Beyond the Mask - A Bakugan fanfic

Chapter 12

"Oh my god, I think that must be a new record for me. I haven't had that many battles in a day since Bakugan first became a thing," Amari sighed, grateful to finally be in the relief of her home's air conditioning. She toed off her shoes, discarding them and her backpack at the front door. She didn't have anywhere special to hang it, or anywhere to put her shoes besides near the front door. But she figured she would venture out tomorrow morning again anyway, so there wasn't much point in moving her bag.

Leo came flying out of her pocket, bobbing up and down in the air in front of her as he spoke.

"Yes, it was-"

"Amari is that you?" Souma called from further inside the house. "Are you talking with someone on the phone?"

Without thinking, Amari snatch Leonidas from the air just as Souma poked his head out of the kitchen doorway. She smiled, ignoring the way Leonidas pushed against her clasped hand.

"N-no, I was just – talking to myself. I've been at the park," she began to explain.

"There you are!" Mai brushed past Souma and headed straight for Amari, wrapping her in one of her signature hugs that lasted far too long, but ones that Amari still found oddly warming. Amari tried not to hug back too tightly, conscious of the sweat clinging to her t-shirt from the days' battles. "I was wondering where you headed off to so early this morning."

"It's summer, Mai, of course she'd be outside."

She whipped around to face Souma.

"I didn't think kids still went outside for fun these days, especially with the way you spend so much time on your computer," she turned back to Amari at the last comment and brushed something, probably a stray hair or some pollen, from her shoulder. Amari rolled her eyes.

"That's only when it's dark and I can't go outside."

"Oh, right. That makes sense," she smiled. "Well come on in, we've got the food all set on the table. Let's sit and have dinner together for once."

Amari picked up on the humor in her voice and headed to the kitchen with her foster parents. Mai kept a hand on her shoulder the entire time as she guided Amari to the kitchen. As soon as she stepped into the kitchen, Amari was hit with the rich scent of chicken pathia, a recent favorite of hers since she began living with her foster parents. The smell of it sat heavy in her empty stomach that growled in anticipation to devour no less than two bowls of the stuff and her mouth began to salivate. She hadn't realized how hungry she'd been from her day out battling.

"Come and sit with us! Tell us all about your day," Mai said, stepping away from Amari's side to start scooping the pathia from the wok on the stove into some bowls.

It was a fairly sized kitchen with enough room to house the white cabinets and countertops that lined one whole side of the room with a little breakfast nook to the right where they ate all of their meals (whenever they actually got the chance to eat together). The remaining space left enough room for the three of them to move around without it feeling crowded.

The table was already made up with three places and glasses of water set out. Amari took a seat across from Souma and waited for Mai to join them.

"So," Souma began, clearing his throat. "You have summer reading to do this year?"

Amari smiled at his attempt to starting a conversation. She could note his obvious discomfort a mile away.

"Well-"

"Sou you know that's not what she really wants to talk about," she scolded her husband as she set a bowl down in front of him. He rolled his eyes, but smiled at her, nonetheless. Amari laughed along with him.