Earlier that day
A jet black limousine drove toward Cherryton. Inside were a female grey wolf, a male deer, and a young wolf boy. The male wolf was a goldish brown color with a somewhat angular face. However, his most distinctive trait was the pair of deer antlers atop his head. Anyone could immediately tell what he was—the hybrid child of a deer and a wolf.
He was the child of Louis, the red deer, CEO of the Horns Conglomerate. Because of this, he was absurdly wealthy. The fact he was in a limousine made that abundantly clear. However, his parents were also very well dressed in what must be fairly expensive clothing. His father wore a black suit and tie while his mother wore a sparkly white dress.
The shaded screen between the passengers and the duck driver lowered. "Cherryton Academy." The screen raised again. Louis smiled. "I guess this is it."
The three climbed out of the car. Juno hugged her son tightly. "I love you, sweetie. I hope you enjoy Cherryton as much as we did."
The chimera smiled. "Thanks, Mom."
Louis embraced his son next. "Take care, Ibuki. Show them what a half-deer, half-wolf is capable of. Don't take any flack from anybody."
Ibuki chuckled. "I know, Dad. Bye."
The two parents loaded into their limousine, and their child watched as it drove away. Ibuki looked towards the school and took a deep breath before heading for the canine dorms.
He made his way to room seven-hundred and one. Inside, he found it to be a little cramped. The wealthy chimera was used to having a very large room. He didn't complain, though. It'd be nice to try a change of pace.
He looked at all the beds, and one on the right side of the room from the door caught his eye. He decided to claim the bottom one.
The door opened and Ibuki turned to meet his new roommate. He was somewhat confused by the appearance of the person entering, though. He almost looked like a normal fox. Mostly orange with a gradient into a trail of white on his mouth that probably went down at least to his belly. But he had a very strange-looking face. His eyes only looked half-open, and he had a strange, deadpan expression that looked like somebody just told him a joke that he was particularly unamused by.
The fox reached into his pocket and pulled out what looked like a notepad. He flipped it open and showed the first page to Ibuki. On the page was a cartoonish drawing of the fox's disembodied head with a big, open-mouth smile. He bowed while still showing Ibuki the notepad. "Nice to meet you! I'm Jiro!" That was certainly a friendly and energetic greeting. But the fox didn't change facial expressions at all.
The chimera bowed back. "I'm Ibuki."
The fox flipped the book over to the next page, which had a similar drawing but with a smaller, closed-mouth smile. "Sorry about the drawing thing. I'm a Tibetan fox. My face muscles don't work that well, so I can't emote with them."
As strange as that was, the chimera didn't want to ask for fear of possibly offending his new roommate by probing. Ibuki laughed awkwardly. "Don't worry about it."
Jiro put the notepad back into his pocket and started putting away his bag.
Suddenly, Ibuki heard loud bickering from the hall. It sounded like several voices getting closer. The door opened, and a large variety of canines walked in. What astonished Ibuki, though, was that he already knew all of them.
They all looked at the confused chimera. His eyes were drawn to each one as he said their names.
First, he looked at a very attractive white-furred sheepdog that covered his right eye with his hair, while his gorgeous, blue left eye stared at the deer-wolf. "Lucas-kun?"
Then his eyes traveled over to a somewhat short and scrawny coyote. "Gilbert-kun?"
Then over to a somewhat muscular hyena. "Katsu-kun?"
Finally, he spotted a tiny fennec fox on the sheepdog's shoulder. "Simon-kun?"
All of the dogs started rapidly wagging their tails before running up to the chimera, speaking in unison. "Ibuki-kun!"
The chimera found himself getting pushed around and pulled into several hugs as each canine voiced their pleasure to see him.
"N-nice to see you guys too." He groaned as they practically crushed him. Unbelievable. How did the children of Legosi's friends all get the same room as him? Well, at least he didn't have to deal with Legosi's brat.
As Ibuki went on his way to his classes, he caught the attention of every single student as he walked through the hall. This wasn't unusual. Every school was just like this.
They whispered behind his back, but he could hear them.
"What the hell is he?"
"What kind of wolf has antlers?"
"Isn't that Louis, the red deer's kid?"
"Oh yeah. Wow. He's even weirder looking than I thought."
The chimera rolled his eyes. This discrimination was par for the course. He's never been to a school where he wasn't treated like garbage.
Even during classes, people whispered about him.
"Aren't herbivore-carnivore hybrids super dangerous?"
"Yeah, one of 'em was a crime lord."
"Seriously? And they're letting this guy come here?"
Ibuki growled in frustration. Of course, people were comparing him to Melon. Everybody does.
After a full day of obnoxious whispering, the chimera just decided to retire to his room early. Maybe after a few days, people will stop caring.
Ibuki returned to his dorm. When he walked in, his roommates were engaged in a variety of different activities.
Jiro was on the bunk above Ibuki's, drawing something on a sketchpad.
Simon was lying on his back, staring at the ceiling.
Gil was playing on a handheld game console.
Lucas was ranting and raving about something to Katsu, who looked incredibly bored.
The sheepdog snorted indignantly. "It's so stupid! What is even the point of making us wear this ridiculous uniform? With suspenders! Suspenders! Are we working on a farm? Do they think we're too stupid to know how to use a belt?"
Katsu nodded, still looking bored. "Uh-huh."
Ibuki knew these canines well. Once Lucas started blathering about bad fashion, he didn't shut the hell up about it and became absolutely insufferable.
He decided not to bother with them and get to know Jiro instead since he's unacquainted with him.
He approached the fox, who stopped drawing to look at him. Jiro set his sketchpad aside before reaching into his pocket and pulling out that notepad again, showing the chimera that big, smiling face from before. "Hey, Ibuki-kun!"
His voice sounded energetic, yet his expression remained unchanged. He must have been serious about not being able to show emotion with his face.
"Hey, Jiro-san."
The chimera glanced at the large sketchpad.
Jiro flipped to the small smile. "You curious about what I'm drawing?"
Ibuki nodded.
"It's nothing much, just a sketch of this room." The fox showed the sketchpad to Ibuki.
The chimera was amazed by what he saw. It was a drawing of the room, sans the people currently inside it. The drawing was incredibly detailed. Ibuki smiled. "Wow. This is really good."
Jiro flipped to the big smile. "Thanks!"
Ibuki found this encounter so bizarre. Having to treat a drawing as if it were the person's face felt incredibly strange.
Jiro flipped to the small smile. "If you don't mind me asking-"
Lucas raised his voice, accidentally interrupting the fox. "I don't understand why we can't just wear what we want! I guarantee you, I have something more-"
Jiro turned his attention to the sheepdog, shouting at him. "Hey!"
Lucas jumped and looked at the fox with a surprised expression.
