Daily Short: Kyo 11

Kyo scrunched up her face. Even after the suspiciously quiet Demon Brick had caused her to float, she was still too short. The mansion door handles remained a nemesis that required additional height to defeat. Previously she could jump to beat them, but now that she was hovering, that wasn’t an option anymore.

Even more, she was worried that if she kept scrunching her face, she’d lose the cute adorable one she had now. The aunties in the market that trapped her between them when getting food sometimes told her such horror stories. Small children scrunched their faces and couldn’t return to normal. It was the main reason she kept a cold front toward those she didn’t know!

“Big Sis, what should I do?” Kyo asked Nota as the book floated beside her without weight. The book was flipping and doing loops like a carnival trick.

“You could leap through the vine network again,” Nota suggested. Kyo shook her head. She’d just eaten, and going through that place made her tummy hurt worse each time. If it hurt enough, she might vomit everything eaten out!

“No,” Kyo said, shaking her head. Strangely enough, the rest of her body stayed still while her head moved in the negative. It was a strange feeling of disorientation. People moved a lot more than she thought. Attempting to speak to the Demon Brick had gotten her nothing but silence.

I need to take this into my own hands. I can’t have Talos do everything for me. Kyo thought before her eyes firmed. If being polite doesn’t work, then there isn’t a reason to be polite.

“Big Sis, can you tow me to the lab, please?” Kyo asked with a flattering tone.

Nota’s pages flipped for a little bit before she agreed. Several minutes later, Kyo was floating outside the lab’s door. Nota had towed her over while she kept a hand on one corner of the book’s spine. Firming her will, she opened the door. She had promised not to do any experiments, and she wouldn’t.

It wasn’t an experiment if she knew exactly what would happen.

Kyo had the vines assist her in moving now that she was in the lab. Moving around was easy when she wasn’t limited by the magic that kept everyone from flying off into the sky. With incredible speed, the vines brought together all the pieces of her previous failed potion. Looking at all the parts ready to be assembled, her fingers itched. Resisting the desire to combine everything, she glanced at her left shoulder.

The Demon Brick lay lengthwise along her shoulder, lighter than a feather.

Kyo turned back to the arrayed glassware and component powder and liquids. She took a deep breath and said, “I don’t have many skills. But I have a few that I’ve developed over a brief period. They aren’t perfect, but they do work, sometimes.”

She combined the liquids until there was a slightly glowing light lavender base in the bottom of the flask. Kyo didn’t fail to note the Demon Brick starting to edge away from her shoulder. Lighting fast, she grabbed the clay comrade and held their struggling form over the open beaker.

“Ah? What’s this? Do you suddenly realize you are talking to the great Kyo student of Kudzu? Too late!” Kyo shouted at the end.

Stuffing the brick down into the glowing magical liquid, Kyo grabbed a lid and the mashed powders she’d used before. Throwing them into the bottle, she screwed the top on the beaker.

The Demon Brick went limp as if giving up the fight, but it was too late. Kyo held the bubbling jar up to her face and said, “Everyone talks, eventually.”

Nota floated Kyo over to the disposal vent, after which she dropped the container without pause. An explosion followed shortly after. Tapping her foot on the floor, Kyo said, “It’ll be ok, right?”

“Of course. If the Demon Brick could die that easily their race would have gone extinct.” Nota said firmly.

Kyo was worried until the Demon Brick blinked into existence on her shoulder. It was covered in a thin layer of carbonized matter and small cracks. As she watched the cracks heal, Kyo felt the cold floor under her feet again.

From then on, it was merely a matter of working out signals to float, rise, move, and lower.

That was precisely what Talos found her doing when he came to investigate the explosion.