Side Story Ch 3: Getting To Know You
Legosi returned to his room and immediately thought about what he would need to bring with him when he went back to Gohin's office.
He knew he needed the bottle cap, but he also needed something to defend himself should something go wrong, as well as money for travel and a map in case he and Bill got lost.
He pulled out the map that Gohin had given him that he hid along with the kendo stick that the panda had been using to train him. He also pulled out a small safe that he had also been hiding and took out some money that he earned from working for Gohin in secret.
He could've used some of the money his grandfather sent him since it would've been less suspicious, but he wanted to save that for something special. He knew he didn't need much since neither the bus or train was all that expensive, but he decided to bring a little extra in case something happened or if he and Bill wanted to get something to eat.
After putting the small safe back in its hiding place, the wolf put a change of clothes in his backpack along with the map and his wallet. His bag had a secret pocket for it along and he put it in there along with his phone at 100% battery.
He strapped on the kendo stick and put his backpack over it so as to not draw attention to it. He did this by wrapping the handle in a piece of cloth separate from the standard wrapping that is used for storing and protecting kendo sticks.
He made sure everything else was in order and locked his dorm room as he headed to meet up with Bill.
Bill on the other hand wasn't nearly as cautious or calculating with his packing.
He first changed into a new set of clothes since his were filthy thanks to a certain wolf wrestling him to the ground twice.
He then grabbed some of the money that his parents sent him for the month and put it in his wallet which he put in his pocket. He grabbed his phone which had about 80% of battery left and put that in his pocket as well.
He looked at the city through his window and wondered if he should bring something else just in case. Bill of course just shrugged to himself and figured he'd just roll with the punches. After all, he'd been there a few times at this point already and more or less knew where to go and what to avoid. The tiger simply smiled, locked his room, and left to reunite his new partner.
The two met at the bus stop as planned. After a brief discussion, they figured that the bus wouldn't take them directly to the district where the black market was. They decided to take the train instead since it had a stop there.
As they walked to the station Bill couldn't help but notice the backpack Legosi was carrying, or the two strange pieces of cloth sticking out. The backpack was filled to the brim while the clothes, wrapped around something, looked like they were concealing an unknown object.
"So Legosi, what's up with this guy we're going to see?" the big cat asked.
"I know you said he's a doctor who helps carnivores with their addictions, but is there anything else you can tell me about him?"
"Mmm, I guess one thing you should know is that he's a panda," Legosi answered.
"But don't let that fool you, he's… frightening!" the wolf said as his ears folded back.
"For one thing he's built like a house, I'm not exaggerating when I say that this guy is all muscle! He also has the face of a killer... All it takes is just one look from him to make your blood run cold."
Bill's eyes widened as he looked at the wolf with shock.
"You make him sound like some kind of monster," the tiger said with an awkward smile.
The wolf turned his head slightly as his ear flicked. "Well… he's not like a bad guy or anything, but he really doesn't have any trouble with getting physical if you get on his nerves. So just try to mind your manners and we'll be fine."
Legosi crossed his arms as he continued describing his mentor. "He's really good at what he does, I've seen it first-hand. He does his best to both listen and talk to his patients and he does give them very good counseling."
"That being said there are times where he has to deal with more… aggressive carnivores. That's why he's perfectly fine with getting violent. It's something that he's had to do in order to calm things down. That's another reason he feels so scary."
Bill scratched the back of his head. He really didn't know what to make of the animal Legosi described. The doctor certainly sounded intimidating, but at the same time the tiger found himself being a little more intrigued then worried!
"Wow, that's a lot to take in," Bill replied. "I've never heard of any animal like that, especially not a panda! I mean, I know they're tough and all just like any other bear, but they aren't exactly known for being terrifying. Combine that with the fact that he's a doctor and well, we've definitely got a guy who stands out."
"True, but… you can say that for just about everyone in the club," Legosi barked.
"What do you mean?" Bill asked with a raised brow.
"Oh well... Kai told me something, but I don't know if it's true or not," the large canine answered.
