A/N: This is taking place after Gundalian Invaders but before Mechtanium Surge because that shit didn't happen!
Disclaimer: Bakugan Battle Brawlers belong to its respective owners.
Chapter 1: In which things get weird
After a long day of crowded tables and loud talking at the Misaki Restaurant, the shrill peal of the doorbell finally signalled the exit of the last afternoon diner, allowing the dust to settle over the devastation in dining area. The lunch rush had hit like a storm crashing through the restaurant that day, leaving in its wake the debris of scattered cutlery, half-finished plates, empty glasses and stained tabletops for one disgruntled waitress to clean up. With some resignation, and an aggravated kick at the door making the wood squeak in protest, she got started, occasionally casting an envious look at the remaining guests of the restaurant. Well, technically her guests, but she was too tired and annoyed to acknowledge that right then.
They sat huddled around some tables and chatted amongst themselves, seemingly unbothered by the restaurant's deserted state. Three young women sharing a plate of biscuits and a blonde male sitting at the next table, they might have looked like any group of teenagers, but they were easily one of the most peculiar groups of characters to have ever entered the restaurant. For what's more peculiar than two aliens, one of which a princess, an interdimensional traveller and an Australian reporter who was chatting away about saving the world and giant fighting kaijū like it was an everyday occurence?
Julie Makimoto hadn't lowered her volume with the disappearance of the rush crowd. In fact, the emptiness of the restaurant seemed to have only given her room to get even louder, gesticulating enthusiastically as she talked. Opposite her, Mira Clay of Vestal and Fabia Sheen of Neathia were listening intently to her stories from the early days of the Bakugan Battle Brawlers, heroes of humans and bakugan alike, saviours of whole dimensions, as well as their…less heroic associates.
"So he was your…enemy?" The Neathian princess shifted her quizzical gaze from the silver-haired reporter in front of her to the masked blonde seated at their right.
Julie nodded enthusiastically. "Uh huh. He was a total bad guy, but not, like, the big bad; that was Naga. You know, the ugly white lizard guy. Anyway, he used to steal people's bakugan and send them to this awful place, the Doom Dimension. He even sent Dan there and then we had to go in after him." Here she paused and scrunched up her delicate features in a grimace just to convey how unpleasant it had been.
"That was a total drag. It was all dark and gloomy and icky and so not good for my hair. I got the worst split ends…" She turned to glare at the blonde boy over the injustice suffered by her hair, but he made no comment.
At this point the Neathian and the Vestal were hanging onto Julie's every word, their expressions something between entrancement and complete confusion. They didn't say anything, merely waited for Julie to finish her silent scolding and get back to telling them about the Brawlers' first adventures.
"So, yeah, he was pretty bad," Julie continued, finally turning her attention back to her audience, "but he got better, you see. 'Cause he had this huge ultimate showdown brawl with Dan and then Dan won and it was awesome and he was like `you should totally join us, Masquerade´, but then he took his mask off and turned out to be Alice!" Julie spread her arms wide to emphasize the amazement she thought appropriate for such a great reveal. "I mean, like, what a twist, right? Who'd've thought that! But then Alice got all depressed and she was like `you guys can't trust me´ and she left for a bit. Think she went to Germany or something.
"So we were in the Doom, right, to stop Naga, and Dan was all alone while facing these freaky half-bakugan—"
"Hybrids," interjected the blonde.
"Whatever. I'm the one telling the story, thank you. So, like, Dan was on the ropes. They were gonna get him and kill him and rip out all his organs and make sashimi out of him, and then—" she paused dramatically and leaned in over the table, her listeners mimicking her movement, "—and then, Masquerade showed up out of nowhere and totally saved Dan's adorable butt, and the two of them joined together and kicked those two jerks straight back to kingdom come. Then he sorta died." Julie said and grinned triumphantly, though when seeing the look of pure baffled incredulity on her friends' faces, she quickly amended: "Well, he came back, obviously."
From his seat, Masquerade couldn't help chuckling at the scene, even as he tried to supress it by sipping the steaming mug of coffee he'd ordered. The conversation so far had proved to be quite amusing, what with the alien girls' humorous facial reactions and Julie's disorderly-though-technically-accurate recounting of events.
