Disclaimer: Christy Hui owns Xiaolin Showdown (big flashing arrows that say 'Not Christy Hui' appear over my head).
As you can imagine, I have a reason for not posting anything Xiaolin Showdown for over a month, but I'm sure you don't want to listen to my excuses, so I'll leave that be. Naturally, I apologize for this.
Now, about this fic. It's some random phlegm my mind coughed up for the sole purpose of posting something on my birthday. Yes, January 30 is my birthday (or maybe this is a better reaction: yay! yay! yay! yay!). Unfortunately, my mom still refuses to take off my parental controls that prevent email and news (PMs, alerts, review replies) from FanFiction.
This fic can't really be described as a Jackkim, but I guess it depends the way you look at it. There are slight traces of romance, but not a lot. Kind of implied, but not like What Could Have Been (which, by the way, I'm continuing later).
Well, look at the time, I've been rambling too long. Enjoy this fic! By the way, Kimiko and Jack will probably be out of character. Considering I wrote this in an hour, I don't think it's all that great anyway.
Happy Birthday?
In the home of the boy called Jack Spicer…
Bzzt! Bzzt! Jack was on a fixing-robots-those-stupid-Xiaolin-losers-broke spree for four hours straight so far. Each movement was mechanical, though, just like the robots he was fixing. Fix robot. Pick up wrench. Put robot aside. Fix another robot. The cycle never ended, at least in his mind.
Why was he doing this? Well, Jack had told himself, you need to fix your army so they can take out the Xiaolin freaks at the next battle. But there was another reason, he knew. Deep under the surface, Jack knew he just didn't want to think about today.
Jack picked up another robot. Each one he fixed made him want to break the chain. But if he allowed himself to think outside the range of fixing Jackbots, he knew what would be waiting for him right there in the first slot in his mind.
Beep! Beep! His shen-gong-wu detecto-bot went off, the up arrow flashing. Jack threw down his wrench. Damn. Just what I don't need.
But hunting down a shen-gong-wu would temporarily distract his mind. Attaching his detecto-bot to his heli-pack, Jack took off to find the wu.
If you looked beyond the pale face and grim line of a mouth, you would see something in Jack's eyes. It was emotion. But which it was hard to tell.
Jack let out a small chuckle as he spotted the Xiaolin Warriors already at the wu site, a deserted plain. They had not seen him yet.
Jack let the chuckle change into a full-blown laugh to attract attention. Before long, the monks were well aware of the evil boy genius' presence.
"Jack Spicer, I demand you leave at once if you do not wish to have your bottom kicked!" Omi declared, as-per-usual messing up his slang.
Jack rolled his eyes, showing Omi's words had no effect on him. "Dream on, cheeseball." His ruby eyes alighted on something behind Omi. Zooming past the startled little monk, he grabbed onto one end of the wu on a plateau with Clay at the other end.
"I challenge you Jack Spicer, to a Xiaolin Showdown," Clay commented in his Texan accent. "My Serpent's Tail against your Monkey Staff."
"Fine, whatever cowboy."
"The game is a race across the desert. First one to reach the other end wins."
"Ooh ah ahhh!" Jack had already changed into monkey form and was jumping up and down, beating his newly hair-sprouted chest.
"I'll take that as a yes. XIAOLIN SHOWDOWN!"
Their surroundings took on an extreme change. More plateaus rose to block their way for the race, as well as cactus'. Also the whole desert seemed to stretch out.
"GONG YI TAMPAI!"
"Ooh ooh ahh ahhh!" Jack mocked Clay by running backwards, pointing, and eating a banana all at the same time. He had a considerable lead over Clay.
At the sidelines, Raimundo groaned. "Come on Clay, why'ja pick a race? He's doomed…"
"Do not worry, Raimundo, if Clay has picked a race, I am sure he has a plan."
"Yeah, have some faith Rai."
