Rescue by Rabbit
“Stop it!” yelled a teenage girl for at least the third time, growing slightly more exasperated with each repetition.  “Stop it, you jerks!”  A note of pain had crept into the cry, soon signaled by a string of, “Ow!”
“Whazza matter, longbutt?” a boy laughed, “Can’t reach me?  I’m right here, grabbing your long butt!”  The teenager in question actually had her by the tail, pulling roughly on the tuft as he danced around to match whichever way she turned in her efforts to reach him, while his three friends laughed and circled the other way, waiting to take his place if she proved quick enough to force him to release her.
None of the four actually wanted to get in reach of those claws, but the female’s strange body made it relatively easy to stay at a distance, and she was reluctant to use them anyway.  Sarahi had always been a good girl like that, despite how often she’d been picked on over the years.  Quiet and respectful in class, quiet and reclusive outside of it, she was the sort who had long ago resorted to keeping to herself to avoid attention, in the hopes that bullies such as these wouldn’t notice her.  It had never really worked.  A birth defect like hers was hard to overlook.
“Ow!” Sarahi yelled again, this time kicking out with one of her back paws.  That got the teen on her tail to let go, but added to her embarrassment as the back of her long skirt flipped up and he guffawed at what was revealed by the brief glimpse underneath.
“Whoo!  Going commando?” he teased, grabbing for her skirt as if he planned to lift it again for a better look, “Brave girl.  At least, that’s what I’d call you if you if you didn’t have—”
“Shut up!” the female roared, on the verge of tears, trying to keep her hindquarters away from any more groping hands and her backpack on her shoulders at the same time.  (The group had taken to making half-hearted attempts to snatch it as a mean of distracting her from her back half.)  They had her practically spinning like a top now, unsure which way to run, and Sarahi tried to counsel herself that it was almost over.  There was a pattern she’d come to recognize over the years: the attack began with names and taunts, followed by hands on her tail or slaps on the rump, and culminated in tossing her skirt over her head to humiliate her before the attackers ran off...if she didn’t trip over her own feet first.  That was the usual progression, and for better or worse, they were at least nearing the end of it...
A dull thud and a faint whimper wrecked all expectations of everyone involved.  The boy who’d been pulling her tail fell almost flat on his face, limp as a noodle.  Behind him, a small Rabbit stood with a contemptuous look on his face and tapped a baseball bat idly on his shoulder.  His white fur contrasted starkly with the oversize, deep black hoodie pulled up over his ears, and everyone in the school (and several surrounding neighborhoods, for that matter), recognized the style.  “This guy,” he dropped the end of his bat roughly on the butt of the teen he’d just clocked in the back of the head, “Didn’t pay for my lunch today.  You tail-holes aren’t going to forget tomorrow, right?”
“Shit,” one of the boys hissed, “Oro!”  The three scattered in different directions like they practiced monthly drills for this situation.
“Like running does any good when I know which class you’re in,” the named Rabbit smirked, then added with a shout at their backs, “I’d better not go hungry tomorrow!”  The contempt in his expression did not fade in the least when he turned to Sarahi.  “You hurt?”
Momentarily stunned by the fact that she’d been rescued...even if that didn’t seem to have been his actual intent...Sarahi blinked at the strange, pseudo-famous Rabbit in disbelief.  “Uh...no.  Thank—”
“The fuck is wrong with you, then?” he snarled, thumping his bat hard on his own shoulder, “You got four legs, all of them ending in claws!”
Her eyes fell to his feet, and her heart sank with them as the sense of relief evaporated.  “I’m...a Sha'khari.  It’s a genetic condition that—”
“I know that,” the Rabbit interrupted her again, obviously exasperated, “I mean, they work, right?  How the fuck do you let some asshats like that pick on you, then?  Run away if you want; not a chance in Hell they’ll catch up with you.  Or run ‘em down and shred ‘em so bad nobody wants on your bad side again.  Either way would be better than standing here taking it, right?”
