Buy 'blade – A One Shot

Hi! I decided to bridge the gap between my last fan-fic The Opal Beyblades and my next one Unexpected Gifts with this one shot. Hope you enjoy it and keep an eye out for part one of Unexpected Gifts on Christmas Eve!

On the fifth day of Christmas my true love gave to me
Five gold 'blades
Four new launchers
Three pro lessons
Two new mangas
And a Beyblade I saw on TV

It was the 19th of December and the high streets were packed with shoppers laden with gifts in their arms and their palms. Many found themselves struggling through the snow covered streets, clutching numerous different sized plastic bags each containing gifts for friends and family. High above them were glowing lights, flashing on and off, depicting a variety of festive scenes. There was a faint smell of roasting nuts drifting among the shoppers, merging with the smell of freshly baked bread and roasting coffee on many of the outdoor stalls. In among the moving mass of men, women and children were two shoppers in particular: Tyson and Saki.

Tyson was dressed from head to toe in woollen clothing, from the knitted bobble hat rammed awkwardly over his rampant and uncontrollable hair, past the scarf keeping his neck warm to the jumper that his grandmother had insisted he wore as he left the house and into the cold. Tyson couldn't help feeling self-conscious in his garb and his eyes shifted nervously at the different faces walking in the opposite direction in case they were judging him on his appearance. His feelings at that point weren't helped by the fact that he was so uncomfortable with the heat generated by his woollen clothing and his difficulty in carrying anything through a pair of thick woollen gloves that offered no grip to the plastic bags he was carrying.

Tyson's appearance was in complete contrast to the fashionable statement declared by his girlfriend Saki. Her face was glowing with happiness as she walked through the city centre in a hat, scarf and gloves that yelled 'fashion'! Her handbag was slung over one shoulder; several bags held tightly in her opposite hand.

Tyson and Saki had finished their shopping for the day and were looking forward to returning home where they could relax in the warmth and drink hot chocolate by the fire. But their return home was delayed slightly by a sudden movement by Saki as she spotted something in a nearby shop window, dashing over to it with a squeal of excitement. Tyson had no choice but to follow her up to the window which was steaming up as Saki breathed on it.

The shop was a small independent shop owned and run by an elderly gentleman who spent all day sitting on a stool behind the counter, flicking through countless catalogues of Beyblades. He would greet anyone who entered his shop with kindness and friendliness and would be helpfulness itself. Tyson had been in several times to ask the man's advice on Beyblades and had found his advice invaluable.

But on this cold Winter's evening he wasn't going into his shop but just looking at one particular item in his display window. Nestled between lengths of tinsel, hand-painted wooden soldiers and cotton wool sheep was a gold coloured Beyblade resting proudly on a box, a small spotlight illuminating its every edge and vertex. Saki gasped as she moved her head to inspect the object from every angle. Only the price tag attached to it caused her some concern.

'Do you like that?' Tyson asked, looking at Saki's glowing face and gentle smile and realising the question answered itself. Saki nodded. 'It's lovely.'

Tyson had to agree. He'd not seen a Beyblade like it in many months but he was aware of what it was. It was that year's limited edition golden Beyblade; limited, that is, to just fifty. Finding one still in the shops this close to Christmas was a find. Saki continued to gaze at its golden wonder before sighing and moving away from the window.

'It's lovely… but I can't afford it.'

She looked down at the ground as her smile faded before looking back at Tyson and smiling. She began to mutter to himself to convince herself that she didn't need it:

'We've got plenty of Beyblades. We have each other and that's all we could ask for. Some people don't even have anyone to share Christmas with this year never mind a golden Beyblade. We should be happy with what we've got.'

Saki turned and walked off. Tyson knew that deep down, even with that adult explanation, she would have loved that Beyblade. Tyson took one more fleeting look at the Beyblade before walking off behind Saki, his trainers crunching in the snow. The walking was done in silence and this gave Tyson time to think. He realised that the golden Beyblade would make a lovely Christmas present for Saki. Even though it was expensive it would be an investment for her. As Tyson and Saki arrived at the bus stop Tyson feigned shock and made up an excuse.

'Oh! I forgot to pick up that book from the shop.'

'What book?' Saki asked, confused as no mention had yet been made of a book.

'You know… the Beyblade book we looked at…'

Saki bit her lip in thought.

'No… I don't remember that.'

Tyson didn't have time to expand on the cover story. He just made his excuses and left, leaving Saki with the bags among the milling crowds and the people lined up waiting for the bus, shivering in the cold and rubbing their hands together.

Tyson walked swiftly back along the snowy white streets, dodging oncoming shoppers and making excuses as he bashed into the occasional unobservant pedestrian. Within the space of sixty seconds since leaving the window, Tyson was back there to look at the Beyblade. But it wasn't there.

