Requested by: FanfictionessCC

Okat, this is late, but, in my defense I have never celebrated Thanksgiving in my life, I actually have no clue as to what it it. This little one shot is the result of much research and this Smosh video:

This isn't apart of the main story line, and characters are definitely OOC, also, I'm sorry about spelling errors, I just got acrylics done for formal which is in a few days and typing is so fricking hard for me right now.

Enjoy!!

--xx Avanni Cinders

After being given time off to cheer on Valt, you were admittedly at a slight loss for what to do. At the very least, you had been hoping nice, long sleep in, however you had somehow forgotten that sleep ins were something practically unheard of in the Aoi household, ever since Valt's birth. You had planned on having a lazy day, one that involved waking up late and grabbing an early lunch before wandering around the city or maybe even seeking out someone to fit in some training with. Something that most definitely did not fit in with your carefully planned out schedule though, was to be woken up by a dull white noise-esque screaming from down stairs.

"I think I've lost count of how many times I have said this before, but what the actual hell Valt?" You stated bluntly as you entered the kitchen, only to come across all three of your blood related siblings, gathered around the table, each clutching a hair dryer, two more than you realised was owned.

Your brother looked up, his brown eyes wide like a deer caught in head lights.

"What did you do?" You demanded, folding your arm and cocking your hip, immediately knowing that he had done something wrong.

"More like what he didn't do," Toko corrected, causing Nika to snicker.

"What is he talking about?" You pressed, arching a brow and sighing internally.

"Umm..."

"Mum asked him to put the turkey in water to defrost it last night," Nika supplied.

"Except he forgot," Toko finished for his twin. "Now we're trying this."

"Hang on a sec," you held up your hand for a time out, shaking your head in confusion. "The turkey?"

"Yeah, it's thanksgiving."

You tilted your head and blinked at Nika. "Wait, it's Thanksgiving?"

It was Valt's turn to look confused. "You forgot?"

"I've been busy," you muttered in your own defense, waving your hand dismissively. "Give me a break."

"What are you waiting for? Go find a hairdryer and help us!" Valt ordered you, flicking the switch back back onto high and resuming his desperate efforts to thaw out out the still frozen poultry.

"Okay okay, just stop," you said, mentally preparing you for what was surely to be an exhausting day ahead of you. "This clearly isn't going to work."

"Do you have a better idea?" Valt snapped, and you gave him a narrow eyed look.

"Excuse me?"

"Sorry," Valt frowned, lowering his gaze.

"That's better," you huffed, unfolding your arms and walking over to the table where the turkey sat in a pan of warm water, giving the bird a sharp poke. "Yeah, this is still going to be a block of ice by midday tomorrow at the earliest."

"So what are we going to do?" Nika asked curiously.

"Luckily I have a plan," you grinned smugly before deciding to clarify. "One that's much better than hair dryers."

"It was pretty desperate," the twins laughed, much to Valt's exasperation.

"Okay, what is it?" He sighed, unplugging his hairdryer and setting it aside.

"We go and by a new turkey," you pointed out simply, trying not to laugh at the way Valt's eyes widened and he slammed his head down on the table.

"Why didn't I think of that?!" He exclaimed loudly.

"It's my job to come up with the ideas," you reminded him. "You execute them, and the twins are the ironic voices of reasons who tell us to pull our heads in when we're in to deep."

"Oh yeah."

"So here's the plan," you stood back from the table, making sure you had all of your sibling's attention. "Valt and I are going to head out and find ourselves a turkey, while you two stay here and distract mum and dad if they come home before we do."

Everyone nodded, agreeing to go along with your stroke of brilliance, and you had to tamp down the urge to grin smugly at the feeling of power that came along with having people to order around.

'I wonder if this is how Kris feels, being the manager?' You mused, shaking your head at your line of thought, bringing your attention back to current situation.

"Alright, let's do this!"

"What is this, the runt of the litter?" You asked, eyeing the turkey that the butcher had set down on the counter in disbelief. "Come on, you got to have something that's bigger than that."

"That's all I can give you," the burly man shrugged. "That's what you get for waiting until the day of Thanksgiving to buy your turkey."

You bit back a growl of frustration at the only damn butcher in walking radius of your house, and grabbed Valt by the wrist, dragging him out of the shop.

