warning: euphemisms ahead
"Where Are Your Boobs?"
The question blazed at the back of Runo's mind, festering like a rotting corpse. She sat there, staring at her friend/house guest as the two sat inside Runo's family cafe. Alice was currently sipping on her tea, the movement being graceful and subdued. On any other day, Runo would fume about how much it contrasted with her loudly slurping her soda, or observe the fact that Alice is eating a salad in comparison to Runo's ham sandwich. No, Runo could berate herself for how much less feminine she was than Alice another time; right now, there was only one thing the blunette could focus on.
'Alice, where the heck are your boobs?! ' The girl screamed internally, hiding her rising confusion and panic. Alice, Runo's senior by two years, seemed to be missing a few (mainly two) very important traits. She wore the yellow dress over green top she usually wore, and for most people nothing would stand out as different; it just so happened that the front of that dress was now very flat . It wasn't so apparent that anyone would notice it right off the bat, but it was more than a little obvious for the blunette.
"Umm, Runo? Is everything alright?" The gentle, sweet voice of Alice brought Runo to awareness, realizing she was caught staring. She'd usually feel embarrassed, but at the moment she just wanted answers.
Yes, notice I'm staring. Say something. Even just a knowing grin or a wink, something! Please give me some hint that you are aware of your missing boobs.
Runo was staring Alice in the eyes with expectancy. However, no such response was given, Runo's silent prayer left unanswered. Alice herself was mostly just alarmed, wondering why her friend went from staring at her chest with intensity to staring her in the eyes with intensity. Hoping to relieve the perceived awkward silence, Alice shifted her attention to the window.
"Umm, this weather is nice isn't it? Aren't we having some great weather today?" The older girl stated, sounding more than a little forced. Runo narrowed her eyes.
Is this a sign? She can't really mean the weather, so it must be. Nobody brings up the weather to actually talk about the weather. That's, like, euphemism rule number 1!
"Yes, the weather ." Runo replied, putting extra emphasis on the word, "It is certainly nice today, isn't it ? In fact, the clouds are especially small today. The ' weather' ? It's ' nice '?"
Alice was thrown further into confusion as she put on her best forced smile, though it failed to fully hide her concern. She let out a pitiful, very nervous sounding laugh.
"Heh heh heh, yes. The weather. It's...nice. It's very nice. Very nice." Alice quickly brought up her tea to her mouth to begin sipping on it, averting her gaze. Runo growled before reluctantly agreeing that yes, the weather was very nice. Runo's parents, watching the two as they ate in the closed cafe, looked at each other and then to the cloudy, grey sky.
"The weather isn't all that nice today, though." The father whispered to his wife. The mother slapped the man's arm.
"Idiot! They're obviously talking about something else! Read the mood!" She whispered back harshly. She, of course, had no idea what the conversation was about either.
"Then why don't they just talk about that ?" The man asked back. The woman rolled her eyes.
"Men, I swear. Come on, let's give them some privacy for what is obviously a very touchy subject ." With a subtle but very forceful shove, the woman pushed her husband toward the cafe exit.
"We're going to leave early, hon. Lock up when you're done, okay?"
"Alright, mom." Runo answered back without deviating her eyes.
"Oh, and, uh…" The father stood in the doorway, awkwardly rubbing the back of his head, "I hope, the, uh... weather treats you nicely." And with that, the two parents left; neither Alice nor Runo had any idea what they meant by that.
Runo inwardly sighed as Alice either continued to mess with her, or both she and the rest of the world acted like something important that was there the day before was never there at all. That thing was, of course, Alice's boobs.
When Runo had knocked on the girl's door to wake her up that day, the only unusual thing about the situation was the loud, rhythmic banging noise coming from inside. What Runo did not expect was for the girl to be suddenly very lacking in the chest department, something she noticed almost immediately. Well, not immediately ; she just noticed the first chance she spotted the girl's chest, which happened to usually be immediately.
