Chapter One: Welcome

Among the masses of an inter-city passenger train stood a fox. The train was filled with animals of all different kinds, and as many of the seats were taken, he stood in the middle of the aisle clutching a handrail. Being on the smaller end of the carnivores, foxes such as himself were exposed to all the negatives that came with the carnivore label, while only having less than half of the ferocity. He was no wolf, lion, or tiger, but he still had long fangs, sharp claws, and a glare that could strike fear into any herbivore he made eye contact with. He wasn't helpless, but he wasn't strong either.

The train ride was a long one for sure. It was the longest one he had ever experienced, as before that instance he had never left his hometown of Sapporo. The young fox had recently been transferred over to the Cherryton School in Tokyo, and he was asked by the dormitory staff to arrive a few days before the term began to settle in and get to know the place.

The fox stared anxiously at the floor in front of him, now clutching the handrail with both hands. Normally the train's low, constant rumbling would be able to calm him down, but the bullet train was whisper quiet. Not a word was spoken by anyone occupying the train and striking up a conversation with a stranger was out of the deal entirely. With his anxieties rising, things were quickly going from bad to worse

He desperately wanted something to calm him. He though of putting his backpack down and fetching his earbuds, but that would draw attention to him, so he made away with that idea entirely. He was left with no option but to suffer in silence.

In better times, he would distract himself with anything he could to keep from being alone with his thoughts. He hated his own mind, and thoughts that passed through were never good to say the least. Seven hours and one transfer deep into the journey from Sapporo to Tokyo and he had managed to keep a level head, but as the prospect of the journey's end crept into his mind, his resolve began to weaken.

Just thirty more minutes. He told himself. thirty more minutes… but you won't be going home.

Getting off at a train station that wasn't familiar to him and having no idea where to go was enough to send him into a downward spiral of worries and endless 'what ifs.' These were further accelerated as the green of the countryside shifted to roads and buildings. They were entering the outer neighborhoods of Tokyo now, all he had to do was hold it together.

For a few minutes, the rapidly changing scenery offered a great distraction, but he was once again returned inside himself as he grew bored. The window he was looking through had also given him a neck cramp due to the sharp angle he turned his head to. There was nothing left now, and he knew it. All he could do was continue staring at the floor as his mind began to wander.

The sound of two animals running up a flight of wooden stairs echoed in his ears as the memory replayed in his head. The room was dim, illuminated only by the light of the range hood and the single streetlight beyond the front door. The two animals had entered the kitchen, one seemingly having tackled the other to the ground.

Then the shouting. It was muffled, nothing could be made out aside from the fact that both voices were filled with spite and vitriol. The fighting continued as they rolled around the kitchen, trying to get on top of one another. From the corner, three more figures emerged, each paralyzed at what they were watching, just as the fox was.

The fighting and shouted grew more and more in intensity, culminating in a swipe across the face of the victim. The victim retaliated with a few swift punches to the jaw, but the attacker pinned the victim's arms down with his legs before gripping his shoulders, forcing its claws deep into the flesh. The victim cried out in agony as the bystanders behind them tried to pry the attacker off, but the attacker defended themselves readily. Once they shoved the last of the bystanders off, the attacker lunged forward, sinking their teeth into the neck of the victim. The following sounds echoed louder than any other.

The fox growled audibly, trying to shake the memory, but causing some heads to turn as well. He quickly glanced at the clock at the front of the car to check the time, to see how long he had been lost in thought. They were three minutes out from the station, but to him right now that seemed like an eternity.

The reality that he had just allowed himself to fall victim to his own thoughts again mixed with the knowledge that the commuters in that train car had absolutely seen him just zone out and stare at the floor for twenty minutes was beginning to bear heavily on his conscience. Try as he might to ignore it, he could not, as he had proven to himself once again that his thoughts had more leverage over him than ever before.

