Here we go, Chapter 13.
Big thanks to MrShurukan for improving my writing with his sharp eyes once again.
Hope you still enjoy it a little 😉
Beastars – Into the spotlight
Chapter 13 – The rage of a dragon
POV Legoshi
I just had sneaked out of Juno´s dorm and was about to get back to my own one, as I suddenly got stopped in the hallway.
"Legoshi!" he called me by my first name, which wondered me a little since he never did that before, "Can I talk to you for a second, please?"
I nodded with a shrug of my shoulders and he quickly pulled me with him into one of the smaller side halls. Then I just noticed it: He had bruises all over his face and big scratches on his arms as well. His body-language looked quite weak in general, so I assumed he had been in a big fight just recently.
"What happened to you?" I asked in surprise.
"He found out I told you about it…" he told me lowly, "…don't worry! I´m sure you didn´t prattle it, I guess it was too obvious from the start…"
"Shit…" I sighed lowly.
That slight foreboding that I´ve already had coming up turned out to be just what happened.
And after that quite relaxed Sunday afternoon I spent with Juno, this really was the last thing I needed. That looked like trouble already.
"…he…he" Sebastian stuttered lowly, "…he said he´ll do it again if I tell somebody about it!"
I nodded understandingly.
I could literally feel the fear he was in right now. It seemed like he really was here to ask me for protection.
"So that coward of a Tiger really needed to show his strength by beating up a little fox? Is he scared of me or why didn´t he come to me personally for that?"
"I´m totally fucked up" he said, and it almost sounded like he was crying a little, "…he´s going to kill me!"
He really was scared to death. That look on his face was unmistakable. That coward of a tiger really used the advantage of his size over him.
I already felt this incredible rage building up inside me again.
"Is that idiot never going to learn?"
"Are you sure it was him?" I asked him lowly.
"Y-Yeah…" he said, "He told me that´s what I deserve for snitching him like that."
I put my right hand onto one of his shoulders carefully, and I could tell that that already relaxed him a little bit.
"I´ll take care of this" I told him, "I promise, he won´t be touching you again. You saved us from a massive catastrophe for our premiere…"
He nodded, but he didn´t seem quite sure about this somehow.
"T-the…the baking soda was my idea…" he told me low and fearfully now, and that explained why he still was so nervous.
"What?!" I asked, pulling my hand away from his shoulder.
"…h-he wanted to put chocolate into it first!" he quickly explained, "…like…real chocolate!"
That just made me gasp for a second. Now it all made sense to me again: That fox really saved me!
"But did Bill really try to kill me?"
I just kept on shaking my head disbelief.
"…I never wanted him to pull me into this!" Sebastian explained lowly, "I´m so sorry for everything that happened!"
"It´s kinda understandable that he didn´t want to tell me about this earlier. He probably was just as scared of me as he was of Bill. At least on a physical level."
I nodded with an understanding little smirk and wordlessly got a step closer towards him now. Then I hugged him carefully. I knew that wasn´t really his style, but it seemed to be alright right now, apparently.
"I…I…" he said, really being on the verge of crying, "I have a competition tomorrow…but now…now I can´t because I´m all messed up!"
I just patted his back a little more carefully.
"I´ve trained for this for weeks!"
"I´m sorry" I told him lowly, "I really am. And I´m gonna make him pay for that. I promise."
He nodded slightly.
"Thank you" he said lowly. It still sounded like he was crying a little, but he also seemed relieved he got all that off his chest now, "Thank you so much!"
Even he seemed to see me as some sort of hero now I believed, but I wasn't sure how I should handle this situation without it getting weird right now.
I was happy I was cool with him now, but he almost seemed to be a little too attached to me already. Like I was some sort of father figure to him or something like that.
"You know what?" I asked him with a little chuckle, as he still kept on hugging me, "…apparently, the girls really fancy a few battle-wounds on a guy´s body…"
He just nodded with a little sigh and a shrug of his shoulders. I had anticipated some sort of ironic comment like: "Yeah, yeah, little show off…" or something like that, and I would have been fine with it if it lifted his mood a little, but apparently, he didn´t even need something like that right now. It seemed like he didn´t want to mark the coolest kid on the yard anymore.
The question he asked me instead surprised me a little though.
"How can you be so nice to me?" he wanted to know, "After all I´ve done to you?"
"You mean…" I asked with an ironic little smile, "…you mean after all you´ve tried to do to me?"
"Yeah…" he chuckled with a more optimistic little smirk now.
"…truth is…" I sighed, "…I´ve been hated and feared all my life. I know what that feels like just too well. Now I´m being seen as one of the cool kids, and that just doesn´t feel right either. I just want to live my life, not getting into any trouble with anyone. You know…I´ve always enjoyed being in the drama-club, even before they forced me to play Romeo-"
"What, really?" he asked in surprise, "They forced you?"
"They needed a wolf for Juliet" I confirmed with a little smirk.
"You´ve never played on stage before and delivered a show like that?!"
"I was just as surprised by that as everyone else" I affirmed with a nod, "…but I never thought it could be this much fun to be on stage."
He nodded respectfully. "Still waters run deep sometimes, don't they?"
I nodded with a shrug of my shoulders.
"…anyways…" I got back to topic, "…I never wanted to start a fight with anybody. There is no point in that."
"So…why did that thing with Bill escalate so massively?"
"He had been promised a lead role after Romeo and Juliet."
"What?! That´s what that was about? …I thought this was about you fucking his ex…"
I shook my head quickly.
"…well, that too probably, …but it was mostly about the drama-club wanting me to play the role of Volpone instead of him. But since I didn´t actually want to do it, they still insisted on a vote…and then they voted."
He nodded understandingly.
"Why is he so mad about it?" he wanted to know, "You outclass him on stage in every single way…"
I just shrugged my shoulders and shook my head with an ironic little sigh. They all kept saying that, but I wasn´t quite sure if it was justified.
"Stop being so humble about it" he chuckled, shaking his head as well, "You´re a freaking beast and you know it. And it´s no wonder the girls come running after you!"
I still shook my head a little, smiling at him with an amused little smirk. "Does it really bother you that much?"
He shook his head slowly. "It bothers me that I was such an idiot to you! And also that you´re such a great guy that it almost turns me on thinking about it…" he confessed.
"What?" I chuckled.
"When you kneeled over Juno in the show…with those wild eyes and that mischievous little smirk…" he said, "…I have to confess, that turned me on a little. That was freaking hot…"
I still couldn't help but shake my head with a little smile.
"Is he going to confess his love to me in a minute or why is he doing that?"
"Come on" I said, "You don't have to do that. Bill won´t hurt you any further, I promise. I´m gonna make a scene he won´t ever forget if I meet him next time."
"What´s your plan?" he asked, waving it off with a little smile now.
"I´ll use my image and force him to apologize. To you, to me, to Aoba and to the entire drama-club. And then I´ll apologize as well. I want this nonsense to end, finally."
"And if he doesn't apologize?"
"He´ll find out where that gets him" I said, looking him right in the eyes for another moment.
I could tell he was serious about this, but I was serious about this as well. No matter how much I wanted to bring all that behind me, I couldn´t let Bill get away with this.
"Trust me…" I told him, patting his shoulders once more with a chummy smile, before I went on my way towards my dorm again, "…he´ll pay for this."
