Slowly, the little girl lowered her bat.

"That... does sound like dad..." she trailed off for a moment. Though she wasn't poised to strike any longer, she was still gripping the baseball bat rather tightly. Shuffling her feet, she averted her eyes and took a deep breath.

"When everyone started rushing out, we got split up, so... so I hid back here and got a bat! I know it can't kill a demon, but if I took it by surprise and hit it hard enough I thought I could get away!"

She seemed proud of her own logic. Perhaps, against a Beast-class demon, it might have even worked.

She hesitated for a few moments, and when she next spoke her voice was quieter.

"Nobody's been hurt, right...?"

It seemed as if she hadn't seen whatever caused the bloody mess outside the shop, given the question.

It was at that moment that Shiro's voice reached all of them once more.

"I have pinpointed a Monster-class demonic signature, but it is strange. It should be at your location, do you see anything?"

Of course, the only unfamiliar figure among them was the little girl.

Perhaps someone looking closely would see something shift in the back of her tank-top...

@Raineh Daze@Rune_Alchemist@RolePlayerRoxas@Quartz@Emeth@LuckyBlackCat

Kaeru & Nyoko

---

"...nothing here but a little girl." Kaeru responded with a frown. Oh, this didn't sound good. She didn't like this. Maybe it was her feline instincts acting up now but something was causing the fur on her tail to stand on end. While she didn't think this girl was a demon at least, there was a good chance the demon maybe was -

Kaeru's eyes narrowed just slightly.

Did something...move? In the back of the girls tanktop? Well, she'd thank Nyoko for her feline eyes later.

"Weeeelll, if there's not a demon here that means we can all go home and call it a day and we can take a cat-nap?" She'd offer everyone an impish grin. "Maybe the girl can come with us? I need a new galpal to go shopping with. Her tanktop does look a little raggedy~"

Rika was somewhat torn. With how many people there were in the building, the odds of this one girl being the one she was looking for were extremely low. Her question, in truth, could very well have served as a trap, a clever honeyed ruse meant to draw out the demon within, if she had thought ahead. Yet, the girl lowered her bat, and her own question disarmed her. Rika didn't want the girl to see the blood.

"...What." she said in response to Kaeru's random comment about the girl's tanktop.

Then, she saw it move. Instinctively, her skin crawled as it brought to mind images of horrific creatures bursting out of bodies like in horror movies. "Uh. Please tell me that's your pet hamster or something..." she said warily, her body tense like a spring.

Natsumi Fujikawa

“Right he-” Natsumi responded in surprise, but she stopped herself from saying it out loud. Could the little girl really be the demon? No, no, no, they couldn’t assume that, far too risky. Danger to themselves be damned, she wasn’t opening fire on a human unless they were absolutely sure. If she was a demon, how would they confirm it? Play along until she drops the act and attacks? That would be exactly what the demon wants. Take her to the Denial Field and see if she passes through? The field would block the demon, but it might not block all of its attacks, so they really shouldn’t let it get that close to the evacuees outside. Dammit.

Kaeru’s comment about the tank top didn’t break Natsumi out of her thoughts, since the catgirl’s flippancy in the face of danger was nothing new, but Rika’s comment about a pet hamster did. Of course! The demon could remain unseen if it was really small. She kind of hoped that it was hidden somewhere among the merchandise, out of reach of the girl… but no, Kaeru’s weird comment about the tank top was perfectly clear now that she thought about it. From the back of the group, Natsumi didn’t have a very clear view at the girl, but maybe that would give her the benefit of subtlety. Without announcement, she started walking around the store shelf that the girl had been hiding behind, circling around to hopefully get a look at her from behind.

The little girl started in confusion, slowly glancing over her shoulder. What was everyone looking at?

She didn't understand.

But then, suddenly, the back of her tanktop bulged. Her eyes widened in shock and fear, something surging from beneath her clothing. It was a slimey, amorphous thing, two eyes flowing up is jel-like form and fixing on the surrounding operatives, glancing back and forth before it produced a single long gelatinous arm.

"Tch, and I thought getting away from that monster was hard enough already," came a rough, masculine voice from the oozing, amorphous demon. When the girl let out a cry of fright, its gooey limb suddenly sharpened into a point, directly aiming towards her throat.