"What're we going to do now?" Valt sighed, plopping down beside you onto the bench where you had collapsed.

"I don't know," you groaned, rubbing your eyes. It wasn't even 11:00AM and you already felt exhausted. "Tell me why you forgot to thaw the turkey again?"

"I was tired," Valt explained. "I completely forgot that mum asked me to put it hot water."

"And now we don't have a bird to eat," you finished.

"I'm sorry," Valt said quietly, his gaze downcast. "I should've remembered, now I've gone and ruined Thanksgiving for everyone."

Your gaze softened at your little brother's dampened spirits, and you began to feel bad for being so tetchy with him.

"Hey," you shoulder bumped him. "We all make mistakes, yeah? We're only human."

"But-"

"We'll figure it out," you cut off his protests gave him a reassuring smile. "We always do."

You stood up and pulled Valt to his feet, and to your surprise, he wrapped you in a tight hug.

"Thanks sis," he muttered.

"What're siblings for?" You reminded him, ruffling his hair and laughing as he wrenched himself away from you to fix the mess you had made on top of his head.

"Y/N," he whined, drawing out your name.

"Oh please, do you even own a hair brush?" You snorted, leading him out of the shopping center, your head resting in your hands which you had interlocked behind your head. "It's your turn to come up with the brilliant idea by the way."

"I thought you were meant to be the 'smart one,'" Valt snarked, using air quotes.

"I am," you stated plainly, giving him a dry look. "But this smart one still has some serious jetlag and is extremely tired, so tell me brother dearest, what are we going to do? And don't you dare say anything to do with hairdryers."

Valt huffed good naturedly before taking a long moment to give the problem a serious think. Suddenly, his eyes brightened and his hair seemed to fluff up a bit.

"I've got it!" He exclaimed, his old bounce back in his step. "Catch-a-Cluck!"

"Bless you."

"I didn't sneeze Y/N."

"Wait, what?"

"Catch-a-Cluck," Valt repeated slowly, not doing anything to clear up your confusion. "They're this company where if you can catch the bird, they'll get it ready and pluck it for you."

"Okay, okay, I get that part," you said, holding up your hand so you could speak and get a few other things cleared up. "A. That's actually really sad, and B. Who the fuck names a business 'Catch-a-Cluck?'"

Valt shrugged. "Yeah, but what choice do we have?"

"Yeah, maybe," you admitted, still feeling slightly depressed at catching a live creature and then receiving it back in some form of birdy body bag. "But Catch-a-Cluck? Really?"

"Maybe the owner was pressed for time?" Valt suggested helplessly. "Leave them alone, they're helping us out here."

"But still," you pressed. "Catch-a-Cluck?"

"Don't judge Y/N," Valt admonished lightly.

"Fine," you sniffed haughtily. "But we're catching the bus. If we have to run after that thing then I'm resting up for a while."

"ARE YOU SHITTING ME RIGHT NOW?!" You roared, and if it were at all possible, there would be steam billowing from your ears.

Red faced and panting, your hair in a mess, the earlier bus ride had been a brilliant idea. Never in your sixteen years of age had you experienced such pure and unadulterated white hot fury. Not even Lui Shirosagi had ever been able to invoke your rage in such a manner.

An hour. For exactly one hour, two minutes and fourty two seconds, you had been running after the only damn turkey left in the its pen at the Catch-a-Cluck yard.

How did you know the exact time? The employees were timing you. Apparently if you beat the current set record, you would get the turkey and all of the accompanying preparation services completely free. At this point, you were well past that time limit, seventeen minutes and twenty six seconds, and how the previous person had done it, he or she must have been some sort of turkey whisperer.

It was no wonder that this particular fowl was the last of it's feathered brethren, it was smart, much smarter than what should be natural for the average turkey. And it was fast. Even Valt was getting tired at this point, and you were quickly losing any qualms you might have held about sentencing the living creature to death by your ravenous family.

In any other situation, you would have collapsed well before this point, this chase proving to be much more rigorous than any workout that you had been put through back at BC Sol. The only thing that was keeping you going, was your pride. There was no way you would be paying an extra fee, even one as small as twenty dollars, to have a worker catch it the turkey for you. No, this bird was your's and your's alone, and that would make eating it so much more satisfying.

