You Remind Me

Chapter Five

Bellaluna

Disclaimer: I do not own Xiaolin Showdown.

Author's Notes: Okay folks, longer chapter coming up! This quite possibly could be the longest chapter I've ever written. Amazing! Well enjoy it all

Chapter Five

Kimiko was standing in an oddly familiar feeling place. Being there brought such a nostalgic feeling, and yet she couldn't for the life of her figure out where it was that she was standing. It seemed to be an Asian temple of sorts, colored with yellows and reds. There was a cement wall surrounding the building and a large grassy yard all around. The temple seemed small and simple, and yet Kimiko knew that there was far more to its appearance than it seemed. She took a step forward, moving closer to the front entrance of the temple.

As she moved three figures emerged from the door. There was a small, bald one, wearing robes, in the front of the group. Behind him were a rather tall, large figure in cowboy motif and another boy, average height in some regular casual clothes. The three of them were talking amongst themselves and laughing. A spark of recognition went off in Kimiko's head. These three were the Xiaolin Warriors! She gasped and immediately went into a fighting stance out of instinct. The three warriors however did not respond to her presence at all. It was as if she wasn't even there. Kimiko blinked and relaxed.

"Hello?" she called out, but no response. The three boys just kept walking away from her. They moved further and further with each step and Kimiko began to feel an uneasiness grow within her. Something was pushing her to chase after them, but her feet didn't move. Her heart began to ache as she stood there frozen in her spot.

As the boys went further and further away, the temple around Kimiko began to fade away and was replaced by the more familiar setting of Jack's lab. She was standing in one of the back corners, behind a shelf full of a huge assortment of tools. She moved around it a found herself with a clear view of the table that Jack worked at. Jack was sitting there, hunched over a broken Jackbot, busy working on it. Kimiko quietly walked over to him.

"Jack?"

The evil boy genius didn't even move a muscle. He kept on working on the Jackbot.

"Jack?" she repeated, and still nothing. Kimiko bit her lip as she felt tears begin to form in her eyes. She didn't want to cry, but all of a sudden she felt so alone. There was no one talking to her, no one to explain things, no one who she could depend on. In a panic Kimiko reached out and grabbed a hold of Jack's sleeve and pulled on it tightly.

"Jack! Jack, please listen please! Don't ignore me! Jack please!" she screamed, tears freely flowing down her face.

---

Jack had been sleeping soundly in his bedroom until the terrified screams of Kimiko woke him up. He jerked awake and jumped out of bed. In the dark of his room he groped for his coat and threw it on over his pajamas; no need for Kimiko to see those. Once that was set he ran hurried out of his room and down the hall to where Kimiko was staying. He threw the door open, allowing a flood of light to pour into the darkened room. There he found Kimiko tossing in turning underneath the bed sheets, screaming and crying.

"Hey, Kimiko!" Jack shouted, trying to snap her out of it as her reached for the bed. He reached out his arm and shook her body to wake her up.

Kimiko's eyes snapped open and she gasped for air in between sobs as she realized everything she had seen had only been a dream. Startled she sat upright and once again clung to Jack for support. Jack sighed and put his arm around the hysterical girl. He had no idea what she had been dreaming about but it had really messed her up.

"Kimiko, what is it?" he asked after she had cried for a while.

"Jack…Jack, please don't leave me alone," she gasped. "I don't want to be alone!"

"Alone?" Jack asked. "But I'm right here. It's not like I went anywhere without you…" Suddenly Jack thought back to their arrival back home that afternoon. He had been so wrapped up in their victory that he had pretty much forgotten about her. Jack grimaced. "Sorry Kimiko, my bad," he told her. "I forgot about the whole memory loss thing. I probably shouldn't have brushed you off like that. Pretty confusing huh?"

Kimiko relaxed at Jack's words. He tears seemed to have ebbed somewhat, and she was feeling a lot better than she had been about five minutes ago. She looked up at Jack with her watering eyes and attempted to smile.

"Thank you Jack…"

Jack shrugged. "Eh, whatever. I'll just have to make sure to keep a better eye on you," he smirked and wiped away Kimiko's few remaining tears. "Now you better get back to sleep. I bet you're exhausted from today."

Kimiko nodded and laid back down, pulling to covers up to her chin. All of a sudden she felt a lot better, and very tired, so going back to sleep took no time at all. Her head hit the pillow and she was fast asleep.

