The day Raimundo became Shoku Leader was undoubtedly the most triumphant day of his life. From being a clown in the circus to leader of the Xiaolin monks, Raimundo had overcome so much to be where he was now. Becoming leader made the Dragon of Wind realize that his master saw true potential in him. His friends were exceedingly proud of him, removing his previous thoughts of them resenting him for obtaining this position. Even Omi showed him respect, despite the young Dragon of Water wanting to be leader most of all. Though Raimundo saw how happy his friends were for him, their smiling faces couldn't erase the burning guilt he felt inside over his past.

Shortly after Raimundo had been pronounced Shoku leader, the Xiaolin warriors were ambushed by the Heylin. Though there were many Heylin in number, Raimundo managed to lead his friends to victory. It was after this battle when the monks decided to throw a little party for their new leader. Clay was in charge of cooking the cake. Kimiko and Dojo set up the decorations.

Omi stood in the sidelines, ordering his friends about. "Put your hands into it! This is for Raimundo!"

Kimiko shot a glare at the small monk as she assisted Dojo with hanging a banner. "Backs into it, and who made you the party leader? I'm the one who came up with the idea, but you don't see me bossing everyone around."

"Besides, the bossing around is Raimundo's job now," Dojo added. "Speaking of which, where is he?"

"He's reading scrolls, remember? He wanted to continue with his studies so he could better himself as a leader."

Dojo chuckled. "Knowing that kid, I'll say he's probably playing video games instead."

"I don't know, Dojo. Rai seems pretty serious about wanting to be a good leader. I admire him for that," Kimiko said softly with a genuine smile as she pinned the top corner of the banner onto the wall.

The scaly dragon smirked knowingly. "I think you admire him for more than just that..."

"And what's THAT supposed to mean?!"

"It means you're..."

"Head over heels," Clay said as he strolled into the room, setting the cake in the middle of the table. "It's written all over your lil' face, Kim. You've got your heart set on Rai."

"WHAT?! As if I could fall for such a stubborn, empty headed, cocky..."

"Handsome Brazilian boy?" Dojo batted his eyes at Kimiko, clasping his paws together. He and Clay grinned at each other, then began snickering.

"I'LL SHOW YOU TWO!" Kimiko growled as her hands ignited hot, glowing flames.

"That is enough, Kimiko," Master Fung said sternly as he joined his students and dragon. "This is Raimundo's special day. Let us try to keep the peace. Kimiko, why don't you go fetch him?"

"Yes, Master," she mumbled before stomping out of the room.

A short time later, Kimiko peeked into the scroll room. Sure enough, she found her new leader sitting in front of the table. A few scrolls were laying in front of him, but only one looked as if it were read from. Kimiko bit her lower lip when she heard a sigh escape him. Was something troubling him? The girl cleared her throat, causing Raimundo to jump.

"O-Oh, Kim!" Raimundo straightened up in his seat, clearing his throat. "Uh, what's up?"

"Master Fung sent me to fetch you," she said as she stepped into the room, rubbing her arm. "Is...everything okay?"

"Yeah," Raimundo said as he began placing the scrolls back onto their proper shelves. "I'm just a lil' worn out, that's all."

The fire manipulator tilted her head. She had a look of uncertainty on her face. "Um, alrighty then." While part of her felt like something was on Raimundo's mind, Kimiko also didn't want to question him further. There was fun to be had, and she hoped he would be in a better mood.

The two made their way down the hall. Kimiko couldn't help but smile to herself knowing that she was leading him to a pleasant surprise. She felt that perhaps whatever was troubling him would leave his thoughts after spending some time with his friends.

As Raimundo was lead into the kitchen, the light was turned on. The others stood, grinning from ear to ear at their new leader. "Surprise!"

"What is all this?" Raimundo questioned, staring blankly at the food filled table.

"It's for you!" Kimiko exclaimed, standing on her tippy toes as she embraced him. "To celebrate you being our leader!"

"We couldn't exactly give ya a proper celebration when we were attacked," Clay stated, rubbing the back of his neck. "So we're givin' one to ya now. Hope ya like the cake. Took me a couple tries to get right."

"Guys, you didn't have to do this for me," Raimundo said as he sat at the head of the table.

"Of course we had to! We're proud of ya, kid," Dojo said as he pushed the cake towards him.

"Well, thanks, guys. I really don't know what to say."

