A Penny for Your Thoughts
" What did I leave behind in Brazil when I became a Xiaolin monk?" said Raimundo to himself as he was sitting in his room and going through his old stuff. " My parents, my old school, my friends and….the girls there," he sighed as he looked at the picture of him and his family back in Brazil last year. " I was homesick the first few weeks but then I eventually put it behind me and concentrated on becoming a Xiaolin warrior which I was destined to be." Raimundo then looked at all the photographs of him and his friends back in Brazil playing football and hanging out together. " They were the best friends a guy could have the bunch of them. Everyday, I looked forward to going to school because of them," chuckled Raimundo to himself as he reminisced all the good and fun times they had last time.
" I don't really care much about my school teachers but they were alright, I guess," shrugged Raimundo as he tossed his class photo into the rubbish bin. "
Initially, I thought I had to be friends with a bunch of duds in my team after I met them on the first day. There is Omi, the little bald sucker. He's really annoying sometimes with his goody-two shoes act and his competitive jealousy but he's a dependable guy and pretty brave," thought Raimundo as he thought about all the advice Omi had given him and all the fights, disputes and teamwork that they had encountered over the years. " Omi has always been there for all of us and he never gives up on us even when I went to the dark side," thought Raimundo.
" Then, there's Clay, the funny cowboy dude who speaks with a pretty funny accent and not to mention that he talks gibberish sometimes," thought Raimundo. " I bet he is from some jungle in Texas where they don't have pop music or computers and stuff," snickered Raimundo as he recalled the incident at the cliff during the teamwork training exercise. "I can't understand a word of that music Raimundo listens to," mimicked Kimiko of Clay. " I just don't get what them folks are saying," replied clay in protest and Raimundo got a bit irked. " Clay's a pretty blur dude when it comes to stuff like this and no one can understand what he is saying half the time but he is a funny and optimistic guy although he eats more than a pack of jackrabbits trying to wolf down a buttoned down carrot. Crap, I'm sounding like him now," thought Raimundo in horror.
" Master Fung is the best Xiaolin teacher I could ask for, fine maybe Grand Master Dashi is better but who cares?, he's gone," said Raiumndo. " He is always so calm and confident and wise even when I left to join Wuya, he still tried to talk some sense into me without regarding me as the enemy and he always left useful advice that come in handy whenever I'm in trouble," smiled Raimundo to himself. " Now, there's
Dojo, the Shen Gong Wu detector dragon. Always the coward, but sometimes he rises to the occasion when he is needed. Yeah, another glutton for food like Clay," he thought.
" Villains? Jack Spicer the lame ass self-proclaimed evil boy genius even though his plans hardly work against us. That guy is a loser, baby, whiner, sore loser and an annoying guy. How the hell does Wuya and Chase Young have the patience to put up with him? I'll fire him straight away. Wuya, the ultimate Heylin witch sure has way of wooing and manipulating people to join the Heylin side," thought Raimundo seriously and he tried to erase the memory of him falling into Wuya's trap and words. I must have been a fool to trust that witch. Lastly, Chase Young the ultimate baddie. He's hell bent on conquering the whole world and destroying us monks but as long as we're here, he is not going to be the king of the world any time soon. I think he might have a thing with Wuya even though that is a pretty disturbing and disgusting thought," shivered Raimundo.
" Has anyone seen Raimundo?" asked Omi at the training grounds. " nope, partner. The last time I saw him he was sleeping soundly like a big hound," said Clay in the middle of his push ups. " What? Raimundo still sleeping at 10 in the morning? He must be one lazy kid," said Dojo from the tree. " Come on you guys. Rai isn't asleep. When I went out of my room at 8, he was already eating breakfast before us. But I have no idea what he is doing in his room right now when he should be training with us," frowned Kimiko and she put down her Shen Gong Wu and she walked to his room.
" Rai, open up. What do you think you are doing holed up in your room in the morning when you are already awake," she said through the door. " Finally, there is Kimiko, the only girl and the final member in our team. At first, I thought she was just another annoying and immature girl who just wants to prove a point and she did prove something, that I was wrong about her. She is different from all the other girls I have been with. None of them know me like she does and that is a compliment. I'm not sure why I am over protective over her or why I love spending time alone with her but I am beginning to know why. She is cute, funny, feisty, brave, sensible and the list can go on forever," smiled Raimundo dreamily.
" Kimiko just entered his room without further knocking. Raimundo was startled out of his daydream when he saw her suspicious glare. " Rai, why are you still sitting on your bed and going through your box of belongings when you should be training with the rest of us?" she demanded to know but he just smiled at her and put down the photo frame he was holding. " I was just looking back on the past since I first became a Xiaolin Dragon in training and what I was missing in Brazil and what I have gained so far," he explained and he scratched his head.
" Ummm….okay…but why now?" Kimiko asked. " It's just one of those days when you pick up your stuff from your home and you start realizing what you miss and left behind in pursuit of your destiny," said Raimundo staring out of the window. Kimiko lfelt sorry for him and she put her hand on his shoulder. " Rai, we all miss our family and home but we have to put it in the back of our head because this is what we are destined to do," she said gently. " I miss my dad a lot too but I still visit him once in a while during missions or not," she continued. Raimundo held her hand and he flashed her a big grin. " I'm not sad Kimiko, I'm quite happy actually. I've got a life full of adventures and responsibilities ahead of me, I'm surrounded by awesome people who care for me, I get to kick evil wanabees like Jack Spicer on a daily basis and most important, I have someone who helps me forget about my homesickness, kills my interest in looking for other girls and constantly brightens up my day," smirked Raimundo to the Japanese monk.
" Has Clay been showing you raunchy magazines from Texas?" laughed Kimiko much to Raimundo's annoyance. " Ha-ha very funny but no," said Raimundo and he got up. " This person is always there for me and cares for me and makes being a Xiaolin monk even more worthwile," said Raimundo and Kimiko raised her eyebrow. " So spill it Rai, who is this perfect friend of yours?" she said. " Figure it out yours….," but h was cut off by Kimiko who pulled him towards her and kissed him softly on his cheek and Raimundo began to blush furiously. " Hey, Kimiko I didn't even say who it is," Raimundo smiled. " You must be a bigger idiot than Jack Spicer if you think I don't know who you're talking about, " Kimiko smirked and she let go of him and squeezed his hand. " Glad to know that I play such an important role in your life," she smiled.
Suddenly Clay and Omi burst into Raimundo's room excitedly. " Hey, partners, a new Shen Gong Wu just revealed itself and we better hurry there if we want to beat Spicer to it because he'll be as jumpy as a one legged kangaroo on a lasso to grab it first before we do," said Clay. " Yes and we do not want to taste defeat so soon," chimed in Omi. " Well, we better get going Rai," Kimiko said after Clay and Omi left. " You can continue complimenting me after we get back," she smirked and ran out to get dressed.
" Yeah, when I look back before, I think I would have been bored in Brazil after like twenty years. Sure I miss my mom and my dad but Kimiko fills that void of emptiness inside me and she adds that extra flavour in every day. I guess she's the only girl that can make me feel right at home and forget about the past because whenever I'm with her, I have the strength to do just about anything and that includes putting my memories behind me, forgetting the past, concentrating on the future and relishing the present," Raimundo thought as he ran off to join his friends.
A/N : My second Xiaolin Showdown fanfic and I hope you liked it. Please read and review because feedback and comments is what helps me improve and keeps me going. :D