AN: I'm sorry, I made an earlier mistake in my author's note on the prologue, a really big mistake. I said 'hopefully Keiko does turn out to be a mary sue,' Of course, I meant to say that I hope she doesn't turn into a mary sue. That would be just awful. I'll try to fix that later, but I post these early in the morning and I only check it one or two times to make sure I hadn't made any errors, but I am really tired at that point. Sorry if I've tweaked a few things to fit the story, just bear with me.
Disclaimer: I don't own Xiaolin Showdown or Batman (referring to small insult Keiko makes to Katnappe).
Cat Got Your Tongue
A woman stood on outcrop overlooking a small village in the country side, her hands on her hips as her long red hair billowed around her. Her emerald green eyes were narrowed in disdain as she took in every inch of the peaceful scenery before her. She sneered at the people going about their daily, pathetic lives. She lifted one hand, flexing her fingers as she clenched it into a fist.
There was a sudden rush of wind from behind her. The tree nearby rustled. Wuya glanced out of the corner of her eye as she took in the appearance of the dark colored Ying-Ying bird that sat on the branches, carrying it's only passenger.
"Hannibal Roy Bean. To what do I owe the pleasure of this visit?" Wuya tossed out sarcastically as she turned around.
"Just business, as usual." The birds feathers told her as a small object jumped out onto the bird's head. "I've been doing some research now and I've discovered something very interesting. I have a proposition for you."
"Whoop dee do." Wuya replied in monotone, raising one hand to twirl her finger in the air.
"Now, now. There's a major benefit for you. With this plan you could very well be able to gather all the Shen Gong Wu and return to full power."
That had caught Wuya's interest. "How?"
"It's more of a question of when rather than how right now." Hannibal corrected her. Wuya stepped forward, tapping her fingers against her hip in impatience.
"What are you talking about?"
"Have you ever heard of the term 'hollow'?"
"Yes..." Wuya said slowly. "I've insulted Jack with that word several times, usually when referring to his intelligence or there lack of."
"Yes, there is that." The small bean grinned. "But not the hollow I'm referring to. This hollow is a weapon or a tool that can be used, but they're considered unstable and unsuited for any sort of usage, especially in battle being as unreliable as they are. I'm not sure what it is exactly, but it's quite valuable."
"An unstable weapon?" Wuya repeated. "And how does that return me to power?"
"If you possess a hollow you could possess an unlimited amount of power. You could possess the power of multiple Shen Gong Wu at once."
"I've never heard of such a tool. Is it a Shen Gong Wu?"
"No, it's nothing like a Shen Gong Wu and after fifteen hundred years in a puzzle box, I'd think you'd miss a few things."
Wuya growled, narrowing her eyes. A moment later a tight smile made its way across her lips as she tossed the small vegetable with a coy look. "So how--when do we find this hollow?"
"In due time. I have a feeling it's going to surface out soon. Until then keep an eye out for anything unusual, I'll keep in touch." With that the Ying-Ying bird spread it's wings and took off into the sky.
"What?" Wuya called out after him, frowning as she watched the bird fade into the distance. "Anything unusual? What useless advice..."
"Well, well, if it isn't the Robo-dweeb." A young woman sashayed her hips as she stepped into the moonlight streaming through one of the nearby windows. Blonde hair poked out through the top of her cat suit, complete with cat ears, metal claws and a tail. She brought one arm up to her mouth, letting her tongue stroke over the skin tight suit over her wrist. Red painted lips pulled back into a smile.
The red-head turned around sharply, brandishing a fist in her face. "What the hell are you doing here Ashley?"
The last part was spoken with venom. The young woman, Ashley, merely shoved him face first into the nearest desk with one hand.
"Just doing a little... shopping. Five finger discount, well, since I've got two hands I'd say ten." She purred as she raised one of her clawed hands to the light, waving them menacingly in front of Keiko's face. "Who's your little girlfriend?"
Again with the little... Keiko thought. She momentarily forgot about the handcuffs and tried to back away from the claws hovering so close to her face, but in her effort she lost her balance. Keiko gasped as she flailed her arms out on either side of her, trying to regain her balance. The girl in the cat suit arched an eyebrow, leaned forward and tapped a claw against Keiko's chest very lightly. Keiko let out a short yelp as she landed on her rear end.
