Disclaimer: I don't own these characters, and I'm not making any money off writing this… ahh I probably wouldn't make very much anyway.
Ranma's Author's Notes: This takes place after G-Revolution so there might be some spoilers for the ending, but not a whole lot. I'm pretty sure not all of the characters in Beyblade celebrate Christmas (heck, I don't!!) but these sorts of fics are nice to read ! And great for WAFF, I love waff!
Merry Christmas, I Love You
It was Christmas time in Bay City, and the newly rebuilt BBA head quarters was done up with wreathes and tinsel for the holidays. A light layer of snow covered the ground and streets while soft snowflakes fell down from the sky.
Inside the building, the huge banquet hall was alive with chatter as it filled up with all of the world class beyblading teams having participated in the past championships. Players and officials alike were seated at festive tables, decorated with candy canes and treats to celebrate the special time of year.
"Wow everything is really nicely done, don't you guys think?" Hilary commented, impressed at the seasonal atmosphere, and the fact no Beyblade battles had been broken out yet.
"Yeah, Mr. D sure did a great job!" Tyson agreed, grinning as he plopped into his seat at one of the round tables, stealing a chocolate from the ornamental centerpiece.
"The BBA seems to be getting more and more popular and big each year." Kenny added in, looking around with a smile, seeing various teams like White Tiger X and the Blitzkrieg Boys already seated at their own tables.
More teams began to arrive and a buffet was set up along one of the walls which had promptly been attacked by hungry beybladers, creating mild chaos for a short period. But now that most people had gotten their food and returned to their seats – well not Daichi – the chairman of the BBA decided it was time to overcome the hubbub.
At the head table, Mr. Dickinson stood up and cleared his throat catching the attention of all the guests. "Ahem! I'd like to thank all of you world class Beybladers for attending the BBA's first annual Christmas party to include its best players…"
"Y'mean they've had these kinda shindigs before??" Daichi shouted from the buffet table, bewildered, somehow managing to speak around the scrumptious buffet food in his mouth.
"Yes!" Mr. D answered with a chuckle. "Except this year, all of the players from around the world have been invited – not just the coaches and officials!" The old man finished with a wide smile behind his bushy moustache. "In celebration of the past world championships, I thought it was high time all you beybladers got to enjoy the holiday cheer!"
Applause and shouts of approval went up at that from all the various tables in the large banquet hall, and the old man smiled jovially, waiting patiently for the bunch to settle down.
"Now, as a special treat this year, we've organized a Secret Santa game for all of you to participate in." Mr. D revealed.
Murmurs rippled through the crowd of beybladers at the old man's announcement, and Mr. Dickinson plucked at his unruly moustache. "For those of you who aren't familiar with the game, the names of all your teammates and other teams in this room have been placed in a hat." The old man nodded to DJ Jazzman who stood off to the side proudly holding a large Santa hat in the air.
"You each select a paper out of it, and whomever you choose; you will be that person's secret Santa. The idea isn't just to buy them any silly old thing – tish tosh no. The gift should be special and have personal meaning and value." Mr. Dickinson looked around and saw some people sporting unsure faces, and he nodded his head solemnly, a kind smile once again appearing on his aged face. "It is a challenge, but one I think all of you are very much capable of. Of course, you don't have to participate if you don't wish to… it's entirely up to you." The bald man chuckled, his words instantly igniting the competitive streaks in all the world class Beybladers.
"Now I realize many of you will be returning to your respective countries and the like, but this is a chance to promote stronger ties among such talented young adults as yourselves. Get to know each other and keep in touch! You never know what you might be missing out on other than a good match!!" The BBA head chucked and his eyes twinkled behind his wire-rimmed glasses.
From his place leaning against a wall, Kai Hiwatari looked up at that.
"In two weeks from today, you're all invited back here to exchange gifts and reveal your secret identity as Secret Santa. Have fun and I hope to see all of you back in two weeks time!!" Mr. Dickison finished jovially, raising his drink to everyone in the huge banquet hall, before taking his seat.
The noise level in the hall rose once again, people newly excited by the surprise Secret Santa challenge offered by the BBA head.
DJ Jazzman began walking around to each table, letting everyone pick a name from the hat he carried.
"A Secret Santa game! I would've never thought of that!" Hilary gasped, peering across the banquet hall to where F-Dynasty's Julia and Raul were picking names out of the hat from DJ Jazzman.
"Yeah, I guess Mr. Dickinson is really trying to promote better sportsmanship after the problems Boris caused for the BBA a while ago." Kenny put in, adjusting his large glasses. "Although I sometimes wonder about him…" The Chief scratched his head thoughtfully, spotting the old BBA head at the buffet table talking with Daichi.
