Shu started panicking as soon as he realized what this meant. Not only was the only person to have actually defeated a puppet, the Puppet Master himself, meaning Shu was unlikely to be able to defeat even one of them. And on top of that, he also had to deal with Kiyoshi himself.
Shu quickly started looking for any water, but there was only ice. And this time there was no way to melt it quick enough. Shu was powerless again. He just had him and his sword. Once the initial shock had worn off, he had a revelation. He would finally be able to test the full extent of his skills. He didn't have to be worried about hurting his opponent because this was a fight to the death. Not a sparring match. Shu smirked at the thought of it.
He made sure that he wouldn't slash at the places where the puppets were put together this time so he would drain the blood. The first slice slashed the torso of the nearest one in half. Blood poured out for a second before it was sealed back up again. He kicked it away and slashed at the arms of the other two. If he could drain their arms they wouldn't be as dangerous anymore. Their daggers cranked to the ground and blood poured out of the arms.
Kiyoshi quickly put them back together, but their arms were already harder for him to control. Shu didn't notice when it happened, but there was a long gash across his side that dripped blood.
I'm gonna have to get a new uniform now…
Out of curiosity, Shu tried to see if he could control the mix of his and the puppets' blood that had pooled on the ground, but it didn't work. He felt a tang of disappointment, but got over it quickly. He knew he wouldn't be able to before he even tried.
The puppet he had knocked back originally came at him with its sword. While Shu and the main puppet were in a bind, the Other two attacked him from both sides. He dashed backward and then kicked off the wall, launching him toward them all like a sharp cannon ball. He slashed through all three of their torsos, and cut off their arms again.
He landed and used the momentum to blitz toward Kiyoshi who stood ready with his sword. Shu put every ounce of strength and will into his swing. He had to break through Kiyoshi's block and end this in one blow if he wanted any chance of surviving. Shu's blade met with Kiyoshi's. Kiyoshi faltered on the impact, but quickly recovered. Shu dug his feet into the ground and pushed as hard as he could. His vision darkened as he lost more blood from the wounds. He was going to die soon if he didn't get medical attention. Then suddenly Shu's blade was engulfed in lightning. There was the sound of metal ringing as half of Kiyoshi's sword went flying. Shu felt his blade catch thick clothing, and then cut through flesh and bone. He also felt cold metal slice through his chest. Kiyoshi had turned his broken sword into a dagger within a split second.
Shu had the wind knocked out of him the next second by a puppet crashing into him. His vision darkened further. His whole body felt like it was on fire and he couldn't move. The last thing he saw before he lost consciousness was blood forming into a scythe in Kiyoshi's hand.
Yuki ran as fast as she could to try and find Shu. She looked and looked to no avail. Then she heard the sound of a sword hitting the ground. She ran towards it as fast as she could.
She saw Kiyoshi looming over Shu's lifeless body with a scythe made of blood. Without thinking, she rushed in, fists blazing with fire. She threw a punch at him and he used the handle of the scythe to block it. The blood where she struck evaporated right after her fist stopped. She followed up with a low kick and felt it stop early. Kiyoshi had blocked it with a puppet.
She attacked over and over, blindly trying to land at least one hit.
Then Kiyoshi's scythe he had regenerated pierced her through the stomach.
Her vision was like a glitched out red and black screen.
Then her vision went back to normal. The night sky was clear and dotted with stars. The moon was full. Yuki heard the gentle sound of the sea below her.
Her vision glitches again and then she was in the middle of a fight, a huge blast of fire being thrown from her.
Then it happened again. Images flashed through her head rapidly while her vision glitched.
Shadows erupted from Yuki's body, consuming Kiyoshi and the puppets. She didn't have to worry about them anymore.
Then she looked down and saw the blood dripping from behind a pure black patch covering her stomach.
Then she heard her own voice in her head.
Check if Shu is dead. If he isn't, he needs to be attended to or he will end up actually dying.
She went over and looked at him. His clothes were all cut up and blood covered the areas near the cuts. But he wasn't bleeding. At least not anymore. The skin around the cuts looked burnt. Not a fire burn, but an electrical burn.
How did that happen? Ah, I don't have time to care. I need to get him to a hospital.
Shadows grabbed him and lifted him up. Yuki didn't know how or why, but they didn't and they followed as she walked.
She threw open the hospital doors and found a doctor to tend to him.
Another doctor took her and started patching up her stomach. She couldn't hear or feel anything except for her heart beating. She was laid down in a hospital bed, and almost instantly, she fell unconscious from exhaustion.