'Come on Y/N, it'll be fun.' Valt had said. At the time, you had agreed to go on a turkey run with your little brother, wanting to fit in as many fun things with him as possible before leaving the country again. But now, you were seriously regretting that decision.

At first, you had thought it would have been easy. How wrong you were.

It the very last turkey that they had, and you couldn't believe your luck. The fiend was fat, and sitting there innocently, bathing in the golden sunlight. It should have been simple enough, all things considered.

You had crept up behind the creature, while Valt stood ready to catch it if it pulled a runner. You had been close to soundless as you tiptoed toward the sleeping bird, but the moment you were above him, about to bend down and scoop him up, its eyes had opened.

It had let out at loud shriek of distress, scaring you half to death. It had then taken your moment of distraction and lashed out, its sharp beak slashing at your ankle, managing to pierce you skin and draw blood. Confident you would scar, you had howled in pain, much to Valt's amusement, in fact, he had been laughing so hard that he had completely missed it as the turkey got to its feet and ran between his legs, subsequently knocking him head over heels.

Bolting after the turkey, you had shouted over your shoulder for Valt to get up and help you, and so had begun what would forevermore be dubbed as 'The Great Turkey Chase.'

There was one stage, where you had heard some of the workers laughing at the predicament that you and your brother had found yourselves in, to which you had then promptly yelled at them to either shut up, get lost, or come and help. Sufficiently scolded, the two men had closed their mouths and had kept them shut since, however you fancied that you could feel the amusement that was practically radiating off the both of them.

It wasn't just smooth terrain either, oh no. Here at Catch-a-Cluck, they did their best to raise their poultry wild, meaning lots of shrubbery and a lot of trees. You had tried lunging out at it while Valt herded it towards you, which ended up with you tripping over a fallen log. Then there was another instance where, unbeknownst to you, Valt had scaled a tree while you hunted down the turkey. You had assumed he was getting a drink, or even that he had ditched you, so let's just say that when Valt suddenly jumped out of the tree and had accidentally ended up tackling you in an attempt to snare the bird, you had been incredibly shocked.

Those were some of your more memorable failed attempts, your latest however, was that dog pile thing that super heroes would often try on villains only to end in a spectacularly comical failure. And yes, that really didn't work. How did you know? You and Valt had tried it, only to have the turkey run off, leaving you and your brother to run head first into each other.

You were bruised and battered, you wanted nothing more than to fall down where you stood and go straight to sleep. But you couldn't rest, you wouldn't. Not until that bird was washed, plucked and sitting roasted on your table, ready to eat. So when a familiar voice interrupted you, you were less than impressed.

"Hey Aoi, you're giving a rema-" Lui Shirosagi trailed off after he saw the disheveled state you were in. He actually took a step back when you snapped your head to look at him, and he caught sight of the murder dancing in your eyes. "What happened to you?"

"Long story," you said, breathing heavily, actually greatful for his presence, meaning you were given a short reprieve from you laborious task. "Why are you here anyway? I wonder what people would say if they heard that the almighty Lui Shirosagi was visiting Catch-a-Cluck of all places?"

"I've been looking for you," Lui sneered, wrinkling his nose as if in distaste at the reminder of his current surroundings.

"Oh wow, stalkerish much?" You snickered, cutting yourself off at the dark look he gave you.

"I want a rematch," he growled.

"Look, I'd love to and all, but I'm kind of in the middle of something here." You pointed out, standing up and rolling your stiff shoulder a few times to loosen it back up.

"What are you even doing?"

"Like I said, it's a long story." You repeated, rolling your eyes at his blatant skepticism. "Okay okay, Valt forgot to defrost the turkey and there's none at the shop so he took me here where we've been for over an hour."

"It's taking you that long to catch one turkey?" He asked in disbelief.

"It's smarter than you think," you bit out begrudgingly. "I'm going to have a scar on my ankle because of that feathery asshole."

Lui shook his head at you, and an idea began to form in your head.

"I'll make you a deal," you proposed suddenly, and from his intrigued look, you knew that Lui was listening. "You help us get that turkey, and I'll battle you."

"You seriously expect me to help you?"

"Look mate, beating you is fun and all, but eating this thing is going to be ten times more satisfying." You explained to him seriously. "So either help me out, or we ain't battling."