Jiro flipped the notepad to a drawing of himself with an angry scowl and a vein popping out on his head and showed it to Lucas. "You're not the only one having a conversation here! Please lower your voice."
Lucas bowed apologetically. "Sorry about that, Jiro-kun."
Jiro sighed and closed the notepad as he turned back to Ibuki. "If you don't mind me asking, why do you have antlers?"
"My mother is a grey wolf. My father is a red deer."
Jiro opened the book to the smaller smile. "Interesting. So you're a cross between a carnivore and an herbivore. I've never met someone like that before."
Ibuki frowned. "As far as the world knows, there've been only three of us. People hate us because one was a deranged killer."
Jiro flipped to a drawing of himself tilting his head with a question mark over it and a curious expression. "Who's the third one?"
The chimera scowled. "Some half-rabbit, half-wolf brat. He's not evil, just disgustingly cocky."
Jiro flipped to a drawing of himself with a sad frown. "I'm sorry to hear that people treat you like that. It feels a bit hypocritical on their part, though. There's plenty of evil carnivores and herbivores throughout history."
Ibuki scoffed. "Tell me about it."
Gil stood up. "S-sorry to interrupt. But we're supposed to shower now."
Jiro nodded, set the notepad down on his bed, and jumped off. Ibuki followed. Soon the canines filed out of the room. The deer-wolf was happy he was at least getting along with his roommates.
Ibuki basked in the shower's hot water. The shower he had at home was much nicer, but this was acceptable. The chimera preferred baths anyway. He also felt a tad awkward showering with other people.
After drying off and putting on their sleepwear, the group of canines walked back to their room. As soon as they entered, Lucas started rummaging through the closet for something. Ibuki was caught off guard when the fashionable canine pulled out a large and old-as-dirt TV.
Lucas grinned. "Dad gave me this. He used it when he was living in this room."
Ibuki looked at Lucas in surprise. "This is where your father stayed?"
Katsu nodded. "Everybody's dad except yours and Jiro-san's. Room seven 'o one." The hyena chuckled. "Too bad Lee-kun and Olivia-chan aren't here."
Jiro grabbed his notepad and showed Katsu that drawing of him looking curious. "Who are Lee and Olivia?"
Lucas smiled. "Lee-kun is Legosi-san's son, and Olivia-chan is Jack-san's daughter. Obviously, Olivia-chan couldn't be here because of her gender. And Lee-kun would probably be put in the herbivore dorms anyway."
Jiro looked at Ibuki. "I take it that's the 'brat' you were talking about."
Ibuki sneered. "I'm glad he's not here. I'd rather jump out the window than share a room with him."
Katsu sighed. "You guys still hate each other, huh?"
Ibuki scoffed. "It's not like he became any less insufferable since graduating from middle school."
The sheepdog hooked in the TV and turned it on. Ibuki, strangely enough, felt disgusted by the picture quality. "Lucas-kun. No offense, but would you care if I brought in a higher quality TV?"
Lucas gave Ibuki a surprised look. Then he looked a bit sad. "That's fine."
Ibuki winced. The sheepdog must've been looking forward to using his father's TV. Perhaps it had something to do with the room they were staying in. But as bad as the chimera felt, he'd be spending the next few years in this room, so he at least wanted to watch movies in high quality.
Ibuki pulled out his phone and went over to his father in the contacts. At this time of day, he shouldn't be terribly busy.
The phone rang twice. "Hey, Ibuki."
"Sorry to bother you, Dad. But could you get someone to bring the TV in my room to Cherryton? I'm in room seven-zero-one."
"It's not a bother at all. I'll send someone over soon."
"Oh. I'll probably need my movie player and all my movies too."
Louis chuckled. "I would have sent those along anyway."
"Thanks, Dad."
"Of course. Did you join any after-school clubs?"
Ibuki slapped his forehead. "No. I forgot. I'm sorry."
"No worries. You still have time to join one. If you want to, that is."
"I've already got a club in mind."
"Glad to hear it."
Ibuki could faintly hear his mother's voice in the background somewhere. "Oh, Loooouis~! Come to the bedroom! I have a surprise for you!"
"Uhh… Sorry, Ibuki. I need to go."
Ibuki chuckled. "Yeah, bye."
He hung up. As his father said, a rhino and bull showed up with a gigantic TV. Everyone looked at it in awe. Even Jiro, whose face couldn't emote, still dropped his jaw.
The two workers set up the TV for him. Once it was all hooked in, the rhino bowed to the deer-wolf. "It's ready to go, Ibuki-sama."
The bull bowed as well. "We were glad to help."
The two large animals left. The chimera felt a bit bad about not letting Lucas use the TV he wanted. He turned to the sheepdog. "You can pick out which movie to watch, Lucas-kun."
Lucas's tail wagged, and his mood seemed to have improved. He went through a paper bag the workers brought that contained all of Ibuki's movies.
Ibuki cringed when Lucas pulled out "The Gleaming." The deer-wolf wanted to object to watching a horror film before bed. But he did say he'd let Lucas pick.
They watched the film together, and Ibuki tried to hide how frightened he was. Most horror movies freaked him out, but The Gleaming was one that terrified him to his very core. It was an excellent film, but one that the deer-wolf usually saved for special occasions since it scared him so badly.
By the time it was over, the chimera, as well as everyone in the room but Jiro were looking really spooked. The fox, of course, kept his permanent neutral expression.
Ibuki turned to Jiro, curious as to how the fox felt. "How'd you like it?"
Jiro reached into his pocket and pulled out his notepad again. He opened it to a drawing of himself looking absolutely terrified.
Ibuki chuckled nervously.
The chimera awoke from his slumber when his bed suddenly turned hard and cold. He opened his eyes and tried to look around, there didn't seem to be any light whatsoever. However, his wolf eyes allowed him to see in the dark anyway. Somehow, the chimera was in the showers.
He stood up and started walking towards the door. He opened it and walked into the hallway, hoping he won't run into the housemother.
As he walked, he started to get a tad confused. The hallway wasn't this long before, was it? The deer-wolf assumed he must have wound up on the wrong floor, so he inspected a faceplate on a nearby door.
Three-hundred and six.
How did he end up on the third floor? The chimera decided to find either the elevator or the stairs. As he continued walking, he started to get suspicious. Even the third floor shouldn't have a hallway this long. It felt like he'd been walking forever. Out of frustration, he caved and decided to ask one of the dorms for help. He picked a random door but paused when he read the faceplate.
Five-hundred and nine.
Is this a prank? Which floor is this, third or fifth? He checked the next door.
One-hundred seventy-three.
What's happening? He checked several doors in the hallway one after another.
One hundred nine, Six-hundred eighty-two, Three-hundred forty-three.
