I won't make excuses, but I will tell you that if things work out with the guy I like then there will be more fluffy stories to come! I have my fingers crossed, and I won't bore you with all the details of my ever-so-eventful life. Anyway as promised, (and with an apology for lateness) here's the next installment in the collection. Of all the people that reviewed (which I thank you greatly for!) Only one person voted so Bless You it is...
Title: Bless You
Rating: T
Disclaimer: I still don't own it.
Summery: In Japanese culture the number of times you sneeze means something, and Kimiko just can't figure out what to make of it when she sneezes three times... R x K, fluff!
"Ah–!"
God she hated spring. Allergies were everywhere. They made her eyes water; the sapphire blue became puffy, red, and ugly. No amount of make-up could save her from that evil factor. Her nose was either runny or stuffy, depending on the pollen count, and either way it made her feel gross. Overall spring made her lethargic, bloated, and miserable. Her clothes never fit right, her skin broke into itchy, red rashes, and she was always sneezing.
"Achoo!"
One sneeze. She wasn't even off her mat yet and already she was sneezing. What a magnificent way to start a morning huh? In Japanese culture each sneeze held a different meaning; it was the only fun thing about sneezing even if it was just a silly superstition. The number of sneezes one produced held a different connotation, and one sneeze meant that somewhere someone was speaking highly of her. Who could it be? She didn't know off the top of her head, but it was fun to lie on her mat in the early morning mulling it over. It made pushing off thoughts of a long training day so very easy.
It could be Omi, but it was more like him to talk good about himself...maybe Clay? The cowboy certainly was a nice guy, but a compliment from him didn't mean much because one they were just friends and two he often gave compliments. She doubted it would be Raimundo. He usually didn't say too much good about her (from what she'd heard anyway), but -oh- if it was!
Her ears lightly twitched picking up low voices from the "room" next to her. She heard her name being softly murmured in the conversation and strained to hear more.
"But what if she says no?"
It sounded like Rai, but she wasn't a hundred percent sure.
"She won't partner."
Now that had to be Clay.
"She's...she's too good for a guy like me." the other voice insisted melancholily.
"Well she-"
"Hello my friends!" Omi butted in.
Inside Kimiko cursed Omi for ending the very intriguing conversation. Oh, she wasn't eavesdropping, just casually listening because by some purely coincidental work of nature she'd sneezed and good was said about some girl, and there was a possibility it was her.
The conversation was completely over so she picked herself up and skipped into the bathroom. This day was going to be great! She felt like she was 10,000 feet in the air, breathless and floating, and nothing could bring her down.
Well that was until an annoying, little green lizard interrupted her shower with shouts of a new Shengong Wu. The towel clad girl barely had time to dress before being whisked away with the boys on the green, flying dragon. She hadn't had the time to even dry her hair which was now embarrassingly wind-blown and frizzy. Plus, if Dojo kept up this speed and altitude she was sure to get sick. Talk about bad luck.
"Kim, I think this is the strangest hairstyle you've ever sported." Raimundo teased sliding easily out her punch-range.
"It's not my fault." she insisted irritated.
"Even I must say it looks scarier 'n Aunt Rose when she's asking for her foot massage." Clay nervously commented backing up slowly from the girl who looked like at any given second she could combust into flames.
Raimundo laughed and laughed after the Texan gave his apologetic insult.
"Maybe Jack'll be so intimidated by your monster hair that he'll just scream and run home." Rai tantalized.
"Maybe you should shut your face!" she snapped.
"Or what? Is your hair going to eat me?" he laughed as Clay and Omi hurried to Dojo's head leaving the heated pair.
Kimiko jumped to her feet at the same exact moment Raimundo did. They both glared at each other while struggling to keep their balance atop the flying lizard.
He was so immature! And so mean! And so...so...so...cute, but that wasn't helping. He was so cruel sometimes! And AHHH! Why did he have to be like that? She must have been fooling herself to even consider thinking that he could've possibly said anything nice about her this morning. So much for superstition.
Raimundo cocked a raised eyebrow at her, smiling mischievously as he did so. He was still holding his ground since he wasn't one to lose fights and by the looks of it one more comment would force her to blow up at him and lose rationality (and the argument). He liked her a lot, but he had to admit, it was fun to pick on her.
"Kim..." he grinned pulling out his camera phone and flipping it open. "Smile."
"You wouldn't dare!" she threatened hiding the undertone of fear. She knew he would; he was Raimundo after all.
"Oh, but I would." he taunted clicking the button and capturing her worst hair day ever on the phone. She lunged at him (forgetting they were on a dragon of course) and knocked him to the ground just as Dojo landed.
