I recently discovered YouTube! Oh, the possibilities.

And for those of you who know me from Recoiling -- blame Jack. It's all his fault. He grabbed my attention and refused to let go. AnthyRose knows what I'm talking about. . .so stubborn. Than there's my Jack/Kim obsession. . .-sigh-

Chapter III - Yon

Soundtrack / Inspiration:

Glycerine - Bush
Call Me Call Me - Cowboy Bebop

I treated you bad
You bruise my face
Couldn't love you more
You got a beautiful taste
Don't let the days go by
Could have been easier on you
I couldn't change though I wanted to

Glycerine -- Bush

Kimiko stared long and hard at the cellular device sitting innocently on her desk top. The light from her work lamp illuminated its pink, plastic exterior, which was also decorated with the occasional panda face here and there. From across the room, she sat on the edge of her bed, legs crossed like a lady (but only because she was in a skirt), one elbow propped atop her knee, her chin resting in her palm. She chewed her bottom lip attentively, a bad habit she'd been trying to break since childhood.

This had been going on for well over 45 minutes. Every time she reached out to pick up the phone, she recoiled again and went into a meditative trance.

A day had gone by since her encounter with Jack Spicer. Try as she might (and she did try) to forget all about it, the incident refused to let her be. The look on his face and the tone in his voice replayed over and over again in her head, until she felt like ripping her hair out. Strand by strand.

She didn't care. At least, not about him.

What she cared about was the implications his appearance brought, because as much of a joke as Jack may have been as a world conqueror, he was still capable of doing significant damage. Kimiko would never be able to live with herself if something happened that she could've prevented.

Admitting to herself that the Heylin antagonist was somehow under her skin had been hard enough.

Doing something about it was damn near impossible.

She'd turned her brain upside down looking for a solution, and in the end, came up with only one idea.

She could ring up her friends back at the temple and ask them about it. They hadn't called in a while, and it would be a good opportunity to catch up, if anything.

Still. Making them fret over nothing was not what she intended, and asking them about Jack Spicer would raise a lot questions. It was all this and more that made her hesitate.

The longer I wait, the more chance I give Spicer to make his move.

Steeling herself, Kimiko finally picked up her cell, flipped it open, and dialed the number. She listened to the dial tone disappear, and after a few rings, heard the receiver pick up, followed by muffled scuffling, than a faint, familiar voice.

"Okay. . .how does thing work again?. . .hello? Hellooo?. . .oh, whoops! Wrong end. . ."

Kimiko tried not to face plant.

"Hello?" the same voice repeated, though with a much louder audio.

"Hey Dojo."

"Kimiko! What a pleasant surprise! Haven't head from you in while. I never got a chance to thank you for that last fruit basket you sent me either. So thank you!"

"Oh, your welcome! Listen, I hate to be in a rush, but are any of the guys around?"

"Uhh, hold on let me check. I think-hey!"

The dragon's dialogue was suddenly cut off.

"KIMIKO!"

Said Japanese girl cringed and held the phone a few inches away from her ear.

"Hiya, Omi."

It took ten minutes to calm the excited monk on the other line. His ecstatic chatter was hard to talk over.

"Omi, listen. . .are you listening? I have something important to ask you."

There was a short pause, in which the vibrant monk seemed to sober up.

"Is everything well, Kimiko?"

Her heart swelled appreciatively when she heard the concern in his voice. He always did care more than was expected of him.

"I don't know Omi. That's what I'm trying to find out."

"Than by all means, ask your question."

Kimiko took a deep breath.

"You haven't seen Jack Spicer around lately. . .have you?"

Another pause.

". . .Jack Spicer you say? Hmm. . .now that I think about it, he hasn't shown up for quite a long while. After you left, he tried many times to steal all the Shen Gong Wu from the temple. Naturally, he was no match for the superior skills of Clay, Raimundo and I! We opened a container of butt-whooping on him every time! Haha!"

Kimiko rolled her eyes at his usual misconception of modern slang. She never bothered to correct him anymore.

"But I suppose he has not shown up because he has finally figured out the Shen Gong Wu have been deactivated. . ."

Blink. Blink.

"What?"

"Yes, did you not know? Master Fung and the other elite monks performed a ceremony not long ago that deactivated all the Shen Gong Wu-"

"No I did not know that! Why didn't anyone bother to tell me this important bit of info!"

"Well, we have all been very busy lately. . ."

"Hold up. How'd they go all inactive?"

Omi began to answer, then there was some shuffling, and an offended 'hey!', followed by:

"Yo, Kim, what up girl?"

She could just see the Brazilian now, holding the phone out of the smaller monk's reach and sticking his tongue out, like it was something to be proud of.

"Raimundo."

"Hey what's wrong? You don't sound very happy. . ."

"Well, for one, I was talking to Omi, and two, apparently no one thought to inform me that the Shen Gong Wu were dormant again."

He at least had the decency to sound sheepish.

"Oh, hehe, yeah about that. . .the Fung Meister just kinda sprung it on us one day! Something about 'the time being right' and all that, you know how he is. Anyway, Clay, Omi, and I have all been given the task of finding new places to stash the Wu. It hasn't been easy, let me tell ya. . ."

Kimiko was glad no one could see the pitiful expression on her face over the phone line. She wasn't one to pout, but sometimes, she couldn't stop herself. Now was one of those times.

They could've at least asked her if she wanted to help.

Yeah, she'd have to say no, what with school and all, but still. . .

The Dragon of Fire put on her best front, and for the next hour and a half, chatted with the other dragon's like nothing was bothering her.

By the time she hung up, she'd forgotten all about her reason for calling in the first place.

It all came flooding back once she set her cell back down in same position it had been before she picked it up.

Jack Spicer.

Oh yeah.

Omi said he hadn't shown up at the temple for a long time.

"-because he has finally figured out the Shen Gong Wu have been deactivated. . ."

Because. . .

"-because of my track record with the Shen Gong Wu."

Because he didn't know.

He didn't know the Shen Gong Wu had been deactivated.

. . .well, that may or may not have been true. This new info brought up many theories, yes, but none that she could prove, and she was so tired all of the sudden, that she resolved to think more on it after a well deserved nap.

Yes. Sleep, then think. . .