Disclaimer: I don't own Xiaolin Showdown. Never did, never will. Would love, very, very much, to own Raimundo. Still don't. :sigh:
Title: Fanning the Flames
Summary: The Bracelet of Aikou (love) has just revealed itself. Unfortunately, during battle, Kimiko accidentally activates it, turning Raimundo into a love struck fool. This wasn't quite what Master Fung had in mind when he said fan the flames...
Author: Silverflare07
Dedication: To Chibi! For her birthday! I know it took me FOREVER and two years to post this but I finally did! Aren't you proud of me!
Author's Notes: The title and some inspiration (plus a line in the second chapter) came from the Danny Phantom episode Fanning the Flames (my absolute favorite episode, or one of them). I don't own Danny Phantom either but, once I again, I would love, very, very much, to own Danny. But I don't. :sigh: Okay here's the chapter where I stole a line from DP. I'm telling you that now so I don't get sued or anything like that. I do realize I didn't come up with the line by myself and I am perfectly okay with the fact that I still don't own Danny Phantom or XS :twitch:
Stuff You Need to Know:
"Speech"
ThoughtsKimiko wasn't entirely sure what she felt as the dust settled and Raimundo's limp form fell to the ground. At first she was terrified that something had gone horribly wrong and that she'd killed him, but after a few seconds he stirred and slowly lifted himself off the ground. He looked around, almost confused, and then Kimiko began to wonder if the shock had made him lose his memory. He didn't seem scared though and after a few seconds the confusion melted off his face so Kimiko relaxed. He looked towards Omi and Clay, then up to where Wuya and Jack were hovering above him. Finally he turned his head to look at Kimiko and a dopey grin slid across his face.
Instinctively Kimiko felt herself tense. She'd never seen him smile like that before at her, or at anyone for that matter. She had seen the smile before, just not on Raimundo. Slowly recognition dawned.
I do know that smile! That's the same smile my favorite cartoon character gives the girl he likes!
And Kimiko knew; the Shen-Gong-Wu had worked.
Raimundo stood up, brushing the dirt off of his tunic and pants. Once he'd checked himself over to make sure nothing was badly injured he turned back to Kimiko. He began walking towards her and she felt herself step back. The dopey grin, while completely compatible with her favorite cartoon, looked almost psychotic on Raimundo. She half expected him to attack her. Which he did.
Just not in the way she'd expected.
Raimundo ran the last few feet, closing the distance between them. He picked her up by the waist and swung her around, grinning broadly. "Kimi-bear!" He pulled her into a hug.
Kimiko's eyes bugged. She wasn't sure what surprised her more. The fact that he'd just hugged her or the fact that he'd just called her Kimi-bear... "Rai, would you do me a favor?"
"Anything for you Kimi-bear!"
"Don't EVER call me that again."
"You got it beautiful."
Kimiko frowned but decided it was better then Kimi-bear. Behind her Clay and Omi's jaws had both hit the ground. Above them Jack Spicer was doubled over in laughter. Kimiko flushed red but Raimundo looked completely unfazed by it all. In fact he smiled like it was the most natural thing in the world.
Wuya was not so happy about the turn of events. She turned angrily to Jack. "Look what your incompetence has cost us! We've lost yet another Shen-Gong-Wu!"
Jack stopped laughing long enough to wave a hand in her face. "Yeah, yeah. So we didn't get the Wu." He burst into laughter again. "This was SO worth it though!"
Wuya shook her head and wished she still had hands to smack against her forehead. "Come on Jack, let's go." She floated away and Jack followed, his laughter trailing behind him.
Clay was the first of the two warriors to regain his composure. He turned to where Kimiko stood, face beat red, beside Raimundo who looked like he'd done something as normal as ask her about the weather. "Well..." He started weakly. "At least we got the Wu."
Omi snapped out of his revere and shook his head. "I suppose we should head home. Then we may find a way to reverse the effects."
Dojo, who had been watching the whole thing from Clay's shoulder, hopped off and transformed. "Hop on."
Raimundo smiled down at Kimiko and took her hand in his, leading her to the dragon. Omi and Clay, who had been closer to Dojo, were already seated and watched, still slightly shocked, as Raimundo gave Kimiko a hand getting on the dragon (not that she needed one) before hopping on behind her. He sat closer to her then normal but didn't try to wrap his arms around her again, for which she was grateful. This whole thing was just a little to weird.
