Author's note:Hi lads and ladies. A lot has happened in the pause between Beastars Rewritten Season 1 and this. Actually, about that I have pretty big news.
I should have gone back to school some time ago, but due to a resurfacing problem I am struggling from that is now no longer possible for the time being. I Suffer from Agoraphobia caused by a social-fear that keeps me from leaving my neighborhood. I due still take my morning walks, but the further I go into the city, the more likely it is that I suffer from another panic attack. I am seeing professional help and am actively trying to solve the problem, thankfully I now have more possibilities of concentrating on my writing.
As you know based on the epilogue, I skipped over a lot of events, and because I started to read the manga more and more, i realized that there is another thing this story needs a resolve for. Now the summary will already have spoiled that, but I promise to do my best to have a full and proper wrap up, and have longer chapters, as I myself thought I could work a bit longer on them. So the chapters will definitely take a bit longer to write.
The slice of Life collection about their married life will follow after, with one chapter already being done, and 2 being in the works. There is a bit more to cover and I hope I don't disappoint.
Have a wonderful time reading, and a wonderful day/night afterwards. And remember, be nice to everyone including yourself. These god awful times demand us to be kind and understanding with each other, and to realize that we are all under tremendous pressure. So please, keep in mind that some inconveniences are not other peoples fault, and that others deserve to be treated nicely just like you.
Editor: SuperAverageFoxyboy
Enjoy!
- Portal
Chapter 1: Night Terrors
Her muscles were paralyzed, her body standing completely still, plagued by fear. The layout of the room was familiar, the awful memory of this place having burned itself into her head. Shattered glass layed on the ground, beside a pair of broken antlers. The thick, irony smell of blood doused the room. The moonlight shining into the room from the opened window, something that would usually comfort her, now made her uneasy and scared.
The room became clearer, two shadowy figures appearing In the middle of the room. They were in a scuffle, the larger of the two pushing the other to the floor. The smaller one was starting to struggle more and more, unable to hold against the strength of its opponent.
She wanted to move, to scream, to run away. But her legs stayed cemented on the ground, her fur on end, the cold feeling of fear spreading through her.
The shadows slowly started to fade, the form of the large imposing lion revealing itself to her. The chiefs claws pressed down on grey furred hands, Legosi's terrified expression emerging from the passing shadows. The lion slowly leaned forward, his giant jaw ready to envelop Legosi's neck.
She stood still, as her mind begged her body to move… to finally sprint forward to her boyfriend's aid, but she remained, still paralyzed.
The lion threw his head forward, Biting into her beloved grey wolf's neck. He let loose a breathless scream, no sound leaving his exhausted and empty lungs. His eyes wandered to her, the life slowly dwindling from them, as his eyelids grew heavy. The lion grabbed his shoulders and threw his head back, ripping a sizeable chunk of his neck away. He let him go, now busy enjoying the fresh wolf meat in his maw. The wolf stumbled towards her a few steps until lifelessly dropping to the ground, no more emotions on his face.
Her body gave away, sinking to the floor, a dark and grim sorrow impaling every thought in her head, the fearful thinking of before now replaced by white noise. She fell onto him, laying on the once warm body of her boyfriend… She was now alone, his soft and calming touch forever lost to the burning hatred of this world.
Juno awoke to darkness, her eyes quickly adjusting to her dark bunk, the curtains closed. Her breathing was quick, and she was sweating heavily. After peaking past the curtains to see that it was still in the middle of the night, her head sank back onto the pillow, beginning to sob quietly at yet another nightmare.
What would I give for just one night of sound sleep...
Her nights had changed from refreshing and calming sleep to nightmare riddled periods of immobility. All after that cursed night in the lion's den. The picture of her Legosi up against the lion chief haunting her nightmares even after two weeks of it happening. As she thought about it, she yearned to touch him, to hug him tightly…
Juno grabbed her phone, blinking to adjust to the bright light of its screen. She started to look into their chat. The green symbol hovering below his icon, indicating that he was just as sleepless as her.