Hurriedly the boy shoved the phone down his pants as she dove on top of him in a fevered attempt to delete the atrocious picture.
"You want it back you'll have to go get it," he grinned knowing very well she wouldn't even attempt it.
"You pervert! You better delete that picture," she groaned getting off him and nervously scanning the surroundings.
They were standing in front of a dark cave that led to a long abandoned copper mine. Cool air blew out with such a force one would think there was a giant fan on somewhere in the pitch black depths. A large gray slab of stone met with damp rocks and timidly the tiny group entered. Once inside the whole area became so pitch black that even one's hand was no longer visible. Nervously the monks shuffled together; the earlier fight a mere memory now.
"Well I recokn' we'll be needin' some sort of light." Clay mused softly.
"yes but where will we-" Omi started to puzzle.
"Duh, I'm the dragon of fire," Kimiko cut in. "Be right back."
She darted out of the cave and grabbed a thick branch off a fallen tree. Lighting it like a torch she wandered back to where she supposedly left the others.
"Rai? Omi? Clay?" she feebly called.
"Boo!" Raimundo shouted startling the Japanese girl so much that she tripped back into an ice cold puddle of water that had gathered in an indent in the stones.
Well, so much for showering, and if she wasn't sick from before, she would be now.
"Sorry Kim," he laughed extending his hand. "Couldn't help it."
"Then I couldn't help this!" she snapped grabbing his hand and attempting to yank him in the water with her, but he managed to keep his balance and instead pulled the drenched and dripping girl to her feet.
"Where are the others?" she asked recovering the branch from the ground and relighting it.
"Clay had a flashlight so they went on ahead without us." he explained.
"It's freezing down here!" she shivered wishing for dry clothes and sunshine.
The mine shaft was dark and cold. The temperature barely seemed to have reached 30 degrees Fahrenheit, and it was very moist.
"Sorry. You want my sweatshirt?" he asked casually.
"You'll freeze then," she refused.
"Nah, and you're only cold because of me anyway." he insisted pulling the white hoodie over his head. "Here," he handed it to her and took the burning stick.
"I won't," she adamantly declined.
"You will." he shot back.
"It won't even do any good over a wet shirt," she pointed out.
"Then take that off." he blushed thanking God it was too dark to see his cheeks color.
"Nu-uh," she refused vehemently.
"Uh-huh. I won't look. I promise."
"You need your sweatshirt though."
"You need it more," he laughed, "besides, a little cold won't kill me, and you know you need it."
"Rai. Don't you have a t-shirt?" she asked puzzled, noticing his bare chest for the first time.
"Nope," he grinned, "but you can stop drooling and put the sweatshirt on already. Quit being so stubborn."
"I'm not drooling!" she denied a little too quickly. "Turn around."
She pulled a rapid change throwing off her blue sweater and leaving it where it fell; Papa could always buy her a new one anyway. The sweatshirt was still warm, and it felt amazing to not be wet.
"Achoo! Achoo!"
Uh-oh, two sneezes meant someone was talking bad about her...probably Jack Spicer, and as soon as the name crossed her mind a whirling helicopter noise and bright light appeared.
The red-haired boy raised a confused eyebrow and laughed. "Well at least now I understand why you two weren't with the others, but in a cave?"
"Nothing happened!" Kimiko defended ready to start throwing fire at the nerdy-misfit.
"Yeah sure, and I'm Miss America. Whatever. I got what I came for...and by the looks of it Raimundo did too." Jack taunted and then uncharacteristically left without as much as bragging about his win.
"Come on, we'll meet the others outside." Raimundo sighed taking Kimiko's hand and gently giving it a reassuring squeeze. Even in the dark he could see that the comment had really gotten to her. The tone of her voice told him so, and really, no girl likes to be called that.
"Does it really look that bad?" she asked sadly as they slowly shuffled back to the cave entrance.
"Well...I'm shirtless, you're wearing my shirt, your hair's messed up, we've been gone a while, the others aren't anywhere near here, and it's kinda dark. I suppose that wouldn't look too good." he sighed giving her hand another squeeze before releasing it as they exited the copper mine blinking to adjust their eyes to the light.
Shivering she placed her hands in the pocket of the sweatshirt and felt something cool and smooth. It felt like a phone and as she pulled it out she realized that it was the phone he'd taken the picture on. Maybe her luck was changing.
"Oh crap!" Rai exclaimed noticing his mistake.
Quickly Kimiko darted off to a nearby tree, and the Brazilian boy chased after her. He almost caught her too, but at the last second she slipped out of his fingers leaving him with only air. Grinning she dropped the phone down her shirt and shot a triumphant look in his direction.
