And there he went. Kealey grinned when Shin started to get enthusiastic and explained the different options they had for movies. She’d been right before, all of them sounded interesting and she was sure whatever he picked would be good. In the end, though, it looked like he was going to pick the one that had a little bit of everything. That sounded fun. Kealey nodded her head and smiled.

They’d be watching in Shin’s room since she didn’t have a TV in hers, and they needed to make sure they had all the proper provisions before starting. That required a trip to the kitchens. ”It sounds like we’ve got a plan.” Kealey said, already moving to shut off her sewing machine.

Shin warned her about the content in the first episode of the show they were going to watch and Kealey chuckled and looked over her shoulder at him.

”I know what girls look like, Shin. Last time I checked, I was one.” she said, not a hint of snark in her voice, simply good, teasing humor. ”The violence and lion armor though…maybe you’ll just have to hold my hand through the scary parts.” She punctuated the statement with a wink and they were off.

The kitchens didn’t take all that long, and quickly enough they were making their way back to Shin’s room with all the provisions two people could possibly need for a subtitled TV marathon. The problem was, however, a lack of hands to open doors and such. Kealey looked at Shin, ”I hope your room’s not as messy as mine. We’re going to need somewhere to set all this.”

>>”I know what girls look like, Shin. Last time I checked, I was one.”

Shin just smiled at her, amused. "Good." The smile slipped into a smirk. "And don't worry about it. If you need to hold my hand, or cling for safety, feel free. I'm sure I can suffer through it."

Shin followed her out the door, to the kitchen, and that was that. Several minutes, and many bowls of popcorn and platefuls of waffles later, Shin and Kealey stepped into Shin's room. Their holds on their foodstuffs were precarious. Shin had popcorn bowls stacked. It was a wonder he hadn't dropped anything yet. Even more a wonder he'd been able to unlock the door. Thor looked up at them as they entered, hopeful smile on his face. Shin looked at him, and intoned seriously, 'no'. These waffles were for them. Thor rested his head again, disappointed.

Shin juggled the bowls over to his other arm, and fished in his pocket for a doggy treat. It flipped through the air to land in front of the husky. Thor snagged it happily, and sunk back into his doggy bed, appeased.

Shin looked around, then pushed things to one side of his table, making room. He set down all his popcorn bowls in neat order. They went from salted to salted and buttery to caramel. There was still room for the waffles Kealey was carrying. Shin stepped aside, with a slight bow to the table. "My lady," He said, with all the grace of a knight. Once things were set away, he made like GARO over to his DVD racks. The floor didn't crack, no demons were cleaved in two, but... one quick motion, right to the point. He flicked open the case, and slid the disc into the DVD player.

Shin reached down and hit the remote, tuning it to the right channel. He set things up, queued up the first episode, and turned the TV to face his bed. Shin plopped down, remote-in-hand, and patted the bed for Kealey to sit next to him.

He hit play, and the first episode started. A ring with a voice spoke the intro, then everything with flashy fighting and red. Shin looked around for the popcorn... and stared across the room. He reached for it. "Urgh... just out of reach. Wait. Shin focused, hand outstretched, and formed a platform and wedge out of shards. Carefully, ever so gently, he nudged the bowl onto the shard platform. He floated the platform tray over to Kealey, and looked to her victoriously. "For when simply being lazy and grabbing it normal style just won't do."

He dismissed the shard tray when they had all their snacks.

Somehow, someway, they made it into Shin’s room without spilling any of the food they’d procured. Thor was waiting inside and Kealey had secretly thought about dropping a waffle until Shin gave the dog a treat. It simply wouldn’t have been fair to eat in front of him otherwise. Kealey hadn’t ever really been a dog person, but the husky had really grown on her. She had a feeling he was probably slightly smarter and much better behaved than most dogs, and that was fine with her.

Shin cleared a spot on the table and set down all the popcorn he’d made, then stepped aside for Kealey to do the same with her waffles, the whipped cream, and peanut butter. Wow, they had a lot of food. Shin did his thing with the DVD player, and Kealey bent to pet Thor for few moments. The dog appreciated the gesture and soon enough the movie was starting.

Kealey rose from her crouch and made her way over to sit next to Shin, watching as the intro played and getting accustomed to the subtitles. She was just about to comment on how eventually she always forgot that she was reading when Shin spoke. Kealey looked in the direction he was reaching, and saw that they’d left the food quite some distance away. That simply wouldn’t do, would it!

