Disclaimer: I don't own Bakugan or any of the characters. If I did, Alice and Shun would have been together a long time ago.
A/N: Well, after a long time of no word from me, I'm back with my first Bakugan fic! I'm really sorry for not updating anything, but things have been so hectic here. Hopefully, I can update regularly now!
Enough about me and my life, so here's my first chapter from the Bakugan 100 Theme Challenge. I'm doing this chapter on Theme 30, Under the Rain. These chapters won't be in order, but more like a collection of stories. Also, the main pairing is Alice x Shun. Happy reading and please leave a review!
Chapter 1 : Theme 30 Under the Rain
No light was shining through the window. No birds chirping happily over the summer morning to greet Alice as she awoke. To other people, this would seem to be a horrible start to a gloomy day. But to Alice, this was a wonderful way to start a morning. She couldn't help but feel the excitement in the air.
Alice threw off the blankets and made her way to the closet in one of the guest rooms she was staying in for the week. Marucho's parents had allowed their son to have his friends over for a week of their summer break at one of their seasonal cottages before the new term in school. The summer house they were at was hardly a cottage. It was more of a huge, elaborate mansion with five stories and multiple rooms on each level.
She was currently deciding between white shorts and a pale green top or a dark blue dress. She snuck a glance through the window and saw that storm clouds had gathered in the sky and they looked anything but friendly. With a glint of mischief and adventure in her eye, she decided on the blue dress. For what she had in mind, the darker the color the better.
Changing hastily and slipping on a pair of shoes in minutes, Alice quickly walked through the door and began her journey down the elaborate stair case. She was carefully walking down the stairs and had all of her attention focused on them, to avoid tripping on any of the devious steps, that she almost ran into a certain white haired girl dressed in various shades of pink.
"Ohhhhhh, Alice! You're an early person too! Isn't that so like, totally awesome???" Julie sang to Alice.
Alice smiled politely and nodded in agreement.
"Well, c'mon! We can't let Runo sleep the day away now, can we?" Julie grabbed Alice's hand and lead her down the few remaining stairs to the second floor. Alice was half dragged and half ran to Runo's door. Julie placed a finger over Alice's lips and a finger over her own to signal for silence. Julie slowly turned the doorknob and tiptoed to the side of Runo's bed while Alice looked on in shock. She couldn't believe what Julie was about to do! She opened her mouth to warn Runo but Julie was faster.
"Good morning!" Julie screamed at the top of her lungs while Alice covered her ears and Runo sat up straight in the bed, looking wildly confused. Alice heard a few distinct thumps from upstairs but her attention was quickly diverted to the situation at hand: a very, very mad Runo choking a struggling Julie.
"Runo, do you really think this is the best way to deal with this problem?" Alice asked as she tried to talk Runo out of choking Julie.
Runo definitely had the upper hand but Julie wasn't a quitter either. "No, not really, but I have to do the best with what I have."
Alice tried to calculate the best strategy to save her Australian friend and to get to what she wanted to do today, but was saved by movement at the door.
"Hey! What's going on here?" Dan asked. From his messy hair and disheveled appearance, Alice had to hold back a giggle as she came to the conclusion that Dan had been the one who had caused one of the thumps she had heard. He had fallen out of bed at the sound of Julie's wake-up call. Billy's appearance matched that of Dan's; he must have fallen to the floor too. Marucho and Shun joined behind Dan and Billy and tried to peer into the room to see what was happening.
When Runo saw Dan standing at the door, her hands loosened on Julie's neck which allowed the girl a moment to escape…and she gladly took it. Julie ran to hide behind Dan, her current bodyguard.
"Runie! Why are you so mean? I was only trying to wish you a good morning!" Julie tried to defend herself, but to no avail.
"Yeah right! If you call screaming at me, within inches of my ear, is a good morning, then thank you so much!" Runo spat at Julie. Alice held back another giggle and was glad to see that her friend's fight was going to end soon.
"Awwwwww, Runo! You're welcome! I could do it every morning if you'd like!!" Julie clearly did not get the sarcasm in Runo's voice and she turned to look at the crowd of people standing outside Runo's room. "Well, since everyone's awake, let's go eat breakfast!!" She grabbed Billy's hand and led the party down to the dining room.
Shun, Marucho and Dan all turned to look at Runo and Alice but no one said a word. Sure, Julie was overly cheerful every day and full of energy but for some reason, today was an exception. Today, she was too energetic.
