It had been a few days since I had seen Haru and everything had gone on as usual until today while me, Jack, and Durham were playing chess against two herbivores in a break room before the news started talking about a murder that happened in a nearby city and we stopped playing to watch it while Jack sighed.
"Damn, talk about a dangerous world out there," Jack muttered as the reporter described the murder of the herbivore being caused by a group of carnivores and how they were on the run from the police while I shook my head.
'Murder...no matter where I go, I always seem to find it,' I thought cynically as the herbivores tensed up.
"Shit, this isn't good," the gazelle commented before he and an antelope stood up from their seats.
"I'm heading back to my dorm and you guys were about to win anyway, so we'll just tell everyone that you already did," the antelope stated as he and his friend left the break room before Jack could say anything and I saw him looking hurt at the alienation before I patted his head in concern and Durham quit leaning against the wall to approach us.
"Hey, cheer up because it's nothing we haven't seen before," Durham reassured and I stood up to pack up everything that was on our table.
"Jack, help me pack everything up," I said and Jack helped me while Durham turned his attention to me.
"Legosi, do you have drama club later?" Durham asked and I nodded.
"Yeah, in an hour," I answered shortly while Jack and I packed up the chess pieces and the board before putting them away on a shelf and left the break room, just before we were glared at by other students in a short while until a kangaroo shot a nasty glare at us and Durham didn't take too kindly to it.
"What the fuck are you looking at, asshole?" Durham snapped irritably and barked at him until I grabbed his shoulder.
"Durham, just let it go before you make things worse," I lectured and Durham sighed as I took my hand off his shoulder.
"Sorry, I'm just sick and tired of being treated like the plague by those ignorant assholes who think they can judge all of us just because of the actions of a few, but they'll forget about it tomorrow so there's that at least," Durham grumbled and I nodded in agreement until I noticed that my shoulders were lighter and promptly swore as I felt like facepalming for forgetting my backpack.
"Sorry guys, I forgot my backpack so I'll see you later," I said and Durham chuckled.
"God, you can be such an airhead sometimes but yeah, we'll see you later so have fun at drama club," Durham teased while Jack waved, then I sent them a nod before heading back at the break room to get my backpack and now I was walking through the halls alone.
"Honestly, Connor, carnivores should be used to this by now but we're still angry and frustrated by all the hate that's being thrown at us just because of the actions of a few," Legosi commented as he flew beside me and it reminded me of how Ghouls would go through something similar back in the Wasteland.
"Trust me because where I come from, something similar to this happens pretty much all the time and it gets really ugly to the point of physical violence," I stated and Legosi looks at me with surprise.
"Really? You have carnivores and herbivores where you live and they're also going through the same problem like what's happening now?" Legosi asked curiously and I pursed my lips at the thought of thinking about that hellhole.
"Not exactly...all I can say is that where I lived was not a very nice place and you wouldn't want to live there," I said bitterly and Legosi seemed to understand that it was a sore subject for me to talk about, so he let it go just as we heard a commotion ahead of us and spotted a raccoon and eagle jeering and laughing at a female wolf.
I paused to get a good look at the situation and saw the girl trying to escape but the raccoon was gripping her arm and preventing her from running while she was begging for him to let go and I scowled at that.
'Bullies, fucking hate them and it reminds me of how Butch and his friends would beat the shit out of me more than a few times while I was growing up in the Vault,' I thought in displeasure and approached them before crossing my arms and clearing my throat to get their attention, causing the raccoon and the eagle to glare at me.
"What the fuck do you want, asshole?" the raccoon questioned and I narrowed my eyes at his attitude.
"That's my friend so is there a problem here?" I lied as I pointed at the girl, who had dark brown fur and slightly tilted ears while she stared up at me with a distressed expression and the eagle scoffed.
"Of course a wolf would come to rescue her since you mongrels always come in packs, so how about you fuck off and mind your own damn business before you get your ass kicked," the eagle threatened and I could see that he and the raccoon weren't expecting me to be so large and it unsettled them so I decided to use that to my advantage.
"Correct me if I'm wrong, but wouldn't picking a fight against a six-foot-tall wolf be a bad idea? Sure, you could come at me, but I'm pretty sure it would end up being detrimental to your health so maybe you should think about that for a second while also considering that I know how to defend myself," I pointed out while using my charisma and experience in speech, then the bullies froze at that before the raccoon let go of the girl and he huffed.
"Screw this, we're out of here," the raccoon grumbled as he shouldered past me with his friend following him, then I went to the girl and kneeled down in front of her.
"Are you okay?" I asked in concern and the girl nodded.
"I'm fine," the girl said gratefully and I sat down next to her.
"Hey, um, sorry for lying like that since I had to come up with something to get them to leave you alone," I stated quietly as I avoided eye contact with her.
"But you saved me so thank's for that, and I owe you," the girl told me and I felt awkward since I wasn't eager with anyone owing me anything.
"You don't owe me anything and I couldn't just ignore that, especially when they said that you were a gray wolf. I hate bullying and I hate that it happens because of the recent news...you're a first-year, right? This might not be something you want to hear, but you learn to live with it after a while so..." I started to say, only to trail off when I looked and saw that she started crying and I froze at the sight.
