A/N: Hello there, Xiaolin Showdown fandom!
This is my first attempt at a Xiaolin Showdown fic. I just got back into the show recently, after hearing about Xiaolin Chronicles. I bet that'll be soo cool :D
Anyways... I really hope you guys like my writing! Like I said, this is my first XS one-shot, so go easy on me :P
Enjoy :)
Disclaimer: I obviously do not own Xiaolin Showdown or the characters in this one-shot.
Shoku
Raimundo Pedrosa – Shoku Warrior.
It had a nice ring to it; that was for sure.
Shoku Warrior.
As in – leader. The leader of the Xiaolin team.
It was now official – he was the leader.
And as it finally hit him like a ton of bricks, just about a million emotions rushed through his brain. So much so he felt a headache coming on.
It had been twelve hours ago that Master Fung had announced the victor of the position, and now Raimundo was lying, restless on his mat in his room (or, closet-bedroom thing). He let out a low chuckle. Shoku warrior, and he still didn't get a proper bed? What was the dilly?
He knew he was just trying to distract himself with silly little quips and comments, to occupy his mind from the fact that he was a Shoku Warrior. Many times before he had questioned whether he was even worthy of being around his fellow Xiaolin monks, and now he was their leader.
Unable to shut his eyes for more than a second, Raimundo sighed. Sitting up, he attempted meditating, but was distracted by the loud snores coming from next door, and he rolled his eyes lightly.
Clay. The guy was noisier than a tractor when it came to sleeping. And yes, he realised that he'd used one of the cowboy's idioms, but he didn't really care at that moment. He could hear Omi's mumbling of various kung fu moves in his sleep right on the end of the hallway, next door to Clay – murmurs Rai would typically zone out of because he was such a heavy sleeper – and couldn't hear any tapping of a phone's keys from the other side of him and so assumed Kimiko was, as the rest of them were, already sound asleep. He bet that Dojo, the lazy dragon he was, was snoozing; maybe Master Fung and all the elder monks were too.
It wasn't often that Raimundo was the last to get to sleep, if ever.
He guessed that, maybe, he was just still super pumped after the victory for the Xiaolin they'd had that day. The fight that had gone on that day had been quite a success for Rai and his team (the fact that it was now HIS team was a difficult thing to grasp.) Despite the fact that they were obviously and severely outnumbered, a high percentage of the Heylin side had already been defeated or had fled before either Xiaolin warrior had broken a sweat. Every Xiaolin dragon was on the top of their game. Especially Raimundo.
Looking back on the battle, Raimundo noticed that his usual near confident (more likely to be labelled as cocky) attitude that came to front when he battled had been hushed in the fight that day, to be replaced with a pure passion for battle, for winning. His mind was cleared of all outside distractions, and his connection with his wind element was stronger than ever.
Not only did Raimundo see an improvement in his battle techniques and behaviour in battle, but with being the leader of his team, he also found that he empathised with every one of his fellow warriors – he could feel every individual scratch, share in every individual victory, and, more importantly; he could sense every single time one of his individual team members was struggling and needed assistance. He could feel their despair - sense it - and some strange drive urged him to win in his battle against an enemy faster so he could help them in theirs. He could feel their pain, and, as their leader, he wanted – needed – to put a stop to it. He really hoped this wouldn't affect his pranking and make him want to 'put a stop to' that. Raimundo pretty much stood out in the temple as the mischievous prankster. He didn't want to be able to empathise with his team mates when he was putting a spider in their soup or placing another squirrel in Omi's pillowcase or stealing Clay's hat or hiding Kimiko's hairbrush – his point was intensified when it came to Kimiko and her hairbrush and lipstick and similar girly appliances. He shuddered at the thought. No, he definitely wouldn't want to empathise with her about pranks that involved those things.