"But…I still don't really understand…" Fabia said hesitantly and thus Julie was off again, telling them about how he'd been born from the negative energy of the Silent Core, how he was connected to Alice through his mask, how he had changed his mind after the loss to Dan and how he'd eventually gained his own body and his freedom and on and on and on…
From the looks on their faces, the two alien girls weren't any less confused now than when Julie had first started telling them about the mysterious masked figure relaxing by a table in the Misaki Restaurant. He hadn't said much since they'd met, aside from a brief greeting and his name (Masquerade? Just the word was enough to make the girls itch with curiosity), and he hadn't seemed to care much when Julie had plopped down at the table next to his and—to the other girls' horror and embarrassment—started to loudly proclaim his life story to them.
Masquerade reclined back in his chair, savouring the taste and feel of the hot brew prickling his tongue. Movement by the kitchen door caught his attention, muffled speaking sounds drifted out from within that he strained to hear. He tried to tune out Julie's one-woman show, but surprisingly it proved harder to ignore than the cacophony of monotonous noise from when the restaurant was full, the reporter's clear voice now dominating the almost empty room.
Admittedly, Masquerade preferred it this way; he wouldn't have to deal with strangers "discreetly" ogling him or commenting on his fashion choices in whispers they thought he couldn't hear. Like this, with only other brawlers around, he wasn't some aberrant freak or eccentric curiosity. They didn't care about his appearance.
At least, they usually didn't. In his peripheral vision he caught the redheaded Vestal looking—staring—at him again, fidgeting in her seat. She'd been doing that since she had first seen him, though she would quickly avert her eyes whenever Masquerade turned his head in her direction. It had been amusing at first but now it was starting to get annoying.
He had come to the restaurant as Alice's escort; she'd been invited to a get-together for the female brawlers, the originals as well as their new alien additions. Masquerade had offered to take her, as travel by dimensional transport was much faster than by airplane—also because Masquerade was stingy with his DT and didn't feel like lending it to her for the weekend.
Speaking of Alice…Masquerade shifted his attention back to the doorway leading in to the kitchen area, where Alice was undoubtedly helping with the cleaning even though she didn't work for the Misakis anymore. Masquerade suspected it was mostly so she could talk in private with Runo. The two hadn't been in the same room for a long time, and he knew Alice had been looking forward to spending time with her best friend. He just hoped they wouldn't completely hog each other's time and attention and end up neglecting their other friends (and himself).
It was for the view that Masquerade had chosen this particular table. From his current spot he could see both the bar counter and also catch a glimpse of the kitchen whenever the door swished open with the entries and exits of the restaurant's sole waitress. The youngest Misaki was bustling back and forth between the kitchen and dining room, gradually cleaning up the mess. As she manoeuvred around the tables, she cleared away empty glasses and dirty dishes and stacked them high in her arms before returning to the kitchen, and then she removed the dining pads and meticulously wiped the tops, bending over slightly to reach the corners. She would only stop to exchange some pleasant words with her friends (and snarky ones in his case), her azure pigtails swinging as she went.
Masquerade kept his gaze on her as she approached his table, an empty tray balanced on one hand, a notebook in the other and a tea towel thrown over her shoulder.
"You done with that?"
He glanced down at his now-empty mug and said, "Apparently so. I think I would like one more." He snapped his fingers at her. "A double espresso on the double, if you please."
Runo narrowed her green eyes at the gesture. "You know you'll have to pay for it, right?"
"Put it on my tab."
"Ha! Like I'd give you one."
"…Put it on Alice's tab."
She tapped a pen impatiently against her notebook. "I don't think so. Besides, Alice actually works for her discounts here, and I'm not about to let her pay for you, you freeloader."
"It's not freeloading. It's compensation for bringing her here, thus sparing her the financial burden and inconveniences of unreliable public transport. She owes me, really."
"You saying you can't pay, freeloader?" Her frown morphed into a smirk. "That's fine. We have plenty of pots and pans that need cleaning out back. I'm sure you could work off your debt in under an hour, if you're quick."
"Now, that's hardly fair. It's just a little cup of coffee. After everything I've done for the brawlers, you can't spare me one tiny cup of coffee." Masquerade shook his head sadly.
