It's been a while since I did a fanfic for this fandom.
I have been more active on AO3, but I feel the bakugan fandom is more 'active' on FFnet ( ) rather than AO3 (Archive of Our Own), in any case I'll still post it on AO3 under my other pseudonym (hopefulmuse). Hope you all are well.
I know there other fics on a certain change in the original series between season 1 (Battle Brawlers) and season 2 (New Vestroia), especially for Shun fans(myself being one of them). His short hair. So far there is one notable fic that covers this change that can be found here on FFnet titled "Haircut" by Sanosukeskitten. In this short fic, Shun cuts his hair out of practicality(somewhat against his will). It can also be found on Deviantart along with another 'haircut' fic called "Letting Go Of That Thread" by Ever-kitten, in which Shun asks a certain someone to cut his hair for him the reason being more emotional-spiritual compared. I wanted to add a version that is more canon to the anime and touches on reasons similar to the one by Ever-kitten, but like in Sanosukeskitten he does it himself because he wants to.
With that I hope you all enjoy this short piece!
N.B. I am using the original (Japan dub) names of characters and places versus the English dub. (After watching the japan dub, several times I find them more fitting and meaningful. It also explains why characters react so 'severely' seeing their bakugan sent to the "Doom Dimension" or rather the "Death Jigen", i.e. "Death Dimension" )
disclaimer: I do not own Bakugan or any of its canon material.
While in his bedroom, Shun stared at a young man in the mirror. It had been almost three years since his mother's passing. He still remembered her last smile, her last breath, and the warmth in the hand that had given him the greatest gift he had ever received. That gift was his partner Zephyros Phoenix. Correction: Zephyros Storm Phoenix. She along with the other bakugan are back on Vestroia, their original home planet.
"I am a bakugan who only exist within your memory."
Phoenix had not wanted to give him any hope he would see her again. It would be cruel to lie. This had been their aim all along. To restore balance to their worlds. It meant they would have to say goodbye, forever. It gave him peace knowing that regardless of what happened they would never forget one another. Phoenix was back on Vestroia soaring high in the sky where she belongs.
He was that boy. One of the creators of the game Bakugan. The one who loved bakugan and still does even though the game can no longer be played. The one who pushed away his friends in his grief, only for the most stubborn of them all to approach him again and convince him to fight again. The one who despite seeming cold would do anything for his friends, even risk his own life.
He would still do those things. He is just not a boy anymore.
He looked down in his hands. In the left was a thin blue ribbon that held his hair back. In the right hand was a pair of scissors. He dropped the ribbon into a wastebasket he had pulled up watching it descend in the heap of trash. Without further delay, Shun gathered half of his hair from the left. Then he raised his right hand while holding the scissor open, positioning the blades to surround the gathered section. Watching his own reflection, Shun closed the scissors. The sound of metal pushing against itself and cutting of hair filled the room. After another satisfying click of the scissors closing the left side of Shun's hair now reached his chin. Shun looked down at the excess hair in his left hand. He briefly thought of his mom.
When he was younger, he didn't want to get a haircut not because he was afraid of a stranger touching his head or cutting his hair too short or how he would look after said cut. He just did not want to cut it. He did not like how he looked with short hair and wanted to grow it out. His mom had told him gently that having long hair would be a lot to take care of. It would take longer to wash and dry, and other boys would tease him for having long hair. Shun had considered this and stayed by his choice.
"Okaa-san is pretty with long hair. I want to have long hair like Okaa-san."
She smiled and ruffled his still short hair. "Then Okaa-san will support you."
Shun didn't get his hair cut, but it was trimmed.
"How can anyone see your adorable face if you cannot see what's in front of you?" She asked Shun as she cut his bangs.
Shun, at age nine, snorted at the question.
"Hold still." Shiori chuckled.
Even as her health declined, Shiori insisted on cutting his bangs whenever they got too long. She would always say how handsome he looked, much to his embarrassment and pride.
Shun dropped the strands into the wastebasket. He took a moment to glance in the mirror at his short side. It didn't look too bad. He went at it again with the right side, matching the left.
Phoenix came to mind, as he did this.
It was the night he and the other brawlers returned to Earth from the Death Dimension. Shun got ready for bed in the room Marucho had let him use a few days ago. Shun exhaled thinking about all that had happened.
The little girl who looked so much like his mother and played with him like she would have wanted to. Phoenix on fire and almost dying right in front of his eyes. Accepting reality and choosing to live now. Phoenix rising from flames in her evolved form stronger than ever, responding to his feelings. Assuring Oberon that they will save Vestroia. Reuniting with friends and their newly evolved bakugan.