To say Raimundo was proud was an understatement. Rai was the lazy slacker of the team, and the prankster; and another element to his personality was his undoubted pride and self-esteem. He found that his pride and confidence was flourishing more now than ever before, now that he was the Shoku warrior. When in battle previously that day, he'd felt like he was glowing when he threw Chase Young into that mountain-face, and took out a dozen Jack-bots in one single hit. He'd trapped Wuya, once again, in a puzzle box. Having the Moonstone Locust to hand – which the monks had obtained in the previous Xiaolin Showdown in the parallel world – he could easily take down that overgrown Heylin weed while it shot Omi with it's strange flower-dust and began to turn him into a plant. Raimundo had given Omi a large smile as the usually bigheaded monk gave his humble gratitude to the new leader, no matter how slightly sarcastic and pouty it had sounded (at least the kid was getting a grope on sarcasm now). Raimundo could even still feel the buzz he'd felt when he'd soared through the air to Kimiko's rescue as one of Jack's junkyard bots took her to the ground. He'd felt like her rescuer, her knight in shining armour – she'd even kissed him on the cheek and thanked him profoundly – a real thanks, not like Omi's pitiful attempt.
Raimundo felt stronger than ever. He was the Shoku warrior. The position was all his. He'd deserved it.
Suddenly the proud grin wiped itself off of Raimundo's face, and his shoulders slumped. One question suddenly clouded his mind… did he really deserve it?
Raimundo knew he certainly wasn't the greatest Xiaolin warrior the world had ever seen – maybe not even the greatest alive now. Only five days prior to Master Fung's announcing of their final quest before a leader was chosen, before Rai had become Shoku warrior, he had still been five seconds slower than Omi on the obstacle course, so Omi was still a much better martial artist than him. He was lazy and selfish and lacking in discipline and concentration so badly – qualities that he knew Grand Master Dashi had probably never had.
Not to mention the fact that Rai had foolishly turned to the dark side once before.
Though every monk had turned at some point, he was the only one who had turned deliberately and willingly and for his own selfish game. When it came to Omi's time on the Heylin side, well, he had had no knowledge of what the Yin and Yang Yo-Yo's were capable of alone, and he'd had no choice of whether or not to become Chase Young's cat, as his dark side had been the one to agree to swearing loyalty, so it wasn't his fault he'd turned.
Kimiko had only turned to the dark side for the same reason – leaving her good side behind in the Yin Yang World; only that was deliberate; part of a Showdown. It had either been that or be burned to a crisp by the meteors that fell during that one Xiaolin Showdown where the Yin Yo-Yo was wagered against the Yang Yo-Yo.
And as for Clay, well, it hadn't even been him that was evil. The creepy bug, Sibini, from the Mosaic Shen Gong Wu, had been controlling Clay – the big guy couldn't even remember any of what had happened over the brief period that the bug was in control of his body.
Yep. Raimundo was the only one who had no valid reason for turning evil for a spell.
Raimundo still didn't understand why everyone had been so forgiving of his screw-up. Sure, he'd imprisoned Wuya back in the puzzle box and saved the world and all of his friends, but had they really forgotten that he was also the one to help Wuya gain control of and nearly end the world? Was opening that puzzle box really all Rai needed to do to win back his friends? He supposed that they were just thankful because without him opening that box they would've all been grounded and squished like fruit in a blender.
He was just lucky, that was it. Lucky that the right moment came at the right time. Lucky to have been given the puzzle box at the very moment that Wuya had began to rub him up the wrong way. If he hadn't been so lucky, his future wouldn't look as bright as it did now. He would be probably alone right now in that rock palace if he hadn't opened the puzzle box, playing video games all on his own. Or maybe he would've done something stupid and rebelled against the witch and ended up being imprisoned in the dungeon for fifteen hundred years. He doubted that, without his friends, he'd be happy. The truth was; he needed them. He needed them all. Kimiko, Clay, even Chrome-Dome. Even little egotistic, rude, better-than-thou Omi. Raimundo let out a sigh and felt his neck weaken as he dropped his head into his hands.