"So, this is something I have to get used to? Seriously? It's even worse than middle school and they're so cruel...they can't do this! I'm just so angry and frustrated at having to suffer like this and I hate it," the girl spat angrily and I was uncomfortable since I was never good at consoling a girl during my time in the Wasteland and I wasn't good at it now, so I decided to say something and hope that I won't be an idiot in the process.
"Well, if that's the way you really feel, then it's a good feeling for you to hang onto since I was sick and tired of dealing with all the hate and just pretended that it didn't bother me anymore. So, feeling that frustration actually makes you stronger, believe it or not, because it gives you the chance to make a difference when no one else can,
Anyway, I need to go so please excuse me," I said as I stood up and started walking away until I could hear the girl standing up quickly and I looked back to see her standing behind me.
"You're Legosi-sempai from the art department, right? I'm Juno and I just joined the drama club this year as a new member," Juno told me and I turned around with my eyes wide in surprise before bowing my head respectfully.
"O-Oh, sorry that I didn't recognize you earlier and I feel so embarrassed," I admitted sheepishly and Juno raised her hands to reassure me.
"That's okay, I'm part of the actor's team so it's understandable that you don't know me. Anyway, the day I joined, Sheila-san mentioned that there's a second-year who's a gray wolf and she told me that you were a very polite male wolf, so I'm happy to see that you really are," Juno said before I grimaced slightly and I scratched the back of my neck as I thought about everything I did in the Wasteland.
"Um, I wouldn't exactly say that," I muttered hesitantly as I started avoiding eye contact with her shyly.
"Since we're both wolves, maybe we don't have to be so formal," Juno offered and I spotted Legosi looking thoughtful.
"You know, Connor, I do tend to sound very proper when talking to someone and you're not so different from that," Legosi pointed out and I frowned when I realized that he was right before I turned my attention back to Juno.
"So, will you be at the club today?" I inquired and Juno shook her head.
"No, I think the meeting today is only for second-years so I'll see you later since you should probably hurry before you're late," Juno stated and my eyes widened in panic when I realized that I was about to be late until I started swearing up a storm in my mind.
"Crap, um, I got to go so it was nice meeting you and I'll see you later," I stuttered as I bowed quickly and spun around to run down the hallway to where the exit is and left the building during my rush to the drama club.
After I had made it to the drama club, I sat down with my fellow stage crew members from the art department and the actor's team and we were listening to an announcement from Sanou.
"Alright, so the second-years from the art department will meet in the city to discuss the festival tomorrow right after school," Sanou instructed and Ellen raised her hand to get his attention.
"Wait, why is it just the carnivores? We want to go on outings too," Ellen complained and Sanou sighed.
"Haven't you seen the news lately? The police are ordering herbivores to stay inside until further notice, so you're going to be working on-site for a while and that's all I'm going to say on the matter," Sanou stated and Ellen, along with a female chipmunk, groaned in disappointment before Louis cleared his throat.
"You all know very well by now how uncontrollable carnivores are when they give in to their bloodlust," Louis chimed in while he was leaning against a wall with his arms crossed, then I sent him an irked expression for the constant reminder of what happened a month ago and Bill looked just as irritated as well.
"Dammit, that crap is getting really old," Bill grumbled as he scowled at the floor, then I pursed my lips while I looked away from Louis.
"I have been talking to the nurse and it's because of my second performance that my recovery time has been extended to half a month...oh, one more thing, don't even think about going to the Black Market," Louis warned as he headed to the door and left the room while I was puzzled by what he said.
'The black market? Huh, I've never heard of something like that before but things are different in this world so who knows what I'll discover out there beyond the school grounds,' I thought as Sanou also left and we all got up as Ellen looked nervous.
"Really? Is there really a black market in the city? Shit, really?! I hear that they sell herbivore blood and meat!" Ellen exclaimed and Bill sweatdropped while I paused at that.
"Seriously, what century are you living in because the black market is just a red-light district that sells porn magazines to carnivores and that's plenty of reasons for us to be thankful for it. Anyway, I'll get you something to eat, from one striped animal to another," Bill offered as he rested an arm around Ellen's shoulder's and she didn't appear to take kindly to that.
"Ugh, get your damn arm off me!" Ellen retorted and Bill looked back to smile at the rest of us.
"Meeting's over so head to your classes, guys," Bill told us cheerfully while walking away with Ellen, who was protesting at the close contact and I sweatdropped at that while Aoba sighed in exasperation.
"That's Bill for you, always being cheerful," Aoba commented and I made a face at that.
"Yeah, I definitely can't do what he does and be cheerful, so let's head to class," I said as we went to exit the building since we didn't have anything to do here at the moment, then I headed back to the main building with the others so that we could go to our classes.
After a while, the day had passed by until it was dark and I was in the student break room with Aoba while I stared out the window and saw the city in the distance.
"Legosi, you don't usually go out, do you?" Aoba asked and I shrugged.
