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#Yandere Namjoon head canon
the-wanderer-2022 · 1 year
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The Emperor's Lost Love (Yandere Namjoon x Reader)
Word count:2.5k
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"Appa! Appa!"
The storm clouds linger above the turrets of House Margon. Named after a great warrior and all those who descended from his line, they were once the crown and glory of Trodel. Before the man from over the sea. The one who has the name that no one knows. The one who brought death and destruction and misery to Trodel. And now to Lord Margon's own offspring.
"Appa."
The man shudders at the sight of his youngest daughter (Y/N). Of course it would have been her. She is the only one with half a brain in her head, brilliant, clever and entirely too curious. The other siblings rest easy in their beds but (Y/N) is always wandering. This is one night he wishes she had not.
"Don't let them take me Appa!"
"Kaoru . . ."
Across the vast expanse of the courtyard, two figures in black drag away a screaming child. She is hooded and covered but her cries are unmistakable.
"Kaoru! I'm coming!" (Y/N) starts to move but her father grabs her arm stiffly, his wrinkled eyes narrowing.
"You will do no such thing (Y/N)."
"What's going on?!" She wrestles furiously against her father's grip but he is a seasoned man and (Y/N) is no more than a little blossom at the time. "Why are you letting them take my sister?! What about mama?"
"(Y/N)!" Tears fill her eyes at her father's rough bark. "Kaoru did what she had to do for this family."
"She was kidnapped!"
There is a heavy silence filled with her father's panting. "Do not make me strike you child. You know I hate to strike you, but I will not allow your stubborn head to jeopardise the peace of this family. Kaoru knew her place. Your mama knows her place. It is time for you to do the same."
What about your place? The little girl thinks, turning sharply and running back to her room, far away from the night. And the man she thought promised to protect them all.
-
"(Y/N)?"
"Mmmm . . ."
"Hey!" Hanina slaps (Y/N)'s arm lightly. "Child, are you daydreaming again?"
"I am always daydreaming Avila."
Hanina is (Y/N)' s personal servant but (Y/N) always calls her Avila. Hanina means "servant", Avila in the tongue of Trodel, means "one who talks a lot".
"You cannot be daydreaming tonight." Avila lifts the creamy blue garment up to (Y/N)'s skin. "You are so beautiful. The Emperor himself would not be able to resist you."
"Avila, I am not a chocolate cake!" (Y/N) laughs. "And besides, the Emperor is looking for a lady of class I'm sure. He wants a piece of arm candy. That's not me."
"But it could be (Y/N)." Avila lowers the garment, placing it gently to the side as she takes (Y/N)'s arm. "You know your father has been struggling. You coming into a position of power . . ."
"Avila, you know how I feel about that," (Y/N) insists. "I'm not ready for a relationship. You saw what happened just now. I can barely keep my head straight and you want me to become Empress just so my father can have enough money to drink and gamble his life away."
"But all your sisters are married now (Y/N). You have to think of yourself. You have no brothers. As critical as you are of your father's habits shall we say, if anything happens to him, you and your mama would be out on the streets. And so would I."
The uneasy feeling in (Y/N)'s chest returns. Like enough air isn't going into her lungs.
"Avila?" She whispers, but it comes out more like a murmur. "What do they say about the Emperor?"
A slight delay. "Emperor Egan."
"That's not his real name," (Y/N) insists. "It can't be. If you want people to take you seriously, you don't go around calling yourself something that's a couple of letters off from Emperor Egg . . ." She receives a light smack in response.
"No one really knows (Y/N)," Avila sighs. "He came from overseas many years ago. Searching for something."
"What was he searching for?"
"Another thing we do not know. There are rumours that all the people close to him in those days were executed when he took on the name Egan. No one has seen him in many years. This ball will be the first time the Emperor has appeared in public for a long time."
(Y/N) turns her head. "Are you telling me, that you want me to go out and woo this man that no one has seen in gods knows how long? What if I get there and he's like a crusty piece of bread, or one of those shrivelled prunes you get at the bottom . . ."
"Gods give me strength." She's trying not to smile. "(Y/N), I love your sense of humour, but for the sake of us all, do try and talk as little as possible tonight. The Emperor is not a forgiving man."
-
Something is wrong. Something is very wrong. Never before have (Y/N)'s night terrors made their way into the day. But they are today. Tonight.
Was it the way the marble gates swung shut behind them as House Margon entered the Imperial Palace? Was it the way the walls seemed to close in from every angle, from her right, to her left, all she could see is walls amidst the glowing blood lights.
The night terror about Kaoru. It keeps playing and playing and playing. She had grown used to it. Numerous people have confirmed that there was no such person. Then why does Lady (Y/N) feel so sad?
Entering the courtyard, the servants are quick to take her coat, revealing a glorious shimmering ball gown of turquoise.
Lord Margon takes the arm of his wife. Her sisters take the arms of their husband's. (Y/N) is left standing alone. She reaches down to make sure her boots are in place. It's hardly appropriate footwear for the ball, but if everyone is occupied, she has always wanted to see the Imperial gardens.
When she stands up however, a man is there. She doesn't know how he got there. She did not feel him approach. But when she lingers on the achy sensation in her heart, it only intensifies being near this man. If indeed he is a man. Trodel is a summer country, but he is as pale as death and his scarlet suit and sash only make him look washed out.
"What a charming beauty," he murmurs, his words clipped and polished. "What may I ask is your name my lady?"
He extends an arm for her to take but (Y/N) ignores it and begins to make her way up the stairs.
"I am flattered my lord, to be called charming without having ever opened my mouth," she says, turning back to look at him. "Forgive me, I have been studying the etiquette for these events, and I would not want to give you the wrong impression by accepting your arm. I . . ."
"You misunderstand me my blossom," the man counters. Why can she not move when he trails a gloved hand from her shoulder, down her arm to her hand, scooping it up and squeezing her fingers tightly. "An unaccompanied lady requires an escort of course. It is as you say, proper etiquette. Perhaps I should go first. I am Lord Taehyung. And you are?"
The words are stuck in her throat. One of the Emperor's closest friends and she is already off on the wrong foot!
"(Y/N)."
"(Y/N)." He cuts the name into it's syllables and smiles as he utters them. "A lovely name for a lovely lady." When he draws closer, the Color of his eyes sends shivers down her spine. Red. As red as the colour could be. "Forgive me my lady." He notices her shocked expression and withdraws with a chuckle. "My eyes shock you?"
"I . . . No my lord. They are quite unusual. I have never seen their like before."
"I have never seen your like before," he smiles with all the warmth of a serpent. "I suppose for such a beautiful lady, I could overlook the proper etiquette just this once. Please enjoy the ball. I hope it will not be the last time my eyes are blessed to behold you."
Are all gentlemen this creepy?! (Y/N) nods, almost stuttering over herself as she turns and races up the stairs, handfuls of her gown at hand. She hears a sharp gasp behind her but when she turns, he is gone with only a soft trail of the evening mist in his wake.
-
"Namjoon. My Emperor."
The figure in the corner is barely visible in the dark. The rich bass of his voice penetrates every surface in the room but his eyes remain fixed on the illuminating light of the moon.
"Lord Taehyung. I was not aware it was time for me to show myself yet."
"No my Emperor."
Noticing his friend's pacing, his scarlet eyes snap upwards. "You know my distaste for wasting time Taehyung. Speak. What warrants interrupting my feeding?"
"I have seen her."
The metal glass hits the stone ground with a clink. The liquid pools around the silken rug, yet the Emperor does not turn.
"Impossible. My beloved is gone Taehyung. You tread on dangerous ground if you think to bait me with another look alike. Kaoru was the last one. There will be no more women."
Taehyung draws closer to the balcony. The sounds of the festivities fill the mountain side below. All reds and golds, the Emperor's favorite colours.
"Are you so sure old friend?"
Namjoon growls. "There will be no more women. My Empress is gone."
And then a flurry of blue comes in.
"Do you see the woman in the blue dress?" Taehyung points. It is more like a flurry of blue as the lady in question is currently bounding in great leaps up the stairs with some kind of bundle in her arms. Behind her, Imperial guards are rushing and shouting.
"She . . ." Namjoon starts, peering closer. "Is she holding a dog?"
"It appears that way. Likely one of the strays. She's wearing boots with the gown."
"A questionable fashion choice, if practical."
"Someone else you knew used to do that."
"A pair of boots and a stray dog proves nothing."
"I know. You must meet her to see it."
-
"Let her go."
Though the voice does not shout, it carries presence. Immediately the guard holding (Y/N)'s arm like a vice, releases his grip.
She does not feel reassured by the horror on her father's face, or the whispering of the crowd. As she turns around, clutching the stray dog in her arms, she sees him.
The Imperial Crown of Trodel sits atop his ebony hair, his skin is as flawless as a piece of glass, his eyes a glint of ice amidst the pupil. Draped in robes of cerise and gold, the crowd parts like clockwork as he makes his way towards her. Her breath catches in her throat.
"I . . ." A cough from her father reminds her of her duty. "Emperor Egan." She bows her head low, hoping that this man will do a u turn and head off to wherever it is that people dressed like that head off to. "My gratitude for your assistance."
"It is no problem," he answers smoothly. "Lady . . ."
He hangs on the word a minute before she realises what he is asking. "(Y/N). Your Majesty."
He makes eye contact with someone familiar. Lord Taehyung. The plot thickens. He is still staring, his expression unreadable when she breaks the silence.
"Emperor Egan . . ." Her egg joke comes back to mind and she finds a little courage within herself. "If I may be so bold, may I have this dog?"
"Have the . . ." He had forgotten. She is . . . Perfection. She is perfection born again in the flesh, and all of a sudden, it as if a thousand years have not passed, and he is still with his angel, in the lands beyond the sea. "Yes of course you must. You must have the dog. I shall have the guards clean him up for you to take home."
The puppy yelps as one of the guards attempts to take him, leading (Y/N) to pull him back to her chest.
"I would rather not my Emperor, if you don't mind. They were on the verge of drowning him when I arrived. I am sure you will say it is with good reason that he does not trust them."
" . . . Yes I suppose that is fair. Music!" She jumps as he claps his hands and the music returns. "Lady (Y/N), perhaps you would care to dance with me."
"I . . . Forgive me my Emperor, my dancing is horrible. And you can see the state of my dress, I would be a laughing stock."
"I would personally deal with anyone who laughed at you," he answers sternly. Unnervingly. "Perhaps a walk in the Imperial Gardens then? Those boots look well suited to walking."
She smiles and her eyes light up. "I love gardens."
It takes everything he has not to kiss her. Not to tell her how long he has waited. How many nights he has suffered. But in good time. All in good time.
The Imperial gardens capture her attention. She is moving swiftly through them and he is watching her, marvelling at how her eyes sparkle, at how she murmurs to the dog, about how she asks questions. At her voice. He answers them all patiently, waiting, waiting, as they venture deeper in, further away from the party.
"I have been waiting a long time for this moment," he says at last.
Drunk on the beauty of the gardens, she fails to notice him until he is right in front of her.
"You are as beautiful as the day I lost you Isuel."
"Isuel? That's not . . ."
"It is your name my love, you've only forgotten. As you spend more time with me, you will remember. Now I have you at last. Don't worry. It won't be like last time. I won't lose you again . . ." His last words lead him to slam his lips forcefully against hers. Try though she does with tears and biting, she cannot make him move until he finally releases her, leaving her to gasp for air.
"My love."
"You're insane!" She reaches to slap him but he catches her hand easily, kissing each finger.
"I wouldn't do that darling. You're not in your pure form yet. Wouldn't want to hurt yourself."
She huffs angrily, feeling tears singe her eyes. "I should have known that was all you cared about. Yourself! I'm going back to the party!"
"Oh I'm afraid not my love. No, you will never be leaving my side again."
"What's going on here . . ."
What happens next is a scene written only in nightmares. Lord Margon appears. The Emperor flicks a finger. There's this snap. This nasty, booming SNAP! He hits the ground like a rag doll.
She tries to scream as she rushes to her father but the sound comes out like a broken wail.
"A-a-Appa . . ."
"Your mother and sisters remain in my palace," the Emperor warns.
"Are you going to murder my entire family you bastard?!"
A smirk tickles his lips. "That is entirely up to you my love."
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euno11a · 3 months
Note
Are you comfortable with writing yandere au? If you are could you possibly write about yandere!BTS completely lost it when they found out their crush is going on a date with another guy? Thanks 👍
Ngl…I was honestly hoping someone would request this😳 I wrote a small head canon for each of the members, so I hope you enjoy!
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Warnings: yandere au, violence, obsessive behaviour, possessive behaviour
Namjoon:
Namjoon had always been a quiet and reserved person, preferring to spend most of his time alone, lost in his thoughts. But ever since he laid eyes on Y/N, he couldn't help but feel drawn to her. Her smile, her laugh, her every move, it all captivated him in a way he couldn't explain.
He had been watching her from afar for months now, too afraid to approach her. He didn't want to scare her off with his awkwardness or worse, reveal his dark secret. He had an unhealthy and obsessive love for Y/N, and the thought of anyone else being with her sent him into a jealous rage.
So when he heard that she was going on a date with another guy, he completely lost it. He couldn't believe that she would choose someone else over him, someone who truly loved her with all his heart. He had been planning for this moment ever since he first saw her, and now all his dreams were shattered.
He sat in his room, surrounded by pictures of Y/N, his hands shaking with anger. How could she do this to him? Didn't she know how much he cared for her? He couldn't let her go on that date, he just couldn't.
Without even realizing it, he found himself outside Y/N's house, his heart racing with anticipation. He knew it was wrong, but he couldn't control his actions. He had to protect her, even if it meant going to extreme measures.
He watched as Y/N and the other guy walked out of her house, laughing and holding hands. His blood boiled with jealousy and he felt like he was going to explode. Without a second thought, he ran towards them, his mind clouded with rage.
The couple stopped in their tracks as Namjoon approached them, his eyes filled with madness. Y/N's date tried to push Namjoon away, but he was no match for the yandere's strength. Namjoon grabbed him by the throat, his grip tightening with each passing second.
'You can't have her!' Namjoon yelled, his voice filled with desperation. 'She's mine!'
Y/N's date struggled to break free, gasping for air, while Y/N stood frozen in shock. She had never seen this side of Namjoon before, and it terrified her.
Realizing what he was doing, Namjoon quickly released the guy and turned to Y/N, his eyes pleading with her. 'I-I'm sorry, Y/N. I didn't mean to hurt anyone. I just can't stand the thought of you with anyone else.'
Y/N took a step back, fear evident in her eyes. She had always thought Namjoon was a little strange, but she never imagined he would do something like this. She quickly ran back into her house, leaving Namjoon alone with his thoughts.
Feeling defeated and ashamed of his actions, Namjoon slowly made his way back home. He knew he had crossed a line, and he couldn't bear the thought of Y/N being afraid of him. He loved her too much to hurt her, but his love had turned into an obsession, consuming him completely.
Jin:
Jin had always been a quiet and reserved guy, keeping to himself most of the time. But there was one thing that brought out a different side of him - his crush on Y/N.
Ever since he first laid eyes on her, Jin had been completely smitten. He would watch her from a distance, admiring her beauty and grace. He had never found the courage to approach her, always afraid of being rejected.
But one day, fate seemed to be on his side. Y/N was sitting alone at a café, looking lost and deep in thought. Jin took this as a sign and mustered up all his courage to approach her.
To his surprise, Y/N was friendly and kind, and they hit it off immediately. They talked for hours, and Jin couldn't believe his luck. From that day on, they became good friends, and Jin couldn't help but hope for something more.
However, his hopes were crushed when he found out that Y/N had a date with another guy. He couldn't believe it. How could she choose someone else over him? He had been there for her, always ready to listen and support her. But it seemed like she didn't see him in the same light.
Jin couldn't bear the thought of Y/N being with someone else. He had to do something to stop this date from happening. He tried to push the thoughts away, telling himself that he had no right to interfere in her personal life. But the more he thought about it, the more he couldn't control the intense feelings of anger and jealousy building up inside of him.
He started to stalk Y/N, following her every move and keeping a close eye on her. He was consumed by possessiveness, unable to accept the fact that someone else could have her. He even went as far as to sabotage her date, making sure that they wouldn't have a good time.
But despite his efforts, Y/N's date with the other guy went well. Jin couldn't believe it. How could she enjoy someone else's company when he was right there, willing to do anything for her? He was furious.
He couldn't take it anymore. Jin completely lost it. He confronted Y/N, pouring out all his feelings and frustrations. He didn't care if he scared her. All he wanted was for her to see that she belonged with him and no one else.
Y/N was shocked and scared by Jin's sudden outburst. She had never seen this side of him before. She tried to reason with him, telling him that she only saw him as a friend and that she had the right to go on a date with someone else.
But Jin refused to listen. He was convinced that Y/N was meant to be his and that he would do anything to make her see that. He became possessive and controlling, unable to accept any form of rejection.
Y/N was scared for her safety and decided to distance herself from Jin. She couldn't be around someone who was so unstable and obsessed with her. But Jin couldn't let her go. He became more and more desperate, trying to win her over by any means necessary.
J-Hope:
J-Hope had always been a devoted and loving friend, Y/N. He would do anything for her and would often surprise her with romantic gestures and gifts. But beneath his charming smile and caring nature, there was a dark and possessive side to J-Hope that only Y/N knew about.
J-Hope was a yandere, a person who becomes obsessed and possessive over his love interest to the point of violence. He had always managed to keep this side of him hidden, but when he found out that Y/N was going on a date with another guy, he completely lost it.
It all started when Y/N received a text from her friend inviting her to a concert. She was excited and immediately told J-Hope about it, not thinking much of it. But when he found out that the concert was with another guy, his mind went into overdrive.
He couldn't believe that Y/N would even consider going on a date with someone else. She was his, and no one else's. He spent hours pacing in his room, trying to come up with a plan to stop Y/N from going on that date.
The day of the concert arrived, and J-Hope's nerves were on edge. He couldn't sit still, and his mind was consumed with thoughts of Y/N with another guy. He knew he had to do something, and he had to do it fast.
He quickly got dressed and drove to Y/N's house. He found her getting ready and tried to contain his anger as he watched her put on a beautiful dress. She looked stunning, but the thought of her going out with another guy made his blood boil.
'Are you really going to go on a date with that guy?' J-Hope asked, his voice trembling with anger.
Y/N was taken aback by his sudden outburst. She had never seen him like this before, and it scared her. She tried to calm him down, but he wouldn't listen.
'You belong to me, Y/N. No one else has the right to take you out on a date,' J-Hope growled, his eyes darkening with possessiveness.
Y/N was frightened by his words and his intense gaze. She had never seen him like this before, and she didn't know what to do. She tried to reason with him, but he was beyond reasoning.
In a fit of rage, J-Hope grabbed Y/N's arm and dragged her out of the house. He drove her to an isolated spot and locked her in the car. Y/N was now terrified, and she knew that J-Hope was capable of anything in this state.