She winced at the thought, cringed at his volume and vulgarity, and generally looked uncomfortable.  “I...don’t like hurting people.”
Oro rolled his eyes with a huff.  “Fucking pacifist, huh?  Idiot.”  Giving a swift kick to the teenager just starting to regain consciousness, the Rabbit started off down the sidewalk, pausing briefly to thump his bat against his back with a look over his shoulder when she didn’t follow.  “Well, come on!”
Sarahi blinked again, hesitantly trotting up beside him as he resumed walking in the general direction of her house.  “What...do you want?”
“Five fucking pizzas,” he snapped instantly, “Not that it matters to you.”
“No, I mean...”  She shook her head, trying to pick the highest priority concern out of all the questions cascading through her head right now.  “Thank you.  For helping me.  And walking me home,” she added, not really knowing where he lived but quite certain it was not in this direction, “Buy why?  What do you want?”
For a moment he seemed to ignore her, before he quietly growled, “Bullies piss me off, that’s all.”
Sarahi very nearly tripped over her own four feet.  “But...I mean, I’m grateful, so no finger-pointing here...but aren’t you—?”
“Yeah?” he barked, “So what?  A guy can’t piss himself off?  Did I ever pick on you?”
“Er, no! I just mean—”
He leveled the end of his bat at her nose, causing her to pull up short and put a little more space between them.  “Tell me the worst story you’ve ever heard about me,” the Rabbit demanded.
The young Sha'khari thought hard, worried about the direction this conversation was going, and about whether she was really safe walking home with this classmate whose whole reputation revolved around violence and theft.  “Well,” she began slowly, “I heard you got that hoodie from Conrad after you broke his knee.  He had to quit the football team after that, and lost his college scholarship.”
“Ha!” Oro laughed, apparently amused by the memory, “The jock had it coming, but you got the rest right.  Bastard put up a good fight, I’ll give him that, but what else would you expect from a quarterback?  College would have been wasted on that guy.  What else?”
She cringed a little at his total lack of remorse, and shrugged.  “I heard you used to steal lunch money before they went to the new cards.  Now you just coerce someone into buying your lunch every other day or so.”
To her mild surprise, the Rabbit just nodded and made no effort to deny the behavior.  “Yep.  Notice a theme yet?”
“You mean the theft?” she asked while subtly pulling a little further away from him, as if half expecting him to suddenly try to rob her.
“Yeah, but more than that,” he gave her a sideways look and tugging the hood of his hoodie, “It was the middle of fucking winter and I was freezing cold.  I didn’t even take his heavy coat, just what he wore to class.  It does the job.  And I don’t hit up the same person for lunch more than once a week.  I hate going hungry, so I’m not going to make anyone else endure it for more than a day.  And before you say it’s no excuse, I am fucking well aware of that.  I’m not trying to make excuses.  All I’m saying is when I put a beat-down on someone, you can bet I need something from them.  Now you tell me what the fuck you think those tail-holes needed from you.”
Sarahi stared at him.  After a moment she drifted back toward him, until they were almost touching shoulders.  “So...you’re a bully because you’re poor?  Your parents can’t even afford lunches?”
“Foster mom,” Oro scoffed, “Just the one.  And sure she can, but a single mother with a kid of her own besides the foster brat she took pity on isn’t exactly rolling in cash.  I can look after myself just fine, so I don’t make her life more difficult.  Now tomorrow,” he stopped suddenly, turning to face her squarely, “You either wait for me by the front entrance, or you run like fuck until you get here.  If I catch you standing around on the sidewalk just taking it again, I’ll beat you down.”
The Sha'khari did a double-take, so surprised by his reason for misbehaving that she hadn’t realized they’d already reached the start of her street, just a few houses down from her front door.  “Wait,” she said quietly as he started back in the direction they’d come from.  When he didn’t stop, Sarahi followed it up with a much louder, “Hey!” and grabbed the back of his hoodie.
