Rio
A/N: - Yay! My first XS fic. RaiKimi, because I love him hard, like I love cake and Sasuke; and because she's awesome, and because together, they're so cute. There's a smidgeon of XA friendship too.
I actually did a modicum of research for this story, instead of just pulling the details out of my ass like I'm accustomed to doing. Go me. That said, y'all should know, for the very least, that Rio de Janeiro (Rai's hometown) is a large port city situated between the sea and the mountains.
Warnings:- Mild fluff, possible OOC, over-killed symbolism.
Disclaimer:- I'd like to own Xiaolin Showdown. I'd also like to be the ruler of my own private, pacific paradise.
Two figures silhouetted in shadow skimmed the corners of the Xiaolin Temple, moving quickly and furtively within the darkness. They slipped inside the open temple doors, and the dim, pallid light provided by the torches washed over them.
The smirking brunet immediately went to the vault, turning back to glance expectantly at the fidgeting, sable-haired girl who still stood at the entrance. The white hood that Raimundo wore partially hid the miasmic green of his eyes, but the amusement that was probably there crept into his voice when he said,
"What's the matter, Kimiko? Scared?"
"No!" she shot back venomously. However, her demeanour reverted in the space of time it took for Raimundo sound the chimes that opened the vault doors, and she chewed on a fingernail.
"We shouldn't be here. Master Fung……"
"Like the little guy always says, what Master Fung doesn't know, can't hurt him." The Brazilian boy said this as he started down the winding stairs of the Shen Gong Wu vault.
"Yeah," Kimiko retorted caustically, "at which point he always shows up out of nowhere behind Omi, and the game is up." She tossed her eyes around the temple, just in case their afore-mentioned sensei was lurking in the darkness, ready to reprimand them with a quelling look and an abstruse aphorism. Even as she said it, though, she edged forward. She had to admit that she was curious.
Rai's rusty brown head was already out of sight. Squashing the better part of her reservations, the petite Japanese girl tip-toed down the steps after him. The caliginous depths of the cellar encased her, the light receding. A few hurried steps, and she was trailing her fellow Dragon.
"You know we shouldn't be doing this," she reminded him as they went deeper and deeper.
"Come on, Kim," he said, rolling his eyes. "You said you wanted to know what's so great about Brazil, so I'm gonna show you." He halted brusquely, causing her to bump into his hard, cotton-clad back. Ignoring her acerbic glare, he opened the drawer in front of him, pulling out the teleporting Shen Gong Wu. The dim light from one of the torches glanced off of its golden flank, causing Kimiko to squint a bit. Casting a wolfish grin at her, Raimundo held it up.
"Golden Tiger Claws!" he enounced. The mystical object glowed a brighter sheen, and its wielder slashed at the air in front of him. A jagged vortex materialised, swirling in a phantasmagoria of white, amethyst and lilac. Rai positioned one foot in, and swivelled to face the black-haired girl, holding out a hand.
"Coming?" he asked, cocking a brow.
Kimiko chewed on a lip momentarily, before hesitantly placing her small, pale hand in his bigger bronze one. Smirking, he curled his fingers around hers and pulled gently. They disappeared into the vortex.
The next time the Tohomiko heiress opened her eyes, she was atop a wide plateau, a zephyr dancing about her, beholding one of the most aesthetically pleasing sights she'd ever been privileged to see. Her breath caught in her throat. It was gorgeous.
The wide blue-green expanse of the ocean lay before her. It shimmered and swayed under the light hand of the wind. The white-gold of the moon that reigned the sombre night sky mirrored off of its surface, glimmering prettily. The stars, little pinpricks of light, dotted the canvas of their domain, like topaz jewels sprinkled across a velvet sheath. It was like a scene from a painting; perfect, unreal, untouchable, and it very literally took her breath away.
