To say that Benkei Hanawa was intrigued had to be the understatement of the year.

Of course, if one were to ask how he felt on the subject at hand, he would certainly say he was intrigued, because he really was. It just happened to be the "this-is-getting-more-interesting-by-the-day-and-if-I-don't-look-into-it-more-I'll-literally-explode-from-curiosity" kind of intrigued.

He honestly hadn't expected to become friends with Motti at Madoka's Christmas party, but he had. With Johannes in jail for crimes against humanity (and good riddance), Motti had nowhere to go, and so Madoka had taken pity on her and allowed her to live with her at the B-Pit. Obviously, everyone had objected at first—he himself included—but Madoka stubbornly held her ground until everyone caved and the matter was dropped. Motti had definitely proven she was worthy of forgiveness at the party, when she nervously approached Benkei and apologized for her actions during the tag-team tournament in China—she knew what she had done was wrong, and she wanted to make up for it.

Since then, Benkei had found a sort-of friend in the young cat lover. She was bouncy and happy, always smiling and shining like a ray of sun. They even trained together at Bey Park; Benkei found himself becoming a bit of a beyblade tutor to her. She was slowly becoming a little sister to him, a little sister he never had.

But Benkei also began to notice other things Motti did, specifically when a certain bespectacled Legendary Blader of Mercury was in the same room. Which happened a lot, as he often came to the B-Pit to work with Madoka.

Now, Benkei may have been a tad less smart than the average human being, but he wasn't blind. Motti clearly had a thing for Yuki Mizusawa. She had actually told him herself, coincidentally at Madoka's Christmas party; she liked him, but wasn't sure how to approach it.

The only question now was if Yuki felt the same way. He certainly was nice to Motti, although, granted, he was nice to everybody. But still… in the few conversations he had seen Yuki and Motti have, Yuki had also let off little signals that were all Benkei needed to see that it may be possible.

And it would be kind of cute if they did get together… but he also knew it wouldn't happen on its own. There was no way Yuki would respond to his feelings, and Motti wasn't sure what to do and so had decided to do nothing.

Clearly, the Matchmaking Master of Metal Bey City would have to intervene. For no force on Earth, not even that of Nemesis, was more powerful than the power of…

Benkei.

He began his matchmaking expedition by going to Yuki to get some clear, straight answers.

This isn't gonna be easy, he thought to himself as he headed for the B-Pit. Knowing Yuki, he would probably dodge his questions, or he would clam up and then he really wouldn't get any clear, straight answers.

Luckily, he had a plan that was absolutely foolproof.

"Come on, Mr. Benkei, this isn't funny!" Yuki banged on the door of the closet. "Please let me out!"

Benkei grinned and leaned more heavily on the closet door. "Nope!" he called. "Not until you admit you have a thing for Motti!"

"I do not have a 'thing' for Motti, a fact you clearly seem to ignore!" But Yuki's voice had risen a little in pitch, a clear indication he was lying.

"Oh yeah? So, you don't think she looks pretty?"

"Well… she does look kind of nice… but so does Miss Madoka! I don't have a thing for her, either, if you were thinking of asking!"

I'm just gonna ignore that. "And you don't think she's sunny and optimistic?"

"Well, of course she is! But what does that have to do with anything?"

"And you don't like that she's interested in astrology, the same thing you're interested in?"

"It's astronomy! Honestly, why does everyone get them mixed up? There's a clear difference, people…"

Oh, bull, he's having a nerd alert. Benkei rapped briskly on the door. "Ya didn't answer my question! So you don't like that she's interested in astronomy, just like you?"

"I do, but only because it's nice to discuss it with someone!"

"And you don't feel happy whenever you see her get excited about winning a beybattle?"

"W-Well, she's been improving in her beyblading abilities, so of course I would be thrilled if she won."

"And you don't think her hair smells like vanilla?"

"It smells like peaches, actually."

"Aha!" (he honestly hadn't been expecting that one)

"Wait, no! I didn't say that! I didn't say that!"

"You did!" Benkei crowed.

"No, I didn't!"

"Did too!"

"Did not!"

Benkei rolled his eyes, but laughed. "Come on, Yuki, spit it out already! I promise I won't tell anyone what you say."

Yuki was silent for a second. Then, "… you promise?"

"I promise. Cross my heart and hope to die." He audibly spat on the floor. "Now come on, do you have a thing for Motti? And follow-up question: what would you think if you learned she felt the same way?"

There was another long stretch of silence. Benkei folded his arms and leaned back against the door, patiently waiting. Well, as patiently as he was able.

"… Okay, fine. Perhaps I… maybe… have a "thing" for Motti. And… it would be nice if she felt the same. She probably doesn't, but it would be nice. Er… maybe really nice…?"

