Disclaimer: I don't own Dragonball Z... If I did, I wouldn't be a poor college student... But I do own the characters Kori, Melissa, Kori's mom, Coach Ohm, and Professor Watts, so don't you dare use them without my permission...
AN/Warnings: Ok, guys... So this is gonna be a really incredibly long AU fic with lots of action, adventure, battle, a little romance, some angst, and just about everything... There is NO BULMA! So if you're completely and totally B/V loyal, don't go any farther at all... Like I said, this fic will be an EPIC, so don't be upset if stuff doesn't happen quickly, cause I'm in this one for the long haul... The rating right now is PG-13 for just a smidge of language, though I promise a lemon or perhaps more in much much later chapters. They won't be here for a good long while, though, because, as in life, stuff like that takes TIME to develop! Another warning about this fic is that it revolves around a lot of OC's, so if you hate stories with original characters, you don't even have to start reading. Ok, so you've read the warnings and none of them apply to you, the only thing I have to say is, hope you like it!
By the way //blah, blah, blah// is internal thoughts...
***THANKS TO LYNZ FOR BETA-ING AND GIVING ME THE TITLE AND THE COURAGE TO POST THIS!!!***
Kori brushed her straying hair out of her face and grabbed her backpack. //I can't be late,// she thought as she rushed out the door. This was her first day at high school and she didn't want to make a bad impression on her teachers. It was also quite a distance from her house, so she'd have to fly to the outskirts of the city and walk from there. She ran a few yards from the house and crouched down, getting ready to launch herself into the air.
"Wait," her mom yelled after her. "You forgot your lunch!" The short older woman held out a bag to her daughter. Kori walked back towards her mother, unsnaking her tail from underneath her baggy t-shirt and grabbing the bag with it. "Remember what I said about using your tail, and not showing how powerful you are. You don't want to cause any commotion at school, right?"
She nodded her head. "I remember, mom. I just figured this is the last time I'll get to use it for a few hours, so I might as well make it count." She smiled warmly and bent down to hug her mother. "See you when I get home, mom." She turned and jogged off in the other direction.
"Bye! Have a good first day!" Her last words went nearly unheard as Kori launched into the sky. The wind felt so good whipping past her, she almost forgot where she was going. It seemed no matter how many times she flew, she'd never get tired of it. She touched down at the edge of Northeastern City, taking her bag lunch into her hand and hiding her tail around her waist under her shirt. She started to follow the directions from the letter she'd received from the school. After jogging a few blocks, she saw the tall building ahead of her with the school seal on it, just like on her letter.
//This must be the place,// she thought to herself. She checked her watch. 8:20. //Great, right on time! Well, no time to waste, class starts in ten minutes.// Once inside the building, she found the room listed on her schedule for her first class, Ancient Civilizations. She walked through the door rather timidly, and searched for the teacher. There was a short, balding, slightly chubby older man in a suit organizing some books on the podium in front of the class. //Guess that's him.// She walked towards the man and caught his attention. "Excuse me, sir. My name's Kori. I'm the new student from district 227." She extended her hand towards him, trying not to look like too much of a suck-up.
The chubby man looked up, taking her hand and shaking it vigorously. "Yes, Kori! We here at Northeastern have been expecting you. You did very well on your entrance exams. It's not often home-schoolers are as advanced as you. Especially with you joining the school a year early at the tender age of 17! I'm professor Watts. Welcome to Ancient Civilizations, I hope you enjoy the class." He smiled genuinely at her.
"Thank you, sir. I'm sure I will."
"Your seat is right up there," he said, pointing to an empty desk between two students. She nodded and headed towards her desk, plopping her backpack and lunch down as she got there. Now would come the true test of whether going to a public school was for the best or not. Her looks were so different from the other students' in the room. Aside from her tail, which she would take care that no one knew about, her hair was an unruly mass of light brown spikes falling every which way around her head. Even cut short in the style she'd grown to love, her hair refused to cooperate with any kind of attempt to style it in a different fashion. Her eyes were onyx, void of any color, yet shining with the intensity of a hundred stars. Her frame was not the typical feminine one. Her height of about 5'6" was one thing that was average about her, yet her broad shoulders and defined physique of aptly sized muscles hinted at the raw power her body contained. She did have attributes that marked her as definitely female. Curves in the right places, smaller, deceptively delicate hands, soft facial features. But unlike the other girls she saw, she did nothing to try and artificially enhance her appearance. No makeup, no distinctively feminine clothes. She dressed for comfort in jeans, worn in sneakers, and a t-shirt. She was secretly afraid of how the other students would react to her appearance. She thought about trying to fit in as best she could while still retaining her independence.
