Kimiko played an ace down on the growing pile of cards. She watched as Clay and Omi stared at their own cards in their hand, struggling to find something to beat the ace. Kimiko sighed. No one could ever beat her at this game. That's why it was so boring.

She heard footsteps behind her and turned around, hoping to see the boy of her dreams. And there he was. Raimundo Pedrosa, in his white hoodie and green pants, looking quite happy for himself. At once, Kimiko ran up to him.

"Hi, Raimundo!" she exclaimed, smiling.

"Hey, Kim." Raimundo said calmly, though she could tell he was grinning underneath.

"Rai, you wanna play some Ducks and Hammers?" Clay asked, motioning to the cards.

"Despite the weird name, sorry. I volunteered for guard duty tonight." Raimundo said, smiling apologetically.

Kimiko quirked an eyebrow. "But you hate guard duty! Why'd you volunteer?"

The brunette shrugged. "I guess I should do it once in a while."

Kimiko stared at him as he kept talking. Something was wrong. Why was he so happy about guarding some Shen Gong Wu? It wasn't as if they were gonna start dancing or something. And guard duty wasn't the most fun job, either. You had to stay there all night without company.

"You want me to help?" Kimiko volunteered. She could make the job fun by talking to him and doing other things. She could just picture it right then, Raimundo laughing at her jokes... Raimundo singing a song with her... Raimundo sleeping as Kimiko took over the job, sitting in his lap...

"Sorry, but you should get some rest." the Dragon of the Wind said, placing a hand on her shoulder and bringing her out of her thoughts. "I saw you training your butt off earlier. Just get some rest, okay?" He winked. "I'll see you in the morning."

And he left. Kimiko stared at his retreating back, feeling a small hole in her heart of the news that she could not be with Raimundo. But Raimundo wanted her to rest. And if he did, she would rest. She knew that Raimundo would be fine guarding the Shen Gong Wu. What could possibly happen, anyway?

------------------------

After about an hour of walking the border of the Shen Gong Wu vault, Raimundo stopped dead in his tracks and looked around. He then darted to the front and looked around outside. Once he saw the coast was clear, he quickly rang the secret chime of the bells, raced inside, and took out the Golden Tiger Claws. He smiled while fastening it on his hand, thinking about where he would be going. Who he would be going to. And with a quick jab at the air, a portal opened, and Raimundo stepped into it, waiting anxiously to get to the other side.

Raimundo found himself in, the one and only, Jack Spicer's room. There was no sign of Jack anywhere. Perhaps he was under the Shroud of Shadows, which he had actually won from Clay just days ago?

"Thanks for the dinner, Mom!" called a voice just outside of the door. Raimundo looked up to see the door wide open, a red-haired boy standing in the doorway, grinning like he had never grinned before.

"Raimundo!" He squealed, throwing himself to the other boy. Raimundo released an "oof!" when Jack landed on him, making him fall to the floor, but smiled all the same. He loved seeing Jack like this, laughing openly, smiling like a buffoon, holding onto him like never before. He loved seeing Jack so... at ease like this.

For the last couple weeks, Raimundo had been visiting Jack at night, playing games with him, talking and laughing with him, doing all kinds of stuff. They had become pretty good friends now. Jack was no longer sad or lonely, at least that's what Raimundo thought and hoped. He didn't love Jack, no, but being friends was the closest he could get.

"So, what d'you wanna do?" Jack said childishly, after he let go of Raimundo. He was now sitting in-between Raimundo's legs, which had been parted when Jack had almost tackled Raimundo. He had so much happiness in his eyes that Raimundo wanted to shower his face with kisses.

Raimundo smirked. "How about some air hockey?"

"Nah, air hockey's boring. I bet I'll kick your butt at Soul Caliber Two!"

Raimundo laughed. "That again? You haven't beaten me once these past three days."

"But I bet I'll beat you this time! I have all the luck in the world!"

"Not really, or else you'd be ruling the world by now."

"Who'd rather rule the world than have you?"

Silence. Raimundo looked down at Jack, opening and closing his mouth, not knowing what to say. Slowly, a look of understanding came to Jack's face and he immediately apologized. "It just kinda slipped out. Sorry."

"No, it's all right." Jack looked up in surprise, only to see Raimundo getting up and walking over to Jack's entertainment system and pulling out a Game Cube. Jack watched Raimundo plug it in and scrambled over to his side, offering help. Raimundo just smiled, plugging in the rest of the cords before tossing a controller at him. In just a moment, the two boys were playing almost brutally, pressing the buttons at the speed of sound and moving the controller in the direction their character was facing, but still playfully. In just ten minutes, Jack had already seen the "1P wins; 2P loses" screen twenty times. He scowled when he saw it again, Raimundo smirking, trying not to burst out laughing.

