"Good news, Kibi's arm is going to get better and he couldn't move it when you last visited him! Oh, this is so amazing!" Dom cried joyfully after he was done reading a text from Tao while I was working on a spotlight, then I looked back to sent him a small smile.
"Glad to hear that, so it sounds like his recovery is going well," I replied just before I went back to working on the spotlight and picked up Riz's scent right behind me.
"You know, I'm thinking of visiting him myself," Riz commented, then my good mood went away as I gazed back at Riz with a scowl while the bear walked away with Dom and they started chatting as Fudge went to hand me a lightbulb, just before I found myself tensing up and Fudge froze at the low growl I was letting out as I put a hand around his shoulders and pulled him closer to me in a protective manner.
"Legosi, did you just growl? Are you pissed about something?" Fudge questioned in concern, making me realize what I was doing before I quickly let him go and clapped a hand over my mouth.
"Sorry, I'm just lost in thought is all," I evaded while mentally swearing up a storm for letting my temper get the better of me again, then I sighed and went back to work while trying to stay calm as I kept hearing Dom and Riz talking.
"I don't know how I feel about Tao's two-week suspension so don't you think they could've done something else?" Dom asked Riz while I was replacing the bulb in the spotlight.
"I don't think so and while it was an accident, he still hurt Kibi so it's a terrible crime to be careless around herbivores," Riz said, then my hair-trigger temper flared up hotly from hearing that as I gripped the spotlight with my muscles bulging and veins throbbing before the spotlight easily crumpled up like tissue-paper with glass shattering and metal groaning loudly as everyone flinched at that and I looked back at Riz with a menacing look.
"Is that what you keep telling yourself?" I asked coldly as I stood up and walked over to Riz before I put my hand on his chest and made him back up against the mirror until I removed my hand from his chest and rested it next to his head while the other members of the drama club were trying to persuade me to calm down.
"Go on, Riz, tell me exactly how guilty Tao is for his actions," I said menacingly with a look that promised pain, and Riz smiled.
"We shouldn't do this right now because everyone's watching," Riz pointed out while I struggled not to kill him right in front of everyone.
"I know, and that's the only reason why I'm not attempting to take you apart right now, so watch what you say because you won't see me coming next time," I whispered sinisterly before I backed away until Pina suddenly tapped me on the shoulder to get my attention.
"Get ahold of yourself, Legosi-senpai, since you shouldn't cause any more damage than you already have, right Riz-senpai?" Pina suggested to both of us, causing me to grimace while Riz quit smiling and gazed at Pina stoically.
"Sorry, and I'll have the spotlight replaced," I muttered as Pina wrapped his arm around my shoulders and started beaming.
"Good, that's just what I wanted to hear so problem solved, now let's get back to work," Pina said cheerfully as he let go of me and walked away before I stroked my chin and held a troubled expression while I started thinking of what to do next.
"You know, please don't expect me to clean up after every mess you make because we're the only ones who know that Riz is the killer," Pina reminded me in exasperation while we were outside and sitting together on a bench.
"I know, It's just that I'm so sick of that bastard walking around and getting away with what he's done while also rubbing it in my goddamn face," I admitted irritably, making Pina sigh.
"Well, I don't blame you for getting pissed since I'm guessing that Riz is used to the whole 'good bear' act, so I'd consider him to be the polar opposite of you," Pina told me while I pursed my lips and looked at him.
"Well, I have you as an ally but Riz is alone and acts anonymously so if I were in his position, I wouldn't be able to handle the guilt so how the hell is he coping so well after murdering Tem? I don't know, it's like there's this impenetrable wall...an overwhelming difference between us," I muttered thoughtfully and Pina hummed at that.
"So, it's like you're a virgin and he isn't?" Pina asked nonchalantly, causing me to sweatdrop at him.
"Rather blunt, but you could say that because it's like he's in a completely different world and he knows something that I don't, so what I need to do is get into his head to figure out how he thinks," I said with a decisive nod, causing Pina to do a double-take at that by staring at me like I had lost my mind.