"Ita-ta-ta..." Keiko whimpered, raising herself up on her elbows and she looked up at the blonde girl, finding her grinning and revealing her sharpened fangs.
"Aw, poor baby." She made a mocking expression of sympathy as she put her hands on her knees and bent down. "Need some help getting up?"
"No, but thanks for the concern, you overgrown fur-ball." Keiko replied in Japanese with a tight smile. "Shouldn't you be playing in your litter box?"
"Huh." The blonde haired girl straightened up, glancing at the handcuffs on Keiko's ankles and then over at Jack. "You actually got someone with your useless junk, but she is just a little girl..."
Little... Little... That was all Keiko could take. It comparison to her many classmates, Kimiko included, she was not little. In Japan, she was at an average height and she most certainly did not resemble some primary school student.
... Right?
"At least I'm not confused about what species I belong to." Keiko snapped as she grabbed the desk and pulled herself onto her feet.
"Oh-ho." The blonde thief looked mildly surprised by Keiko's outburst.
"You speak English?" The earlier thief cried out in surprise, eyes wide. They quickly narrowed as he took a step forward, causing the other thief to stumble away. "You were trying to play me earlier?"
"I'm sorry, I can't understand English." Keiko squeaked out, her face heating up at the look of disbelief on the boy's face and the look of utter amusement on the girl's.
Good job, Keiko, she thought to herself sarcastically as she backed away from the angry boy. Get the thieves angry, screw yourself over and watch them take off with the stolen goods. You're quite the genius, aren't you?
"Watch it, doofus." The blonde girl spoke up as she shoved the other thief into the wall, hard. Keiko thought the entire floor seemed to shake from the impact and winced in sympathy. As he slid to the floor, the girl thief grabbed the black bag from his hands, eyeing it with interest. "Now, let's see what you're up to."
"Oh, how thoughtful of you, Jack." Ashley purred as she pulled out the items from the bag. "You did all my shopping for me, how sweet."
"Hey," He struggled up onto his feet, his voice weak. "Don't even think about--"
"Think about--this?" She dropped down and spun her leg out, knocking Jack onto his back. She stepped over the moaning boy as she dropped the items back in the bag and dangled it over his head. "I'd never dream of doing such a thing."
"Ashley--" He was cut off as a foot was slammed into his stomach, ending on a gasp as he curled on his side.
"The name's Katnappé, geek. Get it straight or next time I'll use you as a scratching post." The blonde thief growled as she flexed her claws, tapping them together. Then she turned to Keiko sharply, pointing at her with one claw. "And as for you..."
Keiko froze, having made her way along the wall at an agonizingly slow pace in order to get to the door leading to the staircase. Keiko tried to look nonchalant as she looked around the office, humming a made up tune. She pretended to just notice Katnappé pointing at her and looked to her left and then her right before she pointed at herself, responding in Japanese, "Me?"
"Nice try," Katnappé sneered as she made her way over to Keiko in a single bound, landing just inches away from the other girl. "Now, normally I wouldn't even bother with someone like you, but..."
But? But? Why is there always a but? Keiko asked as she turned her gaze up at the ceiling in exasperation, then back at the cat thief before her.
"--you've heard and seen just a little too much. I'm not one for killing anyone, too messy--"
Good, Keiko mentally sighed.
"But, hey, a drop from the twentieth floor should take care of that for me, shouldn't it?" Katnappé grinned, her canines shining in the moonlight.
"Twenty-first." Keiko corrected, wincing at her big mouth as she glanced over at the windows on the far side of the room.
The blonde girls' smile faltered, confusion filling her features before a scowl made its way onto her face. "Whatever!"
"I'm as ready for my demise as you are, but is it all right for you to keep your back turned like that?" Keiko smiled nervously as she stepped to the side, away from Katnappé.
The blonde girl frowned, "What are you talking about--"
Katnappé grunted when a double kick caught her from behind, sending her down the hall and right through the place Keiko had been standing in moments before. The bag dropped to the ground as Katnappé was forced to release it, making cat-like noises as she tumbled all the way into the office at the end of the hall. Jack stood shakily on his feet, glaring at the cat thief as he stuck out his tongue.