It took a while, and you honestly thought that the flame haired man was going to laugh at you and turn away, so you weren't exactly anticipating the response your received.

"Find your brother."

Under Lui's careful direction, you and Valt talked to the workers, and managed to convince them to let your impromptu group have access to shovels, as well as some of the dried out corn that they often fed to the turkeys as a treat.

'It's simple,' Lui explained when you had asked him of his plan. 'You just have to outsmart it.'

The plan really was simple, and you honestly felt like face palming for not having thought of it yourself.

All you had to do, was dig a hole somewhere where you had chased the turkey before. Being used to the land, the turkey wouldn't expect the trap's sudden addition. You would then cover it in foliage, while Valt chased the turkey towards the hole.

Simple, and yet hopefully effective.

Hopefully being the key word there.

Much to your relief, Lui hadn't said anything and picked up the shovel and started digging, while Valt went off to go and locate the turkey, planning on texting you when he had found it.

Without Valt's presence, you found the atmosphere slightly less awkward. Unlike your brother, you didn't have a long history of bad blood with the Luinor Blader, and while you hated him for what he had done to Shu and Valt, the only personal altercation the two of you had had, was your battle nearly a week ago. While you loved Valt, things where decidedly much less tense without having both he and Lui in the immediate vicinity of one another.

"You gonna help or are you just going to stand there?" Lui asked, and you realised you had lost yourself in your thoughts.

"Hmm? Oh yeah, sure."

You dug the shovel into the soft earth, but as you tried to scoop it up, a sharp pain shot through your shoulder, causing you to gasp aloud and stumble back, falling onto the ground as you dropped the shovel.

"What happened to you?"

You gritted your teeth. Despite lack of personal history, Lui Shirosagi was still a sadistic individual who you were reluctant to show any sort of weakness in front of.

"If I didn't know any better, I'd say you were worried about me Shirosagi," you gave him a crooked, taunting grin.

"I'm not," he growled, walking over to crouch beside you. You flinched as he reached out to you, and he scoffed at your reaction. "Relax, I know what I'm doing."

You bit back a gasp of pain as his hand pushed lightly on a particular spot right in beside your shoulder blade, but, to your surprise, his other hand steadying you was surprisingly gentle.

"Sure this isn't caring?" You hissed through gritted teeth.

Lui scoffed. "If you're out of commission then I won't get my rematch."

"I'm fine," you assured him. "I saw a doctor the other week. As long as my battles aren't consecutive I should be fine."

"Should be?"

You were about to bite back with a sharp retort, but were cut off as Lui's fingers stiffened and dug into the spot on your shoulder, rotating them in short, tight circles. Admittedly it was a little painful, but it also felt good, and helped to relieve some of the knot of tension that was bundled up beneath your skin

"How?" You gasped, not quite caring about his answer.

"You're not the only one who gets injuries."

You were saved from needing to respond by your phone going off with an alert.

1 Unread Message

From: Blue Porcupine

1:27PM

Blue Porcupine: Found the turkey, 10 mins away, what now?

You looked up from your screen and glanced behind you at Lui, only to realise that he had been reading from over your shoulder.

"Tell him we're ready," Lui instructed, standing up and moving over to the hole, scattering dead leaves and some dead branches around it too make it look more natural. You made to stand up and help him, but Lui gave you a sharp glare which made you halt in your movements. "Move up next to that tree and text your brother."

You did as he bade and typed out a quick response, sending it to Valt. You gave Lui a thumbs up, and he nodded his acknowledgement. Moving quickly, he threw in a handful of the corn, which meant to keep the bird calm, before easily grabbing the two shovels and coming to hide beside you. Wordlessly, you waited, and it wasn't long before you heard them coming before you actually saw them.

It wasn't at all difficult to catch the sound of someone trampling through the bush-like environment, snapping branches and kicking up leaves in their wake. Mere moments later, your quarry burst into the small clearing where you had first lay eyes on it, shortly followed by your younger sibling. He herded the turkey towords the hole, and you held your breath as you waited to see if Lui's scheme had worked. Surely enough, there was a loud, and extremely pleasing shriek as the bird fell for it hook, line and sinker and fell straight down into the hole. What you didn't anticipate however, was Valt's inability to stop. You saw it happen right before the event actually occurred, but before you could call out, your premonition had proved to be correct as Valt's shoe got caught on a small yet heavy branch, and he was sent down after the turkey.

