Fireproof. (Private)

Ozaki covered his mouth in impulse to hide his wide grin at that. Though hiding the sound of his chuckling was of course less hide-able. His bats were all named some variant of bat pun. The Great Batsby, Battina, Bitty Bat, and then of course there was him. Little Bat. An embarrassing nickname. So he did have some level of appreciation for them.

“I won’t know until we test and see which ones survive the different types of phoenix fire. As for weapon… I’m not sure yet.” He had been thinking of a chain. That would be useful for keeping his distance and allowing Yuuto to simply hang over and over again until however many phoenix downs he had ran out… A grisly series of deaths. But nothing short of what Yuuto deserved. Ozaki didn’t realize it, but there was a cold, distant look growing in his eyes as he mulled over what he would have to do. He might be looking in Ryse’s direction, but he didn’t seem to be looking at her, rather lost in thought.

Ozaki was uncertain he could afford 15 meters worth of chain to both account for the range of Yuuto’s talent. That range was about 10 meters. In order for extra breathing room and room for the noose he’d need extra space.

A gun was a good idea. He could just keep shooting Yuuto every time he came back… It was dangerous. If he was even a second off in his timing Yuuto could be up and at him within seconds. But that was also the wonderful thing about a gun. You need not be up close for it. He liked the idea of the noose… But the more he looked at it the less practical it seemed.

Huh… If a bullet got lodged in Yuuto’s skull would it simply just stay there even after he healed? Would there be permanent brain damage? Would it just kill him for good?!

Ozaki had to physically shake himself out of his thoughts, as he could feel himself start to slip into the uncomfortable, dark depths of his mind. That… Had been a close one. “T-the gun’s a good idea though…” He muttered, not meeting Ryse’s eyes. He could just make the ammo rather than need to get a whole gun out of it. He might not need much more material than he already had... Though of course he'd want a bit more. Just in case. 

“So sorry.” Ozaki muttered in picking up on her own nerves. He must have let slip a little of his internal rage. Now she was desperate to just get this done with quick as possible and over with. He felt bad for scaring her like that. She probably thought that he was close to snapping. She even had stepped away from him just in case… Not that he blamed her for that. “I… Just got a bit lost in thought. I didn’t meant to scare you. So sorry again.”

Note to self. Stop planning murders in front of other people. His coworkers had had similar reactions as of late whenever they walked into his office when he wasn’t expecting someone. And then there was the time his boss had walked in on him eating a piece of a paper.

… That was for science.

Namely the curiosity if his talent could analyze then mimic the effects of materials that did not have strong- or potentially any- effects on him. He was doubtful, but Ozaki’s theory was that if he wanted to mimic the effects of something that had none… He’d have to eat a lot of it for his talent to analyze it properly. So eating a which ever block of metal managed to survive these trails so he could just replicate it all on his own without having to buy a shit ton was not very feasible.

And also would be very uncomfortable. Then again… His talent was less about how much of a thing he imbibed, but how long it had to analyze. And of course how strong its effects on a living person. Or unliving… Kinda in his case. Either way. Eating metal probably wouldn’t work. His talent was better suited to mimicking the effects of drugs, liquids, and blood borne things than completely inorganic materials.

He used his umbrella to block the light of the phoenix fire as it lit up each one. He peeked for a moment when she got done lighting each one. He then took a picture of the group with his phone after she was done with the melee fire round.

When the phoenix rebirth fire round began he was surprised she started so quickly. They hadn’t put on a new layer of holy oil yet- the first round would have burned it all off. But then he realized… No. This was right. It was better even. He did need to test the combination of these fires, but he needed to see the individual effects as well. That way he might be able to better tell which side needed more or less in the ratio.

“Hold on a moment… We should wash off the ash from the materials before going to the next round so we can get a clear look at the effects.” Ozaki put on a black pair of cloth gloves that he had in one of his many internal pockets, then went over to the sink where there were plastic gloves and put on a few on top of that… Juuuust to be safe.

That was when he spotted the a pair of tongs lying on the counter. And this was why he didn’t do these experiments at home. There was all sorts of equipment lying around he might not have even thought of otherwise if it weren’t literally staring him in the face. “Aaaah… Much better." He grabbed them and washed them off quickly, in case there was any residual material from before, and went to pick up the Samples. It would probably be wise to get some of the melted metal from the ones that had melted rather than be scorched, but odds were the metal was likely too hot to touch right now.

