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:

Stuff You Need to Know:

"Speech"

Thoughts/flashbacks

When Kimiko woke up the next morning the first thing she did was smile down at the teddy bear in her arms. She hadn't even known Raimundo had a teddy bear, let alone that he slept with it still. It was kind of...cute. Kimiko frowned, why was everything about Raimundo seeming so cute lately. Sure, he was the best looking of the three male monks, at least in her opinion, and yes he could be nice when he wanted to be but... Kimiko shook her head; the Bracelet of Aikou was probably just affecting her too. That was all.

Slowly she rose to her feet and poked her head out of the entrance to her section of the room. No one was there, good. Silently she crept out, Teddy in her hands, and slinked towards Raimundo's section. She wanted to return it as quickly and quietly as possible. She doubted Raimundo wanted Clay and Omi to know about the animal.

She stopped in front of the curtain that shielded his little space from the rest of the room. Silence. Good that meant he wasn't there. Checking the room quickly again to make sure no one was there she slipped inside. She looked curiously at large lump present on Raimundo's futon. The lump was moving up and down ever so slightly. It took a moment for her brain to connect the up and down motion with breathing.

Apparently she wasn't as alone as she'd thought.

Cautiously she moved towards the lump, which was obviously Raimundo, and knelt beside him. The boy had the covers thrown over his head so Kimiko carefully peeled them back to find him sleeping on his side, his back to her. She just wanted to place the bear with him and leave without him ever knowing her was here. She smiled at his sleeping form and gently placed the teddy bear next to his head.

She frowned. Somehow that just didn't look right. Plus, if Clay or Omi came to wake him up they were sure to see it. Sighing she pulled the covers back farther, so that now his chest and torso could be seen. She blushed as she realized he slept in only boxers. She knew she was just here to return Teddy but she couldn't but feel like she was doing something very naughty.

Shaking her head she picked up the bear and placed it next to him. Immediately Raimundo rolled over and clutched the bear in his arms. Kimiko smiled, he looked so innocent while he was asleep. You'd never guess that, when he wasn't under a love spell, he was sarcastic and cocky when he was awake.

Her eyes roamed his body, taking in his features. None of the monks were out of shape per se, but Raimundo was the only one you could really see the muscle on. Clay was bulky by nature and Omi was small and quick. Raimundo, however, seemed to be just right. It was easy to see, when he didn't have a shirt on, the well-defined muscles in his arms and chest that had come from years of being a Xiaolin warrior. Her eyes stopped at a small scar on his shoulder. It wasn't very big, only a few inches long at the most, but it was there all the same. She lightly traced over the scar with her fingertips. He'd gotten that scar protecting her.

"Jack-bots ATTACK!" Jack Spicer command throwing his finger out towards the Xiaolin monks.

The robots came flying at them and they all got ready to fight. They were out numbered 12 to 4 but they weren't worried. These were the same Jack-bots they'd been fighting since they had started collection Shen-Gong-Wu. It wasn't much of a threat.

Omi leaped into action, quickly jumping onto the closest Jack-bot and thrusting it forward into another. He calmly kicked the head off another one before racing after Jack Spicer who, in a moment of stupidity, had decided he was ready to attack the Xiaolin Temple and go straight for the Shen-Gong-Wu vault.

Clay took out three of his own Jack-bots fairly quickly. He'd used a large pile of dirt and buried them. He too took off after Jack, trying to stop him before he got inside the vault. Jack wasn't usually much of a threat so he and Omi would be fine.

Raimundo had copied Omi and slammed two Jack-bots together breaking them apart. The third he had kicked into a tree where it now lay broken and obsolete. He watched Clay take off after Omi and Jack then looked over at Kimiko.

Kimiko was holding her own pretty well but she was at a slight disadvantage. Today had been her training day. The day when Master Fung worked solely with her to help her gain more control over her element. Clay, Omi, and Raimundo had all had their days too. She'd been put through much more rigorous training then usual and, as a result, was exhausted. She was feeling almost too tired to use her element.