'You are mine, Y/N. I won't let anyone else have you,' J-Hope said, his voice filled with madness.
Y/N could see the crazed look in his eyes, and she knew that she needed to escape. She managed to unlock the car door and ran out, but J-Hope was hot on her heels.
He chased her through the woods, his mind consumed with thoughts of Y/N being with someone else. Y/N ran as fast as she could, but she couldn't outrun J-Hope. He caught up to her and grabbed her, his grip tight on her arms.
'Please, J-Hope, let me go,' Y/N begged, tears streaming down her face.
But J-Hope was beyond reason. He had completely lost his grip on reality, and the only thing he could think about was keeping Y/N by his side. He pulled out a knife from his pocket and held it to her throat.
'I won't let anyone take you away from me, Y/N. You are mine, and I will do anything to keep you,' J-Hope said, his voice cold and devoid of any emotion.
Y/N was now trembling with fear as she realized the extent of J-Hope's obsession. She knew that she had to do something to stop him from hurting her or anyone else. With all her strength, she pushed him away and ran as fast as she could.
Yoongi/Suga:
Yoongi had always been a quiet and reserved person, keeping to himself and focusing on his studies and music. But there was one person who had caught his eye and captured his heart: Y/N. He had been secretly in love with her for years, admiring her from afar and never having the courage to confess his feelings.
But today, everything changed. Yoongi had overheard Y/N talking to her friend about a date she had planned with another guy. His heart sank and his mind went blank. He couldn't believe that the person he had been dreaming about was going on a date with someone else.
Yoongi's hands clenched into fists as he tried to control his emotions. He couldn't let Y/N go on a date with anyone else, she was meant to be his. He had to do something to stop it.
He quickly ran back to his apartment and started to plan. He couldn't let Y/N slip away from him, not when he had finally built up the courage to make a move. He had to make her realize that she was meant to be with him, and only him.
The next day, Yoongi showed up at Y/N's workplace with a bouquet of her favorite flowers. She was surprised to see him, but also happy. She had always considered Yoongi as a friend and was glad to see him. But little did she know, Yoongi's intentions were far from friendly.
He showered her with compliments and attention, making her feel special and wanted. Y/N couldn't help but feel flattered and her heart fluttered at the thought of Yoongi having feelings for her.
But things took a dark turn when Yoongi suddenly grabbed her and pulled her into a nearby alleyway. She was confused and scared, not understanding why Yoongi was acting this way. And then it hit her, the realization of Yoongi's true intentions.
He had always been possessive of her, but she never thought he would go to such lengths. Yoongi's grip tightened on her as he whispered in her ear, 'You're mine, Y/N. No one else can have you.'
Y/N's heart raced in fear as she struggled to break free from his hold. She begged him to let her go, but Yoongi was in a trance. He couldn't let her go, not when she was about to go on a date with someone else.
Just then, the guy Y/N was supposed to go on a date with appeared in the alleyway, looking for her. Yoongi's eyes darkened with rage as he saw the guy approaching them. Without thinking, he pushed Y/N behind him and confronted the guy.
'What do you want with her?' Yoongi growled, his fists clenched and ready to defend his territory.
The guy was taken aback by Yoongi's sudden aggression, but he calmly explained that he was Y/N's friend and they had plans to go on a date together. Yoongi's grip on Y/N loosened as he processed the information.
He couldn't believe that Y/N was going on a date with someone else, even though she had no idea about his feelings. His mind was clouded with jealousy and possessiveness, and he couldn't control his actions.
In a fit of rage, Yoongi lunged at the guy and started to attack him. Y/N was horrified at the scene in front of her, but she couldn't help but feel a sense of relief that Yoongi was finally letting go of her.
Jimin:
Jimin had always been a quiet and reserved boy, keeping to himself and rarely showing any emotion other than a polite smile. But behind that calm exterior, there was a fire burning inside of him, a possessive love for his crush that he could never reveal.
He had been secretly in love with Y/N for years, admiring her from afar and cherishing every moment they spent together. He had never mustered up the courage to confess his feelings, afraid of losing her altogether.
But one day, everything changed. Y/N excitedly told Jimin that she had a date with a guy she had met at a party. Jimin's world came crashing down at that moment. He could feel his heart shattering into a million pieces as jealousy and rage consumed him.
He tried to keep his composure, not wanting to scare Y/N away, but inside, he was a mess. He couldn't believe that she would choose someone else over him. He had been there for her through everything, always ready to lend a listening ear and offer a shoulder to cry on. And yet, she was going on a date with someone else.
As the days went by, Jimin's mental state deteriorated. He couldn't eat, he couldn't sleep, all he could think about was Y/N and her date with that other guy. He became obsessed, constantly checking her social media and trying to find out more about this mysterious man she was going out with.
One night, he couldn't take it anymore. He had to see for himself who this guy was and why Y/N had chosen him over Jimin. He followed her to the restaurant where they were supposed to have their date and hid in the shadows, watching as they walked in together, laughing and holding hands.
Jimin's blood boiled at the sight. He couldn't bear to see Y/N with anyone else, it was his worst nightmare come true. He waited until they were seated and then stormed in, confronting them both.
Y/N was shocked to see Jimin there and tried to explain that the guy was just a friend, but Jimin would hear none of it. He had completely lost it, blinded by his love and possessiveness for Y/N. He started shouting and causing a scene, scaring Y/N and her date.
The restaurant staff had to call the police and Jimin was taken away, screaming and struggling, still not willing to let go of Y/N. It was then that Y/N realized the depth of Jimin's feelings for her and the danger she had unknowingly put herself in.
Taehyung/V:
Taehyung had always been a bit possessive when it came to his crush, Y/N. He couldn't help it, he was completely infatuated with them. Every time he saw them, his heart would race and his palms would sweat. He wanted nothing more than to make them his, to have them all to himself.
But when he found out that Y/N was going on a date with another guy, he completely lost it. He had been scrolling through his phone when he saw a text from Y/N, excitedly confirming that she had a date with someone else. His heart sank and his mind went into overdrive. Who was this guy? How long had they been seeing each other? Why hadn't Y/N told him?
Taehyung couldn't take it. He had to do something. He couldn't just sit back and watch his crush go on a date with someone else. He had to make them see that he was the one for them, that they belonged together.
He quickly grabbed his phone and dialed Y/N's number. It rang a few times before they picked up.
'Hey, Taehyung,' Y/N's voice sounded cheerful on the other end. It only made Taehyung's heart ache even more.
'Y/N, who is this guy you're going on a date with?' Taehyung asked, trying to keep his voice steady.
'What? Oh, he’s no one special.' Y/N sounded surprised.
'Who is he?' Taehyung repeated, feeling a surge of jealousy and anger building up inside him.
'It's just a guy I met at work. We're just going to grab some dinner,' Y/N explained, but Taehyung wasn't listening anymore. He heard the word 'just' and it didn't sit well with him.
'Just a guy? You're going on a date with just a guy?' Taehyung's voice rose in pitch, his emotions getting the better of him.
'It's not a big deal, Taehyung. We're just friends,' Y/N said, trying to calm him down.
'Just friends? You can't go on a date with just a friend, Y/N. It's not right,' Taehyung said, his voice shaking with anger.
'Taehyung, please calm down. It's just one dinner. I promise it's nothing serious,' Y/N pleaded, but Taehyung wasn't listening. He had already hung up the phone, his mind racing with thoughts of Y/N on a date with another guy.
He couldn't take it anymore. He had to make Y/N see that they were meant to be together. He couldn't let anyone else come between them.
Taehyung quickly got dressed and made his way to the restaurant where Y/N and the other guy were supposed to be meeting. He waited outside, his heart beating rapidly as he watched couples walking in and out of the restaurant. He couldn't bear the thought of Y/N being with someone else.
Finally, he spotted them. Y/N and the other guy were walking towards the restaurant, laughing and chatting like old friends. Taehyung's heart felt like it was being squeezed in a vice. He couldn't take it any longer.
He stormed towards them, his eyes wild with jealousy and anger. 'Y/N!' he called out, causing both of them to stop and turn to him.
'Taehyung? What are you doing here?' Y/N asked, looking surprised and a bit worried.
'I can't let you go on a date with this guy. You belong with me, Y/N. You know that,' Taehyung said, his voice trembling with emotion.
'Taehyung, please calm down. We can talk about this,' Y/N said, trying to reason with him.
But Taehyung was beyond reason. He couldn't stand the thought of Y/N being with anyone else. Without thinking, he lunged towards the other guy, pushing him away from Y/N and grabbing their hand.
'Y/N, let's go. We can go somewhere else, just the two of us,' Taehyung said, his grip on Y/N's hand tight.
'Taehyung, stop! You're scaring me,' Y/N said, trying to pull away from him.
But Taehyung wouldn't let go. He was determined to make Y/N see that they were meant to be together. He had to protect them from anyone else who tried to come between them.
Jungkook:
Y/N, his childhood friend, had been the light in his life since they were little. He always admired her from afar, never daring to confess his true feelings for her.
But as they grew older, Jungkook's feelings for Y/N only grew stronger. He found himself falling deeper and deeper in love with her, but he was too scared to tell her. What if she didn't feel the same way? What if she rejected him and their friendship was ruined?
So, he kept his feelings hidden, content with just being by her side as her friend. But everything changed when he overheard Y/N talking to one of her friends about going on a date with another guy. His heart dropped to his stomach and his mind went blank.
He couldn't believe it. His Y/N, the girl he had loved for so long, was going on a date with someone else. The thought of her being with someone else made him feel sick to his stomach. He couldn't bear the thought of her being with anyone other than him.
Jungkook's mind started to spiral out of control. He couldn't think straight, and the only thought that consumed him was that he needed to stop Y/N from going on that date. He had to make her see that he was the only one for her.
He started to stalk her, following her every move, making sure she was safe and that no one would harm her. He even went as far as to install a tracking app on her phone, so he could always know her whereabouts. He was becoming possessive, and his love for her was turning into an obsession.
But Y/N didn't notice anything different about Jungkook. She was too busy getting ready for her date and was excited to finally go out with someone. Little did she know, her childhood friend was slowly losing his sanity.
As she left for her date, Jungkook couldn't take it anymore. He followed her to the location and watched from a distance as she walked hand in hand with the other guy. His heart shattered into a million pieces, and he couldn't control his emotions any longer.
He stormed towards them, rage filling his body. He didn't care about anything else but making that guy pay for taking Y/N away from him. He grabbed the guy by the collar and pulled him away from Y/N, ready to attack.
Y/N was shocked and scared at Jungkook's sudden outburst. She had never seen this side of him before. She tried to calm him down, but he was too far gone. He was screaming and yelling at the other guy, accusing him of stealing his Y/N away from him.
The guy managed to break free from Jungkook's grip and ran away, leaving Y/N alone with a crazed Jungkook. She was scared and didn't know what to do. She tried to talk to him, but he was too consumed by his possessiveness towards her.
In a moment of desperation, Y/N confessed her feelings for Jungkook, hoping it would calm him down. And to her surprise, it did. Jungkook's eyes softened, and he calmed down, realizing what he had almost done.
He hugged Y/N tightly, apologizing for his behavior and promising to never let anyone come between them again. Y/N was shocked and confused by his sudden change of heart, but she couldn't deny the love she felt for him.
45 notes · View notes
kinkandkreep · 1 year
Text
(ɴᴇᴡ) 𝕄𝕒𝕤𝕥𝕖𝕣𝕝𝕚𝕤𝕥
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Ari's Stuff
In Search of New Beta Reader
Heads Up
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𝐌𝐇𝐀
Oc Related Things
Meet Chike!
Yandere Content
Yanzuku Profile and Headcanons
Yankugou Profile and Headcanons
Non-Yan Content
Zuki Buki Headcanons
Bakagou Headcanons
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𝗔𝗢𝗧
Headcanons
Basic Eren Yeager/In Your Erea Headcanons
Pregnancy and Eren Yeager
Pregnancy and Levi Ackerman
Pregnancy and Armin Arlert
AOT Character's Personalities
AOT Characters and High Metabolism S/O
Aesthetics/Collages
AOT Guys and Their Weddings
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𝐇𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠
Headcanons
Yandere!Alucard
Dating Alucard
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𝕆𝕥𝕙𝕖𝕣 𝕄𝕦𝕝𝕥𝕚-ℂ𝕙𝕒𝕡𝕥𝕖𝕣 𝔽𝕚𝕔𝕤
Enemies of Everywhere
Enemies of Everywhere
Enemies of Everywhere~ Key Visual/Collage
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𝕄𝕦𝕝𝕥𝕚-ℂ𝕙𝕒𝕡𝕥𝕖𝕣 𝔹𝕋𝕊 𝔽𝕚𝕔𝕤
Bless Me
Coming Soon: Bless Me
Bless Me: Excerpt
Bless Me: Prologue
Bless Me Chapters
The Kim Clan: Bless Me
Bless Me: Taehyung
Bless Me Visual (Hobi and Tae Tae)
Bless Me Visual (Older Brothers)
Bless Me Visual (Younger Brothers)
You All Belong to Me
You All Belong to Me
YABTM~ Introducing Hyun-Ki
YABTM~ Introducing Eun-Ji
YABTM~ Introducing Bong-Cha
The Scars We Share
The Scars We Share~ Summary
The Scars We Share~ Snippet
The Scars We Share~ Aesthetics
Rundown
Rundown~ Summary
Rundown~ Diagnostic
Rundown~ Prologue
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𝐁𝐓𝐒
Yandere Headcanons
Yandere Taehyung when you refuse him sex
Yandere Hoseok Breastfeeding Kink
What Type of Yandere: Kim Namjoon
What Type of Yandere: Kim Seokjin
Plus Size Body Type Preference; Most to Least
T or A: BTS Edition
Yandere!Jin As a Parent
Scenarios
Desire Has Philophobia
Soft!Yandere Reaction to Desire Being a Former Burlesque Dancer
Random Drabbles/Blurbs/Oneshots/Ideas
Bionic Bunny (Yandere!Bionic!Jungkook Idea)
Rounds (Yandere Hoseok oneshot)
For Everybody (Songfic; Yandere!Reader oneshot)
Happy (Re)Birthday (Yandere Jimin oneshot)
Teacher’s Pet (Songfic; Yandere!Jimin oneshot)
The Queen and Her Captors (Yandere!BTS x Original Character oneshot) (This may eventually become a series)
Tummy Time! (Father!Hoseok oneshot)
Aesthetics/Collages
Soft!Yandere Jimin Collage
Hard!Yandere Jimin Collage
Non-Yan Headcanons
BTS with a Black!S/O
BTS “Sex”-canons- Rap Line
BTS “Sex”-canons- Vocal Line (minus Jin)
BTS “Sex”-canons- Kim Seokjin
BTS as gods
BTS Nicknames
Fun Facts
Taehyung, Jimin and Hobi Fun Fact
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𝐊𝐮𝐫𝐨𝐤𝐨'𝐬 𝐁𝐚𝐬𝐤𝐞𝐭𝐛𝐚𝐥𝐥
Heacanons
KnB Boy Archetypes
Aged Up!KnB Boys Sex-canons
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𝗚𝗲𝗻𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗻 𝗜𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗰𝘁
Headcanons
Good Boi 'Bedo Headcanons
Albedo Drabble
Zhongli Birthday Celebration
Genshin Guys as K-pop Songs
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𝐅𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐅𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐬𝐲
Sephy-kins
Kadaj Headcanons
Yazoo Headcanons
Loz Headcanons
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ᴏɴᴇꜱʜᴏᴛꜱ/ᴅʀᴀʙʙʟᴇꜱ/ʙʟᴜʀʙꜱ/ʀᴀɴᴅᴏᴍ ᴛɪɴɢꜱ 🤪
To The Last Sip- Halloween Special
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𝖠𝗌𝗌𝖺𝗌𝗌𝗂𝗇'𝗌 𝖢𝗋𝖾𝖾𝖽 3
Connor Kenway Mini-Masterlist
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​🇸​​🇵​​🇮​​🇩​​🇪​​🇷​​🇻​​🇪​​🇷​​🇸​​🇪​
Miguel O'Hara
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𝕋𝕠𝕜𝕪𝕠 ℝ𝕖𝕧𝕖𝕟𝕘𝕖𝕣𝕤
Tokyo Revengers Mini Masterlist
151 notes · View notes
aajjks · 4 years
Note
Hiya! Can I request a Soft Yandere!BTS Hyung Line headcannon where their gf is very shy (but really affectionate) & naive, and obeys all that they say 💜
Yandere!Hyung line: Having a Shy,Obedient S/O
Warnings: Obsessive Themes, Posessive Behaviours, cocky behaviour. A little bit of sexism.
A/N: hello guys. I’m sick. My whole body is aching.. I’m really sorry if this not upto your expectations.. this has been a really hard day for me. I hope you guys like it! REQUESTS ARE OPEN MY FRIENDS! And thank you so much for 800+ followers! Ily guys!💕🥺🤧
TW: VERY LONG, this is very shitty, rough writing. ***a disappointment***🤠
Masterlist
________________
Jin:
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It took you a lot of time huh?
But good for you.
Finally you understood your place.
SeokJin would be very pleased.
Wouldn’t really show it though.
Because he doesn’t want you to get flattered.
He’s your king.
And you’re his servant.
Just stay like this and you’ll be the most grateful person.
He’d shower you in luxuries!
Do everything he wants you to.
Honestly, you are so lucky, SeokJin is blessing you.
You have to earn it.
He wouldn’t really believe you at first.
But after sometime he’ll start to get used to it.
But just be obedient to him only.
Okay?
Because you wouldn’t want your family to suffer.
Right?
Yoongi:
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WHAT?
You can’t be serious right?
Y-You’re finally accepting Yoongi.
He’d be so happy that he could die!
His Y/N is obedient and affectionate!
Yoongi will obviously get addicted.
His obsession will would raise up 3x.
His protectiveness will be suffocating.
As if it wasn’t only.
But how can he not??
You’re so precious!
Yoongi will get scared that someone will steal his Angel away from him.
He wouldn’t be able to survive without your warmth.
Expect ALOT of gifts.
Everything you say will be yours!
Just say it.
But,
Don’t leave him.
Just don’t.
Hoseok:
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Wait what?
Haha you must be trying to be sleek.
How could you go from ‘a stubborn bitch’ to a ‘precious Angel?’
He would be REALLY confused.
How the fuck did this even happen!
He’s a really dominant person.
Your submission will really and I mean really please him.
You must please him.
Otherwise, get ready for hell baby.
Hoseok is kinda insane.
I’m not kidding.
He’ll test your affections.
After all, you love him.
So prove it!
In all honesty, he’ll get needy for your kisses.
You better stay like this.
Forever!
Namjoon:
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Is he in heaven?
