NOTE: I'm back! Sorry, this took so long, but school is a pain in the ass. Not sure when the next update will happen since I have several other fics I want to work on and school. But, I'm glad that I was able to update this story finally and I thank you for your patience.
Enjoy and Review!
Chapter 16: We're Back!
Alice Gehabich is known by many as a kind soft spoken young woman. Someone who would never dream of harming or yelling at others. Even when her friends would act childish in situations that they shouldn't and risk getting them kicked out of public places, she keeps her cool and handles the situation accordingly. Her grandfather always called her a 'good girl' and was proud to have such a well-mannered granddaughter.
So, as she sat in her backyard and watched the JJ Dolls CDs and clothes burn in a barrel, the young Russian could only wonder what her friends and family would think if they saw her at this moment. And if she were being honest, she couldn't care less what they would think.
She needed this.
RING!
"Hm?" Alice looked down at the noise coming from her coat's pocket. Reaching down, she pulled out her phone and wondered who could be disrupting her personal time. Not that she ever minded, but this was a very cathartic time for Alice. Looking at the caller ID, she noticed it was the object of her not-so-secret affection.
"Yuji?" She wondered what he could be calling for. Hopefully, it wasn't to babysit Serena, while she loved the young girl, that child was the living incarnation of chaos. She answered the call and placed her phone to her ear. "Hello?"
"Hey, Alice! I-uh…need to tell you something!"
"What is it?"
"It's-huh? What are you talking about?"
The Battle Brawler looked confused by Yuji's question, wondering if he's still talking to her. "Um…Yuji?"
"What do you mean, 'where is she'? I'm talking to her on the phone."
Alice couldn't make out the other voice, but she could feel Yuji's frustration starting to build.
"What do you mean, 'what's a phone'!? You've seen me use it a bunch of times!"
…
"NO! I'm not talking to an imaginary person!"
"Uh… Yuji? Who are you talking to?" Alice asked. There was a bit of a scuffle in the background, a deeper voice muffled in the background. "Yuji?"
"Just speak into the phone!"
…
…
…
"Why aren't you talking!?"
Before Alice could keep asking what was going on, a second voice filled her ear.
"Because, it's awkward now! You made it awkward!"
"HOW!?"
"LEONIDAS!?" Alice jumped up, shocked to hear his voice. The other end of the conversation had gone silent from her shout.
"Alice!"
"You're talking again!"
"And you're trapped inside of this phone!"
"She's not trapped!" Yuji yelled.
Alice couldn't care less for their bickering, too happy to think of anything else. "But, why now!? What happened between you two!?"
"We'll explain it to you at the stadium, Alice. I already told Dan the same thing and he's gonna meet us there." Yuji explained.
Alice nodded her head, bouncing on her feet. "Alright, I'll hurry up and freshen up, then meet you guys there!"
"We'll be doing the same!"
"It's a date then!"
…
…
…
…
"I'm gonna end the call."
"I'd appreciate it if you did."
Serena Shujin has been through lots of challenging drama in her life, friends getting into arguments, arguing with Yuji, and dealing with bullies. But for the first time in her life she was genuinely believing that this would be the greatest challenge she'll ever experience. "Can you two just make up?"
"No!"
"Heck no!"
Currently, she was sitting in the stadium's cafeteria with the three siblings she had decided to get too involved with. Nene, wearing a pink sundress with a sunhat tied around her neck, sipped on some orange juice next to her. The little sisters were having to play peacemaker between Akira and Shuji. The brothers were turned away from each other, acting more childish than Nene possibly could.
Serena turned to her 'ally'. "Got any ideas?"
Nene sucked loudly through her straw, lazily turning her attention to Serena. "They're idiots, they'll figure this out on their own."
"I'm not an idiot, Nene! If anything, Akira's the idiot!"
"Me!? Who's the one who lost to a newbie four times!?" Akira argued.
Shuji whipped his head back to his brother. "You lost to her too, dummy!"
"You lost to Yuji 3 times, with Dan's help for one of them, then lost to Serena and I! She's just as new to the game as he is!" Akira argued.
Serena waved her hand. "Eh, I'm smarter than Yuji tho, so it doesn't weigh as much."
"And I only lost to Yuji once!" Akira reminded him.
"You also lost to me." Serena added.
"I thought that didn't count?"
"I like to remind you that you've never beaten me." Serena shrugged, getting an annoyed glare from the buck-tooth.
"Aren't you supposed to be helping?" Nene raised a brow.
"Aren't you?" Serena returned fire.
The little girl hummed, seemingly satisfied. "I'll give you that one, smurfette."
"Don't call me that, shorty."
