Finally, the chapter is complete, i was fully ready to wait until season 3 came out in 2024, but then a reader reminded me of going off of the manga, so that's what i did here, it's technically non-canon because at this point, the focus is on legoshi outside of cherryton, and infomation of what happens in cherryton during this era is scarse, regardless, there are protentional spoilers for season 3 here

The afternoon sun gently shone into JC's room as he silently sketched a picture of Juno from memory, it had been a whole week since he woke and she was one of the few who visited often, he paused and glanced at the 3 pictures he had, one of him and Haru in the gardening club, another with him surrounded by the 701 canines, Voss attempting to not be seen, and one of him and Juno in the drama club, he smiled gently and sighed, out of all of them, Juno, Jack and the other canines had visited him often, only Legoshi and Haru hadn't, JC knew that Haru was at university, thus her schedule was fairly busy, but he felt a bit worried for Legoshi, not knowing the result of his fight with Riz, when he questioned Kawa about this in passing, he was told that it was Louis that managed to bring Riz in after he had his leg gnawed off, with no mention of Legoshi being present, he accepted this answer, but knew that it was false, probably a cover-up, but he didn't know the exact reason, he sighed, laid down and rolled over to the side, facing away from the door, he thought about every scenario, from Legoshi managing to beat Riz and having Louis turn him in for a second chance at the Beastar title, to Legoshi suffering the same fate as Tem with Louis somehow managing to take Riz in, he was so deep in thought that he didn't notice someone entering the room,

"nice picture, but I'm nowhere near this beautiful" JC turned and sat up, smiling at Juno,

"you are, in my mind" he replied, the 2 gently hugging,

"I'm glad that you're feeling much better now" Juno said, sitting on a nearby chair "hopefully you'll be back at Cherryton soon"

"the docs say that I might be out on Monday if I keep recovering this quick" JC replied

"I-I'm sure that you'll be welcomed back warmly" Juno said, JC not catching the stutter as he looked at the pictures,

"Juno, I need to know something, and I want you to be honest" Juno looked a bit worried, hoping that JC wouldn't ask her the one question that she and everyone else was told to keep from him until he got back "what happened to Legoshi?" Juno let out a gentle sigh of relief, disguising it as a sorrowful one,

"I'm only telling you because I feel like you should know, and it's all that Louis told me when he returned to the school to properly graduate" she told him, JC nodded in understanding and she started telling him about how Louis told Legoshi to eat one of his legs in order to take on Riz, but the authorities told him to keep up the illusion that he took down Riz, while he and Legoshi were arrested, Legoshi being let out soon after, but was still placed on the Registered Meat Offenders list, JC gently frowned, knowing that being on that list would restrict his choice of collages, his potential line of work, and forbidding him from marrying a herbivore,

"so, I guess a wall has been erected between him and Haru because of that fact" JC said sympathetically,

"yes, and whats worse, there's no way off that list, outside of a favour from the current Beastar" Juno said "but I doubt that would even happen" JC stared at her silently, gently clutching the spot where he has blood drawn, the catalyst of him finding out that he had a thylacine heritage,

"stranger things have happened" he muttered, looking down as the door opened,

"I'm sorry for barging in" JC looked up quickly, recognising the voice instantly, seeing some spots before his eyes as a result from the sudden head movement, he stared up at the newcomer as they walked in, he gawked as he realised what they were wearing,

"H-Harmony?" he stuttered as the Carcal approached the bed, Juno standing to greet her, the 2 having met last year by chance "i….i thought I saw you that day, but…...w-why didn't you say something?"

"honestly, I wasn't sure if you were at Cherryton when I first met you" Harmony explained "and I didn't wanted to talk after you poured your heart out about what happened" she glanced away "i know that I shouldn't have eavesdropped, but when I saw you, I wanted to say something, I guess my conscience stopped me so that you would've been able to tell your story" JC smiled gently

"i appreciate it Harmony, thank you" he said, the 3 spending time together before the 2 girls had to return to the school an hour later,

"so, did you give in and tell him? I know how close you both are" Juno sighed,

"no, I know I shouldn't keep it from him, but Gon asked us not to say anything, as it might stress him out more" she said, Harmony raised an eyebrow silently

"i get that" Harmony said silently "but how would he feel when he finds out that you knew, and kept it from him?" Juno glanced away, tears slowly forming,

