Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Leano always had a beautiful smile.

She had stopped smiling a while ago, as those closest to her knew well. At least, they never saw her smile ever since she locked herself on that room.

And now, her smile was there to be seen again. However, it was not in a way anyone had wanted.

The picture of the female wolf, beautiful as she was, stayed in front of the coffin. That was the only way anyone could see her face again, once it was a closed casket ceremony. Leano's last request, on note she left behind before doing what she did.

People came forward, each one paying their final respects to the female wolf. People who she knew from school. People who she worked with during her short career as a model. People who remembered her before she suddenly shut herself off from everyone. All of them came forward to say a few final words and express their final feelings regarding Leano and the amazing person they all remembered her as.

However, the only two people who were suffering the more were the ones out of sight on that occasion. One of them was Leano's son, who was sitting in a corner of the funerary house, far away from the coffin, from the people and all of that. He was just sitting there, his knees hugged against his chest as he looked at the ground, seeming to be unaware of all that is happening.

And the second one was currently making his way towards him, and Legoshi didn't even noticed that until the other animal talked to him:

"Legoshi."

The wolf blinked, looking up at the animal, one that every single person of the party avoided and shot glares at while wondering what he was even doing there. But, on their defense, they had no way of knowing that the Komodo dragon sitting on the chair on the very last row of the room was the deceased's own father.

"They are about to carry the casket away." Gosha said gently to the wolf, who looked at him with empty eyes. "Come say goodbye to your mother."

The wolf looked at the lizard, before looking down, as if he suddenly lost interest on him. Gosha, however, insisted.

"Legoshi, they are taking your mother to rest. We have to go and say goodbye to her. She would have wanted that."

"No, she would not." Legoshi said, his voice small and sad. "She would not have..."

"Of course, she would." Gosha said, "She loved you very much."

"Then why she did it?" Legoshi asked. "Why didn't she stay?"

Gosha flinched as he looked at the wolf cub. He knew there was no answer for that, no matter how much he wanted to give Legoshi one.

"She didn't care..." Legoshi said, "She didn't care about me..."

"Legoshi!" Gosha could not remain silent to those words. "Don't say that! Of course, she did! Is just that... she was sad. He was sad and angry at her own appearance. It was all too much for her. It was no one's fault."

The wolf then tensed.

"Yes, it was..."

The way Legoshi spoke that made Gosha flinch. Even more as the wolf lifted his eyes to him, and the Komodo could see anger on them.

"It's your fault..."

"L-Legoshi?"

"This is all your fault!" The young wolf screamed at him. "It is your fault that Mom had those scales! It is your fault she killed herself and left me all alone! It is all because of you!"

"Legoshi..." Gosha said, he tried to reach for him, but the wolf shocked him again by slapping his hand away.

"Don't touch me! I hate you! I wish you were dead instead of Mom!"

And with that, the young wolf dashed off, running through the run and out of the door. Gosha called him, but the young wolf completely ignored him. He just ran through the hallway and, on his way out, he nearly bumped into another canine, around his age and dressed in the same black suit, brought by his mother there just for the occasion.

"Legoshi!?" the Labrador said, looking at the wolf run past him. "Legoshi, wait! Where are you going? Legoshi!"

However, Jack's words were ignored by the wolf, who opened the funerary house's door and ran outside. Tears streamed down his face as he ran out of there and down the streets, startling a lot of people who were walking on the sidewalk and causing them to move to the side.

And, right in front of the funerary house, a car had been parked. Not surprise, since there were many parked cars in there for Leano's memorial, but this one was not there for the memorial. They had no interest in that dead woman.

They had no deal with the dead.

The dead were useless.

They were only interested on the living.

Like that young wolf running down the street, who they had their eyes on for a while now, and who they now could finally catch alone.

And Legoshi was unaware that this vehicle was following him, as he was too busy running. He ran because he wanted to leave. Because he wanted to escape from what was happening. From his dead mother. From his grandfather. From everything.

He would come to regret running for years to come in just a bit.

Just as he stopped after turning a corner, and then slumped into the ground with his back against a brick wall as he panted, the vehicle stopped nearby.

The tears were still coming. He could not stop them. They just kept coming, as Legoshi felt anger and sadness becoming just one. Sadness over the loss of his mother and anger at her for abandoning him like she did. Anger as his grandfather for wanting him to watch them burying her and not doing enough to help her when it mattered, and sadness for seeing the hurt on his eyes as Legoshi said those words to him.

All those feelings overwhelmed him, and the twelve-year-old wolf could not help but bury his face on his hands as he started sobbing, his whole body shaking with each hiccup.

He was unaware of the person approaching him.

"Hello, young man."

The wolf's ears perked, and he slowly looked up. He was faced with an animal looking at him. This animal was around his own size, and he was looking at him with a worried expression.

"You look lost. Are your parents nearby?"

Legoshi looked at him.

"Sorry, did you hear me?" The animal asked again. "Are you shy, little one? Can you tell me your name?"

Legoshi blinked at him again, and then he said his name, right before saying:

"I... should not be talking to strangers..."

To that, the animal said:

"My name is Deshico. There, now I am no longer a stranger. So, Legoshi, what are you doing here all alone? Don't you know those streets are dangerous?"

"I... ran away." Legoshi said, looking down. Deshico sat by his side.

"Any reason why?"

"I... just wanted to get away." The young wolf said. "I wanted to be alone."

"Oh... do you want me to leave then?" Desicho was asking that of the wolf, and it made Legoshi look at his face. It was very friendly. Being round and with beady eyes. Kind of like a plushie.

"What... are you?" Legoshi asked. "Are you a cat? Or a weasel?"

"I'm a civet." Deshico said, still with a kind smile. "We are technically classified as cats, but in truth we are distant cousins of the mongooses. But, anyways, do you really want to be all alone, Legoshi? Because, like I said, those streets aren't exactly safe. Don't you hear people say how the city can be violent?"

Yeah, the civet was right. Legoshi had been hearing more and more how the city was dangerous. His grandpa tried to keep him from those kinds of news, but Legoshi had grown perceptive enough to know that the city was not exactly safe. People talked about on how predation cases were becoming more frequent.

"Anyways, I don't think you should be all alone in here." Deshico said to him as he got up, and then he offered the young wolf a hand.

"Come with me, I am taking you back to your family. Sounds good, no?"

Legoshi looked at him and, seeing how the civet's friendly face still had one of the warmest smiles he ever saw, he decided to take it.

Soon, the two of them were walking out of the alley, where a white van was parked.

Seeing the vehicle, Legoshi hesitated a bit, but Deshico gently urged him.

"Now, now, no need to be bashful." The civet said as he walked the wolf to the van. "I need to take you back to your grandfather. I know you might not be keen on going back to where your mother is being buried, but you cannot leave the old lizard worried with you after he just lost a daughter, can you?"

Yeah, that much was true. Legoshi had to recognize that he should not have run out like that. He was feeling really bad for what he said to his grandpa before storming out off... wait.

"H-how do you know I was at my mother's funeral?" Legoshi stopped as he asked that. Deshico also stopped. "And how do you know my grandpa is a lizard?"

The civet didn't answer that. However, Legoshi could feel him gripping his wrist harder.

"Get in the van."

Those words felt cold to Legoshi. Suddenly, every single alarm on the young canine's head started blaring like a foghorn, telling him to leave, to run.

"Come now." Deshico then pulled on Legoshi's wrist hard, trying to get him to go to the van.

"N-no." The wolf tried to pull away, only for the civet to grasp his wrist so hard it hurt. The adult beast turned to look at him. All kindness had left his features, as he now glared at Legoshi with something resembling pure rage and scorn.

"Get in the van right now, you freak of nature!" Deshico yelled at him. "Before I decide to bury you alongside your worthless mother!"

"Let me go!" Legoshi yelled, as he tried to free himself from Deshico's grasp. That was when the door of the van slid open, and two animals came out of it. Soon, they were all over Legoshi, holding him by the arms while Deshico pulled a cloth and a vial from his suit.

"Help! Someone help me! Hel-" Legoshi tried to scream, but he was silenced as a damp piece of cloth was forced on his mouth, a strong chemical scent filling his nostrils and making him gag.

"Just go to sleep, you little freak." Deshico said as he pressed the chloroform-soaked tissue onto the young wolf's face. "Just take a nap while we take you to our friends who will get rid of you for us. It will be one less hybrid in the world to worry about."

Legoshi tried to struggle, to squirm himself free, but he suddenly started feeling... sleepy. The edges of his vision were darkening as he stared at the jeering, hateful expression on the civet's face. And his last thought before the dark claimed him was:

G-Grandpa...

Grandpa...

"Subject Seven!"

The loud voice, distorted for coming through a speaker system, brought the wolf back from the memory he was having from five years previous. Or, at least, what he thought were five years. It was too hard to keep track of time in there. They never told what day it was.

He only had a vague idea that it had been five years because one of them said that Legoshi was seventeen now, and the wolf knew he had been there since he was twelve.

It felt like an entire lifetime ago for the wolf.

"Are you ready, Subject Seven?" The voice came again, and the wolf knew they were talking to him. That was the only way they referred to him around there. And the only way they ever allowed him to refer to himself. Saying his actual name meant punishments. However, the wolf could still not allow himself to forget.

My name is Legoshi.

The wolf nodded, it was the only answer he could give with that muzzle on his face, and then the voice said:

"Proceed then."

And the person on the other side of that room, someone wearing a full tactical armor, including a helmet to obscure the face. The person then loaded the weapon they had in range, which was like a big and potent machine gun, and the pointed it straight at the wolf.

"Remain still, Subject Seven." The voice said, and Legoshi could only roll his eyes.

As if I could move from here while I'm chained. The wolf tugged on his wrists, causing the chains to rattle as they held the wolf in place with his arms spread wide, nearly as if he was welcoming the bullets with open arms.

And the guy on the other end of the range was aiming right at his chest.

The wolf closed his eyes.

My name is Legoshi.

The trigger was pulled, and the bullets flew towards the wolf hitting him square on the chest. Legoshi felt each bullet hitting him, impacting his chest and causing him to jolt, the chains holding him in place as those big bullets hit their mark.

The animal in tactical gear fired until he was empty, the barrel of the gun smoking once the bullets were over, and Legoshi was still there.

The bullets had all fallen at his feet, and there was not a single hole on his body.

The wolf looked about as calm as he had before the bullets were shot. He was used to it already, so he did not really react. Just like he did not react when the guy in gear put down the machine gun, and then pulled out a flamethrower and started firing it at the wolf.

My name is Legoshi.

Legoshi kept his eyes closed as the flames hit him square on the chest. It felt warm. Uncomfortably so. But it hardly even hurt. Just a minor sting that you often feel when putting your hand near boiling water. Once the flames stopped coming, Legoshi's chest was slightly blackened, but that was due to the leftover burnt fuel, as not a single fur of his chest was even charred.

Then, he put down the flamethrower and picked the last item: a grenade launcher.

He loaded it, and pointed it straight at the wolf, who looked at him with tired, indifferent eyes, before closing his eyes once more.

My name... is Legoshi.

The weapon was fired. An explosive load sailed through the air and hit the wolf square on, resulting in a blast that shook the walls of the reinforced room.

As the smoke cleared, the wolf was still there. The chains holding him had been destroyed as a result of the explosion, but the wolf himself didn't had a single scratch.

Completely undamaged.

"Alright, this concludes the test." The voice said once more. "Subject Seven will now be scouted to one of the holding rooms. Clean the place and prepare it for testing Subject Three next."

As Legoshi was scouted out of the room by two armed guards, someone who had been watching the whole thing unfold from a video feed started recording themselves:

"It is March 22, now is 19:33, and we just finished the latest physical durability test of Subject 7. As expected, the subject's durability has increased when compared to the last batch of tests, as now the subject has gained a greater resilience to temperature as well as a greater resistance to heavy-duty artillery and blasts. Such resilience is attributed to the increase on tissue density detected on the last batch of standard physical examinations. Probably related to the subjects current metamorphotic state. Worthy of note that the subject has complained of itch on the scales developing on its right arm, as well as complained about pain on the inside of its mouth. I recommend observation for any signs of collateral mutations."

Legoshi was massaging the side of his mouth through the muzzle on his face, what granted one of the guards by his side to tell him to not touch the muzzle, and they continued to take the wolf all the way to a big metal door, which they opened and then forced him inside harshly after finally removing his muzzle, before slamming the door shut.

Once inside, the wolf could finally let out a sign of relief. At least in that cell he finally could rest a bit.

Now he could properly scratch his scales. They had been itching since they started growing under his fur, which fell as they spread out. Now part of his forearm and everything between his elbow and shoulder was covered in scales, and there were also some of them showing on his neck.

I wonder if they will keep spreading. Legoshi caught himself wondering. And if they will keep itching like that...

Suddenly, a sound coming from the nearby wall made him jump a bit. It was coming from the holding cell right by the side, both separated only by a relatively thin layer of concrete. Thin enough that the person on the other side could talk to him through it:

"Yoh, is that you, Seven?"

Legoshi recognized the voice from the other end. He learned to recognize all their voices.

"Hey, Three." Legohi said, knowing that the other hybrid could hear him through the wall. "You good?"

"Yeah, I've been better..." Three said from the other side. "So, how was it? Did they try to kill you in a new way today?"

The wolf sighed.

"Just the usual, but they used a bigger gun. The bullets were heavier. Fire still feels uncomfortable, but it is better than cold."

"Oh, yeah. You still feeling colder lately, no? Since your scales started growing."

"Yeah." Legoshi looked at the scales growing alongside the extension of his arm. They seemed to have stopped appearing, but that's not to say he was done changing yet. His mother's scales continued to appear over the course of months and years, and nothing said the same wouldn't happen to Legoshi.

And his mother stayed alive until he was twelve with the only purpose of making sure that was not going to happen...

I wonder if she'd be disappointed that I didn't turned out beautiful as she had hoped.

"Seven? You still there?"

The wolf blinked, then he said:

"Oh! Sorry, Three. I was just... thinking about my scales."

"They still itch?"

"Yeah, a little bit." The wolf was scratching them as he said that. "And they don't really seem healthy. I mean, they look paler than... than they should."

"Yeah, guess you could try and convince them to look at it next time you are back on your cell. You know, after they have taken to be tested next. I am so excited for being probed and poked with electrodes again. Yay. ~" Three's voice was just as goofy as normally as it came from the other end of the wall. However, Legoshi still could say that he was mildly annoyed with this.

Three had always been the kind to show more annoyance than anything else with the fact that they were all even there. From the day Legohsi first woke up on the cells and met the others, right after coming back from the lab where they made the original procedures, Three was probably the only one who had never showed anything close to fear or apprehension.

This always made Legoshi look up to him as an inspiration for strength.

"And what about your mouth? Still hurting?"

Three's voice brought the scaled wolf back to reality once more.

"No, it stopped hurting already. But now it feels... kind of strange. I mean, sometimes is like there is something in my mouth and I keep having to swallow."

"That's called saliva, Seven."

"No, it's not that." The wolf said. "It is like something slimy keeps building up on my mouth. Something sticky with a weird taste, like..." The wolf paused, his eyes slowly widening. "Like a... bittersweet marmalade..."

"What was that?" Three's voice came from the other end. "Seven?"

The wolf barely heard, as he felt that substance on his mouth again. The flavor and texture on his mind now bringing a memory that, until now, Legoshi had not been able to quite put his finger on.

"Grandpa..."

The wolf felt the substance building up even more. And then, instead of swallowing, he spat it out.

It splattered into the concrete ground. Then it started fizzling and bubbling, as it ate through the concrete.

"Three!" Legoshi said. "Three! I have venom!"

"What?"

"I have venom!" Legoshi said. "I have venom now! Like my grandpa!"

"Wait, how do you know?"

"Because I just spat it and it is eating through the concrete of the floor." The wolf said, looking at the hole forming on the floor on the place where he spat.

"What!?"

"I... I have to tell them." Legoshi said. "I need to tell the people here I have venom now. They need to know so they can take precautions. And I'll need to be more careful around the others. I don't want to poison them by accident."

"Hold on!" Three's voice said, suddenly frantic. "Backpedal! You said you have venom!? And that your venom eats through concrete!? It is Komodo dragon venom!?"

"Yeah!" Legoshi said. "That's why I need to be careful. This venom is so potent that it can kill-"

"Seven!"

The way Three screamed that made the wolf flinch. A few seconds later, Three's voice came again, this time much more composed.

"Seven, I need you to listen to me very closely." Three's words were careful and clear, nearly as if he wanted to be sure Legoshi would not misunderstand anything he was about to say. "I need you to walk to the door and place your venom on the lock."

"What?" Legoshi said. "Why?"

There were a few seconds, before Three's voice came again:

"Are you serious!? So it can melt the lock and you can get out! And then you can do the same to my door so we can escape!"

Legoshi blinked.

He... he could do that...?

...

He could.

He could do that!

He could get them out!

He could get all of them out!

"Do it now!" Three's voice came with urgency. "Before the guards come!"

Legoshi then got up from the bed and rushed to the door, standing before it for a moment, as if he was trying to figure out how to do it. Should he just spit? That could work. But also...

Legoshi then, after a moment of deliberation, shoved his fingers into his mouth. When he pulled them out, they were coated in the slimy venom produced by the new glands that grew on the inside of his lower maw. He looked at it for a few seconds, thinking of his grandpa, who taught him that Komodo dragons did that as a way of complimenting each other, giving each other a taste of their venom, as they were immune to it.

Grandpa... you... you taught me so much...

"Seven?" Three's voice came again. "Are you still there? Hello? Are you melting the door yet?"

"O-oh! On it!" The wolf said, and then, with a careful movement, he applied the venom on his fingers around the lock. He looked at it for a few seconds, before the area coated in venom-laced saliva started to bubble and fizzle. The virulent substance eating through the metal just like it did through the concrete.

Soon, the metal had been eaten through enough that it looked frail and brittle. And, as Legoshi confirmed, it was brittle. He just needed to slam his shoulder on the door a few times to break the metal around the lock and causing the metal door to slam open.

I... I'm out...

Legoshi could hardly believe it, and he just stood there for a couple seconds, just absorbing the fact that he was able to get out of his cell on his own without any guard there to watch over him, before he eventually reminded himself about the person on the other cell.

"Three!" Legoshi rushed to the metal door and yelled that he was going to melt the lock, and for him to keep a distance. So just like he did with his own door, Legoshi applied his venom to it with his fingers, allowing it to eat away at the metal until it was so brittle that Legoshi just needed to kick that area hard enough to shatter it.

"There." Legoshi said, and he was about to pull the door open, when it suddenly swung open, slamming on his face and sending him to the ground. Not from the pain, but solely from the surprise. I mean, come on, even an explosive from a grenade launcher didn't hurt him, why would a metal door?

Legoshi still went into the ground, and he looked up to see the animal who just burst free from his cell, and who was standing there, wearing only the same beige pants as Legoshi was made to wear, as he then looked at the wolf with scales.

"What are you doing there?" Three asked the wolf "Get your ass off the floor! We have to get out of here now!"

"R-right!"

Soon, Legoshi was getting up, and the two beasts were now running barefoot down the hallway. They had been there enough times that they somehow memorized the paths, even though there were a lot of places they had never been taken before, so they didn't truly know the place.

"How do we find the exit?" Legoshi asked, to what Three said:

"I heard some of the guards speaking about the exit. We have to take a hallway past the main holding cells and take an elevator."

As they said that, they suddenly saw one of the guards just turning the hallway as they were going on that direction.

"H-hey! You two!" He said to the two as he saw them. Legoshi froze on his tracks, but Three continued running, and he collided with the guard straight on just as he was lifting his gun and ordering them to stop.

The guard tried to push him back, but that was when Three put both his hands on his neck. Then, the tiger suddenly let out a strangled scream as his whole body started convulsing violently. Just a few seconds later, he dropped to the ground, and he was no longer moving.

"Let's go!" Three said, and he continued running. However, he noticed that the wolf was not coming after.

"Seven! Come on!"

The wolf was looking at the tiger, fallen to the ground and not moving, his eyes wide and unresponsive.

"T-Three..." Legoshi said, giving a step back as a horrifying realization hit him. "You killed him!"

"Yeah, I did!" The other beast said, "And now we are both getting out of here before they find his corpse and come for us! They will put us back on our cells, and they will surely punish us for trying to escape! It's now or never, Seven!"

The wolf heard his words, and he looked back at the tiger.

Three was right. This could be their only chance to escape.

If they didn't...

That was what it took for the wolf to start going forward, and he followed Three across the hallways, going up a flight of stairs with him, until they finally found their way to the right path.

The one that passed by the main holding cells, where they were kept all the time they were not being put through exams or training.

Alongside the others.

"Guys!" Legoshi yelled as soon as he arrived on that hallway, rushing past Three. "Guys!"

"Huh?"

"What is that?"

"Seven is back!"

"But, wait. Where are the guards?"

"Seven!" A voice called. "Did... did you escape?"

"Guys!" Legoshi said, "Guys, we are leaving! All of us! Three and I will free... Three?"

Three did not stopped, he just kept running and, when seeing that the wolf had stopped, said:

"Seven, what are you waiting for!? Let's go!"

"Wha-, but... the others!"

"We have to go now!" Three said, "We need to escape!"

"Hold on!" Someone said from one of their cells. It was One. "Are you going to leave us!?"

"We gotta go now!" Three yelled at the wolf, while everyone else talked to them, asking them to free them as well. Some of them pleaded, while others threatened. And, among them, two were looking at wolf from their cells.

"Seven..." Eleven said as he looked at the older beast.

"Seven, you are not going to leave us, are you!?" Fifteen, the youngest of them all, said to the wolf as she pressed her little scaly hands on the walls, her skin quickly sifting in hues of distress.

"Guys, I-" Legoshi tried to say, but that was when an alarm started blaring. Red lights flashed as a horn sounded, and a voice came through the speakers all over the place, telling that there was a breach and that all guards ad personnel should look for subjects Seven and Three.

"Seven, they know we escaped!" The other beast said. "It's now or never!"

"Hey, hey!" Six said, slamming his fists on the translucent glass of his prison, strong enough to take on a missile with no damage. "You better not be thinking about leaving us here, you jackasses!"

"Seven, we have to go now!" Three said, "Come now or I'm leaving without you!"

Legoshi looked at Three. He was being serious, he could tell by his tone, which lacked the goofy undertone he normally had most of the time, and by the look on his eyes. He would truly leave Legoshi behind if the wolf didn't come with him now.

And he probably would be right to do so, because, by now, all the guards of the place were coming to look for the two of them right now, and Legoshi had seen, in previous situations of alarm, how quickly they could mobilize.

No way Legoshi would be able to free everyone before they eventually came there. He would only be captured as well.

And, if he was captured, he would not be able to help anyone.

"Seven?" Eleven said again, and Legoshi looked at her, feeling his heart aching. He then said:

"I'll come back."

He was walking back.

"I'll come back for you guys!" The wolf said, "I'll be back and free all of you and we will all leave together! I promise!"

Then he turned and ran to Three, with everyone else calling for him. Among them, Legoshi recognized Nine's voice:

"You two better not let them catch you and bring you here! Because I'll break you two in half if I see either of you again! Do you hear me!? I'll kill you both!"

Legoshi's ears were flat against his skull as he ran by Three's side down the hallway, the distant voices of the people who he had known for the past five hears vanishing behind him. They were back there. Two, Eight, Eleven, Fifteen.

He was leaving them all behind.

I will be back. Legoshi thought. I am not abandoning you. I am running to not be caught so I can come back later and break you all out. I am not abandoning you. I'm not. I'M NOT!

Legoshi still told himself that as he and Three arrived on the elevator. There was a lock in there. It required a specific security keycard to open, and they didn't have it.

Three, however, didn't need such thing.

He just placed his hand close, placing his fingers on the opening made to fit the keycard and, for a moment, a small spark of electricity jumped into the opening. Instantly, the electronic lock biped and then the light turned green as the elevator was activated.

The doors slid open, and the two of them rushed inside before, by doing the same thing with the lock on the console, Three unlocked the buttons and was able to press the one on the top, which would lead them all the way to the first level on the surface.

He can really to that to anything electronic. Legoshi thought as he saw it happen. No wonder the locks on the auxiliary cells are analogic. If they were electronic, Three would have unlocked then and broke out a long time ago...

"They're probably up there, waiting for us." Three said to the wolf. He turned fully to Legoshi.

"Seven, I'll need you to do exactly what I say next, okay?"

The wolf heard intently, and he soon understood the other beast's plan. By the time they arrived, and the door slid open, they were ready.

Just like Three said, there were guards in there, and they were armed and ordering them to surrender. Once they stepped out, they opened fire, just like Three said they would. That was why he told Legoshi to stand in front of him and shield him with his body as they walked forward. The wolf carefully walked forward with his arms spread, letting the bullets hit his impenetrable skin and bounce off, while Three came right behind him, protected, until they were out of the elevator.

Three then slammed his hand into the console of the elevator's controls. As he did, all lights of the entrance hall flickered, with some of the lamps on the ceiling exploding in glass and sparks.

"Run!" Three said as he and Legoshi both took advantage of the confusion of the guards and dashed past them before any of them could recover enough to aim properly at the two of them. Legoshi felt a few bullets, which did no damage at all, hit his back. Three stumbled as a bullet hit him in the shoulder, causing red to spray out.

"Three!"

"Keep running!" Three said back to the wolf, not faltering on his step even one bit. Actually, it seemed that being shot on the shoulder caused him to run even faster, as if the pain caused his adrenaline to suddenly spike.

They both ran out of there before anyone else could get on their way.

They didn't stop for anything else. They dashed through the field, and Legoshi made Three climb on his back and hold firm as the wolf climbed the fence with barbed wire on top, which he climbed and jumped with no problem, as the metal edges merely grazed harmlessly against his skin.

Once they landed on the ground, they were running again, with the lights and sounds of the facility behind them growing more and more distant as they dashed in direction to the lights ahead of them. The lights of the city a few miles distance away.

We did it... Legoshi thought. We escaped. We... He hesitated, nearly as if he was about to think something so outrageous that even thinking about it was a crime. However, as they moved farther away from the facility, and closer to the city, he finally allowed himself to think it.

We are free.

"Say, any chance the Sublime Beastar would be joining us tonight?" Said the man on the very expensive suit. Many on the room were dressed in far more expensive ones, but that did not make his own any less expensive. "I mean, he would be expected to at least appear on social events from time to time, no?"

"Oh, Yahya-san does not care too much about these events." Said the lion on a suit. He nearly seemed relieved for saying those words. Perhaps happy that the one they were talking about would not be coming at all. The animal he was talking with was interrupted before saying an answer to that, when his pager biped.

"Excuse me, Mr. Mayor." He said, turning around and walking away from the lion to see the message just sent to him. It made him stop dead on his tracks and the smile disappear from his face instantly.

On the screen, the were the words:

WE HAD A BREACH

The animal felt his jaw tightening. He placed his glass of whiskey on the nearest table, so he could type back with both hands.

IN OR OUT?

The answer came instantly.

OUT. SUBJECTS THREE AND SEVEN ESCAPED.

The man had to reign himself in not to lose it as he read those words. He looked around, nearly as if he was worried that someone could be peeking over his shoulder to peek into what he was doing. He saw no one even looking his way, but that did very little to tranquilize him.

He then typed, with shaky fingers:

FIND AND RETRIEVE

ANY MEANS NECESSARY

With this, he placed his pager back on his pocket, pulling out a vial of pills, from which he popped and promptly swallowed one before picking his half-full glass of whiskey and downing it all in one go.

He was panting.

Legoshi could have a body that could withstand bullets and explosions, but even that did nothing to improve his stamina, which was about as good as that of any wolf. He was winded after running practically more than a professional athlete in the span of just one or two hours. Sweat dripped from his fur as he took in deep breaths to recover the breath he lost while dashing like mad all the way to the city and, even after entering the urban perimeter, he just continued to run.

They only stopped once they were sure no one was following them, and it was only to catch their breath and figure out what to do next.

"Dammit..." Three said as he checked the wound on his shoulder. It still stung, but he kind of liked it...

"I need to clean this."

"Should we go to a hospital?" Legoshi asked, and Three looked at him:

"We are going to the Black Market."

Black... Market. Wait, Legoshi heard about that. He heard the guards talking something about it. It was some place where illegal things happened. He was not sure what, but it involved herbivores...

"The Black Market is a nice place to lay low, according to what those guards said while they played poker near my cell." Three said, "Sounds like a good place for us to hide for a while. At least we will be able to spend the night there."

"Do you know where it is?" The wolf asked, to what Three admitted he didn't, but that the information should not be hard to get for, apparently, every carnivore of the city knew about the Black Market.

"But we can't go around like this..." Legoshi said, and Three had to admit he was right. After all, they were wearing only pants that got torn and dirty as they ran there, he had a bloody shoulder, and the wolf coming with him had all his scales in full view.

Not to mention that the big number 7 tattooed on the wolf's left shoulder was still clearly visible, just like the 3 on the other one's.

They gathered a lot of looks just from walking around like that, and they were bond to bring on even more attention if they continued to just go on.

They needed some disguises.

Luckily, they were in an alley where something was happening.

"S-stay away from me!" Someone on the other end of the alley said, causing the two to turn their heads and look. They saw a deer rushing inside, scrambling back as a wolf came to him.

"Well, ain't that our luck..." Three said with a smirk, walking to their direction.

"Three?" Legoshi looked at him. "W-what are you going to do?"

"To get us some disguises." Three said as he continued to walk forward, while the deer had his back pressed against the wall as the wolf approached him slowly.

"W-wait!"

Three stopped and looked over his shoulder at the wolf, who then spoke:

"Don't kill them. Please."

Three looked at him for a moment, before letting out a groan, and then resuming walking to the two, who were unaware someone was coming.

"Please!" The deer said, a fresh slash wound on his cheek, courtesy of this wolf currently terrorizing him.

"Please, don't to this! I have a mother! She is elderly and sick! I am her only child! She will have no one to look after her if something happens to me!"

"Oh, really? That's sad..." the wolf said, "Oh, I know! I will call some friends and we will go to your mother's house and take her to a tour on the Black Market! What about that? There's been a high demand for old herbivore meat lately, something about it being chewy at old age." He licked his lips "Yeah, I will do that after I'm done eating some of you..."

"N-no... please..." The deer said, falling into despair as death closed in, and the wolf just laughed.

"Don't you know begging for your life does nothing? Life doesn't care if you beg, it's a waste of time." The wolf said, and then, he suddenly felt something holding his neck.

"You know what? I fully agree." Said a voice from behind. The wolf didn't even had time to acknowledge it, as a sudden surge going through his body caused him to tremble and scream, before he dropped flat on his face, revealing the animal behind him.

"Man, those streets really are dangerous, aren't they?" Three said, and the deer only stared at him as he stood a bit in the shadows, allowing the herbivore to see only that he had the look of a gazelle, before staring down at the downed wolf.

"H-he..." The deer stammered. "I-is he..."

"He's alive. But will be out for a while." The gazelle said, "Guess even carnivores cannot handle thousands of volts of electricity right to the neck."

The deer blinked, looking back at the gazelle. He could not see properly due to the dark, but he was pretty sure he didn't saw any taser or stun-gun on the other herbivore's hands. Especially as he offered one to him.

"Need help getting up?" He asked in a friendly tone, and the deer, still shaking, reached for his hand.

"You saved my life!" He said. "Thank! Thank you so much!"

The deer was so happy and relieved. He was so glad that he was alive. That this fellow herbivore was around to come and save him from becoming a predation victim. He could not stop smiling.

However, his smile did vanish as the gazelle leaned over, and the deer noticed something very wrong with how he looked.

Gazelle's didn't have feline eyes and mouths full of fangs, after all.

"Why, you're welcome. ~" Three said sweetly. That was the last thing the deer heard before he too felt a great deal of electricity course through his body, causing him to drop unconscious as well.

In just a few minutes, Three and Legoshi (who was very reluctant), were wearing the clothes of those two animals, who were left only on their underwear on the alley, the wolf with his hands tied to a post, in case he would wake up and try to attack the deer again (Legoshi asked for it). Three finished counting the money he got from the wallets of those two, before looking at them while Legoshi finished putting the wolf's clothes, which fit despite being a little bit snug.

He wanted to kill the two. Not really for any reason other than he thought it would be amusing to see them both die while convulsing. It was always amusing. However, as he thought of it, he realized that the wolf by his side had a good point in telling him not to. It would be easy for the guys they just escaped from to find them if they left a trail of corpses. So, it would be better if he refrained from killing anyone.

For now.

"So, I guess we are in the clear, aren't we?" Three said as he turned to the wolf, who adjusted the jacket the wolf was wearing, and that worked perfectly for hiding both the scales on his right arm and the tattoo on his left one.

"Actually..." the wolf said, looking back at the leopard/gazelle. "I'm kind of hungry..."

Well, no problem.

They just had to walk for five minutes before finding a pair of vending machines, one of them selling packaged egg-sandwiches.

Three just needed to place his hand near the money slot of the machine, release a small burst of electricity, and then he could have what he wanted without wasting a cent of the money they just got. They would be needing it to pay for a place to stay as they hid, after all.

"Do you really think we will be safe in this Black Market?" Legoshi asked Three as he opened the plastic container and pulled an egg sandwich from there, nearly moaning as he gave it a taste. It was the most delicious thing he'd eaten in five years...

"I guess so." The hybrid by his side said as he took a bite of his own snack, being a lot less enthusiastic than the wolf, once any food tasted like Styrofoam to him. "The guards said that is the king of place even the police don't go unless they have to. We will probably be safe in there, as long as we lay low and don't call too much attention. This is the basic of living on the lam. Just like changing your name and appearance."

"Oh..." The wolf said, looking down, and the he turned to the hybrid.

"In that case, we should stop calling each other 'Three' and 'Seven', right?"

He asked that nearly tentatively.

"So, maybe we should call each other by our actual names?" he asked again, and the hybrid showed no reaction. "So... uhhh... do you still remember your name? The one you had before they gave you a number?"

The hybrid calmly, indifferently, gave another bite to his food, chewing it with no enthusiasm at all while looking at the street.

"Melon."

"Huh?" The wolf said, looking at him in surprise and, for a moment, wondering if he was saying he wanted to eat a melon.

"My name is Melon." The hybrid said, looking at the wolf. "I know, not much better than 'Three', but it's the name my Mama gave me, and I grew too attached to drop it."

The wolf blinked, and then the hybrid asked him:

"What about you? Got a name of your own, or do I have to make up one for you?"

The wolf looked at Three... no, at Melon, and then he said, without a shred of doubt on his voice:

"My name is Legoshi."

"Legoshi, huh?" Melon said, looking at the wolf as he tested the name, "That's a mouthful, ain't it?"

The wolf said nothing, as the hybrid just got up and walked to another vending machine, which was selling many minor amenities in place of food.

"Well, we better get going now." Melon said as he forced the machine to give him another item: a surgical mask. "We can still make it to the Black Market if we hurry, and maybe we will even find some small apartment to rent there. We can decide what to do in the morning."

"I... okay." Legoshi said, and soon the two fugitives were walking down the street. It would not be easy for them to find the Black Market, but they could make it if given enough time.

As they walked down the street, Legoshi could not help but look all around. To take in all the sounds and smells surrounding him.

It's been five years since he's been outside. Five years since he'd been anywhere other than the halls of the facility. Other than the holding cells and testing rooms where they would shoot him with various kinds of weapons to test the limits of his body, made indestructible through a process the wolf could hardly even remember. The same process that made Melon a living electricity generator, and that made the others what they were as well.

The others.

Legoshi thought back about them. About how angry, and hurt, they looked as they saw the two of then escaping and leaving them behind.

They didn't believe they would come back for them.

But Fifteen did.

Legoshi could see on her eyes before leaving, and he knew she would be waiting for him to come back. Eleven would certainly be waiting for him to fulfill his promise, the two of them were close, after all. And Two... well, by now Two was probably thinking of a way to break himself out so he could chase after Legoshi.

I'll be back for them. Legoshi thought, looking forward as he walked after Melon, who walked ahead with his hands on the pockets of his new brown pants, which matched his floral-stamped pink shirt. I'll be back so I can break them all out. I'll get them all there so we can all be free. So they can also see this city, and how beautiful it is. So they can feel this breeze, and smell those scents. The scents of people. Of cats, and birds, and dogs and... and...

Legoshi's nose twitched. A smell carried by the breeze enter his nostrils and reached his brain, sparking memories that the wolf had held fond to his heart for the last five years.

On the other side of the street, a bunch of dogs were talking about the movie they just watched.

"I loved it!" Miguno said, "The special effects were the best!"

"And you saw the female lead? Now that is a tail!" Durham said, smiling wide as he spoke about the handsome cocker spaniel who played the "babe-element" of the movie, with perfect fur and a big ass that was flashing at the audience for nearly a third of the movie.

Hey, he was a heterosexual male! Of course, he would be drooling at a beautiful female behind, as primitive as it could be for anyone else.

"Well, I didn't like it too much." Collot admitted, with Voss on his regular place on his shoulder. "I mean, there were so much plot holes on the script..."

"Plot holes?" Durham said, laughing. "Dude, it's a superhero movie! No need to be caught up on a script with all that action and hot girls!"

"Well, yeah, I guess." Collot said, "But that still doesn't excuse it making no sense."

"Dude, you look too much into things." Durham said, "This is to celebrate! We all passed grades and we are starting our second year as seniors on April! That's worth celebrating, no? Tell him, Jack!"

The Labrador of the group smiled, and he told his friends that next time they could watch another movie. As he said that, they all stopped by the sidewalk, waiting for the chance to cross the road so they could take the train back to Cherryton.

Then, Voss said:

"Uhhh, guys?"

Everyone looked at him.

"That wolf on the other side of the road has been staring at us for a while..."

He pointed, and they followed his gaze and they saw a wolf on a jacket on the other side of the road, staring at them without even blinking. Nearly as if he was evaluating them.

"What's his deal?" Miguno asked, as they all looked at that wolf on the other side of the road, especially Jack, who had narrowed eyes as he stared at the wolf.

A few feet away from the wolf, Melon had stopped and turned back, looking at the wolf who was now froze on the middle of the sidewalk, staring at the other end of the road.

"Hey, dude!" Durham said, "What's your deal? Why are you staring at us? You're being creepy!"

The wolf, however, did not say anything back. He just kept staring and staring at them.

However, it was not at "them" he was staring, but at one of them specifically. One that was staring back at him, before his eyes widened as he finally remembered that wolf.

And he could not believe it.

"L-L..." Jack stammered, causing the others to look at him.

"L-L-Legoshi...?"

The wolf continued to stare at him, seeing him from a distance under the light of the streetlamp shining above him and the other canines he never saw before. It was still as beautiful as when they were kids, with its golden color and looking so pristine.

"That's you, right!?" Jack said to the wolf, who continued to stare, despite Melon calling him and telling him they needed to go. "It's you, isn't it!? Legoshi!?"

And Jack rushed forward, shocking his friends, who all told him to stop. However, he did not. On the other side of the street, Legoshi's eyes widened, and he then:

"JACK!" The wolf said, as he rushed forward, seeming like he was going at the meeting of his childhood friend. However, he was not rushing to hug him, but to save his life.

For, just as Jack ran towards the wolf who he last saw when they were both twelve, there was a truck coming down the street so fast that there was no way it would stop in time in case anyone was stupid enough to run right in front of it.

Which was Jack, who noticed, too late, that he made a mistake as he heard the horn and turned his head in time to see the road lights of the massive truck coming his way.

Then he was tackled out of the way by Legoshi jamming his shoulder on him and hurling him back.

As a result, it was Legoshi being hit by the truck instead of Jack.

Everyone around gasped, with some screaming as they saw the wolf being hit square on by the speeding truck and then run over by the wheels as they screeched to a stop. Jack ended on the ground, confused by what just happened as his brain tried to make sense of it.

His friends were close to him now, and they helped him to get up, and the Labrador blinked.

"Legoshi!" He said, and then he looked over, and his eyes widened as a feeling of sheer, dreadful horror built up on the bottom of his stomach as he saw an arm sticking out from under one of the wheels of the truck.

"L-Legoshi..." Jack said, his voice meek and trembling. His brain trying, and refusing, to process that he had finally meet his old friend five years later only to see him die.

Meanwhile, people were getting closer, while the ostrich who had been driving the truck came out, shaking and saying:

"I-it wasn't me... I-I did nothing... T-the dog came out of nowhere, I-I couldn't stop... It wasn't my fault!"

As everyone else stared at the scene with varying degrees of horror, there was one beast around that didn't seemed fazed.

"Dang it..." Melon said, looking a bit, before turning around. He started walking away, but he stopped on his tracks and, after three seconds or so, he sighed, before turning around and walking back.

"Excuse me." The gazelle hybrid said as he forced his way through the crowd. "Excuse me, excuse me. Coming through. That's my wolf over there."

He soon freed himself from the crowd and made it into the circle they all had formed around the "dead dog". He looked under the truck and saw that the wolf was in there.

"Yoh, Legoshi, you alright?" He asked, and the wolf's answer for that was to groan slightly.

"Oh, come on." Melon said, seeming annoyed. "Don't tell me that the guy who can survive a direct blast from a bazooka can be killed by some old rusty truck! Stop being lazy!"

And he grabbed Legoshi's arm and pulled him out from under the truck, while the crowd continued to watch. Once he pulled him from under, the leaned over to look at him.

"Just get up already, we have to keep going." Melon said, and the wolf looked up at him, his eyes were unfocused, and he looked dazed.

"That... kinda hurt a little bit..." Legoshi said, more to himself than to the other hybrid.

"Yeah, I'll bet." Melon said, "You can still walk, right? Come on, start getting up, we gotta go."

And he was soon forcing the wolf up. Legoshi was recovering quickly, and he was getting up as well. However, that was when someone came rushing in.

"Legoshi!" Jack said, kneeling by the wolf's side. "Legoshi! A-are you... Are you okay!? Are you hurt!? Is anything broken!?"

He kept asking question after question, while the wolf looked back at him.

"Jack..." The wolf said, looking at his old friend up close again after five years. And he looked at him as the dog looked at him with teary eyes, unsure of what to say.

"How... how have you been?" He finally asked, unsure of what else to ask. Them, Melon once more tried to urge the wolf to get up and come with him, only for Jack to pull the wolf back.

"Stop it!" Jack barked at the gazelle. "He just got hit by a truck, you can't just move him!" He turned at the wolf. "Legoshi, is okay! Lay down! J-just stay down and try not to move! It will be okay..." He seemed on the verge of tears as he said the last words, and he seemed to be saying them more to himself as he pulled out his phone and dialed for emergency.

"Hello? Please, help! My friend got hit by a truck! You gotta send an ambulance! Please, hurry!" Jack said on the phone, while Legoshi only stared at him as the Labrador had a hand on his chest to keep him from moving too much and worsening his inexistent wounds.

And Melon, who was seeing it all, could only groan and roll his eyes.

This is not how you go on the lam...

Chapter Text

When you are a child or a teenager, living all by yourself seems like the perfect life.

You get a whole house for yourself. You can stay up till late and eat whatever you want. There is no one around to tell you not to make a mess, or to make your bed, or to not leave your clothes fallen by the door. You can go in and out as you want, and you don't need to ask for permission or give anyone satisfactions, as you are the man of the house and no one can tell you what to do.

Yes, living alone seemed like the best thing in the world for Gosha when he was a small hatchling dreaming of the day he would have his own place.

Now?

Now he would give away nearly anything not to be alone on that house.

He would give anything not to have to eat dinner all by himself in a table that was meant for a whole family.

He would give up his tail, his venom glands, and most of his scales if this meant he could just know that he was not all by himself into that apartment he bought wishing to raise a family in.

However, there he was once more, cooking rice all for himself once more, as it would soon be dinner time, and he needed some substantial meal after a whole day working in construction. And he was cooking only enough rice for himself, as there was no one in there to eat with him. He would just eat, then he would watch television all by himself until he felt sleepy, and then he would go to his bed and sleep all by himself to wake up alone on the following morning.