Or...wait. It's not like she usually finds herself staring at the girl's chest, at least not frequently enough for it to be noticable (she has some sense of shame). And even if she does, it's definitely not because Runo feels insecure about her own chest size in comparison to the older girl's. Runo finds the very concept more than ridiculous; she's 12, they'll grow . And even if they don't, what good would a couple sacks of flesh on her upper body do other than get in the way? Impress boys? Feed babies? Be a natural shelf she could use to hold drinks with?
Runo felt her mind get off track, and realized that once again she was staring at Alice's chest. Alice seemed to notice, or at least attempted to pretend she didn't notice; she was now visibly sweating from how uncomfortable she was. The blunette quickly averted her gaze.
"That tea seems really good." Runo commented. The comment did not make Alice cease her continuous sip she had upheld for the past 2 minutes, but did elicit a slight nod. No matter how much attention she was giving to her friend's chest, the girl just wasn't noticing it herself. Is Alice aware? Is she so nervous because she knows I know?
"So, I like your clothes today." Runo started. Alice finally removed her mouth from her cup and gave an uneasy smile.
"Thank you. It's, umm, the same outfit I usually wear."
"Yeah, I know." Runo stated, slowing her words, "It's just that there seems to be something different about it today."
Alice looked perplexed.
"Umm, no, it's just the same outfit. Nothing different."
Runo growled in frustration.
"No, not the outfit. About you . Did you do something different?"
This got Alice's attention as she seemed to genuinely put more thought into the question.
"Well, I did recently start using a new shampoo."
Runo bit her lip and screamed in her head before a sudden idea occurred to her.
"Is that so? Is this shampoo special at all? Say, make certain things look different?"
"Well, it does help maintain structure a bit more than what I used to use, so that my hair can maintain more volume and shape. I...actually don't know why I decided to use that, now that I'm thinking about it."
While Alice tried to recount her memory, Runo mentally slapped herself for even thinking special shampoo could lead to someone losing their breasts. It was becoming increasingly clear to Runo that the older girl was completely unaware of her sudden transformation.
So, is it possible that reality within the last 24 hours suddenly changed, with the key difference being one russian girl suddenly being flat chested? Runo thought, her mind racing. But wait, how do I know that's the only change? What if there are other changes? What else could change? Would I even be aware of the changes? How do I even know if the changes are big things or small things? What if something major changed and I'm just as clueless to it as everyone else? Wait, then why would I be the only one to notice Alice's…
Runo was staring again. She needed to stop doing that. It was getting out of hand.
A sudden ring from a phone pierced through the tense air, bringing Runo's attention. The distraction gave Alice a massive sense of relief, even letting out a near silent "Oh thank god." Without even checking the caller ID, Runo picked the phone up and answered it. After a brief exchange, Runo hung up.
"So, Dan wants us to meet up and talk about something. Also, apparently he just won a battle against Masquerade."
"Really now?" Alice stated with genuine surprise.
Somehow I doubt it, but whatever. Anything to get my mind off of...oh, god damn it!
And once again Runo found herself staring at her friend's chest, and her friend trying not to notice.
"Let's just...go meet with them already."
After locking up the cafe, the two begin making their way towards Dan's house.
Runo sighed, seeing Alice in the edge of her vision. Was there something she was missing? Some vital clue? Some seemingly obvious detail that she was overlooking? Alice clearly knew Runo was staring at her chest, but she didn't seem to be acknowledging that fact that her chest is no longer there. She has to have noticed by now, the only way she wouldn't is if it were intentional. And if it were intentional, then why was she acting so casual about it? Are her breasts in some kind of a quantum state, where they're simultaneously there and not there at the same time? Runo's head was starting to hurt.
A small commotion in Runo's left pocket swapped her attention. Reaching into her pocket, she pulled out a small white ball. Opening her palm, her partner and best friend popped into form.
"Hi Tig." Runo said with a tired voice.
"Runo? Are you alright?" Tigrerra asked, "You seem...distracted."