She turned, still suspended in mild wonderment. Behind them loomed the majestic mountains, standing like sentinels, guarding the picturesque port city that was Rio de Janeiro. Shrouded in pitchy density, they were huge, hued an opaque olive and she could imagine them being brilliantly virid in daylight.
She looked west-ward, and was met with the myriads of flickering lights that heralded the city. It was magical, like something out of a storybook. The wind picked up, rustling her onyx locks as she imbibed the magnificent scenery.
Kimiko looked up at her companion, who was watching her artlessly, in calm discerning.
"It's wonderful," she said, liberal amounts of awe coating her voice. Raimundo grinned smugly.
"Told ya," he said, folding his arms across his puffed-up chest. This unfortunate action brought to light the fact that their hands were still entwined, and now, Kimiko's wrist was trapped between his arms and his torso. Flushing lightly, the teens disentangled their limbs with some difficulty and discomfiture.
The Japanese girl shifted, and cleared her throat; too flustered to yell at him like she normally would have.
"Well…… what I mean is that, it's almost….you know, as nice as Tokyo…… considering……."
"It's awesome, and you know it," he cut her off arrogantly. She glowered at him, but had to agree. It was pretty perfect.
Raimundo began pointing out sites.
"Over there, the Sugarloaf Mountain. Just beyond it is Guanabara Bay. I used to catch some serious waves there." His intonation became a tad wistful, but he seemed to shake it off. "Behind us is the Serra da Mantiqueira. I have cousins up there. Used to visit them in March each year."
Sensing a bout of homesickness overcoming the Wind Dragon, Kimiko sought to comfort him as best as she could. She punched him lightly on the shoulder.
"I'll admit it; your hometown's pretty nice from what I see. Between the sea and the mountains. Good place to be." She thought fleetingly of the other Apprentices. Too bad they couldn't be here. They'd have liked to see this also.
He gave a smile (not a smirk), and almost looked grateful, in that vaunting, Raimundo-way of his. The Dragon of Fire arched a brow, and wrote it off as a side-effect of his nostalgia.
Rai turned back to the vista. Another soft, curling breeze blew.
"You should see it in the daylight, under the sun," he commented. "That's when it's at its best."
"Okay."
"Huh?"
"Okay," she said simply. "We can come back later and see it."
He stared at her, dumbfounded.
"This time we'll ask Master Fung, of course."
His mouth was just slightly agape.
"Clay and Omi can come along too."
He peered at her suspiciously, and prodded her in the forehead.
"You sure you not one of Jack's transforming robots?" he asked finally, only half-joking. He was rewarded with a solid punch in his side.
"Ouch!" he exclaimed, inching away with a put-out look on his face.
"Do you want to or not?" she growled, cross.
He shrugged.
"Yeah, I guess. Thanks," he added as an afterthought.
She gave a minute shrug of her own.
After enduring a minute of her silence, he elbowed her gently.
"Seriously. Thanks."
She smiled, brightly, genuinely.
"No problem Rai."
On wild impulse, she stood on tip-toes and pressed a quick kiss to his tanned cheek. Raimundo turned fifty shades of red, his eyebrows shooting into his hair. Kimiko went slightly pink, and did not answer his unvoiced question.
They turned back to the panorama of Rio de Janeiro. For a few minutes more, they absorbed its tranquil, pretending not to inch closer to each other, pretending that when their hands found each other's again, it was purely by accident, before heading back, a last, soft Brazilian wind licking at their heels.
Midday that day saw the Xiaolin Apprentices back atop the plateau, their friends in tow. Clay and Omi's reactions were similar to Kimiko's, and Raimundo took a while to gasconade on his homeland. By and by, Earth, Wind, Fire and Water stood in line, taking in the beauty of Brazil.
Between the sea and the mountains, under the sun, the wind omnipresent. It was the best place to be, Rai mused. The best place to be.
A/N:- Ah, yes. The overdone symbolism of it all.
Reviewers will be loved and hugged on. Flames shall be doused by Omi's Tsunami Strike. He is a most useful little tyke like that.