A/N: Okay, so I seem to have a habit of getting into fandoms after the show's ended. Bandwagon stigma or something, I don't know. In any case, I've recently gotten into Xiaolin Showdown, and I've mostly been stuck on art, but another friend told me that I needed to write something—a new outlet for my (mostly one-sided) KimiClay fixation or something. I based it around the song "She's So High," but obviously, songfic is no longer allowed, so…yeah. Anyway, here's what came out of it. Don't be afraid to review—I'm new to the fandom, and need all the help I can get! XDDD
Focus.
Clay Bailey was practicing his tai chi in the garden…or at least, he was trying to.
Take a deep cleansin' breath.
For some reason, even the smallest noise was setting him off.
Find your center.
The cowboy's one visible eye darted back and forth, scanning the premises for whatever was throwing him off. A rustling from a nearby tree proved to be the source, but before he could even blink—
"YAH!"
Springing from the tree and flawlessly performing some fancy move that Clay was sure had been made up on the spot, Kimiko Tohomiko reduced her practice dummy to a pile of stuffing. She then took down another in one move, and sliced through two more with a spinning kick for good measure.
He'd seen her do things like that half a million times, but somehow the dragon of fire never ceased to amaze him. Kimiko could make the hardest tasks seem effortless; the mundane, exciting and passionate; the unpleasant or awkward…beautiful.
Clay blushed at his own wandering thoughts, then looked forward intently, furrowing his eyebrows as if that would help him focus.
Center…Kimiko started her routine again, and Clay forced his eyes shut.
Be like the rock.
Maybe he'd gotten his focus after all. He brought one foot up off the ground slowly…
"Oh! Hi, Clay. I didn't notice you were out here."
Okay, that about did it.
A minor earthquake rippled along the ground as Clay fell over backwards. He looked up pitifully at Kimiko and managed a weak smile. "Er, sorry 'bout that. I get thrown off easy, I guess."
Kimiko nodded. "Yeah, I know the feeling." She laughed, helping the flustered Texan to his feet, then frowned a little. "Did the temple jump off the ground just now?"
Clay turned away, shaking his head. Maybe he would have better luck trying to focus on something else.
"Oi!" Raimundo Pedrosa poked his head through Clay's open door. "What d'you need a switchblade and a hunk of wood for?"
Clay blew a lock of hair out of his face. "Remember when I was carvin' a bull outta wood?"
The darker boy nodded. "Yeah. Oh, okay, so you're doing some sculpture thing. But what do you need so much wood for?"
"Leavin' room for error."
"Well, I guess you'd need that, huh?" Raimundo grinned. Clay only swatted at Rai with his hat, then went back to work. "Okay, okay, I was just kidding. So what're you making?"
"Cat."
"You making a gift to declare your undying love for Katnappé or something?"
Clay scowled. "It's for Kimiko."
"Why? Any special occasion I forgot about?"
"No reason."
Rai quirked an eyebrow. "Lemme get this straight, dude. You're working hard to make something nice for a girl for no reason whatsoever."
Nothing.
The Brazilian chuckled, shaking his head. "I knew it, man. I knew it was coming. The bigger they are, the harder they fall."
"What're you talkin' about?" Clay muttered.
"You know exactly what I'm talking about. Don't play dumber than usual, Clay. You like Kimiko."
Clay pulled his hat a little further over his face, still carving. "Well, sure I do. She's a good friend."
"You know what I mean, wise guy. Everyone thought you were the strong one, you were the neutral one, you couldn't care less about all this lovey-dovey stuff. Who'd have guessed that big, tough Clay would have it as bad for Kimiko as either of us other poor saps."
Clay's face flushed a few different shades of red, and he pulled his hat down even more and started carving more fervently than ever, but he still refused to speak.
"Fine," Rai shrugged. "Have it your way. I guess I understand. You're embarrassed, or in denial, or…something. But you know we're all in the same boat with this. I'm gonna have to brace you now, Clay. I don't wanna sound mean, but if I'm not even in her league, I can't say if there's much hope for you."
Putting the finishing touches on the carving, Clay sighed. "Yeah, Rai. I know."
Rai slipped back through the door, and Clay tilted his head a bit to look at his work. This was not what he'd had in mind. Well, so much for doing something to get his mind off Kimiko.
Okay, the coast is clear. Taking a deep breath, Clay meandered out of his room, figurine in one hand behind his back.
"Ooh, what is it you have behind your back?"
All right, so maybe the coast wasn't as clear as he'd thought. "Hi, Omi," Clay nodded. "It's jes' a little somethin' I made, that's all."
Omi, however, hadn't heard that, as Raimundo took the chance to whisper in his ear. "Oooh, that makes much sense!" Omi beamed, giggling. "But it does not matter what you may give her. For you, Clay, are no match for me, Omi, in winning Kimiko! Or in anything else, for that matter."
