Kai leaned back in his chair, watching Mr. Dickenson's affectionate smile never waver from across the room. He had been waiting twenty minutes for the new technician to show up, and whoever he was, he was late. Despite the fact that Dranzer was in desperate need of a repair, Kai was getting annoyed. He had things to do and a team to train; he didn't have time to hang around in offices and wait for geeky computer nerds to show up.

"Maybe this is a bad time," he said finally. "I can come back another day."

Mr. Dickenson immediately shook his head. "You know as well as I do, Kai, that Dranzer needs a skilled hand before she can perform at the same level as before," he said. "Kenny is good, but he's not the best. The BBA owes you, and we've flown in this technician from Los Angeles. You'll be surprised, the American BBA was full of praise."

Kai huffed and ran a hand through his hair in exasperation. Mr. Dickenson looked like he wanted to say something else, but at that moment his intercom beeped.

"Anastasia Nikol is on her way up, sir," his secretary's voice rang through the room clearly. She sounded bored and indifferent. "She was running and she doesn't have a pass, but I couldn't stop her."

Mr. Dickenson chuckled. "Its alright, Emma. I'm sure we'll manage." He turned off the intercom and a sharp knock sounded at the door. Kai raised an eyebrow. Mr. Dickenson winked and folded his arms across his chest. He looked like he was trying very hard not to laugh. "Come in."

The door opened and Kai's mouth fell open when he saw who had almost fallen into the room. The technician was a girl. And not just any girl. This girl was a tall, leggy brunette with perfectly manicured nails and a set of deep blue eyes that didn't even look up from the ground as she bent down, hands on her knees to regain her breath. One of the straps of her tank top left her shoulder bare and her shorts showed off her tanned legs quite nicely. She straightened up and shifted her laptop bag from one shoulder to the other and ran a hand through her hair. Kai allowed himself to stare for exactly thirty seconds before his expression became stoic once again. She hadn't looked at him yet; she was smiling at Mr. Dickenson. She had perfect teeth.

"I'm sorry I'm late," her accent was American, her voice feminine and not unpleasant, he decided. She sounded chagrined. "I lost track of time. I hope it wasn't too inconvenient."

"Well, Kai was ready to give up but I convinced him to have some hope," Mr. Dickenson indicated the other occupant of the room with his head, his eyes twinkling. Anastasia turned around in confusion before spotting him in the corner.

"Oh, you must be Kai," she smiled a little and ran a hand through her hair again. Her cheeks turned pink. "I've heard a lot about you, I'm a big fan. Sorry, I just got lost," she gestured around the room vaguely and Kai raised an eyebrow. She blushed and looked away. "Anyway, you wanted to see me about a trashed beyblade?"

"Ah, yes," Mr. Dickenson leaned forward on his desk and nodded. "Have a seat, my dear. I'm sure you're aware of the situation that Kai's Dranzer beyblade was in after the BEGA fiasco last year," Anastasia nodded as she put her laptop bag on the floor, settling into a chair. The bag made an odd sound, as if it were filled with metallic objects; Kai frowned. "Well, the situation was resolved for a while, but Kai says he's been having trouble and of course we don't want any more damage. I was hoping you would take a look."

Anastasia frowned in confusion. "But I thought there were no issues?"

"There weren't," said Kai. Anastasia turned around in her seat as he continued to speak. "The team's technician fixed it and I know there's nothing wrong with it but it doesn't feel the same."

"I've heard that before," Anastasia shrugged. "Its never anything big, but I don't know the extent of the damage I'm dealing with. When can I start?"

"Well, I know Kai would like to get comfortable with you before giving you his Dranzer. However, its all up to him," Mr. Dickenson smiled. "When he wants to give you Dranzer, he will."

Anastasia raised an eyebrow. "All due respect, sir, I have a job and not a lot of time. Or money," her tone became pointed now.

"You also have a beyblade, and you were quite good last time I saw you," pointed out Mr. Dickenson. "Battle each other, learn his moves, help him get comfortable and then fix his beyblade. It's a great deal to ask, Anastasia, I know. But I know your love of the game. And, of course, it will be made worth your while."

"It better," she muttered to herself, then sighed. "Of course, I'll do it," she got up and grabbed her bag off the floor, making her way towards the door. She turned around once her hand was on the handle and raised her eyebrows at Kai. "Are you coming?"

