A/N: I cannot believe I am updating on Fanfiction dot net when I am. Fanfiction dot net. I did not plan this at all. Fanfiction dot net...wow. I'm in awe. Actually, I sort of accidentally logged into this account the other day just to look at a fic or two (fic nostalgia is a thing) and ended up rereading the fics I uploaded here. It lead to me realizing, "Wow, I didn't even upload all of the chapters I had already written for this story." It's really like a time capsule, a throwback that I'm kind of shook about. The Hetalia profile icon, the Bakugan fics, everything basically. It's a bit uncomfortable, but that's okay. I'm a fair bit older now than I was when I wrote this stuff, and that's okay. I've grown and learned so much. I want to just continue to upload the chapters for this fic I have already written (about 4) and then probably just leave it be. It's definitely a cool idea, and I remember spending so much time fleshing out the ideas and the foreshadowing and everything. I can kind of remember where I wanted to go with it. But I'm just not a middle schooler with as much free time as I had before. And honestly, I've grown up. I wouldn't say grown out of Bakugan, but eh...if I'm gonna be writing fics, there's other stuff I'd want to write about, you know? So that's the goal. Upload the rest of the chapters, maybe finish the one I left in progress, and then leave it be. If I catch the spark to continue it, then that's that, but otherwise I'm just uploading because I already wrote these chapters years ago. That being said, I appreciate everyone who's supported this fic, and I hope you all can enjoy this.

"The world, my wish, my vow, the future
There is no answer, there is no shape, but I chase it all the time
It's invisible to the eye, the uncertain resonance entrusted in my left hand
My brain, the hope to move, I'll keep on going.

Story of Hope has just started"

- "Story of Hope", Yuyoyuppe feat. Megurine Luka

"Runo~!" Asuka exclaimed, waving her over. It was Saturday, and they didn't have any school. Asuka had called Runo out to go shopping. Runo would have declined, but she realized she really had nothing to do, and she hadn't gone out with a friend since she was a second year in middle school. If you could consider Asuka a friend.

Runo waved back at Asuka. "Hi." She greeted. Asuka looked her over, making Runo feel a bit uncomfortable. Finally she stopped, grinning.

"You look fantastic!" She exclaimed.

"Um, thanks. So. Where are we going?" Runo asked. Asuka pointed to a mega mall nearby.

"We're going there! They recently opened a new store there, plus they also have a supply store for Kyūdōka." Asuka informed. Runo nodded. It seemed like a good place to shop.

"Okay."

"So Runo! Sorry if I'm imposing, but I really want to know: how do you know Kuso-kun?" Asuka wasted no time in asking once they began to walk. Runo had asked Runo that very same question all the day before, and frankly, she was getting annoying.

"I should have known."

"You don't have to tell me!" Asuka exclaimed. "I'm just curious. I mean, if you're childhood friends, why do you act like that to each other?"

"Fine, I'll tell you." She gave in. Maybe she was annoyed about her pestering and wanted to get it over with. Or maybe she really wanted to tell someone about what happened. Either way, Runo began to explain what happened.

"When I was around the age of four, I moved to Wardington from Tokyo. It was a very hard time for me, as I didn't know anyone. One day I was at the park and I met Dan. The end." Runo looked at a mannequin as they passed a shop. "Ooh. This looks nice. Maybe I should buy it."

"Hey! That can't be the entire story! That doesn't explain much." Asuka complained. Runo shrugged.

"I don't exactly know why you want to know so badly." Runo said as she walked into a store. "But it really isn't your business."

"I want to know because I was in the same place as you!" Asuka exclaimed loudly, drawing in some looks from other people. Runo discreetly distanced herself from Asuka, trying not to be seen with her. Asuka noticed and sighed. "I, um...look. I had a really good friendship when I was younger too. But then I stopped talking to my friend, and I've been regretting it since. I don't want you to feel that way either." Runo looked at the girl, then smiled softly.

"Don't worry. I don't regret it. It's for the best." She told her.

"But is it? I mean, please Runo. Tell me." Runo was looking through a rack of clothes, and picked up a shirt. She smiled sadly.

"I guess. Let's go get a snack." The two girls then left the store and walked to the food court, chatting about other things. They got some McDonalds and then sat at a table.

"So spill it." Asuka said, eating a fry. "Tell me what happened." Runo drank some of her shake, before beginning.

