Disclaimer: I don't own Beyblade or any of its characters, merchandise, TV rights, ect… (I think you get the point.)

Summery

ONE SHOT – It's true what they say: Time dose change everyone.

Like all of my work this is just something that happened to float through the empty void inside my head. Like it or hate it please R and R as honest opinions are always welcomed, as are random acts of worship.

"Persons attempting to find a motive in this narrative will be prosecuted; persons attempting to find a moral in it will be banished and persons attempting to find a plot in it will be shot."

Lamb: As always sorry for any bad spelling and if you feel the need to throw things at me please wait until I've hidden behind the sofa kay!

Dedi: This fic is dedicated to Iluvbeyblade

Muse: On with the fic!

I tried to read between the lines,
I tried to look in your eyes,
I want a simple explanation,
For what I'm feeling inside,
I gotta find a way out,
Maybe there's a way out,

Years On

Twenty-two-year-old Kai Hiwatari stormed angrily down the street, the glories of the gorgeous summer afternoon completely lost on him so absorbed was he in his current bad mood. The day really had gone from bad to worse. In town for a leg of the national tournament which was the proving ground for those fighting for a place in the next world championships, not that he needed to do so since as defending champion he had qualified automatically. But it had been thought by the BBA that it would send the right message if he was seen competing, and that in its self he didn't mind. It was always good to keep a close eye on the competition, especially as he intended to hold onto his title, and though he would never admit it he liked travailing with the rest of GRevolution.

The sound of twittering voices caught his attention and Kai looked up in time to spot a pack of fan-girls standing in front of an electronic store. Just his luck that the T.V. in the front window happened to be showing highlights of the latest from the tournament and his face was flashing across the screen. Before he could be spotted he quickly darted up a side street intending on putting as much space between himself and the groupies as he could.

The guys were fine, he thought privately, you could tell them to fuck off and they pretty much got the message and if not you could always give them a swift right hook as long as there were no cameras in the visitant. But the girls... Kai suppressed a shudder, who ever it was who had said, that the female of the species was more deadly than the male, had really been onto something. He wasn't scared of anything but at times the looks in those girls eyes, made him think that if they had there way gang rape might well feature in his future.

Grumpily he kick out at a rock that had done other than happen to lie in his path. There had been a group of them camped out in front of his hotel, making it almost impossible for anyone to get in or out. He, in the end had resulted in climbing out of his hotel room window and making a brake for it, remembering to stay clear of the encampment around the front. That had been this morning, he had spent two rather pleasant hours working out at a gym smart enough to put security on its front doors. From there he had headed to the stadium where this leg of the competition was taking place, only to be mobbed before he got within a mile of the place.

He'd gutted it out for as long as he could, since he wasn't competing today there was little for him to do except watch those who were and try and avoid the legions of rampaging female fans, until at last he had bolted. As he walked, Kai decided that the thing that really got to him was that in order to avoid the star struck hormone-ridden fangirls he also had to avoid the rest of his fan base. The ones who really loved blading rather then those who simply crushed on the bladers and didn't give a damn for the sport its self.

Checking the coast was clear and free of any stray lurking fangirl he swiftly crossed the road and made his way into a small park. From his memory came floating the scene he had witnessed just two days before hand and which had added to his current bad mood. As there so often were, there were fans crowded to the barriers that kept clear the path the bladers would take into the stadium all laughing and smiling, camera flashes going off everywhere. Bladers were walking down the sides chatting with fans and signing autographs. There had been a boy, no older than eight leaning over the barrier, a blade in his hand and a baseball cap the same as Tyson's on his head. But the moment Kai had moved towards him, the boy had been roughly pushed aside by a screaming group of girls.

Snorting in disgust at the recollection Kai dropped down onto an empty bench, he had immediately marched into the stadium without giving the girls a backward glance. Whoops and cries of delight snapped him back to reality and he quickly glanced around, fearful less the mob had found him once again. But the noise was coming from a small group of kids, six in total, who were gathered just to one side of a large oak tree. It was obvious from the way they were spread out that they were blading. As he watched one girl with long tawny hair crouched down and seemed to being offering words of engorgement to her spinning beyblade.

Then with a squeal of joy she leapt to her feet, clearly having managed to knock her opponents' blade out of the dish. He watched as another battle came to an end and then how the children switch places so that two new battles could take place. Over all this a young woman with bright azure hair streaked with silver watched and it struck Kai that there was something oddly familiar about her. She was closely watching the battle going on between the finale pair, a girl and a boy neither of who showed any sign of backing down.

