Love, War, and Choices

Chapter 13...Years Past

When at her destination, she saw it strangely empty. She spat on the ground in irritation. "No one should forget him like this..." she muttered. She walked over to a grassy spot, below a tree, with a small stone gravestone infront of it.

In Loving Memory:

Raimundo Pedrosa

A great warrior, leader, dragon, and friend.

A soon-to-be father, and soon-to-be husband.

1990-2007

Kimiko's vision fogged as it began to rain again. Whenever she cried...it rained...

Whenever she was unhappy, the wind would pick up slightly...trying to sooth her.

Kimiko wiped yet another tear away into the rain, visiting the small gravestone they had managed to put up. She just couldn't stop crying. She could have sworn she'd heard him say, "Please don't cry over me...move on and be happy...that's what I would have wanted."

Of course...she couldn't be happy, and she'd never move on. Never in her life would she forget him, or do something as horrible as turn on him. He'd always be her one and only, until the day she died. Then, she'd be happy. Because she'd see him again.

A fresh set of flowers fell gracefully infront of the stone, it's impact on the ground jerking her chest back, making her fall to her knees as she poured out sobs of sadness.

"Why, Why did you have to do this!" she screamed, not even asking it in a question form. "Why did you have to leave me to rot! Why did you have to do this to me! Why did I have to be the damn lucky fool who fell for you! Why'd you have to leave me! Why did you do it! Why do you want to make me suffer! Why did you want me to! WHY?!?!?!" she slammed her fists into the ground over and over again, as the crying made her breath short gasps.

More and more tears poured out as she kept on the ground, muddied and hurt.

She heard footsteps behind her. There was someone there, but she didn't care. She had her face only inches from the ground, breathing in the soft scent of moist earth. She could feel the rain hit her back, and she could see her own tears, and the small drops of rain fall before her eyes, to the spot she was keeping dry.

Her now long locks of black hair shifted over her shoulder and fell to the ground limply, giving her face a shadow from the world.

"Kimiko, it's time to come in." A voice said from behind her.

"No...I cannot leave him."

"Well you surely cannot stay out in the rain either." the voice said in a matter-of-fact tone.

She turned with red puffy eyes against the rain to see Jack standing above her with an unbrella. "I can't leave him...He wouldn't want me to." she said simply, although whispering, Jack could hear her completly.

"Kimiko...It's been three years. He would have wanted you to move on and be happy."

"NO! YOU DON'T KNOW THAT!" She screached, standing up and getting in his face. "HE WOULD WANT ME TO BE WITH HIM FORever! Forever, forever, forever!!!" Her crying started again as she fell into Jack's chest, crying histarically. "Forever..." she whispered through sobs.

"Kimiko..." he said trying to sooth her, "I knew Raimundo...And don't get me wrong, you knew him better, but I know he wanted what was best for you. I know he would want you to be happy."

"I know!" she wailed. "And that's what's making me so upset!" she screamed, pounding him in the chest with her fists, although it didn't hurt Jack, on the account of Kimiko was so weak from crying. "He wanted me to be happy! But I cannot turn on him!"

"No one would be saying that you were Kim...Listen to me." she looked up at him. "He loves you Kim, and we all know, and that includes him, that you'll always love him back, even though he's gone Kim doesn't mean it's good-bye, and it doesn't mean that he's let go. Kimi, he will always love you, and you will always love him, but he wants you to move him aside so you can be happy. Have a wedding, having children, and not to die alone."

"But I won't die alone Jack! I won't!"

"You have to try and look at it from a differerent point of view Kim." he tried to reason.

"Don't be kidding me! If it hadn't been for Wuya!" Jack knew what was coming next. "If it hadn't been for Wuya trying to kill me!" She had brought it up so many times, just to make it rain on her, that it was her fault (which it wasn't in everyone's eyes) make the rain of guilt heavier on her every day. "If it wasn't for her..." she whispered. "He would have engaged to me that day! THAT NIGHT!!!" She screamed, again pounding on his chest. "HE WOULD HAVE ASKED ME TO MARRY HIM THAT NIGHT...The night that we met! Our month aniversery! He would have asked me to marry him Jack! And I would have said yes! He would have seen my wedding, because he would have been right there next to me! He would have seen my having a child, because he'd be right there, soothing me through it! He wouldn't see me die alone because he would have been right there with me Jack! HE WOULD HAVE BEEN RIGHT THERE!" She screamed in cries.

"All hope isn't lost Kimiko...You know you could still be happy, and that would make him happy. And then you would have been even more happy after you saw him again!" He tried to knock sense into her.

"Look at me Jack! I'm a mess, and I've been crying over this for three years! I haven't left the temple in a week because I'd come out every day and cry for 18 hours until someone would come out and get me! I go home to an empty apartment until you get back! Jack, I'm a life screw up!"

Jack now just pulled her into him and Shh'ed her crying to a stop as the rain began to fall harder and harder with every harder sob there was from Kimiko. (obviously, Jack's tactic wasn't working.)

He led her to his car and they drove to the airport, and got tickets for the flight back to New York.

"Jack?"

"Yeah?"

"Thanks..." she whispered, just before falling asleep into the first class seat.

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Kimiko sigh as she walked down the street. She was curious to know where Jack had gone. He'd been gone for a few days at a time now, and she was completely sick of it. She hated being alone... Not after what happened...

