NOTE: College is getting hectic with exams being so close, so it may be a while until I update any of my stories. I managed to get this one done, so it's alright!
Serena will do some brawling herself. While she won't be a main focus like Yuji and the Brawlers, that doesn't mean she won't get to do things.
I might do a sequel to this story, which would be Defenders of the Core. I still have to decide how I would want to handle it though.
I have not seen Battle Planet, so I have no idea what Aurelus is.
With those words out of the way.
Review and Enjoy!
Chapter 3: Bakugan Store! Leonidas' Desire!
"So cool!" Serena gushed, stars glistening in her eyes. The smaller girl was bouncing around her older brother as they walked through the streets. Her eyes fixated on the small white Bakugan in her brother's hand. "He's really a talking Bakugan!?"
Yuji nodded his head. "Yeah, his name is Leonidas." The teen looked down at his new partner. "Say hi to Serena, Leonidas."
The Bakugan didn't say a word. He stayed in his ball form within Yuji's palm.
Serena pouted, upset over being ignored. "Are you sure he can talk? Like, you didn't just find him on the ground?"
"H-He can talk! We solidified ourselves as partners a few minutes ago!" Yuji defended himself.
Serena looked a bit skeptical. "Sure…just like when you said that there was a monster in the bathroom when it was just dad using the bathroom!"
"He was making weird noises! How was I supposed to know it was him!?" The two siblings broke into a large argument, drawing the attention of the people passing by.
Leonidas sat still in his partner's grasp, honestly questioning whether or not this was a good idea.
"I don't believe you."
"I can't believe you."
"WHAT!?"
When everyone's eyes turned to them Dan sat back down in his seat with a small blush. The leader huffed angrily, turning his glare back onto Runo and Tigrerra. He and Drago were currently inside of Runo's family restaurant, conversing with the Haos brawler during her shift.
"C'mon, Runo! Is it really that hard to believe that I could teach someone?" Dan asked.
"Yes, because you couldn't teach a paper bag how to fold itself," Runo responded. She placed his plate of sandwiches down onto the table.
Drago uncurled himself. "I can vouch for Daniel. It was surprising to see him take the role of a mentor so well."
Tigrerra hummed from Runo's shoulder. "If Drago says it, then it must be true, Runo."
"I guess…"
"Why do you guys instantly believe him!?"
"Drago is just way more reliable than you, Dan," Runo smirked.
"EH!?" Dan immediately got into her face. "If anything, Tigrerra is way more reliable than you! Who makes a sandwich that tastes like cardboard, huh!?"
"EH!?" Runo slammed the tray down onto the table. Her hands grabbed Dan's color and brought the boy closer to her. "Say that again, bub!? I'll kick your butt right here!"
"You heard me!"
"That's it! I'm tossing you out of here!"
"H-hey, wait! RUNO!" Dan cried as Runo began dragging him out of the restaurant.
Tigrerra and Drago just watched the usual antics of the two. Ignoring their partners for a moment the two Bakugan faced each other. "Did you feel it too, Tigrerra?" Drago asked.
"You mean that weird power surge from earlier? I did, but I didn't tell Runo about it yet. I didn't want to distract her from her duties," Tigrerra answered.
Drago nodded his head. "Same with Daniel. He was too focused on the fact that he taught someone something."
"What should we do about it?" Tigrerra asked.
"Nothing at the moment. Once these two have calmed down we can talk about bringing everyone together to discuss this matter. That tournament is coming up soon, it'll be a perfect time to talk," Drago said.
"I agree-"
SHATTER!
The two looked over to see that both Dan and Runo were standing over two broken plates on the floor. Still continuing to argue and disrupting everyone in the restaurant.
"YOU'RE PAYING FOR THAT, DAN!"
"ME!? YOU'RE THE ONE WHO BROKE IT!"
Both Bakugan sighed in exasperation at their partners' immaturity.
"So…is this the place?" Serena asked.
"I don't know. Maybe the words Bakugan Store might be a clue?" Yuji replied sarcastically.
Serena rolled her eyes. "You don't have to get all snippy about it, bed wetter!"
"I'm not a bed wetter!"
Serena ignored him, skipping into the store with enthusiasm. The teenager grumbled as he followed his sister into the store. Looking down at his hand, Yuji addressed his partner. "Please don't pick up any of her habits, Leonidas."
The Bakugan slightly shifted in his palm, grunting before sitting still once more.
Yuji didn't know how to really interpret that response. "Guess, I'll take that as a yes…" Yuji shrugged. Walking through the entrance of the store, Yuji examined the interior.
The inside was decorated with statues of Bakugan and multiple display cases. Inside of the cases were small balls of different color, obviously the Bakugan that were being sold. Along with some Gate Cards and Ability Cards.