At the other table, the girls had ceased all conversation and were peering motionlessly over at the arguing pair as if observing a couple of rare exotic animals and the smallest sound or motion would trigger their fight-or-flight instinct (most likely the former in Runo's case). Julie was grinning, Fabia had furrowed her brows and Mira wouldn't really look at him.
He flashed them a grin. "Isn't that what you were talking about, ladies? About what a great guy I am. After all, I did sort of sacrifice my life to save Dan. Don't you think that's worth a little coffee?"
Fabia's frown deepened. "Actually, you sound like a really terrible person. Just because you did one decent thing in your life doesn't really make up for all the other awful things that you did."
Mira winced. It was a small movement, so small Masquerade almost missed it. He didn't take the time to wonder about it, though; he had other concerns right then.
"One decent thing? I died!" he exclaimed, insulted. "I'm sorry, since when did sacrificing your own life for the greater good and saving someone's life in the process amount to just being decent? Why, I sure am glad my death didn't inconvenience you in any way, that would just have been indecent of me."
Fabia's jaw tightened. "Being forgiven is one thing, but what else have you done to earn your place among the Brawlers. If you've really reformed to the side of good, what exactly have you done to make amends for everything you did, now that you are not dead anymore?"
Masquerade was silent.
"Well, he has helped us out a lot since then," Runo conceded after a pause, picking up his empty mug and fiddling with it as if fascinated by the moving froth at the bottom. "So he's not, like, an evil jerk. He's really more of a bad bo—guy," she hastily amended and risked a glance at him, but quickly looked back when she caught his smirking at her. "Well, not that bad, just…just…"
"A bad boy," Julie said with a wicked glint in her grin.
"That's not what I said!"
At seeing Runo visibly squirm, Masquerade's own smirk widened. He leaned his arm on the table with his chin resting on the back of his hand, head slightly cocked to the side. "Oh, really? I'm bad, am I, Runo?" he said teasingly. He saw how the muscles in her throat moved as she swallowed before turning a determined gaze at him.
"Yeah."
He chuckled. "And what have I done lately that's so—" he licked his lips, "—bad?"
Runo spluttered, "You…you just…err…" A red blush was blossoming on her cheeks, her fingers wrapped tight around the mug. "You're distracting me from my job, and…disturbing our other customers—I mean, my guests and…and…" Her eyes darted to the kitchen door and let out a breath of relief. "Oh, hi, Alice. Are you done already?"
Emerging from the kitchen, Alice wiped her hands on her apron and looked at her friend with a concerned expression. "I was wondering what took you so long. I thought maybe you'd got—" she looked pointedly at her other half, "—distracted."
Masquerade pulled back, his arms raised in surrender. "Hey, I didn't do anything. I mean, it's hardly my fault if she can't stay professional—"
"You creep!"
"Now, see? That is very unprofessional, insulting a customer. And she won't even bring me my coffee, would you believe it. Don't expect any tip from me."
"I expect you to pay your bill!"
"But Alice said I could order whatever I liked and that she'd pay."
Said girl cringed. "That's true, Runo. I did say…"
One table over, Mira and Fabia were frozen in stunned silence while staring at the social train wreck in front of them: Masquerade smirking widely with Runo's fingers clutching at the air just a few inches from his face as if longing to go for the throat, the two spitting sarcastic and furious insults at each other all the while Alice was trying to keep some kind of peace, her face showing all the resignation of someone who'd had to deal with this exact situation way too many times already.
The alien girls were unable to even react, their brains having given up trying to process the constant emotional whiplashes and simply shut down. Occasionally, the girls would regain enough mobility to turn their eyes and share a dumbfounded look, but all other muscles appeared to be at a standstill. Mira couldn't even lift her hand to feel if her jaw really had dropped, or if that was just her imagination.
Julie on the other hand was muffling giggles into her hand, her eyes shiny with supressed tears.
The arguing parties paid no attention to their shocked spectators, however, and kept on shooting insults back and forth like they were playing a game of verbally abusive Ping-Pong with poor Alice trying to act as referee. Eventually, Runo threw her hands up and declared, "If you're going to be like that, then fine! Drink yourself into a caffeinated coma for all I care." She tucked the tray under her arm and turned sharply for the door, one of her blue pigtails lightly smacking him in the face with the motion.