They’d be fine with just ensuring that the samples were clear of residue first. Just as well… Merely picking up the forth sample showed that a forth of it had been torched by the melee phoenix fire alone. “We’ll still want to see the effects of phoenix rebirth fire and the holy fire on this one.” Ozaki said as he put Sample Four back in its place. “See if there are different effects to each… It occurred to me that seeing the individual types of fires effects on the materials would likely be a good idea. Might not last the whole way but… Still good to know. Can’t be sure of which effects are caused by the phoenix fire and holy fire yet.”

When she started the phoenix fire round Ozaki started taking notes n it.  “We’ll want to do the holy fire round next to see the effects it has on the metal without phoenix fire involved… After we clean these off of course.”

He picked up the holy oil bottle and tilted it slightly back and forth to see how much was in it. "Probably use a bit less for the next rounds we use this in... Want to make sure it lasts." She was likely eager to finish this off as quickly as possible now he’d freaked her out… But they needed to go a bit slower if this were to be done correctly. “If you don’t want to do this any more its fine… But if you do we need to take it a bit slower.” He then took a picture of the rebirth flame effects before starting on washing them off. “You’re doing a great job though.”

… He sure hoped no one heard those last words out of context while outside the door. Damn it why did his brain have to go there?! He was going to die. Die you here me. Die. Ozaki opted to try and hide his inner flusterment with a half smile. Just as well she couldn't read minds. 

“Mmmmm.” Ozaki mused on which one to to do next. He supposed the order probably didn’t matter… “I’m thinking rebirth fire.” The holy fire would be slightly tricky in that it could not use her phoenix fire, but rather a regular lighter with the holy oil.

He had a lighter on him, But not one of those longer ones that would be better to use in scenarios such as this. Maybe he could find something like that in this room. By Dracula’s fangs he felt woefully under prepared for this. There were bunsen burners they could use if they were careful. Better than having your fingers right up against a surface that woudl be about to ignite in holy flame.

Rebirth and holy fire. They were jumping steps. He had been hoping for just rebirth fire next, but by the time he realized what she was doing it was a bit too late to go back at that point.

So he allowed her to pour the holy oil on the rest of the blocks of metal then light them on fire. It’d be fine…. If he did an experiment like this again he’d have to be much more precise with the directions though.

Something would happen, however, before the light of the Revival and holy flame died out that would cause Ozaki to perk up slightly. He could not safely look at the materials as the flames burned, given that they were still shining bright with deadly light for him. But he could hear a cracking noise.

It was only Ozaki’s super human speed that allowed him to react in time to the thunderous crack that resounded through the room that sent shards of the first sample flying every which way. What he ended up doing was kicking over a table and diving behind it. "DUCK!" He sincerely wished he could have done more to help Ryse… But it was literally all he could do hide from the deadly rays of light himself and avoid the flaming shrapnel that pelted the room.

He had done well to dodge the majority of it, but a piece ricocheted off the wall, and ratcheted through his umbrella and hit his left shoulder.

Meaning he had a shard of burning phoenix-holy fire metal embedded in his flesh. It was only a small one of about 2 inches or so, but it was sharp enough that half of it embedded on impact, and the combination fire was already flaying away at any exposed skin and the flesh it was in contact with.

Ozaki whipped out his dagger as fast as lightening and cut out the offending shard, taking a fair chuck of flesh out with it to ensure that no flame remained near him as he tossed the bloody chunk of singed skin and muscle away as well, huddled underneath his partially damaged umbrella.

The explosion had only lasted merely for a couple of seconds… But the damage it had produced in that time was considerable. And could get worse if the sprinkler system did not kick in soon. 

Ozaki huddled under the umbrella until he was certain that the fire was all out, only then did he hesitantly uncurl from this protective huddle.

Both phoenix fire and holy fire were a terrible on their own. The combination of even the brief exposure had done quite a number on him. Now that the immediate threat to his life was gone, he started noticing the sensations his mind had paid little heed to before. He felt a harsh burning on the side of his face that had been exposed to the deadly flames. Ozaki rubbed at it, a thick coat cinders of clinging to his palm. Any skin that had been exposed to the flame, however briefly, had charred skin in its place.