Certain that he had embarrassed himself combined with the horrible events that continued to replay in his mind, the fox began feeling tears form in his eyes. Not wanting to cause a scene, he held them back as best he could, because crying in public was the very last thing he wanted to do right now. He gripped the pole and clenched his jaw as tightly as he could, but as soon as he blinked once, the first few tears escaped and began rolling down his cheeks under his fur.

Two minutes. The fox had elected to keep his eyes shut for the rest of the journey. This stemmed the flow but didn't stop it, as tears were now falling from the corners of his eyes. As the train began to slow down, he began to feel a sob building in his upper chest. He couldn't let it escape. Not until he was alone. Using the last of his willpower, he kept it down.

One minute. The train had come to a full stop at the station in Tokyo. The fox held onto the pole until he was certain that he could sprint out the door, leaving everyone behind. He stood in silence, tears still falling, trying not to cry out loud, waiting for that sound. At just the right moment, he heard the hydraulic doors slide open. In one motion, he let go of the pole, dashed through a group of animals, and sprinted down the platform as fast as his legs could carry him. The suitcase he was carrying with him clacked loudly against the tile of the station. During his escape, he could not hold onto the sobs any longer, and disguised them as coughs as he made a hard left towards the washroom.

He sprinted into one of the stalls, slamming the door behind him. He sat down and covered his face with his hands. There was no restraint. It didn't matter if anyone could hear him anymore. As long as he was alone in his little space, he didn't care. As he cried, he had to ask himself why.

What's happening? This isn't me at all! I never used to cry like this… Ngh, I guess this is what I get for spending all my time indoors, huh. Maybe he was right… I am sheltered. Or maybe I'm just exhausted. What were you thinking when you booked that four-a.m. train, Mom? What time is it anyway? He reached into his backpack and produced his phone. Hmm, twelve-noon. I don't have to be at the school until two, and I haven't eaten anything today. I'll eat something, then I'll get a cab to the campus. I can't take the metro with all this stuff.

The fox gave himself ten minutes to cool down before he left. Making sure that there was nobody outside, he made his way out and blended in with the sea of animals in the terminal. Ever since he stepped on the first train, he was in new territory, and was pretty much at a loss of where to go. He was also at a loss for words at how beautiful the train station was. He marvelled at the construction and the design, as it made use of white marble, black marble and LEDs to create any mood within the terminal. During the lunch rush, the lights were set to mimic the sunlight outside.

The fox found a rather nice looking noodle shop nestled near one of the exits. He made his order at the counter and went to sit down at one of the many small tables. Minutes later, an employee emerged from the kitchen with his order. He thanked him and grabbed a pair of chopsticks from the cup. For the first time that day, the fox smiled. There's nothing like a hot meal to cheer you up.

After finishing his meal and cleaning up his area, he thanked the employees once more before heading out of the shop. A short distance away was one of the terminal's many exits. There were lines of animals all waiting for their rides on the sidewalk, and the fox had to navigate through that sea of animals in order to reach the waiting area designated for animals wishing to take a taxi. The line there was even longer than the other lines. Reluctantly, the fox waited his turn. Ten minutes passed before he was at the front. Once it was finally his turn, a big husky exited the vehicle to take his bag while he got into the back of the car. Once the husky was settled back in the driver's seat, the vehicle took off.

"Where are you headed?" asked the cabbie.

"The Cherryton School," replied the fox. The husky smiled.

"You got it."

Darkness is one of the many unappreciated graces on this earth. The gentle howl of the wind in a grassy field on a moonless night, unrivaled in its capacity to tranquilize. It is necessary that we keep a balance, and the night's darkness is what allows us to recover from the trials and tribulations of the day's light, for every good must have an evil. The night to follow every day, the darkness that surrounds every light, the yin to balance every-

"LEGOSI!" called a voice from beyond.

The yin to balance every-

He couldn't ignore it this time, as the voice that had called to him previously had just yanked the curtain open and stuck his head inside.

"Wake up, Legosi!" sang Jack, a golden retriever, with a big grin on his face. By the time Legosi had rolled over, Jack was gone. He had left the curtain open, allowing the morning sunlight to pour into his domain. He groaned as he opened the curtain the rest of the way and hoisted himself out of bed. All his roommates were already up and dressed, ready for the day. Having just woken up, Legosi had forgotten what he had agreed to.

