After Bill and I left the building through the backdoors, we found Louis waiting for us and he showed just how pissed he was by really laying into us on what just happened on stage.

"I'm completely appalled with you two...you're free to brawl all you want out here but not onstage so how the hell do you expect to apologize for all of that?" Louis snapped and I flinched slightly until guilt rose up again and I could barely keep eye contact with him.

"Um, well, I don't really know where to start," Bill admitted just before Louis shoved something into his hand and Bill opened it until I could see that it was the small bottle filled with blood.

"Honestly, I couldn't give a shit that you drink a small animal's blood to pep yourself up since it was just a coincidence that I heard about it. You see, unlike Legosi, I never expected better of you but the problem is that the two of you shed blood onstage like a bunch of reckless, senseless monsters!

If I wasn't there to break it up, would you have actually killed each other?! You both are savages as far as I'm concerned...as the actors' team lead, I'm suspending the two of you from Drama Club until further notice," Louis decided lividly as I looked down feeling ashamed until I noticed something in front of the steps and my eyes widened when I looked up and saw a crowd of animals with their phones and notebooks out.

"Um, Louis-sempai-" Bill tried to warn as he also noticed the crowd but he was interrupted.

"Quiet, I don't want any excuses so don't bother coming to rehearsal tomorrow. I could've kicked you both out but-" Louis stated until Bill cut him off by gesturing behind him.

"Sempai, look behind you," Bill whispered frantically while I was sweating and Louis looked confused at first until he looked back and saw the crowd, who started cheering wildly while I could see Louis stiffening up at the sight.

"Sorry to bother you, but I'm with the PR department and I'd like to interview you about the performance so is this a good time for that?!" one of the journalists inquired over the loud cheering and I held up a hand to cover my face so that I wouldn't be blinded by the flashes and to avoid getting my picture taken while Legosi was hovering nearby and appearing more than uncomfortable at this unexpected turn of events.

"Uh, sempai, what the fuck do we do?" Bill questioned nervously and at that moment, Louis looked hesitant like any other 18-year-old kid until he shook it off and narrowed his eyes at us.

"Listen, forget what I said because the performance was a success and it was just as we rehearsed so to keep it a success, we will act like there weren't any problems, understand?" Louis instructed quietly and I gulped before nodding along with Bill.

"Y-Yeah, of course," I answered while Bill also voiced his agreement.

"The story of the recent performance is completely different from the previous one so was this planned all along?" the female raccoon questioned and Louis turned around before I could see him putting up a pleasant front.

"Yes, of course, because we decided to add another element to the ending," Louis lied while I held a very uncomfortable and nervous smile.

"Oh, I thought so and you took the audience by surprise so could you elaborate more on that?" the raccoon asked and Louis nodded as he put one hand on my shoulder and the other one on Bill's back, but I grimaced slightly when I felt him gripping my shoulder tight to express just how pissed he was.

"Of course, it was a big challenge for all of us so I hope it left a significant impression on some of the younger students as well. You see, the world we live in today is very complex and we all tend to hide, suppress, and fight each other constantly as we try and live our lives, so there's no right or wrong.

But, as long as you live with a true conviction, you're bound to shine and stand out so even if you're rough around the edges or crude, you'll have the conviction to send that message these two successfully did onstage.

Well, that will be all for me so feel free to ask any questions for these two," Louis said as he let go on my shoulder and Bill's back, then he sent a glance at me as he was limping away with a crutch and I started pondering what he said.

'Those words...was he aiming them at me?' I thought as Bill and I were forced to answer any questions the school reporters had but I kept it short and headed back to the dorm so that I could get some sleep.


After I had gotten a restless sleep and suffered from nightmares of my hellish experiences in the Wastes, I had woken up and took a quick shower to energize myself before heading to my classes after chatting with my roommates, then I had to deal with many animals staring at me and whispering to each other until I was in an irritable mood when lunchtime came and I couldn't take it anymore so I decided to have Jack get our lunch and stay in the drained swimming pool so that I wouldn't have to deal with being stared at and treated like I was something put on display.

"Hey, think fast!" Jack announced suddenly just as something was thrown at me and I caught it in my arms before I could see that it was a bag of food.

"Got your favorite, egg salad sandwich and unsweetened soy milk," Jack said as he approached and sat down next to me until he started munching on an egg roll.

"Thanks..." I trailed off quietly as I opened the bag and took out a sandwich while I could see Jack eyeing me out of the corner of my eye.