Yuji spotted his sister staring at the display cases, stars twinkling in her eyes. Shaking his head at her endless amounts of energy, Yuji advanced towards her and-
"Hi, can I help you?"
"EEPP!" For the 2nd time that day Yuji squealed like a girl. He was so shocked by the voice that he almost dropped Leonidas.
"Sorry about that, I didn't mean to scare you," The girl apologized.
Yuji tried to regain his composure to look at the person who just caught him off guard. His breath hitched when he realized that the teenage girl was very close to him. She had long orange hair that extended down to her waist and auburn eyes. She was wearing an aqua-green sleeveless tube top, white shorts, white boots with aqua-green heels and toes. She had a light-yellow sleeveless coat with a small slit up the center of her lower back over her top.
Her close proximity and the realization that he just squealed like that in front of a beautiful girl around his age caused a massive blush to appear on his face. "I-It's alright! C-could I ask you your name?" He asked politely. Yuji ignored his sister's giggling in the background.
"Oh, sorry. Where are my manners? I'm Alice Gehabich, my grandfather and I run this store," Alice introduced herself.
"Even her name is beautiful…! Wait, Alice?" Yuji realized something. "You're Alice from the Battle Brawlers!"
"Yes! How did you know?" Alice asked.
"Well, you guys are all over the internet and Dan also mentioned you," Yuji answered.
"Dan? You've met Dan?" Alice was a bit surprised.
"Y-yeah! I should probably introduce myself…!" Yuji blushed again. "My name is Yuji Shujin. The little troll giggling to herself is my little sister Serena," Yuji pointed at Serena. The little girl growled at being called a troll.
"And this is my partner Leonidas," Yuji showed off the closed Leonidas to Alice.
Auburn eyes stared deeply at Leonidas almost as if they were analyzing him. "Uh? Are you okay, Alice?"
The store employee snapped back up instantly, blushing slightly. "O-oh, sorry! I just love Bakugan, even though I don't play the game. There was just something about Leonidas that drew my attention for some reason," Alice laughed lightly.
Yuji started laughing nervously too.
Serena shook her head. "Two awkward nerds." The younger girl turned back to the display cases.
"Is there anything I could help you two with?" Alice asked.
"Oh, right. You see, we recently got into Bakugan and were hoping to get our own Bakugan and cards to enter the tournament," Yuji explained.
"I already have my own!" Serena added.
Alice nodded her head. "Do you two have any Baku Points?"
"Baku Points?" Both siblings tilted their heads.
"Yes! You see, Baku Points are how we trade in Bakugan and cards to customers!" Alice happily answered.
"How do you even keep this place open?" Serena asked.
"Donations," Alice answered.
Yuji rubbed his arm nervously. "We don't have any Baku Points. We only just started and I had my first ever Bakugan Brawl earlier today."
"First ever?"
"Yeah, never played before."
"He's just like me!" Alice gasped. The teenage girl clapped her hands excitedly. "If that's the case then I'd be happy to get you two started! Follow me!" Alice motioned for Yuji and Serena to follow her behind the store's counter. "Lucky for you two, we just received a new shipment of cards and Baku Watches!"
"Baku Watches? Is that the thing that Dan and Shuji had?" Serena asked.
Alice nodded her head, pulling out two watches from the box. One of them was dark blue and the other was white. "Here you two go. Completely free on the house since you're beginners."
"W-wow! Thanks, Alice!" Yuji smiled at her. His excited grin made the girl's stomach jump for some reason.
"Yeah, these things are really cool!" Serena added.
"T-thank you! But it's nothing too special. I still need to give you two, your deck cases and explain some more features to you," Alice said.
"Deck cases?" Yuji asked as Alice placed two sets of 3 cases in his and Serena's hands.
"Yes, these are for your Ability Cards and Gate Cards. Easy to carry around and won't get in the way of your other things. And this 3rd case is for you to store your Bakugan in, so that you can easily reach them," Alice explained.
Yuji smiled, looking down at his partner. "Hear that, Leonidas? You'll be snug as a rug in here."
The Bakugan once again didn't respond, but Yuji could feel his partner's dislike of the case.
"Then there's your Baku Watches. To be able to participate in the Tournament you'll need to be registered in the ranking system. Which I can easily do here from the shop," Alice explained. She opened up her laptop on the desk counter and pulled up the register system. The siblings watched as Alice entered their names into the system. "I'll need a picture of the both of you as well."
Once she had taken their pictures the two were officially entered into the ranking system of Bakugan!
"We are so low…" Serena blanched at their low ranking numbers. Then she blinked a bit when she realized something. "Hey! How come Yuji is ranked higher than me!?"
