That was it. Without thinking, Clay let go of the girl's wrists. In about a second, the girl whirled around and pushed him hard. Then in two seconds, right before he hit the ground, she wheeled behind him and grabbed the Longi Kite. So as Clay fell, it slid off his back.
"LONGI KITE!" The girl screamed, without even taking the time to put the wings on. The kite carried her into the air. The warriors were starting to realize that they would have to be ready for the unexpected on this quest. They couldn't just stand around like idiots while it happened. They had to be alert and ready to act at all times.
"Quickly!" Omi exclaimed while Kimiko helped Clay up. "We mustn't let her get away!"
But they didn't need to worry about losing the girl. She flew to the roof of a building, landed on the roof, and doubled over. Kimiko pulled Raimundo's binoculars out of her backpack. They didn't usually bring them, but on particularly long or crucial missions, they figured it was best to be prepared.
Kimiko looked through them to see what was wrong with the girl. What she saw caused her temper to rise to the exploding point. The girl was laughing! That's why she had to land, she couldn't hold on to the kite. She was bent over laughing so hard that her sunglasses slid down her nose a bit. The eyelids were closed, but it was obvious that there was something behind them. Oh God. She did have eyeballs. She was just trying to gross Clay out enough to let her go.
Kimiko pulled the Star of Hanabi out. "STAR OF HANABI, FIRE!" She yelled and threw the now flaming star. The girl straightened up. The star zipped past her, right where her head had just been, then zoomed back to Kimiko. The girl stopped grinning. She got the message. She had made them mad enough to kill. Well, just Kimiko actually, but she didn't know that. She ducked down on the roof out of Kimiko's sight.
"Was that really necessary?" Clay asked.
"She was laughing at us. And it turns out she does have eyeballs."
"What?"
"You guys go up to her. I'll stay and make sure that she doesn't fly off."
"Wait. I fail to understand why she would tell us she doesn't have eyes when she really does." Omi said.
"She was trying to freak us out enough to not want to touch her."
Clay groaned. "Well, it worked. Honestly, she was getting creepier than-"
The girl poked her head up into sight. "STAR OF HANABI, FIRE!" Kimiko yelled and threw the star again. The girl pulled her head back down just in time. "Guys, just go before she gets away."
Omi and Clay ran to the building, through its doors, and into the elevator. Clay pushed the top button and they started moving up.
"Now then, we must be most careful as we recapture the girl." Omi said. "From what we've learned, she is very crafty."
When they reached the roof, they were greeted by a stream of curses coming from behind them. They tiptoed out of the elevator and peeked around it to see the girl. She was lying down on her back digging through her pockets. As she did, scraps of paper, polished stones, and red things Clay thought were jawbreakers spilled out. "Freaking Silvertongue." The girl muttered. "Next time run you own friggin' errands. You owe me big time for this. I swear he does this just to make me pay for not being able to- ah ha!"
She pulled a compact mirror out of her right pocket and the wooden box that held the Merkabah out of the left. After she stuffed everything that fell out back in her pockets, she set them beside her, brought her knees up to her chest and wrestled the roller-blades off. While she was busy, Omi backed up preparing to spring. Unfortunately, he jumped just as the girl raised up a leg trying to get the roller-blades off causing Kimiko to activate the Star of Hanabi in her element. The girl pulled the leg back down, so Omi became the new target. The star hit him in the shoulder, knocking him backward and pinning his robes to the back of the elevator. He quickly put the fire out with the Orb of Tsunami. Clay emerged to help free him. "Shit!" The girl cried when she saw them.
She scooped up the roller-blades, compact, and box and quickly got to her feet. She hurled the roller-blades directly at Kimiko, opened the compact and box, held the mirror out in front of her at an angle, then brought the box up near her mouth and muttered something. The blinding light filled the roof. Some of it reflected off the mirror and bounced down to where Kimiko was standing. "NOT AGAIN!" Kimiko screamed.
She shut her eyes and covered them with her hands to block out the light. The solid concrete under her vanished, and once again she was pulled into a whirlpool of flames.
Suddenly she fell gently on something cold, wet, and soft and felt a cool breeze brush her skin. It felt good. She brought her hands down and opened her eyes. She was in a lush valley surrounded by hills and trees. She looked down at her skin. It wasn't nearly as bad as last time. Just really red and too warm. She heard a whimpering on her far left. She looked to see a soaking wet Omi, shivering violently in the breeze, about a yard away. Kimiko briskly went to him and wrapped him up in a hug. Omi grinned, probably more from getting a girl hug than getting warm.
Kimiko heard a moan on her right. She looked to see Clay lying on the grass smeared in dirt and rubbing his head. She let go of Omi, turned to Clay, and extended a hand to help him up. "We must be getting used to this." She told them. "We didn't pass out during the trip this time."