Chapter 39: CopycatLeyhna 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. Sear?h the N?vel(F)ire.ηet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "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]