Ha, yeah no kidding the girl thought. She turned to make sure Alice was out of ear shot, but found her instead already distracted with observing her surroundings in wonder like some princess in a disney film. Runo inwardly groaned. God damn, you've been here a few weeks already, stop looking so amazed at everything all the time!
She turned herself slightly to the side, holding the small spherical tiger close to her face.
"Have you noticed something strange about Alice?" Runo asked. The small white tiger turned her body in the direction of said girl. Alice turned to see the two staring at her before immediately averting her gaze.
"Hmm. Well, yes. She seems immensely uncomfortable."
Runo groaned in frustration.
"Uugh, besides that?"
"Well, I can't say anything especially unusual stands ou-"
"Where are her boobs!?" Runo shouted in the quietest whisper she could manage.
"Ah. That's what you mean."
" Boobs don't just disappear! "
"That statement, from what I understand, is true."
" So why are they gone?!"
"You seem very concerned about this."
Runo fumed, somewhat disgruntled at the tiger's response.
"I see," Tigrerra responds, working through her brain on how to deal with her partner's newest predicament, "And you are unhappy about this?"
"What? No! I'm not unhappy about it! I mean, I'm not happy about it either, but- that's besides the point! I'm just very confused!"
"Uh huh," the tiger continues, dipping into her infinite well of patience, "and forgive me for asking this, but have you tried asking her ?"
Runo responds with a look of disbelief.
"I can't just ask someone why they don't have boobs! Who do you think I am, Dan?"
Of course it can't be that simple , Tigrerra thinks with despair.
"Alright. If your goal is to explain why her 'boobs' are now gone, but you aren't willing to ask her up front, how do you intend to gain more information?"
"I don't know, subtly ask her until she gives me some sign?"
If Tigrerra had a full body, she would no doubt be twitching in held back frustration.
"Runo, you are not a subtle person. Why do you keep trying to be?"
Runo puffed up her cheeks, indignant, and Tigrerra knew her lapse in patience would cost her.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Runo asked with barely contained anger.
"I only mean that you are usually someone who speaks her mind, it's one of the many things I respect about you." The tiger answered, trying to placate her master, "I just don't understand why you try to be something you're not."
"So what, you think I can't be subtle just 'cause I'm not feminine !?"
"That was...not what I was saying at all."
"I am feminine! I can be subtle!"
"I- you know what is feminine? Opening up about your feelings and being honest."
"So you don't think I'm feminine!"
"I- why do I even try?"
The conversation wasn't the first they had on the subject. Runo bristled at implications, automatically looking to her side at Alice. Much to her surprise (or worse, very little to her surprise) there she was playing with a baby in a stroller passing by. Of course she was. Why wouldn't she be? And of course the scene looked almost picturesque: The way she smiled so brightly, shaking a little rattle enough to get the infant's attention, but gentle enough for them to reach up and grab the object. Runo's teeth grinded at the sight.
Tomboy.
That was a word she's been called all her life, and for much of it she never knew why.
Tomboy.
When she was younger, she thought that was just a girl who looked or acted like a boy, something she was very much not. She was girly! She liked wearing skirts, and cute things, and wearing pigtails, and going shopping, and a whole heck of a lot of other stereotypical things. She liked emphasising those things in particular as if saying , "Look! See? I'm a girl! I'm doing girl things! Here is proof that I am a girl!"
It was only recently that she realized that interests had nothing to do with being a girl, at least in everyone else's eyes; it was how one acted, and in that sense Runo was never 'girly'. She was loud, abrasive, head-strong, and never backed down from an argument or a chance to voice her opinion. Those were apparently the traits of a boy, hence her being called a tomboy. (There was one person who didn't view that negatively, though. In fact he actually respects her for it, which deep down she's always appreciated but would die before letting him know [and that's probably because she's just as head strong as he is]).