He couldn’t even imagine in his sweetest fantasies that he’d get to wake up by your kisses!
His precious smile will never leave his face!
He’s the most tolerable one out all of them.
Almost normal.
He’ll blush continuously!
Imagine you two blushing together!
Aww.
His giggles would be really loud!
Your kisses are so sweet!
How did he get so blessed?
You are everything to him!
He’ll eventually get even more lovesick!
He loves you shyness!
He adores it!
He’ll continuously make you blush furiously!
Even black mail you ;)
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Text
》 Joy's fic list :) 《
Fics I've read, loved and favored bc there are too many good fics and writers <3
This is mostly for myself since I forget and lose everything on tumblr. Will update frequently.
Btw. Feel free to send recommendations! :D
× Please read the warnings, a lot of 18+ / minors do not interact content! ×
☆ - fav / ♡ - love / □ - mark for later
Headers: credit to creators / some BTS ones by @bts-stuffss
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》BTS《
OT7
> FIC rec list masterlist
Kim Seokjin
> FIC rec list masterlist
Min Yoongi
> FIC rec list masterlist
Jung Hoseok
> FIC rec list masterlist
Kim Namjoon
> FIC rec list masterlist
Park Jimin
> FIC rec list masterlist
Kim Taehyung
> FIC rec list masterlist
> Actually, the devil wears Gucci - @yandere-society
Jeon Jungkook
> FIC rec list masterlist
Whole masterlist and writers
> Masterlist of masterlists
Bonus content!
> bonus content masterlist
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》Demon Slayer《
> FIC rec list masterlist
Bonus content! [Art, manga panels, etc.]
> bonus content masterlist
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》Naruto 《
> fic rec masterlist
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》The disastrous life of Saiki Kusuo《
> fic rec masterlist
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》 Stranger Things 《
> fic rec masterlist
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》Batman and DC《
> FIC rec list masterlist
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》Jujutsu Kaisen《
> FIC rec list masterlist
Bonus content! [Drabbles, head canons, art, panels, funny content, etc.]
> bonus content list!
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》 Other Anime & Fandoms 《
> FIC anime rec list masterlist
> bonus content
> FIC fandoms rec list masterlist
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》 Fic List #2《
Joy's fic list número 2 :)
》 AO3 《
> My AO3 bookmarks!
> art tips 4 me + tits
45 notes · View notes
bibbykins · 3 years
Text
Penumbric Commitments (M)
A/N: Happy Valentine's Day!! I wrote this up real quick yesterday, so please forgive any lacking in quality, but I had the idea and absolutely sprinted with it! I hope you all enjoy and look forward to the next full length fic I post, which I gave a not so little hint in here to!
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Warnings: 18+, unhealthy relationship, manipulation, yelling, rough sex, light bondage, the usage of a belt as wrist restraints (consensual), brief fingering, male cumming inside, talking about not wanting a child, daddy kink, threatening to leave, offering to kill someone, semi-graphic talks of killing someone
Word count: 3.8k
Genre: Soft Yandere, Mafia! Au
Summary: Hindsight says Namjoon so easily complying with not having children was too easy considering his position in the business and the nightmare his parents had readily become. What you didn't realize was how far Namjoon was willing to prove to you he meant what he said that day: all you both ever need is each other.
Note: this is a canon drabble apart of the Silhouetted Bonds fic linked here
It's times like these that you regret getting a traditional clock. The ticking was incessant and daunting. It felt like it was getting closer and closer to your ear with the deafening silence it was slicing through. Analogs had to be the way to go, or better yet, none at all. The last thing you needed right now was a reminder of how much time has been spent at this table. Namjoon had sprinted home the moment his mother called him after your meeting with her. 
----
"Mrs. Kim, always a pleasure." You shook the older woman's hand with a tight smile. 
She returned yours with an equally fake smile, "Please, you know you can call me mother." She chided, but nevertheless you stayed silent as you sat back down at the table in your home. It used to be mom.
It was 8 a.m. your mother in law wanted to meet, so to be petty, you stated 9 a.m. would be great. It's a shame that your relationship with her came to this, but truthfully, it was far from your fault.
While in the beginning she had been like a mother to you, things quickly took a steep downturn the moment Namjoon reintroduced you into his life. The woman who had once been lively, rebellious, and took charge became a demure, stoic, and merely content wife. She had given you talks about your duty as the wife of the boss and the expectations she expected you to fulfill nowadays as opposed to telling stories of her youth and teaching you how to bake eccentric treats. She had even admonished you for leaving Namjoon, an idea she gave you really. Since then, she had always stated your allegiance to the business and your own husband had yet to be proven in her eyes. The notion struck you to only provide her with business professional talks.
You had always known her and Namjoon's father had been a marriage of convenience, but there seemed to be intense love between them, at least at one point. You're not sure when that collapsed in your absence, and sure you felt bad,but you did not care for her patronizing tones. If Namjoon wouldn't retaliate, she almost definitely would've had you killed the moment you decided to leave her precious son. 
"Now, I understand you're a busy woman, so I'll be chaste." She spoke as she took her seat, giving you a pointed look, "Do you feel as though you've made up for your betrayal?" This was obviously a trick question in her eyes, the simple answer being no.
However, you couldn't care less, "I have never betrayed anyone close to me, including Namjoon, if that's what you mean." You met her eyes with valor, "I don't see why you feel the need to ask such a silly question each time I see you." 
She laughed humorlessly, "Maybe I'm hoping for the right answer to cross your stubborn mind." Truly, if Namjoon didn't love and cherish his parents so much you would've told her to fuck off and mind her business, maybe focus on her own shitty marriage, by now. Alas, Namjoon was a people pleaser and fiercely intent on being a filial son.
"You mean your answer to the question about how I feel?" You raised a brow, "Even when apart from Namjoon, I took no other man. I've never even lied to Namjoon, I've been nothing but an honest and hardworking wife after forgiving his own shortcoming in honesty." You watch her fist clench in her lap at the suggestion of her precious boy having a shortcoming of any sort, "A shortcoming well remedied, seeing as I'm still here." You chided lightly in spite of the heavy tension. You pitied your staff in this moment for having to watch this battle of wills.
"Sometimes husbands lie to… protect, their wives." She struggled to find the right words as she regurgitated what Namjoon's father undoubtedly told her one too many times. Misery loves company, and goodness, did she want you to be as miserable as her.
You returned her fake smile two fold before speaking, "That's lovely, but I don't need protecting from my husband, I need trust, honesty, respect." The final word made her back straighten, "I'd like to live in reality with him, not be shielded from it, but I respect what you wish for your own marriage, but this is what I like for mine." 
She hummed in faux thought, "Very well, I can leave you to reflect on what marriage should be, you're still so young." You fought the urge to roll your eyes, "However, you're not that young…" This was a new addition, "When will I be receiving a grandchild?" 
Your brows furrowed. Namjoon told you she took the news of no grandchildren quite well. He told you that she was informed of your no children rule mere days after you spoke the words. The radio silence on the topic of children each time you met with either of his parents confirmed much for you, and you had even found yourself quite proud of him for standing his ground with you. Surely, his parents are not nearly old enough to be so forgetful.
This was the first question in a while that made you falter, and you could see the satisfaction she gained from it, "Grandchildren? I'm unsure what you-"
"Namjoon told me the last time I visited him in prison, you wanted to wait for your fifth wedding anniversary before trying for children, isn't that coming up quite soon?" She raised a brow and you felt your heart shatter. 
He lied to you. Again. He lied to you mere moments after you were ready to forgive him for lying to you the first time.
You let out a bitter laugh, "He did now?" She nodded and you shut your eyes for a moment, "It seems I've been made a fool of again." You sighed before looking as confusion crossed your mother-in-law's features, "I told Namjoon the very last time I visited him in prison that I did not want kids, ever."
"You know that's not possible for him, he's a successor." She laughed at your boldness.
"You know that he is an adult man with 6 brothers, biological or not, who will all marry one day, surely one of them will adopt or have a child." She scoffed at this, "I got my tubes tied years ago." This wiped the smile off her face.
"Does Namjoon know about this?" She snapped and you nodded with a bitter smile.
"He accompanied me to the appointment for moral support." You shot back.
"Well, your tubes can be untied and-"
"No." You deadpanned.
"No?" She mimicked in disbelief.
 "If Namjoon requires a child, he will also require a new wife." Your voice was cold and you watched shock settle into the woman across from you, "With his habit of lying coming to light, he may have to find a new wife regardless."
She stood, "Don't be-"
"Please, do not waste your breath on orders I will not be following." You held your hand up to silence her.
"I'll call Namjoon, he can talk this out with you, so you can see things our way." She tried to sound reassuring as one of your staff rushed to see her out respectfully when you did not budge from your seat.
You stayed seated at the mahogany table, staring at your wedding ring. You didn't want to get a divorce. You loved Namjoon, more than anything, and yet, did he love you more than anything?
----
You're not sure how long you stayed there, questioning everything, but it was enough time for Namjoon to come home. He ripped the door open, eyes searching frantically, ready to make sure you had not already left him before his eyes landed on your figure. From there, he took his seat across from you at the table and waited until he could no longer take the silence.
"Are you going to say anything?" Your husband's voice was calm, although fear was evident in his timbre.
You sucked your teeth and shrugged, continuing to look at your freshly manicured nails, "What's there to say?" Your voice was short, as if you were already tired of the conversation before it could even start, "You lied to me."
Your husband dropped his head into his hands and sighed, "Junebug, I'm sorry, I-"
"You embarrassed me, again." You look at him for the first time all night with a sharp glare, "Are you trying to find an excuse to divorce or do you just not care about me?" 
"Neither!" His head shot up and he met your eyes with deep regret when he realized you were looking at him with the anger and hurt he found you with all this years ago, "I love you, more than anything-"
"Obviously not!" You snapped, "Do you have any idea how it feels to explain to your shitty and judgy mother in law that, in spite of what her precious son said, you had no plans to have children, that you got your fucking tubes tied?!" Namjoon sighed, either in shame or pain, "Were you just hoping that would come around? That I'm such a fickle woman that I don't mean what I say?" 
His brows furrowed, "No, if I thought that, why did I let you get your tubes tied?!"
"Let me?" Your voice was mockingly soft, "You let me, huh?" You cocked your head slightly and he closed his eyes in frustration, "How fucking charitable of you, my sweet husband, master of the fucking house, to let your dumb little wife make a choice for her body!" You stood, "How considerate of you to play supportive husband only to fold the moment your mother asks you a question-"
"You know what my duty as the only son is!" It was his turn to raise his voice, but he immediately regretted it as he saw your eye twitch.
"And you knew my stance on kids before you got out of prison." You seethed, "You know why I don't want a fucking kid, nor do I plan to fold on my stance, because I'm all I've got left there." Namjoon's mouth parted slightly before he pressed his lips together.
"It's not my fault you don't want a kid because you'd be a bad mother just like your own." The words left his mouth before he could even begin to consider the repercussions. He was about to open his mouth again to back track wildly, but it was far too late as you took a step back, the weight of his words being too much to take from across the table.
He watched hurt consume your irises for only the second time in his life, the first time being mere hours before you left him for years, before you made him promise to never betray you like that again as a condition for you to come back to him. A condition that he evident did not adhere to in your eyes. "Do you want to know what made my mother such a bad mother?" He watched as the embers of rage within your eyes were only stoked by his reflection in your pupils, although he could see a thin layer of moisture begin to build up, pain, "You know, like I would be?" Your words were almost mocking as he stayed eerily still, "An unsupportive, isolating, and shitty sorry excuse for a fucking husband." Your word hit him like a truck.
Unsupportive. Isolating. Sorry excuse for a husband.
You weren't wrong right now. He felt shitty. He knew he should've just stood his ground. His parents didn't matter if it meant losing you, "I didn't mean that, what I said about-"
"You're right." A tear fell and he felt his heart shatter, "So if you want a kid, it'll have to be with someone else."
"I don't want anyone else, I never have!" He made his way to you as you weakly stepped back, "You're all I need." His voice was soft as he went to grab your hand, but you pulled away.
"You said that last time." Your tears were beyond your control as you wiped at them in vain, "You said that mere days before you told your mom that we were going to have kids and you told me your mom took the news well." You sniffled, "You lied to me, I can't believe that you lied to me and let me just walk around like a fool believing you, again!" 
He was stunned silent again. You were right. He had lost his back bone under the strict gaze of his parents and folded under pressure. He betrayed you, and all he could do was hope for your forgiveness.
You shook your head as he remained mute, "I need some time." You went to walk past him and to the door but he engulfed you in a hug, "Namjoon!" You struggled weakly to pull him from you but froze when you heard a sniffle.
"Please, don't go." He begged as he held you close, "I can't lose you again, I'm so sorry, please."
You fought sobs from escaping your mouth, "You lied to me, and your mom-"
"I'll kill her if you want me to." He spoke and your blood ran cold at his tone. He was serious, "My mom and my dad, I'll tell them we're not having children and if they can't handle that, they can leave us alone or die."
Your eyes were wide, tears frozen in time. Namjoon loved his parents. He was always a kid intent on surpassing their expectations, and he had made that clear to you when you started dating in highschool. You were his only sign of rebellion. He was intended to marry a woman from an affluent family, but he met you. You had figured that would be where his rebellion ended, but here he was, handing his parent's hearts in your hands and awaiting orders.
"Joonie, y-you can't mean-" You sputtered to reason but he only held you tighter.
"Or even if you just want me to kill them, I will, with my own hands of course, nobody else can know." His remained headstrong in his resolve, stroking your hair, "I don't care what I have to do to keep you with me." He kissed the top of your head, "You are the only person, the only thing on this Earth that matters to me I cannot live without you." 
A sick, and extremely twisted part of you wanted to call your mother-in-law and say, "Hah!" You wanted to rub it in her face that her son, in spite of everything, chose you. Her precious boy has been yours for years now. However, your sanity slipped through the cracks as you shook your head again.
"You love your parents." You shook your head as you cried into his chest, "And if you felt that way, why would you lie to me?"
He sniffled, "I was weakened, not 100% sure you would truly accept me with open arms and I panicked when they asked." He sighed, "I know it's pathetic and I know I seemed like I knew we would make it, but I didn't know that. They never brought it up after that so I naively thought they would forget and when they asked me again, I would tell them the truth and-"
"You're so stupid." You cried harder into his chest and felt him nod, "If you're scared to face your parents, tell me, and we'll do it together." You were surely ruining his dress shirt, but he stroked your hair soothingly, "Your mom has been calling me a shitty wife for years and after today, she must truly believe it, and I-I should take some time-" Namjoon held you, arms sliding down your body as he got down to his needs and you felt your heart drop, and you gasped, "Stop, don't-" 
You tried to help him up but he grabbed your wrists as he looked up at you with tear stained cheeks and eyes as wet as yours, shaking his head at your frantic protests as he kissed your hands and your wedding ring tenderly, "I can't lose you again." His voice was weighty with sorrow at the thought of you being away from him, "You matter more to me than my duty as a successor does, than my parents do, even more than this whole fucking business." He rubbed his cheek against your hand in desperation as you stood frozen from the shock of Namjoon begging on his knees with the utmost humility. The most powerful man in the city, undoubtedly the country as well, was on his knees crying and begging you to stay, "If killing my parents is what I have to do to prove it, I will. Name how you want it done, when you want it done, and I'll do it." He was dead serious and he could tell you knew it as tears spilled onto your cheeks even more, "You're a better wife than I deserve, and all I can ever hope is to be even a fraction of the husband you deserve, and I'm sorry I've been missing the mark." This made your face twist in pain, regret. Namjoon, up until today, had been nothing short of perfect, and even now he was making up for it, "Almost losing you nearly killed me, and-and I get that sometimes people need time to calm down but I would just prefer you beat the shit out of me instead-"
"I didn't mean that either!" You cried out as you sunk down to your knees to hug the sobbing man before you, "You aren't a sorry excuse for a husband, you're just a goddamn idiot, and I didn't want time I just didn'twant to see your stupid face because I was so angry." You laughed as he did for a moment, "Above all else, you're an amazing husband. I love you, always have, I just hate when you lie-" Your voice in his ear was like heaven as he felt a weight lift of his shoulders.
He grabbed your legs to wrap around his waist before you could properly settle onto your knees. He held you close and he soothed your cries, "I haven't lied to you since, I can promise you that." He sighed and you scoffed, "You don't have to believe me. I'm just asking you to stay with me so I can prove it over time." 
"I'm...I'm not leaving you." You sighed into his neck before he pulled you back to trap your lips between his as he kissed your with a vigorous passion. When you returned his kiss with an equal amount of desperation, he began to stand with you in his arms before promptly laying you on the couch, never detaching his mouth from yours the whole time.
You settled into the velvet cushions as he ground himself into your sex, making you gasp, "I love you, my darling." He murmured into your mouth while one of his hands slid your dress up and your panties to the side before brushing his fingers across your pussy and groaning at your wetness, "Oh fuck, you're so wet, baby." His mouth went to your ear as you moaned, threading your fingers into his hair, "Was it me promising to kill for you or me getting onto my knees that did it, hm?" He rubbed slow circles over your clit and you gasped, "You get off on me spilling blood for you? You get wet by me demeaning myself to keep you right here, where you belong?" 
"Yes, daddy, I do- fuck!" You clutched his hair harder as his finger slipped in and your hips wiggled impatienly, "Just fuck me, I don't care about being stretched, fuck me." 
Too desperate to even hesitate, Namjoon undid his belt, ripping it from his trousers as he secured your wrists within the leather garment, as he had done many times before. He undid your belt as he pushed your arms up and his pants down with his boxers. He slid into you with a deep groan that you matched with a wanton moan. He fucked himself into you feverishly, wasting no time in chasing your high as his nimble finger went down to stimulate your clit, "I love you so fucking much, y/n." He groaned as he felt you tighten, "I don't care who I have to kill to prove it, I'll even let you watch the light drain from their fucking eyes if it means you'll stay with me." 
You moaned out as he whispered gruesome threats to the outside world intermingling with sweet nothings as he held the belt around your wrists,using it as leverage to fuck you harder. If you were sane, you would not be getting closer and closer to orgasm as he cursed the rest of the world into painful deaths just to have you as his wife, but here you were, clenching around him and opening your legs further so he can go deeper, "Shit, I'm gonna cum!" You cried out, arms going over Namjoon's head so you could pull him down to you by the neck and kiss his lips messily.
His hand went from your clit as he wrapped his arm around you to hoist you up and slam himself into you further, "That's right baby, cum for daddy and I'll give you my cum." He cooed in spite of the strain to keep himself from busting you before you get your release. His words only threw you over the edge as you climaxed, hurdling him into his own. He fucked his cum into you like always and you moaned lightly until he was done.
He held himself inside of you as you both gained your breath again, exchanging occasional kisses, "You don't have to kill them, you know." You spoke finally "Although, I won't be so cordial with their bullshit anymore."