"You really suck at this game, you know that?" The brunette said teasingly.

"Shut up!" Jack snapped. He threw the controller at the screen. It hit it with a loud clunk and then landed on the Game Cube with another clunk. The screen immediately froze, the characters paralyzed in their fighting stances.

"Jack!" Raimundo snapped, pointing at the screen and frowning at the boy.

"I'll fix it later, don't worry." Jack said, waving his hand like he didn't care. He walked over to his bed and sat on the edge. Raimundo smiled. Somehow, he forgot that Jack was a genius with technology.

Raimundo jumped up from the floor and sat next to Jack. Jack didn't have any reaction at all, to this. Raimundo wrapped his arm around Jack's shoulder and pulled the redhead towards him. Jack obediently rested his head against Raimundo's shoulder.

"Jack," Raimundo began, almost tentatively. "I'm... sorry I told you, you sucked."

"That's all right," Jack responded, burying his nose in Raimundo's neck. "It's true, isn't it?"

Raimundo wondered why it felt so comfortable like this.

"Is everything all right? You still got those dreams?" Raimundo asked softly.

A pause. "Yeah. They keep coming back." Jack said. "Maybe it's because I don't have you yet."

Raimundo winced. "You... don't have me?"

Jack moved away from Raimundo's neck to look at him straight in the eye. "You don't love me. And I'll keep having those dreams until you love me."

Raimundo looked pained. There was nothing he could do, then. Jack would always be lonely if he didn't love Jack back, which he doubted he'd ever do. Raimundo held Jack tightly in his arms, tears starting to form in the corners of his eyes. He wanted to help the red-haired boy so badly, but it seemed he couldn't. He had tried so hard, only to find that it didn't help. Nothing ever helped.

"That means I should go then, right?" Raimundo whispered over Jack's shoulder. "If being your friend won't help you, I should stop."

"Is that the only reason you've been here? To stop my dreams?" Jack said sharply, pushing Raimundo away from him. He glared at the other boy, who looked surprised and frightened. "You don't actually want to be my friend, you just want me to stop crying over something that's never going to happen? What kind-of sick person are you?"

Raimundo sighed and hung his head. He knew he could be of no help. He was never a help to the Xiaolin Warriors, so how could he be a help to Jack Spicer?

"I'm... I'm sorry," Raimundo's voice cracked. He lifted a single finger to wipe off his tears. "I never meant to hurt you. I wanted to help you. I wanted you to be happy." He was sobbing now and he couldn't stop himself. Tears were everywhere, dampening clothes and blankets. "I'm so sorry."

Suddenly he felt his head being lifted. Two pale, cold hands were on each side of Raimundo's face. Green eyes met red. "Don't be sorry, Raimundo." Jack whispered, looking sad, lost and disheveled. "You being my friend was the best thing that ever happened to me. You were the best friend I've ever had."

Raimundo hiccupped and smiled weakly. "And now it's over, right? We'll never be friends again."

"It doesn't have to be that way!" Jack said, almost desperately. "We can still be friends. We can still play around, hang out, everything like that. We don't have to stop, just because my dreams haven't gone away!" Jack stopped for a second, gazing into Raimundo's green orbs and regaining his breath. "Please stay."

Raimundo's breathing was still shallow and unsteady, but he seemed to have calmed down a bit. At least he wasn't crying anymore.

Then Raimundo leaped at him, throwing his tanned arms around Jack's neck, throwing Jack off balance and making him land on his back, against the bed. Raimundo had his lips firmly pressed against Jack's, eyes tightly closed as if scared to open them. They stood there for god knows how long.

Finally, Raimundo pulled away. Jack looked at Raimundo as if not knowing what reaction would come. Raimundo's face was blank, which worried the pale boy even more.

Then Raimundo broke into a smile. "I'll stay. I'll come back to you."

Jack gave a small gasp and smiled himself, feeling his heart lift.

"But not right now. I gotta go. It's getting late." Raimundo said.

And with a small peck at the cheek, Raimundo slashed the air and left, leaving a fairly happy Jack behind.

---------------------------------

For the next few weeks, Raimundo was going to Jack's house almost every night. He'd say he'd go on a walk, or go to a soccer game somewhere in Brazil, make up any kind of excuse, just so he could Golden-Tiger-Claws his way over to Jack's house, where they'd play and hang out until midnight. Sometimes, Raimundo would even sleep with him, just to make sure Jack was okay, and return to the Xiaolin Temple early in the morning.

But it wasn't as if no one noticed these disappearances of the brunette. Kimiko was starting to worry about him. Where was he going all the time? Why was he always so eager to leave? Was he just trying to get away from her, or the others? Was he returning to someone every night?

She had asked Clay. "Ah, give it a rest, Kim. He probably just wants some fresh air. You know how much he hates chores and misses his home. Maybe he just wants to visit some of his old homes, you know?"