"What the actual hell Valt?" You swore quietly, using the tree you were leaned against to pull yourself to your feet before making your way over to your trap. You gazed down into it and planted your hands on your waist, looking at Valt you was lying beside the terrified looking turkey.

"Cluck cluck little birdie," you grinned demonicly, reaching in and snaring the birds feet tightly in your grasp, watching out for the spurs on his legs. "This feels even better than winning a battle."

Lui gave you a weird look. "If you wanted a turkey that badly I could have gotten you one."

Your mouth slackened and your jaw dropped open.

"Why didn't you say so sooner?" Valt demanded, pulling himself up out of the ground.

Lui shrugged. "I'm saying it now, aren't I? It's all ready to be prepped and cooked."

"Thats nice of you, really," you couldn't help but frown. "But we're not going to turkey- jack you on Thanksgiving."

"It doesn't matter." He waved it off.

"Dude, wouldn't you get in trouble off your parents?" Valt asked bluntly.

After having become best friends with someone who was initially difficult to read, you had become rather talented at reading people over the years. If it wasn't for that, then you likely would have missed the way that Lui's shoulders tensed, or the slight clench of his jaw.

"They're out of the country on business, they won't care." He said stoically, and in that moment, your perception of Lui Shirosagi was altered in an earth changing way. Not necessarily in the sense that you had just realised that the sky was blue after believing it was green for your entire life, but in the way where you might be walking up the stairs during the middle if the night, and you miss the last stair and stagger slightly.

The entire time walking up those stairs, you had believed there to be a certain, fixed amount of them, only to suddenly find out there was another step that you had missed. The revelation setting you momentarily off balance, causing you to alter your way of thinking, needing a moment before you could continue to function.

It was in that particular moment that you realised the similarities between Lui and Shu. They both had parents that were noticeably absent in their lives, something that had had a big influence on their personalities and the shaping of their characters. It was with a start, that you also realised, perhaps for the first time, that if Shu didn't have close friends to rely on from a young age, then maybe be could have ended up just like the rival he so despised. And it was with that revealation, that you were able to make a split second decision.

"You can come to our place if you'd like," you blurted out. Slowly turning red at the taken aback looks on both Lui and Valt's faces. "It's the least we can do for everything."

"Why?" Lui asked, his face a mixture of caution and disbelief. "We're not exactly friends, Aoi."

"A truce then," you amended. "We can go back to this mutual distrust afterwards. No one should be alone on any holiday, not just Thanksgiving, I know for a fact that my mum won't mind, hell, she'd kill us for not offering."

Lui shook his head. "Yeah, thanks but no thanks."

"Fine then Lui, but I'll make you one last deal." You challenged, purposely using his given name instead of his family name. "Valt and I are going to give this turkey to the staff here or whatever, while you go get the one that you'll be handing over. We'll meet you at BeyPark in an hour for our battle, and if I beat you, than you have to come over for Thanksgiving dinner tonight."

"This is ridiculous."

"What are you, chicken?" You taunted,  holding up the still struggling turkey for emphasis, even though it wasn't exactly a chicken. "No deal, no battle."

"No turkey." Lui countered.

"I am literally holding my back up plan, right here."

"Fine," Lui growled. "One hour."

After speaking to the employees, you had sorted out a deal where they would still prep the bird, and freeze it, keeping it for you for next year instead. With a well aimed jab at Valt to make sure that he remembered to let that one defrost, and overwhelming feelings of contentment and satisfaction, you dragged you brother along with you to BeyPark, to where you would soon meet up with Lui.

"Are you sure this is a good idea sis?" Valt wondered, sitting beside you on the concrete stairs in front of the stadium.

"I'm pretty sure," you nodded confidently, feeling happy that those hairdryers had dragged you out of bed that morning. "Like I said, no one deserves to be by themselves on a holiday. Even Shu's staying with his aunt this year."

"Aunt?"

"His dad's sister I think, they're more or less estranged or something. Her name's Ren, I'm pretty sure, Ren Kurenai."

"Huh, why do I feel like I've heard that name before?" Valt said musingly.