He glanced over to where he had thrown the flesh that had had the shard in it… Only crumbled pieces of it remained.

Ozaki had to push down the rising panic in his gut. That had been close. Too close. So close. Blood was starting to leak slowly from the wounds on his arm and face that had been inflicted. He did not know how bad the wound to his face truly looked yet… But if it were as bad as it could be… Might as well not inflict Ryse to that.

He covered the left side of his face with his hand again, and heaved himself up, using his right arm only since the left one was painful to move given the chunk of muscle he’d cut out. He’d been in too much of a hurry to go for minimal damage. He had just been trying to get it out as quickly as possible.

“R-Ryse. D-Damn it.” He could see she was in a poor state. “Are you- I mean. Of course you’re n-not. I’m so so sorry.”

Despite him wanting to mutter like he was normally want to in such shameful situations, he spoke up to try and insure that she could hear him, but still didn’t meet her eyes. “It wasn’t your fault. I asked you to.” Perhaps the order she had done it in wasn’t the one he had intended. But that was his fault for not giving precise directions in the first place and stepping up once things weren’t going the direction he had wanted them… But this… This was likely inevitable to have happened.

He’d let his anger get the best of him and had been reckless. Even with all his planning he was still making such mistakes. “I should have taken better precautions.” Actual safety equipment for one.

Sure both of them could heal but… They were still running an experiment here. And of all things with holy fire and phoenix fire. What had he been thinking even being in the same room as both of these things with just a plain umbrella as his shield? He really should get one of those dragon wing umbrellas… But the fear of being viewed as offensive for such a thing, even if it were a lesser dragon, held him back.

He wished he could reach out to comfort her, assure her that it wasn’t her fault… It was his. He was supposed to be the responsible adult here. But the arm that had gotten impaled was partially roasted, and so mostly defunct. And the other hand… Well if he removed his hand from his face he was likely to make her feel even worse than she did right now.

“If you need me to I can get behind the table so you can use your phoenix fire to heal yourself… Otherwise we can go to the nurse’s office.” There were damn good talents here that could heal things rather quickly. The people on staff, however, usually specialized in healing living flesh, not the undead kind that his was. Hence why his own wounds tended to more be patched up than actually fully healed.

It wasn’t that bad. A vampire’s healing factor could take care of pretty much anything. For things they weren’t weak against it was rather quick. For things they were weak against however… It’d take some time. He could only imagine what kind of nasty scar a combination phoenix-holy fire could create. If he thought getting a woman to even look his way was hard before…. Yeah…

But he really shouldn’t be thinking of that right now.

Ozaki ducked behind the table at her request. He’d known that she wouldn’t start trying to heal herself until he was safely tucked away. She was the type to think of others before herself.

In the time that she had been patching herself up, Ozaki too had been quietly at work. He was more than prone to landing in trouble like this with the handful of weaknesses vampires had, and and long ago since started carrying his own small supply of first aid supplies. Nothing much. Gauze, adhesive bandages, and little something to clean off the wound. Vampires did not entirely have to worry about infections, but it was a good practice to clear off the residuals of what had harmed you.

He found that when he did so scarring could either be reduced or completely avoided. The fact that his handkerchief was coated with black ash and blood did not bode well for that though. It was a shame about his left arm too. He’d just regrown a new one after Mordred had cut it off. He knew its scarless state wouldn’t last long, but he’d been hoping to maybe keep it that way for awhile longer.

He wrapped up his arm first then set himself on doing his face. By the time he was done he did not have any extra gauze left. He had gone a bit heavy on it, knowing that it would take awhile for the healing factor to stem the bleeding completely with such a wicked combo of holy and phoenix fire. Ozaki had covered the entire left side of his face with it, not even bothering to leave a slit for the left eye to see through. It was mostly defunct right now anyways. Now at least he wouldn't have to bother with trying to hide that side. “No real point. They’re not the best at healing the undead. Plus, I already patched myself up.” The process of healing the undead and the living was considerably different. 

“I’m so sorry this happened… I should have taken more precautions to keep something like this from happening.” His anger and eagerness had blinded him and made him move too hastily. And because of that Ryse had gotten hurt. And he'd nearly gotten himself killed. What use was revenge if you ended up dead in the pursuit of it? He hadn't even gotten to facing Yuuto and he was like this.