"Whoa, hold on because why should you lump yourself together with a damn criminal?!" Pina exclaimed in disbelief before I went to grab his shoulders and look at him intensely.
"Listen, everyone has the potential to be a criminal, even carnivores so you need to understand that," I empathized seriously as Pina sent me a deadpan look.
"Legosi-senpai, are you thinking of eating me so you can get close to him?" Pina questioned dryly, making me recoil as I jerked my hands back like he was burning me.
"Ugh, god no but I've discovered a way to end this so, since there's a good chance Riz might try and kill me again, I'll be the one to come to him this time since there's no point in delaying it any longer so I'll be the one to end it on my terms," I declared with a hard expression as I stood up and put my backpack on, sending one final nod at Pina before heading back to the main building.
Later on, the rest of the day had gone by and now it was the middle of the night as I had gathered a bunch of small insects and took them to Gouhin's place before I set up a ceremonial altar in the middle of one of the bare rooms before lighting up candles as Gouhin sat across from me and stared at me weirdly while I had my shirt off.
"Are you sure about this?" Gouhin asked dubiously once I was done, then I nodded at him.
"Yes, I'm going to eat these insects while they're still alive," I said stoically while Gouhin made a face at that, and I ignored the look of horror on Legosi's face while he had made sure to let me know how hesitant he was about this.
"Shit, never in my life would I ever see you start a creepy-ass ceremony in my clinic, and seriously, what the hell is with the candles for?" Gouhin questioned in disbelief.
"Candles are perfect for meditation by helping the meditator focus, which is why I decided to use them for this very reason so what I want to ask is have you ever eaten insects before?" I inquired and Gouhin shook his head.
"Nope, pandas don't need protein but I do know that insects are an invaluable food source for carnivores since they legalized the use of insect ingredients like insect broth and insect powder...however, they do their best to avoid eating actual living insects because most carnivores don't want to bear the guilt of taking a life away just for a little snack.
Well, if eating that bunch of crawling protein gets you interested in eating herbivore meat, then this will backfire completely," Gouhin remarked with a chuckle, but I wasn't in the mood for morbid jokes while I gazed down at all the insects that were in the cage.
"I've done my best to avoid doing something like this so if you tried to stop me now, I wouldn't be able to go through with this," I admitted uneasily as I reached into the cage and took a small larva, then I removed my hand from the cage and gazed down at the tiny defenseless creature before I let out a humorless chuckle.
"God, I'm such an arrogant asshole because this little guy is trying its hardest to live while I think it's okay to eat it because its life is insignificant compared to mine, so just how broken and damaged am I to think like that?" I wondered bitterly while Gouhin started looking taken aback.
"Wait, why the fuck are you bringing this up now?! You've always been an arrogant little shit," Gouhin said before I sent him a puzzled look.
"I'm sorry?" I questioned in confusion with my ear flicking, something that was starting to bug me since I haven't done that before and now it's like it's natural for me.
"You beat the shit out of guys who piss you off even though you're a virgin, you force your cynical views of the world and your morals on everyone around you, and the only girl you've got your eyes on is a little rabbit but that's okay because you're improving your carnivore-unique fighting senses for the sake of protecting others," Gouhin assured me, then I looked back down at the larva with a soft expression while I started to feel guilty for what I was about to do.
I picked up the larva with my other hand and stared at it one last time as I felt sick for killing such a small and defenseless creature, then I brought the larva up to my mouth and opened it while my breathing started to become uneven.
"All right, here goes nothing," I said shakingly before I put the larva into my mouth and started chewing, nearly throwing up from how disgusting it tasted and at the thought of killing something so helpless before everything went black.
It felt like I was falling into a dark abyss as there was nothing but darkness from all around me until I slowly uprighted myself and landed softly on what seems to be hard ground, then I looked around before something tapped me on the shoulder tentatively until I turned around to see that it was Legosi, who had a glowing transparent cord coming out of his abdomen and the cord was also connected to me while Legosi was staring at me in astonishment.
