AN: Hope everyone's enjoying this story so far. Before I start, I'd like to say that my opinion on the character Zaguan has changed slightly. I no longer think of him as my least favorite character in Beastars. For those wondering, it isn't Azuki, who feels more like a terrible plot device than an actual character in the original story. Actually, my least favorite character is Kyuu. She felt shoehorned into the plot, Legoshi feeling a bond with her felt extremely forced, anything done to explore her character either didn't amount to anything by the end or I simply didn't care, and I personally feel moments with her could've either been deleted entirely and nothing much would've changed or another character could've been used in her place. For example, Gosha should've trained Legoshi since it would've been more thematically appropriate in so many ways. Also, Melon should've had Haru held hostage to make good on the interest he seemed to have for her that Paru Itagaki seemed to completely forget about. Anyway, rant's over. Here's the next chapter.

Ch 2: Sebun Goes Back and Forth

The next day, Sebun goes through her usual routine. However, she keeps thinking of her visit with Melon the previous night. 'I can't believe I actually threatened a serial killer. He's so much bigger and stronger than me. Of course he'd laugh at any threat from me. Trying to seem even remotely dangerous is so ridiculous. It's probably why he thought I was so entertaining last night.' At the end of her workday, the sheep finds herself standing in front of her office building. 'Legoshi's with Haru at her parents' house. That means Zaguan will be home, so I can hang out with him for awhile.' A new thought makes Sebun feel depressed. 'He'll likely be talking about how he misses Legoshi living in the Hidden Condo with us. It's as if that's his favorite subject in the whole wide world. He prefers having Legoshi as a friend over me.' Her feet start taking her somewhere.

"Where are you going, Sebun?" asks a familiar voice.

The sheep turns to the speaker. "Zaguan?"

The seal nods to her.

"What are you doing here?"

"With Legoshi and Haru away visiting her family, I am here to see you get home safely." Zaguan heads over so he's right in front of Sebun. "You were going the other way. Do you have something else to do?"

The sheep feels embarrassed by what she was going to do and she doesn't want her friend to find out. "Uh…no. My mistake. Let's go home." Before she can fully walk past Zaguan, he grabs her hand.

"Sebun, if there is something wrong, please tell me what it is. I do not want you to be sad or mad about anything at all. You deserve to be happy in life. You are one of my friends."

"Not as much as Legoshi," Sebun grumbles to herself.

"What does that mean?"

The sheep feels mortified that he heard her. She slips her hand out of his before giving an answer. "You always talk about how much you miss Legoshi living in our building. More often than not, when I need a friend to talk to, you're not home. When you're not there, you're visiting Legoshi and Haru. That's what happened after I was attacked and I needed somebody to talk to. You're the last one in the Hidden Condo that I feel comfortable talking about something like that with and you weren't there. You want Legoshi back because he's the only one you actually think of as a friend."

The seal feels hurt by this accusation. "Sebun, I am sorry I made you feel that way. It is true I miss Legoshi living with us. He was my first dry land friend. I did not realize another one of my friends felt forgotten. Believe me when I say you are a friend, Sebun. Please forgive me."

The sheep slowly smiles. "Sure."

"So…where were you going.?"

'Thought he'd forget that. Guess I have to tell him.' "I was going to see Melon again."

Zaguan stares at his sheep friend. "Really?"

Sebun just nods.

"Why?"

"I…wanted someone to talk to."

"Why him?"

"I guess I believed that it was better to talk with Melon then to just go back home and be all alone."

"I would be at home." Zaguan figures it all out before Sebun can respond. "Oh. I get it. Me talking about missing Legoshi would have bothered you."

"Sorry."

"You do not need to be sorry. But…why Melon? Do you like him?"

"Hardly. Melon's a sadistic sociopath who'd have gladly torn me to pieces if there hadn't been bulletproof glass between us."

"Were you afraid of him?"

Sebun doesn't like that Zaguan asked that question, but she knows she was likely to bring up that topic herself anyway. "I was."

"Why would you meet with him again if you were scared of him?"

The sheep had been unsure of the answer this whole time, but hearing the seal ask finally makes a clear answer come to her. "Melon attempted to lord my fear over me. I snapped at him because of it. He found my outburst funny. Before I left, I told Melon never to expect me back. I said that in anger. Now, it feels like not going back would be letting my fear win out."

