NOTE: A short chapter, but it's mainly for exposition. Haven't been feeling the best recently and other life problems have been stressing me out. I'm trying my best to pump out chapters anyway.

A question I have for you all is: Would you like me to write out the battle between Marduk and Dan? Since the game does it off screen and it's barely explained what happens, I'm curious if you guys would want me to cover it. Or to just leave it ambiguous other than Dan lost.

Review and Enjoy!

Chapter 8: Recover

"Just what the heck are you two?" Runo tried to make sense of the two newbies in front of her. Though, it was difficult to think with Leonidas' loud victory roar. Picking up Tigrerra from the floor, Runo thought back to the battle a few moments ago. She had been sure that Yuji would fall easily, the boy had no confidence in himself and seemed to trip over himself a lot.

And then there was that weird phenomenon that Yuji and Leonidas had just demonstrated. She would have to discuss this with the others, Leonidas may just be more dangerous than they thought-

"YUJI!"

The cry of the victor's name brought Runo's attention back to the real word. Staring down the other side of the room, instead of seeing Yuji and Leonidas celebrating their victory, the shy teenager was face down on the floor. Leonidas, who had reverted back to ball form, was trying to wake his partner up.

Leonidas was hopelessly confused by the recent events. The two had conquered their first major opponents and achieved greater heights of power! Why weren't they celebrating right now? What was wrong with his partner?

"Move!" Leonidas was promptly slapped out of the way by Runo's hand. The Haos Brawler had knelt down by Yuji's body and flipped him over.

The dragon hissed at the human female. "What are you attempting to do to my partner, witch!?"

Runo's mood went from concerned to pissed in a second. "Did you just call me a witch!?"

"Are you attempting to exact your revenge for that humiliating defeat!?"

"I'll show you humiliating, you stupid dragon!" Runo cracked her knuckles.

Tigrerra quickly got in between the two. "Runo! This is no time for fighting!" Reminding Runo that there was someone in need of help at the moment.

"R-right!" Runo went back to checking up on Yuji.

Leonidas tried to stop her, but Tigrerra turned her attention to him next. "She's trying to help him, Leonidas!"

"Help him die!"

"Do you ever stop to listen!?"

"Listening is for the defeated!"

"What are you, a caveman?" Runo muttered. She got up from the floor, slinging Yuji's arm over his shoulder. "He's fine for the most part. I think he may have just passed out from exhaustion. We should get him to a medical room." Runo turned to Leonidas, who was still arguing with Tigrerra. "Hey, stupid dragon!"

"Hm?"

"He responded to that?" Runo sweat dropped. "You go get his little sister and bring her to the medical wing."

"I don't take orders from you, human witch."

"Quit it with the witch comments! Do you want to worry his little sister if she doesn't hear from him!?"

Leonidas grew quiet, confirming that he didn't want anything bad to happen to both Serena and Yuji. Runo continued after a brief moment. "Just hurry up. He'll be fine."

"You better not hurt him, or I'll be coming for you both," Leonidas threatened before flying off.

Runo rolled her eyes, carrying Yuji out of the room and towards the medical room. Tigrerra flew close behind her. "How do you feel, Runo?"

"Frustrated."

"We lost, so we must hold up the end of our bargain."

"I know that, Tigrerra. I just…"

"Scared?"

"I don't think I've ever felt such an overwhelming power before. Not even from Masquerade. I'm scared to think what these two might become if they're allowed to continue battling together," Runo said.

"I agree. That thirst for battle inside of Leonidas is dangerous. If he were to continue down this path…"

"He'll just become another Hydranoid for us to worry about. And Yuji-"

"Mgh…" Yuji's mumble reminded the two that they should hurry to the medical room.

"We can talk later, Runo. Let's get him some help," Tigrerra said.

"Yeah."

SLAM!

"YUUUJJJIIIIII!" A blue blur stormed into the medical bay faster than Runo could anticipate. The Haos Brawler had to stabilize herself after Serena almost knocked her over.

The little sister was currently crying tears over her brother's sleeping body, snot dripping from her nose. "Waahhh! Yuji's dead!"

"He's not dead." Runo shook her head.

Serena turned to face her, glaring at Runo. "You killed him, you witch!"

"I didn't kill him! And who are you calling a witch!?" Runo yelled, insulted. It was making sense as to where Leonidas was getting his quirks from.

"Serena!? Are you okay, I heard screaming." Alice entered the medical room. She scanned the room until her eyes landed on Yuji's still body. The Russian girl gasped loudly, rushing over to him. "Yuji's dead!?"

"He's not dead! Why are you also assuming that!?" Runo yelled at her friend. Runo swore that she would be pulling her hair out by the end of the day. If one more person was to get on her nerves-

"Yo, guys. I heard screaming what happened-YUJI!" Dan was now also standing over Yuji's body after entering the room. "My student was so young!"

"HE'S NOT DEAD, YOU IDIOTS!" Runo's roar was more than enough to send the three flying through the air. Even with her screaming at the top of her lungs, Yuji continued to sleep through all of it.

Runo waited a moment before speaking again. "He's just tired from the battle. That's it."

Dan winced from the ringing in his ears. "Then why didn't you just say that, Runo?"