Masquerade frowned at her retreating back. An irritated feeling settled like something sour in his mouth as he worked his jaw grudgingly, trying to find something to say to make her…
He snapped his head in Mira's direction when he felt her looking again. "What?"
She jumped. The surprise at his outburst seemed to shock her out of her stupor, though her voice still felt a little shaky. "I-it's nothing. I wasn't—"
"You've been staring at me all day. Do I look funny to you? Do you like looking at the freak?" he snarled.
"No! No, that's not—"
"Hey!" Runo had halted on her way through the door at his outburst and was now glaring at him. "Don't say things like that. What has Mira ever done to you?"
"Well, she seems to be looking at me like I'm some sort of circus attraction. Perhaps if she'd tell me what's so damned interesting about—" Beside him, Alice put her head in her hands.
"Then don't shout at her!"
"Excuse me? Who is shouting?"
"Enough." Mira stood up suddenly. Her unease momentarily forgotten, she fixed the two quarrelling earthlings with her most authoritative look. "I'm sorry if I offended you, Masquerade. I really didn't mean to be rude. It's just that…" she lowered her gaze, almost bashfully, "…it's just that you remind me of my brother."
Masquerade blinked. Usually he would have met such an unfair accusation with scorn and the insistent denial that 'no, we are nothing alike' and 'how dare you' and 'my dress sense is way better than that'. But usually only Alice would have the gall to so rudely bring that particular subject up, and she was always all gentle smiles and mild teasing. Now, faced with Mira's genuinely guilty look, he couldn't quite manage to muster up any real outrage.
"Oh…right, I see," Masquerade muttered, feeling awkward. "I'm…sorry. I shouldn't have snapped at you."
"I'm sorry, too," Runo chimed in, drawing the surprised gazes of the other brawlers. She rubbed her arm. "I know I don't make things any better when I blow up like that. And I'm sorry to you, too," she added, looking at Masquerade.
Mira nodded slowly, then sat down. A few seconds ticked by in awkward silence. All conversation seemed to have died (and for a moment Runo worried that she'd managed to ruin the whole get-together for everyone) and then Julie—sweet blessed Julie—opened her mouth:
"So, Alice, do you think Masquerade is a bad boy?"
Runo screwed her eyes shut. Damn you, Julie.
Alice hesitated. "Well, I guess so. Since he's not really a villain, anymore."
"Regardless, I still think," Fabia interjected, frowning, "that Masquerade should face some kind of justice. Sure, he is apparently reformed now, but how does that compensate for all the terrible things he has done in the past?"
"So, what you're saying is…" Julie started, then turned a wicked smirk at Masquerade, "that he should be punished."
The masked blonde stilled; what could be seen of his face was expressionless, his mouth drawn in a firm line.
"And how do you expect us to do that?" Runo asked dismissively. "Tie him up and stick him in a cage somewhere? Only give him bread and water?"
"The punishment should fit the crime, I think," Fabia said. "Imprisonment would be appropriate for sending bakugan to the Doom Dimension, but…"
"So we put him in a cell or a closet or something," Runo mused out loud, "and maybe we should put him in chains too, just to be sure he can't escape…"
"Runo, you're not seriously considering—" Alice started.
"And then there's all the people he hurt when he stole their bakugan, and the Doom brawlers he brainwashed, and, you know, helping a power-hungry maniac to conquer the world," Julie said, tallying his crimes on her fingers, "and then there's how he used Alice and made her indirectly betray us."
"…Please don't drag me into this…"
To Alice's disappointment, Runo didn't seem to notice her quiet distress. Instead, the bluenette was listening intently to Julie before speaking again; her voice filled with way too much amused interest for Alice's liking.
"I'd like to shut up that smart mouth of his. Slap some duck tape on him or something."
Julie giggled madly. "Oh, yeah, we should definitely gag him. And maybe tie him down on the floor and poor hot wax on him—"
"Or step on him—" Runo interjected with a sly wink to Julie, "with stilettoes."
"Runo, that's not very humane," Alice tried, but once again her plea fell on deaf ears.
