Ibuki yawned and stretched as he woke up in the morning. He rolled out of bed to see Jiro staring at him. The deer-wolf wondered if the vulpine was aware of how immensely creepy that is.
Jiro showed his sketchpad to Ibuki. The deer-wolf was caught off guard by the drawing.
It was Ibuki as Adler, but he was slashing open a demon's neck with a sword, blood gushing onto his skull mask. Beneath him were pools of blood and severed limbs. It was certainly grotesque. But Ibuki couldn't help but think about how badass it is.
The deer-wolf smiled. "Damn! That's awesome!"
Jiro blushed, pulled out his notebook, and opened it to his big smile. "Thanks, Ibuki-kun! This actually felt great to draw!" The fox closed the sketchpad and put the notebook away before grabbing his backpack.
The deer-wolf's tail wagged to see Jiro so happy. He was glad the fox found a way to be more confident in expressing himself.
During lunch, Lee spotted Jolene sitting on her own. He nudged Oscar. "I'm gonna sit over theretoday. I wanna talk to her about a few things."
The rabbit nodded but wasn't really paying attention. Instead, he was watching that girl he had a crush on that was a few tables away.
Lee walked over to Jolene's table as the sheep ate a sandwich. She looked up at him and smiled. "Oh! Lee-kun! Good to see you."
The chimera smiled back as he sat down. "Hey, Jo-chan."
She took a bite of her sandwich. "How can I help you?"
"I was talking to my dad about you last night. He says 'Hello.'"
Jolene chuckled. "Back to him."
The chimera looked curious. "He also said something about your old name being 'Joel.'"
Suddenly, the sheep looked a little sad. "Yeah… That was my birth name."
Lee became very concerned that he may have upset her. "S-sorry to bring it up if it's a sensitive topic."
Jolene put on a smile. "Oh, don't worry about that." She giggled. "I take it you're going to ask why I picked such a similar name."
The chimera nodded.
"I didn't want to completely give up the name 'Joel', because my father gave it to me." Her expression turned somber. "When I was much younger, he had the misfortune of running into a starving carnivore on his way home from work."
Lee's ears drooped and he frowned sadly. "I-I'm really sorry to hear that."
Jolene nodded. "Obviously, that was a long time before my transition. But when I finally figured out who I really was, I realized I couldn't keep a boy's name. But I felt like I'd be insulting his memory by giving up the name he gave me. So I went from being Joel to being Jolene. I hoped that'd be similar enough to make him happy."
Lee tilted his head. "Do you think he would've been happy?"
Jolene shrugged. "I'm afraid his opinion on trans people never came up in conversations. But I like to think that he'd accept me."
"What about your mom?"
The sheep smiled. "She was shocked at first when the doctor diagnosed me with gender dysphoria. She put me on puberty blockers until I was old enough to decide my gender. When that time came and I chose to identify as female, she accepted me, started calling me 'Jolene', and went shopping with me for women's clothes."
Jolene blushed and hid half of her face with her hand while still smiling. "Then she took me to a Rexmas party with some friends. She introduced me to them by saying 'This is my daughter, Jolene.'" She chuckled. "That was the first time she called me her daughter. I got so emotional I actually teared up. It was soembarrassing."
Lee laughed. "I bet."
She looked at Lee curiously. "What about you? Did you ever come out to your parents about your sexuality?"
The chimera blushed. "Nah. Dad kinda figured it out. He accepted me, but it was super embarrassing."
The sheep cringed. "Oof. He walked in on you, didn't he?"
Lee looked surprised. "Huh? How'd you know?"
Jolene laughed. "I'm really engaged in the queer community online. That's a verycommon story for gay and bi folk."
The chimera felt a bit better knowing he wasn't completely alone.
The sheep sighed. "We're lucky, y'know? We have parents that accept us. But a lot of people out there don't. They get disowned and thrown out over it."
Lee clenched his fist. "Yeah, those kinds of people don't deserve to be called 'parents.'"
Jolene glanced over and Sebastian, who was at a nearby table, talking to a bunch of girls with his sister. "He's reallylucky. He's not even trans but his female friends accept him as one of them. That's not easy to do."
The chimera looked curious. "Is that something that's a problem in yourlife?"
The sheep snorted. "Big time. There's a lot of women that call themselves 'feminists' but exclude trans women for some reason." She growled. "Like Meredith… She says I'm not a 'real woman' because I wasn't born one. She goes on and on about how women are oppressed but still oppresses queer people and doesn't see the issue." Jolene gave Lee a serious look. "Those kinds of people will do whatever it takes to tear you down and humiliate you. But don't ever let them decide who youare. You don't need the validation of people like her."
The chimera nodded. "I know. I told Ibuki something similar."
The sheep smiled. "Oh, right! Thanks for helping Ibuki-sama out, by the way. He must've been in a lot of pain when he was trying to hide himself."
Lee's ear twitched as he looked at her curiously. "Did you know Ibuki was gay?"
