Hello again guys! Back with another story! This one is just a one shot though.
Thank you all for your love and support and since I've been asked to continue my recently uploaded 'Living Memories', I will be happy to do just that.
In the meantime, I hope you enjoy this one! It is set back in the Season 2 days since I wanted to do something to recall the old days.
Disclaimer: I don't own Kickin'it
The dojo was quite, not a single sound seemed to be emitting from the usually loud Bobby Wasabi Martial Arts Academy.
Shoppers passing the mall courtyard and therefore the dojo threw confused glances at it as it was closed way before normal closing time.
That was weird, the Sensei never let this happen. He would always open the dojo in time and start the flow of students, and that was just the reason he was never late.
But the Sensei wasn't in town these days, he had gone in the town nearby to visit his family.
But that was not the reason. He had left his top most students in charge and their duty was to keep the dojo going so why would it actually be closed?
The reason were precisely five teens that if you walked closer to the windows, you would see them huddled together in a corner.
Inside the quiet building. Jack, Kim, Jerry, Eddie and Milton stood close together in the far right corner, each of them unmoving and staring down at something.
Something that had been intact a few minutes ago but that was now reduced to four solid chunks of china.
Nobody moved an inch as they all glared at the mess, cold dread swelling inside their beings.
"Jerry" Kim's voice echoed in the empty space. Still with her eyes down, she somberly spoke, "You owe Rudy 10000 bucks"
With finality in her voice, she looked up at her friend and stared at him dead in the eye. The poor boy snapped his head up at the statement and his eyes grew larger.
"What?!" He said indignantly. Why him?
"Because it's your fault" Kim said through gritted teeth as if she had read his mind.
"It's not!" Jerry crossed his arms and stomped his foot on the ground with a child like anger.
Milton sighed exasperatedly and turned to his friend, "Yes it is!"
Jerry turned to look at him with an affronted expression but didn't have a chance to retort.
"You moved it from it's place and put it here!" Milton franatically gestured from Rudy's office to the front of the dojo.
"I didn't know something like this would happen! Even the trophies are there!" Jerry defended himself against the accusations.
"Yeah but maybe there was reason Rudy kept the vase in his office instead of out here!" Kim shouted angrily.
The dojo was suddenly not so quiet anymore...
"Guys" Jack looked up from the floor for the first time and looked at them. Kim swallowed down what she was about to say and looked at Jack.
"You all need to calm down" He told them, staring them all pointedly.
"Calm down?!" Kim repeated incredulously, "How can we calm down?! We're all gonna be dead when Rudy finds out about this!" Kim put her hands over her face and groaned.
"God, this is even worse than that time with the katana"
"That's exactly it Kim" Kim looked up to find Jack with a peculiar expression on his face.
"Rudy can't know about it if he doesn't see it" Jack told them and the gang could practically see the gears turning in his head.
"Huh?" Kim, Jerry, Milton and Eddie all were dumbstruck.
"Um" Kim began, "You do know that Rudy's gonna find out it's missing at some point?" She raised her eyebrows in question with a challenging look.
"I'm not saying we have to hide it for all eternity" Jack continued to be mysterious, something that was driving the others slightly mad by this point.
"So what do you mean?" Eddie urged him to go on and really hoping that whatever was in mind would make sense because he did not want to get his ass beaten up by Rudy.
"I just want to give us some time so we can figure out how to repair the vase but we need to work together to make it seem like everything is normal" Jack explained.
The rest of the gang all looked at eachother and then back at Jack.
"How are we gonna fix it?" Eddie asked.
"Is it even possible to fix it?" Kim furrowed her eyebrows and put her hands on her hips, looking down at the shattered case. Could you still call it a vase now?
"I don't think it is" Milton responded at the same time Jerry said, "Maybe with glue?"
Milton turned his head towards the Latino dangerously slowly and when he was finally facing him, he shot up his right eyebrow.
"You know" Jack began, seeming sheepish all of a sudden, "I won't lie that it did cross my mind at some point"
"Dude" Kim looked at him seriously, "You've been spending way too much time with Jerry lately" Jack looked down at the pieces and tried thinking of a real way to mend the broken vase.
