A Messy Array of Stories, AUs, Covers and Many More

A Cute Pairing is Introduced in the DanZuka Journeys AU!

AU Bio: 

An AU where Dan Kouzo and an OC of mine, Amano Shizuka [eventually changing it to Shinkawa Ichita], meet during a Bakugan going rampant and team up for the fight. Afterwards, they begin to dive into the many mysteries behind Bakugan, while slowly growing closer to each other. It can also be considered an AU to the events that have happened in my Bakugan RP with venusaura. Some old and new elements will be brought in, such as meeting Benton [taking Professor Sakuragi's place] and going on missions into the maze [Dan can skip boring stuff and he's happy about that], meeting the Golden Bakugan and other Brawlers from all over the world. Venusaura also gave the suggestion to use Mechtogan as the main thing being looked into in this AU.

New Characters & their Bakugan: 

Amano Shizuka / Ichita Shinkawa Dusk -> Cubbo, Elfin, Hydranoid (given to him after he is adopted by Benton)

Plot: 

17-year-old Dan Kouzo finally returns home to Las Volmos. Although he is the reigning Bakugan Brawler Champion, he finds himself lost, unsure of where to go or what to do. He's graduated from school, and so he's looking for a job, though he isn't in a rush. He then decides to visit Dusk Industries, where Benton greets him and they catch up. Suddenly, an alarm rings for a weird signal coming from the park, and Dan rushes there to check it out. There, he runs into Zuka who is fighting for his life against a rogue Bakugan, and they work together to win against the rogue. After they head to Dusk Industries, Benton is amazed by their data and decides to take them on as his research fellows. With the signing of a contract and agreement from the two, he leads them to their new private quarters; a double bedroom, and they settle in for the night. 

The next day, the two are sent on their first mission to the Maze to investigate some surges of dark energy. Zuka and Dan have a fall-out during the mission due to their clashing ideals; Dan trusts Drago, while Zuka wants to rely on the map. However, they still stick to each other and end up finding a hidden pocket dimension in the Maze, where they are attacked by another rogue Bakugan, only Dan recognizes this Bakugan; Riot's Maxitaur. The two then battle him, and Dan stands in front of the others to protect them before they manage to beat him back, rescuing him and taking him back to the lab, where they reconcile. 

Afterward, they begin to look more into these Bakugan, and Zuka realizes it has something to do with abandonment, so the two head to China Riot's place to ask her about Maxitaur. She can only give them information that she and Maxitaur had a fight, which bums Zuka out, but then Dan gets a call from his friend Ajit who's in Antarctica. This leads the two to head there in order to help him. There, Zuka is introduced to Ajit, who immediately sees the crush he has on Dan, teasing Zuka subtly. Soon, though, Dan and Ajit learn that Zuka's been there before; he's been to every country! While he doesn't divulge more about that, it piques Dan's interest, and he and Ajit ask him about it. Zuka doesn't tell much, and they quickly get serious as Ajit tells them of a mysterious voice coming from a cave. They head there, but Zuka gets separated from them as he stumbles deeper into it, where he finds an Aquos Bakugan named Elfin. Elfin is happy to meet him, although he says that he's a Pyrus brawler, which disappoints her. But then, another attack comes and the two work together to beat the mysterious rogue Bakugan, and Zuka lets her join his team. Ajit is happy about that, and he teases Zuka once more before the two go home, unaware that Dan is also blushing. 

The two continue doing research on Bakugan, although Zuka is beginning to worry because Dan keeps on asking him about his past. It gets to the point that he yells at Dan and leaves the house, stressed and pained about this, even taking some time to work in the library. However, Dan tracks him down just in time to see people discriminating against him because he's biologically a girl; this shocks but angers Dan at how they invalidate him. He yells at them for their harsh words, and brawls against them so they will leave Zuka alone. Zuka is very surprised by this, but Dan says that Zuka has a very important place in his heart, and even if he doesn't understand it, Dan is willing to walk with him. Zuka is touched by this, and the two hug before returning to the house, where Benton calls them over and tells them to head to Japan, where they will meet up with the other Awesome Brawlers due to a rise in mysterious rogues there.

After Zuka is introduced to the others, the group heads to Shizuoka, where Zuka is suddenly assaulted by a couple who introduces themselves as Zuka's parents. Most of them trust them, but Dan doesn't and he says that Zuka looks very uncomfortable with them. This then leads to Zuka's past being revealed; he had run away from home due to how he was invalidated by his environment of being a guy when he was born a girl. This makes Dan even angrier, and he is about to yell at them when the Bakugan in their hands go rogue. The AB immediately brawls out, but Dan tells them to check for more around the area; he'll take care of these guys. The others are apprehensive, yet Zuka decides to join him in the battle, so the others go to deal with the other Bakugans while the two take them on. It's during this battle that Zuka can finally stand up to his birth parents and let them know that he has friends now and he's not about to let them take his happiness away. Because of this, a new power emerges from him, and it gives the two of them a new weapon to use in order to guide their partners. With that, they take down the parents as the others head back just in time to hear Zuka's name being changed to Shinkawa Ichita courtesy of Dan. During dinner, when Ichita calls Benton to tell him about cutting ties with his family, the team teases Dan and flusters him. Benton then reveals he's adopting Ichita, surprising Ichita enough to scream in shock, but the others congratulate him and he's happy about that too. 

[Since there are a lot of things I don't know about Mechtogan, I'll leave it here for now. If anyone has any suggestions, do leave them down below!]