Her eyes scanned across the park and came to rest on Kai, sitting by the fountain. She smiled and walked right up to him and sat down next to him.
"You've been following me for a while now." She said looking at him. "Don't you have something better to do?" she smiled sweetly at him. He felt his heart skip and then beat faster than ever before.
"Not really." He said, leaning back onto the wall. "What did you say back there?" he asked. She looked at him a little confused.
"You're going to have to tell me when?" she said, leaning back to meet his gaze.
"In the alley, to those kids. What did you say that scared them so much?" he asked, looking into her eyes. They were brown like chocolate, rich and warm. She smiled and flashed her white teeth.
"Oh, I just said I would tell their mothers." She said, leaning back and playing with the water in the pond. "Put the fear of God into them a little." She laughed.
"Well, it worked." He laughed too. He felt so at ease with her and the conversation already, he found it a little strange. "And the little boy, what did he say?" he asked. She looked at him and smiled again. She tended to do that often, the magic of Paris had clearly crept into her heart.
"I'm getting the idea that you can't speak French?" she laughed and held her hand to her mouth. He wished she wouldn't muffle that perfect laugh.
"It's a little tough to pick up." He laughed. She laughed and looked up into the clear blue sky.
"He said that you were, Kai Hiwatari, the famous Russian beyblader. From a team called the, Bladebreakers. Was he right?" she asked, looking at him, with interested eyes.
"Yes, I am a beyblader, and my name is Kai, I am half Russian, half Japanese but I live in Japan, but he got something wrong." He replied, tweaking her interest a little. She moved closer to him.
"What did he get wrong?" she asked softly. He leaned closer and whispered in her ear.
"I'm not famous." He said and she pulled away and looked at him mystified and he began to laugh. She laughed and realized he had played a joke on her.
"Yeah, that's why a little boy in the other side of the world from where you live recognized you, or rather your hair, in a dark alley." She said, looking up at his hair.
"What's wrong with my hair?" he asked, reaching for it.
"No, no, you misunderstand me. It's not bad, it's just, distinctive." She said, trying not to laugh.
"Okay, now you know my name, and still don't know your name." he said, looking at her. She looked at him, looked him up and down and smiled.
"Charlie." She said, shifting back to touch the water. "My name is Charlie." She said, looking at her reflection in the water.
"Charlie, that's a guy's name, right?" he joked.
"Or a nickname for something longer." She smiled. "Why are you in town, Mr. Hiwatari?" she asked him and smiled.
"I'm here to compete in the European tournament of beyblading, to qualify for the finals in America next month some time." He replied.
"You're part of the BBA?" she asked.
"Yes, how did you know?" he asked. She seemed to cast a new spell on him with every word she said.
"I read a lot." She said, moving closer to him and leaning over to whisper in his ear. "Don't you think you're a little old to be playing with toys?" she looked at him, trying not to laugh again. She seemed like a very happy person. He wagged his finger, gesturing for her to come closer. He leaned forward and she turned her head for him. She held her ear to his lips and his warm words flooded her ear.
"Don't you think you're a little old to be playing with toys?" he pulled away and smiled, gesturing to her pocket. She smiled and shrugged one shoulder.
"Touché, Mr. Hiwatari." She said, reaching in her pocket. She pulled out a white and gold beyblade.
"Call me Kai, please." He said, looking at her beyblade. It was beautiful. "I see you don't have a bitbeast."
"Well, Kai. I see no need." She said, putting it back in her pocket. "I don't compete. That's my sister. Alex. She has a bitbeast, Bellona. It's a Snow Leopard. She's good too. She's competing today in fact." She said and he saw a twinge of sadness in her eyes. Was it because she didn't have a bitbeast, or was it something else. As quickly as it appeared, it was gone.
"Well, then why are you in Paris, not to blade, obviously." He asked, looking at his own bitbeast. He couldn't imagine not having one. Dranzer had been a part of his life since he was five. She felt like an extension of his soul.