Ibuki stood outside the auditorium and took a deep breath. At this point, he was just ready for it to end. His loved ones have been trying to protect him for a while now and it's been nothing but a headache for them. Ibuki didn't want to die. But at least if he does this, Jiro will live, and nobody will have to worry about protecting him anymore.
The deer-wolf opened the doors to the auditorium and looked up on the stage. Just like the photo, Jiro was lying there, unconscious and restrained. Standing over him was a crocodile with a machete.
The reptile smirked when he saw Ibuki approach. "Looks like you weren't as much of a coward as I thought. Get up here."
Ibuki complied.
The croc chuckled as he pointed his blade at Ibuki. "Here's the procedure. You and I are going on a little walk into town. Then, my boss will-"
Pew!
In an instant, the crocodile crumpled to the floor. Ibuki looked on in his confusion as he saw the reptile's eyes staring off into oblivion, all signs of life leaving his body as blood dripped from a tiny dot on his forehead.
The deer-wolf looked up to see that suspicious janitor holding a silenced pistol. The lion grumbled. "Can't believe you were stupid enough to actually come here. Can you even imagine how upset yer folks would be if you died?"
Ibuki was baffled. "Wh-who are you?"
The janitor removed his hat. The lion was a strange looking man. He was older with a bizarre haircut, eyes that were perpetually squinting, and a claw mark scar over his right one. "The name's Free. I'm an old buddy of yer dad's. He asked me to keep an eye on you." He scoffed. "Be happy I'm good friends with him. I can't say I like doing janitorial work just to keep some suicidal kid from getting himself killed."
The deer-wolf overcame his shock and shook his head as he realized he had more important matters to deal with. He ran over to Jiro and started to untie him. The fox groaned in pain as he awoke.
After freeing his roommate, he noticed Jiro's arm was bleeding pretty badly. The deer-wolf took off his blazer and tied it around the fox's arm tightly.
The lion chuckled. "Yer name's Ibuki, right?"
The deer-wolf nodded.
Free smiled. "It's a good name. I knew the guy you're named after."
Ibuki removed the gag from Jiro's mouth. The fox started mumbling. The deer-wolf looked up at the mysterious janitor. "My dad never told me much about Ibuki. Just that he named me after a great man."
The lion nodded. "Yeah, he did. I don't blame him for not telling you the full story though."
The deer-wolf nodded. "I hope you can tell me about him after this. Let's get Jiro-kun out of here."
Jiro started mumbling louder. "Back… he… back…"
Ibuki looked at the fox curiously. "What'd you say?"
"H-he has… b-backup…"
The deer-wolf heard something odd behind him. "Mmph!"
He turned to see Walter the wolf standing behind Free, holding the lion in a choke hold as he pressed some sort of wet rag against the feline's mouth. In just a few seconds, Free fell limp and Walter dropped him to the floor.
The wolf ran at Ibuki and tackled him before the chimera could react. He pressed the wet rag against the deer-wolf's snout. Ibuki struggled but soon, everything went dark.
Lee was fast asleep when his phone started to ring. Who the hell is calling him when it's this late? He got out of bed and grabbed his phone, answering it. "Hello?"
Jiro's voice came from the other end. "Lee-kun! Get to the auditorium right now! Ibuki-kun's been kidnapped!"
The chimera's heart thumped. He dropped the phone and sprinted as fast as he could out of the room, still in his sleepwear.
He ran through campus grounds, over to the fountain, and into the auditorium. He was baffled to see Jiro, blazer tied around his arm, kneeling next to an unconscious janitor and a dead alligator with a machete.
Lee ran up on stage. "What in the-"
Jiro shook his head. "We don't have time. I used the janitor's phone to call the cops but they don't even know where he is." He removed Ibuki's blood covered blazer and handed it to the chimera. "You're half-wolf. Can you sniff him out?"
Lee vigorously nodded his head and pressed the blazer against his nose, taking a good whiff of the deer-wolf's scent before sprinting off.
Ibuki slowly woke up to find himself in an unfamiliar area. It looked like some kind of warehouse. A massive chair and coffee table was directly in front of him. He felt something tighten around his wrists and turned his head to see Walter tying his hands together. The wolf smiled maliciously. "The King wants to talk with you. Consider yourself honored he even wants to waste his time speaking with lowly scum like you." He walked away, out the warehouse door. "Toodles, freak."
The chimera tried to snap the rope keeping his hands tied, but even with his wolf strength, he was unable to do so.