Shuji, red faced with anger, stood up from the table. "Like, I care for what you have to say, Akira! None of this is my fault! I'm not the one who broke our brotherly trust by running off to join some loudmouth blueberry!"
"And this 'loudmouth blueberry' kicked your butt!"
"Shut up!" Shuji hissed at Serena.
Staring at his big brother with just as much animosity, Akira stuck his tongue out. "Well, you're nothing but a jerk! I don't want to speak to you unless you're ready to apologize!"
"And I don't want to speak with you until you apologize!"
"Fine!"
"Fine!"
"Don't copy me!"
"You, don't copy me!"
"No you!"
"No yo-"
SLAM!
Akira and Shuji froze up as Nene's annoyed glare bore into their souls, a disturbing chill filled the entire cafeteria. The only person that wasn't bothered by Nene's anger was Serena, who was busy eating the rest of Nene's fries.
"N-Nene-"
"Shut it." She silenced Shuji. With her brothers' undivided attention, Nene began. "If you two want to tear each other's heads off then fine, be my guest, I don't care that much. However, you dunderheads are making a scene by shouting at each other like children, thereby embarrassing me just for being here." She leaned in close, terrifying them even more. "I'll give you both two choices." She raised a finger. "First, you either sit down and shut up, so that Akira and the smurfette can prepare for their match." She raised the second one. "Or you can continue to irritate me and regret it. Choose carefully."
Without missing a beat, both brothers quickly sat back down in their seats, shivering in fear of their little sister's wrath.
Nene took a deep breath, relaxing herself. "Now that that's settled-" She reached for her fries, but found the plate empty. Turning her head to the left, Nene stared at Serena, who was holding the last chunk of fries in her hands.
"What? I was hungry."
"Oh, Yuji, I'm so happy for you two!" Alice exclaimed, sitting very close to Yuji. At least, in Dan's opinion she was. He watched as the two lovebirds stared into each other's eyes with unspoken requited feelings. He currently had a betting pool with the other Brawlers and their partners on when they'd confess to each other.
Marucho gave them two more weeks.
Preyas thought they were already dating.
Runo, who was pretty disgusted by the idea of Alice dating Yuji, didn't think they'd ever actually confess.
Tigrerra was taking the same bet as Runo.
Drago tried to keep out of it, saying that it wasn't any of their business to take bets on their potential love life. Dan, himself, had given them another week before Alice eventually caves him and confesses. As much as he believed in his student, he doesn't think Yuji has the courage to make that first move. He really wished Julie was here, because he knew she'd enjoy pushing these two together.
Dan leaned back, putting his hands behind his head. "Yeah, I agree with Alice, I'm proud that you guys cleared the air."
"Cleared the air? How would one clear air?" Leonidas questioned.
"It's an expression, Leonidas." Alice giggled.
"Humans are confusing."
"Something that we can agree on, Leonidas." Drago added. The Pyrus Bakugan was surprised when Leonidas turned from him, huffing like a child.
"I don't need you to agree with me." Leonidas said.
"Leonidas…" Yuji warned.
Grumbling slightly, Leonidas turned around to face Drago. The Haos dragon didn't say anything for a moment. "I-I'm sorry for being rude. I will do my best to be a supportive teammate."
Drago smiled at his fellow dragon. "It's fine, Leonidas. You have no need to apologize."
"Really? Okay, then I'll take it back."
"HUH!?" Everyone shouted.
"I-I didn't actually mean-" Drago stuttered, but it was already too late.
"Be warned, Drago!" Leonidas began, cutting off the Pyrus Bakugan. "After our partnership ends, I'll be ready to face you again in battle! Yuji and I will defeat you two to prove we're the strongest! So, until then, you better not lose to anyone else!"
Drago sighed, but nodded his head anyway. Even with how difficult Leonidas could be at times, Drago couldn't help but see some of his younger self in him. No matter what, he'll be sure to help guide Leonidas into overcoming his overwhelming lust for battle and hatred for other Bakugan. "Daniel and I will be waiting for you two then."
Dan stood up, dusting off his pants. "But first, we have a battle to win." He picked up Drago, putting him on his shoulder. "And this time, we'll both be operating at full power." He held out his hand.
Yuji stood up as well, clasping Dan's hand with his own. "Let's do this! Right, Leonidas!" His partner jumped onto his shoulder.
"Let's battle!" Leonidas declared. "Who shall we crush next!?"
Yuji looked down at the tournament bracket on the screen display. His eyes widened at the team, then he smirked. "Someone who is gonna be so happy to see you, Leonidas."
"Runo?"
