As the parents left again to give them some time to 'get to know each other', Kimiko showed Jack out into their garden. It was large with a long stretch of green grass surrounded by flowerbeds full of exotic flowers and at the end of the gravel path was a pond with a miniature palace in the centre and a variety of fish swimming around in circles around it.

Kimiko smiled down into the pond, remembering all the times when she was younger she had spent dipping her feet in the pond and watching the fish swim curiously around her toes. Back then, nothing had ever seemed to bother her. She didn't care about her father's work, although she loved the toys he bought her all the time. It was only when she went to the temple and was taught to be aware that she started thinking about how her life was affected by the things happening around her.

She glanced sideways at Jack who was shuffling nervously from foot to foot and looking everywhere except at Kimiko. They both stood looking in different directions, trying to think of something to talk about and at the same time, neither of them wanted to break the awkward silence they had fallen into.

They heard the laughter of their parents from the open window up the garden in the house. Jack groaned slightly. Kimiko looked up at him.

"Sorry," He said, "But I think my dad just told a very bad joke he tells to everyone he knows at least three times."

"He reminds me of you." Said Kimiko.

Jack groaned again.

"I take it you don't get on with your parents?" Asked Kimiko.

"They are the two most boring people on the planet," He sighed, "And that's including Omi!"

Kimiko punched him in the arm.

"Don't insult my friends." Said Kimiko.

"You've got to admit, Omi doesn't change his tune much does he?" Said Jack, "He does the same things over and over again and no matter how many times he gets shot down his head just keeps getting bigger."

"You don't know Omi!" Said Kimiko, getting angry.

"Please, how long have I been fighting you losers?" Said Jack, "You think I don't know you?"

"You've only seen the part of us that prefers to fight you!" Said Kimiko, "You don't know us personally!"

"Like I'd want to!" Snapped Jack; "If I ever go to you for help all you do is pick on me!"

"That's because you're a stupid little wimp who only comes crying to us because you're too scared to take on your opponents!" Said Kimiko, her hands balling into fists and shaking slightly.

"So you should be nicer to me rather than beat me up!" Shouted Jack.

Kimiko and Jack stared at each other, fuming in their own particular rage. Then Jack shoulders slumped and Kimiko sighed.

"This is never going to work." Said Kimiko, looking at pond again.

"No … I don't think it is." Said Jack.

"Maybe we should just tell them the truth." Said Kimiko, glancing up the smooth grass to where the window was still open with the curtain flowing out as it got caught in the wind.

"Then … won't you company go bankrupt?" Asked Jack softly.

"We'll manage." Said Kimiko, knowing that she was lying through her teeth.

"No you won't." Said Jack.

"I know," Said Kimiko, "but we've got to try. The xiaolin monks never give up when it's hopeless, they look for a more hopeful way."

"Optimistic little guys aren't they," Said Jack.

Kimiko smiled gently, but her face remained looking sad, but in a beautiful way. Jack gulped and looked away from her as he put a hand on her shoulder.

"I'll help you figure out another way … if you want." He said, his voice sounding unnaturally high with the last three words.

Kimiko didn't answer. Jack looked down at her. Her eyes were filling slowly with tears. He wasn't sure what to do. She was one of his sworn enemies and he couldn't help but feel like he should be helping her.

"We'll stick to the plan until we find another way." Said Jack sternly.

Kimiko looked up at him with surprise.

"Seriously?" she asked, looking disbelieving.

"Sure, but just until we find another way out of this!" He said, making himself completely clear about it.

For a moment Kimiko looked like she was going to burst into tears again, but then she leapt forward and wrapped her arms around his neck. She had no idea what she was doing, but she just wanted to thank him and since her voice didn't seem to be working, she flung herself at him and hugged him tightly.

Jack stood completely still for a moment and then hugged her back. He thought he heard a soft 'click' and he broke apart, looking around. Kimiko was back to normal, looking at him coldly.

"What are you looking for you dork?" She asked him suddenly.

