Author's Note: Hello Lads and Ladies

This fine day here I come telling you of the great fun that DnD has become in my life. I really love the game even if it needs some time to get used to the complexities.

But honestly, on this morning I am typing up this author's note before posting my head is not filled with too many thoughts. I have come to the conclusion that I cannot enjoy the Beastars Anime anymore. Knowing where it ends, all the episodes causing this feeling of nostalgia feels like a weird punch to the gut. Like Paru teasing us with something satisfying and in the end giving us nothing.

In Better news all of you. I think by summer this year we'll finally start season 3. There isn't too much waiting to happen in this story. The finale is getting close close closer. Chapter 30: A deal for a traitor is in the works, ushering in the last 10-15 chapter stretch of this story. I hope you all enjoyed the ride. We're finishing this soon enough.

Edited by: SuperAverageFoxyboy, Some random reader32

Enjoy!

-Portal

Chapter 29: Joys of the Carnivore kind

Marching down the vast and notorious hallway of the mansion Ibuki's mind began to wander a bit further back from the timeline of events.

There was a superstition among members of the Feline genome. A superstition of precognition, prophesying your own death. Most old cats ordered caskets for themselves before their time would come a few days later.

There was a moment a few weeks before Chief met his end. They were on a supply run in the city, late at night as always. He and Free had stopped close to the city train stop, overlooking the side of the city. They had taken a small smoking pause and this utterly dark and cold feeling ran over him like cold hands over his skin. His entire undercoat felt cold, his mane being the only place that retained some form of warmth.

"Felt the wind blow you over didn't you, haha, I told you it's getting cold." Free's comment didn't concern him, for the feeling in itself was so severely alien that he nearly wanted to call the doctor when he had time to do so. Never once had he felt such a feeling in his life. Not even when someone came close to buying him in the meat camps of youth, a practice that Tokugawa's reign had set an end to in the entire underbelly of the city. Upon maybe his request or maybe just Tokugawa's morals, he wasn't sure. What he knew was that the creeping feeling back then could have been that dark sense of precognition, of knowing things before they would come.

That night he dreamed of dark figures consuming him, sharp alien fangs digging into his shoulders. Weeks later he would clutch his bandaged shoulder as the Back Alley Butcher Messenger knocked on their door.

Ibuki stopped in front of the door, his men behind him coming to a halt as well. He turned around for his gang to see him. Men of courage and of pain, all in vain we shall rise.

"You all are the reason why I am proud to stand here. You have done amazing work, and credit where it's due, I would be nothing without you all behind me." Ibuki adjusted his glasses, looking into the many faces.

Free was smirking yet wise enough to keep his mouth shut. Jinma, Miguel and Sabu had serious looks in their eyes, as they always did. Dolph, Hino and Dope looked self-assured, smiling at their leader. Agata looked happy, safe among his brethren, even if he was a bit nervous.

"Now Brothers… Let's extend them our appreciation, for the stupid yet courageous act they've done." He turned around towards the white door. The door that ushered in the new so beloved era of life, and would continue to be a place of strength for his kin. With a deep breath, he pushed open the door and felt the light enveloping him.

The Lions entered the vast Dining hall, Tokugawa standing in the center before the half table already full of members of the company that had stormed the barricades. The Shishigumi, kings of the back alley, stood among themselves unsure of what to do next.

Tokugawa with his god-given grace ushered the leading man to his side. Ibuki moved forward to his Boss's side, the bizarre feeling of not knowing what to say seeping through the layers of his mind. Every person had a mechanism in place against people actively attacking one's identity, yet the only way said mechanism can be beaten would be simply from causing change to come from the inside out. And at that moment, Ibuki looking down on children that changed his life more than any decision before had ever done, his entire character laid bare beneath his watchful mind and he was at an impasse for a moment.

