Corruption

Chapter 6: A Kiss…

A/N: Sorry, I'm getting too distracted with other stories. But, to make you feel better, Tint starts out as a farmer in one of them and there's even a love scene involving Mage in the first chapter. But I shouldn't advertise. Must focus on this fic and get a chapter done. Will try for weekly update, if not better. Don't worry; I won't be getting stingy with plot or length for the sake of speed.

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Jack was a man on a mission. The determined glare in his eyes was glazed over with a layer of fiery hatred. Each step that he took along the cobblestone streets of Mineral Town thundered deeply beneath him, almost like the earth was ready to crack apart from the force of his footsteps. The farmer arrived at the Supermarket, not even hesitating for a second as he flung open the door, stormed up to the counter and looked Zack straight in the eye. "Let's settle this." He barked out.

Zack looked genuinely surprised, but not as much as the pink haired girl seated in his lap. Popuri quickly squirreled her way out of Zack's groping hands and started inching towards the door. "I should leave you two alone…" She whispered as she placed her hand on the open doorway.

"No, stay Popuri. I want to show you what happens to people who disobey me." Zack calmly got out of his chair and emerged from behind the counter. The shipper towered above the farmer, but Jack did not back away one step from Zack. Zack chuckled slightly at the courage of the farmer. Just as quickly as the hint of amusement had surfaced, Zack suddenly brought took a backhanded swing at Jack.

The blow violently snapped Jack's face sideways, but the farmer didn't seem to even notice the vicious sting of the attack. He returned his steely gaze back to Zack, refusing to even bat an eyelash in the face of the monstrous tank of a man.

Zack grunted in disgust, striking Jack with another backhand across the face. This one sent Jack down to a knee, but he quickly popped back up. There was a large red mark forming on the right side of Jack's face, but the farmer didn't care. "Is that the best you've got?"

Instead of backhanding Jack for a third time, the shipper delivered a fierce punch to Jack's gut. The force of the blow even managed to lift Jack off the ground a few inches before he crashed down against the counter. Popuri uttered a frightened cry when she saw Jack spit out a mouthful of blood. Still the farmer rose back up to his feet, determined not to let Zack keep him down. Without removing his eyes from Zack's, Jack reached up to his chin, wiping away the trickle of blood that was there. He brought the hand up between him and Zack, eying the blood with a strange curiosity. Then, he flicked his own blood directly into Zack's eyes.

Zack let out a string of curses as he brought his hands up to his eyes. It was Jack's turn to smile as he watched Zack writhe in agony. "What's the matter? Does the blood sting? I stood up from three of your hardest punches and you are crying about a few drops of blood? You aren't a man, you're not even human. You're a cockroach, scum, the vermin of the entire planet. That's what you are Zack."

Fueled by a new level of rage, Zack struck out at Jack. This time though, his aim was off. Jack swiftly ducked to the side, grabbing the shipper's arm and twisting in violently behind his back. Zack attempted to power his way out of the hold, which led Jack to yank on the arm roughly. Zack uttered another string of curses, these ones too foul for even the devil. Jack had a satisfied smile on his face as he gently forced Zack's knees to buckle on him by pushing forward with his foot against the joint of the knee. The large shipper had been taken down to his knees by a puny little farm boy.

"What do you want?" Zack demanded through gritted teeth.

"Finally, we're getting somewhere." Jack tugged the arm up a few further degrees, knowing that the pain must be almost unbearable for the shipper. To make matters even worse, there was a girl there watching this entire thing go down. Jack knew that Zack's position with the ladies was one of the most important things to him, so this embarrassment must be really damaging his pride. "I want you to return the businesses back to their owners, including this shop."

"Never!" Jack shook his head in mock regret. He had been hoping that Zack would say that. He transferred hold of Zack's arm to his own right hand and snatched the shipper's free arm with his left. Jack then proceeded to place his boot against Zack's back, adding leverage to his painful hold. Zack screamed out in agony, "Alright!"

"Better. No bullying them either. That means paying them and me full price for our products. Do you understand or do I have to pull back harder?"

"I understand! Please let me go!"

"Is that begging that I hear from the mighty Zack?" Jack was rubbing Zack's defeat in his face.

Zack turned his head so that he could glare at Jack. "Go f…" Zack could even get close to finishing his lewd suggestion before Jack violently pulled Zack's arms back. A resounding pair of cracks sounded from Zack's shoulders, signaling that Jack had finished what he had come to do. The farmer casually released Zack's arms, leaving the shipper on the floor yelling out profanities directed at him.

Jack proudly exited the Supermarket, his head held high in the air. He was going to go straight back to his farm and tell Karen that she could go to the Supermarket again. It belonged to her now, like it always should have. At least, that was Jack's plan. A soft, delicate voice called out to him, "Wait!"

The farmer turned around to see Popuri nervously approaching him. She was looking down at her feet, not wanting to make eye contact with Jack. "Yes?" Jack asked peacefully, hoping not to frighten the girl. She seemed scared, shaking mildly as she neared Jack.

"I… I just want to thank you. I'm lucky that you showed up when you did. If you didn't… I don't want to think about what happened." Popuri lifted her head up to look at Jack. Her eyes were brimming with tears. Suddenly, she tossed herself at Jack, wrapping her arms around his neck and smothering her face into his chest. "I had just gone into the store to buy some flour so that I could bake a cake for my sick mother. That was when he grabbed me. He said that I didn't have to pay for the flour if I… I told him no, but that wouldn't stop him. He started to grab me inappropriately and… Well, thank you."

Jack was somewhat embarrassed to have Popuri hanging off of him like this. Sure, she was an attractive girl and all, but his heart belonged to Karen, even if he couldn't be sure if she felt the same way about him. "Popuri, there's no need to thank me." He told her.

Popuri wouldn't have any of Jack's honesty. She clung tighter around the farmer's neck. Her head was now resting on his shoulder, letting her whisper, "But there is," into his ear. Jack could feel his face turning red with embarrassment. Why was he getting so perturbed by having a girl's warm breath brushing against his neck like this?

Jack tried to unwrap Popuri's arms from around his neck, but that only caused her to tighten her grip. Suddenly, Jack found Popuri pressing her lips against his in a passionate kiss. Jack was so surprised by the unsuspected action that he was frozen for a few seconds before he finally realized what was happening. Finally, Jack managed to push Popuri away, gently but forcefully. "I'm sorry Popuri. Don' take it the wrong…"

"How could you!"

Jack cringed at the sound of the very angry yell coming from behind him. He quickly turned around to face a fuming Karen, trying to stammer out the correct apology. "I… It was… I just..."

"Just shut up!" Karen shouted. "You're no worse than Zack is! You were hoping to get something out of me by being a hero and when that didn't work out; you just went to the next desperate girl! Both of you are perverts! Lecherous scumbags!" Each word stung like a killer wasp, forcing Jack to flinch under the barrage of insults. As soon as she was finished screaming at Jack, Karen turned and stormed away towards the beach.

"Karen, wait!" Jack pleaded as he took off after Karen.

Poor, confused Popuri was left standing in the middle of the street, a completely blank look on her face. Slowly, the shocked expression turned into a smile. That smile was sinister, dark, and evil. Zack would be pleased to learn of her success.

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A/N: And things were looking so good! Why'd that have to go and happen? Answer: cause it's dramatic… I shouldn't, but I did. I ain't done messing with poor Jack and Karen yet. There is still much more that I can do! Muahahahaha! Yes, now that I think about it, I really do put my characters through too much torment. Maybe I should make fluffy happy fic? Nah…