Running Story #1 - WARNING: Harsh language use!

[Saya Shuri]

From time to time, as I feel like it, I will place random things (most of them are daydreams) titled Running Stories. This means that I may update from the first post when I get some new information. Please note that these are from my own imagination, and as such contain bits and pieces of EVERYTHING and every story I have ever seen, read, heard, or have otherwise assimilated into my mind. You may find something familiar; if so, know that I am not copying for an agenda, I am merely placing it here for entertainment (mainly for myself, but I thought others might like to see the chaos of my head....and why I have constant headaches...)
But enough talk - let's get on with it!

Shitshitshitshitshit! he thought as he ran almost in the ditch, his long, glossy black pony-tail streaming out behind him like a banner. He could hear the bus driver rev the engine behind him, and pumped his legs even harder to reach the side-road that was the designated bus-stop for this stretch of road. The bus passed him and pulled over at the road, and Cor ((pronounced kore)) ricocheted off the row of crooked mailboxes and onto the first step, pausing long enough to hand the driver the now-crumpled ticket before swinging into the first seat on the opposite side and slamming his backpack down next to him, his head thumping against the near-frozen window as he fought to calm his burning legs, lungs, and frantic heartbeat while completely ignoring the roaring laughter and overly-loud comments from the back of the bus.

Yeah, well....let's see you out pace a bus for a mile, assholes... he thought rudely, hoping one of them may have been hit by lightning or something and gained the ability to read minds....yeah right! He flipped his bag around so he could yank the zippers open and pull out his ear-clip headphones, flipping off the "hold" switch on his cd-player and almost reverently pushing "play". He leaned back, taking a deep breath and relaxing to the bass of Godsmack's Voodoo Too on their new album, IV. The pounding bass amplified by his player's bass-booster, matching his pulse and pulling his mind into something that looked very much like one of the visualizations on Windows Media player on his comp at home....or was his pulse changing the match the bass....or was it the drums that were matched now? It didn't matter....all that mattered was the awesome pounding that was blasting through his skull...

"Hey!" Cor felt like he had been electrocuted. He sat up and looked around - oops. He'd fallen asleep again, and the driver had kicked him in the leg to get him off the bus. Cor grinned, said "Thanks," even though he couldn't hear a damn thing with his music so loud, and jumped down the steps, hauling his bag onto his right shoulder after he'd hit the concrete.

He looked up at the school - such a lovely thing, he thought sarcastically, forming the words in his head like a book as he marched over to the building where his homeroom was. With its brick walls and faded paint, mold-smothered classrooms and 80's style gym showers... It took him about a minute to get to the door, where he dropped his 'phones back into their pocket, turning off the cd player and switching on the "hold" feature that would keep it from being turned on and eating batteries. Then he dropped into his desk-chair - why the hell were high-school teenagers being forced to sit in desks made for 3rd-graders?! - dumping his bag to the floor and shoving it under the desk to use as a footrest...not that there was anywhere for his knees to go, they always ended up numb when he left.

He was tuned out, trying to remember what homework went to what class today, when there was a loud yelp and something heavy slammed into him from the open side of his desk-chair, knocking him - and therefore it - completely over. He felt as if a hammer had hit his head, and realized that he'd probably have a concussion from his head hitting the next desk over. He groaned and twisted to look at what had knocked him over and noticed that it was a girl that looked as though she belonged over in the section of campus for 6th, 7th, and 8th graders - and she was laying on top of him, trying to get up without using his stomach or crotch as support.

He shoved his hand gently under her shoulder and helped her off him. As he disentangled himself from the - oh, crap, his desk was in pieces! And so was the next one over! Cor glanced up toward the front of the room and saw Matt - his hated enemy - getting his ass thoroughly chewed by Mrs. Harst. Cor's jaw wasn't the only one trying to hit the floor, either. Mrs. Harst never raised her voice, or even seemed to have a temper; and now kind and gentle 24 year-old Mrs. Harst was screeching like a frickin' banshee, her face looking like a tomato it was so red, and there was even the little drops of spit flying into Matt's face.

