A/N: Just a heads up, there won't be any cardfights in the next few chapters. Like I said in the Season 2 announcement, I'm writing some "filler" focused on character interactions while I plan the fights/cards of the next set. Hope you enjoy, even if there's no card slinging!

Winter was a miserable season in Golden Hills, as far as Sean was concerned. Summer might turn the town into a veritable oven, but at the very least he could see the sun. But when winter rolled around, the sun seemed to have lost all will to even appear, bowing out for a more-or-less nonstop overcast. As the rotten cherry on top of this infinitely disappointing sundae, it wasn't ever cold enough to produce anything like snow or even sleet, meaning anything that came from the sky was wet and lukewarm. In short, winter in town was grey, wet, and stuck in that unpleasant spot between tepidly warm and uncomfortably chilly.

I get two-and-a-half weeks out of school, and without fail, the town becomes a pit of misery. If it wasn't for Christmas, this'd easily be the worst time of the year.

While the town was hardly a winter wonderland, it didn't stop the town's denizens from getting into the Christmas spirit. Between the kitchy decorations strung all over the residential neighborhoods to the constant sales in the wide variety of shops, it was almost enough to take one's mind off the season's sheer dreariness. A proud tradition in particular was the town's bazaar, where many independent artists sold unique (but often overpriced) gifts just in time for the desperate last-minute shoppers. It was usually a fun family outing for the Gregors, but this year-

Krakoom!

Stupid thunderstorms…

In perhaps the greatest act of cruelty that year, Mother Nature decided that the days the bazaar where set to operate would be a terrific opportunity for nonstop showers. The bazaar was fine- it was merely postponed- but a time of bustle and spirit was quite literally drowned out nonetheless. Today, which was predicted by the town's bizarrely clairvoyant weatherman to be the last of the rain, was particularly terrible. Anyone not sheltered somewhere was in danger of being absolutely soaked, and that was before the frequent thunderclaps threw off any rhythm they had.

Krakoom!

Sean flinched. Despite the distance between him and the bolt, the sudden shocking sound was enough to break his concentration. "Not again…"

"Get used to it, buddy," snipped Sal, currently in the midst of a cardfight with Lucas.

"Yeah…" Sean shirked, trying to recenter his gaze. At the moment, he was doing a bit of last minute shopping in Meeple Village. This'd be the first Christmas he'd be procuring his own gifts to give, and while his parents were easy to shop for, his sister was a bit more difficult. Erica was rarely upfront about her own needs, and her interests were largely physical and social, so his usual gift ideas wouldn't be adequate. In a last ditch effort, he had settled with getting her something cute (Girls like cute things, right?), and thus was digging through the shop's selection of Funko Pops.

"I still think you're wasting your time," Sal said. "No one likes those things." She rested two of her cards. "With a boost from Dragon Dagger Ogre, Twinaxe attacks."

"I guard with Leva," Lucas responded. "And speak for yourself. I have, like, a dozen."

"Fine, no one with good taste likes those things."

"Says the little lady who watches anime."

"Okay, so a) stop calling me a 'little lady,' and b) anime wipes the floor with that MMA garbage. And for having two horrid opinions, Thunder Drum Ogre will punish you."

Lucas shrugged. "One damage isn't really a punishment." He checked the top card of his deck. "No trigger. Anyway, you let Shu call you 'little lady.'"

"And I hate it when he does it too."

Lucas grinned. "Well, it doesn't seem so. Is there something you're not telling us, Ursula?"

"Irse al diablo."

"No, you've told us that many times."

Krakoom!

Sean flinched again. "Oh, for the love of-"

Lucas leaned sideways from his chair. "I'm pretty sure Erica will like anything you pick out, man. It'll be fine."

Sean sighed. "I don't just want to grab the first thing I see, though. I doubt she's even heard of half this stuff." He picked up one of the boxed products at his eye level. "She doesn't even read comics, so I doubt she'll like a Deadpool one."

"Impossible, everyone likes Deadpool."

"Unless you've never heard of him," commented Sal. "Broken Horn boosts Shuten-Denji. Since your front row is empty, he's got menace and an extra crit."

"I guard with two Jabbers."

Sean gently placed the figurine back on the crowded shelf. "Maybe one of the Disney ones," he thought aloud. "She likes Ducktales...no, wait, that's Kingdom Hearts Donald. Man…"

"Can I help you?"

Sean, unaware of his surroundings beyond his friends, swiveled slowly. His eyes stumbled upon a girl around his age, a few inches shorter than he was, and clad in the same green apron Tyler usually wore. Her skin was pale as a lily petal, complemented perfectly with her silky ginger hair. Despite her professional uniform, her presence was as stated as a slim shadow- it seemed to take a great deal of her spirit just to meet Sean eye-to-eye.

"Oh," Sean said. He cleared his throat before plastering on a polite smile. "Yes, I'm, uh, looking for a gift to give my sister. I thought I'd get her one of these, but I'm not sure which."

The girl nodded slightly. "Well, what does she like?" Her voice was professional, but uncertain; shaky and courteous, inexperienced and kind.

"Lesse," Sean recollected. "Disney, gymnastics, sports in general…" He paused, a realization striking him like a bat to the back of the head. "Vanguard. She loves Vanguard. Wow, I'm dumb."

