AN: Something I forgot to bring up last time has something to do with the seal, Zaguan. He's established in the original Beastars story as being basically a foreigner, but I didn't want to create or assume some kind of accent. That's why I have him speak without contractions as a sort of compromise. However, his personal thoughts do have contractions since he'd likely be thinking in his own Seaspeak language. On to the chapter.

Ch 3: The Birth of Something New

Melon is staring at his pile of letters. 'What's today? Friday. Now then…why can't I just reach out and pick up one of my letters? I do it every day. Reading each and every one has been my pastime since I got here. Why do I not want to now? It's the only activity I have in here.' He lies down on his back. 'That old horse visited last night. He kept asking about that sheep who'd visited. Why's she so important to him? And why does he think that I care? That ewe was just a visitor.' The hybrid shifts so his head can rest on his hands. 'She didn't visit last night. Did that old man have something to do with it or did she feel she finally have enough of dealing with me?' He scoffs. 'Why am I thinking about this?! She doesn't matter to me!'

A border collie prison guard approaches the cell. "Melon, you have a visitor."

The hybrid gets up and is led to the visitors' room. Seeing who's on the other side of the glass, he grumbles to himself. "And she's back." Melon sits across from the sheep and picks up the phone. "So…visit number three."

Sebun nods. "Yep. Sorry about not visiting yesterday."

The hybrid doesn't let it show, but he's completely blindsided by this apology. 'What the hell?!' "You think I cared?"

"Well…it must have been boring with nothing to do but read through your old letters."

"The old horse showed up."

Sebun lets out a little laugh. "Bet that must have been a barrel of laughs. You know, that bastard escorted me home." The ewe frowns. "Next time, I'll just walk."

Melon chuckles. "What did he do?'

"He had me ride on his back while jumping from rooftop to rooftop and a moving train at one point."

Imagining all that makes the hybrid start laughing. "I can picture you complaining about it and screaming the whole time!"

Sebun is so mad. "Stop laughing!"

"Wish I could have been there to see your face!"

The ewe just waits for Melon to finish with his laughter. However, the annoyed look she has on her face makes it last longer.

The hybrid finally calms down enough to ask what's on his mind. "So…what convinced you to come back?"

"I already told you last time."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. Not wanting to cower or run away from me. That shit. It didn't keep you from staying away last night."

Sebun almost winces. "I have a life in the outside world."

"Sure." Melon smirks at the sheep. "That's not why you didn't show last night though."

The ewe is caught off guard by the correct statement. "That's quite the claim."

"Don't try to deny the truth. I already caught you."

Sebun really doesn't like that phrasing. "Meaning?"

"Your eyes showed shock and fear. Your face also twitched."

The sheep realizes this means Melon is right. She can't hide the truth from him. "Fine. I did purposely stay away, but not because I was afraid." Sebun is pissed when she sees the hybrid roll his eyes, clearly indicating he doesn't believe her. "My friend Zaguan was worried about my safety, so I agreed to stop coming for his peace of mind."

"Who?"

"The seal who was outside the door last time."

"Ah, I remember that guy." Melon's eyes suddenly widen and he grins. "Ooh. You have broken a promise to a friend. All to visit me. How scandalous."

Sebun doesn't like how much the hybrid is enjoying this. "You don't have to rub it in."

"I'm guessing that you haven't told him yet. So, who brought you in this time if not him? Legoshi? Old Man Yafya? Somebody new?"

"I came alone."

Melon pauses, intrigued by this development. "Well, well, well. What a spine you grew. Still, that was probably a foolish choice."

"We'll see."

"Question. Are you going to tell that seal guy about this?"

Sebun sighs. "Yes I am. Not looking forward to it, but I have to."

"How fun. Wish I could be there to see the resulting messy fallout." The thought of such discord makes Melon's tongue loll out as he laughs.

Sebun tries keeping her composure while also feeling creeped out by the hybrid's tongue just sticking out in such a manner. "Even if our argument makes us need time apart, Zaguan and I would eventually get over it and return to hanging out."

"That makes no sense to me. Sounds like some sort of fairytale."

The ewe stares at Melon for a moment. "You never had friends, did you?"

"That's surprising to you?" The hybrid gestures to himself. "Even before I went through this change that made me bulk up and gave me more of these damn spots, I had the fangs and the eyes of a leopard, not of a gazelle. Regular animals don't want mixtures like me in the world."

