|16| if you say so

. . . Keiko wasn't sure what to make of them. From further away, they were a shapeless, shadowy mass colored in by her imagination after listening to the anecdotes Kimiko shared every night. Now, just a few feet away from the group and face-to-face with the reality of how strikingly normal all of this was, she was a little taken aback. The tall one had swept off his hat and she could have sworn there were eyes under those messy yellow bangs when the shortest of the three suddenly yelped in surprise as the third, tan and dark-haired, leaned on his head, striking a not-so-subtle pose.

She wondered what she should say and, for a moment, if all her expectations going into this trip had been rendered moot. Then she took a breath, remembered why she was here, and figured it was best to let Kimiko, already babbling through an introduction, guide her through this.

"And here's Raimundo, Omi, and Clay, Dragon of Wind, Water, Earth, blah blah blah. Master Fung's not here so I'll spare you formalities!" Kimiko beamed and Keiko smiled hesitantly back, eyes straying to the stout, bald boy peering curiously up at her.

"Kimiko, your friend is quite tall! I expected her to be like you!"

"Omi, don't you remember? She's a model," the boy leaning over him chuckled and waggled his eyebrows suggestively.

"I saw you in an ad during the Kyoto skating finals," the boy with the hat nodded. "Trust Kimiko to be best friends with the rooster of the barn."

"Yeah yeah, you guys can go off and do whatever you want now," Kimiko flapped her hand dismissively. "I'll see you at dinner ok?"

Keiko watched Omi scurry off, glancing back every so often to make sure Raimundo, strolling lazily along, was following him. Clay gave a wave and then rounded the corner and disappeared from sight.

"Well those were my boys! A pretty silly bunch, huh?" Keiko quickly glanced at Kimiko, and was relieved to see that she seemed relaxed and not the least bit uncomfortable.

"They seem…"

"Underwhelming?" Keiko grinned in spite of herself. "Yeah I know, I didn't think much of any of them when I first got here."

"But you're all super close now."

"We have to be. Dojo says it's a miracle we all came together in the end but –" Kimiko crossed her arms, "they can be really sweet. Sometimes anyways."

Keiko swallowed back a sigh. Kimiko was by no means awkward like she had feared despite the months of seclusion and bad monk fashion, but already it seemed like she was a little lonely. Like the ragtag welcoming committee she had gathered was the highlight of guiding her best childhood friend around the temple grounds.

"Well you didn't have to send them away so quickly."

Kimiko's hands dropped to her sides. "I thought you'd want to hang out with me alone."

"We're going to be up all night anyways. And there's only so long that I can stare at your face and not want to give you a mud mask." Kimiko gasped theatrically. Keiko tossed her braid back over her shoulder and grinned. "Besides, I can't join in on the gossip until I see what these boys are like for myself!"

From the way her eyes lit up to the eagerness in her nod, Keiko knew Kimiko was once again in that familiar, let's go shop until we literally drop mode she had missed every Saturday back in Tokyo. Keiko knew that she was by no means less of a friend because this motley crew had become Kimiko's second family, but it wouldn't hurt to try and bridge the gaps between both worlds, right?

"Didn't I tell you? Raimundo fell for you like that."

"No way, we both know he's in love with you."

Kimiko laughed and wrapped her arm around Keiko's shoulder.

"I'm so glad you came to visit!" . . .

AUTHOR'S NOTE - It's become a fanfic tradition for my sister and I to pair up and write for the archive of a favorite series, and now it's Xiaolin Showdown's turn! I hope all you XS fans, old and new, enjoy this collection of drabbles centered around our favorite Chinese monk kids. Be sure to read Nayuki-Bunny's "and we'll weather the storms together!" Please review if you like what you read.