"Maybe I should cut it." Shun said aloud as he sat down on his bed.
"Hmm?" Phoenix raised her head, perched on the bedside table.
Shun undid the blue ribbon that he used to tie back his long waist-length hair. "My hair."
"Your hair? What are you thinking Shun?"
"You have changed. I was thinking I need a change as well."
"I may have changed, but I am not the only one to have changed." Phoenix flew up to him.
Shun blinked.
"You always had this sad look in your eyes ever since we have been together. Like you were stuck in a loop." Phoenix mused. "Your eyes seem much brighter now."
"Is that so?"
"They're beautiful and so is your hair. I think it is a waste to cut it if you had grown it that long."
He felt a warmth he had long associated with his mother rush to his face and felt the corners of his mouth quirk upward into a smile.
"Thank you." He said to Phoenix.
Shun let go of the last strands from his haircut falling into the waste bucket.
He looked back up at his reflection, running a hand through his now short hair. He used the scissors to trim any uneven strands. Satisfied with his reflection, Shun put down the scissors and went to take a shower.
By the time he finished dressing, his cellular rang (a green version of Dan's). He picked it up and on the screen was his longtime friend.
"Hey Shun." Dan greeted.
"Is there a reason you are calling me Dan?" Shun asked promptly.
"I just wanted to make sure you are joining us for the video chat tonight." Dan replied cheerfully. "It's been a while since the Brawlers got together."
"It hasn't been that long. I don't answer every one of your calls Dan."
Dan groaned at his comment, but for some reason he squinted his eyes.
"What's wrong?" Shun asked.
"You look different." Dan commented.
"Do I?"
"Did you do something to your hair?"
"What do you think?"
Dan frowned in deep thought.
"If that's all you called about, then I'll hang up." Shun replied. "I'll see you later."
"Wai-" Dan protested as Shun ended the call.
Shun went to his computer to answer the call. After logging on, five windows popped up on the screen.
"About time you…" Dan began then cursed. "Jerk!"
"What happened to your hair?" Julie practically screamed.
"Shun, you got a haircut?" Runo pestered.
"It looks good on you, Shun-kun." Alice complemented.
"I figure it would happen, just not this soon." Marucho commented aloud.
Shun wasn't at all surprised by their reactions, but that didn't mean he didn't take delight in them.
"It just felt right." He shrugged nonchalantly much to the chagrin of his friends.
I hope you all enjoyed it what you have read. A few quick points that the fic may not cover.
- I know Shun cuts his hair some point in the three years gap between season 1 and 2. I felt one year was too soon and if it had been three I felt Dan and Marucho would have been surprised by the sudden change in appearance (too long in comparison to one year). Also from the same episode, in Shun's flashback, Shun is shown with shorter hair, so he had already cut his hair long before 'disappearing' on Earth. I also judged from his season 1 and 2 looks that his some of his side bangs had grown out to the point that they match his shorter cut.
-There is not english sub for the last episode of season 1 in which the Brawlers say goodbye to their bakugan partners, but I used the english translation of the Japanese dialogue. This translated line from a deviantartist (Inesidora) who posted an image on Deviantart with screenshots of the goodbye scene along with the Japanese lines(English pronouciations) and English translations. The Japanese dub version of Shun's and Phoenix(Skyress)'s goodbye is a lot sadder than the English dub, but it also shows more depth in their relationship.
-I figured one of the reasons Shun had grown out his hair had to have come from his mom, in some way. Seeing that they had a close relationship on screen.
-I know by anime "magic" characters' hair have certain constants, but if figure Shun or his mom had trimmed his bangs so that he can see clearly and looks good.
-I wanted to include Phoenix(Skyress) because in my perspective (and many other fans) she acts maternally; practically filling in the void in Shun's heart and life from his mother's passing. A fun fact: in the Japanese dub season 1 episode 12, after Shun reminisces the day his mother passed, he tells Phoenix that she is "his mother's keepsake", she says she is honored by this title and goes on to say that "she cannot be a mother to him" (there are three eng subbed versions of this episode on YouTube (channels: Nhi Huynh, Ponta Penwin, DoriitoFish Subs). You can watch to see for yourselves).
-From the first episode of season 2 before Drago's debut in his new form, Dan complains how Shun hasn't answered his calls as of late and Runo teases him saying that Dan must have annoyed Shun again with Dan arguing that he did not. I added the phone call as a nod to this and have Shun react a little annoyed, albeit coolly to this.
In case any of your are wondering about the other bakugan fanfics I had posted on this site, I am thinking of reposting them with a better plot and background at some point. After...8-9 years I realized the many plot holes in my early beginnings as a fanfiction writer.