Author's Note: Sorry it's been a while since I updated! Thanks to Jessy Antichrist, Johnschick4ever, Latisha C, biddiebabe93, ChArMeDcRaZiChIcK, gtea-angel, moonchaser, huntersgirl, Taka-Ichi-Sisters, and madame bloodbathe for the reviews! Please keep them coming!

Everything you say to me

Takes me one step closer to the edge

And I'm about to break

I need a little room to breathe

'Cause I'm one step closer to the edge

And I'm about to break

I find the answers aren't so clear

Wish I could find a way to disappear

All these thoughts they make no sense

I find bliss in ignorance

Nothing seems to go away

Over and over again

-One Step Closer by Linkin Park

Inside of Me

Chapter 6

Mina Hardy walked into the small café tentatively, her eyes scanning the place for Kane. She had called him about two hours ago, asking him if he had the time to get together and catch up with each other that day. Kane had suggested they meet for brunch, which had thus brought her to this casual café. The walls were a rich red, and a homey warmth seemed to radiate from the place. Mina spotted Kane at a booth by the back wall, and walked over toward him, sliding in the opposite side.

"Hello, Mina," he said, his eyes on her, seemingly testing the words out of his mouth. Mina gave him a small smile and nodded at him. She still didn't know what to call him. Dad? No. She couldn't; at least not yet. It would have to be Kane for now.

The two were silent as they looked over the small menus and ordered their food. Mina peeked over at the other patrons, but they didn't appear to recognize her nor Kane which, she supposed, was a good thing. As soon at the waitress disappeared, orders in hand, the silence between them became oppressing. "So..." Mina let out a small, awkward laugh.

"So," Kane echoed. Looking across the table at her, he slowly took in every detail about her, proving to himself that it really was his daughter. It was easy to spot Mina's resemblance to both he and Lita. Thinking of the past, Kane smiled slightly. 'The night that would haunt Lita forever...did.' "Tell me... What was your life like?" his brow creased in curiosity.

Mina hesitated only briefly to put her words in order. "Well, I grew up with Lita and Matt," she stopped abruptly, not sure if she should mention either of them in his presence. 'At least I didn't call them Mom and Dad...' she thought to herself. 'And after what I've just been through with them, I don't think I'm going to be able to for a long time.'

"It's all right," Kane said with a reassuring smile, "Go on."

"Lita stayed home with me until I was ready to start kindergarten, when I was four or five. She brought me with her on the road with the Smackdown! brand, and I got tutored on the road. It was fun, and all of the guys were nice to me, or at least neutral. There were a few nasty guys, but they never came near me. When I was in fourth 'grade', I guess is the way to say it, Lita decided to come home. I don't know why, but it had something to do with her disagreeing with the McMahon's."

"They wanted to put her back on RAW," Kane stepped in, "because RAW ultimately draws the biggest crowds, and Lita was a big part of it. I take it she didn't want to see me, so she didn't."

Mina nodded solemnly. "Yeah... Well, we went back home in Carolina, and I entered in Hunter Elementary in December."

"Was it nice?" Kane asked as the waitress came back with their coffees.

Mina looked down at the swirling brown liquid before her, and sighed softly. "No, no, it wasn't," she said softly, and blew on the steaming coffee. "When you go in the middle of a year, you don't get a chance to start with people, and by then all of the 'cliques' are formed," she hesitated. "I got made fun of a lot."

"For your eyes," Kane said, and Mina lifted her head, surprised he had guessed. "I know," Kane said, smiling sadly, "I know how it feels, and I'm sorry."

She shook her head. "I'm not, because it taught me the true features of humans," she took a small sip of coffee. "Further in the year, they still were making fun of me, and I retaliated. I was in the principal's office everyday, and I deemed a 'problem child'. Lita got letters home about it," Mina's eyes were fixated on the hanging lamp above and beyond Kane's head, silently reliving her past. "She talked to me about it, in that nice way, but I knew she was disappointed in me. I didn't like that..." she sighed. "She kept asking me why I hit the other students, but I never told her, because I knew she'd be just like the principal and the lunch ladies, who didn't understand why I didn't just ignore them. How can you ignore them, when they're always there, always bearing down?" the redhead looked up, and saw the genuine understanding in Kane's eyes. He, too, knew her pain. She felt a lump forming in her throat, and she wasn't sure why. Perhaps it was because, in all of her life, she had never, ever, found someone that completely understood her or her past...and now it seemed like she had.

"So what happened after fourth grade?"

"Lita took me out of public school, and for fifth grade I went to a private all-girls' school, which didn't really help matters. Overall, it was the guys thought I was cool, but the girls thought I was hideous," she shrugged. "I got through fifth grade. There were strict teachers and a lot of work, but it suited me. That was the year I met Sarah Lara. She was really cool, and we hit it off," there was a bitter tone in her voice. "We became best friends..."

She paused as the waitress returned with their food. Each of them murmured their thanks, and began to eat; not saying a word for a while, but this time the quiet was comfortable. After the first few bites, Mina continued her story.