It was the last weekend before the fall term started, and Room 701 had discussed doing something together as a group to wrap up the summer break. After some deliberation it was decided that they would all go into the city Saturday and Sunday and experience as much as they could. Legosi didn't participate much in that discussion because he had a different idea. His plan was to fake a headache so that he could spend his final days in the peace and tranquility of his dorm room, and possibly catch up on the sleep he lost during the previous school year, which he still hadn't caught up on. Now that he had been awakened, it was time to put his plan into action.

"Uh, Jack?" Legosi said quietly, reaching out for Jack's arm. The lab stopped in his tracks and stared down at the sitting wolf.

"What's up?" he asked, tilting his head.

"I kinda have a headache; I don't know if it would be a good idea if I came with you guys today. I'd probably just slow you down." Jack chuckled as he sat down next to Legosi.

"It's probably from you staying in here the whole time! Some fresh air will definitely sort you out." Legosi looked out the window.

"I guess so, but still…" Jack's smile began slipping. He sighed and placed a hand on Legosi's shoulder.

"Well, if you really aren't feeling that well, maybe it's best if you do stay here. I don't want to make anything worse for you," Jack replied. Legosi looked back toward Jack.

"Thanks." As Jack was getting up to tell the others about Legosi's condition, Legosi reached out and grabbed Jack's arm once more. "Hey!" Jack turned around.

"Mhmm?"

"I'll come with you guys tomorrow no matter how I feel. I promise." Jack's smile returned upon hearing the news.

"Really? That's good to hear!" Jack beamed. Legosi watched as the lab walked across the room toward the others, who were grouped up by the door ready to go. Jack told them what was happening with Legosi before he turned back to face him, one hand on the doorknob. "We're ready to go, so I guess we'll see you later." Legosi nodded. "Feel better okay? We'll be back before dark."

Legosi watched as they all filed out the door. Once it was closed, he could hear conversation spark up again, and it was clear to him that Legosi staying back wasn't going to dampen their spirits. Once he was sure that they were gone, Legosi drew the curtains and rolled back into bed, letting out a long sigh as he did so.

Why did I promise him I'd go tomorrow? He lifted his hands to cover his face Stupid guilty conscience. With silence and darkness returning, Legosi found it tougher and tougher to keep his eyes open, and before long he drifted off to sleep once more.

The fox waved to the driver as the vehicle pulled away from the curb. It was a lengthy drive, but he had finally arrived at his destination: Cherryton. His first impression of the campus was that it was beautiful, with its towering structures and many trees within the campus border. He took a deep breath in and took his first step into the campus. Towing his bag behind him, he was on the lookout for the dormitory buildings, the place he would call home for the next eight months.

The campus was expectedly empty, since it was Saturday and many of the animals who attended the school were preparing for their first day back the following Monday. Still, the emptiness was inviting to the fox. In his hometown, urban exploration was his favorite hobby. Though technically considered trespassing, he would enter abandoned and dilapidated structures simply to have a look around; no vandalism, no graffiti, just walking down hallways with peeling paint, rusty hinges, and fallen drop ceiling panels.

After traversing the campus, he arrived a building labeled 'Male Carnivore.' Sensing that this was the place to be, he climbed the steps and entered. The entryway of the dorm was rather homey. Hardwood floors, photos of past Cherryton students covered the walls, and there was a furnished seating area complete with a gas fireplace. Like the exterior, it was empty of students. The only occupant was standing behind a counter off to the side, looking down at something hidden from view.

As the fox approached the counter, a shrill voice echoed through the lobby, causing him to freeze in place and tense up.

"Can I help you?" said the mandrill, not looking up from the counter.