"That's right, you don't go messing with Jack Spicer, boy genius--uh oh." Jack cut himself as he saw two fiery eyes gleaming from the darkness, a menacing growl filling the hallway. He bent down, grabbing the bag and felt a sharp gust of wind blow over his back, a few of his hairs drifting into his vision. He whimpered as he clutched the bag to his chest and jumped over the desk and tumbled behind the one next to it.
Momentarily forgotten, Keiko crouched down, keeping an ear out for the tussle as she weighed her options. The first thief was less of a threat and he served as a good distraction for the crazy girl who wanted to kill her. The stolen items were a lesser priority as her life was, somewhat, on the line. The girl was young, at least Keiko's age so it could just be a bluff to scare her, but she wasn't about to take that risk.
A reflection of light caught her eye as Keiko looked up into the corner, seeing a red light in the darkness. Keiko scowled up at the security and waved her hands above her head briefly, pointing at her handcuffed feet and discreetly pointing over at the small game of cat and mouse occurring just a few feet away. The camera stared at her lifelessly and Keiko was tempted to do an inappropriate hand gesture. How could security not be rushing up here? Shouldn't the major corporation of gaming and technology have the highest quality of security?
Keiko was left to quietly mull over her current situation as Katnappé called out to her little mouse, "Oh Jack, come out and play so I can do to you what all cats do with mice. Torture you until you're within an inch of your life and bite off your head..."
"I think I'll pass..." Jack called out from beneath the desk, peeking out to glance at both ways before crawling to a new location.
"Oh, you're no fun." Katnappé slashed at a desk before her. At first it did not move, but soon there was a loud creaking before it fell away into four neatly cut pieces, crashing onto the carpet. "What, no stupid robots to scrap? Losing your touch, don't you think, Jack? Handcuffs are pretty desperate, even for a techno-dweeb like you..."
Keiko's eyes widened at the mess Katnappé left behind, leaning against the wall as she watched the thief jump up onto one of the remaining desks. The claws glimmered in the light of the moon showing through the window. Keiko's eyes immediately caught sight of them, a plan forming in her mind. She smiled as she started to push herself away from the wall.
"You think so? I have a pair for you too, it'd match your look..." Jack called out, turning sharply as he felt a presence nearby, but he could barely see anything from his angle on the floor. He turned back around, screaming when he saw Katnappé standing in his path, her hands on her hips.
"Rather not take fashion advice from a drag queen."
"Drag queen--Hey!" Jack growled as he stood up, glaring at her.
"You two don't get along, do you?"
Both criminals looked sharply at the sound of Keiko's voice, remembering the audience they had.
"I wonder what gave you that idea?" Jack shot out sarcastically. "Listen, stay out of this little girl and you won't get hurt."
"Oh, I beg to differ..." Katnappé interjected as she turned to Jack, glancing at the bag in his hand briefly. "Now, hand that over--"
Ignoring me... Keiko thought as her hands were already clenching at another reference of her being a little girl. She closed her eyes, taking a deep breath as she listened to their verbal sparring. She opened them and tried again.
"I thought you guys might be some sort of criminal duo, partners in crime," Keiko paused, then grinned, "Or even more than just partners."
"Me and this weirdo? I don't think so." Katnappé pulled a face at the very idea, leaping up onto the desk in order to put some distance between her and Jack.
"Get real! As if I want to waste my time with that evil diva." Jack responded at the same time as Katnappé, sticking out his tongue at her childishly. Katnappé hissed in response, clawing at the air causing Jack to yelp and take a jump back, hitting the desk behind him and ending up sprawled out onto its surface.
"Really? I think I detect a hint of passion under all that fighting," Keiko taunted, her eyes never leaving the blonde thief.
Katnappé stiffened, slowly turning her gaze from the red-headed boy groaning on the desk and slowly turned her narrowed gaze on Keiko.
"What?" There was a hint of steel in her voice. Keiko heard the warning loud and clear, but she forced out a nervous smile as her hands tightened into the material of her jacket that hung over the pockets of her jeans.
"The way that I see it the more the couple fights," Keiko licked her lips, faltering at the growling that seemed to be emitting from the cat thief. "The stronger their passion for one another. Seeing how much banter goes on between you two and how hard you play, I can just feel the tension in the air. Hard love, is it?"
"No!" Katnappé cried out in outrage, unable to stop herself from giving Jack a look of poorly concealed disgust. "No way! No, no, no!"