"So, this is what you really look like...so different and unlike anything else in the world while having so many scars," Legosi said with his voice crystal clear and his tone holding wonder with curiosity mixed in before I raised my hands to see what he was talking about and saw slightly tanned human hands.
My eyes widened before I felt my face and other areas of my body before I discovered that I was human again, only I had been a wolf for so long that it was utterly alien to me and I wasn't used to not having a tail anymore as I saw that I was still wearing my jeans, but my torso was bare and covered in nasty scars that ranged from bullets wounds, stab wounds, burns, surgical wounds, and many more while I knew my face didn't look any better before Legosi's eyes widened in shock as he stared past me, indicating that something was right behind me before I looked back and I also widened my eyes at the sight of a large human-sized moth looking at me and Legosi.
"What the fuck?" I questioned dumbly as Legosi walked over to stand next to me with his mouth hanging open in disbelief.
"Hello, strange creature and young wolf, now that you have eaten me, I am forever unable to reach this form," the moth greeted and I snapped out of it before I started looking remorseful.
"I...I'm sorry, I saw how helpless you looked while you were in your larva state and I took your life anyway...it was wrong of me to take your life while you still had a chance, so I'll accept any punishment you give me, even though it won't make up for what I did," I said humbly while I lowered my head shamefully and prepared for what might happen to me.
"Punishment...such a word is meaningless to us insects," the moth stated, causing me to quickly look at him in shock.
"We live only for the sake of living and, unlike you and the young wolf, we are wordless and desireless while our word is exceedingly simple and refined, so there is only one thing that we all need and that is a respect for life," the moth continued to say, his words affecting me greatly as I slumped to my knees and started tearing up.
"A respect for life...I...I wish that I was born as someone else, lived in a world that wasn't destroyed, didn't have to go through so much those past 13 years in my previous life...life had been nothing but hell for me because of sick twisted monsters that wanted to either use or kill me and I have so much blood on my hands that I'll never be able to wash it away while my soul is tainted by darkness.
I killed so many people that I've lost count...I can't come back from that and I feel the anger raging inside me like an out of control fire, but I want there to be something in me that's better than that...god, I'm so fucking exhausted and just want this hell to end already," I choked out with tears running down my cheeks as Legosi rested a hand on my shoulder with a pained expression to show how awful he felt for me, seeing me look so broken and beaten down to the point of giving up.
"Being an insect isn't exactly easy, but I enjoyed the time I had before I departed from this world so this is goodbye and always remember that life is beautiful, o strong lifeform," the moth told me before he disappeared, and Legosi knelt down in front of me as he held my shoulders.
"Connor, no matter what happens, I will help you get through this because you are a good person, even if you don't think so," Legosi stated gently before I stared into his eyes and thought about how gray wolves were beautiful in this world.
"Legosi...you once told me that I needed to let go and it's not easy to do that...but I would like to try," I admitted tentatively and Legosi smiled warmly.
"And I'll always be there to help, no matter what," Legosi stated just before everything around me turned white and I found myself opening my eyes until I saw I was back in Gouhin's clinic and laying on my back while Gouhin perked up when he saw me stirring.
"Oh, you're finally awake," Gouhin said nonchalantly while I felt drowsy.
"Ugh, how long was I out?" I asked groggily.
"About ten minutes after you ate that larva and closed your eyes before passing out...so, are you addicted to raw protein now?" Gouhin questioned before laughing, causing me to groan as I glared at him wearily.
"Asshole...to answer your question, one insect was enough for me because I'm so drained that I can't move so, in other words, I feel like shit," I grumbled irritably and Gouhin rolled his eyes.
"All right, that's enough complaining so look in a mirror when you can because you're making a pretty nice face right now," Gouhin said as he left the room, just before I sent him an unamused look as I laid there on the floor unable to move.
'Gee, thanks for the help, dickhead,' I thought dryly as I waited to regain my strength so that I could get up.