"This right here is Ibuki, he's the one that requested this meeting-" The talking of his Boss drowned out in the background as he felt like the world around him lost all semblance of reality. If he pulled a hat and a cane out from his back to break into a whimsical dance he wouldn't be too surprised. The reason behind this moment of pondering his own existence wasn't brought on by repetition, it wasn't a moment of looking at one's life and asking the question of why one tries the same thing over and over again expecting a different outcome.

What could he give to change the lives of these kids in any meaningful way? A crook steadily growing older was rarely the wise figure that the youth looked up to. And yet here they were, an old crook and the face of the new age. They couldn't be older than 18, the whole lot of them. Where was he when he was 18?

Tokugawa petted his shoulder, smiling at him. The center stage was all his. The lion looked down for a moment and then at the table in front of him.

"When I was 17, I shot someone…" The lion spoke and the entirety of the room seemed to grow even more silent than it already was. His brethren showed faces of Empathy, the pack faces of uncertainty, and Tokugawa himself of genuine surprise. The young-lings were absolutely honed in on him.

"It was turf takeover, and a leopard had shot and killed a friend in front of me. So I took out my pistol and shot him until the magazine was empty. As the rest of my comrades were pulling me away from the scene my finger was still pressing down on the trigger, the clicking of the empty chamber still sometimes going through my head." He took a small pause to let his story set in properly.

"As a feline, I am inclined to believe in a few superstitions, namely that we often know when we will die before we do. But you kids… I am not at all sure what to make of you… At such a young age you left your well-adjusted lives in the safety of your walls to do something so truly heroic. While I during my teens learned the bitter lesson of self-preservation…" The second pause was a bit longer, Ibuki himself pondering where exactly he was going with this. He smiled in recollection of something.

"Where I grew up, I believed in the sentiment that there was eat or be eaten. The vilest connection between beings, either both of you connecting over running away or both of you connecting over the endless hunt… I was never more happy to be proven so wrong by an unlikely bunch of figures." He grabbed into his pocket and held out a pistol magazine. He felt the weight in his hand, the stainless black metal casing feeling calming against his palm. He looked at them, guilt in his eyes.

"When I didn't know how positive the fall of our Chief would be I admit I felt anger. Hatred even against you. And with superstition, I of course hatched a plan." He emptied the magazine into his hand, the small metal projectiles pressing up against each other. It was exactly five in number, each of the small caliber bullets having a letter ingrained in them. He stepped forward to the table, letting the teens gaze into his open hand. He grabbed the first, a D engraved into it.

"For the courageous leader," He held up the bullet for Louis to see and reached his hand out. Louis looked at him dumbly for a second before holding his hand open.

"For the Tiger with the tremendous right hook" As Ibuki laid the bullet in the tiger's hands the T being a dark Grey stain on the bullet's casing, Jinma emerged from the Shishigumi and walked to the table.

He rummaged through his coat, his hand emerging with a hunting knife in its scabbard. He silently placed it in front of him and then took a few steps back again beside his boss. When Bill inspected the knife, easing it out of its cover, the letter T was carved into the midsection, neatly and big enough to be read with ease.

Bill looked at the lion standing closely behind his leader. Jinma dipped down to a bow, leaving the tiger a bit surprised.

Then came Free placing his bullet in front of the tiger, then Miguel then Dolph, and then even more. When all the bullets were placed the pile in front of the tiger was enough to fill a ten-shot magazine.

Ibuki picked the next bullet.

"For the wolf harboring a great beast." As with Bill, Legosi's pile was a bit bigger. It seemed that those that had been more notorious in the fight had bigger piles automatically. Ibuki picked out the next bullet.

"For the Wolfess with monstrous Courage." He placed the bullet in front of her.

"To tell you the truth, my shoulder still hurts." He smiled at her, Juno holding her face in shock.

"I'm so sorry." Juno apologized. The lion just shook his head.

"You protected your own, there's nothing to be sorry about."

With the last bullet in his hand, he turned towards the small white rabbit looking up at him with the same look she had that night. The weird balance of survival instinct and yet, total nonchalant about mortality. The magazine sank into his pocket, the bullet between his thumb and index finger.

