A/N: And finally, here's chapter 2! I'm so sorry I took so long to update this story, but my whole life has been full of chaos right now =A= This chapter is a bit short due to I had to make some explanations, but I promise the next chapter will be longer and full of surprises! 8D There's also something I wanted to ask you: would you like this story to have a small recap at the beginning of the episodes? And lastly, I wanted to thank everyone who added this story to their Favorites List or to their Story Alert List! You make me happy~

Disclaimer: Tear-chan doesn't own anything about Bakugan, she only owns the random OCs that will be appearing and the small plot twists she makes.

[o]Chapter 2: What About Vestroia![o]

~*~Natsumi's POV~*~

My brown eyes stayed glued to the recently polished tatami floor as I moved my feet and hands gracefully, following the calmed rhythm of the shamisen an old CD player was emitting from a corner of the room. The cold night air was coming into the room from a slightly opened shoji door that lead to the garden, hitting me straight on the face and making my nose cold. At the moment, my mind was in everything but in what I was currently doing, hence all the mistakes in my gestures that were changing the whole symbolism of the story I was supposed to be telling through the dance.

I liked the stories being told in the geisha dances, mostly because they talked about things that happened in the past that were still known in our era. Some of them were cheerful, some of them were sad; some talked about the loss of a lover, and some about the finding of a new friend; some talked about the love of a family, and some talked about the world and nature. They were all fitted to each and every one of your feelings, and you could tell the world what you were truly feeling with only a few graceful movements.

"…"

The sudden silence that engulfed the room brought me back to reality, and it took me a few seconds to realize that the CD had ended. I walked over to the player and shut it off, wondering what my body had been doing while my thoughts were away. A yawn escaped my lips as I combed my fingers through my long dark blue hair, picking up my purple Baku-Pod in order to see the time. It was almost 10:00 o'clock at night, another day's practice finally coming to an end.

Having no other belongings with me in the room, I turned off the lights and walked out, not at all surprised to see the inside of the huge dojo swallowed in utter darkness. Already knowing the hallways by heart, I headed blindly over to the front door to put on my boots before walking out into the cold night. I took a quick glance at the huge garden in search of a certain Ventus brawler, feeling lucky once I couldn't find any tracks of him.

I hurried through the shadows until I reached the huge wooden gates separating me from the normal street that was going to take me home. Closing the doors as quietly as I could, I soon broke into a sprint down the sidewalk towards my home, being accompanied by the crescent moon in the sky. Even if it was this late, there were still some couples and business men walking down the streets and resting in the parks, making the road home look less deserted.

Finally reaching my home, I smiled warmly at the sight of the cozy interior and welcoming lights, the car parked by our entrance telling me that my uncle had finally arrived. This was definitely the complete opposite of the dojo I had just run out of.

I opened the small white picket fence and slipped through the main door, being greeted with the aroma of noodles and coffee. "I'm home!" I called over to my family, taking off my shoes before stepping on the hallway.

"Welcome back!" My aunt Deanne smiled at me from over the kitchen, looking up from pouring some hot coffee in my uncle's cup.

"Hey Natsumi," my uncle Tim greeted me with a bright smile. "How were your classes today?"

"The same they've been," I shrugged sadly, pulling out a chair and flopping down on it tiredly. I never noticed how tense the atmosphere in the dojo really was until I reached my peaceful home, even though I was alone in that vast space the whole time.

"Come on, only time will be able to tell," my uncle smiled encouragingly at me as my aunt placed my food in front of me.

"I guess," I mumbled sadly, taking my chopsticks and starting to eat as an excuse for keeping quiet.

Ever since I was left without a teacher, without an Onee-san as they were called in the geisha world, I could only practice what she had already taught me, hoping with all my heart that she would come back and help me end that step of my life. Maybe if she were here again I wouldn't feel as lonely as I've been currently feeling. I wonder how she's doing…Recently, I've been so afraid of having disappointed her with the sharp turn my life had taken that I haven't have the courage to go visit her in the hospital.

