At Nightfall, An Akaza x Reader

1. Grey Skies

It was a cloudy night, snow was falling in the mountains. The only reason he was here was because of one thing, rather, one person.

The pink haired male had heard in passing, on this same night, of a massacre. He was certain that there wasn't a demon in this area in particular, and by the description he was given, they didn't sound like a demon either. Either way, they sounded like a worthy opponent.

Akaza made his way to the village quickly, wasting no time trying to appear normal or walk slow. The place was silent to the point you could hear a pin drop. Had he been lied to? It appeared that nothing had happened there at all. A frown tugged at his lips as he moved further into the area, stalking like panther.

-

You stood in the town square, breathing hard as you stared at the grey sky. You could hear nothing but the ringing in your ears, your haori stained red. How long have you been standing out there? Time seemed to have stilled.

Hours earlier, you were happy. You had gone to the nearby creek for fish to feed your family, you managed to get a few big ones before heading back, only to be met with an empty home. You stood there, shocked, where could they be?

"Father? Where have you gone?" You delved deeper into the small home, only to be grabbed by the back of your haori and thrown to the ground.

"Is this the last one of them?" you heard as you blinked back stars. You didn't recognize the voice at all.

"Yes, that's that deadbeat's second child." Another huffed, this voice you did recognize. You managed to see your attackers' feet. This man had been in your home before- to speak to your father. Many times in fact. You never stayed in the room long, you only brought them tea, so their relationship with one another was not known to you.

"Uehara....San...." you groaned out softly, only for your back to be stepped on by his lackey, causing you to yell in pain.

"Be quiet," Uehara snipped, signally to the other to move so he could yank you up.

"What have you done? where is my family...?" you pressed on, despite his words.

The man merely shook his head, " Your father was behind on payments, far too behind. Promising to pay soon to then say he doesn't have the money yet. You're lucky enough to be getting dragged to a brothel to pay off his debt, rather than meet his same fate."

Your blood ran cold at his words, what had your father been doing behind your back to get himself wrapped up in something like this, Was he dead? Was your older brother dead as well? Had this man who you allowed inside to eat your food and drink your sake taken away what little family you had?

You had started to thrash and scream hysterically in hopes that someone, anyone would see what was happen and come to your aide, but those in your village who saw merely turned a blind eye, going about their business and shutting you out.

Uehara threw you down and kicked you hard in the stomach to silence you. "SILENCE!" he signaled to his helper to grab you. You couldn't muster the strength to move or fight him. Your family was dead, you were certain of this. Who knows how long ago these two arrived, you weren't there to help them. Maybe if you were there, things would have gone differently. You look towards the people who let this happen, who just stood by and watched. Why hadn't they done anything? Your family had done so much for many of these people, fixed rooves, caught fish for the elderly, mend clothing, the list goes on. But here you were, being taken away without struggle.

It made your blood boil.

You moved your head back, biting hard enough into the lackey's shoulder to draw blood, earning a scream and your mobility. you didn't give either of them a chance to kick you when you hit the ground, despite being winded. You rolled to the side and got to your feet. "Don't just stand there! GET THEM!" Uehara hissed.

You picked up a the nearest object and fixed it in your hand, a splinter from your barrel. as the man's lackey charged at you, you ducked, driving the wooden shard into his side. he cried out in agony. Your brother had been adamant about you being able to defend yourself, saying that your quick reflexes that seemed to predict someone's moves moments before they hit you would go to waste if you didn't know how to strike back.

Uehara came at you from behind, but you swooped under his arms and threw your whole weight at his stomach to knock him down. you staggered away from him into the other man, who put his hands to your neck, strangling you. As you gasped for air, you knocked your head back into him, grasping at the wood you stabbed into him to push it further in.

"You little-!" he screamed, his hands loosening enough for you to pull away . You pressed the wood farther into him, to the point that you couldn't grasp it. Once he had fallen, your focus was shifted to Uehara who came at you with a blind rage. He swung his fist at your face, and if you hadn't managed to move your head at the right moment, you would have surely fallen unconscious from the blow.

Your memories get spotty from here, you succumbed to your anger and sadness and could only see red. When you came to, the sun was completely down and most of your village was dead or gone.

Your gaze settled on the sky, you couldn't see a single star. Your trance was broken upon hearing a crash of a sound and suddenly you were in the presence of the third upper moon.

A pale male who appeared to be around your age stood before you, pink hair spiked up on his head. Such a peculiar appearance... You have never seen someone like this, the striped tattoos that encompassed his body were also something that bewildered you. You had never heard of demons before, but even you knew something was off about the man. And despite the bodies around you, the only thing he had to say was--

"You there! what is your name?"