"No!" Jack struggled to get to the floor, looking embarrassed by the suggestions as a blush worked it's way on his pale skin. However, after hearing Katnappé fervent protests, he turned to her to scowl at the same moment she looked over at him, gritting his teeth as he added, "I'd rather have my tongue cut out."
Katnappé's gaze turned to that of anger as she jumped over to his desk, ignoring his yelp of surprise as she grabbed him by the collar of his jacket and held her claws within an inch of his face. "That I can do."
"I can see how he'd be so turned off by you," Keiko interrupted quickly, nearly taking a step forward. Both of them turned to look at her, Jack dangling from Katnappé's claws as she continued to wave them menacingly above his face. "That tacky outfit, talk about a disaster."
Jack grunted as his head banged against the surface of the wood having been released from the blonde girl's death grip. He rubbed the back of his head, leaning on his side as he glanced up at her to make an angry comment, but the words died in his throat as he saw the visible tick starting at the corner of her left eye.
"Tacky?" She repeated, completely ignoring the boy beneath her.
"Shouldn't you be out chasing some bats? I think you missed Gotham City by a few continents." Keiko continued, eyeing Katnappé as she gave her the once over before raising her hands up with a shrug. "No wonder he'd want to drop you. I think anyone would be embarrassed to be associated with a girl who thinks she has nine lives to spare--"
Had Keiko opened her eyes a moment later she would have ended up with some very serious damaged inflicted upon her. She didn't even have time to scream as she used her arms to block the oncoming attack. Claws nipped across her right arm and barely missed her face as Katnappé's body collided with her own. Keiko's adrenaline was running high as she rolled Katnappé off of her and rolled over her to get away, turning onto her back as the angry blonde turned her head to look at her sharply, striking out at the Japanese girl.
The floor beneath her claws groaned and cracked as she dragged them back, flipping away and back onto her feet. Jack swallowed audibly.
"Hehe... he..." Keiko laughed nervously as her eyes were wide, her legs spread apart. There were four long gashes right between her thighs, cement and carpet strewn up like shredded paper. Keiko raised a shaky hand up to wipe the cold sweat that broke out on her brow, continuing to laugh weakly as she gripped the material of her jacket over her heart as she looked up the length of her legs. "If I were a boy, I'd be a little bit more freaked out."
"I'll give you something to freak about!" Katnappé exclaimed as she made another lunge. Keiko was thankful for the warning as she rolled to the side, just barely making out of the way and jumped onto her feet.
The links were broken by Katnappé's earlier attack and now she was free to move as she pleased.
"Oh, how rude of me. Thanks for setting me free!" Keiko called out as she stumbled along in the darkness for somewhere to hide.
"Hey, why does everything I bring always get ruined?" Jack complained from somewhere on the floor.
There was a female's cry of outrage. Keiko couldn't help but smile. She had nearly gotten herself mangled, but she was alive and her heart was pumping. It was exciting and scary, but her new found freedom gave her a positive outlook. She backed up against something, jumping away when it bumped back against her. She turned around just as Jack turned, both realizing they had bumped into each other.
"You!" They both shouted, then quickly hushed one another. The cat thief was still throwing a fit which drowned out their own shouts, but she was getting closer to where they hid.
"Find your own hiding place!" Jack whispered angrily, still clutching the bag of stolen goods in his hands.
Finding him to be less of a threat when he was cowering behind a desk in the same manner she was, Keiko grabbed the bag from him and made the sign that usually meant victory or peace with one of her hands. "All right!"
"Hey!" He lunged at her, causing Keiko to lose her balance and hit the ground, spilling out the most of the contents of the bag into the moonlight streaming through a nearby window.
"Personal space!" Keiko whispered as she pushed him off with one foot and grabbed what she could with one hand.
Then she yelped, dropping what she had touched, clapping a hand over her mouth when she realized she was the only one breaking the sudden silence that had fallen across the floor.
"So here you are." Katnappé stepped out from the shadows and stood in front of Keiko, her blonde bangs plastered against her forehead and her eyes wild as she reached down to grab the items Keiko had dropped. "Play time is over. Kibin Band!"
"What?" Jack scrambled to his feet, watching as Katnappé clutched a red headband in her hands. Realization dawned on him as he could only stare, dumbfounded. "That's a Shen Gong Wu?"