That was his routine, and Gosha had grew used to it after five years. His days were like that, and he didn't expect today to be any different.

However, it all changed when his phone rang just as he pulled the rice out of the oven and was halfway through putting it on his bowl.

"Hello, Gosha speaking." The Komodo said to his phone, and soon he heard a familiar voice on the other end.

"Oh, goodnight, Jack, what a nice surprise to have you call... Jack, are you okay?"

Gosha asked that because he could hear what seemed to be signs that Jack had been crying. As soon as he asked the question, the Labrador on the other end started speaking in a hurry, as if he wanted to tell something to Gosha as fast as possible.

He spoke so hard that Gosha honestly could hardly keep up.

"Woah, woah! Jack, hold on!" The lizard had to say to make him stop. "Take a deep breath and speak calmly. What was that about a truck and a hospital? What are you trying to tell me?"

Then, Jack said something that changed everything:

"It's Legoshi! I found Legoshi!"

Those news shook Gosha. So much that he had to steady his legs so he would not fall. Naturally, he started asking Jack what he meant, and then the Labrador started elaborating. Gosha nearly went down again when he spoke about Legoshi being hit by a truck.

"But he is still alive." Jack said, "He was awake and speaking when the ambulance arrived. They let me come with them on the ambulance, and that gazelle who was with Legoshi too. The others are coming here. I wanted to call you earlier, but my phone died. I'm calling you from a public phone on the hospital I... I needed to tell you that I... I'm still waiting for news from the doctors..."

Gosha took a moment to absorb everything that Jack just said, and then, he spoke:

"Which hospital are you in?"

So, this is a hospital, huh? Not too different from the medical bay of the facility, if I'm being honest. Melon caught himself thinking as he looked around. The place the ambulance brought him, Legoshi and that sobbing pooch who the wolf said was an old friend.

And said dog was now sitting on the chairs on the waiting room, while Melon stood a few feet away, causally seeing the animals move back and forth across that area of the hospital. They were the first people he saw since being taken to the facility, not counting the wolf and gazelle he shocked and stolen clothes from...

And then, Jack's friends arrived. All of them apologizing for taking so long, as they could not find a cab that was willing to take them all to the hospital at once.

"It was not only our phones that fried, it was everything." Miguno the Hyena said, "The streetlights, the cars..."

"How come this kind of thing happens?" Collot asked as he looked at his own phone, which was still unresponsive to anything he did with it. "Damn, I hope it's not fried for good, I had a lot of important stuff here."

Melon was hearing them but being nonchalant about it. They didn't know what happened. That was good. It would have been complicated if they knew he had been the one to cause that to happen.

He had no choice, as he overheard someone on the crowd say that they were recording it and that they would post online later.

If they do, then we will be found in an instant! Melon thought as he heard that and, knowing that he could not drag Legoshi out of there with that dog forcing him to stay down, then he thought fast and decided for another course of action: making sure no phone around could post anything.

The electro-magnetic pulse was a real neat trick. All he needed to do was charge both his hands with opposing charges, discreetly clap and BOOM, everything electronic in a nine-meter radius was fried beyond hope of fixing, and no one around was the wiser about the cause.

He learned how to do that a while ago. He just didn't used it as means of escaping because the facility had been reinforced against this type of thing. They had predicted that he could develop this kind of skill.

But they could not predict that our dear Legoshi would suddenly gain venom and be able to melt the door... Melon mused on his own head, not being able to help but chuckle as, how they prepared all kinds of counter-measures against their unusual skills, they didn't prepared for one of them to gain a skill related to something natural from one of their mixed genes.

"Jack..." Said Durham, the coyote. "That wolf, that Legoshi... is he the same one you told us about? The one who ran away after his mother died?"

Jack was looking down, and then he nodded.

"Yes... that... that's definitely him. That's my friend... My best friend, Legoshi." Jack said, "I... I've finally met him again..."

They all shared looks at this. Jack seemed... out of it.

Was it the shock of meeting his missing friend again? The shock of seeing him getting hit by a truck and, somehow, still be well enough to be conscious and talk to Jack and even with the doctors as they came to put him on the stretcher and drive him, Jack, and the gazelle to the hospital?

Or perhaps it was the lingering feeling that at any moment, he could hear from the doctors that his friend died due to having been hit by the truck? I mean, he was hit straight on and, even though he seemed okay, there was no way any animal would be fine after something like that. It would take a miracle for him to be even remotely okay after such thing happening.

Then, as they were reflecting on it, they heard someone speaking. It was a gorilla dressed like a doctor, and he seemed to be admonishing the nurses.

"You know how busy I am!?" The gorilla demanded. "How many cases, real cases, I have to deal with every day!? And you make me look at some wolf saying he was hit by a truck!?" Hearing that made Jack perk his head. "And when I come to see, I find a wolf in perfectly good shape who cannot have gone through anything worse than having his tail stuck on the sliding doors!?"

"Wait!" Jack said, quickly rushing to the gorilla.

"Doctor, that's my friend you are talking about! How is he? Is he okay!?"

Jack was asking frantically, and the gorilla just looked at him.

"Are you the dog who came with him on the ambulance?" He asked, looking Jack as if evaluating him. "The one who claimed to have been the one who called the ambulance?"

"Yes, it was me!" Jack said, "I did it right after the gazelle, that one." He pointed at Melon, who simply lifted his hand to wave. "Pulled him out from under the truck! Please, tell me how he is! Has he already been rushed to surgery? Can you save him!?"

Jack, who was expecting an answer, instead got a scolding about "calling for an ambulance for a person who was not hurt at all".

"Wait, what?" Jack said in shock. "You mean, Legoshi is fine? He didn't break his bones or got his internal organs crushed?"

"Are you kidding me!?" The gorilla said, sounding annoyed. "That wolf hardly has a light bruise on his skin! At least I assume, since he refused to take off his shirt to let me examine him! And when I asked him to open his mouth for me to examine him, he jumped out of the bed too quickly for someone who supposedly was hit by a moving vehicle! Are you aware that calling an ambulance for a fake emergency is a crime? You are wasting the time and resources of the hospital! Time and resources that could be used on real emergencies!"

While the Gorilla was busy admonishing Jack for the "fake emergency call", Melon used this chance to sneak past them and into Legoshi's room, hoping that he could get him out of there before anyone started to realize what was actually going on.

As he left, someone else arrived on the hospital, and this person was quickly making his way to Jack and the others.

"Gosha-san!" Jack said as the Komodo made his way.

"Where is he?" Gosha asked, not wasting any time with pleasantry.

"Hey, hey! Hold on!" The gorilla doctor said, now on guard due to there being a highly venomous animal on the hospital. "You are not wearing a mask! We have very high safety protocols here!"

Gosha, however, hardly gave the doctor attention, even when he demanded him to, at the very least, go to the reception and ask for a temporary disposable mask for venomous animals. He just rushed past him as soon as he managed to get someone to tell him in which room Legoshi was in.

"We have to go now, Legoshi." Melon said to the wolf in all seriousness. "Luckily people on the outside are dumber than I thought, but if they keep talking to each other for too long they might realize something is off."

"But, Melon..." Legoshi said. "What about Jack? I haven't seen him in five years. I can't just leave."

"Legoshi." Melon said, "If they figure out you are indestructible, you can be sure they will be calling someone about it. And if they do, it will eventually make it to the ears of the people who will then call the facility and have is taken back. You want to be back there? I don' t."

Legoshi thought about it. He didn't want to be back there either. He could not.

Not unless it was to break the others out like he promised.

Even because, if they were taken back, then they would be punished for having ran away in the first place. And Legoshi shuddered as he thought what they would be thinking to punish them for doing something such as escaping.

"We need to leave now." Melon said, "Maybe we can find our way to the Black Market from here..."

Just as he said that, the door opened, and a person came inside. A person who Legoshi recognized nearly instantly.

His scales still glistened like jewels.

"Legoshi..." Gosha said as he stared at his grandson, and Legoshi could only stare back at him as he stood there, by the side of the masked gazelle. He was staring at him with wide eyes, while Gosha looked at him with equally wide eyes, although he looked even more shocked for seeing his grandson again after five years apart without even knowing where he went on that fateful day when he ran out of Leano's funeral.

"Grandpa... hey..."

That was all Legoshi could think of saying. It may not be something proper for a moment like that, but it was all he could think of saying as he saw his grandpa for the first time in half of a decade.

Gosha, on his end, didn't say anything. He just dashed forward with a speed Legoshi never knew he had, throwing his arms around Legoshi's neck and pulling him into a hug so tight the wolf had the impression it would hurt him was not for him being indestructible.

As the Komodo hugged him, Legoshi could feel the reptile shivering slightly, and he could hear sniffing. It didn't take him long to realize Gosha was crying as he hugged his missing grandchild.

Is he hugging because he missed me? Legoshi thought. Did... did he missed me all those years? Even after the last words I said to him?

That should have made Legoshi feel good. That should made him feel better for knowing that, even after what he said, his grandpa still cared about him enough to miss him. Instead, it made him feel worse about the words he said to his grandpa before he ran off and was eventually taken away...

However, before Legoshi could find words to say, he felt his grandpa being forcefully pulled off him. The gorilla doctor had arrived and was now pushing Gosha as he demanded him to get out.

"You are endangering the patients and residents with your presence!" The gorilla said, "Either you get a mask to cover your muzzle or leave now!"

He was quite rude as he said that, trying to shove Gosha out of the room while Jack and the others arrived.

"Hey!" Legoshi said as he saw how violent the gorilla was becoming. "Sir, there's no need to do this! Komodo venom is not airborne! You are a doctor, you should know that!"

"Hey, I'm just saved your life and am trying to make sure no one here dies!" The gorilla said to Legoshi, while Gosha then said:

"Wait, you don't understand! That's my grandson!"

"Do you expect me to believe that!?" The gorilla snapped at the Komodo. "Do you expect me to believe this wolf is in any way related to you!? If you think you can trick me into letting you stay in a room, then you are mistaken! Leave now before I call security!"

And he continued to shove Gosha, all the while Legoshi watched.

Memories sparked on his mind. Memories of when other people would yell at his grandpa whenever they walked into a place to eat. How they would force him to stay in a dark corner out of sight while everyone else could eat by the windows with clear illumination.

As if they were trying to make him hide his own existence only for their convenience.

This caused Legoshi's anger to bubble up.

"I'm telling you, that wolf is my grandson!" Gosha insisted.

"And I'm telling you I don't buy it!" The gorilla said back. "How could a wolf ever be the child of a Komodo!? You would kill any wolf who as much as tried to get close to you! No way you would ever manage to have any kind of relation with a wolf, much less familial!"

He failed to notice that, behind him, Legoshi had taken off his shirt and jacket, causing Jack and the dogs to gasp and look in shock, and Gosha too had eyes even wider than before.

"For the last time, you have to leave before... before..." The gorilla trailed, looking at how the Komodo stopped looking at him, and how the dogs also looked shocked. He followed their gazes, and he too was in for a shock.

After all, you would be shocked as well if you suddenly looked at a shirtless wolf and saw that he had an arm with emerald-green scales from the elbow all the way to the shoulder.

As the gorilla stared at him, Legoshi then let something built on his mouth, before he spat right on the edge of the nightstand by the side of the bed.

The purplish substance he spat fizzled and smoked as it ate through the layer of white paint on an instant, and then ate through the mahogany until it opened a sizzled hole into the nightstand.

"Do you believe I'm his grandson now?" Legoshi asked to the gorilla with a cold voice. The ape, on his end, looked at the wolf... or hybrid, for a few seconds, before dashing out of the room.

"Nice going, dude." Melon said to the wolf, who blinked as he looked at the person by his side, and then he looked back at everyone who was still on the room.

"Le... goshi?" Jack asked, seeing the scales, and still hearing the fizzling of the venom on the hole it burned through the nightstand. Legoshi looked at Jack for a while, before laughing nervously and then rubbing the back of his head.

"You know, Jack could have mentioned that the 'wolf' he knew was a hybrid..." Durham whispered to his friends as they all looked at the wolf with scales, who was now sitting on the bed with Gosha and Jack, one by each one of his sides.

Jack was showering him with questions, asking him where he was all those years, and asking him if he was not in pain.

"Seriously, where have you been?" Jack asked for what could be the third time. "And, what's with that seven tattooed on your shoulder?"

Legoshi quickly placed a hand over the tattoo on his arm. So quickly, in fact, that it startled Gosha and Jack, who both stared at Legoshi as he stared at his own knees, and then they shared a look.

"Legoshi..." Gosha asked kindly, placing a hand on Legoshi's shoulder and causing the wolf to look at him.

"Where were you all this time?"

Legoshi looked at him. Due to the angle, he could also see Melon, standing behind him and making a subtle gesture, tapping his index and middle finger together against the wrist of his other hand.

Legoshi knew what that gesture meant: "careful with what you will say".

And so, Legoshi chose his words carefully.

"Someone... someone found me, after I ran away from the funerary house." He spoke, remembering that civet who dragged him into the white van.

"After this I was... in a place. It became my new home." Even though the wolf said that, calling that place 'home' was so messed up it was not even funny. "They gave me a room there. And they gave me clothes and three meals a day for the last five years. Just like the others."

"Was it an orphanage?" Jack asked. Legoshi shook his head. "A shelter then? One of those places where they take in homeless people and let them stay for free until they can get their lives together?"

Legoshi thought for a bit, and then, he just nodded. He knew it was not truth. That the facility they were into was not a shelter. Shelters didn't have armed guards on them, nor testing rooms.

"But I looked on all shelters of the city back when you ran way." Gosha said, and Legoshi looked at him, seeing his expression and, once more, feeling horrible for being the reason why his grandpa had that expression.

"It was outside of the city." Legoshi spoke. "That person who found me was... was not a good person. He tried to make me think he was, but I realized something was wrong. I... I ran from him." Legoshi was lying again, but he continued. "I kept running and running and... I ran until I didn't even knew where I was. I... I could not go back. I... just walked forward. I walked out of the city, and then I ended up on that place. After that I just... never left... until today."

Gosha and Jack did not interrupt, they just kept silent as they let Legoshi keep speaking.

"I left a few hours ago. I... I was receiving a lot of attention because of how I started growing scales. And tonight, I found out I have venom. I discovered it when I spat, and it burned a hole on the ground..."

Jack, absorbing it all, then asked:

"They... they kicked out because of your venom?"

He was asking because of that doctor, who wanted Gosha out of there because of his venom. He could easily see people on this shelter acting like that with Legoshi, since many were ignorant about how dangerous or safe venom was when it came to Komodos, and they could have wanted Legoshi out using the argument that he could pose a danger to other people staying at the shelter.

Gosha seemed to be aware of it as well. He had received this type of treatment ever since he could remember, and he got used to it. However, when he thought about Legoshi being treated like that by other people, it was enough to make venom start building up on his mouth and force him to swallow.

Legoshi, noticing their tension, then said:

"I left because I wanted to. It was my decision, after I realized I was drooling venom."

The wolf then looked at his grandpa.

"I... I really wanted to talk to someone who understood about those things." He spoke, and Gosha looked back at him.

"So... you came because you wanted my advice as a Komodo dragon, huh?"

Gosha said it casually. However, to Legoshi, it nearly sounded like an accusation. As if his grandpa was subtly rubbing on his face how shameless he was being for coming to him for advice five years after telling him he hated him and running away.

This made the wolf look down.

"I'm sorry for barging on your life like that..." He said quietly, and Gosha then quickly told him that it was okay, and that he was happy for seeing him again.

"I can give you a lot of advice regarding your venom." Gosha said to him, thinking on the best brands of affordable antiseptic sprays for his grandson. "And I can also give you some advice on your scales if you want. They look a little dehydrated."

"Oh, yeah. I noticed they weren't as beautiful as yours." The wolf said, looking at them.

"They will be once they are healthier." Gosha said back to it, smiling at his grandson.

"That's really sweet, guys." Voss said to his friends, and some of them nodded. And that was when the gazelle spoke:

"You guys have been staring for a while." Everyone looked at the masked gazelle. "What, are you guys fan of some family drama? If you do, then I recommend you just watch the soap opera. It is rude to stare, and the way you guys been doing it practically crossed on creepy already."

The dogs, realizing that they had been staring, got embarrassed and apologized.

"Is that... Legoshi is the first hybrid we've met and... well, he is really... different." Miguno said as he rubbed his arm. The gazelle, for some reason, seemed not to like it.

"Different, huh?" His tone had gone down a note, and it caused the dogs to become a little weary, nearly as if they were openly being threatened. Gosha then asked:

"I'm sorry, who are you again?"

"That's Melon." Legoshi said, "He... lived in the shelter too."

"My room was just down the hallway from Legoshi's." The masked animal said, "I was actually wanting to get out of that place for a while, so when he said he was going to leave to look for some advice I decided to use that chance to leave as well."

"Yeah, Melon and I are close like that." Legoshi said, "He was one of my closest friends in there."

That much was truth. Legoshi could know close to nothing about Melon when it came to his past or name. However, among all of them, Melon was one of the few Legoshi considered himself truly close to, alongside Eight, Eleven and Fifteen. Enough that Legoshi considered him a close friend.

And Jack, upon hearing it, could not help but feel a little off. I mean, he was happy that Legoshi had friends back on the place he was in. But still, thinking Legoshi got close to other people after leaving him behind all those years did not sit well with the Labrador...

"Excuse me?" A new voice said, causing everyone turn to the door to see a doctor standing there. It was not the gorilla, but a different one. That deer was a lot more polite than the gorilla had been when addressing Legoshi.

"So, I assume you are okay, no?" He was avoiding staring at the wolf's scales and trying to speak to him normally at the same time. Legoshi nodded, and then the deer nodded back.

"Good, in that case, we can discharge you and free this room for some other patient now? You are his grandfather, right? Would you mind signing those documents for the discharge?"

Gosha did, and soon Legoshi had put his shirt and jacket back, and they were all getting out of the room.

As soon as they were out, three beasts wearing asthma suits and carrying heavy-duty cleaning equipment entered the room.

"It's like someone with a new strand of rabies was there..." Melon mentioned, to what Gosha then said:

"They are going to sterilize the room. It's standard procedure in most hospitals once a venomous animal is discharged. They do it so there will be no risk of poisoning for the next person."

Legoshi looked at they go, and he could swear one of the people on the asthma suits gave him a dirty glared, nearly as if blaming him for what was happening. And that made Legoshi feel bad.

Is that what is has always been for grandpa? The wolf thought, remembering how hostile everyone always was for Gosha whenever they went anywhere together.

"Well, guess that's it." Melon said suddenly, grabbing Legoshi's shirt's collar. "We better be going now."

"Wait, what? You're leaving?" Jack said suddenly, seeming alarmed.

"Well, yeah, they just discharged Legoshi, and I guess they won't really want him around once the news spread that he is a venomous wolf. Unless, of course, someone here wants to write a new entry on biologic books for him. So, we will be going now."

"Wait, but, going where!?" Jack asked. "Are you going back to the shelter?"

"No!" Legoshi said quickly before he could stop himself. "I... we cannot go back there." He said the last part more compromised. "They won't let me back... you know, because of my venom. It's not safe for everyone else."

Legoshi was surprised at how easily lying came once you got the hang of it. It helped if he avoided looking people in the eyes. He was not sure if he would be able to lie if he was looking at Jack's or his grandpa's faces.

"Then where are you two planning to go?" Durham asked, to that, Legoshi said, once more without thinking:

"To the Black Market."

Their reaction was immediate.

"Wait, seriously?" One of the dogs asked.

"Legoshi, are you aware of the type of place the Black Market is?" Gosha asked in alarm. Legoshi rubbed the back of his neck.

"Well, not really, it was Melon's idea to go there."

The eyes turned to the gazelle, who felt like face-palming. That wolf really needed to learn to think before saying anything...

"Well, we cannot go back to the shelter, like this doggy here said." He petted Legoshi's head. "They won't let him back not that he can kill people with his spittle, and I don't feel like going back there without him, since I'd have no one to talk to anymore. So, I'm using some money we have to rent an apartment on the Black Market. I heard we can find some really cheap places there."

There's a reason why those are cheap... Gosha wanted to say to the gazelle. Instead, he only said:

"Young man, the Black Market... is not a very safe neighborhood. Especially for an herbivore. There are some unsavory figures around that area. You could be putting yourself on serious risk going there."

To that, Melon wanted to say that he would like to see anyone try and get on his bad side. However, he instead only lowered his mask.

"I appreciate the concern, but I think I'll be fine." The hybrid said, before giving Gosha and the dogs a smile, letting them see his sharp fangs, before replacing the mask. "Okay, now let's get going."

"W-wait! Legoshi!" Jack said as the hybrid started steering the wolf away. "At least let's exchange numbers so we can keep on touch! Wait, my phone is still dead... j-just tell me your number, I'll find a way to call you later!"

"I don't own a cellphone." Legoshi said, and then he felt another tug on his shirt.

"Let's go!" Melon said, "If we hurry, we can find a hotel to stay before midnight. I really want to drop on a bed and sleep."

And he continued to guide Legoshi away.

Towards the Black Market, where Gosha, better than any of those kids, knew danger was a constant reality. Especially since the place was ruled by dangerous and messed-up groups.

Such as the Dokugumi.

Gosha rushed forward and grabbed Legoshi's shoulder before he realized what he was doing.

"Come home with me."

"Eh...?" Legoshi said, looking at his grandfather. Gosha then said again:

"You said that you cannot go back to the shelter, right? That's why you are looking for a hotel."

The two hybrids looked at the Komodo, who continued:

"You don't need to go to a hotel, though. You can just come home. To your home, Legoshi."

The Komodo then hesitated.

"Unless... you no longer consider it your home and don't want to come back... then we can think of something else."

Legoshi blinked.

Going back to the house where he grew up.

That... was an idea that had not even crossed Legoshi's mind, with everything that happened. Also, because he believed Gosha would not be willing to receive him back...

"You... want me to come home?" Legoshi asked Gosha that question as if it was something he truly needed to ask. And it honestly surprised Gosha.

"Of course, I do! Why would I not? You are my darling grandson."

Hearing that caused Legoshi feel all warm inside.

"Grandpa..." the wolf said, looking at him as he felt something leaking from his eyes... and from his mouth.

A droplet of purple landed on the ground, fizzling as it ate on the tile, and the wolf, realizing it, quickly took a hand to his lips just as another drop was threatening to ruin the ground even more.

"You gotta be careful, Legoshi." Gosha said reaching on his back pocket for a handkerchief. "Strong emotions can make you lose control of venom production." He used the tissue to wipe the venom coming out of his grandson's mouth, which quickly ate through the tissue.

"Guess it will really be better if you come back home, huh?" Gosha said with a friendly smile, and Legoshi could only look at him, before eventually saying:

"Y-yes."

Melon, who had been watching it, then sighed.

"Well, guess this means I'll be going to the Black Market on my own then..." He turned around to leave, but then he was surprised when Gosha said that he was invited to stay on his house as well, if he wanted.

"Anyone who is a friend of Legoshi is welcome on my house." The lizard said, and the hybrid looked at him for a while, and he thought about it.

Using money on some dingy hotel with greasy walls and an uncomfortable bed, or crash on someone else's house for free... well, that was easy. Even if it involved a highly-venomous animal's house, it was still be a no brainer for Melon.

Soon, the two of them were going with Gosha, after Legoshi talked to Jack, promising they would be keeping in touch. Jack tried to lunge to hug him, but was held back by his canine friends, who reminded him he needed to be careful when interacting with an animal with venom.

"I'll be coming to visit!" Jack said to Legoshi as he walked away with Melon and Gosha. "I'll pass by Gosha-san's house tomorrow and we can go somewhere! And I can buy a phone with you and then we can exchange numbers!"

"Who doesn't own a phone nowadays?" Durham asked as he looked at the others, all of them agreeing that meeting Jack's childhood friend was quite something.

They were still unaware of the small animals on the hallway, watching them from an advantageous point before radioing someone.

The last time Legoshi rode on his grandpa's car was when he was driving him to his mother's funeral. He used to love traveling in the car, but he was so upset over his mother's death that he could not enjoy it back at the day.

It felt different, as a seventeen-years-old, to ride that same car. However, the experience still made Legoshi want to wag his tail. He looked at the window, seeing the other cars and the streets signs and lights pass by them as they took the route back to Gosha's apartment. And, on the backseat, Melon was sitting while staring at the window with a lot less interest than the wolf, looking like he was musing about something he would not share with Legoshi or the lizard currently driving them back.

This didn't feel real for either of them. It didn't feel real for Gosha to think he was, after half-a-decade, finally driving Legoshi back home. On the same manner, the very thought of returning home didn't felt real for Legoshi.

Even when they both walked into the house, Gosha placing the keys on the bowl and removing his shoes as he walked in, this felt like a dream from which they could wake up any second.

"Everything is... just as I remember..." Legoshi said, looking around in amazement.

"Yeah." Gosha said, "So is your room. I made sure to clean and keep it tidy for when you came back."

They looked at each other, seeming to have forgotten they were not alone in there, until Melon decided to remind them he was by speaking:

"Yeah, nice little apartment you have here, old lizard. So, where will I sleep?"

Gosha thought about it. He was pretty sure that they could think of something, maybe put some pillows and a blanket on the couch. It was not ideal, but it would do for the short term. Gosha suddenly remembered he had not give a full-house antiseptic cleaning to the apartment in a while, since he rarely got visitors. He wondered if he still had enough cleaning alcohol...

"Say, you were about to have dinner?" Melon pointed at the bowl of rice on the counter, which had already attracted a whole flock of flies, who practically partied on top of it.

Gosha had completely forgot about the rice he just cooked with the sudden call that led him to find his grandson again. Now he could not eat that.

"Sorry about it." Legoshi said, remembering how his grandpa always told him that it was very bad to waste food.

"It's okay, I can cook more for me." Gosha spoke casually as he dumped the stale rice into the trash. "Since I am at it, I can cook something for you boys too. You hungry?"

"Nah, had a vending machine salad an hour ago or so."

"And I had an egg sandwich from the same machine."

"Oh..." Gosha said as he looked at the two, before placing down the bowl and picking the rice again so he could have more cooked. "And, was that enough? I mean, I'm sure it was good, but it must have been a less substantial meal than what you had for lunch."

There was a silent, the two animals trading a look, before Legoshi said:

"Actually, today I didn't really have anything for lunch... Nor breakfast."

Gosha paused and looked at the wolf, blinking.

"Excuse me?"

"I... did a thing yesterday..." Legoshi said, "The people at the shelter, they... they didn't like it. So, they said that I would not be given any food today to teach me a lesson."

Gosha blinked.

"Yeah, I didn't really have anything since I woke up this morning either." Melon said casually. "Got the same punishment as Legoshi, but for doing a different thing. Those vending machine snacks? They were literally the only thing we ate today. At least we won't be sleeping hungry this time."

Gosha was in shock. A shock that was aggravated by the fact the gazelle/leopard hybrid said "this time", heavily implying that this was a somewhat regular occurrence.

T-those... those two were being starved as a punishment!? What kind of shelter they were in!?

The mental image of Legoshi, sitting alone on his room on that shelter, clutching his stomach at night while whimpering from hunger came to his mind before Gosha could stop it, and it made him want to demand they tell him where this shelter was so he could go there right now and give whoever was in charge a piece of his mind.

Instead, Gosha quickly swallowed the venom that was building up on his mouth, before saying:

"Sit down, you two."

He pointed at the table as he said that, before placing the rice down and marching for the fridge.

"Grandpa?"

"Eggs... Green onions... Some bell peppers... Half of a package of mushrooms... Not much but that will do. Gotta go make groceries tomorrow." Gosha said as he picked the ingredients from the fridge before closing it and placing it all on the counter, before reaching for the utensils.

"Grandpa, what are you doing?" Legoshi asked, him and Melon both watching as the lizard tied an apron.

"Grandpa is cooking, pup." Gosha said. "You are not going to bed without a proper meal. Now sit at the table and let me fix something up real quick."

And they did. It took Gosha nearly forty minutes to cook something with the eggs, veggies and mushroom from the fridge, as well as the rice. Once he was done, he placed it on three bowls, with a little sauce to go along with it.

"Here." He said, giving them the food, making sure there was plenty to make up for the food they didn't ate the rest of the day "Make sure to eat it all, boys."

"Well, if you say so." Melon said, picking up his bowl as well as a spoon, both of which Gosha carefully cleaned before giving him. "Looking good, by the way. Smelling nice too."

Despite saying that, Melon was not enthusiastic at all as he put the food on his mouth and chewed lazily.

"Come on, Legoshi. Eat up." Gosha urged his grandson, and the wolf, with his grandfather looking at him so intently, could do nothing more than to eat.

The egg sandwich of earlier had been delicious. However, it paled in comparison to his grandpa's homemade food.

Just a bit was enough to make all Legoshi's childhood memories come back to him at once. From all of the meals he and his grandpa had together while sitting on that very same table, happily chatting while Gosha reminded him to not forget the lunch he packed for him on his way to middle school.

It made Legoshi remember that he was truly back home.

"So?" Gosha asked as the wolf chewed, and then, with a shaky voice, the wolf said:

"It's... delicious..." He had tears coming out of his eyes. "Thank you, grandpa... thank you so much..."

His voice was starting to break with emotion, and Legoshi swallowed a bit too quickly when he felt venom building up on his mouth. The rest of dinner proceeded happily, with Gosha and Legoshi enjoying each other's company, while Melon pretty much watched from the sidelines.

While Legoshi was happy for being at the table with his family again, the thought of having a family dinner with someone did not sit well with Melon. It also gave him memories...

"Be sure to it well, sweetie. You will need the energy for later. ~"

At that moment, the carni/herbi hybrid had to fight back the urge to toss the food on the floor and storm out of there. The fur on his arms stood as he felt the electrical charge building up on his skin. Small sparks of lightning connected on the metal parts of the spoon on his hand, before he managed to calm himself down and go back to eating.

Once dinner was over, they still stayed on the table for a while, chatting about a lot of random things, with both Legoshi and Melon being very vague and cryptic about their time on the shelter. Gosha would have been suspicious in any other occasion, but he was still so happy for Legoshi being back that he could not bring himself to worry too much about it and maybe ruin things by forcing the subject.

Eventually, the wolf showed signs of being tired, and then Gosha decided that perhaps it was time for the to tuck in to bed.

"Sorry, Melon. I didn't expect to receive a guest for the night." Gosha said as he opened the door to Leano's bedroom. "I'm sure we can work something out."

"Well, we sure can." Melon said as he moved past Gosha and into the bedroom. "The paper wall is a bit tacky for me, but I sure don't mind it too much. Bed looks really comfy."

"What? Wait, hold on-" Gosha said, but Melon interrupted them.

"Well, I'm gonna be sleeping now. If you guys don't mind." The hybrid closed the door on them. A few seconds later, his muzzle poked from the hole.

"By the way, we gotta fix this door. I really need my privacy."

And he retreated into the room, leaving Gosha, who had only opened that door to get some pillows and a blanket for the hybrid to be comfortable in the couch, in shock.

Legoshi placed a hand on his shoulder, convincing him to let go of it, and soon, they were going to Legoshi's room.

Gosha really did keep the place tidy.

Everything was exactly as Legoshi remembered.

From the posters on the walls with his favorite bug species and anime, to the bug-like plushies on his counter that he still had despite having been twelve at the time. Even the sheets on his old bed were the same ladybug-stamped ones from that very same morning when Gosha got him dressed to go to his mother's funeral.

The same funeral were Legoshi said all those cruel, heartless things to his grandpa before running away and, in what he came to believe was cosmic karma, ended up kidnapped and taken to a facility where they changed him, tried to strip him of his name and turn him nothing more than "Subject 7", something they were testing and training with purposes Legoshi himself never came to fully understand, fated to be there until the end of his life.

But… he was not on the facility anymore. He was back home. On his real home, not the facility, which the people in there, the Doctor include, tried to convince was the only home he had now. And his grandpa was there, and he was welcoming him back with open arms, even after what Legoshi did five years ago.

"Legoshi?" Gosha asked, seeing the wolf's expression. "You okay, pup?"

Legoshi looked at him and, on that moment, he did something he had been wanting to do for years:

He apologized.

He apologized for saying those things. He apologized for blaming grandpa for what his mother did because of how upset she was about how she looked. He apologized for running away, not coming back, and making him worry so much.

And Gosha, like any grandpa who loved his grandson with all his heart, told Legoshi that it was all okay, and that he understood him.

"Now get to bed, pup. It is late and I am sure you are tired after such a hectic night."

He was. That much was truth, and Legoshi had not noticed how tired he was until now, as he removed his clothes until he removed his jacket and shirt and climbed under the sheets, with Gosha tucking him in to bed.

"Grandpa, I think I'm a bit too old for this."

"Oh? You don't want me to tuck you in?"

Legoshi hesitated, before saying:

"Maybe just tonight."

This caused Gosha to chuckle, and soon, he was at the door.

"Goodnight, Legoshi. See you tomorrow so we can talk about proper scale care."

"Goodnight, grandpa."

"And... Legoshi?"

"Hmm?"

Gosha smiled.

"Welcome home."

With that, he turned off the lights, closing the door gently, while Legoshi was left alone in bed. He looked at the ceiling and, for one last time before tiredness overcame him and he closed his eyes to sleep, he thought:

I... I am home...

As he slept, he, much like Gosha, failed to notice the presence of a small figure on that room, who had his eyes on them since he walked into the house without them noticing. He reached for a small, radio on his pocket, and he was soon talking into it.

"Confirmed, they are on the lizard's house. Let's tell Yahya-sama..."

"Have you found them yet!?" Asked the figure in a fancy tuxedo, who came there all the way from the Mayor's party and was still in disbelief that two of his subjects, and the most important ones at that, had escaped the facility.

"Not yet, sir." Said the person in front of a monitor. "We have no clue of them."

"Dammit!" he said, as he went back to pacing around the room, his hands in front of his muzzle as he tried his best to keep calm.

"Well, that's a real problem, ain't it?" Said a third figure in the room, which seemed to be the most casual of the three. "You know, you would not be having this problem if you had put tracking chips on them like I advised you to."

"And, like I already told you..." The figure on tuxedo, an alpaca with a grumpy expression, turned to the third person. "Subjects Seven and Three cannot have microchips implanted on them. The former because its tissue density does not allow for anything to placed inside its body, and the latter because its natural bioelectricity shorts out any electronic device placed within its biology, even on its skin!"

"Huh... how ironic the ones who escaped at the only ones you could not tag with trackers, huh?" He said, sounding like he was amused. "How did they escape again?"

"Subject Seven melted the locks on the doors." The one on the screens said.

"Oh? Did that one had acidic spit on top of being indestructible?"

"Venom." The alpaca said, "A result of a mutation from the subjects own mixed heritage."

The third one blinked, then he said:

"Ohhhh, right! Seven is one of the two who is half-Komodo dragon, right? The other one is that little girl who is also half-chameleon."

"Subject Fifteen, yes." The alpaca said, "We are already reinforcing its cell to make it venom proof, in case it also develops venom, so it cannot escape like Subject Seven did... we have to retrieve them as quickly as possible."

"Oh, yeah." The person said, "Before they end up running away or, worse yet, before someone ends up finding them and discovering the things you have been doing here."

The alpaca turned to him and said:

"That cannot happen! Not when we've made so much progress! I will not allow my life's work to be halted when I have achieved so much!"

"Is your life's work turning hybrid children into super soldiers?" The third animal said, "Now that's a strange life goal."

"Shut it!" The alpaca said to him. "And why are you here!? Shouldn't you be looking for them!? That is your whole purpose on this little operation! The one and only reason why we let you join in the first place! So you could solve problems like this!"

Just as the alpaca was yelling, a phone rang. The horse lifted a finger, and then pulled his phone and had a small talk to a person on the other side, before addressing the alpaca once more.

"It was one of my people on your missing subjects."

"Tell me its good news?" The alpaca asked, and the horse, in something unusual for his overall personality, opened a smirk.

"Oh, it is." He nearly seemed to be happy with what he just heard. "I know where to find them."

Chapter Text

"What... is this...?"

Legoshi asked himself as he heard noises coming from outside his bedroom. He pulled the covers aside, and he approached the door. He was about to open it when he heard a familiar voice.

"Get your hands off me!" Melon was yelling loudly, and it was accompanied by sounds of struggle. "Let go of me now before I electrocute all of y-mmmmMMMMMMMM!"

"Subject Three secured." Another voice, older and gruffer, said. "Now proceeding to retrieve Subject Seven."

Legoshi's eyes widened, a spark of the purest, most primal dread and despair igniting on his heart.

No... Oh, Rex, please, no...

The door swung open. Legoshi stumbled back and landed flat on his back as animals in tactical armors came in, all of them pointing weapons at him, ordering him to not resist.

Legoshi, of course, did the only thing a panicked mind could: resisted as much as he could.

However, it was a fruitless endeavor. There were too many of them. They spilled into the room, pinning the wolf down before zip-tying his hands behind his back and the forcing him to his knees just as another animal made his way into the room.

The doctor.

Legoshi's ears pressed flat on his head as the alpaca, standing more imposing and threatening than any carnivore Legoshi met on his entire life.

"Hello, Subject Seven." The doctor said drily, leaning over as he towered over the wolf who whimpered. "You caused me a lot of trouble, you know? I will have to make sure this won't happen again. Now, enough wasting time, let's go back home."

"I-I am already home..." Legoshi said, to that, the alpaca stopped and looked at him over his shoulder.

"What was that?" He asked, "Did you just talk back to me, Subject Seven?"

Legoshi flinched. His tail was tucked between his legs. However, he still had it in him to say:

"L-Legoshi... My name is-"

"You don't have a name." The doctor cut him off. His cold tone as effective as if he had screamed. "You are just Subject Seven. That's what you are now and will always be. And I'll make sure you understand that, just like how you cannot escape. Now let's go!"

"N-no..." Legoshi whimpered, but he could do nothing as they dragged him out of the bedroom and down the hallway. The thought of spitting on them with his venom didn't even crossed is mind as they arrived on the living room, where Melon was, struggling as he had a muzzle over his mouth as two guards held him, a third one jamming a syringe on his neck, what immediately followed with the hybrid growing woozy and going limp on their arms.

Nearby, was a Komodo dragon.

"Grandpa!" Legoshi cried out. "Grandpa, help!"

Gosha looked towards him.

"Grandpa, please, don't let them take me!"

"Legoshi..." The Komodo dragon said, looking at his grandson with a sad expression. The animal who was standing by his side placed a hand on his shoulder, as if to hold him back.

The Sublime Beastar.

Legoshi knew that it was him. That this animal was the one who the doctor always bragged about. The one who backed their project and made sure nothing ever got on the way of their goals. Legoshi knew right away that one was him, even though he had never seen him before today...

"Grandpa?" Legoshi saw the Komodo look down, and then speak, in a dejected voice:

"Legoshi, I'm so sorry... I... I cannot help you... They have the government on their side. I'm so sorry..."

He said nothing more. He just kept repeating "I'm so sorry" over and over again, while Legoshi felt his despair growing with each passing second.

"Grandpa..."

"Enough of this." The doctor got on his way, glaring at Legoshi with coldness. "Let's hurry up and go back. I need to apply your punishment for escaping. And believe me, it will be the worse one you experienced yet."

With those terrifying words, another guard approached, this one with a black sack on his hands, which was forced over the wolf's head, casting him in darkness as he was carried away, trembling, whimpering and on the verge of tears. He could still hear his grandpa's dejected voice on the distance...

"Legoshi... Legoshi..."

"Legoshi. Legoshi, wake up."

Legoshi blinked. Then, he got up, his eyes wide and his breath coming out short and ragged.

"Legoshi!" Gosha immediately put a hand on his grandson's shoulder, helping him calm down by instructing him to breathe deeply through his nose and let it out through his mouth. The wolf did as instructed, but still took several minutes to calm himself down enough. He was finally calmer when Gosha asked:

"You had another nightmare?"

His tone was worried as he asked that. He had been worried since the first one of those nightmares began, right on Legoshi's first night back. He woke up in the middle of the night to Legoshi yelling on his sleep. Telling someone to "not take him away".

Legoshi was practically in tears when Gosha went to check on him, and he hugged Legoshi and talked to him gently for nearly thirty minutes to calm him down enough for him to go back to sleep.

From there, the nightmares continued, although they were nowhere near as intense as the one of the first night. They didn't happen every night either, but when they did, Legoshi woke up in alert and breathing heavily like that.

He already knew that it was another one of those nightmares from the look on Legoshi's eyes as he looked at him. He could still see the anguish on them due to whatever it was he was dreaming about.

"Wanna talk about it?" Gosha asked gently, the wolf looked at him for a moment, before looking away, shaking his head at the question. That was already expected, and the Komodo, once more didn't press it.

"If you ever do, you know you can reach for me any time." Gosha said, tapping Legoshi's shoulder lightly.

Legoshi looked at his grandpa for a few moments, and then he nodded back at him, thanking him. Gosha told him not to mention it.

"Now, you go and take a shower and put your uniform. Breakfast is almost ready."

Legoshi blinked as an "uniform" was mentioned. Then, it came back to him.

It was the first day of school.

Today, him and Melon both started on Cherryton Academy.

"Well, I have to say, this situation is... unique, to say the minimum." The tiger said as he reviewed the papers before him. On the other side of the desk, three animals were sitting, one elderly Komodo and two teenagers.

"You mean, having hybrids wanting to enroll in your elite school?" Melon said casually. "Well, you can thank our dear lizard gramps here. He is the one who decided that a good education would be important for us to move up in life and decided to take on that dog's suggestion for Legoshi to join on the same school as him."

"Melon..." Legoshi whispered, trying to tell the hybrid not to be so rude. However, Gon cleared his throat.

"Well, I have to confess, you two being hybrids also is... unusual, considering how rare hybridization is." Gon confessed. "But I was mostly referring to the situation as a whole. About the fact that you two have been in a shelter for years, and yet the High School equivalence test pointed out how you two have a very thorough education. You two were offered tutoring while in there, by any chance?"

"Yeah, you could say that." Melon said casually.

In truth, they had received something akin to lectures on the place they were into. It was part of their daily lives. They were taught a lot of things, most of it being advanced subjects. They were even given mock school exams to test how much they learned. The people on the facility wanted them to be smart for when they were "ready for the world", whatever they meant by that...

"Indeed, your scores on the test was impressive, especially on physics, biology and chemistry. However, I noticed that there are some subjects you are falling behind. Like, for example, how Melon had very good scores on history, but scored low on other social sciences, about harmonious carnivore-herbivore coexistence. And Legoshi also showed some difficulties in math and, most notably, in Seaspeak."

Melon let out a sound that was almost as scoff as he looked away. Legoshi, on the other hand, lowered his head. He never could learn that blasted language, no matter how much the tutors on the facility tried to drill it into his head...

"Anyways, this gap on their education makes it that they still need a while of high school, otherwise, they could just go straight to college." Gon said, "Legoshi will be starting his time in Cherryton as a second-year student. Melon, on the other hand, will be starting as a third-year student, since his education is a bit more complete."

"Yeah, guess I was always the smarter one, wasn't I?" Melon asked the wolf with a light nudge from an elbow. Legoshi could only agree.

"However, before you are fully enrolled, there are some more matters that need to be addressed." Gon said, becoming a bit more serious as he put the papers down. "And, this time I do want to address the matter of your mixed heritage, young men."

This cause the mood to become more serious as well, as the two teens and the elder looked back at the tiger, who them spoke:

"Cherryton is a rare type of school. A mixed education institution that receives both herbivores and carnivores, allowing them to attend to the same classes and buildings, giving them a full taste of what waits for them as adults, on an unsegregated society. However, due to certain safety worries, we still separate them in specific dorms, for both the herbivores and carnivores. This has never been an issue, but of course..."

"You never had a carnivore/herbivore hybrid before." Melon concluded the thought. "A poor loser who was both and none and belonged nowhere."