Rai frowned. "Kimiko isn't a prize to be won, Omi."
"Really?"
"Yep. Besides, she's totally mine."
"And what makes you think that you can beat me? Raimundo, you are going up!"
"Going down, Omi. And that's what you think."
An annoyed Kimiko poked her head out of her bedroom door, one hand over the mouthpiece of her ever-present cell phone. "Rai, Omi, quit fighting over me. AGAIN," she hissed. As the two stopped squabbling and put on defeated faces, the Japanese girl saw Clay against the wall next to them, looking…ashamed? She quirked one eyebrow. "Were you part of this too?"
Clay tugged at his collar nervously with his free hand. "I—uh—well, that is to say—I mean—no—no, I wasn't, but—well, I just wanted to, uhm—" He stammered, clutching the gift behind his back. Apparently, though, his nerves weren't sending the message to the brain to give it to her.
Kimiko sighed, genuinely disappointed. "I thought you were better than that." Shaking her head, she resumed talking to Keiko or Daddy or whoever it was on her cell, closing her door and hooking her 3pm player to her stereo to drown out any more stupid fighting.
"She didn't believe me." Clay looked down at the floor.
Rai cocked his head, staring at the blond incredulously. He crossed his eyes and started to do a bad impression of Clay stuttering to prove his point. "Oh, let's see. Did you do it? 'Uh, well, I, that is, uh-duhh…' Of course she didn't believe you, you numbskull! Who would?"
"But I wasn't lyin'."
"But she doesn't know that!"
"What was I supposed to say?"
"Uhm, how about TELL THE TRUTH."
"I was! I was jes' nervous and jumpy, and then y'all set me off, and…could you have done any better? Have you?"
Rai froze, mouth hanging open. He'd been caught. "Okay, fine. You got a point, cowboy. I've gotten pretty much nowhere, and I've been at it since I got here." He started to head outside. "Try to give it to her again, I guess. You've got as good or bad a chance as the rest of us." He then nodded to Omi, gesturing for him to follow. "Come on, cheeseball. Let's go train."
This is it. Redeem yourself. Give it to her…awh, I cain't do it. Clay stooped down and gently placed the wooden cat on the floor in front of Kimiko's room. He cautiously knocked on the door, just loud enough for her to hear…
…and then he ran for it like a bull who knows he's about to get branded.
Kimiko sat at the table after dinner, bemused. She held up the carving that she'd found in front of her door. "Where'd this come from? Anyone know?"
Rai and Omi stifled their laughter, while Clay sat stony-faced, staring at nothing in particular.
"Okay, so you do know."
More sniggering.
"All right, what am I missing?" She rolled her eyes, not entirely sure she wanted to know what was going on. She noticed Clay start to sweat, and the other two burst out laughing. "There's gotta be something going on here."
Clay blinked, still keeping a straight face. "Nope, nothin' goin' on here, li'l miss," he mumbled, loosening his bandanna.
"You fat coward!" Rai blurted. "Sorry about that. He's lying, Kimiko! He made it for you. That's why he sounded stupid when you caught us fighting—he was gonna give it to you then, in person, and—"
Kimiko's face softened. "Is that true, Clay? Did you really make this for me?"
Clay froze completely, and he could feel his cheeks burning for at least the third time that day. He somehow managed a feeble "Yes'm," then closed his eyes and braced himself for the worst. It's stupid. I hate it. I don't even like cats. My grandma could carve better than that. You could have been at least man enough to give it to me yourself. You're annoying and stupid and desperate… He kept coming up with all the bad things she could say about it…
…so he obviously wasn't expecting her to go over and kiss him on the cheek.
"That was incredibly sweet of you," she smiled. "I didn't even do anything to deserve a gift."
You did everything, he thought, then blushed harder and chuckled, sounding like as much of a dope as he felt.
For good measure, she hugged him (as much as she could, anyway), smiling wider. "Thanks so much, Clay. You have no idea what this means."
Clay's eyes went wide as dinner plates, and his whole face flushed. Does she mean that she—?
"Of course," Kimiko continued, now directing it at the others as well, "now that I know that all three of you like me, you'll have to up the ante a little bit." Grinning, she left the boys dumbfounded. For a few minutes, they just sort of….stared at each other.
"What was that about?" Rai broke the awkward silence.
Omi nodded. "I believe she is making it a competition, and Clay is in the lead."
"Well…" Clay blinked. "I reckon that might be true, but I ain't sure that means much. She prob'ly likes us all in differ'nt ways, but none of us is anywhere near her level." He shrugged, the others staring at him in amazement—they somehow knew he was right, but they weren't used to him being insightful. "I mean, she's jes' so high above me—above all of us."
FIN