The next day, Tao was sitting in his dorm room. He was still amazed at how the situation had turned out for him. He was expecting to get expelled or jailed, but Principal Gon only gave him a two week suspension! The tiger really was a kind mammal. But his light sentence only made him feel even more guilty about how he had ripped Kibi's arm off. He checked his phone and saw several texts from Legosi, which also was surprising to him. Legosi never texted him. He decided to read through them and see what the wolf had wanted to tell him.

Yesterday, 1:45 PM

Legosi: Sheila brought the arm with her to the infirmary. Kibi's calmed down a bit, and he's worried about you. He keeps asking where you are and if you're alright.

Yesterday, 2:00 PM

Legosi: The ambulance is here, I'm going to ride with them to the hospital so I can keep Kibi calm.

Yesterday, 2:08 PM

Legosi: He's fallen unconscious due to blood loss, the EMTs say he's going to be okay though. We're about two minutes away from the hospital.

There was then a video attached in another text message sent at 6:30. "The arm reattachment surgery was a success! Kibi's doped up on anesthetics and painkillers right now, he's awake and he keeps muttering your name," Legosi's text message read.

Tao opened up the video attachment and saw Kibi lying there in bed, his arm now connected to his body again and wrapped up in bandages, as well as hoisted up into the air. The most heart-wrenching thing about the video, however, was the audio. "Tao… Tao… Tao…" The anteater mumbled deliriously, a tone of desperation, worrying, and concern clearly distinct in his voice.

"He's really worked up about me… but why? He should hate me, I nearly ripped off his arm! He should be afraid of me! Why is he calling out for me?!" Tao thought to himself.

The panther tossed and turned in bed, torn up about what he should do. Eventually, however, he decided to listen to his aching heart and go see Kibi. He stood up and started walking down the stairs, heading to the kitchen to get a bite to eat before heading out. "Hey Mom, I think I'm going to go see Kibi." Tao told his mother.

At the moment, Tao's mom was fixing him an egg sandwich, and she was cooking the eggs in a pan at the moment. When she heard him say he was going to see Kibi, her attention on the cooking was diverted to her son. She set down the pan on the stove top and rushed at Tao, hugging him tightly. "That's wonderful, Tao! Kibi's your best friend. You've known each other since you were babies, and you haven't been yourself ever since the accident. It's about time you see him, and say whatever you need to say. Any hidden feelings you have towards each other? Got some secret you've been keeping from him? Let it all out to him, honey." Tao's mother advised him.

They then smelled smoke, and Tao's mom squeaked as she saw some smoke coming from the pan. She turned the stove off and saw the egg she had been cooking was now on fire. She hurriedly doused it in the sink, and sighed. "There goes your lunch…" Tao's mom muttered sadly.

"Mom, it's fine. I was going to bring some ant shakes to Kibi, I'll pack an extra one for myself." Tao reassuringly told his mom.

She smiled at him, and helped put the ant shakes in the cooler. "Come on, honey, let's go to the hospital. I'll drive you there." Tao's mom said happily. They got in the car and started to head to the hospital. On the way there, Tao looked at his phone's pictures, and saw his baby picture with Kibi. This led him to recall the story his mom had told him about how he and Kibi had met…

Tao's mom was sleeping in her hospital bed, having just given birth to her son a few hours prior. Tao was placed in a little incubation chamber, standard procedure. The little panther cub was curious and hyperactive, he had been sleeping for a while and he was brimming with that newborn energy. He got up and started crawling and climbing all over the place, exceptionally strong and versatile for his age. The little panther cub was lonely, he wanted someone to keep him company! Surely someone else would feel the same way and want to be with him.

Following his nose and his instincts, the infant feline waddled around the room, climbing up the bars of a little crib and smelled something good. He wasn't hungry, but that smell… it felt safe, and warm. Kind of like his mama, in the sense that this smell felt safe and warm. Once he got to the top of the crib, he tumbled and fell in. Thankfully his landing was cushioned by the soft mattress of the crib.

He flailed his arms around wildly, and felt one of his paws brush up against something soft and fuzzy like him. A little gray fuzzball with an elongated snout opened its eyes and looked at the cute black furry thing that had found its way into his crib. "Aaaooo?" The anteater vocalized.

