Author's Note: Hello lads and ladies.

Happy new years… It's has been close to another month. And I am very sorry about that. I was hoping to be back on track start of the new year, but Life has surprised me in another negative way. And I have been exhausted, depressed and lacked the motivation. All in all I hope you enjoy the new chapter and that you understand why things are so dreadfully slow right now. I just got a wrong phone call at the wrong time.

I wish all of you a good time reading and a wonderful day/night afterwards.

Editor:SuperAverageFoxyboy
Enjoy!
-Portal

Chapter 5: Henchman

Legosi sat down on the stage beside Juno, the she-wolf once again leaning into him. He held her gently, listening to the others around them talk. It was a small preparation break for the actors needed for the practiced scene. It gave a few club members the option to talk about the new decision of the school board.

"I just have a bad feeling. Another guard on school grounds? Whoever is out there is dangerous enough to get direct attention from the school board." Bill leaned against the wall beside the stage, talking to the other club members around him.

"Wouldn't any murder get attention from the school board?" Said Ells, the small sheep standing between Ellen and Kai.

"Didn't seem like an overreaction to me." Kai threw in, a clueless expression on his face. Bill shook his head in response.

"Yeah, but have you ever seen such a big response from the school board for anything like this?" Bill's statement left the group to think, trying to remember the last time they were in a position as unusual as this. They were all left perplexed.

"You see? About a year ago, there was an accidental dismemberment incident between two freshmen. Did they raise school security that drastically over less than two weeks? No. The curfew only got set half an hour earlier, and that stayed for maybe a week." Bill's tail curved and twitched. He was definitely at unease, to say the least. "And then we come to the next point. A single dismemberment is one thing. But I'm willing to bet that he wasn't only active on school grounds." Bill crossed his arms in front of his chest. Kai looked at him in confusion.

"What makes you think that?" He asked. The tiger grabbed his phone, swiping over the screen a few times before showing the others a picture of a newspaper laid out on a desk. Ellen looked surprised.

"I didn't know you read the news." Bill didn't seem to be one to spend his free time reading the newspaper. He was an active guy that played sports in his free time, going to the gym twice a week. The tiger smirked at the zebra, shaking his head.

"I don't. A friend of mine does, and he showed me this." Els, Ellen, and Kai looked at the screen. In big, bold letters the front line read:

New Devourings shock the Police:

After the sudden and shocking death of a student at the prestigious Cherryton Academy, many parents were left understandably worried about their children's safety. The school board's heightening of security measures has only really helped fuel the flame of worry. As of last week, a new series of devourings occurred, the tally count having reached four victims yesterday morning when a horse jogger was found dead in Kumika park. The twenty-seven-year-old was seemingly on his morning jog when he was attacked by a yet unidentified assailant. The bite wounds found indicated the work of large breed carnivores, though further information is being withheld by the police at this time.

"By Rex… why did they keep that from us?" Ellen looked shocked at the situation being much worse than it first seemed. That was a lot more serious than the school made it out to be.

"Keep us from panicking. What else could they do? They're forced to keep us safe." Legosi said calmly, Juno having fallen asleep in his embrace. Even if she slept sound tonight, the last two weeks she had slept in short intervals, leaving her drained and tired. Bill laughed quietly as he shook his head.

"Oh, they have done a hell of a job of keeping us safe…" The others didn't laugh at his comment. Ellen wasn't sure how to react. It was a rough hit to learn that it was an illusion of safety that they were in.

"What else is the school gonna do?" Els asked innocently. She was worried that the rules of school life would become stricter in the following weeks. She didn't want to lose the free time that she had. It would rob her of her ability to talk and go out with friends, a social norm that she needed to abide in order to stay of sound mind.

"Hard to say. If the murders don't stop, it's gonna become even more strict." Bill looked at the group in front of him. They were all worried for different reasons. Kai was scared that others would look further down on him for what he was. Els was afraid that she would lose the social circle she cherished. And Ellen was scared of the possibility that the school's security was too imperfect to keep them safe. Bill was starting to question if he should've even told them about it. He was doing exactly what the school was trying to avoid. Spreading panic.

"Hey," Bill addressed all three animals looking like a herd in distress, ready to run away from danger at any moment.