Benkei grinned, then pumped his fist and did a silent victory dance.

"Now will you please let me out of this closet?"

"Oh, yeah, sorry." He unlocked the door and let Yuki step out of the closet he had been shoved into.

Yuki pushed his glasses up his nose and straightened the tie around his neck, then gave Benkei a surprisingly threatening glare. "We will never speak of this again. And if I find out you told anyone of what just happened, I will smash your beyblade. Are we clear?"

Benkei held up his hands. "Crystal."

"Go, Gasher!"

Flame Gasher spun through the stadium and smashed into the opposing beyblade, sending it flying and crashing into the snow several feet away.

Motti caught her Gasher and twirled around happily. "Meow! I did it, I did it, I did it!"

Benkei pumped his fists along with her as the boy she had just battled raced after his beyblade. "B-B-Bull! That was awesome!"

The two high-fived.

"Meow! I wonder who else wants to battle!" Motti wondered, eagerly scanning the park for another person to defeat.

"Actually, kiddo, how about we sit down for a second? I need to ask you something."

Motti cocked her head curiously, but followed him to a nearby bench regardless. "Meow? What's up?"

"So, you remember how you told me you had a thing for Yuki?"

Almost immediately, red filled Motti's tanned cheeks. She nodded. "Meow-wow,"

Benkei had to keep from grinning. "Well, how'd you feel if you found out he likes you too?"

Motti's face lit up. "That'd be amazing, meow!" Then her face fell, and she shook her head. "But no, he wouldn't like me back, meow. I'm not really very likeable, meow…"

"Hey, I like you just fine! And if I like you, then there must be some people out there who love you!"

She looked up at him hopefully. "You really think so, meow?"

Benkei put an arm around her shoulder and mussed up her hair. "You bet I do!"

"Meow! Cut it out!" A giggling Motti wriggled out of his grip and patted down her bow, which had been knocked askew.

Well, Phase One: Get a Straight Answer From Both Targets = complete. On to Phase Two: Get Madoka's Help.

"Hey, Madoka, can I ask you something?" Benkei asked the following day.

Madoka looked up from the beyblade she was repairing. "Sure, Benkei, what's up?"

"Say you're a boy, and you wanted to tell a girl you liked her. How would you do it?"

The mechanic blinked at him for a second. "Uh… why do you ask?"

"It's for a… project I'm working on."

Madoka raised an eyebrow at him suspiciously. "It wouldn't happen to be anything concerning Yuki and Motti, would it?"

Now it was Benkei's turn to blink at her. "Huh? How'd you know?"

He received a withering look. "You didn't think I could hear you shove Yuki into a closet and make him admit he had a crush on her?"

Oh. Oops. He chuckled awkwardly and rubbed the back of his neck. "Heh, heh, you heard that?"

"Yes, and I'm going to tell you right now: stop. If Yuki and Motti like each other, then they'll figure it out eventually, by themselves. If you try to get them together before they're ready, you could destroy any chance of it actually happening."

Benkei groaned. "But if we let them work it out themselves, that could take forever! That's like two bulls locked together by the horns trying to push each other back: never going to happen!"

Madoka rolled her eyes. "Benkei, these things happen naturally. One of them will make a move someday, but right now, they're probably waiting for the right time."

Luckily, Benkei figured Madoka wouldn't want to help him. Which was why he came prepared. "Really? Like how you're waiting for the right time to ask out Gingka?"

If Madoka didn't have any facial features, one could have easily mistaken her for a tomato in that moment. "That's—That's completely different! Shut up!"

"Why don't I call him up right now, and have you two talk it out?" Benkei teased, reaching over and picking up the phone on Madoka's desk.

Madoka's eyes widened. "You wouldn't,"

"B-B-B-Bull. I would." He began to dial Gingka's cell phone number.

Madoka let out a nervous laugh. "You're bluffing. You've got to be… Are you?"

Benkei grinned very Kyoya-esquely at her. "Nope."

They both heard the phone start to ring.

"Okay, okay!" Madoka lunged forward and snatched the phone out of his hand, slamming it down on the receiver. "What do you want?"

Phase Two: Get Madoka's Help = complete.

Phase Three: Get Targets to Admit Crushes on Each Other.

This one was going to be difficult, primarily because neither Yuki nor Motti were going to do this by themselves. They would rather push their feelings back and say nothing than admit they liked each other, and Benkei would sooner get struck by lightning than get the end goal he wanted. So, after some careful deliberation on possible battle plans with Madoka (who probably secretly didn't mind Benkei was essentially blackmailing her to help), they decided on the age-old plan of attack: divide and conquer.