Hearing that sound filled the baby panther's heart with glee and delight. "Eeeebeeee!" The panther mewled. The two newborn animals embraced, and the anteater gave a long, lengthy slurp with his extensive tongue.

And that was how their lifelong friendship had started. The anteater and panther were inseparable throughout their early years, and they were thick as thieves. The two of them had shared so many adventures together growing up: playing pirates and making cardboard hats, swords, and a boat that they tried sailing on (which didn't stay afloat for very long)... trying to steal from the cookie jar… eating crumbs off of the floor… Kibi becoming the Annihilator of Ants…

Tears welled up in Tao's eyes as he remembered everything they had done together. After all they had been through… he had nearly ruined his best friend's life! He couldn't keep this friendship with Kibi going, all it would do would put the anteater in further danger. They got to the hospital, and Tao's mom walked him in. She knew this was something that Tao had to do on his own, she couldn't help him with this.

After Tao was given directions on where to find Kibi's room, the panther walked up to the room with a bouquet of flowers in one paw and the cooler filled with ant shakes in the other paw. All of his anxiety felt like it was crushing down on him like the weight of the sky, but he had to keep pressing onwards. He opened the door to Kibi's room and walked inside. Kibi's eyes and face lit up happily as he saw his best friend enter the room. "TAO! YOU FINALLY CAME!" Kibi cried out in delight.

Tao blushed, glad to see his friend, but also felt a sense of overwhelming guilt now that he was finally face to face with his victim. The anteater grabbed a glass of milk from the bed stand and started to slurp it up with his tongue. "H-How's your arm, Keebs?" Tao asked nervously, standing against the wall with a half smile, half frown on his face.

"They stitched up my arm and reattached it pretty easily, I was on anesthetics for most of the surgery so I don't remember too much of it. But it's going to take a ton of therapy and training on my end for me to get this arm moving the way it used to. The doctors told me that my arm will heal a lot faster if I drink a ton of milk. Pretty convenient for me and my long tongue." Kibi replied.

Tao just stood there against the wall, a look of guilt on his face as he shifted nervously. Kibi frowned. He felt guilty that Tao was being so distant, though he knew it wasn't entirely his fault. His herbivore body wasn't as strong or durable as Tao's and if he were a carnivore, he likely wouldn't have gotten into this mess. Right now, all the anteater wanted to do was to give Tao a hug and tell him that everything was going to be okay. "It's really hard to talk to you when you're so far away, Tao." Kibi sighed.

Tao looked down at the floor, not willing to meet Kibi's eyes. "Kibi… I shouldn't have even come to visit you, I'm sorry… These flowers aren't even that good…" Tao moaned sadly.

Kibi huffed. He knew he had to take a bit more drastic measures in order to get his friend to forgive himself. "Tao. Come here. Please." Kibi insisted, using his tongue to gesture for Tao to come closer.

He kept flicking his tongue around like that until Tao was within reaching distance of his arm. "That's it, buddy. Closer. There's nothing to worry about." Kibi's voice coaxed Tao, causing him to draw nearer and nearer. Tao stood there, unsure of what to say or do in this moment. "Today's a weekday… do you not have school today?" Kibi asked nonchalantly.

"I'm on break… well, actually, I got suspended for two weeks. Surprisingly. I thought that I'd be expelled or jailed." Tao replied.

"Well, it's a good thing you weren't. I'd hate to see you thrown in jail for something that wasn't completely your fault." Kibi told him, relieved that his friend had only gotten a light sentence.

"What I did to you can't be dismissed as some freak accident that rarely ever happens… All it took was some stretches, and then, bam, I was holding your severed arm! It was just an accident… but it doesn'texcuse what I did to you! HOW CAN I EVER MAKE IT UP TO YOU?!" Tao sobbed.

The panther started hyperventilating, memories of the traumatic event flooding back to him. "Tao. Touch my hand." Kibi commanded.

Tao's eyes widened and he took a step backwards. "W-what!? Y-you know I can't do that, Keebs! I ripped your arm off, for God's sake! I'm not going to even touch another herbivore ever again!" Tao exclaimed.

"JUST DO IT!" Kibi yelled at the feline.

"W-why…?" Tao whimpered.