"Where are we going?" he couldn't stop himself from asking as he got up from his seat. That was odd. He didn't speak this much to new people, no matter how nice their legs were.

Anastasia shrugged and pulled open the door. "You tell me. What's a girl got to do to find a decent workstation around here?"

"Workstation?"

Anastasia rolled her eyes. "Laboratory, technician's lounge, a room with a table and a lot of light… anything will work, I'm not picky," she held up her bag. "I just need to dump this somewhere and then we can get to know each other and become best friends like Dickenson obviously wants."

Kai snorted. "I doubt that's going to happen."

Anastasia gave him a calculating look as they walked. "Yeah, I think you actually believe that." And then she grinned. "Were you expecting a geeky computer nerd?"

Kai blinked. "What?"

"Well, I saw your face when you walked in. L.A. beach girl was definitely not what Dickenson had prepared you for."

"He hadn't told me anything about you."

"But he told you I'm good?"

"Hn."

Anastasia snorted, obviously not put off by his noncommittal response. "He lied. I'm the best. Everyone knows that. You can call your buddies in the PBB All-Starz if you want; I taught Emily everything she knows."

"We've beaten them," Kai couldn't resist pointing out.

"Their technology is superior, but you guys had heart, and they sorely lacked that."

He had said enough. She talked too much. "Hn."

They lapsed into silence until they reached the end of the corridor. There was an empty room, and Kai automatically opened the door for Anastasia to walk in first. She peered inside suspiciously, then nodded. "This will work." Unceremoniously, she dropped her bag onto the floor near the door and then turned to face Kai. "So, Mr. Superstar Beyblader, where are we off to now?"

Kai frowned. "What?"

"Well, I'm new and I have no idea what I'm supposed to do here until we become best friends, so what's on the agenda until then?"

Kai raised an eyebrow. "I'm not babysitting you, Anastasia."

"Anna."

"What?"

"Anna. Only my sister calls me Anastasia and her name is Tatiana so we don't use nicknames," she explained. Kai stared at her in amazement. When had he asked for an introduction into her personal life? She took his staring to mean he wanted more information. "People automatically assume 'Anya' is short for Anastasia but I really prefer Anna."

Kai exhaled with frustration and leaned against the wall, folding his arms across his chest. Anastasia rested a hand on her hip and raised an eyebrow. Kai huffed. "What?"

To his surprise, she burst into laughter. "That's all you can say to me!" her laugh was nice; it wasn't pitchy or breathless. She genuinely sounded amused. Her eyes twinkled as she caught him staring. "See something you like?"

Slightly shocked by her boldness but refusing to let it show, Kai snorted. "Hardly."

Anastasia rolled her eyes. "You don't have to be rude, I get it if you're gay."

Kai almost lost his balance and fell flat on his face in shock. "What?"

"You did it again. What?" Anastasia mimicked him and giggled at his expression of shock. "It's okay, Kai. I don't judge."

Kai opened his mouth to ask her exactly what it was that she got, but at that moment his phone started ringing. Glaring at the girl opposite him, he dug it out of his jacket pocket and walked a few paces away for some privacy. To his surprise, Anastasia promptly sat down on the floor in the spot where she had been standing, gracefully folding her legs under her. Shaking his head, Kai held his phone to his ear. "What, Tala?"

"Somebody's touchy. Where are you?"

"The BBA."

"The guys left for lunch without you but I'm on my way over."

"Okay."

"You could thank me, jackass."

Kai rolled his eyes. "When do you get here?"

"I just left. Hey, are you still trying to find a technician?"

"Found one. She's insane."

"It's a girl?" Kai could almost imagine Tala rubbing his hands with glee. "Is she hot?"

Yes. He refrained from informing his oldest friend, and resident womanizer, of that part. "She's insane."

"They're the best kind."

"You need a life."

"So do you. I want to meet her. Bring her with you."

"No way-"

"My car, my treat, my rules. You owe me after you scared away Marissa."

Kai rolled his eyes and hung up, effectively ending the conversation. Tala and he were close; they weren't brothers but they had been through a lot and after practically killing each other a few times, they had ended up putting their differences behind them. BEGA had been the turning point. When Kai had been in the hospital, Tala had always stuck around, refusing to coddle him and only speaking as much as Kai could take. He knew he owed the redhead for that, so when Tala wanted to stay in Japan, Kai had told Tyson to make room for him. Kai wasn't willing to spend more time than necessary with Anastasia but knowing Tala was stubborn and annoying, he grudgingly walked back to her. She was sitting cross-legged on the floor and typing onto her phone.