"The school will do everything they can to keep us safe, I'm sure of it." Bill's tone was calm and collected. The irritation of the situation had disappeared.

"Oh, really now? We don't even know if the killer isn't one of us." Ellen's voice was panicked, her black stripes losing color intensity. She felt a sudden urge to leave the room and look for her friends. Right down the hall, out of the side exit, into the third club building's doors and she would be in the music club. There were three zebras in that club. With them, she would be safe.

"Ellen." The distressed zebra looked towards the wolf sitting on the stage, Juno peacefully sleeping in his embrace. They looked so gentle and peaceful, so calm in Ellen's presence. "For how long have you been in this club?"

Legosi's question made her think. The memory of how long she had been an actor in the club distracting her out of her instincts to flee.

"Two years now," Ellen said, deep in nostalgic memory of first joining the club. The first day where she was so nervous around all the older other members, nearly fainting when Louis talked to her.

"Has anyone ever been mean to you?" Legosi's question was ridiculous. Never had anyone ever said anything mildly offensive to her. All members were always helpful and accepting due to their fearless leader's standards and morals that he up-kept religiously.

"No…" She was ashamed. How could she even for a passing moment suspect this club to be unsafe? It was the place that was home to many different personalities that all were special in their own merits. She shook her head, sighing while she fully calmed down, disappointed in her own instincts making her panic to such an extend.

"Maybe you guys are right, and I am overreacting." Bill and Legosi smiled at her with appreciation. She smiled back, feeling at least just a little reassured. With Ellen calming down, so did Kai. This club had always been the shining flagship for equality of the prestigious school that they called their own. If there were safe spaces on the school ground, this club would definitely be one. Els still seemed to be worried, shivering almost as she fidgeted her fingers.

"How will we know what the school will do? Can we even tell?" She kept fidgeting her fingers, her eyes the kind of worry that Legosi was feeling before, the kind that took control of all thoughts and processes disrupting the common order of the mind. Legosi wanted to say something, but now his thoughts were slowly drifting back to the seas of worry that they had been on less than two hours ago. He gritted his teeth in his closed muzzle, squeezing the lovely sleeping she-wolf in his arms ever so slightly. He breathed out, blowing winds into the sails of his mind's sailboat, pushing it back onto the calm waters of mundane ordinary routine. All is fine. I'm ok, everything is right in the world.

He breathed in a whiff of Juno's scent, roses in the season. Smelling her was like smelling one of the rose bushes in Camilla park, the largest of the three parks in the city. The rare times that he did venture out into the deeper parts of the city, he liked going to that park in order to see the insect life found there. It was the same park where he caught Kabu, his little beetle that he kept as a pet. He would have to show her the park himself one day.

He breathed out once more, his mind sailing calm seas. His stress would wake Juno, and after the last few weeks, she deserved some sleep.

"Well… Louis knows more maybe, he's the one who has direct contact to the principal and administration. He is the son of some wealthy hot-shot after all." Bill explained, looking over to the red deer that was helping prep the scene that they were about to practice. Louis was always good with adults, a well-mannered speaker that told higher-ups what they wanted to hear. It made the assertive leader that he was, the buck was closer to an adult than any other student at this school. And besides that, the buck had managed to be the only herbivore that Bill was nervous about. The only one that had more power without being physically stronger than him.

"Hey, Legosi." Bill turned his head towards the wolf. "You and Louis are pretty buddy-buddy, right? Why don't you ask him about what he knows about the school's plans?" Legosi looked over to Louis that was just finishing the preparations, talking to Sanu. He looked like a CEO talking to one of his executives. An air of leadership and sophistication that only the most formal of adults carried and this deer held it with grace as if he was born with it.

"Uh… of course." Legosi knew that Louis's opinion of the school had fallen tremendously. Specifically due to the act of wanting to protect the precious image of the school and leaving a student to die in the process. It was as morally dubious as the deepest secrets of the black market. With it being Louis, he managed to uphold the act of still believing in the school completely. Since then, he lost respect for the confidentiality of information handed to him by the administration. All potential Beastar candidates would be close to the administration, in fact. And Louis was even further in. He leads the school's most valuable club and was the son of one of the most powerful business magnates in Japan. Even if all eyes were on him to be perfect, an upheld public image had its perks. Perks that Louis used to their full effectiveness.