"While I appreciate the company, Mr. Benkei," Yuki stated as the pair headed down the sidewalk towards the B-Pit, "why do you want to go to the B-Pit anyway?"

"Bull's due for repairs," Benkei smoothly replied, having thought of this excuse beforehand.

Yuki raised an eyebrow. "Since when do you take Bull in for annual repairs?"

Benkei gave him a Look. "Hey, I may work Bull hard, but I'm not a monster. Gingka and Kyoya are the ones who don't take Pegasus and Leone in for repairs."

Yuki nodded in concession. "That is true."

They walked for a stretch of sidewalk in silence, passing pedestrians on their way to the B-Pit. "Hey, Yuki?"

"Yes?"

"You know, the new Jumanji movie came out a while ago…"

"And?"

"Well, I bet Motti would love to go see it,"

Benkei glanced over and saw that Yuki's face was neutral… too neutral. "You should take her to see it sometime, Mr. Benkei. I don't think she's ever been to the movies before."

"I know. But I was thinking…maybe you'd like to take her."

Yuki's high-pitched squeak of "What?!" caused a few pedestrians to stop and look at them in bewilderment.

"I thought we agreed never to speak of this again!" Yuki whisper-yelled as they resumed walking. "Why do you even care, anyway?"

Benkei decided if he was going to make anymore progress, he would have to reveal the truth. "Because Motti likes you too."

Yuki stopped walking and blinked at him. His blinking eyes and his huge glasses made him look even more like an owl than usual. "Really?"

"Yep. She told me herself. How about that, huh?"

Yuki just continued to blink dumbly at him.

"Yuki?"

Silence.

"Gonna say something, buddy?"

Still silence. Then…

"What should I do?"

Benkei inwardly grinned at the question. "Tell her you like her,"

Yuki gave him a Look. "What should I do besides that?"

"Declare your feelings for her,"

The Mercury Blader's eye twitched slightly. "Besides that,"

"Admit your true emotions towards her,"

Another eye twitch. "Besides that,"

A grin now stretched across Benkei's face in spite of himself. "Confess how you feel about her,"

"Are you going to help at all?"

"Come on, Yuki," Benkei persisted. "You like Motti, you know Motti likes you, so why not tell her you have a crush on her?"

Yuki still wasn't budging, so with a sigh, Benkei was forced to go down another route. "Either you tell her, or I will."

"You do that and I'll make you regret it,"

He highly doubted that. "So…?"

Yuki sighed, looked down at the ground for a second, then looked back up at him. "What if I tell her, and she decides she doesn't like me after all?"

"That's not gonna happen," Benkei said decidedly.

"How do you know?"

"I just do. Now let's go. We're going to the B-Pit, aren't we? Perfect time to tell her how you feel!"

Yuki sighed as they resumed walking. "You are way too into being a matchmaker, Mr. Benkei."

Once they got to the B-Pit, Benkei could tell Madoka had talked to Motti before they arrived; the second she saw Yuki, she went pink and turned away.

"Hey, guys," Madoka greeted. "Benkei, here to drop off Bull?"

"Yep," Benkei placed Bull on the counter. "Hi, Motti, what's up?"

"Meow, nothing special, meow, I'm perfectly fine, meow!"

Madoka met Benkei's eyes, and he nodded at her. She nodded back. "Well, I'm going to take this downstairs and have a look at it. Wanna come with, Benkei?"

"B-B-Bull, sure."

Yuki's eyes widened and a panicked look flashed across his face. Motti began to twist her hands and mumble "Meow," under her breath over and over. But neither Benkei nor Madoka pretended to notice as they left the main area of the store. They walked all the way down to the basement, and Madoka placed Bull on the coffee table before they crept back up the stairs, as silently as Benkei could manage. When they got to the door to the main area, Madoka opened the door a crack and they leaned in.

"S-So… how are you, M-Miss Motti?"

"I've told you before, you can just call me Motti, meow,"

"O-Oh, right. Sorry. How are you, Mi—Motti?"

"I'm doing okay, meow. How about you?"

"Fine, thanks,"

Benkei quietly groaned. "Ugh, at this rate it'll take another month!" he whispered to Madoka.

"Shh!"

"Did you hear something?" they heard Yuki say.

A brief moment of silence. "Probably nothing, meow."

Another long stretch of silence. Then Benkei heard footsteps, and peered through the cracked-open doorway to see that Yuki had inched closer to the counter, where Motti was sitting. "Uh…um…Motti?"

Motti looked up at him. "Meow?"

"U-Um…" even from this distance Benkei could see how red Yuki's face was. "…w-well, the new Jumanji movie is out, a-and I wondering…wouldyouwanttogoseeitwithme?"

