HAI A-GAIN. Okay, here's something to remember when reading this chapter; Grin (next to Duke) is probably THE hardest character to write about. Why, you might ask? Well, mainly because we see him as the philosophical, non-weapon using duck he is today. But what was he like before that (other than the nasty temper and training with a master)?

P.S. Apparently (for those of you who didn't know this), according to wikipedia and every fansite I go to, Grin's real name is "Check 'Grin' Hardwing". I don't know what the point of the "Check" is, since he's never called that in the show. But whatever. I was able to use this to my advantage

Disclaimer: I don't own MD:TAS. If I did, I'd be rich.

The rather large thirteen year old drake sat back and sighed.

Lessons were hard with his master. Of course, trying to figure out the cryptic sayings of the older one were a lesson onto themselves, not to mention whatever it was that he had in mind for the day.

But Check had to admit, they were working; the lessons with his master made his own life more bearable, along with the fact that his master was teaching him "the true path of hockey".

Though by some ducks standards his life wasn't bad, others would consider it horrible. Check's father drank heavily whenever he came home at the end of his work day and the younger drake's mother was usually on the end of some pretty bad beatings. Check would try to protect his mother when he could, but since his father's work schedule could get pretty erratic, the young drake couldn't always protect her. Sometimes he'd show up just as it ended, other times the young drake wouldn't go home until he knew that his father was either asleep or not coming home due to his work.

And because of all this, Check used to be angry all the time; at his father for drinking and beating his own wife, his mother for just taking it and never speaking up for herself, but mostly…at himself.

Himself, mainly because he couldn't protect his mother all the time, his father because there was nothing he could really do against him (despite the fact that Check was much stronger than him), and because he himself was confused. But then again, he was only thirteen, and had been under the tutelage of his master for not even a year.

Training with the hockey master Tai Quack Do was sometimes just tiring, mentally and physically.

But one major thing the young drake had learned was how to vent the right way. Before whenever he was mad, he'd go and bully other kids that so happened to be around; actually, that wasn't entirely accurate. Because of his size and strength, he could hold his own against much older teens than himself. One time, a seventeen year old hot-shot had tried to best Check at…

Actually, he couldn't even remember what it was anymore. He just remembered that the older teen had run off crying.

But since he had been starting his training, Check's temperament was much better. Kids that were once afraid of him could now call him a friend…or at least admit that they had seen great change in the teenager since he had met Tai Quack Do.

Suddenly, he felt a poke at his knee. Ripped from his thoughts, the teenager looked down to see a small duckling with blonde hair, just poking him. The kid was small, so Check guessed he was anywhere from four to six.

"Why are you poking me?" he asked the younger duckling.

Said child looked up at him. "I couldn't get your 'tension," he simply answered. "You looked like you were sad."

"I'm okay," Check told him. "But what are you doing? Aren't your mom and dad around here?"

The duckling shook his head. "But my brudder is," he answered. "I'm waitin' on him." He suddenly got a mischievous grin on his face. "We're playin' Hide-n-Seek."

Judging from that smile, the older duck thought that was not the case. But to keep the kid from wandering any further, he figured he should talk to the smaller one so his brother could catch up.

"What's your name kid?" Check asked, attempting to smile.

"Dive," the younger one said. "That's what everyone calls me anyway. What's yours?"

"Check."

The kid stared at him funny. "That's a weird name," he finally said. Then Dive smiled. "I like Grin better."

The older one looked confused. "Why that name?"

"Because you look better when you smile!" Then he paused, looking sheepish. "At least, Mommy says that."

'Grin' smiled. "It's not a bad nickname," he admitted. "Alright, I'll stick with that."

"Nosedive!"

The younger one turned his head in the direction that a voice was calling him. Then he looked back up to the older duck. "I gots to go now," he said. "Wing's prob'ly mad at me."

"Wouldn't want him to be, would you?"

The younger one shook his head. "Uh-uh."

"Then go see him."

Nosedive turned around and was about to skate off when he had a thought. He looked over his shoulder to his new friend. "Will I see you again?"

"Maybe someday," the newly dubbed 'Grin' answered, hoping that it was true.

RVRVRVRVRVRVRV

"Grinster, I'm tellin' ya, he's a bear! Why would they call him 'Bernie the Bear' if he wasn't a bear?"

Grin sighed. "He lives in a house and drives a car. Therefore, he cannot be a bear."

Nosedive looked at him from his spot on the couch, irritated. "You wouldn't say that if you were looking at his creator, would you?" he asked.

Grin just sat back in one of the recliners and smiled.

He knew someday he would meet Nosedive again, but he never had any idea that the two would be fighting on a team together, much less arguing over a cartoon.

But the odd thing was, even though Grin remembered his first meeting with the younger drake, the teenager couldn't remember giving his friend his new name so long ago.

But then again, Nosedive had only been around five when they met.

Somewhere in there, he knew. Grin was just waiting for the day that Dive would remember it and he could finally give the younger one credit for his nickname.