Disclaimer: I don't own Bakugan. If I did, Runo and Masquerade would have DEFINITELY gotten together. ^.^ It's fun to write!
"So…" Runo looked around, wishing that the awkward silence would break, and at the same time wishing it would never end.
Masquerade looked up from yet another book he had taken off of her shelf. "Hmm?"
"…Uh…"
Masquerade continued to stare at her patiently.
"I'm going to go online," she mumbled, as she walked to the computer and sat down. "If you still want to stay, you better hide."
The blonde boy groaned. "Hide where?"
"I don't know! Under the bed?"
He made a face, but stood up and walked to her bed. Instead of going under, he sat down at the side facing away from the screen.
"I can still see your hair!"
The tips of blonde vanished as Masquerade sank lower towards the ground. Sighing, Runo turned to her computer. After a few minutes of waiting for it to boot up, she was signed in.
"Oh, hey Runo." Runo felt her heart thump loudly as Dan grinned at her. "About time you decided to come on. We thought you were on a secret date."
Runo chuckled nervously, wishing that what he had said wasn't so close to the truth.
"Why are you still in your nightgown, Runo?" Julie asked, staring at her in confusion. "It's like, noon already."
"Really?" Runo asked, honestly surprised. She hadn't realized that much time had passed. "I…uh…" How could she tell them that she was too nervous too change into her regular clothes, because their mortal enemy was in the same room and refused to leave for whatever mysterious and possibly deranged/creepy reason?
"Whatever," Dan said, waving it off. "Where's Alice?"
"She's working in the restaurant. My parents told me to take a break."
Dan nodded. Runo's eyes flickered over the screen. It seemed that everyone, minus Alice, was there. (A/N: Remember, due to excessive laziness, ALICE IS NOT MASQUERADE IN THIS!!!!!!!!!!! REMEMBER!!!!!!!! Mostly for me, because of my brilliant forgetfulness.)
"You came just in time, Runo," Marucho said, adjusting his glasses. "I was just about to tell everyone something about Masquerade that I've noticed for the last few days."
Runo stiffened; did they find out? "Yeah?" she said, trying to seem casual. "What is it?"
Marucho coughed, signalling he was about to deliver some sort of speech. "Well, I have been doing my best to keep track of Masquerade's actions of late, through a great many web casts of people saying that he had stolen his Bakugan, and a record of his battles on the official site."
Runo wanted to scream at him to stop, that he might tip off the same boy he was talking about, that he was right behind her bed. But she stayed silent as the Aquos player continued.
"I have been trying to find a pattern in his battles, but there are none. As far as I can tell, he fights at anytime all day, practically 24/7, except at night, of course."
"Trying to make Hydranoid stronger," Shun murmured. They all shuddered; Runo wondered what Masquerade was thinking of all of this.
"But that seems to have changed in the last two days."
Her heart pumped harder. Oh crap, oh crap, oh crap, oh crap…
"What do you mean?" Julie asked.
"Well, for the last two days, his battles changed from all day, to most of the day. He stopped battling sometime shortly before 3:25, and then reappears for more battling after 5:30 on the first day, and 6:15 the second day. And today, he hasn't been seen at all, or participated in a single battle."
"But it's only been these last few days," Runo protested a bit too forcibly. Everyone looked surprised. "What if it's just nothing?"
"But what if it's something?" Shun rebutted softly. "There's too much at stake to just ignore this."
"He's right," Dan said grudgingly. "We have to keep it in mind."
"I'll keep watching Masquerade's battles," Marucho promised. "Right now I have to go."
"See ya, Marucho," Dan said as the younger boy signed off. "Okay, what do we do now?"
"There's nothing we can do right now until we know more," Shun said. "We'll just have to wait."
Dan growled in frustation, but it was obvious that he agreed with him.
"I think I hear my parents calling me," Runo lied, as the nervousness knotting her stomach mounted. She didn't want to let anything slip. "I'll see you guys later."
Without waiting for their farewells, Runo logged off, and shut down her computer for good measure. Behind her, Masquerade was getting up, chuckling softly.
"Getting worked up because I've been missing a few hours of game time. Your friends are rather observant, aren't they?"
"What's so funny?" she snapped. "They're getting suspicious!"
"Maybe I should come over less often," Masquerade said, his mouth turning into a grim slash. Then he grinned again; it frustated Runo to see how little he considered this to be important.