"Thank you, Legosi." Els thanked the gentle grey canine sitting on the side of the stage. She had to remember the first time she really noticed the caring side of the wolf, back when Tem was killed. She was deathly scared of him, such a large breed carnivore that loomed from backstage with focused eyes that seemed to follow her through the room. But when the day ended, and he approached her, holding that letter which Tem never got to deliver. Els learned that looks could be deceiving. He was as soft as one could be, like a herbivore's soul born into a wolf's body.

"Your welcome." His tone was awkward, yet his smile genuine. The signature mix for Legosi. Bill had to smirk when he looked at him. He didn't understand what it was about him, but he liked this wolf that even after many conversations still stumbled through his words. It was funny to see him struggle with something that no one else had problems with. The poor idiot talked himself into situations that he was even more overwhelmed by. If you were to send Legosi into the Kantei, the prime minister's residence, he would overthrow the government without even realizing it.

"Breaks over, all actors to their positions!" Louis ordered the various groups back into action. The little group started to disperse, Els once again thanking the wolf. Legosi nodded appreciative at the sheep, then concentrating on the sleeping she-wolf in his arms. He softly shook her, Juno awaking from her slumber with a quiet "mmmh?"

"Break's over." Legosi quietly spoke to her, loosening his gentle hold, letting her sit up. She was embarrassed to have fallen asleep in Drama Club. She had already made plans in which classes to nap, being more tired than she'd like to admit. The last few weeks had robbed her of energy.

"I didn't mean to fall asleep." Her eyelids hung lower, tiredness in her eyes and gestures. Legosi pulled her closer, planting a soft kiss on her cheek, looking at her with utmost care and love. Juno couldn't help but smile.

"I'm gonna find a way to make your nights peaceful. I promise that." Legosi hopped off the stage, Juno looking at the worried wolf standing before her. He had a small yet hopeful smile on his face. She hopped off the stage, reaching around the wolf to hug him once more.

"'I love you." He put his head on hers, hugging back.

"I love you too." They separated, a small kiss ending the break. Legosi himself turned around, walking towards Kibi and Fudge adjusting the lighting from remote control, watching the others act out the scene.


"Don't forget to come to the stairwell at nine. I'll be waiting." Juno's hand softly ran over his cheek, caressing it tenderly. He smiled at her, his hands wandering around her. He gently pulled her to him, only a little distance between their faces.

"I'll be there." Legosi gave her a small kiss, letting go of his grip.

"I'll see you later." She gave a small wave, leaving with another few club members, leaving the room empty. Legosi wanted to talk to Louis while alone. He knew Louis hated the idea of others eavesdropping. A part of the formal etiquette that he was born into.

As Legosi stepped onto the stage he couldn't help but remember that day three months ago. He turned around, the large crowd in his mind cheering and clapping as the orchestra played their piece to a roaring finale. That feeling of happiness when they first kissed. Suddenly his mind jumped to a different place, a smell of tea that always was present in his home. The long corridor was always darker than the rest of the apartment, a single window at the end of the hall shining light into it. He looked up at the large door next to the window. It had grown in size almost twice as high as usual. The doorknob being above his eye level. A dark inky fear started to spread in him, the darkness around him that his eyes didn't adapt to. He hadn't felt it in such a long time, yet it felt like meeting an old friend. A familiar stranger that hadn't changed at all.

The wood of the door shifted, spiraling around the center. The painted and prepped wood cracked and broke open, like fresh wounds. The spiral moved down, just a bit above his head. It spiraled more, the wood twisting under the immense force. It looked as though someone was wringing the water out of a sponge. The center broke, a small hole forming that slowly widened. The wood of the door creaked like it could feel pain. Like a pained animal knowing it would die. A voice reached his ear that ran shivers down his spine. Soft female laughter that multiplied the fear he felt. A dark memory he didn't want, didn't need. His fur stood on end, sweat pearling down his face as he looked into the dark hole that formed on the door. Another small chuckle echoed through it when he saw the hand slowly reaching through the hole. The black claws glistened, contrasting the light gray fur color. The fingers wiggled, beckoning him to step closer.