Ibuki started to panic. This didn't make any sense. He started running down the hallway, just trying to find the end, but it just went on forever. No matter how fast he ran, he got no closer to his destination.
The deer-wolf ran to the nearest door and started knocking on it. "Open up! Please let me in!"
Despite his shouts for aid, the door didn't open. He was about to try another door when he started to hear a strange creaking sound. To his shock, the door started rounding out, as if something were pushing on it.
He backed away, and his face went pale when he saw red liquid leaking from every crevice of the door as it swelled outward. He started hearing the noise in the direction he came from and saw several doors swelling and leaking what looked like blood. The deer-wolf started running and screaming down the hallway as he heard the sound of the doors breaking open and liquid running in a massive torrent. He looked behind him and saw a tidal wave of blood coming after him. He continued to scream as he ran as fast as his legs could take him. The hallway kept going on endlessly as he ran. He desperately hoped he would find an exit. More doors behind him started to burst open, and he could swear the tidal wave of blood was forming into faces.
"Heeeeelp!"
Finally, the hallway came to an end, and he saw an open elevator door. He ran at top speed for the door. He was elated when he finally got through them until he slammed into the elevator wall. To his confusion, the wall of the elevator collapsed under him as if it was a cardboard backdrop. He started falling over and found himself desperately holding the edge of the elevator floor with one hand. He dangled off the edge and watched as what was left of the elevator wall fell into a never-ending void below. He could see the doors close, shielding him from the torrent of blood.
He started to pull himself up. But suddenly, something grabbed his leg. He looked down to see a pitch-black hand around his ankle as if the void itself was trying to pull him in. He grunted and struggled to get back onto the elevator floor, but the void's pull was too strong. His wrist quickly became too strained to hold on. Eventually, he caved and allowed the darkness to take him.
But after releasing the elevator floor, suddenly, a clawed hand grabbed him by the wrist and started pulling against the void. The deer-wolf could hear his savior grunting as they put their strength into lifting him. The void surrendered and released Ibuki's leg. The pull from the mysterious hand caused Ibuki to rapidly shoot upwards until-
"Ow!"
Ibuki found himself in bed, feeling dizzy and clutching his aching head. His mind took a while to adjust to being back in reality. He deduced that he must have shot up in bed after having a nightmare and smashed his antlers into the ceiling of the bunk.
He growled in frustration and jumped out of bed. He knew he shouldn't have watched that movie. He needed to take a walk and clear his mind.
Ibuki wandered the campus grounds. He tried his best to kick that dream out of his memories so he could just go to sleep. He let his mind wander to everything he could think of: his grades, his future, social and political issues, just anything else.
He snapped out of his thoughts when he spotted a blue glow through the fog. He started walking towards it and caught a familiar smell. It was the scent of a rabbit. Save for Legosi's wife; he didn't know many rabbits. He could tell the rabbit was male too.
When he saw a tall silhouette with rabbit ears, he finally figured it out, and his snout wrinkled in disgust. Him.
Lee growled. "Ibuki. Nobody told me you were going to be here."
The wolf scoffed. "Can't say I knew either. I would've picked another school if I had known I'd be putting up with you." He looked down at the chimera's gloves and sneered contemptuously. "Hiding, huh?"
Lee crossed his arms. "What're you getting all offended about? Mad that you can't hide yours?"
Ibuki chuckled. "I wear my father's antlers with pride. I'm not ashamed of my heritage."
Lee shook his head. "You'll never get it. It's not the same thing at all."
The deer-wolf snorted. "Not at all? Are you serious? Legosi-san is a legend, and you just pretend he's not your father? What an ungrateful brat you are."
The wolf-rabbit stormed towards Ibuki and got in his face, their noses only a few centimeters apart. "Of course I'm grateful! What's wrong with avoiding fights?!"
Ibuki scoffed. "You're being a coward. You've always been obsessed with fighting. Why're you backing down now?"
Lee laughed. "Believe it or not, I actually want to make friends here. What's so wrong with doing what my parents want?"
Ibuki scowled. "Your parents adore you. They want to be proud of you. I doubt it was their idea to hide your heritage. You like acting so tough. But now you back down from opposing the people that oppress both of us." The deer-wolf shrugged. "But whatever. Just don't talk to me, and I'll return the favor."
Ibuki walked off into the fog, and Lee stood there, his fur still bristled. What was that guy's problem?
Lee snuck back to his room. He felt nervous, walking through the darkened hallway. Thankfully, he never encountered the housemother. He was about to crawl into his bunk when he heard a familiar voice whisper to him. "You okay, Lee-kun?"
The curtain to Oscar's bed moved aside, and the Harlequin rabbit looked up at him with concern. "What're you doing up? Nightmare?"
Lee sighed. "Yeah."
Oscar tilted his head. "What kind of nightmare?"
Lee flinched. "I don't want to talk about it. I just… did something terrible in it."
Oscar shrugged. "A dream is a dream. If it's something you know is bad, then you won't do it in real life."
Lee rubbed the back of his neck. "I don't know about that. I think it might not be something I can control."
Oscar stared at Lee before tossing his blankets aside and getting out of bed. "Let's talk somewhere private."
Lee waved him off. "Nah. You don't have to-"
Oscar put up a hand, silencing the chimera's protests. "You helped me on the stairs. It's my turn to help you." The rabbit opened the door out to the hallway. "Let's talk in the showers."
The two lapines snuck through the hallways over the showers, hopeful that the house mother wouldn't show up.
When they got into the showers Lee and Oscar sat down next to each other on a bench. All the chimera could think about was the fact that he jacked off in here earlier and how weird that felt.
Oscar gave him a concerned look. "So, what was this dream about?"
There was no way the chimera could even begin to talk about this dream without confessing to his heritage. Thankfully, he and Oscar had complete privacy. The fact the Harlequin rabbit asked Lee to come here out of concern showed that he was a kind person. The chimera decided it was time to trust somebody with the truth.
Lee sighed. "Can you keep a secret? It's super important that nobody else knows."
Oscar nodded. "Whatever it is, my lips are sealed."
Lee steeled himself. "Just don't freak out or anything."
The chimera removed his gloves, showing his bare hands to the Harlequin rabbit. Oscar's eyes widened upon seeing his long and sharp claws. "W-why do you have…?"
Lee reached behind his back and pulled his fluffy canine tail out of his pants. "I'm half-wolf. My father is Legosi, the grey wolf."
Oscar looked stunned, his eyes wide, and his mouth hanging open. "Woah."
Lee sighed. "I've considered myself an herbivore my entire life. I never had an interest in meat, but…" He stared at the floor in shame. While he trusted Oscar, he figured it wouldn't help to admit that he devoured the Harlequin rabbit in his dream. "I had a dream where I ate someone."
