Ralph reached his door and paused as he noticed the door wasn’t closed all the way. He frowned. He had shut the door all the way and locked it when he left this morning. He brought up a hand and used a single finger to push opened the door. It swung open with a creaking sound.

The creaking sound echoed loudly through the apartment. He cursed, silently, as his face screwed up in annoyance. He knew he should have took are of the hinges, already, but it was an early alarm system. He didn’t think it would be ever used against him.

He sighed, letting go of the annoyance. He reached down to his kunai holder wrapped around his left thigh and undo the snap. The snapping of the button being released seemed to ring out like a church bell on Easter Morning. He winced. That was something he could fix when he had the time. Maybe he could find something else to hold his kunai. That might help. Then again, it might not. It would be a calculated risk he would have spend time, playing with before he could make a decision.

He stepped into the apartment, placing his back against the wall beside the door frame. He was glad he kept the closet door shut. A thought went through his mind and he paused. He reached the indent for the closet and slided it open. He waited for a moment before he peered, trying to see through the darkness. It housed his winter coat, the mop and bucket, and the broom. He glanced up and saw some of the other cleaning supplies he kept on hand - nothing else. He slided it shut before he stepped pass the closet, keeping the front door open, allowing the nearby streetlight to shine into the short hallway. Unfortunately, the light stopped by the end of the closet.

Ralph’s gaze rose, peering at the living room. Moonlight shined down through his window, revealing the damaged, second hand coffee table, and the ragged old couch with his mismatched cushion. He frowned as he moved forward, walking passed the kitchen. He could have sworn he sensed someone in his apartment and he knew he had locked his apartment door when he left this morning.

“This isn’t right!” a voice rang out loudly behind him. Ralph turned, sharply, raising his kunai into a ready stance. “This is ridiculous! You can't just shove us into some rundown apartments and call it housing. We’ve got our spot in the Gray District—we don’t need your so-called ‘help’.”

The voice belong to one of the homeless people. Ralph rolled his eyes and relaxed. Apparently, the recently housed villager was moving into one of the empty next door.

“You know the drill. Every year during Community Day, we move everyone from the Gray District into temporary housing. It’s safer and keeps things organized for the Seasonal Clean-Up Missions,” One of the Bark Officers replied.

“Temporary housing? This place isn’t fit for rats, let alone people!” The homeless person shouted.

Ralph blinked and raised his eyebrow, feeling insulted. He glanced around his apartment and sighed. He couldn’t argue with the homeless person’s logic, but at the same time, this unknown person had insulted what Ralph had been able to afford to get with his Bastard Status. His shoulders slumped and he heard a scuff of a shoe against the hard wood floor. Was he imaging it? He kept his relaxes stance and looked toward the doorway.

“It’s better than freezing on the streets or living in the trash piles you call home,” The Bark officer stated, “You’re being offered a roof, a bed, and meals. You could have more if you just took one of the dozens of jobs posted around the village.”

Ralph walked to the door and slowly shut it. Hopefully, that would indict to the Officers placing the homeless in the apartment complex the apartment had already been claimed. He turned away from the door and went into the kitchen, hearing the loud conversation taking place on the walkway just outside his door.

“Jobs? You think I haven’t tried? No one’s hiring someone like me,” the homeless person argued with heat in their voice.

Ralph set the kunai on the counter top and grabbed the box of matches before he grabbed the glass candle he kept on the small island counter. He struck the match against the coarse side of the matchbox, the sharp crack followed by a small burst of flame. He held it steady, watching the tiny flickering light dance before he carried it over to the candle. He lowered it to the candle's wick. The flame caught, brightening as the wick’s fibers caught on fire, and Ralph gently shook the match to extinguish the smoky tendrils curling from its tip. It took three shakes for the match to extinguish. In the dim room, the candle’s glow cast warm shadows across his face, softening the edges and filling the quiet space with a calm, amber light. He heard it again, the soft scuff of a shoe. He knew it came from within his apartment and he also gave away his position, standing in the candle light.

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“Plenty of people would hire you if you stopped making excuses. You’ve got options, but you keep choosing the hard way. Think about that while you settle in,” the officer stated in a no nonsense tone.

“Leave me alone!” The homeless person shouted before a slamming sound echoed. There was a long stretch of silence. Ralph watched the candle’s light flicker back and forth as he listened. Whoever was in his apartment was getting closer to him.

From the shadows, a figure lunged at him—a blur of motion too quick to fully process - leaping over the island separating the kitchen and the living room. Ralph’s eyes widened with surprise as a single thought dashed across his mind, ‘Shit!’ He lunged for the kunai on the counter before he sidestepped, his kunai raising as he struck out, aiming for where the figure’s shoulder should be. Metal met flesh, and a hiss of pain told him he’d connected.

Ralph spun on his heel, bringing his back to the candle light. He watched as his attacker landed in the middle of the kitchen, staggered before the intruder leaped to the right, trying to head back into the shadows of the apartment.

