A/N: Hehe, I finally realized I had to put the author's note above here ^^" I thought there would be a special space for that, but I now discovered that there isn't...So! Finally submited my first story in ! One of my current obsessions is Bakugan (I have 16 Bakugan as toys!) and I became inspired to write this fanfic! It will be following the whole series and I may write a sequel with New Vestroia and Gundalian Invaders (if I ever get to watch it...)

Well, to finish this A/N I wanted to thank cocoacharm15 for inspiring me to write this story and the animecrazypanda for being my BETA reader for this chapter ^^ If you, my dear reader, still find some spelling/grammar errors it would be of much help if you pointed them out to help me improve my english! Thank you so much!

Disclaimer: Bakugan Battle Brawlers belong to its respective owners. What I own is any OCs which may appear during the story.


[o]Chapter 1: Harbinger Of The Dark[o]

~*~Natsumi's POV~*~

I angrily slammed the metal door of my small locker before turning on my heels and stumping towards the front door of my school. My schoolmates turned to send me cautious stares as I passed by them, some even sending death glares to my back. Sadly, I was already used to their actions.

It was all parents' dream for their children to like school and studying, and everyone knew that if you enjoyed those things, your future promised to be rich.

I didn't care.

Long ago, school had lost all its enchantment to me. The same old angered teachers, frustrated with their own life, the same meaningless lessons they tried to carve deep into your brain, the same flavorless food of the cafeteria, and the same neglecting of your classmates. To make things worse, add the fact that your best friends were no longer there.

How was I supposed to happily deal with all that? There was only one thing I loved, one thing I would spend my life on without thinking it twice, the only thing I was good at: Bakugan.

I know this is going to sound weird, but one day cards started dropping from the sky, coming down like rain. At first, nobody knew where they were coming from, but every kid knew that they were not just ordinary game cards. Together with my two best friends, we created this game called Bakugan.

It was just then that the real power of the cards was revealed. Each one held its own battling beast which came to life when you threw it down. Of course, the battles were intense and they soon captivated my heart, just like the heart of thousands of kids all around the globe.

Together with all our international online friends, we soon created a whole community of players, even starting a ranking list. One of my best friends and I became passionate players, reaching the top 20, soon entering the top 10, until we finally won first and second place in the ranking.

No matter how many times I tried to defeat him to get ranked first, he was always a step ahead of me. At first thinking that it was because I was a year younger than him, I decided to improve my mind. I used any time I had to design strategies, study new movements, improve my deducing ability, and learn all the general information of every card and beast I found. Even so, it was never enough to defeat the number one player.

But all good things soon come to an end. Parents started to get worried for their kids, only seeing their decreasing grades and how distant they were growing from their own families. Curfews started to limit the kids' liberty, punishments started to get worse, and some parents even took their children's Bakugan away. Our group was not an exception.

We fought between each other for stupid things and soon our little gang broke apart. One of my friends had to change schools and we never kept in touch. My remaining friend abandoned the game forever, locking himself up in his grandfather's dojo.

The number one Brawler was no more.

Amazing as it is, no one has managed to surpass his score yet, leaving him as the maximum goal, the never touching dream.

As for me, I locked myself emotionally from everyone else. I felt betrayed by my so-called best friends, abandoned to my own luck. I still brawled everyday, maintaining my rank, but every dream I ever had of being ranked number one had vanished. If I couldn't get a proper brawl with my former friend anymore, I refused to win because of points.

My aunt Deanne and my uncle Tim were worried about my change in attitude. I was still the same at home, and I enjoyed every moment I spent with them, but I guess they've seen the other side of me. They've taken care of me since I was six years old, so I guess they've gotten to know me greatly.

In my perspective, my aunt and uncle always treated me better than my parents, who would have never allowed me to play Bakugan. They never allowed me to do anything, not even to have a pet. My aunt and uncle have always been patient and understanding, so I've never had to worry about my parents being crazy about school or worse, regulating my Bakugan life.

That was a bonus, considering all the problems I was having at school right now. Today, for example, I was bugged the entire day by another classmate who demanded a Bakugan brawl with me.

I had gotten used to this, too. Beating the second ranked Brawler would surely increase your popularity in no time, not to mention all the points you would gain in the game.