If Cor hadn't been about to pass out he would have been laughing his ass off and crying for joy at the same time.

Cor put his hand to the impressively large lump forming on his head, and looked at the little girl that had fallen into him, about to ask what she was doing in the Big Kids part of school - and quickly swallowed that question. It was answered by the fact that she was very obviously Japanese, and everyone knows that Japanese are half the size of everyone else in the world, except midgets; she even had a strip of cloth tied around her right bicep with the Japanese flag on it. His mind grinned at the opportunity to put some of his 'manga' experience to use.

He turned to face her and took a step back, and she twitched at his sudden movement and stared at him, anxiety on her face. Maybe she thought he was angry at being knocked over? He'd find out in a bit. But now - he performed what his jujitsu sensei had proudly said was a perfect greeting bow, and said in what he knew must have sounded like a very corny accent, "Konichiwa." Her jaw dropped and she blushed as he stood up. Holy crap... he thought; she didn't even reach his shoulder! Of course, he did happen to be one of the tallest students at six-foot-four, whereas she was five-foot.....two....maybe.....

She gave a tiny, nervous looking smile and returned the bow, a little shakily and muttered "Konichiwa." back at him, in a much more authentic way. Well, duh it was authentic, you idiot! he thought to himself, smiling as kindly as he could back at her. Then she babbled something in Japanese and he was lost. She giggled and said in badly-accented English, "I guess not." She had probably asked if he spoke Japanese. He shook his head, and the whole world spun and the next thing he knew, he was in the bed in the nurse's office, with the Japanese girl in tears standing over him, babbling to someone rapidly in Japanese. A voice responded to her in equally rapid Japanese, and Cor's eyes shot open to see none other than his Mom conversing in Japanese!

"How the hell do you know Japanese, Mom?!" he said, and wished he hadn't. He threw himself toward the lone bathroom and proceeded to fervently pray to the Porcelain God. He heard the door click shut behind him, and his Mom and the girl continue their conversation. When he had finished praying, he flushed and sat in the corner, listening to the nurse say, "You should probably take him into the ER, Jan. He hit pretty hard..." At this point there was a loud wail that was quickly muffled and he thought, Why is she so upset? It was obviously an accident. She was pushed into me as a part of Matt's stupidity. He heard his Mom deny the nurse's offer to call an ambulance, and opened the door. They all stared at him as he leaned against the frame.

He looked at them - the nurse looking worried, his Mom looking like she was gonna pass out, and the Japanese girl in tears. She stepped up to him, looking like she was concentrating hard, and said in that same bad accent, "I is so sorry, Cor-san." His eyebrows went up at the fact that number-one, she knew his name, although he figured his Mom would have told her, and number-two, she was giving him a title of respect by putting '-san' at the end of his name. He smiled and told her "Don't worry about it. I'm fine, really."
She stared at him in surprise, then frowned and looked at his mom, who said something in Japanese. After a moment, she turned back to him and said, "I see. My name is Takahiro Shizune."

Cor grinned at her and asked, "So that means I call you Shizune, right? 'Cause Takahiro's your surname?" She smiled and nodded. He looked at his Mom and said "I really don't think I need to go to the hospital, Mom. I just need to rest a little bit and I'll be fine."
The nurse looked at him thoughtfully and said, "You just might. The number of times you've been sent here from Gym-class with a sprained or pulled muscle, sat for ten minutes with an ice-pack and gone right back out....a concussion probably won't affect as much as other kids." Cor stared at her, mortified, then glanced at his Mom - he'd never told her, ever, that he'd been sent here. His Mom said "Oh really? And why," she looked at him, "didn't you say anything, Cor?" He swallowed, then sighed and started to shake his head; he stopped when his neck twinged. His Mom also sighed and walked the two steps to him and hugged him. "I know why you didn't. It's okay."