"So, did you see your friend Shun today?" My aunt tried to make conversation after she saw my uncle and me eating soundlessly, once again hitting a sore spot unknowingly.

"No," I answered cuttingly, saying the truth nonetheless. It had been almost half a week since I saw him that night, right after I thought I heard my Twilight Skyress talk.

"It's so sad you're not talking to him as much," my aunt continued innocently, staring at me as I kept on eating. "You should invite him to have dinner one day."

"Please, I don't wanna talk about it," I whispered, bending my head so that my bangs could cover my eyes.

"Deanne, give the girl a rest," my uncle said calmly, grabbing her hand tenderly.

"I'm going to bed," I told them, standing up and leaving my dishes on the sink. "Thanks for the food."

"Sweet dreams," my aunt smiled sweetly at me.

"Goodnight," my uncle nodded kindly, watching me as I climbed up the stairs to my room.

"What a night," I sighed as I closed the door to my room, closing my eyes tiredly. "I won't be able to go on like this much longer," I whined as I unclipped my Baku-Clip and laid it down on my desk.

I was confident my life was not normal, not even compared to one of another Bakugan brawler. I had to get up early to go to school and spend the endless hours of pure torture there. Once out, if I was lucky enough to avoid detention, I would go to the park and brawl until my wrist hurt. Of course, I would then have to rush over to my house so that I could run all the way to the dojo for my afternoon classes, if you could still call them that. To finally end my day, I would still have to go back home and finish all my homework, going to bed rather late just to wake up early the next morning once more.

"So you finally decided to show up, huh?" A deep male voice resounded through my room, shocking me to death.

"W-Who's there?" I asked the wind as I stood in a defensive position, scanning my room for any signs of a thief.

"Over here you moron," the voice snapped in anger.

I jumped a bit in surprise, tightening my hands into fists as I scanned my room a second time. It was just then that I caught sight of movement near my bed but I could find nothing abnormal. There were just a few pillows, scattered books, and my Twilight Skyress. Wait, my Twilight Skyress!

"W-Weren't you…" I stuttered, pointing from my Bakugan to my desk, where I was sure I had left him right before going to my afternoon class.

"I moved! You humans are even more stupid than you look," the deep voice said again, my Bakugan jumping slightly in place this time.

"Ack!" I stumbled backwards in shock, colliding against my door. "Y-You can talk!"

"You discovered that on your own?" Twilight mocked me, moving his wings in annoyance.

"Natsumi, is everything alright?" My aunt called me in concern from downstairs, reminding me I was not alone in the house.

"Y-Yeah! I just tripped!" I yelled back through my closed door, never taking my eyes off the moving Bakugan.

"Are you ever going to stop gawking?" Twilight told me angrily, and I bet he would have rolled his eyes at me if he could.

"Unbelievable," I muttered, walking over to my windowsill and picking up my Bakugan, holding him up to eye level.

He had opened up from his normal ball form, revealing his feet, tail, wings, head and beak. This way, it seemed as if his black and purple colors stood out more, making him even more beautiful. I moved to touch his head, but he started to squirm in my grasp until finally landing on top of my bed.

"What do you think you're doing, you useless human!" He yelled, making a small tantrum on my mattress.

"Well, what does it look like?" I snapped back angrily, glaring at my Darkus Bakugan. "I'm trying to find the "off" switch!" I lied quickly, regretting it the moment the sentence escaped my mouth.

"I am no toy you idiot!" Twilight hissed at me, finally staying put on my bed with me towering in front of him.

"Then what the hell are you!" I yelled in frustration, crossing my arms across my chest as I sent a fake yet perfect glare down at the…Bakugan?

"I'm a Bakugan from Vestroia," he finally grumbled, lowering his head a bit in order to send me a more intense glare, which I could feel better than see.

"V-Vestroia?" I wondered quietly, dropping my glare in order to stare questioningly at the black and purple Bakugan. What was that anyways?