The boy was called Takahato, a real annoyance. He had insisted so much that the teacher had scolded the both of us, even though I had not opened my mouth at all. In the end, it was just a warning, but we were threatened with suspension if we kept that up.

"It's not as if we were the only ones talking about Bakugan anyways," I thought bitterly, staring silently at the three black spheres with purple designs I was holding on my right palm as I rested my back on a tree in the park.

The purple linings of one Bakugan circled the symbol of its attribute while forming what looked like a flower, the other Bakugan's designs were straight horizontal lines, and the other one had the design of a wing with the attribute symbol on top.

There are six attributes in total in Bakugan, each one representing an element. There is the Pyrus attribute representing Fire, its main colors are red and orange; Aquos represents Water, its main colors are blue and cyan; the Haos attribute represents Light, its main colors being yellow and white; there is also the Subterra one representing Earth, having brown and orange as its main colors; the Ventus attribute represents Air, showing green and teal as its main colors; and lastly, there was the Darkus attribute which represents Darkness, my attribute, its main colors being black and purple.

All this attributes were organized in a hexagon, allowing Brawlers to make special combinations using their cards.

"You always need to use your surroundings to your advantage. Always search for factors to secure your victory while taking care of your fighting beast at the same time," my friends' voices resounded in my head, being nothing but the echoes of a precious memory.

They had just defeated me again and I had been crying in frustration. They had come up to me and given me advice, effectively brightening up my mood. I still remember their encouraging smiles as they held out their hands to me, both pairs of brown eyes twinkling tenderly…

I frowned and closed my fist around my Bakugan before slipping them into the silver Bakuclip hanging from my brown belt, made so that it could hold up to three Bakugan, the ones you needed for a brawl. I sighed and crossed my arms across my chest, closing my eyes so that I could get lost in my own thoughts.

"I finally found you again!"

"So much for the peace and quiet," I mumbled as I opened my eyes to see the boy who had yelled.

My dark brown eyes fell upon a pale skinned boy standing in front of me, who had a smug smirk on his face. His dark grey eyes seemed to combine well with his wavy blond hair. He was wearing faded black jeans, a white shirt and a bright yellow jacket on top, and I was able to see a white watch-like devise clasped on his right wrist once he raised it: his Haos Baku-Pod.

"You still owe me that Bakugan brawl, Hirakata," Takahato reminded me angrily, addressing me by my last name. He was pointing his finger at me, posing unconsciously.

I watched him intently, trying my best to prevent any emotion from slipping out of my steel mask. I quickly balanced my options, deciding between turning the offer down and heading to my peaceful home or accepting the challenge and shutting him up for good. As expected, the last one sounded better, not to mention it was tempting. It had been a long time since I last brawled, and I had to keep my ranking secured.

"Let's end this quickly," I finally whispered, stepping away from the tree and pulling out a black card from one of the two gray holders hanging from my brown belt at my back. Takahato smirked at my actions and pulled out his own Field Card.

Our Cards had the symbol of the hexagram in gray at the back, and on the front it had the complete hexagon occupying the whole face, showing every attributes' symbol and its respective color.

"Bakugan Field, open!" We commanded at the same time.

Time stopped as my Field Card shined with a purple light and Takahato's with a yellow one. The Attributes' Hexagon appeared by our feet, shining intensely as it spun over itself. Once the light had died down, I found myself standing in the Bakugan Field. The floor was of a very light gray color, and the walls and sky showed different vortexes of different colors, one for each attribute.

"Gate Card set!" We both called out at the same time after having grabbed another black card from our holders.

We both jumped high into the air and threw the cards to the floor at the same time, mine landing right in front of Takahato and his landing in front of me. The cards soon shined with their respective lights before growing bigger, until each card's length was of about six meters. We landed gracefully on our respective sides of the battle field, staring at each other intently.

"Ready or not, here I come," he told me with a prideful smirk on his lips as he showed me a white Bakugan with yellow linings in its ball form. With as much strength as he could, he threw the Bakugan with his left arm over to his Gate Card in front of me.

"Bakugan stand!" He ordered, making the white sphere to open and spread his head and arms forward.

There was an explosion of yellow light as a huge Bakugan, which looked almost exactly as a praying mantis, emerged from it. The beast had a white body with a few parts of different shades of yellow and big green eyes that could even look behind its head. The most intimidating part of this Bakugan was that he had sharp blades set into its feet.