She stepped back and said in her best morale-boosting voice, "Now, you don't wanna go to the ER, but you obviously can't stay here. I have to get back home and get to work, and Shizune-chan's foster parents don't get home until 6 tonight. So I'm taking you both. Is that alright?" she asked the nurse, who shrugged and replied that Cor shouldn't be moving around to much, and it wasn't really her jurisdiction to decide about Shizune. So Shizune ran back to the Homeroom and grabbed their bags and met them in front of the office. Cor reached for his bag, but Shizune yanked it out of his reach.

"Hey!" he said, slightly annoyed. "Gimme my bag, Shizune. C'mon...." She scuttled away from him, grinning. He glared, then laughed and said "You're just like girls in animes, you know that? Fine, carry it. I don't think I can even walk with it, actually." She giggled, and his mom helped him walk to the car as the bell rang. Oh great, just what I need. Everyone to see "The Invincible Corban" being led like an invalid after bumping his head after a fall. And then something strange happened - before he could pull away from his Mom's support, she let go of him, but stayed near enough to grab him if he fell. Then they were at the car, and he got in the back with Shizune. She blushed and spoke to his Mom in Japanese. He didn't understand most of it, but thought he heard "arigato" several times. His Mom just waved her hand and said "It's no problem, really." in English. Then she added, "We really should stick to English. It's not fair to Cor."

Cor blushed and asked "So how come you know Japanese and never told me?" She laughed and replied, "You never asked. Remember I told you I studied for awhile in Japan? Silly. If I studied in Japan, isn't it a no-brainer that I'd learn to talk with my colleagues?" Shizune giggled and Cor blushed. He had forgotten. He rested his head against the window and closed his eyes, keeping quiet all the way home while listening to his Mom give tips to Shizune about speaking English. When they got home, he immediately headed for his room and came out with some more comfortable jeans and his favorite green tank-top, and headed for the bathroom. Unfortunately, his Mom was standing in the doorway, arms crossed, giving him a knowing look. "What now?" he whined at her. "I'm not allowed to take a shower or something? I feel like crap, Mom." She shook her head and told him that he couldn't until his concussion had gone down a bit. So he went back to his room and changed clothes anyway, then went in search for his cat, Haku. He searched his Mom's room, the hallway, both bathrooms, the den, his Mom's office (he got a rubber paper-weight in the face for that; his Mom didn't like being interrupted while working), the living room, the kitchen, the dining room, and the garage. No orange cat. There was also no sign of Shizune.

He sat down on the couch in the living room and stared at the tv remote on the cushion next to him, depressed. Then he heard Haku's signature crackly meow - from the backyard? Cor went to investigate and found Shizune rubbing Haku's belly at the edge of the patio. Cor grinned, walked over, and picked Haku up. Shizune got up and said, "He's a very cute....um....bat?" Cor shook his head softly and told her the word was "cat", his name was Haku, and he was an inside cat. She apologized for bringing him outside as they went back to the living room. Haku promptly went to his empty food bowl and yowled loudly until Cor fed him, explaining that he had chosen his name from "Kohaku", which he had read in a manga was Japanese for "amber". She nodded and said it was, and that it was a nice name.

They went into the living room and he sat on the couch and she sat in one of the chairs, and they talked for a couple hours. He learned that she was from Kyushu and that her parents had died in a boating accident, so her grandma had sent her to America and had found her a foster-house that would take her in until she was 18 and could support herself. Which, she said, was next year, as she was 17 now. She lived about a mile away, and had been touring the school when Matt had shoved her into the room and then into Cor. So he told her that Matt was a complete idiot and a bully.

Cor wasn't much of a talker, but calling Matt and idiot, for some reason, made him feel like a plug had been yanked out of his brain, and all of a sudden he couldn't seem to shut up. He found himself telling Shizune - a complete stranger - about how his dad had died in Iraq and left him and his mom homeless, and how his mom had had to travel the world on a bank-loan to learn as much as she could about world culture so she could write novels and design web-pages at the same time. And now they had this nice house and plenty of money, but she had to work constantly, so Cor had to get his liscence at 16 so he could shop for them...pretty much his whole life story.

