Death by PDA

They were at it again. Kimiko blinked, wide-eyed, and promptly dropped the tray of tea she had been about to offer her two Xiaolin Dragon companions. Swallowing hard, she darted out of the room and instinctively pressed herself against the wall next to the open door. She could hear them begin to speak.

“Did you hear something?” The first voice asked. Kimiko couldn’t help but ever so slightly peek her head gingerly through the doorway.

“No,” Clay’s deeper voice responded, a hint of his signature accent could be made out.

“Are you sure? I could have sworn-” the first voice (which belonged to Raimundo,) was cut off by Clay.

“It was nothing, Rai.” He said, shushing the smaller boy, who, by the way, was seated comfortably on his lap. With that, he slipped his hand onto the back of the Brazilian boy’s head and pulled him into another possessive kiss.

“H-he…he’s so forward!” Kimiko thought before turning abruptly and dashing down the hall, dragging the wet tea tray along with her.

Assertively, she thrust the tray into the sink and turned the water on.

“Ever since those two got together, all they’ve done is SUCK FACE all day long! I hope they SUCK EACHOTHER’S BRAINS OUT!” She growled bitterly, violently rinsing the tray. For some odd reason, seeing those two together really seemed to irk the living hell out of her. It could have been jealousy. Or…it could have been the fact since they got together they insisted on acting like two dogs in heat all over the freaking temple.

She sighed and set the tray on the counter beside her. Since everyone seemed to have something better to do (Omi was meditating, Dojo was napping, Master Fung was doing whatever the hell it is that he does during the day, and Clay and Raimundo where…well, you know,) she was beginning to grow insanely bored. A Shen Gong Wu hadn’t been activated in weeks, and other than the routine make-out sessions between Clay and Raimundo (which were becoming more and more frequent), life was exceptionally uneventful.

It was not that she minded taking a break from fighting evil or collecting Shen Gong Wu, it’s just with everyone else having something to preoccupy themselves with, she had begun to grow…lonely.

“Hey, Kimiko. What’re you up to?”

The voice came out of nowhere, causing her to jump suddenly. She quickly turned.

“Oh…hi, Raimundo.” Kimiko said, laughing nervously. “I was just…uh…washing…stuff.” Raimundo blinked.

“Um…okay then.”

There was an awkward silence.

“So…where’s Clay?” She asked, sparking a conversation. While speaking, she got out two glasses and reached for the tea kettle. Raimundo sat down at the table and shrugged.

“I dunno, I think he said he was going to go outside and practice some more or something.” Kimiko handed him a cup of tea and sat at the table next to him. Raimundo thanked her and took a large gulp. Kimiko tried her best to keep the conversation going.

“So, what have you been up to lately? I mean, it’s been really quiet around here. I barely see you outside of training anymore.” She inquired. Raimundo lowered his eyes to the table, his cheeks flushed a light pink. Kimiko almost forgot how to swallow; She knew what that meant. How far had they actually gone? And in the Temple, no doubt?

“Uh…” Raimundo finally spoke up. “Me and Clay have just…y’know, hung out together.” he said, trying to sound casual. Kimiko rolled her eyes.

Hung out…yeah, all over each other’s faces. She thought in bitter sarcasm.

“Well,” she said sweetly, “I guess it’s good for you two to spend time together!” She knew it was the right sort of attitude to portray, but in reality Kimiko wanted to rip someone’s head off. Instead of taking this course of action, however, she took a sip of her tea. She was about to say something else when who, of all people, should walk in the room but Clay. It was like some sort of ironic slap to the face.

Clay smiled, helped himself to a cup of tea, and made his way to the table. He planted a kiss on a beaming Raimundo’s forehead before sitting down and greeting Kimiko. She forced a smile as a response.

“Haven’t seen you a lot today, Kimiko.” Clay started.

Maybe if you weren’t so busy being Raimundo’s face-leech. She thought resentfully.

“Ah, well, I’ve been busy. All day.” she smiled sweetly. Clay opened his mouth to say something, but was interrupted when a frantic green blur slithered into the kitchen and onto the table.

