Mistaken Identity

Chapter 1

Keiko- Rai Kane Ford smiled, opening the trunk of her car. New day, new town, new start, new life. She had just moved to Blue Bay Harbour without a care in the world. 'This has got to be better than before…' she thought to herself, as she pulled her shoulder length, poker straight, black hair into a pony tail, picking up a box and walking into the building to find her new apartment.

Hunter Bradley walked home from his shift at Storm Chargers to notice the new car parked in the drive way, next to his own. He thought he's make himself useful and offer a hand to their new neighbours. He was in a good mood because rent could be paid this month after he'd just got a huge bonus. He waited for the person to walk back out of the building and then he walked over to them.

They smiled warmly at Hunter who just stared. Her dark brown eyes were piercing through him and he was losing his sense to the colour of her hair. He admired her physique which was something from a movie and her clothes, which flattered her.

"Hey, I'm Keiko- Rai but my friends call me Kane," she said, holding out her hand.

Hunter snapped himself out of his trance and shook her hand, "I'm Hunter. Need any help?"

"Sure, that'd be great. Thank you." She handed him and box and grabbed another herself, leading the way up the stairs to her apartment.

When the car had been fully emptied, Keiko invited Hunter up for a drink to thank him for helping. They sat down on the floor because of the lack of furniture and drank their ginseng tea, all the while talking. Hunter had never tried ginseng before but he guessed now was a good enough time to try it. He had to admit, it had a nice taste to it.

A while later, Hunter and Keiko said their goodbyes and she walked him to the door. He walked to the apartment next door and opened the door.

"I'm guessing you live there?"

"Yeah…"

"Cool. See you around then and thanks again," she smiled, closing the front door and starting to unpack, while Hunter entered his own apartment that he shared with his brother Blake.

Two weeks passed. Keiko was already settled into her new home and smiled at the way it had turned out. She had worked non-stop to perfect her décor and the set up of the house and after a week, she had finally done it, well, with Hunter's help. Whenever he had spare time from work, training or saving the world, he went round and helped her decorate. They had had a brilliant time messing about through the whole thing and it felt good to have made a friend so soon. At least now she wasn't out of the entire loop. The room was beautifully lit with candles, there were cushions everywhere and the walls were a deep red colour. Her bedroom was spotless. The room was completely white apart from her wooden drawers and wardrobe and the occasional picture that hung on the walls.

Keiko started a new job a short while after that, and on her first day, she entered the store and looked around. It was immensely busy with customers and the smell of motor grease and coffee filled the air. Surprisingly, it was a nice mix. She walked over to the counter and Kelly, the owner, smiled at her.

"Hey Keiko. You ready for work?"

"Yeah. What do you want me to do?"

"There's stock in the back that needs packing and equipment that needs sorting into boxes for each racer. That ok?"

Keiko nodded and walked into the backroom. She placed her coat down and looked up. She saw Hunter with his back to her. He ran his hand through his messy, blond locks and continued unpacking the equipment. She walked up quietly behind him watched him over his shoulder a while.

Boy, he smelt good. A mix of vanilla, motor oil, dirt and coffee. She finally said, "So, what are you doing?"

This caused Hunter to leap 10 feet in the air out of fright. When he finally landed, Keiko burst out laughing at him. She was in hysterics.

"What the hell?" he said, finally getting his heart rate back down to normal.

She controlled her laughter, "Just thought I'd see what you're up to."

"What are you doing here?"

"I work here. I needed a job. I can't pay for an apartment without one, can I? "

"Guess not. You're working with me?"

She nodded, "If you don't want me too I understand, I'll ask to change my shift or something…"

He cut her off, "I don't mind. I'd like having someone to work with for once."

"Cool."

Three weeks later

"Hey Keiko!" Hunter called after her after their shift had ended.

"Hunter…hey. What's up?" she turned to face him,

"I was… um, just… um, wondering, if you'd like to, you know if you want to, you could, um… hang out with me sometime?"

She laughed at his nervousness, "Hunter Bradley, are you asking me out on a date?"

"Well, I'm attempting to…"

"You're cute when you stutter. I'd love to hang out with you, as you put it."

"Really? Great. How about tonight. I'll pick you up at seven. That ok?"

"Sure. Can't wait. See you then," she smiled, not wanting to bother explaining that picking her up wasn't necessary since she lived next door. She walked away, after kissing him on the cheek.

That Night

Hunter and Keiko walked along the beach, shoes in hands and just talking about nothing in particular. Hunter was dressed in some loose, bagging blue jeans and a black vest, with a crimson shirt on top. The shirt had the first four buttons undone to reveal the vest underneath. His hair was still messy. Keiko had on her white t-shirt and some cropped black pants which revealed fish nets underneath. Her black hair was curled and hung around her face. They stopped and looked at the ocean.

"This is so beautiful…" she breathed.

"Yeah…."

Hunter sat down and pulled Keiko down as well. They sat there in silence for a while. Hunter suddenly found a wave of courage drift over him. Yeah, he could fight monsters on a regular basis but he hadn't been on a date for months. He slowly took hold of Keiko's hand. She entwined her fingers with his and looked at him. She smiled that brilliant white smile and leant back onto his body. She pulled his hand over her with their fingers still locked and continued to look out to sea.

"So, you're parents coming to visit anytime soon?" Hunter asked.

"Don't think they can from where they are…" Keiko said slowly.

"Oh and where's that?"

"Heaven."

"Oh, Rai-Rai, I'm so sorry. I didn't know."

"It's ok. Don't worry about it."

"If it makes you feel better, I know how you feel. My parents died as well, just over three years ago."

"I'm sorry."

"Yeah, me too. They were my adoptive parents and everything but I never knew my biological parents so they were all I knew. Then one day, it's only me and Blake."

"That's terrible. I'm so sorry. Blake's your brother, right?"

"Yeah and my best friend. It's not your fault."

"It's not yours either. Remember that because I sometimes go through the phase of blaming myself for their deaths."

"Well, you shouldn't. It obviously wasn't your fault. You're too sweet. Like candy."

"Ha, thanks."

After a couple of hours, they stood up and Hunter felt confident once again. He took her hand and smiled at her. She grinned back. Hunter moved his head slightly forward and rested his forehead against hers. She wrapped her arms tightly around his neck as their lips met and his went to her back and cheek, trying to pull her even closer to him.

When they pulled away he looked at her and grinned, "You taste like candy too. I'm going to call you candy. My own nick name for you."

Hunter woke the next day and grinned to himself. He remembered what happened the night before, how they'd arranged another date, how they'd kissed, how he felt wonderful with her in his arms, how he felt… well, wanted.

A couple of weeks and five dates later, Hunter finally asked Keiko to be his girlfriend, which she accepted without hesitation. She just had to meet his friends now.