Beyblade Fan Fiction ❯ Perfectly Incompatible ❯ Chapter 3 ( Chapter 3 )
[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]
By: DefiantVixen 
Anime/Manga: Beyblade Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Drama / Romance | Type: Other | Uploaded On: 06.19.2009 | Pages: 3 | Words: 3.6K | Visits: 317 | Status: Completed
Anime/Manga: Beyblade Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Drama / Romance | Type: Other | Uploaded On: 06.19.2009 | Pages: 3 | Words: 3.6K | Visits: 317 | Status: Completed
Perfectly Incompatible
Summary: A few of the mothers from his hometown think it’s time for him to settle down, but Michael can’t stand the girl they chose for him; Mariasha! What happens when he gets into a fight with Mariasha and ends up lost in a snow storm? Who will come to his rescue?
Pairings: Michael/Kai
Disclaimer: I don’t own the Anime Beyblade or any character associated. I do own Mariasha “Maria” Evans. She is an original character and all likeness to people living or dead is purely coincidental. This character is not on based one anyone else’s character design, again if any likeness, it’s purely coincidental. There are also minor Ocs in this story as well, eg; Michael’s mother and great aunt.
Warnings: Kai is a girl in this story. The use and introduction of a female Original Character. Any fans of OCs and OC pairings should leave now. Anti-OC pairings and blatant bashing of my own character. I created her; I can do what I want with her. And I plan to.
AN: Comments, suggestions, ideas or rants are all appreciated. Thanks so much once again.
-
Michael was not the type to become paranoid about anything; he was normally cool and complacent about a lot of things. And yet, as he walked in the gradually warming morning light, arm in arm with one Kai Hiwatari, he could feel eyes on them from every direction. The eyes seemed to be curious, yet some of them were shocked and hostile even.
Discreetly peering out from the corner of his eye, he noticed that one of the town biddies was literally spying on them from her shop window. She was peering out through the blinds with a cup of coffee in one hand and a phone in the other, talking quickly.
Oh, word gets around this town quite quickly. No doubt the mother from the cafe rang her friends to tell them about his cosy little breakfast with Kai. About how friendly they were to each other and how they shared a sandwich between them.
That little fact alone was sure to get the mothers’ talking up a storm. Most of their conversation was sure to be about poor Mariasha and how she was a sweet girl, and how he was an utter jerk for not realizing how truly special she was to him.
They could talk all they want. He doesn’t care anymore. He had Nana on his side, telling him to remain firm in what he truly wanted from life and not to give in.
As he showed Kai around his home town, he stopped ever once in a while to tell her a particular memory a certain sight brought and even earned himself a few quite chuckles from her, which was quite a feat at Kai rarely laughed openly. It actually showed him that she was comfortable in his presence. He was entirely sure why, maybe it was because he proved that he was trustworthy when he learnt of Kai’s self-hatred for her anger and how it affected her, by not telling anyone.
Stepping into the small playground that was currently empty, he confided in Kai about everything that annoyed him about Mariasha and the town biddies without fear of someone over hearing them. He was literally ranting and raving, and all Kai was doing was listen intently with a saint like patience. They still had their arms hooked together and leaning in close. Surprisingly, Kai said nothing about their closeness and Michael assumed it was because she knew that they were being watched with studying gazes as well.
Ears are everywhere.
“Ah,” Kai said as Michael finished yet another story about how a few of the mothers’ tried desperately for him and Mariasha look at a few wedding magazines that just happened to arrive by post and was delivered to the wrong address. “So everyone is playing matchmaker for the two of you?”
“Something like that,” Michael murmured seemingly through gritted teeth before he shook his head and gave a tiny smile. “Thank God Nana is on my side at least.”
He told Kai all about Nana, telling her stories about how Nana helped him avoid Mariasha and the biddies, and about how she was classed as the monarch of the town. She was probably the reason why he hasn’t been dragged to the alter and ordered to marry Mariasha yet.
Nana was such a strong, yet compassionate and caring woman. Nothing like Mariasha, who was way too egotistical and domineering.