"Melon!" Legoshi said, looking at him. Gon looked at the gazelle/leopard hybrid, before he continued:

"The schoolboard has some... concerns regarding safety. We fear that placing you on a carnivore dorm could be risky for your well-being, since you are half-gazelle. We considered putting you on the herbivore dorms, but-"

"But someone thought that then the other herbivores would be the ones in danger, because I am half-leopard." Melon once more interrupted. "Look, if you are going to say that you have no place for me and that I should beat it, then just say it, don't waste time justifying why you are denying my application."

"I am not." Gon said, "I'm just saying that, because of the unique circumstances on this case, we will be placing you in a separate dorm."

Melon looked at him with a raised eyebrow.

"We have special rooms in Cherryton that are like private living quarters." Gon explained. "We usually reserve them for students who are on special programs or need special living conditions that would make staying with others in a dorm. You will be allowed to use one of them. Just like Legoshi."

The wolf perked his head.

"This is also for safety worries." Gon said, "In this case, however, it is because you technically are, believe it or not, the first venomous animal accepted in Cherryton. Your Komodo dragon heritage makes us a little worried that prolonged living with non-venomous animals could bring about a risk for the non-venomous. So, you will be given your own bedroom as well, with the condition you keep it clean."

Legoshi took in the news, and he nodded, saying he understood. He did, however, knew Jack would not like it. He had not stopped saying how he hoped Legoshi was on his dorm...

"And also..." Gon said, as he reached for something on a drawer. "You will be required to wear this for classes."

He pulled out the object, and Legoshi tilted his head as he looked at it.

So, that's it... Legoshi stood before the mirror, looking at himself as he finished drying. I'm going back to school today... and, it is technically my first ever day of high school. I mean, I was kidnapped when I was twelve, after all.

Legoshi thought about it. About how he would be going to class with many other animals, most of which he never saw before. The thought filled him with dread, but it also left him... excited? Was that the right word? Was he excited at the prospect of meeting other animals? Maybe. He was a canine, after all... despite the scales.

Legoshi's hand went to his scaled shoulder as he thought about that. The scales went all the way down to his elbow, and they glistened on the light. They looked a lot healthier now, after days of proper care. His grandpa taught him the proper way to care for his scales, and now they shone just like his'.

And like mom's... Legoshi looked at the scales, seeing how they sparkled under the light.

They looked like jewels.

How could mom ever think they were ugly?

A knock on the door snapped Legoshi off his thoughts.

"Legoshi, you there, pup? Did something happen?"

"Oh! N-no, grandpa! I just... just got distracted, that's all."

"Well, please hurry up. Breakfast is getting cold."

"Okay, I will!"

Just as said, Legoshi hurried up drying his fur and getting ready. This was his first time putting on his uniform, and he found out it looked good on him. He kinda looked good in a tie, although the stripped grey pants were not exactly his thing, but that was mandatory. And, of course, there was the green jacket.

It was not mandatory to use, according to what Principal Gon told him, but Legoshi was going to wear it anyways. The long sleeves would help hide his scales.

I don't want to hide them. I'm afraid I might end up like mom if I do, but Melon says it is better to keep them hidden as much as possible so people will leave me alone.

As soon as he had his uniform, he went to the living room, where Melon was already sitting on the table and eating, wearing the very same uniform.

"Ahh, look at him! My high schooler!" Gosha said as Legoshi came for breakfast with his uniform and his bag over his shoulder. He basically packed everything he would need in a single pack for him to take to Cherryton. He didn't have a lot, anyways.

Neither did Melon.

"Now, sit and eat, I made your favorite."

With that, they sat down and ate. Gosha truly made Legoshi's favorite. That omelet with mushroom and spinach was truly delicious. Legoshi didn't know where his grandpa got those eggs, but they were the best!

"They actually came from a store close to your new school." Gosha said, "They are open for purchase, if you want to buy them. But I heard that they sell eggs from different hens on different days of the week, so you might not find the exact same eggs. But you can still make egg sandwiches like I taught you. By the way, I packed some for your lunch, hope you enjoy them."

"I will. Thanks, grandpa." Legoshi said, "Would you like to try them, Melon?"

"Nah, I'm good." Melon said, "We already established I cannot taste egg at all, so they better be eaten by someone who can like feel flavor." And he continued chewing lazily. He seemed to be quite okay with it, but Gosha could tell from the look on his eyes that not being able to taste was something that upset Melon.

Quite a lot.

Soon, breakfast was over, and Gosha was taking out the plates so he could put them on the sink to wash later while telling the boys to hurry up so they could get to Cherryton on time.

"Oh! The mask!" Legoshi said, as he stopped by the door. "I nearly forgot it." He picked the mask that was by the counter, and he noticed his grandpa moving slightly.

"Grandpa?"

"Hmm?" The Komodo turned to his grandpa. "Oh, sorry. Is juts that I noticed the toaster might need some fixing. I'll work on it once I'm back. But I will give it a better look now, you go ahead with Melon and wait me by the car, I'll catch up with you soon."

"Oh... okay then." Legoshi said, and he left the room.

As soon as he was gone, Gosha's smile disappeared, and he then turned his attention to the rat on his hand, who he caught sneaking pictures of them with a small camera.

"I told you to stop coming here." Gosha said to the rodent on his hand, who squirmed under his grasp.

"Heh, I don't get orders from you, lizard!" The rat said back defiantly. "I get orders from the Sublime Beastar!"

Gosha bared his fangs at the rat, letting him catch a good sight of them, as well as of the purple toxin forming on the back of his mouth, before Gosha closed it and swallowed the venom.

"I'm warning you for the last time, stop coming to my house uninvited." Gosha said to the rat. "And tell Yahya to leave my grandson alone! His friend too! Now get lost! Go through the same place you came in!"

And he tossed the rat on the on counter, who quickly got up and scurried away and out of sight.

Gosha would have kept an eye on him, but he already knew from the look of terror on his face that he would be going away, and that he was unlikely to come back. Unless, of course, Yahya demanded him to return or, worse yet, that he went to Cherryton to follow Legoshi and Melon.

Yes, because Gosha already knew that the horse had a very particular interest on the two hybrids.

That became very clear on the first time they met each other in over thirty years, right on the following day when Legoshi finally returned home. Melon and Legoshi had both gone out, the carni-herbi hybrid all by himself and Legoshi with Jack to by a phone and hang out. And, right after they left, who was at his balcony if not Yahya, his former partner from the days when he dreamed of being a beastar?

Their talk was... tense, to say the least, as old feelings and grudges resurfaced, and Gosha had to de-escalate the situation.

He didn't want his reunion with his old friend to take on a violent turn.

Well, that thought was tossed out of the window as soon as Yahya started making accusations on his grandson.

Saying that him and his friend Melon were both criminals who had attacked people, and that he was going to have the two of them investigated and, if he found out more crimes, arrested. And, on top of that al, he was asking Gosha to "cooperate with him for their sake".

On that same day, Gosha literally threw Yahya out his doorstep, saying that if he laid a single finger on either of those boys then he would regret it, and slammed the door on him.

Just two days later, Gosha caught the first glimpse of those rats around his apartment, who he quickly confirmed worked for Yahya. He had been seeing them ever since, always looking at the boys.

It made Gosha want to march all the way to the police building and storm on Yahya's apartment just to tell him to leave them alone. However, he knew that if he did, he would probably end up going into another fight with Yahya, and that this time it could end badly.

So, Gosha decided to just forget about it and drive the boys to school. And hope that Yahya would not be brazen enough to send those rats to spy them on Cherryton...

"Remember to behave while there, both of you." Gosha said to the two. "And try your best to make new friends, okay?"

"Okay, Grandpa. I'll try." Legoshi said, but he was unsure if he'd be able to make any new friends at all. He had, after all, got a taste of how his size made a lot of animals nervous when he and Jack went out on the street, especially the herbivores., Although he had been getting quite along with Jack's friends from Dorm 701.

Melon was of the same opinion as the wolf.

"Yeah, this whole 'making friends' thing is not for me, to be honest." The hybrid said as he leaned on the door of the backseat. "So, I guess I'll just stay on my room they give me unless I have to go to classes... although I still think that going to school is a waste of time and money."

"Hey now, Melon." Gosha said, "Don't just dismiss the effect a good education can have on your future. I wish I have had the chance to go to school when I was you boys' age."

"And I also don't get why you are putting me through high school." Melon quipped in again. "I mean, I understand your own grandson, but putting a stranger through and expensive school with your own money? That's a bit too generous, don't you think?"

"You are Legoshi's friend." Gosha said, "Besides, it is not as if I'm hurting for money or anything. Working on construction is more lucrative than most people realize, and I have a lot of savings. I can put you both through school and college no problem, if that's what you are worried about. Cherryton is an expensive place, but it is also one of the best schools in the country. You boys will certainly receive a nice education there, maybe even have some fun."

"I doubt it." Melon said as he looked at the window, seeing the vehicles, buildings and animals passing by them. Meanwhile, Legoshi was looking sad suddenly.

"Something wrong, pup?" Gosha asked, and Legoshi said:

"Is just... I am going to Cherryton and I'll basically be living there... and I just came back home... I only stayed a while, and now I am leaving again."

"Hey, hey." Gosha said, patting his shoulder as they stopped in an intersection. "No need to be like that. This is just because Cherryton is a boarding school, and since it is far from where I live, it will be more practical for you to live there. You can still come to visit me on weekends and during recess, and you can call me whenever you want on your new phone. It's not like you are running back to the shelter or anything."

"... Yeah, you are right..." Legoshi looked away as he said that, and he said nothing more. On the backseat, Melon showed no reaction, although he was having the same thoughts as Legoshi.

Gosha still thought they were in a shelter. Well, he was supposed to think that, because that was what they told him. No way they could tell him they were in a secret government facility where they were tested daily for the abilities they were given with an experiment, even though Legoshi wanted to.

"Not safe." Melon said when Legoshi suggested they told the Komodo the truth, "He would freak out and end up telling someone, and then they would find us, and we would be taken back. Better let him keep thinking what he does now."

Legoshi went along with it but, as the days passed, he felt guiltier and guiltier about having to lie to his grandpa.

And Gosha noticed how Legoshi was tense. He also noticed signs of tension on how Melon acted, and he noticed that it was whenever the shelter was brought up. The two were still evasive and vague about their time there, nearly as if they were afraid of the place.

Or as if they wanted to forget about it.

Well, Gosha already knew that this shelter used starving them for a whole day as punishment, so it was not far-fetched to assume they did other, maybe even worse, things to them.

Gosha forced himself to stop thinking about it, otherwise he would start drooling venom again. He focused on driving, and soon the imposing main gates of Cherryton's front gates were coming into view.

"We are here." Gosha announced happily as he parked in front of the main gates, which were open and allowing other students to come in. Soon, the two of them were stepping out of the car. Melon now had a surgical mask over his face while squinting his eyes, effectively looking indistinguishable from a regular gazelle. Legoshi also put on a mask.

A gasmask, which looked like something one would wear if they had a severe breathing problem... or if they needed it to stop their venom from leaking out.

Gosha still disliked seeing his grandson wearing that. He knew that it was needed. He knew that the schoolboard, who was opening an exception on their policy against accepting venomous animals due to Legoshi's unique circumstances, had demanded this one thing in order to allow Legoshi, and he even recognized that it was needed for the other student's safety, once Legoshi still had a lot of difficulty keeping his venom production under control. However, he still disliked it.

He had always believed it was demeaning to be forced to wear one of those masks. This came from having been demanded to wear them over his face when he was a young teen despite how uncomfortable they felt on him and being yelled at and threatened if he was not wearing one in public. Not to mention, those were the very same types of masks that the Dokugumi still used, and an entire stigma was associated with them, and that could easily reflect on Legoshi.

"Thanks for the ride, grandpa." Legoshi said through the mask to his grandfather. His voice sounded filtered, but he didn't sound like he was having any problem to breathe. "I'll call you tonight to tell how my day went."

Gosha looked at Legoshi, and he smiled.

"Sure thing. Have fun. And remember, don't get in trouble."

"I won't, I promise." With those final words, Legoshi closed the door and Gosha drove away. He was still waving at the disappearing car, before Melon reminded him that they needed to go in and sign up for their classes.

As they walked in, Legoshi looked around, seeing all those animals who were around the same age as him and Melon, with some being a bit older or younger. This was the first time Legoshi saw so many animals his age in the same place since he was twelve. He could also smell them, although the smell was much harder to feel because of the mask.

He could still clearly hear Jack's voice:

"Legoshi! You came!"

Next thing the wolf knew, he was practically glomped by the Labrador, who hugged his neck and nearly sent them both into the ground as he came at Legoshi running, his tail wagging like crazy as he did. All the while Melon looked with an indifferent expression and thought how excitable some dogs were. Way more than Legoshi.

He wondered if his lizard blood was the reason why he was not as excitable as other dogs...

Soon, they made it into the main building, passing by many other animals on their way. Among them were animals who were recruiting new members for their clubs. Like the tracking and boxing teams, and the members of the kendo club in full practice armor and with wooden swords on their hands. There was even a "manga and anime appreciation" club.

"Think we should join a club?" Legoshi asked as he looked around, seeing if there was any entomology club. Jack said it was probably a good idea, since he and everyone on their dorm had a club after classes to keep themselves busy.

"It is too bad that you didn't got put on our dorm, but you can join one of my clubs! I have chess club at Mondays and Thursdays and debate club on Tuesdays and Fridays. I don't have any club on the Wednesdays because that's usually when I pull studying marathons on the library."

"Well, look at this, Legoshi." Melon said, "Your Labrador friend seems to have flourished into a full-bloom nerd!"

Jack glared at Melon at this commentary, luckily, they reached the information desk right after this, and they all got their study schedules.

"Hey, we have almost every class together!" Jack said as he looked at Legoshi's schedule, "And since our names are close to one another in alphabetical order, we will probably be sitting right by each other's side! This is so cool!"

Melon, on his end, got a completely separated schedule, since he was on third year, what technically made him Legoshi and Jack's senpai.

"Well, we got an hour or two before time comes for us to get to our classes." Melon said, "Wanna check on our personal VIP dorms, my dear little kohai?"

"Oh. Sure, I guess."

And with that, Legoshi and Melon went to a separated part of Cherryton Academy. It was like a small hotel building filled with rooms. Unlike the regular dorms, which were shared bunk rooms for groups of students, each one of those was like a small apartment, with living room, dining room/kitchen, privative bathroom with a tub and a bedroom with a bed and a study desk.

"Yeah, that can work." Melon said as he looked around at what would be his new house for the next year until he graduated. Right by the side, Legoshi entered into a room that was basically the same, complete with a simple computer for him to use. For him, it was a bit too fancy, but it was not as if he asked to be given a place like that.

Soon, however, this was forgotten, as it came the time for the two of them to go to their classes.

They both walked out of their rooms around the same time as some other student in there. A deer wearing the same uniform as them and who came out of the room right by the side of Melon's.

"Mm?" The deer stopped to look at them, with the two other animals looking back at him.

"Hey there, neighbor." Melon said casually, while Legoshi said a polite "hello".

The deer looked at them curiously for a few seconds, before just seeming to decide they were not really that interesting and walking away without a word.

Legoshi was surprised by this. Melon, on the other hand, simply said:

"Well, guess this is our welcome to our new school, no? Now, what about we go to class to see if the rest of the school is as bad as that guy?"

And, with that, Legoshi and Melon both went to their classes. They drew quite the looks from the other students, due to how they were dressed. Legoshi soon noticed that Headmaster Gon wasn't lying when he said that the use of the green jacket was not mandatory. The fact that Legoshi and Melon wore it while everyone else didn't made them the weird ones, and it drawn people's attention. Of course, in Legoshi's case, the fact he was also wearing a gasmask and that he stood a whole head taller than any other wolf made him even more noticeable.

He certainly drew some eyes as he made it into the classroom, with Jack being the first one to notice him and to wave at him while pointing at the empty space by his side. Soon, Legoshi was seated between the Labrador and some hen who didn't even looked up from the paper where she was writing a training program of some kind...

Melon also ended up seated by the side of a familiar face: the same deer from earlier.

The two horned animals looked at each other, before Louis eventually said:

"I never saw you before."

"That's a strange way of saying 'hello', you know?" Was Melon's answer. Louis seemed unfazed.

"I am serious. I have been in this school for years, and I am pretty sure I never saw you before. You started this year, haven't you?"

Melon tilted his head slightly as he looked at him.

"What if I have?"

The way he spoke it was nearly a challenge to the deer. And, of course, Louis noticed it. And Melon also noticed the people who came to talk to Louis, asking for his autograph and speaking to him as if he was a celebrity of some kind.

"So, what? Are you famous or something?" Melon finally asked, and to that, Louis chuckled.

"You are new in Cherryton." He said to the one siting by his side. "The fact you don't even know who I am is enough proof of that."

Melon would have given him a reply, was not for the teacher having arrived on that very moment and told everyone to ay attention as he started speaking of the lecture of their first day.

It was, by the most part, something uninteresting. Melon was familiar with what he was teaching. He learned that on the facility between testings. And, unlike Legoshi, he was far more aware of why they were taught those things in the first place.

Melon was, in fact, so familiar with the subject that, when the teacher made a small mistake on the explanation, he wasted no time in lifting a hand and correcting him, as well as going into a small explanation on the subject that basically covered what the class would be seeing on the rest of the semester in just five minutes.

He felt like showing up.

"You should read the book yourself, sir." Melon mentioned to the teacher in a friendly tone. "It may help jog your memory."

The class was left very impressed, even Louis, and Melon managed to earn the hatred of that one specific teacher on the very first day.

And this showed when the teacher passed for the whole class an assignment for next week that would rob them of most of their free time.

And some really didn't like that.

"Hey, you!" Melon stopped as he heard someone calling him, making him stop and turn around.

A leopard was coming his way, accompanied by two cheetahs.

"May I help you?" Melon was trying his best not to let aversion show on his words, but it was hard when the leopard was coming right at him.

"It is all your fault!" He accused without giving any context. Melon tilted his head.

"What do you mean? What exactly is my fault?"

"That we have to do that huge assignment on the first day of school!" The leopard said, "All because you decided to tease the teacher! I'll lose my entire weekend doing that because of you!"

"Oh?" Melon said, "Is this the type of thing that takes a whole weekend to do? Honestly, the assignment actually seems a bit simple to me."

"Oh, shut up!" The leopard said, approaching him. "The first day of school is supposed to be easy! Just go to lectures and hear the teachers speak of basic stuff! You don't even need to pay attention to what they are saying! You just need to pretend to be awake! But because of you now I have to do a whole ten-page essay right on my first week!"

"Well, then you better begin as soon as possible, don't you think?" Melon asked him. "After all, if the first week is as easy as you say, then you can just have it done by the weekend so you can do whatever it is that you want on your free time."

Melon was purposefully provoking him, and the leopard realized it right away. And this, of course, only made his mood worse!

"Ughh! You are as infuriating as Louis!" The leopard said "Just talking to you makes me mad! Just look!" He then showed his arm. "Do you see my spots? See how they are moving? They move like that when I am really angry!"

Melon did look at the spots on the leopard's arms, seeing how they were moving.

Like insects crawling all around.

Oh, Melon. My sweet, sweet Melon. Mommy loves you so much. ~

Melon's fur stood on end, he turned around and started walking away quickly. However, the leopard would not let him.

"Hey, where you do think you are going!?" He sounded pissed as he walked behind the fleeing herbivore, his hand reaching to grab his horn. "You better not think you can walk away on me, you fucking gazelle-GAAH!"

He stumbled back as soon as his fingers closed around Melon's horn. He felt a jolt as he touched them. A painful one. Like he had placed his hand directly in an electric outlet.

He was still shaken when Melon turned around, grabbed him by the collar of his shirt and, in a movement that would have made the captain of the Judo team immediately ask him to join, slammed the leopard's back into the ground hard enough to knock the wind out of him.

Now even more shaken than before, the leopard looked up as Melon stood on top of him, his eyes, until that moment squinted hard, now were wide open and glaring at him with all the murderous intent that Melon inherited from the carnivore side of his bloodline.

"Don't you ever dare to lay your disgusting hands on me again..." The horned animal said to the leopard in a low voice, each word a veiled threat of indescribable violence. "If you do... I will kill you."

The leopard, who never saw this kind of rage on an herbivore's eyes or voice, was stunned into inaction. He could do nothing more than to look on those eyes that looked back on him. Eyes that he would have eventually noticed were a bit too small for those of a gazelle, if he had not had his attention diverged by a new voice.

"My, my. This is an unpleasant sight."

The deer on the same jacket as Melon walked forward, every eye on that deserted hallways turning towards him as he walked in as if he owned the place.

"You carnivores really can't help yourselves, can you? It is just the first day and you are already trying to get into fights. And with an herbivore, no less. That is seriously against school conduct."

The carnivores did not move as the deer walked forward. Melon, on his end, calmed down. His sudden surge of aggressiveness vanishing nearly as fast as it came. However, his hands were still shaking when he let got of the leopard's shirt and stood up, his eyes once more squinted before anyone noticed anything strange.

"So, is there a reason why you three are bullying a defenseless gazelle?" As Louis asked that, the leopard answer was immediate:

"Defenseless!? We bullying him!? Are you kidding me!? Didn't you saw he slamming me into the ground!? And he threatened me!"

"Before or after you came after him with two other carnivores in tow?" Louis asked that rhetorically. "What were even your goal here? Do I need to look for the teacher and tell him that a bunch of felines had tried to corner an herbivore? That would look bad on you, I'll just tell you that."

The leopard was getting on his feet, and for a moment he seemed ready to lunge on the deer, but he was stopped by the other two. They urged him to leave before they got into trouble, and the leopard had no choice but to do as requested, and he was soon walking away, grumbling under his breath about "stupid herbivores forming herds and ganging up on them" as he did.

This left Melon and Louis alone on the hallway, and soon, the two horned animals were looking at each other.

"Are you okay?" Louis asked, and the gazelle looked at him, before saying casually:

"They didn't take any bite out of me, if that's what you are worried about."

"Well, that's good to know."

"So, is this the part where I thank you for saving me from the big and scary cats and we became besties for life?" Melon was being sarcastic as he spoke that, and that was painfully obvious.

"Is this your idea of 'thank you'?" Louis asked, and Melon said back:

"Please, don't take me wrong, but I didn't really need your help. I could have handled then nicely."

"All three? Because that would have been impressive."

"What, you expected me not to do anything? To just roll over, bare my neck and ask if they would like some seasoning on me?"

Louis could not help but look at him curiously.

"Well, in that case, you could as well have joined me as their lunch, right?"

"Got a sharp tongue on you, don't you?"

"Does that bother you?" Melon asked as he approached the deer. Once more, it seemed that the horned animal was challenging the deer, and he made it so outrageously obvious that Louis considered it a direct insult.

"I didn't get your name." Louis said.

"Because I never told you, obviously." Melon said back. "I prefer only to introduce myself to interesting people. You are not interesting enough to know my name."

Louis' eyes narrowed.

"Also, it is quite rude of you to ask my name without telling me yours' first." Melon spoke that casually. "Is this the kind of education you get at home?"

He is testing me... Louis thought as he looked at the gazelle.

"Anyways, you should be careful. Cherryton is probably not like the place where you studied before."

"Yeah, it definitely isn't." Melon spoke with a smirk under his mask, which the deer could not say.

"Cherryton is one of the few mixed education institutions left. It is a place where we herbivores walk the same hallways as the carnivores. So, as you can imagine, it is not the type of place where you can just lower your guard."

"Is that so?" Melon said, looking at Louis. "So, being around those big carnivores keeps you on your guard? Do you feel threatened and in danger due to being around all those carnivores? Well, in that case you should call daddy and mommy and have them transfer you to another school where you won't have to be scared of someone sneaking into your room on the middle of the night to take a bite out of your neck."

Louis continue to look at the gazelle, who looked back at him. Neither of them was betraying an emotion on their features, but both could notice how the other was becoming increasingly tense/hostile.

"Well, guess I will be going now." Melon finally said, very casually. "And you should be careful, little deer. Don't let the big and nasty carnivores come and eat you." He approached a bit. "And they would probably still be hungry after they are done. You are around eighteen, right? From your size, I'd say you are one or two years younger."

With that last statement, Melon turned around and walked away, leaving behind a deer who was glaring at him, clenching his fists as he watched that gazelle walk away...

From there, the rest of the day went on without incidents. The closest thing to an incident was when Melon nearly bumped into another leopard on the cafeteria and glared at him with murder on his eyes before Legoshi came and steered him into a table for on the corner, where Jack and the rest of the 701's canines were gathered to have lunch with them.

Some people looked at a gazelle sitting with a bunch of dogs, but they didn't give too much attention. This was good, because it meant Melon could pull his mask up to eat with no problems, while Legoshi also removed his mask so he could eat, and he used his own flatware, brought on a plastic container as a precaution to avoid poisoning anything with his venom-laced saliva.

From there, they only had a couple more classes before they meet again on the entrance of their dorm.

"Today was easy, actually." Legoshi said as the two of them walked up the stairs to the rooms.

"Yeah, I guess it was." Melon said, "I may have made some enemies."

"Ehh? Melon, we are not supposed to get in trouble!"

"Oh, give me a break! It's not my fault everyone here is a pain in the ass!"

They still discussed about things until they made it to their doors. The deer was not back yet, and Melon was glad for that. He didn't want to see that stupid pompous butt-hole again.

Something about him just pissed Melon off...

However, just as he was about to enter his room, however, he noticed something laying on his front door. It was an envelope, sealed with a wax seal with a fancy emblem on the front, which looked like a slightly altered version of the school's own emblem.

"What's this?" Melon said as he picked the card. By his side, Legoshi found an identical one by his own doorstep. Once they opened them, they found identical letters.

An invitation with their names.

"You guys got invited to Drama Club!?" Jack said, the two standing before the door of his dorm, as they decided to come to see Jack to ask what those letters were about, since he was the one who had been in that school way longer than either of them.

"So... that's a big deal then?" Legoshi's question was answered immediately by the Labrador:

"Well, yeah! This is like, the most elite club of the school! You can only enter if you receive a letter like this one!"

"So, what, it is like some kind of fraternity or stuff of the like?" Melon seemed as uninterested by it as everyone else.

"Well, they are considered elite among the school." Durham said as he and the other dogs were listening. "Their club is the only one that has both carnivores and herbivores. They kind of symbolize coexistence and cooperation. You know, kind of everything Cherryton stands for? They are a big deal. Even the school's beastar candidate is a member."

"Is that so?" Melon said, not seeming very amused. Legoshi, on his end, turned to the gazelle hybrid and asked:

"So... what do we do? Do we answer?"

"Well, you can go to the club tomorrow." Jack said, "They meet every weekday after classes, like most clubs."

"What if we don't want to?" Melon asked. "Do we just pretend we never received the letters?"

"Melon, I think we should go there." Legoshi was careful as he spoke "I mean, we need to join a club after school, right?"

"No, we don't. They just tell us to because this way they will we will keep ourselves busy during the afternoon instead of doing anything they don't like." Melon spoke that matter-of-factly. "And you gotta see people every day. Ugh, that's just annoying."

The dogs all shared looks. This pretty much confirmed what a lot of them thought about Melon on the few times he tagged along with them as they went out on the city with Legoshi: that he was antisocial.

Made you wonder how he and Legoshi ever even became close while living on that shelter. Maybe everyone else in there was worse?

"Melon, come on, let's just pass by their tomorrow." Legoshi eventually said to the other hybrid. "Just to see if this club is for us. If it's not, when we just give the invitations back and we try to look for other clubs. Come on, please?"

Melon looked at the wolf. It was hard seeing his whole face with that mask on his muzzle, but he could still see his eyes clearly.

Over the years, those eyes changed from their round shape and became angular like those of a reptile, losing more and more of their pupils with each passing year. However, what didn't change was the fact that never, in all the time he had know him since they brought the young wolf into the facility, they showed anger or disgust.

With a sigh, the gazelle/leopard then said:

"Fine. But if anyone in there annoys me then I'm walking out."

With that, the two hybrids decided what they would be doing on the following day. Neither of them realized that this decision was going to change their lives. If it was for better or for worse... well, that remained to be seen.

Chapter Text

"And then she told him to put his beak back on the book!" Durham said, and this caused a round of laughter from the table, as everyone shared a laugh about how he narrated a story about what happened earlier that same day during class. "Man, that new teacher is certainly something."

"Yeah, she sounds like it..." Melon said as he ate another piece of his food, still doing so with an indifferent slowness that verged on begrudginess as if he was doing something unpleasant out of obligation more than anything.

After a while, Melon just gave up trying to force himself to eat his tasteless food, and then he just said to Legoshi:

"Say, what about we get going to the Drama Club? You did convince me to go, remember?"

Legoshi, who was midway through eating his egg sandwich, looked at the hybrid.

"Oh. Oh! Yeah, right!" and he finished the rest of his sandwich in two more bites, wishing a good day to Jack and the others as he and Melon got up, placing their masks and leaving towards what would be their first day of Drama Club.

Well, for one of them, anyways.

"...I do think we could increase the sound quality if we do this, senpai." The big grizzly bear said to the deer he was walking with, and Louis nodded back at the ursine.

"Yes, do that, Riz." Louis said with indifference, talking to the massive bear as if he was any other student. "Just be sure to run it through the rest of the team first and see if they agree."

The bear nodded, and then he went back to work, leaving Louis to go back to rehearsing the scenes with the rest of the actor pool.

Or at least they tried.

"Guys, the light beam is flickering again!" one of the carnivore actors said, and Louis couldn't help but groan.

"Can someone fix it?"

"Oh! Uhh, we will, senpai!" said an anteater as he sat by a light fixture from up there with a red panda. "As soon as we are done fixing this one... I hope..."

"You know, you stagehands could do a better job, couldn't you?" A mongoose said as he sat on the edge of a small stage. "At this rate we will have to do the play completely in the dark."

"Now, now, Kai. It is not their fault." Said a pelican as he walked forward. "We must remember that the equipment is quite old."

"Indeed, it is." Said a peafowl who was nearby, close to the two smaller herbivores who were working the fixture. "And we can't even call for a teacher to help since they all have busy schedules, and Principal Gon already told us about hogging the school's handyman to help us."

"Just fix it as quickly as possible." Louis said, as he held his prompt sword "I'll be dammed if our play gets ruined because of faulty equipment..."

Just as he said that, the door of the club opened, and someone came in. Naturally, this was quickly noticed, since Drama Club didn't usually had visitors.

"Uhh, excuse me?" one of them said with a strangely filtrated voice. "Is this Drama Club? We were told it was in here."

Louis turned to see who it was, and he was surprised for seeing two figures he'd saw before already.

Those two who got put in my dorm? Louis looked at the two of them. The wolf with the gasmask, and the gazelle with a surgeon's mask over his face. He particularly knew the latter from the previous day's events, which were still fresh on his mind. What are they doing here?

"Oh, look who is here!" the gazelle said, walking forward. "If it isn't our dear neighbor, Mr. Scrawny-Small-Deer himself."

A gasp came from someone on the club, everyone stared at the gazelle who had just spoke something like that to Louis-senpai himself. The wolf also looked shocked, as he stared at the gazelle with wide eyes, and the animal with horns was apparently oblivious to it all, as his attention was focused exclusively on the deer before him.

"Say, what are you doing here, little deer? Got lost on the way back to your bedroom?" the gazelle maintained that condescending tone that no one else would dare to use on the deer. Louis glared at him.

"I am here because I'm a member of this club." Louis said to the gazelle. "As a matter of fact, I just happen to be the lead actor."

"Oh?" the gazelle said, tilting his head slightly. "Is that so?"

Even as he asked that simple question, Louis could still recognize the undertone that the gazelle was using. The one that made it seem as if he was mocking Louis while being fully respectful at the same time.

"Yes, that's right." Louis said, standing tall as he looked at the gazelle with crossed arms. "And what about you two? What is our business in my club?"

The way the deer said "my club", as if establishing the fact that this whole place was his personal domain, was not lost to Melon, whose fur stood up with electricity as he realized the deer was retuning his provocation with a challenge. Legoshi, on the other hand, simply answered:

"Oh, sorry. We got invited to join in." and he pulled the invitation from his jacket's pocket. Louis looked at the familiar invitation on the wolf's hand, and on the gazelle's as well as he too pulled an identical letter from his own pocket.

"Oh! You two are the new members the supervisor told me would be coming to join!" the pelican said as he walked forward, with the rest of the club being abuzz with talk about not only one, but two new members to their club. Louis maintained an impassive as he evaluated the two with a lot of attention, as if trying to figure them both out at once.

"Welcome, you two." The pelican greeted them. "My name is Sano, third year student and director of Drama Club. You two already met our lead actor, Louis, who is also on the third year."

"Nice to meet you, Sano-senpai." The wolf bowed to the bird respectfully. "My name is Legoshi, and I'm on the second year. Melon is on the third." He gestured to the antlered animal by his side. "We both just joined this year."'

"Yes, I heard about that from our supervisor." Sano said, "You were both homeschooled for the last five years, right?"

Legoshi looked at Melon, and Melon said:

"Yeah, that's right. Some problems in our old schools, but we managed."

"Homeschooled, huh?" Louis said, stepping forward. "You two look like you are quite close."

To the deer's unspoken question, Melon answered:

"We have been neighbors for the past five years. Half a decade is long enough for two people to become close acquittances, no? And now that we are on the same dorm, it makes easier for us to bond."

I still get shocked with how easily Melon can lie to people's faces... Legoshi said nothing as the hybrid did all the talking, and Louis continued to look at him with an air of suspicion. Sano, seeming to notice the tension, cleared his throat.

"So, Legoshi, Melon, I'm glad to welcome both of you to our club, hoping we can all bond together as club-mates."

"Yeah, yeah, right." Melon was still being dismissive. "So, how does this little theater club work? Do we all gather in a circle and make interpretative dance or stuff? Or we spend most of the time cultivating harmony with kumbaya songs and those trust-fall exercises?"

"Melon!" Legoshi whispered to the hybrid, who turned to him.

"What? I just want to know what to expect from the club you are trying to convince me to join! Because if I will join just to spend half of my time here doing some hippie therapy crap while rehearsing some pre-school play, then I'd rather just go back to my dorm and watch tv."

Everyone stared at the masked gazelle, a lot of them shocked with how crass he was. Sano, on his end, was momentarily speechless, but he recovered rather quickly.

"W-well, there is a lot of functions you can perform on our club, depending on your skills." He said, "We have a sound team, a wardrobe team who makes all the outfits and prompts we use for the plays, we have the script-writing team for those who are skilled in creative writing. And, of course, we have the actor team. As a matter of fact, we were rehearsing our Adler play right about now."

Legoshi blinked and tilted his head.

"Adler?"

"Oh, right, you two just joined." Sano said, "Adler is a classic. It is the play our Drama Club is the most famous for. It is tradition to perform it on the beginning of the year as part of the welcome ceremony for all the new students. It is a story about-"

"Why explain..." Louis said, raising a hand. "When we can show them?"

He then turned to the other actors.

"Everyone get ready, we will be making an impromptu performance of Adler. One take. No pauses."

"Wha- wait, no!?" Said a tiger, who had been sitting on the ground near an eagle and a black panther.

"Yes, Bill. Now." Louis said to the feline. "Just to help our two new members get acquittance with our most famous play. There should be no problem, unless you have forgotten the play since last year's performance."

The tiger, apparently taking offense to it, got up and he was soon picking up a prompt sword. Everyone else who was an actor was getting prompts, including an alpaca who was given a sword just like the tiger's. As they got ready, Legoshi could not help but look at all of them.

This club is really formed of both herbivores and carnivores. And they all seem to get along well... Legoshi thought as he looked at them get ready. Louis-senpai was then given a mask to wear, which looked horrifyingly like a deer's skull.

"We will only be doing this once." Louis placed the mask as he looked at the two. "So, both of you, pay attention. Everyone, on your marks!"

And then, Melon and Legoshi both sat on the ground with crossed legs as they watched Adler for the first time.

It was an impromptu version, without the proper preparation or outfits, but they could still get the gist of the story of Adler, a grim reaper who fell in love with the woman whose soul he was supposed to claim and then started protecting her as all the spirits of nature tried to kill her to restore the natural order, while the two together discovered the joy of living.

And, all the while, Legoshi could not get his eyes off the deer.

It was not as if he was fixated only on him. Everyone was doing a great work, including the tiger, who forgot his lines once or twice, but Louis was going great in another level.

Every movement he made was elegant, but also powerful. Every line was delivered as if he was the character himself. The deer was giving it his all, and putting his all into it, and he still made it come out naturally.

Not only that, but there was just something about him that made Legoshi's attention gravitate towards him. He was... incredible.

By his side, Melon looked a lot less impressed, as he watched the impromptu presentation while almost seeming to be bored out of his mind, all the way to the last scene.

"Then the curtains call!" Louis said as he held his sword high. "And thus, ends the story of Adler!"

Silence.

Legoshi and Melon didn't applaud. They didn't say anything. They just kept staring, with the wolf blinking.

"Wait..." Legoshi said, "So, did she... die? The woman Adler was protecting?"

"Yes, that's correct." Louis removed his mask. "In the end, the leading female role passes away on her final moments after learning the joy of living, and Adler swears to carry on this lesson in her name. That's how the story ends."

Legoshi looked at the deer, and then he looked down, absorbing it. By his side, Melon suddenly said:

"That's lame."

Louis blinked, staring at the masked gazelle, just like all other animals of the club.

"Excuse me?"

"I mean, seriously?" Melon continued, "The guy falls in love with her, fights nature itself to make sure she lives, teaches her how to smile when she was living a hollow and meaningless life, and she just dies in the end? And he just goes along with it? After all that? Why did he even bother trying to save her, then?"

Some of the club members were feeling uncomfortable. This was the first time that someone was so brazen when making a critic towards their play. Especially right in front of Louis.

"You are missing the point!" Louis said to him. "This was not about her alone! It was about the important lesson they discovered together! It was about finding the joy of living even in face of the inevitability of death! To be able to be happy and fulfilled even in the face of a tragic fate! That's what the tale of Adler is all about!"

"Oh, right." Melon was getting up now. "So, the message here is 'life stinks, so don't complain like a little bitch and just suck it up'? Well, now that is a nice lesson for the little kids, no?" he looked at Louis. "I'm just saying that, if I was in Adler's place, I'd feel like a chump for going through all that trouble to save someone just for them to die anyways."

For a long moment, the two horned animals looked at each other, while everyone else looked at it holding their breath, as if they were watching an old western movie where two armed characters were getting ready for a shootout, both aiming to kill the other with a single bullet.

Finally, Louis spoke, in the most civilized manner he could manage:

"Well, you are entitled to your opinion, I assume..." he then looked at the wolf, who was still sitting. "What about you? Do you also disapprove of the play?"

"Hm?" Legoshi suddenly perked, as if he had not realized the talk had suddenly become about him. "O-oh! I... well, I mean... It's not that I disapprove, I mean... the play is good, and you guys do a good job, especially you, senpai. Is just that, about how the play ends... well..." Legoshi took a few seconds to find the right words, and he finally said:

"I admit, I was hoping for a happy ending instead of sad one."

There was a brief silence after the words of the masked wolf, and then someone came forward, it was the alpaca.

"Well, I guess it is only sad if you look at it a certain way." His voice made Legoshi look up at him. The alpaca had a friendly smile.

"I mean, it's sad that she dies in the end despite all of Adler's efforts? Of course! It would be strange if it wasn't." he said, "But, in the end, she was happy. Like, happier than she'd ever been in her life, and she died with a smile. And she left behind a lesson for Adler that taught him to look at life in a brighter way and that made him understand better the lives he, as a reaper, has to take. A lesson he would take for the rest of his existence and would make him look at the world in a more positive way. So, in this way, I guess it can be a happy ending, with how Adler was able to taste the joy of life and would carry those happy memories with him on his heart."

Legoshi thought about what the alpaca just told him, and it was... a positive way of seeing things.

"Yes, just like Tem said." Sano spoke, patting the alpaca's wooly arm. "This is the main lesson one can take from Adler's play, and what is the most inspiring about the story: the transformation the titular character goes through, the culmination of his emotional journey." And he then turned to the deer. "And our dear Louis captures this whole process masterfully! He truly can transmit the main characters emotions so clearly when he performs! This is one of the things that make many see him as worthy of being Cherryton's beastar candidate."

Some people, namely the tiger named Bill, rolled their eyes as their director was, once more, kissing up to Louis.

That was when...

"Wait, hold on." Melon caught everyone attention, and he was looking straight at Louis. "You are the school's beastar candidate? You?"

Louis blinked, looking at the gazelle.

Then, laugher.

Melon was laughing.

He was laughing so hard that he was clutching his stomach, while everyone else looked at him with varying expressions of shock.

"Oh, man! That's just too funny!" Melon said in between fits of laughter. "I mean, for real!? That guy becoming a beastar!? Oh, that's more entertaining than your play! Ahahah!"

Louis was as shocked as everyone. However, that shock soon turned into anger, into outrage, as he realized that this gazelle was laughing at him.

At the very idea of Louis being a beastar.

"I mean, come on!" Melon said, "Just look at him! Does anyone think he even looks like beastar material!?"

"What the hell is that supposed to mean!?" Louis snapped at the gazelle, causing a lot of the people around to jump back and to look at him in shock as the deer looked at the other horned animal with fury, to which Melon was unmoved.

"Oh, is just that, you know, beastars are supposed to be strong and imposing. You know, the type who can carry the world on their backs without breaking a sweat?" Melon gestured to Louis. "And I just don't see you doing that. Not being so small and skinny. I mean, look at those arms! Think you can sustain all of society with those furry chopsticks?"

Louis flinched at this, but he managed to catch himself before reflexively putting his arms around himself in defense, as if to hide how thin said arms were.

"Being a beastar is not just about being physically strong!" Louis said a bit louder than he needed "It not about being big and muscly! Is about being able to inspire others. About being able to rise above prejudice and show others that they can do the same as well!"

"Oh, so people are supposed to be inspired by some meek thing like you?" Melon kept the teasing. "I see! They are supposed to look and think 'hey, this little pitiful thing managed to become a beastar, this means anyone can', ain't it right? After all, if someone like you became a beastar, this means you don't need to be strong to do it."

"There are other types of strength!" Louis' voice rose in volume once more, around him, everyone was looking tenser and tenser. "There are other ways for someone to stand out in the world other than just having big muscles! One can also be strong in terms of resolve and ambition! That is a point where a herbivores and carnivores can be in equal terms!"

"Yeah, you tell yourself that if it makes you feel better, Bambi-boy." Melon's voice was dripping with mockery. Each word that came out of his mouth made the deer more and more aggravated, as it clearly showed on his features.

"Hey, tell me..." Melon was asking now. "Bambi here is the leading actor, right? Does this mean he always gets the main role? He always gets to be the star and get on the center of the stage? Always showing off for everyone and showing them how loud and eloquent he can be?" He did not wait for an answer. "Bet that really helps sell out the whole 'I'll be a great beastar' gig, doesn't it?"

The masked animal then gave a step forward, his squinted eyes opening ever so slightly as he looked at the deer.

"Well, a little advice, Louis. Playing the main character on a stage doesn't makes you the main character of life. So, don't be so arrogant, will yah? You are not that big of a deal."

"You..." Louis growled through gritted teeth, his clenched fists trembling with barely contained rage. Around him, the other members of the club were worried and honestly a little freaked out.

Louis always looked composed and in control nearly all the time, it was very rare seeing him so close to snapping.

And Legoshi also noticed that the tension was getting to dangerous levels.

"Melon, stop it!" Legoshi said as he got up. "I'm sorry, he normally doesn't act like this!" he bowed to Louis, before turning to Melon once again.

"Melon, please, be polite! They're seniors here! We need to show respect to join!"

"Huh?" Melon sounded genuinely surprised. "You still want to join? You seriously want to be part of this club that exists just so Bambi there can show off on stage?"