The girl in the desk next to her seemed to notice her silent thoughtfulness. "Hey there," she said, trying to break the ice.
Kori, startled, whipped around to look at the girl. "Uh, hi," she returned. She hadn't really expected anyone to speak to her. The girl looked genuinely friendly. //Good, at least I'm not getting made fun of... yet.// She flashed a small smile. "I'm Kori. What's your name?"
"I'm Melissa." The girl held out her hand, which Kori took, shaking it in greeting. The girl looked pretty average except that her hair, though at first glance appeared a kind of dark reddish-brown, was actually closer to very deep purple. "Don't worry too much about this place. Most of the people are really nice. And, no offense, but I don't think too many people would even consider trying to bother you."
Kori grinned openly. "No offense taken." One of the things she prided herself on was her strength. She'd always had unnatural strength... Not just for a female, child, or whatever you wanted to classify her as, but for anyone, period. She thought back to the time her dog had run out in the street. She was 8 years old. A huge big-rig was heading straight for him. The next thing she knew, she was in front of the truck, holding it in place with one hand. She had always seemed stronger than an average child, but that stunt was beyond the comprehension of her mother. It had occurred to her rather quickly that with power like that, it would have to be tempered greatly in order to prevent huge catastrophes. Her mother, who was an experienced martial artist herself, had trained her from that day on to control her strength. She looked back at Melissa. "Yeah, I think I can take care of myself in that department." She almost smirked in her confidence. She rolled up her right sleeve, jokingly striking a pose, and flexed her bicep in a mock-bodybuilder style, which sent Melissa into a fit of laughter. Their joviality was soon interrupted by the rapping of a meter stick on the chalkboard, signaling the beginning of class.
***
Kori set her bag lunch down opposite Melissa at the table. "I can't believe we have the exact same schedule. That's wild!" She was pretty excited to have someone who would talk to her in all her classes. The day had gotten off to a pretty good start. In the two classes prior to lunch, they had been able to sit next to one another, and even got to be lab partners in Physics. School might not be as hard to deal with as she thought. She looked down to Melissa's tray at the "food" the school supplied and silently thanked her mother for the packed lunch, then began to lay her food out in front of her: five cheese and tomato sandwiches (she hated cold lunch meat), a large thermos of chicken noodle soup, two apples, a pudding cup, and a 20 oz bottle of water. She started to lay into the meal as Melissa dropped her... whatever it was... and just gawked at Kori's food.
"Y-you're not going to eat all THAT... Are you?" Melissa was more than startled at the amount of food this one not-so-large person was consuming.
Kori looked up, her cheeks puffed out with bites of cheese sandwich. "Yrrh, rr dhn nh hy rr eeg sho nch..." She tried to talk, but noticed that Melissa wasn't responding. She actually looked like she was trying to hold in an uncontrollable fit of laughter.
"Would you mind repeating that without food in your mouth, dork?" She managed to choke down her laughter to avoid making a scene.
"*GULP* Hey! You don't have to call me names... nerd... What I was trying to say was: I don't know why I eat so much... I've never really gained weight from it, and if I eat less I get really weak and sick, so there's no reason to change my eating habits, right?"
"Yeah, I suppose you're right. Man, you're lucky if you can eat that much and not gain weight. I wish I could." Melissa watched as Kori polished off the rest of her meal, shaking her head periodically at the sight. She checked her watch. 12:25. "Hey, Kori, c'mon. It's almost time for P.E."
Kori got up, throwing her trash away. //Great,// she thought, //here comes the real test. Can I control my power enough to not get noticed?// She took a deep breath, and followed Melissa to the gym.
***
"Ok, class. For those of you who don't know," he glared at Kori, "I'm coach Ohm. Today we're going to learn some basic self defense maneuvers." He crossed his arms and glared at the lineup of girls. "None of us really would like to admit it, but there are people in this world who would try and take advantage of girls like you. I'm going to teach you some of the basic things you can do in situations where your dignity, or your life, is being threatened."