"Going out was not very fun for me so I was wondering, Aoba. Have you ever been to the black market?" I inquired curiously as I looked back at him and he shook his head.
"No, but it's something we carnivores will go to one day once we're adults," Aoba told me and I resumed staring at the city of Tokyo as I thought about what it would be like going down there to see a major populated area that isn't destroyed by nuclear weapons, then I left the break room and went back to my dorm room as Legosi looked thoughtful until I got into bed before getting some sleep for tomorrow.
After I had gotten some sleep, I changed out of my uniform and put on a red t-shirt, blue jeans, and white sneakers until I met up with Bill, Aoba, Tao, and a reptile before we took the train to the city and I wasn't as surprised by the train since I had used a similar one back in the Wasteland thirteen years ago to leave dc and head to the Mohave desert, then we all arrived at the subway station and got off until we walked to a machine that looked similar to the toll booths in the dc subways.
The others used some kind of cards to open the toll and they walked through, then it shut on me and I couldn't help but study it with a look of fascination since I had never seen a working one before and it excited the engineer in me until the others started staring at me strangely.
"Legosi, what the hell are you doing?! Quit staring off into space and pay the toll already because you're holding up all the lines!" Bill shouted and that snapped me out of it when I looked back to see a few animals right behind me with looks of irritation and I blushed in embarrassment.
"S-Sorry about that," I stuttered sheepishly and went to look for a card similar to the ones the others had, but I couldn't find it as I patted myself down and started sweating nervously until Legosi flew up next to me.
"Connor, my card's in the right pocket on my backpack," Legosi notified me helpfully and I searched through the pocket until I found the card and sent him a subtle thankful expression as I swiped it onto the machine and the toll opened until I met up with the others, who were staring at me weirdly and I grimaced.
"Finally...did you forget that you had your card on you? Shit, you can be so absentminded sometimes, and do you ever leave school?" Bill remarked while I felt so embarrassed by what just happened, then we walked through the station and I shook my head at his question.
"No, I buy everything I need online," I answered and the others looked at me in confusion.
"Seriously, that's what old people do," Aoba commented dryly.
"Unbelievable, you don't even go out on the weekends? No offense, Legosi, but you really need to get a life," Tao stated in disbelief and I shrugged as I put my hands in my pockets and followed the others since this is the very first time I'm seeing the outside world and I have no idea where we're going.
Pretty soon, we walked up a bunch of stairs and exited the station before finding ourselves in the city, then we all just stopped and my jaw dropped open slightly as I saw everything and took it all in, looking around at all the clean and undamaged buildings, actual running cars, and many animals just walking or flying around like they didn't have a care in the world while I marveled it all and was rendered breathless.
'My God, it's all so...beautiful,' I thought and felt like tearing up since, back in the Wasteland, I had always tried to imagine what the world was like before it was destroyed by the war and seeing all of this proved that I was living in a whole new world that is untouched by the horrors of the Wasteland and I felt really emotional because of it, along with the knowledge that I was no longer in any life-threatening danger.
"Connor, now that I think about it, it's been a year since I last saw the outside world and the city looks different than I last saw it," Legosi told me but I wasn't listening as I was just looking around and Aoba sighed.
"Damn, would you look at that? All the birds are flying...I'm so jealous," Aoba muttered enviously and Tao perked up.
"That's right, you can only get a flying license after you graduate," Tao said as we started walking through the streets and I just saw everyone around us not even looking wary of getting attacked or killed.
'Wow, everyone looks so peaceful and there doesn't appear to be any problems between them...mom and dad would've been so amazed if they were here to witness this,' I thought as Aoba looked at me with a smirk.
"Yeah, going out isn't fun at all, huh?" Aoba remarked playfully and I turned my attention to him with a puzzled expression.
"What the hell are you going on about?" I asked in confusion and Aoba pointed at my tail, then I looked at it and saw that it was wagging before I started feeling flustered at that.
"Your tail is wagging and you look like a kid in a candy store," Aoba pointed out before the alligator student placed his hand on his stomach as it growled.
"Hey, can we get something to eat? I'm hungry," the alligator informed us and Bill nodded with a grin.
"Sure, the best part about this is that we get to eat something other than cafeteria food!" Bill exclaimed happily as we kept walking.
'Ugh, maybe I should buy pants that can hide my tail because it's so embarrassing for my emotions to be put on display due to my canine body,' I thought irritably as I glared at my tail for betraying me and just decided to let it go since there wasn't much I could do about it.
After that, we headed to a fast-food restaurant and ordered our meals until we were sitting at the table and I was trying to ignore Bill as he talked about his sex life of all things, and in public no less until I placed down notices about the meteor festival.
"Hmm, it's the same details as last year," I pointed out, thankful that Legosi explained a lot of things to me about this world so that I wasn't walking in blindly and making myself look crazy.
"Eh, I don't mind since we got to go out," Aoba admitted and Tao looked at Bill in anticipation.