Kealey was just about to get up to get the bowls when Shin started making shards. Much to Kealey’s fascination, and amusement, they formed a little platform for the popcorn to float to them on.

The popcorn finished its trip, and Shin was proud of himself for his ingenuity. Frankly, Kealey was too. Moving hadn’t been very high on her list of things she wanted to do. She grinned and laughed, ”That’s excellent. I have to settle for borrowing motivation. I like your way better.”

Now that they had their food, and the movie started, they could really get down to watching. Kealey snuggled in just a little closer to Shin, so he’d be a little more accessible for the scary parts. Right now though, there was just an art gallery.

The art gallery quickly grew terrifying. A man found a painting that spoke to him... and then, it ate him, stole his body, ate others, and set traps. It was evil. It liked young women.

Who could possibly stop such a monstrous gallery owner? Shin knew. The guy in the cool coat would save the day. But so far... he'd only smacked around some pendulums in the shadows. The story hadn't swung into full force, yet.

But...

It sure was scary.

Shin wrapped his arm around Kealey's shoulder, hugging her protectively as another terrifying special effect went off. The fiendish gallery owner had lured another woman artist to his nefarious lair. He'd held her shoulders, and sucked up her soul. Nothing remained. The foreshadowing built up and built up. The man in the nice coat investigated. The girl who happened to be a main character was lured on... and then...

Conflict occurred!

The monster's true form was revealed. The guy in the nice coat fought through traps, unleashed the horror's true form, and...

With one sweep of his sword, he cut a hole in the air above of him, unleashing golden light. In the next second, he was coated in golden lion armor, with a massive blazing sword. He prepared a jump, and the floor shattered around him, leapt into action, and... defeated the horror with his sword in One Big Slash.

He landed on the other side of the gallery, back to the demon as it splattered, sending horror blood flying everywhere... including onto the Girl.

Thus began the story of the man with the cool coat's inner journey. The romantic credits rolled, and Shin hugged Kealey, smiling at her.

"So?" He asked. "What do you think?"

The show was definitely suspenseful, and the storyline was even more than Kealey had expected. The blond watched raptly as the monster targeted victim after victim and they were summarily ingested. It was rather disturbing to be honest, but in an incredibly entertaining way. There was also a guy in a great coat. Kealey couldn’t help but think that such a coat would look fantastic on Shin, and she wondered how difficult such a thing would be to make. It was an idea that would have to wait for later, though, as the action was really starting to kick into gear on the screen.

The armor form of the hero in the great coat appeared and Kealey “ohhh’d” appreciatively. The joints in the armor were similar to what Kealey had expected to see the day in Central Park. Kealey realized what she was doing and nearly laughed at herself, this was the single-mindedness Shin had mentioned earlier. She’d gotten the idea in her head to help him with the shard armor and was now fixating. She let it go, snuggled a little closer as the scary moment culminated, and waited to see what would happen.

The fight was well done, the graphics surprisingly good for something on television and Kealey found herself riveted by what was going to happen. The monster was dispatched, the hero saved the girl…after threatening to kill her…then took her home.

He kept her painting, though…and he said he’d kept her alive as some sort of bait for the horrors. Kealey smiled knowingly. Yeah. Bait.

The credits rolled and Shin asked what she thought. Leaning her head back so she could see his face, Kealey grinned, ”It was awesome, really awesome. There’s more, right? What happens in the second episode?”

Yes, it seemed Shin’s enthusiasm for this type of entertainment was contagious. Especially when it was so good.

”Oh, I also think you’d look fantastic in a coat like that.”

Kealey's reaction made him chuckle. So eager. "There's more," He replied, and a hint of amusement crept into his voice. "Fifty or so episodes more. As for what happens next episode," he held up the remote, moving back to the menu screen, and hovering the cursor over it. "We'll just have to watch and find out."

>> ”Oh, I also think you’d look fantastic in a coat like that.”

Heh. Shin smirked. "You know, I always thought so too? I'm not sure if I still have something like it... if not, we can definitely try and make one later. Though, for now," He nodded to the screen, and started the next one up. "Let the birthday GARO marathon commence."

The show was good. They watched many an episode. Many laughs were had. And then, when they'd watched as much as they could possibly watch, Shin called it a night. He walked Kealey back to her room.

"Happy birthday, Kealey." He smiled, hugging her 'good night'. "Same time next year?"