Novel Full Chapter 514 - 514 Wait… Those Actually DO Have A Purpose?
It would take Kat a considerable amount of subjective time to realise that she may have been wrong in the assumption she could learn. Jumping into the fight, an action that was mirrored by Kamiko, would later prove a mistake for the pair.
For the moment though, Kat was ready. She was watching the new Guard Rat One and Two closely and wanted to try and get an attack in before they properly reacted to what was going on. She wasn't going to simply bash away at them without a plan, she was going to try for one or two big hits then wait for her chance. Kat didn't even consider the small rats a threat. The rat patrols hadn't even done anything so far, and her regen could take as many hits from them as she needed. They were a non-factor, Kat's mind didn't even register them as much more than a slightly dangerous background object, like being aware there are knives in the kitchen or scissors on a desk.
Kat goes in for the strike, one with her fist, and another with her tail. The first strike, going for One's head gets blocked somewhat far out, letting the limb rock backwards somewhat to take the impact rather then just taking it all head on. The strike from her tail was another matter though. The rat clearly didn't see it coming initially, taking her tail's movement as a part of her lead up. When it lashed out, One was forced to twist itself out of the way the best it could.. Stepping forward in an attempt to let the tail go past leads to a shallow cut opening on One's back. Not a major concern, but already better then Kat's previous Rat Guard fight.
*I'll take this as a win. A little bit of a cut. I should remember to use my tail more in combat… though it's such a good defensive tool I can't use it solely for attacks either.* Kat's eyes shown and took a slight step back to correct her posture standing now in a basic fighting stance and preparing for One or Two's counter attack.
Because of that intense watching, that supreme focus on One and Two, trying to find any indication of what the Guard Rats were about to do, and hoping to come up with an appropriate counter. These thoughts were at the front of Kat's mind, when she felt a sharp piercing on her ankle. She was so completely stunned that she froze in place. So, while Two wasn't quite in range, One was going to take advantage of that distraction. One raked its claws over Kat's face. In the end, she only managed to avoid having her eyes taken out purely because of instincts.
Her head jerked backwards and the claws aiming for her eyes instead caught on her lips, ripping open her mouth and scraping down to her chine before she managed to pull away far enough. As Kat stepped backwards, trying to get out of range, she felt extra weight on her feet and couldn't help but look.
Even though she had the pieces. Even though she'd felt the pain. Even though SHE KNEW something had to be there, her mind was once again shocked to see the small patrol rats were biting into her feet.
What?! Kat couldn't believe they'd actually decided to do something for once. Kat felt her mind speed up more to try and cope with this influx of information. She wasn't just fighting two Guard Rats she was fighting guards and patrols. *What the heck should I do here?
I don't want to just take it. The damage is minimal, and only really a mild irritant but I don't want to just take damage like that. I've resolved to be better. What can I do? What other option do I have?*
Kat mulled over the decision as she jumped backwards to avoid another slash from One while Two started to move up, pressure her, make her step towards the wall instead of just straight back. The little patrol rats getting in her way slightly, but a more liberal application of force when putter her feet down meant that it wasn't a big concern as long as she didn't trip.
*I could take out the little ones… maybe. I'd take a lot of damage from Guard One and Guard Two over there, but it might be worth doing anyway. The little ones are annoying, but ultimately not that hard to deal with.*
Kat focused on her healing face and decided it wasn't a big deal. It was knitting itself together as she thought and while it was a bit strange because the skin was slowly pulling itself back up as the wound knit together, it wasn't a major concern. Her energy was also pretty much full, having recovered from the previous fight easily. That was when she heard a distorted sound from behind her.
*What could that have been?* Kat dodged another attack from One, now with Two's assistance, but even with her limited space it wasn't too hard to dodge their strikes. They used the same relative arc every time, and looked directly at where they were attacking. Kat could handle this. Kat glanced over her shoulder to the source of the noise and found a panicked looking Sue clearly in the motions of saying something, but Kat didn't here any words.
*What could she be doing? I can't make out a thing she's saying it's much… to… low… OH she's speaking at a normal speed.* Kat focused quickly back on the fight, jabbing out at One with a light strike mostly just to prevent the guard rats from closing in any further. *Ok, I can't drop this speed to listen to what Sue is saying, the rats are too fast for that. She looks concerned though so it seems important.*
*What could be the problem? The little rats, while annoying, are no real problem for me…* And like that the last puzzle piece clicked into her mind and Kat's eyes flew wide in shock as she realised what the problem must be. *SHIT! We just talked about this as a group. Sue can hold up against strong attacks but with these patrol rats, they can wear down the shield she put on Kamiko! I need to do something!*
Kat struck, once with her arm, and once with her tail, at One and Two respectively to keep them off her for a bit longer, sending most of her concentration to the right where Kamiko was fighting two of her own Guards, it was a bit further back then Kat really liked. Quickly though, Kat saw that while Kamiko was more aware of her situation and noticed the patrol rats, she wasn't doing as well as Kat.
Kat saw Kamiko halfway between a sliding motion. She was slicing at the patrol rats on the ground while moving backwards to prevent them from crowding her. She had already taken several more steps backwards then Kat had, and her own rat guards had actually pushed up and had nearly past Kat.
*How did I not notice that? Shit, my battle field awareness is horrible. What do I do now though?* Kat leaned her head back, this time intentionally, and allowing the claws coming for her face to miss by a small, but anticipated, margin. *The fact that the Guards are in the way makes this so much harder. I can't just move to the side and start attacking the little ones. I'd be putting myself in harms way. I guess… hmm… if I can trust Kamiko to be fine… this might be alright.*
Kat tried to slip in a tail strike after her dodge, and was surprised when she managed to get at nick on Two's side. Nothing serious, but it was better then nothing. *Nice! Now if only I can figure out what to do about these little rats.*
Kat went back to watching the field, trying to move so that she could get a good look at Kamiko. Sadly, things didn't get better. The Guards fighting Kamiko pushed her back alongside their small carpet of rats coating the floor. Because of this, they blocked a lot of Kat's view, but looking at the floor Kat was pretty sure that Kamiko wasn't bleeding yet, so hopefully her shield was up.
This information didn't come without cost though. Kat was forced to look behind her more seriously, letting either One or Two out of her sight for a few moments, practically nothing, but with both rats working together it was enough to push some damage on Kat. A slash caught on the arm instead of deflected, a slight cut to her side when she didn't move out of the way in time. A few more minor annoyances digging into her legs.
*Kamiko seems fine for now. I can only pray this state of affairs continue. I'm down only a few percent of energy at the moment though my wounds aren't done healing so that might change if I keep taking extra hits. I don't really know what to do though. Do I need to help? Is Sue at risk? How many hits can Kamiko's shield take?*