J: Hey, are you still awake?
L: Yep, still worrying about you… another nightmare?
J: yeah… can we meet at the fountain?
L: There is never a time where we can't meet. give me five minutes.
Juno drew open her curtains, silently slipping into her tracksuit jacket, the nighttime being cool as ever. She put on her sports shoes, not worrying about keeping in line with the school dress code. It was 1:50 in the morning, after all.
Traversing the halls at night differed very much from the day. The moon and stars gave the halls very dim lighting, and on a half-moon night like this, it was pretty dark. Not that Juno minded, of course. Her night vision and canine instincts made her feel comfortable, walking in the darkness of the night. It gave off a private and isolated atmosphere.
Juno shook at the memory of her own dream, the feeling of traumatizing sorrow creeping back into her mind. She pushed the thought away, now concentrating on getting to the fountain.
She walked onto the dirt pathway on the campus, her feet now standing on grounds that made her feel safe. The smell of trees gave off the illusion of a wolf's natural environment, the depth of the woods at night.
She began to stroll now, the fear of before finally dissipating, giving away to the feeling of serenity. This place was like a home away from home, no need to feel unsafe in the warm embrace of the school's buildings and walls.
She slowly came closer to the fountain, the soft splashing of water now being audible. The dimmed moonlight made it seem to glow. She sat down on the rim of the base pool, on which the water spewing structure stood, illuminated by nothing except the stars and half-moon.
Juno looked up into the sky and marveled at the vast size of it. So many stars speckled upon the large blanket above the now sleeping city. She asked herself who else was looking at the sky currently… who else was just as sleepless, wondering about things in the darkness, like her.
The smell of rich, forest ground filled her head, footsteps becoming audible. The night dweller wrapped in shadows sat down next to her. His scent, of course revealing him immediately.
Juno scooted over, leaning into Legosi's side as they now both were staring at the sky, both lost at who had the fortune of finding each other. They soon found themselves in a tight hug, sharing a kiss every now and then. Juno snuggled into his shirt, the wolf wearing his track pants and a t-shirt. He had obviously tried to sleep just as much as Juno had been.
"What's been keeping you awake this time?" Legosi asked softly, running his hand through the fur on the back of her head.
A tear ran down her face, her grip growing tighter. He could already tell that this was one of the worse ones. The strength of her grip and the amount of sobs showing telling him how bad it had been.
"… I dreamt y-you were gone." It was barely a whisper, not wanting to say the entire sentence.
"I'm here, and I'm not going anywhere." With his soothing tones, she slowly calmed down, brushing the tears off her face. She looked up at him, a pleading look in her eyes.
"Can you sleep in my dorm tonight?" The use of puppy eyes made him falter slightly, looking at her. He knew arguing was pointless, but he also knew that her roommates were back… getting caught wouldn't be good for either of them.
"Come on, your roommates are there!" Her expression remained unchanged, bringing the wolf to crumble. He adverted his eyes, hoping not seeing her face would make it any less difficult to say no.
"O-Oh stop it, we can't… if they catch us sleeping in the same bed, or during-"
She placed a claw on his lower lip, softly bringing his face to hers. A sympathetic and love-filled look in her eyes. "I just want to sleep calmly… and I don't think I can without you."
Her words and eyes made Legosi lose himself. The shades of purple were mesmerizing every time, her sparkling gems revealing themselves to him and him alone.
Fighting is pointless. You're a force of nature anyway...
The next kiss was softer, light, and careful. Afterward, just looking at each other for a while. Juno was the first to stand up, grabbing him by the hand and leading him to her room. She opened the door carefully, pulling her boyfriend to the wardrobe. After taking off shoes and socks, they softly opened the curtain before they suddenly both froze.
