Author: Hello everyone! Did ya miss me??? lol, anyway, get ready all you Raikim lovers, cuz I finally let them have a chapter together!!! YEY! But some of you may hate me after this... (Ah! No chasing the author with pitchforks and torches!!!) maybe, maybe not. Okay, to reply to the SEVEN reviews I got (Which I love!!!) (if ya didn't review you can skip this part)

Ranpuryu: I know! Go Giants!!! ( no offence to any patriots fans out there. They're both awesome teams, but GIANTS WON! most awesome last minute ever!!!) Oh and now you got me in the mood for pie!!!! You reviewers must stop with all the pie! I'm getting cravings for it now! lol, jk, you can mention as much pie as you want as long as you review. Anyway, thanks so much! Glad you think it's awesome! Here's the next chapter!

xxFireWarriorxx: I know, I kinda feel bad for him myself, and I'm the one making him suffer through this all! Wow, this is what you call hypocritical... Happy you like the chapter, and here's the next one!

wicca in training: Interesting idea, but I think this whole story is going to be in Raimundo's pov. Don't worry though, I thought of an awesome way for Kimiko to express her thoughts... well you'll see in the next chapter, not this one, chapter after this (grins evily)

RaiKim15-4-ever: You know, If I could give someone a prize for having the nicest reviews, you would win it 20 times over! Every time I read your kind words, a million watts smile lights up my face! I actually bragged to one of my friends about what you wrote! lol, not joking! You have no clue how much I love them. So, thanx a ton and heres the next chapter, enjoy!

tennisgurl13: Now that song is stuck in my head! You're right, it was random, lol, but strangely it kinda fits... well, except Rai is a boy... yeah that kinda ruins it. lol, anyway thanx a ton, glad you liked it! Next chapter is up! (oh... wel duh! smacks forehead)

miniku: hehe, you'll see... that's all I'm saying. You'll have to read to find out the rest.

RCommonASenseI: Okay pie. lol, ur right, everyone does like it (except for weirdo rai??? How can he NOT LIKE PIE??? haha!) I'm happy ya liked the chappy and here's the next one so you can like this one too!

Author: wow. Those took a while. I'm still debating but I may reply to reviews in private messages from now on... hmm, maybe I don't know yet. Oh an Luiz4200, I HAVE AN ANSWER! Yey me! Kimiko's father is a Duke, which is almost as high as a king, but still lower. I was debating btwn a Duke and an earl, but duke is cooler. So there's your answer!

Everyone I need just ONE review to continue onward! just one! Is that too much to ask???

I forgot the disclaimer for the last chapter so her it is: I don't own Xiaolin Showdown, If i did, I'd be rich and you'd all be bowinf down to me and giving me PIE!

Enjoy this next chapter!!!!

Chapter 4

I gazed down at the floor, my reflection looking back at me, as I continued to scrub the same tile for the umpteenth time. Three days. Three days is how long I've been a slave in the Tohomikos household.

I've discovered that a lot of the rumors about them are true. They really don't beat their slaves. I'm sorry to admit it, but on my first day here, I acted clumsy on purpose. The worst punishment I was given was a loud yelling from the cook, no dinner that night, and prohibition from dealing with any of the fine china. I swear if I wasn't good at controlling my emotions, I would have laughed when the cook told me this.

If I had still been serving under Master, I would have been beaten to a pulp right now, lying on the floor of my dungeon in pain and misery and thinking about my worthless existence. Now, I was simply scrubbing a floor, my body still, thankfully, intact and not bloodied up, and my stomach filled with breakfast from this morning. Maybe being a slave here wouldn't be the worst thing...

"Hello Raimundo." I turned my head upward to try and see who had talked and was shocked to see Kimiko, in all her glory, standing right next to me.

"Hello Mistress Kimiko." She made a face.

"Blech, I thought I told you just to call me Kimiko. Everyone else does." I tried to hide the smirk that threatened to be exposed on my face,

"Everyone except Derek and me Mistress Kimiko." Her nose crumpled up in annoyance and I could see a clear look of defiance in her blue eyes. I knew that look, as it was the same glint I often had in my own eyes. And I knew what she was thinking. She was going to get me to call her Kimiko and that was final. Even if she had to order me to.

"Come on Rai, I hate when people call me Mistress. It sounds so… morbid." I couldn't stop myself from laughing and was glad to see that a smile grew on her face as well. Morbid? What did this girl do as a hobby? No other girl would even dream of uttering such a word. But Kimiko… she certainly was an interesting one.