"Hey, Legosi, good call not going to the cafeteria or kiosk today," Jack said with a full mouth and I slumped forward as I made a face at that.

"I knew it...so, how did it go?" I inquired hesitantly and Jack looked at me with an arched brow.

"Uh, let's just say that your little improv last night made the front page of the school paper and everybody bought one," Jack explained and my eyes widened as I jerked back.

"That made the front page and everybody bought one?! You're shitting me, right?!" I exclaimed in disbelief and Jack lifted a newspaper showing me with Bill and Louis, though I looked like I wanted to be anywhere else but there on the picture.

"Nope, and it's a great picture so I bought myself a copy as well~" Jack sang cheerfully and started commenting on what was in the newspaper, but I didn't listen while I felt completely mortified at the knowledge that everyone in the entire school knew about my enraged beating that I carried out on Bill until Legosi flew down.

"Connor, Jack was definitely there last night and if he's sitting there with you right now, then he probably didn't notice that you weren't acting on that stage," Legosi pointed out and I pursed my lips at the reminder until Jack laughed and I regained my focus on what he was saying.

"Seriously, this shot is totally incredible and I didn't know that you and Louis-sempai became such close friends," Jack said with a grin and I sighed as I looked away.

"Well, it's not like that because a lot happened up there, which is why that article doesn't show...you know," I muttered and added, "Louis-sempai is just amazing, that's all."

'Fuck me, I'm causing that kid all kinds of problems because of my temper...I can't even look at him in the eye,' I thought with a depression cloud hanging over me.

"Legosi, did you get it out of your system?" Jack asked suddenly and I looked at him with a puzzled expression.

"Out of my system? What the hell are you talking about?" I questioned in confusion.

"I'm talking about the brawl scene last night, which wasn't an act," Jack clarified and I recoiled with my eyes bugged out.

"H-How the fuck did you find out about that?!" I yelped incredulously as I accidentally dropped my sandwich.

"Hey, come on, don't waste it!" Jack lectured as he got up from his seat and kneeled down to pick up the sandwich before brushing it off.

"Seriously, did you think I wouldn't notice and we've known each other for how many years? Here, five-second rule and you know you want it," Jack encouraged playfully as he held out the sandwich and I took it hesitantly before taking a bite.

"I hope you cheer up soon because I know you can easily get depressed," Jack stated and I hummed thoughtfully as I stared at the puddle of water that had a few butterflies resting in it.

"I didn't want that to change," I admitted and I felt Jack's eyes on me.

"What do you mean?" Jack asked in confusion and I sighed as I recalled my father and how he sacrificed everything to make sure I was safe while I had lost parts of myself that I would never get back.

"I tried to move on from my depression and the darkness inside me without anyone helping me and I've lived with this for a long time...but yesterday, I realized for the first time that it wasn't enough anymore and I just carry so much anger and rage in me at how cruel and unfair the world could be.

At that moment, I couldn't take it anymore and something in me just snapped...I wanted to let out all that rage that had been inside me for so long, even if it meant tearing apart the entire stage and throwing it into chaos.

My feelings are what they are and they belong to me, something I've tried to come to terms with and it's hard to explain," I admitted as I stood up and took a few steps away from Jack before looking up at the blue sky.

'What is this? Why am I revealing something so personal to him?' I thought in confusion since I've never confessed something like this to anyone in my previous life, not even my closest allies.

"It's great to have moments like that but you don't like it, Legosi?" Jack inquired and I looked back.

"Hmm...to be honest, I'm not so sure," I replied with a frown and Jack laughed while I made a face at that.

"Come on, don't be such a grouch but that was good because you're full of life right now, Legosi," Jack told me and I perked up slightly.

"Oh, really?" I questioned since I didn't feel lively and Jack chuckled.

"Don't worry, you're going to be okay," Jack reassured and I didn't know how to respond to that as we went back to eating our lunch.

I couldn't help but envy Jack, just dealing with all of the bullshit with a smile and a cheerful attitude and he reminded me of that Nuka Cola collector who owned a museum of them but I just focused on eating my lunch and not get lost in thought.


Once we finished up and headed back inside, we dumped our trash in a bin and continued chatting while we were heading to class.

"Yeah, I have to admit, I've been worried about you since it not only seems like you've been having a rough time, you've also been acting differently than before so is there any particular reason I should know about?" Jack asked in concern and I knew that he was starting to get suspicious since, lately, I haven't been acting like the Legosi he knows and I felt tense.

"A reason? Huh, I don't really know," I lied and tried to stay calm as Jack looked thoughtful.