"Got a draw trigger, gamberro," Sal snickered in the distance.

Lucas groaned. "Aw, sonuva-"

Krakoom!

"Geez, you kiss your mother with that mouth?"

"That'd be gross, just like your lucksacking."

"Y-yes, well," continued the clerk. "W-we have all of the most recent Vanguard products up at the back counter. Do you need anything else?"

"I can take it from here," Sean said. "Thanks for your help."

The clerk cleared her throat. "It's...no problem. If you need anything else, let me know." The last line was a bit rote, a memorized pitch of sorts. She ambled off to another corner of the store.

She seems...nice. Not sure how she got this job, though. He turned back to the shelved figurines. "Hmm…"

"You already got your gift idea, what's the hold-up?" asked Sal.

"That girl looked familiar," Lucas mused out loud. "Does she go to Sutter?"

"Who knows? Now quit stalling and check that damage, boyo."

Lucas grumbled. "Yeah, yeah…"

"Just getting something for our White Elephant get-together." He snatched a box from his right. "This'll do."

Lucas looked up, eyes like a startled prairie dog. "White Elephant?"

Sal sighed. "Honestly, L. You didn't forget, did you?"

"No, of course not. Just-" he cleared his throat. "I don't think I'm coming back from that, I scoop."

"You just checked a heal trigger-"

"I'll be right back." He bolted from the table, nearly knocking over his chair in the process.

Sal sighed again. "What kind of host forgets his own event?" she mumbled to herself.

"Kinda used to this," Sean chuckled sheepishly. "Some things just don't change, huh?"

"Sadly. You checking out?"

"Well, sort of. I'll see you guys in a little bit." He took a casual stride towards the back counter. As he arrived, he saw Tyler busy rearranging some of the TCG products behind him. After seeing him casually hang out with customers and watching cardfights from a distance, it was odd to see him actually working. Sean rapped his knuckles against the counter. "Excuse me?"

"One minute, buddy," Tyler responded, adjusting the last few boxes to his left. He turned to face his customer. "Heya, Sean. What can I do for ya?"

"You wouldn't happen to have any Neo Nectar singles, would you?"

"We do. Gotta say, you didn't strike me as the type to care about Nectars."

Sean rubbed the back of his head. "I don't, really. My sister does, though, and I need a gift."

"Gotcha. Well, if you're looking for a gift, I recommend a playset of their new VR."

"Is it good?"

"Well, it catapulted the clan from a no-show to a serious Tier 2 contender."

"Woof, alright." Sean placed the boxed figurine on the counter. "Well, a playset of that, and this little guy."

"Roger dodger. Gimme a second."

Sean nodded as Tyler sped off to the back of the store. Man, this shop must have seen some serious business for Tyler to get off his-

"Phew, made it!" Lucas scrambled up to the counter, skidding to a sudden stop. He firmly placed another boxy product on the surface. "Thank god for last minute sales, huh?"

"Sure," Sean nodded. He adjusted his gaze to see what Lucas was in such a hurry to get. "So, u, whatcha got there?"

"It's for the White Elephant party. And it's a secret, so shush."

Sean leaned in on the counter. "'Unstable Unicorns?'"

Lucas scooped the product back up. "Well, Sherlock, you found out the secret. Well done."

Sean smiled. "All in a day's work."

"Thanks for waiting," said Tyler, taking lengthy strides back to his customers. He placed a small plastic envelope on the counter before scanning Sean's other item. "Alright, bud, that'll be a round $75."

Sean blinked. "Oh, right, VRs." He fumbled for his wallet. "Forgot how much good cards actually cost." He handed Tyler his worn and dulled debit card.

Tyler swiped and punched a few buttons on the terminal's keyboard. "Excellent, you're all set. Have a merry Christmas!" He handed Sean the eclectic collections of gifts and items. "Now let's see what you've got, Lucas...ah, Unstable Unicorns! That's a blast. Who's this for?"

"One of seven random people," shrugged Lucas. "Just wanted something fun."

"Well, you got good taste," Tyler said, scanning the game. "$17.25, good sir."

Lucas quickly handed Tyler his loose debit card. As the clerk punched a few keys on his terminal, Lucas drummed his fingers against the counter. "So, uh, did you get a new hire?"

"Yep," answered Tyler, his eyes not leaving his workspace. "That's Kiki. She moved in with Mr. Khalan recently."

"Really?"

"Really really. Nothing weird going on, she just needs a place to stay for a while. My boss is her uncle, and he needs to keep an eye on her while he's running the shop."

"So he gave her a job?" Sean concluded. "Isn't that kinda...nepotistic?"

"Ooh, that's a ten dollar word right there," chuckled Tyler, handing both the game and card back to Lucas. "I mean, yeah, kind of, but we've been looking for new staff for a while, and we haven't had many takers. Something about other new shops."

"Gotcha," said Lucas. "Yo, Sean, you done shopping?"

"Should be," responded Sean. "You have something in mind?"

"You're a detective, pretty sure you can figure it out."

"You mean you want a cardfight or two?"

"Man, you're on a roll. So how 'bout it?"

"I dunno," Sean admitted. "I kinda just came here for some last minute stuff. I should-"

Krakoom!

Sean flinched again. "You know, maybe I can stay for a couple of rounds…"