"What the hell are you?!"

Lee was not surprised in the slightest by this question. But the problem of what this zebra would do next is something the chimera needed to tackle.

People fear what they don't understand. And in this situation, Lee has encountered an herbivore roommate that just learned the "rabbit" secretly had carnivorous traits. So, obviously, Alfred will be frightened. When someone is frightened they run away and call for help. So Lee has one immediate objective.

Before the zebra could react, the chimera sprinted to the one door used to exit the room and pushed up against it so Alfred couldn't run and tell everyone. If the athlete started running first, he would be doomed immediately.

"Just calm down, man. I'm not gonna hurt you. Let's just talk this out."

The zebra had a panicked expression. Blocking the door seemed to have frightened him even more.

Lee held up his hands. "If you don't start taking deep breaths your asthma might flare-up. So calm down so that you don't stop breathing."

Thankfully, this seemed to have gotten through to the frightened herbivore, as he was starting to calm down.

Lee took a deep breath of his own. "I'm half-wolf and, yes, I've been trying to hide it."

Alfred trembled. "W-why?! So you can eat us?!"

Lee sighed. "I'm an herbivore. I don't eat meat."

Alfred pointed at him. "Bullshit! You have claws! Herbivores don't have claws!"

Lee groaned. He showed the zebra his teeth. "No fangs, see?" He closed his mouth. "I can't eat meat without fangs."

The zebra's panic seemed to be waning. But Lee wasn't out of the woods yet. He needed to completely convince the zebra before letting him go.

Alfred glared at Lee. "Why did you hide this?"

Lee didn't want to take too long repeating this information for the hundredth time so he decided to talk as fast as he could. He took a deep breath. "Because I get bullied all the time for being a hybrid and I get into fights with people that bully me so I end up getting detention which upsets my parents so now that I'm in Cherryton I have to pretend that I'm just a rabbit so I don't have to put up with it and can sleep in an herbivore dorm without causing the exact situation we're in now." Lee sighed after finishing his lengthy sentence.

The zebra didn't let his guard down. "This is a hugething to hide from people! We have a right to know this!"

Lee scoffed. "You tried to hide that you have asthma."

Alfred looked stunned and baffled. "They are notthe same thing! I would want to know that the guy sleeping in the same room as me every night is half-wolf!"

The chimera sighed. "I just explained I don't eat meat. Hiding something about my body I have no control over that doesn't affect anyone else. Sound familiar?"

The zebra's defenses were dropping. The chimera seemed to be winning him over. "How do I know I can trust you?"

Lee crossed his arms. "Because Oscar-kun and Theo-kun already know."

The zebra snorted. "Okay, smartass. I won't tell everyone your secret on onecondition. You need to go straight back to the dorm and tell Eli and Stanley the truth."

Lee's tail bristled and his ears shot up in the air. "What?!"

Alfred crossed his arms. "You can't keep me in here forever. Either those two know, or everybodyknows."

Lee clenched his fist in anger. The zebra had him dead to rights. The rabbit sighed. Maybe honesty won't be so bad anyway. "You win."

Alfred nodded and turned around. "Now dry off and put on your clothes. I don't want to look at your dick anymore."

Lee walked back into the dorm with Alfred behind him. Thankfully, Eli and Stanley were both there. Eli was strumming on his guitar and Stanley was playing some video game.

The chimera took a deep breath. "I need to tell you guys something." The two stopped what they were doing and Lee raised his hands in the air.

Oscar, who was sitting on his bunk, leaned forward towards the chimera. "Psst! Lee-kun! What are you doing?"

Alfred gave Oscar a hostile look. "Telling the truth."

The Harlequin rabbit scowled at the zebra with disgust. "You're forcing him?! What's your problem?!"

Theo glared at Alfred from his bunk as well. "I don't know how you found out but you have no right to-"

"Guys! Don't worry about it. I probably should have been honest from the start."