"Well don't keep me in the dark," the tiger said as he playfully elbowed his companion. "What did he tell you?"
Legosi shook his head. "Well he said that everyone in the club has a… 'quirk' to them. He said that the club is like that by design and that the recruiter purposely looks for students who aren't exactly normal."
"Something about wanting those students to have a place of their own or a place where they can stand out or just giving them something to do. But like I said I don't know how much of it is true."
The grey wolf scratched his head and continued. "I mean Kai never told me what his deal was and I only know two people like that in the club so that's why I'm not sure."
"I mean take Sheila for example. Kai told me that she used to be a uh… 'working girl.' Then there's Kai, but you know about that already."
Legosi turned to Bill. "What about you? Do you have any quirks or a backstory that makes you different from everyone else?"
Bill put a hand to his chin. "I can't really think of anything unless you count me being a little prouder about being a carnivore than most. I have a normal family, I get along with lots of people, and I'm an ok student."
"Whatever this quirk is that Kai's talking about, I don't think I have it."
"So there's nothing? Nothing at all that you can think of that would make you stand out? No physical problems, no secret back story, or mental illness?" the wolf questioned.
Upon hearing that Bill suddenly stopped walking and folded his ears back. After taking another step forward Legosi stopped and looked back at the saddened tiger.
"What's wrong, did you think of something?" the large grey canine asked.
Bill looked down and took a deep breath. He looked back up.
"Legosi, you know how you said you didn't know if you could trust me. Well, I'm choosing to trust you with this."
The tiger walked up to the wolf and put his hands on his shoulders. "I want you to promise me that you won't tell anyone about this. No matter what you can't tell anyone."
"Alright, I promise I won't tell anyone," Legosi answered.
The orange feline nodded. He gathered his thoughts and spoke.
"I've never told anybody this, not even Aoba, but I suffer from anxiety and I also have a reading disability."
Legosi's eyes widened as his tail and ears jumped up in surprise. Bill, despite being a total creep, had always had a smile on his face and always tried to be the life of the party.
Then again Jack was the same way, always appearing cheerful but secretly dealing with depression.
Who would have thought that Bill had similar issues?
The wolf looked to the side. He tried to wrap his head around the idea of Bill dealing with something like anxiety but couldn't seem to for some reason. The tiger had always been so confident and controlled, it's for that reason he was able to get a leg up on Louis after all.
Still, if there was anything that the wolf knew, it was that people were more complex than they let on. He'd learned to never take anything at face value.
The gray carnivore scratched his head and spoke. "I gotta say Bill, I'm more than a little shocked to hear that. I mean between your personality and your roles in the Drama club I would never have guessed that. Either you're a better actor then I thought, or you're just really good at hiding it."
Bill looked to the side. He walked up to Legosi, but instead of stopping to talk, the tiger just continued walking past him. Legosi watched as he went by, noticing the depressed look on his face.
"Hey Bill, hold up!" the wolf called out as he ran after his partner.
Legosi caught up to the tiger and continued asking questions while they walked. "Why did you go quiet like that? If you're embarrassed about it then I understand, but I still want to know more and I did promise I wouldn't tell anyone."
Bill took a deep breath and spoke. "It's like this Legosi, I've always been a little insecure about myself. You know how I always played the villain in the school plays? The thing is, I always felt like that's how people really see me. They see me as a bad guy who'll stab them in the back the second they let their guard down."
Bill looked down. "And what's worse is that I know I deserve it."
Legosi's ears folded back. He wanted to say something to make his companion feel better, but what could he? He himself had seen Bill as a villain and he certainly had plenty of reasons to.
Bill immediately noticed the look on the wolf's face and knew what he was thinking.
"So you're in the same boat as the others huh?" the tiger sadly asked, causing the wolf to look at him in surprise.
Bill smiled softly, "Like I said, I know I deserve it. Our history is proof of that.
