less by now. "Go," she ordered, finally breaking her vow of murder.
She knew full well that the sponsors would wear thin after this, but this rather freaky girl had potentially saved her life.
However, Angie didn't move; she simply stared at Akane with curious eyes. "...Angie is confused."
"Well, Angie should get the hell out before she's murdered," Akane grumbled, folding her arms.
She stayed firmly grounded. "Angie is very, very confused. Akane should have killed her already, no?" she pressed, her fear seemingly evaporated.
Rolling her eyes, Akane shifted her grip on the now infamous knife in her hands. "Don't test me," she warned, feeling the irritation building up within her.
And so, Angie obliged, beginning to wander off with her arms swinging accordingly. "Angie will see you around~!" she promised, stopping in her tracks to cast a final bright glance over in Akane's direction.
However, that hesitation was clearly her downfall, since that upbeat stare turned into a momentary one of horror as the thick, sharp blade wedged itself in the back of her head.
Angie's body instantly crumpled onto the mud below them, blood pooling out around her and somewhat splashing onto Akane.
Instantly, Akane's fighting instincts kicked in as she lowered her position, her eyes flickering around her surroundings with caution. A wisp of oak brown hair caught her eye as that all too familiar figure bolted past her.
Hajime Hinata; the one that got away.
Just like earlier in the day, Akane took off, newfound energy building within her, completely overwriting the guilt and shock that somewhat flooded her at the sight of Angie's murder.
Akane was capable of much more than Hajime, due to her intense training and escape through her old district. "Where are you, fucker?!" she roared. She couldn't let him get away this time... she couldn't.
"Akane, stop! We're the last two!" he called back, giving away his whereabouts.
For a moment, Akane slowed, but Hajime's words just motivated her more, ultimately. "That means you're gonna be the last to die! I'm gonna win! I... I am!" she declared, finally spotting the fleeing boy in the distance.
Building up the final sparks of adrenaline within her, Akane sped up, and when she was close enough to Hajime, she leapt forwards.
Both of their bodies dropped to the ground with a huge crash, Akane's knees trapping him by squeezing his waist tightly. Utterly animalistic, Akane reached forwards and wrapped her hands around Hajime's throat, all of her surroundings fading as she squeezed ever tighter.
"A...kane... st...op..." Hajime begged beneath her, his voice raspy and hardly in his control.
Akane simply squeezed tighter, her body moving on its own. She was going to win. She was the strongest.
She was going to win.