"Arg! You humans know nothing!" Twilight roared in frustration. "Vestroia is a vast dimension composed of six attributes worlds. You humans would know them better as Fire, Earth, Light, the Dark side, Water and Wind," he added in the end, making it sound as if he thought I was really mentally disabled.

"I know about the attributes!" I snapped back at him, pulling out the wheel chair from my desk and sitting down on it a bit roughly.

"Would you shut up!" Twilight bit back, fanning his wings in annoyance. "In the very center of our universe there's two opposing cores. The Infinity Core, the source of all positive energy, and the Silent Core, the source of all negative energy."

"Infinity and Silent Core?" I mused, tilting my head slightly to the side as I processed the newly acquired information. "I'm guessing that, since those two are opposing forces, they maintain Vestroia balanced, correct? Like the yin and yang." I ventured, staring calmly at my Bakugan as I waited for his approval.

"Don't get so cocky," Twilight growled, and I decided to take that as a nod towards my idea. "As to be expected, there was one rough Bakugan who in its blast for control skimmed to seize the entire power source for himself. His name was Naga, and his mission was to absorb both Cores, but this had never been done before."

"You don't seem so angry about this," I pointed out, staring accusingly at the small sphere standing on my bed.

"It was only a matter of time before someone started using his brain and tried to gain power," Twilight mocked me, and I could clearly imagine him smirking at this. "Only the strongest Bakugan survive in the end."

"But you said it had never been tried before…What happened to him then?" I was starting to find it difficult to keep my uninterested mask on now, mostly because I really did care a lot about anything that had to do with Bakugan. My curiosity was so much at this point I had even unconsciously moved to sit at the very edge of my chair.

"That idiot somehow didn't succeed! He underestimated the power of the Cores and broke the stupid equilibrium of the universe!" My Bakugan seethed, and I couldn't tell if he was angry because Naga had failed or because someone had beaten him to accomplish his goal.

"Then you are here because of him!" I suddenly realized, standing up and staring at him in shock. "T-They are here because of him!" I added, pointing over to my resting Bakugan on my desk. I couldn't believe it! They were really alive!

"Are you really that dumb?" Twilight shook his head at me, thinking those statements had been pretty obvious.

"Everything is starting to make sense now," I mumbled, pulling out my cards and staring at them in newfound admiration. "All these cards must have somehow gone out of your world and into our own, just like you guys did! Then that means…that some kind of connection was made between our worlds the moment Naga left everything upside down!"

"No kidding," Twilight scoffed, jumping up to my pillow in order to reach the windowsill once more. "Now listen to me, human-"

"I have a name, you know?" I finally snapped at him, glaring halfheartedly at him. It was strange, Twilight seemed different from that time when he first talked…he was now more aggressive and even his voice was not as smooth and enchanting as it had been.

"Which I don't care to know," he deadpanned. "Now listen, you need to find a way to get me back home. This place is so disgusting I don't know how you humans can stand it."

"So that's all you want?" I growled at him, starting to get tired of all his complaining. "To get back home? You don't care about everything that Naga did!"

"What do you want me to say? The plan was magnificent, it was the Bakugan the one that was stupid enough to ruin it," he scuffed, turning his head away from me.

"How can you be so selfish?" I glared over at him. This wasn't the Twilight Skyress I had, he couldn't be.

"As if you're one to talk," my Bakugan laughed evilly. "You're not the most considerate person either!"

"I never said I was!" I quickly defended myself. "Besides, what would happen if we don't stop Naga? Your world, and probably even mine, would be reduced to rubble! Is that the kind of world you would like to return to?"

"It would still be better than staying here with you," Twilight spat out, jumping over to my desk and walking over to the rest of my Bakugan. "But, if you want to find a way, if there is one, to stop the current most powerful Bakugan, go ahead and try so yourself. Just try not to fry your brain while doing so." He smirked evilly, closing back into his ball form in order to sleep, ending our conversation.

I was left standing in the middle of my room, alone, staring with a pained expression at the black and purple sphere. It was not fair. First my parents, then my best friends, and now my own Bakugan! Just what was wrong with me?