“Guys! I’m sensing a new Shen Gong Wu!” Dojo screamed excitedly.

“Well, it’s about time!” Kimiko exclaimed.

Clay and Raimundo exchanged glances before following Dojo and Kimiko outside; Omi was already waiting for them.

-*-

As the four monks were traveling atop the now enlarged Dojo, Kimiko pulled the ancient scroll of Shen Gong Wu out from her backpack and unfurled it. The other three hand leaned inward, looking over her shoulder to get a survey of what Wu they would be prospecting. She found it slightly annoying the two boy insisted on holding hands even while flying, but she shook it off and focused her attention on the scroll.

“The Wu we’ll be looking for is called the Viper Nightingale,” she said, sounding rather official. “It gives the user the ability to paralyze their enemies.” Her eyes trailed lower. “Not only that, it says here that if this Wu is activated in the Yin-Yang world, it’s effect can become permanent to the victim.” Dojo turned his head slightly towards them.

“Oi, the Viper Nightingale? Looks like we’d better high-tail it to Jamaica.” Their host said as he turned to the right and continued flying. Kimiko placed the scroll back into her backpack and tried to focus on the scenery rather than the boys. Omi seemed to be having a much easier time than her ignoring them. She began wondering if Omi had even noticed the drastic change in the boy’s relationship; she often felt as if she was the only one who found it…bothersome. Even now, while she was focusing on a distant cloud that had a shape resembling a large basket of laundry, she couldn’t help but overhear the quietest of sweet nothings being exchanged behind her.

Ew.

Honestly, you would think the two were newlyweds or something.

Sighing, she pulled out her headphones and drown the two problematic lovebirds out of her mind. This was going to be a long flight.

-*-

Two cotton-candy pink pigtails bobbed in the wind as Kimiko took a quick jump backward. The shiny over casing of the robot that had shot towards her was now plastered in dirt from coming in contact with the earth; Taking a deep breath, she lunged forward and delivered a powerful kick to the center of the robot’s torso. It flung backward before it could even respond, and crash landed against a pile of rocks.

She brushed herself off and turned her direction to her comrades; They were still being attacked by a hoard of Jack-bots, but judging by their numbers she assumed they would be made quick work of. But where was Spicer…?

“Haha, so long losers!” the signature full-of-himself voice came from her left. Turning quickly, she spotted Jack with the Viper Nightingale in hand. She glared and jumped at him in an attempt to retrieve the Wu. Unfortunately, right when she came in contact with the boy genius, he had reached in his pocket and pulled out two orb-like objects.

“YIN-YANG YOYO!” he shouted. Before Kimiko had known what happened, she was sent plummeting through the ominously swirling vortex that led to the Yin-Yang world…along with Jack Spicer. The last thing she heard was the distant cry from one of her comrades,

“Kimiko!”

-*-

The first thing she noticed when she hit the ground was the painfully aware smell of sulfur. When her eyes opened, she realized what she had expected to be the earthy ground was in fact an eddy cloud-like flooring. She blinked and sat up. The normally blue sky that had been above her was replaced with a dark foggy gray, in which was several fading Chinese characters she did not recognize.

Okay…

…so she was in the yin-Yang world.

Dusting herself off, she quickly eyed her surroundings. If she was here, Jack must be here as well. She had to get the Yin-Yang Yoyos from him in order to return. While she was at it, she figured she could pick up the Viper Nightingale as well. So as not to be caught off-guard, she lifted her arms in a fight stance and began to earnestly search with her eyes for any sign of Jack Spicer.

“VIPER NIGHTIGALE!” came a cry from behind her. Frantically, she jumped upward to avoid the extended snake-like head that had snapped towards her threateningly. Flying backwards, she landed within feet of her attacker. Quickly regaining her composure, her azure eyes quickly identified Jack’s location. She retaliated immediately, pulling out a small, five-pointed object from her pocket and aiming it at Jack.