Suddenly almost as if she could sense his gaze upon her the young woman turned her eyes fixing on his face, meeting his gaze and holding it. A slow, almost feline, smile crossed her face, and again Kai felt that he knew her from somewhere but simply could not remember where from. He likened it to trying to do a puzzle with out having a picture to work with; you had all the pieces but just didn't know what way to put them together. With an unhurried step she made her way towards him, raising her arm to shield her eyes from the sun as she approached the mass of azure rippling around her head.

Pale blue jeans held snug to long legs and the tails of her short sleeved white shirt were tied together revealing the honey gold skin of her abdomen. A small jewelled butterfly flashed in her navel, catching the light as she moved. At a guess he would have put her at around 5' 3" in the scruffy trainers she wore. As she came to a halt in front of him her smile almost split her face in two and her vivid blue eyes danced with happiness. Whoever she was, Kai had to admit she was kinda cute.

"Hey Kai." Her voice was familiar too and he pushed himself to his feet looking down at her intently. Quickly he re-evaluated her height to more like five-foot tops, a good fourteen inches shorter then himself, and could think of no one that he knew who even slightly resembled her.

"You don't remember me do you?" Laughter filled her voice and all Kai could do was shake his head in reply. "Well how about now?"

With that she spun on the spot sending the azure strands bouncing round her head, and when she faced him again her hands were placed heel to heel and cupping her chin. Her fingers were slightly curved towards her palms but were pressed to her cheeks. Large eyes sparkled as she smiled coyly up at him. Pictures moved in his mind and from his memory came the image of a younger girl pulling the same pose while crowds clamoured and screamed.

"Ming-Ming?" Kai almost whispered in shocked disbelief.

He was unable to comprehend how this girl, no he corrected himself woman, not girl, and his mental calculator kicked in she was two years his junior which would make her twenty. How was it that after she practically disappeared into thin air after the end of Boris and BEGA she could suddenly waltz back into his life and out of the whole world here and now?

"The one and only." Ming-Ming said laughter still evident in her voice at his slightly shell-shocked expression.

He had changed she thought, in five years it was only natural but seeing him the flesh was different than seeing him on a T.V. screen, and the changes though subtle were more noticeable. There was a slight broadening of his shoulders, but from what she could see of the rest of him he was still just as toned as ever he was. His whole body with lithe and sinewy, well muscled without being ridiculously well built. And still here and there on his face faint silvery scares, the mementoes of an epic battle now five years past.

"They're blue." It wasn't the most intelligent thing to say but her eyes where holding his attention.

They held a curtain self-assured looked that only a handful of females ever directed at him and every one of them was a pro blader. But it was not only her eyes that had changed, though she had had no growth spurt she had definitely filled out. Her body now sported curves in all the right places and while she was in no way fat she did not resemble one of the stick insects that were on the cover of every magazine. Even her face had lost the hard lines it had once held, to be replaced by soft cheeks and a dimple in her chin when she smiled.

"What? Oh, yeah. I wore coloured contacts they said that it looked better otherwise I was too blue." She shot him another of her brilliant smiles and like a child reached out and tugged on the white scarf that was rapped around his neck. He had been so intent on out running his ever-faithful stalkers that he hadn't changed into casual clothes and still wore the dark baggy pants, tank like top and sleeveless jacket he competed in, as well as his ever-present scarf.

"But what have you been doing? You just seemed to disappear." A faraway looked crossed her face as a half smile touched her lips and for a moment she seemed to be looking at something that he could not see. Her hand dropped from his scarf and instead went to rest over her right jeans pocket, in which he could cleanly make out the shape of a beyblade.

"Yes I did, didn't I?" The tone of her voice was soft and happy but with an almost wistful lilt to it, which vanished as soon as her attention returned to him. "Unlike you, oh great and mighty Kai. Who finally achieved his ultimate goal of defeating Tyson Granger on the greatest stage of them all and is now known as the best blader in the world."

"For now at least," He said, raising an eyebrow at her account of his achievements. "But with the next world championships he'll come looking to reclaim his title. Along with many others all of whom will all fight to take that title from me."

