Author: Jadelyn Tate
Story: Begotten
Characters: RJ, Kim
Disclaimer: I own no one, the idea of RJ and Kim being siblings is all Tara's over at PRU's, I'm just expanding it into a fic.
Summery: A Shark. A Crane. A Wolf. And you thought your family had issues.
TimeLine: Set after One Master Too Many
Author Notes: I blame this one entirely on Tara. Seriously. I do.
"RJ still up in the loft with Kimberly?" Lily asked a few hours later. Casey nodded, looking up at the stairs again. He couldn't hear anything except soft murmurs. Knowing the drama that had followed when Master Finn had shown up, the red ranger couldn't help but wonder what this young woman would bring with her.
"I honestly have to say I'm surprised," Kim told her brother as they settled in the small kitchenette. RJ tilted his head quizzically at her and she motioned to the Loft.
"You always said you wanted to open a pizza parlor but I never thought you'd actually do it," she told him. "It never corresponded with what Dad wanted you to do."
"Like Dad never wanted you to go professional with gymnastics?" he replied knowingly and Kim smiled wryly.
"Touche."
RJ smiled. "Dad's actually okay with it now. I even taught him how to make the perfect pizza last week," he told her. Kim raised an eyebrow skeptically.
"Really?" she asked and he nodded.
"Yeah, didn't do that bad either," he agreed. A disbelieving snort escaped her lips and RJ's expression fell. "You're still mad at him."
"Last I heard you weren't on talking terms either," she shot back and he looked apologetic.
"We made up only recently," he shrugged. "I didn't have time to call. Things have been hectic lately."
"Mmmhmm," she replied noncommittally. RJ made a face that would have surprised his students.
"So what brings you to Oceans Bluff?" he asked, getting up and walking to the fridge. He glanced over his shoulder and saw Kim staring at him quizzically. "What?"
"Since when are you a Jack Sparrow wannabe?" she asked, his expression torn between disbelief and humor. RJ rolled his eyes and turned back to the fridge.
"Water?" he called.
"Yes, please," she replied, sitting down at the counter.
"Here you go," he turned back, two glasses of water in hand. He handed one to his sister. "To sibling rivalry; may we never get along and scare our parents."
Kimberly snorted but tipped her cup with his. "They seem like nice kids," she commented once they had both drank. RJ smiled.
"They are," he agreed. "How are mom and Pierre?"
Kim glanced around, the silence grating on her nerves. She was used to the bustle of a gym full of girls working to three different music tracks at once; the silence was oppressive. She turned back to her brother. "They're good. Pierre got commissioned to work on a portrait for some French government official and his family."
"And mom?" he asked, staring hard at her. Kim shrugged.
"She's gossiping about the commission with all her friends," she replied. "Still asking why I haven't married and made her a grandma yet."
RJ made a face. "While I would greatly enjoy the fun of teaching little cubs the art of pizza, please don't make me an uncle just because mom wants grandkids," he pleaded. Kim snickered.
"I have to find a guy first," she pointed out with a smile. RJ frowned.
"What about what's his name; Luke?" he asked. Kim blinked at him.
"Luke and I broke up over six years ago," she informed him blandly. RJ scratched his cheek.
"Who was your last boyfriend then?" he asked, taking a swallow of his water. Kim blinked at him again, looking amused.
"Luke," she replied dryly. RJ coughed.
"You mean my gorgeous big sister has been single for six years? What happened to always on the lookout for prince charming?" he asked as the three teens entered the kitchenette. Kim glanced at Casey quickly before grinning back at RJ.
"All were frogs," she told him, a twinkle in her eyes. RJ looked over at Casey when he started laughing. Shrugging to himself, the Pài Zhuǎ Master turned back to Kim.
"Haven't you heard the story of the Frog Prince?" he asked and Kim made the oddest expression. It was like she wanted to laugh or say something but was fighting it.
"Yeah, met him too," she finally replied, a small smile on her face. RJ tilted his head quizzically but Kim just waved it away. RJ turned his attention to the three teens.
"Was there something you guys wanted or did you just want to interrogate my sister?" he asked and the three teens exchanged semi-panicked looks. Off to the side, Kim stifled a laugh.
"Give em a break, Rage. They just found out their boss and friend has a sister and I'm sure they learned about the issues we have with dad recently. It's only natural they be curious," she told him. RJ nodded in reluctant agreement.
"Rage?" Lily asked, amused. RJ grimaced and Kim grinned.
"I'm not allowed to call him by his real name so I call him Rage," she explained, knowing what their next question was likely to be.
"What's his real name?" Theo asked curiously. RJ shot to his feet and slapped a hand over his sister's mouth.
"Not a word, Kim!" he warned and she narrowed her eyes. RJ suddenly snatched his hand back.
"You licked me!" he accused. As Casey, Theo, and Lily all snickered at RJ's disgusted expression, Kim simply smiled sweetly at him.
"You should know better than to put your hand over my mouth, little brother," she told him pleasantly. RJ made a face and wiped his hands down the side of his apron.
"Don't call me that," he grumbled. Kim smirked.
"Why not? You are my little brother after all," she replied. He made another face.
"Only by a year," he grumbled again, hearing the chuckles and giggles coming from his students. He turned back to them. "Don't you three have somewhere to be?"
"We're going," Casey told him, smiling. Behind him, Lily and Theo were trying (and failing) to stifle their laughter. RJ shooed them with his hands.
"Go. Work," he told them and the three left, grins firmly in place. He grabbed Kim's empty glass and turned to the sink.
"If I didn't know any better, I'd say you were a wolf," he muttered as he quickly washed the glasses.
"Actually, I'm a crane," she replied without thinking. RJ turned to her in confusion and she smiled at him.