The Haos Mantris roared at me, producing a steely sound that would have irritated any other person. However, the sound of a brawl only managed to make me let an excited smirk pose itself on my lips.

"Not so bad for a rookie. Bakugan brawl!" I yelled as I quickly unclipped my first Bakugan from my Bakuclip and threw it gracefully into the same Gate Card the Mantris was standing on. "Darkus Serpenoid, stand!"

My black and purple sphere, which had the design of a flower, opened up to reveal a triangular head and a long tail with a small sharp end. Purple light surrounded it and what came out was a gigantic black snake with purple hexagons linked in its back. Both beasts roared at each other, my Serpenoid shaking its tail dangerously.

I turned my attention to my Baku-Pod, my purple watch-like device wrapped around my left wrist. When I pressed the button on its right side, its screen slid upwards to reveal small buttons. On the right side, twelve buttons had the numbers 0 to 9 printed as well as the # and * symbols. This was because Baku-Pods could either display the stats during a Bakugan battle or send messages to other Brawlers and check the player rankings.

"Welcome Natsumi. Upon a Haos Mantris. Power level 300G. Darkus Serpenoid. Power level 320G," A woman's voice came out from my Baku-Pod, reading the information out loud.

On my screen, I could see the Gate Card with the Bakugan in their ball forms on top. On the top corners, a picture of my face and another one of Takahato's indicated the player, and underneath them were the cards with our Bakugan's picture and power level. Three orange symbols beside our picture represented the number of battles we might lose.

"Engage!" Takahato suddenly commanded, bringing me back to the fight.

The white Mantris charged against my Serpenoid, who defended itself by coiling around its enemy, immobilizing him. This was not good, the Gate Card needed to be either an Attribute Card or a Character Card that would give his power level a boost, judging by how he was so confident.

"If that's the case…" I thought with a smirk.

"Gate Card, open!" Takahato yelled, pointing towards the Card our Bakugan were currently standing on.

The card glowed yellow and the six attributes' symbols appeared over a blue background once the card had turned around. Just as I had thought, he used an Attribute Card. I lowered my gaze to my Baku-Pod again, just in time to see the small white +120 appearing beside Mantris' picture.

"Power level increased to 420G," the same digital voice explained, making me to smirk slightly.

"Is that everything you got? Ability Card, activate! Haos-Darkus Relation!" I yelled as I held the Card up in front of me.

"Serpenoid's power level increased to 420G. Mantris' power level decreased to 320G," the voice of my Baku-Pod announced, a small +100 appearing beside Serpenoid's picture and a -100 appearing beside Mantris'.

"What! That's impossible!" Takahato exclaimed, raising his hands to grab his blond hair in desperation.

"Serpenoid's Haos-Darkus Relation Card increases his power level by 100G if he's against a Haos Bakugan, decreasing that Bakugan's power level by 100G too," I told him with a smug smirk decorating my features.

Serpenoid hissed menacingly as its hold on Mantris grew stronger, finally managing to overpower it. Mantris shined with a yellow light as it reverted back to its ball form, falling by Takahato's feet. My Serpenoid glowed purple before it too returned to its ball form, flying directly into my palm.

"Battle one, terminated. Darkus Serpenoid, victorious," my Baku-Pod sentenced, clearing out its screen for a new battle. One of the three symbols beside Takahato's picture turned off, indicating he had lost the battle.

"Tch, that was only luck!" Takahato glared at me, taking out a new Bakugan from his holder. "That's the only one you'll win!" He yelled as he threw his white Bakugan to the Gate Card I had thrown before.

"Bakugan, stand!" He ordered again, the Bakugan which appeared now incredibly resembling a giant crab. "Haos Terrorclaw!"

"Not so fast! Bakugan, brawl!" I yelled again as I threw my second Bakugan towards my Gate Card, the one with the purple lines as decoration. "Darkus Falconeer, stand!"

After the same purple glow that appeared every time I called a Bakugan to brawl, a black eagle-like Bakugan with some purple feathers appeared soaring through the air.

"New battle begins. Haos Terrorclaw. Power level 300G. Darkus Falconeer, 340G," my Baku-Pod announced our stats again.