His heart sank as he realised that, in the short space of time he had been away, someone had bought it. Tyson cursed under his breath, knowing that he should have bought it there and then. But the opportunity had now passed so it was useless to complain. Maybe there would be another available in one of the other local shops? What was the chance of two of the fifty golden Beyblades being in the same town? Tyson had to try.

For the next five minutes Tyson found himself dashing frantically around the older part of the town and to the older shops. He knew that if any of the bigger shops on the main street had had one then they would be gone. Besides, he didn't fancy entering the scrums in these local stores and experiencing a mad dash to a display cabinet to fight it out with other Beyblade collectors to see who can punch and kick the best to get the box. Only the smaller local shops could help him now. But with each shop he entered with their wooden framed fronts and frosted windows Tyson became more and more disheartened as shopkeeper after shopkeeper revealed they hadn't got one in stock. He arrived at the last shop he checked to find someone in the last stages of purchasing one of them. Tyson grimaced as he saw the happy parent leave the shop with the 'blade in a paper bag, a present for their young child.

'How could they appreciate such a collector's piece?' snorted Tyson to himself.

He now realised his search was fruitless and he might as well return to the bus stop to be with Saki. Tyson began the long, slow walk back, his gloved hands resting in his jean pockets as he kicked himself for missing out on buying the golden Beyblade when he had the chance. He was just passing a small side street when something caught his eye and brought his self-centred-anger to a stop. There, just in the shadows, was an elderly woman being held against a wall by a younger, much stronger man. She was crying as he pulled on her cardigan collar, threatening to hurt her if she didn't give over the contents of her purse. Tyson decided he had to step in, walking swiftly into the alley and making his presence known.

'Oi! Leave her alone.'

The attacker quickly looked to his right, startled, spotting Tyson there. He let go of the old lady, letting her slip painfully to the floor, and darted off in the other direction. Tyson decided it was fruitless to chase after him, instead devoting his energies to helping the elderly lady get to her feet. He scooped up everything that was lying on the floor at her feet and helped her out of the alley with his arm locked in hers. When they were back in the light, they stumbled clumsily over to a nearby seat where she sat down. Tyson bought her a coffee from a nearby stall and passed it to her, watching as she took a few sips from the plastic cup held firmly in her wrinkled hands.

'Will you be alright?' Tyson asked, looking into her eyes. She nodded, taking another sip of her coffee. 'Do you live nearby?'

Before she could answer, a woman in her early forties came dashing up to her.

'Kuri!' she exclaimed, the shopping bags she was carrying bashing against her legs as she ran. She looked from her mother to Tyson, who stood up and told her what had happened. She thanked Tyson before she sat down to comfort her mother, soon after leaving for their car. Tyson watched as they walked off and then quickly snapped back into what he'd been doing before that had all happened – heading to the bus stop to be reunited with Saki.

As he walked quickly back to the bus stop Tyson inspected the contents of what he'd found on the floor that were left after the old lady confirmed which ones weren't hers. There was some money, a small key and… Tyson couldn't believe it… the golden Beyblade, still with the price tag on. He quickly put two-and-two together and realised it had been stolen. Tyson walked back in the opposite direction to the bus stop and instead to the old shop. Standing just in the doorway was a policeman with a notepad, taking down details of the robbery whilst another female officer comforted the shocked shopkeeper, who was sipping on a cup of tea. Tyson knocked on the door with the back of his knuckles and entered.

'I believe this is yours. A mugger dropped it.'

He placed the golden Beyblade on the counter and the shopkeeper's eyes lit up.

'You… you got it back!' he stuttered, getting up from his seat and ignoring how it squeaked across the floor. 'Thank you! Thank you!'

Tyson mumbled something that even he wasn't sure what it was. Though he felt uncomfortable in the current situation there was something he had to ask.

'I don't suppose I could buy the Beyblade could I? My girlfriend was quite taken by it…'

The response from the shopkeeper couldn't be anymore enthusiastic.

'Certainly, my young man! But you're not paying full price, oh no! You can have it for half price…'

'Are you sure?'

'Of course I am!' the shopkeeper said, bounding around his shop as if he'd suddenly become thirty years younger. He wrapped up the Beyblade, took the payment and watched happily as Tyson left his shop, everyone exchanging a greeting of 'Merry Christmas!'

Tyson left the shop, heading back to the bus stop, realising they'd probably missed one bus by now. He almost knocked someone off a ladder affixing some sort of strange aerial to the side of a nearby building, but continued on, whistling to himself. It was going to be a good Christmas; Tyson could sense it. He grasped the bag containing the golden Beyblade tightly in his hand and headed off to meet up once again with Saki…