A loud snore emitted from the top bunk, breaking off halfway as if they woke up. The two wolves stood still in silence as they stared at the top bunk in anticipation of seeing the face of one of Juno's roommates. After a few seconds, there was a cough, a rustling of the sheets, and the snoring resumed.
The two sighed in unison, Legosi still in a panic over getting caught. Juno dropped into her bed, looking at her boyfriend expectantly. With it being Legosi, he once again was preoccupied with his thoughts, still standing in front of her bunk.
Growing impatient, Juno grabbed his hand, pulling him into bed. In surprise, Legosi only barely suppressed his yelp. With her wolf now being in bed, she reached over him, closing the curtains. The she-wolf pulled him closer, kissing him. Legosi slowly melted into the kiss, his hand caressing her face.
Upon separating, she snuggled deeper into his fur and closed her eyes. She finally felt calm, no longer in fear of the same picture of before reappearing. Legosi himself laid his arm around her, as well as falling asleep, knowing that she was safe and sound.
Sophie looked into the mirror, liking the way the school uniform fit her snow-white fur. She brought the comb to the top of her head, enjoying the sensation of the strands of the comb touching her scalp.
After deciding that she was satisfied with the tidiness of her fur, she left the bathroom, back in her dorm. Looking at the closed curtain of her friend's bunk, she huffed, irritated at Juno's habit of sleeping in.
"Juno, You can't let sleeping in become the norm!" she said as she walked closer to her bunk, ready to pull back the curtains.
"Hey, uhh...Sophie?" The light voice pulled her attention to her right, seeing Michiru pointing to the shoe sections in the wardrobe. The small, attentive fox having noticed a fourth pair of shoes.
"Wait, those are..." The white she-wolf walked towards the wardrobe, inspecting the shoes closely. The large pair was placed beside Juno's, crammed into the section, barely fitting. There was only one other person they knew who owned shoes of that size.
"-Legosi's?" She asked, looking to the bunk, slowly putting two and two together. With a silent and concentrated step, she slowly made her way forward.
"Do you think that-"
"Sshh!" she silenced the foxes question, now slowly grabbing the curtain and beginning to slowly peel it open.
Legosi awoke to bright light. He blinked a few times to properly adjust. He began to give out a yawn before it dawned on him. Wait, why is it bright like this? This means the curtain is open… which means…
Legosi's eyes widened as he realized what was happening. What to do?… Do I act cool? Do I excuse myself..? Oh, goddammit, I shouldn't even be here!
His mind raced with hundreds of thoughts per second, his heart racing as well. Maybe, I'll just pretend to keep sleeping!… I don't have to talk to them if I'm still asleep.
The wolf stayed completely still, his body turned towards the wall, his eyes wide with fear at the thought of being punished for being caught sleeping in his girlfriends bed. He noticed movement in his arms, Juno awaking.
Why does this always happen to me? The wolf thought to himself as he looked down at the brown she-wolf who was now opening her eyes.
"Oh, Legosi… did you have a nightmare?" She started to caress his face, misinterpreting the wolf's panic. She was thankfully quiet enough for Legosi to still believe that they could just pretend to sleep. He started to try to whisper to her but she kissed him lovingly, stopping him from uttering anything and causing a soft rustling under the covers. Damn you, tail! Why do you need to betray me…
He heard squeaking behind him, quick footsteps leading away from the bed, the door opening and closing. Juno's eyes widened as she now began to realize what Legosi was even scared of.
"Shit..."
Legosi left the room a few minutes later. Walking past the annoyed roommates and the other female students passing him by on their way to their classes. The awkward wolf managed nothing more than a friendly wave and then scurried off to his own dorm. Juno herself left in her school uniform, an awkward smile on her face, the embarrassment of being caught still ever-present.
"Hey, everyone, great morning, right..?" She spoke through gritted teeth walking down the hall. Her awkward toothy smile revealing her fangs to the bypassing herbivore students, which one by one picked up their speed upon looking over. She quickly shut her mouth, looking away in shame, her attention going back to the annoyed she-wolf Sophie.
