Chapter IV

A/N: Hello! I realize that I haven't been able to update for many months now… It's a real challenge… I'm gonna be stuck in hell next week… It's our periodical exams. Freaks Out Anyways… here goes chapter IV.

Disclaimers: I don't own Xiaolin Showdown.

Replies:

Cute Peridot 816: ey there! Wow… thanks for the very 'malalim' comment…! Thanks for the comments and God Bless on the exams:)

DesiredStorm: Wow! A fellow Evanescence fan… :) thanks for the comments! Can't tell you how much I appreciate them. Hmmm… Ben looks like Rai… oh yeah! Good Point! But Rai's cuter. Hahaha! Joke… sorry I kinda kept all of you on this update… exams coming up and it's all so hectic… -sigh…- oh well! Thanks for the great review:D

Derry Babe: Wow! Thanks! Yap! They both like each other… :) sorta. But Kim, I guess, still needs to work on it. Haha! Yup, go Rai! Please review this chapter! Hehehe! Thanks so much for the sincere review.

Hyped up gurl: Yup! I love Rai/Kim. My favorite character… hmmm… I guess Rai and Kim too!

Catgurlfurreel: hmm! You'll see:) Most probably… yes! Sure I'll add a kissing scene! With who? Hehe! Please review this chapter!

TamerTerra: Thanks for the suggestion! Yup, I'll try. Please review this chapter! Thanks again.

Raimundo walked in complete silence as his best friend and Ben Ashmond strolled along the street. He sighed. How on earth was he supposed to socialize with someone he evidently didn't like? Well, his opinion of Ben Ashmond may have lightened up a little bit, but most of his biased attitude was still there.

He glanced quietly at Kimiko, who was having an energetic conversation with Ashmond. 'She seems serious about getting to know this guy,' Raimundo thought with disappointment. Still, he could find nothing wrong with the way this guy acted… yet he smelled something weird about this guy. He was doubtful of letting Kimiko go with him. He felt like a strict, old parent and he groaned. He didn't want to appear as a killjoy.

"Raimundo, what do you think?" Ben addressed him suddenly with his deep, manly voice.

"Um… sorry I wasn't quite listening… what were you suggesting?" Raimundo asked sheepishly, embarrassed that he failed to keep up with the conversation. Kimiko shot him a strange look, which somehow meant that he was humiliating her in front of her crush.

'Well, guess what Kim,' Raimundo thought scornfully, 'I sure don't approve of your crush just yet. I guess I have to wait for him to show his true colors. No way will he hurt Kimiko.' He vowed.

"We were just saying," Ben explained politely, "That we could go to a bar or something… you know, get a drink. That is, if you approve."

Raimundo frowned on the inside. Bars and clubs were only for people who did not know what to do in life, or for someone who wanted a drink. He didn't want Kimiko to come with him, of course.

Kimiko gave him a pleading look. "Come on, Rai, it will be so much fun. And Ben promised to take care of me. Come on, let's go, please? Just this once." Kimiko gave him the "puppy dog eye look".

Raimundo sighed. Who was he, a disgruntled, insecure parent who had a teenager, who wanted to go to a bar? Nevertheless…

"I guess…" Raimundo started. "…okay."

"Thanks, Rai! You're such a great sport." Kimiko said joyfully. She gave him a big smile, and deep inside Raimundo melted. He would do anything just to get that sweet smile from Kimiko.

Kimiko clasped Ben's arm and they strode into a bar already filled with so many people.

"Wow," Kimiko gasped. She had never been anywhere like that.

"Amazing, isn't it? For the first time, I mean." Ben said. "My uncle owns this place." He said, with a trace of modesty in his voice.

"It's great," Kimiko said. "What exactly do you do in here?" She glanced at Raimundo, who was looking around and eyeing everything with positive distinction.

"Well," Ben said shyly, "If you want… we can go someplace else after I buy you a drink… without Raimundo, perhaps? If you want a little privacy, that is." He said.

Kimiko hesitated for a second, giving what he said some thought. "Without Raimundo? But… what is he going to say when he finds out? He'll be really mad at me for ditching him. Plus, he'll think bad about you, too." Kimiko reasoned out.

"What he doesn't know won't hurt him," Ben pointed out, his acid green eyes flashing. "Don't you think he came with you in the first place just to spy on you and have a go on me if I hurt you or something?" He said suspiciously.

Kimiko hesitated again. She hadn't thought about that. Suddenly, she felt her temper rise. "You're right, Ben. He's been all so sensitive since I've gone to meet you." She agreed angrily.

"So what do you say? Come with me." Ben coaxed.

"Okay." Kimiko said and they excused themselves to Raimundo. Then quietly, they exited the small bar.

Raimundo narrowed his eyes at Kimiko and her companion suspiciously. Where on earth could they be going?

"Hey, dude, want a game of poker?" said a disheveled old man in tattered rags, who sat at a table nearby.

"No thank you." He said icily.

"Come on. You can do that while waiting for your friends." The old man croaked in a squeaky voice.

Raimundo sighed. "I don't gamble, mister. Find someone else, please." He said as politely as possible, remembering to control his temper.

The old man muttered something and turned away.

Raimundo breathed a sigh of relief. Now he could concentrate his efforts on Kimiko and Ben, when they came back.

A/N: Whew! That's the end of Chapter IV! Sorry it's kind of short… I'll make up for it next time:) Please review!