"Well, yeah?" Legoshi spoke that before really thinking about it. "I mean, isn't that why we came here? To join?"

"No, you came here to join." Melon was firm as he said that "I came here for you. Because you convinced me to come and see what this little theater club was like." He then turned back at Louis while fishing the invitation from his pocket.

"Well, I came, I saw it, and I am not impressed." Melon held the letter in the air, "And I certainly do not feel like joining a club just so some meek little deer can massage his own ego. My time is way too precious to waste on you, Bambi." And he unceremoniously dropped the letter to the ground, right in front of Louis' shocked face.

And Melon didn't give a crap, as he turned around and started to leave.

"See you later, Legoshi." Melon said as he waved his arm. "Hope you don't get bored watching them rehearse their lame play all the time."

And, without another word, he left.

What remained behind was a shocked silence so deep that one could hear the pulsing of the temple on Louis' temple, threatening to rupture at any second.

"So... what about you?"

"Hm?" Legoshi turned his head back to the Drama Club, right in time to see Louis glaring at him.

"Your friend left." Louis sounded pissed. "Will you stay or go after him? Because let me warn you, if he hadn't just left, I would have ordered him to leave! This kind of attitude is not welcome in my club, and if you are anywhere near as disrespectful as him, then you might as well just return your invitation, leave and not come back!"

Legoshi flinched at the deer's words. However, before he could answer, there was a sudden commotion with surprised gasps and smoke rising.

"Oh, what now!?" Louis practically screamed as he turned to look and saw the light-beam the stagehands were working on was almost on fire.

"We don't know what happened!" the anteater said, "We were just trying to fix the problem and suddenly it started smoking!"

"You guys think it's going to explode?" The red panda with him asked. "Maybe we should call the handyman again?"

"But he said he is sick and tired of helping us with the light!" the anteater said back as he fanned the light beam as the smoke, thankfully, stopped. "Said he'd resign if he had to fix something else for us!"

Louis groaned as he buried his face on his hands. That was way too much stress for a single day. He had almost forgot all about the wolf who was still there. At least until said wolf spoke:

"Uhhh, excuse me?"

Legoshi hesitated when all eyes of the club turned to him. However, he managed to work through the awkwardness.

"Do you... do you mind if I take a look?"

Melon was walking across the campus after leaving Drama Club. He was taking in the day that was in, and how nice it was.

He did not regret leaving that club behind, not at all, but, as he remembered Legoshi's eyes right before he left, he wondered if he may have gone just a little bit too far...

Being able to make that deer furious was too good, though... Melon smirked behind his mask as he thought of that. There's just something about him that annoys the heck out of me...

Just as Melon was thinking about it, he heard something that made him pause and look over.

"You tramp!"

He saw a rabbit with a half-black face pushing one that was smaller and fully white into the ground.

"You think you're so hot, huh? Sleeping around with other girls' boyfriends and breaking up couples? Well, let's see if any boy is going to want to be with you after they see you like this!"

The white rabbit was on the ground, her dress, as white as her fur, stained with dirt and mud, while the harlequin rabbit stood before her and the two small herbivores by her sides, giggled and mocked the rabbit, who kept her face down and was trembling slightly.

Melon kept looking.

"Oh, what's wrong, weirdo?" said one of his bullies, and the one who seemed to be the leader. This one was a leopard, who stood before him with the other carnivores around him. "Heh, this is what you deserve for thinking a thing like you can be our friend. Maybe now you will know your place." And they all laughed at Melon, who was on his hands and knees, with dirt on his face and clothes as he trembled.

"So, you still think you're hot?" the harlequin asked of the white rabbit. "Hey, I asked you a question!" she reached for the smaller rabbit, grabbing one of her ears and pulling, causing her to scream in pain.

"Yoh, you over there."

The scene froze, as all the small herbivores looked to see a gazelle coming their way, wearing the complete Cherryton uniform, with hands on his jacket's pockets as he looked at them with squinted eyes.

"What you doing?"

The harlequin rabbit looked at him for a moment, before she then said:

"Y-you mind your own business! That doesn't concern you!"

"Oh, is it?" the gazelle said, "Hmm, maybe you are right. This doesn't looks like it concerns me. But it does look like it concerns a teacher. I'm gonna go fetch one real quick, don't any of you move, okay?"

At this point, the harlequin rabbit panicked.

"W-wait!" She said, causing the gazelle to pause. "T-this is not serious! We're just playing! We are just playing! Ain't that right, Haru? Tell him we're playing!"

She pulled on the smaller rabbit's ear hard as she said that. Melon, on his end, kept looking, and then he said:

"So, this is play, huh...? It looks like fun! I wanna play too!"

"What?" the harlequin said as she watched the gazelle bend over and pick up a handful of pebbles from the ground.

"W-wait, hold on..." she tried to say, but Melon didn't waited. A pebble sailed through the air and hit the harlequin right on the forehead, causing her to fall back, letting go of Haru's ear as she was now holding her head in pain.

"Mizuchi!" one of the other herbivores said, and she was immediately hit by a pebble right to the shoulder. By her side, the fourth one got hit by a pebble on the stomach, causing her to bend over holding her abdomen.

"Hey, this is fun!" Melon said as he kept throwing pebbles on everyone but the pure white rabbit. "This is really fun! Hahah! I'm really liking playing like that!"

"Stop it!" Mizuchi said, shielding her head with her arms as she got up, more pebbles coming onto her and her friends at high speed. "Stop! You're crazy!"

"Oh, am I?" Melon asked, and he then picked something else from the ground. This time, it was an actual rock. "In that case, I cannot be held responsible for my actions, can I?" he started pulling his arm back, getting ready to throw the rock on his hand. "Time to go all out!"

"No! Help!" Mizuchi and her friends all run, screaming for help and threatening to call a teacher. This left only Melon and the white rabbit named Haru on there. The bunny was still on the ground, looking at the gazelle with surprise as he lowered his hand and casually dropped the rock to the ground.

For a long moment, the two of them looked at each other, before Melon casually said:

"Lovely day today, isn't it?"

The rabbit looked at him, before she turned her head.

"It could be better."

"Yeah, guess it could." Melon said, "People like that one who just left can ruin even a beautiful day, can't they?"

"Well, that's true." She said as she got up, dusting her dress, but not doing much to get the thing any cleaner. "So, I assume now is where I thank you for helping me, isn't it?"

"Well, you can if you want to." Melon said, "But, I should let you know that I didn't do that to help you. I just wanted to throw something at that girl. She was pissing me off."

"So, you just casually throw rocks on people who piss you?" she asked, "That's barbaric."

"Well, not as much as what those girls were doing to you." Melon said casually. "Haru, isn't it?"

"Yes, that's right." The rabbit had her eyes crossed as she looked at the bigger animal. "So, since you know my name, then you might as well tell me yours."

She's spunky... was all that the masked beast could think, and he then said:

"My name's Melon."

"Melon, huh? Like the fruit?" Haru asked.

"Yeah. Why, is that strange?"

Haru shrugged.

"Well, there are a pair of twin squirrels on one of my classes named Cookie and Biscuit, so I guess 'Melon' is not that strange of a name." she said, "I assume your mother must really like melon bread or something"

As the rabbit said those words, she was too busy checking on her dress to see that the "gazelle's" eyes widened and glared at her while sparking with absolute hatred, as those words, words very similar to some kid from his old school said to him long ago and triggered a series of life-altering events, left her mouth.

He glared a her, his fingers flexing and lips curling as his predator instincts flared and told him to tear this little morsel apart right now. Electricity filled his skin, causing his fur to stand and, for a brief, almost imperceptible moment, a spark of blue voltage passed between his horns.

Then, as suddenly as it started, it was over. Just like that, the anger subsided, and the murderous rage was gone as if it was never even there in the first place.

Huh... haven't felt one of those in a while... Melon was causally thinking that while Haru was still unaware of the reaction her words sparked, and she was grumbling to herself.

"Those witches, leaving me all caked in dirt. This is gonna be a pain to clean. They could at last have waited until after my club to do it... oh well, it's not as if there'd be anyone to see me anyways, I'm always alone there..."

She then ventured to look at the gazelle who helped her, seeing how tall and strong he looked, and she had an idea.

"Say, Melon-kun..." the bigger beast looked at her, and the rabbit continued, "Since you seem to be on a helping mood, how about you help me with something today?"

Melon tilted his head at her. He had quite a few words back to her.

"I just need your help with some things from my club. Don't worry, it won't take too long. It's just some things I need you to help me move around."

"Your club, huh?" Melon looked at her. "Well, if it's a club, then you can ask the other losers who are part of it to help you, can't you? What club is it, anyways? Don't tell me, Debate Club? Would fit that sharp tongue of yours."

"Actually, I'm on the Gardening Club." Haru said, "And believe me, if I could ask any other members for help, I would. I am basically the only one there. No one else shows for the garden."

"Oh?" Melon suddenly was looking at her with interest. "Is that so...?" Haru would have been creeped out by the way he said those words if she knew about his carnivore half...

"Here." Legoshi finished what he was doing, closing the main panel of the light beam. "Try now."

Kibi shared a look with the others and, hesitantly, he flipped the switch of the malfunctioning light fixture.

And it worked perfectly.

"Hey, it works now!" Kibi said, "It's not flickering or anything! And it's not even making that weird fizzling sound anymore!"

In fact, the light beam now worked perfectly, producing a continuous, steady beam of light as they tried all variations and could not see any of the malfunctions it had been showing since the end of their last play on the previous semester.

"Dude, how did you do it?" Fudge asked, and Legoshi explained that it was a problem with the resistors, as they were touching on some of the power wires, and that made the current instead, and was also what caused the smoke as the resistors were overheating.

"I managed to fix it by rewiring it so the current would go through different parts, and I managed to keep the main wire from touching the breaker with a piece of eraser from the tip of my pencil. It is not a very good solution but I guess it will hold it until we can fix it better."

"Is it really working now?" Louis came forward, and the stagehands showed him how perfectly it was working by changing the light beam to all possible configurations and showing how the machine didn't behaved in any strange way anymore.

Louis nodded, and then he turned to wolf.

"Legoshi-kun, mind telling me how you knew how to fix it?" He no longer looked as pissed as he was back when Melon left, but there was still an intensity on him that made Legoshi feel a bit small. "This is quite the advanced knowledge you have in there, for fixing something that has been bothering us for a while."

"I-it's because of my grandpa." Legoshi said, rubbing his shoulder. "He works with construction, since before I was born. He knows all about electrical work. I learned from him."

"I see..." Louis said to the wolf, evaluating him. "That's quite the good skill you have."

"Thanks, I could use it to help around the club, if you have any faulty wires..." the wolf then hesitated. "I... I can join the club, right?"

Louis looked at him for a few moments, seeing how this big carnivore seemed quite tame when talking to him, an herbivore.

Louis turned away from him and had a word with the other senior members.

"So, what do you think?"

Sano, their director, was the first to speak up:

"Well, I was getting ready to receive two new members today, but one of them left. I can still receive one."

"He could help around the club, that's for sure." Said Dom, the peafowl who was the head of the stagehands. "I mean, a lot of the problems we have been having lately is because we don't have a proper electric technician since Mako-senpai graduated two years ago."

"And he actually seems nice." Sheila, captain of their dance team, offered. "Nowhere near as much of an ass as that gazelle. I would not have any problem get along with him. Although that mask on his face makes him look a little shady..."

Louis took their words in, and he evaluated all of them, especially the point Dom made as the lack of someone to manage and fix their faulty electric equipment had been causing them a lot of inconvenience over the course of the last year.

Mako was the only one who knew how to fix those. Everyone else just either fried something or shocked themselves. And now there came a wolf who could handle things just as their old senpai.

Louis would have to be stupid to just dismiss someone so useful.

"Legoshi-kun." Louis approached the wolf again, once more getting his full attention. "You have been homeschooled since you were twelve, as such you've never been part of a school club before, right?" Legoshi could say he did. "I'll let you know, this club, while not being a mandatory part of your school life, is something that will help you build bonds and social experience for the future. It will teach you how to interact. So, this means you must be respectful with your club mates, especially the older ones. Also, as a member of this club, you will have responsibilities with the rest of the team. You are to do your part to help, and this include following instructions and completing tasks, and, this is very important, being present at the club. If you arrive late, you better compensate by working harder. If you miss even a day, you better have a good reason, like a health issue or a family emergency. I'll not accept for you to not pull your weight around the club, either by not doing your work properly when you are here or by not showing at all, and neither I'll accept for you to be disrespectful with other members and making our club a hostile environment, even because we are an example of coexistence and cooperation for the rest of the school."

"So..." Louis concluded, looking the wolf in the eyes. "Are you ready to do your part as a member of this club?"

This was the type of question that demanded an immediate answer. A "maybe" or "guess so" would not do. It was either "yes" or "no". And Legoshi's answer was:

"Y-yes, Louis-senpai!"

After this answer, followed by a short staring contest, which Legoshi lost by looking away and breaking eye contact, Louis finally nodded.

"Very well then. From now on you are on the stagehands." He then gestured to the platforms above. "Your first task is to go around and check on all the light fixtures. Examine them for any malfunctions and fix any you find. Dom will inform you of the rest of your responsibilities, he is the peafowl. Now go."

"Y-yes!" Legoshi said, and soon, he was climbing the stair to the platforms above. That was where he stayed on the rest of the day, going through all the equipment and fixing any kind of electrical problems he came across. Luckily, all the years he saw his grandpa fixing electrical wiring and appliances around the house compensated, as the young wolf managed to see him do it enough, and asked enough about the subject, that he was almost as good at it as his grandpa himself.

And there were quite some problems to be fixed. That equipment was old.

And, while he was up there, he looked down and saw everyone else working on the club. Everyone had something to do there, and they were all busy like working ants as they all did the tasks that Louis assigned to them, always reminding them they had a play to perform in just a few weeks, and that they better do it properly.

He is so focused... Legoshi thought as he paused from working on the light fixture up there. And he still looks so elegant. So confident. Kind of like Melon when we were being tested together back in the facility. He doesn't smile as much, but he still looks so strong, as if nothing could shake him...

Legoshi was so busy staring at Louis that he didn't noticed how, down there, some people noticed how he was eyeing their leading actor, and some of them found it pretty creepy...

However, Louis was not the only one Legoshi got an eye on from up there. He was also looking at others, like that flying squirrel who kept asking the big carnivores to open her nuts for her with their hands. Or the tiger, the one named Bill, looking like he was bragging to the other carnivores as he held his prompt sword as if he was the star instead of Louis-senpai.

And he also saw the alpaca from up there. He approached a female goat, and he was talking to her about something while holding something behind his back. He stammered, then looked to the side and said something and the goat just walked away. Then, as she left, he sighed and walked away looking dejected, holding a small letter on his hands.

Wait. Is that...?

After the work was done, and everyone had changed, Tem was coming out of the lockers with a sad expression, when he jumped back as someone talked to him.

"O-oh! Legoshi-kun." The alpaca looked at the wolf, who apologized for coming out of nowhere, but asked him if he was okay.

"Who me? Why, of course! Why wouldn't I be?"

Legoshi looked at him, and he was not very convinced.

"I thought you looked upset." He said, "Sorry, but... is it about that letter you didn't gave to the goat?"

Tem's eyes widened. Legoshi quickly tranquilized him.

"I saw it from up there while I was fixing a light." The wolf explained, "You looked like you wanted to give it to her but got cold feet... and you seemed upset about it."

Tem looked at him for a moment. The thought of lying crossed his mind, but he decided not to.

"I've been trying to give it to her since last year. But... I never have the right moment. I don't want to make it in front of others, because... well, she is my first love." He was blushing as he said that. "Could you please not tell anyone? I'm really shy about it."

"I won't, I promise." Legoshi was quick to say. "Don't worry, your secret is safe with me."

"Yeah, thanks." Tem said, and there was a silence between them, which Tem then broke:

"Hey, Legoshi?" the wolf looked at him. "You... kind of look intimidating with that mask on."

"Hm?"

"Oh, sorry! Was that rude? Yeah I guess it was. Man, I keep doing this..."

As Tem apologized, Legoshi told him it was okay.

"I have to wear this mask. It is for health reasons." Legoshi didn't elaborate that it was for other people's health, as his venom could pose a danger to others. Tem, without hearing the last part, assumed it was an allergy or respiratory problem, and said he understood and that it was okay.

"It still makes you look intimidating, though." Tem said, "But, not on a creepy way. More on like a gangster way, you know, like you are one of those bad boys from the series. It is actually kinda cool."

Legoshi blinked. He looked at this herbivore, who was so eagerly having a conversation with him, and being so receptive and kind. He did notice how most other herbivores of Drama Club had been weary of him, as if he could turn on them any second. Tem, however, didn't seemed to be weary of him at all. There was not a sign of fear on those eyes.

The same as the Doctor's. But, unlike the doctor, who was also an alpaca, Tem's eyes were not cold and cruelly detached, but quite warm and welcoming.

Legoshi liked them.

"Legoshi?"

The wolf blinked, realizing he had zoned out.

"It's everything okay? You were silent there."

The wolf blinked, scrambling his brain for an excuse, for something to say that would not make this herbivore who could be a friend of his' retreat for being creeped out, and then he said:

"I... was just wondering if alpaca's wool is like sheep's."

To that, Tem smiled, and proudly said:

"Oh, sheep wish they had wool like this. Our wool is way softer. Wanna touch?"

Legoshi blinked, looking at them as he opened the collar of his shirt to expose more of his neck to the wolf.

"Here, just touch it. Give it a feel."

Legoshi hesitated, but he did, and he said that it was, indeed, very soft.

"Told yah!" Tem said with a smile, and Legoshi looked at his smile, and he could not help but feel his tail wagging slightly behind him.

They were unaware that, while the wolf with a wagging tail touched the wool on the alpaca's neck, caressing it gently, someone else from Drama Club was watching.

And Riz did not like what he was seeing...

Chapter Text

It was amazing how fast a week could go by.

It still felt like yesterday when Gosha dropped both by the school's gates, and now there they were, on the middle of their second week, and everything going okay for them.

Well, "okay" on the terms that they didn't get into any trouble. Their lives were peaceful, and that was clear. Melon didn't get into trouble with anyone and didn't antagonized any other teacher after the first one, although said "first one" still seemed to be out to get him for the disrespect in front of the whole class.

Legoshi was also doing okay. He mostly stayed by himself, and he only interacted with Jack and the other canines of his dorm, who were proving to be very quick to make friends with him, like only dogs would.

It was nice to talk to them, and to have them hear about how his things on Drama Club were going. They were eager to hear about how he was settling in well with the stagehands and how he was starting to have fun by going to the club every day, and Jack was happy for hearing that.

"This is so cool, Legoshi!" Jack sounded excited about it. "Bet Gosha is really happy for you."

"Yeah, he is." Legoshi said, "At least he sounded when I called him on Saturday and told him I'm on a club now. Said he is glad I'm making friends."

"Well, he has reason to." Jack said, "It is so good you are fitting in with the school and even joined our most famous club. I bet everyone there loves you."

Legoshi tensed a bit. Luckily, he was saved from answering by the arrival of a certain hybrid.

"Hey, Legoshi." Melon arrived as he had his bag over his shoulder, and he was talking to the wolf and telling him they both needed to go to their clubs.

Legoshi nodded, and he told Jack and the others he would be talking to them later, as he and Melon walked away, both busy with their afternoon as they had to leave Jack and the others to their own devises.

"So, you still hanging out with the dogs, huh?" Melon asked. Legoshi nodded.

"Yeah, we are going to B-Strike again this weekend, and they said you can go with us if we want."

"To chase after tennis balls? Nah, not my thing."

"There are other activities too." Legoshi offered, his voice still sounding filtered through the gasmask that he wore nearly constantly whenever he was out of the dorms. "They offer a lot of things for herbivores to do, and there are some activities that herbivores and carnivores can do as well."

"Yeah, I'll pass." Melon said as they arrived in a part of the hallway that lead to a stair. "This is my stop. See you later, big guy."

"Later." Legoshi said as he continued down the hallway, while Melon started climbing the stairs.

He was not very worried as he walked all the way up there, eventually arriving on a metal door, which he unceremoniously opened.

Inside, he found a garden filled with potted plants, most of them flowers, with some bees and butterflies flying around as they went in between the flowers, which were starting to bloom with the first weeks of spring, and that served to give the garden a more alive and whimsical feel.

And Melon's eyes soon scanned the place, and he caught sight of a certain rabbit by a corner, trying to reach a box with one of the gardening equipment, and having to stand on her tiptoes even with how long the object she was using to reach that box, filled with seeds, was.

"Almost..." Haru groaned as she stretched just a tad bit more, and she managed to finally hook the tip of the tool into the upper side of the box and to pull it off the high shelf.

And down onto herself.

Luckily, a pair of arms clad on the sleeves of a green jacket came and grabbed the box before it could crash down on her. Once more, Haru caught herself thinking those arms belonged to Louis, before looking over and seeing a different animal with horns holding the box up.

"Hey there, Haru-chan. ~" Melon said on that same goofy tone he used nearly all the time with almost everyone. "That box feels heavy." He looked down on her with squinted eyes. "Didn't I tell you to wait for me before trying to handle those big and heavy things?"

The way he spoke that managed to sound both playful and condescending, and it caused Haru, until then surprised, to make an annoyed sound.

"Well, if I only waited for you for that kind of thing then I'd not get anything done, with how often you come in late." The rabbit still sounded annoyed as she placed the tool over her shoulder like a farmer. "Seriously, I told you to come here as soon as you were done with classes, didn't I?"

"Oh, yeah. You did, didn't you?" Melon tilted his head as he still held the box that nearly crushed Haru. "I must have forgotten again."

"Well, I suggest you fix both your memory and your attitude." Haru said to him, "You might be a third-year student like me, but I am still your senior here in this garden, since I am the acting head of the Gardening Club. Don't make me regret accepting you as a member."

She said that in a serious, authoritative way that Melon was not all that intimidated about but found rather amusing.

"Now go change into your sport's jacket." The rabbit said dismissively as she turned around and walked back to the flowers. "We have a lot of work to do."

"As you wish, little boss lady." Melon said only half-joking, as he went to the shed so he could change his green school jacket into the red one he didn't mind getting dirty on it.

Once he was changed, he could get started with his job on the club.

Oh, they all finished changing. Legoshi thought as he saw everyone on the males' changing room put on their sports' wear. But still, he made sure to wait until the last one of them left the room before he even considered taking off his jacket and changing.

And this, of course, was not lost to a lot of the presents.

"Why does Legoshi always waits until we're done changing to change too?" Zoe asked.

"No idea." Kai said, "But Louis also never changes with us, always on his office. If you ask me, Legoshi is just as stuck-up as that deer."

"Hey, come on, guys." Kibi said, "Legoshi is not stuck-up. He is always polite and always asking if there's anything he can do to help. Maybe he is just awkward around people. I mean, he was homeschooled for years, so maybe he forgot how to interact."

"Or maybe he is just a creep." Offered one a hippo named Dolph, "I mean, with how he is always sneaking around the shadows and watching everyone, especially Louis."

"Probably thinking of new ways to kiss up to the deer." Bill said, sounding annoyed. He also noticed how the wolf lurked in the shadows, and how, as Kibi pointed out, he was awkward around others... no. "Awkward" was not even a way to describe it. Legoshi was downright anti-social, with how he hardly talked to anyone. He hardly even spoke unless someone spoke to him first.

And Bill always thought dogs were supposed to be outgoing and social, not like that scared thing that seemed like he was afraid of Louis yelling at him again like on his first day if he spoke out of turn.

"I swear, that wolf looks like he wants to roll over for Louis and let the deer use him as a footstool if he will tell him he is a good boy!" Bill vented. "And he only acts like that with the herbivores! Like, he does anything they ask for! But just the other day, when I caught him drinking from a can and asked if I could have a sip, he looked at me as if I had asked him to let me break one of his fingers! Seriously, what's wrong with him?"

"Yeah, I admit that Legoshi is a bit strange when it comes to sharing drinks." Fudge admitted. "Kinda like with that mask he never takes out. I asked him why he wore it and he mumbled something about an allergy and then walked away with his tail between his legs."

"Ugh, the guy is a total wimp!" Bill said, "Seriously, he is a disgrace for carnivores! Man, I wish he had been the one to leave the club and that gazelle had been the one to stay!"

"You mean, the one who insulted our play and Louis?" Zoe asked, to what Bill said:

"Yeah! You saw how he told Louis to his face that he was not that big of a deal! That was, like, totally awesome! Even other carnivores would not say something like that to him! And he had this whole attitude as if Louis could do nothing to him! Man, that guy was so cool!"

"You just say that because he said everything you always wanted to tell Louis." Aoba said, and Bill did not deny it.

"What was the gazelle's name again? Melon? Man, I wish he had joined our club. It would be nice to have someone here who has the balls to stand up to Louis and who can get under his skin. It would definitely be better than having that pooch who wants that deer to take him as a pet..."

"Shh, guys! Here he comes!" Tao said as Legoshi came out of the dressing rooms and went straight to the stairs to go to the higher levels where the light fixtures were. As he did, he passed by the group who suddenly became quiet, but he could still notice, by the corner of his eyes, the ways they were looking at him.

He had grown used to looks like that over the course of the last days.

Just as the whispering.

"There he goes again."

"Back to his spot with the light fixtures, no?"

"Is where he prefers to stay, looking down on everyone."

"I swear, if he keeps staring at me again from up there, I'm gonna talk to Dom-senpai to do something about him. I can't focus with his eyes on me!"

"Did you know that Tao and Aoba invited him to hang out last Friday and he just flat out refused, said he 'preferred to use his free time to study'. The guy is so arrogant."

"Seriously, he never talks to anyone. Why did he even bother joining the club?"

Legoshi kept his head low as he heard all those things being said. That was one of the curses of being a wolf, other than having a sensitive nose that could be overwhelmed by strong scents: to have big ears that could pick up if anyone whispered within your vicinity.

And Legoshi could hear everything they said about him. Enough to know they all thought he was a creepy weirdo because of how he acted.

But Legoshi could not help himself. He needed to wear his mask to protect them from his venom, and he needed to be the last one to change in and out of his sports clothes, and always make sure to wear the jacket, so no one would see his scales. He wanted to keep his hybrid nature as hidden as possible, since Melon told him that this would be for the best in this situation.

He could, perhaps, accept some of their invitations to hang out. But he had decided that he would prioritize his studies while in Cherryton, so he could get good grades and avoid problem, so his grandpa would not be worried.

As a result, although one could say that Legoshi had been pretty much accepted by everyone on Drama Club, he was not the most popular beast there. In fact, he was kind of the outcast in this club.

But, it's not like everyone thinks I'm a psychopath or anything. Legoshi tried to comfort himself. Besides, some of them like me! Dom-senpai and the other stagehands don't think I'm weird, although I can not tell them why I wear the jacket even though it's spring or why I wear my mask... and I also made friends with Tem! We talk everyday during club, and I'm even thinking of asking him to come to my dorm later! I cleaned it with the disinfectant alcohol like Grandpa told me, so it should be safe for him to visit if we are careful... right?

Speaking of Tem, the alpaca was down there, trying out the cape with a hood and the gloves he would be wearing as Ollie the Water Spirit. And, nearby, still with his prompt sword, was Louis, waiting for Tem to have the cape on so they could rehearse.

Once they began, Legoshi once more felt his attention being drawn to the deer. At how elegant he was. Of how, despite not having as much muscles as the carnivores coming to him, he was still holding his ground with resolution and power.

All to protect someone.

"Get up, Subject Seven! The training is not over yet!"

Legoshi didn't wanted to get up. He didn't want to keep going. He was tired. He was scared. He wanted to go back home to his grandpa instead of being there.

However, that meant nothing to the people on that room. The people watching him. The people demanding him to keep going while not caring at all jhow he felt about anything.

"Get up now, Subject Seven!" Legoshi covered his head with his hands, trying to block them. He was about to scream at them, once more, that this was not his name, even though he knew that this would make them punish him.

Then, someone stepped forward, positioning themselves in between the trembling wolf and the person demanding him to get up.

"Subject Three! Return to your lane immediately!"

But he did not. The one who he called "Subject Three", a gazelle with the eyes, tail and teeth of a leopard, refused to move back to his lane. He instead turned to Legoshi and helped the wolf to his feet.

"This is not part of the exercise! Return to your task now!"

Subject Three's answer? To look straight at the Doctor and flip him the bird before proceeding to help Legoshi to reach the end of the obstacle course, despite it being supposed to be a competition to determine which one of them would be able to finish it first.

"Let's finish this faster than they ever hoped together and see them get mad." Three whispered to Legoshi, while the young wolf looked back at him, seeing his toothy smile, "I bet they will make even funnier faces..."

"But they will also punish us if they are mad!" Legoshi said, to what Three (Legoshi knew that was not his name, but he only knew him as "Three", since this was all he heard the Doctor and all the others call him) laughed, and told him:

"They might do it, but that will not change the fact that we won their challenge in a way they told us we should not! So, get yourself together and let's finish this just to make them as mad as possible!"

The smile on his face was confident. He knew they would be punished but he... didn't care. He thought it would be worthy it just to make them mad, and that was why he was helping Legoshi.

However, the fact that he was even helping the wolf at all meant a lot for him, and the way he continued to smile despite knowing he would suffer in the end was enough to make the wolf think he was the bravest animal he knew in there...

Like Legoshi had expected, the Doctor was furious at them for not finishing the exercise the way they were supposed to. He was sure to punish them at the end, which including the first time they were left with no breakfast, lunch and dinner.

Overtime, the punishments became more refined, as they figured out the best ways to punish each one of them the most effectively to be sure they would behave, practically tailoring the best punishment for each one of the fifteen subjects.

Those new punishments made even Melon be hesitant to ever behave in a way that the Doctor disapproved. However, the way he first stood up for Legoshi and helped him, even if it was mostly to antagonize their captors, stayed with the wolf since that day.

And he could not help but see the same thing as Louis, playing the role of Adler, protected and helped Ellen, who played the woman who he saved.

And she died in the end of the story...

Legoshi shook his head, and he focused on fixing the light fixture. Louis needed those working perfectly for the night of the play, and he made sure to tell Legoshi he would be held personally responsible, as their electrical technician, if there was any malfunction with those light beams on the night of the play.

Once he was done, Dom-senpai would also teach him how to operate the beam to produce different effects by using the light settings and filters. And Legoshi would show that, besides being good with electrical equipment, he also had a knack for being a light technician, proving how useful he was.

Legoshi found out he liked being useful.

It made him feel purposeful by the end of the day, and that he had achieved something whole working o Drama Club.

Once more, Legoshi waited until everyone had changed and was gone before changing himself.

Once his jacket and shirt were off, the wolf looked at his own reflection, seeing his bare chest. Both of his shoulders, one of them covered in scales and the other one with a number seven tattooed on it. One of them was the proof that Legoshi was not the pure-breed gray wolf everyone saw him as, while the other one was a memory of where he had been on the past five years and what happened to him there.

Both were secrets that he had to hide from everyone in school so he could live as much of a normal life as possible.

Just like his mother passed her whole life hiding the fact she was a hybrid.

I guess... that's all I can do right now, isn't it? Legoshi looked at his reflection for a few more seconds, before sighing and then proceeding to change into his regular school clothes. He was halfway through putting his jacket when the sound of the door opening made him panic for a moment and fumble with it, hurriedly shoving his other arm into the sleeve as the person made it inside.

"Legoshi?"

"O-oh! Tem! Hi!" Legoshi said, as he recomposed himself from the small moment of panic. "I was just changing so I could go back to my dorm. I thought you had left already."

"I... I was about to, but..." Tem said, and he looked down. On his hands, he had a familiar letter.

"Oh... you couldn't give it to her again?" Legoshi could not help but ask, although he realized, a bit too late, that it was a dumb question. Tem sighed.

"I tried today, but she was talking on her phone, and then when she finally finished and I could talk to her, Sheila came back and then I couldn't give Els the letter in front of her..." Tem said, and he looked up at Legoshi, who was looking at him with a bit of a worried expression. This made Tem recover.

"But, it's okay! It was just bad timing! I'll be giving the letter to her tomorrow for sure. I'll finally tell her how I feel."

Tem's confident words made Legoshi nod, and the wolf could not help but wish him good luck. Tem nodded back at him.

"Thanks, Legoshi." Tem said, honestly. "Oh, and by the way, Sheila is looking for you, said that Louis-senpai requested something."

This was enough to make Legoshi go out and, just outside of the lockers, was Sheila, the third-year cheetah in charge of their dancing team.

"A revision of the electrical system?"

Sheila nodded at Legoshi's question.

"Yeah, some of our junior members said they saw smoke coming out of some outlets that the electrical equipment was connected to, and since you are the one who understands the most about it, Louis wants you to take a look to see if we will actually need to call the handyman to fix it or not." She explained, "Also, he said that, since you will be doing this, he also wants you to test the lights to see if there is anything needing fixing for the play in two weeks, he really wants to be sure nothing goes wrong after last year's play."

"What happened last year?"

"Some of the lights started sparking during the play, and the stagehand has to hurry to fix them. They manage to on time for the final scenes, but we had to play some of the fighting scenes on the dark, luckily, the carnivores had no trouble to see in the low light and Louis gave them all the right cues to follow. We managed to save the play, but it was a close call, and Louis doesn't want to risk another one." Sheila had her arms crossed as she casually explained how last year's Adler play nearly ended in disaster. "So, think you can do it? Sorry if it's too last minute."

She did sound like she was sorry, but Legoshi told her it was okay. She nodded and left, after giving the wolf the keys and telling him to lock up once he left, about the same time Tem came out of the lockers.

"I'll have to stay overtime to check on everything." Legoshi said, and Tem nodded.

"Oh, okay." He then fished his phone out of his pocket. "In that case, can we change numbers? We have been talking so much during club, and I want to call you later to chat."

Legoshi saw no problem with it, and he gave Tem his number, which was saved under "Lego – Drama".

"By the way, have you seen Riz? I haven't seen him at club today." Tem asked, and Legoshi shook his head, saying he had no idea where Riz was.

From all people on Drama Club, Riz is the one who has been the more distant to me lately... and sometimes it feels like he is being hostile to me even though I did nothing. Legoshi reflected silently. And, it might be just my impression, but he has been getting bigger lately. Like, taller and more muscular... so strange.

This is so strange... Melon could not help but thing as he looked around the garden, which was covered on the same orange light as everything else as the day was coming to an end.

It should be the third time he thought of it today alone, but he could not help but think it. After all, it was strange for the hybrid to feel so at peace.

And all because of a whole day working on plants.

"Amazing, isn't it?" Haru's small voice came to Melon's ears, as she stood right by his side with her hands on her hips, watching the work they did on the garden, and seeing how the plants were growing nicely.

"It is always gratifying to see how much difference a whole day of hard work does when you are not afraid of getting dirty." She then turned to Melon. "Doesn't it make you proud? To know that all of those plants are thriving so nicely thanks to your hard work?"

Melon said nothing for a couple seconds, and Haru continued:

"Well, I do. It is always good to know that soon those flowers will bloom and fill this garden with color."

"Yeah... and then they will wither away and die." Melon said casually, to what Haru said:

"Well, glad to see you are still a ray of sunshine."

"I say things how it is. Sorry if it's not pleasant to hear." Melon sounded indifferent as he said that, "Those flowers will whiter away, and you know it."

"Yeah, that might be." Haru admitted. "But they will also bloom again on the next spring, and the one after, as long as the plants are still alive. And that is more than enough for me."

Melon looked at her.

"You really like plants a lot, don't you?"

"Sure do. That's why I joined the Gardening Club, after all." She looked at him. "You should try a bit harder, you know?"

"Hey, I show every day and help you with everything, don't I?" Melon as looking at her still, through eternally squinted eyes. "I'm trying harder than any of the other sods."

"I mean trying to care." Haru's words made the bigger beast tilt his head as he looked at her. "About the plants, about their growth and about nurturing them. Yu see, most people looks at them and they just see plants, instead of seeing living things that needed to be cared for. Kind of like they see a worm and just see a slimy bug instead of a little guy who is just trying to survive the day and live his life."

"You know both plants and insects are not considered sapient, do you?" Melon's question was answered with:

"Doesn't mean they can't feel or worry or even dream." Haru sounded sure of what she was saying. "Or that they don't need love and care." She then turned to Melon and smiled. "So, try to make an effort to care more about them, okay? Who knows? If you just act like you care about them, you might actually end up caring for real."

After that, the rabbit sighed.

"Well, I guess that's it. So, what about we call it a day and close the garden for the night."

Melon didn't question, and he just closed the door and walked with the rabbit down the stairs. She wished him a goodnight as she was on her way to the female herbivore dorms.

She sounds like she is worried about me... Melon thought about it after she left. She really sounds like she likes me... His squinted eyes finally relaxed, opening slightly and revealing a cold look. But that will change as soon as she sees my face. It always does. Like the herbivores who suddenly look disgusted and scared when they see my fangs, and like the carnivores who remind me that I have no right to think I can be their equal. They always turn on me and make sure I know I'm not welcome. Those purebreds can never truly accept a hybrid. Only other hybrids can. Or, at least, that's what I thought until even the hybrids I met all thought I was creepy.

Yes, for after the first few weeks, it seemed that all the others, from One and Two, all the way to Fifteen, were either disgusted or scared of him. Save for one...

"Legoshi is probably on 701 with Jack and the dogs now..." Melon was looking t the sky, which was changing from orange to purplish, as the sunlight was fading and now the night had officially begun. A couple more hours and it would be curfew, the time when all student were expected to be on their respective dorms for the night and not come out until the sun rose.

That was not for Melon.

He managed to escape from a place that controlled from the times he ate to where he could whiz and crap for the past five years, no way he would let someone tell him where and how he was supposed to spend his nights, certainly not this school full of snobs.

"Well..." Melon said, turning and walking... towards the school's main gate. "Time to find something to do tonight..." and he went on to visit the city again and make up for all the time he lost locked on that facility being tested and probed.

Whew... I'm done... Legosh wiped the sweat from his forehead as he finished with the last of the light fixtures. This took longer than I thought... it's almost curfew now. Legoshi had just locked the doors of the club when he looked at his phone, seeing how it was close to eleven now. He also saw that there was a lot of messages from Jack, probably asking where he was and why he didn't show up to the movie night of Room 701.

Oh, man... I hope Jack is not too mad at me for losing it... Legoshi was just about to open his messaging app and try and contact Jack to explain why he didn't go, when suddenly his phone light up and vibrated as someone was calling him.

It was Tem.

Huh? What does he want? Legoshi wondered. He then removed his mask before picking up.

If he tried to talk with the mask on, the distorting on his voice through the call make it impossible for the other person to understand what he was saying.

"Hey, Tem." Legoshi said as he walked to his dorm. "I just finished with Drama Club, if that's what you want to know."

However, as soon as Tem started talking, Legoshi knew something was very wrong.

"Legoshi, help!"

"Tem?" the wolf tensed as he stopped dead on his tracks."Tem, what happened?"

"Legoshi, I-I'm being chased!" Tem's voice came. "I-its Riz! There's something wrong with him! He said he stopped taking his pills! He scratched my arm! He is chasing me with this weird look on his eyes! I-I think he wants to eat me!"

"W-wait, hold on! Riz? Pills? Tem, what are you talking about!"

"Riz asked me to meet him at night!" Tem said, his voice strained as if he was doing an immense effort. "Said there was something he wanted to show me! But now he is chasing me! I'm trying to lose him, but he keeps coming after me! Legoshi, I think he went crazy! I'm so scared!"

Legoshi could hear it. He could hear the fear in Tem's voice. The despair.

And it triggered something in him.

He was back once more, and this time they prepared something new.

There was something there with him. Something with a gun pointed at him. However, this was not a best like last time.

It was a robot of some kind. With wheels and the gun mounted into it.

The Doctor's voice came.

"Subject Seven, today you will engage in a different exercise." His voice was as indifferent as always. Uncaring and cold. Cruel, even.

"The exercise is simple." The doctor said. "You must pass by the drone and reach the other end of the hallway before the digital counter reaches zero."

Legoshi looked at the counter. A digital clock that currently showed five minutes remaining, ready to start at any minute now.

And as soon as it did, that thing would attack him. Legoshi just knew it. It would probably not hurt him, the person with the gun also didn't hurt him when they shoot. But it would still be scary, and he knew it.

He didn't want to do scary things anymore.

He wanted to go home.

He wanted to go to his Grandpa, apologize and ask him to cuddle to sleep...

"Get ready to start, Subject Seven." The doctor commanded. "the exercise will begin at my signal."

"N-no..." the voice was so meek that it hardly registered, but the doctor heard it anyways.

"What was that, Subject Seven?" The voice was still steady and cold, but now it also carried a tone of warning. "Are you planning to be uncooperative again?"

"I don't want..." Legoshi clenched a fist. "I don't want to do it anymore!" He was yelling before he knew what he was doing. "I want to stop doing it! I don't care if you punish me! I don't wanna do it! I don't wanna!"

Legoshi sounded like a much younger kid throwing a tantrum. He didn't care, though. He didn't even care if they punished him. He didn't care if they kept him up all night with loud noises and horrible smells, and he didn't care if they starved him.

He was not doing this anymore.

Then, he heard another voice. Not the Doctor's.

"Seven? Seven, is that you?"

Legoshi's eyes widened.

"Eleven?"

Yes, that was him. Subject Eleven. One of the only two in there a lot younger than all others.

He sounded scared.

"Seven, help me!"

"Eleven!"

"I see you just found out what your encouragement for this exercise is." The Doctor said. "Subject Eleven is on the end of this hallway. If you have not reached it by the time the counter reaches zero, or if you refuse to engage in the exercise altogether, then Subject Eleven will be punished."

"What!?" Legoshi was shocked. "You can't do that!"

"We can, and we will." The Doctor's voice took an even more dangerous undertone. "We have watched you, Subject Seven. We saw your interactions with the other subjects in your sanctioned leisure time. You care about them, especially the younger ones. Some thought this emotional connection can be a liability, but I believe it can be used as a motivator. And today, I put this theory to the test."

The wolf became increasingly alarmed. Especially as he heard Eleven calling out to him, begging for his help, saying he was scared.

"Leave him alone!" Legoshi demanded. The Doctor's answer was as cold as usual.

"The exercise will begin shortly. You can save Subject Eleven from any pain and suffering if you complete it, Subject Seven."

Then, he added a single phrase that made Legoshi tense:

"Or you can just let Subject Eleven die... like your mother."

That single phrase made the wolf tense. That single phrase made many emotions go through his heart at once. And finally settling into anger.

Into determination.

"From your expression, I can tell we are finally getting somewhere." The Doctor said as he saw the expression of the wolf through the cameras. "Get ready then, we begin on my mark."

Legoshi tensed. His fists clenched as his lips curled into a snarl. All the hesitation he was showing just a few moments ago was forgotten. All of it was drowned by the Doctor's words and by Eleven's cries for help.

He had to go now.

He had to reach Eleven.

He had to save him!

"Tem, where are you right now?" Legoshi asked on the phone, his voice filled with a resolution that any person who has known him so far would have been shocked. Tem, from the other side of the line, answered immediately.

"In one of the school's teaching buildings, the one near the auditorium. Wait, I think I'm near Lecture Hall 2, I'll try to barricade there!"

"You do that! I'm coming to you! Stay alive until I get there!" Legoshi was running before he even knew he was doing. He hung the phone, and then looked at it for a moment, before thinking about calling someone.

His first thought was Melon, until he remembered that the hybrid didn't own a cellphone, having refused Jack's offer to go to buy one together saying he didn't need one because "there was no one he needed to talk to".

Jack...

The wolf was dialing the Labrador's number on his contacts in just a few seconds and, just a short while later, he was answered.

