Miyu sat alone in Melinda's living room, her book forgotten on the floor.
The clock ticked louder than usual. The kettle had gone cold. Shadows curled around her feet like restless animals.
Something was wrong.
Her chest tightened. Melinda had been gone too long.
Without hesitation, Miyu slipped out the door, her tendrils rising like spears, her many eyes scanning the twilight. She didn't think—she just ran.
---
The Roadside Horror
The scent of sulfur hit her before she saw them. Burning, choking, acrid.
And then the sight froze her heart—
Melinda, collapsed on the ground, struggling to breathe.
The Winchesters standing near her, weapons drawn.
And towering over them all, the demon—its shadowy body swelling with smoke and fire, its grin monstrous.
It lunged for Melinda.
"No!"
Miyu's scream split the night. Shadows erupted from her body like a storm of blades. She crashed into the demon before its claws could reach Melinda. The impact sent both tumbling across the dirt road in a violent spray of sparks and gravel.
---
The Clash
The demon rose first, snarling, its form shifting into something larger, grotesque, with horns curling from its skull.
"You should've stayed hidden, little experiment," it hissed. "Now I'll end you myself."
Miyu bared her teeth, shadows writhing like serpents around her. Her voice cracked with fury.
"You will not touch her."
They collided.
Claws against tendrils.
Shadow against shadow.
The ground shook with every blow. Trees split and cracked as Miyu hurled the demon through them. The air burned as the demon's fire lashed against her.
Sam and Dean watched, momentarily stunned—this wasn't the weak, hunted girl they had chased for months. This was something terrifying, powerful, and desperate.
---
A Desperate Stand
The demon's fist smashed into Miyu's ribs, and she coughed blood, stumbling back. Her shadows caught her, holding her upright.
"You can't win," it taunted, circling her. "You are a mistake. A failure. And failures don't deserve love."
Miyu's many eyes burned red. Her tendrils surged, wrapping around the demon's throat, slamming it into the ground. She screamed with all her rage, all her grief, all her fear of losing Melinda.
"I am not a failure—" she tightened her grip, shadows searing into its flesh—
"—and I will never let you take her from me!"
The demon shrieked, its form cracking with light as if her will alone tore it apart.
---
The Turning Tide
But the creature wasn't finished. With one final roar, it released a burst of fire and shadows that blasted Miyu backward. She hit the ground hard, her tendrils thrashing in pain.
The demon staggered to its feet, half its body burned away by her assault.
It hissed. "Next time, I'll rip her heart out in front of you."
Before the Winchesters could strike, the demon vanished into the dark, leaving smoke and the stench of sulfur.
---
Aftermath
Silence. Only Miyu's ragged breaths remained.
She crawled toward Melinda, who was sitting up weakly, clutching her bruised throat. Miyu's hands shook as she reached for her. "You're safe now… you're safe…"
Melinda touched her cheek softly, her eyes full of pain and gratitude. "You saved me."
But when Miyu turned her gaze upward, she met the cold, unyielding stares of Sam and Dean Winchester. Guns lowered, but not relaxed.
Miyu's tendrils curled tighter around her trembling body. She realized in that moment—
The hunters weren't going to walk away this time.
The peace was over.