"You've trashed your blade every time you've battled Tyson Granger," her voice was conversational as she continued typing. "I never bothered researching you because you were quite good, but this kid really gives you a run for your money every time, doesn't he?"

Kai froze, completely taken aback by the topic of conversation. "What the hell do you think you're doing?"

"Except for that time with Brooklyn, when you lost fair and square and received quite a few injuries in the bargain," Anastasia spoke as if she hadn't heard him. She looked up at him suddenly and her eyes zeroed in on the bangs that cast a slight shadow over his forehead. "Is that why your hair is so long? Half of your face was scarred."

"How do you know all that?" asked Kai flatly, ignoring her question.

"Internet," she got up from the floor and pointed to her phone. "I like to know who I'm working for and hacking is a personal hobby."

"Use your hacking to find out about my stats, not my personal life."

"Easy, tiger," she rolled her eyes. "You're a beyblader; your stats are all about your personal life. Learn to live with it and most of all, learn to live with me."

"If you think I'm going to tolerate any annoying habits just because you're fixing my beyblade, you're mistaken."

"I don't like the term annoying habits," Anastasia frowned. "I prefer to call them… quirks."

He was very close to losing his cool. "I don't give a damn, just mind your own business."

"Honey, while I'm fixing your beyblade, you are my business," she rolled her eyes, but held up her phone screen for him to see. There was a picture of him in the corner with a jumble of technicalities under it. "See, there's your profile. Now," she touched a perfectly manicured finger to the screen and it went blank. "Its gone. Happy?"

"How did you -"

"Well, I didn't delete it from their database. Just my own," she shrugged. "Don't get too worked up. I'm just doing my job, alright? Not exactly happy to be stuck in a foreign country with no friends and a language barrier."

Kai shrugged, not the least bit sorry for her, but appeased that she seemed willing to follow his rules. Anastasia rolled her eyes. Before she could say anything, he spoke, reluctantly. "Listen, I have to go with my friend but since Dickenson wants us to stick together you can come too."

Anastasia grinned and returned to typing on her phone. "Sure. Where are we going?"

"Lunch."

"Cool. Lead the way, superstar."

"Don't call me that."

"Okay, hotshot."

Kai resisted the urge to groan and led her down the corridor. "I can't believe Dickenson hired you."

Anastasia snorted. "He did it because I'm the best. The old man has a soft spot for you or else he'd never give me your beyblade. I don't work cheap. Oh look," her tone changed to one of curiosity. "You're Russian too!"

Kai groaned. "You said you'd stop looking."

"I stopped hacking," she corrected him absently. "This is Wikipedia."

Kai ran a hand through his hair wearily. "Half," he said reluctantly. If she wanted to know stupid things, she may as well get them right. Anastasia looked at him curiously. "I'm only half Russian. My mother was Japanese."

She nodded thoughtfully. "My father was Russian."

Kai inclined his head in acknowledgement. "Your name told me that."

She smiled a little and lowered her gaze. "I guess so."

Kai looked at her. She didn't look up from her phone. He shrugged and pushed open the double doors that led to the parking lot. Quickly spotting Tala's car, he made his way towards it, Anastasia trailing behind. Tala got out of the car when they approached and immediately raised his eyebrows when he saw Kai's companion.

"Hey," Kai snorted at Tala's attempt to keep his voice smooth. Anastasia didn't look up from her phone. Tala wasn't daunted. He held out his hand. "I'm Tala, Kai's best friend."

She still didn't look up. "I know who you are. I'm Anna. Nice to meet you," absently, she waved a hand in his general direction. Tala's eyebrows shot up and he exchanged a look with Kai, whose lips twitched. Shrugging to his friend, he held open Anastasia's door for her and clapped Tala on the back before making his way to the passenger side.

"You know, my sister warned me about getting into sports cars with random teenage boys," Anastasia's voice was casual as Tala started the car. Kai glanced at her in the rear-view mirror. She had put her phone away and was gazing directly at him through the mirror. "I really should start taking what she says more seriously."