Cor had a sudden impulse to look at the clock; it had been 7:30 when he'd received his concussion. The clock now read 12 noon. His jaw dropped, and he glanced at Shizune, saying "We've been talking for almost five hours, you realize...." She smiled and nodded, then laughed when his stomach growled loudly. He grinned and went into the kitchen, Shizune trailing him. He set up two plates and made a couple of ham-and-cheese sandwiches, handed one of the plates to Shizune, paused for a second, then made one for his Mom and took it in to her silently.

After Cor and Shizune had finished the sandwiches, they went to the den, and Shizune seemed impressed by the amount of books, mangas, games, and posters that were Japanese based. Cor smiled. "I really like Japanese culture, especially the types of fantasy stories they can think up." He pulled a manga off the shelf and flipped through it. "And manga has a slight edge over novels, because if gives you better insight into what's going on in the background, and expressions and such..." He looked up to see Shizune staring at the manga in his hands with tears in her eyes. He dropped the manga onto the shelf and asked worriedly "Hey, what's up, Shizune?"
She looked at him, apparently startled by his question, then blinked and wiped her eyes. "Nothing, Cor. I'm fine." and she turned to leave the room. Cor had a sudden impulse - and he always followed his impulses, no matter what - and he gently grabbed her arm. She looked at his hand, then back at him with a look on her face like a trapped animal. He felt his heart leap into his throat, but managed to say quietly, "What's wrong, Shizune? Is it something I can help with?" And suddenly he had a very distraught Japanese girl clinging to his shirt for dear life, soaking it with tears and sobbing, trying to speak in her native language and choking on air. He wrapped his arms around her, completely dumbfounded and rather scared, and sat her down on the sofa, then sat down next to her as she kept clinging to him. He kept his arms around her and kept quiet, trying to understand what she was so desperately trying to say, but failing completely. Then the door flew open and his Mom stomped in, annoyed at the noise. Her expression changed completely when she saw Shizune wailing into Cor's chest, and Cor looked at her helplessly, mouthing wordlessly at her. She rushed over and sat down on the other side of Shizune and took over for Cor. She listened to Shizune for a second, then gestured with her head for Cor to leave. He hesitated, then went to his room on the second floor and sat down on his bed next to Haku, trying to figure out what the hell just happened.

He was awakened by a knock on his door. The light coming through his window was orange, and he gasped quietly as he sat up and saw Shizune standing in front of him. He felt like time had frozen - she looked like a frickin' goddess in the orange half-light, her face calm and composed, although it was puffy and crusty from dried tears. And the look she was giving him made him weak. She sat down next to him on his bed and stared at the door, which was closed - she had come in, closed the door, and then knocked. Cor's stomach twisted at the thought. He pictured slapping himself in his head, then cleared his throat and started to say something - anything - to break the silence, but she said, so quietly he almost didn't hear her, "Arigato, Cor-san." She looked up at him, and for a second he thought she was gonna kiss him or something weird like that, but she only said, "So I see you at school tomorrow?" He nodded, unable to speak, and she smiled and left. He heard her telling his Mom - in English - that she could walk home.

Cor fell back on his bed, staring at the upside-down view through his window, and all he could think of for the rest of the evening and all night was how he hadn't thought it funny that she pronounced her L's as R's....

Somehow Shizune had ended up with exactly the same schedule as him - and he wasn't surprised. Before, he had gone everywhere alone, or with his ever-present personal tag-along idiot, Matt Grehst. Cor was pretty sure Shizune would have been ruthlessly hounded if she hadn't insisted - right into the principal's face, apparently - on having the same schedule. At least they had each other to talk to. Things were quiet for an entire month. Shizune would somehow beat him to the bus stop, and then would hang out with him at his house after school until her foster parents got home, usually kicking his ass thoroughly at any game she tried, then he'd find her smiling at the bus stop the next morning.