"You better have a VERY good reason to have missed our movie night! I even prepared our favorite snacks just for tonight!" that was the first thing that Legoshi heard as soon as the call connected. It was sudden, although not unexpected. Legoshi's answer to it was both sudden and unexpected:

"One of Drama Club's herbivores is being chased by a crazy bear! They are in Lecture Hall 2! I'm going there to save him!" Legoshi continued as he rushed forward. "Call someone and tell them about what's happening! I'm trusting you, with this, Jack!"

"Wait, what are you talking about!? What are you going to do!?"

"I'm going to stop Riz from eating Tem!" Legoshi said and hung up right when Jack was about to say something to the wolf. He was already repassing all a brown bear's statistics on his mind. In particular, the ones of one as big as Riz. He was made to learn all of them as part of his studies back on the facility, as well as those of many other carnivore species, as well as tactics to win against any of them.

It was all going to come in handy now. If he could reach Lecture Hall 2 in time...

"Tem!"

The scream was accompanied by a hard slam into the double doors, causing them to move. Tem let out a bleat of surprise as he felt the locked doors budge as he leaned his back against them, trying to use his measly weight to add more security to them as the bear on the other end tried to slam them open.

"Tem, open the door!" Riz's voice, which until now had never caused Tem anything like fear or apprehension, was now like the voice of death itself calling, feeling him with a feeling of primordial dread that herbivores were so familiar with when they felt a carnivore was coming for them. "Tem, let me in! I want to talk to you!"

"Riz, stop!" Tem said, panting as he held up a bleeding arm. "Why are you doing this!?"

"Because I want you to see me! I want to show you the real me! You are the only one who ever understood me! No one else ever did! I want to show you the real me!"

Tem's heart hammered into his chest, as he held on his wounded arm, the warm blood feeling as nauseating on his skin and fur as its smell felt as it reached his nostrils., causing his stomach to do two summersaults a second.

He wished he still had his phone, but he lost it right after calling Legoshi, as it slipped from his hand and got lost in the dark as the alpaca rushed to the room and locked himself inside to escape from the bear chasing him.

He should have called the police, but Legoshi was the first animal he could think of when he had his phone on his hand, so he called him in the panic, and now he was wondering if that was a mistake, as he realized a grey wolf could, in no way, win against a brown bear.

"Is the real you a violent bear who wants to devour me!?" Tem spoke before he even knew what he was saying. "Are you really going to eat me, Riz? After all the classes we had together!? After all the talks and lunches!? I thought we were friends!"

Another slam into the door. The last one of a series of them. And then... silence.

Absolute silence.

So much that Tem found it strange.

Had Riz given up?

And then the doors burst open. The brown bear threw his entire weight into the doors so violently that the alpaca leaning against them was flung forward, all the way down the stairs of the auditorium-like lecture hall.

"Ohhhhhh..." Tem was getting up, his head spinning and his body sore from the fall, when he was suddenly reminded that he was not alone in there. He scrambled to his feet, looking up at the top of the stairs, where stood Riz, panting as he walked forward into the empty hall, the doors closing behind him and casting the place in darkness that, to Tem, was absolute.

And, with this absolute darkness, also came absolute terror.

"We spent all that time together... we laughed and smiled together, but now I am just your food? Is that it?" Tem asked as he basked away, feeling as if he could sense the bear's hostility towards him in the dark. That was when he bumped hard into a desk and somehow managed to turn on the projector, which now showed a lecture on the wall about, very ironically, the principles through which carnivores are supposed to live harmoniously with herbivores.

Even though this illumination broke the darkness, it did nothing to diminish Tem's mounting terror, as he now could see Riz's massive, terrifying form coming towards him, as he backawa away until his back was pressed against the wall.

"You carnivores... are monsters! Every single one of you!"

Those words came out of Tem's mouth without him even thinking about it. They were filled with fear.

And, to Riz, on his altered state, they sounded sweeter than the sweetest honey.

"Tem..." the bear said, closing the distance, "You... really do get me... don't you?"

Tem wanted to run, but he was too scared to even more, Riz came closer and closer, and all the alpaca could do was close his eyes and wait for the inevitable.

Like Riz, he didn't notice when the lecture hall's doors opened once more and a figure came in, and he didn't notice the figure hurling itself through the air, flying like a missile, all the way towards the bear.

Tem opened his eyes again when he heard Riz crying in surprise, and he saw...

"Legoshi!" Tem cried out as he saw the wolf holding onto Riz's back, as the bear flailed around, trying to shake him off, but failing, as Legoshi had a firm grip on his clothes.

"Tem!" Legoshi cried out. "I came to help!"

"Get off me!" Riz yelled, his voice less of a scream and more of a roar. "Get off me now! I'm trying to bond with Tem! Why are you running everything!?"

"Tem, run!" Legoshi said, but the alpaca was too scared to move.

"Damn you..." Riz growled, deciding to just ignore the wolf and focus his attention back to Tem. However, as soon as he tried to give a step towards the herbivore...

"Oh, no! You won't!" Legoshi said, as he suddenly shot his hands forward, his fingers flexing as his claws sank into the bear's chest. "I won't let you!"

And the wolf pulled, his claws dragging over and shredding both Riz's shirt and his skin. The bear roared in pain so loud that it caused the ears of both wolf and alpaca to ring. And yet, somehow, Legoshi managed to make his voice rise above Riz's pained cries.

"Tem! Run! Go somewhere safe! I'll hold him! Get out of here!"

As if broken out of the spell, Tem got up and ran, moving past the two carnivores and towards the stairs. However, escaping wasn't going to be that easy.

"NO!" Riz dove towards the alpaca, managing to grab his calve and causing him to stumble. "Tem! You can't leave me!"

"Let me go! Let me gooooo!"

"Let go of him!" Legoshi said, and he started punching Riz's temple repeatedly. He did hit hard enough and enough times that the bear eventually let go, but not without leaving a huge gash on Tem's leg with his claws, causing the alpaca to fall to the ground whole holding his wounded leg and crying out in pain.

"Get..." Riz said after grasping Legoshi's arm as the wolf tried to punch him again. "OFF!" he swung the smaller carnivore off his back, "ME!"

He tossed Legoshi, and the wolf crashed into the wall so hard the sound of the impact resounded all over the hall. The wolf landed on the floor and didn't move. Riz panted as he looked at the fallen canine.

"This is what you get..." Riz growled. "For trying to steal my friend away from me... talking with him and touching his wool as if you two are intimate... you don't know him like I do, you creepy weirdo... and no one knows me like he does..."

Riz thyen turned to Tem, who was still holding his bleeding leg. When he saw the gaze of the bear, he tried to get up, only for his leg to throb with a sharp pain and land flat on his butt, at which point, all he could do was crawl back as Riz approached.

"And that's why..." Riz said, approaching Tem, his fingers curling and uncurling. The smell of blood hit his nostrils, causing him to drool. "I want to bond with him... on the deepest, most sincere way... a carnivore can bond with an herbivore..."

"Riz..." Tem whimpered as he saw the bear coming at him with drool dripping from hs lips.

"By making him a part of me..."

"Please... no..." Tem was trembling like a leaf, a tear ran down his cheek. "I don't wanna die..."

On that moment, Riz took a step forward, getting ready to lunge. And that was when Legoshi tackled him again.

"Stop this now!" Legoshi said as he started slamming his fist on Riz's side, beating his liver while the bear grunted.

"You little punk!" Riz slammed his fist down on the wolf, sending him to the ground and them stomping on his head repeatedly, and then kicking him away.

Legoshi got up nearly immediately.

Riz was strong and being swung around and kicked in the head left him dizzy. But none of Riz blows was strong enough to even leave a bruise on that wolf.

As he charged again, Riz charged at him, and he tackled Legoshi down, pinning him with a knee to his chest and then he started slamming his fists down on the wolf, pummeling him while calling Legoshi every curse word and insult he knew.

Tem watched in shock, his terrified brain struggling to process what was even going on. All he knew was that two carnivores he knew from Drama Club, one of which had just tried to eat him, were fighting.

Riz continued to beat Legoshi, who could hardly get a respite. His head slammed into the ground with each punch that Riz delivered him, and it was starting to get annoying. Eventually, the wolf had the chance to strike back, on a moment when Riz paused to faun his hands, muttering something about a "hard head".

At this moment, he managed to deliver a strong punch to Riz's nose, what was very effective, since bears had a lot of nerves on that area.

Riz once more cried in pain, holding his snout as blood leaked from his nostrils. Seeing an opportunity, the wolf tried to punch him once more, only for the bear to use this chance to bite his arm.

"Legoshi!" Tem was horrified as those jaws clamped hard at the wolf's arm.

And produced no effect at all.

"W-what is this?" Riz spoke through a mouth full of wolf arm. "W-why is your flesh to though!? I can't bite through!"

Even industrial steel cutters can't damage me. Legoshi then used his other arm to punch Riz, who grabbed the sleeve of his jacket, but Legoshi was able to get out from under him and to slide his arms off the jacket, which stayed in Riz grasp, before he tossed it aside and, still blind with rage, charged at the wolf.

"You bastard!" Riz said as he now swung his claws at the wolf, who dodged the blows even though he knew those claws would do nothing to his skin. He didn't want to be slammed around again.

"Why are you interfering!? Why are you getting on the way of my beautiful friendship with Tem!?"

"Friendship!?" Legoshi just dodged another blow of Riz's claws. "Is that how you call trying to eat him!? That's not what friendship is like!"

"Shut up!" Riz managed to grab Legoshi's shirt. "You know nothing of the bond we share! I have known Tem for a lot longer than you! You crashed into our club last week and you think you have the right to judge me or my friendship with him!? You know nothing!"

His fingers flexed, his claws sinking into Legoshi's shirt, but not on his skin. When the wolf delivered another punch right to the bear's nose, causing him to stumble back, the bear tore part of his shirt off.

"You ass-" Riz started saying, but he paused as soon as he saw the wolf, who now had part of his shirt tore off from him. Just enough to reveal a shoulder and arm covered in scales that sparkled into the light of the projector.

"Legoshi...?" Tem was looking at the wolf, and Legoshi noticed his surprised expression, which matched the one Riz had.

Shoot. Legoshi hand went to is exposed scaly shoulder, but he then shook it off and charged at Riz again. He managed to score two punches to his jaw, taking advantage of his distraction, before the bear grabbed his wrist and managed to hold it up.

"Scales...?" Riz was looking at Legoshi's shoulder, then his shock was replaced with realization. "You're a hybrid, aren't you!? That's why you're so weird!"

Legoshi didn't say anything back to it. He just used his other arm to punch Riz right on the nose again, causing even more blood to pour out of his nostrils. At this point, the bear had enough.

With a roar of rage, he slammed the wolf hard into the ground, tore off what was left of his shirt and used it to tie the wolf's hands behind his back.

"Fucking asshole crossbreed." Riz growled, standing up while Legoshi, now with hands tied, struggled to get back on his feet, only to have a huge bear foot crashing into his head.

"You think you can swipe in and steal my friend from me!?" Riz stomped. He stomped hard into the wolf's head. "Oh, you got another thing coming, crossbreed! I won't let anyone take Tem from me! Certainly not a freak like you!"

He stomped and stomped. So hard that it caused the tiles of the floor under Legoshi's head to crack. The wolf himself was not suffering any damage. However, it was still a brutal scene for an outside observer. Like Tem.

"Stop!" Tem managed to get up and limp to the two carnivores. "Riz, don't kill him! Please!"

As the alpaca called for him, Riz stopped stomping, but he kept his foot planted firmly on Legoshi's head, pinning it to the ground. He grabbed Tem by the shoulders.

"Tem!" Riz held the alpaca close. "Say I am your friend! Tell this freak that we are true friends! I've known him long before he came along! You know me! Everyone else always saw me as a big, goofy and honey-loving bear, but you saw the real me! You hardly know him! I'm way closer to you than him! That's why I wanted to show you the full me tonight! That's why I stopped taking the pills! I want you to see all of me, so we can be closer than ever before! So this wolf, this freak will not think he can come and take you from me! Say I'm your best carnivore friend! Say it now! Say it for Legoshi to hear! I want him to hear from your mouth I'm closer to you than he could ever hope to be! SAY IT NOW!"

"Riz..." Tem whimpered, tears streaming down his cheeks. "Stop... it hurts..."

And down there, Legoshi could still hear it. He could hear it all, from Riz' desperate ranting to Tem's whimpers.

Whimpers that sounded like the voices of other animals he knew.

"It hurts!"

"Stop!"

"Seven, help!"

"Seven!"

"Help us."

"I'm scared!"

"I wanna go home..."

"Seven... please, help..."

Legoshi's fur stood on end. His lips curled and something that had been filling his mouth since the beginning of the struggle now leaked from his lips in big droplets. A new surge of strength came through him. enough that he managed to squirm his head out from under Riz's foot and get himself back on his feet.

Riz turned to look at him, still holding Tem with one hand, as Legoshi opened his mouth... and spat.

It splattered on Tem's arm that was holding Tem. The bear and alpaca both looked at it, and then they looked at the wolf, who was panting as the leftovers of what he spat out still dribbled from his lips.

"Did you... spat on me?" Riz asked to the wolf. "Seriously? What, did you not like that I called you freak for being half-iguana!?"

To that, Legoshi said:

"No... not iguana..." A drop of the spit, tinged with purple, dripped from his chin and landed on the ground, immediately fizzling and eating through the carpet. "Komodo dragon."

Riz blinked. And then, he felt it. A tingle that, in a matter of seconds, grew into stinging, and then into downright excruciating burning. His arms smoked and fizzled as the venom ate through his fur and skin. In no time, the bear was screaming in pain.

He let go of Tem, letting the herbivore fall to the ground once more and look in shock and horror as the bear swung around his arm and desperately clawed at it, trying to keep the bile from eating through his forearm's muscles, but only managing to get his own fingers to start dissolving as well.

And Legoshi, while watching, took on the change. He dashed towards the pulpit on the platform, still with his hands tied, stepped on to it and jumped high.

Riz looked up to see the wolf coming straight at him for above, eyes in a fierce predatory expression as he opened his mouth.

Eleven was safely tucked on his arms. He was still shaking, but he was on his arms, with his face buried on Legoshi's chest.

He was safe.

And Legoshi intended to keep him safe, which was why he held on to him even as the Doctor, now physically present on the hallway with two armed guards by his side, walked on to them.

Legoshi had been taught since young to never bare his fangs at an herbivore, but he could not keep his lips from curling as he growled at the alpaca in a white coat, an herbivore who he absolutely hated and who looked back at him with intense, and yet coldly detached, eyes.

After a few moments, the herbivore closed his eyes and nodded.

"Well done, Subject Seven. You have fulfilled the task remarkably well. Congratulations." The doctor still sounded cold as he said that. "And, just for the record, I never intended to seriously harm nor kill Subject Eleven. I would not be so callous as to risk losing one of our assets for trivial reasons."

Legoshi said nothing, and only continued to snarl at the alpaca, who then informed the guards to take both subjects back to their cells.

As Legoshi walked away with Eleven still on his arms and the guard with a weapon right behind, he could hear the Doctor talking to the other guard.

"Gotta say, Doc, that was really scary."

"It was a successful test. More so than expected, I'd say. Subject Seven completed the task in only half of the expected time. Perhaps using the other subjects as encouragement truly is the wqy to go, after all."

"Doc, I'm wondering if making that wolf cub mad might be a bad idea. I mean, you saw what he did to the drone, didn't you?"

"We will do whatever it takes to make sure the project moves forward." The doctor's answer was clear and strong. "That includes angering the subjects enough to motivate them into action, if that's what it takes."

"But, what the boy did with the drone-"

"Was within our expectations, and it is only a natural result. When two objects collide with such force, the weakest one of the two takes the most damage."

Legoshi could still hear them talking as the guard scouted them toward the exit, passing by the drone, which had been knocked over and had its front crumped.

"In this case, the drone's metal shell was much weaker than Subject Seven's cranium."

Legoshi cried out as he struck. Not with his hands, tied behind his back with what was once his school shirt. Not with his legs.

He struck with his head.

Swinging down as hard as he could right into Riz's, their foreheads colliding with a sound someone outside that lecture hall would have mistook by a gunshot.

Legoshi was not harmed by the blow at all, of course. Riz, on the other hand, felt the full brunch of a headbutt from an indestructible skull.

He didn't scream after that, even as is arm continued to fizzle with the venom. The only sound he managed to produce as his eyes rolled back and he fell, was a weak, whimpering gasp as he landed like a sack of potatoes into the ground.

He didn't move after this, although he was, upon close inspection, still breathing, much to Legoshi's relief.

And, for his even greater relief, so was Tem.

He was wounded on his arm and leg, with cheeks stained of fearful tears, but he was alive.

"Tem!" Legoshi got up and rushed to him. the alpaca immediately backed away in a crawl. This caused Legoshi to pause.

Right... herbivores who are either smaller or down. Tem is both... crouch down. Legoshi then crouched, getting on Tem's eye level. His eyes continued to stare at the wolf. At his face, with his mouth still dripping some remnants of venom, and at his shoulder covered in glistening scales.

He knew Legoshi's secret now.

One of them, at least.

However, Legoshi didn't worried about it now.

"Are you okay?" Legoshi asked. "Do you have any other wound other than the ones on your arm and leg? Think you need some help? Want me to get someone?"

He spoke all of that with such sincere worry that the fear Tem had on his face just a few moments ago washed away, even if slightly.

"Legoshi..."

"Lecture Hall 2 is this way!" Gon said as he guided the cops down the hallway. He was wearing a robe and slippers, once he had been called right when he was about to sleep due to both the police and a bunch of frantic canine students making a fuss while speaking about one of the students trying to devour the other.

This was enough to make him get up and go with them in a hurry, despite how little sense the Labrador was making as he explained what his friend called him about a bear trying to devour an alpaca.

And he got in an even greater hurry when, on their way to the said lecture hall, they came across a trail of red fluid that all the carnivores could tell smelled like herbivore's blood.

They all rushed towards the doors, with the cops both bursting through the doors with their guns drawn.

As they looked down on the stairs, they saw two animals coming up. Tem had an arm around Legoshi's shoulder, as the carnivore helped the alpaca limp up the steps, while everyone who just burst into the room looked at them in surprise.

Behind them, right at the bottom of the stairs, with his hands tied behind his back to the base of the pulpit with Legoshi's jacket. Still groaning weakly with his face thoroughly beaten and recovering from a serious concussion...

Chapter Text

Louis was still up.

The curfew only said that the students, especially herbivores, had to be on their dorms by that time. It didn't say they needed to turn off the lights and lay down to sleep. They were not kids with bedtimes.

They could manage their own sleeping schedules, and if they failed to do so and ended up sleeping on class, they would pay for this mistake and learn not to make it again in the future.

Louis was not one to pull all-nighters, except when there was a very important exam coming up. His nights between curfew and midnight were mostly reserved for normal study sessions. The type where he stood over his books with a cup of soft green tea by his side, a lamp offering illumination as he read the lines and absorbed the information on them like a sponge. Years of lectures with personal tutors had made him good at taking information from books, and Louis was raised to be a hard worker. He often was able to study in peace, with the peace and quiet of the night being his company.

However, tonight there was not much peace and quiet, as there was an unusual amount of noise coming from outside.

Voices.

Agitated voices.

Talking to each other and seeming as if they were discussing something in an excited manner.

Louis mostly tried to ignore it, thinking it were some students who snuck out of their dorms to do something they were not supposed to. However, they were being so loud out there that the deer could not ignore them any longer.

"Dammit." Louis slammed the book he was readying shut, and walked to the window, opening it and looking outside.

"-on Lecture Hall 2, that's what I heard."

"Hey!" Louis said, calling the attention of the coyote and puma who were talking down there. "A little late for you two to be so loud, don't you think? Some of us are either trying to sleep or do something productive!" Louis was as patronizing as ever, and that annoyed the two carnivores.

"Oh, mind your own business!" said the puma to the deer, being quite disrespectful. Louis would have come up with a clever answer, but it was late, and he didn't had time for this now.

"It is a quarter to midnight!" Louis said back simply. "You are supposed to be on your dorms! Better go now before a teacher sees you, or you will be in trouble!"

"Well, then half of ours and of the herbivore dorms will be in trouble as well!" the coyote said to him. "Everyone is out now!"

"What?"

"Yeah, everyone came out of their dorms! They all want to see the police cars!"

"Police cars?" Louis was looking at the two. "Why the police would be here?"

"Because someone got devoured!" the puma waved his phone as he said that. "They are saying on messaging! Some herbivore student got cornered and eaten in Lecture Hall 2!"

This caused Louis to pause, a feeling of cold dread bubbling on his stomach as he hard those words.

a student devoured? A predation incident in Cherryton Academy, of all places?

This was bad.

This was bad.

"Oh! And look at this!" the puma had just checked some update he received on his phone, and he then looked up at Louis again. "It seems the guy who got devoured was from Drama Club. Some alpaca..."

Louis blinked, his mind going blank as he heard those words.

"Tem...?"

Just a few seconds later, Louis threw the door of his dorm open and rushed out. It was not hard to find out where the event had supposedly happened. It was all about following the commotion.

True to what those two carnivores said, a lot of students were gathered on one of the buildings, forming a packed crowd that was in quite the uproar. Animals talking to each other in varying degrees of shock and fear, with other emotions like dread and outrage in the middle. And even a form of excitement that was more present on the carnivores.

And, beyond the crowd, flashing lights of red and blue were clearly visible.

Dammit... Louis was soon forcing his way through the packed crowd. It was not easy, but he managed to. Once he was there, he could see the police cars in there, as well as an ambulance. The lights of the ambulance were flashing, and the door was open, and this allowed Louis to catch a glimpse inside before the doors closed and the ambulance drove away.

Tem was in that ambulance. And, unless Louis had wildly misinterpreted what he just saw, the alpaca was still alive. He was sitting on the stretcher rather than laying on int. he had a bloody shoulder, but he was still alive, and didn't look like he was at risk.

On that moment, a sigh of relief Louis didn't realize he had been holding was finally let out. He then looked around. There were cops in there, two of them making crowd control, and Louis also saw a third one, talking to Principal Gon.

Ducking under the tape, Louis walked to them, the cop soon noticing him and asking him to go back to the crowd, but Gon stopped him.

"He is our beastar candidate." The tiger said, and the cop looked at the two, before nodding, and thanking the principal for his time before leaving with a salute.

As soon as he was gone, Louis talked to Gon.

"It is true, then?" Louis asked, the question feeling necessary despite all the evidence of the opposite. Gon nodded solemnly.

"Yes, sadly." The tiger said, "I can hardly believe it myself. An attempted predation crime right on our school's grounds... Rex, this is terrible. Luckily it didn't end in death."

"Yes, that's fortunate." Louis said, "What about the culprit?"

Gon hesitated, and then he spoke:

"It was another member of Drama Club. Riz the Brown Bear."

"Riz..." Louis repeated. "Yes, I see..." the deer had to admit that it made sense. After all, despite the fame they had as honey-loving gentle giants, bears were among the biggest kinds of carnivores. They were as likely to commit predation as any other. That was why Louis never made the mistake of lowering his guard around him, unlike everyone else on the club, including Tem.

This was truly bad.

One of the herbivore members of Drama Club nearly being devoured by a carnivore of the same club? And the very one that was supposed to represent harmony and coexistence between the two kinds and set this as an example for the whole school?

That was going to be a mess, and Louis knew that.

It would only not be a bigger mess because, luckily, Tem had survived.

Most herbivores who were chased by a big carnivore weren't as lucky.

"And where is Riz now?" Louis asked, to what Gon said:

"Was already taken by another ambulance."

"Oh?"

"Yes, he was quite insistent in getting to Tem. The struggled was pretty severe, by what it seems."

"A teacher making a late-night patrol?"

To Louis surprise, Gon then said:

"Actually, it was another carnivore from your club. Tem had his number on his phone and called him in a panic while running from Riz. He came to his rescue right away and arrived on the nick of time."

"Another carnivore... was it Bill?" Louis made that question based on what he knew. After all, Bill was the second biggest carnivore of the club, and the one who would be most likely to even stand a chance on a brawl against a bear. However, it would still be a Bengal tiger against a brown bear so, even if he did come out victorious, the deer could not imagine him being in good shape.

Once more, however, Louis was surprised.

"Actually, it was your new member."

Louis blinked as he looked at the tiger. New member? But that would be...

"And there he goes." Gon said with a nod, and Louis followed his gaze and saw him there.

Legoshi. The wolf who joined their club just the week previous. He was wearing a blue jacket draped over his shoulders with the police logo on it (a cop must have given it to him, for whatever reason it was) and was being accompanied by a lioness cop, looking like he didn't want anyone to see him.

He paused as he looked to the side and his eyes met Louis. The deer was looking at him with wide, surprised eyes, while the wolf looked away, nearly as if he was the one who had been caught trying to eat someone.

The lioness behind him placed a hand on his shoulder and, gently, urged him to keep walking, while the canine pulled the jacket further over his shoulder as he was guided to a cruiser and, very discreetly made to sit on the backseat, before the lioness entered and drove away.

Louis was shocked.

He was shocked for knowing that the wolf who hardly ever even lifted his voice had gone into a brawl against a bear to save someone. He was shocked that he had won. But, more than anything, he was shocked for, while Principal Gon said that Riz had been taken to the hospital in an ambulance, the wolf how apparently caused him all that damage seemed not to be hurt at all...

On top of the main building of the police department, a horse was sitting on a stretcher, letting a bunch of rats all work on his recent wounds while taking a swing from a thermos filled with cool carrot juice.

Just another night for the Sublime Beastar.

However, Yahya had to admit that this one was shaping out to be a busy one, as he had already been wounded enough that he needed to come back to receive some treatment from the rats, and it was hardly past midnight yet.

"Mr. Yahya." The small voice made the horse look to the side, and he was looking at a rat who was looking like he wanted to tell him something that, from the look on his face, he thought the horse would want to hear.

"What is it?"

"There was an attempted predation incident less than an hour ago."

The horse scoffed.

"Another one, huh?" he turned his head, closing his eyes to give his mind a rest from his 370-degree vision. "Those carnivores are getting way too daring lately... more and more of them are going and devouring innocent people. Am I the only one worried about keeping them on line?"

The rat, noticing how the words he said seemed to have upset the horse, decides to quickly add something:

"The victim survived. And rather unscathed, I must add. Got a slashed arm and leg, but other than that will be fine."

"Well, that's good to hear." Yahya was honest about it, as that was at least a small relief that this predation crime was only attempted. "And do we know where it happened?"

"Yes, we do, sir." The rat nodded. "It was at Cherryton Academy"

Cherryton... Yahya knew that name.

It was the name of one of the top schools, whose principals were all key members of the All-Organisms Council, and the only one of them that had a mixed education policy.

And it was also...

"The school Gosha enrolled those two in..." Yahya said, turning to look at the rat, starting to understand why the rat decided to bring this matter to him directly merely one hour after it happened.

"Were they involved?"

"One of them was." The rat confirmed. "The grandson."

At that moment, the rat could swear he saw a glint of something on the horse's eyes as he looked his way.

"Oh, I see... so, Gosha's precious grandson tried to devour someone..."

However, the rat shook his head at this.

"The culprit is a brown bear, sir. Another student named Riz, from the same school club as the victim."

"And how is Gosha's grandson involved?"

"He was the one who saved the alpaca." The rat said. "Fought off the bear all by himself."

Yahya perked a bit at that, causing a rat who was on his shoulder to desperately try to recover his balance.

"Was he killed?"

"No sir. In fact, he was not even hurt by the end of it." The rat said. "The bear, on the other hand, was in pretty bad shape when he got to the hospital."

Now that caught Yahya's attention. After all, we were talking about a brown bear. A big, heavy and strong carnivore, of the type who could easily kill most other carnivores if he actively tried. Of course, it was possible to win against one of them, perhaps even with minimal wounds, if one was skilled enough and played his cards right.

Or if they had some natural advantage inherited from an unusual ancestor.

"He used his venom." Yahya conclusion was logical, and the rat confirmed it.

"The bear lost a lot of tissue on his left forearm, as well as most fingers of his right hand. Not only that, but he is also currently being treated for several trauma on his skull. Apparently, the wolf hit him in the head with something hard."

"Well, the kid must have a hell of a swing, that's for sure..." Yahya said as he reflected on it. The rat by his side continued to tell him what he had just been told via radio, telling him how the bear was under intensive care for the venom, and how the doctors treating him suspected he suffered hairline fractures on his skull due to the blow, and also mentioned how their agent there said that the bear's forehead looked "a little dented".

Yahya nodded all of it, taking every word, giving this one case all his attention, simply because it involved a certain specific carnivore who he didn't even knew existed until a couple weeks ago.

On that night, Yahya also had just come back from a mission. He was always the busiest during the night, since that was the time when all the criminals became the more active. The dark did tend to make carnivores all riled up.

He was on a phone call when his rats came to tell him about an incident that happened on the city earlier that same night. A deer was chased to an alley by a wolf, and then was rescued by a gazelle who was not really a gazelle, but a hybrid of some kind.

"According to the agent who was there seeing it all he seemed to be a mix of some kind of feline. Maybe leopard or cheetah, since he had some spots on his body." The rat said to Yahya, who was only half-listening. "After this, he attacked the deer himself. Didn't killed him but stole his clothes and money. The same with the wolf."

"Right, a hybrid mugging animals, I get it." Yahya said, "And do we know where he is?"

"He was in the hospital with a friend of his. They both left when his grandfather came to pick them both up." The rat then said something that he thought was only worth noting, and that would instantly catch Yahya's attention:

"And, this is interesting. At first, we thought that hybrid's friend was just a regular wolf, but it turned out to be a hybrid as well. Part Komodo dragon, it turns out."

Yahya paused as he heard that.

Wolf. Komodo dragon.

Could it be...

"Did you say his grandfather was the one who picked them?"

To that question, the rat nodded.

"Yes, one named 'Gosha'. The doctors didn't, believed them to be related at first, by they did once the grandson revealed he had both scales and venom."

Yahya showed no reaction for a while. his expression was emotionless, but his mind was a whirlwind as he processed this.

Gosha's grandson.

"And he was with this mugger?" Yahya asked, "Is he his accomplice?"

"We are not sure, sir. But they do seem close." The rat recounted that the wolf did not attack anyone that they saw, but that he and the hybrid both came out if there with the money and clothes of the deer and wolf the hybrid attacked, leaving them unconscious and tied up on the alley.

"So, at the very least, he is an accessory..." Yahya said that more to himself, before now fully addressing the rats. "Do you know where Gosha is taking them?"

"To his house, apparently. We got someone following them, and we should know the exact address shortly"

And, true to the rat's words, soon another member of their group was radioing and telling them the exact place they were.

Gosha's exact, address, which Yahya had no idea for over thirty years.

Yahya was on his way there on the following morning. He arrived on the apartment complex, an unassuming place in the edge of the city, just in time to see someone who matched the description of the gazelle/leopard hybrid walking out. He was wearing a surgical mask and had his eyes squinted, making him look indistinguishable from a regular gazelle, but his horns matched exactly the description the rat who saw the fact given.

And he was even wearing the very same clothes he stole from the deer last night!

Either he thinks no one will know or he doesn't care if anyone does... Yahya thought as he watched the hybrid walked out, before he made his way towards the building. He soon bumped, literally, into the other one, as he and a Labrador were both turning in a corner when the wolf collided into him.

"O-oh!" The wolf looked at him. Yahya knew that his shoulder was covered in scales, but they were covered by the jacket he was wearing, making him look like a regular wolf. However, one look at his face, and Yahya quickly noticed the distinct angular, reptilian eyes, which left no doubt to him that this was no other than Gosha's grandchild.

"I-I'm sorry! I'm so sorry, sir!" the wolf bowed as he apologized. For a moment, Yahya wondered if he knew who he was and was apologizing so much out of fear. But, as it turns out, the boy was apparently only very apologetic.

"It's okay." Yahya said with indifference to the kid, who once more bowed and apologized, before the Labrador with him urged him to keep walking. Apparently, they were going to shop for cellphones...

Yahya ignored them, as he had another goal in there. One which, ironically, had to do with the very wolf who just bumped into him.

He just confirmed on the reception which room was the one where a lone Komodo dragon lived and, unlike most people who would just ring the doorbell, he climbed on the outside of the building and stood on the balcony, walking in just as no other than Gosha himself coming drinking a cup of coffee.

That was their first meeting in decades.

And it was... tense, to say the absolute minimum.

And Yahya still remembered every single detail. Including the seriousness on Gosha's eyes as he told him he would regret it if he ever tried to do anything to those two.

Well, as much as Yahya would like to avoid making his former partner mad by going after his grandson and grandson's friend, he would certainly not turn a blind eye if one of them did anything that would be worthy of police attention.

Like, let's say, going too far on their self-defense against someone else...

"Where is the wolf?"

"On the same hospital they took the bear and alpaca." The rat said, "He didn't have any visible wounds, but they took him to be examined just in case. Officer Kala is keeping an eye on him."

"Contact her." Yahya commanded. "Right now."

"There." Said the doctor as he finished bandaging Tem's arm. His leg had also been bandaged, but it had far less severe wounds. In fac, despite the blood loss, Tem's wounds were truly minimal.

"You can thank your wool for that, boy." Said the rhino as he patted the alpaca's shoulder, and Tem simply nodded back at him.

However, he knew that his wool was not the only reason why his wounds were not serious.

His wool was not the only reason why Riz was not able to do anything worse than slash him.

It was another carnivore that stopped Riz. A carnivore who answered to his cry for help by coming and taking on a much bigger animal than himself just to make sure he was safe.

Tem would not even be alive if it was not for Legoshi.

"What about my friend?" Tem asked, "The wolf who saved me? Is he okay too?"

"Well, he seemed to be last time I checked on him." the rhino said, "Luba was saying that the wolf was in perfect health and asked if he really did fight a bear before coming here. I guess he is more shocked over him not being hurt at all than at the scales on his shoulder."

Yes... the scales.

Tem paused to reflect on it.

Legoshi had scales. Not only that, but he also had venom.

Because he was not a purebred. He was a hybrid.

He was part Komodo.

"He never told me..." Tem said that more to himself than to the doctor. However, the rhino still answered to those words:

"He'd been hiding, it, haven't he?" he asked, nodding. "Well, I can certainly imagine that. If he had not, then he would probably be having a hard time on his school now."

Tem looked at him.

"Hybrids don't have it easy, kid." The doctor said those words with all seriousness of the world. "Our society is overly focused on species purity. While, as a doctor, I can understand the argument behind the government's same-species marriage incentives, I think it is not right for the children of animals of different species to be looked down upon."

"Is it really that bad?"

The doctor nodded in answer to the alpaca's question.

"Kid, I can tell you some stories that will make you feel as outraged and disgusted as I felt myself. Some of them I even witnessed first-hand, and they still seem absurd to me." Those words came with the utmost sincerity. "People act as if being anything less than one-hundred percent a single species makes of an animal an abomination! Some even go as far as to kill others simply for being hybrids! I once treated a half-gazelle/half-deer child who came here covered bruises because one of his teachers pushed him down the stairs! And I was the one who had to do it because the pediatric doctor refused to help once he was told the boy was a hybrid, can you believe it!? I was still an intern at the time. That guy was fired and lost his medical license that same week..."

Tem looked at the doctor, who had a hint of disgust as he remembered the event of years ago. He then cleared his throat.

"My point is, that many hybrids have it hard on their lives. It is not easy for them to live in a society that values species purity so much that anyone who deviates from it is considered a freak." He concluded. "So, I totally understand why your friend would try to hide it. Especially if he had physical indicators of his mixed heritage. It is, most certainly, out of fear of being bullied by the other kids, like many other hybrids his age."

Silence followed those words. Tem looked down, and the doctor then cleared his throat and told him that, since he was okay, he was going to check on other patients. He instructed Tem to press the button by the bedside to call the nurse if he needed anything, and then left the alpaca to his own thoughts.

All of which revolved around Legoshi.

Tem was not dumb. He noticed right away that Legoshi acted strange. Right on the first day. He was shy, and withdrawn, unlike other canines that Tem had seen around the hallways in Cherryton, many of which often were running or being quite loud and sociable, both with each other and with other animals.

Legoshi was not like that. He was shy and introvert. He hardly ever spoke, and he never took of his clothes in front of others. He refused offers to hang out from other carnivores and he mostly just stayed on his corner on Drama Club and only spoke if someone wanted to speak to him.

Nearly as if he was afraid of people.

Tem started to realize that maybe that was exactly the case, based on what the doctor just told him.

Do hybrids... really have it that hard? Tem was wondering about it, when his attention was called by the ringing of his phone.

It was on his pants pockets. And his pants were with the rest of his clothes sitting on a nearby chair, folded neatly.

Tem, still wearing the hospital gown, got up from the bed and, limp a little due to his wounded leg, walked to the chair so he could fish his ringing phone out of his pants' pocket.

On the screen the caller was displayed: JAX - DAD

Tem knew right away that he had to answer no matter what.

"Hey, dad." Tem said as he picked the phone and, just as his expected, his father was worried about him, for he had been called by the school to be informed that his son had been victim of an attempted predation and was currently on the hospital.

"I'm fine, I swear." Tem said, "All thanks to Legoshi, he saved me."

"Legoshi? Who is that?"

"A wolf who joined Drama Club this year. I had him on my fast dial, and I called him after Riz started chasing me. He came and saved me. He fought Riz all by himself and he won! Dad, you had to see! Legoshi, he-"

Tem trailed as he was about to tell his dad what happened. The words of the doctor just now echoed on his mind, and so did words that Legoshi told him as he was tying up Riz, before helping Tem up to help him out of the lecture hall right before the cops arrived.

"Tem... could you keep this a secret? About me? Please?"

"Tem?" his father's voice brought him back, and the alpaca then said:

"O-oh! Sorry! Is just that I was remembering what just happened. It has been playing in replay in my head for a while."

"Well, that is to be expected. It was a traumatic event, after all." The way his father said that was analytical and practical. That was how he often tackled most things, as to be expected from a renowned researcher.

"Yeah, it was scary seeing Riz come after me..." Tem said, "I thought I was going to die... and the Legoshi came. Dad, he... he was so cool. The way he fought. He managed to knock Riz down and he still helped me out of that room."

"It was very brave of him." Jax said from the other end of the phone. "I don't know who this Legoshi is, but he certainly has my gratitude. I hope he recovers quickly."

"Yeah, you don't have to worry. Legoshi's really though." Tem said that matter-of-factly, and his father then said to him:

"I'm glad you are okay, Tem. I'd go there myself, but I'm totally swamped with work here. I already called your mother, though, she is on her way."

"Thanks, dad." Tem said, feeling a bit sad that his father, once more, could not make time for him due to his work. However, if his mother was coming there, then it was probably better if he didn't come. When they were in a room together it almost always ended in screaming and name-calling. "I'm glad you called. I love you."

There was silence, and then his father's voice came again.

"I'm glad I can still hear your voice, son."

Yeah, that was his father alright. He was never too good with feelings, despite being maybe the smartest guy Tem knew. Mom said that was one of the main reasons why their marriage didn't work. But to Tem, that was enough, when there was honesty on his father's voice as he said that.

"Take care, I gotta go back to work."

"Bye, dad." Tem said, and the call ended.

The alpaca looked at his phone, and he sighed, thinking on how glad he was he could talk to his father still.

That he was still alive to trade words with him.

And with his mother. And with his friends back from Drama Club, Legoshi included.

And with Els.

The letter was still on his locker...

"I..." Jax looked down at the phone, seeing the picture he had for the paper-wall. It was a picture of himself and his son when Tem was around nine-years-old. He was kneeling by the side of his son as they both posed for the picture, and Tem had a big smile on his face. As they stood, one could see the differences between the two, like how Tem's wool was of a cream/white coloration, while his father's wool was of a muddy grey, and their eyes were also of different colorations, with Tem's being hazelnut-colored, while Jax's were of a of a shade of blue that was quite rare for alpacas.

Tem went mostly after his mother, Jax's ex-wife, when it came to physical appearance. But the similarities that made it undeniable that they were related were all still there, if you just cared to look. And they were even more evident now that Tem was older, in comparison to the picture of his nine-year-old self.

And Jax would still be able to see him in person, rather in just pictures.

"I'm glad you are alive, son..." he finally said, looking fondly at the phone.

And then, a voice came:

"Well, now that's an interesting scene."

Jax bolted, his white coat twirling as he turned to look at the horse standing by the door, his elbow resting on the door's frame as he looked at the alpaca with a smirk.

"How long have you been there!?" Jax demanded, to what the horse said:

"Just long enough to see that our good doc is not as cold and clinical as he wants everyone to think. At least not when it comes to his own son. Gotta say, Doc, is nice to see you have a heart under all that wool. Refreshing."

Jax glared at the horse, who stepped closer to him, allowing the light if the lamp shine on his, causing his dirt-blond mane and white coat of fur to stand even more against his camouflaged green and brown shirt and matching cargo pants.

"Just shut it, Delta!" Jax said to him. "What are you even doing back here!? have you found them yet!? Have you found Subjects Three and Seven!?"

The horse looked at the alpaca, and then sighed, shaking his head and saying they still didn't know where they were.

"It's been weeks!" Jax was being quite loud, mostly due to frustration. "Didn't you say that you knew exactly where to find them!?"

Delta flinched as the alpaca yelled at him. yes, he had, weeks ago, when those two first escaped, said he knew exactly where they were.

He had assumed they were on the Black Market. He did because, when he talked to the guards who watched the subjects, they told him some of them often spoke of their visits to the Black Market while guarding some cells. He had assumed that, if those two had heard then speak of the Black Market, they would think of going there to both hide and maybe eat meat while at it, considering both were at least half-carnivore.

And he thought they had hit the jackpot when his people stationed on the Black Market called him saying they saw a wolf and a gazelle, both wearing trench coats and masks, sneaking around the place.

"But, as it turns out, it wasn't them..." Delta shrugged "It were a wolf and a gazelle alright. Pure breed ones. They were lovers, both married and with children and needed to come to a place where they could have their little love escapades without anyone finding out, which was why they were coming to the Black Market as if they were ready to rob a bank. That's love for you, huh? You know that, Doc? Love? Or is that too advanced for that brilliant brain of yours?"

"You better be careful, Delta." Jax said that in a low voice filled with warning. "My son nearly became victim of a predation crime tonight, now is not the time to test me."

Delta chuckled.

He chuckled visible as he looked at doc. It was really amusing for him to see the cold and logic doctor being emotive.

The alpaca then scoffed in frustration.

"It's been weeks." He said to himself as he paced around the room. "It's been weeks and they have not yet been found. What if they have left the city? They cannot leave the country without a passport, but they could be on the other side of it by now. This would make finding them even more difficult."

"Yeah, those two are slippery, aren't they?" Delta asked as he pulled a can of salted granola from his pocket and opening it casually. "Also, I'll let you know you don't technically need a passport to leave the country. There are a lot of ways to get in and out without going through customs. I know because I used a lot of them already."

"Are you going to start bragging again?" the doctor's voice now had a tinge of annoyance alongside his frustration. "Just look at you. The great Delta the Horse, world-famous underworld mercenary who charges a fortune for his very presence." Doctor Jax then scoffed as he came closer to him. "You can't even find a pair of teenage mixed species animals."

Delta said nothing to this. He just popped a handful of granolas on his mouth and chewed slowly, in a way that made him look like a ruminant. This seemed to aggravate the doctor even more.

"Why are you back here if you have not found them?" the alpaca demanded. "Don't you know that the longer they stay out on the world, the greater the chance of them escaping from us forever? Or, worse, yet, the greater the chance of someone other than us finding them?"

"Oh, yeah. Now that would be bad, huh?" Delta's infuriating smirk was back, as if this entire situation was funny to him, instead of a crisis of the likes could destroy everything he ever worked for, as it was for Doctor Jax.

"It appears those two are about as smart as you tried to make them. And, from the radio-silence we have been facing, they have not gone to the police for help." The horse chewed some more granola. "Then in this case, I guess all those lies you told them were good for something, after all."

Jax said nothing.