"A 'thank you' would be most appreciated," Omi said, folding his arms.

"You don't deserve a 'thank you'!" Kimiko shouted. "You didn't even help!"

Master Fung cleared his throat, shooting Kimiko a look of annoyance. He then turned to Raimundo, resting a hand on his shoulder. "Your friends thought it necessary to celebrate your success. They care deeply for you."

Raimundo gulped at his master's words, then smiled slightly at his companions. "Thanks a lot, guys. You really are the best friends a guy could ask for."

"D'aww, co'mere, partner!" Clay said as he scooped Raimundo into his arms, giving him a bone crushing hug.

Kimiko giggled into her hands as she watched Raimundo gasp for air. "Rai just became leader, Clay. Don't go killing him, now."

"Huh?" Clay noticed Raimundo's eyes bulging out of his head. The cowboy smiled sheepishly as he gently sat his friend back in his seat. "Sorry 'bout that, buddy. Sometimes I don't know my own strength."

Raimundo coughed, clutching his chest. "No worries..."

The rest of the evening was spent eating cake and laughing over old memories. Yes, the party was going according to plan, except for one, small detail. The guest of honor was the only one not enjoying the festivities. Of course, he didn't want his friends to notice. Raimundo was a decent actor, and was able to pull off fake smiles and laughs. He had his friends convinced that this party was lifting his spirits.

"This is more fun than the welcome home party we had for Rai!" Dojo said as he shoved a piece of cake into his mouth.

"Yeah, after we totally whooped Wuya's butt," Kimiko giggled before sipping her tea. As she turned to Raimundo, she noticed his skin turning pale. Sweat was pouring down his face. "Rai? What's the matter?"

Raimundo cleared his throat. "I-I need air," he said before promptly leaving the room.

Kimiko turned to her friends with a look of concern. "Have any of you noticed that something's off about Rai?"

"He seems fine to me," Clay said after swallowing his piece of cake. "He was laughin' and havin' a good time like the rest of us."

"No, he doesn't seem like himself. I went to get him earlier, and the scrolls he had in front of him were untouched, save one. How could he sit there for hours without even touching a scroll? Something's troubling him."

"Oh Kimiko, we all know you harbor feelings for Raimundo," Omi said as he wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "Your concern over him proves it. You need not worry over your beloved. He is just fine."

Shrinking in his seat, Clay gulped as he gestured to his now fuming friend. "Uh, lil' buddy? I think you got her mad again..."

Kimiko's entire face was burning red. Her one sapphire eye twitched as steam shot out of her earholes. Before she could say a word, she was cut off.

"I sense that Kimiko may be right," Master Fung said. "Raimundo did not look well just before. Perhaps one of you should go check on him to see how he is. If he's not well, then we'll simply store the cake away for him to have later."

"I think Kimiko should go before we all get set on fire," Dojo whispered. The dragon shielded himself on Master Fung's shoulders. Better safe than sorry.

Letting out a long, exasperated sigh, Kimiko hopped out of her chair and sauntered out of the kitchen. The Dragon of Fire grumbled to herself as she made her way up the hall. "Stupid boys...stupid allegations...stupid..." Kimiko paused next to a window. Peering through it, she saw Raimundo sitting in the garden. His head buried in his hands.

Was he...crying?

Cautiously, Kimiko made her way toward Raimundo. She bit her bottom lip, trying not to make any noise as she approached him. Once she was close enough to him, Kimiko reached out and gently placed her pale hand on his back. This prompted Raimundo to jump.

"Do you have to keep scaring me like that?!" Raimundo shouted as he hastily wiped tears off his face. His moist eyes pierced at her at he glared.

"Sorry," she replied as she sat beside him on the stone bench. "I just wanted to check on you. You didn't seem like yourself earlier. In fact, you haven't seemed like yourself at all lately."

"So, you noticed, huh?" The Brazilian sighed as he turned his head away from her. "Figures. I guess I'm not as great at acting as I think I am..."

"Raimundo, what's wrong?" Kimiko asked as she rested a hand on his knee. "I know you. You're not troubled over things easily. Something serious is on your mind, and you can't keep it bottled up inside. Tell me what's up."

"You wouldn't understand," the Shoku leader grumbled as he twisted his entire body away from her.

Frustrated, Kimiko crossed her arms. "That's the most common and stupid excuse in the book. You don't know if I'll understand or not. It won't hurt to tell me. Besides, I'm not leaving this spot until you spill the beans."