"Very well Kimiko. It seems you have won this round." I grinned. She smiled, obviously gloating over her victory.

"And this is my prize!" She plucked up a soapy sponge from the bucket I had been using to clean the floor with and twisted it over my head, releasing all the water.

"Ha-ha-ha!" Kimiko doubled over laughing as I shook my head like a dog trying to get rid of some of the moisture. I grinned, realizing how ridiculous I must look and picked up the sponge she had dropped. Dunking it in the water it immediately filled it and I flung it at her. The sponge landed with a dull 'throp' and Kimiko grinned with shocked pleasure as water dripped from her soaking wet body and hair. I grinned back... until I realized what I had done.

Shock, and the bad kind, plastered itself over my face. How could I?!?! She's my Mistress. I don't know how I'll be punished for this, but I knew it was unacceptable. How could I have just let myself slip like that? I worked so hard at Masters to never mess up, and now I had just done it on purpose! 'Deep breathes Raimundo, deep breath.' I thought to myself, chanting it in my head like a mantra.

"I-I-I'm sorry Mistress Kimiko." I stuttered, bending back down to the floor on me knees and hands, and starting to re-scrub the same tile.

"Raimundo it's fine." When I refused to look up at her and meet her eye, she sighed, but left. I guess she wasn't going to push.

My body was shaking and it took me at least ten minutes to get it back under control. Kimiko didn't seem to be upset, but I have learned that appearances can be deceiving. Master had been kind when I had first been sold to him, but then he started beating me every day, for punishment and pleasure.

Then there was my father. He had been the best father a boy could ever ask for, until my mom died. Then he started getting drunk and going into wild rages before abusing me and locking me in my room.

Yes, I've learned appearances can be very deceiving.

Eventually, I manage to finish scrubbing the whole floor and all my other chores, so I trudge back to the slaves sleeping area. I crawled into bed, but was already too tired to get dinner. I just wanted to sleep and forget everything.

Someone was shaking my body and I forced myself to open my eyes. A girl, at least two years older then me, seventeen at the oldest, was standing over me.

"Here Rai, I managed to snag you some food before it was all gone. Thought you'd like it. You need it, that's for sure. Ya look like a stick!" I grinned before propping myself upward on my elbows and taking the bowl of food in my hands.

The girls name was Sari, and she had been on of the few slaves that I have become friends with. Her long red hair and teal eyes suggested that she had a nice friendly attitude.

Even in the three short days I've been here, I already look up to her a sister and go to her with any problems. She had told me that she had wanted to be a psychologist before she had lost everything and was forced to be a slave. I felt bad for her, but somehow, she was always so happy. Sari told me that everything that happens has a reason and if she was meant to be a slave, then so be it. I would never ever understand her…

"Hard day huh?" She asked knowingly. I nodded.

"You have no clue! I had to scrub the whole front hall by hand all alone, then do some heavy work out in the yard. Tons of heavy lifting and such. By the time I finished that, it was already late and I had to still finish cleaning out my assigned rooms. I was so tired, I didn't even go to dinner, and I skipped lunch today so would finish sooner."

A stern, motherly, look came on her face. "Eat." She commanded, pointing to the bowl of soup on my lap. I picked up the spoon, hesitantly taking a sip, before shoving half the bowl down my throat. In minutes, the bowl was empty.

"Wow, you were hungry." I just grinned as my answer.

"Thanks for bringing me the soup Sari, I know it must have not been easy to get."

Sari waved her hand in a 'pssh' motion. "No problem. I'm friends with the cook. It wasn't that hard." I loud yawn escaped my lips and I blushed embarrassed. Sari grinned in that knowingly way she does.

"You're tired Rai, go to sleep." She said, pushing me down on the bed. I obliged by closing my eyes and trying to calm myself and empty my mind. This was the only time of day I got any peace. My dreams were like a safe-haven for me. The only place in the world I could escape to. Where reality didn't matter and I could do whatever I wanted, be whomever I wanted.

They were my refuges from the real world. But every time I woke up, the real world would come crashing back down.

For now though, I let the darkness embrace me, pulling me to my sanctuary. To my dreams.

Author: hmm... not my best work, but not horrible! At least rai got to have a little fun with Kimiko. And he made a friend!!! (No, There will be no romance btwn them at ALL! i have different plans for sari...) Please review! Even if it's just to constructive critisism. No flames though. Please! Bye till the next update!!!