"Woah!" Dojo yelped as he twisted about in mid-air, earning some screams from his passengers. He quickly righted himself, glancing over at them from the corner of his eye. "Sorry guys."
"What was that?" Raimundo complained, his head still spinning.
"Is something s'matter, Dojo?" Clay asked as he snatched his hat out of the air and placed it back on his head. "You look greener than a rattlesnake hiding in the grass."
"How can you tell? He's always green!" Raimundo said incredulously as he glanced back at Clay. The cowboy shrugged in response.
"I agree. You seem very shaken, Dojo." Omi added as he patted the dragon's back sympathetically.
"Yeah. The Shen Gong Wu I sensed earlier kind of..." The dragon trailed off as he started to descend, circling from above as he looked for a spot to land.
"What, Dojo?" Kimiko prompted. "Is it close?"
"Well..."
Fed up with Dojo's beat-around-the-bush answers, Raimundo shouted at him, "Just spit it out!"
"All right, all right. Keep your pants on." The dragon muttered a few things under his breath as he landed in a park under a lamppost. "I know I sensed it earlier, but all of a sudden it just disappeared."
"Disappeared?" They all cried out, making the small dragon jump.
"What do you mean?"
"Disappear? How?"
"I can't sense it anymore! It just went Bam! Poof! Out of existence! Well, maybe not out of existence, but--" Dojo shook his head, cutting himself off. "The point is that I can't help you in tracking it down, but I can tell you that it was around here somewhere before it just, you know, vanished off my radar."
"Great. Stuck in the middle of nowhere in the middle of the night--" Raimundo began, but Kimiko cut in.
"The middle of nowhere? Rai, we're in Tokyo!" Kimiko grinned at them. "Home sweet home, but I wish we could have gotten here when the malls were still open... Well, it can't be that late--"
"Focus, Kimiko!" Omi scolded and Kimiko sighed in response.
"Right, sorry." Kimiko pulled out the scroll, opening it up as the boys crowded around her. "This one is called the Kibin Band."
"What does it do?" Omi asked.
"Hm, if my memory serves me right that band can enhance your abilities at least tenfold! Plus, I think it can help you last for days without sleep. Pretty handy." Dojo answered as he watched the animation of the Shen Gong Wu being demonstrated.
"So where do we start?" Clay asked as Kimiko shut the scroll and placed it back in her pack.
"I'm as disappointed as you guys about being unable to track this Wu down, but," Dojo told them as he stretched his scaly arms, a grin working it's way on his face. "I'm glad that, for once, I'm not breaking out into a rash!"
Kimiko took out her PDA to calculate their position. "Okay, this happens to be close to my father's company so I know this area pretty well. Tokyo is a big city and with Dojo out of commission that Shen Gong Wu could be anywhere."
"Great. So what do you suggest?" Raimundo asked as he put on his hood, shivering in the slightest. "And it would have been nice to get a heads up on the weather over here. It's freezing!"
Clay rubbed his gloved hands together, silently agreeing as he was more use to the heat back on his farm in Texas. Kimiko sighed, able to see her breath as she put her electronic device away and glanced at her watch.
"We should split up and meet back here in a couple hours. If you get lost, look to that building," Kimiko pointed to her father's building. It was the tallest skyscraper in the area and read 'Tohomiko' in both English and Japanese in big bold letters down the side facing the park. "If you get there, you'll be able to find your way to the park, or just wait for me to find you, got it?"
"Got it." Clay and Raimundo affirmed as Omi replied with an 'understood,' before they went their separate ways. Kimiko watched as Dojo looked between the three boys leaving in different directions, torn about which way to go, before he slid after Omi, being most protective of him. Kimiko smiled, knowing that Omi could take care of himself, but with Dojo there to keep him on the right path made her breath a little easier. Raimundo and Clay were more than capable of handling themselves, but as she had seemed to show her concern earlier, she hoped they wouldn't get lost.
Kimiko chose to head in the direction of her father's building. It was the feeling of nostalgia that gripped her heart as she felt her feet moving of their own accord. She knew her first priority should be to concentrate on finding the Shen Gong Wu, but as she had said, Tokyo was a big city and after being away so long, it wouldn't hurt to enjoy the trip a little.