"You wanna know why?!" Raimundo blurted out as he rose to his feet. "Fine! Ever since I was brought back from the Heylin side, I felt guilty over betraying you guys! I hurt all of you, the people I care most about! It's haunted me ever since! I can barely sleep at night sometimes! I have nightmares about Wuya luring me back to the Heylin, and making me hurt you again!"

The Shoku leader hunched over, gripping his spiky hair. "I can't understand why Master Fung chose me. I betrayed him. I betrayed all of you. I thought I wanted to be leader, but thinking back to all the stupid things I've done, I realized that I'm not leader material."

With a sigh, Raimundo flopped back down onto the stone bench. He hung his head, rubbing his neck. "I was thinking...of going to Master Fung and telling him all this. I was thinking of asking him to give the position to Omi. I know the lil' dude wants this more than any of us, and he's been training longer than I have. He doesn't easily give in to temptation like I do. I'm not fit for this, Kim."

Kimiko gaped at Raimundo in shock. The female monk was slowly taking in what he just admitted to her. "You can't possibly think that, Rai," she said after a few moments.

"I just told you what's on my mind. What else do you want?"

"I only want you to be happy," Kimiko said as she moved closer to him, taking his face into her petite hands. "I want you to listen to me right now, Raimundo. Yes, you hurt us when you joined Wuya on the Heylin side, but despite having the chance to rule the world with her and have anything you want, you chose us over her. You made a brave, mature decision. Since then, I've noticed that you've become smarter. You're growing up. I see it, and I bet Master Fung saw it too. That's why he chose you as leader. He saw how mature you are compared to the rest of us. Omi is still much too young to understand the world. I can be a bit of a hothead, and Clay's mind tends to focus on things unrelated to fighting, like food. You've gotten us out of trouble loads of times with that big, round head of yours." She poked Raimundo's forehead. "You've saved all our lives time and time again. If anyone's meant to be leader it's you, Rai. Only you."

"Kimi," Raimundo said as his frown softened. "You really mean all that?"

A small smile curled over her lips. "Absolutely."

"Your words really mean a lot, especially since they came from you." Now Raimundo found himself smiling. "I don't know how to thank you, Kim. I really needed to hear something like that."

"So you could have an ego boost?" Kimiko replied, smirking.

Raimundo chuckled. "Y'know what I mean."

"Right," she replied before planting a kiss on his nose. "Now, how about we head back inside? The guys are worried about you, and there's still cake leftover."

The Shoku leader's emerald eyes glanced to Kimiko's lips. His smile softened, and a hand drifted to one of hers. "They can wait a bit. I think I just found a way to thank you."

"What do you..."

Kimiko's eyes grew wide when she was cut off by Raimundo's lips touching hers. His hands gently held her arms as he held her close. She could feel her face burn up, and could hear all the thoughts that were rushing through her head. Shove him away. Don't shove him away. Punch him. Kiss him back.

While her mind couldn't come up with a decision, it seemed as though her body knew just what to do. Her eyes slowly fluttered shut, and her hands wandered to Raimundo's shoulders. As she leaned closer to him, Kimiko smiled against his lips.

Little did the pair suspect that their romantic moment was being witnessed. From a nearby window, Dojo and Clay watched as their friends smooched.

"Knew it," Dojo said with a confident smirk.

"It's like I said, lil' buddy. She's head over heels for him," Clay said as he crossed his arms, smiling at the pair. "It feels good ta be right."

"We better skedaddle before they catch on."

"Good idea. We'll act like we saw nothin'."

"Then torture 'em about it tomorrow?"

"Sounds good ta me."

Shortly after Dojo and Clay left the scene, Raimundo and Kimiko pulled apart from their kiss. They exchanged awkward smiles as the moon shone down on them.

"That was...uh...really something," Raimundo said, rubbing his neck. "It...uh...helped get me out of my sad mood."

"Yeah," Kimiko agreed, rubbing her arm.

"...I knew you liked me."

With a growl, Kimiko punched Raimundo's arm. "Don't push it, wind boy!"

Raimundo grunted from the punch. It was so like her to be affectionate one moment, then abuse him the next. "So...are we gonna tell the others?" He said, rubbing his arm.

"...Not yet."

"Why? Are you afraid of them being right over you liking me?"

"Would you like me to make sushi out of you?"

"I'll take that as a yes."