You were about to agree with your brother, having also thought that the name had sounded vaguely familiar, but you found yourself interrupted by Lui's arrival. Wordlessly, he held out a dark blue cooler bag, and you peaked inside to catch a quick glimpse of the promised turkey.

"Not bad Lui," you acknowledged with a happy nod. "This'll easily feed all seven of us."

"Seven?"

"My parents, the twins, Valt, myself and you," you reminded him lightly. "Don't forget our earlier agreement."

"That's just more incentive for me to win," Lui huffed, taking Luinor from his holder. "Let's get this started."

You took Astra Vortex from the silken drawstring pouch that Free had gifted you with almost two Christmases ago. While not quite as secure as a proper holder, the smooth material was much better for the Bey inside, and lowered the risk of scratching or potential discoloration. Attaching your Bey to your launcher, you silently prayed that your shoulder would hold out for this match. The doctor's verdict had stated that you couldn't do any competitive or consecutive battles for another two and a half months at least, and while this meant you likely wouldn't be competing in the world leagues, you could still pull off a battle here and there. What worried you most however, was the intensity of your opponent. You had taken on the BeyClub a few times already, and they had proven to be a challenge for you. Lui Shirosagi on the other hand, was a whole other deal entirely. He might not exactly measure up to Free or yourself, but he was good, and you weren't one hundred percent certain about how exactly this would go, and honestly? This next fight could tip in anyone's favour.

"This will be a basic battle, and I want a nice and clean match here, whoever gets the first point will be the winner." Valt declared, stepping up to referee your match, and you had to smile at how protective he was being. You had no illusions about Lui's attitude and behaviour, and you knew that he wasn't above playing dirty to get his way, maybe not by outright cheating, but you wouldn't put it past him to play a nasty trick on you like he had done to Shu in the past.

'I've already gotten one scar today,' you thought to yourself, standing side on, planning on using the same sideways launch as you had used in your last battle against Lui. 'I'm not getting another one.'

"3!"

You weren't going to seem weak.

"2!"

Not in front of Lui Shirosagi of all people.

"1!"

You had to win this thing, losing wasn't an option.

"Let it, rip!"

You spun and kicked your leg up behind you, tearing your ripcord and launching Astra Vortex into the stadium, muffling a horrified noise of pain as it felt like you were being stabbed in the shoulder with a white hot knife.

"Attack it Luinor!"

"Dodge it," you gasped out, praying you hadn't torn something again, sighing in relief as your Bey only narrowly managed to avoid Luinor's attack.

"What's wrong Aoi?" Lui sneered, folding his arms and cocking a brow. "Is this too much for you too handle?"

You gritted your teeth in pain, determined to ignore it and him for the time being, you would not fall for his harsh words again, you would not have another battle like that. This wouldn't be like the last time.

"You've already seen that I'm good at what I do, I just wonder if you know how to handle a girl like me?"

You smirked as Lui flushed at the double meaning of your words, and you had to stifle the urge to laugh when Valt blinked between the two of you in confusion, wanting to ask what had embarrassed Lui, but also not wanting to distract you from your battle.

"Let's light em' up Astra," you said, composing yourself at taking on a serious demeanor. "Take off with Star Launch!"

Rather suddenly, Astra stopped in its tracks, and swerved, now heading in a beeline, cutting straight across the stadium on a warpath for Luinor. Surprised at the unorthadox move on your part, Lui barely had enough time to react before Luinor was hit. Much to his misfortune, the attack did not stop there, in fact, Luinor was struck four more times as Astra repetitively wove its way around the stadium, leaving a silver trail in its wake. By the time the attack was done, not only was there a five pointed star carved out into the stadium, but Lui's Bey had taken a decent amount of damage.

"Let me let you in on a little secret," you leaned forward with a teasing look on your face, one that made Valt gulp, because he knew that it just spelt trouble, and that you could easily cause more mayhem then him if you felt like it or were given the proper incentive to do so.

"The name's Aoi, Y/N Aoi, and in case your didn't realise, I'm one of the best that the world stage has to offer." Your teasing look morphed into something that was positively devious. "Officially, I'm only ranked number two in the World Legues, but I'm still not going down that easy, no matter what advantages you think you might have."

"So go Astra Vortex," you shouted. "Super Starburst!"