"To you, I want to express my deepest apologies for what nearly happened to you. Chief's fixation on White furred animals had grown to become a superstitious obsession… the bad side of a superstitious species." He placed the bullet in front of her and reached into his suit jacket.

The object that emerged was a dry white in the light of the room. He presented the fang to her. Once Haru fully saw the loose tooth, Ibuki opened his mouth, revealing the upper left fang missing. The whole table was utterly silent, remaining still even when Ibuki closed his mouth again.

"If we give you all the ammunition meant to kill you, so is the fang only right for you." He turned the fang, revealing the striking R carved into the back of the tooth.

The assorted instruments of murder laid on the table before the crowd of Teens. They all looked up at the Lion, who just now looked at the sheep.

"I'm afraid I never even knew you were involved." When the low voice of the Lion sounded out Pina seemed to sink into his chair again, he didn't seem to like this type of spotlight.

"He's a guest on our account. We brought him here for reasons mentioned later." Louis sprang in just as the occasion arose, proving again how well he had prepared for the entire thing.

"I was only curious." Ibuki justified himself and looked at the table in fullness again. Bullets where there were plates used to be. They glistened in the light of the chandelier hanging above the room.

"To come back to the point at hand… you might ask yourself what to do with the items in front of you." His mind wandered to the first time he held a pistol. Fourteen years old, just barely old enough to hold a steady hand when aiming. It was a feeling of power that nothing would ever beat. Not even losing his virginity a few years later would come close to the experience of holding a weapon in his hand strong enough to wipe out life with the press of the index finger. For a creature stereotyped to be murderous, he had to admit that the feeling of power was divine.

"I want you to keep those things in front of you, making sure to keep them close. These fragments of destruction are what make us different from one another, what makes you great and us just… a bunch of mafia men. Those weapons are a testament to what your collective courage achieved." Ibuki held his hands in front of him.

"They are a sign that what you do has a reason behind it. Keep on being courageous, you'll achieve great things."

He concluded his speech and walked back to his Boss. The white-suited Cougar once again petted him on his shoulder. Pride in his employees' character. Silent, halfway in thought, and yet still centered, and in the present the Mob boss took a step forward and took on the role of Host again.

"I think it's time for the main course."


When the ice was broken and the bullets and fangs along with the knife had been put into little bags for safe travels, the tables were pushed together and the conversations started to become deeper and deeper.

What every member of the group started to notice, even Pina who at first felt like an outsider was that the members all were wise in their own way. They had seen things they would surely encounter in their lives, and their advice was to be cherished and to be taken to heart.

When dessert was served, Bottles were served too. The Shishigumi itself began drinking instantly, the younglings at the table uncertainly looked on. The host was quick to react to their questioning faces.

"Tonight is a night where the lines between youth and adulthood are blurred. I'll leave the choice to you if you wish to take a gander. The opportunity is all yours."

Funnily enough, the first to drink was Pina, who seemed acclimated to alcohol already. He poured into his glass with a shaking hand, his nervosity getting to a peak now. He swallowed the first glass as if it was water from the tap. He ignored the flabbergasted faces of his company, the shake in his core not going away.

Louis was the second, enjoying wine as he did during dinners with his father.

Bill was the third, drinking mostly to taste the fine things of this house and feel himself calm down. He concluded that a single glass was enough for his purposes, feeling himself unwind.

Haru of course didn't even dare to think about drinking alcohol. The life growing within was still at the forefront of her mind.

Juno and Legosi contemplated the choices for a while and then decided to give it a try. For the sake of living in the current turmoil, it seemed like the right thing to do.

The first glassed downed Louis and Haru had talked again, with every second word leaving Louis mouth being a variation of "I won't abandon you, neither of you.". It gave her solace among the shock.

Pina had broken out into tears, the facade of being calm breaking down in a violent crash, flooding the fur under his eyes. And in an interesting turn of events, it was Bill to come to console the dall-sheep. After a while, the emotionally drained yet loose Tiger even managed to make the crying sheep smile.