Two days later, I had noticed that my fur was growing back to its longer steel-gray self quickly during that time but now I was having erotic dreams about me and Haru that was starting to affect my sleep a little bit and I would always wake up with a throbbing erection that irritated the shit out of me and had to take a cold shower every time to make it go away, now I had woken up with an erection again after having another erotic dream and I took a cold shower to make it go away before I met up with Jack and we went to the sinks in the bathroom.
"Hey, Legosi, how'd you grow your fur so fast? You've gone back to your usual look," Jack pointed out as I washed my face and looked at him while my ear flicked.
"Mostly exercise and eating healthier," I evaded since I couldn't tell him the truth, which would only worry the hell out of him and I didn't want to do that to him while Jack looked thoughtful.
"You know, you have been looking more physically fit lately so that could be it," Jack commented as we went back to room 701 to get dressed in our uniforms and went to class.
As the lecture went on, I wrote down the answers and paid attention until class was over before I packed up and was about to leave until, much to my surprise, Haru sat down next to me and smiled at me.
"Hey, how have you been?" Haru asked as my tail started wagging while I also smiled.
"I've been pretty good but I'm a little surprised that you're here since you don't usually come to my classroom to see me, so what brings you here?" I inquired curiously, then I noticed her looking a bit downcast and it made me feel concerned as she looked up at me.
"Well, I heard that you were in class 2-C and I...wanted to talk to you, so are you free? We haven't talked a lot since we chatted in the study room," Haru told me, and I winced at that since I was starting to feel like a shitty boyfriend for being distant with her.
"Sure, I have some time before drama club starts but we shouldn't talk here so let's go somewhere else, and be careful with the seat since it's pretty high up," I warned as I got out of my seat and ignored the stares while Haru and I left the classroom, then we walked for a little bit until we sat down at a flight of stairs and started chatting.
"So, do you enjoy your classes?" I asked and Haru shrugged.
"Eh, they're nothing special," Haru said, and I knew something was wrong since she didn't look as cheerful as before.
"Haru, are you okay? Something seems to be really bothering you," I pointed out in concern, then Haru looked up at me with an expression of surprise before she smiled.
"You always did see right through me...it's about Louis and I think something's wrong because he hasn't been answering my calls or responding to my texts, so I'm scared that something very bad happened to him," Haru admitted uneasily.
"Yeah, I can see how that can be worrying but I'm sure he's just fine since he can take care of himself," I reassured as I rested a hand on Haru's shoulder.
"Listen, I know I don't have feelings for him anymore but, as a friend, I can't help but worry about him since I have no idea what he's doing most of the time so thanks for reassuring me," Haru told me and I nodded.
"Of course, I love you," I said before we got closer and gave each other a peck before backing away.
"I love you too," Haru stated as I went to stand up.
"Hey, I have to head to drama club so I'll see you later, okay?" I offered, then Haru nodded before I walked away while waving to her.
After that, I made it to the drama club and continued my duties as a stagehand while also keeping an eye on Riz as the rest of the day went by until I went to my locker and put away my tracksuit while Bill and Aoba were chatting about shedding season finally being over, then they left the locker room while laughing and I closed my locker as I felt Riz staring at me while my back was turned.
"Well, it's just you and me now, all alone in this little room so are you scared, Legosi-kun?" Riz asked as I turned around and removed my tie, then I got rid of the suspenders while I sent Riz a hard glare.
"No, but your 'nice bear' act is pissing me off, and don't say my name while you're staring at me like I'm prey because it's fucking sickening," I stated darkly as I unbuttoned my shirt and slipped it off before dropping it onto the floor while Riz chuckled.
"You know me too well," Riz said amusingly as I got into a combat stance, then Riz suddenly started gripping his head with a look of pain before reaching into his pocket to take out a bottle of honey and I used the distraction to charge forward before smacking the bottle out of Riz's hand while his eyes widened at how fast I moved.
"See, I've been studying medicine and I'm being trained under a doctor so I know everything about the situation with bears, how rough it is to take medication that causes terrible migraines," I explained as Riz gripped his head with a look of sheer discomfort while gritting his teeth.
