A/N: I forgot to add in the first chapter that there is an OC. He's temporary, and fairly minor. I use him as a catalyst. You don't know how much I hate myself for having to create a character to make my story move. Oh, well. Deal.

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Dojo stopped above a third story fire escape platform. Jack hopped off his back and turned to the others.

"I'd invite you to come in, but my roommate's an asshole," he sighed.

"Well," Kimiko jumped off Dojo, "Maybe next time we can do a bit more, you know, something planned?"

At first, Jack honestly assumed that she was hinting at a date.

"What do you have in mind?" he slurred.

"A tour! How about you give us a tour of your new home town!" she suggested, "We could go clubbing or something."

Why did she sound that way?

"Kimiko?" Jack laughed, "This is Tokyo," she blushed, "I think you know this place far better than I do."

Kimiko's lip twitched a bit. Raimundo nearly fell off Dojo's back with laughter.

"Well, then, I'll take you on a tour, how's that sound?"

"I've been living here for almost three years. I know it pretty well," he stifled a laugh.

Kimiko could feel her face on fire. Jack saw her anger. He didn't' want her to leave upset, so he came up with an idea.

"How about a walk? We can go for a walk. There's a place that I like to hang out at a lot, other than that club."

"Okay," she cheered up a bit, "That's what we'll do. All of us," she motioned to the others.

Jack's heart visibly shattered, "Oh," he said slowly, "okay…"

He looked to the other's on Dojo's back. Raimundo looked away and Clay shrugged. They had thought something different was happening as well. Jack slumped a bit.

"Good, when do you want to do it?" Kimiko was oblivious.

"Uh, tomorrow?" it just kinda slipped from his lips. It was a sort of Freudian moment. He wanted to see her again tomorrow, so that's what he said, even though he was really hoping to get out of the whole thing.

"Hm," Kimiko looked at her PDA, "If there aren't any Shen Gong Wu, then we're in business. What time?"

"Out here at about, seven? I guess."

"Seven's good," she logged it away.

"So…" Jack said after some silence.

"We should get back," Raimundo said.

"Yeah, I guess," Kimiko mounted Dojo, "See ya' tomorrow, Jack!"

With that, Dojo took off.

Jack sighed and turned to the door behind him. With a deep breath, he turned the knob and went into his apartment.

"Hey, Jack," his roommate sat lazily on the couch.

"Hi," he mumbled before wandering into his room.

"So where'd you go?"

"To the club again."

"What did you do?"

"Drank."

"Who were you talking to out there?"

"I met some old friends…"

"Is that so?"

Jack nodded slowly.

"Your tail's showing."

Jack looked behind himself. There it was, fury and brown. It flicked through the air as if it had a mind of its own. He sighed and shoved it back under his coat.

"I hate that thing," his roommate growled as he stood up.

"Yeah, well, I don't like it much either."

His roommate lit a cigarette, "We could always chop it off," he suggested with the stick in his mouth.

"N-No, I don't hate it that much…"

"Yeah? Or are you just a wuss? All talk and no show? Listen, Spicer, if that tail bothers me anymore, you either get rid of it, or you're out of here, get it?"

Jack wanted to cry, "Yeah."

Once he was finally in his room, Jack shut the door and sat on his bed. He sniffed to hold back his tears. He wished that he could just leave, but who else out there would accept a monkey-tailed freak like himself? Kimiko would… He didn't want to live with her though, that would ruin all his fantasies. Maybe if he did cut it off, things would be better. Across the room, leaning in a corner, was the Monkey Staff. The bane of his existence. He decided that he'd return it to the monks when he saw it tomorrow night. He hated it for what it had done to him. Moreover, he hated himself for letting it happen. What happened, happened. He was stuck with the consequences of his actions.

The tail crept out from beneath his jacket and slowly wrapped itself around his waist as if to comfort him.

"Yeah, well it's all your fault," he wheezed to it.

Jack smiled. He'd see the monks again soon. He didn't feel like a freak when he was with them. He looked forward to being treated like a normal human being again.

He laid down on his bed. Old memories of Kimiko danced through his mind as he drifted off to sleep.