More glasses of the alcoholic delicacy were drunk, albeit Bill refraining from drinking more than one, and the wolves played music on their phones dancing in the vast dining hall, having eyes for no one but each other.

Bill had joined the other side of the room, conversing with the many lions of different facets who swallowed him up as if he was a brother of kin all along. Many wisdoms of battle were shared, and even more of life choices, none of which included becoming mafia men. The lions had enough self-respect and humility to accept the fact that their occupation wasn't ideal in any situation.

Pina and Haru sat together, talking about Life's ups and downs in their mirrored lives. Both were objects of desire that had quite the experience of using the bedroom to cope with one of life's great challenges. As the Lions advised Bill, so did Haru advise the sheep.

The room was filled with laughter, conversation, and the sound of a balanced mixture between oldies and modern music playing over Legosi's phone. Louis smiled to himself as he looked at the room in front of him, noticing just faintly the large white shape casually waltzing over to his chair.

"Admiring the view from afar? Some habits and reservations need the longest to break." The large cougar placed a chair beside his and gracefully sat down cross-legged.

"I can imagine a man like you would know, A company's heartbeat is more important than one's own." The buck spoke true words Tokugawa found. He leaned forward, his elbows resting on his knees.

"I, unfortunately, do know exactly what you're talking about. Animals like us know most of all. But there is one thing that is a little mystery to me, normally I don't see herbivore company heirs being friends with wolves. Something's different about you…" Tokugawa's question caused the young buck to laugh, leaning backward. It was one of those truly delightful laughs that tickled the stomach, Louis clutching his stomach tightly.

"Oh trust me I may not be normal but I am not the special one between Legosi and I." Louis continued to laugh, looking at the wolf with a memory in his mind of the wolf hugging him tight after nearly catching him going at it in the practice room. Tokugawa listened intently even through the entire laugh attack, the deer calming down now.

"That wolf there-" He pointed at Legosi adorned in his blue suit, guiding his lady over the dance floor. "-that wolf befriended me with his charms that I never could have seen coming. He was the one that managed to put this whole group together… I might look like the leader but I'm only managing what he constructs. I would follow him to hell and back… he's got a pure heart."

Louis thought back to a moment where he thought he was Virgil leading them down to hell. That's not how it was. They were following him while he was leading them paths he didn't even know about. A Blind Angel following Rex's path without even knowing it.

"So that wolf befriended you and built up this whole company?… you might be the most extraordinary group of friends I've ever seen." The cougar's observation made the buck smile.

"That's Legosi to you, Mister Tokugawa. The wolf who harbors peace inside." Louis continued to observe his friends, feeling good about the situation. It took him another second to realize who he was talking to, but before he could use the opportunity the Cougar spoke once more.

"I'm sorry about the whole ordeal with the Letter. I had to contact you somehow, and I might have resources allowing me to find you at school… but who would trust someone who suddenly knows everything right? I thought your father would be the one way you wouldn't immediately think I was a lost mobster looking for revenge."

"I can understand sir. But don't worry, My father's reaction was surprisingly mild." Louis stopped himself before talking about the matter he actually came here to talk about. It might be a pressing matter but he thought that a conversation with Tokugawa would be very valuable to anyone. In so many ways everyone liked to forget that there was a difference between Intelligence and Wisdom. Just by having the understanding of something didn't mean you were a good teacher.

"How is the relationship between you and your father?… I don't mean to sound nosy but I have some experience with how strained a father-son relationship can become in a company family. A terrible shame it always is." Tokugawa spoke into Louis's heart and soul, in many ways echoing his own words back at him, yet with fine-tuned precision and accuracy.

"I don't think I'd tell you anything you didn't figure out on your own. It's distant, I'm kept more as a pet. An achievement to be hung up on a wall like a painting instead of one of kin." His voice nearly broke at the last bit of the sentence, his body wanting to reject the common courtesy of keeping the fact secret that he was-

"I know about much more than that. I know about number four." The deer turned to the cougar, shocked by the herbivore's features. The cougar in turn just smiled back a fatherly smile of understanding.