"I met Dan, okay. We were at the park and we played baseball together. I couldn't hit the ball so he was teaching me. And then these other kids started showing up at the park too. They were all like me, friendless because they had just moved here. Dan had been here his entire life, so he offered to be all of our friends. He also introduced us to his best friend. So we all became friends. We were an odd bunch too. There was me, from Tokyo, and this girl from Australia. She could only speak English when we met her. And there were these twins from Russia, and they could speak a little Japanese. And then there was this 3 year old boy from Tokyo too. But he was rich. And Dan's friend was studying ninjutsu. You know. Typical friend group." Runo explained in a nonchalant tone.

"Wait. So you had 3 foreigners and one rich kid? And a ninja?" Asuka asked, to which Runo responded with a nod. "Incredible."

"Yeah yeah. So anyway, we all became quick friends. And it was up to Dan, his friend, and I to teach the others Japanese. And then after we taught them that, we played pretend with each other. So like, one day a year after we met, or at least around that time, Dan just comes up to us all. And he's really weird, like, speaking nonsense. And when we finally get him to start making sense, he goes, "Guys! I had a dream last night that I was the king of fire! And there were these two red dragons next to me with gold horns, but one of them didn't really look like a dragon, it looked more like a human dragon because it was standing on two legs like a human and the other was really big! And he told me that I was the king of the Kingdom of Fire and that I need to tell you guys so we can ascend to our thrones!"" Runo mimicked a young boy's voice. "So we're like, "You're kidding right?" and he said no. And we were young and impressionable. So we get it into our heads that we're actually the royal members of this made up world.

"So we come up with this world and every little detail about it, and then Dan's like, "I can summon my dragons!" and says this really messed up chant that was him saying a bunch of gibberish. And one of the Russian twins, the little shit, he goes, "If he can summon one, I can too!" and so he goes home with his sister and they come up with this chant to summon a three headed hydra. So it gets into the rest of our heads that if they can do it, so can we.

"So I go home and make up this tiger as my beast or whatever. It was fun. And then we all come back and realize that it's no fun if we're all royalty and we just have these beasts who do nothing but protect us from nothing. So for fun, we decided to start wars with each other. Make alliances. Anything a real kingdom would do. And the wars and battles, they were really fun. We would attack each other with sticks and weapons we made from home and whatnot. My weapon was the bow and arrow, so that was my motivation to do archery and kyūdō. It just seemed so damn real that I had to go learn.

"Eventually after a year or two of wars and battles, we got bored of fighting each other. We were a world, and it was getting tiring. So we come up with these aliens that invade us as a way to satisfy ourselves. Aliens invaded our world and we had to stop them. There was a point in time where it felt so real that we didn't know what the hell to do. We were so stressed out by it, it had passed the point of fun.

"And then one of the Russian twins. During a meeting about what to do with the aliens (we had those a lot), he comes out and says, "This is childish. Pretending? Aliens aren't real. Beasts aren't real. This entire world isn't real. You need to grow up." And he and his sister left. Dan got really pissed off, saying things like we were traitors and we were abandoning the world made from our friendships. He didn't understand that it was stressful for everyone, the pretend world we came up with. So I took the side of the Russians and stopped playing. And his friend got really pissed off with him too, so he stopped playing too. And the Australian girl had a crush on the Russian boy, so she stopped playing too. We were all broken apart.

"The only one who stayed with Dan was the rich boy, but he began to have responsibilities, and stopped playing. Dan was all alone, so eventually he gave up and stopped playing too. I think deep inside all of us, we all silently judge each other for giving up on the world we created together. Which is why when we meet, it's on less than friendly terms. We used to be good friends. But now..." Runo trailed off. Asuka stared at her.

"That totally isn't worth not talking to him! I mean, things change Runo. People grow up. Maybe now that he can tell fiction from reality, it's okay for you to talk to him!" Asuka told her. "I understand that you guys blame each other, but..."

"I know." Runo muttered. "We all realized that at one point, Asuka. We just chose not to come back. There's something stopping us, almost like..." Runo's eyes began to dilate as she tilted her head upwards, as if looking at the sky. "Like something is-" Runo suddenly began to scream as she clutched her head.

"Runo!" Asuka called, standing up and running over to her. Runo wouldn't stop screaming, and began to bang her head on the table. "I have to call for help!" By that point people were already gathering around.

Julie met up with her friends at the mall. It was a Saturday, one with no school, so she was happy with just relaxing and having fun. It's not like she could do it any other day of the week, with her mother and father comparing her to her sister Daisy all the time. Yeah, she got into Tokyo University. So what?

The three girls looked through racks at racks of clothes, trying them on. "How do you think I look?" Asked Ami as she showed Julie and their other friend, Minna, herself wearing an outfit.

"I think you look nice." Julie replied with a smile. It was true. Ami was such a pretty girl, she would look nice in anything in Julie's opinion.

