Woohoo! 2nd chapter already! This is being updated way faster then any of my Sonic stories... and I don't really know why. I'm not as obsessed with Bakugan as I used to be... huh. Any who, enjoy the chapter.

Special shout out to SlasherMJT and myth buster! *glomps and dishes out cookies* Reviews make me very happy!

"I don't know how I got pulled into this." Julie muttered as she dragged herself forward, shoving a stray branch out of her way. She had a fresh layer of earth on her from wandering through the jungle for an hour and a half now and she was in more than a little foul mood. "Can we take a break?"

Runo scowled and kept trudging forward. She was in the front and doing most of the work andsomehow Julie still found a way to complain. "This was your idea in the first place, Julie. You can stop, but I'm going on. Oh, when I get my hands on that Dan, he's gonna be sorry!"

Julie let out an exaggerated sigh and fell onto a rock below her. She took off her shoe and began rubbing her foot. "Good. I will."

Runo rolled her eyes. "Hypocrite."

While Julie went on moaning and groaning about her feet and her back and whatever else was bugging her Runo turned andkept walking. He had to be around here somewhere, didn't he? Marucho's machines were, supposedly, never wrong... but Runo was seriously starting to doubt their accuracy.

That is, until she heard a familiar voice shouting "Get Psyched!" over and over again. Then she knew that the warranty would not have to be questioned on the device. She pushed farther into the woods until she finally came to a clearing. The first thing that she noticed was that there was another girl there. One with short, red-orange hair and interesting, almost cat-like blue eyes. She looked to be older then both Runo and Dan and was wearing an awfully skin-tight uniform.

She also noticed two other boys that she didn't recognize. The first had hair that had a pinkish tint to it (but looked more purple) and a red headband with a yellow lightning bolt on it. He deffinately looked older then she was. The other boy was around her age, with blueish-green hair not unlike her own and grayish eyes very much like the girl's.

She figured that since Mira was a girl's name andthere was only one with present then that was the culprit. She was the girl hanging around with her Dan. The one who was traveling with him, and not her. And that set her internal fire on a dangerously high level.

She staggered over- she had almost tripped over a rogue root- and grabbed Dan by his shirt and pulled his face close to hers. He looked positively shocked, if not a little embarissed. He looked as though he thought she was going to kiss him. Oh, how wrong he was.

"WHO THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU ARE, HANGING UP ON ME?" She roared, shaking him for emphasis. He flailed around a bit, completely unable to change anything about the situation. Runo was in control and she liked it that way. Dan could be such a moron, sometimes. Or all the time, rather.

The older looking boy gasped and ran over, knocking Runo down. "HEY! You leave Master Dan alone!" His voice was much higher then Runo had anticipated. He almost sounded like Billy.

Runo was wide eyed as she coughed and stumbled to her feet, wiping dirt off of her knee. She looked up at the boy with that evil Runo glare, her hands balled up into fists, shaking dangerously. "Who are you?!"

"Who am I? I'm Baron, but I should be asking who YOU are, mauling Master Dan like that!" Baron yelled at her.

Runo had just about enough at this point. "My name is Runo Misaki!" Her hands flew up and she shoved Baron backwards to prove her point. "And I'm his GIRLFRIEND!" She gasped in a very loud manner, making absolutely sure that everyone had heard her. She was not going to be messed with. Runo meant business.

Dan scratched the back of his head awkwardly as all three of the new kids looked at him. From the background Marucho waved at Runo. Baron was the first to speak. "Is.. is this true, Master Dan?"

Dan nodded dryly as Baron looked back at Runo. She blew raspberry at him as she folded her arms. "Humph. Told'ja so."

Baron ran over to Dan andheld onto his hands, knees dropping to the ground. "Oh, I'm so sorry, Master Dan! I had NO idea that she was your girlfriend! I apologize. Please, please forgive me."

Dan looked exasperated. "It's okay, Baron... you didn't know." He looked back at his 'sweetheart'. "But how did you find me?"

She held up the GPS-like device that she had hooked up to her phone. "Thank Marucho... and Julie."

"Julie?"

"Oh, yeah. She's tagging along... but I left her in the woods somewhere." Runo replied nonchalantly.

"WHAT?" Dan gasped as he broke into a sprint towards the woods. "You can't do that! She'll never find her way out, and you know that!"

Before he could get away, however, Runo grabbed onto his wrist and pulled him backward. "What, no 'Hi, Runo!' or 'Nice to see ya! I love you!'"

"You didn't say 'Hi' to me. You nearly killed me!" Dan replied back, testily. Runo dug her nails into his wrist and he yelled out in pain. Mira and the still un-named boy exchanged glances. "OW! Leggo!"

"OR an apology?" Runo added, moodily. He glanced back to see her eyes glazed over- though just barely- and her nose was flared. "I didn't know if you were okay! I was worried, Dan. And you didn't even call."

"Can't we deal with this later?" He asked, generally annoyed. "Julie-"

"If your so worried about Julie then why don't you just date her instead!" Runo shrieked and pushed him away, turning the other direction and folding her arms. Her back was facing him.

Dan furrowed his eyebrows. "Runo, that's not-"

"Whatever, Dan." She sighed. "I give up."

And she remained like that until he finally gave up trying to regain her attention and ran off into the woods after Julie. He didn't even see the single tear that Runo was trying so hard to choke back slide down her cheek.