"I know that number four doesn't exist anymore, and that as it goes they've grown into a strong young Buck." he lightly rested his hand on his shoulder, a gesture between friends.

"I wanted to keep the common sense of not addressing what I already know about all of you even if I know things I shouldn't. But number four's disappearance was in my archives all along… I'm required by company protocol to keep track of everything." He crossed his arms in front of his chest, with his face turned to the floor, his eyes striking up at the Deer. He chuckled out loud, leaning back again.

"How long did you know?" If Louis wasn't already well versed in speaking under pressure he would've surely stammered.

"The morning after I delivered the letter. My main bookkeeper had noticed a curiosity while researching your background. When I arrived back home from a few business trips, the inventory list of the life stock tower was on my desk. I'll spare you the details of how long I dug through the archives for a spring cleaning, but there was one year when one notch in the chart was missing. Number four had been sold for seven million yen without any buyer noted down, which is part of protocol if you understand.-" He sighed, leaning back against the chair rest again. "-So I knew someone was paid off to scratch the buyer name from the inventory. And it just so happened four was a red deer fawn… Infertility is a misfortune that saved your life."

The sentence careened through the conversation and toppled down on all of Louis's serenity.

"I never… thought of it that way." The bitter irony of Louis's offspring now hurt even more. Infertility may have saved my life, but it failed to save my child's life.

He felt a hand on his shoulder, gently squeezing. Another one of those father like gestures of comfort. The thought that this practical stranger had extended more parental gestures than his actual guardian crossed his mind. It hurt strong enough for his thoughts to stop for a moment, circling around that fact.

"I'm sorry for being so tactless and putting all I know on the table but I hate dishonesty. And lying to honored house guests is a cardinal sin. Most of all youths nonetheless." Tokugawa rested his hands on his knees again, looking at the deer from the side with a nurturing view.

"I'm sorry I'm just… taken aback by how much you know." Louis once again nearly stammered, the process of regaining his grip costing energy. Louis found that breathing out this time felt different. He felt a certain air of superiority fleeing the scene. His breath was no longer accompanied by the thought that he was an impostor and that he had to have grace next to an elder. They were equal now.

"Because I have the chance… I would like to ask you something." Louis looked over at the Cougar who was still attentively listening to every word of the buck.

"Do you perhaps know-" What would it bring you?

He physically couldn't continue his sentence. Even if he could answer you, tell you who and where they are, what would it bring you? Do you think they'd call you in with loving embraces? You're setting yourself up for disappointment with this one.

"To ease your curiosity I can't. Parental names were never enlisted in my charts." Tokugawa read his mind, the deer finding the ability of uncovering and finishing the thoughts of others almost a bit eerie.

"Well then…" Ease for a trauma such as deep as this wasn't so easy to come by, but at least it gave him solace that even if in his weakest moments he wouldn't find them. What they had in store for him would be nothing but pain in any case. Another question replaced his original one

"Does the Life stock tower still exist?" Instead of guilt written into his heart, this question only caused a terrible uncertainty of the answer. The answer that Tokugawa would give now was a deciding factor if Louis would be able to request help in handling with Riz. The cougar simply smiled.

"Not for years. It's a funny thing to me how little the gumi's noticed it. But the mortality rates of Life stock operations have gone up drastically."

"And why is that?" Asked Louis, now speaking with curiosity in mind instead of gauging his character.

"No matter how much we try to stay out of politics, at some point you have to step up and take responsibility for your actions. We feed off the dead and the remains of the injured. We can't change the fact that we do that, what we can change though is the fact that we eat innocent children…" Anger burned in his eyes as he exposed his bright white shining fangs. He was recalling a moment of the past in a way that Louis could plainly see.

