Chapter 21

Rob moaned softly as his eyes slowly began to open. His vision was still very blurry through his half-opened eyelids, but he was able to at least tell that he was in a well-lit place. He also began smelling the familiar scents of rubbing alcohol, plastic, and the distinct aromas of common medicines and ointments one would normally find in a clinic.

The young lion lifted up his head and blinked a few times, still feeling a little disoriented.

"Look who's finally awake."

Rob turned towards the voice as his vision began to become more focused to see a gruff-looking panda with a three-clawed scar over his right eye as well as stitched one under his left. Under his white lab coat, the bear wore a beige dress shirt with blue pants. The large feline also spied a stethoscope draped over his neck.

Rob recognized that this was the same panda that he encountered in the back alley, judging by the outline and rougher demeanor. He said his name was...Gouhin?

Hold on… Back alley? Why was…?

It took Rob a few more moments before his memories began returning, and soon jolted completely awake. As he did so, however, he felt his wrists and ankles bumping into something cold and hard.

The young carnivore quickly looked down to see himself restrained to a chair with his limbs cuffed down by thick steel bands. He attempted to scream, it was completely muffled thanks to a muzzle tied over his head and mouth.

"Mmm–! MmnnMMMNNNG!" Rob cried through his closed mouth, struggling and jerking his body in an attempt to break free.

"You're wasting your time," said Gouhin, letting out a soft sigh. "That chair's strong enough to keep even a full-grown polar bear in one place. You may be bigger than your average lion, but you're just gonna hurt yourself in the end."

Despite the panda's warning, Rob continued rocking and straining every muscle in his body to escape his restraints. Gouhin huffed a bit as he rolled his eyes–though, it was difficult to tell right away since his black eyes were almost as dark as the spots around them. He then sat down on a rolling chair at a nearby desk and proceeded to look through some documents, seemingly ignoring the distressed liliger.

A few minutes passed and Rob had now completely exhausted himself from his failed attempts at freedom. His whole frame trembled while his wrists and ankles throbbed in pain thanks to him banging them against the steel cuffs. He also breathed heavily while he let out small sobs and hiccups in between. There was no choice but for the young carnivore to accept that he was now at the mercy of this so-called doctor.

He then felt his shirt being lifted up by the hem and over his chest, making him jolt a little.

"*whistle* You're pretty built, aren't ya?" said Gouhin, raising his brows and nodding. "Now I see why you were so heavy while carrying ya. Must take a good amount of protein to maintain these muscles. Now then..."

The gruff panda then pressed the cool drum of the stethoscope onto the inner part of Rob's left pectoral as he quickly readjusted the earpieces. "Hmm...pretty fast heartbeat and erratic breathing...still very strong and healthy heart and lungs, though," he remarked while placing the drum in various places over the nervous liliger's chest.

Afterwards, the bear removed the stethoscope from his ears and draped the instrument once more around his neck. He then stood up and began reaching his hands towards the young carnivore's face. Rob turned his head away, whimpering almost pitifully as he shut his eyes tightly.

"*sigh* Look, pal. We can't get anything else done with that thing covering your mouth. Now, c'mon." Gouhin tugged the muzzle, turning Rob's head towards him as he began unfastening it. A few moments after, the big cat gasped as the thick leather restraint was finally removed from his head.

"Unngk–! P-P-Plea–! I w-w-wa-wann–ngggh!–h-ho–home…!" he sobbed.

Gouhin merely looked at Rob for a few moments, his head slightly moving up and down as though he was scanning him. Afterwards, he turned towards his desk and grabbed what appeared to be some sort of large camera. Without pause, he then pointed the camera towards the young liliger and pressed it's button.

Rob's eyes stung from the flash and quickly turned his head away, shutting his eyelids tight as he heard the whir of the photo being automatically developed.

"Alright. Now..." The panda bear pulled his rolling chair a few feet in front of the blinking carnivore and casually sat himself down while waving the photograph in his hand.