"i….i hope that he'll understand"

"and I think you'll have to tell him about that other matter that happened on the first day"

Days passed, JC was soon out of bed, the medical team deemed him in perfect health, except for one minor issue, because of the injury to his knee and having been out of action for over a month had caused his right leg to be slightly weaker then the left, causing him to rely on having to use a walking stick until he healed up completely,

"so how long should it take to heal?" JC asked

"about a month if you take it easy" the Lemur doctor replied as he signed off on JC's release,

"thanks doc, for everything" JC replied as Kawa came in to help JC get back to Cherryton,

"Gon has personally asked me to tell you to head directly to his office as soon as we get to Cherryton" Kawa said to him as the taxi they were in drove up towards the school,

"hopefully I'm not in too much trouble"

"mm? Oh, no, Gon has received orders not to punish you for defending another"

"I'm guessing that the school board had a say in that?" Kawa gently shook her head

"no, someone, much higher ranked then the board" JC stared silently, wondering who would have the power over the school board, he was so deep in thought that he didn't notice that they had arrived at Cherryton "we're here"

JC stepped out of the taxi, Kawa following to get his bag out of the trunk, JC just stared at the city, still thinking about what had happened, he turned to look at the familiar school that he called home, he slowly hobbled in, the walking stick making a gentle clack as he moved forward,

"i must warn you though" Kawa said "Cherryton has…...seen a change" JC glanced at her, curious to what she meant, he looked back at the building and stopped dead, before him, on the doors of the main structure, he saw a sign pinned to it, it said that all carnivores are restricted to the upper floor within school hours, JC stared blankly, reading and re-reading the sign there "JC? Are you OK?" JC panted hard, Kawa thought that he was about to have a panic attack, the walking stick fell from his hand as he let out primal cry, a mix of rage and anguish that echoed around the school, students and staff coming out of their classes to see what it was, elsewhere, both Legoshi and Haru, both in separate locations, glanced up in shock, both looking towards Cherryton in unison, neither knowing why, Legoshi's ears twitched a bit, hearing something on the wind, but chalked it up to something unrelated as he resumed his delivery.

"how did this happen?"

"JC, please calm yourself"

"how could the school, that I called home, and that I was fighting for, do this to me?"

"I'm sorry, but the board said-"

"FUCK THE BOARD!" Kawa stared down at JC as he slowly stood, scared that he might do something drastic in his current state, she knew that JC wasn't the type to shout out explicit words like that for no reason, she gently gasped as he headed inside, without using the walking stick provided, she grabbed it and followed,

Herbivore students stared as he headed down the hallway, none getting into his way as he headed to a flight of stairs on one side of the building, Kawa stared as she followed, knowing that where he was headed was not the straight path to Gon's office, JC walked silently passed the students, a few of the older ones getting the freshmen up to date on who he was, she climbed the stairs to the carnivore area and headed to the central stairs again, in his mind, he unconsciously wanted everyone to see the one student, who wanted unity so badly, that the school had betrayed at the beginning of the year, reaching the carnivore area, he proceeded on wards, stopping when a jaguar freshman got in his way,

"i don't know who you are, and I don't care, it's obvious that you don't belong up here so why don't y-" he was cut off when JC slammed his elbow into their belly, causing him to keel over,

"stay out of my way, if you want to keep breathing" he said cooly, continuing on, soon arriving at Gon's office, entering silently as Gon stood,

"JC, I'm glad that you're back, I'm sure your stay in the hospital was a good one"

"cut the crap Gon" Gon gasped gently "what happened here, why is the school divided, WHY WAS THE WORK I PUT IN FOR THE 2 MONTHS BEFORE THE END OF THE YEAR TOSSED AWAY?!" Gon silently sat back down, sighing gently

"I'm sorry JC, we implemented the change a week after the school year started" he said, JC silently listening "over 80% of the students and faculty protested against the idea" he pulled out a flyer from his desk "this was being passed around throughout the school" JC stared at it, it said segregation is not what he would've wanted "at the end of the first month, things got so bad, we nearly had a riot on our hands, but Juno, she said that even if segregation was the last thing you wanted, that you wouldn't want the school to destroy itself because of it"

"none of that matters I guess" JC said, Kawa watching from the door "it's just nice to know that life has screwed me over again, what is the point of a Beastar if they come from somewhere that segregates like this, when they're meant to bring unity, is it a title? A rank? A position? Or just a meaningless word?" Gon stared at him silently