"I don't care...I'm used to it...shit, the side-effects...my damn head...feels like it's about to split in two...you could never understand...the stress of taking strength-reducer medication and the agony of the side-effects," Riz snarled in pain before glaring at me viciously, then I started tensing my muscles as I prepared to attack.
"Fine by me since I prefer that look rather than your usual one, now show me that monster that's lurking inside you because I'm going to fucking pound you into the goddamn ground for what you did to Tem," I growled ferally with a ferocious expression before we charged at each other.
Riz swiped at me nonstop as I dodged and weaved before following up with fast and nasty hits to the stomach, kidneys, liver, and solar plexus until I jumped up to swing my foot against his head, sending Riz spinning to the ground as he coughed up blood and wheezed while I slowly approached and stood at a safe distance as he got up to his hands and knees.
"I told you that it won't go like last time, now you need to understand that I'm not someone you can win against-" I said and was cut off from saying any more when Riz suddenly came at me with a swipe, clawing the right side of my face as I was forced to dodge to prevent getting my whole face shredded before I backflipped and landed onto the ground as an intense pain ran through me while I clutched my injured face that was bleeding.
'God, son of a bitch!' I thought as Riz charged at me, only I could barely see him and was forced to use my other senses to figure out when he would attack.
I kept dodging Riz's attacks and struggled to stay alive as I blocked punches with one hand and covered my injured face with the other, only Riz was starting to get the upper hand and managed to break through my defenses before sending a solid kick into my stomach, making me choke out saliva as I instinctively held my abdomen with both hands and could barely breathe until Riz grabbed me by the neck and threw me into the lockers hard as I became disoriented from the impact.
"Guh...fuck..." I wheezed out in agony before Riz started dragging me out of the drama club's male changing room like a sack of potatoes.
"I'm just stopping the bleeding temporarily and I know it hurts, but you have to endure it because I won't let anyone get in my way and it'll be smarter to do this where I won't leave any traces, so this is going to be the most amazing feast ever," Riz told me gleefully as I struggled to breathe and forgot about my unnatural strength while I was being dragged.
"So...now we can bleed all we want, huh?" I rasped after Riz had dragged me to the male shower room and threw me to the ground until I had gotten up to face him.
"The blood will go down the drain and this is a really sturdy room, too," Riz said after he removed his shoes and shirt, then I could see the scars on his torso consistent with claws as my eyes widened.
"Seeing as how you noticed my scars, let me explain by saying that when you eat meat for the first time, you'll be filled with so much guilt that you'll succumb to self-harm..." Riz trailed off as he looked away, and I scoffed while my right eye was sealed shut from the blood.
"Talk about a shitty life but if you think that'll make me feel sorry for you, then you have another thing coming because you would've turned yourself over to the police if you really felt that guilty," I stated darkly before Riz chuckled and grinned sharply at me with a sinister look in his eyes.
"I'm going to take back my life!" Riz growled as he went to smash me into the ground with his hand, only I jumped out of the way and Riz struck the floor before leaving an imprint and I ran around him before jumping up and grappling him from behind.
"Sure, enjoy your twisted life but let me open up your scars first," I said menacingly before I tore my claws into Riz's scars and opened them up with blood spurting out as the large bear roared in pain and I got off him to back up at a safe distance while he turned around to glare at me with fury in his eyes.
"These aren't scars, they're my precious memories and proof of my friendship with Tem, so the only way I can break that wall is by eating herbivores!" Riz snarled as he went to attack me, then I leaped out of the way before sending a kick to the back of his knee and making him collapse to one knee.
"You're wrong because the only way you can break that wall is through love, something a crazy bastard like you will never understand," I retorted before Riz swung at me and I dodged until he left another imprint on the floor and started chuckling.
"You're going to make me break the floor at this rate, so why don't you hold still and I'll make it painless," Riz threatened as we stared each other down and charged again.
I alternated between dodging and hitting Riz as the fight seemed to drag on until it ended up with us grappling each other and snarling while we were sending nasty glares at one another, me gritting my teeth before I slammed my head into Riz's to disorient him and followed up by kneeing him in the stomach.