Kori just sighed. She knew self-defense wouldn't really be a problem for her, so she just looked down, trying to remember all the things her mom had told her. //Keep your power in check. Don't use your tail. And whatever you do, don't fly...// "You, new girl!" Kori's head snapped up. "Since you don't seem too interested, let's try and get you involved," said coach Ohm, walking slowly up to her. //Oh great... Why couldn't you just pay attention and try to remain inconspicuous?//
"The first thing we're going to learn is how to escape from some basic wristlocks. Everyone gather around and our new volunteer and I will demonstrate." The coach glared down at Kori. "Now, give me your hand." Kori held her hand out, and tried to act like Ohm wasn't being such an asshole. He grabbed her tightly round the wrist, and said, "Ok, now lets see if you can get out of the wristlock without knowing the proper maneuver first."
Kori looked up into his eyes. On his face was a smug looking smirk that seemed to say 'just try it, cause I know some little girl like you can't handle yourself'. That look was what really sent her over the edge. //That jerk... I know I'm going against my better judgment, but I can't let him mess with me like that.// Her face contorted into a scowl as she set her jaw and glared up at him. With a quick jerk, which was invisible to the class, her hand was free and out to the side, and coach Ohm was grasping nothing but air.
There were startled gasps and murmurs of excitement from the class. Coach Ohm, just for a second, let his guard down and gawked, eyes trailing from his empty hand out to Kori's hand, which still had not moved from its place in the air. It was her turn to smirk. "Was that ok," she asked, innocently.
"Y-y-yeah... Um, that was f-fine," he managed to stammer out. He seemed like he was in a bit of a daze. However, something in him was unwilling to accept the display. His face hardened back into his usual glare. "Ok, lets move on to the next maneuver. Now, if I may have your hand again?"
She obligingly held out her hand, which the coach grabbed with both hands, one on the wrist and the other slightly higher on the arm. //Jeez, this guy doesn't know when to quit!// She considered playing the weak little girl, but something in her had gotten so excited to show off that she couldn't let it end now. She was having too much fun! She tried to think of something to really knock the coach off his feet...
"Would you like to learn the maneuver first, or give it a whirl on your own," asked coach Ohm, patronizingly. She smirked up at him, drawing his attention away from her hand. She rotated her wrist around, grabbing his wrist as well, then pushed forward, taking his arm to the side and behind him as he lost his grip with the other hand. She did these moves slowly enough so that the class could see, then sped up till she wasn't even a blur, stepping beneath his arm and pulling, using the leverage of his height with his twisted arm to send him sprawling, head over heals, to the mat. Of course, all the girls saw was one second, Kori had the coach in a compromising position, and the next second, the coach was on the mat, and Kori was standing there like nothing had ever happened. The girls in the class just stood there in awe. Melissa, who had watched the past events with curiosity and amusement, was now utterly shocked at the strength and agility of her newfound friend. Not to mention the audacity... "DUDE!!!" Melissa couldn't contain her excitement.
Kori just stood there and crossed her arms, looking rather pleased with herself. She even allowed herself a small chuckle as the coach tried to rise from the floor. //Hey, even though he deserved it, maybe you went just a little to far there. Time to rein it in!// Her face became more somber as the coach finally made it to his feet. This time when he looked at her, it was with a look of awe and something else... was it... fear? She tried to shake it off. //I would never harm him. Just his pride. There's no reason to fear me.//
Coach Ohm glanced nervously at Kori. He turned to the girls and prepared to play off his huge misjudgment. "Well, I think you've learned enough for the day, girls. I'm going to give you the rest of class off. You're dismissed." There was a murmur of gossiping from the girls as they walked towards the locker room. Melissa stood to the side of the locker room entrance to wait for Kori. Kori just stood there, arms crossed, waiting for the rest of the girls to be out of hearing range. The coach looked as if he really wanted to talk to her. She felt sudden remorse at having embarrassed him so much. She opened her mouth to try to apologize, but he raised his hand to cut her off, "No. I just want to know one thing. Do you have experience in the Martial Arts?"
