Jaheira1000: Here it is people, an especially long chapters. Sorry it took so long, but I got sick and my back is still killing me. I would also like to thank all my reviewers, you keep me going!

DISCLAIMER: It's not mine!

CHAPTER FIVE: MIXED FEELINGS

It was now three days after that incident and Kia was still no nearer to feeling like a real girl than she had been then. She had very bad accidents every time she wore heels, ate even less than she used to, and still blushed furiously every time Mariah and Emily begged her to bath with them. The hotel where they were staying was incidentally Japanese style with the big outdoor baths. As she was still very embarrassed about certain parts of being a girl, she refused to go anywhere near the baths when there was somebody inside. This meant that she sometimes had to stay up very late to have a bath. The others could understand her feelings about this, and they didn't pressure her. It was a very hot day and after some discussion it was decided that they should go for a swim in the hotels huge outdoor pool. Even Kia liked the idea, until she saw IT. She was forcibly restrained by her room-mates. After about an hour's persuasion, she agreed to wear IT. When she came out of the stall however, she had but on shorts and a top over the bathing costume. Sighing, the two girls dragged the reluctant beauty outside. They all settled on chairs to await the guys who had been delayed. A few minutes later, they arrived, all looking very hot in their swimming shorts. Especially Ray. Hold on. HOT! Did she really think that? What was wrong with her? Shaking herself out of her daze, she tuned back into the conversation, in time to hear Mariah complaining to Lee that Kia refused to show off her swim-suit. And it was new too! Sliding down further on her chair, she folded her arms, daring somebody to try and move her. The guys crowded her, trying to persuade her to reveal her swim-suit. She remained adamant. Emily had an idea and whispered something to Michael. He nodded and passed along the message until everybody was filled. Kia was filled with a sense of foreboding. The others were having a pow-wow session, and she did NOT like the looks they were shooting her. She couldn't hear what they were saying.

"Come on guys, why me?" Ray asked the other, smirking bladers. "You're the one with the highest chance of survival." Mariah pointed out. "Yeah Ray, even before she became a girl, you were the one she got along with the best." He couldn't argue about that. He was the only one Kai used to tolerate. Now that she was a girl, that didn't change. 'Please don't let her hate me for this.' He prayed. Now that their meeting was over, Emily leaned over to tell Ray what he had to say. Paling slightly he looked at Emily. So THAT was Kia's secret. No wonder Emily didn't want to tell anybody else. She had told them only that she had a way to persuade Kia to go along with them. He walked up to her, and she cracked open an eye. Grimacing slightly he bent and whispered something to her. They saw her face go red then white. Holding their breath they waited for her reaction. Finally, she nodded. They started breathing again. Kia stalked back to the changing rooms. When she came back out, she was wearing nothing but a light pink bikini, which displayed her charms to perfection, but still leaving something to the imagination. Catcalls and whistles followed her blushing progress. "Happy now?" She snapped at the others. Silently they nodded. And they had thought she couldn't look any better. Without a backwards glance, she stalked off towards the pool deciding to try the diving board. Once she was positioned on the end, she raised her arms with the ease of experience. She jumped gaining momentum, and did a triple-flip dive into the pool. There was an awed silence around the pool, and when she surfaced, applause broke out. Ignoring the spectators, she started swimming lengths, trying to rid herself of her excess energy.