"Could it be...you fell in love?" Jack inquired with a smirk and I froze with widened eyes as Jack did a little dance with his tail swaying.

"Oh, my tail is swinging, maybe I'm in love~ Le-Le-Legosi..." Jack sang while I was staring at him like he had two heads, then Jack trailed off and spun around with a look of shock before quickly walking up to me.

'Oh, hell no,' I thought as I started walking away from him fast to escape what was coming but Jack caught up to me stuttering as I sweatdropped.

"Are you serious?! You, who's never had a girlfriend since the beginning of never?! Holy crap, you really have changed!" Jack exclaimed excitingly and I held up a hand to try and shut him up.

"Let's hurry to class because fifth period is starting and we're going to be late," I evaded with an uncomfortable expression but Jack still wouldn't shut up.

"Let me guess..if it's a female wolf in our class and there's four of them, which narrows things down unless I'm completely off track," Jack theorized happily and I grimaced since he was kinda being a little annoying.

"Well, that part's true," I admitted and my eyes widened in horror at letting that slip out while Jack gasped.

"Are you saying she's not a wolf?! Is she even a canine?!" Jack yelped and I groaned warily as I tried to ignore him.

'Christ, now this kid is never going to leave me alone about this,' I thought as I changed the subject and we kept chatting as we headed to class.


I sniffed the air and enjoyed the scent of spring after me and the other 701 canines were done trimming our fur so that we could sell it, then I became lost in thought as I reflected on a lot of things.

It had been a month since the incident onstage and my back had healed up nicely but the downside is that I now had fresh scars for anyone to see if I ever take off my shirt, though it wasn't all that bad since I have been busy keeping my temper under control so that another incident doesn't happen again and I've been feeling...lighter for some reason I couldn't explain.

"Yep, just like every year, more whites and grays," Jack remarked as we stared at the large pile of hair that was on a pair of newspapers on the ground.

"It's probably mine and Legosi's," Collot stated and Durham shrugged.

"Maybe, but there sure is a bunch more than last year," Durham pointed out while Miguno smiled.

"You guys ready to take it to the yarn shop?" Miguno asked eagerly and I formed a small smile at his anticipation.

"We're gonna make some yen~" Jack sang happily while Voss shifted around a little on my shoulder.

"I get a cut too, don't I?" Voss reminded us and we all transported the pile of hair to the yarn shop for money, then I had gone to class while I adjusted my blue summer t-shirt that had the school's insignia on one of its short sleeves.

As the day went by, I thought about how everyone in school always gets excited when summer comes around and I didn't see the point in it while Legosi once told me that he always assumed everyone is anxious and excited because of the upcoming festival that was coming soon, which was set up to strangely honor the spirits of the dinosaurs that went extinct but the real reason for everyone's anticipation was the lighting ceremony where couples would light candles together and it was something I have never understood throughout the time I've been in this world.

Once class was over, I had headed to the Drama Club and now Sanou was making an announcement about the Meteor Festival while everyone was listening.

"Just like last year, we were invited to participate in the festival of the meteor!" Sanou declared as he held up a poster of the festival and the actors cheered as he continued, "Of course, we plan to accept."

"That's awesome and we get to roam around town without an outing permit again this summer, talk about cool!" Sheila cheered excitingly while Tao voiced his agreement.

"Now, remember guys, this isn't for fun because we're going there to help out with the festival," Sanou pointed out and the actors made noises of excitement, though my fellow stage crew members weren't as happy while Dom frowned.

"Looks like the art department is going to be busy this year so why don't we discuss it in the storage room," Dom suggested and the rest of us sighed with disheartened expressions before we got up from our seats and headed to the storage room until we were staring up at the large model of a T-Rex.

"We can't use the same sculpture again this year," Fudge pointed out and Kai sighed.

"Seriously, why does it have to be a dinosaur, anyway? Can't we just pick something easier?" Kai complained and Dom frowned at him.

"Dinosaurs are the ancestors of all animals and their very existence is significant...it all happened one summer when a meteor hit the planet, which caused them to go extinct," Dom explained and Kibi nodded.

"They say it's a festival where we welcome the ghosts of extinct dinosaurs, but no one really cares about that since the real thing everyone's excited for is the lighting ceremony on the final day where couples light candles in the meteor together to live happily for the rest of their lives, so they say anyway," Kibi added as we left the building and walked to the cafeteria as the sun started setting.

"It's just a time for people to have some fun so the actor teams will be goofing off with their boyfriends and girlfriends most of the time, anyway, so who the hell cares?" Kai grumbled while Dom looked back at him.