"So, finish the story," Tao encouraged eagerly and I struggled to tune Bill out when he resumed his story, then I took a sip from my drink and held an annoyed expression as I refrained from snapping at him until I looked to my right to see two herbivores smiling and Bill nudged me to get my attention.
"So, Legosi, when are you going to lose your virginity?" Bill asked rather bluntly as he rested an arm on my shoulder suddenly while I was taking a sip from my drink, then my eyes bulged and I felt my face getting hot as I refrained from doing a spit-take and twitched with a tick mark.
'H-How the fuck does he know?! You just don't ask somebody that, and in public no less!' I thought incredulously as I sent him a nasty glare for asking me something so personal and embarrassing.
"Don't give me that look because I can smell that virgin scent on you for miles away, dude," Bill told me and I looked away from him with a scowl since being around certain animals with no sense of privacy was starting to peeve me a little bit.
"Legosi, do you know about that cute new gray wolf in drama club?" Tao asked me and I turned my attention to him.
"You mean Juno-san?" I wondered and Aoba perked up.
"Hey, he knows her name," Aoba stated with a look of interest, and Bill started grinning.
"Oh, that sounds promising!" Bill cheered and I tuned out anything else he said while I was uncomfortable and also felt disbelief at how happy he was for me.
'Seriously, we tried to kill each other last month and now he's treating me like I'm his best friend? This world is completely bizarre since we would both be dead or holding grudges against each other if we were in the Wasteland...maybe things will become easier than they are now once I become an adult again, though I would rather have Legosi get his body back and not take over his life,' I thought with a pensive look as we finished our meals and left the restaurant.
"Damn, that was a long talk since it's already six o'clock," Tao commented and I looked at him.
"Hey, let's go back because we don't want to piss off the dorm mother too much," I pointed out and the others nodded in agreement until Bill turned his attention to Aoba, who was looking through his phone.
"By the way, I know that us walking here is going to guarantee a long wait, but how long is it going to take until we reach the station?" Bill asked and Aoba looked up at him.
"We're lost," Aoba notified us and Bill didn't look happy to hear that.
"Are you shitting me?" Bill questioned in disbelief.
"Don't worry, it's cool because Zoozle maps say that we're right here," Aoba reassured, but Bill didn't look impressed as he looked at what he was talking about.
"You know that you shouldn't use that app since it tends to be shitty with directions," Bill grumbled and I sighed before clearing my throat.
"Look, it's probably not that far so why don't we go ask around?" I suggested and everyone agreed as we started asking for directions to the station.
After a while, we had gotten directions and followed them until the sun went down but I had noticed that we were nowhere near the station and I wished that my pipboy was with me since it was good with marking locations whenever I needed to go or return to places as we were walking up a bunch of stairs.
"Hey, doesn't it seem like we're getting further from the station?" Bill inquired and Aoba frowned in distaste.
"Well, shit, we're just going where everyone is telling us to go," Aoba said in uncertainty.
"You're a bird so use your, I don't know, magnetic sense or something," Bill snapped irritably and Aoba sent him a dry look.
"Yeah, I'm not a migratory bird, smartass," Aoba retorted unamusingly and I started pinching the area between my eyes to prevent a headache from happening.
"Listen, I don't think we're too far so let's not get into an argument," I reasoned tiredly since I wasn't in the mood to hear Bill and Aoba squabble, just as we stopped next to the back of a box truck and looked around until I noticed an elderly homeless goat sitting nearby and walked over to him before kneeling down in front of him.
"Sorry to bother you, but do you think you could help me with something for a second?" I asked carefully and the goat nodded weakly.
"Sure, go ahead and pick any finger you like," the goat answered as he raised his hands, then I was frozen in pure horror at the sight of a few of his fingers missing while the rest had wooden signs with prices on them as my eyes were bulging and I gasped at the horrific sight.
"Go on, these are just the scraps but they still taste the same," the goat encouraged and I started trembling at him basically telling me to mutilate him while he didn't seem to care what he was saying.
'Christ, just what the fuck am I looking at or hearing?! Oh god, the scents coming off of those hands...I think I'm going to be fucking sick!' I thought as I could see Legosi also looking horrified, then the goat reached up and started feeling my face and mouth as I tried not to throw up from the overpowering scents that were overwhelming me.
"Hmm, your canine teeth are three centimeters long if you're young and healthy, and they will sell at a higher price so finish it in one bite, alright?" the goat told me as the truck drove away, just before I started hyperventilating while I was having visions of seeing my former human hands covered in blood while I was standing on a pile of corpses and smacked his hands away in a complete panic as I stood up and backed away a few feet.
"Get off of me and what the hell is wrong with you?! You're out of your fucking mind so don't ever touch me again, you sick bastard!" I shouted in disgust before I was shoved out of the way and yelped as I could see Bill walking up to the goat.
"Hey, sir, it's 70'000 yen for that finger, right?! If I pay for it, that means it's mine to eat?!" Bill questioned excitingly and my jaw dropped open in pure horror as he turned around to look at us.
"What do you guys say? Let's all have a bite so that way, we can all split the cost-" Bill offered and I promptly cut him off by slapping him across the face with a look of complete revulsion as Bill's head snapped to the side and he gripped his cheek before shooting me a pained glare.
