Turning Over A New Leaf
Disclaimer: I do not own Xiaolin Showdown, for they are owned by the various staff members of artists, writers, producers, and directors that created the series for the WB. However, I do own the plot of this fanfic and any original characters/shen-gong-wu that I may include. I would like to thank some various writers who have written stories to help fuel my own Jack & Kimiko pairing.
Chapter 2: Secrets to be Discovered
Kimiko and Jack walked along the river, both feeling a little awkward being around each other. Kimiko's situation, for example, is that she is feeling somewhat uneasy helping a known enemy. She took a deep breath and calmed her mind a moment later, as she realized that she might have a chance to actually help him remember things and hopefully turn over to the Good side. She didn't know at first, but secretly, she is starting to like him.
As the two of them was walking, Kimiko did not notice a rock was right ahead of them. With that, Jack tripped on it and began to fall. Kimiko managed to grab his hand before he did a face plant. However, he was somewhat heavier than her and she was only able to steer him away from anything dangerous on the ground. Both of them collapsed on the ground, with Kimiko on top on him, both of them started to blush. "Umm…you okay?" Kimiko said as she got up and helped him back up again. He smiled weakly and nodded. As Jack got up, Kimiko noticed that he had dropped something. "A PDA, and it appears to be functioning!" She thought as she picked it up and placed it in her pocket. The two resumed walking again and a moment later, Jack said he was feeling more stable and Kimiko removed her arm from his back.
While Jack walked ahead a few feet, Kimiko took out the PDA she found. It turned out that Jack owned a waterproof PDA. "Man, this is great…wait…his Diary…" She whispered to herself as Jack walked ahead. She looked at him and back, "He doesn't seem to even know he has an electronic diary." She thought. She began reading the entries as they were walking.
"Friday, Aug. 24. I've can't believe Wuya left me! That double crossing hag! I can't believe I have to work alone now…" Kimiko read one of the entries in her mind. She fast forwarded the entries, skipping through some information that was pretty typical about Jack Spicer and pretty much of no interest to her. She was going through some of those entries when one of them suddenly caught her attention. "Sunday, Sept. 13. Another showdown down the drain, and another Wu lost to the enemy. But it doesn't seem to be so bad. I've never noticed it before…but that Kimiko isn't so bad after all…what am I'm thinking! Oh end log!" The entry read as Kimiko could not believe what she has read. She looked back and forth for the following entry that comes after this one, occasionally looking towards Jack. "Monday, Sept 14. I…don't know what is wrong with me. We had a showdown today, and the stakes were pretty bad. And another thing, my opponent was Kimiko! For some reason I felt that I should just forfeit. I don't know why, I thought that I could actually do that showdown hands down, but why did I forfeit? For some reason, I just didn't want her to go through all that for a Wu that is not worth all that trouble. " Kimiko looked up as she recalled that showdown.
"Gong Yi Tam Pi!" Kimiko heard herself yell as everyone watched the showdown take place. She eyed her opponent, and usually Jack would be so full of himself at this situation. Suddenly she noticed that he was staring at her for a while. When she stared back, he looked like he was feeling sick and forfeited the showdown without a fight. She even remembered confronting him after the cheering to ask why he looked at her like that. He didn't say why, but she thought he was insulting her.
Kimiko snapped out of her flashback when Jack had called her. "He doesn't even act like himself. He's actually…nice, shy." She thought as she listened to what he had to say. "What is that? Oh well, I've found a crossing up ahead, and it leads to a trail. I think we should see where that trail leads." Jack said as he offered his hand. Kimiko looked and noticed that the crossing he had found was a line of rocks, aligned to cross the span of the river. She then looked at the hand offered to her. "Jack's not like this, even before…does he…i…" She stopped thinking and took his hand as the two of them carefully crossed the river.
As they were crossing, Kimiko thought again about the diary entries and some explanation about his personality. She didn't even know that she had slipped and would have fallen into the river, but instead found to be in Jack's arms, as he is holding her with both of his arms to keep her out of the water. "You ok?" He asked worriedly. Kimiko was just speechless to his reaction. She just gazed into his eyes as she thought about how different he is right now. "I'm…I'm okay." She thought of something and felt her face turn red. Jack didn't know she was blushing and thought she was not feeling well. "You sure you're okay?" He asked, even more worried as he slowly made it across with her in his arms.
He put her down as soon as they were on the other side and they looked at each other silently for a while. Kimiko slowly pieced the puzzle together and knew what his entries meant and now, Jack is subconsciously fulfilling the things that his heart truly wanted. "I didn't know there was a good side in you Jack…" She thought as she broke the awkward silence with a kiss on the cheek. "That's for catching me before I fell." She said with a smile as she took his hand, now feeling very comfortable about him. "He's so nice now. I…just hope he doesn't return to his evil side completely."