"No… I think she'd be the exact opposite…"
Dan & Yuji: 2
Serena & Akira: 2
Yuji watched as his little sister gloated loudly, doing her usual thing of bragging when her victory was all but assured. She had just beaten his Terrorclaw to even the game's score. "Enjoy it while you can, Serena!"
"Oh, I'm enjoying it alright, Yuji! After this you're going to be doing my chores for a whole month!" Serena declared.
Akira paused, looking confused. "Wait…is that why you wanted to beat him!? I thought you wanted to fight him, because he abandoned you!?"
Serena shrugged. "Eh, I just said that you get you to work with me. I knew Dan was gonna drag my brother along and that Yuji wouldn't say 'no'. He has a boy-crush on him after all."
"WHAT!?" Dan and Yuji yelled.
"What? Am I wrong?" Serena raised a brow.
Dan sighed. "Your sister is a real piece of work, ya know that?" When Yuji didn't respond, Dan turned to him and blinked. Yuji was fuming, his face red with embarrassment. "Uh… Yuji?"
"That's it! We're finishing this now!" Yuji declared. "Ready, partner?"
"Let's do this!"
Pulling his arm back, Yuji tossed his partner with a mighty throw towards the Aquos Robotallion. "Bakugan, brawl!"
Serena's eyes widened as the familiar roar echoed throughout the battlefield. Her hair and clothes ruffled in the massive burst of wind that tore through the stage. Light pulsated almost blindingly bright against everyone as a monstrous stomp followed the roar.
"LEONIDAS, STAND!"
Haos Leonidas: 420 Gs!
Robotallion had less than a second to respond as Leonidas landed a devastating haymaker into its jaw, causing it to stumble back. Serena could barely respond, too busy staring at Leonidas with awe.
"Now then, ability activate!" Yuji raised the card into the air. "Alpha Blaster!"
Leonidas took the skies, the stage shaking like an earthquake as he vibrated with absolute power. Blue energy surging between his jaws, aimed directly down at Robotallion. Akira began to panic, turning to his partner. "What the heck are you doing!? Hurry up and counter!"
Serena realized he was shouting at her and acted quickly. She took a deep breath and shouted with all her lungs. "GO, LEONIDAS!"
"WHY ARE YOU CHEERING FOR THEM!?"
BOOM!
"LEONIDAS!" Serena had the Haos dragon in her grasp, hugging him close to her face. Tears were streaming down her face in comical fashion. "I missed you so much!"
"Release me, Serena! Your tears are getting all over me!"
"I'm just so happy~!"
"Not your weird snot too!" Leonidas whined.
Akira crossed his arms, grumbling at their defeat. "Stupid, Serena and stupid newbie…"
"Aw, don't worry about it too much, Akira! You would've lost regardless!" Dan patted the boy's head.
"How does that make me feel better!?"
"I was supposed to make you feel better?"
Alice stood close to Yuji, the teens watching Serena's heartfelt reunion with Leonidas. "I'm happy that you guys get to go back to normal."
"Yeah, I am too. Leonidas and I are gonna keep growing strong together." Yuji declared, then looked down at Alice. "Nothing's gonna tear us apart."
Alice found herself blushing, thinking that those words were directed at her. The look in Yuji's eyes hadn't helped make it easier either. Whenever the Haos brawler would get confident, she would find herself getting lost in his eyes. Turning away from him, Alice wanted to hide her blush. "W-w-well…you guys are heading to the finals! D-do you know who it is you'll be battling?"
BEEP!
"Guess, we'll find out." Everyone turned to the screens to see the match-up for the finals. Alice knew deep down she shouldn't have been shocked, but she let out a gasp anyway.
Final Match:
Dan & Yuji vs Runo & Marucho
Chapter End
NOTE: Next chapter will be the end of the second arc! Remember that this next battle will be a full written out one instead of a shortened one.
Leonidas is back and it feels so good to be writing him again. I love my little ignorant battle hungry dragon. His relationship with Drago is also a cute little thing. I wonder if Drago will be able to keep his promise.
Shun wasn't mentioned, because Shun wouldn't give a shit. I CANNOT wait to get to Julie, because that girl is not going to leave Yuji and Alice alone.
Yeah, I won't sugarcoat it, Serena 100% threw the battle at the end there. She and Akira would've lost anyway, but she still decided to not try and fight back (Real reason is that I legitimately struggled on how to write that one with how short it is).
I do find it weird that I've given so much attention to Shuji and Akira, because that was never planned initially. I feel like I flesh them out more than the Brawlers, but they're already full-fledge characters. Also, with how antagonistic the others besides Dan are towards the MC, they literally can't be included in stuff much.
Have a great day!