"In sixth grade, Lita thought I was 'mature enough' to handle public school again, so I got sent to Cameron Middle School. It was okay, though, because Sarah got her parents to do the same. Lita went back to work, and she wasn't back until five most days."

"She became one of the trainers on Tough Enough IX," Kane said softly. "I remember the guy that came out as the winner. Cruiserweight Champion at the moment, in fact. Duane McKing or something. Anyway... How was middle school?"

"It was okay, fun at times... I made some more friends, but not a lot. I was still a loner at heart. Still, a lot of people didn't like me, but that was always, and will always be the case," she took a bite of her waffle before continuing. "That was really it for those three years. Lita rotated in jobs a lot, but I think she pretty much stayed in the WWE ranks."

Kane nodded, listening intently to her words. He had long ago decided not to comment on her use of Lita's first name instead of a motherly term, but knew it was probably in regard to the drama that he had caused. "I didn't hear a lot about her after the Tough Enough stint. It seemed like she disappeared off of the face of the earth..." he pushed his pancake around the syrup-covered plate. "Anyway, that's another story for later. How was high school?"

"I went to Cameron High School, big surprise there," she said sarcastically. "CHS was nicer than any of the other schools, and a lot more accepting, though there were still many that didn't...accept me. Freshman year was probably one of the best school years of my life."

"And why is that?" Kane asked lightly.

"I started going out with my first boyfriend, Chad Wade. He was the best thing and one of the worst things that happened to me during high school." Mina hesitated. Did she delve further? 'Yes,' she urged herself, 'If he's going to get to know me, he's going to get to know everything, and if he's still willing to be in my life... Then maybe, maybe he really is meant to be in it.' "Sophomore year was same old, same old. Sarah was still my best friend, and Chad was still my boyfriend," she licked her lips, and took a steeling breath before speaking. "During the summer between Sophomore year and Junior year, I made one of the biggest mistakes of my life... I had sex with Chad," she bit down on her lip. God, how stupid had she been? Even now she berated herself for doing it. "The next year he broke up with me, and I realized just how lame I was, and how stupid I'd been to do that as proof that I loved him," Mina glanced at Kane.

Kane looked back at Mina, nodding his head. He and she both knew she had made a huge mistake, but she did not need his words on top her own frustrated feelings about the matter. In a way, he could understand how she felt about it. That, however, didn't stop the fatherly urge inside him to find this Chad kid and beat the living hell out of him.

"I guess Chad had a reason for breaking up with me, but I..." she shook her head, "No, it's not worth putting into words. Anyway, in Junior year, Sarah joined the cheerleading team and started hanging out with new people, but that was okay because I was doing the same, and it wasn't like we had to spend every moment of life with each other. Her new friends... I didn't like them at all, so I stayed away from them. They were the people who talked about me behind my back, and I didn't want to risk the friendship Sarah and I had. I told Sarah about what Chad and I did, her being my best friend, and the next thing you know, it's all over the school that I'm easy, and that I'm supposedly doing all of my friends, who were nearly all guys. After that, Chad broke up with me," she paused. "It was déjà vu, relearning that people are generally not worth bothering yourself with." Mina stopped, finishing her meal. She had created a brighter, happier side to her that was in view with everyone, but she hid the cynical, deep side to her. Yet, talking to Kane brought it out, and she was finding that it was just so...easy to talk to him.

"Anyway," she said, swallowing her last bite, "I attacked the girl that Sarah had told—and in turn told everyone—and broke Sarah's wrist. I got expelled from the school, and I moved to a different school. Senior year I was a loner. After that, I went into OVW. After the hours, I took courses in music and writing at Northwestern University, and got my Bachelor's in both... And here I am."

"Wow," Kane said aloud, and smiled. "You really are my daughter." The words felt odd to Mina, coming from his mouth, but it was in a good way. After a few minutes of small talk, the check came. Kane paid it, and glanced down at his watch. "I've got to get to an autograph signing, but maybe we could get together before the live RAW show?" he prompted.

"Sure," Mina said with a smile, "That'd be great. I'll call you," she added, knowing he didn't know her cell phone number, and poised to keep it that way for a while."

Kane stood, and hesitated. "Mina?"

"Yes?"

"I was wondering... Well, I need a tag team partner on RAW against Shelton Benjamin and Gail Kim and I—"

"Yes," Mina answered immediately, grinning.

Kane smiled. "Great! So I'll see you Monday," with that, he began to leave the café, followed at a length by Mina. As the bell signaling his exit rang, a smirk came onto Kane's face. Monday... Monday was when the transformation began. Mina would no longer be Matt's daughter, she would no longer be Lita's daughter...she would be his daughter. They would be a team, a destructive force to be reckoned with.

And someday, she would fill the shoes of his past in the WWE.

Author's Note: Whew! That was a long chapter, but I hope you enjoyed it. And I promise, there will be some action soon! Yes, on RAW. Lol. Just hang in there, and please review!

Next Chapter: Randy and Lita have a little "chat", and Mina meets a fellow Diva who just may become her friend...