She had asked Omi. "I do not believe Raimundo is going to some secret girl every night. I believe Raimundo is practicing, so that he could one day become better than me!... even though he will never be better than me."

Kimiko sighed. Where was her darling brunette when she needed him?

"Do not worry, Kimiko. I am sure Raimundo is in good hands." Kimiko felt a hand on her shoulder, and wheeled around. Master Fung. "If it really does bother you, why not go and ask him?"

"But I don't even know where he is!" Kimiko said, clenching her teeth in frustration.

"Well then, you could wait until he comes back, or—" Suddenly, Kimiko had bolted off the spot, leaving dust rise in Master Fung's confused face. She just had a brilliant idea. Why hadn't she thought of it before?

Racing into the Shen Gong Wu vault, Kimiko hurriedly clicked the bells, which chimed their secret song to open the vault. Once the first step lowered, she dashed onto it, waited impatiently for the others to lower, then ran in. The Japanese girl looked around, trying to find the right Shen Gong Wu. She brightened when she saw it. She delicately pushed open the drawer-like thing, and took out the Shen Gong Wu she was just looking for.

"Crystal Glasses!" She exclaimed. Her eyes saw through the diffractive glass, Raimundo holding a Playstation II controller, tongue sticking out like it always did when he was playing a video game. Kimiko was confused. Raimundo never played Playstation games—just arcade or Gameboy. And where was he, right now? He sure wasn't at the arcade, since the floor was carpeted, and there was a bed right behind him. He was in a house, a bedroom. But... who's?

Kimiko gasped when she looked to the right, next to Raimundo. A flaming-red haired boy was holding another controller, sweating and looking pitiful. (He was probably losing the game) Kimiko shrieked. Jack Spicer? Jack was the one he was going to, almost every night? Jack was the one Raimundo was always smiling about when he was telling them he was going somewhere?

But... why?

Kimiko started looking for another Shen Gong Wu.

---------------------------

1P WINS.

"Again." Jack grunted. "How many more times are you going to win, I wonder?"

"Every time, as long as we keep playing this game." Raimundo said, smirking and leaning against Jack's bed. "C'mon, let's play something else."

"No!" Jack snapped stubbornly. "Not until I beat you at this game!"

Raimundo sighed playfully. He reset the game and picked someone else this time. Raimundo picked his strongest character, Kilik—the man who used a rod and killed his whole temple, according to Soul Caliber history—and Jack picked his usual character, Maxi—the man who used nunchaku and both his parents were deceased, according to Soul Caliber history—determination written on his face. Raimundo planned to let Jack win this time. Just to make him happy.

But before the game had even started, the Serpent's Tail went through the wall, followed by another figure. The figure landed in the middle of Jack's room, glaring at both Jack and Raimundo. Then Raimundo gasped.

"You!" Kimiko managed to spit out from gritted teeth. "You lied to all of us!"

Deep regret hit Raimundo, and his eyes saddened. Jack looked from Kimiko to Raimundo, confusion written in every part of his face.

"Who knew you'd been going to this place every day! You'd just make excuses to come see him, wouldn't you? You'd be at Jack's house, playing around, huh? Wasn't I good enough for you? What does he have that I don't, Rai?"

"Kim, it's nothing like that—"

"Oh, of course it isn't. Tch, you can't hide anything else from me anymore, Rai. No one but me thought there was something wrong with you, leaving all the time. 'I'm going to a soccer game', 'I'm going on a walk', 'I'm going to go shopping just for a little bit'—well, not anymore!" Kimiko was red with anger. Her blue eyes glared daggers at Raimundo, who seemed helpless and regretful. "You are coming with me, Raimundo!"

Green eyes widened. Then, Raimundo stood up slowly. He dropped the controller at his feet. Jack watched him longingly. He couldn't go. He couldn't leave Jack. Not after everything they had been through. Not right before Jack was going to beat Raimundo with his master plan.

Raimundo turned his head to look at Jack, green eyes full of so much sorrow, it made Jack choke. Jack stared back, almost about to burst into tears. Don't go... Jack thought, Don't leave me... Please... Raimundo read him like a book, and smiled softly. Jack blinked. What did that mean? What did that single smile mean?

But before he could figure out, Raimundo was taken by the arm, and both Dragons Serpent's-Tailed their way out of the room, leaving Jack helpless and lonely, still trying to figure out what that smile meant.

--------------------------------

Raimundo sighed. He held up the mop in the air, then plunked it down in the bucket of water. He took the long stick out of the bucket, and splat it on the marble floor. He frowned as he moved the mop in circles.

