-Chapter III-

Disclaimers: I don't own Xiaolin Showdown.

A/N: Hey there again! Thanks for the reviews! Sorry I can't really update much, but I'm doing whatever I can for this story so that I can update quickly. I'm in an internet/gaming place now so I decided, why not update? So… here are the answers for reviews…

Katana-Babe: hehe! Well… Yeah, I'm also on Raimundo's side! Yeah:) Kimiko should really watch out for that guy… I dunno, if I was in her place, I would probably think first before meeting him… You can't really trust too many people these days… but I'm not saying Kimiko's like, stupid… she's not! Anyways, not saying anymore there… :D Thanks for the nice review!

Tamer Terra: Thanks for adding me to your author alert! I'll read your stories too… you have Teen Titans fics too right:D Hope you'll like the next chapter!

Derry Babe: Thanks! Glad you liked it. Yeah, go Rai!

DesiredStorm: That's okay! At least you let me know what you think of this fic! That's what counts, right? Sure, it's okay if you add me to your faves! checks out profile hey cool, you like Evanescence too? Wow:D! They rock! Hehe :) I'll review your stories too… :) Thanks for the great review!

Hyped up girl and Cute Peridot: Hello! Yup, here's the update! Thanks so much for the reviews!

"Oh my gosh! I CAN'T BELIEVE IT!" cane a shriek from below. Raimundo quickly adjusted and sat up on his bed. He turned to face the door as his best friend, Kimiko, burst through his bed room door.

"And what happened to the rule about knocking before entering?" he asked ironically.

Kimiko ignored his comment, obviously in a daze. "I just can't believe it, Rai! He asked me! He asked me!"

"Asked you… what?" Raimundo asked, really clueless of what was going on.

"He asked me to his school dance, of course!" she said quickly.

Raimundo rolled his eyes and faked a smile. "A dance?" he said insensitively. "Dances are boring."

"They're not," Kimiko argued. "They're fun! And can you believe, he asked me! Me, of all people!"

Raimundo rolled his eyes again. He just never understood why girls went "gaga" over guys they liked. 'It's just so extreme, their reactions when they like a guy. And when the guy asks them out, you wouldn't want to talk about it.' He just never understood the way girls thought, even if he had a girl as his best friend.

"Okay, okay… his school?" Raimundo asked.

"Yeah… duh it's a school dance…" Kimiko said sarcastically, acting like he was really dense.

Raimundo bit his lip to keep his rage down. She was acting really insensitive, just because she liked a stupid guy. 'Sheesh, if this is how girls are like when they like someone, forget it!' he thought angrily.

But Kimiko had forgotten her supposed sarcasm and was in another daydream. Her face was lit up, and her cheeks were a bright shade of pink. She looked really pretty and shy. It was just now that he noticed how pretty Kimiko was, and his anger slowly faded away. His heart gave a little twinge, composed of an unknown feeling and one of guilt. He felt guilty because he knew that Kimiko liked another guy, and felt sorry for himself that he was slowly losing his best friend to someone else.

The unknown feeling was something he had never felt before… strangely, his heart was pounding quickly and he could scarcely breathe. As Kimiko stared into space, he was staring at her, aware that his face was already a warm shade of red.

'Come out of it, Raimundo! She's way out of your league! She likes someone else, remember?' He reminded himself. He felt resentment resurfacing again. The 'almond' was constantly getting on his nerves now. He seemed so perfect; so innocent and sweet. He knew that deep down, it was just a façade and it was too bad that Kimiko felt something for Ben. 'What's with him anyway? He just met Kimiko and now he's asking her to a dance! This is becoming really fishy…' As much as Raimundo wanted to get to the bottom of this, he couldn't because he had never met Ben.

"Hey, Kim? Can you do me a favor?"

Kimiko snapped out of he daze and said, "what kind of favor?"

"This may sound so sudden, but… can you let me meet this guy you're really crazy about?"

Kimiko's spirits lightened up. Finally he was starting to get her point, that he was finally meeting someone before judging this person. She felt that Raimundo's bad habit ever since had been that he judged people too quickly, and she was determined to correct him.

"Sure Rai! Why not… You two could become really good friends!" she exclaimed, and hugged Raimundo, not noticing the bright red patches on his cheeks.

Ben Ashmond trudged quietly on the sidewalk, rain dripping from his hood. The weather wasn't really bright and sunny that day. He wondered why Kimiko wanted to meet him today, with the heavy downpour. But he wasn't complaining.

He sighed. He really felt guilty. There was something he didn't tell Kimiko, and he knew that she would be completely angry with him once he told her. But she didn't understand. He was doing this for a really good reason…

Finally he saw her shadow in the rain. She was with a friend of hers, a boy. At first he hesitated. 'Is he… Is he her boyfriend?' He felt a sense of dread. But he thought it over. He couldn't be her boyfriend, because when he asked Kimiko to the dance, she immediately said yes. She couldn't have a boyfriend, unless she was cheating on him. But Kimiko wasn't the type to cheat anyone. He was relieved as he thought it over logically.

"Hey, Ben!" she called from the heavy downpour. "It's been raining cats and dogs all morning!" she said, beaming.

"Yeah! You bet!" he answered just as easily. He studied Kimiko's friend. He had sandy brown hair, dark eyebrows and eyes. "This is Raimundo, by the way. Rai, meet Ben." The guy's frown turned into a small smile. Ben couldn't tell if he was faking it or forcing it.

"Nice to meet you," he grunted, extending his hand.

"Nice to meet you too," Ben answered cheerfully. But he made a mental note that he had better watch out for this guy.

But he couldn't help asking. "Um, Kim, are you two…?"

Kimiko turned red. "In a relationship? No, we're not!" she said defensively.

Ben breathed a sigh of relief. "Just wanted you to meet a friend of mine." She said quickly. She flashed him a sweet smile.

"So, what do you plan to do in this rain?" he asked, grinning. 'Who knows, maybe I can get along really well with this guy,' he thought. He just didn't know that his thoughts just echoed Raimundo's.

A/N: Okay, that's the end of this chapter… sorry it's really short! I'll update soon, I promise. Any comments, suggestions, violent reactions, or questions? Please leave a review! Thanks so much.