"D-Did you just fucking slap me?! What the hell is your problem, asshole?!" Bill shouted in disbelief.
"I should be asking you that because are you even hearing yourself?! You're talking about mutilating someone and committing cannibalism, now we're not going to touch him because we're not savages!" I snarled viciously and Bill chuckled in amusement.
"Legosi, we're already here at the black market and I don't have to plan on going along with your ego, though we haven't finished our fight so I'm going to give you a few more scars on your back," Bill threatened and I started growling with my fur bristling.
"Go ahead, I'm going to snap your arm in two places and shatter your fucking ribs," I stated menacingly as I bared my teeth and claws, just before Aoba got in between us as he looked at me.
"Whoa, Legosi, calm down...I'm sorry, I would agree with you about this if we were back at school, but it's different here because look around you, this is the black market and we're carnivores," Aoba reasoned and I couldn't believe what I was hearing since I thought he was an okay guy.
"Aoba, I thought you were a decent person and you guys are really going to..." I trailed off in disgust, causing Aoba to flinch as Bill smiled.
"Of course we are and didn't you see the main street? The whole reason why everyone was having fun peacefully is because of the black market, so you need to grow up and accept reality because life isn't a fairy tale where everyone sits around a campfire holding hands and singing kumbaya," Bill lectured and something in me just snapped after hearing that before I charged at him and snatched his neck.
I pushed him back and squeezed his jugular vein with both my hands as the others let out noises of shock while I pinned Bill against the wall and he grabbed my arms to pry me off, but he froze when he saw the dark unstable look in my eyes and he trembled at how frightening I looked while I loosened my grip on him now that I had his complete attention.
"Grow up? Heh, let me tell you something about that...maybe you would've been right if I was younger, but I was forced to grow up too fast after I had seen just how ugly and cruel the world can be so don't you ever fucking go there because you don't know shit about me and if I hear something like that come out of your mouth again, I will kill you," I said with my voice low and sounding slightly unhinged before I let him go and walked away from the others until I paused at the entrance to the black market.
"This world is no different than that hell, it just puts on a mask to hides itself better," I muttered before I took off running into the black market while the others called out to me, but I ignored them since I wanted to be alone right now as I remembered a conversation between Haru and me the night we were heading back to our dorms.
"Now that we've gotten to know each other, Legosi, I have a question if you don't really mind," Haru said as we were walking back to the dorms and I looked at her.
"What is it?" I asked curiously as we stopped walking and I leaned down in front of her.
"I'm curious, how exactly do you see me?" Haru inquired and I stared at her with a puzzled expression.
"How...do I see you? That's a pretty odd question to ask me," I pointed out and Haru chuckled sheepishly.
"Yeah, that was kinda awkward so give me your hand," Haru told me and I reached out until she took my hand.
"You know, I realized something just now, you and I could probably be good friends with each other," Haru added and my eyes became soft as I felt solemn at the fact that this girl had no idea who and what I really am, and she would never want to be friends with me if she were to ever find out about the terrible things I've done.
"Hey, sir, you can get refrigerated weasel legs for 2'500 yen per leg!" a crocodile announced suddenly and I snapped out of it to find myself standing in the middle of the black market and a combination of horror and revulsion hit me at the sight of body parts in stores everywhere and I looked at the crocodile, only to recoil when I saw the legs just hanging on meat hooks.
"S-Sorry, not interested," I stuttered as I resumed running through the market with the scent of meat covering the air around me but instead of making me hungry, I felt seriously queasy and overwhelmed as I managed to escape that district of hell and rest my hands on a wall in an alley while I hyperventilated and recalled what Haru told me.
'Haru, I'm just too nervous to tell you this, but you're an attractive girl and I'm always thinking about you...but why? Why can't I ever escape my suffering?! Escaping one hell and entering another, is that my fate? Am I destined to be tormented for all eternity even after death?
So much darkness, anger, and rage in me while I can't ever find peace in my personal hell...this world I'm in is nothing more than another Wasteland, only it puts up a front to hide all the horrors and I can't ever win at anything anymore,' I thought while I slid down and curled up into a ball on the ground as I just gave up fighting and wanted to die again.
"Connor..." Legosi trailed off with a worried expression just before a pair of feet came into view and something started poking me while my vision was getting dark.
"Hey, aren't you a sad looking sight, you poor wolf. I'm glad that you collapsed in the alley since no one can see us here," the guy stated in a male gravely voice as I picked up the scent of cigarette smoke coming from him and passed out from the shock.
After an untold amount of time had passed by, I started regaining consciousness and opened my eyes while I heard something being worked on before my blurry vision cleared up as Legosi was frantically shouting at me to wake up and I saw a large male figure doing something across from me as I noticed that I was in a room with a hospital bed and monitors above it.