"Yes. Ever since I can remember." Her mother had always been insistent on her learning Martial Arts. "Why?"
"Because it makes me feel a lot better knowing that I've been shamed by someone who's been in training their whole life. Maybe we could strike a deal. I'm sorry I assumed so much about you."
"I'm sorry I embarrassed you. And what kind of deal are you talking about?"
"I've been looking for a sparring partner. I'm not as much of a pushover as I might seem. I think there's a lot I could learn from you, and you from me. If you'll be my sparring partner, and promise not to embarrass me in front of the class, I can teach you some new techniques, and I'll leave you alone in class."
Kori pondered over the coach's offer. Leaving her alone in class would make it easier not to get noticed like she had today... And she was always looking for new techniques to add to her fighting style. There might be something truly useful Coach Ohm could teach her. She had to make sure that he was in earnest. One look at his face confirmed it. No one could fake a look of enthusiasm and earnestness as genuine as the one on his face. "Deal," she said, offering her hand for the third time, which the coach took, shaking curtly.
"We start tomorrow. Meet me on the practice football field in back of the school at 6," he said, turning from her and returning to his office. Kori smiled. Maybe he's not so bad as he seems. Her thoughts were interrupted by Melissa running up to her as soon as the coach was out of range.
"Wow! That was some move you put on Coach Ohm! You moved so fast, I could barely see you!" She clapped a hand on her new friend's shoulder, and pulled it away feeling as if she'd just smacked a brick wall. She shook it off, though. "Hey, c'mon, we've got a little while before English and we can go to the library if you want."
Kori smiled. She loved books. "Sure, lets go."
***
AN: Well, there's the first chappie ^_^ Please review and tell me your thoughts... Constructive flames are cool, but no flaming on anything that was covered in the warning! Next time, Kori goes home and we get to meet her mom- something about Kori's past is revealed... and... We get to find out where Vegeta is ^_^
::Rapo:: That Kori's a character...
*blinks* Er... yeah...
::Rapo:: I especially liked the part about lunch ^_^
*sigh* You would...
::Rapo:: .............. Speaking of which....
*looks up from watch* Wow, 10 seconds, that's the longest you've waited to ask about food... ever... ^_^ C'mon, lets go get some cheese sandwiches.
::Rapo:: ^_^
AN/Warnings: Ok, guys... So this is gonna be a really incredibly long AU fic with lots of action, adventure, battle, a little romance, some angst, and just about everything... There is NO BULMA! So if you're completely and totally B/V loyal, don't go any farther at all... Like I said, this fic will be an EPIC, so don't be upset if stuff doesn't happen quickly, cause I'm in this one for the long haul... The rating right now is PG-13 for just a smidge of language, though I promise a lemon or perhaps more in much much later chapters. They won't be here for a good long while, though, because, as in life, stuff like that takes TIME to develop! Another warning about this fic is that it revolves around a lot of OC's, so if you hate stories with original characters, you don't even have to start reading. Ok, so you've read the warnings and none of them apply to you, the only thing I have to say is, hope you like it!
By the way //blah, blah, blah// is internal thoughts...
***THANKS TO LYNZ FOR BETA-ING AND GIVING ME THE TITLE AND THE COURAGE TO POST THIS!!!***
Kori brushed her straying hair out of her face and grabbed her backpack. //I can't be late,// she thought as she rushed out the door. This was her first day at high school and she didn't want to make a bad impression on her teachers. It was also quite a distance from her house, so she'd have to fly to the outskirts of the city and walk from there. She ran a few yards from the house and crouched down, getting ready to launch herself into the air.
"Wait," her mom yelled after her. "You forgot your lunch!" The short older woman held out a bag to her daughter. Kori walked back towards her mother, unsnaking her tail from underneath her baggy t-shirt and grabbing the bag with it. "Remember what I said about using your tail, and not showing how powerful you are. You don't want to cause any commotion at school, right?"
She nodded her head. "I remember, mom. I just figured this is the last time I'll get to use it for a few hours, so I might as well make it count." She smiled warmly and bent down to hug her mother. "See you when I get home, mom." She turned and jogged off in the other direction.