Not only had he been weak-willed when he turned to the dark side, but he had to admit that then, and now, his personality was all wrong for a brave and noble Xiaolin Dragon. He was selfish and lazy and boastful and rude.
It had been way over a year - almost two - since Raimundo had converted to the Heylin side, and now he was the Shoku warrior. But he hardly believed that he deserved it.
"Raimundo?"
"Huh?"
The brunet Brazilian lifted his head from his hands to turn to the small figure standing at the door. The figure stepped forward, out of the shadows, and into Raimundo's room with an innocent expression of curiosity on his face.
"Oh. Hi, Omi."
The Dragon of the Water, and Raimundo's greatest rival within the temple, rubbed his eyes as he approached his friend and leader. Raimundo noticed that Omi was wearing his bright blue pyjamas with clouds on them and a sleeping cap to match and sighed as he realised that he was still wearing his Shoku Warrior robes, not any form of pyjamas. Omi raised an eyebrow at the sight, and Raimundo assumed that Omi just thought he was rubbing the whole I-got-Shoku-Warrior-not-you thing in his face. Raimundo shuddered under the young monk's glare.
"I- I thought you were asleep." He accused. Omi shrugged.
"I was awoken by Clay's snoring," He admitted, "and, I sensed despair coming from your room."
Rai's shoulders slumped, before he immediately slunk into defensive mode. "Despair? Me?" He scoffed, "I'm not in despair."
Omi raised an eyebrow, "Is that so?" Rai nodded, beaming a little too brightly. The light reflecting off of his teeth could've seriously woke Clay and Kimiko. Fortunately, they remained asleep. Raimundo didn't want to wake either of his friends, especially Kimiko. He'd suffered the wrath of waking that hothead once before… one too many times…
Not believing Raimundo's excusing of himself, the little monk dragged a Shen Gong Wu out from under his sleeping cap. Raimundo groaned.
The Mind-Reader Conch. Omi had heard everything Raimundo had thought. Omi hid the Conch back under his hat, sensing his friend's anger at his invasion into his mind.
"I apologise for intruding your thoughts, Raimundo," The little one frowned, "I just sensed that you were dumped in the downs and wished to check if everything was pineapple-y keen!"
Raimundo blinked twice. "Um, Omi, do you mean peachy keen?"
"That too."
Raimundo stared at the little monk for a few seconds, not quite sure what to say. In the couple of years that Raimundo had known Omi, he hadn't really grown or changed at all – looks-wise, or personality-wise. The kid was still self-confident and boastful; though this had been slightly silenced in the last twelve or so hours. Not that Raimundo believed that Omi had totally lost his ego – no-one could burst that little bubble the kid lived in. He couldn't find it in him to hurt the kid – he was sort of like his little brother. He loved to pick on Omi – as he sometimes did with him when it came to his slacking in battle and skills – but Chrome Dome was like family. He meant no harm, even right then when he'd peeked into Rai's mind without permission. The kid was just worried. Raimundo even felt slightly proud that Omi was caring about him, and hadn't turned all petty and against him since he became the Shoku warrior.
Rai sighed, patting the space on his mat next to him. Omi, smiling slightly, came and sat next to his leader.
"So, what is the matter, my friend?" Omi asked kindly, "Why are you suddenly thinking about your past mistakes and doubting your abilities?"
Rai shrugged. He could trust Omi, he told himself. Omi was his friend. "Master Fung shouldn't have made me the leader." He admitted solemnly.
"You are pushing my ankle." Omi bit his lip as Raimundo did not give in this shy, unconfident act. Raimundo was usually so self-confident… what had gotten into the Shoku warrior? "Seriously, Raimundo… snip the joke."
"I think you mean cut the joke, Omi." Raimundo sighed, collapsing down onto his back. Not-so surprisingly, Omi's messing up of idioms was not helping his mood in any way, shape, or form.