"i…..cannot answer that, not for the way you have put it, I'm afraid"

"then I guess this is my last day here" Gon and Kawa stared when JC said this "i'll be back at the school in 4 months, just to find out if you've figured out an answer, if you don't have one, it'll be the last time the school will be seeing me" he turned and approached the door to leave, feeling wobbly from his weakening leg, he paused and took his walking stick from Kawa and headed off, both of them looking shocked,

JC wandered towards the stairs leading outside, when he heard someone behind him

"J-JC?" he sighed and turned, looking at Jack as he slowly approached "a-are you OK?" JC sighed gently before glancing around

"in here" he said, going into one of the PA rooms,

"never been in one of these rooms" Jack said, looking around, JC leaning on the main desk before turning to face Jack

"how have you been?" he asked, the question catching Jack off guard,

"uh, yeah, i-I've been fine, just a little shook up when hearing about your hospitalisation and Legoshi leaving"

"that's exactly how I'm feeling, but much, much worse, I feel sick, as sick as when I had the PTSD from Tem's murder, but not as…..bad, but it does sicken me"

"i see…...i guess the segregation did that, huh?"

"yeah, you could say that" he sighed gently "I'm leaving Jack" this caused Jack to grab his shoulders

"no, I don't want you to go, I've already lost Legoshi, I don't want to lose you too" he said, JC gently placed his hand on his shoulder,

"you won't be losing me Jack, I'll be in contact, with you, the others, the drama club, Juno, so, I'm not really leaving your lives, not completely, but you can say that…...you'll be seeing less of me, but I won't be here anymore, I'll be leaving first thing tomorrow morning, at 8" he passed Jack and left the room, Jack sighed sadly, taking a final glance around the room before leaving, he paused and looked at something, he slowly approached the desk, staring down at the announcement mic

"how long has that been on for?"

JC silently walked down the hall, those whom he once had called his peers, watching him hobble along, he knew that they had heard him, but he didn't care as he slowly made his way back to his cabin, soon arriving, and finding that Kawa had left his bag there, he sighed gently and stepped inside, he saw that the place had been kept tidy in his absence, he glanced around and noticed that the spider, once a symbol of how lonely he was, was now dead in it's web, a sign that things had taken a dark turn in his life, moments later, JC silently packed the gear that he was able to pack that he didn't want to leave behind into a carry bag, just finishing a call to a Realtor about a place that would be available by the following morning, they had a place on file that was available, a room within an apartment block known as the Beast Apartments that he'd be able to move into instantly, he paused when he the door open behind him, he turned, seeing Juno there, looking upset,

"tell that you were joking" she demanded, trying to remain calm "tell that you're not really going to leave here?" JC didn't reply, and returned to packing "please don't ignore me, I know that this is tearing you apart, but that doesn't give you the right to think that I'm not here, I tried to fight, but I knew that doing so would do more harm then good, and I knew that you didn't want either, so I…...i opted the less destructive path, please JC, say something, say anything, just don't….just don't ignore me" she gently sobbed, not realising that JC had stopped packing when she mentioned that she tried to fight, he stood and turned to her,

"tell me something" he said calmly, something that caught Juno off guard "why…." Juno stared, scared of the question that was coming, she looked away, tears streaming from her eyes "why is the prettiest wolf of Cherryton crying?" she turned and looked at him, he slowly pulled her into a hug which she returned,

"i don't want you to go JC" she said quietly "you're my beacon here, with Louis, Legoshi and, heck, even Haru gone, I don't have anyone to fall back on" JC gently wiped her eyes

"you still have the rest of the drama club, if it's still operating" he said to her

"it is, but barely" Juno replied, sliding out of JC's arms "in order to stay open, we need to score high on our exams, all of us, but Bill is doing his best to keep out our morale"

"Bill?" JC questioned "is he the new president?"

"yeah, Sanu recommended him and Louis endorsed the decision" Juno explained "he's doing a great job making sure we pass our exams"

"still the hot head he was last year?"