Oscar cringed. "Yeah, I guess I can see why you'd be concerned about that." He laughed nervously. "But, y'know. What I said still stands."
Lee looked at him, confused. "Eh?"
Oscar chuckled. "You didn't actually do it. And you're a really nice guy. I don't think you would."
Lee shook his head. "What if I don't have a say in the matter? What if my instincts go haywire?"
The Harlequin rabbit looked dumbfounded. "Wha- I mean. What do you…?"
Lee sighed. "My mother is a Dwarf rabbit. My Dad… lost control of his instincts the first time they met. He tried to eat her. It may not have been a problem yet. But what if I can't control it?"
Oscar's ears folded as he pressed a finger to his chin in contemplation. "Y'know… I can't exactly relate to what you're going through." He looked down at his body and chuckled, "'Cept for maybe the uhh… " He patted his massive belly, causing the flesh to ripple "...'self-control' thing. But it sounds like 'instincts' didn't stop your Dad from loving your Mom. If he can do it, I don't see why his son couldn't."
Lee contemplated this. The rabbit had a point. But perhaps he shouldn't be asking an herbivore about controlling carnivorous instincts. He resolved to call his father when he got the chance. Although, he wondered how honest he should be about it. If he admits to having a dream where he ate an herbivore, he feared his father might freak out and pull him out of school.
The chimera shoved his tail back in his pants and put on his gloves before standing up. "Thanks, Oscar-kun."
Oscar smiled. "Anytime, man."
Oscar grunted as he forced himself to his feet. "Uhh… one last question, Lee-kun."
Lee turned to his friend. "Shoot."
Oscar scratched the back of his head awkwardly. "What's your Mom's name?"
Lee blinked, surprised by the spontaneousness of the question. "Haru."
The rabbit's eyes widened for a moment, and he suddenly looked very nervous. "I-Is that right?"
Lee raised an eyebrow. "Why?"
Oscar threw up his hands. "Nothing! Nothing! Just curious! Let's go back to bed."
Lee raised an eyebrow but decided against pressing the matter.
Ibuki sighed as he snuck back into his room. The deer-wolf's father was probably asleep. But Ibuki resolved to call him when he gets the chance. He was infuriated that his father didn't tell him that Lee would be there. Considering how buddy-buddy he is with Legosi there's no way in hell he didn't have this knowledge.
The chimera walked over to his bunk and got in. He laid down on the bed and just stared at the ceiling above him, waiting to fall asleep. After that terrible nightmare and running into an incredibly annoying person from his past, he was feeling way too stressed.
He could hear something shifting around above him, and he saw an upside-down silhouette outside the curtain. He felt panic for a bit but figured out quickly that it must be Jiro.
The fox pushed his face through the curtain and Ibuki tried not to laugh. Seeing an upside-down fox with a funny, completely deadpan face just amused him.
Jiro whispered. "It's a little dark for the sketchpad. So I'm afraid you'll just have to guess how I'm feeling. Why were you up so late, Ibuki-kun?"
The deer-wolf sighed. "Nightmare. Then I went for a walk to clear my head and ran into that brat."
The fox shook his head. "You shouldn't be sneaking out like that."
Ibuki snorted. "Well, aren't you the boy scout."
Jiro chuckled. "I always try to play by the rules. We agreed to them just by enrolling so we may as well abide by them." The fox shrugged. "No harm done this time. So what happened with you and this 'brat'?"
The deer-wolf's lip twitched. "He's pretending he's not a chimera now. He's hiding his claws with gloves and probably stuffed his tail in his pants."
The fox tilted his head. "Why is he hiding it?"
Ibuki scoffed. "He said it was to 'avoid fights'. Despite his cocky demeanor, once it's time for him to put his money where his mouth is, he cowers away. All that damn bravado and it's all just a façade. It pisses me off."
"You don't like his cocky demeanor, then."
"He's incredibly irritating to deal with. Lee's father is a legend, yet he acts like they're not related. Having a hero as a father is something you should be proud of, not hide. He doesn't show any pride in his heritage."
"This conversation is very interesting. I'd like to know more. But I'll save that for later. For now, we should sleep."
Ibuki sighed. "It's not that easy for me to sleep right now. I had a terrible nightmare and now I'm incredibly stressed."
Suddenly, the fox jumped down from the top bunk and walked over to his bag. He pulled out a bottle, but it was too far away for Ibuki to make out what the label said.
He held out his hand towards Ibuki and had what looked like some kind of gummy. It was blue and round. When Ibuki picked it up he could feel its softness.
Ibuki gave the fox a curious look. "What's this?"
"It will help you sleep. All you have to do is eat it. I have one every night." Jiro crawled back into bed. "I hope you sleep well, Ibuki-kun."
The deer-wolf chuckled. What a strange person. He popped the snack into his mouth and chewed it. It tasted like blueberries. After a while, Ibuki could feel whatever it was kick in as he grew sleepy. He yawned before slowly closing his eyes.
Esther yawned as she woke up in the morning. She started stretching, and she stretched far with her feline body.
She wiped the drool off her mouth. She had an amazing dream last night where she was in the showers and, suddenly, she had every single girl there all over her. They were worshipping her, massaging her, and performing lewd acts either on her or on each other while she watched.
She even had extremely attractive feline girls bringing her ice-cold cans of beer. Which was weird now that she thought about it, considering she was in a school shower. She was way too young to drink, but that didn't stop her from occasionally stealing a can from her father's twelve-pack in the fridge and drinking it in secret.
The tiger chuckled to herself. She remembered the first time she had alcohol. She tried one of her father's cans of beer just because she wanted to be like her Pops. It was disgusting, of course. But she grew to enjoy it over time. Since Esther had never gotten drunk before, she resolved to get absolutely trashed on her twentieth birthday.
She got out of her bunk and saw she was the first one awake. This, of course, meant she had the responsibility of waking everybody up. She had a bit of time though, so she may as well get dressed first.
Esther slipped on her female school uniform. She only wore it because she was required to. Were it up to her, she'd be in her gym clothes for the whole day. Because she was raised like a boy, her parents never bought her a single dress, so she felt awkward in them. She didn't dislike them for being "girl's clothes" though. She just wasn't a fan of skirts. They felt so impractical.
She started to wonder if maybe since Sebastian gets to wear a female uniform, she could coerce the school into letting her wear a male uniform. She could inform them that her Pops is close friends with Pina, who wouldn't be happy with her being discriminated against for her gender. Couldn't hurt to try. Maybe after Drama Club she could go terrorize the faculty about it. It may even help to drag the twins along for backup.
