Chapter 2
Shirou hates school, which is one of his least favorite things to do. The classes were long, the lessons were boring, and worst of all, some rubbed their success in people's faces. One of his grievances about moving back to Japan was the importance of education over other factors. One thing he liked about the Japanese education system was mandatory physical education. Screw sitting down in an extended classroom, the white-haired youth absolutely loved spreading his legs and having a good run, but today was not one of those days.
The class had barely started when one of the soccer team's stars athletes opened his mouth. "You all might as well give up; I hear coach wants us to practice soccer today for the upcoming championship," he spoke. Prideful, arrogant, and stubborn are just a few words to describe Agawa Ichiko. Being a star athlete was great, especially as one of the top junior highs in the nation. High schools that had a soccer team would love to give him a scholarship to attend their school, but it was the fact he held it over everybody's head. That is what Shirou did not like.
"So, what. If it is practice, then we should give you the best challenge we can give you." Shirou responded with his hands tucked into the pockets of his sweatpants.
The brunette scoffed, "as if you of all people would give me a challenge." He spoke his dark-colored irises challenging Shirou to say.
Shirou took the bait. "Sounds like you are too scared to face mediocre me." He says with a taunting smirk.
Ichiko growled under his breath. "Fine if you want to lose so badly. Then I will be happy to oblige."
Before Shirou could speak, the whistle blew, and they had to split up. As he turned to face his team. He was greeted by annoying looks. "What?" He asked them
"Thanks, Shirou," one of them said sarcastically.
"Now he's going to clobber us." Another person spoke.
Shirou blinked, not knowing what the big deal was. As soon as the match began, he ate those words; Ichiko was fast. Despite having a small stature, the star athlete was incredible. The other team took heed in passing it to him while he zipped through the opposing players.
"Score!" The coach would yell out, and the game had just started.
This was going to be a long P.E. session.
-o-
Shirou was right; it had been a long P.E. class. Ichiko was dancing around them like in a sports anime, scoring left and right and never making room for his opponents to produce a score. Was he a prodigy? Nevertheless, he had to stop him from making the pass, so Shirou did the one thing he could do. He slid right into the ball.
It was worth it, but not without the pain; Ichiko had fallen on top of him, the male's body practically squashing him. 'Damn, he might be small, but he sure is heavy.' Shirou thought to himself. His teammates could take the ball, back managing to score a single point against the other team.
"Damn you," Ichiko shouted, standing to his feet, fuming. "How dare you-" he began, only to be interrupted by Shirou.
"How dare I? You were the one boasting about being better than us? How we should just give up. Seems even we can prove you wrong." Shirou spoke, standing to his feet.
Ichiko looked at Shirou with rage-field eyes, clenching his hands so hard his knuckles turned white. "You should've. Nobody is better than me at school, not at soccer, not at anything. Least of all, you are not better than me."
Shirou hummed the black-haired male smirking internally. "Okay, then do you brawl?" he asked the boy
"Do I brawl? What kind of question is that everybody brawls?" the prodigy questioned
"Surely you can beat me in a brawl unless you're scared?" Shirou taunted, trying to get under his skin
"I am not scared I can beat you any day. At the park after school. Do not be late," Ichiko responded, the whistle blowing for P.E. to end and for them to shower. Shirou was looking forward to this afternoon
-o-
After school, Shirou was prompt at picking up his little sister, not stopping at his home before heading to the park. "Shirou, shouldn't we be heading home?" Sora asked, looking up at her brother.
Shirou was focused entirely on the path ahead, not registering his sister's question at first. "Oh right, well. I challenged someone to a brawl." He explained, laughing nervously at the end.
The girl's eyes widened. "Really?" she asked, just as interested in brawling as her older brother.
"Uh, yeah." He quickly replied. His eyes focused on the battle ahead.
"What Bakugan will be using?" She asked him.
Shirou opened his mouth to speak but stopped when he realized he didn't know. He usually would research an opponent before deciding which Bakugan to use. "Dunno." He shrugged.
"You don't know?" How are you supposed to win if you don't know?" Sora asked worriedly
"I'll… Figure something out." He responded
Arriving at the park, the white-haired male looked around for his opponent. Meanwhile, Sora was mesmerized by the number of kids at the park.
"Hey, what's up?" a familiar voice asked.
Shirou turned his head to see a familiar brown-haired male park his bike, smiling as their eyes met. "I didn't know you also hung out at the park." The male responded.
"Oh, it's you," Sora spoke, still upset about yesterday.
The brown-haired male narrowed his eyes. "Geez, give me a break."
Shirou paid no heed to the two bickering back and forth, the white-haired male looking diligently for his opponent. "There you are." He says to no one approaching the brown-haired male.
