"Goddamn Emiya, seems like you have a story to tell, hm?" Arthur said as he drank his milkshake. The blond man took a bite out of his burger, before swallowing and smiling at the redhead from across the table.

"I wouldn't say that," Shirou shrugged, "mah life ain't that interestin."

"Oh, come on," Arthur laughed, "I've got time to hear a damn hillbilly from Alabama tell me his life story." Odd contradiction, since they were both southerners. Wouldn't that make them both hillbillies? Arthur was silly like that sometimes.

"Okay then," Shirou said, drowning his entire cup of coffee and scarfing down his entire plate of pancakes. "It all began in sweet ol' Alabama..."

(Setting: the southern United States. Heavy accents. I suggest you watch Forrest Gump)

Now, lemme tell ya somethin, I was born a damn idiot in about June of 1944. Golly, six years old and I didn't know how ta read, how ta do simple math, much less pay attention in class. The doctor said my IQ was like 75 or somethin. Ya reckon in a couple years I'd improve a lot.

Naw, I was a slow as all hell, but mamma always said ta "never admit somebody better than ya Shirou, ya as the same as all em other kids. Ya just slower, that's all there is to it." Now, mah mamma was the best mamma in the world. I suppose she was somewhat odd, in a nice way ya get what I mean?

She looked different from all the other folks down in Alabama, I mean golly, can ya imagine a white woman with the whitest of white hair and red eyes raising an Asian kid in the middle of the south? Weird ta think about. She never said anythin about me bein stupid, but I'm sure she knew. But she loved me for who I was, and that's what matters, right Arthur? I never met mah daddy, mamma always told me he died in the war against Hitler.

Mah mamma and I lived in a huge house in Mobile. We wasn't rich back in mah day, so mamma would always let other folks stay for some money. One fella turned out to be Elvis. I ain't lyin, ya hear? Matter a fact, the fella got his dance moves from me when he was staying in town, playin his guitar and I had some weird hip-jerkin moves since I had em braces on me leg. I just started, movin around, tryna at least, to dance to his guitar. Ya can imagine me and mamma's surprise when we saw the fella on television when we was walkin back home from supper at this one diner. He was just swingin em hips back and forth like a madman. She later told she was fixin to some pie for my accomplishment.

"This diner?" Arthur asked, waving around at the friendly American diner with a french fry in his hand. Shirou looked around, thinking hard, before nodding. "And Elvis Presley himself got his moves from you?" Arthur noticed Shirou was on his sixth plate of burgers and fries. Must be nice being rich and all. Thank god he wasn't the one paying the bill.

"Yessiree," Shirou smiled.

Ya could ask the man and he'll tell ya, too bad he's dead now. Saw im singin Hound Dog and mamma just told me to move along, sayin it ain't the stuff a younglin like me should be watchin. Then, life moved on like usual. Elvis was nice enough to send me a letter though, I keep it mah front pocket for good luck. Like I said, life went go as usual, at least until I went ta get mah education even though I'm dumb as bricks.

I don't recall mah first Christmas, I don't recall mah first outdoor picnic but...I do recall mah first day at school though, cuz that was when I heard the most sweetest voice known to man. Don't know how I got into school. Somebody told me mamma tortured the principal or somethin once (Shirou casually ignores Arthur's face of horror). What was it again? Six years old and I'm on the road waitin for the school bus ta come along down the...well...road.

"Now don't ya worry Shirou," Mamma told me, "it'll be fine."

"But mamma, I'm dumber than a rock," I said and she just smiled at me.

"Dumb? Come on now, like I said," Mamma gave me a hug, "you're just a bit slower than all em other kids, that's all." Mamma hadda help me up the bus, cuz I hadda a messed up spine or somethin, so my legs were in some sorta metal braces like I said before. I remember mah doctor sayin it was as crooked as a Yankee politician.

Lordy, as soon as I walked up that bus, all em other kids were laughin at me like I were an alien from Mars. Lookin around, em other kids were real mean. They didn't even lemme have a seat! Then again, ahere in Alabama folks can be racist, rude, and cruel. Half the time mamma hadda mind to telling some folks to go back to God and pray for mercy before she became madder than a wet hen and began wailing on some folks.

I was a Jap after all, and y'all know how we Japs were viewed as some buck-toothed cartoon drawn up by somebody on Wall Street. Even worse, I was adopted! Sometimes, I remember mah neighbors askin mamma if I was a bastard child. Now that I think about, I reckon Georgia folk are nicer than folks ahere in Alabama. The only folks treated worst than us was the unfortunate black folks all around the South. We was Jews too after all, Alabama sometimes was just ugly.

"You can sit next to me if ya want." I was as all hell surprised. I looked down ta see a girl around mah age, pattin the spot next ta her and I swear ta all em angels in Heaven and God, she was the prettiest thing I had ever seen.

"I thought you said my sister was the prettiest thing you've ever seen?" Arthur raised an eyebrow.

"She second prettiest, I was just bein nice," Shirou said honestly, and Arthur had to restrain himself from laughing, as he still knew how crazy Nero was for the man even though he was married.