The tiger checked her cell phone and looked at the time. Yup, time to wake everyone up. She took a deep breath before yelling. "Everybody wake your asses up!"She could hear several of her roommates groaning as they stirred in their bed. She heard a loud thump and turned to see Ceci rolled out of her bunk and face-planted on the floor. Esther couldn't keep herself from laughing.
Ceci groaned in pain. "Not funny."
Lee had a pretty okay day class wise. The chimera did reasonably well as far as studying went. He questioned why they were teaching him sea speak, though.
After class ended, Lee decided to call his father, who should've been off work. This meant the chimera would be a little late to Drama Club, but that shouldn't be a huge deal.
The phone only rang twice before it went to voicemail. Lee sighed. Once again, his father accidentally hit "ignore." This seemed to happen with nearly every other call. He told his Dad to get a bigger phone but was told he couldn't afford one.
This time Lee's phone rang. "Hey, Dad."
"Hi, Lee. Everything okay?"
Lee gulped as he worked up the nerve to ask the question. "Yeah, fine. How did you uhh… learn to control your instincts?"
There was a pause for a moment. "Sorry. What do you mean specifically?"
Lee groaned. He didn't want to phrase it badly, but it seemed the blunt approach was the only option this time. "How did you keep yourself from eating Mom?"
There was an awkward silence for a bit. He could tell he caught his father off-guard with the question.
"W-well… It took a lot of training."
Training? Lee was elated to hear this. Maybe he can prevent this after all. "What kind of training?"
"Long and hard training. I had to sit in front of meat without eating it. I even got to the point where I could touch it and not even drool. I made a lot of progress." Legosi sighed. "Then Louis-senpai made me eat his leg."
Louis-san's leg. A very bizarre subject matter in a lot of uncomfortable conversations. For some strange reason, his father had to eat his friend's leg to survive his battle with Riz, the bear. Every time Louis-san came to visit, Lee felt uncomfortable looking at that prosthetic and knowing that he had it because his Dad ate his real leg.
"Ironically, after I ate his leg, I got more resistant to my desire to eat meat. Well… after going through meat withdrawal first. That part was probably the hardest. Then I got myself to the point where I was starving and kissed your mother. Since then, my instincts haven't been a problem."
This information did not make Lee less concerned. He really didn't want to go through the same crazy, weird things that his father did. It sounded absolutely hellish. Perhaps there's a more simple training method he could use.
Then Lee remembered something else that bugged him. "Thanks, Dad. But I have one other question."
"Sure, what is it?"
Lee scowled. "Did you know Ibuki was going to Cherryton?"
There was a very long pause. The lengthy silence alone confirmed the chimera's suspicions.
"...Yes."
Lee clenched his fist. "And you didn't tell me."
Legosi sighed. "Lee, I don't know what your feud with him is about but-"
"I don't have a feud with him. He was the one that started treating me like shit out of nowhere."
There was another pause. "Look… I'd like it if you two tried to make up. You used to be such close friends back in elementary school and-"
Lee growled and started shouting. "I didn't choose to end that friendship! He did! You should have told me he was going to-"
Suddenly, his mother's loud voice came through the phone and made him jump. "Don't you raise your voice at your father like that, young man!"
Lee flinched. He wanted to argue back. But hearing his Mom scold him ignited a subconscious urge to back down immediately.
"Mom-"
"I don't care what problems you and Ibuki are having, but it's years old. You can get over it. Just talk it out like grown adults. You're both old enough to know better."
Lee's ears drooped sadly. "I-I'm sorry, Mom. And I'm sorry to you too, Dad. But I wish you trusted me enough to tell me."
Legosi came on the line again. "I'm sorry too, Lee. We probably should have been more honest."
There was an uncomfortable silence for a bit. "I love you guys."
Haru grabbed the phone. "We love you too, sweetie."
His mother returned the phone to Legosi. "I love you too, Lee."
"Bye."
"Bye, sweetie."
"Goodbye, Lee."
Lee hung up and put his phone away, feeling frustrated. He knew he shouldn't have talked to his parents like that. The stress must've been getting to him.
He at least hoped he would have fun at Drama Club.
An inpatient Ibuki tapped his foot as he waited by the fountain for his father to answer his phone.
"Morning, Ibuki. Need something?"
The chimera growled and didn't bother hiding his hostility. "You'll never guess who I ran into the other day."
Louis sighed. "Ibuki-"
"I don't believe for a second that you didn't know."
There was an awkward silence.
"Look, Lee-kun is a good kid. I don't see why you can't bury the hatchet. This whole thing just seems silly."
Ibuki clenched his teeth. "You know how much he irritates me! I should know if I'm spending the next few years around that little brat!"
There was silence again for a moment. "You know what, Ibuki? I really don't have time for this. So I'm just going to tell you that I'm incredibly annoyed with your childish behavior right now."
Ibuki scoffed. "How dare y-"
Louis raised his voice. "If you're going to take over as the CEO of the Horns Conglomerate, then you need to start acting like an adult and put aside these petty feuds!"
The chimera gulped. "Dad-"
Louis became even louder. "Do you think I like the fact that my son hates the child of one of my closest friends?! Do you think I enjoy constantly apologizing to Legosi-kun and Haru-chan for you flinging immature insults at their kid?!"
Despite Ibuki's usual composure, hearing his dad yell at him made him want to whimper in the corner like a frightened child. "Dad, I didn't-"
Louis started yelling. "Just grow up and act like an adult instead of a spoiled little brat!"
He heard his mother in the background. "Louis! That is no way to speak to our son!"
"Honey-"
Ibuki could hear her yank the phone out of his father's hands. "Ibuki, I'm really not happy about whatever is going on between you and Lee-kun. I don't know why the two of you dislike each other so much, but we want it to end. Not just your father and I. It hurts Legosi-kun and Haru-chan to see you two fight like this."
"M-Mom…"
"Despite your father's outburst, he isn't wrong. You're taking over the company someday. And we want to make sure that he's handing over control to someone trustworthy. Being vindictive isn't a trait befitting a leader. If you don't stop this behavior, you might do things like this when you take over and burn important bridges."
Louis sighed. "I'm really sorry for yelling at you, Ibuki. I had a really rough morning and I took my frustration out on you. My behavior isn't befitting a father either. But I hope one day you can be better than me. I don't expect you and Lee-kun to become instant friends. But at least start trying to mend your relationship. Can you do that for me?"
Ibuki sighed. "I'll think about it."
Juno giggled. "See? That's the right way to handle a dispute. If not today, then I want to at least see you two get along again someday. I love you, sweetie."
Louis's voice came over the phone again. "We both love you, Ibuki."
Ibuki paused. "I love you guys, too." He hung up. The chimera thought about what just happened. Swallowing his pride is easier said than done. But he'll have to at least just consider it for now.
