Hey guys! I know, I know, I am late…again -_-'' But I updated :) lol. Thx to all who reviewed and favorite and alerted the story, you guys ROCK! Please enjoy this chappie :) :)

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

The Charm Of One's Memory

Chapter four: Flashback

Alice sat on the wooden chair in front of the little desk placed in the guest room she stayed in at Runo's house. The curtains were closed, despite the fact that it was seven in the morning. Only the desk light allowed her to see what she was writing. The yellow, full of life rays were not something she wanted to see at the moment. She was in a much sadder mood than that, after all, nothing in her life was turning any better.

She was still in her PJ's as she woke up only an hour ago. She sighed as the pen in her hand stopped writing on the white paper she was looking at. She put her pen down and curled the paper up and threw it in the direction of the pin, only for the paper to land on a huge pile of other ball-like papers.

She didn't know writing a letter would be so hard.

It was a letter meant to be sent to her aunt and uncle, to let them know about how she was doing and all. But, for some reason, she wasn't able to write an appropriate one, one that talks about her happiness about her friends' well-being, her spending time with them and…about the black haired ninja who lost every trace of his memory…

She took out another paper from her drawer and stared at it. Her pen was in her right hand and its tip was touching the bottom of her chin in a thinking way. Then, she stopped placing those tiny little blue drops of ink on her chin and started writing her letter as some words came to her mind.

Dear aunt and uncle,

I am writing to let you know I'm doing fine. Japan didn't change much over those years and it was completely rebuilt, everything is the same way it used to be and for that I was so happy.

I've also learned that my dear friends were just fine. No one was hurt or anything to my relief. Runo invited me to stay in her house for the time being and I agreed. She and Dan are pretty much the same, still arguing on the silliest things, yet they loved each other dearly deep in their hearts. Julie is in Australia so I didn't see her just yet and Marucho is in India following his father's footsteps into the world of business. Him, too, I was not able to see.

Mr. and Mrs. Misaki were more than glad to see me and it felt great to see them and the rest of the neighbors. I must say this is the first time I'm truly happy in a long time…Grandfather was keeping me away from life here, I know he was scared, but with all my friends here, he shouldn't have been. I am not mad at him, though, and I still really miss him and Russia, but being here is keeping my mind busy.

Of course, all happy moments are sure to have a hidden problem inside. Auntie, do you remember Shun? The black haired boy I used to date? The one I loved a lot…Well, he survived, but I was in for a bigger shock. Shun…he had lost his memory and he sees me as a complete stranger…I feel so heart broken. I don't seem to be dealing with that fact very well, and he don't seem to be dealing with knowing me well either.

I just don't know what to do…especially that I ruined every chance I have with him after yesterday's visit to his house…

Her pen stopped writing at the mention of yesterday's visit to Shun. Alice had this saddened expression on her face and her eyes matched. A sigh escaped her lips as she remembered what had happened…

…

Alice had woken up really early that day. The sun was just about to rise from beyond the horizon and the sky had a violet cape on, mixed with faint rays of yellow and pink. It was a beautiful sight as Alice looked outside the window, but there was no time to enjoy it as she had to be on her way to the Kazami's residence.

She opened her closet and got a white skirt and a green top out. She quickly changed into them. The skirt reached just above her knees and was a bit loose around her fair legs. To match the top and the skirt, she got out a pair of white heels and put them on. She fixed her hair quite quickly and then raced down stairs.

Runo was sound asleep and Alice wasn't going to bother her. She, however, called Dan and waked him up from his dreams. The slightly annoyed Dan picked up and Alice told him she needed his car. She only heard a sigh, probably of annoyance, and then all she heard was beeps, signaling he had hung up the phone.

When she reached Dan's house, the brown haired boy was at the gate. He was in his PJ's and his hair was messier than it would usually be, if that was possible. He was yawning as he handed her his car keys and once Alice took it, he entered his house, no doubt to continue his beauty sleep.

