Lee was lying on his back in his bunk, trying to think of what to say to Theo. An apology was the most important thing, of course. But Lee knew it wouldn't be that simple. He just discovered what is probably Theo's most important secret. The chimera definitely never would've guessed the angora goat was a sexual masochist.

Lee rubbed his face and groaned. Ibuki being in the closet, Oscar being upset about his weight, Alfred being insecure about his asthma, that was all easy stuff compared to this. What the hell is he supposed to say to someone he accidentally called "creepy?"

The chimera didn't know how to approach this. Usually, he'd ask his parents for advice. However, telling other people about Theo's secret would only make things worse.

The door to the dorm opened and Lee's roommates filed in. Among them was Theo. His expression was completely neutral, blank. Lee certainly couldn't talk to the goat right now. He could try sending him a text message, but that felt a little too impersonal. He wanted to apologize to Theo's face.

Lee snapped out of his thoughts when he got a notification on his phone. It was from his parents.

Legosi: "Louis-senpai sent me a video of you and Ibuki-kun in Adler. Very impressive."

Haru: "We were surprised you acted so well with him, given your relationship."

Lee: "We've actually been mostly getting along lately."

Legosi: "That's great news!"

Haru: "Thank goodness. This petty feud was really getting on my nerves."

Lee: "Thanks, Mom."

Haru: "Anytime, hun."

Lee sighed. He switched over to Theo in his contacts.

Lee: "Can I talk to you in private tonight? We can talk in the shower."

The chimera peaked his head out and saw Theo pull out his phone. The goat scowled as he started typing. Lee's phone went off, so he checked it.

Theo: "Piss off. And don't bother responding to this. I'm blocking you."

Lee frowned sadly. Seems the goat is more angry than anything else at this point. How does he fix this? He was enjoying his friendship with Theo. Why did it all go so wrong?

Lee's ears twitched as someone turned the doorknob from the outside. The door opened and in came a certain zebra. Lee grinned and jumped out of his bunk.

"Alfred-kun!" Without thinking, Lee ran over to the zebra and pulled him into a hug. "I'm so glad you're okay!"

"Th-thanks. But I'm gonna stop breathing again if you keep hugging me so damn hard."

Lee stepped away with a blush. "S-sorry."

The others all came to voice their elation about Alfred surviving his asthma attack unscathed.

The zebra smirked. "I heard there were a couple of lapines that gave me CPR." He looked at Oscar and Lee. "You guys saved my life. I owe you big time if there's anything you need."

The chimera chuckled. "That's not necessary."

Oscar stepped forward with a blush on his face. "Umm… actually… I was hoping I could ask you for one favor."

Alfred nodded. "Sure, what is it?"

The Harlequin rabbit gulped. "Could you help me lose weight? I don't really know how to exercise on my own."

The zebra chuckled. "You've got a deal."

Lee was surprised by how nice Alfred was being. It was like he was a completely different person.

Alfred made a light wheezing noise before reaching into his pocket and pulling out a brand new inhaler. The zebra usually went out in the hallway to use it. Lee wondered if he's using it here because everybody knows or if he's just not ashamed anymore.

After taking an inhale he put it back in his pocket. "Guess we should get to class."

As soon as Lee left the dorms and out into the grassy school grounds, Ibuki appeared with more cold coffee.

Lee raised an eyebrow but still smiled. "You don't need to buy me this stuff every day."

Ibuki shrugged. "Why not? In case it isn't obvious, I have a lotof money."

This was true. While the Horns Conglomerate was under the control of Ibuki's grandfather it was incredibly successful. Under Louis's command, it grew exponentially over the course of two decades.

Of course, there were some in the company that were irritated by the massive amounts of money that was being given to charity on a regular basis.

Lee was still surprised though. Even though his father was rich, Ibuki was always really nervous about spending even small amounts of his money. Lee remembered one particular moment at an electronics store where the deer-wolf took an hour to decide if he should buy a video game or not. Eventually, Ibuki took the plunge and Louis didn't care whatsoever.