Sebun takes some time to think over all this. "I'm sorry that the child you used to be had to go through whatever terrible treatment others threw at you."

Melon feels a surge of anger. "Stop with that pity! I don't want it!"

This makes the sheep reel back her emotions a little. 'He really hates it when others feel bad for him. Keep that in mind, Sebun.' "Melon, I can say that conversations with you are never boring."

The hybrid is completely unprepared for that statement. "What does that mean?"

"It means no one is as mentally stimulating to talk to as you are."

Melon's anger gradually goes away after hearing this. "I am a fascinating individual. It's certainly helped by me having a PhD in History."

"Wow," Sebun says feeling very impressed. "What got you into History?"

"How it perceived hybrids."

That makes the ewe frown. "From your tone, I'm guessing it wasn't positive."

Melon shrugs. "Just stating the truth. Hybrids are the scourge of all existence."

This causes a sigh to escape Sebun's lips. "Again with that? Legoshi and Haru's son will have too many loving individuals around to be anything like you when he grows up."

"I disagree. He'll end up here as a killer if not dead by suicide or murder. Just like me."

"No. You're here because you chose to murder."

"Actually, I'm in here because I got caught."

The sheep feels annoyed by this logic, but she smirks at her own bit of logic that pops up in her head. "If you hadn't committed any of your crimes, there wouldn't have been anything to arrest you for in the first place."

The leopard-gazelle hybrid looks away and grumbles to himself, mostly because he can't think of a good comeback.

"I think I'll try to visit you every day."

Melon glances back at the ewe. "Why?"

"I told you, you're interesting to talk to. I'll do my best to let you know when I won't be able to make it here."

"What makes you think I'd care?"

"Call it a common courtesy. Besides, isn't it less boring to have somebody to talk to on a regular basis?"

Melon sighs. "Fine. I'll give you that."

Sebun nods. "Good. Now, what should we talk about for the rest of this visit?"

Later that night…

The ewe exits the prison. 'That was…I guess satisfying is the right word. Conversations with Melon were quite enjoyable. I'm actually looking forward to visiting him again, crazy as it sounds.' She comes to a stop at the sidewalk when she sees a familiar friend a few feet away.

Zaguan is staring right down at Sebun.

The sheep takes a deep breath before speaking. "Look, I know I promised I'd stay away, but I ran into Yafya last night. He didn't threaten me or anything like that. He told me his goal's to rehabilitate Melon. Yafya, Legoshi, Haru, and a doctor have been visiting him regularly. That old horse says I'm already leaving an impression on Melon. The thought that I could possibly be contributing to him becoming someone better in the future was too much for me to ignore. Me, a vital part in rehabilitating a serial killer. I couldn't walk away from it." Sebun looks down at the concrete. "Besides, despite what he's done in his life, I've found that speaking with Melon is an exciting part of my day now. Sure, there's some fear, but it also keeps my mind active in a way I enjoy. You're probably thinking I've made a terrible choice, risking my life like this. I'm sorry I am worrying you, but I won't change my mind about this anytime soon. I'm determined to try to see this through." The ewe looks up at her seal friend. "I've said what I wanted to. What's your response?"

Zaguan stares a little bit, then gives a smile. "Ready to go home?"

Sebun breathes a sigh of relief realizing he won't be going off on her. "Yeah." She walks beside the seal for a few minutes in silence before glancing over. "By the way, I was planning to tell you when I got home."

"I know."

The next morning…

Melon is sitting on his bed with cuffs on his wrists and a muzzle on his face to keep from biting. "I still don't see why all this is necessary. You could mop the floor with me if you really wanted to."

The buff panda sitting in a chair across from him gives a grunt. "I could, that's true. It's all regulation though. Besides, having them on keeps you less annoying."

The hybrid growls. 'This doctor's the most aggravating regular. Every Saturday, he asks me about every little thing that happened during the week. Keeping silent doesn't work with him since I get bored long before he does. I hate that so much.'

Gouhin has learned not to react to Melon's provocations. 'My usual methods won't work with this guy. Beating him when he acts out just gives him a metaphorical win. Then, there's the fact that pain excites the weirdo. Words keep him on his toes and he occasionally lets something slip.' "Anything new to report?"

"What do you think?"

"I wouldn't know since I don't live in prison like you do. I have my own shit to deal with outside of you anyway. So?"

