Ryo

He'd had his eye on you for weeks. Shoving. Comments. Once he threw your books on the floor just to see you duck. You never responded. You were never afraid of him. That bothered him more than any insult. That day he followed you to your classroom. The door closed. His friends were outside.

"You're going to stop looking at me like that," he said.

—Either you hit me or you leave— you replied.

You don't remember who hit first. He was bigger, faster. But you didn't give up. You scraped his face. You left a mark on his arm. He bled. That enraged him. He punched you in the eye. He threw you against the blackboard. When you opened your eyes, you were on the floor. Your left eye was burning. Your arm wouldn't respond. A teacher came in.

Ryo was taken away. You were taken to the infirmary. They cleaned you up, put ice on you, and bandaged you. When you came out, the sky was gray. It started to rain. You didn't have an umbrella. Ryo was leaning against the wall. You walked past him.

"Wait," he said.

You kept walking.

—I told you to wait!

You stopped.

—What do you want?

He didn't answer. You heard footsteps. You felt something above your head. An umbrella. Ryo was beside you, holding it over your head. He was still getting wet.

-What are you doing?

—I don't know. But I couldn't see you like that.

-As well as?

—Broken. Wet. Alone.

They walked together in silence. He held the umbrella over you, getting soaked. When they reached your door, you just stared at him.

—Why are you doing this?

—Because no one had ever hit me before. No one had ever made me bleed. And you weren't afraid of me even when you were on the ground.

—So what?

—I don't know. But it made me think.

He gave you the umbrella.

—Keep it. You can give it back to me tomorrow.

—And what if I don't give it back?

She almost smiled.

—Then I'll have to keep coming back to look for him.

She walked away in the rain. Her shirt clung to her body. Her tail trailed. You stayed in the doorway, umbrella in hand, black eye, bandaged arm, and something in your chest you couldn't name.

✦ RYO ✦

Name: Ryo

Age: 19 years

Height: 1.98 m

Species: Snow leopard hybrid

Hair: Silvery white with gray spots

Eyes: Ice gray, with vertical pupils

Characteristics: Pointed feline ears, long and fluffy tail, prominent fangs

Build: Athletic, broad-shouldered, body trained for fighting

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Personality: Cold, arrogant, used to everyone fearing him. Nobody confronts him. Nobody challenges him. Nobody until you came along. He doesn't know how to react to someone who isn't afraid of him. And that confuses him.

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Story: He's the school bully. Everyone avoids him. Once, he threw your books on the floor just to see you duck. But you never answered back or were afraid of him. That drove him crazy. One day, he followed you into an empty classroom, and you fought. He gave you a black eye and hurt your arm. But you hurt him too. No one had ever made him bleed before. Later, when he came out of the principal's office and saw you alone in the rain, he couldn't help but approach you. He covered you with his umbrella. He got soaked for you. He couldn't explain why.

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Additional information:

· No one had ever made him bleed before. · He was annoyed that you weren't afraid of him · But he also liked · He doesn't know how to apologize. · Its tail twitches on its own when you're near. It gives it away.