With every step that brought her closer to the building, she became more excited as she remembered everything she had left behind for the Xiaolin temple. The malls, the vending machines, the food, school, friends, Keiko...
Keiko! Kimiko thought somewhat guiltily as her hand went for her cell phone, only to find her pocket empty. Kimiko's steps faltered as she suddenly remembered the earlier incident that had her so troubled. I can't even call her...
It had been a few days since her last call to Keiko, but she knew that her friend understood her situation. Kimiko felt guilty for not telling Keiko the whole story, but it really was too much for someone living in normal society life without any idea that ancient magic really did exist. Being separated so quickly had strained their friendship enough that Kimiko felt that if she started sprouting out about the Shen Gong Wu and possible ten thousand years of darkness, it would have sounded like a big joke to Keiko and increase the distance between them.
It was the fact that Kimiko hadn't tried to contact Keiko at all for the past month that really bothered her. She blamed it on the battles and the pressure of the 'fate of the world' resting on her shoulders, but she still found time to use her laptop and check her e-mails, research, and many other things. She had her PDA that could be used for just about anything, including communication, but Kimiko found herself avoiding her best friend.
Her best friend.
Kimiko stopped, staring out ahead angrily. The laughter coming from the bars and the noise of people chattering away suddenly made her angrier.
Why? Kimiko asked herself, looking up at the sky. Why should she feel so guilty? It was true that she was avoiding talking to Keiko, but the same could be said of the other girl. Kimiko understood the pressures of exams and school as well as Keiko's responsibilities to take on the duties of her household, much like the mother or housewife, but that equaled to the amount of training and battling Kimiko did every day. If she could find time to relax, surely Keiko could have found time to send Kimiko an e-mail. Keiko was just as guilty as she was for not contacting her.
The air felt heavy and Kimiko found it hard to start walking again, but somehow she managed to put one foot in front of the other. It seemed that Keiko realized the distance between them as much as Kimiko did.
As Clay wandered about the streets of Tokyo, even in the middle of the night he found restaurants still bursting with life, or more precisely drunken business men. He allowed himself to become momentarily side-tracked to inspect the menu's, plastic displays of food and pictures that held his attention. He stood outside of one restaurant, scratching the back of his head as he squinted at the menu in an effort to comprehend it.
"What in tarnation do these symbols mean?" Clay asked aloud as he placed his thumb and fore finger under his chin. "I don't see how Kimiko understands these."
For Clay, some of the dishes looked, interesting as the polite way to describe it, some even looked appetizing, but most were downright puzzling for the Texan boy as he pulled away from the display window and wandered farther into the city, stopping at a vending machine that had an array of different cans. He guessed that they were drinks by some of the pictures of fruits placed on some of the cans near the bottom. He was tempted to try one, but remembered he didn't have the proper currency to use and snapped his fingers in disappointment.
"Not in Kansas anymore, huh?"
Clay jumped, striking into a defensive pose as he was caught off guard. He lowered his hands when he found Raimundo grinning at him from ear to ear, obviously pleased to have surprised the cowboy.
"Knock it off, Rai." Clay paused. "You do remember I'm from Texas, righ'? Not Kansas..."
"What?" Raimundo blinked at him in confusion. His eyes widened at the implication and shook his head, waving his arms, "Wait, no, that's not what I meant..."
"We've been there often enough, I'd figure ya'd remember by now."
"No! I--ah!" Raimundo ran a hand through his hair, eyes tightly shut together. "Man, Clay. Sometimes you can be as bad as Omi.'
"What?"
"Never mind... Anyway, why are you all the way out here? I thought you went the other way." Raimundo dropped his hand and pointed to the direction Clay had just come down.
Clay frowned. "No, that's where I came from. Why are you here? You went that-a-way earlier, didn't you?"
Raimundo followed Clay's gaze towards their left and he could only shrug in response. "I don't know, I've been wandering around for who knows how long and I've got nothing!"
Clay was about to reply when he heard a familiar voice nearby.
"I'm sorry, but I do not wish to fight you. I am on a mission and have no time to waste on meaningless battles."
"Omi?" Raimundo and Clay questioned at once, glancing across the street to find the small monk standing before a swaying man, a crowd beginning to form. They could see Dojo peeking his head out from Omi's robes as he mumbled something in Omi's ear, but it was apparently an insult directed at the drunken man as he gave a shout of rage and charged. Both Clay and Raimundo nearly collided with each other in their rush to get to the young monk, calling out his name out again.
