NeonHorizon: Updates will be a little slow from now on. I have been very, very tired lately and this chapter took me three days to write because I had such little free time. I apologize and I hope that you enjoy this chapter. I will try to update a minimum of twice a week from now on.
When Jiayi had spoken about revenge, he had expected her to act immediately. Now two days had passed and Jack found himself wondering if she had forgotten. The immortal was lounging in a chair in the basement, watching a video on a monitor. She had a bowl of ramen in front of her, absently chewing the noodles as she observed the video. He frowned and leaned over a little, curious as to what she was watching. His face turned bright red when he realized that she had gone into his search history and clicked on the first video she saw. "Wh-what are you doing?!" he demanded. The redhead tried to lean over quickly to close the video, but lost his balance and fell onto the floor.
Amber eyes sparkled with amusement and she set her bowl aside. "What? You look so shocked. I mean…didn't you already see this?"
"Why are you watching it?!"
Jiayi leaned back in her chair, half-grinning. "I wanted to see what you were into."
His face became even redder and he struggled back into his chair. "You already know what I'm into. It's not like we haven't done stuff already."
She snickered, trying to smother it with her hand. "You're really cute when you blush."
Jack smirked, noticing the pink tint to her cheeks. "Like you're not blushing too." Settling in his chair, he looked over at the monitor before her. Why did she have to watch that one though? And she's just sitting there, eating ramen and watching that video like it's no big deal! I still can't get over the fact that she's over a thousand years old. His mouth settled back into a frown as he remembered the events of a few days past. She had gone to the temple so she could spar with the monks and returned bloody and battered. The wounds had been deep and Jack thought the bleeding would never stop. She looks okay now. What if she gets hurt again though? I know it's really hard to, but I know I'm pretty sure immortals can be killed.
Stretching her arms over her head, back arching, she released a yawn. "Don't know about you, but…I think I might be ready to get this over with," she started.
"No!" He saw her raise an eyebrow and quickly lowered his gaze. "No. I mean, why go now? It's getting late, isn't it? Why don't we wait until tomorrow morning? You can get a full night's sleep and-!"
"I don't need sleep; I need revenge. I need my father's sword."
"You didn't even know it existed until Guan gave it to you!"
"I knew of its existence. I simply didn't care." Jiayi rose from her chair and walked to the front of his, leaning down and gripping the arms of his chair tightly. "Do I look like someone who would prefer to use a sword when they have claws?"
He felt his face heating again with a blush, eyes fixed upon the portion of her chest that her shirt failed to cover. Cleavage…right there…right in front of me. How does she expect me to react to this?! I can't focus when she does stuff like this! Swallowing his nervousness, the young man lifted his eyes to meet hers. "I just don't want you to get hurt."
Her hips began to sway and she smiled. "Jack…you know I'll get hurt. There's no way around it. I'll hurt him worse though. I promise. So? Are you with me or not? If you are, I won't let you get hurt. We'll have those two on our side," she said, nodding toward the lion and tiger lounging near the wall.
When he looked their way, both cats seemed to glare at him. Are they jealous? This thought made him smirk and he leaned up to Jiayi's ear. "I love you."
Shift P.O.V
No matter how many times he said them, those three words always made her heart skip a beat. Jiayi's smile grew into a mischievous grin. "I love you, too. So? Are you with me?"
Jack turned his head to the side and frowned. "I don't really have a choice here. I don't want you to be alone with him."
"Alright. So…I'm going to go change and then we'll leave." She walked briskly, giving her two followers a warning look when they rose to try to follow her. Changing out her sleeping shirt and shorts for jeans and a tank top, Jiayi set about tying her dark blue hair up into a ponytail with a white ribbon. There. Perfect revenge outfit. She snickered and turned in a circle, examining the clothes with criticism. Do I really want all of my scars and markings showing though? They make me look sort of…
"Jiayi, you have a visitor!"
She made her way downstairs, half-expecting it to be Chase, but instead found Guan standing just outside of the house. "Hm…? What brings you here?" she asked. The young woman could easily take a guess. He had to have heard about her missing sword.