"Uh, I transferred here?" he stuttered. The mandrill finally lifted her head to look at who had entered the dorm building. She raised an eyebrow. "From Sapporo? Third year?" the fox continued. He heard pages turning from behind the counter as he waited patiently to be addressed again. Her eyes darted left and right as she scanned the names on the pages. They finally stopped after a few seconds. She briefly looked back in his direction before returning to the paper and began reading what looked like a paragraph as he continued to watch her eyes.

"Name?" she asked, looking in his direction once more. The black fox took a breath in.

"Kachi," he replied. He felt his heartrate quicken again after disclosing his name. It quickened even more after he watched the lady leave her post behind the counter and approach him.

"Kachi," she repeated. "Third year's a bit late to be transferring schools," she stated. Kachi nodded.

"Yeah, it is." He felt his ears droop as he shied away from her gaze. A moment of silence passed.

"Well, I'm this dormitory's housemother. I'll be showing you to your room for the year. If you would please follow me." She motioned towards the elevators at the other end of the room. Kachi looked up from the floor and began following her. The housemother called the elevator and they stood in front of the doors waiting for it to arrive. "You'll be in room 701 with other canines your age."

Kachi nodded. At least we'll have something in common.

The elevator arrived and both Kachi and the housemother stepped inside. She pressed the '7' button followed by the 'close doors' button. Kachi leaned on the handrail as the elevator began to rise. He turned his attention to the 7-segment display above the buttons, watching the number climb.

"A few rules: you must sign out of the dorm if you will be going anywhere off campus, curfew during the school week is midnight, and no visitors allowed in the dorms." The elevator reached the seventh floor and they both stepped out. "Room 701 is just here on the left," said the housemother, pointing to the door in question. As they approached the door, Kachi felt his breathing quicken. He was about to be introduced to a group of new animals and it only hit him at that moment. He was nowhere near prepared enough, but he just had to keep a straight face and not freak out.

The housemother knocked on the door before reaching into her pocket. She produced a large keychain with and began flipping through them.

"Your roommates will fill you in on some other guidelines; you read the residence agreement, yes?" Kachi said nothing and nodded his head. "Anyone in there?" she shouted. She waited quietly for a moment. No response from inside the room. She then proceeded with entering the room.

*BANG* *BANG* *BANG*

Legosi awoke with a start. He nearly hit his head on the bunk above him but stopped himself right before impact. He had hit his head many times and had only just learned how to stop himself. Legosi waited in silence for another noise from behind the door. He heard the distinct rattle of a keychain followed by a voice.

"Anyone in there?" it asked. He immediately recognized the voice to be the housemother's, he had had a few interactions with her, whether it was him breaking curfew or getting caught running in the hallway, it was not fun to be lectured by her. Legosi elected to remain silent as he heard the key entered the lock.

The door creaked open and the light from the hallway poured into the room. Kachi and the housemother entered slowly. The housemother scanned for signs of life but found none. She turned back towards Kachi, who was taking in his surroundings.

"I suppose you'll be alone for a while until they return." She handed Kachi the key she used to open the door. "Here's your key. If you'd like, you can follow me back down and you can have a look around the campus." Kachi accepted the key and placed it down on the small desk in front of the window.

"No thanks, I think I'll settle in here first before I go outside again," Kachi replied. The housemother nodded and left the room, closing the door behind her.

Legosi's eyes widened and the grip on his bedsheets tightened.

Who is that? I've never heard that voice before… I thought when I heard the housemother outside, she was coming to talk to me about something. She knows that the others went out today and I thought maybe she was trying to get me alone, but then I heard another voice. Then she said 'you'll be alone' and 'here's your key.' Wait, are we getting a new roommate? How come I didn't know about this? Did the others know and forget to tell me? Ugh. Should I get out of bed and say hi? No! Absolutely not! I can't do that, not now that he thinks he's alone. I either have to wait until he leaves or until the others get back… This is gonna be a long day.

Kachi flipped the light switch next to the door. Now that he could see what he was doing, he began looking around the room. There were six bunks in the room, but only five had a name written in pencil on a card above them. Kachi carefully scanned each name, reading each one aloud.

"Miguno."

