Chapter 1
A/N: Well, here we go…SEQUEL TO MATH, BABY!!!!!! If anyone is reading this who hasn't read Math yet…read it or you're screwed. I chose a weird place to end that fic at…yeah…-_-" Anywho, same as in Math, Alice and Maskerado-kun aren't the same peoples, blah blah blah…yeah…
Disclaimer: You guessed it, I totally own Bakugan! That's why Runo and Masquerade are the main couple, Naga is Supreme Ruler (after moi, of course…) and Dan is currently freezing in my refrigerator!
Of course I don't own Bakugan! You see Masquerade still hanging around in the last episode? *sniffles* Meanie producer peoples…mad at them, I am…furious, in fact…
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A Pointless And Completely Unhelpful Recap With No Particular Purpose Other Than I Needed Something To Do While I Was Thinking About How To Start…
Masqu…I was really frustrated, okay? And he just happened to be there, bugging me…I wasn't really focusing. You gotta believe me…I really don't like him…Runo…what exactly happened between you two…Alice…I think…I think that…that I might actually…actually…like…
Runo being in love with Masquerade was something that just wouldn't work…
It's not as though her opinion matters much anyways. She's just another insignificant brawler…It just won't do…it would be better to put them in their place…especially…Runo…
Masquerade being in love with Runo just wouldn't work…
For a moment, he was enveloped in the sunlight slanting through the window, an incorporeal shadow in her blinded eyes, almost…angelic. But the moment passed as her pupils adjusted to the sudden light, and he was once again a mere human…Her enemy…You creep…after that…what the hell, okay?! Just what the hell…I don't understand…
…She still kept them closed as a hand roughly grabbed her chin, yanking it up. She tensed for a moment, hesitated. That hesitation was just enough for a pair of lips to press against hers…
And Now That That Piece-Of-Crap-Recap Is Over…ONTO THE STORY!
You idiot, what are you doing?! She's gonna kill you now! Stop, stop right now! …She hasn't done anything yet, perhaps she doesn't mind…of course she minds! You just caught her off guard, idiot! But maybe…no maybes! You're an idiot! Why are you doing this anyways? What's she gonna think about this?! You probably just totally destroyed your reputation! STOP! Even if it is kinda…nice…I don't want to…NO, STOP! But she really doesn't mind…IDIOT!
Perhaps he should have listened to the voice in his head that was screaming at him. It did have some very valid points; he was dead for sure now. But…who wants to listen to the voice that yells and insults you constantly? Certainly not him.
He let his fingers relax around her chin, tilting his face to the side slightly and leaning in. He could feel her quivering under his light touch, and the corners of his mouth turned up into a smirk. This was strangely…nice…
The little mental voice screamed louder, matching the protests from Tigrerra, vague to his ears. What could either do right now? The most Tigrerra could do was try to 'tackle' him again, and the voice…well, he could tune out the voice. Think about better things…like how nice this was…
The sudden memory of Dan and Alice standing shocked in the doorway barged into his mind. Mess that was…
Paranoia over pleasure, unfortunately…of course, he could always just forget paranoia…forget that Dan or someone else could come in here and try to kill him for this…shouldn't be that hard…
He never got the chance to forget those insignificant things. Runo suddenly pulled away, eyes wide open and staring, wincing in the reflected light from the mask. She was trying to say something, her mouth opening and then closing again, dumb with shock.
Absentmindedly, he brushed a finger along her jawline, the smirk growing just the tiniest bit. "There, that got you nice and quiet, didn't it?"
Wrong thing to say, apparently.
"You!" She slapped his hand away, her voice so high and shrill that he was surprised that he didn't have to be a dog to hear it. "Wha…what…creep!"
See, that's why you listen to the voice that yells and insults you constantly. Idiot. Better start making your excuses to Saint Peter…
"What was that for?!" she continued to squeak, her hands twitching as though eager to wrap themselves around his neck. "Why…you…what…do you…WHAT?!"