I narrowed my eyes when I discovered that something was on my face and my wrists before I looked down and saw that my hands were chained up in shackles while I carefully reached up to feel my face to discover that an animal muzzle was strapped to it, then I had horrible flashbacks of my time as a slave in the Pitt and studied the figure to see that he was a large muscular panda wearing a tan short-sleeved shirt, dark blue jeans, and brown combat boots as I started thinking about what I had learned so far.
'Okay, I've been kidnapped and now I'm being held in a room somewhere by this stranger so let's see if I can get a better understanding of who he is and what his motives are before I make a decision on how to escape,' I thought calmly as I stared at the panda, who turned around and I could see one scar on his left cheek and three more that went across his right eye as he had a smoke in his mouth.
"Hey, you're awake so how are you feeling? Pretty shitty I'm guessing and sorry about the muzzle on your snout and the shackles on your wrists, but they were to restrict your movements so that you wouldn't jump me while my back was turned.
Anyway, judging by the scars on your back, you must be a rather violent wolf so hold still because I need to check your heart rate," the panda told me as he walked over before grabbing my shirt collar to pull me up slightly so that he could get a better look at me with a thoughtful frown, then he started using a stethoscope to check my heartbeat as I stared up at him stoically and he let out a hum before letting me go and removing the stethoscope.
"Interesting, you must be tough as nails because your heartbeat is slow and completely stable like you don't care that you're chained up right now. Listen, I'm going to remove the muzzle so you better behave," the panda warned as he reached down and removed the muzzle, then I started rubbing my jaw and sent him a calculating look as I remained silent.
"Huh, you're not even going to bark? Most of my patients needed a bit of roughhousing to get them to understand the rules, but it's like you've been through this kind of thing before and your eyes...they hold the look of a hardened survivor so maybe you've chosen not to speak anymore.
Maybe, you ripped out your own tongue in guilt or you have serious trust issues around strangers," the panda pondered and I felt a slight bit of irritation at him trying to dig into my past before clearing my throat.
"I can speak, just don't have a reason to right now," I stated gruffly as I watched the panda suspiciously and he chuckled in amusement as he walked over to a chair that was next to a mounted camera and sat down across from me.
"Too bad, because I have a few questions for you but let me explain who I am first. Basically, I'm the watchman of the black market and keep an eye on the place since any carnivore that experiences a panic attack and pass out in the black market are almost 100% likely to be preying on herbivores, and I can't let a potential criminal out in the streets.
Listen, if you want to go back to where you came from, then quit acting like a tough guy and do as I say. Now, what's your name?" the panda asked as he took my picture and I jerked my head away and slammed my eyes shut with a grimace from the flash before deciding that I was going to play along for now.
"Legosi," I answered shortly while staring at the panda, who arched a brow when he could see that I wasn't afraid of him at all.
"Legosi, when did you last eat an herbivore?" the panda questioned and I looked away with narrowed eyes.
"I didn't...well, I almost did, but I managed to stop myself in time," I responded as I flinched at the camera going off again.
"I doubt it because you passed out after having a panic attack and that's a clear sign you did eat one recently, though if you managed to stop yourself...then you more or less put your mask back on," the panda pointed out and I glared at him.
"Listen, whether you believe it or not, I managed to control myself and I'm planning to tell her soon-" I said and was promptly cut off.
"Wait, you almost killed her and you're still in contact with this girl?! Shit, I can't imagine how you feel while you still see her, and do you fantasize about how she tastes while you talk to her?! Do you plan for the best time to tear her apart?!" the panda exclaimed in disbelief and I started glaring at him coldly.
"No on the last two and you're a fucking asshole. You know what, since we're playing 21 questions, now it's my turn so who are you? Where do you live? What do you really do here? Do you have a family or any friends?
Yeah, not so fun now when someone is digging into your private life, am I right?" I retorted sternly and the panda shrugged.
"Fair enough, but the way you reacted defensively tells me that your past is a very sore subject to talk about and I might be an asshole, but carnivores are the same in nature so that shouldn't be news to you and that's why the black market exists.
I have something I want to show you so don't try anything," the panda warned as he stood up and picked up the photos before walking over to me, then he unlatched the chain on the back of the collar that was on my neck and gestured for me to follow him.
I stood up and followed the panda as I noticed that my shackles were connected to the collar with a chain so it was going to be difficult fighting against him, not to mention that I had no idea what the layout of this place was so I had no choice but to do what he says for now since I had no idea where the exit was as we walked through a hallway and I memorized every door and every hallway as we approached a door.
"The meat in the black market is secretly provided by hospitals and funeral homes sometimes, not exactly legal but at least they're not killing anyone for the meat and this is what happens to those who kill for meat so pay attention," the panda explained as he opened the door and guided me inside while I was seriously disgusted by what I just heard, then my eyes widened in horror as I saw that the room was filled with photos of carnivores in various stages of mutilation, insanity, or had patches of their fur missing.
"My God, what the fuck is this? What the fuck did you do to them?" I gasped in shock as the panda went over to the window across from us and turned around to look at me grimly.
"I didn't do anything to them because they did all that to themselves after giving in to their feral instincts and killing the herbivores, where some can't forget the flavor of meat and either mutilate themselves, lose fur from stress, or go insane and become nothing more than uncontrollable rabid beasts that kill indiscriminately or commit suicide while chances of rehabilitation becomes slim.