"Well, then do that." Omi said, folding his arms. "Is everything alright, Raimundo?" He then gasped, "Did someone use some strange Shen Gong Wu on you to make you so upset?"
Rai shook his head, letting out a chuckle, "You're funny, Omi."
"My hilarity has nothing to do with the situation, Raimundo. Spill the peas."
"Are you trying to mess up as many of these sayings as you can in one conversation or something?" Rai asked, changing the subject as Omi used yet another failed phrase, "I swear, you're doing it on purpose now."
Silence echoed in the room. Raimundo bit his lip and Omi sighed heavily and lied down next to his friend, tapping his shoulder and asking him to turn over, so that they were now facing each other.
"Why do you think you are unworthy?" Omi popped out the question. "Do you think your martial art skills are not good enough?"
"No, no, it's not that…" Rai sighed, "It's just… now that I'm thinking about what I've actually been given here… it's a lot of pressure." He paused, biting his lip, lost in thought.
Omi frowned. His Brazilian friend was always so headstrong, so proud. It was not like him to stop and think and panic like this.
"I think you will cope." Omi offered meekly.
"And what makes you think that?"
Omi paused to think, "You were a decent leader in that parallel world."
"Leader? I wasn't the leader." If Rai could recall correctly, Clay had been the leader in that messed-up world Omi had unintentionally created by going back to the past and stopping Hannibal Bean from turning Chase Young evil. His plan hadn't worked out so well when Hannibal ended up turning Master Monk Guan evil instead, creating a world more so dominated by evil than the previous.
"Well, you acted like one." Omi corrected himself, "You had very positive spirits, and were always trying to motivate the team. You did fairly well in the showdown, too, and you even offered to give yourself up and drink the Lao Mang Lone Soup to save everyone! You were, as you may say, softcore!"
"Hardcore." Rai corrected instinctively, resting his head in his hands, "But you think so, Omi?"
"I know so." Omi nodded, "My tiger instincts tell me that, if you continue to act like that, you will become a brilliant leader." Omi hesitated, "Well, not as good a leader as I would've been, but…"
Raimundo chuckled, ruffling the spot where the kid's hair would be; if he had any, that was. "Nothing's gonna pop that ego of yours, is it, Omi?"
Omi put his hands on his hips, smiling proudly, "A warrior must always be aware of his skills, Raimundo, or he will not be able to use them in battle."
"There's a difference between being aware of your skills, and flaunting them, Omi." Raimundo joked, however his mind was on other matters. Omi was saying he had been a decent leader in the parallel world, sure… but what about in this world?
"Something still troubling you, Raimundo?" Omi asked. Rai shook his head, lying.
"I'm fine."
The Chinese boy, unconvinced, reached for the Conch that he'd hidden inside his pyjama hat and Raimundo shook his head.
"No, no, no more mind-reading!" Raimundo carped.
"Very well."
"Omi, what if I'm not the same guy I was in that parallel world?"
Omi blinked, "I do not understand…"
"Well, it was a parallel world. What if that was a parallel Raimundo whose actions won the spot as Shoku warrior, and not me?"
Omi watched his gloomy friend, understanding that the stress of being promoted was seriously getting to Raimundo. The grim part of him suggested that perhaps this was reason for him to have got the promotion, and not Raimundo, but he shrugged his pettiness off. If he was to be a great Xiaolin warrior, his small-minded attitude could not get in the way for such petty reasons anymore.
"I do not think that is the case, Raimundo." Omi tried to encourage his friend, "After all; you remember what happened in the parallel world, right?"
The Dragon of the Wind shuddered, "I vowed never to forget it."
"Well then, it must've been you! Otherwise you wouldn't remember it!"
Raimundo paused, analysing his friend's logic, "I suppose…"
"Plus, you have shown many other improvements – not just what happened in the parallel world - that led to your promotion." Omi patted the Brazilian on the back. A comforting gesture. "No matter how humiliating, you shouldn't let your past mistakes get to you. Or they will haunt your past, present, and future."