POV Haru
"Come on, talk to me already! What is really going on?" I asked him just as coldly as before he tried to change the topic, "Louis, talk to me!"
He just looked at me with a confused expression. I wasn´t quite sure if he was acting stupid on purpose or not, but he wouldn´t be getting away with it either way.
"Why was Sebastian all beat up and crying in the garden yesterday?"
"Oh what do I know?" he acted clueless, "That idiot tries to gets into a fight with everybody he meets!"
"He was scared for his life" I told him, shaking my head, "I saw him shaking, blood was running down his face! His arms were all scratched up like he had been fighting with a-"
"What do I know who he starts messing with? He even messed with a wolf, you´ve seen it yourself!"
"Legoshi is not violent! Not like that!"
He nodded a little bit, agreeing to that statement, but it still didn´t seem like he wanted to tell me more. I had a little foreboding however.
"…this has something to do with that tiger, hasn´t it?"
That seemed to shock him a little bit, so I couldn't be that wrong.
"Don't look at me like at a pair of headlights!" I told him coldly, carefully pushing him off of me now, because he was becoming really heavy in the meanwhile, "I know about him getting kicked out of the drama club!"
"If I…" he said in a dark tone, laying himself onto his back as well now, "If I told you about that, and he would find out that I did, he might do the very same to me."
"You know I never tell secrets about anyone!" I told him loudly, "You know that since you came here for the first time, holding your Antlers in your hands and bleeding on your head! So please cut the bullshit and talk to me!"
"This guy is just unbelievable sometimes!"
"He beat him up because he snitched Bill´s plan to mess up the premiere" he finally talked truth now.
"What?!" I asked in surprise about that news.
"And I had a friendly conversation and even sex with that Idiot? He beats up a little fox because of revenge he wanted to take on Legoshi?"
"That moron doesn´t have himself under control anymore…" Louis explained, nodding a little, "…there has grown a deep hatred inside of him. But…"
He seemed really concerned about something now.
"But what?" I wanted to know.
"…but I promised to help him and also scare Legoshi away from becoming a Beastar…"
"You did what!?"
"…it´s not as easy as you think! Legoshi is in real danger!"
"Just what are you talking about?"
"Yeah, he is in danger when that Tiger gets out of control again!"
"It´s not just Bill…" he sighed, shaking his head now, "I´ve seen what it´s like to become a Beastar, and carnivores have a lot of enemies. The school only knows the good side of the medal..."
"Why doesn´t somebody report this to the principal?" I asked, "Bill would get kicked off the school for something like that!"
"Legoshi doesn´t want that. He still feels sorry for him. He wants to apologize for stealing his lead-role and everything else he did…Legoshi is a good guy, I gotta give him that…"
"That wolf still is one single mystery. Still so humble and generous. Maybe Louis was right, Legoshi was not the type to be a Beastar. He is too forgiving and too less self-conscious for that. …on the other hand, he did sleep with his ex-girlfriend, so he isn´t that innocent either…"
"What is your plan?" I asked him after a short moment of thoughtful silence.
"I need to give Legoshi a little taste of what that´ll be like…" he sighed.
"A little taste?" I asked curiously.
"Don´t worry, he survived worse things…" he waved it off.
"Whatever you do…please be careful" I told him, "Legoshi really is a good guy, he doesn´t deserve to get punished."
He nodded slowly. At least he was still taking me seriously. But now it seemed like he wanted to leave already. He got out of the bed and began dressing himself slowly but surely.
I took a look at the clock and noticed that we had been talking for quite a while in the meanwhile.
"I´m gonna have to leave you now" he said lowly, already grabbing the handle of the door, "I have to take care of a few things."
"Be careful" I told him, waving after him with a little smirk.
"See you later…" he said lowly, before he closed the door behind him.
POV Legoshi
"Hey Legoshi?" he asked, "Where are you off to again?"
"Oh, just getting some dinner with Juno" I explained while pulling my last good shirt over my head.
He nodded understandingly.
"What about you? You´re looking good…"
"Me?" he smiled nervously, "…Anita´s parents are in town and they´ve invited us into this new fancy restaurant down the road…"
"Oh" I said, not able to hide a little grin, "…that sounds nice."
"Yeah…" he said, "…but I´m also a little nervous…"
Just by the way he was looking at himself in the mirror I could tell how serious he was about this. But I could understand him well, he was so happy ever since he was with Anita, and he surely didn´t want to mess this up tonight.
"Come on" I told him with a little wink, patting his shoulder chummily, "…they´ll love you!"
That at least widened his smile a little bit.
"She told me they´re pretty nice…" he said with a shrug of his shoulders, "…I just hope I don't mess anything up."
"Come on" I told him once again, "I know a thing or two about messing things up…you´re gonna be fine! And what is there to mess up anyway?"
He nodded in agreement with another little smile.
Then he suddenly changed the topic: "Hey, do you remember that fox who messed with you in the cafeteria?"
I nodded silently. I was curious what he knew about all this and why he was bringing it up right now, but I didn´t want to tell him I that I just met him in the hallway just yet.
"…he came up to me earlier today and apologized for everything. You know, threatening me and so on…"
I nodded once more, showing him a little smirk about that, but still struggled a bit if I should let him in on the whole story or not.
"He didn´t look like he was in a good shape though…" Jack explained, and then his look changed a little all over sudden, "…he…he looked like he got beaten up quite severely…"
I just kept on nodding a little, and still looked me right in the eyes for some reason.
"…this has nothing to do with me asking you to protect me from him, has it?"
"What!?" I asked in surprise, strongly shaking my head now, "No! No, no, don't worry! I would never beat anyone up like that!"
He still looked a little skeptical for some reason. It kinda made sense considering how Sebastian looked like. There were not a whole lot of students at this school who could do that kind of damage. But I still was a little bothered that he thought I would do something like that.
"…it´s the other way around" I explained with a little sigh, "I met him as well just now, he was crying and asking me to protect him as well…"
"Protect him from…who?"
"…Bill" I sighed, putting all my doubts of telling him aside now. He was my best friend after all, who could I talk about this with if not him? "…he forced him to help him sabotage the Volpone premiere…"
"What?! Really?" he asked in total shock, putting his hands in front of his mouth.
"Yeah…but he didn´t want any more trouble with me, so he told me about it just before the show. Bill found out about that and beat him up as a warning yesterday…"
It seemed to make a lot more sense to him now.
"Oh man…" he whispered, "…that´s not good!"
I nodded in agreement. Then followed quite a long pause.
"I have to do something" I sighed, "But I don't know how…"
"Can´t you just talk to the principal about this?" Jack wanted to know, "You have a good connection with him anyway, don't you?"
"Yeah…" I agreed, "But then I would have to tell him everything…and that would get Bill into even more trouble…"
"He beat up another student!" Jack yelled, "He has to get into trouble for that, otherwise he won´t ever be able to become a better person! He probably scared him for life just because of a little disagreement!"
"You´re right…" I sighed, and I couldn´t really say any more about that. He was just right.
"Please, Legoshi" he said, "Promise me to talk to somebody about this, this is not your responsibility. And do it before it´s too late."
I just nodded once again, while he was coming closer towards me and hugged me carefully.