"Do something about him, milady!" Tigrerra cried out, hopping up and down. "You can't let him get away with this!"
"It…was an accident?" Masquerade lied nervously, composure gone and wishing very much so that he would just back up and run away. But something kept him rooted to the spot; perhaps she was like Medusa, able to turn man to stone with nothing more than a look…
She slowly walked around him, an evil gleam in her eyes that wasn't just there because the lighting conveniently made it that way. He turned around, unwilling to have his back or side to her. Not a complete Medusa then…she took a step forward and he took a step back, much to his disgust. Hadn't he been in control of the situation just seconds ago? What happened to that control? Had he actually lost it to this girl?
Shameful…but it wasn't his fault she was so scary…
He bumped up against the wall, the windowsill digging into the small of his back. "Runo, I swear that it was an accident…" Furtively, he crossed his fingers, for safety's sake. "Be a sweetie and don't kill me…"
Sweetie. The magic word.
"YOU!" she howled, taking another sudden step forward, arms out, hands at his shoulders, hands pushing him roughly…
"Whoa!" His arms windmilled as the force of leverage took place, trying to keep himself up. No use though; Runo was too close, too strong. He caught a glimpse of the blank shock on her face before tipping backwards.
Automatically, she reached forward as his hand groped the air that he was suddenly losing. But it was already gone.
She gasped as a flailing foot kicked her in the stomach; just a light blow that wasn't enough to stun her, though. She grabbed onto the foot, gripping it instinctively, and found herself yanked forward, gasping again as she slammed into wall, the upper half of her body doubling over the sill. She whipped out her other arm and grabbed Masquerade's ankle; it twisted around a bit in her grasp.
The first thing to hit the outside wall was his back; jolts of pain flashed up his spine, knocking the breath clear out of his lungs. His head soon followed, crashing against the siding and bouncing off. The headband of his mask didn't help much, nor the coat falling around his face. Ridiculous this must look to any passerby's…
"Milady, I didn't mean for you to kill him!" Tigrerra shrieked, now hopping in agitation. "Don't let him fall!"
"I know that, Tig," Runo grunted, tightening her grip. "Hold on, Masquerade!"
He would have liked to answer, to yell and scream at her for trying to do him in. But the 'knock' (bit more than that, really) to the head left him dizzy; faintly, he felt a sudden pain in his ankle. Didn't need any more of that…
TELEPORT! GET OUT OF HERE! NOW, IDIOT!
Teleport…
Yes, teleport! Couldn't think to do that earlier, huh?!
Shut up…teleport…gotta teleport…the transporter… Wasn't that in his…pocket? (A/N: Yes, let's all pretend he keeps the dimensional transporter-thing in his pockets…which I'm sure he now has. Okie?)
He managed to lift up a hand, and after a few tense seconds managed to locate his pocket. Fumblingly, he dug his hand through, closing it around something smooth and cool. Thank goodness…
Suddenly, he was jerked upward, hopefully Runo trying to save his life, and the card slipped out from between his fingers.
Crap.
Frantically, he scrambled to recapture it; it felt like he was waving his arms uselessly through an airborne sea of molasses. It fell through the space between his fingers, and down it fluttered, drifting away in a light breeze…and landing conveniently in the back of a truck, old, rusty and looking as though it would either fall apart or randomly combust any minute. Just his luck.
Strange how no one on the street could be bothered to look up and see him flailing around…a small blessing during this period of…strife. Didn't need any pictures of this popping up on the Internet…
"No…" His voice was weak and his mind clouded up with pain…the blood rushing to his head helped a lot.
Runo groaned, frustrated, as she gave his legs another tug. She'd managed to straighten herself up; now it was just a matter of actually getting the boy inside. How did she get herself in this situation…?
Right, she had had a brief moment of murderous intent. "Come on…" This was ridiculous. How was she supposed to drag someone up through a window by herself…?
