A Shadow From The Past

Yuu's P.O.V.

Kimizuki smirked at me as soon as my surroundings came back into focus. "What took you so long? he asked condescendingly. From his superior attitude, I would have assumed that he had been finished for ten minutes, but Shinoa leaned in close and whispered,"Don't let him get to you; he literally finished two seconds ago." Kimizuki flushed and I got the feeling that he knew exactly what Shinoa had just told me.

I clutched my newly acclaimed demon sword in my left fist, grazing my fingers delicately along the razor-sharp blade with pride. This was my sword now. I let the thought sink in. It made me proud to own such an impressive weapon.  This was a powerful vampire-slaying  device. I understood why this type of weapons alone could end a vampire's life. I could almost feel Asuramaru's life and energy nestled in my sword.

Without warning, Yoich's back straightened and went rigid. He swiveled around, but it wasn't Yoichi that greeted us. He had been replaced by a demon with a crazy smile and a glowing green techno bow and arrow. If I hadn't known better, I could have mistaken him for a devilish, humanoid dog.

Shinoa looked alarmed. Clearly, she hadn't expected any of the demons to deceive us. Her order reverberated through the room:"Kill him!"

I couldn't have heard right. "'Kill him?!'" I echoed in shock,  oblivious to the approaching threat. Shinoa nodded firmly and pulled out a katana. I shook my head just as firmly and barked,"We can't kill him! He's our partner!" 

"He's not our partner anymore," Shinoa countered as she lunged toward Yoichi. I cringed as I watched him spar with Kimizuki, a puppet fighting against his will. There was no way I would kill him. "He's a demon now," Shinoa added. Her light purple hair flew behind her as she aimed a lethal strike to Yoichi's heart. The demon possessed Yoichi dodged easily and notched an arrow in his bow, sending it spiraling toward her. Shinoa deflected it with a flick of her katana before I shoved her out of the way. "Yoichi!" I yelled with desperation. "C'mon, I know you're still in there!"

"Hey--!" Shinoa exclaimed angrily. "Kill him!"

I shook my head again and parried away aan awrow that Yoichi had aimed at me. It just barely clipped my shoulder. "I'm not going to hurt him."

"What's this? You won't hurt me? How delightful!" he tittered deviously, pulling another arrow from his quiver and pointing it towards me. It was about to hurtle towards me when Kimizuki snatched it away from him and snapped it in half. The sound of the brittle wood breaking resounded through the unlit room. Kimizuki grabbed Yoichi by the shoulders and shook him back and forth while I yelled one last time "Yoichi, snap out of it! Don't listen to the demon!"

For a painstakingly long moment, it seemed as though we were going to have to kill him after all, but soon a shudder passed through our partner and he fell to the floor with a tired sigh. "Thanks guys. You never gave up on me. You... saved my life." His eyes closed out of exhaustion and resignation.