Melon groans. "Fine. I spent most of my time here in the cell, read through my letters as usual, got a few visits, that's it."

"Who visited? Legoshi and Haru?"

"No time with that monster of theirs on the way."

Gouhin doesn't let his annoyance at Melon's statement show on his face. 'I know you're not just talking about their kid when you say monster. You're calling all hybrids monsters. That especially includes you. Melon, you're a textbook example of someone who got put down by the rest of the world and chose to become the thing everyone accused you of being. It'll be a pain in the ass to make you see that if it's even possible at all.' "Who did come to see you?"

"Old Man Yafya showed up once."

"I see. Who else?"

Melon looks at a wall. "No one important."

"Really? You'd sit there and categorize multiple meetings with Sebun the Merino Sheep as unimportant?"

The hybrid glares at Gouhin.

The panda doctor smirks. "Yafya, Legoshi, and even Haru tell me things concerning you. I've known about Sebun since the first night." He almost chuckles at Melon's annoyed grunt. "I gathered from what they've told me that she seems set on visiting you whenever she can. I heard she's even planning to let you know when she can't come."

"I'll be giving it a couple weeks before the novelty that's me wears off and she makes the smart choice."

"Which would be?"

"Bailing out before I decide to kill her."

Gouhin stares at Melon. "No. You won't do that."

"Of course I will, Doc. What makes you think I wouldn't?"

"You're intrigued by her and curious to see if she'll keep her word. It has already led to a slight fixation on her in your mind."

"What?! Where'd that come from?!"

"According to what Yafya informed me of, based on what footage of you he looked over, you're more invested in conversations with Sebun than any other visitor."

"I think it says a lot more about everyone else than it does about her." Melon gestures at Gouhin. "Exhibit A."

The panda rolls his eyes. "Anyway, the biggest piece of evidence is that you tried to hide her existence from me." He smiles while showing his fangs. "You changing this much in such a short amount of time makes me want to meet her."

In a flash, Melon stands up and growls.

Gouhin chuckles. "Definitive proof."

The hybrid stops growling and narrows his eyes at the panda. "What?"

"I purposely showed my fangs to you as I said that in order to gauge your reaction. Your carnivore half kicked in, making you act territorial and aggressive. It proves that you've already become possessive and maybe even protective of Sebun in such a short amount of time."

Melon stands frozen, unable to comprehend all this information.

Gouhin hears a tone from his phone, meaning he got a text. The panda gets the phone out of his pocket, chuckles, then holds it out to Melon. "It's for you."

The confused hybrid looks at the screen.

Earlier that morning…

Sebun is sitting in a hospital waiting room. All around her are other animals there for the same exact reason. 'Haru's giving birth to her and Legoshi's son right now. I can't wait to meet him.' She looks around at the others. 'Most of these guys are from Legoshi's high school drama club. There's also all of his dorm mates. I think the rabbits are Haru's family. Zaguan is on my right.' The ewe looks over to her left. 'I think I know who this is.' "You're Gosha, right?"

The Komodo dragon turns his head to the sheep. "Yes."

"I'm Sebun." She holds out her hand to the older man. "I was Legoshi's neighbor while he lived at the Hidden Condo."

Gosha gently takes hold of the sheep's hand and gives it a little shake. "It is nice to meet you."

"So, what's with the weird muzzle covering your mouth?"

"Komodo dragons are venomous. Whenever I get emotional, the venom pours out of my mouth uncontrollably. This muzzle prevents that."

"The prospect of your great grandson being born is likely to get you very emotional."

Gosha chuckles. "It's a good thing I was spending the night at their apartment. Haru had just sent Legoshi out to get something to satisfy a craving of hers when she went into labor. I'm relieved I was so focused on the task of getting her to the hospital that my venom didn't leak out due to any huge emotions."

"How do you think Legoshi's doing in there?"

"With the classes and my tutoring, he'll do great."

Sebun decides to observe others for a while.

"I wish Juno was here," says a nearby Dom the Peafowl.

"She has been MIA for some time now," says Kibi the Anteater.

"I've tried contacting her," Shiira the Cheetah says while holding up her cell phone. "She sent a text saying she was glad for Legoshi and Haru, but that she couldn't come."

"That's better than Louis," says Tao the Panther.

"Screw him," says Bill the Tiger. "He has thrown himself into being Mr CEO and all that shit while basically throwing all of us away."