Tala laughed and quickly engaged her in conversation. Anastasia replied willingly enough and was even friendly, but Kia knew she was watching him through the mirror while speaking. It didn't unnerve him; every time he glanced up, the twinkle in her eye made him feel like they were sharing a private joke. I know your friend is hitting on me, her eyes seemed to laugh. Too bad he's not as cute as you. He really needed to clarify that he was not gay.

A few minutes later they pulled up in front of the deli that Tala had taken to dragging Kai with him because the cashier was pretty. That day, however, Tala showered Anastasia with attention, and Kai could see the girl behind the counter was utterly confused. Shaking his head at his friend's ways, he paid for the food since Tala was too busy chatting and steered the other two towards a table near the door in case he needed to make a run for it.

"So," Anastasia picked up a fork and speared an olive with it, popping it into her mouth thoughtfully. Quickly swallowing, she used her utensil to point at Kai. "Tala's basically narrated his journal to me and you feature in about fifty percent of it. What about the other fifty, superstar? What's your story?"

Kai rolled his eyes. "What does that matter?"

Anastasia shrugged. "It doesn't, but I bet it would be more interesting than me telling you a story of how I learned to hotwire a car."

Tala raised an eyebrow. "Actually, I think that would be quite interesting."

Anastasia's eyes twinkled. "My ex-boyfriend's dad owned a garage. So when he cheated on me I stole his car. And maybe a few more."

Kai blinked. Tala burst into laughter and said something that made Anastasia wink, but Kai frowned. He looked at her carefully. Her skin was flawless, erasing any forms of awkward puberty. Her tan was perfect, she was slim and even though she wasn't muscular she was obviously fit. Her hair was long and dark at the roots but got lighter as it went down her back, possibly from the sun. Her eyes were blue, frank and open; she didn't have a confidence problem. Who in their right mind would cheat on her?

"Hey," she snapped her fingers in front of his eyes. Kai blinked. "Your excuse of being gay isn't going to work forever if you keep staring."

Tala snorted into his drink. "Kai's gay?"

Anastasia nodded solemnly. "Apparently."

"He definitely wasn't gay two days ago," Tala wiggled his eyes suggestively. Kai didn't even look at him. Anastasia smirked and excused herself to go to the ladies' room a few minutes later. As soon as she was out of earshot, Tala turned to face Kai. His expression was sour. "What did you do?"

"What?"

"She likes you and you're not even being nice to her," Tala crossed his arms over his chest in annoyance. "All you do is stare at her with that stupid intense look and I can see her melt."

Kai frowned. "What intense look?"

"The one you gave her just now," Tala rolled his eyes. "You don't look at girls like that. You like her?"

Kai shrugged. "She's not bad looking."

"She's gorgeous," Tala sighed. "But she's obviously not interested."

Kai tried not to laugh. "Since when has that ever stopped you?"

"It stops me when she ignores me for the dummy sitting next to me," Tala rolled his eyes and clapped Kai on the shoulder. "You work on her. I'm going back to Janet."

"Jane."

Tala waved a hand dismissively and made his way to the counter. At that moment, Anastasia slipped back into the seat opposite Kai. She raised her eyebrows. "Scared away your friend?"

Kai snorted. "He went to get the cashier's number."

"Well, at least he got the hint," she shrugged.

"What hint?"

Anastasia raised her eyebrows. "Do you think pretending to be oblivious is cute?"

Kai made a non-committal sound.

"You're lucky. It is kind of cute," she winked, and he grimaced. Undaunted, she continued to eat her salad, her eyes once more glued to her phone. They lapsed into silence until Tala returned, brandishing a napkin with something scrawled on it in blue ink.

"Mission accomplished," he grinned. "Where to now?"

"You tell me, I've never been here before," Anastasia shrugged.

Tala's eyes widened. "Seriously?"

"I'm an L.A. girl. We don't go on vacations to random countries of the world unless they're paid for."

"That's not a very flattering picture," frowned Tala.

Anastasia rolled her eyes. "I didn't mean that."

"What's 'that'?" asked Tala teasingly.

Kai blocked out the conversation and led them to the car, this time getting into the driver's seat himself. To his surprise, Anastasia slid into the passenger side. "Shotgun," she announced as he started the car. Tala got into the backseat sourly.

"You can't call shotgun once you've already sat down," pointed out Kai.

"Lighten up, superstar. Who's going to stop me?"

Tala laughed as Kai rolled his eyes.

I do love my other Beyblade story, but this one has been in my head for ages and I had to put it down! Let me know what you guys think x