Before heading to Drama Club, Lee returned to his dorm to grab his gym bag before hiding in a janitor's closet. Drama Club members were expected to put on gym clothes, but obviously changing in the locker room was not an option for him.
After getting into his gym clothes, he shoved his uniform back in the bag and put it in his room. Immediately after, he sprinted off to club.
When Lee entered the practice building, he saw that everybody was at work rehearsing or making costumes. Sanu turned to see Lee and smiled. "Good timing, Lee-kun! We'll be performing Adler soon."
Lee's eyes lit up, his ears pointed up in the air, and his tail rapidly wagged inside his right pant leg. The giddiness in his voice was clear. "Adler? Already?"
Sanu nodded. "Yes. You, Fen, and Esther will be playing the roles of the villains."
Instantly, Lee's enthusiasm died, and his ears went completely limp. "I-I'm not playing Adler?"
Sanu shook his head. "We already have somebody to play Adler. But, if you perform well, maybe you'll get the role next year."
Lee groaned. He was about to ask who would be playing Adler, but his thoughts got derailed when he caught a familiar scent. His body tensed up, and he could swear he could feel his blood pressure rising instantly. Him again.
Lee watched as Ibuki came walking out of the office and strutted right up to Sanu. As the deer-wolf walked by, several students stared at him in fascination. The twins were chatting up a storm, whispering to each other while blushing and looking at Ibuki. Ben smiled and wrote something down in his notebook.
The pelican turned to see the deer-wolf hybrid. "Oh, speak of the devil. Or rather… the reaper." He chuckled, sounding too pleased with himself.
Lee was stunned. He couldn't believe his luck. Of all the people to lose the role to. Did this other chimera exist just to make him miserable?
The pelican smiled. "I suppose it's only fitting that the son of the best Adler actor we've ever had would play the same role years later."
The deer-wolf chuckled. "Which one? My father or my mother?"
The pelican slapped his forehead. "Sorry, my memory is worsening in my old age. I forgot Juno-chan played Adler once."
Lee grimaced. Ibuki got to ride his father's coattails his entire life. The rabbit considered himself lucky that he could hide the identity of his father. He'd rather stand out on his own merits instead of leeching off of someone else's legacy.
Ibuki turned his attention to Lee. To the wolf-rabbit's surprise, he looked like he was remorseful somehow. Something about his demeanor seemed sad.
Sanu noticed the two staring at each other. "Are you two acquainted?"
Lee was overcome with fear. He realized now he was at Ibuki's mercy. But the rabbit refused to beg him to lie. If this is where he gets found out, so be it.
Ibuki scratched his face. "He looks vaguely familiar. We might have gone to middle school together. I don't remember his name, though."
Lee was utterly dumbstruck. Why did he just help him? He could have just told everyone. Did he have a motive, or was this some random act of kindness towards someone he loves to antagonize?
Sanu cleared his throat. "Attention, everyone! Ibuki-kun will be playing the role of Adler. Lee-kun, Esther-chan, and Fen-kun are all to be the villains. Viola-chan is to be the love interest. And Sebastian-kun shall be Odie, the Water Spirit."
Fen, the panther, grinned and picked up a wooden sword. He started spinning it and tried to do some flashy moves. But instead, he just smashed himself in the face with it. "Ow!"
Esther chuckled. "I get to be one of the bad guys, huh? I'll show 'ya how good I am at being evil!"
Lee wondered if that was a threat.
Lee stood to the side, reciting his lines from a sheet of paper in his hand. "One such as you that cannot carry out the task of killing a single woman has no right to call himself a reaper. Raise your weapon. Give one last fight before I send you to oblivion!"
Suddenly, he heard a voice behind him. "Wow. You really are scary!"
Lee turned around to see both sheep twins looking at him with fake frightened expressions. Those expressions didn't last long before the two started giggling.
Sebastian took a step forward, getting uncomfortably close to the chimera. "I'm joking, of course." Sebastian looked Lee up and down with a sultry look while biting his lip. The chimera blushed.
Sebastian chuckled. "You're Legosi-san's kid. So I'm sure you're a big, strong hero like him. Protecting poor, weak little herbivores like us."
Viola scuttled behind Lee and examined him from the back. "The apple doesn't fall from the tree. You seemed to have inherited his looks too."
Now that Lee heard both of their voices, the gender difference was more prominent. Viola's voice was more high pitched, while Sebastian had an inflection commonly associated with effeminate gay men (Minus the lisp). Still, his voice was fairly high-pitched itself compared to the average teenage boy.
The flirtation was working as Lee was starting to feel hot under the collar. "I-I… um." He was completely flustered, his face red as a tomato. He was playing into the hands of these two. He was considering firing back with flirtations of his own, but the chimera was terrible at flirting. Perhaps another idea.
He decided to retaliate by returning the compliment while trying his best to stay calm. "You two look a lot like your dad too."
Sebastian shrugged. "Actually, I've been told Viola takes after Daddy more than me. I look way more like my Mama."
After looking up "Pina wife" on Zoozle, Lee was amazed anybody could even tell.
Sebastian sighed. "I wish I got the love interest role. Be nice to play with tradition and try a same-sex romance in Adler. That and Ibuki-kun is really cute."
Lee clenched his fists. The amount of praise that jerk got was driving him up the wall. The chimera snorted. "He's not that great. He only got the role because he's Louis-san's kid."
Sebastian shook his head. "That's not true at all."
Viola came out from behind Lee. "He showed us a fantastic performance. You didn't see it because you were late."
Esther approached the three. "Don't mind Lee-kun. He's had some weird vendetta against Ibuki-kun since middle school."
Lee growled at the tiger. "He's the one with a vendetta. We were friends. Then out of nowhere, he started treating me like garbage."
Esther shrugged. "Maybe you offended him?"
Lee crossed his arms. "If I did, he's refusing to tell me what it was that I did to make him hate me."
Esther put a hand on Lee's shoulder. "Well, whatever it is, maybe you guys can make up."
Lee scoffed. "Maybe if he gives me a reason to apologize."
Sebastian gave an exaggerated groan while rolling his eyes. "This conversation is boring."
Viola shrugged. "Let's just get back to working on our lines."
The group split up and resumed practice. Lee didn't have many lines, so he left early.
Lee got back early and heard a guitar on the other side of the door. Clearly, someone got here earlier. He went inside to find Eli was the only one there. The chicken's eyes were closed as he played his guitar. It was a peaceful melody like last time.
Twang!
A sour note. The rooster's eyes shot open. He glared down at his guitar and muttered in frustration. "Damn it."
He started tuning the guitar by twisting the knobs at the top.
Lee chuckled. "You take your music seriously, huh?"
The rooster shrugged. "I guess." He continued to tune his guitar. "I'd like to be a famous musician. But who knows how viable a career path that'd be?"