Almost.

"Judo le flip, FIRE!" Kimiko jumped and flipped in the air positioning both her feet underneath her to deliver a fierce blow to her second robot. It went crashing into the ground, a large whole in the center of its body. It short-circuited and lay there uselessly. She landed on the ground a few feet away breathing heavily, her eyes threatening to close on her. She was exhausted and wanted nothing more then to close her eyes and sleep for a few days. She might have too, if she hadn't heard Raimundo's yell.

"LOOK OUT!"

She turned around to see the last Jack-bot come flying at her. Her eyes widened in surprise and she prepared herself to be thrown across the courtyard. Damn robots, she was just too tired to keep up with them today. The Jack-bot closed in on her and she braced herself. The next thing she knew there was a red and white blur between her and the Jack-bot and a hand was pushing her even further behind it.

Raimundo held up his other arm in front of Kimiko defensively. The Jack-bot's claws, or extensively long fingernails, depending on how you looked at it, slashed at Raimundo's arm. He moved it quickly but the last claw cut his shoulder, slicing open his tunic. Raimundo retaliated immediately, sending the Jack-bot back into a tree with a large gust of wind.

Raimundo turned to Kimiko and smiled. "You okay?'

She nodded. "Yeah, thanks. Are you okay?" She asked pointing at his arm.

He nodded and brought his arm up to inspect it. The movement caused him to hiss in pain and he clamped his hand over the wound. "I will be. It's just a scratch. Now come on! We've got to get to the vault!"

As they were running towards it Kimiko turned to Raimundo. "Why'd you jump in front of me like that? I mean, why didn't you just use the wind to drive it back or something?"

Even in the dark she could see Raimundo's face flush and he coughed nervously. "Well I, uh, it was the first thing that came to my mind okay!" He finished defensively.

Kimiko nodded. "Okay." She smiled warmly. "Thanks again."

"No problem."

A cough shook her out of her flashback and she turned her head slowly to see Clay smirking at her from the doorway to Raimundo's room.

"I was sent to wake up Raimundo but it looks like you've got a handle on that." Clay grinned wider.

Kimiko flushed. "You tell no one I was here, got it?" She stood up quickly and walked toward the exit.

Clay tipped his hat. "Yes ma'am. Although I reckon there ain't nothing wrong with him finding out. It's not like it would be awkward or nothing."

Kimiko pushed past him and walked to her own section, keeping her eyes on the floor. "Maybe for him it wouldn't be." Kimiko sighed again and reached for her tunic.

She had to get ready to greet the day and its many surprises.

Kimiko sighed again as she looked up at the mountain of scrolls in front of her. Master Fung had decided to 'take pity' on her yet again and gave them all a list of chores to do. Kimiko's only chore had been to organize the scroll room. A job that would take all day, perhaps even most of tomorrow.

Kimiko was beginning to suspect that listening to Raimundo serenade her with a love song would be better then this. Kimiko made a face as an image of Raimundo wearing that ridiculous cowboy hat and playing a guitar popped into her head. She stifled a giggle as he began singing too.

Shoving the thought from her mind before Raimundo started dancing she turned her attention back to the scrolls. She sighed once more; she'd been doing that a lot these past few days, her good mood from the humorous image completely gone now. There were thousands of scrolls in here and trying to organize them by herself would take ages. It almost seemed impossible.

Nodding determinedly Kimiko picked up the first scroll and opened it. She scanned it quickly and immediately got the gist of its contents. It was about the Shen-Gong-Wu. That would be her first step. Separate Shen-Gong-Wu scrolls from non Shen-Gong-Wu scrolls. She placed it to her left and picked up another one. That one went to the left too. The next one she picked up, however, went to her right. It was information about how to care for a dragon properly.

Three-hours later Kimiko looked at the large piles on either side of her. She smiled, that should have at least made a dent in the mountain of scrolls she'd started out with. She looked up and her face fell. The stack of scrolls was still towering over her. Groaning and smacking her forehead she fell back onto the floor. Dragging another scroll towards her. It was going to be a LONG day.