"Serpent's Tail!" Clay activated the wu with a cry. The other three dragons saw why. Behind Jack there was a huge herd of bulls charging ahead with brute force. Jack didn't notice until they were almost on him.
"Ahhh!" the evil boy genius screamed as the bulls trampled over him. They charged right through Clay's ghostly flying body, but Jack was, well, overridden. No one seemed to care about him, lying there on the dusty ground.
"Ow! Ow! Ow! Ow! Ow!" Jack moaned each time a bull planted its foot on his face or back. "Ewww!" he squealed as a bull pooed on his face.
There suddenly was a bright white flash, and Jack lost all his monkeylike features, as well as the Monkey Staff gripped in his hand, meaning the showdown was over and lost. Unfortunately, the bulls still were real and there.
"All right Clay! I knew you could do it!" Jack could hear Raimundo shouting enthusiastically.
"Uh, sure he did," Kimiko said.
The bulls finally moved on. Jack got up, dusted himself off, and activated his heli-pack. "Curse today, the day I was born!" I've never won a showdown on this day ever before…
Then, trying to look as dignified and evil (well, mostly just evil) as he could considering he had bull poo in his hair, Jack took off, gritting his teeth as Clay shouted in his direction, "Never mess with the cowboy, Spicer!"
Those Xiaolin punks don't know anything…
To the Xiaolin side…
Kimiko chased a piece of mushroom around her plate, clicking her chopsticks. It was dinnertime. The food seemed extra tasty tonight because of that morning's successful shen-gong-wu hunt. Yet there was something niggling at the back of her mind, trying to grab her attention, but she didn't know what it was…did she?
She reached for a piece of sushi, 'listening' to the guys talk until Raimundo commented, "Hey, Kim, you've been quiet. What do you think?"
"Huh? About what?"
"Aw man, she hasn't even been listening!" Kimiko blushed slightly.
"Sorry. I musta spaced out."
"Yeah, you musta." Rai went back to conversing with Clay and Omi, allowing Kimiko to drift off in her own mind again.
After dinner, Kimiko retreated into her room, politely declining Rai's offer to a game of soccer. And then it had hit her, just as she sat down on her bed.
The thing she had been looking for in her mind.
Hadn't Jack said something before he left? Curse the day…he was born? Why would he say something like that? It made no sense. What could be so special about today, at least to him? It wasn't some holiday or anything…
Unless…
Could today be his birthday?
Jack:
Having run out of robots to fix, Jack returned to his shen-gong-wu spreadsheets. Anything to pacify his mind, remind him there was nothing to remind.
He clicked on the Monkey Staff's image on the computer and moved it over to the Xiaolin column. Jack never thought he would come back to these spreadsheets. They were a thing of the past when Wuya went off with Mala Mala Jong, so he had a lot to update since then. A lot of new wu.
Okay. Think back. Who has…the Changing Chopsticks?
Ring. Ring.
Grr…I'll disregard that. Hodoku Mouse…oh yeah no one has that. Stupid spiders…
"Sir you have a call from Mrs. and Mr. Spicer." Despite his evil exterior Jack couldn't help but feel a twinge of sympathy for his robots. They spoke in such even syllables, each one separated by an equal interval of time in an inhuman voice. No emotion showing. He would hate to be like that…
Back to the future. Or more, the present. "Put them on," Jack snarled though he was a bit scared of what his parents might say.
"Yes sir." The robot pushed a button on its chest.
Jack's mom's voice filled the room. "Happy biiiiiiirrrthday Jackkkkkie!" she sang.
Jack cringed. Just what he had been afraid of. His parents never forgot his birthday, even though they lived on the other side of China. "Mooooom!" he whined as she broke into a chorus of 'Happy Birthday'.
"Happy biiiirthday dear Jackie happy birthday to you!"
"Happy birthday, son." Jack's father's voice joined in.
"Mom, Dad, you know I don't like it when-"
"Nonsense, son! We barely get to talk to you these days!" It was true. Jack had purposely been avoiding their calls and not answering email. It was a surprise they hadn't called the police to make sure he was still alive yet. "Don't you want someone to say 'Happy Birthday' to you?"
