A young Brazilian boy woke up and made his way towards a certain best friend of his. His smile was genuine and his emerald orbs shone with much enthusiasm. The unexpected ambush against Jack Spicer, Wuya, and Hannibal Bean was the best thing that ever happened here in the Xiaolin temple; one battle had earned them the possession of all the Shen Gong Wu artifacts! Master Fung was certainly pleased; everyone celebrated that night.

Well, not everyone came to the gathering.

Unaware of his best friend's turmoil, he was determined to get her out of her room. Besides, who wanted to spend a birthday locked up in a room?

He checked his surroundings; he held shaving cream in one hand and silly string in the other. As he was ready to give her a traditional birthday prank, he found a small note lying idly on an empty mat.

His eyes widen once he read it aloud.

I am sorry. I cannot stay. Please, I have no choice.

Forgive me.

-Kimiko

Double Sighted

"Every new beginning comes from some other beginnings end."

1.

Twenty-eight-year old Kimiko Tohomiko had experienced the worse.

Work, fancy parties, meetings, speeches, and several cups of coffee---that was the basis of her life ever since she came back to it. Her popularity grew all across Japan. Success, unrevealed secrets, and her love life were the public's only interest. Everyone questioned her constantly about her disappearance and her sudden return to Japan fifteen years ago. Her father managed to silent the media for a while about it; she moved on from there leaving her tragic past behind.

She had to admit, her life now was much harder than before. Being a vice president in a prosperous family business was not easy.

Aside from the constant stress, having no time for herself, restless nights, and deadlines she had to deal with, there was another thing she must add to her 'to do' list---staying alive.

Here she was, lying in her bed again, as she listened to the paparazzi swarming outside her front door. Her angry uncle who wanted to conquer her father's business shot her during one of her conference meetings again. Several home doctors removed the bullet from her shoulder and left several hours ago. Police still could not track the culprit down; her father continued the meeting without her. She was stuck, at home, with the role of being the helpless rich daughter in distress.

Kimiko gritted her teeth; she hated her life.

Kimiko sighed as she reached for her silky robes and made her way to the bathroom. Mist surrounded the large white tiled room as she started to strip off her pajamas and soaked her worn out body right into a small hot tub. The pressure from the heat wooed her body gently; a sense of fatigue rushed within her.

Scatter pictures faltered into her dazed mind. Then a stench of blood reeked and blinded her sense of logic. Her heart was torn apart; the warmth that she once had was now gone all thanks to one battle. Numbness ran through her body as if it lost all sense of living. Kimiko just wanted to scream; she felt like she was losing control of her own body . . .

Wait, something was not right.

She shot up from the tub and was face to face with a feminine shadowy figure. The creature's eyes were blood shot crimson; her outfit was seductive and poised. She swirled a large flaming staff around her, mumbling some kind of chant. Kimiko wanted to run and call security. She felt weak; she felt the dark power slowly conquered her.

Suddenly a gush of strong wind crashed into the bathroom and distracted the creature. A mixture of debris and steam showered all around them; the creature growled at the outlined figure that was afloat in midair. The mysterious being charged directly at it, right after it managed to escape. Last minute, the gush of wind vanished.

Kimiko coughed as she sat up in the tub filled with cold water and floating rubble. Chills ran down her spine when she felt something warm weighted her down. As her gaze slowly averted downwards, the mysterious being suddenly regained his consciousness and met hers.

The drenched and flustered Brazilian monk slowly backed away from the furious and confused Asian girl. He spitted out some water, looked down, felt his face heated up, looked back up and slowly formed a weak smile, "Um, hi?"

"RAIMUNDO---"

Funny, that was just the beginning.