"Bye! Have a good first day!" Her last words went nearly unheard as Kori launched into the sky. The wind felt so good whipping past her, she almost forgot where she was going. It seemed no matter how many times she flew, she'd never get tired of it. She touched down at the edge of Northeastern City, taking her bag lunch into her hand and hiding her tail around her waist under her shirt. She started to follow the directions from the letter she'd received from the school. After jogging a few blocks, she saw the tall building ahead of her with the school seal on it, just like on her letter.
//This must be the place,// she thought to herself. She checked her watch. 8:20. //Great, right on time! Well, no time to waste, class starts in ten minutes.// Once inside the building, she found the room listed on her schedule for her first class, Ancient Civilizations. She walked through the door rather timidly, and searched for the teacher. There was a short, balding, slightly chubby older man in a suit organizing some books on the podium in front of the class. //Guess that's him.// She walked towards the man and caught his attention. "Excuse me, sir. My name's Kori. I'm the new student from district 227." She extended her hand towards him, trying not to look like too much of a suck-up.
The chubby man looked up, taking her hand and shaking it vigorously. "Yes, Kori! We here at Northeastern have been expecting you. You did very well on your entrance exams. It's not often home-schoolers are as advanced as you. Especially with you joining the school a year early at the tender age of 17! I'm professor Watts. Welcome to Ancient Civilizations, I hope you enjoy the class." He smiled genuinely at her.
"Thank you, sir. I'm sure I will."
"Your seat is right up there," he said, pointing to an empty desk between two students. She nodded and headed towards her desk, plopping her backpack and lunch down as she got there. Now would come the true test of whether going to a public school was for the best or not. Her looks were so different from the other students' in the room. Aside from her tail, which she would take care that no one knew about, her hair was an unruly mass of light brown spikes falling every which way around her head. Even cut short in the style she'd grown to love, her hair refused to cooperate with any kind of attempt to style it in a different fashion. Her eyes were onyx, void of any color, yet shining with the intensity of a hundred stars. Her frame was not the typical feminine one. Her height of about 5'6" was one thing that was average about her, yet her broad shoulders and defined physique of aptly sized muscles hinted at the raw power her body contained. She did have attributes that marked her as definitely female. Curves in the right places, smaller, deceptively delicate hands, soft facial features. But unlike the other girls she saw, she did nothing to try and artificially enhance her appearance. No makeup, no distinctively feminine clothes. She dressed for comfort in jeans, worn in sneakers, and a t-shirt. She was secretly afraid of how the other students would react to her appearance. She thought about trying to fit in as best she could while still retaining her independence.
The girl in the desk next to her seemed to notice her silent thoughtfulness. "Hey there," she said, trying to break the ice.
Kori, startled, whipped around to look at the girl. "Uh, hi," she returned. She hadn't really expected anyone to speak to her. The girl looked genuinely friendly. //Good, at least I'm not getting made fun of... yet.// She flashed a small smile. "I'm Kori. What's your name?"
"I'm Melissa." The girl held out her hand, which Kori took, shaking it in greeting. The girl looked pretty average except that her hair, though at first glance appeared a kind of dark reddish-brown, was actually closer to very deep purple. "Don't worry too much about this place. Most of the people are really nice. And, no offense, but I don't think too many people would even consider trying to bother you."
Kori grinned openly. "No offense taken." One of the things she prided herself on was her strength. She'd always had unnatural strength... Not just for a female, child, or whatever you wanted to classify her as, but for anyone, period. She thought back to the time her dog had run out in the street. She was 8 years old. A huge big-rig was heading straight for him. The next thing she knew, she was in front of the truck, holding it in place with one hand. She had always seemed stronger than an average child, but that stunt was beyond the comprehension of her mother. It had occurred to her rather quickly that with power like that, it would have to be tempered greatly in order to prevent huge catastrophes. Her mother, who was an experienced martial artist herself, had trained her from that day on to control her strength. She looked back at Melissa. "Yeah, I think I can take care of myself in that department." She almost smirked in her confidence. She rolled up her right sleeve, jokingly striking a pose, and flexed her bicep in a mock-bodybuilder style, which sent Melissa into a fit of laughter. Their joviality was soon interrupted by the rapping of a meter stick on the chalkboard, signaling the beginning of class.