“Mariasha has everyone wrapped around her little finger with her fake giggles and overly bubbliness,” Michael said as he rolled his eyes, sounding bitter. “She’s such a sweet girl.”
“But why Mariasha?” Kai asked quietly with a genuine look of confusion on her face. After everything Michael had told her about the perfect girl for him, she could see nothing that warranted the biddies’ attempts to get the two of them together. It was obvious that the attraction between the two childhood friends was one sided. Mariasha was the one pursuing Michael, and he was trying his best to avoid her.
Really, where did they get the idea that the two of them would be perfect for each other?
“Is it because she’s your next door neighbour or something to that extent?” she asked. It was a stupid excuse, and yet the only one she could think of that made any sense.
Michael paused for a moment as he too wondered where this idea came from as well. He could not think of anything that warranted such matchmaking attempts. If Mariasha was such a sweet and innocent girl and he was a wild adventurer (Yes, they actually refer to him as that. Wanting to be a pro-blader did not make him a rebel with a chip on his shoulder), and she was far too good for him, why the hell are they trying so hard to get them together?
“I really don’t know where they got the idea from to tell you the truth,” he muttered after a moment of silence. “We’ve never gotten along. She’s a pest, nothing more.”
“Maybe they think that since she’s a sweet country girl, she can tame your wandering ways,” Kai suggested as she shrugged her shoulder lightly.
Michael leaned in a bit closer and whispered into her ear. “She’s making me want to flee town,” he muttered darkly.
The corner of Kai’s mouth twitched into a small, sympathetic smile. “Sounds like a plot from one of those romance novels Hilary reads.”
“She likes romance books?” Michael asked as he tilted his head to the side in question as the two of them began a gentle stroll around the park.
“Not really,” Kai said as her smile turned into a smirk. “She likes to, what was that word again, spork? Yeah, that’s it. She likes to spork the crap out of them. Picking it to pieces and making fun of all the silly clichés. It’s a hobby of hers.”
“Sounds like an interesting hobby,” Michael said as he laughed lightly. Somehow, he could just imagine Hilary with a romance book in her hands and pointing out all the clichés as she laughed dryly. “Yeah, I bet Mariasha and the ol’ biddies are romance novel fans as well.”
A very light chuckle passed Kai’s lips and she nodded. “Sounds plausible.”
Michael shook his head and gave a wryly smile as he found himself thinking about his pain in the neck, aka, Mariasha and grimaced. “She’s gotten worse since my father died.”
Immediately, Kai physically reeled back and looked up at him with her ruby red eyes shimmering with a sense of surprise. “Your father?”
“My father died about eight years ago of a blood clot on the brain,” Michael explained as he gave he a slightly pained look. The memory of his father’s passing was still painful for him and he really didn’t like talking about it too much.
Since his father’s passing, Mariasha immediately offered her comfort, telling him that his father would want the two of them to be together. For heaven’s sake, she said that the day after he died. The last thing Michael was thinking of was finding a stupid wife at the age of ten!
“Oh, I’m so sorry,” Kai said softly, genuine sympathy in her voice and expression as she placed a hand on his arm and squeezed it lightly. “That must have been hard. Especially at that age.”
“Yeah,” Michael said with a mild sense of gratitude in his voice when Kai didn’t ask him for a detailed description of his feelings. “But Nana was there for me.”
“You talk a lot about Nana, you must really love her,” Kai said in a somewhat soothing tone. Her voice was relaxing and seemed to effortlessly bring down any guard Michael had.
“She’s my rock,” he tells her and he found himself smiling ever so softly as he looked up toward the sky. “She keeps me grounded.”
“She sounds amazing.”
A hint of pride appeared in Michael’s chest, somewhat happy in knowing that someone else thinks Nana is amazing as well. And for Kai to say it, it meant a lot to him. She wasn’t good with compliments, but when she gave them, she really meant it. Her words are never hollow or empty.
“Yeah, she’s something,” he said. “I think the two of you would get along well.”
