Hello all! Here is the latest chapter. We return to Louis' perspective and pick up right where we left off last time.

Why did I even come back? What was the point of it? To show everyone that I was still alive?

They all knew that by the time I got there, so there was no real reason to just return to the club just to show them I was still breathing. As if any of this means anything. The club is going to be shut down right after the play is finished. It was shortened to a single performance and for good reason. Imagine the tension that would come from the second day's show.

Why did I let that dog convince me to come and be yelled at by Bill and humiliated by my own lacking performance? I can't just blame it on my hand.

I heard the footsteps, light and delicate, and knew immediately that they belonged to the Labrador. Once again, he interrupted my thoughts. One look at him and, even in the rapidly deteriorating sunlight, I could see he had been crying.

Guess that's my fault, too.

He sat down next to me on the steps. He straightened out his uniform and rubbed his arms. In a small act of mercy, he just stayed there. He didn't say anything, nor did he stare at me.

It was… is… shit.

Bill was right. For all his pouting, and posturing, and the longest hissy fit I think I've ever seen by someone over five years old, he was right. My head was not "in the game," as he so metaphorically put it.

I was barely able to hold my practice sword and missed most of my timing cues on the first run. That led to smashing Tao's finger and angry glares from the panther. He held his tongue and didn't say anything. He didn't have to when the tiger took every opportunity to complain.

In his fit of anger, he must have looked fearsome. His snarls could be felt just as much as they could be heard. However, I was sparring with Tao and that meant Bill was behind me.

When it was finally time for us to rehearse the final fight scene between Adler and Bill's Elemental Spirit of Death, he was fuming. And he held nothing back from his blows. We went through all of the wooden swords in a few minutes and, as Bill broke the last one with a roar, I was reminded of the early days of my youth.

When the snapping sound hit my ear, it didn't register in my mind as wood, but rather as bone breaking. The resulting smell was not one of oak, but iron. The shavings that littered the floor around us were replaced with drops of blood.

When I looked at Bill, I saw the same look of contempt that I saw in the carnivores who had held me captive as a child. The broken stump in my hand reminded me of the butter knife that my new father had given me to defend myself. I screamed at him and, unlike how I turned the knife on myself as a child, I swung at Bill.

He dropped his practice blade and grabbed his face with a yelp. He covered his left cheek and turned away from me. The entire room fell silent.

I swung at him again. Hands grabbed my arms before I could connect and that was when the fireworks truly began. Bill recovered from his initial shock and his extended claws swung for my face. The shimmer of his nails from the stage light came within centimeters of my eyes before Tao and Aoba grabbed him and pulled him away from me. Sanu immediately ended rehearsal for the day, but that didn't stop our fight.

It just moved it outside. For all the public to see, if they had been there. Instead, it was just the dog who got a front row seat. How apt.

I sighed. I heard movement next to me as Jack adjusted how was sitting.

He's dying to say something. I can just feel it. How many times can you smooth out your pants?

As if being hounded by the tiger all practice hadn't been bad enough, the dog was going to be around me for at least the next few hours. I felt exhausted already.

"Hey…"

Here we go. The pity is already coming through in his tone.

"I'm sorry if I-"

"For the love of God, Jack! Stop apologizing for everything! I don't want to hear it or whatever pitiful speech you've got planned. Grow up and quit talking to me like I'm a delicate flower that you're going to break if you so much as mention the wrong word!" I stared at him with as much vitriol as I could portray.

He looked away. He stared at his feet and shuffled his legs.

I felt the next words leave my mouth before I considered them. "Don't talk to me like I'm him. Don't you dare treat me like you treat that killer."

I didn't raise my voice at him, but his ears flinched. Nor did I hit him, but he recoiled like I slapped him across the face.

I exhaled. Jack flinched.

I… I should say something, I guess.

I exhaled again. This time, he didn't move. He instead continued to avoid my gaze. "Hey… Uhm, I-"

"Stop." A whisper. It was quiet and it was full of congestion.

I stopped.

"I'm sorry-" he attempted to begin again.

"Stop it with the apologies."

Why is he so insistent?

"No… No, I-I need to say it." He finally looked up to me and I saw a fresh round of tears seconds away from cascading down his cheeks.

"Tell it to someone who cares." I squinched my eyes at the coldness that came out of my mouth. The wince from the dog confirmed that I had-

"I can't," he began again, even quieter than before. "He's not here for me to tell him." He sniffed and wiped his face.

What is he…? Oh.

I stood up. "You're right. That killer isn't here, and you're partly the reason for that. It was only a matter of time before he-"

"Stop!" He screamed at me. Snarled at me. Rose to his feet behind me.

My body went rigid by instinct. My ears raised to their height. My muscles, particularly in my legs, tensed in preparation.

