BXBX NOVEL Chapter 358: Battle Plans
Chapter 358: Battle Plans
The following chapter is from Kamiko's perspective. Any thoughts belong to her. I was tempted to make it a Kat chapter, but I wanted more time to develop Kamiko and you've seen Kat's internal commentary enough to know roughly what she's thinking.
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Kamiko was playing with her sleeves as she thought about what Uncle said. *Well… it's nice to be right but I have to wonder what else they could have done? I mean, they tried, and I don't think they were so far out of position it was actually a big deal… I mean, yeah I guess it kinda is but still.
Then again… maybe it's more about preparing us for the future? He is about to make this a two on six match, so maybe he's just trying to make sure we all work together properly. I saw him taking more than a few glances at Rock to make sure she was paying attention. It… it didn't really seem to work, but I mean he did try. I wonder if he didn't point it out to her more clearly because she didn't want to listen? Is it matter of not helping people who don't want to be helped or not helping people with a bad attitude? Maybe both?
I guess this means I should try and stick with Kat and… let her protect me? No that feels wrong… but I'm not sure what else I could do.* Kamiko's thoughts were interrupted by Uncle saying "I'll give you all a moment to think about that before the next match. Talk amongst yourselves if you want, but do some independent thinking first" as if everyone hadn't already started to analyse his words.
Kamiko glanced at the now thoughtful faces and realised she might be overestimating their general intelligence. Only Kat, Seralina and Meron seemed unphased by his words. *Well… maybe I should use that? No… I don't really see a way to rely on their limited thinking skills when they have proven they have good instincts. It's not like they'd stand there and let us pick off people even if they didn't think about it.*
*So, back to how Kat and I have to manage this.* Kamiko took a glance at Kat using her drastically extended peripheral vision, and saw Kat was clearly thinking as well, and decided not to bother her just yet. *So, I don't want to just be protected… and Kat can't exactly tank hits. I mean sure, she is tougher than me and can take more… but it's not like she has a shield or a proper way to defend. She can only block one or two hits for me at a time and with six of them I really shouldn't rely on that.
What will I need to do then? Well, let's go over who I can avoid. The brothers are easy. They aren't fast at all, but if they corner me I'll never escape. I don't have the jump power to clear them AND their weapons. If push comes to shove, maybe I could get out if I use the wall by coming straight up and then kicking out but I dunno if I could escape three of them on all sides, maybe with help.
Rock I already know I can dodge, but she's not THAT much slower than me. Meron… well actually I don't know enough about him really. Kat did get hit by him… but he didn't exactly do anything to cause that. I wonder if he'll try to make it happen again? I'm not sure.
Well, the real problem is Seralina. My poison will never work on her. Even if she isn't immune as a Lamia, her body mass and the fact she's a demon will make it impossible. Not to mention I'm really not sure I can get through her scales. I might just have to leave it completely up to Kat to deal with her.
That's a bit of a scary thought though. She's not super fast, but she is very agile and can turn on a dime like Kat despite her size. She can also move her whole body around as a weapon and that's a rather large weapon if you consider it that way. At least she's not a full-grown Lamia, I can deal with her current size. Probably.
Now is there anything else? Should I chat with Kat maybe?* Kamiko looked around and saw that the other group had already huddled together but no sound was leaking from them. *Hmm, probably more sound stuff like the auditorium.* "Hey Kat did you want to talk strategy like the others?" asked Kamiko as she tried to project as much cheer and as little embarrassment into her voice as possible.
"Sure thing Kamiko. It seems like the others won't be able to hear us so we can talk without issue. Uncle is probably controlling it somehow" said Kat turning to face Kamiko
*Wow. She's so calm and ready to fight those guys. I wonder how she does it.* Thought Kamiko oblivious to Kat's internal worries. "So, who do we deal with first? I mean, if the biggest mistake is to lose someone early in the fight, the best idea is to try and ensure the other side loses someone at the start of the fight right?" said Kamiko.
*OMG what did I just say? That… why Kamiko. Why would you say it like that?* Kat, also oblivious to her friend's inner turmoil, responded easily. "Well, going after Meron is a possible choice, but I think they'll be ready for that. The other two options I see are Percy and Rock, but they both have their own problems"
*Hmm? I don't quite understand why she's singled those guys out. I agree with the Meron thing, but Rock was kinda hard to fight and I don't know if I can do much to Percy. Well, I guess Kat would be fine…* "Why is that? I mean, I agree with Meron, they'll almost certainly protect them but… why those two and what problems will we have?" asked Kamiko.
"So… the issue with Percy is mostly that we don't know how he fights, we only know how he defends. I doubt it will be so easy to take him out this time now that he knows my punches are too much for him. If I can get an easy takedown that's fine but I wouldn't count on it.
"Rock is harder because while I'm sure she'd leave a tonne of openings if we taunted her even a bit, I also bet that Seralina will protect her if necessary and… well I can't really take her and whoever then jumps in to help. So, Rock might also be off the table… but it's not like we can really take anyone else out right?" said Kat tapping her tail against her chin.
*Hmm, yeah that's true. Seralina is actually a huge asset to them. Fighting her and the rest would be a problem for anyone.* "Well, what about Sekron and Krekron? You said Percy might be hard but what about those guys?" asked Kamiko.
Kat bit her lip slightly and continued with the tapping as she spoke. "That might not be the worst idea… Sekron is probably a no go. I'm not quite sure what his power is but he can block strikes quite well with his shield and if either of his brothers help block my follow up strikes, I'd be left very open"
Kamiko looked down in a frown. "Yeah… and it's not like I can really help you with Seralina. I don't have the strength or speed for it. I might be able to do some damage with my eye lasers… but that really depends on her scales. I'm not sure how much it'd do to them, and I can't poison her. I could go for the eyes maybe but… that's a bit to mean for me. I don't think I can do it"
Kat nodded as if this was no problem even as Kamiko felt guilty for vetoing such a powerful tactic. Especially after Uncle had suggested it already. "Well, how about we leave that for now" said Kat "how do we want to go about keeping each other safe?"
Kamiko bit her lip, miming Kat somewhat. *Hmm that is a good question. I'm not as fast as Kat and it's not like she can just carry me around on her shoulders or something silly like that… or is it?* Kamiko started to properly consider the idea as more than just a joke.
*That might actually have potential. My weapon is long enough not to get in the way… I can watch Kat's back rather easily and my back is certainly flexible enough to bend and cover anything from behind as well. My lasers don't really care about the extra height and honestly… I don't think my poison is doing anything against anyone here…*
"Well Kat… see I have this crazy idea… I dunno if you're going to like it but I think it might actually be our best bet…" said Kamiko