“You think so?” Kai said in slight surprise before a smile appeared on her lips again. “I’d actually like to meet her. She sounds just like what my grandmother used to be.”
“I’d be lost without her,” he said before he lifted his arm and scratched the back of his neck, a slight look of embarrassment on his face. “That sounded corny, didn’t it?”
“Not at all,” Kai was quick to reassure him. “I think it’s great that you have someone like her in your life.”
Now that Michael thought about it, she’s right. Despite everything that has happened to him, he made through it all because Nana believed in him. He’s certainly lucky to have someone like her in his life. “That’s true.”
“My parents died about ten years ago,” Kai suddenly said, her eyes taking on a faraway glaze to them. “A car accident, a drunk driver was speeding and cut them off, causing my father to swerve to avoid hitting her, but ended up in the path of an on-coming semi truck. They were both killed instantly.”
Michael’s eyes immediately widen in shock and stopped dead in his tracks. He looked down at the young woman and his heart went out to her as she was holding onto his arm in an almost death grip and continued to look forward. He wanted so desperately to hug her and tell her that she’ll be fine, but he knows he cannot do that. He wasn’t sure if Kai would accept his attempt of comfort or if she was willing to re-open old wounds by him doing so.
Instead, he ended up placing his hand over her hand on his arm, holding it gently. “I’m sorry to hear that,” he said softly.
His words seemed to pull Kai out of a trance and she shook her head slightly and smiled softly. “So am I,” she said softly and they took a moment to gaze at each other in a sense of understanding, their eyes revealing past hurts before Kai abruptly tugged on his arm to make them start walking again.
“Anyway, subject change,” she said quickly, not wanting either of them to fall into an emo like state as it was just too nice of a morning to be depressed. The sun was peeking out through the gray clouds, warming the two of them as they walked in the morning light.
Besides, Kai was certain neither of their departed loves ones would want them to brood and mope all day. “Where’s that homewares store you were telling me about earlier.”
Michael took a moment to marvel at Kai’s inner and emotional strength. It was obvious that her parents passing still affected her, but she seemed determined not to let it slow her down or stop her from living. She was quite inspirational.
A smile returned to his lips as he led her to the shop on the other side of the street. “Right this way.”
Pushing open the door that had a bell attached to it to let the shop owner know that they had customers, Michael let Kai step in first, earning himself a small look of amusement at his chivalry and he smile cheekily at her as he followed in after her.
The shop was filled with curtain material of many kinds, as well as the tools needed to hang up the desired curtains.
“I’ll be with you in a minute!” A woman’s voice called out and Michael couldn’t help but wince when he recognized the voice as being one of the town’s mothers.
“See anything you like?” he asked Kai as she studied the already made curtains hanging neatly from a rack, curtains made from all different kinds of materials. She ran her fingers over the pieces of cloth gently.
“I’m not sure of which colour I should chose,” Kai explained with a slight frown as she took a moment to look at all the colours. “The interior of the ranch is mostly made from rich wood, so maybe something rich and dark would be best.”
Michael also took a moment to regard all the material and felt his eyes drawn to a colour near the end of the rack and promptly pulled it out. “Hmm, how about this colour?” he said as he presented Kai a curtain made of thick material with light rubber backing and was a deep mahogany in colour.
Kai walked over to him and gently trailed her fingers over the fabric. “Hmm, that would actully be perfect for the lounge room,” she murmured as she lifted her eyes off the piece of homeware and sent Michael a soft look of amusement. “You’re good at this.”
Michael laughed lightly and was about to respond when a woman of about middle age appeared, wiping her hands on a dishtowel. She had short blonde hair held back by a red headband and soft brown eyes. A smile was on her lips, but it faltered ever so slightly when she realized that Michael was in her store, and was actually shopping for homeware with a girl that was not Mariasha.
“Oh, morning Michael,” she said as she tried not to sound surprised by his appearance. She had heard word from her fellow mothers that Michael was getting cosy with the new girl in town, but she really didn’t believe it. Until now...