"C'mon, Alice, that's nothing," Runo said, waving dismissively, "if I really wanted to be inhumane I'd just strap him to a rack—"
"Alice," Masquerade spoke up, and the snap in his voice jolted the girls out of their debate. They looked at him as if they'd forgotten he was even there. When the masked boy addressed Alice again, his voice had a monotone quality to it, but Runo thought he sounded strained.
"Alice," he repeated, feigning indifference, "could you get me some cold water, please? With ice."
"Y-yeah, sure." Alice started hesitantly for the kitchen, throwing worried looks over her shoulder at her friends and Masquerade. He gave her a stiff smile, though it didn't do much to ease her worry. Especially not with the way the conversation between the girls was escalating.
Masquerade had edged as close to the table as his seat would allow, the tabletop digging into his abdomen like he was trying to cut himself in half. He couldn't believe what he was hearing! And what's worse, he was having a damn hard time controlling his body's reactions, his rising mortification making it almost impossible to think clearly. Damn. Damn. Damn! What was he going to do? He couldn't just run, his pride wouldn't allow it. How ironic was that? He was going to let himself be humiliated because of his own engorged ego!
Mira looked thoughtfully between him and Runo, and Masquerade felt the dread spreading at the sudden glimpse of realization in her eyes. Dammit it all!
"Runo, I think you're narrowing down the possibilities by focusing solely on the pain; real punishment can embody so much more than that." she said innocently (Masquerade didn't buy it for a second, for obvious reasons).
Runo raised an eyebrow. "Oh, really? Such as?"
Mira nodded, a small smirk playing on her lip (he knew it). "Well, you talked about restraining and gagging him, but what about depriving him of his senses, like using a blindfold and maybe earplugs?"
"And what good would that do?"
"Think about it: he's strapped to a table, can't move at all, can't see or hear so he has no idea of where he is, if he's being watched, and can't speak up or call for help. Whatever other punishment you can think of, he just has to lie there and take it."
Julie had her hands clasped over her mouth and appeared to be choking with hysterical laughter.
"Right. It's all about the psychology of it," Fabia said in serious tone and exchanged a conspiring glance with Mira, "the little torments just piling up one after the other until it becomes too much to bear…"
"…the pressure building…"
"…until he's desperate for just a moment of relief…"
"Can't you just imagine that?"
Masquerade definitely could, and the image was going to haunt him in his sleep. Only his dignity kept him from crawling in under the table and never coming out, ever.
Runo's response was an absent-minded "I guess," like she wasn't entirely sure what they were on about. She was starting to get the feeling there was something going on between the other girls that she wasn't privy too. She shook her head.
"I didn't say I wanna torture him, just, ya'know, humble him a bit. I think a little humiliation would do his smug ass some good."
Julie had managed to swallow her laughing fit with only the occasional giggle escaping her mouth. "Y-you know…ha ha ha…if you wanna…he he…go all out, why not just strip him nake—OW!" Julie yelped when Runo aimed a swipe to the back of her head. "That hurt."
"Don't be a perv," Runo snapped. "There's gotta be another way to humiliate him without getting sleazy about it, we just have to think of—oh, oh, I know, we could make him crawl around on his hands and knees like a dog." Both Runo and Julie snickered at the mental image.
Mira raised an eyebrow. "Why not just get him a collar, then. And maybe a leash."
Diverting her attention from her friends, Runo cast a scrutinizing glance towards the object of their little "discussion". Masquerade seemed not quite so relaxed now, posture stiff as if ready to bolt at any second, fingers tapping in rapid rhythm against the tabletop. He'd turned his head slightly towards her, but she couldn't be sure if he was actually looking her in the eye.
Not so smug now, are you? she thought with satisfaction.
"We could parade him around in front of the other brawlers," Julie giggled, "like our own cute little puppy dog."
"I've got a better idea," Runo spoke to her friends, still facing Masquerade. "Why don't we put on one of those 'bark collars'. You know, the ones that give off a little shock every time the dog gets to loud." She grinned at him, showing all her teeth. "That'd shut you right up, now, wouldn't it?"