Zaguan stares at Sebun for before taking her hand and heading the opposite way from the Hidden Condo. "Let's go."

Meanwhile…

Melon is sitting in his cell leafing through all his old fan mail. 'I don't get as much these days. Those of these guys who visited me stopped sending letters. Too bad. It was fun seeing all the weird things they'd write to me. Still have a few who send letters, but those are the ones who haven't met me.' The hybrid looks up at the guard across from his cell.

The male leopard lets out a slight growl.

'Of course I'd end up with a leopard as one of my guards. The universe has always hated me. What's his name again? Nick? Hick? I don't know. I don't really care either. I hate him as much as he appears to hate me. He has the same…bugs…in his fur as Mama.' Melon returns to his letters before the guard notices that he's becoming distressed by the sudden rush of memories of her. His mind searches for anything to block them out. The hybrid remembers the sheep who visited last night and he's soon smirking. 'She was a really weird one. Imagine having the nerve to threaten me with her tiny little herbivore body. So funny.' Melon loses himself in the memory of that visit while looking through his letters.

Suddenly, a Rottweiler guard shows up. "You have a visitor, Melon."

The hybrid puts his letters back into the pile and stands up with a stretch. He lets the two guards lead him to the visiting room. 'Wonder who it could be. It can't be Legoshi or his rabbit wife. I think those two are visiting in laws or something. Panda Doctor only comes on Saturday mornings. Could it be Old Man Yafya? He can be pretty random with when he visits me. Maybe it's one of my remaining fans. If that's the case, I'm getting less mail in the future.' When Melon steps through the door, his eyes widen and he freezes.

Sitting on the other side of the glass is the sheep from last night, the phone in her hands.

Melon stares while he approaches. He sits down and picks up his phone. "You're back."

Sebun nods. "That's right."

The hybrid puts on a smirk. "You get off to fear or something like that?"

The sheep almost cringes. "No. I wanted to show you that I won't allow myself to cower or run away from you."

"Really?" Melon places the tips of his claws against the glass and grins. "What if I were to lunge at you?"

Sebun has to put everything into not shivering. "The guard behind you would shoot. He already has his hand on his gun."

The hybrid's eyes twitch. 'They're so eager to gun me down. How annoying.' He takes his hand away from the glass. "Always an answer for everything. What's your plan?"

"Plan?"

"For this visit. While silence would help with unsettling you, it'd also become boring for me. If that happens, I'll ask the guards to take me back to my cell so I can read my fan mail."

"You have fan mail?"

"Yes I do, Little Miss Doubtful. You'd be shocked by the pile of mail back in my cell. It has each and every letter I've received since I got here."

"Do you know what types of animals your fans are?"

Melon shrugs. "Lots of different ones. Carnivores, herbivores, all sorts of hybrids. They all had one thing in common. After visiting me once, they never came back and stopped sending mail. I've only got a few still writing to me, those being the ones who haven't met me."

Sebun becomes thoughtful. "Guess that makes me superior to them."

The hybrid chuckles. "What would give you an odd idea like that?"

The ewe points at herself. "I came back."

Those simple words end up making Melon feel…something. Whatever the feeling is, it's making him uncomfortable. He looks at a wall behind the sheep. "You didn't write me like they did."

"Doesn't change the fact that I'm here a second time."

Melon really doesn't want to look at the sheep after she said that, so he looks everywhere else. This is how he notices someone looking in from the door on Sebun's side. "A seal is at the door."

Sebun giggles. "That's Zaguan. He's a friend who lives in my building."

Melon looks at the ewe. "You make friends with those who could easily eat you."

The sheep gives the hybrid an annoyed glare. "I know him and trust him. It seems to me like you're more afraid than I am."

That comment really pisses off Melon. "I wouldn't be repeating a statement like that if I were you."

Sebun can tell she hit a nerve. She can feel the hybrid's rage even with the glass between them. "Alright. I won't…on one condition."

"Seriously? Was my implied threat a joke to you?"

"Not at all. I won't say anything like that to you again if you agree not to make any kind of disrespectful statement about my carnivore friends and imply that I'm being foolish for having them as friends."

Melon can't believe what he's hearing from the sheep. "Really? You're putting your life on the line over some perceived honor you see in those carnivore friends of yours?"

"Yes I am." Sebum glares at the hybrid. "Do we have a deal?"