Uh oh.

"Voss, Collot"

I can hear him getting closer.

"Jack."

He's right there!

"Legosi."

Legosi tensed up when he heard his name spoken. The animal outside stood in front of Legosi's bunk for a few seconds before he heard him shuffle away. Only then could he stop holding his breath.

"I guess I'll meet you all later," Kachi mumbled. He reached for the curtain and opened it. He winced at the sudden brightness and lifted the window open, allowing fresh air into the space. He took a deep breath in. "Nice to get some light in here,"

Is he… talking to himself?

Kachi went to the only bed without a name above it and drew back the curtain. It was the top bunk and piled onto the mattress were loose articles of clothing, boxes, and a whole lot of books. He sighed.

"Looks like they used this as a storage closet. I'll see about having it cleaned later." Kachi closed the curtain. "I feel bad for whoever sleeps under all this. It would really suck if the bed collapsed and all this stuff came crashing down, especially if you were asleep. I feel like sleeping above all this stuff would be better…"

Kachi backed away and glanced to his right, where the dorm branched off into another room. He traversed the small corridor and entered the new space. Inside was a small table, one couch, an entertainment centre with a small TV with a game console plugged into it, and a closed door. Upon closer inspection, the entertainment centre was filled with books and video game cases, typical of a high school student's bedroom. Hesitantly, Kachi opened the door on the right, revealing it to bee the dorm's bathroom.

"Right, what else could there have been?" he asked himself.

It was a standard bathroom by all accounts. A tub with a shower, a toilet, a mirror, a large countertop and a sink. The floors and walls were covered with white tile, and there were two light fixtures hanging from the ceiling. Though, when Kachi flipped the switch, only the one closest the door came on.

The cold tile was a contrast from the hardwood in the other room, and Kachi felt a chill shoot through his body as he stepped inside. He walked deeper into the space, feeling the air around him cool down drastically, as there was no window to let in sunlight to warm the space up. Finally, Kachi turned to look at the mirror. The reflection looking back at him was split: one half was illuminated by the sunlight pouring in from the open door and the harsh halogen bulb in the fixture above, and the other was consumed by the darkness of the other end of the room.

Kachi stared at himself intensively, fascinated by the way the light shone down on him. The black fur on his right side shimmered and shifted, turning white where the light reflected most. His left half by contrast, was near invisible. The only indicators were the outline of the blue shirt he was wearing and the whites of his eyes.

The temperature dipped suddenly in the bathroom causing Kachi to jump slightly. Following the change in the air was the sound of the bathroom door creaking as it slowly closed. Kachi fixated on the sliver of light that was growing smaller by the second. The creaking grew louder and louder until-

Did you think you could escape ~?

"What?" Kachi said aloud. It was a voice that he did not recognize.

Was it even a voice?

"Hey, is someone out there?"

Legosi quickly shut the curtain to his bed.

He's on to me!

Kachi shut the bathroom light off and stormed out into the common space. He looked all around the room but didn't see any sign of life.

Did you think that going far away would somehow fix you ~?

He was certain of it this time. He heard a voice, and it sounded like it was coming from behind him in the now completely darkened bathroom. Kachi turned his head to look over his shoulder. The space inside was now so dark, that he could not see the other end of the room. Out of morbid curiosity, Kachi stepped forward into the space. He watched himself disappear as the darkness cast over him once again. He squinted, straining to see the other end of the room. His face began to ache as a shapeless shadowy mass entered his vision.

Wha-

You can't fix yourself.

The figure disappeared and reappeared to Kachi's right. He turned to look at the now completely visible shadow figure in the mirror in front of him. Although there was no discernable shape to it, there were clearly two eyes in the middle of what looked like a head. He'd never seen anything like this, and it was something that sounded like, if he were to tell anyone, something out of a campfire story. Either way, Kachi wasn't often genuinely scared, but this was one of those times.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Kachi shouted.

You're broken and you can't fix yourself.

"I'm not broken."

Have you forgotten already?