The chicken and anteater looked at him in confusion. Eli tilted his head. "What are we talking about here?"

Lee groaned. He held up his hands again and pulled off his gloves. The chicken and anteater looked at him with shock. Then, Lee pulled out his tail. "I'm-"

Stanley shot up from his seat. "Half-wolf!" He ran up to Lee and grabbed his right hand. The chimera looked at him with confusion and discomfort.

The anteater examined his claws carefully. "Woah." He took one index finger and pressed it against the claw on Lee's index finger. "Ah!" A tiny bit of blood dripped down from where the claw touched. "Holy…"

Lee wrenched his hand away, immensely creeped out by Stanley's behavior. He looked over to Eli. The chicken blinked. "Huh. Yeah, I figured something was different about you." Eli went back to playing his guitar.

Alfred looked at the rooster, flabbergasted. "Is that all you have to say?!"

Eli shrugged but continued playing. "I mean it was really obvious he wasn't normal. Dude's, like, what? Hundred-eighty centimeters, maybe?"

Lee nodded. "Close. One seventy-eight."

The zebra looked all around the room at everybody, confused and astonished. "Really?! Nobody finds this weird?"

Oscar snorted. "Of course it's weird. It's just that nobody actually gives a shit."

Theo chuckled and turned his attention back to his computer. "Well since we don't need to keep secrets here anymore we may as well be open about everything." The goat turned to Lee. "Maybe these guys can help us find suspects."

Eli stopped playing. "Suspects?"

Lee nodded. "Some crazy cougar chick tried to kill Ibuki-kun just because he's a half-breed. There've been some implications that there might be an entire group of them."

The anteater looked at Lee with concern. "People are trying to kill half-breeds and you just told an entire room?"

Lee pointed a thumb at the zebra. "He said he'd tell everyone if I didn't tell you."

Oscar, Theo, Stanley, and Eli all glared at Alfred. Their combined angered gaze was making him sweat.

The zebra held up his hands. "Woah! Woah! Woah! He didn't say shitabout people wanting him dead, so don't pin this on me!"

Eli looked at Lee and smiled. "Well, you won't have a problem with me. My beak is sealed."

Stanley nodded. "I won't tell anyone either. You've been a great friend to me."

Everyone went back to what they were doing, leaving the zebra there looking confused and defeated. He sighed and walked out the door. "I need air."

Oscar snorted. "Drama queen."

Lee chuckled and crawled into his bunk with his phone.

Lee: "Okay, I promise this isn't my fault. But all my roommates know now."

Legosi: "How'd that happen?"

Lee: "Long story. I told Oscar, then Theo figured me out, then Alfred walked in on me in the showers and forced me to tell the last two."

Haru: "Whoever this Alfred person is, let him know your mother thinks he's a dirtbag."

Legosi: "It's not the end of the world if the whole school finds out. Just pick your battles either way."

Lee: "I'm gonna keep hiding it for now. It's not worth the trouble."

Haru: "Then you'll have to be more careful. You've got a pretty big laundry list of people that know now."

Lee: "I'm not THAT bad at keeping secrets. I'm just unlucky, I guess."

Legosi: "You told EVERYONE in middle school about me French kissing Riz."

Lee: "Okay, but that was really funny."

Legosi: "NO, IT'S NOT!"

Haru: "It's pretty funny."

Legosi: "Et tu, Haru?"

When it was bedtime, Lee didn't bother putting on gloves or tucking in his tail. It was actually very comfortable being able to sleep like that again. His tail appreciated the freedom.

It was too bad he had to put the disguise back on in the morning. He was once tempted to discard his visage, but now that his life was in danger, that was less of an option.

When Lee woke up he was surprised Alfred the zebra wasn't giving him the stink eye. It seemed he was just feeling defeated at this point. While the chimera wasn't known for his vitriol, he had no complaints about this zebra shutting his damn mouth.