"Runo?"
She nearly dropped him right then and there; her head snapped around, mouth dropping open when she saw Alice standing there, gawking. "What…what are you doing here?!"
"The mall," Alice said, bewildered as she stepped uncertainly into the room. "I came to check up on you, and…I heard a lot of noise…Runo, what…"
It didn't matter if she was here, if she found out about him. She just had to make sure she wasn't responsible for an actual death. "HELP! NOW! RIGHT NOW!"
Alice blinked, stunned by the urgency in the blue-haired girl's voice. It occurred to her that just perhaps Runo was serious, and she really did need help. She hurried, in, grabbing onto one of the legs hanging through the window as Runo shifted her grip over to the other. Her eyes widened when she took a peek down, to see exactly who it was she was helping to save.
"Masquerade?!"
A groan of pain confirmed her 'theory'.
"Long story," Runo snapped, face going red with the effort needed to keep her grip strong. "Just help me out here!"
There was a tense moment as Alice hesitated, a conflict of emotions flashing across her face, too quickly for Runo to understand what they meant. But it passed, and Alice was helping the blue-haired girl pull their enemy safely back inside.
He clutched the bands of his mask, screwing his eyes shut in agony as he slid down until he was seated safely on the floor. Being upside down for as long as he was, the many knocks to his head and the blood suddenly rushing back out of his head…no body could handle such stress. Fuzzy black specks dotted his vision, rapidly growing and spreading until they had completely taken over, the sight of a two girls looking at him with panting, concerned faces fading away.
That was actually quite a nice sight to see just before blacking out…
Runo fell to her knees as the blonde boy's head slumped forwards, hands dropping to his sides and chest moving up and down with shallow breaths. "Oh my god…I actually nearly killed him…oh my god…"
"Ru…Runo?" It was a surprise that Alice hadn't fallen too; those shaking knees looked about ready to fail her at any time. "What…why…Masquerade…why was he…?"
She was interrupted in her attempted interrogation as Runo suddenly jumped to her feet, looking more panicked than before, if that was possible. "Julie! She'll be here soon, won't she?!"
"Actually, she's already downstairs…Runo, you have to tell me…"
"No time! Can't let her…let her see this! Can you imagine what she's gonna think?!"
Alice could actually imagine it quite well. "Well, what…?"
"I DON'T KN…wait! Idea!" Not the best idea, granted, especially when derived from the memory that it was from and who exactly it involved.
It was the first time Dan had ever visited her house, and when Runo had shown him her room. Of course he made stupid comments, he always did. But the one that had always irked her was the one he had made upon seeing her near-empty closet, save for the couple of dresses from special occasions that were now years past; 'Saving room for the bodies, huh?'
She never really thought she would be gaining inspiration from something Dan had said…but it could always work…you never know…
She was forced to jump into action as she heard footsteps, rather dainty, hurrying up the stairs, Julie's happy voice calling out to them. "Hey Alice, Runo! Are we gonna go or what?!"
"Distract her," Runo hissed, grabbing one of Masquerade's arms, pulling him towards the closet. He groaned softly and shifted around a bit, arm almost sliding out of her grip. But thankfully he stayed unconscious, and Runo was able to get him to the closet, just as Alice slipped out the door to confront the Australian.
"Oh, Julie! I thought you were going to stay downstairs…"
"Well, we don't wanna be late, do we?" Julie replied in a singsong voice as Runo frantically opened the closet door, swinging it open as fast as she could without it squeaking. "I mean, we could miss out on all the good shopping! And we don't want that, do we?"
"Well, uh…Runo isn't quite ready…"
Runo hurriedly shoved the body into the closet…god, this was like some scene out of a murder mystery movie, one of those flashbacks showing how the murderer got rid of the body, except there was no blood, shovels or wood chippers. He moaned again, shaking his head slightly as he slowly came to.
