Safety Hazard

stuff; Shadow x Alice
disclaimer; I do not own Bakugan.

Alice lived in a box.

Boxes were safe, boxes were secure, boxes kept away all the outside troubles and sheltered the contents within. She had ventured outside the box once; she didn't regret it. Outside the box, she had found her friends, found her strength, found her worth. Found a side of her (that unmistakeably fearless and proud side, slowly crumbling away with only a whimsical regret) that she never could have imagined to exist.

But it had all come at too much risk and distress, and there was no way she could be sure things could end so happily twice; once was enough for her. And the box closed itself around her once again.

She carried it with her everywhere, that defense. Within her own home, when she walked around the nearest town, and when she lay in serene, open meadows, enjoying the playful breeze and silence that washed over her.

Safeguarded and quiet and peaceful and completely torn apart as though it were nothing more than a prospective parcel of goodies and treats for Mr. Big Bad Wolf to gobble up.

He smashed away every protection she had built up in the months since her last grand adventure with only a cackle and a challenge (she could vaguely remember a time when she embraced such dares with a reckless sneer; but never again could she even think to…). A gruesome caricature of everything she had sworn to never chance again.

And he couldn't give a damn how far or fast she would run for a chance to rebuild the fractured pieces, and she knew that he would beat every scrap beneath his heel and kick them away if she refused to give him his battle.

She was forced, unwillingly (willingly), to allow this one fight.

And then he was swaggering away from the hazardous wreckage that was his success, leaving her to panic and lament (and shiver at the nostalgic feeling of strength and worth and fearlessness…).

Alice had known that this had been far too risky. She simply didn't know if it had been worth it.

"Ready to lose again, Red~?"

Alice just smiled coyly, sliding her Gauntlet onto her arm as the spiky-haired boy across from her laughed as he always did; loud, boastful, that ridiculous tongue of his flapping obscenely. She could feel the metal through the wool of her sweater, pleasantly warm, sending a thrilled hum through her veins. And more than ever (because she's had her time to stress over her brutal loss, time to think of it, time to remember and relish in that acrid-sweet tingle from so long ago), she yearned for this rematch to start.

"Remember last time?" Shadow grinned viciously into the distance, towards memories of his triumph against the docile girl who faced him now, shoulders shaking with his never-ending chuckles. "Oh man, I beat you so BAD! Didn't I destroy your house or something? That's right, I DID! Maaaaan, I was so awesome…"

He glowed with overconfidence and self-assurance, and she just continued to smile (something between patience and an expectant smirk, she's been waiting for this for a while now), allowing the words to fall through her mouth, cool and haughty and familiar. "Didn't I say something about you being too arrogant our last battle?"

Gloating red eyes just snickered right back at her. "Oh, who cares? I won." He slapped on his own Gauntlet, fingers twitching in zealous anticipation. "Any last words, Red? Before I totally destroy you?"

"Thank you."

"Eh?" He hesitated, just for a moment, his mouth pulling itself down into a confused pout as he glared at his opponent, far too calm and cheerful for his tastes. She couldn't be the same person (that frantic and weak little girl, who ran and stumbled from the slightest of threats) he had duelled before.

But this girl was someone he recognized, even after only a brief, destructive glimpse of her (but perhaps this meant that things would be much more fun).

But that didn't mean that those two little words made any more sense to him; he had annihilated everything, her home and her peace and any chance of victory she could have had, and dragged her out of the security of the sidelines… "What for, huh? For being a nice enough guy to let you face my epicness again?"

She didn't have to say a word; with a softly appreciative smile (it's never left her lips, because she's just that happy to be facing him again, and not even the chance of impending doom can wipe it away), she throws down the first card.