[Saya Shuri]

And then, of course, the inevitable happened. As usual, Cor and Shizune were in their seats in Homeroom before anybody else but the teacher, giving language lessons to each other - Cor was getting the hang of Japanese, and Shizune vice-versa. Then Matt and his new girlfriend (Cor had no idea how he'd attracted her, and wasn't really sure he wanted to know) came in, and the Dragon (as Cor and Shizune referred to her) damn-near yelled, "Hey Cor, you made out with your little foreigner yet? Or is she only your girlfriend?"

He was prepared to ignore them and continue with the difficult task of writing his name with Kanji when he heard Shizune say clearly - and perfectly - "And what if I am his girlfriend? You missed out by slobbering all over that troll on Saturday, so you can't complain."
Cor's pen dropped out of his hand, but he didn't notice. He was too busy staring at Shizune along with everyone else, although something in the back of his mind said that he was staring for a completely different reason.

"WHAT?!" The shriek split the sudden silence - even Mrs. Harst had been stunned by Shizune's response - and made everyone jump. The Dragon whirled on Matt. "You said no one could follow us, you asshole!" Matt bared his teeth at her and shoved her to the side so hard she fell on her across another dude's lap, and advanced on Shizune with such a fierce look of anger that she shrank back, obviously afraid. "Troll?" Matt whispered. "You bitch, I don't care if I'm on campus, I don't care if I go to jail, I'll -"

"Have to kick my ass first." Cor said as he wrenched Matt's hand from Shizune's shirt-collar. He stood in front of her, feeling invincible, and his mind painted the entire scene like an anime, and suddenly, it was an anime. He blinked. Everything seemed to blur between real-life and animation - until Matt's fist connected with his face. Cor grunted, but managed to stay put as everybody screamed and Mrs. Harst yelled at the students to stop Matt as she yanked at the classroom phone. Matt swung his fist back again - and froze, staring at Cor in either astonishment or horror, Cor couldn't tell, nor did he care. He stood defiant, a solid shield defending Shizune, the only friend he'd ever had...and shields didn't attack, so he would take every hit unmovingly until Matt was either stopped or ran out of energy, whichever came first.

That chance didn't come, because a pair of campus guards ran in, saw Matt's fist in the air, Cor standing with a glare on his face, and Shizune cowering behind Cor, and lunged for Matt. The cops got there just as the guards were hauling Matt kicking and yelling out of the classroom, and after getting an explanation from the teacher, asked Carol (aka the Dragon), Cor, and Shizune to come outside for statements. Carol went first, then Shizune, then the cop with the paper-pad pulled Cor over to his car.

After glancing at Cor's face, the cop pulled a handkerchief out of his breast-pocket and handed it to Cor. "You probably didn't even notice your nose, did you kid?" Cor blink and frowned - and the frown finally alerted his brain to the fact that his upper lip and nose hurt extremely bad. He gasped and grabbed the kerchief, putting it to his nose and throwing his head back as he felt blood trickle down his neck and chest. Great...Mom's gonna kill me for this...blood never comes out... The cop asked Cor the same questions as the girls, then frowned and asked why he hadn't fought back. Cor thought for a second, and replied, "I didn't think he deserved to have his ass kicked by me for it, even though he's been bullying me all my life. I mean, if he'd actually been serious about hurting Shizune or me, I would have defended her or myself, but he's just pissed because his precious pride got wounded in front of the class. I think he would have given up after that second punch. I also don't think he deserves jail for a threat and one punch, no matter how much I hate him."

The cop stared at him after writing all that down, thoughtful. "That kid damn-near broke your nose and you don't want him thrown in Juvy?" Cor shook his head, still holding the kerchief to his nose. "Hm. Tell you what, you keep that kerchief as proof of my admiration. You're a rare one."