What else was she supposed to do? She was panicking, Julie could come in at any moment, see this and tell Dan about it, and Masquerade being awake probably wasn't going to help matters.
She gave him a good, hard bop on the head. "Stay asleep!" she whispered furiously, shutting the door. Clasping her hands together, she prayed that she hadn't been answered by a quiet, "Ow…"
"Aw, come on! I'm sure she's ready by now! I mean, you were just in there…"
"Julie, really…!"
Runo quickly unclasped her hands and leaned against the door, trying to look 'natural' as Julie suddenly burst into the room, Alice just behind her, looking distraught. "Oh, hey Julie…"
The Australian girl stared at her, puzzled and blinking. "Runo, are you alright?"
"Of course I am!" Of course I'm not! You choose now to be observant?! "Why?"
"It's just that…well…" Julie tilted her head to the side, frowning. "Your face looks kinda funny…ooh, are you hiding something from me?"
Since when had Julie gotten so good at reading people?! "Er…no, it's just…uh…I'm just not ready…"
"Well, I can see that!" Julie rolled her eyes, placing her hands on her hips. Alice hovered by her shoulders, nervous and looking at Runo questioningly. "You do know we're going to the mall, right? You gotta look good! Here, I'll help you choose out an outfit…" She started to move towards the closet, hand outstretched for the knob…
"NO!"
Julie paused as both Alice and Runo shouted at her, the bluette smacking her hand away. "Ok, have a spaz much! What, you don't want my help?"
"No, it's not that," Alice said hurriedly, an edge of panic to her voice. Clearly she wasn't used to acting under such stress. "It's just that…uh…Runo doesn't really have anything in her closet! Yeah…so there's no point looking in there…"
"Aw, come on, I'm sure there has to be something…"
"No, there's nothing," Runo said, guiding the silver-haired girl away from the closet. "Why don't we look through the drawers instead?"
"That's a great idea!" Alice chirped, already ahead of them. She pulled a drawer open and was rummaging through the clothes, pulling some stuff out for the other two to inspect. "Here, how about this blouse? I think it's really nice…"
"Why, it is!" Runo said brightly, hopping from foot to foot nervously as she did so. "What do you think, Ju…JULIE NO!"
Runo tried to grab her arm as Julie suddenly whipped around, lunging for the closet; her hands just missed her, and Julie was wrenching open the door.
"AHA!" she crowed triumphantly. "SO THIS IS…oh…"
"…"
Time had come to a screeching halt as Julie looked down, dumbfounded, at the boy sitting on the floor, who was lifting his head up groggily. Awake then…and looking as though he were drunk or something…damn. Runo held her breath, her muscles frozen and keeping her from trying to do something about this…situation.
"…Awkward," Masquerade mumbled, his voice slow and heavy. How Runo wished she could throw something at him…something hard and heavy…that could put him out again…or maybe even kill him. That could really save her a lot of trouble, though it would have made saving his life completely useless.
If Tigrerra had a hand, she would have smacked herself in the forehead.
"…"
Finally, Julie turned around, staring at the other two girls blankly. Runo cringed, waiting for the sudden exclamations of shock and anger, demands to no what had happened. What she did say was actually much worse.
"…You guys were playing Seven Minutes In Heaven, weren't you?"
A/N: Throwing a person out a window…how romantic is that? Yep…*pats self on head* I have a good sense of what romance is, don't I? ^.^ Damn, I love my Maskerado-kun so much…
I think I might have rushed it a bit…and I really sucked at the part where Maskerado-kun falls out the window and then is saved…just so you know, I'm not a doctor or some sorta medical-person…I don't know if people would faint after hitting their heads multiple times and then having blood rush to/out of their heads. I totally guessed. ^.^ I always guess.
Anywho, tell me whatcha think…yeah…make sure you've read Math first, those of you who decided to confuzzle themselves and read this without prior knowledge…tell me the sucky parts and the good parts…yeah…okie…LATER LATER!