"Come on, they're relying on the art department to come through," Dom reasoned and Kai shot him a dry expression.

"That's not the point, the point is that they are putting all this extra work on us because we look like we're not doing anything and just being lazy bastards," Kai stated in frustration.

"Well, maybe they should give us a damn break once in a while since we got one member who gets out of control whenever he gets really fucking pissed and it's pretty stressful," Fudge commented and I knew that he was talking about me as I grimaced slightly from the reminder and Dom noticed until he laughed nervously and smiled awkwardly.

"Uh, just so you know, we're not worried about that anymore and how's your back?" Dom asked me and I shrugged.

"It's healed up nicely, though I'm definitely going to be having a few scars," I said and Dom cringed before he cleared his throat.

"A-Anyway, it's good that your back is doing so much better now and I'm glad to hear that so let's go to the cafeteria and get dinner," Dom suggested to change the subject and I paused when I picked up a familiar scent coming from one of the main buildings and my eyes widened.

"Sorry, but I have someplace to be so I'll see you later," I lied as I bowed and took off jogging to the building until I found it and went inside, then I followed the scent before I heard the rabbit girl shouting at the top of her lungs.

When I turned around a corner, I could see her all wet while she was taking her frustrations out on three girls until I approached her while her back is turned and took out a clean handkerchief as the girls trembled and held each other at the sight of me, causing me to flinch as the girl finished shouting at them and they screamed in complete terror while they fled in the other direction and the girl chuckled as she made herself look smug.

"Well, guess I made my point and it's not like they didn't deserve it," the girl muttered victoriously and I felt awkward that she didn't realize that I was right behind her.

"Go ahead, rip her apart!" one of the three girls shouted to me and the rabbit girl appeared to be confused judging by her body language, then she turned around and looked up at me as I held out the handkerchief for her to take.

"Oh, it's you," the girl said in surprise and I gulped slightly since I wasn't expecting to see her again.

'Shit, this is really uncomfortable for me so what do I say to her? I should ask her if she's okay and...I've been thinking about her all month and forgotten how small she is,' I thought nervously as I saw the girl kneeling down to check on the flowers that were on the ground next to a broken pot, then I stuffed the handkerchief back into my pocket and leaned down to pick up a withered flower.

"Um, are you okay?" I asked in concern while I was leaning down right in front of her, only to be taken aback when she huffed and stood up with a frown.

"I appreciate the thought, but I don't accept any pity from a guy that I slept with so excuse me," the girl stated as she went to leave and I cleared my throat.

"Actually, we didn't have sex that day," I pointed out and the girl paused before her face took on a look of realization.

"Oh, that's right...I'm kinda hungry after yelling so much, so did you have dinner yet?" the girl offered and I was surprised that she wanted to have dinner with me.

"Before we head to the cafeteria, could you tell me your name?" I inquired and the girl nodded.

"Sure, I'm Haru so how about you?" Haru introduced and I cleared my throat.

"Legosi, and it's nice to meet you, Haru," I said as we gathered the flowers and the shards of the broken pot before we took care of them and headed to the cafeteria for dinner.


After we had headed to the cafeteria and got our dinner before sitting across from each other at a table, I was taking a sip from my drink and trying to ignore the stares and whispering that were no doubt about me and Haru since it is not every day a wolf and a rabbit would sit together at dinner time as Haru was taking a bite from her dinner.

"Hey, thanks for letting me sit on your backpack since I'm at the perfect height now," Haru spoke up and I smiled hesitantly.

"No problem, I'm happy to loan you my backpack for a short time," I said while fidgeting around in my seat uncomfortably.

'Oh hell, this is so fucking awkward and I don't even know what to say to her...I've been through a lot for thirteen years of my adult life ever since I was nineteen and I thought I had managed to find peace after getting killed, only to wind up in this world and possessing a kid's body while dealing with new problems that seem to crop up out of nowhere.

Jesus, I thought I was moving forward but I'm not going anywhere so talk about embarrassing, and nothing has changed because I can't even have a decent conversation with a girl since I had spent most of my adult life killing people and monsters while only talking to civilized people so that I can find out more information and ask for any jobs that they want me to do,' I thought as depression lines formed above my head and I twitched.

"This is pretty good...listen, I don't know what's going on but cheer up and eat your food because you won't grow up to be a healthy adult," Haru said in concern and I snapped out of my line of thought before chuckling uncomfortably.