"No, I do not believe that Raimundo was coinciding with the enemy!" Omi's shouts echoed from the other room. He would be eating right now, if Master Fung hadn't assigned him this job as punishment for ruining the Xiaolin way. "He was making a secret, elaborate plan to stop Jack Spicer, if need be!"

"Omi, will you just cut it out?" Kimiko said, sighing. She still sounded angry. "Raimundo was hanging out with Jack Spicer, as in, the Jack Spicer we train to defeat every day!"

"What is so forbidden about liking the enemy?" Raimundo slowed down his ministrations to the floor to listen closer. "A foe turned to a friend is the most valuable thing. Everyone has a good side, and Raimundo is unlocking it. He is helping us, not betraying us! He is still loyal to us! He still loves us!"

Raimundo stood shock still. Then he sighed and smiled, shaking his head. Omi, Omi, Omi. He always cared for Raimundo's hide, even when he was evil. He always tried to get Raimundo back if he was captured by the forces of darkness. Omi was always there for him.

Omi was the only one there for him.

He heard Kimiko sigh. "We're not really sure of that, Omi. We're not sure if Raimundo was helping him, or going to the Dark Side, or turning into his friend, or what. For now, let's just wait. Let's just wait and see what happens."

And so they waited. Raimundo spent all his time with the rest of them. He ate, trained, and slept with the rest of them. It was the same thing he'd been doing all month, except this time he didn't see Jack every day. He was sadder when he trained. He was sadder in general. He cried himself to sleep. He didn't know why. Maybe it was because he just missed the guy. Missed the guy and his flaming red hair and beautiful ruby eyes. Missed all the video games, all the fun. Missed having someone to play with, who liked the same things as him. He just missed him.

"Jack..." He moaned quietly while in his bed. Raimundo closed his eyes, and a lone tear slid down his cheek.

Silence. Everyone was asleep, except Raimundo. Another tear slid down. Raimundo needed him.

"...Raimundo?"

Green eyes snapped open. He sat up in his mat and looked at his intruder. He almost screamed in glee from what he saw.

"Jack!" Raimundo whispered happily. And there he was, red hair spiking up in all ways, red sleeve-less shirt standing out like blood in the dark, ruby eyes looking happy, yet sad.

"Raimundo? What's wrong?" Jack walked up to him and bent down. He spotted Raimundo's bloodshot eyes and the tear tracks down his cheeks. A look of pain hit Jack. "Are you okay?"

Raimundo threw his arms around the boy's neck. He sobbed into Jack's shoulder. "They—they won't let me go anywhere—hic—they keep me trapped—in here—hic—there's nothing I can do—there's nothing—"

"Shhh," Jack cooed, patting his head. "We can't be too loud."

Raimundo pulled away slightly and looked at Jack. "I've missed you."

Jack was surprised. Then he smiled softly and combed his hand through Raimundo's brown locks. "I've missed you, too. More."

Raimundo childishly shook his head. "I was the one who always came to visit you."

Jack cupped Raimundo's cheek. "Yeah, but I'm in-love with you."

Raimundo paused. Then hung his head. "Oh right." He didn't add, 'I forgot'.

Jack lifted the brunette's head up with the hand that was on Raimundo's cheek and kissed him gently. Raimundo gasped, but then kissed him back, leaning into the kiss. They kissed for the next few minutes, each wrapped in the other's warmth. Then, Jack pulled away. Raimundo frowned at the loss of lips on his own. Jack was surprised, but then laughed.

"You're so cute." Jack whispered, ruffling Raimundo's hair. Raimundo's eyebrows rose.

Then Jack leaned forward and kissed Raimundo on the forehead. He pressed his forehead against Raimundo's, and looked into green eyes. "I'll be back. Don't worry." Then he added, "Don't cry."

Raimundo nodded. Jack gave a quick smile, then walked away. And Raimundo smiled, falling back in his mat once again, though this time, he didn't cry.

----------------------

It was Jack and Raimundo, all over again. Except this time, Jack would go to Raimundo. Jack would fly over there in his Evil Jet Black Jet, since he didn't have the Golden Tiger Claws. They would whisper to each other, kiss, hug, lie in bed with each other. And it was only after the fifth visit, that Raimundo thought he had to put an end to this.

Kimiko was right, in some way. Jack was evil. Well, he was at least on the side of evil. And Raimundo was on the side of good, the side that kicks evil's butt. Some might say that the world isn't separated into good and evil. But if you're talking about the people he always saw, the world, or at least his world, is definitely separated into good and evil.

He remembered what his dream doppelganger said in that depressing dream of Jack's. Jack, this is for your own good. I can't keep fighting for good if I love someone on the other side. What we have, Jack, is never going to work. I can never be a bad guy; you can never be a good guy. I love you, but it's as if I'm not allowed to love you.

But was that true?

Did Raimundo love Jack?

Or was he just playing with the boy's heart?