He nodded, "I'm by your side, Junebug, forever and always." You smiled before kissing him.
"And I, you." You hummed blissfully.
"We have everything we need between just the two of us, I promise." He smiled against your kiss while you nodded, "You'll be the only one calling me daddy for the rest of out lives- hey!" You smack his chest lightly as you both laughed blissfully, letting the seriously twisted shit that just transpired be a simple part of the past.
"Your mom is a bitch." You giggled tiredly as he chuckled.
"Don't worry about being nice to her if you don't want to, I have my priorities straight." He gave you another kiss that you returned with glee.
As he was cleaning you up, your hazy mind allowed you to feel smug at the fact that you just saved your shitty in-laws from certain death. You were their ticket to life. You were their precious successor's priority. You were his only true love.
Namjoon watched with nothing but love as he tucked your sleeping form into bed. Thinking on it now, he doesn't know if he could even stand the idea of you loving a child as much as you loved him. He enjoyed his monopoly over your affection, and a child would only throw a wrench in that for him. Taehyung liked kids, Jungkook seemed like a family man, maybe even Hoseok if that new girl he's saying is as serious for him as he says. All it took was one kid to carry on the business, so you didn't need to worry your pretty little head about it.
All you had to worry about was staying by his side and all he had to worry about was being a good enough husband to keep you there. He kissed your forehead as he held you closer to him, texting his mom the next time she disrespects you or his marriage, there would be consequences. 
You were the only person he needed. He would do anything to make you understand that. 
The ticking of the clock was nowhere to be heard as you laid in Namjoon's arms. You snuggled into him as you caught sight of the thinly veiled threat he sent to his own mother on account of your feelings. He was yours just as much yours were his and the victory of it all had never tasted so sweet. His heartbeat was all you could hear, steady, loving, and to the beat of the drum you commanded. 
You both wouldn't have it any other way.
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yandearest · 3 years
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May The Odds Be Ever in Your Favor (Hoseok x Reader Hunger Games AU) Chapter 7: Natural Born Killers
Summary - Living in District 4 you never thought you would  have to worry about being selected for the Hunger Games. With a training  centre right near the dock of the houseboat you lived and fished from,  your district was known for volunteers who trained their whole lives for  a shot at glory and riches. But at age 18, your name is called and no  girls volunteer to take your place. Your devastation is answered when  Kim Namjoon volunteers for the males shortly after. Tall, muscular,  highly intelligent and charming, the years of diligent preparation have  bestowed Namjoon with the expectation of being the next District 4  champion after Finnick Odair last won 3 years ago.
Fishing for a  living has granted you skills with a knife but, as your mentor Finnick  is quick to describe, your beautiful face may well be your best asset.
Upon arrival in the Capitol you are quickly faced with the reality that  Namjoon may not even be the biggest danger inside the Arena. Especially  when you capture the obsessive attention of District 2′s own volunteer,  and killing machine, Jung Hoseok. Hope soon fades from ‘survival’ to  ‘the mercy of a painless death’ but Hoseok certainly has other plans.
Pairing - Hoseok x (fem)Reader
Genre - thriller, angst, yandere
Word Count 9.5K
Warning: This chapter is very heavy with multiple deaths described in detail.
PLEASE AVOID READING IF YOU CONSIDER THIS CONTENT UPSETTING
The following is a dark fic featuring a yandere character, violence, obsession, and coercion. By no means does  writing about this in a fictional setting condone any of those  behaviours, much like Stephen King writing horror doesn’t mean he  approves of psychotic killers in reality. Please avoid reading if any of  these warnings makes you uncomfortable.
Previous Chapter: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 , 6
Cross posted on A03 so people can subscribe for updates/notifications
You had remained with the girl’s body after her canon sounded. The momentary adrenaline rush from killing her attacker had faded and you were filled with despair at the sight of her lifeless eyes. It was strange how little guilt you were feeling, you had just killed someone – something you never thought you could actually do. Even though what he was about to do to the girl was disgusting, you were expecting to feel some sense of remorse over taking another life, but yet there was none. You remembered Hoseok’s vicious attack on seven from yesterday and shuddered, did you have more in common with him than you wanted to admit?
‘No.’ You shook your head, arguing with yourself. ‘He’s a monster, he took pleasure in his kill. I killed to protect someone else… But didn’t Hoseok kill to protect you?’
Disturbed by your conflicting emotions you hit your head against trunk of the tree, begging for the thoughts to leave your head. It was too much to try and process right now, especially with the girl’s body lying on the ground next to you. The impact on your skull and the rough bark grazing against your forehead provided a welcome distraction from your inner monologue.
For a moment, you thought that a whirring noise was coming from the ringing in your head, until you felt a blustering wind, along with surrounding leaves and twigs beginning to lift from the ground. Confused, you scrambled away from the girl and over to your bag. Shouldering the straps, you whipped your head around trying to see what the cause could possibly be, as the wind and whirring sound only grew stronger.
With nothing abnormal around you, you turned your gaze upwards to see an airship hovering just above the trees. A door along the bottom opened, and a large metal claw slowly began to lower through the leaves, knocking several branches out of the way. You stumbled backwards, not wanting to get in its way, and watched with sick fascination as the claw reached the boy. It hovered for a few seconds, getting its bearings, before the metallic arms began to retract. The gears whirred as they clasped around the body, some digging into the dirt below him, before they formed a tight grip with a sealed clunk. And then the claw was moving upwards, the thick cord retracting until it disappeared into the ship above.
It was such an odd sight, such an inhumane way to treat a dead child (‘the dead child you had just killed’). You just stood there staring, until the claw reappeared at the door, once again empty. You looked over to the girl’s body, regretfully knowing she would be taken next. But there was nothing you could do for her. You didn’t know if the airship could be giving away your location, or whether the other tributes would think to run in the opposite direction, but you didn’t want to stay and find out. Securing your bag, you turned your back and ran.
 *
 Two hours later it was difficult to see the sun through the leaves above, which made it hard to try and navigate. You were starting to run low on water and you had an idea to try and get to the edge of the pool behind the cornucopia, closer to the waterfall. Your idea was basically that people who wanted supplies would go to the cornucopia itself and those trying to run away would have gone in the opposite direction. If you could sneak along the edge of the forest, maybe you could reach the fall and stay hidden. Your plan had worked well, after finding where the edge of the forest neared the river, you had stayed hidden in the trees and made your way in the direction of the waterfall. When the cornucopia came into sight, you took a longer detour back inland through the trees, not wanting to risk coming into contact with any tributes who might be hiding so close to supplies.
You knew you were getting close when the sound of crashing water began to get louder, and more rocks started appearing in your path. A canon sounding very close by caused you to jump and momentarily forget your plan. Looking around you had to be at the cliff that would take you up towards the top of the fall. Remembering the careers from yesterday, you knew you definitely didn’t want to keep going in that direction. The noise of the canon seemed to have come from further inside the forest, close to where you had been walking through only moments ago. Climbing up the cliff wasn’t an option, and neither was staying in this part of the woods, so the waterfall remained your target. You let the noise of the water guide you and continued to made your way over – the surface becoming increasingly rockier the closer that you got.
The cornucopia came into view, in all of its temptation. It was across the other side of the rocks that you were traversing. It was less filled than yesterday; however, you could still spot an array of supplies scattered around. For the first time you felt your stomach rumble and you longed to run across and raid it for some of the fruit that you could see. But it was far too out in the open to be worth the risk. So, you continued towards the fall.
The closer you came, the more you were left in awe by the design of its structure. The rocks became harder to climb over, but you realized that they went behind the pounding curtain of water, into a cave. You were apprehensive. It was such a brilliant hiding spot, but being so close to the cornucopia you felt like another tribute had to have found it by now. However, someone could only have seen it if they had chosen to come closer to the fall, rather than the cornucopia, which wasn’t necessarily an expected move.
You didn’t want to take any chances, and pulled your knife out from your pocket, just to be extra careful. Doing your best to balance, and stay hidden between the large rocks, you slowly made your way closer to the water’s edge. Once there you crouched down, repeatedly checking behind your back to make sure no one was trying to sneak up on you, and filled up your container. Once full, you put the cap on and then began to try and scrub off the lingering traces of blood that were staining your hands.
It was as you were finishing up that you spotted a moving figure through a crack between the rocks, in the direction of the woods. You sprung to your feet and quickly hid behind the closest rock. Making sure to check behind your shoulder first (in case anyone was trying to sneak up on you whilst you were distracted), you peered out from behind the boulder to see your worst fear – Hoseok and Namjoon working together.
You spun back around, your back hitting the rock, as you pressed yourself against surface. They definitely hadn’t seen you yet as they were moving towards the cornucopia and neither of them had been looking over in your area. You recalled the canon from before and instantly knew it had to be their work. Your heart was racing and a tightness was beginning to seize across your chest making it harder to breathe. You wished you could somehow melt into the rock and hide inside until these games were over, but you knew it wasn’t a realistic option. Staying outside here would be far too risky with them so close by. The forest wasn’t safe as they would very likely see you if you tried to run back now. Your best option was the cave behind the fall, as it was surrounded with large rocks for cover, and neither of them seemed to know of its existence. The possibility of another tribute being inside no longer scared you when the two worst tributes in the arena were so close by.
Using the rocks as a shield, you scrambled the last remaining meters to the fall. Once safe behind the curtain of raging water you stood in awe of the size of the cave within. The boulders from outside seemed to morph into smoother steps that lead upwards and further inside the cliff structure. There was still no sign of any other life inside, but you kept a firm grip on your knife in case of any hidden attacks. The higher you climbed, the drier the rock below your boots became. With the waterfall keeping you hidden from the outside, you deliberately allowed your footsteps to echo throughout the cave in order to alert anyone inside. You weren’t here to fight.
When you reached the top of the rock steps you found a smooth plateau and the first sign of life. There was a makeshift camp of a few supplies – a sleeping bag, a pot, and flint – set up around the ashes of an extinguished fire. The coals still had a faint tinge of orange, so someone still had to be close by.
“Hello… Is anyone here?”
You called out, but were only met with the sound of your voice bouncing back off the walls.
The sleeping bag looked like it had some sort of shape underneath it, so you slowly walked over, wondering if anyone was still inside. You didn’t want to come off as threatening, but you also weren’t stupid enough to approach someone without a weapon, so you hid your knife behind your back.
“I’m [Y/N] from Four, I ran away from the careers. Two and Four are at the cornucopia now.”
The closer you moved towards the bag, the darker the cave became, but you could still faintly make out some sort of shape. You frowned, why wasn’t the person responding to you?
“Please, I’m just want to hide,” you lowered your voice as you reached the bag.
“I promise I don’t want to hurt you.”
You tapped at the bag with your foot but were met with a hard feeling beneath your toe.
Rocks?
 A trap
 Leaping away from the sleeping bag, you narrowly dodged the swing of a machete from a figure hiding in the shadows by less than an inch.
“But I want to hurt you”
The voice of your attacker was feminine, but you had no idea who the person is.
“Are you fucking crazy, I’m trying to offer you an alliance against the careers,” you swore as you shuffled backwards, trying to put some distance between yourself and your opponent.
“No thanks. I had one until your boyfriend killed him…” The girl continued to follow you, and as she steps further into the light, you recognize her from District 7
“…And I’d like to return the favor.”
She swung the machete again, and you narrowly ducked with a shriek, rolling towards the edge of the plateau. You just managed to catch yourself from rolling off the edge, but before you could get to your feet, Seven charged at you with another swing of her blade.
You brought your knife up to block it, which she clearly didn’t expect. She’s too stunned by the fact you stopped her attack to block your leg that kicked up and into her stomach. She hunched over and gasped, barely keeping her grip on her weapon after having the wind knocked out of her. You didn’t give her the opportunity to catch her breath. There was no time for guilt or doubt as you thrust your knife upwards. It sunk in between her ribs with a broken scream, causing her to finally release her grip on the machete. It clattered to the ground beside you as you pulled your knife out.
She was still alive, her hands pressing against the bleeding wound as she stood above you. The previous sight of your would-be-killer is gone, replaced by a scared girl who knows she’s going to die. You can’t exactly blame her for trying to kill you – after all your alliance tortured her district member – but there’s no point in feeling sorry for her now. The best you could do is give her a faster death than her partner. Getting to your feet, you stabbed her again, this time in the stomach. She made a strangled gurgle, coughing up blood as you ripped your knife back out. She moved to try and grab for the machete, but stumbled over her feet and instead slipped off the edge of the plateau.
You looked over the side with morbid curiosity, to see her body had landed amongst the rocky water at the bottom. The pool below is a violent mess of currents created from the waterfall and you watched as her body was quickly pulled under to the sound of a canon.
 *
 “I’m almost disappointed by how easy this has been,” Namjoon commented as he picked up a small sack of rice and tossed it into the water. Since disposing of Krystal, the duo hadn’t so much as seen a trace from another tribute on their way to the cornucopia. They had arrived with ease and quickly finished stocking both their backpacks with food items. It was when they discovered there would still be plenty left for other tributes that Hoseok had come up with the idea of throwing whatever they couldn’t take with them into the river.
“If only [Y/N] was that easy to find,” Hoseok muttered in response. Between tossing away any food he came across, he was also searching for more arrows.
“Nothing good is ever easy, she can’t hide forever.”
*boom* 
The noise of a canon stopped them both in their place, it had sounded very close by. Namjoon looked around in a circle to see if there was any sign of an airship, whilst Hoseok suspiciously eyed the waterfall. The canon had definitely come from that direction. It was too high to see their camp up the top, but in his mind the noise had sounded closer. For a few minutes there was an uneasy silence, until he spotted something in the water.
“Over there”
Hoseok tapped Namjoon on the arm and pointed towards a figure that was emerging from the raging waters. Forgetting about throwing away food, the two moved towards the edge of the cornucopia’s rock to try and see the body. The water near the fall was a violent mess of waves, before it smoothed out into an eerily placid pool by the cornucopia rock’s edge. They watched as the body was tossed around, pulled underneath the currents, until it eventually drifted further way from the fall and resurfaced closer in their direction.
“It’s a girl,” Namjoon commented as they watched the body float closer.
It was difficult to see any details, but they could both tell the body was too big to be one of the younger tributes. There were no male tributes with hair long enough to tie into a ponytail, which gave away the fact it was a girl. With Athena having short hair, Krystal being killed earlier, and four known female tributes having died yesterday, they both mentally ran through which older females were still left in the games.
“You don’t think it could be…”
“No.”
They were both thinking the same thing, but there was no way Hoseok would allow Namjoon to say your name out loud.
It wasn’t you; it couldn’t be you. There was no way that you could have been taken from Hoseok without him feeling it inside. You were tied together and the second you left this world he would be able to feel it like a tether had snapped, right? He had no idea what he would do if you died before he was able to reach you in these games. It was a given that he would kill whoever was responsible in the most excruciating manner possible, but afterwards? Probably a rage induced rampage until he was the only person left, before killing himself. If you weren’t together with him at the end, then no one could win.
Hoseok followed the body along the rock as it drifted, until it was close enough for him to be able to reach. He could hear the sound of an approaching airship, but he had to see who it was with his own eyes first. Leaning over, he grabbed the body by its jacket and pulled it close enough for him to flip over. His sigh of relief upon seeing some insignificant nobody was audible.
“Not her,” he called to Namjoon, who had followed behind him.
“Stab wounds…” Namjoon acknowledged, nodding at the two bleeding cuts in the body. A solid incision between the ribs and a deeper wound in the stomach.
“From someone who knows how to handle a knife…"
Hoseok’s words trailed off at the end as he recalled your training in the arena. Particularly, your skill with throwing knives. The boys looked at each other, both knowing what the other was thinking. You were very close by. Looking at the waterfall where the body had appeared, there was nothing to suggest that you were around. If it weren’t for the fact that you were trying to stay away from him, Hoseok would have been proud that his girl was so good at keeping herself hidden.
“Look over there”
Hoseok’s head snapped over to the direction Namjoon was pointing at, but couldn’t see anything.
“What am I looking for?”
“The rocks. I didn’t notice before, but look how they trail behind the waterfall. I think there’s something back there… more importantly, someone.”
In an instant Hoseok was at his feet, the body below him forgotten about entirely. His bow and quiver of arrows were already on his shoulder.
“Leave the supplies here, we can come back for them when we have YN,” Hoseok instructed as he walked over to pick up some rope from the cornucopia. He doesn’t want to have to restrain you, but given you ran away it’s not like you’ve left him much choice.
Eying the rope in Hoseok’s hands and the knife in his own, a dangerous smile flashed across Namjoon’s face.
“Let’s go get our girl.”
 *
 The guilt you were wondering why you didn’t feel earlier, seemed to crash down upon you all at once. With a horrified gasp you, were hyperventilating over the reality you had now killed two people in one day. You didn’t want to, you didn’t mean to, you knew that you had to otherwise it would have been you that was dead. But it didn’t make the reality any less awful. You wondered what your father would be thinking if he was watching. He had been the one to train you with a knife in case that your name was ever called, but could he handle the reality of actually seeing you kill other kids? What about your mother? She was already dead, what if she was waiting for you to join her in peace, but you were sending other children to her instead?
You felt sick, but there wasn’t any food in your system to throw up. Instead, all you could do was dry reach and cough as you backed away from the ledge of the plateau. Maybe you should throw yourself over into the rocks to drown. You didn’t deserve to live as a killer. But then wouldn’t that make those deaths meaningless? And as selfish as it sounded, you didn’t want to die a painful death. You were scared. Scared to die, scared to suffer, scared to survive and have to live with yourself if you made it.
You crawled backwards until you felt your hand touch something soft. You flinched in surprise, looking down to see the sleeping bag from seven’s camp. It felt wrong to even consider, but you couldn’t help but think it would be a nice spot to hide out for a while. There was shelter and more importantly, warmth. You weren't exactly in the mood to return to the woods again and have to climb another tree. You shrugged your backpack off your shoulders and tried to distract your racing thoughts with the task of pulling the rocks out of the sleeping bag that seven had stuffed inside.
As you worked, you could hear the sound of rocks crunching. At first you thought it was just the sounds of the ones inside the bag as you moved them, but then you paused, and you could still hear the noise. It was hard to hear anything over the sound of the waterfall, but you had a bad feeling. You fumbled for your backpack and began to slide further backwards into the darkness of the cave.
“[Y/N]”
You feel as if your blood has turned to ice at the sound of Hoseok calling your name. How the hell could he possibly know that you were here?
No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no…
You shuffled backwards until you hit a rock. You couldn’t see anything in the darkness around you, and you could only pray that darkness would keep you hidden from him. You curled your knees into your chest and tried to shrink yourself as small as possible, clutching onto your knife, which would be your only hope of escape if he found you up here.
“Son of a bitch!”