"Oh c'mon you guys, this is awesome!" Tyson said enthusiastically, making a fist, and slamming his other hand on the table. "I think I know most everybody pretty well, so this'll be a piece-o-cake!" The world champion put his hands on his hips and tilted his head. "No sweat!"
"Oh really?" Hilary glared at her eternally overconfident friend. "You know you only pick one person right? And what if you get somebody like- like…." The brunette looked around and struggled to come up with a beyblader that Tyson had never had any contact with. "Oooh nevermind…."
"Hehe…" Tyson rubbed his nose.
"Hey Tyson!" Somebody called out from directly behind the world champion's chair, and the baseball capped teen turned around, grinning at the familiar faces.
"Max! Ray!" Tyson exclaimed, jumping up and giving his two good friends a hug.
"Whoa, easy there, Tyson." Ray smiled, almost spilling the cup of punch he held, though he was happy to see his friend again as well, after having gone back to his hometown in China after the whole Bega fiasco.
Tyson let go and the two other beybladers could finally breathe again. "Hiya Chief! And Hilary!" Max smiled widely greeting the other two with a wave.
"Hey Maxie!" Kenny smiled and nodded at his friend.
"How is it in New York, Max?" Hilary asked.
The blond blader laughed and put a hand behind his head. "Oh New York is great, but it's awesome to be back here for a couple days."
"I still can't believe you guys chose to stay with the PPB All Starz and White Tiger X." Tyson folded his arms and closed his eyes, while everyone looked at him wondering if he was going to bug-out about it.
"Guess that means you're gonna play even harder in the next championships, huh guys?" Tyson smiled and Max and Ray returned it full force with determination.
"You can count on it, Tyson!" Ray grinned craftily. "Well, I better be getting back to my team," The Chinese blader said, jerking a thumb in their table's direction. "Good luck on picking someone on the Secret Santa game you guys!"
"Yeah, if you get somebody whose name starts with an M and ends with an X, then I think a new Beyblading jacket is a good gift idea!" The blond laughed.
"Oh don't worry, it's in the bag!" Tyson gave a thumbs-up and Max gave a peace-sign in retaliation before waving as the PPB player and Ray headed back to their other tables.
"Those guys seem to be doing well." The Chief pointed out.
"Yeah," Tyson agreed smiling after his former teammates, and then scanned the large room, his eyes finally catching a familiar glimpse of purple and white. Sighing loudly in exasperation and leaning his head on his hand, Tyson had a fond look on his face even as he berated his once team captain. "I kind of wish Kai would make up his mind about that…"
Kenny and Hilary shared a look at Tyson's downhearted expression, which the midnight blue haired teen was trying to cleverly mask with an 'I've been scorned but I'm still a-ok' kind of air. It was no secret that Tyson and Kai, after all the events taking place in the last year, had gotten very close. The two had often been seen going off alone together to beybattle and then come back looking highly stoked. Well Tyson looked stoked, Kai usually looked more pleased.
But despite their relationship being back on the positive, the elusive blader of Dranzer hadn't really given any indication that he would play on the BBA Revolution's team if another tournament came around.
'I think I can understand why.' Kenny thought, turning around to glance at the dual-haired teen too. 'Kai's always wanted to be with Tyson one-on-one, and what better way to do that, than actually being Tyson's opponent!' The bespectacled teen smiled widely as Kai, sensing someone staring at him, looked up sharply catching Tyson in the act. The world champion turned red and twitched, averting his eyes in a huff. The Chief shook his head in amusement. He doubted Tyson would see it like that.
"Hey you all!!" DJ Jazzman grinned, popping out of nowhere to the former BBA Revolutions table. "Time to pick who you'll become love slaves for over the next two weeks!!"
"Love slaves!?" Tyson, Kenny and Hilary all exclaimed with horrified faces.
"Oh I'm just kiddin'!" The bandanna-wearing man winked and laughed heartily at the Chief's current resemblance to a tomato. He shook the Santa Claus hat and held it out for the three teens to select their papers from it. They each pulled out slips of paper and DJ Jazzman strode away to another table.
Kenny wordlessly opened his paper and unseen by the other two, his eyebrows shot up past his hairline behind his thick fringe.
"Hmm…" Hilary quickly looked at who she would be Secret Santa for. The brown haired girl's eyes widened considerably and she pressed a finger to her lips in sudden thought.
"Huh so I wonder who I got…" Tyson said aloud, scratching his head before unfolding his piece of paper. "Kenny??!" Tyson blurted out upon reading the name scribbled there.