"What's the cause of Julie's behavior?" Alice wondered. By the looks on her friend's faces, she knew she wasn't alone on that thought.
Everyone was in the dining room and serving their plates from the enormous buffet set before them as a maid cleared away empty platters and disappeared into the kitchen.
Dan was just about to take a seat at one of the long sides of the table when he nearly dropped his plate due to a loud protest by Julie.
"No! You can't sit there, Dan! You have to sit next to Runo! Duh! You are both totally boyfriend and girlfriend! Now, sit in that chair there, and Runo, you sit next to him! Oh, and Runo, I'll sit next to you since we are such good bff's forevers and evers." Julie took her seat and looked up expectantly at Dan and Runo. Both took their seats without a fight but by the redness on Runo's face, Alice could tell Julie was close to reaching Runo's breaking point. And Runo's breaking point might mean some broken bones of Julie's.
"No, you guys!!!" Julie protested again as Shun was about to sit in a chair two seats away from Alice. "I have to seat you myself, don't I? Alice, you sit there on the last chair, Shun next to her, and Marucho, you can sit wherever, umkay?"
Not wanting another fight to break out, the three teenagers did as they were told. Alice couldn't complain though. The seat that Julie had chosen for her was closest to the door that led outside…..and it was next to Shun. Alice felt a blush rise to her cheeks as she thought about the ninja warrior sitting next to her. She let her hair fall forward to cover her embarrassment and quickly began to eat her food.
"The quicker, I finish my food, the quicker I can go outside!" Alice used this thought as motivation as she glanced out the windows showing the view to the spacious lawn outside. The sky was dark and the clouds hung in the air threatening to rupture at a moment's notice. "I don't have much time!" Alice was halfway done with her plate and stopped to take a sip of her orange juice. She was just about to pick up her fork again when she felt eyes on her. She slowly turned her head and immediately wished she hadn't as she met the six pairs of curious eyes staring at her.
Her cheeks flushed as an automatic reaction and made her more embarrassed. Alice was talented at staying inconspicuous but obviously not now as Dan spoke up. "Woah, Alice! What are you in a hurry for?"
"Oh, nothing. Sorry, I guess I'm just hungry, that's all." Alice finished her lie with a smile which tricked her friends and they turned back to their food….all but one. Shun eyed her suspiciously but didn't ask. That was a reason Alice liked Shun. He was quiet like she was, never trying to attract attention to himself. Alice flashed him a cute smile too but it probably wasn't the best choice. Shun had been holding a fork in his hand and dropped it. With his ninja skills, he caught it before the fork could hit the ground and nervously turned back to his food, avoiding eye contact with Alice.
Alice speared a sausage and began to eat more cautiously, as to not attract attention. What good would come if her friends held her back from what was waiting for her outside? She had to be more careful. "And what's with Shun? Did I do something wrong? I didn't mean to make him drop his fork. All I did was smile at him……"
Alice's train of thought was broken by a loud metal ring. Julie had thrown her fork down on her plate in exasperation. "That's it! I can't take it anymore! I've been trying to be happy all day but this stupid weather is so mean! It's a big, big meanie! It takes away all the sun and now I feel so depressed! Marucho can't you pay the weather people pre---preee---predictor thingies some money to make the rain go away? Look how dark the clouds are outside! Under the rain, I feel so sad. I wish this icky ewwy rain would leeeeeeeave!"
Marucho looked a little confused and began to explain to Julie, "I'm sorry Julie, but that's not the way it works. You see, people don't control weather. I can't ask or pay anyone…………."
Marucho trailed off midsentence as everyone turned toward the metal clinking together and witnessed Runo and Dan fighting with their forks for the last piece of bacon on the tray.
"Hey, I'm the girl and you're the guy. You're supposed to give me presents! So, just give me the bacon! Ha!" Runo yelled as she effectively shoved Dan's arm out of the way but he quickly recovered and knocked the bacon off of Runo's fork and back onto the plate.
"No way! What about me? What do I get?" Dan sputtered out as he fought for the bacon.
"Ummm, uh, guys, I can just ask the maid to bring more…." Marucho quietly added into the fight, but neither Dan nor Runo managed to hear as they fought for dominance.
"Well, let's see, you're a boy, so you get nothing." Runo struck Dan in the arm and managed to get the bacon on her fork but it fell onto her plate and Dan snatched it on to his.