"Stupid toy," I sniffled quietly, furiously rubbing my tears away before picking up my school bag and dumping my books on my bed.

Doing math problems while my head was stuffed with Bakugan, Vestroia, and Naga proved to be useless, as I discovered after just staring at the same sentence for ten minutes. Huffing angrily, I threw my books back into my black school bag and rested it beside my bed. It was no use trying to do homework now, that fight I had with Twilight really shook me up…I definitely preferred a few minutes of detention. I tucked myself in bed and turned to my clock, 12:30AM.

Hopefully, the moment I wake up, I'll see that this was all a terrible nightmare…

[o]

"WHAT!"

"Damn, human! You don't have to be so loud!" Twilight yelled up at me, flapping his wings in indignation.

I paid him no attention though, currently being engrossed in my computer screen. The ranking list was opened in the Top 10 brawlers, the source of my current shock. It was usual for the names in that list to change, maybe not as quickly as those in the rest of the list, but they surely did. However, this time, almost all of the names from the third place up to the tenth had changed in only a week. I had never seen those kids before, and most of them were a few years older than me. They appeared to have suddenly popped out in there! They gained all those points so fast I didn't even see them in the Top 20!

There was one brawler in particular that caught my attention, a boy. His appearance was quite strange, having spiky blond hair and wearing some kind of white coat. His eyes, however, were being hid by a big visor made out of glass. It reminded me to the fangs of a snake, each point of the glasses reaching down to his chin, leaving only his nose and mouth uncovered. What had shocked me though was that he was now ranked number four, and I had no doubt that his score would keep on increasing.

Clicking on his image, I opened the window that usually contained the brawler's data. Another shocker, all the requirements were empty. All except one: his name.

"Who are you, Masquerade?" I mumbled as I tightened the grip on my mouse.

There was something totally wrong with that boy. I couldn't quite guess what it was that made me distrust him, but I had this hunch that he would do nothing but cause trouble. Who knows? Maybe I was just feeling threatened of losing second place in the list.

Sighing, I closed his stats and scrolled up a bit in the list, staring intently at the top score: 11427. Right below was mine, 09744, alongside my photo. I bit my lower lip as I stared at the picture just above mine, remembering not to show any emotion since I was not alone in the room. He hadn't changed at all in almost half a year…everything was still there, his long shiny black hair, his light brown eyes…

Beep beep

The small alarm I had set up so that I could now when the Top 10 list changed broke me out of my thoughts. Confused by this sudden change, I scrolled down once more only to receive the third shock that morning: Masquerade was now in third place.

"There's no way I'll let you keep on moving forwards," I growled, quickly standing up and turning off my computer.

"You finally realized you're late for school?" Twilight asked me in amusement, having said nothing even though he knew I had long missed my first period. Both my aunt and uncle worked since early in the morning, so they trusted me to avoid being late to school.

"Forget school, we have something more important to do," I shot back at him, opening one of the drawers of my desk and choosing three Darkus Bakugan.

"So now you want to act like a bad girl?" He snorted at me.

"I wouldn't do that to my aunt and uncle," I glared down at him. "Today is the last day of school, so there's no difference whether I go or not." I explained, clipping my Baku-Clip to my brown belt.

"I really wonder how you managed to get approving grades this whole year," my Bakugan tried pissing me off.

"Whatever," I cut him off. "Change of plans. We gotta brawl," I sentenced, grabbing him quickly before he could even think of escaping.

I rushed down the stairs and ran across the empty house while completely ignoring my Twilight Skyress' angry cries and curses. I pulled my boots on quickly before sprinting out the door, locking it hurriedly. There's no way I was going to fall without a fight, I would at least slow down Masquerade's progress. I knew that, eventually, he was going to surpass me, since I still had no intentions of surpassing Shun's score, but, if that was the case, then I was not going to fall alone.

Shun was going to meet his downfall…And it was not going to be by my own hands.