"Runo...?" Marucho started, awkwardly.

Runo looked up at him, trying desperately not to cry- not to look weak infront of these people that she didn't even know- and cracked a fake smile. "Hi, Marucho."

Mira looked at her with her hands on her hips. "Are you okay?" She asked with an arched eyebrow.

Runo had to scowl in order to keep her sanity. Didn't she know she was part of her problem? Dan was hers. Who did she think she was, traveling around with Dan the way she was? Wasn't she concerned about how Runo was his girlfriend? "I'm fine, thank you." Runo snapped.

Mira's lip curled in a way that Runo read as very obvious distaste. Runo glared at her. She didn't need to know the girl to be mad at her. She wasn't mad at her, exactly. It was more-so Dan. She just needed someone to be mad at, someone to vent out on. Mira seamed like the perfect target.

Baron seamed at a loss for words. What was there to say?

The other boy cleared his throat. "So, I'm Ace."

Dan and Julie arrived back half an hour later. Baron had shown Runo to Dan's room in the meantime. By the time he got back she had taken off her shoes and was sitting on his bed, staring at him with angry, hurt eyes.

"Hey." He said, vaguely. He didn't exactly know how to react.

She chewed on her bottom lip in order to avoid crying. "Did you have a nice time alone in the woods with Julie?" She nearly snapped at him, her hands curled carefully over the blankets. She squeezed and compressed them when she said Julie's name.

He didn't answer at first, and that just did it for Runo. Before Dan could actually react Runo had tears streaming down her cheeks as she choked back the sobs bitterly- and she wasn't succeeding, either- while her hands were balled up into fists and held in front of her.

"Runo-!" He started before she jabbed her fist into his stomach. He gasped and held his gut, wincing with one eye closed in pain. "What the hell?!" He asked in a strained voice.

"I hate you!" She sobbed viciously as she pulled her arm back and tried again, but he caught her fist that time. She repeated with her other hand but he caught that one too. She shook her head and tried to break free. "Let go, you lying, ungrateful little cheating, no good-"

"Runo, SHUT UP!" Dan shouted. She jumped and looked taken aback. "God, will you actually listen to me for once?" She didn't say anything, but more tears ran from her eyes. She was upset, he understood that, but he couldn't get a word out without her punching him or screaming. "I know you were worried about me, I know I should have called, but it's been a little crazy. I haven't had much down time! And if I liked Julie I would have just kissed her a long time ago. But I picked you, didn't I?"

Again, she didn't say anything. She rubbed her eyes against her shoulder to brush away her tears. Dan groaned and kissed her forehead gingerly and Runo felt face get hot, and fast, too. "B-but." She started, and he looked at her with those big brown-red eyes that made her feel jumbled. "Mira-"

"I chose you, Runo. I don't like anybody else. Not Julie, not Mira, not Alice." He repeated as he let go of her left hand and pushed hair out of her eyes. "What do I have to do to prove it to you?"

Before Runo could answer, Marucho opened his door and barged in. "DAN-" He blinked. "Uh, did I interrupt something?"

Dan cracked a smile and laughed a bit. "Nah, it's all cool. What's up?" Runo took a quick intake of air and tried to calm herself down. She didn't want Marucho to see her crying. Heck, she didn't even want Dan to see her crying but that plan was obviously foiled.

"Oh, uh, nothing...much, at least. We were just setting up the sleeping arrangements. Julie demands her own bed so I'm gonna bunk with Baron. Is it okay with you if Runo crashes in here?"

This time it was Dan's turn to get extreamly red in the face. Sure, they were dating, but they hadn't even kissed yet! And now they were going to be sleeping in the same bed? He half-wondered how his mom would react to that. Cross that, how Runo's dad would.

"It's fine." Runo demanded. Dan looked back at her as Marucho booked it out of the room.

"Uh," Dan started, awkwardly. "Um."

"Jeez, Dan, you dirty boy." Runo snickered as she held up her free hand to her mouth to try and conceal it, mockingly. "Stop thinking like that. I'm not easy."

Dan hued even more. "I wasn't-!"

"Sure, Dan, sure." She giggled arrogantly as she rolled over and layed facing the wall opposite him. "Keep telling yourself that. I know otherwise."

"I wasn't!" He growled, entirely red in the face. He jumped onto the bed, fired by revenge, and wrapped his arm around her waist. She blushed. She'd never been touched there before. His fingers traced across her flat stomach teasingly. She gulped and tried to keep her blush under control. He traced his fingers down and onto her leg.

She took in a sharp intake of breath. She wouldn't give in, no matter what. She felt his breath on her face, hot agaisnt her skin. By now her breathes were shaky, uneven, and Runo was positive that at any moment she'd burst.

Dan's tongue slid across her cheek as he snickered. "Who's having naughty thoughts now?"

Dan was shoved off the bed, slammed into a wall and beat with a desk lamp until he was loopy. Runo scowled and pulled the covers over her chin on Dan's bed. "Goodnight, darling."

Dan drooled and stared at the ceiling like it was a forgein being.

WELL. That was quite the chapter. To be frank I don't really know where I'm going with this... I'm just sorta rolling with it. But it seams to be working so far, so I'll probably plot it out eventually. Oh, man, so much DanxRuno goodness! I love how romantic and cute one moment they can be and then Runo's beating on him. It's amazing.

NEXT TIME: I don't know!!

Review, haha.