Watching Kia raise her arms over her head, Ray gulped. Her posture showed her perfectly shaped body to perfection. As she dove in he breathed again. He was starting to have too much interest in his lady captain. For goodness sake, he couldn't even stop staring at her. His thoughts trailed off as she hauled herself out of the water. She had completed about fifty laps in the Olympic sized pool without wearing herself out. As she made her way towards one of the chairs placed around the pool he thought about the threat they were forced to use. Emily had found out that Kia kept a diary, and had done so even before she turned into a girl. The threat was that they would reveal not only the existence of the diary, but also the contents. Ray sighed. How was he supposed to get on her good side if he was the one to threaten her? Why did he want to get in her good books? Shaking his head at his train of thought, he decided to pay attention to what the others were doing instead. Much as he tried to avoid it, his eyes kept straying to where Kia was relaxing in the sun. He found himself staring at her more than was acceptable, but he couldn't help himself. He just hoped the others wouldn't notice. He should have known better. While he was musing, the other bladers came up behind him. Tyson was always the first to notice things which smarter people would tactfully ignore, and this time was no exception. "Whatcha staring at Ray?" Ray tried to think fast, "I was just...um...uh..." Tyson's face curled into a smile and he gave Ray a knowing look. Shaking his head almost unconsciously, Ray said, "I was just thinking how different Kia became after turning into a girl. She might think that she's still the same, but she really has opened up a lot more." Emily suddenly piped up, "Well, it is a widely known fact that women are more emotional than men, so it's hardly surprising." The others all nodded slowly. Kia had always hidden things from the others, but now she tended to express her emotions much more freely. Ray was just glad that he had managed to successfully change the topic. Or so he thought. "Ray? You never answered my question, what were you staring at?" Ray squirmed in his seat, 'I'm going to kill you Tyson!' He thought calmly. With the part of his brain that was still functioning, he realised that the others were still waiting for him to answer. As the silence stretched out, help came from an unusual source. "How long are we still going to be here? We still have training to do!" Kia's voice broke the silence, and Ray was very thankful for her intervention. The breakers groaned, while the other bladers laughed. She was still as obsessed with making them train as she had been as a guy. Some things would never change.

After the bladers returned from their relaxation time at the pool, there was a message from Mr Dickenson. There would be a formal dinner for the teams at seven. At this news all of them quickly dispersed to their rooms to get ready. Kia literally had to be dragged to her room because she knew she would have to wear a dress. After a heated debate between Mariah and Emily (Kia had no say in the matter), they decided to deck Kia out in a glittering midnight blue dress that hugged her figure and flared softly around her ankles. There was also a slit up the left leg which reached her mid-thigh. The two girls were very pleased with their handiwork after adding jewellery. She wore a diamond necklace with matching earrings, bracelet, ring and anklet. The anklet peeped between the slit on her left leg when she walked. She looked stunning. She looked beautiful. She looked...like she was sulking. After making short work of her make-up and hair, the other two girls rushed into their clothes. After all the preparations were made, the three girls made their way downstairs. Mariah had decided on a pink dress which was an off-shoulder cut and a full skirt which reached her knees. Emily however, had chosen to go with a plain black satin evening dress, which hugged her figure all the way down. To Kia's surprise, all the guys were ready and waiting by the time they came down. "What took so long?" Tyson demanded, stopping short when he saw the three girls. His mouth started opening and closing like a goldfish on land. The girls were all stunning, but obviously Kia outshone the other two. In her finery, with her hair up in gentle curls which cascaded down her back, she looked like a goddess. The others were just as speechless when Mariah demanded to know who was going to be escorting who. The boys all started arguing with each other. Kia was getting angry. After ten minutes of bickering she snapped. "SHUT UP!" Everybody turned to watch her. "Listen, this is what we're gonna do. Lee can escort Mariah since they know each other so well, Kenny can escort Emily since they'll have plenty to talk about, and I'll go with Ray since he's the only one I can stomach right now. All right?" Kia looked around daring anybody to contradict her. The three chosen dutifully stepped forward while the others grumbled softly. Glaring at them she asked, "Does anybody here have a problem with this?" The others prudently stopped their grumbling. After all, they valued their safety. Having thus ended the quarrel they all marched outside towards the cars waiting to take them to the dinner.