He heard a familiar voice. "Sad that things had to go this way, Ibuki-kun. I was hoping I wouldn't have to dirty my hands with a student's blood."
Ibuki started trembling. "It's y-you?"
He heard loud footsteps as Ben the elephant walked into view, carrying a gigantic coffee pot and mug. "How about you and I have a little private chat before we end things?"
The deer-wolf's mind raced. Why in the world would Ben be doing this to him?
The elephant poured himself a cup of black coffee. "I'd share some with you, but drinking coffee is difficult when your hands are tied. Besides, I don't trust you not to spit it in my face."
Ibuki started to sweat. "You'rethe King?!"
Ben nodded. "I set up the play as well as the attempt on your life. Too bad that bunny bodyguard of yours got in the way."
"B-but why?! What did I do to you?!"
"Nothing. But that's not the problem." He blew on the coffee, cooling it down. "Hybrids are dangerous. I'm sure you know of Melon, correct?"
Ibuki gritted his teeth. "Why does everyone think I'm like him?!"
The elephant shushed him. "Melon was a sociopathic madman. He liked to pretend to be an herbivore therapist for elephants. In truth, he was killing the clients that trusted him so deeply and selling their tusks on the black market."
The deer-wolf's eyes widened with realization. "Did he…?"
Ben nodded. "My father was quite troubled when my mother passed from a terminal illness. He started seeking help. He found someone he believed he could trust." The elephant's eyes teared up a bit. "You can imagine how I felt when he disappeared, and the police found his rotting skull under the floorboards of the therapist's office. That monstersaw my father as nothing more than a source of revenue and took him from me."
Ibuki growled. "I'm sorry about your dad, but I had nothing to do with that! I wasn't even born yet! How is it my fault?!"
The elephant shook his head. "I don't blame you, Ibuki-kun. You are a victim in this too. Your parents should have known better than to bring a carnivore-herbivore hybrid into this world." He took a sip of coffee. "However, I'm afraid an abomination cannot be trusted. So I must deal with you before you have the chance to make another unfortunate child an orphan. It's not your fault, it's just your nature, sorry to say."
"What are you talking about?! There aren't even that many carnivore-herbivore hybrids! What makes you an expert on our behavior?!"
"I don't need to be an expert in anything to see you should not exist. It is the low number of you that justifies me. It's just safer taking you out of this world before you have the potential to cause more harm." He took another sip. "But I'm afraid I have to end our discussion here. You're distracting me from my drink. Once I've finished it, I'll be ending this."
Ibuki snarled. "You'rethe monster! I didn't even do anything! You can't blame me for existing! I have a right to live just like everyone else!"
The elephant ignored Ibuki and continued to drink his coffee.
The deer-wolf grimaced. There was no reasoning with this maniac. Is he going to die here?
Louis yawned as he sat at a table in his penthouse. An empty wine glass and a cleaned plate sat in front of the red deer.
Legosi, who was sitting across from him with his wife chuckled. "I suppose it isgetting late."
Juno nodded. "It was nice of you to join us, though! It's always a pleasure seeing you two!"
Haru smiled. "Don't mention it! Thanks for the food!"
The four stood up and the wolf and rabbit were preparing to leave when Louis got a call. He recognized the number as being from Free. He answered it. "Hello, Free-kun. Everything alright?" After a short while his eyes widened in shock. "What?!"
The entire party jumped in surprise. Juno looked at her husband with concern. "What is it, honey?"
Louis looked at her with a terrified expression. "I-Ibuki has been abducted!"
Juno gasped and covered her mouth in horror. The other two parents looked mortified. Legosi pulled out his cellphone and dialed a few numbers. He put it against his head and started to look nervous. "L-Lee isn't picking up!"
Louis looked incredibly alarmed before shouting into the phone. "Did you call the police?! Are they looking into it?!" He paused. "Well do they have a lead?!"
Juno sat down, covered her face, and quietly sobbed into her hands.
Legosi called Lee again. Somebody picked up. The wolf put it on speaker. "Lee! Are you okay?"
Everyone looked at the phone with a glint of hope, which was dashed when they heard an unfamiliar voice. "I'm Oscar, Lee-kun's roommate."
Legosi's ears lowered as his heart was gripped by fear again. "Where's Lee?!"
"I woke up cause you called and Lee-kun was already gone."
"Do you know where he could have gone?"
"Hold on. I'll shoot a message to my friends and see if any of them know."
Everyone waited anxiously for Lee's roommate to respond, which took way longer than they hoped.