"Isn't there some ancient objects place in the mall? Maybe they'd know how to fix this..." Eddie offered and was immediately met by delighted and hopeful faces.
"Eddie's right guys! There is a place here!" Milton looked like he had a light bulb perched on top of his head and he tried to remember the name of the place.
"Uh..it's called..." He racked his brain for the name but it just wouldn't come.
"Andrew's Antique!" Everybody looked at Jerry with startled looks, all of them wondering how Jerry even knew this.
"Right" Milton said slowly, finally remembering that Andrew's Antique was indeed the name of the shop. But it was all the way on the other side of the mall, in a secluded area, how did Jerry wander to it?
"How do you know?" Jack asked skeptically and Jerry just shrugged in response.
"I was looking for a place to hide from Joan and found it. The dude that owns the place covered for me" he explained and none of the rest inquired any farther.
Jack clapped his hands together, making all of them turn to him, "So, shall we go then?"
"Um, Jerry?" Kim adressed the Latino, looking wearily around her, "Are you sure this is the right place?"
The gang was heading toward one of the darkest corners of the mall, that was completely on the other side from the dojo, hidden away in a small alley with a dead end.
They reached the alleyway at last and saw the tiny shop on their right.
"Yes it is mamacita. We're here!" He walked over to the shabby looking shop and placed his hand on the doorknob.
"Now, be quiet and don't make too much noise, the owner likes it dead silent" He warned them on a hushed voice, before opening the door and bursting in.
"HEY ANDREW MY MAN! NEED YA HELP!" He shouted out into the small place as soon as was in, making the rest jump back in shock.
They all looked at him with exasperated looks while he just grinned and nodded like he knew what he was doing.
Rolling their eyes, they started looking around while waiting for the man to show up and just now noticed how clustered this place was. All sorts of ancient objects were crammed together on shelves and on the floor and Milton had to stop Eddie from knocking a frame with his foot.
This was no place for elephants like them.
Jack and Kim found themselves in front of a mirror and they stared at their reflections, smiling. Their eyes met and Jack was about to say something when the door behind the counter that led to the back of the store opened.
Out came an old, grumpy looking man with a nearly bald head and gray fluffy beard.
All eyes were on him as he closed the door and turned to face them, Jerry already being at the counter.
He eyes them all warily before speaking in his rough voice, "Your friends need hiding too?" He raised his eyebrows and moved his gaze from Jerry, to Jack, Kim, Milton and Eddie, all of whom blushed a little under the accusing glare.
Jerry shook his head, still smiling, "Oh no Andrew. We came here for this" and with that, he bluntly dumped the bag he was holding with the chunks of china in it.
He emptied the contents with no grace at all and he tactfully ignored Milton's silent protests. Soon, all of the pieces were infront of the man, who was left to stare at them as Jerry backed away from the counter.
For a good five minutes, his eyes continued to switch between what was on the counter, and the five kids that were all now looking at him expectantly and he noticed, hopefully too.
Finally, he straightened up and placed both his palms on the counter top. He then gingerly picked up a piece and began looking at it professionally.
Finally, he spoke, "So" the guys moved a bit closer so as to hear better, "This is, was, a rare kind of vase that was made by Chinese hands and only a few are still left nowadays." He said, his ragged appearance in contrast with the professional way he spoke.
"Our Sensei bought it a little while ago" Jack told the man, hoping that since he perfectly knew that the vase was, he would also know how to fix it.
"But it broke" Andrew concluded, setting down the piece and looking at them with an expression that they were sure was nearly x-raying their insides as if to question their integrity.
"Could you-?"
"No" Jerry's brows furrowed as the man promptly cut him off with a severe tone.
"You don't even know what I was gonna ask" Jerry challenged the man, feeling betrayed. He had thought they had some kind of confidence since last time!
Okay, so maybe he didn't know anything about Andrew other than his name but still, this was not cool.
"You come here with these broken pieces, what did you expect me to think?" Andrew rose his eyebrows as Jerry crossed his arms grumpily.
The rest of the gang rolled their eyes before Jack stepped up.
"Sir please," he never thought he would be pleading for something like this, "There has to be something you can do"
"I'm sorry boy but there's not much chance. This is some tough and precise work, repearing something like this"
"So you mean it is possible to fix it?" Kim perked up, feeling kind of hopeful. So far, the trip here had seemed pointless.