Dojo lifted off into the sky and began flying back to the temple as Clay finally began to laugh at Raimundo's affectionate 'nickname' for Kimiko. Raimundo seemed unfazed by the whole thing but Kimiko turned and glared at the cowboy.
"And just what is so funny Clay?"
"Aw, nothing...Kimi-bear." He laughed again and this time Omi joined in.
Kimiko frowned. "Come on guys! It's not like he really means it or even knows what he's saying!"
Omi nodded. "Yes but it is most funny to see Raimundo yell out such names. I wonder if he will act out any other forms of humorousness while he is being controlled by the Bracelet of Aikou."
"Hopefully it won't last more then a week of so." Dojo added. "I think that's how long it worked on Wuya. But that was a long time ago so don't quote me on that."
Clay pushed back his hat. "It'll be one heck of a week, that's for sure."
Kimiko sighed and looked down at her hands. Raimundo was going to embarrass himself all because of her. She turned back to look at Raimundo who was still staring at her with that dopey grin. He didn't seem to have heard a word of their conversation. She felt guilt surge through her. Even if it was an accident.
Still...she couldn't help agreeing with Clay.
They landed back at the temple a little while later and, thankfully; Kimiko had been able to convince Omi and Clay to stop laughing. Master Fung greeted them as they slid off of Dojo.
"Did you acquire the Bracelet of Aikou?"
All four warriors remained silent, unsure of how to tell Master Fung what had happened. Kimiko looked at the ground guiltily. She still felt bad about the whole thing. Even Raimundo didn't deserve to make THAT much of a fool out of himself. Especially since it wasn't of his own free will. Still neither Clay, Omi, nor Kimiko could quite figure out how to tell him. Good thing Raimundo could.
"Isn't she beautiful when she's wracked with guilt!" Raimundo cried giving Kimiko's shoulders an affectionate squeeze.
This statement caused both Omi and Clay to burst into laughter. Master Fung just raised an eyebrow. Kimiko looked at the ground, her face flushed red again. Slowly she held up her wrist.
"Yeah...we got it." Master Fung nodded but said nothing. "So..." Kimiko started. "Is there a way to make it stop?"
Again Master Fung nodded. "Of course there is."
Kimiko's face brightened. "Really! What is it?"
"To let the Shen-Gong-Wu run its course. I'm positive that Raimundo will return to normal eventually."
Kimiko's face fell. She'd been afraid of that. "So you're saying I just have to leave him like this?" She gestured to Raimundo who was still staring at her with a dreamy expression.
Master Fung nodded. "I'm afraid so. But do not worry, I'm sure many new experiences can be learned from this." He walked away.
Kimiko, Omi, and Clay exchanged glances before looking at Raimundo. Master Fung might have been sure but they weren't. Slowly they all began to walk away. Raimundo smiled at Kimiko's retreating figure before running to catch up.
"Hey Kimi!"
Kimiko turned at the sound of her name. "Yes Rai?" She replied, hoping he wasn't going to start calling her nicknames again.
"There's something I want to give you."
Kimiko looked surprised. "There is?"
"Yeah." He grinned and, much to her surprise (okay maybe not so much), Kimiko's stomach flipped. He grabbed her hand. "Come on, it's in my room."
As they reached their shared room, or whatever you would call them, Raimundo pulled her over to his section, eager to give her his gift. Kimiko was curious to know what he'd gotten her. It wasn't everyday, love Shen-Gong-Wu or no, that Raimundo got people gifts.
Raimundo began shuffling through a small wooden box. Kimiko recognized it as the one he kept things important to him in. It was where he kept photos of his family and friends back in Brazil, among other things. Finally his hand clasped on the object he was looking for and he pulled it out of the box.
"Now close your eyes." He instructed her.
Normally Kimiko wouldn't have done so. Raimundo was not the best person to trust when asked to close your eyes. He loved pulling pranks on people that way. If he hadn't actually called her Kimi-bear she probably wouldn't have believed him. But no matter how badly he'd wanted to trick her, or freak her out, the old Raimundo would have never called her that. Slowly, still a little cautious, she complied. She heard his arm move out in front of him.
"Okay, now open them."
Kimiko did what she was told and almost gasped in surprise. Dangling from Raimundo's grasp was a pretty silver chain. Hanging from the chain was a flame pendent, the inside a bright, shinning, red orange, the outline a metallic silver.