"Hey beautiful."

Kimiko turned her head and peered around the pile of scrolls at Raimundo, who was leaning against the doorway.

She smiled despite the impossible task looming in front of her. "Hey Rai. You're done with your chores already?"

Raimundo nodded and grinned. "I used the Shard of Lightening to get them done faster."

Kimiko stuck out her tongue playfully. "Cheater."

He grinned at her with that same love struck grin he'd had when he'd first seen her after being taken over by the bracelet. "I wanted to spend more time with you."

Kimiko shook her head and nodded towards the mountainous pile of scrolls in front of her. "Well I'm going to be stuck here all day so..."

Raimundo's smile became more normal. Just the normal smile that Raimundo used to give her when no one was looking. That normal smile that was just for her, and no one else. The smile that Kimiko loved. "That's why I came to offer you help."

Kimiko raised an eyebrow. "You want to help me?"

Raimundo nodded enthusiastically. "Four hands can do more then two." He moved the pile of unsorted scrolls to the left and sat in front of Kimiko.

Kimiko watched as he picked up a scroll and opened it. "Even with your help Rai this is going to be impossible."

Raimundo smiled at her again. "If there's one thing I've learned it's that, together, we can do anything."

Kimiko resisted the urge to roll her eyes. How corny can he get! At least he's not making goo-goo eyes at me. It's weird but it's almost like he's...normal.

The thought made Kimiko flush. Despite the amazing level of corniness that the saying had reached it was kind of sweet...for Raimundo. She smiled at him and grabbed another scroll. "Well then let's get started."

Kimiko smiled as she shut the door to the scroll room. Everything was organized and put away. It had still taken all day but with Raimundo's help it had gone by faster. She even still had an hour before dinner to call Keiko.

"Finished already Kimiko?"

Kimiko jumped at the sound of Master Fung's voice. She turned towards the old man. "Yes I am."

"That was awfully quick."

Kimiko nodded. "Yeah. Raimundo helped me."

Master Fung frowned. "I hope you are not taking advantage of Raimundo's current state."

Kimiko gasped in shock. "No, of course not. He offered to help me, I promise."

Master Fung nodded. "I would expect nothing less from Raimundo."

Kimiko raised an eyebrow at him but decided not to comment on it. Half of the things Master Fung said didn't make sense anyways. Shaking her head she silently made her way down the hallway to her room.

"What was that supposed to mean?" Dojo slithered up Master Fung's arm, resting on his shoulder.

"I meant exactly what I said."

Dojo raised an eyebrow. "You really think the old Raimundo would have helped her?"

Master Fung nodded. "Maybe not as openly as he did today. I believe he would have done it more subtly. Perhaps a stray breeze would have helped her move a large pile of scrolls."

Dojo shook his head. "You are almost weirder then Dashi sometimes, and he tried to make Wuya fall in love with him. It doesn't get much weirder then that."

Master Fung shrugged and headed towards the kitchen. "Perhaps. But consider this my friend, what didn't work for Dashi may just work for Kimiko."

Dojo scratched his head. "Huh?"

"You shall see Dojo, you shall see."

The next day Kimiko swept the steps of the temple with a smile on her face. Today had been the least hectic day since the start of the whole 'bracelet of aikou' thing. She was, strangely enough, getting used to Raimundo's affection greetings of 'morning beautiful' and had, one some level, begun to wonder if maybe, just maybe, she would miss them when they were gone.

But she shook it off.

She finished sweeping and walked back inside. Master Fung seemed to have realized that Kimiko was more capable of handling the new Raimundo so he'd lightened up on the chore load. Something for which the four monks were extremely grateful. Kimiko was completely finished with her chores and was just beginning to ponder what to do with the rest of her day when the answer came flying at her.

Literally.

Raimundo had been running to her and wrapped her in a hug. "Kimi! I've been looking everywhere for you!"