After a long drive that took nearly two hours of continues driving, Alice reached her destination. She got out of the car and stared at the dojo that didn't conduct a single change throughout the years. She knew, for the secret passage she used to enter through was still there, a small hole in the walls that surrounded the mansion, but she was far too big for it now. She smiled at the remembrance of her childhood memories…

Alice stood in front of the door and pressed the button that was to her right and waited. What was Shun to say when he sees her again? That was the question going through her head.

After minutes Alice wasn't able to count, the doors were opened to reveal an old man in a ninja outfit. Alice recognized him as Shun's grandfather immediately. A smile appeared on her face as she looked at the old man.

"Hey Mr. Kazami, I'm so glad to see you again. Maybe you don't reme-" She was cut short by the deep voice of Shun's grandfather.

"Alice! But of course I remember you, child. Come on in," He said and moved aside to let Alice through. Alice smiled as they both walked towards the backyard.

"Where have you been all this time, my dear? I had to bear with Shun's other irritating friends," Alice couldn't help but laugh; she knew the old man and the rest of the gang never got along.

"We have a lot of caching up to do grandpa," She smiled as she said this then her smile dropped a bit and turned into a slight frown. "But, if you don't mind, I would like to see Shun first," she said and her head was focused on her feet as she walked in the garden. Shun's grandfather stopped walking, abruptly. Alice followed his actions.

"Oh, that kid, hmm. I suppose you have been told about his condition," He said. Alice nodded. "Well, we have tried everything and nothing seems to work. He is not aware of anything but basic knowledge and his name, nothing more. You must be very careful when dealing with him," he continued and Alice seemed a bit shocked.

"You must try to approach him gently for he has no memory of you nor has anyone talked about you in front of him as we all thought you…died," the old man said with a sigh at the end. Alice felt the situation was rather a burden, a very heavy one that was put on Mr. Kazami's shoulders.

"Don't worry, I will try. I really would want him to remember me and everything else," Alice said and forced a smile on her face, to reassure the old man and herself as well. "So, where's Shun?" She asked.

"He's in the training area in the backyard," Mr. Kazami answered.

"He still trains?" Alice asked, surprised.

"Yes, but…it's just not the same. It's not fun with him not complaining about it," He answered, saddened by the fact. Alice managed to keep her laughs within. "You better go and see him, good luck my child," he said and gave her a thumps up that made him look like a three year old. Alice smiled for she saw it was rude to laugh and started walking towards the backyard.

…

With every step she took, she breathed in to calm herself down. She couldn't shake the nervousness she felt.

After a few minutes, she reached the backyard. The backyard was huge, it had a lake to the left and a couple of sakura trees planted near it. A forest entrance was placed to the east and the rest of the yard was the training area.

The training area had many wooden posts and a few practice dummies with some hanged sand bags that had lots of stars and knifes slashed through them.

Her eyes scanned the place, looking for the ninja. After few seconds, she spotted him near the posts as he was hitting one with such force. She slowly approached him, walking slowly and gracefully. However, she stopped when Shun stopped hitting the post and turned to look at her. She froze in her place; she had forgotten he was able to know whenever she was there by his ninja senses.

He kept staring at her, as if wanting her to say something on why she is here. She quickly smiled and said in a sweet voice, "Hi, Shun," Shun nodded, greeting her in his own way.

She just stood there, staring at him. She was yet trapped in the thought that all this was a dream. Coming back here and find him along with her other friends safe as she longed prayed.

Her train of thoughts stopped when she heard a wooden post being hit by Shun. She shook her head as she returned to 'earth'. She watched as he kept on punching it.

Boy, how much she remembered those trainings Shun used to have with his grandfather. She would sit on a chair and watch the two as they train. She would laugh sometimes at the funny irritating face Shun would make without noticing. She would hand him a towel and watch with a dreamily look, rosy blush on her cheeks and a sigh how he wipes away the drops of sweat that descended during practice. She, unlike Shun, was a big fan of that time.