History repeated itself as you and Astra lit up in you matching auras. Your Bey spun around the stadium, albeit not as quickly as it had done so in your last match against Lui, not having been powered up with Solar Boost beforehand. Even still, your attack was spectacular to behold, shooting bright bursts of light at Luinor as it moved in for the final blow. Astra charged Luinor, and the bright light emerged once more, causing the boy's to look away while you stared ahead unflinchingly, watching even as Luinor burst, and you called Astra back to you.

If you had to be truthful, you were a little disappointed with the outcome, having expected your battle to be a little more exciting than it had ended up being. After everything you had heard about Lui Shirosagi, you had fully expected him to deliver on the head pounding, heart racing, breathlessness sort of thrill that was meant to accompany a good Bey Battle. But if you were honest? Your adrenaline had barely spiked throughout the whole thing.

You walked over and handed Lui a slip of paper with your address scribbled down onto it, while Valt picked up the cooler bag that Lui had brought along with him.

"You don't have to come, or do anything you don't want to," you informed him, even as he stared in shock at his Beyblade. "But you are welcome there with us tonight, so please at least consider it."

"And I'm greatful for-" you trailed off, glancing in the direction of the front door, having thought you had heard a knock. "Is someone at the door?"

"Looks like he came after all," Valt said, bemused, not having thought that Lui would have honoured your agreement and showed up at your house as per your extended invitation.

"Looks like it," you muttered in surprise, asking to be excused so that you could go and answer the door.

You stood in tip toe and had a look through the peephole, an odd feeing of excitement sparking when you realised that Lui Shirosagi was on your front door step. Quickly unlocking the door, you pulled it open and stood aside to let him in.

"Hey," you gave him a friendly sort of smile. "Glad you could make it."

"I'm sorry for being late," Lui apologized stiffly, holding up a white paper bag for you to see. He let you look inside, and you gave a soft gasp at the expensive looking bottle of wine that lay nestled inside amongst shredded tissue paper.

"It's fine," you assured him, giving him a once over. "With a gift like that, my mum and dad aren't going to let you leave."

He looked good, even you could admit that. He kept his boa, and had traded in his tiger stripes for a pair of simple dark blue pants, as well as a teal dress shirt that was similar to his regular one, but without the jagged hem on it. In short, he looked about as causual as you could get when it came to him, but he still managed to look nice.

"There's this too," he added, and you mentally breathed a sigh of relief, thankful that he had not seemed to notice your silent appraisal of his person.

"And what's that?" You had to ask.

To your surprise, Lui took from the wine bag a single blue rose that you had somehow managed to miss in your brief search, and from one look at it, you could clearly tell that it had been preserved.

"Aren't you just full of surprises? It's goregeous, I love it." You said, giving him a genuine look of happiness. "Did you know that by giving a blue rose to someone, you're saying 'you are extremely wonderful and unique?'"

From the slight flush of Lui's face, you got the feeling that he had been well aware of the fact when he had purchased the elegant looking flower.

"Where are we eating?" Lui cleared his throat changing the subject rather abruptly.

"Oh, right," you gestured to the doorway that led through the kitchen and into your dining area. "Just through there."

Lui nodded, and made to follow your directions, before stopping and seeming to remember something.

"And one more thing," he said, confirming your suspicions, and then turning to face you. Slowly, Lui raised his hand to cup your jaw, and the next thing that you were aware of, you had a warm pair of lips descending on your own.

It was your first kiss, and with Lui Shirosagi nonetheless. It was surprisingly sweet and gentle, and everything you had thought it would be and so much more, as cliché as that might sound. It was perfect and it was over in a short instant.

"Happy Thanksgiving, he murmered.

Holy McNuggets this is one of the longest things I've written in ages.

GUYS I LISTENED TO 'LEAVES FROM THE VINE' AND I AM NOT OKAY!

APPARENTLY THE WRITING ON LU TEN'S PORTRAIT WAS A LETTER TO IROH AND IT SAID:

'To General Iroh,

See you after we win the war.

Your loyal son,

Lu Ten.'

I WAS CRYING, THAT SONG IS SO DEEP, IT NEVER FAILS TO MAKE ME CRY!

😭😭😭😭

P.S

Guess where Lui got his turkey from. Think about his turkey trapping skills, and then guess who the record holder/ 'turkey whisperer' is.