"No," Jack said truthfully. On that note, he gave his Jackbot a signal of the hand. Obligingly, it ended the call.
Jack let out a sigh and turned back to his spreadsheets. But he couldn't concentrate now that his parents had forcefully caused him to remember the date.
January 30.
His star sign was an Aquarius, meaning he was creative and rebellious. A little too much of both. Particularly the rebellious part.
Sighing again, Jack buried his forehead in his arms, disregarding the computer screen in front of him.
Thinking back one year, two years, three years ago, Jack only remembered one feeling on his birthday. Loneliness. He encountered people every day, yes, but his list of human friends was painfully short.
No one was ever there to say 'Happy Birthday' to him. Well, except his parents, but they didn't really count. In fact, after a couple of years of being alone, Jack would never bother to tell people it was his birthday anymore. And nobody seemed to notice or care.
Flashback
An eight-year-old Jack hurried to school, a giddy smile on his face. Today was here at last, with all the sunshine and flowers it brought to his innocent young mind!
Jack burst into class a few minutes early, beaming. "Today's my birthday!" he announced to the boy sitting next to him.
The boy glared at him. "Happy birthday, freak." He spat the words with an icy indifference, moving to another seat.
Jack was left standing there at his desk, frozen. Then, ever so slowly, he eased himself into his chair, all the joy and happiness gone from his face.
End flashback
Jack remembered that day. He remembered the feeling of being alone, the feeling that meant nobody cared about you. He had felt that feeling way too often.
Kimiko:
Kimiko paced her small room, hands interlocked behind her back. Today was Jack's birthday, she had figured out. But why did Jack seem so eager to hide that fact? Kimiko would have thought Jack would be all over himself, announcing it to everyone.
Unless he didn't like his birthday. Unless he was ashamed of his birthday.
But why would that be?
She knew she was trying too hard to psychoanalyze the boy genius. Why did she bother, anyway? Too many questions, not enough answers…
Kimiko knew that Jack lived alone in his mansion. He often talked about his parents, but Kimiko had never personally seen them. And Jack didn't seem like the type to socialize just for the fun of it. Maybe just to make minions. All he had was his robots, cold and metallic and unfeeling.
Was that it? Was Jack lonely?
Kimiko closed her eyes and flopped on her bed. She knew how horrible it felt to be lonely. Before she had kind of turned into a social butterfly, she had been painfully shy as a child. Hard to believe. But it was the truth.
She knew lonely. And she was certain Jack was drowning in its horrible grip under the sea of life.
No one should have to feel lonely. Not even Jack. He said he was Heylin, yes. But there was no denying it, he wasn't exactly evil.
But what can I do? I can't just pop out of nowhere and say 'Happy Birthday'. He'll think I've mad…well, that's two of us…Kimiko jumped up from her bed and lay flat on her stomach on the floor, peering under her bed. I really should clean this place up. It's a dump. She tossed aside random objects under her bed. A deflated soccer ball (Rai's), a ripped cowboy hat (luckily Clay had enough not to notice the mysterious disappearance of one. But he would be madder than a 'two-legged spider' if she showed him what she had accidentally did to it), a bronze statue of Omi (she was rather disappointed with his gift for her birthday)…Aha! There it was!
Kimiko pulled out a neglected sketchbook that her father had given to her. For a moment, she closed her eyes and imagined his face. 'This will last longer than the batteries in any electronic.' She couldn't disrespect her papa by not bringing his gift when she left for the temple, but she wasn't really the artistic kind… Oh great, now I'm feeling guilty…
She blew a layer of dust off the cover of the blank book. Flipping open the unused pages, she ripped out one and slipped the sketchbook under her bed again.
She really couldn't think of anything else to say except 'Happy Birthday' as to not give herself away. Kimiko found a bunch of markers scattered around in one of her desk drawers. For the next fifteen minutes she designed a card. Maybe not as good or witty as some of the ones you could buy at the store, but heck, it was a card.