"You´re right" I said once again, "…i´ll talk this over with them."
"You´ve got this" he said with a little nod.
"Thanks, Jack" I told him with a little smile, "You´ve got this too! Have fun at your dinner!"
POV Juno
"I gotta say…" I chuckled, as I watched him eat in a pace as if he hadn't seen any food in three days, "I´m surprised by your stamina time and time again."
He just smiled about that in amusement. He enjoyed those little compliments, but he didn´t like to make a big fuzz about it. I figured he didn´t need any more attention than he had already.
Today, something else seemed to bother him though, but I haven't found out what it was yet.
"…I´m glad all my roommates went home this weekend…" I added, "…could be like that more often if you asked me…"
He nodded silently, taking another fork of potato puree. I took another bit as well, then I looked at him again. This just annoyed me too much.
"What´s bothering you?" I asked, not being able to ignore it any longer.
He hesitated a moment before answering. "…you remember that fox who tried fighting me here in the cafeteria a few weeks ago? Sebastian?"
Of course I remembered him, how could I forget about that.
I nodded carefully, before I asked: "What about him?"
"Don´t tell this to anyone…" he said, checking his surroundings quickly, "…he got beaten up really badly…for telling me about the baking soda he put in the grape juice…"
"What?!" I almost yelled.
He signalized me with his hands to keep my voice down, but that honestly wasn´t that easy for me right now. Hearing this immediately got me on a high alert state of mind.
"…I´ve met him in the hallway earlier" he explained, "He has bruises all over his body. Bill beat him up and used his claws on him as well…"
I just couldn´t believe this. Hearing this got me so angry right now.
"Bill is such a fucking coward!"
"Shit…" I said lowly, "…that fucking idiot!"
He just nodded again, before he grabbed his drink and took another sip.
"What do we do about this?" I asked.
He just shrugged his shoulders with an unsure expression.
"We have to tell the principal about this" I suggested right away, "Bill has to be punished for this!"
He nodded slowly, but he didn't seem to be quite sure about that either. I knew he didn´t want him to get into any more trouble, but we couldn't just watch this happen until something really goes wrong eventually. Bill wasn´t all that innocent either.
This wasn't our immediate problem however.
Legoshi put his glass back down onto the table, took a worryingly long look at it and then shook his head a little.
"Something wrong with your lemonade?"
"Tastes a little odd…" he said with a little nod.
"You think it´s expired?" I asked.
He just shrugged his shoulders, but it back down onto the table and then continued eating as if nothing had ever happened. It didn´t seem to bother him that much for some reason. Maybe he thought it was just him who had some weird taste-buds today.
I however was curious nevertheless and tried a few sips from the drink in his glass.
I didn´t like lemonade too much, normally, but he was right, something was a little odd about this one.
"You´re right" I said after having the taste in my mouth for a couple of moments, "Doesn´t taste quite normal…"
"It´s weird" he said, nodding in agreement, "…I feel like I know this taste, but I can´t recall what from…"
I just shrugged my shoulders. "You can have some of mine if you want, it´s way too much for me anyway."
Just in the moment I said that, something inside my body began feeling a little weird. It was only like a short wave of pain in my stomach, but then it had already faded again. Didn´t seem to be something dramatic.
By far not as dramatic as what happened just a moment later anyway.
"Legoshi!" somebody yelled suddenly, coming running towards us and immediately gaining everybody´s attention. It was Louis, and it really sounded like he was scared and out of breath right now, "It´s Bill! He´s gotten totally out of control!"
"What?!" he asked.
He just pointed at the exit towards the square, "He´s out there behaving really oddly. He looks a little drugged up or something!"
"That sounds so terribly suspicious already. Why would Louis come to Legoshi for something like that?"
"…You´re the only one who can stop him!" Louis told him in slight panic, and that really seemed to work, sadly.
I wanted to warn him that this might be a trap, but Legoshi had already gotten off his seat and followed the deer towards the exit quickly. Just as many others did as well, I got off my seat too and followed them quickly. Nobody wanted to miss out on that, apparently.
When I went through the door, Legoshi had already gotten noticed by the Tiger who was completely out of control, allegedly.
"Oh look who came to save the day again!" he laughed with a disgustingly dirty grin, immediately creating a scene in the yard, "Our great hero Legoshi!"
It was true though, he really looked quite aggressive right now.
"What is this, Bill?" Legoshi asked with a little sigh, still being rather calm right now.
"Let´s call it a little…talk" Bill said, coming a little closer, as three other students suddenly stepped out of the shadows and surrounded him from all sides.
Legoshi just growled at him lowly, but he couldn't react in time before they grabbed him by his arms and neck to hold him in place, and although they really struggled already, he couldn't free himself from their grip either.
At first I wanted to help him, but I felt really sick and weak again all over sudden. It felt like my muscles were slowly cramping up and I felt really dizzy as well. The pain in my stomach was even worse now.
"Something is not right! This feels really bad already. Something was in that Lemonade, I need to warn him!"
But just like all the others, I just remained staring in total shock. Legoshi was all on his own now.
POV Legoshi
They had me cornered from all sides, but they really struggled to keep me in place alone, although they were three and I was alone. But they just managed to do it, while Bill came closer and closer towards me with an angry grin. Louis was right, he really seemed a little but crazier than usual right now. I wasn´t really scared of him though.
"Just why was this taste in my mouth so familiar?" I asked myself once again.
"Look who finally regrets messing with me" Bill told me with a dirty grin, before he suddenly took a swing and punched me in the stomach pretty hard. I flexed all the muscles I had in that area, but it still hurt pretty badly.
I still tried to keep my calm though.
"…I do regret it" I hissed in pain, looking him right in the eyes, "I regret it ever since it happened. I wanted to apologize!"
"Yeah?" Bill yelled loudly, punching me once again, "Why haven´t I ever heard a single word then?"
The crowd seemed to share the pain I felt just from watching. But nobody wanted to stop him as it seemed.
"I offered you peace many times before!" I hissed again, "I never declared war with anybody!"
That actually made him think about it for a moment. There was not much he could say against that statement, and I wasn´t intending to leave it just at that.
"…Sebastian has accepted it as well. Why can´t you?" I asked him loudly, so everybody could hear it.
"That little bitch…" he growled, getting more aggressive once again.
"He was brave enough to sincerely apologize to me for everything he had done. And warned me about you putting backing-soda into the grape juice of our premiere performance!" I got a little louder, trying to free myself from their grip once again, "Are you really that blinded by your rage, Bill?"
Now the whole crowd gasped in surprise. I was pretty sure somebody was filming this with their phones again, and that was exactly what I was counting on. I was done protecting him at this point. This really was his problem now.
"Calm down" he said, still with that stupid superior grin on his face, "…that was just a little prank!"
"A prank?!" I asked furiously, "Yeah? Is it that, a fucking prank? Would you still find that funny if you actually had put chocolate into it?"
Everybody around us held their breaths yet once again when they heard that.
Then it suddenly clicked in my head.
"He tried it again! That´s why that taste in my mouth reminds me of my grandpa! He tried poisoning me with Komodo venom!"
The rage that started rising inside me right now was the worst one I´ve ever felt in my life. He didn't just get himself three people to hold me in place, he even tried weakening me before fighting with me.