Kachi stuttered. "I haven't, I'm choosing to move on."

You will not move on. This is the beginning of who you will become.

"Become? Become what?"

Become true to yourself.

"I am true to myself."

You're supressing yourself.

"I'm supressing nothing!" Kachi growled. The more he argued, the more he heard the voice beginning to sound like his own…

Your anger reflects the truth in my statement. You will continue to supress yourself until suppression is no longer possible.

"I came to Cherryton to change!" Kachi's anger was growing. He balled his hands into fists and felt a steady growl at the bottom of his throat.

This environment will exacerbate your problems. You cannot change.

Kachi felt and heard his growling grow more intense. At this point it sounded like a more sinister version of himself talking down to him, and he was allowing himself to grow more flustered as it demeaned him. Kachi knew that he had meant everything he said aloud, and no anomaly would be able to change that. Kachi bared his fangs and growled louder than ever before. The shadow in the mirror had morphed into a silhouette of himself.

"I will change, I will get better." Kachi wound his arm up behind him. "I'll rid myself of all negativity." He gripped the countertop and tightened his fist. "Starting with you!"

With those final words, Kachi put all his weight into the mirror. When his fist landed, the mirror shattered instantly, sending shards in all directions. The sound bounced around the tiled surfaces of the bathroom as the shrapnel came to rest wherever they landed. As quickly as it happened, it was over. The room fell silent once again and Kachi retracted his arm from the now broken mirror. Due to the adrenaline, his breathing was quick and short. He looked down at his hand as a warmth began flooding towards it.

Across the room, Legosi was in shock. He was peering through the curtain of his bed, staring silently into the common space, waiting for – nothing.

Good lord! What happened? He sounded so angry. I heard him shouting at nothing, followed by growling, and then shattering glass! I have to see what's going on over there.

His mind made up, Legosi left his bed and crept silently down the short hallway to the common space. He peeked around the corner to see the occupant leave the bathroom, staring intensely at his right hand.

A wolf? No, he's to small to be a wolf.

Legosi squinted.

Those ears… a fox? A bit on the bigger side for sure, but those are definitely fox ears. But the black fur…

Stepping into the light, the shards of mirror in Kachi's hand reflected the sunlight in all different directions. The sun also gave visual to the amount of blood that was now leaking from where the mirror had pierced through the flesh. The fur around the wounds was matted down and Kachi felt trickles of blood running down his arm as he looked. A steady drip was now falling from his elbow, and he saw a trail of blood droplets leaving the countertop and following him all the way to where he stood now.

"Uh, hello?" Legosi had meant to say hello, but it came out as more of a question. In an instant, Kachi's ears perked up and he turned around. He clutched his bloodied wrist as he looked up Legosi's body to meet his eyes. His expression turned fearful as the wolf towered over him. His slender frame, dark eyes, and long arms activated something in him: his fight or flight response. And in this instance, Kachi opted for flight.

Legosi's eyes widened as the fox began charging toward him. He tried to step out of the way, but he was shoved aside as Kachi turned the corner. He began running after the fox as he exited the dorm and began sprinting down the hallway toward the stairwell. Legosi barged through the door just as the fox entered the stairwell. Through the window, he saw the fox begin climbing upwards. Just as Legosi was about to pursue Kachi further, he heard the elevator ding on the other end of the hall. The doors slid open and out walked his roommates, home relatively early from their outing.

Jack waved. "Legosi! What are you doing in the hallway?" he asked as they approached Legosi.

"Go get the housemother, quick!" Legosi demanded pointing back toward the elevator. Jack raised an eyebrow.

"Wh-Why? What happened?" Jack scanned Legosi's figure, locking on to his shirt. "There's blood on your shirt! Are you okay?" Jack shouted.

Legosi nodded frantically. "Yes! Now go get the housemother and bring her to the stairwell. I'll explain later, I promise!" Legosi replied before sprinting down the hallway towards the stairwell. Jack watched in pure shock as Legosi disappeared through the doorway and began climbing. Jack looked at his friends for reassurance, but they just shrugged their shoulders.