The chimera decided he needed to take his Adler role seriously. During any free time he had, he was reading the script and muttering lines under his breath, even at lunch. He ended up accidentally getting some stains on it a few times while absentmindedly poking at his food with a fork.

Ibuki sat across from him eating his meal quietly.

"What's that tall guy up to now?"

"Apparently he's the new Adler."

"Seriously? I guess that role is freaks only."

"You think that's bad? The romantic interest character is a dude. And it's that freak in drag."

"Gross."

Lee scoffed. Boring.

He tuned that conversation out and swiveled his ears around in the hopes to hear something interesting.

"What happened to Donna-chan?"

"Apparently they found out where she got the light and arrested her."

Lee's ears twitched. He looked out the corner of his eye to see a male timber wolf and cheetah conversing at a table.

"Think she'll name any of us?"

"Nah. She's dumb as shit but she's loyal."

"What do we do now that the freak isn't Adler?"

"Dunno. I haven't gotten any word."

"Damn. Hopefully, they won't make us wait long."

"Yeah. Oh, what did you put for answer seven in the geology quiz?"

Lee pulled out his cellphone and took a covert photo of the two that were just talking. He sent the photo to Theo.

Lee: "I need dirt."

Theo: "You sure 100% on that?"

Lee: "Completely. They're in it."

Theo: "I'll see what I can find."

Ibuki sneered. "I can't believe they're actually dumb enough to be saying that stuff in the cafeteria."

Lee smirked. "If the rest of their group is this stupid it may be easier than we thought to smoke them out." The wolf-rabbit pocketed his phone and turned his script to the next page. "Ironic that we'd meet here, Oddy, the water spirit…" he mumbled.

Ibuki looked up from his meal. "It's pronounced 'Oh-Dee'."

Lee nodded. "Right, thanks."

Before Drama Club, Esther stopped by Olivia's to study for midterms. She was surprised by how well she was grasping the concepts.

Olivia smiled as she pointed at the last question. "And this one?"

Esther looked confident. "Five-thousand seven-hundred eighty-two!"

Olivia smiled. "That's correct!"

Esther grinned triumphantly and pumped her fists in the air. "Yes! Yes!"

Olivia giggled. "You really have come a long way." She blushed. "I need to give you something."

Esther looked curious and leaned over. "Give me something?"

Olivia suddenly grabbed Esther's face and planted a kiss right on the white tiger's lips.

When she pulled back, Esther was completely red and looked dazed. "I uhh… hehe… w-wow…"

Olivia chuckled. "How'd you like that?"

Esther blinked before grabbing the lab's face and also giving her a deep kiss. She grinned after pulling away her head. "It felt amazing."

Olivia smiled and blushed before Standing up. "You should head on down to Drama Club. I'll see you later."

Esther smiled. "Yup! Bye, hun!" The white tiger grabbed her bag and practically pranced out the door in an amazing mood.

Lee went on his way to Drama Club with Ibuki not far behind. However, he needed to use the restroom and was forced to take a detour. Unfortunately, he wasn't sure where the nearest restroom was so he had some wandering to do. He finally found one and did what he needed to.

As he left the restroom his most difficult and important question was: "How the hell do I get to Drama Club from here?"

The solution, of course, was more wandering. Ibuki seemed to be getting annoyed with Lee's poor sense of direction.

They ended up in a familiar hallway. The one leading to the shrine for Tem, the alpaca. Lee noticed a stray dead flower petal near the alpaca's photo. It seemed the mystery bouquet died and was thrown out by the janitor.

Lee heard heavy footsteps coming his way. From a hall on the left came Trevor, carrying a bouquet that looked similar to the previous one. The bear set the flowers down next to the photo and got down on his knees. From the look of things, he was praying.

Lee and Ibuki looked at each other with surprise before slowly approaching the bear. Trevor's nose twitched. He stopped his prayer and turned to face the two chimeras with a smile. "Hello, Lee-kun, Ibuki-kun."