“What brings you here?” she asked as she eyed Michael’s companion discreetly. The young woman had a quite unusual appearance; two toned blue hair has was long at the back, but her bangs framed her face in layers. Her eyes was an unusual colour; a deep red, almost wine or ruby in colour and had four bright blue tribal type markings on her face.
She must admit, though, Michael’s companion had this exotic, gypsy like appearance to her and she carried herself well, her figure proportioned perfectly and seemed to be quite fit and healthy, even a bit slender for someone of her height. She was beautiful...
Of course, she couldn’t compete with Mariasha’s natural beauty.
“I’m helping out my friend here,” Michael said, stressing the word friend tightly as he knew she was studying Kai intently. He turned to Kai and beckoned her over to the counter with him. “Kai, this is Mrs. Michelson, she worked in this home ware store for years, I’m pretty sure she’ll have everything you need.”
Kai bowed her head ever so slightly and offered the older woman a small, polite smile. “It’s a pleasure to meet you.”
Mrs Michelson wore a look of surprise before she smiled brightly as well. This Kai girl seemed to be quite nice and Michael did say she was just a friend. However, she couldn’t quite put her finger on it, but there was something different about this girl. Her presence seemed fresher, lighter. In a town where everyone knew everyone and everything that happened, it felt somewhat refreshing to see a different face amongst the familiar ones.
Oh, she’ll give her and other mothers’ something else to talk about!
“My, aren’t you a polite one? It’s nice to meet you too,” she said as she placed the clothe she was hold in her hand away and gave the two teens her full attention. “What can I do for you?”
“I’m restoring the old Orchid ranch on the outskirts of town,” Kai explained as she dug around in her bag and pulled out a photo, showing it to the two locals with her.
“That’s a big job, hun,” Mrs Michelson said with a frown on her lips. She really didn’t like the thought of a petit and defenceless young woman like Kai here to be out on a ranch all by herself. Anything could happen all the way out there. “Are you doing it all by yourself?”
“I’ll be fine,” Kai was quick to reassure, not liking it at all when people fuss over her for any reason. “It’s in good shape; all it needs is a tender touch.”
“I’ll be giving her a hand,” Michael said, hoping that his offering of assistance would dull the motherly instinct that resides in all the town’s biddies.
Mrs Michelson blinked slowly, seemingly taking a moment to realize what Michael just said. “Really?”
“Yes, he offered and I couldn’t say no,” Kai explained and peered out a Michael from the corner of her eye, unable to resist the temptation to tease him just a little. “Besides, it would be nice to have a big strong man to do all the hard work.”
Michael laughed and poked her on the cheek. “You’re probably stronger than me,” he said, knowing all too well of the legends regarding Kai’s strength. Who else is capable of pulling both Tyson and Daichi away from an all you can eat buffet table at once.
Kai snorted lightly and playfully smacked his hand away. “Not if you ask the others. They all think I’m scrawny and need to drastically put on some weight.”
Michael was silent for a moment and seemed to ponder that. “You do need to put some meat on those bones,” he ended up saying, to which Kai bristled lightly.
“Not you, too?” she moaned in annoyance.
Mrs Michelson found herself lingering in the back ground at the two youngsters continued to banter in front of her. No, not banter, dare she say subconsciously flirt? The quips were light and teasing, their words meaning no harm whatsoever.
For as long as she has known Michael, which was his whole life, she had never seen him act like this with anyone before, especially not with Mariasha. He looked so happy and carefree at the moment, and it surprised her. He was really comfortable in Kai’s presence it seemed.
Hmm, maybe the two of them could be more than friends? They seemed to have more chemistry that he and Mariasha. Of course, she better not say that out loud to anyone...
Before she could stop herself, Mrs Michelson found herself nodding in approval at Michael’s offering, believing that this would do him some good.
“Well, I think it will be good for young people like you to take responsibility in restoring a house,” she said with a smile. “Who knows, you two might become property developers when you get older.”