The man sighed, "Yes, there is" The Wasabi gang all gasped and quickly squashed themselves against the counter. Andrew stepped back, startled.
"Oh my God yes! Our butts are safe!" Eddie exlaimed, raising his arms into the air.
"But," Andrew looked at them from behind his glasses, "It's gonna take a month."
And just like that, the guys hopes shattered into a million pieces, seeming even more beyond repair than the vase.
"A month?!" Kim shouted, not believing her ears.
"How are we supposed to keep it away from Rudy for a month?!" Jack turned to the guys, horrified at the prospect.
"Well, if you're not willing to wait that long, then I guess your butts are already toasted" Andrew told them, clearing his throat and leaning on the counter top.
The gang glared at him when he asked, "Who did this anyway?"
Four thumbs jabbed all in one direction, to the one who was in the middle. Jerry.
"It wasn't my fault!" Jerry yelled.
"Because of you now" Kim began, her eyes flaring, "Rudy's gonna kill us all, or even worse, makes us do his laundry" Kim shuddered violently as did the guys at recalling the latest threat Rudy had thrown at them to warn them at was about to come next time they did something to piss him off.
All the boys panted heavily at the mere thought and Eddie looked at Andrew, about ready to drop and pray on his knees
"Please sir, please! We need you to help us! Can't you quicken the procedure?"
Andrew shook his head, looking earnestly sorry, "I'm sorry kid, that's the only way. If you just leave it here and make it work somehow?"
The gang looked at eachother in despair, knowing that even if they tried all the knew, they wouldn't be able to hide the fact that long.
It was impossible. Rudy kept that case in front of his very eyes in his office every day, what would happen if he didn't see it there for even a day?
They didn't understand why their Sensei was so caught up with the ancient object but if it meant that much to him, it meant just as much to them.
Jack sighed defeated, "Thank you sir...but we think we'll just take it home" Giving the man a last appreciative look, he grabbed all the chunks and put them back in the bag. Soon, they were all out of the store and looking more dejected than ever.
"Well...I have glue in my locker"
*SMACK*
Jack, Kim, Jerry, Eddie and Milton came back into the dojo as the sun was nearly setting, making the sky a bright mixture of orange and pink.
There was nothing to enjoy about the sunset though as they all had a major problem in their hands.
They all sat down in different places, Jack on a bench, Kim on stack of mats near the door, Milton in the middle of the mats, Eddie on the floor against the lockers and Jerry just flat out sprawled face down on the mats near Milton.
Milton looked at his friend in pity and patted his back. He knew now that Jerry had begun to feel bad, especially after that smack on the back of his head by Kim.
"Don't worry Jerry, we all got your back"
"Now that I think about it..." Jack looked up from the floor, "It really wasn't Jerry's fault"
Kim tilted her head to the side, thinking.
"You're right...after all he didn't knock down the base" She pursed her lips as the new discovery.
"But neither did the rest of us" Milton said, crossing his arms. Jerry grunted as he lifted himself off the ground and sat side by side with Milton.
"What did even happen?" Eddie asked, totally confused at this point. Ever since they heard the loud cash, ever that had been happening before had just slipped out of their minds.
"We were just practicing" Kim said, "Who was the nearest to the vase?"
"I was" Jerry glumly said, "You're right guys. It was my fault."
All of them were silent for a while, not knowing what to say to make anyone feel better. Never had they ever thought they would be this upset over some vase breaking.
Suddenly, Milton let out a gasp, making every one snap their heads at him.
"Guys!" His eyes were wide, his mouth was ajar, "It wasn't our fault at all!"
"What?" Jack was utterly confused now. How could the vase have fallen on it's own?
"Remember that mild shaking feeling we all got? Just a little before the vase fell?" Milton asked them, standing up.
"Yeah?" The rest of them rose up to their feet too, not knowing where this was going.
"That was an earthquake!" The read head concluded, "And Jerry was just at the wrong place at the wrong time! He didn't knock it off the mats. He slightly bumped into them and since the vase was right on the edge, it just fell"
All the teens looked at eachother in mild shock at the new discovery. What Milton was saying made sense and an earthquake was just the reasonable explanation for that shaking.