Els the Angora Goat leans her head against the tiger's bulky arm. "He's also got his own child on the way, so he's probably worried about that too."

"Whatever," says Pina the Dall Sheep. "The point is that we've all come to see Legoshi's hybrid kid be born. Wonder how weird it'll look."

"HEY!" shouts Voss the Fennec Fox. "Shut up!"

"Legoshi's son won't be weird!" continues Miguno the Hyena. "He'll be the cutest baby ever!"

Durham the Coyote chuckles. "To think Legoshi's the first of the 701 Gang to become a dad." He looks over at the sheepdog next to him. "With all the girls you've dated, I thought you would be the first by knocking one up."

Collot shrugs. "Just hasn't happened yet."

Jack the Yellow Lab is fidgeting and muttering to himself. "Can't wait until I get to meet him. I just know he'll be the most adorable little guy ever. I'm so excited."

Zaguan leans over to whisper to Sebun. "I hope Legoshi will choose me as godfather."

The sheep feels awkward about this. She knows Legoshi won't choose the seal since she is aware who the wolf's real best friend is. The problem is that she doesn't know how to tell the seal the truth. Luckily, she ends up not having to.

The doors open to reveal Legoshi sporting the biggest smile anyone has ever seen on him. "Hi, everyone. There's somebody I'd like you all to meet." He shifts to show the tiny bundle in his arms.

Everyone stands up and comes over to see the newborn hybrid.

Despite wanting everyone to meet his son, Legoshi makes a point of giving him to Gosha first. "Thank you again, Grandpa."

The Komodo dragon stares at the tiny wolf-rabbit hybrid in his hands. "I was glad to."

"Still, it's what made choosing a name for him that much easier. Grandpa, I'd like you to meet your great grandson…Goshen."

Gosha looks up at his wolf grandson while trying to hide the fact that he's now trembling. "Don't say things like that to an old man like me. My heart can't take it."

Haru's father pats the Komodo dragon's side (the highest he can reach as a dwarf rabbit). "Could I hold my grandson please?"

"Of course." Gosha hands the little hybrid to the rabbit. He goes to a corner to compose himself after Legoshi's bombshell.

Haru's dad smiles at Goshen. He has to use a bit more strength to hold the baby due to it being larger than any rabbit baby. "Aren't you the most adorable thing? Who in their right mind would think you're not an animal like the rest of us?"

Haru's mom strokes Goshen's rabbit ears. "The world is going be hard on you, but we'll be loving grandparents."

Haru's brother turns to Legoshi. "How's Haru doing?"

"She's sleeping," the wolf says with a light smile. "The birth took a lot out of her."

"I'll bet," says Haru's sister.

The 701 Gang are all gushing over their former dorm mate's newborn son.

Jack is the most enthusiastic. "Hi, little guy. You got the cutest face ever. Goo goo."

Goshen gives the yellow lab a big smile.

Jack gasps and beams at Legoshi. "Did you see that? He's smiling at me."

The wolf smiles back at his childhood friend. "I'm glad that Goshen's godfather's able to make him smile."

The yellow lab's jaw snaps shut and he stares at Legoshi. "Somebody take the baby. I'm gonna cry."

Aoba the Eagle grabs Goshen as Jack starts crying.

Legoshi's smile gets bigger as the rest of the 701 Gang gives the yellow lab a group hug. 'Tears of joy. You're healed now from when I dropped out of Cherryton. You didn't need onions for the tears.'

Sebun can tell by the way Zaguan is looking down at the floor that the seal is sad despite the smile. 'What did you expect? That Jack guy has been Legoshi's friend since they were kids.'

Pina looks at the wolf-rabbit hybrid. "Hmm."

"What?" Aoba asks in a warning tone.

"An herbivore's natural beauty mixed with the fierceness of a carnivore doesn't look half bad actually."

"Praise coming from Pina?" asks Kai the Mongoose. "That has to be the first sign of the apocalypse."

The Dall sheep rolls his eyes as others laugh.

Aoba sees Els staring at the baby. "Want to hold him?"

The Angora goat smiles. "Sure." Receiving Goshen from the eagle, Els proceeds to boop the baby on the nose.

Bill comes over and takes a knee so he's on the same level as his girlfriend. "He's a cute kid…despite who the father is."

Legoshi frowns. "I'm not ugly."

The tiger ignores the wolf. "The kid really shows the great things that can come from the union of a carnivore and an herbivore."