Then she turned down a street, and closed in on a small apartment building. She slid her key into the whole, opened the door, walked in and up the stairs. Then, she opened her own door, and walked into an empty kitchen. She shook her head angerly.

"He should be here!" she shouted in a whisper. Making a long line of creative, colourful words, she walked into the bedroom.

She slid herself out of the black skirt she was wearing, and into gray sweat pants. Then she pulled off her black long sleeve shirt, and put on a black tank top.

Then she went into her bathroom, and picked up her brush. Looking down, she brushed through it quickly. Soon after, she slid a headband into her hair, put a hair binder in it, and washed the makeup off of her face.

Suddenly, there was a ringing noise, but Kimiko knew what it was. It rang three times before Jack's voice came on.

"Hey, you've reached Kimiko Pedrosa and Jack Spicer, leave a message." She had insisted when Jack recorded it, her last name was Pedrosa. She remembered when Jack said it may have not been a good idea, but then she through a huge tantrum. Finally, he caved and recorded it just like she wanted it.

"Kim! Come on, come down to the club! Come on Kimiko, it's your 21st birthday! Celebrate with a drink! It'll help!"

It had been four years.

Four long years, of doing nothing in her life.

Because of that day when Raimundo had died.

Her twenty first birthday, she had planned to spend with Raimundo, laughing at a bar with him, while she got completely hammered. Of course, she'd have settled herself down with her fire to know whats going on, and to talk to him. They'd talk and laugh while walking three miles to get home.

The person that had called her was Angel. She was Kimiko's best friend.

Then, she got an idea. She walked swiftly to the answering machine and peaked. Go figure... Only one message (minus the one Angel just sent). She clicked the botton, and it beeped.

"Hey Kimiko, it's Jack. Sorry, I can't make it tonight... I'll try and be there next year."

It was her birthday, and she had to spend it alone... with not even a call from anyone.

It was funny... She only spent a month with Omi, Clay, and Dojo after the first few nights of everyone's death. They'd been together for what? Three or four years... and no one ever called her on birthdays. Raimundo's birthday... Raimundo's death date... To tell her that it'd be okay... To tell her that people still cared about her... To tell her that they still cared.

Jack was the only one ever there. But, he was barely there. He was out, working on crap, at a crap job, so he could pay for this crap appartment, and cling to his crap life.

Kimiko didn't understand. Why would Jack want to cling to his life... There was nothing in it anymore. She knew, if she had the choice to die without killing herself... She would.

Her father... A year after the... incident... had gotton sick and died.

And after both her father's and soon-to-be fiance's death, Kimiko wasn't up to keeping her friendships strong. And, Kieko noticed. Kimiko still didn't change. She expected her friend to be by her side through it all.

Kieko tried. Then, Kieko met a guy.

The guy was hot.

Sweet, caring, loving...

And very VERY over protective.

Soon, Kieko started going over to Kimiko's less and less.

Then, never at all.

Her calls became more distant, and rushed...

They came less and less.

And that's when Kieko stopped calling.

Kimiko had no one. Not a single person.

Omi, Dojo, and Clay?

Clay tried to help Kimiko, but just like Kieko, it became harder to support her living so far away. And finally, Kimiko told Clay to live his life out, and not to worry about her. He tried to refuse, but she then stopped picking up his calls.

He finally decided she wasn't kidding. He would call and leave messages once and a while, but on no occation that Kimiko really needed it.

Omi never got over the death of Master Fung. Everyone tried to talk him out of it... And... Then, Omi never spoke anymore. To anyone. He barely even acknoleged people after that. His training slipped, and he always went into a deep meditation.

Dojo then had to look out for Omi. To make sure he ate, slept, etc. And even didn't kill himself. It was scary to think of Omi just dying... So as much as Dojo tried to balance his time, Kimiko had once again told him Omi needed it more.

Then there was Jack.

No matter how much she tried, Kimiko could not shake Jack. Soon, she just gave up, and they bought an apartment together. He wasn't home. He was almost never home. She always asked where he was... and got no reply. He'd just say "Don't worry about it."

Finally Kimiko screamed. "I'M SICK OF DOING NOTHING!!!" She grabbed a short skirt, and tube top, got dressed, put some high heels on, grabbed her purse, cell phone, make up and money, and headed out to the club Angel addressed.

When she opened her door, she saw millions of flowers outside. Curiously, she looked at the tag of one.

"Happy birthday!"

"Forever..."

"From? I dunno, take a guess!"

"Find me!"

"I'll be yours!"

That's what all the tags said. She smiled at the thought, but this is something Raimundo did for one of her birthdays... Except, when he did it, she followed the flowers to find him waiting for her. He told her later she looked dissapointed when she saw him, but he made her time worth while.

Shaking her head, she hurried to the club, to see it almost empty. Only a few people were there.

Why, out of all people... would Angel do this to me?

Kimiko turned to leave, but a few people called her name. She turned with a stunned look on her face to see five people there... Who she longed to see so very bad.

But then, they stepped aside, and one person she hadn't seen forever smiled at her.

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sorry if that was a short chapter, but I needed to end it right there :D please review! I hope you enjoyed that chapter, even though I thought it was a bit rushed. Anywho, please review and keep reading! Thanks to everyone :)