Legosi suddenly opened his eyes, the room as empty as it had been since club time ended. He forced his clenched fist open, his muscles hurting. The memory of that door had put him under immense stress. That cursed door, in that home he had almost completely forgotten.

"Legosi?" Louis had left the small back room of the club, a small clothing area for practice in costume, and a few desks that the club management would meet at. The wolf looked pale as if he had seen a ghost, an unusual look for the wolf.

"Oh… I-I'm s-s-sorry I-... just…" Legosi adverted his eyes, a look of trauma that Louis had never seen the wolf have before. He looked terrible. Strained, used, and sucked dry of life.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Knowing words that Louis always wanted to say but never had. A persona of a fool that should have never taken hold of him as much as it had done.

"No," He said quickly and suddenly. That door belonged to someone that he had to think about alone first. Too many things laid buried in the dirt regarding her. Talking about her now wouldn't be doing her justice.

"If you ever want to, I am here." Legosi probably didn't even know what he did for him, but Louis would always be in debt for as long as that wolf needed help. You have more to you than I first thought.The thought merely brushed through Louis's head as the wolf changed the subject.

"W-Well, a few club members asked me if I could ask you if you knew anything about the school's plans to deal with the… you know." The wolf looked around aimlessly, his head in a different place than his surroundings.

"mmmmh…" Louis thought back to the last interactions with the school administration. Principal Gon had acted normally over the last couple of days. Maybe a bit more stress than usual, but nothing out of the ordinary.

"The principle was normal the last few days, usual formal manners and telling me about the difficult times we are in, the usual 'We are worried about your safety' talk…" He held in for a moment, a detail coming to mind.

"There was a letter on his desk. It had the UAB seal on it. The United Academic Board." Legosi's ear flipped, curious now. He had heard in a passing conversation about the UAB, but Louis never mentioned it before.

"What is the UAB?"

Louis snickered faintly, laughing at the naive and unknowing wolf. And they call you a powerful, cunning predator.

"The UAB is the United Academic Board. All academy principals meet there for discussing important matters. Like selecting a Beastar, school festivals, or other special occurrences. One like this."

Legosi looked down, thinking about the meaning of something urgent like this. So urgent that not even Louis was informed of it.

"Do you think it will be bad?" The deer shook his head at the wolf's question.

"I don't think it will get much worse than this. They don't want to disrupt school life too much. That would cause unrest which they can't accept or deal with." Louis's guess was educated, knowing of the school systems. But Legosi still had his doubts. Something was telling him that it was going to get worse. He shook the thought, blaming his stress on the worry of before. He shouldn't let it get to his head.

"Thank you for the help, Louis, but there's one more thing." Legosi held his hands, slightly fidgeting his fingers.

"What is it?" Louis asked. The now nervous wolf was thinking about the right words to say. He looked almost disappointed in himself for being nervous about something so trivial.

"You know about Juno's nightmares, right?" Louis nodded affirmatively. Legosi continued, "She… hasn't been sleeping well. So I've been sleeping at her dorm to calm her down."

Louis shared eye contact for a second. Haru herself had been through some periods of fear and panic since that night. But unlike Juno and Legosi, Haru and Louis had the ability to stay together almost every single night.

About ninety percent of the dorm rooms of the school were group rooms designed to house multiple members of the same evolutionary family. But with the use of clubs and offices for the club presidents and important students such as high ranking hierarchy students in clubs and administrative jobs, the school had issued every year, the most important students' rooms are in the connection point between the administration and the main school building. A floor above the student's offices. And with Louis being the effective head of the most prized club of the school, so did he every school year get a solo room. He had never once even entered the dorm that he would have to be part of, which made him even more mysterious to the broad spectrum of female fans that he had acquired over his nearly perfect record of performances. No one knew how he spends his nights, and with whom he spent them.

It was another perk that has now paid off since beginning the relationship with Haru. Between the two, they had the garden shack that they often spend the night in and his solo room if the outer climate was too cold in the winter.