She almost told him that maybe he should be here less, but stopped herself as she remembered his earlier comment. The less time he spent here, the more time he had to send Bakugan to the Doom Dimension, which wouldn't help the larger problem at all.
But she couldn't ignore the fact that this meant that the Brawler's would be wondering why he wasn't brawling as much, and risk being found out. Not to mention that the more time she and Masquerade spent together (the thought almost made her gag), then the less time she herself would be able to spend brawling and with her friends. And that would be sure to raise their suspicions.
Frustated, she kicked her desk. The frame shuddered violently, and Runo hoped it wouldn't fall apart.
"What's the matter?"
She turned to glare at him. "You! Don't you understand the mess you've gotten me into?!"
"It was your decision to allow me to be your tutor."
She gnashed her teeth together. All this for a good math mark and information she was never going to get. She regretted the decision now, for sure.
Suddenly, the phone rang.
"You have a phone in your room?" Masquerde asked as she picked it up.
"Yes, I do," she snapped. "Now shut up."
He shrugged and went back to the book.
"Hello?"
"Hey Runo!"
Dan. Just like it always did, her heart began to pump wildly.
"Hey, Dan," she said, keeping her voice light and casual. "What is it?"
"There's something I forgot to ask you. Would you like to go to the movies tonight?"
She nearly forgot how to breathe; did Dan just ask her out? Her imagination went crazy, already envisioning the two of them snuggled together at the theater as the romance movie in front of them reached it's climax …
"A movie?" she whispered, hardly able to get those two simple words out. "Wha-what movie?"
"Me and the other guys were thinking that new horror that just came out," Dan said enthusiastically as Runo's heart plummeted. The other guys… obviously this was with the other Brawlers.
"Sure," Runo said dully. "What time?"
"It starts around sixish. Be there by then?"
"Sure."
"Kay. See ya tonight!" The phone went dead.
"Date with Dan tonight?" Masquerade said coolly, flipping a page.
"No," she scowled, angered that he had been listening to the conversation. "It's all of us Brawlers, for your information."
"Oh." Did Masquerade just relax, just the tiniest bit, or was it a trick of the light?
She sat back sullenly on the chair and glared at the wild haired boy, as though it was his fault that her hopes were just crushed. He ignored her, deeply involved in the book.
The silence finally got to her. "What's with the mask?" She had to ask something, it may as well have an interesting answer.
He looked up. "You just noticed now that I was wearing a mask, did you?"
She growled. "You know what I'm asking."
"And why should I answer you? It is my personal business."
"I'm just curious!"
He sighed. "I don't see why I should answer this. It is my business. Just as are any other questions you might want to ask of me."
"Why would I want to ask anything else about you?! What would I ask you?"
"You must have a million questions," Masquerade said, setting down the book and staring at her intently. "You know, the mask thing, why I work for Naga, what's in it for me, why am I such a creep …"
Okay, maybe he was right about the million questions thing.
He kept going. "Why would I see both Earth and Vestroia destroyed, how I could be so cruel, where I live, my favorite color, favorite food, favorite animal, where I got my awesome coat …"
"Okay, I get it!" She slumped back into the chair, then sat back up. "You know, you forgot a few questions …"
"Like what?"
"Like why exactly you want to tutor me. And why you don't seem to want to leave."
"Again, my personal business."
"It's also my business. It is my house and my homework. I think I deserve to know." She crossed her arms and glared at him, waiting for an answer.
"You have a point there," he said thoughtfully. "Maybe I'll answer those questions. Under one condition."
"Condition?" she asked suspiciously. "What condition?"
"I don't know. I'll think of something."
"Why should I have to fulfill some condition?" she pressed.
"Well, I don't want to actually answer those questions. So I need a good condition that you would never go for."
She once again resisted the urge to throw something at him.
A/N: Hee hee, six chapters! I'm proud of myself! And more DanRuno for those fans, though it's mostly onesided. Whatever. Still not going to happen here.
For those questions that Masquerade thought up, I just kind of wrote down questions I would ask him…Plus I was slightly hyper and giggly and random. I TOTALLY want to know his favorite color!!!!! And where he lives!!!!!!! Not so that I can stalk him or anything…Of course not…I can't believe you would think me capable of such a thing…Heh…