"It's so strange, but when you're on the outside you can see our sport for what it really is, just a fight. Cus even when you win, you still have to keep fighting otherwise you lose everything." The thought seemed to amuse her deeply for she laughed her eyes dancing and that too was different. No longer was it the twittering giggles that had been such a fixture of her pop star persona, but a low deep chuckle the came from the back of her throat.

"Perhaps that's why I love it so much. That fight, the adrenaline, the power… but you didn't say what you've been up to all this time or why you even left to start with?" He directed a probing look at her and noted with interest that a slight blush was tinting her cheeks, it made her look… well, if he was honest, pretty.

"I guess I was board with it all…" Her words trailed off under his disbelieving gaze, her blush intensifying and for a moment she didn't seem to know what to say. "That is I was board with all the fame and publicity, especially with being promoted as a sugar sweet pop star princess. And then with the down fall of BEGA and Balkov's arrest… well lets just say the attention that came my way wasn't all that great. I just wanted out. So I did a midnight flit and -"

She broke off as the sound of an altercation braking out down by the tree under which she had recently stood caused her to whip round her eyes fixed on the group she had been supervising not five minutes before hand. A girl of around ten was mouthing off to a boy of around the same age, her dramatic violet hair flying madly round her head as she gestured wildly. The boy, who's Forest green hair was stuck up somewhat making him look like a startled hedgehog, yelled back just as vehemently waving a hand in the general direction of Kai and Ming-Ming.

"Oh brother," Ming-Ming groaned, and swiftly moved towards the small group only to suddenly become aware that Kai was at her side. Reaching the circle that had formed around the two protagonists the bluenette turned to him once more. "So I decided to teach kids how to blade, though sometimes I wonder why."

At her words silence descend and the pair who had been at the centre of the dispute shuffled their feet determinedly looking anywhere but at Ming-Ming who was now standing with her hands on her hips, and exasperated expression clouding her features. It was such a comical tableau that Kai could not help but chuckle and for the first time the group took notice to the stranger in their midst. Half a dozen pairs of eyes stared up at him, adoration showing clearly on six young faces. Hero-worship at its very best.

"You're… you're Kai Hiwatari aren't you?" One child said in awe as she watched him with bright golden eyes. It was the tawny haired girl who he had first seen crouching down to encourage her blade. "You're the World Champion."

Six faces dared Kai to deny it, and from the corner of his eye he caught sight of Ming-Ming shaking with suppressed laughter. "Yes. Yes, I am."

The uproar was immediate as six voices broke into load competing speech. Like a flock of chattering starlings, the noise was deafening as each child try to out shout the rest of the group.

"Wow! You're my favourite blader ever."

"Dranzer is the coolest bitbeast ever!"

"I'm going to be world champ on day."

"He isn't as cool as my Tamianth!"

"Please will you show us some of you're moves?"

"Oh not that again! You don't have a bitbeast!"

"I always knew you were better than Tyson."

"I do too, she's a golden lion and you'll never be world champ cus you'll never beat us!"

"You're good but you're not as good as our Minmin though!" (That one had the young woman in question almost doubled over with laughter.)

"Yeah will you blade with us, please!"

"Oh please?"

"Minmin! Ask him please!"

"Yeah please."

"Go on."

"Please will you?"

"Please say you will Kai?"

"Please?"

On and on they begged while Ming-Ming simply stood shaking her head at their behaviour. Kai however had been restored to good humour; the dark mood that had been dogging his steps had lifted in the face of such adoration, not just of him but of the spot that he loved as so obviously these six youngsters did also. And maybe that's what had been wrong with him, he had been getting too caught up in all the hype and fame that he had been forgetting that most important thing, the reason he had started blading to begin with, he loved it.

He could still remember that first wondrous time he had launched a blade, back before there had been his grandfather, the Abbey and all the other problems that were to descend on him. Back before he had even cared about wining, when there had been that first warm tentative flicker of Dranzer's consciousness mingling with his own. In that moment he had known that it was all he ever wanted to do, not for the power or fame it would give him, but simply because it felt so right.

"OK enough!" Ming-Ming's words broke though his musings as well as the chatter and all around her young voices mumbled into silence. "Look I'm sure Kai is really busy, there is a tournament going on you know. And I expect he's got better things to do than show off to a pack of brats like you lot."

There was deep affection in her tone which took away what ever sting there might have been to her words and Kai realised that she was also offering him a way out if he needed it. Bringing up the subject of the tournament so he could walk away without appearing cold to those who clearly idolised him. But her silent offer was unneeded for at that moment he could think of nothing he would rather do than help instruct the future generation of bladers.