"It's beautiful Rai. But why...?"
Raimundo shrugged. "I was waiting for your birthday, but I just couldn't wait another minute. I thought someone as beautiful as yourself deserved something like this."
Kimiko once again felt her face flush but was surprised to find that it wasn't nearly as embarrassing when Clay and Omi weren't there. In fact, when it was just the two of them, it was actually almost kind of sweet. "Will you put it on for me?" Kimiko asked.
Raimundo nodded so she turned around and he gently placed it around her neck and closed the clasp. The flame pendent rested gently on her chest and she pressed a finger to it.
"It's really great Rai, thanks."
He smiled. "Nothing but the best for my baby bunky bunker boo."
Kimiko tensed up. "What?"
Raimundo shrugged again. "You said I couldn't call you Kimi-bear."
"You can't call me that either!" She huffed out of the room.
"Kimiko! Wait!" Raimundo called after her, sounding perplexed. "I didn't mean it! I can come up with another nickname!" He took off after her. "I swear it. How bout Kim-Kim?"
"NO!" Her yelled lingered in the air as both teens disappeared from sight.
From inside his own part of the room Clay stifled a laugh behind his hand. Where was Raimundo coming up with these nicknames? Beside him, Omi (who had also been spying of the two Dragons) looked confused.
"Clay?"
Clay looked down at the little monk. "Yeah partner?"
"Tell me...what is a baby bunky bunker boo?"
Kimiko ran a tired hand through her hair as she walked into the kitchen the next morning. She hadn't had the energy to put her hair up so she'd just let it hang loose. If need be she could put it up before they trained. She hadn't slept well the night before. She'd had the most bizarre dream. She'd accidentally used a Shen-Gong-Wu to turn Raimundo into a lovesick puppy and then he'd spent the rest of the evening giving her these ridiculous nicknames.
She shook her head but smiled, as she smelt the tantalizing scent of bacon and eggs wafting in from the kitchen. It would be nice to go in there and hear Raimundo throw her a sarcastic reply after the dream she'd just had. Obviously something like that could never happen. She almost giggled, like Dashi would even use such a pointless Shen-Gong-Wu. She stepped into the kitchen smiling and rubbing the last bit of sleep out of her eyes.
From the stove Raimundo turned and grinned at her. "Good morning beautiful!"
Kimiko froze, her hand still raised up to her eye. It hadn't been a dream. Suddenly the bracelet's weight on her wrist became apparent. She wondered why she hadn't felt it before? It wasn't like she normally went around sleeping with jewelry on. She looked at and realized that it didn't feel cool against her skin like a metal should have.
It almost feels like my skin. No wonder I didn't notice it.
She frowned as she brought her hand back down. Raimundo slid some eggs on a plate, next to a few pieces of bacon, and brought them over to her. He handed her the plate and smiled, attempting to cheer her up.
"Don't frown beautiful, we've got another gorgeous day ahead of us." Then he leaned over and kissed her on the cheek before walking back to the stove to make more breakfast.
Clay watched for her reaction silently as he continued eating his breakfast while Omi, who was squeezing oranges for some more juice, did the same. Both silently observed Kimiko, waiting for her response.
Slowly her left hand lifted up to gently brush her cheeks. Her mouth was open in a small 'o' of surprise. "W-What was that for?"
Raimundo shrugged, flipping over a few strips of bacon. "Just my way of letting you know I love you."
This statement was meant with total silence, save for the popping and sizzling of the bacon grease. Clay was starring wide-eyed at Raimundo, his fork halfway to his mouth. Omi had stopped mid squeeze, the last bits of juice dripping onto the floor. He was turned around completely, gazing at Kimiko.
Kimiko's eyes had widened. It was just too early for this. She hadn't thought he'd actually say he loved her. Sure, aikou was Japanese for love but still... She felt the heat rising in her cheeks.
"I, uh, thanks Rai..." She mumbled quickly as she rushed to join Clay at the table.
The cowboy wasn't entirely sure if he wanted to laugh of not. One the one hand, none of them had expected him to say that and it was a very serious thing. Plus if he laughed Raimundo might question him. They'd all decided, Master Fung included, that it would be easier to not try and tell Raimundo that he was under some sort of spell.
"There is no guarantee of how he would react to the news. Or if he would even believe you at all..."