"he's softened up a bit, thanks to Els" they shared a chuckle at this, Juno looking happier now

"there we go, that's the Juno I love seeing" JC said, Juno smiling at him

"you always know how to make me smile" she replied "so, want to head off and grab some lunch" JC's smile fell,

"no" he replied bluntly "I'd rather not face the crowds after that little announcement" Juno gently nodded

"i understand" she said, standing "you want me to go and get you something to eat"

"please"

"OK, I won't be too long" Juno said, heading off, JC sighed gently and continued packing, Juno returning a little while later with some sandwiches for both of them, she sighed after a while "JC, I need to confess something" he looked at her

"what's up Juno? Is something wrong" he asked

"no, I mean, yes, I mean, I…..I don't know" she said, struggling to find the right words,

"take a deep breath, and relax" JC told her, she inhaled deeply and sighed slowly,

"I'm sorry JC, but I did you wrong, and have been unfaithful" JC stared at her

"w-what do you mean?" he asked

"i…...i kissed Louis when he was here at the start of the year" she explained "i…..i don't know why I did it, I guess I was afraid of not seeing you again and…...and I took the opportunity, he seems to think that I did it because I felt sorry for him missing a leg, and I didn't correct him, I…...i guess I was afraid of what would happen if I said that, but, regardless, I'm sorry JC, I'm sorry for not being faithful to you" she shuddered and held back tears, afraid of what he would say,

"i don't blame you Juno" she looked up and into his eyes "if it were the other way around, I guess I would do the same, and I'd also be afraid of your potential anger if you did recover, like I did" he bit into the sandwich after this, Juno feeling a bit relived at this "so, how was it? Any different to me?" she looked at him when he asked this,

"uh, a bit"

"better then me?"

"no, I feel like you're the better kisser" JC smiled at this gently

"you always know how to make me smile Juno" he told her, finishing the sandwich "so, how would you like to stay here tonight, soften the blow for me leaving tomorrow" Juno looked at him, feeling conflicted,

"i…...I'd like that" she replied, standing and taking the remains of their lunch out to dispose of before heading back to the school for her afternoon classes, JC laid back silently, just resting a bit, doing his best to keep off of his leg to give it time to recover, he looked at the door as he heard a knocking, he got up and answered, not seeing anyone, but finding a couple of boxes sitting by the door, he glanced around again before bringing them in, before resuming his packing of everything else into them silently.

Juno was the first to wake the following morning, she looked down at JC as he slept on for a while longer, thinking about how he told her where he'd be moving to that morning, she stared at the packed boxes and grabbed her phone, shooting a text to someone before JC was able to wake

"what time is it?" he asked with a groan

"barely 7am" Juno replied as he sat up "i honestly don't want for you to leave, but I know that you feel like you have nothing to live for here"

"well, I do have 6 things, but they all can come visit me at any time" Juno smiled, knowing that he meant her and Legoshi's ex-roommates, they both got dressed before JC called for a taxi to pick him up at 8am, he looked up as the door opened "Bill? Els?"

"can't let you leave without saying goodbye" Bill said, helping him to stand "heard what you said yesterday, and, honestly, I'd feel the same way if I had your goal"

"no you don't Bill" Els said "you were rehearsing that speech all the way from the dorms" Juno giggled at this

"maybe so, but it is how I feel, considering, us…."

"oh, right"

"heh, I knew it" both Bill and Els looked at JC "i knew that you both were more or less together" Bill started chuckling

"you asshole" he said, playfully whacking JC's shoulder, taking care not to be too hard, minutes later, the 4 of them headed towards the school gate, JC paused when he saw some of the students lined up on either side of the path, carnivores on one side, herbivores on the other,

"w-what's all this?" he asked, looking at the others,

"don't ask me" replied Juno "i only asked Bill and Els to help with your things"

"it wasn't either of us" Els said "we know how much you hate crowds like this" JC looked at her and then proceeded down the path.

He silently glanced back at the school, those who didn't want to stand sentry like the few that were, were watching from the hallway windows, the 4 of them moved towards the gate, JC glancing to the sides, seeing several familiar students, a tortoise who needed help reaching the bathroom in time, a gerbil who nearly got into the path of one of the larger students, a gecko who had forgotten some warm clothes during the winter amongst others, he looked up as the taxi arrived, Els, Bill and Juno placed the boxes and his bags into the back, Els and Bill stepping back as Juno gently hugged and kissed him goodbye, JC silently sat in the taxi and watched as Cherryton slowly moved out of view, he turned his head away after a while, trying his best to hold back tears as he moved on towards a new chapter of his life.