16Rating: K+
J — Jackbots
Kimiko held back her reaction as she cautiously closed her fingers, stretching her knuckles. The bruised and bloodied skin stung as flecks of metal rested in the crevises.
The Jackbots were supposed to be simple. Jack Spicer, while their first villain, was always their easiest. Any altercations he made to his Jackbots were basic. Annoying at most.
So when Kimiko Tohomiko found herself lost in a forest, being hunted by fire-resistant Jackbots, she knew she was in trouble.
The sound of a Jackbot flying above the trees had Kimiko ducking to the ground, her eyes searching for the metallic beings. Once again ignoring the stinging sensation from her hand.
'Fire-resistant,' she cursed in her mind, 'He had to make them fire-resistant.'
The side of her leg buzzed, pulling her phone from her left pocket she read the notification. Raimundo had checked in. He was home safe.
They created the app for the two of them, to ensure the other's safety should they be out on different missions. There was no point in creating it for Omi and Clay, given neither of them needed a phone.
"I've already got the Wu, Kimiko," she heard the familiar voice shout from the skies, "Now all I need to do is see you get beat by my Jackbots!"
Opening the app, Kimiko sent an alert and quickly typed the message 'fireproof'; before putting her phone away, she activated her tracker, allowing their leader to know her location.
Keeping her body low to the ground Kimiko moved through the trees, listening out for any possible sounds.
Jack's sudden burst of laughter caused her to spin around and call upon her element. Without a second thought, Kimiko threw her already injured fist into the approaching Jackbot.
Pulling her arm back, she screamed at the pain. A melted, burning substance oozed into her already open-wounds.
Grasping her right arm, she held it close to her chest, hoping to avoid her clothes sticking to the wound. Tears ran down her cheeks as the burning sensation travelled down to her fingertips.
A sharp gust of wind rushed past her, eliminating what remained of the Jackbot. Turning her head she watched Raimundo run towards her, the Golden Tiger Claws on hand.
"Let me see," his voice calming as he gently took her injured hand in his. "I didn't think you could take damage from fire?"
"Not to this extent," she sniffled while attempting to slow her breath, "But whatever he used to make them more resistant to fire hurts. So bad."
Looking into her eyes, Raimundo couldn't remove his focus from the redness. The skin beneath her lower lashes wore grey smudges from her mascara mixed with tears.
"We're getting you back to the Medi-wing, alright?"
"But Jack still has the Wu —"
"Doesn't matter. You're my top priority."
Through the pain, Kimiko managed to muster a half-smile at his words. Holding back a remark as he quickly turned away to call upon the Wu on his hand.
"Ready?" he asked, his arm out ready to give support.
Landing through the portal, Raimundo's arm protectively around her waist, he quickly moved her to a bed.
"I'll get the stuff to clean this up, okay,"
"Make sure you get the tweezers, there's metal in this,"
Examining her right knuckles, Kimiko brushed her left hand against her eyes, removing the tears before silently grumbling at the dark streak on the side of her thumb.
"You know, this streaky-style doesn't suit you," Raimundo teased as he pulled a nearby stool over to sit on.
"Well so long as there's no photos, I can deny this ever happening," she half-chuckled.
Crossing her legs to sit comfier on the edge of the bed, she focused on her wound as Raimundo cautiously took her hand in his.
"I'm going to guess removing metal from a wound is the same as getting bits of stone out," Raimundo commented as he fully examined her knuckles.
"Funny how we never seem to get metal-related injuries, given how often we fight metal things,"
Nodding in agreement, Raimundo grabbed the cloth from the table next to them, soaking it in the clean water. Adjusting his hold on her hand, he gently bent her fingers to allow as much space for the cloth.
"Sorry!" he pulled the cloth back at Kimiko's sharp hiss. "I don't think I'll be able to make it not hurt,"
"No, it's okay. Keep going,"
"You look sick,"
"I feel it." she rested her head in her left hand, attempting to ignore the sickly feeling in the pit of her stomach. "Let's just try to get this over with,"
Working swiftly but carefully Raimundo washed the wound, loosening the metal fragments sitting in the top layers of her skin.
The tweezers were the hardest part. Kimiko grimaced, cried, and shook from the pain. Raimundo did nothing but apologise and try to reassure her, worried that the pain would cause her to throw up.
"Last piece to get out, okay? Just this one then we've finished this part,"
"Mhm,"
Watching her face he saw her eyes stayed shut as she rested her head against her hand. Taking the tweezers to her knuckle, he focused as he placed the tool either side of the fragment. Gripping the metallic slither, he gently pulled back, removing the final piece.
"Just need to apply the salve, then it only needs a bandage,"
Moving back to the table, he dropped the tweezers before picking up the salve containing the temples recipe for increased healing.
Scooping out a decent amount, he once again reached for Kimiko's hand, applying the mixture to the damaged area before grabbing the bandage.
"Thank you,"
Moving his gaze back to Kimiko's, he was met with a tired smile with her makeup streaked and partially rubbed off. The dishevelled appearance was rare for her, but Raimundo still couldn't help but smile.
"When you've rested up we can go over what you found out today, try and make a plan to deal with these new Jackbots."
"And get that Wu back,"
"We'll get it back at some point, alright. You know we don't always get the new Wu first," he looked to her arm, "how're you feeling now it's cleaned up?"
"It hurts up to my elbow, but I should be okay,"
"Do you want a sling to keep it—"
"Raimundo, I'll be fine," she climbed off the bed to walk towards him, wrapping her arms around his neck. "But thank you, for everything,"
Wrapping his arms around her waist, he tightly held on, resting his head against her neck. "I know I'm usually not very vocal on these things, but I don't like seeing you hurt. So, of course, I'm going to help when I can,"
"I'll make sure to remember that," she whispered, smiling as she felt him pull her closer. "Remember and always return the favour,"
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