Clay wasn't about to take the chance of having Raimundo mistake him for a rival. He'd seen what the dragon could do when he was mad. It wasn't pretty. Finally he decided to just let it be, what would happen, would happen, and brought the hovering fork up to his mouth, continuing his breakfast.
Omi was scrutinizing the scene as well, not entirely sure of what he was feeling. He didn't want to laugh, that much was certain. Kimiko had been the only girl he'd ever known and more often then not he'd viewed her as a helpful friend and older sister. But Raimundo's sudden affection for her was slightly unnerving. Kimiko didn't seem to be returning this affection so that was good. He still couldn't quite figure out what he was feeling, he'd been jealous before, not necessarily of a girl, but he'd defiantly been jealous of other things. It hadn't felt like this...it had been stronger.
Ah, well, He shrugged to himself and continued to squeeze the orange. Perhaps I will ponder the mysterious questions of the female later. He grinned. If I have time between training and saving the world.
Kimiko tossed again on her futon. She growled angrily and lifted her upper body up, punching her pillow. She couldn't get to sleep again. The day had been, surprisingly, rather uneventful. After the whole 'I love you' thing at breakfast Master Fung had taken pity on her and given them each a list of chores to do, separately, that was so long they'd been busy all day. She'd barely had time to talk to Raimundo, let alone be forced into anymore embarrassing situations.
Things were really bad if she thought chores were better then facing this new Raimundo.
She groaned and flopped back down, burying her head in her pillow. After another few minutes of sleeplessness Kimiko gave up completely and sat up, crossing her arms and pouting childishly. She considered going to the space next to her and waking up Raimundo. After all, he was the reason she couldn't get to sleep. Then she sighed and scolded herself for acting like such a brat. It wasn't really Raimundo's fault that he was keeping her up. He couldn't exactly help himself after all. And, although it had been VERY embarrassing, it had also been kind of...sweet.
Only a little.
Shuffling from the entrance to her section of the room stopped her thoughts. She looked up to see Raimundo's form standing in the entryway. His hands were hidden behind his back and he smiled sheepishly.
"Hey Kim."
She smiled weakly. "Hey Rai. Did I wake you? I'm sorry if I did."
Raimundo shook his head. "No. I was up. I heard you moving around, you okay?"
Kimiko sighed and nodded. "Yeah, just having trouble getting to sleep that's all."
Raimundo looked almost self-conscious, but it was hard to tell with nothing but the faint glow of the moon illuminating him. "Here." He brought his arms out from behind his back and thrust something in her direction.
Curious, Kimiko got up and walked over to him. In the dim moonlight she could just make out the form of a brown teddy bear resting in his hands. "Aw, it's cute."
Raimundo's face colored slightly (in love or no he's revealing his deepest secret here). "His...his name's Teddy. I've had him for as long as I can remember. He helps me get to sleep at night, especially when something's bothering me."
"But...won't you need him tonight?"
Raimundo shook his head. "You need him more then me. I want you to have him."
Touched, Kimiko smiled and slowly took the bear from his hands. She wrapped it in a hug, pulling it close to her chest, one delicate, pale finger making circles around its ear. "Thank you Rai."
He turned to and walked back to his own section. He stopped and smiled at her. "Good night beautiful. I hope Teddy helps." He said before disappearing behind the wall that separated them.
Kimiko hugged the bear closer. "I'm sure he will." She walked over and laid down on her futon, pulling the covers over herself and the teddy bear. She smiled and snuggled closer to it. It really did make her feel better
Sighing happily she closed her eyes. Sleep came almost immediately.
L7
There's chapter 2! I hope it was as good as chapter one!
I've been debating about how jealous I want to make Omi for this fic for a while now, it was sort of request from Chibi (who I'm writing this for) but I'm not really very good at love triangles. I've pretty much got it planned out how I'm going to resolve the whole jealousy issue but I just want to let you know now that it's not going to be playing a big role in this fic.
Anyways, I just wanted to say thanks for all your reviews and all the ideas you guys had about stuff for Raimundo to do. I want to let you know that I really wish I could use all of them, and I was really going to try but I've already go it so planned out (and most of it written) that I just can't do some of them. Sorry guys. I did use one or two and I loved all of them (they were great!). I hope you guys aren't too mad at me.
Don't forget to R&R!
Come on, send me a smile!