"Didn't you think that maybe we would like to know when guests are at the dorm..? What if he saw us changing?" Sophie had crossed her arms in front of her, standing tall, a bit taller than Juno.
"Legosi wouldn't do that." The attempt at turning the conversation lighter failed miserably as Sophie's expression remained unchanged.
"You understand what I'm trying to say." Her reply was dry, still serious about having an outsider in the dorm. Juno let her arms flop down, her tail drooping to a motionless hanging position.
"...Yeah. I had trouble sleeping and couldn't sleep without him..." The she-wolf still looked away in shame, sadness etched into her face as she remembered the contents of her nightmare. "I promise, It won't happen again. I will deal with it better next time..."
She was ashamed, and she understood their concern. It wasn't really Legosi seeing them naked what they feared, but more so the notion of her letting him invade the privacy of the dorm.
No one, not even carnivores enjoyed having their sleeping area invaded by someone they don't normally share it with, nor without their permission. It was more about the principle than the act itself. You told others before bringing guests into your house, pure and simple. Juno slowly turned around, wanting to make her way to the drama club.
"If you ever feel scared at night, you have us, ok? We'll look out for you… You're not alone with this," the white wolf said.
The kind words made Juno smile weakly. Michiru peaked out from behind Sophie, giving the same sympathetic smile as the she-wolf in front of her.
"I appreciate it, thank you... I'll see you later!" The excited happiness that usually accompanied her returned with full force, the spring in her step returning. With a cheerful wave, she departed towards the club.
Legosi opened the door slowly, immediately seeing the faces of Jack and Collot in full uniform.
"Ah! Romeo is back from his maidens quarters." Collot let out a peal of laughter. The wolf slowly made his way past the sheepdog, his head pointing to the ground. He looked away as he walked past Jack, not daring to look at the irritated labrador.
"You might be head over heels, but you can't just go to her dorm every third night! It's a wonder her roommates haven't caught you guys yet." Jack's words were of definite concern, concern over the wolf ever seeing consequences for his hormone-driven behavior.
"Except they have caught us. Today to be exact… that's why I'm here in my sleepwear." Legosi lifted his arm, his hand pointing up and down at himself. Now Jack realized how weird it was for him to show up without his uniform. He had hidden one full set in her dorm to make sure that he could leave with her in the morning instead of having to make it back to his own dorm. Jack was pretty sure Juno had done the same here, but he hadn't dared look yet. Finding one would confirm that she, too, had slept here while they were present. The thought of them fooling around while everyone else slept made him uncomfortable.
"Are you in any trouble? Have they told the house mother?" The concern was now more than obvious, the compassionate and empathetic instincts forcing the labrador to worry so much.
"They didn't look happy when I left… Hopefully, they didn't." Legosi pulled his t-shirt over his head, throwing it into the laundry basket and picking a new shirt out from his section of the wardrobe.
"We can only hope... How is Juno anyway? She seemed a bit clingy over the past week," Jack asked, the caring and worrying soul of his shining through once again.
"Nightmares. Of that night in the black market..." Legosi answered as he slipped into a fresh pair of pants, securing his suspenders. As far as the rest of the school was concerned, the Shishigumi incident was nothing more than the group being ambushed on a small trip outside of the festival grounds. One that cost Louis his antlers.
"Oh… that's why your there so often now." The labrador realized the true reason behind the nights he spent at her place. It wasn't two teenagers fooling around in a hormone-driven craze. It was Legosi consoling his girlfriend of very recent trauma.
"I'm sorry, I didn't know that's why you spent the night."
"What I did was risky, your right for being angry. I will find a better way to deal with this." Legosi tightened his tie, now being fully dressed. He understood what Jack was sorry for, but the reason behind his irritation was completely justified. Being caught or punished by the house mother two times in a row would not be a good thing, especially not shortly after the Shishigumi.