She shrugged. "I had a good guess. But I didn't want to confront him or tell his parents. I tried to subtly coax him out of his shell, but it didn't work out. I'm glad somebodysucceeded where I failed."
The chimera blushed. "Yeah, I'm glad too."
Jolene swallowed what was left of her sandwich. "I should get going. Thanks for talking to me though, Lee-kun. I appreciate it a lot." She stood up.
Lee smiled. "It was my pleasure."
The sheep walked away and Lee went back to his table, where Oscar was still zoned out.
The chimera considered that a productive conversation. He definitely appreciated Jolene's confidence.
Esther and Olivia were walking through the hall and up to the roof, ready to get some studying in.
Olivia grabbed the door handle and tried to turn it, however, it didn't budge. The lab looked confused. "Hm? It's locked? This is neverlocked."
The two heard footsteps and spotted an adult, female calico cat ascending the stairs up to them. "I'm afraid it's going to be locked more often."
Esther looked shocked to see the cat. "Meredith-san? What's going on?"
Meredith sneered. "A little birdy told me about two female students behaving inappropriately on the roof." The cat pulled out her phone and showed them a photo. Olivia gasped and turned pale.
In the photo were the two girls in bed together, nude, everything but their upper bodies covered by a blanket.
Esther looked alarmed and confused. "Someone took a photo of us?! What the fuck?! Who?!"
Meredith smirked. "That's confidential, I'm afraid." She put her phone away and looked at Olivia with a scowl. "I'm very disappointed to see an honor student engaged in an act of degeneracy like this. I'm afraid the roof is off-limits to bothof you from now on."
The lab looked mortified. "W-wait! I'm the only member of the Gardening Club! If I'm not up there the flowers will die!"
The cat shook her head. "I'm afraid you should have thought about that before committing such lewd acts on school grounds." She sneered. "The death of those flowers is on you, I'm afraid."
Olivia started to tremble and tears welled up in her eyes. "B-b-but…"
Esther gave Meredith a pleading look. "You can't do this to her, Meredith-san! You have no idea how important that garden is to her! Punish me however you want but pleasedon't take that from her!"
Meredith gave a malevolent grin. A grin that clearly showed she was greatly enjoying toying with the two girls. "You're in no position to negotiate, Esther-san. Be happy you two aren't being punished more seriously." The cat walked down the stairs with a smirk. "You two behave now!"
Olivia covered her face and started to sob.
Esther pulled her girlfriend into a hug, allowing her to cry into her shoulder. She stroked the distressed lab's back and gritted her teeth with rage.
Lee got into his costume for the next performance. Everyone was bustling around, getting ready for the next show. However, Jiro seemed to be wandering around aimlessly. The chimera raised an eyebrow. "Are you okay, Jiro-kun?"
The fox shook his head. "I lost my sketchpad. I could have sworn I left it on the table over there."
Lee's ear twitched as he heard someone rustling papers and turned to spot Stanley holding Jiro's sketchpad. The chimera pointed a thumb at the anteater. "Hehas it."
The fox whipped his head around and ran over to Stanley and ripped the sketchpad out of his hands. "Dude! You can't just look at my drawings without asking!"
The anteater looked a bit ashamed. "I'm sorry. I was just curious and took a peek. Then I just got mesmerized by the drawings on the back."
Jiro stared at him for a bit. "Mesmerized? By the ones on the back?"
Stanley nodded. "People have an inherent aversion to the dark and macabre. It takes a unique mind to allow themselves to make art so wondrously demented."
Lee looked over at Jiro. "He really likes really messed up stuff. We watch a lot of super morbid art films together."
The vulpine stared off into space, his non-moving face obfuscating how he felt about this. He mumbled to himself. "Morbid art films…"
The anteater smiled. "I'd like to see more of your art sometime. A mind like yours is a breath of fresh air."
Jolene walked out from behind a backdrop with a clipboard in hand and an annoyed look on her face. "Where's Esther-chan? We don't have much more time before the performance starts."
The doors swung open and Esther walked in. But she had a gloomy expression.
Jolene approached the tiger, looking like she was about to scold her. But her expression softened when she noticed how sad Esther looked. "Esther-chan? Is everything okay?"
Esther shook her head. "Meredith-san just disbanded the Gardening Club and banned Olivia-chan from the roof."
Lee looked appalled. "She what?!"
Jolene had a confused look. "I'm lacking context here. Who's Olivia?"
Esther looked ashamed. "She's my girlfriend. The Gardening Club means a lot to her. And she got kicked out 'cause of me."
The chimera looked concerned. "Because of you? What do you mean?"
Esther sighed. "Sometimes when we're on the roof we… y'know… do what girlfriends do. But somebody took a photo and gave it to Meredith-san."
Jolene looked repulsed. "They what?!Th-that's disgusting! Who would take a photo of that?!"
The white tiger shrugged. "I dunno. It doesn't matter now though. Liv-chan was the only member of that club and got kicked out. She's really sad about it."
The sheep scowled. "I'll deal with the Meredith situation. For now, you just need to get into your costume and perform."