"When did you go all Fung-meister on me, huh?" Rai joked, nudging Omi's side with his elbow. Omi's mouth cracked a wide smile.
"So, is everything now, um… peachy-keen?" Omi queried, tilting his head. Raimundo grinned proudly.
"It sure is now you got slang right for the first time." He commented. Omi grinned excitedly.
The room was silent again. The soundtrack of Clay's snoring had calmed and slowed to just heavy breathing – something Raimundo could tolerate. He had, after all, lived in a house back in Rio with half a dozen brothers and sisters – he'd had to share a room with two of his brothers, whose breathing would be the soundtrack to Raimundo's night. He could tolerate loud breathing. The tractor-like snoring was another matter, and he realised he should get to sleep before his window of opportunity was gone and the cowboy started snoring again.
"Well, we should probably get some sleep, now." He told Omi, nestling under his blanket. Omi nodded and bowed at his leader, backing out of his room.
"Goodnight, Raimundo."
"Don't let the bed bugs bite."
Omi pulled a startled face, his eyes darting around for these 'bed bugs' before he recalled that it was just an expression. He wandered into his room and positioned himself in a perfect hand-stand, before resting on his head. He could hear three sets of lungs breathing in and out down the hall and assumed that Raimundo was now also in the land of dreams. Closing his eyes, he shuffled around on his head; finding the perfect, comfortable position. He felt himself fade into unconsciousness, and let out one small yawn before fading out.
~XiAoLiN-ShOwDoWn~
The petite, porcelain-skinned Japanese girl stretched her arms out as she wandered down the hallway to the dining room, dressed in her red Xiaolin robes, with her naturally-black hair in two ponytails either side of her head. She checked her phone for any messages from her friends in Japan before hiding it under her light blue, Wudai warrior sash. Playing with the ponytail on the right side of her head, she flounced into the dining room and gave the two boys at the dining table a wide grin.
She was in a good mood. A really good mood. After the Xiaolin's victory the previous day, she was excited to get back into training. She was eager to see if any of the Heylin side would try anything now that they had a powerful Shoku leader at the head of the Xiaolin force. She was also bursting to see Raimundo's attempt being the leader – motivating the team, leading the searches for Shen Gong Wu and battles against the Heylin, et cetera. Raimundo was a strong guy – she was sure he was going to be able to handle it. And she'd be there to help him, if needs be.
And that was not because she was some silly, devoted fan-girl who would do anything for precious Raimundo. Sure, she thought he was good-looking, and she's kissed him on the cheek. Twice since they met. She cringed as she remembered yesterday. Make that three times. But she wasn't some desperate fan-girl or something. No, no – Raimundo was her friend. Possibly her best friend in the temple – one of her best in the world, just behind her best friend from Japan; Keiko (who was convinced, from what she'd heard, that Kimiko had a massive crush on the boy, despite Kimiko's protests. Kimiko scoffed. Her friend's assumptions were totally irrational).
"Hey there, fellas!" She cooed, taking a seat at the table; opposite Omi and diagonal to Clay. Dojo slipped into the seat on her right, swiping a cookie from one of the plates and wolfing it down happily.
Kimiko eyed the lavish spread of food in front of her. She sniffed in and sighed in pleasure at the smell of freshly-cooked bread and pancakes with syrup, and when her eyes connected with a large chocolate cake in the centre she almost began to drool.
"What's with the huge breakfast?" She asked the boys, who were – as Dojo was – tucking into the spread. Omi was wrestling a iced cupcake from Dojo in a tug-of-war styled fashion, while Clay tucked into a plate of bacon, grinning, satisfied with the smell of meat.
"We are celebrating!" Omi explained, taking his eye off of the cupcake and giving Dojo the perfect opportunity to steal the prize and stuff it into his mouth. Omi, defeated, folded his arms and stuck his lip out at Dojo, who shrugged apologetically, despite his sneaky smile.