For a moment, she thought she’d made a bad mistake.  He rounded on her with such a glare that she instantly let go of his clothes, but at least he stuck around to hear her explain herself.  “Tomorrow, you either come find me at lunch or go hungry,” she turned his words back on him, though not quite as fiercely, “If I catch you stealing other kids’ lunches again...I’ll scratch you.”  She silently cursed herself for hesitating there.  He probably would have called her bluff even if she hadn’t, since he already knew she didn’t have the heart for a fight, but it would be nice to at least be able to make a bluff.
“‘S none of your business,” the Rabbit growled, clearly unimpressed.
“It is,” Sarahi insisted, “Unless I’m misunderstanding, you just offered to walk me home every day.  So I just offered to compensate you every day.  And it comes with no risk of getting suspended again.  That’s fair, right?”
His face went from angered to annoyed...a mild improvement, but an improvement.  “Fair enough,” he shrugged, “I’ll hit you up tomorrow.  Don’t expect me to be nice.  You don’t want to be taken as some kind of friend to me,” he warned before marching off back toward the school.
Sarahi watched him until he got around the bend down the street, trying hard not to smirk at his back, thinking he was in for a surprise tomorrow.
—————
She was waiting just inside the door to the cafeteria the next day, trying not to fidget nervously.  She stood out, and it was obvious to anyone that glanced her way even in passing that she was waiting for someone, so she was afraid one of her regular bullies might take notice.  Oro came shoving through the double-doors before anyone else bothered her, though.
“Hey, Moneybags,” he greeted rather more loudly than necessary, immediately arresting the attention of several other students nearby.  They may or may not have felt any pity for her, but they were definitely relieved to find he wasn’t talking to any of them.  “The fuck are you doing standing around here like you’ve got a date coming?”  Taking one hand out of the pocket of his hoodie, he held it out expectantly.  “You owe me a lunch.  Pay up.”
This was actually a pretty typical approach for him.  She’d seen it happen to plenty of other kids before.  He’d only been kind enough to forgo taking a fistful of her shirt first...or maybe he’d done that because she was a girl.  Regardless of the reason, she reached into her pocket...and left her hand there as she took a deep breath.  “No,” she answered firmly, and saw the angry flare of his nostrils before she continued, “I’m buying your lunch.  You’re not taking anything from me.  There’s a difference.  Understand?”
His lip curled in a sneer that showed his gnashing teeth.  He looked anything but pleased.  But he lowered his voice a little when he answered.  “I’ve got a reputation to keep up, whether it’s by taking your lunch card or beating down the next idiot that thinks I’m going soft.  Your choice.  And I’m betting you’ll lose more than one or two friends if you try playing nice with me.”
“Ha,” she laughed, holding up her lunch card and turning toward the food line, “That’s a bet you’ll lose, then: I don’t have any friends.  Now come on.”
The Rabbit tilted his head in open surprise before stuffing his empty hand back in his pocket.  “Seriously, what the fuck is wrong with you?” he growled as he followed her.
“I told you: it’s a genetic condition,” the Sha'khari answered smugly, nodding for him to lead and pick what he liked.  He walked down the line, taking one of everything on offer, including three different drinks and two desserts, without once breaking stride or even seeming to look at the plates.  Sarahi wasn’t sure whether he was taking her for all she was worth or just had an impressive appetite, but she refused to balk at the price when they came to the checkout.
The worker at the register gave him a dubious look as he slid passed her, and was about to stop him when Sarahi caught her attention with a wave of her card.  Her expression softened a little as she rang up the price of both trays.  “Sweetie, I don’t know what he said to you, but you’re not so unpopular you need to resort to fawning over him,” she cautioned...and Sarahi was surprised to find herself feeling a little insulted on Oro’s behalf.  She bit her tongue, though, and swiped her card.
Oro was already halfway to his customary seat at the far corner of the room, on the last stool at the end of the table by the door, which absolutely everyone left vacant for at least six seats.  Sarahi surprised him by setting her tray down beside his and seating her back half on the floor (the stools were not designed for her bestial body).  “Seriously?” he asked with an arched brow, even as he stuffed a pizza square into his mouth, “Not even one?”