"Crane Gymnastics, remember?" she asked and her brother nodded.
"Right," he replied. He'd forgotten about his sister's habit of making comments that made absolutely no sense to him, though they usually amused her. The fact she could leave him feeling as if he was missing something was one of the inspirations for his practice of leaving his enemies with a confusing thought. If they felt even a fraction of the bewilderment he often felt when talking with Kim, he'd done his job.
"So what has the old bat been up to?"
"Flying," RJ replied automatically. At her raised eyebrow, he realized she wasn't talking about Swoop; she didn't even know Swoop. "Around the country. Dad is flying around the country."
"Still teaching?" she asked and he nodded. She got a funny look on her face. "RJ? What does he teach? No one has ever told me."
"Uh," RJ hesitated, considering what to tell her. He finally settled on something close to the truth. "He teaches Kung Fu."
Kimberly blinked at him. "Our father teaches Kung Fu? He knows Kung Fu?" she asked and RJ nodded. "Our father?" she asked again for clarification and RJ nodded again, now amused.
"Yeah, he goes around offering to teach. He has a specific style and he's expert at swords," he told her. Kim just looked at him uncomprehendingly.
"Our father is an expert swordsman?" she asked skeptically and RJ smiled.
"Why are you having trouble with that?" he asked and she made a face.
"My best friends are almost all martial artists and not a single one comes close to the amount of issues dad has," she replied. She paused for a moment and then added "Except possibly Tommy."
RJ rolled his eyes. "Dad is not your best friends," he reminded her and she smirked.
"No kidding," she replied. RJ winced a bit; he'd really walked into that one.
"Dad is trying to change," he told her.
"Can't teach an old dog new tricks," she shot back. RJ made the oddest face but shook it off.
"From small beginnings come great things," he shot back.
"Don't change horses while crossing a stream."
"No river can return to its source, yet all rivers must have a beginning."
"No one is as deaf as the man who will not listen."
"When the heat has past, you forget about the shade tree."
"A donkey always says thank you with a kick."
"The reverse side also has a reverse side."
"Time heals old pain, while it creates new ones."
"Look for the good, not the evil, in the conduct of members of the family."
"Every animal knows more than you do."
"So that's where he gets it from."
Lily's voice broke the siblings from their one-upmanship. They turned to Lily, similar expressions of amused irritation on their faces. The yellow ranger blinked at them but quickly shook it off.
"Theo and I are going to the store for more bananas," she told RJ who nodded.
"I won," Kim announced. RJ turned to her in disbelief, silently dismissing Lily to go to the store.
"How do you figure that?" he demanded. Kim smiled sweetly at him.
"My proverb was the last one in. Therefore, I win," she told him. RJ scowled playfully at her.
"Ahh, but I was just about to reply when Lily interrupted," he argued and the two began squabbling. Shaking her head at their antics, Lily left.
"So, if you don't mind me asking, why are you here?" Lily asked later that night. She, Fran, and Kim were cleaning up the kitchen while the boys did the front. The older woman grimaced.
"I was forced to take a sabbatical," she told her grimly. Lily frowned as RJ popped up behind Fran.
"Sabbatical?" he asked, startling the bookworm. Fran glared at him half-heartedly even as Kimberly made a face.
"Katherine, Michelle, and Renee forced me to take an extended vacation," she muttered dejectedly. RJ frowned.
"Don't you own the gym?" he asked and she nodded, looking disgruntled. "So how can they force you to take a vacation?"
"That's what I asked," she muttered as Theo and Casey wandered back to the kitchen. "They cornered me and told me that I was not allowed to step foot in the gym for at least a month."
"And you let them get away with it?" Lily asked, bewildered. Kimberly's shoulders slumped as she caught her brother's eyes.
"They threatened to call Jason and Tommy," she told him and RJ snickered. She pouted. "It's not funny, RJ! Do you know what those two did the last time the girls called them cause they thought I was being stubborn?" she demanded.
"Didn't they take you and Hayley to Hawaii?" he asked, confused, and she nodded irritably.
"You were upset because you got a trip to Hawaii?" Casey asked, confused. Kim hesitated before sighing in resignation.
"No, that part was actually really nice," she admitted and Casey smirked. "It was the fact they felt they had to 'save me from myself' that irritated me. I can take care of myself, thank you!"
RJ smiled wryly at Casey, Lily, and Fran's confused looks. "It wasn't the vacation that irritated her, it was the fact she wasn't given a choice in the matter," he told them and they finally seemed to understand. Theo simply nodded in agreement to what Kimberly was saying. The wolf master knew his blue ranger was thinking of his training with Swoop.
"So!" Kim smiled brightly as she turned to her suddenly wary brother. "Can I crash?"
"I am NOT going to give Tommy or Jason reason to kick my ass!" he replied immediately. She pouted at him and RJ groaned. "Don't give me that look!"
"Please RJ? I promise not to do too much!" she needled. "Besides, I can't cook, you know that."
RJ snorted in laughter. His sister burned soup. "Fine, you can help Fran waitress," he told her, knowing she would bring out the big guns if he didn't agree. He'd rather not face his mother's anger about him not letting his sister stay with him during her exile. He ignored Casey, Lily, and Theo's slightly alarmed looks; he didn't need them to remind him that they had a pretty big secret to keep and he had no idea how to do that with his surprisingly observant older sister in the house. This was going to be an interesting month.
End Notes: Thanks for all the reviews! Wow. This started off as a random bunny that has completely blown up. Wow.
Thanks to Black Rouge, AnimeJunkieGrrl, Silver Warrior, Tierra, Tommyfan4ever, monkeerangerfan, the real vampire, Pokelad, Trinix216, rangerfanforever, prfan83, GinaStar, pontiger27, and Rivulet027 for the reviews.