Funnily enough, Kai had thought of the same thing a while ago. As much as she loved blading, she also loved getting her hands dirty as well. And now that she’s the owner of Voltaire’s vast estate, she certainly had her hands full. If Michael was interested, he might be able to help her on future restoring ventures.
“That is a possibility,” Kai replied with a small smile.
“Now, let’s see what I can help you with.”
Summary: A few of the mothers from his hometown think it’s time for him to settle down, but Michael can’t stand the girl they chose for him; Mariasha! What happens when he gets into a fight with Mariasha and ends up lost in a snow storm? Who will come to his rescue?
Pairings: Michael/Kai
Disclaimer: I don’t own the Anime Beyblade or any character associated. I do own Mariasha “Maria” Evans. She is an original character and all likeness to people living or dead is purely coincidental. This character is not on based one anyone else’s character design, again if any likeness, it’s purely coincidental. There are also minor Ocs in this story as well, eg; Michael’s mother and great aunt.
Warnings: Kai is a girl in this story. The use and introduction of a female Original Character. Any fans of OCs and OC pairings should leave now. Anti-OC pairings and blatant bashing of my own character. I created her; I can do what I want with her. And I plan to.
AN: Comments, suggestions, ideas or rants are all appreciated. Thanks so much once again.
-
Michael was not the type to become paranoid about anything; he was normally cool and complacent about a lot of things. And yet, as he walked in the gradually warming morning light, arm in arm with one Kai Hiwatari, he could feel eyes on them from every direction. The eyes seemed to be curious, yet some of them were shocked and hostile even.
Discreetly peering out from the corner of his eye, he noticed that one of the town biddies was literally spying on them from her shop window. She was peering out through the blinds with a cup of coffee in one hand and a phone in the other, talking quickly.
Oh, word gets around this town quite quickly. No doubt the mother from the cafe rang her friends to tell them about his cosy little breakfast with Kai. About how friendly they were to each other and how they shared a sandwich between them.
That little fact alone was sure to get the mothers’ talking up a storm. Most of their conversation was sure to be about poor Mariasha and how she was a sweet girl, and how he was an utter jerk for not realizing how truly special she was to him.
They could talk all they want. He doesn’t care anymore. He had Nana on his side, telling him to remain firm in what he truly wanted from life and not to give in.
As he showed Kai around his home town, he stopped ever once in a while to tell her a particular memory a certain sight brought and even earned himself a few quite chuckles from her, which was quite a feat at Kai rarely laughed openly. It actually showed him that she was comfortable in his presence. He was entirely sure why, maybe it was because he proved that he was trustworthy when he learnt of Kai’s self-hatred for her anger and how it affected her, by not telling anyone.
Stepping into the small playground that was currently empty, he confided in Kai about everything that annoyed him about Mariasha and the town biddies without fear of someone over hearing them. He was literally ranting and raving, and all Kai was doing was listen intently with a saint like patience. They still had their arms hooked together and leaning in close. Surprisingly, Kai said nothing about their closeness and Michael assumed it was because she knew that they were being watched with studying gazes as well.
Ears are everywhere.
“Ah,” Kai said as Michael finished yet another story about how a few of the mothers’ tried desperately for him and Mariasha look at a few wedding magazines that just happened to arrive by post and was delivered to the wrong address. “So everyone is playing matchmaker for the two of you?”
“Something like that,” Michael murmured seemingly through gritted teeth before he shook his head and gave a tiny smile. “Thank God Nana is on my side at least.”
He told Kai all about Nana, telling her stories about how Nana helped him avoid Mariasha and the biddies, and about how she was classed as the monarch of the town. She was probably the reason why he hasn’t been dragged to the alter and ordered to marry Mariasha yet.
Nana was such a strong, yet compassionate and caring woman. Nothing like Mariasha, who was way too egotistical and domineering.
“Mariasha has everyone wrapped around her little finger with her fake giggles and overly bubbliness,” Michael said as he rolled his eyes, sounding bitter. “She’s such a sweet girl.”
