Two Halves of Heaven : Ep 1

Two Halves of Heaven


Directed by: RAINdigo a.k.a. Ever-Kitten


Episode One: Memento Mori


"I have a slight feeling of deja-vu, and it's not helping," Runo mumbled under her breath.

Alice furrowed her brows in concern. "I doubt this is the best solution, Runo..."

Runo snorted. "They don't deserve any better."

"Yes, but still--wait, Runo!"

Runo ignored Alice's pleas as she swung the bucket, unhesitant, over the pile of bodies. Cold water splashed everywhere, spreading into a huge puddle on the tiled floor, soaking its occupants.

"What the hell, Runo?!" Dan yelped, shaking awake, elbowing Shun's face in the process.

"Dan, get your godforsaken elbow off my cheek!" Shun hissed, pushing the other boy away, consequently making him fall onto Marucho's back, hard.

The midget's squeak turned into a wheeze as the air was knocked out of his lungs. "Help!"

Runo gave an extra kick to Dan's ribs, still furious, deftly turned on her heel and stomped away. Alice was left, sheepish and apologetic, trying to clean up the mess.

Mess would be an understatement.

The state of the kitchen would indeed fill the definition of mess but had long surpassed its boundaries. Upended pots, upturned measuring cups, utensils strewn at random across the counters. The only thing marginally methodical about the whole thing was the tray of, Alice had to hand it to them, cookies lying next to the stove. They were irregularly shaped and burnt around the edges, but nevertheless invitingly edible.

Curiosity emerged and Alice couldn't resist taking one into her mouth. It tasted fine. Better than fine, even. Quite good. She smiled under the requisitory gazes of her friends and gave them a thumbs-up. The boys sighed in relief, shoulders sagging and completely forgetting they were still drenched to the bone.

"Let's go get you cleaned up," Alice said. "And then we'll tidy the kitchen." Turning to Dan, she added, "Don't worry, I'm sure Runo will like them."

Dan blushed, sputtering in a totally manly way, before waving the comment off. "It--it's not like it's for her or anything."

Alice faked astonishment, raising her eyebrows to deplorable heights, and shrugged. She proceeded to help Marucho and Shun up. Before exiting the kitchen, she required they wrench their clothes of all the residual water as not to leave wet tracks in other parts of the house.

After leaving the boys to their own devices, once again, she returned to find Runo mopping the floor, and thoughtful look on her face.

"You don't need to clean, you know," Alice said, reaching to take the mop from her, which Runo promptly whisked away.

"It's alright," she grumbled, visibly discontent, but Alice knew better than to trust appearances. "It's my house after all."

This remark made her smile. Whatever had overcome Dan and convinced him to bake cookies, let along enter the kitchen, at Runo's house nonetheless, was certainly praiseworthy. Usually the guy wouldn't even come within inches of the forsaken room, for fear of either girl chasing them away with a broom. The last time Dan had tried to cook anything, it had ended with fire extinguishers and a panicked Miyoko calling the ambulance. Alice chuckled silently into her hand, giving Runo a glance.

"Here, let me help," Alice proposed, taking Runo off-guard and quickly stealing the mop. "You can wipe the counters or wash the containers."

Runo complied without complaint and Alice couldn't suppress the expression of surprise that rose to her features. Normally, Runo wouldn't content herself in blindly obeying directions, especially when it came to house chores. Alice shrugged as she continued what her friend had started. She told herself it was best to take it as a sign of maturity.

"So, Alice," Runo said, suddenly deciding to strike up a conversation, "what are you planning to do after school starts?"

"Huh?" Alice replied dumbly, not catching the question. "Come again?"

She could almost hear Runo roll her eyes behind her. "I mean, are you gonna join any clubs, or anything? Because Julie and I thought it'd be a good idea, since, you know, we're starting high school."

Alice leaned against the mop handle, processing Runo's abrupt spur of inner growth. "What club do you have in mind?"

Runo's smile turned devious and Alice could sense it without having to see.

"I checked on the school's website, and really, I'm surprised," she started, dragging the suspense out and purposely torturing her friend. "I thought that, if they didn't have the club I wanted, I would just create it. But appears that they do."