Alice, in comparison, was the epitome of 'feminine'. She was kind, caring, quiet, never overbearing, never authoritarian, never angry, always patient, always smiling and being nice and agreeable and...Runo hated it. Hated how little like Alice she was, and everyday living with her only further reminding her how distant the two were in terms of personality. And everyday, when they'd take shifts at her parent's cafe, given the sudden influx of people who appreciated Alice's service twisted the screw further in. But if there was one thing she could do, it was (at least try) being sensitive!
"I'll show you! I can be subtle!" The girl whispered aggressively, much to the tiger's dismay, "Just you watch!"
"No, wait, Runo-" but already, the small spherical tiger was shoved back into her pocket. With a new vigor in her step, she marches right next to Alice as she leaves the stroller (and a very happy baby and parent) behind. As Runo strolls up, Alice automatically tenses.
Okay, I've tried several approaches now, Runo strategizes, What have I not done yet?
"Hey, Alice." Runo starts, but just as she does Alice stops in her tracks, both eyes shut tightly.
"Runo, please stop." The girl pleads. Runo freezes; there was something about her tone of voice that made Runo pale.
"What? What's wrong?" Runo asks with mock confusion.
Has she caught on? Is she...wait, has she been purposely ignoring it? Have I been pushing something that she doesn't want to talk about? Is she upset?
The thought only just entered her mind, and suddenly she felt nervous.
Alice opens her eyes and looks at Runo with a pitiful glance.
"Runo, you've...I'm very flattered, but…"
Wait, flattered?
"...I don't want to lead you on, and I don't want to ruin our friendship, so I feel like I should-"
Runo blinked rapidly as her brain tried and failed to compute.
"Wait, do you think I like you or something?" Runo asked.
Alice looks at the girl in genuine surprise.
"Do you...not? I just assumed, from how much you've been staring at my, um-"
Oh jeez, how did this get worse?!
"No! God, no!" Runo shouted out, a thick blush now coating her cheeks.
Alice looks a touch relieved before then looking slightly hurt.
"I'm terribly sorry, I didn't mean to make such a rash assumption."
"No, wait, I didn't mean it like that! I mean, you're attractive and any guy would be lucky to have you. I mean, not me, I don't find you even slightly attractive! I mean, I do, I just could never be attracted to you in that way! I mean-"
Now Alice looked confused, unsure whether to be relieved, hurt, or flattered.
Runo, on the other hand, was now knee deep in panic, completely unprepared for the situation. How do I fix this ?
"I mean, the only person I actually like is Daaaaaa-"
And now she's dug her grave. She could already see the tilt of Alice's eyebrows in reaction. What could she do now? What could she say? Daaangerous? Daaark, tall and handsome? Daaaniel Radcliff? Daaaniel Craig? Daaaniel down the street? How many Daniels did she know, she lives in Japan! What could she say!?
"-aaaaaaeeeead."
There was a long awkward silence following. Runo's brain hit borderline brain dead as she and Alice stared at each other. Before the silence could become any more oppressive, Alice suddenly covered her mouth with her hands.
"Oh my gosh, I had no idea! I'm so sorry for your loss."
Runo wasn't sure whether to laugh, cry, or to repeatedly smash her head into a sandstone building. Whelp, I've come this far.
"Not dead in a literal sense," The girl tried to explain. "I mean...the bond between us is gone. My feelings are dead."
My feelings are dead. Runo, you idiot.
Alice gives a sigh of relief.
"Oh thank goodness. I'm sorry that you experienced such a falling out, Runo, but I'm glad we got that misunderstanding cleared up."
Runo forced the biggest smile she could on her face.
"Yeah, me too." She responds, crying internally. Alice takes a moment as she gives Runo a considering glance.
"So, are you just curious what they'll look like when yours grow in?"
The icy cold glare Alice receives dries up any further conversation, and the two of them walked the rest of the way in silence.
The two found themselves in Dan's room.
"Come on in, ladies." The boy greeted as he dramatically waved his arms in the direction of his room. Runo and Alice walked in, eyeing the surprisingly sparse area.
"So, you gonna tell us why you called us Dan?" Runo asked somewhat impatiently. Dan's smug grin faltered just a crack.