The man was silent for a moment, looking her up and down. "Do you ever wear your old clothes? Every time I see you, you are dressed like a villain. Surely you own clothes in a color other than black."
Crossing her arms, she grinned. "You sound so much like a parent scolding a child. Is that how you see me…even after knowing me for centuries? And for your information, Guan…this is the style with young people now. I don't know why. It's just comfortable."
"Perhaps you could find something more suitable-"
"Did you come just to tell me that I dress weird? I thought that surely you would want to talk about the Blade of Renshu and its current whereabouts," she interrupted. His brow furrowed. "Chase Young has it. I'm getting it back. You can stop me or help me, but I won't let him keep it. I will get it back from him. It belongs to me."
"It was created for you," Guan stated. He ignored her look of confusion and shifted topics. "This is not about that. Though I intend to speak with you about that matter later. I have come to ask a favor of you, Jiayi."
She saw Jack moving toward her from the corner of her eye, her two followers trotting over to stand on either side of her. A hand dropped to her side and she let her fingertips run over the soft fur of the tiger's head. "What sort of favor?"
He looked at the jungle cats and chose not to say anything in regards to their sudden appearance. "I need you to return to the Xiaolin temple with me and speak with one of the young monks."
"Raimundo…right? I've been meaning to. Now, just out of curiosity….what has he done?" Jiayi stepped outside into the warm sunlight and her cats kept pace with her. "Did he leave the temple? Did he join the Heylin side?"
"He has left the temple, but he has not gone far. I believe that you can persuade him to stay on the side of good."
Jiayi narrowed her eyes and it might have been intimidating if she were taller. As it stood, Guan was decently taller than she was and she was forced to tilt her head back to fully meet his gaze. "I have a battle ahead of me. To retrieve my father's sword," she said through gritted teeth.
"This is not a ploy to impede your upcoming fight. This is simply a request. I believe that he would even help you if you asked him to and in the process he may see that he belongs on the side of good. You do remember when you turned from the side of evil, Jiayi?"
Her face turned red with embarrassment at the memory. "Yes. I can recall quite clearly that I tried to tear my own body apart…out of guilt. If you truly believe that my words will have an impact…I suppose I have no choice." Jiayi's face took on a mischievous expression. "By the way, you may have noticed my new companions."
"I suppose they joined you because they admire your kindness." Again, he saw her face turn red. "Despite what you may think, you are very kind, Jiayi. I know that your heart is full of benevolence."
She watched him go and sighed in irritation. I know what he said, but I still feel like he's trying to stop me from fighting Chase. Or at the very least, make me wait to do it. Does he really think that I can help Raimundo? Jiayi glanced at Jack. He was cautiously moving outside, looking around warily. "…are you afraid of Guan?"
"N-no! I just don't like him!" he protested. "So what are we doing now? Are we really going to the temple?"
"Hm…I suppose I have no choice. You wanted to wait until full daylight before I go to retrieve the sword, didn't you? Pack a bag and meet me out here in ten minutes. I'll get the rest ready." Jiayi waited for him to go before she turned to the tiger and lion. They perked up instantly, eager to have her attention. "Alright. We're going to travel to the temple, but we're going to move at a normal pace. I know you can't move at immortal speed." The lion nudged her hand with its forehead, glad when she stroked its mane. "Thank you. Both of you."
Jack soon returned with a couple of bags and jolted when his girlfriend shifted into her large, blue tiger form. He reluctantly secured the bags, and a packed tent, onto her back and they set off. The young man was surprised by their pace. She ran at a normal tiger pace and in short bursts so that the other two could keep up. He tried not to think about the fact that he was riding on her back. He tried not to think about the other two cats, moving alongside her. More than anything, he tried not to think about the fact that some of Chase's jungle cats were quite old. Jiayi might have met one or both of these warriors before they were turned into cats.
When they eventually reached the temple, Jiayi was panting. She shifted forms, dropping Jack onto his rear in the grass as she looked around. It took very little time to spot the tent set up at the edge of the forest. She immediately stormed over, Jack and her cats slowly following her, and glared at the young man she had been sent to speak with. Her boyfriend moved past him into the tent and promptly collapsed from the heat. "You know…the least you could do is look at me," she stated, her hands curling into fists. "I took the time to come here…in this disgusting heat…nearly passing out on the way here…just to speak with you."