Alice chuckled at Serena's outcry. "Considering that your brother had won a brawl before coming here I decided to take that into consideration when adding him into the system. A little gift."
"So cool!"
Both girls turned to Yuji, who was staring at his watch with stars in his eyes. "This is so awesome! I may be low ranked, but this just means that I'm one step closer to reaching Dan! I really want to get to battling!"
Laughing at Yuji's enthusiasm, reminding her of Dan. "I'm happy that you're so ready to start brawling, Yuji. Because I was about to explain to the two of you how Baku Points are going to work." Seeing that she had their full attention, Alice continued. "Due to the tournament and wanting all players to have an equal advantage, winning brawls for the duration of the tournament will grant you extra points. Win brawls and you should elevate your position quick enough to reach the Top 10. Lose a match and you will lose points."
"I get it! All I have to do is win! That's exactly what Leonidas and I plan to do!" Yuji grinned.
"Then let's get you guys your own set of cards and I'll send you on your way!" Alice giggled. She began to lead them through the different sets of cards that were available at the moment.
"We're home!" Serena announced as she and Yuji entered their house.
Their parents could be seen sitting on the couch watching. "Welcome home, you two. Did you have fun?" Serenity asked.
Both siblings looked at each other before giggling. "Yeah, I guess you could say that," Yuji smirked.
Ryuji shook his head at his kids. "Well, most of your stuff has already been unpacked in your rooms. Go up and get ready for dinner."
"Yes, dad!" Both responded before hurrying up to their respective rooms.
"Whew! That should be everything," Yuji said, now dressed in his pajamas. The boy had finished unloading all of his things, leaving the empty boxes against his wall for the moment. Next to his bed was his desk, where Leonidas laid still. Yuji sat on his bed, staring at Leonidas. "Hey, Leonidas."
The Bakugan opened up for the first time since their meeting. "Yes?"
"What was up with you today? You didn't respond to Serena or to Alice," Yuji asked.
"I don't see the point in needless conversation with others. My will is to battle other Bakugan and become the strongest of them all," Leonidas answered.
Yuji tilted his head. "Why?"
If the Bakugan had any eyebrows, he would've raised them. "Do you need a reason to become the strongest?"
"Well…don't you want to have fun?"
…
"Fun? What is that?" Leonidas asked.
Yuji blinked, then rubbed his ears. "Wait, you don't know what fun is?"
"No."
"Well…" Yuji tried to think of a way to explain it. "Fun is like this feeling you get in your chest. It builds up at an incredible rate and it explodes into this big burst of energy! You may not really understand it at first, but once you do, you'll always want to experience it again!"
"A burst of energy…?" Leonidas muttered. "Is it like that energy I sensed that brought me here to Earth? What was it that brought me here?" Leonidas left his thoughts to converse with his partner again. "Could I experience this 'fun' with brawling?"
Yuji nodded his head excitedly. "Yeah! We're going to head to the park tomorrow to see if we can encounter any other brawlers there! We'll totally have fun and practice for the tournament!"
Leonidas nodded his head. "Then we shall have a mighty battle tomorrow. I shall crush my opponents without mercy!"
"Crush them without mercy…?" Yuji questioned the phrasing. A yawn escaped his throat before he could question it further. "...I better get some sleep so that I can be up early tomorrow. You get some rest too, Leonidas."
"Yes. Good night, Yuji."
"Night, Leonidas."
When Yuji turned off the lights in his room and crawled into his bed, Leonidas turned his attention to the window. Outside was the dark of night illuminated by a full moon.
"To be the strongest and trample over all Bakugan is my desire. Why? I am unsure, but hopefully my time with Yuji will lead me to finally discovering the answer." With those thoughts lingering in his mind, Leonidas closed back into ball form and drifted off to sleep.
Chapter End
NOTE: I struggle a bit with how I want to write Leonidas. He's not malicious, just anti-social with no understanding of who he really is at this point. He a desire to crush all Bakugan, but doesn't know why yet.
The explanation for how the Bakugan store works is never really explained in the game. Like, Alice is literally selling living creatures. Hopefully, I didn't make it seem bad in this story.
I honestly cannot wait to write Masquerade. It's going to be hilarious, because of Yuji's relationship with Alice.
Also, Alice staring at Leo was Moreso of Masquerade's influence. While the persona needs the mask to actually take control of the body, he can still slightly influence Alice without alerting her of his presence. Remember that he is within her mind and not the mask.
Drago and Tigrerra both felt Leonidas arriving on Earth, but have no idea it was him.
Tournament will not be staring next chapter, but there will be a brawl! So, look forward to it!
See ya next time!