He motioned for Cor to go sit with the others, and Cor walked over, still staring at the sky, but pretty sure he could look down soon; he could feel the blood congealing a bit already. He glanced down to make sure he wasn't gonna run into anything, and stopped at the looks on Carol's and Shizune's faces: something that looked like awe to him. "What's up with you guys?" he asked as he sat next to Shizune. Silence. He sighed. Great. Now I'm a f**king hero. That's all I need. "Thanks, Cor." Carol said suddenly. Cor looked at her and took the kerchief away from his face, experimentally wiggling his nose; the bleeding seemed to have stopped. "For...saying what you said about Matt." She was staring at the pavement. "I know a lot of people hate him, but he doesn't know how not to be what he is. His dad's an asshole-drunk to him, and his mom's dead, so he doesn't know how to be nice to people...that's why I'm going out with him." The entire time she was talking, Cor was thinking And I need to know this because...? "I'm trying to...uh...wean him away from being an asshole." And they were all mature enough not to laugh at her choice of words. "And Shizune...I'm sorry. I guess I lost myself for while.....I usually wouldn't say something like that...." One of the cops came over and told them they were free to go back to class, and Carol and Shizune did so while Cor went to the nurse to get cleaned up. He had to endure several "talks" about fighting in school, offers of romance from what must have been every female student on the High School side of the campus, and glares from their boyfriends...until he got home.

He knew his Mom had been informed of the day's events, and was not looking forward to a scolding with Shizune right behind him. He was therefore very surprised when Shizune shoved him aside as he reached for the door handle, and opened it herself, rushing in and shutting the door - his own frickin' front door! - in his face. He stood there, shocked and pissed, listening to rapid Japanese as Shizune gave her explanation. He even understood some of it now. Then the door opened and his mom was smiling at him, with Shizune right behind her. He went inside, raised an eyebrow at the silent pair, then went to his room to change into his favorite shorts - the heater was on because it was early January - and tank-top. He did his pants first (he had to remember to tell his Mom he needed a new pair), then pulled off his shirt and examined it. He probably should have passed out from blood-loss, judging by the stain... He threw it onto his dirty clothes pile, then reached for the tank-top on his bed - except it wasn't there anymore. He frowned and looked around, then swiveled as he heard a giggle from the doorway he had accidentally left open. Shizune waved the green tank-top at him and he blushed, feeling exposed. She laughed as his face burned, and he turned around to face her, arms crossed as he inquired "And just what do you plan to do with that? Tie me up and yell at me for covering for you?" She gave him a weird looking grin and tugged the shirt in different directions, like a rope. "Maybe." was all she said as she advanced on him. Something about her expression made him back away, anxious for some reason about being near her.

Unfortunately the wall was only two steps behind him, and as he hit it he heard his Mom yell that she was gonna go shopping for once cause she needed the break. He felt all the blood leave his face - that meant that he and Shizune were completely alone, after a day during which he had taken half-a-beating for her, and on top of that, he was shirtless.

He swallowed hard, and felt his voice break as he said, "Uh, Shizune, what're you..." his voice failed him as she stopped right in front of him, way too close to be casual. She stared up at him with an expression he didn't know how to translate on her face. He took comfort in the fact that she couldn't do what she so obviously wanted to do - kiss him - because his face was out of her reach. Or at least that's what he thought she wanted to do -

"OOF!" he wasn't prepared for that! He was so worried about how close her face was that he hadn't noticed her arm thingy to deliver that impressive blow to his abdomen, and now he was curled up on his bed, gasping for air and thankful that the blow hadn't been dealt lower with her knee. He felt her sit down next to him, and rolled to face the other direction. She grabbed his shoulder and rolled him onto his back, using her minimal weight to pin him. They both knew he could sit up and toss her out in a snap; it was a mark of his respect for her that he let her pin him like this. She smiled down at him, and asked slowly "Why do you fear me so?". He blinked; she had asked in Japanese, and he had understood. He propped himself up on his elbows and kept his eyes on the ceiling as he thought. "I think..." he replied in slow, broken Japanese. "I don't know. I think.....I don't fear you. I fear ...change. I like our friendship. I've never had a friend before, ever. And then, out of nowhere, you fall into my life. Literally. Gave me a concussion, too, remember?" Oops. He'd lapsed back into English. He switched back to Japanese. "That was the first major change since my Dad....well, you know. Then you pop into my life, and I've felt a feeling I thought was lost to me forever: I'm happy. I have a friend, and even better, one that appreciates my love for things Japanese....except sushi." She laughed. "And I'm afraid that if we change...everything else will. But that's life, isn't it? Life is change."