POW!

Runo's fist made contact with Dan's head. The Pyrus Brawler cried out in pain, rolling around on the floor. Serena and Alice wisely ignored Dan's plight in favor of focusing on Yuji.

Drago and Tigrerra just watched the insanity from the sidelines. Used to antics such as these when it came to their respective partners and friends.

Leonidas flew out of Serena's bag, landing on top of his partner's chest. "You didn't hurt him, did you?"

Runo scoffed. "I told you; I was just going to bring him here. The nurse said that Yuji had used up a lot of energy as if he just ran two marathons in one go. He just needs some rest and he'll be as good as new."

As much as she didn't like Runo, Serena was thankful that the Haos Brawler helped her big brother. "Thank you…for helping him," Serena mumbled. She still had her own pride after all.

"You're welcome," Runo responded.

Dan got up from the floor, brushing off his pants. "Serena, did you contact your parents?"

Serena nodded her head. "Yeah. Alice let me use her phone to call them. They'll be here soon to pick us up."

Dan nodded his head. "Gotcha. Sit tight with your big brother, alright. We'll be outside the room till your parents get here." Serena didn't say anything back, keeping her eyes fixed on her brother.

The Brawlers took that as their time to leave, wanting to give the Shujins some space.

"So, Runo? Want to talk about it?" Alice asked, drinking her bottle of tea. The three Brawlers and two Bakugan were standing in front of a vending machine.

"Talk about what?" Runo took a sip from her water bottle.

"About how you got your butt kicked-YEOW!" Dan held his foot. Runo had stomped on it to shut him up.

"I'm fine. I lost the battle, so I won't take Leonidas from Yuji," Runo said.

"Good. You never should've made that bet in the first place, Runo," Dan said.

"I made the bet, because Leonidas is dangerous. You saw what he did out there, right? The two of them synchronized or something and completely rewrote the Gate Card," Runo reminded them.

Dan shook his head. "Drago and I have done something similar in the past. When our backs were to the wall, he unlocked a new power."

"This is different, Dan. You weren't the one battling out there," Runo disagreed.

"Runo is correct, Daniel." Tigrerra joined in. "I have never sensed such raw power from another Bakugan before. Even as his power stopped rising, I could sense it."

"Sense what, Tigrerra?" Drago inquired.

"The untapped potential that Leonidas holds. If I were to put it into perspective, I would compare the size of his potential to that of the Silent Core."

"WHAT!?"

"I would have to agree with Tigrerra on that."

"Hm? Marucho!?" Dan and the others looked down at their Baku-Watches to see Marucho on the screen. "What do you mean, buddy?"

"From the footage that I've been analyzing from Runo's battle with Leonidas and Yuji, it would seem that Leonidas' power was being drawn from somewhere."

"So, his power doesn't come from him?" Alice questioned.

"No. The power is definitely inside of him, but he needs a key to unlock it."

"A key…" Runo muttered.

"Yes. If my hypothesis is correct, then the key to Leonidas' power is Yuji Shujin."

Leonidas stayed awake, listening to the silence of the night. From his placement on Yuji's desk, he watched his partner's chest rise and fall in his sleep. His partner hadn't woken up at all after the battle, showing just how taxing it was on his body.

"Was this my fault?" Leonidas wondered. He thought back to Runo's words from the medical bay, about how much energy had been zapped from him. During the battle Leonidas could feel a separate power entering his body, opening the gate to his unimaginable power. He hadn't even realized he had been doing it.

"Would it be too dangerous for us to continue working together if it could hurt him? Yuji wishes to help me accomplish my goal of defeating every Bakugan, but would it be worth it if he wasn't there to stand at the top with me?" Leonidas didn't have the answers to his own questions. But for the first time in his short life there was something else he had started to care for more than the thrill of battling.

The warmth of his partner: Yuji Shujin.

Outside of the Shujin household, someone was watching Yuji and Leonidas from another rooftop. The stranger's blonde spikey hair blew in the wind as the moon's light reflected off of his glass mask. "Yuji Shujin and Leonidas…" The masked man smirked. "Seems you two will be worth it after all..." Opening his palm, a Darkus Bakugan vibrated with violent lust for power. Responding to his partner's heart.

"The full wrath of Darkus Hydranoid!"

Chapter End

NOTE: Sorry again for the pretty short chapter. Next chapter will feature the final battle of this first tournament and cap off this first story arc.

Runo is wary of Leonidas, but she's not a bad person. None of the Brawlers are, even Mr. Hot shot himself - Shun.

Yuji and Leonidas' connection seems to go deeper than just partners. Leonidas cannot unlock his powers on his own and needs Yuji to do so, but is he still willing to do it if it'll hurt Yuji in the process?

Leonidas' full potential COULD reach that of the Silent Core. However, Leonidas is far from that at the moment, so do not think that he's too powerful at the moment.

We all know that good ol' Masquerade appeared at the end here. Don't worry, he won't be making any moves just yet. Remember, he wants Hydranoid to become the strongest Bakugan ever. There's no point in fighting two newbies with massive potential who haven't reached that yet.

Serena is not a good influence on Leonidas. Like a child who doesn't know any better, he's picking up on her mannerisms.

Have a great day!