"You came here just to see me?" he taunted. Raimundo looked up at her and raised his eyebrows in alarm. "Are you okay? Your face is super red right now. What, are you just that excited to see me?"
"Heh…such humor. Are all young people so funny?" Jiayi collapsed on the grass beside him, throwing a forearm across her face to cover her eyes. "…I feel gross…I just ran I don't even know how many miles in tiger form so I could talk to you, but…I just don't feel like it now." She sighed and heard grass rustle as her feline companions took up guard positions nearby. If I feel like this, I wonder how they're doing. I'm immortal at least. They're just normal, aren't they? Well as normal as can be for warriors that have been turned into cats.
Raimundo turned toward her, curious as to why she was really there. She looked miserable in the heat; her face was bright pink, her skin shone with a fine layer of sweat, and she was still trying to catch her breath. The tank top she was wearing clung to her chest snugly and he felt his face turning pink as well when he realized that he had been staring. "You want some ice cream?"
"Hm…?" Her arm moved slightly to reveal her bright amber eyes. "What did you say?"
"Ice cream. I have some in this cooler," he said, gesturing toward the object to his left.
"What is that exactly?" Jiayi saw his expression turn to amusement and she frowned. The young woman pushed herself to sit up, trying to appear indignant. "What? In case you've forgotten…I spent centuries either with Guan or living in a shack. Do you really think I would know what all modern things are?"
He smirked and reached into the cooler, withdrawing an ice cream bar. "Here. I just want to see the look on your face when you eat it."
She accepted the treat from him and grimaced. "It's really cold."
"Yeah, the point is to have something sweet that will make you feel better when it's hot outside. I just can't believe you've never heard of it." Raimundo watched her unwrap it and snickered when she licked it. Her eyebrows rose and she gave it a second lick, smiling slightly. "Well? It's good, right?"
"I suppose so." Jiayi bit into it and winced. "Oww! You could have said not to bite it!"
"You just lick it. Why would you even try biting something that cold? Here." He grabbed her hand and pulled the ice cream over so he could lick it. "Just do that." It was cute to see her reaction and on some level he was happy to be the first person to see her try ice cream. It gave him a strange sense of satisfaction. He was trying to be calm, but his eyes kept wandering over to her and when he saw her lick the ice cream, he felt himself begin to blush. She was so cautious about getting close to it and when she licked it again, still quite close to him, he felt his heart skip a beat. "You like that?"
She heard the lion begin to growl and snickered. "He doesn't. You should be careful."
They sat in silence for a moment as she finished the ice cream and eagerly accepted another from him. "So what's with those two? Can you control jungle cats?"
"Those two joined me of their own free will," Jiayi corrected him. She snorted and shook her head, remembering what Guan had said. "I guess they appreciate my kindness or something."
"I can see that." When she gave him a look of surprise, he smirked. "Even when you're being evil, you're still nice. You make sure no one innocent will actually get hurt. Like when you sparred with Omi and started to shapeshift. You made sure he didn't get hurt and you didn't want him to see you that way. You kind of suck at being a villain sometimes."
"I'm not a villain because I'm not evil," she stated. "And neither are you."
Instantly, his eyes darkened and he turned to face the temple. The other young monks were busy so they were at least spared the malevolence with which he looked at his home. "You don't know me that well. You don't know what I'm thinking or what I'm feeling."
Jiayi frowned and reached over, blocking his view of the temple with her half-melted ice cream. "Help me eat this." She grinned wickedly when the tip of his tongue darted out to lick it. "That was…actually sort of cute."
"What? It took you that long to notice I'm cute?" he taunted.
She rolled her eyes and handed off the treat to the young man. Falling onto her back once more, Jiayi sighed. But it does feel better. After eating that. Jack doesn't have things like that at his house. A yawn escaped her and she stretched briefly before turning onto her side. "When morning comes, we're leaving to retrieve my father's sword." She heard a confirmation before feeling his chest press against her back. Rather than snap at him, she silently allowed him to move closer. He wants my attention. As long as he has it, he won't join the Heylin side…right?