Swiftshipping (Jonouchi x Ishizu)

Jonouchi glanced behind him, and then in front of him. The entire senior hallway was empty and quiet – all the seniors were on their school trip right now. It was almost the end of Jonouchi's junior year, and he was alone in the senior hallway.

He listened for a moment, making sure he couldn't hear any footsteps coming up the stairs.

He crouched down, staring at the faraway end of the hallway. And then he burst forward.

The neat row of doors on one side and windows on the other disappeared in a blur as he tore down the empty hallway. Blood rushed in his ears as his arms pumped faster – he couldn't believe he hadn't done this in almost a year!

He was reaching the end of the hallway – and someone appeared around the corner. Jonouchi wheeled his arms frantically, trying to skid to a stop. But he had too much momentum!

In a dizzying crash and a tangle of limbs and yelps, Jonouchi and the other figure crashed to the floor. Jonouchi moaned, rubbing the back of his head. It pounded dully; he must have hit it when he fell.

"Geez," Jonouchi said. "Hey, you okay? You should be more careful."

His words caught in his throat when he realized that it was Ishizu that was picking herself up in front of him.

"Ishizu?" Jonouchi said, disbelieving. "What the heck are you doing in Domino High School?"

Ishizu looked up and blinked, surprised for a moment. Then she smiled.

"Oh, Jonouchi-san," she said, sounding cheerful. "I thought the juniors were in class right now."

"Um, we're supposed to be," Jonouchi said. "What are you doing here?"

"I could be asking you the same thing."

Ishizu stood up shakily. She brushed off her dress, and then extended a softly bronzed hand to Jonouchi. Sheepishly, Jonouchi accepted her help and stood up with a groan.

"Sorry about that," he said.

Ishizu laughed softly.

"It's fine. I thought I heard something down here. I should have checked before I came right around the corner."

Jonouchi found himself blushing furiously, and quickly looked away.

"So, uh, anyway, you didn't answer me. What are you doing in Japan? I thought you went back to Egypt with Marik and Rishid."

"I did," Ishizu said. "But I am still the head of the Egyptian Supreme Board of Antiquities, and I have to travel a bit to keep up to date on things. As of now, there's an important Egyptian exhibit coming to your local museum, and I have to keep an eye on things. I thought I'd stop by and say hello to everyone while I was here."

"Oh. That makes sense."

"What about you, Jonouchi? What are you doing here when you're supposed to be in class?"

There was a teasing tone to her voice that made Jonouchi blush all the harder.

"Um, I'm skipping. Just today, though, I haven't skipped a class in almost a year and a half before now!"

"Ah. Not since you and Yugi became friends, and the pharaoh appeared, right?"

Jonouchi hesitated, feeling the tendrils of depression setting in.

"...yeah."

Ishizu's brown eyes were sad, and she touched Jonouchi's shoulder gently. They didn't say anything for a long moment.

"So...why the senior hallway?" Ishizu asked finally.

Jonouchi blushed again.

"Back in middle school, when all the eighth graders were on their school trip, most of the gang kids would skip class and go fight in the park," Jonouchi said. "I was...kind of a jerk back then. I got into those fights a lot."

He glanced back down the long, empty hallway.

"But one day, I was sneaking out of school to meet up with the other guys, when I passed by the empty eighth grade hallway. I just got this urge to run down it as fast I could, with no one around to yell at me or pick a fight with me."

He turned back to Ishizu, who was smiling softly.

"It was great. I had never felt so ecstatic," Jonouchi said. "So after that, I stopped going to pick fights during those days. I'd just spend the time running down the empty hallway. I never did it in high school, though. Cause then I had Yugi, and Honda, and Anzu around. There was no point to skipping class then."

"And why today?" Ishizu asked.

Jonouchi looked down. He scuffed one foot against the floor, and then shoved his hands in his pockets. He knew that Ishizu understood. That was the way she was.

"I...miss him too," Ishizu said softly. "I didn't know the pharaoh as long as you and the others did but...I owe him my brother's life. I wish I could have known him longer."

Jonouchi just nodded. There was very little to say after that.

Ishizu touched Jonouchi's shoulder again, and then pushed him gently. Jonouchi looked up, surprised.

"Why don't...we run together?" Ishizu said. "It will take our minds off the sadness."

Jonouchi glanced dubiously at Ishizu, clad in her long dress that certainly wasn't good for running. But Ishizu just sent him a mischievous smile, pushed him a little harder so that he lost his balance, and took off down the hallway.

With a barely suppressed laugh, Jonouchi tore after her.

A/N: Took inspiration from the shipping name for this one. :D Obviously I got bored of my snow theme kick already. I think Jonouchi and Ishizu would make a cute couple, but I'm still a fervent Trustshipper and Polarshipper, so I'm not sure I completely support Swiftshipping. Okay, next up is Sweetshipping (Ryo x Mokuba).