After climbing several flights of stairs, Kachi arrived at a thick iron door that was padlocked shut. He pushed and pulled at the door hoping that it would open, but the padlock did its job and kept the door closed. He growled and hopelessly banged at the door before turning around to lean against it, allowing him to slide down its length to a sitting position. Below him, he heard a door open followed by footsteps growing louder. Next, Kachi's adrenaline wore off.

A searing pain originating in his hand shot up is right arm. He clutched his wrist and bent over, seething as he tried not to cry out. He opened his eyes to see that blood was still dripping from his wounds; most of the shards of mirror had fallen out, or were pushed deeper into his hand, when he banged on the door seconds earlier. As the footsteps drew nearer, Kachi began feeling light-headed.

Legosi turned the corner to see the distraught fox sitting on the top step in front of the door leading to the roof. One look over him and he knew that the fox was in pain, and judging by the trail of blood, he had lost quite a lot. Legosi approached Kachi slowly

"Here, give me your hand." Legosi removed his shirt and folded it in half. While the fox didn't give him his hand, he allowed Legosi to wrap the shirt around it and tie it off. When he was finished with tying the knot, Legosi looked up to meet Kachi's eyes for the first time. His blue irises shimmered even in the darkened stairwell. "That'll stop the bleeding until you see the nurse. I didn't get a good look, but you may need stitches," said Legosi comfortingly. Kachi's breathing slowed.

"Your shirt..." Kachi whispered.

"It's fine, it's not worth much. Now, let's head back downstairs." Legosi descended a few steps and extended his arm. With his good hand, Kachi gripped Legosi's and he pulled him up to his feet. As they began descending the stairs, Legosi felt Kachi stumble. Acting quickly, Legosi caught him before he could fall. Legosi knelt and allowed Kachi to wrap his arm around his shoulders. In turn, Legosi placed a hand around Kachi, and the two descended toward the seventh floor.

On the seventh floor, Miguno, Collot, and Voss were waiting at the stairwell doorway for Legosi to return while Jack went back downstairs to fetch the housemother.

"What do you think's going on?" Miguno asked aloud.

"Dunno. This is Legosi, could be anything," replied Voss. The elevator dinged from the other end of the hallway. The doors opened and Jack emerged with a rather skeptical looking housemother.

"This had better be good!" stated the housemother. "Do any of you know the meaning of this?" The canines all shook their heads. The animals all waited patiently for Legosi's return, but after a minute of silence, the housemother had grown impatient. Just as she was about to enter the stairwell herself, the door opened, and the two canines entered into the hallway. They all stared at Legosi as he helped the fox sit down against the wall. "What happened here?"

"I can't exactly say for sure, but it ended with him breaking the mirror in our dorm. I may have spooked him with my appearing suddenly, so I will accept responsibility for that," Legosi explained. The housemother sighed as she glanced over to the fox, who was looking down at the now blood-soaked t-shirt wrapped around his arm. "He lost a lot of blood and is still bleeding, so he should go see the nurse to have his hand looked at. It was cut up pretty badly."

The housemother said nothing and left the group. She walked over to Kachi and helped him up. Together, they slowly walked toward the elevator. The canines watched with confusion. Legosi watched with concern. As soon as the elevator doors were closed, the housemother produced a folded piece of paper and passed it to Kachi.

"I forgot to pass this on to you when you arrived. Don't unfold it now, but on this paper is a room number. You are to report to this room every Sunday at three. You will do so for your entire year." Kachi said nothing and looked at the paper front and back before shoving it into his pocket. "I'll escort you to the infirmary." Again, Kachi said nothing.

On the seventh floor, back in their doom, the fox was the topic of discussion. When they arrived back to the room, everyone immediately made their way to the bathroom to have a look at the shattered mirror Legosi spoke of. After the initial shock, Legosi herded everyone back into the common space and fetched a broom to sweep up the shards while the others discussed. Once the bathroom was clean, Legosi joined the others. They were all on the couch, eager for an explanation. Legosi sat on the coffee table.