"Thank ya very much ma'am," I nodded. She had some of the brightest blue eyes I had ever seen. Blonde hair wrapped around in what imma guess is a French braid.

Suckin up mah gut, I decided to hold out mah hand. "Shirou Emiya." The girl smiled and shook mah hand, and boy do I remember how soft em hands were.

"Jeanne d'Arc," Jeanne said. Now, at that time I would never expect she was named after Joan d'Arc. Hell, I didn't even know until three weeks ago. Unlike all the other kids, Jeanne was the nicest one. Our time together is somethin I always I put in mah heart, ya get what I mean?

For the first time in mah life, I was havin a conversation with somebody, much less a girl. I told her I was stupid as hell when she noticed we was probably in the same grade.

"I don't mind Shirou," Jeanne had said. I looked at her with surprise.

"I'm as stupid as stupid can get Jeanne," I replied.

"Well, I don't think you're stupid," Jeanne smiled, "I reckon ya just too focused on somethin else besides math and stuff, that's all. You see em boys over yonder? Now they's dumb." Me and Jeanne were like two peas and carrots. From that day on we were always together, cuz she was mah most special friend in the whole wide world. Now, even though I was stupid, I wasn't that stupid. I remembered Jeanne always comin to school with bruises and other things on her arms. I recall she hadda a black eye once. I had a real bad feelin about it, but every time I decided to ask her what the hell was goin on, she said it ain't nothin at all. I didn't know what was goin on at the time, since I was only a kid.

Jeanne was the one ta teach me how ta read and do math, hell, she taught me a whole lotta things, I tell ya. I even learned French! Me and her didn't have any other friends, but she said she wouldn't have it any other way. Besides, all em boys would hit me and all em girls avoided me like the plague or somethin. Then, out of nowhere, I had passed the first grade! Ya can imagine how damn proud I was.

As the years passed by, me and Jeanne got closer, but I still was gettin bullied by em boys in school. Mah mamma called those kids "unfortunate and disappointing bastard children." Three in particular, and I hated em kids. So one mornin when we was walkin down the street back home from school, those three boys began peltin rocks at mah head.

"Hey dummy!" One of em boys yelled. One rock hit me right in the head, knocked me ta the ground and mah head started bleedin, it hurt pretty bad.

"Are ya dumb or just plain stupid?" One of the other boys asked.

"Ignore em, Shirou," Jeanne said.

"What does ignore mean?" I asked.

"Don't pay any attention to em," Jeanne explained. Another rock and well shit, that one was quite a big one. "On second thought, run Shirou!" Now, I was still in em leg braces. I was limpin like a wounded dog on a hot Florida weekday, but em boys didn't care. They decided it was gonna be fun if they start chasin me on their bikes. They left Jeanne behind and she was just lookin at me go. I could still hear her I tell ya, screaming in the distance, "Run Shirou, ruuuuun!"

"Three of em?" Arthur asked, "say, ain't they em Jefferson brothers?"

"Yeah, how ya know em?" Shirou asked curiously.

"Three bastards never made it far, infact all em died in Vietnam," Arthur chuckled, "I swear,only time I ever laughed at some fella being blown up in the ass. So, how ya get out of em braces?"

Well, I didn't know what was goin on either. Maybe it was a miracle from God or somethin! While Jeanne was screamin for me ta run as fast as I could, em boys were closin in on their bikes. Suddenly, I bent mah knees for the first time. Weird ain't it? Ya wouldn't believe it if you weren't there. My braces started to fall off too, and outta nowhere I'm runnin...and runnin! Runnin like a madman! Ya wouldn't expect me to run like the wind, but golly, did I run like the wind. I ran over yonder without a care in the world! From that day on, if I was goin somewhere, I ran like the damn wind!

"Where the hell did ya ran?" Arthur raised an eyebrow.

"I don't know," Shirou admitted.

"You serious?" Arthur laughed, "ya just took off runnin and never considered where in the hell you might be going Shirou?"

"Hey, I made it back home didn't I?" Shirou retorted.

"I guess so, what was that one saying my ma would say?" Arthur pondered, "if the Lord is willing and the creek don't rise-"

"-you'll be fine," Shirou shrugged, "actually, now that I remember, I ran into a one of those regular marches the black folks in town always had. I always wanted ta join, but the police was always around with dogs and stuff."

"...Shirou, those were civil right protesters," Arthur deadpanned,"I'd reckon ya woulda known."

"Oh, really?" Shirou was surprised, "well I'll be."

I bumped into one of em ministers that was in the march. Tall and friendly black man.

"Sorry forinterruptin yoursingin sir," I apologized and the man looked at me with a kind smile. Some years later, I was sad to hear he'd got shot in Tennessee. After that day, all I did was run. Hell, so much so that's the reason I got even got into college!

"...I think I can make a book or something out of this," Arthur stated, "lemme get my typewriter."

A/N: I wrote this like what, 1-2 years ago? I haven't really touched upon it until now and I haven't really changed much of what I originally wrote. It's inspired by Forrest Gump, as I said in the beginning, and this whole thing was basically a spur of a moment. Thanks for reading.