"...And then we got caught… by her roommates the next morning." Legosi's cheeks turned red after finishing his own story, the embarrassing memory still being fresh. Maybe I should apologize… on the other hand, I don't want to make it any more awkward than it already is.

"They didn't tell the housemother, did they?"

The wolf shook his head. He let his arms sunk back down.

"I was gonna ask if you could help me… getting a place where we can both sleep. Just for a little while to let her recover," said Legosi, sounding lost in the next situation of the day. Going from the stormy seas of irrational worry into hard to solve problems. Life really had it out for him today.

Louis thought for a moment, weighing the options in his head. He already had an idea in mind.

"Don't worry about it. I already have an idea." Louis smiled at Legosi, who smiled with gratitude. Worrying about all of these things had drained him of energy too.

"I'll ask Haru if she could spare you two the gardening shack. Want to help us prepare it? We'll need to get two large breed sleeping mats." Louis asked, distracting Legosi from his own sudden tiredness. He looked off to the door, thinking about his following plans after club time. A certain golden-blonde dog came to mind.

"I will come by later. I need to spend a bit of time with Jack… He's been… worried about me." Legosi looked towards the doorway, his tail slightly wagging at the plans to talk with the Labrador.

"I'll text you when all is ready then."

Legosi nodded and smiled at the deer again.

"Thank you, Louis. I wouldn't know how to help her otherwise," Louis smirked at the smiling wolf's face. So satisfied knowing his loved ones to be safe. His most canine feature and yet not his prominent one. One day Louis would have to ask him about his weird behaviors. But not today.

"I owe you for that night. I owe you everything for that night." Legosi looked into the face mirroring his own gratitude. He made the right choice back then.

"I will see you later. Thank you again." Legosi made a small and respectful bow, leaving the room. Louis said his own goodbyes, locked the door behind him, and went on his way to his girlfriend's club.


Roughly one week ago...

The Lions sat in a circle in the main lobby of the building that was once their HQ. The HQ of the most feared group in the entire black market. A back alley legend that was known for its reign over the market as a whole. The market owners were afraid to even talk about them in the presence of a lion. It was the faction that had always lead the mafias of the back alley. None of the others even came close to seeing eye to eye to them. The venomous Komodo dragons of the Dokugumi, the fox mistresses of the Inarigumi, the nightly hunter wolves of the Okamigumi. Not even their fellow felines, the spotted Cheetahs of the Madaragumi could call themselves equal to the title that the Shishigumi held. The sole leader to the carnivore's marketplace deep in the heart of the Edobutsu city.

And all of that came crumbling down because of a few kids and an old doctor. It was pathetic. Years of legends and mysteries were destroyed by a few rebelling kids who dared to challenge the kings of the jungle and their means of devouring food. And now, they were kings no more.

Who were they kidding? They had grown to resent their old boss. A tyrant that cut them off from the other parts of the black market, making them the diabolical side organization. It was humiliating to be lead by such an arrogant bastard for so long. His preference for pure white-furred animals was a sick fixation that the lion followed for no other reason but superstition. They once wheeled a beat-up, old white bison into the room, a strong herbivore that had very little fat left. The amount of fighting the poor sod survived was telling in how tough and chewy his actual meat was going to be. But the Chief ate most of it, only stopping to 'leave some for his loyal subordinates.'

Free and Agata had decided to try a piece, both spiting the tough leather that the Chief had called a delicacy. It was a matter of time until it was gonna catch up to them. A diabolical practice had equally diabolical consequences. That was how life worked, or how Ibuki had come to expect it to work, how it had treated him throughout his life. They had run around for a tyrant for way too long, and now they were paying the price for it, sitting in the old ruin of their once most prized place to live in. A place they would have gladly died for, reduced to nothing but worthless stones stacked on top of each other to resemble their headquarters.

"What are we gonna do now? The Madaragumi will be back soon to take this place over, and they'll keep coming back until the job's done." Agata looked slightly disturbed. This place was all he had ever known, the place that was all he ever had.

"Fuck the Madaragumi. Those cheetahs can't do anything against us. If they come back here again, they won't take over nothing!" Free spouted aggressively. He took it about as well as one would expect Free to take anything.

"We should probably go into the armory and prepare for an ugly firefight again." Miguel was already thinking about the fight that would ensue. Even though there would be easier ways to deal with the situation.