You flinched at the sound of Namjoon’s cursing, and felt yourself panicking. Hoseok on his own was bad enough but Namjoon with him was too much. You doubted you could take one of them in a fight, but you knew that both of them would be impossible. You didn’t know what Hoseok’s plans with you were, but you swore you would rather die on your own than find out. You might not be able to fight them both, but you still had your knife, maybe you could take yourself out on your own terms.
“What?” Hoseok barked, his voice getting closer as he began to climb the rock steps.
“Some little shit is stealing our bag.”
That caused him to pause. Whilst the careers did have some basic supplies back at their camp, because they had thrown away a lot of the other food at the cornucopia, they needed those bags.
“Go stop the prick then, I’ll meet you out there with [Y/N].”
Namjoon nodded with a pissed off frown, turning around and heading back out of the fall the same way that he came. He hated when his plans were interrupted and he was going to make whatever moron thought they could steal from him pay.
You had no idea what bags they were talking about, but felt a sliver a of relief over Namjoon leaving. At least you had a fighting chance now if Hoseok found you. You could hear the sound of Hoseok’s footsteps coming closer, as he continued to climb.
“[Y/N]~” Hoseok’s voice echoed throughout the cave as he sung out your name in a sickeningly sweet call.
“Why are you hiding from me, angel? You should know that I would never hurt you.”
His steps continued to get closer and you clasped one hand over your nose and mouth to try and muffle the sound of your breathing. You tried to breathe as slowly and quietly as humanly possible.
“If it’s over how I tortured that boy from seven, I only did that because he tried to hurt you. But if you want, I’ll make all my other kills quick and painless. I’d do anything for you.”
The sound of his footsteps reaching the plateau kept you paralyzed in fear. He was here, there was no escape anymore. You clenched your eyes shut and prayed that the darkness could keep you covered.
Hoseok’s brows furrowed as he reached the top level and saw the abandoned camp. There were visible signs of a struggle from the earlier fight, but he couldn’t see anything else. The sleeping bag was barely visible in the darkness, but he could vaguely tell there were rocks nearby and some still inside of the bag. So that dead girl had tried to set a trap, but you were too clever. Again, he felt a combination of pride and frustration. If only you weren’t so afraid of him, you would be unstoppable together.
If his vision was to go by, you weren’t here. There weren’t any rocks to hide behind and it was possible you could have run in the opposite direction than where Namjoon and himself had approached from. But why did you feel so close? He narrowed his eyes and tried to squint further into the darkness, how deep did that cave go? Could you possibly be hiding in plain sight?
He pursed his lips, preparing to walk closer before the sound of a canon stopped him in his tracks.
 *
 Yoongi was in a bad mood.
After his argument with Krystal, he had been left alone to fish up the stream, but he had a lingering sense of unease. Why didn’t she understand that he was only looking out for her best interest? He didn’t sign up for these games to protect her just to watch her get killed for some stranger. It’s not that he hated you, or wanted you to die. He felt sorry for you and the way that Hoseok had singled you out, but it was better you than Krystal.
His luck with fishing had been mediocre. He had been apprehensive to use their food supplies for bait in case there weren’t actually any fish in the river. On the plus side it turned out there were indeed fish, but on the negative, the ones he had managed to catch were tiny. He lost track of how long he had been fishing for, enjoying the feeling of the sun on his face after such a freezing night, when he was snapped out of his peace by the sound of a canon.
Something was wrong.
He couldn’t put his instincts into words, it didn’t make any logical sense, but he had a very, very bad feeling. It was like a part of him had collapsed inside of his chest.
‘Where’s Krystal?’
Surely, she would be back at camp, just like she was supposed to be?
He tried to shake off the feeling, canons were a normal part of the games, if Krystal was smart then she would still be with Athena. On her own Krystal was a formidable opponent, and Athena was a powerhouse. The only real threat that could take those two were the other careers, but they were all back down the cliff. She should be fine… so why didn’t it feel like she was?
With a huff, Yoongi wheeled in his wire and tossed the coil into the bucket. He would try fishing again later, using the smaller fish as bait. But first he had to go and find Krystal to put his mind at ease. He dipped the bucket into the river to fill it up with a little water, in order to keep the bait fresh in the meantime, then began his walk back to the campsite.
When he rounded the corner of the river that led to the waterfall, he felt his stomach drop upon seeing Athena alone at the campsite.
“Athena! Where’s Krystal” He yelled.
Her head jerked up from picking through a pile of different sticks, organizing them into different firewood. She seemed surprised, but Yoongi just thought that was from how loudly he had yelled at her.
“YOONGI, LOOK OUT!” Athena screamed back at him.
‘Look out for what? We need to look for Krystal?’
But his confused thought was interrupt by a searing pain running through his thigh. Gasping in agony, he was in so much pain he couldn’t even scream. Looking down he saw the long blade of a machete protruding out of his leg. Before Yoongi could even react, he was struck across the back of the head, whilst someone else landed a kick to his speared leg. Disorientated from the pain, the two attackers were easily able to manhandle him face down into the river.
Athena leapt up to help, but was met with a rope being wrapped around her neck from behind. The pressure instantly cut off her air, causing her to choke as she desperately clawed for the rope. But whoever had attacked her had miscalculated their strength. Once she was able to get a grip on the rope around her neck, Athena didn’t waste time trying to pull it away. Instead, she used her hold for leverage and rolled her body forward, causing the girl behind her to come flying over her shoulder.
Laying sprawled out on her back District 8 realized she had made a terrible mistake, but it was too late for her. Athena snatched a nearby spear from the weapons pile and drove it straight down into the girl’s stomach. After ripping the point out, Athena kicked her sharply in the side, sending her rolling into the rushing waters. Whether it was from the stab wound, drowning, or falling onto the rocks below, all Athena cared about was the sound of the canon that followed.
Spear in hand, she raced up the bank to save Yoongi.
One down, two to go.
 *
 Hoseok was quick to dismiss the sound of the canon as Namjoon taking care of the boy trying to steal from them, but his head turning towards the direction he thought the sound came from caused him to see a falling silhouette through the waterfall.
“What the fuck?”
He didn’t care for his allies atop the waterfall, but the odds for his plans in the games were better if they could stay alive until the outlier tributes were taken care of. He cast a quick scan around the cave for any sign that you were there, but seeing nothing he huffed and started climbing back down.
You couldn’t believe your luck.
After everything that had gone wrong so far in the arena, the moment you were seconds away from being found by your worst nightmare, something managed to distract him.
You should have felt guilty that the distraction came in the form of another person dying, but you were to high strung to properly register that. Listening to the sound of Hoseok’s footsteps, you waited until he was at the bottom of the steps before slowly moving forwards. Not wanting to risk being seen or heard, you slowly crawled your way to the edge to see Hoseok disappearing back out the side of the waterfall that he had come in from.
There was no way you were going to remain in the same place and risk being caught if he came back. Making sure your backpack was still secure, you climbed your way back down the same steps. But when you reached the bottom, you hurried along the rocks under the fall in the opposite direction that Hoseok had left.
 *
 Namjoon and the boy from 10 on the cornucopia had been trapped in a stalemate ever since Namjoon had returned from the waterfall. The boy had been distracted with filling up a bag as quickly as possible that he initially didn’t notice Namjoon sneaking up on him, but a movement in his peripheral version alerted him to the career’s presence. His head snapped up, as he saw him coming back to the cornucopia. Namjoon held the boy’s eyes with a dangerous stare that screamed one thing; ‘you’re dead, kid’.
There were barely any supplies left, the rock was sparse and the last remaining good items were now in the bag slung over his shoulder. Clearly Namjoon had to want what was in the bag if he was coming back for it.
“Don’t come any closer, or I’ll drop it!���
The break in his voice severely reduced the impact of his words, but the boy dangled the bag over the side of the water to show that he was serious.
Namjoon rolled his eyes, clearly not taking the threat seriously as he continued to walk, forwards, only to stop when the boy released the bag entirely. The boy caught the bag by the handle, but held it back up over the side of the edge once more.
‘So, he’s quick,’ Namjoon internally assessed as he held up his hands in a mock surrender.
“You have something of mine that I want back,” Namjoon nodded to the bag.
“If it was yours you would have taken it with you,” the kid snapped back.
“Everything in this arena is mine, including your life. Drop the bag on the rock and your death won’t be a painful one,” Namjoon threatened as he rolled up the sleeves of his shirt to showcase his muscular triceps that were probably three times the width of the scrawny teenage boy’s.
“Come any closer and your bag will be thrown to the bottom of your river”
Namjoon longed to rush the boy and slam his head against the rock to teach him some respect, but the bag of supplies kept him rooted to the spot. Meanwhile the boy was tossing up his options. The boy from 10 knew that he was fast, but the weight of the bag would slow him down, and it was possible Namjoon could catch him. But if he dropped the bag his odds of outrunning him into the forest were much higher. But the boy wanted the bag just as much as the careers did. He hadn’t eaten since the start of the games. He had scarfed down a protein bar whilst cramming supplies into the bag, but he didn’t think he was going to last long in the forest without anything.
And so, the two stood eyeing each other down, neither willing to cut the loss of the bag, not even a body flying over the edge of the waterfall to the sound of a canon could distract them. However, Namjoon could still see Hoseok resurfacing out the side of the fall.
Hoseok could be brash but he wasn’t an idiot. Seeing the boy holding the bag over the water and Namjoon with his hands up, he could tell that there was some sort of bargain happening. With the boy’s arm over the water, it wasn’t like he could just shoot him with an arrow, without the bag falling in. Being within Namjoon’s line of sight, and with the boy having his back to him, Hoseok sent Namjoon a signal to let him know he would approach quietly.
Keeping his hands raised, Namjoon began to walk around the boy. He maintained the same distance, moving clockwise around the rock with lazy steps.
“You’re not getting off this rock with that bag,” he taunted as he walked, deliberately keeping the boy’s attention away from Hoseok, who was moving closer towards their direction.
“As a matter of fact, you won’t be getting off this rock alive at all”
“Then there wouldn’t be much sense in me keeping a hold of this bag then,” ten sneered.
“The second you drop the bag, is the second you die and you know it,” Namjoon replied coolly as he continued to pace.
“Not unless I make a trade”
Namjoon barked out a laugh.
“For you to make a trade you would need to have something I want. The only thing I want is that bag.”
“Oh really?” Ten asked with a knowing grin starting to crawl across his face.
Namjoon rolled his eyes at the audacity of the kid to think he could possibly strike a bargain, but he had to admit it was somewhat amusing.
“And what else could you possibly have?”
“I saw you and two earlier, I know you’re looking for your district partner. I also saw where she went”
There was a hint of glee in ten’s voice, like he was aware of a hilarious inside joke and Namjoon didn’t like it one bit.
“Bullshit,” he called.
At this reaction, ten outright giggled.
“I know you were tracking her, and that you killed that other career. But I also saw where she was going, and you were both so close.”
“And what makes you think that I believe you?”
Whether Namjoon believed him or not, having the boy keep talking was an excellent way to stall for time as Hoseok continued to get closer. With Namjoon now on the other side of the rock, it was only a matter of time before they had the kid trapped between them.
“She’s a pretty thing, isn’t she?”
Namjoon let out an exasperated sigh.
“No shit, we’ve all seen her at training and the interviews. Hardly proves you saw her today.”
Ten fumbled the bag slightly, his arm starting to burn with lactic acid from holding it over the water for so long. Bringing it down to the ground, he placed a foot on top, easily able to kick it into the river if he wanted. It was in the process of doing this that he caught sight of Hoseok approaching from his peripheral vision.
“Tell him to stop right now, or I kick the bag,” he immediately threatened.
“Hoseok!” Namjoon yelled, before making a cutting gesture across his throat, to get him to pause.
Hoseok reluctantly listened, coming to a stop just slightly further away from the boy than where Namjoon was on the other side of the cornucopia.
“So now what? I drop the bag and I die, or I give you the bag and I die” Ten deadpanned as he looked between the careers on either side of him, not exactly liking his options.
“Sounds about right to me,” Hoseok grinned, sliding the bow off his shoulder and preparing to load an arrow from his quiver.
“If you shoot me now then I can’t tell you where your girl is.”
Hoseok paused his hand right as it touched upon an arrow.
“Where is she,” he demanded.
Namjoon mentally slammed his palm against his forehead, of course Hoseok would be too blinded by his obsession with you, and buy into this bargain.
“I’m not just going to tell you so you can kill me. Look I can see there’s no situation here where I leave alive with the bag, so I’ll drop it. Here,” Ten paused to toss the bag a few feet in front of himself.
“Walk towards me and let me walk past you” Ten gestured towards Hoseok “and I’ll tell you where she is.”
Hoseok nodded curtly whilst Namjoon just rolled his eyes. He thought Hoseok was a lovesick fool, but was satisfied with the fact they at least had the bag back again.
The walk across the rocks began, ten deliberately tried to walk in a path that would create a gap in width between his body and Hoseok’s when they met. Hoseok read this and navigated himself in a way to lessen that distance, in case Ten tried to run without giving him the information that he wanted.
Meanwhile Namjoon walked towards the direction of the bag to retrieve it, but spotted something from the corner of his eye. There was some sort of shape in the rocks near the waterfall. He knew he should probably be paying attention in case Ten thought it was a good idea to jump his teammate, but Hoseok was strong enough to take care of himself, and this weird shape was bothering him. It was hard to see over the mist that sprayed up from the crashing impact, and when he squinted his eyes to look, it was like it was never there at all. For a moment he dismissed it as a bird until it moved again. A blur ducking up and then disappearing behind the closest rock. And then suddenly it clicked – why Ten had been laughing when talking about how close they apparently were to you before. The boy had seen you…
“HOSEOK!” He bellowed right before the two boys were about to pass each other “SHE WAS INSIDE THE CAVE. SHE’S MAKING A BREAK OUT THE OTHER SIDE OF THE FALL”
 *
 Whatever luck you had acquired for Hoseok to leave inside the cave, seemed to have vanished almost as quickly as it had appeared. You couldn’t hear the words that Namjoon had yelled over the rumbling noise of water crashing nearby, but you could see him pointing in your direction.
For a split second you all froze. You were caught like a deer in headlights, Namjoon was pointing at you, Hoseok looked livid and the boy from ten was scared to death. There was barely any distance between Ten and Hoseok. They were less than six feet apart, with Hoseok blocking the way to the forest, and Ten had just lost his only bargaining chip seconds away from managing to escape. With no weapon on his body, and no way to get around the armed career in front of him, he made a split-second decision to turn back around. If he was going to die, then he wasn’t going to let those careers get that bag, He’d kick it into the river if it was the last thing he did.
Immediately, chaos erupted.
You took off into a sprint across the rocks. You no longer had to worry about remaining hidden and put all your focus on speed. There was no point in prioritizing your safety on the dangerous surface either – it was either get away, or die. You’d risk slipping and breaking your neck than winding up caught between Hoseok and Namjoon any day. Using every ounce of instinct built from years living on the coast, climbing your boat, and scaling rocks near the sea, you made a break for the forest.
Being the closest, Namjoon would have pursued you, if wasn’t for ten turning around. Reading his move for the bag Namjoon had to race him for it, which was in the opposite direction that you were running. Hoseok and ten were both the same speed, so it was down to him being closer to save their supplies.
“No! Get her! GET HER!” Hoseok yelled to Namjoon as he watched you slipping through his fingers, whilst you ran closer to the forest’s edge.
But Namjoon ignored the demand, leaping onto the bag just seconds before Ten’s foot could make contact with a kick. Instead, Namjoon took the hit to his side and rolled, causing ten to go flying over the top of him.
Ten landed with a sickening crunch. He had thrown his arms out to break the fall, only to break his wrist on impact with the rock. Despite the agony, he used the momentum to keep rolling and fell off the side, into the water below. Namjoon sat up with a grunt, with his water experience, swimming the boy down wouldn’t be a problem, except Hoseok was about to beat him to it.
With his bow loaded, Hoseok shot an arrow straight into the shoulder of ten. The boy let out a muffled scream as he fell underneath the surface, no longer able to swim. With ten no longer a threat, Hoseok looked up to try and find where you were, to see you were right at the border between the rocks and the forest edge.
You had made it to the trees and stopped to look behind to see if you were being chased, when you witnessed Hoseok shoot the boy from ten. You thought that would be it, that he would be left to drown now that he could no longer swim, or that Hoseok would fire a second arrow to be certain. Instead, you found yourself rooted to the spot as Namjoon reached into the water and pulled ten back up to the surface by the arrow stuck inside of his body. As Namjoon continued to drag a screaming ten out of the water, and back up onto the cornucopia rock, Hoseok stood at his side, pointedly staring at you.
Your eyes were locked onto his, trying to read what he was going to do next. You leaned against the closest tree as you tried to suck in deep breaths. Your lungs burned from sprinting over the rocks, but you had to be ready to run again into the forest at any moment. In return Hoseok was eerily still. He watched the rise and fall of your chest with every breath you took, studied the flush of red across your cheeks and beads of sweat trickling from your forehead, and thought of the ways in which he would love to elicit such a response from your body. He ached to run and take you into his arms so he could feel the warmth of your body pressed against his, but knew that you would disappear into the forest the second he tried to. So, instead he chose to drag those seconds out as long as possible, just watching you breathe from a distance to find comfort in knowing you were still alive.
  *
 The sound of the canon had distracted the two boys that were holding Yoongi under the water. Turning their heads over towards the sound they were hoping to see Athena dead and the other girl from eight returning to help them take care of the last person at camp, but were met with the sight of an enraged Athena running in their direction.
“Shit! What the fuck do we do?” The boy from district 8 hissed, as he maintained his pressure on Yoongi’s neck to keep him face down under the water.
“How the fuck should I know?” the boy from district 9 snapped back, “You’re the genius who said your partner could take care of her”
“I thought she could! How hard is it to sneak up and kill someone from behind?”
“Too hard apparently”
“WATCH OUT!”
The two boys’ bickering was cut short by eight shoving nine to the side and narrowly avoiding the spear that Athena had thrown.
“That was clos-”
Eight’s sigh of relief was cut short by a second spear landing in his throat.
Nine released a horrified scream at the gruesome vision. The canon hadn’t sounded yet as eight was barely clinging to life, choking out gargled breaths as blood spilled profusely down his neck and into the water below. Nine was so preoccupied by the sight that he didn’t even notice that Yoongi had surfaced from the water. With an agonized grunt, Yoongi pulled the blade of the machete out of his leg and swung it straight into the kid’s head.
Two canons sounded one after the other as the boys died simultaneously.
With the surge of adrenaline fading as quickly as it had appeared, Yoongi collapsed on the shore, vomiting up the water he had been forced to swallow whilst being held under. His injured leg was throbbing, he had a splitting headache and his chest felt like someone had been sitting on it. He was barely conscious when Athena caught up to him and dragged him further out of the water, to make sure he didn’t get caught in the stream and sent over the waterfall.