Omi had jumped over the man to avoid the charge, glancing over at them. A grin made it's way on his face as he waved at them. "Hello Raimundo! Hello Clay! Have you any success in finding the Shen Gong Wu?"
"Omi, what are you doing?" Raimundo yelled as he tried to push his way through the crowd. Clay appeared a moment later, easily shoving on-lookers out of the way as they made their way to the inner edge of the circle. "What did you do?"
The drunken man had gotten up, stumbling back to his feet and began swinging at Omi wildly.
"I am trying not to be hit." Omi simply replied as he ducked and dodged the punches being thrown at him. "As for what I did, I had merely told this man that Dojo is not some sort of meal."
"Yeah! He called me an eel!" Dojo shouted, shaking his little arm at the drunken man. The crowd gasped, whispering excitedly as they pointed at Omi. Dojo pulled back into Omi's robes, laughing nervously, "Er... I mean, don't pay any attention to me. I'm just a harmless... dragon..."
"Dojo!" Raimundo and Clay shouted angrily as the whispering turned into shouts, some of the spectators taking out their cell phones to capture Dojo with their camera function. Recognizing the signs that would land them into trouble, Raimundo shouted to Omi.
"Omi! Onto the roof and back to the park, lose the crowd!"
"What? But we have not found--" Omi protested as he landed on the man's outstretched arm.
"Just do it!" Raimundo snapped as he pushed Clay in the direction he guessed was the park, not even bothering to look back as they sprinted down the street and around the corner.
Omi frowned after them, but turned to his opponent. "Excuse me."
With that, Omi leapt onto his head, onto the sign of the restaurant and up onto the rooftop. He listened to the fading sounds of the crowd as he jumped onto the next building and down into an empty alley. Dojo poked his head out as Omi began running along the sidewalk back in the direction that they had come, or at least, the direction he thought they had come from.
"No, I think you should have taken that left turn... No, no you're other left!"
Dojo's memory was no better.
If Katnappé was at all concerned by the fact that she felt no different than from before, even after calling out the Shen Gong Wu's name, she showed no trace of it on her face. She opted to grin as if she had everything under control and meowed right into the face of the Japanese girl.
Keiko yelped, whipping her head around as she scrambled away on her hands and knees, her messenger bag dragging along the carpet. Katnappé had to pull back when something hit her across the face, poking one of her eyes and causing it to water. She yowled in surprise and pain as she placed her hand over her tearing eye, focusing on the girl's retreating back. Her good eye widened at the sight of something swinging across Keiko's back and dragging along the floor.
"How did you know that was a Shen Gong Wu?" Jack directed at Katnappé, standing in her way and obscuring her view of the other girl.
"How could you not realize it, you idiot?" Katnappé shot back as she shoved him aside. "Get out of my way!"
"So what's it do? You don't seem any different." Jack stumbled out of her way, eyeing the band as the blonde girl place it on her head, over her ears and just above her eyes.
Katnappé tensed at his comment and lashed out, not wanting to be told something she already wondered. "Shut up!"
Jack gave a short yelp as he dropped to the ground. Katnappé didn't even bother to give him a glare as she jumped up and off a wall, bounding down the hallway in search of the missing girl.
Keiko had already reached the door to the stairway, the same one she had come up through. She was clutching the straps of her bag tightly as she glanced over her shoulder, then to her other side.
First I find a thief and get myself handcuffed. Then the cat girl comes, who's obviously crazy shouting out weird things and holding a headband of all things, Keiko thought as she grabbed the handle of the door and opened it a crack, her hand automatically reaching into her jeans pocket. She gasped and looked down the hall.
My cell phone! Keiko moaned as she patted both pockets and the sides of her jacket, the door slowly shutting on her. Forget it!
Keiko was about to pulled the door open wider when there was a hard jerk on her arm. Keiko stumbled and hit the door with her shoulder, wincing at the impact. She tensed when she felt a presence behind her and slowly looked over her shoulder to find Katnappé leaning against the door with her hand above her head. Keiko gave a nervous smile and a quiet laugh. The next moment she was bounding down the hall.
Katnappé expected this and smiled as she merely shot out her hand, grabbing the 'leash' to the Japanese girl and waited for the cry of pain. "I see you have a tail too."