"I already told you, I beat Masquerade and I wanna talk about what I found out."
"Mm hm, yeah, got it. Now, could you tell us the real reason we're here?"
Dan looked almost shot by the comment, his face falling, his deflated hair flapping into his face. His hair was not the physics defying spiky mess it usually was, with gravity looking like it finally conquered the beast; given the slight damp look to it, and the towel around Dan's neck, Runo took the assumption that the boy must've taken a shower recently.
"Jeez, you guys could have a bit more faith in me."
Runo responded with an unimpressed look.
"I *huff* I believe in you, Dan!" Alice answers back supportively, her voice somewhat breathy. Runo frowns. The walk here wasn't that taxing, was it? She thought, and before she could stop it Did losing her boobs also affect her stamina? Were they like extra air sacs? Runo resisted the desire to facepalm as Dan's smile returned full force.
"Ah, so you do believe I beat Masquerade?" Alice's smile twitched as her face froze, making the boy's smile crash again.
"Oh, uh...yes! Of course!" She responds, but her hesitance betrayed her true thoughts.
"Man, you guys are the worst!" The boy shouted out dramatically. Runo rolled her eyes (fully aware that everyone could see her rolling her eyes[as that is explicitly the purpose of rolling your eyes]) before turning to a small red sphere on Dan's desk.
"Drago, what actually happened?" The blunette asked. Dan tensed as the small dragon turned in her direction.
"Masquerade forfeited mid-match," Drago answered matter-of-factly, much to Dan's chagrin, "Masquerade seemed to be frustrated by Dan's constant mocking, which is probably why Masquerade forfeited then threw Dan off a building into a dumpster."
Dan jerked around indignantly, looking down at the dragonoid with a flustered expression.
"Hey, Drago, you weren't supposed to tell them that!"
At the same time, Runo's eyebrows raised while Alice covered her mouth with her hands.
"Wow, I stand corrected. So you actually did beat Masquerade...by annoying him into rage quitting." The blunette added with just a hint of smugness. The boy turned to Runo without missing a beat, embarrassment still evident on his face.
"Hey, it still counts as a win!"
"Are you alright? You didn't get hurt or anything, I hope." The redhead asked.
"Oh I'm fine. Stained my favorite jacket, though." Dan says with annoyance. Alice nods with a smile.
"Oh, I'm glad to hear that. Not about the jacket, though. I'm sorry your jacket got stained."
Runo concealed the glare she wanted to aim at the russian. Stop being so nice, we don't need to encourage him!
"Yeah, whatever, it's fine." The boy said excitedly, trying to get the conversation moving, "What I really wanted to talk about was Masquerade this time around. Or more specifically, who ."
That got the girls' attention.
"That…okay? Do you know his secret identity or something?"
"Well, no, but I know that this was not the regular Masquerade."
The...regular?
"I'm sorry, are you saying there's more than one Masqurade now?"
"Well, there has to be. The Masquerade I fought today had boobs."
There was a moment of pause after that statement. Before Runo could even fully understand what she just heard, the immediate thought that came to her head was Did Masquerade steal Alice's boobs? This time, she physically facepalmed. Given the prompt nature of the action, Dan interpreted it as a reaction to himself.
"What, I swear! Drago, back me up here." The boy stated desperately, turning to his ever faithful partner.
"I do believe that Masquerade had what you humans refer to as 'boobs'." The small dragon answered far too seriously.
"Excuse me for interjecting," Runo jumped as she turned to see Tigrerra had not only somehow exited her pocket, but had also made her way onto the same desk as Drago, "However, I must remind you of the fact that you are as familiar with human anatomy as any bakugan, which is to say very little if any. It is very possible that you just thought you saw that because Dan did."
"I- hmmm…" The dragon suddenly went silent, causing Dan to look ever more exacerbated; Runo couldn't (or just didn't want to) hide a mocking chuckle.
"Oh come on, you know what you saw. It was obvious!" The boy shouted, trying to save face, "Masquerade had boobs, I swear!"