"You look a bit fat." Minna replied. "That's probably why you can't get a boyfriend."

"Ara, you're so mean!" Complained Ami as she went back into the changing room. "Hey, hey. Minna, did Julie tell you she knew a hunk?"

"Eh?" Both Minna and Julie said at the same time.

"I don't know any hunks!" Julie quickly said, waving her hands in front of her. "I don't know where you got that idea!"

"Please, Julie. I saw him yesterday. Remember? You blushed like a school girl around her crush when you saw him." Ami said as she came out of the dressing room in a different set of clothes. "How does this look on me?"

"Decent." Minna replied. She then turned to Julie. "Oi, oi. What's this hunk all about? Is he your boyfriend?"

"No! You've got it all wrong! He's just a childhood friend. Yesterday was my first time seeing him in years." Julie explained.

"Well maybe you should introduce me to your childhood friend." Remarked Ami.

"You tried that. It only succeeded in making him feel awkward." Julie muttered, before sighing. "Ah man, I really wanted to talk to him."

"So you did have a crush." Minna said as if it were a fact. Julie blushed.

"Well, not really. I mean, at first when I met him. But I was only about 5 then. I mean, I got over it pretty quickly. It was easy to see at that age who he was thinking of." Julie told her friends. "We got into a big disagreement about 8 years ago. I'm actually surprised we recognized each other."

"Are you now?" Ami said, coming out of the dressing room in her regular clothes. She had changed while Julie was explaining. "Ah. Now I have to pick which I want to buy." Minna glared at Ami.

"Ami you baka. You see what you've done. You screwed up Julie's childhood love!" Minna scolded. Ami winced.

"Oi, oi. It's because of me that they even met up again!"

"That is true. She threw herself onto him." Julie informed. "But don't call him my childhood love. Dan was an innocent crush. He taught me Japanese, you know? It wouldn't be hard for a strange foreign girl to fall for the person who helped her out." She smiled.

"So...do I scold or praise Ami?" Minna wondered, making Ami exclaim "Hey!"

"You can do both." Julie remarked nonchalantly. "Hey. Guys, I'm hungry. Let's stop by the food court." Ami and Minna agreed. They all went to the food court within the mall, and bought some donuts and tea. They sat at a table.

"So tell us more about your first love-erm, I mean childhood friend."

"He wasn't my first love okay. My first love came before him." Julie said. "He was just a good friend."

"Well what was his name?" Julie could see Ami mentally taking note of how she said her first love came before him, readying it for the next conversation.

"Kuso Danma." She informed. "He's our age. I don't know his email nor his school." Ami and Minna both pouted.

"Aw."

"Gomen." Julie said, not feeling very sorry at all, as she drank some of her green tea.

"So what about your first love?"

"Some kid in Australia. I don't remember him very well." Julie yawned, as if remembering was making her tired. "I just know he was a family friend."

"Ah." Minna said. "I would've thought it was that blond kid you ogle at your office all the time." Julie blushed.

"N-no way! I don't even know him!" She exclaimed. "That kid just shows up randomly, and well...I like to admire beauty!"

"Mhmm...from the way he looks, I would've thought he was a model." Ami commented.

"Ami!" Julie playfully punched her friend.

"You should date him, you'd be cute."

"No way, I-"

Julie's eyes widened as she heard a scream pierce the air. She quickly turned to where the sound came from, and noticed a crowd gathering around a table. "I wonder what happened." Minna commented, taking a bite out of her donut. Ami shrugged.

"Doesn't concern us." Julie however was concerned.

"I'm gonna go check it out…" She stood up and began to go over to see if she could help at all, although she doubted it. It was a feeling, though, that drove her to mindlessly walk over to the crowd.

She could see a girl with brown hair freaking out, asking people to call for help. Julie moved around to get a look at whoever it was who screamed, but she couldn't see well. All she could see was the erratic movement of a head going back and forth.

Another scream.

Julie pushed through the crowd, a sudden emotion overcoming her. All she could think was, 'I have to help. I have to help.' over and over before she saw who it was who screamed.

She didn't expect it would be her. Julie could see even a patch of her hair and instantly tell it was Misaki Runo. Their bond went that far. Way too far.

She was banging her head harder and harder onto the table. Julie's eyes widened as she found that she recognized this behavior.

"Vestroia." She whispered. In an instant, Julie had pushed everyone away. "Move!" She exclaimed. She pushed the brunette out of the way, and knelt down next to Runo, and held her head steady, preventing her from starting up again like Julie knew she would. She held Runo's hands away from her head.

"Runo..." She took a breath. "What are you seeing?"