A Shadow From The Past

Yuu's P.O.V.

Soon the footprints faded to nothing and Guren had no tracks left to follow but his own guesswork. The splotches of blood that even be detected blended with the cover provided by the darkness. On a whim, Guren hiked up a steep hill. The hill was heavily vegetated; lush grass and brightly colored blossoms dotted its slope. Our position gave us the perfect outlook of the city below, looking calm and peaceful under the luminescent moon. Tranquil and beautiful, it appeared to be the most unlikely place for a vampire hideout. Then again, it looked like precisely the kind of place that royalty reside.

Eventually we approached a towering stone arch. It loomed over  us as if daring the two of us to enter the palace behind it. Something about the structure gave me a sense of foreboding and unease, but I could tell that Guren wasn't scared. The commander didn't even pause before marching in with all of his imperial gusto. I, on the hand, needed a few moments to collect my scattered nerves and catch my scattered breath.

I was hunched over, hands on my thighs, wheezing, when a tall figure came barreling out of the stone enclave. I couldn't quite tell who it was in my peripheral vision. But the moment his form hit me, I knew.

My muscles unclenched as relief flooded through my veins and a warm sensation spread through me. "Mika!" I cried. Despite the gratitude that had encased me due to my companion's survival, worry still had me in its grip. And there was the matter of Mika's missing arm... The mere thought made me anxious all over again.

When I looked at Mika, though, he was whole and healthy. Terrified, maybe, but healthy. "Your arm..." I began, my voice faltering a little with confusion.

"Now is not the time," he urged, frantically beckoning for me to run. The monotonous thuds of footfalls reached my ears and I made a snap decision: I was going to stay and beat the crap out of the stupid bastard who had hurt Mika so badly. I assumed a heroic pose and pulled out my gun. Gruen squinted at me. "Yuichiro, that won't do anything to them," he pointed out sharply.

I ignored him, too busy repeating, "You are strong, you are strong, you are strong, you are strong, you are strong," under my breath until the legion reached us. But when they did, I took one look at the face of Ferid and felt my heart freeze. In spite of the fear, I emptied a whole barrage of bullets into the army. Many of the affected targets stumbled or stopped, but in no time at all, they were closing in on us again.

With a gulp, I sqeaked, "On second thought, let's go." My two comrades rolled their eyes, but joined me as I fled.