Bang!
Everyone in the room jumped at once, turning to see a very flustered Alice.
"O-oh my, I'm so sorry. I *huff* I have no idea what happened. I *huff* my leg just spasmed." The girl said, looking clearly out of breath and nursing the toe she apparently slammed against a wall. Beads of sweat were running down her face, and her face was scrunched in pain.
"Woah, hey. Alice, are you alright?" Runo asked in concern. The red-head put a forced smile on her face.
"Yes, I'm fine. I'm just *huff* feeling a little out of breath, is all."
Blood rushed to Runo's head as the perfect line found itself completely formed in her head.
"Is there something wrong with your chest ?" She asked.
Alice shook her head, and much to Runo's delight, the girl raised her hand to her chest.
"No, nothing like-"
And then she stopped, hand now firmly on her flattened chest.
Runo could see the subtle emotions crossing the girl's eyes, ranging from confusion to panic. She stood there in silence for a little too long, creating a very uncomfortable silence.
"Umm, Alice?" The girl's head jerked upwards, suddenly aware that everyone's eyes were on her. Runo could see the jolt of panic in her face. She immediately stood straight up.
"Uh, D-Dan? Can you tell me where your *huff* your bathroom is?"
Dan tilted his head in confusion.
"Uh, sure. It's the room that isn't the kitchen or my moms room."
"Right, thank-" She paused, giving the boy a strange look, looked like she was about to say something, then stopped and rushed out of the room.
"Well, that was weird. Was it just me, or did Alice look kind of different?" Dan asked bluntly. Runo gave Dan a long measured look. The girl, hoping to feel some sense of accomplishment, could now only feel crushing guilt.
"It's just you." She answered with a sigh.
Alice rushed into the bathroom and shut the door in one quick motion. Making extra sure that the door was locked, the girl walked to the room's mirror. Without a moment of hesitation, Alice stripped her top off and threw it on the ground. There, strapped to her chest, was a tightly bound piece of clothing. It looked almost like a sports bra, but significantly broader and tighter.
The girl stared in horror at the thing, the cause of the extreme tightness on her chest she'd been feeling all day now apparent.
"What the hell is this!?" She shouts to herself, " When did I- why did I…" Her mind races as she gently yet frantically explores the confines of the device for a way to remove it. Realizing there was no practical way to remove it, she forced herself to calm down.
Why am I wearing this? The thought reverberates throughout her skull, yet the memories she was looking for were simply not there (sealed away, deep deep deep in her subconscious). And although she should be worried, for some reason she simply wasn't. That was what scared her the most.
She looked back up into the mirror, seeing her panic stricken, sweat covered face. She takes a moment to take a deep breath, her breathing feeling much more in control now that she knew the cause for her restricted chest. She turns on the sink and splashes water into her face, using a small hand towel near the sink to wipe off the water and sweat.
Feeling much calmer, the girl takes a look back at her reflection and pauses. There was... something there. Something in her reflection that she hadn't seen before. It wasn't so much that it was new, but more that it was now more obvious than before.
Alice can feel her heart beating, feel each thumping pulse, as she slowly reaches up for her hair. Collecting each lock in her two hands, she ties them together into a long ponytail. She stares at her reflections, and blinks. Something is missing . After a moment of contemplation, a light bulb struck as she takes a thick strain of hair, licks her index finger and thumb, then slides it along the length. The result is a single, gravity defying tuft of hair that hovers above her head, reminiscent of a feather. Alice let's out a giggle as she looks at her almost silly reflection; silly to anyone else maybe, but cool to her.