The chimera tilted his head. "That's a pretty laissez-faire attitude to have about being a star."
Eli shrugged. "That's just my life in general. Never really had much direction."
The rooster finished tuning and started slowly playing again. "My mom had six kids. Out of all of them, I was the only rooster. My dad left, and I think Mom just didn't know what to do with me. The only thing she really cared about was making sure her daughters could lay high-quality eggs. Obviously, that's not something I can do."
Twang!
He sighed and tuned his guitar again. "I gotta figure out what I want to do on my own. All I know is that I love music. So I guess that's a good place to start."
A voice came from near the door. "I'd call that a noble pursuit." From the other side of a wall came Stanley, the anteater. "The world has enough accountants, lawyers, and doctors. Society needs more artists to inspire a generation."
Lee looked at Stanley curiously. "Is art something you're interested in?"
The anteater chuckled. "I want to be a film director. I was practically raised by my TV. I watched movies all the time as a child."
Suddenly, his expression soured. "Most of the movies you see in theaters are complete crap. It's just the same insipid garbage spewed out again and again as if these films were made on a conveyor belt."
In the middle of their conversation Oscar, Alfred, and Theo came into the room. Oscar smiled. "Hey, guys. What're you talking about?"
Lee turned to Oscar. "We're talking about what we want to be when we're done with school. What about you?"
Oscar rubbed the back of his neck, nervously. "Well… Promise you won't laugh?"
Lee nodded.
Oscar cleared his throat. "I want to open a bakery."
Alfred covered his mouth as he started to make what sounded like a suppressed laugh.
Oscar scowled at the zebra. "Yeah, the fat guy wants to be a baker. Laugh it up."
Lee glared at Alfred before turning his attention back to Oscar. "There's nothing wrong or weird about wanting to be a baker."
Oscar smiled. "Thanks, Lee-kun."
Lee looked at Alfred. "And what about you, Alfred-kun?"
"I want to be a marathon runner."
There was an awkward silence as everybody expected him to say a bit more, but that never happened. So Lee decided to move on.
Lee turned to Theo. "So what about you, Theo?"
The goat crawled into bed with his laptop. "I want to catch criminals."
Oscar raised an eyebrow skeptically. "You mean you wanna be a cop?"
Theo shook his head. "Not as someone that goes out into the field. I want to hunt them down online. It's something I've gotten pretty good at." The goat chuckled. "I busted a carnivore that tried to catfish me. He pretended to be a pretty goat girl and invited me on a 'date' so he could eat me. A really common technique, but when I accepted his offer, he must've been real upset when a bunch of cops showed up."
Everyone in the dorm got a good laugh before looking at Lee expectantly. It seemed it was his turn. The chimera scratched the back of his head. "Well, I'd like to be the Beastar. But that's probably not happening. So maybe I can just be a cop."
Everyone stared at him awkwardly. The chimera looked confused. "What is it?"
Eli raised an eyebrow. "You do know you're a rabbit, right? The only kinds of people that can be officers are either carnivores or really strong species like oxen or rhinos."
Lee flinched. He just realized what he did could have blown his cover. He nervously scratched his head and laughed. "Y-yeah. I guess I wouldn't be strong enough."
Oscar's eyes shifted around nervously. Lee counted himself lucky he revealed his secret to Oscar. Otherwise, the morbidly obese lapine might have mentioned that Lee lifted him like it was nothing.
"Uhh… A-anyway." Lee said, desperate to change the subject. "Got a movie we can watch, Stanley? How about…"
He picked from the stack randomly. He pulled out the movie "Amusing Games." "Is this a good movie?"
Stanley looked hesitant. "Well, yes but-"
Lee started to sweat. "Great! Sounds perfect!"
The chimera opened the case and powered on the DVD player.
Stanley looked concerned. "Uhh… I don't know about that one. I-I'm not sure you guys would enjoy it. It's pretty dark and violent."
Lee dismissively waved at him. "Nah, it's fine. I've seen plenty of violent movies."
Stanley shrugged. "If you say so."
Lin looked at her cell phone. "Esther-chan is super late."
Mila looked somewhat concerned. "Drama Club already got out, right?"
Ceci nodded. "I saw her leave and everything. I don't know where she went."
The door opened and the girls all turned their heads. Everybody was completely stunned by what they were seeing.
Esther stood before them in a familiar-looking outfit. Vertically striped pants with two shades of grey, white dress shirt, black tie, blue vest, and a green blazer sporting the school's crest. She smirked as she adjusted her tie. "How do I look?"
Lin's jaw dropped. "Where the hell did you get a boy's uniform?"
The white tiger chuckled. "I have 'connections'. People that the faculty don't want to tussle with."
Esther could not believe that actually worked. It wasn't even that hard, they folded pretty quickly once they heard Pina's name. The faculty was way more spineless than she expected.
The white tiger smiled. "Sorry I took so long. It took a while to get fitted."
Unsurprisingly, the male uniform wasn't designed to suit a female's figure. Despite being dressed like a boy, her gender was still very apparent with her uniform being specially tailored to accommodate her curves.
She didn't know why but there was something she really liked about this uniform. Wearing a male uniform that was specially designed to suit a female made her feel powerful. Wearing boy's clothes is nothing special to her when she's at home. But every school until now forced her to wear a skirt. She didn't know how to describe it. It just felt liberating to wear the uniform of the opposite sex. Like her gender didn't matter at all. She wondered if this is how Sebastian feels.
Unfortunately, it was evening and she had to go to bed. So the tiger was forced to remove her brand new uniform and get into her sleepwear.
She decided to try and chat with her roommates. Doing boy things despite being a girl felt brilliant and freeing. But there's no point in being unbound by female conventions if her masculinity meant she was bound by male conventions instead.
Esther smiled. "Any of you going to see Adler?"
Lin smirked. "My older brother is playing one of the bad guys. What kind of sister would I be if I wasn't there for him?"
Ceci smiled. "I get to watch it from backstage. I'm excited to see it up close."
Donna sat on her bed and leaned against the wall. "I'll be too busy that day, unfortunately. I need to help out a friend."
Mila smiled. "I wasn't going to. But I'll go see it just for Esther-chan and Ceci-chan!"
Hikari looked at herself in a hand mirror as she combed her fur. "Unfortunately, I'll be preoccupied. I wish the two of you the best of luck, though."
Lin's phone went off. "Huh. My bro sent me a text. Apparently, Pina's kids are in it, too."
Esther nodded. "Viola-chan is the love interest and Sebastian-kun is Odie, the Water Spirit."
Ceci gave a wide grin. "I hope they're as good as their dad! I've never seen a Pina performance I didn't like!"
Lin chuckled. "Yeah. Even in bad movies, he's fun to watch. I love it when he overacts. It's hilarious."