"Actually I have nothing really to do, and what there is can easily wait." The clamour instantly struck up once more and yelps and squeals of delight filled the balmy afternoon air. Six blades and launchers, all of different sizes, shapes and colours were produced and excited voices begged their hero to tell what he thought of each.

"Thank-you." Ming-Ming said, leaning closer so that she could be heard over the hubbub without having to raise her voice. "You've made their day and quite possibly their year."

"My pleasure." He responded truthfully, smiling down at her as her eyes danced and she beamed at her group of delighted and exuberant kids as they bounced around the pair of them.

XXXXXXXXXX

Ming-Ming stretched out on the patch of grass she was sitting on, shifting slightly as she rested against the tree trunk. She was in the perfect poisons to see the shallow bright blue beydish; it was a simple affair only about five-foot across, made of toughened reinforced plastic as were the majority of all practice dishes. One by one she watched as every member of her 'Brat Pack' as she called them took on their idol only to have their blades sent flying.

It was plain for Ming-Ming to see that Kai was only blading with about a quarter of his usual power, if that, but it meant that the kids actually got a chance to show off their skills. She thought it was strange, she could picture Max or Rei acting in such a way, maybe even Tyson, but she had always assumed that Kai would knock out a lesser blade without a second thought. But yet here he was humouring her kids, cheering them on when they managed to score a hit on Dranzer's blade. And he was smiling.

Kai never smiled; at least she had never seen him smile. When he was competing he always looked so focused, as if he was determined to win on will power alone. With the win would come a smirk, but it was an expression of grim satisfaction and also made him look slightly sinister, or insane, Ming-Ming had never really been able to make up her mind. When he was outside of the arena, he always seemed cold and distant, almost as if he were wearing a mask. True the only time she had seen much of him when he wasn't blading was when he was trying to win a place on the BEGA team, and during that time none of them had really had much to smile about.

But he was smiling now and, hating the fact that it made her sound like a silly fan girl, Ming-Ming had to admit that as smiles went his was rather an attractive one. When his mouth curved upwards it somehow seemed to lighten his entire face, making Kai seem more human than she had even before seen.

Currently he was crouching down by Loreana, the girl with tawny hair and gold eyes who said she had a bitbeast. Ming-Ming wasn't too sure what her opinion on the matter was, all she knew was that she had been aware of Venus for years before the winged fox appeared for the first time in battle. Perhaps all Loreana wanted was to believe that she wasn't alone or maybe in years to come, Tamianth, the golden lion she always talked about would appear for her the way Venus had for Ming-Ming.

Her train of thought was broken by someone kicking her on the side of her foot, and the bluenette looked up to see Kai standing over her, obviously saying something to which she was paying no attention at all. "Huh?"

"I said," Kai rolled his eyes at the six youngsters crowding round them and began talking as if she were a mental defective. "That we've decided that now it's your turn to face me."

For a moment Ming-Ming thought about just telling him to go shove it, and if he didn't know what she meant then she'd be only too happy to give him a few ideas about what to shove and where he could put it. But the slight grin on his lips tugged at something in her. Where was the harm after all? She had had to hold her own in training matches against the likes of Garland and Brooklyn when they were at their peek and she didn't think Kai would let this battle get out of hand.

Pushing herself to her feet, Ming-Ming dusted her hands on the back of her jeans before pulling Venus's creamy gold blade out her pocket. She tossed the beyblade up and down once or twice all the while keeping her eyes fixed on Kai, then sighing deeply she stepped round him to take up her poison on one side of the dish. "You know Kai, if you wanted to get whipped that badly all you had to do was ask."

"I had to be sure you were into that sort of thing first." He quipped back, the remark going completely over the heads of the six youngsters.

Ming-Ming snorted in amusement and the light that was dancing in her eyes was almost enough to make Kai wondered if there really had been a double meaning behind her words.

She nodded and took the launcher one of the kids, the girl with purple hair, handed her. Ming-Ming swiftly slid her blade in place and took a combat stance, while Kai took up his position on the opposite side of the dish and prepared to launch.

"Three! Two! One!" The group gathered round the dish counted down in unison. "Let it rip!"

The launch was flawless; Venus passed directly under Dranzer and landed dead centre in the dish. Ming-Ming had to smile to her self. She had fought her way to the top and won a place on the BEGA team because she was one of the best bladers around, and Kai had tried the old trick of knocking out her blade as he launched. Either he was being too arrogant or he was thinking too little of her, which ever it was she was going to prove him wrong.