Sarahi just shook her head.  “I usually eat lunch alone, too.  People sit next to me, sure,” she gave an almost impressed look at the degree of privacy he commanded in the form of all these empty seats, “But they don’t talk to me.  Or they only want to talk about...this,” she pointed over her back at the hunch under her long blanket of a skirt, “It gets old fast.”
“Tell ‘em to go fuck a cactus,” Oro snorted contemptuously around the food he was stuffing into his face mouthful after mouthful, as if he hadn’t eaten in days. He was lean, Sarahi realized, but not the kind of lean that came from being underfed.  It was the kind you got from playing sports or jogging or that sort of thing...and she guessed fighting counted for those purposes, too.  “You are what you are, and that’s all anyone should expect.”
She stared at him quietly for a moment, letting that soak in.  She’d been called a lot of things over the years, some of them more creative than others.  No one except her parents had ever suggested she should just be what she already was.  It seemed so simple, and she already knew it herself, but hearing someone else validate it touched her.
Sarahi slowly started into her own meal, trying to think of something casual to talk about, “So...how did you know where I live yesterday?”
He downed an entire box of juice in one long slurp before answering.  “How does a wolf know where the deer go to drink?” he growled, taking out half an apple in a single bite.
Sarahi frowned.  “So stalking,” she declared with a sigh, “And here I thought you only followed me because you hate bullies.”
“Fuck off,” he told her around a mouthful of ham sandwich, “Stalking is when I can tell you your address and which window lets into your bedroom.  Seeing which street you turn down off the main road is just paying attention,” he gulped down what he hadn’t chewed, and followed it with a carton of milk before continuing.  “It’s the first residential street in that direction, and about the only one within walking distance.  You don’t take the bus, or you wouldn’t be out there to get bullied in the afternoon, and the same for car-riders.  I skip more classes than I sit through around here, but even I can make that kind of educated guess.”  He tore the top off a bag of chips and practically poured the contents into his mouth, putting an end to his momentary tirade.
The Sha'khari beside him was frozen with her sandwich partway in her open mouth.  At least that sort of disguised her slack-jawed state.  “You...really do pay attention, huh?”
“Lak a fukin’ predada,” he growled.  The Rabbit had taken in way too many chips to just chomp through or swallow quickly.
Sarahi giggled in spite of herself, covering her eyes with a hand to avoid the show until his soda can hissed and two loud gulps signaled he was clear.  Rather than tempt him to keep talking with his mouth full, she dug into her own lunch, realizing she’d have to be quick herself if she wanted to finish before the bell rang.  She was still working on her side of chips when he pushed back his empty tray with a satisfied look.  “Wow,” the Sha'khari nodded, “I think I owe you an apology.  I kind of thought you were just seeing how much you could get away with, but you really ate every bite.”
“Fuck yeah,” he sighed, “You offered, so don’t go complaining now.”
“I’m not,” she shook her head, “But...do you have to use the f-punctuation so much?  That’s more off-putting than the price of lunch.”
“Do I look like I fucking care?” he rolled his eyes, “Are you my mom now?”
“No,” she sighed, dropping the rest of her meal onto the tray unfinished, as the bell was about to ring, “Just someone who’d like to talk to you more, without feeling her ears burn.”
“Get over it,” he recommended, leaving his tray right there on the table to be someone else’s problem.
“Oro,” another female voice caught both of their attentions, as a shapely Lioness about their same age came strutting quickly up to them from another table, “Mom called and said not to be late today.  Come straight home after classes.”
“I’ll be home when I get there,” the Rabbit responded without even greeting her, much less introducing Sarahi...who had paused a few steps away to listen discreetly to this surprising exchange.
The girl gave him a slightly disappointed look.  “Did you get in trouble again?  She said she ‘got a call’, and needs to talk to you before she goes to work.  You know what I mean.”