Sighing, Jack turned away from Kimiko and left the room, this time leaving the door open just in case. Having a memory wiped Kimiko may have been a huge advantage, but it was also a huge responsibility. It was like taking care of a child, almost as bad as when his cousin came to visit. Despite that though the helpless teary-eyed Kimiko had been so…cute. A blush rose to Jack's normally pale cheeks as he remember her wide blue eyes starring desperately at him for help and attention. Catching his own thoughts, Jack roughly shook his head of them. There was no time for thoughts like that, especially on Kimiko. That would make things a lot more complicated, and things were already horribly complicated to begin with.

Still, Jack couldn't help but feel for her plight. He certainly knew the lonely feeling that had been consuming Kimiko. He had always been alone, Wuya his only company in years. Jack couldn't even remember the last time he'd even talked to his parents, let alone see them. As for friends, he'd never attended school, so he'd never met any kids his own age until the Xiaolin Warriors. He'd learned from private tutors, and more recently from himself. He was smart enough to teach himself everything he needed to know. Despite his genius and plans for world domination he'd have to be lying to say he'd never felt a moment of loneliness. In fact, the only time where the loneliness didn't bother him was when he was fighting over the Shen Gong Wu.

When he returned to his bedroom Jack quickly discarded all these thoughts. It was far too late to be thinking so much. Determined to get some more sleep before morning Jack went back into his bed, closed his eyes and shut off all his thoughts before falling back to dreamland.

---

After their defeat in the showdown, Clay, Raimundo and Omi returned home via Dojo. When they arrived, they of course went directly to see Master Fung. When they entered the dojo, Master Fung was standing there, as if expecting them.

"Welcome back young monks, and how was you're journey?" he asked calmly.

"Lousy," Clay muttered and kicked up some dirt.

"Not to mention aggravating!" Rai added.

"Yes, and very confusing," Omi agreed with a solemn nod.

"Did you loose the Shen Gong Wu?" Master Fung inquired.

"Yeah, but that's not the problem!" Raimundo exploded his frustration clear to his master.

"Then what is Raimundo?"

"Kimiko is! She…she's working for that idiot Jack Spicer!" Raimundo exploded yet again. He didn't know why, but this whole situation made him so unbelievably angry. Maybe it was the fact that he'd 'been there, done that', or maybe it was that it all seemed too unbelievable, or maybe it was the fact that when Jack had saved Kimiko from the quick sand, she had seemed so…so happy. It was true; she had been so happy, so relieved like Jack was some kind of knight in shining armor to Kimiko now. Raimundo shook his head to rid himself of such thoughts and looked back at Master Fung, only to see that he had turned to Clay and Omi for more details. They told him of Kimiko's entrance, the showdown and her fight with Raimundo. After they were finished Master Fung closed his eyes and nodded.

"What are we to do about Kimiko, Master Fung?" Omi asked.

"It seems to me, that this is a situation that should be handled with time. Do not rush to conclusions, and do not rush to find a solution. A solution and explanation will be clear in time," Master Fung replied, addressing all three of the boys.

"So we're supposed to just sit around and do nothing about it!" Rai shouted.

"Yes Raimundo."

---

Kimiko lay on her bed, her head hanging over the edge so that she was seeing her room upside down. She sighed heavily and closed her eyes as she felt the blood begin to rush to her head. She knew she'd have to move soon, but was too lazy to do so at the moment. Though really it wasn't laziness that stopped her, it was more like boredom; pure and utter boredom. It had been a week since the showdown, and nothing had happened since. Kimiko couldn't help but wonder if it was always like this; just sitting around and waiting for the next Shen Gong Wu. Jack had been locked up in his lab, working on his robots for most of the time, though he did make time to come up and see her for a little while after her nightmare. She had had a few more nightmares since, but none that she had woken up screaming from.

After some time lying there, the boredom really got to her. With a frustrated cry she curled up and leapt off the bed, landing squarely on her feet. Determined to find something to keep her busy, Kimiko decided to explore the mansion. She had seen how huge it was from the outside, though she had been rather occupied with her confusion and wounds, but she never looked around the inside other than her bedroom, bathroom, Jack's lab and the room with her clothes. Food was always delivered to her by a Jackbot of Jack himself, so she hadn't even seen the kitchen. With no destination in mind, Kimiko set off on her journey.

The self-tour through the Spicer mansion proved interesting. There were several rooms just like the one that Jack had shown her, all filled with clothes of all kinds. Other rooms looked like empty bedrooms, probably guest rooms. After some time she had managed to make her way to the kitchen where there were a few servants bustling about. So there was other life around this place. Well, she had figured there had to be, but she'd never seen anyone other than Jack and Wuya…if she even counted. Trying not to be caught by anyone, Kimiko quietly tiptoed past the kitchen, but then a voice called out.