"So, how many pounds of meat you usually eat?"

The young liliger's ears suddenly became erect and turned his head slowly towards Gouhin. "...Wh...What…?"

"C'mon, there's no way any lion–or maybe liger–could have a rock-hard body like yours without a reliable source of protein. Gotta say, though, I'm pretty jealous you can get so big."

Rob stared at the panda, perplexed by his question, and then slowly shook his head.

"What? You're sayin' you haven't had any meat lately?" Gouhin scoffed. "What else did you come to the black market for?"

"N...N-no…" Rob muttered, shaking his head once more. "I...d-didn't...want t-t-to–"

"Hmph. Doesn't matter if you wanted to come here or not. Every carnivore'll stumble their way here at least once in their lives. Well, the ones in this city anyways."

Every carnivore…

The young liliger remembered Richard gave a similar statement earlier. And it only made his stomach turn once more.

"Heh, that bother you?" Gouhin smirked as he eyed Rob's hands tightening into fists.

"Sorry, but that's just how it is. It's not ideal, but this is the only place predators can go to satiate their natural hunger for meat. Of course, even then there are still plenty of times where they give in to their instincts and kill an herbivore anyway."

The young liliger squeezed his fists even tighter as the memory of Tem's murder just barely reached the surface of him mind. "'J-just...h-how it is…?'"

"Hmm?"

"An h-herbivore...h-has t–has to d-d-die because it's 'j-just how it i-is?'" Rob began to snarl.

"Not saying they have to," Gouhin said as he began reaching into his pocket.

"Unfortunately, it's becoming more and more common nowadays. Can't even flip on the news without hearing about someone getting eaten."

He pulled out a packet of cigarettes and tapped it against his other hand to remove one. "But let's put that to the side for now."

Gouhin lit the cigarette that was now being held between his lips. For some reason, the young liliger became even more agitated after seeing the panda's sharp, exposed teeth. Despite his species being one that normally eats nothing but bamboo, he still had the jaws of a…

"Alright. Now, I'm gonna ask you again: how much meat have you eaten?"

"...S-Stop it," Rob muttered angrily.

"'Stop it' isn't an answer," the panda said as smoke lazily puffed out of his mouth. "You better give me something better than that. How much?"

"S-Stop it," the liliger said a little louder.

"Alright...then how about this: how many animals have you hurt?"

Rob flinched at the new question. "N-no, w-wait…! I-I didn't..."

"Didn't what?" Gouhin asked almost pointedly.

He tried to speak, but whatever words he had remained at the back of his throat as he began averting his eyes from the panda's.

"Hm, can't say I'm surprised. Big cats are usually pretty strong even without being built like a tank. Hope whoever they were didn't get too messed u–"

"SH-SHUT UP!"

Rob's body jutted forward towards the bear as he bellowed, his snout wrinkled and scrunched up with his teeth almost bared.

"Y-you don't know a-a-anything! L-Let me go r-r-right now, or y-you'll be sorr–!"

THWACK!

It happened so quickly that the young liliger's mind barely caught up. Gouhin had grabbed him by the collar of his shirt and struck him hard on the side of his muzzle with his fist, leaving Rob stunned with a throbbing pain in his jaw.

"I might not know everything, but I do know I don't take too kindly to punks givin' out weak-a$% threats," the panda snarled. "Now, we're gonna try it again and this time you're not gonna…"

Gouhin trailed off as he watched Rob beginning to sob anew with his bottom lip quivering.

"Seriously…? One hit and you're already falling apart?" he said with a mildly bemused look on his face. "Most lions I've dealt with would handle at least a few more slugs to the face, being one of the more prideful carnivores."

"I-I...nng–! I h-h-hate…! Ugh…! I h-hate…b-b-being a c-car–carniv-vore..." Rob sputtered in between sobs. "I...h-hate...being a l-lili...l-l-lili…!"

Gouhin simply stared as the large cat's face and snout soon became soaked with tears and snot. He then heaved a great sigh with some smoke blowing softly on Rob before gently releasing his collar.