The two beyblades moved with dizzying speed around the contours of the simple dish, but only managed to hit each other a handful of times. Seeing Dranzer move towards her, Ming-Ming swiftly directed her blade to avoid the contact, while she tried to work out what kind of match Kai was after. Was he after a proper fight, where both of them used all the skills they had? Or did he just want to prove that he was better than she was?

No, she thought, as the whining of two blades grinding against each other filed the air and sparks flew, the mood he was in it was probably that he just wanted to give his adoring fans a show they would remember. Suddenly she called Venus back only to immediately send her crashing into the royal blue blade which wobbled slightly due to the unexpected attack.

She looked up and smirked at Kai, seeing the light of challenge filling his eyes; if he was after a show that's just what she'd give him. Unbidden the words floated into her mind, the unchained melody coursed through her blood, and the music carried her high until she was almost flying.

And that's when it all started to come flooding back, the power, the pride, the sheer adrenaline rush that was blading at the highest level. It didn't matter that they were in an almost deserted park with just a rag tag group of kids watching. The fact that it had been almost five years since she bladed with someone that even came close to her high standard. She didn't even care that they were going at it with less than half power. All that counted was that she could feel Venus's consciousness waving in and around her, their two minds fussed as one as they did what it seemed they had been made to do.

Dranzer's beyblade, which was being pushed near the rim of the beydish, rocked itself against its creamy coloured adversary and for a moment it seemed would rock right out of the dish but then it bounced away and sharply turning back slammed Venus into the side of the dish. Ming-Ming watched as her blade teetered on the very lip of the dish, and she could feel every fibber of the winged white fox as she struggled to push back her foe.

Concentrate, concentrate. Straining her every muscle until she thought her tendons would surly snap, the bluenette willed her life long friend to hold on just a little longer. The song roared in her head, vibrating around her skull even as she growled her defiance at the man she faced. All the needed to do was see a way…

And then the opening came. The royal blue blade pulled back, preparing to deliver the fatal last blow that would knock Venus from the dish, but as it accelerated towards the golden blade it was already moving. Dranzer struck just as Ming-Ming commanded her beyblade over the edge of the dish, and his added momentum sent the still spinning blade high into the air. Higher and higher it rose, arcing backwards and landed smoothly back in the centre of the dish.

She looked up smirking; dancing eyes clearly saying 'what ya think about that then?' while around them the children screamed and whooped in delight. Kai's look was almost appraising, as if he were facing an unknown quantity, before his expression swiftly changed. Moods and emotions flitted across his face like clouds in the sky blown by a summer wind.

It really was strange, Ming-Ming thought, as she watched Venus blaze around the dish, Dranzer close behind, in all the time she had known Kai he had never smiled once, but know he seemed to be doing it all the time. Maybe people really did mellow with age? But whatever it was, she liked this Kai more than the one who had almost put her captain in the loony bin, and not just because he was being nice to her kids either.

Ming-Ming's train of thought was distracted when Dranzer made a swift striking attach on her creamy blade, once again sending it teetering too close to the edge for her comfort. She really should have known better than to let her mind wonder during a match. That's what came of loosing her competitive edge, she thought ruefully and she mentally scolded herself.

Apparently Kai didn't think too much of her little slip up either if his expression was anything to go by and his next comment proved her to be right. "If you're just going to zone out like that, I'll knock you're blade out now and save use both a waste of time."

"I'd like to see you try." His words had been meant as a challenge and that was just how she was going to take them.

Kai smiled to himself and made a conscious decision to ignore the girl standing on the opposite side of the dish. He had forgotten how good Ming-Ming was, a stupid mistake since she'd been a BEGA blader for a reason. She had fraught her way to the top in the predominately male dominated sport and then held onto her ranking. Her blading skills her phenomenal, Venus, for all her sweet look, was a powerhouse and on top of that Ming-Ming also knew how to use a charm offensive to her advantage. No, he'd seen far too many people fall into that trap during the BEGA tryouts to let a pretty face distract him.

Hunching her shoulders Ming-Ming lent closer to the dish, mentally asking Venus to give more of her strength and gritted her teeth as she struggled to remember half forgotten techniques. The pace picked up as the blades circled quicker, diving in for lightning fast strikes before pulling back just a swiftly to avoid any counter measure. They moved with such speed that it became impossible to see the beyblades, all that could be seen were streaks of colour that wove dizzying patterns back and forth across the dish.