"I'm starting to doubt we even have enough ammunition to survive a single wave of them. A retreat should be kept in mind as an option." Dope spoke calmly, his hands folded in his lap.

"We have never retreated from some half-grown kittens that haven't even learned to shoot yet." Free was getting more confrontational, his usual defense mechanism.

"Do we have to let it come to that? I don't think there are enough of us left to really make a firefight winnable. And even then, what do we do then? The chief is still dead-" Agata was starting to lose it. This situation reminded him too much of home. The home he left behind.

"Agata, pull yourself together! I can't think straight." Jinma's powerful shout silenced the younger lion, leaving the rest to look among their own, deciding on what to do next.

"And what about you, Ibuki. You've been sitting there thinking for the last hour, barely speaking a word." Dope brought attention to the most level-headed of them all. Ibuki's eyes were affixed to the ground, his legs and arms crossed.

"I am thinking about what to do, like all of you. But I cannot decide what seems to be the right thing to do." Ibuki's response made Free sigh, resting an elbow on his shoulder.

The lion winced in response. "Free, my shoulder ain't healed up yet."

"Woops, that wolfess took a good chunk out of ya, huh? Anyways, back to the matter at hand... Not even you, the great thinker of the group, knows what to do. At this point, they could just as well march through the door, and we let them shoot-"

Suddenly, there was a loud knock on the door. All the Shishigumi members immediately grabbed their weapons. All of them were ready to fight, not letting anyone take this place away from them. This place that they had grown to love all in their own ways.

"Do you think they're back already? The Madragumi?"

"Just have that gun ready, Agata," replied Sabu.

There was another knock on the door.

"Ibuki, what's the plan here?" Free had his gun drawn as well, carefully aimed at the door.

"I don't know, Free. Besides, we don't even know if it's really them."

"Why would the Madragumi even bother knocking on the door? What's the point? They know we're weak right now, and their best course of action would be a surprise attack," Dolph pointed out.

Ibuki considered this for a moment, "That- That's actually a good point... Why bother alerting us to their presence when they could just bust in guns blazing. Besides, it worked for those kids..."

"Well, what do you suggest we do?" asked Free.

"Answer the door, Free. But keep your guard up in case it really is them."

As ordered, Free carefully approached the front door. Everyone else was at full alert, ready to pull their triggers at a moment's notice. Taking a deep breath, Free pulled it open.

What greeted them was far from expected. In the doorway stood a small, hooded animal, its head only reaching the lion's chest. It wore a white hood above its black uniform, indicating the place of its origin. It was the uniform that solely members of the old back-alley butchers wore. They were an old group of animals that would run the supply lines for the shops. They helped manage it since the very beginning of the black market.

"I have a letter for the Shishigumi." The animal spoke in a slightly gruff tone, indicating an older age.

"A letter from who, exactly?" Free asked, stepping closer to the animal that didn't recoil or change his stance in the slightest. It proved that the courier sent was already part of the butchers for a long enough time to lose the natural instinct to run away from larger animals.

"The sender signed the letter with their name." The small animal handed Free the letter, turned around, and left the building. Disappearing as quickly as it had appeared.

"What was that all about?" asked Ibuki once Free had returned.

"You might want to take a look at this. A letter from a... Mr. Tokugawa by the looks of it."

"Never heard of him. Let's take a closer look at this, shall we?"

All the other lion's united in a close circle around Ibuki as he read the letter aloud.

Dear great lions of the Shishigumi,

I am Mr. Tokugawa. I understand that, as of late, you have been subjected to some rather dire circumstances. I have certain resources that may be of interest to you in order to help you in this predicament. Furthermore, I want to give you a second chance. The chance to restore your name as the so-called "King of Beasts." Please allow me to provide you with an invitation to join me at my current residence for a dinner where we may be able to further discuss things in more detail.

Your new friend, Tokugawa

"The hell is this? Looks like there's an address on the back as well..." spoke Ibuki.

"Could be a trap, ya know?" Free pointed out.

"You're right, but a part of me is rather curious to know more about this Tokugawa guy... Besides, when's the last time we all had a good meal?"