He looked at her, and that weird look that was there before was back. "That...what you said to the Dragon this morning....." he stopped, not knowing how to continue. "I meant it. And what it implies." She stated softly. He looked at her, going hot and cold all over at the same time. Then words started coming out despite his attempts to stop them. "But how am I supposed to respond? I've never had a friend before, let alone a relationship! I have no idea what to do, or what I'm supposed to do, or anything. I don't even know if....." Control of mouth achieved, and just in time. Her eyes had gone wide and oddly shiny-looking. "Does that mean you don't feel anything for me, beyond friendship? After everything we've done?" she asked, her voice shaking. The tremor in her voice seemed to spread to his lungs and heart, and suddenly he really didn't want her to cry. He wanted to do anything to make her happy - and that was it. What he had been trying to deny since he'd first seen her broke out and flooded him with such intensity that he wanted to cry himself.

Instead he sat up and reached over, pulling her to him and kissing her firmly. After I was so afraid of her kissing me, and I'm the one who ends up making the first move! I wonder if she planned this...? The thoughts were pushed out of his head as he pulled away a couple of inches. Her eyes were closed, and a single tear trailed from her eye to her ear. He wiped it away with his thumb. "Don't cry, Shizune..." he whispered. "I don't want you to cry, I feel like I'll fall apart if you're sad." He started shaking uncontrollably. Shizune opened her eyes, and he felt like he was falling into them. They were so green. He'd never seen anything so green, and wondered why he'd never noticed before. His hair fell from his shoulder where it had been hanging and fell to one side of their faces. She took a deep rattling breath and breathed out slowly, and her breath smelled like cinnamon and ginger to him. Cor kissed her again, as softly as he could, one arm around her shoulders and the other supporting her head so her neck wouldn't cramp or something. Cor felt like he was drowning in something that was pleasant and at the same time incredibly painful.

Suddenly she pulled back and he opened his eyes to see what had upset her. He held still as she reached a hand up and stroked his cheek, and he felt dampness follow her fingers - he'd been crying and hadn't noticed. She smiled and rested her head on his chest. He laid down slowly, thinking it would be more comfortable for her neck - he hated it when his neck hurt - and kept his arms around her like a teddy bear. She cuddled up to him, her head resting in his armpit. He started shaking again; he couldn't stop crying either. It felt so right, with her head on his shoulder and her arm across his chest, their breathing perfectly even, his room glowing like it was on fire, as the whole world seemed to tremble with with his muscles. Even his little animal figurines on their shelves were shaking with him -

What the HELL? "Shizune! Earthquake!" He shot bolt upright, dragging her with him. His tv vibrated off his dresser and shattered on the floor. They ran out into the hallway and headed for the stairs. Halfway down the house gave a huge lurch that knocked Shizune off her feet and straight into Cor; this time he was prepared for her falling on him, and caught her. He carried her as he used all his skills as a sprinter to get out of the wobbling house. They waited far away from the house as windows shattered and a couple of trees were uprooted, nearly hitting the house. As quickly as it started, it was over, but they didn't move. They stayed in the front yard, holding onto one another for dear life, even when Cor's mom came roaring into the driveway and shrieked to a halt. Cor was staring at his house - it was still standing, but needed a lot of work before it was whole again.

"Cor! Thank God you're alright!" Cor's mom ran over and threw her arms around them, shaking. "Well, I'll see what's busted up. Please, oh Merciful God, don't let that computer be destroyed! It has everything on it!"

As she went into the house, Cor and Shizune looked at each other. Shizune grinned slightly and said "That was f**king scary." in English. Cor chuckled and picked her up so he could kiss her again, spinning around and around.

His life was finally starting to look up. About damn time!