"Like the lie that this place is actually funded by the government." He said, "That very important people of the All-Organism Council have endorsed this place and what was done to them. Heck, you even convinced those kids that the Sublime Beastar himself was on to this!"

"It was for control." Jax said, "A deception meant to make them cooperative and discourage them from trying to breach their containment."

"Well, that didn't stop those two from skedaddling out of here are soon as they had a chance, did it?" The horse had a mocking tone now. "And now you are desperate to find those two before anyone can figure out about them, find out about this place and the others, and that the noble doctor Jax the Alpaca, who made a name for himself as one of the best and most renowned medical geneticist and neuro-surgeon in this country, has a little side-business that is a lot less noble than finding the cure for spider-lamb syndrome and chronic wasting disease."

Jax's hands clenched into fists.

"And here you are, talking to me and eating canned granola instead of trying to find my missing subjects." He said back, and the horse looked at him with indifference, before emptying the can on his mouth, eating all of them, and the speaking again:

"Just came to eat, shower and maybe take a nap. I'll be back in looking for your little science experiments later. So, no need to tear off your wool."

Without saying another word, he turned around and left, leaving Jax to fume as he looked him go.

That man was such a pain in the tail! How come they hired him!? How come the sponsors thought it was a good idea to keep him around!?

This only proved that they were idiots. Not that Jax needed any proof of it.

He was already convinced of that after knowing the full extent of their expectations from this project.

Money and power. That was all that came to with those people. The wealthy only wanted more, despite already having so much, unlike the many beasts out there who had nothing.

Jax would know, because he was one of them at a point on his life. Someone who had nothing, not even the needed to help his own family. Which was why he wanted to become a doctor, on the first place, so he could help others.

And now he had a real chance.

The subjects, the hybrids who they experimented with, they could make a difference. They could be the key to changing things. To change medicine, to change the world, to change the very way beasts all around the world thought.

Especially the subjects numbered Seven and Three. They were the most important ones. They were always unique among all their subject on their own way, the former because he was a second-generation hybrid with a hybridization rate of only twenty-five percent, and the latter because he was the only one born from hybridization of carnivore and herbivore species.

They were essential for the future of the project.

And now they were out in the world.

He needed to have them both back!

And it was not because they could tell anyone about the facility and the whole operation, including his interactions wit him. It was because he needed them to proceed with his research and to improve the process, to perfect the procedure and reach his main goal.

Of course, he was worried about what they could say and the subsequent fallout. After all, if they did and others took their world to it, they would judge Jax without knowing the full story, without understanding his motives. They would probably assume that he only did it for the money, for what those rich bastards offered him in exchange for turning those kids into what they were now.

It was not about the money, though. It was about what he could achieve. About something much bigger than what those idiots were planning.

Let them dream about their super mercenaries and all the money they could bring them. To Jax, they were nothing more than means to an end.

And when everyone saw the bigger picture, and what he managed to achieve through his subjects, Jax knew they would all agree that the end justified the means.

Melon was staring out the window.

He was just looking outside in silence as he looked at the yard, expecting.

Now, what he was expecting, was hard to say.

Even Melon himself was not sure what it was.

It could be the police. It could be the army. It could be white vans with masked guys coming out of it armed.

All he knew was that, whatever it was, they would be coming for him.

If they figured out about Legoshi, and if the wolf told them about him being there as well, then they would certainly be coming to get him.

Then why the hell am I standing here instead of making a run for it? Melon wondered to himself as he continued to look outside while, by his side, Jack let out a curse.

"Dammit!" Jack sounded frustrated. "He is still not answering his phone! Why isn't he answering! He should be awake by now! There's no reason why he should not be answering his phone if he is awake!"

Unless they took his phone away before taking him back to the facility and locking him away. That thought was made with the intention to be casual, but it caused Melon's insides to twist and clench in away they never did before.

What the heck...?

"Something must have happened!" Jack said, "Maybe he collapsed after they took him to the hospital! I mean, he fought a bear, for crying out loud!"

"Yeah, but he seemed okay when we talked to him before the cop took him yesterday." Miguno said to the Labrador as the other dogs of 701 stood nearby. "He was not dying or anything."

"Well, sometimes it takes a while for wounds to bring you down!" Jack said, "What if he only seemed okay because of the adrenaline!? What if he was bleeding internally from fighting that crazed bear!? What if he collapsed right after arriving at the hospital and they had to rush him to intensive care!? He could be in a surgery now fighting for his life!"

Jack sounded more and more frantic with each phrase, looking more and more like a neurotic mother who was demanding the doctor tell her why her baby was coughing that weird way.

Did he forgot Legoshi came out okay from being hit by a truck? How can he honestly think a bear would be able to hurt him? People outside the facility are stupider than I remember... Melon caught himself thinking, before looking back outside. But, on their defense, their common sense usually makes them not consider an indestructible wolf a possibility...

"We have to go to the hospital!" Jack said, "We have to go and see him!"

"What? Oh, come on Jack!" Collot said, "We all have class in just twenty minutes!"

"How can you worry about class with Legoshi in the hospital!?" Jack demanded. "I won't be able to focus on class if I keep worrying about suddenly hearing through the phone that he died while in a surgery table! I need to go there and see if he is okay!"

The dogs all shared looks. However, the hybrid of the place simply said, in a blasé tone:

"Well, sounds like a blast. You go and do that. Call me later and tell me how it went."

At that moment, Jack turned to look at him with an expression that, in a Labrador like himself, passed by rage.

"Seriously!?"

"What? I'm supporting you going."

That only seemed to aggravate Jack even more.

"How can you be talking like this!?" he demanded of the hybrid. "How can you not be worried about Legoshi!? Aren't you his friend too!?"

Melon didn't answer that. He just looked at the Labrador with a deadpan look on his eyes.

"How can you even be so calm now!?"

"Would it help if I was freaking out?" Melon's question was answered with:

"Well, it would help me think you care about Legoshi!"

That nearly sounded like an accusation. Melon unconsciously straightened his back a little bit.

"You think I don't?" Melon's voice had gone dangerously low for a second. "That venom-spitting dog is one of the few animals who ever gave a crap about me or treated me like a person."

"Then why are you acting like it is not a big deal!?" Jack demanded, "Why are you acting like you are not worried at all!?"

"Man, you're way too loud for so early in the morning..." Melon grumbled to himself as he looked away from the dog, who was ready to start yelling at him, when the hybrid turned back at him.

"Let's say I went there with you to see Legoshi, so what?" he asked to the Labrador. "What do we do once we get there?"

Jack blinking, for a moment looking as if he didn't understand the question.

"What, don't have a plan for when we get there? And here I thinking Labradors were bred for brains..." Melon said in a mocking tone. Jack looked at him for a moment, and then he said:

"We... we can think of it on the way there! We can think of what to do when we arrive at the hospital!"

"Oh, yeah, we could!" Melon said, "We can plan how to use our advanced medical knowledge to help the doctors treat him! Or, even better, we can treat him ourselves with our healing powers! You can rest your head near his lap so your Labrador essence would make him heal faster while I lick his wounds to disinfect them! That should work way better than whatever modern medicine the doctors have, no?"

Jack only became more and more aggravated the more the hybrid talked.

"Well, we gotta do there and do something! We can't just stand around and do nothing when Legoshi could need us!"

"We would not be able to help." Melon said to him. "Being there or not would not make a difference."

"Well, at least we'd be there!" Jack said, "At least we would be there if he needed us! We would be able to help if there was anything to help with! That's what friends do! Don't you know that!?"

"No, I don't!" Melon said, finally rising his "Because, before Legoshi, I never had a single friend in my entire life!"

This shut Jack up. He just stood there, staring at the hybrid, alongside the other dogs.

"What? Surprised? Well, that's pretty much standard for hybrids! We are weirdos, after all! Weirdos that the other children's parents tell not to be friends with and that the children themselves pick on for being different! But you wouldn't know that, right?" Melon just glared at the dog. He then sighed.

"Legoshi always talked about you." Jack blinked at the hybrid's words. "Back at the shelter, he spoke about you when he got too sentimental. He spoke about his friend Jack, about how he could never tell him his grandpa was a lizard because his mother told him to keep it a secret from everyone. Said he regretted not telling you before he ran off from the funeral and ended there. Said he missed you, and that you were the only friend he had back then... honestly, it was annoying."

Jack didn't know how to answer to this.

Yes, Legoshi didn't tell him that he was the grandson of a Komodo dragon. He never got to before running off in the world. Jack only found out a few days later as Gosha, still frantically searching for him, came to him for help because he knew how close he and Legoshi were.

And, apparently, Legoshi regretted never having told his friend about this family secret for the past five years.

That... moved Jack, in a way.

"Look, you are worried with Legoshi, I get it." Melon said, "But you wouldn't be able to help even if you went. You'd only be wasting your energy. Just like you are right now by freaking out for no reason. If you are going to freak out, it is better to do so when you have a reason and can do something about it, no? Like, if you know exactly where Legoshi is and you can help him in some way. Like him being stuck in a hole and you going there with a rope to help him climb out. That would be much better than rolling on the ground and banging your head on the wall."

Jack had no answer for those words. He could only look at the hybrid, who looked back at him with the type of indifference one reserves for strangers on the street. There was no friendliness on those eyes, but there was no hostility either. And Melon's words were neither a mockery nor an advice, he simply sounded like he was stating a fact, and an obvious one at that.

"I-I..." Jack said, looking at Melon, and the looking down.

"I... just wish I could do something... to help him... Back when he disappeared I... I helped Gosha-san look for him. For months. But we could never find him. I tried tracking his scent, but the trail had gone cold. No one had seen him, and I kept trying to find my friend, but I never could and I... I felt so useless... like I had failed him..."

The dogs shared a look, while Melon kept that indifferent look as he continued to just stand there looking at the world.

"And now... I feel like that again... I didn't help him when he went to fight that bear... Last night, when he called me, the first thing I did was yell at him through the phone for missing our movie night, and then he just said he was going to fight a bear and that I should call someone and..."

Jack's hands clenched into fists.

"I just... wished so bad I could help him somehow... and knowing I could not just made me feel so worthless..."

The Labrador was starting to tear up. Melon looked at him, thinking about making a commentary on waterworks and sentimental dogs. However, he instead only sighed.

"Well, that proves you are a caring friend, I guess. Kind of what everyone expects from dogs." Melon said, looking through the window again, leaning on the frame as he went back to watch to see if any cops or vans filled with armed guys would come.

"Look, Legoshi is fine, okay? You saw how he was fine and not hurt yesterday, right?"

"Yeah, but maybe after he left-"

"He is fine." Melon said again. "Legoshi is not that same fragile pup of when you were two kids. He has changed a lot on the past few years, believe me." Melon looked at Jack again. "He is a lot tougher than he looks. And that's saying a lot, considering how he looks."

Melon then went back to looking at the window, while Jack and the others looked at him, some of them sharing looks.

Melon, however, was not paying attention to them. He just looked outside, at the school's front yard, and then he saw someone coming.

However, it was not cops, soldiers, or masked guards sent by the Doctor himself.

"Well, look who is back." Melon said with a smirk from behind his mask, and the other dogs looked through the window as well, and they could all see Legoshi walking towards the school coming from the front gate.

Chapter Text

Legoshi was distracted as he walked past the gates. He thanked the cop before walking in, as she had been kind enough to give him a ride to school.

She had been quite sympathetic to him since the hospital...

"So, let's go through this one more time..." the lioness, whose Legoshi knew name was "Officer Kala", was looking through her notes to see what the wolf told her.

"You went to fight the bear, you managed to slash his chest with your claws, and then you spat your venom on his arm, and then he..." she checked the final part. "Slipped and fell, is that it?"

Legoshi looked down and he nodded.

He felt bad for lying. Especially to a cop. However, he knew for a fact he could not tell her about the truth. Not when Melon told him how anyone, especially figures of authority, finding out about their unusual abilities would basically mean them becoming a target, as the news would make it back to the doctor.

So, he came up with a story he hoped sounded believable.

But, apparently, it was not believable enough, once the lioness had been asking him to repeat the story four times over, and each time she was more insistent for details, as if she was trying to catch the wolf on his lie.

The wolf continued to say the same thing, hoping she would believe, and he did it now by confirming what she just asked him. Kala then sighed.

"Tell me, Legoshi..." She said to him, looking him in the eyes. "Do you know how hard a bear's skull is? How thick?"

"Uh? O-oh, well... I don't know the exact measures, but I know they are quite thick..." the wolf was saying that as he remembered the lessons back on the facility about anatomy of varied carnivore species, with emphasis on their strengths and weaknesses.

"Indeed." Kala nodded at the wolf. "In fact, they are so thick that. Depending on the angle they are shot at, bullets can sometimes glance off their skulls and they will still be standing."

Legoshi scratched his arm slightly. It was not itching, but he still scratched his bullet-proof skin anyways.

"So, you can imagine that they are hard enough that they would not suffer significant damage from just falling after slipping." Kala was looking at the wolf.

"So, let's cut the chase, okay?" the lioness leaned forward towards the wolf, but she was not hostile. "You hit him in the head with something, didn't you?"

Legoshi perked up slightly, but said nothing.

"Considering the damage, it was probably something heavy. Something like a sledgehammer. But we have not found anything that could match the type of damage the bear suffered on the scene. Now, if you could just tell me where you hid it..."

She left the question hanging in the air. Legoshi looked up to look at her, and he opened his mouth a bit, but he didn't say anything. He just looked to the side, and the lioness continued to look at him.

"Not talking huh?"

Legoshi was worried, as she was insisting so much that he thought she was going to drag him to the police station and have him in a window with a two-way mirror so she could continue drilling on him.

However, that was not what would be happening there.

Instead, she just sighed.

"Yeah, I guess being young and being dumb are two close things." She said in a gentle way that made wolf look up at her.

"Look, I really wish I was not asking you those questions, but I was told to." Kala said, "Yahya-sama always had a problem with both carnivores and hybrids, and since you are both I guess it should be no surprise he is coming on so hard on you. Even though, personally, I think he should not."

Legoshi blinked, his ear twitching as he tilted his head to the side.

"Look, we already interviewed your friend and we got the facts from him." The lioness put her notepad away "He basically confirmed all you said, all the way to you spitting venom on the bear, after this he just kept saying that you were his hero. He is really grateful at you for saving his life."

Legoshi didn't knew what to say to this. After a few seconds of silence, he simply said:

"He called me asking for help. I didn't want him to die. He's my friend."

"Yeah, I noticed that." Kala was still gentle as she spoke that. "Look, I'm gonna be straight with you, kid." She placed her hands folded over her lap.

"From all we could gather so far, it seems that you really are the good guy in this story. We confirmed that the wounds the alpaca suffered were from the bear's claws, and his testimony confirms that the bear kept trying to kill you both until the moment he was knocked out, I guess one can say you did what you had to do. Heck, some would even say that he deserved it for trying to devour someone."

Legoshi flinched again.

"I-is Riz okay?" Legoshi finally managed to ask. "I-I swear I didn't want to hurt him. Just to make him stop..."

Kala looked intently at the wolf, as his facial expressions, and she nodded.

"Yeah, I believe you." The officer spoke those words with a sigh. "Honestly, you really look like you have a good head on your shoulders. I really wish I was not being pressed to try and get you booked for excessive force."

She got up.

"It's late now. You should probably get some sleep. I'll drive you back to your school tomorrow." She walked to the door and, before leaving, turned to the wolf one last time.

"And, you better watch your back, kid. Yahya-sama was really keen on having me confirm you did something wrong. And he is not the type to let things go."

With this, she closed the door, leaving the wolf alone on the hospital room, with a bed all for himself where he slept.

It was not easy, considering how much that room reminded him of the one he had on his holding cell on the facility, minus the transparent glass panel on the front...

Which was why Legoshi was glad he was returning to Cherryton, where he had a much more welcoming bedroom waiting for him. Officer Kala was friendly with him until the moment she dropped him, and the wolf was very glad for it. The whole night had been stressful, and it would have been even worse if the cop talking to him was nasty.

She seemed like she didn't mind I was a hybrid. Like, at all... the wolf placed a hand on his shoulder, now covered by a jacket he was given at the hospital so he would not be coming back to school without anything covering his upper body.

As soon as he walked through the gates, someone was on to him, as the wolf noticed by the coming of a group towards him. on the very lead, it was Jack.

He and the other dogs of 701 practically glomped him, and the wolf once more felt himself overwhelmed by the friendliness he knew dogs could have.

"Yeah, I'm fine, but my uniform got damaged." Legoshi said, "You guys think the school will be upset about it?"

"Seriously, Legoshi?" Jack asked him. "You survived a fight with a bear, and you are worried about your uniform!?"

"Yeah?" the wolf said meekly, "I mean, they told me to take good care of the school's material..."

Just as he was saying that, Melon, who was walking calmly, finally caught up with the group.

"And there he is!" Melon said, as he pushed the dogs aside so he could reach the wolf. "The beast of the moment! Come here, big guy! You got us all worried, you know?" he pulled Legoshi in a hug, and then whispered on his ear:

"Are they watching?"

"Huh?"

"The cops are watching you now?" Melon whispered again, "Think they let you out just to find me?"

"I... I don't think so?" Legoshi said in a very low voice, which the hybrid heard.

"Better be sure, big guy. I have to know if we will need to make a run for it in the middle of the night or not..."

That was the last thing Melon managed to whisper to Legoshi before a new voice came, one that was surprisingly loud despite being so small.

Voss, who had excused himself to go to the restroom, received a message from Collot on his phone saying that Legoshi was back, and he rushed to meet with the group on the front gate.

"You really okay, dude?" Vox asked as he looked the wolf up and down now that he was back on his advantageous position on Collot's shoulder. "Man, you gotta be the luckiest guy alive. Any other wolf who have become bear chow as well!"

"Yeah, I guess I am... lucky, I mean." Legoshi rubbed the back of his head, and Melon said nothing.

"Well, since Legoshi is back, I guess this means we can all go to class now, right?" Durham said, "If we hurry, we can all get in before the first bell."

"Wait, you guys don't know?" Vox said, looking at the others. "Classes were cancelled because of what happened yesterday. They announced it through the school's messaging channel thirty minutes ago."

The dogs all fished their phones to check and there it was, a message announcing that all classes for the day had been cancelled, as well as most clubs, with a few exceptions.

"Well, that makes sense." Miguno said, "I mean, no one died, but there was still a crime."

"Speaking of messages..." Jack turned to the wolf. "Why haven't you answered mine? I must have sent you fifty of them all night yesterday."

"O-oh." Legoshi then fished his own phone, which had a screen so cracked it seemed like it was only still held together by sheer strength of will.

"It was on my pocket when I was fighting Riz." The wolf said, "But I landed on it when he tossed me. I am okay, though."

"Huh, so the worst damage from last night was your phone. That's still lucky, if you ask me." Collot said, and the other dogs nodded. Only Legoshi and Melon knew that this was more than just luck. That Riz would not have been able to hurt Legoshi no matter how hard he tried, and that he would be most likely to break his own hands punching Legoshi's face before he was able to make any kind of damage to that wolf.

"So, what do we do now?" Legoshi asked, taking in consideration that there's no classes for today, and even Drama Club was cancelled.

"Wanna spend the day watching movies?" asked Miguno "I mean, we can do that. Maybe try the movie night we couldn't have yesterday?"

Legoshi agreed, while Collot pulled something out of his backpack. It was Legoshi's mask, which he left behind last night when he went to rescue Tem and they saved to give back to him once he was back. The wolf thanked the sheepdog as he took the mask and they were all soon making their way to the dorm.

"By the way, you might wanna brace yourself." Voss said, "I heard some people talking, apparently rumors are already going around the school."

"W-what kinds of rumors?" Legoshi's voice was filtered as he now had his mask on again. He somewhat dreaded the answer but had to ask anyways.

"Well, the school's paper had a special early edition today, but they had nearly no real information. Only you, the alpaca and the bear's names and the headlines 'ATTEMPTED PREDATION LEAVES TWO IN HOSPITAL', so people are pretty much filling the gaps themselves." The fennec fox explained. "Some think you saved the alpaca from the bear, what is the truth, some think that you were the one trying to eat the guy and the bear stopped you, and I think there are some who think you and the bear cornered the alpaca together but turned on each other when you realized there was not enough of him for both."

"So, they are blaming one, blaming the other and blaming both. Truly covering all bases there, huh?" Melon asked with what seemed to be an amuse tone. By his side, Legoshi was looking down with his ear flat against his head. "How crap is this school's paper with getting information, anyways?"

"Pretty crappy, apparently." Jack sounded upset.

"Well, on their defense, it did happen yesterday, and they are known for publishing things before getting all the facts." Miguno spoke, and Durham confirmed that the head of their PR club was more interested in selling the papers than in getting facts right. He always published a retraction when he got something wrong. Always on the bottom of the last page of the next edition, on letters so small you had to squint to read them unless you were an eagle.

"Well, this will be cleared!" Jack said, "It will now that Legoshi is back! I mean, if he had been the one who tried to eat Tem, then the police would not have let him come back, right?" Legoshi cast a glance to Melon, who was still silently walking near them. "If it gets bad, then we go straight to the headmaster and have him clarify everything!"

As Jack continued to talk about how they would demand the PR guys to clarify that Legoshi had not tried to eat anyone, the group was unaware that two members of that very club were currently tailing them.

"Is that really him?" the iguana asked. "The wolf who was involved?"

"Yup, it is." The mammal with the camera said as she snuck around with him by her side. "I know because I saw him entering a police car last night. He didn't have that mask, but it was definitely him."

"He seems okay for a guy who fought a bear, doesn't him?" as the iguana said that, the girl focused her camera on Legoshi from behind, zooming in the back of his head and snapping a picture. She knew that would not be enough to satisfy their club president. She needed to get a close-up of the guy's face, preferably in some moment where he didn't have that weird mask on.

"Are you really going to follow him?" the iguana was looking at her as she looked intently at her target, "Didn't the boss said he was more interested in getting pictures of Louis-senpai?"

"Did you see how many editions we sold of this morning's edition?" she asked back, "And that before classes even started! Totally pays up having worked overnight to have it all ready! People are totally eating up the story about the alpaca nearly getting devoured! And that wolf is part of it!"

She looked back at the wolf.

"This might be almost as big as any stories we ever had of Louis. Maybe even bigger! I mean, when we have a story about an herbivore being rescued from death by a carnivore, this gotta knock even Louis off the podium."

"Did he really fight a bear? I mean, he looks okay to me. I was kind of expecting him to be limping or with an arm on a sling. I heard the bear was taken away in an ambulance..."

"And he was! I saw that too!" she said, once more cursing herself for not having her camera when she left her dorm to see the commotion. The president already gave her hell for that. "And the wolf looks like he doesn't even have a scratch! He must be a black belt in kung fu or something. And you see that gazelle with him? Back on the first day of classes, I saw him slam a leopard into the ground and then he teased Louis. He trash-talked the future beastar right to his face! He's just as hardcore as the wolf!"

The group had just turned across a corner, and she waited a little before following them.

Her journalistic instincts, which perfected aligned with her predatory tendencies, telling her to follow them, as there was something in there for her. There was a story there, and she would be getting to the bottom of it, no matter what it took.

She had to stop when the group, gazelle included, entered the male carnivore dorms. The housemother did not allow her in, despite having let the gazelle in for some reason.

On the following morning, a new edition of the journal was printed.

"PREDATION ATTEMPT IN CHERRYTON – BEAR TRIES TO EAT ALPACA, STOPPED BY WOLF", said the heading as they now showed a much more detailed retelling of the events of the last night. A lot of details were left out of the story, mainly the one that Legoshi stopped Riz by using his venom. Legoshi had the feeling Headmaster Gon had, purposefully, kept the newspaper from getting this bit of information, as his way of honoring Legoshi's wish to keep his hybrid status a secret.

"Guess we can thank that old tiger for this, can't we?" Melon asked to the wolf as the two of them walked together on the hallway, before having to separate for their classes.

However, while the part about the venom and, consequently, the hybrid bit, was kept hidden, Legoshi's name was made public alongside that of the other two involve students. As a result, the wolf, who just the previous day was a complete unknown person among the hundreds of faces on Cherryton Academy's school body, was suddenly on the center of attention.

Especially because he was easily identified as "that wolf who is always wearing a mask".

"Is that him?"

"Yes, it is."

"... fought a bear."

"I heard the alpaca called him while he was being chased..."

"He doesn't have a scratch... How can that be?"

Legoshi shrunk a bit by curving his back, unconsciously trying to make himself look smaller and not call attention of anyone around. However, when you are a very tall wolf wearing a gasmask all the time, disappearing was a lot harder than it sounded. Especially if you had a picture of yourself on the front page of the school's journal with the word "hero" on the label...

"They are acting as if Legoshi is some kind of superhero or something..." Melon said as he looked at the photograph through squinted eyes. By his side, Jack was carrying a paper bag on his hand as they both went to meet the said wolf.

"Well, that's because he kind of is." The Labrador said, "I mean, everyone on the school is saying so."

Yeah, that much was true. Melon could hear it throughout the day. All thanks to his ears, which were freakishly sensitive by gazelle standards. Even now, as he walked with Jack, he could still hear clearly as they passed by people around the hallways as they talked about "the mysterious handsome wolf who rescued an herbivore from death".

Hearing all of that made Melon even less enthusiastic than normal about lunch.

"Let's just go meet him." the hybrid said as he walked forward. However, before they got there, Jack made him stop.

"Melon, I... I'm sorry."

"Hmm?" the hybrid tilted his head as he looked at the dog. "For what?"

"For how I've been acting." Jack said, "For how I've been distant with you since we met. And for yesterday when I snapped at you. Is just that..." he rubbed the back of his head. "You and Legoshi always seem to close... and... well, I guess that it is kind of hard for me because, you know, five years ago I was the one who was that close to him."

Melon looked at him for a couple more moments.

"So, you are apologizing for being jealous?"

Jack had already learned to expect this kind of bluntness from the hybrid. However, it still hit him hard when he said it like that.

"Well, Legoshi and I did live on the same shelter for five years, and he hadn't really seen you for five years, so I guess you can understand why he is closer to me now, right?"

And that reminded him that his bluntness was also closely tied to a lack of tact.

"But, like I told you yesterday, he used to talk about you all the time back there." Melon said, apparently noticing that his last words had hit the Labrador in a bad place and wanting to make up for it. Or, more likely, stating some basic facts without a lot of care. "And, if you ask me, he has been really happy for being with you again. And you have been going with him to the city nearly every chance you got since you two reunited. At this rate you will be closer to him than me in no time..."

Melon felt uncomfortable saying this. The feeling caught him by surprise. Jack, seeing how he paused, used this chance to talk:

"So, this means we are both Legoshi's friends. In that case, I guess we can get along, right?"

Melon looked at him curiously.

"What, as in, becoming friends?" the hybrid asked, the concept nearly sounding alien to him. Jack nodded.

"Yeah. I mean, we are very different, personality wise, but with Legoshi as our common ground, then I guess it could work. It would be better than being at odds around our common friend, don't you think?" The Labrador asked that with honesty. "So, what do you say? Let's get along? For Legoshi?"

Melon looked at him for a while. He stared at that dog who, that purebred animal who had more acceptance and normalcy on his life that Melon himself would have ever gotten even before ended up as a literal genetic experiment.

And who, despite the awkwardness, even hostility, between the two on some of the times they talked, never showed any signs of hating him for being what he was.

Much like Legoshi.

Melon shrugged.

"Sure, why not. Now let's go, the big guy must be wondering why we haven't brought him his sandwich yet."

They found Legoshi hiding on the empty swimming pool like a criminal seeking refuge from the police. He was glad for seeing the two of them, as much as he was for getting his favorite egg sandwiches for lunch.

"How is it?" Legoshi asked to Melon, who told him:

"Well, everyone is still talking about it. I hear some people from the journalism club are looking for you to get an interview."

This made the wolf groan as he placed a hand over his eyes. Melon chuckled a little bit at this, and Jack patted the wolf on the shoulder.

"Relax, it will blow over in a week or so..." Melon told him. "Just until they got other things to talk about and then it will be as this never happened. People forget things easily when they have something else to gossip about."

Legoshi wanted to believe Melon was right. Honestly, he was finding out he didn't really like being in evidence. Too much attention, and it made him feel uncomfortable. He ate his food while striking conversation with Melon and Jack until he was done eating, and then it was the time for their clubs.

"By the way..." Melon said as he and Legoshi walked towards their respective clubs. "I hear someone said that alpaca is back from the hospital already."

"Tem?" Legoshi perked "Really?"

"Someone said it." Melon said, "Apparently his wounds were really minimal. They stitched up his leg and arm and sent him right back. He is probably on that club waiting for you."

Legoshi liked hearing that, from the way his tail was wagging. Melon even poked fun at him for "getting himself a new boyfriend", what made the wolf blush.

"You know is not like that..." Legoshi said, and the hybrid could only chuckle again.

As they walked, Melon's ear twitched, and then he said:

"Well, this is my stop. See you later."

"Oh, right. See yah." Legoshi said and he walked forward, while Melon stood by the stairs that led to the Gardening Club's garden, watching the wolf walk towards his own club, before he disappeared just behind the corner on the distance.

Once Legoshi was out of sight, Melon turned to the stairs. However, before walking upwards, the masked horned animal turned his head to the direction he and the wolf came from, and said:

"Oy, you! Yeah, you there with the camera!"

Behind the corner, the animal who had been following the two flinched, an involuntary sound escaping her mouth as she held her camera close to her chest.

Crap! How does he know I'm here!? Wait, he has known all the time!?

"You have been following us since the pool." Melon said to the animal who he knew was in there. "I could hear you fumbling with that camera of yours when me and Jack arrived. And then you started following us as soon as we left." The hybrid looked towards the hallway. "You've been following Legoshi, haven't you?"

She said nothing, pressing her back against the wall as she was now holding her breath as she waited, and then:

"I'm just going to tell you this once." Melon said, and then he spoke, with a voice as cold as a block of ice and with an edge sharper than that of a knife:

"Leave that wolf alone. If you keep poking around other people's lives, you might find something you were not supposed to. Curiosity did kill the cat, after all. And, in your case, that might just get literal. ~"

A shiver ran down her spine as she heard those words from the masked animal with horns, who then walked up the stairs towards his club, leaving behind a shaken female with a camera.

Legoshi had prepared to meet Tem in there. However, he did not prepare for the whole club to be at him once he was inside.

In hindsight, he should have expected that the same type of attention the rest of school was giving him would also be a thing there in Drama Club. Especially considering that all involved animals were members.

"Dude, did you really fight Riz all by yourself!?" Bill asked as soon as Legoshi came in. The tiger was the first one to get to him. "That's totally hardcore! I thought you were a total wimp, but you fought a bear and won! How did you even do that!?"

"Is it true that you knocked him out with something? Did you have a bat? Or did you used something here from club?" Tao asked.

"I noticed one of the prompt swords went missing, did you used it to fight Riz? Can you swordfight?" Kibi asked, and there were other animals around asking more questions. It was quite overwhelming, and the wolf caught himself backing away towards the door as those animals all practically ganged up on him...

That was when Dom-senpai came.

"Okay, all of you, that's enough!" the peafowl rose his voice, causing everyone to look at him. "I think that all this attention is leaving Legoshi overwhelmed. He just survived a fight with a bear, give him some breathing room, will you?"

At that moment, the wolf was very thankful to the peafowl. He sighed through his mask, and then he used this chance to slip free from the many members ganging on him and to go to his usual spot among the lights.

However, before he was to climb the stairs, another person came to see him.

"Legoshi-kun." The wolf paused as he heard his name, and looked to see the angora goat, Els, looking at him.

"Yes?" he asked, looking at her, and she then said:

"I just want to say that you were very brave for saving Tem. You are a hero."

"Oh. Uhhh, I'm... thanks? Do you really think I'm a hero?"

"Well, yeah!" Els said, "And so does Tem. He said that just a couple minutes before you arrived."

Oh, so Tem is here, like Melon said... Legoshi caught himself thinking, as Els continued.

Apparently, the news that a carnivore of the club tried to eat one of the herbivores had put everyone on the edge. Just a couple minutes prior, the club was literally polarized in two sides, and both seemed ready to start going at the other. That was when Tem himself stepped up and reminded everyone that, while a carnivore had tried to eat him, it had been another carnivore who saved his life.

"He said you were very brave when you fought Riz, and that you were his hero for going to his rescue when he called you, and he was only thanks to you that he was still alive." Els said, and Legoshi rubbed the back of his head.

"Well, when Tem called me saying that someone was trying to kill him and asking for help, I had to do. I could not just ignore it. Tem's my friend."

"You are a true hero." Els said. Then she hesitated a bit, before she looked down, and the she said:

"Truth is... I used to think bad things of you... and I might have mentioned some of them to other people outside of the club." She sounded ashamed as she spoke those words, and then she looked up to the wolf. "I'll tell people I was wrong, and that you are actually a good person."

Legoshi blinked, looking at her for a moment, before saying:

"Well, if you think you must... by the way, where's Tem?"

"On the changing room." Els said, "He is putting on his clothes so he can practice."

"Are you sure you can practice?" Louis asked of the alpaca as he changed into his sports clothes with Zoe's help, the goat doing his best to help Tem fit into his clothes despite his arm in a cast, while the deer watched the two.

"I mean, with your arm and all..."

"It's fine, senpai." Tem said as he looked over his shoulder, wincing a little bit as they managed to fit his wounded arm through the shirt before resetting the sling to keep it in place. "I still have a job to do. Someone has to play Ollie the Water Spirit. We cannot just cancel the play, especially not after what happened. We need to show everyone that the Drama Club is still united and at full force."

Louis had nothing to say in return to that. He did agree with it fully, after all. However, he would be lying if he said he was not concerned with Tem. He even brought that up with the other senior members on the meeting they had yesterday, after hearing that the classes had been canceled...

"Okay! Let's get to it!" Tem said proudly as he was ready for another day.

Or so he thought.

Back on his spot among the lights he often fixed, Legoshi could see as Tem came forwards, a smile on his face and a confident spring on his step, despite the slight limp he had on the leg that had been injured by Riz's claws.

"Are you sure you can do it, Tem?" Sano-senpai asked, "I mean, your leg..."

"It's okay." Tem reassured him like he did to Louis. "The doctors said it would be fine as long as I don't put too much pressure on it. So, let's begin?"

And they did.

Soon, Louis-senpai was in position, with Ellen standing behind him, as he looked at Tem and delivered his lines:

"So, we meet again... Ollie, the Water Spirit!"

To that, Tem answered with:

"Indeed, we do, Adler! And I come here to find you are violating the laws of the cycle of life and death, refusing to take a life that was supposed to have come to an end! You realize you are throwing the whole nature cycle into chaos with your actions? That you are going against nature itself? And for what? For a mortal woman?"

"For the chance to know love and understand what brings joy to life!" Louis said back, lifting his sword and pointing at Tem. "Now, you have two choices! You can step aside and allow me passage, or you can fight me, and I'll finish what I've started!"

Tem let out a laugh.

"I shall never allow your passage! I am the flow of water on all rivers and lakes! I am one of the oldest and most powerful forces of nature, and I shall not wield! If you want to pass with this woman, then you will have to finish what you started-" Tem winced, as the sudden movement caused his wounded arm to throb for a brief, fleeting moment.

"Y-you will have to finish what you started and... a-and..."

His arm.

His wounded arm.

The cuts on it still feeling as fresh as on the night they were opened. As if they were still bleeding.

His wool felt damp and warm.

"A-and... k-k-kill me..."

"Tem... my friend..." A figure stood before him, walking closer, with a wide smile with sharp fangs and small beady eyes that shone with intent. "I'll do it. I'll make you a part of me... forever... and this time, no one will stop me."

NO!

"S-stay away!" Tem swung his sword. His eyes were closed. He swung it around. Someone let out a surprised sound as they stepped back. Tem himself stepped back, but he did not stopped swinging. He knew that Riz would come forward and kill him if he had the chance, so he swung his sword as hard as he could with a single hand.

He could hear him. Around him. Coming from his side, and then behind him. He swung his sword, crying in panic with his eyes shut so hard his eyelids were hurting. He heard Riz talking from many directions at once, telling him to stop, telling him to stand down, his voice getting strange each time he talked, but Tem did not dare stop. He did not dare give the bear the chance to finish what he started.

"Get away from me, Riz! Leave me alone!"

He stumbled back, landing on his but, but he got back on his knees and continued to swing. He heard Riz stumbling back and cursing as he landed on his butt as well.

However, immediately after, his wooden sword was grabbed mid-swing and yanked from his hand by someone.

He was unharmed. He was helpless.

So, Tem did the only thing he could at a moment like that: covered his head with his arm and begged.

"Please, don't eat me!"

"Tem! Tem, calm down! No one's going to eat you!"

That... that was not Riz's voice...

"L-Legoshi...?"

For the first time, Tem dared to open his eyes and look. And there he was, wearing the sports jacket and his mask, looking at him with worried eyes as he held the sword he just took from the alpaca. The same one who saved him from Riz before.

He had come to save him again.

However, Riz was not there.

Only everyone else from Drama Club, all of them looking at him with varying degrees of worry.

Bill was behind Legoshi, sitting on the floor looking like he fell there. Kibi was hiding behind Dom's legs, still shaking when one of Tem's sword swings almost hit him right on the head. And there, standing with a serious expression on his face, was Louis-senpai, with Ellen near him looking quite worried as she stared at the alpaca.

Even Els was looking at him with shock.

Tem blinked, his mind slowly registering what happened. His ears dropped as his face burned in shame. He looked down, still shaking as he tried to get up.

Legoshi stepped closer, and Tem, looking at him and seeing his claws, flinched reflexively, for a moment looking like he was going to run.

Legoshi flinched back, before he kneeled and, very gently, offered his hand to Tem.

The alpaca took a few seconds, but he accepted it, holding the wolf's bigger hand with his own shaking one, and Legoshi silently helped him to his feet.

A couple minutes later, they were both on the dressing room, with Legoshi sitting by Tem's side as the alpaca drank from a juice bottle he got from his locker. Then, Louis came in, pausing for a moment as the two looked at him.

Then Tem asked:

"That was... pretty bad, wasn't it?"

"Honestly? I'm glad it happened now instead of on the night of the play..." Louis said to the alpaca honestly. Tem said nothing to it, and he simply looked down.

"Legoshi." Louis said suddenly, causing the wolf to perk up. "Go wait outside. I need to have a word with Tem in private."

Legoshi did as asked, and he was soon going out the door, leaving the herbivores alone in the changing room.

"You see, Tem." The deer walked closer, "The reason I asked you if could do it was not only because of your arm or leg. It was because of your state of spirit."

The alpaca looked up, the deer was now standing in front of him.

"You narrowly escaped a near-death experience." Louis was blunt, there was no point sugarcoating it at this point. "You almost died. That is not the type of thing most animals can walk out of unshaken."

"I- know, but..." Tem said, "I mean... the doctor told me that I could be shaken for a while, maybe even more scared of carnivores than normal for a couple days, but I was feeling okay! I mean, up until my arm started aching while we were rehearsing and..."

"And it all came back to you." Louis said to the alpaca. "Yeah, that's usually how trauma works. It is not something you feel all the time. Is more like a thing that keeps creeping on the back of your head, waiting for the smallest thing so it can come back to haunt you. And what happened just now proves it."

Tem opened his mouth, but then, after a few seconds, he closed it, and simply looked down.

"Tem..." Louis placed a gentle hand on his shoulder. "You need more time. Time to heal not only your body, but your spirit as well." He patted his shoulder. "That's why I'm removing you from the actor pool for now."

Tem looked up instantly.

"W-what..."

"You are in no conditions to play your role properly. We cannot risk something like that happening during the actual play and, as you said yourself, we cannot cancel." Louis was kind as he spoke those words. "I already talked to Sano-san, and he agreed that it will be better if you take a break from acting."

Tem wanted to protest. He wanted to say that he was okay. He wanted to tell Louis that today was just an isolated incident and that it would not happen again.

However, he could not.

He knew that he could not.

He knew that there was a chance of something like that happening again, and that Louis, who prized the image and reputation of the club above all, would not risk the play being ruined by one of the actors freaking out while delivering his lines and then swinging his sword while screaming at an imaginary bear.

"I... I understand, senpai..." Tem said, "So... should I clear my locker?"

"You are not being kicked out of the club." Louis said, "It is simply a temporary reassignment. I'm placing you on the sound team."

"T-the... sound team?" Tem said, "The one Riz was in? You... you're putting me to replace him?"

"Would you prefer not to?" Louis asked. "I can place you with the figurine team, or with the stagehands if you prefer."

Tem considered it for a moment, but then he said:

"I'll... I'll join the sound team. I'll do my best."

Louis nodded at this and told him to let him know if he was having problems with anything, before leaving Tem alone on the lockers.

The alpaca sat on the bench for a while, thinking of what just happened.

Tem placed a hand on his arm, the slash wounds in there still feeling as if they were tingling. A ghost feeling that had persisted due to the flashback he had a couple minutes ago.

He felt he could still hear Riz's voice. Still see that smile on his face and his eyes, small and beady, now almost completely white as his pupils had shrunk into small pinpricks. He could still even smell Riz's breath as he held him close, before Legoshi finally got up and did what he had to do to save Tem's life.

Legoshi...

He saved him.

He went out of his way to save him, and it was thanks to him that Tem was there. It was thanks to him that Tem was able to come back to Cherryton and to Drama Club as well, even if he would be out of the actor team.

It was thanks to him that Tem now had a chance to confess his feelings...

"Els?" Tem said as he walked from behind the corner. He had already changed back into his regular school clothes, and he was now approaching the angora goat now that the other girls had walked way.

"Oh! Tem!" she said, approaching him. "Are you okay? I mean, I was worried when..." she trailed, and Tem nodded.

"Yeah, I'm fine now."

"And… I heard that Louis is putting you on the sound team..."

"Yeah, for a while. He thought it would be better until I've worked out... everything." Tem said, "Anyways, there is something I want to talk to you about."

"Oh?" Els tilted her head, wondering what it could be.

Then, as Tem got on one knee before her and offered her the letter, her eyes widened.

"T-Tem... W-what is-?"

"I really like you, Els!" Tem said before she could finish the question. The words he had been wanting to say for months, and that he could finally say now that no one was around to hear.

"Tem..." Els said, looking at him.

"I like, you Els! I... I've liked you since I first saw you! Back when I joined Drama Club! But I could not say it because you were dating Carl back then! I have been working the courage to confess ever since you two broke up, and now I finally can! Els, I love you!"

The goat looked at the kneeling alpaca, shock written all over her face as she stared at him.

"T-Tem... I-I... T-this is so... I-I don't know what to say..."

"Say you'll go out with me, then!" Tem suggested, perhaps more enthusiastically than he had to. He realized it, and then he said:

"Els, please, go out with me." He was more controlled now. "I love you, Els. I love you like I never loved any girl, and I want to be with you. I don't care if others will talk because we are of different species. I'm ready for anything, as long as we are together."

"Tem..."

"I already thought about it all." The alpaca cut her out. "I'm ready to face the whole school if I have to! If anyone picks on you because of it, then I'll fight them! Even if my own parents try to tell me I should not be with you, that will not make me quit!"

"Tem, I-" Els tried to say once more, but the alpaca cut her off again.

"I'm serious about this! I really want us to be together!" Tem was speaking louder now. "Even if the whole world is against us, I know I'll be able to face it, as long as I'm with you! So, please, be my gir-"

"I have a boyfriend!"

That outburst from Els silenced Tem's words. The alpaca just stared at her. He blinked once. Twice. Three times. And he just... kept staring, his mouth still open in a half-smile, which was soon dropping off his face as his brain processed what Els just told him.

"W-w-... what?"

"I have a boyfriend..." Els said after Tem asked that. "I met him a couple weeks after me and Carl broke up and... we started dating two months later. We are still together."

Tem blinked again. His ears dropping just like his smile.