“STAR HANABI! FIRE!” She shouted. A swirling beam of embers emitted from the center of the Wu, flying directly at Jack. He barely had time to move out of the way, the ends of his long dark jacket became singed. He was still flying on his Heli-Copter, but he was now swerving gracelessly. Seeing an opening during his ineptness, she jumped forward and delivered a kick to his back, instantly shattering his transportation.

She fell backward and landed on her feet while Jack fell inelegantly to the ground. A smug look spread across her face. She had really needed to do some good butt-kicking to vent all her suppressed anger, and beating the tar out of Jack always seemed to make her feel better. Placing the Star Hanabi back in her pocket, she took a step towards Jack, her hands on her hips.

“Alright, Jack. Hand over the Yoyos unless you wanna’ get cuffed around some more. Either way, I’ll be happy to comply.” Jack replied by slowly getting up and reaching for his pocket. Kimiko rose to a fighting stance once more, in case he was planning on trying anything funny. However, instead of attacking, Jack grinned and quickly slung out a large black sheet.

“SHROUD OF SHADOWS!” he cried. Instantly, he was gone.

“Wh…what?” Kimiko sputtered, dumbstruck. Feeling rather stupid for not expecting his response, she cursed under her breath and waited in silence. Several minutes passed.

Nothing.

Straining her ears, she listened for any sound that could indicate movement.

Still nothing.

By now she couldn’t help but begin feeling a tad panicky. The alien environment around here began making her grow exceedingly uncomfortable. She had never been in the Yin-Yang world on her own, and it seemed the place hadn’t seen as daunting as the first time she had been here with the others. She started slowly walking, hoping to find any signs of Jack. If she didn’t find him soon, he’d probably head back to the normal world on his own, leaving her stranded.

She swallowed. Suddenly, the thought of having to deal with Clay and Raimundo didn’t seem so appalling. She stopped walking after a moment. It didn’t seem to matter if she walked or not, it all looked the same; Everywhere it was the same ever stretching plain of gas-like clouds and the ominous dark skies. Sighing, she fell to her knees. It seemed the more the walked the more hopeless it grew.

After a moment or so, she got back up and dusted herself off. Shunning any thoughts of hopelessness away, she did the only thing she thought would help.

“JACK! Hello? Anybody!”

No response. She called again.

“JAAAACK! Please! Don’t just leave me here! Come ON! …Anyone?” She waited in silence. Sighing, she concluded that even if he did hear her, it wasn’t likely he was going to help her. Rubbing her forehead in vexation, she began grumbling inaudible curses under her breath.

“Damn it, Spicer.” she mumbled. Her eyes shot open when the silence was broken by a voice from behind.

“Oh, hey!” She shot around.

“…oh great.” Was her response. Before she could move away, a set of pale arms enveloped her in a large bear hug. Wriggling to get free, she thought she was about to die from lack of air. Finally, the moment every particle of air had left her lungs, he let go and she fell in a gasping heap on the foggy ground.

“…all I need right now is Good Jack,” she mumbled, coughing slightly while getting up. He just continued to beam at her.

“I’ve missed you! It’s been awhile, huh?” Jack said cheerfully. He was clothed in his usual attire; Blue sweater-vest, red tie, white pants. His hair was neatly parted and shimmering with cleanliness. Kimiko stood awkwardly next to him; his grin was starting to creep her out a bit. He didn’t move, he was waiting for a response.

“Um…” she said hesitantly. “Yeah. Awhile.” Well, at least she wasn’t alone anymore. Even if her company was Good Jack, it was a lot better than being alone. Perhaps he could help her locate where Jack was. However, before she could open her mouth to ask, Good Jack had already begun talking.

“I’m so tickled that you’re here, it’s been so lonely! Hey, where are the rest of you guys? Are you alone? You came here by yourself? Aw, don’t worry, I’ll keep you company! We can hang out together and talk about-”

“JACK…” she cut him off, her annoyance incredibly evident. He stopped and waited for her to continue. “I’m stuck here. I need to find your evil half so I can go home.”