The wolf-rabbit still accepted the coffee. He was always a tad annoyed by how his parents would constantly turn down Louis's generosity when he offered it. Even when it came to very important things. Lee remembered his dad being irate when he found out after buying the house that Louis figured out which real estate agency they were going to use and then preemptively bribed them to give the wolf and rabbit a much better rate on whatever house they chose. Of course, the family had already moved in by the time they figured this out so it was too late to get out of it.

Lee started walking to class with Ibuki. "I have more info on this anti-hybrid group."

Ibuki smiled. "That was quick. You and Theo-kun are very efficient."

Lee blushed. "Nah, it was mostly Theo-kun."

Ibuki scoffed. "C'mon. You think I don't know you choked out that cheetah?"

Lee jumped, accidentally spilling some of his drink. "How'd you know that?!"

The deer-wolf chuckled. "The same cheetah I held at gunpoint gets strangled outside the carnivore dorms? I'm not an idiot, Lee-kun."

Lee laughed nervously. "Y-yeah."

Ibuki nudged him. "You said you had info?" He took a sip of his drink.

The wolf-rabbit nodded. "The group is called 'The Coffee Club'."

Ibuki violently spit out his coffee before cackling like a madman. "Y-y-you can't-! Hahahaha! You can't be serious! Ahahahaha!"

Lee laughed along. "Pretty dumb, huh? I think they might have ties to a gang called 'Kopi Luwak'."

The deer-wolf stopped laughing quickly. "I've heard about them. Father has mentioned them before. Perhaps I can ask him for info on how to take them down."

Lee nodded. "Do what you gotta do."

The two went their separate ways. Lee was really liking the new Ibuki. He was a thousand times better. The wolf-rabbit chuckled to himself. Perhaps if the deer-wolf keeps this up he'd consider dating him.

The chimera stopped walking as it finally hit him. What if Ibuki is only being nice so he can get into a relationship with him?

Lee shrugged. Either way, Ibuki is less of a douche. Regardless of his motives, this was a win overall.

After finishing his drink, Ibuki tossed the glass bottle in the garbage and pulled out his phone. He decided to call his father.

"Morning, Ibuki. Everything okay?"

"I was wondering if you knew anything about a gang called 'Kopi Luwak'."

There was a pause before Louis lightly groaned. "I know that name from somewhere, but I can't remember."

"They have some kind of connection to coffee?"

"Right! Right. They helped us gain information on Melon."

"Me and the guys think they might be related to whoever tried to off me since apparently they hate hybrids."

"Hmm… Have you been attacked by any bats lately?"

"Bats?"

"Most of Kopi Luwak's members are bats. If you haven't been attacked by bats disguised as janitors, I doubt they're involved."

Ibuki groaned. "Dead end, huh?"

"I'm sorry, Ibuki. Although, I'm glad that their involvement is unlikely. They're considered to be mobsters. I definitely don't want people that dangerous after you."

Ibuki chuckled. "I get you. Well, I'll talk to you later, Dad."

"Take care, Ibuki."

After hanging up, Ibuki sighed. Why the hell are they called the "Coffee Club" then? On his way to his classes, he spotted that lion janitor again. He gulped. He wasn't a bat, but his father did mention that Kopi Luwak had agents disguised as janitors. He decided to stay on his guard around this lion.

It was lunchtime. Lee and Oscar shared a table.

Oscar snorted. "You're messing with me. They did notname themselves 'The Coffee Club'. That's the lamest thing I've ever heard."

Lee shook his head. "It's true. It's what Thomas said."

Oscar looked skeptical. "Are you sure he wasn't lying?"

Lee shrugged. "Fairly certain."

Lee snapped out of his thoughts when he saw that bull again, giving the chimera the stink eye as he passed by with his lunch tray and sat at his table.

Oscar noticed Lee glaring at the bovine. "Who's that? And what're you pissed at each other over?"

Lee scoffed. "Y'know how I had to be the love interest in Adler? It's that guy's fault. He gave Sebastian-kun a black eye."

Oscar looked shocked. "The hell he'd do that for?"

Lee scowled. "Because Sebastian is gay and dresses like a girl."

"Somebody say my name?"

The chimera turned to see Sebastian and Viola with lunch trays approaching their table. The two of them sat down next to Lee. The male sheep was holding an ice pack to his right eye.

Viola smiled. "Hi, Lee-kun."