Pulling her button up shirt from her body (leaving just a tank top underneath), Athena set to work on creating a makeshift tourniquet by tying the sleeves tightly above the wound.
“You know, I could easily just kill you now,” Athena mused.
Yoongi’s response was a laugh in the form of a sharp huff. It was true, he was defenseless. The machete had been lodged into nine’s skull and taken away with his body. He now had no weapon and a major injury in his leg, whilst Athena was a skilled hand to hand combat fighter. She could also easily run back to the weapons at their camp before he could even struggle to his feet.
“So why don’t you?” he grunted, closing his eyes and letting his head fall onto the ground below.
Yoongi knew his shot at the games was practically over with such a severe injury. His bad feeling over Krystal was only made worse by the surprise attack from the three tributes. What if they had killed her when she went off to have a bathroom break earlier? She hadn’t been seen in hours and there were far too many canons that had sounded today. If Krystal was dead then there was no purpose for him to be here anymore, though he hoped to at least wait to see the tribute display in the evening and confirm Krystal was gone before entirely giving up.
“Hoseok and Namjoon,” Athena sighed in response.
Though his eyes were closed, Yoongi raised an eyebrow, indicating for her to elaborate.
“What do you think those two would think if they came back and saw you dead in camp and your sister missing too? They’d probably act like I did it and kill me on the spot for betraying the alliance.”
“That sucks,” Yoongi grumbled.
“Yeah, it does,” Athena laughed. Nothing about the situation was actually funny, but it was such a surreal experience it was all she could do.
“But you know what else sucks?” She continued, earning a questioning grunt from Yoongi.
“That this wouldn’t have even happened if Hoseok and Namjoon didn’t go off on their stupid search for YN. The weird obsession with her, it’s literally insane.”
“I don’t get it either,” Yoongi sighed.
“I’m sick of it. They left us here to die, maybe Krystal already has…”
Yoongi flinched.
“Sorry. But for what? A stupid crush they’re going to have to kill in the end anyway. I didn’t get my name pulled out of that bowl just so I could die as a side character in some weird love story.”
“So, what are you going to do about it? Jump them when they come back to camp?”
Athena scoffed at the suggestion.
“Tempting but I think we both know they’re stronger than I am. I might take down one of them with me but I couldn’t get both. And it’s not like you’d be much help there either.”
“I offer you my complete moral support” Yoongi deadpanned.
Athena barked out another laugh.
“I’ve got nothing,” she sighed. “Maybe we have that in common, and maybe we should at least watch each other’s backs.”
Yoongi opened his eyes and looked up to see Athena staring down at him.
The pain of potentially losing Krystal was still too raw for him to properly process, especially without any closure of knowing that it had really happened (though every instinct in his gut told him she was gone). But he had been so focused on his goal of protecting his sister he hadn’t given much thought to any of his other teammates.
Athena looked tough and intimidating, she scored high in trials and interviewed well. By all standards she was just another typical career, but the reality was she was also human. Yet another sacrifice to the capitol, just like his sister and just like himself. With Krystal, he had someone he loved with him, but Athena had no one. Her closest thing to a partner, in her district mate, had abandoned her for a prettier girl like a child distracted by a shinier new toy. If they were both doomed to die here, then the least he could do was make sure she wasn’t entirely alone.
“Yeah, I think we should”.
 *
 The sound of two back-to-back canons cut short whatever moment you were having with Hoseok. It was a slap across the face reminder that this was a game to kill until the last person standing, and the man standing across the rocks from you would ultimately have to try and kill you, no matter what sweet promises he made.
“YN wait, please!” you heard him beg as you broke eye contact, but you didn’t look back again as you turned and vanished into the forest.
“FUCK!” Hoseok screamed in frustration, launching a kick into the ten’s shoulder, the same one he had shot the arrow into. If he couldn’t have you now then he was going to make the little shit who ruined his plans pay.
Namjoon took a step back, and picked up the bag of supplies. He then walked over to a nearby rock and set the bag down in front of him, perfectly secured between his legs. Unzipping the top, he reached inside and dug out an apple, biting in as Hoseok ripped the arrow completely out of ten’s shoulder. Namjoon watched nonchalantly as Hoseok reloaded the arrow and shot it into ten’s other shoulder, the younger boy writhing in agony below.
The torture continued as Namjoon ate his snack. Hoseok would pull the arrow out of ten’s body by twisting it painfully, before reloading and shooting it again into another non-lethal area. His arms and legs were more like a bloody human pin cushion by the time Namjoon had finished a second apple and decided he was bored.
“We should get back to camp,” he declared, shouldering the bag.
Hoseok turned his attention to Namjoon with a raised brow.
“Those two canons earlier, and the one before that, we should check on Athena and Yoongi.”
Hoseok opened his mouth to argue before Namjoon cut him off.
“I don’t care about them either, however it would benefit us to know if they are still alive and who attacked them if they’re not. If there are other tributes working together, we need to take care of them before they go after YN next.”
Hoseok rolled his neck to stare up at the sky with an exhausted sigh. He knew Namjoon was right, and self-indulgent torture sessions weren’t going to get you back.
“Good,” Namjoon confirmed with a smile, before leaning down and snapping ten’s neck with his bare hands.
 Another canon.
 *
 It took slightly longer than an hour for Namjoon and Hoseok to climb the cliff and return to the campsite, where they were met with the sight of Athena wrapping a bandage around Yoongi’s thigh. The duo was informed the first aid kit was a gift from a sponsor and that the Yoongi and Athena were ambushed by three tributes, all now dead. When Yoongi asked if they had seen Krystal, Namjoon denied anything and asked if they heard any canons before they were attacked. Athena confirmed there had been, and Yoongi had broken down crying.
Hoseok left the other boy to grieve, knowing his sister was dead long before the nightly display confirmed it. Laying down in the tent, he longed to run into the forest and find you right at this second. However, he knew he needed to rest, and that tomorrow when he left camp, there was no way he would return without you. For now, he settled on mentally calculating how many people had to be left in the games. Krystal was gone leaving only himself, Namjoon, Athena and an injured Yoongi in the careers, and of course, there was still you. Eight tributes had died on opening day, two had died over the night, there were two earlier canons that morning, and with the short-lived alliance of three, the person you had killed, and the boy from ten, then that only left one other tribute who was still alive…
  *
 You sat high up in a tree, tied to a branch, as you heard the Panem music blast throughout the arena. Shivering under your blanket, you listened as the game maker praised the blood bath of the day, and commented that you were on track for the fastest games in history. When Krystal’s face appeared in the sky as the first tribute, you lost it. You bundled the top of the blanket into a ball and openly sobbed into the fabric, mourning the loss of the only person in the arena who you would have called a friend. You cried far longer than it took for the capitol to display all of the people who had died, and so you honestly had no idea who was left, or exactly how many people there even were now.
You knew Hoseok and Namjoon were still alive as only one more canon had sounded after you ran into the forest, and there was no doubt in your mind it was for the boy that had been shot with the arrow. You felt physically sick from crying; your sinuses were clogged and you had a nasty headache. You were also dizzy from not eating anything in hours and downright drained from how physically and emotionally taxing everything was. You had zero plan for survival in the arena, and no idea what you were going to do the next time Hoseok came close to finding you. In your exhausted state, you decided that would have to be a problem for tomorrow. Letting your head fall back against the trunk, you closed your eyes and quickly succumbed to your body’s need for rest.
Little did you know that someone very close by had been tracking you since earlier that afternoon, and was waiting for this exact moment.
  Note: Ten’s idea was to grab the bag and run, he didn’t stop to search what was inside, and obviously regretted the fact he didn’t check for a weapon when he had the chance
So close to 10K but I didn’t want to fill it with garbage for the sake of trying to boost the word count, so 9.5 it is.
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yandearest · 4 years
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May The Odds Be Ever in Your Favor (Hoseok x Reader Hunger Games AU) Chapter 6: What Happens When You Care
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Summary - Living in District 4 you never thought you would have to worry about being selected for the Hunger Games. With a training centre right near the dock of the houseboat you lived and fished from, your district was known for volunteers who trained their whole lives for a shot at glory and riches. But at age 18, your name is called and no girls volunteer to take your place. Your devastation is answered when Kim Namjoon volunteers for the males shortly after. Tall, muscular, highly intelligent and charming, the years of diligent preparation have bestowed Namjoon with the expectation of being the next District 4 champion after Finnick Odair last won 3 years ago.
Fishing for a living has granted you skills with a knife but, as your mentor Finnick is quick to describe, your beautiful face may well be your best asset.
Upon arrival in the Capitol you are quickly faced with the reality that Namjoon may not even be the biggest danger inside the Arena. Especially when you capture the obsessive attention of District 2′s own volunteer, and killing machine, Jung Hoseok. Hope soon fades from ‘survival’ to ‘the mercy of a painless death’ but Hoseok certainly has other plans.
Pairing - Hoseok x (fem)Reader
Genre - thriller, angst, yandere
Word Count 4.1K
Warning: This chapter is quite heavy with 3 deaths described in detail. There is also a (foiled) attempt at sexual assault.
PLEASE AVOID READING IF YOU CONSIDER THIS CONTENT UPSETTING
The following is a dark fic featuring a yandere character, violence, obsession, and coercion. By no means does writing about this in a fictional setting condone any of those behaviours, much like Stephen King writing horror doesn’t mean he approves of psychotic killers in reality. Please avoid reading if any of these warnings makes you uncomfortable.
Previous Chapter: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
Cross posted on A03 so people can subscribe for updates/notifications
Hoseok had been on edge ever since the careers had collectively agreed to move to the top of the waterfall. He had kept his eyes peeled on the journey upwards, hoping to catch a glimpse of you amongst the trees, but to no avail. When they had eventually reached the top, the group had quickly set up a camp along a part of land near the edge, using the tent, fire supplies, pot, rice, and multiple weapons they had carried with them. The tent was rather small, most likely designed to fit two people, but with the dropping temperature three was a comfortable fit.
After a dinner of boiled rice, the group of five agreed to take turns of three sleeping in the tent and two keeping watch outside. Hoseok took the first guard shift, far too anxious to sleep, with Yoongi taking the other. Hoseok didn’t mind Yoongi, he didn’t annoy him by talking and mostly just sat by the fire.
The top of the waterfall was cold, but Hoseok felt himself becoming increasingly concerned watching the fog crawling across the trees, as he paced around the edge of the cliff. It looked like a blanket was covering the entire arena, as far as he could see, with the top of the trees just barely being visible from where he was. He knew it was pointless, there was no way he would be able to see you tonight, and from the projected faces displayed earlier he knew you were still alive. But he couldn’t help but feel worried sick.
His unease only grew at the sound of the first canon in the night, causing him to stop in his tracks.
“She’ll be fine,” Yoongi’s gruff voice sounded from his place by the fire.
Hoseok grunted in return. He could easily snap, asking how Yoongi would like it if it were Krystal out there instead, but that wouldn’t do anything to help.
He was concerned to the point it was like his stomach was in knots, but at the same time he felt like he just knew that canon wasn’t for you.
The rest of the night passed slowly. Hoseok declined to swap during the first rotation of the guards/sleepers, still feeling too high strung. But by the time the next swap was scheduled he knew he had to sleep in order to be alert and have the best chance of finding you the next day.
There were lingering doubts in his mind about whether his alliance could betray him and kill him in his sleep, but that was a fear everyone had to face when working with others in the game. Yoongi was asleep on the other side of the tent and Athena was next to him, he doubted either of them would try to make a move first. So, with his thoughts entirely on you, he eventually fell asleep.
 ***
 To say that you didn’t sleep well throughout the night would be an understatement. Rather than “sleep” you would describe it as momentary pauses where you passed out from sheer exhaustion. You had spent the last eight (or so) hours either waking up between canons (three in total) or from your own nightmares. Whether the tributes who had died were a result of the freezing temperatures or from a more vicious end, you had no idea. As creepy as you found the concept of a fanclub, you couldn’t help but be extremely grateful for their gift of a blanket. Without it you had no idea if you would have managed to survive the night. And if you had managed then you were sure you would have been in a much worse state.
You were woken up by your body temperature, feeling much too smothered and hot beneath the blanket. Pushing it off your body (but being careful not to lose it over the side of the branch), you noticed that the fog from last night had been quickly burnt off by the morning sun, poking through the trees. You quickly realized how thirsty you were, and took a swig from the bottle of water in your bag, making a mental note to find a water source to refill it as soon as possible. You folded your blanket tightly and stuffed it into the bottom of your bag, followed by the water bottle and lastly the rope from the tree as you untied yourself. You kept your new knife inside the front pocket of your pants.
Looking down to try and map your descent, you felt dizzy seeing just how high up you were, and you certainly were not excited about having to climb another tree all over again (assuming you even made it to the end of the day). With a shaky sigh, you clasped onto the trunk tightly and slowly began to lower your weight until you felt your feet touching the branch below. Cautiously you climbed down, gradually becoming more confident with each branch that you passed, as the distance to the ground below lessened.
You were half way through leaning your legs down to the next branch, when you heard the sound of snapping twigs and footsteps. In a panic, you quickly scrambled to swing your legs back up and tried and hide. Lying flat with your legs, stomach and chest, pressing onto the bark, you felt your heartbeat pounding in your ears as the footsteps increased, meaning there was more than one person coming your way. As the sounds kept getting louder, you pressed your eyes shut, begging that whoever it was wouldn’t be looking upwards.
“Stop! Please!” a loud shriek sent a shiver down your spine at the sheer panic in the girl’s voice.
Very cautiously, you peered over the side of the branch to see a petite girl wildly running through the bushes, whilst a larger boy chased her. He was much stronger and faster, narrowing the distance between them with every step, as the poor girl pleaded with him in shrill gasps to stop. Neither of the pair were looking upwards in your direction – the girl too busy trying to escape and the boy’s eyes were focused squarely on his target. It was as the girl was directly under your branch that the boy made his move, tackling her brutally to the ground, and slamming them both into the trunk of the tree. You gripped onto the branch to stabilize yourself, but being only a few meters above the ground, you weren’t in a life-threatening position if you fell. Instead you felt sickened at the sight below of the boy rolling on top of the girl, his larger body obscuring her entirely from your view.
You immediately thought of the boy from 7 yesterday tackling you into the river. You had been lucky enough to have had a weapon to defend yourself with, but you doubted the girl below you had anything as you couldn’t see any movement coming from her. Maybe she was being strangled, maybe the boy was bashing her head into the ground below. All you knew is you couldn’t just lay there and watch her be assaulted.
Grabbing the knife from your pocket, you unsheathed the cover and grasped the handle. With only a few meters to fall, you pushed off from the branch and landed directly onto the boy’s back. Your weight pushed him to the side and off of the girl, before he could even turn to see who had attacked him, your blade was sinking into the side of his neck.
Not making the same mistake as yesterday, you ripped it out in order to keep your weapon. You watched in horror as the boy took strangled gasps, choking on his own blood as it gushed from the neck wound and soaked his clothes, along with the ground that he fell forward onto. Feeling the red sticky substance on your skin you frantically began wiping your hands on the bark of the tree, picking up leaves from the ground and trying to get it off of you.
It was as you were grabbing for more leaves that you realized you hadn’t heard a single thing from the girl that the boy had been attacking. You didn’t want to see, but you felt a sickening compulsion to look. Turning towards her body on the ground you saw her lying flat on her back, eyes staring wide at the sky above. Her neck was bent at a grotesque angle, leaving her quite obviously paralyzed, however you could very faintly still see her mouth twitching, indicating that she was barely still alive. But what made you feel significantly better about the lingering blood on your hands and knife, was the buttons from her shirt being torn open, exposing her bra-covered chest beneath. You didn’t want to think of what would have continued to happen if you didn’t intervene.
Ignoring the last choke of the boy along with the sound of his corresponding canon, you hesitantly approached the girl. Dropping your knife at your feet, you held up your hands to show her you meant no harm. Her eyes were glazed over and her breath was now nearly nonexistent. You doubted she even knew you were there. Feeling tears stinging in the back of your eyes, you dropped to your knees beside her and pulled her shirt back over her chest. What buttons were still left, you looped back into their holes, trying to restore her dignity in her final moments. You stayed by her side, and it didn’t take long, until her canon sounded too.
 ***
 “That’s it, I’m fucking going, now”
With every canon that sounded, Hoseok had only become more unsettled. But it was the two sounding near back-to-back that finally sent him over the edge. Typically, in the games the opening blood bath is the major loss and things simmer down over the next few days, but there had now been five deaths since you were separated. The fog had definitely been related to some, but for the number to be that high, other tributes had to be killing too – the Capitol wouldn’t want to wipe out so many themselves, it was still too soon.
“Wait, just hold on a second,” Athena snapped “You don’t even know where you’re going to start.”
“Well it’s better than me sitting on my ass up here,” Hoseok snapped back.
“No, actually, it isn’t. You want to go run off into the jungle and get yourself killed? You don’t even know if she’s still alive and you want to leave the rest of us one man down to chase after some idiot who ran away?”
Hoseok’s anger was palpable and it was surprisingly Krystal who leapt up from her seat on the ground, to try and ease the tension. Quickly she stood in front of Hoseok before he could go after Athena, raising her hands to try and calm him down.
“I get it. She was attacked, she didn’t run away. If I was in her position, I’d want someone to look for me too.”
Hoseok nodded curtly. He was infuriated by Athena and also at Krystal from stopping him before he could’ve knocked the teeth out of her mouth. But Athena wasn’t his priority, you were.
“Don’t even think about it,” Yoongi growled in Krystal’s direction.
“What? It’s true, what if it were me? Wouldn’t you be trying to find me?” Krystal turned away from Hoseok to reply to her brother.
“I never said he can’t go,” Yoongi nodded towards Hoseok, who was now grabbing an empty bag and shoving a few supplies inside, preparing to leave. “But you’re staying here.”
“Excuse me?”
“I didn’t volunteer, just to watch you risk your life for someone else. She could have come back to us after she fought off seven. She made her choice when she ran into the forest instead.”
“But-”
“I’m not asking you to come with me,” Hoseok cut Krystal off before Yoongi could.
“YN’s in my alliance too,” Krystal frowned.
“I don’t care,” Hoseok bluntly stated, swinging the bag over his shoulder and following it with a quiver of arrows.
“So what? You’re just going to run off through the trees alone, and hope you magically find her, without you or her getting killed by the other tributes?” Athena asked, her sarcastic question laced with a biting tone.
“He’s not going alone.”
The group turned towards Namjoon stepping out of the tent, with his own bag across his shoulder. He had been the last to switch from guard duty to the tent last night, and everyone had just assumed he was still asleep.
“Well that’s great. Did I miss the memo for this alliance where half of us are whipped for some girl we’re eventually going to have to kill anyway?” Athena threw her hands up in exasperation, before angrily taking a seat on the ground next to Yoongi (the only person left with half a brain if you asked her).
