"Eh?" The flames of Tatsuya's repelled attack came quickly. By the time he realized that the bottle had been turned on him, it was too late for him to dodge. Instinctively, he raised two fists in front of him as though he were blocking a mere punch. A flash of light appeared in his left fist. Though he did not realize what was happening, the light grew to form a golden bat, one more pristine than the world had ever known. Not that his brain could register that it had shown up in the first place. So he waited until his body was scorched beyond repair. And waited... And waited... So long, in fact, that he wondered if the world had suddenly gone into slow motion to get every nasty detail when his skin got just a bit darker. He opened his eyes to the shield that had protected him with surprised eyes, a bead of sweat on the side of his forehead. He smiled in relief. "Maybe ya do know a bit more than we give you credit for, huh?"
Not that it was gonna change his mind on fighting the monster, anyway. His newly realized safety allowed him to notice the bat that was in his hand. Its existence itself baffled him. Where had it come from? And why did he feel so connected to it? It felt less like a bat and more like an extension of himself, almost. He gave it a few practice swings. With each swing he took, he was shocked to find that the bat was not only as light as feather, but packed an absurd punch. Ayame and Jaakuna had powers for the longest time——could this be his own? He slung it over his shoulder and walked over to his senpai.
Another woman had joined up with them after getting up from what seemed to be a pretty nasty attack. That pink hair...could she be responsible for the petals he saw? And the huge burst of energy he felt right when they launched their attack, for that matter. Whether she was or she wasn't there was one thing for sure, the lady was a looker! Ayame could learn a thing or two, that much was for sure. But he wasn't a fan of fawning over pretty ladies when he and his friends were practically knocking on death's door. Jaakuna was right, they needed a plan. If only someone had suggested it before they launched an assault...oh well. He felt that things had worked out for them very well all the same. And he wasn't saying that entirely because he got out of things scot free. Now, they had the advantage.
"Whaddaya mean? Things went perfectly as far as I'm concerned. That thing's got eyes for you now, senpai." Things were a bit too serious for him to use his regular nickname. He pointed his bat at the woman. "Or, well, both of ya. No matter what you're doing, the easiest way to win is to get inside your opponent's head. That's true for anything. If he's scared of you guys enough to pull off something like that...I'd say he thinks you're both pretty dangerous. And along with that bummy looking strong guy, you guys can give him a bad case of tunnel vision if you come at him all at once."
He glanced at the oil barrels and smiled.
"If you can keep him busy long enough...me and Ayame should be able to pull something off." He doubted his idea would outright kill the demon. The best he could see it doing is stunning him long enough to give the old stranger (pink haired lady was the new one) enough time to finish it off. "Once she gets back to us...it'll be game, set, and match. Trust me, we'll have that thing up in flames. Ten percent guaranteed!"
Ten percent was a lot more for Tatsuya than it was for other people.