But the venom didn´t actually weaken me, which it would have done on any other mammal, I even believed it stirred me up a little.
He would be feeling this now. There was no way around it. That little coward had it coming for a long time, and I had warned him about this.
"Let me be very clear now, Bill" I growled, ignoring the pain in my stomach from his punches, "That fox probably saved you from the worst mistake you´ve ever made. And you repay him by beating him up like a little coward? Making him fear for his life?"
"Shut up!" he yelled, punching me right in the stomach once again, "Shut the hell up! You have messed everything up for me!"
He punched me yet once again and now my vision went blurry for a short moment.
"Everything!" he screamed, "…and that little shit shouldn´t have betrayed me either!"
I ignored the pain once more and just shook my head in utter disappointment. Then I looked him right in the eyes once again.
"I told them you can have that role! You know that, you´ve been there! I´ve agreed to that vote because I thought it was the only fair thing for them! And the rest is all on you! Face it, Bill! …When will you finally learn that you can´t solve it that way?"
Although he listened very closely, that didn´t seem to change his mind. Like a little kid, he wanted to get on with that fight. He just pulled his fist back to punch me again and I had prepared myself for another impact, when something else happened, suddenly.
"Bill" somebody yelled behind him loudly, "Stop!"
It was Louis I was pretty sure, and when my vision was back again, I noticed how he was trying to pull the Tiger away from me.
"Stop! That´s enough! You´re going to kill him!" he yelled, and now for the first time I really thought I heard genuine fear in Louis´ voice.
I didn't feel like I was being killed right now though. I didn't even feel those earlier punches in my stomach anymore. I had a completely different thought on my mind:
"Why was Louis asking him to stop like that? What does he have to do with that? Did he plan this with Bill?"
The rage inside me just kept getting stronger. I noticed how the two jaguars and the black panther really seemed to struggle with holding me in place in the meanwhile. The effect of the venom showed more effect on my body with every second.
Then I noticed from the corner of my eye, that Juno on the other hand was just barely able to stand on her feet for some reason.
"Was the stress too much for her? Why did she look so weak right now? Why-"
"Back off you little bitch!" the Tiger yelled at Louis, pushing him away quite violently. Louis landed on his back quite uncomfortably and Bill immediately focused his attention back on me again. I just had enough of this now. I didn´t want any more people to get hurt.
"That´s enough now, Bill" I thought to myself, "You´re not going to learn otherwise."
"Now you listen very closely to me, Legoshi" he growled, coming closer yet once again, "The game you´re playing ends right here and right now!"
And with that he took another swing at me. He tried to hit my face this time, but just in the right moment I let myself fall down onto the floor by pulling in my legs and Bill´s punch he hit one of the guys who were holding me in place instead of me. It surprised them so much that I could free myself from their grip finally, push them away after I got back up on my feet and get myself into a better position to face the tiger who had punched me in the stomach time and time again. I was free, finally.
They couldn't get a hold of me anymore and Bill couldn't react in time before I kicked his stomach from below with one of my knees. Then I pushed him back as well and quickly rose both of my fists as well.
Now I wasn´t trying to hide the beast inside me anymore. Now the whole school would get to know the real Legoshi.
"What is it, Superstar" Bill asked weakly, holding his stomach for a moment, "You afraid of a little fight? Do you feel weak all over sudden?"
"Come here if you want to fight " I growled at him, "I´m done talking."
"As you wish" he said with an evil grin, coming closer towards me now and preparing himself to take another swing at me. That looked just as pathetic as him trying to poison me to gain advantage in a fight.
I easily blocked his swing with my left arm and pushed him quite a few feet backwards once again.
He looked a little confused about that already, because he probably still thought I was effected by the venom.
I was effected by it, but not in a bad way. I felt like I could lift a car in the air right now.
This time, when he really tried lunging towards me with his claws out, I decided to repay him for all those punches in the stomach he gave me and did the same to him just before he landed on top of me. His body was quite heavy since he was a tiger, but he couldn´t swipe me off my feet nevertheless. I felt something crackling, probably even breaking in his ribcage when I hit it with my fist. He collapsed onto the floor in great pain after that punch, but I immediately pulled him back up onto his feet a moment later.
"Oh no, I´m not done with you yet, you little piece of shit!"
"What is it, you big, tough Tiger?" I growled lowly, really enjoying the fear on his face for a moment, "Not so tough now without any help, huh?"
With that I pushed him away once again and gave him another punch right into his face and sent him right back onto the floor. I was a little surprised how easy it was for me to mess him up right now, but I couldn´t say I didn´t enjoy it to some extent.
He was bleeding from his nose now, and although the crowd and me thought he was done with that, he still managed, with a lot of struggling, to get up onto his feet once again.
Now he didn´t have anything clever to say anymore though. He looked pretty weak already, but he still thought it was a good idea to try attacking me again. I really wanted to get this over with in the meanwhile, but as he insisted on getting on with that fight it, I didn´t have a problem with giving him another taste of my fists.
I prepared myself to punch him in the face once again, but this time I went in on it with everything I´ve got.
"You wanted it like that. Now take it like the little bitch you are!"
The whole world stopped for a second now. My fist hit Bills face with all the force I could bring up in my rage-driven state of mind, I felt his nose breaking from that impact, and then he just went flying off into the distance. I didn´t move backwards for a single inch. I just watched him take that punch and kiss goodbye to the rest of his pride and his consciousness.
He spun around in mid-air a few times, crashed face down onto the floor and finally came to a very uncomfortable halt quite a few feet further back on the square.
Then he just kept on laying there, unconsciously and probably badly injured.
"Serves you right for trying to poison me again."
I immediately turned around in rage, towards the other carnivores who kept holding me in place while Bill was punching me in the stomach earlier, and it seemed like they had already wet themselves in fear of me. They immediately began backing off a few further steps and then ran away cowardly.
Now I finally was able to calm myself down a little once again. I noticed that Louis was back on his feet in the meanwhile and like everybody else just had stared in shock at the scene. But it was not just shock on his face, it also was regret. I knew that look, and I wanted to know what it was about.
Without further ado, I went towards him.
"What is going on?" I asked him harshly.
"W-wh…" he stuttered, "…L-Legoshi…"
"Where did he get that venom from?! Talk!"
"Wh-what venom?"
I really had enough of this bullshit. I grabbed him by his neck now and lifted him off the ground with my right arm. The students around us just gasped in shock, but I wasn´t letting that distract me.
"Where…" I growled, looking him right in the eyes, "...and I´m only asking this once…where did Bill get the komodo-venom from?"
I could literally feel his fear of me in that moment.
"I…I gave it to you…" he confessed very lowly, struggling to get air, "…I was trying to save you from…" I choked him even a little firmer, "…from becoming a Beastar."
That statement shocked all the people around us quite badly as well, but I still kept on staring at him. I wasn´t entirely convinced if I wanted to believe that yet.
"…you have no idea what awaits you…" he whispered with the last breath of air he had, and he really looked serious about this.
I released the surprisingly light deer from my grip now and let him fall back onto his feet.
"I never wanted to become a Beastar" I clarified loudly, so everybody around would hear me, "..and I never wanted to fight with anybody! But enough is enough. I´m sorry you all had to see this, but this has to stop, finally! "
I took another look towards Bill who was still laying there unconsciously.