“But why Mariasha?” Kai asked quietly with a genuine look of confusion on her face. After everything Michael had told her about the perfect girl for him, she could see nothing that warranted the biddies’ attempts to get the two of them together. It was obvious that the attraction between the two childhood friends was one sided. Mariasha was the one pursuing Michael, and he was trying his best to avoid her.
Really, where did they get the idea that the two of them would be perfect for each other?
“Is it because she’s your next door neighbour or something to that extent?” she asked. It was a stupid excuse, and yet the only one she could think of that made any sense.
Michael paused for a moment as he too wondered where this idea came from as well. He could not think of anything that warranted such matchmaking attempts. If Mariasha was such a sweet and innocent girl and he was a wild adventurer (Yes, they actually refer to him as that. Wanting to be a pro-blader did not make him a rebel with a chip on his shoulder), and she was far too good for him, why the hell are they trying so hard to get them together?
“I really don’t know where they got the idea from to tell you the truth,” he muttered after a moment of silence. “We’ve never gotten along. She’s a pest, nothing more.”
“Maybe they think that since she’s a sweet country girl, she can tame your wandering ways,” Kai suggested as she shrugged her shoulder lightly.
Michael leaned in a bit closer and whispered into her ear. “She’s making me want to flee town,” he muttered darkly.
The corner of Kai’s mouth twitched into a small, sympathetic smile. “Sounds like a plot from one of those romance novels Hilary reads.”
“She likes romance books?” Michael asked as he tilted his head to the side in question as the two of them began a gentle stroll around the park.
“Not really,” Kai said as her smile turned into a smirk. “She likes to, what was that word again, spork? Yeah, that’s it. She likes to spork the crap out of them. Picking it to pieces and making fun of all the silly clichés. It’s a hobby of hers.”
“Sounds like an interesting hobby,” Michael said as he laughed lightly. Somehow, he could just imagine Hilary with a romance book in her hands and pointing out all the clichés as she laughed dryly. “Yeah, I bet Mariasha and the ol’ biddies are romance novel fans as well.”
A very light chuckle passed Kai’s lips and she nodded. “Sounds plausible.”
Michael shook his head and gave a wryly smile as he found himself thinking about his pain in the neck, aka, Mariasha and grimaced. “She’s gotten worse since my father died.”
Immediately, Kai physically reeled back and looked up at him with her ruby red eyes shimmering with a sense of surprise. “Your father?”
“My father died about eight years ago of a blood clot on the brain,” Michael explained as he gave he a slightly pained look. The memory of his father’s passing was still painful for him and he really didn’t like talking about it too much.
Since his father’s passing, Mariasha immediately offered her comfort, telling him that his father would want the two of them to be together. For heaven’s sake, she said that the day after he died. The last thing Michael was thinking of was finding a stupid wife at the age of ten!
“Oh, I’m so sorry,” Kai said softly, genuine sympathy in her voice and expression as she placed a hand on his arm and squeezed it lightly. “That must have been hard. Especially at that age.”
“Yeah,” Michael said with a mild sense of gratitude in his voice when Kai didn’t ask him for a detailed description of his feelings. “But Nana was there for me.”
“You talk a lot about Nana, you must really love her,” Kai said in a somewhat soothing tone. Her voice was relaxing and seemed to effortlessly bring down any guard Michael had.
“She’s my rock,” he tells her and he found himself smiling ever so softly as he looked up toward the sky. “She keeps me grounded.”
“She sounds amazing.”
A hint of pride appeared in Michael’s chest, somewhat happy in knowing that someone else thinks Nana is amazing as well. And for Kai to say it, it meant a lot to him. She wasn’t good with compliments, but when she gave them, she really meant it. Her words are never hollow or empty.
“Yeah, she’s something,” he said. “I think the two of you would get along well.”
“You think so?” Kai said in slight surprise before a smile appeared on her lips again. “I’d actually like to meet her. She sounds just like what my grandmother used to be.”
“I’d be lost without her,” he said before he lifted his arm and scratched the back of his neck, a slight look of embarrassment on his face. “That sounded corny, didn’t it?”