"What?" Asked Jack, being pulled back to his senses.

"You're such a dork." Said Kimiko, walking up the smooth grass, frowning.

Jack stood still and looked around again, trying to locate the source of the noise. He decided it must have been a bird in a tree somewhere, snapping a twig. He was just being paranoid … again.

Up on the fence, hidden behind a tree, watching the Japanese girl and a dork with bad eyeliner walk up the garden was Katnappe. She grinned evilly to herself as she looked down to her hand in which she held a digital camera.

Her smile widened as she looked at the display screen. There, clear as day, was digital photo of Kimiko and Jack hugging next to the pond. Katnappe smiled to herself once again and hissed as she jumped off and down the other side off the fence.

Raimundo was pacing up and down, up and down in the grand hall of the temple. He was muttering something under his breath. Omi and Clay poked their heads around the door before entering.

"You alright partner?" asked Clay.

Raimundo almost jumped out of his skin as he span around. He muttered something about 'waiting for post' and started pacing again.

"She won't have had time to write if there's something serious happening. I suggest you practice your patience!" Said Omi, "She's only been gone most of day."

Raimundo stopped dead in his tracks.

"You don't think …" He said in an unconvincing attempt at a laugh, "That I was waiting for mail from Kimiko? I'm waiting for a letter from my … mum."

Clay and Omi looked at each other behind Raimundo. Both of them were thinking the same thing; he was slowly losing his mind. However, Omi also had something else on his mind. What is Kimiko did send him a letter … he meant send the temple a letter? What would be its contents? What was the matter? Why was he missing Kimiko so badly? It wasn't as if he hadn't spent time away from Kimiko before … oh wait. The truth was that Omi knew why a lot better than Raimundo did. As if it wasn't obvious that he liked Kimiko and all he was doing was trying to fool himself out of revealing his feelings. This meant that he understood Raimundo, he understood him all too well …

Kimiko sighed and sat down on her bed. Jack and his parents were finally gone and she had some time to herself. The moment Jack and his parents were out of the door her father had turned around and asked her what she had thought. She had settled for smiling and nodding nervously while backing away. This was highly embarrassing and she was now cursing herself for doing it. She didn't want to go through with this and although she felt she didn't have a choice; she really wanted to get out of it!

She looked over at her computer screen and decided that she'd send Raimundo an email to give to the others. She got up and seated herself at the computer. After logging into her account she checked her emails. No new messages; Raimundo and the others hadn't emailed her yet either.

Kimiko brought up the new messages screen. She typed in Raimundo's address and started her message. Half way through she stopped and looked at the picture in her open suitcase of Clay, Dojo and herself laughing as Omi annoyed Raimundo. Slightly apart was Mater Fung, looking expressionless and calm as always. Her heart ached as she looked at the faces of her friends and she longed to back at the temple acting as though Jack Spicer didn't even exist.

"I'll be back soon," She whispered to herself as she typed up her message (Lying quite a lot in the process about what was happening), "I promise."

Katnappe linked her computer to the digital camera and brought up the image of Jack and Kimiko next to the pond. She smiled wickedly to herself as she copied and pasted it into an email. Her smile widened once more as she changed the settings and pressed 'send'.

What better way to get back at Jack than destroying not only his life, but the girl's he liked as well? Of course, she didn't know for certain if he really did like Kimiko, but this opportunity was too good to give up.

Any minute now, every computer with an Internet connection in the world would be receiving this same message and same photograph of the two people holding each other next to the pond.

"This is too good," Laughed Katnappe, spiking a chocolate with a single claw and putting it into her mouth, "It's payback time Jack."

Raimundo had stopped pacing by now and was lying on his bed staring up at the ceiling, trying to remember why he was so concerned. This is the sort of stuff that should be happening in soppy romance novels (So he'd heard … he'd never read any … honest) and chick-flics (Not that he'd ever watched them). This sort of stuff never happened in real life. It was unbelievable, impossible … because four kids taken to be trained as monks and having the magical abilities to control the elements to collect magical items of various descriptions to fight the forces of evil including a witch who was over fifteen hundred years old, a boy 'genius' and a guy who sold his soul and changes into a demon lizard thing to stay permanently young was so believable.