Lee waved. "Hey. I was wondering who left those flowers last time."

The bear nodded. "Once a week, on my way to Drama Club, I drop off a fresh one and give a prayer. I don't know if there's an afterlife. But if there is, I hope I can make Tem less lonely."

Lee gave him a somewhat concerned look.

The bear chuckled. "Don't get me wrong. I'm not doing this because I feel guilty for what papa did. But because I felt sad seeing such a barren hallway. Probably hasn't had any offerings or prayers in over two decades." The bear looked at the photo and sighed. "Tem thought he was making a new friend. He didn't know like I do that anybody that gets near that man gets burned."

Trevor walked down the right hallway. "I'm guessing you two didn't come here intentionally. You can follow me to Drama Club."

Lee and Ibuki followed after the bear. Ibuki nodded. "Thanks."

Lee was tempted to ask more about Riz. However, he could tell without even saying anything that it's probably a sore subject. The amount of contempt Trevor had for his father was very apparent. Lee wasn't sure if that hate was a good thing.

After the three arrived at Drama Club, Ibuki sat at a table in the corner and started putting together a costume, looking sad. The wolf-rabbit felt so bad for him. He hoped he could find every single member of that group. But Lee didn't even know how many of them there were.

He needed to put his concerns aside for now and focus on his Adler performance.

Sebastian stood across from Lee with a panicked expression, holding a script. "Reaper-san! Why are they chasing me?!"

Lee gave the sheep a serious look. "Because you were supposed to have died tree days ago." He paused and groaned. " 'Three', not 'tree'. Damn it."

Sebastian giggled. "You'll get it eventually. Just remember, you are not Lee. You are Adler, the reaper. Method acting is very effective. Or at least that's what Daddy told me."

The chimera nodded. At least he had the son of a famous actor as a co-star.

"Yowch!"

Lee turned around to see Fen clutching his head. Esther stood across from him, holding a broken wooden sword with a panicked look on her face.

Esther grimaced. "Sorry! I didn't mean to do that!"

Fen growled. "Then you shouldn't swing so damn hard!"

Lee cackled loudly.

Esther glared at him. "Hey, how 'bout I come over there and shove this broken sword up your-"

Ben interrupted. "Now, now. Let's calm down and get back to practice. We all need to cooperate."

Esther scoffed and picked up another sword.

Lee and Sebastian giggled before getting back to their lines.

Esther and Ceci returned to their dorm. Now that Fen had Drama Club, Lin was already there when they arrived.

They chatted about a variety of things. Esther did her best to keep up with the conversations about topics she was ignorant about with mixed success.

Lin stood up. "Welp! Shower time!"

The girls all grabbed their sleepwear and walked to the door. Lin stopped and looked at Esther. "Aren't you coming? You gotta shower, y'know."

Esther scratched her neck nervously. "The uhh… the girls and I agreed I should shower afterthey do."

Lin looked confused. "Why's that?"

Ceci cleared her throat. "Well, it was Donna-cha- Err… Donna's idea."

Hikari looked a tad nervous. "Since she's attracted to girls, we thought it'd be more comfortable for us to shower without her."

Lin looked at the girls, then Esther, then the girls. Suddenly, her face turned red and contorted with rage as she glared daggers at the girls. " Are you shitting me?!"

The girls and Esther all flinched at the panther's sudden outburst.

"You think it's okay to exclude her because she's a lesbian?! What goddamn year is it?! Are you girls really so damn homophobic that you can't even handlebeing naked around a lesbian for a few minutes?! Seriously?! She's our friend! What the hell is wrong with you guys?!"

Ceci gulped. "Well, we- umm…"

Lin stormed over to Esther and stood next to her. "If you're not letting Esther shower with you then I'llshower with her!"

Esther was completely taken aback. She wasn't expecting Lin to suddenly rush to her defense.

Hikari sighed. "That's fine. I understand your frustration. If you're comfortable with it then go ahead." She opened the door.