"You can't kill me!" I roared viciously until the sound of someone humming out in the hall and we stopped dead as the person outside approached the door to the shower room and I could smell that it was a female herbivore.
"Ugh, boy's bathrooms are filthy as usual...huh, is someone there? I wonder...I'm opening the door, okay?" the herbivore said suspiciously before Riz let me go and hurried over to the door, making me chase after him as he opened the door just a tiny bit and peered out.
"Oh, ma'am, I'm sorry but I'm still using this," Riz said pleasantly.
"Really? You do know that you're not allowed to be here at this time," the herbivore pointed out, causing Riz to chuckle warmly.
"Sorry, I didn't know so I'll get out as soon as I can, now could you just give me five minutes?" Riz asked and the herbivore sighed while my ear flicked as I stayed still while also feeling tense.
"Well...alright, I have other places to clean anyway, so five minutes," the herbivore accepted reluctantly before I saw Riz nodding.
"Thank you, I'll make it quick," Riz said happily until I heard the herbivore leaving, then Riz closed the door and turned around before letting out a sigh of pure relief while I was puzzled by that.
"So, what to do? I know, I'll just wash away the blood on the floor," Riz commented as he walked over to one of the showers and turned it on while I was narrowing my open eye at him and still tense.
"If you're going to clean up the blood, I doubt that you will be able to cover up the imprints on the floor," I pointed out as Riz looked at the things in question and smiled while taking the showerhead before washing himself.
"Eh, I'll just get out of here before the cleaning lady comes back and play dumb, though you should clean up the blood that's on you so you can use my shirt," Riz offered and I stared at him suspiciously.
"No thanks, I'll take care of it myself since I'm leaving anyway," I said stoically before Riz shrugged.
"Alright then, see you," Riz replied before he turned his back to me and I turned away from him while I wondered how this kid was still walking around like normal after committing a murder, then we spun around to attack each other before we grappled with one another and I used my inhuman strength to push Riz back while he slid across the floor until I pinned him against a wall while the large bear bugged his eyes out at how I easily overpowered him like he was nothing.
"I'll never forgive you for what you did, you sick son of a bitch," I growled while Riz looked shocked, then he recovered quickly and started grinning at me.
"Today, it looks like we've established our hatred for each other," Riz stated as I glared at him, then I let him go before I backed away and Riz looked puzzled by what I was doing.
"New Year's Eve, that's when we'll settle things so don't think that you'll continue to walk free after this year ends," I declared coldly, and Riz blinked at that before he started looking amused.
"New Year's eve, huh? That's in ten more days and it'll give me enough time to end you permanently, so I accept your challenge and we'll bring it to an end as fellow carnivores," Riz agreed before we turned away from each other and I walked out of the shower room.
Later on, I got fully dressed and headed directly to Gouhin's place before stitching my head up and bandaging it up while I knew that it was going scar as I notified Gouhin about the situation and he looked at me like I was crazy before laughing out loud while we were out on a balcony and watching the night sky.
"Well, it's good that you're making this simple but what would make it even simpler is if you turned him over to the police, so what you're doing is pretty fucking stupid," Gouhin commented before laughing again, only I wasn't in the mood as I held a sour look.
"The police aren't going to do anything because they would've arrested Riz sometime after the murder, so I want to personally confront the bastard myself rather than have a broken system let him slip through the cracks, though it's not like the fight will change me or even society for that matter since there will always be another Riz out there," I admitted cynically.
"Hey, quit thinking like that because fights are good since they're simple, and if you don't like someone, you kick the shit out of them so it's not a bad mindset for a 17-year-old kid, now get ready because your training is going to be more difficult than ever so what shall I teach you?" Gouhin warned and I nodded before I resumed staring up at the night sky and hoped that I would be able to get through this.
A/N Hey everyone, looks like things are getting interesting so be prepared for the upcoming fight with Riz since there will be a twist no one will be expecting so let me know what you think and stay tuned.