Chapter Four
"Griffon? NO!" Danni cried.
The bakugan exploded into an even louder clamor of angry wails and screeches then before.
"Yes! The perfect way to end a battle!" Niga roared. "Rise, my beautiful Doom Dimension!"
"What is happening?" Danni cried. "Griffon-no!"
"Who cares about your Griffon?" Ruon asked. "My Tuskor-and my Juggernoid!"
"And not a single bakugan was spared that day," Masquerade's evil chuckle crescendoed into peals of poison pointed laughter. "Good bye, Danni Kuso!"
A bright flash of light exploded in the middle of the field, blinding everyone. Danni cried out in pain, reaching for her Griffon. But it was already gone.
Danni and Ruon hit the ground, rolling several feet before limply stopping. Danni's face was towards the ground. Dust went up her nose and into her mouth as she panted heavily. She squeezed her eyes shut. She could almost feel moisture there. Will Griffon be okay? Out of the corner of her eye, she saw two Pyrus bakugan balls. Warius and Dragini? Danni wondered hopefully.
"What the buck was that?" Ruon gasped from several feet away. Danni still didn't get up.
"Danni? Danni!" Ruon glared at the limp body across from him. Get up, he silently ordered her. Danni Kuso, he thought in the voice of the chilling and super creepy Masquerade. Don't care about me, hm? he thought, feeling anger boil inside of him. Not a good bye or farewell to me, when it was my bakugan you abused and sent to death?
"W-" Danni breathed, her body throbbing in pain.
"Are you okay? Can you answer me already?"
"Sorry, Mr. Demandy-pants!" she cried, turning over abruptly. That upset a torn muscle, and she flinched in pain.
"S-sorry," Ruon's voice came as a whisper.
"Whatever," Danni snapped back.
"Danni, do you know what just happened?" Dragini asked sharply, jumping up and down on Danni's head mercilessly.
"Uh-ow-" Danni grunted.
"You sent three bakugan to the Doom Dimension!"
"What's the Doom Dimension?"
"What does it sound like to you, genius?" Ruon snapped scornfully, glaring. "Bakugan go there to their dooms!"
"Bakugan can never get out of the Doom Dimension," Dragini said gravely, "and now you have just sent three bakugan there in one battle!"
"That's awful. I'm sorry! I didn't know!" Danni cried.
"No surprise there," Ruon muttered darkly.
Danni rounded on him. "If you are so smart, how did you know about it?"
"I've battled, apparently more than you have lately." Ruon sniffed, unfazed.
"Oh, I've battled plenty, too," Danni roared. "Maybe it's because I haven't been losing?"
Ruon growled. "You haven't been losing, and suddenly I have been? Let's not jump to conclusions."
"There is nothing to jump to," Danni retorted. "Have you seen your ranking? It's dropping down, down, down," Danni said, pointing to the floor.
"Why have you checked on my ranking," Ruon scowled. "Don't you have yourself to worry about?"
"I check up on all of my friends!" Danni said. "Because I'm a good friend!"
"You just sent two of my bakugan to the Doom Dimension," Ruon said. "That's what you call a good friend?"
Danni's eyes watered. Ruon turned away and began to run. "Thanks for nothing! I hope you lose your Bakugan too! Then you'll see how it feels."
Danni wailed. She scooped up Dragini and ran from the place. She battled a few witches ferociously. She even gained a new bakugan: Pyrus Stinglash. None of it made her feel better.
"Danni, stop this," Dragini said. She had watched with a pained heart as Danni threw out bakugan after bakugan, carefully avoiding putting Dragini in battle, and ensuring that her battling bakugan had the highest g power posisble. Danni's ranking would certainly jump (perhaps-it could be that all the people she had been battling this whole time had been unranked, and her number would stay the same) but Dragini presumed that her actions were not only about ranking at this point.
"Stop what?" Danni gasped, falling down on the cobblestone path. Dragini looked around. They were in a pretty park (complete with a fountain, flower garden, benches, small pond, etc.). Children laughed and played during the last few minutes of sunlight. A few couples roamed around, hand in hand. Dragini thought of Wavern. Is he okay? What happened when Masquerade or Niga forced that portal to open? She turned her attention back to her human, feeling helplessly self-centered because of her thoughts.
"Let's go home and rest," Dragini suggested. "You can call a Brawler meeting tomorrow and talk about what happened."
"I don't want to talk about what happened! Why do they need to know? This is Ruon and my problem!" Danni grunted.
"This is a bakugan problem," Dragini said. "You are not the only brawler who lost a bakugan to the Doom Dimension. I still can't believe that Masquerade can control it."
"Did you know Niga and Wavern from before?" Danni suddenly asked.
"Before what?"
"Me."
"Yeah, I knew them before you. You are so young. We are so…old." Dragini chuckled.
"You can't that old."
"You have no idea."
"You don't act old," Danni grinned at her bakugan despite her mood. She sighed again, remembering. "Do you like Wavern?"
Dragini stammered at the question. "Yeah," Dragini finally said. "I used to, anyway."
"Uh?" Danni asked, prompting the story.
"Nothing," Dragini muttered.
"Awwwww, tell me!" Danni squealed.
"Keep it down," Dragini hissed, glancing around the slowly emptying park. "Can we go home?"