Alice sighed, turning around to finally face her. "Okay, but what exactly is it?"

"The Stalker Club."

~

"What?!"

Marucho was staring at Dan in disbelief, barely discernible under the large fluffy towel.

Dan looked down at him, confused. "What what?"

The midget couldn't keep his mouth from hanging open. "You're going to quit?"

Dan shrugged, as if it were no big deal.

"Shun, talk some sense into him!" Marucho pleaded, shifting his attention on the taller boy.

Shun remained passive. "It's his decision."

"But that's absurd!" Marucho toned, voice an octave higher. "He's been playing baseball since forever! He can't just quit on a whim!"

Dan felt the anger steadily growing inside him and tried to push it down. He wasn't going to get mad. It was time he grew up. He'd learned, the past year, that lashing out at everything in his way was not a viable solution. It only brought more obstacles, and then they'd stack up, and Dan was never adept at dealing with fragile things.

Such as relationships.

He rubbed his face, rough, with the towel, hoping it would help him change his thoughts. He wasn't going down that road again. It gave him a headache, the last time he'd had to think about him and Runo.

"And what's more is you're taking up soccer instead?" Marucho was still raging. "I'd understand if you didn't have time for sports and all, but dumping one to pick up another? Passions aren't girlfriends, Dan, you can't just switch them around as you please."

He snapped. The heat surged up, victorious, broke his barriers and laughed in his face before proceeding to stab him in the back. He whirled around, brisk and brittle, eyes glaring daggers at his friend, and if looks could kill, he'd rather die a murderer than live a traitor.

"Yeah, like you'd now anything about girlfriends," he seethed, spewing venom and words meant to hurt, intentionally probing at those vital points he knew would make him bleed. "At least get one before you start talking nonsense about them. And what passion? So going out with someone doesn't require passion?"

He was starting to regret already. The look of shock and raw hurt that dyed Marucho's face with astounding palor, akin to Shun's natural skin color, dug nails into his stomach, and he felt like throwing up.

Shun decided it was time to interfere. He conveniently step in between the two warring friends, aloof and impersonal as always.

"Now's not the time for such childish antics. Seriously, can't you abstain yourselves from bashful behavior?" he reprimanded, irritation giving strange undertones to the ochre hues of his eyes. "I'm sure Dan is capable of making his own decisions, and whether they are mistakes or not, it's he who suffers the consequences, in the end. And I'm sure, Dan, you don't need to resort to dirt underhand tricks just to get back at a snarky comment."

Dan huffed and diverted his gaze from his friend's, unwilling to admit defeat. But reality was plain to behold. Shun had always known how to quench this fire, keep the wild beast in him under leash and lock, and did so with frightening efficiency. They were polar opposites, their friendship playing out in the most bizarre of scenes, and somehow this gave them a side of balance, harmony. Their personalities blended into one another, stilling the ragged currents, restoring them to a pond's placidity.

Shun was still glaring at him, features hardened, silently but firmly commanding him to apologize.

Dan grit his teeth, but gave in.

"Sorry, Marucho," he said, and prayed his voice sounded a bit convincing (really, there was a reaosn he'd flunked Drama class). To his surprise, it did, and he even dared think it sounded guilty. "I guess I got carried away. I didn't mean it."

Marucho nodded frantically, as if to emphasize his own remorse. "Yeah, I'm sorry too, it was wrong of me to judge you."

Shun, seemingly satisfied with his work, walked out of the bathroom. "I'm going to help the girls clean up. We can't let them pick after us all by themselves, can we?"

Dan quickly chucked the towel aside and tailed after Shun. He'd call it a draw, today.

~

"So..."

Julie frowned. The display before her wasn't very... attractive, to say the least.

A stash of clumsily made cookies, a handful of guys in wrinkled, and still wet, clothes, two tired girls with droopy eyes who threatened to fall asleep at any given moment.

"Lighten up, guys," she chirped, deciding the best thing to do was add a little sparkle to their dull, pitiful lives. "I bought chocolates from my trip!"