"Alright, demon hunters. Let's make a deal," the creature said, "You let me go, and I don't spill her blood all over this shop. Got it?"

The gel-like demon's shape bulged out from behind the girl, seething and twisting. If not for the child's presence, it likely would have been an easy target.

But that was certainly what it was counting on, one of its drifting eyes looking behind it as the other fixed forward.

@Raineh Daze@Rune_Alchemist@RolePlayerRoxas@Quartz@Emeth@LuckyBlackCat

Natsumi Fujikawa

Oh, this was bad, real bad. Especially because they couldn’t possibly comply with the demon’s demand. When human criminals take hostages, they’re usually trying to get away with stolen money or something. But a demon that gets away will just continue killing people, way more people than this one hostage. They had to kill it one way or another. But maybe they could still salvage the girl’s life.

“Alright, alright, let’s talk about this,” Natsumi spoke up, doing her best to sound confident. She raised her hands to her sides as a sign of non-aggression, but deliberately allowed the flames on her head to flare up larger, hoping to seem threatening and direct attention towards herself. “Suppose we agree. What are your terms exactly? Because there’s a Demon Denial Field out there, and more demon hunters in reserve.” Really it was just Ayako, but it didn’t need to know that. “Walking away from us won’t be the end of it.”

While she spoke, she made lingering eye contact first with Kaeru and then with Kaida. She didn’t think she could make an expression or gesture that the demon wouldn’t notice, so she simply hoped the others would pick up on her thought process. Kaeru was fast, so she would probably have the best chance to intercept the demon, which might just work if it was distracted by negotiating. And if the girl did get stabbed, Kaida’s healing might still be able to save her. It wasn’t much, but it seemed like the best option they had.

_{@Rune_Alchemist@LuckyBlackCat}

Kaeru & Nyoko

---

"Tch, damn." Kaeru frowned, hoping that they could have at least handled this without scaring the girl in some fashion. This just got a lot more complicated. The feline growled lightly, a few sparks of electricity arcing from her hand. Would she be fast enough to intercept that thing if it tried something? Natsumi didn't have to say anything, her muscles were already tensed, ready to leap the first sign that the creature was going to try anything.

She was fast enough, right? She just needed to get it to lower its guard. Besides, her ears picked up something rather interesting that the demon said.

"Natsumi's right. Even if we let you run, you won't get far...but before that, Natsumi...What do you mean by 'getting away from that 'monster?'" She'd question the demon, a small toothy grin forming on her lips. She couldn't help herself but to taunt this thing a bit. "Come to think of it, you don't look like what we're hunting. You just some mob trash that slunk here cuz you're a weak little slimeball?"

@Quartz @Rune_Alchemist @VitaVitaAR

Kaida stared as something burst from the girl's back. A mass of slime, with a pair of eyes suspended in its translucent, gelatinous body, and a gooey arm that morphed into a point dangerously close to the girl's throat.

Thoughts racing, Kaida clenched her jaw at the slime creature's offer. Spare it, and spare the hostage. They couldn't sacrifice a child. But they couldn't let a demon go free either, especially not in a crowded mall like this.

Natsumi, ever calm in a crisis, spoke up, negotiating with the demon. It was once Natsumi cast her glance first in Kaeru's direction, then in hers, that Kaida gleaned her intention - keep the blob monster distracted, and lower its guard enough for Kaeru to strike. Kaida suppressed a shudder at the thought of where she'd come in. Hopefully it wouldn't come to that.

"Would you be able to tell us where that monster is?" she asked. "Cos it seems we have a common enemy. We were looking for a Devil, so could that be part of your terms?"

She lowered the water orbs, attempting to appear nonthreatening. Of course, she had no intention of actually letting the mutated jello go. It was a matter of lulling it into a false sense of security, and she remained primed to attack should the demon make a bid for escape - or to heal the girl if the worst happened.