"…make sure he gets into the cemetery!" I told them, before I turned away from Louis and went right towards Juno.
From the corner of my eye I had already noticed how she looked really sick all over sudden.
"L-Legoshi" she asked with fear in her voice, "I…I don't feel too well…"
My first instinct was that it was the stress of the situation, but then when she suddenly collapsed right in front of everybody, I remembered that she had been drinking from my glass as well. Now there was a little panic rising inside me. I was immune to komodo-dragon venom, she wasn´t. And I´ve never had witnessed a poisoning myself.
I immediately went towards her and tried supporting her, as all the others just kept on staring at the scene in pure shock.
"We need to get her into a hospital!" I yelled at them, "Somebody call an Ambulance! Quickly! And she needs an antidote for komodo dragon venom, tell them that!"
POV Sebastian
Just seeing that made me sick in my stomach. It was not just Juno collapsing in front of everybody, it was the pure fear of that disgustingly strong beast of a wolf.
"How could I ever think I would have been able to beat him in a fight? He would have killed me with one single punch!"
Everybody watching that fight was just standing around and kept staring in shock right now. That beast of a Tiger just lay there on the floor unconsciously, probably hurt even worse than me.
"He had not been lying! He paid for what he did to me."
Louis eventually got himself back together after Legoshi minced him like that and helped him carrying Juno towards the stairs where she could at least sit down for now. She still was conscious as it seemed like, but she was just barely able to move.
Nobody seemed like they wanted to help Bill right now though. They were either too scared, or it was because nobody actually wanted to help that bastard of a tiger.
"…an antidote for komodo dragon venom…" it kept on ringing through my head, "That´s really dangerous stuff. Stuff you hear of in mafia stories or assassin-movies. Where did Bill get that from? Was he really trying to kill her? Why would he poison Juno instead of Legoshi? …where did Legoshi know this from?"
It felt like an eternity until somebody finally had called an Ambulance and informed the authorities of the school about it, who weren´t even in the house because it was Sunday. This whole thing was a lot bigger than I first thought it would be.
Now that wolf had finally shown everybody what he really was made of. He was not just a big and strong fluffy plush-toy, he also was a real killer if he wanted to.
I was pretty sure that was enough to scare anybody at this school away from ever even thinking about messing with him. And I bet if somebody ever could scare the shit out of a beast like a tiger, it was that wolf who just beat one unconscious with one single punch.
I felt small right now. Small and weak and in any way unimportant.
I was just nothing compared to that monster. I was honestly wondering how I was still alive right now. Messing with him like could just have been suicide. Although all of this seemed to be over now, I´ve had a personal little crisis in my head right now.
"Thank god he spared me from that! Thank god I´m not as stupid as Bill! Thank god I´m still alive."
POV Jack
"Are those ambulances coming from the Cherryton Highschool?" Anita´s father asked with great interest, as the red and blue lights reflected in the windows of the restaurant, "It´s the only place that road leads to, isn´t it?"
He had a good point asking that, sadly. What worried me even more was that it were not just one but two Ambulances.
"You´re right" Anita agreed, "It really doesn't go anywhere else but up the hill…"
She looked a little concerned as well already.
"I hope this has nothing to do with Legoshi and Bill" I said towards her lowly.
She just shrugged her shoulders with an unsure expression. I could tell she was thinking the same as me right now.
"Legoshi?" Judith asked lowly, "Isn´t that the wolf who had played that rich guy in the theatre performance you´ve recommended us? …"
"Yes, that´s him! He played Volpone…" Anita reminded her, "…and he´s also one of Jack´s roommates. He´s such a sweet guy too…"
"He put on quite a show" her Dad laughed, "I honestly wasn´t expecting something like that from a high-school drama-club student…"
"Yeah" I agreed with a little nod, "He´s a really good guy and has been my best friend for years…" I explained, "…and the whole school loves him for who he is…but he got himself into a bit of a…tough situation…with another student lately…"
"Really?" Anita´s father wanted to know, "What for?"
"…for ´stealing´ his lead role for the Volpone performance…" I answered carefully.
"Really?" her mother asked, sounding a little confused, "He seemed so innocent on stage."
"Never judge a book by it´s cover, love" her husband told her with an amused smirk, "…and don't believe for a single second that an animal like a wolf couldn´t ever show his real face…"
"Dad!" Anita told him, "…Legoshi is one of the nicest students I´ve ever met. And he´s very humble on top of that."
"He is a wolf however…" I reminded her lowly, not being able to disagree with her dad on that, "…and he really would have a reason to start a fight with Bill considering what he did …many reasons, sadly…"
"Yeah…" she sighed lowly, "That´s true…"
This topic really was sort of uncomfortable right now. I wished I had never started it.
"Didn´t you have a devouring at your school just last year?" her mother wanted to know.
Both of us, Anita and I, nodded to that question carefully.
That question had dimmed the mood at our table quite a bit more, sadly.
"Let´s assume the best" her father stayed positive however, "Maybe it happened somewhere else up the road…"
"Let´s hope so…" I said, grabbing my almost empty glass of lemonade and taking another little sip out of it, "…we shouldn´t worry too much, probably."
That was followed by a few nods from everybody and quite a long moment of silence.
"Alright…" Anita´s father then announced, grabbing himself the menu before his wife could stop him this time, "…who else want´s some dessert?"
"Nicholas" Anita´s mother chuckled while shaking her head, "Unbelievable!"
I couldn´t help but smile a little now. Anita was right about them, the light-hearted fox couple really were quite enjoyable company. They were just as smart and nice as her daughter, and having them around really was a lot of fun actually.
"Is everything to your liking?" the waitress asked us in a friendly way, as she conveniently just stopped by our table.
"Yes darling" Nicholas told her with a sympathetic little smile, "Everything was fantastic! But you know what?" he asked, pointing at the menu, "That fruit bowl with the ice-cream looks really good as well. I think we´ll have four of those as well please!"
"Very well" the waitress chuckled.
"Nick!" his wife told him, "I don't want-"
"Four of them" he told the waitress with a little wink, showing four fingers of his right hand, before he quickly reduced them by one, "…but I think three spoons will do."
POV Legoshi
I´ve never seen the principal like this before. It was understandable that he was upset, but the way he looked at Louis and I right now almost felt like we´ve been involved in a war-crime or something like that. It was quite comparable to that, actually, and I was pretty sure there would be a lot of consequences for us as well, but I still was glad about this meeting. I had a few things to say.
"What happened" he asked coldly, as the both of us had taken a seat at the opposite side of his desk.
"He…" I sighed, since Louis didn´t seem to be able to open his mouth right now, "…he tried poisoning me with Komodo dragon venom."
"What?!"
That reaction was no surprise to us, naturally.
"It´s a revenge thing..."
Louis nodded in agreement now.
"It´s true" the deer agreed, "But It was me who put it in your food. I wanted to scare him from becoming a Beastar…"
He truly was a little shocked about that confession as well.
"Excuse me!?" the principal became a little louder now for good reason, not knowing where to even start for a moment, "…First of all: That´s really dangerous! Where did you even get this venom from? And secondly: It is his -and his alone- decision if he wants to become a Beastar or n-"
"I never wanted to become a Beastar" I stopped him right there, not being able to stay silent here, "Is that so hard to believe? I wouldn´t ever have accepted it! I´m not a Beastar, I´ll never be one!"