“Yeah, yeah,” Oro waved her off, jerking his thumb in Sarahi’s direction, “I gotta walk this piece home, then I’ll be right there.  Tell her to keep her shirt on.”
That got the girl’s attention.  She glanced at Sarahi with a fully dumbfounded expression, and just nodded quietly as if not quite sure how else she should respond to that.  “Okay, then,” she acknowledged quietly as the bell rang, “Just come right back after that.”  Then she turned and quickly trotted off to the door, headed for her own classes.
“...Foster-sister?” Sarahi hazarded a guess as Oro passed her, heading for a different door.
“Yeah,” he nodded, looking shockingly chastised for some reason, “Nayeli.  If you ever want an actual friend, try saying ‘hi’ to her.  Doesn’t seem to take much more than that.”
“Why doesn’t she sit with you during lunch, then?  You two don’t get along?” the Sha'khari asked with a tilt of her head.
“Because I warned her not to,” the Rabbit growled in answer, “And she’s smarter than you, so she fucking listened.”
—————
The bell to signal the end of the school day had rung quite a while ago.  There weren’t many kids left milling about by the front entrance, and all of them were waiting to start after-school clubs or some such.  Sarahi was debating with herself which was more likely: that something had come up, or that he’d just forgotten her.  But just as she was telling herself she should go ahead and start walking, the Rabbit came around the corner of the building, trotting toward her with that same bat he’d had yesterday slung across his shoulders.  “Alright.  Come on,” he grunted, slowing to a walk as he came up even with her.
“You’re late,” the Sha'khari noted, since he apparently wasn’t going to admit it, much less explain it.
“No,” he corrected, “I was prepping.  We’re good now.  Come on.”
That made her tilt her head and pick up her pace a little, as he was walking a tad on the hasty side.  “I think I’d like to know more about what ‘prepping’ means.  In detail,” she insisted, “The bell rang, like, half an hour ago.”
He ignored her...at least until they were well out of easy earshot from the school entrance.  Then his posture relaxed a little bit, and his pace slowed.  “I had to round up those tail-holes from yesterday,” he grumbled, “And remind them what day it is.  And what happens to snitches.”
Her eyes widened a little.  “Oh.  Um...what day it is?”
“Thursday,” he grunted, giving her an unimpressed frown, “Are you sure you belong in high-school?  Aren’t days-of-the-week kindergarten material?”
“Obviously,” she sighed, rolling her eyes at him, “But what’s the significance of Thursday?  Why do they care?”
A sneer that was almost a grin stretched across his face.  “It means that if I get picked up tonight, Mrs. Hope won’t be able to get me out again in time for school tomorrow, so they’ll be fine until about Monday.  It’s pretty good timing on their part.  They should make the most of it,” he chuckled, “Three more days isn’t a long time to live, but it’s better than one.”
Sarahi frowned at him.  “You should quit being so dramatic,” she advised, turning to look at the sidewalk ahead of them instead of at him.  “You haven’t done anything to get ‘picked up’ for, and even if you did, adding murder to the charges wouldn’t improve things even if it was justified.”
“Do you pop your eyes out of your head when you’re attacked?” he asked, sounding so deadly serious that she had to stop and look at him again.  “Assault with a weapon is pretty serious even for a first-time charge,” he thumped the bat against his shoulder, “I only squeaked by with it after that incident with Conrad because he’s twice my height, at least three times my weight, and threw the first punch.  In front of witnesses, no less.  It’s going to be a lot harder to justify that tail-hole I clobbered yesterday.”
Sarahi gasped, suddenly realizing what he was actually talking about.  “That guy...is that what the call to your mom was about?”
“Mrs. Hope,” he corrected, “And I have no idea, but it’s the most likely problem.  He wasn’t at school today, so I gave the message to his buddies.  Signed it with some bruises for good measure.”
“...What message?” the girl beside him asked in a wary tone, suddenly reminded that her new friend was not cut from the same cloth as most of her classmates, or anyone she had ever imagined befriending.