Kai quirked one slate brow at the slender female standing on the opposite side of the dish as the force of her attack sent Dranzer slamming into the blue plastic. Ming-Ming had earned the title of World Number One female beyblader and evidently she had not allowed her game to slide as much as he would have expected even if she had been off the pro scene for years. This match wasn't going to be quite as easy as he had originally thought. Good.

"What's wrong Kai?" Ming-Ming's voice fluted across the shot distance that separated them as she stared coyly up at him from under her lashes. "I thought you were meant to be good at this."

"Trust me kid, you've no idea how good I am." Only later, after they had gone their separate ways, did Kai realise how much that had sounded like an egotistical boast. It was such an Enrique like thing to say and he was immensely grateful that the one time pop star didn't call him on it.

The sapphire eyed female just scoffed as she directed Venus into a head on collision with the royal blue blade and again the high pitched whine of metal grinding on metal filled the air one more. She really was better than he'd given her credit for Kai thought ruefully, if he stood any chance of winning this without unleashing the full power of his Phoenix then he was going to have to end this fight soon.

But how? All he needed was a little more time to work it out and then…

Ming-Ming didn't like the smirk that was suddenly spreading its self across the Russian's face. He was up to something she was sure of it and whatever it was it probably did not bode well for either herself or Venus. Well if Kai thought that she would go down so easily then he was in for one hell of a shock. Not to mention one hell of a fight.

XXXXXXXXXX

"I didn't win that." Ming-Ming said some ten minuets later after she and Kai had waved off the 'Brat Pack' and she had set up the time for their next training session. "You could have easily blocked that attack, but you deliberately didn't."

Kai turned to look at her leaning against the tree trunk; her arms were folded across her chest in a pose that was very reminiscent of the one he so often adopted. Her eyes were glittering like chips of blue ice with a mixture of rage and resentment and her plump lower lip was stuck out in a ridiculous pout that made her seem years younger.

"What can I say?" He gave her a half-hearted smile as he walked over to where she was standing and looked down at her, he doubted she's grown at all since he had last seen her all those years ago. "I didn't think it would do your reputation much good if your students saw you get your ass handed to you."

"Oh! You make it sound like you winning was a forgone conclusion." She stepped away from the tree, closing the distance between them, hands on her hips in an aggressive stance. "I was the top female blader in the world, don't forget. I could take you with my eyes closed."

Kai decided that he quite liked this side of Ming-Ming, all fisty and not prepared to take crap from anyone. It was far more likeable than the pop princess persona she used to have. But that being said, "Well I am the World Champion and like you said, you used to be the top female blader, but that was years ago and now…"

"Listen here buster!" Ming-Ming jabbed a finger waged her finger in his face as if her were one of her kids before jabbing it into his chest. "You name the time and place, and I guarantee I'll have you flat on your back in under five minutes."

"Promise?" Kai drawled before he even realised how his response would sound. He half expected to get a slap, but instead got a grin and a slight giggle.

Then the momentary smirk that lit up Ming-Ming's vanished as she changed her look to one of sneering derision. "I'd say yes, but I don't think you'd be able to stand the pace. And since you are getting kind of old…"

"Oi!" A mock indignant look flashed across Kai's face as he eyed the girl now leaning casually against the tree, grinning widely at him. "I'm only two years older than you."

"Yeah," She drawled, her eyes dancing with mischief. "But considering how I just handed your ass to you in the dish I hate to think what state you'd be in if I let you take me to bed."

"If you let me?" He raised one slate brow Ming-Ming's choice of words.

"Well I did, still do actually, have a reputation for being a diva," The azure haired young woman waved her hand as if she were dismissing him. "I'm expected to be picky."

"How picky?" Kai asked, as he moved closer to the girl, effectively trapping her between his body and the tree against which she was leaning. How long had it been since he had flirted like this with anyone? Months, or was it years? And it had been so long since he'd had felt so relaxed around a girl and it was just one more thing that made Ming-Ming's company that more enjoyable.

"Well I haven't picked you up yet now have I?" Ming-Ming pointed out, as she peered coyly up at Kai from under lowered lashes. The look would have made her seem nothing but innocent and sweet if it hadn't of been for the gleam in her deep blue eyes.

