The school escape {Kaplan}

RINJI FERN

Fights were nothing out of the ordinary for Rinji. It would start out as a bit of an argument because perhaps the boy was a bit too straightforward with what he was saying, and then it would result in punches thrown and occasionally some injuries to one person or the other. Although, the timing of a fight meant a lot sometimes. If Rinji were on his way to work and it resulted in him being late, he'd be in a lot of trouble, and he certainly couldn't afford to lose his job. Luckily, when this little conflict came up, it was on his day off.

Rinji was exiting a bakery, having picked up a few fresh loaves of bread for his family that he bought with his earnings. As he walked out of the small shop, he began to head home, unfortunately coming across someone that had never been all too fond of him. The other boy that Rinji encountered was about a year or two older than him, but not at well-built. He tried to avoid this boy's gaze, but for once, Rinji wasn't the one to start the confrontation.

This was a boy that Rinji had had conflicts with in the past, so he knew exactly where this was going. Quickly, Rinji set his loaves of bread down next to him, as the boy was approaching him faster than normal, and seemed angered about something. Before Rinji could do anything more, though, the opposing boy tried to tackle Rinji. There was some fighting from both boys, until it got to the point where Rinji was pushed to the ground, ending up with a cut on his head and his bread stolen away from him as the boy ran off. Normally, Rinji would have tried to go after him, especially because he had stolen something that he just purchased. Instead, though, he simply reentered the shop so that he could buy more bread.

When he entered the shop, though, the lady that greeted him said that she saw what happened, and asked if he was okay. He assured her that he was, as it was only a small cut on his forehead, and that he would like to buy more bread. The shopkeeper, however, insisted that he simply take two, new, fresh loaves of bread since his were stolen from him. He thanked the kind woman and exited the shop once more, this time being sure to put the loaves of bread safely in the bag that he was carrying on his back.

Making his way home, Rinji was hoping that nothing else too eventful would happen, despite the fact that he often enjoyed little bits of surprise and conflict in his life, as it kept his blood pumping with adrenaline. On his way, though, he could see from a distance that a girl was being chased by an older woman that was gaining on her quite quickly. Rinji's first thought was that perhaps the woman was a shopkeeper, and the girl had stolen something, but soon realized that wasn't the case. The girl had been running for another reason, and when she finally got away, she was hiding in a bush. The older woman didn't seem to realize where the girl went, but Rinji did.

Waiting until the woman was gone, as she was unaware of where the girl was hiding, he then went over to the bushes that the girl had concealed herself in.

"What are you hiding from, exactly?" he said to her quietly as he approached the bush, knowing that she was still hiding inside of it. He was careful, however, that as the older woman was walking away, that he didn't give away the hiding girl's spot that she had concealed herself in.

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RINJI FERN

The girl who was hiding in the bush that Rinji had approached seemed very angered by his appearance. She definitely didn't want him there, although that was something that happened when a lot of people met Rinji. For some reason, people were often put off by him and didn't want him around. Luckily for him, though, it didn't bother him too much. He was rather good at dealing with people that weren't all too fond of him.

She insisted that what she was doing there was something only she needed to know. Rinji hated when people thought they were tougher than him and tried to be sassy or a smart-ass. He raised an eyebrow at her when she said this, not planning on backing off any time soon. The next thing she said, however, got on his nerves. She told him to 'stop meddling' and 'shove off'. That was something he certainly didn't want to hear.

"Ah, well I guess I didn't have to exactly ask. I saw the woman you're hiding from. She went the other direction, if that means anything to you," he told the girl.

"Don't worry, it's not like I'm going to try to give you away unless you give me a proper reason to do so," he continued with a bit of a smirk on his face. It was actually kind of amusing to him, seeing a girl trying to act so tough, all the while hiding from an old woman by concealing herself in the foliage on the side of the street.

Even thought the girl had wanted him to leave, he wasn't going to listen. He stood there, arms crossed and a confident look on his face, wondering what her next move would be. His first thought was that perhaps she'd lash out at him physically. Luckily, if that were to be the case, he'd know how to handle it. He was strong, and certainly wasn't afraid of her. After all, the girl looked a bit too frail to him to be able to do any significant damage.

His next thought was that she would thank him for making sure he didn't give away her spot, but he highly doubted that.

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