Esther smiled triumphantly. She's really doing it! She's talking to other girls!
Hikari set down the comb and mirror. Donna smiled as she looked at the lion. "Your fur looks so smooth! What kind of conditioner do you use?"
Hikari smiled. "Zoo'riel, of course."
Esther's smile disappeared. Uh-oh.
Mila looked at Donna. "By the way, what kind of make-up do you use? I liked that eye shadow you had on earlier."
Esther started cursing in her head. Not cosmetics! Anything but cosmetics!
Donna shrugged. "Nothing special, just Zephora."
Hikari turned her attention to Esther. "What kind of conditioner do you use?"
Esther sighed. "I don't use conditioner, just shampoo."
Ceci tilted her head. "What brand?"
Esther didn't care anymore. She just wanted this conversation to be over with. "Generic. It's the cheapest."
Donna looked absolutely baffled. "That's not possible! There's no way you're using cheap shampoo!"
Esther shrugged. "Used generic all my life. It's what my folks bought for me when I was a little girl and it's what I buy today."
Hikari was stunned. "Is your fur just that lustrous naturally?"
The white tiger looked confused. She didn't want to admit she had no idea what "lustrous" meant, though. She hated being mocked for her poor vocabulary.
Donna glared. "Prove it! Show us your shampoo right now!"
Esther was feeling very annoyed. But decided that if it'll shut Donna up, she may as well. The white tiger grabbed her bag and pulled out the shampoo bottle she always used and showed it to the girls. It just said "Shampoo".
Mila grinned. "Wow! I guess she's just naturally pretty."
Esther's eyes widened. Did somebody just call her "pretty?" Nobody has ever called her that but her parents.
Hikari gave Esther a warm smile. "You're lucky. I have to buy the expensive stuff to look how I do."
Donna crossed her arms with a confounded look on her face. "Well, I'll be damned. I guess you're telling the truth."
The white tiger raised an eyebrow. She thought she was lying about what kind of shampoo she buys? Esther looked at her phone. "Oh, look ten o'clock, time for bed." The irritated white tiger crawled into her bunk.
The girls wished her goodnight.
She didn't fall asleep immediately. She thought about what Mila said about her being naturally pretty. She wondered why she's never been called that before. Now that she thought about it, perhaps her masculine aura made people think she'd take it as an insult.
While the tiger was very masculine, it was really just her upbringing. She didn't go out of her way to be boyish, it just came naturally. She didn't dislike being called "pretty." It was better than being called a "dyke" for the millionth time. When it came to femininity, she was really just neutral.
Esther sighed. Every day she felt like she understood people less and less. Although, she wondered how well she understood herself.
The boys of seven 'o one were all engaged in different activities. Ibuki and Simon were playing Chess, Jiro was drawing, Gilbert was playing a video game with Katsu on Ibuki's TV, and Lucas was texting on his phone.
Ibuki was somewhat distracted as he played, thinking about how to deal with Lee. If he could, he'd rather toss him out of his life and never think about him again but-
Simon snapped his fingers and got Ibuki's attention. The fennec pointed at Ibuki's King. Ibuki looked at the piece. "Check?"
Simon shook his head and Ibuki examined the board closer. "Oh. Checkmate. Good game."
Jiro stopped drawing and jumped off his bed to sit down next to Ibuki. He pulled out his notepad and flipped to a page of himself with a concerned expression. "Is something wrong, Ibuki-kun?"
Ibuki sighed. "I made my dad really angry. He yelled at me over the phone. I disappointed my parents."
Jiro nodded. "We all disappoint our parents sometimes."
Ibuki shook his head. "That's not the problem. I don't know what to do about why he got mad."
Lucas looked up from his phone at Ibuki. "This is about Lee-kun, isn't it?"
After losing to Gilbert for the seventh time, Katsu looked over his shoulder at Ibuki. "Yeah, what was your problem with him again?"
Ibuki snorted. "He's annoying. I hate that cocky attitude of his. Always ready to fight. Now I learn Mr. Tough Guy's been hiding that he's a hybrid because he's scared of bullies. The same guy that fought every single person that's pissed him off before."
Jiro flipped to the curious face drawing. "Is your father angry that you're not getting along with him?"
Ibuki nodded. "He wants me to bury the hatchet. I don't know how to do that with someone that pisses me off every time I look at him."
Jiro flipped to a sad frown. "That is a tricky situation." He flipped to a small smile. "Perhaps if you talk to him you can come to an understanding. If you understand him, perhaps you can put an end to your issues."
Ibuki frowned sadly. "I dunno. I feel like it's more complicated than that."
Lucas smiled. "Well, we'll help you if you need it. You and Lee are our friends. We aren't gonna pick a side y'know."
Jiro chuckled. "You have some good friends. I'd like to help too, but I don't know how persuasive I am with a non-functional face."
Ibuki scoffed. "I don't need you guys to fix my problems. I need to deal with this myself."
Jiro nodded. "I'll be here for advice if you need it."
As the credits rolled for "Amusing Games" everybody just stared at the screen in disbelief of what they just watched. Everybody but Stanley, who looked nervous.
The film was about a family of three, including a small child, being physically and mentally tortured by two young men with golf clubs. It was incredibly disturbing.
Lee shifted around uncomfortably. "Th-that was good." That actually wasn't a lie. While Lee didn't have an eye for subtle details in movies, he could tell it had a deep subtext to it.
Alfred glared at the anteater and chimera. "You guys are sick in the head!" he snapped. "That was just torture porn!"
Stanley's nervous demeanor vanished, replaced by burning anger. "It wasn't 'torture porn'!" the indignant anteater yelled. "It was a social commentary! It's not the movie's fault you're too stupid to critically analyze the complex symbolism!"
The zebra stood up and scowled at the anteater. "What was that?!"
Lee shot up and got between the two. "H-hang on! Let's calm down! M-maybe if we watch the special features, it'll clarify what the movie is trying to say."
Stanley snorted. "You can't help ignoramuses like him. If they don't understand something, they just get mad and dismiss it. You can't fix bad taste."
The zebra growled and suddenly charged the anteater. Lee went into instant panic mode. His brain shut off all rational thinking and focused entirely on stopping Alfred. He grabbed the zebra by the arm and quickly thrust all of his body weight upon Alfred's back, causing him to crash chest-first onto the floor so hard it shook the entire room, which caused the stack of DVDs to topple over.
"You wanna calm down?" Lee said to the pinned zebra. Alfred struggled as he tried to get the chimera off of him, to no avail.
Lee's roommates looked at him with stunned expressions, and the chimera, after a while, finally noticed them staring and started to sweat. This might cause some problems.
Eli blinked. "Woah. Maybe you should be a cop."