"So, you didn't run scared," Ichiko said, uncrossing his arms. His field card is ready to go.
"Wouldn't dream of it." The white-haired male replies readying his field card.
Red eyes met mahogany brown, both boys uttering the challenge words. "Filed open!" Both boys spoke, flipping the cards over as the world around them froze, transporting the two of them to an empty space, a white cloud supporting their feet as 6 galaxy-like swirls rotated slowly around them.
"Gate card set!" Both boys shouted, throwing a card down from opposite ends, one enlarging in purple light and the other orange light.
'Shit, he's a Subterra brawler.' Shirou thought to himself. "Gate card, set!" he called out, throwing down a second card to the right of his opponents, the card expanding in purple light. He takes a black marble out of his grey-colored clip. "Bakugan brawl!" He shouts, throwing his Bakugan towards one of the cards. The marble bounces a few times before stopping on his recently placed card. The area around the card glowed as a dinosaur-like monstrosity appeared, roaring loudly. "Darkus Saurus, stand!" Shirou calls out.
His opponent looks at the field, the prodigy smiling in delight as he looks at what seems like a wristwatch. "280 gs. That is a low g power." Ichiko calls out, taking a Bakugan from his clip. "Bakugan brawl!" he called out, throwing it onto the field; the marble rolled forward onto the card the brown-haired male had placed. "Subterra Terrorclaw stand!" he called out, screeching loudly, a crab-like monster appearing where the marble had landed.
Shirou turned the device on his wrist, seeing a computerized version of the field displayed on the screen. "It's only 300 gs." He said to himself. He took out his second Bakugan, "Bakugan brawl!" He called out, rolling it towards the giant crab like Bakugan. "Robotallion stand!" he shouted, the gate card glowing again. From the marble, a metal-covered humanoid stood, its armor clanking as it stretched out its arms.
Ichiko smiles as if he had already won, "Gate card open, "He calls out, extending his hand outward towards the two Bakugan. The card glowed orange, a desert spawning from out of nowhere. Both boys looked at their watch-like devices, seeing that the crab's g-power had increased by 150 points.
"Shit," Shirou muttered, taking yet another card out of his card holder and throwing it out at his Robotallion. "Ability activates, Darkus Gravity!" The smile on Ichiko's face fell as Darkus Robotallion glowed brightly, purple energy oozing off it as it reached out for the Saurus, dragging him to the card. Shirou looked at his watch once more to see that the g power of his Saurus and Robotallion combined overtake Terrorclaw.
Robotallion rushed the crustacean, throwing a haymaker right between the eyes; the monster crab flew back before glowing in orange light and reverting to ball form, falling to Ichiko's feet. Robotallion and Saurus glowed as well, Shirou catching them as they fell towards him. The card and the desert vanished; Shirou looked at his watch to see that the HSP number on his eye had gone up by 100 points.
"Heh, lucky move," Ichigo said, picking up his fallen Bakugan and securing it to a clip-on on his left hip. He looked at the field in question; taking out another card, he threw it down where his first had been. "Gate card, S.E.!" he shouted, the card expanding in orange light. With three cards set and one used up, the male took his second Bakugan from the clip, throwing it towards his newly formed gate card. "Bakugan, Brawl!" he shouts, the Bakugan bouncing a bit before opening onto the new gate card. "Subterra Rattleroid stand!" he called out. Emerging in bright light, a giant snake like Bakugan stood the rattle at the end of its tail, sounding as it hissed at Shirou.
Shirou looked at his bakupod, seeing the snake stand at 320 gs. He hummed in thought, vaguely remembering what the snake Bakugan did. he takes out a Bakugan from his clip, "Bakugan Brawl!" he calls out the Bakugan rolling onto his first gate card across from where Rattleroid stood. "Juggernoid stand!" he called out the turtle Bakugan emerging from its shell with a mighty roar. Shirou looked at his bakupod to see his mighty beast roar at 330 gs.
Ichigo smiles, looking at the field. "Now that is a big turtle." he says, throwing down his third gate card directly next to Juggernoid's, "gate card, set!" he shouts, the card expanding in orange light. Taking his last Bakugan from his clip, he rolls it onto his newly set gate card. "Bakugan outs the Bakugan opening in orange light." Subterra mantris stand," he shouts, emerging in bright light; a giant mantris stood before Shirou, its insect-like eyes boring holes into him. Ichigo proudly reveals a card up his sleeve. "Ability Card activate, Marionette, Marionette!" he shouts. Orange-colored webs emerge from the insect Bakugan's scythe-like arms, lifting Juggernoid into the air and putting him back down onto the insect's gate card. "Gate card open!" the boy shouts, his gate card increasing the Bakugan's g power by 100 points the desert from before returning.