She came closer to him and watched how he broke the post into two after a couple of other punches. He placed his hands on his knees and was gasping for air. She put a hand on his left shoulder and he turned his head to look at her.

"That was impressive, but you could have easily broken it if you kicked it right in the middle with your right leg," She said while smiling.

Shun looked at her, surprised and somewhat annoyed, after all, who was this chick to come and give him instructions? Just to prove her wrong, he decided to follow he words. He kicked the post right in the middle with his right foot. But…Much to Shun's surprise…The post did break in half. Shun stared at it for some while, still not believing, then turned to look at Alice.

"What the…? How did you know?" Shun asked, still surprised.

"You told me…when we were kids," She said and looked at him, waiting for his reply. Shun gazed at her for some time, and then turned his head away.

"Do you mean…? We knew each other?" He asked still not looking at her. She only nodded.

"Uh…umm…" Shun stuttered not knowing what to say; only a few words were forming in his mouth. This was like the time he tried to believe that Dan and the others were his friends. "I'm sorry, but I don't-" he was cut off by Alice.

"Remember me, I know about the amnesia. It's fine, really, we can always get to know each other all over again," Alice said and plastered a smile on her face. Shun gazed at her, quite surprised by the fact that she wanted to befriend him. A small smirk appeared on his face.

"I guess, sure," He said and grabbed his towel and wiped his forehead.

Alice glanced at him and a blush appeared on her face. She was surprised that after all these years; she still couldn't help but blush around him as he does that. Shun though, looked at her weirdly then sighed as he put his towel on the remaining post.

"So, you are one of them, huh?" Shun said and sighed once more. Alice stopped blushing and looked at him with a puzzled look on his face.

"One of them? What do you mean?" Alice asked.

"Don't try to hide it; many of your other friends have tried. Why can't you just leave me alone? I am not interested in dating any girl and you are sure not my girlfriend that I have forgotten! Leave me alone!" He snapped at her and Alice flinched a bit. She backed away a step or two.

"But I was not going to say that. I was really your friend, along with Runo, Dan, Marucho and Julie," Alice said. Shun shook his head and looked at her.

"Your name is Alice, right?" He said. Alice nodded.

"Then how come none of them mentioned you before," Shun said, slightly annoyed by this 'fan girl'.

"They…they thought I had died in the tsunami and didn't want you to remember me, it's the truth I swear," She said. Shun looked at her and said nothing. Alice put a hand on his shoulder after taking a few steps towards him.

"I know it's a lot to take in…Everyone can tell you anything and you are to believe it since you have no memory of it, they expect you to," Alice said, sweetness in her voice. Shun looked at her as if she had grown two heads, that girl managed to surprise him many times and now she was the only one that understood how he felt.

"For example, I am sure grandpa told you that you liked training, but you hated it more than any other thing," Alice stated then broke into laughter. Shun had a small smile on his face.

"That would…explain a lot," Shun said and chuckled a bit, then stopped as he realized that he was laughing.

"It's nice to hear your laughter after all these years," Alice said with a warm smile and to her amazement a blush appeared on Shun's face. Of course he turned away from her in hope that she hadn't noticed it. She smiled again.

An awkward silence followed. But it was to live short.

"So…wanna go and sit by the lake?" Shun asked and Alice nodded and they both walked towards the lake.

…

Many hours had passed since the two were together. Alice told him about her life in Russia after the tsunami and how she decided to come back to Japan after her grandfather's death. She was glad that Shun somehow believed her.

They had lunch with Shun's grandfather and then returned to sit by the lake. Alice couldn't have been happier that she was seeing him and talking to him once again. It was still not the same, but she was happy. Shun was even remembering a few things, not many though and mainly not about her, nevertheless she was happy by that.

"So we actually fought over an action figure when we were children," Shun said and couldn't help but let a chuckle out. Alice was laughing as well.

"Ya, you and Dan always fight on things," Alice said among laughs.

"I still can't believe we are friends," Shun said, not laughing any more, but a small smile was still on his face.