"Y-you... you have a... b-but... but I... y-you never said anything about..." Tem said, his mind trying to come up with words, but seeming that it was falling short of being able to form coherent sentences. Els was feeling worse by the second as she saw the heartbreak slowly working its way into Tem's eyes.

"He is not a member of our club." Els said, "Honestly, the only reason we even started dating was because we met during lunch and traded phone numbers. So, I just... never mentioned him. I had no reason to bring him up with anyone of the club since no one here even knows him... I... I think maybe I should've. I'm sorry, Tem."

He kept looking at her. His face, until a moment ago filled with happiness and optimism, was now a mask of defeat.

"I... I see..." he finally said, his hand recoiling with the letter still in it. "I... well, I guess I should not... have assumed you would still be single. I mean, you are so kind and pretty... Of course, you would find someone else... someone who was not too much of a wimp to confess his feelings..."

"Tem..." Els tried to say, but the alpaca got up.

"Sorry for bothering you." Tem said quietly before walking away. Els looked at him go. She wanted to say something, but what else was she supposed to say? She only continued to look as Tem left, her head down just like his'.

And they both failed to notice that someone had witnessed that scene. Legoshi was still up there, finishing changing the fuses of one of the power boxes that fed the light beams, and he had a privileged position to see it all.

And his own ears were flat against his skull as he saw Tem walk away dragging his feet...

"Legoshi?"

Jack's voice made the wolf look up, seeing as Jack had stopped eating from the ice cream bucket that he and the other dogs were sharing to look at his wolf friend.

"Are you okay? You've been quiet for a while..."

"H-huh? Me? O-oh! Y-yeah, I... I'm fine." Legoshi said, "I-I'm just..."

"Still worried with that alpaca?" Melon asked, making Legoshi look at him. the hybrid had his own small ice cream package on his hand, much like Legoshi, who was eating from a separate one from Jack and the others', to avoid hurting them with his venom.

Legoshi looked to the side, and then he nodded.

"Hey, it's okay." Jack placed a hand on his shoulder. "Look, I'm sure Tem might be upset about losing his place on the play, but I'm sure he will be fine."

"Yeah... I hope so..." Legoshi said, as he went back to eating his own ice cream, and so did the others.

"Man, this is so good!" Durham said after another spoonful from his peanut-butter with crackers ice cream. "Melon, my man, where did you buy this? That gotta be the best ice cream I had in ages!"

"I didn't buy." Melon said casually, before taking a spoonful on his own ice cream. He could not taste the peanut butter, but the cold creamy texture mixed with the crunchy of the cracker pieces inside of it was actually quite nice. Probably the closest thing he could feel of flavor.

"What, did you steal all that ice cream, then?" Voss asked. By his side, Legoshi tensed, looking at the hybrid while dreading the answer. Luckily, Melon said:

"They were a gift. Not for me, though. The head of my club received then from some guy. His father owns an artisanal ice cream store or something, he gave her a ton of ice cream as a gift, and she said I could have some if I wanted, so I helped myself."

"Well, good call, man!" Durham said, and Voss asked:

"You said she got it from a boy? Was it... her boyfriend?"

Voss asked it in a strange way, as if he had a suspicion. Melon shrugged.

"Nah, she said it was just a clingy guy. Said she would not turn down free ice cream, but that she could not eat that much, so she gave me some. Well, guess we all win, huh?" Melon has a smirk on his lips as he ate another spoonful of his ice cream, letting the creamy and cold mixture melt on his tongue before munching on the crunchy bits left.

"And, as for that alpaca? Don't worry too much about it." Melon said to the wolf. "He is bummed out that things are not working for him? Well, he should focus on being happy he is alive, and all thanks to you. If you hadn't gone to save his fluffy ass, then he would not even be able to live through being demoted. You can recover from it, not from dying. Just give him a couple days and he will be thanking Rex he's still breathing."

That... was the kind of blunt thing Melon would normally say. Legoshi nodded at him and at Jack, thanking them both for the advice, before taking in another bite of his own ice cream, his tail wagging as he did due to the flavor.

Ice cream was another thing they never had on the facility and that Legoshi was delighted to have back on his life.

Just two minutes later, a phone was ringing. It was Jack's, and he answered while the others had ice cream.

"Oh! Gosha-san! Hi!" Legoshi stopped eating to look at him, "Yes, yes. Legoshi is here. We are all on Melon's dorm having ice cream. Hold on, I'll put you on speaker."

And he did, and soon the wolf and everyone on the apartment-like dorm could hear the Kodomo's voice:

"Legoshi, you there?"

"Hi, grandpa."

"Hey there, old lizard! You doing fine?"

"Yes, I'm okay, but I wanted to see if you two were fine too. I tried to call on your phone, but the call never connected."

"O-oh, that... my phone broke." Legoshi said a bit bashfully, "Sorry about that. The week's been good, though."

"Ah, I'm glad to hear. You aid you're having ice cream? I hope you're not eating ice cream instead of dinner."

The dogs all swallowed theirs as they looked at the wolf, all of them looking like they were caught. Legoshi, however, had the quick thinking of saying that they had noodles for dinner and were just having the ice cream as desert.

"Melon got the ice cream from his club's director. She gave it to him as a gift. Oh, and don't worry, I'm eating from a separate pot. With my own spoon."

"Well, hope it is to your liking." Gosha said from the other end of the phone. "How did your phone broke, by the way?"

Before Legoshi could answer, Melon said:

"It got smashed when Legoshi was fighting a bear."

"Wait, what!?"

"Melon!" Legoshi hissed through clenched teeth.

"Legoshi, what is this about you fighting a bear!?"

"Oh, don't worry. He won."

Melon sounded like he was trying to help, but what he was doing was the opposite of helping. Legoshi soon had to speak.

"Grandpa that's..." Legoshi hesitated, and then he said "Is that... something happened..."

And he told Gosha about that week's incident, and of his part on it. Starting with how he became close with Tem the Alpaca, from Drama Club, and how, when he was attacked by another carnivore of the club, he called Legoshi for help.

"... and... you actually fought this Riz kid?" Gosha sounded worried, and Legoshi nodded.

"Yeah. I... I used my venom on him."

"Legoshi..."

"I didn't bite him, though!" Legoshi said, "I just spat on his arm! He panicked and slipped on some blood on the ground and hit his head on a bad place when he fell. He's still at the hospital..." there were a few moments of silence, before the wolf said:

"Grandpa, I'm sorry. You told me not to solve things with violence, but Riz was going to kill Tem. And he didn't stop, no matter what I did. I... I just wanted to save Tem…"

"Legoshi, is okay." Gosha said, "I am a believer in pacifism, and that one needs to measure their strength and actions to live in this world. But there are occasions in which we have no choice but to fight. And you fought to save someone's life. You did well."

"Yeah, the police don't seem to think so." The wolf said, "Apparently someone named Yahya is trying to pin 'excessive force' on me or something..."

Gosha let out something under his breath that could have been a curse.

"Grandpa?"

"Yes, I'm here. Sorry. Look, don't worry, it will be okay. And, your friend Tem? How's he?"

"He is fine, I guess. I mean, he is already back at school, and is not harmed other than having his arm on a sling. But, today at club, he had a panic attack when they were rehearsing a fighting scene. I had to take his prompt sword from him because he was swinging it at everyone. And, because of that, Louis-senpai had him removed from the play saying that he needed time to recover..."

"Well, that's understandable. He almost got devoured by a carnivore. This kind of thing is traumatic for an herbivore, and sometimes it takes a while to recover mentally."

"But, Tem was so upset about losing his place on the play..." Legoshi said, "Also, he tried to confess to a girl he liked earlier, but she turned him down... and he just looked so sad... I wish I could help him..."

"Well, perhaps you can." Gosha said, "Talk to him. Let him know you are there for him, and that he can count on you if he needs anything. Perhaps try doing something to cheer him up."

"Hey, we can take him to city." Miguno suggested. "We can invite him to go to B-Strike with us tomorrow. Maybe take a stroll to get his head off thinks. It always helps me when I'm upset."

That... was worth a shot.

Yeah. They could do it.

"Sure, let's take Tem to the city tomorrow." Legoshi said, nodding at the plan. "Thanks for the advice, grandpa."

"You're welcome, Legoshi. Hope your friend starts feeling better soon. Love you."

"Love you too." Legoshi said as the call ended.

Just a few minutes later, there was a knock on the door, which prompted Melon to sigh, as he placed his ice cream pot down and placed his mask on his face before answering the door.

"Oh. Hey there, neighbor." He said to Louis, who stood on the other side of the door with crossed arms and wearing a robe. "What do I owe the honor of a visit of the beastar candidate himself?"

Once more, Melon was mocking him with his words, but Louis ignored it.

"Just thought you should know it is nearly eleven and remind you that the school has tightened the curfew policy after the incident of two nights ago. So, your guests might probably want to start heading to their own dorm now."

"Wait, it's already eleven?" Jack said as he and the others checked on their phones for the time.

22:48

"Oh, crap! We gotta go, guys!" Durham said as the dogs all got up, put on their shoes and wished Legoshi and Melon both a good night as they went to their dorm and promising to talk tomorrow for them to go to B-Strike together.

Legoshi also wished them good night as they went just as Louis himself walked back to his own room.

He would be seeing them all tomorrow.

Chapter Text

There were a lot of things to do on a Saturday. Things like going out with friends, or watching a movie, or binging your favorite series while eating your favorite snacks. Or, if you were a bookworm or had some test coming up, go to the library for some long, silent readying.

However, Tem didn't feel like doing anything on this Saturday.

Not after the week he had.

First, he nearly got devoured, barely managing to escape with his life and with all his limbs still attached (albeit his arm was still on a sling for a couple more days, at least). Then, as he tried to perform again, he had a panic attack and caused a scene, and this made Louis pull him out of the actor pool "temporarily". And, as if all of that was not enough, there was also the fact that Els, the girl who he has been crushing in since he started in Cherryton, rejected his confession because, as it turned out, and Tem was absolutely oblivious to, she already had a boyfriend!

I can't believe she has a boyfriend and I never knew... Tem wrote on his diary, allowing the words he would never share with any other person flow into the pages, as if he was confessing them to someone who he knew would never betray him and tell those words to anyone.

I can't believe I never noticed. I mean, I could have noticed, right? Even if she never mentioned it in club, I could have figure out. I have been looking at her from a distance ever since back when she and Carl were still dating! And I have been wanting a chance to confess to her since they broke up! How come I didn't notice she was already dating someone!? Was it because I was too focused on impressing her!? On proving I was the best boyfriend she could hope for!? Heck, I even made friends with all the carnivores of Drama Club just to impress her and make her like me!

Tem paused, blinking. His hand, which had been scribbling furiously, to the point of it nearly hurting, froze. The tip of his ball-tip pen hoovering over the page as he re-read the lines he just wrote down, two times.

Wait... Tem continued to look at the page, reading that line one more time. Did... did I really just wrote that?

"Are you really just going to spend all day writing on that thing?" Carl asked to Tem, causing him to look up at him in surprise, as he finished getting dressed. "I mean, you survived being chased by a bear. If it was me, I'd be celebrating like there's no tomorrow, maybe look for a girl to kiss, not spend the day cooped in the dorm writing on some stupid journal."

Tem blushed, reflexively closing the diary as Carl mentioned it, what did cause the other alpaca to look at him weird.

"I-I just... I mean... I... just don't feel like doing much of anything today."

"What, you still upset about not being on your club's play?"

"Yeah… yeah, something like that..." Tem looked away, and Carl looked at him for a couple more moments, before shrugging.

"Alright, suit yourself. Stay cooped here and be bored if you want. I'm gonna be hanging out with the guys."

And he went back to preparing to going out with his friends, who Tem himself didn't even knew. Curious, considering that Carl was probably his best friend on Cherryton, and still Tem felt like their lives were nearly completely separated despite them being roommates.

And, of course, the fact they were best friends made it more than a little awkward that Tem had, just the day previous, tried to confess to Carl's ex...

"Speaking of that club of yours... did you saw Els there?"

Tem tensed a bit, and he hoped Carl didn't notice.

"Y-yeah, I did. Talked to her before leaving yesterday." Tem confirmed. "Carl, did you know Els has a boyfriend?"

The other alpaca paused.

"Really?"

"Yeah, I didn't know myself. She met him after you guys broke up, apparently."

"After?" Carl asked, "Not before?"

The way he asked that seemed... strange. Nearly as if he wanted Tem to tell him it was before. As if he wanted confirmation. Or at least an excuse.

"W-well, she said it was before, and I don't see why she would lie."

"Well, for people not to think she's a tramp, for one." Carl spoke that with bitterness, and that made Tem flinch even harder. It was obvious he was still not over their breakup yet.

"You know, she was the one who deserved to be eaten, not you." Carl said to the other alpaca. "Although, you kind of should avoid associating with those carnivores from now on. You know, keep a safe distance? That's the best to do, unless you have a really good reason to get close. I mean, Rex knows that we can make good use of those carnivores..."

Tem looked at Carl, taking in the way he said the word "use". He then looked back at the page. The line that his hand just wrote nearly seeming like it was written by someone else.

Made friends with all carnivores of Drama Club just to make her like me...

The carnivores of Drama Club.

Like Aoba, who let him borrow his favorite manga when Tem told him he was going to an appointment, and he grew bored while waiting for them to call his name. Or like Tao, who even shared some of his poetry with him, which he was super bashful about sharing with anyone else. Or like Kai who, despite being resentful of him for being chosen as Odie on the play, was still cordial with him nearly every day as they continued to rehearse. And like Bill who, at one time, confessed to Tem how glad he was that at least one of the herbivores of Drama Club who honestly appreciated and trusted them enough to actually try and be their friend.

Like Riz, who he probably approached more than anyone, despite his big size, and who ended up nearly devouring him.

And like Legoshi, who just recently joined their club and who had been the one to approach Tem instead, and who had been the one to come to his rescue when he was about to be devoured by Riz and called him in blind with panic.

"You carnivores... are monsters! Every single one of you!"

Tem flinched internally as he remembered that part in particular. He could still not believe those words had come out of his mouth. Just like he could not believe the last line on his latest diary entry was written by his own hand.

Those two things combined made it seem like Tem had, from the very start, only been pretending to be friends with the carnivores of the club. That he had only been using them for his own convenience. At least, that was what it would seem if you put the two things together.

Was that what Legoshi would think if he heard what Tem said as he was rushing to save him from Riz?

Was that what all the other carnivores of club, who all seemed to be glad for his friendship, think if they found out? Would they feel betrayed for knowing that the herbivore who acted so friendly with them, who they thought was their friend, was just using them to impress his crush and thought poorly of them deep down?

Would they think Tem was a bad person?

Was Tem a bad person?

Was that a "saying something you don't mean due to stress" situation? Or a "being stressed enough o blurt out how you really feel" situation?

The more Tem thought about it, the more he was not even sure which one of those would be worse...

His thoughts were interrupted by a knock on the door, which made Tem and Carl share a look, before the standing alpaca answer. He found a gazelle wearing a medical mask standing on the other side with eyes so squinted they might as well be closed.

"May I help you?" Carl asked, not recognizing that person. The gazelle looked at him and then said:

"Since you don't have an arm on a sling, I'm assuming you are not Tem the Alpaca. Is he home?"

Carl looked at the gazelle, and then back at Tem, who had already gotten up and placed his diary on his drawer, which he locked with a key out of habit before walking.

"Are you looking for me?" Tem asked, "Wait, I know you. You are that gazelle who came with Legoshi on the first day but left after insulting Louis. Mango, was it?"

"Melon." The gazelle corrected. "Hope your arm is better than your memory."

"Well, it is..." Tem said, holding his arm on the sling. "Thanks for asking, even though we don't really know each other..."

"Yeah, Legoshi will be happy for hearing that." Melon said, "He wanted to come here himself, but your housemother didn't let him because everyone's still on the edge about you and that bear, so he asked me to come instead."

"Legoshi? That's the wolf who fought the bear off, right?" Carl asked, "So what? He asked you to come check on Tem?"

"No." Melon said, "He asked me to come invite Tem to hang out with him and the other dogs on the city today."

"Eh?" Tem was genuinely surprised, and Melon explained:

"Yeah, you see, Legoshi was really worried over you having left Drama Club looking like a child who just got told Rexmas is cancelled forever. So, one of his doggy friends suggested for him to invite you to hang out with them on the city. They are all going together, and I'm even going with them, so they thought maybe they could see if you were interested. Said they were going to treat you to an evening on the city, buy you a smoothie... So, you interested?"

Tem was surprised by this. By his side, Carl scoffed.

"Yeah, right. Look, I don't know about you, but most normal herbivores rather be around other herbivores than carnivores, especially after almost being eaten by one. You know, not tempt death? Besides, he told me himself he doesn't want to go out today, right Tem?"

The other alpaca looked at Carl, and then at the gazelle standing outside their dorm. A gazelle who came there on Legoshi's request.

The wolf who saved him. The wolf who risked his life to keep Tem from being devoured, and who was also kind and gently to Tem while he was hurt and vulnerable. The wolf who, on the previous day, helped calm him down after his panic attack, and stayed by his side on the lockers until he stopped shaking.

"You know..." Tem said slowly, "I... I think I do want to go out..." he lifted his head; the gazelle was looking at him with his own head tilted slightly.

"I want to go to the city with you guys." Tem said, and this caused Carl to look at him with shocked surprise.

"Oh, is that so? Well, Legoshi's gonna be happy with that."

"Great!" Tem said, suddenly more excited than he felt a couple minutes ago. "I'm just gonna shower and change real quick!"

And, as Tem went on to get ready to go out, Carl stood there, dumb-folded. Melon, who was still standing there himself, said to the other alpaca:

"So, I'm guessing this means your roommate is not really normal?"

There was a humor on the gazelle's face as he said that, his eyes un-squinting ever so slightly to look at Carl. This mere act of opening his eyes caused the alpaca to flinch a bit.

Those eyes... were quite small for a gazelle's...

Legoshi liked to ride the train, if he was being honest.

Not as much as he liked car rides, but train rides were also nice. Especially with his friends.

Jack and the dogs were there, and so was Melon. They seemed to be getting along for the most part. Legoshi did notice that things had been tense between the hybrid and the Labrador for a while, but they seemed like they managed to work out whatever was going on between them, and the ice cream of yesterday did help Melon win the rest of the 701 dogs over.

And, of course, Tem was in there.

This is the first time I see him wearing something other than the school's uniform... Legoshi thought as he saw the clothes Tem was using. It was a bit surprising, to be honest. Tem came to them wearing a black shirt with skulls and lightnings in it, with the words "COFFIN BREAKERS" in it. They were a heavy metal band he loved, apparently. Legoshi didn't even know he was into this kind of stuff.

"I really like the lyrics." Tem said, "And I sing along with them when I'm feeling stressed. You know, venting my feelings and stuff? It helps when I'm having a bad time... mostly..."

Legoshi looked at him, seeing how upset he was. And tired.

"You okay, man?" Voss asked of the alpaca. "Got some big bags under your eyes and stuff."

"Yeah... I... I had some trouble sleeping." Tem said, not saying that, just last night, he was riddled with nightmares about Riz coming for him to finish what he started. He already felt pathetic due to the panic attack of the previous day that led to him being removed from the actor pool, he was not about to confess he spent the night awake afraid of nightmares like a little kid.

Legoshi, although not hearing it outright, had a feeling this was about Riz. About the lingering fear left by the whole near-death experience. That certainly made him glad he had the foresight to trim his nails on that same morning to avoid making Tem uncomfortable, and to make the other dogs do the same before they met the alpaca. He even convinced Melon to do so, despite the hybrid not being happy with having to do it.

"Wishing you stayed in your room instead?"

That commentary made Tem look to the side, to see the horned animal sitting by his side looking at him through squinted eyes. It was hard to see his expression with that squint and the mask on his face, but the way he asked that was nearly as if he was asking Tem if he regretted coming with them.

"N-no! I mean, not really? I..." Tem stumbled on his words a bit, before taking a breath. "I'm glad you guys invited me to come to the city. I have been wanting to do some things in there anyways. It will be nice to spend a day with ya'll."

Hearing that made Legoshi's tail wag a bit, thumping int his seat, what some, of course, noticed.

"Well, in that case, let's be sure to help you have a good time in there." Jack said, placing a hand on Tem's shoulder (not the one with the arm on a sling) as he gave him his best friendly Labrador smile, and it seemed to work, as it made the alpaca visibly relax, and he even managed to start making a conversation with the other dogs, while Melon seemed to find a piece of gum stuck on the floor far more interesting than anything they were talking about.

All in all, the travel to the city was quite pleasant for most of the involved. Once they arrived, they all came out on the station, with the dogs leading the way while Tem and Melon followed close behind.

I never get tired of how big everything is in the city... Legoshi thought as he looked around, his tail wagging behind him as he took in how big the place was. Everywhere he looked, he saw animals walking around, from the gazelles walking down the street hand in hand to a hank who passed flying over them.

"You really like coming to the city, don't you?" Durham asked of the wolf, and Legoshi was about to say something, when he felt a body moving closer to him.

Tem had scooted closer to him and was almost wrapping his good arm around the wolf's, seeming to shrink as a pair of bears passed nearby, taking to each other and not noticing the effect they just had on the alpaca, who nearly seemed like he wanted to use the wolf like a shield.

"Tem?" the gentle voice made the alpaca look over. Legoshi was looking at him with a worried expression.

Tem blinked, and then he looked down.

"S-sorry..."

There was a moment of silence, before Legoshi asked the alpaca, as gently as possible, if he wanted to go back to Cherryton, saying he could take him back now if he wanted.

"No, there's no need!" Tem said, "Legoshi, I was really glad when you invited me to come. I... I was really planning to stay on my room and not come out, but then I realized how stupid I was being." He looked down. "Legoshi, I... I don't want to be nervous around carnivores. I don't want to be scared, or to run away from them. I really don't want to... I can't let myself start thinking all carnivores are dangerous now."

He looked up at the wolf.

"I want to remind myself that carnivores are not monsters."

"Tem..." Legoshi said as he looked at the alpaca, his tail wagging ever so slightly faster. The moment was... something.

"Say... you two want a minute? Maybe we can turn around and let you two find a dark alley or something?"

The voice came from Melon, and Legoshi and Tem both looked towards him, and then at each other, before awkwardly separating.

"So... what you guys wanna do?" Tem asked, and he was glad that the other dogs accepted right away the cue to change the subject. B-Strike was always an option with those dogs, and Tem told them about this store nearby that had all options of ice cream.

"And, of course, we can always go to the arcade." Tem said, "I always go there with Carl and the other guys when we have a chance to come with the city. I was even planning on next time inviting Ri- Oh, never mind that! Anyways, the games in there are the best!" Tem said after catching himself before speaking of that person, and he was now listing some of his favorite games in there, including some vintage ones that were hard to find anywhere else.

"Yeah, sounds like a blast." Melon said, "You guys have fun doing that."

"Wait, you're not coming?" Jack asked, and Melon said he would not.

"I'm kind of used to go about my own rhythm when I'm out on the city and, don't take it wrong guys, but you'd all just hold me back. So, I'll be going now and I meet with all later. Toodles!"

And, with those words, the horned animal walked away before anyone could stop him, leaving the alpaca and the canines to all stare as he disappeared into the crowd.

"Is... is he always...?" Tem started to talk, and Legoshi then said, in an apologetic tone, that Melon had always been a bit of a loner ever since they knew each other, back in the shelter.

"Wait, shelter?" Tem asked, and that was when Legoshi realized he made a mistake. Tem, like everyone else in Drama Club, was not aware of the whole "shelter" story, as they all believed that Legoshi and Melon had been homeschooled.

"Oh, shoot..." the wolf said under his breath, but then Jack managed to diverge the situation by saying that they should pool their money to see what things he could do today, and the rest of the ground agreed.

"Hmmm, not that much..." Durham said as the dogs all put their money on a pile, and it was... well, about as much as you'd expect a bunch of high school kids to have on their pockets to spend on a weekend.

"Maybe we can play a single machine on the arcades and go to one or two things on B-Strike, and maybe we can all share an... ice cream..." Miguno said, slowing down on the end as he looked at Legoshi, suddenly remembering that he had venom and that sharing pretty much any food with him was basically the same as jumping from a cliff headfirst.

"Maybe this helps?" Tem said as he put money on the pile as well.

A whole, fat wad of it.

"Wha-?" Voss said as he looked at the wad of money in shock, before the dogs all looked at the alpaca.

"Dude, how do you have that much money!?" Durham sounded as shocked as the others looked, and Tem rubbed the back of his head awkwardly.

"My dad... he gives me money every month for me to have fun. Kind of his way to make up for not being able to talk to me due to his job. This month he sent me some extra. You know, for the 'almost dying' thing? So, I have extra money to spare."

As he said that, Tem pulled another wad of cash, this one fatter than the one he just put on the pile, much to the added bafflement of the dogs.

"So, everything's on me today, guys."

"Woohoo!" Voss said, and he immediately jumped on Tem, hugging his body and rubbing his face on his stomach. "I love you, man! Guys, I don't care what you all say, to me this alpaca is already an honorary pack member!"

No one opposed to that. They were all more interested on having a blast with all that money, since the herbivore was paying for them.

"Tem, is it really okay for you to spend that much money?" Legoshi asked, showing the worry for others that everyone came to know him for.

"I told it's fine, Legoshi." The alpaca said, "Like I said, my dad gave me this money. It's not like it's to pay rent or groceries, since the school has it all covered on the tuition. This is all money for me to spend, and dad never said I could not spend it on my friends."

His friends... this meant Tem truly did consider Legoshi his friend. The thought made the wolf's tail wag.

"What does your father even do to get all that money?" Collot asked as they walked across the street, the dogs all flanking the alpaca like a living wall of fur and wagging tails. "Does he work at a bank? Or is he one of those venture capitalists who invests in other beast's business and gets lots of cash in return?"

"Actually, my dad is a doctor."

Those words, said so casually by Tem, made Legoshi's tail stop wagging.

"Doctor? Like, in a hospital?"

"Yeah, sometimes. Dad did specialize in neurosurgery, but he is actually more of a research doctor. He is a geneticist. Figures out how genetic diseases work and treatments to prevent them. That's kind of why he is always busy and never shows up for birthdays or Rexmas. He is in some big project now and... Legoshi?"

The group stopped when they realized that the wolf was no longer following them. he had stopped in the middle of the street, and now he was just... standing there. His brain was still processing what he heard, and the others looked at him, getting freaked out by his actions, especially as the wolf did not even react to them calling out his name.

At least, until the moment when Tem himself called him.

"Legoshi? Are... are you okay?"

The wolf blinked, looking at the alpaca. The one who looked at him with such genuine worry, unlike the cold detachment of the Doctor. That cruel look that lacked any kind of warmth or kindness, as if they were all objects he could use and dispose of, rather than beasts with feelings and needs of their own, as if he didn't even have a soul to feel anything for them.

"I... I'm fine." Legoshi said, "I'm fine, really."

And those words sounded sincere, and they made Tem smile, and then the group was once more leading them to the arcade.

I was just being heist. Legoshi thought as they made their way there. I mean, they don't even look alike. Why would Tem's dad, who is a doctor, be the Doctor? I mean, just because Tem is an alpaca? A lot of alpacas are doctors... right?

Soon, however, the brief worries Legoshi had about that doctor being The Doctor were forgotten, as soon they were on the arcade, and then Legoshi allowed himself to do something that he had only started doing again once he finally escaped from the facility with Melon. Something he had not been able to do since he was kidnapped and woke up in a cold cell with over a dozen other hybrid children.

To play games like a kid.

Not because it was a chore. Not because it was a "test of his development" or a "training".

He played games because they were fun. No compromises, no demands, and no punishments if he failed to win. Just a game played for pure childish enjoyment.

And he was doing that with friends, and they were all having a good time.

From Miguno and Durham having a little game on the table hokey, to Tem who was playing a one-person machine with Legoshi's help, who took the place of his arm on a sling, and the two of them were destroying the game while Collot and Voss both cheered for them as they played it.

It was a blast.

After three hours, the canines and alpaca had their fill with games, and now they wanted to do something else.

"Okay then!" Jack said, "Next stop: B-Strike!"

However, just as they were about to go there, Legoshi pulled his phone out, aiming to check the time, and that was when he came face-to-face with a busted screen.

"Oh... I forgot it was broken..." Legoshi said as he looked at it. He was already thinking of how he would have to buy a new one, when Tem told him that he could buy a new one for him.

"There's a store just across the street." The alpaca gestured to the phone store in question. "I'll buy you a new phone. I mean, it's the least I can do."

Legoshi wanted to refuse, but Tem insisted, and the wolf ended up accepting. Tem handed some money for the other dogs, saying they would catch up with them later, and the carnivore and herbivore went together to the store.

So, Tem bought Legoshi a new phone. He offered to buy a top of the line model for the wolf, but Legoshi said he preferred one of the same his grandpa bought. Tem did, however, paid for a data plan, allowing Legoshi to save both his number and everything that was saved on his original phone, including the photos he had of himself with Jack, his new friends and his grandpa, all of which he took ever since first buying his original phone with Jack back when he returned home.

"I thought those were gone..." Legoshi said as he scrolled through the gallery, his tail wagging a bit behind him. meanwhile, Tem was paying for the new phone and the data recovery, and Legoshi saw it from the corner of his eye.

It was... quite a lot of money.

"Tem?"

"Hmm?"

"Is... is it okay for you to spend that much money on me?" he asked, nearly sounding apologetic. Tem's answer as firm:

"Legoshi, you saved my life. You're my hero. Of course, it's okay for me to spend all that money on you."

This made Legoshi blush and made his tail wag faster. What Tem noticed and pointed it out playfully. This caused the wolf to grab the offending appendage, his face flushing with a blush.

"Man... I'm buying a jacket that can hide my talk next time I go shopping... and maybe I'll buy some other clothes too..."

"Oh? You don't have many clothes?"

"Not really. I didn't have many back in..." the wolf caught himself before saying "the facility", but Tem looked at him with a tilted head, his gaze questioning.

"Uhhhh... do you remember that I told everyone me and Melon were homeschooled?" Legoshi asked that slowly, and Tem said just as slowly:

"Yes?"

"Well, that's not... exactly true..."

Legoshi then told Tem the truth. Well, part of it. He told him that, back when he was twelve, he ran away after his mother's death, not going into details about it, and ended up in a shelter, where he first met Melon, and that was where he stayed for five years, until leaving with his horned friend a couple months ago, when he developed scales and venom.

"Why did Sanu-senpai said you were homeschooled?"

To Tem's question, Legoshi looked down.

"Because... we kind of asked Headmaster Gon to tell that to people. Because I felt bad for running away and worrying grandpa for so long, and we didn't really want to remember the shelter..."

"Was it bad?"

"They punished us whenever we did anything they didn't like." Legoshi said, "One of the ways they did it was by leaving us without food the next day. All day."

Yeah, that was bad. Tem knew that well.

"They also didn't let us have many clothes. We just wore what they gave us, and they punished us if we complained."

Silence followed those words. Tem looked really uncomfortable all of a sudden. After a while., the alpaca finally said:

"Wanna go look for a clothes' store? I'll pay."

Legoshi accepted.

"This is the good stuff, pal." Said the clouded leopard as he gave a can with "KINES" printed on it. The gator nodded back at him before going his way, already opening the can and taking a big gulp out of it, while the feline went back to his friends with the money of the can he just sold.

"So, business going well, isn't it?" asked a male jaguar as his friend came back with the money. By his side, the female cheetah had a smirk on her face as she took a puff of her cigarette while leaning on him. The leopard added the money to the box they had. Meanwhile, the fourth member of their group, a canine wearing a hoodie, was looking around, keeping watch to make sure they were in the clear. And he looked quite nervous at that.

"Guys, we should not be doing this..." the canine said for what could be the seventh time on the last hour, much to the annoyance of the rest of the group. "Seriously, we are taking such a big risk by doing this outside of the Black Market."

"Well, it's not like we had a choice." Said the jaguar. "With how everyone else is selling this thing there, then we would be just another one among many suppliers. Bringing this thing to this neighborhood, we can basically sell all you want without worrying about competition. We can charge as much as we want, and our clients will always want more after a taste."

"A pretty good strategy, if you ask me." Said the cheetah as she leaned on her partner even more. The canine, however, was not convinced.

"Yeah, but out here we don't have any protection! We are exposed, and we will be in deep shit if they catch us! We could be caught by the cops or... by 'you-know-who'..."

The canine said that in a low voice while looking around, nearly as if he was afraid that even talking about "that person" could cause him to suddenly materialize from a nearby shadow. To that, the others laughed at him, saying he was being ridiculous, and that the Black Devil would not just come to get them, and they had nothing to worry about.

Well, they were only right about one of those things.

The canine suddenly perked, as he heard someone coming. He could then smell their scent.

Gazelle... no. Wait, yes. It was a gazelle. And... something else?

Coming closer.

Soon, the other saw him too, the gazelle who approached wearing a floral-pattern shirt with long sleeves and a surgical mask on his face.

"Hey there, fellas!" the tone the gazelle used with them was a bit too joyful. Enough to put them on guard.

"What do you want, herbivore?" the clouded leopard asked as he got up.

"Ah, straight to the point, huh?" the newcomer said, and then he went straight to the point as well.

"I heard that some guys around here are selling a special drink, and I was thinking if I'd be able to have a sip from it. So, are you the people selling it?"

They shared looks among themselves, and then the jaguar and cheetah got up, both looking at the gazelle as they walked to him.

"Who the heck are you?" the question had an hostility behind it, but Melon simply said:

"A potential client, if you'd like to entertain me. So, you got that special drink or not?"

"That drink is not for herbivores." The jaguar said, "So you just beat it."

"Oh?" Melon stopped and tilted his head slightly.

"So, I'm not allowed to have your special drink?" he opened his eyes ever so slightly to that question.

"Think I can't handle some herbivore blood and grounded bone?"

Hearing that immediately put the whole gang on the edge, as the clouded leopard hissed menacingly, and the jaguar pulled a knife out of his pocket. He was confident he could take an herbivore out with his claws and muscles, but he'd rather be safe than sorry, since this guy clearly knew too much...

"Who the hell are you, herbivore?" the jaguar asked, "Are you cop or something?"

"Do I look like a cop?" Melon opened his arms. "What, you think I'm in an undercover mission trying to get you guys for a crime or something? Nah, nothing like that. I'm just curious to what herbivore blood and bone tastes like. The guy I just saw walking away with his drink seemed like he was enjoying himself so, you know? I'll even pay you."

Melon pulled out some cash from his pocket, waving it to the jaguar as if he was trying to bait him.

"So, would you humor me? I just want a taste. ~"

The jaguar was about to tell him to scram, when the cheetah placed a hand on his shoulder, whispering a "let me" before stepping forward towards the newcomer, her best seductive smile on her face, her hips swaying in a deliberate way as she was ready to call forth all the charm a female big feline was capable of.

"Hey, hey, my friend..." she said, squinting her eyes and smiling on a way that she knew from experience could make most herbivores lower their guard. "Are you really asking us for something such as herbivore blood to drink? I mean, why would we even have something like that?"

"Because I saw that alligator leave with his drink just now?" the gazelle had that tone of a person who returned a dumb question with an obvious statement. The cheetah was not fazed in the slightest.

"Tell me..." she closed the distance towards him, not realizing she was making a terrible mistake "Why is an herbivore even looking for something like that? What, is that some kind of morbid curiosity? Or are you trying to prove something?"

She leaned in closer to him, her face so close to his' that her whiskers were nearly touching his face, like those of another female once did, back when he was a child...

"You know, that's really reckless for a gazelle like you, with that skinny body of yours." She said, and she reached out with her hand to touch him. "Although, those frail bodies of yours' have a charm of their own. ~"

Before her hand could make contact with his cheek, however, his own hand shot forward, grabbing her wrist and squeezing it with surprising force for an herbivore, before:

"Gyaaahhhhhh!"

"What the!?" the jaguar said as he and the others watched the female convulse violently as the gazelle grasped her wrist, before going limp, at which point the gazelle tossed her aside.

"You bastard!" the clouded leopard said as he charged at the gazelle, unsheathing his claws as he charged forward. However, as he reached him and tried to slash, Melon simply sidestepped, letting the medium-size feline pass by him before slamming his hand, palm open, into the back of his neck, causing an electrical charge to go right into the base of the feline's skull. Next thing anyone knew, the feline dropped to the ground, convulsing violently.

"Dammit!" the jaguar then went forward next, his knife int one hand as he approached the gazelle with more weariness than the previous two felines

"You know, I don't really get why carnivores such as you carry knives, honestly." Melon said as he tilted his head towards the jaguar. "Aren't your claws sharp enough to slice my skin? Perhaps you are not too confident on yourself as a predator? Or maybe you're just so cowardly you need this to feel like you stand a chance?"

"Screw you!" the jaguar said as he charged forward, swinging both his blade and his claws at the gazelle, who avoided those with skilled ease, although some of those swings managed to get a little too close for comfort, like how one of the swipes of the knife opened a superficial slash on Melon's arm, causing some blood to trickle out, or how one of the swipes of the leopard's claws managed to cut through Melon's shirt, although it barely even grazed his skin. And yet, the horned animal was at the advantage, as he managed to both slap the knife off the jaguar's hand and then punch him twice right on the snout, causing him to back away while bleeding from his nostrils.

"Had enough now, man?" Melon leaned over as the feline held his bleeding snout. "You know, none of that would be happening if you just gave me what I asked."

The jaguar looked up at him, and then his hands shot forward, grabbing Melon's horns before he could get away.

"Got you now!" the jaguar said with a toothy smirk, just a fraction of a second before electricity coursed through his body from the horns. Enough to cause him to literally be flung back into the wall, which he collided with hard before dropping to the floor, twitching and then going still.

Melon got up, and then turned his attention to the last member of the group, a canine who charged at him with a box on his hands, looking like he was going to swing it at the gazelle's head. The next thing this canine knew was that he was slammed with his back into the floor and was not looking at pair of half-squinted eyes while a hand grasped at his neck, another one halfway to his forehead.

"W-wait! Wait!" the canine said, his hoodie falling back to reveal he was a wolf. "I'm sorry! Please, I'm, sorry! Please, don't hurt me!"

Melon did stop as he looked at the wolf. Not because of his pleading, that did absolutely nothing to move the hybrid, but because as he looked at that wolf, as he saw his features and the color of the fur of his muzzle, he could not help but think of how much that wolf reminded him of Legoshi...

The hand on his neck loosened its grip, allowing the wolf to breathe again, as the gazelle straightened up.

"Get lost." Those two words came out of Melon's mouth charged with indifference, and the wolf looked at him for a moment, before getting up. Before he could leave, however:

"Wait." The wolf paused and looked over his shoulder at the gazelle.

"Leave your jacket."

The wolf did not discuss, as he removed his jacket and tossed to the gazelle before rushing out of there as fast as his legs could carry him, leaving Melon alone with three unconscious felines.

Once the wolf was gone, Melon walked to their van and managed to check on what they had there. A box full of money, which was always handy, and a lot of boxes of their KINES drink. Melon opened one, and the smell of blood and bone reached his nostrils, causing them to flare as his carnivore instincts recognized the smell of herbivore blood.

He unceremoniously took a sip... and was thoroughly disappointed.

It tasted like nothing. Just like everything else the hybrid had tried so far.

"Dammit." The hybrid said with apparent indifference, before violently tossing the can into the floor, causing the contents to spill into the unconscious female cheetah. "Your drink is crap!" he said to the unconscious woman before starting to remove his shirt, ripped and unusable in public.

And, as he did, he looked down upon himself. Upon the leopard spots that he had matting his otherwise untainted golden gazelle fur. They were not many, and were spread unevenly all over Melon's body, but they were still there.

And the hybrid detested them. The mere sight of those spots was enough to make him sick to his stomach, and to make him want to pick up the knife the jaguar dropped and cut every inch of skin matted with them out of his body.

However, he instead just sighed and then put the jacket, letting it cover the spots out of sight. However, he knew that, under the jacket, those spots would still be there, and Melon would be seeing them every time he removed his clothes.

"Your small body is so pretty. Oh, how I love to see it bared for me. ~"

Melon's hand went to his arm, injured with a light cut. Not to nurse it, but to squeeze it hard and make it hurt. The pain helped keep him grounded as he walked out the other side of the alley.

And came face-to-face with a tattoo parlor.

"Tattoos, huh?" Melon's head tilted to the side as he looked at it, just as a hippo came out, proudly showing off the heart he had tattooed on his arm for his girlfriend to the two friends with him. Melon was walking to that store before he even realized what he was doing.

The first thing he saw as he walked inside was a sloth. Walking to the door on his very slow pace with a bag under his arm. Since it seemed he was going to stay there for a while, Melon just walked around him and towards the reception desk, but he still took a moment to look at that sloth's face.

Melon always thought they were kind of cute...

"May I help you, sir?" asked the beast on the reception, and Melon said he would like to get tattoos.

"Tattoos? As in, more than one, sir?"

Melon nodded, and said that it was something he needed done, and he would be paying extra if there was the case, but he needed it done today.

The way the animal with horns said that made the receptionist nervous enough that she immediately called their three best tattoo artists to attend to him, and Melon was soon inside one of the booths with them, the curtain offering some privacy as the hybrid removed his clothes to the three tattoo artists until he was only on his boxers, and the three of them looked in surprise at his body with spots.

"I want every single one of them covered. The ones in my torso, in my arms, and those on my lower back too." He gestured to the ones on his leg as he sat on the stretcher, his mask still on his face. "Can you do that?"

"Well, yeah. I mean, I guess we can." Said a lynx with a tattoo on his face. "But... what are those?"

"They kind of look like leopard spots." Said another on one of the artists, a hawk with complex tattoos all over his wings. To that, Melon gave him a glare as he unsquinted his eyes, causing the avian to flinch as that cold glare hit him.

"I want those covered as fast as possible." The hybrid said to them with "And I expect a good job from all of you. Is that clear?"

Something on the way the horned animal said that made all the three, all of them carnivores, flinch and recoil, as if they were being threatened by a much bigger carnivore than themselves. Two of them even apologized.

"W-what would you like your tattoos to be, sir?" asked the ferret, "I mean, should we show you or portfolio, or you already have something specific in mind?" Melon looked at him for a moment.

Oh, right... I gotta choose what to cover those blasted spots with... the hybrid thought for a little while. Then, he decided:

"Cover them with melon leaves."

The artists all nodded, saying they would do their best, as they all positioned themselves around him as he laid on the stretcher. As he did, for a moment, another image... no, a memory flashed on his mind.

He was twelve, and he was laying on a stretcher. A cold one, made of metal, while doctors were surrounding him, with all manners of equipment on their hands. Syringes, ultrasound machines to map his internal organs, something that looked like a probe of some kind, and something that looked like a stun-gun. They had, apparently, decided to test once more if his body could absorb external electricity sources. And, all the while, the Doctor, that cursed alpaca, was watching it all from his own viewing window, with arms crossed and a cold expression on his eyes.

Then the sting came. Not of a syringe, but of a needle. That was one of the tattooing machines, and they already started their work. Melon's body jolted, as he arched his back while hissing, and this caused the one tattooing him to stop.

"Keep going..." Melon hissed to the three of them. "Cover them all up."

And the three artists did as their client requested, and they proceeded to start tattooing green melon leaves over the black spots on his fur, the ink entering his skin and altering its color, what immediately reflected on his fur, as their color cells changed to match the new color of the patterns on his body. Soon, the spots would be gone, and now Melon gritted his teeth behind his mask as he trembled from the needles piercing his body, hissing as air escaped through his heavy breathing.

However, this was not out of discomfort, like the three artists thought. Rather, it was out of delight. In fact, Melon even had to bite his lip to keep himself from moaning. For to him, who never felt desire or hunger on his life, to whom sex and food brought no pleasure at all, pain was what validated his life and proved he was not just an object for someone to use.

Like those doctors did.

And his own mother before them.