Kimiko pried herself from his grasp and looked up at him. "Why? What's wrong?"

"Nothing." He tapped the tip of her nose with his pointer finger. "I was just wondering if you could help do me a favor?"

Kimiko weighed the options out in her hand. On one hand it was very unlikely that he would want her to do something stupid so he could have a laugh like the old Raimundo would do but on the other hand this new Raimundo was likely to ask her to do something like tell him she loved him back. He hadn't asked her to do that so far but there was always that chance.

It wasn't that she didn't love him back and it wasn't that she did. It was just that she didn't know what she felt. This new sweet Raimundo was nice but she did miss her old sarcastic one. The, the old sarcastic one. Not hers. She shook her head to stop the thoughts and looked up at Raimundo again.

"Sure Rai. What'd ya need?"

Raimundo's face split into a large grin and he pulled her into another hug. "Thanks Kimi-cub! You're the best."

"Rai," She warned, "What did we agree about nicknames?"

Raimundo blinked, completely unaware of what he had just called her, it clicked a few seconds later and he looked apologetic. "Sorry, I didn't even realize I'd said that."

Kimiko shook her head. "It's okay." At least he wasn't calling her baby-bunky-bunker-boo again. "What'd ya need?" She repeated.

Raimundo's face immediately lit up at being forgiven. "I just wanted to send a picture of us to my parents back in Brazil."

Kimiko froze. A picture? That could lead to them asking questions. Again she weighed her options. She could always call the Pedrosas and politely tell them that their son was under some form of Wu hypnosis (which was the best way she could seem to describe it) and that he only thought he was in love with her. She would explain that the effects were only temporary but it was best to just play along with it. That would be much easier then saying no and trying to think of a good enough excuse for saying so.

Finally she nodded. "Okay Rai."

He grinned wider. "Thanks Kimi-be- Thanks Kimi."

"So... who's going to take the picture?"

"I am." Clay stepped into the room and tipped his hat. Kimiko shot him a questioning look and he grinned. "Just tryin' to help out a partner."

Kimiko nodded. "Okay..." She turned back to face Raimundo. "Ready?"

Raimundo nodded. "Yeah." He walked behind Kimiko and wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her against him. He rested his chin on her shoulder and smiled into the camera Clay was holding up.

When Kimiko was younger she had gone a lot of fancy parties and things of that nature with her father, so she had learned at a young age to get people to think she was paying attention when her mind was really on something else. It was a skill that was showing itself to be quite useful at the moment. Her eyes and smile were still trained on the camera and, judging by the lack of Clay trying to hint to her to make it look more realistic, it was looking real enough.

Her mind however was a million miles away.

For some reason, one she couldn't even begin to fathom, her heartbeat had just increased 10 fold. She could just feel Raimundo's breath on her neck and it sent a shiver down her spine. And she was getting just a little bit used to how it felt to have his arms around her.

Clay's cough brought her out of her thoughts once again (that was twice the Dragon of the Earth had caught her off guard). "Hey, I'm, uh, finished taking the picture so if ya'll want to move again that's fine. O'course if you'd rather stay were you are that's fine too."

Kimiko just nodded mutely as Raimundo slowly unlatched his arms from her waist. Clay looked at Kimiko curiously. The Dragon of the Fire seemed to be sort of out it. He wondered what was the matter but then Raimundo muttered a quick 'thanks beautiful', gave her a quick kiss on the cheek, and ran out of the room with the camera. Clay looked at the semi-shocked looked on her face and understood.

And now Clay Bailey, who had never believed in a higher power a single day of his life, had to wonder if this whole event had been planned out by some higher spirit years ago

Yeah...I have no idea what religion any of the monks are, they probably don't even have a religion per se, since ya know, this is a kid's show and kid's shows tend to stay away from that topic, unless it's like the Christmas episode...

Anyways there's chapter 3. We're almost half way done with the story! Woohoo! I hope you guys like it.

Don't forget to R&R!

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