Lee was surprised to see these two sitting with him. They usually sat at a different table with their female friends. Actually, most of their friends were female. More open-minded girls were very accepting of Sebastian and treated him no differently than his sister. Lee had overheard a few conversations at that table before. They certainly engaged in the stereotypical "girl talk" a lot.

Lee smiled back. "Hey, Viola-chan. Surprised to see you sitting here."

She chuckled. "I'm not sticking around. I just wanted to see your reaction to the show."

Lee blinked in confusion. "Show?"

The female sheep giggled and looked towards the bull. The bovine was shifting around uncomfortably. Suddenly, Lee was feeling very concerned.

Sebastian seemed disinterested in whatever was going on with the bull and was eating his lunch in silence.

The bull started clutching his stomach. "Ooooooh…" His friends looked at him with confusion.

An ox friend of the bull looked at him with concern. "Dylan-kun? You okay?"

The bovine was sweating profusely and swaying around. "I… I feel…"

Suddenly, the bull bent over and puked all over the table. His friends jumped up in surprise and the whole lunchroom started staring.

The bovine groaned loudly before unleashing more vomit onto the table. "M-make it sto-"

Before he could get the words out, he puked again.

A buffalo friend of his stood up. "Let's take him to the nurse." The ox nodded and helped the bull off his feet. As they walked him through the lunchroom, he continued to violently puke all over the floor.

Viola turned back to Lee and chuckled. "Pretty neat, huh?"

Lee looked aghast. "Wh-what did you do to him?"

Viola smirked. "Oh, I just slipped a special ingredient into his food when he wasn't looking. A little something I whipped up in chemistry class."

Sebastian turned to Lee, his mouth still full of salad. "She's got 'A's in chemistry and biology. She's really good at that stuff."

Viola scowled at her brother. "Stop talking with your mouth full, Sebastian. Mother taught us better manners than that."

Lee was dumbfounded. "Y-you slipped it into his food?"

Viola laughed. "Just wait until the laxatives kick in. He'll probably have to throw out his underwear. Maybe even his pants."

Viola got up out of her seat. "Well, we should be getting back to our table. Let's go, Bast."

Lee and Oscar just sat at the table with alarmed and confused expressions on their faces as the twins walked away.

Oscar gulped. "They scare me."

Another night, another performance of Adler. Thankfully, Sebastian's black eye was no longer swollen. It was still black but he was able to hide it with makeup.

Everyone's roles were reverted to their original. Ibuki didn't seem particularly disappointed. It seemed that his one Adler performance was enough to sate him.

Theo was absent.

"Sebastian. Have you said your farewells to-"

"Get the hell away from me!"

Lee heard several people screaming.

"...this world?"

Before the curtain even lowered, Lee pulled off his hat and mask before running backstage with Sebastian to see what the commotion was about.

Several Drama Club members were in a semi-circle that the chimera needed to push through.

He cringed when he saw the scene in front of him. A male gazelle was on his knees, screaming at the top of his lungs while he clutched a bloody stump where his right arm was supposed to be.

Ibuki held what was clearly the severed arm by the wrist. A switchblade knife was on the ground.

The deer-wolf snorted before tossing the arm over to Trevor and a shirt from Lee's costume yesterday to Esther. He shouted over his screaming. "Take him and his arm to the nurse's office!"

Lee watched as the white tiger applied the shirt to the stump and ran off while holding the gazelle in her arms. Trevor wrapped the severed appendage in clothes and ran with Esther.

Lee looked confused and somewhat frightened as he looked at his fellow chimera. "The hell happened?"

Ibuki scoffed. "That lunatic came at me with a knife. I'm assuming he was part of that group you were talking about. I tried to disarm him but got carried away."

Viola chuckled. "Seems like you did a pretty good job disarminghim." Everybody shot her an unamused look, but she still seemed proud of that line.

Sebastian snorted. "Very original, Vi."

She elbowed her brother in the gut.

"Ow! Not so hard!"

A shaken Sanu approached them. "W-we're done for the night. L-Lee-kun. Please escort Ibuki-kun to the carnivore dorms. I think I can trust you with that."

Lee nodded. "Y-yeah…"

The chimera noticed Ben, the elephant with a pale face, looking a bit ill. Lee couldn't blame him.