Namjoon rolled his eyes at Athena’s outburst, instead taking his pick from the weapons pile. The sword would be too big to carry whilst trying to remain hidden, so he opted for a smaller dagger.
“YN is my district partner and someone I’ve known for years. If your mentor taught you anything you should have known to watch our interviews, and you would have seen I had my own feelings for her long before these games,” Namjoon dismissed.
Athena scoffed and shook her head as Hoseok narrowed his eyes.
“But this isn’t just about her either. The cornucopia is still loaded with supplies, because no one can camp there. We can take empty bags with us and bring back more food items, along with any remaining weapons. Whatever we take means less for the other tributes, and more for us.”
Hoseok pretty much had the same idea, his own bag was only packed with a water bottle, knife, a few protein bars, and a lighter, leaving plenty of room for more supplies.
“Good, it’s settled then.” Yoongi spoke up, eager to see the two leave before his sister could try and force her way in to join them. “You two go get the supplies and try to find YN whilst the rest of us stay here and look after the camp. I’m going to try and use a spear for fishing, but you’re not getting shit unless you bring food back too”.
“Fair enough,” Namjoon agreed. Hoseok nodded once in acknowledgement.
“Let’s go.”
 ***
 Krystal cared too much, at least that’s what her brother had always told her growing up. They had been born into as wealthy a family as one could possibly be from within the districts. Their father worked for the Capitol as a peace keeper, and insisted they begin training as soon as possible, in the event their names were ever called for the games. But despite an authoritarian regime supporting father, and daily lessons on how to kill other children since the age that she could read, Krystal somehow still found herself caring about other people.
Growing up she questioned things – like why other people had to starve on the streets whilst she always had food to eat – that always lead to her father angrily yelling that it’s “just the way things are!”. Her father’s reaction had been enough to stop her from asking him again, but it hadn’t been enough to stop her from trying to help. She would sneak extra bread rolls out of the cupboard and into her lunchbox, so she could share with other children in her school that didn’t have any food to bring. The harsh world around her couldn’t beat the kindness out of her, it just caused her to hide it better.
Krystal’s gentle nature was exactly why Yoongi had volunteered when her name was drawn – to her dismay. Yoongi had similar thoughts on how awful the world was, but he lacked the optimism to see it as a place worth saving. He didn’t even see it as a place worth living in for himself. His sister was special, she could actually have a life worth living if she returned. Yoongi reasoned his life could have some purpose if it was used to keep someone like Krystal alive for longer. He had told her as much on their train ride into the Capitol.
They didn’t have a ‘plan’ besides aim for a career pack alliance, let Yoongi do all the killing, and find a way to make sure Krystal would be the one to leave at the end. But what little plan they did have was disrupted through the inclusion of you.
Because Krystal cared too much, she saw how terrified you were of another member from your alliance. So, she took you under her wing and tried to protect you from Hoseok as much as she could. Yoongi didn’t like it (“she’s going to have to die anyway, may as well let him be the one to kill her”), but she could tell that there was something more sinister to Hoseok’s actions than what appeared on the surface. She reasoned that if you did have to die in the arena, it shouldn’t be from an obsessed stalker.
Because Krystal cared too much, she imagined herself in your position being attacked from behind at the cornucopia and having to fight for your life. Seeing Hoseok’s violent torture with her own eyes, she couldn’t blame you for running into the forest – especially knowing how fixated he was on you.
Because Krystal cared too much, she waited until her brother was distracted with his spear fishing attempts – yelling out to him that she was going to use the ‘bathroom’ and would bring back some firewood – to sneak off into the forest, following the tracks that Namjoon and Hoseok had left.
Given she had to sneak off, Krystal didn’t have the luxury of packing a bag or making any real plan. All she had was the pocket knife that she had been able to slip inside her pocket. Her basic idea was just to use her tracking experience (from childhood training) to find Hoseok and Namjoon. From there she was mentally tossing up the options of; joining them as a group to look for you, following from behind and just watching to make sure that you were okay if they found you, or looking for any traces of you that appeared along the way to then split and try to find you first.
Taking off in the direction that Hoseok and Namjoon had left in, Krystal began the descent back down the steep land, towards the bottom of the waterfall. The trip upwards yesterday had been far worse, given the careers were all having to climb with supplies loaded on their backs. Going down was far easier, but came with its own challenge of being careful not to slip and be sent tumbling. Krystal was also facing a different issue of needing to be as quiet as possible. For now, she didn’t want Hoseok or Namjoon to know that she was tracking them, and she also didn’t want to risk being attacked on her own by any other tributes.
The fog from last night had left a dewy moisture on the land, which made for optimal tracking conditions. Once Krystal came across two sets of footprints in the muddy dirt, all she had to do was follow the path that had already been walked. Because she had to wait for Yoongi to go fishing before she could leave, Namjoon and Hoseok already had a solid twenty-minute head start. Judging from the length between each step, they were also moving rather quickly.
The descent into more even land took around thirty minutes. Judging from the lack of deviation in footprints or sounds of a canon, Namjoon and Hoseok hadn’t run into anyone yet. True to their words from earlier, the duo’s footsteps seemed to be heading in the direction of the cornucopia. The arena was large and based on her memories from yesterday the cornucopia was still another twenty minutes, or so, away. Whilst she was no longer on the side of a cliff, the part of the forest Krystal was in now, remained on a hill. Only now there weren’t gaps between the trees where she could see how much further downwards there was to go. Instead the treetops were all above her, making it difficult to navigate her direction given she couldn’t properly see the sun. At least she still had the foot prints to track.
Krystal really wished she had been able to pack a water bottle. The temperature had rapidly increased as the morning went on and the atmosphere in the forest was extremely humid, causing her to sweat from the physical work. Wiping the sweat off her forehead, Krystal let out an exhausted sigh as she continued to follow in the footsteps before her. She tried to place her foot inside the prints that were already there to avoid being tracked by anyone else, and also try to reduce any noise her steps would make.
Another fifteen minutes later and Krystal began to find herself getting frustrated. She should be close to the cornucopia by now, except there wasn’t any sight of water nearby and she couldn’t hear the sounds of the river either. This was making no sense, had Namjoon and Hoseok gotten lost? But Namjoon had been the one to guide them to the top yesterday and he had a clear sense of direction then. Maybe they had been side tracked? But by what? There were still no signs of any altercations. It was probable that one of them had seen you (or something of yours) and that was why they were still moving inland. But she found it strange that she hadn’t seen any signs of starting to catch up with them. She was expecting to have spotted them, or to be able to hear them by now, given it had been nearly an hour, but so far there was nothing. Just the same footsteps.
Krystal continued further on before a weight suddenly knocked into her side, causing her to stumble into the closest tree. Before she could even think to reach for her pocket knife, her body was spun around and her back slammed against the trunk. The force of the shove sent her neck swinging backwards, causing her head to painfully knock into the wood, leaving her momentarily stunned. A large palm covered her mouth to stop her from screaming, as a muscular forearm pinned her body in place, just below her shoulders, preventing her from being able to reach for her knife or try land a punch.
“Looks like we’ve got ourselves a little follower.”
The panic Krystal felt eased slightly upon realizing Namjoon was the one to have caught her. She let out a sigh through her nose, preparing to tell him off for excessively throwing her against a tree, except Namjoon wasn’t releasing his grip over her mouth that would allow her to do so.
“Now what are you doing so far away from camp? Especially after your brother told you not to leave… unless he doesn’t know that you’re here.”
Hoseok’s familiar voice drawled as he stepped out from behind the trunk of another tree close by. There was something foreboding about his tone that she immediately didn’t like.
Flickering her eyes between the two, Krystal began to pick up on details of her surroundings she had otherwise been missing from focusing too much on the footprints. Certain trees with odd shaped branches looked strangely familiar, and finally the penny dropped that she had been walking in circles.
Krystal quickly realized that what little relief she had felt at being caught by her alliance members was very much misplaced. Her eyes widened in fear and she began to thrash against the bark, as Hoseok stepped closer whilst withdrawing a knife from his back pocket. But it was too late, with Namjoon’s elbow over her shoulders and his palm covering her mouth, there was no way for her to even scream before she felt the blade being plunged between her ribcage, straight into her heart.
Because Krystal cared too much, she was dead before her body could hit the ground.
 ***
 Character kills:
Day 1 – 8
Boy D3 (Unknown attacker, knife)
Boy D7 (Hoseok, knife – O.B.)
Boy D11 (Opening Bloodbath)
Boy D12 (Hoseok, arrow - O.B.)
Girl D3 (Namjoon, sword - O.B.)
Girl D9 (Hoseok, arrow - O.B.)
Girl D10 (Hoseok, arrow - O.B.)
Girl D12 (Opening Bloodbath)
Day 2 (so far) - 5
Boy D5 (Overnight conditions)
Boy D6 (YN, knife)
Krystal D1 (Hoseok/Namjoon, knife)
Girl D5 (Boy D6, broken neck)
Girl D11 (Overnight conditions)
Initially this chapter was planned to be combined with the next one, however, after hitting 4000 words and thinking about how much I want to include in the next part - I decided to split it.
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yandearest · 4 years
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May The Odds Be Ever in Your Favor (Hoseok x Reader Hunger Games AU) Chapter 5: Let The Games Begin
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Summary - Living in District 4 you never thought you would have to worry about being selected for the Hunger Games. With a training centre right near the dock of the houseboat you lived and fished from, your district was known for volunteers who trained their whole lives for a shot at glory and riches. But at age 18, your name is called and no girls volunteer to take your place. Your devastation is answered when Kim Namjoon volunteers for the males shortly after. Tall, muscular, highly intelligent and charming, the years of diligent preparation have bestowed Namjoon with the expectation of being the next District 4 champion after Finnick Odair last won 3 years ago.
Fishing for a living has granted you skills with a knife but, as your mentor Finnick is quick to describe, your beautiful face may well be your best asset.
Upon arrival in the Capitol you are quickly faced with the reality that Namjoon may not even be the biggest danger inside the Arena. Especially when you capture the obsessive attention of District 2′s own volunteer, and killing machine, Jung Hoseok. Hope soon fades from ‘survival’ to ‘the mercy of a painless death’ but Hoseok certainly has other plans.
Pairing - Hoseok x (fem)Reader
Genre - thriller, angst, yandere
Word Count 6.2K
Warnings - From this chapter onward the characters are in a Hunger Games setting which will involve Graphic Depictions of Violence and Death, Major and minor character deaths (to state the obvious the most important deaths will be in the final chapter), there is also a planned dubcon scene - which will be marked for those who do not wish to read
Fight scenes will involve: knives, swords, bow and arrows, drowning, torture, and possibly others in the future.
PLEASE AVOID READING IF YOU CONSIDER THIS CONTENT UPSETTING
The following is a dark fic featuring a yandere character, violence, obsession, and coercion. By no means does writing about this in a fictional setting condone any of those behaviours, much like Stephen King writing horror doesn’t mean he approves of psychotic killers in reality. Please avoid reading if any of these warnings makes you uncomfortable.
Previous Chapter: 1, 2, 3, 4
Cross posted on A03 so people can subscribe for updates/notifications
From the second your name had been drawn at the reaping, everything since then had led to this moment. Standing in a sterile white tiled room where the only object inside was a tube that would send you into the arena. Of course, from the moment you entered, you had considered trying to fight your way out, but there were armed guards stationed by the doors. Not to mention the underground location would be impossible to escape from, with multiple doors requiring security passes to open. Earlier you had “jokingly” asked Finnick what the guards would do if a tribute tried to run. He had been upfront about the fact the guards were instructed to apprehend, but not kill, anyone that tried. Finnick told you about some stories he heard of kids that tried to escape before the games in the past, none had succeeded. All of them had been recaptured, injured severely in a way that could be covered (such as a shattered kneecap hidden under baggy pants), and then forced into the arena to die in the opening bloodbath. So, when the announcement came for all tributes to step inside their tubes, you reluctantly acquiesced without complaint.
The tube was horribly claustrophobic. It was soundproof so the only thing you could hear was the sound of your heartbeat in your ears and your heavy breathing echoing off the enclosed glass. For a moment you pressed your hand to the glass, one of the identical triplet stylists watching you from the outside much like a fish in a bowl, before the platform beneath your feet suddenly began to rise. You shrieked, adrenaline starting to rush through your veins, and you dropped to a crouch to try and keep your balance.
“Whatever you do, do NOT step off the platform before the countdown finishes,” Finnick had warned yourself and Namjoon during the train ride to the Capitol, his hands making a corresponding gesture of an explosion, complete with his own ‘pow’ sound affect.
You were terrified of over balancing on the moving platform and falling off to your death. You were also terrified of the opening bloodbath about to commence, the prospect of having to potentially kill someone, and the thought of Hoseok waiting for you in the arena. The more you began to think, as the platform kept rising, the more you wondered if stepping off to an immediate death might actually be the better option.
The roof of your tube opened and the light of the simulated sun was as blinding as staring into the real thing. You winced and lowered your head, taking in your first sights of the arena upon surfacing. You had submerged from the ground onto a platform surrounded by large wet rocks. The most eye-catching feature was a giant waterfall about a hundred yards ahead of you. The fall was awe inspiring, easily over fifty meters tall and crashing down into a pool below. The pool was surrounded by rocks, upon which yourself and the other tributes were standing, all equally distanced from the cornucopia at the edge. The rocks were sloped, water from the fall continuing to flow beyond the pool and downwards. There were gaps between the rocks were multiple rivers flowed rapidly downstream. Should a tribute slip and fall it could easily send them to their death before anyone could even start fighting.
You quickly turned your head to see who was beside you, noticing that tributes were not scattered by district order. To your left were only three, before a forest appeared at the edge of the rocks. There was an unfamiliar girl closest to you, Yoongi, and then a young boy you recognized as being from District 11. You didn’t remember his name but he was memorable enough due to his small size and being the youngest tribute. You turned to see who was at your right before a loud noise and sudden ringing in your left ear snapped your head straight back to the left.
Where a small trembling boy had been shaking just seconds ago, was now a sickening display of dismembered limbs, ruptured organs, and blood now mixing into the water. You didn’t know if he had slipped, or done it on purpose, but the boy had fallen off the platform. The vision itself was awful, but what truly made the scene sickening was the scent of burned flesh lingering from the explosion, causing you to gag.
“Tributes are instructed to remain on their platforms until the end of the countdown. Welcome to the 68th Annual Hunger Games. May the odds be ever in your favor”
A robotic voice sounded from overhead – loud enough to be heard over the multiple screams of horror – as a lit 10 appeared on the sky above. Whatever consideration you had given to the thought of blowing yourself up had vanished upon seeing the grotesque reality.
9
You turned back to the right, partially to see who was close to you, but mostly to avoid the sight of 11’s scattered corpse, struggling not to vomit.
8
The boy from 12 was closest to you, his face pale with fright and tears freely falling from his wide shell-shocked eyes, as he outright sobbed.
7
You couldn’t blame him for crying, if anything you were surprised at the fact you hadn’t started doing so yourself. You could hear some of the other tributes were still screaming in fear and you felt a crippling weight in your stomach knowing that nearly all of them would soon be dead too.
6
On the other side of 12 you saw Hoseok, who was eerily calm amidst all of the panic. He stood tall; dressed in a form fitting shirt, cargo pants that cinched his narrow waist, and a pair of black boots. With his hair parted and swept to the side, displaying all the sharp angles of his facial features, he looked like he could have been a model from one of those Capitol billboards you had seen. But the reality was he was a trained killer, obsessed with you, and after the remaining 5 seconds your life was about to be in his hands.
You wondered if the Capitol had a hand in him being placed so close to you right from the beginning. If you really were Snow’s favorite, like Finnick believed, were they entrusting Hoseok to live up to his declarations from the interviews last night?
4
Upon noticing that you were looking in his direction, Hoseok locked in your eye contact. His rich dark brown irises held a magnanimous pull that kept your attention glued to him, instead of looking to see who else was further beyond him or examining the rest of the arena.
3
He tilted his head towards the direction of the cornucopia with an imploring raise of his brow, a clear indication of his intention to follow the career pack’s plan. You shakily nodded your confirmation in return.
2
‘I’ve got you,’ he mouthed slowly, pointing to himself and then to you with his words. Again, you just nodded in reply, not knowing what else to do.
1
The last second was felt like the longest moment of your life, caught in between the security of your raised platform and the imminent danger of your life being up for slaughter. How was it that your group’s plan was to run straight to the center of the chaos? Your survival depended on the promises of people you barely knew, who would eventually have to kill each other anyway. Your only other option would be the forest on the sidelines, with no survival skills, and a target on your head for being separated from the career pack.
A thunderous boom of a canon sounded in the sky to signal the commencement of the games and you took off immediately. Your environment in District 4, living by the sea, gave you an advantage in being able to navigate the slippery surface of the wet rocks. The combat boots the Capitol had provided you with fit your foot perfectly, were lightweight enough to easily move in, and had a solid grip on the sole.
The race to the center was over a surface of uneven rocks that had gaps in between, where rivers of water rushed through – some of which were multiple feet wide and far too big to jump over. You didn’t dare look to the sides, or behind you, to see what anybody else was doing. Your only focus was the cornucopia that came closer with every step. Items were scattered around, with their usefulness depending on the proximity to the cornucopia in the center. You were beginning to pass things like bundles of fruit or a small sack of nuts on the ground, but didn’t stop to consider them for a moment. If your alliance could secure the cornucopia then you would always be able to return for foodstuffs later, and if some other tributes snatched a few things before that then so be it.
This year the cornucopia took the shape of a large rock formation, some weapons were stashed along the bottom, with the more advanced tools up higher, which would require the tributes to have to climb for them. Your lungs were burning, and the rocky surface was now starting to become a lot more uneven, but you forced yourself to concentrate on your destination, which was so close you could almost touch it. You spotted a backpack on the ground; in front of a rock you would have to climb over. You quickly swiped it up and slung one strap over your shoulder, continuing to move forward as you did. You awkwardly shoved your arm through the other strap as you came to a stop in front of a bigger rock. It wasn’t too large, just above your hips, but wasn’t something you would be able to just leap over like some of the others.
You placed your palms on the top of the surface and prepared to lift you weight over, when suddenly you were hit by a colliding weight in your back. You released a sharp cry, a combination of the surprise along with the sharp bruising pain from your hips being slammed into the rock. You didn’t know what had hit you, but it had caused your eyes to catch the glimmer of a knife’s edge that was hidden in a crack. You hurriedly snatched it by the handle, and turned around to face a terrified District 12.
The poor boy was ass down on the wet ground and staring up at you with pure fear in his eyes. You deduced that he had slipped into you by accident on his race to try and reach the weapons before the careers. He was essentially defenseless whilst you now held a knife, the weapon of your expertise, in your grasp. It would be so easy for you to just toss the blade straight between his eyes. After all he had been trying to get to the same weapons in an attempt to kill you. It would just be self-defense wouldn’t it? So why couldn’t you bring yourself to throw it? You knew you were wasting precious seconds, that every moment you stood there with the knife in your grasp, back to the rock and cornucopia behind it, you were essentially making yourself more vulnerable to other attacks. But you just couldn’t bring yourself to end the life of a terrified child. He couldn’t have been any older than fourteen, the pants and jacket the Capitol had dressed him in hung loosely on his underdeveloped frame.