Motti blinked at Yuki blankly. "What'd you say?"

Yuki lowered his gaze to the floor and rubbed the back of his neck. "W-Would… you… like… to… go… see… Jumanji… with me?"

For a good long moment, Motti just stared at him. Then she blinked and grinned. "Meow! Sure!"

Yuki's head snapped back up to her. "Really? You would?"

Motti nodded eagerly. "Meow!"

A grin began to stretch across Yuki's face. "That's… that's great! I-I think there's a showing later tonight, i-if you'd like to go then,"

"Any time is okay, meow!"

"G-Great! I guess now…" Yuki looked sheepishly back down at the floor. "I guess now, I can tell you… I, kind of like you. M-Maybe a lot."

Motti looked very surprised. Then, the look of surprise was slowly replaced by a look of happiness. "Really?"

Yuki nodded. "Y-Yeah,"

"Meow! I like you, too!"

Yuki raised his head to smile at her, and for a long moment the two just stared at each other, grinning stupidly happily at these new developments.

By this time, Benkei was grinning triumphantly and doing a silent victory-dance in the hallway. Madoka shook her head at him, although a miniscule smile was present on her features.

Phase Three: Get Targets to Admit Crushes on Each Other = complete. Match made. Mission = success.

Madoka chose that time to straighten up, make loud footsteps, and open the door and walk into the shop.

"I should be done with Bull's repairs by tomorrow," she said, turning her head to Benkei to make it look like they hadn't been listening. "The repairs Bull needs are only minor ones."

Benkei followed, completely giving up the effort to keep the victorious smile off his face, and just hoped it looked happy that Bull would be done the next day. "B-B-B-Bull! Thanks, Madoka!" He turned to look at Yuki and Motti, who hadn't moved from their positions, and his grin only widened. "I'll see you guys later."

He turned and walked out of the B-Pit. He waited until he was a safe distance away, then pumped his fists triumphantly in the air. "B-B-B-B-BULL!"

Whaddup, life forms? Happy New Year! 2018!

So, obviously I didn't post that Christmas story I told you all about. The idea was too complicated for me to figure out, so I gave up and scrapped it. Then I had lots of other Christmas and New Year-related stuff filling the rest of my time, so... yeah. I didn't update. But I'm updating now, so I hope that makes up for it!

Okay, so I feel like I have some explaining to do for this particular story, which is why I'm putting it at the end, so here goes.

You can all actually blame resplandorrosa626 for this one :P. Lately she's been writing stories that have Yuki and Motti as a pairing, and I'll be darned if they're not some of the CUTEST EFFING THINGS I'VE EVER READ! I honestly didn't give Motti very much thought before reading her stuff, and kinda thought she was a little annoying and out of the blue. But once again, resplandorrosa's stuff with Yuki/Motti is just too dang cute, that it's made me start to ship them myself a little bit. :P Thanks, muchacha.

But anyway, recently she posted a Christmas-themed story called "Heart", which featured Tithi and Yuki friendship with some elements from Coco thrown in, and I seriously advise you to check it out because it is BEAUTIFUL! But within the story was this dialogue between Motti and Benkei:

"You have a thing for Yuki, don't you!"-

"...Meow?"-

Benkei couldn't help but laugh, he then put his right arm around Motti.

"Don't worry, kid!"-He smiled.-"Your secret's safe with me!"-

"Uh...Meow, thanks."-She smiled a little bit.-"I mean...It would be nice if he liked me, b-but I wouldn't know where to start."-

"It's okay! If you need help to get close to him just ask me! I'll help you win him over! Because nothing is more powerful than the power of..."-

"Love?"-

"Benkei."-

And so that got me wondering what would happen if Benkei decided to become a Mabel Pines-level matchmaker and get Yuki and Motti together. So, with permission from resplandorrosa, I wrote up this thing to satisfy the plot-bunny that refused to go away. I suppose you could call this a fanfiction of a fanfiction, lol. FANFIC-CEPTION!

But anyway, I hope you enjoyed this little ditty I wrote to pass the time, get the dastardly plot-bunny out of my head, and to get in one last hurrah before I have to go back to school tomorrow. -slumps over- Ugh, school...

Once again, hope you all enjoyed my first story for 2018! Also: I am officially dedicating this story to resplandorrosa626 for writing her awesome stories, and consequently making me ship Yuki/Motti as hard as I do now. You rock! Go check out her other stuff, it's great!

Oh, and if you hadn't noticed the little advertisement I slipped into the story: GO SEE JUMANJI: WELCOME TO THE JUNGLE IT IS FREAKIN EPIC AND TOTALLY WORTH THE TICKET PRICE!

Gryffyn out. Jumanji! -disappears in a puff of smoke-