I am back again! Sooner than expected? Hopefully that's a good thing! Anyhow, hope you liked the first chapter, seconds are being served! As always, please enjoy and express your (hopefully positive) thoughts! :)

Vanessa was sitting by herself at lunch as she always did at the school the following day, sighing from boredom. She dug through her bookbag, trying to find anything that would entertain her. As she did so, she tilted her hand, taking out the piece of paper she received the day before. She rested her elbows on the table as she read it, raising a brow. About halfway through, she gasped as someone snatched it from her.

"Hey, what gives?" She shouted, turning to see Gregory standing behind her. He furrowed his brows, staring intently at the paper. "Y'know, if you wanted to read it, you could have just SAID something."

After a few moments, he looked up at her. "Where did you get this?"

"Some 'gal was handing them out yesterday. Why are you so interested?"

"Because this is MY grandpa they're talking bad about!" Gregory exclaimed.

"Huh? Grandpa? What are you-"

"Gene Walker? He owns the company that's building houses in the Hamptons." He pouted, crumpling the paper and tossing it in the trash bin. "My family moved here to get away from all those people saying we're evil and don't care about nature. I mean, what the heck did I do, I have nothing to do with it!"

"Jeez, calm down. Why don't you sit and cool off?" Vanessa said. Gregory sighed, plopping down across from her. "That's why I don't want anyone to know my last name. I just go by Gregory Orville."

"Pfffffft! Orville? Like THAT'S any better!"

"Hey, VonStark isn't too great of a last name either!"

Vanessa shrugged. "Eh, good point." She said as she bit into a sugar cookie.

"Say... I heard about the whole track thing. Are you really that good of a runner?"

"I sure am!" Vanessa exclaimed. "I don't know why they don't give me a chance."

Gregory shrugged. "Well, how did you do during tryouts?"

"Better than those other catty 'gals... I don't understand it!"

"Hm..." Gregory thought. "You know... there may be one way you can get on the team."

Vanessa perked up. "How?"

"Well hang on a second. I'm not just going to tell you like that. I have to see you in action first. I'm already under a lot of heat because of my grandpa, I can't afford any more bad press."

"... seriously?" Vanessa groaned. "What do I have to do?"

Gregory shrugged. "I personally don't really bask in fame or glory or anything like that, so I don't really compete in stuff like that. But with that said, I'm a pretty fast runner because if you're gonna prank people on Halloween, you can't get caught... literally."

Vanessa chuckled. "Well yeah, no duh!"

"Okay. You and I, after school, are gonna race. If you can beat me, I'll tell you. Deal?"

After thinking for a moment, Vanessa smirked, holding out her hand. "You're on, Gregory Orville."

"... you know, that name DOES sound awful." Gregory chuckled as they shook on it.

Vanessa was heading home from school, walking past the park on the way. As she did, she heard the environmentalist group protesting to locals.

"... deforestation is displacing hundreds, if not THOUSANDS, of woodland creatures! If you have a heart, you WILL support us and put Gene Walker in an early grave!"

"Oh boy... poor Gregory." Vanessa said to herself, biting her lip as she continued along her way. That is, until she noticed the road was blocked when she turned the corner. "Aw, really?"

"Sorry, miss. This road's going to be blocked off until the morning. You'll have to go the back route. Be careful."

"Yeah, thanks mister..." Vanessa sighed. "Great, I have to go through the WOODS." She shook her head as she headed to the alternate route, looking around at the trees looming over her. "Huh... don't remember the woods being this gloomy." She said to herself as she continued.

She did so for some time, smiling a bit to herself when she thought of something. "Hey... now this wouldn't be a bad place to practice... wouldn't have to worry about cars all the time!" She looked around, grabbing a stick and drawing a line in the dirt. She crouched into position, running for a bit and stopping. She nodded to herself, drawing a track in the dirt before she crouched down again, timing herself. She smiled when she marked the numbers on her small notepad, looking up to the trees. She decided one last time would do before heading home to prepare for her match against Gregory. She crouched once more, before her feet burst to action, racing for a tree some yards away. She was almost there, she could almost reach it when her feet skid to a stop, for something had come between her and the tree.

A wolf.

Vanessa's eyes widened, slowly backing up as she stared intently at the growling creature. She gasped when she noticed the wolf had not come alone. Others surrounded her, growling and snarling, as if taunting its food before digging in. The first wolf barked, making her fall back, looking up at it in fear. Despite her current state, she couldn't help but see the faces of the children at school in the wolves, the parallel not exactly making her feel any better. As the first wolf was about to lunge, she screamed, curling up in a ball. The sound of wolves crying out in surprise and something big, VERY big, thudding around was heard. Was someone dropping boulders from the air, she thought? She opened her eyes, and she knew she had to be dreaming.