Shirou barely had time to react before his Juggernoid was sliced and diced, returning to ball form and falling to his feet. Ichigo laughed, catching his Bakugan. "Guess that one time was a fluke." he boasted.
Shirou refused to respond, picking up his Bakugan and placing it back into his clip. He looked at the field carefully. "Bakugan Brawl!" He shouts, taking Robotallion out of his hook and throwing him onto the field. The Bakugan bounced a bit, rolling onto his gate card. "Darkus Robotallion Stand!" he says, the sizeable robot-like Bakugan emerging, slamming its fists together as a sort of battle cry. "Ability Card Activate," he calls out, taking an ability out of his card holder. "Robotallion enforcement," he shouts, slamming the card into the ground, the robotallion glowing brightly as his g power rose from 310 to 360gs.
"Huh, nice try, Bakugan brawl," Ichigo shouts, rolling his mantris onto Robotallion's gate card, the insect-like Bakugan giving a nice bounce before opening in bright light. The mantis Bakuan hissed at the robot, barring its mandibles. "Ability card activate, Sling Blazer!" he called out," Mantris flying into the air and picking up robotallion. With a great toss, Robotallion was thrown to Rattleroid's gate card, the snake hissing at it. "Gate card open, character!" he calls out. A card with the image of a Rattleoid appears beneath the two fighting combatants, said card doubling the snake's g power. Rattleroid was quick to strike, sinking its fangs into the robot's body."
Shirou was quick to react by throwing his ability card onto the gate card. "Ability card, activate grand down!" he shouts, the card growing dark as Mantris' g power drops just below Robotallions. The robot Bakugan strangles the life out of the snake Bakugan crushing it between its hands. Both Bakugan returns to their respective owners, Shirou catching Robotallion and Ichigo forced to pick up rattleroid.
"This isn't over." Ichigo glared at the boy.
The white-haired boy shook his head. "No, we are not!" He places Robotallion back into his clip and takes out Saurus. "Bakugan Brawl!" he shouts, throwing his Bakugan onto the field, the Bakugan bouncing as it lands on his gate card. The Bakugan emerges in bright light, Saurus roaring into the heavens in a loud battle cry. "And it seems you're out of gate cards."
Mantris hissed at the Surus, looking to swing its mighty claws at the bipedal dinosaur. "We will see about that." Ichigo retorted
"Gate card open, Character!" he shouts, the Bakugan's g power doubling, Saurus ducking low to drive its solder into the giant bug.
"I think not, copycat!" Ichigo shouts, the ability replicating grand down, nullifying the character card. Saurus slowed its pace, growing increasingly tired as time passed, the mantris digging its razor-sharp claws once close enough. Like before, both Bakugan returned to ball form; however, this time, Shirou would be the one to pick up his Bakugan.
"Oh crap," Ichigo says, his eyes widening in realization. "You knew I'd do that."
The darkus brawler smirked. "Of course, when you used Marionette, I knew made a guess at what cards you had for your mantris." He says before setting his final gate card. "Gate card set!" he shouts, the card expanding in purple light. "But I also knew you liked dominating your opponents, coveting control of the battlefield. So I increased Robotallion's g power as faint, forcing you to use up an ability card," he says.
"I-I don't believe this." Ichigo sputtered. "I demand a rematch!" he shouts.
"Then forfeit," Shirou demanded.
"Never, Bakugan Brawl!" Ichigo shouts, rolling his Bakugan onto Shirou's final gate card. "Bakugan stand!" he calls Mantris, emerging hissing at the white-haired male before them.
"Bakugan brawl, Robotallion stand!" the red-eyed youth shouts, rolling his robotallion onto the gate card. Shirou didn't even need to activate his gate card; the Bakugan slammed its fist into the insect bakugan's face. Both boys were blinded by bright light as they returned to the park. Dan and Sora continue to argue.
"And That's why I want an apology." The shorter girl demanded.
"Listen, kid. I will not apologize," Dan Kuso barked back.
Shirou sighed, turning his head to see Ichigo walk off, he opened his mouth to speak, but the words died on the tip of his tongue. Shaking his head, he walks past both Sora and Dan Kuso. "Come on, Sora. We need to head home."
Wha- Fine," The girl huffed, leaving behind a sputtering Dan Kuso.
-o-
That evening, Shirou lay in his bed pondering about the brawl he had earlier that day; he figured the prideful boy would rechallenge him. Based on what he had seen, he thought about it and came up with a new way to deal with him.
Sighing, he closed his eyes, pushing the thoughts aside, "I will deal with it when the time comes," He said to no one in particular. Little did he know he'd be facing the boy sooner than he would like.