“Not at all,” Kai was quick to reassure him. “I think it’s great that you have someone like her in your life.”
Now that Michael thought about it, she’s right. Despite everything that has happened to him, he made through it all because Nana believed in him. He’s certainly lucky to have someone like her in his life. “That’s true.”
“My parents died about ten years ago,” Kai suddenly said, her eyes taking on a faraway glaze to them. “A car accident, a drunk driver was speeding and cut them off, causing my father to swerve to avoid hitting her, but ended up in the path of an on-coming semi truck. They were both killed instantly.”
Michael’s eyes immediately widen in shock and stopped dead in his tracks. He looked down at the young woman and his heart went out to her as she was holding onto his arm in an almost death grip and continued to look forward. He wanted so desperately to hug her and tell her that she’ll be fine, but he knows he cannot do that. He wasn’t sure if Kai would accept his attempt of comfort or if she was willing to re-open old wounds by him doing so.
Instead, he ended up placing his hand over her hand on his arm, holding it gently. “I’m sorry to hear that,” he said softly.
His words seemed to pull Kai out of a trance and she shook her head slightly and smiled softly. “So am I,” she said softly and they took a moment to gaze at each other in a sense of understanding, their eyes revealing past hurts before Kai abruptly tugged on his arm to make them start walking again.
“Anyway, subject change,” she said quickly, not wanting either of them to fall into an emo like state as it was just too nice of a morning to be depressed. The sun was peeking out through the gray clouds, warming the two of them as they walked in the morning light.
Besides, Kai was certain neither of their departed loves ones would want them to brood and mope all day. “Where’s that homewares store you were telling me about earlier.”
Michael took a moment to marvel at Kai’s inner and emotional strength. It was obvious that her parents passing still affected her, but she seemed determined not to let it slow her down or stop her from living. She was quite inspirational.
A smile returned to his lips as he led her to the shop on the other side of the street. “Right this way.”
Pushing open the door that had a bell attached to it to let the shop owner know that they had customers, Michael let Kai step in first, earning himself a small look of amusement at his chivalry and he smile cheekily at her as he followed in after her.
The shop was filled with curtain material of many kinds, as well as the tools needed to hang up the desired curtains.
“I’ll be with you in a minute!” A woman’s voice called out and Michael couldn’t help but wince when he recognized the voice as being one of the town’s mothers.
“See anything you like?” he asked Kai as she studied the already made curtains hanging neatly from a rack, curtains made from all different kinds of materials. She ran her fingers over the pieces of cloth gently.
“I’m not sure of which colour I should chose,” Kai explained with a slight frown as she took a moment to look at all the colours. “The interior of the ranch is mostly made from rich wood, so maybe something rich and dark would be best.”
Michael also took a moment to regard all the material and felt his eyes drawn to a colour near the end of the rack and promptly pulled it out. “Hmm, how about this colour?” he said as he presented Kai a curtain made of thick material with light rubber backing and was a deep mahogany in colour.
Kai walked over to him and gently trailed her fingers over the fabric. “Hmm, that would actully be perfect for the lounge room,” she murmured as she lifted her eyes off the piece of homeware and sent Michael a soft look of amusement. “You’re good at this.”
Michael laughed lightly and was about to respond when a woman of about middle age appeared, wiping her hands on a dishtowel. She had short blonde hair held back by a red headband and soft brown eyes. A smile was on her lips, but it faltered ever so slightly when she realized that Michael was in her store, and was actually shopping for homeware with a girl that was not Mariasha.
“Oh, morning Michael,” she said as she tried not to sound surprised by his appearance. She had heard word from her fellow mothers that Michael was getting cosy with the new girl in town, but she really didn’t believe it. Until now...
“What brings you here?” she asked as she eyed Michael’s companion discreetly. The young woman had a quite unusual appearance; two toned blue hair has was long at the back, but her bangs framed her face in layers. Her eyes was an unusual colour; a deep red, almost wine or ruby in colour and had four bright blue tribal type markings on her face.