Several other beybladers looked over at their table with curious expressions.
Tyson looked around himself wildly. "What??"
"Oooh…" The Chief groaned and placed a hand to his forehead. "You're not supposed to say it out loud Tyson!" The bespectacled teen let his head drop to rest on the white tablecloth. "That's why it's called Secret Santa after all…" Kenny mumbled under his breath to avoid Tyson hearing.
"Uhhh…" Tyson said intelligently, eyes wide and a sweat drop falling down his head. "Well it's not my fault I said it before thinking!" The world champion boasted out, refolding his paper immaculately before huffing as he jammed it into his jacket pocket.
"Why oh why am I not surprised!?" Hilary sighed dramatically and crossed her arms, slouching back in her chair.
Tyson shot her a bad look. "Well who'd you get?"
"Tyson! I'm not going to tell you!" Hilary protested, crossing her arms and sticking her nose in the air at the baseball capped teen for even asking.
"Whuuuuh!?" Tyson's eyes bugged out at the blatant dismissal.
"Hmphf!" Hilary whipped her head in the other direction so fast she could've gotten whiplash. "Never in a million years!" She fumed, a small tinge of red on her nose.
"Sheesh what's your problem…" Tyson blinked in complete confusion, and then looked over at Kenny. "What about you Chief?"
"Aah no Tyson, this I won't tell you!" Kenny said triumphantly, already shredding his slip of paper and dropping the pieces into his water glass.
"Oouuh!!?" The midnight haired teen exclaimed in shock. His warm brown eyes darted between the two suspiciously, but then he gave up, slouching in his chair with a wide grin on his face. "Great, this means I have to come up with a way to find Chief a girlfriend for Christmas."
Kenny's glasses flew off his head. "TYSON!!!"
In his spot against the wall, Kai had a good view of all of the beybladers and officials at the BBA Christmas party. He had had his doubts about coming, but in the long run, he had decided he might as well. Now those doubts had come back with the mention of the Secret Santa game Mr. Dickinson was pushing. He had never been one for Christmas cheer, passing it up as an elaborate excuse to laze around for a week or two, and get expensive presents to boot.
Kai's light-coloured eyes landed on a specific table in the BBA banquet hall, and lingered there for a while. 'Tyson…' The dual-haired teen thought, picking the world champion out easily from the crowd of people. It appeared as if his former teammate had already chosen to participate in the holiday game, and had pulled the beyblader's name a few moments ago.
A faint smile crossed Kai's lips and he looked down, the smile becoming lopsided. 'I should have known he would take this as a challenge.' Hearing footsteps beside him, Kai looked up to see DJ Jazzman.
"And for you!" The bandanna-wearing man announced with charisma, presenting the Santa hat containing what was left of the names with a flourish.
Kai looked into the hat with mild indecision. Did he really want to get involved in this? The chances were he would end up with someone totally irrelevant to him and he would be stuck with a complete waste of time. But… to tempt fate, perhaps he could pull his own name and save some other blader the trouble.
Sighing under his breath, the holder of Dranzer reached out and picked up a random piece of paper from the red and white hat.
"Good luck!" DJ Jazzman chimed, walking off to give the last few people their pick of names.
Staring at the scrap of paper in his hand, Kai's light eyebrows clashed together in preparation for the worst possible outcome.
He unfolded the slip of paper.
Tyson.
Something inside Kai's chest fluttered at the name, and he released his breath slowly, the implications of that name settling in his stomach much like the snowflakes falling gently to the ground outside. Kai looked over to the boy who was now laughing and drinking large amounts of eggnog down.
If it had been anyone but Tyson, he wouldn't have even bothered to find out what the person wanted as a gift, but… it just had to be the only one that could always get to him didn't it…?
"Good day, Kai!" Mr. Dickinson greeted, starting the teen out of his thoughts. "I say, are you enjoying the festivities?" The old man questioned, noticing Kai's preoccupied expression.
Kai turned his head and his voice was mildly accusing, though he didn't appear to be mad. "I have a strange feeling you set this up, somehow."
"Oh?" Mr. Dickinson raised his bushy eyebrows.
Kai wordlessly held out the slip of paper for the old man to read the name inscribed there.
"Ah, I see…" The BBA head said, leaning on his cane thoughtfully. "You shouldn't feel so worried, my boy." He gave Kai a knowing look and chuckle. "I'm positive you'll know just what to give to Tyson, in time." Mr. Dickinson finished, nodding and leaving the dual-haired blader to himself.
Kai watched the old man go before turning his gaze back, once again, to Tyson. 'Now if only I could figure it out...'
End Part 1
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