***
Kori set her bag lunch down opposite Melissa at the table. "I can't believe we have the exact same schedule. That's wild!" She was pretty excited to have someone who would talk to her in all her classes. The day had gotten off to a pretty good start. In the two classes prior to lunch, they had been able to sit next to one another, and even got to be lab partners in Physics. School might not be as hard to deal with as she thought. She looked down to Melissa's tray at the "food" the school supplied and silently thanked her mother for the packed lunch, then began to lay her food out in front of her: five cheese and tomato sandwiches (she hated cold lunch meat), a large thermos of chicken noodle soup, two apples, a pudding cup, and a 20 oz bottle of water. She started to lay into the meal as Melissa dropped her... whatever it was... and just gawked at Kori's food.
"Y-you're not going to eat all THAT... Are you?" Melissa was more than startled at the amount of food this one not-so-large person was consuming.
Kori looked up, her cheeks puffed out with bites of cheese sandwich. "Yrrh, rr dhn nh hy rr eeg sho nch..." She tried to talk, but noticed that Melissa wasn't responding. She actually looked like she was trying to hold in an uncontrollable fit of laughter.
"Would you mind repeating that without food in your mouth, dork?" She managed to choke down her laughter to avoid making a scene.
"*GULP* Hey! You don't have to call me names... nerd... What I was trying to say was: I don't know why I eat so much... I've never really gained weight from it, and if I eat less I get really weak and sick, so there's no reason to change my eating habits, right?"
"Yeah, I suppose you're right. Man, you're lucky if you can eat that much and not gain weight. I wish I could." Melissa watched as Kori polished off the rest of her meal, shaking her head periodically at the sight. She checked her watch. 12:25. "Hey, Kori, c'mon. It's almost time for P.E."
Kori got up, throwing her trash away. //Great,// she thought, //here comes the real test. Can I control my power enough to not get noticed?// She took a deep breath, and followed Melissa to the gym.
***
"Ok, class. For those of you who don't know," he glared at Kori, "I'm coach Ohm. Today we're going to learn some basic self defense maneuvers." He crossed his arms and glared at the lineup of girls. "None of us really would like to admit it, but there are people in this world who would try and take advantage of girls like you. I'm going to teach you some of the basic things you can do in situations where your dignity, or your life, is being threatened."
Kori just sighed. She knew self-defense wouldn't really be a problem for her, so she just looked down, trying to remember all the things her mom had told her. //Keep your power in check. Don't use your tail. And whatever you do, don't fly...// "You, new girl!" Kori's head snapped up. "Since you don't seem too interested, let's try and get you involved," said coach Ohm, walking slowly up to her. //Oh great... Why couldn't you just pay attention and try to remain inconspicuous?//
"The first thing we're going to learn is how to escape from some basic wristlocks. Everyone gather around and our new volunteer and I will demonstrate." The coach glared down at Kori. "Now, give me your hand." Kori held her hand out, and tried to act like Ohm wasn't being such an asshole. He grabbed her tightly round the wrist, and said, "Ok, now lets see if you can get out of the wristlock without knowing the proper maneuver first."
Kori looked up into his eyes. On his face was a smug looking smirk that seemed to say 'just try it, cause I know some little girl like you can't handle yourself'. That look was what really sent her over the edge. //That jerk... I know I'm going against my better judgment, but I can't let him mess with me like that.// Her face contorted into a scowl as she set her jaw and glared up at him. With a quick jerk, which was invisible to the class, her hand was free and out to the side, and coach Ohm was grasping nothing but air.
There were startled gasps and murmurs of excitement from the class. Coach Ohm, just for a second, let his guard down and gawked, eyes trailing from his empty hand out to Kori's hand, which still had not moved from its place in the air. It was her turn to smirk. "Was that ok," she asked, innocently.
"Y-y-yeah... Um, that was f-fine," he managed to stammer out. He seemed like he was in a bit of a daze. However, something in him was unwilling to accept the display. His face hardened back into his usual glare. "Ok, lets move on to the next maneuver. Now, if I may have your hand again?"
She obligingly held out her hand, which the coach grabbed with both hands, one on the wrist and the other slightly higher on the arm. //Jeez, this guy doesn't know when to quit!// She considered playing the weak little girl, but something in her had gotten so excited to show off that she couldn't let it end now. She was having too much fun! She tried to think of something to really knock the coach off his feet...