"Miss Kimiko?"

Kimiko turned around and saw that it was one of the maids that had called her. She was shocked, to say the least, that someone had known her name. Quickly she reminded herself that she had lived there before the whole memory loss, so of course they'd know her.

"Y-yes?" Kimiko said.

"Was there something you wanted?" the maid asked.

"No, not really," Kimiko shook her head. "I was just looking around."

"Oh, I see," the maid nodded with a smile. Kimiko was about to leave when she heard voices coming down the corridor. The maid gasped and grabbed Kimiko by the wrist. She dragged Kimiko into the kitchen without another word.

"Hey!" Kimiko shouted. "What do you think you're…"

The maid silenced her by putting her hand over Kimiko's mouth.

"I'm very sorry miss, but Master Jack ordered that you not be seen by his parents. So please, please be quiet and stay here," the maid pleaded. She then left the kitchen, leaving Kimiko alone. Listening carefully she could hear voices just outside, in the hallway.

"Ah, Sara," a female voice said. "There you are."

"Ma'am," the maid voice chimed in. "Is there something I can do for you?"

"Yes, please have James come around the front to take us to the Livingstones'."

"Of course, right away," Sara came back in to the kitchen and picked up the phone, quickly dialing the number. However, Kimiko was more interested in the people out in the hallway.

"You talked to Jack yes?" the female voice, Jack's mother asked.

"Yes, he was down in that foolish workshop again, tinkering with his toys," an exasperated male voice replied. "Honestly, I don't know where we went wrong with that boy! All he does all day is stay in that basement, wearing those god-awful clothes."

"Dear…I know that he's a disappointment, but unfortunately he's all we have for an heir. Let's just leave him alone. Ignoring the problem for now is best."

"Fine, let's just go."

The voices began to fade away and Kimiko stood frozen in her place. Had she really just heard all that right? How could Jack's parents be so…so cruel? Parents were supposed to love and support their children, not treat them like some kind of disease! Just as her anger began to boil, Sara hung up the phone with a sigh.

"Poor master Jack," she said quietly.

Kimiko looked over at Sara, gaping. "Are they always like that?" she asked.

"Unfortunately yes," Sarah nodded. "They ignore and avoid the young master most of the time, and when they don't they're only speaking to him to criticize him."

"That's horrible!"

"Yes, but…that's why I'm glad that you are here," Sarah said softly.

Kimiko looked up at her with a questioning glance. What on Earth did that mean?

"He finally has company…that he'll keep. Usually he just turns people away, but with you it's different," Sara explained with a gentle smile.

Kimiko blushed. Different with her? Yeah right. She highly doubted that. Shaking her head free from these doubts she said goodbye to Sara and headed back to her room. However, about halfway through her journey back, she changed her mind and made her way to the lab, a new plan in her mind. By the time she entered the lab she had a smile on her face and a spring in her step.

"Hello!" she said upon entry.

Jack as usual was hunched over yet another Jackbot, inspecting its mechanical insides. When Kimiko had entered, his head jerked up in surprise. She had quite obviously frightened him.

"What are you doing here?" he asked, lifting his goggles away from his eyes and back on his head.

"I want to go to the park," Kimiko said simply.

"Fine, have fun," Jack said with a wave of his hand as he started to go back to work.

"No, I want you to come with me."

"I'm busy."

"Jack, please?" Kimiko said, pulling up her best, and cutest pout as she tugged gently on Jack's sleeve.

Jack peered up at her and suddenly his eyes went wide and a barely visible blush ran across his pale cheeks. Quickly he suppressed this and looked away.

"I need to work on these Jackbots. I can't go."

"Oh come on Jack!" Kimiko cried, switching from cutesy mode to pushy mode. "You have like, a hundred of those things in top condition. A few hours at the park isn't going to kill you're robots. I believe in them. They will survive," she teased.

"No," Jack said flatly. "I'm not going. I have…evil evilness to do."

"Then do it at the park, because we're going. Now," Kimiko said stubbornly as she stood in her placed and stared Jack down. For a few minutes Jack did attempt to counter her stare with his own…but no one was a match for Kimiko when she was that determined. His sighed in defeat and put his tools down on the table.

"Fine," he said. "I'll take you to the stupid park. But we're not staying long."

"Hoo-ray," Kimiko said, mimicking his unenthusiastic manner.