Well maybe not the boy genius thing.

"Raimundo?" Asked Omi, knocking on the non-existent door of Raimundo's room.

"What do you want Omi?" Sighed Raimundo, still looking at the ceiling.

"I was wondering if you wanted to talk?" Asked Omi.

"No," Said Raimundo simply.

"These feelings can be very confusing." Explained Omi.

"How would you know?" Asked Raimundo, sitting up.

"Because I feel the same way," Said Omi.

"I meant, how do you know what I'm feeling?" Said Raimundo.

"Oh!" Said Omi, suddenly going pink and looking around, embarrassment clear on his face, "Well you see I …"

"You do?" Asked Raimundo, suddenly realising what Omi had said.

"Do what?" Asked Omi before it dawned on him, "Oh, right … yes."

Raimundo studied his face, his clueless friend completely unaware of what he was looking for. He was looking for some sign of a joke or something. Perhaps Clay put him up to this to get him to admit why he was so jumpy. However, all Raimundo could read in Omi's face was the embarrassment that he had admitted to his feelings openly like that, he couldn't have been lying. Besides, Omi was a crappy liar.

"I don't want to talk." Said Raimundo, lying back down, "I just want Kimiko to come home."

"She is home." Said Omi.

"I mean home to us!" Said Raimundo, sitting up again.

"We are not her family." Said Omi.

"Yes we are!" Said Raimundo, "We're he family, just like her father is her family and the monks are her family. Family doesn't mean blood related, Omi, Otherwise you wouldn't have a family because you're an orphan (No offence), but we serve as your family. The same way that you guys serve as mine!"

Omi smiled at the touching notion in this and Raimundo felt like throwing up. It was like something out of a kid's movie with the sickening moral at the end. He couldn't believe he'd just said something that corny.

"Get out of my room, I want to check my emails." Said Raimundo, pointing to the door.

Omi got to his feet and left; still smiling at the sentimental crap Raimundo had just thrown at him.

Raimundo shook his head as he watched him go and started typing on his computer. He kept telling himself that he should've asked Kimiko to get him a hand held one like hers. It would be way easier. He typed in his address and password and then 'inbox'. He only had two emails but his heart leapt when he saw one of them was from Kimiko. The small contents bar read 'For you and the guys'.

He clicked on it and bit his lip as it started to load. When it came up, he recognised the customisation typical of Kimiko with the black and pink alternate lettering saying it was from her at the top of the page and again at the bottom. It read:

From: Kimiko.

Hey Raimundo, Omi, Clay and co.

By now Omi should've explained that I had to come alone and I'm telling you now that nothing has changed and I don't want you turning up here uninvited! Papa has hit a hard spot and I'm here to help him out, but everything's going to be fine.

It's seriously boring and I'm here on my own, but I don't mind. I hope you guys are having fun without me. I can't wait to see what Shen-Gong-Wu you've collected by the time I get back (Raimundo thought "How long is she expecting to be gone?") and I expect return emails immediately! I hope you have fun kicking evil butt. I'll try to get back as soon as I can, I promise.

I think I'll have fun here while I can.

Luv Kimiko.

XXX

"Have fun while she can?" Thought Raimundo out loud, "What does she mean by that?"

Raimundo suddenly remembered the second email, but he didn't know the address. Who was 'Katonapp2020' exactly? He clicked on it and his insides turned as an image appeared on the screen.

"Have fun while she can?" Shouted Raimundo, anger burning inside of him, "I'd say that's what she's doing!"

He suddenly got to his feet and stormed off to tell the others. On his computer screen was the image of Jack and Kimiko holding each other next to the pond in Kimiko's garden with the words "Number one cutest couple" above it.

(A/N) It's getting somewhere now! Hope you're enjoying. Luv Becky.