NOTE: Good news and bad news! I'm back with another chapter, albeit a short one! The bad news is that I don't remember most of my plans for this arc, so some stuff is getting pushed for later down the line. I'm not going to be covering the later tournaments as extensively since it would just get repetitive. In the game there are characters who appear in this tournament that aren't going to appear here just yet.

I do not own Bakugan or the song used!

Enjoy and Review!

Chapter 15: You and I

I surrendered myself to the flow of time, staring at the clockwork streets.

Is it possible to feel alienated even as you find yourself walking through the busy streets of the city? People everywhere, minding their own business, and carrying on with their days as if there was nothing wrong. Wherever you looked there was always something going on that you could partake in.

Even this crowd of people I should've found unpleasant, felt good when I realized what was going on.

The color in this world fills you as you continue to explore it, introducing you to something new that you hadn't seen. I can't help but feel that no matter where I go, there will always be people who add a new color to the world.

But what if I'm someone who doesn't add anything new? My steps don't leave behind a mark of my existence, no traces of my color are to be found.

If I were honest, I'd be able to look forward, but I can't advance on nights full of tears.

Even in this busy crowd, I can see the person with the brightest color, he's eclipsing everyone else without even knowing it. As if the fool's gone his entire life without even realizing how bright of a star he is.

But even so, the fate that you face is a journey to find your true self.

It makes me sick to think of how much he looks like me. Like a pallet swap of myself that I tried to get rid of. A mirror I shattered long ago that pieced itself back together just to spite me!

Maybe I should erase him, tear him apart to ensure that he never returns.

I sometimes wonder why he continues to stare at me, even when my animosity is plain to see. He shouldn't look at me, he should focus on those "friends" of his, the people he attached himself to.

Maybe then, maybe then he'll stop looking at me.

I want you to know there's a hidden story.

You're a mystery to me, I'm unable to tell what face you're making, but your feelings are clear.

You hate me more than anything else in the world. Someone I don't even know wants me to disappear from this existence.

I know what's going on; it continues on to tomorrow.

Do you think if we talked that we could understand one another? What if we simply sat down and converse like regular people so that our feelings could change for the better? I want to talk to you, to understand you.

If not today, then tomorrow, I'll always want to talk to you.

If it's you, you'll be able to change this world.

If not today, then tomorrow, I'll always hate you.

A world that I cannot add color to is a world I don't want, and a world where you shine is a world I wish to erase.

Unimaginable power dangles in front of me in the form of a dark sphere, a singular card lying inside, I take it without hesitation.

Without power the world can't change, so I'll fill it with a complete black void that'll snuff out all of that detestable color.

An unending struggle against all odds. Because I have something I have to protect, I'll get back up however many times it takes. The future I struggled and yearned for is held tightly in my hands.

Reaching for the card in my pocket, I raised it high into the air. I guess, in this world conflict can't be avoided with talking. If I want to know who you are, if I wish to learn more about you, then I'll fight.

For the people I've grown to love, and for you, who refuse to love.

Maybe, this is simply our way of talking and through this fight I'll learn everything about you.

So just trust me.

Our eyes met one final time, unimaginable power brimming inside of us, as two massive titans landed behind each of us.

One is a dragon with unimaginable power laying deep within his heart. A beast that refuses to let himself be controlled to the whims of others.

The other, covered in shadows that hide who he really is, a dark mirror to counter the dragon's light.

"FIELD OPEN!"

"BWAH!" Yuji screamed, sitting up in his bed with haste. He took a few deep breaths to try and calm his heart, then wiped the sweat from his face. Staring down at his hands, the Haos brawler could only ask himself one question. "What the heck was that?"

"Are you okay?"

Yuji's attention snapped over to the dragon that had been despondent until just now. No response came from Yuji as he stared at his partner for a few more moments before finding his words. "Y-yeah… I think so. Just a weird dream. It felt very real…too real."

"Are these dreams constant?"

"Well…yeah, everyone dreams. It's just that this one felt weird as if there was someone else there." Yuji tried to explain.

"Perhaps someone else was there."

Instead of continuing the conversation, Yuji focused on something else. "Why are you doing this?"

"Doing what?"

"Talking. You've been so despondent since our loss to Dan and Drago." Yuji said. "It hurts to not be able to talk to you."

Leonidas took a moment to really think about everything up until now. It was true, he had been incredibly selfish up until now, because of his own insecurities. His talk with Drago had made that clear enough that if he wanted to truly stay with Yuji, he would have to change. "I am sorry, Yuji."

"What?"

"I promised that we would be the strongest, but I forgot that it wasn't just for me. That battle proved to me that on my own I cannot possibly hope to become the strongest with my power alone. Our bond as partners is not something that can be strengthened through selfish desires, but by the desires we hold together as one." Leonidas spoke softly. He waited for his partner to say anything, but all Yuji had was that dumbass look on his face.

"Leonidas, I'm sorry too." The apology shocked the dragon, not knowing what it could be that Yuji had done wrong. "I also failed to understand your feelings as well. You want to win to show your strength over all other Bakugan, but I wasn't strong enough to make that a reality. We lost to them, and our first defeat is something we'll never forget."

"Yes, I don't think I'll ever forget the power Drago used that day."

"And that's not a bad thing, Leonidas. Losing is just as much of a lesson as winning, because we can learn from our defeat and become stronger."

Leonidas floated over to Yuji, sitting in his partner's palm. "You truly wish to continue battling with me?"

Yuji laughed, confusing the dragon. "Leonidas, without you I wouldn't be here now. I never would've gotten as far if I had never met you and I wouldn't be so happy."

"But-"

"Win or lose, we'll be together forever. Right, partner?"

Leonidas stared at his human partner, asking himself how he ended up meeting a human as kind as him. He could've ended up running into some many different humans, but he was lucky enough to meet Yuji. He really had taken their partnership for granted, because there was no one else on this planet he could imagine being around. "Yes, partner."

"Together forever."

Chapter End

NOTE: Again, apologies for the short one. Next chapter might be a bit more meat, but there'll definitely be a battle.

I tend to write better when listening to music, which is why the dream sequence has the lyrics to help it flow better. It contains two perspectives, and one is obviously Yuji. The other one is a mystery and if you figured it out, then good for you.

I decided to just have Yuji and Leonidas fix their relationship now instead of doing it in the middle of a battle. This will be the last time they feud like this anyway.

This arc ends in the next two chapters, so yeah.