Els looks at her boyfriend with a nervous smile. "Makes you think, doesn't it?"

Bill's eyes meet his girlfriend's. The thought of the goat carrying their child sends a thrill through the tiger's body.

Aoba smirks. 'Bingo! I knew this would spring their relationship forward out of limbo!'

Time passes, during which others hold Goshen.

Shiira the Cheetah takes a photo to show her sheep roommate, Peach.

Pina takes a photo to show his roommate, Riz the Brown Bear (he didn't come due to not being comfortable with being around the others after he ate Tem the Alpaca back at Cherryton).

Eventually, it's just Legoshi and Sebun bringing Goshen back to Haru. They're surprised to find the rabbit wide awake.

"Finally," Haru says with a groan. "Mommy wants her baby."

Legoshi walks over and gives Goshen to the rabbit.

"I need to enjoy the time that he's smaller than me. We all know that won't be lasting for very long." Haru looks up at the wolf. "We're not having any more kids. I won't be putting my body through that ever again."

"I'm okay with that." Legoshi gets down to his knees so he can rest his head on the bed. "I'm just glad we were able to have one child."

Sebun smiles at the family bonding moment. A little pang of jealousy hits her when Haru starts breast feeding Goshen. 'She's so young and she already has a loving husband and a child.' The thought leaves her when she sees the rabbit reach a hand over to Legoshi and pet him on the head. The Merino sheep has to work really hard not to giggle when the wolf's tail wags from the petting. 'So adorable.'

"What's up?" Haru suddenly asks Sebun.

"Oh. Uh…I just wanted to ask for a picture."

"Is that all? Why not just do that in the waiting room like I assume everyone else did?"

"I wanted all four of us in the photo. It's for…Melon."

Haru smiles. "That's a great idea. Let's stick our happiness and unity in that pessimistic bastard's face to prove him wrong."

Legoshi pulls out his phone. "Gouhin's probably with him now. We can send the picture to his phone and he can show Melon."

The women agree.

Now…

Melon sees a picture of Sebun with Haru and Legoshi. The adult hybrid gets the point of this when he sees the newborn hybrid. That and the text below it saying, 'Hey Gouhin, show this to Melon'. "Legoshi's not much of a texter, is he?"

"Nope," Gouhin says while studying Melon's reaction to the photo.

The leopard-gazelle hybrid scoffs. "That so called happy image is going to fall apart fast. Either he'll eat her or she'll run out on them."

"Those two are too full of stubborn conviction to let either of those things happen."

"It's all a facade. It's only a matter of time. I should know. Mama ate Papa after all."

Gouhin stays silent. Yafya had told him the truth about the situation and requested that he not tell Melon. The panda was uncertain at first, but time spent talking with the hybrid has made him realize that it's the best option. Even though he hasn't gotten any concrete answers, Gouhin has been able to find out Melon has issues with his mother that would only be made much worse if he discovered the truth about his father.

"The idea for this photo obviously came from Sebun. She's trying to prove a point about support and and all that crap."

Gouhin sighs and puts his phone away. "Let's just get through this appointment."

Melon smirks, seeing the panda getting visibly annoyed as a personal victory.

AN: So, Goshen has been born at this point. I was so glad to be able to write Gouhin and Gosha, especially Gosha. He's probably my favorite character in Beastars of all those who haven't been animated in the anime yet. I actually imagine those who haven't received voice actors yet with certain well known voice actors. Gosha has always been John Swasey for me, who many might know as All for One in My Hero Academia and Lord Death in Soul Eater. Yafya, I imagine Christopher Sabat, aka Vegeta in Dragon Ball and All Might in MHA. That one might be slightly questionable to some since herbivores generally have higher pitched voices than carnivores, but horses are a different kind of herbivore. With Melon, I've decided on Eric Vale, aka Sanji in One Piece and Shigaraki in MHA. Lastly, with Sebun, I don't have one specific voice actress for her. I'm torn between Erica Mendez (Retsuko in Aggretsuko, Gon in Hunter x Hunter, and Ryuko Matoi in Kill la Kill) and Brina Palencia (Mineta in MHA, Chopper in One Piece, and Yuno Gasai in Future Diary) as my top choices. I know some of these would be unlikely to actually end up voicing these characters since I think some might not be affiliated with the company in charge of dubbing Beastars, but it helps me with writing these characters to use voices I'm familiar with. Next chapter on Wednesday!