She caught a tiny, wincing movement by his throat—a sharp intake of breath. A stray pearl of sweat was trailing its way slowly, slowly down the white column of his neck. An odd tingling sensation spread through Runo's entire body at the sight of him in such a state and in knowing that it was she who was having such a strong effect on the normally imperturbable boy. Really, she didn't need any penance from him; this little game was punishment enough, his obvious reactions more than a sufficient compensation.
Masquerade on the other hand was fighting to control his breathing. He could feel beads of cool sweat sliding down over his pulse, which was hammering away so loudly he was sure the beat must have been audible to everyone in the room. More than ever he was thankful of the mask that concealed his burning cheeks from the hungry look in Runo's eyes, and it took absolutely all of his willpower to supress the shivers that tickled up and down his body, making him twitch under the table (and luckily out of her field of vision).
"It sounds like you intend to train him like a dog too, Runo," Fabia said jokingly. "Are you going to teach him to roll over and beg at command?"
Masquerade jerked in his seat as if slapped, immediately drawing the attention of the girls. His shoulders were so tense it hurt, and some of the looks he was getting didn't help. He tried to force himself back into a more relaxed posture, but any shifting on his seat only made his discomfort grow worse. Dammit, where is Alice with that water!
"But, you know, you have to do it right." With a salacious grin on her face, Julie winked at Runo and poked her in the side. "You're supposed to give him treats when he behaves, and punish him when he's been bad."
Masquerade swallowed hard. Does Julie know? He looked at the jointly entertained expressions of Julie, Mira and Fabia. Who am I kidding? They all know.
In a moment of desperation, Masquerade cast a glance at the ceiling and sent a mental prayer to whatever powers that might be that he would survive the next few minutes with his dignity intact, or at least that Runo wouldn't find out, otherwise his dignity wouldn't be the only thing ending up dead and buried. Maybe one of them heard him, or maybe he was just that lucky, for right then Alice finally reappeared, placing a full glass of ice cold water in front of him.
He muttered, "thanks," and moved to take a small sip. The glass was misty with condensation and the ice cubes clinked together as he lifted it to his mouth, the feel of it chilling his fingertips…
"Well, I don't know about any treats, but as for punishment," Runo sighed dramatically, "I guess whipping him with the leash would be animal cruelty."
If Masquerade had actually been drinking, he would have choked on his water. As it was, he was holding the glass about halfway to his mouth, unnoticeably eyeing the girls, making sure none of them were looking directly at him—
"I know something you could give him for treats."
—and promptly dumped the iced water in his lap. He hissed loudly at the sudden cold stab in his nether area as the water soaked through his pants.
Immediately he was offered the towel from Runo, which was accompanied by a "watch what you're doing, you klutz," though without any real bite to it. Thankfully, the incident seemed to have cut the conversation short. Some of the girls—Mira and Fabia, mostly—even seemed ashamed of their little "joke", not really helped by Alice's disapproving frown and stern insistence that they all apologize to him.
"It's fine," he lied, wiping at the wet stain on his pants "I think it's about time I left anyway. Ciao." And with that, he was gone in a small shower of white sparks, startling both of the alien girls (their usual teletransportation devices weren't quite so…flamboyant).
"It was just a joke," Runo muttered under Alice's judgemental glare, "besides, he kinda deserved it…I think."
Alice sighed. "You know, Runo? Sometimes, you can be just as bad as him."
A/N:Well, that was chapter 1 of His Just Deserts. Hopefully you found my incredibly immature humour funny, at least funny enough to want to read on for the next chapters. I got some more torture planned for our favourite masked villain, and don't worry; all of it won't be as…suggestive as this chapter—at least, for the most part.
Also, there will be shipping in this story. If you want me to tell you which pairing, well, *points to the above text* do I really need to?
Ah, poor Masquerade. It's not easy being a hormonal teenage boy surrounded by sadistic teenage girls and manipulated by an even more sadistic and depraved author.
And some practical information: This fic will be about four chapters long, but as you might have gleaned from the text above, they will all be pretty long (this one is over 5000 words—yikes). I'm going to try to stay on a regular updating schedule (the key word is try), about one chapter each week. If I don't have chapter 2 ready by some time next week, I might publish something else.
Next time: In which a devil's deal is made
Stay tuned