hayayay...just 1 review for 2 chappies??!!that's harsh..anyway...m not gonna stop writing till this is done or else it'll haunt me...

CHAPTER 16:
DON'T CLOSE YOUR HEART

Ron lost consciousness from being in the cold too long and was rushed to the hospital. Ray and Mariah decided to stay with him there.

After eating dinner and exchanging stories, everyone went to sleep. All except for Meia who was stargazing at the balcony lost in thought.

"Your past catchin up to ya?" Kai asked approaching her.

"Wh-what?"

"I can read you like an open book, Meia." he replied.

"..."

"It has something to do with twins Voltaire hired. Am I right?" he continued.

Meia nodded quietly. "How did you know?"

"You should have seen your face when you saw them." Kai answered.

Meia blushed. "You noticed me?! How come?!"

"I notice a lot of things....." Kai said turning away. "Like for one thing, you come from a rich family..."

Meia's eyes grew. "What-? How-?"

"Back in China...." Kai began, "When you saw some horses and decided to ride...your form was obviously from an experienced instructor."

"So...?" Meia said, "That doesn't mean I'm rich."

"But you spoke in fluent Chinese and even cursed in French." Kai countered.

"You heard? You were like ten feet away from me not giving a damn when I spoke those!" Meia burst.

"I told you I notice a lot of things..." Kai replied.

"How are you so positive?" Meia asked. "It could just be coincidental..."

"I was trained to do lateral thinking. Accurately too." Kai answered again. "Your past is painful and you hide it with a smile."

Meia looked away. "So now you know..."

"If you want to talk about it, I'm here to listen." Kai offered.

"Really Kai?" Meia asked. "You really care?"

"It would be regretful if you make a fool of yourself during battle because of it." Kai replied. "It's best that you have total concentration when we face Voltaire's team."

"I should have known your reason was something like that..." Meia sweat- dropped. "But anyway..."

She began her story.

"Remember the twins? They were my brothers...not really blood-related brothers though...As you figured out, I'm from a rich family. And I was an only child. My father was an overprotective man and hired me the best bodyguards in the business. Those were the twins. Aki and Koji. They were young but highly skilled. We became so close that I treated them as my big bros and they treated me like a sister. But it turns out they were working for a guy who wants to kill my parents and me...They got their assassins in the house, murdered my parents and burned the place down. They saved me and left me in an orphanage. And...that was the last I saw of them." she finished turning teary-eyed.

"I hate them..." she added.

"I admire you..." Kai told her.

"Huh?" she said looking at him.

"We both have a bad past but you...managed to smile despite that. I closed my heart to everything. don't do that..." he told her. "Feel any better?"

"Yes Kai." she hugged him leaving the boy shocked. "Thanks."

He let her cry on him for awhile not really knowing how to react to the affection she was giving him.

When she parted from him she had her genki look back. "Let's kick their asses Kai!"

"The semi-finals are tomorrow Meia. Get some sleep if you really want to." he said turning to the door.

"Yeah..." Meia said. "Hey Kai?"

"What?"

"You'll be alone tonight since Ron's gone right?"

"And so?"

"Do you need company?" Meia offered.

Kai hid a blush.

"You helped me a lot tonight simply by listening...I wanna make it up to you for that..." she continued. "Well?"

"I don't care what you do." Kai replied coldly and walked away.

Meia smiled. 'I know what I'll do....' she thought. 'I'll melt your frozen heart.'

She smiled at herself again.

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