"Would you like to learn the maneuver first, or give it a whirl on your own," asked coach Ohm, patronizingly. She smirked up at him, drawing his attention away from her hand. She rotated her wrist around, grabbing his wrist as well, then pushed forward, taking his arm to the side and behind him as he lost his grip with the other hand. She did these moves slowly enough so that the class could see, then sped up till she wasn't even a blur, stepping beneath his arm and pulling, using the leverage of his height with his twisted arm to send him sprawling, head over heals, to the mat. Of course, all the girls saw was one second, Kori had the coach in a compromising position, and the next second, the coach was on the mat, and Kori was standing there like nothing had ever happened. The girls in the class just stood there in awe. Melissa, who had watched the past events with curiosity and amusement, was now utterly shocked at the strength and agility of her newfound friend. Not to mention the audacity... "DUDE!!!" Melissa couldn't contain her excitement.
Kori just stood there and crossed her arms, looking rather pleased with herself. She even allowed herself a small chuckle as the coach tried to rise from the floor. //Hey, even though he deserved it, maybe you went just a little to far there. Time to rein it in!// Her face became more somber as the coach finally made it to his feet. This time when he looked at her, it was with a look of awe and something else... was it... fear? She tried to shake it off. //I would never harm him. Just his pride. There's no reason to fear me.//
Coach Ohm glanced nervously at Kori. He turned to the girls and prepared to play off his huge misjudgment. "Well, I think you've learned enough for the day, girls. I'm going to give you the rest of class off. You're dismissed." There was a murmur of gossiping from the girls as they walked towards the locker room. Melissa stood to the side of the locker room entrance to wait for Kori. Kori just stood there, arms crossed, waiting for the rest of the girls to be out of hearing range. The coach looked as if he really wanted to talk to her. She felt sudden remorse at having embarrassed him so much. She opened her mouth to try to apologize, but he raised his hand to cut her off, "No. I just want to know one thing. Do you have experience in the Martial Arts?"
"Yes. Ever since I can remember." Her mother had always been insistent on her learning Martial Arts. "Why?"
"Because it makes me feel a lot better knowing that I've been shamed by someone who's been in training their whole life. Maybe we could strike a deal. I'm sorry I assumed so much about you."
"I'm sorry I embarrassed you. And what kind of deal are you talking about?"
"I've been looking for a sparring partner. I'm not as much of a pushover as I might seem. I think there's a lot I could learn from you, and you from me. If you'll be my sparring partner, and promise not to embarrass me in front of the class, I can teach you some new techniques, and I'll leave you alone in class."
Kori pondered over the coach's offer. Leaving her alone in class would make it easier not to get noticed like she had today... And she was always looking for new techniques to add to her fighting style. There might be something truly useful Coach Ohm could teach her. She had to make sure that he was in earnest. One look at his face confirmed it. No one could fake a look of enthusiasm and earnestness as genuine as the one on his face. "Deal," she said, offering her hand for the third time, which the coach took, shaking curtly.
"We start tomorrow. Meet me on the practice football field in back of the school at 6," he said, turning from her and returning to his office. Kori smiled. Maybe he's not so bad as he seems. Her thoughts were interrupted by Melissa running up to her as soon as the coach was out of range.
"Wow! That was some move you put on Coach Ohm! You moved so fast, I could barely see you!" She clapped a hand on her new friend's shoulder, and pulled it away feeling as if she'd just smacked a brick wall. She shook it off, though. "Hey, c'mon, we've got a little while before English and we can go to the library if you want."
Kori smiled. She loved books. "Sure, lets go."
***
AN: Well, there's the first chappie ^_^ Please review and tell me your thoughts... Constructive flames are cool, but no flaming on anything that was covered in the warning! Next time, Kori goes home and we get to meet her mom- something about Kori's past is revealed... and... We get to find out where Vegeta is ^_^
::Rapo:: That Kori's a character...
*blinks* Er... yeah...
::Rapo:: I especially liked the part about lunch ^_^
*sigh* You would...
::Rapo:: .............. Speaking of which....
*looks up from watch* Wow, 10 seconds, that's the longest you've waited to ask about food... ever... ^_^ C'mon, lets go get some cheese sandwiches.
::Rapo:: ^_^