“They can tell it however they like,” Oro grumbled, “So long as they don’t forget to mention you, and do forget to mention the bat.  I’m going to burn it tonight,” he added, holding it out in front of himself appraisingly.  “Shit...it’s a really good one, too.”
“Oro!” Sarahi growled, caring less about the bat than the boy, “That’s coercing a witness!  That just makes things worse!”
“Fuck if I care,” he answered without hesitation, leveling the bat in her direction, “This’ll be my third time on the same charge.  It won’t slide off so easily, and I won’t get to go back to Mrs. Hope’s house if it sticks.  I’ll break more than a couple of knees in revenge for that!”
The bitterness in his voice surprised her, and she bit her tongue for a few minutes to give them both a chance to calm down.  Unprovoked, either physically or verbally, he seemed to be the quiet and even calm type.
They reached the beginning of her street, and he just waved for her to go the last leg herself as he doubled back on their tracks, but she caught his arm and pulled him over to one side of the sidewalk before he could get away.  “Hey...did you know this when you came to help me?” she asked quietly, “I mean...did it cross your mind...you could get sent back to juvie, and not get to go back to the home you like so much?”
“Who said I like it much?” he sneered, “It’s just better than the rooms in juvie, that’s all.”
“You’re doing some pretty stupid and scarey things for fear of being taken out of a place you don’t like,” she noted, then added more quietly, “And...it meant a lot to me, even if you were just being reckless and not thinking about the consequences.”  She crossed her arms, trying not to get all clingy and hug him.  She imagined he wouldn’t appreciate that.  “I know we only just met, really, and you have no reason to care a whit what I think about anything.  But I’d like to know you a little longer.  Three days isn’t a long time to have a friend, even if it is better than one.”
He arched a dubious brow at her, thumping his bat thoughtfully on his shoulder.  “You’re proposing something, right?  Spit it out.”
“...You make it hard for a girl to be sweet, you know that?” she sighed, extending her open hand toward the bat.  “First, let me have that.  Second, don’t do anything else to those boys.  Not unless they come after you first, anyway.  You’ve said you don’t want to make Mrs. Hope’s life any harder...let me help with that.”
He looked doubly dubious...and was not much reassured when she flinched as he flipped the bat around to place the grip into her palm.  “Aside from burning the evidence, what can you do?”
Taking the bat and tucking it between her front paws with a slight sense of relief, she gave him the warmest smile she’d shown in a long time.  “Do you know what my name is?”
“Not a clue,” he answered bluntly.
“That’s ri—wait, what?!” she went from sweet to insulted so fast it made her own head spin, “I thought you ‘paid attention’!?” she shouted, appalled by this revelation.  He’d come to her rescue, eaten lunch with her, and walked her home twice...without ever knowing her last name.
“Yeah, to routes, hideouts, choke-points, threats, easy victims...I’m a fucking predator, and you’re not such good prey,” he growled, arguably giving her a compliment but not one she appreciated at the moment.  In fact, she looked like she was fighting the temptation to slap him across the face on the spot...and maybe with the bat.  “So...what?  Your parents are a big to-do?”
“Oo!  You...!”  She stomped one feral paw on the ground, slung his bat over her shoulder, and trotted off indignantly down the street.  “Swordbright, alright?!” she called back without turning around, “I am Sarahi effing Swordbright, and you’ll see what that means, just you wait!”  She waved the bat threateningly over her head like she planned to club someone with it herself, though she adamantly refused to turn back to face him.
He did not look terribly impressed, much less threatened, as he watched her go.  “Swordbright , huh?” he muttered to himself as he started back toward the Hope house, trying to think of where she might expect him to know that name from.  “...Oooh,” it occurred to him after a while, “Yeah, that could help.  Fuck, though,” he added, looking back over his shoulder as something else occurred to him, “She wonders if I thought about the consequences?  She could ruin her family just being seen around me.  Idiot.”
—————
It was a full week before he was seen at the school again.  Oro sat through all of his classes that day, silent and mostly hidden inside his hoodie, but present.  He even turned in his classwork.