On the front, huge bubble letters proclaimed, 'Happy Birthday Jack!' in bright colors, with a decorative border of squiggly lines and dots. On the inside, she wrote, 'Have a happy birthday!' and on one side she drew balloons and a cake. Maybe not what Jack was used to, but it was the most that she could ever wish for him. She didn't bother saying who the card was from.
I have to give this to him today, only today. Kimiko sneaked into the vault room and 'borrowed' the Golden Tiger Claws and Serpent's Tail. She had nearly reached the door when she bumped into someone.
Master Fung.
"I…I…th-this isn't what it looks like," Kimiko stuttered.
"Oh?" Master Fung raised an eyebrow.
"R-Really, Master Fung sir. Lemme explain."
"Very well, Kimiko. Explain yourself."
Kimiko recounted out loud what Jack had said at the end of the showdown, and what she thought about Jack's feelings and what she was going to do about it. She made sure to include the part about staying anonymous. When she was done, she crossed her fingers behind her back, biting her lip in anxiety.
Master Fung was quiet for a moment, then spoke. "Well…Kimiko. Throughout the year as the Dragon of Fire you have proven yourself a mature young lady…most of the time…"
Kimiko drew in her breath. Most of the time…
"…and I trust that you will continue to be this way…"
Kimiko nodded vigorously.
"…when you deliver your card to Jack Spicer."
Kimiko's first reaction was to jump up and down and hug the temple master, but she managed to restrain herself. Bowing respectfully, she murmured, "Thank you Master Fung. You can count on me!"
With a slight nod of his head, Master Fung left as quietly as he had come. Kimiko rushed outside, there wasn't much time left.
"Golden Tiger Claws!" she slashed the air and jumped through the interdimensional rip in reality.
Kimiko flipped gracefully out of the portal right in front of Jack's house. It was nighttime and the sky twinkled with stars. A ray of moonlight illuminated a single leaf of one of Jack's potted plants, drawing the eye to it. Little specks of dust floated and became visible inside the moonbeam.
"Serpent's Tail!" she hissed. Her body immediately became see-through, only retaining the slightest hues of color. Kimiko flew into the sky and began entering rooms on the second floor at random.
On her second try she found Jack's room. Luckily Jack wasn't there so she turned solid again. The room was covered with pictures of Jack looking 'evil'. Everything, the walls, the bed, the door, was black. Fortunately Kimiko's experience as a Xiaolin warrior had required her to do missions in darkness, so she didn't need to turn on the light.
She found his nightstand next to his bed and placed the card semi-open on it, making sure it wasn't backwards or upside-down, when suddenly the door opened behind her with a click and the light flickered on. Dreading what she would see, Kimiko turned around as slowly as possible.
There was Jack, with his red hair and goggles in a Frankenstein sleeveless top. He had a bewildered look on his face, his finger still resting on the light switch.
"Kimiko?"
Darn, I should have brought the Shroud of Shadows.
"Golden T-Tiger Claws!" Kimiko activated the wu. It glowed gold and she jumped through the purple portal, ignoring Jack's cry of, "Wait!"
Jack:
"Wait…" Jack said it again even though Kimiko was gone. His eyes searched his room until he found the one thing that hadn't been there before.
Jack crossed over to the other side of his room and picked up the card, looking at it.
A real card…but why? How did she know today was my…?
Jack sat down on his bed. It didn't matter how or why. He had gotten a birthday card. A homemade birthday card. It somehow made him feel better to know that someone had thought of him.
Him.
Even if he was just one person in the world.
And not just anyone.
Kimiko.
The Dragon of Fire.
The Xiaolin Dragon of Fire.
I guess it doesn't matter in the end, Xiaolin or Heylin. Thank you, Kimiko…
Not my best work, but I got tired of not posting anything Xiaolin Showdown up for a long time. Reviews, please?