Chapter 39 - Copycat

Leyhna and I locked eyes, stunned by the sudden situation. After a moment of silence, I was the first to speak.

"Okay… It may look weird, but I swear this is a misunder-" [Solace]

"Shut it, pervert! Die!" [Leyhna]

Cutting off my attempt for negotiation, she charged at me with a raised fist.

"Woah!" [Solace]

She threw a straight punch, which I dodged by a hair.

"Ch-chill out! That almost hit me!" [Solace]

"Not a chance in hell!" [Leyhna]

She sent a barrage of punches, most of which I had to either block or deflect.

("Holy crap, she's fast!") [Solace]

I was starting to lag behind. Some of her attacks made it through my guard, either striking my sides or my chest.

"Ack! That hurts!" [Solace]

"Just accept your punishment quietly!" [Leyhna]

The onslaught of attacks became worse. Leyhna began to use her legs and elbows to strike me, which most definitely hit pretty hard.

("Ooh, my arms sting…!") [Solace]

As Leyhna continued to beat me back and forth, I could notice the striped pattern of blue and white underneath the fluttering of her skirt.

"H-Hey! Stop! I don't think you should be kicking with a skirt on!" [Solace]

"You…!" [Leyhna]

She blushed profusely after hearing my words, causing her to halt her offensive.

"You're finally showing your true colors, aren't you…?" [Leyhna]

("Finally, a break…") [Solace]

My arms, chest, and sides throbbed with pain. That girl hit a lot harder than she looks. Seeing as how I was basically aching all over, I tried to lengthen my momentary rest by speaking.

"Actually, I would say I'm quite a gentleman. It's not like a guy would go out of their way to inform you they took a sneak peek at your chest." [Solace]

Leyhna immediately wrapped her arms around her chest, glaring at me without looking away even once.

"So… So you looked there too?!" [Leyhna]

She became furious. I could almost see flames emerging around her.

"Huh?! Wait, no! That was just an analogy!" [Solace]

"I'll burn you into a crisp! Ignis, lend me your strength!" [Leyhna]

Now flames really were emerging around her. A little red ball of light appeared by her side, and the flaming tongues that flickered about wrapped themselves around her arms and legs.

"...Well then, that doesn't seem very fair." [Solace]

Leyhna faced me with a battle stance. Between the glare she gave me, and the flames that danced around her while somehow keeping the room from burning, I thought I was done for.

"Ho-Hold on a sec. Isn't that, like, really really dangerous?!" [Solace]

("You have-") [Spirit Guide]

Without another word, Leyhna lunged at me.

("Evasive maneuvers!") [Solace]

I scrambled out of the way, barely avoiding a blazing uh… punch? Kick? Honestly, I couldn't see through how much fire there was.

"Stay still!" [Leyhna]

"Acquired-" [Spirit Guide]

"How about no?!" [Solace]

Leyhna swung at me with a multitude of combinations. Punch, leg sweep, elbow, backhand swing, high kick, and a bunch of other things I couldn't recall from how fast it was going by.

"Why are you still high kicking?! I can see your panties!" [Solace]

"The skill-" [Spirit Guide]

"I don't care! You won't remember as long as you're dead!" [Leyhna]

"You're actually going to kill me?!" [Solace]

"|Fire resistance|." [Spirit Guide]

"Keep running and I'll consider it!" [Leyhna]

Her logic was kind of all over the place. Seeing as how she was desperate to erase me, I dodge-rolled into the bathroom and locked the door behind me.

"Hey! Open the door!" [Leyhna]

I heard her slam the door with her fists, but it surprisingly didn't budge.

("...I guess that'll hold her for a while. How about I search through the bathroom for something I can use?") [Solace]

My hopes weren't high, but I might as well do something while I could.

("Nothing in the bathtub… Only soap and… hair conditioner? I don't know what that is…") [Solace]

There were many things I was unfamiliar with in there, but I assumed it was because it was a girl's bathroom.

("How about the drawer…") [Solace]

Pulling out one of the drawers, I was pleasantly surprised by what I found.

"So that's where the towels were…" [Solace]

I found many white towels in the drawer. Seeing as how there was a large amount of them, I decided to take one and wrap it around my waist.

("Well, now I'm not completely naked.") [Solace]

As soon as I finished covering my lower half, I heard a click from the door.

"...What was that?" [Solace]

The door swung wide open, revealing a very unhappy looking Leyhna.

"You have a lot of nerve…" [Leyhna]

"...Can I at least make sure my towel doesn't fall off?" [Solace]

Leyhna looked down at me, noticing the fresh towel on my waist. She remained silent for a while, but eventually brought her eyes back up to me.

"No." [Leyhna]

The flames around her flared up, which kind of made me inch backwards a bit.

("Crap… I'm kind of backed into a corner.") [Solace]

As my back hit against a wall, the ever so illustrious savior of my life spoke to me.

"You have acquired |Enchant Flame|." [Spirit Guide]

As per usual, the Spirit Guide had my back, except I didn't really see how that helped.

("Cool, that doesn't help the situatio- Oh, wait.") [Solace]

Leyhna began to approach me with her fists clenched, but I wasn't planning on just taking the blows. Just before I tried doing whatever plan I had in mind, I decided to try to negotiate one more time.

"Okay, I understand that you want me obliterated, but can you at least turn off your fire to make things fair for me?" [Solace]

"No? Why would I do that?" [Leyhna]

Negotiations broke down.

"...Fine. I'll do it myself." [Solace]

Raising my fists, I entered a stance similar to Leyhna's.

"...Copying my stance isn't going to help you." [Leyhna]

"Really? Then how about this?" [Solace]

Assisted by the Spirit Guide, I cast a certain spell.

"|Enchant Flame|." [Solace]

Flames erupted from my body, which got quite the reaction out of Leyhna.

"Th-That's…!" [Leyhna]

Her eyes went wide with surprise. I couldn't blame her, I was pretty much a copycat.

"Heh, I'd say we're pretty even now." [Solace]