Kimiko led the way and started up the trail, Jack in tow. "I might just make his wishes come through. I like how the attention he's giving me anyway. Oh my God…I think I am returning his feelings!" She thought again as she blushed again. "Something wrong, Kimiko?" Jack asked as he followed her as they saw to where the trail led. "Oh nothing!" She replied with a brief response, trying to hide her reddening face.
Jack walked a bit while thinking about Kimiko's strange behavior. "What's up with her now? First I feel this strange connection I have with her and now she's acting strangely." He also noticed that Kimiko was holding to his hand quite tightly. "Wait…are we…together?" He started pondering in his head. "Well, if we are…ehh…I guess I have good taste." He thought, while briefly scanning her. When she turned her head to look at him again, he quickly averted his gaze to their left. That was when he noticed a mountain lion leap of the hillside towards them.
Without thinking, Jack just jumped at the lion, like an insane fool trying to protect something precious. He managed to keep the lion from knocking both of them down and ripping them to pieces as Kimiko prepared to attack. Jack did not feel the usual need to cower as he tried to push the lion away. Just as Kimiko struck with an martial arts attack, the lion managed to give a powerful swipe to Jack, leaving some semi-deep claw marks on his chest. The lion yelped and fled down the mountain side, feeling both disoriented and frightened when Kimiko landed a powerful kick to the side of its head.
Kimiko breathed for a moment and then ran to Jack's side. He was still awake but he was bleeding quite badly from his chest. "You…were amazing." Jack said as he was amazed by her skill. Kimi could not resist letting her emotions flow. With a sniffle, she replied. "No, you were amazing! If it wasn't for your courageous act, I would have been the first victim and unable to fight it! That was reckless, but so brave!" She screamed at him as she felt something about him that she didn't knew she did. Ripping off her sleeves, she bandaged his wounded chest and made sure the pressure was tight enough. As she wound the rags around one more time, Jack held her hand and whispered a soft thank you with his lips. Kimiko finished up the bandage, smiled a bit, before wiping off some tears.
"Why are you crying?" Jack asked as he weakly caressed her face. She held his hand to his face and leaned in and pressed her lips to his. "I just thought I was going to lose you. I didn't know what I was going to do,living on, owing my life to someone who might not have survived." Jack smiled in a way that she has never seen before, a bright smile. A smile that only a person on the light side is capable of. The two embraced for the moment as they found each other that day. During the embrace, Kimiko then felt Jack heating up as he started murmuring incoherently. Feeling his head, she knew he was having a fever.
Using what strength she has, she helped him down the trail, back towards the river. She found a cave on one side of the bank and brought the two of them inside. She couldn't risk luring another lion to the scent of his bloody wounds. Taking out her handkerchief, she went outside to the river and dipped it and cleaned off her bloody hands before bringing it back inside to help clean him up and cool off his feverish torment.
She laid the wet cloth on his head as she held him in a soft embrace, hoping that his condition will continue to improve. "I've only just tended to your wounds since last night, and now you're hurt again…only to save my life again. Please don't die…I…I think I'm starting to love you…" She spoke softly as she listened to his pained breathing. The two stayed there for some time. Kimiko only hope, that he will survive. She didn't want to lose someone whom she had just started to know so well.
"Kimiko!" Omi yelled as he and his friends searched for their missing comrade. They ran past the cave Kimiko and Jack are taking shelter in, screaming her name. Kimiko had fallen asleep during the embrace and did not hear their calls. The party ran up the trail that their missing comrade was just on not too long ago and found some blood on the ground, along with a shred of what seemed to be part of Kimiko's ripped clothes. They got worried and continued to run down the trail, following the blood trail left by the lion, thinking it might had been kimiko's.
"Jack! Jack! Don't die!" Kimiko cried as she cried over his dying body. She looked at him. His face was almost pale as death and was utterly unsettling to look at. His chest was also bleeding profusely. Jack was murmuring nonsense as Kimiko continued to try to hold on to him. He managed to utter a few words that she could make out, before drooping his head and ceasing to breathe. Those words were, "Love you." Kimiko just screamed then as his death shook her from head to toe with grief.
Kimiko screamed as she woke up with a jolt. She had a nightmare that could have been a very possible outcome in real life. She quickly checked on Jack. He was breathing normally and his fever had died down. "Thank god!" She muttered as she held his hand. She looked out the cave and noticed it was after dark. Knowing that he is fine now, she proceeded to go back to sleep.
A/N: Scared ya back there huh? Don't worry, Jack is not going to die. Neither is anyone else. Well, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Please review and stay tuned for Chapter 3!