"Celebrating what?"
"Rai's promotion." Clay explained, lifting his head from his bacon for the first time, chewing like a cow, "Master Fung had it all ordered, congratulatin' him for reachin' Shoku status."
Kimiko shifted her head to the left, then the right, pulling a quizzical face. "Where is the mighty Shoku warrior, then?"
"Still sleeping, if you'd believe it." Dojo commented, his voice muffled while chewing on the stolen cupcake, which Omi was still glaring at angrily. "Seems getting the position has had no effect on the kid and his laziness."
"Someone talking about me?"
Kimiko whipped her head around to see Raimundo leaning against the doorpost, wearing his new black Shoku robes, with a yellow sash, red pants instead of white, and a cool red dragon on his sleeve. Just the sight of him in his new robes almost took Kimiko's breath away.
But… but not because she was crushing on him, of course. It was because he looked the role – powerful, strong, fearless. He was wearing a self-assured grin, which just emphasised the confident character in front of her. Raimundo had always been a confident guy, but this was something else.
In her eyes, at that moment, Raimundo fit the leader role to a T.
"Gonna quit staring, Kim?" Raimundo raised an eyebrow, smirking a little.
"Huh?"
"It's okay, I don't mind."
Kimiko realised, suddenly, that she had indeed been staring. Not because he was attractive or anything… just because she was thinking. That's it. Of course.
His confident smile got cocky, and he nudged the Dragon of Fire, teasing her. Kimiko wafted him away like a pesky fly. Disgusting.
"Quit grinning, Rai, or I'll have to burn that grin off of your face." She warned, conjuring a small flame in her hand to prove her point, which flickered a little before dying out, almost as if it was threatening Raimundo. He raised his arms in surrender, but didn't stop smiling; especially as his eyes connected with the food on the table.
"Sweet! Rai needs some grub!" He proclaimed, diving for the seat at the head of the table. Kimiko returned back to her seat, on Raimundo's right, while Omi was on his left. He gave the littlest monk a friendly smile, as if to thank him for the support the night before. Omi nodded, accepting the gesture. The Shoku warrior then looked around to each of the other monks, who were all staring at him intently, as if looking for any change in the guy now he was the leader. He sneered.
"You guys don't have to stare, you know." He taunted, "I'll be here later. Just dig into the food already."
The green dragon at Kimiko's side suddenly started to shudder, babbling gibberish.
"Everything okay, lil' buddy?" Clay asked.
"Breakfast's gonna have to wait." Dojo announced, earning groans from Raimundo and Kimiko, who had yet to have taken a single bite. "A new Shen Gong Wu just activated!"
"Ah, excellent."
The monks' heads turned at the sound of Master Fung's voice, to see him stood at the same doorframe Raimundo had been stood at a few seconds ago.
"This will be the perfect opportunity to see how you all work with a leader now thrown into the mix."
The monks turned back to Raimundo, who smiled a little. "Should be interesting." He said.
Clay nodded, "I wonder if Spicer'll bother showing up."
Kimiko shrugged, "I wonder who will've let Wuya out of the puzzle box this time."
"I wonder if there'll be any Heylin there at all…" Omi puzzled.
Once again, all heads turned to Raimundo. He knew what this meant. They were waiting for his word. He took a deep breath.
He was ready.
A grin crept onto his lips, and he simply said; "Bring it on."
END
A/N: Whoo! It's done :) That was pretty fun... the monks are such cool characters. Especially Rai. And I just had to throw in some Rai/Omi friendship and a little RaiKim. Hahaha :D
Sooo, what did you guys think? I'd love to read your comments! If you all liked it, maybe I'll do some more XS one-shots! I'd love to do a Raikim-centric one, 'cos they're certainly my OTP from this fandom :D
So, I suppose this is the part where I ask y'all to review! Pretty please? *too-big smile*
Laters!
~Amy x