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While Sylvia and Ember had their talk somewhere in the city, Hotaru had to deal with the realities of battle, a fickle and ever-mercurial beast at best. Exactly as the suddenly appearing mound of cotton candy mixed with popcorn proved, absorbing Evil Eye into itself instead of… she did not finish the thought, for the Warrior had no mind for trickery. She knew not what the club’s mastermind tried to accomplish, only that it was beyond her and that it slowed down her target. Unfortunately, Diamond seemed to have accomplished her goal anyways.

Fortunately, Nyxia remained on point. Her laser would have hit the hand holding the arrow if it were not for the frog girl’s intervention, creating a true disaster of a situation as everyone gathered around Tsubimi. Hotaru was intent on the same. Strangely enough, Ember did not disagree, which meant that she had free rein. And indeed, a grin took over her face as she ignored Willow - that girl never had any sense, nor did she have anything in her skull resembling a brain - leaving her, along with that rotten light girl, to deal with the shield asshole along with the laser asshole.

They could shoot at Hotaru all they liked. Sylvia would soak up all the pain anyways and if this body became damaged, there should be one nearby that she could jump to. The light girls would not even know what hit them. Indeed, Hotaru’s fellow dark girls appeared one after another to engage the whores. Unfortunately, she was still a bit away, but at least she approached from one of the smaller alleyways, so she would likely have a drop on Diamond.

Just a little more. Just a little more! Hotaru drew on more of her magic to enhance her movements, leaving cracked pavement in her wake. She crossed the distance by practically leap-running through her streets, descending like lightning on Diamond to knock her away from Tsubomi. She specifically tried to backhand the batter, because sinking her claws into the light girl would mean taking the time to yank them out.

Then she asked Sylvia-

Where was Sylvia?!

Not used to keeping track of everything in a fight, Hotaru fumbled her next step and instead of becoming the whirlwind she had intended to be, she merely succeeded in placing herself in the crossfire. Everyone present could hit her without as much as trying, but on the bright side, the light bitches had to go through her to get to Tsubomi again… Unless they resorted to a ranged attack.

Shit. Where were her comrades when she needed them the most? She had not counted on Ember, of course, because she sided with the light girls, but Sylvia? Even if Sylvia hated the warrior’s guts, she would never stop looking out for Hotaru, right? The protector would never abandon her even if they disagreed… right?

But all Hotaru heard in her head was utter. Deafening. Silence.