The panda stepped away and leaned back against his desk, holding his cigarette between two fingers and breathing in once more. Once again, Gouhin waited patiently in front of the sobbing and hiccuping young liliger.

…

Rob gently rubbed his wrist in his hand, which was still very sore and a little reddened from his battle against his restraints. Even though he had long been freed from that chair and is now sitting comfortably on a softer one opposite of Gouhin at a small table, he still somehow felt a bit trapped.

He didn't know exactly how long he had been kept here by the panda, but judging how much darker it had become outside it had been several hours.

The panda casually leaned his arm on the table as he drank and finished a cup of bamboo tea he had served earlier–though, the liliger's cup remained relatively full despite it being served a little over a dozen minutes prior.

Gouhin sighed as he replaced the empty teacup on the table. "So, let me see if I understand this right: after your parents died, you were adopted and raised by a family of sheep up til now?"

Rob nodded wordlessly as he absently stared at his now-lukewarm tea.

"Hm. That explains a lot. Didn't feel like I was dealing with a normal big cat. Then again...haven't exactly dealt with a rare hybrid one like you before, either."

The young liliger sighed inwardly, looking at the hazy reflection staring back at him from the bamboo tea's surface. He should be used to being called abnormal by now. Yet, that not-so-unusual observation only served to make him feel more freakish.

"That being said," the panda continued, crossing his arms. "Can't help but wonder whether growing up around herbivores all your life did more harm than good."

Rob looked up, a little perplexed at the comment.

"Hmm...it's usually pretty easy to see that predatory "glint" in a carnivore's eyes," Gouhin said while squinting his eyes.

"But...I'm just not seeing anything in yours. And that just makes you even more dangerous."

"Uh...I-I don't...u-understand. W-w-what do you…"

Gouhin then leaned forward with a serious yet almost tender look on his face. "You've dealt with some major trauma as a kid, huh?"

The young carnivore flinched and then nervously grasped his slightly trembling hand. How did he already figure that out?

"I might not be an expert when it comes to adverse childhood experiences, but that stutter of yours along with how I heard you were acting back at the market is a pretty big giveaway. Plus, I doubt white streaks in a lion's mane are trending with you kids right now," said Gouhin, answering that question.

The rest of Rob's body began quivering as well while he shrank. It was taking everything he had to keep that memory from bursting to the surface.

"I won't ask what happened, kid," the panda sighed. "Gonna leave that to a specialist in that department. But I will focus on what I specialize in."

The young liliger exhaled loudly before attempting to steady his breathing again, mumbling random equations. Gouhin nodded, seemingly impressed with how he was calming himself down.

After a minute or so, Rob began focusing his gaze towards Gouhin once more, and the older panda took that as a cue to begin speaking.

"Alright, I'll get straight to the point: as you are now, you're basically a walking time bomb."

"U–I-I, uh–W-Wha..?" the young liliger stammered.

"Like I said before, it's usually pretty easy to see a distinct 'hunger' in a predator's face, especially after being exposed to fresh cuts." Gouhin leaned forward in his seat. "Can you think back to how you were feeling when you first smelled herbivore meat after coming here?"

Rob stared at the bear for a bit before looking down at his clenched fingers. All he could think about was the smell of blood and the dismembered body parts of the herbivores hanging by the vendors.

"I…I d-don't kn-kn-know…" he began. "S-scared…? G…G-grossed out? I-I…h-h-hated it there."

"I'm sure you could at least smell the cooked meat even before you walked in. Didn't you feel even a little hungry?"

The young carnivore didn't answer and merely shook his head. How was he supposed to feel hungry with literal dead bodies strung everywhere?

"I don't believe that for a second," Gouhin said flatly.

"H-Huh? B-but…I-I-I'm not l-lying," Rob began protesting. "I r-really did l-lose m—lose my appetite in th-there. I c-c-couldn't even g-get near the st-stuff without…mm…"

"Yeah, I heard about your little freakout in the market earlier. I'm sure it was a genuine panic attack and all."