"You think that'll stop me?" he asked advancing towards her grinning all the while.
"Mhmm," she nodded
"That's the difference between you and I. You think I won't attempt it, but I know I will." he teased backing her up into a tree.
She tried to dart off, truly she did, but he was quicker and before she could even comprehend what was happening he had her pinned to the tree. His hands slowly slid under her shirt and she gasped startled at how frigid they were, and was tempted to just give up and let him have the phone back before things got out of hand.
He really wasn't kidding when he said he'd go there.
"Rai," she managed to choke out. "I-"
At that moment Dojo, Clay, and Omi came walking out of the cave and spotted the two. Time seemed frozen as if the whole thing was a very awkward snapshot.
Raimundo quickly removed his hand, and without thinking took a few steps away from her. They both were overtaken by fire-truck red blushes and no one said a word. Clay, Omi, and Dojo stood in extreme disbelief with their mouths agape and on the floor.
"What is going on?" Omi asked cutting the thick silence with unusual ease.
"Well...it's a long story." Raimundo blushed and then scolded himself for making it seem worse than it really was. If he just told them they'd believe him, right?
Wrong.
"Time is next to us." Omi stated.
"He means time's on our side." Clay reasoned as the two flustered dragons looked at each other in a unspoken way that seemed to say "you-tell-them."
Kimiko sighed heavily and started to ramble, eager to convince her friends that she and Rai were not in-fact secret lovers.
"Rai scared me when I finally got the torch and I fell into a puddle of water which is why I'm wearing his shirt. We fought about that for a while, eventually I gave in and took the sweatshirt from him, I probably shouldn't have seeing as how much trouble it's caused me. Then Spicer came by and he told us that he already had the Shengong Wu so we decided to find our way back out of the cave. I found Rai's camera phone in the pocket of the sweatshirt once we got out and so he wanted it back, but I wasn't going to give it up without a fight...so I stuffed it down my shirt and he pinned me to the tree attempting to stop me from deleting that picture."
As proof to validate her story she pulled the cell phone out from her shirt.
The others gave incredulous glances all the same and the ride back to the temple was a awkward and silent one. Finally, and not a moment too soon, the temple came into view and Kimiko quickly darted off to go shower before anyone could stop her.
"Is that really what happened?" Clay asked Raimundo suspiciously.
"Yeah," the boy answered honestly. "It just looks bad."
"I reckon you'll be explaining that to Master Fung," Clay said gently still undecided on how he should judge the two's actions.
And as if on cue Master Fung appeared in the doorway and pulled Raimundo out.
On the other end of the building Kimiko had just gotten out the shower and made her way back to her room wrapped in a white towel. She quickly changed into her normal red tunic and dried her long hair before putting it up in pigtails. She was relaxed, refreshed, and above all happy.
Grinning she picked up Rai's sweatshirt and folded it neatly. She was on her way to give it to him when she overheard the end of the conversation between Raimundo and Master Fung.
"Really, that's what happened and if you want to punish anyone for this it should be me. None of this was her fault so please don't punish her." Raimundo promulgated.
"I do not want to punish you, but you showed ill-discipline and you put you and her in a precarious predicament that now has your enemy thinking the worst, so therefore I must punish you. I expect the temple repainted tomorrow, but I suppose I shall not punish Kimiko if you insist she not be punished...you do realize that she will not be helping you paint tomorrow, correct?" Master Fung said raising an eyebrow cautiously. This in itself was a test of the validity of the story, if he ate his words to get some help then the story would be a lie.
"I do. Thank you Master Fung." Raimundo bowed acquiescently and walked to the doorway.
"Achoo-Achoo-Achoo"
Three sneezes, her favorite. She'd never really had the triple sneeze before she came to the temple, but now she had them often, and it meant that somebody loved her.
"Kimiko I-uh," Raimundo blushed, "how much of that did you hear?"
"Enough of it. That's really sweet of you Rai." she grinned earnestly.
"Well you might as well know," he stammered blushing a bright crimson. "I like you a lot."
"I like you too." she smiled pulling him into a hug.
His nerve came back to him and softly he kissed her. When the kiss ended she sneezed again.
"Achoo-achoo-achoo-achoo"
Four sneezes. All that meant was that she had a cold.
"Bless you." he laughed swinging her around in his arms.
Yeah, she truly was blessed.
So there it is. After four weeks of waiting you guys finally get something new from me. I hope you liked it, please review (the more reviews I get the sooner the next one gets posted! Btw the next one is "Kiss in a can" and the preview can be found on the previous chapter.).
Thanks in advance.
Much love,
Heart.