Oscar gulped. "H-he's using Ibuki-kun's scent to hunt down the kidnappers."
Legosi's face turned pale as he broke out into a cold sweat. "N-no..."
Haru slowly sat back down, staring into space in horror with tears in her eyes. "Th-this isn't happening…"
Walter stood outside a warehouse in the city with ten other club members. He leaned against a wall near an alleyway corner. The warehouse itself wasn't very far from Cherryton. He was smoking a cigarette, staring off into space, looking incredibly bored.
Suddenly, a clawed hand came from around the corner and grabbed the wolf by the muzzle. Before he could react, he found himself being yanked forward and then getting his head violently slammed against a brick wall, causing him to instantly pass out.
The other club members turned to see a strange rabbit-like creature with claws and a wolf tail charging at them with a furious expression.
He jumped at Thomas the cheetah, delivering a kick straight to his face, breaking his jaw and knocking out several teeth.
A rhino charged at Lee from behind, he slammed into the chimera, sending him flying. Lee grunted as he hit the ground. A crowbar wielding monkey ran at him but once he got close, Lee grabbed him by the ankles and violently yanked, sending the primate straight to the ground.
The rhino charged again, but Lee slowed him down by tossing the monkey at him. The rhino tried to recover from the sudden blow, but Lee charged him, hitting him with a left hook, a right hook, and then repeating until his opponent lost consciousness.
A jackal ran up behind the wolf-rabbit and bit into his shoulder. Lee shouted in pain as his blood squirted into the canine's mouth. The chimera reached behind himself and grabbed the jackal by the head, tossing him over his shoulder and slamming him on the ground in front of him. Lee then kicked the canine in the side of the head, knocking him out.
A tiger lunged at Lee, but the chimera was able to dodge. Lee then grabbed the tiger by the tail, intending to use it to toss him. However, he cringed when he managed to accidentally rip the poor bastard's tail clean off.
The tiger screamed at the top of his lungs and Lee winced. The chimera dropped the tail and ran forward, kicking the feline in the back of the head, knocking him out, ending his pain until he woke up. Lee felt a little bad about that one.
A bison charged at him. Lee spun on his feet and stopped the bovine by grabbing him by the horns, then headbutting him right in the forehead. The bison passed out, but Lee felt dizzy. That wasn't a great idea.
Next, a badger came after him. Lee panicked and delivered a swift kick to the family jewels. The poor creature clutched his genitals and fell forward, whimpering. Lee winced before knocking him out with another kick to the head.
The remaining Coffee Club members trembled as they stared at the frighteningly powerful chimera. He heard someone shout "R-run!"
The group ran off at top speed. Lee gave a sigh of relief. Now his only objective was saving Ibuki.
Ben the elephant took one last sip of his drink, emptying the mug. "I suppose it's time." He stood up and walked over to a wooden crate, which he busted open with his bare hands. He chuckled. "Oh hoh hoh!"
The pachyderm reached into the box and pulled out a double barrel shotgun. In his hands, it looked like a normal sized gun. But given that he was an elephant, this made it absolutely massive. He smiled. "I didn't even know until now that they made these for elephants."
Ibuki trembled as the elephant approached. This was the end.
Ben reached into his pocket. He patted himself down. "Damn. I forgot the shells." He scoffed. "And they say we have a perfect memory."
He opened the shotgun and smirked. "Lucky me. It's already loaded." He closed the shotgun again and pointed it at Ibuki. "Sorry, Ibuki-kun. This is for the good of everyone. Goodbye."
BAM!
The doors to the warehouse flung open and Lee ran in, panting. He looked shocked to see Ben the elephant pointing a shotgun at Ibuki.
The deer-wolf felt relief at first to see Lee. But then he broke out into a sweat when he realized this meant his friend was now in danger as well.
The elephant looked somewhat sad as he turned his attention to Lee. "Oh, Lee-kun. I didn't think you'd take your bodyguard position so seriously. How unfortunate."
Ben walked over to a wall and leaned the shotgun against it. He turned to Lee and slowly walked towards him. "Sorry. I can't allow witnesses to survive either."
Lee growled before delivering a punch to the elephant's gut, causing the pachyderm to stumble backward.
Ben grunted. "What in the-?!" He looked at Lee, finally spotting the chimera's tail and claws. The elephant growled. "So there was more than one of you this whole time." Ben removed his glasses, tossing them aside before cracking his knuckles. "I suppose I'll have to take you more seriously, then."