---

The two of them stood at the entrance of the park; Kimiko's smile renewed, Jack's frown remaining. Carefully, Kimiko studied the park. There were a few families there, but it wasn't all that crowded. Kimiko was sure that Jack was probably quite thankful for this small blessing. Her eyes came to rest on the swing set. Quite unbelievably, each and every swing was empty. With a smile and a nod, she reached down and took Jack's hand and literally dragged him to the swing set, forcing him to sit down on one of the swings. Of course he protested, but Kimiko would not hear of it.

"Jack Spicer!" she said, standing in from of Jack and his swing. "You are going to swing, and you are going to like it!"

Muttering under his breath, Jack began to kick his legs back and forth, propelling himself on the swing. Somewhat satisfied, Kimiko went to the swing next to Jack's and began to swing too. She did enjoy the swinging, but she could plainly see that Jack was not. She sighed and stopped swinging. Roughly, she grabbed Jack's moving swing and stopped it with a jerk, sending Jack to the dirt.

"H-hey!" he shouted and hurried to his feet, wiping off all the dirt on him. "What's your deal? I thought you wanted me to swing?"

"I changed my mind," Kimiko said with a shrug. Smiling once more, this time, almost menacingly, she crept closer to Jack, who was of course, completely weirded out now. She reached out her hand, and in one swift movement, she touched Jack's shoulder, shoving him back somewhat. "Tag! You're it!" she cried and ran off for the other side of the park.

"W-wait, what?" Jack shouted after her. Did she seriously want him to play tag? What was with her this afternoon? In all his experiences with Kimiko, he had never seen her so…playful. Yes, that was the best way to put it. Sighing, he began to run after her. She had already gotten a lot of distance between you, and running had never been Jack's strong suit. As he began to run out of breath, Jack was still wondering why Kimiko was acting so strange. Perhaps it was a side effect from the memory loss, or maybe she had had another dream. Or maybe…was she trying to cheer him up? That wasn't possible was it? Had she over heard his father talking to him? Dread overcame Jack and his pace slowed until he finally stopped moving at all. That was the last thing that Jack had wanted. The was why he had purposely told the staff to make sure she never saw his parents.

"Hey Jack!" Kimiko's call jarred Jack out of his thoughts. "What are you a slowpoke? Come and get me!" she jeered from the top of one of the tall wooden tower with a built in slide.

With sudden invigoration Jack leapt back into action. Maybe she had heard his father. If that was the case, then he would just have to make sure that Kimiko did worry about him. He needed to act normal if he didn't want a mother hen fretting about. Another thing occurred to him among all his mess of thoughts; why the heck was he running? With a push oh a button, Jack's helipac was activated and he easily reached Kimiko's 'safe spot'. He reached out and tagged her, then hovered away.

"Hey! No fair!" Kimiko cried.

"Ha-ha!" Jack laughed, his voice filled with confidence. "What are you going to do now Kimiko?"

"Why don't a show you?" she said in a low growl. Glaring and smirking at Jack the whole time, Kimiko crawled up on the ledge of the tower and leapt forward into the air. "Here I come!" she cried, and just as she finished, she reached Jack and grabbed him by his legs.

"Woah!" Jack gasped as the sudden weight began to pull them down rather quickly. The helipac began to shut down as the neared the ground, and before either of them knew it they had crashed to the dirt below. Thankfully the helipac had lasted long enough so that they hadn't been too far from the ground; however, they did find themselves in quite the awkward positioning from the crash. Kimiko was on her back, and Jack on top of her, his head rest right on her chest. Still disoriented, Jack looked up at Kimiko's face, which was still scrunched up in pain. He blushed as he finally saw what a compromising position he was in. Before he had a chance to get up, Kimiko recovered, and she too blushed when she saw Jack on top of her, his face only inches away from her own. She could even feel his breath on her neck. A shiver ran down her spine and both she and Jack remained frozen. They stayed that way until Kimiko regain her own inner fire and pushed Jack off of her. He landed with a thud a few feet away from her and her winced in pain as he sat back up.

"What was that for?" he shouted.

"You know what it was for!" Kimiko replied as she too stood up.

Before their argument could continue further, the two of them finally took notice of the other people in the park. Several parents were shielding their children's eyes, or just plain walking them out of the park. They were all obviously perturbed by Kimiko and Jack's little scene. Both, laughing nervously, got up and rushed for the park's exit. They ran until they were a good block away and finally stood, breaking for some air. As the both gasped for the air they peered over at each other. Once their eyes locked on the other's they both began to laugh hysterically. They had both realized just how ridiculous they must have looked back there and all the anger and stress of the day seemed to just fade away.

Jack had to admit…it was nice.