Also, there are cases where a carnivore loved an herbivore so much that they wound up killing the ones they loved once their instincts overpower them unexpectedly.
Listen, you're still young but the world is filled with problems that you can't afford to ignore, especially if you're slowly becoming one of them so what do you think?" the panda questioned as I was just examining the photos and saw certain ones that reminded me of a few horrors back in the Wasteland.
"Okay, let's say I believe you, so who are you really?" I inquired with a distrustful glance and the panda turned around to look out the window while puffing on his smoke.
"Me? You probably won't believe me since you have already proven that you have trust issues, but I stick the photos of my patients on the wall to remind myself that I need to continue my work so I shouldn't ever have to add more of them to the wall in this room.
To explain who I am, I practice in psychosomatic medicine just outside the back market but simply put, I'm one of those respectable doctors that is here to make sure cases like this never happen again and whether I'm your enemy or ally is up to you to decide," the panda told me and I frowned thoughtfully since I had advanced knowledge in medicine thanks to my dad, who was a very good medical doctor, and the medical books I read over the years.
After that, the panda unlocked the collar and shackles before taking them off of me and I was led to a living room, where I found myself staring at a cup of tea that was on a table while sitting on a sofa and the panda gestured at it as he was across from me.
"Go on, it's not poisonous or anything so let me put your mind at ease," the panda reassured as he picked up the small cup and took a sip from it before placing back down in front of me, then I looked at him until I warily picked up the cup and took a sip from it before I made a face at the odd taste of the tea and the panda chuckled.
"Good, isn't it? It's my special blend made from bamboo grass so it does have an acquired taste to it. Anyway, you're a student from Cherryton Academy? I couldn't tell from your current clothes and that aside, you want a smoke?" the panda offered as he held out his pack of cigs for me to take one and I sent him a strange look.
"You do realize that I'm too young to smoke, right?" I pointed out in confusion and the panda put the pack away.
"Guess I'll take that as a no and what's with the constant sour look? You're acting like someone just died recently and you're being a pain in the ass right now because all I did was give you a reality check, not traumatize you by showing a photo of a one-armed puma.
"Hey, I'm only doing all of this to make sure that you have a chance of not turning out that way, so you should be grateful. If I had left you sinking into that kind of darkness, it wouldn't make me a very good doctor now, would it?" the panda pointed out and I scowled at him since I wasn't in the mood to receive a lecture.
"Well, forgive me if I don't exactly trust you right now since you basically kidnapped me and chained me up like a slave so you haven't made a good first impression and I have a question for you this time.
When you're practicing, what kind of therapist do you consider yourself to be? Do you consider yourself a panda with a strong body or a panda who never eats meat?" I questioned and the panda looked pleasantly surprised.
"Hey, that's a pretty intelligent question for someone your age and it's true that we eat nothing but bamboo, but that kind of question isn't exactly meaningful to me since I've already tamed my instincts a long time ago.
You see, I realized that this town needed a doctor to help the carnivores that couldn't help themselves, so I focused all my energy into that for over ten years...I've been nearly killed several times and could only save a handful of them so, in order to break this vicious cycle, I continued to eat only bamboo grass and trained to become stronger and more durable so I'm just a doctor who's just a little bit strong, nothing more than that," the panda explained and his body language, along with the micro-expressions in his face, told me that he was telling the truth.
"So, since you're a therapist for at-risk carnivores, what's your preferred treatment for them?" I asked and the panda looked puzzled.
"Treatment? What exactly do you think we're doing right now? That's right, the good old carrot and stick routine to help ease you into things," the panda confirmed and I was really peeved that he thought he could fix me when I'm long past fixing.
"Sorry to disappoint you, but I'm not one of your patients," I said stoically and the panda chuckled.
"Yeah, that's what they all say when it's the complete opposite for them," the panda stated as he put out his smoke in the ashtray and I started clenching my hands into fists as I shot him a dark glare.
"Well, at least I'm doing something about it so drop it," I warned irritably and a tick mark appeared on the panda while he twitched.
"That's because you developed a personal interest in a rabbit and it's extremely dangerous!" the panda scolded and I banged my fists against the table as I started trembling and struggled to keep my temper under control.
"Okay, let me make this clear for you so that you understand perfectly...I'm not your patient and I'm sure as hell not your friend so I don't need some fucking shrink getting into my head and thinking that he knows what best for me when he doesn't know shit.
Do you think that you can fix me and make everything okay? Buddy, I'm long past fixing and you know nothing about me...thank you for the tea so I'm leaving," I stated coldly as I stood up and was about to leave when the panda kicked the table out of the way and stormed over before grabbing me by the collar and glared at me.
"You shut the fuck up and listen here, you little shit! Talking like you know everything when you don't know jackshit, so let me teach you what I do know! I'm sure that deep down, you genuinely want to be with this girl but that's all in your mind and you're just hiding your instinctual urge to eat her.
