In memory of Peace Day, 6 August. May the story of Sadako Sasaki, and others like hers live on forever.

Disclaimer: Bakugan doesn't belong to me, it belongs to TMS Entertainment.

"Hey Mom, what's that?" Shun asked, pointing to the golden crane on her bedside table.

"Oh, that? It's a gift from a friend." She answered, her eyes shining. "Have I ever told you about the legend of a thousand cranes?"

When he shook his head, she smiled weakly at him.

"The crane is a symbol of long life, happiness, and also of good luck. There is a legend that says if a person folds one thousand paper cranes, they will be granted a wish. Sadako Sasaki was a girl who was diagnosed with leukemia. When she was told of the same legend, she wanted to fold a thousand cranes so that she could be healthy again. Her story was one of my favourites when I was your age," she told him. "It would be nice if I had my own flock of a thousand cranes…" She murmured, before drifting off into sleep.

Shun recalled the legend his mother had told him, and decided then: he would fold a thousand cranes, he would make a wish for his Mom to get better, and then everything would be okay.

...

"Wow, Shun!" Alice exclaimed, walking into his room. Colourful paper cranes of all different sizes decorated his ceiling, each of them unique in their own way. "There must be at least a thousand in here!"

Shun winced at her words, but he didn't let it show. He hid behind his aloof expression and walked over to the window. She fondled one of the cranes in her hand, admiring the delicacy with which it was made.

"You folded all of these?" She asked him. He didn't answer, but simply nodded. "That's amazing!"

She wandered over to his desk, and noticed several cranes which hadn't been strung yet, along with some pieces of paper left unfolded.

"Are you still folding cranes?"

When he didn't answer, Alice turned towards him.

"Shun, are you okay?"

"Have you heard of the legend of a thousand cranes?" He asked with his back towards her.

"No, I haven't."

"A legend says that if a person folds one thousand cranes, they will be granted a wish."

"How many do you have so far?"

"Nine hundred and eighty nine."

"Then you're almost there! Only eleven more and–"

"No Alice. I'm not finishing the rest."

"Why not?" She touched his shoulder, and when he turned around she could see the tears welling up in his eyes. "What's wrong, Shun?"

"My Mom was the one who first told me that legend."

"His Mom?" Alice thought to herself. The pieces finally started to come together. She understood why he couldn't bring himself to finish folding the thousand cranes.

"You wanted to make a thousand cranes, and use the wish to help your Mom get better. But you never got to finish them." She whispered. "Shun, I'm sorry…" She took his hand and gave it a light squeeze. "But… shouldn't you still finish the thousand cranes?"

"Don't you see, Alice?" He cried, jerking his hand away from hers. "I made a wish on every one of those cranes, wishing for my Mom to get better! Now that she's gone, the magic of the cranes is also gone."

He sank to the floor, letting the tears fall down his face. She sat down beside him and took his hand again, this time holding it tighter. She rested her head on his shoulder as he sobbed to himself.

"Eleven cranes…" He wept quietly. "Eleven cranes and I could have saved her. But I was too late…"

He wasn't sure how long they were like that; Alice's head against his shoulder, her hand holding his own so gently. When he had finally stopped crying, Alice was the first to speak up.

"Shun… I think… your Mom would have wanted you to finish the thousand. And I want to help you as well. Even though I never met her, your Mom sounds like such an amazing person."

"She was…" He murmured. He stood up, extending his hand toward Alice to help her up. He led her to his desk, where he gave her one of the pieces of paper before taking one himself.

He would finish the thousand cranes; for his Mom, and for Alice.

...

Together, Shun and Alice managed to make ten more cranes between the two of them. As Shun returned after stringing the ten and the ones which had been left on his desk to the ceiling, Alice handed him the last piece of paper.

"This is the last one." She murmured to him.

He gingerly took the paper from her fingers, but he couldn't fold the last crane.

"I can't do this, Alice."

"But you're so close to a thousand! You didn't come this far to give it all up now!"

"I can't do it alone. I want you to do it with me."

He smiled, and handed her back the paper. She could see that he had already done the first few steps. Passing the paper between them, together they were able to make the thousandth crane. He picked up a pen from his desk and lifted the wing of the crane.

"You're supposed to write your wish underneath the wing of the last crane." He explained to her.

Alice wanted him to hang the last one on the ceiling, but Shun refused. For him, the last crane was too special, and he wanted to keep it close to himself. He placed the last crane on his bedside table, and walked over to where Alice was standing as they admired the thousand cranes.

A light wind swept through the window, causing the cranes to sway gently in the breeze. It almost looked as if they were flying.

"The thousand cranes are all together now…" She murmured, leaning into his arm.

"Yeah…"

"I'm sure… your Mom is thankful for what you did for her."

"Even if I was too late to save her?" He choked, holding back tears.

"She knew that you wanted to do whatever it took to keep her close. I think just knowing, that you loved her that much… is enough for her."

"Thank you, Alice." He whispered, holding her in an embrace.

"I'm just happy… that you finally got your wish." She said softly, her eyes also shining with tears. "What did you wish for anyway?"

"It's a secret." He whispered, leaning into her ear.

"You're not going to tell me?" She asked, her brown eyes meeting his amber ones. "But I helped you fold the last crane! Don't I deserve to know what you wished for?"

"What we wished for," he corrected, smiling at her. "You helped me fold the last crane, so I thought it was only fitting that the wish come from both of us."

With that, he took Alice's hand and led her to his bed. Picking up the crane from his bedside table, he lifted up its wing. There, Alice could read the wish which he had written in his neat writing:

"Mom; wherever you are, Alice and I wish for you to be happy."