There was something unfair about being eighteen and an adult, but still having to compete in a game with other children. How could you kill a kid? But really you were still just a kid too? Why did you have to die? Why did anyone here?
Your moral crisis was interrupted by a hissing whizzzz beside your left ear and the sight of an arrow embedding itself straight into the eye of 12. He was dead before his body could fully hit the ground.
“YN!” a sharp voice barked from behind you, and you turned to see Hoseok standing on one of the higher points of the cornucopia with a bow in his grip and a quiver full of arrows over his shoulder.
“JUST STAY THERE!” He yelled, before turning to his side and launching an arrow point blank into the forehead of a girl that had started to try and climb for a sword.
You flinched at his second cold blooded kill in less than a minute; clearly, he was not facing the same internal struggle that you were. By now the other tributes (who hadn’t run in the opposite direction at the start) had realized the highest ranked prospect had landed himself a long-range weapon and were starting to scatter in fright, scrambling to pick up any items they could as they made a mad dash over the rocks for the forest. Hoseok showed anyone within his range no mercy, launching another arrow into the back of a young girl, before narrowly missing another target that had been smart enough to zig zag.
You spotted that Krystal, Athena, and Yoongi had found each other and were working at the base to start gathering things they thought they would need, each holding a weapon as they did so, and constantly looking over their shoulders. You also saw that Namjoon had scaled the side of the cornucopia for the sword Hoseok’s victim had tried for. He was now jumping back down with his sight set on a girl at the cornucopia’s edge trying to carry a flint, bat, and a bag of fruit. You quickly looked down – not wanting to witness the slaughter – but you could still hear her petrified scream and the sound of the blade sinking into her flesh.
“YN LOOK OUT!”
You made the mistake of turning towards Krystal’s voice – shouting in warning – instead of the direction of the male tribute from 7 as he tackled you from behind. Unlike the younger kid from 12, 7 was older, larger and his collision into your body was no accident. Though you had been caught off guard you still managed to maintain your grip on your knife as he wrestled you both off of the rocky surface and into the raging rivers below. You sucked in a deep breath before being pulled underwater. The fact 7 had opted for the water strongly indicated that he didn’t have a weapon himself, and didn’t seem to think you had one either. He had dragged you under by a grip around your neck, but he was struggling to hold it, whilst also trying to swim. The water was deeper than your height, something he probably wasn’t expecting, as the currents pushed both of your bodies downstream. His hold was painful and being held underwater was causing your survival instincts to go into overdrive. There was no sense of hesitation when you started jabbing your knife backwards, trying to get him to break his grip.
You could barely hear his gargled grunts above the rushing water besides yours ears, but when one jab landed so deeply that the knife didn’t come back out, he finally broke his hold with a scream. Twisting in the water, you kicked wildly to separate you further, launching your foot off his gut and propelling your body back to the surface.
You gasped for air, coughing out some of the water that had gone up your nose, as you allowed the water to carry you further down the river. Behind you, you could hear 7’s shouting – a combination of pain from the stab wound and frustration at his failed kill. Moving with the current, you swam with the river, kicking your legs behind your body and moving your arms in a freestyle to put even more distance between the two of you. Ahead, the river began to slow in pace, with a rock at the side sticking out that would allow you to grab on to. You adjusted your stroke and managed to catch it pretty easily, pulling your body out of the water.
For a moment you laid on your side, just trying to get your breath back and spitting out any water you had accidentally swallowed. You were grateful – from what you could taste – that the water seemed to be fresh, rather than salt, giving you a drinking source. Not wanting to risk being so exposed in the open for much longer, you pulled yourself up onto all fours. You looked around to see just how far you had fallen and realized you were now further away from the cornucopia than when the games had started. You could still see it, along with Hoseok and Krystal who had been trying to run along the rocks to help – but the currents had been much faster. They were both around a hundred yards away, looking quite small in your eye, until you spotted a third figure. At first you thought it could have been one of the other careers, before realizing that it was Hoseok pulling the boy from 7 out of the river. He must’ve caught onto a rock earlier than you had. Krystal saw you and waved to ask if you were ok – but your eyes were glued to Hoseok as he lugged 7’s body completely from the water as the latter struggled. You could see multiple stab wounds that you had inflicted across 7’s legs and torso, most of them looked like superficial cuts except for the knife that was sticking out of his thigh.
Wondering why you weren’t responding; Krystal turned her attention to your eyeline to watch as Hoseok grabbed a hold of the knife’s handle and twisted the blade in further – causing 7 to let out an agonized scream. You felt your bones chill at the sound, you had been trying to hurt him out of self-preservation but Hoseok was doing this for his own enjoyment. Like a car crash in slow motion you couldn’t look away as Hoseok ripped the blade out by dragging it all the way down to 7s knee, as 7 begged him to stop in strangled screams. But he didn’t listen, instead Hoseok’s long fingers – the same fingers that had held your face in his hands whilst professing his feelings for you – wrapped around his wounded leg to squeeze painfully, earning another pained scream.
The sight was making you sick and you couldn’t take it, hunching forwards you vomited up what little was in your stomach. Krystal, who had previously resumed climbing in your direction had also stopped – feeling paralyzed by the sound. It was like the entire arena had fallen into a stunned silence, as the sound of 7’s screams carried over the rapids and into the trees. Athena, Yoongi and Namjoon had stopped what they were doing on the cornucopia and even the other tributes in the forest momentarily paused at the sound of the noise. Everyone had known to expect death and violence, but this was going beyond into the realm of torture.
“You thought you could take her away from me?” Hoseok seethed, releasing his grip to stand back up to his full height.
7 writhed on the ground, his face scrunched in pain, and it was all he could do to beg.
“I’m sorry,” he sputtered, coughing up blood from the stab wounds in his torso you had inflicted earlier.
7 knew there was no way he could survive anymore. Even if by some miracle someone else could take out 2, there was no way he would be able to find shelter or food. His fate had been sealed.
“Sorry?” Hoseok spat, turning the knife in his hand.
“No, you’re not sorry now. But you will be”
From your position, you couldn’t hear their conversation, but you didn’t need to. You scrambled to your feet and dashed over the last few rocks towards the forest edge, trying to focus on the sound of your feet sloshing against the water of the river bank to drown out 7’s next round of screams.
***
It was customary to wait until the opening bloodbath had finished before sounding the canons that represented the loss of a tribute’s life. After Hoseok finally finished exacting his vengeance on 7, the game makers decided the opening round was over, firing seven canons into the air – the faces and districts of the lost tributes would be revealed later in the evening. Ripping the blade out of 7’s corpse Hoseok turned around, looking for Krystal who had been responsible for tracking you as he took care of 7. He was livid to see her back at the cornucopia without you. He wiped the blood off the knife with his shirt, before slipping it through a belt loop of his pants.
“Where is she?”
Hoseok demanded to know as soon as he rejoined the others, who were standing together at the base of the cornucopia, surrounding a pile of the best supplies they had gathered.
His eyes were narrowed in Krystal’s direction given she was supposedly the one meant to find you. She flinched, after having just witnessed his assault on 7 she wasn’t exactly keen to tell him something he wouldn’t want to hear. Sensing his sister’s discomfort, Yoongi protectively stepped partially in front of her, brandishing the axe he had claimed as his weapon.
“She’s ok,” Krystal began, and Hoseok’s pinched frown eased slightly, although he still looked angry.
“I saw her pull herself up onto a rock near the shore, further down from where you were.”
“So why didn’t you go and get her?”
“Because she saw you. YN saw what you were doing to 7 and she was terrified. She ran into the forest before I could reach her.”
Hoseok exhaled sharply, as he ran his fingers through his hair. He was pissed at Krystal for just letting her go, but he couldn’t take it out on her in front of the alliance. He was also pissed at you for running away. He had done everything that he had to 7 for you, why didn’t you see that? You should be grateful he was inflicting revenge against anyone that dared to hurt you, not hiding from him.
“I have an idea,” Namjoon spoke up, his body weight casually leaning against his sword.
“A lot of fucking help you were. Aren’t you supposed to be in love with her?” Hoseok snapped in his direction.
“You and Krystal were both closer to her than I was when she fell, there was nothing I could have done. You’re the one that let her get away because you chose to torture that boy instead of going after her,” Namjoon coolly replied.
“Anyway, your plan is?” Athena butted in, growing really tired of the arguing about you. As far as she was concerned it was your choice to run off, she didn’t come here to play babysitter.
“We take the best supplies and set up camp on top of the waterfall. We can’t camp here because it’s too wet, there’s nowhere to sleep or make a fire on this rock. We’d also be way too exposed out here in the open. If we get to the top of the cliff, we can find solid ground and also have a vantage point of watching the rest of the arena below us. Those of us with a long-range weapon,” he paused to look at Hoseok, “can keep an eye on the cornucopia from above and shoot down anyone who tries to come back here for the other supplies.”
“What about YN?”
Hoseok was surprised Krystal asked the question before he could.
Meanwhile Athena rolled her eyes at the side. ‘YN, YN, YN, YN this, YN that, Where’s YN? Why was half the alliance so preoccupied by one member? She's not even that special anyway’ But she kept her thoughts to herself, especially after having just witnessed Hoseok’s attack.
“It’s too dangerous to try and follow her into the forest right now. We don’t know which direction she ran and there’s the risk of coming across other tributes instead. I don’t want to just leave her either, but I think we might have a chance of spotting her from up there using a higher vantage point.”
“It’s getting close to the middle of the afternoon,” Yoongi spoke up for the first time. “Any time spent looking for YN is less time spent setting up a camp, and we don’t know what’s going to happen later at night.”
“What if it was me that was missing? Wouldn’t you try to find me?” Krystal frowned at her brother.
“You’re my sister, that’s different. And she’s not ‘missing’ she chose to run away. I’m not letting you risk your life over something that was her decision. You’re setting up the camp with me.”
“I’m going with you too,” Athena agreed, internally cheering over the fact that finally someone else was talking sense.
Namjoon nodded at the three before turning back to Hoseok.
“You can try and find her now, and risk going out there alone, where any group of tributes would be willing to team up together to take you down after what you just did to 7. Or you can come with us, build our camp tonight, and tomorrow we can search together.”
Hoseok raised his brow in Namjoon’s direction. It wasn’t the first time that they had argued over you, and he knew this sure as hell wasn’t going to be the last. Hoseok wanted nothing more than to leave the others and set off into the forest trying to find you, but Namjoon was unfortunately right. He was already the biggest threat based on his performance score, torturing another tribute would only serve to make him an even bigger target for the others. Going into the forest without someone watching his back was practically suicide. He didn’t trust Namjoon to watch out for him as far as he could throw him, but if they went into the forest together it would at least provide another distraction.
So, reluctantly, he agreed.
***
After running into the forest, you changed direction to run along the side of the river, back towards the direction of the cornucopia, whilst staying hidden behind the trees. Your logic was that if the careers were to try and chase after you, they hopefully wouldn’t be expecting you to be running towards them. You also chose to stay close to the river because you figured a majority of the tributes that had ran away would be further inland. And in the case another tribute tried to attack you, you had already survived fighting someone in the water – it was by far your preferred element compared to the woods. Secondly if you were fighting and could get back out in the open, you knew that Hoseok would instantly come running. You supposed there was some kind of irony in running away from a psychotic killer, whilst simultaneously expecting him to save your life if someone else endangered it. Maybe you would have been able to laugh if it wasn’t so sickening.
When you were close enough that you could start to hear the sounds of the career’s voices, you stopped. Ducking down behind a bush, with another tree at your back for cover, you peered through the leaves and watched them gathering items. Hoseok seemed to be the most reluctant and was continuously looking over his shoulder in the direction you had fallen downstream, as if expecting to see you walking back. It wasn’t hard to figure out that they were planning to move. You couldn’t blame them, after all the cornucopia was far too wet to set up camp on.
Exhausted from the earlier fight, and running through the trees, you slumped back against the tree behind you, feeling the bag on your shoulder collide with the bark. You startled. You had been so distracted you hadn’t even realized that you were still wearing a backpack, you were surprised it hadn’t fallen off in the fight. You pulled it from your shoulders, eager to see what was inside. You had picked the bag up on the cornucopia’s outskirts so you weren’t expecting much, but you could still feel a few items inside. Pulling at the zip you opened it up to reveal a bottle of water, a ruined flint, and a rope. You sighed, disappointed that there wasn’t a weapon but at least grateful to have something. Given you had thrown up before, along with the additional running after, you were dying of thirst. Uncapping the bottle, you took a long swig before twisting the lid back on. Even though the river water was drinkable you wanted to save your bottle as long as possible to avoid going out into the open.
You stayed in your little hiding spot for the rest of the afternoon. Cautiously you watched the career pack gather their supplies, and when they made their way towards the forest you felt your heart rate skyrocket. But thankfully they walked in the opposite direction, towards the waterfall. The careers were the only tributes you saw for the rest of the day.
As the sky began to change color in the evening, so did the temperature begin to change as well. For the most part it had been quite warm during the day. The Capitol had dressed you in a pair of khaki cargo pants, brown boots, a dark grey T-shirt and a brown bomber jacket. Despite being crouched behind a bush, it had been warm enough for your clothes to have mostly dried off during the rest of the day. You had taken off your bomber jacket and hung it over your head for camouflage, which had allowed it to dry completely. But as the temperature rapidly began to fall, you were quick to pull it back over your body, zipping it up all the way to the neck. The temperature continued to drop and you soon found yourself shivering as your breath became a visible cloud every time you exhaled. This had to be a twist from the game makers.
You vaguely remembered someone telling you before that hot air rises. You looked at your surroundings, as your body began to shiver from the still dropping temperatures. Not only was your breath becoming more visible with every exhale but it looked like the air was now holding a misty quality. Looking upwards it didn’t seem to be so dense and there were plenty of large trees with sturdy branches around you. You were definitely terrified at the prospect of snakes, bugs and other lethal animals in the trees, however there were bound to be other dangerous species on the ground too. With no way to make a fire, if you stayed where you were it was very possible you could freeze to death before the night’s end.
Climbing a ship, compared to a tree, was incredibly different. Most boats had railings and were much easier to scale. But you found that the leg and upper body strength you had built from a life of hard labor came in handy. You were agile and found yourself capable of pulling your body weight up onto the branches that were above you. You refused to look down the higher you climbed, knowing there was no water below you to break your fall if you lost your balance. There was no point in psyching yourself out; if you fall, you die. If you don’t climb, you die. The only choice left was to keep climbing. When you reached a height where the branch above you began to dip when you applied your body weight to it, you stopped. Still refusing to look down, you sat onto the branch you were currently on, gripping the wood in between your thighs tightly for security. You removed the strap of your bag from one arm and shrugged the pack over your shoulders. Unzipping it at the top you reached inside to remove the rope, before zipping it back up again.
The first thing you did was secure the rope around your waist, looping it twice before securing your makeshift belt in a fisherman’s knot. The trunk of the tree was too wide to reach around with your arms so would have to tie yourself to the branch instead, which would mean looking down. Very carefully you leaned forward to lower your chest to the branch, exhaling shakily as you caught a glimpse of exactly how high up you were for the first time.
Instead of being able to see the floor, all you were met with was the sight of a frosty grey cloud that was covering the entire arena along the lower ground, it was surreal. Not wanting to be facing downwards for any longer, you worked as quickly as possible to loop the rope around your branch four times before securing it with another knot. Relieved that you now had some security, you sat back up to lean against the branch. It would have to be an uncomfortable sleep, but it was better than nothing.
Although you were no longer in the freezing zone, you still found yourself shuddering from the cold. You bundled yourself up into a ball, pulling your knees to your chest and wrapping your arms underneath your legs. Suddenly the Panem anthem began to play and a holograph appeared in the sky. Given the fog there was also a vocal announcement of the tributes who had died, along with the usual pictures being displayed. As you watched the montage of the fallen tributes, you noticed a balloon floating towards you. At first you panicked, thinking it was a bomb or some sort of game maker twist, until you saw the basket with a bundle inside. It was a sponsored gift.
You sat up a little straighter and cautiously reached out to the balloon as it stopped to hover in front of your face. The item was soft and light, as you picked it up feeling confused. The material was too soft to be clothing. Placing it upon your lap you realized that it was a folded camouflage blanket, being held together by a ribbon with a card sticking out. You pulled the card out, flicking it over to read who it was from.
To our darling dove, Stay safe and warm Love always, YN-United.
You had a fan club? Was this a normal thing in the games? You wondered if any of the other tributes had fan clubs too. This definitely wasn’t a common thing within District 4, as you had never heard of civilians pooling resources to be able to donate for your own tributes, so it had to be a Capitol thing.
You were surprised, but not complaining as you undid the ribbon and began to unfold the blanket. It turned out the blanket wasn’t the only gift, as wrapped inside was a stunning ornate knife. You gasped, picking it up to hold in front of your eyes. The handle was white gold and decorated with patterns of flowers and vines, with tiny doves along the base. A ring of diamonds surrounded the top of the handle with a fat diamond attached at the bottom. You felt your eyes watering at how elaborate and expensive the knife had to be. Removing the sheath, your jaw fell open at the sight of the blade. You had never seen a material like it before; it was like an opal had mixed with glass. Stunning colors swirled through the blade, which was opaque enough to partially see through. It disturbed you to think that the people who had gifted you with such a beautiful item wanted you to kill with this thing.
Feeling overwhelmed you returned the sheath over the blade and put the knife down your jacket. The rope around your waist would prevent it falling out from the bottom and you tightened the chords around your neck to make sure it wouldn’t fall out from the top if you leaned forward.
Keeping your knees close to your chest you pulled the blanket over your body, sighing at the instant feeling of warmth the added layer provided. You were still far from comfortable, sitting upright on a tree, but at least you weren’t freezing anymore. By now the sun had completely set and the temperature along with it. You were safe for the moment, but you wondered how the people on the ground were going to cope in the subzero conditions. The only way you could imagine surviving would be through climbing a tree like you had, sharing body warmth with another tribute, or making a fire. Soon you began to start smelling smoke in the air, a clear indication that multiple fires were burning. But fires were dangerous.
***
Across the other side of the river a boy from 3 had set up a fire in desperation. He knew it wasn’t smart to make it obvious where he was, but if he didn’t create a heat source soon he was going to die soon anyway. He could only pray that the other tributes were too distracted trying to avoid freezing themselves to think about hunting others down. Unfortunately for him his prayers went unanswered. The last thing he felt before a canon boomed in his honor, was a blade across his neck as someone slit his throat from behind.
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