Chapter 50: The Killer Exposed For All To See! The Corrupted And Twisted Bond He Holds Dear To His Heart!
Alex woke up that morning with a sense of finality. It was time for him to enact his plan. While Legosi had been training to become stronger in all those different ways, Alex had been putting his investigative skills to work. He had been compiling all of the evidence and small details that he could use to confront Riz, and believed he had enough to confront the bear.
From his surveillance of the ursine, Alex knew that Riz wasn't exactly the brightest animal in the school. After getting a medical report from the Cherryton police station, Alex had discovered Riz was required to take strength-reduction medicine that had headaches and mood swings as a side effect, with rather dangerous withdrawal setbacks.
From there, with a bit of imagination and knowledge of Riz's relationship with his victim, it was easy to create a plausible scenario for how Tem was murdered. Animals had sung of how Tem was able to put a troubled heart at ease, how the alpaca was always willing to lend an ear to their problems; how they felt better after simply talking to him for a couple of minutes. Riz had probably grown so comfortable around Tem that he felt the alpaca could get him through avoiding his medication.
Several of the drama club members had mentioned that Riz was the last animal to have seen Tem alive, and they had been together in the auditorium on the night the crime took place. Alex theorized that the alpaca had seen Riz in his unstable condition, became frightened, accidentally got scratched, and then barricaded himself in the auditorium. However, once blood had been drawn, an animal in Riz's mental state would turn violent and chase after the source of the red liquid's scent. Forcibly throwing the doors open, Riz barreled into the auditorium, and that was the end of Tem.
Now the evidence. Riz was the last animal to see Tem alive; that was the most important piece. Then was the fact that the door had been burst open when Tem had barricaded himself in the auditorium- only a larger breed carnivore could have done that. Then there were the claw marks that Legosi's attacker had inflicted upon him; they matched claw patterns typically seen among ursine type animals. The alibi Riz had given also didn't match up; he claimed he had gone to bed early, but after speaking to his roommate, Alex had discovered that Riz had gotten back to his room at about eleven o'clock in the evening, about forty-five minutes after the attack on Legosi. That would have been enough time to wash any blood off of the bear's fur.
Finally, there was the arm incident with Kibi. Of all the carnivores in the drama club who had witnessed the event, Riz had been the only one of them to salivate at the sight of Kibi's bleeding severed arm. Salivating at a situation like that was a sign of meat dependency. During his surveillance of Riz, Alex had noticed that the bear didn't seem to enjoy his meals when they weren't carnivore-based, even catching him darkly muttering "I wish I could taste this" once or twice.
Alex knew that Legosi had been training to be able to take down the killer. It was truly remarkable how far he had come in the short span of six weeks. The gray wolf had gotten considerably more jacked and muscular since his training regimen had begun, and he was now able to hold his own in a fight against Alex, and several members of the Shishigumi. Louis was now back at school for most of the day, which had further bolstered the wolf's morale and enthusiasm.
It pained Alex what he was about to do. The gray wolf had a score to settle with Riz; the bear had nearly killed him, and had taken the life of his good friend Tem. But it was exactly why Alex was doing this. He couldn't let Legosi risk losing to Riz again. If Legosi failed to defeat the murderer again… Alex was certain that Riz would silence Legosi permanently.
This job required someone who was more experienced, someone who was more battle-hardened. Someone with years of combat experience on their side, and knew how to turn a fight to his favor. Someone who was ruthless and wouldn't hold back. Someone like Alex.
He had made a bet with Legosi over a game of cards late at night, and Legosi had lost. To make the bet even, Alex had dared Legosi to go on a lunch date with Judy… in his Green Ranger costume. Now that the gray wolf was occupied for the day, Alex took the opportunity to strike.