But I'm free now... Melon thought as his tail flicked, the lion by his side tattooing his arm, while the hawk covered a few spots on his chest with a drawn leaf, and the weasel worked on the big one on Melon's inner tight. I'm free. From all of that. I'm no longer trapped in a make-believe fairy tale land of an apartment, nor on some secret government lab. I'm free to go where I want and do what I want! And if anyone tries trapping me again, I'll fry them until there's nothing left! And I'll do the same to anyone who comes for Legoshi!

As one of the artists hit a nerve-riddled area, the hybrid gasped as he arched his back, startling them, but he soon told them to keep working as he panted heavily, a blush forming on his face, which the three carnivores currently inking his body failed to notice.

After eighteen years, my life is finally looking up...

"Oh, my! Those fit you like a glove, sir!" said the peacock as he worked on the leg of Legoshi's new pants, with Tem standing by the side as the wolf tried them out. "Those clothes are perfect for canines like you!"

"They are?"

"Indeed!" the peacock looked up to him. "You see, canines like you have long and lean limbs, which fit naturally well with clothes like that. Unlike big felines, who have more prominent musculature on their limbs, and do better on clothes that show off those limbs."

Legoshi took it in. He did think those clothes fit him better. Not only because they went well with his long and thin limbs, but also because the long sleeves helped hide his scaly shoulder. But he, of course, was not about to tell the peacock that, although Tem knew that well.

"I think it looks great on you." The alpaca offered helpfully. Legoshi, however, expressed worry due to the price.

"Hey, don't worry. I'm paying it all." The alpaca remembered him. "You need more social clothes for when you go out on a party or an event." He looked down on Legoshi's feet, seeing the sneakers he was wearing. "Hmmm, you will need some shoes to match. Let me go get a pair."

And with that, the alpaca went to look for a pair of social shoes that would fit well with Legoshi's new clothes. He did, however, looked a bit out of place as he looked around that store, which was of clothes geared towards carnivores. An alpaca with his arm on a sling did looked out of place among the coyotes and snow leopards looking through socks and sportswear in search for a social shoe.

Hmmm, those look nice. Tem looked at the shoes he picked, seeing how elegant they looked. But, are they Legoshi's size? I better ask someone...

As Tem looked around, he saw that practically all attendants were carnivores. One of them was even a bear, and that... brought Tem bad memories, as it made his arm on a sling tingle.

He was walking away from the bear when he came across three animals, all of them wearing tags that identified them as workers of the store. And one of them was a sheep so small she barely made it to Tem's waist.

"Come on, Lamb-chan. ~" said one of the two carnivores as he pinched her cheek. "Give us a smile! You've been frowning ever since this morning's reunion! You'd look way prettier if you smiled. ~" the carnivore by his side smirked and nodded in agreement. All the while, the sheep (a Merino sheep, as Tem recognized her as one), just stood there, with a scowl so firm it was as if her whole face was stony.

Seeing her like that, being bullied by those carnivores, made something move in Tem. A feeling of sympathy, an ugly feeling of unease as he was seeing another herbivore being ganged up by two carnivores and being in a position where she could not fight back.

A position Tem himself had been into just earlier that same week.

"Excuse me!" the alpaca said, walking to them before he could think of what he was doing, and the three animals, all of them shorter than him, turned to look at the approaching herbivore.

And, as soon as he was before them, Tem didn't fit as confident as he looked those two carnivores up close. They could be smaller than him, but they still had fangs.

"What are you even doing here, kid?" said one of them, "Don't you know this is a store of carnivore clothes? What, did you got lost?"

"I-I..." Tem said, a familiar feeling of unease coming to him. One that made him feel like he was being dragged back into Lecture Hall 2. Back where Riz had him cornered and unable to escape, before Legoshi came to rescue him.

Legoshi...

"I-I'm just... here with my friend!" Tem said, and before any of them could say anything, he turned out and called for the wolf's name, and rather loudly.

The wolf was there in just six seconds, as Tem's loud voice made him rush to his side, startling the store's staff.

"He's my classmate, and I'm buying him new clothes." Tem said as he gestured to the unusually large wolf who now stood by his side, the two small-size carnivores, so confident a moment before, now didn't looked so hot.

"I was looking for a pair of shoes for him, but I'm not sure if they will fit. I was wondering if one of you would help me?" the alpaca said that as he showed the shoes he had on his hands, and the carnivores looked in between him and the giant wolf, who tilted his head at them.

"S-shoes, you said?" one of them said, "T-that's with Lamb-chan here! Help them!" they said before hurrying away, leaving the wolf and alpaca with the sheep, who was soon looking up at the two.

"So... can you help us?" Tem asked, and of course the sheep could. She spent the next ten minutes help them choose the right type of shoe to go along with the wolf's new clothes.

"The size and looks is not all that matters when it comes to shoes for carnivores." The sheep explained. "You also need to be sure they have the right sturdiness. After all, not only carnivores are generally heavier than carnivores, but they can put a lot of pressure on their feet when they are running or jumping. That's why their shoes need special fortified soles and softer internal padding, especially if they are for sports. Which is why there are whole lines of footwear are geared specifically towards carnivores in the first place."

Legoshi let her fit the shoes on his feet while he was sitting with Tem, hearing to her words.

"Wow... I didn't know about that." Legoshi said, "You know a lot about shoes, Lamb-chan."

The sheep flinched as she heard that, her grimaced growing heavier, before she recovered, and said:

"Well, I work on a shoes store, so I need to know this kind of thing. Not that I, as a Merino sheep, would ever be able to exercise like most animals. We have weak muscular structures, after all."

She then looked up at Legoshi, her eyes cold.

"Also, I appreciate if you don't call me 'Lamb-chan'." She spoke to him with all the politeness that she was supposed to when talking to a costumer, but she was also being as cold with him as if he had personally offended her. This caused the wolf to flinch.

"O-oh... I-I'm sorry. Is just that... I mean, I heard one of them say... I-I thought that was a nickname, or a term of endearment..."

"Well, it is a nickname my co-workers came up with for me." Her tone was still cold. "But I assure you there's no endearment in it."

Legoshi's ears pressed flat on his skull, and Tem looked in between him and the small female, and he was about to say something, but someone else beat him to it.

"Seven!" the peacock was waving his wing. "Seven! Here!"

"Yes?"

"What!?"

Legoshi and the ewe both blinked, looking at each other as they realized both answered.

"Seven-chan! Can you come here, please?" the peacock said again, "I need your help with checking something!"

"I'm coming!" the ewe, Seven, said, before turning to the two and asking, rather coldly, if they needed anything else.

"N-no... Is okay, thank you La- I mean, Miss Seven." The wolf shrunk a little under the glare she gave him before turning around and walking to the peacock, to help with what he needed. This left the two teens to short themselves out, before paying for the clothes and then leaving.

"Well, she will not be employee of the month with that attitude, that's for sure." Tem said as he and Legoshi walked out, the wolf looking down as he still felt bad about what happened. Tem did his best to comfort him, telling him that it was okay and that he did nothing wrong.

"I think her carnivore co-workers are not nice to her." Tem said, "But that doesn't give her the right to be a bitch with one she doesn't even know. Just forget about her, okay?"

"I... I'll try..." Legoshi said as he walked with Tem, but he knew he would have a hard time forgetting about that ewe. That ewe named "Seven", who looked at him the same way the Doctor often did whenever the wolf did anything he disapproved of...

It was enough to make his tail reflexively tuck itself between his legs. However, as traumatic as the memories of the facility were, Legoshi was able to forget about them as the day progressed, in part because he was enjoying a day with his friends. With people who didn't knew of what he went through, and to who none of that mattered. People who made him remember that there was a whole world outside of the facility, and that Legoshi was now out of it.

That he was free and able to breathe and live again.

Eventually, they met with Melon, right when it was time for them to start heading back to the school. The masked animal had a spring on his step and nearly seemed happy as he went with them, wearing a new jacket which he "got from somewhere", and that Legoshi noticed smelled of another wolf... and he could also smell blood coming from Melon.

He didn't knew if the other dogs noticed it, but he refrained from saying anything as he and the others started heading back to the subway to take the last train back to Cherryton, unaware what small eyes had been on them ever since they stepped out of the subway that morning, seeing everyone one of their moves and making notes to report back to the Sublime Beastar himself...

Chapter Text

"...And this concludes the report, Yahya-sama." The rat bowed his head alongside the others as they finished giving the horse a report about those two hybrids. About their visit to the city. Yahya listened to all of it while pumping iron. The dumbbells, each one weighing significantly, moving up and down as he continued to exercise while the rats talking, his muscles rippling with each movement and giving an idea of just how strong the Sublime Beastar was.

Strong enough to face most carnivore species in equal terms. Strong enough to stand against the worst elements that lurked in the shadows. Strong enough to carry society on his shoulders and do what had to be done to protect it.

And yet, there were some people who even he did not want as enemies. Such as Gosha.

He spent years believing that Gosha had become weak. That ever since he betrayed him by leaving for that brainless bitch who he got pregnant, that he had lost not only his nerve, but his old strength as well, as he traded their dream for a cheap domestic life. However, his recent meeting with him just a few months ago proved him wrong.

Gosha was as strong as he was back in the day. And he was ready to use that strength the second he thought someone was threatening his beloved grandson. It'd been a long time since someone managed to handle him his own tail so easily and, to make it worse, Yahya was almost sure the Komodo was holding back during their fight.

And that was enough to make even Yahya hesitant to go after those kids by himself. Not unless he had at least a probable cause.

The wolf just played games and went to a phone and clothes store with the alpaca. The other one, however...

"The drug dealers selling the blood-bone drink." Yahya said "Did the hybrid kill them?"

"No, sir." The rat shook his head. "They were all alive when they were found, albeit all showing signs of mild electrocution."

"Did he used a taser to attack them? It must have been a powerful one."

The rats shared looks, and then one said, rather awkwardly:

"Actually, sir... we don't really know what he attacked those criminals with. It all happened so fast..."

"But we could see that it the hybrid has some combat skills!" another rat said, "Not anywhere near as much as you, sir, but he certainly got some training. Maybe from the lizard."

Yahya said nothing to that, and he only continued to pump iron.

"Anyways, he basically beat them up, tried out their drug and then left with their money." The rat on the lead concluded. "Pretty much your average petty thievery."

"You mean, the type you all still do on your free time?"

That question was asked with a neutral tone, but it was enough to cause the rats to flinch and fidget nervously. Yahya put the dumbbells down.

"And after that?"

"He got a lot of tattoos done on his body." Said another rat. "Melon leaves. Apparently, he did so to cover up leopard spots all over his body. Probably so he could better hide his hybrid nature."

"Yeah, he's smart. I don't see the other one doing that. No tattoo could cover up a scaly shoulder."

"And after that they returned to the school." The rats finalized their report, and Yahya took it all in.

"And the gazelle/leopard... still goes out of the school after his curfew?"

"At least three times a week, sir." The rats confirmed, "Mostly just to roam around the city, sometimes enter in bars and clubs, and also seems to have made mugging unaware carnivores a hobby."

"Not the type of hobby I'd support, that's for sure." Yahya said, "Keep following him, watch over if he ever decides to step up to more serious crimes, or if he ever starts inviting the wolf to go with him."

"Oh?"

"That hybrid alone has already caused a lot of problem." Yahya said, "If he starts inviting the wolf to those nightly crime sprees, I might actually have to step up and stop the two, before some innocent herbivore ends up a victim."

The rats shared a look. None of them would dare to say it, but many of them thought that this fixation their boss had been showing towards those two hybrids, in particular to the one of them which was the grandson of a former partner, was quite worrying...

Gosha... Yahya sat on the chest press, pumping hard after putting it on maximum weight. Thirty years ago, you told me that you wanted to know the joys and pains of having a family. You abandoned our cause and our dream for it. And look where it brought you. That air-headed wolf you ran off with is dead, and so is the little brat you had. And now, there's this grandson of yours, who is directly associated with a criminal, and perhaps even one himself, and you just don't know it yet...

The horse continued to pump on the machine, while the rats went over minor details of how things were in the city, including some "unusual activity" on the Black Market. All unimportant at the moment.

I'll be keeping a close eye on those two. You might be too blinded by your love to see things clearly. To see that they are so clearly hiding something. I'll find out what it is, and then I'll finally make you see the mistake you made by walking off.

He pumped the machine particularly hard one time, before resuming his normal rhythm.

"And, after this, you might even start considering coming back." Yahya muttered to himself. "I already know you'd do anything for that grandson of yours, after all..."

"Alright then..." Jax the Alpaca said as he leaned over a mic, his voice resounding on another room, which he was surveilled from a distance through a series of cameras.

"All's set, and the sensors are calibrated and working perfectly." The alpaca finished looking over the cameras, along the rest of his team. "Let's begin."

As they began, Jax maintained a perfectly neutral expression, eyes and ears as attentive to what was happening in front and around him as they did back when such focus was needed for his survival in a world filled with dangers. Now, however, as he lived in a more civilized, and arguably safer society, they served to keep track of the experiments he had to perform nearly daily, to track the progress of his project, which measured, in the most part, by the growth of his subjects. Which was the whole purpose of those exercises and tests.

"Vital signs stable." Jax narrated as he checked on the data by the sensor. "All within baseline, from heartbeat to breathing. You may increase potency now."

As he said that, he kept looking at the readings, in particular to those reading temperature. He saw no changes.

"I said you can increase the potency." Jax repeated, but once more there was no change. This was ticking the alpaca off, who normally did not get rattle but always became a bit more of a short-fuse when it came to his subjects being uncooperative.

"Did you hear me, Subject Six?" Jax rose his voice when asking that question, and his answer was just as impatient:

"Yes, I hear you!" the owner of the voice said from inside the metal cube where they placed him, made with dark metal and riddled with all kinds of sensors.

He stood there, wearing only white pants, as he looked up. He didn't know where the cameras were, but he knew they were there, watching him. Seeing his body, with his back covered in hard scale plates of the color of bronze, which rattled a bit as he became agitated. The same scales that covered his forearms and the back and top of his head, but that did not cover his chest, with a muscular frame but still had a belly denoting an animal with a predisposition for obesity. Or his shoulders, with the left one having a "6" printed in it. Or his face, rugged and with a short muzzle and a flat, upside-down heart shaped snout, all of them covered in skin of a pale, faded shade of pink, currently turning a shade of red gradually. Said face was even more rugged due to the frown the pangolin/pig hybrid was currently sporting.

"Do you want more heat?" the male hybrid asked, his hands, with his hands closing tightly in fists as his long and muscular pangolin tail slapped into the floor, his scales started rattling even more. "Then have it, you jackass."

And the heat increased. Literally. The hybrid's body started emitting even more heat than it already was a moment ago, which was already far above what most people would consider normal. He heated up from the inside, wit his temperature rising on his core and then spreading outwards from his skin and, mostly, from his scales, which rattled hard. As a result, the temperature inside of the metal cube had already reached levels one would expect inside of an actual oven.

"Temperature rising." Said someone by the side, a female voice from one of Jax's assistants. "Temperature reaching 550 degrees Fahrenheit. Reaching six hundred now. Six-fifty. All vital signs still stable."

"Yes, yes, good." Jax said, looking intently at the readings, and seeing that Subject Six's thermoregulation was evolving as planned. He could through the cameras that down there, within the cube, the cup of water placed near the male hybrid was already boiling. "Alright, that was satisfactory. You can reduce your temperature, Subject Six."

However, the pangolin/pig male did not. In fact, the temperature was still going up, now verging on the seven hundred Fahrenheit.

"I told you to cool down, Subject Six." Jax said slowly, his voice taking that edge it always did when he was losing his patience with his subjects, something all of them had learned to be weary off, because it was usually followed by punishments, and it was usually enough to get them to become more cooperative. Now, however, it seemed not to be working on Subject Six.

"Subject Six! Cool! Down! Now!"

"No!" the pig said, saying something that everyone else in there was scared to ever say to the doctor, his skin changed from the regular pink to a shade approaching the color of pepper. "You wanted me to heat up!? You got it!" his legs grew a little apart, as his face frowned even deeper with concentration, as he increased his internal heat even more, said heat escaping him like he was a living furnace.

"Temperature reaching eight-hundred and fifty Fahrenheit and still increasing!" the female sounded alarmed now. After all, the heat being produced was more than they initially supposed, and it seemed that it could become even hotter. This was a safety hazard at this point.

"Subject Six, that's enough!" Jax slammed a fist on the counter. "I will not have you disobey me! Not after losing two of my subjects! Don't tell me you are trying to follow their example!? You think you can escape!? You think you can get out and just join Seven and Three!? Do you miss them that much!?"

Now that got a reaction of Six, whose' bronze-colored eyes widened, his skin now changing into a crimson coloration.

"MISS them!? Are you kidding me!?" the rattling of the scale plates of the hybrid was now nearly like the sound of chains rattling. The temperature on the small cube suddenly spiking. "Those two abandoned me! They abandoned all of us here! Those double-crossing cowards just ran and left us! Not only Three, but Seven as well! That freaking mutt!"

Up on the observation station, the screens started flashing red warning sings, as the temperature was rising to truly alarming levels. Enough that even Jax was genuinely worried now.

"He said he would look out for us..." Six said, every inch of his non-scaled skin completely red now, his hands balled into fists. "He said he'd be there for us always, that we were his family, and he ran off with Three on the first chance and abandoned us in this Hell!" his scales rattled, now they were not only moving, but they had lifted, a gas coming from them as the sweat that accumulated in between those protective plates was quickly evaporating.

"If I ever get out of there..." he said, as his temperature rose just a couple more degrees…

"I'll go after those two assholes and give them both a piece of my mind!"

Flames.

Literal flames erupted, as the temperature of Six's body surpassed the thousand Fahrenheit, the gas from his evaporated sweat igniting as it came out from the spaces between his scales, resulting on his body being coated in flames. On that moment, the temperature on the cube spiked. The water boiled so hard that the glass container it was into shattered. The pants Six was wearing were burned by the flames, as the scales on his legs and tail also stood to let the flames out. And, as those flames licked over Six's body, his body was already so hot that the flames did not caused him any form of damage.

On the observation booth, alarms blared like crazy.

"Temperature reaching 1800 Fahrenheit and still increasing! The sensors are shorting out!" the female wounded clearly in panic now, she turned to Jax. "Doctor! At this rate he will melt the containment!"

Jax only half heard it. He was too busy looking at the vide feed, before it was cut off when the camera melted. At Subject Six, who managed to do something they only ever theorized: to create corporal biological combustion through thermoregulation and maintain it without self-harm.

"Amazing..." Jax said, ignoring the blaring alarms, until the female called his name, making him snap back to reality and finally press the emergency button.

As he did, the cube, which already started melting, released special coolant substances form built-in sprinklers. A refrigerated glycol and water-based mix was sprayed into the containment, soaking Six while turning into steam upon contact, effectively lowering his temperature. It had the effect of cutting off the fire, as the sticky, syrupy-like substance clung to his body while reducing the temperature, what helped put out the flames, although it was not its original purpose.

Six hated that cold thing sprayed on him, as it was so chilly it made him feel like his skin was freezing on contact and itched against his plates. He screamed in rage as he shivered from being coated on that thing. As he did, the door on the cube opened and guards, all of them wearing anti-fire gear of the type used by people studying volcanos, came in and quickly restrained him, a hypodermic syringe being jammed into his neck and injecting a fluid into his veins that quickly made him feel woozy.

"T-this suuuuuuuuckkssss..." the hybrid managed to growl that out through clenched teeth, his skin still red and scorching hot to the touch as he lost consciousness and finally started cooling down, already being carried to his cell while Jax watched it all through a separate security camera.

"Take Subject Six back to containment and make sure to administer a dosage of the medicine. No food for twenty-four hours starting tomorrow." Jax said on the mic, his voice reaching the guards on the room through the speakers, and one of them nodded in acknowledgement. Once that was done, the alpaca relaxed on his chair, leaning back while sighing. Behind him, he could hear his assistants whispering to each other.

"Oh, my Rex. Did you saw that?"

"Yes... I swear, those hybrids still shock me even after five years."

"I just started last month, and I feel like I've been living in a sci-fi movie ever since. The things they can do... damn."

"I know, right? That's why we keep them in check by giving them that special medicine mixed on their food. It suppresses their superpowers so we can-"

"You two!" Jax said, cutting the two of them. "Are you done collecting the data? If not, then stop chit-chatting and go back to work, now!"

As they said a "yes, Doctor Jax", the alpaca leaned further into his chair, letting out an even heavier sigh.

He had to admit, he could fully understand the amazement of the two with what the subjects could do. He himself was, and that was why he was sure the protocols were in place, including the administration of the suppression medicine.

And that, once more, made him think of Subjects Seven and Three.

It has been weeks since they escaped. Months, even. The medicine was elaborated to linger on the body for long periods of time, effectively doing what it was meant to. However, since they have been out in the world for so long without receiving further doses, then the medicine must have fully burned out of their systems already.

What meant, and Jax knew how troublesome that was, they would start awakening the full potential of their special abilities any day now...

Any day now.

They will forget about it any day now. At least, that was what Jack said.

Until then, however, Legoshi would still be the most interesting beast on the school. And that was something that the wolf would definitely not be comfortable with.

He didn't like having so many people with their eyes on him. I mean, it was not as if they were glaring at him with hostility, but he still felt unnerved for knowing their eyes were on him and that they were whispering about him being a hero or something. He knew because his canine hearing could still pick up all of that they whispered around him.

Legoshi spent the good first half of his classes rubbing his shoulder, his scales safely hidden under his jacket but feeling like they could be exposed any second.

The fact that the school's journal seemed, under orders of their director, keen on getting an interview with him did nothing to help and the wolf saw himself, more than once, forced to sneak around the hallways towards his next classes to avoid them.

The wolf did, however, managed to get calmer once he arrived at the cafeteria for lunch. As it turns out, it became a lot easier to ignore the eyes on you when you were in the company of a trusted pack.

And the newest member of that pack made a surprise appearance.

"Tem?" Legoshi looked in surprise at the alpaca, who walked in with his tray, held awkwardly due to his wounded arm, and a smile on his face.

"Hey, guys- woah!" the alpaca lost his grip on his trail, which would have meant his entire lunch would have ended up on the floor was not for Legoshi, with sharp reflexes, having quickly moved to grab it with his hand, effectively preventing it from falling. A couple seconds passed, before Tem asked:

"It's okay if I sit here?"

It was. The dogs gladly welcomed Tem on their table, and the alpaca seemed surprisingly at ease by sitting there with them. He didn't seem weary of being surrounded by carnivores as he ate his food, and neither he seemed to mind the weirded out and surprised stares a lot of people on the cafeteria were sending their way, alongside the whispering.

"Say, did any of you guys saw Melon?" Legoshi asked, looking around. That was usually the time when the hybrid came to join them. Durham said:

"Oh, I came across him earlier. He asked me to tell you he would not be joining us for lunch, and that he would be going straight to his club instead. Said there was something he needed to arrange in there before the other club member arrived."

Something to arrange? Legoshi thought. Is this about the things he stopped to buy when we were going back to school on Saturday?

"So, he is just skipping lunch?" Tem asked, a forkful of his oat and hay salad half-way to his mouth. "He will be hungry through the day if he does."

Legoshi said nothing to that, and simply said that "Melon is really strange sometimes, and he is not fan of too many people". Truth was, Melon was never too keen on eating, due to being unable to feel taste at all, and he would often skip meals if he had the option. Honestly, it was probably better he was not there, once he would not be able to take off his mask and eat with so many people looking at their way.

He was still keen on keeping their hybrid nature as much a secret as they could, for their own safety...

"Hey! Watch it!"

The sudden voice made all heads turn, and they all could see that a pair of small carnivores, a fox and a painted dog, were discussing, and being quite loud. Apparently, the dog had stepped on the fox's tail while walking, and now the fox was demanding him to apologize, but the dog refused, saying it was the fox's fault for walking on his way.

"Don't you know you have to apologize on your hands and knees when you upset someone, you pooch!?"

"Why would I apologize when it was your fault, you bushy tailed idiot!?"

And the discussion started to get more and more heated. They were getting louder and louder as they insulted each other, their lips curling back in snarls as they showed their teeth, until...

"GYAAAAHH!" someone screamed, and many gasped. Someone was yelling at someone to get a teacher, as the two carnivores went to the floor, the painted dog was not biting on the fox's arm.

"Let me go!" the fox punched the dog's head, but not making him let go. "Let me go, you idiot! Do you know what they'll do to both of us if they catch us like this!?"

However, the dog seemed to continue to bite, seeming unaware of both the punching and of the discomfort this was causing on the herbivores all around them. Legoshi, however, was aware of all of it, especially of the effect it was having on the herbivore sitting on his table.

Tem was trembling. His breath suddenly peaked as he started hyperventilating. His eyes were fixated on the fox and painted dog, but he was not seeing them. Instead, he was seeing a bear and a wolf. One wanted to eat him, the other wanted to save him, and both were fighting for that reason now. And the wolf, smaller and weaker, was being pushed down by the bear, who had just pinned him down and was biting on his arm, not letting go despite the wolf's blows to his nose.

He was going to kill him. Riz was going to kill Legoshi. There was no way a gray wolf could defeat a much bigger brown bear. Legoshi was going to die for having come to Tem's rescue, and then Riz would turn to Tem and kill him. They were going to die. They were both going to die. They were-

"Cut it out!"

The sudden cry seemed to pierce through the haze on Tem's mind. The alpaca flinched hard, blinking in confusion as he left Lecture Hall 2 and was now back on the cafeteria. The sounds stopped, and all eyes were now on the person who spoke.

All eyes were on Legoshi, and the wolf seemed not to care. His attention was focused on the fox and painted dog, who were staring at him just like everyone else. The wolf got up and walked to the two smaller canines with firm steps.

"Both of you." Legoshi said, speaking loud enough for the two to hear, not seeming to realize this made his voice resound on the whole cafeteria. "Cut that out! Right now!"

Everyone kept staring at the wolf who stepped forward, many of them recognizing said wolf, and now looking even more intently at him.

"What's your deal?" said the fox, finally pushing the dog off him and then standing up to look at the wolf.

"You are making everyone uncomfortable!" Legoshi said, and then he pointed back "Especially Tem!"

The alpaca suddenly perked, his eyes widening as he suddenly saw himself on the center of attention. On that moment, he was wishing he could just sink into the floor, but Legoshi didn't seemed to notice.

"Apologize to him." the wolf said in a firm, voice, and the fox, although a bit taken aback, quickly stood his ground.

"Huh!? Why should I apologize!? Just because some herbivore got nervous!?"

"Yes!" Legoshi shot back. "And it is not only one herbivore. You're making everyone here nervous! You have to stop it and apologize to Tem!"

"Oh, and what if I don't want to, huh?" the fox said, walking to him. "What, think you scare me just because of those rumors you brought down a bear? Bah, I bet you only got lucky! I can take on you!"

Legoshi was not impressed, and he kept looking down at the fox. On his mind, he ran all the parameters he learned on the facility about foxes, from approximated muscle mass to bite strength. It couldn't possibly hold a candle to Riz, and the bear himself could not even graze Legoshi's skin.

"Come on!" the fox said, gesturing for the wolf to come closer. "Just come closer and I'll bite off a nice chunk of your neck!"

"No!" Tem said, the mention of "biting off a chunk" bringing back the fight once more. Legoshi looked over his shoulder, seeing the expression of fear and anguish on his face, the same one of that night, and he swallowed the venom that accumulated on his mouth, before turning his attention to the fox once more.

He crouched, until he was at eye level with him.

"Oh, accepting your fate, big guy? I'm gonna be sure to-" the fox didn't have the chance to continue, because that was when, to his confusion, Legoshi placed a hand on top of his head.

Not as an attack. Not as an aggressive grab. He just... put his head in there, nearly as if he was petting the fox, and just kept his hand there, looking the fox dead in the eye.

"Wha- Hey!" the fox said, and then started trying to bat Legoshi's hand away from his head. However, the wolf's hand didn't budge. In fact, Legoshi started applying pressure down.

Not hard. He was not slamming the fox into the ground violently. But he was applying pressure. Gently at first, but the pressure increased, and the fox soon saw himself forced to kneel, and then he was on all fours as Legoshi continued to apply downwards pressure on the top of his head with his hand.

"W-what's the big idea!? Cut that out! What are you even doing!?" the fox demanded, and the wolf, voice unwavering, said "To apologize properly, you have to do it on your hands and knees. That's what you said a minute ago, right?"

The fox looked up at the wolf, who moved around him, keeping him down with a single hand, and now standing behind him, so he had an unobstructed line of sight to Tem.

"Apologize to him." Legoshi repeated, "Now."

"Are you serious!?" the fox said as he tried to force himself up, but Legoshi's grip on him was not wavering, as he gently, but firmly, kept the fox on that prostate position, and he even added a bit more pressure so the fox now had his forehead pressed on the floor.

"Yes!" The wolf said, "Apologize! I'm not letting you up until you do!"

"Let go of me, you-!" The fox grunted. He squirmed. He grasped the hand on his head and tried to pry it of only to find out it did not budge. He tried to claw at it, and to kick at the wolf, only to find out that his attempts were about the same of a toddler trying to fight off an adult. It seemed that there was no way to squirm free from this.

"Dammit! FINE!" The fox said, and he planted his hands on the floor. "Tem, I'm sorry! I'm sorry for making you uncomfortable! Please, forgive me! There, I apologized! You happy now!?"

Legoshi looked over his shoulder, at the painted dog, who flinched as soon as those eyes landed on him.

"You too." The wolf's words were cold and piercing like an icicle, and they honestly made the canine unease. He went on his hands and knees by himself, not wanting to risk the wolf doing the same to him, and apologized to Tem as well who, much like everyone else, watched in shock.

Legoshi finally let the fox up, and he was soon on his feet, while the wolf addressed the two of them:

"Don't make a scene like that in public again. If you do, I'm carrying both of you to Headmaster Gon myself, got it?"

The fox growled at the wolf, but the painted dog put a hand on his shoulder and made him walk away, both keeping their heads low as they left. After this, there was silence.

And then, clapping.

Someone was clapping, and that sound made the wolf blink.

He looked around and saw that a lot of people were... clapping at him.

"Well done!"

"Way to go, man!"

"You're the best, wolf!"

"You put those two on their place!"

Legoshi blinked, seeing all those people looking at him and clapping as if he had just rescued cubs from a burning building. On that moment, the wolf suddenly realized what he just done. Next, Legoshi was hurriedly walking back to his table with his ears flat against his skull and his tail tucked between his legs, sitting with his friends, looking like he was trying to make himself small enough to wink out of existence like a cartoon character.

"Well, that was... something." Durham said, not quite sure on what to say, but looking more than a little amusing.

"It was totally cool!" Voss said helpfully-but-not-really. Meanwhile, Legoshi and Tem were still both trying to look as small as possible, as they were now aware that everyone had their eyes on them.

Even Louis was currently looking at the two. More precisely, he was looking at Legoshi, as he could not help but be impressed by what he just witnessed.

That has to be the most non-aggressive assertion of carnivore strength I've ever saw in person... the deer thought as, behind and around him, people kept talking.

"Man, that was so cool!"

"Seriously, did you saw how the wolf put the fox on his place? And he didn't even need to get violent!"

"Honestly, I wish more carnivores were like that."

"Yeah, I gotta admit... I wouldn't mind a carnivore like that becoming beastar."

Louis' ear twitched.

"Yeah, I agree with you. I mean, I'd prefer if it as another herbivore, but a carnivore like that Legoshi guy becoming a beastar would also be good."

"Hey, you guys think they will make that wolf a beastar? I mean, he saved someone's life."

"I'd support him, that's for sure! We need more carnivore beastars! Too many herbivores become beastars nowadays."

Louis continued to hear and, as he did, he felt a spike on his pressure that followed him all the way to Drama Club.

"Is it true that Legoshi made the fox get on his hands and knees to apologize to Tem?" Zoe asked, and Els confirmed.

"My roommate was there when it happened. Legoshi just put a hand on his head and forced him down and didn't let him up until he did."

"Man, that's really hardcore." Bill said, "Guess that wolf really is not a pushover, ha ha!"

"Also, did you guys hear the rumor?" Kibi asked. "That the schoolboard is considering having Legoshi be the next beastar candidate after Louis-senpai is nominated? I heard some people talk about it when I was coming to club."

"Yeah, I heard something like that too. Speaking of which, where is Legoshi? He is late, isn't he?"

"Oh, he and Tem are coming together again. He passed a message to me."

"What, the two of them only hang out together now?" someone asked, and Kibi said:

"Well, not sure about that, but I do know that Tem spent Saturday on the city with Legoshi and his roommates. He posted about it on BeastBook." The anteater pulled his phone and showed it to the guys, letting them see the photos the alpaca posted on his account with "#walkingwithdogs", including one with them on the arcade, and a selfie with himself with Legoshi on the background wearing a fancy suit as they were in a clothes' store.

"He even bought Legoshi a new phone to replace the one that broke when he saved him!" Kibi said, "And he bought him new clothes too!"

"For real?" Tao asked, and that was when Kai chimed in:

"Well, that's the least he can do since Legoshi saved his sorry wooly butt. I'd be expecting to receive a rice cake a week for the rest of my life for going through the problem of saving some cotton-ball pushover."

"Ahem!"

The sudden throat clearing caused all the gathered club members to look at Louis, who had been standing there for a while. Enough that he got tired of waiting for the others to notice his presence on their own.

"If you are all done talking about trivial matters, there is something important I'd like to discuss with all of you."

Soon, everyone was paying attention to the deer, who spoke to them about this important subject. Which was, of course, Tem.

"So, like you all know, Tem will no longer be playing Odie on the upcoming play." Louis said to the group with all the seriousness the situation demanded. "I believe I don't need to go in details about the reason."

"Yeah, it's because he freaked out during rehearsals and nearly hit Bill and Kibi right between the eyes. Honestly, if a guy cannot keep his composure while performing, he has no business being an actor." Kai said bit louder than he needed to. Louis gave him a look, and then continued:

"Anyways, Tem is coming back now and, for his sake, it's imperative that we make our best to help him feel comfortable, welcome and, above all else, safe. We must avoid doing anything that could trigger another panic attack. What means, and I emphasize, that the carnivores in general must do their best to avoid aggressive behavior when around him." He gave a look in Bill's direction, with the tiger seemingly taking offense to it, and he also looked towards Kai. "And it will also be better if you refrain from making commentaries like that, Kai. This is not what our friend needs after nearly being devoured just a few days ago. So, does anyone have a question?"

"I have." Kai rose a hand. "So, since you're demoting Tem to the sound team, does this means that we will have to re-do the auditions for Odie? Because I'm sure I can nail it this time."

Of course, that would be Kai's main worry. Louis could only roll his eyes in annoyance.

"First of all, Tem was not 'demoted' to the sound team. He was reassigned there so he could be in a less stressful position on the club while he is recovering mentally and, once he is better, he will return to the actor pool if he so desires." Louis tone was an admonishing one. "As for his role on the play, there will be no need for a new audition. Zoe will be the one playing Odie. He is Tem's understudy, after all."

Kai didn't seem to like hearing that.

"Oh, come on!" the mongoose said. "Don't you think a carnivore would be able to play Odie better? I mean, he is the powerful spirit of the raging rivers and storms! A carnivore would be able to transmit that way more than an herbivore! No offense, Zoe."

Zoe said nothing, looking to the side and rubbing his arm. Meanwhile, Louis looked directly at the mongoose.

"Quite bold of you to say those words, Kai." The deer said, the sharpness of it catching Kai off guard. "Considering your most recent performances. The second act of the Spring Breeze performance, and the final act of Winter Safari. On both occasions you were given a chance to perform on an important role, and in both, you made a grave, although not unsalvageable, mistake on stage."

Kai flinched, and so did a lot of other people. They all remembered the occasions, and the mistakes Louis was referring to.

"N-neither of those was not my fault!" Kai said loudly, "Back on spring the pollen count was too high, and it affected my allergy! And during the Winter Safari play I could not focus properly because of how cold it was! I just fumbled!"

"Yes, I am aware." Louis said, "Two fumbles, in very important performances of our club, and which nearly costed the respective performances but were salvaged by the hard work of the rest of the crew. And, on the two years you have been acting, those two mistakes are the most remarkable thing." Louis' tone was clinical and, at the ears of some, merciless.

Then, he delivered the blow:

"You are being removed from the actor pool and place on the stagehands, Kai." The mongoose looked shocked. "It was already discussed with the other seniors and, unlike Tem's reassignment, this will be a more permanent type. After all..." he looked the mongoose dead in the eyes.

"A beast who cannot keep their composure while performing, has no business being an actor, ain't that right?"

Side eyes. Uncomfortable shuffling. Even some murmurs. All of that while Kai's shock morphed into anger, his hands clenching in fists while his lips curled into an angry snarl, his eyes glaring daggers at the deer in front of him.

"You..." Kai growled. "You spoiled little-"

Before Kai could finish, the door suddenly open.

"Sorry, we're late!" Tem said as he and Legoshi came walking in, the tension breaking as the two arrived.

"We're really sorry." Legoshi said, his voice filtered through his mask. "There were two sloths in front of us on the line to the bathroom. I had to help them by carrying them in."

Louis was the one to speak, telling them that it was okay, but that now they needed to work.

"Tem, Mokichi will teach you what you need to know of the sound team's duties." The deer gestured to the badger. "Legoshi, Kai was moved to the stagehands, help him get acclimated. Everyone else, get to work, the first performance of the play is in less than a week from now, and we cannot afford to lose momentum on the final stretch! Everyone moving!" the deer clapped his hands, and everyone took the clue and started rushing to do their respective jobs. Legoshi, as Louis suggested, helped Kai, who was grumpy as heck, followed him while grumbling to himself about "privileged rich herbivores".

"I can't believe he demoted me!" Kai said as he stood by Legoshi's side while the wolf worked on the light fixture, explaining the basic of electrical work, and his recently acquired skills in lighting, to the mongoose who seemed to have no interest in learning any of it.

"He says it is because of those two past plays, but I know it was because I asked to be made Odie on Tem's place. Bill is right, he cannot stand to see us get any spotlight. Everyone knows he has it out for carnivores anyway..."

"Hey, Kai?" Legoshi asked gently. "Maybe you should focus on this? It will get you feel a little better."

"How is working on an old light-beam going to make me feel better about being demoted!?" Kai asked that in such a sharp way that it made Legoshi flinch. However, the wolf managed to speak again:

"Well... it would give you something to focus? I mean, having something else to focus helps you forget what is troubling you, you know?"

Kai looked at him for a moment, before scoffing, although not dismissively.

"What? Did I say something wrong?"

"No, is not that." Kai said, his tone softer. "Is just that... you sounded like my mom just now. She always says something like that when I'm looking upset. And it is usually followed by her asking me to do some chore."

"Oh, really?" Legoshi said, "I actually heard that from my friend Jack's roommate. He said that his mother always is saying that before getting him and his brother to do things around the house."

"Oh, yeah." Kai said, "You know Miguno, don't you? You guys even went to the city this Saturday."

That was when Kai revealed, much to Legoshi's surprise, that he and Miguno were brothers.

"His parents adopted me when we were both six." Kai said. "A lot of people gave them side eyes when they heard they had adopted a mongoose. It is rare to adopted outside of one's own species, something about 'intruding species stress' or some crap like that. But I never felt like an intruder on their house. They always made me feel like part of the family."

"Oh, that's nice." Legoshi said honestly. Kai sighed.

"Yeah, I guess it is. But still, people often look weird at me when they hear I'm raised in a hyena family. They say it's weird. I think that is makes me unique. Like pretty much everyone else in here. Including you."

"Me?" Legohsi's question made Kai look at him.

"Well, yeah. I mean, you did receive the invitation to join, didn't you?"

Legoshi was surprised at this being brought up. He did tell Kai that he and Melon both received the invite to join, but they didn't truly know why. All they knew was how Jack told them it was an elite club on the school that you could only join upon being invited by the producer.

"The producer only invites people with unique pasts." Kai said, "People who have interesting backgrounds that make them see the world in a unique way. For example, ..." he pointed over, "Mina over there, the giraffe. She is scared of her own spots."

"Eh?"

"Yeah, she has trypophobia. Seeing her own spots freaks her out. That's why she steers clear from the mirrors." Kai then pointed again, now at a female rhino. "Morocco over there believes her horn is her guardian spirit, and she is always praying to it. Sheila there, the captain of the dancing team, used to be a dominatrix in a sex club before she was recruited for the club. And the stories just don't end, if you bother to ask. Of course, not everyone will tell you their stories. Some people are ashamed of their backgrounds, or just don't want to share."

He then looked at Legoshi.

"Would you tell me what makes you special enough for this club?"

That question was met with silence, as the wolf looked away. There were a lot of things that made him special. Like the fact his grandpa was a lizard, and that he had both scales and venom. But, more than anything, it was the fact that his body became indestructible after he was subject to a procedure on a secret military he was taken to after being kidnapped after running from his mother's funeral.

"H-how does the producer knows if people have... unique backgrounds?" Legoshi asked, to what Kai, shrugging, tells him that most people believe the producer has access to students' files with the school board, and can look through them to see if anyone has something on their past that makes them good candidates for the club.

That was when they were both distracted by Fudge, who climbed that and told them that Dom-senpai was asking the two of them to come to see him because he wanted to discuss something with all stagehands.

Kai was still grumpy as he sat in a circle on wooden boxes, as they discussed some ideas for the upcoming play. Dom had an interesting idea.

"Hello there." Louis said, causing all heads to turn to him as he walked into their space. Kai cast the deer a glare that Louis chose to ignore completely.

"Just checking to see how everyone's doing."

"What, making sure no one will ruin your spotlight?" Kai said with poison on his words. Once more, Louis decided it was best to just ignore him, not realizing that doing so was making the mongoose hate him even more...

"Roses, you say?" Louis asked to Dom, who showed the deer the drawing of the auditorium's entrance covered in rose flowers.

"It is based on one of the final scenes of the play. The rest of the stagehands all think it is a good idea." Dom explained, and he was delighted that Louis agreed that the idea was good.

"It beats the previous year's idea of decorating it to look like the underworld's entrance." Louis said, thinking on, after an herbivore almost being killed in the school's dependencies, most people would not be comfortable with the idea of walking into the doors of death...

"Great! In this case, we will have to talk to the Gardening Club and get them to give us the roses." Dom looked around. Legoshi was about to lift his hand and say he could go, when Louis said:

"I'll go. I am the leading actor, after all." Louis looked at the surprise looks at the stagehands, who looked at him in surprise. "Besides, I do think it will be better, since the Gardening Club is primarily an herbivore club."

"Well, if you say so, senpai. But, be weary of that rabbit in there. I heard she is a bit shady..." Kibi said. Louis would not tell him that the "rabbit in there" was the main reason he was going there himself. After the couple days he had, he desperately needed to see Haru. He had been missing her comfort...

"Oh, and could you see how Melon is doing?" Legoshi asked, "I haven't been able to talk to him properly since this morning..."

Louis frowned at the memory of the animal Legoshi was referring too. That insufferable gazelle who he not only had on the dorm right by his side but that he also had to sit by the side during half his classes, and that seemed to have made taunting Louis a life goal.

"Legoshi, I'm going on an assignment for the club." Louis said in a professional tone. "I don't think I'm going to have time to look for your friend just to check on him." Louis was already walking away, when Legoshi spoke again.

"You're going to the garden, right? You can check on Melon while you're there. You know, since he's probably there now?"

Louis stopped dead on his tracks. His ear twitched as he blinked, he looked over his shoulder at the wolf.

"Did... did you say... that gazelle... is on the gardens now?"

"Uhhh, yes?" Legoshi was a bit weirded at the way Louis asked that, seeming not to understand why he was even asking it. Then, his eyes filled with understanding, as if he suddenly realized what was going on.

"Oh, that's right! You don't know, do you? Well, that makes sense, since you didn't really ask what Melon had been up too since he came here with me two weeks ago."

And then, the wolf said something Louis was not ready to hear:

"He joined the Gardening Club. He's there with Miss Haru every day after classes."