Now that was followed by a big silence first of all. I didn´t want to interrupt him like that, but I just couldn´t keep it in any longer.
The principal was just as shocked about this as he had been about what had happened today. He was actually speechless right now.
"…It´s difficult to survive as a Beastar when you´re a carnivore" Louis mentioned lowly, "…even if you´re able to get a Tiger unconscious with just one punch…"
"I never wanted any of this to happen" I explained, now a little more calmly as well, "But I was getting blackmailed! Bill has already beaten up Sebastian because he warned me about the baking soda he put in the grape juice…"
"Grape juice?" the principal asked in total confusion.
"The ´red vine´ Legoshi and Aoba were supposed drink on stage" Louis clarified with a little sigh, "We changed it for water last second, because Bill put baking soda into the grape juice."
"He did what!?"
"He completely lost control since I was voted to play Volpone" I explained, "It was supposed to be his lead-role."
"And why didn´t he get the lead-role then?" the principal wanted to know, seemingly still unclear about his priorities right now.
"Legoshi is by far the best actor in our team" Louis explained dryly, "And the whole school loves him."
"Now even Louis thought like that?"
I never thought he would say something like this out loud, and I also really hoped the principal would finally understand how ridiculous that was in itself, but he actually just nodded understandingly.
"Open your fucking eyes goddammit! How can you be so blinded by all that bullshit? I´m so sick of this!"
I was glad I didn't just yell that at his face right now, but somehow I also was a little disappointed that I didn´t do it.
"…but tell me…what I don't understand…" Gon asked me, now a little calmer as well, "…how could you defeat all those guys against you after being poisoned by…"
"That´s not important, is it?" I asked coldly, "Important is, that this pointless, stupid war between us is not coming to an end! No matter what I try, how much I tried to talk to him and apologize, it just keeps getting worse! And now others, pretty much innocents got pulled into this as well! And they´re even using freaking Komodo-dragon venom now! That stuff is not just dangerous, it can be deadly! Do you not see any of this?"
That question actually made the principal stutter a little bit now.
"…I…I… just heard of this now" he said, seemingly a little overwhelmed by this situation right now, "But that´s going to have consequences!"
"I tried to protect Bill from this…" I explained, "I didn´t want him to get into trouble, even though he really crossed a few lines…but that was too much. Juno is lying in hospital!"
"How was I supposed to know she would be drinking it?" Louis asked.
"How could you ever think this was a good idea?" I asked back loudly, "You could have killed somebody!"
He didn´t know an answer to that. How could he know one, there was nothing ethical about what he did. Nothing at all.
"You could have just told me about the Beastars" I told him coldly, "…but instead you rather tried poisoning me to save me from it afterwards? Was that your plan?"
He just looked at the ground in shame, keeping his clever mouth shut for once. I couldn´t be that wrong with my assumption.
"Yeah, that´s what I thought."
POV Louis
"But how did you do it?" I wanted to know, "The venom was real, otherwise Juno wouldn´t be in hospital right now… and how did you find out it´s Komodo dragon venom so quickly?"
"My grandfather is one" he clarified with a little sigh, "I´m immune to it. I remembered the smell when I noticed how Juno was struggling to stand on her feet…"
I nodded a little, the principal just stared dumbfoundedly.
"…don't change the topic now, Louis" he said, still looking me right in the eyes, "Why didn´t you just tell me about it? You know very well that I can keep my mouth shut. I even tried protecting Bill from his stupid actions…"
He had a point there, there was no point in denying it.
"I…" I said slowly, "…I wanted Bill to gain your respect again. And scare you from becoming a Beastar that way."
"Gain respect?" he asked in disbelief, and the principal looked at me as well now.
"You´ve reduced him down to a little kitten!" I said, "…you´ve taken his lead role and played it to perfection on stage. You fulfilled all his ex-girlfriend´s sexual desires and the whole school knows about it. The whole drama-club loves you for who you are and for what you made out of yourself, and you´re probably good enough to become a real actor after graduation…"
"So?" he asked, still in that cold, unforgiving tone. It seemed like all that meant nothing to him.
"…and Bill is hated by everybody, especially the drama-club…"
"I still don't see any reason for you trying to poison me…"
"I…I´ve seen you take apart a whole clan of lions!" I almost yelled in helplessness of my current situation. I just felt like a guilty little kid arguing with his parents to not get into trouble. But there was just no way I would get out of this on top, and they knew that just as well as me, "…you just would have beat him down again! And then he would have let it all out of me, eventually!"
He just kept on shaking his head in utter disappointment. No matter what I said, it didn´t have any weight in this argument.
"A sincere apology would have sufficed" he said, "You knew I would have forgiven him. You knew I would have apologized as well…"
The principal just silently stared at me as well right now. He wanted to hear an answer to that as well, but there just was nothing left for me to say. There were no more excuses.
"It was a big mistake" I confessed, looking the wolf right in the eyes, "I´m very sorry for that stupid idea of mine."
To my big surprise, he accepted that apology and just nodded contentedly. It seemed like he didn't want to get deeper into that topic right now either. From the corner of my eyes I noticed how he was applying pressure with his hands onto various parts of his torso from time to time. I figured the punches Bill hit him with hadn´t been that painless after all.
"Please answer my earlier question, Louis" the principal told me, "Where did you get that venom from?"
"I can´t tell you about this" I stated dryly, "I could get into real danger if that comes out."
"You know I have to suspend you from this school for this" the principal told him coldly, "That kind of behavior could never be tolerated on the Cherryton Highschool. That´s a immediate and final decision."
"I understand" I said with a nod.
I knew it would come to this in the end, but it wasn´t the end of the world for me anyway.
"Legoshi" he said, turning towards the wolf now, "I´m gonna have to take back that nomination for the Beastars I gave y-"
"Thank you" he replied dry but honestly, nodding contentedly.
This wasn´t at all punishment for Legoshi as it seemed. The Principal was a little irritated by this, but he continued nevertheless, "-although it was an understandable reaction, Bill is lying in hospital with a broken nose, two fractured ribs and a broken foot…"
"Wow…" I said lowly.
"Fuck, that wolf really is a beast!"
Legoshi just nodded understandingly, before he asked, "Am I not getting a punishment for this?"
Gon still was a little speechless about that statement.
"This would have been a real punishment for every other student I know…" he said coldly, "…but if you insist on a task: do what you already proposed and apologize to Bill when you visit him in hospital."
Legoshi nodded again, commenting: "I would have done that anyway."
"I know…" the principal said, now with a contented little smile once again, "…now please leave out of my office, I have something to discuss…Louis, you have until tomorrow to clear your room and leave this property."
"Yes sir" I said, standing up from my chair and heading for the exit as well, "Thank you, sir."
"Legoshi" the principal stopped him one last time, "You´ve done a lot of good for this school. Especially for the drama-club. …Try not to ruin it."
I could imagine that of all the things he wouldn´t have wanted to hear right now, that was the worst one of them. The principal still didn´t seem to have understood that Legoshi really was sick of hearing it in the meanwhile.
The wolf just turned his head towards him slowly, stared him right in the eyes coldly, neither shaking his head or nodding, and after a very long moment of loaded silence, he turned around without further ado and left his office.