"Hey! No fair! Besides, don't you know bacon is bad for you? It's very fattening." Runo said as Dan was about to bite it. He hesitated and looked at Runo.
"Oh yeah, well, if it's so fattening, why do you get it?" Dan replied smartly. Ha, beat that.
Runo let out a loud huff and yelled, "Daniel Kuso, are you calling me fat???"
There was a round of snickers at the table as everyone knew where this fight was going. Julie appeared to be cheered up and listening intently in the dispute; the power of the weather no longer affecting her. On the other hand, Runo and Dan were obviously more irritable than usual under the rain. Billy continued to finish eating his food as if nothing out of the ordinary was happening.
Alice would have dearly wanted to help her friends end their fight but at that moment, she could see the sky turn a dark shade of gray and knew what that meant. Knowing this was the opportune moment, she discreetly slipped away from the table. As she cautiously made her way to the door, she could hear Dan giving up the bacon but Runo wasn't going to let it end there. Alice turned the door handle, breathed in the smell of the moisture in the air and left with a smile on her face as she knew she'd be safe with everyone distracted by Dan and Runo's fight……all but one.
Alice stepped lightly down the several stairs and onto the grass. Yes, it was any moment now. Arms stretched out, palms upward, she waited………and then it came. Soft at first, as if tiny feathers were caressing her arms and face, then it became heavier. Alice sighed and twirled in the rain. How wonderful it felt to be under the rain as it fell from the sky! She twirled in circles twice more and then abruptly stopped as her eyes landed on a shadow that was hiding under a tall and full tree by the porch. Alice bowed her head and shyly walked over to admit to her childish act but when she saw the owner of the eyes looking back at her, she wasn't ashamed. If anything, she was excited.
"Shun, what are you doing out here?" Alice questioned him.
"You know, I could ask you the same thing." Shun smirked as Alice's heart skipped a beat.
Alice waited for his response first and Shun knew he couldn't escape it. He sighed and admitted he had been curious to where she was going and had followed her.
She smiled. Maybe it wasn't so bad for Shun to know of her secret. She leaned forward a bit and whispered it to him. "You know why I come out here? Because it's so refreshing to stand in the rain and feel it fall on you. To know that it can bring life to this world and yet can have the power to destroy, but fall so lightly upon your skin."
Alice blushed slightly and let her curiosity get the better of her. "What do you think of the rain, Shun?"
Shun thought about her question for a few seconds and then shrugged. "I don't know, I guess, it makes me……nervous." When he saw the confusion written on Alice's face, he decided to explain more. "Well, you never know what the rain will bring. It could be a light storm, or a hurricane. It's the uncertainty that the rain brings."
Alice considered Shun's words and nodded in agreement. Shun was right, but she was also. Then a thought came to her mind and she wasn't about to let the rain go to waste. With a burst of courage that she had no idea from where it had come, and she would most definitely have time to be embarrassed for later, she grabbed Shun's hands and led him into the rain.
Shun was surprised by the mostly fragile, shy, innocent Alice who had the strength to pull him into the open field. He felt strange as the rain fell onto him, soaking through his clothes in a matter of seconds. If anyone else had pushed him into the rain, he'd have snapped them into pieces but as he looked into the angelic face of Alice, all he could think of was the love he had for the Russian girl. Shun tensed as he realized what he had finally admitted to himself. He loved Alice. He loved Alice. Why couldn't he see it sooner? He had always had a crush on Alice since he met her but did not have the courage to go farther. Now, Alice had taken that step and allowed him access into her secret pleasure. Their secret world, of dancing under the rain. Shun smiled and slowly bent his head down to meet Alice's lips. At first, he felt her stiffen, but then her hands were snaked around his neck and Shun felt his heart soar as Alice kissed him back.
Alice's heart sped up as she kissed Shun. The crush that she had on her friend might be able to turn into something more now, Alice hoped. And as Alice and Shun kissed under the rain, they could have sworn they heard a high-pitched "Awwww." And there was a faint but distinct pair of voices fighting in the distance…….about eggs.
-The End
A/N: Okay, so there's the story about theme 30, "Under the Rain." I really hope you liked it! Make sure to leave a review and let me know what you think! If I have some people like this story, and I hope I do, I'll have another chapter with a different theme posted within a week. Promise!