"You came to visit me! And you can't live your life in fear of herbivores. Just like how I'm not going to spend the rest of my life afraid of carnivores. Touch my hand, so that we can make up. Just be gentle, okay?" Kibi explained.

Tao hesitated for a minute before gingerly reaching his paw outwards towards Kibi's bandaged arm. Once Tao's digit was in distance, Kibi's little paw grabbed onto it. Tao gasped in surprise. "IT MOVED! No way! They connected all your nerves back?!" Tao cried out happily.

Kibi nodded enthusiastically, bobbing his head up and down. "Yup, I started feeling it again this morning. With some good rehab, it'll go back to the way it was!" Kibi told him. Tears formed in the panther's eyes as he buried his head in the anteater's bed and started weeping out of pure joy. "Tao, there's something else I want to talk to you about too." Kibi then continued.

When Tao was done crying his tears of happiness, he lifted his head up and looked at the anteater. "Yeah, Keebs? What is it?" Tao asked.

Suddenly, the door opened and a female sheep nurse walked in. "Kibi? I'm here to talk to you about your physical rehab and what it entails." The nurse said. Tao pulled his digit away from the anteater's grip and backed away.

"Should I go now?" Tao asked. The nurse studied the panther for a few minutes.

"Oh, you must be Tao! My name is Mary. Kibi told me a lot about you, you must be really special to him if he wants to continue your relationship after that nasty accident." Mary giggled. Tao blushed a little in response to that remark. "Now, Kibi, we're going to keep you here for the rest of the day, then we'll run some tests tomorrow morning and then you'll be released from the hospital. You'll need to keep your activity levels with that arm light so that you don't overexert yourself or damage it. After a few days of that, then you need to start heading to the gym and building your arm strength back up. I'll forward you and your parents a training regimen that is standard for most herbivores who undergo limb reattachment surgery." The nurse began.

Tao then had a thought. "What about his diet?" Tao blurted out. The ewe looked at him and chuckled.

"My, what a considerate friend you are! It's almost like you're in love with little Kibi over there!" The sheep snickered. Tao's blush intensified.

"A-am I…?" Tao asked himself internally.

"Anyways, he should be getting plenty of calcium and proteins. Milk and other shakes and smoothies would help in that regard." Mary continued.

Tao opened up his cooler and brought out an ant shake, showing it to her. The light brown, chocolate-looking liquid looked delicious to Kibi. "Would ant shakes be okay?" Tao asked. She smiled at him and nodded his head. "They're even better than regular milk for him! You really are a good friend to him." Nurse Mary told him. She soon left the room and let the two boys slurp down their shakes in peace.

"So, Kibi, you had something you wanted to tell me before that nurse came in?" Tao asked. Kibi blushed and nodded.

"Yeah… I think… I'm in love with you, Tao." Kibi softly said. Tao's jaw dropped in shock. All along, he had suspected that he had some feelings towards the anteater hidden deep down inside of him, but to hear that Kibi harbored similar feelings for him? That was a huge surprise. "You know how we met when we were just infants and have been inseparable ever since?" Kibi asked. Tao nodded his head. "I think that we're meant to be, Tao. I know that these sorts of relationships between predator and prey, they don't always work out. But I want to spend the rest of my time on this planet with YOU." Kibi continued.

Tao knew he had to seize the moment, and spoke up. "I think I'm in love with you too, Keebs. Always have. Just never knew how to say it, or tell you it. It makes me really happy to hear that you feel the same way." Tao excitedly said.

"Tao, lean in close." Kibi then said. Tao leaned in close to Kibi's face. The anteater's tongue shot out and licked Tao's face affectionately.

"K-KEEBS!" Tao exclaimed, bursting into laughter. Kibi smiled confidently.

"You taste really good Tao." Kibi chuckled. The two of them held paws together and stared into each other's eyes, enjoying their company.

Legosi goes to the gymnasium to get some training from Alex! To his shock and chagrin, he finds that Tao and Kibi are already at the gym, and Alex had invited them as well! This begins a seven chapter long arc dedicated to Legosi! You won't want to miss it!

Chapter 43: Legosi's Training Regimen, Day One! Sundays With Alex, Tao, and Kibi!