"Hmm, I forgot. As well as having a reputation for being a diva you also have one for being full of yourself." The World Champion said as he closed what little space had remained between them.

"Uh-huh." She nodded in agreement, reaching out so that one of her hands held his shoulder while the other tangled it's self in the slat strands of his hair. "But the question is do I now want a reputation for being full of you?"

They were now eye to eye; bodies pressed so closely together that her breasts brushed his chest every time she drew breath. Kai leaned in towards her, one hand resting on the bark of the tree by her waist the other coming to rest by the side of her head. The tension was building to an unbearable level, their breaths mingling and coming together as one and it would only be a matter of time before one of them succumbed.

It was Ming-Ming who lost control, first her lip twitched, than a shudder ran through her body and the next moment she was consumed by helpless giggles. Kai felt a grin spread across his own face as for a moment Ming-Ming's head was pressed to his chest as she doubled over with mirth. Then he was laughing to, deep laughter that welled up from the stomach and made his sides ache.

It was several moments before they managed to get their good humour under control. Ming-Ming stood wiping away the tears that had run down her cheeks due to the force of her laughter, her back pressed against the tree trunk as she tried to catch her breath. For a moment Kai simply stood watching her, his brown furrowed as if he were in deep contemplation and then, without warning he stepped up to her. His hands went to her cheeks, his fingers brushing blue ringlets and he raised her head before pressing a gentle kiss to her forehead.

"Thank-you." He whispered the words into Ming-Ming's hair before pulling back to look down at her puzzled face.

"For what?" She asked with a slight laugh as she tilted her head to regard him.

"When I work that out," Kai dropped his hands to her shoulders and squeezed slightly as he smiled. "I promise you, you'll be the first person to know."

XXXXXXXXXX

Two days later Ming-Ming was bolting out of her front door and almost had a head on collision with the postman who was just reaching the top of the steps. It was only her quick instincts that saved them both from a trip to the emergency room, though it did result in a waterfall of letters and a rather bruised elbow.

Five minuets, and an armful of retrieved letters later, she waved him off and headed back into the house in possession of one package and three letters, all of which she suspected for being bills. As it turned out Ming-Ming was right, they were for the phone, the heating and the house insurance respectively. Growling to herself, she tossed the unwanted letters to one side and turned her attention to the package.

There were her name and address sure enough, but the handwriting was unfamiliar and she couldn't remember ordering anything recently. The last thing had been two knew attack rings for Venus and Kenny, the only other blader aside from her team-mates she had kept in any sort of contact with, had sent those weeks ago. Indeed she'd been using one of the custom rings during her battle with Kai.

Giving up all attempts to devisee who the sender was, which was hardly practical, Ming-Ming ripped away the seal and emptied the contents of the brown padded envelop onto the kitchen unit. Then flailed madly as she tried to keep half the things from falling to the floor, before finally picking up the letter that had managed to make the it to the floor. It was brief and to the point, but never the less brought a smile to her face.

Ming-Ming,

For reminding me why it is that I love what I do, with my pleasure, I hope you all enjoy the enclosed.

Many thanks

Kai

The enclosed, once Ming-Ming had sorted through it all, as it turned out was not only seven front row tickets to final of this leg of the tournament but also seven backstage passes. For a moment she just sat and stared at the two neat rows, one of tickets and one of passes.

She knew that it was, from Kai's point of view, just a small token of gratitude. When you're at the top, tickets and passes are just one of the many perks, but to her kids they would mean the world. And, Ming-Ming thought, he had known that too. It was this gesture of kindness towards a rag-tag group of kids that he had made because he had wanted to and that made it mean all the more.

Shaking herself from her revelry Ming-Ming stuffed everything back into the envelope and then tucked the envelope safely into her backpack before she headed off, almost half an hour late, to meet up with The Brat Pack for that days-training session. They would tell her off and grouse but she didn't care because she couldn't wait to tell them about the tickets. And how they would get to see their hero, Kai Hiwatari, in a spectacular battle against Max Tate, who also happened to be one of their idols.

There was a spring in her step as she picture how ecstatic her kids would to be able to go back stage and meet so many famous bladers. Ming-Ming too excited at the prospect of seeing some of the old faces, it would be great to catch up, chat and ask questions. There was one question specifically that she wanted an answer to:

"Kai Hiwatari, how the hell did you get my address, I'm ex-directory?"

Please R and R I'd love to know what you thought.

Big love and inspiration

Lamanth