Esther nodded and walked over to the girl's dressing room, still looking melancholy.
Lee looked curious. "What're you gonna do?"
Jolene sighed. "I don't know. Having sex on campus isagainst the rules. But I can tell Meredith is only doing this because those two are the same gender. But she doespossess a compromising photo of not just a minor, but a student. I'm hopeful I can retaliate somehow."
She gave Lee a serious look. "Let mehandle it. Youjust need to go on stage and perform. Understand?"
The chimera nodded before grabbing a prop sword off the ground and leaving the room to prepare.
After the play was over, Ibuki left the auditorium to find Esther and Olivia sitting at the fountain together. The lab seemed to be crying while her girlfriend put a hand on her back.
The chimera slowly approached with a concerned look. "Lee filled me in. I'm sorry about the Gardening Club."
Olivia sniffled. "I… I don't know what to do now. Being alone with the flowers was the only thing that calmed my nerves. And there aren't any other clubs with zero members."
Ibuki contemplated this for a moment. What would be the best club for Olivia? There was one that came to mind. "Maybe you should join Drama Club."
The lab looked at Ibuki as if he were insane. "Drama Club?! How would thatbe a good idea?! People are gonna stare at my chest!"
The chimera shrugged. "That's possible. But you're forgetting something. Not only are you taken. But you're taken by the biggest and scariest girl in the entire school."
Esther winced. It seems being called "scary" upset her a bit.
Olivia looked befuddled. "Yeah… but…"
Ibuki chuckled. "Somebody would have to be stupid to try that. Besides, you'll get to be around Esther-chan now." He smiled. "But, honestly, you probably won't have to worry about that. Everyone in this club is really nice and respectful. Don't you think this might help you get over your anxiety?"
The lab looked contemplative. It seemed she was strongly weighing her options.
Esther cleared her throat. "If my two yen matters to you, I'd be pretty happy with that."
Olivia looked at her girlfriend for a second with a doubtful look before looking back at Ibuki. "I… I need to think about it."
The chimera nodded. "Don't worry. I'll wait. I'd rather not force you."
The lab sighed and stood up. Esther grabbed her hand and the two walked away, Olivia still looking somewhat down.
Ibuki turned around and spotted Lee walking out of the auditorium. "What were you guys just talking about?"
The deer-wolf sighed. "I tried to convince Olivia to join Drama Club. I have no idea if she's going to take the offer though."
Lee had a hopeful expression. "Well. It'd be cool if she did join. She's been trying to get over shyness. Puberty just threw a wrench in that. Maybe it'll help her."
Ibuki shrugged. "I suppose." The deer-wolf looked uncomfortable. "I have to say though. I'm veryconcerned about the fact someone took a photo of them having sex. I don't like that a teacher is potentially violating the privacy of the students."
The wolf-rabbit squirmed. "Yeah. That's supermessed up that she has that kind of photo. It's gotta be illegal, right?"
The deer-wolf looked uncertain. "Depends on if she's deleted it by now or not. If she just showed it to the faculty and then Esther and Olivia and then just deleted it, it might be hard to press charges. The faculty will probably protect her since she's considered to be an important staff member."
Lee raised an eyebrow. "The faculty is terrified of controversy, isn't it? A teacher using a snitch to take photos of students having sex seems like it'd be a lot of bad PR for Cherryton."
Ibuki sighed. "Which means they're just going to sweep it under the rug. Think about it. The rule-breakers get in trouble and the law doesn't bother punishing the school because they don't want a controversy either. The only way to hurt them is through the press. But we don't have solid proof because she can just delete the pictures anyway."
The wolf-rabbit groaned. "Bureaucracy makes my head spin."
The deer-wolf shrugged. "I suppose we'll just have to abstain until Summer vacation."
Lee sighed. "Yeah…" The gears in Lee's head slowly turned until he just realized what Ibuki just said. "Wait, what?!"
Ibuki rolled his eyes. "Well, we're going to do it eventually, aren't we?"
The wolf-rabbit turned red and gulped. "I-I haven't thought about it yet."
The deer-wolf smirked. "It's part of the package when it comes to dating, sweetie." He pouted. "Unless maybe you just think I'm just not attractive enough for you."
Lee looked flustered and alarmed. "Nononono! Of course, you're attractive! I just- I-" The wolf-rabbit paused and squinted at Ibuki with suspicion. "You're doing this on purpose, aren't you?"
The deer-wolf smiled. "I can't help it. You're cute when you blush." Ibuki stepped up to Lee and planted a passionate kiss on his lips.
When their lips parted Lee still didn't know how to respond to his boyfriend's teasing.
Despite the deer-wolf antagonizing him, Lee escorted him back to the carnivore dorms. He gave his boyfriend one last kiss before turning to head back to his own dorms.
However, his ears twitched when he heard a strange sound behind him. He turned to see some trees in the woods shaking. Was somebody in there?
The trees stopped moving and it was silent again. Lee had a bad feeling about whatever that was.