4Taking the plate out from the warm, soapy water, Kimiko rested the last washed plate onto the drying rack before emptying the water down the drain. Turning to grab the towel she looked over the pile of plates and cutlery to be dried.
She hated chores. Especially washing the dishes.
Whenever it was her turn to do the dishes she always had to make extra time to give her hands and cuticles extra care. Hydrating hand cream and a good cuticle oil usually made up for the chore.
It had been three days since she proved herself in the showdown against Jack, winning herself the Golden Tiger Claws and the Monkey Staff, and she was still smiling about it. At least when her teammates were somewhat around.
Since getting back Kimiko had swiftly noticed she'd been constantly given all the chores away from the guys. Doing the dishes, wiping down the kitchen and table, sweeping the corridors, anything that would keep her away from the rest of the group.
Did they not like her winning? That can't be, they were all so happy for her.
Her anger? No, they would've acted differently beforehand.
Or maybe they just wanted a break from her. Seems possible. Maybe she'd been overly happy and smug without realising.
Drying the last of the plates she neatly stacked them on the side before quickly drying the cutlery. Having to do the dishes alone had allowed her to get into a decent routine as well as getting them done quicker over the days.
Looking at the empty wall, she realised she had forgotten to grab the broom on her way over. "Guess I'll go grab it in a second," she mumbled before grabbing a cloth.
Walking down the corridor she kept a decent pace going. The quicker she could get the broom and sweep up, the sooner she'd be done and could just relax. Raimundo had asked her two days ago if he could play Goo Zombies on her handheld game console and she'd yet to see it again. Her aim was to finally sit down and play it.
She opened up the storage closet to see the broom missing. "Dammit," Turning on her heels she headed to the boys.
"Omi, how much more do we have to do off Raimundo's chore list?"
"Quite some more I am afraid. But if we continue splitting them then it should be quicker"
"Why was I dumb enough to go along with this bet? One week, sure, but four?"
"Yes, Raimundo seemed to have out-clevered us with this bet"
"That's out-smarted and-"
"-and what bet?"
The boys froze for a second, before turning to the door.
"Why hello Kimiko, what are you doing here?"
"I forgot the broom and it wasn't in the closet. What bet, and where's Raimundo?"
"Well uh, you see..." Clay tried hiding his eyes behind his hat, too embarrassed to admit what they did.
"You see Kimiko. Raimundo won a bet against us. Meaning we have to do his chores"
"His chores?"
"Yes."
"For how long?"
"Four weeks"
"What kind of bet do you put four weeks of chores on?"
"I-It was on you, Kimiko."
They watched her cheeks turn a shade of red. Embarrassment or anger, they weren't so sure. "Where is he?"
"In our sleeping quarters"
"I'll kill him" She snarled before storming out of the room.
"Why is she going to kill Raimundo and not us?"
"Don't question it and we might just keep livin' partner"
"Raimundo!" The shout reached from outside their rooms to her bed. Loud enough for Raimundo to pop his head out of his area.
"Ay, girl. What's wrong with you?"
"What the hell do you think you're doing?"
"Playing Goo Zombies, you said I could-"
"-Not that. Making bets on me."
"Oh, that"
His response was so calm and cool it just angered her further.
"Yes. That. The hell do you think you're doing?"
The teenaged boy stood up, casually walking over to her.
"Look, chica, do you even know what the bet was?"
"Does it matter?" She snarled.
"Yes actually, it does"
"Well don't keep me waiting."
"I bet you would find your focus. I doubled it, twice, because I believed in your ability and I never doubted you for a minute."
He watched her eyes widen and mouth open a little in shock.
"Why?" She finally spoke.
"Why what?"
"Why did you believe in me?"
"Look, I'm gonna mess around, make a few jokes and have some fun. But at the end of the day, you're good at what you do. You just beat yourself up over it too much"
He smirked at her expression. A softer, shocked look. She looked down at the game in his hands.
"You have until I've swept the corridors then that's mine again"
"What?!"
"Should've gotten me free from chores too, Pedrosa"
With that, she left the room, leaving him unable to argue.
He smirked as he went to park himself back on his mat.
"She's cute when she's surprised"