It seemed as if Legosi attracted trouble like a bright light attracted moths.
"It's ok, Jack. I need to find a better solution." The wolf reassured his friend, the labrador feeling guilty for his accusation.
"Next time I'll ask before-… huh?" Jack had looked up only to see the room empty of his roommates. He looked over to the door, seeing Legosi hold it open for him.
"Don't worry, no hard feelings. Let's go a bit together, shall we?" Jack's tail began to wag as he saw his friend having a full smile on his face again. With a quick nod, he excitedly followed the wolf out of the dorm towards their own respective clubs and classes.
Legosi reached the drama club a bit later than usual, having lost himself in conversation with his best friend. The other members were mingling in the room, sitting together in their respective groups. Legosi sat himself with the stage crew, the other members already deep in conversation.
"Hey, Legosi! You look tired." Kai greeted the very groggy wolf.
"Yeah, was awake studying for the biology exams. They are getting harder each year."
"You can say that again."
Legosi was impressed by how smoothly he had evaded the truth. It was an understatement to call Legosi a bad liar. He was completely abysmal at it. He wasn't the quickest on his feet when it came to the point of coming up with excuses. And even if he did, he stuttered profusely, messing up any attempts of lying. And if he didn't stutter, then the excuses were usually unrealistic or incomprehensible. That caused him to just admit to most anything he's done without much push back.
"They are starting to become quite ridiculous," Legosi restated.
Kai agreed, not questioning the slight awkward tone in his voice. Knowing Legosi, the wolf could manage to make even the most casual of conversations feel under pressure and awkward. He often asked himself how Legosi even managed to score it with such an extroverted girl as Juno. She must have simply made the first move.
"How long you slept for?" Kai returned to the conversation, wanting to know how long the wolf studied for.
"When I went to sleep, it must have been..." The wolf scratched his chin, his trademark gaze into space, losing himself in his thoughts, setting in.
"I think around two in the morning." He answered, faintly remembering the time on his phone as his girlfriend texted him.
"These teachers are gonna be the death of us."
The door opened, Sanu walking in hurriedly. He had a piece of paper in his hand. The talking stopped as the pelican now stood before the groups of students.
"All of you come together!" The club president spoke with anxiety. Legosi picked up the pelican's scent. It was the stinging smell of stress. Something was definitely wrong. The animals slowly bunched up into a large group, now properly hearing the nervous pelican.
"Well… I got some bad news..." The bird's hand slid over his forehead, wiping off sweat.
"Due to another devouring right outside of school grounds, the crime being committed yesterday evening-" Most herbivores in the group gasped, a sinking and empty feeling setting itself in Legosi's stomach.Not another one…
"-The curfew for herbivore students to return to their dorms has been set to 8:30 PM." Now the fear began to properly set in. The radical decision of an earlier curfew must have proper reasoning. It was set back much earlier, reducing any risks of carnivores preying on them in the darkness of night. The devouring must have been more savage than Tem's.
"The proper time of 10:00 PM will be reinstated once marked pathways, a new lighting system, and more rules ensuring students' safety are put in place." The pelican ended reading the paragraph of the necessary information.
Normally, these things would be announced on the PA, but the system was older and needed fixing in multiple stations. Due to allocating many of their funds and resources to security, the school had not yet found the proper means to fix it. So that was why for the time being, all necessary information was passed down from the club president's and teacher's reports. The group was chatting loudly over the new changes, notably Juno and Shira trying their best to console the other student's uproar.
"That's enough!" The loud voice rang among the crowd, the actor's team lead now standing beside the pelican, the red deer's authorial command silencing the crowd with immediate effect.
"I know how scared you must be, and I also know that it will be difficult to get used to certain changes." Louis's voice was filled with empathy, an empathy these animals desperately needed, carnivore and herbivore alike.
The captain of the flagship was back.
