Raimundo? Gone? Gone to the Heylin Side? He betrayed the Xiaolin, his friends, and me...
These thoughts crossed Kimiko's mind ever since Raimundo had turned to the Heylin side.
He was gone. He chose the evil side, where instead of being Kimiko's friend, he was now her foe. The thought of having to fight against Raimundo was more than she could bear. He meant a lot to her, though, she didn't want to show it half the time.
Master Fung knew that she, along with Clay and Omi, were saddened by Raimundo's betrayal. He had given the best advice he could to the three remaining warriors. Clay and Omi had tried their best to take his advice, but Kimiko was still having a hard time coping.
Kimiko was sitting alone inside the scroll room. No video games or cellphone to keep her occupied. At this point, nothing could brighten her spirits. Not even chatting with Keiko on her phone, or playing Goo Zombies.
She sat staring out the window, gazing out onto the temple grounds. There was a smidge of hope inside the Dragon of Fire. She felt maybe Raimundo would return to the side of good. In her mind, Kimiko imagined him walking through the temple entrance, smiling with his arms opened wide, admitting that he was sorry for turning against her and would like to return. Return to being a Xiaolin warrior, and more importantly, return to her. She imagined herself leaping into his arms, burying her face in his shoulder, telling him how much she missed him and how much she cared for him. This played through her mind as she continued to stare out the window, until she heard a light knock. Slowly turning, she saw one of her companions.
Clay stood in the doorway with a candle in his hand, a look of concern on his face. "Kimiko? You alright?"
Kimiko slowly shook her head, then turned her attention to the window.
The cowboy sighed, hanging his head.
He, too, missed Raimundo. Sure, they had their ups and downs. Half the time, Raimundo would pull pranks on Clay or insult him, but other times, they seemed to be the best of friends. Yeah, he missed Raimundo dearly. Kimiko seemed saddened by all this the most, which really broke Clay's heart. He wanted to comfort her, but felt that maybe he would just be wasting his time. After all, it was Raimundo she wanted right now. Kimiko was his friend, though, and he couldn't walk away from a friend in need. He was also a gentleman. Not attempting to comfort Kimiko just wouldn't feel right to him.
The cowboy sat close to Kimiko. He glanced at her, only to see her still staring out the window. The two sat in silence for a few moments. Clay absolutely had no idea as to what he should to say to her. He certainly couldn't tell her that Raimundo was coming back and everything would be happily ever after. He just couldn't get her hopes up like that. Even Clay felt that Raimundo wasn't coming back, as much as he didn't want to admit it.
"Kimiko?"
The girl continued staring, not saying a word.
"Kimiko, please, will ya just look at me for a second?"
She turned to face Clay. It was obvious that she had been crying. Her eyes were red and her cheeks were stained with tears.
"Gosh Kimiko, ya look so down in the dumps. Still upset 'bout Rai?"
Kimiko replied with a nod.
"I thought as much..." Clay bit his lower lip as he scooted closer to her. "I-I'm awful sorry that this is still gettin' to ya. I miss him too, y'know."
Kimiko nodded once more, her bottom lip quivering. She turned her attention back to the window, not wanting Clay to see her on the verge of crying.
Clay turned to the window as well, tilting his head slightly. He tried to see why Kimiko was so focused on looking outside. Nothing out of the ordinary could be seen, so it was hard for the cowboy to chew over what kept Kimiko so interested in looking out that window. "Kim, can ya tell me why you're starin' out that there window so much?"
No response came from her. She only sighed and continued staring. Clay began to feel that maybe he really was wasting his time. Maybe leaving her alone would actually help her. As he was about to leave, however, the sound of her voice caught him dead in his tracks.
"Just in case."
Clay glanced at her, cocking an eyebrow. "In case of what?"
"In case Raimundo comes back."
The cowboy's heart officially broke for her. This was why she kept staring out the window? To see if Raimundo would come back?
"Kimiko..."
Before Clay could continue, he saw tears roll down his friend's face. Her bottom lip was quivering and it looked as though she was shaking. She buried her face in her hands and began to sob softly. Clay's immediate instinct was to take the crying girl into his arms. As he held her, Kimiko began burying her face into his shoulder.
"T-This is my fault! I never appreciated him! I never showed him how much I care about him!"
Clay started rubbing Kimiko's back and pulled her closer to him. Never had he felt more sympathetic towards anyone until now. At that moment, he also never felt so content. Having her in his arms just felt so right.
Kimiko rested her head on his shoulder, still crying, but not as much as before. Being in his arms somehow took away some of her sadness. She felt safe, warm, comfortable, almost as if she was in Heaven while being in the arms of her friend. She didn't want him to let her go for anything.
"Y'know, Kimiko, if ya ever need a shoulder to cry on from now on, I'll be more than happy to lend ya mine," Clay offered as he gave her a slight squeeze.
"Thanks Clay. I-I'm actually starting to feel better, thanks to you," she said as she wiped some stray tears away, sniffling.
"I'm mighty glad to hear that."
As Clay started to pull away, Kimiko said, "Wait! Can you...uh...hold me again? I still could use that shoulder."
"Sure thing, lil' lady," he chuckled. Clay wrapped his muscular arms around Kimiko, holding her close to him once more.
Kimiko started to feel a warm, tingly feeling in her heart as she was pressed against Clay. She rested her head on his shoulder, sighing. "I...I really like it when you hold me," she said before biting her lip, her cheeks turning bright pink.
"Y-You do?"
Kimiko pulled away slightly, holding his arms as she gazed up at him. "You make me feel so safe, Clay. You've always been there to catch me with these arms of yours. Your arms are the safest place for me to be in and I wouldn't want to leave them for a second."
"W-What about Rai?"
Kimiko paused, realizing that she had completely forgotten about Raimundo the moment Clay took her into his arms. She also realized that the chances of Raimundo returning to the Xiaolin side weren't likely to happen anytime soon. Her thoughts had suddenly been focused around Clay, the one who always caught her when she fell. The one who usually complimented on her looks when no one else did. The one she suddenly realized was there for her all along, and she was too blinded by Raimundo to see it. Realizing this, Kimiko held Clay tightly, while burying her face into his shoulder.
"He's where he wants to be now, just like I'm where I want to be. With you."
Clay's eyes widened. He felt his face burn. Biting his lip, he gently cupped Kimiko's cheek, wiping away a tear with his thumb. "I wouldn't want ya anywhere else," he whispered softly.
The cowboy slowly leaned forward, closing his eyes. Kimiko did the same, allowing her lips to meet his. The two held each other as they continued their kiss. They were once again in each others' arms, which was exactly where they wanted to be.