"I'm getting tired of you already. Gate Card, open!" I told him coldly, doing my own cool movement when I said my command. "Character Card!"

"Power level increases to 680G," the feminine voice read after my card had multiplied my Bakugan's power level.

"It's all yours Falconeer!" I called, taking a step forwards.

Falconeer dove amazingly fast towards the Terrorclaw, the size of its power level making a dark glow surround its speeding form. Takahato could do nothing but stare in shock as Falconeer collided with the white crab, which glowed yellow and disappeared into its ball form. My Falconeer transformed back too when he was flying upwards again, adding a great effect to its triumph.

"Battle two, terminated. Darkus Falconeer, victorious." The Baku-Pod announced again.

"I-Impossible…" Takahato stuttered, staring unbelievingly at his defeated white sphere.

"I think you're forgetting who you're brawling with," I told him coolly, fighting back every wish of helping him. I knew he didn't deserve this attitude from my part, but I had a reputation to maintain. I think I'll use Serpenoid again for the last battle to make things easier for him…

"I cannot be losing against you! You're nothing compared to me, or anyone else! You learned only because Shun Kazami, the number one ranked, taught you! You have no friends right now, do you! You have no right to be second ranked!" He screamed at me with all his frustration and anger, glaring venomously at me as his fists shook uncontrollably.

My eyes widened in shock for a second before quickly turning into a furious glare. "I'll make you regret everything you just said!" I growled at him, feeling completely hurt by his words.

"Forget any nice thoughts I had for you!" I thought angrily, pulling out a new Gate Card with faster speed.

"Gate Card, set! Bakugan, brawl!" I yelled as I threw my last black ball into the field, which had the design of a purple wing. "Twilight Skyress, stand!" I commanded, fire burning in my brown orbs.

There was an explosion of power after my Bakugan opened up, a big column made out of pure shadows seizing the whole battle field. With a high pitched battle scream, a magnificent black phoenix emerged from the shadows, expanding its powerful wings to their full extent. Its numerous long black tails ended up in silver sharp feathers, looking as if they were made of metal. It also looked as if it had a purple unbuttoned vest over its black chest. Its small yellow eyes shined with an unknown fury, totally being shared with me.

"Third round begins. Twilight Skyress. Power level 400G. No other data available," Takahato's Baku-Pod announced, just at the same time as mine did.

"T-That's…" He stuttered, staring in complete shock at my Darkus Twilight Skyress. There was only one other Brawler known to possess one of that species of Bakugan.

Shaking his head furiously, Takahato finally broke off from his daze. "I won't lose to that! Bakugan stand!"

This time, a Haos Saurus appeared the moment the yellow light died down. It was a light yellow humanoid bull with yellow armor, just as tall as a two or maybe three story building.

"Haos Saurus. Power level 350G," my Baku-Pod allowed me to realize something.

The problem was that this Bakugan had a big variety of Ability Cards, and my anger was not letting me think straight to try to guess his next move. Takahato still had two Ability Cards available, and I only had one.

"Ability Card, activate! Saurus Glow!" He yelled as he threw the Ability Card to his Saurus, the small +50 appearing beside the picture of the Saurus in my Baku-Pod.

"Power level increases to 400G,"

"Don't think we'll get equal! Gate Card, open! Energy Merge!" I ordered, opening the card which transferred 100G from the opponent's Bakugan to mine.

"Twilight Skyress' power level increases to 500G. Saurus' power level decreases to 300G,"

"And I'm not over yet! Ability Card, activate! Black Nobility, Violent Darkness!" I yelled, showing Twilight Skyress' special Ability Card. "This Ability Card doubles Twilight's current G-Power," I told my adversary with a smirk, knowing there was nothing else he could do to stop my Bakugan now.

"Power level increases to 1000G," the feminine voice supported my thoughts as a dark energy surrounded Twilight Skyress, the amount of power becoming visible. However, to my surprise, Takahato started chuckling evilly, soon breaking out into a bragging laughter.

"You'll need a better trick than that one! Ability Card, activate! Shade Ability!" He yelled triumphantly, throwing the Ability Card towards the top of the battle field.