"Woah!" She exclaimed. What she saw before her was a man. A large man, with a red shirt underneath worn overalls and a pair of feet and hands larger than his head. She did not even notice at first that he had scattered the wolves until he turned, snapping her out of her stupor.

"Leave, now." The man said to her, grunting as he started to head off.

"Wha- how- who- hey!" Vanessa shouted, going after the giant. "Hey mister, you don't just SAVE someone and tell them to go away! You're supposed to ask if I'm okay and help me up, or something!"

The large man turned to her, narrowing his eyes. "I did not do what I did to save you. I did it to claim this territory, for mine is almost gone."

Vanessa tilted her head, raising her brows. "What are you even talking about? Look mister, you are clearly not... from around here. What even are you, some kind of ogre?"

"I have no time to speak to you, human. Is is your kind that prolongs my misery."

"Oh boo hoo, you don't even know me!" Vanessa said, walking behind him until he stopped and she bumped into him, nearly falling back. He grabbed her arm, which fit in his closed fist, pointing a finger at her with his other hand and staring at her intensely.

"Listen close, human. Do not disturb me again, or you shall face my wrath."

"Pfft, wrath? Come on, I can outrun a big lummox like you! You know why I'm not scared? If you really wanted me dead, you would have let those wolves eat me first. See? Psychology..." she said in a hushed tone, waving her fingers. "Besides, I think you're already disturbed."

The man grit his teeth, letting go of her and storming on. She shook her head, keeping up with him. "Hey, so, you're really big and string, huh? Why don't you just get your old territory back then? Why look for a new one if you could just get your old one back?"

"I am not going to share my troubles with a human."

"Oh, come on! How come you hate humans so much, anyway? You don't even know who I am!" The man growled, whirling around and roaring at her. Vanessa glared at him as he began to storm off. "Well, fine then, I tried to be nice!" Unexpected even to her, her voice began to shake. "Even a big dummy like you won't even give me a chance!" Her lip began to tremble as she plopped down on the ground. "I can run away from everything except my own stupid problems..." She began to sniffle, running a hand through her hair as she cried angry tears. "Why can't stupid Coach Bill just believe me...?"

The man slowed to a stop when the sound of her crying entered his ears. He hung his head a bit, sighing lightly. He held a hand to his chest, taking something small out of his pocket... a wooden carved heart. The sound of her crying evoked his past for a moment, a past full of great love and great pain. He slowly turned, placing the small token back in his pocket, approaching her and offering his hand. "You too, suffer from something."

Vanessa glanced up at him warily, but took the gesture and stood, wiping her eyes. "Sorry for calling you a dummy." She sighed. "So... what happened to your old territory?"

"It is being destroyed by large monsters controlled by the humans. They slice through trees like large teeth and crush anything in their path like giant fists. I return each night to make sure they did not destroy my K-... *He stopped, sighing.* A... a very special place.

"Special place?" Vanessa asked.

"There is someone there I love dearly. She was reborn in the form of a beautiful blossom tree."

"Wait... you're in love... with a tree? That's... kinda weird."

The man sighed, shaking his head. "She was not always a tree. She was once human."

"I thought you hated humans?"

"Not this one."

"Wait so I'm confused. How did she become a tree? Are you magic?"

"No. She was killed. So I planted her in the Earth, and a tree grew from her."

Vanessa did not expect that answer, frowning a bit. "Sorry about that... how'd she die?"

"... she was killed."

"Woah... that's harsh." She widened her eyes, rubbing her arm for a moment. "My problems aren't THAT bad, but..." She suddenly got an idea, smiling a bit. "Look. I know someone that may be able to help your... territory thing. But you've gotta do something for me. I have to do whatever I can to get on the track team and become an expert racer. So... if you help me do that, and let me confide in you... I'll try to help you get your territory back."

The man glanced at her oddly, not quite sure what to make of her. He sensed something in her that created a connection. It was different than the connection he felt with Kira, absolutely, but one thing they both shared, was that he sensed a true heart, a good heart. For the first time in decades, a smile cracked into his expression, crouching down to extend his hand, and the two shook.

"Very well. I will help you."

"Awesome!" Vanessa beamed. "Oh, my name is Vanessa, by the way."

"And I am called Ralph."

Vanessa nodded, before she noticed evening was approaching. "Oh crud, I've got to get home! See you tomorrow, Ralph!" She said, grabbing her bookbag and heading off. As she did so, Ralph stared after her,, sighing and closing his eyes a bit as the gentle breeze that followed carried the scent of cherries.

"Kira..." He whispered. "I am broken, but... you have finally opened my eyes. I will help her."

Aww, what a touching blast from the past. Well, it seems that Vanessa has some strong allies on her side now, but will it be enough to convince coach Bill? Does coach Bill even care? Find out next time and please leave lots of wonderful reviews! Thanks again for reading! :D