Dashi had been out speaking with Gaun about going on the trip. He would have taken another one of the boys, but he felt that two of them were not ready for this. The other, well, he wanted to see if the boy could take care of himself without the Master Dragon, Gaun or Dojo interfering with the mess that the other two boys seemed to get themselves into.

Gaun was following close behind him and noticed that they were heading back to the house to pack up for the short trip that they were going to be taking. There wouldn't be much that they would need to take with them. Gaun was the first to speak up. "Master Dashi…"

"Yes young Dragon?" the man smiled at the young man.

"What about the young Dragon that will be joining our ranks?" the young monk said.

"Perhaps will be joining our ranks," Master Dashi stated. "It completely depends on how well this one fits in with the others… and whether or not the three are making the one feel uncomfortable because he is new… much like how Ching felt."

"His name isn't Ching," Gaun commented.

"I know… I gave the boy his name," the man said.

"His name is not of Chinese origin Master Dashi," the other boy retorted, a snort coming out.

"No… but it fits him well," Master Dashi commented. "You are a Dragon of Earth… you excel at Earth based powers… what power do you think the young one joining us will have?"

"None… I mean, it is someone coming to us, not you going to them Master Dashi… plus, there is that matter," Gaun commented, thinking about something. "I've always wondered why you happened to have chosen that child to join us… he's different."

"You mean the one we were talking about name wise?" Dashi looked at Gaun, raising an eyebrow. "Do you have a problem with the fact that someone who is slightly younger then you and smaller then you is surpassing you beyond what you dreamed possible."

"No… I care for him like a brother… but it is that fact that is a major problem," Gaun whispered. "How you found him, I can't tell."

"No… and you couldn't tell how I found the other two," Master Dashi replied as they came to the place they were staying.

"I don't get the point that Gaun was trying to make," Dojo grumbled, frowning at Master Dashi.

"Dojo… what would you think of me replacing you because you breathe fire just like all other dragons, but I found a dragon that could breathe ice?" Master Dashi commented.

"That makes no sense at all," the green snake dragon said.

"No… but it might eventually. Each of my Dragon's is unique," Master Dashi then called out in a loud voice. "Young Dragons! Come forth so that I can see you!"

It was then that there was the sound of breaking of glass from inside the household. Dojo rolled his eyes. "Leave it to them to break the breakfast dishes."

"Leave it to the actual dragon to play games and make us vary from our tasks," Gaun commented. This caused Dashi to raise an eyebrow at the two. Gaun didn't act like anything was going on, but Dojo gulped. He had thought that what had happened the night before hadn't been found out by the Grand Master Dragon.

However, he became distracted by three boys hurrying through the doorway. The stood from tallest to shortest in a straight line. Dashi looked at them carefully. "Gaun, Dojo and I are going to take a trip to look for material to make more Shen Gong Wu. We are leaving you three to behave yourselves."

Dashi watched as the two older boys chuckled to themselves and gave the younger one an odd look. The boy gulped, biting back whatever he was feeling and looked straight at the ground. It couldn't be told whether he was more upset about not going or the fact that he was going to be left with a certain two.

"I have other news… you'll be gaining a new apprentice to your ranks," Dashi commented. He watched as their eyes looked at him in surprise. The youngest suddenly spoke up.

"Will he be older or younger?" the boy asked a hopeful look in his eyes.

"I don't know… a nice old woman in the village said that the boy could use us for some reason of another. I choose not to ask and don't mind helping another out. That is the Xiaolin way, is it not?"

"Yeah… but we have enough room taken up with dumb old Ching," the first boy said.

Dashi cleared his throat. "I will hear no more of calling him Ching nor will I hear anymore about picking on him, is that clear. We will grab a few things then be gone from here. And if Chase tells me that you have been calling him anything but his real name, I will have something to say about that.

"Yes Master Dashi," the three boys said in unison. When Dashi, Gaun and Dojo had gone into the house, the other two boys stepped on the feet of the youngest, causing him to yelp and fall to the ground.

M

Kimiko followed after the old woman, not happy about her situation. Not only was she dressed as a boy, but she was also missing her blue sash. This she knew was because her rank was not known and she would have to pretend to be not only male, but also a newbie to the whole Xiaolin concept. She hoped that she would not have to have any showdown.

The old woman came to the house and they both could hear from within a scuffling of the boys in there. The old woman shook her head. "These boys are in no way behaved… hello!"

At that, the three boys hurried out of the household and stood in line. Tao bowed to the woman and the other two followed suit. "Hello grandmother."

"At least your polite," the old woman said. "This is Lian-Li. He is the apprentice that the Master Monk was supposed to tell you about."

"Master Dragon…" Doan started, only to be elbowed in the ribs by both Tao and the younger boy.

"He is welcome to our ranks grandmother," Tao commented.

"Just be sure he gets a place to sleep on his own…" the old woman commented. "He is not very happy about people being near him."

Kimiko frowned at the boys to emphasize the point that she wished to be left alone. She also hid behind the old lady, causing the older two boys to frown at her. The old woman bowed to them. "If you need any mending, you know where I live."

When the woman was out of ear shot, Kimiko saw the older two boys glare at her. The younger of the three showed no emotion. Finally the boy who had spoke up first spoke up again. "I am Tao, this is Doan and this… this is Ching."

"My…" the boy started, only to have Doan to cover his mouth.

"Your name is Ching," the older boy said, only to receive venom from the younger one.

"Here's the thing… we already have four apprentices. The first is the one that went with Master Dashi. Then comes me, then Doan, then Ching… then you."

"Why does he have a blue sash and you two and I don't?" Kimiko asked.

"Look Lian-Li… alright, it goes the one that went with Dashi, myself, Doan, you then Ching," the boy said. Kimiko watched as the youngest boy continued to glare as Doan covered his mouth. Obviously the older two liked to pick on him.

"But basically, don't get in our way," Doan said, nodding to the other boy. "Tao and I are busy with our training.

"We have permission to do something embarrassing to you if you mess up." Tao said, though he was looking more specifically at the boy that they called Ching. This caused the younger boy to pale. "I'll leave you two to talk to each other."

The two boys went into the house and Kimiko bowed to the younger boy. "Hello Ching."

"M…" the younger boy stopped when he heard a coughing sound from inside the household. "It is nice to meet you Lian-Li."

He then disappeared into the house and brought out a round object. It was a ball created from leather. "Dojo isn't around… and he plays with me the most."

Kimiko looked him in the face, or tried to. The boy was holding the ball out and had his head bowed, showing humility. It reminded her of Omi. "So… what makes them so special."

"They… Gaun is the Dragon of Earth, Tao is the Dragon of Wind, Doan is the Dragon of Water…" the boy said.

"That would make you the Dragon of Fire, right?" Kimiko said.

"No…" the boy said, not looking her in the face.

"But it would only make sense, the four elements…" Kimiko said.

"Master Dashi has not told me what Dragon element I am… but I do know it is not the missing element," the boy said. "Those two never let it live down that my element has not been declared…"

"But without the forth element…" Kimiko started.

"Look Lian-Li, does it look like there is balance here? Those two are full of themselves," the boy said. He then repeated his action and spoke again. "Please play with me… otherwise I have to deal with those two…"

"What exactly do you want to play?" Kimiko bent her head to the side. Football, or soccer as American's called it didn't exist back in this time.

"You just kick the ball between us…" the boy said. "Please?"

Kimiko shrugged her shoulders. "Yes, well… alright I guess."