Sarahi was waiting for him at the door to the cafeteria when he came in for lunch, looking very pleased with herself.  The Rabbit didn’t say a word to her, but loaded up his tray again and let her pay for it.  Some classmates who apparently thought he was permanently expelled quickly cleared out of the area around his customary seat as he reclaimed it, and Sarahi took the vacant end again.  “Sooo...?” she smirked, ignoring her lunch for the moment.  “What’s my name?”
“Swordbright,” he growled, “But not Mayor Swordbright’s daughter, or there’s no way you’d be going to this school, and your house would be in a much ritzier part of town.”
“Good to see you’re paying attention again,” Sarahi nodded, “No, I’m not the mayor’s daughter, I’m his relatively obscure niece.  But he’s willing to dote on me from time to time.  Dad hates politics, so he went into business instead.”
“There’s a difference?” the Rabbit growled.
“I know, right?” the Sha'khari giggled.  She turned more serious as he continued to stuff his face under the shelter of his hood.  “You don’t seem very happy.  I thought you got off kind of light.  Just one night in detention, a week of suspension, and participation in a mentoring program.  Mrs. Hope didn’t even have to pay any court costs.”
“I don’t like owing anyone anything,” he grumbled, still shamelessly eating up all the food he’d been allowed to put on his tray.
Sarahi shook her head with a sympathetic smile.  “Oh, you are positively miserable, then, I’m sure.  You owe quite a lot of apologies and a small fortune in restitution to everyone you’ve intimidated over the years.  Fortunately, most of them aren’t petty enough to come after it, if you just leave them alone from now on.”
“Uh-huh,” Oro grunted, chugging his milk, “And what do I owe you?  For the phone call that saved my bacon.”
She shrugged, and finished chewing a bite of her own sandwich.  “A walk home.  I’m still buying your lunch, after all.”
“Fine.”  He shoved all the mashed potatoes into his mouth in three big spoonfuls, and did the same with the pudding.
“...And I want you to come to my birthday party,” she added after a moment, “It’s still weeks away, but accept the invitation.”
He paused in his eating for a moment, looking at her thoughtfully from under his hood.  “...Fine,” he agreed after some hesitation.
She let him get through a few more sides.  “...And—”
“This,” he cut her off, “Is why I hate owing anyone anything.”
Sarahi giggled and nodded, but continued, “And I want you to fight me.”
At that, he put down his food, pulled the hood back from his face, and stared her hard in the eyes with his fists on the table.  “What...the fuck...are you saying?”
“Well,” she nodded, “I would ask you to teach me to fight, but I am very doubtful you have the patience for that.  So once a week or so I’d like to get together and have a go at each other in the yard, where you won’t get in trouble for it.  I figure if I can learn to hold my own against you, other bullies will be a cake-walk,” she explained, “I can’t depend on you every day for the rest of high-school.  You’re bound to get sick once in a while, at the least.  I do have to admit, though...whatever you said to those guys before you got suspended has made them give me a very wide berth while you were out.  Thanks for that.”
“...In your yard?” he clarified dubiously, somehow suspicious of how her parents would feel about that, even if it was supposedly so she could learn self-defense.
“Or yours, if your mom is okay with that,” Sarahi shrugged.  That might honestly be the better idea, by his estimate, but he didn’t say as much.  Mrs. Hope was kind and probably genuinely concerned for his future, but rather lax in the supervision department.  He could get away with quite a lot of crap on her watch, and some of it with her blessing...but that reflected badly on her and Nayeli, which he did not like.
“...Idiot,” he sighed after a moment, and went back to scarfing down his lunch, “If you want to hang out, just say it.  I don’t have much right to refuse, and this mentoring shit is my only other commitment.  Hell, I could probably skip out on that after a week or so.”
She frowned at that.  “You had better not.  You’ll get in trouble again, and I’ll get mad.”
“Whatever, Mom,” he rolled his eyes.  Sarahi sighed, and they quickly finished their meals, just in time for the bell.