The lion janitor casually whistled as he went to mop up the blood.

As Lee walked through the hall with Ibuki, he was impressed by the deer-wolf's composure. If Lee ripped somebody's arm off he'd probably scream in terror. Perhaps his fellow chimera reached a level of maturity the wolf-rabbit had no chance of matching.

"Is there anybody watching us?"

Lee looked behind him. The hallway was empty. He turned back to Ibuki. "Nope."

The deer-wolf covered his mouth before he sprinted into the nearest restroom. Lee followed him. When he went inside he spotted the other chimera running into a stall before hearing loud retching noises and the sound of something liquidy splash into water.

Lee winced. Second time today he's watched somebody vomit. He approached the deer-wolf with a concerned look. "Are you okay?"

Ibuki glared at Lee. "Of course I'm not okay! I just ripped… rip…" The deer-wolf turned back to the toilet and let out more vomit.

Lee then remembered something, the deer-wolf considered himself to be a carnivore, the school even agreed with him and put him in the carnivore dorms, yet despite this, Ibuki was absolutely terrified of blood.

Lee recalled a certain memory from his childhood. The two chimeras were playing in the backyard when Lee accidentally scratched Ibuki with his claws. It was a very shallow scratch but one tiny drop of blood dripped out. When Ibuki saw it, he fainted on the spot. This, of course, meant he panicked a bit every time he shed his antlers.

Lee sighed and patted Ibuki on the back as he wretched into the toilet. The deer-wolf gagged and coughed for a bit. Then he started to heavily pant. He pushed himself away from the toilet and leaned against the wall of the stall.

Lee gave him a concerned look. "You done?"

Ibuki nodded.

The wolf-rabbit stood up and offered his hand to his fellow chimera and pulled him to his feet. "Let's get you back to your dorm."

The two walked out of the practice building. When they got to the carnivore dorms they found Trevor, the bear waiting for them.

"I took care of the arm thing and came here 'cause I was worried about Ibuki-kun. What's your room number? I'm gonna escort you there."

Ibuki nodded. "Seven 'o one, canine dorms." Lee looked confused. Why did "Seven 'o one" sound familiar to him? Ibuki walked inside with the bear. He turned to the wolf-rabbit. "Bye, Lee-kun."

Lee waved. "See ya later, Ibuki-kun."

The doors to the carnivore dorms shut and Lee started walking back to his own dorm.

The chimera was at least hopeful they could get some info out of that gazelle. He just wanted it to end.

The white tiger was sitting in the middle of her dorm's floor, making all sorts of gestures. "And then he came at him with a knife! Ibuki-kun twisted his arm, but then he pulled on it and it came rightoff! There was blood everywhere and the dude started screaming! I had to take him to the nurse."

Her roommates looked incredibly alarmed by what they were hearing.

Hikari held up her hands. "I think I get the picture. That's enough."

Ceci was trembling. "There was so much blood. It was everywhere."

Lin got a text on her phone. She cringed when she saw it. "Yikes. Yeah, Fen sent me a picture. Man, that looks nasty."

Esther's own phone went off and she checked it. Coincidentally, she saw she had a photo from Olivia. She blushed profusely as she saw what was sent to her. It was a photo of the lab's chest, only covered by a lacey, white bra. Esther couldn't stop herself from staring at it.

Ceci, who was looking upside down from her bunk glanced at Esther's screen. "Woah! Is that your girlfriend?"

Before the white tiger could respond, Lin snatched the phone out of Esther's hands.

Esther's tail straightened as her fur stood on end. "H-hey wait! Gimme that!"

Lin chuckled hard. "Goddamn, Esther-chan! Your girl's busty as hell!"

Hikari and Mila stood up to take a look. Mila's face turned red as she stared at the photo.

Hikari smirked at her friend. "So that'syour taste, huh?"

The brown lion looked at Hikari in shock, her face only getting redder. "H-Hikari!"

The gold lion giggled and put a hand on her shoulder. "C'mon, I'm just teasing."

Esther grabbed the phone back, looking incredibly flustered. "Th-that is a privateimage! You can't just look at stuff like that!"