"Th-then…why d-did you…?"

"Every carnivore's body will react to the smell of meat, no matter how hard they may try to hide it. It's simply how we are programmed." Gouhin then frowned. "The fact that you don't even remember feeling that urge to seek it out means you're doing too good a job suppressing your instincts."

Rob tilted his head slightly, even more perplexed.

"And no, that's not a good thing," the panda said even before the young liliger opened his mouth. "Say all your instincts are like seltzer in a bottle. It's gotta come out one way or another, especially with all the CO2 that comes from shaking it. Normally, it's pretty easy for the 'cap' to come off if agitated enough."

Gouhin then moved one hand in front of him and motioned his fingers and thumb as though he was wrapping around an unseen bottle.

"In your case, though, your instincts are being more actively suppressed. Your time with that herbivore caused you to subconsciously push them down since you were raised by them. Pretty confident you dealing with your trauma as a kid buried them even more. But at the end of the day, you are still a carnivore like everyone else. If you don't properly control those instincts…"

The panda's thumb shot straight up as he made a small hissing sound through his teeth, leaving Rob to watch in horror at the imaginary bottle bursting it's cap while his ears flattened.

"N…no…! I d-don't want…!" he stammered, looking down at his claws. The memory of his lashing out suddenly at Joe during their sparring match then flashed across his mind and closed his fingers quickly, keeping his long, black nails out of sight.

"I wouldn't if I were you."

The young liliger suddenly looked up at Gouhin.

"It looks like your instincts are finally starting to rear their ugly heads, too, so forcing them down now is asking for trouble."

"B-but…I…"

"Hmm…trust me, you're not the first, or last, carnivore scared of their inner demon," Gouhin said as he leaned back in his chair. "And time and again I see them do their d*mnest to deny that part of themselves...even after just devouring another animal."

Rob shuddered. Even though he had seen the aftermath of a devouring, the idea of carnivores eating herbivores still didn't seem real to him. At least until being brought to this awful place.

"That's where I come in."

"Huh?"

"Like I told you when I first found you, I'm a doctor—a psychotherapist, if you wanna get technical."

Oh…that's right, Rob thought.

"Here in the black market, it's my job to reign in and rehabilitate carnivores who've given in to their feral instincts, or at least are coming close."

Rob simply stared at him for a bit.

"Heh, whether you trust or believe me is up to you," Gouhin said as he smirked and began standing from his seat. "Just letting you know, though, I take my job very seriously."

The panda then began casually walking over to a wall on the other side of the room while also taking out a picture from his coat pocket, which the young hybrid could surmise was the one he took of him earlier.

"U-umm…"

"Yeah?" Gouhin asked without turning around.

"...D-did you r-r-really graduate Sh-Shibe U.?

"Hmm, surprised that's the thing you're zeroing in on. You aiming for that school yourself or something?"

"Mm…mm-hmm," Rob answered quietly

.

"Hah, well aren't you ambitious! Not exactly an easy place to get into, believe me. Had to work my tail off to even take the entrance exam back in the day" the panda exclaimed while pinning Rob's picture against a bulletin filled with others'. "Then again, with you being a student at Cherryton and all, I'd say you've got a decent shot. If your grades are good enough, at least. Speaking of…"

Gouhin then moved towards his desk while grabbing a pen and writing something on a scrap piece of paper. "Gonna have to let you get back before it gets too late for you…there we go."

After placing the pen down, the bear then sauntered over to Rob and handed the scrap of paper that he scribbled on earlier.

"My number."

Rob twitched his ear for a bit before taking the note. Sure enough, there was indeed a phone number written on.

"U-um…?"

"I don't usually give out my personal phone number to a lot of patients, especially on the first meeting. But you're one of the rare exceptions I've dealt with." Gouhin then firmly placed his on the young liliger's shoulder and looked squarely into his greenish-gray eyes, enough so that he was able to actually see the panda's own hidden by the black spots around them.

