Kitties

Summary: Ray: "This year, my birthday will be different. Without any kitties. No exceptions."

Ray skipped along the footpath happily; today was his fifteenth birthday. Tyson had send Ray off to the grocery store, to buy some things but Ray wasn't that stupid so as to not have guessed already what the guys had been planning a surprise party for him. He felt excited, his footsteps increased as he neared the Dojo.

This year, he thought, was going to be different. Up till now, he'd been celebrating his birthday over at his village, back in China. This year, he was in Japan, with the Blade Breakers. Not that he thought badly of the villagers, but Ray had to admit that the villagers –who were usually so wise, intuitive, and insightful – had no clue on how to celebrate birthdays at all. To them, birthday's meant a year of your life gone. It was true, but they chose to moan about it, instead of celebrating. And moaning usually involved giving kitty cats to the birthday boy….Yep, you heard it right; kittens. Cats. Stuffed animals. Symbolism for life; nine, to be exact.

Ray shuddered as he opened the front door to the dojo.

"Surprise!"

The deafening shouts startled Ray, but he chose to smile at the scene in front of him; there were banners hanging on the walls; there were sprinklers all over the normally-empty lounge. Max and Tyson, in their hands, held a big cake, the shape of a beyblade. Hillary and Kai were standing behind the table, just where five presents lay; Hillary was looking at Ray with a big smile on her face, and even Kai had managed to hide his frown. Kenny had the biggest of all banners, held in his hands loosely; it said, 'The pussycat turned fifteen today.'

This year, Ray thought once more, was definitely going to be different.

Two Hours Later:

Stomping his way angrily upstairs, the Chinese teen grabbed a box from beneath his bed and emptied the contents of his hands into it; the presents he'd gotten from his friends. Two grey Tom Cat plushies from Max, two Thunder Cats from Kenny, a Sylvester doll from Hillary, a Garfield toy from Tyson, and finally, a Hello Kitty doll from none other than Kai.

"Stupid birthdays."

Yeah! My first attempt at a drabble! Though, it turned out to be pretty much longer than a 100 words….:) Well, anyway, this could've been better described but….I couldn't do it. :D

Okay, now I'll be straight. This is the last time I'll be posting something here on ff, for a LONG time. I just thought I'd officially let everyone know, so that they may stop waiting and all. I'll make this short, so if anyone is interested in knowing the reasons, please visit my profile and everything's explained there.

Anyways, I hope you liked this chapter….Review please! :p

Update: Well, GigglesWorth told me that Japanese really give 'Maneki Neko' or Beckoning Cat as charms or future prosperity to friends or relatives. I didn't know that. Coincidence! Thanks for sharing, honey...:)