I´ve never experienced an energy like that. If looks could kill, Legoshi just would have done that with the Principal.
I didn´t know why, but I instinctively maintained a safe distance to that wolf outside in the hallway. From the small corridor that led to the Principal´s office, we went towards the bigger, main Hallway once again, and about fifty students already waited there and stared at us with big eyes.
Legoshi stopped halfway down the hall all over sudden and leaned his body against the wall with his forehead against the glass of the flat showcase that hung there.
"Is…" I asked carefully, since he didn´t move a muscle for a worryingly long time, "…is everything alright, Legoshi?"
"I´m a monster" he said lowly, and the silence that followed in the hallway was really scary for a moment.
"Bill got what he deserved" I tried to calm him down, "You´re not a monst-"
"Can´t you just shut up for once?!" he yelled at me suddenly, getting away from the wall he was resting himself on.
"…Bill is in hospital you fucking idiot!" he growled at me now, turning around quickly and pushing me against the wall on the other side of the hallway.
They all, me included, gasped in fear as he was looking me right in the eyes now, "I did that to him! All of that! I´m a fucking monster!"
I wasn´t able to react in any way right now. I believed I never was this scared before in my entire life. His breath felt heavy on my neck as he was just a few inches away from my face with those huge, sharp teeth of his. He was growling at me, every muscle in his body was tense and I heard his sharp claws scratching against the wall to the left and the right of my head.
"…and Juno is in hospital too, because you tried to poison me! So please, for the love of god, shut the fuck up and get out of my sight, Louis!" he told me loud and unmistakably.
"I´m…I´m sorry!" I panted in fear, as he already made a fist with his right arm and prepared to take blow at me, "…I´m…I´m sorry…I…"
"…I better shut up now, before he kills me."
Still looking at me, he began walking backwards now slowly, realizing that he wasn´t just scaring me but half the school for their lives right now and putting both of his hands in front of his face in disgust of himself. He leaned himself against the wall once again, looking truly terrified of himself, and I finally found the guts to at least start breathing again.
Legoshi was digging his own claws into his forehead in the meanwhile. I already feared he might hurt himself, but he just remained leaning himself against the wall with his upper back.
"You´re not a bad person, Legoshi" I told him lowly, "I meant it like th-"
"Get lost, Louis" he told me coldly, "Didn´t you get kicked out of the school just a minute ago?"
I felt their gazes in my back again when he said that. I assumed they all hated me just as much as they hated Bill in the meanwhile. This was not a nice feeling. Not at all.
"You´re not a monster, Legoshi" I told him again, "You´re a good man, you´ve shown it time and time again…"
"Your word means nothing to me" he told me with a dead expression, getting his hands off his face for a moment and staring me right in the eyes again, "Not anymore."
I wasn't even sure anymore if that hit in the face would have hurt more than hearing those words out of his mouth. I just felt like a dead hull of a man in that moment. I´ve lost every little bit of respect I´ve ever had in his eyes.
He just had killed me with his words. They all just looked at me like I was the most disgusting thing they had ever seen in their lives, and I couldn't even say they didn´t have a reason.
"It´s fine" I said lowly, "I´m going."
I took a look at the group of students who still stared at us and then lowered my gaze in shame.
"I just want you to know" I said, before I went on my way, "I´m really sorry. For everything. I do regret it, and I´m honestly, really sorry."
POV Sebastian
Legoshi didn't really react to those words either. He didn´t even watch as the deer slowly made his way towards the gazing crowd and went through it as carefully but also as quickly as possible.
He just remained leaning against that wall and stared at his claws in pure disgust. The veiny muscles on his arms were still to be seen, his entire body was still shaking a little and his tail was speaking that language as well.
I guess we all wanted to know what really happened in the principal´s office, and if Louis really got kicked off the school just now, but nobody had the courage to ask him that or even just get closer to him.
I was pretty sure he knew that we all had questions, and he also knew he still was stared at by everybody, but it didn't seem like he cared.
We kept on staring at him nevertheless, and then, suddenly, he just collapsed. He let himself sink onto the floor, still leaning against the wall, rested his hands on his knees and then buried his face in them. It almost looked like he was crying.
The beast that just knocked out a Tiger had a breakdown in front of the entire school.
"So he wasn´t invincible…"
Since nobody wanted to help him in quite a long time, I finally found the guts and went closer towards him slowly but surely. I was a little scared as well, but I figured he wouldn't get violent anymore at this point.
"Come on" I told him lowly, getting into a squatting position right next to him, "This is not a good place, they´re all staring…"
His gaze rose a little bit.
"…no matter what happened, it´s not getting better here in the hallway."
He nodded very slightly. I offered him a hand to help him up and he took it with a little bit of hesitation.
"Come with me" I told him lowly, ignoring all the others who kept staring at us, "I know a good place."
POV Legoshi
I wasn´t quite sure why I really followed him, but pretty soon I noticed what his destination was and I thought that this indeed was a good place for now.
I haven´t been in her garden for quite a long time, and I never even imagined that he knew about this place.
"What was his business with Haru? Did she fool around with him as well?"
The door wasn´t looked when he tried opening it and we just went inside without further ado.
"You know this place?" I asked lowly, as we were walking towards the shed.
"I´ve known her way before you ever could have even thought about getting into her pants…" he chuckled.
"Don't…" I said lowly, "…don't talk about her like that!"
"What?" he chuckled, turning around and smiling at me quickly, just before she noticed us in the distance, "Do you really believe she wasn´t hot for that red rocket of yours as well?"
Some people just would never change it appeared. I just shook my head about his insolence with a little sigh, as I noticed that it probably didn´t make a whole lot of sense arguing about that with him.
"You don't have to say it like that…" I muttered, just before he turned around again and greet the girl we were talking about. She had interrupted her work in the beet and went right towards us when she noticed that we were looking for her.
"Seb, what are you doing here?" she asked in surprise. "Legoshi!" she added.
"H-hey" I greeted her lowly, waving shortly.
"What happened?" she wanted to know, apparently really puzzled about the two of us visiting her together today.
"Louis tried poisoning me…and…Juno is in hospital now…" I told her carefully.
It seemed like that news shocked her so badly it made her stop breathing for a moment. She had looked concerned before, now she looked horrified.
"He did…what?" she asked lowly and in total disbelief.
"I thought it was Bill who did it and sent him to hospital as well" I confessed, "They had planned something together, apparently, but it went really wrong…"
She just kept on shaking her head and went towards the shed slowly, tossing her shovel into a bucket on the ground carelessly. Then she turned around.
"Wait! Why is Juno in hospital and not you?" she asked in total confusion.
"She tried my drink as well because I thought it tasted funny…" I explained.
"How did you know it was Komodo-dragon venom?" Sebastian wanted to know, "…and how do you know it tasted funny if you didn´t drink it?"
"I drank half the glass…" I said with a little sigh, shaking my head slightly, "…but I´m not just a wolf, my grandpa is a Komodo Dragon."
"What, really?" Haru asked in surprise.
I just noticed that I had never told her about that. The only ones who I ever shared that with were the guys from my dorm I just noticed. Probably the doctor from the cemetery knew about it as well.