"Still, I don't want that for myself. I guess you can say that's the reason I'm helping you with this, well one of them anyways. I want everyone to see that I don't have to be the evil character in their life stories. I know that it makes me sound selfish, but I did mean it when I said I wanted to help out Els too."
As the two continued walking Legosi first looked to the side and then at Bill and smiled.
He put a hand on the big cat's shoulder which caused him to stop walking and look back at Legosi. The wolf gave his partner another soft smile and nodded approvingly, much to Bill's surprise.
The wolf raised his fist up in order to initiate a fist-bump. Bill looked down at the fist and his whole face lit up. He gave Legosi a wide grin and gave the wolf his fist-bump.
They arrived at the station and after going through the usual hassle that comes with using public transportation, managed to catch their train just in time.
As the door's closed Legosi and Bill looked around for a place to sit. To their surprise, the train car was completely empty with exception of just three other animals. They both sat down as far away as they could from the others so they could continue their talk.
"So Bill, I'm glad you trusted me enough to tell me about your anxiety and I promise I won't say a word to anyone," Legosi said happily. "Though I am curious about that other thing you said. What did you mean when you said you had a reading disability?"
Bill brought his hands together. "Well to be honest I'm not entirely sure myself. See I don't know why, but whenever I'm reading something I get letters and words mixed up.
For example, sometimes I can't tell the difference between a lowercase b and a lowercase d," the tiger explained. "I hide this from everyone by going over my lines and homework with my roommate. He's the only other person I've trusted with this."
Legosi was surprised by Bill's explanation of his condition. So much so that he stared at the big cat with his eyes wide open. In all the time the wolf had known him, he'd never seen any sort of hint that Bill had a problem reading. He was in a lot of plays after all and many of his roles had pages upon pages of lines that he had to memorize.
Legosi turned his head a bit as he thought about it. After a bit of thinking the wolf figured it out. "Bill… what you said about your problem… I think you might have dyslexia," he deduced.
"Dis-what?" Bill asked with a confused look.
"Dyslexia! I learned about it from the doctor we're going to visit, one of his patients has it. He told me people who have the condition perceive space differently. That is why they have trouble reading," Legosi explained. "Everything you just said about what happens when you read is exactly what happens with the doctor's patient, so it might be that."
Bill crossed his arms. "So what, does this doctor give him medicine for it? Do you think he'll give me medicine too?"
Legosi shook his head. "No, there's no medicine for it.
"That being said you're not out of luck. The doctor told me that there are a lot of people that have what you and his patient have and a lot of schools have programs for it including ours."
The wolf put a hand on Bill's back. "I bet if you talk to principal Gon about it, he will see if he can put you in the program. I know you said you don't want anyone to know, but I think it would be good for you to get help with it now. That way you won't have to deal with it later on in life when you have other difficult responsibilities too."
Bill thought about Legosi's proposal for a moment and while it did sound useful he still wasn't sure. He figured that before anything else, he would ask this doc about it.
Suddenly, a realization came to the tiger's mind, one that made him laugh. "Hey Legosi, remember what you told me about Kai and what he said about everyone in the club? Guess we found mine huh?" Bill said jokingly.
"Yea, I guess we did," Legosi said playfully while he put a hand behind his head.
"So what about you?" the orange feline asked. "What's your deal?"
"Me?" the wolf asked. "Oh… well… the thing is..."
"Come ooooooon!" Bill said happily as he playfully elbowed his canine companion. "You can tell me."
"Well you see… about that- oh look it's out stop," Legosi just about shouted in relief.
"Guess we'd better get to the doors!" The wolf stood up and hurried to the end of the car where the door was, leaving the tiger behind.
"Hey wait up!" Bill said as he stood up.
The train stopped and the two large carnivores got off and headed to the black market area. Bill wanted to keep pressing Legosi further on his secret, but figured the wolf had his reasons.
Legosi of course knew that but decided to ignore the cat's curiosity for now. What was most important right now was getting mentally prepared for the market. They both knew that temptation was everywhere there and that it would take everything they had to resist. They arrived at the entrance and knew that they were at the edge of Hell.