This mention didn't seem to raise their morals, on the contrary. Runo sunk even deeper into the couch cushion, groaning. It didn't help that, instead of going on a world-wide tour, she'd been stuck working at her parents' cafe the whole summer. Marucho's was the only interest Julie managed to spark, because he too had spent his holidays traveling (being the rich bastard he was), and they were soon engaged in a heated conversation about Paris, restaurants, Venice and whatnot.

Shun checked the clock overhead, and his expression drastically changed.

"Umm, I gotta go," he said, standing up. "I need to meet my cousin at the airport at five, and it's already three thirty."

Everyone except Alice nodded apprehensively, the latter concerned at his strange mannerism. She reached to grab his arm, only to find it abnormally rigid, and quickly let go once Shun shot her a questioning look.

"N-nothing. Hope you have a safe trip."

He was gone in a matter of seconds.

Alice was still skeptical, five hours later, when she climbed into her bed and shut the lights. She turned on her table lamp, withdrawing a bookmarked novel from the shelf, and plunged herself into a foreign world in order to forget the day's events.

She couldn't stop thinking, however, of the way Shun had reacted to her touch. Tense and... fearful.

~

Something was wrong.

Two hours ago, everything had been alright. The airport had been bustling with people leaving and coming, some there to greet returning relatives and some to send them off. He'd elbowed his way through the crowd, finally managing to find the right port, and met up with his grandfather.

Chan emerged through the gateway, slightly distracted and immersed in deep thought, dragging her sole suitcase along with one hand while holding her ticket and identification in the other. Once she spotted Shun though, the pensive look instantly fell away and broke into a brilliant smile.

"Hey, long time no see!"

"Yeah, it's been half a year, huh."

Chan laughed and ruffled his hair. "Did you miss me?"

"Of course," Shun replied, feigning offense that she could ever think the opposite was true.

The older girl laughed again. She felt alive. Alive was good.

"You cut you hair!" she said, noticing for the first time.

Shun's smile bittered. "Yeah. I wanted a change. Since, you know..."

She nodded. "It was about time. I wouldn't let you stay a crybaby for another year, though, even if you insisted on it." Change was good, too.

"C'mon, anehue, the car is waiting," Shun said, leading his cousin towards the exit.

That was two hours ago.

He had no idea how it had turned into this.

Chan pulled him back by the collar of his shirt just as a man, a security guard most likely, rushed pass. He was about to say something when a hand clamped down onto his mouth, blocking whatever words would have been spilled.

"Look, we don't have time for explanations right now," Chan said, grabbing his arm and starting to run. "Right now, we can't let those people find us."

"What about Grandfather?" he asked.

Chan waved the comment off, smiling. "He'll be fine. Do you really believe they'd catch onto that old man?"

Shun acquiesced motionlessly, deeming it more appropriate to just listen and follow. A few minutes later, panting and out of breath, they stopped outside the airport. Slowly, at a walking pace, they made their way to the parking lot. Night had settled, cool air enveloping their overexerted bodies. He was sure they were going to catch a cold, at this rate.

Stopping suddenly in her tracks, Chan spun around. Shun felt his muscles tense, ready to dash, but his cousin calmed him with gesture to move closer.

"Your father is after you."

Shun's eyes flew open impossibly wide.

"I don't believe you."

Chan sighed, running a hand through her bangs. "That's up to you, whether you do or not. I'm just the messenger. Also, about your little girlfriend."

Shun's facial expression darkened. "What about Alice?"

"It seems her grandfather, the professor Michael Gehabich, is on this one too."

Shun steeled his self resolve not to punch Chan in the face, then and there. He wasn't buying any of this bullshit. All affection he'd felt earlier had given place to hostility, and this really wasn't the ideal reunion he'd envisioned.

Chan fought to keep her smile from cracking. "Yeah. I think it's about time you told them."

"Tell them what?" he hissed, frustration rendering his knuckles white as his fists tightened at his sides.

Chan paused for a second, reflecting on how to phrase her response.

"Tell them they've all been living a lie, up until now."

Shun whipped his head up to stare at her, long and hard, taunting her to say more. Chan held his glare, and deciding it was time to remind him who was boss, continued.

"Tell them about Vestroia, the Bakugan, everything a convenient little pull of the lever erased."

The world turned black.

- end of episode 1 -