Emi's blood ran cold, her ears twitching in reaction to the unknown voice. She was still standing near the entrance, but it was clear that the situation had taken a worrying turn, with the young girl's life in danger. Gritting her teeth, the operative was trying to think of a solution that ended with the girl safe, and the demon dead. Though as her nails were digging into her palms, the ever-so-unwelcome voice of Shirokami rang in her mind. She wanted to dismiss what was said out of habit, but what her partner had to say was simple logic.

Team effort, remember~?

The playful tone irked Emi, but it at least allowed her to take stock of the situation before her. Kaeru had picked up on what the demon had said, a statement that should not have flown over her head like it so nearly did. Emi wouldn't have opted for seemingly trying to antagonise the demon, but this was hardly the time for reprimands, and besides, if this cowardly creature was hiding from a far stronger monster, then even if they dispatched it...

She would have to trust in her experienced colleagues to try and extract any pertinent information they could, though even if they couldn't, she was certain they could save the girl somehow. In the meantime, Emi took a deep breathe, and returned her attention to the mall area outside the shop. Her fragile clones were still cautiously patrolling the area, on the lookout for any suspicious movement. If there was a larger threat, hopefully it wouldn't prove to be as sneaky as the specimen before them. Though even if it tried to take out one of her tailed clones stealthily, she would still be alerted to the oncoming threat. That would have to suffice for now.

Oh, it was a hostage situation... which meant this was probably a stronger enemy than they knew, as it was clever and able to plan. On the other hand... it was a blob. This was... more than a little confusing. Especially as it was trying to avoid a Monster. Was it some bizarrely weak demon, or trying to trick them all?

It wasn't like she could ask Andrea, either--nope, looking over at her, the demon was watching the blob with a hooded gaze, flicking her claws idly. She would undoubtedly just fire for the thing and see if it could inflict a mortal wound faster than the laser. Hell, she was probably watching for a signal.

"... Yeah. Yeah I'm weak," the slime-like demon commented with what sounded something like a sigh, still clinging to the back of the trembling little girl, "Gotta resort to measures like this and all, right? But that thing down there's a real monster. I'm a small fry, so letting me go is no big deal, right?"

The slime demon's cowardice was immediately evident, but at least it seemed as if it was fully aware of its own chances in a fight.

Then again, that was how this situation had started in the first place. Still, the bladed tendril it had created drifted away from the little girl's throat. Regardless of its nature, it appeared to intend to stick to its word to at least some extent, though it was still poised to strike.

"It gets out, and all those people out there are in serious trouble. I'm no big deal compared to that, you know? I'm guessing you came to kill that thing anyway. It's under the shopping center right now, trying to find a way out."

@Raineh Daze@Rune_Alchemist@RolePlayerRoxas@Quartz@Emeth@LuckyBlackCat

Natsumi Fujikawa

Natsumi had to admit that she felt a little bad for the blob-demon. Whether that was misguided, she really didn’t know. Do demons choose to pass through an Emergence Gate? Could the blob have stayed put in wherever it is that demons come from, or was it pulled here against its will? She wasn’t taught about that at the academy, if answers to such questions existed at all.

“Alright, look, we can’t just let you go free into the city. Even if we were convinced, we don’t have the authority to remove the Demon Denial Field.” Would Ayako drop the Denial Field for this if they asked her to? Probably not, she thought, but either way it seemed useful to shift the decision to an unseen entity that the blob couldn’t argue with. “But you could still get out of this alive. If the Emergence Gate is still open, perhaps you can just go back through.” Again, she didn’t know if that was possible, but it seemed logical. “Or you might make a contract with a human and join our side, like Andrea over there. If you let the girl go, then we will do what we can for you. But we can’t help you if you keep forcing our hand like this.”

For the first time in... well, not as long as Akira could remember, but at least long enough that it was novel, Andrea looked like someone had slapped her in the face, an irritated glare being sent Natsumi's way. "I am not comparable to this... blob. Contracting me is an honour, not a mark of desperation."

With a hiss, the demon walked off, keeping an eye on the outside of the shop and the many more possible doors. Of course, if the blob was right, the target would be in the basement, so maybe it would just dig through the floor...

Akira sighed. Did they really have to work with this...? It might be weak, but it could talk, and was intelligent--that, to her, suggested that this was much more dangerous than it let on. If they were working with it at all, they couldn't even slightly let their guard down.