"Now, listen closely. I'm gonna take a chance on you seeing as your instincts are still barely coming out, and how you seem to have just a little more sense than most kids I've treated—at least compared to the last one," he said very seriously. "As soon as you notice something wrong, or if you feel like you're starting to lose control of yourself, call and meet me right away."

"U-uh—"

"If you're gonna take anything from tonight, at least commit this to memory: you're a carnivore, just like everyone here in the black market. And you're gonna have to face those feral instincts sooner or later...Watch yourself, okay kid?"

It was strange.

The term "carnivore" didn't carry that much weight for Rob in the past. But now it feels as heavy as Gouhin's large clawed hands, gripping tightly on his shoulder…

…

Rob knew he should hurry out of the alleys to catch one of the next subways to beat curfew on time, but his feet felt like lead and wouldn't allow him to walk any faster.

Mentally, he was able to process the happenings of tonight—namely, his first encounter with actual meat in the black market and getting kidnapped and restrained by the so-called "doctor"—but his body still felt completely exhausted and sluggish, like it was still catching up with everything else.

The young liliger briefly wondered if it was a side effect of that odorless chemical Gouhin used to knock him unconscious in the first place, but then began contemplating how he said he was basically a bomb ready to explode after a little agitation.

Thanks to his mind being occupied, he failed to notice the animal bumping hard into his body and almost falling backwards from the impact.

It turned out to be a lion with a somewhat thinner frame and who was wearing a black suit and tie. His mane was also fashioned into some manner of pompadour and had squinted eyes, with the right one having a three-clawed scar over it.

"Arrg—! Why you…!" the lion began to snarl after regaining his balance. "Where the f$& did ya learn to walk, huh!? I'm gonna—!"

The lion froze mid-sentence with his mouth a little agape before slowly moving his gaze upward towards the larger feline's face.

Rob looked back at him for a little bit before moving his body down, which caused the well-dressed lion to flinch and retreat a little.

"S…sorry for b-bumping i-int—into you…" Rob said quietly as he bowed.

The other feline said nothing, only gawked as he was making strange noises from the back of his throat.

The young liliger sighed and slowly continued past the lion, still feeling his eyes following him as turned the corner.

"Free!"

The pompadoured big cat turned around to see two other lions in black suits, one donning an x-shaped scar over his face and a slightly older one wearing rectangular glasses.

"There you are! Quit fooling around. We're supposed to meet up with the boss in–What's with you?" asked the scar-faced lion.

"Wh—y-you didn't see that back there!?"

"Hmm?"

"That lion! He was f# $&% huge!" Free exclaimed, flailing his arms a little before shooting one straight up as if measuring something. "I swear, he's gotta have been like s-seven—no, e-eight feet! And the guy was ripped, too!"

The other two looked at each other briefly before the scar-faced one spoke, "Free, are you high again?"

"Wh—No! Dolph, I'm being totally serious here!" he yelled. "There really was a giant lion!"

"*sigh* We don't have time for your drug-induced—"

"A liger, perhaps?"

Both Dolph and Free turned to the older lion who was holding his chin.

"'Liger,' Ibuki?" asked Dolph.

"A rare type of hybrid—half-lion, half tiger. They're also known to grow past seven feet."

"Huh."

"See? I told you I wasn't high!"

"Alright, we can discuss it later. Right now, the boss is expecting us," Ibuki said.

The two other lions agreed and hurried down the alleyway. The older big cat, however, briefly stayed behind looking in the direction Free claimed to have seen the "giant lion," deep in thought.

"Hmm…haven't heard of a liger around these parts for some time…"

Author's Note

Phew! This was definitely a harder chapter to write than I thought. Needed to check and redo things every now and then so I felt satisfied in the end. Haha!

Been thinking and brainstorming a lot on how to properly fit Rob into the world, but thankfully we got some real liligers running around!

Gotta keep trucking!