I don't own bakugan. Sadly...I hope you enjoy!

Bold is thoughts

Italics is flashbacks

Ch. 10

"Shun?" Alice asked, now worried at her boyfriend's behavior. "Is something wrong?" she questioned. His eyes have bruises under them. I don't think he's been sleeping.

"I'm fine Alice, don't worry about it." He pulled her hands from his face, "Need any help?"

"No," she smiled, "I think I've got it. But where's Dan?"

The ventus brawler rolled his eyes, "He rushed off to get an apology gift after yesterday."

"Oh," Alice giggled, "That makes sense."

"Hey," he kissed her cheek, "since we're not meeting today, do you want to go somewhere Alice?"

"Well, I have to clean the shop today," she started.

Shun shook his head, "I'm helping Alice."

"But, you don't h-"

He stepped closer to her, "I want to."

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Alice sat down, holding a cold can of soda, "Well, that was a lot more fun than usual."

"I like to think I'm more fun to be around than a couple of mops and brooms."

She rolled her eyes at him, "Shun…"

He sat down across from her, slipping into the seat. Though he was still being quiet and very cool-headed, he just seemed…different to her.

She watched as he propped up his head on his hand, which he never did. They were just little things, but they were beginning to add up. His eyes seemed tired, and he never wore his vest anymore, choosing a long sleeved jacket instead. His jibes didn't have the same joking sting they always did.

Shun was looking out the window into the silent night. He still had about twenty minutes before he had to leave, and he wanted to enjoy them. There was suddenly pressure against his empty cheek and he turned around to see aluminum.

Alice sat back down, "Are you alright Shun? You've been staring outside for some time now."

"I'm fine, Alice." He checked his watch. Slowly he got up and stretched before pausing, as if something was wrong. "I have to go. I still have some things to do."

"Mm-hm."

"Will you be okay walking home?" he asked.

She smiled, "Runo and Julie are coming here in a while."

His smirk didn't quite reach his eyes, but she couldn't be sure. "See you tomorrow."

She truly wanted to trust that he was okay, but his tendency to hide injuries didn't exactly leave the best impression. "You'll tell me if something's wrong?" she asked quietly.

He kissed her forehead, "Of course I would Alice." What a lie that was…

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"So you finally decided to come? You're late," Ryu chided. "You know how I hate that little raven."

Shun was silent.

"Hm, quiet today too?" Ryu smirked. "Good, that'll make the screams so much more fun to hear."

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Dan was surprised that he woke up before Shun had gotten there. It was usually his best friend that had to kick him out of bed. I'm sure he enjoys it…Eh, if he's not here, I can go back to sleep!

Just as he was beginning to drift off, he heard Shun's voice, "I know you're awake Dan. Get up."

"Fine," Dan grumbled. "You're late today."

Shun shook his head, "Dan, you got up earlier than usual. I don't know HOW that happened, but it did."

"Hey!" Dan replied indignantly, "I can get up early!"

Drago opened up, "Really Daniel?"

"Drago…" he whined. "Come one buddy, don't tell me you agree with Shun."

Shun smirked, "Are you getting up or not?"

"Yeah, yeah…"

Soon after, they were back outside on their way to Interspace. Dan was surprised that Shun hadn't made some snarky remark yet. Then again, he's been a lot quieter lately. Dan had heard Alice say the same.

He always seemed a bit tired, and his battle style had begun to change. It was much more like his, and that wasn't good, considering that Shun prided himself in stealth.

What was going on with their friend?

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Dan and Marucho walked into the girl's house. "Hey guys."

They had decided to meet after all five of them agreed that Shun was definitely not telling them something. They weren't sure what, but it was taking a toll on him.

"So, what's the plan?"

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Alice wasn't sure if this was good. "Shun has reasons to do something. We shouldn't be following him, it's not right."

"Alice, he's been going somewhere every night after we all meet up in the café. What it's something that needs to be stopped. He could be getting hurt!" Runo said.

"Still," Alice tried.

Dan looked at Alice, "Let's just see what's up. If it's nothing, then it's nothing. It'll be fine Alice."

She resigned, "Fine."

They kept on slowly walking a good distance from him. He walked down the street and then turned to the left instead of the right. He was definitely not headed for home now.

Suddenly, Shun picked up speed, and they struggled to keep up. "Man, I forgot how fast Shun can go," Dan huffed as they all tried to keep pace by running.

They ran for almost a mile before Shun began to slow down again. "By some miracle, we've actually been able to keep up with him," Marucho stated.

Runo was about to cheer, but was cut off by Dan dragging her backward. "What was that for?" she hissed. He pointed at Shun who was a bit farther off, and looking back at their general area.

"He almost heard you. Truly, I'm actually surprised he hasn't already."

Alice bit her lip, "Maybe you guys are right. Maybe he is tired, so that's why he's not up to pace like usual."

"See Alice. We did have a good reason for this," Julie soothed.

Dan turned around again, "Crap!" he shouted.

"Dan!" Julie whispered, "He'll hear you!"

"Guys," he said in a normal tone, "He's gone!"

"What?" Runo said, and looked around. "You're right…" She stamped her foot in anger, "We were so close too!"

Gloomily, the group of five headed back the way they came. They would have to figure out another way to find out what Shun was up to.

Yes, it is Jazz...Yep, I'm reading this story, and I'm really starting to doubt it. I really feel like it's not good enough...Ah, well, I'm not one for leaving things unfinished, so you'll just have to bear with me :)