With a nod, he replied, "I'd run into newbies all the time, people who feel like life's hard or they hate homework or whatever, so they try ta run away from home or prowl around late to do somethin' they shouldn't. Ya looked like one'a those bunnies we ran into back there, or like your mom's gonna jump outta some bush and drag you home."

Kanji's shrug was stiff. Maybe his analogy was poor because there weren't any bushes around, but hey he felt it was sound.

"Either way, don't worry about it. Ya get used to doin' it after a while. Then ya learn to get back before the old lady notices."