"Black Nobility, Violent Darkness Card, deactivated. Twilight Skyress' power level decreases to 500G. Saurus' power level increases to 400G. Twilight Skyress' power level decreases to 400G," my Baku-Pod informed me, making me to stare wide-eyed at its screen.

"Impossible!" I gasped, looking up when Takahato chuckled in amusement again, catching a glimpse of how Twilight's aura vanished into thin air.

"The Shade Ability is an Ability Card that only Haos Saurus can use. It nullifies the opponent's current Ability Cards on the field and brings its G-Power down by 100G. As a bonus, it increases the power level of Saurus by 100G," he told me arrogantly, pleased by the fact that our Bakugan had the same G-Power now.

"Why you…" I growled as I gritted my teeth, narrowing my eyes to send him a death glare as I thought how to get away with this.

It was just in that moment that the whole field started to shake violently, scaring the life out of Takahato. I could feel how huge energy waves passed through the Bakugan Field we were currently in; pressing against my body each time they went through me.

To our shock, the upper part of the field disintegrated until a black hole appeared. A violent wind suddenly came out from the hole, carrying a dark energy within it. Takahato screamed and threw himself down, protecting his head with his arms. I closed my eyes and covered my face with my arms as well, fearing to get blown away by the force of the wind.

Mysteriously, all my Bakugan started to act weird. I could feel my Bakugan in their ball form shaking violently in my Bakuclip, and my Twilight Skyress was suddenly surrounded by the black energy. It let out a painful screech and wriggled against the invading force, flapping its huge wings desperately.

"Twilight Skyress!" I shouted out to it in worry, trying my best to move forward against the current. However, the force of the energy surrounding it had created some kind of a barrier, preventing me from getting any closer.

"I…I can't r-resist any longer!" A deep voice suddenly echoed throughout the whole field, making me narrow my eyes and look around in search of the owner of the voice.

"Who's there!" I tried to shout as loud as I could, but I was sure that my voice got carried away with the wind and all the commotion.

"T-The energy…is too great!" The same voice yelled again, my Twilight Skyress moving its head backwards in order to release another screeching noise at the same time. My eyes widened once realization fell upon me. It had been Twilight Skyress who had spoken!

I trained my gaze over to my Baku-Pod's screen again and couldn't help but gap owlishly once I saw how the G-Power of Twilight Skyress was increasing nonstop, going from 400G to almost 1200G. Once the increase of power was done, both the wind and darkness exploded outwards before disappearing, throwing Takahato and me backwards and rolling us on the cold floor.

Finally going berserk, Twilight Skyress flew directly towards the Haos Saurus with no intentions of holding back, leaving a trail of purple and black flame-like energy behind it. When the collision was made, the whole field illuminated with a bright light, blinding me for a moment.

When I opened my eyes, I found myself sitting on the same park the brawl had started. I looked around in confusion and found Takahato laying face-down on the floor. He groaned and shakily pushed himself up, shaking his head to get rid of his dizziness. Feeling panic and excitement rushing through my veins, I picked up the black sphere lying in front of me and took off running, not daring to look the blond in the eye.

[o]

The sound of my gray boots pounding hardly against the hot concrete resounded loudly inside my aching head, my desperate panting leaving me deaf to any other sound that was not made by my own body. I ran as fast as my feet could carry me, not caring in the least of all the angry looks I was receiving from the people whom I pushed aside.

My widened eyes would shift down to the silver holder hanging from my brown belt quite often, checking to see if something abnormal would happen again. I still couldn't believe what had occurred a few moments ago; my mind still trying to convince my hoping heart that it had been just my imagination.

Finally reaching my house, I slammed the door opened and closed, not being very careful when I took off my shoes. Rushing upstairs to my room in socks, I barely caught sight of my aunt cleaning in the living room.

"Natsumi, is that you?" She called over at me the moment she heard the front door. "Don't forget that you have classes this evening!" She called over at me again once she realized I had no intentions to stop, the slamming noise that came from upstairs telling her that I had reached my bedroom.

I leaned against my bedroom door, desperately trying to stop my panting. Taking all my Bakugan off of me, I threw them on my desk and threw myself on my bed, burring my head in my pillow. I stayed that way for a few minutes, trying to calm my heart's beating down, breathing slowly.