Ralph couldn’t tell if they were armed, but he wasn’t about to wait and find out. He shifted his stance, trying to keep the intruder in his field of vision. He held his kunai in a ready stance. He raised his voice, “Who are you? What do you want?” His voice echoed through his apartment.

There was no response. Ralph placed a hand on the edge of the island and pushed it toward the stove. The wheels squeaked loudly as it rolled out of Ralph’s way. He stepped into the living room.

The second attack came, faster this time. Ralph saw the glim of candle light shimmering in the air and barely had time to dodge as a blade gleamed in the dim light. A sharp whooshing sound sliced through the air where his head had been moments before. He placed a hand on the wooden floor and retaliated with a swift kick, his foot connecting with the attacker’s knee. They grunted and stumbled back.

Ralph moved with the intruder as they went deeper into the living room. The intruder knocked into the couch, causing it move with a thud. Ralph knew the neighbors would start complaining soon from the extra noise. He usually tried to keep quiet in the evenings because several of his neighbors had small kids who went to bed early. Ralph aimed a punch at the intruder’s midsection, but missed and his knuckles hit the edge of the couch. He grunted from the pain before he pushed it away, turning his attention to the intruder.

The intruder backed away, creating space between himself and Ralph. Ralph chased him and noticed the intruder raised a fist up. Ralph barely ducked the first punch, feeling the whoosh of air graze his ear. He countered with a quick jab aimed at the intruder’s ribs. His kunai would slice through the intruder’s chest and allow Ralph to get some answers, but the intruder slapped Ralph’s strike away with a sharp deflection, sending the kunai into the side of a cabinet. The intruder spun, their foot cutting through the air in a blur as Ralph twisted just in time to avoid a crushing blow to his side and the intruder’s foot hooked on a wooden chair Ralph kept for the rare guest before he twisted around and hurled it toward Ralph, who deflected it with a powerful kick the chair shattered against the wall. Splinters showered the floor.

Ralph muttered a curse, realizing he would have to replace that chair. He refocused himself in time to see the intruder lunged, delivering a series of rapid jabs forcing Ralph backward. He sidestepped the final strike, narrowly avoiding the knuckles that grazed his temple. Ralph’s eyes widened with the realized how close that hit was and retaliated with a swift elbow aimed at the intruder’s jaw. It glanced off as they twisted away, their movements fluid and relentless.

Stepping in the moonlight, the intruder ducked low and swept a leg toward Ralph’s legs, forcing him to leap up. By the time Ralph landed, the intruder was already pressing forward, their hands a blur of motion. Ralph blocked one strike, then another, his muscles burning as he struggled to match their speed. A sudden feint caught him off guard, and he stumbled as a fist clipped his shoulder. Gritting his teeth, Ralph spun into a counterattack—a sharp uppercut that missed by a breath as the intruder bent backward, impossibly fast, over the couch.

Ralph frowned. The intruder was trained in the ninja arts or at least the martial arts. So far, the intruder didn’t use any spiritual powers to help in the battle. That alone was strange. Most would use any advantage over their opponent to win the battle. He watched as the intruder finished their flip over the couch and stand on the damaged coffee table. He had enough He sighed and reached into a pocket at his hip, pulling out a kunai with a piece of paper attached to it. He pushed some spiritual pressure into it then he threw it at the coffee table. He heard the paper sizzle and the thud. The intruder looked down between his feet where the kunai landed then looked up at Ralph. He knelt down behind the couch, covering his head as the paper bomb went off.

The building shook as Ralph’s window exploded outward. Smoke trailed out.

Ralph coughed as he slowly stood up, shaking himself off. He looked around his apartment and sighed. He knew he would be paying extra at the end of the month for the damages. His front door was slammed opened. Ralph slipped into a ready stance, staring hard at the new intruders. Severals beams of light flashed through the apartment before landing on him and the intruder laying on the floor. He tried to stare pass the beams of light, to see who was standing on the other side.

“What is going on here?” a member of the Police Force barked, stepping forward.

“Name yourself,” Ralph shot back, holding his fists up in a ready stance. He mentally cursed. He couldn’t believe he had lost a kunai during that fight. He would have to do better in the future.

“I am Captain Kael Falconridge,” the man introduced himself, stepping forward

Ralph’s face transformed into one the Captain was familiar with - ‘Oh, shit, I’m in trouble.’

“Captain,” Ralph started, but sucked in a mouthful of dust. He coughed and tried again, “Captain, I can explain.”

“You better, son,” Captain Kael marched forward, “What happened here?”

Ralph explained what happened since he had arrived home. The Captain nodded, in understanding. “Alright. Take this one -“ he pointed at the unconscious intruder, “Into custody and get him any medical attention he needs.”

Ralph watched as two officers approached and took the intruder into custody. He really wanted to know why the intruder was in his apartment, but he doubt he would find that out anytime soon.