The hybrid blinks. 'There's that glare again. It made me laugh yesterday. It still amuses me, but this time…I don't really know how I feel.' "Sure. Deal."

The ewe smiles. "Great. That's settled. So, what's your favorite kind of music?"

Melon's eyes widen and his jaw drops a little. "That's a weird subject change."

Sebun shrugs. "I believe that a more light hearted topic will ease the tension. Would you rather not go that route?"

"I'll…go along with it."

Meanwhile…

Zaguan watches the pair. He feels very concerned. 'That man's dangerous. I really don't like the way he's looking at Sebun right now. He's studying her intently. It's like he's looking at a target…or a meal.' Time goes by and the seal gets even more worried. 'Sebun's still tense, but I can tell she's relaxing. That's not good. Has she forgotten about what he is? The way those two are talking is the worst. It's almost like I'm watching…a date.'

Later that night…

Sebun and Zaguan are walking back to the Hidden Condo in relative silence.

The seal is watching his friend through the corner of his eye. 'It scares me how much she seemed to like talking with…him.'

The ewe is lost in thought. 'For a deranged serial killer, Melon is interesting to talk to.'

"Sebun? Are you going to see Melon again?"

"Maybe."

Zaguan takes the sheep's hand to stop her. "I am worried."

"Why?"

The seal looks at the sheep as if she has lost all common sense. "That hybrid, Melon, is a murderer."

Sebun just stares at Zaguan. "I'm aware of that."

"Are you? You became relaxed while talking with him."

"There was glass between us."

"You were still comfortable with a known killer."

Sebun doesn't respond to that one.

"I only say this as a concerned friend. Do not go back there. I am afraid you are going to let your guard down with Melon and he will use that to kill you. Please."

The ewe thinks about it. "I guess you're right."

"Thank you."

The pair continues towards home.

Meanwhile…

Melon's sitting in his cell looking through his mail again. He isn't really paying attention though. 'Tonight was weird. That sheep woman talked to me as if she forgot who and what I am. Is she dumb or something?' The hybrid is so deep in thought, he doesn't even notice some of the letters slip from his fingers. 'For a moment, I forgot what I was. I felt…normal.' Melon lets out a growl and throws his letters. 'You and normal?! Idiot! That's an oxymoron! Stop thinking all that right now!' He goes to his bed and lies down. Staring at the wall, his anger simmers down. 'Still…pretending that I was normal for even a second felt…I don't know.' The hybrid eventually drifts off to sleep. While his sleep is usually filled with bad dreams containing leopard spots and a female's voice with an overly sweet tone, Melon has the first truly peaceful night of sleep since he arrived at the prison.

The next night…

Sebun leaves her office building. She finds herself looking in the general direction of the prison. She shakes her head and turns around. 'What am I thinking?! Zaguan's right! Melon's a murderer! I need to stop!' The ewe starts walking home.

"Hello again."

The sheep quickly looks down the alleyway she had been passing by and can just see the speaker in the shadows. "Yafya."

The horse steps forward just enough to be seen better, but still hidden. "You decided not to go visit Melon tonight?"

Sebun frowns. "That's right. I"m not going ever again either, so don't try to force me."

"I'm not going to do that. I'm actually here for a few reasons. First, to acknowledge that you've kept your word and done so promptly."

"Okay." The sheep still feels suspicious of Yafya.

"Second, to commend you for choosing to go back a second time even when you weren't required to."

"And?"

"I'll be the one escorting you home tonight."

Sebun hates that idea. "I'd rather you didn't."

"You'd prefer to walk home alone?"

As much as she'd like to say yes, the ewe can't find it in her to actually tell Yafya that. 'I guess that attack really did affect me more than I thought.'

The horse takes the silence as a preference to have him there over being alone. He kneels down. "You can ride on my back."

Sebun stares at Yafya in disbelief. "What?"

"I prefer keeping to the shadows and the rooftops. Having you on my back would be the safest way for you taking that route."

The ewe takes a deep breath to get over her reluctance. "Fine."

Yafya's eyes twitch as Sebun grips him. "Don't you get any ideas about directing me like the small herbivores did to my kind in ancient times."

"Believe me, this is as unpleasant for me if not more so," the sheep says as she's situating herself. "Ready."

'Keep telling yourself that.' The horse quickly climbs a nearby fire escape to the rooftop. He then runs and jumps to the next roof, feeling Sebun cling to him and hearing her whimpering in the process. "You can relax. I've been doing this for years. I know my limits."