"So you can tell me in private?"
"No, so you can outline your speech about the Doom Dimension."
"Speech! No way, no how, I hate speeches!"
"You sure like to talk, though."
Dragini grinned on the inside as Danni got up and walked home, all the while arguing lovingly with her guardian bakugan. Danni, I am glad that you are okay; but she couldn't allow herself to think for now.
Ruon watched Danni walk away, the unmistakable grin on her face for Dragini.
"You are such a wimp," came a deep, mature voice from almost behind him. He spazzed out in fright.
"What was that for, Tigrerra?"
"You are a wimp."
Ruon turned his gaze towards Danni's back. He came to the park for a purpose. And he failed. Miserably. Here, surrounded by people he didn't know or care about, was where he could be truly free, and watch Danni for who she really was.
"I think Danni was right with what she said back there," Tigrerra said.
"What, that we definitely shouldn't have a brawler meeting tomorrow?" Ruon said, inwardly hopeful.
"No-I agree with Dragini on that-she's so wise."
"You do have a crush on her."
"No-you-ah. I meant that when Danni said that you will never have a girlfriend."
Ruon glared at the blue eyed, yellow striped ball. "Yeah, because that is my life's only dream."
"It makes life complete."
"I see why you think Dragini is so wise," Ruon retorted, "because you aren't at all."
By now, Danni was far out of sight. Ruon was going make her apologize to him (and secretly was going to apologize to her as well-if he felt like it) but he got neither that evening. Right before that, he watched Danni pick on a teen to battle. From the looks of their behavior afterwards-the other teen's, at least-Danni had won. Only looking at Danni, though, no one would have guessed that outcome.
"Oi, Ruon?"
Ruon spazzed out again, frantically searching for the owner of the high pitched, girly voice.
"Maru? What are you doing here?"
The blonde girl chuckled. "I was going to ask the same of you."
Ruon barely noticed Tigrerra slip back inside his bakugan pocket. "What does bring you here?"
"Shopping," Maru said, holding up two-no, surprisingly many-grocery bags.
"Usually do the shopping for your parents?" Ruon questioned.
Maru simply laughed. Her sparkling light blue eyes gazing at Ruon. "I didn't know that you usually hang around the park."
"I don't," Ruon said, ignoring the fact that Maru completely ignored his question. "And today I'm creeping."
Maru laughed again, and Ruon thought, for the win! Maru was always in her bubbly mood, and ready to laugh. Despite some people saying that she went over the line with laughing, Ruon felt pride when he did. Anyone would, frankly.
"I've got to go," Maru said, after a few moments of (awkward?) silence.
Ruon leapt up. "Let me help you?"
"With what?" Maru asked, looking genuinely unsure. "I can find my own way home."
"With the bags, silly." Ruon reached for some of the plastic bags.
"No, bye," Maru said, taking off at a brisk canter.
"Come back, here!" Ruon grinned, racing after her. He chased her for a while, when suddenly Maru came crashing down.
"Maru!" Ruon exclaimed.
"Ow…"
"Genius," Ruon said sarcastically, "what did you do?"
"Tripped," mumbled Maru. The grocery loot had rolled all across the grassy ground. Ruon scrambled with Maru to collect them all. Ruon gave her a bag, and carried the rest himself. He set off, without looking back at first.
"Ruon?"
The blue haired boy arched an eyebrow at the short girl. "Eh?"
"Thanks!"
Ruon grinned as he allowed Maru to catch up to him. It was dark by the time Ruon and Maru walked all the way to her mansion.
"I keep telling my parents to get me a bike basket," Maru said. "I suppose they've just forgotten to tell someone to get one."
"Or I could just help you," Ruon laughed.
Maru looked up at Ruon, gratitude in her eyes. "Thanks," she said, "but you would have gotten bored soon. Once a favor, more than twice, a habit."
Ruon looked at Maru, cocking his head. "Never heard that one before."
"I made it up."
The cook, most likely, opened the kitchen door for Maru, and gathered the bags from her.
"You went? It's night time! That was dangerous!" the nice looking old lady exclaimed.
"I was with her," Ruon said, surprised by his boldness. He hadn't really talked to Maru's family's "staff" ever. Wasn't a need to, he supposed. The cook looked at him, scrutinizing, as if decided whether he was enough protection for her young mistress.
"I told James I would go for him." Maru said, glancing up at Ruon.
"That old idiot," the cook muttered. "Always trying to get out of work."
"That's not true, he's nice!"
"Nice, lazy, fat-"
"Go inside, Gen, please," Maru begged. The cook obliged.
"Well, I'll go," Ruon said softly to Maru. She looked up at him.
"Thanks," she said, throwing her arms around his waist. He patted her in response.
"Bye!" he said, turning away. The light from Maru's house receded, as Maru closed the door behind her.
Another late night arrival at my house, Ruon thought, the dark night changing his mood again. Maru's bubbly personality seemed to light up the night, but when she was gone, everything was just as dark and gloomy.
Ruon felt Tigrerra stirring in his pocket. He felt around for him, and brought him out.
"You're slayin' 'em, big guy!"
Ruon slammed Tigrerra back in his pocket, his mouth in a thin line to keep from grinning.