Iris | T. Giyuu

-002.

❝ Scared of revealing
The image is peeling. ❞

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The forest was cold, the kind of cold that seeped into Y/n's bones and stayed there, lingering like a ghost that refused to leave. Her breath came out in short, visible puffs as she moved through the snow-covered trees, her footsteps barely making a sound in the thick white powder. The sun was setting, casting long shadows across the ground, but she didn't mind the fading light. It wasn't the darkness she feared. No, her fears lived inside her.

Her hand instinctively brushed the hilt of her katana, a habit she'd picked up since losing him. Giyuu had always told her that her strength came not just from her skills with a blade but from her heart. That had felt true once. When he was with her, she had felt like she could face anything. But now, in the silence of the winter woods, she felt small and lost, like a shadow of the person she used to be.

It had been eight and a half years since he was taken from her—her best friend, her comforter, the one she'd secretly loved but never told. She had ever found his body. That had been the hardest part. No body, no closure. Just the lingering hope that maybe, somehow, he'd come back to her. But every day that passed without him chipped away at that hope.

Y/n had thrown herself into training, anything to keep her mind from spiraling into that dark place where Giyuu no longer existed. On days like today, she would wander into the woods to clear her thoughts, to focus on sharpening her skills, even if she felt like she was chasing something that no longer mattered. No matter how many swings of her katana, no matter how fast she moved, nothing filled the emptiness.

As she paused by a clearing, catching her breath, something flickered at the edge of her vision. A movement—quick, fleeting, but unmistakable. Y/n's heart skipped a beat, her eyes snapping toward the figure in the distance. It was blurry, shadowed by the setting sun, but it was there. She froze for a moment, her pulse racing in her ears as she squinted, trying to make out the shape.

Tall. Lean. Dark hair that seemed to catch the faintest bit of light. Her breath caught in her throat.

It can't be...

But it looked like him—like Giyuu. Though the figure's face wasn't visible. Standing there, watching her from across the clearing as though he'd never been gone. Her heart pounded against her ribs, hope surging through her so fast it nearly made her dizzy.

Without thinking, she ran.

"Giyuu...?"

The name tore from her lips before she could stop herself, a desperate cry that echoed through the trees. Her feet moved faster than they had in months, kicking up snow as she sprinted toward the figure. But as soon as she closed the distance, the figure shifted, slipping further into the woods, just out of reach.

"Giyuu, wait!" Y/n's voice cracked, her breath coming in ragged gasps as she chased after him. Every time she thought she was close enough to touch him, the figure moved again, always just ahead of her, always just out of reach. It was maddening—like chasing a shadow that disappeared the moment she got too close.

But she couldn't stop. She wouldn't stop. Not now. Not when he was right there, when she could almost feel his presence, could almost smell the familiar scent of his that always clung to him after years spent together.

Her lungs burned, her legs screamed in pain, but she pushed on, refusing to let him slip away. He couldn't be gone. Not again.

But as suddenly as the figure had appeared, it vanished. One second, he was there—so close she could almost touch him—and then, nothing. The forest swallowed him whole, leaving only silence in his wake.

Y/n stumbled to a stop, her chest heaving as she looked frantically around, her vision blurring from the cold and exhaustion.

"Giyuu!" Her voice was raw, barely more than a whisper now, swallowed by the endless expanse of snow and trees.

But there was no answer. No figure in the distance. No Giyuu.

She collapsed to her knees, the snow cold against her skin, her breath coming in shaky gasps. Her hands trembled as she pressed them into the snow, her mind reeling, torn between hope and despair. For a moment—just a moment—she had truly believed he was there. That somehow, against all odds, Giyuu had found his way back to her.

But he wasn't. He couldn't be. He was dead. He had to be dead. That's what she had forced herself to believe.

Y/n pressed her palms to her face, trying to steady her breathing. She couldn't let herself believe it, couldn't allow herself to fall into that trap of hope. It would only break her further.

But deep down, something in her had shifted. That figure—whether it was real or a hallucination —had reignited a spark she thought had long since died. A small, fragile hope that maybe, just maybe, Giyuu wasn't gone after all.

She wiped her eyes, brushing away the cold tears that had started to form. It was foolish. It was stupid to hope for something like that. And yet, despite her best efforts, she couldn't shake the feeling that he was still out there, waiting for her to find him.

Y/n stood slowly, her legs weak beneath her, but her heart beat with something unfamiliar—something like hope.

Even if it was a lie, she couldn't help but hold on to it.

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A/N: some things in this story might not make sense or be canon but gang im trying my best and afterall im adapting the kny plot to my story to make it better