“Ah! I’m here, too?” he said excitedly. “I haven’t seen me since the last time….I saw me!” he said, his sentence ending with a small hint of candid giggles. Kimiko rolled her eyes. Maybe she would have been better off wandering aimlessly by herself.

Suddenly, Jack snatched her by her hand and began skipping in another direction, dragging the Asian teen behind him. Kimiko found it slightly difficult to keep up with his annoying prancing, but when she finally got the rhythm she managed to speak up.

“Jack…where are you taking me?” she said in-between breaths. Instead of responding, however, just as quickly as he had began flouncing, he halted. Kimiko rose an eyebrow as Jack turned to face her. He answered simply,

“I was going to go find Jack.” a very distinguishable childlike innocence could be heard in his voice. Kimiko snapped her hand back and rolled her eyes.

“He’s got the Shroud of Shadows,” she said plainly. “And I doubt he’s even still here.” Good Jack blinked.

“Then, how are you going to get home?” he asked, looking rather naively daft. Kimiko sighed.

“I don’t know.” She stated flatly. With that, she sat cross-legged and rested her head in her palm. Good Jack stared a moment before sitting next to her. Perhaps if she waited long enough, the others would find Jack outside the Yin-Yang world and come look for her? Yeah, right. How were they going to find her here? She didn’t even know where here was.

They were all probably still fighting those stupid robots. Or perhaps Clay and Raimundo had run off to screw around some more after defeating them. Kimiko grunted; the sad thing was that this was an actual possibility. Raimundo was probably shoving his tongue down Clay’s throat right now; Clay was probably busy undoing his pants. Kimiko felt her face heat up, and not just from anger. It seemed that she had not done enough venting to stop being pissed at the two boys. Her free hand had begun balling into a tight fist.

“…Kimiko?”

Kimiko turned her head to see Good Jack looking solemnly back at her. She flushed; she had almost completely forgotten he was still sitting next to her. Quickly, she relaxed her hand and averted her eyes. After a moment of no response, Jack pressed onward.

“Is everything okay? Your face is red.” Kimiko rolled her eyes.

“I’m fine. Just stuck in an unfamiliar place with a very annoying person who talks too much.” she said impassively. Jack didn’t seemed fazed.

“Is it about a boy?” he asked. Kimiko’s eye shot wide and her face flushed a deep scarlet.

“W-What makes you say that?” she asked, sounding a tad more panicky than she would have liked. Her head shot in the direction of Good Jack, whose expression hadn’t changed much. “I just told you I’m upset because I’m stuck here!” Turning away again, she folded her arms and tried not to focus on the annoying boy beside her. Jack blinked.

“I only asked because you were mumbling about ‘dumb boys’ a moment ago.” he grinned sheepishly. Kimiko’s expression softened. Perhaps, since she was stranded here, and she obviously needed to vent to someone about her troubles, she should tell him what was really the matter. After all, she could tell he only wanted to help her…and it wasn’t likely he was going to leave her alone about it, either. She sighed.

“It’s just…” she started, her voice trailing off. How was she supposed to word this? She flashed a glance at Jack, who continued to wait patiently for her to continue. She thought a moment before continuing.

“…Raimundo and Clay are kind of pissing me off.” she said.

“What are they doing?” Jack asked innocently. Kimiko couldn’t help but wonder if he would even understand what she was about to explain, given his seemingly endless naivety. She decided to go ahead and continue anyway.

“They…got together about a week ago.” she said. She assumed the blank look on his face meant he didn’t know exactly what she meant by “got together”, but she didn’t bother explaining it. “And well,” she continued, “They’ve just been all over one another lately and it’s starting to irk the hell out of me, and I’m not entirely sure why.” In the midst of her talking, she had subconsciously began poking her index fingers together.

Jack thought a moment. The silence made her feel a little uneasy. Finally, after a few moments of stillness, he replied.

“Are you jealous?” he asked plainly. A quick pang of frustration caused Kimiko’s temple to throb. Her cheeks flushed a light pink.