Listen, you think that you're in love with her but it's just your convoluted hunting instincts, which is the worst possible case a carnivore could ever have so if you can stop it, then do it by severing all ties with her before it's too late," the panda told me sympathetically as he let me go, but I wasn't phased by his anger and large build as I got my backpack and put it on.
"Damn it, I can't deal with kids these days and they say that love makes you crazy, but for kids, it's just nuts," the panda grumbled irritably as he rubbed the back of his head and I sent him an empty look.
"I don't really know myself since I've never been in a relationship before, so I can't exactly say for sure," I admitted hollowly and the panda widened his eyes in shock.
"Wait, you've never been with another girl before?!" the panda cried out in disbelief and I nodded.
"Yeah, now I'm going to go so I'll hopefully never see you again," I said bitterly and was about to leave when he tapped on my shoulder and I looked back at him before pausing at the sight of him holding out a magazine of a half-naked female rabbit on the cover while she was in a seductive pose.
"Wait, try this and see for yourself if your feelings are true or not," the panda offered and I looked up at him with one of my eyes twitching.
"Um, what?" I spoke dumbly and stared at him like he had completely lost his mind.
"I'm serious, this does help so if you get aroused from looking at this, then you're just a healthy teenager with a unique attraction to small animals but if you don't respond to it at all and you're still fixated on that one rabbit...then you got a serious problem so take it and you don't need to return it so just humor me," the panda encouraged before I hesitantly took the magazine, questioning my sanity for even doing it in the first place.
"I suppose I will and one more thing...if you ever lay your hands on me again, you'll find yourself missing a few fingers," I threatened as I put the magazine in my backpack and left the room.
'See for yourself, you don't need to return it...just what the fuck kind of doctor is he?! This is so goddamn stupid and I'm throwing this magazine away as soon as I find a trash can because I'm sick and tired of all this bullshit!
Why does the universe have to keep tormenting me like this and haven't I suffered enough in my previous life?! I just want peace so is that really hard to ask for?!' I thought in outrage while storming away from the large building and Legosi looked nervous at seeing how pissed I was.
"Um, Connor, are you okay?" Legosi asked tentatively and flinched when I shot him a nasty glare.
"Legosi, just drop it because I'm not in the mood to discuss my feelings with you right now," I snapped hotly while my tail bristled, causing Legosi to flatten his ears and tuck his tail between his legs until I felt guilty at lashing out at him and sighed.
"Sorry, I shouldn't have snapped at you like that...I thought I had escaped from all of this in my previous life and seeing the black market is bringing back very bad memories so please don't ask me because I really don't want to talk about it," I pleaded and Legosi nodded after he quit looking like a kicked puppy before I managed to find my way back to the main street, then I arrived at the entrance to the station and was surprised to see Aoba waiting for me.
"Hey, Legosi," Aoba greeted quietly as I stopped in front of him.
"Aoba, what the hell are you doing here?" I questioned in confusion and Aoba sighed while looking regretful.
"I had to get out of there after I couldn't bring myself to eat that old man's finger and when I thought about Louis-sempai, along with our other herbivore friends, I just felt so sick to my stomach from what I was about to do," Aoba confessed as he looked away and closed his eyes while I didn't know what to say to him.
'Aoba, even after what you said to me earlier, you just couldn't bring yourself to do it and the guilt is hitting you hard so that says a lot to me and I'm sorry for what I said about you not being a decent person...your beak, it looks so sharp and beautiful just like this world,' I thought as I remembered everything I've done in my past life and how much blood I had on my hands with my soul tainted in darkness, then I felt so tired of it all and started tearing up as a few ran down my cheeks and I wiped them away with the back of my hand before Aoba looked back at me.
"Hey, listen, I just want to say that I'm sorry about earlier so let's go back...wait, are you crying? Legosi, what's wrong?" Aoba asked in concern and I held up a hand to reassure him as I sniffled.
"It's nothing, just got something in my eyes," I evaded with my voice shaky and we headed down the steps as Legosi was watching me.
'Aoba, I want to stand on my own two feet in this broken world with you...I just want to stand tall and find forgiveness in my own personal hell,' I thought as we headed to the train that would take us back to school, wondering if I could ever find peace and forgiveness in myself for everything I had seen and done in my previous life.
A/N Well, that's another chapter done and I think that's how Connor would've reacted since the black market reminds him all too well of the Wasteland and him snapping at Gohin is the same as a veteran lashing out since he doesn't want to discuss his past with a stranger and him crying shows that he so worn down and damaged that it'll take a long time for him to ever recover from his hellish experiences in the Wasteland.
Anyway, the Connor you're looking at is a fully 100% upgraded version of the modded Tale of Two Wastelands character where he has all the perks, his SPECIAL is fully upgraded, and he has visited every single place while doing all of the quests in the Capital Wasteland and the Mohave Wasteland, DLC or otherwise, so he has seen some pretty fucked up things while having similar fucked up things being done to him and it's a wonder how he still has some form of sanity left since any other person would've just completely lost it a long time ago.
So, let me know what you think about the current events in this chapter and stay tuned.