I look like Shun , she thought with amusement. The angsty ninja had once again found his way into her thoughts; though he was a year younger than her, he was the only one of their friend group that she felt like was on her level of maturity (though his brooding nature left much to be desired). Why am I thinking of him again? She thinks as she further inspects herself in the mirror. Turning to the side, she tries to recreate Shun's resting bitch face, which ends up making her laugh. She felt calm again, which was good. Looking back at her reflection one last time, something finally clicked. Her figure, it was always similar to the boy, but only now was the biggest difference taken out. The binder . She didn't know how she knew that was what it was called, but turning to the side again the difference became extremely evident. Sure, there was a thing or two that stood against it, but if she unfocuses her gaze, she almost looks like...she could almost pass as...as...as a…
Alice gulped as a sudden almost overwhelming rush ran through her brain. Was she... excited by this? A massive spike of panic ran through her, causing her to bump into the sink. Looking up, she caught one last glance of her reflection and immediately tore her face away. Not wasting a moment, she puts back on her clothes and rushes out of the bathroom. She doesn't bother taking it off, she'll just do it back in the safe confines of her room. At least, that's what she tells herself.
"So...you gonna tell me what the problem is?"
Runo let out her millionth sigh as she tried desperately to mentally and physically restrain herself from acting out against the only other organic being in the room. Where is Alice? What is taking the girl so long?
The blunette would personally go and check on the russian, but she figured discovering your mammalian organs are suddenly missing is something best dealt with alone. Dan grumbled to himself, less than pleased at being so blatantly ignored. Over on the desk, a conversation of its own was going on.
"What's wrong with Runo?" The tiny rounded dragon asked, trying to keep his ethereal, abhuman voice down. Tigrerra let out a tiny sigh as she turned her body in Drago's direction.
"She's...going through some things right now. I don't think I'm at liberty to talk about them."
"Fair enough."
"However, I will say that she is being frustratingly stubborn." The tiger says with as level a voice she could manage. Drago chuckled in response.
"Oh, I know all about that. I swear, talking to Dan is sometimes like talking to a...a...you know, something that's very hard and doesn't move?"
"A… rock ?"
"...that's much better than what I was going to use."
"What were you going to-?"
"-but anyways yes, I know how it feels."
"A-alright. I just- how do you deal with it?"
"Hmm?"
"How do you deal with someone with problems you so obviously know the answers to, but will never listen to you?"
"Well, huh. I guess I just learned that you can't help someone who doesn't want it, that they have to realize that themselves. All you can do is just wait there patiently for when that time comes."
"Huh. That's...actually quite profound, Drago."
"...is it?"
"Yes. You should give parenting advice more often."
"I'll definitely keep that in min- wait, parenting advice?! Is that what I've been doing?!"
All of a sudden, Runo's phone buzzes. The girl half heartedly looks at the device before suddenly standing straight up, her face looking concerned.
"Oh no." The girl whispered to herself as she stared at her phone.
"Uh, what happened?" Dan asked, trying to subtly sneak up behind the girl and look at her phone. Runo's hand reflexively snaps back, smacking the boy away.
"'I'm not feeling well, so I decided to head home early. So sorry, tell me any details I missed later.'" The girl recited before putting her phone away. Her hand goes up to cover her face.
"Uggh, great!" The girl collapsed onto Dan's bed.
"Runo?!" The call of alarm, though Runo couldn't see it, came from Dan as he sat down beside her on the bed. Runo was tempted to just shout at the boy, yell at him for being an idiot, but she knew all that anger was mostly aimed at herself.
"Okay, seriously Runo. What the heck is going on with you and Alice?"
And just as he does, Dan cuts to the chase. What was she supposed to say? She was bothering her friend for information on her missing extremities while she was clearly not aware of it? That Alice being uncomfortable was all her fault? That despite everything, despite her feeling like a shitty friend, she still couldn't bring herself to truly regret her actions?
She lifted her hands readying herself for whatever torment the boy had in mind for her. However, instead she saw actual concern in the boy's eyes. It was blazing and unashamed, unsubtle. So very, very Dan. Tigrerra's words snap back in her mind.
Any frustration she had quickly died out as she let out a heavy sigh.
"I feel like I'll never be as good as Alice."
Tigrerra turned in surprise, though neither human noticed. Dan, for his part, looked mostly bewildered.