"But I also know you're strong, I know you work together as a team. We can't forget that among us, one has already fallen." Legosi felt a pang of sadness in heart as he could almost see the alpaca in front of him. The memory of his friend vividly jumping through his mind.
"This school needs us, and we need this school. Together we will prosper, together we will survive this! Stay strong. For us!"
"For us!" chanted the crew to their shining captain. This stormy weather wasn't going to sink their ship. Legosi once again was amazed at the inspirational skills Louis could call his own. With a few sentences of encouragement, the sadness of before was gone, at least for now. The shock would surely return, but not right now.
"Another one… I still can't believe it." Legosi took a bite of bread, continuing to slowly make his way through his lunch. He was currently eating lunch with his pack, the group eating together at least two days of the week.
"They never caught the piece of shit that killed Tem. I bet it's the same bastard." Bill's fist gripped his utensils with an iron grip, his knuckles shining white from below the orange fur.
"The earlier curfew sure is restricting. I can't take my evening walks anymore," lamented Louis, taking a sip of his drink, a cup of green tea being today's best option.
"You still have the garden. I heard you are friends with the president of that club..." Haru teased the deer, smiling cheekily. Louis laughed, softly pinching the white-furred doe on the cheek.
"I suppose your right."
"We can't go out at night anymore… they'll probably hire new night guards and check for nightly absence." Juno looked down at her tray, the cold memory of her nightmare slowly growing clearer. Legosi looked over at the sad expression of his girlfriend, her stress prominent in the air. He grabbed her hand, squeezing it, understanding eyes looking to her.
She looked over at the familiar face of her Legosi. She couldn't help but smile every time she did so. But this time, it was a sad smile, the memory of his 'death,' corrupting his kindness. Her vision started to become foggy, tears beginning to form in her eyes as the nightmare wormed its way into her consciousness. It was that awful place, that treacherous night.
"Huh?" The table had grown quiet, Juno having embraced Legosi in a tight hug, the wolf just petting her back. The sobs were loud enough to the average ear, too loud to be unnoticed, too quiet to cause a scene.
"What's wrong?" Bill asked, his voice brimming with worry. Juno let go of Legosi. She had started crying so suddenly, she was overwhelmed by shame. A wolf-like her should be in control of one's feelings, she thought.
"I-It's nothing…" She choked on the very first word, sniffling profusely now. Louis pulled a handkerchief out of his pocket, handing it to her.
"Thank you. It's just a bad memory." She now wiped at her face, trying to get rid of the wet trails running down her cheeks and muzzle. She collected her utensils, setting them down on her tray.
"Good appetite, I have to go." She picked up her tray, leaving the table with a hurried step.
She moved quickly, making her way to the bathroom as fast as she could without outright sprinting. The shame of crying at a public place drove her out of the room like she was prey to a big, invisible monster. No one should see her like this except for her Legosi…
Back at the table, the group was still looking in the direction the normally happy and excited she-wolf had run off too. To see her under such distress was an abnormality of an extreme level. To all but Legosi, of course, who knew exactly what caused her fears.
"The new devouring must have really gotten under her skin," Louis observed from his chair, taking another sip of tea. Worry was one of the emotions he now didn't hide at all anymore. He looked about as worried as anyone else at the table now.
"It's more than that..." Legosi looked down to his plate, the water in his glass, reflecting the sad face of a carnivore. A face like his she must have seen, without any life behind it.
"She's been having nightmares… about that night before the meteor festival." The rest of them seemed to understand immediately, the white-furred rabbit most of all. Her own dreams were far from fairy tales, but she had Louis to cuddle with, both practically living up in the gardening shack.
Must be hard to sleep alone. The rabbit thought to herself, feeling pity for someone that wasn't herself in a long, long time.
After all had spoken their own words of understanding, the group continued with their lunch. None of them said a word about Juno, the devouring, or the shishigumi after that. Though all of them were worried about it the same...