"Ita-ta-ta..." Keiko whimpered for the second time that night as she reached up to the back of her head. Tail? What tail---
Keiko took hold of her braid and realized that during the earlier scuffle it must have gotten loose from within her shirt. She slowly looked around at the cat thief fearfully as her eyes widened to see the end of her braid held carefully within the grasp of her sharp claws.
If it was one thing Keiko ever prided herself with, it was her hair. She had never cut it since she was ten and unlike many schools that had a dress code as well as a code for personal appearance, her school made an exception for hair length. It was one of the things she was proud of that set herself apart from other girls in her school, but it was a painstaking task to take care of. Nearly six long years of brushing, conditioning and...
"My, my." Katnappé purred,tugging at her braid lightly while she brought up her other clawed hand close to the strands.
As a girl, Katnappé would understand the trouble Keiko had to go through to grow her hair that long and she would also know just how devastating it would be if she were to cut her hair after Keiko had been so careful to hide it.
Keiko realized this as well as her eyes filled with fear, her heart pumping with adrenaline. Katnappé smiled as she raised her hand. Keiko didn't even dare to shake her head as she took hold of her braid.
Jack chose that moment to appear as he yanked the band from Katnappé's head, nearly taking off her cat ears in the process. Keiko watched her braid fall and breathed a sigh of relief before darting away, listening to the sounds of the blonde girl's cries of outrage and the boy's incessant laughter. She grabbed her braid and stuffed it into the back of her jacket once again, adjusting her collar.
Jack cackled as he clutched the headband in his hand. "All right, let's see what this baby can do. Kibin Band!"
Katnappé arrived just in time to see Jack placing the headband on. Keiko peered out from around the corner, shivering at the sound of the name. She still couldn't figure out why they kept shouting that weird phrase while holding that headband, but that was soon pushed out of her mind as Katnappé lunged and knocked Jack onto the ground, trying to claw him in an effort to retrieve the headband.
"Give it back, you idiot!" The girl thief snarled as Jack held onto her wrists, turning his head away to avoid her claws.
"Man, for a girl you're freakishly strong. When does this stupid Shen Gong Wu kick in?" Jack complained as he brought his knees to his chest and kicked Katnappé off of him.
Katnappé was able to land on her feet, brushing a hand over her stomach as she eyed Jack warily. "It's... not working for you either? What is this?"
"Guess you were wrong about this one," Jack taunted as he ripped it off and dropped it on the floor. He recalled a phrase she had used on him earlier and threw it back at her.
"Losing your touch, don't you think, Katnappé?"
"Oh shut up!" Katnappé slashed at him again, Jack ducked away at the last second as a few more hairs littered the ground.
"I'm not looking for a haircut, fur-ball!" Jack snapped as he scrambled away, backing into a wall in his hurry to avoid Katnappé's continuous swipes. He yelped in pain when something crashed onto his head, making him see stars. He looked down at the sound of a crack near his feet.
Jack had caused decorative samurai swords to fall from it's case on the wall, the glass case cracking open as the two swords clattered to the floor. Jack picked one up just in time to block Katnappé's strike. She broke through the sheath, raising an eyebrow in surprise.
"Nice toy, Jack, but that cheap metal doesn't stand a chance against my claws!" Katnappé sneered as she brought her hand back for a powerful strike, sending Jack skidding across the room and slamming against the full length glass window. Jack winced as he heard a crack and measured the damage as he glanced out of the corners of his eyes. He began to sweat at the spider cracks making it's way to the edges of the window from his place of impact and then over at the cracked sword in his trembling hands.
"Maybe we can talk this over? Split everything fifty-fifty?" Jack offered nervously.
"Don't make me laugh, dweeb." Katnappé scoffed as she made a running jump and smashed him right through the window.
Additional AN: Bravo to unknown and krystalmaze for figuring out the 'mystery' person. I guess I did make it a bit obvious, didn't I? Also, thank you to those two as well as Egglette, Jackie Jackie Spicey, Cara the Jack Fan and Raikun for taking the time out to comment my story even though I know it's not the best.
What happened to the Shen Gong Wu? Did Katnappé make a mistake and why can't Dojo sense it anymore? And more importantly, what will become of Jack Spicer?