She must admit, though, Michael’s companion had this exotic, gypsy like appearance to her and she carried herself well, her figure proportioned perfectly and seemed to be quite fit and healthy, even a bit slender for someone of her height. She was beautiful...
Of course, she couldn’t compete with Mariasha’s natural beauty.
“I’m helping out my friend here,” Michael said, stressing the word friend tightly as he knew she was studying Kai intently. He turned to Kai and beckoned her over to the counter with him. “Kai, this is Mrs. Michelson, she worked in this home ware store for years, I’m pretty sure she’ll have everything you need.”
Kai bowed her head ever so slightly and offered the older woman a small, polite smile. “It’s a pleasure to meet you.”
Mrs Michelson wore a look of surprise before she smiled brightly as well. This Kai girl seemed to be quite nice and Michael did say she was just a friend. However, she couldn’t quite put her finger on it, but there was something different about this girl. Her presence seemed fresher, lighter. In a town where everyone knew everyone and everything that happened, it felt somewhat refreshing to see a different face amongst the familiar ones.
Oh, she’ll give her and other mothers’ something else to talk about!
“My, aren’t you a polite one? It’s nice to meet you too,” she said as she placed the clothe she was hold in her hand away and gave the two teens her full attention. “What can I do for you?”
“I’m restoring the old Orchid ranch on the outskirts of town,” Kai explained as she dug around in her bag and pulled out a photo, showing it to the two locals with her.
“That’s a big job, hun,” Mrs Michelson said with a frown on her lips. She really didn’t like the thought of a petit and defenceless young woman like Kai here to be out on a ranch all by herself. Anything could happen all the way out there. “Are you doing it all by yourself?”
“I’ll be fine,” Kai was quick to reassure, not liking it at all when people fuss over her for any reason. “It’s in good shape; all it needs is a tender touch.”
“I’ll be giving her a hand,” Michael said, hoping that his offering of assistance would dull the motherly instinct that resides in all the town’s biddies.
Mrs Michelson blinked slowly, seemingly taking a moment to realize what Michael just said. “Really?”
“Yes, he offered and I couldn’t say no,” Kai explained and peered out a Michael from the corner of her eye, unable to resist the temptation to tease him just a little. “Besides, it would be nice to have a big strong man to do all the hard work.”
Michael laughed and poked her on the cheek. “You’re probably stronger than me,” he said, knowing all too well of the legends regarding Kai’s strength. Who else is capable of pulling both Tyson and Daichi away from an all you can eat buffet table at once.
Kai snorted lightly and playfully smacked his hand away. “Not if you ask the others. They all think I’m scrawny and need to drastically put on some weight.”
Michael was silent for a moment and seemed to ponder that. “You do need to put some meat on those bones,” he ended up saying, to which Kai bristled lightly.
“Not you, too?” she moaned in annoyance.
Mrs Michelson found herself lingering in the back ground at the two youngsters continued to banter in front of her. No, not banter, dare she say subconsciously flirt? The quips were light and teasing, their words meaning no harm whatsoever.
For as long as she has known Michael, which was his whole life, she had never seen him act like this with anyone before, especially not with Mariasha. He looked so happy and carefree at the moment, and it surprised her. He was really comfortable in Kai’s presence it seemed.
Hmm, maybe the two of them could be more than friends? They seemed to have more chemistry that he and Mariasha. Of course, she better not say that out loud to anyone...
Before she could stop herself, Mrs Michelson found herself nodding in approval at Michael’s offering, believing that this would do him some good.
“Well, I think it will be good for young people like you to take responsibility in restoring a house,” she said with a smile. “Who knows, you two might become property developers when you get older.”
Funnily enough, Kai had thought of the same thing a while ago. As much as she loved blading, she also loved getting her hands dirty as well. And now that she’s the owner of Voltaire’s vast estate, she certainly had her hands full. If Michael was interested, he might be able to help her on future restoring ventures.
“That is a possibility,” Kai replied with a small smile.
“Now, let’s see what I can help you with.”