"Did you wanna tell us what happened?" asked Jack. Legosi really didn't really want to tell them what had happened while they were gone, as it would most likely be regarded as an embarrassing memory to the fox. While Legosi thought of ways he could word the story, he was thankfully saved by a knock at the door. Everyone left the couch at once, each of them hoping it was the fox at the door. Legosi hoped that too but being swarmed like that wasn't what he wanted for him.

"Back up, guys." Legosi said pre-emptively. He opened the door expecting to see the black-furred fox, but was instead met with the face of the housemother. Though slightly disappointed, they canines stepped back from the door to allow the housemother to enter.

"I'm sure you would like some answers. Legosi, would you care to help me?" Surprised, Legosi walked toward the doorway and stood next to the housemother. "The fox you met today is your new roommate. I apologize for not notifying you earlier. His application to the school was filed pretty much at the last moment. His name is Kachi, and he's in the third year. I escorted him to the infirmary to have his hand assessed. There were shards of glass found deep in the flesh of his hand that need to be removed, and some of the cuts will require stitches. In turn, Kachi will be spending the night in the infirmary under watch by the nurse. As for the mirror, Kachi already apologized and offered to replace it. Since Legosi admitted partial responsibility as well, you will be helping him install it." Legosi's eyes widened at the statement.

So it was worse than I thought. He really did a number on that hand. What was he so angry about? And… did she bring me up here just to humiliate me!?

"The replacement will be brought up here by the school's maintenance workers at 8 A.M sharp, you'll be responsible for waking yourself up," the housemother concluded. The canines were fascinated by the housemother's recap of events. Raising his hand, Jack began asking a question.

"Where's he from?" The housemother swiftly raised a hand

"No questions. You will be able to speak to him tomorrow when he's released." The housemother turned to leave but stopped before closing the door. "Please, do try to make him feel welcome, as this probably wasn't the introduction he was hoping for." With that, the housemother closed the door, leaving the canines to be amongst themselves.

"I hope he's okay…" said Jack, lifting a hand to his mouth. Legosi nodded in agreement

I'm worried about him.

It was oddly silent after the housemother's visit, and all discussion about their new roommate had ceased. Miguno had noticed his bags in the corner of the room, which gave him an idea. He crossed the room and fetched the bags, dragging them to his bunk.

"Looks like he's getting Durham's old bunk. I'll put his bags here so they're next to his bed when he comes back." Miguno pulled back the curtains, revealing the mess that he and his roommates had left there. He winced. "Sheesh. Hey guys, think we should clean this up before what's-his-name gets here tomorrow?" The others gathered around Miguno's bunk, looking at the collective mess they'd made of the top bunk.

"It's Kachi, and yeah! We should get rid of all this junk and have his bed nice and ready for him when he comes back!" exclaimed Jack. The canines began removing the clutter from the top bunk and going through it, deciding what to keep and what to toss. After thirty whole minutes of cleanup, the top bunk was finally clear and ready for their roommate to move in.

"There we go! Man, it sure feels good to see that stuff gone. I won't have to worry about getting crushed in my sleep anymore." While the others laughed, Legosi stared at the empty space that would soon inhabit the curious fox he had met earlier.

This can't be how you pictured today. Tomorrow we can start over. We'll have a good day and try to put today behind us. Still, I can't ignore what I heard. You sounded frustrated in a way I've only seen in myself. I might sound selfish and insensitive, but I want to know what you were shouting about, and what made you angry enough to want to punch a mirror.

~A Quick Author's Note~

Welcome to my new story, Nevers Road! Thank you for reading the first chapter. After seeing the Netflix adaptation I decided to begin reading the manga, and I'm glad I did. I had become completely burnt out writing Zootopia stories and had been absent from the site for months. After getting more invested in Beastars, however, my creative spark returned. It also helped to be stuck inside for a while. I will try to continue this, since I had this character idea bouncing around my head for a while. Again, thanks for the support and have a good one! -Prince