Me: Hey guys and gals! It's me! Now, this chapter doesn't have that much action, its pretty much just family oriented but i promise you, the action will be back, but for now, lets enjoy some good old fluff curtesy of the Queen.
Cari: Queen? Seriously?
Me: Well, yeah! I'm the Queen of my own world!
Cari: Right, right.
Me: Alrighty, enjoy the show!
Raimundo and Kimiko landed on the grassy slopes of Brazil and quickly jumped out of the Silver Manta Ray before it shrunk to its original size. Rai took a deep breath of fresh air while Kimiko marveled at the beauty of it all. Even though they had traveled all across the globe, there was something to be said about returning to your home. As they started walking downhill, a group of children came running up to them. Rai held his arms out for a group hug, but got more than he expected when the children all tackled him to the ground. Kimiko laughed as Rai playfully wrestled with them all. Finally, Rai let them overtake him and all eight of the children sat on top of him.
"Having fun?" Kimiko teased.
"Yup!" Rai grinned at her.
"So are you guys planning on getting off of me anytime soon?" he inquired. One of the children spoke up.
"Magic word." she said, crossing her arms stubbornly.
"Please?" Rai asked hopefully.
"No!" they all said.
"Ummm, I'll buy you guys chocolate?" he tried again, with better results. They cheered as they clambered off of him. Suddenly, Kim felt a small tug on her shirt. She looked down to see a little girl who looked to be about 6 years old.
"Yes?" Kim smiled down at her.
"Who are you?" the little girl asked.
"My name's Kimiko. What's your name?"
"I'm Luciana Pedrosa. How do you know my big brother?" Luciana stared up at her with, Kimiko noticed, the same green eyes as Raimundo's.
"Well...." Kimiko trailed off, not sure if Lucia would understand the word fiancee very well. Rai saved the day by going to her and circling his arm around her waist.
"Me and Kimiko are getting married." at his words the rest of the children crowded around them. And then the barrage of questions began.
"You're getting married?! When?"
"Are you gonna wear a pretty white dress?"
"Can I come?"
"Is there gonna be cake?"
"We didn't know you were gonna get married!"
Suddenly, a sharp whistle quieted the children down. The eldest one in the group, who looked to be about 12 years old, shook his head in exasperation.
"Mami already told us that Rai was getting married, remember?" he asked.
"Ohhh!" told Rai and Kim that the children did in fact remember.
"Speaking of, where is mom?" Rai asked.
"Mommy's been cooking since really early, 'cause she knew you was coming home." one of the boys answered.
"Ahh, mom's cooking. I miss it so much." Rai looked fondly towards the sky. Rai snapped back to reality to realize that he hadn't introduced Kim to his siblings.
"Line up!" he yelled. They immediatley lined up from tallest to shortest, Lucia being at the end of the line.
"Roll call!"
"Luciana!"
"Cassia!"
"Alex!"
"Maria!"
"Mario!"
"Juanetta!"
"Diego!"
"Miguel!"
"Pleased to meet you!" they finished with a bow. Kimiko looked incredulously at Rai.
"I taught them that." he said proudly. After a second of silence, Kimiko burst into laughter. The children, unable to resist a good laugh, joined in. Rai grinned and started to usher everyone down the hill.
"Come on, guys. I'm hungry and I smell chicken." he said. Kimiko followed them when a small hand grabbed hold of hers. Luciana smiled sweetly up at Kimiko, her eyes sparkling in the sun. Kimiko instantly fell in love with the charming little girl. On an impulse, she picked up Luciana and hugged her tight, Lucia giggling the whole time. Rai happened to glance over his shoulder at that moment and what he saw made his heart swell with pride for his soon-to-be bride.
"Hey Rai! Race ya!" Miguel, Diego, and Juanetta yelled. Rai's eyes glinted at the thought of a competition.
"You're on! Ready, set, GO!" off they shot, throwing playful insults to each other the entire way there. Kimiko rolled her eyes and smiled. As she and the other kids walked into town Mario and Maria, who were twins, spoke up.
"Can we call you big sister?" they said in unison. Kimiko was taken aback, but quickly recovered.
"Sure! You can call me what ever you want." she answered.
"So I can call you Kimi?" Cassia asked timidly.
"Of course!"
"What does Rai call you?" Alex asked.
"Well, sometimes he calls me bella."
"I'm gonna call you bonita." Luciana said unexpectedly.
"Bonita? What does that mean?" Kimi/big sister/bella/bonita asked.
"It means pretty. Just like bella means beautiful." Alex clarified for her. Kimiko blushed as Luciana latched her arms around her neck.
Once they managed to reach the outskirts of the town, Kimiko finally spotted Rai again. He, Juanetta, Miguel, and Diego were catching their breath on the porch of what Kimiko guessed was Rai's home. She saw the door opening and a matronly figure stepped out. This woman was on the plump side, with auburn hair and kind brown eyes. When Kimiko finally reached the porch, she saw this woman sweep Rai into a tight hug. Kimiko took this time to gently set Luciana down on the steps. When Rai was released from the hug, he turned to Kimiko and smiled.
"Mama, this is Kimiko Tohomiko, my fiancee." Rai reached for her hand as Kimiko finished mounting the stairs. For a split second, Kimiko worried that his mother would reject her, not see her fit to marry her son, but she needn't have worried.
Aliane Pedrosa grabbed Kimiko's free hand and put it to her cheek. Then she said the few words that ultimatly put Kimiko at ease.
"Welcome home, my dear."
Me: I absolutley love Brazilian names, they are just so pretty! Luciana is my absolute favorite. So yeah, a little fluff, a little sweetness, and a whole lotta love equals a super awesome chapter! review please!