Ray looked around. Contrary to what he had thought, he was actually enjoying himself. After Kia's little display of anger, he felt very happy. She had chosen HIM, out of all the bladers there. But thinking back, he was also the only one who hadn't joined the fighting. After arriving, Ray had felt slightly bewildered by the amount of death-glares he was getting from all the men in the room. After a while, he realised it was because of Kia. They were jealous. She had stuck by his side through the whole evening because she didn't feel like talking to the others. Ray was very happy about the arrangement too. After a while he had noticed her watching the dancers with a slightly envious expression. Taking advantage of that, he had asked her if she wanted to dance. Nobody actually knew, but she had always had an obsession with dancing. She had taken professional lessons and everything. While surprised at his thoughtfulness, she accepted his offer. She did really want to dance. As they moved onto the dance floor, Ray put his arm on her waist and they effortlessly started gliding to the music. After a while, the song ended. Kia sighed with disappointment. Seeing the emotion flicker on her face, he asked her if she wanted to go for another round. She blinked twice, thought and finally nodded. As they stood waiting for the next song, there was a slight bustle. To their great surprise, a slow love song started. Looking at each other, they had the same thought, 'Oh shit'. Eying Ray, Kia made up her mind. She moved forward in his arms, even closer than before. He was surprised, but his arms instinctively tightened around her, while her arms snaked around his neck. They swayed gracefully to the music, their movements matching each other perfectly. Soon the other people stopped dancing to watch the experts take the floor. They swung around, perfectly in tune to the music, while performing intricate movements with their feet. Mariah and Emily smirked, watching the couple. They had this planned from the start. They had rushed to the DJ to make a special request for this song. They had been plotting to get those two together since the pool episode.

Ray's POV:

I look into her eyes. Those crimson pools which I can get lost in. We sway gently moving as our bodies dictate. We no longer control our movements. It's as if our bodies have a life all their own. It feels like time is standing still. What is this feeling? Am I going crazy? Even if this is madness, there's only one thing I do know...this madness is bliss...

Kia's POV:

I've never felt like this before. I can feel myself dancing. I feel the movement, but it's as if something else is in control. I can only stand and watch. I'm lost in his golden eyes. They look like the sun, coming to brighten my life. I don't understand. What's wrong with me?

Normal POV:

As the music came to an end, there was a moment of silence before applause broke out. The two looked dazed. They hadn't even realised they had an audience. Embarrassed, the two made their way back to the others. After a while, Kia excused herself and walked onto the balcony that overlooked the gardens of Mr Dickenson's mansion. Ray frowned and followed her silently. Was something wrong? As he rounded a corner, he came face-to-face with her. He expected her to say something, to shout at him. Instead of that, she turned towards the gardens and started walking away. He took this as consent to join her, and they walked in a companionable silence. After a while, they came to a small lake. As she stared across the glossy surface, he snuck a look at her. Her skin looked even paler because of the moonlight. She looked vaguely troubled. "What's wrong?" He asked softly. She said nothing, just shrugged lightly. She turned away from him obviously intending to leave. He was amazed at how hurt he felt by that small rejection. Didn't she trust him at all? He reached out his hand to prevent her from leaving, grasping her arm tightly. She turned towards him, a questioning look in her eyes. He opened his mouth to say something, but he couldn't do it. She pulled her arm, trying to free herself from his grasp. They started a tug-of-war with her arm. She moved her right leg, trying to steady herself, and promptly tripped over a protruding tree root. Needless to say, she lost her balance. Ray chose that moment to tug her arm. The result was Kia tumbling head-long into his arms. The sudden movement caught him by surprise and he ended up on the ground on his back with her sprawled in his lap. Blinking a few times they realised that their faces were very close. In fact, the impact of the fall had caused them to lip-lock. She struggled quickly to get up, but realised that her foot was still caught. Looking around, she realised that if she moved, she would get hurt. If Ray tried to move from beneath her, she would get hurt. Unfortunately, this meant they would have to stay in that undignified position until somebody came to rescue them.

Jaheira1000: Hope you enjoyed it. Be sure to review on your way out!

Kia: What do you have to say first?

Jaheira1000: Please?

Kia: Very good!