The white wolf ran into the lunchroom, and asked Pina if he could livestream something. The Dall sheep had happily agreed after Alex told him that it would make him extremely popular among the school, both boys and girls. Alex confidently walked to the bear's table, and he was wearing his White Ranger costume. He knew that wearing such a bizarre costume would attract the attention of animals, and he was counting on it. The more animals who witnessed this, the more likely they would try to call the Cherryton police district for help stopping the fight.
"RIZ URUMASHI!" Alex yelled out, his voice carrying throughout the exposed outside air of the campus. The bear was currently sitting alone, and he glanced up to see the costumed character advancing towards him. "I know what you've done!" Alex snarled into Riz's face.
Riz looked at him and shrugged, before going back to his book. "Oh yeah? What have I done?" Riz nonchalantly asked.
"I know that you murdered Tem, and nearly killed Legosi." Alex confidently responded, and the bear slammed his book shut before glaring at Alex.
"How do you know that?!" Riz growled; obviously Alex had struck a nerve.
"I knew for certain when I saw you salivate at the sight of Kibi's severed arm. Only a predator who had eaten a piece of another animal while they were alive could have that expression on their face." Alex explained.
"Y-You don't know anything about Tem!" Riz growled in response.
"I know that you were in love with him." Alex shot back, and Riz's eyes widened as his expression became crestfallen.
"H-how did you… I never told anyone…" Riz gasped.
The white wolf continued to press forwards with his verbal onslaught, barraging the bear with the blunt truth. "From the way you talk about that alpaca, you obviously had feelings for him. Genuine feelings, not that predatory instincts disguised as love stuff that Gouhin spouted. You could have had it, Riz. You could have had a life with Tem. Gone on dates, went to the movies, shared a kiss, gotten married, and started a family. But you made one critical mistake." Alex answered.
Riz fell silent, words failing him as Alex kept going. "You forgot your medicine. You take those pills for a reason, and a damn good one at that! Without them, you're a danger to yourself and everyone around you, whether they're herbivore or carnivore! Predator and prey romance is a very risky road to go down, and I'm sorry to say you weren't prepared for it, and Tem paid that price with his life!" Alex scolded.
"Shut up…" Riz softly said.
But Alex persisted, ignoring Riz's plea to stop. "But it wasn't enough to hurt Tem. You had to hurt his friend too! Legosi started asking questions, and even though he was nowhere close to even formulating a theory as to the killer's identity, you had to make an example out of him! If I hadn't shown up, he would probably have died, or still be in a coma! You nearly KILLED Legosi! Tem's death may have been an accident on your part, but that incident with Legosi sure as hell wasn't!" Alex shouted.
"I said SHUT UP!" Riz roared, blasting Alex's helmet with his ursine breath.
"Tem is alive inside me! He and I have a special bond that can't compare to any other carnivore and herbivore on this great earth!" Riz blurted out, tears streaming down his face.
Alex sighed, exasperated by Riz's insane remarks and beliefs. "Oh come on! Why do I always have to deal with the deranged crazier criminals!? Can't there be one time where I manage to heroically talk someone down?!" Alex groaned as he got into a defensive position.
"It's over, Riz. Pina's been livestreaming this whole conversation between us to the Cherryton school chatroom. And it will spread like wildfire. You won't have any friends left by the end of the day. Your family will disown you for having committed the most severe sin should you go to them in the hopes of getting their help. No one is going to help you! Your life is over! You won't be able to hide from the law!" Alex taunted. Pina ended the livestream and ran off.
"Pina, that good-for-nothing shitfucking sheep. I'll deal with him later. For now… Tem, I don't think this costumed stranger can get away with speaking such blasphemy about our bond!" Riz snarled, spitting on the wolf's helmet. "The name is Alex. Alex Moon! The predator pride of the Zootopia Police Department! Remember it well! For it is the name that will put you behind bars for the rest of your days!" Alex declared as he ran forwards to meet Riz in battle.
This is it! The final battle has began! But it's not going to be so simple! I can guarantee that you will be blown away by the next chapter of BEASTARS: Converging Destinies!
Chapter 51: The Strength Of A Twisted Friendship!