Turning my head slowly towards the left, I watched silently the dark spheres resting on top of the wood, admiring their unique and intricate purple designs. I stood up and picked up my Twilight Skyress, lifting it up to my eyes so that I could take a closer look at it. I turned around and walked back to my bed, not taking my eyes off of the ball while I did so.

"Did you really talk? Was it just me?" I whispered to the Darkus Bakugan, nearing it to my ear in hopes of hearing his enchanting voice again.

I sighed sadly once nothing came out from it, fixing my gaze on it as I pondered about this for a minute. The only way I could think of, to prove I was not going nuts, was to check the Bakugan Site. Who knows? Maybe the forum was being attacked with each kid's story.

I stood up and walked over to my desk once again, turning on my dark blue computer. Leaving my Twilight Skyress by its side, I entered the Bakugan Site and received the shock of my life once I discovered that the forums were being indeed loaded with personal stories of talking Bakugan.

So I had not been the only one?

Looking over at my digital clock, I gasped once I saw it was already 7:00pm. I was already going late for my classes. Turning off the computer, I picked up my already packed bag and rushed down the stairs, sitting on the wooden step at the front door in order to get my boots on.

"Here's something for you to eat, Natsumi. Be careful, and don't come back too late," My Aunt Deanne said tenderly to me, handing me a neatly made sandwich.

"Thanks auntie! I'll be leaving now!" I said in a rush, yanking the door open and preparing to step outside.

"It's such a shame that your friend Shun no longer walks you back home…that way you would be safer," my aunt mused, smiling sadly at my back. I froze on my spot, feeling a heavy weight in my heart.

"I don't need him in order to be safe," I said cuttingly before sprinting out the door, not even turning my head in my aunt's direction.

~*~Dan's POV~*~

After a few seconds of staring at the blank screen of my computer, it finally showed the chat room I always logged in at. My best friends appeared in separate windows which had the Brawler's attribute's symbol on the upper left corner: Runo Misaki, the Haos Brawler; Marucho Marukura, the Aquos Brawler; Julie Makimoto, the Subterra Brawler; and Alice Gehabich.

"Dan you're there!" Marucho exclaimed happily once he spotted me, sending me a brilliant smile.

He was the youngest Brawler, being only ten years old, and had short blond hair and big blue eyes under his round red glasses. He mostly wore blue and white clothes, showing his love for the Aquos attribute.

"Hey guys, you are not gonna believe this but I was brawling with this dude named Shuji when I thought I heard my Bakugan talk!" I told them excitedly, not being able to hold it in any longer.

"No way! You too?" Runo asked me surprised, leaving me utterly confused.

She was twelve years old, just like me, and had long blue hair held up in pigtails and big green eyes. She wore a yellow top and a white skirt, the main colors of the Haos attribute.

"What'd you mean Runo? Do you think someone else heard it too?" I asked her, a bit disappointed from not being the one who brought awesome news.

"You should log on to the Bakugan Site! It's what everyone's talking about Dan!" Julie told me, raising her finger to add emphasis to her words.

She was my age too, her long straight hair was of an uncommon silver color and her eyes were of a dark shade of blue, combining nicely with her tanned skin. Even though her attribute's colors were orange and brown, she liked to use a pink outfit with white accessories.

I opened a new window in my screen and went to check the site as my friends insisted. Just as Julie had told me, the forums of the internet page were soaring with new information about the same topic I was currently talking about with my friends.

"ItDID talk! Maybe the Bakugan world has more to it than we thought!" I thought in amazement, the shock I was currently experiencing making me to stare dumbly at the screen.

"So, how was your brawl?" Marucho asked me, impatient about hearing new information about Bakugan.

"Well, Shuji surprised me at the beginning. He changed from the Subterra attribute to Darkus in less than two days! But then I let him have it with my secret weapon: "Brand Fire!" You should have seen me! I was like totally wicked! But then again, what would you expect from the greatest Bakugan Brawler!" I boasted, standing up and stepping on my wheel chair, too caught up in my own moment to see my friends' faces.

"Whatever! I just checked the World's Ranking Players and you're sitting in 121," Runo said boringly, not at all caring about bursting my bubble.

"That's impossible Runo! I gotta check this out for myself," I mumbled, leaning forward and entering the Rankings Site in my computer. "Screwing up…Ha! 117!" I said victoriously, having indeed advanced to a new number.