"Well, you always find a way to get along in the end, no matter how bad you fought. You are always there for each other," Alice said and smiled again.

Shun looked at her and she was facing him. They were sitting beside each other so there wasn't a big space between them. Alice blushed again as she gazed into his eyes, those golden orbs she missed all these years, the ones she only saw in her dreams. She was hypnotized by his eyes and Shun too was staring at her eyes as well. They were not saying anything, they were just staring.

Alice, subconsciously, started leaning in slowly, closing the very few centimeters that sat her and Shun apart. Their lips met in a kiss and it was then that Alice realized what she was doing. She was going to pull away, but Shun kissed her back and she found herself more and more into the kiss. Then…Shun suddenly pulled away, as he too realized what he was doing.

Alice looked at him a hand on her lips. He was clutching to his head and he was in pain. Alice put a hand on his shoulder, concern and worry in her eyes. He slapped her hand away. He looked at her with dark and angry expressions. Alice's heart skipped a beat or too.

"I knew you couldn't be trusted! You are just like the other girls! Everything was just a lie, a big one!" Shun said.

"But it was not…I am sorry, I didn't mean to," Alice said, a few tears in her eyes.

"Just get out of my house and don't bother coming back," Shun said and walked towards his house with his hand still on his head.

Alice broke into tears and then…she left…

…

Another sigh escaped Alice's mouth as she wrote the last of her letter to her aunt.

She couldn't believe how much she had screwed up. Shun doesn't want to do anything with her any more, she lost him…maybe forever…She couldn't help but feel pessimistic about the situation. What was she to do now?

She was brought out of her thoughts by a knock on her door that followed by Runo entering her room. Runo looked at the closed curtains and sighed. She went to the window and opened the curtains, finally letting some sun light. Alice looked away from the window for she wasn't used to light as she stayed a couple of hours in the dark. After a few seconds, she turned to face Runo to see her staring in her face while puffing her cheeks.

"What are you doing in the dark like this Alice and why didn't you wake me up?" Runo asked putting her hands on her hips. Alice smiled sheepishly.

"I was writing a letter to my family in Russia," Alice said, "I lost track of time, sorry," she apologized. Runo sighed.

"It's fine. Hey, why are you sending them a letter? Just send them an e-mail or something, the letter won't be there till weeks," Runo said. Alice started folding the paper for it to fit in an envelope.

"Well, they live in a very traditional area in Germany and they are not used yet to technology. Unlike my grandfather, my uncle isn't a big fan of computers and so. He still likes to receive letters," Alice explained as she put a stamp on the envelope. "I better go and mail this," Alice said holding the envelope. Runo nodded.

"Sure, there's a mail box near the café. Wanna help me today?" Runo asked. Alice nodded with a smile.

"Ok, then. Let's go,"

…

…

The two girls finally reached the café and Alice quickly spotted a blue mail box and headed towards it and put the letter in the slit and smiled. She returned to where Runo stood waiting for her and the two started walking again. But after taking a few steps, they stopped.

It was Alice that stopped first and Runo did the same. When Runo followed Alice's gaze, she found Dan and Shun before them. The two were talking and didn't seem to notice the two girls were there. Alice had a few tears in her eyes as she saw Shun, but she quickly wiped them away.

Dan finally noticed Runo and waved at her like crazy, Runo sweat-dropped and waved back. Shun looked at Alice, blushed out of embarrassment and turned his head away, which puzzled Alice to say in the least.

YAY! Another chapter's over, I'm so happy about it :) What do you guys think of this chapter? Hope you liked it :) R&R please
Oh, and please visit the Bakugan Battle Club forum and comment on the bakugan couple names, my friends (FlowersOverBoys, XXfadedScares97XX, and InnocentDiamond) and I came up with, as well as enjoying the silly funny awesome topics there :) :)

Oh and I created a facebook group called 'Fanfiction Authors' If anyone wants to join to talk with other fanfiction authors from around the world on FB then he/she may send me a request and I'll add him/her :) :) My fb name is Ess Arar :) Hope you would join