Ceci giggled. "I guess you shouldn't open photos from your girlfriend with your roommates around."

Esther glared at the cheetah. "I-I didn't know she would send me that!" She looked at the screen with a bit of confusion. "Honestly, she doesn't seem like the type to do that. She hateswhen people look at her boobs."

Lin shrugged. "You're her girlfriend. Makes sense she'd be okay with sending you this stuff."

Esther suddenly looked a tad uncertain. First, they have sex after dating for just a few days, now she's sending her photos like this. Esther was really hoping she wasn't somehow pressuring the lab into acting like this.

She growled and snatched the phone out of Lin's hands before going into her bunk and closing the curtain.

Olivia: "New bra. What do you think?"

Esther: "Looks great!"

Olivia: "Glad you like it! You'll be seeing it fairly often."

The white tiger gulped. Does she already want sex again? Is this the same Olivia? Or is this just a side of the lab that she's never seen until now? Either way, she wondered if she should even complain about getting photos like this from her smoking hot girlfriend.

All of Ibuki's roommates looked at him awkwardly as he stared off into space, looking traumatized.

Jiro cleared his throat and opened his notepad to a drawing of himself cringing. "I have to agree with Ibuki-kun. It wasn't pretty."

Lucas nodded. "I bet."

There was another awkward silence. It was clear that his friends had no idea what to say.

The deer-wolf continued to just stare, trying to get the image of that screaming gazelle out of his head.

Katsu shrugged. "Whatever. He got what he deserved for trying to kill you."

Simon nodded.

Gil looked up from his game. "Yeah, I guess I have to agree."

Jiro put a hand on Ibuki's shoulder. "Don't feel bad about it. That was justified self-defense. It's not your fault you have carnivore strength."

Ibuki sighed. "I…" He turned a bit pale. "I really hate blood."

Gil tilted his head. "You don't seem that bothered by blood in video games or movies."

Ibuki shook his head. "That's not real though. In movies the blood is fake and in video games, it's nothing but data. Seeing the real stuff makes me feel ill."

Lucas nodded. "I understand. Most people don't like seeing blood. It's our instincts to be freaked out by it."

Katsu crossed his arms. "We're carnivores though. We're not supposed to be freaked out by blood."

Gil shook his head. "Ibuki-kun is half-herbivore, remember?"

Jiro shrugged. "Plenty of people have phobias. There's nothing wrong with how Ibuki feels about blood."

The chimera didn't respond. He just crawled into his bunk while his friends looked at him with concern. He stared at the ceiling above him, wishing he could just stop thinking about it. Even though it was self-defense, he really hoped the gazelle could get his arm reattached.

Ibuki's phone started ringing. It was his father. He answered it.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Ibuki. I heard about what happened. Are you okay?"

"I can't stop thinking about it. He screamed so loud."

"I would imagine. I'm sorry you had to see that." He chuckled awkwardly. "If it makes you feel any better, I've done way more damage to somebody than that."

Ibuki looked confused. "What do you mean?"

Louis sighed. "Probably shouldn't have said that."

"Let me hear it, Dad."

There was a pause. "I killed somebody."

Ibuki went cold. "Y-you what?"

"It was a long time ago. When I was still in high school. I was a coward and left Haru to be eaten by the Shishigumi. I didn't even try to save her." He chuckled. "Legosi-kun slugged me in the face for it. I don't blame him. But eventually, I worked up the courage to go save her. When I got there, I saw the chief of the Shishigumi pointing a gun at Legosi while he was walking away. I had a gun of my own on me. That was the first time I had ever taken someone's life."

Ibuki was shocked. He had never heard this story from his father. "How did you feel after you did it?"

"...I have no regrets."

Ibuki fell silent for a moment. If his father didn't kill that man, Legosi would be dead, and Lee wouldn't exist.

"If I got in that same position? What if somebody is about to kill a person that I really care about and I have a gun? What should I do?"

"I really hope you never doend up in that situation."

"But if I did, what should I do?"

There was a very long pause. "...Don't feel regret for doing what you have to."

Ibuki took a deep breath. "I understand, Dad."

"...Well, that conversation got a little dark for my taste. Let's talk about something else."

Ibuki chuckled. "You got it."