The rest of the day passed smoothly, without anything of note happening. After the last class ended, Ayano stayed in her seat a bit longer to consider her options. Maybe I should join a club. The martial arts club or sports clubs might be good for my 'profession.' Eventually, Ayano decided to just go straight home. She had to look through the recordings for Info-chan, after all. Before she could leave, however, she had cleaning duty. She picked up a broom and started sweeping the classroom, looking around for any other resources she could use.

Pencil: sharp and able to stab; useful, people are always carrying pencils around; not suspicious.

Scissors: sharper than pencils; also useful; a bit more suspicious.

All in all, not a lot of useful things in the classroom.

Cleaning time eventually ended, and Ayano had one last piece of garbage to take to the incinerator. She walked down the stairs, greeting people she knew as she went. She didn't want to look like some kind of social recluse; that would make people even more suspicious if there was a body found on school grounds. All Ayano needed to do was to blend into the background. She couldn't start any trouble or attract any attention. It would be damaging to her reputation. Speaking of damaged reputation, this was the point in her path where she would meet the delinquents. After what happened with their leader that morning, she hoped that they were somehow miraculously late to the incinerator. Would it be too much to wish that I could not encounter the delinquents and make a scene?

It was too much to wish. The delinquents were by the incinerator, and so was their leader. They weren't even standing on the sides of the incinerator either; Osoro was directly blocking her path. There was no choice but to confront him to get by, and she couldn't just leave the trash there and get away, there were people present; their watchful eyes like bugs on her skin. She decided to take a direct approach.

"Can you move? I need to throw away this trash." Ayano met Osoro's eyes with a blank stare; she wanted to show no weakness. It would certainly interfere with her life to be targeted by the delinquents because they thought she was weak.

"You've got guts, short stack. Let me ask you something: Do you want to live with permanent disfigurement?"

"That's a tempting offer, but I'll have to pass."

Osoro's lips peeled back in a sneer. He had obviously recovered from their encounter that morning, and contempt and confidence were pouring off of him in waves. He obviously thought he was going to win this fight. Ayano stared him down, thinking of any possible way she could get out of the situation when it hit her.

"Hey, so I have a question for you," Ayano asked, tilting her head to the side quizzically. "You guys will only allow the members of the gang to access the incinerator while you're here, right?"

"That's right. So you won't be throwing that trash away anytime soon."

"So, you can access the incinerator?"

"Of course! I'm the leader of the delinquents."

"Great!" Ayano clapped her hands together and smiled. "Then you can throw this away for me."

Ayano dropped the trash at Osoro's feet and walked away. The delinquents were in shock. Nobody had stood up to Osoro that way and lived to tell the tale. Their leader's face was contorted into a mask of anger.

Ayano grabbed her bag back at the classroom, looking over her shoulder every couple of seconds to see if the delinquents were following her. I guess there's no avoiding making a scene now. I'll have to face Osoro sooner or later. I bet he's mad. They might jump me in front of the school gates, I should at least try to prepare. Ayano reached into her bag for anything that she could defend herself with. Among the books and papers, there was a piece of cold metal. She drew it out; it was the scissors from that morning. God, this day has felt like an eternity. It was almost 5:30. Ayano stepped out of the classroom, looking both ways before starting out towards the school gates. She slung her bag over one shoulder and put the scissors in her pocket. Instead of heading out through the shoe lockers, she changed her shoes and went out the side doors. The warm spring air greeted her, and the golden sunlight spilled into the hallway. Again, Ayano glanced cursorily to her right and left before exiting the building. She could see the track and the cherry blossom tree in the back of the school. She worked her way around the building, towards the front entrance. Shit. The delinquents were by the school gates, accosting the students leaving the school. They're probably waiting for me. I need to find another way out. Ayano sprinted through the track, towards the cherry blossom tree in the back corner of the school's grounds. She climbed its branches like a snake, ducking, and weaving and grabbing and pulling. Finally, she made it to a limb that was close to the tall wall that separated their school from the outside world. She heard a shout from the front gates and vaguely registered figures running towards her. She jumped from the tree to the top of the wall, landing gracefully and balancing like a cat on the thin wall-top. She looked down on the other side. Nothing to cushion her fall but a grassy expanse. Ayano dropped from the wall without looking back, and rolled into her landing, coming to a smooth stop in a cat-like crouch. She adjusted her bag, and set off towards her house, using a twisting, winding back way to avoid being followed.