"So technically none of us is guilty"
"Guilty for what?" Horror dawned on each of the teens as they froze, hearing their Sensei come in and close the door.
Min unison, they all turned slowly to face their Sensei as he stood there with a confused smile on his face. He looked at them all and didn't seem to notice their horror struck faces.
"R-Rudy! You're back early!" Jack was the first one to snap out of it as he went over to Rudy and slung and arm around his shoulders.
"Yeah, thought I'd just come back today since I met everyone. Missed having nothing to do." He explained.
"So how were things?" He asked them, walking towards Milton and Jerry.
"Godo! Really good! Why wouldn't they be? Why would you ask?" Kim's slurred rambling was cut off by Jack bumping into her side.
Rudy looked at them weirdly before shrugging.
"Well then, just going in my office, grab a thing and then lock up. You guys wanna go to Phil's for dinner?"
"NO!" The guys shouted and raised their arms in front of them to stop Rudy. He froze and mistook them, laughing,
"Okay, but Phil wouldn't like that" Kim shook her head franatically before saying,
"No it's not that! Just-just...Jack and Milton have new routine to show you!" She spit out the first thing that came to her mind and looked wearily at the said boys.
"Yeah! Me and...me and who now?!" Milton's eyes widened as he realized that he would up against Jack.
"Yeah Milton! Come on! We've been practicing for so long!" With that, the black belt dragged the poor ginger to the mats and grabbed two bow staffs
The both began doing some sort of jumbled up routine that Jack and Milton both continued to pass off as completely planned.
In the meantime, behind Rudy's back, Kim, Jerry and Eddie were exchanging wide eyed looks, silently asking the other to do something.
'Screw it' Finally, as Jerry neared his locker to go take out the glue, Jack and Milton chose that moment to stop their uncoordinated flailing since their realy didn't know what more to add.
Being done watching them, Rudy spoke, "Um..." His face was scrunched up as he was obviously trying to think of a good enough compliment so as to not hurt their feeings.
If they said this was how they planned it...
"That was...original"
"Uh thanks Rudy" Milton and Jack awkwardly said, looking past Rudy's shoulder to the rest of them.
When Kim shook her head in defeat, Jack knew they were doomed
"Ooookay. Now, to the office." Before they could do so much as open their mouths to stop him, Rudy was already by the door.
By the lockers though, something happened that literally had the gang silently screaming at their own stupidness.
Rudy's foot knocked the bag containing his now broken vase and in the whole dojo, a loud sickening crunch could be heard.
Jack, Kim, Jerry, Eddie and Milton winced as Rudy stopped walking and turned to the bag. Gingerly, he picked it up, a confused expression on his features.
The teens all sucked in a breath as they watched Tidy sink his head into the bag. They all saw him give a start and they all prepared for the final explosion.
As Rudy slowly pulled his head out of the bag. Jack and Kim exchanged nervous glances from either side of their line up and Jack silently prayed that this was not their ends.
He still had to ask Kim out!
Nobody dared utter a single word as Rudy faced them, a demonic look in face and Jerry could swear steam was coming out of his ears.
"Kim" Rudy growled, his voice deadly steady.
"Oh God" Kim shut her eyes and whimpered
"Milton" another growl
"I'm too young to die" a whimper in response.
"Eddie"
"Mommy..."
"Jerry" with each name, Rudy's voice was steadily growing louder while the guys'whimoers became more and more high pitched.
"Dio Mio"
"Jack!" And Jack did said the only thing that seemed legit at the moment.
"RUUUUUN!"
After that, it was all just a blur of Wasabis as they all made a mad dash for the dojo doors and flew through them.
Soon, the five teens were all screaming for their dear lives like a bunch of headless chicken with a blood-thirsty Rudy hot in their trails.
Somewhere far in the distance, a lone man in a tiny store swore he heard a certain number of cries.
His head rose up as he looked up form his work and his face scrunched in up in thought.
Five desperate faces flashed before his eyes before he sighed and shook his head.
"Told them to wait for a month"
And done! Hope you liked it and as always, drop in a review!
Thanks, and until next time,
-Alex