"Louis must have gotten it from somewhere" I said, nodding slowly, "He said he wanted to get me weak so Bill could beat me up and gain my respect that way…"
"So you are not affected by that venom at all?" Sebastian asked with great interest, sounding like this was the coolest thing ever.
I nodded with a little sigh.
Haru just continued shaking her head about it. I could understand that she probably never even imagined that Louis could be doing something as reckless as that.
She took a seat on the bench next to the shed now and carefully leaned against the wall behind her.
"I…I knew about this…" she confessed then, "…I mean…I knew he wanted to do something like that, but I never thought he would try to poison you!"
This actually didn´t surprise me that much. She has been meeting him a lot before I knew her, it made sense he had been visiting her again.
I just shrugged my shoulders a little. I didn´t quite know what else to say to that.
All I knew right now was that I really felt at home here again. This peaceful, quiet surrounding was the only thing I needed right now.
I took a seat beside her on the bench carefully, not too close but not too far away either, and just like the first day I met her, she was not at all scared of me. She probably was the only student at this school right now who was not scared of me.
"…and Bill is in hospital as well?" she asked lowly.
Sebastian and I both nodded silently.
"I believe I know how he saved you from the Shishigumi now" Sebastian told her with a little smirk.
"I´m a monster" I said lowly, "And the entire school saw that monster today."
This was nothing new to Haru either I just noticed, she had seen me fighting that Lion who wanted to eat her, so it made sense that hearing that didn´t really surprise her.
"…It was quite frightening" Sebastian agreed, "But you can´t tell me he didn't earn it. He punched you in the stomach while you were held in place by tree other guys!"
"But I still didn´t get any broken bones from it. Bill did."
"You would have, if you didn´t stop him" Sebastian told me coldly, "I mean…Look at what he did to me yesterday…"
With that he got out of the pullover and the t-shirt he wore and presented his upper body to us. It was not just his back, his whole torso was covered in deep scratches and wounds. Those were Bills claw-marks, unmistakably. He must have completely ripped apart his clothing in that fight, the scratches seemed really long and really deep in some places.
"What the heck did he do to him? All that because he warned me?! Or was there something else Sebastian wasn´t telling us about?"
Haru put her hands in front of her mouth in total shock now.
"What has he done to you?!" she yelled, "Why would he do that?"
It really looked severe what Bill had done to him, there was no denying it. My guess was, that Sebastian had been provoking or even started the fight with him, but I didn´t want to accuse him of anything right now. At least he had saved me from my quite miserable situation in the hallway today.
"I was just so angry at him because of that…" I sighed lowly, "…but it wasn´t even Bill who tried poisoning me…"
"But he planned this with Louis!" Sebastian reminded me, "…don't tell me he didn´t know about it!"
"Of course he knew about it" I sighed, "But I don't understand how they even came up with that idea! …and where the hell did Louis even get the venom from?"
They both didn´t look like they knew an answer to that either.
"I hope he doesn´t get into too much trouble for this" Haru said lowly, "I know that was very dangerous, but…"
"He got suspended from Cherryton" Sebastian told her dryly.
I thought that was the right way to tell her. There was no point in talking around it.
"What, really?" Haru asked in shock, "…where do you know that from?"
He just looked at me, and I couldn´t do anything else but affirm that with a little nod.
"We just talked to the principal" I clarified.
"And…" she said, nodding in slight disappointment, "…and what about you? What was your punishment?"
"The principal is still too blinded to see what kind of a monster I really am" I sighed, shaking my head a little, "He just had to take back my nomination for the Beastars..."
"What could he punish you for" Sebastian wanted to know, "The whole school had seen it was self-defense…they even recorded it with their phones!"
"But I didn´t have to mess him up like that!" I got a little louder once again, "I was completely out of control! I could have killed him!"
"He´ll be alright…" he waved it off, "And you weren't out of control I would say…you only hit him once after all…"
He was right about that last part I just noticed.
"I´ve been more out of control before. I´ve beaten him up on stage already…"
And he was right with that first part too: At least nobody got killed or harmed in a really bad way.
All that would heal eventually, and Juno was in a stable condition as well.
"…I´m pretty sure he learned his lesson as well…" Sebastian added, as he began dressing his upper body again.
Now I finally found the guts to really look at Haru for the first time. I didn´t know why, but having her besides me really relaxed me right now.
I waited a moment until our gazes met, and then I even found the courage to flash a careful little smile at her.
"You´ve got yourself into quite a lot of trouble lately, haven't you Legoshi?" she asked with a tired little chuckle.
I nodded with a little smirk. "Yeah, you say it."
"Just why do I still feel so convenient here? Around her? It was still that same connection we shared."
Her smell was in my nose ever since we entered the garden, but now I didn´t associate it with heartbreak and pain anymore. I liked it again and it relaxed me, just like the first time I got here.
"But look what you made of yourself" she said lowly, "…you´re a hero now!"
"I don't feel like I am a hero..."
"…and you´re still so humble" she giggled.
"I…I don't have the right to not be humble" I explained, "I grew up as a loser. As a scary beast everybody was afraid of. And I am a beast, there is nothing I can change about that. The only thing I can do is pretend."
"You´re good at pretending if you ask me" Sebastian chuckled, "…I really thought I could beat you in a fight that day I ruined your breakfast…"
I nodded slowly, flashing a little smile at him for that comment.
"…is that why you´re so good on stage?" he asked in amusement.
"I don't know" I sighed with a tired little smile, "Maybe."
"Honestly" he said, looking rather serious all over sudden, "You´re one of the coolest people I´ve ever met."
"Come on" I sighed with a little smile at the fox, "Stop sucking up to me already. I´ve already forgiven you, what else could you want?"
"I´m telling you!" he said, "There is a reason why the whole school loves you."
"It´s not the whole school" I disagreed with a sigh, "You´re over-exaggerating just as much as the principal."
"…you´re gentle, you´re caring, you´re understanding, you´re down to earth" he listed, still going on about it, and slowly but surely it began getting a tiny bit odd in my opinion, "…you might be a beast…" he said, a little more lowly now, "…but you´re also…just absolutely…stunning."
That really was a little unexpected.
"Did he…did he mean it like that?"
"Wow…" I said lowly, looking him right in the eyes for a moment. I really had to gulp a little bit, because he looked quite honest while saying it. Almost like he finally had gotten something off his chest.
Haru looked a little surprised as well by that confession of his.
"…I…I understand that you might have been scared of Bill…" I said, "…and I get that you´re thankful, but-"
"I…I…" he stuttered, "…I still feel like I have to make it up to you-"
"You…you don't have to do that…" I told him with a little smirk, "…but I´m glad we´re not fighting with each other anymore."
It seemed like he actually was crying a little bit right now, but I couldn´t quite tell if it were tears of relief or if it was because of something else. Either way, I didn´t want to make fun of it, and I didn't want him to feel alone either, so I got off the bench for a moment and hugged him.
"Thank you so much, Legoshi" he whispered, as he hugged me back carefully. "For helping me, for understanding…for everything."
I quickly want to mention "The Sea salty" for the general inspiration with the Komodo Dragon venom ;)
Hope you enjoyed the chapter a little! Tell me what you think 😉
Also: join us on discord: /zDN5W2
Or add me: Furrwolf#8163 and I´ll invite you personally.
Have a good time, see you later!
~furr