"That's very comforting," the sheep says with sarcasm. She keeps her eyes screwed shut for awhile. Sebun eventually opens her eyes again, only to see that they're about to jump from a rooftop without a building across from them. "AAHH!"

Yafya jumps as a train starts passing by below. He lands on the roof. He rolls his eyes as he realizes that the ewe now has a death grip on him. "I told you I've done this type of thing for years. I know the train schedules."

Sebun doesn't really hear the horse. She just keeps holding on for dear life.

Yafya waits patiently for the roof of the building he wants to use next. Once the two have arrived, he leaps over and comes to a complete stop. "I'll allow you time to rest here for the sake of your nerves." He crouches down.

The ewe takes the opportunity to get off and enjoy a solid surface beneath her.

The pair spend a few minutes in silence.

Sebun looks over at Yafya. "I have one question for you. Why did you want me visiting Melon?"

"You said you owed me," the horse says with a shrug. "That was the first thing I thought of."

"Don't pull that crap with me. You know what I meant."

Yafya stares at the sheep before he sits down and crosses his legs. "You're already aware that my history with carnivores has been…"

"Despicable."

"I was going to say questionable, but that word works as well. When I first met Melon, I was disgusted by his existence."

Sebun glares at Yafya.

"However, after discovering and experiencing some things that I won't go into any detail about for the sake of privacy, I came to feel a strong sense of responsibility. An urge to help him. A desire to try rehabilitating Melon. I realized I alone couldn't succeed in the task. Knowing of Legoshi's way of thinking, I knew he'd be a great help. His wife inserting herself was annoying, but that rabbit has been a surprisingly useful asset. Legoshi also suggested a panda doctor to me by the name of Gouhin to give Melon weekly therapy sessions. His behavior has improved by a wide margin because of each and every individual's effort."

"What's the point of telling me all this?"

"Every time one of his fans who wrote him visited and stopped all contact afterwards, it'd be a setback. That's why I had the prison make sure that no one without official business or who had already been visiting him were allowed to see him."

"Setbacks?"

Yafya looks at Sebun. "The Melon you met the first night, he was fifty times worse when he came to the prison."

The ewe is disturbed by the thought of a Melon worse than what she already witnessed.

"Melon has gotten that far because Legoshi, Haru, Gouhin, and myself have been visiting him and talking with him. Granted, I've only been able to visit on occasion due to my work."

"What do I have to do with all this?!" Sebun asks feeling annoyed at not yet receiving an explanation.

"Melon's progress reached a standstill. Nothing was changing and I was afraid that he'd regress back to how he was in the beginning. Then, I saved you. Your willingness to call me out on my previous ways and your stubbornness intrigued me. My intuition told me that getting you to meet with Melon would have an affect on him."

Sebun stares at Yafya as this information sinks in. "And…did it?"

"Melon is monitored at all times. I have reviewed recordings of him alone in his cell and whenever he's speaking with visitors. That includes you. You are fascinating him. Whether this is in a positive way or a negative way is uncertain."

The ewe finds herself thinking back to the conversation with the hybrid last night. She is able to remember his confusion when she asked him about something as trivial as his preference in music. Everything else she'd asked about, Melon had a very similar reaction to each one. He answered every question, but he didn't understand why Sebun would ask him those things in the first place. 'Has he never experienced any kind of mundane conversation, even as a kid?'

Yafya looks away. "I can understand you not feeling safe interacting with Melon. If you truly don't want to be involved anymore, that is your choice. Hopefully, I can find someone else to help with the likely long road to rehabilitating him if it's at all possible. It is a difficult task to be asking of anyone." The horse gets to his knees. "We've rested long enough. Climb back on."

Sebun stands up, wraps her arms around his neck, and groans. "Yafya…you truly are the Black Devil."

The horse chuckles, knowing he succeeded in his real goal. "I never heard my nickname used in such an amusing context before." He runs to the edge of the roof and jumps across to the next building. 'Five regular visitors for Melon. Maybe now he can improve again.'

AN: Hah! Yafya talked Sebun into going back to see Melon again. For those who are curious, I personally believe Melon's taste in music would include general death metal, the Beastars equivalents of Radiohead, Nine Inch Nails, and that Swedish metal band Ghost. Hope I still have everyone's interest at this point. See you on Saturday!