"Oh please, give me a break! You should take a breath until you break in into the Top 10," she made fun of me, crossing her arms and sticking her nose up in dignity.

"Yeah, right! Like you're one to talk! You're not even ranked!" I retorted, sticking out my tongue at her.

"Oh like that's real mature!" She fumed from the other side, glaring daggers at me through the screen.

"Danny, that is so dreamy!" Julie suddenly gasped, joining her hands and blushing heavily. "117? That's four whole spots in one day!" She cheered, throwing her hands up in the air. "That's definitely worthy of a 'Sweet Kiss' from Julie!" She concluded, leaning in and kissing her screen, sending me an internet kiss. I yelped in surprise and fell backwards, landing head first on the floor.

"Aw man, that hurt!" I whined, quickly springing back up to my feet and forgetting about the pain. "Quit slobbering up the screen! I'm a Battle Brawler, not your boyfriend!" I yelled at her, trying my best to hide my blushing cheeks.

"Wow…this is so kindergarten!" Runo sentenced, crossing her arms and looking away. Marucho looked from Runo to Julie repeatedly, probably trying to understand their different personalities, while Alice remained unaffected.

"Dan, may I suggest you set your sights on Shun? He's ranked number one and in a few years you could surpass him!" Marucho suddenly suggested, taking me completely by surprise.

"In a few years? There has to be some way you can challenge him or something. Isn't there?" Alice asked calmly, her brown eyes softening in concern.

She was the oldest Brawler of our group, being 14 years old. She had wavy orange hair that reached her waist, which combined with her brown eyes. Not having an attribute of her own, she wore a green and light yellow dress.

"Hey, that's not fair! Remember that there's a girl ranked number two too! That's being sexist! Why can't Dan set his sights on her instead!" Runo was quick to defend her girl comrade while glaring daggers to the younger boy, managing to get Marucho nervous seeing as how he got tongue-tied and had a big sweat drop sliding down the side of his head, while Alice barely heard her.

"Huh? The number two? Isn't she Natsumi Hirakata? It's been so long since we last talked with her," Julie chirped, fumbling with her brown Baku-Pod as she searched through the Ranking List.

Casting my brown eyes downwards, I sighed and reclined back on my chair, letting my head fall backwards so that my friends could not see my saddened eyes.

"I bet I can take those jerks. I don't need to brag, you know? But no one's even come close to challenging me. Better look out Shun, because I'm gonna take you down," I ranted on, glaring upwards at the roof.

I knew there would be no profit for me if I defeated Natsumi, even if I ever saw her again. I had decided to go for the biggest fish, and I'm going to be ranked number one right after that.

~*~Shun's POV~*~

"Ha! Defending my ranking has been a joke when battling these amateurs!" I thought bitterly as I watched the night sky in my garden, feeling extremely bored and tired after another day of hard work with my grandfather.

"What I need is a serious challenger. One that understands the power that lies in the Vestroia Dimension," I mumbled, looking up at the moon as I rested my back on the side of my grandfather's dojo.

As if on cue, the huge wooden doors at the front of the house creaked open, making me send them a glare. A pale, slender girl soon entered and closed the door behind her, her long dark blue hair shining intensely under the moonlight. I contracted my hands into fists as I saw her walking towards the front door of the dojo, keeping on my hard glare as I silently watched her.

She was wearing a simple sleeveless dress, which had its right side black and its left side white. It reached about her mid thigh, and a big brown belt was secured to her thin waist. Black and white stripped stockings reached a bit past her knees, big gray boots covering her feet. Her slender hands were covered by white gloves, and even from where I was sitting I could see three Darkus Bakugan hanging from her silver Bakuclip.

Finally feeling my staring, she stopped walking and turned her head to look at me, her dark brown orbs narrowing into a cautious glare the moment she spotted me. We stayed glaring at each other for a few seconds before she finally started walking away, apparently not caring about our small interaction at all.

Once the sound of the front door sliding closed reached my ears, I released a breath I didn't know I was holding. I leaned my head backwards on the pole I was currently leaning against, closing my eyes with a sight and not minding the black bangs that had fallen over them.

She certainly entered in the 'serious challenger' category, being able to keep her place in the number two ranking. If only nothing would had ever happened…