Curse this body. Designed to cower in fear, even from some neutered mutt like Jack. What could he really do with his stunted form?

"You can be an ass about this if you want, but I know you're in pain, too! What? You want me to forget our conversation in the hallway earlier today? Or the one from last night on the roof? You can hate Legoshi for what happened to Haru, but you didn't turn him in when you had the chance! What am I supposed to make of that, other than-"

I found my composure to turn around, the anger inside me barely kept in check. "Don't you dare say her name so dismissively! You don't have that right! You'll never have that right! You are to blame, since I can't kill that wolf myself! You want to know why I saved him? It's so he can be alive and suffer! He doesn't get the easy way out! He has to live with the shit he did!"

I stared into the enraged face of Jack, his fur bristled and his hands balled into fists, ready to pounce should this verbal fight escalate further. I was ready to fight him. I knew that much.

"So that's it?" His face momentarily displayed confusion before disgust took over. "You saved his life because you wanted to fuck with him!? He's suffered enough! More than enough! You don't know the things he's told me over the years! You don't know what he told me that night!" He faltered. "You don't know how fucked up his life has been."

My opportunity. He knows he's in the wrong.

I laughed. "Fucked up life? Fucked up life? Everyone's got a fucked up past, don't you get that? That's no excuse for what he did! You think that, just because he was sad as a pup, he gets to just hurt himself and move on?" I was careful in my wording.

"Sad?" He bared his teeth. "His mother took her own life, he never knew his father, he had to be raised by his grandfather and he's a…" Jack stopped, suddenly appearing conflicted.

Another opportunity.

"If you really want to play the pity game, then let's play. I never knew my family. Had no parents to speak of, so he and I are even on that front. I was a piece of meat in the Black Market, minutes away from being eaten at any given time! And then I was rescued by a sadistic old man, who became my adoptive father, and he raised me like a machine! So yeah, everyone's got a story, but you don't see me walking around killing other students, do you!?"

Oops.

Jack lowered his arms. His fur settled down.

"You were…?"

My body relaxed upon seeing him do the same. I brought my fingers to the bridge of my nose and rubbed the space.

"Yes. And it was a long time ago."

"I can't… I mean, I heard rumors about that place, but I always thought it was-"

I barked out a laugh. "You thought it was just a rumor? Just how naïve and gullible are you? Well, guess what? It's true! All of it. Carnivores buying and selling small herbivores, the prostitution of body parts, gang raping that leads to devouring, all of it! Look, if you're finished pitying me, we should get moving, unless you want to spend all night here instead of searching the boarded up lecture hall."

He narrowed his eyes. He looked like he was going to say something else, but held his tongue and shook his head. While he recomposed himself, I grabbed my jacket off the steps and put it on.

A branch snapped in the distance. I froze. The world around me slowed and my ears twitched. The sound emitted from behind me and I turned around.

Jack turned to look in the same direction, and I saw his mouth open in my peripheral vision. However, it seemed that he saw how serious the situation was, so he shut it again.

Or he smelled me. Filthy carnivore.

Minutes passed in silence. Only the wind moved my body in any capacity. Stiff as a board, I watched for the slightest disturbance in the dark. All it would take was the tiniest fraction of movement. Centuries of evolution might have made my form too weak to withstand a fight with a carnivore, but it did leave me with excellent night vision. What I wouldn't give to have brought my pistol with me. I left it in my room after that night.

Nothing. No movement. Not even falling leaves.

Maybe I imagined it? Nothing could leave zero trace. Nothing could disappear so quickly.

Nothing is invisible.

"I haven't heard anything, Louis. Are you sure you did?"

His hearing is better than mine.

"Perhaps not."

Am I falling apart again? Not in front of him. Not in the presence of the accomplice to her death. He doesn't get to see that. Not any more than he's already seen.

Last night on the roof…

This morning in the hallway…

A few hours ago before rehearsal…

And just a few minutes earlier after my fight with Bill…

I swallowed and relaxed my muscles with some stretches. "Let's just go."

He's only seen me at my lowest. He's only seen me this… broken. Not even my father… Not even Haru.

Why must it be with a carnivore? A carnivore that helped the wolf… helped Legoshi cover up a devouring. Is this punishment from you? Is this what happened because I didn't do anything after your death? Did it take a second murder for me to actually absorb your death? What can I do about it now? Why take me to my lowest point?

Tem, was it really not Legoshi who devoured you? If not him, then who?

Alright, I think that this is a good place to end for now. Oh, the things that go bump in the night. What could be lurking out there?

Will Louis and Jack ever stop fighting with each other?

Hope that this chapter was enjoyable. As always, comments and constructive feedback are always welcomed and appreciated. Until next time!