"So we made new rules on our properties, because as most people forget, it's our names written into the city's property registries. Now of course they were some that refused… so we lined them up and executed them… One has to remember that this business is written in blood on pages bound in pelt." The rage burned for a second and then flickered back into the gentle eyes of a wise man who had seen things that gave the average animal nightmares.

"Those deaths were deserved. We gave them ample chances… but it made the message clear, life stock handlers will be found and gunned down. And they realized as much before we even took over the gumi's."

Louis admired the Cougar, but this time not for his being a superior creature of nature. This time he admired a character that seemed to be as wise as time itself.

"Well, Mister Tokugawa… knowing your values are pure… I'd like to share our peril with you." Louis raised himself and looked and began explaining.

"We know the identity of the Killer on Cherryton school grounds. The person responsible for inciting violence and tension across the city. And we are looking to lure him into a trap… so we ask you for a favor if you'd grant us one."

"Anything for the most extraordinary animals I have ever met." Tokugawa granted the buck's wishes with a compliment that rather weirdly satisfied the buck. Being complimented by a mob boss… That's an accomplishment to be proud of.

"Is there a way for us to contact you? We might need your help in case our plan has any problems we didn't foresee."

"What is your plan? Who do you even know that you truly have the right suspect?" Tokugawa asked with more caution than doubt. It was apparent there was mutual respect between the chairs here.

"That's more precisely why we brought Pina over there." He motioned towards the bright white Dall sheep. "He's been almost attacked by the killer, got away only because somebody walked into the bathroom before he could start devouring him."

Tokugawa's eyes narrowed. "The Cherryton Killer is getting quite daring in his attempts hasn't he?…"

"I think it's the time. Because of his actions, predation has risen and everyone is feeling the consequences. We want to lure him into a trap, where he confesses and we'll call the police on him. But for some reason I have the uneasy feeling that something is just waiting to go wrong… so, as you have presented yourself to us, I have decided to ask you for help. As it seems our actions concerning the shishigumi have helped you out a lot, now we want you to return the favor." After Louis finished Tokugawa called his trusty fox servant over to his position. He whispered something to Anno who in turn disappeared through the service door.

A few moments later the refreshment carts rolled in, followed by Anno rolling a cart with a chilled bottle, two glasses, and a silvery object on it. The other carts positioned Speakers around the room, one attendant alerting the wolves, who energetically took the chance to play their music loudly.

As Billy and The Dominoes Sixty minute man started playing on the speakers, Tokugawa handed the buck the small flip phone.

"It's a burner phone… in my business, it's not good to have direct contact between your more vulnerable associates. Send me a message in need and dispose of it afterward." He turned around to the cart again, Louis curiously flipping the phone open. The phone had a single contact simply titled [M]. He pocketed the small communications device and saw the cougar with filled glasses in hand.

"But now I want to share some of my best with you. My guests are holy to me, so I shall give you my best." With full appreciation, the buck cheered the Cougar and drank some very fine wine. As Louis enjoyed the last hour of the evening he thought to himself that tonight was a shocking but still good night. No doubt about it.


Drunk and without inhibition the two wolves stuck to each other like glue, stumbling up the stairs.

As it had turned out, the alcohol had turned both of them into mushy and sentimental idiots that wanted nothing more but to stay by each other every waking moment.

When they reached their personal quarters, the door closed shut and the curtains pulled just enough to block the outside view into the shack; the wolfess came to a halt as Legosi took his jacket off.

The wolf loosened his tie and began the treacherously slow task of unbuttoning his shirt. Before he could fully comprehend what was happening, the wolf shook with delight as his nostrils clogged up in the sweet Rose flavor of Juno's desire.

"Let me… do that for you." Her voice slurred, her eyes striking like glistening silver daggers and her voice was a sweet heaven on the mortal realm.

Their eyes met each other and the earth stood still for a while. For them, it stood still throughout the entire night, every touch, every kiss, and every embrace in the moment of pure togetherness. They fell asleep when it struck two in the morning, wrapped around each other like rope ends tied to a knot. There was no place where they belonged but right here, together in each other's arms.