This is my second Bakugan fic, and I hope this meets standard!

I really love Dan and Runo, but I have recently developed a love for Shun and Runo, though I am a firm believer of Shun/Alice and Dan/Runo in the show!

This will be a Shun/Runo story with hints of Dan/OOC! There will also be Julie/Billy, Marucho/OOC, Alice/OOC, and who knows who else! :)

Disclaimer: I do NOT own Bakugan or any of the Brawlers or the Resistance, but I wish I did... If so, there might be a Dan/Runo/Shun love triangle!

(Runo POV)

Hi, I'm Runo. And this is the story of my life after Dan left me...

"Mommy!" A small brunette girl squealed excitedly. I turned around and saw her bounding down the stairs, with the family pet, a sleek, dark brown dog named Kuri, following behind her. The girl's hair was pulled back into low pigtails, much like I used to wear. Her eyes were a deep ruby red. "Mommy, can I go play with Maiko and Kage at the park? Please? Aunt Julie and Aunt Alice will be there too!"

The little girl asking me this was Hikari, my daughter. Today was her sixth birthday, and I had to get the party set up.

The other mentioned children were the children of my fellow Battle Brawlers. Maiko was Julie and Billy's daughter; Kage was Alice's son. Maiko was a year younger than Hikari, Kage was two years younger than both of them.

I motioned for her to go on and she grabbed Kuri by the collar. "Come on, Kuri, let's go!"

"Hikari!" I called. "Aren't you forgetting something?" She popped her head back in.

"Oh, yeah!" She kissed my cheek and started off again.

"Hikari!" I called again. She came back in. "Take Skyress with you." I placed the small, green Ventus Bakugan in her hand.

"Okay! Bye, Mommy!" She craned her neck up toward the second floor. "Bye, Daddy!"

She bounded out the door, Kuri following in her wake.

A pair of strong arms circled my waist and a pair of soft lips kissed my shoulder. "She's a bundle of energy, Runo." The voice belonged to Shun Kazami. "She's just like you."

I turned and brushed Shun's black hair out of his beautiful golden eyes and kissed his cheek lightly.

Now, if you know me, you know that I have light blue hair and bluish-green eyes. And you know that I told you earlier that Hikari had brown hair and ruby eyes? Well... I'm just gonna say that Shun isn't her real father. That jerk left before I knew I was pregnant. Shun was being my best friend, and stayed to help. Our friendship was growing even before that, but Hikari just sealed it; she brought us together. And Shun has raised her like she was his own daughter.

She believes that Shun is her father, and who am I to tell a six year-old otherwise? She wants him to be her father, and he wants to be here for her. Shun and I never married, though.

Hikari made Shun and me grow close enough to fall in love. So here we are, I'm twenty-two, Shun's twenty-four, and Hikari's six. Her parents are in love, but not married, and we love her to death. She has proclaimed that she will never leave us because she loves us too much.

I guess that's what all children say at some point; Julie said the other day that Maiko had said she was never going to get married and have babies because she wanted to stay with Mommy.

Julie was so happy to hear that! Alice just smile when her little Kage said he never wanted to grow up because he loved being little.

The doorbell rang. I unwrapped Shun's arms to go answer it. Julie and Alice stood at the door, bags of birthday party supplies in each arm. "Surprise, Runo!" Julie said, plopping the stuff down in the doorway. She and Alice both engulfed me in a hug. "Hey," I said. "I thought you guys were supposed to be in the park with the kids."

"Aww, it's fine! Billy and Evan are still there with them!" Jeez, Julie was perky today. You all should know Billy, but Evan was Alice's husband. "Besides, I thought you could use some help setting stuff up!"

Alice smiled and walked past me to set her bags down on the kitchen counter. "Yeah, Runo. I wanted to help with Hikari's party. Kage's birthday isn't for another seven months. And Maiko's birthday was two months ago."

Shun nodded hello to the girls and wrapped an arm around me. "This is where I leave you three alone?" I grabbed his shirt collar as he turned to go.

"You aren't going anywhere. Billy and Evan are watching the kids, you are helping with your daughter's birthday." Shun flinched at the authority in my voice, but stayed.

"What do you need me to do?"

-xoxoxoxo-

It took Julie, Alice, Shun, and me three hours to get everything ready. Half of that was baking her cake, though, so you can't blame the decorations. Marucho and his fiancee, Mercy, had just arrived. And-surprisingly-Mira and Ace showed up with Baron.

Everyone was showing up for Hikari's birthday. This surprised Shun and the other Brawlers, but it surprised me the most. "Do I need to call Billy and tell him to get on over here with the kids?" Julie asked.

I nodded to her and went over to talk to Mira, mainly to catch up.

"No, Runo. Don't worry. Dan doesn't know where we're at. Keith led him on a wild goose chase, so nothing to worry about!" She said, putting an arm over my shoulders.

The mere mention of Daniel Kuso's name sent a flash of anger through my entire body. I never wanted to see him again!

He's the jerk that had gotten me pregnant. While I do thank him for giving me my daughter, I still hate him with every ounce of my being. Him with his stupid brown hair, and careless ruby eyes...

I hate him.

-xoxoxoxo-

Evan and Billy had gotten here about an hour ago with Maiko, Kage, and Hikari. We had surprised her and she screamed and grabbed everyone in a huge hug. "Mommy, Daddy, thank you so much! All of my family's here!" She climbed her way up Marucho and clung to him piggy-back. "Hi, Uncle Marucho!" She kissed his cheek sweetly. "Hi, Aunt Mercy!" She climbed over to Mercy and hugged her.

Julie picked up Maiko and kissed the girl's cheek. She looked so like Julie; she had platinum white hair, tan skin, and dark indigo eyes.

Kage, Alice's boy, looked like a mix of Evan and Alice. He had Alice's pretty dark eyes, but with Evan's dark blond hair.

Mercy handed Hikari over to Shun. I kissed her cheek, Shun kissed her forehead, and she hugged us with all her might. I saw Baron light her six candles and lifted her from Shun's arms. "Make a wish before you blow your candles out, sweetie," I whispered in her ear.

She shut her eyes tight and mouthed her wish. Her wide, ruby eyes opened and I felt Shun put his hands on my waist.

With a smile, Hikari blew out all six on her first try.

"Hey, what's everyone doing here?" A terribly familiar voice said from the doorway. I glanced up and met those dreaded ruby eyes...

I hope you liked it, guys! I'm gonna try to get the next chapter up soon!

Thank you for reading, and please leave me a review! :)

-Melissa ;)