"I- what?" He responds "That doesn't- Why?!"
"'Cause she's girlier than me, and everyone likes her better." Runo said matter of factly, sounding almost relieved. Dan on the other hand looked more clueless than he usually does. Seeing this, the girl rolls her eyes in an attempt to hide the fact that she was significantly more self conscious at the moment.
"I know, it's stupid."
"Yeah, it is." Dan answered bluntly.
Runo's stature became rigid as Tigrerra (though there was no notable difference in the bakugan's already heavily limited mobility).
"Oh no." The tiger whispered just as Runo turned to the boy in rage. She grabbed the pillow on his bed and threw it at his face.
"You asshole, you're not supposed to agree with me!"
"What, you want me to say it's not stupid and lie to you?"
"Drago, please shut your human up, or this will only end terribly."
"Shut him up? I can't even get him to brush his teeth in the morning."
"Uggh, no. You're supposed to validate my feelings to make me feel better!"
"Why would I validate something that's wrong, when you're obviously better than Alice?
There was a long pause as the words fully registered in Runo's mind.
"Wha- huh?" The girl responded gracefully, her angry scowl giving way to surprise. Dan also seemed to have realized what he said, as he averted his eyes, not meeting Runo's gaze.
"I mean, it just seems obvious to me.I mean, you actually brawl, and are... above average at it, I guess."
Daring a glance up, he finds Runo's face still scrunched up in the same expression.
"I-I mean, you're really good and I know you're really good. You've always been really good. Maybe not as good as me , but you are good."
Another glance, and he sees her face hasn't changed.
"A-Also you're really aggressive, and you never back down from saying what you think even if you're wrong, and you never back down from a fight. In fact, you usually pick the fights with people really aggressively, which I find kind of ho- . . . honest, and you're really passionate about what you love, and standing up for those you care about, and you're probably one of the strongest people I know, and also I always thought you were girly enough 'cause you wear pig-tails and skirts and stuff and…"
He trails off, still averting his gaze. He makes way for a long awkward silence that makes the boy tense. Suddenly, Runo reaches up and rips out her scrunchies, letting her long blue hair fall around her head and obscure her face.
"Yeah that's nice, I'm going to go now." She says abruptly, grabbing Tigrerra and power walking to the door. Dan moves out of her way, glad the conversation is over but also confused at the sudden change. Runo stops in the doorway.
"But, um...thanks. For that, I mean." She says, her voice quieter than he's ever heard her. He responds with a grunt, not trusting his voice. And with that, the girl leaves his residence.
All the while, the small white tiger is holding in her laughter. Now, in the safety of their privacy, she lets her laughter out.
"Goodness, your face looks like a tomato!"
"Shut it Tig!"
Runo lets out a deep breath as she walks up to the door. She knocks lightly, waiting for a response.
"Uh, hey, Alice?" She calls. There is a bit of noise before she responds.
"Yes?" Though responding in her typical kind tone, it sounded slightly strained.
"I, uh, just wanted to, you know...see if you're alright? You seemed, um...pretty out of sorts back at Dan's house."
"Yes, sorry about that. I just...I just need some rest." She responds in a subdued tone.
"Alright, yeah, of course. You go do that. I'll just-" Runo closes her eyes and prepares herself.
"I just wanted to say sorry about...you know…" Runo says with bated breath as she waits for a response.
"About what?" She asks, sounding curious and somewhat agitated.
Runo lets out a sigh.
"Nothing, don't worry about it. Just take care of yourself, okay?"
"I will, thank you."
And with that, Runo leaves with a slightly lighter chest.
Alice leans against the door, clutching a binder tightly to her chest. Making sure Runo is gone, the girl holds the clothing up. Gently, she folded the clothing until it was a small square. Opening a drawer, she takes the clothing already in it and places the square tightly in a corner. Satisfied, she then replaces the clothes back on top. Closing the drawer, she lets out a deep sigh.
"Why can't things just be simple?" She whispers to herself bitterly, silent tears streaking down her face.