Mila ran over to Esther and stood next to her.

Hikari looked shocked. "You too, Mila?"

Mila gulped. "If Esther-chan can't shower with you because she likes girls then I can't shower with you either… B-because..." She took a deep breath. "I-I'm a lesbian too!"

Hikari's eyes widened as she looked completely shocked. "Y-you're a…?"

Mila looked sad. "I wasn't hiding it. I just didn't figure it out until recently. I'm sorry, Hikari."

Ceci looked between the girls with Esther and Hikari. She sighed and went to stand with Esther.

Hikari looked absolutely stunned by this turn of events. Then she looked ashamed. "Y-you're right." She sighed and walked over to Esther and cleared her throat. "I think we should all shower together."

Esther smiled, feeling relieved. Suddenly, she didn't feel as alienated. She and the rest of the girls grabbed their sleepwear before leaving the room together.

When Lee returned to his room, Theo was in his bunk with a big smirk on his face. "Still getting data on the cheetah but I've got good stuff on that wolf. His name is 'Walter' and he's on the football team. He's been doping himself on the blood-bone drug to enhance his performance. He'd be kicked off the team for sure if his coach found out."

Lee chuckled. "Good work, Theo-kun. Guess I'll have to have a little chat with him."

"Don't be stupid." Alfred came walking into the room. "If you confront him, he might figure out you're a half-breed."

Lee blinked. "Why are you giving me advice?"

The zebra snorted. "Well, I don't want you dead."

Oscar's curtain moved aside. "What if I were to join their group?"

Lee shook his head. "If they figure you out, they'll kill you."

Theo sighed. "We don't even know how to join. We'll have to just stick to the resources we have."

The goat went back to typing on his computer. "I'll ask Esther for help on this. She can handle it."

Lee nodded.

The next day, Esther went to see Olivia. The lab smiled when the tiger arrived. Esther loved her smile. She was such a sweet and wonderful person. She could feel her heart growing warmer as she spent time with her.

They went inside the shed. Olivia stretched. "So what are we studying today?"

Esther smirked. "We're not studying at all."

Olivia looked confused.

Esther chuckled. "Exams are over. We can worry about it later." She placed a hand on Olivia's. "I just wanted to spend time with my girlfriend."

The lab blushed. "'Girlfriend'. It sounds so strange out loud."

Esther smiled before giving Olivia a passionate and loving kiss. The lab smiled warmly as she embraced her girlfriend.

The white tiger smirked before suddenly picking Olivia up.

The lab yelped in surprise when she suddenly found herself being carried bridal style. She giggled and planted another kiss on Esther's lips.

Lee decided to get dirt on that cheetah. He started stalking him and found that his very last class of the day was science. The chimera was curious about where he went after.

As soon as Lee's class got out, he went straight to the science lab. He waited around the corner for the feline to appear. He watched as other students came walking out.

He noticed that among the students were Viola and Sebastian, who were chatting as they left the room and started on their way to Drama Club. Lee never thought about it before but if these two are inseparable, then they must take the same classes. Very interesting. But he can't get distracted by them right now.

The chimera waited for the cheetah to leave the room. However, he seemed to be taking a long time. Lee was starting to wonder if maybe he was assigned to cleanup duty or something.

After several minutes, the chimera grew impatient and decided to peek inside the lab and see what this damned feline was up to.

"Please don't hurt me."

Lee's ears twitched. He recognized that voice. It belonged to the cheetah. Was someone else in the room threatening him?

"All you have to do is answer the questions I ask you and I won't have to."

Lee's fur stood on end. He recognized the second voice as well. He sprinted to the classroom door and looked through the window. He gulped when he saw what was going on.

The cheetah was sitting on the floor, against the wall with his hands up in the air. He had tears in his eyes, a terrified expression, and a large urine stain on the crotch of his pants as he trembled in fear.

Standing above him was a furious looking Ibuki, pointing a gun at the feline's face.