“No!” she snapped back. Jack didn’t seem convinced. She looked the other way. “It’s just…the two are always hanging on each other. And hugging and kissing and holding hands and…and…”

“…and?” he asked after she had trailed off.

By now, Kimiko was sitting with her knees bent upward, hunching slightly as if to shield herself. She was twiddling her fingers nervously and her eyes were constantly darting in directions as to avoid Good Jack’s gaze. The flush in her cheeks was worsening as she frantically searched her mind for a retort. After a few moments of prodding, she replied,

“…and maybe it would be nice to know…what it felt like.” she said. Her voice barely audible. Jack smiled and placed a hand on her shoulder.

“It’s alright, Kimiko.” he said soothingly. “I’m sure you’ll find someone some day.”

Kimiko’s gaze traced slowly to meet Jack’s reassuring face. Blinking, she sighed and straightened her posture.

“…I hope you’re right, Jack.” she said, although a hint of doubt was in her voice. Her head fell slightly; she wondered if she would even escape this hellhole, let alone find someone to be with. In the midst of all this self-pity, she had begun feeling rather pathetic. She had begun losing herself once again in a trail of thought, she didn’t even notice the long, comforting arm that had laced itself around her shoulders. Subconsciously, she leaned inward and sighed.

Slowly closing her eyes, Kimiko couldn’t help but feel a sense of peace pass over her. All of a sudden, it seemed she had grown exceedingly sleepy. A small yawn escaped her lips; and without her even realizing it, she drifted into the silent comfort of sleep.

-*-

She awoke to the sound of two people talking. With a start, she jumped up and began frantically darting her head for the origin of the noise. How could she have been so foolish as to fall asleep of all things? After a moment of looking, she saw two figures to her left. Turning her head, her eyes widened slightly when she realized the two figures who were talking where none other than Good Jack and Raimundo. She blinked in confusion.

“…R…Raimundo?” she asked, slightly taken about. Raimundo turned his head and started towards her; a rather optimistic looking Jack followed him.

“Kimiko! Am I sure glad to see you.” Raimundo said. Kimiko blinked.

“H…How did you…?” she trailed off. Her eyes trailed behind Raimundo, where she saw Clay, Dojo, and Omi waiting expectantly in the Silver Manta Ray.

“Jack used the Yin-Yang Yoyos to return to the normal world,” Raimundo explained. “We got them back and came here.” He motioned to Good Jack. “We would never have found you if it wasn’t for Jack,” Kimiko’s face flushed slightly. Here she was, falling asleep when she should have been looking for a way of escape, and the person she had been complaining to had been the one to eventually help her get back home. Jack beamed.

“I was glad to help!” he said cheerfully. Kimiko’s gazed dropped. Raimundo turned,

“Come on, let’s get out of here already, Kim.” He began walking to join the others. Kimiko hesitated. Turning, she faced Jack.

“Uh…thank you…Jack.” she said, although it came out a little more awkward than she would have liked. Jack grinned and swathed her in another large hug. When he let her go, she gasped for a moment before regaining her composure. Straightening herself, she glanced at the others, who where waiting expectantly for her to join them. She vacillated a moment before speaking again.

“Uh…why…don’t you…come with us?” she asked. Jack halted. His smile spread into a broad grin that made Kimiko feel a little uneasy. In all honesty, she was a little nervous on what he was going to respond with; However, she definitely did not expect what he did next.

Leaning inward, Jack edged towards Kimiko’s blushing face and planted a kiss on her cheek. He pulled back after a moment, facing Kimiko’s astonished face. She blinked stupidly, not knowing exactly what just happened. Before she could even think of how to respond, Good Jack’s expression returned to it’s signature grin.

“I would love too,” he said contentedly.

Kimiko’s blush deepened. A second passed, and a small, sheepish smile began to form across her face. The two turned and began walking towards the Silver Manta Ray. She didn’t know how, or even why, for that matter, but she felt her hand magnetically slide towards Jack’s, grazing it slightly before eventually cupping it in her own.

Perhaps dealing with Clay and Raimundo wouldn’t be as difficult as she thought.

-fin-