"Right, I forgot about that," I commented and started eating, only I made sure to do it without showing my teeth so that I wouldn't scare her by accident and Haru laughed in amusement.

"You know, I'm really not excited for mid-terms since history is my worst subject," Haru remarked and Legosi stared at her while he was floating next to me.

"Huh, her voice is like a lonely child and it's kinda unusual," Legosi muttered and I got lost in my train of thought while I stared at Haru, who was taking a big bite and I did the same thing unconsciously while she swallowed and cleared her throat.

"That's kinda nasty and it's not polite to stare at a girl so intently while she's eating," Haru pointed out, causing me to snap out of it and I blushed while I swallowed and coughed awkwardly.

"Sorry, I drifted off there for a second and I tend to do that while I'm thinking," I stated in embarrassment, and Haru chuckled.

"Relax, I'm just kidding and I wanted to apologize for what happened the first time we met, so I'm glad we got to talk. It's just...I had my mind set on sleeping with a wolf during that time you were there, but you left right after you covered me with that blanket and I really believed that I was saved by your decision that day, to be perfectly honest," Haru admitted and I felt even guiltier that I had gotten her to come to the wrong conclusion that day and made her think that I wanted to have sex with her.

"No, I should be the one to apologize since I was being really shy and I'm not too good with talking to other people, so I want to say sorry for turning that into a misunderstanding," I told her with a guilty expression and it became quiet after that as we continued eating our dinner, though I noticed from Haru's body language that she was more than uncomfortable for some reason.

'Haru, something tells me that you don't want to see me anymore and things can't end where I had seen you without your clothes, but I've never asked anything about you or wanted to ask if you want to be friends with me.

Is this even the right time to ask if she wants to be my friend, to close the gap that's between us?' I thought in uncertainty and decided to suck it up before I took in a deep breath.

"By the way-" I started to say and was cut off as Haru stood up with her empty tray.

"That was delicious and thanks for having dinner with me since that was quite a treat. Anyway, I'm going back to dorms, so what about you?" Haru asked while I was frozen until I shook it off.

"Yeah, same here," I said as I also stood up, then we put our trash in the bin and headed to the dorms until Haru stopped and kneeled down.

"Hold on, my shoe latch came loose so give me a second," Haru informed me and went to fix the problem, but I could see that she was having trouble and I cleared my throat to get her attention.

"Here, let me help," I said as I went in front of her and also kneeled down before I fixed the problem and looked up at her, then I became drawn to her eyes until a warm feeling rose up inside me as I was lost in her gaze.

"Huh, your eyes are pretty," I muttered thoughtfully and Haru chuckled in amusement.

"What was that all about?" Haru inquired and I realized what I said before I looked away bashfully while blushing.

"It's nothing, I was just surprised since I've never seen them up close before," I explained sheepishly and Haru smiled at me.

"It's okay, I'm actually flattered that you think my eyes are pretty so thank you for the compliment," Haru reassured and I felt something that I haven't felt in a long time, pure happiness as I realized something.

'Wait, maybe I was the one creating the gap all along because I was afraid to get close to her...Haru, I want to keep seeing you smile and see you more often so if I have to look into your eyes again, I'll do anything no matter what it takes,' I thought as I felt my tail wagging and sweeping the ground while something about this girl was bringing back a part of myself that I thought I had lost.

After that, I stood up and we headed back to our dorms while I was hoping I would see her again, then we said our goodnights until we separated and I made it back to room 701 until I went to bed and the first time in a long time, I fell asleep feeling content and didn't have any nightmares tonight.


A/N Sorry for keeping you all waiting, I was working on my other stories so I'm back to finish this chapter and I'm eager to start the next one since it'll be Connor's first look at the dark part of the world of Beastars and it'll remind him of the Wasteland while he encounters our favorite panda for the first time so I wonder how that will go.

Anyway, as you no doubt already know, Connor will be the one to fall in love with Haru since she's not treating him like a messiah or a monster, but an actual person and we can see that he's healing from the horrible trauma of what he went through, but he'll be socially awkward and distant until he moves on from his dark past since he's used to being a killer and hardened survivor, so socializing with others in this new world is uncharted territory for him and he's struggling to adjust to civilian life because of it.

One more thing, I'm going to be changing the chapter titles from episodes to chapters since I want to keep going and not have to wait for the second season of the anime, so it'll be the manga once I'm done and I can't wait for Connor's first meeting with Melon once I reach that point and I have something special planned during the fight with Tem's killer so I can guarantee that you won't be expecting it.

Well, let me know what you think about the chapter and stay tuned.